Media magazine

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

The video above is of the progression of making my magazine

 
Through out the process of making this magazine I have learnt a lot, and it has improved my knowledge massively. My progression is visible when comparing my prelim to my final magazine cover.
It's noticeable which magazine has had a lot of research and work put in to it, as my final piece looks more professional than my school magazine I did at the beginning of the course, as it uses standard conventions and the 4 F's.

From the start of creating my school magazine my knowledge of using programmes such as pixlr and editing skills in general have increased considerably. For example I now know how to make elements of my magazine stand out more by using drop shadows and cropping skills. 

 I've also learnt how to download newer more interesting fonts from dafont.com and many more websites, increasing the visual appeal of my magazine.

I feel I have used more of a variety of techniques than my preliminary task. For example, I have included quotes, barcode and more information to appeal to the audience where as my preliminary task lacked this.

 The images used for the preliminary task I feel didn’t give as strong as impact as the main task, as I took the photo myself and took the time to edit it. 

when taking the photo I had also thought about the mise-en-scene, costumes and props into much more detail than the preliminary task.

Overall my understanding of many software's has improved greatly throughout this project because at the start I'd barely used software's such as pixlr now I have produced a professional looking magazine using it.

Evaluation

 

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

 

The standard conventions for a magazine are : masthead, cover lines, main image, main cover lines and a bar code. Nearly all magazines follow these rules, as it makes them easy to identify and easy to read. My magazine consisted of a barcode, cover lines, main image and masthead, therefore i covered the majority of them and used the ones i felt was most necessary. i like the idea that 'less is more', I didn't want to overcrowd my front page as the image was the main focus as a lot of time was spent perfecting it and i felt that if i had a lot of text over it, that would down grade the image and make it less noticeable.

<!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]-->This magazine was my main inspiration, consequently I followed these conventions as i thought it was the most appealing and aesthetic magazine.  

The image seems to be the main focus, as it's the first thing you notice, and the font is white making it barley visible, suggesting that the producer wanted it to be plane.

 

 

 

 

The font is similar to one I used also, as you can see below

 plain and bold. This is because I didn't want it to look tacky or for it to be the main focus.The font blends in with the background, so it fits in with

the image, therefore its not as noticeable as the image, which is what I was trying to get across.

So, in comparison my magazine is similar to the real magazine that I intended it to have similarities with.

On my front page I also used cover lines, as I thought that they are essential for the audience. If this was the first issue of the magazine, the audience wouldn't know that it was a music magazine, what was inside of it or the genre.
So, by listing artists that appear inside the magazine gives the readers an insight, and if they're interested in the artists featured on the front page, they may be interested in buying it to read more.
Again, I chose simple, bold font to make it look tidy and the colour choice because it blended and matched the main image. As you can see on the right, Q magazine used a similar
method by listing the artists down the left side of the page, making it easier for their audience.

 
 
 
 In the bottom right corner of my magazine I used a barcode, as from research I discovered that this was the most common used place for one and by using one my magazine appears more realistic and professional



 

This is my contents page which I wanted to appear slightly different/artistic inspired by the studied magazine 'Raygun' I achieved this by making a section of it in colour and the rest in black and white. This is because the genre of music I studied was indie, which means independent, therefore I wanted this to be demonstrated through magazine too. This has been achieved because its slightly unusual and consequently different from other magazines, making it indie.
I placed the page numbers and titles in a pattern to make it seem more abstract and unusual, consequently making my magazine independent from the others. I also included what's featured in my magazine on the bottom left, as the majority of contents page encompass this.
Also, in the top right corner I put 'issue #15', this implies that it's not a one off magazine and that there's more to come.
The font is also varied but still kept simple and bold, which is consistent through out the whole magazine. As consistency makes it easier for the audience to recognise the magazine,  

However, I still followed the standard conventions; everything my contents page consist of is featured on the majority of other music magazines, an example would be from this Q contents : It has a masthead, what's featured in the magazine and an image.
 I also discovered that most magazines would place their email address or twitter page on the contents page, so I used the name of my magazine in them to make my magazine seem real.

