Slide 15- Conclusion

To conclude, I feel I have created a very good piece of work, which is suitable for my genre and very fitting to my target market. I believe that my media product is life like and I have managed to create a magazine which I am proud of. I would not change anything about my magazine as I feel I have worked to my full potential in order to create something which I believe to be very applicable and sufficient. Overall I am satisfied with the outcome and am content with my ability in all the areas of media in which I have studies over the AS Level course. I feel that my achievements are reflected in my progression and this also shows the hard work and time I have invested into ensure that I am able to produce work of a standard which I deem to be the best of my ability.

Slide 14- Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

This is showing the progression in my abilities when creating contents pages. Contents pages are crucial for keeping the attention of the reader. They open up what is to be found in the rest of the magazine. They need to fulfil the expectations which are implicated on the cover page. To do this a consistent theme must be kept. After reflecting back to preliminary task, I do not see this much needed consistency, apart from in the text used. The background is very different and there is still no real feel of meaning behind it. There is no real target audience and the magazine contents page is as vapid as the front cover. When I look at my music magazine I get a completely different vibe. It has a meaning and reasoning and the target market is unequivocal because of this. It creates an atmosphere and you instantly feel attached to the magazine because of this, as though you have a connection. This attribute is absent from my preliminary task and this is a great deficiency.
My music magazine categorises its contents, another vital feature which is not present within my preliminary task. There is no connection from the magazine to the audience and it is very dull due to this. I think that my progression is phenomenal and I have improved an awful lot.
My contents page on my preliminary task only uses one main image, which is something I did not do for my music magazine. After researching and studying, I found this was very rare and that in order to capture the audience’s attention, I would need multiple images to continue to keep the interest of the reader.

Slide 13- Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

As you can see from my two front covers I have progressed a lot in developing and constructing magazine covers. I have learnt the significance of using space and have now mastered the ability to use this efficiently. In my music magazine, you can see clearly that I have managed to use space well and also fill a page effectivel, without overdoing it. When I reflect back to what I acheived with my preliminary task, I am able to see just how far I have come in terms of my competence in Photoshop. My school magazine is very bare and is not overly welcoming, I feel this is something which I have worked on a lot in my music magazine and have overcome my inability to do this, as I have produced a magazine front cover which friednly and inviting. My school magazine is very simplistic which completely contrasts the music magazine I have created, with its very busy, image packed outlook.
My use of images has become much improved. As you can see, the only technique which I had mastered when completing my preliminary task was feathering. This is the only resource of image editing which I used. However, when I moved on to my music magazine, I used many different tools and editing techniques in order to create a striking front cover and to make the images appear perfect.
The use of colour is another thing which I feel I have managed to improve upon. My preliminary task shows a colour scheme of only two colours. I have now managed to incorporate many different colours into the colour and still allow the cover to not look overwhelming or too busy. This is something which I needed to work on in order to find the arrangement of colours which worked well off of eachother.
I found that over time I have learnt how to make a magazine cover appealing and I believe that this has become a very important factor when contructing. Every aspect of my music magazine links in with its “fun and lively” theme which is what is so appealing about it. However I do not see any of this in my preliminary task. When I reflect back to this I do not feel or notice any theme and therefore there is no specific audience that it reaches out to.
There is some similarites which I have noticed however. When looking at both magazine covers I can see a definite two sections which are separated horizontally in the middle of the page. I did this subconsciously, however I now see that this must just be a preference of mine when choosing a layout of a page.

Slide 12- Feedback

After copleting my magazine, I was given some feedback on what other students in my class thought of my magazine. When I received my feedbcak I was extremely satisfied to find that the majority of people found no weaknesses in my final product and had no suggestions of improvement. However I was given one constructive criticism which stated that my heading on the cover would have looked better had it been filled with a yellow colour like so on the other pages which I created to keep the consistency. While I take this point on board, I do not believ this to be true. The title of a magzine is very important and must differentiate itself in some way from the other titles within the magazine.
I have noted some of the positive feedback I have received in this slide, and I was exceedingly pleased to see that everyone who analysed my work understood the message and feel of the magazine that I was trying to create. This is eveident in the comments I received. They also understood who my magazine was aimed at which reassured me that I had done a sufficient job at fulfilling the needs of my target market which is a very important factor to focus on.
Aside from the titles consistency, the class noted that my work showed great continuity throughout and were very impressed with how I managed to keep the house style and yet still add an individual touch to each page. They praised my ability to familiarise the the pages and yet still manage to distinguish them each and keep them all individual. I was very pleased with this as I also felt this was an attribute to my work.
When asked to comment on the impact of my magazine the class were in agrrement that my product reflected a happy and cheesy atmosphere which is very aparent within pop music. They said that I was able to immulate the genre and put it into a print form which was considered artistic and outgoing. I felt this did reflect the music genre of my magazine very well and believe that my magazine was very easy to associate with its genre as it related to it in so many ways.
The class also agreed that my “posed” and “cheesy” images very well suited the magazines representation as pop is highly associated with these two aspects. I was very pleased to see that people were understanding the reasoning for everything which I did in order to link the images to the genre. Another thing which people picked up on on the double page spread was how the image in the bottom right corner intenified the secretivity of the appeal. The image was looking down on “Amelle Marie” and almost suggested vulnerability and that she was being open with us. The fact this image was placed in a corner gave the feel of a secret corner and added further to the mystery I was trying to create. This was something I was surprised that people had noticed as it was a motive which I had thought hard about.
Overall my feedback was all very positive and people felt that I had suceeded very well in this task and was impressed with my progression and efforts.

Slide 11- What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

This slide is showing the process of how I managed to create this bubble effect where the person is jumping out at you. This is something which took me a lot of time to figure out and I used trial and error methods until I finally figured out how to complete this efficiently. Firstly I needed to create the pink circle by using the Ellipse tool. To get the same colour pink I had used previously I used the eyedropper tool to keep the consistency. After drawing this circle, I then drew another one which was slightly smaller and coloured white which I placed over the pink circle. I then opened up the image. Firstly I had to remove the background and to do this to a sufficient standard I used the magnetic lasso tool which differentiates colours in order to outline the image you wish. Once I had done this, I then I then need to transform this image into a circular shape so that it would fit nicely into the white circle and sit along the base of it. To do this I used the cookie cutter tool and selected a circular shape to create the same circular base which was needed. I then had all the resources needed to be able to put it together to create the finished looked. I placed the image at the base of the white circle and arranged it so that it was bought to the front. The outcome shows this bubble effect with the person looking as though they are jumping out at you.

