The document discusses how the media product, a music magazine, uses and develops conventions of real music magazines while also challenging some conventions. It summarizes how the magazine uses conventions such as placement of the barcode, masthead, and inclusion of a website URL. However, it also challenges some conventions such as replacing the date with an issue number on the barcode and including social media icons instead of just a URL to make it more accessible to the target audience. The target audience is represented as teenagers and young adults through the use of dark colors, casual photography, question-based writing style, and low price point. Social groups of rock/goth and indie music fans are also represented through the imagery and color scheme.

2. Q1: In what ways does your media product use,
develop or challenge forms and conventions of real
media products?
• In my media product (music
magazine), many conventions
are used and developed;
however, another number of
them have either been
challenged or omitted. For
example, conventionally, the
front cover of a magazine
would include a main image
which would work with
juxtaposition with things
around it, working in tandem
to get information across to
the audience. This can be seen
in the Kerrang! magazine front
cover:

3. • as the medium shot of Oli Sykes shows him holding a camera which
creates juxtaposition when placed next to the buzz words “Hot Shots”
to indicate to the audience that there are exclusive photos inside.
Similarly to this - taking inspiration from this rock magazine and other
magazines that follow this convention – I decided to do this with my
magazine
by showing the lead singer of the band “Long Shot” making a gun
gesture; however, I developed my juxtaposition further by adding a
subheading saying “firing on all cylinders with their new album”
therefore showing how I have information on the band’s latest
album.

4. Another often used convention is a plug; usually used in bulk with
many on one page- the plug is a sticker like picture which is used to
depict to the reader what lies within the magazine. This convention
can be found in every genre of music magazine as it appeals to the
audience and makes them feel like they are getting something
nobody else is getting; something exclusive.
Albeit, a plug doesn't have to be an image but it is most commonly
an image as it adds more information to that section of the page. just
writing is less likely to entice the potential reader and so an image is
used to get the reader's attention and get them interested. But
simple writing is also used as can be seen on the Q front cover:

5. The plugs I have chosen to used are following the status quo of plugs
but others are building on the idea of the image and a bit of subtext.
The original ones are used to show to the audience that there are 5
free posters inside that you can cut out and stick on your wall;
however, the other two- near the top- each have a paragraph
alongside them to add context that just a few words couldn't do, the
image would draw the reader's attention and the writing would entice
them to buy the magazine as they would find it interesting:

6. The date and price are often bundled with the barcode wherever the
barcode is placed. This is because although they are necessities, the
barcode, price and date and not what attracts the reader to a certain
magazine, therefore they are kept small, bunched together and are
placed out of the way but in view. This usually means that they are all
squashed into a corner on the front cover so that people can see it and
tell how much it is going to cost but it doesn't distract away from the
main attractions or the main image on the front cover.

7. Kerrang! and NME have elected to place their barcodes on the front
cover in the bottom right corners, following the convention of keeping
them small and out of the way but having them still in view. But,
unconventionally, Q have decided to place their barcode elsewhere,
likely on the back of the magazine as it still has to be in view for it to be
scanned and paid for.
My barcode is on the front cover at the bottom left. Still following the convention of
placement; however, I have decided to replace the date in the barcode bundle with the
issue number as both do the same job of letting the readers know whether it is the
latest one out or not and whether they need it or not, but the issue number look more
aesthetically pleasing to me.

8. When it comes to the masthead in a magazine, you are likely to find it
at the top of the front cover as convention dictates that is where it
should be. This is because when you start reading, you start from the
top left of the page and so when you are looking for the title of the
magazine, you look straight to the top and to the left to find the name
of the magazine. This is the same for all magazines:
Following this convention due to its appeal through it being
aesthetically pleasing, my magazine starts at the top left and goes
across the page in big blocky letters. So the audience know right away
what it is called.

