Question 7 - Evaluation

I would like to point out me and brother dont have a lisp. Its the microphone!

Evaluation - Question 6

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Web 2.0 (blogs)

I was already familier with using things such as blogs on the internet, however I learnt how to handle and manage a blog much more sufficiently in order to keep update with my work. It was also fun to do the layout of my blog, although I have had to change my background and colours because my original image stopped working and I was not able to get it woking again. But from this i made my blog look simple, but yet attractive.

Photoshop Elements

I had never used Photoshop before, so this was all very new to me. Although i did manage to pick up the skills pretty quickly. I liked being able to use the magic wand tool to delete the background, and then using the eraser to feather the edges of the image to make it look neater. Another I enjoying being able to do was use the plaster tool to get rid of any defects on faces. Overall i think Photoshop was really easy to use and if i was to produce something similar or the same, i would certainly use Photoshop.

Quark Express

I did not like this as much as Photoshop, it wasn't as easy to use because of the way it was set out and its uses. It is much more text ideal rather than Photoshop which is for images. I liked being able to lay out the columns easily and linking them, this made it easier to do an arrange the articles on my double page spread. I think if i was to do this again I would like to try and see what i could do on photoshop. Also because I have experienced problems with exporting work to a PDF file on Quark. Using photoshop would prevent this problem.

Evaluation - Question 5

How did you attract/address your audience?







I attracted my audience by using large image as a cover image, the cover image is a large face, staring directly at the reader. There are also other things I have used in order to attract audiences. I have used the pull quote 'I could spy on naked birds' This is not only an interest quote for readers to want to know more, it is also speaking to reader to as if they are close, using a peer to peer mode of address. Within the magazine there is a predominate use of peer to peer mode of address, for exampe the way Mick talks to the audience. Beacause of this the reader will feel much more comfortable with the magazine, compared to if it was parent to child mode of address. Even though the other pages are not done, some of them are informative, this means that they would have a teacher pupil mode of address.

Evaluation - Question 4

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The text on the page:

Our readers tend to be aged 14 to 26. These are mainly students in school, college and university. However it is a more male dominant magazine due to hobbies and past times, such as playing on game consoles. Alot of the readers would also be those that use the internet often, therefore a website would be ideal. They’re the kind of people that enjoy going to gigs and on nights out, and also house parties and socialising.

They are also the kind of people that enjoy going to festivals, such as leeds, and that is what the tent represents.My magazine is aimed at people in both full time and part time jobs, as its something to read out of personal interest. Also to those who use technology, such as the laptop, ipod and phone, all these things are something that play music.

Evaluation - Question 3

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

I think that a media institution such as Bauer may distribute my magazine. This is because Bauer have experience in distributing a mainstream rock magazine like Kerrang! They are a conglomerate so my magazine would have a higher chance of having a high circulation as it is a mainstream magazine. Also because Bauer is a conglomerate company, the public would be able to access information from Gnasty in more than one way. Like Kerrang! It would be possible to have a website, Tv channel and radio station.

Evaluation - Question 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?
I think my magazine does represent a particular social group, this is because it features very mainstream bands, my magazine i think appeals to more indie and pop-punk fans due to the bands featured. Although this is very stereotypical there are features of my magazine that indicate this. For example my masthead font is broken up and scratched away. This encodes the magazine is gritty and represents that is could be an older sticker that has partly scratched away - like on a girls mirror or a guitar. The images that are also on my front cover look like they have been put in frames and thrown onto a desk, this represents mess, and the pop-punk stereotypical person is messy, and tends to have a messy room.

Representations can be read in different ways, depending on who is reading it, however the reader is not supposed to know that the representations are there. For example the bright colours on my front cover appeal to those people who are more lively and 'bright' themselves, like punks may find this magazine appealing just because of the house style colours used.

Evaluation - Question 1

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
My magazine uses many features of a real media product, this is to replicate and hope that my magazine looks authentic. Some features I have used include a masthead, a simple and obvious feature but yet this is one of things that ‘pulls’ readers to a magazine. My images are also anchored, for example on the front of my magazine I have 3 images, all anchored by ‘TASTE OF CHAOS REVIEW PLUS POSTERS’. For my front cover I have also clearly used a cover image, this is another obvious feature, but is once again effective. I believe my magazine challenges real media product, this is because I have used bright colours and bold text, using bright green and red as a contrast.

(Left: Rocksound Center:Gnasty(my own) Right:Kerrang)
The left cover is what I used to research magazines and what mine could look like. Although mine is quite different, there are features taken from this in order to use its conventions of a magazine. From Rocksound I have used the idea of the images over each other, advertising the free posters, and to adverise the free posters i have used a sticker image. Like both rocksound and Kerrang I have a top banner, and like kerrang i have a bottom banner, saying what bands are in this issue. I thought this look more appealing rather than a list down the side of the page like Rocksound.

Conventions Of a Double Page Spread

There are many conventions to a double page spread, one of them is that the double page spread has a main image, a large one and also perhaps some smaller images relating to the article.
The article could be a review, and interview or just a band profile. The mode of address most of the time in an article is peer to peer however when informing the reader it becomes more teach pupil. Articles also tend to have a pull quote, for example in mine I have 'Bill Clinton W*nking on my guitar', this is larger than the rest of the text, in order to 'draw' the readers in, its also usualy something interesting.