Evaluation

In what ways does the media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of a real media product?

My production work consists of six pages, which are a front cover, a contents page, and an article consisting of two double-paged spreads. I worked with Rachel Talbot so together we produced twelve pieces of work, two front covers two contents pages, and two sets of a four-page spread but I produced an article and Rachel produced an interview. Together we came up with a house style that would be repeated which follows ‘Blender’ magazine conventions as each issue is similar but the colours used are different.

We decided to keep black and grey as our base colours and have another colour each to go with them. I chose orange and Rachel chose blue, as these were the favourite colours of the participants that took our questionnaire. Our contents pages follows some of ‘Mojo’ magazine conventions as it is similar; for example, the block of colour with all the cover stories in is the same and so is the colours used the same along with the fonts. Our contents pages follows some of ‘Mojo’ magazine conventions as it is similar; for example, the block of colour with all the cover stories in is the same and so is the colours used the same along with the fonts. But the position of the other pictures and the other page numbers and stories are different. This does break some magazine conventions but it makes our magazine original and different to others. Our four-page spread was the same in style so that it was consistent throughout the magazine. It also helps to make it obvious where the article came from. We have stuck to the same colours on our front cover through out the rest of the pages to make it consistent.
My front cover follows forms and conventions of real media products in many ways. There are common music magazine cover conventions; one main image, masthead, strapline, hooks for stories inside, limited number of fonts and colours, date, barcode, price, text justified down left and right and usually one picture that is usually taken between medium long and medium close up. To start with I have a medium close up of my model that is staring straight into the camera; this draws attention to my front cover and is common in magazine styles. My model is attractive which as Naomi Wolf (1991) says it will help gain more readers of both sexes as erotic images of models are used. Marjorie Ferguson (1980) identifies four different facial expression that occur in most magazines which are;

Super smile this is of a full face with a wide open smile with teeth visible. The Head is forward and the chin is back. Hair is often wind blown and suggests 'Look at me' approach.

Invitational on this pose the emphasis is on the eyes. The mouth is shut with only a hint of a smile, head to one side slightly. The mood is suggestive of mischief or mystery, the hint of contact potential rather than sexual promise.

Romantic or sexual Dreamy, heavy-lidded and unsmiling. Overtly sensual or sexual.

The projected moods are possibly 'available' and definitely 'available'.

Chocolate box Half or full smile, lips together or slightly parted and teeth barely visible. Full or three-quarter face to camera. Projected mood is blandly pleasing, warm bath warmth, where uniformity of features in their smooth perfection is devoid of uniqueness or of individuality.

My model would come under the ‘Chocolate box’ facial expression. My models head goes over my magazine name ‘Upbeat’ but it is still easy to read. I decided to call my magazine ‘upbeat’ as it has connotations of r&b/pop style music and this is what type of genre my magazine is. Also in my questionnaire my participants preferred this to the other options.

The mast head on my magazine is largely recognisable and so is my slogan this is a general principle in the style of magazines. Above the mast head I have a menu bar with a competition that is inside the magazine this encourages people to buy my magazine to take part in the competition. Looking at a range of different magazines I have noticed that there is frequent wins and give aways in magazines which will attract more readers if they like the prize or give aways. Like most magazines my text on my front cover is largely justified to both the right and left hand sides of the page, which makes it look neat and tidy. Along with many other magazine covers I have put the bar code, price and date together at one side so it doesn’t detract attention from the rest of the cover. I have hooks for stories on my front cover to help catch the attention of other readers. The stories are all based on my research on what my target audience would like to see in a magazine. I have written ‘plus’ and ‘and more’ to create the impression that the magazine is full with big names and gossip which my target audience will want to know about. I have also included lots of well-known bands and artists to attract their fans. My main story is a total different font to all the rest on my front page and it is also much larger to help it stand out from the rest as it is my main story. I have also put an effect on ‘Brooke Sawyer’, which is bevel and emboss and a drop shadow, to make it stand out even more. This is common in magazines as they like to draw attention to their main story.

