1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
My media product uses, develops and challenges codes and conventions that apply in current music magazines that are similar to my genre.
The front cover:
The Masthead of my magazine uses the codes and conventions of current punk-rock magazines. Kerrang, for example, has a Masthead that uses typography in which is made to look like it has been smashed. This works well for it's genre as it contains hard rock and metal music, so the idea of it being smashed connotes ideas of it's genre being displayed through smashed writing, as if the hard music has been playing loudly. The typography I used is called 'Aristotle punk', and I downloaded it from dafont.com. This font works well with my genre as it looks like stencilled spray paint and creates the ideology of Punks rebelling and spray painting this title. Kerrang and Metal Hammer music magazines normally use black or white font, in this respect, I am following the codes and conventions of current music magazines because my font is black and on a white back ground to create a contrast. Kerrang is called Kerrang because it is the sound an electric guitar makes when the power chord is played, which is common in long guitar solos of rock songs. Therefore, this word works well with it's genre. I have chosen to call my magazine 'Revolt' because it means 'rebel', which is what Punks are renowned for doing. My Masthead also develops codes and conventions of music magazines as it is a very modern-looking font, which reveals the new modern sub genre 'ska-punk' which it is about. My Mast head is therefore both neat and has a 'splattered' effect, this is where I have developed the codes and conventions of a music magazine and not just stuck to the stereotypical messy look. I have challenged the codes and conventions of real music magazines because, although I was going to use a font much messier than this one, I found Aristotle punk to be more effective to my target audience as, this way it looks more professional and connotes that this magazine will contain everything a punk magazine should consist of.
The Masthead of my magazine uses the codes and conventions of current punk-rock magazines. Kerrang, for example, has a Masthead that uses typography in which is made to look like it has been smashed. This works well for it's genre as it contains hard rock and metal music, so the idea of it being smashed connotes ideas of it's genre being displayed through smashed writing, as if the hard music has been playing loudly. The typography I used is called 'Aristotle punk', and I downloaded it from dafont.com. This font works well with my genre as it looks like stencilled spray paint and creates the ideology of Punks rebelling and spray painting this title. Kerrang and Metal Hammer music magazines normally use black or white font, in this respect, I am following the codes and conventions of current music magazines because my font is black and on a white back ground to create a contrast. Kerrang is called Kerrang because it is the sound an electric guitar makes when the power chord is played, which is common in long guitar solos of rock songs. Therefore, this word works well with it's genre. I have chosen to call my magazine 'Revolt' because it means 'rebel', which is what Punks are renowned for doing. My Masthead also develops codes and conventions of music magazines as it is a very modern-looking font, which reveals the new modern sub genre 'ska-punk' which it is about. My Mast head is therefore both neat and has a 'splattered' effect, this is where I have developed the codes and conventions of a music magazine and not just stuck to the stereotypical messy look. I have challenged the codes and conventions of real music magazines because, although I was going to use a font much messier than this one, I found Aristotle punk to be more effective to my target audience as, this way it looks more professional and connotes that this magazine will contain everything a punk magazine should consist of.
My Skyline uses the codes and conventions of current music magazines as it is a bright colour to contrast from the black background. The colour I have chosen for it is purple because a stereotypical view of Punks would be their purple hair. I have made a lightning symbol to separate the different buzz lines using the Aristotle punk font. I have chosen a green colour for this as green is another popular colour that punks use to dye their hair. It is also a bright colour that they might use to spray paint on walls to rebel against society. The colour font I have used for the Skyline is black and purple. Black works well with this genre as it is quite dark and scary music, it is also the colour of the background so it doesn't over complicate the page. I have also put the buzz words in different colours like Kerrang and Metal Hammer have done. This is to attract my target audience to the important parts of the page and to encourage them to read about it. I have developed the codes and conventions as, although these music magazines tend to use a slightly friendlier font, the font I have used is 'Britanic bold' which is very friendly and arguably would not appeal to my target audience, however, I think it contrasts well with the Masthead, and would be easier on the audience to read, this is also challenging the codes and conventions of music magazines. Another way I have challenged music magazines is using green and purple. Kerrang and Metal Hammer both use colours such as: red, black and yellow, because these are unisex colours, and purple is arguably a female's colour. However, males nowadays tend to wear more feminine colours such as purple, which has de-feminised the colour. Therefore, purple is no longer associated with just females and would appeal to both genders.
