- In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
As a model for my own magazine, I purchased a popular music magazine called ‘NME’ which I used as a model when planning my magazine. NME magazine used five main colours, within its colour scheme throughout the magazine, whereas I decided to keep my magazine more a little more organised and only used three colours. Some of the image’s within the magazine NME differ from the position of the camera in the images I took, however my magazine, called ‘BEATS’, still follows the conventions of a music magazine.
For example, the image on my front cover is a medium shot of the band, however the one on the front of NME magazine, was a close up of the band. Both did show the entire band, I just feel the angle I used, worked better with a fish eye lens on the camera, because although many people feel the vocalist is the most important of the band I put the drummer at the front as I felt he had the hardest job within the band. He was also the shortest, and Sam, who is at the back of the photo, is very tall, so I knew placing him at the bck wouldn't affect his place in the photo. To take the photo I stood the band on top of some outside stairs which made the sky and large buildings visable and showed an outside location. This conveyed the idea that the band are from the city, and are pretty much like any other people. The clothing worn is typical of the hardcore/metal "scene" the band follow, and the clothes which inspirational bands of theirs would wear. Furthermore, the fonts on NME magazine, and my magazine, are easy to read and clear, although I stuck to fonts which seemed more masculine, because unlike NME they weren’t curvy, script fonts, which were featured in NME.
- How does your media product represent particular social groups?
My media product represents many social groups, ranging in both age groups, and music genres. Within my magazine I mentioned different genres of music such as pop, rock, hardcore and indie, through naming famous artists, such as Gallows, Kings of Leon, The clash, and Dir En grey, who are known for the type of music they make. Although the music the bands above make isn't exactly the same as Losing Sight's, the bands mentioned in the magazine are there because they have somehow influenced the band and are just a few of the artists they enjoy listening too. My magazine represents both men and women, who enjoy going to gigs and seeing live bands, ranging from teenagers to people who are in their twenty’s. These people are represented by famous artists being mentioned within the magazine from various periods of time and the use of advertising by giving dates of gigs
- What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
My magazine would be distributed in supermarkets and newsagents like any other music magazine, however it would also be distributed in the shop Borders as they sell both mainstream and less well-known magazines within their stores. It would be produced by IPC Media (Time Inc.), just like NME magazine itself
- Who would be the audience of your media product?
The audience of my media products are both women and men, who are in their teenage years up until their twenty’s, who are interested in different genres of music, but the hardcore/metal side of it too. A stereotype of the kind of person who would buy the magazine I have made would be:
a boy or girl who wears skinny/straight leg jeans, ¾ length trousers or camouflage shorts, band t-shirts/crew neck jumpers, flannel shirts, who would attend to many gigs, listen to heavy metal/hardcore music, have a shaved head or little hair, black/white pumps or Nike trainers, have piercings, ear stretchers and tattoos, follow the idea of being straightedge- don’t drink alcohol, don’t smoke, don’t do drugs, could be associated as mild punks.
- How did you attract/address your audience?
I attracted my audience mainly by using bright, eye catching colours on the magazine’s front cover – orange, white and black, to attract the audiences attention and draw them into the magazine with the vibrancy. I made the title of my magazine bold, and underlined, so that it really stood out against the bright sky in the background. The photo I used on the front cover is a shot of the band ‘Losing Sight’ where the band are staring into the camera lens, drawing the audience in - the band are looking straight into the camera, as though they would be looking at the target audience, the clothing they are wearing will also draw readers in, as people who may not have even heard of the band may look at their style of clothing and then decide to buy the magazine thinking they look like them. The fact there are little words on the front cover also make the image stand out more to the audience.
- What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
My technological skills have improved through making this magazine; my skills on Adobe Photoshop have progressed, by using it as the main program to make my magazine in the time I had. I learnt how to use the many specific tools Adobe Photoshop holds, and through continuing to create my magazine cover, contents page and double page spread, my magazine improved in quality, dramatically. I have also learnt how to blog work online, through using a website where I can display my work and date it, which was very helpful when starting out with the coursework and making a schedule.
For example I learnt how to put my double page spread onto an A3 page, although I’d made it on two A4 pages. I also learnt how to create colour filled boxes which I then used on my front cover, contents page, and double page spread. Rezsizing photos was something I did on every page of my magazine therefore the more I did the resizing, the easier it became and I learnt not to over stretch the photo. Finally, I learnt how to lighten a photo I used, crop it, and also change it into black and white, using the desaturation tool.
- Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Without the preliminary task I don’t feel that my final magazine would have been of such a good quality, as the task at the beginning was a chance to experiment with Adobe Photoshop and its tools. It also highlighted where I needed to improve and the dos and don’ts about front covers e.g what type of photo should fill the front cover – medium shot, close-up, extreme close-up and so on. I also learnt which fonts look professional and which ones don’t, and finally how strap lines should be correctly positioned ensuring they don’t interfere with the photo on the front cover.
