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

When creating the front cover. Contents page and double-page spread for my music magazine, I used certain forms and conventions of other magazines. These other magazines were Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.From these magazines, I studied their front covers, contents pages and certain examples of their double-page spreads in order to structure my magazine in a similar way and then develop them in order to maximise the potential of the structures. Below is the front cover of my magazine in a basic stage of its creation, showing certain forms and conventions that I have used.

After studying the front cover of both Kerrang! and Metal Hammer, I noticed that they both use a similar title (which is also their logo). The similarities are that they have a bold, white title with black in the background with the only variable being the font. I decided to use this idea for my front cover and gave my title a black background whilst also making it slightly larger. However, I challenged this convention by, instead of having my font colour white, I had it a dark purple which makes it unique in comparison to the other two titles.

With this section of my front cover I had inspiration from Metal Hammer as it showed a neat style of how to present what will be focused on inside, whereas I noticed Kerrang! often paste the different news items over random sectors of their cover. Also, I noticed that Metal Hammer used black in the background of this section, similar to their title. I decided to do this to represent a continuous colour scheme, however I made my idea unique by having the colour of my actual title fade in from the black, showing that this is also a part of the continuous colour scheme.

Shown below is the final design for my front cover, also there are examples of the forms and conventions that I have used and then developed in order to create my own unique style with inspiration from professional ideas.

These two examples (From Kerrang! Magazine and Metal Hammer magazine) gave me a large amount of inspiration as after setting up my main image, I noticed that both magazines often name the bands/artists focused mainly on within the article. For example, Kerrang! Magazine here named several bands, all of which are focused on within the mentioned article. Also, Metal Hammer mentioned the band ‘Children of Bodom’ as they are focused on within the main article.

For this section, I remembered how all music magazines that I have purchased in the past have offered some form of free material from a band or a poster of some sort within the magazine. The image above I have taken from a Metal Hammer front cover as an example of how they do this. However, I have made my method unique as instead of showing the image on the cover, I have only placed the text informing the consumer of the free items so that they will have to look further in to see it.

A barcode is present on all magazines, but the placement often varies depending on the company. I looked at two examples from Kerrang! And Metal hammer and then used these ideas to decide upon the area in which to place my own. I noticed how Metal Hammer had there’s going vertical, which not many others do. I also noticed how there barcodes are usually placed higher on the cover than on most other magazines. The idea of placing the barcode higher intrigued me, however the vertical placement did not. Instead, I used the usual horizontal arrangement but used the idea of placing it higher on the magazine. This worked out to be rather useful as it left more place for Plugs at the bottom of the cover.

Yet another convention used by these magazines (helped to show via the covers above) is the main image used by the magazine.After looking through many different issues of these magazines, it has become apparent to me that nearly all of the time they put their main image in the very centre of the cover as this shows how the issue is focusing more on them than anything else. However, I have noticed that sometimes (Such as with the cover on the far right) certain magazines use an image to fill the entire page, which emphasizes at great length just how much the magazine is focusing on this one band/artist.I did not like the idea of having on image cover the entire page as this would mean that I would have to work the colouring of all of the font to fit in with the image as so that the consumer will not have any issues reading it, which could cause me to ignore the overall colour scheme of the entire magazines. I also noticed how the main image usually covers a portion of the title. I did not like this either because if a person who did not know the magazine very well saw the cover, but could not read the title due to some of it being covered by the image, they wouldn’t know what the actual brand name was.It is because of this why I decided to centralize my main image but not make it too large so that the consumer can read all areas of text on the cover. I also had my image edited slightly to make the white background look as if it was shining on the person in the image, giving the more blank areas a bigger purpose.

