In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Before I created my music magazine I researched and analysed existing magazines of the same genre as the one I was about to create e.g. Kerrang and NME. This allowed me to learn the codes and conventions of music magazines and let me see what things I thought worked really well, and what things I thought my magazine could improve on. This research also let me see what a music magazine should look like in order for my target audience actually want to purchase it.
How my magazine uses conventions of a rock music magazine:
Masthead
A masthead is an obvious convention of all magazines and is possibly the most important. The masthead tells the target audience what the magazine's name is as well as indicating what gene the magazine is and what content is in the text.
I first carried out research on my target audience by doing questionnaires and polls. These questionnaires asked my target audience the things they would like to see in my magazine, what house style and what price they would be willing to pay for my text. I asked twenty students from my college as they fit the brief of my audience. The reason I asked them was so they had an input into my magazine, and if my target audience don't appreciate or even want to purchase my magazine then there would be no point in even distributing it because it wouldn't make any profits.
My audience stated that they wanted my magazine to cost £2.80, and this was the price my magazine would cost if it was available, I also used a red and black house style which is something that fits the genre I am communicating and is what my target audience asked for. I also asked my target audience what they would most like to see featured inside 'Radar' magazine, and I have put the most popular answers e.g. Posters and other freebies on my contents page.
As well as asking my target audience what they would like to see in my magazine, I have also tried to attract them through features in my magazine. I have used bright, vivid colours such as the red of my banner headline to attract my target audience's eye. Because my chosen demographic are quite young, I thought that bright colours will stand out to them and make them want to purchase my text.
I think that my artist will relate to my target audience, this is because she is of a similar age to my chosen demographic and will therefore act as a role model to them. If I chose to place a 40 year old classical singer on the cover of my rock magazine then the target audience will not be able to identify with them and therefore will not feel personally connected to the artist. My magazine uses fairly simple language meaning that everyone from the age of 15-24 will be able to understand it, however the language isn't so simple so they feel patronised or that this magazine is too young for them. People from this age group tend to have a shorter attention span than older people, therefore I have created an interesting looking magazine so they don't get too bored of reading it. I have done this by; rotating the poster specials for a more edgy look, outlining the masthead and coverlines in black to make them stand out and look a little more interesting, and have used an unconventional black and white image with a vivid pattern on the artist's face.
I think that I have attracted my audience rather well, and have included everything they could want from a magazine in this genre. I think that I have involved my target audience in every aspect of creating this magazine- whether through production questionnaires or feedback comments. However if I was to improve this I could have asked people from other places other than my college to get a wide variety of opinions, and possibly from people in other parts of the country.
What have you learnt about technologies from the proess of constructing this product?
For example; with this shot, I used a low angle to make out that the artist is of high importance and is looking down at us, however this wasn't the right representation I wanted for my magazine so I decided not to use this.
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Before I created my music magazine I researched and analysed existing magazines of the same genre as the one I was about to create e.g. Kerrang and NME. This allowed me to learn the codes and conventions of music magazines and let me see what things I thought worked really well, and what things I thought my magazine could improve on. This research also let me see what a music magazine should look like in order for my target audience actually want to purchase it.
How my magazine uses conventions of a rock music magazine:
A masthead is an obvious convention of all magazines and is possibly the most important. The masthead tells the target audience what the magazine's name is as well as indicating what gene the magazine is and what content is in the text.
The masthead on my cover is large and is in a black font. Black gives connotations of mystery and power, however the main reason I used this colour because it strongly contrasts to the white/grey tint of the image. The font is bold and goes along the top of the page so will attract the reader's attention. I looked at other magazine's mastheads and took the one 'Kerrang' uses for my inspiration. This one is also black in colour, bold and strong, it also has cracks through it to connote that the music in the magazine was so loud it smashed the font. I liked the idea of making the masthead symbolise something, so I chose to use the same font The Sex Pistols used for one of their albums. This meant that my target audience would recognise it, as well as this the different sized and angled lettering makes my cover look more interesting and edgy.
