2. Use Of Forms and Conventions in
Real Media Products
I used many forms and conventions found in real media products
when creating my Music Magazine as by doing so it will make it
professional and realistic. Some of these forms and conventions
were layout based and others were format based. The front
cover was where most of the common forms and conventions
were found. My masthead was influenced by the way that
MixMag’s was set out. I chose to follow that and have a large
masthead (that often went over the splash image) and was
aligned to the left of the page. I also added a black outline to the
text so that it would be even more prominent on the page. This
makes it the key text on the page, which is important so that it
will stand out from the competition.
3. Use Of Forms and Conventions in
Real Media Products
Another convention that I took from MixMag when planning and
creating my cover page was the limited colour scheme. MixMag
covers are usually very bright but I have chosen a more simplistic
colour scheme. However I has stayed to the same idea of 3 main
colours that they use in their magazines. In the MixMag example
they have used white, pink and black as their 3 main colours. In
mine I have used grey white and black. I chose this as I wanted a
professional magazine for Dance enthusiasts that would focus on
more serious areas of the genre. To do this I also made my
splash image black and white.
4. Use Of Forms and Conventions in
Real Media Products
On my double page spread I used the three column playout that
most music magazines use when they have an article. I saw the
use of three column articles when I was analysing existing
magazines such as MixMag and Q. I chose to use this format as
it is widely used in the media and it is an expected convention in
most magazines. It also means that your articles are detailed as
they can be quite long.
5. Types of Media Institutions That
Might Distribute My Magazine
I think that Bauer Media would be the best institution to
distribute my magazine as they don’t currently have a music
magazine that is based on the Dance/EDM genre. However they
do have experience in the music magazine industry with their Q
magazine. This way I could compete against Development Hell’s
MixMag, which is the worlds biggest clubbing magazine. I also
think that my magazine has a slightly different style to MixMag
to it may attract different readers who want a more industry
based magazine instead of a ‘party’ based magazine.
6. Types of Media Institutions That
Might Distribute My Magazine
I also think that TimeInc would also be a good institution to
publish my magazine as they publish NME, one of the biggest
music magazines. This would be good for the magazine as
TimeInc can use their experience to develop and distribute it but
my magazine would benefit them as it is a new genre of music
for them. They also have a good online presence that would
appeal to my target audience as they are young but also they
have their free NME magazines that could be used to advertise
my magazine.
7. Types of Media Institutions That
Might Distribute My Magazine
Although Development Hell already have MixMag they would be
a great institution to publish my magazine as they not only have
lots of experience in this genre but they can appeal to my
audience. Development Hell have a very strong online presence,
especially with their MixMag site. This is a key part of appealing
to my audience as they are young and spend a lot of their time
online. It can also be used to promote the magazine to the target
audience as many would not hear about it otherwise. This is one
thing that Development Hell do better than Bauer or TimeInc.
8. Audience Of My Magazine
In my reader profile and research work I use my surveys and
knowledge of the genre to determine my target audience. I
decided that I wanted my target audience to be aged below 25
and I think that my final product will appeal to that age range.
However I believe that my magazine will appeal to the people
that are more ‘music fanatics’ rather than just fans. I think that
MixMag control that ‘Party’ area of the music magazine market
so I chose to make mine a bit more industry focused. I think that
my audience would also contain aspiring artists and people that
were interested in the production of the music and the
technology involved.
9. Audience Of My Magazine
Final Reader Profile
James is a reader of “The Drop”. He is 21 and lives in Manchester
where he can frequently have nights out in clubs with his friends.
As well as partying with his friends he visits Leeds and
Glastonbury Festivals every year and goes aboard to Tomorrow
Land and Spinnin Sessions Miami as much as possible. When he
is not at clubs or festivals he is a student studying music
production and sound engineering. When he is at home he
spend his free time producing dance music and uploading it
online in the hope of one day becoming a successful artist.
10. Ways I Attract and Address my
audience
To attract my audience I have place big names and news on the
front cover. I chose the biggest names in the industry that would
appeal to my target audience and appeal to the most readers.
Often readers have their favourite artists and if they see that my
magazine includes an article or interview about them they may
buy it. This will attract in some new readers they may become
dedicated, loyal fans.
11. Ways I Attract and Address my
audience
I also included two competitions for different types of readers.
One was for tickets for a festival and one was for equipment to
make music. This attracts two different areas of the readers to
my magazine as it opens up the areas of music that the audience
may be interested in. Because tickets may me in shot demand
my magazine could be one of the last sources for tickets so this
could boost sales and attract new readers. With the production
equipment it is very expensive so the chance to win it is a huge
incentive for amateur music producers.
12. Ways I Attract and Address my
audience
As well as that I used models of a similar age and style that
would appeal to them and made it a professional and clean style.
By using models of a similar age as the target audience it will
appeal more to the reader as they will see it as a magazine
aimed at their age group. If you put and older artist on the front
they may not be as interested in buying it as they think it will not
appeal to them and they will not be able to relate as well to the
articles.
13. What Have I Learnt About the
Technology
While producing my music magazine I have learnt a lot about the
technology involved especially photography. I developed my
skills when taking my pictures for my magazine and learnt how
to correctly frame an image and also have the correct lighting for
the shot. When taking my image I also learnt how to use a
manual focus on a DSLR so that my pictures were in focus and
high quality.
14. What Have I Learnt About the
Technology
Before I started making my magazine I had already had quite a
lot of experience with using Photoshop so I could use that
effectively already. However I did develop some of my skills and
learnt how to use some more detailed tools and effects. One
simple tool that I used in the production of my magazine quite a
lot was the black and white filter. It is a very simple tool to use
but this was the first time I had tried it and I think I used it quite
effectively. I also used the dodge and burn tool to touch up some
of my images to make my models skin clearer (much like it would
be in a real music magazine).
15. What I Have Learnt Since my
Preliminary Task
Since my preliminary task I have learnt a lot about how to use
the technologies involved but also the way that a professional
magazines should be set out and formatted. After doing all of my
market research I saw the common conventions used in a
magazine and implemented that into my final product. There are
huge differences between my preliminary task and my final
music magazine product mainly in the layout and techniques
that I used.
16. What I Have Learnt Since my
Preliminary Task
One feature of my magazine that I improve hugely since my
preliminary task was the text that I used on my cover. I gathered
my own custom fonts that make my magazine stand out and look
individual. They were also much better suited to the style and
theme. The layout of the text was another are which I improve
on. On my preliminary task my text was randomly spread across
the page and on an angle. After doing my research and deciding
on the style of my magazine I have placed the majority of the
text in the left third of the cover as this is the widely used
convention in real media. My preliminary task had no colour
scheme so in my final I changed that and went with three colours
to make my cover professional and clean.
17. What I Have Learnt Since my
Preliminary Task
Another area that I have learnt about between my preliminary
task and my final magazine is photography and the style of
images that I need. The image used in my preliminary task was
very unprofessional, with bad lighting and no editing. In my final
product (after doing my market research and seeing what the
conventions were) I took most of my images in a studio setting.
This was because I could make them very professional with the
correct lighting. I could also very easily change the colour of the
background in post production. As well as altering the
background colour I applied filters and touched up the images.
This helped to make them more professional and to the industry
standard.