I used my strongest image on my double page spread, to attract the audience. On the right hand side i placed a large 'W' behind my interview, as the artist is called Whitney, so it represents that. I also didnt want to use a plain white background on the image, so i went on google images and found a tinted blue marble pattern because it works well with the image on the left and the colours.

who would be the audience for your media product?

I chose for my audience to be 17-26 year olds as although there may not be a gap in the market for this age range, indie magazines are uncommon when searching in shops such as WHSmiths. To make sure I made the right decision I carried out several small interviews to see who would agree.

Emily 18 years old
Are you interested in indie music?
yes
What kind of magazine do you read?
I don't often read magazines, but I used to get nme magazine every month as it's my favourite.
Why do you buy that magazine?
It's a way of finding new music, as i'm interested in indie music more than anything, therefore it's difficult to find and it gives you the perfect opportunity to do so. it's also just a cool magazine in general, and appeals to my generation.
What age range is the target audience for the magazine?
i wouldn't encourage my younger sister to read it, as she's only 13 and indie mags usually consist of swearing and explicit images. so i think it would be 17-30 maybe.

Dad 51 years old
Are you interested in indie music?
i used to listen to it when i was a lot younger such as nirvana and the smiths, but it died out and seems to of come back in to fashion, but of course it doesn't appeal to everyone. However, I'd have to say i still have an interest in it.
What kind of magazine do you read?
Does the news paper count ahah? i cant really say i read magazines anymore, but if i was to buy one I'd go for an alternative rock magazine.
Why do you buy the magazine?
if i was to buy one, id do it simply because it's the music I'm interested in
What age range is it?
i don't really read magazines, i don't have the time for them so I stick to things such as news papers and TVs. i think its more aimed at your age, 17-28 perhaps? I wouldn't go any younger as its not appropriate for them, however its aimed at gigs, drinking lifestyle, so I'd go as far as middle aged.

Connor 13
Are you interested in indie music?
I'm not too sure what indie music is, I've heard it before and never really understood it, I prefer listening to what's in the charts.
What kind of magazine do you read?
I'm not interested in reading, i usually focus on the images aha. I can't really say I've ever bought a music magazine.
What age range would you say indie music is?
hard to say, but i don't think people my age listen to it as its boring. Me and my friends listen to upbeat, happy songs. i think it would appeal to maybe 18-3o year olds.

These interviews are from people of different ages, to give different opinions and to see what age group are interested in what genre. it's hard to say and indie music is very common as not many people listen to it, but it seems to be that the people who do are ages from 17-26, however its more broad than that.

The target audience for the magazine is mixed, because both genders listen to it and indie artists are either male or female, not just one. However indie magazines are usually full of images or rowdy gigs, smoking and drinking which can be stereotyped as boisterous, and could represent their lifestyle more.  


The audience of this magazine, will probably have an interest in fashion or a certain style. people usually dress through the genre of music they listen to.
The photo on the right of a group of boys, is a prime example of the stereotypical type of people who would read an indie magazine. They're dressed in dark clothing, skinny jeans, classic Levi jacket's and just vintage clothes in general. The artists in the magazine also usually wear these types of clothing, and a lot of indie music is old such as 'The Beatles' which also represents through their vintage style. The people who read indie magazines, usually dress like their idols and the music genre.
The girl on the front cover of my magazine also represents the kind of people who would read or listen to indie music, by the way she dresses and the photo in general.

The lifestyle of the people who would read an indie magazine would probably be students at university. As it's when you turn 18, so they're able to attend a lot of festivals, drink and smoke. This sort of life style is represented through out indie magazines.

How did you attract/address your audience?

 The front cover image is a girl portraying an indie style by wearing clothing that an indie individual would wear, this therefore attracts the target audience. The model is also giving the audience direct address which draws them in with a feeling of trust and giving them an interest. She also has an individual attitude that the reader can relate to.

The colour scheme was bold and bright, and consistent through out the magazine which helps the reader notice the magazine and the colours catch their attention too.

i looked at other magazines to find out who the main, popular indie singers are at the moment, especially the ones who are touring this year. i then used them as the cover lines on my magazine, because this would consequently attract the audience as they'd be interested in new, current singers.

