Question 7

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?

After creating my school magazine, my skills on Photoshop grew rapidly, therefore i had better knowledge of the software and could use more tools on my music magazine because i had a much better understanding of what the tools did. I learnt how to brush out the background making it all white, which i didnt know how to do when i produced my school magazine. I also learnt how to airbrush photos, which meant i could use this on my music magazine to give the model a 'perfect' complexion. By using the brush tool i managed to make the area around the image look smooth and blended in, whereas when i produced my school magazine i only knew how to use the select tool to go around the image and change the background, this looked less professionally and it was very obvious that i had edited it. I leant how to use layers better and the positioning of my fonts varies on my music magazine whereas on my music magazine the positioning is very basic as my ability to be more creative was not there as i had not had much experience on Photoshop.

Overall i feel that i have improved dramatically on my skills using the software. All of the aspects of my music magazine are a lot better than that of my school magazine. Taking the time to get used to Photoshop and practising on it made me find the music magazine a lot easier to produce and because i had wider knowledge of the software i took more pride in my work, as there were so many new tools that i could use to make the magazine look exactly how i wanted it to look. I believe that my music magazine is considerable more appealing to consumers as it is a lot more attractive.

Question 6

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

To create my magazine i mainly used my Macbook, although i did use the school conputers whilst at school to put my magazine together. On the school computers i mainly did the writing work towards the magazine and on my Mac i mainly produced the front cover, contents page and double page spread.

To take the photographs for my magazine i used my Canon EOS 550D, the features on this made me get the exact quality of picture that i wanted.

To transfer my work from using my Macbook to using the school computers i used my Kingston memory stick. This enabled me to easily to do work to the designing of my magazine and adding more on to previous work i had already done on another computer.

To edit my images and make my magazine i used Photoshop CS4, which enabled me to do all the editing on my magazine and get it looking exactly how i wanted it to.

To then put all of my work onto my blog, i had to upload it to Scribd before it could go on my blog.

Once my work was on Scribd i then had to copy and paste the urls so that it could go on my blog, to edit my blod i had to go on Blogger.

Question 5

5, How did you attract/ address your audience?

I attracted my audience by making my cover attractive, making sure the colours within the scheme matched and that all the writing was carefully placed so that it was understandable for the audience to read. Nothing was too packed, for example no writing was on top of other writing making it difficult for people to read. Everything was spacious making it look more attractive and presentable for any potential readers.

On the front cover i used fonts and sizes that would be appropriate for the readers, so that they could easily understand the writing. The main stories were spacious, so that readers could tell where the content of one story started and finished. The different font types attract people as the cover does not consist of the same font styles throughout which readers could find too simple and boring.

On the contents page i used different font styles, sizes and colours to make it stand out. The names of the artists were in a big and bold font so that this stood out for the readers, and their story was smaller font underneath. I didnt want to put the brief content in big writing as it would take up a lot of the page and there would be less space to put all the important features i wanted to on there.

For the double page spread i put the writing in a hot pink colour for the questions asked in the interview, the answers for the questions were in black. I did this so that the reader could tell the difference from the questions and answers, making it easier for them to read.

Question 4

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

The target audience for my magazine is young females, specifically from the age of 15 to 25 (based on my questionnaire results). As my magazine includes fashion it will appeal to fashion conscious and people who want to keep up with fashion trends. I feel that my magazine would be ideal for students in School, College and University as fashion and music seems to be a big part of their lifestyles. Rather than people having to buy a music magazine and a fashion magazine they can save money, spending the same they would on one magazine and getting both fashion and music features within the magazine. This can be a good save for students that may not have the money to buy magazines regularly, and my magazine means that they only have to buy one magazine a month to get the most recent stories on the fashion and music industries.

Question 3

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

I think the best institution to distribute my magazine would be Bauer Media, as it is a very well know distributor for magazines. Distributing fashion magazines, such as "Grazia" and "Closer" as well as music magazines such as"Q" and "Mojo" that are very popular magazines with consumers. Although Bauer already distribute music and fashion magazines, there is space in the market for a magazine consists of the two industries, which i believe is a good opportunity for my magazine. As the company does not already distribute any magazine like mine, they may see it as a great opportunity as it may create a new target audience for them. I chose this company because i wanted to make my magazine similar to one they distribute, "Grazia" therefore this magazine may appeal to consumers that currently buy that magazine but have an interest in music, specifically R&B.

Question 2

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

My magazine does not focus on particular social groups, it focuses more an age group. It aims to appeal to young females, the colours of the magazine being baby pink, hot pink, black and white shows that the magazine is feminine. The images show a female that is shown to take pride in her appearance which suggests the magazine is aimed at females who are interested in makeup, hair and fashion. The posture of the model is confident and suggest she is an idependent young woman, her facial expression is serious which suggests she can be grown up and knows when to take things serious. The models hairstyle is curly which is a fun hairstyle, suggesting she is girly and knows how to have a good time. Overall i think that the magazine is aimed at a young generation of females who have an interest in music and fashion, there is no particular social group, its an open ended target audience.

