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

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

 

Front Cover           (Before)                     (After)

Contents Page        (Before)                   (After)


From the beginning of the preliminary task to creating my final product i have learnt a significant amount. When doing the Preliminary Task i had no knowledge of how to use Photoshop as you are probably able to see from my before examples, however i have been able to develop skills on this software to be able to create my final media products.

Within the Preliminary task i had basic knowledge and skills to apply to the college magazine as you can probably see. These consisted of fonts, colours, shapes etc.

In the process of making my magazine i was able to learn more advanced skills which i could apply to make my media product of a high standard. Theses skills were a range of manipulating images, using Photoshop rulers, layers and colour picking. These particular devices helped me to improve my magazine and allowed it to have the desired effect. The Photoshop ruler aided me in laying out each of my pages, helping me to arrange and balance out text and images and plan out my magazine in a specific way. Layering helped me to control and experiment with each individual feature before it became a completed product. This also helped me to set my page in terms of layering as i wished. I was able to select colours of my choice which added character and reinforced the genre of my magazine. The wide range of colours abled me to mix and adjust these to gain a particular effect, this will add to the magazine and the way in which i did this gave it a darker, grungy appearance. The final skill was manipulating images. Here i used the editing rubber and eraser tool, cropping and added different kinds of effects to help my images to have a particular representation.

All of these skills added to the audience appeal of my magazine. Fonts and the way of addressing were used to help them to relate and understand the tone of the magazine in a way in which they are used to. This way of addressing my audience was very particular and precise, however in the preliminary task i was quite vague and formal as your target audience has a wider base. A form of my journalism can be seen in my editors note, where my mode of address is used to entice the audience. Proof reading all text was very important for such things as typos as this would have given the magazine an unprofessional look. This would require me to have attention for detail in written text and other areas of the magazine to ensure it was of top standard. My feature page was an interview and was created for my target audience as this is a more personal choice of article, this will fit in well with my magazine as the audience who are passionate about their music and ideologies will be able to identify to their idols through the feature of an interview.

It was imperative for me to research magazines within the media before creating my actual magazine to get a clear idea of what was already in the media, what i wanted to achieve with my product and also what gap i was going to be able to fill. I feel by being able to analyse magazines such as NME and Kerrang, i was able to create a magazine of high standard and which could be slightly replicated by real life magazines within the media.

Gaining feedback from my research in the preliminary task helped me to make improvements to my magazine, results from my questionnaire were also very helpful and proved to fit in well with the magazine i was making. Also being told by peers and my tutor improvements i could make throughout the process of making my magazine was of much help. Things of improvement were covering white space, spelling errors and spacing text and images over the pages in an effective way.

 

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

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

 

Throughout the time i have been creating my products for my as media coursework i have used some different technologies which i would not have otherwise used before. The two different technologies i became familiar with were Photoshop and Blogger.

 

Photoshop:

 

As i had no experience of Photoshop before creating my media products, i feel i have learnt a lot from this technology. I learnt how to manipulate and edit images but also appreciate angles, shots and locations of them. I was also able to crop, use the magic eraser, insert colours and shapes and many other things. Each tool provided on this programme allowed me to complete my products to a high standard. This technology was available throughout the college and is a highly recommended photo editing programme, it contains all tools possible to do pretty much anything you want and also allows you to save your work in various formats. However, as i had never used Photoshop before when i began to make my products my progress was quite slow. For the first few weeks of making my products i also did not have access to Photoshop at home so my time to work on my products was limited to the time i spent at college. As a beginner the tools on this programme can seem to be quite complex and takes a while to be able to navigate yourself around the programme in an effective way.

 

Blogger:

 

Blogger was also a very new technology to me as i had never used this website or any other kind of blog before. I was able to learn many things from this such as the layout of the blog, labelling and publishing posts. Overall Blogger is quite simple and easy to use and beginners should be able to grasp it easily as i did. It is free for all people to use and you are able to present your work in an individual way. You can also access you blog from home and so can add to it when you like. However relying on a free online application like this did concern me as sometimes my work would not save or would disappear completely. This technology is quite restricted as to how you actually lay your work out on the page and only allows you to use standard fonts.

 

How did you attract/address your audience?

How did you attract/address your audience?

 

While i was creating my magazine i understood that is was paramount to address my audience in such a way that they could relate to and would also entertain and entice them. In order to do this successfully i needed to take into account their interests and demographics. Seeing that the majority of my audience are young working class males, i was able to address them in a informal and relaxed tone with some slang. The style of the magazine is grungy yet simplistic, containing a small mix of colours so they know exactly what the magazine is about and cannot get distracted by any unnecessary colours or features which would take away from the meaning and style of the magazine.

