m

2. One convention of magazines is the
masthead running along the top of the
page, and the masthead being cropped
in order for part of the models head to
run across it. I have placed my masthead
along the top of the page and cropped it
to place part of my models head over the
top of it (shown below right), as have
‘mixmag’ magazine (shown below left)
Another convention of magazines is
additional information being added
along the sides of the model. I have
placed information about articles within
the magazine along the right hand side
of my model (shown below right), as
have ‘mixmag’ magazine (shown below
left).
Also magazines conventionally use larger
writing for their main cover line. This
makes it stand out to the audience and
emphasises its importance. I have used a
bright colour and larger writing for my
main cover line (shown below right),
‘mixmag’ have also used larger writing
for their main cover line (shown below
left).
Magazines typically place their barcode
and price in the bottom right hand
corner of the front cover. I have placed
the barcode and price for my magazine
in the bottom right hand corner (shown
below right), as has ‘mixmag’ magazine
(shown below left).
However, magazines usually place cover lines
along both sides of the model in order to add
information about more articles onto the front
cover, as shown with ‘mixmag’ (shown below
left). Whereas, with my magazine front cover I
have only places cover lines along one side of the
image which allows my model to gain more
attention and emphasises her importance
(shown below right).
Front covers for magazines,
conventionally follow a particular colour
scheme. For example, ‘Mixmag’ follow a
black, red and white colour scheme
(shown below left)which is common
among many magazines such as
‘Kerrang’ and ‘Q’. However, for my
magazine although i have followed a
strict colour scheme, my colour scheme
sticks to bright colours (shown below
right)including: fuchsia and yellow.

3. Conventionally magazine contents
pages use a simple layout consisting of
two or three columns. I have used a two
column layout for my contents page
(shown below right), as has ‘Mojo’
magazine (shown below left).
Also magazines conventionally place the
magazines release date along to the top
of the contents page. I have placed
mine in the top right corner (shown
below right), while ‘Mojo’ have placed
theirs in the top left (shown below left).
Another convention of magazine contents
pages is to have the page numbers with
correlate to the appropriate article information
on the left of the information in a different
colour. I have placed my page numbers to the
left of the article information in a different
colour (shown below right)as has mojo
magazine (shown below left).
Magazine contents pages
conventionally follow a particular
colour scheme. For example,
‘Mojo’ follows a black, green and
yellow colour scheme (shown
below left) for their contents
page. However, for my magazine
although I have followed a strict
colour scheme throughout , my
colour scheme sticks to bright
colours (shown below
right)including: fuchsia and yellow,
but also blacks and whites.

4. One convention of a magazine double
page spread is the use of drop caps to
start an article. ‘Kerrang’ (shown below
on the left) uses a drop cap to start
there article, as does my magazine
(shown below right).
Magazine double page spreads
conventionally follow a particular
colour scheme. For example,
‘Kerrang’ (shown above left)
follows a black, green and yellow
colour scheme for their double
page spread. Even the models
clothes and hair are in keeping
with the colour scheme which
maintains its consistency.
However, for my magazine
although I have followed a strict
colour scheme throughout , my
colour scheme for my double
page spread is: fuchsia, navy,
black and white. Like ‘Kerrang’ I
have made my colour scheme
consistent as it incorporates the
models hair and clothing too
(shown above right).
Another convention of magazine double
page spreads is there use of pull quotes.
‘Kerrang’ (as shown below left) use pull
quotes to emphasise certain phrases of
the interviewees response, similar to
‘Kerrang’ my magazine (shown below
right) uses pull quotes to emphasise
certain parts of the interviewees
responses.
Also magazine double page spreads
conventionally follow a column layout. For
example ‘Kerrang’ (shown above left) uses a
two column layout for the first half of the
double page spread as it contains the image
of the model, and a three column layout for
the second page which just contains text. My
magazine (shown above right) uses the same
column layout as ‘Kerrang’.
The text is conventionally wrapped around
the image of the model on magazine double
page spreads. ‘Kerrang’ (shown below left)
wrap their text around the outline of the
model used, as does my magazine (shown
below right).

5. My media product represents the
younger generations, as the vast majority
of the artists who will be featured in my
magazine are of the younger generations.
My magazine’s main focus is on the music
created by the artists, however it also
shows how young people can work hard
to achieve their dreams. . My ideal age
range of readers is 15-23. I want my
magazine to show that although it may
appear the younger generations have it all
laid out for them, that isn't always the
case.

6. My media product doesn't specifically
represent any social class, as it features
artists from a wide range of social classes.
However, the language used in my
magazine may appeal to the higher
classes more so than the lower classes, as
a lot of the language used is quite
sophisticated. My ideal ABC1 figure is
58%, as it means well educated people
who understand all the language used are
reading my magazine so it is reaching its
full potential. My magazine aims o show
that the class system doesn’t effect
somebodies talent and that although it
may be harder to reach success it is still
possible.