Journalistic Lexis
Something I found whilst researching existing magazines is that they used journalistic lexis in order to persuade readers that the informaton in their magazine is exclusive and they will not find it anywhere else. I thought that this was a crucial convention of a magazine, therefore I tried to use this as much as I could. On my cover I used the words; 'World Exclusive', 'Featuring', 'Plus' and 'Special' This will cause the reader to think they are gaining secretive information from my magazine and could possibly make them to continue purchasing 'Radar' magazine.
Coverlines
Coverlines are important on the cover of a magazine as they tell the reader what to expect to read inside. This is an obvious convention of a music magazine and I have complyed to this as I think it is important, mainly because the target audience will not waste time flicking through the magazine to see what articles are inside and if you don't directly tell them, they could just purchase another magazine that does. I have chosen to outline my coverlines in black to make them stand out. I have placed two on my cover so it does not look to busy and so the reader will not have to hunt around the cover page to find them.
Banner Headline
Although this isn't a convention used in every magazine, I have chosen to use one as it attracts the reader's eye and emphasises the main article that is featured in the magazine.
Logo
It is conventional for a music magazine to use a logo in order for it to be recognised by the audience. I have used my masthead as a logo for my magazine as it is more simple to do so, also many exisiting magazines such as Kerrang and NME uses their masthead as a logo also. I have used my logo on every page I have designed to maintain my house style and remain recogniseable to the target audience.
Details
There are some minor details that I have included in my magazine that are a convention of every single existing magazine and are therefore conventions. These include things like; the price, the date the magazine is valid for, and the magazine's related website. These details give the reader extra information that they will probably need to know. I have added the website underneath my masthead so it can easily be found by the target audience, a website is of paramount importance lately as almost everyone has access to the internet and will therefore visit the website if the magazine is high quality- this can cause the magazine to make even more profit. The reader will need to know the price of the magazine, obviously to see if they can afford it, however this minor detail could easily be overlooked so it was important that I added this in. The date will let the reader know that the information in the magazine is valid and new information so this is in important detail also.
Barcode
A barcode is one of the most obvious conventions of a magazine, it is needed so the cashier can scan the magazine when it is purchased. As well as allowing the company to charge the customer, the barcode allows the magazine company to see how many magazines have been distributed, where in the country and at what time of the day.
Headlines in the contents page
I chose to split my contents page up into different sections of articles- this is a convention as it can be seen in many exisiting rock music magazines such as Kerrang or Q. I did this to make the contents page much simpler for the reader to understand and it will also allow the reader to find what article they want in the least time possible. As well as this, it makes the contents page look a lot more organised and professional which is essentially what I wanted.
Interview for double page spread
I have used an interview for the article on my double page spread. This is seen in many existing magazines which therefore makes it a convention. I have complyed by this convention as the reader is more likely to believe the information in an interview form as the experiences and ideas will be written first hand and will therefore be coming from the artist first hand.
Also, with an interview it allows the artist to have freedom of speech and answer the questions however they wish. I like this idea as it gives a positive representation of my magazine and doesn't appear to control the artist's answers or opinions.
House Style
A consistent house style is really important within a magazine. This is so the magazine seems consistent for the reader and appears to have been finished with a profession standard. The house style I chose to use was red and black, these colours create an aggressive colour scheme which emphasises the genre of my rock magazine, they also demand attention so will catch the reader's eye. The bright colours have created an interesting look to my magazine.
Coverlines
Coverlines are important on the cover of a magazine as they tell the reader what to expect to read inside. This is an obvious convention of a music magazine and I have complyed to this as I think it is important, mainly because the target audience will not waste time flicking through the magazine to see what articles are inside and if you don't directly tell them, they could just purchase another magazine that does. I have chosen to outline my coverlines in black to make them stand out. I have placed two on my cover so it does not look to busy and so the reader will not have to hunt around the cover page to find them.
