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

This question focused on the progression of my work from the beginning of the course to the end. I discussed how I felt my skill, specifically in Photoshop, had developed significantly through the course of the topic - which has lead to a high quality end product. Furthermore, I also discuss the quality of the pictures I took, and compare them to the original piece I completed. 

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

I think the level of my work has improved significantly since I created my preliminary task. Looking back on this task, the overall feel and look of my magazine was very amateur. My skills in Photoshop were severely lacking, and this combined with a lack of knowledge on how to take a good picture lead to a very poor attempt at a school magazine. I had no knowledge of how to create certain effects in Photoshop, which lead to an inability to create a high quality product.

Since completing this task, my general knowledge of Photoshop has increased greatly. Since the course began, I have gradually began to learn how to use each individual tool, and how add it to my magazine effectively. In addition, through the use of this program, I have been able to add any of the common conventions that are seen on a music magazine, such as specific images and mastheads to a high quality, something that my preliminary task lacked. The images I used in my original piece were taken in front of a background, as opposed to a green screen. This lead to a very amateur looking magazine, as there was a mixture of colours in the background of each of my pictures, and due to this, It was difficult to attain a specific colour scheme throughout the process.

Overall, I think there has been a great and significant improvement in the level of work that I have completed. Over the course of this project, the improvement of my general knowledge of music magazines, coupled with the significant increase in Photoshop skill have lead to a greatly improved product than what I created for my preliminary task. The most important things I think that have improved throughout the course is my general perception of magazines, and how they look/what to include, and my skill level in Photoshop. Without the use of this program, many of the effects that I have included would have been unable to achieve, as can be seen in my preliminary task, in which I had very little knowledge of Photoshop.

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

This question focuses on the use of technology throughout my piece. I began by discussing Photoshop, the program I used to make my magazine, as I felt this was the most important program. I talk about why I used this program, and how I used it in creating my magazine. I then went on to discuss YouTube, and I also discussed how I took the pictures for my magazine, including information on the camera, and I also noted the use of a green screen. Finally, I discussed Blogger. I discuss how I used this website as the hub for my magazine, and I used it along with Scribd, Prezi and Slideshare to create a high quality Blog and work storage space. 

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

Throughout the process of this unit my skills have greatly improved. The primary product I used throughout the course was Photoshop. Although I did have experience from my GCSE media course, this year my skill level has improved greatly. The reason we used Photoshop was because it gives work a very professional look, due to the varied range of tools and edits you can make to any picture as well as building a magazine. An example of some skills in which I improved in this year was cutting out images, putting text around images, and adding certain effects, such as brushes, to my magazine.

I managed to achieve this increase in skill through the use of several methods. Firstly, I used several tutorials that were made available to us on the shared school drive. These were made by a media teacher, and they gave us a step by step guide on how to achieve certain desired effects. These were useful because through the method that he gave us, once I had done one of the tasks, I could do them repeatedly. I also got assistance from my class mates, as some of them had more experience and skill in the program, and due to this i asked them how to use a certain tool or how I could do a certain task. I also found several tutorials on YouTube. For example, I learnt to increase the space between letters and rows through a step by step guide on YouTube, and this technique was used throughout my coursework.

I also learnt how to take pictures much more effectively. The school supplied us with high quality cameras in which we had to use to take pictures for each of our pages. Through looking at pictures over the internet, and getting some of my own ideas, I was able to find a desired location for each of my pictures to be taken. Many of the pictures in addition were taken in front of a green screen. This allowed for me to add any colour background that I desired, due to the cutting out of images being easier and much more detailed.

This year all of the work I have completed was stored on a blogging website called ‘Blogger’, owned by Google. This is the first year in the media studies AS level course  that this website has been used. The website allows for easy access to each individual topic that makes up the course, and also make the course much easier to mark. Furthermore, the website allows for the digital representation of certain programmes. The main focus of this topic was on variety, and making sure all my work is created using a range of products. Much of the work I have produced has been uploaded using several programs including Scribd, Prezi and Slideshare, which each allow for a different presentation graphic, adding to the variety on my blog

These forms of technology made the creation of my magazine much more professional. Through the use of Photoshop, I have managed to add several effects and customise it in a way that would be unavailable to me through the use of any other program. The addition of high quality image capturing software further added to this professionalism, and overall, these programmes and products allowed for a much better quality magazine to be produced. 