9. Also, quite often in a music magazine,
the centrefold of the double page spread in
connected by a heading/subheading to help
make the audience feel more comfortable
knowing that the two pages are connected as it
is often an image on one side and text on the
other. This heading/subheading is
conventionally, potentially a pull quote from
the text. This can be seen in the magazine by
NME:
The main image of the double
page spread is usually a very
large image that takes up the
whole page and makes any
writing look tiny. However,
challenging this convention, I
decided to have a still quite
large image- but with a fair
amount of writing to go along
side it, this would then free
me up some more space to
have a larger article for the
audience, thus enticing them
more.
Also, layout includes colour
and through research into
other magazines of the
rock genre and the survey I
had sent out- I found that
red, yellow, black and
white were the most
characteristic of a rock
magazine and so I
incorporated such colours
throughout my magazine.
Also, the convention of page numbers is almost
obligatory as they indicate to the audience the
numbers of the pages which allow them to
turn straight to what they want to read which
link in to the purpose of the contents page.
Using these conventions in my magazine is
useful because it allows the reader to look at
one side of the double page spread and
smoothly move to the other side of it, making
the transition smooth makes the two pages
look less blocky and more merged together
which is what you would expect from a double
page spread.

10. Moreover, conventions are very hard to oppose when it
comes to appealing to a large market as they have grown to
expect certain things. Such things would include a website
URL placed on one of the pages; either the front cover,
double page spread or the contents page where the
readers can visit to get more information on certain
subjects such as those shown below in Kerrang!, NME and
Q:
Each of these use the URL puffs to express to the reader how each
magazine doesn't just end at the end of the issue, it allows the
reader to dig further into a story and depicts how much bigger the
magazine is. Expanding on this for my own magazine- and
developing it unconventionally- I decided to introduce social
networking icons where the reader will be able to follow the
magazine and get day to day updates, as the stereotypical young
readers are now expecting to be able to use all kind of media to
read about the latest things. Facebook and Twitter were the two
icons and social medias I chose to place on my magazine- shown
below- but are among many potentially usable ones:
Using icons instead of URLs is unconventional because- unlike
other magazines- it doesn't give the reader a particular site to visit
with a certain story, it gives them a page which is much easier and
more accessible than typing a full URL out in the search bar. This
then appeals to my target audience because it is aimed at teens
that are stereo-typically lazy as it is much easier to like a Facebook
page than continuously typing out the website URL.

11. Q2: How does your media product represent particular social
groups?
Colour scheme:
The use of the colours black
and red across my double-
page spread imply that the
social group I aim to target
like to wear dark clothes that
express the genre of music
they listen to – in this case
rock. The use of red is bright,
and so implies that my
audience like to stand out
from the crowd, and also
connotes danger – suggesting
my audience like to live life on
the edge. These traits are
common in teenagers as they
like to try new and exciting
things, whilst also expressing
their interests boldly (such as
through dress).
Photography:
The colour scheme links in with the image used
on this page, as the actor in this image is dressed
in black. This was planned for my image, as again
it expresses how teenagers like to stress their
music taste through their clothing. Also, the
posture of the subject is slumped forward –
suggesting that teenagers tend to slouch and
appear laid back, as if they are void of stress and
are instead careless.
Writing style:
The use of the questions: ‘What is your
greatest ambition? What do you most
hope to achieve in your life time?’ I imply
that my audience are young, as many
adolescents tend to be questioning what
to do with their lives. Therefore, it
represents this particular social group as
searching for some inspiration from their
favourite celebrities in what to do with
their own lives.
Social group:
From the fact the subject is wearing
black and the colour scheme is red and
black, the whole double-page spread
gives off a rather gothic feel. However,
with the effect of the guitar and the lit
up background – I have also
represented a social group of ‘Indie’ as
it isn’t quite as dark and msyterious as
the stereotypical ‘goth’ would be
represented.

12. Class:
I decided to give my magazine a
price of £2.50 – which presents my
target audience to be
working/middle class. This
suggests that they are earning less
than the average adult and so
would not be willing to spend a lot
of money on a magazine as they
cannot afford to waste it; therefore
implying my audience are young
adults or adolescents.
Content:
The fact that I have included social icons on
the front cover represents my audience as
media savvy. It suggests that they are
always on some form of media/technology,
and always want to keep up to date on the
internet (something in which the typical
adult doesn’t feel they depend on). This
applies to all social classes and genders
when it comes to the younger audience.
Having the masthead in a Roman/Greek font
challenges the stereotypical representation
of youth because in this day and age, young
people want to be seen as wild and out of
control; however, with my choice of font, I
have presented the audience as still taking an
interest and pride in how academic and
intellectual they are, not just how fun they
are. Therefore, I have represented them as
mature but still socially concerned.
In this front cover, there is the
gesture of a gun taking form in the
subjects hand; this represents the
readers as finding allure in guns and
violence- and by extension- danger.
The representation of young people
being attracted to danger can also be
seen to be represented through the
continuous use of the colour red which
can be seen over and over in the music
magazine as it can be throughout all rock
music magazines.
Writing Style:
Social Groups:

