2. Question 1.
In what ways does your media product
use, develop or challenge forms and
conventions of real media products?
3. • During the research stage of
designing my product I looked at
various different magazines to see
what the conventions are. I looked
at a few different genres of
magazine to pick up different
ideas and conventions. Nearly all
of the hip hop, pop, rock
magazines all looked the same
with the standard cover lines down
the left hand side with the
masthead at the top of the page
and they all looked generally the
same, but when I started to
research drum and bass
magazines they started to
challenge the usual forms and
conventions and they looked a lot
different than the other
magazines. The cover lines were
put in different places, for example
along the bottom of the page on
their side and the masthead was
found down the side of the page. I
took these conventions on board
as I started to design my drum
and bass magazine.
4. When I was designing my front cover I started to try
and put these forms and conventions in to practice.
Withy my cover lines I tried to put them across the
bottom of my page because I noticed it was a
convention of some other drum and bass
magazines, but when I tried to do this I found it
made the page look too complicated and the cover
lines were too hard to read so I didn’t do that. I
used a strong mid shot image which was a
convention of a drum and bass magazine and also
the masthead ‘BEAT’ was used because it is a
short harp word which represents drum and bass
music which is also a convention of a magazine.
Another convention of a drum and bass magazine
was having quite an untidy, random front cover as it
represents drum and bass music, I challenged this
convention by making my page very neat and tidy,
and more mainstream, I did this as I wanted my
magazine to be mainstream and as well known as
other branded magazines.
5. • Comparing my magazine to a professional product there are a lot of similarities. The
image is very similar as it is a strong image of one person making eye contacts with
the audience. The cover lines are also similar as I have some down both sides of the
page and words that I want to stand out are in bold and some are different colours.
The masthead of the two magazines are very similar as they are both bold, short,
sharp words at the top of the page. Some of the differences are that I have a logo on
the corner of my page unlike the professional product. I also have an online banner at
the bottom of my page to present online status and I have a selling line underneath
my masthead. Other similarities would be each of the pages have a strict colour
theme that it has stuck to and they both have white/grey backgrounds so the other
colour stand out more and jump off the page. The font styles are also similar as they
are plain bold, easy to read fonts.
6. • Comparing my contents page to a professional contents page. The similarities
are that both products have almost a full length image on the left hand side of the
page with the text down the right hand side. Another similarity is that on both
products it states what is on the certain page, and then underneath it says a little
something about what will be on that page. The background to both pages are
white so the text and images stand out. Both pages also have a colour them of
black white and red. The differences of the two pages are, my product has its
logo in the top left of the page and it also has a banner across the bottom of the
page telling the reader to subscribe. Also in my image to model isn’t making full
eye contact with the audience, he is looking up at the contents, whereas the
professional product has the model looking right out to the audience.
7. When comparing my final double paged spread design to a professional product there
are a lot of similarities. Both products have the main image on the left hand side of the
page and have all of the text down the right hand side. On both products the text for the
interview is written in columns, as this is a typical convention of a double paged spread.
Both products are showing an interview and I have used the same technique as the
professional product in splitting up the question from the answer, both products have
used different coloured text for the question and the answer. The images aren’t really
very similar but both are making eye contact and engaging the audience. My product
and the official product both have a blown up quote and they also both have the text
written slightly sideways to make it seem more casual and ‘cool’.
8. Question 2.
• How does your media product represent
particular social groups?
9. • The product I have constructed has only really represented one
particular social group as it is aimed at a very acquired taste of
music. Drum and bass music is an up and coming genre of music so
there are only very little social groups that will listen to it, which is
why I have tried to make my magazine slightly more mainstream so
it can involve more social groups taking an interest in the product.
The people being represented in my magazine is mainly men,
although some females will take to it, aged between 15 and 26,
middle class people. I have constructed my magazine to represent
these sort of people by using clothing, a stereotypical DJ will always
be wearing a New Era cap, so I have made the model of my photo
shoot wear a New Era cap, they will also be wearing hoodies
usually branded with Adidas so my model is wearing an Adidas
hoody to represent DJs. In my main image the model has some big
headphones round his neck, this is also very typical of Drum and
Bass music producers. I have also used a lot of colloquial language
in my magazine to show a strong mode of address so the readers
find the magazine to represent themselves and find it easier to read.
10. Question 3.
• What kind of institution might distribute
your media product and why?
