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

products?

My magazine use’s many conventional techniques of real media magazines, for example; bar code, title, interview, contents page, colour scheme, people, layout, extras and posters.

Evaluation

Bar Code

I have added a bar code to my magazine to make it more authentic. With my bar code I have added at the bottom the price which is £2.50, the date of the magazine and the issue no. This will also make it look more authentic. Whilst creating my bar code I looked at other music magazines bar codes and that’s how I got the idea to add the extra details at the bottom.

Title

I added a title to my magazine to draw the audiences attention, I made it this style because it was bold enough to grab the readers attention. Also with this title I wanted it to stand out enough that if you saw it you would automatically know it was from the rock magazine I created. It also makes the magazine unique, which makes it stand out from other magazines. I have followed typical magazine conventions of having the title at the top of the front cover covering the top, from left to right. This title also reflects the type of magazine I have created which is rock, it represents this genre because it is bold and because of the white streaks throughout the word. Also the name ‘PARANOIA’ would appeal to my target audience.

Interview

I found writing the interview for the double page spread hard to start, but after researching other magazine interviews online and look at hard copies in front of me, I found it easy to type up an interview. It made me look at life threw a different perspective and give the artist I created an interesting background and past. I found by doing this I could connect with the image I was trying to create for my target audience, which would help draw them into the interview.

Colour Scheme

By using this colour scheme it made my magazine stand out more. It would appeal to my target audience and it fit my theme well. These colours complement each other, which makes my magazine look better, more professional and more authentic. It also makes my magazine more visually appealing than magazines with colours that don’t suit each other and are to bright or bold.

Contents Page

For my contents page I used the idea of having the content of the magazine with the page numbers on the right side of the page. I made them content bold enough to catch the readers eye and easy to read. I also stuck with the colour scheme like the rest of the magazine pages. I used images along the sides to draw the readers attention. I used the images as little advertisements, for example; the top left image is advertising an interview with ‘Roxie’ on page 47 and the bottom left image is advertising posters on page 30. I feel I could’ve added more to my contents page but I like how it fits in with the rest of my magazine the clean, minimalistic look and it has the same colour scheme and font as the rest of the magazine.

People

I have used my own images throughout this magazine, I have used three different models. I used Caitlin as my main model, she was my new upcoming artist ‘VIXEN’. Caitlin is my cover artist on my front page, she’s on a album cover on the contents page and she’s the artist on the double page spread. Then my second model is Hayley who I used for an advertisement on the contents page for an interview with another female artist called Roxie. My third model was Tayla who was a advertisement for a poster later on in the magazine. I used these three models because they fit the genre of my magazine and to help put across a professional magazine, to make it look more authentic.

Layout

From doing all my research before designing my magazine I knew that the first glance of a magazine will often decide whether we will buy the magazine or not. So I wanted my magazine to look good so when my target audience glance at the magazine I want them too want to look more and to buy the magazine. The first glance of the magazine is based on the front cover. So I knew the layout of my front cover had to be good. I added all the conventional things a magazine has to my front cover, such as a mast head, skyline, slogan, main image, anchorage text, sell lines, price and bar code. Looking at my front cover now I think it would attract my target audiences attention and draw them to buy it. It fits in with my theme and genre well. I used the magazine UNCUT to help design my front cover, as it has that simple, minimalistic and clean look I was aiming for.

Extras

For my contents page I created an album cover for my main cover artist. I used in my contents page to advertise the double page spread interview on that artist. This gave my magazine more of a professional look because in every other magazine I researched they had an advertisement for a new album coming out. Also it added to the double page spread by adding the album that they were talking about in the beginning, which advertised it more.

Posters

I was advertising free posters that come with my magazine to promote and encourage people to buy my magazine. I advertised the free posters on the front cover and on the contents page. By advertising a free product more people will be inclined to spend £2.50 on the magazine because they will think that they are getting more free than they are paying for. From advertising the free poster on the front cover it will encourage more people to buy the magazine with their first glance, because they will see they bold word saying ‘FREE’.

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups ?

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

4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

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

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