Question 7; Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Front Cover.

When I compare my the standard of my preliminary task to the standard of my finished magazine I think that my skills with software have developed massively as the standard of my finished product is much higher than my preliminary. On my preliminary there is a limited colour scheme and there is no house style because everything is doesn't fit together. In my preliminary task I made a very silly mistake of not taking my own image from the front cover, this meant that the picture was taken landscape and not portrait. This caused major issues for me when I began editing the image and fitting it with the conventions of the magazine as getting the right A4 shape of a tradition magazine was very hard, especially without damaging the image. I used a simple image but because I didn't have the Photoshop skills that I developed during my Music magazine the cover of my preliminary did suffer. On my preliminary task the mast head and cover lines are boring, there is no real eye catching material on there, the image is a young male on a white background with red and black text in a plain font. On the front cover of music magazine I did used a plain background but I had an image that is challenges the conventions of most magazine photography because she has her back to camera and is looking over her shoulder, because I had developed my Photoshop skills while working on this magazine and I took all of the images myself the photography in this magazine is much better.

The masthead and cover lines for this magazine are much more interesting, yes I kept the red and black colour scheme but I chose fonts that created the house style that is present on my contents page and my double page spread. At the beginning of my preliminary I had very little knowledge on camera angles and lighting within the image and what would make a good image, that is why I didn't take the images myself. However by the time that I came to take the pictures I had two practice photo shots and used these to gain the correct lighting and to see what poses I wanted my model to use. I also has access to a high quality camera and this clearly shown in the photography. The preliminary task was useful to allow me to gain some experience in using the software, however I found that what the exam bored had asked me to do was definitive. They stated on the coursework information that it was to be a college/school magazine and they also gave you a recommendation on how the image for the front cover should be. However with my music magazine I found that I had a lot more freedom, I could select my own genre and decided on my choice of photography and mise en scene. The audience for the preliminary task was very broad, you were not just creating a magazine for the students. You were  creating one for the parents and for the teachers, so the images had to be correct for all of those different opinions. In my music magazine I didn’t have to worry about this as much because I have created a magazine that only appeals to a specific audience.

   Contents.

On my preliminary task I used the same text for the whole page to link the page together which looks quite boring. I also used minimal text on the contents with no description of anything and 3 images which don’t really link together and because I didn’t explain anything you have no idea which image goes with an article. However there is a lot of unused space and because of this it doesn’t look professional. My magazine contents page is a lot more professional because I used the space effectively and used smaller images and went into a little more depth in explaining things on the contents giving the reader more information, making it more effective and professional looking. In the preliminary task there isn’t really a house style as nothing really goes together, but on the music magazine the smaller images mixed with the gothic text and the colour scheme of black, white and red that creates the house style that my preliminary didn’t have. The development of my skills for programs like publisher really shows when you compare the two contents pages as one is laid out and looks professional because of the research that I did on contents pages. The photography used in both contents pages is completely different and this is one key thing that I have learnt. High quality photography is key to any published magazine and the reason that my preliminary didn’t look professional is because the lighting and the angles of the images was wrong and I had learnt how to correct this by the time I came to do the photography for my music magazine.

Double page spread. 

As I didn't have to create a double page spread for my preliminary task I have nothing to compare my music magazine’s double page spread to. However I did continue with the house style that I developed on my front cover and the same colour scheme of black, white and red but on the article I used grey which works well and doesn't go away from the rock style that my magazine is in. The photography used for this is a massive improvement from what was used in my preliminary task. I did find that when I came to create my double page spread I didn't have any experience which made it a little harder. With the cover and the contents I have a rough idea as to my mistakes and had a rough idea on how to improve them. I took influences from the research I did on Kerrang and NME but I did make small mistakes that took a while to correct and this was due to lack of experience. This is one thing that I can criticise myself on, although I did to a lot of research I didn't look hard enough at the actual structure and content of the double page spread and because of this my article for my double page spread was week until I improved it and made it fit the idea of the character that I created

Areas of improvement and criticism.

During the process of making my music magazine I learnt various new skills with publisher and how to work to software effectively and use text, borders, resizing images and make the cover look of a better quality. I also learnt how to isolate pixels and edit them to improve the quality of the image its self, however I learnt that to do this you need a camera that captures each individual pixel rather than grouping them together. This is a skill that you really do need the right equipment for.  I was also taught how to use photography lights, flashes, flash cables, backgrounds and zoom correctly as well as how to use the lighting effectively, correct camera angles and how important the positions and outfits are for the models.

