The document discusses the influences and conventions used in creating the author's magazine product. It begins by explaining how the author learned about magazine conventions and applied them to their front cover design. This included using conventions like mastheads, cover lines, and placement of elements. The author then discusses how they challenged some conventions by using a plain front cover design and unique formatting of text. Influences from magazines like NME and Q are also described for elements like layouts, colors, and styles. Finally, the author reflects on the technologies used to construct the magazine like Microsoft Word and Paint.net.

2. In what way does your media product use,
develop or challenge forms and
conventions of real media products?

3. Front cover
Throughout my magazine I have tried to include generic conventions. I had learnt
about these conventions during my conventions task which I had completed at the
start of year 12. http://taliagaye.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/blog-post_20.html
I made an analysis of all the codes and conventions
which had been used on the front cover of the
magazine.
After completing this task, I then tried to put these
conventions into context myself. I had used four
magazine templates from existing magazines as a basis
for my work. I then added myself various conventions I
had learnt about such as main cover lines, cover lines,
left thirds etc.
http://taliagaye.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/codes-and-
conventions-of-magazine-task.html
These tasks helped me to quickly gain knowledge into
generic conventions of music magazines but also the
way in which I should apply them when creating my
own magazine.

4. As a result of the two tasks I had gained a clear understanding into generic
conventions and the layout of a front cover as shown below in my own magazines
front cover.
I took into consideration how each convention
should be typically displayed and followed the
rules of conventions within a music magazine.
I had used the left third rule for my masthead. I
also used a cover line within the left third of my
magazine so that I was following the
conventions.
I also made sure that the main cover line took
over the attention compared to the cover lines.
I decided to merge the URL and date line
together with the masthead to add to the
design of the magazine further giving the cove
more interest into the design.
I had also added other important conventions
such as the barcode and price in a familiar way
on my cover featuring them both together.

5. Challenges and developments
Some of the conventions I learnt about a music magazine I had challenged and
added my own ideas so that I achieve my own identity for my magazine.
Unlike most Indie/rock magazines which I had
researched such as NME, Kerrang and Q, I choose
for the front cover of my magazine to be plain. I
found that with the magazines which I made
research into, their front covers often featured more
than one piece of original photography. The front
cover of these magazines commonly had a main
imagine and also photography within cover lines
etc to promote what was inside of the magazine.
Where as with my magazine I has chosen to only
use one piece of original photography challenging
the typical codes and conventions of an Indie/rock
magazine. I did this as I wanted the target
audience to focus on the main cover line which
had relation to my main imagine of my main artist. I
think that for my magazine this worked well for
promoting my main article within the magazine
itself.

6. Challenges and developments
On the front cover of my magazine, I
have also choose to add my own
identity into the conventions through
the main cover line. I had chosen to
underline and write in Italic font the
artists name. This isn’t something which
is normally used on a magazine cover
and from my research I hadn’t seen it
been used in any of the Indie/rock
magazines I researched either.
This feature in the main cover line gives
a uniqueness about my magazine as
well as providing an emphasis on the
main cover line in relation to the main
image of the artist behind it.

7. Influences
The choice of layout for my magazine came from a number of influences including Q,
NME and Kerrang. I had chosen these magazines for influence as it matched the
genre of music which I had chosen for my own magazine and they helped me to
develop my own ideas of now I wanted my own magazine to look like.
Using the influence of NME’s and Kerrang’s
masthead I came up with how mine was going
to be designed. For both magazines I liked how
the masthead was in white font. I thought that
the colour stood out over both backgrounds of
the magazines drawing in the
readers attention. This is exactly what
I wanted for my magazine. I also
liked the fact that NME had a short
masthead on the left hand side of
the magazine. I also took inspiration
from this for my magazine as I
thought it made magazine sound
catchy and it didn’t look too ‘in your
face’. This is a feature I wanted my
magazine to also have.

8. Influences
Another influence I got from NME was their style of cover lines.
When looking at this NME
magazine, the cover lines
really stood out to me. I
liked how the had
backgrounds which
contrasted well with the
overall colour scheme of
the front cover.
I was influenced by the
way that they designed
their cover lines and
therefore inherited in within
my own work. I purposely
made sure that the colour
scheme of the text with the
background all matched
the conventions of my magazine so that the colours were consistent and the magazine
stood out.

9. Influences
Q magazine
influenced me
into the
positioning of
my cover lines.
I liked the way
the cover lines
were
positioned
Were positioned around the out side of the cover
making the magazine look professional and not taking
too much attention off the main image. I decided to
also only position my cover lines around the outside of
the cover.
I also liked the use of direct address from the cover star
used on the front page. This provides a relationship
between the cover star and the audience.
The backgrounds of both of the magazines are plain
using a single colour. I also did this within my magazine as I thought it gave emphasis to my
cover lines and main cover line as they stood out over the background. I also decided to
do this throughout the whole magazine making it a part of my colour scheme.

