My Evaluation

My Evaluation 

http://www.slideshare.net/bambam0121/evaluation-17813052



Here is my evaluation, this shows what i have done through out the media course and it shows the process of the work i have done, and also where i have shown my strengths and also it shows where my weaknesses are as well, but overall i think i did quite well and fought through and tried my best with this

My front cover, contents page and double page spread

My Front Cover 

Here is my front cover that i designed in Photoshop, by using a magazine called DJ i based the set out, layout, colour scheme so that i had something to base my magazine on. i think that by using the other magazine, it helped me create my magazine and i am happy with the outcome of the magazine, i also think that the magazine gives out the appropriate message to the audience about what this magazine has to offer. i think that a strength point i can point out in my front cover is that i think that the colours go well, and do represent the colours that are mostly likely to appear in a club such as the dark room and the neon colours/lights flashing around the room. i think the main weakness in this front cover is that maybe the writing layout could be organised better and maybe structured it better to make it look more professional. but overall i am quite happy with the outcome i think that the magazine shows what it is meant to show to the audience.  

My Contents Page 

Here i designed my contents page in Photoshop, again by using the magazine DJ this helped me get my layout and structure of a rough idea i wanted to do with my contents page, i then applied the same colour scheme to the contents page as i did with the front cover, this is to show a link through out the magazine so that the audience doesn't get lost with the magazine and lose interest with it. how i designed the contents page was by using simple effects in Photoshop that i just played with until i thought that the magazine looked good enough to be final end product. i then just used for to get the black background was by using a tool called a gradient tool, this made the view of the background of the, also what went well was the good was the nice mix between the pictures and the layout, this is done by blurring out the outside of the figure and then just placing it in the middle of the page and also just turn down the opacity so that picture can blend behind the text .  i think that one of my strengths i think worked well in this front cover is that i like the layout of the actual contents page i think that the text images and colours are set up very well, and also it is simple enough to read and not to long winded so it bored the audience. 

My Double Page Spread

Here i created my double page spread in Photoshop, and by using the same colour scheme i have been using through out my magazine i went for the dark background by using the gradient tool and mixing the white and black colours to create the shade of two colours. also i added the effect of having the image of who the double page spread is interviewing, so i applied the image in the background and then i used the opacity tool to turn down the actual view of the image so it is lightly faded in the background. i think that this did help quite a bit with both the look of the magazine and also with the text of the interview so you can see the image of the artist is. i also think that the layout of the dps is standard and also very easy to view so it will not confuse the reader and make them lose track of what they are reading. 

Meta Language

Here is my analysis of what is meta language and given examples of meta language on two different magazine front covers.

Analysis of the Meta-language of music magazine journalism

What is meta-language?

Meta-language is basically language or symbols used to describe something to do with the subject, in this case the subject would be to do with a music magazine. It is mainly used to make a statement about another statement in a different form of language. There is many different types of meta-language:

• embedded
• ordered
• nested(or hierarchical)

embedded- the form of language used to describe embedded would be mainly formal, this is because it is firmly and naturally fixed. It can sometimes appear in informal language, the simple terms of adjectives, adverbs, etc are also connected towards the embedded meta-language.

Ordered- the ordered type of meta-language is basically the form/order of the logic being used to do with the subject. It builds up on the language and then it can lead onto another form of meta-language if needed.

Nested(or hierarchical)- this form of language is similar to ordered meta-language, but the part that does separate them is that the nested form of meta-language discusses the genre of the situation and the form it is in.

I think that for the music industry it would be hard to discuss if there is a certain single type of meta-language being used, I think that it would depend on what magazine is being used at the time. This is because each magazine has there own form of meta-language being used, because it all depends on the audience they attend to sell there magazine too. For example this DJ magazine will have very little text on, this is because it is mainly aimed at young adults-teens. At there age they will might not be attracted to a front cover with a lot of text appeared on there, this may bore them and then they could lose interest in the magazine. The language used on the magazine is very simple as well so it is easy to understand. Here it quotes 'AREOPLANE flying solo' this form of meta-language is being used to discuss the other form of a statement in which this case is in the form of a image. Also the length of words being used is very limited to very small words, this is because it is short and snappy and straight to the point. This can benefit the magazine in many ways to make the magazine attractive to the audience. There is some form of embedded meta-language being used for example 'Tom Mouton's Golden Grooves' here the form of using and adjective to describe this persons type of dancing. The use of nested type of meta-language is also used on the front cover 'OLD school to NEW school DJ course come of age' the use nested meta-language being used is to do with the 'old school to new school DJ' this is relevant towards the actual magazine and links within the genre of the subject.

Here for this magazine called 'Billboard' the use of meta language being used is very similar to the magazine 'DJ'. I think the use of the meta language on the billboard magazine is mainly aimed at the audience of the age around teenagers, late teens. And probably aimed at the female female more than the male gender. I think how the text shows this is maybe due to that the colours being used have the hints of pink and the main writing in white, and with the use of the pink it makes the words stand out and shows that they mean something, and also pink is quite a girls colours as well very feminine  And I think because it is aimed at the age of teenagers, they have kept the text on the front cover very limited so that the audience doesn't get to bored of the writing, because teenagers would like the images to the talking for the magazine it has a bigger effect to them. So that could be why there is very little writing on the front cover. Here the quote 'LILLY ALLEN, the singer sneaks out of the EMI and endorsement deals and how she deals with Perez and the paparazzi  here the form of meta language being used to discuss the form of the image it is showing and what that person in the magazine has done. The language being used is straight to the point and tells a quick story of what happened to the person in the image. I think with the use of this language it shows that the person they are talking about has a bad side, and this therefore would get the audiences attention and make them want to know if this person gets in trouble for the bad thing she has done. So the language being used is like a taster of what is about to come. 