How did you attract/address your audience?

This question focused on the audience of my piece, and how I would attract them. I began by discussing the codes and conventions of a music magazine, and what would be required for it to sell, and then I went into more detail specifying the specific features that I have included and why I included them, including the colour scheme and the specific codes and conventions of a music magazine. I also discuss the uses and gratifications theory, and apply it to my magazine and the genre of music.

How did you attract/address your audience?

There are several things that my magazine contains in order to help it sell. Firstly, I have included all of the codes and conventions that are required to be included in a magazine, such as a bar code,a masthead, a website, price etc. These are used in order for people to be able to recognize that the magazine is built for entertainment. In addition, a specific masthead is often used as a method of recognizing a specific magazine or genre of magazine, such as a short red logo often can pragmatically relate to NME.

I have also included several features that will appeal to my specific target audience. Firstly, the main image, the first thing readers of the magazine will see, is recognizable towards my target audience. The reason for this recognizances is the stance and the clothing my model is wearing. They appear fairly serious and angry, which is a facial expression often used by models of the indie/rock genre. My model is also wearing a cardigan, which is often considered to be worn by people who are part of the indie culture. In addition, my model is looking directly towards the reader of the magazine. This allows for the reader to feel involved with the magazine, and give the reader the idea that the model is looking directly at them.

I have also used a quite dark colour scheme. This is significant because often, the indie culture is referred to as using quite dull and plain colours, and thus this allows for the reader to recognise the similarities between my magazine and the indie culture. Often, the colour scheme of a magazine is changed throughout each edition of a magazine, but several things, most notable the masthead will stay the same colour. Despite this change, generally indie/rock magazines never use colours such as bright red or yellow, as these contrast with the common convetions of this genre.

In terms of the uses and gratifications, my magazine adheres to each of the features explained. Escapism is relevant, because often people read magazines and listen to music to get away from life, and it helps to relax them. Furthermore, in terms of personal relationships, music is a big discussion point between all ages, as music appeals to everyone, and therefore people may read music magazines to get involved with music, and therefore have the ability to discuss it. In addition, music magazines often have sections dedicated to user-involved content, which can often be guides or instructions on how to play a certain song for example, highlighting evidence of surveillance. Finally, the idea of personal identity is relevant, because most people have an interest in at least one type of music, that allows them to feel reassured in themselves. Despite my magazine perhaps not appealing to every type of person or music fan, I feel everyone can get something out of music magazines, as they allow user-interaction, and give the reader the opportunity to recognise who they are. 

Who would be the audience for your media product?

In this question I discussed in detail the specific audience that I would aim my magazine towards. I began by discussing age, and I talked about teenagers and people in their twenties being the most direct target audience, due to this being the age that a lot of people are going to concerts and festivals. I went on to discuss gender and social grades, and I said that the majority of my audience would be male, and I also discussed how the middle classes would be the direct audience for my magazine. I finished with discussing the psycho graphics of my magazine, and I stated that individualists would be most likely to read my magazine, due to the connections of 'Indie' music and the individualistic lifestyle. 

Who would be the audience for your media product?

My target audience is the demographic between the ages of 12-25~. I think this because the genre that the magazine focuses on is often associated with this age range. Indie music is hugely popular within the teenage demographic, due to the fact that it is at this age that people are trying to recognise their style  and what interests them. It is also around this age when people are socialising with friends regularly, and as such much of my magazine is focused on live musical entertainment such as concerts, something that is often associated with the younger generation. In addition, around this age, people are often very curious. The main theme of my magazine is to introduce people to new music, and this should appeal to this curiosity.

