media studies coursework - 7 questions with my personal answering

8/12/2019 media studies coursework - 7 questions with my personal answering.

1/17

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

My media product uses similar codes and conventions to other, real products. For example I have included within ma barcode, the date, and some of my main headlines. I have also used a mid close up shot for my main image, likemagazines do. have used a uniue font and a puff so display my main offer. !s well as this, I have included buzz wand a continued colour scheme so that it all keys in with each other well. I also feel my contents page uses the forconventions of real media products, because I have used similar colour themes as my cover page, again I%ve includwith buzz word "new$ and also my title "contents$ is prominent without being too overpowering. &he only thing I%vethe fact I haven$t included an issue number because I included it within my cover page. I have written my main tex

contrasts well against the background and also the main words are written in colour to promote them. I have inclunumbers within my main images so there is ease when trying to find them.

For my magazine title, I have used the word "'(I&)*#$. I feel this works well, because its not typically associated wthe following titles from real products. &hese titles cover the main music magazine conventions+ they$re bold, strikcontroversial colours which suit both genders. I have applied this convention to my title, which is black suiting malfemales, and its also bold so it stands out well.

I have also changed some of the things my audience reuired, such as a light house style. I have included this in athe front cover and double page spread, but I$ve also challenged it, by using a dark black for my contents page tothis looks better because it breaks up the wishywashy colours.

-old titlewith a

simpleletter to

M/ looks good, because itis a simple title of 0 letters,and is In a colour suited toall genders. &he fact the

letters are capital makes itstand out more, as it

I like my magbecause not a uniue titleitself also potitle says, sin

different arrodirections. &


2/17

My photoshoot and how I got to using my current main images

For my cover image, I originally wanted it to look as though I am featuring a group or band, so I wanted to!fter taking a few photographs, I realised my audience wanted a magazine that included mainstream artimusic, and the look to my images was as though I was making a rock or indie magazine, and I was basicawrong effect., so I decided to take a photograph of !lex, my cover model, alone and featuring product pla

doing this, in a medium closeup shot, it looks more effective and professional, because you can see morethe clothing choices, compared to his clothes in the group photograph, work better with the audience 1tefocusin on.


3/17

I have included acontroversial stylecover line, likeoriginal musicmagazines do.&his works well, asits bold and suitsmale and females.

3riginal musicmagazinesuse bold andvibrantcoloured titles,to attract theiraudiences.

&his musicmagazine hasincluded a housestyle that is suitedto both males andfemales, hencethe blue and pinkcolours.

I have placed a barcode intomy magazine, but as you cansee, the real media product is

without one, so it doesn$tcover all conventions#


4/17

My title is uite faint, which challengesreal products because like you see on the4I-/ mag, their contents title is bold andarranged in an interesting way. I wantedmy contents page to be uniue and nottoo overpowering, therefore I chose aweaker font. My slogan from the frontcover is also present, to key both pagestogether somewhat.

I$ve included a buzz puff next to my"ten new artists$ storyline. Itportrays the fact they%re new, and

also gives visual impact, drawingthe eye to that area almostinstantly. &he one thing I wouldchange is the fact that the buzzpuff is actually bolder than thetitle. Its clear that in the realproduct, there is no buzz puff oranything to draw your eyes to,other than the contrast of the redheart against the black and white.

For my cover lines, I%ve used a whitefont to contrast against the blackbackground. &his looks striking, butalso shows my magazine is also stillgood for all genders. I have

highlighted important words in thesame blue used in my house style,and my page numbers are in pink,showing my house style is stillpresent. &he real product to theright, uses a plain black font, notreally very clear, to show its coverlines. I personally don$t like this, as Ithink the page looks uite bland.

