Coursework ‘shenanigans’

8/14/2019 Coursework shenanigans

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EvaluationCoursework

SHENANIGANS


2/21

In what ways does your media product use, develop or

challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

The Cover Masthead a typical feature ofmagazines. It is positionedhorizontally across top of page(see Kerrang!). The fontconnotes edginess and rebellionand mischievousness . The wordShenanigans itself connotesmischievousness which isappropriate as rock bands canbe associated with mischief.

The use of a strapline is conventional in magazines. The strapline itself connotes loudnoise and shouting which can be associated with ROCK MUSIC.

The use of coverlines isconventional inmagazines , as is the

anchoring of the mainimage with the maincoverline (see Qmagazine) .


3/21

A central image isconventional of a

music magazine,usually of a band orsolo artist. Thecentral image is alsousually from themain feature of themagazine.

To follow theconventions of musicmagazines I included

one other image (notincluding the posterpromotion) foranother feature in themagazine. Usually,however, a musicmagazine will haveone than one image

other than the centralone (see Kerrang!).Moreover, there wouldusually be a previewof more than oneposter, I have usedonly one.


4/21

Typically, music magazines will have several cover lines, I haveused only two.


5/21

I have used luressuch ascompetitions andposters to attractreaders. This isconventional ofmagazines.

The competition

has been placed inthe sweet spot ofthe page toimmediately attractthe attention of thereader. Use of thesweet spot isconventional inmagazines.

I have included institutional

details (in this case the

magazines website). It is

typical of magazines to have

the institutions website on the

cover.

I have used only two fonts on thispage. Conventionally, magazines

will only have two or three fonts in

order to avoid confusing the

reader.

I have also used only three main

font sizes for the same reason.

I included a barcode in aconventional position with a price

and issue date.

I used a gutter to advertise the features inside the magazine to my target

audience. The is method commonly used on music magazines.


6/21

The Contents Page

The sections of the contentsare thematically grouped, as

is conventional of most

magazines.

A montage of images

has been included to

give the reader apreview of the features

within the magazine.

Many other magazines

do this too.

All the images have been

anchored with page

numbers to make it easierfor readers to navigate the

magazine.


7/21

I included institutional details onthe page, which is conventional of

magazines. I have however

developed on this with the

unconventional location of the

details (the rim on a drum for a

drum kit in the photo).

The vertical positioning of

the title of the page

Contents is

unconventional as most

magazines have it placed

horizontally along the top of

the page.

The repetition of the

masthead on the

contents page shows

continuity of design

and is conventional.

Having an editorial on the

contents page to greet the

reader is conventional of

magazines. There would

normally, however, be a photo of

the editor as well.

It is conventional to

have a main image,

which I have done so

here. The image would,

however, usually be

positioned in the top half

of the page.


8/21

To follow the conventions of music magazines, I

used a colour scheme consisting of four colours(black, purple, white and red). I developed on this

convention by carrying my colour scheme

through to even the double page spread.

As with the

cover page, the

contents page

has only twomain fonts and

three main font

sizes to avoid

confusion.


9/21

The Double-Page Spread

I have included a by-

line; this is

conventionally done

by magazines.

The feature has

multiple entry-

points to make the

page more

interesting for the

reader. This is a

conventional

method.

A heading is used to title the

feature in a different font, font size

and font colour.

The interview is introduced briefly.

The font colour of the answers is different from the that of the questions to

differentiate them.

The font choice also connotes fun and femininity in order to attract the targetaudience and represent the group as a female rock band.

The article ends

with news in brief

to offer essential

information for

readers. I also

carried my

continuity ofdesign through

to the double

page spread by

replicating the

layered box

design from my

masthead.

A main image is

used on the page

as well as several

others.

None of the

images are for the

male gaze and

most of the bandmembers are

looking at the

camera. This

connotes

confidence to

attract the female

audience.

The use of photos

from a photobooth

connotes the fun

side of rock stars

and shows the

confidence of the

band in order to

attract the female

audience.

In the main image I have used

mise-en-scene of guitars and

an amp to connote that this

magazine is aimed at fans of

rock music.


10/21

How does your media product represent particular social

groups?

My product represents several

ethnic groups including: Asian,

Caucasian and Black. I have

done this by including photos of

people from these different

groups.

While I have represented all

three of these groups, I have

included only one image of

someone from a Black ethnic

group. This means that this

group is represented to a lesser

extent than the others and so

may not feel like they are thetarget audience.


11/21

The middle class social group is

represented by my product. The

clothing and jewellery worn by the

individuals in the photos suggest

middle class finances. In all of the

photos the hairstyles of each of the

people are quite toned down and

arent extravagant this is typicalof middle class girls.

On the double page spread, the

main image has a school-like

setting which also suggests middle

class.

The musical instruments also

suggest that the individuals have a

higher budget than those from,

say, the working class.


12/21

With the exception of one photo, all of theindividuals photographed in my product are

female. By doing this, I have represented the

females of the target audience.

Moreover, they are all presented in a positive

light. The girl on the poster has her hand on

her waist and is looking at the camera,

connoting confidence. In the main image ofthe cover, the middle band member is

looking straight at the camera, also

connoting confidence. On the double page

spread almost all the band members are

looking into the camera and seem to be

having fun in the photobooth photos. This

connotes confidence.

