1- The Title of the Magazine
For the masthead of my magazine ‘Pulse’ I used the 'Bauhaus 93' font. For the colours, I have stuck to the colours red black and white as they seem to be the classic colours of rock and R&B, which my genre of my magazine is a combination of.
For example my masthead could be compared to NME ‘s title as it is big and bold, not to mention red. To continue this house style I have used these colours throughout the rest of the magazine for continuity.
Also the magazine ‘Q’ uses a red box around the white lettered Q.
2- Costumes and Props
To fit in with the genre of the magazine I used appropriate clothes and props to suit the genre of my magazine. I had the cover stars dress in appropriate and typical clothes which is to suit the type of genre of my magazine. The clothes that they are wearing are accessible but because of this the readers of the magazine may appreciate what has been put into it.
3- Mis-en-scene of Images
The Mis-en-scene of images I have used follow a typical scene of what other magazines use. In my case, I have used a black back drop in studio settings with professional tungsten lighting. This makes the models stand out more and makes the magazine fit with the urban feel of the genre. Like many magazines, studio settings are used in most magazines so the focal point in the photo are the stars and the readers are not focusing on the background. In most of my images I have made the stars use the mode of the dress. I got the stars to give direct address to the audience which gives it more of a bond between the stars and the audience.
4- People
The people that are featured in my magazine would be classed as young people . They are not going extreme in what their appearance is like some people do when they go into the music business. The people I have used are the same age as my target audience meaning that more people that age will buy the magazine and enjoy it as it is more around what they will like and the type of music they listen to. They also look positive and their body language indicates that they are in a band and that they have known each other for a long period of time.
5- Title, Font and Style
The title of my magazine is conventional as it is like most mastheads on real magazines so therefore I have followed the codes and conventions of what the title/masthead should look like. Also the fact that the masthead is the biggest font on the page makes the cover very conventional because it is big and bold which makes it stand out so the audience will be able to see it better. Also the way the title looks slightly worn away to compare to real music magazines like the ones I analysed at the start of this project.
6- Music Genre and How Your Magazine Suggests It
The genre of my music magazine is rock with a little pop influences. This is quite clear throughout my magazine. You can tell this because of the props and colours that I have used throughout my magazine. Also the style of fonts I have used throughout my magazine states that this is a rock/pop genre magazine. In addition to this, I have included different bands from the same genre of music to complete the magazine. Also the fact that I have used the ‘classic rock colours’ (black, white and red) suggests the type of genre of music as do real magazines suggest by using types of bands and images that are used. Therefore my magazine follow the codes and conventions of a real magazine.
7- Layout
The layout of my magazine is conventional as it is set out in a way to look professional, just like real magazines. Instead of loads of little pictures placed at different angles I have only one so the audience can only focus on one picture instead of loads. Also the position of my barcode is conventional because it is placed in the bottom ride hand corner where most barcodes are usually found when on real magazines. Also the front cover of my magazine is conventional because I have followed the codes and conventions of what a real front cover of a magazine should look like. Such as, the masthead is at the top of the page and with sell lines running down either side of the main picture.
8- Contents page
My contents page follows the codes and conventions of any existing real music magazines. This is clear because My title ‘Contents’ is at the top of the page followed by a few photos and the regulars and features of what this specific magazine includes. I think that this contents page will be appealing towards the target audience as it is like most magazines. It is also simple so people will not get confused with what ever they are looking at.
2- How does your media product represent particular social groups?
I have chosen to compare this ‘Q’ magazine to my own and how they are similar and also how similar it is towards my particular social group.
The postures of all 3 stars from Muse and my own people I used are similar in the sense that they’ve both got their hands in their pockets. Although they do not share similar facial expressions – they are laughing and also staring straight at the camera. In addition to this, all are wearing similar costumes – jeans and a t-shirt layered with a shirt on top. As well as this, the background setting is very similar – both pictures were taken in a studio with a backdrop and studio lighting. Also, they have different hairstyles – Max’s (right) is long, dark and covering his face more, whereas Ali’s (left) has shorter, even darker hair. Lastly, Alana (middle) she is the only girl in the group making it very different to the ‘Q’ magazine. She has longer, lighter hair. Overall I think that these elements of the photos represent a normal young social group and that my magazine reflects this throughout – the people featured in my magazine are quite normal looking – there’s nothing extreme or obscure about their appearances.
3- What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
I think that by uding IPC media, it would be the best media production to distribute my magazine. There will be a gap in the media because it already distributes well known magazines like 'NME' and 'Guitar and Bass' etc because they have a higher target audience, whereas mine is a younger audience. In addition to this, the fact that it already distributes such well known music magazines means that they have the necessary experience and loyal consumers who might be interested in a branch of music magazine - 'PULSE'.
I have considered other media productions such as Bauer Media as it is very popular, a lot of influential media brands. Although it does not distribute magazines thay have very similar target audiences close to mine. Therefore it would be unlikely to distribute a competitor to one of its existing successful magazines.
