Feedback

For feedback, I asked a large group of my friends, as they were part of the target audience, and this is the feedback I got.

The positives:
- The colour scheme fitted in well with the type of the magazine, it wasn't dark or depressing
- The style of the articles is a lot like you find in real magazines, with the chatty light hearted way that they're written.
- The photos are good, and look conventional of magazines in the genre.

The negatives:
- The right page of the double page spread with the instrument reviews is quite bare, and there is a lot of space.
- The front cover is quite cluttered.

I think this feedback would help a lot if I had to make another magazine in the future. The articles and photos were fairly good, but I would need to work on the design of the actual magazine itself, making it look more professional.

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

I think I have learnt how to use Microsoft Publisher to a higher standard, as with the preliminary magazine I had not really used it before, but this time got a lot of time to play around with it. In the prelim it did not look as professional and also the front cover had a lot of green space on it, while now it is more filled up with various cover lines and pictures. Also I think I learned about the conventions of magazines a lot more, helping to create a more professional look than I did with the prelim.

My photography skills have improved, as this time I knew what would make better pictures for a magazine than first time round, when I was not really sure. Also, I think a major improvement has been how to edit photos. I now know how to crop photos down to size a lot better, and also resize pictures while keeping the same aspect ratio so they do not appear distorted. I learned how to use Photoshop to a reasonable standard, having to cut the background out on some pictures and soften the edges, and I have learned how to use the Macs to a good standard, as before I created my magazine front cover entirely on Publisher. This time I was able to use Neo Office, however there were some problems with this method, and I learned how to transfer the document from the Macs to the PC.

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

Constructing the product forced me to use a lot of new technologies, most of which I had not anticipated I would need to use at all. I started making the front cover on publisher, which took a bit of getting used to as I had not used it in a while but I got the hang of it fairly quickly. My main problems were editing the sizes of pictures while keeping the same aspect ratio, and also ordering the pictures so the text covered them, instead of them covering the text.

For the contents page and double page spread I used Neo Office on the Macs. The Macs took a lot of getting used to as I had never used them before, and did not even know how to turn them on at first! But I slowly got better at using Neo Office and can now use it to a reasonable level, editing and creating my contents page entirely on there. However I needed a background as there was too much white so had to transfer the double page spread to Microsoft Publisher which I had not expected, and was quite challenging to take it apart and then reassemble it, especially as I had left it quite late to try and add a background so did not have much time. However once it was in Publisher and I had put everything back in the original layout, I was able to add a background to the pages.

I also learned how to use the digital cameras better. I had brought my own digital camera in originally but as we shot most of our photos in the drama studio it did not work as well so I needed the stills cameras to be able to adjust the settings properly so it could adapt to the dark environment. As well as this I learnt how to transfer files from the camera to the computers.

On top of all this, I learned a lot about editing photos, becoming a lot better at resizing pictures so they kept the same aspect ratio instead of blurring when they were made bigger or smaller EG I had to do this with the main cover image so it fit the page properly, cropping pictures down which then not only made them look more professional, but made it easier to resize them, and using the blur and lasoo tools on Photoshop.

Finally I used a font site to download a font called ‘Badaboom BB’ to the Mac which I then used on my contents page, and I had not known how to do this before.

How did you attract/address your audience?

To attract my audience I opted for a house style that would look quite conventional of music magazines, even though they are different for each magazine there are still some things you often see such as bold headings, snappy cover lines etc, as this keeps it looking professional and would draw readers of that type of magazine in. Straight away on the front cover I have a picture of an artist holding a guitar, which would help to attract the audience as they would immediately know what type of magazine it was, and would maybe be able to tell from the main cover image and cover lines alone whether it would appeal to them. The cover lines were short and snappy, and let the reader know roughly what was going to be inside, without telling them too much. Also there was a competition advertised on the front with a prize that fans of the magazine would really enjoy, so a large amount of people could buy the magazine just for a chance at winning the prize. I also had a lot of big, bold fonts which would appeal to the younger readers instead of if it all looked too adult, which may put teenagers off if they think the magazine is going to be quite formal and maybe too complicated for them to understand or enjoy.