my analysis for my market research

here we designed a questionnaire for my media studiesw market research, i used a software called surveymonkey.com to help me get sort out my survey, this software helps me get all the information i need and all the data for my audiences purpose for a DJ magazine 

here is the link for my questionnaire

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FT37JNZ

 i would appreciate if you could spend a small amount of time to fill out this questionnaire to help me with my research...thank you very much :)

codes and conventions

what are codes and conventions?

there are codes and convention applied to almost all magazines. some only exist to cover up the style of music they present. there are many different terms that are used for this, for eg-

page numbers

masthead

fonts

colour scheme 

style of photography

writing style

pull quotes 

cover lines

bar codes

etc

the way these elements are presents is depending on what genre of magazine you are analyzing. every time you will analyze a magazine  the best way you can explore it is by using the codes and conventions, and see how they are used in different magazines, because all magazines would show the codes and conventions in there own way, some magazines codes and conventions are stronger then others, it all depends on how it is presented to an audience.

Here are some examples of some music front cover magazines and how the codes and conventions are being used in the magazine to make up the actual magazine 

Here the general uses of the codes and conventions are that the colour scheme of this magazine is very set. such as it has a very dull background with the plain black, and also has the image in a black and white picture, this could show that there is a serious side to this person or emotional side. the use of colour used in this magazine is very little you only get hints of colour being used on the text, this is maybe that there is certain parts in the text where the magazine wants the audience to catch there eye. the style of photography being used in this particular magazine is that the picture of the music artist has wind blowing in her hair in one direction, and also a medium shot of the actual person, this captures the body posture of the artist and also it catches the emotion in the face which can tell you what maybe there story in the magazine is about. there is very little writing on this magazine, maybe because the magazine is mainly focusing on the main story of the magazine and that is the story with the picture of the artist is linked with. but there is very little writing on the side so it shows what else is in the magazine.




Here the use of codes and convention on this magazine front cover is that the colour scheme shows a very strong patriotic look towards it. this shown by the colour scheme with the white, blue and red. even the image being used the photography is mainly just a mid shot of the band in the middle, holding up a Britain flag over two of the members shoulders, this does represent that this band does come from Britain and they are representing their country. the text being applied on this magazine is very in your face, there is the main heading in the middle which is about the main story of the magazine, it also mentions 'COOL BRITANNIA!' this shows that this band supports where they are from even though they are going on a tour around the world, it shows that they are proud of where they are from as well. the font of the text if various, because the sub headings on the side the text is not very big, you can just about read it but when you see the text in the middle it stands out to you in big bold letters this is to make sure that it catches the audiences eyes so it brings them in and makes them want to know more about what the text is telling them. on this magazine it has a skyline which reads out 'KERRANG! AWARDS 2010: THE WINNERS REVEALED' this shows that there has been an award show based on acts that appear within the kerrang category. and in the magazine it shows the winners for those people who may have missed the actual shows of the awards.



Here the uses of codes and conventions being used on this front cover magazine called 'VIBE' the colour scheme of this shows it has gone with a simple colour layout of red, gold and white, it shows that they have kept the colours of this magazine simple so that the it isn't bombarding the audience with this colour show,they have kept it nice and simple so it has a nice flow, again with the type of photography being used in this magazine is that it is in black and white which means that their is a serious side to the music artist, and also it could mean he means business. the camera shot being taken of this artist is a mid shot, this is showing the artists posture and the type of clothing he is wearing, and all this shows the type of man this artist is, the picture is shot with the artist wearing a big chain around his neck this could show that he has money. also all the bling like the big faced watch and the way he is holding his belt and showing it off to the camera shows he is a wealthy man. the text being used for this front cover magazine is again very simple so that the audience doesn't get bored and lose track of the magazine. there is very little on the front cover explaining about what is happening on the inside of the magazine, this might mean that the magazine company wants the main focus on the image in the middle and his story and what the magazine has to offer about him. there is a skyline being used on this magazine which says ' STEVE HARVEY AINT HAVIN' IT:RAP,RADIO & THE N-WORD' this shows that this person they are talking about which is described as a rap artist and also a radio presenter maybe has had enough about something and mentions some language which isn't appropriate in anyway, but has used it due to maybe anger, frustration. this is known because the magazine doesn't show the full word of what they mean  by the N-WORD. 

Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

here is a diagram of maslow's hierarchy of needs, this shows us that his theory does affect everyone in a different way,  his work is based on psychology work, his work shows us how the human mind is motivated, and how our minds can create innate curiosity. he focused mainly on describing the stages of growth in humans, the main categories he used for his theory are physiological, safety, love/belonging, esteem, self-actualization, these were the categories he needed to describe the pattern that humans motivations generally move through.

how we can relate this to the work we are studying on our magazines, is that we can now tell what urges the audience to buy something they might not need, the motivation in there mind is making them buy something, this could be of many reasons why they are buying the magazine, for eg, jealousy of someone else, saw it in advert, saw certain things that stand out to them, etc. 

different music magazines

Different music magazine genres

here these are just some images of some different music magazines, and how the codes and conventions are being used to show the audience what the type of magazine is and also what it is about. such as for example the use of the different types of photography shows the type of magazine which is suitable for the appropriate member of the audience. because usually the main picture  is mainly what the magazine's biggest story they have inside. also another codes and convention that can change a lot within a magazine is the text being used, is certain styles, fonts or even the general wording of a sentacne doesn't really link well that could ruin the flow of the  actual magazine and could have an effect on the audience because they can get lost if the text is not appropriate. those are just a couple of simple codes and convention which are used in every magazine which also makes the magazine unique in its own way.