I have learned a lot about doing background research in an area before I do any kind of project. I learnt that it is important to know everything about the magazine industry and the conventions of music magazines before I went into my project otherwise I would of created a magazine that was completely wrong. I am aware that I could of done more research on double page spreads, but because I had also read a fair few music magazines I felt that I was very familiar with the layout and the usual content. My improvement on my Publisher and Photoshop skills is something that I will be able to use again. I am also very happy with the depth of the skills as I can use them for other media based products.

I think that I spent to much time on my front cover, I a lot of time trying to fill a large amount of space work, mainly above her head. I wasn't to keen on the idea of cropping and readjusting the size of the image because there is a possibility that it can change the clarity of your image, however in the end I did crop and change the size of the image but I did edit it on Photoshop to sharpen up the image.

My time management was a bit of,  I found that I spend a lot of time trying to make smaller things work such as spacing on contents rather than analysing and ordering the information. The amount of time that I spent on the front cover is a lot, although in the end I did make it work, I learnt that a lot of space on a magazine cover doesn't always work and that the model needs to be the biggest image on there.

I have also learnt a lot about the current magazine industry and the ways of producing a magazine and how certain features can appeal to certain target audience and sub cultures more than others. I learnt this by contrasting and comparing certain magazines and their target audiences and what they have put in their magazine to create the mass fan based that these magazines have. I did not include certain things like a subscription and advertising a website. I also limited the content to just music as oppose to magazines like 'Rolling Stone' that include politics and reviews, by doing this I now realise that I did limit my target audience drastically as some people do like a mix of certain things in a magazine and I wouldn't of attracted this subculture and this could be a criticism.

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

While creating my Music magazine I have learnt how to use many different types of software the first was Microsoft Publisher. I learnt how to insert and crop a photo, as well as add a professional look to my images that I used in my magazine by adding borders when necessary. I also found the choice of colours for text and background as well as borders very helpful. It was through using the colour chart that I decided on the colour scheme for my magazine. I also learnt how to change and edit the size of text as well as group sections of text together so that I am able to fit text together like I did on my contents, with the title and subtitle arranged next to the number.

I have learnt how to use Photoshop CS3 version to edit my photography. Using Photoshop was made a lot easier because of the type of camera that I used. When the Cannon takes the image it identifies each individual pixel and captures the colour to make it brighter rather than other cameras that some other camera that blend pixels together. This causes the colours with in the image to not as bright and the image is not as accurate and clear as it could be.
 I learnt how to duplicate the background layer of my image, this is important as you are able to make small adjustments to anything in the background of the image that you don’t like or need. From then on you can add each layer to your image so you are able to take anything out and clear up any part of each layer of the image so that it makes a clearer image.
I also learnt how to make automatic image adjustments, this is were you are able to enhance the colours within the image. So you are able to take the mid-tones of the image and make them stand out, it is also able to affect the shadowed areas and make them stand out or blend in.
I didn’t realise how much changing the emphasis of the curves can have an effect on your image, in the beginning I was just seeing how some automatic adjustments could have an effect on the image. I learnt how to change the contrast from media to strong and the effect of the intensity of the lines in the image. I also learnt that you can impact the highlighted, mid-tone and shadow areas separately so that you can balance up all areas of your image.
I learnt how to isolate pixels within the image and make some of them brighter and others darker so that this can make the contrast of my image. However the contrast of some digital images can damage the contrast of the image, although it does need the editing to much can makes the image loose detail.
I also used Photoshop to crop and resize the image, but I did not use the option to have a border inserted around my image and this is because I preferred the wider options that publisher had for the choice of borders compared to choice that Photoshop had.

I used A Cannon EOS 600D Camera and the Isle of Man College Photography Studio to take my pictures, In the beginning I was unfamiliar with what I was doing but by the time I reached my third photo-shoot I was a lot more comfortable with the equipment and this is why the quality of the the pictures like the lighting was more accurate and the poses were better, I used images from the third photo-shoot throughout my magazine.

Question 5; How did you attract/address your audience.

I have attracted my audience by using consistent colours throughout the magazine creating the house style which makes my magazine appealing to both males and females of my specific target audience, which is anyone between the ages of 16-25 that has an interest in Rock Music.

 I used cover lines that my target audience would find attractive, such as 'Download Headliners' to inform them what is going on in the area of music that they are interested in. I would also included many free posters within my magazine, this may appeal to some of my target audience as they may be on a low income and are not able to afford to by posters so by including them free with the magazine it makes it more appealing to certain groups within my target audience. I have also priced my magazine fairly cheaply so that those on a low income can afford it at a price of £3.50.

