Q7

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

When creating my preliminary task I had to use Publisher as I did not know much about Photoshop and how to use it. But for my magazine I used Photoshop and now can say I can confidently use Photoshop and the tools on it such as the move tool, effects, text and more. I now know how to work with the layers on Photoshop so that everything was correct and my magazine was finished at the highest standard. I also know how to edit pictures on Photoshop by changing the brightness, contrast to make sure they were at the best quality that they could be.

Q6 Tools used

I used many resources to produce my magazine, first of all I used a cannon camera to take te pictures for my magazine. I then used Photoshop to edit my photos brightness/contrast to give them better quality. I also used Photoshop to produce my magazine by using the fill tool for the background,various texts tools for the colour and font of it, the shape tool to create different shapes on my magazine, the move tool to place everything correctly, the crop tool to make sure I got everything the correct size and many more. I also used blogger to show my processes and research to help me design my own magazine.

Q5

   How did you attract/ address your audience?

I attracted the type of audience I wanted to my magazine by involving quotes on the front cover such as “If I didn’t quit my rock lifestyle I wouldn’t be here today” this shows that it was a rock lifestyle that was affecting someone’s life that much that if they didn’t stop it would kill them, this attracts the indie rock genre as they want to know if their own lifestyle is like that and could something bad happen to them if the continued it. Another way I attracted the audience I wanted was by using a segment of my magazine as a guide to the UKs greatest rock festivals this would only attract the type of audience I want to read my magazine as it has the word ‘rock’ in it meaning that somebody who listens to typical dance chart music would not want to read a magazine that they thought was about rock.  I also added an extra information box along that bottom that involves the word rock again and involves band names which if the magazine was real would be all indie rock bands, meaning that once again people who listen to dance chart or any other genre of music would not recognise these bands

and would not want to read about them.

Q4. Who my audience are

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The typical audience that I have set for my magazine is girls from around 16-21 who have an indie rock lifestyle. This would mean that they would spend their money on things that other people don’t find important such as piercings, tattoos, alcohol, takeaways. They would spend most of their time either out having a drink with their friends who would be in to the same things as them, in run down bars where a rock band is playing, or in the house listening to music.  Someone who listens to indie rock would be seen to have a very messy rough lifestyle, nothing would be organised and they would just do as they want they would never arrange plans in advance and would just live for the moment they are in, they would shop in vintage stores and charity shops to make sure that they have original clothing and they stand out from the crowd. The type of music they would listen to would be involve a lot of screaming in some of the songs, but in others it will be songs by bands that are quite unknown and have meaning behind their songs, they would not listen to chart music as that doesn’t fit in with their lifestyle. If they were to watch it film it would a film such as ‘This Is England’ a crime, drama film that involves a lot of fighting, swearing, drugs and has people who are like them, they would watch the same type of television programmes as this but they would not mainly watch TV as they would always be out or listening to music.

Q3

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

I think that ‘NME’ would be a good magazine to distribute my magazine as it is a music magazine and has an indie rock genre to it which is the same as my magazine. The publisher for ‘NME’ is ‘Paul Cheal’ I think that he would be a great help in making my magazine a success since his is such a famous magazine with a large population of people reading it.

Q2

  How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Above is the magazine cover I have chosen for my final product and also a cover from the magazine ‘NME’. I have chosen to compare my magazine to the cover of ‘NME’ with ‘Lily Allen’ on it as I think they both represent a similar type of social group. I think that the image on my cover is similar to the one on ‘NME’ as they are both close up mid shots of a female who is from a younger generation, this would attract the social group of females ages from 15-21 as people older than this would not want to read a magazine where the main article is about someone from a very different generation to them. Also in both covers the models are both wearing shirts ‘Lily Allen’ is wearing a checked shirt on ‘NME’ and on my cover Hannah is wearing a denim shirt. Both of the models faces are looking directly at the reader attracting them in to the magazine, although the models poses are different as Hannah is standing straight up with her mouth shut in quite a serious pose which could make the reader wonder why she is so serious, what has happened to her to make her feel like that; whereas ‘Lily Allen’ has her back hunched over and her mouth slightly open this pose makes her look quite vulnerable but since her mouth is open it may make the reader think that she is willing to tell all what has happened to her.  Also next to each of the models there is a quote from their interview in the magazine, on my cover the quote is “If I didn’t quit my rock lifestyle I wouldn’t be here today” and on the ‘NME’ cover the quote it “I can’t keep on living like this, it’s doing my head in”, both of these quotes leaves the reader questioning and wondering what has happened to make the model feel like that and the want to buy the magazine and read the article to find out what has happened. Both magazines have an ‘indie-rock’ social group behind them due to all the conventions of the type of clothes they are wearing such as denim and checked shirts, the quotes which show that they have or have had a hard rock lifestyle and have quit or have to quit it.

Evaluation. Q1

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

To show how my magazine relates to real media products I have selected nine elements from my cover, contents and double page spread. The title of my magazine ‘INDIVIDUAL’ works well with the type of indie rock genre my magazine has, this is due to when people think of indie rock the people behind the label tend to be unique, closed off from everyone and they think of themselves as being individual and not like anyone else. The title is in large bold capital letters and in yellow so that it stands out well against the grey background so that it will attract people more to the magazine.

