This document discusses how the author's media product uses and develops conventions of real music magazines to attract their target audience. The author researched conventions like crowded cover pages and color schemes from magazines like NME and Kerrang! and incorporated similar elements into their magazine cover. They used red, black, and blue consistently and featured a casual photo of the artist to make them seem relatable. The author also conformed to conventions of monthly issues costing less than £5 to appeal to their working class audience. By challenging stereotypes and featuring a female artist, the author made the magazine appealing to both male and female readers aged 15-30.

1. In what ways does your mediaproduct use, developor challenge forms and
conventions of real music magazines? AND Howdid you attract / address your
audience?
Real Mediatextsand theirconventionshave hadanessential impactonmymediaproduction,they
have beena stronginfluence onmyworkanda source of inspiration.AtfirstIresearchedinto
conventionslike house style andmise - en- scene forrock genre magazineslike ‘NME’and‘Kerrang!.I
foundthat mostcoverpageswere crowdedwithcoverlines,sell lines andstickersthatoverlapped
some times.
For example –
I useda lot of cover lines(maincoverlineoverlappedthe picture),
a stickerand a sell line tocreate a similarcrowdedcoverpage.
Howevermycoverisnot too crowdedanddrew more inspiration
fromsimplercovers because itwouldmake itappealingtoolder
membersof mytarget audience whomightnotfindflashycovers
too attractive. Ialsousedthe coloursblack andred consistentlyon
my coverpage throughcover lines.Butthese coloursare also
featuredasRedwas usedforthe maincoverline while blackfor
the masthead.Ialso usedthe colourblue whichiscommonlyused
inmagazine house stylesaswell,asitexhibitshonestlyand
confidence,whichtooare conventionallyassociatedwiththe
genre rock.

2. I also foundthatmost house stylesincludedthe coloursredandblackwhichisalso demonstratedinthe
examplesabove.Ifollowedthese conventionsandbelievethatitkeptmymagazine expressiveof
stereotypesof ‘loud’and‘passionate’thatare generallyassociatedwithrock.
Conformingtothese conventionskept mymagazine familiartomytarget audience andalsoexpressed
connotationsthatare usuallyreflective intheirownpersonalities,like passionandconfidence.My
masthead“Insurgent”isalsodemonstrative of the connotationsassociatedwithrockfanswhichisanti-
authority,anti- establishmentandrebellionmakingmymagazine more relatable. These elements
helpedmake mymagazine attractive tomytargetaudience.
Most rock magazinesare monthywitheachissue costinglessthan £5 perissue.Kerrang!Costs£2.20 per
issue while RockSoundcostsaround £3.99 per issue.
I have conformedtothisconventionasitmakesmy magazine more appealingtoworkingclassmembers
of mytarget audience whomighthave asmall disposableincome as £2.60 once a monthis very
affordable andanattractive offer.
AnotherconventionIfollowedwasthe costume of myfeaturedartist.Inthe rock genre,outfitscanvary
fromeverydaycasual tosemi – formal.I decidedtohave myfeaturedartistdresscasuallywithadark
colouredtop,thismade myartist seemrelatable tomytargetaudience despite beingacelebrityand

3. popular.Thismade the artistseemmore like them, makingthe magazine more attractive,she posedas
an inspiration.
Many rock magazinesalsofollowthe conventionof usingclose upswiththe featuredartistusingdirect
mode of addressfor the pictureslike the feature of FooFightersinthe magazine Q.
I followedthisconventionasitmade myfeaturedartistappearconfidentyetaccesible.Ialsoused a
highangle shotwhichisnot as conventional because myartistwasstill upcomingandemerging.
AnotherwayI subvertedconventionwasbyfeaturingafemale artist.Thisallowedme tochallenge
stereotypeslinkedtogenderandthe ideal of genderastwo opposingidealswhilestillmaintainingthe
characteristicsof rock like boldness,passionandconfidence.Thishelpedmake mymagazine more
appealingtoboththe genderspartof mytarget audience (15-30).
AnotherconventionedIfollowedwastohave a free productwiththe magazine,thisimmediatelymade
my magazine apprealingtoall membersof mytargetaudience.
In conclusion,real mediaproductsandconventionswereahuge part of my understandingof
professionallevel products.It’sinfluence was essential andhelpedme create myownprofessional level
product.

