Final Products

Evaluation

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
I spent a lot of time looking at and comparing my work to real music magazines. I spent time on the front cover working with fonts and the main image to make it look as realistic and competitive ( in the media industry) as possible. I spent time adjusting little details such as font size and position, sometimes even just very slightly, to make my product as successful as possible. I spent time airbrushing the main image which real magazines do. The cover includes a masthead, which I again spent time changing and looking at different fonts to find the most suited one, plugs and a main image of the artist as the main part of the cover and also a smaller image of another artist featured inside the magazine. I also spent a lot of time working with fonts and position of text while making the contents page to make it look as realistic as possible. In my opinion the contents page uses conventions of real media products as it includes everything a music magazine contents page would. The way I have laid it out also makes it a convention as it is set out like a real magazine contents page would be. The double page spread carries on the idea of the conventions by using relevant font and position of the text and images are similar to that of a real magazine.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My media product represents social groups who like rock/indie music as the fonts and colour scheme used reflect this. The fonts have a decayed look to them which is associated with rock music and the colour scheme is also associated with rock music. I know this as I studied other rock/indie music magazines. The artists included in my magazine, such as SUM 41, Pink Floyd and Simple plan also reflect the rock/indie social group who will be reading my magazine. The main artist on the cover reflects the age group as he is 17 years old so this is representing the audience of been possibly at a teenage age. However, Pink Floyd are an older band so this reflects that the magazine is also aimed at slightly older people aswell.

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

My magazine could be published by Emap, Ipc, Future..any magazine publishers really. It would maybe be more suited to be published by IPC as they publish NME and my magazine has conventions which are similar to NME which suggests they are linked in some way. The main competition for my magazine would then be other music magazines such as Kerrang that are published by other companies. IPC publish many successful magazines including music magazines.

Who would be the audience for your media product and how do you attract/address your audience?

The audience for my music magazine is people aged of both genders from the age around 16 to 23 who like rock/indie music. I show this by the age of the main artist on the front, the type 0f font used (decayed looking/punky) and the colour scheme on the front cover. I also reflect this in the content of the double page spread as I use informal language during the interview and ask the artist questions that people of this age range would possibly ask. I include male and female artists to show that the magazine is aimed at both males and females. I attracted the audience by using bold, bright fonts on the cover and a large image of the main artist which will attract the audience as they will be interested in the artist and the colour scheme and fonts make the magazine stand out in the first place. The competitions and artists on the contents page also address the audience as they will be interested in these things.

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

I have not really learnt anything new as I was already familiar with the program I used to create my products (Ulead Photo Express) but I have definatley improved my skills. I have improved my photo editing skills (airbrushing) and also learnt how to place fonts in certain places that make the product look attractive. I have learnt that the smallest details make a huge difference.

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

My final main task front cover is similar to my preliminary task cover. I used the preliminary task to practise the techniques I already knew in preperation for the main task. I learnt to spend time on the little details like the fonts and colours to make my magazine as effective as possible. I also learnt to study carefully real magazines to get as many ideas as possible for my magazine so I was not stuck for ideas when i created my own.

Final Double Page Spread

Making Of The Double Page Spread

Photos For The Double Page Spread

The Interview For The Double Page Spread

I decided to do interview the artist in real life for my double page spread. The artist's name is Lindsey Simpson and his music is alternative and based on comedy. He plays the guitar and sings. He is from Wyke College and 17 years old. I based the interview questions on other music magazines I have studied.

The Interview:

Back to the beginning: When did you first start learning and taking an interest in music? Early on or recently?
I started playing the guitar when I was 9, I was self taught for about 2 years which was surprisingly easy for me. I began singing in high school-about year 7. I began by singing nonsense-which I still sing to this day.


Your songs are random, sometimes a little crazy, but definitely unique. Are they based on anything? Or are they written as randomly as they sound?
Some are written randomly but the majority are based on events that happen to me in my interesting, mental life.


Do you have any particular artists that inspire you? If so then why?
Yes I love Bill Bailey and Bob Dylan. I don’t know why they inspire me I just have a lot of respect for them and I enjoy their music.


It must be a bit overwhelming that your album has already reached the UK top 10. How are you handling all the attention?
Very well I think. It is overwhelming and yes I am getting a lot of attention but isn’t this all part of the job? I kind of like the attention at the minute as it gives me a lot of confidence that people are into my music. The only downside is that I am very busy: doing interviews, making public appearances, doing photoshoots, signing autographs…I haven’t had time to rest!