Originally, I had intended on focusing my magazine at both Males and Females (however it may become apparent that the majority of potential consumers would be Males) aged between 16-21 as this means that they would be approximately my age or slightly older which, in turn, means that it would be easier to write for this audience as I could relate to their wants and needs a lot more than those of thirteen year olds. However, I discovered that aiming my magazine more at an age range of five years wouldn’t be attracting as many customers as one would hope. It is because of this that I decided to lower some of the intensity of my magazine in order to focus on an age range of approximately 14-21 years.The genre that I chose from was mainly a heavy rock/metal sound which makes it slightly harder to aim my magazine at those aged around 14 years, however this isn’t an impossible task. I chose this genre as it is on of my favourite genres in the music industry, meaning that I would enjoy creating my magazine more than if I was to choose a genre such as hip-hop/rap.Secondly, I decided to choose this genre as it has been classified as the genre that requires the most skill out of all, meaning that it would be more interesting to read about than a genre that requires very little skill and effort.Thirdly, the metal genre has been changed a lot over the past few years, and different music styles such as techno have been mixed with it on many occasions, meaning that a wider variety of people could be attracted to this genre as it doesn’t have just one sound.Another factor as to why I chose this style is because a lot of teenagers often find themselves more upset than those in other age groups as the process of puberty can be a difficult thing. Bands in this genre can help these people to blow off some steam with the more heavy sounds or to not feel alone with the softer variations available. This is also backed up by the look of the bands which represent this genre, as they mostly dress in dark colours which also relate to the emotions that certain people in this age group experience on a regular basis.With regards to the image that I used for my magazine, I naturally assumed that, for this genre, a preppy character wouldn’t fit in as their overall style would clash majorly with the magazines style. Instead, I had a picture of a character posed to look slightly distressed with a small glimmer of confusion as this represents the feelings of certain potential customers.When creating the story for my magazine, I thought that it would have to at least interest the potential customers otherwise not many people would purchase the magazine. Because of this, I decided to create two popular (as well as fictional) bands and decided to create a story of one of them being broken up by an issue which links them both together. I believe that this will interest the consumers as news about a popular bands breakup would definitely have some sort of effect on a lot of fans of this genre. In order to not lose the consumers interest through a story being too large, I also added some information regarding one of the fictional bands new albums which would definitely interest the audience as new material means more music for them to listen to and enjoy.Yet another factor that had to be addressed in order to attract the correct audience was the colour scheme of the magazine. This is important as having a colours such as pink, turquoise, etc, would not suit the selected genre. After researching into similar media products, I decided to go for the obvious black as this genre is often seen as rather dark. I also went for purple as it stands out from the black yet no other magazine has made much use of it, meaning that this is what would make my magazine stand out in comparison to other similar products.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

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

After studying several different media institutions, there were four that seemed to catch my eye (IPC Media, MusicMags, Conde Nast & Factory Media). IPC Media caught my eye as, after navigating my way around their website, I noticed how they were the publisher of hugely successful magazine companies, such as Nuts, NME, Soap Life, Now, Decante, Etc. MusicMags also drew my attention as I noticed how it publishes magazines from top companies such as Revolver and Alternative Press. I was also attracted to Codne Nast as I noticed that it was the publisher of main magazine companies such as Vogue, Vanity Fair and WIRED. Lastly, I thought that Factory Media would be good as it publishes many different magazines, some of which are rather successful such as Freedom BMX and Moto X.

After further thought into this matter, I decided that both Factory Media and Conde Nast would be the most two inappropriate publishers to use as they seem to publish magazines not of the music industry. Conde Nast would be inappropriate to approach with hopes of getting my magazine published as they focus more on fashion than anything else, with the exception of a travel magazine, an interior design magazine and a home/garden magazine. This issue is shared by Factory Media as they too do not publish any music magazines and, instead, stick only to sports magazines which focus on BMX riding, skiing, surfing, etc. Because of this fact, I have decided that I shall not choose these two publishers, leaving the choice of either MusicMags or IPC Media.

Both of these companies have intrigued me as I have noticed that they both sell very popular Music Magazines (Revolver, Alternate Press & NME) meaning that both of these companies must have a decent judgement of what makes a good music magazine. It is also interesting how IPC Media publish a very large number of magazines but a small number of music related magazines, whereas MusicMags publishes a small number of magazines all of which are music related.

After much consideration, I have decided to choose MusicMags as I believe that, considering they publish only music-based magazines (two of which are very popular) they will have a wider knowledge of the magazine type which they could then pass on to me, potentially giving my magazine a better possibility of selling in large quantities.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

In order to depict my own target audience, I decided that it would be wise to research existing music magazines and find their target audiences. This would also help me to decide how I will aim my magazine at the chosen audience as I could get inspiration from the existing magazines and develop their methods to my magazine’s needs.

The magazines that I used to conduct my research were Kerrang, Metal Hammer and Alternative Press. I decided to pick these three as they all focus on the genre of music that my magazine also focuses on, meaning that the methods they have used could also be very effective for my own magazine with a small amount of tweaking and perfecting.

After studying several different issues of each magazine, it is apparent that they each have a very similar target audience. Alternative Press seem to aim their magazines mostly at both males and females around the ages of approximately 13-19 who have an interest mostly in the heavy rock/punk rock genre of music, which is the same for Kerrang and Hammer Metal, except Hammer Metal could possibly target their magazines at males and females (mostly males) aged about 16+. Alternative Press attract their audience with the use of attractively bright colours (except on some occasions) to aim at both males and females, large images of the music artists to instantly inform the audience which artist/band is being focused on in each issue and they often use formal language (with the occasional joke/pun) to not make the magazine seem to immature. Kerrang seem to copy these methods (despite their more frequent use of darker colour schemes) to attract a similar target audience. Metal Hammer seem to use a much darker colour scheme a lot more of the time to attract a more precise target audience as they aim to attract the bigger fans of this music scene who will most likely be attracted to darker colours.