4. What have you learnt about technologies fromthe process of constructing this
product?
The use of technologiesconsistedof usingavarietyof technologiesforeachstage:researchand
production.Ihave usedBloggertodocumentmycourseworkandbecause thiswasmy firstblogging
experience Ifounditquite difficultatfirstto manage the blogor its:themes,layoutandembedding
features.However,afterpractice Iwasable to use Blogger effectivelyandtake advantage of itsfeatures
like ‘insert’whichallowsustopostpicturesof differentmagazines,allowingforanalysis.
The researchand planningphasesof the courseworkinvolvedusingWeb2.0applicationslikeYouTube
and Google Browser.These were veryhelpful inresearchingthe conventionsof rochgenre magazines
like:crowdedcoverpages,house stylesof blackandredand featuredartistsusingdirectmode of
address.Thisalsoenabledme todrawinspirationtouse inmyown magazine.
I alsousedappsfrom the MicrosoftOffice like WordandExcel forwork like the questionnaires
(research) anddataanalysisof the resultswhichIhad usedto determine particularfeaturespreferred
by the targetaudience.Ilearntthatuse of these appsand graphshelpmake the presentationof my
workvisuallyappealing.Forthe productionstage,IusedaSonycamera to take the pictures.Thiswas
professionallevel equipmentandresultedIngreatqualitypicturesthatincreasedthe professional
appeal of my magazine.However,Ifacedmanyinitial problemswithlightingdue tolackequipment.I
learntto be more preparedforphotoshootsanduse sunlighttoimprove the qualityandappeal of my
pictures.

5. BEFORE AFTER
The editingstage includedthe use of photoshop,despite havingnopriorexperiencewiththis
application,Iwasable towatch tutorials(YouTube) andpractice manytime onour ownto effectively
use the technologytoenchance andadd effectstothe pictureswhile creatingthe magazines.Iwasable
to use thisapp to create a professional level magazine.Anexampleishow Iusedthe magneticpolygon
lassotool to remove the backgroundof a picture. Ialso usedPrezi andPowerPointtovisuallypresent
my workindifferentandappealingways.Iusedscribdtouploadthe documentsandthenembedthem
intoblogposts.
I have learntthat withthe helpof technologiesanyonecancreate and stylize aproductspecificallyto
give itprofessionalappeal andmake itmore appealingtothe targetaudience andchange fromjusta
consumerto a prosumer.Thispresentsakeyshiftingrassrootlevel consumersandhow because of the
of Web2.0 and the increasingavailibiltyof professional level technologyandequipmentpeople are
gettingmore involvedinthe creationanddistributionof mediaproductsthanjustthe consumption.

6. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
My magazine house styleisred (passion),black(bluntness andtruth),white (purity) andblue (coolness
and confidence) whichcanreflectthe personalitiesof myaudience whoare typicallyhonest,rebellious
and independent.
I am targeting16-30 year oldswhoare mostlyfrommiddle classandworking class(maybe few from
upperclass) whichiswhymy productis lessthan3 poundsamonth,it ispractical andmatchestheir
disposal incomes. The factthat thismagazine ismonthly,notweeklyensuresthatitisaffordable.
I alsoensuredthatmy coverisn’ttoocrowdedwithstickersandcoverlinessooldermembersof my
target audience wouldn’tfindmymagazine tooflashyorbusyandwouldstill finditappealing.
An example of asimplercoveris:
In comparisonto
Red
Black
Blue

7. I includedamonthlytop10 for quickupdatesincase of a busylifestyle (sixthform, university,
apprenticeships, etc.).Ialsoincludedupcomingartistswiththe alreadyfamousonessothata proper
informative updatecanbe made (quickandeasy).AlsoI’ve includedafree CDwhichappealstoall
audiences.