My contents page follows forms and conventions of a real magazine contents page in many ways. I have my magazine name largely at the top to make it clear what magazine you are looking at. I also have inserted the date of the issue so you know what issue it is. In a block of orange colour I have the page numbers of the cover stories as some readers might immediately want to be directed to some thing they have seen on the front cover. I also have a short description of what is going to be in that story to attract the readers. This is commonly seen in music magazines of this genre. I have my page numbers in chronological order so that it is easy to use and doesn’t confuse my readers. This is often the case in music magazines. Again I have stuck to the same colours and fonts to keep my work consistent. I have linked my magazine to the next issue by showing who is going to be seen in the next issue, this is because I realised a lot of music magazines do this to attract readers to keep buying the magazine.

My four page article follows many forms and conventions of a real magazine article. The colour scheme and fonts are again the same to keep my work consistent. I have my magazine name in the top corner to show where it is from and I have also written ‘exclusive’ to make it recognisable that you can only find this story in this magazine and to make readers feel they are getting something the can not get from anywhere else. I have a large quote from my article as my title ‘I hit rock bottom but now I am back!’ to attract the readers into reading the story as they will want to find out what happened. This is often the case in many magazines. I have used a much larger picture of my model with the background to fill most the page as this is a common convention to articles. On my photos I have put in small writing the clothes she is wearing. This isn’t common in music magazines but as she is the same age as our target audience they might be interested in the clothes she is wearing also. This goes against some conventions, but it makes my work original. My font is a simple font so it is easy to read and my text is justified to both sides of the column to make it look neat. On the left hand side I have a short paragraph to also explain what is in the article; this could attract readers who are just flicking through to read the full article. My text starts with a bigger sized orange ‘B’ which is very common in magazine articles so I decided to follow the trend.

My second page follows a similar style apart from I have smaller pictures and much more text which are in columns as this is a common convention in magazines. I have quotes form the text in a larger orange font and my columns wrap around them. This is commonly seen in magazine articles, these quotes can help to attract more readers as they act as hooks to get the reader into the story. I also have a quick check question box which will be in every issue and will be the same questions asked to every musician or band. This helps connect the magazines together.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My star in my music magazine is a young artist who girls that read our magazine could relate too. She has had a bad past but has managed to turn it around which could be an inspiration to the readers it shows that difficulties can be overcome. The story shows that life in the spotlight can be negative and it isn’t always a ‘dream life’. This can change the perception of the Hollywood stars that look like they have the best life in the world. It represents young girls that have dreams that they want to achieve, like the main story in the magazine, this can link to the social group of teenage/young adults who have dreams and goals.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product?

I think that ‘musicmags’ would be a good company to distribute my magazine as even though it specialises in instrument magazines my magazine would bring a new genre to its company and target a total different type of audience. The company’s products will be really aimed and older men who take interest in instruments; therefore my magazine will attract young females and create a whole new target audience for the company.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

I have aimed it at fifteen – twenty-five year olds as in our questionnaire this was the most popular age range. Our magazine genre is R&B but we have a sub genre, which is pop as this was close second favourite.

I have priced my magazine at £2.50 which I believe to be a reasonable price. This is cheaper than most music magazines but not by a lot. I think it should do well at this price as it appears to be full with gossip and information that readers will want to know so at a lower price more people will buy it. I targeted 15-20 year olds which will be largely female. They would most likely be upper working class or lower middle class who are reasonably well off. Most likely they will be living of parents’ money or have jobs so they will have enough disposable income to buy magazines, go to music concerts etc.

How did you attract/ address your audience?

