2. In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media
products?
A real music magazine normally contains a master headline on top of the page. I have also used this
feature, by placing The Beat on top of my magazine, to make it look more professional.
I have used a wide range of different contents and fonts on my front cover, as they do in real
magazines. I have been creative and made this magazine in to my own by for example placing one
of the cover lines on my model`s arm. This feature makes it look like the text is a tattoo, which are
common within the rock genre.
The use of sharp, black letters emphasises the rock genre. I have also used some caps lock text lines
to draw attention to my front cover page.
I have placed the release month and the issue number right under the headline just as a normal
music magazine would.
My front cover contains a barcode and the price on the right lower corner to let the audience know
how much they`ll have to pay when they get the magazine.
The woman featured is a Norwegian friend of mine and she is called Ane. I chose her because she is
a very typical rock person with her looks, style, personality and music taste.
I personally told my model to wear her Paramore t-shirt to both continue the red trend in my
magazine and because her posture is inspired by her.
o I have used three colours that is repeated throughout my magazine; red, white
and black. According to my research, those are the colours a real rock magazine
would use.
Front cover page
3. For my contents page, I have repeated the three colours (red, white
and black) that were featured on my front cover.
I decided to make the background of my contents page gradient to
make it seem more expensive. The page seemed more boring and
empty without it.
You can see a clear link between my front cover and this page, when
it comes to the cover lines, because I have repeated them just as a
normal magazine would.
I have placed a box with “extras” on the right side of the page. This is
to attract readers and to give the magazine the little extra. It also gives
the audience a hint of what else the magazine has to feature.
I have used some very modern features in my magazine, for example a
QR-code. I also wrote “Scan the barcode, subscribe to our weekly
mail and you will get a chance to win one of the classic The Beatles
CD's!” to attract rock interested audience. Many real magazines
features contests and activities where you can win prices, so I decided
to adopt that by adding Twitter, Instagram and Facebook icons to let
the magazine go viral.
Contents Page
4. Double Spread Page
For my double page spread I have featured three
different street bands. My article is written on the same
order as the pictures are shown, so the first paragraph is
about the top picture (King No-One), the next one is
about the middle picture and the last one is about the
last picture.
I have also used a highlighted quote to draw attention to
the article and to let the audience get an idea of what the
article is about.
My article begins with a drop cap to draw attention to
the introduction of my magazine.
I have also used several different fonts and sizes to get
variation on my double page.
To let the audience know who wrote the article, I chose
to write my name on the end of it. This also makes the
writer seem famous and important.
You can clearly see that the three colours I have chosen
to use in my magazine, is repeated on this page to. My
pictures are also edited so the red featured in them will
be visible.
I have also put on page numbers as a real music
magazine would have
The headline I chose to use on my double spread page
was a black, bold font with serifs to draw attention. This
represents the rock genre and attracts the same social
group. I also chose to stretch the font a bit to make it my
own.
5. What kind of media institution might distribute your
media product and why?
My media product would be distributed by Bauer Media Group. This is
because I got much of the inspiration for my magazine from one of their
Brands; Q-magazine. They are also the number one actively-purchased music
magazine in the UK.
You can see many similarities between my magazine and Q-magazine, for
example the colour scheme. I have learned that most rock magazines uses red,
white and black as their main colours in the magazine.
Another similarity is that both my front cover model and Q's front cover
model sticks out her tongue and touches her head.
I have placed my main cover story on the bottom of my front cover to draw
attention. Q also uses this technique.
Both the Q-magazine and my magazine are published monthly to keep the
reader interested.
Bauer usually produces brands that is suitable for both genders, so featuring
both females and males in photos and using contents that is enjoyable for both
genders. This is why my magazine would fit perfectly as one of the Bauer brands.
6. Who would be the audience for your media product?
My music magazine attracts an audience in the age group 13-25 years old. This is
because the magazine features very young models. The audience would also
contain a wide range of different cultures, because I have used models from
Norway, England and Chile.
I am aiming for a rock interested audience, which I have completed by featuring
rock bands and artists in my magazine. My choice in fonts and headlines also
attracts the rock social group.
My research showed me that most rock music magazines make use of the colours
red, white and black, to symbolize the music genre and make the magazine fit with
the audiences personality.