The main image I have chosen follows the codes and conventions of music magazines as he is using direct mode of address, this works well as it appears as though they are looking directly at the audience to entice them into reading it. I have also chosen to take a picture of someone who is in a real ska-punk band. This means he has knowledge of the genre and knows all about the codes and conventions of a punk-star himself. The mise-en-scene is very effective because he has tattoos on his body, much like other punk and rock band, which reinforce the genre and appeal to my target audience, he also has flesh holes which is very common within modern 'punky' teenagers, meaning the audience can relate to him in a way as well. The clothing he is wearing reveals he is in a punk band as he is wearing dark clothes, like all other punk-rock bands, and would attract my target audience as they would recognise this clothing as it being for punk-rockers and they may also dress similarly too. The facial expression he is making works really well for a front page main image. He is smiling cheekily which connotes ideas of him hiding something; perhaps secrets or something that they want you to find out about them. This also encourages you to read the article about him and his band. The idea of him smiling develops the codes and conventions of a music magazine as most bands on Kerrang and Metal Hammer use humorous or jokey expressions to display the idea of them being loud and rocking out. This also might challenge the codes and conventions of music magazines, I think him smiling cheekily at the camera works because the main article about him is him revealing his secrets to the readers, so his facial expression works in synergy with the article, and gives the readers a slight idea of what the article might be about. His facial expression also looks quite mischievous, this works well with my genre as the ideology of punks is that they are always up to no good and might have done something they shouldn't have, his facial expression reinforces that idea.
The plug/button on my music magazine is effective on my music magazine because it is a green colour again, which contrasts from the black. It follows the codes and conventions of music magazines because it is in a round shape, like on Kerrang! They also use a colour in which contrasts from the background colour to attract the audience's attention to it. They also put text on it in two/three different colours, highlighting the buzz words or the most important part of the text. They do this in colours that contrast each other. I have also done this with my plug. I have chosen to use black and purple for the text in my plug. The black contrasts from the green and the purple stands out from both colours, highlighting the buzz word 'LIVE!' to attract the reader's attention and encourage them to read it. I thought using two colours would keep it simple but still be effective, they also stand out from each other but don't over complicate it. I have developed codes and conventions of a music magazine in this way as I have created the plug using the font 'Zombified' from dafont. It is made to look like a paint splatter or spray paint, this works well with the genre as it displays ideas of the punks rebelling and spray painting something on a wall. I have challenged codes and conventions in this respect by only having one button on the page. This leaves the magazine looking slightly plain, however, I did not want to over crowd my page. Kerrang! usually have a very crowded page, but other times they have a very simple lay out of few things on a page. Analysing this, I think my audience would appreciate a page not being too over-loaded, as a more simple page focuses their attention on just a few big things and leaves more suspense as to what is inside the magazine.
The coverlines on my music magazine follow the codes and conventions of music magazines as, most of the time, on Kerrang! the main cover line is over-lapping the main image as it is a story about the person/people on the main image. Also, the colours sometimes works in synergy with the mise-en-scene, I have developed the codes and conventions as I have made the main coverline work in synergy with the colours of his tattoos. I think this is effective because it further shows that the main cover line over the main image is about him. Another development I have made is making the other smaller coverlines above and below it different colours and the same font. Kerrang! normally uses a different font, but I thought it would be more appropriate to keep the font the same to promote the logo I have created for Venomous Devils. I have changed the colours to green and purple as I think they both contrast and compliment each other and define the genre. I have also developed the codes and conventions of cover lines by slanting the text some front covers of Kerrang! do this, and I think it's effective because it connotes ideas of punks being defiant.
The banner of my magazine follows the codes and conventions of current magazines as it is placed at the bottom of the page and contrasts from the rest of the page. It also contains small images and buzz words. It develops the codes and conventions because it is made to look like splattered paint, this is because it works well with the genre of my magazine.
The overall colour scheme I chose for my front cover was black, white, green and purple. This uses codes and conventions of magazines of this genre as they also use black and white for their main colour schemes. I did this because of my target audience; they would normally associate dark colours with dark music. I chose white because it contrasts well from black. I have developed the conventions by using the colour green, Kerrang! uses yellow, which connotes ideas of loudness and optimism. I chose the colour green for similar reasons, and also because it suited my target audience better. The colour green connotes ideas of chaos, strangeness and boldness, which is what my magazine is all about. It is also a gender neutral colour and would attract both sexes. The purple challenges conventions as it would normally be perceived as being a 'girly' colour. However, in this modern day, girls are becoming less girly and boys are starting to associate with more feminine colours. I therefore thought purple would work well because of the modern teenagers. It also connotes bright spray paint colours on walls, which is perfect for my genre.
The contents page:
My contents page uses codes and conventions of current contents pages of other magazines of a similar genre by it's use of structure. Much like Kerrang! and NME magazine contents pages, it has a main image along one side, and the contents text on the other side. This is effective because it gives a teaser of what will be inside but it is also informative the audience. I have also included a small letter from the editor, like Metal Hammer does. This is good because it creates more connection between the magazine and the reader and would encourage them to read inside. There is also a small image of the editor (me), similar to Metal Hammer. I have stuck to a three-colour colour scheme as the contents page is normally less chaotic than other pages. The colours I chose was red, black and white. This is because I want readers to associate black and white with my magazine. These colours also compliment and contrast each other, making sure the right things stand out to attract the audience's attention.
