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

For the front cover of my magazine I used many ideas from different magazine covers including Rolling Stone, Kerrang and Q.
The mast-head of my magazine is slightly covered up; I got this idea from the magazines listed above. I did this because it makes the magazine look popular as it doesn’t have to show the full name for readers to identify it. I liked the idea of this and therefore used it; I wanted to make the readers and other products of media see my magazine as being popular.

For my headline I used a font which looks like spray-paint which is fairly unpopular for magazines as they normally feature more formal fonts. I wanted to challenge other magazines by using unusual fonts because I wanted to show readers that my magazine is different in the some ways and doesn’t follow the usual criteria.

I also featured some inside contents on the cover which is usual for magazines however I decided to only feature two stories whereas other magazines tend to feature up to 5 or 6. I did this because I wanted to keep the main focus on the main story however I also wanted to hold more suspense for what is to be inside the magazine.
I did however feature a strap line at the top of my cover which lets the readers know what music news is inside; I also wrote something similar in the box that covers the mast-head.

The final aspect which links my magazine to most magazines is the main image. I used a colour image which follows the magazine trend because it makes the magazine stand out more and represents more social groups.
By having my image in colour it makes the girls seem lively and young which is important as young role models for a young audience.

My double-page spread uses most ideas from other media products.
The background colour of black on the page is the common colour along with white to be used for double-page spreads. I think this is because ever colour used on black stands out and doesn’t clash. I also wanted to keep it simple and not too colourful.
The idea of also using the double-page as an interview with the ‘celebrities’ is very common and is what double-page spreads are mainly used for. I decided to use the usual ideas because I want my magazine to relate to other magazines in some ways.
The colours I used; white and red are also the stereotypical colours used when an interview occurs on a double-page spread as seen from the two I analysed. I used these because they are good visual colours on black and they can identify the questions and answers in the interview.

On the other hand I created a montage image to challenge other media products. I did this on the right page of my double-page spread. I used a montage of images because I wanted to show what the band looked like independently but also as a band.
This challenges other magazines because montages are very rarely used; this also introduces a new idea. I also wrote the girls names beside their image which again is unusual but I wanted to identify the girls individually.

How does you media product represent particular social groups?

My magazine represents different social groups. The image on my cover represents young talented women who may want an opportunity to get a career in music. The fact that the girls have not been totally edited with technology makes them idols for society because unlike most celebrities it shows their true colours. I think this is important because people especially the younger generation need idols and need realistic ones.
I decided to write the headline in a very unusual font which reflects the girls personality because this shows that they are different and therefore independent but it yet again shows they are realistic.
I dressed the girls is simple clothing and jewellery that people in society can relate to because it reflects them in the way that it's not too expensive or unachievable.

Also the images of the girls on the double-page spread are not taken with the usual poses but i decided to take them of the girls as they would every day. I think this also represents social groups because it shows that they are everyday people with their own personalities.

The main image is in black and white and I did this because the usual representation of black and white images is for men, but I wanted to show that representations can be changed. I think this was a good way of this message across to the audience.


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

The media institution I would like to distribute my magazine with would be Jann. S Wenner. He is a well known publisher of many American magazines including Rolling Stone, Outside, Family Life and US weekly.
I would choose this publisher because I want my magazine to be similar to Rolling Stone (which is published by Jann Wenner) in the way it features not only music but politics and culture. I would like to feature more than just music in my magazine so that it would attract a larger audience and also give a variety of topics.

Rolling stone is also a very popular magazine with a circulation of around 1.4million compared to Q at 130,170 and NME at 56,284. This shows how much more popular the circulation is and is therefore another reason as to why I would choose Jann Wenner.

I also think my magazine would have more success with Jann Wenner because he has been able to run a magazine with increasing numbers in circulation and revenue for over four decades and this is something that is very hard to achieve in the industry.
Finally by choosing Jann Wenner it would also mean that my magazine would be published in the United States and other countries and could therefore gain an even higher readership than if it was only published in the UK.

I understand that it would be hard to publish a similar magazine because this creates competition within their own company. However the main difference between Sound and Rolling Stone is the audience it attracts. I have created my magazine to interest a female audience rather then the usual male and this therefore reduces the competition as Rolling Stone attracts a larger male audience then female.
In order to attract a female audience I would include more topics like fashion and more articles about women; this would therefore relate more to women.

What would be the audience for your media product?