Slide 10- What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

As well as blogger.com, I was also able to gain a greater knowledge in Photoshop elements. I used this software to create my magazine cover, contents and double page spread. I had previously used this software when I carried out coursework assignments at GCSE. However this was a relatively long time ago and my memory of it was extremely limited. I did not remember a lot of what I had previously learnt, however once I had started using Photoshop elements, certain aspects did begin to come back to me.
I used many different tools on Photoshop which all contributed to my finishing product. However there are a few which I will mention here, that I deemed to be very significant and useful which guided me through the process. Firstly we used Photoshop to complete our preliminary task. This allowed us to grasp and understanding of how to use and develop images using Photoshop. As you can see my progression was notable and reflects how I managed to achieve and grow within this area. The gradient tool became a very important contribution to my magazine. I used it multiple times and explored the different ways in which it can be utilized. Firstly I used it to create concentric circles by using the radial gradient. After exploring the other ways to use this tool I discovered the linear gradient which created a misty and pervious feel which I added to the bottom of the pages. It gave a smoky impression which I felt could be associated with stage smoke which is often featured at concerts/shows. The concentric circles were extremely useful to me as this become almost part of the logo and gradually familiarised itself on every page creating a house style which was consistent.
I also learnt how to edit and air brush photographs. This was something which I enjoyed learning about a lot. The image featured on the bottom right has been edited mainly using the smart brush tool, I then selected portrait and fake tan. After I had selected this I ran the mouse over the area which needed the skin tone adjusted and the results are as shown. I felt the need to do this as previously “Amelle Marie” seemed slightly pal and unwelcoming. I wanted to add some colour to her to make her appear appeal, friendly and warm. I also needed to sharpen this mage and so to do so, I enhanced the image and adjusted the contrast and sharpness. This made the image more striking and outstanding.

Slide 09- What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Throughout this entire assignment, I have been blogging my progress. Something I was completely new to and did not entirely comprehend to begin with. I found this use of technology exceedingly interesting and thought it was a very educational way keeping up to date with today’s technological society. I also found it to be an incredibly appropriate way of expressing my abilities and gave the opportunity to show how I have progressed and grown within my knowledge of media studies. However, I feel that when I first began using blogger.com I was a little wary and unsure of how to cooperate with this method of applying my coursework. Like all new things, time allows you the chance to get used to it and you gradually become competent enough to feel comfortable and educated in that particular area. As you can see from the two blogs above, my knowledge and ability to blog has increased greatly over time as I have gained more and more experience. My first blog shows me to be very vague in detail and lacklustre in scrutinising and analysing the subject matter. When I first began blogging, I did not fully understand the need for explicit detail and extensive analysis and I therefore lacked significant explanations in these areas. As you can see a blog from later on, I have learnt how to include and add images to my blogs and I have also learnt the significance of including vast amounts of detail in order to succeed efficiently in my blogging.

Slide 08 - How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Representing Social Groups
The social group in which my magazine represents is young girls who are interested in popular culture. My magazines many aspects all work towards creating a specific image of this group which we can stereotype. Young girls who are interested in pop music are generally considered “girly” this spirals from the artists of this genre of music as we often see a reflection of this in their audience as they look up to them as inspiration and often imitate them. The “girly” aspect is also tied in with the colours used in my magazine and this also goes towards representing them as girly. I also mentioned naivety as what my magazine represents my particular social group as. This was due to the fact that the magazine industry uses many manipulative tricks in order to get you to buy their magazine and it is those who fall for these tricks that we deem to be naive. As they are young, this is to be expected however. Magazines creators and publishers are very shrewd in their strategies and they very easily make the potential buyer succumb to the inducements which are put out there in order to gain sales. Pop magazines play on this well with their suggestive headings and quotations which are often equivocal and misleading. Another way I believe my magazine represents particular social groups is that of an ambitious group. I have previously mentioned how my target market look up to these celebrities as inspiration and often imitate these stars. This, in turn gives them the ambition to succeed and lead a lifestyle of the rich and famous. Creativity was another characteristic in which I felt my social group were represented as through my magazine. A consistent feature of my magazine was a pattern of concentric circles. I felt this reflected the creativity of my young minds and almost imitated a “doodle” which is commonly known to be drawn by younger people.

Slide 07- How does your magazine attract your target market?

I also used features inside the magazine which I felt would fulfil the wants and needs of my target audience throughout. I needed to gratify the reader and fulfil their expectations and so I aimed to do this by using various methodologies.

Contents Page

Prominent Headings I sub sectioned and categorised my contents page into five main areas, Exclusives, Weekly, Music, Win!! and News. These five areas differentiated the magazines contents and showed that there was a diverse range of options. The consistent buyers would be interested in the weekly column and others buying on impulse may be more swayed by the Exclusives or Winn!! column. They stood out and grabbed the attention of my target market as there was something for everybody there. By distinguishing the different aspects of the magazine I was speeding up the process of my reader finding exactly what they wanted out of my magazine and I feel this would benefit them greatly. Also, by doing this, I was justifying each article to the reader as it was giving each story a meaning and reasoning. This made the stories seem all the more appealing as they were more comprehensive due to this. The headings caught your eye and I feel this was a good way to enable the reader to decipher what the magazine stood for and allowed them to interact and connect with the magazine.
Bold Names Once the reader has been initially attracted by the prominent headings they will then look further and see the stories which lie beneath. Certain stories will become more apparent to the reader quicker as I have used techniques which will draw your attention to particular stories. For instance, under exclusives I have underlined and put into italics the band name “The Lipsies” as this was a main focus that the magazine concentrated on, on the magazine cover and I felt the need to follow this through. This allowed the reader to pinpoint the story they had recognised on the cover quickly and sped up the process of them reaching the destination within the magazine that they sought out after. I also used colour changes or making the writing bold to clarify certain aspects of the contents to draw the reader in. This technique also makes the story seem more desirable. When the band names are highlighted somewhat, the reader instantly recognises the difference and the opinion of this story is changed and believed to be more worthy. It emphasises the importance if this story and influences the reader to turn to this page and read the article.
Rhetorical Question I used a rhetorical question as the main heading for this page. I felt this was a good way to leer my readers into finding out exactly what was to be found within the magazine. When a question is asked of someone the immediate response is to answer this question and so by using this technique my target market will subconsciously feel the need to answer this question, and by doing so they will need to read through the contents page. This will allow them to feel attracted to the magazine. They would hopefully find something within the contents page which took their fancy and this would make them want to read on through the magazine. It is an appealing method which communicates with my readers in order to get them to feel involved with the magazine and in turn this allows the reader to create a relationship with the magazine and gain trust with it.

