2. What ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and
conventions of real media products?
Front cover
The similarity (red arrows) between my magazine and the magazine of NME include; like NME I
have maintained a colour theme and house style this also shows the rock theme well, the
cover lines on NME are very bold and have had brushes used on them I incorporated this into
my magazine too. Having a young musician and a new band was key for both magazines, this
was because my target audience was teenagers / young adults. Before I began the project I
did a survey and asked "What would a article in a music magazine have to include?”. One next
slide
The differences (blue arrows) between my magazine and the magazine of NME include; NME
has used more flash boxes and banners this gives it a very professional look I didn't include flash
boxes because i felt my articles stood out and I didn’t want to clutter the page. Another thing
that NME included that my magazine doesn't are extra article pictures, they catch the readers
attention however I felt that they would clutter the front cover and distract the reader from the
lead article. I compared my magazine to NME because it has bold colours and it’s "in your
face". The genre of rock is a associated with this theme, when I sent out my survey, responses all
Maintained a consent
said my genre was rock. colour theme. Both with
identifiers and in the left 3rd
Bold masthead and a thick
stroke. Cover lines with
brushes relevant to the
genre
Young artist, to interest
target audience
Click to see the
differences outlined
3. What ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and
conventions of real media products?
Front cover
The similarity (red arrows) between my magazine and the magazine of NME include; like NME I
have maintained a colour theme and house style this also shows the rock theme well, the
cover lines on NME are very bold and have had brushes used on them I incorporated this into
my magazine too. Having a young musician and a new band was key for both magazines, this
was because my target audience was teenagers / young adults. Before I began the project I
did a survey and asked "What would a article in a music magazine have to include?“ One next
slide
The differences (blue arrows) between my magazine and the magazine of NME include; NME
has used more flash boxes and banners this gives it a very professional look I didn't include flash
boxes because i felt my articles stood out and I didn’t want to clutter the page. Another thing
that NME included that my magazine doesn't are extra article pictures, they catch the readers
attention however I felt that they would clutter the front cover and distract the reader from the
lead article. I compared my magazine to NME because it has bold colours and it’s "in your
face". The genre of rock is a associated with this theme, when I sent out my survey, responses all
said my genre was rock.
Article pictures for extra
articles
More cover line art, a way of
not cluttering up the cover with
pictures but still draws the
reader attention to the article
Use of flash boxes to draw
reader attention
4.
5. Contents page
The similarities (red arrows) between my contents page and other real life examples
include; the layout between my magazine articles and Clashes articles are located on
the left 3rd in a straight line and the don’t stretch beyond the half way mark of the page,
this give the page a clean and stylish look easy for readers to identify which articles are
on which page. They have also included images of the main articles on the front page
and underneath them are names of the articles.
The differences (blue arrows) between my content page and real life examples include;
on my contents page I have added an arty background which stands out this is to
catch the readers eye, the real life magazine has a clean back page with straight lines, I
felt this made it dull and wouldn’t involve the reader. I have also included the magazine
name in the left 3rd at the top, this is so when/if people flick through the magazine they
know instantly the name (and genre) to some extent, the other magazine just has
”contents” I felt this wasn't as eye catching. Finally I have included a subscription box
where the reader can see where they can subscribe for monthly issues, having this box
fairly big means that it catches the readers eye.
Bold text, clearly showing
where and what the
articles are
Images showing the main
articles
All the article lined up and
regulars and features
labelled clearly
Click to see the differences outlined
6. Contents page
The similarities (red arrows) between my contents page and other real life examples
include; the layout between my magazine articles and Clashes articles are located on
the left 3rd in a straight line and the don’t stretch beyond the half way mark of the page,
this give the page a clean and stylish look easy for readers to identify which articles are
on which page. They have also included images of the main articles on the front page
and underneath them are names of the articles.
