My media blog: March 2011

Friday 11 March 2011

The end

I have now finished my music magazine :)

Evaluation

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

The conventions of a music magazine are: masthead, strapline, coverlines, barcode and price, website, date, pictures and captions. My magazine includes all of these conventions, but whereas most music magazines uses bright reds and yellows e.g. Kerrang! Or Q magazine, my magazine has a sepia effect because Unplugged focuses on acoustic music I thought that this colour scheme worked best. Also most of the music magazines I have looked at only have one or two images on their double page spread whereas I used one main image and three little ones.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My magazine is aimed at teenagers who are into indie, rock, folk or acoustic music. By the colour scheme I have used it instantly gives the reader the impression that it is going to be an acoustic magazine, the sepia effect makes it look more natural whereas a rock magazine for example would include reds and a pop magazine would be brighter. Also because Hannah is holding an acoustic guitar and the pictures were taken on a farm this also gives the impression that the music is natural and acoustic. She is also sat down with the guitar showing that she is relaxed; this makes us feel as if the music is calm.

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

I think that Bauer would distribute my magazine because it is different than most of the music magazines that they publish. The distribute magazines such as Q and Kerrang! The genres of both of these magazines are rock, alternative, metal whereas my magazine is indie, folk and acoustic music therefore I think that my magazine will be something different and new for Bauer to distribute; this will widen their audience base further. Because my magazine is very different and there are not many magazines published that are like it, there is a gap in the market and if Bauer are the only big institution that distribute an acoustic, indie, and folk magazine than the group of people that are interested in this type of music will obviously choose this magazine over any others.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience for my music magazine is going to be teenagers between the ages of 15-18; my magazine is gender neutral so both male and female teenagers will read it. They will still be in full time education so they will be receiving the money spent on the magazine from their parents although some might have part time jobs. My target audience will be middle class as they will be able to afford going to concerts and festivals regularly and they will probably either be in a band or play an instrument or love listening to a range of different music styles.

How did you attract/address your audience?

It is nearing summer which means festival season, which is why I included festival review and upcoming festivals because my magazine is aimed at teenagers that are regular festival goers this will appeal to them and make them want to buy the magazine. Also on my strapline I have advertised competitions and games which will appeal to my teenage audience. My magazine prices at £3.00 so it is affordable to all teenagers which would make them want to buy it more because it is at such a reasonable price. Who is on the front cover is also considered when buying a magazine and because my cover picture is of Hannah, who is the same age as the target audience, this appeals more to my audience because they can relate to who is on the front cover. Also when posting my idea of the sepia effect I received comments saying that they really liked the effect that I had used. Also one of my coverlines asks for the audience to vote for their favourite rock god, this is getting them involved in the magazine.

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

I have used publisher to construct my magazine for the most part, but I have also used paint, gimp and Microsoft Office Picture Manager to edit some of my photos. Also gimp was used to partially construct my front cover whereas I used publisher for my contents page and double page spread. I took all of my photos on a digital camera and at the beginning of constructing my magazine I had no idea how to use Gimp but now I know how to use it fairly well.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

I think I have learnt a lot in the process of making my music magazine and that it has improved and looks more professional compared to my student magazine. I have learnt to put text in the form of coverlines on my magazine without using a block colour or boxes around it; I have used fonts from dafont.com which has improved the look of my magazine. I think that by using boxes behind the text on my student magazine it made it look childish and unprofessional and the fonts were basic whereas now I have used a variety of different fonts and have learnt how to position the text so it can still be read without having to have a box behind it. In my student magazine the Masthead was overlapping the image behind with a solid colour text box whereas this Masthead reveals the picture behind. The reason as to why my music magazine looks so much better is because I discovered that there was a background eraser tool on publisher which could get rid of solid colours behind text and because I used Gimp therefore I had a lot more options as to what I could do.

Finished Pages!

Thursday 10 March 2011

Textual Analysis - Double Page Spread

Q Magazine: The double page spread is much like the contents page and front cover, with limited colours it is simplistic and classy and again does not overwhelm us with information. The image shows that of The Black Eyed Peas but where William is the prominent image the other are faded out, showing that William is going to be the main focus of the article but the other might be mentioned occasionally, they background behind the image is plain which makes us focus on the main image. The colour scheme of the writing is black and gold and Williams clothing matches this colour scheme, this makes the article seem fresh and sophisticated. The main text is black on white but there is a quote that is made to stand out which is white text on a black background. There is one block of text which makes the article look easy to read and not daunting, which will be more appealing to the audience rather than if the page was full of text. The double page spread is simplistic but classy and the famous artist which they have interviewed will entice lots of people to read the article and buy the magazine.

Textual Analysis - Contents Pages

Q magazine: The contents page is full and there are no blank spaces but it is not busy so we are not overwhelmed by the amount of information. The page references are split up into three categories 'Features, Oasis special, Every month and Q review' the Oasis special has a colour scheme of gold and black this makes it seem classy and special so the audience is made to feel as if this article is worth a read and that they are getting a special offer. The rest of the colour scheme is white, black and red which makes the information stand out, the page references have the main description of the article or feature in bold and then there is more information in smaller writing underneath.
There is just one main, large image of a famous band which makes the Contents page look simplistic and does not make it look too busy. There is also a smaller image at the bottom of the page which supports the review section. The smaller number of pictures makes the contents page look classy and uncluttered.

