Monday 29 March 2010
Monday 15 March 2010
I decided on four different fonts which i liked for my title, but could only have one, so i asked 100 people what they thought would be the best font for my title. 70% voted for last one, 15% for the second one and 5% for the first one and 10% for the third one. I decided to go with my survey results and chose the last one for my magazine title font.
Aimee Cockburn.
For Media Studies I was asked to create a music magazine based on one style of music, it had to contain a front cover, a contents page and a 2 to 3 page article/interview. My music magazine us a more feminine indie rock style of music. My target audience would be from about 15-25, which goes well with the price of my magazine which is £2.50 and the fact that it is published every month. I chose this because 15-25 year olds don’t normally have lots of money and therefore can afford the small price monthly.
In what ways does your media product use, develop and challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
After I looked at a few real magazines such as Kerrang, NME, Q and blender i decided it was important to follow the typical conventions so I used things such as barcodes, dates, websites and hooks for stories. I chose my colours carefully believing that pink has stereotypically feminine colours to appeal to my target audience. I followed conventions such as not using more then 5 fonts or colours on the front page so that it didn’t look overwhelming, I placed my model’s head over the title of my magazine as this shows that it is a professional and well known magazine and also allow the model to be in the centre of the page. I also used many typical conventions on my contents page such as putting a comment from the editor; this gives the reader the impression that the magazine is directly addressing them. Finally for my double page spread I used typical conventions such as, writing an introduction and placing a large photograph of the person the story was about before the actually story and setting at the text in columns, I also used quotes, this could make the reader buy the magazine as for example if someone was to flick through in the shop and read the large quotations, this would grab their interest.
How does your media product represent different social groups?
My music magazine is aimed at an audience of mostly girls aged around 13 to 25 who are interested in Indie style music. My model is a positive role model for all readers; she has come from a working class background and made her way up in the world. In The interview it encourages people to think that it could be them and shows that anyone could do it. So it therefore represents working class teenage females, a group traditionally but not always seen in a positive light.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
The institution that I would choose to distribute my magazine would be Bauer publishing; I think this would be a good place to start because they seem to do be interested in publishing rock/Indie magazine such as Kerrang, and with my magazine being aimed at females I would be opening a new market to exploit.
Who would be the audience for your media product?
My media product appeals to a whole range of both genders that like the Indie type of music I have based it on. I aimed my music magazines audience at 13 to 25 year old people, mostly girls. I priced my magazine at £2.50 so that it is affordable for young people that do not have a job and people on a low income, which I have found from my research is quite common amongst working class and lower middle class people of this age group.
How did you attract/address your audience?
To attract my audience firstly I created a questionnaire to find out things such as, what my audience would like to see in a new magazine etc. I analysed magazines to see what made them successful and then followed their conventions. I also used hooks which, based on my research promote the type of feature my readers want to see. From the stories on the front cover to grab the audience’s attention and make them want to read the stories inside. I have used an attractive model on my front cover to draw attention to the magazine but also inspire girls that the model used to be just like to give the feeling that anyone can work there way up to the same place as someone like her. Many girls that read the magazine will aspire to be like the girls in this magazine and will want to follow in their footsteps, the interview in my magazine shows that its possible for anyone to do that.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
I have explained the theory of uses and gratification by featuring people roughly the same age as my target audience so it will be easier for them to relate to the magazine and its contents and give then some sense of identification with the magazine. I have also provide information on the type of music my audience likes, which in another feature of uses and gratifications. My use of an attractive female model follows Naomi Wolf’s findings (1991) that pictures of attractive females are used to sell products to women who are conditioned by male-dominated society to want to be like the latest image of glamour.
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
From doing my preliminary task have learnt that while constructing a magazine, market research plays a big part in production, you have to know the exact audience you are going to target, what age and gender and also what genre of music to give your customers the satisfaction they want.
I have also learned a lot of technical skills that I used during producing my magazine and can also use for future media products. I have learned that one of the most important things in creating a magazine is the hooks; this is what audiences are mainly drawn to. I have learned that simpler is better, clear and simpler fonts are easier to read and grab attention and also colour scheme is important, too many colours and your magazine will look overloaded. I’ve gone from producing a magazine aimed at a small, local audience and on the internet and international audience. I learnt about technologies, how to use a digital camera and Photoshop. I’ve also learned to digitally manipulate images such as…
Using Photoshop allowed me to create magazine pages to a professional standard. Placing my work on a blog has turned me into a prosumer – someone who consumes media and produces their own with a potential internet audience of millions.
