Evaluation

After completing my magazine, i have written this evaluation, to explain how and why i created it in this way and to express my opinion and the ideas i put into it.
My overall product of the music magazine, uses conventions of real media products, because, the genre of music the front cover was portraying was hip hop/ rap / pop. All of these concepts determined the actual appearance of my magazine. So i created the mise en scene to represent these themes. I used props, clothing and styles of people and poses to create this look.
My product represents particular social groups, because it has a look that can vary through different personalities and interests. My front cover for example, has different colours on it, but not to much to make it look like it represents one specific type of social group. For example, if there was a lot of colour, it may put off people in social groups who are more into dark colours. And may give the impression that it was more feminine. The models used on the front cover also represent different social groups. I have done this by dressing them in different type of clothing, to show that the social group is not just based on one type. I have also represented different social groups, by having props and through the writing i have written on the cover. For example, i have placed a guitar in the middle of the page, so it is easily seen, which could represent and attract people in social groups such as people who are into rock music, punk music and also pop music. I have then added the phrase 'working with P Diddy' on the cover. This will attract people in social groups who are interested in rap, R&B and pop music also. From these two examples i have attracted people from five different social groups, all just form the front cover.
The type of media institution that would market this product would be one that sells other products that are aimed at a younger audience. This is because the audience would be familiar with these other products so would be even more attracted to buying them and having something produced from an institution they recognise, they would feel less worried about buying it, and would have more confidence that it will appeal to them.
The audience for my media product, as i have already acknowledged, is a younger audience. The age range would be for teenagers and young adults. This would be in the age range of 14-22. I have chosen this age range because this is an easier audience in this day and age because there is so much interest for a big variety of different things from this age range, that it wouldn't be difficult to produce something that would be appropriate and appeal to them. Also, being a teenager myself, it was easier for me to relate to the product and the stuff i put into it, helping me to produce a better product, and one that would be acceptable. The type of people my product is aimed at would be people from different varieties of groups. This is because this would equal in a lot more people, resulting in a lot more sales.
I have learnt a lot more about technologies needed to be used to produce this type of product. For example, the technologies needed would be Internet, as this is an easier and quicker way, and also a more reliable way to do surveys and questionnaires on, such as asking peoples opinion on things that they like for example their interests, and also what would attract them to a magazine and why. Photography is also a big main part in producing a magazine. This is because there will be no copy rite cases against you as it will all be original, and would be owned by the creator. And it also makes it look more unique, as different people can work different pictures from a camera and locations, hence giving a different look to your magazine. Then the main obvious technology needed to produce this produce was a computer. This is because it puts it all together to complete the magazine, and can also edit parts to make pictures, text etc, look a lot more catchy and attractive.
Looking back at my preliminary task, i feel like i have learnt a lot more about marketing a product and producing it. This is because i had to do a lot more research on things such as prices of magazines, lay outs, the types of audience they attract etc. I learnt that in order to make a successful magazine you have to do research in order to attract the right type of people you are aiming to attract and also just to attract anyone. In my preliminary task, i put thought into the mise en scene of my product, but i didn't think of why i had chosen this and who it would attract. I also learnt that producing a good product i would need to put research into it and also make sure that i have taken the feedback to produce it, and put a lot more editing into it. Even if there is not much to edit, for example if in a product it was purposely made to look a bit plain, then the editing would still happen on the rest of the product to give off the best effects.


This is a picture of my preliminary task. I was asked to create the front cover of a magazine for the college. The picture was a medium close up of three girls looking at a book. However i think there was too much in the background that could distract the audiences attention away from the main picture and article. I used bright colours that stood out a lot, however they now look too bold and unprofessional. The picture itself is too dark and doesn't have that great light in it, which could have been improved through editing like i have done on my main task.








As you can see, in my main task front cover there is a big improvement to the way it is presented, from the picture down to the editing. The picture has been planned out more and had more thought into it, and has meaning to it, which is that it is representing modern music and young people. The editing has a vast improvement to it, which makes a big difference to the way it is presented. It stands out a lot more, and each individual piece of detail has been chosen and made to look a certain way for a reason.










I have made this improvement from learning about technologies more and how to market a product. By doing the preliminary exercise and then the main task was a good example to show that by doing research and gradually developing ideas to your final piece, gives you a good finished result. I have learnt that research is one of the main priorities when it comes to the sales of a product. Because if i hadn't done any research i wouldn't have known what styles of mise en scene would be best for the front cover picture, i also wouldn't have known much about what type of things the audience the product is aimed at would like to see featured on the cover.