2. In what ways does your media product use,
develop or challenge forms and conventions
of real media products?
My media product uses some forms and conventions from real music
magazines. One example is my masthead. My masthead covers the entire
top of the front cover like the majority of music magazines. I followed this
rule as having a big masthead is imperative to a music magazine looking
like a music magazine. Another convention that I have followed is having a
quote before my double spread article. Having this shows the audience
what the article is roughly going to be about and this has allowed me to
make a double page spread that looks professional.
I have challenged a convention by having a slogan in a coloured box. By
doing this my slogan now stands out more whereas in music magazine
products the slogan is there but it isn’t bold or in bright colours. This now
attracts the audiences attention and entices them to read the article.
Another convention that I have challenged is that of having the top 20
singles down the side of my contents page. I have replicated this idea from
one music magazine in this genre but it is the only one in the genre with
this on the page I have done it. Even then, I have put my own original twist
on it making it different to the other one. Having this information placed as
it is informs the audience of that weeks top 20 singles in an easily
accessible way whereas others would mention it within the magazine itself.
My genre of magazines don’t normally have a lure on the front of the
magazine so by doing this it challenges the conventions of my genre of
music magazine.
Sub
Heading
Charts
Lure
3. How does your media product represent
particular social groups?
My music magazine represents the social group of adolescents and young adults. The artists portrayed tend to be of a
similar age and background as that of the reader. These are primarily from working and lower middle class families
who find that the words of the songs represent their lives. It is easy for the reader to emulate the artists because the
clothes they wear are similar as are their backgrounds. It is because of this that the magazine can give the reader
hope and dreams for their future. The magazine gives an insight into the highs and lows of these young people and
offers them escapism.
4. What kind of media institution might
distribute your media product and why?
My music magazine would be distributed by
Seymour the distribution company. They are one of
the largest distributors in the UK and internationally
and being one of the biggest distributors means
that they have the resources and contacts to
distribute my magazine to the most appropriate
outlets and shops. They say that they have market
intelligence and the experience to provide my
magazine a competitive chance in todays market.
The resources they have available to them include:
• The newest technology
• Their excellence in retail
• Information and reporting abilities
• And they promise to work around me.
5. What kind of media institution might
distribute your media product and why?
Con..My music magazine would be distributed to
supermarkets as supermarkets have lots of customers
coming through their doors everyday and these
customers will be able to see my magazine on sale in the
magazine isle. Putting them in supermarkets gives it a
high chance of selling because of the amount of people
in a supermarket a day. I would also put my music
magazine in a newsagents. I would put it in a newsagents
as they supply magazines and it is where most people
would consider going if they wanted to purchase a
magazine. It would also be appropriate to have the
magazine available to purchase in HMV. This is a music
store that sells the genre of music my magazine
promotes. One final way of getting it distributed is
having it on subscription. People who subscribe to the
magazine will receive it monthly on day of release. The
social group that this magazine is aimed at are the
people who are most comfortable with the “virtual
shopping experience” and are likely to use this method
to purchase the magazine.
6. Who would be the audience for your
media product?
My audience for my music magazine would be working- middle class teenagers or young adults. This is because the
genre of music that my magazine is focusing on is associated most with this age group. Most of the songs in the
charts are placed as to how many are purchased and my audience are the main contributors to the state of the
charts. It is because of this I feel that this magazine will be successful as it is aimed at the people with the disposable
income to buy this type of product.
Clothing- copying what my target
audience would wear
Setting- getting the artist to relate to
the audience by having their picture
taken in a setting equivalent to where
my audience lives.
7. How did you attract/address your
audience?
I have attracted my audience by using techniques
on the front cover such as the lure that I have put
on. This is a poster of imagine dragons. I put this on
as this will give my audience the extra reason to
buy the magazine and will attract them. I have also
attracted the audience with the big sub headings
and terminology such as “world exclusive”. This is
what audiences look for when scanning the shop
shelves. I have also addressed the audience as they
can see that my artist is looking right at the reader.
This will attract the reader to the magazine and
they will want to read about this artist. This is part
of the male gaze theory. The setting I have chosen
for the cover photograph has been chosen because
of the area my target audience live in. I have done
this so my target audience can relate to what the
artists have done. Most artists come from the same
background as my audience so I have tried to
replicate them. As can be seen my model is dressed
in clothes that are also similar to what my target
audience would choose to wear. These actions
should allow the audience to relate to my magazine
Lure- offers that extra
little push to the
audience if they are not
sure whether to buy it or
not.
Terminology- using the
right words and in the
right font can attract the
audience.
Male Gaze- attracts the
audience to the picture on the
page and they want to know
about this picture.
Male Gaze and Terminology used
in actual media products to
attract or address audience.
8. What have you learnt about technologies
from the process of constructing this product?
I have learnt a lot about technology in the process of constructing my music magazine. I have learnt how to use
Photoshop including knowing what each tool does individually and which tools to use for which job. However, I didn’t
want to overuse Photoshop as this would lead to the picture looking fake. I have also begun to learn how to take a
good picture to achieve the shot that I want. I also have a greater understanding of using a camera and how to stage a
setting to gain the right picture. The right settings for the right shot and the right light has been very important. I have
also learnt that it is important to take a lot of shots in order to get the right one for the job.
9. Looking back at your preliminary task, what
do you feel you have learnt in the progression
from it to the full product?
I have learnt how to construct a music magazine, the
steps that are needed and that it is not an easy task. It
is important to place pictures and text correctly in
order for it to attract the reader and to make reading
the magazine pleasurable. Pleasure and ease of
reading also includes having the right font for the
text, having the right colours in the right places and on
the right things and having them the right size on the
page. All these contribute to having a good music
magazine. Before hand on the preliminary task I
struggled to get all of the above right. I didn’t
understand the importance of following the forms and
convention of a magazine and therefore got it totally
wrong. I have learnt how to construct my magazine in a
manner that it looks like a bona fide magazine that can
be bought. I believe that this attempt is a great
improvement upon my first attempt.
