Master head

Cover lines

Main image

Pull quote

Teaser

Barcode and price

Pull Quote

Next week link

Contents and page numbers

Master head

Tone and register, is causal and chatty, informal

Lead image

Columns

Name of artist

In what ways does your magazine use develop of challenge forms & conventions of real media

productsMasterhead:

I chose to have my master head in the “traditional” layout, I decided to spilt it around the image so that it was more clear, rather than what some other magazines that this magazine would be in competition with, as you can see the audience can not clearly see the name of the magazine which is typical of this type of magazine, which I decided not to follow

I did however decided to use a font that would attract my

target audience, by using an “alternative” font to the

typical “pop” magazines.

The headphones I put next to the masterhead was to

create a logo effect, therefore creating a brand that

would be instantly recognisable to anyone who was

a regular reader, or has seen it on the magazine rank

as it would still be visible how they are displayed.

Pull quote

Most pull quotes leave the readers wanting to find out why they have said that and in this case

who it is about. This in turn encourages them to buy the magazine to find out more about what

was said, I chose not to have the pull quote as big as in other magazines, as this made it

different and more unique. I put a drop shadow effect on it to make it fit into the house style. I

chose not to have the text in white because it stands out more as it does not quite fit with the

rest of the text in that area being white.

Cover lines

I used the typical layout for any magazine which is to have cover lines at the bottom, I did this

so that the reader knows where to look to find out more information about what is in the

Magazine, but unlike some magazines I did not list loads and loads of different articles in the

Magazine, as I did not want to bombard the viewer into buying it, I put a few simple items that I

believe will fit the target audience.

Main image

My main image is the background of the whole of the front page, which is typical to normal

conventions of magazines, with only a few objects in the way of the main image, this shows the

audience that the main item in this magazine is the person on the front over. The clothing that

she is wearing is typical to the audience that this magazine is aimed at, this plays on the

stereotypical conventions that many magazines have.

The contents

The contents typical are on this side of the page, I decided to keep to

This convention as it made it very clear what is inside the magazine, I

Made a key point of using the guitars as bullet points to fit in with the

house style, again using the drop shadow effect on the writing and the

page numbers, most magazines if not all have an house style effect as

this seems to make the reader recognise a magazine, but I would of

liked to attempted making a magazine without a house style and

experimented with the results, as this would make it more unique.

Teaser

I decided to put in a teaser on a contents page as stereotypical this is

not done in this style of magazine it is normal near the back of the

magazine or the page after the contents, I also did this to encourage

the reader to buy the magazine in the future, therefore creating a

viewer who will regularly buy my magazine

The main image

For my contents I went against conventions and decided to have one

main image which is different to most contents pages of similar styles which have more

than one image to show the range of items in their magazine, where as I chose to show

that Amy is the main item in the magazine but with having the contents bigger shows the

other items are key to the magazine as well.

The Layout

The layout is different to most magazines as they generally have an image on one side and

text on the other, or a similar layout to that, I decided not to do this and to have the main

image take up he majority of the background, I also decided to have bigger text sizes than

normal as this made it more unique and recognisable to a regular reader. I included little

details that will enhance the link to the front page and the contents, for example the “white

box” which is on all of the other pages, this is a typical conventions of most similar

magazines also I included the music notes that are on the front page, to again link it back,

keeping it to typical conventions of a prominent house style.

The main image

On most magazines in the DPS they have an image of the artist/ band but it is normal to have the photo of the whole of their body, I chose not to do this, but to have a close up of the artist, I also composed this photo to have “2011” in it as this magazine would of came out in the new year, meaning it was relevant, which happens in most magazines around important dates around the year.

Masterheadthe font fits into the house style of the magazine and the target audience, I put a dropshadow on it and the picture to give the impression it fades which will make the page all together seem more fitting.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The artist image is key to any magazines, mainly because if they recognise the artist, they will buy it, but there are several other reasons, for example the clothing, here she is wearing a rather “emo” “gothic” outfit which means that anyone who sees it may relate to her clothing or have a similar clothes or wishes too, but if it is a boy it could be attraction to her that encourages him to buy the magazine. The pull quotes I used also help the picture for example on the front page, the mention of “him” makes the reader wonder who it is, weather that's a boyfriend or a romance. The language is informal and very “chatty” which gives the impression that the artist is a “normal” person which relates to the target audience, who generally are not that educated, or do not like formal language.

