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.