ResearchTo ensue the style and the content I included was suitable for this genre I researched magazine of a similar genre such as NME and Kerrang! After looking at these magazine’s it was clear that style used to create this rocky look was dark, edgy colours such as purple, red, yellow along with the two main colours of black and white. Additionally the masthead’s used in these magazines are big, bold and eye-catching which attracts the readers eye. Furthermore the artists and bands featured in these magazine are associated with the genre of the magazine. Through the artists and bands featured the target audience will automatically be drawn to the magazine and will immediately know what genre the magazine is. Additionally this allows the reader to create an image by wearing similar colours and styles to those featured in the magazine.

Audience and GenreThe first thing I did before starting my magazine was to choose my target audience and genre. I wanted to target an audience I knew well to produce the best product I could so I opted for males and females aged 15 to 28. I am in this age group so believed I knew what kind of features to include. I chose the genre rock, alternative as it is a genre I know well and I have red many magazine’s similar to this genre.

The colour palette I chose was chosen to convey messages to the audience. The colours I used are: Red, Yellow, Black and White. The red is a very bright, loud colour. It can be associated with anger and aggression as well as love. My reason for choosing this colour is firstly it stands out and catches the eye, drawing the reader in. Also the colour represents the specific music genre the magazine represents – rock which is seen as quite loud and aggressive. Furthermore the yellow I chose is also bright and bold which stands out and catches the readers eye. The colour also represents the music genre of the magazine as yellow is bold and very in your face as rock music is. The blackness used represents the darker side of rock music and the pureness of the white balances out these colours.

The main social groups associated with rock and alternative music are what people would call ‘emo’ or ‘scene’. This stereotypically involves them wearing either dark colour or brightly coloured clothing. The often have extreme coloured hair and hairstyles. Furthermore they sometimes have facial piercings. All these colours and styles are shown in my magazine which allows the target audience to trust in the magazine. Not only this but it also allows them to create a style and image as they idolize the bands and artists featured in the magazine

Firstly to attract my audience I chose bright, bold colours to grab their attention. The main colour red, which is the background of the main image is very in your face and would stand out on the shelf. Red is a colour associated with the particular social group my magazine targets therefore they are more likely to pick it up to look at it further than perhaps someone of an older age group.

To involve the reader and make them feel involved the competition addresses them directly ‘Play alongside your favourite band.’ This makes the reader feel part of the magazine so they are therefore more likely to buy it. Additionally the freebie also addresses the audience. The freebie gives them an incentive to buy the magazine. Furthermore the freebie is almost a thank you from the magazine to the reader for buying the magazine.

The language I used for my magazine is fairly simple and straight to the point. The magazine is aimed mainly teenagers who do not want to be stood around reading a lot to find out what’s inside the magazine or they will loose interest. Also the text is quite big to stand out to the audience so they don't need to necessarily pick the magazine up to read it.

The used of exciting features inside the magazine (exclusive interviews, freebies, band reviews etc.) maintains their interest as teenagers are easily distracted. Furthermore these features persuade the audience to buy the magazine.

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

Flat PlansBefore creating the front cover for my music magazine I

created some flat plans. The reason for this was to give me an idea of the conventions I needed to include and where would be a good place to put them. This is important as the conventions need to be placed where they will grab the target audiences attention and draw them in to buy the magazine. For instance you would not place the headline/main story at the bottom on the page. You would put it towards the centre as this is generally the first place the readers eyes will lay. Furthermore I also made flat plans for my contents page and my double page article.

Front Cover

The masthead is placed at the top of the page. It introduces the magazine and the audience can see almost immediately what the genre of the magazine is. This can be assumed from the style of font of the masthead and the name of the masthead. The style of text I used for my masthead is scratched and looks like its shattering this reflects the genre of my magazine as rock music is loud and the loudness could be associated with shattering. The issue date and issue

number I have placed next to the masthead. I have don’t this so as soon as the reader sees the masthead they know what issue number and what time of year the magazine is about.

The main image is generally always of the artist or band that are the main feature in the magazine. The band or artist will be associated with the genre of music of the magazine. For my magazine the main image has a red back drop this relates to the issue date of the magazine (December 2010) as red is associated with winter and Christmas.

The kickers entice the reader in. I have used a bright yellow so they stand out from the rest of the page and catch the readers eye.

The headline/main story I have placed almost in the centre of the page next to the main image so the reader knows the headline is about the main image. It also allows the reader to know this is the main feature in the magazine

This secondary lead has an image with it so the reader can see straight away the other artists included in the magazine . The secondary lead gives the reader an insight into what is in the magazine.

