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

Throughout the coursework unit, I have discovered how to highten my skills using different media products such as Blogger, Photoshop and Flickr. I have learnt how to upload new posts/photos onto Blogger and Flickr through trial and error, learning as I go along. In Photoshop, I have experimented with the paint brush tool (set to different opacity's), the brightness/contrast tool, the hue/saturation tool, the lasso tool, and the free transform tool. The paint brush tool helped me colour in different areas of my magazine which I wanted changing, the different opacity settings helped me to make the image as neat as possible. The brightness/contrast and the hue/saturation tools, helped me when I was editing my original images. They helped me adjust the level of brightness of the image next to the dark background, making it not too overwhelming for the viewer. The lasso tool and the free transform tool helped me to change the size of my images, and cut pieces of images out and move them. This really helped as in some of my images, the background was not appropriate and needed to be cut out. The only tricky part to using this tool was trying to get it right all the way around the image, without having to start again.
I have thouroughly lookedat other magazines which would have the same target audience as I would (Kerrang, NME, etc.) and have chosen fonts which have the same style as these. The text font I have used for my feature article is “Helvetca” which is an easy to read font, and also looks good. I also had to plan out the way my magazine was going to fit around the page. I spent lots of time moving about different pieces of text and images, choosing different colours, and different fonts to see which would work best for my magazine (cover, contents, and double page spread). This helped me make sure/feel that the final magazine I had created was at a good enough standard/quality and was as close as I could get to the real thing. I had to make sure after I had written my feature article I proof read it. This is important in the magazine industry as any typo's could be embarrassing for the editor/writer, and the whole company.

What have you learn't about the process of technologies?

During this part of the course I have learn't how to use different kinds of programs, some of these being online. The main programs I have used would be Photoshop, Flickr and Blogger. The advantages of using these programs would be the end result. I have managed to create a good finished product which looks well presented (photoshop). I have also been able to present this online using Flickr and Blogger. On Flickr I have used the annotation tool too add notes to areas of my work. When hovering over sections of the image text appears to explain what I have done on that area of the magazine, and how I have attracted my audience. A disadvantage of using these programs would have been how the online ones (Flickr and Blogger) sometimes didn't work on the college's internet system. They would often be slow, and sometimes wouldn't post the things I had asked for. I learnt how to use different tools on Photoshop such as layering, blending, changing the levels on a photograph (hue/saturation levels, brightness/contrast levels etc). This helped me make a good looking magazine which looks like it would be on a shop shelf.
I have taken photographs to use for my magazine I this part of the course. Doing this, I have learn't how to use different camera angles effectively and how to make images seem as if they could be from a gig/show. I have used Photoshop to edit my images, taking out the background and changing the brightness/contrast and the hue/saturation. Darker images with some dramatic lighting (un-natural lighting from something like a lamp) are usually used in my genre of music magazines. I have followed this convention and used un-natural and dramatic lighting in my photos.

How did you attract/address your audience?

My magazine speaks in an informal way towards the readers. This will attract the younger generation (my target audience) rather than an old generation. My target audience would be familiar with the terms and slang words I have used in my magazine, older people would not, and would therefore not buy the magazine. The colours on the magazine stand out well to my target audience since they are quite dark (mostly black and red) and also contrast with each other (white and black being opposite colours, and red being the colour of warning, standing out to the viewer when placed on a shelf.

Who would be the target audience for you media product?

