media studies coursework - seven exam questions to complete for media coursework.

1. IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE
FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?
MY MEDIA PRODUCT USES SIMILAR CODES AND CONVENTIONS TO OTHER, REAL PRODUCTS. FOR EXAMPLE I HAVE
INCLUDED WITHIN MY COVER PAGE, A BARCODE, THE DATE, AND SOME OF MY MAIN HEADLINES. I HAVE ALSO USED A MID
CLOSE UP SHOT FOR MY MAIN IMAGE, LIKE MUSIC MAGAZINES DO. HAVE USED A UNIQUE FONT AND A PUFF SO DISPLAY
MY MAIN OFFER. AS WELL AS THIS, I HAVE INCLUDED BUZZ WORDS, LIKE ‘WIN!’ AND A CONTINUED COLOUR SCHEME SO
THAT IT ALL KEYS IN WITH EACH OTHER WELL. I ALSO FEEL MY CONTENTS PAGE USES THE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF
REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS, BECAUSE I HAVE USED SIMILAR COLOUR THEMES AS MY COVER PAGE, AGAIN I'VE INCLUDED A
BUZZ PUFF WITH BUZZ WORD ‘NEW’ AND ALSO MY TITLE ‘CONTENTS’ IS PROMINENT WITHOUT BEING TOO
OVERPOWERING. THE ONLY THING I'VE CHALLENGED, IS THE FACT I HAVEN’T INCLUDED AN ISSUE NUMBER BECAUSE I
INCLUDED IT WITHIN MY COVER PAGE. I HAVE WRITTEN MY MAIN TEXT IN WHITE, AS IT CONTRASTS WELL AGAINST THE
BACKGROUND AND ALSO THE MAIN WORDS ARE WRITTEN IN COLOUR TO PROMOTE THEM. I HAVE INCLUDED THE PAGE
NUMBERS WITHIN MY MAIN IMAGES SO THERE IS EASE WHEN TRYING TO FIND THEM.
FOR MY MAGAZINE TITLE, I HAVE USED THE WORD ‘SWITCH!’. I FEEL THIS WORKS WELL, BECAUSE ITS NOT TYPICALLY
ASSOCIATED WITH MUSIC, LIKE THE FOLLOWING TITLES FROM REAL PRODUCTS. THESE TITLES COVER THE MAIN MUSIC
MAGAZINE CONVENTIONS; THEY’RE BOLD, STRIKING AND IN CONTROVERSIAL COLOURS WHICH SUIT BOTH GENDERS. I
HAVE APPLIED THIS CONVENTION TO MY TITLE, WHICH IS BLACK SUITING MALES AND FEMALES, AND ITS ALSO BOLD SO IT
STANDS OUT WELL.
I HAVE ALSO CHANGED SOME OF THE THINGS MY AUDIENCE REQUIRED, SUCH AS A LIGHT HOUSE STYLE. I HAVE
INCLUDED THIS IN AREAS SUCH AS THE FRONT COVER AND DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD, BUT I’VE ALSO CHALLENGED IT, BY
USING A DARK BLACK FOR MY CONTENTS PAGE TO CONTRAST. I FEEL THIS LOOKS BETTER BECAUSE IT BREAKS UP THE
WISHY-WASHY COLOURS.
Bold title
with a simple
letter to
represent
NME looks good, because it is
a simple title of 3 letters, and is
In a colour suited to all genders.
The fact the letters are capital
makes it stand out more, as it
appears more bold and
I like my magazine title, because
not only does it have a unique
title, but the font itself also
portrays what the title says, since
there are different arrows in all
directions. This in my
opinion, looks bold and

2. MY PHOTO-SHOOT AND HOW I GOT TO USING MY CURRENT MAIN IMAGES
For my cover image, I originally wanted it to look as though I am featuring a group or band, so I wanted to go for a fun vibe. After taking a few
photographs, I realised my audience wanted a magazine that included mainstream artists an mainstream music, and the look to my images was
as though I was making a rock or indie magazine, and I was basically achieving the wrong effect., so I decided to take a photograph of Alex, my
cover model, alone and featuring product placement. I think by doing this, in a medium close-up shot, it looks more effective and
professional, because you can see more expression and also the clothing choices, compared to his clothes in the group photograph, work better
with the audience (teenagers) I was focusing on.

