• In what
ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of
real media products?
My magazine is an R&B and rap magazine, however at
the beginning I wasn’t entirely sure on what genre I wanted to do so I looked
at vibe magazine and rolling stone magazine for my case studies. On the front
page my model is using direct mode of address and she is placed in front of the
mast head to show she is more important which is common in R&B magazines. I
also used psychological pricing which all magazines use to make the buyer think
they are saving money and will lead them to then buy the magazine. I also
placed the barcode on the front page on the bottom left corner as on my vibe
case study that’s where the bar code was placed. My mast head is the biggest
font on the page and my main cover line is the second biggest which is common
in most magazines. I also included the website on my front page to show my
magazine has cross media interests.
Looking back on my case study of vibe magazine I saw that
on their contents page they had features (things that are only in this issue)
and regulars (things that appear in every issue). I also included page numbers
on each image which makes it easier for readers who take an interest in the
picture and want to see what that page is about. I made sure I included an
editor’s note which from my case study I saw was a regular on the contents
page.
For my double page spread I decided to place the
photograph of my model and the pull out quote on the right hand side so it’s
the first thing my readers will see when they turn the page. I also included
page numbers at the bottom of each page and columns which make my magazine look
realistic and organised they are both common code and conventions.
I challenge other R&B music magazines as there
demographic audience is mainly aimed at the black community I challenge this by
having a model who is of a different nationality on the front page and the
black artists and fashion is shown inside. I feel she still fits in with the
genre and I feel R&B music should be aimed at a variety of other
nationalities this makes my magazine different from others. She is young so she
appeals to my audience of teenagers and people in their early 20’s.
• How does
your media product represent particular social groups?
My media products primary social groups are secondary
school kids in years 10 and 11 and students whether that be college or
university. Those are the people I had in mind when constructing my magazine.
My aim is to represent those social groups in a positive light I do this by
including a variety of young people within all three pages and they represent
chasing dreams and living it which is a positive light on the artists as well
as being an inspiration to other young people.
• What
kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
In my magazine presentation pitch the media institution I
chose was Bauer as they are an international publishing company and owns brands
such as; 4 music, Box, Kiss, Kerrang etc. Which show me they have experience
publishing music products and radio programmes. I also realised they haven’t
yet published an R&B music magazine so mine would be the first and it will
expand their audience. Because Bauer own a lot of different cross media
interests such as radio, magazines, websites and T.V programmes and also have a
facebook, twitter, flickr, youtube and tumblr account they could help me with
the cross media interests I want to go into which is to have a website,
facebook and twitter page.
My magazine will be distributed to supermarkets and news
agents as my target audience tend to go into those shops. It will be in the
home and leisure magazine section as it is aimed at both males and females and
its more of something you read in your spare time as it features a lot of
celebrity gossip. It will be laid out in levels as my audience will notice it
more if they can see the full front page. I will start promote my magazine by
using controlled circulation as my primary target audience is teenagers and
they won’t pass up an opportunity to have a free magazine I could also use
there feedback to improve on my second issue so it fits my target audience’s
needs.
• Who
would be the audience for your media product?
My primary audience is teenagers from 15-18 my secondary
audience are teenagers 13-14 and adults 19-25. My music magazine is aimed at
both male and female their status in society would primarily be students and
they will have a passion for music and fashion. The type of students that
always listen to music whatever they are doing and keep up to date with fashion
and like to look good. Their hobbies are reading magazines, watching t.v and
being up to date with celebrity gossip. I don’t have a primary ethnicity as
most R&B magazines are mainly aimed at the black community and I want it to
be mainly aimed at all ethnicities.
• How did
you attract/address your audience?
I addressed my audience by making a presentation to pitch
my idea to them; I then collected audience feedback and applied it to my
magazine as they helped me decide on the font for my masthead. I chose my model
to put across the point that it’s not just the black community that are R&B
artists other ethnicities are as well and that makes my R&B music magazine
stand out from others as it has someone of a different ethnicity on the front
page.
• What
have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this
product?
During making my magazine I used a variety of different
technologies such as Photoshop, Indesign, DSLR digital camera, blogger and a
studio. I used Photoshop for my front page and I learnt that the different
texts, shapes and images should be on different layers and how to move the
layers around if I want those things to overlap. I also worked out how to cut
out my photograph from its background as my image on the front page was one of
my location photographs. I used Indesign for my contents and double page
spread, I learnt how to use the ruler tool to make columns and an opacity tool
to change the opacity of my text overall my skills on both have improved.
I was asked to present my work using blogger which I
found was better as my work can’t get lost as well as it being displayed
nicely. It also helped me to interact with my fellow class mates and give
feedback on each other’s work which helped me to improve my magazine. In the
studio I used a studio flash kit which includes 2 soft boxes which soften the
light and poly boards which are used to reflect the light. I also learnt that
the model should be standing 5 to 6 feet away from the back drop because if
they stand to close what they’re wearing could blend in to it. The camera I
used was a Nikon D7000 16 million mega pixel and I also used a Godox remote
control which sync’s the camera to the lights.
• Looking
back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the
progression from it to the full product?
I used a proper studio which helped me get an insight on
the real world of being a photographer and giving my model directions because
in the preliminary I just told my model to stand against a wall and smile then
took the picture. I have come a long way from the preliminary task as I have
given more thought about where I want to place things and researched in depth
how my genre of music magazine is constructed, which then helped me to either
use, change or develop the codes and conventions they have.
I also developed my improvisation skills as the shoot of
my main artist on my magazine was a location shoot which is not what I
originally planned, but It still worked. It took more time and effort producing
my music magazine because I kept looking back at my case studies and made sure
I had includes all the codes and conventions such as where they place the front
cover image and mast head , where they place main cover lines and cover lines ,
where they place bar codes, skylines , the use of columns for the contents page
and double page spread and psychological pricing which makes my audience feel
they are getting a deal on the price of the magazine all of this I did not
think about when constructing my preliminary front page and contents page so
overall it has developed my skills.