 

The audience who would be linked to the magazine would be individuals who are rebelling in society, have a passion for music and want to stand out from the norms.

 

Within the cover of my magazine the main image angle is taken from head on and the models have serious expressions. This shows that the music is direct and the band is serious, again reinforcing the passion for music. The clothing used is also relevant to the genre of music, with leather jackets, beany hats and darker colours being used. The masthead is bold and located at the top centre of the page with an eroded font to show the age of rock, showing it has withstood time and other music genres through history and is still a popular music choice. A cover line presents the band on the cover which can be seen to be done in many other magazines and gives the audience an insight as to what can be seen within the magazine. The blue arrow and circle are added to the front title behind the cover lines to attract attention to them.

 

In the contents of my magazine i kept the font used as the masthead consistent and also used it for the text used here. This repetition will get the font stuck into the readers head. An editors note and image was added to create a personal feel. This will attract the audience into reading more of the magazine. News, reviews and features are added to the contents page to show the audience what is included within the magazine each issue. By asking the audience to subscribe in the contents page this reflects that we want them to commit to us and build a relationship with us. Also adding words such as 'PLUS!' helps to encourage the audience to continue on through the magazine. Placing the front cover image at the top of the contents page is often used in many other music magazines.

 

The double page spread includes a title which encourages the readers attention therefor making them want to read the full feature. The main body of text is based in front of a piece of paper ripped out of a book, which gives the interview a more personal touch and adds a suggestion that some of the things being revealed are private. This will engage the audience significantly. Taking pull quotes from the feature article is also another technique used to entice the audience into the main text. The competition addresses the audience by inviting them into a competition to win an expensive guitar, this will attract an audience and will help them to communicate with the magazine to benefit their own needs. The background of the contents page is based on a distorted image of corrugated iron, this will attract the audience to the bands individuality. The stars based at either side of the page are often used in rock magazine and could address the audience in such a way to suggest that the magazine is of top quality.

 

Throughout the magazine i have tried to address my audience based on their interest's, demographics and psychographics. The magazine has many niche's such as having a mix of both rock and indie genre, being potentially based towards a female audience and also having a quirky sizing which will obviously stand out and attract an audience when placed with other magazines within the market.



Who would be the audience for your media product?

Who would be the audience for your media product?

 

I chose for the name of my magazine to be Renegade, as this word is a good representation of the genre of music my magazine is based on rock/indie. Renegade is about betraying principals and going against what is expected of you, rebellion. A stereotypical perception of the type of person who would be interested and would read my magazine can be seen below:

 

As you can see he has a number of tattoo's, has stretchers in his ears, is smoking and is wearing casual clothing. Quite a rebellious and dangerous image.

 

When thinking about demographics the target audience will be predominantly be working class male's, between the ages of 16-25. In terms of psychographics their main interests would include partying, smoking, drinking and socialising. Music would most probably take up a large part of their lives so would have much passion for this topic.

 

I would ensure that my target audience would have interest in my magazine by advertising things to do with their own ideologies, such as clothing, albums and the latest events and gigs. They are addressed in a relaxed and informal tone, so makes the magazine approachable. As the magazine is a mix of both rock and indie music genres, i would hope this would give the audience a greater interest in my magazine as there is no other magazine on the market which does a mix of both of these genres and therefor will stand out.

 

Advertisers which could be used within my magazine would be festivals such as reading and Leeds or Glastonbury, amazon or eBay, fast-food chains, vans and alcohol related drinks. This is the sort of advertising my target audience would attract based on their lifestyle choices and psychographics. 



What media distribution might publish your media product and why?

What media distribution might publish your media product and why?

 



 

There are many pro's and con's of a media institution distributing your media products. They are often able to help you with the cost and financing of your product until it becomes successful. These institutions are also able to make deals with many other large companies such as bookstores like WHSmith who will be able to advertise and sell the magazine. This will increase awareness and profit of your media products. As your product is brand new to the media institution you will need time to establish and make a name for yourself. Allowing a media institution to distribute your magazine will allow you time to do this and can be seen as a major advantage. However setbacks from taking this route to publish your magazine are that these media institutions have significant power and control over your media products. This may therefor allow them to have an influence on how your product appears and is represented within the media and as a consequence may not be the initial product in which you desired to be published and distributed to the public. Another disadvantage to include is that they also have control over time. They decide when and how long for they are going to allow your media product time to take off and establish itself with their institution. If they do not feel your magazine is a success within a limited amount of time in which they have agreed, they can pull the plug so to speak. The second option is to be placed with a major, medium or small independent publisher. Advantages of this route are that you as the creator of your media products are able to have almost complete control over every aspect of the distribution of your magazine. A downfall is that you are not supported in the same way with funding and finance with an independent publisher and therefor it may be rather difficult to breakthrough into the industry. This idea could however be challenged by the independent publisher Clash which in some ways is more successful than NME which is published by IPC.

