By: Charlotte Unwin

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

My magazine front cover uses the conventions of real media products including the date of issue,

masthead, splash, issue number, price, barcode, pug, website address, images and quotes. These

are all needed to give information to the reader and make the reader familiar with the magazine. I think these conventional features are needed on every magazine so that it sells and is recognised as a

professional product. The colours used throughout my magazine were originally very conventional as I used a standard black and white colour scheme. I then decided this colour scheme was too dull and

maybe too conventional, so I needed another colour to make the magazine stand out more. I

choose purple this then made the magazine visually more appealing and made the magazine stand out more. I have also used a glow around

the main writing I thought this then made the magazine more eye-catching and is very

conventional.

Inspiration

I also placed a web address on my front cover. I thought this was a good idea as it could make the brand more recognisable and also might reach a wider audience. I think using a website is very conventional and good advertising for the magazine.

There is not much information on my front cover as I wanted the image to sell the magazine, there is some information about what is in the magazine, but I

thought using too much writing might bore the reader. The image used on the front of

my magazine is quite different from my researched music magazines. I found that

most music magazines were bright and vibrant, I decided that I wanted my

magazine to be different in this way as I was looking for a more elegant magazine,

therefore I think my image has conventional features but for the genre of

my magazine I think it is also unconventional in the way it has been

presented. I think using my ‘POP’ Princess’ slogan made the music genre

more recognisable.

Researched magazines.

The contents page also uses conventions of real media products. I think my contents page is

conventional in the way it has been layed out such as where the image is positioned and

how the writing is presented. The image used I think will entice the readers through the direct eye-contact and this will make the audience read on. There is also a picture of the front cover on my contents page which is also

conventional as a lot of other magazines do this. I have also advertised on my contents page by writing, ‘jewellery from next’, above

the front cover image. I think this looks professional and is good advertising.

Also, I have used a quote on my contents page which I think would involve the reader and

entice them. I have tried to keep my contents page as simple as possible so it is clear to read but there is still conventions on there what are

needed to sell the music magazine. When writing about pages in the magazine I wrote LOOP on the font I used for the masthead I

think this looks professional as other magazines do this. I have also highlighted the

pages so they are easier to read and I also think this makes the page look more appealing to the eye. Overall, I think my contents page is very conventional and has all the information

needed for a successful contents page.

Inspiration

I think my double page spread is very conventional, during my research I found most double page

spreads have a way of joining the pages together so I did this using a main image . I

also found out that most double page spreads have a story, music magazines mostly have a gig or a tour, something that gets the reader involved with what the magazine is all about. My double page spread has a question and

answer section, I think this involves the magazine by letting the reader into the life of a

pop star and I think it will also interest the reader. The image I have used is conventional in the way there is direct eye contact between the image and the reader, this then draws the audience into the magazine, so the reader has something to focus on and will entice. I have also used a quote on the double page spread

which will maybe give the reader a hint of what the questions maybe about, the quotation

marks around the quote have been made quite large, I found this while researching and

thought it looked more eye-catching. I have used different colours for the question and

answers section so the reader can see clearly. Also, after researching other contents page I found that most double page spreads don’t

have a block colour so I decided to use a fading background on the double page spread so the page now looks more professional as it isn’t just a block colour, now I think it looks more

visually appealing.

Inspiration

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

I think my music magazine represents particular social groups as it is targeted at one particular

audience, I think the features used on the magazine will entice certain readers. My

magazine is targeted at women/girls, aged between 15-20 years old. I think the readers will have an interest in ‘POP’, glamour and

celebrities. I wanted my magazine to have a different side rather than just a ‘POP’

magazine. I also wanted to show a more sophisticated ‘POP’ magazine which is shown

with the ‘POP Princess’ theme. I think my magazine front cover will attract the right target audience I aimed it for as it is very elegant and professional, it also shows a different type of ‘POP’ which is the ‘POP’ Princess theme. I

think it will attract the more older audience due to the sophistication of the magazine and the younger reader due to the celebrities and the ‘POP’ Princess theme which I think will inspire the younger readers who look up to celebrities

shown in the media.

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Also, I think the contents page image is quite unconventional as during

my research I found that most contents pages do not use an image for the background and mostly have images running down the side of the page or presented like a film strip. I thought using a background for the contents page gives a clearer idea of what the whole magazine will be

based on and also brings something different to the magazine. I used a

black and white image so the writing could still be seen; this then made

the contents page look more elegant and professional. I think the main target audience for my music magazine would be girls/women

that are interested in what is going on in the ‘POP’ world and want to

find out some music gossip.

I think my contents page overall, is particularly

aimed at a certain audience.

