Question 7

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the the full product?
From the moment that planning I began to learn the importance of the preperation I was completing. Through drafting I began to realise how much more difficult it is to generate ideas the I originally thought it would be. Putting ideas to paper is far more time consuming then I originally believed, and therefore my organisation of time began to become more and more important. I decided to set myself deadlines and targets to keep myself focused throughout the production process. Before this project, I had never been quite so determined to set myself deadlines.
Whilst taking photos I began to realise a good photo is not as easy as it seems. Whilst researching into other magazines, the shots seem simple, and obvious, yet when beginning to do photography myself, I realised this certainly was not the case. One of the biggest issues was Mise en Scene. And to create meaningful photos for my cover and double paged I had to travel quite a distance. I wanted meaningful and creative backdrops, and to do this, I could not remain around college. Several other students and I decided to travel to Weston Super Mare and take photos using the sea scape as a backdrop. Whilst doing this we learn many things about framing and shot types, as well as angle. For example, when I wanted a model to dominate the shot, I would use a low angle shot to make him look far larger in the photo. Also, when I wanted to show emotion fully I would use a close up of the models face so that the audience could see all the emotion he was expressing.
Not Only have I learned this but I also learned a lot about general layout and design. You can see the difference between my preliminary design and my final design that I have learned several new skills, for example the fonts. The font I used for my original design was basic and generic on all of the cover lines, however on my final cover, it was far more original and well suited to my genre. Also, my Masthead itself was also more suited to an indie genre, where as my Masthead for my original task wasn't very well suited. Not only this but the difference in photography is also far more effective. The MCU contained on my final cover is Very suited to my genre and connotes everything that I intended, where as my original photo did not have a lot of meaning and therefore was slightly unsuited.

Question 6

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

Whilst working on my media product, I learned how to use many new programmes. One of which was photo shop, before this project I had very limited knowledge of photoshop or how to use it. However, whilst creating my front cover I was able to learn how to do many new things.

I was able to learn how to manipulate photos to fit into my cover, e.g. Changing the scale of a photo whilst still managing to keep it in proportion. This was done on several occasions, one of which was the splash effect in the upper right hand corner. It was far too large for my page and took up 1/2 the page. After I changed the size, whilst still keeping the image in proportion, it fitted comfortably in the corner of the page.

Not only this but I also learned how to use a digital SLR effectively. Before the project began, I hadn't needed to take artistic photos and therefore had not used a digital SLR. During the project I was taught the basic functions of the camera, and how to use it effectively. By being taught this, I was able to use the setting for bright sun light and therefore get for more impressive photos.

However, whilst I did get to learn about using photography, and the programmes that create a magazine, I also learned how to use the internet effectively to get a good audience response. Before the project, I had not used the likes of facebook to get opinions on my ideas, however by doing this I was able to generate and change my ideas positively so that they were more suited to my target audience. For example, I uploaded my montage of ideas onto facebook containing many photos that connoted ideas that I wanted to include within my magazine. From this I got responses that allowed me to adapt and change my ideas.

Question 4 + 5

Who would be the audience for your media product?
The audience for my magazine would fall into the age range of 18-25. On the jicnar scale they would most likely be C1-C2, but hopefully the way I have constructed mt production would allow for a wider range. Most of my audience would be hedonists, and therefore be fun loving and relaxed. Even though my target audience would probably not be interested in freebies, by including it in my first issue, a wider audience may be reached. Even though originally my magazine was going to be male orientated for the majority, I feel that now both a male and femal audience would be able to enjoy it.
5. How did you Attract/Address your Audience?

I was able to attract my audience through my use of colours, fonts and layouts. Often I would use interesting colours that weren't overly bright. This would connote how my audience are hedonistic and fun loving, but also sophisticated and not necessarily just attracted by bright flashy colours. For example, the brightest colours I used for the front cover were maroon and Yellow. By doing this so often, it allowed me to create an interesting colour scheme and stop my cover from being bland and boring. These colours mixed with a black and white photo create an atmosphere that suits my target audience and is not over the top. To find out what a member of my target audience though of my choice of colour I spoke to a 17 year old male whose favoured of music is Indie. This was my response:

" I like how the main title is red, and then the cover line is reversed out. Also, the use of yellow adds an extra element of interest as its used at the main point of interest in the title"

From this response, I believe that the choice of colour I used was appropriate.

