Evaluation Script of Slideshow

The practical for my media coursework was to produce a creatively designed music magazine front cover, contents page and double page spread. The choice of what style of music we wanted to base our magazine on was of our own, therefore I chose independent music. Familiar to the music and to local bands that followed the trend, I knew almost instantly that this was the best choice for me.

Slide One:
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This first slide is on my front cover of my newly created magazine. As you can see I have made many fair points about different aspects of my design. First of all is the simple one worded title which is the most common generic convention of magazines, and the most important. I chose the word ‘Academy’ to be the title of my magazine as I thought it a very independent word, but also a word which could make my audience feel like a part of a team, by being involved with my magazine, like an academy would do.
The next point I have made is about my positioning statement, situated just beneath the title. This is to create a direct link to the title, insinuating the corporations ‘promise’ to the audience: ‘This is the music of independence’ – It is revealing/informing the readers of what it is offering.
The next evaluation I have stated is about the main coverline. My main coverline ‘Flightplan is taking off’ is on a slanted banner to illustrate how it relates to the main image. I wanted to portray the phenomenon of it catching the image and hooking itself around it to claim a larger ownership over the image. By doing this it automatically dominates all of the other coverlines, and anchors the coverline to the image. I have used a white banner also to make the colour of the text stand out against the image, which is a typical technique of media creation.
The main image itself is important within attracting my audience. This can be done by directly addressing the audience, through the characters eyes and expressions. Having the members of the band in my image face the audience, and looking them in the face will turn more heads than if they were looking away. It generates more interest having the image look interested in the reader. Next is the coverlines. They are separate from the main coverline, but also count to being an important aspect of my front cover. As you can see I have positioned the coverlines to the side of the page, avoiding the band members’ faces in the image. This is to help the image draw more attention with its full intensity, rather than covering up the main interest. I have also used a light text as to ensure the type is visible over the dark image. It makes the coverlines easier to read and more eye-catching.
Lastly, I have evaluated the banner at the bottom of the page. These are very common on music magazines as they inform the reader of what other interests they have to offer. For example, a list of bands is useful as using the right band names, which may appeal more to the audience, will ensure even more of an opportunity for a customer to want to buy it. The word ‘PLUS!’ is a typical leading word to use for the bottom banner, as it hints to additional stories contained inside.


Slide Two:
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This next slide is the evaluation of the contents page I have designed for my media product. At the top of my page, in the left hand corner, is the title of my magazine. It is a smaller type-size than on the front cover as to convey it as a sort of logo, to show it belongs to the academy and this is their contents page. The title ‘contents’ is a considerably bigger type-size as to represent it being the contents page, and dominating the space at the top of the page.
Next are the reasons why my subtitles are split into three. I have done this as it is easier for the reader to find what sort of information they want to read up on, and as it is a more organised layout to read from. This is another typical code and convention of magazines. The subtitle ‘On the Cover’ is different to the other two subtitles as it stands out more, aiding the reader in finding the cover story they want to read.
There is star at the top left hand corner of my evaluation of my images to link the evaluation to each image on my contents page, which I have also placed stars on. The stars are not actually part of the images. I feel the images I have used are reliable to my product as they are different. They are carefully organised but manage to stand out in their own way. For instance, the full image of the band, the solarized image connoting abstract music, and the image of different members of another band split into three are all of their own styles. The fact that they are not all unevenly spread out, also gives the images further presence. This method of organisation is distinctively common in music magazines.
I have given the subscription box a similar link as I used for the stars, by encasing the subscription evaluation box and the subscription on my contents page, in a red box. I thought the use of a subscription on my contents page would be essential as there is usually always an offer for a subscription in magazines. It is just one of many ways a magazine can advertise and promote itself.
My own independent design for my contents, I think, comes from the block of purple behind the contents list and title. This use of a single block of colour helps make the text stand out on the page, and separates the list of content from the images. It gives a simple but more interesting layout, and relates to the colour scheme my magazine uses, creating another link between contents page and front cover.
The last aspect I have evaluated on for my contents page is the numbers on the images. This is evidently a convention of music magazines, as it links the image to its content story and gives the reader a better understanding of what the images are trying to portray.

