7. Looking back at your preliminary task (the school magazine task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

There are many skills that I have learned since I created my school magazine which has enabled me to create a very professional music magazine. Since my first time using InDesign and Photoshop I have been able to develop skills in these programs that has given me a better knowledge of how to use these programs to their full potential.

I have slowly but surely learned how to layout my pages as when I first began with my school magazine there was little consideration as to what goes where. But once I moved onto the research of magazines I began to understand how each page should be laid out.

In much of my final pieces I have used the 'stroke' tool to give the text headings an edge when featuring on the background as they tended to blend in until I did this.

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

The main programs I have used throughout are Adobe InDesign and Adobe Photoshop. I have found these fairly easy to use and they are very effective at getting the desired process. These programs have allowed me to alter my own images and text to a high standard to make my magazine look realistic. I used effect tools such as 'blur', 'magnetic lasso', 'sharpen', 'shadow', stroke' and 'crop' to do this.

I used these programs on an iMac and Macbook which I also found easy to use. This product allowed me to use the programs which would make my magazine look realistic.

I also used various other technologies such as websites which include Blogger.

I also used a high quality digital camera to make my images which I used in my magazine in various areas. I also found this easy to use and manoeuvre without the images becoming blurred due to camera shake.

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

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

My magazine will target both male and female readers from the age of 15 and onwards, as it is looking at a more student market. It will appeal to those individuals who have a passion for the latest trends in music and who wish to learn more about the industry itself and the artists who represent it. On the other hand it will also target those individuals who wish to learn more about music festivals and gigs as this is commonly used in music magazines by which they review tours and line-ups for festivals. Having fewer restrictions allows my magazine to appeal to the highest number of customers as possible. This allows me to get a higher profit than say if I limited the magazine to only males, and making money is the highest priority of these sorts of magazines.

Here is a typical image of the type of person that would most likely purchase my magazine because of the type of clothes he is wearing as the age he is. The sorts of television programs my target audience is likely to watch is MTV & Hollyoaks, as these are marketed towards teenagers like my magazine is. This sort of person is likely to shop in Topman, River Island, Burton and H&M as they design clothes suited to this target audience, while they would also shop at many designer outlets. This magazine will provide information which the audience will talk and chat about with their friends who want to be the first to know all the latest news and song releases.

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

With my magazine being based on music, one media institution which could distribute my magazine is Bauer Media Group. This is because the company distributes several successful music magazines such as Q along with many other magazines. This institution may be looking to reach alternative age groups as the majority of music magazines focus on adults. My magazine is aimed at students and could be exactly what the company is looking for. Bauer Media Group could also market my magazine involving the internet which will interest younger audiences. This cross media advertising will benefit the institution as this is one very popular area of the market, which is easy to target and spread the word advertising the magazine. Bauer is known to market their products further using such areas as radio and television. They do this using television and radio stations for some of their magazines. This is also a successful way of targeting the teenage audience.

Bauer webpage URL: http://www.bauermedia.co.uk/

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

The image on the right is from my own music magazine whereas the other is from a very successful music magazine. My image on the left is taken of someone who is not really a musician but the one on the right is. There are several similarities along with other differences between these images. They are both similar artists and I tried to show the same effect with my magazine. A similarity which gives off the best effect is the facial emotions which both show a cheeky yet confident smile. Another similarity that I noticed between the two pictures is the prop, using a hat to show a more playful side for both of these pictures. Also both of these pictures have been taken in a public outside location allowing the artists to seem more down to Earth. However there are differences as my image has not been air brushed to give a more pure look where as mine has just been taken and not air brushed. The Q magazine image is different to many other images and mine as I am comparing this with mine; the professional image is of a different shot to mine. However I am not entirely sure what to define their shot as it takes the whole of the artist yet he is crouched.

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

Title of the magazine

The title, or masthead, of my music magazine, TRICK, is displayed at the top left of the front cover, covering a large area of the front cover so it stands out. This is usually seen in most magazines of various genres as it is the focal point of the magazine so it can be recognised easily. It also follows the rest of the magazines colour scheme, being green, white and black. This is a convention which many successful magazines use. The TRICK font is sharp and bold to show how it is about the new style of music that is the latest and greatest hits during the time. I feel this is a very common style of font for a new/contemporary music magazine title as it is very bold and sharp so it is likely to stay in their mind when they see it.

Mise-en-scene of image
For my front cover the mise-en-scene of the images is very important, as for nearly all magazines the images are the main focal point and what draws the audience in. With my main image I decided to place it on the right side of the page as this is also a norm for many magazines of all genres. This is because then there is lots of room for subtitles all over the page about different articles within the magazine.

