Brief Overview

Planning & Research: 3 – 19Production: Evaluation: 20 - 27

In the task to annotate the front covers and contents pages I found that the magazine will use anything they can to attract a reader,

DJ magazine- this is obviously aimed at people that either DJ or listen to the type of music that DJ’s play. They have used bright vibrant colours to attract the reader, the type of colours that may be seen in clubs and may attract them because they're happy bright colours. Also they have used a Women that may attract male readers, but if you read the articles that are on the cover then you’ll see that one of the articles inside is about a female DJ so this may be the DJ so then the people that are interested in the DJ will want to buy the magazine. This is an effective approach to attracting people because of the fact that this will attract music listeners and just people curious about the magazine.

The contents page.

In the contents page for this magazine you can see that the use of the colours and the use of the picture all relate to the genre of the magazine =. You can see this by the bright colours which are related with happiness and fun and also the use of young people (target audience) smiling and happy which gives the idea that the genre of music is aimed at making people happy and having a good time.

MOJO- The strategies used in this magazine are things like the use of retro badges instead of bubbles for the text and also from the use of imagery using a plain picture which shows exactly who the article is about and then the name of the band in the middle of them shown in a calm mature way in mature colours reaches out to the reader because the vintage kind of look is sophisticated, old, ironic etc… This links in to the reader because firstly if they like the band the who they will automatically feel that they wan to read this magazine because of the fact its about something that they like. Secondly because of the fact that its aimed at a certain type of person through the music and through the way it looks, anyone that wants to be like that kind of group would buy it so they felt like they fit in to the group that they want to be in. Also the way that the magazine is laid out with other article's in the corners or around the boarders, they show a picture of people that are linked to it and that are involved in the article.

The contents page.

IN the contents page of this mojo magazine it shows the vintage look again by showing a massive picture which takes up half of the page which is also in black and whit, this person could be related to the cover or also could be related to one of the feature on the other side of the page. We can also see the use of red and black writing on a white background this suggests that the things in red are the important things so they stand out, this means that the majority of people who read this magazine will be drawn straight to the things that stick out.

Double page spread.

On the double page spread in the magazine there is a big picture of a band which is again shown in a vintage looking way. This is represented by the picture around it being in a Polaroid looking layout and the use of the vinyl in the top right hand corner all make it look old and matured this is what the magazine is aiming for because they know that this layout attracts the people that are interested in this type of music.

Kerrang magazine- The strategies used in this magazine are things like the use of the band member on the front this shows the magazine to be a rock, heavy metal and punk kind of magazine from what his wearing and from the look of him. Secondly the use of the people in the picture next to him are stereotypical for this kind of music genre which means that people will see it and think that they will want to buy it because that’s what they want to be like. Also the way that slang is used to talk to the reader this would suggest to the reader that if they know what these words mean then they are part of the group that they want to be in. lastly the use of the article on the left looking as if its been spray panted on to the magazine links in to the kind of genre the magazine is about.

Contents page.On the contents page of this magazine it shows all of the titles and the important headers in yellow which makes it stick out to the reader which makes the reader wan to read it because of the fact they think that its something important. Secondly the use of the singer taking up half of the page would get most if the readers attention because they’ll want to know why its so big and why is it so important that it can take up half of the page. Also the use of handwriting on the bottom where the writer writes a little note to the reader he signs it James in his own handwriting which makes the reader feel that they are important enough in this genre that the writer is using his own handwriting to them and it also creates a calm atmosphere because the reader feels that this man is there friend.

Double page spreadThe double page spread for Kerrang is laid out in a very formal way with the massive speeches about the band which may make the reader abet uneasy if they don’t feel that they want to read all of the information. Secondly the use of photos of the band they are talking about on the left hand side when they are backstage and not in a photo shoot or performing which would make the reader feel that they are being let in to there world and are like friends to the band member.

This is the original image that I used. This is what it looked like before I edited it if fireworks. As you can see the colour is plain and normal. I changed the way it looked in the programme macromedia fireworks MX 2004. this means that I can make a lot of changes easily and it will still look professional.

I then started to play around with the photo by going in to filter and completely changing the look and colour of the photo to make it look more vibrant.