Also the fonts I used were able to create interest as well as fit my chosen genre.
The font I used was downloaded off of www.dafont.com. I believe this font connotes aggression or rebellion, similar to that of the music contained within my magazine and therefore as attractive to my audience as the music.

I feel that I have been successful with my choice of font and the response I got when I asked a member of my target audience seems to reinforce this.

The first person I asked was a 16 year old female, who is a fan of the Indie genre. When asked about the font, the response I was given was as follows:

"I believe that this font connotes the Indie genre and is similar to the fonts used on other well established magazines. I think the colours will also attract the target audience as they alternate between red and white"

From this response I can see that this font is well suited to my front cover.

Also, the layout itself was design to generate interest from my target audience. Often I used sharp straight edges to again connote aggression. Also, I added a Splash effect in the upper left hand corner, by doing this I believe I am connoting informality or untidiness. I interviewed several people about my cover, and when I asked an 18 year old male, this was his response about this effect:

"I like the splash mark in the corner, it looks like you flicked paint onto the page, it makes it look messy, but still seems professional rather then tacky"

Overall, from my audience responses I can see that my cover was well liked. The colour scheme was well approved, along with my fonts and layout. However, I did also learn about some improvements, most of which were aimed at my contents page. Many audience members felt as though it was incomplete and rushed due to the lack of colour. From this I can see that being minimalistic does not always go to plan and in fact I should have spent more time on the contents page ensuring it was done according to my colour scheme, possibly including colour backgrounds etc.

Question 3

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
For my magazine, I would only like it to be distributed by a mainstream distributor if it did not affect the integrity of it. For example IPC media distribute NME, however they also distribute magazines such as "boat owner" showing that they are not a specialist distributor and therefore could make my magazine eventually become generic. This can also be seen very clearly through IPC, with magazines "TV choice and "TV quick" looking almost identical to one another and containing the same stories. This is why I believe an Independent distributor would be a possibility. Whilst profit is an important factor, one of my main objectives with this magazine was to challenge the mainstream and generalised indie magazine, and by doing this i will be appealing to a niche audience, something that independent distributors specialise in. A Magazine such as "Losing Today" would be an example of this. By following in the footsteps of this magazine, I would be able to continue to make my magazine unique and how I want it, not have it generalised and spoilt.
By doing this, the retail outlet of my magazine will be different, for example, whilst many mainstream mgazines are sold in outlets such as "Sainsburys" and regular supermarkets, my magazine would be sold in music outlets hopefully including the likes of "HMV", places where people are genuinely interested in music. Having an independent distributor will also be perfect for the brand identity of my magazine, a unique magazine cannot be distributed by a generalised company, it needs to be specialist.
The distribution strategy of my magazine would probably have a large impact on the profit made by the magazine, it would be reduced severely as the amount of money that could be put into marketing would also be reduced. However, to change this I could use internet marketing as it is far cheaper, for example I could use viral marketing to create word of mouth.

Question 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?
I feel that the title of my magazine it self shows some of the representations held by my production. "Offbeat" tells us that this magazine does not follow typical generic styings. Whilst it does appeal to similar audiences it does this in a different way.
I feel that the photographs included on my contents page show that this production is aimed at both genders, given that both male and female models are used. The fact that close ups are often used shows that this magazine is trying to appeal to both genders openly. Several of the photos are also taken at a straight angle, I feel that by doing this, coupled with a white background shows that I am not stereotyping my audience. Many magazines show photographs of bands performing, I feel that giving my models a white background gives a more sophisticated edge to my magazine and shows that my target audience are not always loud and aggressive. Also, the band photos taken for my double page spread of "The Avengers", rather then being of a heavy metal band, or performace, were taken at a seaside in Weston Supermare. By doing this I feel that the photography has been given an artistic edge. Also the models themselves have been dressed to look more stylish, rather then band T-shirts, long hair and Guitars. By doing this, I feel again that I wil be breaking the stereotype of who purchases Indie magazines. The target audience of my magazine was 18-25 year olds interested in indie and rock music. Often this target audience is far more intelligent then magazines such as Kerrang! give them credit for.