Kerrang! magazine: The Kerrang! magazine is very busy and very full, most of the page is taken up by images and only a small portion is taken up by the page references. The page references are split up into 9 sections Feedback, News, Live reviews, Features, K! Icons, Album Reviews, Gigs, Swag, Famous Last Words. The headings of the sections are yellow on back which makes them stand out from the rest of the text.
There is a lot of information on the page which makes the target audience think that the magazine is going to be full to the brim with high quality articles and features. On the otherhand the audience might be overwhelmed by the amount of information on the page and not want to buy it because if the rest of the magazine is as busy as the contents page and front cover than it will make it very difficult to read.
This contents page is the opposite of the Q magazine contents page as it is very busy with lots of pictures and looks fuller than the Q meagazine but not as classy.

Textual Analysis - Title pages

Q Magazine: The front cover is simple with one main image of Lily Allen on a gray fading into black background surrounded by Panthers, using just one images simplifies the front cover and makes it look less busy, it gives us one main image to focus on and attracts our attention making us want to read the article but at the same time, because the image is simple, doesn't attract all of our attention away from the other coverlines. The front cover of this particular issue appeals to both genders, it appeals to men because there is a famous, topless girl on the front cover and to girls because Lily Allen is a role model for lots of teenage girls therefore enticing them to read the article as well. The text and images overlap to make the magazine cover feel full but not cluttered. The text "Lily Allen" is overlapping Lily Allen herself because she is an icon and everybody should know who she is.
The main coverline "Sexy Beast Lily Allen and her wicked, wicked ways..." supports the image on the front cover with Lily Allen being considered as 'sexy' and the panthers as 'beasts' also the panthers are considered 'wicked' animals as in bad, and Lily is considered 'wicked' as in cool. Also comparing Lily to the panthers suggests that she is a predator, referring to her dominant nature as the reason as to why she is so successful.
The masthead of the magazine could relate to music being cued up ready to play. Also the white on read colour scheme is quite common as Kerrang! uses these colours for some of its mastheads.
Some words on the coverline are emphasised using bigger text or different colours such as red, for example "EXCLUSIVE" is in capital letters a different font and in red to catch our eye and make us was to read the article and offering an article which only Q could provide you with. The names of the bands are also made bigger so the audience focuses on the band. The coverline "25 greatest rock movies" is circled separating it from the rest of the text and draw our attention to the article because you wouldn't think an article about movies would be featured in a music magazine, it is immediately of interest to people.
The magazine is £3.90 which is really good value for money as Q is considered a collectors item due to the high quality articles and the glossy, crisp pages making it look expensive.

Vibe Magazine: The front cover of Vibe magazine has only got one main image on it the image is not too busy but is impressive because it has a picture of Usher walking along a plane runway with a plane behind him. Usher is a very famous artist therefore having him in the center of the page and overlapping the masthead of the magazine draws our eye to him immediately. Also the headline and quote "There is no competition." which shows how influential he is upon the music industry, this makes people want to read the article. Although the masthead is partially covered by Usher, the fact that such a famous artist is overlapping it draws our attention the the name of the magazine. This magazine could be aimed at either genders as Usher is such a big role model for most teenage boys, but some girls may be interested in his music as well.
The colour scheme is only three main colours black white and yellow, with the main words that are important to the coverlines and are bound to be of interest to the target audience highlighted in yellow, the articles are difficult to miss. Also restricting the colour scheme to just three colours it makes the yellow highlighted words stand out even more than if the whole magazine was swamped in colour. Some words such as "Young and Reckless" or "Tweets" are bolder which also emphasises them and catches our eye. Also the coverline "50 Crazy Celeb Tweets" makes the magazine seem modern and is probably aimed towards a teenage audience of about 17-20.
The magazine is not glossy, but this will make it less expensive and if it is aimed at a student, teenage audience the magazine doesn't need to be too expensive or they will not be able to afford it.

Kerrang! Magazine: The front cover of Kerrang! is very busy, not only does it have a main image of the band Biffy Clyro it also has a smaller image of Hayley Williams from Paramore, Lost Prophets and Funeral for a Friend. The colour scheme is red, white and black and the clothes that Biffy Clyro are wearing matches the colour scheme as they are only wearing black and white. The lead singer of Biffy Clyro is overlapping the masthead also he is the only one wearing white which makes him seem the most important. The main coverline that overlaps Biffy also refers to their album as the coverline says "Biffy Clyro Unfold the Puzzle of life..." and their album name is Puzzle, which makes Biffy Clyro fans want to read the article hoping for gossip on their new album.
This magazine could be for a male or female audience that likes rock or alternative music. The masthead is black on white which makes it stand out, the coverlines are white on read and white on black to catch our eye. Also words such as "FREE" and "PLUS" offers the audience feel as if they are getting great value for money.