It is rumoured you’ve had a lot of attention from female fans…
[Laughs] Yes it is fair to say that! Its been crazy! I’ve had hundreds of girls throwing themselves at me which is strange to me as at school I wasn’t a guy who many girls would like. They all seemed to go for the, how can I put it? A***holes? Players? Oh well, anyway, I wouldn’t go for any girl right now no matter how good-looking they are as I am in a happy relationship and very much in love with my beautiful girlfriend.


Ah, so is your song ‘I fell in love with a Wh***’ based on her?
No, it was written about a girl I was good friends with at my college. She was very nice, very good-looking but kept getting hurt and let down by guys-because she kept going for the wrong ones. She wasn’t really a wh*** though, although some people saw her as one. Me included before I knew her properly but I got to know her quite well. Very well in fact. At one point we were, ahem, very close but obviously I have a girlfriend so nothing came of it.


I bet your girlfriend wasn’t too happy about that!
Oh, no. believe me she wasn’t. Neither was the other girl. I can’t believe I nearly ruined a year of love for a fling but I learnt my lesson and I would never do anything like that again. I gained a good friend out of it and me and my girlfriend are now closer then ever but I would never put my relationship at stake again.


Ah, well…Some people have compared you to Bob Dylan. Would you agree you’re your music is similar?
Yes I would to an extent. It isn’t entirely similar though- we are both unique. He wrote random stuff, so do I but we both have our own signature styles.


Do you find it slightly intimidating to be compared to such a legend?
In a way I do but I do see it that I am been compared to someone who is a legend so I must be good! I must have something about me for people to compare me to him!


What are your favourite tracks from your album and why?
God what a hard question. I love them all as they all mean something to me in their own unique way but I guess my favourite track has to be ‘Knagh’. I love the guitar riff and I find it very amusing. The amusing thing is that I am actually been serious.


Are you seriously planning to call your first child ‘Knagh’?
Oh yes, definitely! If my wife/girlfriend will let me but I am sure that I’ll be able to work my way around her. Knagh is the most unusual name; No-one else in the world will be called this! It is unique, random and slightly crazy-a bit like me…


Aren’t you worried they’ll get picked on?
Not really ‘cause who would want to pick on such a cool person’s kid? [Laughs] I’d make sure they were the coolest kid around so no-one would want to pick on them.


Well I suppose that’s true. You’d be a cool dad. Are you planning to get back in the studio anytime soon?
I hope to, yes, when I have the time. I love studio time as I find it is my creative outlet. It’s a chance for me to create my works of art , to have a good time and to have a good jam.


Where do you prefer to write your songs? And why?
I always write my songs on my bedroom as I have time and peace there. I find it very therapeutic writing songs. In my own room I can relax and be myself without been disturbed. I can think. And thinking creates good songs.


So, can we expect to hear more of you?
Yes almost definitely!

The Final Contents Page

Making The Contents Page

I made the contents page by looking at and analysing various contents pages of music magazines. I chose the fonts carefully to create a rock/punky feel to the page.

The Final Cover

Overall I think my magazine cover is good as it is realistic and looks very much like a music magazine. I created it using Ulead Photo Express which was useful as I could airbrush the images e.t.c. I downloaded a font for the masthead so it looked more suitable for the type of magazine. I chose to use black, white and red as colours because many music magazines of this genre use those colours so therefore it is a convention, which makes the magazine cover seem more realistic. I am reaching my target audience as the artists mentioned on the front and the age of the cover artist reflect the age of the audience and also the genre of music. I spent a lot of time perfecting minor things such as the font size and the lighting on the photograph and I think this has made my magazine cover successful.

Making The Magazine Cover-Stages

I focused on creating the magazine cover bit by bit. I looked at the magazine covers I had studied for inspiration and decided that simple is more effective. I tried to make my magazine cover as realistic as possible and created realistic conventions such as the bar code:

The Final Photograph

I chose this photograph as it is in focus, not blurred, and is, in my opinion, the sort of photograph you would see on the cover of a magazine. The artist is looking straight at the camera, engaging with the reader as soon as they pick up the magazine, with a serious expression on his face reflecting the fact that he is serious about his music. He is holding an acoustic guitar and is looking as if he is playing it as his hands are on the strings and he is holding a guitar pick. The guitar shows that his music will include a guitar and also shows that he is musical. Overall I think it was a good image to choose.

