2. 1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and
conventions of real media products?
On my magazine, the image
takes up the whole background
which is conventional of most,
if not all magazines. The model
is facing directly towards the
camera, addressing the
audience. A medium close up
like this is a feature that is also
common for a magazine front
cover.
For the masthead of the cover,
I used the word ‘Lisztomania’
which may be considered to be
too long for a normal
magazine. However, I believe
the relevance of the title (it
being the name of a song by an
indie band ‘Phoenix’ – indie is
the genre of the magazine -
and the word Lisztomania is
defined as ‘the need to listen
to music’), means that this title
was right.
3. As well as the actual title name itself, the
colour scheme of the masthead and the whole
page was chosen after I did research into
magazines of the indie genre. I found that
NME’s masthead used to be red in every issue
(this has later changed to fit the colour scheme
of certain issues) and Rolling Stone and Q have
a predominantly red masthead. The red colour
is bright, and attracts the reader’s attention. I
chose a reddish pink colour for my masthead
and main cover line – this was due to the fact
that my magazine is aimed at mainly a female
audience, and so the pink would possibly
attract them, and the reddish hue would also
catch their eyes, drawing them to the cover.
4. I have set to a certain amount of colours (pink,
Bluish purple, yellow and white) and fonts on
my cover, as this means that my magazine can
maintain a house style throughout my
magazine. I used a banner at the top which is
also a clear convention of a lot of the music that
I have looked at.
As with all magazines, a bar code, price and
date was necessary in order for my cover to
look authentic. I placed this in the right hand
corner of the page, as from my research, this
seems the most common place for this to go.
I rotated it 90 degrees to allow the cover line
along the bottom to fit.
5. For my own magazine, I used NME’s contents
page layout as inspiration. Similar to NME, I used
a bold serif font for the title, ‘This Week’ to
challenge the usual conventions of an ordinary
magazine with the title ‘Contents’. I included the
date of the issue underneath this as well, again,
similar to NME.
I have included 5 images on this page to conform
with the NME layout, however, NME use up to 7
images on their contents pages. I decided not to
use this many images, as I felt the page would be
a bit crowded.
For the main image on my page, I used a shot
from the shoot I had with the artist from my
cover. This is unlike NME as they usually use a
different image from a different article here.
6. In the bottom of centre third column of the page I
have included a ‘plus!’ column which includes other
features of the magazine (which is a usual
convention of most magazines), however, I feel that
the column is too wide for the size of the text. If I
was to do this again I’d probably include another
image to fill a bit more of this space to reduce the
amount of white space and plain background in this
column.
The images I have used on this page are typical of a
music magazine contents page – images of my own
that I have taken from concerts that I went to
recently, and photos from the photo shoot I carried
out especially for this production.
I have included little shapes that give the page an
illustrated feel. I downloaded several brushes
from photo shop, and in this case, I used little star
brushes. This would be unusual to find on most
music magazines, but similar to the font, the
brushes have allowed me to appeal to the
creative side of my audience.
7. I used a colour scheme on this page of just
black and white for the text (black for main text
and white for page numbers). NME often uses a
red colouring for their page numbers to follow
with their house style colour. I originally
wanted to do this with the pink colour that is
present throughout my magazine pages,
however, it did not stand out enough against
the images. The white and black is more
legible, and so is more effective in this case.
I used sans serif fonts for the bulk of my
text, as NME does on its contents page,
however, the font I have used has a more
artistic and hand written feel to it – this
would be more effective in attracting my
audience, who would hopefully have an
interest in a more arty feel to a magazine.
8. Through out my research I looked
at lots of different issues of NME,
and when producing my final
double page spread, I took
inspiration from several issues to
create it. I mainly looked at the
issue with Jake Bugg on the cover,
and also the issue featuring Dave
Grohl. The lay out of these a
double page spreads were quite
similar, and I liked the simplicity of
the layouts.
When writing the title for the article, I looked at
the Jake Bugg issue of NME and their use of the
title of a Bob Dylan song to make the article
specialised for those who like that style of
music. I tried to do this on my own by adding an
Arctic Monkeys song title ‘Fake Tales of San
Francisco’ and changing it to the ‘Not-so-Fake
tales of San Francisco’. This will specialise the
audience to an indie genre, and as the artist I
have featured, and the entire magazine itself if
of the indie genre, my audience would be
compelled to read on.
As with the Dave Grohl issue, I
decided to place the artists name at
the top of the right hand page – it
seems to be conventional for the text
to be in 3 columns, so this is how I
set it out.
