Evaluation of college magazine

Evaluation of college magazine

 

My magazine uses conventions such as a masthead which contains the logo of the magazine. This is placed at the top and is large in size so it can be easily recognised and to make sure it stands out. My colour scheme had three colours, purple, black and white. This is because these are the main colours of the college that the magazine is about. My magazine has a footer which features a Plug competition ‘Win free festival tickets’ this means that the person is more likely to buy the magazine to enter the competition. It also features a barcode which is conventional. The issue number and price is contained in the masthead which is not always conventional of magazines. My magazine has a main image of a college student which is a convention of magazines; my model is showing the mise-en-scene by carrying college folders and having a smile on her face giving off the connotation that the college is a great place to be. My magazine also has pull quotes which have captions which summarise the articles, these are on the front cover so will attract potential customers to buy the magazine. It also has a main story in bold which could draw readers in to buy the magazine too.

My media product represents teenagers in a positive light. The model is shown as happy with college magazines and folders which have connotations of a hardworking, sociable person. This means that the college is also seen in a more positive way. The audience of my magazine is college students. This is shown by the college student model on the front cover and the articles which are about things which will interest people of that age group. The audience are attracted in several ways. The social media logos of Facebook and Twitter mean that the magazine is more accessible and relevant to teenagers who all have accounts on these websites. This means that they are more likely to buy the magazine as it is more connectable to them than if it had no social media presence. Another reason why the audience may be attracted is the 'Win free festival tickets' plug. This means that the target audience are more likely to buy the magazine to have a chance to win tickets for the festival, this links to the pull quote 'New music reviews' which means that students who are interested in music will probably buy the magazine to read about the latest bands. The price is also affordable for the students; it is not as expensive as Vogue magazine which costs a few pounds more. Its affordability means that students are more likely to buy it. The main article 'Beat exam stress' will attract students to the magazine as it will offer them advice for their exams so they are more likely to purchase the magazine. Another pull quote ‘Interview with the principal’ will also increase the likelihood that they purchase the magazine as the students will be interested to hear from the principal about issues that affect the target audience.

During this task I have increased my knowledge on Photoshop. I learnt how to draw and colour in shapes which I have used for my masthead, footer and pull quotes. I also used the text feature even more, with different fonts and colours which fitted into my colour scheme. I also learnt more about camerawork and types of camera angles and shots. I took several pictures for my magazine, several of which I didn’t use on my front covers. The pictures were took in college as it was the perfect setting and mise-en-scene for a college magazine. I took close-up shots where the lens has been zoomed in to show just the face and perhaps the top of the shoulders. I did not use these shots on the front of my magazine as it is not conventional of magazine front covers. I took a medium close up shot that shows the model and the setting behind them. I used this picture because it shows the college mise-en-scene and is conventional of magazines such as NME and Vogue. I used long shots to take pictures of the college as these show the whole subject in one picture, making it the preferred shot type for backgrounds. I also took high angle shots; these are useful for showing the whole body of the model and also the setting and background but from a different angle. Low angle shots are also similar; these show the background and model from the floor. High angle shots are conventionally used in magazine photo-shoots.

I have learnt to take better pictures which show the mise-en-scene and contain a model. For my perfume task I decided not to use a model and instead use an original image of the sky to give connotations of freedom and dreams however using a model means that it is easier to show iconographic features of the place where the picture is set. I have also learned about how to structure a magazine conventionally.

To improve my magazine front cover I would design it more artistically because the rectangles look quite ‘blocky’ and make the front cover seem to have too much on it. To do this I would put the pull quotes on without a box displaying them and relate them to my picture