3. I have included a
controversial style
cover line, like
original music
magazines do. This
works well, as its
bold and suits male
and females.
Original music
magazines use
bold and vibrant
coloured
titles, to attract
their audiences.
This music magazine
has included a house
style that is suited to
both males and
females, hence the
blue and pink
colours.
I have placed a barcode into my
magazine, but as you can see,
the real media product is without
one, so it doesn’t cover all
conventions!

4. My title is quite faint, which challenges real
products because like you see on the VIBE
mag, their contents title is bold and arranged in
an interesting way. I wanted my contents page
to be unique and not too
overpowering, therefore I chose a weaker font.
My slogan from the front cover is also
present, to key both pages together somewhat.I’ve included a buzz puff next to my ‘ten
new artists’ storyline. It portrays the fact
they're new, and also gives visual
impact, drawing the eye to that area
almost instantly. The one thing I would
change is the fact that the buzz puff is
actually bolder than the title. Its clear
that in the real product, there is no buzz
puff or anything to draw your eyes
to, other than the contrast of the red
heart against the black and white.For my cover lines, I've used a white font
to contrast against the black background.
This looks striking, but also shows my
magazine is also still good for all
genders. I have highlighted important
words in the same blue used in my house
style, and my page numbers are in
pink, showing my house style is still
present. The real product to the
right, uses a plain black font, not really
very clear, to show its cover lines. I
personally don’t like this, as I think the
page looks quite bland.
The photographs I've chosen to add to my contents page look, in my opinion, quite
professional. I think that they work well, because the main image of Alex is clear and it
draws your eye instantly due to the cream background, yet the black around the other
male, makes it look professional. The only think I would change here, is perhaps adding a
female into my contents page, so the fact its for males and females looks more present.
The real media magazine contents page (to the right) looks professional, since the main
image is taking up a large proportion of the page, but I don’t think it looks interesting, they
haven’t added any way of contact, such as a web address or Facebook, live I've shown,

5. In my opinion, I feel my double page spread looks slightly better than VIBE’S because I've added a quote box, which gives your audience a quick
brief into what they are going to read. As well as this, I've added a title that is clear and bold, to the top of my double page spread. This looks
affective since the black contrasts with my house style, and also the exclamative at the end ‘top!’ looks interesting and makes you want to read on.
The real media product, in my view, looks quite plain, although I feel the long image at the top works well and gives it a focal point, I don’t like the
large image taking up to much room and the black and white, for me, doesn’t look too great. I do feel, however, that my double page looks a little
faint in colour, because I've used only the colours I need for my house style, no other ones are present. Although this gives an instant connection to
the fact my magazine has the same house style throughout, it looks fairly wishy-washy and faint.

6. HOW DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT REPRESENT PARTICULAR SOCIAL GROUPS?
• MY MEDIA PRODUCT FITS INTO THE IDEA OF
C.R.A.G.S :
C – CLASS
R – RACE
A – AGE
G – GENDER

