Evaluation

1- The media product which i made was a music magazine named 'Broken Record', i was inspired by many magazine layouts and contents' so i used these as a guideline for what i wanted to produce. I chose to do an 'R&B' magazine as this is the genre of music i listen to the most above all the othe genres. However 'R&B' magazines are normally fairly 'scruffy' by which i mean the layout of the front page is not neat, and looks like they want it to be messy. Such one would be 'Vibe'. I did not want mine like this iw anted mine to be sophisticated and more upper class, including my contents page and double page spread, i also wanted this look to carry throught o the other pages i produced. The first though i had about my magazine and hwo i first set it out is comploetely different to my final design. The background was purple and all the fonts and content was different. I kept changing parts untill i was happy with what i saw, my efforts in trying to use other magazines as a guideline were successful, i found many different ways in how to set out a magazine. My Masthead was too small at first and when i printed it out i was able to see this clearer than on screen, so i changed this to make it appear more noticeable. I feel that i have fulfilled my task very well compared to how i thought it was going to turn out like.

2- The social groups which my magazine could represent are age, i think that it is a magazine you would pick up in a shop when walking past as it is cheap but looks classy, the age range looks around 20-mid 30's as it will be people who are only in to 'R&B'. The gender would be unisex as it is specialised for 'R&B' fans, also the colours i used were intended to not be more male/female to the other, this is so that it catches the attention from both genders. The light blue and purple i used goes well. I intended for my magazine to be more upperclass however i reckon it would be for middle class workers as well, because of the price and it looks classy, people who are single are more likely to buy it as they will want to know about the gigs and going out to have a laugh with their mates.

3- Bauer media would produce my magazine as they dont have an 'R&B' magazine in the industry so it would target another audience for them. This would bring in a lot more money and also give my magazine a head start as coming from Bauer media, it will look good. This is because it is a well known publisher. Also by having an R&B magazine released in the industry will give it a good head start as there are none by Bauer Media, this makes it have an advantage.

4- The target audience for my magazine is readers of both genders between the ages of 20-35 who are interested in R&B. I dont think gender comes into my magazine as it appeals to both male and female, this is because both may be fans of R&B. My magazine does appeal to my target audience because of the way i have set it out and the colours i have used, it is not biased and i think will attract the readers and fans of R&B.

5- I attracted these by the use of language, colour and pictures. The colours are designed to attract male and female of any age and the pictures are younger looking and look quite cool. The language i used was addressing the reader so as if i was talking to them directly, such as 'want a recording contract?' on the contents page. This would make them want to buy it as it looks like im interested in what they want to read about. My final product was not how i expected it to turn out to be like and it is not as sophisticated as i wanted it but the decisions i made throughout the process means now i have a wider target audience and the final outcome looks better and appeals to the target audience more, this is because of the use of the colours and fonts i used withinmy magazine and the pictures i took were sophisticated yet looked like an 'R&B' magazines photos. I am pleased that my outcome was not how i originally planned it as i think this represents the target audience a lot more than my original plan. The font in which my writing is in are not boring because that doesn't reflect well on an 'R&B' magazine, they are curvy fonts which stand out to others. For example if i used Times new roman it would of looked too boring and would not stand out. My magazine now looks a lot more 'Street' than smart, this is more appropriate for my genre.

6- Technologies which i have learnt about through the process of my product would be 1) Photoshop - i have developed the skills to edit pictures in an acceptable manner and to make them look realistic, not just edited. Before doing this product i had never been on photoshop and found it very difficult starting off with it.

I also learnt how to do different digital photographing angle shots with the camera and focusing and lighting.

I also found out that you can download different font off of the internet to find one which suits your magazine.

Another skill i developed was the use of macs, i did not understand them at the beginning and found them very difficult to use, however now i like using them and can do so very well. For example i cut parts of photos out of others and stuck them into other photos using photoshop and managed to blend them in, in order to look real. I made a lot of changes to each photo untill i was happy with the outcome. I did drafts of each photo to see which one i preferred.

7- Throughout the whole task i have developed a range of different skills which will be useful for int he future. I know how to write about what i have done and keeping drafts so i can see the progress i made, i found this helpful as it encouraged me. It has helped me develop my creativity skills and going back to things to improve on. Also photography i have developed well as i was an awful photographer before but now i know the different shots and how some are more effective. The skill i found i have developed the most was the photo editing and the putting together of the magazine, i really enjoyed this and would like to progress it further. It allowed me to be creative and think about what would be most effective and why.