It develops codes and conventions by the layout of the text. I have used CF Punk Forever font for this text because it has the appearance of splattered paint/spray paint, which, again, works well with the genre of my magazine. Other magazines have used a more simple font but I think this font looks very effective as the black contrasts from the white. It is also not over-crowded, and lad out very clearly, to help the reader easily navigate through the different pages. I have made the titles of the pages puns, for example: Jimmy At Sum 41'. This is a play on words because there is a ska-punk bands called Jimmy Eat World and another ska-punk band called Sum 41, so I have shown how they have collaborated together through this title. I have also put the page number of the article on the bottom/top corner of the picture, in font 'ZOMBIFIED' to stand out. This also helps the reader go straight to a page if the image interests them. Other ways I have develped the codes and conventions is by uses informal language and swear words in the letter from the editor, magazines like Metal Hammer do this and Kerrang! sometimes do this, but not as frequent as I have.
I have challenged codes and conventions by making a personal comment towards what my readers might be doing at the moment ('Get ready to rest off that hangover'). I think this works well as people of my target audience will be able to easily relate to this and it will create more of a connection between them and the magazine.
Double page spread:
I have changed my double page spread from my original
The title of my double page spread uses codes and conventions of a music magazine by the use of typography. I have used the font 'Rock it' because it resembles messy paint on paper, which works well with my genre. I have put the word 'immortality' in red with a black text outline. I think this is effective because it is high lighting the word hat is most important and works with my colour scheme. The main image follows codes and conventions as it is on one third of the double page spread, like Kerrang! and NME have. The singer is also using direct mode of address, which is very common within double page spreads, to give the readers the feeling of the star telling their story personally to them.
I have developed the codes and conventions of music magazines by the main image being very simple. Kerrang! normally uses action shots of people messing around, I decided that a simple main image would contrast from the story more and show the audience how she has changed from what the interview shows. I have also developed my double page spread as I have put a link to a social networking site on there. I have done this because modern teenagers use social networking sites on a daily basis and would be attracted to the logo that I have made.
Ways in which I have challenged codes and conventions of a double page spread include how I have edited the 'keep calm and carry on' poster. I have used Paint to scribble out the 'keep calm' and replaced it with writing saying 'freak out'. This is to connote ideas of chaos and rebellion through the person I have written about. Behind the text boxes I have created what resembles splattered paint/spray paint to link with my genre. This is very effective because the black contrasts from the white and attracts the audience's attention.
2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
My music magazine represents social groups in a positive and modern way. Although the theme of my magazine is rebellion, my main image in particular still shows they are positive role models that they can look up to and aspire to be like. The models I have used are iconography towards my audience and display this by the mise en scene, they are wearing dark coloured clothes to connote ideas of death and rock, to work in synergy with the genres of their music. This represents them as being modern age 'punks'. Some of my models are shown as having tattoos, this further promotes the idea of them being rebellious and doing what they want. It might also make the audience want to have tattoos of their own or they might have simlar tattoos as the models, this creates a common interest between the models and the audiuence. The use of direct mode of address also gives the audience the idea of them being strong, confident people who have a passion and knowlege for music, which is what the audience is looking for. The body language is also very important for representing who they are, on my front cover, I chose to use the image of the boy swearing and pulling on his shirt to show off his tattoos. I thought this would work better for that particular band representing who they are as this also shows rebellion and confidence. We could argue that it is slightly rude to be doing this while using direct mode of address, however, the expressio he uses is cheeky and mischeivous, which creates the idea that he is only messing around and having fun, which is what the audience would want to see.
The language I have used represnts the social groups I have displayed. The plugs and cover lines linking with the images of them are written in informal language, and in an exciting kind of way. This shows them to be fun and interesting people, and someone my target audience would want to read about.
The typography is usually resembling paint splatters or spray paint, this represnts the social groups as being rebellious punks, and links with the idea of them rebelling out against society. Some would consider this to be a bad example of modern teenagers, however, it could also connote how the 'rebelling' era is now over and it is now something to symbolise that punks still exist, but in the music industry, and hat these social groupsn are innocently representing themselves as fans of/music players of punk.
3. What kind of media institution might distribute your magazine and why?
A media institution such as Bauer Media might distribute my magazine because it has over 80 influential brands and also publishes Kerrang! which is similar to my genre. I would want a media institution that mainly targets teenagers and young adults and has a lot of knowledge about my modern kind of genre.
