2. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions
of real media products?
From this you can see that I have used sort of
the same technique that they have used as I
have put shapes in the background. However I
have used this in a different way as I have only
done them on the article side.
From this resource I have
also used a pull quote
and made it stand out by
putting It in a different
colour font. I also made
it larger so that it is more
prominent
I have also took
inspiration from this
in the sense that it
has more than one
point at which you
can start reading.
However I have done
this in a different way.
As I have done this in
the form of questions
I got the idea of a interview format
from this NME double page spread. I
thought this would be good as my
created band is new and only just been
discovered so it would be good to use a
interview style as its getting an insight
into the new band
3. There is a background behind
the main headline this makes
it stand out from the page and
I have done this sort of thing
in my music magazine
From this I have taken
the use of a drop cap
fro the start of my
article I have done this
so it is easy to see were
to start reading
I have also used a small
photo on my double page
spread amongst the
article so that it can
break up[ the text more
and make it more
appealing
Also from this I have
used a pull quote
however mine is not
blocked out with the
use of a highlight
around the text
4. From this you can see that I
have used a real location in the
background rather than say a
plain white background I took
inspiration from this as I did not
use a lot of background but it
still looks good
You can also see that I
have used the colours
yellow and white for side
stories as I feel that it
looks good with this
background however I
have used it to separate
the title part and the
information part
I have also taken the
free posters from this
and added it as a side
story in the same
fashion as the other
stories
I have also taken
the main title
that goes across
the whole page,
I did this as it
makes it stand
out more
5. From this I took inspiration
from the transparent
background behind the main
headline, I have done this as
it makes it stand out and
does not have such a big
impact on the picture in the
background
I have also used the
use of dashed lines
to give the box a
sort of stitched on
look which fits in
with the indie genre
and denim is a large
part of indie fashion
I also used the same
position of the barcode as
it takes up less space and in
my view it looks better than
when it is not on its side. It
also makes it look less
prominent and it does not
take any attention away
from the main headline
I have also not covered any
of the bands faces as it
does not take any emotion
or facial expressions away
from the picture
I have also took the photo so
that they are looking at the
camera so it looks like they
are looking at the reader
6. From this I have modelled it
quite a lot however there are
some adjustments that I
made for instance instead of
having the title only take up
around 4/5 of the top I have
put it over the whole top I
have done this so that it is
clearly the main title
From this I took the Band
index, I have done this as it
would make it a lot easier
for the reader to locate
stories about certain bands
within the magazine
I have also used the image in the
middle as it separates the band
index and page list, this is good
as they have the “centre stage”
which means more focus is put
onto these
I have also added some sort
of advertisement at the
bottom which gives the
reader a sort of incentive or
lure to buy the magazine
From this I have done the
same colour section titles as
I tried using a red
background but it just made
the page look to red, so I
decided to go with black as
it makes the white writing
stand out more
I also used a story in the
middle which gives an insight
into the main article later on
into the magazine, also I
made a short slogan line that
stands out and lures people in
7. How does your media product represent
particular social groups?
My music magazine
represents a particular social
group as the people in my
picture are wearing the
fashion that indie people
would usually were such as
denim clothing, beanie hats
and things like indie
bracelets.
Also I used typical indie style
instruments, the guitar in my
pictures. I used both acoustic
and electric guitars in my
pictures as they both portray
the acoustic style of music that
indie is. This is an example of
acoustic style music by
Mumford and sons
https://www.youtube.com/watc
h?v=tL_Ye0h5xEI
I have also called my band
Obscurity which relates to
the social group as it is
usually full of weird and
obscure names
I have also made my
created group sort of small
like many small indie groups
which usually only play in
small venues and are only
known by a few people
8. I have made my double page spread
represent my social group as the main article
is the first interview with this unknown group
Obscurity. This represents them as it portrays
the image that no one really knows them so it
fits in with the small indie groups that are not
famous and are only known by a selection of
people
I have made my contents page represent a social group
as the band index includes unknown small groups and
groups that have become more famous but still have
the indie genre. Also the pictures and advertisement at
the bottom reflect my indie genre as they incorporate
things like tie dye fashion, denim clothing and certain
instruments
9. What kind of media institution might
distribute your media product and why?
The type of media institute that might sell my product would be
shops that focus on music such as guitar shops, or in general music
shops as a whole. This is because it is directly linked to them and
also may attract more customers due to it targeting a certain
audience which beforehand may have not bought that type of thing
from these shops.
