Understanding of issues

I will now explain how my cover, contents and double page spread addresses the different issues of genre, audience and conventions. Firstly I will start off with my cover. For my magazine cover, I have applied standard convention which is imperative when creating a successful media product. The positioning of my title and sub articles is according to the standard conventions of a music magazine. However as a Bhangra music magazine, the barcode is mainly placed at the top of the page, I have decided to place mine across the bottom, placing it at the top will not allow the title to fit across the page. Moreover the image I have used is placed through the centre of the page, this is following the standard conventions. In some aspects it is important that you follow the standard convention as readers will know where all the information can be found. I personally think that my media product has some similarities with real existing products in terms of the conventions. My title follows the standard conventions of existing magazines, it is situated along the top of the page and is large and clearly written, the first and last word of “Asiana” are slightly bigger than the other words, this I believe works really well as it stands out and looks professional, I have provided a main image as well as all the subheadings which can also be found on the left and right of the main subject, this was another element which I found common in the magazines which I had researched.

Asiana- the title of the magazine is usually found like this in existing magazine, spread out widely ensuring that it makes use of the space on the page 

The main image which is centrally situated is another element which is found on existing magazines and the model is wearing formal clothing and standing in a plain background, this  again allows it stand out and be more effective 

The sub-articles is another element which is found in existing magazines and it is always situated on both sides of the page allowing space for the model

More real effect to the target audience, use of barcode and price

For my contents page I have used the standard conventions of an existing magazine for e.g. I have listed the numbers and stated the contents and along the right is an image of the artist this can be found in many magazines., however the content information does not disregard any conventions as it is aligned to the left and is appropriately set out, just as you would see on a existing magazine. My contents page represents an age group of 16+, who is young intelligent and modern. Judging by the artists clothing we can say it is smart and sophisticated. Which will appeal to a modern reader, moreover because anyone younger this age bracket will not understand what the articles are about as well as that the artist himself fits within that age group, An article on my contents page relates to competitions this may relate to ambitious people, so people of this age group can relate to this, for e.g you can win this prize if you enter, this gets people interested and makes them want to continue, Another article on my contents page relates to celebrities who have been in the limelight, this causes them to read on and make them aware of the situation, so this is another which you would find in existing magazine, I am aware that I have included a variety of ethnic groups within my magazine, this hopefully should interest both male and females.

The contents logo in existing is a component which is found contents, it is situated towards the left hand side and has black border surrounding it

The features have a mixture of features which is to attract a wider audience, although it is Bhangra magazine people of different ethnicities can purchase this also

I have followed the standard conventions existing magazines for the image which is usually use to entice viewers to buy it, I have located to wards the top part of the page ensuring it stands out

The double page spread follows the standard conventions of existing magazines, an image takes up all the space on page, this is usually a close up shot of the artist, this is because the main focus is the artist. The text is also to one side like that of other magazines so it is noticeable. I have used a male model aged 16 so this is related to the target audience. As you can see he is dressed in a modern, fashionable way. The content within the double page spread includes a introductory statement which welcomes the artist and his is success to fame, following is the main interview and the responses. This is very inspirational as a lot of people can relate to the subject which is never give up on your dream and keep working on it and this artist shows the process in which he had taken to gain recognition and what advice he would give to people out there who have given up hope on their dream. Having looked through the research phase I believe I have improved exceptionally through the use of imagery, content and quotes. So the research and development was most helpful ensuring that my final outcome was successful in targeting my audience and genre.

