Kay's Media AS Production Coursework

1(CONVENTIONS) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms conventions of real media products?

To begin with I had to construct a media product which was a music magazine, this really delighted me for the reason that I was given the promising prospect of creating something immense and inimitable, and this would also further my skills in the media department. I believe that my magazine uses, develops and challenges the forms and conventions of real media magazines and the reason for this is that I have a title block which is above my central image, and in big bold font. The font is without doubt distinguishable from its background which is ideal, so that the audience can actually read the title of the magazine. My magazine also has the conventional central image of my main artist, the artist in which the biggest article in the magazine is written about, this is key so that you draw the audience in, the body language also has a big say in this because if it is unique or powerful it would catch the attention of the reader into thinking why do they have their body language in this type of posture or manner. I had anchorage text but instead of having the traditional medium sized text I chose to have one medium, and the rest of them were quite small. I chose to have a traditional barcode since my magazine was going to be on shelves, so a barcode was needed to scan my magazine. My magazine has puffs, but it does not have the traditional puffs, it only has a puff for the date and issue of my magazine, which in traditional magazines it would be text next to or above my title in a small font. My magazine has price which is near the barcode, and does not have a slogan because I believe the title of my magazine is a slogan as well as a title itself. My contents page has the images as well as the list of the important pages. My double page spreads consist of images of my main artist as wells as text which is Arial and Times New Roman.

2(REPRESENTATION) How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My magazine represents both genders; male and female. It is evident that both genders are represented as there is brief acknowledgment of female artists as well as, large representations of the male gender. The reason I chose to feature both genders are because I understood that no one magazine focuses on only one gender, and even if briefly they would target the gender that is less dominant in their magazine. I came to a conclusion that the male gender is heavily featured in many magazine weather their target audience are masculine or feminine, prime examples on these are “Smash Hits” a former magazine targeted at the feminine gender which was successful to an extent, but it was a pop magazine as well as a gossip magazine, it was a hybrid and those magazine’s started to go in decline when gossip magazines such as “OK!” gained popularity, so there was no longer a need for them as they were far too childish. My magazine represents the masculine gender as powerful and somewhat fascinating as they are depicted as something great, possibly a role model for both genders, as it is more common for females to be reciting the lyrics of a male artist, rather than a male to be reciting the lyrics of a female artist, so that is the reason I chose the masculine gender to dominate my magazine.

My target age group was 14-21 for the reason being between those age groups people are normally trying to find themselves; they are trying to find out who they are, or what they are destined to become. It is often said 13 is when one becomes a teenager, so after a year of raging hormones they begin searching for themselves going through phases and changes, whereas 21 conventionally signifies the times and ages of maturity so I believe that my magazine’s main priority is in guiding my audience until they are mature enough. I do not believe my magazine is ideal in appealing to those over 21, because the main focus is to guide people from the age group of 14-21. It represents people from those age groups because it showcases artist’s that are in that age group and that are becoming successful with their musical ventures, they also become role models for the younger generation believing that they too can become successful in whatever they want to do. My magazine has a positive representation of my age groups because it portrays them positive citizens. Traditionally music artists especially rap artists are seen as violent and obscene, but I represent them as teenagers trying to make something of their lives, they want to do positive things and become a positive representation of the teenage division of culture. Teenagers are seen as the scum of humanity and negative even though elder generations have left them with a world of course, so they are trying to change the views of the older generation on the generation coming up. Proof of the elder generation being harsh on the younger generation is the Independent article “'Hoodies, louts, scum': how media demonizes teenagers.

I have representing the rock genre, hip-hop and R&B genre. Conventionally Hip-hop and R&B are seen as two completely different genres, for example R&B is soft, whilst Hip-hop is more hardcore. But my main artist: Kwame G is an artist that falls into both of the categories and is not your traditional hip-hop artists he spreads a message about positive things as well as the current news occurring in the modern world, and my rock group also join forces with rap artists which is not traditional. So all of my artists are not conventional to their genres.