Double Page Spread

Introduction An introduction to the interview was added in order to build up a pretence of what was to be expected and to summarise who the interviewee was. It was a persuasive passage which painted a picture of the celebrity life of the interviewee and explained how this interview would give the reader a unique insight into the life of Amelle Marie. This constructed a vigilant awareness within my target market which made them want to know exactly what this interview uncovered. It persuaded them to want to know more about this “amazing” person and what Bubble Pop had to offer on this celebrity. The exaggerated passage play up the contents of the interview to be more than it equates to and in some places is equivocal. This is exactly what attracts my gossip seeking market who will feel that there is no other choice but to read the exclusive interview to uncover the truth about the celebrity. This introduction passage would overwhelm them, causing an impulse which lead to them having to read on.

Extracts and Quotes I once more used quotations and extracts of the interview in order to persuade my target market to read the interview. When quotations are used which were misleading and suggestive it triggers an impulse within the reader that they must find out what was meant by this quote. The extracts that were used was the vital and most important part of the interview. This gives off the assumption that the entire interview is as interesting and exclusively unknown as the quotes are suggesting. They set a theme for the entire interview and this allows them become a significant feature for the magazine and it becomes imperative that they are used to encourage readers.

Slide 06- How does your magazine attract your audience?

When creating my magazine, I was very much aware of my target market and I was careful that every detail I included to the overall media product justified the wants and needs of my specific audience. As my target market were young 8-12 year old girls, this was my primary focal point for concentration when producing the magazine.


Celebrity Images Using celebrity images was a very valuable method of attracting the audience. I have previously mentioned how my target market could be considered as fame seekers and that they are very much interested in celebrity gossip. The images I will use for this will be a very constructive way of initially attracting my target market. My market group would be very interested in seeing celebrity images as this indicated that there is a story inside the magazine about them. This relates back to the inducement of “celebrity gossip” which my young audience find so appealing. The extensity of a young girl’s passion to feel superior and “in the know” is what my magazine will play off of. I will give off the sense that if you buy this magazine you are finding out exclusive secrets about their favourite stars. This is where celebrity images play a big part of attracting my audience. The images instantly imply a story and this story will indicate the elite opportunity to find out something abstract and one off. The images of celebrities are what primarily draw you to the magazine and this is what captures the audience. The images are often suggestive and this also implies what is entailed in the magazine. Images are also usually very prominent and unequivocal and stand out on shelves. The images were what I felt would immediately attract and draw the audience to. This is why this was a very common feature of my front cover. My target market are young, and so I feel to overwhelm them with text would be futile, they are known for their short attention span and so vast amounts of text would not attract their attention. It would be above their abilities and would not have the interesting and fun factor which I prided my magazine on. My target market would not be interested in reading extensively; images are what capture their attention and this is why I featured many “celebrity” images on my cover. However as photography had to be taken by me, the people featured are not actually celebrities.
Exclusives Using exclusives also played on the “secretive” and “one off” factor. It intensified the feeling that the reader was being let into something special that only they would know and created an irresistible impact on them. I wrote the word “exclusive” across the middle page so as to pull the target market to the magazine. This inducement allows tem to feel special and claim the superiority that all young girls seek in life. They are being put on a pedestal and it allows them to feel as though they have been chosen to find out this enigmatic information which is exclusively for them. It creates an illusion that they have been selected and they will find out something unknown if they buy this magazine. It makes the idea of buying the magazine irresistible and this concludes in sales. My target market would be attracted to the idea of an “exclusive” as they are stereotypically interested in fame. It would allow them to feel closer to the celebrity they are reading about and in term allow them to develop a personal relationship with this character. This evolves from the idea that young girls share secrets as a way of bonding and building relationships with a person you trust. To say that you have an exclusive with a celebrity allows the reader to connect with the star and feel as though they are building this relationship. This is another very useful way which I used to attract my audience.
Competitions Another way of attracting my audience was to offer competitions which allowed them to get involved with the magazine and feel as though they were part of the establishment. It gratifies the readers needs also as they will feel that there is the opportunity to get something back from the magazine after they have bought it. It will allow them to feel fulfilment from the magazine and will reassure them when questioning the sufficiency of the magazine. As there is the opportunity for them to win something they will would be intrigued and become devoted to these competitions. It will also be a fundamental reason for the readers to adhere to buying the magazine and this will keep the consistency of sales within my market sector. Seeing a competition on the cover of a magazine that interests a potential buyer may also encourage them to buy the magazine spontaneously. This could influence an impulse buy and this could also consequently grab new regular buyers. If somebody was to buy this magazine on impulse for the competition and found that what they read, they had enjoyed, and proceeded to buy the magazine continuously this would be a competent inducement.
Bright Colours My magazine makes use of bright colours to attract the young mind. Young girls are often associated with the colour pink as it is known as a feministic colour. Therefore I decided to incorporate this colour extensively in my magazine. The bright eye catching colours of blue, pink and yellow which I used throughout to create a dominant house style contrasted against each other to create a magazine which was extremely eye catching. The colours stood out against the white background and this was incredibly conspicuous. The magazines colour scheme was striking and this is how I used colour to attract my audience. Young minds need to be kept active and I felt bright fascinating colours was a good way to keep the attention of my audience. The younger generation are all fun seekers and I feel the colour scheme of my magazine reflected this well, converse to dark vapid colours which suggest the contrary. The “girly” colours which I used were evidently an unequivocal reflection of how we stereotypically view young girls today. When we think of girls, we are immediately associated with the colour pink, as opposed to boys who we associate with a darker shade of blue or green. It has become a tradition and something which we have implemented as a ritual within our society. This is why I used pink as my primary shade to set the theme for my magazine and instantly establish the gender of my target market. I also feel that the colour I used also reflected the genre of music that my magazine represents. Pop music is often associate with females rather than males and this draws us back to the colour differentiation we use to distinguish between genders.
Extracts As you can see extracts from inside the magazine are featured on the cover in order to attract and persuade my audience. This technique was used to give my potential readers a taste of what was inside and allow them to get an idea of what they would find out from buying the magazine. The extract summarises the content of the interview and allows the reader the opportunity to get an idea of what field the magazine places itself within. In order to attract my audience the extracts have to be tempting to them and they also have to be something they would wish to know more on the matter of. On my cover page a quotation states “snubbed by Jemma Sparkles” which falls back to the need for that all important gossip which allows them to feel superior and “in the know”. My target market would feel entirely convinced by the extract which has persuaded them to read the article and would consequently result in that person buying the magazine. Quotes from inside the magazine is a very widely used resource of persuasion and I feel I have incorporated this well in order to appeal to my specific audience. Extracts are used as a preview of what is inside and this sample will have an impact on the reader that they must know more. I believe it is a very good way to attract my audience.