After analysing the methods used by these magazines, I picked out some of the most effective and then modelled my target audience around the types of people aimed at by the researched magazines. By doing this, I decided that my target audience would be both males and females that would have an interest in the hard rock/metal genre of music and would be aged at around 16+ years. I decided on this age range as I would be able to have the text written in a more formal manner as the target audience would be mature enough to not rely upon informal language to connect with the text. The target audience can vary from the unemployed to the wealthy as these people can enjoy the magazine as long as they are interested in the music style.

How did you attract/address your target audience?

As previously mentioned, I conducted some research into the methods used by existing magazines of the same genre which helped me in deciding which methods I should then use in order to attract my own target audience. The methods that I noticed were used in all three magazines focused on were the use of formal language, large images of the band/artist focused on within the issue, focusing on other topics such as gaming somewhere within the magazine, etc.

The use of formal language was the first thing that I decided to use for my own magazine as this would allow me to aim it at an audience of a higher age which also meant that I could discuss matters that would be deemed inappropriate for younger members of society to read. This was also good as I personally prefer writing formally as I see informal text as immature and unprofessional, which means that I would be more comfortable inputting all of the information into my magazine and would be able to think more clearly and produce more ideas.

The second method which I picked up on was the use of attractively bright colours throughout the magazines which would appeal to a wider variety of people than if they were all to use darker colours constantly. However, the Metal Hammer magazine usually uses a much darker colours scheme and this magazine often sees tremendous numbers of sales. It is due to this that I decided to use the colour purple most of all throughout my magazine as this can either be seen as a bright or dark colour depending on the other colours surrounding it. I have also used the colour black as all three magazines that I researched used this colour a lot of the time and they are all extremely popular.

The third method that I noticed and then used was the size of the main image used on the front cover. All magazines that I researched had at least one large image of a band/artist that was focused on within that issue and I know that a lot of other magazines focusing on different genres do the same. I decided to use this as it is a great way of attracting my target audience by making it more obvious that a band/artist that they would most likely enjoy is focused on within the issue. Also, by using a larger image, less blank space is left making the magazine appear as more attractive.

The fourth method that I added into my magazine was focusing on other topics such as gaming. However, I involved music artists of the genre focused on in the gaming sections which makes it less irrelevant. This is good because it will also attract those who are into gaming as well as music meaning a potential increase in possible customers.

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

Besides during the preliminary task, before creating my media product I had never used a camera, meaning that taking the images for my work was a completely new experience for me. From using the camera for the first time, I learned how to work the simple effects of it, such as the zoom and focus. I also learned how to manipulate images taken on a camera via image manipulation software such as the GNU Image Manipulation Programme or Photoshop and was able to edit the image taken in order to create a bigger effect for my magazine.

Throughout the use the GNU Image Manipulation programme and Fireworks, I discovered how to use certain tools in order to distort my image so that it would give off the effect required to fit the style of my magazine. For example, one tool that I did not know of before the preliminary task was the use of the drop shadow. I discovered this whilst creating the preliminary task, however I did not use it as I did not believe that its use was relevant at all to the overall style of the magazine. Instead, I waited and then used it while creating my contents page as I believe its effect fits the style of the magazine almost perfectly.

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

First of all, I have learnt that depending on the genre of magazine and ones own personal preferences, creating a magazine is not always easy work as sometimes one may be required to create work based around a certain area in which they know very little about. This is worked around easily if one does the correct amount of research in order to know more about the area in question, however if one finds oneself without the necessary resources to conduct said research, the work could prove more difficult to create than originally thought.

I believe that my knowledge of the GNU Image Manipulation Programme has increased dramatically as during the preliminary task, I did not know very much about it at all and would only be able to work the basic tools, whereas after working with it throughout the production of my full product, my knowledge of the different, more advanced tools has increased and I can now work the programme nearly to its full potential. Also, I have learnt how to use more advanced image manipulation methods on Fireworks which has helped me to change my images to make them suit the style of the magazine as best as I could.

During the preliminary task, I believe that my written work was not at peak levels as I was very inexperienced in the field of media, whereas now, my written work is reaching its full potential as I have learnt about the different areas and aspects of the media world. This, along with my literary progress has developed my writing skills from the standard mediocre work to writing in a more advanced manner.

Finally, my overall knowledge of the media world has improved as having first-hand experience in the creation of an advanced piece of media has helped me to understand the importance of certain aspects such as the denotations and connotations of things such as the masthead, article title and main image.