1. Media Studies product evaluation

2. Q1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventionsof real media products? With the comparison of an actual magazine cover, obeying all the rules, such as image balancing, principle of third and the Guttenberg diagram rules all apply. Now comparing side by side with my own front cover, you can see, my main image has been balanced using appropriate colours, as the heavy red is almost counter balanced by the combination of white lines and the white background at the bottom opposed to the red background at the top

3. Q2) How does your media product represent particular social groups?How could a social group be represented in the pages of a music magazine? Through the rich tapestry of connotations For my product design, I have chosen to represent a social group leaning towards a more younger, teenage audience and social group, who also feel rock music is their preferred music style, also by adding a persona of “rebellion” relating to rock obeying no rules, this persona is a key selling point to my product, by using specific “rebellion” techniques of representation of a specific social group, my techniques consist of, various writing techniques, for instance much like “KERRANG” magazine, the title itself imitates that of a guitar being smashed, I have attained a similar approach, using a similar house style to that of “KERRANG.” The whole persona of a masthead being that of smashed, imitates a social representation of rebellion. This, being represented on my front cover and masthead, labels the magazine as my target audiences social group.

4. Q3) What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? “Music-Making & Listening Future is the largest publisher of guitar magazines in the world and the biggest music-making publisher in both the US and the UK. Guitar World continues to maintain its leadership position as the world’s biggest guitar magazine. In 2009 we successfully launched Guitar Aficionado in North America, the first magazine to cater to a high-end reader in a lifestyle editorial format. In the UK, Guitarist celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2009 and recorded its highest ever circulation: its sixth consecutive increase. Rhythm maintained its position as the UK’s number one drumming magazine throughout the year. Musicradar.com continues to grow and now attracts 2.5 million page views a month, providing news, reviews, tutorials and a community for music-makers. Guitarworld.com is also going from strength to strength. Already attracting over 300,000 monthly unique users, guitarworld.com’s tabs feature enables guitarists to access official guitar transcriptions online, an industry first. Through our partnership with Comcast, Guitar World TV is available in 14 million homes. Future’s music-listening portfolio comprises Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Revolver. Classic Rock recorded its seventh consecutive circulation increase in the last full year ABCs and now outperforms weekly music newspaper, NME. Metal Hammer, which like Classic Rock now outsells Kerrang! by circulation, had a huge 2009 with Editor Alexander Milas winning the prestigious PPA Editor of the Year award. Metal Hammer’s Golden Gods Awards drew over 100,000 votes and went fully international as Revolver hosted the inaugural US version of the show in Los Angeles. Classic Rock honoured Iggy Pop as 2009’s ‘Living Legend’ at the Classic Rock Awards.” (taken from the introduction page of future website) Following heavy research, I have discovered that the big cheese, in marketing and distribution of media in magazines, is a company named ‘Future’, now Future is a huge distributor of magazines, selling around 4million magazines a month, if I was able to pitch my music magazine product to this media institution, they could guarantee, profit and sales from my magazine product, by allowing ‘Future’ to market and distribute my magazine, this allows a huge opportunity for market profit, future is also a veteran company , especially in the distribution of specific social group orientated magazines. By having future distribute my product, not only is it a well repudiated company, the insurance of my magazine to make a profit is assured.

5. Q4) Who would be the audience for your media product?Outline, in detail, how much you know about your target audience. Refer to your audience research in outlining their tastes and preferences. My target audience I have selected for my magazine, is aimed at teenagers, aged between 13-18 years of age, their social group, being preference towards rock genre in music. My house style, which is consistent throughout the magazine, consists of a rebellion style, using distorted text styles and a particular persona consisting of a rebellion genre. I gained knowledge for my target social group, by handing out questionnaires, I created, to my target audience and social group, the questions I created consists of basic circle the answer questions, mainly combined with the use of images, and the questions asking the precipitants their favoured style or genre of music magazine, I used basic and easy styled questionnaire to allow for quick and efficient results, by using a simple use of, ‘circle the answer’ techniques, this allowed for development of my music magazine design and ideas. In favour this created a proposal idea for my music magazine, creating a specific genre and target audience as well as targeting a very specific target group. I calculated the higher majority of preference by selecting a large target group audience to participate in my audience research, gaining research from a huge group varieties, ranging from, age, gender, music genre preference and so on. This in return gave me a substantial results, this allowed for the depiction of the research to eventually give me a proposal idea, by means of tallying which magazine and question answers linked, guaranteeing a profit upon production.