7. C - CLASS
• MY MAGAZINE IS MOSTLY FOCUSED UPON THE MIDDLE CLASS, TEENS IN
PARTICULAR. I HAVE FOCUSED MY MUSIC MAGAZINE TO THIS CLASS AND STATUS
(WHICH IS B IN THE INCOME AND CLASS SCALE) BECAUSE IT MEANS IT IS FOR A
MORE DIVERSE AND WIDER AUDIENCE AND SUITS MORE PEOPLE. IF MY MAGAZINE
WAS FOCUSED UPON UPPER CLASS, I WOULD HAVE TO CHANGE MY COVER LINES
AND PHOTOGRAPHS TO SUIT THERE STYLE AND GENRE.
• MY MAIN IMAGE SUITS MIDDLE CLASSED PEOPLE WELL, WHICH CAN BE SEEN IN THE
CLOTHES HE IS WEARING AND THE PRODUCT PLACEMENT – MIDDLE CLASSED
TEENAGERS ARE LIKELY TO HAVE THIS KIND OF GEAR, AND ESPECIALLY SO IF THEY
ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT MUSIC. I HAVE ALSO INCLUDED MANY WELL KNOWN
ARTISTS TO THE FRONT COVER OF MY MAGAZINE, AND I THINK THAT THIS PRESENTS
MIDDLE CLASSED PEOPLE WELL, BECAUSE, FROM MY RESEARCH, I FOUND OUT A
LOT OF PEOPLE IN THIS CATEGORY PREFER R&B MUSIC AND CHARTS MUSIC,
COMPARED TO THE LIKES OF CLASSICAL AND OPERA. MY HOUSE STYLE ALSO SUITS
MY MIDDLE CLASS AIM, BECAUSE IT IS LIGHT AND AIRY, AND ALSO IS WELL SUITED TO
MY DESIRED AUDIENCE, WHICH IS TEENAGERS.

8. R- RACE
• MY MAGAZINE DOESN’T REALLY FOCUS ON PARTICULAR RACES AS SUCH, BUT SUITS PEOPLE OF ALL ETHNIC BACKGROUNDS
THAT FIT INTO MY ‘TEENAGE’ CATEGORY. I HAVE INCLUDED ALEX, WHO IS OF WHITE ETHNICITY, ONTO MY MAGAZINE COVER,
BECAUSE MANY SINGER AND SONG WRITERS OF THE PRESENT DAY ARE WHITE. THIS ISN’T TO SAY THERE ARE NO SINGERS OF
DIFFERENT RACIAL BACKGROUNDS, I JUST CHOSE MY MODEL TO LOOK THIS WAY BECAUSE IT SUITED MY DESIRED THEME.
• ON MY CONTENTS PAGE, I HAVE INCLUDED AN IMAGE OF SOMEONE WITH A DIFFERENT RACIAL AND ETHNIC BACKGROUND
(CHINESE). I HAVE EMBEDDED THIS IMAGE INTO MY MAGAZINE, BECAUSE I THINK IT PORTRAYS THE FACT THAT MY MAGAZINE IS
SUITED TO ANY ETHNICITY AND THERE IS NO PARTICULAR GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT MY MAGAZINE IS FOCUSED ON. IN REAL
MEDIA PRODUCTS, YOU SEE PEOPLE OF MANY DIFFERENT ETHNIC BACKGROUNDS FEATURED ON THE FRONT COVER. I HAVE
CHALLENGED THIS, FEATURING A WHITE PERSON ON MY FRONT COVER, AND A CHINESE PERSON ON THE CONTENTS PAGE.
MAGAZINES SUCH AS VIBE, Q AND NME ALL USE PEOPLE WITH VERY DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS, ALTHOUGH IT IS CLEAR THAT
THEIR AUDIENCE IS OF PEOPLE WHO LIKE CHARTS MUSIC, AS THE FACES FEATURED ARE GENERALLY PEOPLE FROM THIS
GENRE.