The masthead of my magazine is called 'ENHANCE' this is because music enhances your mood, motivation, inspiration and feeling. It's in bold capitals to attract the audiences attention and it's and interesting title.

The language used through out the magazine is consistent and simple, yet at a mature standard. i didn't use slang or childish words, as it wouldn't be suitable for the target audience.
The photo of the girl in the double page spread is stood in front of barbed wire fence, this demonstrates a rough, bad look which would appeal to the selected age range and audience as it's is indie(independent) as it's not featured in any other magazine images because its unusual.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My music magazine is aimed at both men and women who have a love for the indie genre of music.
The model in the main image has real individuality and attitudes that the audience can relate to and she is portraying an indie style and pose.
The contents page is all based on indie bands or artists which will represent the indie music genre and the reader can relate to the articles and will be interested in them as they are a fan of indie music. I have also stuck to the colour scheme that I chosen based on the research found from looking at other magazine.
The main photo is of a female, so i attempted to challenge the stereotype of female artists only creating ‘pop’ music. I wanted to present a generation of females who want to be able to do what males do and get equal recognition. I also wanted to represent female artists who were tougher and more rebellious, this was shown by her standing in front of barbed wire fence

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
 I have chosen IPC as the institution to distribute my magazine for many reasons. I feel it is a diverse institution which publishes a range of magazines for different audiences. Also, IPC distributes NME magazine which is a popular music magazine which has inspired me massively when making my own, so I feel If IPC did distribute my magazine they would have the knowledge of both fashion and music to get my magazine to the consumer. 

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

During the creation of my media product, a music magazine, I’ve learnt a great deal about technologies and they have massively helped, and improved, my media product.

To make my product I used a number of different technologies. I used a computer, and programmes on it such as iPiccy, Pixlr; these where extremely useful when it came to editing my images and finding useful fonts for my magazine. it allows you to do all sorts and it full of 100's of effects that improve an image and make it look more professional.

 

Microsoft word was used to make my interview, and i found it was the best programme to carry it out on. it turned out to be very handy as its full of many various fonts and colours which i used in my magazine.

 

Also, my own Olympus Pen mini camera which has : 12mp, 3.0" LCD, 12800 ISO, true pic vi, 3D, HD and many more features which gave my photos excellent quality. During my photo shoot I tried hard to ensure that I used the rule of thirds, to make the photo look even. I think that this helped to make my magazine look professional

 

The internet was also incredibly useful too, as i needed it to carry out my secondary research and i found a lot of key information which was essential for making my magazine.

 

To create my blog I used Blogger, this allowed me to upload the process of creating my music magazine. My blog contained a combination of text and images .

 

Overall technology has helped me with my task of creating a front cover, contents page and double-page spread in numerous ways and without it; the end product I created would be considerably less professional and of a lesser quality. It would have also resulted in me being less organised and showing less, clear research, planning, skills and evidencing.

 

 

 

 

Evaluation

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

The standard conventions for a magazine are : masthead, cover lines, main image, main cover lines and a bar code. Nearly all magazines follow these rules, as it makes them easy to identify and easy to read. My magazine consisted of a barcode, cover lines, main image and masthead, therefore i covered the majority of them and used the ones i felt was most necessary. i like the idea that 'less is more', I didn't want to overcrowd my front page as the image was the main focus as a lot of time was spent perfecting it and i felt that if i had a lot of text over it, that would down grade the image and make it less noticeable.

final magazine

standard conventions

Standard convetions of an indie magazine

 

 

This magazine follows the standard conventions : masthead, cover lines, main image, main cover line, cover lines, bar code. This is what almost all magazines follow when making their magazines, and you can witness is it when you look at all front covers. This makes is clear for the audience what the magazine is called, what's inside of it and what genre it is.