10. Contents
The layout of my magazines contents page was inspired by some aspects of Q
magazine and NME. Then began to draft my contents page using these inspirations.
http://taliagaye.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/magazine-layout-draft.html
The use of images relating on the contents page with page
numbers over them in Q magazine inspired me into using this
in my own magazine. I liked the way they had done this as it
looked different. I also found it a lot more eye catching
seeing familiar artists rather then reading a familiar artists
name on the page.
I also liked the fact that in both
magazines they had used the
colour scheme of white, red and
black which had which I had later
on adapted into my own
magazine.
I found that the variation between
between images, the sizes of them and the text made my
magazine a lot more stimulating and attractive. I also
decided to include the same features within my own
magazine.

11. Purposely I chose to carry on the colour scheme of
my front cover to my contents of Red, Black and
white. I chose to do this as I noticed that in many
of the Indie/Rock magazines I had researched
their colour schemes were kept consistent. I think
this was important to me as it gave my magazine
an identity and professionalism which I wanted to
be able to stick to.
I also chose to carry on the cover star and story
into my contents page. This enabled my magazine
to have consistency and make it clear that this
was the main article of my magazine.
In the magazines which had influenced me, their
contents pages featured advertisements. This is
what made my magazine slightly unique
compared to my influences.
The use of the magazines name ‘ROIT’ was also
featured on my magazines contents page. This
was inspiration which I had taken from both Q
magazine and NME. I thought that it was
important that the magazines identity was carried
through to the contents page.

12. Double page spread
My first influences for my double page spread were NME and Q magazine.
http://taliagaye.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/research-and-planning-of-double-page.html
I planned for my double page spreads to looks similar to these as I liked the layout of the
pictures alongside the text.
I was also inspired by these particular magazines as they were from the same genre music
as I planned my magazine to be. I took inspiration from the way they looked and wanted
to add these ideas eventually into my own magazine.

13. My main influence was the NME double page
spread.
As with this double page spread I also decided to
use a quote for my main focus of the title for the
article. I thought the way that the text was
presented stood out on the page and
immediately grabbed the audiences attention. I
wanted to be able to created this same effect
within my own magazine.
I was also influenced by the artist which was
featured on the right hand side of the page.
I thought that it fitted in well with the article
on the left hand side and gave a nice
relationship between the title, main artist
and article.
I also decided to keep the colours of red,
white and black consistent throughout the
whole of my magazine. I did this as I thought
that it brought together the front page,
contents page and double page spread
nicely.

14. How does your media product represent
particular social groups?

15. My magazine was mainly aimed at teenagers, old and young, who like Indie/rock
music. For me I found that NME and Q magazine helped me into forming this identity
for my own magazine. They also helped me into understanding how to fit this genre of
music into my magazine as well as appealing to the correct target audience.
Cover star
The cover star ‘Aubry Banks’ in her
original photography demonstrates
someone who doesn’t give away a lot
about herself based on her appearance.
She looked very ‘straight faced’ which is
what I wanted to be able to portray for
my cover star. I did this because as a part
of my artists background I explained how
she had been a victim of bullying and
how she always expressed herself through her music. The fact my
artist was shown in such an straight faced way was to portray this
background which she had that from the outside she looked
normal and kept all her problems inside. Music was the way she
got rid of all her problems which is talked about within the
interview.
I thought it was important that I gave this representation as it also
portrayed my typical target market of teenagers.

16. Teenagers typically are seen as having ‘problems’ within their
lives but keeping them bottled up.
This was the same image I wanted to be able to portray
through my cover star so that my target audience would be
able to relate to the article within my magazine.
Other photos used in my magazine also gave my magazine a
‘cheeky, rebellious, youthful’ trend which comes from the
Indie/Rock genre. The two boys represent this trend as they were both captured laughing
which reflects the genre of music as again being ‘mischievous’. Indie/rock is also
represented through the band photo on the stairs. The emotions in all of the artists face
reflects typical teenagers. On the left hand side, the boy pulling a face represents them as
being ‘silly’. The girl in the middle shows a representation of ‘seriousness’ and the boy on
the right looking away being ‘care free’ all representing traits of a teenager but also
representation of the genre of music itself.

17. What kind of media institution might
distribute your media product and why?

18. The genre and audience of ROIT magazine is very similar to NME’s and Q magazine
which are major distribution companies. I can see ROIT working well as a major
distributor as it is a fresh type of magazine displaying a lot of new faces. It is also a
similar magazine to both Q and NME, therefore a top seller.
I researched into major distribution companies including Bauer
media.
http://taliagaye.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/planning_13.html
I found that may popular music magazines had been
produced by them. These magazine including Kerrang, Q
magazine and Mojo.
They were also involved in a range of media such as TV, radio, internet, phones,
magazines etc. However, even though the company was involved in a number of
magazines I didn't’ feel as though it was the right one for my own particular magazine.

