AS Media Coursework

1. Tom Hogan

2. 1. In what ways does your media product use, develop, challenge
forms and conventions of real media products?
My media product both uses and challenges the conventions of
existing media products as it contains aspects that are either
similar or different to those already in use.
The font used for the title - and the title itself - is
reminiscent of NME magazine’s concept of using a
large, boldly printed, three letter title. However rather
than using an initialism to shorten the title, I have
simply abbreviated the word indie to create IND. This
creates a familiar look to the magazine whilst being a
unique way of developing the title.
The font Arial - Bold is used almost entirely throughout
the magazine with the occasional exception of band
names and article quotes. This is fairly typical of real
media products and consequently creates a professional
look and feel to my magazine.
The colour scheme used is also similar to that of NME
magazine’s as it focuses primarily on using red, white and
blue - the colours of the British flag and the Mod logo.
The front cover of my product is similar to existing
magazines however I have tried to avoid allowing the
text to cover the image as much as possible.

3. I have numerically organised my contents
page which is a method that is apparent in
many existing media products.
I have set aside one of
the contents pages to
emphasise two
particular articles
that feature in the
magazine. This isn’t
very common for
existing magazines.
I have also included an advert for an
enclosed competition. This has been
highlighted using a contrasting text colour
and is a common convention used in
existing media products.
I have titled my contents page “this month”
in order to challenge traditional
conventions of existing media products.
The title is in large, bold text which is a
common method used to signify that I is a
header.
The structure for
advertising the
magazine’s articles
follows that of a
typical magazine.
The article is titled
and followed by a
short description,
image and page
number.

4. The double page spread mirrors elements from both
NME and Q magazine as I have placed the image on one
page and used the other for text. The background of the
image does run over both pages which is where the
inspiration from NME magazine is focused.
I have increased the font
size of a significant quote
made by an external party
from the interview. The fact
that the quote has been
emphasised in this way is
fairly typical of similar
existing media products
however the quote was not
made by anyone (or
included) in the interview
itself. This challenges
conventions of other
magazines.
An introduction to the interview has been included
which is not always found in other media products of this
category, consequently developing and challenging them.
The image used
shows the model
looking directly into
the camera with his
chin slightly raised.
This draws the
readers attention
and also invites the
reader into the
article. The model
takes up one half of
the double page
spread allowing the
focus on the text to
be placed on one
individual page.
This is a common
convention of
magazines such as
Q.

5. Q2 – How does your media product represent particular social
groups?
 My media product represents young, indie music listeners by creating a relaxed,
informative and enjoyable reading experience.
 The frequent use of images and bright colours helps to achieve this and is more visually
appealing to younger audiences. It also imitates the personalities of young people as they
are often seen as active, easy going, fun-loving people.
 The colours used also represent historical youth cultures that teens and music lovers
today idolise and present themselves after.
 I have used relatively informal language to create an easy reading experience.
 Indie music is generally dominated by white males from Britain and America which is
why the majority of my images or of young males and all of the images are of white
people. This relates to and represents my intended target audience.

6. Q3 – What kind of media institution might distribute your media
product and why?
A media institution that has experience in distributing
magazines of a similar category to mine would be ideal.
Bauer Media currently distributes the music magazines
Kerrang!, Q and Mojo.
However, these magazines focus more on rock and metal
genres which is why I think it would be more suitable for
IPC Media - distributors of NME magazine - to be
involved with my media product.
My magazine and NME share striking similarities
making IPC Media the obvious choice for being the
distributer. They both focus on indie and alternative
music and have a very similar target audience.
IPC Media also distributes a number of other magazines
that would attract a similar audience. Magazines such as
MBR (mountain bike rider), Chat, UNCUT (another
music magazine) and InStyle all attract audiences of a
similar age and interest.

7. Q4 – Who would be the audience for your media product?

8. 80% of readers enjoy this genre of music because
of the entertainment it provides and 33.33% of
people surveyed would expect to spend £2-3 on a
monthly magazine.
The typical IND magazine reader is a 16-18 year
old Indie Rock and Roll music lover who
attends gigs and concerts on a regular basis.
Their favourite bands consist of Oasis, Arctic
Monkeys, Catfish and the Bottlemen and Royal
Blood.
66.67% of readers are male whilst the
remaining 33.33% are female, however both
genders like reading interviews of their
favourite musicians.
The most appealing band out of the list
provided was Arctic Monkeys with 80% of
people showing an interest.

9. Q5 – How did you attract/address your audience?
Images: The images used in my magazine are all of
young people which attracts my target audience and
persuades young people to purchase the magazine as
they are able to recognise connections between the
models and themselves. The front cover image fills
the entire page which increases the chance of the item
catching people's eye.
The style of clothing worn by each model has also been
taken into consideration. I have edited all the images and
even removed certain logos and prints from some
clothing items to maintain the stylistic characteristics
associated with indie musicians and fans.

10. Colour scheme: The scheme used follows the colours of
the Who/MOD logo. These colours are bright and
vibrant which aims to attract a younger generation of
readers. The colour scheme is also recognised by indie
music listeners as it is also used in other music
magazines of a similar genre.
Interviews: 40% of the people surveyed stated they are
attracted to music magazines as a result of the interviews
they contain. This is the reason I have included an
interview for my double page spread.

11. Q6 – What have you learnt about technologies from the process of
constructing this product?
During the production process I have learnt
many new things about the various
technologies used. In order to capture good
quality images I have had to learn how to
operate the lighting and camera equipment.
At first I found this quite challenging as I
was unsure about how to take effective
photographs that I could utilise in my
magazine. However I was soon able to
overcome this and take photo’s of a high
quality with plenty of headroom. This photo was taken in the college
photography studio and has plenty
of headroom, allowing me to add
the band name in large letters
above the models.

12. I have also used and devolved my knowledge
and skills on various computer programmes.
The most prominent of which is Adobe
Photoshop. Having not used Photoshop
prior to this project I have had to apply my
knowledge of other programmes, such as
Fireworks, in order to understand the basics
of the software. From then on I have learnt a
lot about how to remove and edit certain
aspects of images, how to use the clone
stamp tool and generally create the canvas
and background.
Here is an example of me using the clone
stamp tool to remove the image that was
originally on the model’s t-shirt. It is fairly
evident that I have used this technique as
some of the t-shirt’s creases have also been
removed.
Looking at the products I have produced I
feel confident that I would be able to create
another magazine that is at least on par with
the one made in this project.

13. The text effect used on the front cover was
created on Photoshop by first editing the
Drowners logo to remove the text from in
between the two flags. I then coloured the
flags in blue, white and red to match both
the colour scheme of the magazine and the
original colour of the flags. After this I then
placed the text on top of the image and cut
around each letter using the Polygonal Lasso
tool. Each time, after cutting round a letter, I
created a new layer via cut. This cuts the
shape of the letter out of the image resulting
in the effect.

14. Q7 – Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you
have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Looking at the comparison between my
preliminary task and the end product, I feel I have
learnt and demonstrated many new techniques.
The image used for the preliminary task takes up
too much space on the right hand side of the page,
meaning article titles and plugs have to be split up.
This creates a divided feel to the magazine which is
why for my end product I had the model stand with
he guitar over his shoulder. This eliminates the
issue and leaves plenty of room for article titles to
be positioned down one side. The end product also
seems to be much brighter and eye-catching in
comparison to the dull, dark colours used on the
preliminary task.