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

real media products?

•The genre I chose for my media product is an indie styled magazine aimed at male students. •It was vital to use typical elements so that the audience are able to automatically recognize what type of magazine it is, and who it is aimed at. E.g. Bold angular title or logo is very masculine and used in such magazines as NME.This is what I did with my media product. •Although it is important to use typical elements, to make a magazine you need to do something new in order to make it stand out. •My innovation was too provide an indie magazine aimed at male students. I did this by selling it at a lower price then other competitors as it is more likely to attract a student because they stereotypically don’t have much money.

Who would be the audience of your media product?

• The target audience for my magazine is between the ages of 16-21. The target gender is male, which I have done this through using angular masculine fonts along with how the artist is posed on the font cover.

• The target ethnic and socio-economic status I have aimed at, is the white British student. I have done this because that is the groups which indie music is most popular. I did this through the type of language I used for example, ‘No word of a lie.’ Along with the main artist and other stories I mention in the magazine such as a ‘Gig guide to 2010.’ Also I have kept the price low to appeal to students.

• The special interests I appeal to are people who are interested in indie music, and who like going to gigs as in the magazine you can win tickets to a gig in the competition.

How did you attract/address your audience?Front cover

• I attracted my target audience through my front cover firstly, by using an angular bold font to attract my target gender. • I also used a red font black and white as these are colours associated with my genre of music and would show the audience what music this magazine covers. • The font I used also shows it is an indie magazine as it is scruffy with no clean lines, which is a style associated with indie music. I did this with the logo, main heading and carried it on with my subheadings. • The artist is stood looking into the camera which creates direct address with the reader which encourages them to read the magazine more. He also has his arms folded which is a masculine pose and carries on the theme from the font. • Also on my front cover I have used indie bands for my subheadings and competition as well.

How did you attract/address your audience?Contents page

• On my contents page I have carried on using indie styled artists. I did this through using people who are in everyday clothes and in average situations which is typical of the indie genre. • Along with keeping with angular lines to keep it masculine. I also carried on using the same red and black from my front cover, behind the photos and in the font which carries on the indie theme. • The photos I used also show what genre of music the magazine includes as the photos are of teenagers in everyday clothes, in everyday places. This is very typical of indie photos as it goes with the ‘casual’ look.• The language I used is plain masculine everyday words, such as, ‘Gig guide.’ This will appeal to the reader as it is easy to read what is included in the magazine and enables browsing and skim reading.

How did you attract/address your audience?Double page spread

• My headline for my double page spread appeals to my target audience through the angular font and some of the colours I have used. E.g. the blue I have used behind some of the font.• The language I used is informal which is typical to this genre of music for example, ‘gigs’• To appeal to the target audience I decided to use different colours of font for the questions and answers in order to make it more eye-catching and easier to read.• I also attempted to make it more eye-catching by tilting both photos and writing to attract the readers attention.• The artist I used is your typical indie artist. This is expressed through him having slightly longer hair, the clothes he is wearing and the way he is just sat back and relaxed as if he doesn’t care about peoples opinions. Which should gain a positive response from the audience.

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

• In order to complete my media project I have used a vast amount of technology. This includes; Photoshop, Indesign, the internet e.g. google, Da font and blogger and pendrives.

• By learning to use these technologies I have been able to take photos of my artist for every part of my project. I have been able to cut them out in Photoshop using the cutting tool in order to help them either fit on the page or placed onto a different background.

• Limitations I found were sometimes I couldn’t find the right colour which I would have liked. Also sometimes I found difficulties with the technology as sometimes it failed to work correctly.

• Technology helped me appeal to my audience as sometimes it gave me inspiration and ideas from looking at other examples and other magazines. It also helped me gather information about my target audience and the genre I covered.

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

• Looking back I have been able to improve since my preliminary task, as I have now a better understanding of the different technologies which has enabled me to produce a more complex product.

• Also in my prelim I didn’t have a character created and in my final product I created one with a look and personality.

• The smoothness of my editing has improved as in my prelim my cutting out of the photo was poor and did not blend well with my background.

• The layout of my front cover especially has become more professional looking and less boring. I did this through arranging subheadings differently and utilizing the space more, and left less gaps on my page.

• Along with this my use of colour has improved as the variety has increased from just three colours in my preliminary.

Increased use of colour in order to attract readers attention

Basic use of colour

More use of space and less gaps

Lots of gaps on the cover

Conclusion

• The strengths of my final product I believe are that it appeals to my target audience well. This is done through my use of colours using reds and black which are typical colours of my genre of music. Also the language used which has been informal, will appeal to my target audience of male students as that is the type of language they use everyday. Along with this my artist fore filled the criteria needed through his stance and his image which will help the audience relate what type of genre my magazine covers.

• A weaknesses of my project is that my contents page doesn’t flow well with the rest of my product. This is due to the colours I have used, as on my front cover and double page spread I have used blue a lot, however on my contents page it is mainly grey.

• Completing this product I have been able to expand my knowledge of the magazine industry through research I have completed. Also I have learnt how to use different technologies such as Indesign and Photoshop which has enabled me to finish this project.