2. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? My media product produces many conventions that are seen are many RnB magazines today, which is the genre which I have chosen. For example, on my magazine I have produced conventions such as a masthead, kicker, strap lines, sky line, barcode and price. By including the sky line ‘Win VIP tickets to see Rihanna live in LA!’ I have made the magazine more familiar to readers as it is realistic, as so is the standard price of 3.95 which is what a monthly issue of an RnB music magazine would cost. I decided to create my own twist on the kicker, as Instead of just writing ‘STAR’, I wanted to placed an actual star instead of the letter ‘ A’, I did this to portray the difference between ‘$WAGGA’ and other RnB Magazines, as they do not do this. I decided that the girl in my image should wear Something glamorous, to show that she is a famous singer, therefore I thought a Gold sparkly dress would be suitable, as it also represents the genre of my Magazine- bold and glamorous. I also thought she should pose, to give the overall Front cover of my magazine more depth and edge.The language that I used on my front cover also Appeals to my target audience, as it is simple and informal which they may relate to,Encouraging them to buy the magazine and look at the content of it. I have related my media product to ‘Vibe’ magazine, as I included the conventions that it also uses. For example, I have created my masthead as very bold and eye- catching towards my audience. I decided to call my masthead ‘$WAGGA’ as I felt that it was associated with the genre of my magazine, RnB, as so it ‘Vibe’ because it suggests rhythm and that the magazine is upbeat and up-to-date. I placed my strap lines on the right hand side of my front cover, as I saw that ‘Vibe’ magazine had also done this, and I thought that It would have been more clearer for the Audience to understand what else the magazine contained, rather than having my Strap lines on both sides. I have also only placed a main image on my front cover, Rather than one main image and several smaller ones. I also used a template From ‘Vibe’ magazine to do this, however I also decided to use one main image Because I felt that it was clear to the audience who the magazine was based on And also emphasized the importance of the artist by having a image of just her.
3. How does your media product represent particular social groups? The media product I have produced represents a social group of both male and female teenagers, age ranging from 13-19. I have chosen my Magazine to be aimed at this audience because it relates to the artists Which I have featured in my magazine such as Lil Wayne, Drake etc. Also, the red and black text on the white background makes the text Stand out, as the colours contrast well together. I decided to keep this colour scheme throughout My magazine. The Informal use of language in the interview, such as ‘so you’ve got got the lovebug then…’ also represents this social group because it is clearer for them to understand, and they can relate to it more, rather than just using words which they would not be able to understand and words which are not usually featured in an RnB magazine, such as ‘Vibe’ which may use words that teenagers cannot relate to and may not interest them.
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8. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product? Since my preliminary task, I feel as though I have gained Many skills such as improving the layout of my work and The way in which I have taken my images and the colour Schemes. I have also gained more knowledge of how to Use Photoshop, which I have used to create my full product to a high standard. My choice of colours has improved, as in my preliminary task, I used red, green, light blue, dark blue and yellow which do not Necessarily go well together. However, for my full product I have Used a limited amount of colours, red, black and white. I did this Because I had also taken into consideration the genre of my Magazine and also the audience for which it is aimed at and how to attract their attention. My skills for using Photoshop have also improved, as compared to my preliminary task my full product looks more 3D and realistic. For example, I have simply Bullet pointed my strap lines on both sides and have not made Them very clear, they look rather out of place; whereas on my Full product I have placed the strap lines clearly on the right hand side and I have used boxes and a simple layout to portray them, in order to make the magazine look more realistic. Also, the layout of my tasks have improved, such as the way that I have arranged the text around my images instead of just placing the image behind the text. I have also learnt how to attract an audience more and make the magazine suitable for them in my full product, such as the colours used and the language, rather than in my preliminary task where I did not consider this as much, hence why I have improved since.