I attracted my audience by finding out what they were looking for in a magazine first by giving out a questionnaire then producing my magazine accordingly. I have used people in my magazine who are roughly the same age as my target audience, but they are famous which will help attract readers who can compare them self to them and aspire to be like them, for example my cover girl has over come problems which can be seen as inspirational. The photo of my model can come into Marjorie Ferguson (1980) facial expression recognition as my model will come under the ‘chocolate box’ expression. I used a sexually attractive woman on the front as Naomi Wolf (1991) recognised the ‘Beauty Myth’ which is that by using a sexually attractive woman to sell products to women is successful as they want to look like the models. I am exploiting the Bulmler and Katz' theory of uses and gratifications as throughout my magazine I have put in photographs of people who are roughly around the age of my target audience. This gives a sense of identity; the readers can compare them selves to the people in the magazine and aspire to be like them. The readers can also relate to the stories in my magazine as the promblems could reflect on their lives in some ways. This is very common in magazines.

I also put in hooks for stories of bands and artists, as people will buy the magazine to read about their favourite bands and artists. I have also used language that will suit my reader’s idiolect. ‘OMG’ which stands for ‘oh my god’ would only be recognised by younger people like my target audience. This helps the audience relate to the media product. The older generation are much likely not to understand words like that.

By putting what my models are wearing this is heading towards a lifestyle kind of magazine. This is because most women aged 15+ seem to be less interested in magazines for hobbies such as music, and more interested in lifestyle. Another magazine that is doing this is ‘Q’ magazine and it is also working well for them.

After my magazine pages were complete i decided to hand them out out to 20 people that fit into my target audience. This is so i could see if my magazine would be capable to compete with existing music magazines. I recieved comments of almost all participents here are some examples of them;

'I think your magazine will be able to compete with other magazines as it looks full with good information that people my age would want to know'

'Your magazine looks different from other magazines which is a good thing because as it is different it wont be like any other repeated music magazine that have the same things in every issue'

'It looks really good, I love the bright colour contrasting on the simple black grey and white. It is very eye catching i think it will easily be able to compete with existing products.'

'The pages are great how you know what magazine they come from as it keeps the same house style, for example the fonts and colours are the same, this makes it look neat and tidy.'

'I really enjoyed reading the story. It is more lifestyle instead of being a boring story about how good a gig was. I like stories where you get to know more about the person.'

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

I firstly have learned a lot of skills on using Adobe photoshop, for example this picture of my model on the front cover. I changed her eyes and lip colours on Adobe Photoshop to make them stand out and draw the readers into my magazine. I have also learned how to make text stand out so that it draws attention to it by using drop shadows, strokes, bevel and emboss. Evidence of this is on the front cover of my magazine I put ‘Brooke Sawyer’ in a bevel and emboss to make it stand out from the rest of the text. I have also learnt how to pick from different photographs I have taken; evidence of this is in picking pictures for my work.

I am not using this mid shot of my model. I think she looks in an awkward position.

I will use this picture on my article as i like the pose my model is doing. I also like the background.

I would like to use this picture it looks very homely. But i think it will be hard to use as her head goes right to the end of the photo and so does her legs.

I was also able to use a camera to a high standard whilst taking my photos and also made sure that the lighting was correct so I gained successful pictures

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learned in the progression from it to the full product?

Looking back at my preliminary work I have learned an awful lot in producing a magazine. This is mainly because I had much more time to produce it. Giving me time to research into what my target audience want in a new magazine. I also analysed existing products as my work had to match those standards as it was going to be competing with them. I have also learned a lot of image manipulating skills throughout my practical work. I have been able to make my layout skills more professional to make sure it will be able to compete with existing products.

Overall I am pleased with my product and believe that is has been created with a lot of thought and effort to make it eligible to compete with existing music magazines.

Final article pages

This is my first double page that I have finished. There is another double page going to follow after this.

