My Final Pieces

6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

To produce my music magazine I used Photoshop CS4 and CS5. I had used Photoshop many times before so I knew pretty much everything I needed to know when producing my magazine.

When I was introduced to Blogger I had no idea how to work it. I was getting confused and didnt know what to do. In the end I got the hang of it and started to create my blog. Now that my blog is all up and running I can now present my work on it. It also make it a lot easier to present work and the fact that you can get to your work where ever you are because it is online.

I used Flickr to upload my images onto internet but also I used it to add captions, tags and notes to my images. When adding pictures to Blogger you can make a link to Flickr by clicking on the image and it takes you straight to Flickr. http://www.flickr.com/photos/bloggercomhome/5099335370/

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

The masthead is pretty much the main part of the magazine. It can tell you what kind of magazine it is and what is expected. Being bold and black helps it stand out and the graphics behind it also give it a more rough look so it relates to the target audience.
The main image is placed in front of the masthead to make it stand out more. All three models that I chose have a objective gaze which gives them a more 'rock star'/'rebel' attitude.
The main cover line 'Addicted' is big and bold to make it noticeable and easy to catch your eye.
The supporting cover line gives an indication of the story behind the cover line and if it is good enough it will make the reader what to read the rest.
The two pictures of the male and the female models at the bottom are other stories that are in the magazines and if people know the artists shown then they will be more tempted to buy the magazine.
At the top and bottom of the front cover are additional smaller stories that can be found inside.

Down the right hand side of the content page I put the main parts of the magazine and their page number, for example reviews, news and articles on artists. I also added links to the magazines Facebook and Twitter page along with subscription deals.
I used three images with texts to indicate the main stories in the magazine and also added a editors sideline. Some of the text that covers the images are in red to connect with the reds writing down the right hand column.

For the title of my double page spread I used 'Funked Up' (the masthead), then added a little caption below, 'lowdown'.  I added lowdown because it shows that it is revealing information about the subject.
Also I used a pull quote in the bottom right of the page which over laps two of the three images used.
Using individual pictures of the three models was a lot harder then using a image of all three in one. But I think it looks better with them all being individual.
All the text is placed in boxes to make them stand out more and also it looks neat which is going completely in the wrong direction with my magazine, but it looks right.

4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience that I hope to capture is teenagers/young adults. My target age is around 23 and ages between 15 and 30, but not all people this age would be attracted to my magazine due to there taste in music genre. More informations about my target audience is on UK Tribes website http://uktribes.com/alternative. Here you can see what the audiences interests are and what they follow. I also created a reader profile and a audience montage before creating my music magazine to show what my target audience are like and what they are into.

3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

I have decided that HMV will be the publisher for my music magazine because of the variety of products that they both have in common. HMV sells thousands of different products in its stores, for example things like music CDs, festival tickets, latest technology and much much more. Also HMV do not currently publish a music magazine so this means that they do not have to focus on any other magazines or subscriptions. IPC media is another great company to publish a music magazine but it also publishes NME, and because the success of NME IPC wouldn't need to publish any other music magazine. There is also a similar situation with Bauer Media as they publish Kerrang Magazine. 


I do not think that HMV has any disadvantages due to how my music magazine relates to the same products being sold in HMV stores. If anything the magazine will help HMV.

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

                                

When designing my front cover i based my ideas on this Kerrang Magazine cover. I like the way the image is placed on the page, having two people behind the masthead and beside the main person and the main person in front of the masthead. I think it makes the magazine stand out because it is as if the picture is coming out. I also based my band on a mix between Biffy Clyro and Mumford & Sons because that is the type of music that i enjoy listening to.

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Conventions of magazines can be anything from the style of the page to the masthead placed on it, conventions are things that you would normally expect on a magazine. For example NME magazine is a typical magazine for a teen audience. It has made its own conventions like the masthead and the style they use to project there information. Magazines normally stick to the same conventions because it is what the audience expect to see each week or month. The only thing that really changes these conventions is the genre, whether it is a women's health magazine or a music magazine.

The genre i chose for my magazine is indie/rock music. I chose this because i looked into top magazines in the UK and the top selling magazines i found were; NME, Kerrange and Q Magazine followed by magazines like Heat and OK. The inspiration for my magazine came from NME and Kerrange Magazine. Although both magazines are very different, i tried to combine them together to make to make a kind of folk/rock genre.