IPC Media might also distribute my magazine as they have been in the media industry for a long time, engaging with 26 million adults every year. However, I don't think my magazine would fit in with any of their three portfolios because these are for women's weeklys and an upmarket women's division. However, their men's portfolios, Inspire, might distribute my magazine as they distribute NME.
4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
My target audience would be 13-21 year olds who are interested in rock, punk and metal, but mainly ska-punk. They would be a niche audience but I think, as the new genre ska-punk is very popular with modern teenagers, that I would still have a big audience.
I have tried to make it appeal to both genders by the colours I used. The green works well with the genre and it would also attract males. Females who are interested in this genre might also be tom-bpys, so would be attracted to this colour as well. Black and white are gender-neutral colours and would appeal to both genders. Black is also famously worn by rock and punks bands, so it is very likely that my audience would be intrested in these colours. The purple, arguably, would only attract females. However, in these modern days, boys are very much into what would be considered 'girly' colours, boys clothing is made in pinks and purple, de-feminising the colours. I therefore think that the purple would attract both genders.
Magazines like Metal Hammer and Kerrang!'s target audiences are very similar to mine. They are also for teenagers, mainly males, around 17 years old, who are interested in rock, heavy rock and metal music. Because they have similar target audiences as me, I have followed some of the codes and conventions that these magazines use to attract their target audience.
5. How did you attract/address your audiences?
To attract and address my audiences, I did different things which suited different pages.
For my front cover, I attracted my target audiences through the colours and connotations of the magazine, because the front cover is what they would see first so I would need to create the correct first impression. I think this would have worked well because of the colour scheme I chose to use, attracting btoh genders, and the images attracting audiences of a certain age. The typography of the mast head both attracts and addresses the audiences as it is simple, yet bold and modern. It resebles splattered paint/spray paint to create the feel of a punk magazine. It addresses thr audience as it directly shows them what genre this magazine will be about and who it is for. The main image in particular addresses the target audience because the model uses direct mode of address, this has always been very effective, especially for a front cover as it shows confidence and authority and creates the idea of the famous band having some connection with the audience.
My contents page attracts and addresses my audience in a similar way but more subtly, as this page doesn't really rely too much on first impressions. The main image is using direct mode of address which shows the audience her confidence and that she is communicating with them, as the text over her is something that is shown as her saying. Her body language and facial expression works well as it addresses the audience as her being a 'rocker' and having fun. The mise en scene shows her wearing very dark clothes and having stereotypically 'emo' hair. This attracts my target audience as they would most likely look similar to her or aspire to be like her. The way the text is structured is very simple, yet effective. The text resembles splattered paint, which I try and keep up through all of my magazine to keep creating the feel of rebellion. This attracts the audience because there's just the right amount of information about the contents of the magazine. The title is the same font as the front cover and also in white, this attracts the audience as it is recognisable as being 'their own' font and is very simple.
My double page spread also attracts and addresses my target audiences effectively. The main image uses the mise en scene well as she is wearing black and red which connotes rock and punk and dark music, the type of music that she would play. It attracts audiences interested in rock and punk. The model uses direct mode of address which creates the feeling of closeness between her and the reader, this is effective because the model tells the audience a personal story about her life and the direct mode of address further creates that personal relationship between them. The typography of the title attracts my target audience because the font 'Rock it' resembles messy writing that has been painted on, linking with my genre. It is also in black and white to work in synergy with the model's clothing. This addresses the audience by telling them how the title is representing the model. I also used a pun for the title which creates a sense of humour to the audience to lighten the mood of the serious story. The text boxes I created are made to look like paint splatters because of my genre. This also attracts my audience to it because it makes the text on it appear to be more interesting and the colours I used for the text contrasts from the text box colour. I also wanted to include a social networking link as modern teenagers frequently use social networking sites to communicate with friends and find out what their favourite celebrities are doing. Therefore, I made a text box look like another paint splatter and put a fake twitter name that is meant to be the models' to attract teenagers. These address the audiences because it tells them what this article will be about through the title, main image and colours.
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Through the construction of this product, I have learnt many things about technologies and how to use different tools on programs I already had used.
I used Microsoft word to make the base of the magazine, which is a program I was already familiar with. However, I used some tools that I have never used before, and that I would never have known what they were for. On the 'format' panel, the 'crop' tool helped me to cut out unwanted parts of the picture, which was very helpful when it came to getting the images at exactly the right size to fit in. Also, the rotate tool helped me when I wanted to rotate the image slightly. There was also a 'remove' back ground tool which helped me with some images on my front cover and contents page. When I inserted a text box onto the document, I also used the 'text box outline', 'text box fill', 'text outline' and 'text fill' buttons if I needed to remove the outside of the text by giving the text box outline and back ground a clear fill. Also, I found that giving the text an outline made the text stand out and look really effective against pages such as the front cover and double page spread.