Slide 05 - What is your magazines target audience?

In this slide I have depicted the general characteristics of my target audience. I have concluded that the main elements to focus on were the gender and the age. These being 8-12 year old girls. From this I was able to cultivate a specific target market who I was then able to decide on their individual characteristics which I must consider when making my media product. My job as the creator of this magazine is to cater to the needs and wants of my target market and so I feel I must be able to know my market in explicit detail. I decided upon my target market as I felt pop music is widely aimed at this group. Popular culture is very much known for its attractive singers which are looked at as inspirations to many young girls all over the world. Pop music can also be considered as artificial music, as the songs, backing tracks, tunes, voices etc are all put together to create a specific image. This age group and gender are commonly known as fame seekers and admire pop stars who have become inspirational in their lives. I have used this knowledge in magazine as I have created a very celebrity based magazine. Gossip is another thing which is associated with my market and so I have played on these ideas to consolidate both aspects to create a magazine which any 8-12 year old girl could not resist. My music genre is what sets the theme of my magazine and so to target the audience of this music I must be conducive in following the same methodology used by the genre to attract my target market. My are also those who like pop music and so just by portraying this on the cover I will be representing the morality of pop.

Slide 04 - What Kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Above, you can see the two media institutions which my media product could be distributed with. These are Bauer and IPC Media. Bauer is a very well established business which has grown extensively to have created a monumental distribution basis. IPC on the other hand, whilst still very well established, are a small business with much less magazines distributed under their name. This is the primary benefit if I were to choose Bauer. Their great experience reflects a stability which I need to rely on when distributing my magazine. Also as you can see, Smash Hits is under the name of Bauer. Smash Hits magazine is very similar to mine in terms of genre and target market, and this I feel reflects the competence in how well Bauer are at publishing magazines of this type. This gives me great reassurance and allows me to feel a security with this company. However, having two similar magazines under one media institutions may also be a detriment to my new media product. It may mean that the existing magazine will become extremely competitive in terms of sales take over. This could cause problems within the sales of my magazine and could cause me to renovate my magazine. This issue does not compensate for the experience in which Bauer withhold.

IPC also hold their own advantages which I have looked into, these being their ability to invest time into my magazine. This is a preference that I require for my magazine to succeed. IPC Media are a smaller yet still very much stable company and therefore have the time to spend on distributing my media product to an exceeding standard. This ability is what I found the most encouraging. I am very proud of my media product, and would feel much more comfortable allowing my product to be distributed by a media institution that was more personal and relatable due to their interest in my magazine. I felt that as they did not have many music magazines under their name, and this would be their first of this genre, my magazine would be looked at as an individual and would be thought of more highly than at Bauer.

I have chosen IPC Media as the media institution which would distribute my media product.

Slide 03 - In what ways does my media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

As the existing media products which I studied did not include a contents page as part of their magazine, I have gone straight to comparing my double page spread with one from Top of The Pops (TOTP).

After researching the front cover of real media products I then researched the double page spread to look for inspiration here. I was able to gather the basic structural arrangement which was used to present the double page spread as a reflection of its music genre and also the artist featured. Here are ways which my media product uses and develops forms and conventions of existing media products:
Structure and Layout When comparing my media product to TOTP I noticed that the layout and structure are very similar. Text is minimal and images are prominent, and also both images and text are featured on both pages. I feel this is necessary to keep the attention of a young reader. Each of these aspects caters to the young mind which is known for its short attention span. Images are frequent so as not to overwhelm the reader with vast amounts of text and both are equally spread across the two pages in order to create a lighter outlook rather than deterring the reader by bunching together large amounts of text. The younger generation are taken by images and this is what initially draws them to the article and so I wanted to keep this consistent throughout my magazine.
Main Heading Another similar feature incorporated by both my magazine and TOTP magazine was its use of headings and titles. On my magazine, there is a clear and eye catching title at the top of the page which is also present in TOTP. When researching magazines of my genre, this was a very effective method of grabbing the attention of the audience. I felt it necessary to include this in my media product. I also found that the name of the celebrity featured was in many cases the focalised basis of the heading and so I used this to create the title for the page. My heading also kept a consistent house style which was primarily based on the overall look of the front cover.
Quotes Once more, quotes are commonly used between the two magazines. It is clearly a very regular method of enticing a reading to read the entire interview. When creating my double page spread, I wanted to create the impression that the artist was opening herself up to Bubble Pop and my readers were being given the opportunity to divulge a secret. To implement this in a way which was obvious at first sight, I used thought bubbles to symbolize this idea. It also gave a view of the reader getting inside the mind of the artist. This was also used by my opposing magazine and this proves this method to be beneficial.

