Evaluation

- Evaluation

Firstly, my magazine for the rock genre symbolises the modern and older designs of rock. I have got ideas from previous designs of current rock magazines, in attempt to make mine as modern as possible. This is to get a good idea of what people in today's society expect from a rock magazine and how it's represented in the public eye. The presentation of my magazine is important for my target audience to get a great first impression when looking at my magazine in the supermarket. I have found with rock magazines, the cover layouts are sometimes messy and sophisticated, I feel that I have created my cover; masthead, plugs etc. differently from what other rock magazines would; by designing it more simple than the current designs. In attempt to give my magazine more of a unique selling point whilst it being easy to read. When conducting research, I discovered that most of the current rock magazines all look the same as one another. I have used the same design for my magazine throughout my cover page, contents page and double page spread, resulting in a unique theme throughout the magazine. The theme is important for brand recognition throughout the whole magazine.

Secondly, the photo-shoots I have published for Rock have been developed from carefully choosing clothing for my models also the suitable scenery. This shows the audience that my magazine is casual rock themed. In today's society, I would say that the clothes I hand picked for Rock can be seen as casual rock themed clothing. This is due to stereo-typically, looking at current social groups and using this information to develop my media photo-shoot with the make-up, clothing, lighting and hairstyles. This has been done in hope that my target audience will be attracted by the presentation of the magazine, appealing to their lifestyle.

On the whole, I have taken into account several magazine distribution services and have concluded that Bauer might distribute my music magazine. This is because Bauer are Europe's number one privately owned publishing group. Offering over 3,000 different types of magazines including music magazines, in 15 countries. Bauer is the publisher and distributor of the music magazine 'Kerrang.' However it publishes 'Q' and 'MOJO' also. This is important to take note of because 'Kerrang' cover the rock genre, as well as 'Q.'These are the most famous rock music magazines worldwide. It is important that Bauer might distribute my music magazine because we at 'Rock' offer lots of information into the rock genre. Bauer are very well established and therefore would be able to help establish 'Rock. My music magazine suits the type of characteristics that Bauer distributes because it is new, modern and would be popular with a wide range of audiences. Also, as magazines such as 'Kerrang' already have an established audience, I feel that with Bauer distributing my magazine this would enhance the chances of my target audience wanting to purchase my rock genre magazine because they have previous experience with Bauer.

Overall, using my market research I have concluded that, my predicted audience will be very into a rock genre; from classical rock to heavy rock. They love to hear about the most famous rock artists and what they've been doing (as conducted in my questionnaire). They don't mind spending more money on the magazines they love. I discovered that my target audience prefer the colour layout red and blue out of all of them, however having these colours as a colour scheme doesn't match the picture I had had originally of what I wanted my magazine to look like. Furthermore I thought red, black and white will be a whole lot more professional. My target audience prefer it when magazines give their audience 'freebies' with their magazines. Overseeing all of my market research, I’m expecting that my target audience will be about the age of 15-24 years old. It is assumed that, stereotypically audiences who like to hear about celebrity 'gossip' are in their teenage years. Finally most of my target audience will want to know about upcoming tour dates and any information about their favourite artists.

Furthermore, I conducted a questionnaire for my market research to ask my audience chosen questions based around my production of Rock. Using my market research skills from the questionnaire feedback, I looked at certain areas in which my readers will like and dislike about the magazine, and made the changes to my magazine from this. Concluding this, I went out and asked members of the school community what they think about my the production of my magazine; conducting my evidence in a pie chart for it to be easier to refer back if needed. After this, I made the changes to my magazine, and then asked if they thought there was any sign of improvements within the magazine; and my results showed that there was, so I could see the progression made. Also by doing this, I can see the areas that Rock needs improvements on and areas that don't.

Consequently, I have learnt just how much time and effort goes in making a magazine in order to get the audiences and response you want. I have learnt that things which are as simple as colour schemes matter, to attract a specific audience. I have learnt that getting the right models for a photo-shoot is important to attract a wider audience if the models are well-if they are famous or not, etc. I have learnt that a variety of camera shots are vital to help show the audience that the magazine doesn't always look the same. Using my time to construct my magazine has been helpful in understanding the concepts people need to go through on a day-to-day basis to get the essentials they need, in order to keep the magazine production at a steady pace. Also, although using the software such as Serif Page Plus was easy to learn how to use, it is difficult to make the magazine look like how you imagine it because there are always restrictions such as loosing the pictures, accidentally deleting things, spelling mistakes, etc. The point is that the preparation that goes into creating a magazine is hard and takes a great deal of effort into the construction. I feel that I have challenged my existing knowledge of using cameras and editing software by learning new things in order to produce a magazine contents page, front cover and double page spread.

Finally, In the construction process of my preliminary task, I didn't really consider conducting any market research to plan how I was going to make my magazine suit my audience. I learnt how to do these things while putting more of my time and effort into making my rock magazine because I needed to know more about my target audience in order to make the presentation of my magazine, suit the target audience. there is a clear contrast between my preliminary task and my final product because I've changed from "Microsoft Word" to "Serif Page Plus" , which allows me to make the layout of my magazine how I want it to look easier. "Serif Page Plus is an editing software whereas "Microsoft Word" is used for publishing literature. The process of creating my magazine escalated from then because I grew familiar with the software I used. I have learnt from the production of my magazine that the cover of the magazine is vital to the audience; for example; when a magazine is on the shelf in the shops, the audience first notice the cover which needs to attract them by being looking eye catching enough to draw the attention of my target audience. I have learnt that it is important not to make your magazine look similar to another magazine which you have used to analyse. If it looks the same, this could then turn into a copyright situation. I have also learnt that I should take my time in the progression of my magazine, not to rush it or it might look not how it should. In conclusion I have learnt that market research is one of the most important aspects of producing any magazine. This is because you as a company need to know what the interests of your target audience is, and even if there is a gap in the market for this magazine. If I had of done a questionnaire for my preliminary task, I could have discovered what my target audience like. I now know what all other major magazine companies have to go through, by having first-hand experience, to get the target audience they need. This gives me the advantage of knowing how much hard work and effort goes into the production of a magazine.