2. How does your media product represent particular
social groups?
I think the main social group that is represented are the younger generation, young adults
and students. Many of the bands I have created for my magazine feature young artist, most
notably “Rotting Petals” in my double page spread who's ages are 19-20. From there
responses I've presented a very outspoken and socially aware young adult. When you think
of a teen or young adult magazine it is often thought it should include current slag, bright
colours, the most popular bands and quirky/ statement layouts, for example Kerrang!. This
creates a very cheesy and uncool image for the magazine as most young adults don’t
respond well to the dumbed down text or image. My magazine reflects a sophisticated and
mature teen who still enjoys a current and modern vibe but without the condescending
tone. I want to encourage and promote young adults feeling free to speak their voice and
have opportunities to enjoy their youth.
3. I feel competitions or promotional features and
gig/ festival updates will further inforce the idea
of freedom.
4. Once again the magazines text as well
as interviewee response will encourage
and empower the younger generations.
Older and vintage music has become
popular in recent years this is why I
have featured both new and older
musicians throughout my magazine. It
is also a way of attracting older
generations to purchase the magazine.
The vintage theme is also represented
by my models clothing many sporting
90’s grunge looks as well as “Savannah
Melvin” wearing a Nirvana tank top,
promoting interest in another band
featuring in the magazine. Fans of one
artist may be interested in the other by
referencing them through costume.
5. As much as our magazine reflects educated
readers we would still promote rebellion, as my
genre of music is associated with it as well as the
lifestyle of the musicians. Many of the bands
promote rebellion through revealing stories about
things they’ve done, that is why I’ve featured it as
pull quotes to interest readers, as well as including
stories in the interview.
6. What kind of media institution might distribute
your media product and why?
I think that Bauer Media would be a
suitable publisher for my magazine
as they are already a well
established brand with a wide range
and variety in what they publish. The
fact they are considered “The UK’s
most influential media brand
networks” and also operate in 19
countries gives me confidence that
they will be able to distribute and
publicise my magazine to a broad
audience giving my magazine a
higher readership. Their wide range
on contacts would be useful when
trying to get sponsorship and
adverts for my magazine.
7. Bauer Media currently publishes 3 major music magazines, Q, Mojo and Kerrang!
This indicates they have a diverse knowledge in music magazines and are willing to
distribute a range of music types. I think this would work to my advantage as I
would fit in with the music genre that’s already being published but my magazine
would display a different style. Kerrang! Is a more teen based magazine that caters
to a younger audiences by use of language/slag as well as posters and newer
bands, where as Q and Mojo are aimed at a more sophisticated reader by including
older artists and more academic text. As my magazine combines old and new I
would fit in well between the two types of magazine style and would be suitable
for readers who are a more mature teenagers.
8. As Bauer Media publish over 80 different
magazines I would be able to have support if I
were to branch out my magazine for example I
would like to include a few pages regarding
monthly news updates as my audience research
revealed my target audience have an interest in
news and politics.
They also publish digitally which means they
would be able to help launch my online app.
9. Who would be the audience for your media
product?
I think my audience would be both male and female as my magazine doesn’t use
stereotypical gender colours, instead I've used monochrome, yellow and red to fit my edgy
theme as well as appeal to both genders.
As I had planned, I still believe my target audience age would range
between 16-25 as I have balanced the amount of photos to the quantity
of text. My audience research revealed that 75% of interviewees would
prefer images but further interviews suggested a more mature reader.
To please and attract more audience I chose to balance both to boost
sales.
10. From the bands I have created the majority of the ‘artists’ are women, I felt this would
attract more female readers as rock music is generally associated with males. By focusing
my magazine around all female trio “Rotting Petals” by using their image on the front
cover as well as being my double page spread I hope to intrigue more female readers and
perhaps influence and inspire young girls, especially as feminism and girl power is
becoming a popular trend in society. The female artist can be used as ‘eye candy’ for boys,
but many real male artist are featured too. I have also tried to appeal to different readers
by showing diversity in the images by use of costume and location and the look of models
themselves.
My magazine would target the ABC1 groups as they would have a regular income to
purchase my £5 magazine but would be able to relate to the lower class backgrounds of
my artists and their lyrics. They are an educated audience and I have portrayed the band in
my double page spread as outspoken on social and political issues as many young people
now a days are very aware of the issues around them, this should hopefully connect
readers to the magazine.