Question 1

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

1) The title of the magazine:

For the masthead of my magazine i chose to use the font "Pirulen" for my magazine title "Valeur". I wanted to use a simple black font that would stand out from the white background. The aim of my magazine was to not fit in with all other music magazines, i wanted mine to be different and that is why i made the magazine font simple to that of a fashion magazine. Although the fonts are very similar, mine is thicker and wider, the "Grazia" font is very spacious between letters.

   

                                       2) Mis-en-scene of images:

I think the mis-en-scene of my image follows the codes and conventions of magazines. Putting the image onto a white background fits in with the image i want to give off to people, that my magazine is sophisticated and classy, i think the pure white background helps to portray this impression. The photo shows the model looking straight at the camera which brings the auidence into the magazine, showing it is directed at them.

                                                        3) Costume and props:
The props for the images are very fashion based, the hair and the makeup of the model is all done to make the model look as best they can. The change of the outfits throughout the magazine also show that this magazine is based on fashion as well as music. I wanted to get an image like the one from "Blender" magazine with Katy Perry on the front, as this magazine is fashion and music based i looked at it for inspiration and my magazine is very similair with the black and pink writing on the pure white background. Although i used the outfit the model wore to match the colour scheme for the magazine, that is why the model is wearing a baby pink and black top, the colours are then incorporated into the scheme as the main colour fonts are black and baby pink although there is some hot pink which was used to brighten up the cover and catch readers attention.

            
                                                               4) People:
I used a young female model as the only model throughout my magazine. There are so many young female artists at the moment such as Katy Perry, Rihanna, Lady Gaga and Adele, these artists all all independent, confident women and i wanted to portray this image within my magazine therefore i used a model who looks very condident, her pose with her hand on her hip, pushing her head up shows she is someone who has confidence and holds her head high, someone who seems to give of the impression she isnt afraid to speak her mind. So many young females read magazines with female artists tthat feature as they look up to them and aspire to be like them, therefore i used a young female model who takes pride in her appearance to appeal to the younger genderation, which in fact is my target audience. The image is to appeal specifically to teenagers who are interested in fashion and music.

                                                         5) Title font and style:
My title is a simple font that is similar to that of a fashion magazine rather than a music magazine, as there titles are more 'funky' they tend to incorporated a bold, stand out font. I feel that the image will appeal to the younger generation, but that the font will appeal to young female adults as it is very classy which will attract older people to think the magazine is appropriate for them as it is a mature cover taht rather then being packed full of writing and full of bright colours, which seems to be more of a theme that would be aimed at a younger generation, such as young teenagers. The title font is in capital letters to make it stand out, it covers the top of the magazine to make readers remember the name. Throughout the magazine a simple "Times New Roman" font is used, as this is easy for people to read. The most important thing is that people will be able to understand to font, as if it is difficult to read, consumers will be put off.

                                                    6) Written content:
The front cover of my magazine includes a quote which refers to the main story in the magazine, this will attract people to want to read more the story therefore they will want to buy the magazine so they can do so. The whole point in adding quotes on the front cover is to tease readers into buying the magazine so they can find out more. By stating that readers can download 10 songs for free, this is a benefit they can get from spending money on the magazine, by getting something that you would usually pay for, for free. This feature is used within a lot of magazines to persuade people to buy it, many magazines use a free gift to make consumers want it for example fashion magazines use free nail varnishes or beauty products to win over consumers.

                                7) Music genre and how your magazine suggest it:
The genre of my magazine is R&B, this is not so obvious through the pictures or style of the magazine but is portrayed through what the magazine includes. On the font cover there includes big R&B artists including Jay-Z, Kanye West, Rihanna, Keri Hilson, Usher and Trey Songz which will show readers the genre of this magazine as these artists are very well known within the R&B industry. Rock magazines tend to show the genre through the outfits of the models including ripped jeans and leather jackets which would suggest a rock magazine and the use of a dark colour scheme.

                                                         8) Layout:
The layout of my magazine is similar to others as the double page spread uses the convential columns used when interviews are presented in magazines. My front cover is also convential as the masthead is placed at the top of the page in the middle with the main image in the middle of the page and the features of the magazine are placed left and right around the image. Even my barcode is convential as that is placed at the bottom right of the page. My contents page is also very similar to other magazines as the contents is listed form top to bottom in the middle of the page.

                                                          9) Contents page:
My contents page is very basic, it does not featuure a letter from the editor of the magazine, which many magazines include. It simple states all the main stories that feature in the magazine, including another image of the model at the bottom of the page, this is to build up the main story which is featured on this model who is pictured.