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

Throughout the two tasks I have progress a lot and I realised there’s more than what you expect that goes into a magazine whereas the preliminary task was how I expected it to be.  At the start of the course I believed that the preliminary task and the main task was quite easy however I was wrong, the preliminary task was okay and most of the aspects was already chosen for you. As we done a sixth form magazine for Ryde academy my audience was already selected for me because if it’s a sixth form magazine for students at Ryde academy then that’s who my target audience was whereas the music magazine was different. For the music magazine I had to choose many different things like my target audience, what kind of person would be looking at my magazine, age group and even price of the magazine.  These are all ideas I didn’t look into when I first fought into creating a music magazine.  The audience is the key element for selling any type of magazine however for a music magazine you need to make it look professional and it to have a unique selling point (USP) which is what I had to think of to do this is created a questionnaire for my target audience and I got good feedback in which I implied it to my magazine. I had to make my magazine eye-catching enough to make sure people would actually buy the magazine whereas in the preliminary task I didn’t need to do this.  I made my magazine eye-catching by using a good colour scheme and the use of the pictures on the page really help to sell the magazine. Also the slogan and masthead put it right up there with the good selling magazine because it like professional and it sounds like a music magazine. 

When I started my preliminary task I didn’t even know how to use programs like Photoshop or even the blogger. First of all I felt that I wouldn’t be able to use this site because it looked hard to use but now looking back on it I had nothing to worry about because it is really to use. Photoshop was really complicated at the start and for my preliminary task I could only use the basic tools but towards the end of creating my music magazine I can now use most of the tools on Photoshop well and efficiently.  My knowledge and understanding of these programs have improved dramatically since the start of my preliminary task and now I wouldn’t make a music magazine without using Photoshop.  Looking back into my main task which was to create a music magazine front cover, double page spread and the contents page I would have done things differently. For example on the front cover I would have made the price and issue number smaller so it was that big on the page because I fear that the prize may distract the audience from buying the magazine even though my research says otherwise. I would have changed my contents page slightly, rather than having the win festival tickets on this page I would have like to have done that on a different page like the double page spread and instead of that I would have liked to have done an editor’s Colum. Finally on the double page spread I would have made the interview text smaller, and made the interview a a lot bigger for example I would have wanted more questions about the band and how they‘re becoming bigger and how they made it.  Lastly I learnt that the people and band members that would be on the front cover need to be directly looking at the camera to give the audience an instant relationship and to have more visual impact with them.

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

Though out the process of producing my product I have learnt a huge range of new technologies and I have learnt some new knowledge from how to use them. Firstly I didn’t know how to use Photoshop but now I do and I believe that I can use it well enough to create many more different things like movie posters and promotional things. At first I didn’t have a clue how to use this program at all but after researching it on the internet I have learn how to use it. I used Photoshop to edit my image, crop the image and used different backgrounds together to mix it up a bit to grab the audience’s attention. For this magazine I believe that I successfully change the outcome of my product and made it better for my audience because of Photoshop. Just from this website the blog itself was a new technology to me as this is the first ever time using a website like this. At first I really didn’t want to new this website because I felt like I wouldn’t be able to handle it well or use it at all, I thought I wouldn’t be able to accuses it easy, wouldn’t be able to get used to it or understand what it is capable of. However looking back now I had nothing to worry about because I can now post anything to anyone I like and I fully understand how to use this site. For example I learnt that I could post images, videos and even slides.  At times this site was annoying because some of the time I couldn’t accuses the site from home properly however I could in school so it got complicated.  I learnt that this website can really help improve my work and when the website is working properly and I can now use it for my other subjects. I could also use it for the future for example if I wanted to have it as a dairy which I can look back upon in the future then I could.

 

5: How did you attract/address your audience?

I attracted my audience by the masthead being eye-catching and something that will stay in your mind as it just clicks. I believe that it will stand out on the shelves where it was distributed and it will stand out more compared to the others. For my central image I ensured that my model has eye-contact so that they would draw the audience in and build a relationship straight away, this is because you look directly at the image and then the masthead. I created a slogan riding on top on my masthead that covers all of it to give it more of a music magazine type feel. The slogan “Hear the music. See the Music. Live the Music.” This shows all the things you can expect in a magazine and it relates to the modern society because you can literally do all of these things and my magazine will tell you how to do it. I think that could easily make a potential reader pick up the magazine.  Doing a questionnaire to my target audience gave me the information about what they wanted to see in a music magazine such as mine. Almost all of the people in the questionnaire wanted a monthly A4 sized magazine with the prize between £2-£3 which is why I went for the middle at £2.50. From this questionnaire I also found out that readers would like to gain free posters of the newest bands that are on the rise and they would also like to have reviews on the newest bands.  I had done this in my magazine to make it more appealing for my audience.

