How did you attract/address your audience?

On my front cover I have used bright colours for each cover line which would appeal to my target audience.The sell lines all relate to a variety of music genres which the reader would give attention to because the target audience have an assorted music taste. The cover lines are short and sweet but give necessary information which the reader would then want to find out more about. The model I have chosen is young, fresh-faced and good-looking with an engaging look at the camera to draw the audience in. Her general style would engage the reader because my target audience have an interest in fashion and her summery dress would appeal to them but because she has strong facial features her attire does not detract away from her face. The fact that the cover artist is around the same age as that of the target audience would please and encourage them to buy the magazine as they would be able to relate to her and aspire to be like her.  

 

My contents page is also full of vibrant colour to capture the readers attention. It is designed to appeal to a older teenage/young adult female audience with the images of young, successful female artists, nightclubs and live festivals. The separate editor's letter located at the top of the page uses chatty, informal language so that the reader can relate to the editor and be engaged enough to carry on reading the magazine. The separation of each genre of music makes it easy for the reader to pick which features in which genres they'd be most interested in reading without them having to scan through lots of features.

The language used in my double page spread is all colloquial too, as it has been throughout the other pages. The artist's answers are down to earth so that the reader can relate to them which will encourage them to carry on reading the feature. As previously mentioned, the artist is of the same age as the target audience so this interview would appeal to them as they could see what other people their age are doing with their lives and it may inspire them to know other people's success. The images i've selected show the artist as someone dedicated to music as she plays the piano and guitar while also showing her as laid-back where she is sitting on the breakfast bar in her own home.  This would appeal to the reader as it shows that the artist is just an easy-going person who loves what she does. The colour scheme of the page is evidently pink and black which therefore attracts a mostly female audience.

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

Looking back to my preliminary task I can recognise that I have progressed in terms of photography, page structure, layout and research and planning. The preliminary task looks amateur and unstructured with no clear layout whereas my main task has a clear and obvious masthead, more than 3 cover lines, a barcode, and more than one image. The fact that in my main task there are several cover lines shows that I have learnt there shouldn’t be a large amount of blank space like there is in my preliminary task. The fonts I have used in my music magazine front cover all vary, unlike in my preliminary task where the fonts are all similar making the front cover dull. The fact that I’ve realised that a variety of fonts is more appealing to the reader shows that I have learnt from research that this is the best way to assemble my music magazine front cover. As well as the variety of fonts I have used an array of colours for the typeface instead of just sticking to just three key colours as is evident on my preliminary task. I feel it attracts the reader to the front cover and in fact looks more professional than on my preliminary task where every cover line is in a childish purple oval. I have learnt that the types of images should look professional so that they don’t have a background which distracts away from the subject as is visible in my preliminary task. The white background in my main task on the front cover makes the model used stand out with the colours on her dress.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

A typical reader of my music magazine would be female and an older teenager or a young adult. They don’t have one specific genre of music that they listened to and instead like a variety. Although music would obviously appeal to the reader enough to buy a music magazine, they are interested in other things too such as music artists’ styles and fashion statements. The typical reader would shop at high street clothes shops such as Topshop and River Island, comparing their style to that of music artists. The reader would like live music and go to concerts to see artists or bands such as Rihanna or Kings of Leon. Due to the fact that the typical reader would be an older teenager or young adult they’d enjoy the club scene whether it’s in the UK or on holiday. This type of person would eat chocolate occasionally and always be on their phones or Ipods listening to music and keeping in touch with friends. The language used in my magazine is informal and conversational because it would be read as part of the reader’s leisure time.