Question 1

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
When creating my media product I aimed to use similar conventions as magazines such as Kerrang! and NME. At the same time however, I wanted to make sure my magzine was original and unique by challenging certain conventions. My magzine contains a promenant masthead and a MCU of a band, similar to that of both Kerrang! and NME. By doing this, my magazine contains elements of Indie magazines that pretty much convey the image of the cover. Also, the design used for the "Free CD giveaway" is something often seen on Kerrang! magazine that I decided to adapt and develop for my own. I used the same colours for this feature as the rest of my cover so that it would seem fitting rather then Unnecessary. One of the ways in which my magazine cover is different then others is the use of a Splash effect in the upper right hand corner. I have not seen either Kerrang! or NME use this idea to sum up what is included within the magazine and thought it would be an interesting addition to my cover.
My Contents page contains several features that are common in Indie magazines. One of which is the use of a previous cover in the upper left hand corner with a caption. However, this being the first magazine of the series, I had to adapt this and use the current cover and use a more relevant caption to describe the magazine and what readers have to look forward to. One of the Features that is similar is the layout. The 3 column layout i used is common in Kerrang! magazine and is used to create an easy to understand format for the contents page that still looks professional. It is different in the way the photography has been done. The Photography contained on the contents pages in Kerrang! or NME, are often band photos on stage performing, however, my hotography is almost all done with the models being infront of a white background. This was done to make my contents page minimalistic and simple.

For my Double page spread I continued to keep things fairly simple. I kept the white colour scheme and used some of the colours from the cover/contents page for the larger fonts. By doing this, my magazine can remain consistant throughout. I feel this seperates it from many other indie magazines as they are often full of colours and pictures and can often be too busy. Alot of the colour within the photos themselves are also pale rather then bright and vivid. My double page spread is similar because of the information actually contained. The pages are about a new band and has an interview that contains input from each band member. This is quite commonly included within indie magazines and is therefore a good conversation topic. I believe that the layout I have used adapted the ideas used by other magazines. Often they have band photgraphs whilst performing, unlike mine. Also, the placement of the pictures and text is unusual in indie magazines.

The colours I have used for my magazine have been quite subdued. Often using dark red, yellow, Black + White. By doing this, I feel that I am stopping myself from bombarding my audience with loud and unnecessary colouring. By keeping it simple, I feel that the magazine will be more appealing to my C1/C2 audience (Jicnar Scale). I think this challenges dominant ideology as many people believe teenagers are becoming less intelligent, especially those who listen to indie/rock music, however, by including a simplistic and pale colour scheme and a lot of information on the double page spread it shows that this magazine is not appealing to a stereotypical audience, but an alternative audience.
I feel that the layout and design of my double page spread is the best example of my production giving an alternative representation of its target audience. Using a white background and pale colourings in the photos, continues my idea with the colour scheme, along with the dark red quote. Also, by filling the page with more artistic photography rather then performance shots gives the magazine more sophistication. Whilst keeping with an indie fashion sense, I feel the models have managed to keep the double page spread within its specified genre.

Final Production.

Cover:

Contents:

Double Page Spread:

Current Production Progress

Cover

Contents:

Doublepage:

Production Log ( Colour scheme / front cover)

The colour scheme I have chosen for the front cover Include:





RED


Yellow


White and Black



These colours can be seen in the initial Production of my magazine, before the MCU is added.

Today the title for my front cover changed, not only colour but also font and size.

Photography Plan

The front cover of my Magazine will Contain a Large MCU of a group of people. It will resemble the band photos that are often seen on Kerrang! and NME. The photo will take up the majority of the page and also will be the Mainsell. The location will probably be similar to a Studio photograph with either a white, or Black backdrop. The people included in the photo will be wearing indie clothing similar to that worn by bands such as Kasabian. The Actors included in the photo will be friends of mine that are a similar age to myself. I will need an SLR camera and the use of the photography suite in college. This photo will not take long to capture and can be done in college time easily.

The photographs for my contents page and centrefold will take a lot more time. The centrefold will contain photos of the same group of people as on the cover. This is because the mainsell will be the article that will be included in my centrefold. For these photos, the plan is to travel to the seaside (Possibly Weston) where effective photography can take place. The costumes for the actors will be similar, if not the same as what was worn for the front cover photo. The photos may be taken at either 1 of 2 times. There is a possibilty of taking them in the day time, where I can get a pale backdrop. Either this or I will take the photos at night time and create a dark colour scheme for my Centrefold.

