In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? When I started the media coursework I analysed a few magazine covers, contents pages and double page spreads to make me familiar with the conventions used on real media products and discussed how they were presented on the magazine. When creating my own magazine I took this on board and followed similar conventions that were used on prior magazines.
I did this by placing a central image, title block, puffs, anchorage text, barcode, date/issue number and website on the front cover. The central image that I used was a mid-shot, taken of the ‘artist’ sitting with her knees up in front of her. This allows the audience to connect with the person on the cover. The anchorage text was used to add purpose, as it would inform the readers what will be inside the magazine. The anchorage text is also important as it links with the main image. I used 3 main colours on my front cover. This is because real magazines use roughly 3 dominant colours on their magazines, as this keeps the Public attracted to the eye catching design. The colours I used are very bright, vibrant and feminine attracting the target audience easily. The title I included was ‘Pure pop’ which was extremely bold, vibrant and reflects the Pop genre of my magazine. My title was simple yet effective. The bubble like font and catchy name would instantly become recognised by the public when sold. Beneath the title block the website ‘www.purepopmagazine.co.uk’ is displayed discreetly but noticeable. This helps promote the magazine, as there are many ways that the magazine could be accessed.
I incorporated puffs on my front cover one reads “20 Most Downloaded POP Songs on iTunes! Featuring: Katy Perry, Cheryl Cole, Lady Gaga and Pixie Lott”. This Puff stands out to the target audience immediately as the fans of the popular artists with know the genre of this magazine after seeing these names. This persuades the target audience to buy the magazine. I also used buzz words like ‘Most’ to emphasize this.
I did this by placing a central image, title block, puffs, anchorage text, barcode, date/issue number and website on the front cover. The central image that I used was a mid-shot, taken of the ‘artist’ sitting with her knees up in front of her. This allows the audience to connect with the person on the cover. The anchorage text was used to add purpose, as it would inform the readers what will be inside the magazine. The anchorage text is also important as it links with the main image. I used 3 main colours on my front cover. This is because real magazines use roughly 3 dominant colours on their magazines, as this keeps the Public attracted to the eye catching design. The colours I used are very bright, vibrant and feminine attracting the target audience easily. The title I included was ‘Pure pop’ which was extremely bold, vibrant and reflects the Pop genre of my magazine. My title was simple yet effective. The bubble like font and catchy name would instantly become recognised by the public when sold. Beneath the title block the website ‘www.purepopmagazine.co.uk’ is displayed discreetly but noticeable. This helps promote the magazine, as there are many ways that the magazine could be accessed.
I incorporated puffs on my front cover one reads “20 Most Downloaded POP Songs on iTunes! Featuring: Katy Perry, Cheryl Cole, Lady Gaga and Pixie Lott”. This Puff stands out to the target audience immediately as the fans of the popular artists with know the genre of this magazine after seeing these names. This persuades the target audience to buy the magazine. I also used buzz words like ‘Most’ to emphasize this.
How does your magazine represent particular social groups?My media magazine represents the teenage girl audience aged between 16 and 18. Teenage girls this age would obviously be interested in music and in this case specifically the Pop genre. On my front cover I have included a central image which is of a young female ‘pop’ music artist aged 16. I used a female this age because I thought it would she would relate more to the target audience – rather than using an older artist outside the target age group. I wanted my audience to feel a connection with the artist on the front cover as this is what would grab their attention and be the main article that they would read in the magazine.
The artist has been represented as what a typical pop music artist would usually be represented, for example bubbly, fun, young and full of life. Her facial expressions and body posture portray her as these things. Also the way she is gazing into the camera and ‘looking at the audience’ in an innocent and sweet way again portrays her character as these things. The way she is looking at the camera in this way also makes the artist connect with the audience.
The chosen name for the artist ‘Grace C’ suggests again that the artists’ personality is civil yet bubbly judging from the simple but catchy name. ‘Grace C’ can also sound like the nickname ‘Gracey’ which was the kind of effect I wanted. This would make the audience feel a certain connection with the artist as nicknames are a personal thing that people would call their close friends/family ect.
What kind of media institution might distribute you music magazine and why?The media institution that I feel would be suitable to publish my music magazine would be Bauer Media. Bauer Media is a leading UK magazine publisher. Bauer Media create mainstream magazines such as Grazia, Heat, Kerrang!, Q, More!, Closer, Mojo, FHM and many more. The publisher claims that the target audience for these magazines ‘vary due to the genre’. Bauer Media also claim that they make a ‘research panel’ which is designed to understand today’s (19million every week) consumers. The members of the research panel are 16+. Bauer Media does not publish any magazines that are like my music magazine but have created similar, therefore I feel that Bauer Media would possibly publish ‘Pure pop’. The age group and genre of the magazine will fit perfectly with this media institution.