The text throughout my magazine is easy to read which will attract an audience and fan base for my magazine. I have used language in my magazine that is relatively the same as what my target audience would use. I have chosen not to use inappropriate language because although my target audience is 16 - 25 year old but there is a chance that some people interested in this genera may also buy a copy. I think that it would be a bad influence for them to be reading a magazine with explicit language. I haven't used basic English either, I have used slightly complex language so that my audience do not feel unintelligent and that the magazine is childish. The font is reasonably sizes throughout the magazine an they are considered to be mature and I didn't want to insult my audience by making any area of the magazine childish. I also made the content of the stories with informal language and the layout easy to read as most 16 - 25 year are constantly on the go.

Question 4; Who would be the audience for your media product.

The target audience for the magazine I have created 'Rock Sounds' would be between 16 - 25 year old's and it is aimed at both females and males that have any interest in rock music as my magazine covers all types of rock from Indie to Heavy Metal. As my magazine is aimed at 16 - 25 year old's I wouldn't expect them to have a high expendable income as this age is the most common for students, there is also few 16 - 25 year old's in highly paid jobs based on the current economy. I have priced my magazine fairly cheaply so that they will be able to afford it.

My cover model is a young attractive female in a typical 'Rock Chick' outfit, this allows both males and females to relate to my magazine and find it appealing. The men find her attractive because of the amount of flesh that is shown in the cover image as well as the choice of outfit. They may also be interested in her attitude as she has a fun, in your face kind of attitude but also gives the impression that she is much more one of the lads rather than one of the modern girls. She is a girl that is into rock music and has the personality that goes with it, as oppose to someone who is labelled as 'girly'. The females will also find her interesting as they can relate to her and they can use her as a role model for looks, make-up and being individual. The use of bold colours and text on the front allowing the target audience to be attracted to it and it would ease them if it is instantly recognisable and is easy to find when they are on the go and in a rush.

The social groups that a represented in my magazine are broadly ranged because of its varied content of Rock Music and the age of my target audience. The social groups may be, College Students, University Students, Musicians, Goth's, However the the age is also a social group because age 16 - 18 is going to have different interests to 23-25 and males and females are also going to have different interests. The images I have used are different for the 'Rock Genre' as they are of a female and this is genre of music that dominated by males. However mise en scene of the image fits with the genre of the music.

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

  A media institution such as Bauer Media may distribute my magazine around the U.K. They are a very successful company as they publish 323 magazines in 15 different countries, as they are a company that specialises in media distribution and already publish and distribute many magazines of different kinds including music magazines. Bauer Media are successful company who already distribute magazines such as Q and Kerrang! these magazines have a massive fan base and are respected magazines so this could help my magazine form a base like this as there is currently a gap in the market that my magazine would fill, creating a niche of fans for my magazine and attracting more customers.


My magazine would fill a gap in the current market of Rock Music Magazines. My magazine takes the classic rock artist and there music from the 70’s and 80’s and combines it with the modern rock music that is in the charts and it also has a section for introducing brand new acts as well as looking at what some of the biggest names in rock history are doing now, this is taking the old rock and giving a modern 21st century twist. Other magazines in the market look at either all of the new rock, or combine Rock music with other types of music and have areas for Television, Cinema and Video game reviews and other such things. There is no magazine that is like mine out there and as such there is an audience already there because it can appeal to so many people as well as attract artist to want to be featured in it because of how the magazine mixes all different styles and sub genera’s of Rock and puts them all in one place for people to get easy access to.

The main areas that I would have my magazine distributed in is shops situated near schools, colleges, universities, town centres and areas were there is a high population of people aged 16 - 25. This would make it easier for my target audience to find and purchase the magazine without them having to go out of their usual area to find a copy. I would also possibly consider putting my magazine in a chain supermarket such as Tesco’s as this makes it more assessable to certain people who live a distance away from other areas. I would also consider having an on-line copy which would be at a slightly less cost and advertise it on social networking sites such as Facebook and twitter as the internet is a massive tool of distribution and is one of the easiest things to access and is one of the main places people get access to music.

Question 2; How does your media product represent particular social groups.

My media product represents particular social groups because when I did my market research I reviewed what I had found about the content, layout ect of the magazine. I made sure that the magazine I created would be something that is appealing and interesting in ways on content for someone who is interested in the subculture of ‘Rock Music’.

In my research I found that each magazine that I analysed had slight differences in the layout from issue to issue in the means of cover lines, and smaller images on the front cover, but each issues is still recognisable by the fans because of the house style and colour scheme which is key to developing a fan base that will instantly recognise your magazine. I also noticed that the more attractive the person is on the front cove of the magazine the more people then become interested in buying it. I also noticed that people on the front of magazine tend to either be young between 18 – 25 or are someone that the youth of today would recognise because this means that they will be attracted to buy the magazine.