Slide Three:
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This slide is the last slide evaluating my actual finished product: The double page spread for my feature article. I worked hard to come up with an imaginative design, one that could stand out for a first feature article. I aimed to do this by using a background image, taking up the whole background of the double page spread. The image is the silhouette of the band stood right in the centre, engulfed in red light, to render a professional attitude just within the use of body language, and also to give them a mysterious persona. The use of red lighting actually creates a link to the smaller images down the side of the right-hand page, as they as well use red lighting, and separately introduce the band members featured in the images.
In this box here (points to box titled ‘Anchorage text on images’) It evaluates why I have used text over the images. My reasons are that the text anchors the image by explaining the who/what/where and when of its origin of creation. Basically, it is more formerly introducing each band member’s participation in the band.
My title for the article is the same as the main headline I used on my front page, to create a direct link to the right article. I have made it a large title so it jumps out at the reader and seizes their attention - similar to codes and conventions of magazines.
Underneath the title is the standfirst, which is the explanation of the article. There is a different typography for this as to separate it from both the article and the title, and to show it is part of neither, so readers do not get confused.

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This slide is feedback from my target audience towards my music magazine. I used questionnaires for my feedback, but also recorded a few answers from people who filled out my questionnaires.
The first answer I have recorded is for the question ‘Would you consider buying this magazine?’ (click on speaker image underneath question to hear feedback).
The next feedback I have recorded is for another question ‘What do you like about my music magazine?’ (click on speaker image underneath question to hear feedback).
The last answer is to the question ‘What do you think the downfalls to my magazine are?’ (click on speaker image beneath question to hear feedback).
The good points made by my audience are a hopeful sign to my media product being a success. However, I have been offered criticism about my media product, which tells me that my magazine isn’t the best to its ability. If I’m to achieve the target of creating an awesome music magazine, I will ensure that I remember these criticisms the next time I create a media product.

Slide Five:
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For my evaluation we were given questions from our teacher to include in our slide-show. The first question asks ‘In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?’.
I developed my production to follow codes and conventions of typical music magazines. I kept an NME magazine with me every lesson I attended, to ensure maximum compatibility between my layout and independent music magazine types. My first example is one which explains how I challenged the forms and conventions of music magazines within the ways I have stylised my product, which was by using a slanting banner for my main coverline. Having it at the bottom of my front page challenges the general orderly layout of coverlines. I have situated my main coverline ‘Flightplan are taking off’ near the bottom of the page instead of near the top as to keep the coverline in the centre of the page without covering the band members faces in the image. The banner is slanted upwards to connote flightplan ‘taking off’. As well as this, the banner also uses forms and conventions of music magazines as it was used to make the colour of the typing stand out from the image, which is a technique that music magazines use.
My second example is about how I have developed my magazine, which I have done by my use of a background image and 3 others atop of it on my feature article. It is usually more common for one layout to be used when handling images, other than two sets of layout. I decided to design my double-page spread in this particular way though because of the link made between the lighting, which I mentioned before. It makes the article look more professional, and additionally quite artistic.

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The second evaluation question asks ‘How does your media product represent particular social groups?’. The first representation in my product is the use of colour. Purple is colour that applies to both males and females, which means that the colour scheme of my product appeals to any social group in general. The next representation of certain social groups is my choice of music. My music magazine represents any social groups interested in ‘Indie’ music. This includes the choice of bands I have incorporated into my contents, as they need to be the right ones to appeal to a diverse range of social groups. For example, using articles on unsigned bands would appeal and refer to young tunefully motivated musicians.
The images of different bands I have used (Flightplan and Kurrupt in the Head) would also represent young musicians. Portraying the right style of attitude (such as lead singer Joe Jackson’s face on the front cover) and a ‘cool’ style of clothing would represent to social groups that can knowingly relate to these attractions. The image for the content story ‘abstract music’ could represent social groups with a creative nature, even more so with my use of solarize to make the image more abstract.
Each representation in my product is a vital aspect to attracting my target audience, and to selling my media product to a wider audience.