Obviously I had to edit the image before it was suitable for the magazine cover. First i cropped it and next i opened the image in Ulead Photo Express, a photo editing program and used a soften tool to airbrush the image. I then darkened the cheekbones and then softened this effect out more to make the image seem even more airbrushed. I then changed the contrast and saturation of the image to create a pale grey skin colour.

Photographs For Magazine cover

Name Survey

Choosing the name of my magazine is hard as there a lot of ideas to choose from, all of which I like so in choosing the name I will do a survey using 50 random choice people in the age range my magazine is aimed at ( 16-23 ). I will first give them 10 choices of names which I like the most and the 5 most popular choices I will then narrow down and put into a survey again, asking 25 different people aged 16-23 which name they like the most and therefore use that name. This is a good idea for promoting as the audience feel they are involved with the magazine and know about it before it has even been created. It also ensures that the audience it is aimed at may be interested in the magazine as they will obviously like the name.
















The most popular name chosen by the public for the magazine is Phase.
I personally like this choice as I think it is a catchy, modern name and fits into the music category well as people go through a 'Phase' of liking certain types of music.
It has a 'punky' sound to it and is short and snappy.

Magazine Name Brainstorm

I have decided to create a rock-indie-pop-punk music magazine because the most competition seems to be towards the indie/rock style of music as there are so many different magazines including these genres such as NME and Q and therefore for competition with magazines there must be popularity and therefore if my music magazine was based on the genres I have suggested it would most probably be more popular then if I did a magazine like Mixmag as this is the only well known magazine of it's genre. My magazine is going to be based more towards people in the younger age range such as teens and early to late 20's but I will also include some older artists such as The Clash as they are relevant to the genre of the magazine and could also get older people interested in the magazine and encourage them to read and buy the magazine.
Example artists/bands included in my magazine will be The Clash, Mindless Self Indulgence, Greenday, Kings Of Leon, Avril Lavigne...

The name of the magazine will be very important as it will be on every magazine cover and the public will know the magazine as this. Most magazines of this genre have short names so they fit on the covers of the magazines well e.g. Q, NME, Mojo...
My magazine name should therefore be short as this is obviously a convention of magazines and in breaking the convention, the public may not be interested in my magazine as much.
Here I will brainstorm some random possible names for my magazine and narrow my favourite names down and then do a survey on people who are in the age range my magazine is aimed at to see what they think is the best name. Doing a survey like this is engaging in the public's interests and therefore the magazine name will be suitable and well-liked with the public. Also, doing such a survey would promote my magazine before it has even been created.

Name brainstorm:

Fuzz
Zero
Splat
Damage Liberation
Bailed
Shifte
Ledge
Edge
Red
Scuzz
Rip
Wave
Dub
Influence
Acclaim
Critical
Cut
Psychotic
Alternate
Riot
Sid (After Sid vicious)
Nash
Anarchy
Sneak
United
Access
Punk
Saw
Aggress
DIY
Disguard
Attitude
Culture
Clash
Taboo
Stud
Synco
Stream
Mezz
Phase
Punk Mass

Double Page Spread Example

Like most music magazines you can immediately tell the intended audience age range by the age of the artist as most people will relate to other people who are around or the same age. The artist in the main photograph is in his 30s I would say, more towards the late 30s so I would say the magazine is aimed at people in the mid 20-40 age range. most of the double page is taken up by the photograph which consists of the main artist stood directly in front of a small church with both his arms pressed against the back of his head which could be interpreted in two ways: relaxed or stressed and aggravated. his facial expressions, in my opinion, also leave the option open to interpret his emotion in the two different ways as his face is expressionless but with his eyes closed which could suggest either emotion. the position of his arms also show his tattoos, suggesting he is an alternative/punk/rock/goth artist, which he obviously is as the title of the article is 'American Gothic.' The main artist is wearing a pale striped shirt which looks smart but also casual at the same time, also emphasising his age as people of his age and appealing to this age would wear smart casual clothes like he is wearing. His facial hair also add emphasis to his age. the church behind him adds a Gothic feel and looks very American which goes with the title 'American Gothic' which is written in appropriate decayed looking fonts to the left of the image at the top of the text column in white ( with a slight decayed black background ) and a lightish goldy brown colour. The sky which is visible to the sides and top of the church is slightly covered by two trees and is cloudy which adds to the suggestion of gothic/rock music. perspective wise the main artist is quite a bit in front of the church, making him the dominant focus in the image. the full photograph is in black and white which suggests, as mentioned before, that the age range the article is aimed at is mid 20s to 40s as it makes it seem more sophisticated and serious, and also links with the title 'American Gothic' as it gives the image a Gothic feel. the full main image leans towards the left giving it a slanted look but the column with the text in slants to the right, creating an interesting contrast and giving off a slightly rough/random look to suggest that not all the aim of the image is to create a serious/sophisticated feel suggesting that the text will be not all serious and sophisticated which could be a bit boring but, petty as it seems, having that slant there gives off a more random and un-serious feel. The text is to the left of the image and has a black background. The introductory text is medium sized and bold and mostly in white but key words are in the same light goldy brown colour the word 'Gothic' is printed in, keeping to the colour scheme. the main chunk of text is in all white and noticeably smaller then the introductory text. The first letter 'I' has been pulled out and made large which is a convention of magazines as most articles do this. Overall the double-page suggests strongly the age range and type of audience it is aimed at by strong use of image and colour and font.

