Media Magazine

Q4. Who would be the audience for your media product ?

Similar to my social groups question, my magazine would be targeted at the age of 14- 25. Reasons to why I started at the age of 14 is that you’re never too young to understand music and enjoy it, reasons why it isn't lower than the age of 14 yrs is because of the language used which children at a certain age may not understand. 

However I believe my magazine would mainly appeal to young adults, because of the article in the news paper talking about everyday life, and ways in which to make it in the music industry. 

 

People usually associate RnB and rap as more of a black cultural thing, which OBSESSED tries to make the magazine as versatile as possible so that it will appeal to all types of ethnic groups. Although my magazine mainly targets the people who are just all about the music, regardless of what ethnic group you are.

 

Q3. What kind of media institution might disturbute your media product and why?

I believe that Conde Nast publications are perfect and the most challenging publication for me to use. Although Conde Nast doesn't publish music magazines, this makes mine even more unique than existing magazines out there, because people would be curious to why out of all the music magazines why "Obsessed" has been chosen to be published by Conde Nast. This would then increase my magazine as well as Conde Nast reputation, showing people that the company is versatile in the type of magazines they choose to publish. 

                                                                                                                                  

Conde Nast publishes a lot of fashion magazines such as GQ and Glamour. This links to the different messages my music magazine is giving of, by choosing suggestive clothing suitable for my target audience and what the latest trends are. This is exactly what both magazines that i have chosen do. They keep up with the seasonal trends as well as my magazine and the stick to particular clothing which appeals to their intended target audience. These magazines tend to use celebrities as there models which is similar to my magazine.

Referring back to the fact that Conde Nast does not publish music magazines, means that there would be no competition regarding my magazine. It would be the only music magazine people would know that's being published by Conde Nast and would make them want to buy it more, this then would increase the amount of target audience.

The place in which I believe would be the best place for my magazine to be distributed would be in WHSmith, it is a well-known and established company which sells a variety of thing one of them being magazines. By distributing my magazine in WHSmith it gives my target audience quick access to them. The fact that WHSmith has 1000's of chains ensures that my target audience would not be limited to a certain amount of people. 

Q6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

In the making of my music magazine I learnt things through the process, about how to use Photoshop, different techniques to edit a picture and text. I used a Samsung camera which had a 10.2 mega pixels, which was uses to take all my pictures. As i got closer to the ending of my magazine i felt as if my knowledge of Photoshop had increased and getting thing edited became easier and quicker for me because i was familiar with it all. In order for me to great quality pictures i made sure that my location/ setting of where my pictures would have been taken was good so i would have the best results. Also during the process of my magazine magazine making i used Photoshop CS3 which played a big part of my final product. This form of technology gave me the skills to follow the codes and conventions of making a magazine, making it look realistic enough to be put into shops and to purchase.

In Photoshop CS3, I used it to touch up on my front cover image as well as the other images in the contents page and my double page spread. In order for me to get the perfect image i wanted , I clicked on the select button which gave me the option of modifying, which then gave me another option to feather and from there i picked the amount of pixels that i wanted, which was only 2 pixels because when editing the picture I didn't want it to seem to photo-shopped so that it would look more natural, making it seem as realistic as the other models in the music magazine. 

In order to fully edit the image i had to use  the polygonal tool to capture the areas in which i felt needed to be fixed/ cleaned up.

Another type of technology i used which helped me with the process of making my music magazine was a website called dafont.com this site helped me pick the type of font i wanted to use which would go with the theme of my type of magazine and help me stick with the codes of conventions. The process in which to use it the font whilst being on Photoshop, i had to download it to my home area which it would then appear in the fonts in Photoshop, which i then proceeded to use in the making of my magazine. 

Q5. How did you attract/ address your audience ?

I believe that I have attracted my target audience in several different ways. One way in which I feel I have achieved one of those goals is through my front cover. This is the most important part of the magazine, because it helps my targeted audience whether or not to buy the magazine. The look I chose for my model was very simplistic, which gives of the impression that the magazine is not intellectually based which would definitely appeal to my intended audience. The model also has a sense of mystery about her which would make the readers want to find out more about the artist. The model also has a few piercings, which suggest to us that she is not afraid of pain and has somewhat of an adventurous side to her. The Models hair is pulled back with highlighting on the tips which also shows another part to her adventurous side, which you are unable to see because of the picture is in black and white.

