1. In what way does your media product use, develop or change forms and conventions
of real media products?
Aspects of my music magazine apply the conventions
typical in most magazines of this genre. For example I
used organised columns on my contents page. On the
right I have also demonstrated the mast head which I
situated at the top of my front cover, and the bar code
situated on the bottom right of it, and the cover lines
in-between. All of these conventions together give it the
typical appearance of a magazine. However there are a
few choices in particular where I have gone against
tradition. For example in my colour scheme. In most rock
orientated magazines you find they primarily use
red, black and white. In contrast I have used green, black
and white. I think this adds a slight twist that could make
my product more noticeable within the market. It’s also
more common to have an accomplished artist on the
front cover, but I have instead chosen an up and coming
duo that I believe to be more relatable to the readership
as they portray the stepping stones required to reach
fame.

2. How does your media project represent particular social groups?
I’ve not included any women on the front cover because it is a male
dominated genre. Mike and Alex (Karpacheta) formed my front cover.
Neither of the two held any instruments. In contrast I used an image of
James Wade on the contents page and he holds a guitar below his
waist in a confident composed stance. This can also be interpreted as a
phallic symbol and something that gives him power and hierarchy.
James is an example of someone who has achieved his goals, where as
Karpacheta are an example of people reaching them. They demonstrate
the stepping stone to success and are therefore more relatable to the
readership who want to be like them, thus putting them on the front
cover. This represents how particular social groups deem music as a
hierarchy.
The people presented in my magazine are primarily British males ages
16+. This will also represent the primary audience for my magazine.
This makes it so the people photographed and spoken of can be related
to by the readers, via the male gaze. Alex, from the front cover, is
wearing a shirt which is usually interpreted as something
smart, overlaid by a hoodie. This shows him making something fancy
more trendy and youthful.

3. My magazine is priced at £2.50, this reflects the working class
people I expect to purchase it. It also entails freebies i.e.
posters, which portray the social economic status of teenagers
and young adults who don’t have much money. The scratched out
mast head “Deadline” has connotations of the horror genre and
looks aggressive. This fits into the semantic field of teenage boys.
The layers on the cover, contents and DPS also portray a messy
care free style that flows, similar to the fashion sense the majority
would follow.
On the double page spread Karpacheta have a collage of pictures
that show them loitering around Knaresborough. This could
portray them as the stereotypical social menace. Especially as Alex
wears his hood up. However on the flip side we have an interview
with the boys that mentions education a few times and gives a
more positive and contradictory representation of teenagers.

4. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product
and why?
Bauer distribute similar music magazines as shown on the right. So if they
invested in my own it would appear they had competition in the market
when in fact the money would go to their
company regardless. As a big corporation they
have the financial backing to support my
magazine not to mention they’ve already
established magazine networks and so
distribution would not be a difficulty. Due to the
fact it’s a mainstream high-end publishing
corporation they could afford to allow for more
appealing competitions in the magazine. For
example offering the chance to win a ticket for
yourself AND friends to an upcoming music
event.

5. Who would be the audience for your media product?
My primary audience are British working class teenagers and young adults (15 – 25) of either
gender (Boys 65% Girls 35% as found from a survey I conducted). They will have a strong and
developing interest in music. Primarily the rock scene. It is aimed at heterosexuals due to the
male role models and female icons present. Though females are rarely shown in this male
dominated genre when they are they will be more sexualised then the males and seen as a
person of desire. In contrast to males who are seen as a person of ambition and power. They are
emulators and a wanna be who will aspire to the people they see in my magazine. They will try to
dress like them, perhaps even act like them because their style of life is what they aspire to
achieve regardless as to whether they follow the same musical path or not. The majority will be
belongers, the kind of people who love a sense of community and being within a group. The
format of writing I use within my product will consist of personal pronouns directly addressing
the reader. The sense of familiarity with the tone and colours used will give them that sense of
belonging to the community of Deadline. My readership
are need driven. These are the kind of people who will be
attracted to my magazine because of the freebies and
posters inside. I also recognized what Brands and activities
they familiarized themselves with (e.g. Atticus, Converse,
skinny jeans) and included them.

6. How did you attract them?
The majority of my audience will be needs driven as they are young and
impulsive. Therefore my magazine will attract them via freebies such as
posters, CD’s and competitions. As emulators and wanna bees they will
also be attracted to articles on popular artists of the rock genre so they
can immerse themselves in similar clothing and conduct. As belongers
they ought to know the news within the community and so will read my
magazine to keep up to date on music news and reviews that they can
then discuss and share with friends in the same group. My magazine is also affordable so
easily attainable by the working class who are the most dominant of rock genres. Males will be
attracted to the magazine due to the rough personality of it portrayed through the tone and
bold colours giving at masculine feel.

7. What have you learnt about technologies from the process
of constructing this product?
Whilst gathering images for my magazine I used a Canon
600 SLR camera. This gave me opportunity to shoot
professional photographs which were key in producing a
quality magazine. Once I had these photographs I could
begin work on my front cover, contents and double page
spread. For this process I used Photoshop extensively. Prior
to this construction I had little pragmatic knowledge on
how to use it but learnt a lot. For instance the use of layers
and rasterizing alongside other significant editing tools. I
stored my work on an SD card via a memory stick and then
uploaded them to my blogger account.

8. Looking back at your preliminary task, what to you think you
have learnt in the progression from it into the full product?
Looking back at my preliminary task the level of
professionalism is far lower then is in my end product. I
have learnt how to apply common conventions for an
outcome that looks publishable. These conventions
include my layout, tone of register, and a colour scheme
suited to the genre.
In this time I have also learnt how to do significant
research into aspects of publishing I would have otherwise
not considered. For example looking at what aspects of
the market a publisher already supplies and the
networking they have established.
I have adapted myself to accomplishing more organised
planning which I have come to understand is key if you are
aiming for a specific audience. I had to plan out what
would attract them, what photographs I would need prior
to the shoot and what questions I would be asking prior to
the interview.