For my first double page i have used a much larger picture of my model with a quote from her article as the title. I have an introduction to the left on the column to explain what my article is going to be about. I also have who it is written by and who took the photos on the page as it is a common convention in magazines. I have used another totally different picture of my model in the bottom corner. My font for my main text is size 9 and century gothic which makes it easy to read. I have the text justified to both sides of the column to make it look neater. I have the text 'Upbeat exclusive' at the top of the page to make it appeal to the audience that this is the first time you will hear anything like the story told in my article. At the beginning of the column I have the 'B' much larger and in Orange to make it stand out. This is common in the layout of other magazine articles. I have a little arrow at the end of the text to show it goes on to the next page. In white on the pictures I have some text showing what she is wearing, this is regularly seen in other magazines.

This is my second double page spread.

For this second double page I have put the upbeat exclusive and the page numbers in the same place so it is consistent throughout the magazine. I have put my text in five columns of the same size to make it look neat and easy to read the text. Again the font is size 9 century gothic which is a plain font that makes it easy to read at a small size. I have a large picture of my model at the bottom of the page and i have cut out the background and wrapped my text around the picture. This is a common convention in magazines. I have also put quotes from the text in a much larger orange font so it stands out from the rest. These bits of text cant tell you the full story but it does give little bits so it makes the reader want to read the rest of the article to find out what exactly happened. I have wrapped my main text around these, as this is common in many other magazines. I have another picture at the top where I haven't cut out the background. I have put an orange background around it, which separates it from the text. I have added a description of what my model is wearing as I saw this in another magazine and thought it was a good idea if you liked the clothing. I have put an orange large full stop at the end to show that the article has come to the end. Rachel and I decided that we would have a 'best things in life' column, which consists of eight 'bests' where the person our article or interview is based on adds in their own information. We thought this would be a good idea to link our magazines together as it is the same magazine just different issues.

Final contents page

This is my finished contents page. I have kept the same fonts and colours to make sure my magazine is consistent in style. Overall i believe it has been successful.

This is my contents page. I decided to put an orange strip down one side to separate the cover stories from the other stories. This is because I wanted readers to easily be able to find the correct page for the cover stories as that is what has attracted them to the magazine in the first place. I put the title of my magazine in the same style so it would stand out. I also tilted it so it was different from the over text. As my cover stories are most important I wrote extra about them underneath, as this is a common convention in music magazines. I have put them in chronological order so it isn't confusing. All the other pictures have been put on an orange background so it fits in with the colour scheme and makes it look tidier.

Final front cover

This is my finished front cover. Overall i am very pleased of how it has turned out. I think it fits my criteria perfectly and will attract my target audiences attention.

My models head goes over the title but it is still easy to read and this is often the case in many music magazines. There is a slogan 'find your beat' which is directed to the audience. I have put the bar code, price and issue number all together out the way so it doesn't detract attention away from the rest of the page. The main story is highlighted by being much larger and also a totally different font which draws attention to it almost instantly. My text on both sides are justified which makes it look much neater. The 'plus' and 'and more' helps the reader to believe that it is full of music gossip and entertainment that they wont want to miss out from. The arrow like shape with 'Top 10 forgotten bands' helps to separate the text and make sure it gets read and doesn't just blend in. The same for the shapes around '128 songs that should be on your play list' it helps to ensure it gets read. The tag box across the top has 'win VIP tickets to see PINK in concert' this helps attract more people if they know they could win things. Especially fans of pink. I have stuck to three colours (black, orange and grey) so it matches well and looks tidy. I have also stuck to 4 fonts again so it looks tidy.

Flat plans

This is a flat plan of my front page. This is how i am wanting to set it out. I have added in the fonts that i am wanting to use and also the sizes of the texts.

This is a flat plan of my contents page. This is how i am wanting to set it out. I have added in the fonts that i am wanting to use and also the sizes of the texts.

This is a flat plan of my first double spread of my article. This is how i am wanting to set it out. I have added in the fonts that i am wanting to use and also the sizes of the texts.

This is a flat plan of my first double spread of my article. This is how i am wanting to set it out. I have added in the fonts that i am wanting to use and also the sizes of the texts.