Before putting together my media product I created a moodboard stating who the target audience would be for my magazine. I placed images of some things the readers would like (would enjoy doing in their spare time, dress sense, etc). One of the images I use was of a festival crowd/stage. Around 70% of the readers of my magazine would like to go to a festival in the next year, or have already been to one in the past year. These people would choose to read my magazine over any other as it would have the latest and up to date gig listings/reviews, and the latest festival line ups. I have also placed an image of the social network site, Facebook on my moodboard. Most of the teenagers which read my magazine will have signed up to this social networking site and will use it regularly (as well as MSN, also on my moodboard) to keep in contact with their friends when they're out of college/university hours, and are not together. This would also mean that they have a lot of spare time on their hands, making it easier to fit magazine reading time in. My target audience would be ages 16-19, this would mean most of these readers are able to get a part-time job, or already have one. These readers most likely don't have any bills to pay, or any major responsibilities. When someone earns money, but has no bills to pay, their income would be called a disposable income or DINKS (double income, no kids). This would result in them having spare money for extra things like alcohol or the latest phone (also shown on my moodboard) a disposable income would also result in the readers having more money to spend on something like my magazine.
I would use advertising in my magazine to advertise the sorts of things my readers would be interested in. Some of these things could be different sorts of clothes, Vans shoes could be one of the things advertised. Advertising something like baby foods or mortgages/loans wouldn't be the sorts of things the readers of my magazine would be interested in. I can also advertise certain festivals which the readers of my magazine may be interested in such as Hevy festival, Download festival, or Reading Festival.

Demographic profiles:
-Social Status: D/E.
-Age: 16-19 years.
-Gender: 70% male.
-Rationality: English (White British).
-Marital Status: Single/Non-Serious Relationship.

Psycographic Profiles:
-Individuals/Aspirers.

Lifestyle Subsets:
-DINKS: double income, no kids.


This is an image of the Vans shoes I could advertise in my magazine.

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

All magazines need to be distributed. Whether the creators of the magazine decide to publish the magazines themselves (self-publishing, often used with small businesses or groups of people who create their own magazine for fun). The other option would be to go with a well-known publishing institution. Some examples of well-known publishers would be “Bauer” and “ICP”.

Some advantages of using a well-known publisher would be this such as:

Exposure: Lots of readers/viewers would come from using a well-known publisher.

Tricks of the trade: Going through a large, well known publisher would also mean many other magazines have chosen this route before you. This would mean that they have learnt helpful tips and tricks which they could show you. The publishers will also know what the readers of your magazine would like (different stereotypes/sub-cultures would like different things, and read things differently). With self-publishing, it is purely trial and error.

Finding the funds: Small companies/self-publishers often find it quite hard to find the funding to keep their magazine running. This would result in not being able to expand their magazine, or get it out to a larger audience.

Music industry/interviewing: Large companies such as ICP and Bauer often have connections with large record labels or bands. This would make it easier for you to get into contact with anyone you want to interview, or for you to get any information you need. More connections will create a better magazine.

Some of the disadvantages of using a well-known publisher:

Ownership over the magazine: when using a large publisher, you may feel as if the ownership of the magazine has been taken away from you. This would be because some of the things you initially wanted to put in the magazine, are not allowed to be published largely. You may also feel as though you no longer own the magazine and cannot control it any longer.

I have chosen to use the company IPC to distribute my magazine. I have chosen this publisher over Bauer since Bauer already publish Kerrang (the same target audience, genre and style of magazine). This would make it less likely for them to think about publishing my magazine (which is still a lot smaller and less known than Kerrang is). I have chosen to use a well-known publisher for my magazine (even though I may feel a loss of control) because I will be able to expand the magazine to a larger audience and also create other products to work alongside my magazine easily. These would be things such as websites or blogs and radio stations. ICP also has a distribution deal with other companies such as W H Smiths (the UK’s largest magazine retailer).

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

A convention is something which sticks to the norm of the genre/stereotype/product etc. An example of a convention would be putting your socks on before your shoes. You could put socks on after your shoes, but you might not look right.

For this part of the course, I have created a punk/rock music magazine. I have selected magazines such as “Kerrang” and “NME” to influence my design.

NME Front Cover.

Kerrang Front Cover.

Some of the more obvious conventions of a magazine cover would be the title (masthead), the large image behind all of the text (usually one large image, sometimes with smaller images layered on top), the date/issue line, a bar code, and any other cover lines. I have stuck to these conventions, aiming my magazine at a specific target audience (instantly creating a larger amount of viewers) rather than aiming my magazine at a completely new target audience (meaning not as many people would see it/read it). My design ended up being quite simple, with only three main colours used (red, black and white). This was inspired by NME since these are the main colours of their magazine. I have stuck to the conventions using only three main colours for my magazine, since most magazines don't use over 3/4 colours on the front cover of their magazine (since this would overwhelm the viewer and put them off reading it).