2. In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
My magazines front cover uses similar conventions to other magazines, because I have a main tittle that is bold and stands
out, also I have a centralised image that stands out and brings more attention towards the magazines front cover.
Both magazine have centralised images like on most magazines.
Main titles are bold and stand out.
I used a certain colour scheme in my magazine like most other magazine do, as shown above my magazine (left) uses a black
white and red colour scheme, also kerrang has a red, black, white and yellow colour scheme. (my magazine has hints of grey
because of the mixture of black and white).
My magazine breaks conventions with the main image as my image was taken looking away from the camera (the reader)
whereas most other magazines have the artists looking at the camera, I feel the way I have used the image is god for the
magazine as it will make the reader wonder what he’s looking at and make them want to read his story, also it gives it a more
youthful feel to the magazine by the way he is positioned facing away and in front of a brick wall which ties in with the
audience the magazine is aimed at (18 – 20 year olds).
My Centralised image is a mid-shot which is also represented in most other music magazine as most magazine have their main
images as mid-shots.
The cover line on my front cover uses similar conventions to other magazines as cover lines are supposed to draw attention to
readers and make them want to reader the magazine and my cover lines are specifically aimed at young and talented people
which also applies to other magazine, other magazines will use cover lines that are aimed at their audience.
Main titles are
bold and stand
out.
Both magazine
have centralised
images like on
most magazines.
3. I have also challenged conventions by having a much plainer front cover as most rock front covers and magazine
front covers in general have lots of different things on them which makes them In most cases messy and not very
attractive, so I decided to make a much similar and much more attractive front cover which will hopefully appeal
to the reader more than a messy front cover would. I feel that by making the magazine more attractive and having
less content on the front will make readers want to buy it as it’s a change from the usual magazine.
Another convention I have challenged is the fact that I included an editor’s introduction to the magazine including
a picture of the editor I realised most magazine don’t include this and I thought it would be a good way to link the
editor with the reader to make them feel more relaxed and in touch with the magazine and content within the
magazine.
I have used the same colour scheme on each of my pages (contents and double page spread) to make it look more
neat and tidy and also look more professional, the way I have layed out the pages is similar to other magazine as
well because I have put text on one side and pictures on the other, my contents page doesn’t have many photos
and this is because I felt that the pictures I was going to put on weren’t really suitable for the page and just ruined
the more attractive look that I was aiming for.
4. The way my image is showed breaks
Front Cover conventions as people usually expect
the main person to be facing the
camera but this will make the readers
The Name of the magazine is in a bold think about what he’s looking at, also I
and stylish font to attract the readers made the image reasonably big but
to want to buy the magazine. not too big, I wanted the bricks to be
shown in the background to represent
his youth and the darkness and style
of music included in the magazine.
This cover line on the
front page will attract
the young and
talented audience that
The illuminated white
my magazine is aimed
text brings attention to
at because people will
the text showing how
read this and think
dreams can be
they will get help
accomplished as Sam and
getting noticed.
the band are hoping for a
tour of Britain!
A list of bands/ artists shows the
reader what they can expect to see in
the magazine if they aren’t young and The magazine has a
talented then they may be interested barcode because all
in the other bands/artists included. magazines have one and it
In my magazine I used a colour makes it look more
Also they bubbles they are
scheme of black white and red to professional.
represented in looks rather strange
bring attention to the reader that
and attractive in weird ways which
it’s a rocker magazine as rock is
may bring attention the bands when
more associated with darker
reader looks at the front cover.
colours.
5. Final Contents Page
This is the title of the contents, This opening paragraph gives the
showing that the magazine is a audience an insight of what is the
weekly magazine. main part of the magazine and what
will be the main headline. Also the
opening paragraph shows that this is
the first official issue of the
magazine.
This is a picture of the
editor which will make
the audience feel close
The guitar symbolises that
to the editor and know
the magazine will have
what he looks like which
something to do with rock
may make some readers
and indie music as most
feel more comfortable
rock/indie bands are
about reading the
associated with using
magazine.
guitars.
All the writing is standardised and on
the same side, this makes it look
more presentable to the reader, also This is a picture of the front cover of
shows what the main parts of the the magazine to remind them of the
magazine are. content.