9. A - AGE
• FROM RESEARCHING WHAT MY AUDIENCE WOULD LIKE, I FIGURED IT WOULD BE MOSTLY PRE-TEENS AND TEENAGERS
WHO WOULD BE READING MY MAGAZINE, AND I HAVE THEREFORE TAILORED IT TO FIT INTO THIS AGE CATEGORY. FOR
EXAMPLE, I HAVE INCLUDED STARS AND SINGERS THAT MY AUDIENCE SAID THEY LIKE, SUCH AS THE LIKES OF ‘NICKI
MINAJ AND NE-YO’ AND I HAVE ALSO MADE MY HOUSE STYLE CONTROVERSIAL IN COLOUR, BUT LIGHT AND AIRY SO THAT
ALL KINDS OF TEENAGERS FEEL THEY CAN APPROACH AND ENJOY MY MUSIC MAGAZINE.
• MY MAGAZINE SUPPORTS THE STEREOTYPE THAT YOUTH OF OUR PRESENT DAY, LIKE R&B AND CHARTS MUSIC, AND SO
THEREFORE I HAVE INCLUDED ALL TYPES OF ARTISTS FROM THIS DAY AND AGE THAT ARE CONSTANTLY PRODUCING
NEW SONGS.
• I HAVE ALSO INCLUDED, IN A BUZZ PUFF, AN ADVERTISEMENT FOR WINNING TICKETS TO A GIG. THIS SUITS PEOPLE OF
THE TEENAGE ERA, SINCE THEY STEREOTYPICALLY LIKE MUSIC FESTIVALS AND GATHERINGS, WHICH IS ALSO
SUPPORTED BY MY RESEARCH INTO WHAT THEY ENJOY.
• I HAVE USED INFORMAL LEXIS WITHIN MY MUSIC MAGAZINE, WITH WORDS SUCH AS ‘DEFFO’ TO INCLUDE THE KINDS OF
VOCABULARY THAT TEENS USE WITHIN MY MAGAZINE. IN MY OPINION, I THINK THAT TEENS WILL BE ABLE TO ASSOCIATE
WITH MY MAGAZINE BETTER IF I USE NON STANDARD ENGLISH BECAUSE IT INCLUDED DIALECT THAT THEY WOULD
OFTEN USE.

10. G - GENDER
• MY MUSIC MAGAZINE IS FOCUSED UPON BOTH MALE AND FEMALE AUDIENCES, SO IT IS SUITED FOR ALL AUDIENCES. I HAVE
INCLUDED A HOUSE STYLE OF BOTH BLUE AND PINKS FOR MY MAGAZINE SO THAT ALL GENDERS ARE CATERED FOR IN A WAY SO
MY MAGAZINE SUITS THEIR NEEDS. WHEN LOOKING INTO THE BEST COLOUR OPTIONS FOR MY MAGAZINE, MY AUDIENCE
DECIDED UPON LIGHT COLOURS FOR MY HOUSE STYLE. AFTER LOOKING INTO THIS, I DECIDED TO USE THEIR RESPONSES AND
ENTWINE THEIR NEEDS INTO MY MAGAZINE SO ITS SUITABLE FOR THEM ALL.
• MY FRONT IMAGE IS OF A MALE, I THINK THAT THIS SUITS MY MAGAZINE STYLE WELL AND DOESN’T AFFECT THE FACT ITS ALSO
TAILORED TOWARDS WOMEN, BECAUSE BOTH MALES AND FEMALES DOMINATE TODAYS MUSIC CHARTS, THEREFORE I FEEL THE
FACT THAT MY MAIN IMAGE IS OF A BOY, DOESN’T ACCUMULATE SEXIST THOUGHTS.
Typically, blue connotes
males, although back in the
1800’s pink was considered
a masculine colour because
its strong, and is thought to
portray the male
strength, whereas blue was
to signify purity, therefore
I however, have chosen to
ignore the older sayings, and
have edited my magazine to
suit pink for females, and
blue for the males. The
colour black on my contents
page suits all genders, and I
have edited important words
in both the blue and pink so
my work is not sexist.

11. WHAT KIND OF MEDIA INSTITUTION MIGHT DISTRIBUTE YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT
AND WHY?
‘My magazine is mainstream, and focuses specifically
on R&B and artists of the moment. I am focusing the
magazine on teenagers and the younger generation
mostly, because the artists and style of music that will
be included in the magazine, such as drake and Lana
Del Rey are not necessarily to the likes of middle age
and elderly people. Seeing as my magazine is focusing
on an R&B style, my magazine publisher will most
probably be IPC media, because they have helped to
publish magazines such as NME which are similar to
my style of magazine. In my opinion there is definitely
a space in the market for my magazine, since most of
the music magazines that are currently on the shelves
are focused on country or rock music, and there's not
much to cover for the people that prefer music that is in
the charts, like R&B.
My magazine is very unique, because there are not
many magazines that focus on R&B specifically, and
also the magazine is focused on teens and early 20's
only, but females particularly, so it contains youthful
singers and story lines, as well as bright and airy
colours to attract peoples eye, and again portray the
fact that my magazine is not focused on rock or heavy
metal.’
As I have said before,
I would like an
institution such as IPC
media, to distribute
my magazine. I have
decided upon this
company, because
they focus on
publishing NME and
other magazines
styles with similar
context to mine.
Magazines tend to be
distributed in terms of
how many people
require a certain type
of magazine.
Institutions that send
magazines to the
shelf are all very
different and they all
publish different styles
of music magazine,
IPC media are one of the
UK’s leading
publishers, and tend to
sell over 350 million
copies of
magazines, each year.
They divide their
magazine publishing's
into these following
headings:
- Connect
- Inspire
- Ignite
- South bank
- TX
- These are the
different sections
that they publish
magazines in, for
example Ignite is
focused on men's
entertainment, where
as connect is based
on weekly issues like
women's gossip
mags.