As people are more likely to purchase a magazine with an attractive model on the front cover I chose a good looking model, and I didn’t do it by accident. By picking a young, attractive female model that fits the image of the subculture that I am trying to appeal to I am going to sell my magazine. The amount of flesh that I am showing on my front cover is because men are going to find that attractive, you can also see the outline of her chest area and is wearing a corset which is usually associated with underwear and this is going to make men sexually intrigued and attracted to her. I also made the image look fun, with the fact that her mouth is open and smiling and it appears that she is shouting something, so even if men do not find her sexually attractive they think that she looks fun and would be a laugh to go out with. I made the point of not making her look like a traditional female because that is not what people interested in this type of music are interested in, this is why females interested in this genera of music will also find her attractive. In the front cover image my model does look individual, but her hair and make-up are very well done, this is something that the girls can relate to and they will want to look like her because she is so individual and has a lot of attention because of it.

As my model is quite young she is going to appeal to my target audience of 16 – 25 year olds that are both male and female and are interested in the Rock music sub culture. The way my colour scheme and mise en scene has been done on the front cover automatically makes it eye catching. I have done everything to make my magazine appealing to the target audience which consists of rock music fans like, Heavy Metal, Classic Rock, Punk, Indie. My magazine caters for all of these styles and more because of the vast range of material and interviews and coverage I have chosen for it.

There is a chance that my magazine my also appeal to slightly older fans of rock music, as I have featured older rock artist such as ‘Slash, Bryan May, Iron Maiden’. The idea of ‘Rock Sounds’ is that it incorporates new chart rock music and older classic rock artist to try and appeal to as many people as possible. As well as broaden the audiences taste in Rock Music.

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

Front Cover

My media magazine project follows most of the real magazine conventions. This is because it has been based on other Rock music magazines; this means that my magazine does not challenge any of the conventions of the Music magazine market. However my magazine does make them a little more interesting, especially the mast head. The font that I have used is ‘Parchment’ this is quite a classic historical font which suggests an element of old school rock and roll instead of the modern rock that we see in most of the other music magazines, however the idea of putting a female on the front cover takes it from being classic rock and gives it a twenty first century twist because this is traditionally a male dominated music genera and it is rare to see any solo female rock artists on the front cover without any male presence. I chose this font and the image because it reflects the content of my magazine with mixing old school rock legends like ‘Slash’ and ‘Bryan May’ with modern acts such as ‘Drowning pool’. It is also quite striking and eye catching because it is not the type of font that any one besides my target audience would expect to find on a modern music magazine. The title of my magazine is ‘Rock Sounds’ and I have chosen to put it in white which makes it stand out from the rest of the house style and the colour scheme of black, grey and red. The cover of my magazine contains the use of bold title and mast heads in a different font and colour, this is because I am making a statement that these people are featured in the article and by changing the font to a ‘copperplate gothic light’ it keeps the rock image and gives it on edgy look that I am going for. The colours go with the colour scheme of the models corset which makes the whole cover work, I have developed a house style with the unique mast head and the black and red featured all over my colour scheme is also something that makes my magazine stand out. I have used bold titles and mastheads on the front cover and within the magazine its self. Therefore the reader of the magazine can clearly see all of the text within the magazine as the content is legible to read and the important parts of the magazine content and information on the front cover are bold and in different colours to make them stand out.


The image that I have used on my front cover challenges the conventions of a rock music magazine because of the fact that she has had her back to the camera and is in the process of turning while looking over her shoulder. This isn’t a traditional image of a woman, normally they are head on and look very posed and professional, were as this isn’t. This image is also showing a lot of flesh because of the nature of the outfit, the mise en scene in the image is something that I took a lot of time over. I tried to create this artist that would appeal to my target audience because she looks like someone who would be fun on a night out as well as someone that girls can want to look like and someone that males find attractive. I know that to challenge the way woman are seen in this genera of music the image has to be different and that is what I had to show and why I chose to challenge the conventions in this way.

My magazine uses the presence of cover lines to advertise of information/stories available within the magazine. I have used a bold title with a unique font and a bright bold colour which helps to create the house style and colour range. This presentation on my magazine shows that I have followed the conventions of a published magazine; I know this because they use the same conventions to represent their magazines as each one is recognisable because of their house style.
My magazine contains an issues date, but it does not have a bar code. A published magazine would contain both of these necessary conventions on their magazine, as these are necessities. I have not followed these conventions, however when I looked through my research I noticed that very few magazine have the bar code on the front cover, I decided to agree with this because it seemed to just throw of the whole balance of the front cover and didn’t not match the colour scheme.

