2. In what way does your media product
use, develop or challenge forms and
conventions of real media products?
3. My final front cover uses the form
of a real media product as I have
included all the necessary
conventions needed to portray a
verisimilitude effect.
Masthead – The masthead is the
main convention of a magazine as
well as the main image. Both
conventions compliment each other
in terms of brand recognition as it
stands out most which will be what
most audiences will remember and
expect of further products.
Main Image – The main image has
been added and positioned in a
specific way to make the page
more professional. This shot was
planned to suit the type of genre
which is Reggae. I believe the
outcome was successful due to the
props used, such as the hat and
hair which was borrowed from the
drama department, which have
influenced my target audience into
thinking that it is Bob Marley, a
sensational reggae artist. In the
image, I am wearing the colours of
Jamaica which also emphasises the
genre. The image was edited on
Photoshop before adding it to the
front cover, the editing stages were
the refining of the edges after
removing the background and
finally the Posterization effect.
Buzz Word – I added a buzz word
in my magazine as most magazines
have buzz words to encourage
customers to buy their products.
On my buzz word, I added Special
Edition to imply to buyers that this
magazine is unique compared to
others which gives them a better
reason for purchase. Furthermore, I
added a copy of the QR Code at the
bottom which will direct readers to
our website via their smartphones.
Cover Line – “Bob Marley’s CD
Medley”, I figured by adding this,
people would want to buy my
product to own a copy of his
medley as it has never been heard
before and also Bob Marley is no
longer alive. This would help sell
the product faster. In addition, I
added a secondary coverline,
“King Tubby Back In Business” to
inform readers of his comeback
which will also boost the sales of
products for them to read further.
Lastly, I added names of reggae
artists to foreshadow events further
in the magazine.
Finally, I added a barcode in the
bottom left corner to make it feel
like a real product for sale as all
products have barcodes to be
scanned before it is sold. I created
this barcode on www.dafont.com
4. My final contents page uses the
form of a real media product as I
have included all the necessary
conventions needed to portray a
verisimilitude effect.
Masthead – The masthead is the
main convention of this page to
inform the reader of what
Page they are on. It is partially
covered to act in accord with the
prevailing masthead on the front
cover to portray a professional look
through the overlaying because it is
still readable.
Main Image – The artist in the
previous page has been presented
again in the contents page to show
that he is the main story of this
issue. This shows consistency as
well as the colour scheme which
represents the colours of
Jamaica/Reggae. I edited the image
on Photoshop before adding it to
the contents, the editing stages
were the refining of the edges after
removing the background and
finally the Posterization effect.
Advertisement – I added an
advertisement at the bottom of the
page as most contents pages that I
looked at consist of at least one
advertisement somewhere on the
page. In my contents page, I added
the advert at the bottom of the page
starting from left to right. The star-
dashed line along the top of the
advert highlights that the voucher
can be cut out and kept.
Featured Articles – I listed the
featuring articles along the right
hand side of the page parallel to
the main image which the caption
is the page number of that article.
Most of the article headings listed
have a small caption to summarise
the pages events. The font sizes
and colour of the headings differ
through the importance of each
article, with smallest being least
important and colours other than
white and yellow being the most.
5. Main Image – As the main image
of this double page spread I used
the same artist seen on the cover
page and contents page. This
emphasises that he is the main
article which promotes consistency
throughout my magazine. In
addition, the image is of the artist
kissing his, island painted, acoustic
guitar, this links well with the
masthead, “Legendary Retirement”
as it shows that he is giving up his
guitar after success. Behind the
main image is the
Jamaican/Reggae coloured smoke
which was also used in the
contents page, this layer creates a
calm affect for the page and makes
a big difference to the image.
Masthead – The masthead of this
page is, Legendary Retirement, which
summarises the article for the
double page spread which is
mainly a story with some question
and answer included.
Quotation – I added a quotation in
the page which is placed
diagonally upwards beneath the
masthead. The quote has been
written in Jamaican to emphasise
the artists background and musical
orientation within the product.
Text – when creating the text, I
wrote a story which explains why
he chooses to retire and it includes
quotations from the artist which
are highlighted in yellow to
differentiate the two text. To add
more text to the page, I wrote a
couple of Question and Answer to
the last column.
Finally, I added page numbers to
the bottom corners of the page to
link it with the contents page also
because it is a critical convention of
a magazine.
This is the composition I referred to
when creating my double page spread.
6. How does your media product
represent particular social groups?
7. My media product has been specifically designed to meet the requirements of the designated target
audience which is all people who enjoy listening to reggae. This mainly involves Rastafarians and
stereotypically, Jamaicans, considerably between the age of 16-45, as the target audience within this age
range are visibly passionate of this genre and will be most interested in my magazine. Furthermore, the
costume design that the cover artist is wearing emphasises the genre and stereotype as it immediately
represents and relates Jamaicans with reggae, therefore highlighting a particular social group. Youths are
most likely to purchase the products and hand it on to the older generation which will encourage them to
purchase the next issue(s).