Banner Headline
Although this isn't a convention used in every magazine, I have chosen to use one as it attracts the reader's eye and emphasises the main article that is featured in the magazine.
Logo
It is conventional for a music magazine to use a logo in order for it to be recognised by the audience. I have used my masthead as a logo for my magazine as it is more simple to do so, also many exisiting magazines such as Kerrang and NME uses their masthead as a logo also. I have used my logo on every page I have designed to maintain my house style and remain recogniseable to the target audience.
Details
There are some minor details that I have included in my magazine that are a convention of every single existing magazine and are therefore conventions. These include things like; the price, the date the magazine is valid for, and the magazine's related website. These details give the reader extra information that they will probably need to know. I have added the website underneath my masthead so it can easily be found by the target audience, a website is of paramount importance lately as almost everyone has access to the internet and will therefore visit the website if the magazine is high quality- this can cause the magazine to make even more profit. The reader will need to know the price of the magazine, obviously to see if they can afford it, however this minor detail could easily be overlooked so it was important that I added this in. The date will let the reader know that the information in the magazine is valid and new information so this is in important detail also.
Barcode
A barcode is one of the most obvious conventions of a magazine, it is needed so the cashier can scan the magazine when it is purchased. As well as allowing the company to charge the customer, the barcode allows the magazine company to see how many magazines have been distributed, where in the country and at what time of the day.
Headlines in the contents page
I chose to split my contents page up into different sections of articles- this is a convention as it can be seen in many exisiting rock music magazines such as Kerrang or Q. I did this to make the contents page much simpler for the reader to understand and it will also allow the reader to find what article they want in the least time possible. As well as this, it makes the contents page look a lot more organised and professional which is essentially what I wanted.
Interview for double page spread
I have used an interview for the article on my double page spread. This is seen in many existing magazines which therefore makes it a convention. I have complyed by this convention as the reader is more likely to believe the information in an interview form as the experiences and ideas will be written first hand and will therefore be coming from the artist first hand.
Also, with an interview it allows the artist to have freedom of speech and answer the questions however they wish. I like this idea as it gives a positive representation of my magazine and doesn't appear to control the artist's answers or opinions.
House Style
A consistent house style is really important within a magazine. This is so the magazine seems consistent for the reader and appears to have been finished with a profession standard. The house style I chose to use was red and black, these colours create an aggressive colour scheme which emphasises the genre of my rock magazine, they also demand attention so will catch the reader's eye. The bright colours have created an interesting look to my magazine.
How my magazine challenges conventions of a rock music magazine:
Main Image
The main image on my cover page challenges conventions of a rock music magazine. Although the photograph is a medium-close up and shows the artists displaying a neutral pose which is common in magazine of this genre; the image is in black and white. This is unconventional, however I think that it works within my music magazine because it allows all focus to be on the lightning stripe on the artists face which gives us a hint of what will be discussed in the article, and gives the cover an interesting, arty look to it. Although this feature is unconventional it does not look out of place on my cover and it does not cause the cover to look like a different genre of magazine or text. The image contrasts heavily to the vivid colours of the banner headline, coverlines and the lightning stripe which makes the cover look really interesting and not boring in the slightest. As well as this it could cause my magazine to stand out on the shelf as it doesn't look like any other existing music magazines which could bring in a larger demographic.
Image of the editor
The image of my editor on the contents page challenges the conventions and stereotypes of usual rock magazines. The editor I have chosen to use was a woman who seems to appear quite wholesome. I did this to break people's steretypes of the kind of people who may enjoy this magazine and shows that you don't have to wear typical 'rocky' clothing to enjoy rock music. The woman also appears to look quite successful looking which gives a positive representation of my magazine, causing it to look professional.