 However, a producer names David Carson had a magazine series called Ray Gun which went against the standard magazine coventions completley. As there is no way of identifying a house style because the conventions change each time. Ray gun was an American, alternative rock magazine and was first published in 1992 in Santa Monica, California

 

 As you can see from looking at the front covers, theyre beyond unsual and unique. if you wasnt a loyal customer, and was new to the magazine you wouldnt know that it was music related unless you examined it closley. The bar code is placed randomly in the middle and inbetween the text, where as it would usually be placed in the bottom right corner. Also, on the bottom half of the magazine, all the artists are listed in long line with no spaces between the words, making it unclear who the magazine is about as you have to look closley to make it out.

 
 This magazine has the image upside down, which is a rare occurance and confuses the audience and the text is also plotted randomly across the page going against the standard conventions.

fit's clear that David Carson was very artistic and creative and put a lot of thought and time in to his front covers. However this wouldnt be appreciated by everyone, and they may be confused, therefore he has a querky, indie audience that match his magazine.

 

mood board

Mood board of indie magazine

NME magazine analysis

NME magazine analysis

Semiotics and Representation

 

‘Semiotics’ is a study of signs and how we read them. Every feature of representation has some significance, the consist of several signs with meanings. The Signified is a mental concept, the actual thing itself.
In photography and art, signs are generally iconic. This means that they look like the thing they represent and are therefore more universally understood.  Therefore, the images on the front cover of a magazine maintain a look, which consequently reveals what genre of music the magazine is about.

 

In this image, Rhianna has a lot of skin on show by wearing revealing clothing, similar to underwear and is also pulling a seductive face and pose. Consequntly, this suggest that there may be more expicit images inside the magazine, and that the music is for 16+ as it may have inapropriate langauage in it, similar to what image Rhianna is giving off. This image therefore represents an rnb magazine, as it has all the features that represent a sterotypical rnb song.

Effect models for magazine

Effect models for magazine

The hypodermic needle theory

This is also known as the ‘direct effects’ approach. This is when the intended message is directly received and wholly accepted by the reciever. This is an outdated view of media effects. Dating from the 1920s, this theory was the first attempt to explain how mass audiences might react to mass media.

It is a basic model and suggests that audiences submissively receive the information transmitted via a media text, without any attempt on their part to process or read it.

Therefore, based upon what my magazine will look like, the audience will know what its about due to the direct, obvious images, colours and font.

Two- step flow

This is when the people with most access to media, and highest media literacy explain and diffuse the content of others. This is a modern version of the hypodermic needle model. Notice how ‘cool’ people will be the opinion leaders and the ‘uncool’ people the opinion followers.

An example of the two step flow would be someone seeing another individual reading a music magazine, and this leads to them wanting to read it themselves. This may be because they don’t want to seem 'uncool' by others who read the magazine. Once one person starts reading a magazine, others may 'follow the leader' which is a positive multiplier effect for the magazine company as they get more sales.

The 'Obstinate Audience Theory'

This is about the audience actively selecting what messages they want to receive and comprehend from the media. The media often responds to its audiences by seeing what they like and what they want, however this is often just what the media think we would want to see and hear, therefore not always correct.

The Drip Drip Drip Effect /Cultivation Differential

This theory is the most mainstream and recognized media effect. It believes that the mass media does affect our attitudes through repetition of messages received by audiences. This applies to music magazines. An example would be when they advertise a new band in their magazine a lot, and write about them each week, this affects the readers as they will gradually begin to like them as they learn new things about them and as they’re being advertised frequently the audience will then assume that they’re good, and the next big thing.

Uses and gratifications

This is used in music magazines and it lets the audience know new things about the bands they listen to. An example of this would be someone telling another person a fact about a particular band and feeling good about knowing it because the other person doesn't. This effect can also be recognised as the ‘dominant model’.

 

 Reception Theory

This is the meaning of a 'text' with in the text itself. This theory relies on the readers cultural ability and media knowledge and the audiences overall opinion of the media. For and indie magazine, they have a wide audience of mixed ability, as the grammar wouldn’t be too complex as there would be use of slang words throughout texts.

