Question 6

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

This selection of images makes up the majority of the equipment i used to create my magazine. When using Page Plus i discovered it was difficult to transfer work to different computer which made the process slower as i could not work from home. However it was a good programme to use as it had lots of different effects which went well with the genre. When uploading slideshows onto my blog i used a website called slideshare which allows you to post it onto blogger. When using this i found that sometimes it wouldn't upload the powerpoint this was also very time consuming as one upload took 30 minutes.

When taking my images i used a professionally canon camera, this was very good as it gave me excellent image quality which gave the magazine a professional look.

I created my survey using software called survey monkey. It was very interesting using something different. It was a great way to collect feedback from my target market however i found it difficult to promote my survey. I uploaded the link to facebook and sent out emails but I got few responses as people wouldn't take the time to look at it.



Question 5

How did you attract/address your audience?
I created a survey to find out how my target audience felt about my final product.

 I knew my audience would want something new and out there. I believe i have represented this by using a variety of vibrant fluorescent colours which are present in many night clubs as lighting and strobe lights to give a rave effect. Therefore i decided to interpret this when designing my product as by simply looking at the cover it is obvious what the magazine will be based around. I also decided that I would go for a really fun look magazine, I wanted my images to relate to the audience. To achieve this i used natural images of people who look similar to my target audience. I believe this enables the reader to feel connected with the artist. I took note of current fashion trends and used this when designing my artist. For example Ruby101 are all wearing military style boots as i know these are popular amongst young people.
 I decided to use a selection of new found artist which are just becomming famous this will attract my audience as they are all of a similar age and they can see how any average person as the potential to become something big.

Question 4

   Who would be the audience for your media product?

 My media product is aimed at a Target market of 16-24 year olds who enjoy clubbing, new music and heavy bass lines. I believe i have represented this by using a variety of vibrant fluorescent colours which are present in many night clubs as lighting and strobe lights to give a rave effect. Therefore i decided to interpret this when designing my product as by simply looking at the cover it is obvious what the magazine will be based around.
 The audience would also be a person who enjoys listening to new artists and always up for trying something new. They are also the people who really enjoy going out in large groups of friends and are fond of socialising. I beleieve Xclusive! is a good magazine to share with friends. Also people who love loud music and can dance all night long, the people reading this magazine are deffiantly the enthuasiasic, hyperactive type of people.

Moard Board representing my target audience

These images sum up a young person who may be interested in reading Xclusive! It represents their likes and interests and shows a display of bright colours.

Question 3

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

I believe IPC media would ditribute my magazine as they already produce music magazines such as : NME and UN cut. Both of these magazines have different target markets as NME is based on chart music and pop/rock groups and Uncut is aimed at an older audience as it features bands which are no longer in the charts but are still widely listened to.
As Xclusive! is aimed at new artists and promotes different genres of music i believe there is defiantly a place in the market. IPC media would see this as a good opportunity as they don't have anything like this as yet.

  I also researched Bauer media as i was aware they already produced the majority of magazines on the shelf 3 of which being music magazines such as Mojo, Kerrang! and Q. They also own a lot of radio stations so their music background is very good. However as they already have a lot of successful magazines i don't  think they would look for another, although my magazine is very different to the ones they already own.

Question 2

 How does your media product represent particular social groups?
 My magazine is aimed at an audience of 16-24 year olds. When creating my product I didn't want to follow the other magazines which only feature 'in trend' popular artists as i believe this really does not appeal to everyone. Therefore when making my magazine i made sure i targeted the genres which get forgotten about because the mainstream artists are the ones who are constantly in the limelight.
  I ensured my magazine was appropriate for all people and i ensured that there were no stereotypical images/ content in this.
  When choosing my images i had to think about the age of the target reader. I decided that at this age people are very stereotypical, they read magazines and look up to the people in them and think they are 'perfect'. I decided on using very natural images, i didn't want my artists to match any stereotype, i made sure they were wearing casual clothes which were un labelled and would be what the majority of people would wear. I also made sure i had a combination of different coloured hair which wasn't to extreme. I wanted the product to appeal to the majority and i believed this was the best way to do so. I also believe that people will read it and think they can connect with them as they look similar to people you would see everyday. The make up was also done in a subtle way.

Question 1

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

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Evaluation

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

Final Product

Final Pieces







Un-edited Images

These images are ones which will be featured in my magazine. These are all raw images none of which have been edited.