How does your media product represent particular social groups?Main Image
The main image on my cover page challenges conventions of a rock music magazine. Although the photograph is a medium-close up and shows the artists displaying a neutral pose which is common in magazine of this genre; the image is in black and white. This is unconventional, however I think that it works within my music magazine because it allows all focus to be on the lightning stripe on the artists face which gives us a hint of what will be discussed in the article, and gives the cover an interesting, arty look to it. Although this feature is unconventional it does not look out of place on my cover and it does not cause the cover to look like a different genre of magazine or text. The image contrasts heavily to the vivid colours of the banner headline, coverlines and the lightning stripe which makes the cover look really interesting and not boring in the slightest. As well as this it could cause my magazine to stand out on the shelf as it doesn't look like any other existing music magazines which could bring in a larger demographic.
Image of the editor
The image of my editor on the contents page challenges the conventions and stereotypes of usual rock magazines. The editor I have chosen to use was a woman who seems to appear quite wholesome. I did this to break people's steretypes of the kind of people who may enjoy this magazine and shows that you don't have to wear typical 'rocky' clothing to enjoy rock music. The woman also appears to look quite successful looking which gives a positive representation of my magazine, causing it to look professional.
Because I have a niche audience there are certain things that I have done in my magazine to try and represent a certain social group. The social group I was trying to both attract and represent are young, fashionable people who enjoy live and new music. In terms of my magazine, I have tried to attract this demographic by trying to create a cool, modern magazine in which people of that social group would wish to read. As well as this, I have thought hard about the type of images and font to use on my magazine as they could either attract or repel my target audience. The content of my music magazine, in my opinion, represents my social group in a positive way. The articles that are to be featured in my magazine such as a guide to U.K festivals appeal to my target audience as they give information on things that my niche demographic like doing, but they also set a positive message about the people who would read my magazine. None of the articles on my contents page indicate any reference to drugs, cigarettes, alcohol or any other controversial issues my target audience (15-24 year olds) are confronted with lately. I think that this shows that my magazine and the people who would read it, just care about the rock music being communicated and are not interested in any of the negative things that come with it.
I have also tried to break stereotypes within my magazine which can be seen with the image of the editor I have chosen to feature on my contents page. I chose this image as the woman looks wholesome and a successful person, I did this to indicate that you don’t have to dress like a typical ‘rocker’ to enjoy rock music and you don’t have to do drugs, or drink alcohol to be recognised in the rock world.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
If I were to create a magazine for an existing publisher then I would choose Bauer Media. Bauer Media is Europe's biggest privately owned publishing group and distributed over 300 magazines in over 15 countries as well as radio stations, T.V and websites. Because this publishing company is so succesful and recognised then my magazine would be sold across the world and on many different formats such as online and would therefore create a larger profit. Bauer publishers own a lot of the main magazines such as; Heat, Grazia, Closer, FHM, Kerrang and Q. These are very well known, mainstream magazines and I would therefore have to create a very high standard magazine in order to compete with them, which I think I have done sucessfully. My magazine is quite similar to magazines such as Kerrang and Q as they are all of music interest and of the Rock genre, however I think that because my magazine provides information on new bands and exclusive news then I have found a unique selling point and a gap in the market. I have researched my target audience and gained a lot of data through polls and questionnaires so I think that I have managed to appeal to them as much as I possibly can.
I researched into my target audience and found out that my demographic are more likely to purchase a magazine from a supermarket. I think that this was because supermarkets are the most accesssible stores and sell a wide range of magazines and books. However, I would like my 'Radar' magazine to be sold in some newsagents because some villages may not have access to a major supermarket. I would like 'Radar' magazine to be sold on the internet, this means that my magazine will be accessible to everybody in the world and not just in the UK. This may be more expensive for a new magazine, however I feel that my magazine will bring in a large demographic. Bauer media would also allow me to do this.
Who would be the audience for your media product?
I interviewed various people, and researched target audiences for existing magazines similar to mine to gain knowledge on what kind of audience I would attract in my media product.
I came to the conclusion that my magazine will target a niche audience. A niche audience is the way the media and it's audiences are seperated into smaller segments, each of which have different tastes, interests and concerns. Because not every single person in the population will enjoy rock music the audience will most definately be niche. As well as this, there a lot of different types of rock music from indie to glam therefore not everyone will enjoy every type of rock music there is.