Formula Format Frame and Function (The four FS)
Format - This format includes the basic size and shape of the magazine plus typographic constants and physical features that remain from the same from issue to issue

Formula - This is the combination of different elements which make your magazine - editorial content, photographic style; length and type of articles featured etc. This should be consistent.

Frame - This is the standard for outer page margins and gutters

Function - Objectives of the magazine - what does it want to project, achieve? Target audience etc.

These are significant features that all magazines follow.

 

analysis of magazines

Top of the pops magazine: 

. Give a brief history of the magazine?

Top of the Pops magazine is a monthly publication published by BBC Magazines. It features chart information, star gossip, fashion and beauty advice, quizzes, song lyrics and posters. It is a supplementary magazine for the TV show Top of the Pops until the latter was cancelled in 2006.

The magazine was launched in February 1995 and is famous for giving girl group The Spice Girls their nicknames. Alongside a revamp of the TV show, it was originally marketed as the missing link between Smash Hits and NME, but its format was gradually changed, with less music content and a demographic shift to young girls. It is still in publication despite the cancellation of the TV show.

The title has had several editors over the years, including Peter Lorraine, Corinna Schaffer and Rosalie Snaith, and contributing editors including Adam Tanswell. Its current editor is Peter Hart.

. What is the typical content?

The magazine is mainly focused on pop music. Published after the TV show. The main content of this magazine includes &quot;celebrity&quot; gossip, cringes, fashion and beauty advice, articles on pop and movie stars, quizzes, horoscopes, posters and song lyrics. The brand identity of this magazine is a happy, cheery, pop music, commercialized, innocent pre-teen magazine. It conforms to dominant ideology and is aimed at a younger market interested in celebrities and &quote; teen stars&quot; It is published every month It was originally marketed as the missing link between Smash Hits and NME , but its format was gradually changed, with less music content and a demographic shift to young girls.

. Who is the typical reader?

You girls from age 11-15

. What is your chosen magazine house style?

The house style is blue, pink and black- which together connote winter and create an icy feel to the cover. This relates the winter edition of the magazine as it’s a November to December issue. By using a lot of pink on the cover, immediately suggest the target audience is young, girls. The fonts used throughout the page are bubbly and has a lot of flicks in them, suggesting the target audience is for a females. Main image- The main image is of a pop boy band, One Direction which suggests the magazine is aimed at a pop music genre. Also the frequent use of images suggests it’s for young girls, as they’d rather look at images instead of reading.

. Who produces and distributes your magazine?

BBC produces and distributes the magazine

. How are your social groups represented in your magazine?

There has recently been controversy around top of the pops magazine along other big publications sexualising young girls; however I personally don’t see much of this in the magazine. I think that the magazine is a sort of ‘shine’ to celebrities as the young girls who read it look up to these types of people, so if often represents celebrities in a good light.

 

Indie magazine analysis, e.g. ‘nme’

 

A magazine based on independent music differs massively from a mainstream, commercial pop magazine. Here are a few comparisons of what the bands will look like on the covers.

Indie music magazine	Commercial pop magazine
-casual, black, tight clothing. -scruffy hair -going against the norm, e.g. smoking, drinking or swearing on the cover -black and dull coloured clothes -natural and reprehensive of a teenage life	.artist will usually be wearing, expensive, designer clothing .immaculate hair .smiley, happy poses .bright clothing

 

 

The New Musical Express, popularly known by NME, created by Theodore Smythson, is a music journalism publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952 and is based on alternative rock and indie music. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 199. Mike Williams was named as NME editor on 31 May 2012, taking over from Krissi Murison on 25 June 2012.

“NME” Music Magazine has a target audience for NME is mainly teenagers, both male and female, we know this because there are always male and female musicians on the front cover. The main readers of this magazine will be the teenagers because it largely focuses on today’s music and their lifestyle, as photos such as them drinking and smoking is usually visable on the front cove. However, NME won’t appeal to all teenagers, only the ones that like music, which is underground and independent, so it therefore doesn’t have the largest audience as this genre doesn’t appeal to everyone, hence it being individual.. NME has a simple colour scheme. It uses colours such as red, blacks and white, which are colours related to both genders.