The document describes a magazine the author created to conform to conventions of real music magazines. It includes a glossy front cover with an image of the featured artist to attract audiences. The front cover also displays the magazine title, pull quotes, and a listing of what's included inside. The magazine uses conventions like advertisements, a contents page, and a double-page spread layout including a full-page artist image and interview. It aims to represent and attract a young, 16-21 age group through language, featured artists, and topics like upcoming parties and popular dances. The author learned skills in using programs like Photoshop and InDesign to lay out the magazine professionally.

2. This is magazine I based my own media product on.

3. My media product conforms to the conventions of a real media product by using similar conventions to real music magazines. It contains a glossy front cover with a conventional medium shot of the main artist featured in the magazine to attract the audience. While my artist is not nationally that prominent, he is an up and coming artist, I have done my best to make him look very powerful by using a shot which makes him look big. It has a uses magazine title again showing a convention of a media product. It uses interesting pull quotes on the front cover in order for the media product to attract attention, thus showing a basic convention and form of a real media product. The front cover also shows what is included in the magazine again showing a convention of a media product. It also uses different font sizes which is another convention of a media product. I have produced a advertisement for the inside of the front cover again showing one of the conventions I have implemented into my magazine for the type of audience I am targeting. I have created a basic convention of creating a contents page, I have shown a half a page of a picture of the main article which again is a convention a media product.

4. I have also produced a double page spread which is a convention of a media product. My double page spread consists of 1 full page image of the DJ and on the other page a half page image of the DJ in action, it then shows half a page of the interviews questions and answers. I feel that the double page spread layout is appropriate to the target audience I am aiming which is the 16- 21 age group.

5. My media product uses many ways to represent social groups, in this it will be a young social group. One of the first ways I represent the particular social group is by the language I use in my front cover and also in my interview article. This is shown by my magazine title “ straight up”, this a very slang phrase which many young social groups use, the word “swear down” on the front cover which is part of the subheading at the bottom of the front cover is also a slang word which young social groups use.

6. My front cover also contains an ear piece which says “dates of upcoming gigs including DJ Martells” this again will attract the younger social group as they like to go out to party’s and have fun. The word “gigs” will also capture the audience because again it is a very informal way of referring to party’s. The image which is on my front cover also represents the young social group by what the upcoming artist is wearing, which is very trendy clothes such as era cap, G Star jeans and also Nike high top trainers and Nike jumper. These clothes are what youngsters wear and would like to wear again attracting the certain group. Another way which my media product represented my intended group is the way my interview was presented. Through my research I have found out music magazines which are the similar genre and are directed at this type of social group is very basic and contains very informal responses. The informal responses are shown through phrases such as “the crowd was going nuts”. This again is the type of language young people use therefore making it a crucial that it is used well. A second phrase which is used in the interview is “The crowd loves to skank”, this phrase targets the young social group because it refers to a very popular dance, which young people do at party’s.

7. The media institution which I think will be a good distributor of my magazine would be IPC because, IPC are mainly the only company distribute successful music magazine such as NME. This is why I feel IPC will be a good distributor of the magazine. As IPC are one of the most famous distributors in the UK it will be ideal for this magazine because the magazine will mainly contain UK artist such as the one which is featured, this will vital for the magazine but also for the upcoming artist in the magazine at the time for them to become well known in the UK as they are a UK artist, afterwards going onto the US with another distributor.

8. The main audience for my media product will be C2, D, E groups as I feel that not many professionals would be interested because of the content in the magazine and the language used. I think that both genders male and females would be interested in this magazine because both genders like music including RnB and Hip Pop. Both genders also like to go out and party, again making it another reason why both genders will be attracted. Another reason why I feel that the magazine will attract a younger and less skilled audience would be because of the colours it uses and the typography used, this is shown in the magazine title with the bold black fill and the bright yellow outline which wouldn’t attract professionals and older people, as they would prefer the more elegant and less colour look.

9. My media product attracted my audience in many ways, one of the ways it attracted my audience by by the overall layout of the front cover, the colour used in the front cover and also image presented. The front cover uses very bold colours, the magazine title uses bold black fill and the bright yellow outline which wouldn’t attract professionals and older people, as they would prefer the more elegant and less colour look. I also used a wide range of colours in the front cover for all the subheadings. The image I used attracts my audience because it gives the more mean look, also giving a very strong point across which is used a a lot in RnB. The pose of which person is doing in the image is very different again which will attract my audience more. The language used will also attract my audience because it is very youth like in the way it presents slang in the sub headings. This is shown in the sub heading “UK’s best magazine in RnB swear down!”, the word “swear down is very much slang, which my audience uses, therefore attracting them to this product.

10. The pull quotes used on the double page spread would have attracted the audience because, the pull quotes used are much youth language, again a reason why it would attract the young audience.

11. I have learnt about many different technology. First I used the internet to do research for my magazine and also my interview research. A second piece of technology I used a was a digital camera in order for me to take a good high quality pictures for my magazine and double page spread. I used many programs in order for my magazine to look professional and the way it is. I used Adobe Photoshop to crop and edit my pictures, I found this a hard program to use at first but after practising with it for my preliminary exercise and also for my final product I found it easy to use. A second program used was Adobe Indesign, this program gave the professional layout and looks of my magazine. It allowed me to place columns which are equally apart and the same width using a tool, it gave my the advantage placing the image in the background and allowing me to write on top of it, which again made it look professional. This program was again hard to use but after getting used to it, it was easy to use.

12. I have learnt many skills from my preliminary and final product exercise. The most valuable skills have learnt is the way in which magazines should be laid out and also the different colours and typography needed in order for a good magazine product to be created. I have also enhanced my skills in using the two programs Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Indesign, I have learnt how equally place columns for my double page spread which I had not learnt or grasped properly when doing my preliminary. I have also found it much easier to use the programs overall while producing my final product. In terms of knowledge I have learnt what to look for when creating a magazine, how to layout one and also what to include when creating one. I have learnt to attract the type of audience your aiming to attract through typography and images. I have learnt the basic conventions of a magazine through making the final product.