 

When looking at the media institution which could potentially distribute my media product, the company i would chose would be between either Bauer or IPC. These two companies are large publishing houses and i feel the advantages of this route to publish my magazine would outweigh the advantages of the independent publishing way. My magazine genre is based on a mix of rock and indie music. Bauer media publishes the magazine Kerrang which is a well-known rock magazine and also publishes many other rock based magazines. IPC on the other hand publishes the magazine NME which is more indie based music however does not publish any other kind of music magazine. Taking these factors into account i would more likely be inclined to have my media product published and distributed by IPC MEDIA as i feel these is more of a gap in the market for my type of media product, and with NME as an exception would have very little competition with other brands represented by this publishing house. This will also allow my magazine to have the possibility to enter into other companies such as ASDA, WHSmith and other major retail companies.

Within my magazine i have also offered the opportunity to distribute my magazine through monthly subscriptions. This will encourage a consistent relationship and is also another way to publish my magazine. Another possibility is to use digital distribution such as online through websites. Opportunities could arise such as tying in with iTunes or spotify and this would really boost the publishing and awareness of this new magazine. The more opportunities my magazine is given the more likely it will become a success within the industry. This will be a struggle as many new magazines do not manage to make it within the first 3 years of being published, therefor it is imperative to consider every option possible.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

 



The Media Industry are able to take the world and manipulate it in a way to re-present it to us which often is a significant way in which we judge and stereotype and has an effect on our everyday lives. As i have already mentioned before the genre of my music magazine is rock/indie therefor i have formed a particular representation of the fans of this type of music. I feel i have created the typical stereotype fan for this genre, with a more relaxed messy and layed back look. The fans of my magazines would generally wear indie or rebellious clothing which would go against the social norms and would perhaps also fit into the typical rock'n'roll lifestyle such as drink, drugs and partying. Fans would more likely come from a working class background and would predominantly be male, however as i have tried to make the magazine more gender neutral through colours and other features some female fans may be included, so this may challenge the representation of this social group.

 

Rock/indie music is often focused mainly on the talents of artists playing instruments and the passion they have for creating music unlike other music genres such as pop who often has a focus on vocals and image, this is a quality that the social group of my magazine would possess, with an avid interest in music and instruments. I have represented my particular social group through many features such as photos where i have incorporated their stereotypical fashion sense, holding drumsticks to suggest their ability to play instruments and a rebellious streak is shown by a cigarette placed behind one of the band members ears. The choice of language and writing i have used is informal, uses slang and is quite a personal tone. This helps to represent the social group as these techniques will help them to engage with the magazine. Colours i have chosen such as red, black and white connotate the darkness, passion and simplicity of rock/indie music and these social groups will be able to relate to this. I have reinforced the stereotypes of these social groups by offering competitions such as winning a guitar, gig guides and album reviews. Things that i avoided including in my magazine were things such as gossip, make up and perfumes as these do not conform to the rock/indie genre. One way in which i have challenged stereotypes is by trying to invite some female attention to the magazine.

 

Here is an image of the people i used on the front cover of my magazine (left) which represents the audiences social group and a band in a real media text (right):

These images have some similarities but also have differences. First of all the postures of the band members are very relaxed, the male members both have their hands in their pockets to show this, it can also be shown through the choice of clothing, beany hats, jackets and t-shirts. The gesture of the two females in my image also helps to unite the group. The angle and the shot type is a mid shot facing head on. The mid shot aids to show the body language of the band and the head on shot shows that the personalities of the people within it the band are going to be quite direct and confident. The image from the real media text is located outside to have good quality lighting, i aimed to achieve this also but by using a light background and lights within a studio to gain a more professional look. The expression on every persons face is quite a serious one and this is a typical representation.

 

 

 

 



In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventionsof real media products?

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

 

Conventions exist within magazine's to keep consistency throughout and act as a traditional layout which is used within the industry. The conventions used within a magazine will entirely depend on the magazine genre and target audiences.