My magazine contains a unique logo that stands out and is significant, it is placed with in the left third of the masthead, a customer browsing the stand for the magazine would easily be able to recognise is. I have followed this magazine convention as I have shown a professional and needed convention towards the layout of the front cover of my magazine.

Contents

I have followed the conventions by including the name ‘contents’ on the page and I have kept the same colour scheme as my front cover and this is to aid the creation of the house style. I have toned the red down slightly so that it is easier to read as consistently bright colours throughout the magazine can be harsh on the eyes. The contents is in page number order, which makes it easier for readers to find anything that they are interested in.

In all the contents pages I analysed there were smaller images that were linked to other important articles within the magazine, these often have a page number a name and a small quote about the content of the article. I have used this convention by adding 5 smaller images and one bigger image, I have made the larger image on the contents of ‘Drowning Pool’ rather than of ‘Mutiny’ I think that highlighting that there are other articles in the magazine is important, and I also noticed that this was quite common in published magazines.

There is a mix of gender on my contents page and I have done this for a specific reason, in the contents pages I analysed I noticed that most of the photography was of males. I am trying to create a twenty first century twist with my magazine, I am trying to show that women are not only fans of rock music but are also able to produce and be involved with it. It is a traditionally male dominated genera, however it does have a large female fan base and it is something that not many people are aware of as most of the target audience for magazines such as ‘Kerrang’ and ‘Q’ are males.

A contents page of a published magazine is usually laid out a little different to mine. I have challenged the conventions of this layout but it still looks professional and organised. The content of my contents page is ranged from font size 10 - 14 with the page numbers being the biggest as they are the most important and the name of each article being the second biggest and the numbers are situated before them so the readers are able to find certain sections of the magazine quickly and easily. Many of the magazines that are published follow this convention precisely which is why a lot of them look similar.


The only convention that I have not bothered to stick with is the advertising of a subscription as I have targeted my magazine at the general working and middle class so I am aiming for them to spend their disposable income is enough to cover the cost of my magazine.

Double Page Spread 

One of the pages is a full image featuring the name of the artist. I have intended this to be a poster that can be removed from the magazine this is why I have included the name of the artist on the image, but I have done it in the same font that was featured on the front cover that the magazine name was written in. The font is really unusual as I have said before and by putting it on the pull out poster I am trying to show that people do recognise the house style of the font and they will know which magazine that it came out of. Similar images to mine are often published in music magazines, this shows that my images meet the professional conventions to a high standard. My image is similar to the cover image (meaning it is easy for people to know who the article is about and that this is also the cover story), apart from the model is now looking down at you. This is a different angle and perspective meaning that the photography is different and the readers do not get bored with similar images. The second image is of her on her knees swearing at the camera, I have created this character in my magazine and I was her to be seen as someone who isn’t your everyday pop act, the idea is that people like her because of her attitude and the fact that she is almost like rebel. I chose the name ‘Mutiny’ as it suggests standing up against authority and fighting for what you want. Her attitude is reflected in the images and this is how I wanted the mise en scene to be. I am trying to show that the old school rock conventions of males with long hair, tattoos and leather can be mixed with the new 21st century rock that combines females with unique fashion and attitude. However although this does challenge some of the conventions of double page spreads I have also challenged them by not giving credit to any photographer on any of the images this gives my magazine a less professional look.


There is not an overlap of the main image on this spread, however there is a smaller image on the other page that does take a large up some of the text space which I thought would challenge the conventions. When I looked over my research of double page spreads I found that compared to published magazines I have fewer images and more text. I found that a lot of double page spreads usually have 5 or 6 images and a smaller amount of text, usually only key parts of an interview. This is a convention that I have challenged, but it does still give a professional impression.

My colour scheme is still present within the double page spread. It is slightly different shades of the colour but it is still effective and within the house style. The text is in the same colour scheme as the front cover; however the artist name is in grey instead of red, which is slightly different but still fits in with the colour scheme and is not unheard of in published magazines. I have chosen to put the name of the artist on the image rather than above the article so that people know that this is definitely her and that if they do decided to remove the image and use it in a poster it is still possible to know which magazine it came from and who the person is.

Traditionally an article on a double page spread, has the columns are divided up into 3, I found this in my research mainly in ‘Kerrang’. My magazine has changed this convention with 2 columns, however it does work well with the image that I have included and the answers are quite lengthy which means that the image to text ratio is well balanced. I have also chosen the traditional black font, which contrasts with my grey background; this therefore allows the reader to easily read through the article.