For instance the shop
Dawsons in Liverpool
Also newsagents would
distribute my product as they
sell many music magazines
and mine would fit right in
10. Who would be the audience for your media
product?
The audience for my media product
would be people aged in their late
teens around 17-19. I have chosen
this as I see my audience to be a
student or young adult who likes
doing nothing else but play their
guitar and go to small underground,
basement gigs. They would not be
interested in big and famous groups
but small, unheard of groups that
only have a small following. They are
also people who go to music festivals
whenever they can as they normally
have unheard of groups playing in
support. They would also be into
clothes like denim, skinny jeans, tie
dye clothing etc.
My picture
11. How did you attract/address your audience?
To attract my target
audience I made sure that
the style of clothing was
incorporated in some form,
as you can see in my picture
the people are wearing
denim and tie dye tops.
I also used a guitar in my
photo shoot as it is a very
common instrument in indie
music.
I have also added incentives
to the audience such as the
chance to win festival tickets,
this suits my audience as I
see this as a big deal when it
comes to the indie genre.
The use of exclusive
interview ties in with the
unknown band feel. It
addresses them as they
are looking at a small
band that has only just
been discovered and has a
small following
The title UNKNOWN in itself
insinuates the indie feel as it
portrays the unknown band
which attracts them as they
are interested in this sort of
thing.
12. My contents page attracts my target audience as the
band index includes relatively unknown bands which
may attract to a few people who are familiar with
them.
Also I have added pictures that relate to them such as
the clothing. Also I added a advert that shows the sale of
musical instruments such as guitars and it has a discount
code that would attract them.
My double page spread attract my target audience
as the picture shows a guitar player so they know
the music will relate to them, also the title obscurity
relates to the weird and individual side of indie
music.
The article addresses them as it shows their first
interview which suggests they are only a small
group.
13. What have you learnt about technologies from the
process of constructing this product?
From Photoshop I have I have
learned that even the slightest of
changes such as adjusting the
brightness and contrast can have
huge impacts on the picture. This
can make a relatively poor picture
look 10 times better.
I have also learned about
how to adjust the pre-set
colours of a photo so I can
make a picture have a
more moody feel to it.
Through publisher
have learnt how to
use grid squares
effectively and have
them help me in
organising my pages
This has helped me a lot as
it has allowed me to align
sections and make sure
they are correct.
I have also
used the spot
healing tool
to manipulate
my images
such as
editing out
piercings
14. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel
you have learnt in the progression from it to the full
product? Final outcomePreliminary
15. In many ways I feel that I have
improved for instance on my
preliminary I adjusted the contrast
to much on the trees and they do
not look as good and in my view
they look a bit fake. Whereas in my
final the contrast enhances the
colours and makes it look more
lifelike.
I also feel that my Photoshop
skills have got better as on my
preliminary I got rid of a car in
the centre and the whole area
were the car was looks
extremely fake as the edges of
the steps and the plants on the
building are very sharp and do
not look real. Also with the use
of clone stamp it looks like the
bush has repeated itself
throughout were the car used
to be.
Also I have learnt the conventions of a front cover as on a front cover
there needs to be more than one piece of writing that acts as a lure
this is because if it looks to bland like my preliminary it does not look
like a magazine, whereas my final has more than one and a main
headline that especially lures people in.
I have also learnt that font
plays a big role in a front
cover as it is a lasting
impression and the one I
used in my preliminary does
not for the story. Whereas on
my final it has a bold font
that makes a lasting
impression and I feel that if
the masthead was slightly
covered maybe a letter was
covered it would still be able
to be read.
17. I believe I have improved
when looking at my contents
page as I have used 1 large
photo in the background of my
page, I do not like this as It
makes the pages hard to see.
Also I used a pre-set coloured
background on my preliminary
and this makes it look
amateurish and
unprofessional. Whereas on
my final I have used a plain
white background which
makes it look a lot neater and
more professional.
Also from my preliminary I did
not use any section titles which
make sit very hard to locate the
section that you want to look
at. Whereas on my final I have
put titles which make it a lot
easier to locate the certain
sections. Also the numbers on
the preliminary there is no
small insight to the story.
Whereas on my final I have
given a small insight which
gives them a taster that makes
them want to read more.
I have also put a
small insight into the
main story onto the
contents page of my
final product, this
also gives a taster
and makes people
read on, also with
the use of visual aid.
Whereas on my
preliminary I did not
do this and there
was nothing to
explain the pictures
so they are really just
random images.
However I did like the
font that I used in the
preliminary so I did carry
this through although I
changed the colour to
make it look better.