In what ways does your media
product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
A convention is what is associated to make a product, for the rock genre in terms of its content, form and style. For
example rock magazines usually follow a dark colour scheme. As such, when
we see a model holding an electric guitar on a front cover, we apply our
previous knowledge of similar magazines and make assumptions about what genre
the magazine is. My media product follows the conventions of real media
products in many ways.
The masthead at the top left corner is an example
of a convention in my magazine. The name of the magazine is unique and is a smart play on words. "ROCKUS" could be read as
"ruckus" which means a lot of noise and commotion or as "Rock
Us" associated with a famously known song we will rock you by Queen. The
name therefore fits into the rock genre and the stereotype that rock music is
very noisy, with an association to famous rock bands.
The tag line used is
placed on the top and bottom of the magazine, it includes the list of all the
featuring artists. There is also a puff that brings attention to the
cover line that gives exclusive content. The puff and tag line are also
conventions of a music magazine cover. The colour scheme I have used is black,
red and white which compliment each other and are conventional as are commonly
seen in rock magazines.
My anchor follows conventions as she is holding a
guitar. She is looking directly at the audience to create an intense atmosphere
and it makes the reader feel more immersed in the magazine as the anchor model is directly addressing the reader with her posture and pose. Furthermore, the model is the
biggest object on the cover and right underneath her is the main cover line in
the form of a quotation, the biggest font after the masthead, meaning that she is the most important feature to focus on.
This follows the
conventions of a magazine cover when looking at font size and how the main
cover line is presented on the cover. My magazine similar to many editions of
Kerrang! I have analysed previously for inspiration through analysing the colour scheme, layout and
content used. It has a C layout which is often used by Kerrang. Kerrang covers a
lot of articles about new music coming out and interviews with artists just like the model shown on my magazine cover.
The cover of my magazine is successful as the
images fit the content and target my audience, immediately attracting the
audience to the masthead, main story and anchor model. The design of the magazine attracts a
mainstream audience. Other conventions I follow are barcodes, price, date
and issue number. Those are necessary for a magazine to be published as they
provide general needed information of the product and a barcode is important
for the consumer to buy the product.
The contents page has great
purpose and is very important as it provides the reader with easy access to find out what the
articles are briefly about. My
contents page was hugely inspired by one of the contents pages from an older edition of Kerrang! Magazine that I have analysed previously. This is seen through the layout and the way content is organized.
There are columns at the bottom half of the page and a main picture at the top half of the page. The content is laid out like a list and divided into categories. Each article is
attached with a page number right next to it: to guide the reader to a page relevant to their interest. The article also has a brief description for the reader to decide what to read first
depending on their interest. The way the content is organized is common in
rock magazines like Kerrang and therefore "ROCKUS" magazine is
strongly conventional.
The band names are in bold red font for the reader to select their favourite artist. An editors comment is placed in the first column
signed by the editor themselves, this is not a necessary convention but it is commonly used, particularly in rock magazines. The
contents page is successful as it is giving quick and easy access for the reader to find articles
and it gives the magazine a sense of order.
The name of the magazine is at the top right corner
and it includes other small images to give a sneak peek of the article to the reader, which are conventions of a magazine. At the top left hand side of the page, is titled "contents" this is also a convention of Kerrangs! Content
page to make it obvious that is a contents page. The main image is at the top,it doesn't have a
caption but is just attached with a number and artist name, this challenges
conventions as usually there would be a caption. Other conventions that I used
are issue number conventionally placed right under the title.
The double spread feature page
has similarities to music magazines as it’s a personal interview with the
artist. The conventions of a bold name of the name artist and brief description
of the article introducing the reader who are unaware to the artist. In some
ways it challenges conventions as the main image isn't the biggest object but it’s
still evident that both it is linked to the artist that is being interviewed.
The article takes most of the two pages and is divides into three columns focusing
on the artist that is featured. Every time the interviewer and artist speak it
is very clear to the reader by having their initials written in bold before
they speak. The quote used is bold and big .Furthermore, the name same one used
in the cove page showing a clear link to the reader.
Throughout my magazine the same
colour scheme is used and the content covers popular artists and bands which is
very common; The interview on the double page is very inspirational discussing
artists future plans and how they cope with their busy lives .The colour are
very bright and fun to encourage readers interest the intuitional logo is on
each page of the magazine. The magazine is dominated by images as images speak
louder than words and are the things a reader looks at .This together created a
house style.
Who would be the audience for
your media product?
Most of my audience would be
students or casual workers, young people aged 16 -24. This means they would be
at the lowest income in the economy.
How does your media product represent
particular social groups?