I also downloaded a program called 'Paint.Net' which was very helpful when I pasted my magazine onto it and edited it. On this program, I used tools such as 'glow', 'sharpen', 'contrast', 'brightness', 'hue' 'saturation' and 'brightness'. This helped make the magazine look more colourful and bright to attract the audience more. I also used tools to select parts of images and drag them to each other, there was also an elliptical cropping tool, in which I used to carefully draw round an image to select certain parts of it to not get any of the back ground in. Another feature I used to get rid of the back ground of the photos I'd taken was the paint brush tool, I zoomed in on the picture and carefully erased all the back ground which was around the image to just leave the model. Overall, I found this program easy to use after I had got the hang of it and think it was a very suitable program to use for editing a magazine.
I then used 'paint' to see if there were any other tools to make my magazine look more professional. You could edit the colours as well as paint.net. Also, when I copy and pasted my final magazine pages onto there, it displayed better quality than paint.net and allowed me to upload it to full size.
I also used Picasa. This helped me edit any pictures I had taken before I put them on my magazine pages. I found this program easy to navigate round and really effective to the photos. I uploaded all pictures I had taken onto here and changed things like the colours, I tried some pictures in black and white, in sepia theme and the contrast. In the end, I ended up putting one contents page picture in black and white. I usually just altered the brightness, the shadows and filled in the light. This program was really helpful and helped make my images look more professional.
There were helpful websites such as barcode generator, dafont and file convertor. The barcode generator helped me create the barcode for my THRASH ticket that I created and also the barcode on my front cover. dafont.com was very helpful regarding the fonts that I downloaded from it to suit the genre of my magazine and to attract my target audience. From this website I downloaded: ZOMBIFIED, which resembles scary, splattered writing. CF Punk Forever, which resembles messy paint splattered. 'Splats unsplattered' which looks like writing that has been painted on. Aristotle punk which looks like sophisticated writing that has messy connotations because of the look of messy paint or spray paint. 'Rock it' looked very much like the fonts you would see in rock and punk magazines. I also downloaded some others that I experimented with but didn't use. 'Brutal Tooth' which I used for my THRASH ticket. This website was very helpful and easy to navigate round and without it I don't think my magazine would look as professional or attract my target audience as much.
7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have from the progression of it to the full product?
Looking back on my preliminary task, I feel I have progressed a very large amount compared to my final media product.
Looking at the typography I have used on my preliminary task, I used a very basic font and only one kind of font for both pages. I used a font that was already on Microsoft word as I didn't know about dafont.com. The font didn't really attract or address my target audience so I don't think it would have been a very successful magazine if it were to be professionally published.
The main image could have been a lot better. I took a picture of one of the main school buildings but I stretched the image over the page as I didn't know about the cropping tool. I also didn't edit the picture to brighten the colour or create a contrast as I didn't know about these tools on the programs I used on my final product. On the contents page I used the school's logo at the bottom but it still has the white back ground behind it. This is because I didn't know how you could crop or erase the back ground behind the logo.
The cover lines are also very boring, I didn't really consider buzz words and didn't really use any. I also didn't think how I could make the buzz word stand out when I did use one, which I did on my final product, and I think was very effective. I also had one cover line on the right hand side and one on the left, through the study and analysing of current magazines, I have noticed how they are always on the left hand side as this is what will be displayed on super market shelves, and is what needs to attract your target audience as it gives teasers to them and makes them want to read on. On my preliminary task I haven't definitely not thought about this, whereas, I have on my final product.
In conclusion, looking back on the simplicity of my preliminary task to the sophistication of my final product, I think I have made a lot of progress and developed many technical and analytical skills. I have considered every aspect of what to include on my magazine and put a lot of thought into how to use, develop and challenge these codes and conventions to the best extent to attract my target audience. I have also developed skills within new programs and tools on programs that I already used. These programs and tools were very helpful towards the making of my magazine and compared to the very little amount of skills I had when I created my preliminary task, I have definitely learnt a lot.
The overall colour scheme I chose for my front cover was black, white, green and purple. This uses codes and conventions of magazines of this genre as they also use black and white for their main colour schemes. I did this because of my target audience; they would normally associate dark colours with dark music. I chose white because it contrasts well from black. I have developed the conventions by using the colour green, Kerrang! uses yellow, which connotes ideas of loudness and optimism. I chose the colour green for similar reasons, and also because it suited my target audience better. The colour green connotes ideas of chaos, strangeness and boldness, which is what my magazine is all about. It is also a gender neutral colour and would attract both sexes. The purple challenges conventions as it would normally be perceived as being a 'girly' colour. However, in this modern day, girls are becoming less girly and boys are starting to associate with more feminine colours. I therefore thought purple would work well because of the modern teenagers. It also connotes bright spray paint colours on walls, which is perfect for my genre.