The differences (blue arrows) between my content page and real life examples include;
on my contents page I have added an arty background which stands out this is to
catch the readers eye, the real life magazine has a clean back page with straight lines, I
felt this made it dull and wouldn’t involve the reader. I have also included the magazine
name in the left 3rd at the top, this is so when/if people flick through the magazine they
know instantly the name (and genre) to some extent, the other magazine just has
”contents” I felt this wasn't as eye catching. Finally I have included a subscription box
where the reader can see where they can subscribe for monthly issues, having this box
fairly big means that it catches the readers eye.
Arty and bold background
fits the genre and catches
readers eye
Magazine name so readers can
quick identify the name of the
magazine when flicking through
pages
Large subscription box for
readers
7. DPS- double page spread
The similarities (red arrows) between my DPS and other real life examples include; both magazines
have included strap lines which expands upon the headline above, this gives the reader a sense of
what the article is going to be about without reading the whole thing. Another thing both DPS’s
include are Drop caps this enhances the look of they page and draws in the readers as it stands out.
The photography in both the DPS’s are very similar they span the whole 2 pages, this immediately
catches the readers attentions as it’s different to the other pages, when the artist is well or suits the
genre it has more of an effect. Finally the article columns are flush to the left giving them a straight
edge on the left hand side, this makes the magazine look clean and professional it also helps with
the layout.
The differences (blue arrows) between my content page and real life examples include; I have
included the masthead and the page name at the bottom right hand side of the page, this is so
that when a reader picks the magazine off the shelve and flicks through they can easily find and
Identify the magazine. Another thing I have included in my magazine that Clash hasn’t is a pull
quote this is a quote that stands out in order the pull in the reader, this makes the reader want to
read the whole story/article. A final thing is that the article in my DPS spans the whole two pages the
disadvantage with this is that it may put readers off from reading the whole article, Clash has used
the image as they main pull for young readers as they may not be prepared to read mountains of
writing.
Strap lines that expand
upon the head line
Drop caps enhance the
look of the magazines
article
Photography shows the
reader instantly who the
article is about
Flush to the left columns
show professionalism
Click to see the differences outlined
8. DPS- double page spread
The similarities (red arrows) between my DPS and other real life examples include; both magazines
have included strap lines which expands upon the headline above, this gives the reader a sense of
what the article is going to be about without reading the whole thing. Another thing both DPS’s
include are Drop caps this enhances the look of they page and draws in the readers as it stands out.
The photography in both the DPS’s are very similar they span the whole 2 pages, this immediately
catches the readers attentions as it’s different to the other pages, when the artist is well or suits the
genre it has more of an effect. Finally the article columns are flush to the left giving them a straight
edge on the left hand side, this makes the magazine look clean and professional it also helps with
the layout.
The differences (blue arrows) between my content page and real life examples include; I have
included the masthead and the page name at the bottom right hand side of the page, this is so
that when a reader picks the magazine off the shelve and flicks through they can easily find and
Identify the magazine. Another thing I have included in my magazine that Clash hasn’t is a pull
quote this is a quote that stands out in order the pull in the reader, this makes the reader want to
read the whole story/article. A final thing is that the article in my DPS spans the whole two pages the
disadvantage with this is that it may put readers off from reading the whole article, Clash has used
the image as they main pull for young readers as they may not be prepared to read mountains of
writing.
Pull quote “pulls” in
readers
Small article, doesn’t
intimidate reader
Masthead at the bottom
right of the page is a
quick identifier
9. How does your media product
represent particular social groups?
One thing I had to consider when deciding on the way I wanted my magazine to be represented were
my survey results; When I ask people what music they normally listen a high percentage said rock and
hip-hop. This was when I decided to make a rock magazine, looking at other magazines of a similar
genre I found that having heavy lettering and a loud fonts, really showed the magazines genre. I
Included headphones on the masthead, this stereotypes loud music which is associated with rock.
Maintaining a loud font type and heavy stroke was key to this genre, it easily represented rock.
