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

When I started to create my magazine, I firstly had to think about how I was going to make it appeal to the audience of the genre as no magazine can continue to go into production without sales. I used similar product research and carried out interviews on the people who were from the target audience of the indie genre, and therefore most likely to buy my magazine. Furthermore, I carried out similar product research on magazines like NME, Kerrang and Q and analysed in depth what codes and conventions they use in order to meet their audiences needs and wants. Once I felt that I had gathered enough knowledge, I began to create my own magazine with a target audience of people between the ages of 16-25 and of both genders.

      The most important characteristic of any magazine is to establish the differences from others competing against it and highlight the USP’s of it so that it can increase the sales of the magazine and make it stand out on the shelf. I created the masthead of my magazine to look high class and sleek in order to reflect the common connotations of the masthead but also to establish a brand image and font that would be commonly recognised with my magazine. Next, the model for my magazine had no facial expression and looked straight down the lens of the camera. This is used in most indie magazines and I therefore kept to this common convention so my target audience would understand what genre my magazine falls into. The emotion also reflects the characteristics of the artist and implies that they are rebellious and daring and this is appealing to the audience and therefore lures them into reading it as they want to discover the story behind them. I then selected to use the colours red and black as these have common connotations of being challenging, dangerous but also sophisticated and this is what is going to attract the reader’s attention and make them want to read the magazine. The house colours will also start to build a relationship with the reader so that when they see these colours, they instantly know that it is my magazine.

      My contents page also conforms to the typical conventions of indie rock magazines like NME as I have created a ‘BAND INDEX’ on the left hand side of the page, mentioning multiple different indie rock bands/artists and the pages they can be found on. This will appeal to my target audience as it will allow them to skim through which bands and artists are inside this week’s issue and contemplate whether this magazine appeals to them or not. It makes my magazine seem more worthy of its money as the audience feel it is full of different articles and reviews on bands they enjoy. I have also placed the ‘Facebook’, ‘YouTube’ and ‘Twitter’ icons on this page; appealing to my younger readers who will be interested in social networking and allowing them to form even more of a personal relationship with the magazine. This helps to portray my magazine as more aware of the zeitgeist (spirit of the age).

     Finally, the double page spreads which I have used conform to the house colours which I have earlier discussed in order to create a brand image and reinforce the relationship with the audience. Furthermore, I used a fact-file on the artist on the first double page spread so that the audience feel as though they know the artist on a personal level. The responses from the artist are very personal and common; this both appeals to the indie genre where artists are seen to be down-to-earth, but also helps the reader to get into the interview.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The type of magazine that I was looking to create was of the same genre and style of NME but with more of a focus on mainstream bands and not with the ‘Under the Radar’ feature that highlights the less well known bands. I lead my magazine down the more mainstream route as I believe that this is a market which can appeal to many people’s needs as the market is broader, therefore offering more opportunity for success. My magazine will also include the latest reviews from gigs and festivals that both include the type of artists that are going to be expected in my magazine by the audience, but also our views on them that will either adhere and persuade the readers to see them for themselves or inform the audience on our views. Moreover, my magazine will also include the latest interviews of the most recognised artists in an attempt to make my magazine unique from the rest of the similar products, but also to signify that I am going to keep my audience entertained and up to date with the latest changes and stories from the music that they are interested in.  Additionally, the writers of my articles will be retired musicians or recognisable faces from the industry as this will make their opinions be more valid and reliable to readers.

          Firstly, the house colours of red, black and white are used on my magazine in order to highlight that it is off-the-wall and vibrant because of the connotations of red, but also that it is sophisticated with the white and black. This clearly relates to the social group as these are the characteristics that they are most likely to have as a person. The readers will also be reading my magazine out of their interest for rock and indie music, therefore the use of loud, bold fonts will appeal to them as they like to be outrageous and different from the crowd and this is exactly what my magazine is.

       Next, the masthead for my double page spread was: “Our National Hero”. This relates to the audience as they are most likely to want to read about talent coming from Great Britain. This therefore implies that my magazine represents the nation, and all the social groups included which share an interest of rock and indie music. Additionally, I made sure that the artist was wearing clothes that are common for this genre, as the social groups viewing my magazine are more than likely going to want to look to my magazine for fashion tips and clues on what to wear.

        Finally, my cover model constantly looks straight down the lens of the camera and has  little or no emotion on his face. This is a generic factor of most indie or rock magazines but it also highlights the seriousness of my magazine and how the purpose of the magazine is greater than their individual star image. This will appeal to my target audience as they will be looking for answers to why the artist looks in this way, but they will also be lured in as they are used to seeing expressions like this from other magazines and therefore highlights how the image used on my cover will explain the genre to the audience without them having to read it.

      

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

There are four main companies that form the oligopoly. These are Bauer Media, IPC Media, The National Magazine Company and Conde Nast.

Bauer Media is a large German publishing company based in Hamburg, which operates in 15 countries worldwide, publishing over 282 magazines. This company is responsible for the publishing of many magazines, including Take a Break, Empire and Kerrang. Therefore, I will not be using Bauer Media to publish my magazine, as they are already publishing Kerrang magazine, which is aimed at a similar target audience to mine, meaning my magazine would have more competition.