3(MEDIA INSTITUTIONS) what kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Development Hell is the right institution to distribute my magazine because my magazine is a niche magazine, and the magazines commonly distributed by Development Hell are niche magazines. Development Hell distributes magazines such as mixmag and the word magazine. I acknowledge that they do not distribute many magazines so it has led me to believe that there must be exceptional promise in my magazine for them to invest in it. The audiences for mixmag magazine are teenagers, which enjoy clubbing music, whilst the audiences for “the word magazine” (which is the sister magazine of mixmag) are rock fans. This had led me to believe that it would be hard for me to acquire the services of Development Hell because my magazine’s genre is completely different to what they are used to.

4(AUDIENCE) Who would be the audience for your media product?

The ages for my media product will be 14-21 and they are catered in my magazine because I have artists that appeal to their age group, and issues that relate to what they may be feeling. The gender that my media product or magazine is for are both genders due to the reason that I believe that magazines for both genders are not common, and the whole aim of my magazine is to be original, so it will be for both genres and it caters for them because it has artists that will appeal for both genders. The location of my audience will be London because people in London are often neglected when it comes to the creation of magazines, so I decided that my magazine will be their voice/outlet, and it will cater to them by being affordable, and showcasing artist’s that have similar backgrounds to them. The main interests for my magazine target audience will be clothing, concerts and music, and they are catered for because I have reviews on music, and interviews on artists, whilst my magazine also showcases the newest garments such as hats, trainers and hoodies

5(ATTRACT) how did you attract/address your audience?

I attracted my audience in a multitude of ways, one of which was the central image. My central image was of the artists leaning on a wall whilst he was central of the page and looking directly into the centre, it is almost as if he is making contact with my target audience. The eye contact he makes with my target audience is what attracts them, it’s almost as if he is looking into their eyes and saying “I acknowledge you”. The title block is bold and plain, it only uses two colours which are black and yellow, they are quite attractive because of the way they are set, and it also uses shadows to highlight the titles importance. It attracts my audience by using two yellow circles that are similar to eyes, it is as if the title is hypnotizing or staring my audience directly in the eyes, and that is how it attracts them.The colours within my magazine help me to attract my target audience; I use the colours red, yellow, green and black. Red, yellow and green are also representations of traffic lights indicating warnings and safety, which is a subliminal message within my magazine. Red can be seen as a symbol for love, yet also a symbol for danger and it is the colour that catches the eyes of most mammals, so that is how it attracts my audience. The fonts that my magazine use are commonly graffiti based due to my target audience, and they may like this because they are from London and it is common and something that they all like there as teenagers. My magazine has special offers such as free posters, commonly teenagers like to put posters on their walls of people they appreciate and idolize, so this will attract them because they will have posters to put up on their walls.

6(LEARNT) What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Within the process of constructing my magazine I have come to learn a lot about technologies such as Photoshop and blogging. Prior to this project I had a solid understanding about blogging but I learnt that with blogs you can actually upload videos to its central website as well as centring the colour or adding surveys to the corner of my blog, whilst setting a deadline for the survey to be completed; otherwise it will close down for voting. I also learnt how to follow people, as well as hide my blog. I learnt how to use Kwik survey to set a survey, and a deadline for it; it helped me calculate my results. I learnt how to edit pictures on Photoshop to make them look more dramatic or brighter, I also learn't how to make my images look 3-D, via an analygraph effect

7(FINAL) Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Looking back at my preliminary task I feel that I have made great progression from it to my final product, for the reason being that my editing of my images look more professional, and the production process of my photography was greater, also the positioning of my layouts were far greater. I now understand the layout conventions better, and I have considered how I was going to attract my audience by making everything in the magazine relate to how they feel or how they act towards society.

These images show my early Photoshop editing skills before I knew about direct address and audiences, and additional Photoshop skills. As I progressed I learned more skills and designs that helped my product become more professional.