Final Products- Completed Music Magazine

 

Front Cover

                                                                      Contents Page

                                                                  Double Spread (main article)

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

Looking back on my original "College Magazine", I can see that my skills in designing a front cover, contents page and main spread in a magazine have increased dramatically. My composition of pictures, texts and titles flow well together, structuring the pages to look modern and easy to read.

Evaluation Question 6: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

The first technology I used was Photoshop, where I learnt to shade and colour pictures to suit a magazine and then lay them out to draw the reader in. I then learnt how to finely tune my work to look professional and look like the layout of a proper magazine.
The next technology I used was Blogger, where I found out how to structure writings to flow and be easily read by class mates, myself and my teacher.I have generally grown to be competent in designing blogs so that everyone can revel in my work.

Question 5: How did you attract/address your audience?

I attracted my target audience visually through the bold pink colours that connote modern partying and fun. This then draws them closer to notice big names in their specialized area of music and will entice them to buy the magazine. The whole theme of flamingos speaks to the audience, because it represents a "retro" lifestyle and people who like different things to the norm in life will appreciate this. No colloquialism is used, so the audience will respect the formality of the magazine and learn more from it as a result.

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

The audience for my media product would include the young generations of the nation. People ranging from 16 to 25 are targeted, purely because, on average, they are noted for liking the specialist music I cover in my magazine. Their lifestyles are fairly active socially, with regular gatherings and are generally rarely alone. These people have a love for partying and living life to the full, so the party music gathered in my magazine is to their likings. The majority of my audience could stereotypically be seen as rebellious and defiant, through their questionable antics and outlooks to society, which is very similar to the messages in the music I cover in the magazine.
In relation to class, my audience range from working to middle class, because intellect and educational standing don't matter when debating a music magazine, when the audience have a shared interest. Any person from any background can pick up my magazine and purchase it because they like the music at their times of partying and socializing.

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

The media institution I believe would sell my magazine is IPC Media. This is because IPC Media has expertise in the area of music magazines, through famous magazines such as "NME". There are many advantages with joining a large media institution such as IPC Media, through the sheer size of the market they own. This means I am guaranteed to gain a massive amount of shelve space in retailers. My magazine will be more easily distributed too, because IPC, as a huge corporation, have larger fleets delivery faculties enabling my magazine to be more easily sent around the country and in larger numbers than that of a smaller firm could manage.
In regards to IPC's well known "NME" magazine, I will not have to inter-compete because NME cover massive ranges of music whereas my magazine covers a small, niche section of music, including music that could be seen as retro.
Through IPC, I would hope to retail my magazine at stores that specialize in defined areas of public interest, such as W H Smith and Waterstones. This way, my audience will know exactly where to go to find their unique magazine to suit their tastes, instead of making them trail through Post Offices at obscure locations to find a niche magazine.

Evaluation Question 2: How does your product represent particular social groups?

In comparison of one of my magazine's pictures (to the left) and that of another magazine (to the right), I can see that there are many similarities. Firstly, the postures are quite similar, with both models resting their heads on their arms, giving a feeling of relaxation that could symbolize a proud gesture of smugness because they know they represent good music. Secondly, the expressions are similar, with both pouting. This makes them look welcoming.
A stereotypical view of youth is used by both me and the other magazine, because the pouting and smug posture of the two young models symbolizes sex which is know to be a scourge of modern teenagers.
There is no emphasis on pro-consumerist ideals here, the clothes are not the focus of the pictures at all, whereas the attitude symbolized is.
The classes symbolized in these pictures include middle class teenagers who are trying to get through their hormones and emotions, which is yet again reinforced by the model's postures and gestures.
The lighting differs in these two pictures, with mine focusing on darkness on my model's face and in the other photo, the lighting is used to emphasize the woman's natural beauty features. The costumes are very casual and symbolize rebellion, i.e through my model's undone buttons and tattered hat and the other model's t-shirt that says "security", meaning, with her sexual orientation connoted, that she could take control of a man and represent an ironic comparison between a real security guard and a bedroom fetish, for example, where the girl "punishes" a man. These all add up to create a massive portfolio of the rebellion represented.

                                           

  

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

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

My music oriented magazine is named “Flamingo Dub”, which focuses on the genre of the music Dubstep and the lifestyle surrounding it.  The focus is on the convention of Dubstep fans which all have the same interest; which is new songs, concerts and general discussion about the genre.

My original plans came from magazine like “RWD magazine” (to the left) which focuses on all genres of party music. However, I wanted to create a magazine which targets only one sort of audience- an audience which have an interest only in Dubstep.