13. Q3: What kind of media institution might
distribute your media product and why?
Due to my chosen genre, audience and layout, I believe Bauer Media would be the type of
institution to distribute my media product.
Firstly, as Bauer Media are the publishers of Kerrang!, Q and Mojo, this means they have a larger
circulation than ICP Inspire - who only publish one magazine (NME- that has a circulation of just
33,875) and so therefore would not appeal to as many people and would not make my magazine
as successful. This is because Kerrang!, Q and Mojo have completely different target audiences in
terms of age and genre - and so not only are they more diverse, but my magazine would
introduce a new age group in which they do not yet target. This would then be beneficial to them
as it furthers their reach into society.
Moreover, in terms of genre and target audience, my magazine is very similar to that of Kerrang!,
as Kerrang! aim to target an audience with an average age of 22, and I aim to target an audience
within the ages of 16 plus, as well as them both having a rock music genre. A common target
audience and genre would also be tempting to them as they already have one successful rock
magazine aimed at adults, so then having one aimed at teens could be seen as a swift music
magazine rite for them to ease them into Kerrang!.
Additionally, the fact that Bauer Media have a diverse set of magazines that target completely
different audiences – which could be seen as a downfall – is actually a benefit as, especially when
it comes to Q magazine, they are very open minded and are always introducing fresh new artists
into the music scene. This would benefit my magazine as it means there is and could be some
crossover between the audiences, which would therefore increase the circulation of my own
magazine itself.

14. Q4: Who would be the audience for
your media product?
My audience would be music fanatics around 18 years old- listening to music 24/7.
Their favourite genre of music would be rock and this music would play a large part in
their lives, impacting their social circles and fashion. They would read magazines to
obtain information on celebrities, freebies and to read articles, and also get
information on upcoming venues that they can attend. They would enjoy music by the
likes of You Me At Six etc. but would still be willing to openly try out new, diverse
bands. Being 18, they would probably still be in education and so would potentially
study a lot and therefore listen to music more often than the average person. The
favourite colours of the ideal audience would based around black and red colours as
they are the main ones characteristic of rock. With the audience being young and still
in education, they are unlikely to have a lot of money compared to the average adult
and therefore would look to be buying cheapish magazines – such as Bottleneck! – as it
is applicable to those who are only able to spend a few pounds on a magazine but still
want all the content and exclusives as those who can throw their money away.

15. Q5: How did you attract/address your
audience?
The use of the buzz
word “Outstanding”
and the capitalisation
of this word helps to
attract the reader
because it makes this
section of the page
look significant and
exciting.
Following the buzzword,
in the text section, I then
addressed the audience
directly by the use of
personal pronouns such as
“you” which makes the
audience feel special and
part of a conversation
with magazine creators.
The bold, dark red colour-
which is applicable the
enticement of the
audience is used here. This
is because important
notices are- more often
than not- in red; stop sign,
traffic lights, etc. and so
the audience is
instinctively drawn to this
section.
The medium shot- with the
subject looking directly into
the camera allows the
audience to feel roped into
the magazine which both
attracts and addresses the
audience. It does this by
connecting with them as he
points his finger down the
lens.
A studio/spotlight is used in the
corner of the pages to make the
audience feel as though they are
in the spotlight; this is because
the spotlight- instead of being
positioned facing the main
image- is facing outwards,
lighting up the audience. Also,
with the subject of the main
image looking down the camera
lens, it looks as though the
audience is engaging in a
conversation with the artist
backstage- which would help
with the idea of the Q&A article.
Using custom shapes
on Photoshop, I was
able to find and make
an explosive shape to
make it look like
something big is
happening and then
attract the reader.
After the shape was
placed, I had to fiddle
around with it and
transform it so that it
looked perfect and in
place.