I would like my magazine to be suitable for any age groups. I would like to give my magazine something that interests all ages because it is very hard to find a magazine that does that. I think it would be a suitable age group because my magazine would feature news about music, politics and culture and this relates to all people in general.
However to create a larger older audience I would also feature music from older generations like jazz and classical.
My magazine would be aimed at both males and females however I imagine that it would have a larger female audience as I intend to include more fashion and articles on women artists, however I will also feature articles for men. My magazine would have a whole range of different genres of music which would create a larger interest from people. For example my magazine would feature:
Rock/Metal
R&B
Pop
Jazz
Classical
This would again broaden the interest in my magazine which is what I am aiming for.

How did you attract/address your audience?

To attract my audience’s attention I used my first magazine to show that it is different than other magazines, in the way that it looks. For example my main image or double-page spread montage.
I wanted to show the audience that my magazine is different in the way it looks but still maintains that same quality as other magazines.

I also made the price of my magazine very competitive for other magazines as it only costs £1.80 compared to Rolling Stone at £4.50 and Q at £3.90. This would therefore attract attention straight away because people are going to be more interested to get a similar magazine for much less.

I featured interesting articles on the cover of celebrities that seem to be gaining a lot of attention in the media; this shows that my magazine is up to date with gossip and news which is what people want to read about.

Another in which I adressed my audience was by writing an editors letter to the readers. This adresses my audience because I wrote it to speak directly to them about the edition of the magazine.

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

Through the process of constructing my magazine I have learnt how to use some new technology.
I learnt how to handle a camera and assemble people within a shot suitable for a magazine cover. This was essential because I wanted my images for both magazines to look as professional as possible but I also wanted to be able to position people correctly for a shot.

I also learnt how to edit images by using Photoshop which became really useful to adapt an image the way I wanted. By learning how to use this I am able to edit images in ways magazine editors do just at a lower standard, for example I can change the colour of the background or cut a person from one image and place them in another. This again made my images look more professional but it also gave me the experience.

Also by analysing and researching other magazine it gave me knowledge of how they are set out or how images are presented and even the fonts used on the covers. This helped because I could then apply this to my magazine using Photoshop.

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

At the start of my preliminary task I didn’t obtain as many skills as I have acquired now. I have learnt how to research data and take out the essential parts needed but I have also learnt how magazine covers should be analysed and what I should look for on a magazine cover that will gain readers attention.
By analysing magazines it also helped me learn the correct terminology, expanding my media knowledge. Here is some of the terminology I learnt:
Mast-head
Headline
Inside contents
Plugs
By-lines
Etc.
Also from my preliminary take I have learnt more skills on Photoshop like how to create a montage of images of how to blur a background and keep the foreground clear. This helped when it came to editing my images for my magazine cover.
Furthermore I learnt how to assemble people for an image which would be suitable for a magazine cover as well as a double-page spread. This increased my camera knowledge.
I also learnt what magazines contain inside and why they do contain what they do. I found out that the magazine Rolling Stone contains music as well as politics and culture because it attracts a wider audience which is needed for a higher readership. This helped me improve the contents of my magazine.
Finally I learnt a few things on different publishers including Bauer music, Jann Wenner and IPC media. I find out what magazines they own, the circulation of their magazines, their magazine content and their readership numbers. This helped me decide what magazine publisher I would prefer to publish my magazine and why.

This is my contents page for my magazine. I chose to use a white background because any colour can be used on white but also because contents pages are normally white. I also decided to create my contents page on one page rather then two because I think it looked too spacious on a double-page.

At the top of the page I placed the date and website of the magazine because these are published on all contents pages of all magazines.

I featured the logo of my magazine as the title rather then writing 'contents' because I think readers will be aware that this is the contents page without it written. However I wrote the logo as an identification of the magazine. I used the colour red for the logo instead of the blue which I used on the cover because it really stands off the page but overall looked better because it matched the colour of writing.

I used three images on the contents page; 50 cent, Ashanti and Bittersweets. I used these because they are celebrities that are used in my stories.
Underneath Ashanti and 50 cent I placed their names and the page number that their stories are featured on. I did this because after looking at magazines like Mojo and Rolling Stone, this is a common thing to do. I also added gold coloured 'shadows' behind the images to give the page more colour.

I also used the same picture of Bittersweets than on the cover but I used it in colour this time. I used the same image because it looks really professional but also looks good on the page.