7. My media product doesn't specifically represent any gender,
however it may appear to represent females more than
males. This is due to more females being featured more
frequently in my magazine and males not really being
featured within my magazine as individual artists, also the
content of my magazine may appeal more to girls as it allows
them to gain an insight into artists personal lives and music.
My ideal gender ratio of my readership is Male 41% and
Female 59%. The main female model used within my
magazine is shown in floral prints for my front cover which
emhasises her femininity. However, most of the females used
within my magazine are wearing unisex prints and colours
which suggests more so that they are serious artists.
Male
41%Female
59%
Ideal Gender Readership
Percentages

8. A media institution is an
organisation which creates,
advertises and distributes
media products. They are
collectives where individuals
work towards common goals
to develop media products
based on the aims and ethos
of the institution. They
assume shared values of their
employees and have a
powerful status and
relationship with the public
and other institutions.
EG, Time Inc.
http://www.timeinc.com/
EG, Bauer Media.
http://www.bauermedia.
co.uk/
EG, Development Hell
http://www.developmenthell.
co.uk/
I believe a company such as Bauer Media
would be best to market my product. This
is due to them already owning a wide
variety of music magazines such as:
Kerrang, Mojo and Q. Therefore it has
experience of dealing with lots of different
music genres. This would allow me to deal
with experts of all music genres; as all
music genres will be featured in my
magazine due to my magazine focusing on
upcoming artists and not being genre
specific. Also, Bauer is a huge company
with access to music channels and radio
stations such as 4music and Absolute
Radio, who could feature singles or
interviews from the artists within my
magazine in order to provide them with
more publicity.

11. I attracted my audience through using bright
colours for my colour scheme. This would make
my magazine stand out within the magazine
racks as it uses colours other than black, red and
white like most music magazines which are
currently available. I chose to use these colours
as they are bright and vibrant and stand out
against the white back ground of the front cover
(as shown below).
Also in order to attract my audience I kept my
front cover quite simplistic with minimal writing
(as shown above). This would make people more
likely to read my magazine as it would suggest to
people that my magazine has a simple layout
throughout making it easier to interact with. Also
it may make my magazine appeal to more less
educated individuals as due to there being less
writing and information it may make them feel
more at ease while reading my magazine as it is
simplistic.

12. I attracted my audience by using a model who is
within my magazine readership age range (see
below). This would make people of a similar age
more likely to read my magazine as it is about
people there own age which makes my magazine
easier for them to relate to. Also it may make
younger people more likely to read my magazine
as they are intrigued as to how these artists
featured in my magazine became famous and
also what their personal lives are like.
I addressed my audience through providing them
with articles which allowed them to really get to
know an artist (see example above). This allows
them to feel like they have created a bond with
an artist which may encourage them to listen to
an artists music more, as they feel like they have
a connection with the artists and understand
their inspiration behind their music.

13. I have used various different pieces of software and
hardware during the process of creating my music
magazine. These include:
• Adobe Photoshop (production – front cover, contents page)
• Adobe InDesign (production – double page spread)
• Adobe Premier Pro (research – Interview video)
• Microsoft PowerPoint (planning, research, evaluation)
• Microsoft Word (production – writing my article)
• Survey Monkey (research – Audience Research)
• Voice Recorder (research – Audience Research Interview)
• Camera (production – Magazine Photographs)
• Wordpress.com (publishing)
• Slide share (publishing)

14. While using a voice recorder to gather
my raw interview for my audience
research, I learnt not only how to use the
voice recorder but also how to transfer it
from the recorder onto the computer.
This allowed me to use my recording as
the raw basis for my interview which
only needed editing to be more audible.
While using premier pro to create my
audience research interview video I
learnt how to edit the loudness of my
sound clip and how to insert a picture
file on top of it to play continuously
while the video is playing. Also I learnt
how to export my interview in an
appropriate format which would allow
me to upload it to YouTube in order for
people to be able to view it.
while using survey monkey to create an
online questionnaire to gather audience
research, I learnt not only how to use
survey monkey but also how to access
the graphs which the programme
automatically transforms your results
into for appropriate questions. This
allowed me to analyse my results a lot
quicker as they were already in an easily
accessible format.

15. Whilst using the camera to get the shots
I needed for my magazine, I learnt how
to alter the cameras zoom and focus.
This allowed me to get clearer and better
quality shots. Also, I learnt how to
position myself as the photographer and
the angle of the camera in order to get
the most similar shots to how I had
planned for them to be.
Whilst using WordPress to publish my media
product, I learnt how to make posts on a blog. I
also learnt what a blog can be used for and what
format of files are compatible with WordPress. In
addition, I learnt how to overcome any problems
I discovered due to the format of my files. For
example, my interview video wouldn’t upload
directly onto my blog as it was not a compatible
format, however once I uploaded it on YouTube I
was able to attach the web link onto my blog in
order to allow people to access my interview.
Whilst using Slide Share to convert my
PowerPoint into an appropriate format which is
accepted by WordPress, I learnt how to upload
files onto slide share. I also learnt how to create
appropriate tags and titles in order for others to
be able to find my PowerPoint presentations.

16. After making the progress from my preliminary task to my final product, I now feel
that I am a lot more confident using software such as PowerPoint and word. I
already had a lot of experience of working with word and PowerPoint but after
using them to complete my coursework I feel like I now have a more detailed
understanding of how to use theses pieces of software to their full extent. Also I
feel like I now have an adequate understanding of how to use adobe software such
as premier pro and Photoshop, although my knowledge on how to use this
software is still limited; I now have some understanding of how the basic features
of this software operate. In addition, I now have a slide share, word press and
survey monkey account which allows me to use these websites again if I require
them.

17. Through completing my coursework, I have learnt how to create a flat plan for how
I want my magazine to look and how to plan photographs before I take them using
a grid to position each aspect pf the shot. I feel this will benefit me in the future
because it has taught me to always plan ahead in order to know the direction in
which I want my work to take. Also I have learnt that although my final product
may not stick exactly to my plan, I feel like I have used my plan as a starting point
and improved upon it while creating my magazine. Also, I have learnt how to edit
photos using Photoshop in order to make them more appear more professional. In
addition, I have learnt how to correctly annotate a blog with appropriate titles in
order to let people know what my posts are about. Furthermore, I have created
my blog in a similar style to my magazine: simple. This allows anybody to access
the information contained within my magazine and my blog.