Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience for my media product would be girls who are aged from 13-17. The reason for this is because of the font I have used and the colour scheme. The font is clear, bright and is much more attractive to the female gender. Also the colour of each of the pages in my magazine are purple, which is more attractive to females. For the shapes I have also used the colour pink which is a female colour. These colours are also primary colours, this means that they will stand out much more, and will be easy to see from a distance.

The target audience will like to hang out with their friends, go shopping on weekends and enjoy going to the cinema. They will like to read into celebrities private lives to get all he gossip so they will like being nosey. At school they will be popular, mostly talking to their friends about music and new songs that are coming out. There music taste will be the UK top 40 and solo artists as this is what the magazine talks about. Their house will be average size and they will wear popular brands of clothes. The reason for this is that they will be the popular ones in the school. The target audience will own a phone, it will most likely be a highly expensive one, with a variety of different features. The older part of my target audience will still be similar to this, yet they will probably have a part time job and enjoy going to concerts to see their favourite bands or solo singers. With the part time job, they may pay board or have gone to university and are trying to pay off their student debt. When they pick up magazines like this they will look at the larger images as that are what I want them to see first. The larger photo on the front cover will be someone who is popular or well-known and that they will most probably fancy. They may be a solo artist, or part of a band. Even though 13 year olds and 17 year olds will most likely have different hobbies, the images I use in my pages will still be attractive to these ages. I won’t use highly descriptive words as this will stop my target audience from wanting to buy the magazine. Therefore if I keep the words simple it will make my magazine look informal and welcoming, which will persuade my target audience to buy the magazine. This can be related to using text over boxes. The reason for this is that it makes the text more effective because it stands out more and is much easier to read.

Even though the magazine is for females, males can still read through the magazine. This is because the articles will still be interesting to them even though the images are for females. And every real media product that is similar to my magazine, will have an anomaly of male readers.

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

The institution that would distribute my music magazine would be the same as the one for, ‘we love pop’ magazine. There are many reasons for this. Firstly, both of these magazines will have similar target audience meaning that the size of the font will be similar, where images and text are placed will also be similar. ‘we love pop’ is also a well known music magazine and will sell well due to the articles that are included and what celebrities the magazine talks about. Therefore, if they were to distribute my magazine there is a chance that it would become a highly popular magazine. The articles are similar to magazines distributed by them as well. I know this because we looked at professional we love pop products. And for the articles they were usually titled as ‘Exclusive’ showing that this article will only be featured in that magazine. This is a great way to persuade your target audience to buy your magazine as that article will not be featured in other music magazines.

Another reason why I want this institution is because they distribute a variety of different magazines which sell all over the world. The format for their magazines is also similar to the way that I have layed out my music magazine. This can be seen through the main artist of the magazine takes up the majority of the front cover. Then the article about them is placed next to the image or either going through it. Because the magazine ‘we love pop’ is well known, when they use a main image they can cover up some of the main title. This is because the people that buy their magazine will still know what magazine it is. Their index page for ‘we love pop’ uses a variety of colours, they also make use of text over shapes to make it stand out more and look more effective.

Furthermore, distribution marketing is very important in the music magazine industry. Because of distribution marketing it means that your magazine will be sold worldwide. This can be vastly improved by having a company distribute your music magazine. The reason for this is that you can have apps for your magazine so that your target audience can see what is new through tablets etc. with distributing your magazine you will also have an online website where any of your audience can connect to the internet and see it there. Some professional music magazines are also advertised on telly, which gives them a much larger target audience to sell to.

I feel that these would be the right company to distribute my magazine because the magazines that they distribute and the magazine that I have created are very similar. This means that both of the music magazines can be advertised in the same way. It would also be useful as it means my magazine would have an app which many people could access, this is the same with the magazine being advertised on telly as well.