6. Q5) How did you attract / address your audience?To achieve success a magazine must achieve three main things. It needs to ‘Jump out of the stand’ at the reader, look impressive as he or she flicks through it, be ‘easy on the eye’ and easy to read upon closer inspection. Remember that a person’s magazine choice is tied up with the notion of self identity. How do you hope your readership will identify with your magazine’s house style? Scrutinise each element, focusing particularly on layout, typeface, images and all linguistic elements Upon the vast research made, I have understood and induced many techniques for successive readership, ranging from techniques such as, the Gutenberg diagram, by including interesting and eye catching material at the primary optical area, by combining this technique with my magazine proposal, I can allow for the magazine to ‘jump out’ form the magazine rack, the use of allowing for Gutenberg diagram to occur in my magazine allows for a greater market variety and possibly profit. Along with the combination of interesting text style and an consistent house style, this all combines to allow for the reader to experience an ‘easy read’ the specific combination of carefully configured text size, style and colour, all configures for ease to the readership. Throughout my research, I found within the audience research I commenced, most people had said that they flick through a magazine, before actually purchasing the magazine product, and just after the main image and front cover captures their attention by jumping out of the rack to them. I felt I had achieved and overcame this foreseeable problem, by simple forms of technique, simple techniques, such as including small images among the house styles and the text, I also included pull quotes, to allow for quick attention grapples, allowing for an easier readership and a further selling pitch for the target audience.

7. Q6) What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?Here you have to discuss what you have learned about digital photography, desk top publishing (mostly on Photoshop) and Blogging. You could go on all day here so pick some key examples of the more technical skills you have developed and the things you have struggled with and overcame. Use diagrams, examples of image manipulation and annotated print screens to illustrate your points. Throughout the progression of my music magazine product proposal, my knowledge in the formability within certain creativity programs, has with practise, dramatically increased, the whole context of media studies language and rules have slowly opened themselves to me, allowing for me to be much more efficient and effective when using specific computer programs and media techniques such Photoshop and the Gutenberg diagram. My development into the concept of pristine photography has developed with practise also, understanding specific laws, which in media, allows for a more perfect picture taking abilities, examples of this can range from, specific and appropriate colour co ordination, combined with appropriate subject matter placement within the picture, for example, not taking a picture out of focus, or taking a picture where the subject matter can hardly be seen or viewed. The development of my skills expands from just photography, the concept of digital photography manipulation has developed for me, I understand how to make a photograph look professional, how to make the digital photograph look studio designed, this skill has developed in me, through the working and manipulation of the program Photoshop, ranging skills from image manipulation, such as, red eye reduction, complexion clearance and image expansion (without stretching the image) obviously the skills I have developed range more in dept from the examples provided.

8. Q7) Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product? Following a brief annotation of my previous work, I can understand and confidently say, my skills in the concept of media have drastically grown and improved, I now understand and can depict a magazine cover and understand perfectly the work and techniques used within the front cover, knowing and understanding what tools and software used to create the professional look. The skill in media has developed into a state where I can understand, when I look back, what I was achieving correctly and what I was doing wrong, this ultimately has evolved into my final piece of proposal of music magazine genre. Looking back on my previous work, my skills were still heavily dependable on basic skills, mostly similar to Microsoft power point or publisher skills, skills in other words which just don’t appear impressive or professional. With the annotation of my work I understand that I wasn’t including specific media techniques, to allow for a professional and studio look to my design. Upon the development and understandment of key media concepts this knowledge has grown and developed allowing for pristine media work.