I did have some influences from a general music magazine like NME (below), which gave me the knowledge of how to make long, detailed articles and how to lay out my pages and paragraphs in writing to look professional.

My magazine follows a distinct style, which includes a pink theme throughout; because I believe the colour pink is a shade for partying and enjoyment. Other distinctive features include  frequent flamingos on each page, which symbolises the outdoors and beauty. But the flamingos also have a comical effect to lessen the seriousness of the magazine.

Music magazine drafts and preparation:


West Coast Magazine (Xzibit)

This was purely proof of me getting used to Photoshop. The contrasts, colors and general image clarity before have gone to produce an "electric" feel. But again, this was just a draft for the MUSIC MAGAZINE DRAFT.


 West Coast Magazine (Snoop Dogg)

This was my draft for my final music magazine. I was originally planning to create a magazine for the rap music industry, but complications as to what audience to target anywhere else outside the USA was a struggle. So he plan fell through. However, the draft was a good attempt. The frontal image of Snoop Dogg on the front is guaranteed to attract customers and at least stand out from the rest of the music magazines in the section. There are three different colors used but only two (red and black) are used for font, whilst the other (the mist blue) is used as the background for the title.

Analysis of two music magazines:                                                                          

NME Cover analysis:        

 To start with, there are two main color used (red and white) and the color Red symbolizes ideas of insanity as said on the front cover. The white seems to blend with the red to catch the eye.

Also, the NME title is red as well and stands out even more with its white outlining. But the main eye catching aspect of the front cover is the recognizable band Kasabian who are typical of what NME readers listen to. The two band members are dressed very strangely and this in itself will get readers drawn closer because female readers in particular will be interested to see what they are wearing and why. Their make-up, facial expressions and clothes all look mad and symbolize the "insanity" promised in the title "Kasabian- Inside their INSANE new album".

The competition on the front cover has its prize written in bold red and this will encourage readers to buy as well.

Lastly, the layout is very un-traditional for a magazine as the headline is centered in the middle and a large picture takes up the whole front page forcing inside titles to be written in small print on the bottom and not on the side.

Analysis of Kerrang magazine cover:     
The first thing that strikes you with this magazine is the singer Hayley Williams posing. She is exceptionally good looking and this will no doubt entice male readers who will be attracted to her sex appeal and female readers who are attracted to her hair style and promise of her "answering questions" which could include answers and tips on singing that could help aspiring young women who want to start a musical career.        
There is clearly a big clash of  male and female cultures. For instance, the feminine, pretty picture of Hayley clashes with the "Hit Men Poster Special" section of the front cover. This transition is clever and grabs an even larger audience. The mellow, subtle yet very attractive and feminine picture of Hayley represents her music too which is softer than that of "Bullet for my Valentin" who are featured next to her which is yet another transition that attracts more women, me and people who have different tastes to those who listen to Hayley's band Paramore.

Front cover evaluation:

To begin with, i used the three models here purely because they are of the age bracket that the magazine targets.Their apparent tastes and fashion senses are apparent in the picture and typical of my target audience.

Secondly, the colors used  symbolize happiness and fun making college life seem interesting and exciting. The colors are eye-catching too and stand out to students who don't want to read boring magazines. Also, the expressions of the three models seem to blend well with the overall feel of "happiness" on the front cover with the colors.

Thirdly, the font used is very informal and doesn't make the magazine look too serious. This is good, because students have enough serious tasks to do in courses and need something interesting to read in the meantime. The font is also quite modern in appearance and doesn't look at all too upper-class or too lower-class meaning it fits nicely in between suiting mostly middle class students at public colleges' similar to East Norfolk.

Lastly, the slogan at the bottom makes the student feel special and considered and the topics written on the front are mostly about social life in college and interesting topics that will appeal to most students to get away from their studies.

Magazine contents page analysis:
The color theme has changed here from the front cover to match the colors of East Norfolk's badge. This emphasizes a sense of pride. and also looks aesthetically pleasing to the eye.
In regards to the models used, they are the same ones featured in the front cover. However, their expressions have changed to being more silly which tries to lead the reader in promising much more fun inside.

A media product review.

Test Drive Unlimited- The greatest lifestyle racer of all time (so far).

Rags to riches; you start off as an ordinary immigrant to the beautiful island of Oahu in Hawaii and the first thing you see as you get to the forecourt of the airport is a Lamborghini Gallardo race past. This sets the tone for the rest of the game- to work your way up and obtain a luxury lifestyle with the fastest and most luxurious cars in the world, through challenges involving street races, timed laps of public roads and numerous “courier” missions where you have to deliver packages and transport people to different locations.

