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

over the progression of this product i have learnt many things about the development of a magazine and how to make a magazine appeal to a specific audience. i have also learned how to use differant technologies such as indesign, photoshop aswell as a digital camera. i have learnt alot about the marketisation of magazines and how to make them appealing to a specific audience and also how to make a magazine draw the attention of a potential reader.

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

the main technologies that i have used while making my music magazine is indesign and photoshop. i also used a digital camera to take my photos for my magazine. by using these technologies i have learnt how to make a magazine look official and make sure that the completed product works well with the rest of the magazine and fits into the genre it was intended for.

How did you attract/adress your audience?

i tryed to attract the audiences attention to my magazine by useing an image on my cover that would be apealing to my target audience. as my magazine is mostly focused on the teenage audience i used a picture of a guitar for my cover as it is a rock magazine and it is also something that would appeal to most teenagers. the contents page also helps to draw the attention of my target audience as the colour scheme i have used makes the magazine seem rebellious and dark. this is a part what my target audience would be looking for in a music magazine and would hopefully make more people want to read it because of this.

Doublepage Spread

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The main audience that I am trying to attract to my music magazine would be in the age group of teenagers to mid-twenties, there is no specific gender that my magazine focuses on however I believe that the magazine would appeal more to men. The most likely sort of people who my magazine would attract are people who are generally interested in rock music as well as people who may already know a lot about Rock music and the bands that play it however wish to keep up to date on their favourite bands.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The social group that I have tried to represent in my music magazine is a teenage/ rock music target audience. I have done this by making my magazines cover look like a generic rock music magazine and used a typical rock magazine name like “Oblivion”. I have also done this by making my DPS about a new popular rock band as well as having plenty of images of guitars and artists. The magazine has been made primarily as a stereotypical rock music magazine and uses mostly images and is not heavily based around text, I have made my magazine like this so that it is more appealing to the readers it is targeted at.

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

The key needs of a music magazine rely massively on the front cover. If the front cover is well made and the masthead, headlines, puffs and cover model are appealing to the target audience then there is a much higher possibility that it will be bought and increase profits.  The main things that need to be included on a front cover are the masthead which is the main title and is usually on the cover in an appropriate font for the style and genre of the magazine. The cover model is also a major part of the magazine cover as it represents the entire magazine. If the cover model is an image that the target audience find appealing such as a major artist or a band cover art then it allows the person viewing the magazine to decide if it is something they would be interested in. the Headlines of a magazine are usually in the same font as the masthead however the magazine layout ensures that they do not take attention away from the more important factors such as the masthead. They are used to tell the reader what articles to expect inside as well as revealing important details inside such as interviews with certain people or bands. Another important part of a magazine cover are the Puffs. The puffs are usually located along the bottom or top of a magazine cover and normally display prizes, free-bees inside the magazine or images that appear inside the magazine. They are used to show the reader that by buying this magazine they could potentially win prizes.

A typical contents page is usually similar to the cover of the magazine. For example if the cover is organised and formally put together the contents page is not likely to be unorganised or set out in an informal way. The contents page will also usually have the same colour scheme as the rest of the magazine especially the cover. This also helps to keep the magazine feeling organised and well designed. A double page spread however may not follow the same layout as the rest of the magazine. As the DPS will most likely contain a large picture the magazine will usually follow the formality of what the article is about. For example if the article is about a heavy metal band you would not see the same layout as if it had been about a classical band.

 

I have included all of these factors in my magazine by ensureing I make my magazine feel more realistic. I have made sure that the headlines do not draw attention away from the mast head and cover image by making it smaller than the masthead and out of the way of the main image. For my contents page I have made sure that the layout is well done and looks fairly formal and have used images of relevance somewhere on the page to show what will be appearing in the magazine. My DPS however does not look similar to the cover and does not follow the same colour scheme. It does however use the same font as used in the rest of the magazine to keep some semblance of order throughout.

Student magazine title page

Double page spread (incomplete)