The contents page:
My contents page uses codes and conventions of current contents pages of other magazines of a similar genre by it's use of structure. Much like Kerrang! and NME magazine contents pages, it has a main image along one side, and the contents text on the other side. This is effective because it gives a teaser of what will be inside but it is also informative the audience. I have also included a small letter from the editor, like Metal Hammer does. This is good because it creates more connection between the magazine and the reader and would encourage them to read inside. There is also a small image of the editor (me), similar to Metal Hammer. I have stuck to a three-colour colour scheme as the contents page is normally less chaotic than other pages. The colours I chose was red, black and white. This is because I want readers to associate black and white with my magazine. These colours also compliment and contrast each other, making sure the right things stand out to attract the audience's attention.
It develops codes and conventions by the layout of the text. I have used CF Punk Forever font for this text because it has the appearance of splattered paint/spray paint, which, again, works well with the genre of my magazine. Other magazines have used a more simple font but I think this font looks very effective as the black contrasts from the white. It is also not over-crowded, and lad out very clearly, to help the reader easily navigate through the different pages. I have made the titles of the pages puns, for example: Jimmy At Sum 41'. This is a play on words because there is a ska-punk bands called Jimmy Eat World and another ska-punk band called Sum 41, so I have shown how they have collaborated together through this title. I have also put the page number of the article on the bottom/top corner of the picture, in font 'ZOMBIFIED' to stand out. This also helps the reader go straight to a page if the image interests them. Other ways I have develped the codes and conventions is by uses informal language and swear words in the letter from the editor, magazines like Metal Hammer do this and Kerrang! sometimes do this, but not as frequent as I have.
I have challenged codes and conventions by making a personal comment towards what my readers might be doing at the moment ('Get ready to rest off that hangover'). I think this works well as people of my target audience will be able to easily relate to this and it will create more of a connection between them and the magazine.
Double page spread:
I have changed my double page spread from my original
The title of my double page spread uses codes and conventions of a music magazine by the use of typography. I have used the font 'Rock it' because it resembles messy paint on paper, which works well with my genre. I have put the word 'immortality' in red with a black text outline. I think this is effective because it is high lighting the word hat is most important and works with my colour scheme. The main image follows codes and conventions as it is on one third of the double page spread, like Kerrang! and NME have. The singer is also using direct mode of address, which is very common within double page spreads, to give the readers the feeling of the star telling their story personally to them.
I have developed the codes and conventions of music magazines by the main image being very simple. Kerrang! normally uses action shots of people messing around, I decided that a simple main image would contrast from the story more and show the audience how she has changed from what the interview shows. I have also developed my double page spread as I have put a link to a social networking site on there. I have done this because modern teenagers use social networking sites on a daily basis and would be attracted to the logo that I have made.
Ways in which I have challenged codes and conventions of a double page spread include how I have edited the 'keep calm and carry on' poster. I have used Paint to scribble out the 'keep calm' and replaced it with writing saying 'freak out'. This is to connote ideas of chaos and rebellion through the person I have written about. Behind the text boxes I have created what resembles splattered paint/spray paint to link with my genre. This is very effective because the black contrasts from the white and attracts the audience's attention.
2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
My music magazine represents social groups in a positive and modern way. Although the theme of my magazine is rebellion, my main image in particular still shows they are positive role models that they can look up to and aspire to be like. The models I have used are iconography towards my audience and display this by the mise en scene, they are wearing dark coloured clothes to connote ideas of death and rock, to work in synergy with the genres of their music. This represents them as being modern age 'punks'. Some of my models are shown as having tattoos, this further promotes the idea of them being rebellious and doing what they want. It might also make the audience want to have tattoos of their own or they might have simlar tattoos as the models, this creates a common interest between the models and the audiuence. The use of direct mode of address also gives the audience the idea of them being strong, confident people who have a passion and knowlege for music, which is what the audience is looking for. The body language is also very important for representing who they are, on my front cover, I chose to use the image of the boy swearing and pulling on his shirt to show off his tattoos. I thought this would work better for that particular band representing who they are as this also shows rebellion and confidence. We could argue that it is slightly rude to be doing this while using direct mode of address, however, the expressio he uses is cheeky and mischeivous, which creates the idea that he is only messing around and having fun, which is what the audience would want to see.
The language I have used represnts the social groups I have displayed. The plugs and cover lines linking with the images of them are written in informal language, and in an exciting kind of way. This shows them to be fun and interesting people, and someone my target audience would want to read about.