There were also ways in which I felt my media product would do well by challenging these forms and conventions. When researching other magazines I felt there were specific aspects which I believe my magazine either could disregard, or improve upon to create a better finished product. Here are ways which my media product challenges forms and conventions of existing media products:
Content I went in a very different direction in terms of content of the interview. My interview was highly based on learning about the artist and uncovering secrets of their life, whereas the interview features in TOTP was primarily based on giving advice to its readers. I thought this was a nice idea, however I did not see it as “exclusive interview” material. To reach the standard I was hoping for, I wanted to dramatise the interview by slightly misleading the reader with exaggerations to create an impact on the reader. This methodology was used to make the reader want to read the interview.
Introduction Unlike TOTP, my magazine included an introduction. I felt this was a very useful method of drawing the reader in. It was a persuasive passage which worked toward enticing the reader to read the rest of the interview. It was used to convince them that what they were about to read was exclusive and very interesting and created and idea that this interview was a “must read.” This was not present in TOTP.

Slide 02 - In what ways does my media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Before creating my media product, I took part in extensive research in order to develop an understand of how to create my media product in a way which would suffice the needs of my target market. I looked at magazine of a similar genre and target market as inspiration. This allowed me to divulge the secrets of how to capture my audience and present and constract my magazine. A lot of my ideas were orginally spiraled from what I had found from existing magazine structures.
Here are the ways in which my media product uses forms and conventions of real media products:
Main Story Heading On both magazine covers you can see that the main heading has become the focal point for the magazine to pinpoint its enthusiasm. For my media product, I wanted to create a very busy style, however I felt it necessary to have a central point which grabs your attention and claims the magazine. Top of The Pops (TOTP) magazine is a well established magazine publication which has a similar genre and target market to mine. TOTP magazine has also used this as an inducement to attract audience. On both magazines it is clear, noticeable and eye catching and I feel this is a necessary element to include on any front cover. I chose to do this as I feel that my specific target market of a younger audience would be attracted by this and would feel drawn in by its impact.
Real life Stories For a music magazine this may seem rare; however as you can see both my magazine and TOTP magazine have included this as a prominent feature on the cover. This type of magazine is primarily based on celebrities and fame plays a big part in selling the magazine nevertheless, including real life stories allows the magazine to seem diverse and less specific. Although the magazine is still very much musically based, it still possesses aspects of other relevant issues. It also allows the reader to relate to the magazine.
Captions/Extracts/Quotes My media product and TOTP have used these three conventions as beneficial characteristics in order persuade and encourage the target market to buy the magazine. It allows the magazine to sell what is inside by exposing snippets of what you will find. It creates an illusion of divulging a secret. One which I and TOTP did this was to use speech bubbles. It gave a clear indication of who was saying it and this allowed the message to be sent out clearly. This was necessary as my magazine was structured with a very busy/messy style and so elements and features needed to be shown as clearly as possible.
Busy Style This was another feature which was present on both magazines. I felt this was necessary for my target market. In order to gratify them, I felt my magazine cover needed to represent a magazine which was packed with gossip. I also felt this all tied in very well with my genre. Pop music is generally known as fast paced and upbeat. I wanted my magazine to portray this so as to reflect popular music culture.
Colour Bright colours are featured on both magazines. It allows the magazine to reflect its genre by exposing its fun, lively and upbeat side. It is important to do this as it is also eye catching and attention grabbing. It makes the magazine stand out and become noticeable.

When carrying out this research, I was also able to discover ways in which I would prefer my media product to differ from existing magazines. Here are some ways in which I feel my magazine differs by challenging the forms and conventions used in real life media products:

Main Images Although my magazine cover does use a main story heading which is accompanied by an image, I do not feel my magazine has quite used this to the magnitude that TOTP have. As you can see on the cover of TOTP the main image is almost the only element which you notice when looking at the magazine and I felt this was just too overpowering and did not weigh up with what the magazine was styling itself as. The rest of the cover looks very busy and images are small and I felt there was no real balance. This is why, for my product I decided to size the image at a standard measurement which allowed the reader to associate it with the main story heading but also allowed them to notice the other features of the magazine. I felt this reached a wider audience as my product offered something for everyone within my target market, with its eclectic variety a mixture of stories.

Slide 01- Introduction

This is my finished media product. It was created using Photoshop Adobe and only original photography, with pictures that I took myself. My magazine genre was pop music and was aimed at 8-12 year olds. My magazine presented itself as a fun, lively and simple magazine which catered to my target markets music needs.

Bubble Pop Magazine Mock Ups

Analysis of Top of the Pops Magazine Front Cover

Top of the Pops is a music magazine whose genre is pop. I have analysed a front cover for this magazine and looked at their use of inducements and convention to attract and appeal to their target audience. Colour is the primary key for setting the theme for the magazine as its consistency is what we first notice and familiarise to. The bright blues, pinks and yellows which are used are the three colours which make the magazine. Stereotypically we would associate these colours with a younger girl and this is what leads us to the assumption that this magazine is aimed at a younger generation and mostly females. Aside from the colours used to instantly attract your eye, the magazine uses celebrity endorsement to exert a pull on possible buyers. The celebrities are those such as The High School Musical cast and Leona Lewis and this supports the assumption I previously made about the target audience for this magazine being young girls. This evidence could possibly link the audience to a specific age group of 8-14 year olds judging on stereotypes. Images of celebrities are the focal point of this magazine, however, I have also noticed that there is a real life story on the cover which may allow the audience to relate to the magazine more and feel themselves getting involved. It balances the magazine and gives it a more neutral outlook.

The headings used are very catchy and cheesy. They aim to attract the reader and leave them guessing, and in turn, buying the magazine to find out what the story is about. This leads me to believe that this weekly magazine is bought on impulse, rather than through subscription. The attention seeking front cover mainly aims to sell the product to the reader and catch their eye.