 

My magazine genre is a mix of rock and indie music. I chose these genre as they interest me and I feel the fan base for this is quite a significant one. The magazines in which I drew influences from were mainly KERRANG! and NME as these focus mainly on the genre of music my magazine is based on. Both of these magazines use certain set's of conventions within their magazines such as layout of the magazines being consistent in each issue as well as the colour schemes. These particular conventions appealed to me therefor I tried to include them within my magazine as best I could as they fit in well with my music genre. The predominant colours used within these magazines are red, white and black with small amounts of other colour incorporated and I tried to replicate this. I tried to ensure the colours I used within my magazine were gender neutral to have a wider potential audience, even though the most dominant audience is likely to be male.

The first convention to explore on the Front Cover is the masthead. I chose to centre my masthead in the top centre of my front cover, this is typically used in such magazine's as Kerrang, therefore I chose to follow this convention as I feel it gives the audience a strong impact on the magazines name and image.

Within my mis-en-scene on the front cover I have created a manipulated image of a brick wall to use as my background. By doing this I have made a black and white image which has quite a grungy look. I did this to help the image integrate the house style of the magazine and to enforce the genre of the magazine. Bricks will often suggest a street like cool look. I feel by doing this, it helps to create an atmosphere within the magazine.

As you can see within the mis-en-scene of this Kerrang magazine, they have used a background image of iron poles to portray the genre of the magazine such as i did within mine. Within my magazine I tried to use minimal amount of images however the ones i did use were of good quality. I chose to do this as i did not want the pages within my magazine to look too busy and this may seem untypical of a rock/indie magazine. Often other magazine's will chose a more busy look on their magazine to represent the crazy nature of rock music such as in Kerrang. However i chose a more simplistic look to help the audience to focus on what is important and perhaps to highlight a more serious and dedicated magazine. This may challenge the typical conventions of a rock/indie magazine.

I have used many cover line's on my cover to entice my audience into the magazine. I have included pull quotes, incentives and buzz words. These will hopefully initially draw people to my magazine to want to find out more. This is a typical convention i have used which can be seen throughout magazines within the media.

Some typical conventions are also very important to include within a contents page. You are able to see within my contents page I have included an editors note this helps to develop the convention of my journalist style of the written content of my magazine. I tried to make the content of my editors note relaxed and personal to try and help relate to the audience and to help them to identify. As the genre of my magazine is rock/indie I used a more informal tone.

I have separated my contents up with features in the top right of the page and regulars used throughout. This again will help the audience to navigate through the magazine and is a typical convention which is used in many other magazines. In the Kerrang  magazine to the left, they have used this convention of separating the features and regulars.


To connotate the excitement of my contents page I have added many shapes, images and text to keep the audiences eyes busy on the page. Influences for my contents page came from magazines such as Kerrang and NME, as they are successful in using techniques to make their contents pages look busy and exciting.

An important convention i tried to include in my double page spread was the rule of thirds. This is to try and assist the audience into looking at the page in a specific way so they can appreciate it as a complete piece. As you can see the use of rule of thirds is used well within this real magazine double page spread:

 

The first thing to be noticed is the faces and the people in the band, then your eyes are then drawn to the large quote on the right hand side of the page. Finally you will start to read the information provided at the bottom of the page. This kind of format is what i was trying to achieve within the double page spread that i had created.

In the first third of my feature page of my magazine the audience is drawn to the title, cover line and pull quote of the article. By the second third they are then drawn into the main image/signifier and into the main body of the text. Lastly they will see the competition based at the bottom half of the page. This helps to develop this convention in the real media product.

Another convention i have used within my feature page is the column structure of the main body of my text. I have added white blocks behind the text the reinforce the column structure. it gives the magazine a professional look and indicates where the main article is quite obviously. Column structure is used in every magazine or newspaper article as this is the standard way of laying out written information in a clear way.

An additional convention i had to consider when creating my double page spread was the correct use of white space. If there is too much white space this could lead to the page looking bare and boring leading the audience to have little interest. However if there is not enough white space this will make to page look to busy and messy and the audience will not have the desire to read the article. Therefor i had to create an equal balance of white space. Instead of having a solid coloured background i chose to manipulate an image of corrugated iron to add more texture to the feature.

However my magazine also challenges some conventions of real media products. The niche of my magazine is to attract the widest audience possible. I tried to achieve this by making it a gender neutral and perhaps being a more simplistic version of a typical rock/indie magazine.

I feel the whole House style of my magazine is consistent throughout all 3 media products i have created and represent well how real music magazine also use this convention. This has been achieved by the same colour scheme of 3-4 colours, a simplistic look yet reinforcing the genre through all the different conventions. A final way in which I feel my magazine challenges typical conventions of a music magazine is the shape of my final products. Instead of using the regular A4 size, I decided to make it more of a smaller square shape. This I feel will help the magazine to stand out more from all other magazines as it is unique.

 

 

 



Draft Ideas