Ways in which my magazine, develops and challenges forms and conventions of real media

products

• For my front cover I have used a long shot of Ammi so that the target audience instantly knows she is going to be the main feature of the magazine. Ammi is wearing clothes that would appeal to an indie audience so that the audience with immediately relate the magazine to the indie genre of music. The images used at the bottom of my front cover also immediately relate the magazine as a ‘indie rock’ style magazine as although the image of Ammi is very indie, the images placed below feature people who seem quite punky and rock like. Also because two of the images are taken at a gig the audience instantly knows this is a music magazine that will feature things such as upcoming gigs.

• I have kept the masthead simple, bold and eye catching. A key convention of a magazine is to make the masthead the biggest size text on the page so that the audiences attention goes straight to that, it is also always placed at the top of the page so that the magazine is easily identifiable if it is on a rack as it may be the only part of the page the reader gets to see and so it is important that the mast head is always kept the same so that the reader knows what it is looking for. Therefore I have incorporated this convention into my magazine; my masthead has been placed on the top right hand of the screen and is the biggest text on the page. It is also a simple colour black so that although it is eye catching it is not too much of a distraction from the main image on the page.

• I used he word ‘revolt’ for my magazine as the word revolt means to break away from or rise against constituted authority • Because my main image has a background of a lake and trees, there is quite a bit of green going on in the page therefor I kept my colour scheme

simple so that there was not too much colour going on and so that the colour scheme didn’t clash with the main image. Therefore I have used a 3 colour scheme, which is black, white and grey. This colour scheme gives the opportunity to make all the important things stand out and make the images the main attraction. I have places all the minor sell lines in white so that it does not just simply blend in with the rest of the text on the page, because this is the only white on the page it makes them easily identifiable and easy to find.

• I have used a limited colour scheme. This limited colour scheme allows the audience to focus on what they want to read rather than been bombarded with lots of confusing colours. Although many magazines go for red at the masthead I have adapted this convention and done it black as sometimes less is more.

• As well as my masthead being in black, so is my major sell line, this is because it is the second most important text on the front cover. Because of this I have made it the

How my magazine represents particular social groups

Indie

UNIQUE STYLE

Rock

The main image relates to the target audience as it does in many other magazines. As my magazine is aimed at young people I have chosen to put a young person on the front to create that connection between the reader and the magazine. Although the image used for my double page spread is unusual it creates quite a laid back, casual feeling which most of my readers may be able to relate to as It brings the person in the image to quite an ordinary level. Also, the word ‘indie’ mean individual and because this is quite a unique image for a magazine this would relate to the indie part of my fan base as the will appreciate the difference. Also, the clothing Ammi is wearing in my images is also quite unique which again relates to indie fashion because indie’s have quite a unique sense of style. My magazine also represents the rock side of my magazine with the images used below. The images of Catharsis show the rock side very well as they tend to be dressed in quite dark clothing either singing heavily into a mic or posing for the camera in a way that no one other than a rocker would pose. I attracted and addressed my audience by using bold styles and a range of different size and style fonts and a grey, white and black colour scheme (in contents it also involves a little red) which will draw the reader’s attention. This will immediately draws the reader in and makes them want to by the magazine. I used the strap line “Ammi Kirtley” which is the name of the artist on the front cover, in huge bold black lettering to draw attention to the image and make the reader wonder what it’s all about, so they buy it.

Institution that would distribute my media product and why?

• I think that Bauer Media Group is the most likely company to publish my magazine. This is because Bauer Media Group is a very well known publishing company publishing around 38 million magazines a week. This mean they know a lot about publishing and are very successful in doing so therefore I think Bauer would be the perfect way to get my magazine out there. Another reason for me choosing Bauer is because it is the publishing company that published Q Magazine which is a very indie rock style magazine which I plan for my magazine to be like. Because my magazine is both a indie and rock style magazine this means I am taking in the conventions of both Q and Kerrang! magazine, because Bauer Media Company also own Kerrang radio this means they are very aware of rock music and know all about the latest and biggest bands, which is perfect for my magazine. This also means that any new and unheard of bands published in my magazine would have more of a chance of being advertised and played on Kerrang! Radio as it is linked to the publishing company and would probably help them receive more money as people who listen to Kerrang Radio will want to hear and read about bands they have heard whilst listening to the music station. Another company which would most likely publish my magazine is IPC Media as it is the company that publishes Kerrang Magazine, which means it is very aware of how to publish a rock magazine. However, Kerrang is basically all rock and doesn't contain much of an indie influence so it would probably be more beneficial to stick with Bauer as both companies are very successful and own lots of media products including millions of magazines but IPC media generally tends to cater for an older audience and is specialised in a rock magazine where as I am producing an Indie rock magazine.