The contents page will contain photos of people not necessarily on the front cover. Whilst a photo of the same group of people will be included, some more people will be needed. This is because contents pages always contain information about the whole magazine, not just a single article. This means that several photos of different people will be needed. The locations for these photos may vary from person to person, but the majority will be taken with an SLR camera in the Photography suite.

Pre-Production Plans / Ideas

Before producing my magazine, I thought it would be useful to create some designs. I decided to do 2 diferent layouts for each page I would be creating. This would be cover, contents and centrefold.

This was my first design idea for a front. It contains a large MCU that would be of a band. Also, it contains an unsual layout for the masthead. I believe this will attract audience members as it is unusual and interesting. Also, the band name is listed below the photo and is being used as a mainsell.

My Second Cover idea has a smaller picture of the whole band. In my drawing the photo is smaller then I intended but still portrays what will be on the cover of this design. Also, the photo's seen on the right have a Poaroid design.

Of These 2 designs, the feedback that I got was that The Title of the first design was more appealing, also that the photo used was far more conventional of my genre and would connote the message I am trying to create better then the 2nd design.

My first contents page design got more positive feedback then the second. In my opinion I thought the 2nd would be more appealing, but after audience research I found out that this design had more appeal. After my research I found that the 2nd design had too much going on and was seen to be "too busy". My final Design may includ festures of both designs as both have Pro's and Con's. For example, whilst the 1st design seemed to convey more features that a typical Indie magazine would include, the 2nd design idea was seen to be more interesting as the photos could create a lot of appeal if the right ones were taken.

These Next 2 design were for my centrefold. The first design contained less photos and more information, similar to the of NME. This could be a successful design if the text used was split up more then the design i have created. After Audience research, i discovered that the design was seen to be boring, and too informative.

The second idea contained a lot more photography. This means that the article is being spread out far more and many people who saw this design said that it seemed far more interesting and was more suited towards my genre. One criticism I received was that if the wrong photos are taken then the colour scheme won't be effective. A reccomendation was to take the photos with a pale background, i.e. an overcast day, so that this would create the correct colour scheme on a page with a white background.

Audience Research

I uploaded my moodboard onto facebook. After doing this, I posed 3 question which were as follows:
1. Are these images appealing?
2. What genres of music would you associate with the moodboard?
3. Do you have any constructive criticisms?

Question 1: Are these Images Appealing?

Often, in response to this question, many people who answered said that the images are appealing, or would be for people who are interested in this style of music.

Question 2: What genres of music would you associate with the moodboard?

Almost every person left feedback that said the images connoted an Idie/Rock Genre. This is the feedback that I was hoping to receive as this is the genre that my magazine will be.

Question 3: Do you Have Any Constructive Criticism?

I didn't tend to get much criticism that could help me make changes to my mood board. I got several comments answering the questions posted, and all of them seemed very positive about the images in front of them as well as the way they were layed out.

From these responses I have got, I have realised several things. Many people mentioned that the images were appealing and interesting. From this, I can tell that I should include similar photos on my cover and in my magazine. Also, they convey the genre/genres that my magazine will contain, making them even more useful for a magazine like mine. The lack of constructive criticism shows to me that the viewers wer satisfied with the images and fonts they could see, hopefully by using this for my magazine, the same satisfaction will be had.

Audience Profile

A typical audience member of my magazine would be in the Age Range of 18-25, it could appeal to either gender, but possibly more so to males.
Also they would be very interested in Indie and Rock Music. Their favourite band might be: Kings of Leon, Arctic monkeys etc.
Typical Magazines that they may read would include: Kerrang!, NME & Rolling Stone. The music in these magazines is similar to mine, even if they are produced by mainstream companies rather then independent ones.
My typical audience member would be pretty casual with Television, but when they do watch it, it would probably include programmes such as "Jackass" or "Inbetweeners".
When using the Internet, social networking sites would often be used, such as Facebook, or Myspace. Also Youtube and iTunes would often be used as a way of listening to music.

Brands they would purchase would include Allsaints, Blood is the New Black, LRG etc.

The readers of this magazine would be very interested in keeping up to date with fashion and a lot of the money the spend would be on clothing.
On the Jicnar scale, my audience would probably fall into the C2, C1 categories.
C2 = Skilled manual workers - eg, plumber
C1 = Supervisory, clerical, junior administrative or professional - eg, labourer

Typical Features Of My Genre.

