Evaluation 3: What kind of media institution might distribute my magazine and why?

Evaluation 2: How my media product represents particular social groups

For the cover of Techno Beat the photo represents the model (female), DJ Caitlen in a stereotypical female fashion as she’s lively, for instance in terms of body-language as she appears straight, clearly stood up and in one of her hands clings to the wire of the headphones and this may relate to her social group, the “in-crowd” as they’re a laid-back bunch. The typography surrounding varies in terms of contrast and it can be argued for instance the masthead is purple so this exhibits women in a lively fashion and most of the content doesn’t appear female-focused but a woman is featured the main cover line, so this anchors the main image.

DJ’s hair is let down, which connotes to the “in-crowd” as in their crowd they care less about what people think, and she appears content. No make-up is applicable; a comparison to the “in-crowd” as in the gang, a lot of people would be wearing make-up. The costume she wears is a short yellow shirt and within her circle, people like to show off more so this is apt. Regarding mise-en-scene it’s set in a studio, against a red background and it’s possible it’s talking about the “in-crowd” as people who are more confident can turn out to be models.

DJ’s facial expression is a smile and this connotes confidence, relating to the “in-crowd” as they’re a confident bunch. The colour scheme appears to be a mix of red, yellow and white and these are bright, well suited for the circle as they catch the eye more.

The photo represents young people as enthusiastic because DJ’s body positioning is standing up and because of how she holds the headphone wire and her smile and clothing.

The text surrounding is bold, in terms of font and shape, which is a representation of youth and it’s arguable the brightness of the lighting and colours highlight’s youth as they’re a contrast and the content shows young people as ambitious, such as ‘Britain’s most audacious new talent blows us away with her beats’, proving DJ wants to provoke a reaction.

None of the following, sexuality, race, disability or nationality and so on appears to be illustrated. The genre of techno is portrayed through the various elements, such as the masthead and the brightness, combining to give a powerful reaction.

I have equated the appearance of DJ with techno through the design of everything such as the font, everything relevant overall relating her to the genre and it says she wants to put on a show.

Groups such as the male gender are notable for missing as it’s a female-dominated cover, perhaps to give the female presence more power, although it could be said as Prodigy’s a male band, the male gender has a presence.

The photos represent women in different ways. Hannah’s dressed in an attractive way and positioned clinging against a pole, representing women in a provocative manner, which is stereotypical, but Paige Harris appears more genuine, as she’s stood against a wall and not provocative like Hannah.

The text presents women as bolder, considering the bright font and again the content shows women as equal and different, seeing as Hannah’s an “upcoming techno star” and Paige is “usually reclusive”, meaning she’s different from most people.

Hannah’s body language is shown as posing, in terms of being careful about positioning, speaking to her social group, 20-year-olds as if they posing for a photo, they’d care more about how they stand and where. Paige is closer to 30 and seeing as she’s just hanging against a wall, this shows more commitment, appropriate for her age group.

Hannah has dark brown hair, which says she cares more about her image and this fits with the social group she’s in. Paige on the other hand has light brown, potentially closer to the social group she’s in as people like to dye their hair.

It’s clear Hannah has some make-up and a lot of 20-year-olds are liable to have make-up, whereas Paige wears none, less professional as her crowd would be expected to make more of an effort. Hannah just wears a shirt, shorts and some boots, fitting in with the female gender as they like putting on a show.

Paige wears a purple jumper and some jeans, showing she wants to make an impression. The setting where Hannah had a photo-shoot is by a swing, embodying her age more as people who are young go on the swings and Paige has been shot in an urban environment, relating to techno, as it’s a trendy genre. Hannah’s smile relates to the gender, as females tend to be enthusiastic, Paige’s expression is sombre, a contradiction.

The colour scheme for the photo of Hannah is aglow, in terms of how things are lit and this talks about her gender. In the photo of Paige, there’s more of a mundane scheme, more representative towards her age. The first photo represents young people as eager from the smile of Hannah to her clothing and the second represents young people as shadowy, seeing as Paige has a dour expression and the graffiti provide evidence.

In the text it shows young people as definite, because there are some varied fonts and colour and the content displays young people as rising, with Hannah’s as “Interview with an upcoming techno star, whereas Paige’s cover line shows young people as different “Usually reclusive, the techno artist opens up”.

Sexuality, race, disability, nationality, religion and so forth aren’t displayed in the contents, suggesting this is more of a standard magazine.

Techno is represented as varied and colourful as Hannah’s shown content and there are some appropriate fonts including DS Digital and there are varied cover lines, such as “Features about upcoming music technology” and “The Techno List”.