IPC is one of the largest publishing companies, publishing a huge variety of magazines from men’s interest, fashion, TV guides, music and so on. They also publish NME; therefore I will not be using IPC to publish my magazine, for similar reasons to why I won’t use Bauer Media. NME was my main inspiration when creating my magazine; therefore I have given my magazine a number of similar features to NME. Meaning IPC would not gain anything by publishing my magazine, as it is too similar to NME.

The National Magazine Company also contributes to making up the oligopoly. This company publishes magazines such as Esquire, Cosmopolitan, Good House Keeping and so on. They appeal to over 14.9 million adults every year, as they publish over 20 magazines in the UK alone.
The last company that makes up the oligopoly is Conde Naste. They are a worldwide publishing company, responsible for publishing some of the most successful lifestyle magazines. They are also well known for their contribution to the fashion magazine industry, publishing magazines such as Vogue.

Therefore, I have decided I am going to use The National Magazine Company to help distribute my magazine. This is because I feel they will benefit from having a magazine of my sort within their company, as they do not currently publish any other indie/rock magazines with my target audience, therefore I will be giving making the variety of magazines they publish larger. It also means I will not have any strong competition within their company as my magazine will be the only main indie/rock genre magazine in the market.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

To begin with, I decided to have a desired audience between the ages of 16-25 as these are the people who are more than likely to listen to the genre illustrated in my magazine because people younger than this will be more than likely to listen to pop; therefore this age group will have the acquired taste for indie music that comes with age. People between these ages are also allowed to attend the events within the genre and are old enough. As a consquence, reviews will be vitally important to them and will give them a clear interest into reading the magazine because of the fact that it will lead them into going to other festivals and shows. My magazine is also intended for both genders and does not swing towards one side. This is noticed in the fact that my magazine has a similar colour scheme to NME which is multi-sex.
Next, the targeted social classes for my magazine are between the bracket of A-C1 I have chosen these social classes because I think that these are the classes that will be able to afford to buy my magazine on a weekly basis and will also have the greatest amount of disposable income in order to afford the cost of the magazine. However, I believe this is where my subsciption offer comes into play so that potentially people of a lower social class will be able to afford the magazine as prices are slashed for their loyalty. Therefore helping them to build a relationship with the magazine but also to get up to date with the music that they love.
My magazine is likely to appeal to a niche market as they are likely to share the same interests, income, needs etc. I believe that the psychographics of my audience is that they are ‘succeeders’ and ‘individuals’. I don’t feel that they would be ‘mainstream’ because my magazine is specific to the indie/rock genre and I think that members of a mainstream psychographic are likely to listen more to chart music and keep up with whose number one in the charts, for instance. Whereas I think that readers of my magazine are individuals as, even though they are all interested in the indie/rock genre, they may not like every artist included or artists from different eras and I have therefore made sure that my magazine includes a vast variety of artists from the indie/rock genre.
I believe that my magazine’s audience will share similar social habits and interests. I have therefore made sure that my magazine fits in with the ‘needs’ of my target audience. For example, I have expected that my readers will enjoy going to various gigs and concerts and I have therefore created a section of my magazine that focuses on gig listings and reviews. This way I can be certain that my readers are receiving the information they expected and that they are interested in reading.

How did you attract/address your audience?

Firstly, my magazine has a mutual house colour scheme and will therefore appeal to both genders and allow my magazine to appeal to a broader audience. Furthermore, this reflects the genre of the magazine as I have used colours such as red, black and white and these can also be seen in my competitive magazines of the same genre like NME and Q. This is therefore a large selling point of my magazine as it will allow my audience to identify what genre my magazine belongs to, but also for them to establish a relationship with the magazine.

Additionally, I have continued with the idea of the magazine being multi-sex and this can be seen in the contents where there is a band index which includes bands that are most likely to appeal to any reader of this magazine. This signifies that my magazine will offer something for every reader, and feed their desire for knowledge and give them all the information they need. Moreover, the advertising of exclusive interviews and content lures the audience into choosing my magazine as it offers something that others cannot. This promotes the star image of my magazine and how it stands triumphant over its competitors and gets the most wanted content for its eager readers.

As the target audience of my magazine is fairly young, I have ensured that my magazine is in touching distance of the zeitgeist of social media. I have done this buy creating a number of different ways for readers to access the contents of the magazine such as on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. I have also created a website for my magazine and this will allow regular readers to register as a member for the chance to be e-mailed free monthly downloads. Also, the when studying and looking into my target audience, I discovered that the age range for my magazine was between the ages of 16-25. From this, I denoted that the majority of people in this age bracket are more than likely going to own a smart phone. I then took the choice to make an app available for smart phones so that they can keep up to date with the magazine and what is going on in the music industry whilst on the go.

The articles in my magazine are also personal to the artist that I have interviewed and have a heavy conversational tone. I have done this so that the audience begins to create a personal relationship with the interviewee as they feel as though they are the third person in the conversation. Furthermore, have this comfortable and relaxed tone means that the audience achieve their sense of escapism and get the opportunity to let go of their daily struggles as they read into and enjoy hearing about the lifestyles and performances from the artists they love.