9. As well as red being used across the
front cover on issues of NME, it is also
used across their double page spreads.
Considering this, I used the reddish pink
colour from my cover on the double
page spread, to maintain the house
style of the magazine. I used it on part
of the title, on the divider, and also on
the pull quote. I only used the pink and
black fonts as I didn’t want to
overcrowd the page, as the colours on
the image are quite vibrant. I used the
pink to reflect the girly side of the
artist, and the black as it is the standard
colour for body text in most magazines.
I used a sans serif font for the title, as this
seems to be a convention for a lot of double
page spreads. However, I then used a ‘type
writer’ style serif font for the kicker, and a
normal serif font for the body text. These
fonts are also common across most double
page spreads – a serif font for body text is
one of the main conventions of nearly all
magazines.
I also included a caption on
my image, in the top left
hand corner. The text is in
white to contrast with the
darker background. The
caption has a tiny element of
humour in it. NME often have
humorous captions, but
usually set their font on a
coloured background. I did
not do this as a coloured
background may have
distracted from the image.
10. 2. How does your media product represent particular social
groups?
Since I decided to appeal to a more female audience, I decided
to feature a female artist as my main feature for the magazine. I
have tried to represent my female artist through the choices I
have made – a female, with an interest in indie music, and who
also have an interest in fashion and art/ photography/ vintage
things.
Before I took my own photographs, I took inspiration from
existing female artists to consider the way in which they dress,
and how they represent themselves in the media. The main girl
band I looked at was the all female indie girl band ‘Haim’.
11. Across all of the images that
they appear in, they are all
dressed in a certain style –
they have an unusual, quirky
and indie fashion sense,
usually dressed in either bold
and bright colours (like the
yellow jacket here) or darker
clothes (like the leather jackets
that they appear in quite
often). Both of these have
connotations of the strength
of the girls – they are
independent individuals, and
by dressing my model in
similar clothing. The leather
jackets also suggest the
toughness of the three – they
are no ordinary girls.
Their posture and facial expressions also show their strength
as women – their tendency to stare down the barrel of the
lens almost feels as if they are making eye contact with the
person who is viewing the image.
Also within their
photographs, Haim
always convey a certain
element of youth –
whether it is through
their innocence (standing
in poses where they lean
on each other almost
makes them look like
small children with their
siblings) or whether it is
through the energy that
they bring to a photo
(through them jumping,
or laughing).
12. Her expression is quite
strong, and the fact that
she is looking straight at
the camera shows an
embodiment of the
power that female
artists can have which I
wanted to represent
through my magazine.
The prop of the rose
lemonade that the model is
holding reinforces the
feminine side of her. Because
I wanted to represent the
youth of the model within
my magazine, this prop also
meant that this was
represented. The leather
jacket that I put her in also
connotates the tougher side
of her, and the grungy side
that indie musicians can
have.
13. The representation of the
model is also represented in
the language I’ve used. On
the title of this double page
spread I used the phrase
‘Not-so-fake tales of San
Francisco’. I wanted to
represent female artists as
being down to earth and
not ‘fake’ as some women
in the media seem to be
represented as today.
Within the article itself, I have also
included phrases such as ‘I’m not afraid to
make mistakes and admit it.’ This also
reinforces her ‘down to earth’ personality
that I wanted to represent.
Again, this image is from
the same shoot as the cover
image, and includes the
bottle of lemonade, and so
captures her youth. Her
blonde hair could also have
connotations of youth.
14. 3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product
and why?
I believe that ‘IPC Media’ might publish and distribute my music magazine, as they
are also the distributors for NME magazine, which, through my research, I have
found is quite a similar genre to my own (through it’s conventions and genre).
Also, IPC engage with over 26 million adults – 2/3rds of those are
women. My target audience are females 16-25 which means that
IPC Media may be interested in publishing my magazine as they
mainly sell magazines with a female based audience, so my
magazine would attract their audience.
15. As well as this, my magazine has a Unique Selling Point
that IPC may be interested in; although there are a lot
of music magazines on the market in the UK, and
several of the indie genre, there are no indie music
magazines that are directed more towards females in a
way that my music magazine is. This may mean that it
could potentially attract a whole new audience for IPC
to engage with.
Here is a link to the IPC Media website: http://www.ipcmedia.com/
16. 4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
I briefly mentioned my target audience, but here is a
deeper profile of the intended audience for my music
magazine.