12. WHO WOULD BE THE AUDIENCE FOR YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT?
I’VE DECIDED TO FOCUS MY MAGAZINE UPON TEENS, ALTHOUGH I HAVEN’T GOT ANY AGE CATEGORY IN PARTICULAR,
IN MIND, STUDENTS AND YOUNGER TEENS ARE MORE SUITED TO IT, THOUGH. I HAVE MADE MY MAGAZINE SUITABLE
FOR A MIXTURE OF BOTH MALE AND FEMALE, SO THAT MY MAGAZINE ISN’T STEREOTYPICAL OR SEXIST, LEANING
TOWARDS ONE GROUP OF PEOPLE MORE THAN THE OTHER. MY MAGAZINE FOCUSES ON MAINSTREAM MUSIC
(WHICH IS ALREADY WIDELY SPREAD THROUGH TODAYS SOCIETY, SINCE YOU HEAR THIS STYLE OF MUSIC IN
STORES, ON TV, ENTWINED WITHIN ADVERTISEMENTS, AND IN MOVIES. THIS MUSIC GENRE IS WIDELY POPULAR AND
ALSO SUITS ALL PEOPLE AND THEIR MUSIC TASTES, BECAUSE IN MY OPINION, ALTHOUGH PEOPLE DON’T ALWAYS
LIKE THE IDEA OF BEING PART OF THE MAINSTREAM MUSIC FANS, THE MUSIC PRODUCED IN THIS DAY AND AGE IS A
MIXTURE OF BOTH INDIE, FOLK AND R&B.SWITCH! ISN'T FOCUSED ON ANY PARTICULAR RACE OR ETHNICITY,
MEANING MY MAGAZINE WILL GAIN A WIDER AUDIENCE AND THERFORE GAINING MORE PUBLICITY.
MY MAGAZINE IS FOCUSED UPON WORKING CLASS PEOPLE, SUCH AS
CATEGORY D’S. I HAVE CHOSEN THIS CATEGORY OF PEOPLE, BECAUSE THEY
ARE USUALLY INFLUENCED BY THE MUSIC THAT IS CURRENTLY AROUND BY
HEARING SONGS WHILST SHOPPING, ON TV ETC.
‘Karen is 17 years old, and
currently studying a further
degree of photography in
Oxford university, making her
a category D…’