11. • The sort of institution that would distribute my product would be ‘specialist
mags’. This is because there aren’t that many magazines out there that are
of the same genre as mine, so I would need to find a specialist magazine
distributer to want to take on my magazine. The benefit of them taking on my
magazine would be that it would wider the range of genres they have and my
magazine is aimed very well at a certain target audience. Also as there
aren’t may magazines out there of my genre it would bring people to that
institution in search of the specific magazine. My product is similar to the
other drum and bass magazines out there but it is different in the way that it
is going more mainstream this is a good thing as it is trying to pull in a wider
variety of audience instead of just the small audience that already read drum
and bass magazines. The reputation of ‘specialist mags’ is very good and
reliable as it has had hardly any complaints since the institution started, this
is good as if it has a good reputation then more people would use it to buy
their magazines so more people would be able to see and purchase my
magazine. The product I have created is more niche but is on the verge of
becoming a mainstream product. My magazine will be generally advertised
in the shops and maybe in shop windows, it will also be advertised a lot on
the internet as that is where a lot of people spend their time. My product will
mainly be distributed via the internet. They can subscribe to my product
online and receive the magazine through post each week. As more and
more people are using the internet and with the emergence of web 2.0 I think
the internet would be the best way to purchase my product along side selling
it in shops.
12. A short comic strip on the
stages of creating the magazine
14. • To find out the who would be the audience for my magazine one of the
things I did was a questionnaire. In my questionnaire I included questions
like, how old are you? Gender? What kind of music do you listen to already?
Do you like Drum and Bass music? The answers to these questions helped
me work out who the audience would be for my magazine. I calculated the
answers to the questionnaire I presented the results as a pie chart on to my
blog. The information that I received from the questionnaire was that the
people who were more likely to read my magazine were males aged
between 16-24, this helped me decide who my magazine would be aimed
at. I also created a customer profile which is also on my blog that
stereotypes the typical person who would read my magazine, I did this by
using information from my questionnaire. On the next slide I have created a
mind map of what I thought about when deciding upon the audience for my
magazine.
This could be the sort of person that would pick up and
read my magazine.
17. Comparing flat plan to front cover
When looking back at my
initial flat plan ideas they’re
very similar to my final
products. I kept the idea of
having a product logo on the
top left corner of the page
with a big bold masthead to
the right of it taking up the
top of the page. I also kept
the idea of having a selling
line but I changed the
positioning of it slightly.
I kept the idea of having the main image taking up the majority of the page as it is
important to have a good strong image to lure in the audience. I slightly changed the
my idea of cover lines as instead of just having them down the left hand side of the
page I put some down the right because I think it balances the page out better.
Another difference is that I included a banner along the bottom of the page. I did this
because I think it is important to have an online presence on your magazine because it
is the most popular and easiest way to get more information about the product. I also
thought the black banner across the bottom balanced the page nicely and finished it off
well. I also kept the idea of the barcode and price in the bottom right of the page as
that is a regular convention of a magazine cover.
18. Comparing flat plan to contents
When comparing my flat
plan of my contents to my
final page it is similar in
almost every way. Again I
have kept the idea of having
the magazine logo in the top
left corner of the page. I
have the main image down
the left hand side of the
page but it doesn’t take up
the whole page like my flat
plan said it would.
All of my contents are down the right hand side which my flat plan said it would so I have
kept the same. I have kept the same colour scheme I was planning to use all the way
through, red, white and black. Something I have changed is that I have included another
online presence as they are very important to have on big pages.
19. Comparing flat plan to DPS
When comparing my flat plan to my double pages spread it is almost completely
different than my initial ideas. I haven’t got the logo in the top left of the screen,
instead I have used them as bullet points for my questions in the interview. I have a
big title across the two pages linking them together with my main image on the left
side of the page instead of the middle. Most of the text is on the right hand side of
the page instead of it being all around the image. I have a blown up quote and a
factfile of the DJ on the left hand side of the page to get rid of some of the black
space and to balance out the page better. The main reason why my page is so
different to my initial ideas is because if the image was in the centre of the page like
I planned then the models face would have a crease through it and that wouldn’t
like right.