Sketches for Front cover and Double Page Spread

Front Cover

My front cover is very much based around the main image. The image will be a full body shot with direct address to show the connection between band and reader. The boxes at the bottom of the page will draw the eye in as they will stand out  from the pages and encourage people to read more. When in colour the background will be black with fluorescent blues, pinks and greens on the page and some text will be in yellow to really give that raving effect. I want the page to look crowded as if there are blank spaces it wont attract attention however it is important not to overcrowd the page.

Double Page Spread

As you can see the page is divided into two. 50 % being the image and 50% being the main text. I think this really draws in the eye as they can clearly read everything on the page. The pages will be a dark grey so its not such a massive contrast when the bright colours are added, this will make it easier to read. Their will be pull quotes in the text to pull in readers and the headline will run across both pages so you can see they are connected and there isn't to much of a divide.



Featured Artist

Ruby 101

I decided to base my act around the dubstep genre. I didn't want them to look to extreme as i wanted them to appeal to their target audience and represent in a realistic way young adults. I want the make up to be very subtle and no major colours as i want the music to do the talking. Their dress will be very casual and look like they are just on a day out tither rather than a photo shoot as this is not the sort of magazine i want to create. I decided to research the latest fashions and found out that army boots were inn so I ensure the whole band were wearing them. The shoot will be outdoors to show a natural environment and it represents them being free to explore which connects with their music as its very different to exsiting bands. The name of the band is Ruby 101, a name of which i created. The main focus of the band is Ruby Stafford, very similar to any other teenage girl you see walking the streets.The other members of the band are their to show people the great friendship of which they have.  I will use images which represent the joys of being young by showing the band having a great tie and looking really quite natural. They want to show their audience its not all about the image its about the music they play/ create.

Initial Ideas

Target Audience

I decided I would target an audience of party goers varying from 16 years - 26. I think this is the majority of people who really enjoy going out and partying. At these ages people begin to really enjoy music and want to know the latest acts and get in there first. So my magazine will be aimed at these people and will give them something which hasn't been done already and can keep them up to date with the latest trends.

The ideal reader

This would be a person of any gender age 20. They would really enjoy nightlife and enjoy clubbing and raving regularly. They are a serious music lover and thoroughly enjoy new music genres and are always wanting to find out more. However there is currently nothing on the shelves which appeals to them. They want to find out what they will be dancing/ moshing to at next weekends parties so they read my magazine to find this out.

Sections/Titles

I have come up with the name Xclusive. I believe it is a short name which can easily be rembered and it tells the reader what we are selling. It represents my magazine being exclusive meaning we are the only one around. There is nothing currently like this. It also relates to the fact that we bring exclusive content so we find the local and not yet famous acts and make people aware of the talent. The masthead will be based around the raving colours being a mix of flouresent pinks, blues and greens. This will really catch the eye and relates to the target market and also covers the theme of clubbing/raving.

Progression of logo:

Xclusive!

When researching i found out that most magazines consist of 4 main sections: News, features, on the cover and reviews. I will incorporate these findings but makes my own sections based around the typical layout.

My groupings idea's so far are:

• Get to know ( this will be my news based section, showing people who to look out for, last weeks goings on and what to look for next week.)
• Xclusive! ( This will be the features section including exclusive interview, gig guides and top ten's etc)
• Coverage ( This section simply covers evrything on the front cover)
• RaveViews ( This is the reviews section where we find out peoples opinions on different gigs and tell them how things went etc).

The magazine will be based around new genres of music e.g Dubstep, drum and base and anything different to what we see daily. It is becomming increasingly popular amongst young people but there is very little promotional activity going on. In the last year more and more venues are having specialist nights for alternative music lovers. I will represent these new acts by interviewing a new Dubstep band which will include what the genre is all about. I will use fun images to meet the needs of my audience, ones that show the artists in a new light and ensure they appeal to the user.                                    

Rave Magazine

Rave magazine base there magazine for an online target audience ages 18 - 28. They follow a changing colour scheme based around a raving scene so fluorescent greens, blues and pinks. Their magazine is based around new artists which are ready to be discovered.

  The blue masthead against the black background is very effective. The logo is simple but with such a bright colour it really catches the eye and people will relate the colour to the name of the magazine.

  The image also works really effectively as the band are placed on a plain background and have their eyes on the reader which puts across the message that they are the next big thing and it makes them look important.