6. Evaluation – Double Page Spread
I have added a few images of
I have made sure to put the name of
The text is bold and stands out from the two musicians being
the band and name of the two
the rest of the page to make it look interviewed so the reader
people who are being interviewed
more attractive and also it’s a dark can relate to the way they
on the page so the reader knows
shade to go with the rock/indie look and dress, I only got
who they are and what the band
theme. pictures of the main two
name is.
because I didn’t feel the
reader would be as
interested in the people who
don’t get interviewed.
I wrote an opening
paragraph of who is in the
band and then continued
with another two
paragraphs explaining what
they want and hope to
achieve from doing the
interview.
I have used this black to
white fade across the screen
because it looks more I have used the guitar picture again
rock/indie than bright to emphasise the fact that it is a rock
colours, also it looks more magazine and aimed at young
professional than having a musicians who want tips on how to
bright colour for a I didn’t enter a lot of text because I felt it would make it in the “big-time”, you don’t
background and I also felt make the page look overcrowded; I also feel have to be a young musician to buy
that leaving the background that a more simplistic look has helped me the magazine as it contains other
white would be bland and achieve what I wanted which was a stylish and content for people who are purely
boring. well represented double page spread. interested in rock/indie music.
7. How does your media product represent particular social
groups?
My media product is aimed at young male musicians who are interested in the rock industry, between the ages of
16-20; I feel that my magazine breaks conventions of usual rock magazine as I don’t use any pictures of older
rockers or things associated with older rockers such as motorbikes and leather jackets. The magazine is mainly for
young musicians who feel they are at a dead end in there attempt to make it big in the music industry, the
magazine has the interview with “we have emotions” who are a rock band who have recently made it into the
spotlight and are close to bigger things such as tours in big arenas such as the 02 and MEN arenas. It isn’t just
aimed at young musicians it is also aimed at people interested in the rock/indie genre.
On the front cover there is a picture of a teenager from the band “we have emotions”, he suit the role of a rock
band member as he has long black hair and has the same dress sense, he is sat on a bench facing away from the
camera, this breaks the conventions of most magazines as most people on the front cover will be facing the
camera, because he is facing away from the camera this will make the reader think what is he looking at and will
make them interested.
Because Sam is the main feature of my front cover it draws attention to him as the more talented and main
member of the band and young people may relate to this and feel that they can be like Sam and help their band
members become as successful as Sam’s band. When people look at the front page they should automatically link
Sam to a rock typed magazine as he represents a typical rocker.
The article explains how Sam is down to earth and can have a laugh, and not everything is serious, which
represents that just because your aiming for big things doesn’t mean you have to be serious and focused and you
can have a rest from focusing and have fun.
I think that many young band members can relate to Sam and will be able to put them selves in his shoes, this will
attract more readers to read the magazine as they will want to read his story and be emotionally attached to his
journey as they will feel they will have to go through the same things Sam has.
8. What kind of media institution might distribute your media
product and why?
When I was looking through different media institutions I spotted Bauer media, I think my magazine would fit in
with their type of music, I would describe my magazine as a close representation of kerrang with rock/indie music
and a darkened lay out. I did come across other institutions such as IPC Media, I didn’t choose IPC as I didn’t think
it would be a good link to my magazine as Sam represents a more rocker theme signifying that the magazine may
contain more rock than indie music, where as NME includes more indie music than rock.
Also my magazine looks more like a kerrang magazine with dark colours and white text to draw more attention to
the text, because my magazine is mostly rock based it would be more fitting for it to be Bauer as they have more
of a rock feel, on the kerrang front page foo fighters are the main picture who are a well known rock band, the fact
that foo fighters are in the speech bubble at the bottom of my page represents that Bauer would be more fitted to
distribute my magazine. NME’s magazine has Tyler the creator on the front, who is a young rapper, the fact that he
is a rapper means that my magazine wouldn’t represent the style of music NME/ IPCMedia are aiming for.