Its graphics and user friendliness are superb. Firstly, the graphics are great for this five year old game. The lines of the cars are straight and clear and the environments of Oahu are simply beautiful to observe whilst you drive around. The luscious scenery of forests and mountains really makes you feel like you are actually there and the graphical design of the cars is brilliant, letting you observe the insides of the cars and the outsides with great  detail which are a pleasure to the eye. The ability to have a “virtual life” is unmatched by any game and with your mansion and car collection, you can have the time, or should I say, drive of your life in Test Drive Unlimited.



Mood Board (Motoring Magazine):





















Analysis of the above mood board:

If you could collate my target audience’s, needs, likes and wants in a motoring magazine: it would look a lot like my mood board. For instance, the target audience’s age range is between 17 (new drivers) to 40, which is quite a large range. Images such as a learner driver and commuters on a motorway show this audience age difference.
The majority of readers will be from the classes of working class (C1, C2 and D groups) to middle class (Group B). The working class audience will buy the magazine to aspire to own certain cars and the middle classes will most probably be able to actually own them. For instance, on TV, the working class audience will watch Top Gear to dream about the cars featured, whilst the middle class will have a broader range of motoring shows to watch, including car documentaries, car restoration shows and most probably Top Gear as well. Whilst watching Top Gear, the middle classes might actually be able to own the cars featured, unlike the working class viewers. This is also represented with my magazine target audience.
If there is a section in the magazine for selling cars, there must be a good selection of both affordable cars and more expensive ones. This is in order to make sure that my target audience is broadened. The working class audience will look at and possibly buy older, more used cars with higher miles, whereas the professional working class readers will buy more expensive sport, executive and luxury cars to fit their lifestyles. There will be a very small audience of upper classes, who will look through the magazine to find rare cars, but these rare, expensive cars will be seen by working and middle classes and they will only dream about owning them.
On the basis of target sexes, this magazine is primarily for men. I estimate that about 80% of readers will be male and 20% will be female. This difference in my audience’s gender is shown in the mood board; where general pictures such as engines, car dealerships and two men in a motoring environment really highlight the male orientation of the magazine.
In regards to lifestyle subset audiences, the majority will be Dinks with double income and possibly without kids at the age range of 25-35 and Yuppies in-between 20-30 years of age who have an urban lifestyle and high disposable income.
Most middle class families will be targeted and they will buy the magazine for car information, including technology, economy and pet accommodation etc. (as shown in the mood board).

College Magazine Essentials:

In the creation of making a college magazine, the target audiences wants must be considered. The wants of the audience are shown in a questionnaire and here is the results:




Do you want a college magazine? 80% said yes and 10% said no. A further 10% were not sure. A massive percentage obviously want a magazine, showing a clear market for us.
Would you pay for a college magazine? 60% said yes and 40% said no. This shows that over half of the people asked would pay for a magazine and this will make sure that we make money from a college magazine.
From the questionnaire, many asked students thought that it would be a good idea for the college magazine to be published every two weeks. A few asked for it to be published every month, but the majority verdict won.

The price range of the magazine varied from 50p to £2.00. A massive 90% voted for 50p, which is understandable considering it will not be sold in shops and only in the college.


Areas in the college magazine that were wanted included a gossip page, college information, course information, event guides, job sections and a problem page. These were voted as being essential to the magazine layout. Areas that were not voted for included a sports page, a horoscope and competitions.


It is also clear from many people asked that more could be done to encourage more people to read the magazine. This includes a personal feel to the magazine, i.e partying students and general recordings of good times, as well as awards and hard workers, etc...


Subscriptions are not wanted as these magazines are just handed out every two weeks to a small audience in a college.


With the front cover design of the magazine, the asked audience thought that pictures of actual students should star at the front either at a college party or just having a good time at the college. This will require personal touches and students will have to enroll to get on the front page.


As you can clearly see, it is obvious that a college magazine would be highly welcomed as students want more personal news about courses and dates.

College Magazines!

To make a successful college magazine, it is important for me to research and look at existing magazines in the real world.

Here are some examples:






The two above college magazines are very different. To start with, the  magazine on the left is clearly aimed at a more lower class audience, whereas the magazine on the right looks like a magazine for a more middle class student at a slightly more respectable college.
Furthermore, the magazine on the left looks badly designed and is clearly trying to appeal to the social life of college, whereas the magazine on the right focuses more on studying and revision.