Another way in which I targeted my audience was buy making my cover lines effective enough to draw in my target audience.  My magazine has a mix of British culture as well as American culture, which I tried to emerge two different cultures together to create a very fun, interesting and exciting magazine, thus giving off a cool vibe. For my cover lines I used well established names in the entertainment industry to attract my target audience. One of my cover lines read "EXCLUSIVE Interview with Drake" I wrote this because I know the Drake is well-known successful artist on the RnB/Rap scene, which I known by using him in magazine attracts my intended audience and makes my magazine relevant.

For my front cover I used the same type of font; however I used different font sizes to make it look it look interesting. Also other reasons to why I did so was to show the importance of one cover line to the other for example the cover line which read "Lorelle The Women In Black" was the most important hence why it was the largest out of the other cover lines. It represented the artist in the picture and gives the reader a little idea of who she is. 

Another way in which I attracted my target audience was through my contents page and the different artists I was offering in my magazine. I kept it simple and organised so that my target audiences would be able to find quick and easy what they would like to read. Pictures were also placed in my contents page to give my target audience and idea of what they would be reading.

For my masthead I sued a San serif font which I downloaded from www.dafonts.com I made sure that I picket out the correct font to use for my masthead seeing as it would be the main thing to attract my target audience’s eye. So I decided on this very rounded font which suggests that it is an informal magazine, which would appeal to a wide range of people, and also a young target audience. 

Q2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My media product is aimed at a teenage audience who listen to RnB, rap and pop music. I gave the impression that the magazine was aimed at a teenager audience by the images used the style of clothing, the type of font used throughout the magazine product. The model on the front cover shows the particular audience my magazine is aimed at, although the clothing suggests otherwise it has a deeper meaning, that teenagers are growing into young mature adults. However the model then shows off her fun and exciting side in the double page spread. This in some way follows the conventions but with a twist, because most magazines try to send of a deeper meaning of things, which I have also tried to do so in my media magazine.

My model is wearing a black dress but is close up so readers are unable to see that. It gives us the impression that she is a serious artist and works hard to please her fans. Her makeup is also simple, a bit of eye shadow and gloss on the lips which is suitable for a teenage girl. The model on the front cover also has piercings on her ear which suggest that she also has an edgy side to her.

 

Q1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

                                                                                

 In the beginning of my AS media magazine i looked at existing and a reputable magazines which gave me an understanding on how to use conventions in order to make my magazine look like a music magazine. By me imitating the different types of conventions makes my music magazine look more realistic and professional. One convention which I used was a cover line which was placed directly at the top of the front cover, this is done so that the readers have an insight of what sort of people and information the magazine has to offer. Another convention I used in order to stick to the rules of making a music magazine is a masthead which is in red colour making it stand out from other magazines. I used a particular font form the (dafont.com) which I chose a San serif type font which is mainly used in music magazines, to create that young and vibrant feel. This helps it to attract to the magazines intended target audience.

In order to follow the codes and conventions of making a magazine I made sure that I added a bar code, website in which they would be able to find more information I also chose the colour red for the website and price because it is eye catching and standouts, so the readers will not miss it and the price of the magazine which had been place at the bottom right hand corner of the magazine which most magazines do.

                     

This is not a most common convention, however I used it to in order to make my magazine cover just a tad bit more unique than the other magazines i was inspired by vibe magazine which they had put a cover line in a bubble right underneath the masthead. By the bubble being placed at the top with exciting and bold colours catches the eyes of the reader. The writing placed in the bubble of magazine gives an insight of what is going to be in the magazine, however in my case mine is done to show that the magazine is full of articles, music related fashion related and interviews, which tells the buyers that they are getting a lot for their money.

My main cover line is the artist on the front covers name this straight away tells you who the article is mainly going to be dedicated to. Throughout I used the same font for all cover lines, which is a main rule in the code of conventions, so I tied my best to follow it. Although some cover lines are different sizes to others, which usually means that one cover line is more important. For example the cover line " Lorelle the women in black " is the largest cover line on the front cover which shows that it has the most importance. I also cleverly used a way to catch the readers eye by making the word black a bold read colour, which would make the readers think twice on what they have seen thus drawing them into to reading and buying the magazine.

My double page spread follows the codes of conventions, which makes it a more realistic double page spread for a magazine. I used a very simplistic but effective background which consists of pink and grey, this contrast with the words and the black and white picture making it stand out more. My article is in forms of columns, which is a main convention. I also made my opening paragraph slightly larger than the rest of the text. The images in the article is placed on the right hand side of the page, which I had a large image and two smaller images on either side of the large image, which this makes my article look more fun and exciting for my target audience.