I have also done this by using a purple that is

quite close to pink; this colour isstereotypically feminine and therefore

represents the female gender.


13/21

What kind of media institution might distribute your

media product and why?

There are two media institutions that would

be ideal for the distribution of my

magazine: Bauer Media Group

OR IPC Media

Bauer Media distributes a wide variety of magazines for a diverse range of targetaudiences. The company already distributes music magazines such as Q and Kerrang!

Bauer Media is a multinational company and has the funding to support a magazine

such as Shenanigans. And independent company would struggle to fund such a high

maintenance magazine.

Bauer already distributes Kerrang!, which covers the same genre of music. Kerrang!

Targets a male audience so there would be a gap in the market for a magazine to target

a female audience. One disadvantage of Bauer, however, is that the ratio of

male:female readers for Kerrang! is 60:40 which would make IPC a better choice.


14/21

The alternative option is IPC Media.

Much like Bauer Media, IPC Media is a multinational company that distributes

a wide variety of magazines.

IPC media will have the funding to successfully distribute my product.

The company already has experience in distributing music magazines. IPC

Media already distributes NME which is a magazine targeting male fans of rock

and alternative music. My product targets female fans of the genre and so will

offer a suitable parallel for the magazine to fill a gap in the market.


15/21

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The target audience:

Those within the age group of 16 20 years. Those of Asian, Caucasian or Black ethnic groups. Those at middle class level. The female gender. Fans of rock and alternative music.


16/21

How did you attract/address your

audience?

The font used for the masthead

connotes rebellion, edginess and

the mischievousness associated

with performers in the rock genre.

The use of the pronoun you and

the imperative creates interactivity

with the audience.

The photos used are all of females

and will therefore attract a large

female audience.

The clothing and jewellery worn by

the individuals in the photos

suggest middle class finances. In all

of the photos the hairstyles of eachof the people are quite toned down

and arent extravagant this is

typical of middle class girls.

Therefore the product will attract

those of middle class.

The strapline connotes

rebellion and loud music

The lures ( i.e. the

competition and posters)will attract readers.

The purple colour used

stereotypically connotes

femininity and so will attract

a female audience.

The main image contains

a guitar to represent thegenre of music.

The individuals in the

images are in poses that

connote confidence and

femininity and so will attract

a female audience.

The girl on the poster hasher hand on her waist and

is looking at the camera,

connoting confidence.

In the main image of the

cover, the middle band

member is looking straight

at the camera, also

connoting confidence.


17/21

The majority of images areof female artists. The smaller

image of a female artisit has

the artist looking at the

camera and yelling which

connotes confidence and will

attract a female audience.

The Features text

resembles a scream and soconnotes yelling and loud

music to attract fans of the

genre. It also connotes

originality which is

associated with the genre.

The mode of address in

informal and so will attract an

audience of youths.

Once again the colour

scheme will attract a female

audience.

The mise en-scene of the

drums will attract fans of the

genre.

The colour red connotes

passion and danger and so

represents the atmosphere of

the music genre.


18/21

The mode of address in

informal and so will attract anaudience of youths.

Once again the colour

scheme will attract a female

audience.

The mise -en-scene of the

guitars and amplifier will

attract fans of the genre.

The colour red connotes

passion and danger and so

represents the atmosphere of

the music genre.

The font used for the

answers connotes energy

and femininity and so willattract a female audience As

well as fans of the music

genre. The poses in the images connote confidence and therefore

represent women in a positive light. For instance, almost all the

band members are looking into the camera This connotes

confidence and will therefore attract a female audience. The

photobooth photos connote fun and energy and will attract fans

of the music genre.


19/21

What have you learnt about technologies from

the process of constructing this product?

I have learnt more efficient ways of using the technology (Photoshop). For instance: using the layer

masking tool to hide unnecessary parts of an image and using layer styles to improve the text.

I have learnt that the colour displayed onscreen does not always match the colour that prints and

how to compensate for this.

I have had issues with resizing some images without distorting them.

I learnt that it is easier for me, personally, to use a PC as opposed to a MAC.

I briefly experimented with an alternative program, Quark, and have found that I work better in

Photoshop.

I have had issues with different versions of Photoshop and the harmonisation between them. For

instance, the Photoshop in school did not crop the same way as my own version does which made

changing images in school difficult.

I developed my skills in using an online blog to document my work progress.

After using a digital camera, I sometimes had problems when resizing images as the quality of theimage would decrease.

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20/21

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you

have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

I have gained a better understanding of audiences and how to attract them. My target audience is more specific

this time and my product is more representative of those I wish to address.

Features I had used for my preliminary task were developed more in this product. For instance, the masthead

was more conventional as it was more than just a title or headline.

My design was more creative and targeted towards the audience this time.

I used a less busy background for the cover to avoid confusing readers


21/21

I used less conventional positions for certain features (for instance the title Contents and

the institutional details) to make the page more interesting

I have more sections to divide the features

I made sure not to only feature one ethnic group in the images so that I would actually

address all of my target audience

I improved my manipulation of photos the main image on the page is an example.

Documents

Coursework ‘shenanigans’