Additional Research

I carried some additional research on existing music magazines and then looked to see if or how I could incorporate these aspects into my own music magazine.

Research on Prezi

Evaluation - Question 7

Looking back at your preliminary, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

The preliminary task I completed at the beginning of the course is a complete contrast to my final product. The school magazine that I completed as a preliminary task looks bland, unprofessional and boring. The article headline around the image on the front cover doesn’t fit the message I was trying to get across to the audience. The magazine was supposed to look exciting and intriguing in the attempt to create a positive impression of the school but instead the font choice made it look bland. Instead of having the white box header at the top of the page, I should have blended the colours so it didn’t look so sectioned, this would have made the page flow better. For my final magazine front cover I edited the pictures to give it a clear and bright appearance, I placed the title of the magazine in a more suitable area and chose a more appropriate font to write the articles in. By changing these aspects of my front page I have created a far more appealing and professional looking alternative rock magazine front cover. I have learnt that the layout is extremely important when trying to create an appealing professional looking magazine.

The contents page of the preliminary task lacks colour and images. The page is full of blank spaces and look empty and un-complete. Therefore when I made my music magazine contents page I made sure I addressed this issue. I added more colour, mainly red as this was the colour scheme I decided on, this immediately made the page more eye-catching and exciting. I decided to lay the images out differently and make them different sizes; I think this makes the page look unique. Although the page contains much more compared to my school magazine contents page in the preliminary task, I sectioned key information. This meant the page was still organised and easy to read.

My double spread differs slightly from the plan I originally made as in practice the font size I wrote in was too big. When I came to create my own music magazine I decided to make the font much smaller so it created the appearance of being packed with interesting gossip and news from the artist. I decided to make this change because I think this will help attract my target audience. However apart from font size, the majority of my original plan for my music magazine stayed the same. For example: I kept the main image on the left of the page with the three vertical photo-booth ones to the right. In this respect I think my plan was successful and meant I had a clear idea of what to do when coming to create it. From this I have learnt how important a plan can be.

Evaluation - Question 6

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

During this project I have used a number of different technologies to complete my practical production. I had previously never used a Blog before and needed to set up my own in order to publish my work. In my Blog I have included a Blog poll and uploaded my preliminary task, planning and main task. To upload my work to my blog I have used Scribd and YouTube.

I had also never worked with the programme Prezi before commencing this project. I used Prezi to present the planning ideas for my main task including: name, font and colour scheme. Prezi allows you to present information in an interactive and fun way. I used the programme to mind-map my ideas and create ‘pathways’ to link these ideas. I would use Prezi again and would like to insert images and film in the future.

I completed my practical production using Photoshop to edit my images and create the final layout for my front-cover, contents-page and a double page spread. I used Photoshop to touch up my photos and to enhance the colours. I found Photoshop challenging as the use of layers can be very difficult.

To take my photos I used a Lumix camera. When using this camera I was able to change the focus in order to take a number of different types of shot including: mid-shot, long-shot and close-ups.

EValuation - Question 5

How did you attract/address your audience?

I attracted my target audience of people aged between 16 and 25 who enjoy listening to music from the alternative rock genre through the use of layout, images, colour and content. From the results on my questionnaire the majority of people said that just one main image on the front cover would appeal to them more than having several. Therefore I incorporated this into my own magazine and have just one main image on the front. I think the image will attract the right audience because it’s someone of my target audience’s age so they can relate to it. The variety of images on the contents page will attract the target audience because it gives a slight insight to what this issue will contain, making them feel intrigued and wanting to find out more by reading it. When asked in a questionnaire what colour them they think an alternative rock magazine should have, red was voted the second most popular. I think the colour theme of red will attract the target audience as it is bright so will be eye-catching and grab their attention. Red has connotation of being a fun and lively colour, so I think this will help appeal to my target audience, as this is something 16-25 year olds want to endure, fun. Through the content of what was written in my magazine, I made sure it would be something that my target audience would be interested in, e.g. the top downloads of this month. At the age of 16-25 you want to feel as though you are up to date with what’s going on around you and I believe my magazine helps them feel they are achieving this, as it has the latest stories and need to know information in. To get a more accurate overview of how my magazine is viewed by someone within the age bracket of my target audience (16-25), I interviewed two students and asked for their opinion the alternative rock magazine that I produced.