I have tried to address the 15-24 year old band. This is because this is the group that are most likely to purchase magazines and listen to the music my magazine contains. Students are in this age group which is the niche audience I have tried to address. Like NME, Kerrang and Q I have used young, fashionable people who enjoy live music as my target audience. I have chosen to use the same audience as these existing magazines because they are popular, therefore their target auudience purchase their magazine frequently and give them a large profit.
How did you attract/address your audience?If I were to create a magazine for an existing publisher then I would choose Bauer Media. Bauer Media is Europe's biggest privately owned publishing group and distributed over 300 magazines in over 15 countries as well as radio stations, T.V and websites. Because this publishing company is so succesful and recognised then my magazine would be sold across the world and on many different formats such as online and would therefore create a larger profit. Bauer publishers own a lot of the main magazines such as; Heat, Grazia, Closer, FHM, Kerrang and Q. These are very well known, mainstream magazines and I would therefore have to create a very high standard magazine in order to compete with them, which I think I have done sucessfully. My magazine is quite similar to magazines such as Kerrang and Q as they are all of music interest and of the Rock genre, however I think that because my magazine provides information on new bands and exclusive news then I have found a unique selling point and a gap in the market. I have researched my target audience and gained a lot of data through polls and questionnaires so I think that I have managed to appeal to them as much as I possibly can.
I researched into my target audience and found out that my demographic are more likely to purchase a magazine from a supermarket. I think that this was because supermarkets are the most accesssible stores and sell a wide range of magazines and books. However, I would like my 'Radar' magazine to be sold in some newsagents because some villages may not have access to a major supermarket. I would like 'Radar' magazine to be sold on the internet, this means that my magazine will be accessible to everybody in the world and not just in the UK. This may be more expensive for a new magazine, however I feel that my magazine will bring in a large demographic. Bauer media would also allow me to do this.
Who would be the audience for your media product?
I interviewed various people, and researched target audiences for existing magazines similar to mine to gain knowledge on what kind of audience I would attract in my media product.
I came to the conclusion that my magazine will target a niche audience. A niche audience is the way the media and it's audiences are seperated into smaller segments, each of which have different tastes, interests and concerns. Because not every single person in the population will enjoy rock music the audience will most definately be niche. As well as this, there a lot of different types of rock music from indie to glam therefore not everyone will enjoy every type of rock music there is.
I have tried to address the 15-24 year old band. This is because this is the group that are most likely to purchase magazines and listen to the music my magazine contains. Students are in this age group which is the niche audience I have tried to address. Like NME, Kerrang and Q I have used young, fashionable people who enjoy live music as my target audience. I have chosen to use the same audience as these existing magazines because they are popular, therefore their target auudience purchase their magazine frequently and give them a large profit.
I first carried out research on my target audience by doing questionnaires and polls. These questionnaires asked my target audience the things they would like to see in my magazine, what house style and what price they would be willing to pay for my text. I asked twenty students from my college as they fit the brief of my audience. The reason I asked them was so they had an input into my magazine, and if my target audience don't appreciate or even want to purchase my magazine then there would be no point in even distributing it because it wouldn't make any profits.
My audience stated that they wanted my magazine to cost £2.80, and this was the price my magazine would cost if it was available, I also used a red and black house style which is something that fits the genre I am communicating and is what my target audience asked for. I also asked my target audience what they would most like to see featured inside 'Radar' magazine, and I have put the most popular answers e.g. Posters and other freebies on my contents page.
As well as asking my target audience what they would like to see in my magazine, I have also tried to attract them through features in my magazine. I have used bright, vivid colours such as the red of my banner headline to attract my target audience's eye. Because my chosen demographic are quite young, I thought that bright colours will stand out to them and make them want to purchase my text.