For my contents page I used a large image of the same person on the front cover to relate back to the front cover. All of the other images used are small and are related to articles on my contents page.

I used the photo album look on my double page spread, where the image related to the interview of the chosen artist. The other image which dominates the left page shows the artist who is interviewed this has a quote at the bottom of the image, the image is of the guy looking arrogant which relates to the rest of the pictures of him and the interview content.

Costumes and props
On my front cover the artist is wearing what is stereotypical of a band member to wear as it is this skinny style that shows off how thin they are. He also has a mobile phone and an ipod in his hands as this is to relate to the arrogance of the artist, as he is portrayed to 'not give a damn' about anything other than himself.

On my contents page, similar clothes are for this artist to again fit this stereotype of this particular musician. In the large image of a girl band they have all been given microphones to pretend that they are in a rehearsal and the clothes they are wearing are typical of a pop group. In the image at the top left of the contents page the girl is pictured wearing clothes as if she was off to a rave to show her attitude. The two other images show two different lads that are in trendy male clothes that would be expected of a young male to wear in order to be fashionable.

On the double page spread, the artist on show is wearing a skinny shirt to suggest the genre of music and target audience as teenagers are often known for wearing this style of fashion. The prop of the ipod relates to the information within the interview as it adds the sense of being down to earth even though he is famous.

Music genre and how your magazine suggest it
The music genre which my magazine is referring to is pop, alternative etc the magazine mainly focuses on what is the latest big thing in the music industry. This is shown and suggests it in various ways in my opinion. Firstly it is the images of the artists and how they are presented, along with the colour scheme used throughout the magazine. The best example of these colours in my opinion are shown on the double page spread. The text and font can suggest the alternative genre as the large fonts use a bold rhythm along with the wording of the text and names of the artists.

Written content
The content within my music magazine pages is easy to read and easy to understand and there is no background colours which effect the text. The large text on the front cover is noticeable from a distance to highlight the artist and draw the audience in. This is a norm for well known magazines as it is the main source of bringing the target audience in. The magazine features content such as lists of artists, various advertisements which highlight content inside the magazine and paragraphs of text showing information from an interview. The interview is an informative article instead of using the questions and answers, in order as it brings more to the article than just the bland answers.

Layout

The layout is very straight forward as I have aligned the masthead of the front cover at the top with the barcode and price at the bottom. The titles on the page are all around the image except that of the image which is on top of the artist as it is about him. There is a bar along the top with different artists that are in the magazine, but are not seen as important to entice the reader to purchase the magazine.

The contents page is laid out so that there is a large banner along the top, with a list of features in the magazine down the left column. There are lots of images on the contents page with the page number of that corresponding image.

The double page spread has one page that is taken up by a whole image of the artist that is interviewed with a large quote at the bottom. Then on the second page of the double page spread is three columns of text, a breaker line between the text and the bottom of the page with a subscription URL, page number, distribution date and the name of the magazine. At the top of the page is a title for that article so the reader knows what it is about.

Trick Magazine Interview

Music Magazine Double Page Spread Analysis

Music Magazine Contents Page Final

My final design of my double page spread did not change much through the process of designing it, as I felt that I had a clear goal of what I wanted it to look like. By giving the page a clear outline of what I wished it to look like, I was able to stick with this strict outline which kept many forms and conventions of a music magazine. Putting aglow outline around the small image gave it a 3D look which made it look more like an old fashioned photo, which I have seen used in music magazines double page spreads.

Music Magazine Double Page Spread Plan

Double Page Spread Plan

My double page spread plan is simple as it focuses more on the content of the article than that of the images and the questions. It is more of an informative article instead of an interview detailing the questions and the answers to each question.

Music Magazine Contents Page Final Design

Music Magazine Contents Page Final

This is my final design of my contents page which I very much based it on one I have analysed from 'Q' magazine. This is because this layout works with and tests the forms and conventions of a magazine contents page. I have stuck with the standard convention of having a banner along the top; this is present on all of the contents pages that I have looked at. By deciding to create a contents page with just the features, I have then challenged the forms and conventions of a magazine contents page. This is because it should not just be the features but should include the regulars of the magazine, though this was done because a magazine that is much like mine set their contents layout like this.

Overall I am pleased with my contents page as it has a professional, contemporary look about it that is in keeping with a modern view of how magazines look.