The artist has been represented as what a typical pop music artist would usually be represented, for example bubbly, fun, young and full of life. Her facial expressions and body posture portray her as these things. Also the way she is gazing into the camera and ‘looking at the audience’ in an innocent and sweet way again portrays her character as these things. The way she is looking at the camera in this way also makes the artist connect with the audience.
The chosen name for the artist ‘Grace C’ suggests again that the artists’ personality is civil yet bubbly judging from the simple but catchy name. ‘Grace C’ can also sound like the nickname ‘Gracey’ which was the kind of effect I wanted. This would make the audience feel a certain connection with the artist as nicknames are a personal thing that people would call their close friends/family ect.
What kind of media institution might distribute you music magazine and why?The media institution that I feel would be suitable to publish my music magazine would be Bauer Media. Bauer Media is a leading UK magazine publisher. Bauer Media create mainstream magazines such as Grazia, Heat, Kerrang!, Q, More!, Closer, Mojo, FHM and many more. The publisher claims that the target audience for these magazines ‘vary due to the genre’. Bauer Media also claim that they make a ‘research panel’ which is designed to understand today’s (19million every week) consumers. The members of the research panel are 16+. Bauer Media does not publish any magazines that are like my music magazine but have created similar, therefore I feel that Bauer Media would possibly publish ‘Pure pop’. The age group and genre of the magazine will fit perfectly with this media institution.
Who would be the audience for your music magazine and why?The target audience for my music magazine would be teenage females aged between 16-18. I decided to have this age range because of the feedback I received from my questionnaire was successful and was from this age range. This magazine would attract the older age group, for example 19+, as it doesn’t contain features inside it appropriate to their age group. The design also wouldn’t appeal to them as it is very young, quirky and bubbly whereas someone that age would want to read and pay attention to something more sophisticated and stylish. It also wouldn’t appeal to the younger generation either, for example under 10 year olds. This is because it doesn’t contain features in it which they would be drawn to, for example, games, quizzes and free toys.
I know that 16 – 18 year old females would most defiantly purchase my magazine.
I want my magazine to have a connection and relationship with the reader, this would make them feel comfortable reading the magazine and make them feel like they can relate to the artists and the stories used in the issue. The reason I have chose a young female artist for my front cover are specifically for these reasons, and from my audience feedback and research I know that my target audience find this effective and would want to read a magazine that includes things about people of the similar age range to themselves.
I know that 16 – 18 year old females would most defiantly purchase my magazine.
I want my magazine to have a connection and relationship with the reader, this would make them feel comfortable reading the magazine and make them feel like they can relate to the artists and the stories used in the issue. The reason I have chose a young female artist for my front cover are specifically for these reasons, and from my audience feedback and research I know that my target audience find this effective and would want to read a magazine that includes things about people of the similar age range to themselves.
How did you attract/ address your target audience?One of the ways that I attracted my target audience was by having an artist of the similar age on the front cover and as the main story (double page spread). The young female artist is a new upcoming artist to the music industry who’s music generalises in ‘pop’. In the double page spread article ‘Grace C’ discusses her inspirations and how she ‘made it’. Stories like these grab the target audiences attention immediately as the audience love to connect with successful musicians/celebs and like to know certain questions about their personal and day to day life. The questions answered in the article give the target audience the knowledge about the artist used. After reading the article the readers can relate to the artist – therefore connecting with the magazine.
I made sure that I made the front cover really bright, bold, colourful and appealing, so that it would appeal to that age range set. 16 – 18 year old teenagers would be more attracted to brighter variations on images rather than dull, dark photographs. This is why I edited my main image on my front cover to suit the target audience and made sure I used appropriate colours – keeping in mind the target age range at all times. Adults wouldn’t really demand vibrant, bold and bright colours. Instead they would be more appealed to sophisticated, simpler and a more mature magazine design.
I also attracted the audience by incorporating well known ‘pop’ icons in the puffs. Such as ‘Katy Perry , Cheryl Cole, Lady Gaga, Pixie Lott.
I also used buzz words such as ‘most’, ‘Free’ and ‘exclusive’ To persuade the audience to buy the magazine as they are going to want to buy the latest magazine with the latest information about there favourite artists. The buzz words also emphasize the magazines sales as it attracts the audience’s attention.
I made sure that I made the front cover really bright, bold, colourful and appealing, so that it would appeal to that age range set. 16 – 18 year old teenagers would be more attracted to brighter variations on images rather than dull, dark photographs. This is why I edited my main image on my front cover to suit the target audience and made sure I used appropriate colours – keeping in mind the target age range at all times. Adults wouldn’t really demand vibrant, bold and bright colours. Instead they would be more appealed to sophisticated, simpler and a more mature magazine design.
I also attracted the audience by incorporating well known ‘pop’ icons in the puffs. Such as ‘Katy Perry , Cheryl Cole, Lady Gaga, Pixie Lott.