16. Using the “editors notice” convention of a
magazine addresses the audience because it is
telling them that there is a direct bit of text that
the editor wants them to read; it lets them feel
as though they have been picked out to read
this magazine and therefore makes them feel
very special and unique.
Using a red, jagged star- by drawing in in Photoshop with straight lines and merging the layer and then
colouring it with the fill tool and making it brighter than its background so that it stands out- alerts the
audience to it’s presence and attracts them- in turn allowing me to address them.
By using the pull quote and
making it look like I have cut it
out and stuck it onto the page-
by copy and pasting a black
rectangle over and over and
merging the layers- makes it look
appealing to the audience and
then entices them to read the
text.As pronouns are commonly used in conversation between two or more people,
the reader is therefore addressed by making them join in the conversation- as
the artist’s response was directed right at them.

17. Q6: What have you learnt about technologies
from the process of constructing this product?
From constructing this product, I have found that almost every piece of technology
necessary for creating such a product can work in tandem with one another and be
interlinked to create even more things. Some of the technologies include hardware
such as cameras, voice recorders, USB sticks and computers; and others include
software such as Photoshop, Word, Adobe Bridge, Power-point, Blogger.com, Internet,
etc.

18. Another example, when I started my
preliminary task, I had no idea that I could
have any font I wanted, I thought I was
completely limited to what there was on
Photoshop. However, by the time I had
finished my final product, I knew that I
could find a font online – on dafont.com-
and save it to my computer and put it into
Photoshop and use it from there. This
meant that if I wanted a specific type of
font, I could have it. It also shows how well
the internet links with computers, which
links to computing programmes like
Photoshop.
For example, at the start of the coursework,
I had to make a mock up of what I wanted
my final product to look like. This meant
that I had to go onto word and put in titles,
subheadings, plugs, etc. And after that, I
had to save it as a picture so I could easily
look at it from time to time; this then
meant print-screening the finished mock up
and pasting it into Powerpoint where I
could then save it as an image. This image
would later be uploaded to the internet via
blogger as part of my coursework.

19. To keep things organised, I saved
everything I had done to a USB stick and to
the Thaw space so that I couldn’t/wouldn’t
lose anything. This meant saving pictures
that I had taken for my magazine by
inserting the SD card into an SD card reader
and placing it into the computer, this would
then make the picture files available to be
moved onto Thaw space and my USB which
in turn could be placed into Photoshop to
be edited and played with so that they
looked the way they were supposed to.
As my preliminary task was my first ever use of Photoshop, I had very little knowledge
of what I could do with it, I didn’t know what could be placed in there (e.g. Pictures,
fonts, shapes, writing, etc.) and therefore my ability was very closed off and limited.
But, by the end, I could take a picture and either place it onto a page as it is without
any further modifications to the image and just transform it if needs be, or put it on a
separate page to be edited further so it looks more fitting.
Also, keeping things safe applied to the
voice recording that I had to do as an
interview. This was transferred into the
Thaw space and my USB so that it could
then be placed into [insert]. Placing it into
[insert] is useful because it can then be
turned into a video format- which is exactly
what happened. Then pictures, text and
animation can be added to help the viewer
to engage and not become uninterested. I
just added some writing because then the
viewer still has something to look at but
they aren’t too distracted that they aren’t
listening to what the video is about. The
video would then be uploaded to
Blogger.com where it can be viewed by the
public.