IPC Media My Magazine Bauer
9. Who would be the audience for your media product?
The audience for my magazine is young males aged 16 – 20, I have chosen this target audience due to the amount
of rock band content which will be more linked with males than females, also I have aimed it at younger males
rather than older ones, as younger people would be more intrigued and interested in the story about Sam due to
his age and the fact they can relate to Sam and his age and try and follow in his footsteps and try and make their
band ( if they are in one) big and successful. People over the age of 20 may not be interested in the story about
Sam, but they may be interested in other content such as articles on big bands such as Blink-182 and Two Door
Cinema Club. Just because my main audience is young people doesn’t mean that people out of that age range cant
buy the magazine, its just the fact that younger people will be more interested and more tempted to buy it.
Race is not an issue when looking at the audience as rock doesn’t single out skin colour as everyone can listen to
rock music without feeling out of place, where as rapping is more associated with black people. All people can be
interested in rock music and isn’t associated with one race. The magazine would obviously appeal to people who
fit the stereotypical rock “look” (leather jackets, black hair and skinny jeans) but yet again just because someone
doesn’t fit the stereotype doesn’t mean they wont be interested in the magazine. Because Sam is young himself, it
will make it easier for the reader to connect with him, as young people usually find it easier to connect with other
young people rather than older people, this was the main reason I didn’t include older rockers in the magazine as
people cant really connect with them.
Sam is young and relatively new to the music industry so I found it important in the Q & A to use questions that
relate to his age and to show how Sam made it to where he is, Because the magazine is mainly about how young
people can make it, most of the readers who are interested in “making it” will be able to relate to Sam and want
to read about how he made it and their future plans.
10. On the contents page I have a picture of The “misty outline” to the bands Because the magazine is mainly
the editor which will make the readers included may attract readers to buy about Sam and his band making it
feel that he wants to be close to the the magazine, they may be “big” I used a picture of Sam and
readers and listen to their ideas, the interested in certain bands and want also its aimed at young males so it
opening paragraph is the editors view on to buy the magazine, the “misty will also attract them, the fact Sam
the magazine and makes people aware outline” will emphasise the bands isn’t facing the camera will attract
it’s the first official issue which may make and bring attention to them. readers as they will be thinking
people want to read, also emphasises that about why Sam isn’t facing the
Sam’s the main person and the main camera and what he’s looking at.
interest in the magazine.
The Font used for the front How did you attract/ The cover lines on my front
page may attract users to
pages Title is rather unusual
and will make readers
address your read on, the cover line is
“Young & Talented?
attracted to the “funky” font
also I used a different font on
audience? Want to get noticed?
Want a chance?
my contents page and double
We can help!”, this will make
page spread to bring emphasis
the reader want to read
on the front cover, the font on
because it will give them
my contents and double page
advice on how to get noticed
spread is exactly the same and
and may lead them onto
stylish to attract young people
The colour scheme I used was very better things
as young people are into the
stylish and funky looks. simplistic (black, white and red) I
thought these colours worked well
and would attract the more rocker
reader.
The font used on the contents page is The layout of my magazine will
very stylish and looks good, the way attract the reader that like more
the page number and story title is bold simplistic and neat magazine, I did
and the content of the stories in My double page spread attracts people this because personally I don’t like
normal text makes it look more by using a page of images and a page of magazine with a lot of information
professional, On my double page text, this will attract the readers on the front as it looks messy and in
spread the text is more sharp and because they get to look at the people my opinion I think that it will bring
makes the magazine look more in the band before reading about it, this more attention to the picture and
sophisticated as the text looks very helps them to relate to the way they more attention to the highlighted
professional and links in well with the band members dress/look and will text as when there is a lot of text
one page of writing and one page of make them more interested about how people don’t usually tend to read it
pictures look I went for. their look is associated with their music. because there is so much of it.
11. Audience Feedback.
To get audience feedback I produced a questionnaire and asked 30 people five questions about my magazine.
1) What would you say the age range is for this magazine?
(i) 15 – 18 – 7 people
(ii) 18 - 20 – 16 people
(iii) 20+ - 7 people
2) Do you think that the colours used match the type of magazine it is(rock)?
(i) No – 4 people
(iii) Yes – 26 people
3) If you seen this magazine in the shop would you be tempted to buy it?