Target audienceOoh! Revolt magazine, my favourite!

• Fan base - rock/indie music lovers. People who enjoy concerts and gigs.

• Lower class, students. • The audience for my magazine is young adults and

teenagers aged around 16-25 who are interested in indie/rock music and new and upcoming bands. It’s aimed at people with a low budget of money so it’s a monthly magazine. It is not defined to one type of gender as it is aimed at both sexes.

How I attracted/ addressed my audience

• I attracted my audience by looking at they conventions of music magazines. I saw what conventions and representations was used and adapted them to look different and interesting, making something stand out from the other products on the market at the moment.

• I attracted and addressed my audience in my double page spread by using an image that used interpellation. As Ammi was looking into the camera it creates an effect when placed on the page that she is looking directly at the audience, therefore making them feel like they are involved in the magazine.

• Images used on my contents page also used interpellation, especially the image of the band catharsis, this image also used the method of hierarchical positioning putting the singer in the middle and the rest of the group evenly beside him. Also because they are looking into the camera it looks like they are doing there poses to you. So it again creates a sense of involvement for the reader. Also because the band is wearing quite dark rocky clothing this means the rock side of my audience will relate to the band.

• Another way I attracted my audience was by my images of people singing and playing, this would attract any music lover as it immediately makes you think of things like gigs and festivals.

• For my contents page I made sure things such as features, news and reviews were all made to stand out by placing them in a red highlighted box as this instantly catches the readers eye and draws their attention to the rest of the content that will be shown in the magazine.

• The images used with page number next to them are used to draw the readers attention to the most important parts of the magazine, it also makes the page look more eye catching, exciting and interesting to the reader which will make them want to buy it more.

• The images used along the bottom of the front cover are there to tease the audience, as well as address the magazine as both a music and indie/rock style magazine. The fact that there is images featured to show the reader what else is inside the magazine is a unique selling point as it makes them want to know what the images are about what information is attached to them, therefore persuading them more to buy the magazine.

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

• I have learnt that you should always back up your work and not just save it as it wont always save if the file is too big and you don’t have enough memory left on the hard drive of the computer.

• I have learn how to upload images from photo shop onto a web blog. • I have learnt how to do things such as create box outs, blend things

together, create effects such as outer glows and how different style font and size can make a huge difference to the appearance of my magazine. I have learnt how to crop around images using different tools and how to arrange things to look like a magazine should.

• I have also learnt that the top of the magazine is the most important part of a front cover as that is the main part that will be shown on a magazine rack and therefor needs to be compelling to the audience so that it catches their eye and makes them pick it up and buy it.

Progression from preliminary task

Looking back at my preliminary task of a college magazine I have learnt a lot more about how a magazine should be constructed and what it should look like. By learning that the masthead should be the biggest text on the page, to knowing how to create a box out. My preliminary task only consisted of a mast head which had a white outer glow around it to make it stand out against the cream colour of the background, I did not really have a colour scheme just a black masthead and white sell lines with a crème background from the image. With my preliminary task although there is little blank space there doesn’t seem to be much detail on the page, however with my own magazine I think I have created more detail and used my use of spacing better to create a more fun and eye catching piece of media instead of a dull one like my preliminary task seems to be. I also think I have created a better more effective colour scheme. With my preliminary task the masthead although it is the biggest piece of writing on the text it is quite plain and not very bold, with my masthead on my final magazine I believe it to be quite bold and eye catching and fits in with my genre of magazine quite well. A lot more thought and detail went into my revolt magazine rather than preliminary task which was quite rushed and not well planned out. My revolt magazine looked more like a professional magazine where as my preliminary task looks mediocre.