The typography is usually resembling paint splatters or spray paint, this represnts the social groups as being rebellious punks, and links with the idea of them rebelling out against society. Some would consider this to be a bad example of modern teenagers, however, it could also connote how the 'rebelling' era is now over and it is now something to symbolise that punks still exist, but in the music industry, and hat these social groupsn are innocently representing themselves as fans of/music players of punk.
3. What kind of media institution might distribute your magazine and why?
A media institution such as Bauer Media might distribute my magazine because it has over 80 influential brands and also publishes Kerrang! which is similar to my genre. I would want a media institution that mainly targets teenagers and young adults and has a lot of knowledge about my modern kind of genre.
IPC Media might also distribute my magazine as they have been in the media industry for a long time, engaging with 26 million adults every year. However, I don't think my magazine would fit in with any of their three portfolios because these are for women's weeklys and an upmarket women's division. However, their men's portfolios, Inspire, might distribute my magazine as they distribute NME.
4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
My target audience would be 13-21 year olds who are interested in rock, punk and metal, but mainly ska-punk. They would be a niche audience but I think, as the new genre ska-punk is very popular with modern teenagers, that I would still have a big audience.
I have tried to make it appeal to both genders by the colours I used. The green works well with the genre and it would also attract males. Females who are interested in this genre might also be tom-bpys, so would be attracted to this colour as well. Black and white are gender-neutral colours and would appeal to both genders. Black is also famously worn by rock and punks bands, so it is very likely that my audience would be intrested in these colours. The purple, arguably, would only attract females. However, in these modern days, boys are very much into what would be considered 'girly' colours, boys clothing is made in pinks and purple, de-feminising the colours. I therefore think that the purple would attract both genders.
Magazines like Metal Hammer and Kerrang!'s target audiences are very similar to mine. They are also for teenagers, mainly males, around 17 years old, who are interested in rock, heavy rock and metal music. Because they have similar target audiences as me, I have followed some of the codes and conventions that these magazines use to attract their target audience.
5. How did you attract/address your audiences?
To attract and address my audiences, I did different things which suited different pages.
For my front cover, I attracted my target audiences through the colours and connotations of the magazine, because the front cover is what they would see first so I would need to create the correct first impression. I think this would have worked well because of the colour scheme I chose to use, attracting btoh genders, and the images attracting audiences of a certain age. The typography of the mast head both attracts and addresses the audiences as it is simple, yet bold and modern. It resebles splattered paint/spray paint to create the feel of a punk magazine. It addresses thr audience as it directly shows them what genre this magazine will be about and who it is for. The main image in particular addresses the target audience because the model uses direct mode of address, this has always been very effective, especially for a front cover as it shows confidence and authority and creates the idea of the famous band having some connection with the audience.
My contents page attracts and addresses my audience in a similar way but more subtly, as this page doesn't really rely too much on first impressions. The main image is using direct mode of address which shows the audience her confidence and that she is communicating with them, as the text over her is something that is shown as her saying. Her body language and facial expression works well as it addresses the audience as her being a 'rocker' and having fun. The mise en scene shows her wearing very dark clothes and having stereotypically 'emo' hair. This attracts my target audience as they would most likely look similar to her or aspire to be like her. The way the text is structured is very simple, yet effective. The text resembles splattered paint, which I try and keep up through all of my magazine to keep creating the feel of rebellion. This attracts the audience because there's just the right amount of information about the contents of the magazine. The title is the same font as the front cover and also in white, this attracts the audience as it is recognisable as being 'their own' font and is very simple.
My double page spread also attracts and addresses my target audiences effectively. The main image uses the mise en scene well as she is wearing black and red which connotes rock and punk and dark music, the type of music that she would play. It attracts audiences interested in rock and punk. The model uses direct mode of address which creates the feeling of closeness between her and the reader, this is effective because the model tells the audience a personal story about her life and the direct mode of address further creates that personal relationship between them. The typography of the title attracts my target audience because the font 'Rock it' resembles messy writing that has been painted on, linking with my genre. It is also in black and white to work in synergy with the model's clothing. This addresses the audience by telling them how the title is representing the model. I also used a pun for the title which creates a sense of humour to the audience to lighten the mood of the serious story. The text boxes I created are made to look like paint splatters because of my genre. This also attracts my audience to it because it makes the text on it appear to be more interesting and the colours I used for the text contrasts from the text box colour. I also wanted to include a social networking link as modern teenagers frequently use social networking sites to communicate with friends and find out what their favourite celebrities are doing. Therefore, I made a text box look like another paint splatter and put a fake twitter name that is meant to be the models' to attract teenagers. These address the audiences because it tells them what this article will be about through the title, main image and colours.
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Through the construction of this product, I have learnt many things about technologies and how to use different tools on programs I already had used.