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

My media production was created in Microsoft Publisher because I am familiar with the program so thought I’d be able to use my prior knowledge of it to produce my magazine. I didn’t learn anything new about this Microsoft program as I have been using it for a number of years. However there was something new that I learnt about technologies, this being the blog we had to do on the site www.blogspot.com and how to use the camera ‘Canon Powershot s5i’. I have never blogged before so wasn’t familiar with how to write them, I didn’t enjoy blogging my progress on this media production, however if I was to blog about issues not connected to school then I might appreciate this technology more. I’ve never used the camera Canon Powershot s5i before due to the fact that I have my own camera. Despite this, I chose to use this particular camera as it has more megapixels at 8 than my camera which only has 5 megapixels so the quality of the photo is likely to be better. I took photos in both portrait and landscape and I also took advantage of the flash on the camera. I felt that the photos I got were of a higher quality than they would have been if I’d used my own camera. To edit the photos I’d taken I used the program Picasa 3 which I have on my computer at home. I was already familiar with this program and unaccustomed to Photoshop so this is the one I used. I cropped the photos, lightened them, highlighted them, used redeye and also retouched them. Overall I think the program edited my photos well.

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

My magazine represents the reader as being a person who has an eclectic music taste identified by the references to rock music, pop, dance, hip-hop, and acoustic on the front cover. The readers’ of this magazine would enjoy live music and this is clear because of the reference to a Rock Festival in Suffolk and a London concert by hip-hop band Unsung Divas, so music is represented as needing to be enjoyed live. My front cover artist is represented as both an acoustic singer and a musician identified by the fact that she is pictured with a guitar and has been referred to as a ‘solo artist’ on the front cover which has connotations of being a singer. This coupled with the fact that in a popular music magazine aimed at teens and young adults, artists who just played instruments and did nothing else wouldn’t be highly attractive to the audience. My reader as well as having a broad music taste would also take pride in their appearance which is represented by the attractive look of the two girls featured on the front cover.

 

I have separated each genre of music into columns and put them under headings so it is easier for the reader to find and then choose the feature in whichever genre they will be most attracted to. It is quite an organised layout while also being bright and fun which represents the reader as being these things too. Each heading such as ‘Pop’ have their own specific colour so it is easy to differentiate between the genres so the reader’s don’t have to put in a lot of effort into finding what they want as they would be reading this magazine leisurely, this is also conveyed by the colloquial language I have used on the contents page. The reader is represented as not only being interested in new music with the reference to ‘Ruby T’ but also old bands/ or artists which is shown by the comeback of the ‘Firecrackers’. Being fashion conscious is also how the reader is represented by the feature about styles and summer trends in orange. 

 

 The artist on my double page spread is represented as someone who is new to the music industry but successful, young and attractive. She is someone that the readers can be inspired by. The audience are represented as being up-to-date with new music and artists because of the mention of 'Pixie Lott & Katy Perry' in the introduction. The fact that the solo artist is at number one in the charts also represents the reader as a 'new music' fan.  The reader can relate to the artist because she also has a thing for shopping and fashion which is shown by the mention of Oxford Street. Lastly, the reader is represented as being technology savvy due to the mention of the artists album being available on Itunes.

Evaluation 1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Even the very nature of my magazine which includes a variety of music genres challenges codes and conventions of a typical music magazine front cover. Although my masthead does conform to the conventions of real media products such as NME magazine it does develop it by not being in a typical block colour. Instead, my masthead is in an urban style with a block of light colour behind it. The tagline underneath 'bringing you the BEST in new music' does conform to codes and conventions in terms of it's positioning. The barcode on my front cover is not in the typical place that you’d find it on other magazines as you can see by NME magazine. It is placed in this specific place due to where I have positioned my cover lines so anywhere else I would have tried to put it would have modified my layout in a way I didn’t want it. My main cover line is also atypical in its placing as they are usually found at the top so it is the first thing you read. Due to the position of my model it was not possible to place it there so instead it is on the left hand side at the bottom. I have no rhetorical questions on my front page although I do use exclamation marks a couple of times to convey the meaning that it is something you would be interested about. I have also included a command with ‘win tickets to Unsung Divas London Concert’. Lastly, the model or cover artist has strong eye contact with the camera which draws the reader in; this is typical of music magazines.