The next thing I had to consider was the photography for the cover, having a black and white image is
seen as being dark and dangerous however it doesn’t show heavy mental or punk music. The actions
of the person in the picture and the instrument he is playing indicates loudness and concentration,
these both link in with rock as they include the general stereotype.
Then adding colour to the surrounding text helps the main image stand out and concentrates the
readers attention on that article. I incorporated bold and jagged brushes to help the sense of rock, the
heavy strong colours of blue and green help convey this style. Maintaining this house style throughout
the whole magazine helped to represent the genre.
Research on what genre my My results on the front cover’s
magazine should be. representation
10. What Media distribution would your
magazine and why?
During the production of my magazine I tried to follow the layout and set up of NME and Clash
magazines as they followed the genre I picked and I’ve also read them so I knew a fair bit about
them. NME and Clash are published by a company called IPC. They’re a fairly large company and I
was initially thinking of using them as my distributor. But during my research i found a larger
company that specialise in rock media and magazines. They’re called Bauer media they also
publish the kerrang magazine which is one of the best selling magazines in the UK. Other places I
could have published my magazine would have be a website called issuu, this is a website where
readers look through your magazine digitally and for free. You can also embed magazines, this
would get it advertising and recognition.
11. What Media distribution would your
magazine and why?
Using social media is also a great way to advertise the magazine, Social networking has become
such a huge thing, it’s easy to grab the attention of the audience and give them information. This is
effectively free adverting, which really helps to get the magazines name recognised by readers.
Things like Facebook and Twitter connect people, making them talk about the magazine.
12. Who would be your audience?
Before the making process of my product I did a survey on what people wanted from a magazine,
their age and gender etc. When I asked “what is your age?” 91.7% of people I asked were 17 or
younger, being 17 myself I used this information to Identify the age range of my target audience. I
then asked whether they were males or female, 53.8% where male, this made me lean towards
making a magazine aimed at males, but I also took into consideration females as there wasn’t a
huge difference between the two results. Then I thought about the social groups, I wanted to make
my magazine so it would appeal to me. I’m a relatively sporty person, I like to listen but not to play
music and enjoy graphics and art. This made me want to make the product as aesthetically
pleasing as possible. I also asked in my survey “what genre of music do you listen to?” 42.7% of
people said rock. That’s when i felt I’d gathered enough information design a reader profile.
I then needed to find a way of attracting that kind of reader towards my product. Using social
networks was my initial thought, this would cover a wide number of potential readers. However the
readers I targeted were students, so I thought I’d give the first copy free and display it in colleges
around the Uk. Also adverts on T.V music channels, this is the kind of television my target audience
would watch. Using certain cliché within the rock genre like the dark colours of the image on my
front cover and DPS, heavy fonts and scratchy brushes, it would to appeal to my reader more easily.
Gender survey results
Age survey results
13. What has helped you learn about the
technologies from constructing this
product?
At the start of the subject I knew nothing about Photoshop, but now I feel very confident in using the
program. The keys thing I used in the production of my magazine were the blending tools, specially
the stroke and drop shadow to give the font a thick dark glow.
During Media we had
many tutorial lessons to
Another great feature I get the class used to the
learnt in Photoshop, was software. There was one
the building up of layers. lesson where we learnt
This really helped with the about something called
depth of field of articles, colour splash which is
picture and body text. It’s where you can merge
a very simple thing, but I colour into a black and
helped so much in the white image. This idea
production of the helped me with the
product. making of the front cover,
putting coloured onto a
One other black and white image.
feature I used
in my double
page spread
was the filter
settings on the
tool bar. I
used this to
get a lens
flare.
14. Facebook and survey monkey
Having Facebook working with survey monkey
really helped me to find an audience to do my
surveys on having several hundred possible
people answering the survey. This helped me
gather information fast and gave me time to
analysis it and build up a reader profile.
Another great technology I learnt to use
efficiently, was survey monkey it really helped
when I was forming a surveys. Without it I wouldn’t
have know what to include in my magazine or
who would be the most suitable target audience.