19. The distributor I had chosen instead for my magazine was IPC media -
http://www.ipcmedia.com/
I have chosen them as my distributors based on their
range of magazines which also includes NME, a big
inspiration of my own magazine. They also have a
variety of ways in which to advertise on different
platforms including websites, printing and modern
technology such as mobile phones and tablets.
I think that ROIT magazine will be able to
merge well with this modern company as a
new magazine for young music lovers.

20. Who would be the audience for your
media product?

21. My magazine is aimed at teenagers and young adults from
ages of around 16 – 21.
I had created a questionnaire for my target audience to
complete based on the content of my magazine.
http://taliagaye.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/questionnaire-on-
content-of-my-magazine.html
This helped me to find out what my target audience
wanted to see in my magazine so that I knew what it was I
needed to include to make it relevant for my target
audience. I recorded this information and then presented it
in the form of pie graphs.
http://taliagaye.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/female-
questionnaire-analysis-for.html
The result of this helped me to develop my magazine so
that it will suit my target audience. NME also has a similar
target audience as my magazine as their audience ranges
from around teenagers to the age of around 21.

22. How did you attract/address your
audience?

23. Masthead
I think that the name of my magazine is
very catchy. The name ‘ROIT’ reminds me
of ‘riot’ which references noise and
banging. This is also a similar way of
describing the genre of Indie/Rock music
as it is sometimes very loud and heavy. I
think this is good for my magazine as the
name has reference to the genre of music advertised within the magazine and gives
the magazine meaning.
I think that the simplicity of the name also works well for my target audience as it is
easy to remember in teenagers hectic lives.
The use of CAPTIALS within the name and the white font makes the magazine stand
out to the audience.
I think that my choice of colour for the magazines name is also a good feature as it is
easy to work with in terms as making it match the front covers background in future
issues.
The magazine name is catchy but also looks eye catching for the audience because
of the use of fonts and colours I have used.

24. Colours
From the research I had made into magazines, I had came up with a
colour scheme for my own magazine before beginning to design it.
http://taliagaye.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/planning_22.html
Similarly to NME and Rolling stone magazine, the colours I have
chosen
For my magazine suit my target audience because of their clarity,
Contrasts and uses.
For a Rock magazine, Black provides a dark ‘sinister’ meaning to my
magazine.
White gives a purity as well as a nice base colour.
Red can also be used for text needing special attention plus to give
a sense of romance or even warning.

25. Cover lines
The cover lines are used to draw in further my
audiences attention.
Quotes from artists have been used such as “OUR
FANS ARE AWSOME” to draw in my targets audience
attention to the magazine. I displayed a quote on
the front of the magazine as I knew it would be a
point of interest for the artists fans. It also leaves the
audience interested to what is inside of the
magazine.
I have also gave emphasis to certain words on my
magazine such as ‘Aubry Banks’. I chose to use
italic, bold white font so that out of all the fonts it
stood out on the page. The fact that it was the main
cover line also supported this to be most noticeable
to my audience.
The language I have chosen to use on the
magazine also fits with my target audience being
easy to read and a down to earth tone which is
easy and enjoyable to read.

26. Images
Most of the images used throughout the magazine of my
cover star look strong, proud and confident. They can also
relate to the fact that she isn’t giving too much away about
her emotions through her straight facial expressions relating to
her childhood when she was bullied and kept everything
bottled up.
I made sure that my cover star was making eye contact with
the audience in every photo to build a relationship with the
audience. However I also did it to relate to the fact that she is
over her bulling from a child and now releasing her music to
the world.
Other images used in my magazine such as the support artists
I tried to portray them in a cheeky, fun way so that it
appealed to my target audience and in some ways to the
genre of music.