Some features of the article represent different social groups such as the Fashion page, this will attract
mostly women and those who love clothing styles, etc. In further issues, I aim to approach the younger
generation moreover other age ranges by including aspects of relatable genres. This way, my magazine
will become more popular rather than just known to various reggae audiences. In the article, main
activities are written in informal English and to link to the music genre, I included quotes in the
supposed “reggae language” this represents the social group who speak like this.
The magazine mainly attracts a male crowd due to the dark colour scheme and facial expressions of the
cover artists. If this were to be aimed at women, then the colour scheme would be lighter and there
would be a female as the main article. I chose male to be the main crowd because males evidently made
the most history in reggae and seem to be more passionate about reggae than women. But this is not
necessarily true, I say this because you don't see much women who encourage and enhance reggae the
way men do which proves that my magazine will be best selling towards males. However, this does not
mean females do not listen to reggae or cannot purchase my magazine, this just determines my magazine
target audience.
8. What kind of media institution might
distribute your media product and why?
9. There are many types of distributors available, however I am more concerned about a more popular
company that distribute internationally for more sales and reputation. For example, Worldwide
Magazine Distribution LTD (WWMD) is a well known company, also known for marketing, that would
be able to distribute my product. WWMD is a joint business owned by major independent news
wholesalers that supply niche and specialist retailers, supplementing the activities of the news and
magazine wholesalers. Worldwide sales mean I am more likely to gain readers which will hopefully
increase sales for next issues.
Furthermore, I think a reggae distributing company would distribute my product as it would fit their
genre and they will benefit in financial terms. In addition, I found other ways of distributing my product,
this would be through organisation companies such as The Jamaica Reggae Industry Association who
organise big events monthly on reggae and some occasions a different genre. They would be able make
an announcement of my product and even sell my product to customers.
10. Who would be the audience for your
media product?
11. As I have previously mentioned, the target audience for my media product will be people who enjoy
listening to reggae music. However, it will also be aimed at people who have a passion for other music or
hobbies such as fashion, as you can see on my contents page I have included pages on fashion and one
called Bass Basher, this includes information about an all round solo artist. I added this because many
people who listen to reggae also like R&B music.
In this following video, I have questioned a young man about the target audience of my product. Here
are the questions I asked:
1. What type of music do you enjoy?
2. What about Reggae?
3. Why does this magazine appeal to you?
4. Would this magazine change your view on Reggae music?
5. Would you purchase the magazine, visit the website and subscribe?
This video is available to watch on my
blog. Evaluation Q4
13. This video is available to watch on my
blog. Evaluation Q5
14. What have you learnt about
technologies from the process of
constructing this product?
15. During the process of constructing my media product, I developed my skills on using Photoshop CS5.
before this project, I had known the basic skills of photo manipulation and text input, now I have
improved on my composition of layers and I have become less hesitant with editing. I now prefer using
Photoshop compared to other softwares because I have adapted to its features and work well with it, I
have also started learning how to use InDesign at home for better text input, but unfortunately, the
school no longer has the software.
On the other hand, I have had many years experience with softwares such as Microsoft Word and
PowerPoint and know all that I need to know. Instead, I interpreted my previous skills to create
documents which will all tie in as part of the planning process towards my final media product.
While constructing my product, I had to use various equipment to photograph/film my journey and the
images used in my project. This obviously required skills to be able to use a DSLR Camera, Nikon D5100.
In addition, as an A Level student, I also study Photography which worked in my favour when it came to
photographing. This means that I have learnt how to use the features of a DSLR camera which would
change the outcome of images in some aspects. Also, I was able to help my fellow classmates when
taking photos and teach them what I know about the camera and setting up the studio lights and tripods.
16. Looking back at your Preliminary
Task, what do you feel you have
learnt in the progression from it to the
full product?
17. When looking back at my Preliminary Task based on colleges, I have realised how much my skills have
developed over the past 7 months in comparison to my final pages. At the start of the year, I had no idea
of how to use Photoshop as I had never had experience in using the software, however, as I mentioned in
the previous answer, my skills of using Photoshop has greatly improved to an extent. I feel now that I
have more knowledge of how to relate my work to a specific target audience rather than creating a page
that doesn’t meet particular standards and requirements.
As you can see for yourself, there has been a
massive change in the design process of just
the front cover of the two tasks. There are
obvious remarks within the editing stage of
the Preliminary Task whereas, in the final
page there is more use of available features.
I have included a video of my media teacher
comparing and describing the change in
development skills of the two pages.
This video is available to watch
on my blog. Evaluation Q7