I have decided to use one image of my model and the other my interview, this definitely follows the standard conventions of existing magazines

The quote at the top is used to inspire those who have given up hope and I believe it can relate to anyone , again this is a element which I have noticed in existing magazines as they are used to urge people on to do something in their lives

I have provided an interview along this side of the page, it provides and insight into an upcoming who has made it big in the music industry, so again I have followed standard conventions by using two colours to differentiate the question and the answer

As you can see the title on both magazines are found spread across the top of the page

The main image takes up much of the room ensuring that the viewers get interested by

The main articles are found towards the right and left of the modelThe sub articles is another element found on the right hand corner of the magazine

How does your media product represent particular social groups?I would not associate a particular social group for my magazine, as mentioned above it would suit both male and female, so it would be difficult to represent a particular social group, some male and female maybe interested in the media product, there are particular elements within the magazine that may interest both genders for e.g. the main artist is a male, this may attract a female, however the sub-articles might be the opposite.

Target audience of media product?As part of the research and development phase we had to identify who our target audience was, for my magazine cover I identified that it would suit both genders but with a particular age, the age group I had chosen is 16+, I had chosen this age group because the sorts of language used may not suit people under this age bracket, also it may not interest them either, but I think this age group are mature enough to understand what the magazine is about. As an Asian/Bhangra style magazine I would predominantly expect Asian people to be interested in the media product.What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?I believe my magazine would be best distributed by IPC media, I chose this institution primarily due to them being upmarket, they publish a variety of successful magazines which attract the public’s eye. They are currently the UK’s leading consumer magazine with more than 60 iconic media brands and they also engage with more than 26 million people within the UK.I decided IPC media because they create all types of magazines with both genders, so I believe it will match the style of current magazines that are created by IPC media. They offer diverse and distinctive magazine which would suit a magazine similar to mine, this for all magazine cover, contents and Double page spread. My magazine would no be suitable for Conde Nast as it appears to sell upmarket, posh magazines.

How did you attract/address your audience?I attracted my audience by mentioning the names like “Katrina kaif” and “lomattic”, these people are successful Asian artists, who are seen as an icon within the Asian music industry. I also used quirky and exciting language which will instantly attract attention for e.g. “Katrina kaif been a naughty girl”, this will make the reader want to read on. It is important that I portray the right language because if I don’t it will firstly not suit the genre and secondly as a reader it will not motivate you to read on. So for e.g. if I used slang in my magazine it will no suit the genre, as this would be associated to grime/rap magazines. It was important to use language which urged you to read on, so I took this in mind and developed language which attracts immediate attention. The audience for my media product would be Bhangra because of the colours however the subject is wearing a suit and one could argue this is more classical. However it shows that the artist is smart and proud. I am confident my magazine targets a 16+ age range due to the feed back and the results show that it reflects the certain style of this age. My model is of the same age as my target audience which will interest them and can relate to them.

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

In the process of constructing my product it was essential that I experimented with technologies, this includes Adobe photoshop which is the software that

allowed me to create my magazine cover, it offered various tools which assisted me throughout the creation of my media product, within the software I have also

learnt how to place each item in order to make it stand out, an effective tool which allowed me to create my title is the fx tab, this include drop shadow and

inner shadow. We have also used variety of cameras, we was able to experiment with camera’s and the options it offered, we was able to understand the shot type in different lighting and sceneries. Photoshop was beneficial through the process of making my cover, contents and double page spread, at first it was very hard to use as I had never used this technology before, this slowed the

process down but without it the creation of my cover contents and double page spread would not have been possible. However once I had got the grip of it, it

was very beneficial. The ability to use Photoshop open up all different opportunities of developing my cover, contents and double page spread such as: the cropping of photo’s manipulation of text and adding important information

for the development of the cover, contents and double page spread.

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

From my preliminary tasks I believe I have I have made good progression, in terms of the skills I have gained, During the preliminary stage I had minimal knowledge into how to use software’s such as fireworks and Photoshop, during the creation of my school magazine it was clear that I was struggling to get the grips of using the software, this included how to insert images and layering. However this was part of the learning process, moreover once I had completed my music magazine it was clear to identify the drastic improvements I had made. The progression I have made has been significant as I did not much experience using this particular software and was unaware of the tools they offered, so the process was rather time consuming and required assistance , however over time I appeared to understand it better.Overall I think I have made a good deal progression from preliminary to the full product.