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The third question for my media product evaluation asks ‘What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?’. The first institution I found during my research is ‘Bauer’, which is a famous media institution to distribute many different media products to do with music. Examples of music magazines distributed by Bauer are ‘Q’, ‘Mojo’ and ‘Kerrang!’, each of them relating to the style of music my magazine is based on. I have linked the Bauer website to the slideshow via the blue heading (click ‘Bauer’) so you can take a look at the institution yourself. Going onto the next institution though (click off ‘Bauer’ website, and back onto slideshow), I have chosen ‘IPC’ media, another well-known media distributor that may also distribute my media product as again, like Bauer, it is another media to distribute music magazines my product could relate too. For example, ‘NME’ is a famous independent music magazine. I have also linked the ‘IPC’ website to the blue ‘IPC’ heading (clicks ‘IPC’) so you again can look at the institution and what it has to offer (clicks off ‘IPC’ website, and back onto slideshow).
If I had to choose one media institution, it would be IPC media. This is because this institution does not seem to produce as many Indie magazines as Bauer does, and therefore would mean a healthier competition to become bigger-selling than Bauer products.
The main distribution of selling my product would come from shops and advertising. Selling my product in local news agents, shopping centres and advertising them on posters and billboards and even my own website, would be a more crucial way to get my media product to a wider audience. I would be using other forms of media to sell my media product, which would be a jumpstart into really sinking my teeth into the dog-eat-dog world of the media.

Slide Eight:
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‘Who would be the target audience for your media product?’ is the fourth question I needed to answer for my evaluation slides. My target audience for my music magazine is teenagers and young adults aged 16-25. Any other audiences could be anybody interested in independent music, or even any fans of one of the bands included in the contents articles, doubtless of whether they like the other bands of Indie music or not.

Slide Nine:
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The fifth evaluation question asks how I have manipulated my media product to attract/address my audience. First of all, my use of images will help my product sell as the young adults I have used in my main image and other images will address my audience through their ages, and attract my audience through their style and expressions. Direct address also comes to mind, as mentioned before, through posture and direct eye-line.
Second of all, my colour scheme again, causes a great influence on my target audience. My choice in colour is based on my results from my questionnaires filled out by a selection of my targeted audience for my media product. The fact that Purple was one of the more popular colours and I have used it, will ensure a larger population of my audience to be interested in my music magazine.
Next there is my article for my double page spread. I have tried to make my article appeal to my target audience by using modern language, and including the modern slang quoted by the band. This is so as to appeal to a younger audience. Also, I have written my article in a certain style as to let the reader feel more involved in the interview.
My use of typography counts in to attracting and addressing my audience because it is quite plain and simplistic, instead of being too fancy and unattractive, as it is more relative to the genre of music. It also makes my magazine easier to read, which is very important if I want my product to be sold at all.

Slide Ten:
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The sixth evaluation point is about what I have learnt about techniques from the process of constructing the product. I have learnt a great deal about producing media products whilst creating my own. For instance, how easy image manipulation really is, and how simple it is to cover up the truth of an image. For example, airbrushing a person’s skin in a photo to make it look flawless. I did not use this though. I did however use other techniques of image manipulation, such as solarizing the ‘abstract music’ image in my contents, to create a more abstract image than what it was.
I used Desk Top Publishing to create my product, and explored Adobe Photoshop and Quark Xpress to develop my designs (e.g. cropping images, a large selection of typography, frames, etc.).
I have developed a skill in photography, by using a digital camera to produce my images. I have done this by choosing the location, and positioning the band members on my own terms. Also, learning the ability to use objects to signify something else, (such as the fret of a guitar with the shiny side to a CD entwined in the strings to connote ‘abstract’ parts of music), was new to me and a very helpful technique to learn.
Each of these techniques are ones which I have managed to develop in the process of constructing my very own media product, and they have opened my mind to the many creative possibilities that can be used to produce such a product.


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The final evaluation question asked me to look back at my preliminary task, and describe what I feel I have learnt in the progression from it to the full product. I feel I have massively progressed since my preliminary task, especially with organisation, but also through using better sources of information and images relative to my product. This is an important change as it makes more of a difference to the value of my magazine. I have improved my imagery within use of lighting and use of flash. The photos I have taken for my music product illustrate how my imagination has developed since the creation of my preliminary task.
My interest has also increased throughout this production, and is clearly shown through the drastic improvement in creative organisation. Looking back at my preliminary task, my coverlines were a mess and my positioning of images in my contents were no better. My newer, finished product has been immensely developed since these mistakes, and completely taken into account of my new design. Again, using objects to represent something else is definitely something I have learnt throughout my production of my music magazine. It has taught me the larger impact that can be made by using objects, as well as people, to signify something more. To completely conclude, I have learnt a lot throughout the year, developing and challenging my own creative knowledge. My expanded understanding of the media has taught me that nothing just happens in the world of media, you’ve got to make it happen. Thank you.