2. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge
forms and conventions of real media products?
In my magazine research I found that there are re-occuring codes and conventions that magazine stick to in order
to make their media product successful.
The rule of thirds (a grid
made with two vertical
The masthead with lines and two horizontal
contains a bold and clear lines which are equally
magazine title. Taglines spaced) is also often used
and promotions can also to keep the magazine
be found here as its one looking neat and
of the first places the eyes professional, which is quiet
look when browsing for a obviously what attracts an
magazine. audience as NME is a very
successful music magazine.
A bright and bold title for
the feature artist featured in The Guttenberg diagram is
the magazine. Often with an also a conventional layout
image fitted to the whole of technique magazines seem
the front cover, manipulated to follow. Information is
(so that image overlays the often seen in the Primary
magazine title) and situated Optical Area (Green Circle)
with thought for audience and the barcode is often
representation. E.g. In this found in the Terminal Area
issue its clear to see that (Red Circle)
Hayley is a leader of the
band because of the way
she is positioned in front of
the other band members.
3. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge
forms and conventions of real media products?
The front cover of my magazine
I also decided to follow the rule of thirds
follows the Guttenberg diagram
as I personally think that is makes the
as there is information in both
layout of my magazine pages more neat
the terminal and primary optical
and makes the whole magazine seem
area of the magazine. Which is a
more professional.
common code and convention for
successful magazine layouts. The colour scheme and layout came
from a front cover from a Nirvana
feature by NME-I found that the
colours they used and the way the
images were manipulated worked
really well, so decided to follow a
similar route in my own way. I found
that by adding a darker background
and two lighter colours is easier to see
text and works better.
4. How does your media product represent particular social
groups?
The genre of my magazine is Punk/Grunge music which is quite a niche
genre of music as not a lot of people seem to listen to it, which makes my
magazine niche. Also, the magazine is targeted at people who would feel
the type of music they prefer is often forgot about due to the lack of fans-
so the magazine is trying to revive the genres. The audience that the
magazine targets is around 16-25 year olds due to the ages of the bands.
Both genders are technically targeted by the magazine but stereotypically
the dark colour scheme would target a male audience. For the image I
planned the sort of look I wanted for the model by planning at outfit and
how to style the models hair etc. For example, The leather jacket portrays
heavier music compared to more mainstream music such as pop because
of the connotations of the jacket. (Heavy Metal, Bikers, Punk etc) The
ribcage t-shirt also suggests the type of music the model would be into
because of the same reason. I also edited the image colour to a more
sepia look to fit with the grunge theme of the magazine. The way the
model dismisses the camera to look in another direction suggests a sort of
attitude which Punk music stereotypically has, The expression of the
model and the tagline “I was scared of messing it all up for all of us” also
suggests a negativity and leaves the audience wanting to know what
happens next with the band, would it be good or bad.
5. What kind of media institution might distribute your media
product and why?
6. Who would be the audience for your media product?
For my magazine I aimed making it towards the age range of 13-25 years of age due to the fact the bands in the
magazine are mainly bands that were formed in the 90’s or 80’s. The images and text is more of a younger generation
also. Ideally the gender the magazine is aimed at is both female and male, because music is something both genders
can enjoy. However, the colours are darker than most magazines leading audiences to stereotypically think that the
magazine is for a male audience. Sexuality and Ethnicity are also the same as gender, it doesn't really matter what
sexuality you are, gender or ethnicity because music can be enjoyed by all and so can this magazine.
7. How did you attract / address your audience?
For my magazine I used several images for the front cover, contents and feature article. I made sure the model in my photo was the
same age as my target/secondary audience so that they can relate and aspire to be like her. Individuals who prefer music found in
my magazine can often feel as though they cant relate to people who like more mainstream music- having someone they can relate
to music and style wise is a positive feature for my magazine. The clothing of the model is also worn to support the genre of music
she performs. For example, a leather jacket is stereotypically known as something a person into rock and roll music would wear. Her
T-shirt- a skeleton’s ribcage has also the same description. Much of the audience may dress or want to dress that way, know that the
model on the front of my magazine has the audience might feel more comfortable in wearing similar things in front of more
mainstream audiences. The body language of the model is care-free and proud of what she and her band has accomplished-
supporting the idea that the audience will aspire to be a positive figure just like the model in the magazine. The body language also
supports the genre of music as punk rock typically has an attitude of not caring, violence etc.
In this shot, I chose the model to
be in front of a wall, covered in I chose to shoot the
mesh and spikes etc. To promote images for my
the punk/grunge feel of the magazine in black
whole character, magazine and and white as I think
genre of music. this is
unconventional and
is something
The clothing worn and body different to other
language supports the genre magazines. I also
of music. think it works well
with the colour
scheme and the
genre of music.
8. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of
constructing this product?
9. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have
learnt in the progression from it to the full product?