Images i could use for my article

These are some photographs of my model and reasons why i am going to use them and why i am not going to use them.


I am not going to use this image as i think it looks blurry. I also don't think my model takes up enough space on the photo as she is side on.

I don't think i will use this image as i don't like the background. It doesn't look very nice. Also my models face has went light off the flash.







I will use this picture in my article. I like the background and my model takes up a lot of space in the picture.







I like the background on this picture but i don't think i will use it as i don't like my models facial expression.






I will use this picture on my article as i like the pose my model is doing.

I like this photo it is a close mid shot which i think will look attractive on the front of my magazine.

I will use this picture in my article as i said that she has a new puppy. it will also be a change to my other photos.

I would like to use this picture it looks very homely. But i think it will be hard to use as her head goes right to the end of the photo and so does her legs.







I like this picture. I will use this in my article and it wont be hard to use as her head doesn't come right to the end of the page.

I am not using this mid shot of my model. I think she looks in an awkward position.

Front cover image

For my front cover i have decided to use this picture of my model. She is staring straight out too the camera which will catch the readers attention. I did alter it a bit. i cut out some of the outside as i wanted her face to be as big as possible on the cover. I edited the colour of her evey and lips to draw attention to her. I also got rid of a few blemishes. This is the picture i used before and after.

anaylisis of an article

This shows the common conventions of an article. It has a title which is a quote from the text which is in a much larger font to make sure it catches the readers attention. It then has a little introduction in a smaller font but bigger than the main text to explain more on what the article is about. the "w" at the start is a much larger font and a different colour which is common in magazines. The text is in three colunms which makes it look neat and eays to read. The font is clear and small so it can fit alot of text on with out it being hard to read. There is a quote from the text inbetween the main text. This is a common convention in magazines. It is a different colour and a different size font to make it eyecatching. There is pictures also to show what the text is about .

Preliminary Work

At the beginning of this year we had the chance to produce two bits of practice work. We had to create a front cover and a contents page for a school magazine. As we only had 2 hours to produce this i don't believe that it is to my best standards, but as we didn't have long i think that it was created well.

This is my front cover. I used the colours yellow and royal blue as those were the schools colours. My model on the front is the main story which is why her name 'Rachel Talbot' is in a larger font. I have used stories which attract people into reading the magazine such as 'record breaking results' etc. My other pictures are in yellow boxes and are tilted which breaks conventions of other magazines but it helps the stories stand out. I have a tag line on the bottom as this is a common convention in a magazine. I also have the title with a drop shadow which helps it too stand out and the logo of the school is used to show familiarity.

This is my contents page. It has the magazine name in the corner as this is a contents page common convention. In the top corner i have put a little more information about the magazine and have also put an image of the front cover and numbers to show where the cover stories are in the magazine. Again i used the house style colours of Blue and Yellow to keep my magazine consistent. On the left hand side i have a column with a list of things that feature in the magazine. The numbers are in consecutive order so it flows and whenever there is a story which i have put on the front cover i have made it clear that it is a cover story in case people were really interested on what was on the cover and want to read that straight away. On the right hand side i have wrote about another story in more detail to get readers interested and want to skip forward and read more on that subject. I have also put contact details of the school on the magazine as i feel a school magazine would do this for the parents and pupils benefits.

My main article

I am producing an article on my cover girl to be inside my magazine. I have decided to do a 4 page spread on my made up singer 'Brooke Sawyer'. She is new to the music industry which will catch my intended audience as they said in the questionnaire that they would like to hear about new bands/artists. The article is going to be about her past and how she became who she is today.

This will be my article.

We all know her as the ‘Life’s too short lets go crazy’ rock chick. What we didn’t know is her past. Here is her story from parents, friendships and boyfriends to Fame, drugs, and alcohol.