• Typically, the target audience for my genre is normally high teens to low 20's.
• The background colour is often white and involes a sans serif font for the masthead.
• Indie magazines are often to the point. They contain information that the target audience will care about, music related.
• The mode of address is almost always informal and casual. allowing the audience to feel relaxed and laid back when reading it.
• The photos used are almost always related to music, whether it be artists, bands or performances. The people featured in the photos are normally quite aggressive looking and are standing in powerful stances/poses.

Institution

Publishing is the act of creating a piece of literature in order for the information conatined to be made available for the public to view. The way in which the Publishing industry is organised today is a problem. It is similar to that of the music industry. A small number of companies control a very large number of magazines. By doing this, it means that the amount of choice available is limited. Also, the style in which magazines are made is repeated and copied across to other magazines. A prime example of this is from the publishing group Bauer. Two magazines made by the company are TV Choice and TV Quick. These two magazines are almost identical on first look and contain very similar stories.

Another way this is evidenced is through the publishing group IPC media. There most popular magazine is the NME, however, this is not all they produce. Whilst being reknowned for owning one of the UK's most popular music magazines, this group produce magazines for almost any reader. Ranging from "What's on TV" to "Rugby World" even to "Practical Boat Owner". This shows just how large publishing companies such as IPC media have become. Also, it shows the problem at hand. Tehse corporations are controlling almost every well read magazines available, making it impossible for indie magazines to survive. The large companies have the money to get interviews, travel to far locations for holiday magazines and produce thousands of copies of the magazines they create.

The consequences of this Publishing structure are already evident. It is causing the magazines that we read to become generic advertisement ridden creations. Due to the publishing companies becoming so large and owning so many magazines, they are more interested in profitability rather then originality.

I would prefer my magazine to be published by a mainstrem publisher. I know that this could cause a lot of advertisement to be added to my magazine, but it will allow for mass appeal as well as a far larger production possibility. Being as how I would have control of the magazine, I would be able to control its appearance and therefore stop it from becoming generic.

Main Production Planning: Initial Ideas Collage

Here is a collage of images and fonts that could possibly be used for my magazine. They also connote the general atmosphere my magazine will have as well as the styles that will be used.

Detailed Genre Research

Genre:
Indie / Rock

Audience:
Teens/ low 20’s (16-25)

Title: Kerrang! , The title is meant to sound like a loud guitar strum, a noise familiar to almost all of the audience. The magazine is a rock genre, and therefore this fits perfectly.

Style:
White Background, Band photo, Large Bold Sans serif Masthead. Informal. Full of Screamers. Other photos of included stories on the cover. This appeals to the audience because they recognise this is for them, the brand is established and the bands incldued are relevant.

Content:
Band news for example: latest updates, information on up and coming bands etc. Gig reviews- a Rating system is used for all reviews from 1K-5K’s, 5K’s being the highest. Album reviews-again, a K rating is given, future concerts and festivals and information on bands involved. Interviews with band members including information on gear, their opinions on concerts and plans for the future. The appeals to the audience because it is not overwhelming, it keeps things simple and allows the magazine to seem informal.

Mode of address:
Informal, casual, laidback, informative but not overwhelming, comedic. This is appealing to the audience because it is as if the magazine is speaking to the reader in a language that they use, rather the sophisticated and over complicated use of language.

Photographs: Band Photos, Fan photos, Album Covers, Concert photos. All photos are related to the music/musicians/fans and is almost all positively supporting them.

Publisher: BAUER. Other magazines Produced by this company include : Woman’s world, InTouch Weekly, J-14 etc.

Genre: Rock/Indie

Audience: Teens/Low 20's (16-25)

Title: NME stands for New Musical Express. The title is very old and reknown, however, abbreviating makes it sound more modern, as well as sounding very similar to the word Enemy.

Style: White background, The masthead is in bold red writing, with a white/black bored, also it is in sans serif. The magazine contains less screamers then Kerrang! possibly because it has been around for a much longer period of time and is keeping with its traditional conventions. Also far less pictures are used and the cover seems more formal. This is appealing to the audience as it does not seem immature and also appeals to the long term fans who have read the magazine since the beginning.