Evaluation - Question 4

Who would be the audience for your media product?

According to Burton’s theory, the audience for my alternative rock magazine will be separated through, education, nationality, age and gender. For example: a high-classed, white, older, female would be more likely to purchase a gardener’s magazine compared to a lower-classed, white, young, male. A stereotypical overview of music from the alternative rock genre would be artists and bands creating music with emotional lyrics, often talking about situations that their audience and fans could relate too. They rely on the music to help create an emotion towards the audience. The videos for the tracks of the alternative rock genre often are quite simple but yet still powering and overwhelming. The artists often have natural make-up and costumes we would expect to see in every day life, this helps the audience relate to the lyrics of the song and really get a feel for what the artist is saying, this makes the audience feel as though they have a connection with the artist as they can relate to their experiences. Therefore, using Burton’s theory my alternative rock magazine would have a target audience of a middle-classed, white, young, male audience. This could be due to the audience idolising the artists of music from the alternative rock genre and wanting to rebel from their own stereotypical social groupings and wanting to follow the lifestyle the artists who’s music they listen too has. The audience that would be interested in this genre of music would therefore be my target audience for my alternative rock music magazine. However I would identify my audience differently. I don’t think that nationality or education impact the audience who might read my magazine. I designed my magazine to specifically appeal to a wide target audience within the ages of 16 and 25 who enjoy listening to music from the alternative rock genre.

Evaluation - Question 3

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

The kind of media institution that might distribute my magazine would be Worldwide Magazine Distribution Ltd (WWMD). This is a business who supply British published magazines to niche and specialist retailers. This is the company behind magazines such as Q, Elle, Company and heat. This is a company that I would want to distribute my magazine as Q magazine is a highly successful music magazine and distribution would have been an important part in making it so successful, so I think WWMD would be a trustworthy company to distribute my music magazine. The priorities of this company are to: “create innovative sales, marketing and distribution solutions for our clients, enabling exciting opportunities to reach customers in the UK and overseas, with magazines and associated products in niche and specialist arenas.” This would attract me to use this company as I feel the motives of the company are positive and would successfully help me distribute my magazine due to the contacts they know, for example, WHSmiths. The fact they distribute to companies such as WHSmiths shows that my target audience would be well reached and would get my magazine know just by having it on their shelves. This would also entice WWMD to invest in my magazine and distribute it, as they know the right audience would be reached due to the distribution to the right companies.

Another media institution that might distribute my magazine would be Menzies Distribution. This is the company behind the distribution of magazines to companies such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Marks and Spencer’s and many more leading supermarkets. Supermarkets see a vast variance in people so this could help attract a much wider audience for my music magazine. The company’s aim is to: “get the right products to the right customers at exactly the right time.” This implies they are motivated in what they do and will do a good job. The companies motto statement is “going the extra mile”, this suggests they will do anything they can to distribute your magazine; this is something that appeals to me about using this magazine distributor. The fact they export media to more than 40 countries on five continents would suggest they are an extremely successful company and must be reliable, otherwise they wouldn’t have distribution deals in so many different places. If my music magazine was to be distributed through Menzies business I would reach a much a wider audience of people aged 16-25 from all around the world. I think Menzies Distribution company would distribute my magazine because of that factor, as I would potentially be attracting business worldwide.

My target audience are people aged between 16 and 25, stereotypically this age group of people are using the most modern technology. Therefore I think my magazine would be well received in the form of an app or an online magazine as the internet is now so easily accessible through the use of smartphones with internet and technology such as tablets. This means my target audience could be more up to date with the latest stories compared to a print copy, where you would have to wait every month for an issue to be published.

Evaluation - Question 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Media represents particular social groups in many ways. For example: magazines can represent social groups through the use of mise-en-scene, colour, fonts, language, camera-work and editing. Therefore when I made my magazine I took this into account to ensure I gave the right message across to the audience and represented the particular social group in the way I wanted.