&he photographs I%ve chosen to add to my contents page look, in my opinion,uite professional. I think that they work well, because the main image of !lexis clear and it draws your eye instantly due to the cream background, yet theblack around the other male, makes it look professional. &he only think I wouldchange here, is perhaps adding a female into my contents page, so the fact itsfor males and females looks more present. &he real media magazine contents

page 1to the right2 looks professional, since the main image is taking up alarge proportion of the page, but I don$t think it looks interesting, they haven$t

%


5/17

In my opinion, I feel my double page spread looks slightly better than 4I-/$' because I%ve added a uote baudience a uick brief into what they are going to read. !s well as this, I%ve added a title that is clear and double page spread. &his looks affective since the black contrasts with my house style, and also the excla"top#$ looks interesting and makes you want to read on. &he real media product, in my view, looks uite pllong image at the top works well and gives it a focal point, I don$t like the large image taking up to much white, for me, doesn$t look too great. I do feel, however, that my double page looks a little faint in colour,only the colours I need for my house style, no other ones are present. !lthough this gives an instant connemagazine has the same house style throughout, it looks fairly wishywashy and faint.


6/17

*ow does your media product represent particular social group

My media product fits into the idea of c.r.a.g.s 5

) 6 class

7 6 race

! 6 age

8 6 gender


7/17

) class

My magazine is mostly focused upon the middle class, teens in particular. I have

focused my music magazine to this class and status 1which is - in the income and

class scale2 because it means it is for a more diverse and wider audience and suits

more people. If my magazine was focused upon upper class, I would have to

change my cover lines and photographs to suit there style and genre.

My main image suits middle classed people well, which can be seen in the clothes

he is wearing and the product placement 6 middle classed teenagers are likely to

have this kind of gear, and especially so if they are passionate about music. I have

also included many well known artists to the front cover of my magazine, and I

think that this presents middle classed people well, because, from my research, I

found out a lot of people in this category prefer r9b music and charts music,

compared to the likes of classical and opera. My house style also suits my middle

class aim, because it is light and airy, and also is well suited to my desired

audience, which is teenagers.


8/17

7 race

My magazine doesn$t really focus on particular races as such, but suits people of all ethnic background

"teenage$ category. I have included !lex, who is of white ethnicity, onto my magazine cover, because m

writers of the present day are white. &his isn$t to say there are no singers of different racial background

model to look this way because it suited my desired theme.

3n my contents page, I have included an image of someone with a different racial and ethnic backgrou

embedded this image into my magazine, because I think it portrays the fact that my magazine is suited

there is no particular group of people that my magazine is focused on. In real media products, you see

different ethnic backgrounds featured on the front cover. I have challenged this, featuring a white perso

and a )hinese person on the contents page. Magazines such as 4I-/, ; and M/ all use people with ve

backgrounds, although it is clear that their audience is of people who like charts music, as the faces fea

people from this genre.


9/17

! age

From researching what my audience would like, I figured it would be mostly preteens and teenage

reading my magazine, and I have therefore tailored it to fit into this age category. For example, I ha

and singers that my audience said they like, such as the likes of "icki mina: and neyo$ and I have

house style controversial in colour, but light and airy so that all kinds of teenagers feel they can ap

my music magazine.

My magazine supports the stereotype that youth of our present day, like r9b and charts music, and

included all types of artists from this day and age that are constantly producing new songs.

I have also included, in a buzz puff, an advertisement for winning tickets to a gig. &his suits people

since they stereotypically like music festivals and gatherings, which is also supported by my resear

en:oy.

I have used informal lexis within my music magazine, with words such as "deffo$ to include the kinthat teens use within my magazine. In my opinion, I think that teens will be able to associate with m

if I use non standard /nglish because it included dialect that they would often use.

8 d


10/17

8 gender

My music magazine is focused upon both male and female audiences, so it is suited for all audiences. I

style of both blue and pinks for my magazine so that all genders are catered for in a way so my magazi

(hen looking into the best colour options for my magazine, my audience decided upon light colours for

looking into this, I decided to use their responses and entwine their needs into my magazine so its suita

My front image is of a male, I think that this suits my magazine style well and doesn$t affect the fact its

women, because both males and females dominate todays music charts, therefore I feel the fact that m

boy, doesn$t accumulate sexist thoughts.