13. HOW DID YOU ATTRACT/ADDRESS YOUR AUDIENCE? (INCLUDE EVIDENCE OF
AUDIENCE FEEDBACK)
• FOR MY COVER IMAGE, I HAVE USED ALEX, A TEENAGE BOY. HIS CLOTHING IS DESIGNER WEAR, WHICH TEENAGERS CAN RELATE
TO, SINCE ITS WIDELY POPULAR, AND THE HEADPHONES ARE NOT ONLY BEATS – A POPULAR MUSIC BRAND, BUT THEY ALSO
PROVIDE PRODUCT PLACEMENT, THE SIGHT OF THEM PROVIDES THE PROOF THAT MY MAGAZINE IS OF MUSICAL CONTEXT, BUT
ALSO WILL ATTRACT TEENAGERS, SINCE THEY ARE FASHIONABLE TO HAVE. AS WELL AS THIS, THE COVER IMAGE WILL HELP TO
ATTRACT THE RIGHT KIND OF PEOPLE TO MY MAGAZINE, SINCE IT IS CLEARLY SHOWING THAT MY MAGAZINES PURPOSE IS TO
PROVIDE MUSIC NEWS, BUT ALSO THE STYLE OF CLOTHING THAT ALEX IS WEARING IS QUITE MAINSTREAM (BECAUSE IT CONTAINS
BRANDING LABELS) SO YOU GET THE FEELING THAT THE MAGAZINE WILL ALSO BE FOCUSED ON MAINSTREAM MUSIC. I THINK I
HAVE PORTRAYED TEENAGERS IN A GOOD LIGHT ON MY MAGAZINE, SINCE THEY'RE USUALLY SEEN AS VANDALS AND TROUBLE
MAKERS, YET MY MAGAZINE INCLUDES A COVER PHOTO OF A TEENAGE BOY WITH BEATS HEADPHONES ON, AVOIDING THE
CAMERA WHICH SUGGESTS HE'S BUSY OR PRE OCCUPIED WITH MUSIC, GIVING AN IMPRESSION THAT TO HIM, MUSIC IS MORE
IMPORTANT THAN THE ‘TYPICAL’ ACTIVITIES OF A USUAL TEENAGE BOY (PARTYING, DRINKING, BIKING, VANDALISING) THAT IS
PORTRAYED IN THE MEDIA OR PRESS. MY FOCUS GROUP COMMENTED ON THE COLOUR SCHEME, STATING THAT ‘IT SUITS BOTH
MALES AND FEMALES AND HAS A REFRESHING FEEL TO IT…’ I THINK THAT THESE COLORS WORK WELL, BECAUSE THEY HAVE
REFRESHING AND FUN CONNOTATIONS, BUT ALSO THEY ARE TYPICALLY MALE AND FEMALE COLORS, SHOWING MY MAGAZINE
CATERS FOR BOTH GENDERS. I FIGURED TO ATTRACT MY AUDIENCE, I’D NEED CATCHY COVER LINES AND DETAILED STORIES TO
GRAB ATTENTION, THEREFORE I INCLUDED A COVER LINE THAT HELD MANY POPULAR ARTIST’S NAMES WITHIN IT TO GRAB
ATTENTION, SINCE THESE ARTISTS ARE WELL KNOWN AND MAINSTREAM SINGERS. I HAVE ALSO USED BOLDER TEXT IN MY ‘BUZZ’
ON THE FRONT PAGE, AS I FEEL THE EYE WILL BE DRAWN TO IS QUICKLY, AND THE USE OF THE PULL WORD ‘WIN’ AND THE
EXCLAMITIVE AT THE END, SHOWS EXCITEMENT AND POSSIBILITY, AND THE THOUGHT OF WINNING COULD BE ALL IT TAKES TO
ATTRACT MY AUDIENCE INTO READING MY MAGAZINE. WHILST COLLECTING MY AUDIENCE RESEARCH, I FOUND OUT THAT MOST
OF MY AUDIENCES GO TO MUSIC FESTIVALS AT LEAST ONCE A FORTNIGHT, THEREFORE ADDING A BUZZ RELATING TO GIGS, FOR
ME, WAS A BONUS TO ATTRACT MORE PEOPLE TO MY MAGAZINE.

14. On this front cover, the
main image ( Dizzee
Rascal ) is wearing
designer clothing
(Adidas) which portrays
a youthful feel. His
jewelry makes a ‘loud’
statement, suggesting
he is a rapper, or some
kind of R&B
singer, since they tend
to make more of a
statement in what they
wear and how they’re
seen. The background
of graffiti also portrays
youthfulness, since
graffiti is usually seen
as a teenage art form.
This magazine has a
quite strong folk /
country music feel to
it, since there is use of
browns, blacks and
yellows, which are all
earthy colors, showing
that the magazine is
most probably aimed at
people with a passion
for country music. The
main image doesn’t
make so much of a
statement, since its
peaceful, the model is
looking away from the
camera, suggesting
she's in a state of
thought, and her small
smile shows tranquility
and a content feeling.