Contents page examples

This is a contents page from Rock magazine. The layout of it is basic with the text on the left and the images around the text to the right and above and below the text. The text and images are straight aligned. This gives the impression of the magazine been 'smart' and could possibly be aimed at older people as the text and images have not been scattered randomly and bright colours are not used like in most magazines aimed at teenagers. However, the photographs are misleading to this point as they are of young bands such as My Chemical Romance which the younger generation would be interested in. The images are all of artists which are in the magazine as the page numbers in the corner of the images show this. The font used for the text is black and red, the red text been generally bolder. Most of the black text is hard to read as it is small but this makes the bolder text stand out even more. The text is listed down next to the page numbers which show what is it in the magazine. The background of the page is plain white which is basic and also creates a smart, organised look to the magazine. The colours used in the text and the way the photographs have been edited colour wise give off an impression of a vintage look. Overall I would say that the cover looks vintage and organised, so my impression of the magazine would be that it is aimed at slightly older people then the teenage generation.







This is a contents page from NME. The layout is still fairly basic but has a bit of a more 'random', 'scattered' look then the Rockstar contents page. The colours used are bright and so therefore stand out to the audience. The main image is of an artist from a popular indie band which reflects the genre of the magazine which is rock/indie. The background of the main image is black and white stripes which give off a punky/indie image and also looks like wallpaper and so looks as if the artist is in a room. White, yellow and black fonts are used which sustain the indie/punk genre of the magazine. The photos around the main image to the right have a white border around them and are each slanted which creates the scattered/random look. The different parts of the magazine are indicated by different bright colours listed underneath each other e.g. bright blue represents the radar section and a list of the features to do with this are listed in the blue box. Images with small text to relate to the story inside are placed underneath the main image. The type of font used for the text is a bold, rounded type font so therefore is easy to read and stands out to the audience. The smaller fonts are maybe a little too small but they emphasise the bolder fonts which are more important to catching the reader's eye.

Examples of front covers

The main image is of Billy Jo, the lead singer from the punk band called Greenday. He is wearing all black and is posed with his arms held behind his back which shows he was deliberately told to pose like this. This is a convention as most magazines take the photographs of the people on the front cover specifically in the studio. He is wearing all black which goes with his hair and contrasts with his pale skin. His clothes are plain apart from the punk style silver and black belt he is wearing. The background of the image is bright yellow which gives off a punk feel which links with the main image of him as he is in a punk band. Bright Pink, white, black and yellow are all used for the text colouring which also suggests a punk feel as yellow and bright pink are bright, in your face colours and black and white are more depressing/menacing and these are both traits of punk music. The font which is used is bold and plain which make it stand out. Other photographs are placed around the main image and look as if they have been cut out and scattered randomly which also creates a punk feel as punk music is random and 'scattered' rather then smart and organised. Text is overlapping the main image of Billy Joe and some of the other smaller photographs. The text links with the photographs as it says: Icons and then lists names of artists and bands underneath which links with the photographs as the photographs are of some of the artists/bands listed. The main image of Billy Joe overlaps the masthead slightly with his head and arms covering the letters E,R and R. This shows that the magazine is well known and the public will recognise what they can see of the masthead. The masthead is in a black font which has a decayed feel about it as some of the letters look like they have been decayed and the edges of them are rough. A white line goes across the text. The masthead links with the genre of the magazine as this type of font would be associated with punk/metal music.