20. Similarities between my product and a professional product of the same genre.
both products have a Both products have a
both products have a selling line that lures short, bold, standout
light background in DJs masthead
Both
products
have big
bold cover
lines
using
back and
red a lot.
both products have large Both models are doing
main images that are central something with their arms
to the page with good, strong that makes them look cool or
eye contact. ‘hard’, representing DJ/RAP
21. Similarities between my product and a professional product.
Both products have a very Both products have the
similar image of the model coverlines down the right
standing to the left of the hand side of the page
contents written in black writing.
Both products have a black, Both products have a light, white
white and red colour theme background.
22. Similarities between my product and a professional product
Both products have a Both products have their
blown up quote model making eye contact
with the audience
Both products have the text
Both products have big bold written on the right hand
diagonal writing side of the page
23. Questionnaire with target audience.
I have created an animation of the questionnaire that took place with
my target audience about the magazine I had created.
•http://goanimate.com/videos/0p0xExRVi6_k/1 - Ellie
•http://goanimate.com/videos/06e-GLH0-rHQ/1 - Harry
•http://goanimate.com/videos/007Y6KFlfH0w/1 - Charlie
24. Question 6.
• What have you learnt about technologies
from the process of constructing this
product?
25. The piece of technology that I have used
the most during the process of creating my
magazine is the macbook. Before I started
creating my magazine I had never used a
macbook before or knew why it was used
for magazine designing and other similar
things. But now I have created my
magazine I know so much more about
macbooks and how they’re so useful. I
have learned the quickest and easiest
ways to get around a macbook and how to
do complicated designing procedures. I
also learned a lot about photoshop and
again how it is used to create and design
magazine pages. Like the macbook, I had
never used photoshop before I didn’t know
anything about it. But I now have the ability
to edit pictures to exactly how I want them
to look and create all different pages using
different kinds of fonts, images, textures
and layers. I know exactly what steps to go
through when creating pages on
photoshop and how it can be used when
designing products.
26. Another very important piece of
technology used when creating a
magazine is the camera. The images are
a very important part of a magazine,
especially on the front cover as you want
a good strong image so a good camera is
very important. During the process of
constructing my magazine I have learned
a lot about cameras. I have learned about
all the different settings there are to it to
make sure you get the right image. I have
also learned a lot about the composition
of images, like where the model should be
in the shot if it is going on a contents
page, or where the model should be for a
front cover shot and things like that. I
have also learned about the rule of thirds
when taking a picture. So I have learned a
lot about the technical features of a
camera and I think my technical ability
with one has improved a lot. I have also
learned how pictures and cameras are so
vital when creating a magazine.
27. There were many different websites that I
used to present things on my blog to make it
look more interesting and different. I have
print screened some of the sites I have
used. The one that I have used the most is
slideshare. This is a quick and easy way to
present powerpoints on to your blog so it is
easy to see for your viewers. It means that
all of the powerpoint is in one place so it
looks neat and tidy. Another website I used
was www.bubbl.us. This is a mind map
creation website. I found this helpful to
present all of my ideas in a neat and tidy
mind map so I could present them on to my
blog. I also used Pixton, which is a website
where you can create your own comic strip.
I thought this was a good way to present the
different stages of your ideas in a different a
fun way. I have learned that it is important to
vary the way you present things on to your
blog as it could get boring if everything looks
the same and you want people to spend as
much time as they can on your blog as it is
28. Question 7.
• Looking back at your prelim task- what do
you feel you have learned from the
progression from it to the full product?
29. Looking back at my prelim task I
think my skills and knowledge on
magazine designing has
improved a lot. My knowledge of
understanding the conventions of
a magazine has improved which
has helped me when designing
my magazine. The masthead of
my final product (the one on the
right) is a lot bolder and stands
out much more than the prelim
task. Although my prelim task
does have a selling line, I
realised it was a strong
convention of most magazines,
so I made it bolder to stand out.
After doing some research I realised that having a magazine logo was a convention of a
magazine so I created one to make my page look more professional. I think that the image on my
final product is a lot stronger and more effective than the one on the prelim task as the eye
contact is much stronger and I believe that the composition of the image is better. The coverlines
have also improved as they are small and hard to read on the prelim task cover but after
researching conventions I saw that big bold, easy to read coverlines were on every big branded
magazine so I made sure I included big bold coverlines to my product, I also used a much wider
variation of fonts with my coverlines as most magazines have about 4 different fonts on their front
cover. When researching conventions of a magazine I also found out that having an online
presence is on all magazines, even though I already had an online presence on my prelim task I
made sure that I made it stand out more and made it easier to read and notice on my final