The selling line is placed above the masthead so the reader see it when they read the masthead. Again this will entice the reader in to buy the magazine

The strip at the bottom of the page gives the reader information about the bands and artists included in the magazine.

Contents Page

ColoursI have continued to use the same colours on my contents page that I used on my front cover to keep a consistency throughout the magazine.

I have put the contents logo at the top of the page to introduce what the page is. The logo uses the same font as the masthead so that the audience are still aware of the genre of the magazine.

The main body of the page has the features section. It tells the reader what’s inside the magazine and where. Images are included as well which shows the reader what bands and artists are in the magazine before they have even read the features section.

Editorial from the editor tells the reader what this issue of the magazine is about. Editorials make the reader gain trust in the magazine as they are friendly and show the editor is a normal person the same as the reader.

I have put titles in the features section to make it easier for the reader to find what they are looking for. The titles have a bright yellow background to stand out to the reader.

The subscription banner I have placed at the bottom of the page. The main reason for this is it’s the last thing the reader reads making it more likely for it to stick in their minds to sign up. Furthermore I have used bold colours (black and red) to attract the readers attention.

Double page article The section header is placed at the top of the page. It introduces the what/who the article is about. It is placed at the top so it is the first thing the reader reads.

The introductory text explains further what the article is about. It is placed under the section header so the reader knows the text is to explain further what the section header says.

The arrow placed at the bottom of the page makes the reader aware the interview continues to the next page.

The main image of the band shows the reader immediately before they have even red anything who the article is about.

Quotes from the band are placed and highlighted in black. These stand out to the reader and makes them want to read the whole article.

The columns of the article are placed in a black box. This is so it stands out to the reader and makes them aware this is the main part of the article. Questions are highlighted in white. From this the reader knows its and interview and can clearly see which are the questions and which are the answers.

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

IPC publishers a wide range of magazines from the likes of Nuts and NME for men and Look and Now for women. IPC have a team of experienced workers across all the areas they cover from specialist magazines to broader consumer ones.

IPC publish the music magazine NME . NME targets a similar audience and genre to my magazine. For this reason alone IPC would be a suitable institution to publish and distribute my magazine. Furthermore NME magazine is the longest published (58 years) and the most respected music magazine in the world. Additionally NME has become Europe's most successful music website which was launched in 1996. Therefore for all the above reasons IPC would be a extremely suitable institution to publish my magazine.

IPC Bauer mediaBauer media is part of the Bauer

media group, Europe’s largest privately owned publishing group. The worldwide groups offers 300 magazines in 15 countries as well as online, TV and radio. Bauer media joined Bauer media group in January 2008.

Bauer media publishes music magazines Kerrang! And Q in print, TV, radio and online. Kerrang! Targets a similar audience and genre to my magazine. Kerrang! Used to be published by EMPA and was sold to Bauer media in 2008. The magazine can now be found online, TV and radio as well as its original print form. For all these reasons Bauer media would be a good company to publish my magazine as they publish similar magazines targeting the same audience as mine and produce a wide range of other media rather then just the print.

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

Firstly I needed to create a blog to put all my coursework on. To do this I went on to blogger.com. From there on wards it was fairly simple to create my blog as the website talks you through how to do it. When I log on to my blog now a dashboard comes up and shows updates of the peoples blogs I follow. If I click on my blog It gives me a choice to either create a new post, edit a post of view my blog.

At first I found Photoshop quite hard to use and I was unsure what the different icons were and what they did. I experimented with the different tools to begin with and used a Photoshop reference card that was made available to be via the portal. After doing the above things and found Photoshop very easy to use.

Using the camera’s for the first time we went around college and experimented with different angles and shot sizes and the different focuses. When it came to taking photos for my music magazine I was well aware of how to use the cameras. When we set up the photo shoot for the photos we used the redheads lights and were told the health and safety regulations before using them (these are on my blog) The redheads were easy to use but very hot and bright.

Photoshop reference

Redhead lights

Using Cameras

Blogger.co

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Looking back at the preliminary task (the college magazine) what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from

it to full product?

When I created my college magazine I had only just begun to used Photoshop so I was still unsure about some of the tools. I kept it quite simple using few colours and just one main image. I only included a few stories as I wasn’t that confident about my target audience. Whereas when It came to creating my college magazine I was much more confident with Photoshop so was able to include many more features. I used different fonts, a range of bright colours and lots of images. I was able to do this I knew exactly what to include to attract and address my target audience and genre.