Brooke Sawyer has been famous since being able to walk. From the age of two she had appeared in many advertisements and by the age of fourteen she had appeared in seven different films, leaving her with more money in the bank than all the girls in her class put together. So why did she feel so alone in life, girls her age would kill for the lifestyle she had made for herself.


I loved life at the age of thirteen. I didn’t have a care in the world. I enjoyed school, my friends were amazing, and I was working with some of Hollywood’s greatest actors and actresses. Money was coming in well and I could provide for myself which sounds weird as I had just became a teenager, but I loved the fact that I could get what I wanted without having to save up or beg to my parents. I had been in the media since I was two and I loved it. I used to practise my poses in my mums mirror for my next advertisement. At the age of six I used to love the fact that I was on billboards around Manhattan and so did my friends. I have boxes full in the attic with every advertisement I have ever done. Looking back, even though I loved it at the time, now I think that a lot of things that have happened during my past would not have occurred if I wasn’t in the public eye from a very young age.
When I joined high school I socialised with the wrong people. By now people in my new school were beginning to recognise me so making friends wasn’t hard. It was picking the people who were genuine which was my problem. Jenny a girl from my class became very close to me. We did everything together; we were like the real life mean girls. One day there were so many people wanting to sit at our steps at lunch we decide to hold auditions for people who could be our friends. After all this we had created a group of ten girls who were knowing as the popular girls at the steps, everyone wanted to sit with us. Jenny and I made a set of rules on how to fit in with us. It sounds so pathetic now. There were rules such as ‘don’t talk to the nerdy table unless they offer to do our homework.’ ‘I have the decision of what boy you are allowed to date.’ ‘You had to have one item of designer clothing on’, which wasn’t a problem for me but these poor girls would save up all the money they could to afford to shop in Bendels and wear designer clothes I wore. I was such a bitch!
One day Jenny and I decided to try out for the cheerleading squad, this would get us noticed by all the cute jocks in school. So we turned up hoping we would both make the squad, but we didn’t. I did because my back handspring was perfection. Jenny didn’t get in, she was too nervous; she slipped whilst doing a simple round off. I still decided to take my place, as it was very rare for a senior cheerleading captain to pick a freshman to join her squad. So I promised Jenny we would still be best friends, but being on the cheerleading squad means we would be more popular and get invited to all the seniors’ parties.
Even though I said we would stay friends it didn’t happen. I wanted to go out every night with all my older friends and Jenny just wanted to be a normal fifteen-year-old girl, having sleepovers, watching films and eating candy. Instead I wanted to go out, get drunk and experiment with boys. After joining the cheerleading squad I turned totally fake, the person I was pretending to be was totally opposite to the person who I was. I turned into the stereotypical cheerleader. I bet I was hated by a lot of people, and if you are reading this sorry if I was mean too you.
I loved being on the cheerleading squad but it did mess my education up. I was practising after school then going home and getting ready to go to my ‘friends’ house and party or go to basketball matches then party afterwards. I had no time for homework. You would think any normal parents would notice that their child was failing in just about every lesson but my parents weren’t normal. My mom was always at work and my dad worked away from home he was only back for a week every month and when he did come back he used to go out most night with my mom and their friends to catch up. My aunt was like my real guardian but I didn’t see her much. She is just like my agent, sorts out my jobs etc. She doesn’t live close so we were only in touch by phoning and emailing each other, but she would come to all the castings and auditions she signed me up too.
It was the 22nd of May and my sixteenth birthday was just a week away. My huge group of friends and I had planned to have a house party as my parents were away as usual and having a seven bed roomed house was a bit extreme for a sleepover with three friends. The full senior year was coming. I invited my friends from tenth grade, which actually wasn’t many since a left them all for my older friends. I did ring Jenny but she was sleeping over at one of her new friend’s house so I decided I would ring her on the day, as she didn’t live that far away anyway. I was sure she would come.
The day before my birthday I went shopping and bought a tiny black vintage dress. I knew I would get noticed. I also told my older friends to get as much alcohol as they can. I needed it to be the best house party ever. All my friends began to arrive at around six, half the people I didn’t even know but I still allowed them in anyway. The more people the more noticeable I will be. Everyone in Manhattan will know Brooke Sawyer! And many of the boys can say they have kissed Brooke Sawyer. I acted so promiscuous, looking back I was disgusting.
Well it got to nine o clock so I decided to ring Jenny but her mom answered the phone. I was so drunk I could barley talk so she wouldn’t let me speak to her. From then on Jenny hadn’t been able to hang out with me. I was supposedly a bad influence, which I found really hard to believe at the time but now I know why her parents felt that way. No way would I want my child being best friends with someone like me.