27. What have you learnt about technologies
from the process of constructing the
product?

28. During the processes, I used various processes to construct my magazine. These
included paint.net, Microsoft word and page plus. Here are some strengths;
Microsoft Word Page Plus Paint.net Publisher
Very easy and logical to use. Very easy and logical to
use.
Easy to use and understand Easy to use and understand.
Can easily add text and
pictures onto the documents
in whatever font, style and
colour you want.
You can add effects and
filters to photos instead of
having to do it on a
different software.
Able to images with effects
and tools such as the ‘magic
pen’ to erase unwanted
background.
Was able to create
documents and choose to
save as a picture file such as a
JPEG.
A lot of flexibility to go back
and change fonts, sizes,
colour and images.
You can have a layout
which puts all of your work
from the three pages into
one document.
Able to add text and shapes
to the document.
Was already familiar with the
software so was able to start
the task straight away.
Spell check prevents any
spelling mistakes and
grammar errors.
Allows you to change
fonts, colours of text and
the sizes
Allows you to change the
canvas sizes to make it more
realistic to your magazine.
Mistakes I made or changes I
wanted to make were easy to
go back and edit.
Clear and accurate previews
of the document
Has a whole range of
tools such as erasing
backgrounds from photos
and choose background
colours etc.
You can add different layers
into your work so that it isn’t
over crowed.
There was a variation of
templates for me to choose
from that suited my work.
Allows you to be able to
save the document in
formats such as a JPEG or
PSD file

29. Even though the software's were good to use they also came with some weaknesses;
Microsoft Word Page Plus Paint.net Publisher
Unable to save
documents as JPEGS or
image formats.
The effects do not
appear as a good
quality on the photo.
When I first starting using it,
it took me a little while to
be able to get the hang of
the software.
Tools that I could use on the
software was very basic
and didn’t always make my
magazine look the way I
wanted it to.
Difficult and had to play
around a lot to be able to
change the text or
placements
Unable to change text
after unselecting a
layer so this made it at
times frustrating
The cut out studio tool was
sometimes frustrating to use
when trying to remove a
background without
effecting the image itself.
I couldn’t use cropping
tools to remove
backgrounds from photos I
used within my work.
Limited choice of brush
effects and choice of
shapes
Sometimes when I would
save the file as a JPEG the
background on my work
wouldn’t show up and it
would be blank.
Each program had its uses in the development of my magazine. Microsoft word
useful to add text to my double page spread, the effects on paint.net were useful
when editing my original photography and Page Plus was very helpful when putting
the whole magazine together at the end.

30. Drafting and planning
During the making of my magazine, I took snap shots of the stages of my magazines
development. This enabled me to see how well my magazine was developing as a
whole from start to finish.
http://taliagaye.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/planning_17.html
http://taliagaye.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/research_28.html
http://taliagaye.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/research_5.html
http://taliagaye.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/planning_7.html
http://taliagaye.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/improved-front-page-and-contents-
page.html
http://taliagaye.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/planning_10.html
Before I came to completing my whole magazine, I had to go through a number of
stages. Through researching and comparing similar magazines to my own, my
magazine began to form nicely.
A difficulty I had faced in the process of making my magazine was cropping out the
background from my cover stars photo. To over come this I used the ‘cut out studio’
took on page plus and took time to make sure I didn’t
ruin any details on my photograph.

31. Photographic choices
Before taking photographs of my cover
star I researched into the way I wanted
my cover star to look.
http://taliagaye.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11
/solo-artist-research.html
This then gave me a clearer idea into
how I wanted.
Researching into how I wanted my
cover star to look also helped me to get
inspiration into how I wanted my cover
star to look on photographs and in the
photo-shoot.
I think that without this research I
wouldn’t have gained research into how
I wanted my cover star to look. This
made it a lot easier for me when I was
completed my magazine.

32. Blogger
Blogger was a way for me to be able to display
the processes I went through in creating my
magazine. I found that it was also an effective
way for me to be to display my work and also
search what I had done.
I can access my work at any time and very
easily instead of keeping it all within a folder. I
found that blogger was a much easier way to
do this.
The freedom of being able to post, edit and
delete posts is much more efficient compared
to rewriting or erasing written work which I had
completed.
I also found blogger a interesting way to
display my work. I found it a lot more enjoyable
to complete the tasks given compared to how
I think I would have found it if I had to write out
my work and keep it within a folder.

33. Looking back at your preliminary task,
what do you feel you have learnt in the
progression from it to the full product?

34. PRELIMINARY TASK MAIN FINAL TASK
In my preliminary task, I don’t think that my cover lines are well structured around the
front page. The layout is very simple however it is severe not leaving a lot of freedom
for the cover lines.

35. PRELIMINARY TASK MAIN FINAL TASK
I think that for my contents page I have improved massively from my preliminary task
to my main task considering that I also used page plus for both of them. The first
attempt was very dull and boring where as my second attempt is a lot more
interesting using a different layout for my contents information and images.

36. Overall I am very happy with the way that my magazine has turned out. I think
that I have fulfilled the brief of making a music magazine. Though my research
of music magazines, the help of coming to terms with my target audience and
multiple software's to produce my magazine, I have created a Indie/Rock
magazine with a typical but in some ways unique magazine in its appearance
with its bold style and brand which flows from page to page. I feel that my
strongest page of the magazine is the contents page. This was due to the strong
unique layout of the page along with the images used. I feel that overall my
magazine turned out successful.