Final front cover

Contents page mockup

Mock up of front cover

Moodboard

As Media Magazine Questionnaire

1.     Should the magazine be text or image based?

Text               IIIII  I

Image            IIIII  IIIII  IIII

2.     How much would you be willing to pay for the magazine?

           10p                 IIII

           20p                 IIIII  III

           30p           

           40p                 IIIII  IIII

           50p

3.     What title would you prefer?

. Storm Raven    II

. Rock Block       IIIII I

. Urock                 III

. Oblivion  IIIII IIII

4.     How many pages should the magazine have?

-20-30  III

-31-40  IIIII  III

-41-50  III

-51-60  IIIII  I

-60+

5.     How often will the magazine be published?

-Every week   IIIII  IIIII  III

- Twice a week

-Every month  IIIII  II

-Twice a month

6.     What sort of images should be shown in the magazine?

-         Bands   III

-         Album covers

-         Band art   IIIII IIIII IIIII II

7.     What should the main focus of the magazine be?

-         Upcoming gigs   III

-         Current popular bands  IIIII

-         Upcoming bands  IIIII  IIIII  II

8.     What colour scheme should the cover have?

-         Black and white   III II

-         White and purple   IIIII

-         Black and yellow  IIIII II

-         Green and black  III

9.      What sort of topics should be included within the magazine?          (Choose 3)

-         Band reviews   IIIII I

-         List of upcoming gigs   IIII

-         Upcoming bands   IIIII

-         CD reviews    I

-         Festivals        IIII

-         Competetions

Analysis of magazine double page article

The layout of this magazine double page article if fairly formal and uses primarily very dark colours. This can be seen by the fact that the main article is clearly place at the side of the page and does not cover any of the primary image. The main colours of the double page article are black and white. The white has been used for the text on the black background, this draw the attention to the article itself and makes the text appear very bold. The image itself focuses on the guitarist as the reader is likely to find this image recognisable. This means that the reader is more likely to read the article itself after recognising a member of the band they like.

Analysis of music magazine contents page

The contents page for this magazine has been set out more formally than a lot of other music magazines. This shows the reader that it is perhaps a magazine that does not focus on genres such as Metallica and iron maiden but more current music. The main image is also set out formally as besides the single headline that is informing the reader about the band being shown, there is not writing or headlines of any sort covering the image. This was possibly done because the magazine is more about the articles and information than the images. This show that the magazine is most likely for an audience aged between twenty and thirty.

This contents page is much more disorganised and there seems to be less order involved than others this adds to the rebellious theme of the magazine and would appeal more to a younger audience. For the main articles of the magazine there are clear headline that stand out well against the images as well as bold puffs in big writing such as in the bottom centre of the page. The colour scheme for this contents page is very basic using primarily plain white and a few bits of yellow. This however helps draw attention to the more important parts of the magazine as the parts written in yellow are mostly headlines and pieces of information that the creator wants to bring to the attention of the reader. The images themselves are mostly dark images and are set out in fairly random unorganised ways which continues with the idea that this is a rebellious magazine.

Analysis of music magazine front covers

Bauer media group publishes this magazine and it has been around since June 6, 1981 it is usually read by an audience between the ages of 16 and 25. It is filled with information concerning heavy rock and metal bands such as gig dates, prices and merchandise. Reviews of different bands are the main focus of this magazine though. This magazine uses a house style that is easily recognizable to reader of the magazine. The masthead and coverlines are almost always in the same layout as is the cover model. This makes the magazine seem more official and less random. The colours used on this cover are usually very dark and primarily consists of black and white. The masthead is also in black and very bold but by using a bright background it helps to give the title much more of the audiences attention and would help the target audience remember the name of the magazine as it stands out so much. The puffs on this cover are in bold and run along the bottom of the page in a separate bar displaying all of the free prizes and the names of bands to inform the target audience of what to expect inside the magazine.




  The magazine NME was published by the IPC media company and is primarily read by a younger audience as it contains news on recent music and gig information. The masthead and the coverlines of this magazine cover follow a house style that helps the audience to tell immediately what they are looking at, as the overall style of the magazine remains the same from each issue.  The central image is of a famous and well-known musician and this would help to sell copies, as the audience will assume that there is more information on this person inside. The colours used on this cover are very bold and bright and ensure that your attention is drawn to the masthead and the puffs by making the writing white on a bright background. This means that people are more likely to at least read the front cover and see what may be shown inside. The brand identity also helps the audience to identify the magazine with ease and fits in with the house style of the magazine as the font and colour of the masthead and the coverlines are always the same. This shows that the magazine follows a particular style in how it looks.

 The masthead for this magazine stands out well on the magazine cover and the letters of the masthead are scratched and the edges appear to have been torn slightly. This gives the impression that the magazine is perhaps rebellious and this would suite the genre of the magazine as well as the people who would be reading the magazine as the audience are most likely to be in their teenage years on early twenties. The most obvious and clear puff on this cover would be the writing across the centre of the magazine that says “slipknot” this is the clearest and it has been designed to be as it is trying to tell the audience which band will be inside and therefore attract the audience’s attention. In the background of the puff the creator has put a red banner, as the puff has been done in white and the background in red it causes a very clear contrast which in itself draws the reader attention to it. On this cover there are also many free prizes and competitions displayed across the image, while the readers eye is not immediately drawn to these they are in areas of the page that are not taken up by the cover model. This means that they are clearer and easier to see as well as filling in blank areas such as in the bottom left corner of the magazine and along the top where it I written that there are free posters inside.

possible title names

possible title names

1.     1.