4- Who would be the target audience
for you media product
She is the type of person who
listens to music which is aimed at what my target audience and genre is. She
will be found plugging headphones into her iPod where ever she is, she doesn't
spend that much money on clothes, but when it comes to clothing that consists
of band t-shirts from past concerts and a pair of old worn out jeans, she is
willing to pay for them. Her iPod features newer less established bands, as
well as bands like Paramore, Green Day and You Me At Six. Her free time is
spent at concerts and festivals or discovering new bands on the internet or
just generally dancing around her house listening to her favourite bands. Therefore
she doesn't spend that much time watching television.
I addressed my target audience by asking what their opinions
were and regarding my magazine and whether they like reading it or not, throughout
its production. As well as this I have created my magazine to be aimed at both
men and women as rock magazines are mostly aimed at men. Most magazines like
‘Kerrang’ and ‘Classic Rock’ have mostly boy bands which are included in them
and are written in a certain way to only appeal to them. My magazine is
slightly unique as it included both genders. This makes it have a soft point
throughout the magazine, both appealing to men and women.
6- What have you learnt about technologies from the process
of constructing this product?
To take all of my photos I used my Samsung ES28 to capture
the images I was looking for.
3- What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
I think that by uding IPC media, it would be the best media production to distribute my magazine. There will be a gap in the media because it already distributes well known magazines like 'NME' and 'Guitar and Bass' etc because they have a higher target audience, whereas mine is a younger audience. In addition to this, the fact that it already distributes such well known music magazines means that they have the necessary experience and loyal consumers who might be interested in a branch of music magazine - 'PULSE'.
I have considered other media productions such as Bauer Media as it is very popular, a lot of influential media brands. Although it does not distribute magazines thay have very similar target audiences close to mine. Therefore it would be unlikely to distribute a competitor to one of its existing successful magazines.
4- Who would be the target audience
for you media product
The target audience
for my magazine is aged 12-19, both male and female but with a slight bias to males in the familiar way
my magazine is written and the colours that have been used.
She is the type of person who
listens to music which is aimed at what my target audience and genre is. She
will be found plugging headphones into her iPod where ever she is, she doesn't
spend that much money on clothes, but when it comes to clothing that consists
of band t-shirts from past concerts and a pair of old worn out jeans, she is
willing to pay for them. Her iPod features newer less established bands, as
well as bands like Paramore, Green Day and You Me At Six. Her free time is
spent at concerts and festivals or discovering new bands on the internet or
just generally dancing around her house listening to her favourite bands. Therefore
she doesn't spend that much time watching television.
5- How did you attract/address your audience
I addressed my target audience by asking what their opinions
were and regarding my magazine and whether they like reading it or not, throughout
its production. As well as this I have created my magazine to be aimed at both
men and women as rock magazines are mostly aimed at men. Most magazines like
‘Kerrang’ and ‘Classic Rock’ have mostly boy bands which are included in them
and are written in a certain way to only appeal to them. My magazine is
slightly unique as it included both genders. This makes it have a soft point
throughout the magazine, both appealing to men and women.
Also the way I have wrote the sell lines is appealing towards my target audience in a particular way to draw the audience in and for them to find interesting. Such as gossip like ‘Member of stargaze comes out’. Also with the certain story I have used may draw them in as some people may be really big fans of ‘stargaze’. The contents I have used may also help to draw the attention to the target audience in the way that I have laid the contents out. Also the colours I have used may have an impact on the type of audience that my magazine draws in.
6- What have you learnt about technologies from the process
of constructing this product?
The majority of my work as created on a school
computer but I also did do some of my creating at home on my own laptop. I used
my email to be able to access the work that I had done at home to the schools
computers.
To take all of my photos I used my Samsung ES28 to capture
the images I was looking for.
I
learnt how to use Adobe Photoshop CS3 which is what I used to create my
magazine. I edited and manipulated my photos on it to make them appropriate for
the magazine and the target audience.
I also learnt how to use Adobe InDesign CS4 to create my
magazine to give my magazine a more professional look.
As well as this I
used ‘Microsoft Office PowerPoint’ and ‘Microsoft office word’ to create my
presentations and then uploaded them onto my blog. I used power point to give
my evaluation a more creative effect on question 1 as there are eight parts to
that particular question. For the other questions, I used word for each
individual question to give it a better effect.
Overall I have
learnt a lot about technology throughout this project; before creating my
magazine I'd never used Photoshop, Blogger or InDesign. However I now feel
confident in using all of them to create/edit photos for future references.
7- Looking
back at your preliminary task (The college magazine task) what do you feel you
have learnt in the progression from it to full product?
Since I created my college magazine, my knowledge of using
Photoshop and InDesign has increased a lot. For example I now know how to make
the best features of my magazine stand out by using different effects on the
pictures that I edit to give them a certain glow.
I also learnt how to edit photos by cutting and cropping to
more of an extent. I have also learnt how to use Photoshop in addition to my
college magazine as I didn’t use photo shop for that, instead I used an online
editing website to edit the photos of my college magazine. As well as all this, the layout of my
magazine has increased to a higher as I've learned how to use more effective
tools in Photoshop.
Overall,
my understanding and knowledge of how to use different types of software has
grown since I created my college magazine and has shown throughout the project
because I have created a final, professional looking magazine using the
different types of software.