My original plan was to have the fonts on the cover lines bolder than they turned out to be, but I thought the magazine looked too heavy-metal and did not work as well with bolder fonts as it did with the ones I settled on. I also had planned to use 1 font for the cover lines and other text on the front cover, but realised it was unconventional and did not work as well so ended up using several. I also kept to a house style of mainly green, red and blue to attract the audience, as I found using too many colours made it look more like a pop magazine than an alternative rock one, which could put off the target audience as soon as they see the front cover.

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

A massive publishing company based in Germany is Bauer Media, whose worldwide circulation of magazine titles amount to about 38 million magazines a week. It publishes 3 of the biggest music magazines in the UK - Q , Mojo and Kerrang, and would be a good publishing company for Beat Blast as these magazines are fairly similar to it, and Bauer have cornered the market on British music magazines. However there is a chance that they would not publish it if they would see it as competition, if the magazines were seen as too similar.

It would most likely be stocked in the usual spots for music magazines, which can include kiosks/newsagents, corner shops, garages and supermarkets. It would most likely be found alongside magazines such as Mojo, Rolling Stone and other magazines that focus primarily on rock music. It is versatile in a sense that it can be stocked in a wide variety of places, due to the fact that it is not specific to one specific subgenre, and also not inappropriate for places like supermarkets and corner shops where there might be children around.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

I think the main target audience for my product would be teenagers above the age of about 14, and young adults maybe up to the age of 30. I think the target audience for my magazine would be considerably wider than some as it is not restricted to a certain subgenre. As it is only monthly I think this also widens the market as most people can afford £3.00 a month for the magazine.
I think the audience would be both male and female, as even though in the magazine males may be represented more it doesn’t change how either gender feels about the music itself. They would most likely be on the whole rock fans who want to keep up to date with the genre of the music that they love, or perhaps rock fans that are just looking for new bands similar to the ones they already listen to, or even people who have seen an instrument they like and want to find out what it is. I also believe the despite the age range of the target audience, it could still be appealing (although less so) to people older than that who just wish to find some new bands to listen to so might pick it up off of the shelf just for that reason. Also people may see artists they like using an instrument which they want to find out more about and buy the magazine for that reason to see if it’s in the review page, however it is unlikely that people who are not readers of the magazine would know to look there.

I think on the whole the audience would be people who do not take themselves or any genre too seriously, and who just want to read a fun magazine and find out about some good bands from a variety of genres, though with a general focus on alternative rock. Also a big target audience could be people who actually play instruments themselves, or admire the musicians in this magazine who do and have real talent, as opposed to the ‘manufactured pop’ that usually makes the mainstream. The fonts accommodate to the ‘fun’ nature of the reader, and the various reviews would help to draw in readers who are looking for new bands to listen to or gigs to attend.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The main social group that has been represented in my magazine I would say is teenagers, which is mainly the target audience itself. Unlike some magazines where there it is strongly aimed at one specific subgenre, my magazine is aimed loosely at alternative rock but also is an easy-to-read magazine for music fans in general to a certain extent - different types of rock and pop fans could enjoy it, but it is unlikely fans of rap music would buy it - , and is not completely restricted to one set genre. I think the kind’ve teenagers that would mostly be represented in my magazine is people who do not take themselves too seriously, and are not hardcore fans of any specific type of music. There is something for everyone and the instrument review page varies from keyboards to drums to guitars, so pop fans would enjoy the magazine also.
I also think the fonts used has been a large factor in representation of the target audience, for example one font that I have used called ‘Badaboom BB’ is informal and in a way quite childish. I think this helps to represent the light-hearted type of people who read the magazine, as they would probably appreciate something that is big and fun and easy to read than something that maybe doesn’t look as good but fits the genre.

The magazine is £3.00, however it is only monthly, so I think it could be bought by a massive amount of kids, as there will only be a few who cannot afford £3.00 each month. I do not think it represents any particular ethnicity, as the artists featured would not have to be from any particular place. The artists shown in the magazine also represents the reader who might buy it, as they all share the same interests in that type of music, and also are all fairly young. The imagine that is being promoted of them is young and talented, and also relaxed and fun, with a love for music.
However, I do think my magazine represents males more than females, as the majority of artists in the alternative rock genre are male, but of course this is not always true and my magazine only loosely targets one genre, so females could still be represented.