The cover is used as the basis of what’s inside the magazine; it is almost a contents page in itself as it has page numbers on the cover next to the article. It makes further entices you into the magazine and makes you want to open up and read it.

I also noticed that the magazine’s cover stories are quite diverse. Although they familiarise in their typicality, they all have a different message. From style tips, exclusive stories and celebrity makeovers, the magazine tries to offer as much to the audience as possible. It is also a way to reach a wider range within their target market sector.

The front cover is extremely busy, and I believe this is also because the magazine is trying to reach as many people as possible. As this magazine is generally bought on impulse, they aim to firstly, grab your attention using colour and celebrity images, and then entice you to the magazine with their misleading headlines which eventually leads you to buying the magazine. The business of the magazine caters to all markets as there is something present on the cover which would appeal to most young girls.

The lack of simplicity in the magazine possibly reflects the busy lives and enthusiasm of young people and this is why it appeals to them on the level that it does. In conclusion, I would state that the magazine uses images, words and colours as the three main inducements when selling this magazine to its audience.

Final Magazine Peice

MixMag PowerPoint Presentation

Audience Profile of MixMag

The magazine MixMag is a dance genre magazine. Its name is a play on the word “remix.” This instantly establishes the music magazines genre and captivates the audience. We associate the word remix with dance and clubbing, and this further identifies the audience for the magazine.

We stereotypically often link clubbing and the younger generation. Clubbing is a relatively new establishment which is often primarily manipulated by a younger generation of 18-30’s. This age group are often recognised for their specified club orientated holidays and this is why this magazine targets this age group.

To go clubbing is a very social outing, which attracts both men and women. We would usually think that it is a place for men and women to meet. This means that this attracts both men and women to going out. Therefore we would assume the magazine is aimed at both genders. It is not specified to a certain sex as the music they represent symbolizes the interests of men and women of a certain age group.

Going out and going clubbing are usually associated with the weekend. The magazine itself offers a VIP trip for a weekend break. This would lead us to the assumption that the audience for this magazine are workers with the weekend being their only free time. We would assume that the targeted market are Monday-Friday, 9-5 workers with stable jobs. This is backed up by the price of the magazine. It is not overly cheap at £4.20. This suggests that the audience have money to spare and are not under money issues. We would gather this information from their lifestyle. If they are going out clubbing, they must have some money to spend.

The interests of this audience, I would assume are purely selfish. We can assume this information from the type of lifestyle expected from this target market. We know that they are frequent clubbers, aged 18-30, they are likely to travel to places such as Ibiza and Magaluf, places where 18-30’s holidays are very widely held. We also can presume that they are workers, earning money for them and spending it at weekends on themselves. This all leads us to believe that this audience to not have any responsibilities and are only submitted to taking care and looking after themselves. They would be classified as a lively, fun and careless market who stereotypically we would expect to be without children and not married. The magazine does not reflect a family vibe as it promotes quite the opposite. It is aimed at single people who have the ability to live freely without having anything to tie them down. Clubbing is widely associated with drinking clubs always contain a bar. This brings us to the assumption that they are heavy drinkers, or some might say “binge drinkers” which is a person who drinks heavily frequently but not on a regular basis e.g. at the weekends.







The audience are targeted in many ways through this magazine. MixMag manipulates its audience by offering escapism and personal relations in different formations. The magazine classifies its genre and specifies its brand without limitations. The magazine is highly associated with its genre and establishes itself through its medium. It advertises and attracts a precise audience which I have established previously. The content and expectations of the magazine are highly portrayed through the cover. The lively audience audience of this magazine are greeted with bright colours and party images to instantly attract the target market in a way which allows them to familiarise themselves with the magazine. The magazine portrays the lifestyles of its audience through the use of language and images.

An aspect which is fundamentally expected to accompany the magazine is a CD which is offered every month to readers. It has become a signified attribute to the magazine which has become one of its highest selling points. The CD produced by the magazine reflects highly the music interests of its readers. This has become an imperative enducement which is greatly recegnised with the magazine.

The magazine, unlike other music magazines does not rely heavily on celebrity interviews in order to attract their audience. While this is a key function used by the magazine, it is not a dominate feature which is present continuously throughout the magazine. Instead, MixMag prefer to review an analyse previous events and inform of the upcoming events. This notifies readers and keeps them up to date with any missed experience. The magazine prides itself on its knowledge of the things that interest its audience and this is portrayed throughout.

Photoshop Tutorial

Back in January when we first begun this task, we were given a tutorial lesson on how to use Photoshop effectively. For some students in the class this was the first time they had ever used Photoshop, however as I took Media Studies as a GCSE, I had some understaning of how the software worked.

In this lesson Mark, the schools ICT technicion went talked us through the basics of Photoshop. We were given a sample photo of chocolate and was then directed through the many aspects of Photoshop in developing this photograph. We were firstly told about layers and the reasoning for them. We then went on to the editing. Mark explained the different kinds of things we could do with Photoshop Elements and then taught us how to put this method into practice.

Some of the things we learnt about included; feathering, layering, resizing, spot healing brush, lasso tool, cookie cutter tool, filtering, modifying and enhancing. We were given an hour to use as many of these different elements as possible on our chocolate image.

School magazine & Evaluation

I was given the task of creating the front cover and contents page of a school magazine. Before designing this I took a look back over the previous years work for inspiration and as a way of gaining a better understanding of what was expected of this task. I was limited to using original photography only. After taking the pictures I then set up a plan which I could work from when it came to creating the magazine. To edit and prepare the cover and contents page, I used Photoshop Elements. I had previously been given a tutorial lesson in this software and so I had a basic understanding of how to cooporate with the software to benefit the presentation of my design.

Here is my finished work:

I wanted to use images which showed the school and its students. To make this appealing I wanted to capture the audience by using fun, interesting images on the cover which would hint at what was to be found inside the magazine. I felt the purpose of the cover is to persuade and inform, it aims to get the reade to pick up the magazine and to see what is inside. I felt that the contents page would not need to come accross so persuasive as I would have already captured the attention of the reader. I decided to use one main image of the school for this to keep the magazine simple and not overloaded ith images. The connotation of this main image of the school suggests pride enthusiasm for the school as it is shown big and bold. It reflects its importance.