I separated the contents into two parts; on the cover and inside. I did this because it is the usual criteria for most magazines to feature a section of the contents from the cover and a section from other stories inside the magazine.
I placed these in different columns because it gave me more space for images and made the layout look better.

I used red for the writing and black for the titles and numbers because these were the colours I used for the two stripes placed down the side of the page. I used the same colours because I didn't want to have too many colours on the page.

At the bottom of the page I wrote a small section from the editor. I wrote this because it is something that occurs in most magazines and usually refers to the stories and issue itself.
I wrote mine about the fact that my magazine is not only going to feature new music but also old music and old legends people seem to forget.

In my magazine this would be my double-page spread. On the right hand side I decided to do a montage of images because I wanted to show each member of the band separately. I also featured an image of the band together showing what they look like as a band.

I placed the names of each member either in front or down the side of their images. I wanted to place one of the names down the side of the page to introduce something different rather then just placing them all under the girls. I gave them names because I used names within my interview and the audience may not know which name stands for which girl. I decided to use the same font for the names as I did on the cover as it once again relates to the bands genre and personality as being young and fun. I used a light pink colour as it stands off the page and I wanted it to relate to the 'sweet' side of the band and I think pink best portrays this.

I used the colour black for the background because all colours placed on black tend to stand out more and it also relates or portrays the 'bitter' side of the band as rock music and outrageous.

On the left page I used the simple colours of red and white; similar to my front cover. I used these because they stand out and can symbolise opposite things. For example red can symbolise hate, anger, fear etc whereas white can symbolise purity and kindness etc.This is why I used these colours to once again reflect the name 'Bittersweets'.I understand that the colour red can also symbolise love however this isn't the symbolism I intended. I also use the colours to represent the questions and answers in my magazine.

For my mast-head I decided to make the writing look blurred because I think it gives it more effect therefore looking better. I used a very large font in order for it to stand out and be the first thing to catch the readers eye.Above the mast-head I wrote 'Bittersweets; Tell us how it feels to be the No.1 Girl band in the UK'. This lets the reader know what the article is going to be about but I also wrote it in a way that sounds like somebody has asked the question as though it is a question everybody wants to know the answer to.

For my actual article I decided to create an interview that had been done with the girls because this is the usual case in most magazines.I set it out in three columns rather then the usual four because I think it looked too close together; so I created space by using three. I didn't use a drop-cap for my first letter of the interview because drop-caps are usually used in stories. I also decided not to use a quotation from the interview which is fairly popular because I felt it ruined the montage of images on the right page.

This is my final magazine front cover. I decided to call my magazine 'Sound' as it is a music magazine and the word sound relates to music. For my mast-head I used a light blue colour on a white and black image; I did this because it really makes it stand off the page which is what I wanted to catch a readers eye. The font I used for the mast-head is like a retro look. I used this because it suited a music magazine. I also used the same colour for my headline as I also wanted this to stand off the page.

I used a colour image, which is usual for magazines however I decided to do this because I think it looks really effective and allows the writing to stand out but still catches attention itself.
I used an image were the girls were on different levels and different distances from the camera. I did this because I think it looks more professional and creative and overall more like a magazine image.

I chose the name of my band to be Bittersweets. I chose this because I wanted the band them self to have a rock side as well as a soft side and I think Bittersweets best described this. The font I used for the headline looks like graffiti writing; I wanted to use this to represent the band as being a young rock band with a mixture of personalities.

At the top of the magazine I used something to let the reader know what is going to be inside. This says: 'The 209 best songs of 2008'. This simply lets the reader know that selected songs from 2008 are going to be inside. It also relates to music hence it being a music magazine. I decided to keep the size difference between words becuase I think it worked well.

I placed the date and price of my magazine under my mast-head which is fairly popular for magazines. I decided that my magazine would be a monthly issue rather then a weekly. I did this because I would like my magazine to be fairly thick with pages like Rolling Stone magazine however it is much cheaper at only £1.80 whereas Rolling Stone is £4.50. This would create some competition and may attract more attention due to its contents and price.

Over the mast-head I placed a small white on black box with writing. By doing this it represents the magazine as being popular which is what I wanted to put across. I also kept the writing from my first draft because the same things are going to be published within my magazine.

Finally I placed two small sub headlines, allowing the reader to know what other stories are featured inside the magazine. For these I used the simple colours of red, white and black. I used these as they are simple colours that stand out and they don't take away the main focus from the image. The words in red emphasise what the story is going to be about; this gives the reader an idea without giving too much away.
I also decided not to feature a bar code on the front cover but rather on the back because I think placing a bar code on the cover may ruin the whole image and it creates less space.