 

As well as my Front Cover, my Contents Page also uses the codes and conventions of a typical music magazine contents page while also challenging them too. I have used a Q magazine contents page to compare it too. In my contents page there are columns which are adhere to the codes and conventions and can also be seen in my example contents page. I again conform to codes and conventions by having a separate editor’s letter however I also develop these codes by adding an image of the editor which isn’t as common in music magazines as it is in gossip magazines such as ‘Heat’. The amount of columns I have challenge conventions because usually there would be a larger main image covering more of the page as is clear in the Q magazine and then just one column down the side with one underneath the main image. Instead I have three columns with colours separating genre’s as well as lines which I have not seen in other music magazines. My use of colour also challenges codes and conventions because a lot of other contents pages stick to a black font. I however, chose to use colour because my target audience would find this appealing and because the different genres needed to be clearly separated so as to make it clear to the reader which one was which. Due to my use of thumbnail images on my contents page I would say that I am conforming to codes and conventions because many other magazines have these, although the amount I have on the page may be an example of developing typicality as there are more of them than I have seen used in any other music magazine contents page.

 

 

My double page spread conforms to codes and conventions in that it is set out in columns which all magazines are. The interviewer and solo artist questions and answers are in different colours- in this case black and pink- so the reader can easily identify who is who. Another way I conformed is in the way I have a bright bold title to introduce the interview, it stands out to the reader and lets them know that the feature is going to be an 'Exclusive Interview'. I have page numbers for both pages of the double page spread which again conforms to conventions. The four images on my spread page also conform, firstly because of the number of them and secondly because of the variety of shots. I have used a close-up, a couple of mid-shots and a full length one of my solo artist sitting down, this makes the reader interested and not overwhelmed by the amount of text in the feature.

Finished Music Magazine Double Page Spread

My double page spread needed modifying in terms of:

• Where the images were positioned
• How big the images were
• Where the columns were
• How big the font was
• The language I used
• The slant of the artist's name
• Not having page numbers

 After I amended these faults I came up with my final double page spread creation:

Peer Evaluations of my Double Page Spread

Here are the peer evaluations I received which evaluate my double page spread. After reading both of these I modified my double page spread so that it had page numbers because this is what I was missing on my feature. I also changed some of the language I had used to make it more positive about the artist which is typical of music magazines. 

Finished Music Magazine Contents Page

In this blog you will see my final contents page for my music magazine, again I received some constructive criticism to help me improve it such as:

• Change wording of features
• Create columns with a structure within them to make it easier for the reader to understand
• Have more thumbnail images relevant to the features
• The position of some text like the date, needed to be moved.
• I needed to consistently put page numbers on the images I used as I had done this with some, but not others.
• My fonts used shouldn't have as much variety on the contents because they are typically simple fonts such as 'serif' so it is clear for the reader.
• I should split up the different genres not with boxes but with a subtle line.

Here is my finished contents page:

My contents page is typical because it has columns, however it is also out of the ordinary due to the variety of colours I have used to clearly separate the genres.

Finished Music Magazine Front Cover

After receiving some constructive criticism from my teacher such as:

• Change positioning of certain cover lines
• Change positioning and size of thumbnail images
• Rephrase some of the cover lines
• Other minor positioning issues

 I eventually came up with my final Music Magazine front cover, here it is:

 I am happy that I made the necessary adjustments as it gave me more space for clear cover lines. I am also glad I picked Megan for my front cover because I think she has a strong look and the target audience of this magazine would look up to her.

Manipulating my Images

Within Picasa 3 I used the cropping tool, lightening tool, retouch tool, black & white tool and highlighting tool to modify my photos.

  After using these tools I became satisfied with my manipulated photos, here they are:

Taking my Photos

My friend Megan agreed to be my model/cover artist for my magazine so I photographed her in a range of shots. A mid-shot for the front cover, a few close ups which I'd choose to put on the contents and double page spread and a full length sitting down image to also put in the interview pages. Here are my unmanipulated images:

 

I manipulated all of these images because of the unwanted shadows and lines. I took all of these photos with the 'Canon Powershot 5si' camera and then maniuplated them in Picasa.