I’m equating the appearance of Hannah with techno as she lights up, in terms of clothing and so on and this suggests her as a positive person. Paige’s appearance relates to techno as she wears a purple jumper and jeans, giving an overall impression but appears more down, suggesting her as complex.

Groups including males and other age groups aren’t included, implying this as a different magazine, further proved with the techno genre.

The photo for the double-page spread presents women in a calm way, in terms of who Paige is, not appearing special and this isn’t stereotypical. Paige’s body language is placid, saying that females are complex and her hair is light brown, likening to techno as this is a hair colour, which is representative because it’s showy. Paige doesn’t have make-up, making her look more average and perhaps less suited to the techno genre. Her costume is the same as the photo in the contents and the colour of her jumper, is purple which is representative towards techno, as well as the dark blue of the jeans.

The setting is the same as the photo of her in the contents, in an urban environment and it’s a contrast because she’s nearing her 30s, so a different environment might suit her. Paige’s facial expression is similar to the contents, sombre, signifying more towards later 20s. There’s a mute colour scheme, less representative of the techno genre as usually the colours are brighter.

The photo appears to present young people as offbeat because of how its lit, the way she’s positioned and the clothing, the elements combine to give the impression that people who are young tend to stand out more. In terms of text its bold and the colours are black and red, also bold in terms of font, such as Georgia, disclosing that the young crowd like to stand out. Disability (Aspergers) is presented in the double-page as Paige talks about it during a couple of the questions.

Overall the genre of techno’s represented being colourful, with the variety in text and the jumper Paige is wearing, as these give the right impression. I’m equating the appearance of Paige with techno because the genre varies but it’s about being distinct too and what she dresses is different from what’s usually expected. This connotes she intends to be colourful.

With the exception of the female gender and 20-year-olds, as well as techno, no other groups are present.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2x0DfWBWdjM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtPH5wjwnIU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wj4UhDnI53I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPKXQwbnMQ4

Evaluation 1 : In what ways does my magazine use, develop or challeng forms and conventions of real media products

Introduction to evaluation

The magazine 'Techno Beat' has been completed.  It's a techno music magazine that's targeted towards people aged 16 plus, working class and the consumer characteristic of mainstreamers. There isn't a specific gender that's targeted.

The genre of techno was chosen because it's a genre that's lively. Research was done into some other music and techno magazines to get the magazine looking professional.  This helped me to understand the codes and conventions of magazines and how a techno magazine should look. From the preliminary task to first draft I gained experience in the processes involved in creating a magazine so the overall product will look brilliant.

An evaluation will be carried out that analyses seven questions.

Feedback for contents page

The word 'contents' and masthead should be in a box along with the dateline and page number. There should be a second image, the column also looks too plain and there should be a page number on the main image anchoring the article as well as adding more headings.

Feedback on cover

The feedback for the cover is there should be a drop shadow around the masthead, the puff looks too plain and the font for the coverlines should look closer to the techno genre amongst others, detailed below.

Initial feedback for magazine pages

Drafts of my productions and feedback received and why and how I changed them:

Preliminary cover, contents page and double-page spread:
                                                                       
For my preliminary cover feedback I was given is that it looks pretty although the black typography is hard to read and the same is true of the yellow typography. The photo also doesn't really relate to the techno genre and the cover lines are jumbled. The fonts also aren't too professional and for the dateline, the J should be a capital.

                                           

Feedback for this is the green writing isn't clear at all and the image of Paige Harris unnecessarily overlays Hannah, the fonts aren't very professional plus it's hard to see the dateline and the background takes over the contents too much. There should also be borders for the coverlines.



















Double-page spread

The interview is too bunched together and there's too much going on, making it difficult to be able to see the writing and the fonts could be clearer and typography should go around or across the image, rather than over. The final box has too much space.  The page numbers, masthead and subheading beneath the title could look more professional and the title doesn't look close enough to the techno genre. The writing for the interview should be larger and the red should be altered. 

                                                                     

Draft 2:

The feedback for this is the font looks entirely different and more suitable for the techno genre and the colour scheme is more streamlined, making the cover look more professional overall and the typography is easier to read as a result. Another photoshoot was done to gain more photos and see if there would be a more suitable one for my cover. The result is that this suits the Techno genre much better and because the coverlines have been rearranged, they're easier to see. 

This time the typography's easier to see and this has been achieved by adjusting the fonts, colours and making the headings bold, along with changing the information below in Italics, making a separate coloured column for the features and regulars. Also separating the images with a clear heading for the Techno Beat review.

Paige is much more in the background now, so whilst maintaining continuity the image is less dominant, with text much more in the foreground and easier to read. 

F