What way does the media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? My media product was inspired by other magazines currently in the market. My layout was like other magazines on the market as it included just one main image which covered the whole front cover. The barcode was placed in a sensible place so it doesn’t effect the overall look of the magazine. I have also used forms and conventions of real media products through my mode of address as my language is mainly informal and chatty as from my research I could see this was the type of language to be used. I used a few explanation marks throughout my magazine as this connotes excitement. I created brand identity through my colour palette as the colours are consistent throughout my magazine. From my research and planning I found out that magazines have puffs included on the front cover to advertise a competition or free items so for my puff I decided to advertise that you could win 2 tickets to Coachella. I chose to do Coachella tickets as I feel this would be popular with readers of the magazine as it includes many pop artists.
How does your media product represent particular social groups? My media product aims to target people aged between 16-21 and in Group C2 or below who are interested in pop magazines. I also used simple English and short sentences so it is quick and easy to read which is what my audience would like. I have represented my target audience through my colour scheme as the pink is seen as a more feminine colour and the blue is seen as a more masculine colour. The reason I chose these colours is because I wanted my magazine to be aimed at both genders. I also chose black because it is a bold colour that stands out well.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? I think Bauer media is the best institution to produce my magazine because it says one of their strongest audiences is people aged 16-34 and my magazine is aimed at people aged 16-21 so they fit in to this. They produced magazines such as Q, Kerrang and Heat. There is a gap in the market for Bauer to create my magazine as they have not done a pop magazine but have done similar magazines that are popular with my target audience.
Who would be the target audience for your media product? My magazine would target the audience of people aged between 16- 21 and would be aimed at both males and females. I used the colours White,Black,Pink and blue because I feel that these colours would be suitable to target both genders. Their psychographics are likely to be contended conformers as they are wanting to be ‘normal’ and follow the herd. They could also be Strivers which means they attach importance to an image or status. The audience will also be interested in the genre ‘Pop’. Target Audience Profile: http://jamesgittins16.weebly.com/music-magazine.html
How did you attract/address your audience? The audience will be attracted to the magazine because the magazine is simple but it has coverlines and images that stand out and has a range of content that is suitable for fans of different artists and material. The masthead is bold and stands out. The colours used are suitable for both genders.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? During this process I furthered my skills with photoshop as it was something I hadn’t used before until I started my preliminary task and have now become more confident using it which was very important for the making of my magazine. Photoshop allowed me to make images look more professional and allowed me to remove the background so it would just contain the person. For my photos I used 2 different devices which were my iPhone 7 Plus and a camera. Both of these allowed me to take good, professional and clear photos.
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt from the progression from it to the full product? From looking back at my preliminary task I feel that I have improved and learnt a lot in all the areas of my design work. I have improved my skills on photoshop which allowed me to have a better overall look on my front cover, contents page and double page spread. I also took more photos for my final product so I had a wider range of photos to choose from which allowed me to choose the best images to go on my magazine which allowed for a better finish and allowed my magazine to look more professional. I also focused more on the way I placed things then I did with my preliminary task so that the general conventions were placed appropriately. I also feel that my contents page is better then my preliminary task one as I did more research into it and included a variety of articles. I also created a brand identity through my colour scheme. My images also looked more professional for my pop music magazine and suited the genre. As a result I have now ended up with an overall better magazine which includes all forms and conventions that it should include for my target audience. It also included an appropriate mode of address.