&ypically, blue connotesmales, although back inthe >$s pink wasconsidered a masculinecolour because its strong,and is thought to portraythe male strength,whereas blue was to

I however, have chosto ignore the oldersayings, and have edmy magazine to suit for females, and bluethe males. &he coloublack on my contentpage suits all gender

and I have editedim ortant words in b


11/17

(hat kind of media institution might distribute your media produc

"My magazine is mainstream, and focusesspecifically on 79- and artists of the moment. Iam focusing the magazine on teenagers andthe younger generation mostly, because theartists and style of music that will be included inthe magazine, such as drake and ana @el 7eyare not necessarily to the likes of middle ageand elderly people. 'eeing as my magazine isfocusing on an 79- style, my magazinepublisher will most probably be IA) media,because they have helped to publish magazinessuch as M/ which are similar to my style ofmagazine. In my opinion there is definitely aspace in the market for my magazine, sincemost of the music magazines that are currentlyon the shelves are focused on country or rockmusic, and there%s not much to cover for thepeople that prefer music that is in the charts,like 79-.My magazine is very uniue, because there arenot many magazines that focus on 79-specifically, and also the magazine is focusedon teens and early B>%s only, but femalesparticularly, so it contains youthful singers andstory lines, as well as bright and airy colours toattract eo les e e, and a ain ortra the fact

!s I have saidbefore, I would likean institution suchas IA) media, todistribute mymagazine. I havedecided upon thiscompany, becausethey focus onpublishing M/and othermagazines styleswith similar contextto mine.Magazines tend tobe distributed interms of how manypeople reuire acertain type ofmagazine.Institutions thatsend magazines tothe shelf are all


12/17

(ho would be the audience for your media product?

I$ve decided to focus my magazine upon teens, although I haven$t got any age category in parstudents and younger teens are more suited to it, though. I have made my magazine suitable male and female, so that my magazine isn$t stereotypical or sexist, leaning towards one groupthe other. My magazine focuses on mainstream music 1which is already widely spread through

you hear this style of music in stores, on &4, entwined within advertisements, and in movies. &widely popular and also suits all people and their music tastes, because in my opinion, althougalways like the idea of being part of the mainstream music fans, the music produced in this damixture of both indie, folk and 79-.'(I&)*# Isn%t focused on any particular race or ethnicity, mmagazine will gain a wider audience and therfore gaining more publicity.

My magazine is focused upon working clascategory @$s. I have chosen this category of peopusually influenced by the music that is currently around

songs whilst shopping, on &4 etc. "Daren is


13/17

*ow did you attractGaddress your audience? 1Include evidence of aufeedback2

For my cover image, I have used !lex, a teenage boy. *is clothing is designer wear, which teenagers can relate to, since its widely popular, and the headphones are not only beats 6 a popular music brand, but they also provide product placement, the s ight of them provides the p roof that my ma

they are fashionable to have. !s well as this, the cover image will help to attract the right kind of people to my magazine, since it is clearly showing that my magazines pu rpose is to provide music news, b ut also the style of clothing that !lex is wearing is uite mainstream 1because it contains b

focused on mainstream music. I think I have portrayed teenagers in a good light on my magazine, since they%re usually seen as vandals and trouble makers, yet my m agazine includes a cover photo of a teenage boy with beats headphones on, avoiding the camera which suggests he%s busy or p

more important than the "typical$ activities of a usual teenage boy 1partying, drinking, biking, vandalising2 that is portrayed in the media or press. My f ocus group commented on the colour scheme, stating that "It suits both males and females and has a refreshing feel to it$ I think that these co

but also they are typically male and female colors, showing my magazine caters for b oth genders. I figured to attract my audience, I$d need catchy cover lines and detailed stories to grab attention, therefore I included a cover line that held many popular artist$s names within it to grab attention

also used bolder text in my "-uzz$ on the front page, as I feel the eye will be drawn to is uickly, and the use of the pull word "win$ and the exclamitive at the end, shows excitement and possibility, and the thought of winning could be all it takes to attract my audience into reading my magazine

my audiences go to music festivals at least once a fortnight, therefore adding a buzz relating to gigs, for me, w as a bonus to attract more people to my magazine.