Pencil Drawings/Mock ups of my 3 pages

For each of the pages I was going to create I first did a pencil drawing, just to get an idea of how I wanted them to look like. These weren't non-changeable and when I present my finished product in the blog it will be obvious that quite a few things were modified. Here are the pencil drawings:

 For the main image on my front cover I envisioned my model sitting down, holding a guitar but looking straight at the camera.

Here is my contents page. I aimed to take a picture of a guitar leaning on an amp and have four thumbnail images on the right side which related to features in the magazine.

Lastly here is my double page spread mock up. My idea is that it's going to be an interview and that there will be 4 images of the artist on the spread.

My Action Plan for my Music Magazine

I created an action plan so that I could gather my ideas together and shape what my magazine was going to be like. Here it is:

G321 Foundation Production: Action Plan

Name: Emily Cameron

What I plan to call the magazine: Fusion

I have chosen this name because I am going to include more than one genre of music as the charts will be featured in my magazine and the top 40 isn’t all ‘Indie’ for example.

My reader profile:  My magazine will predominately be for females of the age 16 and above. They will be interested in a variety of music genre’s not just one specific type so the UK charts will feature heavily in my magazine. As well as having a love for new music, they have an interest in fashion so get influenced by what music artists wear.

Collage for my typical reader:

 

Ideas for the front cover image:

I need a place to take the photo; I need to have a guitar which I have already prepared.  I also need to start choosing a font for my masthead and different fonts for my cover lines as well. I have already chosen my model for my front cover, who is female. She will be holding a guitar, which I already have prepared. The photo is going to be in a photography studio- so the background will be white, making my model stand out and therefore also making it easier for me to place my cover lines around the model because picking a font colour that shows up won’t be a problem. My masthead is going to be in a font from ‘www.dafont.com’ because there is a variety from which I can pick the most suitable; I haven’t chosen a specific font for my masthead yet.

What do I need to achieve this?

1.      White background

2.      A guitar

3.      A model

4.      Suitable attire

5.      Choose what make-up I’d like my model to wear

6.      Think of what pose I’d like my model to be in

7.      Choose a font for my masthead from ‘www.dafont.com’

Ideas for the main cover line and other sell lines (and tag line):

The main cover line will be about my solo artist on my front cover and how she is new and upcoming, and it will be about what she has done so far and what she is planning to play at an upcoming festival she is playing at. For other sell lines there will be information on how to survive at a music festival, what the current fashion is for music artists, how to win some concert tickets, and what new songs are out and in the charts.

Ideas for the contents page:

A white background with just a picture of a guitar leaning on an amp will be on the bottom right hand corner with the information about what features are included in the magazine. This is where the colour will come in so its not as boring. I will be trying to have around 20 features in the contents page.

What do I need to do to achieve this?

1. To think of 20 features I could place in the contents page.
2. To actually take a picture of a guitar leaning on an amp.
3. To choose what fonts and colours I am going to use
4. To choose the layout of all the different features I am going to include

Ideas for the double page spread – type of feature.

It will be related to my solo artist and how she is new in the music world, it will be like and interview.

What do I need to do to achieve this?

I need to create questions and answers for the interview that I am going to do.

After this action plan I made pencil drawings/mock ups of my front cover, contents page and double page spread to get an idea of where everything would be placed in relation to eachother.

Music Magazine Questionnaire Results

After receiving all my questionnaires back I compiled the results together to make them easier to read. Here they are:

Compiling Music Magazine Questionnaire Results

Question 1: Would you be interested in buying a music magazine?

 

Question 2: What type of music do you like?

Indie: 9 people                       People chose more than one type of music that they liked.

Rock: 6 people          

Rap: 5 people

Dance: 4 people

RnB: 11 people

Pop: 9 people

Country: 2 people

Everything: 2 people

Question 3: In relation to your answer to the previous question, what would you name the music magazine?