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

I would like Bauer media to publish my magazine as it has a multiplatform company, which means that it would give more opportunities to the magazine, also host some of the rival magazines against mine for example Kerrang, this means that there is a possibility of “linking” or using their audience base to extend our own target audience, as the magazines are similar they have a parallel target audience, the publishers will already have experience in this area. They have been running for a long while therefore bring more experience

Who would be the audience for your magazine?

I started with making a mood board for my target audience to give me ideas and inspiration

This is a summary of my target audience for my magazine

Age = 14-18 Gender =  Mostly Male & some female Class = middle class Style of music = indie-rock/ alternative rock type of education = in college or alternative Interests & Hobbies = I expect my target audience to have a strong interest in the type of music they enjoy, i expect them to have hobbies such as fashion (indie style), i also think they would go to see live bands often. I predict that they will be interested in new and up-coming bands. I think they will enjoy lots of personal interviews with bands and artist both about their career and personal life. They are very bold and unique, have a large social group meaning they are socialising often. Most likely to be part of a social networking site, they mainly use the internet to find music, but also mp3/ipod. They will listen to music though-out the day, but at least once a day.

Audience feedback

Out of the ones that filled in my survey of my magazine on survey monkey the majority was female, this was surprising but this could be due to the fact that, most of them were of my Facebook where most are female, I think given the chance again I would get more feedback, via email and personally telling people

Most of the age group that I wanted filled in my survey this should give me good feedback from an audience that I was aiming to reach, which will help me understand if I have got the style of the magazine right

I was pleased with the response here, as it was mostly positive, even the slightly negative ones were just because they did not like that type of music which is understandable, as not everyone likes the same magazine. I’m glad that they said it looks “funky and vibrant” as this was one of my aims.

As well as Media, I also take photography, I believe that getting the photography right, can make a magazine or ruin it. The feedback I got was very positive, and I agree it could have been improved by the lighting of the photos and the lack of colour. I would of liked to reshoot the photo’s but having limited time I couldn’t. They said that the photos do fit the style of the magazine which is another key area in this type of magazine

What I learnt in this course is the impotents of house style, I made a point of keeping a prominent house style, I was a little disappointed with not having a very detailed feedback but when I did a hand written questioner I got more detailed feedback which will be shown later in this slideshow.

My research that I done before making the magazine, showed me that readers wanted more reviews, new bands & unsigned bands, therefore I put all 3 of these on my front cover or contents to make sure I gave the audience want they wanted, I was pleased with the feedback that they noticed it and it was what the audience wanted.

Good points from written questioner (front cover)

“Good layout-picture is centred in the middle – concentration drawn to the image”

“Photography is great, with the red it very bold and eye catching”

“appealing good use of font”

Improvement points from written questioner (front cover)

“name of mag hard to read”

“possibly to many types of text used”

Good points from written questioner (contents)

Improvement points from written questioner (contents)

“I think white maybe a bit to bold of colour for this magazine”

“pictures a little too dark”

“I like the guitar bullet points, user friendly and the one pull quote looks good”

“really cool layout” “well presented with well thought out images & text”

Good points from written questioner (DPS)

Improvement points from written questioner (DPS)

“clear and easy to read” “clear article, grabs attention” “I like how there's a picture

one side and text the other”

“picture is a little too dark” “wired having different text sizes”

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

I have learnt a lot about technology over the course the biggest item I have learnt is how to use photoshop, I knew basic skills before, but now I have learnt more detail about how to use it, and the endless possibilities this creates in terms of magazine design, I learnt how to use blogs which I had never done which I will use in the future, I learnt how important the internet is in this industry for marketing and more. Facebook is important way of getting feedback as this gives you a wide access to a range of audience & email is another way of getting feedback that gives a wider range.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learn in the progression from

it to the full product

Looking back on the preliminary task I have made a lot of process, I have learnt to plan more, and experiment more, the important of audience feedback is also something I have learnt, and understand the target audience is key. Having a reader profile is also key to the process, again I have learnt more on photoshop, and how to use a blog. Another way I have progressed is by learning how important house style is.

Overview

Overall I have worked hard to make this magazine, I also have hit all the deadlines and worked hard to get it to a high stranded, I did have some days which I missed due to illness and a trip, but I worked hard to catch up and managed to complete it in time.