I then started a second one which turned out like what you see opposite, I went on to Filters and then decided to change the brightness and contrast to make the arty kind of effect that I know have.

The finished product after I used all of the different edits. This will be the one I will use.

GENDER

Male Female

From this information you can see that I have asked an almost equal amount of people but I asked more female than male. This would mean that I would get a slightly different type of information because that majority of the people I asked where female which would stereotypically lead to me getting a slightly different result than I would if I asked an equal amount of people per gender.

60% 40%

DO YOU BUY MAGAZINES

Yes

No

Here you can see that I asked if the people buy magazines over all I got an answer that I wasn’t expecting which basically showed that the majority of people weren't interested in buying or reading magazines which means the information I gain from these people will not be taken too seriously because if they don’t like magazines then there is no need trying to target my magazine at them.

70%

30%

IF YOU BUY MAGAZINES HOW OFTEN DO YOU BUY THEM A WEEK.

One to Four

Five or more

From this information I can see that the people who actually buy magazines. This helps me find out when I should be bringing out new issues and how many times a week that my target audience will buy a magazine. So this means I will be able to make a plan of when I make new issues and if I want to make a variety of magazines so that I am getting my customer buying them every time they go to buy a magazine.

20%

80%

WHAT GENRE OF MUSIC ARE YOU INTRESTED IN?

GRIME

Rock

Hip-hop

Drum and Bass

Alternative

Other20%

10%10%

10%

10%

40%

From this information I can see what kind of genre the people I asked listen too so that I can aim my product directly at them and make them loyal customers. As you can see from the amount of people that I asked said grim which got 40% and the second highest was Drum and Bass which means that the amount of people in the city centre would rather listen to grime and would be interested in a magazine about this genre. This means that I have a good audience to am my product at and that I need to use GRIME as my products genre.

HAVE YOU EVER ATTENDED A LIVE EVENT

Yes

No

20%

80%

From this information I can see that the amount of people that have visited a live show which is 80% which is basically 8 out of 10 which will result in my idea of adding in a section about live performances a good idea and I will go through with it because it is obviously something that the audience will want to see and will be interested in. This will hopefully result in my product being seen different from the rest because of the different special features it has.

AGE

0-15

16-20

20-30

30+

20% 10%

70%

From this information I can see that the majority of the people that filled out my questionnaire where aged between 16-20 which means that this would give me slightly biased results because only one age group is being focused on. But it also gives me the information that this age group is the age group t hat I need to focus on which means that my magazine will have to be aimed at 16-20 years old that also listen to grime and also needs include things such as the live show coverage and nights out in the city centre. This means that I have my perfect target audience to aim my product at.

The questionnaires helped me gain information and helped me make my product in three different ways the first way it did it was, by helping me find who my target audience will be I found out that its males that like the genre grime and they are between the ages 16-20 this means that I have found my perfect target audience this is who I am going to aim my product at because I only have information about them and It better if I use that information instead of taking the risk on something else. Also this means that the time I spend making the product wont be a waste because I know who im suppose to be aim my product at and if I didn’t know then I could be wasting my time if I didn't have this information.

Another way it helped when I asked the question do they go to things like shows which means that I will have something else to focus on, for example making a section which focuses on live shows and nights out in the city centre which is something that they are interested in. This will hopefully result in me getting more sales and more people (from the target audience) interested in buying my magazine.

Lastly the most important thing that I have found from it is the genre of music that I have chosen which is grime and if I I didn’t ask that question then the product would be a waste of time because no one will be interested in a magazine that is not aimed at there genre of music choice or is focused on all music and then they’ll go and buy a magazine that is aimed at there specific genre.

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

My media product uses the standard form of music magazines by it being about one specific genre and then the hole magazine is focused on it and then have a special article about that specific artist. The way that it has developed it is by focusing on the grime genre which isn't really mainstream but is on the way to be one of the biggest genres in the U.K which means that having a magazine about a genre that no other company has made will mean that I’m developing the market and also developing magazines. It also changes it by having a section in the back which focuses on nights out in city centres in the U.K which no other magazines offer which means that people will be able to get photos of themselves out clubbing and also see other peoples stories. I am trying to both reinforce and challenge conventions by following and going by the same things that other existing magazines do but also add a little twist too it so its slightly different and people will see the difference instead of just thinking that its another boring magazine.