My media product represents young
people aged 16 -24 that have an interest in rock and this made through the
content of my media product and the rock artists that I have created. The
artists are represented as very fun loud, inspirational, talented, fresh and
laid back. This is achieved through their body language and costumes. My
audience is very influential and would look up to those artists and what they
have achieved for example in the interview of Selkies she discusses a charity
project which spreads a positive message to the audience and also discusses her
will to help other which also inspires artists to do the same. On the front
cover and feature page the artist "selkies" is represented as Fun, talented,
hard working through posture, face expression and props. It’s a medium shot of
the main model holding a guitar, she's holding the holding the guitar as if
she's playing and is slightly leaning back, and this illustrates her laid back
aura and many of her talents. Also her facial expression is joyful and cheery
reflecting her positive attitude to life.
How did you attract your audience?
The language is very simple and
easy to understand which applies to my target audience as they are young adults
they wouldn't want to read something difficult and challenging but something they
could read at easy. The use of a lot of images also helps with attracting the
young adults as they would want to look at images of their favourite artist,
especially in this age of modern technology. By promoting free posters it would
attract the audience as it doesn't cost them anything and encourage them to buy
the magazine s they feel like they are getting a good deal as in return they
can get posters of their favourite artist to put up on their wall. In addition
the price of the magazine is 1.99 which affordable for my audience who would
not spend much on luxuries and is most suitable as I found out through my
research that my target audience prefers this price the most.
What kind of media institution
might distribute your media product and why?
There are many methods of
distributions of magazines and they either traditional which is hard copies or
digital like apps and websites. Traditional copies distributed through
publishers which are the institutions that produce the magazine. Now digital
copies are becoming more popular as it became a norm to own a smart phone,
where the magazine can be viewed on the internet. The hard copies are
distributed to the consumers by retailers sold in supermarkets and newsagents. However,
because of the rapid growth of technology like smart phones as a result of web
2.0 and convergence digital distribution has been becoming more widespread.
Through convergence my media product can be presented on many platform like radio,
online and social networks for example Kerrang! Is begun as a magazine but
later on it had its own radio station as well its own TV programme and website.
This would be useful in order to gain a wider audience when reaching more media
institutions. The readers can also subscribe to the magazine to get monthly or
weekly posts to their home or inbox with a discounted price. This is great deal
for the audience and ensures regular readers by giving them a discount.
The magazine can also have a
electronic version .They are similar to magazine website for example they have
pages you can turn, page numbers and adverts. They have their own special
features such as video clips and links that will send readers to other sources.
Many magazines have their own smart applications where the content of the hard
copies of a magazine can be accessed. An example is the NME magazine app.
Sometimes magazine have a QR code that could be scanned via phone.
I think BAUER media group would
be suitable as an institution that will distribute my magazine. This is because
they are one of the top distributors of magazines in the UK and own a lot of
rock magazines. Two of the most popular music magazines published by Bauer are
"Q" and "Kerrang!" as well as "Mojo". Which is
the type of music I have created in my media product and experience with my
target audience which are young adults. BAUER media also uses digital media and
is presented in all types of platforms. Kerrang! Radio has With 920,000 listeners
a week with a total of 33,024 circulation of .Therefore, I think it would be
the most suitable as a distributor of my product.
Looking back at your preliminary
task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full
product?
Through the process of
constructing this media product I learned how to create a magazine on Adobe
Photoshop. I have improved my Photoshop skills. Now I know how to add effects
like drop shadow to images, edit text, manipulate and edit images using tools
such as the magic wand. I also gained experience in photography during the
photo-shoots. It taught me about the importance of lighting and camera angles
in a shot and how it's important to plan the photo shoot beforehand to ensure
you're completely ready and have all the props you need. I learnt what works
best for my media product by experimenting the layout and colours. Moreover, I
have never blogged before so, using blogger to publish my work gave me good
experience. Gradually through the process I learned more about how to attract
an audience in comparison to my preliminary task the audience is targeted
better.
What have you learnt about
technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Throughout the project I learnt
what it takes to create a media product. Being the researcher by looking at
other magazines and figuring out the conventions of magazines that made them
successful.During the photo-shoot I took the
role of the photographer as well as the director where I ensure that I got the
images I desired for my magazines. I had to plan the photo-shoot and make sure
all the props where ready to be used .Moreover, Taking the role of the layout
the designer Created flat plans as guides for my magazines, this gave me a
variety of ideas for the layout of my magazine. I also took the job of the
editor as the features writer and features editor where I ensured each page
followed necessary conventions and the Photoshop was smooth. Lastly being the
manager editor, I had to make certain everything was done in time. By taking
all of those jobs on board, I learnt not only about the creative process of
making an idea alive but also the research behind it and the editing that
constructs a successful product.
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