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.