  The boxes at the bottom of the page are in a colour which match the masthead to not to many colours are used and to keep a simple image but they work well as the blue stands out over the image and your eye is drawn to read under the photo.  The image which overlaps the boxes works really well as it is not in a box but overlaps the main image. There is little text to go with the images just simply the artists name which is much more efffective than block text. It also makes you want to read more and find out what the magazine offer.

KERRANG!

The kerrang! layout is very much aimed at a younger target market. On e way of telling this is the positioning of the image, they are all slight slanted and less military. The main image takes up half the page which is unusual for a contents page but is a good way of advertising the stories clearly. By placing the other to images on the main focus it draws the eye in immediately instead of having to scan over masses of text. 

  There is a lot of advertising on the page, at the bottom there is a poster puff advertising which posters will be in the magazine and next to it is a large black box which stands out against the white promoting people to subscribe to KERRANG! The images of the magazines are layered to give a 3D effect to make it more interesting to look at, 

  The language is  informal but does not use expletives as this would be inappropriate for the target market. However ' The Canadian Riff monsters' suggests a humorous informal approach to the music industry.

 KERRANG! also have a large editors section which is in a very small font, which is strange as it uses a lot of the page yet the font is small so doesn't look appealing to read and younger readers will not be interested in this.

Analysis of exsisting music magazines

NME

  NME's contents page has slightly more sophisticated look to it compared to other magazines, this is because of their target market being aimed at an older group of people.

  There are a variety of different fonts and sizes, all of which quite subtle, all written in black and the main story is in italics so it stands out from the rest.

  All of the main stories have an image to accompany them which are all in boxes and spaced out evenly around the focus image again to stand out. The other regular features are set out in the easy to read plus box and are clearly spread out so it is easy to read and find the pages they are on if in a hurry. Each story is separated by a thin black like which very subtly tells you when the next section begins.

  The language used on the contents page again suggests an older target audience as they use phrases such as ' Sex scenes' and ' The album still has a lot of cock on it' in a magazine with a younger audience this would not be used as it would not be understand however in this instance it fits in with the conventions of a music magazine. Formal language is also used by using words like ' wilful ignorance' suggesting the more knowledgeable audience.

The main focus of this article is the image on the left, it is the main focus of the page as it takes up a whole side of A4. Their isn't that much text to accompany the image as the second page is split into the short article then an 'everyones talking about...' feature. This ties in well with the article as its titles ' NME loves The teenagers' which is saying that they are new and everyone will be talking about them and so should you.
  The images are all spaced out evenly with a block of text underneath them rather than being positioned in different angles etc. This gives us the impressions it is aimed at an older audience.
 The main image is a posed shot but in an environment in which is very familiar to us all, it doesn't look staged and it is away of portraying the bands personality and title 'The teenagers'. It works well as it ties in with more sophisticated theme and makes the readers really connect with the band being interviewed. 
 The colour theme is based around a vibrant blue colour which is quite subtle but is bright enough to stand out over the image. The blue is also a very contrast with the black and white background which is used to separate the article and the feature.

Benefits and Disadvantages of News Corporation

 Benefits

• They provide us with professional entertainment and information.
• Their standards are very high.
• Large Profit
• The company is very influential as they benefit specific people and causes.
• They provide us with a huge number of employment.
• Innovative - as they are such a large corporate they are always looking for new products and ideas.
• They have a very wide audience.
•  Most importantly they are keeping media going.

Disadvantages

• Influential - a large corporate such as News corporation could influence reputation.
• As they own so much of our media it has the possibility to put smaller businesses out of work.
• There is little room for start up providers as there is already to much competition.
• The media we read, watch etc could be biased as it is all owned by the same person.
• If the company has a bad reputation then there is the possibility to lose audiences as it has a very large number of service users.

Initial Project Research

Research into News Corporation

 News corporation is the third largest media institue in the world after The Walt Disney company and The warner brothers company. It was first founded in 1979 by Rupert Murdoch who is still owning the institue and is still continuing to grow rapidly. News corporation are responsible for the majority of newspapers we read and the television channels we watch.

Some of the products they are responsible for :

Newspapers 

News international, News of the World , The Sun , The sunday Times , The times and Times Literary suuplement.

Television

Cable network prgramming, direct braodcast satellite television , Sky and Fox

They are also responsible for Harper Collins Puplishers in over 8 countries.

These are just a select few of the media products owned by News Corporation and as you can see the company is worldwide.

Research on music magazines

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Research on music magazines

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