Content: Music/Band News this would include information on band updates, album releases etc. Their is also a Review section including personal opinions on new music, gigs and albums/songs. The Radar section of the magazine releases information on new bands and music that has recently been released. A band index is often included on the contents page along the left hand side as a reference to bands included int he magazine and the pages that they appear on. This appeals to the audience because it is exactly why people buy the magazine. It has relevent information and interesting articles.

Mode of Address: Whilst this magazine is also laid back it is slightly less informal and keeps with its traditional conventions. It is more informative then Kerrang! . This is probably because it is aimed at a more broad audience.


Photographs: Band Photos, Performance photos, artist photos, album covers, fan photos. Almost all photos are related to the music that the magazine is based upon, except the occasional articles on such things as "The Mighty Boosh". The pictures are normally related to positive and informative articles about musicians and bands.

Publisher: IPC. Other magazines produced by this publisher include: Guitar, Uncut, Ships Monthly, Photographer etc.


Genre: Indie/Rock as well as Metal/Emo

Audience: Low 20s/Teens (18-25)

Title: Losing Today. This title fits in well with the magazine genre. It is a fairly appropriate name and will please the emo fans of the magazine.

Style: Large Bold Masthead. It is a Sans Serif font and is White. The colour scheme is yellow, black and white. This is reinforced by the MCU on the cover, which is taken in a yellow lighting. The magazine does not contain loads of screamers and seems to be more sophisticated then Kerrang!. Perhaps this is to appeal to the Emo audience who do not need loads of screamers. This Cover seem sto be a happy medium between kerrang! and NME, it has more photos then NME, but less screamers then Kerrang!, giving an informal feel with a formal layout, something that my magazine will mimic.

Content: The cover seems to mainly cover information on bands. For example, it simply has a band name, then a slogan or quote. This could possibly be album names, with information being included inside, but due to the fact that most of these bands are very small, or possibly independent, I am unable to tell. However, i think this will appeal to the audience as they will undertsand what is meant by it. Also, there is information on new artists and musicians.


Mode of Address: This cover seems to address the audience in almost poetic nature at some points, using sophisticated language and use of words. For example, one of he titles is: "JESSICA BAILIFF: Tales from a Beautiful Soul". The title seems very elegant and poetic and will be very appealing to the Emo section of the audience.

Photographs: The main Photograph on the cover is an MCU of a female artist. She is a yellowish ligthing to follow the colour scheme of the whole cover. The other photos on the cover are all band photos, they are arranged along the bottom of the cover in a formal style. All the bands that are included in the photos are all related to the genres of the magazine and will therefore be an aappealing feature of the magazine to its readers.

Publisher: It is an indie music magazine and is therefore published by the fans, also known as a "Fanzine". This is probably why the magazine is less popular then the likes of Kerrang! or NME. This also means that this is the only magazine produced by this group of people.

Evaluation

I believe that my magazine uses several methods to convey its genre to its audience. By Including relevent stories to a young audience it will attract readers of that age group to the read content that the magazine contains. The stories included on the front cover would normally attract students in the age group of 16-21. It includes information that is helpful, as well as media based information for entertainment purposes.
The ways in which my product is similar to that of other real magazine mainly concern layout. My Masthead is large and eye catching to the reader to hook them into the magazine. Also it is short and simple, not over complicated. Most magazines in the media today have a simple one word masthead, just like we have tried to include in ours. We used a Sans serif font as we discovered when doing media reasearch, magazines that use serif font are often aimed at older or more sophisticated audiences. The main sell of our magazine takes up more space then any other story on the cover, this is done for a specific reason. The main sell is the most important and valuable story in the magazine that can be seen on the cover, therefore it needs to attract the most attention. An example of this would be Kerrang! magazine, this magazine was a large influence on our cover. Also, we used screamers as this is often a way of attracting audiences in real media products. A large MCU of one of us is also used on the cover of the magazine, we used photoshop to make the photo more appealing to the reader of the magazine, this is often done in the magazine industry to make celebrities more attractive to the reader.