Later on that night I was stumbling around my house when a boy from the soccer team pulled me aside and gave me a small packet of white powder then shouted ‘happy birthday’. Soon after I discovered that this was cocaine. Being under the influence of so much alcohol I couldn’t control my actions. With no hesitation I stumbled straight to the bathroom, locked the door and snorted it straight off the toilet seat. I barely remember the rest of the night. Waking up the next morning in my bathroom collapsed around my toilet, I looked to the floor and I knew I had taken the full bag of coke. It was empty. I was dreading going back to school to hear all the stupid things I was doing. I was also dreading seeing the boy from the soccer team again. I was so embarrassed!
Monday came quicker than ever before. I was hoping my aunt would ring and say I had a casting but she didn’t. When I got to school it wasn’t that bad, I was still slightly hungover but no one came up to me saying, ‘Heyyyy! Remember when you were sick on me on Saturday’ I would have felt so ashamed of myself. I was walking to my car when I felt some one grab my arm, I thought it was just one of my friends, or hopefully Jenny, but it wasn’t. It was Nate from the soccer team asking if I wanted any more coke. I thought he was joking at first but he wasn’t. I just slammed the car door and drove away, but all the way home I was thinking of how great I felt straight after taking the drugs and that one more packet wont get me addicted it would just make me feel good.
Before I new it the weekend came and I was invited to a huge party at Le Deux, lots of young celebrities would be there, so I decided too get my self all dressed up so I actually looked old enough and party the night away. I decided to get in touch with Nate thinking one small bag of cocaine wouldn’t do any harm. One bag every party changed to one bag every weekend then lead to one bag every other day. My worst fear came quicker than ever. I become addicted!
My school friends didn’t like being my friend anymore. Even though they took drugs and drank alcohol they didn’t do it as frequently as me. I had taken it too far. So my new friends were all over the age of twenty one, they thought I was too, and all partied just about every night. They were just as bad as me, some even worse, but too us we acted normal it was all the other boring people who were abnormal in our eyes.
Eight months of frequent hangovers and aching feet had past and my parents started noticing my bank account dropping. I always said I didn’t want to spend it until I was eighteen but since they weren’t around I had no one to stop me.
My parents ended up ringing Jenny to ask what had been going on and they found out everything. I hated Jenny for this but I know that she only did it because she was worried. I am actually thankful now because if she hadn’t of told them I would probably be lying in bed with a huge hangover right now. With a fight, my parents finally got me into a rehab centre that I had to stay in over night for three month. It cost a bomb but it was worth it in the end. I hated it to begin with they were constantly calling me addicted but in my mind I was no where near that stage, after a month of being in the centre I knew that I had a problem and it had to be sorted out. It took nearly four months for me to feel like I never ever want to be involved with drugs again. The people at the rehab centre wouldn’t allow anyone to leave unless they were fully convinced they were going to stay clean. After three months my parents came in for a meeting about when I was going to come out and we all decided that moving away from New York would be the best thing for me. My parents were thinking California but I knew I wanted to move further so I decided I wanted to move to England.
I had friends over in London so I got in touch and moved over as quickly as I could. My parents were worried I would go back to my old ways but I didn’t and all my friends new my past so they helped to make sure I stayed clean. My 17th birthday was coming along and I decided to go out for a meal with my new English friends. I didn’t want it to be as bad as my last birthday. This night was when I met my lovely boyfriend James, he has been so great over this year making sure I am always happy and never feel as though I need drink or drugs to make me feel better.
James and I have just come back from visiting my parents last month for my eighteenth birthday and have decided to buy our first home together just outside of London so it is much quieter. It is just a little flat but I we have made it all cosy and we love it. There is also a field just outside so we can take our cute new puppy out there when he gets a bit older.
I hit rock bottom but now I am back! I am all settled so I decided that it is a brilliant time to bring out my new album. I have been singing since I was nine and I love playing the piano so my record producer and I have been working very hard this year to produce some fab songs that I know all you readers are going to love. So guys get your self out to the shops and buy it! It has a range of different music to suit many different peoples music taste. I have a bit of rock, which shows my inner rock chick attitude. Then a bit of country music for the country lovers, and also a bit of R&B because I love that type of music, Its great to dance too and always gets a party started. I even have some rap on my album because Pharrell wrote me a song and also features in it. So all those Pharrell lovers can buy my album too! I have had so much fun making this album and next month my first music video is coming out which I am so excited about. It is a totally different atmosphere making a music video too acting in a film. It is much more relaxed. I also get to pick who I want to be in my video which is good, I think I am going to let my puppy be in it he will look so cute, But at the moment he is quite naughty he just bites any one that comes near him. So after a few puppy classes he should be trained to like people.
I had an amazing team to help produce the video and my backup dancers were great. I love to watch professional dancers they look great and their dance is always in time with each other and the music. It took me a while to become as good at our dance as the group of dancers were. We practiced so hard now I can do the dance in my sleep.
Well I’m loving everything that is going on in my life at the minute, everything is coming together like a jigsaw. It would take a lot to change me from how happy I am at the minute. You could make me even happier though by going to buy my new album when it comes out.