The text was kept the same. The main titles and masthead were the same font, size and colour and other text such as caption and headings were also kept to the same font, size and colour. I chose to keep this consistancy to reflect organisation and to keep the magazine looking orderly. I used the school's signature maroon colouring for the text as I wanted to keep the magazine consistent in representing the school. I used text to link the magazine to what we already associate with our school. The font for the masthead and the page titles waas the same font that St. Marks use in the logo and on the school prospectus. this linked the magazine wit our preconceptions of St. Marks.

The logo was used on both pages to create a certain house style to the magazine. I used the original school logo to keep the regularity within the magazine. I feelthis also reflects a sense of pride within the school. To show the logo shows patriotism and loyaly for your school.

I felt the strangths of the magazine was its tidyness. I felt the magazine looked organised and not to overcrowded. I also like the science image as I felt this really showed an enjoyable side to learning and expressed gratification. I felt the weaknesses came with the lack of time I had to complete this tak. Due to commitments with the school dance production I was unfortunately left wth less time to complete this task. This meant that elements of my magazine had to be rushed.

If I was to redo this task now I would leave myself more time to complete this task. During this time I would concentrate on improving the layout so that I could fit more images on the front page without overcrowding it. I felt this was the main aspect which needed improvement as it appeared a little lacklustre.

From this preliminary task I have gained a better understanding in using Photoshop Elements. This experience has taught me how to use words and images effectively n creating an appealing magazine and I hope this will be useful when creating my music magazine in the future.

Analysis of NME and Kerrang! magazine

The two magazines; NME and Kerrang, both familiarise in their represented genre. However they both have a very different approach at targetting there market. NME classify themselves as a laid back and unpretentious magazine which differentiates from the impression we recieve from the front cover of Kerrang. Kerrang present a very busy/messy style which reflects the stereotypical unoraginsated lifestyle which we would expect of their target market.



I first looked at the cover of NME. I felt that their colour scheming and the consistency in their layout was very eyecatching and consumer grabbing. The red and the black contrast made every element of the magazine prominent. The artist featured on the front cover had noticably green eyes which stood out in comparison with the conistet red and black and captured your attention. NME placed the cover stories on the left hand side which I believe to have been another eyecatchiong effect, as naturally we all tend to notice things on the left hand side more efficiently. I felt the cover for this magazine reflected its genre well with use of image. The artist looked very serious and careless. I feel this impacts the confident message which NME represent themselves to be. NME are known to be a ruthless magazine who are unconcerned with the viewpoints of critics and those who do not wish to read the magazine. I felt this message was reflected well through the image.

I liked the cover of NME and felt that they expressed there genre well through th front page. However I was then asked to further analyse the contents of the magazine and I was disappointed. I felt that the inside of the magazine did not cooporate well with the cover. They seemed to be representing two very different music genres and I found this to be confusing. The cover showed a confiednt careless genre with its tidyness and consitent style, however the inside reflected a wreckless mess with no consistency or composure. I did not feel that two went well together. The inside however did offer the stories promised on the front page and I did like the fact that these articles were very detailed and effective. The inside o the magazine consisted of a lot of text on some articles and lot of images on others. I felt that this off balance technique replicated its ruthlessness.

My innitial impressions of Kerrang! primarily from their front cover were very different. I saw the same uncaring aspects I did prviously in NME, however it was approached in a more obvious manner. The cover was messy as text and images overlapped, sizes and styles of text differed and the colour scheme was not consistent. My original perception of Kerrang! magazine has since changed after my analysis of the front cover. I stereotypically assumed that harsh, dark colours would set the theme of the magazine. Nevertheless, bright blue's and pinks were used throughout the cover to pinpoint certain areas of the page and draw your attention to them. I felt that this colour scheming was so unexpected that it was used to represent the rebellious side of the magazine as they did not stick to the stereotype and followed there own rules. The images for this cover were all very posed for and had been designed for this specific magazine. The scruffy clothes tied in well with the genr and representation of the mgazine.

I found the contents of Kerrang! magazine to be more suited to its genre than I found with NME magazine. Kerrang! kept a consistent style thorughout the magazine which familiarised with the front cover. Images and text were used more equally and therefore there was more of a balance between the two, which set more of a neutral tone.

Newsman & QUAD front cover analysis

Today in class we looked at two university magazine front covers and analysed them. We looked at their colour scheme, editing, use of image, use of word, placement of items and the overall look of the cover. Myself and the rest of the class were not impressed with either magazine and found more criticism than appraisal for both magazine covers.

Both magazines had a very different approach. Newman magazine put forward a very childlike outlook for their cover, using images of young children, childrens toys and even included a story on the effects of video games on young people. I did not like this approach. I found that the message of the magazine and its audience greatly contrasted. The magazine cover confused me as I found that a lot of the images used were extremely irrelevent or unexplained. An image of a money box in the sky was used which entirely contridicted our stereotypical view of a mature, sensible university magazine. However, the magazine did include some positives as it reflected an understanding of editing. You could see that the producer of this cover was well aware of how to edit images and text. I also thought that the masthead stood out well and this benefitted the magazine cover positively. The coverlines used were also a good method of persuading the audience as they were detailed and there was quite a few shown. However they did fade into the background with their dark colouring, which although it was consistent with the rest of the magazine, did still not grab the attention of a potential buyer. The entire front cover used a very dull and dark colour scheme which did not live up to its childlike content.

The QUAD magazine cover, for me was an improvement on the previous. I found it to look more proffessional with its colour scheming and its more fitting use of images. However I was not impressed with this cover as I felt the lack of editing was its downfall. The cover resembled a group of pictures more than it did a magazine cover. Though some images were more suitable for the audience of this magazine, others were just as confusing. The images needed to be explained with captions. I was disappointed that there was not one main image to this magazine cover and this made it hard to distinguish the genre of the magazine. Instead, a group of images were placed on the cover in blocks. This made the cover look very square and it did not flow smoothly. I found the masthead to be very well presented and I thought that it contrasted well against the white background. However, this would have been a good place to use a logo, as this is a promotional method. However they did not do this and only used the logo once, at the bottom of the page.