I think that my artist will relate to my target audience, this is because she is of a similar age to my chosen demographic and will therefore act as a role model to them. If I chose to place a 40 year old classical singer on the cover of my rock magazine then the target audience will not be able to identify with them and therefore will not feel personally connected to the artist. My magazine uses fairly simple language meaning that everyone from the age of 15-24 will be able to understand it, however the language isn't so simple so they feel patronised or that this magazine is too young for them. People from this age group tend to have a shorter attention span than older people, therefore I have created an interesting looking magazine so they don't get too bored of reading it. I have done this by; rotating the poster specials for a more edgy look, outlining the masthead and coverlines in black to make them stand out and look a little more interesting, and have used an unconventional black and white image with a vivid pattern on the artist's face.
I think that I have attracted my audience rather well, and have included everything they could want from a magazine in this genre. I think that I have involved my target audience in every aspect of creating this magazine- whether through production questionnaires or feedback comments. However if I was to improve this I could have asked people from other places other than my college to get a wide variety of opinions, and possibly from people in other parts of the country.
What have you learnt about technologies from the proess of constructing this product?
In our media lessons we were not explicitly taught how to use programs such as Photoshop, or how to use technologies such as a digital cameras or how to use various angles or lighting etc so I learnt these things as I went along. I started by taking my photos with a digital camera and I experimented with different angles and lighting techniques to get the right shot.
I learnt a lot of information on what camera angles would work best for my magazine, as well as what lighting is appropriate, what colour background is best to shoot on, where the best location for my photo shoot would be, what props to use, what model to use and what effects on the camera itself would be useful.
The main program I used to edit my photos and create my magazine was Photoshop. I experimented with my photos in order to create interesting looks and to see what proved successful and what didn’t look that good. I also did this in order for me to gain knowledge of the basics of Photoshop and what I needed to learn to make my magazine look as professional as possible. Photoshop isn’t that difficult to use which is a good thing as I didn’t want to waste valuable time trying to figure out a program rather than creating my magazine. This program allowed me to edit my pictures in an unusual way which can be seen in my cover image.
(Put in the image on my cover)
This image gives my magazine an edgy look and isn’t usually seen on the cover of a magazine which will help me bring in a bigger profit. I wouldn’t have taken the risk to do an unconventional cover image if it didn’t look professionally done, however Photoshop allowed me to create this image with ease.
As well as major changes to my images, Photoshop allowed me to slightly alter my images to make them more appropriate for my magazine. For example; changing the background colour of my contents image and sharpening the image. This doesn’t seem like a major change but it allowed my magazine to look like a real text. Photoshop also helped make my magazine as a whole look really professional and didn’t restrict me in terms of what I had imagined my magazine would look like.
As well as major changes to my images, Photoshop allowed me to slightly alter my images to make them more appropriate for my magazine. For example; changing the background colour of my contents image and sharpening the image. This doesn’t seem like a major change but it allowed my magazine to look like a real text. Photoshop also helped make my magazine as a whole look really professional and didn’t restrict me in terms of what I had imagined my magazine would look like.
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Looking back at my preliminary task, I think I have learnt a lot in the progression of it to my full product. Firstly, I think I have learnt the importance of audience feedback. Although in my preliminary task my target audience did have input to what my magazine would look like, I don’t think it was enough. Audience feedback is of paramount importance in my main task, mainly because if my target audience don’t like my product then nobody will buy it and my text will have failed. However if I had more time, I think I would have expanded on the audience feedback that I have done for my main task.
I think that I have learnt a lot about the production of a magazine. Although my college magazine and rock music magazine are of different genres; many of the basic conventions are similar and therefore creating my college magazine allowed me to gain knowledge on what was involved in this task. By creating my college magazine, it helped me to start learning how to use Photoshop which I then developed by creating my music magazine. The progression from my preliminary task to my main task allowed me to learn more about planning the production of my task. Rather than simply experimenting with how my music magazine should look, I planned every detail from the house style to the masthead style to the position of the barcode.
I feel like I have also learnt evaluation skills and what works within my text and what doesn’t.