I used Microsoft word to make the base of the magazine, which is a program I was already familiar with. However, I used some tools that I have never used before, and that I would never have known what they were for. On the 'format' panel, the 'crop' tool helped me to cut out unwanted parts of the picture, which was very helpful when it came to getting the images at exactly the right size to fit in. Also, the rotate tool helped me when I wanted to rotate the image slightly. There was also a 'remove' back ground tool which helped me with some images on my front cover and contents page. When I inserted a text box onto the document, I also used the 'text box outline', 'text box fill', 'text outline' and 'text fill' buttons if I needed to remove the outside of the text by giving the text box outline and back ground a clear fill. Also, I found that giving the text an outline made the text stand out and look really effective against pages such as the front cover and double page spread.
I also downloaded a program called 'Paint.Net' which was very helpful when I pasted my magazine onto it and edited it. On this program, I used tools such as 'glow', 'sharpen', 'contrast', 'brightness', 'hue' 'saturation' and 'brightness'. This helped make the magazine look more colourful and bright to attract the audience more. I also used tools to select parts of images and drag them to each other, there was also an elliptical cropping tool, in which I used to carefully draw round an image to select certain parts of it to not get any of the back ground in. Another feature I used to get rid of the back ground of the photos I'd taken was the paint brush tool, I zoomed in on the picture and carefully erased all the back ground which was around the image to just leave the model. Overall, I found this program easy to use after I had got the hang of it and think it was a very suitable program to use for editing a magazine.
I then used 'paint' to see if there were any other tools to make my magazine look more professional. You could edit the colours as well as paint.net. Also, when I copy and pasted my final magazine pages onto there, it displayed better quality than paint.net and allowed me to upload it to full size.
I also used Picasa. This helped me edit any pictures I had taken before I put them on my magazine pages. I found this program easy to navigate round and really effective to the photos. I uploaded all pictures I had taken onto here and changed things like the colours, I tried some pictures in black and white, in sepia theme and the contrast. In the end, I ended up putting one contents page picture in black and white. I usually just altered the brightness, the shadows and filled in the light. This program was really helpful and helped make my images look more professional.
There were helpful websites such as barcode generator, dafont and file convertor. The barcode generator helped me create the barcode for my THRASH ticket that I created and also the barcode on my front cover. dafont.com was very helpful regarding the fonts that I downloaded from it to suit the genre of my magazine and to attract my target audience. From this website I downloaded: ZOMBIFIED, which resembles scary, splattered writing. CF Punk Forever, which resembles messy paint splattered. 'Splats unsplattered' which looks like writing that has been painted on. Aristotle punk which looks like sophisticated writing that has messy connotations because of the look of messy paint or spray paint. 'Rock it' looked very much like the fonts you would see in rock and punk magazines. I also downloaded some others that I experimented with but didn't use. 'Brutal Tooth' which I used for my THRASH ticket. This website was very helpful and easy to navigate round and without it I don't think my magazine would look as professional or attract my target audience as much.
7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have from the progression of it to the full product?
Looking back on my preliminary task, I feel I have progressed a very large amount compared to my final media product.
Looking at the typography I have used on my preliminary task, I used a very basic font and only one kind of font for both pages. I used a font that was already on Microsoft word as I didn't know about dafont.com. The font didn't really attract or address my target audience so I don't think it would have been a very successful magazine if it were to be professionally published.
The main image could have been a lot better. I took a picture of one of the main school buildings but I stretched the image over the page as I didn't know about the cropping tool. I also didn't edit the picture to brighten the colour or create a contrast as I didn't know about these tools on the programs I used on my final product. On the contents page I used the school's logo at the bottom but it still has the white back ground behind it. This is because I didn't know how you could crop or erase the back ground behind the logo.
The cover lines are also very boring, I didn't really consider buzz words and didn't really use any. I also didn't think how I could make the buzz word stand out when I did use one, which I did on my final product, and I think was very effective. I also had one cover line on the right hand side and one on the left, through the study and analysing of current magazines, I have noticed how they are always on the left hand side as this is what will be displayed on super market shelves, and is what needs to attract your target audience as it gives teasers to them and makes them want to read on. On my preliminary task I haven't definitely not thought about this, whereas, I have on my final product.
In conclusion, looking back on the simplicity of my preliminary task to the sophistication of my final product, I think I have made a lot of progress and developed many technical and analytical skills. I have considered every aspect of what to include on my magazine and put a lot of thought into how to use, develop and challenge these codes and conventions to the best extent to attract my target audience. I have also developed skills within new programs and tools on programs that I already used. These programs and tools were very helpful towards the making of my magazine and compared to the very little amount of skills I had when I created my preliminary task, I have definitely learnt a lot.
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