This was my magazine front cover, however I decided to convert the image back to colour because it represented the girls as more fun, young and lively, which is the representation I wanted of them.

This is my first draft of my magazine front cover. The chosen mast-head for my magazine is Sound. I decided to call my magazine this because the word 'sound' can relate to music but it is also short and catchy, which is needed for a magazine. I used a retro style writing because I think it looks really good but also symbolises music.
I chose a maroon colour for my mast-head and headline as it stands out and is really effective in the way it focuses attention on these points.

I placed a small 'tab' slightly covering the mast-head; I did this because I wanted the magazine to come across as being popular because it may attract more readers if it seems to have a large audience. I also added some writing to let the reader know what is going to be inside; this makes the reader want to read on more. For the box I used white writing on a black background; making it stand off the white background of the magazine.

At the very top of the magazine I wrote 'The 209 best songs of 2008'. I did this to make the reader yet again want to read on because different stories attract different readers. I used a straight forward font and colour in order for it to attract attention but not take away focus from the main article. I decided to use different fonts for different words within the sentences. I did this because I didn't want linking words like 'the' and 'and' to be as noticeable as the important information like '209 best songs'.

The headline I used is the name of the band I chose which is 'Bittersweets'. I chose this name for my band because it links to the girls personalities within the group in the way that they are sweet girls but have a rock side also. I chose the font I used because it looks really effective and compliments the name of the band with having a rebellious side as well as sweet side because it looks like it has been spray painted on which is something rebellious to do.

My main image is of the band. I have the girls on different levels in the image because I think it looked better and is more professional then having them all on the same level. I changed the background colour of the image from cream to white because this is the stereotypical colour for magazines.
I had the girls to wear different colours t-shirts because I wanted them to have some individuality.
I was going to origianlly have four girls in the group as seen from my draw draft however I decided that the image looked better with just three girls as it wasn't as squashed.

Finally I placed some small writing overlapping the main image to let the reader know what some of the main stories are inside the magazine. I used popular colours used on magazine covers; black and white because they don;t make the magazine look too colourful and don't take away the main focus but still stand out enough.
(I had not yet placed the date and price on the cover)






This was my second draft made from my first draft with a few changes.

This a draft of what my magazine will look similar to. The mast-head will feature at the top of my magazine. I have thought of several names for my magazine taking into account that it is a music magazine. These include:
Sound- This relates to the magazine featuring music, new sounds, bands etc. It is also short and catchy which is needed to catch the readers interest.
Raid- I like this name for a magazine as it doesn't represent anything in particular but it is very catchy and therefore a good name for a magazine.
Boom- This is like an explosive sound which is effective. It is also very catchy.

The main image is going to be of a new band in 2009. The band is going to feature 4 members and will take up the whole front cover. The background on the image is going to be white, therefore the people will stand out more.

The headline is going to be placed under the image at the bottom of the magazine. My headline is going to be the chosen name for my band which will be one of the following:
Fine Young Cannibals
The Bittersweets
The Breakaways

The cover itself isn't going to feature many plugs or inside stories. I did this because I wanted the main focus to be on the new band. However I am going to place two small texts saying: '100 Greatest Hits Of 2008' and ' Exclusive Interviews Inside'. This gives the reader some knowledge of what is going to be inside. I got the idea to do this from a previous Rolling Stone magazine I analysed as this also didn't feature any plugs or inside stories etc.

This is another example of a double page spread featured in a magazine. This one similar to my previous magazine also uses the colours of red, white and black, however this time I don't they represent sadness as such as in the image she seems happy rather then sad. They use the colour white for questions and the colour red for answers off Jameli, this makes it easier to read.

Also similar to my previous magazine, this features a main image covering one whole page, however writing is used over this image. Jamelia is wearing white clothing on a white bed, I think this is so she is more noticeable as she is behind the writing. It also features another image on the first page unlike 'Q' magazine.

Once again the first thing to be noticed is the name of the star; Jamelia. This is done effectively as it uses the background colour with just a simple white outline.

Instead of using a quotation from the story this uses a headline to explain what the story is about; this says ' The Queen Of UK R&B On Finding Her Voice, And Feeling Exposed'.

This story uses a lot more writing then in 'Q', however the story is an interview with the star as in 'Q'. This is because it is typical of a two page spread to feature interviews etc.