Music Magazine Contents Page Plan

Music Magazine Contents Plan

This is how Q magazine have decided to layout their contents page which I have looked through this contents page and other contents pages, so I then decided that this would be the best way to put my magazine contents. I chose to do this in the same way as my music magazine and Q is very much the same, in terms of its target audience and the way it has laid out its design of pages.

So this is my contents plan:

Final Front Cover Design

My Final Front Cover

I decided to edit different aspects of my front cover as I believed they were making it look unprofessional, as it was missing several forms and conventions of a magazine. For example, all magazines have a form of slogan about the magazine and mine was missing, this is normally below the masthead but I have put it to the other side of the image. I have challenged this convention as I believed that on my magazine it would not be best suited below the masthead, this is because it would look too crowded. Also since my last evaluated draft I have put a white outline on all of the subtext below each title; this was to make each subtext stand out more as in previous drafts they were hard to read on my front cover. Although in all of my previous designs I had not included my competition/free gift which is a form and convention of a magazine, so I put this within a large circle in the bottom right of the front cover as it is normally in a corner of the magazine. I chose to make my artist name 'Jason King' much larger as it is the focus of my front cover as he is the main subject of this magazine issue. Previously I had put my barcode on the right of the front cover and on its side, but I have moved it to the bottom left along with a date and price of the magazine. I feel that all of these changes have given my magazine a professional look while sticking to and countering some of the forms and conventions of a magazine.

Music Magazine Front Cover Third step

Front Cover Third Design

At this point in my design I have changed the colour of the title as it matches the rest of my front cover. This makes it look more like a professional magazine as it all fits in together, unlike my previous versions where the colours were not working well together. However some of my text does not stand out enough so I will put an outline on the words to make them stand out, this will be either white or black.

Music Magazine Front Cover Second Plan

Front Cover Final Plan

In this plan I have changed the colour of the title so that it fits in with the rest of the front cover's text. This is now the best colours to use for my masthead as it is fitting with the image and with the rest of the text.

Second Draft Of Front Cover

Second draft

Now I have changed the colours of the titles on the page it works much better, but the title stands out too much in contrast to the other titles so I will change this so that the front cover is more symmetrical. Also the title is too much ahead of the image so I will bring the image in front of the title as that is what magazines will do if they are well known.

My First Steps Designing My Front Cover

My first step designing my front cover

First I decided on a few colours to get myself started in the creation of my front page, these were red, black, white and gold. I then realised that the colours of the different text would not work on my cover, so I decided that I should use less colours and that they should be able to work well together on the front cover. So I then decided to plan my design again in order to get the right colour scheme, so I played around with the different colours that I could use which would also match my front cover image.

Music Magazine Front Cover Plan

Original Front Cover Plan

This is my original plan for my front cover is my black and white music magazine front cover design. I feel this is an effective design as the logo is big and bold and will stand out over the rest of the text. Also, the main image will be big and focused in the centre of the cover with the smaller text running down the side and middle of the image, this is common with most magazines which I have noticed in my research of front covers. Another norm is that there will be a slogan to the bottom of the masthead which is catchy and reflects the magazine. Another norm for a magazine is to include a form of competition or free gift inside the magazine; this is used as a way to gain interest in the magazine. Other essentials will be the bar code and price. I will look at various colour designs for this to see which one is most eye-catching and relevant to the genre of music while keeping it to a strict colour scheme.

Music Magazine Double Page Analysis

Q Magazine Double Page Spread

As I have found out from researching double page spreads to analyse, most tend to keep the writing to one side and the image to the other. The image above shows this. However the article goes across to the next pages so we do not know how it is continued.

A lot of articles are based around questions and answers, especially in an interview which is more likely because we are looking at music magazines where the institution of it wants to give readers the up to date gossip on key figures that industry. However we do have to take into account that there are articles in music magazines which are not to the question and answer format but more as an informative piece or a debating one. Like the article above is more of an information piece or as it may be termed 'inside scoop', as it is a little like a gossip magazine sometimes as it is more of what has happened which may be unrelated to music.

The font used for the features headline is usually in a different font that makes it stand out. Also the serif font relates to the type of music the article is about. For instance like this one where it's about a contemporary music band the serif font is quirky and modern. Whereas if the music magazine was for rock music the serif font would take on a more gothic style.

The information on the band is all kept to the same font however there are changes in this when they put some larger quotes underneath the picture. These are little quotes from further in the text that they will not have got to if they are reading the article in order; this may entice them to continue reading.

The colours that have been chosen interlink with each other as the band members are all wearing black clothing. The headline uses these colours to tie it all in.

