1. By Hamish Dwyer 12SL
For the task of producing my music magazine
(Submarine) my chosen target audience, genre and
selected forms and conventions were:
16-60 year old males, living in the North-East, who are
middle-class, educated and who buy music products
and attend gigs locally.
Music covered –Classic Rock/Indie/Underground –
performed by legends and emerging local talent.
•The style model – a fusion of the classic Uncut, with
the local, free publication NARC.

2. Title – Conventional
style of Uncut – Red
block font, single
word, with emboldened
shadow. Choice of word
used convention of
Uncut/MOJO, being
memorable and
instructive as to the
journalistic style.
Submarine has Beatles
connotations, the
underground and a
niche product.
Image – Developed Uncut
conventional image (mid-
shot of iconic legend) by
using idiosyncratic style of
NARC./The Fly and
photograph of full body
shot in striking pose, with
instrument to create a
persona for the
artist, supplemented by
props
(amp, flowers), making it
artistic and insightful to his
persona.
List of featured artists
with a range of musical
styles – that entices the
reader, consistent with
intended audience. Used
Uncut style of combining
text in different
colours/fonts with an
overall background-
covering image. Used
Uncut classic colour
code, limiting font colour
and image to reds, blacks
and blues, including
cover features, costume.
Obscured title word, used
by Uncut and MOJO, used
this here to say “we regard
you, the reader, as
intelligent enough to work
out the full word”.

3. Used Uncut
codes and
conventions in
respect of list of
contents, provi
ding more
information, be
yond what is
written on the
cover, so any
would-be
reader would
be enticed
further. Used
well-written
and literary
terms.
John
Peel/Allan
Jones-
style, referrer
of
taste, idiosyncr
atic and
personal, direc
t, first
Person
language used
in this
Editorial
column.

4. All of the artists
and groups listed
are male. The music
genre
covered, different
to boy-bands, is
traditionally
white, male of a
wide age range. As
said recently, at gig
of seminal US band
Pere Ubu: “Our
female teenage
audience must have
predeceased.”
With 86% of Uncut‟s
readership being
male, this is the
gender group being
represented in the
cover, by having the
cover subject being a
male, and in respect
of age, fitting the
average age of the
readership (37
years). The image
used is an archetype
of this profile.

5.  As evident from my research (see Section 2A/B on blog) I decided
that the publication would be free (relying on advertising
revenue) and (see sections 10/11) having a distribution, local to
the North East, in that this is where advertisers are located and
events covered will take place.
 I researched NARC‟s publisher and distributor, (see blog)
room501 publishing‟.
 They would be engaged to advertise „Submarine‟, by way of its
own website and iPhone app, as well as physical advertisements
being placed in comparable publications like Uncut and MOJO,
which are available in the North-East.
 The intended locations distributed to would be the concert
venues that advertise in Submarine, local bars, café‟s, independent
record shops, niche clothing/book shops, art galleries and
libraries.

6.  My Target Audience, by reference to research of Uncut readership survey, is a
male, middle-class, middle-earning, 30-40 year old with an appreciation and love
of classic/indie rock music.
 This audience spends over twice the average amount on music, making them
attractive to advertisers in the magazine. Marek (pictured) and James Perri are
archetypes of this chosen audience.
 The images and written content need to be attractive to this educated male.
 Age group: from 16 to 60 years old – with awareness that average age of Uncut
reader is 37.
 Male: Uncut‟s readership gender split is 86% male, 14% female, mirrored by
customers in independent record shops
 Class/Status: 77% working full time, educated in ABC1 social groups and average
yearly income £30k.

7.  Wants and needs from feedback of the target audience (Sections 2B and 11 of blog)
were met by:
 - For A) “Well-written and literate articles” transforming Q & A-style interview
into one piece, with literary words and phrases: “mordent”, “new star
persona”, “haywire mind”, “meteoric”, “Whose ego rivals a grain of
sand”, “prodigal-returning”.
 B) “Heads-up on emerging talent” and “Good articles…on long standing
bands”, having the article on James Perri reference bands such as “Television" and
“Led Zeppelin” and new bands, “The Eleven” and “Miss Danby and The What”.
 C) For the inclusion of a John Peel/Allan Jones “referrer of taste” providing, on the
Contents page, my editorial piece, as “This is your Captain Speaking…”
 D) For an improved photograph/image on the cover, setting up a mise-en-
scene, as detailed in Section 8 of my blog, providing an inspirational image of a
person and musician that the audience would desire to emulate.
 E) To signpost the genre, including descriptions of “indie-pop” and
“glam/alt/prog-rock” by reference to particular artists.
 Overall Message: If you take and read „Submarine‟ it will keep you informed of
news, local concerts and releases involving legends and emerging talent in my
chosen genre – classic rock, indie rock.

9. The main processes I have learnt that enabled me to progress from the stark and basic school magazine to a
publication that the owner of RPM Records said he would stock are:
 Photography: How to vary shutter speed/aperture to achieve better
quality photographs
 Framing of Shots: Rather than simply pointing the camera, I have
framed and edited shots by altering my position to the subject
or, using zoom, with less dependency on Photoshop.
 Incorporating props and costumes to enhance mise-en-scene, to
improve the pictorial attraction and image.
 Lighting: Making use of natural lighting to receive the best results for
my photographs.
 Sharpening images and cutting aspects of my image using Photoshop
to achieve the best results for my design.
 Using the „magic lasso‟ tool to shape and cultivate my cover image
and to overlay it across the original masthead title.
 Creating, updating and improving each blog post to give a solid basis
for my design at every step.
 Using the blog to capture my research, develop my ideas and to then
record conclusions about every aspect of my design.
 Using PowerPoint to present concise, key information, by reference
to the research on my blog of my evaluation of „Submarine as a
publication, in full detail.

10. Glibly, what I‟ve learnt – as is evident from this Before-and-After tableau – is that with care and attention, combined with new
skills, rubbish can be polished!!!
More seriously, the main lessons learnt, as evident from posts 7, 8 and 9 of my blog, are:
A). The importance in any highly visual medium, to plan and execute a series of high specification photographs, with striking
and informative images, thereby presenting a professional and valued product.
B) The importance of a cohesive design and written narrative , linked to an intended audience.
If I had known this at the outset, I would have replaced the hurried cover snapshot, with a staged mise-en-scene, with
costumes and props, topped off with a better quality photograph.
Furthermore, I would have improved the featureless ,blue background and badly placed photographs and text of the
magazine by using a suitable photograph (still with some blue colouring) as the full background, then combining image and
more interesting text (coloured white), and finally colouring the title red, thereby utilising the school colours. I would also
have positioned the title more prominently.
Finally, in respect of time management, I would have spent less time analysing conventional fonts and colour, instead seeking
more refined and deeper feedback on actual audience attractions and taken that as a lead (See Posts 2B and 11).

11. In respect of social
groups, regarding class and
status, the style of the contents, the
dialogue in this article, the bands
and artists referenced, represent an
educated middle-class and
culturally intelligent group.
The article includes dialogue about
Northern history, art
education, artistic process and
musical and artistic influences and
tastes.
The photo includes a tailored
business shirt and classic
guitar, representing high value
purchases for a well-paid, educated
music lover.