2. In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? My media product was a music magazine that incorporates many of the conventions that you would expect to see in a music magazine. I have also strayed away from some of the conventions though as i incorporated elements of a fashion magazine into my product in order to make it unique. I wanted to keep my front cover quite simplistic and for it to just focus in on a few points so that it is not to heavy on the eye. This is a convention which many music magazines conform to as it makes the cover model the focus of attention. Another convention that I have incorporated is having the masthead of my magazine in it’s own unique font in order for it to be clearly defined. I think that this is important as when people look at magazines it is important to have a clearly recognisable title. In addition to those conventions I have also included others in my front cover. I also used an individual font for the cover line which relates to the main story and the image, I integrated a bar code, I used a separate font for other cover lines and I included the price and issue details as well. However, some conventions I didn’t include as they did not fit what I wanted my magazine to look like. Usually the cover image on a music magazine has the subject looking directly at the camera without smiling. I had my subject giving a face trying to convey emotion but not looking directly at the camera, it was more a side on shot. I did this as it fitted in nicely to my front cover and because it is also a convention of some fashion magazines. Furthermore, it is important for a new magazine to be different from others as if it’s not it is unlikely to be successful.
3. In regards to the codes and conventions that are generally associated with a contents page, they are much more flexible than those of a magazine cover. A convention that was standard across almost all magazine contents is that there is very little empty space am lots of information is included. I took inspiration for my contents magazine as I really like the way in which the pictures linked to the stories. I incorporated this by including the page numbers that related to the pictures on the corner of each picture. Through simply reading many magazines before I even began my research I realized that there are lots and lots of adverts. As a result of this I thought that the main stories of each magazine would not run on consecutive pages so I allocated page numbers with an idea of how many pages an article like that might be, then taking in to account a few adverts as well. Another thing I did was make sure that the page numbers did not go above about 60 as it is quite unusual for a monthly magazine to have more than 60 pages. I tried to keep the tone of my images similar to that of my front cover as a convention of every magazine is a type of standardised look that each magazine has. I think I have incorporated this quite well as I put my pictures into black and white with the light blue background so that it relates to my cover. Another reason that I put my pictures into black and white is because I wanted the reader attention to be focused on the contents of the magazine. I’ve stuck to the convention of having the contents text down the left hand side of the page and separating the ‘regulars’ from this issues specific stories. An idea that I included in my contents which I have not seen before is having a short list of songs on the contents page. I did this in order to both fill some space and to get more information across to the reader so they know from the songs listed that this magazine suits them.
4. There were also many conventions to consider when I was creating my magazines feature story as a double page spread. Quite an obvious convention to stick to was having the image take up a large percentage of the double page spread as in many cases people buy magazines for the images as much as for the text. Another thing that is present in many double page spread is a large quote as the main title of the page. This is another aspect that as you can see I have put in to my own product as it gives a real flavour of the piece just in the title. In addition to this I have also put the opening few lines of the article into bold as this gives the reader a little more information before they actually read the article. The actual article itself I have written in a form of a story at the start and then turning into a more structured interview. I have done this as it is partly a convention of a feature article in a magazine but also because it gives a much more personal feel to the entire piece. As expected the text is in columns and I have put the specific questions in bold as to separate them from the rest of the text. In addition to this I put a quote the middle of the columns as this is another convention. Whilst creating my double page spread I did not stray away from the conventions of the genre that much as keeping simplicity is also important I feel . I did however not finish my interview on this page as in a real magazine the entire interview would not all be on one page.
5. How does your media product represent particular social groups? My media product represents a particular social group through the ways in which it attracts my target audience, males between 16 and 25. It represents this social group as interested in both new music and the latest fashion as many young people tend to follow the latest trend. It also represents social groups through how the information is presented. It’s very direct wherever possible as I think that my target audience perhaps does not enjoy things being very drawn out.
6. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? I think that IPC Media would be the ideal company to distribute my media product as they already produce some music magazines, but not to many, and those music magazines that they do produce are not monthly. In addition to this, they also publish some women’s fashion magazines so they have some experience in that side of magazines. I think that being the second largest producer or music magazines in Britain, they would perhaps need a new magazine in order to be more competitive with the market leaders, Bauer. Furthermore I think that my magazine would offer something a bit different from the other music magazines that IPC Media produce. Finally, I would also look to Bauer for publishing my magazine as they clearly have a lot of experience in making successful monthly magazines. However, seeing as they currently have a monopoly on the monthly music magazine industry it is unlikely they would invest in another new monthly magazine.
7. Who would be the audience for your media product? Whilst I was brainstorming ideas and actually creating my magazine I had my target audience of 16 to 25 year old males in mind. They were my chosen target audience as I feel being within this bracket myself I know a bit about what this social demographic wants. I also think it appeals to this target audience as it is at this age particularly when people are most interested in the latest music or fashion trend. Furthermore, the genre’s that my magazine covers are generally more popular with this age range as well.
8. How did you attract/address your audience? I think I have attracted my audience through I number of different ways. The image I have chosen to use on my front cover shows a young male in some fashionable clothing which would appeal to my target audience as people like to compare themselves to celebrities. Also, the fact that it is a magazine focused on new music is appealing to 16 to 25 year old males is as this group of people, in general, are interested in the next big thing so to speak or the latest music. Furthermore, the colour scheme and fonts are more suited towards young men as well as the artists mentioned on the front cover and contents page.
9. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product. I have learnt about how to build the layers of a magazine and in what it takes to create a magazine on Photoshop. I have also learnt how to edit pictures more effectively in order to gain the desired effect. I did this through trial and error on the most part but I also developed different ways of doing the things I want. Something very useful that I have learnt is how to organise and effective photo shoot and how to choose the right location for what I want to achieve.
10. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product? Since I did my preliminary task I have learnt a lot about how to create a magazine. I think I have learnt a lot about how to construct a magazine effectively so that it looks professional in all aspects. I have learnt how to develop all the aspects of a magazine so that everything about the magazine I create fits together with each other bit. In addition to this, I have learnt about the conventions of each a front cover, a contents page and a double page spread. Furthermore, I’ve learned how to adjust my ideas for my final product so that it appeals directly to my target audience; also I have developed my ideas of what my target audience want. Throughout my research I found out about the top publishers of music magazines and which are the most successful as well as how they work. Additionally, I have developed my ideas of writing a story so that it carries many conventions of feature articles in other magazines. I’ve also learnt how to effectively arrange images so that my contents page well crafted and professional. In conclusion, I have learnt that a lot more goes into the making of a magazine in order to develop my ideas properly as to create an effective product that is directed at my target audience.