For Media Studies I was asked to create a music magazine based on one style of music, it had to contain a front cover, a contents page and a 2 to 3 page article/interview. My music magazine us a more feminine indie rock style of music. My target audience would be from about 15-25, which goes well with the price of my magazine which is £2.50 and the fact that it is published every month. I chose this because 15-25 year olds don’t normally have lots of money and therefore can afford the small price monthly.
In what ways does your media product use, develop and challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
After I looked at a few real magazines such as Kerrang, NME, Q and blender i decided it was important to follow the typical conventions so I used things such as barcodes, dates, websites and hooks for stories. I chose my colours carefully believing that pink has stereotypically feminine colours to appeal to my target audience. I followed conventions such as not using more then 5 fonts or colours on the front page so that it didn’t look overwhelming, I placed my model’s head over the title of my magazine as this shows that it is a professional and well known magazine and also allow the model to be in the centre of the page. I also used many typical conventions on my contents page such as putting a comment from the editor; this gives the reader the impression that the magazine is directly addressing them. Finally for my double page spread I used typical conventions such as, writing an introduction and placing a large photograph of the person the story was about before the actually story and setting at the text in columns, I also used quotes, this could make the reader buy the magazine as for example if someone was to flick through in the shop and read the large quotations, this would grab their interest.
How does your media product represent different social groups?
My music magazine is aimed at an audience of mostly girls aged around 13 to 25 who are interested in Indie style music. My model is a positive role model for all readers; she has come from a working class background and made her way up in the world. In The interview it encourages people to think that it could be them and shows that anyone could do it. So it therefore represents working class teenage females, a group traditionally but not always seen in a positive light.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
The institution that I would choose to distribute my magazine would be Bauer publishing; I think this would be a good place to start because they seem to do be interested in publishing rock/Indie magazine such as Kerrang, and with my magazine being aimed at females I would be opening a new market to exploit.
Who would be the audience for your media product?
My media product appeals to a whole range of both genders that like the Indie type of music I have based it on. I aimed my music magazines audience at 13 to 25 year old people, mostly girls. I priced my magazine at £2.50 so that it is affordable for young people that do not have a job and people on a low income, which I have found from my research is quite common amongst working class and lower middle class people of this age group.
How did you attract/address your audience?
To attract my audience firstly I created a questionnaire to find out things such as, what my audience would like to see in a new magazine etc. I analysed magazines to see what made them successful and then followed their conventions. I also used hooks which, based on my research promote the type of feature my readers want to see. From the stories on the front cover to grab the audience’s attention and make them want to read the stories inside. I have used an attractive model on my front cover to draw attention to the magazine but also inspire girls that the model used to be just like to give the feeling that anyone can work there way up to the same place as someone like her. Many girls that read the magazine will aspire to be like the girls in this magazine and will want to follow in their footsteps, the interview in my magazine shows that its possible for anyone to do that.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
I have explained the theory of uses and gratification by featuring people roughly the same age as my target audience so it will be easier for them to relate to the magazine and its contents and give then some sense of identification with the magazine. I have also provide information on the type of music my audience likes, which in another feature of uses and gratifications. My use of an attractive female model follows Naomi Wolf’s findings (1991) that pictures of attractive females are used to sell products to women who are conditioned by male-dominated society to want to be like the latest image of glamour.
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
From doing my preliminary task have learnt that while constructing a magazine, market research plays a big part in production, you have to know the exact audience you are going to target, what age and gender and also what genre of music to give your customers the satisfaction they want.
I have also learned a lot of technical skills that I used during producing my magazine and can also use for future media products. I have learned that one of the most important things in creating a magazine is the hooks; this is what audiences are mainly drawn to. I have learned that simpler is better, clear and simpler fonts are easier to read and grab attention and also colour scheme is important, too many colours and your magazine will look overloaded. I’ve gone from producing a magazine aimed at a small, local audience and on the internet and international audience. I learnt about technologies, how to use a digital camera and Photoshop. I’ve also learned to digitally manipulate images such as…
Using Photoshop allowed me to create magazine pages to a professional standard. Placing my work on a blog has turned me into a prosumer – someone who consumes media and produces their own with a potential internet audience of millions.
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