I tried to represent teenagers in a way they could closely relate to, and that was partly the inspiration for the instrument review page - it allows them to closely relate to the artists featured in the magazine. Also the clothing the artists are seen wearing is fairly simple and similar to what teenagers would wear - hoodies, jeans etc.
Finally I am representing the musicians themselves, by their attitudes in the interviews, and also by the clothes they are seen wearing which the target audience can relate to.

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

In music magazines, there are many conventions that they tend to stick to, in the way of fonts, language, layout etc. For my magazine I stuck to many of the conventions of real music magazines in the market, and one of the most obvious ways I did this is on the front cover. My masthead is fairly bold, but also a small part of it is covered by the artists head, which is conventional of real magazines who are confident in their popularity enough to be able to do this. Also the choice of name for the magazine itself, ‘Beat Blast’, is conventional, in that it is simple like most music magazines, and also is in a way descriptive, for example the magazine ‘Kerrang’ is called that because of the noise a guitar makes, and Beat Blast refers to beats of a song.
The front cover is dominated mostly by the main cover image of the featured artist ‘Ryan Salt’, which is at a normal angle and is a medium close up, and there is a cover line to go with it, the largest on the page. At first the cover line was lower down near his jacket, but it was slightly difficult to tell whether the cover line went with the main picture or not, so I moved it up instead. Also there are things like the date, issue number and price in small print near the top which can be seen on a lot of magazines, as well as a slogan/tagline just below the masthead.
I have also used language that is conventional of real music magazines, as the articles are not too serious and formal like a newspaper, but more relaxed to make the reader feel like this is a casual magazine, and a fun magazine.
Finally, there is a group of cover lines of what else is included in the magazine, which is often seen on magazine covers. The language used in the cover lines is short and snappy, drawing the reader in but at the same time not giving too much away.

On the double page spread, the interview page reflects conventions of real magazines in many ways. There is a small introduction before the interview, talking about the interviewee, and one detail I noticed and included is that the very first letter of magazine articles is usually a lot bigger than the rest, so I also did this. Also, I set the interview out in regular columns, and used a size 10 font, as size 12 font looks too big when printed and unconventional of a magazine. The interview itself is conventional as it has a chatty style, and is not a formal interview, with some jokes between the interviewer and interviewee. It also had a focus on the favourite instrument of the artist I was interviewing, and on the opposite page their was a review of instruments that had been seen lately.

Finally the contents page I decided to split down into different sections instead of just listing the pages one after another. The sections were ‘news’, ‘reviews’ and ‘interviews’ and within these sections the pages were listed, which I found reflected conventions of real magazines after looking through them.

On the whole I think I was fairly successful in replicating usual conventions of magazines, and I found that as I moved various things around and resized them so they were more conventional, the magazine itself looked more professional.

Adding a background

Today I had to add a background to the double page spread, so I settled on orange. However I couldn't add a background with Neo Office so instead I removed the photos and then copied it across to Microsoft Publisher, where I reassembled the page and added a background.

Front Cover Editing

I am editing the front cover, changing some of the fonts so they stand out more, also adding an issue number and moving pictures and cover lines around, as before it was unclear with pictures went with which cover lines.

Double Page Spread Editing

Today I changed the sizes of the columns, making them thinner so it looked more like a magazine would. I also got rid of the underline on the headings for each page as it was not conventional of a magazine.

Feedback on Interview

Today I showed my teacher the interview with an artist I had made, hoping to get feedback. I was told my tone is good and normally people have it a bit too formal at first but I didn't, however there were a few spelling mistakes (base guitar instead of bass guitar). Once I have edited the spellings I will upload it onto windows and start on the first draft of my magazine.

Photo-shoot Plan

For the photo shoot I am planning to borrow some instruments off of the teachers in the music block. I am planning to take some photo's in the music block, mainly of instruments for the review page, and am also planning to take some in the drama studio, however it will depend if we are allowed to borrow instruments and the rooms are empty.

Double Page Spread Ideas

For the double page spread I have decided along with the interview of a music artist, I will have a review page of various instruments that artists have been using. This section will include where to buy them, how much they are, etc. Then on the opposite page will be an interview with an artist, mainly focusing on their favourite instrument, the background of it, and a few other questions, which will keep a common theme running throughout.