Our contents page also tends to develop and use conventions of real media products rather then challenge them. However, we included an unusual layout to our contents page. The bottom half that contained info included 4 columns, where as the top half included to grid or column layout, this was done purposely to create an informal feel to the magazine and also make it easy for the reader to find certain stories easily. Below the pictures we included a main title, i.e. Snap, crackle etc, followed by Coverlines and their straplines. We made sure that each column of information followed the last in chronological order of the magazine because when conducting our research we found that pretty much every magazine listed their stories in page order. Also, at the same time as this, we listed the stories so that related stories were contained into the same columns, and close to each other in the magazine to keep the magazine organised. The use of bright Masthead's followed by the same colour being used for page numbers in that column was used to add consistancy to the magazine and is often used in media products, for example the Column titled "Crackle" has a blue masthead, as well as blue page references. A similar style of layout could be seen in Clash Magazine.

The audience my magazine would be aimed at would be in the age group of 16-25. It includes information on such things as, top places top places to go clubbing and new technology. These kind of stories would concern younger audience members. Also, the magazine is mainly male orientated and has information for men on women to convey this. By having an informal style to the magazine i am appealing to the social values of Hedonists, who our magazine is aimed at. The magazine is aimed to be fun and enjoyable to readers and include information that is relevant rather then strongly educational. Also, we hoped to include Post-modernists as well in our target audience. On the Jicnar Scale I feel that our audience would fall into the C2/D categories. Our magazine is not aimed at a sophisticated A/B audience, and the information included shows this. The magazine is aimed at Carers and Underachievers. Carers would be targeted because they are interested in the environement, and what is going on in the world, our magazine includes information on new technology and vehicles and would therefore be appealing to cares. Underachievers would be interested because the content contained contained is laid back and there isn't an overhwleming amount of information.

To attract the audience we used several different tools and devices. Our colour scheme for the front cover was one of the most important aspects to decide. We choose colours such as Red, White and Black for a specific reason. The magazine is designed to target male readers and these colours connote Stength and Masculinity. By making the colours more powerful, it will seem more appealing to mean rather then women. Also, the stories included all connote Fun and enjoyment. This is a very important part of the magazine. By connoting these meanings, we will be attracting the people with the right Social values and from the correct psychographic groups. The contents page includes brighter colours then he front page. We felt at this point the male readers will already be attracted, and now it was the correct point to attract audience members who are hedonists or post modernists. Bright colours also connote fun and happiness, making them the perfect choice to appeal to these social values. The puff on our front cover connotes youth, perfect for the target age group of 16-25. By mentioning it is a college magazine, readers can see that it is aimed at younger audience members, mainly students.

There have been three new types of technology that I have learnt a lot about since doing this project. The first is how to use an SLR camera properly. It allowed me to take an effective MCU for the front cover, that was in proper focus. Also, i learned how to use the photoshop software. It allowed me to create a front cover that is attractive an appealing to my target audience. By using photoshop, i was able to edit the MCU that was taken. I was able to edit out spots and blemishes on the person's face. As well as this, photoshop made it simple for me to add text and postion/edit it to my exact specifications. The final programme I learned about was Quarkexpress. This is the programme that I used to create my contents page. I learned how to create, move and edit both picture and text boxes, as well as how to add pictures and text to them. Also, I was able to create a proper layout for the page and was able to create shapes and designs to add to it.
Websites I have used include blogger, and several other sites. Blogger has allowed me to keep all of my work organised and up to date. Also, it has allowed me to access and edit my work that I have already submitted to the website with ease, making it very useful. Google was also used to search for pictures, and information constantly throughout the production of my cover and contents page. "www.dafont.com" was also used to download new and original fonts for my cover so that my design did not look standard and boring. Overall, I would say that the technology that i used was very useful. It helped me to access information I would not be able to reach without the use of the internet. Also, without the computer programmes Photoshop and Quark express my magazine would look no where near as effective as it does. The technology used to keep track of my work (blogger) has allowed me to keep organised and plan my work effectively.

Music Magazine Initial Research

Guitarist Magazine:

Genre: Rock/Indie

Audience Profile: The magazine is aimed at Middle aged men. In my opinion they will be hedonists or traditionalists due to their enthusiasm for classic rock. I believe on they Jicnar scale, a typical fan of this magazine would fall into either the B or C1 categories.

Appealing Features: The cover contains three famous and reknown guitarists that will be very popular with the readers. Also it has reviews of several new products that will help the reader to know which is the best choice. The use of screamers also will make the cover appealing to the reader. Free give aways such as guitar lessons are relevent to the reader and will therefore ad a massive selling point.