How did you attract

View more presentations from sam_beecham.

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

Throughout the duration of the production stage of my magazine, I used multiple types of technology in order to create the most professional, high-quality and well-planned magazine as possible. I began this process by having a photo-shoot using a Canon 550D DSLR because this is a camera that does not only produce great looking images, but one that I am also comfortable with using due to previous use. This digital camera meant that I could look through the images that I was taking instantly and could therefore delete ones which I was not happy with. Afterwards they could then be uploaded quickly and efficiently to the computer by using a card reader for the SD card; which saved me both time and effort. I used this camera when taking photos of my models against a white back drop light by interfit portrait photography lighting, in order to create the right amount of light for my photographs to appear professional. Another feature of this lighting was that it had trigger lighting, this means it was in sync with my camera, and therefore every time I took a photo, the lighting would flash also. This ensured my photos looked as clear and professional as possible. For this particular shoot I used an 18-55mm 4.6 aperture lens, ensuring I could capture each image in a variety of angles and sizes. Before the shoot, I had also set up another Canon 550D on a tripod behind me which was focused on the set where I was taking the images. This was then connected to an interval meter where I had set the time limit to 5 seconds, which meant that every five seconds an image would be captured, therefore creating a time laps to highlight the work that I had put in and how I had created the images for my magazine. After this shoot, I also did a second shoot outside so that it would add some diversity to my magazine and give a range of photos for me to choose from. To add to the variety I decided to change the lens on the camera, and instead this time used a 50mm 1.8 aperture as well as a polarized filter. This meant that the focus was placed on the foreground in the image which was the model, whilst the background was blurred. This gave a professional and stylish touch to the images.

Once the photos were taken, I uploaded them to my computer. After deciding which photo’s I wanted to use on my magazine, I began to edit them. For this I used a programme called Adobe Photoshop CS3. This piece of software allows users to edit, cut, change and even create images and graphics. I am quite familiar with this piece of software in an advanced manner. One key feature of Photoshop, that without would have made my magazine appear less successful, is the feature of cutting out images from their background. There are a few ways you can do this, one way being the Magic Wand Tool, allowing you to attach a line to the outline of your image and then cut it out. However, I found this cut my photos out in a rough and bumpy way, therefore decided to use Colour Range, which allows you to click on parts of the image you wish to erase and then edit to perfect using the Mask tool.

Another effect I decided to use was the lens flare tool. This can be seen on my contents page at the bottom where I have used one in order to make my images appear brighter then they originally were. I did this just to add a bit more variety on my page and highlight my skills when using photoshop. Additionally, I cut out a section of a background in one of my pictures which was of graffiti. I then duplicated this layer to make it cover a larger majority of my page and placed it behind one of the images on my contents. Next, I changed the hue and saturation of the image so that it stood out more and drew great focus to the image that it laid behind. Finally sites like Blogger, Scribd and Slideshare have been a huge part of the creation of my magazine, allowing me to document every stage of the production process, showing the different stages and features I considered when making my magazine.

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

Since the creation of my preliminary task I have enhanced my ability when using Photoshop CS3 as I believe that I can now do things on the programme that I could not do before. Furthermore, my research into magazines has also been a great assistance as it has given me the knowledge of knowing how to construct a magazine, and what it should look like. This has then taught me how to make the most out of all of the available space on a page and to make sure that everything is coherent in terms of font, images and colour scheme. The difference in this skill that I had learned can be noticed between the preliminary task and my final task because on the first task there was many white spaces along with boring fonts and no focal points on the page; whereas on my final task I think I have corrected all of these errors and learned from my previous errors in order to create a professional looking magazine.

Another skill I have learnt from the final production is how to cut out images properly without any jagged edges. In my preliminary task, the images had rough edges and I didn’t apply any effects or editing as I did not know how to. This is never seen in magazines, and highlights my inexperience but also how I have grown over the duration of the task. I am now also able to work the professional lighting and this has resulted in much better images for my final piece. Learning the skills needed to cut out, edit and add effects to images meant that not only did my images look good and professional it highlighted my development over the task and how I have grown in confidence when using Photoshop CS3 as I can now apply professional skills like feather, lens-flares and to adjust the hue and saturation.

Throughout the task I also learned how to wrap text around an image or any certain shape. I believe that this was a very useful and important skill to learn as it helps to fill up empty spaces on my page in order to make my magazine look action packed and exciting. I used this skill effectively on my third double page spread where I wrapped the text around my image so that the image would not be ruined but ultimately to fill all spaces on the page. In my opinion, it also makes the images appear to be more striking as they stand out from the text, and the words just act as a background to the strong pictures.

In conclusion, I believe that I have developed my creative knowledge of magazines as now know how to create an effective balance between not only words and images, but also how much should be on the page so that it does not look too busy, or too empty. I also feel as though I know what the target audience of a magazine are expecting to see in a magazine, and therefore have my own knowledge of what to include in a magazine and how to go about creating the magazine with less assistance than was needed in the preliminary task in order to create a stylish, professional and creative magazine.