My target audience would be predominantly females, of the
age group 16-25. They would listen to indie rock/ indie pop
music, and enjoy discovering new bands and going to small,
intimate gigs. Their favourite bands would include bands like
The Libertines, Arctic Monkeys, The Strokes, Jake Bugg,
newer indie pop bands such as Phoenix, Two Door Cinema
Club or Peace, and also older bands such as The Smiths, The
Cure and The Clash. They may also be quite artistic, due to
the more artistic features of the magazine (such as the
photography) but they would find music a very important
aspect of their lives, listening to it every day. They would
probably also read other magazines like NME or even Vogue
(as they would have an interest in fashion too). I looked at
all these images which are associated wit the indie genre,
and this helped me to think about what my audience would
be interested in, and therefore, what components they
might be looking for in a magazine.
17. 5. How did you attract/address your audience?
There are many things that would attract my intended audience to my magazine;
The name of my magazine ‘Lisztomania’, as I mentioned before,
was chosen because it linked directly with the indie genre of the
production, and also because of it’s meaning (‘the need to listen
to music’). I think this would attract my audience, as my audience
would be quite specialised – they would be probably be familiar
with the song with the same title, and would link the magazine
title with the indie genre of music.
Also, the price of £2.50 will appeal to my audience – the
majority of my audience being of the ages 16-21 will mean that
they are students. A lot of magazines are much more expensive
(for example Vogue magazine is over £4), and a cheaper
magazine would attract a younger generation, who may not
have the money to pay for something more expensive. This was
also a result of my questionnaire; 71% of the people I asked said
they would pay between £2 and £2.99 for a music magazine.
The image on my front cover shows the model looking directly
at the camera. This makes her seem as though she is addressing
the reader, and it would grab the reader’s attention because of
this. The model is also wearing a leather jacket and quite a bit of
jewellery. This may attract a female audience who is interested
in fashion.
18. The cover lines that I have placed on the cover include big names in the indie music industry such as The
Strokes and Peace, and on the strap line, I have included Noel Gallagher, Pete Doherty, Arctic Monkeys and
Foals. This would definitely attract the audience, as they would have a strong interest in indie music, and
therefore these artists/ bands would make them want to buy the magazine to read these articles.
For my cover lines and strap line, I have used a font (named
‘Skinny’) that I downloaded from www.dafont.com. This
looks handwritten, and has an illustration feel to it, which
would attract my audience, as they would have an interest
in art and the graphic design side of magazine production.
Also, the use of words like ‘Exclusive’ would catch the
reader’s eye – if it is an exclusive feature, it won’t be in any
other magazine, and so the audience will have to buy this
magazine in order to read it.
19. On my contents page, I have also included illustrated components. I drew small stars in photo shop
and placed them into position on this page. I also drew small arrows which I used on the strap line
on the bottom of the front cover and double page spread, to notify the reader that the interview
carries on, on the overleaf.
Again, on this page, I included images of several existing indie
artists (my own photographs from when I went to concerts this
year). This would attract my audience, as they would want to see
what the article about some of their favourite indie bands
includes. I have also included an image of some vinyl for one of the
smaller features of the contents page. This would appeal to the
side of my audience that likes vintage things (such as records and
vintage photography, which is why I edited this photo to look like it
has film grain on it).
This photo was taken by me when I
went to see Jake Bugg in February.
20. The use of language also directly addresses the
audience . The conversational phrases and use
of rhetorical questions (such as for the article
on the right ‘romance brewing between Love’s
lead singer Holly and Indie legend Miles Kane?’
This would make the audience feel more
involved in the magazine, and would make them
feel curious to know the answer (which would
compel them to read on).
Also, the simple layout would not put the
audience off – a page that is too crowded with
words could potentially make the reader lose
interest, where as the inclusion of the 5
images, and the not too overpowering amount
of text would keep them wanting to read on.
21. For the title of the
magazine, I decided to
use an Arctic Monkeys
reference (reference to
the song ‘Fake Tales of
San Francisco’), again, to
try to attract my audience
– they would be familiar
with this song title, and
so straight away, this
would make them want
to read the article, as it
has something to do with
the indie genre.
I edited this image of my
model by cross
processing it on photo
shop – I altered the
colour curves to make it
look more vintage (like it
has been taken on a
lomography camera).
This would appeal to my
audience’s interest in
photography.
Within the article on my double page spread, I have
included language that would possibly attract my
audience, as because the artist is young, she would
come across as relatable and down to earth, which
would compel the audience to read on. The use of
slang words such as ‘cos’ would reinforce her youth,
which would make her more relatable to the
audience of the age range 16-25. Also, 55% of the
people I asked in my questionnaire said that they are
more interested in interviews, rather than reviews or
other news. Therefore, I wrote an interview to
appeal to them.
