Nicola Chaddock Magazine Project

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

In my magazine I have tried to fit conventions while also trying to create a unique product. I have stuck to a conventional magazine as I thought it would appeal to more people.
I have used conventions in each of my final products (front page, contents and double page spread). For example the title for the front cover is on the left hand side and the bar code, price and issue number are positioned on the bottom right hand side. My double page also follows conventions as it has an introduction explaining what the article is about, one large image and one small image and the interview on the right hand side.
My analysis of existing products has helped me when creating a conventional product as I have looked at existing products for inspiration.

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

My media product represents the social group of teenagers and young adults who listen to “indie” music. I think I have achieved this through the images, layout and informal language I have used. I think I have met all of the aspects of an “indie” music magazine and have represented the particular social group well.
My media product also divides social groups through gender and age. For example the images I have used throughout the product are of the same age as my target audience. If I had used an older person on the front cover I may not have attracted the audience I was aiming for or represented their social group. I have aimed my product at both males and females as I wanted to attract a wider target audience. As I have used a young male on the front rather than a female I feel I was able to attract both genders.
In order to represent the social group “indies”, I looked at existing products and did research on the Internet of bands. I noticed that there was a very stereotypical view on “indies” and I have tried to represent this in my magazine through what the people were wearing in my images. Also from my research I looked at the hobbies and interests of my social group and tried to focus on this in my final product for example upcoming tours.

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

I think that the following institutions are most likely to distribute my product:

Social networking sites such as facebook and bebo
Digital publishers
Music stores such as HMV
Newsagents/convenient stores
Gigs and festivals

I believe that music stores such as HMV are the most likely to distribute my product as it would target my particular target market better. Digital publishing is now becoming more popular with 17% of magazines now available online; therefore this would enable my product to be distributed on a larger scale if this method was used. I also believe newsagents would be a successful way to distribute my product as I believe my front page is eye catching and would attract my audience when they were purchasing something else.

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

The target audience for my media product is teenagers and young adults both male and female aged from 16-24. I have chosen this age group as my target audience as they are more likely to buy music magazines and be interested in indie music. I have targeted the magazine to both genders as I wanted to target a wider audience.
To choose my target audience, I did research to find out if there was a gap in the market of music magazines. I found that there weren’t many magazines aimed particularly at the social group of “indies” so I decided to focus my magazine on this genre. I am also interested in indie music so I felt this would be give me more ideas for my product and allow me to relate with my target audience.

5: How did you attract/address your audience?

I feel I have attracted my audience in a variety of ways. For example on my front page I have used an image which fills the majority of the page to grab my audiences’ attention. I have used the image of Luke as he is 20 years of age and is in the age group I have targeted my magazine at. In each of the images I have used I took into consideration what the people were wearing as I wanted the audience to relate to the magazine for example people with the same style in clothes.
I have used conventions in order to attract my target audience. For example a conventional layout which I felt would attract my audience. The fonts I have used are also conventional and are bold to attract the audience’s attention.
I feel the colour scheme I have used also addresses’ my target audience as I have used neutral colours and fonts instead of using a distinctive colour such as pink.

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

Throughout the project I have come across lots of new software and technology which I haven’t previously used. I have also expanded my knowledge on other programmes I have used before such as fireworks. I have learnt about lots of new editing skills using the programmes fireworks and Photoshop using tools such as the magic wand tool and bevel emboss. Learning how to edit images has proved very useful in this project and it will also help me in the future.
As well as learning to edit images, using new programmes has given me knowledge on how to construct a magazine. Looking at existing products helped with this and I feel confident that in the future I would be able to create another magazine from the knowledge I have gained. In addition to using programmes when creating my products, I have also used a number of websites which I haven’t previously. For example blogger.com to upload my work. I feel blogger is a great website to use when uploading work and hope to use it again in the future.

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

Looking back on my progress from my preliminary product, I feel that my preliminary product has helped me in many ways when creating my final product. One major factor that my preliminary product helped me with was planning my time, for example when organising when to take my images to allow enough time to edit them. However I had difficulty with some of the images I had taken as they were hard to edit due to the background I used. I think if I had taken into account the background of the images I was taking I would have been able to create more unique shots throughout my final product.
Another major factor I discovered when creating my preliminary product was that fireworks is a much better programme to use than publisher for final products as it creates a much more professional finish.
Although my preliminary product helped with the planning of my time I have also had to learn new things which weren’t covered in the preliminary products. For example as the magazine was a school magazine I was only able to use 3 main colours to create a conventional magazine whereas my music magazine I was able to be a lot more creative and pacifically target my audience.
Overall I think I have improved significantly since my preliminary product and have created a much more professional and creative product with the knowledge and experience gained.