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

My magazine will be sold in big brand shops such as supermarkets such as, Asda and Tesco, I would also sell the magazine in newsagents. I would place my

magazine next to the magazine ‘Blender’ as I think we have similar features. I would distribute my magazine by ‘MusicMags’, I have chosen this distributor as it specialises within the music industry which involves the readers of the magazines to build customer loyalty and enhances sale promotions. I think that ‘MusicMags’ would distribute my magazine as it has a unique side to the ‘POP’ world. I have

decided to price my music magazine at £3.00, I think this is a reasonable price for the magazine as it is quite elegant and professional and I think people will be

willing to pay this price for the magazine if they are interested in 'POP' music and celebrities. The price of the magazine also refers back to the target market. I

aimed my magazine at a more upper class audience, so I think this would be an accurate price range. Initially, I was going to price my magazine around £1.50 -

£2.00 but then when I thought about who my target audience was aimed at I thought that it was best to higher my price for the magazine as if the target

audience is more upper class then the price shouldn’t be such an issue for a higher class audience. The age range was aiming between 15-20 years, I think

this price is reasonable to this target market. There are also 50 pages in the magazine which also reflects back to the price of the magazine as they are getting

quite a lot for the price £3.00.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The media products used in my magazine are referring to a more mature teenager ageing between 15-20 years. The magazine is targeted at girls/women; this is shown clearly by the girl on the front cover. The

images used show a more elegant and professional ‘POP’ magazine. Although my music magazine is quite different to others, I think the way it has been presented is very conventional as I used a black and white font as I think this looks professional, I also added purple to my colour scheme, I think this then gives the magazine more of a lively look and referred better to a 'POP' magazine than just black and white as this

could be quite boring. I think the reader of the magazine would be a girl interested in 'POP' and is inspired to be like a 'POP princess'. I think the magazine offers a lot of variety as your not only finding out about what’s

going on in the music business there is a lot of different celebrities involved. I think the images used are very girly so a younger audience could also be attracted to the magazine but I would target my ‘POP’

magazine at 15-20 year olds.

How did you attract/address your audience

Attracting the audience is a very important part of producing the magazine as it needs to be eye-

catching and appealing to the audience. I think the main attraction to my magazine would be the main image. By using a main image this then gives the reader something to focus on and be attracted to.

During my research I discovered that using an image that had a direct eye contact draws the reader into

the magazine, baring this in mind, I went for an image that drew the reader into the magazine by eye contact but in a different way. The girl in my image is focusing on the inside of the magazine and a quote that is on the front cover of my magazine, I think the

audience will wonder why she is focusing on this particular feature and it will entice people. Also, I

think the layout of my magazine isn’t too busy and shows quite a professional ‘POP’ magazine. I also think the elegance of the magazine, such as the colour scheme that people are interested in fame

and music will instantly be attracted to the magazine as it shows a different side to 'POP' music. Also, I

used the website dafont.com to find a font that suited with my theme, I think finding the right font is

important as it fits with my genre and attracts the audience.

Direct eye contact Inspiration

I used the program Photoshop to edit my images, I think the main image is the first thing that will attract the reader to the

magazine, so I thought it was important that I choose the right one. I edited my images quite a lot to see which ones worked

best. These are some screen shots to show what editing tools I had to use to produce my magazine products.

I had to use this to open up the images I wanted to edit.

This is the toolbar in photoshop elements.

I used the crop button a lot to make my images smaller. Or to crop things out of the image.

I used the rectangle shape to border some of my images and make my backgrounds for my products.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? By being given this brief ‘produce a music magazine’ I have

had to use editing tools, such as cropping pictures, removing objects out the images using effects such as

black and white. This has given me a better understanding of the different programs and have

helped me produce my work to a better quality. Having to use fireworks has given me a wider knowledge of the program and I have learnt different editing skills. Also, Photoshop is another program I had to use. Mostly, I

had to use this program to remove things from my images, I am now confident with using the program and found it quite enjoyable to use. There is also slideshare

which I had to use to upload presentations to my blogger, I now find this easy to use. Also, I used the

website dafont.com to find a font that suited my genre. Lastly, Blogger was the main program I used as

everything had to be shown on here so I was using this website frequently, at first I didn’t know a lot about

blogger or how to access the website and how to use it, I now think blogger is really easy to use and have a

wider knowledge how to access different blogs to look at other students blogs to leave feedback on their work.

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

During the time I had to produce my music magazine I have developed a better knowledge of what are needed to produce a music magazine. At the beginning of my media course we had to produce a school magazine for our starter, by doing this it gave me an insight of what producing a magazine would be like and what is needed to produce a successful magazine. I think I have produced a better magazine by learning different programs before starting the music magazine.

After producing my magazine I have learnt what conventional and unconventional magazines are and I now know what a conventional magazine has to consist of and what is needed to sell the magazine successfully. All the

conventions for a magazine are needed to help the reader purchase the magazine and also attract the audience. I have learnt different technology skills such as using Photoshop, fireworks and blogger, which I have used to develop my images and present my work. Researching different magazines and what

different features they use has also helped me produce my work and give me a better understanding. Also, getting feedback on my work from other students has

helped me improve my work and have I now have a better knowledge on producing a successful music magazine.

These images are of my school magazine which was my

preliminary task, looking back I now see what is needed in a successful magazine. The basic skills I had at the beginning of the task has now developed a lot better and I can

now use programs such as, fireworks, Photoshop and blogger a

lot easily.