22. 6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this
product?
Over the course of this coursework, I have used many different technologies in
order to produce the final outcome, and also to display my research and
planning.
First, I created a blog on www.blogger.com to display all my research, planning and final
product. I had never used a blog to record my thoughts before, but blogger allowed me to do
this efficiently and neatly, and I could access it everywhere I went – even from my phone.
This meant it was incredibly useful in the development of my ideas. Throughout my time
using blogger, I learnt how to use it efficiently, and I learnt how to organise my work so it tells
a journey.
23. For some of my research I used the internet – one of
the most used pieces of technology today. Websites
such as www.google.com www.dafont.com and
www.nme.com proved really helpful when I was doing
my research for my planning. I found that the internet
was vital in the process of constructing this product,
and it helped me to not only conduct my research, but
without the internet, I would not have even been able
to present my work using blogger. I learnt that without
the internet, a lot of things that this project relied
upon could not have been possible.
24. I also used Flickr to upload my
analysis of my research pages
onto my blog. I already owned a
Flickr account, however, I had
never made notes on my own
images before. It was interesting
to see how effective this
technology was for this use, and I
may use it again when
commenting on my own images.
25. To create my magazine, I used Adobe InDesign – a programme used by professionals to
construct music magazines (even the likes of NME, a well established and popular
magazine, use this programme). I had never used this programme before, and so I found it
initially difficult to get to grips with. However, once I got into it, I learnt a lot about how to
professionally layout my magazine.
I believe that this programme was perfect for creating a music magazine , as any other
software, such as Microsoft Publisher, would not have allowed my work to look as
professional as the final product was with InDesign. Once I got the hang of it, I was able to
create my magazine with ease. I found this programme quite easy to use, and through
using this for my project I have learnt a lot about how magazines are made.
26. In order for me to take my photos , I used my Nikon D3100 DSLR camera. This meant I was lucky as my
photographs were of a high standard. I use my camera quite a lot, and so technologically, I was quite
used to the workings of it. However, I had to consider the lighting etc, as professional photographers
would do in a real music magazine photo shoot. I was very pleased with the outcomes that I produced
using my camera, as they looked quite professional (due to the quality of my camera).
However, to improve my shots even more, I used Adobe Photoshop to alter any imperfections . I used
tools like the spot healing tool, the clone stamping tool (both to clear skin or remove obstacles from the
background) and I also altered the colouring of the images using the colour curves (to cross process an
image and to alter the brightness and contrast of the images) and the filter tools to add a slight grain to
one of my images to make it look aged. I had previously used Photoshop before, but I had forgotten how
to use it! This project gave me a chance to revive my skills, and also learn new ones (from Photoshop
tutorials etc).
27. Overall, I felt I have learnt quite a lot about the actual creation of magazines, especially by using
InDesign. Being able to use this programme has really allowed me to have a view into the way that
professionals would do it. I think if I was asked to produce another magazine, I would be able to do
this easily from what I’ve learned on how to use the technological programmes. I have been able to
develop my editing skills, and also my ability to produce something that actually looks professional.
These are a couple of my
images that I edited in
Photoshop. By just using
basic tools such as the spot
healing tool and altering the
colour curves, I learnt how
to successfully edit my
images in the way that I
wanted.
28. 7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the
progression from it to full product?
Looking back at when I first created my school magazine for my Prelim task, I feel I have learnt a great deal.
When creating my prelim production, I only used Microsoft Publisher, which resulted in the magazine
looking quite unprofessional. The layout was not correct, and the fonts did not contrast with the
backgrounds that well. Over the progression from my prelim to my music magazine, I feel I have learnt a
lot about the layout of magazines – images need to be eye catching and lighting needs to be sufficient,
fonts need to contrast well with backgrounds and be legible, and even things such as the size of fonts need
to be of a certain size in order for a magazine to look professional.
29. I feel that everything from the masthead to the language I have
used has improved greatly – the font I have used on my music
magazine is more professional looking, and is of a more correct
size. Also, my use of InDesign to create the final product gave me
the tools I needed to produce something professional looking. I
have learnt how to effectively use Photoshop and InDesign
correctly, and if I was asked to do this task again, or create another
magazine, I think I would be able to create a production of a
similar quality.
I learnt about how fonts and colour schemes can carry messages
and connotations that you wish to convey, and also how important
they are in appealing to a certain audience. For example, the pink
font for my music magazine mast head was used
Creating a music magazine on InDesign was a completely new
experience that I have learnt from, and I feel that I am very
pleased with my final outcome .