20. When researching what my audience would like to find is a
magazine, specifically rock, I had to devise a way of finding out
this information. The best way of doing this was to create a survey
on Survey Monkey- with questions that would help with the
design of my magazine- which I then put on Facebook for people
to fill out.
After this, I downloaded the Survey
Monkey app on my smartphone to keep
notified on when someone had filled it
in; this meant that I could reflect on the
new response and add it to the rest as
soon as possible.
Then I had to put my findings into a
PowerPoint for analysis. By putting it
into this software, I was able to
insert and crop the images so that I
had only the relevant information,
thus allowing me to analyse quickly
and efficiently giving me more to
work with on my magazine.
After this stage of my magazine creation, I had to start
incorporating my finding into the magazine as I went along in
Photoshop. This meant taking the favoured colours and adding
them to the magazine. This was done by the fill tool and also by
clicking on the colour of an object or text and moving it
along/across the colour grid.
Other ways of adding elements of my research to the magazine was
by the content, the audience was expecting a lot of article like
writing and so that’s what I did. I placed guides down the page,
cutting the right hand side of the double page spread into three
sections which is where I would place the text for it to look like an
article.
A separate piece of text for the left hand side of the page,
introducing the whole notion of the Q&A article on the other side
of the page was rasterized, ready for drawing a box around and
layer via cutting, so that I could mould it’s shape to that of the
main image making it look more aesthetically pleasing than just
some text in block form making it’s way over the main image and
distorting the audiences view of it.
This process was also done on the contents
page where I wanted the text to mould the
main image again so that it did not overlap
with it, I then decided to make the text a
different colour by double clicking on it’s
layer in Photoshop and going to cover
overlay where I chose a colour and selected
okay to apply it. Although I never stuck
with the colour I chose, it is useful in
explaining how you can still change the
colour of text after it have been rasterized.

21. Q7: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do
you feel you have learnt in the progression from it
to the full product?
In my preliminary task, I knew very little- if anything- about Photoshop. But, by
the time it came to the end and finishing my media product, I was quite
capable of doing a lot of things that I never knew were even possible of the
Photoshop software. Things such as the cloning tool, importing text of your
own from the internet and so on.
The first example of this would be the main
image of the front cover, this is the first thing
I started with- in both the preliminary and
the final product. In the preliminary, I used a
single image on the front cover with little
writing surrounding it, which meant I had to
transform and stretch the image out of it’s
original shape to get it to fit on the page.
With the final product, I knew that the front
cover wasn’t just comprised of a single
picture and some writing, so I knew that if
the picture was too long or too wide, I could
simply crop it down and fit the gaps in with
plugs or subimages- which are quite often
the same thing.
PRELIMINARY: FINAL PRODUCT:

22. Importing text from the internet to my magazine
was very important aspect of making my
magazine; without the right text, it wouldn’t be
exactly how I wanted it to be. In my preliminary
task, I felt that any bold font would be perfect for
my magazine; however, when it came to making
my media product, I knew that a simple bold font
would not suffice, I knew it would have to look
better and more intriguing if it was going to
attract the audience. I learnt through this process
how to download a font from the internet, save it
into a folder and add that folder to the Photoshop
so that I could use it from there.
PRELIMINARY:
FINAL PRODUCT:
Also, as my preliminary front cover was quite
primitive in comparison to my final product and
even more primitive in comparison to a real
magazine, it did not contain some of the vital
elements such as plugs. I learnt from looking at
my preliminary and other magazines that I had
to have more content on my front cover,
otherwise it looks dull and bland; so by adding
plugs, I was able to let the readers know more
about what was going on in the magazine and
also make it look more aesthetically pleasing.

23. Beside techniques and how to do things within
Photoshop, I have learnt that when designing
and creating a magazine, you have to follow,
challenge and develop conventions- but mainly
follow them- in order to make a successful
magazine because they are what makes a good
magazine good. One of these conventions is the
layout of the contents page; layout is key to
keeping an audience interested as it is all about
how it looks. In my preliminary task, my mock
up of the contents page followed the
expectations of an article more than a list of
contents as you would expect. Building on this
and fixing it for my final product, I condensed
the writing into a much shorter list and placed it
down the right hand side of the page, freeing
up space for another convention of the contents
page, the large main image surrounded by small
sub-images.
From looking at other magazines, my preliminary and the
responses I got back from Survey Monkey, I found that a colour
scheme is quite vital in making a magazine look appealing, you
need constant colours running through with the odd different
one. In my preliminary, I had a clash of loads of colours which
made it kind of hard to look at for too long, making the audience
feel like they don’t want to read it and therefore they would not
buy it. However, with my final product, there were consistent red,
black and white, with a little yellow every now and again; this
makes the audience interested because they can easily look at the
page without wanting to look away, they have to colours they
would expect and want on the page.