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

I have learnt much more about how to use Photoshop. I didn’t have much experience with the software so I didn’t know how to use many of the advanced features. I started off by using the basic glow features, then got help off my other classmates and looked on the internet for tutorials on how to use the more effective features. At first I didn’t really understand how to use them, but overtime I became more comfortable. With Photoshop, I found it easier than other software’s to manipulate the photos and make them blend in with the background, whereas with publisher I wasn’t as sure on how to make it look professional. Another technology is using a camera as for our images we needed five individual ones each. At first I took plain pictures of one person however, when we transferred them to the computer they didn’t come out well. So when I went to retake them I needed to consider lighting, wind and where they are all stood in the picture. I had to do this so I could get the best picture possible. We also did not use professional cameras so taking in all these different aspects was quite a challenge. When I first started to create my magazine I was going to produce it in Microsoft publisher however, this did not have anywhere near as much features as Photoshop. Because of this it limited the amount of editing you can do to photo’s therefore it may leave your pages looking unfinished and unprofessional. The only problem with using Photoshop is that we could only access it on school computers, so when I wanted to work on my magazine at home I couldn’t. This was a problem as we didn’t have many media lessons a week. This meant that we were limited on the time we had to work on our magazines.

When we had finished transferring our photos we were able to look at them and decide which ones were the best to use. Once we had chosen them, we placed them inside Photoshop and began to edit them. We took a large amount of photos, we did this because when we did it the first time, we didn’t have many to choose from and we also didn’t feel like they would work in a music magazine. We took the photos in a large variety of different areas. These ranged from inside the hall, to outside by reception. This was useful because when we came to choose the photos we had some good locations to use as a background. Other backgrounds that we used were plain walls. Using these was good as it made the people In the image stand out much better. An example of this is when we used a plain white wall. This area wasn’t affected by wind or sunlight due to it being inside. Therefore, as it was inside the image came out fine, so when we moved on to edit it we didn’t need to mess around with shadows etc.

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

Since doing my preliminary task I feel much more confident in the use of different software’s. this is in photo shop as I have now learnt how to use many of the more advanced features which I didn’t originally know how to use. When I started the preliminary task I created the front cover in publisher, this didn’t have features that photo shop had so when I placed the pictures into the software, there wasn’t much editing that I could do. It took time to understand how to use photo shop to the best of my ability however, my class mates and teacher were there to offer help if I needed it. For some of the features I looked into tutorials on the internet, on here I found a variety of different websites which had guidance on how to get the effect you want, and how to make it look real. It gave examples of what people had done with photo shop which kept me motivated and wanting to learn how to use the more advanced features. For my index page in the preliminary task I used photo shop, but I didn’t use many features because I wasn’t sure on how to. Then for my final magazine the main effects I used was to give the font an outer glow. I also did this for images as I gave them a yellow outer glow. Using this feature helps to make it stand out much more. Something that you will want on a music magazine.

When I started to take pictures for the preliminary task we just took pictures that thought would go well onto a magazine front cover. We didn’t think about all the different aspects that could affect the final outcome of your picture, such as, weather conditions, lighting and how capable your camera was. Then when we came to take our pictures for the final magazine, we took all these different aspects in. We then tried to get the best possible picture we could by going to a variety of different locations. Also when we got pictures of more than one person for the preliminary task, we just tried to get their faces in so we could see them. Yet after looking at these we knew how to make them better. So from starting the preliminary task to the final magazine, I knew what you need to take into consideration to get the best possible photo you can. When we took the photos around school, we didn’t have much to work with due to many students walking between lessons, so overall I feel that the photos we obtained were good quality.

Another thing I feel that I progressed in was how music magazines work, how they format there magazines etc. and why they do it like that. An example would be using the main artist as their selling point. And how they can also cover their title with an image yet their target audience will still know what the magazine is.

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

My media product is directly targeted towards the age group of 13 to 17. The reason I have aimed at this audience is because my magazine is based on teen pop. I have used many conventions that fit with the teen pop genre. One of the these conventions is colour schemes. The reason that this is important is because this is what makes the magazine stand out. The colour scheme that I used was the colour purple, and a variety of bright colours. This works because the magazine is girly. The bright colours were blue for the title on my front cover, it works well as it stands out on the purple background.  Another convention that I used was the use of images. It is important to use images as it shows to the audience what your magazine will include, such as the stories. Also the magazine is most likely to have more images than text. I chose to use well known celebrities so that my magazine will have a wider audience, the use of celebrities will also attract people to buy the magazine.

Another convention that I followed was how I placed the images and the text around each of the pages. This is because on my front cover the main image will be placed in the centre, it will also be the largest image on the cover. I will have the text for the article next to it and it will stand out so the reader knows that this article is linked with the image. Then for my sub stories I will place them at the bottom so the reader will notice them after they have seen the main image. These will be small images so I can fit a variety of sub stories on. This shows to the reader that the magazine will have many things for them to read about. Similar to professional music magazines I have placed a barcode in the bottom of the magazine, I have also included the price. These are small and don’t take up space on the cover, as I don’t want the audience to notice them.

