2. What kind of media institution In what ways does your media
might distribute your media product, use, develop or challenge
product and why? forms and conventions of real media?
My magazine would be sold in supermarkets, news My magazine uses a number of magazine
agents, post offices and petrol garage shops. I feel conventions . My front cover contains things such
that these places are appropriate places to retail my as a masthead which is coloured red with a drop
magazine as they sell a number of other magazines shadow and is in a bold font so it stands out, it is
and newspapers already. These are all easy access placed along the top of my magazine under the
places that most people will visit so a lot of people incentives banner. the incentives banner is a light
will be able to find it. I would sell my magazine shade of blue and it says about a competition as
physically but you could also purchase my magazine
well as saying about exclusive content.
on the website. There would also be an option to
subscribe to the magazine for a year and therefore it
would get sent to their address.
How did I attract or address my audience?
• Throughout my music magazine I have used very chatty casual tones and have addressed the reader on an
eye to eye level. I have used an informal tone to make my magazine a light easy read that could be read sat
down with a cup of tea or when travelling on the train.
• The front cover of my magazine uses bright eye catching colours but it isn’t over crowded. The masthead is
at the top in a vibrant red colour which initially attracts the reader and they can quickly establish the
name.
• In the incentives banner I have said about a free competition to win tickets to any concert.
• The cover star and story I have chosen to go with is interesting for the reader and I have put a quote from
the interview on the front to make the audience want to read on.
• On the front cover I have told the reader about exclusive content that they can’t get anywhere else and
this will attract them to my magazine.
3. Front cover
My masthead is in Along my incentives
big bold letters banner I have
along the top of included different
the page. I used things that might
red with a drop make you want to buy
shadow so it stands the magazine as it
out. tells you about things
you cant get
anywhere else.
Down the left side of the
cover I have some of the I have used a
content listed along with medium close up for
some information about my cover star and
the article making you she is looking right
want to know more. into the camera.
I have taken a quote
from the interview
At the bottom of inside to give the
the page I have put reader a snippet and
my bar code and its make the interested
on its side, it also
has the price next
to it.
4. Contents page
I have copied the
masthead from the
Here I have put an front cover and
editor note where the shrunk it slightly,
editor of music matters then I wrote
has written a brief contents and
welcome to the readers entwined the C
giving them an overview through it.
of what to come. These
are usually found in
contents pages.
My list of the pages
has all of all the
numbers on the
I have used a more relaxed left, in blue, and
image of my cover star here, I the content on the
have added a drop shadow as right in yellow with
well as shadowing her with a black stroke.
red and grey, to make her Under this I have
stand out, along with the put some extra
page number you can find the information about
interview. For the font I used the page in yellow.
the same that u chose for the
contents, I also used this on
the front page.
5. Double page spread
Here I have used the same text that I did I have used another two images on
on the front cover at the top of the page. the double page spread of different
I have then taken a quote from the text sizes. The larger one has a page to its
and have made three of the words pink self with a pink background. The
smaller image is in the corner with
to make them stand out. the text wrapped around it.
Also on the right
page I have taken
another quote and
put it in a bold
text.
In my article the
questions are in
blue and the
answers are black.
This is to brighten
up all of the text
and make it clearer
to read.
I have put the page
number down at
the bottom quite
small and next to it
is the magazine
title.
6. How does a media product represent particular social groups?
I feel that the way that I have designed my music magazine it will look more attractive to certain groups
rather than others. Although I still think it is quite versatile as it has features and columns that will appeal
to a few different social groups, however it won’t be to everybody’s taste. When designing my magazine I
had an idea of what and who I wanted my target audience to be, therefore I knew they type of content
and schemes I could include. Before starting the design work I did a survey asking what my target age
wanted from a music magazine and from the results showed who liked what. I wanted my music magazine
to be aimed at 15 – 25’s that are interested in mainstream music and music related gossip. When
designing my magazine front cover I kept what I knew that my audience would like in mind and I also
looked at a lot of different magazines that had the same target audience as me and found out things that I
could include in my music magazine front cover. This helped me as looking at these other magazines it
gave me ideas about what I could include. I decided to be very conventional with my cover. I had an
incentives banner, saying about an exclusive competition and various other things that would be inside. As
well as this I used a large image of the cover star along with a quote from the interview with her, this
would make the reader want to buy the magazine to find out what else was said. I also used other quotes
from various other articles and listed them down the sides along with various things about the regular
columns that would make people want to get the music magazine. I also used things like a mast head and
had the bar code with the price. Throughout the magazine I continued with the colour schemes that I feel
are appealing to the readers as well as helping the music magazine flow from page to page. I have used
bold fonts and text colours to stand out to people and catch their eyes. With all the conventions I have
used I believe it to be a good magazine that suits my target audience. I feel that the music magazine
represents my target social group as it has the typical conventions but I have used designs and features
that I know the target readers would be attracted to. Throughout the process of making my music
magazine I have made decisions that I feel my chosen target group will be well represented by as I have
incorporated everything that they would want from a music magazine and created the product around this
and made sure it had all the necessary conventions.
7. Who would the audience be for my magazine?
• When planning my music magazine I thought a the
age range would be around15+ and after having
conducted a survey I found that a lot of people that I
asked where interested in mainstream music and
music related gossip. A rough age range for the
people that preferred this sort of thing was around
15 – 25.
• The people that buy my music magazine are most
likely those interested in all the latest music gossip
and that are in to mainstream music.
These are the most popular results
From looking at the results I can see
that I got from my survey showing that
that pop music I the most popular
the artists that my target audience are
amongst my target audience. They
most interested in are the artists that
also seem to like R’n’B music so these
are getting into the top 40 showing
are the two that I feel the magazine
that the people buying the magazine
would suit best.
are interested in mainstream music.
8. Software Hardware
• Photoshop – At the start of the project I had never • Cannon camera – In making my music
previously used photo shop so I had to learn from magazine I used this camera to take all of the
scratch. I have now had experience using a lot of pictures I have included. I learned how this
the tools in photo shop. particular camera takes pictures and how to
• Quark – With this programme I had also never upload them.
used it before and I learned how to import a • Tripod – I used a tripod for some of the
picture, create a text box that fits around the pictures I took as I wanted it to be held steady
images, and change around the colour of the text. for the shots. I hadn’t used a tripod many
• Blogger – I learned how to create a blog here and times before
then how to create and upload different things to • Computer –
my blog.
• USB cable –
• DaFont – I used Dafont to get different font styles
in my magazine. I found this really useful and I
hadn’t used it before. I learned how to find
different fonts and how to download them.
9. Looking back at my preliminary task, what do I feel I have learnt in the
progression from the full product?
• Looking back now at my college magazine and at my music magazine I can see a difference in the overall
design work. I think that in the preliminary task the colours that I chose weren’t very good or eye catching,
they where quite dull. Yet in my music magazine I feel I have chosen better colours that go well together
and it looks more like a magazine.
• I also feel like the layout on my music magazine is better than on my college magazine, I think this is
because whilst designing the music magazine I was looking at a lot of different magazines and how they
have been laid out however during the preliminary task I just went for it.
• When designing my college magazine I didn’t pay much attention to detail compared to my music
magazine. I feel that having been more precise with what I did in the long run.
• I think it’s good that we had the preliminary task as it helped me to learn and familiarise myself with how
Photoshop worked as I hadn’t ever used it before.