4: Who would be the audience for your media product?

My audience for my magazine is aimed at the age range of 15-25 year olds. I made it this way because it contains langue that is suited for this age group. Therefore younger readers might understand the words as such as the older generations may be looking for more exquisite words. I believe that the people of this age group are more likely to have a wider understanding and knowledge of music. I also gained a lot of information that age group during my primary research and through my questionnaire. As I am only 16 myself I would also fit into this age group and I feel as If I could relate to what this age group would want from a music magazine such as this one. The social group my magazine is aimed at would be the “rocky” person who likes a lot of music. With my magazine the audience would be able to relate to themselves because I know what the audience lifestyle would be similar to mine for example most of them could still be in school/college/university, the type of people that typically wake up late, breeze through on the bare minimum and usually don’t  have breakfast ect.

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

My product would be distributed worldwide eventually as this will take time for the magazine to be recognised in the UK, once this has happened then we can move on towards the bigger companies selling my magazine and then worldwide. This is because it would be very unlikely for a business to put a lot of money into a magazine to create so many copies worldwide first time out when nobody at all has ever heard of it. I would like my magazine to sell across the UK and I believe my magazine would be able to sell well with advertisements such as music channels and before gigs and concerts of rocky bands and gigs.  The reason why I expect my magazine to sell well is because people are always looking for the next thing and something to grab when they’re on journeys and this is a great way to spend your time. The main areas I would want my magazine to start selling first would be train stations, bus stations and airports so anywhere, where travelling is occurring because this is where most people would be buying music magazines. I would love my magazine to be sold by the Worldwide Magazine Distribution or COMAG because then this way they can change my magazine if needed as they will know how to sell it to an audience and a new range of people plus each of these would know how to advertise well to get the magazine recognised. Another reason why this would be a good idea would be because of the other magazines sat side of side from these distributers as it would mean my magazine would have high expectations therefore many people will buy it.

2: How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My media product is aimed at young adults and teenagers from the ages of 15-25 year olds. This is because I feel that there’s more of a niche market here plus in my opinion it would be easier for me to interact with this age group as I would fit perfectly into this group I understand and know how most of them would feel around music and how it’s a massive part in their lives.  I have intended my magazine to represent none of the social groups because this way it would open up to a bigger audience however it is has come out more aimed at the individual person, a type of person that keeps themselves to themselves. My magazine is also aimed at people that have an educated background; therefore they would be classed as a lower middle class. This is because they would need to be able to afford for the magazine or their parents will have to buy it for them. Another thing would be that they would need to have an idea of the news ect as sometimes it can relate to the bands in the magazine.  This magazine that I have created is very biased towards the male gender as all of my models and band members are all male. I have done this because I think that it will fit with my theme better and it’s better to aim to more directly at certain people, even though it would be better to have a wider audience but if the audience was to big it could not attract many people because it’s not directly for them only some parts may be suitable. Whereas if it directly for them it will make them want to buy it more and want it more. From my questionnaire I decided that my magazine would be based on rock music and aim at teenagers to young adults so this is what I have done.


 

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

My media product uses forms and conventions of media products. Firstly I decided to have my magazine in the size A4 as this is a normal size for a magazine, then this way we can easily find the magazine and fitted on the shelf. If I wanted to include extras into my magazine I could always have an A5 size inside my music magazine as it would fit.  On the front cover of my music magazine it is an actual gig, this gives it a much better effect because it shows what you can expect to see of this new upcoming band and I wanted to make it shout out a message to the readers. That message being come hear me, come see me also the model is fist pumping the air as if he’s number one and it shows the audience that his band is number one. I did this because many other magazines use powerful images and I wanted mine to do the same. All the imagines used complement the band and that the members in the band represent your average teenagers.

The colour scheme I went with was light grey/black, red and white. I done this because it means that the models and the main image of the magazine will always stand out and after all it’s about the music and the people around the music, which my magazine is meant to be portrayed as. As I have a light grey colour as my masthead it means that it can go with allot of colours and images so it means I can make changes to the magazine over time if I need to. I used the red and the white because it gives the magazine a rock type feel towards the magazine which is what you should expect of my amplify magazine.

I have the title/ mastheads of the magazine “amplify”, this is meant to show that you can tune into the music world as little as you like or as much as you like and it’s exactly what you are after. I also feel like it’s a great name because you have an amplifier for guitars and they fit perfectly into the music world plus as my magazine is a rock style.

There are conventions in my magazine as I have a barcode, issue number and distribution date. I made these small as I didn’t want to distract the audience away from the purpose and the cover of the magazine. However now looking back on it I would have made the text size even smaller and I now have moved the issue number down a little so it wouldn’t be riding on “y”.