My audience would be a good blend of both male and female because I have
featured pictures of both genders in my magazine.
The contents in my magazine is aimed for young adults, by featuring headlines and
articles that is suitable for their age group. An example of this is the headline “How
to do a drum solo”, which is written because of the young adults hobbies and
interests.
7. How does your media product represent particular
social groups?
My magazine represents young adults of both genders. This is because
the younger generation read more magazines than the older generations.
The clothing used on my front cover and my contents page is all planned
and handpicked by me. I did this to let the audience get the right
impression of my magazine. I have chosen to use black Dr. Martens
shoes, a denim shirt, a grey hoodie and a black leather jacket to
emphasise the rock feeling. This attracts people that are interested in
rock music. So I represent the rock social group by the images I have
used.
My magazine does not just represent females, but also males. You can
clearly see this on my double spread page where I have used three
different pictures of guys. This attracts more of both genders.
The use of the repetitive colours; red, white, attracts both male and
females.
My headlines also represents the rock social group, because it shows my
audiences interests and hobbies. An example of this is “How to do a
drum solo” because teenagers are usually interested in learning new
skills and rock interested people are usually interested in drums and
8. What have you learnt about technologies from the
process of constructing this product?
I knew most of the information and techniques about Photoshop and InDesign
from last year, but I have definitely expanded my knowledge in both of the
programs.
o I have learned more about how to edit photos in Photoshop, for example
how to get rid of pimples and other flaws in the picture.
o I have learned how to highlight one specific colour in a picture. For
example, I have highlighted the red in the three pictures I have featured on
my double spread page.
o I have learned how to make a drop shadow, as I did for my front cover.
o I have learned how to make a drop cap for my text
in InDesign.
o I have learned how to transfer a colour from Photoshop to InDesign
o I have learned how to make different part of a picture blurry. For my
double spread page, I made the background in my three pictures blurry, to
make the artists be more visible.
9. How did you attract/address your audience?
According to the research I did, most rock magazines uses red, white and
black as their main colours for their magazine.
I used a couple competitions and activities where my audience could win
several different prices. This would attract many people.
The composition, mise-én-scene and choice of models are all following the
rock genre, this would help to attract the social group within rock.
I chose to use a master head font with black, sharp angular capital letters.
This emphasises the rock genre and therefore attract people with a rock
interest.
The models I have chosen to use all represents the rock genre with their
appearance:
- My front cover model, Ane, is wearing a Paramore shirt, which is a rock
singer. Ane is also sticking her tongue out of her mouth and touching her
head. This is a typical female posture for front cover of rock magazines. I
have chosen to place one of the cover lines on Ane's arm to make it look like
a tattoo, this attracts the audience I am aiming for.
- The two models I have used on my contents page, Marte and Clara, are
wearing urban clothing to appear as unisex because judging based on gender
is wrong, and my magazine wants to convey that both men and women
should have the same rights. Rock music is often connoted with the urban
style and my photos will therefore attract people interested in rock.
- The three pictures I have used on my double spread page is all featuring
only guys. This is to emphasise that both men and women are welcome to
read my magazine.
10. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you
feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full
product?
I feel like I have improved my creativity of the progression from planning to the finish product.
When it comes to the planning, I feel I have learned that planning a key element to a successful product.
I have learned that I have to plan all the stages to achieve the perfect results. This task has taught me some
valuable skills within project management.
The beginning of the planning process was probably the hardest, because I did not really know what I was
aiming for, but I soon learned that you just have to be creative and make decisions based on what you like
and think fits the best.
I have also learned that it will always occur problems or new ideas, so the first draft is usually never as
good as the finished product. This shows your progression within creativity.
When we started on taking photos, I learned that it is so much harder to get what you want, if the model
won't co-operate with you, and I also noticed that you have to take as many pictures as you can, so you
have lots to choose from, because most of them will not turn out as great as expected.
When we first started on doing the research, I felt it was unnecessary, but I soon realized that it was very
useful when we made our magazine.
The survey we made turned out to be very useful when it came to creating the magazine, because I got to
know what young adults likes to read about and what usually attracts them to a magazine.
When we had to describe our magazine in a powerpoint, I learned to use several different programs such
as Slideshare, where you can post for example a powerpoint on your blog.