·         Inside Indie                                                              

·         Beats

·         Riff

·         Top Pop

·         Music Madness

·         Tunage

·         THE MUSIC MAGAZINE!

·         MUSIC4U!

·         Unplugged

·         Madmag

·         Rhythm

·         RRip mUsic

·         6 people weren’t sure what to call it

Question 4: What’s the maximum you’d be willing to pay for the magazine?

 

Question 5: Would you prefer features on older or newer music?

Question 6: What features grab your attention?

·         New and upcoming artists

·         Favourable artists

·         Music artist gossip

·         Catchy headlines

·         Attractive people on the front cover

·         Bright colours

·         New releases

·         Interviews with celebrities

·         Celeb Gossip

·         Top 40

·         Images

·         Posters

·         Funny features

·         Main article/ main image

·         Cover stories

·         Interviews and reviews

·         New singles/ albums

Question 7: What features would you particularly not be interested in?

·         Old bands

·         Boring ones

·         Instruments

·         Gossip

·         Stats of music sales

·         Large amounts of text

·         Small pointless stories

·         Advertisements

·         Interviews with arrogant music artists

·         Interviews

·         Loads of reviews

·         Info about record labels or artists managers

Question 8: Would you like the kind of language to be formal or informal?

100% chose informal and conversational.

Question 9: What would be your preferred colour scheme? (Maximum 4 colours)

·         Orange, red, brown and yellow.

·         Green, brown, white

·         Pink

·         Black, blue and white

·         Orange, Pink, Black

·         Red, black, white X 2

·         Primary colours

·         Black, Pink, White, Red

·         black/white/pink/blue

·         white, black, purple

·         Turquoise, baby pink, baby green and yellow

·         pink, white, grey

·         black, white, blues and reds

·         Black, pink, grey

·         pink, black, white, blue

·         Blue, white

·         Black and Neon green

Question 10: On the front cover would you like a male or female artist/s?

Male:  6 people said this

Female: 3 people said this

Either: 5 people said this

Both:  3 people said this

Don’t mind: 1 person said this

Question 11: On the front cover would you prefer a group/band or a solo artist?

Either: 6 people said this

Group: 7 people said this

Solo Artist: 5 people said this

Question 12: What props would you like to see on the front cover with the band/solo artist?

• Guitar
• Nothing
• Microphone
• ‘bling’
• Funny or comical props
• Instruments/amps
• Things that relate to their personality
• Broomstick

Question 13: Where would you like the front cover image to have been taken?

Photography Studio: 11 said this would be better

Outdoors: 7 said this would be better

Question 14: How often would you like an issue to be published?
Monthly: 10 people suggested this

Weekly: 3 people said this

Fortnightly: 4 people suggested this

Seasonal: Only one person said this

Question 15: What freebies would you expect?

• Tokens that after a certain amount are collected amount to a free ticket to a gig.
• Offers/discounts for HMV
• None, except if they relate to that particular issue
• None
• Discounts
• Demo CD’s
• Lip Gloss and a CD
• Posters
• Headphones
• CD’s
• Nothing- maybe just a single every now and then of the cover artist
• Vouchers
• Scarf
• New Single Release
• Signed guitar pick

Question 16: Do you normally read the editors letter on the contents page? If no answer question 17.

Question 17: What would make you read the editors letter?

• If the editor was good-looking and the letter was directed entirely at people of our age and if it had information about upcoming concerts and gigs.
• Make it more obvious
• Light-hearted, chatty language
• Straight to the point, standing out, not too long and rambly
• Personal involvement/opinions
• Make it more fun, possibly a few pictures
• More humorous, less formal approach
• Interesting related information
• A picture of the editor smiling
• More interesting looking page as they normally just have black/white writing and background
• If it was short and sweet and looked appealing to read
• Attractive colours, interesting information and images
• If it had pictures

In my next blog will be my action plan that I devised after receiving this questionnaire results back.