The mise-en-scene of my front cover image is of a girl who looks really calm and relaxed like she has no worries, I think that this links in well with the indie rock style as when people think of this type of people they think that they just do what they want and have nothing to worry about in their life like they are care free, I think that my front cover image portrays this by her face is relaxed and she is looking straight at the reader as if she just isn’t bothered about anything, this is also shown by the way she has her hands in her pockets which is seen as a sign of someone who is laid back. Whereas the mise-en-scene of the image on my contents page gives off a different side to the indie rock lifestyle it shows her in a way where she is all alone and is looking quite troubled which is another stereotype of indie rock where people think if they are not with their friends then they must just sit alone in their house.

Throughout my magazine the costumes are mainly the same type of clothing in two of my pictures it is a denim shirt with a pair of trousers and then an oversized cardigan with tights and a skirt, this is normally the type of thing someone who liked indie rock music would like.

For the written content on my double paged spread of my magazine I have chosen to do a personal interview about a singer which is what most magazines would normally do, I have used questions I think would attract an audience best to it and made it as personal as I could as that is what magazines do they try to find out about a singer to keep the reader interested. The font of my writing is ‘Rockwell’ and is in bold this goes well with the style of my magazine as it is not too formal but not too comic at the same time it makes it stand out. I have put the questions in yellow and the answers in black, this is so you can tell the difference between the two, the reason I put the questions in yellow was that is the main colour of ‘INDIVIDUAL’ and it made the most sense to put the questions in it so it is easier for people to recognise.

The music genre of my magazine is indie rock this is suggested by the use of the word rock repeatedly through the cover of my magazine and also the type of clothing and the title of my magazine.

I would say that the layout of my magazine is similar to other magazines it has the main picture on one side of the cover and then the writing on the other side making it easy to understand. The layout of the double page spread is the same layout as the cover, and the contents is similar to other magazines as it has one main picture and then writing in a various order down one side.

Answering questions on audience of magazine 2.

I think that the readers of mens health would just drink a protein shake for breakfast, they would drive an expensive car as to make themselves seem better than other poeple. They would lvie in a normal house or an expensive house, either one would be decorated modernly. Water and protein shakes would be what they drink to stay healthy. I do not think they would watch tv much apart from and excercise or health shows. I think they would listen to something with a good fast beat for when they work out, their favourite meal would be something healthy like pasta or chicken. They would watch and play football and rugby as they are mens sports.They would have a girlfriend who was goodlooking and thin as she would have to meet their standards and image that they wanted, alkso they would go to a party island for their holiday. I do not think this magazine has an effect on people voting. They would go to a high class rich pub to make themselves seem more classy.

Answering questions on audeince of magazine 1.

The type of breakfast the reader of Kerrang would eat would be left over takeaways such as pizza from the night before as it is the easiest thing for them.They would either use metros/buses or have a poor quality car that is quite cheap as they will be very young. Kerrang readers would probably live in a flat with other roommates or still live at home with their parents. I think that they would either drink energy drinks or alchol as they will be young and want to act like they have a hard rock style life like their role models.They will probably watch anything involving rock bands being interviewed, but mainly will listen to music channels. Microwave meals or takeaways will be their favourite meal as it the easiest and quickest thing for them. I dont think that they will be interested in sport as they will be quite lazy and just be insterested in listening to music, going out drinking etc. I dont think that they would have a partner as they are just interested in enjoyi ng their young life, although if they do have  a partner it will probably be a on and off relationship. They will probably just go to festivals or stay at home rather than going on holiday. This magazine does not  influence voting. They will go to a pub where it plays live rock music, is very chaotic and where it is dirty looking.

Brief analysis of audience for a magazine

The magazine cover I have chosen to do my analysis on is Kerrang. The type of audience that will read this magazine are the people who listen to rock music. The reason we know this is because Kerrang is also a rock channel as well as a magazine, also the cover has the band ‘Greenday’ who are a rock band as their main image.  Also other people who may read the magazine are Marilyn Manson fans this is due to the picture on the cover which will attract them in.  People who enjoy live rock music may also read this magazine as it give you certain band and singer names on the cover that you can listen to live at a gig or festival.

 Throughout the magazine text selling is used, one way the magazine uses this technique is by writing ’25 rock stars who changed your world’ this is making the reader buy the magazine to read this section,  once they have read that piece they will want to listen to the bands/artists mentioned; meaning the magazine has sold that band/artist. Also the information on festivals will make the reader informed about them and want to buy tickets to go to that festival.

The attitude to the magazine is the heavy rock lifestyle this is due  to the bands/artists on the front cover also the word ‘chaos’ implies the type of hectic rock lifestyle.

Media

For my media coursework i have chosen to do a music magazine in the style of NME magazine, I am going to base my magazine around the genre indierock as this is the type of music i like and listen to so will enjoy designing my magazine.