11. How did you attract/address your audience?
I used direct address so it felt personal to the reader
as well as to immediately grab their attention.
Similarly with pull quotes I used brief bits of
information that would cause the reader to need to
find out more. By using a big event such as “She broke
my nose once” would leave readers questioning who?
What? Where? When? Why? And how? Making them
buy the magazine to read.
Another way I tried to draw readers in, is by use of
depth in my photos. The depth catches the readers
eye and draws them in. Depth can be created from
eye contact, blocking or angles.
By promoting old and new bands as well as
popular and up and coming I could attract a
variety of different audiences interests, instead
of limiting myself to just one type of reader. This
way I can expand my readership and popularity.
This would also cause my magazine to cover a
range of diverse topics and always keeping the
articles fresh for readers.
12. Pull
quote
Pull
quote
Old and
new bands
Direct
address on
“You need to
know” use of
need gives a
sense on
utter
importance
“Us” creates a
community, as though
you're left out not
being part of it.
Eye contact
creates depth
Blocking and eye
contact create
depth
13. Blocking and
eye contact
creates
depth
Range of article
types and
topics
Mix of popular and
niche bands
Editors notes
creates a
connection with
readers and the
magazine. Builds
a sense of
community
Puns are used
to relax
readers and
build a bond.
Wide variety of
locations and
diversity
between shots
and models
14. Pull quote
entices the
reader
Eye line looks as
though they're
telling you to turn
the page/ follow
their eye line
Range of subjects on
one page to please all
types of reader
Connection with
reader and
artist. Readers
will trust my
magazines
information if
they think I have
a close
connection to
my interviewees
15. By clearly promoting my online app I can
expand my publicity and reach out to more
potential readers. I have made the app easy to
see anywhere on display by placing it in the left
hand column. It would also been a way to keep
regular readers interested in my magazine and
reward subscribers to promotional gifts. I
would also be able to keep up with latest trends
in the media or track what was popular on my
app, so as I can apply that information into
reviving my magazine to fit readers interests.
I could also make more profit by still making
older magazines available online as I have
demonstrated in my “editors note”
16. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of
constructing this product?
During this process I have used software that I have used frequently in the past such as
Microsoft word and power point. My pervious knowledge of the software made it easy for
me to create my work, for example removing the background of images to create collages.
I have used Photoshop in the past but not to this level of standard, since learning I have
been able to manipulate photos. By using lasso tool I was able to play with the colour and
tones of the images as well as editing specific points. This was beneficial for me as my
original photos were too bright as I was able to correct them. I also learnt to use to stamp
tool to cover over blemishes or backgrounds I didn’t want to include in my magazine. As
you can see here I was able to remove a picture frame from the background to create a
blank wall.
17. I have used both movie maker and Premiere when creating videos for my blog, I've
had past experience with movie maker and used this for my basic videos such as my
collage of photos. For my more complicated video of my interviews I used Premiere
We had some basic practice with the software in a previous lesson but when editing
my individual video clips I tried out different effects such as fade in/out and dissolve,
as well as editing the sounds on each clip as some scenes were louder than others.
Premiere was a much more suitable software for my interview videos as I had more
resources to manipulate my video.
The hardest software was InDesign as it was fairly similar to Photoshop but with subtly
changes in the layout and programing. It took me time to readjust myself to the
software but once I was familiar with the layout I was able to use my knowledge of
Photoshop to help design my contents and double page spread.
Once realising I needed to rearrange some images or sizes when adding the text on
InDesign I worried id have to restart my background image, luckily I was shown that I
was able to open my image in Photoshop from InDesign, make my changes, save it
and it would have automatically changed in InDesign. This made working between the
two software's a lot easier.
18. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have
learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
My preliminary test magazine is very underdeveloped this is due to lack of
research into music magazine conventions. For my preliminary magazine I used
fonts and colours that I liked rather than what would look best on a shelf. My
blocking of the text doesn’t fit well and looks messy, it has also left too much of a
gap at the bottom. There are no headlines or pull quotes which would attract a
reader. Having researched into music magazines an their conventions I have been
able to correct my first mistakes, creating an organised layout and interesting and
eye catching cover. Having learnt to use the Adobe software at a higher level I
have developed skills that have benefitted my structure and design.