14/17

3n this front cover,the main image1 @izzee 7ascal 2 iswearing designerclothing 1!didas2which portrays ayouthful feel. *is

:ewelry makes a"loud$ statement,suggesting he is arapper, or some kind

of 79- singer, sincethey tend to makemore of a statementin what they wearand how they$reseen. &hebackground ofgraffiti also portrays

youthfulness, sincegraffiti is usually

&his magazine has auite strong folk Gcountry music feelto it, since there is

use of browns,blacks and yellows,which are all earthycolors, showing thatthe magazine ismost probablyaimed at peoplewith a passion for

country music. &hemain image doesn$tmake so much of astatement, since itspeaceful, the modelis looking away fromthe camera,suggesting she%s ina state of thought,

d ki


15/17

*otdesking

"&he main image is brilliant, it reallycatches your attention, being light in

color with the sudden contrast ofblack on the headphones, cover lineand tshirt. I like the way you haveoutlined the top, it looks professionaland eye catching, I really like thiscover page, but the cutting out ofsome of the text boxes around yourmodels head doesn$t look as neat, asit perhaps could do.$

"I like your cover pagehouse style looks refreand airy, but also suitsand females, making ifor all, I would imaginebring you more of an asine at first glance, it$ssuits all people. If I wa

something, it would beof storylines you haveMuch.$

I am fairly pleased with my hot desking results, since I feel that the people I asken:oyed looking at my work, and my cover page. I have taken on board some ofalthough I don$t think the story line comment is applicable, you need a lot of sto

attention 6 the more you have the better the chance of publicity.


16/17

(hat have you learnt about technologiesfrom the process of constructing this product?

&o create my music magazine, I used Ahotoshop for my front cover, and In@esign fand double page spread.

(hilst using these programs, I was able to edit photographs, creating a better ovecould type and move text into any area I wanted. In@esign, for me, proved the harme to use, since it was slightly more complex, and therefore took me longer to sus!fter finishing my products, and looking back, I feel that Ahotoshop provided me wsince I was able to do a lot of editing to my magazine so that is suited my audiencetherefore making it look more professional in the long run, whereas In@esign provedon$t feel I%ve learned many skills in which I can carry forward, I feel I didn%t$t uiteconcepts so well, but looking back to the start of using In@esign, I feel my skills ha

changed for the better, I$ve picked up basic skills, such as drop shadows, and outenot all of those things have been put into my magazine.3verall I feel my understanding for different software%s has really thoroughly impromaking my music magazine I had no idea on how to use programs such a AhotoshI feel I%ve put them to good use whilst making my magazine, and they have assistemaking a professional looking magazine, in my opinion.


17/17

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

I feel I$ve learned many skills within the Ahotoshop program that will enable me to create detai

media in the future, since I%ve learned how to edit properly, cut other images into existing ones

generally make my work look more professional.

-efore I had fully begun my music magazine, I found In@esign uite scary, because it is uite a

from Ahotoshop and what I was used to, but I feel I did pretty well considering I didn%t$t really kn

it, and as a result my work looks fairly professional, although If I was to change anything, I wou

have a little more time in learning about the program before going into my work.

I have learned a lot more techniues from the programs I used, such as how to erase unwanted

edges, using the magnetic lasso tool in Ahotoshop, and I%ve also figured out better ways when l

to make it look a lot more professional like real media products, and also make it look less busy

media studies coursework - 7 questions with my personal answering

Documents