The main image is of a visually attractive slim female. She is wearing bright yellow bikini style summer top and matching yellow earrings and a flowery necklace around her neck. She is holding sunglasses and is holding one frame up into her mouth which together with her face expression, create quite a seductive look. She is looking straight at the camera and is wearing dark smoky eye makeup and bright red lipstick. Her skin is airbrushed to look as near to perfection as possible with it still looking realistic. Her outfit and the sunglasses create very much a summery feel which links with the main story of the magazine, which is shown on the cover as 'Ibiza, the real story' in bright, bold writing. Woman in bikinis e.t.c and 'Ibiza' are both icons of dance music so this shows the magazine is about dance music. The font colour of this is bright yellow which matches the female's yellow top and flowers. The background of the image is green plants which also reflect the summer theme. Red, white and yellow are the colours used for the text on the page. The text is generally bold and these colours help it stand out more, contrasting with the green background. The masthead is bold and white and in a 'clubber' type font. The model's head slightly overlaps some letters which suggests the magazine is popular but not so popular that it is recognisable still when covering more of the letters.

Applying LIIAR To A Magazine Cover:

Language: The language used on this cover links with the type of music the magazine is about: Rock, as on the cover it uses the words: Madness, Excess, Destroyed, Legendary. These words are linked with rock music e.g. rock music uses distortion guitars mostly and the lyrics usually include words such as 'Destroy.' The word legendary also goes with the magazine as the magazine is about 'rock legends.' At the top of the magazine the word 'war' can be seen, which also links with the genre of the magazine. The word 'Studio' links with the fact that the magazine is a music magazine as this is where bands record their music, and the word 'band' is also related to music. Overall, the full cover has been put together, I think, to deliberately use these words to portray the fact that it is a magazine about rock music.

Institution: 'Rolling Stone' magazine is published and co-founded by Jann Wenner, who also owns Men's Journal and US Weekly magazines. The magazine is about politics and music and is based in the USA.

Ideology: The purpose of Rolling Stone magazine is to entertain and inform the reader about music and politics. The cover reflects that it is aimed to inform the public about music as it has an image of a band on the cover. It also has text about the stories inside which are about bands/artists. It, however, doesn't really include much about politics showing that music is more dominant then politics now in the magazine. The music genre of the magazine is mainly rock music so the magazine is aimed to inform the reader about this music.

Audience: The magazine is aimed at fans of indie/rock music who are generally a bit older then the teenage age range. The cover has a vintage feel to it because of the colours used: the faded orange and red give off this feel and the band pink floyd are an older band then the modern bands most teenagers listen to so this shows that the magazine is aimed at the older age range. The fonts used are basic and not too fancy which create a smart look which also suggests it is for the older age range as if it was for younger people the font would most probably be more 'in your face' and fancy.

Representation: The magazine represents rock music, the genre of music it is about, in a positive way. This is obvious as most of the articles are about rock bands and the front cover main image is of a rock band. They are large and cover most of the front cover which is showing them in a positive way as they dominate the cover.

Magazine Publisher

Institution: Magazines are published by different magazine publishers.

Kerrang magazine is published by EMAP / bauer media.
The company also publish other popular magazines such as FHM, Zoo, Heat, Mojo and Closer.
They company is part of EMAP and has been creating magazines since 1875. The Bauer Publishing Group has grown from its humble beginnings as a printing house into a worldwide publishing empire comprising 238 magazines worldwide in 15 countries, as well as TV and radio stations. Bauer entered the U.K. scene with Bella magazine in 1987. With the recent addition of the former Emap Consumer Media titles, Bauer is now the largest consumer magazine publishing company in the UK, playing a primary role in the Women’s Weeklies, Women’s Interest, Women’s Lifestyle, TV Listings, Puzzles, Men’s Lifestyle, Music & Film and Specialist magazine markets.


NME magazine is published by IPC media.
The company also publish popular magazines such as Nuts, Loaded, Pick me up, Woman e.t.c.
IPC Media is a leading UK consumer magazine publisher. Almost two in every three UK women and over 44% of UK men read an IPC magazine. IPC is owned by Time Inc., the publishing division of Time Warner Inc. IPC employs over 2,200 people.