(i) No – 5 people
(ii) Maybe – 11 people
(iii) Yes – 14 people
4) If you didn’t know what type of genre the magazine was, would you have guessed it to have been a rock magazine?
(i) No – 3 people
(ii) Yes – 27 people
5) Would you find this magazine easier to look at and read compared to others?
(i) No – 3 people
(ii) Yes – 27 people
The results of the audience feedback suggest that my magazine will be successful because;
• the age range match the one I set for the magazine.
• people agreed with the colours used in the magazine and matched the genre of the magazine.
• Most people said they would be tempted to buy my magazine.
• The results show that the magazine has more of a rock theme which is the type of magazine I aimed for.
• Finally people said that my magazine was easy to look at, which is also what I wanted it to be.
12. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of
construction of this product?
Before creating my music magazine I had never used quark and only had basic knowledge of how to use Photoshop, over the
period of time we had to create the magazine I gained some important skills to do with the different pieces of software
which enabled me to create the front cover, contents page and double page spread for my music magazine.
When I began using quark I had no clue how to use it, whilst creating the magazine I gained important skills such as how to
place image on the page, how to split the page into columns for my double page spread and even simply things like inserting
text. Quark was very hard to get to grips with as I had never used it, but when I finally got into it, it became easy I mainly
used quark for my double page spread and to export the files into PDF’s.
When using Photoshop I had previous experience of using it, I did gain some new skills however. I created most of the pages
in Photoshop, I used it to create the whole front page and contents page and also to crop/edit all pictures on all pages
including the double page spreads. In Photoshop I had to use the tools such as the quick selection tool, the magic wand,
crop tool, the text box and obviously the move tool also I had to be able to create layers and duplicate them. I had to use
duplicate the layers so I could delete the backgrounds so the images didn’t have a background as it would look very
unprofessional to do that, also that linked in with the magic wand and quick selection tools as I highlight the backgrounds of
the images and deleted them using these tools as it was quicker and faster than drawing round each image.
I found working in quark and Photoshop very good as it was much more helpful and helps you be more imaginative and
creative which is important when create a magazine. Photoshop was the programme that assisted me the most, it helped
me create the image I had in my head of what I perceive to be a good magazine. After completing my magazine it was clear I
had gained new skills in quark and Photoshop as I had created a magazine of a high standard.
If I had to say what improvements would be needed is that I needed a lot more images than I actually took, also I should
have took pictures of more than just two people as it would give me more variety when explaining how the readers can
connect with the people from the band, apart from needing more images I would say I’m happy about all aspects of my
magazine.
13. Looking back on your preliminary task, what do you feel you
have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Before I started making my music magazine we were also told to make a college magazine, we had to create a front page
and contents page for Priestley College. The college magazine was set as a preliminary task and was only done to get us
more familiar with the software we were going to use for our music magazine which was Photoshop and Quark.
Because I had little or no experience with these programs before the preliminary task, you can see clear improvements
between my music magazine and the preliminary college magazine, The magazine I created for the preliminary task wasn’t
very good as it had a mix of different colour and was very bare and didn’t look presentable or professional.
I don’t feel I did very well in creating my college magazine I don’t think I used the programs as well I could have, the front
page is very plain with no detail or editing and the contents page isn’t presentable at all, but then my music magazine shows
a great deal of improvement in the use of the programs. I struggled the most using quark as I had no experience using it and
had no idea what the tools did, but Photoshop was a bit easier but I still struggled using these for the preliminary task.
Comparing my final music magazine with my preliminary task you can see the difference in effort and understanding of the
use of Photoshop and quark, the music magazine I created is of better quality than my college magazine which is clear to
see. You can clearly see the progression of using the programs by just glancing at the two different tasks, the music
magazine looks a lot more professional which also represents my progression in Photoshop and Quark.
In progression of the time I have spent using Photoshop and Quark I feel that my skills have improved a lot and I feel it has
helped me produce a better standard of work, I felt a lot more confident using these programs after the preliminary task and
I feel that I have tried my hardest to learn and make my music magazine a lot better than my college magazine. Overall
making my music magazine was really successful compared to my college magazine and I am pleased with how well and
professional it looks.
Music Magazine College Magazine
