2. 1) In which ways does your media product use, develop, or challenge forms
and conventions of real media products? (1/3)
The magazine I have created has been
inspired by official music magazines such
as Kerrang! and therefore, I have used Another convention which is present is
some conventions which are similar to that the name of the main feature article
those found in professional magazines. is directly across the centre of the page, in
However, there are also some a bold font, causing it to stand out from
conventions which have been challenged the rest of the text and images.
within this magazine.
Moreover, I have used the convention of
The masthead is distinctive and the prefix having a barcode in the lower right
creates an unique and memorable logo corner. This is done to ensure easy access
for the magazine – much like Q! to the barcode for stores to scan.
magazine. It is in big, bold, red lettering, A convention which is regularly used
in order for it to stand out against the within many rock magazines is that filler
light background, and also because red is images would usually have text related to
a common colour to associate with the them surrounding them, however, I have
rock genre. added a filler image to ensure that each of
the band members – relating to the
A convention which I have used – which is feature article – are present.
often found on the cover of Kerrang!
magazines - is that the cover star partially
covers the masthead – as the masthead is
so commonly known, only a portion of it
needs to be revealed in order for the
audience to recognise which magazine it
is.
3. 1) In which ways does your media product use, develop, or challenge forms
and conventions of real media products? (2/3)
For my contents page, I decided
to follow the convention of On the other hand, I have challenged a
having large page numbers convention by avoiding a myriad of
between the feature titles. previews of featured articles.
I also segmented the text into By placing the heading “January” behind
categories. This was done in the band member’s head is following a
order to make it easier for the typical convention.
audience to get straight to the
parts of the magazine which Throughout the contents page, I have
interest them most. copied the same style and pattern of
colours as I did with the front cover. This
In the top left-hand corner, I is in order to ensure that the contents
have placed to nuTunes logo page can easily be recognised as part of
“nu” to begin the title “nu the nuTunes magazine.
(new) this month”. For “this
month” I have used the same
font as the masthead on the
front cover.
I’ve used a member of one of
the bands mentioned as the
background image, and a
member of another band as a
filler image. This is in keeping
with the general conventions of
a music magazine contents
page.
4. 1) In which ways does your media product use, develop, or challenge forms
and conventions of real media products? (3/3)
Following conventions, I have
A common convention within
used a drop capital “F” to
other music magazines is to
begin my first paragraph. This
have the main image cover
is commonly used amongst
just over one of the pages or
magazine articles and
a double page spread.
newspaper articles. It can also
However, I have used three
be found in some books.
separate images, overlapped,
fading, and merged them
I have included large block
together, and spread them
numbers for the page number
across the whole double page
in the lower left hand corner.
spread.
Also, I have placed the
nuTunes logo in each of the
Another convention
lower corners.
frequently found in any
magazine is that of
Again, I have continued the
quotations. I have used a
theme of using black, red,
bright red, amongst the
white, and blue throughout
white, changed the font, and
these pages. This is in order to
made the text larger in order
ensure that the pages are
for the quotes to stand out
easily recognised as belonging
amongst the rest of the text.
to a nuTunes magazine.
Additionally, I have used
Furthermore, I have made the
quotes from the band’s fans,
backgroud fade of grey to
and also from the band
white a continuous theme
members themselves. This is
throughout this magazine.
in order to give the audience
a variety of reviews and
opinions.
5. 2) How does your media product(s) represent particular social
groups?
My magazine represents several social
groups, such as: female soloists,
male musicians, and – overall –
young teenagers. Young people,
in my magazine, are conveyed as
big dreamers, high achievers.
They don’t abide by the
stereotypical view of drunken
teens who have no ambitions. It
presents a myriad of talented 18-
31 year olds.
Most of the bands are classified as
punk, rock, Christian rock, and
country. My magazine promotes
clean and moral music; uplifting,
and easy listening.
nuTunes magazines believe in
promoting happiness in living
pure lives of love and service.
The bands which are advertised
and presented are those whose
primary aim is to chare their
talents to bring others happiness.
6. 3) What kind of media institution might distribute your media product,
and why?
Music institutions such as Mossfest,
Christian Music Times, Deseret
Books Industry and EFY would
promote and distribute my media
product – because of their
audience of Christians and other
followers of religion.
There could possibly be some revenue
for my music magazine in
performing arts schools, as a
couple of the bands have specific
clothing styles which would be
interesting for schools to study.
7. 4) Who would the audience be for your media product?
After evaluating the results of survey - which I produced earlier in the year – I decided to target
my music magazine at those aged 14-30. Therefore, I have used the most popular colours
which were preferred (Blue, Red, and Black).
I think that my magazine will appeal to all genders, as it reveals exciting new information about a
variety of different rock, pop, and alternative bands. My magazine also features handsome
men and beautiful women which will attract and provoke interest in the minds of most
teenagers and young adults.
In addition to this, my audience will probably also be interested in bands such as: Coldplay, The
Cure, Avril Lavigne, The Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, Kenneth Cope etc.
8. 5) How did you attract and address your audience? (1/3)
In order to attract my target audience, I
have used incentives such as: “Free
iTunes downloads” and “Free poster
inside” (with a preview image beneath).
I have used bold colors and capitalised
text in order to catch the attention of my
audience.
Distinctive fonts and images have been
used in order to convey the style of
magazine, which will reach my target
audience.
The colours which I have used throughout
the magazine have been chosen from the
results of the questionnaire which I had
made, ensuring that the colours are
aesthetically pleasing to my target
audience.
9. 6) What have you learned about technologies from the process of
constructing this product?
Whilst in the process of constructing my final product, I learned how to sufficiently use the
internet in order to do thorough research into magazines (past and present). I also
gained a deeper knowledge of how to use my research effectively, when producing a
product. I used researching so that I could put a reasonable price on my magazine, as
well as deciding the best frequency for issuing.
Furthermore, I was able to develop a greater understanding on
how to use Blogger effectively, and how to organise my blog
posts through tagging. I learned how to edit posts to improve
them where/when necessary, as I was going along.
Also, I learned to utilise my skills in
Adobe’s programs (Photoshop and
Quark) in order to best create a
professional looking magazine front
cover, contents page, and double
page spread.
10. 7) Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have
learned in the progression from that to the full product?
After reviewing my preliminary task, I have
come to the conclusion that I have
greatly developed my knowledge and
skills regarding adobe programs, such as
photoshop and quark. I feel confident in
editing and rearranging images within
photoshop. Also, I feel as though I can
effectively use these programs to create
new and refined images and products.
My eye for detail has increased, and I am
able to recognise effects which work
together, and those which don’t. I also
feel as though I would be able to adjust
and improve images using many of the
tools available on photoshop.