The Contents Page

Today I have started working on the contents page. However as we are only doing the front cover, double page spread and contents page, I will be making most of it up. I have researched various other magazine contents pages like NME and Mojo.

Interview About Instrument

This feature will go on the double page with the 'Alternative Style' section. It will be an interview with a musician, but instead of a regular interview it will focus mainly on the musicians favourite instrument, when they first got it, how they first got it, how often they use it etc, and a few questions about what they're doing currently. It will be opposite the section on instruments and where to buy them, so it ties in nicely.

Alternative Style

In this feature I look at the instruments popular music artists are using. I tell them about the instrument, where the artists they like have been seen using it, and finally where they can buy it. It will be the double page spread in the magazine, and will include an interview with a famous artist about their favourite instrument, and where they got it, etc.

Contents Page Research

This is the contents page of NME magazine, a music magazine that includes a variety of genres. The content has a layout that may be quite similar to mine, but also is a bit too scruffy for what I want, as I do not like the font used for the contents. I'd like mine to look a little bit cleaner, and a little bit bolder than this one. The picture is quite large which I like, but I think the rest of it is quite jumbled.

Research For The Front Cover

To get ideas for the front cover of my magazine, I am currently looking at 2 magazines: Mojo and Metalhammer. The front cover of Mojo is more how I imagine the front cover of my magazine will be than Metalhammer is. It is fairly bold but still quite simple. The masthead is large and bold, and also slightly covered by the head of the artist, which shows brand confidence. The cover lines and masthead also go well together, as there is a common black, grey and white theme running throughout, which I think would look good on my own magazine. There is also only 1 font on the cover. This and the colour scheme creates a simple, easy-on-the-eye look.

Magazine Progress - Day 1

Today is the first day we are making our magazines/films. I have started to write a rough draft of my first article, which will be on one of the regular features, the "Top 10 Hottest Tracks."

Magazine Title Survey

Final Title, Locations and Props

Title

I have decided the final title of the magazine will be Beatblast, as it is catchy and easy to remember. I did a survey of which title for the magazine people in my class liked most, and Beatblast won.

Props and Locations

For props I will need a guitar, and possibly some other instruments. For shooting locations I have planned at the moment to use the drama studio, the recording studio, and some woods near the school.

Similar Magazine Covers - NME

NME

NME is a pop/punk magazine, which was first produced in 1952. The front cover is a lot more bold and in-your-face than Magnet, and the magazine focuses more on mainstream artists. The colours are very bold - large red letters for the masthead and cover line, though there is not too much writing. My magazine will probably be less bold than this one, though the layout may be similar.

Similar Magazine Covers - Magnet

Magnet Magazine

This screenshot is of Magnet, an indie/alternative magazine that focuses on bands that aren't too mainstream. The front cover is fairly conventional and I will probably be using the same sort of photo. The masthead is fairly simple, and there is a common yellow and black theme running through the cover lines. The cover is fairly subtle and not too in-your-face, with the same type of font used throughout. It also gives an insight down the bottom as to what is inside.

AS Coursework - Music Magazine

Overview

For my coursework I have chosen to do the music magazine, and I am considering an indie/pop theme. I have been brainstorming ideas, and think that a bright, eye-catching, fun magazine is the type I want to make. The target audience for this magazine would be mainly teenagers, both male and female who are interested in current music, though adults could read it too - it could be for anybody interested in this genre. The type of people who read it would be people who are not massively serious about a specific genre, just people who are looking to find out about the newest releases and read a magazine that is enjoyable.

Focus

A major focus of the magazine would be new and upcoming artists, and I plan to include things like interviews, and a general overview of the artists background - where they came from, how they broke into the industry, etc. It could have regular features like the top 10 songs of the month, and also a section of fun, easy games - nothing too complicated or difficult. Another interesting feature I thought I could include is a section on musical equipment, showing people what their favourite artists are using, how much they are, and where they can buy them. Finally there would be information about upcoming gigs and tours around the UK.

Title

I want the title of the magazine to be fun and simple, something maybe just 1 syllable, that is easy to remember. The ideas I've had so far are: Trax, Bass, Beats, Noize, Beatblast and Tunez.