In what way does your media product use, develop or change forms and conventions of real media products?

Aspects of my music magazine apply the conventions typical in most magazines of this genre. For example I used organised columns on my contents page. On the right I have also demonstrated the mast head which I situated at the top of my front cover, and the bar code situated on the bottom right of it, and the cover lines in-between. All of these conventions together give it the typical appearance of a magazine. However there are a few choices in particular where I have gone against tradition. For example in my colour scheme. In most rock orientated magazines you find they primarily use red, black and white. In contrast I have used green, black and white. I think this adds a slight twist that could make my product more noticeable within the market. It’s also more common to have an accomplished artist on the front cover, but I have instead chosen an up and coming duo that I believe to be more relatable to the readership as they portray the stepping stones required to reach fame.

How does your media project represent particular social groups?

I’ve not included any women on the front cover because it is a male dominated genre. Mike and Alex (Karpacheta) formed my front cover. Neither of the two held any instruments. In contrast I used an image of James Wade on the contents page and he holds a guitar below his waist in a confident composed stance. This can also be interpreted as a phallic symbol and something that gives him power and hierarchy. James is an example of someone who has achieved his goals, where as Karpacheta are an example of people reaching them. They demonstrate the stepping stone to success and are therefore more relatable to the readership who want to be like them, thus putting them on the front cover. This represents how particular social groups deem music as a hierarchy.

The people presented in my magazine are primarily British males ages 16+. This will also represent the primary audience for my magazine. This makes it so the people photographed and spoken of can be related to by the readers, via the male gaze. Alex, from the front cover, is wearing a shirt which is usually interpreted as something smart, overlaid by a hoodie. This shows him making something fancy more trendy and youthful.

On the double page spread Karpacheta have a collage of pictures that show them loitering around Knaresborough. This could portray them as the stereotypical social menace. Especially as Alex wears his hood up. However on the flip side we have an interview with the boys that mentions education a few times and gives a more positive and contradictory representation of teenagers.

My magazine is priced at £2.50, this reflects the working class people I expect to purchase it. It also entails freebies i.e. posters, which portray the social economic status of teenagers and young adults who don’t have much money. The scratched out mast head “Deadline” has connotations of the horror genre and looks aggressive. This fits into the semantic field of teenage boys. The layers on the cover, contents and DPS also portray a messy care free style that flows, similar to the fashion sense the majority would follow.

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

Bauer distribute similar music magazines as shown on the right. So if they invested in my own it would appear they had competition in the market when in fact the money would go to theircompany regardless. As a big corporation they have the financial backing to support my magazine not to mention they’ve already established magazine networks and so distribution would not be a difficulty. Due to the fact it’s a mainstream high-end publishing corporation they could afford to allow for more appealing competitions in the magazine. For example offering the chance to win a ticket for yourself AND friends to an upcoming music event.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

My primary audience are British working class teenagers and young adults (15 – 25) of either gender (Boys 65% Girls 35% as found from a survey I conducted). They will have a strong and developing interest in music. Primarily the rock scene. It is aimed at heterosexuals due to the male role models and female icons present. Though females are rarely shown in this male dominated genre when they are they will be more sexualised then the males and seen as a person of desire. In contrast to males who are seen as a person of ambition and power. They are emulators and a wanna be who will aspire to the people they see in my magazine. They will try to dress like them, perhaps even act like them because their style of life is what they aspire to achieve regardless as to whether they follow the same musical path or not. The majority will be belongers, the kind of people who love a sense of community and being within a group. The format of writing I use within my product will consist of personal pronouns directly addressing the reader. The sense of familiarity with the tone and colours used will give them that sense of belonging to the community of Deadline. My readership are need driven. These are the kind of people who will be attracted to my magazine because of the freebies and posters inside. I also recognized what Brands and activities they familiarized themselves with (e.g. Atticus, Converse, skinny jeans) and included them.

How did you attract them?

The majority of my audience will be needs driven as they are young and impulsive. Therefore my magazine will attract them via freebies such as posters, CD’s and competitions. As emulators and wanna bees they will also be attracted to articles on popular artists of the rock genre so they can immerse themselves in similar clothing and conduct. As belongers they ought to know the news within the community and so will read my magazine to keep up to date on music news and reviews that they canthen discuss and share with friends in the same group. My magazine is also affordable so easily attainable by the working class who are the most dominant of rock genres. Males will be attracted to the magazine due to the rough personality of it portrayed through the tone and bold colours giving at masculine feel.

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

Whilst gathering images for my magazine I used a Canon 600 SLR camera. This gave me opportunity to shoot

professional photographs which were key in producing a quality magazine. Once I had these photographs I could

begin work on my front cover, contents and double page spread. For this process I used Photoshop extensively. Prior to this construction I had little pragmatic knowledge on how to use it but learnt a lot. For instance the use of layers and rasterizing alongside other significant editing tools. I stored

my work on an SD card via a memory stick and then uploaded them to my blogger account.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what to you think you have learnt in the progression from it into the full product?

Looking back at my preliminary task the level of professionalism is far lower then is in my end product. I have learnt how to apply common conventions for an outcome that looks publishable. These conventions include my layout, tone of register, and a colour scheme suited to the genre.

In this time I have also learnt how to do significant research into aspects of publishing I would have otherwise not considered. For example looking at what aspects of the market a publisher already supplies and the networking they have established.

I have adapted myself to accomplishing more organised planning which I have come to understand is key if you are aiming for a specific audience. I had to plan out what would attract them, what photographs I would need prior to the shoot and what questions I would be asking prior to the interview.