IntroductionIntroduction For my project I had the choice between

creating a blog and a magazine or a short film. I chose the music magazine option as I thought it would be more interesting. The magazine option included creating a front cover, contents page and double spread article.

In what ways does your media product In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of your real media products?conventions of your real media products? The genre of my music magazine is rock/indie

groups ,my reason behind choosing this is because at them moment the magazines available are one or the other e.g Kerrang and Classic rock are purely rock magazines.NME on the other hand is mainly Indie/Alternative. In order to create a stylish yet professional appearing magazine I had to look at successful music magazines and see what generic conventions I should implement.

There were many conventions I used and I believe the end product did appear professional.

Initial feedback on my Initial feedback on my design and authenticitydesign and authenticity All my feedback suggested that my magazine cover was indeed

'very  professional' looking. They also said that the layout was not intimidating and shared similar qualities with magazines that they enjoy. They also appreciated the fact that this magazine was a hybrid of music genre that couldn't be found anywhere at the moment that was to their taste.

My feedback said that it was obvious that I had created a front cover, contents page and a double spread article and to a high standard. They also commented on the layout and how it shared specific conventions that made it appealing and genuine

How does my media product represent different particular social groups? The main type of people I have represented are those that consider

themselves rock/indie musicians. I've emphasized this look of moody stylish musicians by paying a lot of attention to their clothing, appearance(mood),gesture, setting, use of lighting, media language.

For their clothing I asked them to wear preferably solid colors such as a mix of black, whites and grays. The reason I chose this is because I wanted to represent the band as a serious and stylish band. The poses they struck were showing very little emotion which adds to their seriousness and moodiness which also corresponds with their music. Their gestures were straightforward but powerful such as arms crossed across their chest or hands in pockets, these simple gestures suggested that the band are defensive and dismissive.

Setting/Location The setting I thought was incredibly important as I want to

relate to the reader and I also want to show how this band came from 'the streets', for this I chose a nondescript  urban location where the band where stood in front of a large wall at night with a snow falling around them. In order to emphasize the bands image and how they wanted to be perceived I changed the photo from color to black and white which highlighted the snow falling and how much they stood out against the bleak urban backdrop. This image pleased the band and also the critics who thought that this was a good representation of a rock/indie band that want to be taken seriously and also look cool.

What kind of media What kind of media institution might distribute institution might distribute your media product and your media product and why?why? After searching through many different possible

institutions for my product there are a few main institution that I think would be good for my product.

One of the main ones I am interested in is Bauer Media Group this group already produce many different magazines including Q. The average worldwide titles published amount to 38 million a week. Not only does this group have magazine experience but they also have experience in television and radio, which would be brilliant for a new magazine as advertising would be essential and a big company would be very able.

However...However... Maybe this company is not realistic enough

and I have another alternative which is EMAP, EMAP are a well known large company in the UK not only do they already deal with a large variety of magazines but they also own 40 radio stations in the UK which shows a keen interest in music and also have very good advertising outlets.

Another smaller publication group is IPC media which currently publish NME a magazine that  tastes in music as my own.

Who would be the audience for your media product? My target audience would be both genders between the

ages of 15-30. The reason why is because the language used in the article is quite colloquial and most of the successful magazines on the market share the same target range.

In using the same age group as theirs it offers competition which is what I want and also tells me how I should create my magazine regarding my audience. The reason this age group is used is because the age range is big and it’s a mass audience.

They are right for my product because these are the age groups that perform in the music scene and the prominent age group that goes to concerts and festivals, this means this is the main age group that spends the most money on music and we want to exploit that.

How did you attract / How did you attract / address your audience?address your audience?

In order to attract my target audience I’ve used various successful conventions found in other popular magazines. By this I mean I used conventions such as a powerful memorable title, I chose TMT which sounds like a very famous song ‘tnt’ and the dynamite but it also represents ‘The Music Times’. I also used a large powerful image of a band dressed in black and white with the photo in black and white this made them look moody and serious which has previously sold for other magazines. I also used direct address so the band literally catches their eye; this is used hugely in successful magazines. The mise en scene is bleak and urban which emphasizes where they’re from and how down to earth they are.

I also used large headlines to grab the viewers attention and explain the images, I also used smaller stories which are important as if the viewer isn’t too bothered about the main headline then the b stories have to make the sale.

Continued....Continued....

Continued....Continued.... I also used the style of language as something the reader to

understand without challenging them. I also fitted the text around the image which was a standout feature which made it look stylish and genuine. It also didn’t look to challenging and did look appealing to the eye. I used various ‘gossip’ headlines which are very common and a lot of the sales a researched are helped hugely by these snippets of rumors.

The choice of stories shown on the contents and front cover are important as I have to cover as wide a genre as possible as the more different styles of music the more sales, by this I used heavy bands, a more dance techno rock, solo acoustic and indie/folk. The structure of my article is ‘very professional’ looking and has all the correct features of an article, such as a large caption title, stand out quotes and images of the artist.  

What have you learnt about What have you learnt about technologies format the technologies format the process of constructing this process of constructing this product?product? Throughout the production of my project I have had to learn how to use

various pieces of equipment including various bits of software. One of the first things I had to learn was how to use blogger, which was incredibly important to my project, thankfully it was a straightforward website and I was able to crack on straightaway, however I did learn that trying to upload images in class took far too long and in order to stop wasting time I did this bit in my free time.

I then had to learn how to use some software, the main ones are Photoshop and InDesign, this software was very important for the production of my magazine, InDesign allowed me to create a front cover, contents, article, The images I wanted to use however I had to edit, crop and change in Photoshop, this was very important in getting the mood right from the picture.

One thing I learned from using Photoshop is that it’s very time consuming and this should be done in you free time so that your class time can be more productive. I also had to use various bits of equipment such as the camera and the macs which were a new experience for me. I have also had to use a camera and tripod. All this equipment and software enabled me to get the desired effect from my magazine and get what I want.

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

a professional looking magazine has come along massively. The contrast between my prelim and final product is incredible, for my prelim I used solid color and a poorly photo shopped image and none of it was in alignment. My choice of font wasn’t very legible and too small and didn’t stand out.

My caption wasn’t that interesting and didn’t appeal to a wide audience. In comparison to my final project they are now opposites, my final project now has all the convention of a professional magazine and is presented in an appealing stylish manner.

Continued...Continued... My font was well chosen and is attractive, my

images are much better photo shopped and are a lot more stylish and have a mood with it. All my stories, titles and images are aligned. My layout is far more striking and exciting but also easy to read and not intimidating. It also appeals to a wide audience by using a variety of bands and stories

ConclusionConclusion To conclude my product I believe is of a high standard of

magazine for someone of my age and experience; it uses all the convention that I intended to use and has had good feedback. Some of the strengths are the front cover and article, front cover because it has a powerful and striking image accompanied by a good striking title and there is a good use of effects which can’t be found on many others magazines. I don’t believe there are many weaknesses with my magazine although I would change the layout of my contents page because I think it’s good and informative but not as stylish as the other two.

If I had to do this all again I would be able to take a lot more know-how and confidence in to this project and be able to cut out a lot of time spent learning, I feel confident about my product as I believe it is professional and shows a clear understood use of all the software and a good representation of the generic conventions of a successful music magazine.

If I had to do this all again I would be able to take a lot more know-how and confidence in to this project and be able to cut out a lot of time spent learning, I feel confident about my product as I believe it is professional and shows a clear understood use of all the software and a good representation of the generic conventions of a successful music magazine.