In conclusion I found the QUAD magazine cover to be presented better and to fit its genre in a more suitable way. I think this is due to its ability to target its audience with a use of images and a look of proffessionalism. I found the Newman magazine to be to immature and the design was too messy to understand its concept, as sometimes, less is more.

Preliminary Task - Introduction

Today we were introduced to our preliminary task. We were told that we were to design the front cover and the contents page for a school magazine. We looked in detail at the areas we will need to study before we start. We discussed target audience, images, languages, contents, attracting the audience and logo's and linked each sector to what would be suitable for a school prospectus.

We then covered "using the image," "the power of words" and "words and picture," learning how we could effectively use them to benefit and improve our work.

After this we were shown examples of the previous years' work. The class conferred their thoughts on the style, images and the overall look of the magazine cover. This gave us an insight into what we were expected to achieve from our school prospectus and allowed us to review and plan with a better understanding of our task.

We were then set the task of venturing around the school and finding images which we thought would be suitable for the cover and contents page of a school magazine. After analysing the previous years work, it was clear that the images used played a major part in targeting and appealing to its particular audience. The representation of the school and therefore the magazine is justified by the images shown.

I decided that I would take photogrpahs that would showcase the schools beneficial appliances and attributes. I thought this would be a good way of showing the readers the advantages the school has to offer. I also wanted images of the students to be shown consistently in my magazine. I felt this would appeal to the audience as well as giving the students the opportunity to get involved with the project.

To distinguish the St. Marks brand I want to use the the logo and colour scheme which the school has become to familiarise itself with. The main colour I will apply will be the maroon which is common among the logo and our school's prospectus. This will immediately clarify what the magazine is about as it will be easily recognisable.

I will diversify the camera angles and lighting effects used for the images so that each image is different and therefore more prominent and contrastable against eachother. I hope that this will allow the magazine to appear more interesting and eye catching.

The main title will be big, bold and bright so that it can stand out and grab the attention of the reader. I will place the title at the top of the page so that it is clear and obvious. Other text on the page will be placed as captions to explain the mening behind the photographs. This text will also be explaining the content of the magazine and what is to be expected inside. The text will also be maroon athis will combine the overall look of the cover page.

The aim over the cover is to persuade and inform. I hope to achieve this by actively amalgamating the use of images and the use of words equally so as to not overcrowd the cover and to also keep a balance between the two aspects.

The aim of the contents page is primarily to inform the reader, however it still needs to include aspects of persuasion and so I will hope to accomplish this by including catchy headlines and images.

I have drawn up a plan of what I hope the finished product will look like. This will give me an idea of how to lay out and design my magazine cover and contents page. This also gave me the chance to go through trial and error designs and come up the one which I felt most suitable.

Here are my plans:

The Nature Magazine And NAture Magazine Audiece Profile

Previously in the week we were given a lesson in which we were told all the basics for using PhotoShop. We were then given a camera and was told to go out and take a picture which we thought would be suitable for a front cover of a Nature magazine. We were given a sample front cover of National Geographic for inspiration before we went out to take the pictures. I decided to go down to the nearest pond and woodland area, and after taking around eight pictures I was happy that I found a suitable picture which I could then use as my front cover. I eliminated the photographs which I was no longer happy with and was left with one which I was satisfied that I could work on and improve to make a good front cover out of.

Here is the picture I chose:

We were then given the opportunity of taking what we had learnt from our Photoshop lesson and putting it to use by editing our chosen photograph. After assessing this image I noticed that the colours were dull and the shadows in the water from the trees and the ripples would look more intense if the were highlighted. I thought that enhancing the contrast would accomplish this. I also adjusted the saturation to make the shadows appear darker, which further differentiated them from the rest of the water.

Once I felt that I had completed creating an impact on the shadows, I felt that colours needed to be brightened so that they stood out more. I Equalized the image which made all of the colours appear more prominent. I then noticed that the colours looked a it harsh, so I searched for a tool which I felt would give the image a glow. I found a tool in Photo Filter which was called "warming filter" I added this to my photo and the image had a pinky/red glow to it.

When choosing the text colour and font for my magazine cover I thought back example of National Geographic which we had been shown. Big bold font was used and I chose to replicate this. I thought a dark green colour for the font would fit well with the magazines woodland feel. The title was Verdana 60pt and was bold, the rest of the text was exactly the same, however was 30pt in size.

This is my finished product:

Audience Profile

When designing this magazine I had a clear audience profile in mind who became the focal factor in the decisions I made when creating the magazine cover. I referred to stereotypes when deciding on the traget market of the magazine. From this I came to assume that the audience for this magazine would be for older people rather than the youth of today, as stereotypically we know that nature and exploration is something generally linked to people aged 40 and over. This will become the basic age group I will aim my magazine at.

Basing my knowledge of stereotypes, I would also assume that a lot of my older audience would be retired. It is a common hobby for retirees to become interested in gardening and nature walks. This is why I believe that I must cater to this audience with articles, stories and images which would attract this audience type. The retired are also known to have a lot of time on their hands. They are often left feeling less complacent as their once busy lives have now become emptier, with a lot of free time. This is where other hobbies come in, and this is why my magazine will succeed.

My target market who will buy my magazine will expect specific aspects to be included. They will expect a magzine which caters itself to nature including advice and ideas. The magazine will offer guidance to gardening.

My front cover uses a very beautiful image of a lake which has been edited to bring out all different colours and contrast them against eachother to create a very pretty but life like image. This will attract my target market as it will reflect the inside of the magazine. My audience will be attracted to this as they are looking for a magazine which fulfills their needs. The front cover is very simplistic and this reflects the relaxed atmosphere I tried to create to be conducive to nature and the outdoors. This will also attract my target market as this will become familiar to them. People who enjoy nature, often enjoy the "peace and quiet" element which comes with it. This is the look I wanted to portray in my magazine so as to grab the intended audience.