How does your media product represent particular social groups? Show the representation say if it is a good or bad one!

My media product represents the social group in the way that there is no other type of magazine that represents this genre of music and the people that listen to it so this means that they will be seen in the public eye instead of being seen as the outcasts that no one knows about and also eventually bring them in too the main stream. This genre of music is slowly becoming the mainstream of the U.K as grime, drum and bass and dubstep are all becoming more and more known and the artists are starting to become more richer and famous to the younger generations. Also it will show the genre and the social group in a good light because of the fact that they will be seen as just a party loving group and they will be more understood by the people who read the magazine which would mean that they are being spoken for instead of having the stereotypical view of young people being anti social and violent. So basically it will represent the social group in a good way.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? Name them and find examples that are similar from them then compare yours to theirs.

My media product would be sold and distributed in places such as corner shops, newsagents, clubs and pubs. The reason I am selling them there is that the majority of target audience go to these areas and if this is where they mainly go then there will be more of a chance of them noticing them and the target audience actually buying them. Secondly the fact that if I am selling them in an area where they mainly are then this means that I will be able to gain information from the place and search for more places like it in the area so that I widen the amount of customers and target audience seeing the product and then potentially buying it. The reason why I said the newsagents is because of the fact that the majority of people in the world will associate magazines with newsagents and corner shops as the closest places to purchase them. Another reason is because of the fact that my magazine will be the only magazine offered to my genre of music and also this magazine will be aimed at one specific age group where as other magazines that are sold in these places try and attract the hole of the teenage population.

Who would be the audience for your media product? Why? Have you got evidence of them saying it appeals to them? Why it appeals to them?

The audience for my media product would be the people that are interested in the music genre (GRIME) that my magazine is about so this means that the audience will be mainly from the city centre and also will be between the ages 13-25 so I will be aiming mainly at the teenage age group which means that I will have to make my product revolve around them. I have this information from going out in to the city centre and handing out questionnaires which helped me find out what kind of music that they would be interested in and what they would like included in it, this helped me target my product directly at them and be able to add In thongs like the Friday night specials which is a section in the back about nights out in the city centre, the does and don'ts of clubbing and also special stories about peoples bad experiences.

How did you attract/address your audience?

I used my media product to attract my audience by using the information that I gained from the questionnaires which lead me to include interviews in the magazines and also by referring to a certain artist and lastly by being up to date with the music and the artists in the genre. This all attracts my audience because underneath all of the colours and the pictures etc… in the end all they want is a magazine that they can sit and read and relaxes while doing so. This is why I gave it the name “PAUSE” because its like a pause in the music and just a magazine to stop everything else and read and relax. I also attracted them by using the by making sure that they know what genre magazine it is which means because their isn't another type of magazine that deals with this genre then they will be attracted to this one and not have any choice of buying a competitor.

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

The technology that I used was mainly time consuming and took a lot of time and effort to figure out how to work it which would be a negative because the process would take a lot longer and mean that I also would have to waste time on learning how to use it properly. Also the fact that I don’t really know how to use the technology means that I will have to learn from my mistakes through out it if I make them and the fact that I will have to be told what technologies to use means that there is a bigger chance that I will make the mistake of using the wrong software. I have learnt how to use the software and also that the price of software can change due to what model it is and what it is made for.

Through the process of making the preliminary task to this task I have learnt that the production of magazines are very time consuming and also takes a lot of skill to get it right and to find the right target audience for your product. I have also learnt that there is a big difference between a school magazine and a music magazine in the way that the research has to be handled, the way that the articles and information in the magazine is dealt with, how to design the layout and also the way that you have to attract the audience in a certain way and make sure that they get them. Also the way that the information has to be given and put across instead of being formal and informal you have to give it across in a kind of meet in the middle to keep the professionalism but also make the reader comfortable when reading the magazine. Instead of making them feel like they have to put effort in to reading it.

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