I also used buzz words such as ‘most’, ‘Free’ and ‘exclusive’ To persuade the audience to buy the magazine as they are going to want to buy the latest magazine with the latest information about there favourite artists. The buzz words also emphasize the magazines sales as it attracts the audience’s attention.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing your music magazine?Many technologies and programmes were used during this unit of coursework. These were computers, digital cameras, Photoshop, Illustrator and the internet using certain websites.
At the beginning of the course (music magazine process) I began to take photographs that were appropriate for the music magazine and the genre of it. These photo’s were going to be used for my music magazine. When I was taking the images I kept in mind what would be appropriate shots for a front cover i.e. mid-shot, close up.. I also thought about the setting, props and body language. Once I had taken the photographs I decided to experiment with them, editing them using many tools in Photoshop CS3 – a professional programme that lets you manipulate images and adjust the quality of your images. I enjoyed editing the photographs as Photoshop allowed you to experiment with so many things such as colour adjustments, lighting, shadows, sharpness and many other interesting effects. I took my favourite images taken and began to edit these that would fit appropriately with the front cover and double page spread. I used colour effects (for the front cover image) that would go with the colour of my title block which was pink – such as a pink and blue tint over the image. I also used the Lasso Tool to go around the bubblegum, and filling it – making it pink to go with the colour scheme of the magazine, which was pink, black and white.
The programme I used to create my magazine cover, contents page and double page spread was Adobe Illustrator CS3. I found this reasonably easy to use as it was clear where the tools were and was pretty simple to use them. Throughout the course I have developed a confident skill to work in programmes like these. I have developed new skills and was pleased with my overall experiments in these programmes that were developed and used for my final magazine design.
I used the internet to set up a personal blog on www.blogspot.com which allowed me to post and display all my work for the unit. I think this was a really good way to display work as it was really interactive and everyone could view it – and I could access others. You could include polls which was beneficial to me as I could ask the public (people viewing my blog) things about my work so I could go on to improve it.
At the beginning of the course (music magazine process) I began to take photographs that were appropriate for the music magazine and the genre of it. These photo’s were going to be used for my music magazine. When I was taking the images I kept in mind what would be appropriate shots for a front cover i.e. mid-shot, close up.. I also thought about the setting, props and body language. Once I had taken the photographs I decided to experiment with them, editing them using many tools in Photoshop CS3 – a professional programme that lets you manipulate images and adjust the quality of your images. I enjoyed editing the photographs as Photoshop allowed you to experiment with so many things such as colour adjustments, lighting, shadows, sharpness and many other interesting effects. I took my favourite images taken and began to edit these that would fit appropriately with the front cover and double page spread. I used colour effects (for the front cover image) that would go with the colour of my title block which was pink – such as a pink and blue tint over the image. I also used the Lasso Tool to go around the bubblegum, and filling it – making it pink to go with the colour scheme of the magazine, which was pink, black and white.
The programme I used to create my magazine cover, contents page and double page spread was Adobe Illustrator CS3. I found this reasonably easy to use as it was clear where the tools were and was pretty simple to use them. Throughout the course I have developed a confident skill to work in programmes like these. I have developed new skills and was pleased with my overall experiments in these programmes that were developed and used for my final magazine design.
I used the internet to set up a personal blog on www.blogspot.com which allowed me to post and display all my work for the unit. I think this was a really good way to display work as it was really interactive and everyone could view it – and I could access others. You could include polls which was beneficial to me as I could ask the public (people viewing my blog) things about my work so I could go on to improve it.
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?Before starting the coursework I did a preliminary task. This was to create a college magazine cover and a contents page, to help me get used to programmes such as Photoshop and Illustrator before I went on to designing my final media product. The creation of my college magazine was very basic as I was just getting used to the programmes and tools. I experimented with text and brightness and contrasting of images, although none of the images were edited too effectively. The front cover and contents page was very boring and bland compared to my final music magazine.
My final product was very appealing unlike the preliminary task magazine. For my music magazine I included a strong main image which helped to make the magazine front cover very bold and appealing to the target audience, whereas my college magazines main image wasn’t bold and didn’t stand out. My school contents page is much less advanced than my music magazine contents page. There is no organisation or even images used on my college magazine whereas my music contents page was well organised and more like a contents page in a published magazine. From creating a bad contents page I learnt that it needed to be professional, easy to read and appealing to my target audience – for example colours and bold text.
When it came to my final contents page, I used boxes to separate images from magazine sections – so it is bold and easy for the audience to read and easy to pick out certain page numbers.
I really enjoyed working in Illustrator as I found it easy to insert titles, puffs and sell lines for my magazine. It also had a variety of colour and font choices to choose from which I enjoyed experimenting with and furthering my knowledge with this programme. It also gave me an insight to what sort of text would be suitable for my final media product and allowed me to experiment with my creativity skills.
There is a huge quality difference between my college magazine task compared to my music magazine task as I developed many skills using these programmes, putting these skills into my final product. I think that I have become more creative and confident by using these programmes.