Album cover

I decided to put a bit extra production work into my coursework by designing a album cover. On mojo magazines contents page they have album reviews so i decided i could make one to put on my contents page. Here is what i produced.

i think it will be good to use in my magazine as it looks like an r&b/pop style cd which is what type of music my magazine is targeting.

Photographs

For my main article i decided to ask a friend to model for me as i took lots of photos of her so my photography could be original. I will use these photos on my front page, contents and my main article. I also took photos of other people so i had more photos to put on my contents page. I decided only to have one image on my front cover as research of other front covers show that it is popular to have only one picture on the cover of a music magazine. I will have more pictures on my contents page to show what else is going to be in my magazine. Here are some examples of my photographs.

Fonts

We decided to put a range of fonts onto a peice of paper and hand them out too 30 people to see what fonts would be eyecatching and attractive to our target audience.

The fonts that were most popular were:

• Frankling Gothic Heavy.


• Gills Sans


• Eras bold itc or Eras Demi ITC


• Century gothic


• Script MT Bold

Front Cover Poses

Looking at different magazine covers i have noticed that Marjorie Ferguson was correct in identifying four types of facial expressions that occur in most magazines.




Super-smiler

This is of a full face with a wide open smile with teeth visable. The Head is foward and the chin is back. Hair is oftern wind blown and suggests 'Look at me' approach.

Invintational

On this pose the emphasis is on the eyes. The mouth is shut with only a hint of a smile, head to one side slightly. The mood is suggestive of mischief or mystery, the hint of contact potential rather than sexual promise.

Romantic or Sexual

Dreamy, heavy-lidded and unsmiling. Overtly sensual or sexual. The projected moods are possibly 'available' and definitely 'available'.

Chocolate Box

Half or full smile, lips together or slightly parted and teeth barely visible. Full or three-quarter face to camera. Projected mood is blandly pleasing, warm bath warmth, where uniformity of features in their smooth perfection is devoid of uniqueness or of individuality.