Record Collector:

Genre: Mainstream/Traditional guitar music

Audience Profile: This magazine is aimed at older aged men. In my opinion they will, again be hedonists or traditionalists. On the Jicnar scale a typical fan would also be in the B or C1 categories.

Appealing features: The Main sell for the magazine is all about Queen, possibly one of the most well reknowned guitar bands ever. It contains a large band photo that takes up the whole page in sepia, a colour often recognised as nostalgic, appealing to the traditionalist readers. Also, a feature at the top magazine featuring Britpop Collectable Records will also appeal to the traditionalist readers.

Gramophone:

Genre: Classical

Audience Profile: This magazine is aimed at both genders, but they would be older then those audiences of the other 2 magazines. The readers would be traditionalists and carers. On the jicnar scale they will fall into the A/B catergories.

Appealing Features: The MCU on this cover is of Beethoven, one of the most reknowned composers ever. This is also the main sell of the magazine and would be very appealing to the consumer. The use of a simple blue background is also useful as it does not fill the page with images ratehr then information. The use of information over images would strongly appeal to the traditionalists.

Mixmag:

Genre: Dance

Audience Profile: This magazine is aimed at a teenage audience, possibly male orientated. The audience would be hedonists or post modernists and fall into the C1/C2 or D categories of the Jicnar scale.

Appealing Features: The front cover contains fire, birght colours and an appealing image of a famous DJ. These features would hook in any teenage reader that is interested in dance music. Also, the information contained is not overwhelming. It is about new music and music technology attracting post modernists.

Contents Page

Front cover

Connotations

"Semi-formal"- This could be denoted by the use of language for the magazine. Keeping coverlines short and to the point. Using language that is relative to the target audience of teenagers

"Entertaining" - This can be denoted by including information that is useful and interesting. Add flashy bright titles to catch the audience's eye. The main masthead will do this by being written in a bright colour on a darker background, making it eye catching.

"Useful" - This can be denoted by keeping the information contained on the cover and in the contents page relevant to the reader i.e. keeping the information based on the genre of the magazine.

"Youth" - By keeping up the connotation of "Semi - formal" this will help when denoting "Youth". Also, this can be denoted by keeping the MCU of a student, showing the reader it is for people of their age. Also,, this can be done by using Sans Serif, rounded fonts.

"Fun" - The articles involved in the magazine will be what denote "fun". Also, by including a freebie, this will make the magazine more "Fun" and interesting.

Magazine Colour Scheme

Main background colour = Grey
Font colour = Maroon/White
Reversed Out Colour = Red/Black or Yellow

College magazines

1. "The Eye"-Leisham College

Main sell - Written in Sans Serif and denotes a very bright/vivid yellow colour that attracts the reader to look.

Masthead - The mast head denotes the Magazine title in a Sans Serif font in black font colour.

The Picture on the front cover is an MCU of a singer from a band, it denotes a young person with a microphone, who appears to be shouting or singing into it.

2. "Shattered"

The Mast Head is a black colour with black smudges behind. This denotes it's informal.

The main picture ont he front of the magazine is of three teenagers dressed like 'Radicals. This denotes that the magazine is 'Radicals' as well.

The magazine also has freebies. In this magazine the freebie is posters. This will attract readers to buy the magazine as they feel they will get something more our of it.

Another way the producers of this magazine have tried to attract more customers is with several screamers. This makes the magazine stand out.

3."EDGE!"

The mast head for this

magazine is written in Sans Serif font and also contains a screamer. By using bright red as the font colour and large bold font it atracts the reader to look. Its also on a white background making it stand out even further.

Freebies are also included in this magazine and posters are what is up for offer.

The Picture on the front is an MCU and denotes a young blonde haired girl with blue eyes. She is looking directly at the camera with an angry or distressed expression.

The barcode has also been included as well as a cover price of £2.10.

Several screamers are included on the cover giving it an informal style that shouts out to the reader.

Audience Profile

You are interested in being up to date with college news
You prefer information to flashy pictures
You would like the magazine to be fun and informal, rather then standard and plain
You don't see the appeal in freebies
Local areas interest you more then foreign countries
Your entertainment tastes are typical for a teenager
You still rely on parental funding
You like things that keep you occupied
Comedy is a favourable genre to you
You fall into the c1 category of Jicnars scale
You are a Hedonist

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