15. HOT-DESKING
‘The main image is brilliant, it really
catches your attention, being light in color
with the sudden contrast of black on the
headphones, cover line and t-shirt. I like
the way you have outlined the top, it looks
professional and eye catching, I really like
this cover page, but the cutting out of some
of the text boxes around your models head
doesn’t look as neat, as it perhaps could
do.’
‘I like your cover page, since the house
style looks refreshing, fun and airy, but
also suits both males and females,
making it applicable for all, I would
imagine this will bring you more of an
audience, sine at first glance, it’s clear
that it suits all people. If I was to change
something, it would be the amount of
storylines you have. It looks abit
Much.’
I am fairly pleased with my hot desking results, since I feel that the people I asked genuinely enjoyed looking at
my work, and my cover page. I have taken on board some of my comments, although I don’t think the story line
comment is applicable, you need a lot of storylines to grab attention – the more you have the better the chance
of publicity.

16. What have you learnt about technologies from the
process of constructing this product?
To create my music magazine, I used Photoshop for my front cover, and InDesign for the contents and double page
spread.
Whilst using these programs, I was able to edit photographs, creating a better overall effect, plus I could type and
move text into any area I wanted. InDesign, for me, proved the harder program for me to use, since it was slightly
more complex, and therefore took me longer to suss out and use. After finishing my products, and looking back, I
feel that Photoshop provided me with the most skills, since I was able to do a lot of editing to my magazine so that
is suited my audience criteria and therefore making it look more professional in the long run, whereas InDesign
proved harder and I don’t feel I've learned many skills in which I can carry forward, I feel I didn't’t quite grasp all of
its concepts so well, but looking back to the start of using InDesign, I feel my skills have considerably changed for
the better, I’ve picked up basic skills, such as drop shadows, and outer glows, although not all of those things have
been put into my magazine.
Overall I feel my understanding for different software's has really thoroughly improved, since before making my
music magazine I had no idea on how to use programs such a Photoshop and ID but now I feel I've put them to
good use whilst making my magazine, and they have assisted me greatly in making a professional looking
magazine, in my opinion.

17. LOOKING BACK AT YOUR PRELIMINARY TASK, WHAT DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE LEARNT
IN THE PROGRESSION FROM IT TO THE FULL PRODUCT?
• I FEEL I’VE LEARNED MANY SKILLS WITHIN THE PHOTOSHOP PROGRAM THAT WILL ENABLE ME TO CREATE
DETAILED WORK WITHIN MEDIA IN THE FUTURE, SINCE I'VE LEARNED HOW TO EDIT PROPERLY, CUT OTHER
IMAGES INTO EXISTING ONES, TYPE AND JUST GENERALLY MAKE MY WORK LOOK MORE PROFESSIONAL.
• BEFORE I HAD FULLY BEGUN MY MUSIC MAGAZINE, I FOUND INDESIGN QUITE SCARY, BECAUSE IT IS QUITE A BIT
DIFFERENT FROM PHOTOSHOP AND WHAT I WAS USED TO, BUT I FEEL I DID PRETTY WELL CONSIDERING I
DIDN'T’T REALLY KNOW HOW TO USE IT, AND AS A RESULT MY WORK LOOKS FAIRLY PROFESSIONAL, ALTHOUGH
IF I WAS TO CHANGE ANYTHING, I WOULD HAVE LIKED TO HAVE A LITTLE MORE TIME IN LEARNING ABOUT THE
PROGRAM BEFORE GOING INTO MY WORK.
• I HAVE LEARNED A LOT MORE TECHNIQUES FROM THE PROGRAMS I USED, SUCH AS HOW TO ERASE UNWANTED
MISTAKES, BLUR EDGES, USING THE MAGNETIC LASSO TOOL IN PHOTOSHOP, AND I'VE ALSO FIGURED OUT
BETTER WAYS WHEN LAYING OUT WORK, TO MAKE IT LOOK A LOT MORE PROFESSIONAL LIKE REAL MEDIA
PRODUCTS, AND ALSO MAKE IT LOOK LESS BUSY AND CRAMPED.