I think my magazine strongly represents age and gender. My magazine is aimed particularly at people between the ages of 16 and 25, therefore throughout the whole design of my magazine I tried to make sure it would appeal to this audience. I did this in a number of ways. For example: when I created the front cover of my magazine I made sure that it represented young people in a positive way. The main image on the front cover of my magazine is of a young male, I think this helps establish who the target audience is; for example, you wouldn’t expect to see a young male on the front cover of a magazine aimed at the elderly. The way the male is dressed helps represent the younger generation. I decided he should be dressed in the indie/geek-chic style because this is the style that is popular today amongst my target audience. I thought if he was dressed in a similar style to them, the audience could easily relate to him. His body language helps represent this particularly social group in a positive way. For example, he is looking away from the camera and appears to be laughing. This makes him appear far less intimidating than someone of his age is stereo-typically viewed to be. If he had been looking directly into the camera, the atmosphere of the magazine would have been far more intense because as humans, being looked directly into the eyes is unnatural behaviour. The lighting of the images also represents the younger generation as less intimidating because the colours are bright which creates a positive atmosphere; I created this look through the use of editing the pictures by changing the exposure and contrast of colours. The brighter colours also suggest energy which reinforces the target audience my magazine is appealing too. The contents page again helps represent my target audience in a positive light due to several reasons. One being font. I think font is important in reflecting a specific message across to the audience as each person can interpret it differently, therefore I took a great deal of time to choose a font that I thought was well suited to the magazine and would represent my target audience in a way I wanted. I chose a clear font to use throughout the page as I think it gives a more sophisticated feel. This reflects on the target audience as it suggests they are as mature and civilised as the rest of society. The choice of layout reflects who the target audience is, as I think if the images didn’t appear interesting or eye-catching enough, it would be far less appealing for them. This meant the page had to be laid out clearly to encourage my audience of people aged between 16-25 in order for them to read it. The choice of images was important in representing my target audience as well. For example; the image on the contents page of a female listening to her music represents young people in a very positively light. The way she is dressed is in a way that we would stereo-typically expect a female to dress who was in this age group. I like the fact this photo appears so natural because I think it helps present the younger generation as civilised, the opposite of how people would stereo-typically judge people of 16-25 to be. The choice of images on the double page spread also represents my target audience in a specific way. The three vertical images looking like a photo-booth shoot show the artist to be carefree but yet still civilised. This could be used to represent my target audience as they are within similar ages to the artist and it would be assumed their character would be of similar nature. I think the content of the interview appears very natural, it shows the artist to be a kind and respectful young man, again this helps to represent my target audience in a positive way as it shows people of that age can act politely.

Through the choice of images, costumes, the choice of colour theme and the content of what has been written I think gender is strongly represented throughout my magazine. The choice of image would immediately represent both genders, as it would attract immediate interest. Females would be attracted due to the fact there is a young attractive artist on the front and the males would be attracted because he is a well known artist on the front cover of a monthly magazine, this could inspire the males of my target audience in wanting to become just like him. The choice of costume on the front cover would represent the male audience as they could relate to it, as he is shown to be fashionable by wearing the up-to-date style of clothing, something we stereo-typically believe young males also do. Females would appeal to the costume of the artist as he made to look attractive which would immediately grab their attention. I decided on the colour theme of red because I feel this represents both females and males. Red has connotations of fun; this is something both genders can relate to. The article headlines represent both genders as its not specifically aimed at one sex, but instead both sexes could be interested in and enjoy, for example, ‘Album Verdict’. The contents page would represent gender as well due to the choice of layout. We stereo-typically assume females are more organised and tidier than males, therefore the layout would appeal to them as each image is placed clearly on the page with the relevant page number next to it, making it organised and easy to access the relevant article. The image of the female listening to her music would appeal to the male gender as she looks attractive so this would immediately grab their attention. The double page spread represents both genders as despite the image being of a male, the age of the artist represents young people as a whole and shows them in a positive way through his use of positive and happy facial expressions. The content of the article represents both genders. For example: the males could relate to what the artist is saying and the females would appreciate what is being said.