With professional media music magazines they will also offer a free album or poster if the audience choose to buy the magazine. This is a good way of getting your target audience to buy your magazine. I have done this with my magazine as on the front cover I have offered the buyer a free tour poster and a free single. These types of offers will get much more people buying the magazine. The reason for this is that they will be getting a good deal on their money for what they will be getting.

In my magazine I have followed a house style with the type of font, size and the colours on each of the pages. This is important because when the reader is going through the pages, the magazine will look consistent and professional. This will give a good impression to the reader. It may persuade them to buy the other magazines aswell.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

It represents young teenage girls as my music magazine is aimed at them. The front cover uses short and snappy sentences and quotes from famous celebrities. This shows that young teenage girls take an interest in famous peoples lives and that they may like to be a bit nosy into their private life. My type of magazine will also include stuff like new brands of clothing and makeup. The reason for this is that my target audience are at the age where this becomes important to them, as they like to always look good. And It may also be to show off their new clothes. Also the colour scheme that I have used for this magazine will represent my target audience’s social group. This is because I have used female colours such as purple, pink and light blue. These represent the social group as girly and like to have a gossip. However, males can still read the magazine even though the colours are for females. The images used throughout the magazine will also represent the social group, as the images that are used are of people who are in a band or a solo singer. These images will show the target audience as females who may be known as ‘fangirls’ and are obsessed with the artist in the image, they are most likely to fancy them aswell. Therefore including articles about a specific person will get my specific social group to buy the magazine. An example would be having a image of a famous artist on the front who they fancy, then have the double page spread all about that artist.

The music magazine will still be appealing to girls who may not feel that they are as popular as other girls that will read the magazine. The reason for this is that they will still be interested in the articles that are included. They may also find the brands of clothing appealing as well. The magazine will not be interesting to older teenagers who are above the age of 18. This is because of the colours used and the type of font. What the articles are about may not be appealing to them either. As the font is bubbly and is much more appealing to a younger audience. The other font that I have used is plain and simple so it can be easily read by who ever buys the magazine.

From looking at the magazine it is clear who will be my targeted social group. This can be seen from reading what the articles will be about and what images have been used. When I say what the articles will be about, I haven’t used words that are too complicated for who my magazine is for. Because if I did then they wouldn’t want to read it as they may not understand what some of the articles about. It may also be because they don’t want to physically find out what something means, but I wouldn’t want them to do this.

How did you attract/address your audience?

The way that I attracted my target audience was through the style of fonts and the colours used. The type of font appeals to the younger audience as it is more feminine than the other fonts. Also the colour that I used for the title is girly. I gave the title an outer glow, the colour I used for this was purple as it goes with the rest of my front cover. The use of images will make them want to read my magazine this is because the images are of people who are solo singers or part of a band, they are also famous. The reason for this is because the images that I used are the same age as the readers or maybe a year older. Throughout my magazine I have used the same colour and font. This makes the magazine look professional and shows that it has a consistent house style. I followed the style of other professional media products by using the conventions of giving the buyer a free poster. These are seen on many magazines, I know this because they are usually along the bottom of the magazine saying that if they purchase this magazine they will receive a free single or album.

For each of the four pages I have used similar images, these also include the same person in them. The reason for this is because the articles inside the magazine are about who is in the image.

The use of psychographics helps to attract the audience as you know exactly who your audience is. This is really helpful as you will know what type of images to use, it’s also helpful as to know what their music type is. I will also know what to write the articles about as I know what the audience like to read into. So my articles will be about why they have left the band, may also include about break ups, why they happened. These sorts of things are private in the celebrities lives and I know that this is what my target audience will want to read about.

The positioning of the images and the text is important as well. The reason for this is because you want the main story of your magazine to be the sell point, therefore it will take up most of your front cover so that the audience will see it first. Then the sub stories will be placed along the side or at the bottom of my magazine. I didn’t want to have too much text on my front cover as this would put off the target audience off from buying the magazine. But in my index page I have balanced out the use of images and text. Then in the double page spread it contained much more text and just one image, the reason for this is because the page was an article. So I could address the audience, in my article I used personal pronouns such as ‘you’ so the reader feels involved.