The picture of the band has been taken as a long shot. This means that the whole of someone’s body is viewable. Using a long shot gives the reader a sense that the band is dominant in a sense that their music is known world wide and reinforces the importance of this feature being about them.

I think this double page spread gives of a modern feel relatable to the magazine and the band it has interviewed. I think the use of serif font and colour work really well with the modernistic view as well.

Analysis Of A Contents Page

Q magazine contents page

Masthead -This lets the reader know what page there looking at so when flicking through, especially the contents page would be something most people would want to read. Most likely to be at the top of the page. In a bold serif font with a bold colour too. Q magazine places it's masthead at the top and uses a simple font face but that still manages to be bold and eye catching. This is because of the black font on a white background.

Features - Features are again formatted in a listed structure. This is much easier for a reader as it makes finding what you want fast and easy. This magazine has an every month section on its contents page similar to that of the regulars from the first magazine I looked at. This shows the magazine as being consistent and regular.

Layout - The way Q magazine sets out their contents is very different to that of other magazines as they have split it into two different pages, with one page for the features and the other for the regulars within the magazine. They have done this by using more pictures to help show as many storylines as possible so that it can help entice people to read the articles, as some people prefer to see pictures with an article instead of just writing.

Date - The date of publication is not present on this contents page. This is a strange because readers are normally reminded they have the right issue further into the magazine and not just on the front cover; however there is the issue number.

Contact Details - There is a website URL address for the magazine which will contain contact details but there I snot really any contact details.

Images - Over both of the pages there are several images that relate to the list of contents, the main image is the large one of Matt Bellamy (Muse) as he is the main image on the front cover.

Page Numbers - Page numbers are situated next to each feature headline. They are in a different colour than the headline itself, but are the same size of the font. There are also a page number on each picture that is related to the list whether it is a feature or a regular; this is situated in the corners of the pictures.

Music Magazine Front Cover Analysis

Q Magazine Front Cover

Language - The first thing we notice on any magazine cover is the image, if we don't like the images were more likely to move on to the next magazine on the shelf. Muse's front man Matt Bellamy who the main image is off is very well known as muse if often credited as one of Britain's best bands. They recently returned with a much anticipated album, it is things like this that makes them such a good choice to have as the cover of your magazine because everybody is interested in them. Keeping to the theme on contemporary music Matt Bellamy is however dressed in his bands own style of clothing, which is not in tune with the magazine normally. The mast head, font type and font colour are all simple yet effective too. This is crucial when targeting specific audiences because anything other than contemporary would be misleading and would loose some customers.

The camera shot used (Long shot) creates an eye catching statement look. This will automatically draw the reader’s attention, as he is displaying the typical view of a band member smashing up instruments.

The layout of this magazine is very simple, there is little unfilled space; this is very eye catching with the image clearly being what the institution wants you to focus on. The choices of colours used are typical to most magazines using black with a splash of a different colour to highlight they key parts of each headline.

Like other magazines 'Q' consists of a barcode and price on the front. This may be because they wish to let the reader decide on whether to buy it or not, based on the price because for some it would not be a consideration with the types of musical acts on the covers. Like the majority of magazines the month of publication and the year is printed in the lower left hand corner of the cover page.

Ideology- The ideology of this magazine seems to be to show an up to date, in the moment outlook on contemporary music. It does this by using well known people within the industry to cover their magazine as well as who they feature in it. Using a stylish, laddish, confident pose Matt Bellamy shows the right ideology for the magazine.

Institution - Q music magazines institution is Bauer Media, Bauer Media is a division of the Bauer Publishing Group; Europe’s largest privately owned publishing Group. The Bauer Publishing Group is a worldwide media empire offering over 230 magazines in 15 countries, as well as online, TV and radio stations.

Audience - Looking at the language of this music magazine front cover I think it's aimed at both men and woman who have an interest in all modern music. What leads me to believe this is that Matt Bellamy (Muse) who we can see in the main picture falls under this category. The cover lines are targeted at both a male and female audience. I think this magazine is aimed at more of an adult audience generally because of the topics they cover. Through reading the magazine myself I would say that is correct but it is too brief, I would say that the readers come from a B1 C1 group as the price is towards the expensive end of the scale for a magazine so would put off the students etc.

Representation - this magazine is representing well known, talked about figures within the music industry. By using figures like these for example Matt Bellamy (Muse), the representation of the magazine which is a positive take on what is happening at the moment within that industry is capable of happening.

Music Magazine Mood Board Double Page Spread

Music Magazine Mood Board Contents Page

Music Magazine Mood Board Front Cover