I think that my magazine will be more focused on males, rather than females. I think this because generally, indie music is more heavily listened to by males. I think a reason for this may be because most of the artists that are featured in this genre are male, and generally people tend to listen to artists that are of the same gender as them, for example there is many more male metal music fans than female fans. Although it is worth noting that my magazine will not be read specifically by males, I think, as with every gender, there are indie music fans that are female, but the majority of them will be male.

My magazine will be aimed at most social grades, but more specifically the middle classes. This is highlighted by the weekly price tag of £1.39, which is more than affordable for this class, especially with the content that is included in the magazine. This target audience is also highlighted by the language used in the magazine, as all of the language is fairly simple, allowing for easy reading, whereas a magazine aimed at the higher classes may have more serious articles and more field specific lexis.

The main audience for my magazine would mainly be read by individualists. The reason for this focuses around the genre that my magazine is focused on. Often, the 'Indie' genre is often associated with people who are not part of the mainstream crowd, which is often why they tend to wear quite specific clothing, and also tend to listen to music that isn't in the chart, as focused on in my magazine.  However, it is worth noting that my magazine will not be read solely by this group of people. I made sure to make my magazine as appealing as possible to every type of person, including quite a neutral colour scheme, and I also included some sell lines that would appeal to fans of mainstream music, as well as Underground music. 

What kind of institution will distribute your magazine and why?

This question focuses on the 4 main institution companies. These are Bauer, IPC, Conde Nast and The National Magazine Company. I began this question by stating the institution companies, and gave a brief description of each one. I then focused on the company that I felt would be most beneficial when distributing my magazine, to which I decided on Bauer Media. I also stated that IPC media may also be a possible contender. 

What kind of institution will distribute your magazine and why?

There are 4 main companies that tend to distribute the main magazines. These are Bauer Consumer Media, IPC media, The National Magazine Company and Conde Naste. Each of these companies is focused into specific genre of magazine, such as Fashion, Film, or Music, but each company does indeed have magazines of differing genres in its collection. 

I think the best institution to distribute my magazine would be Bauer Consumer Media. I think this because of the fact that they have such a vast catalogue of work areas. Not only do they have a magazine division, they also have a TV and Radio division, which will allow for maximum distribution for my magazine. In addition, the company is international, rather than ‘The National Magazine Company’ for example. This means that not only will it be seen in Britain, but also in Mainland Europe and further. There is also a distinct lack of my genre of magazine in their catalogue. Bauer distribution magazines such as ‘Empire’ and ‘FHM’, which are clearly not similar to my magazine  genre.

Although Bauer Media do have several music magazines in their catalogue, believe ‘Unplugged’ will play a different role and suit a different audience to their current magazines. Currently, they distribute music magazines ‘Q’ and ‘Kerrang’. I do however not think this will be an issue, because both of these magazines focus on different audiences. Kerrang has more of a heavy rock/metal audience, which differs greatly from my audience of Indie. Although similar, ‘Q’ tends to focus on more of the older style musicians, although many of them may fit under the genre of ‘Indie’, ‘Q’ magazine tends to focus on the older Demographic. Differently, my magazine focuses specifically on the Indie genre, and has more of a younger audience, which is reflected by the model featured on the front of my magazine, as well as the artists and articles featured inside it.

The second choice for distribution of my magazine would be ICP. The reason for this is due to their vast experience in the distribution of several genres of magazine, but more specifically the genre of music. Their success is evident due to the success of their magazine ‘NME’, which can be considered the most popular music magazine currently being produced. I think this success with a music magazine, especially one of its genre, which is the same as mine, could be very useful. I think this because clearly the company is knowledgeable about the industry, and knows how to get a magazine out there. However, the main reason I didn’t choose this magazine is that it already has such a profitable and successful indie magazine in its roster. NME is already a huge success, and so it would not be profitable for the company to produce and distribute a magazine of such as similar genre, as it will produce un-needed competition between magazines in their own catalogue.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

This question focused on the representation in my magazine. I began by describing the issues such as the colour scheme, and I then proceeded to link this to my chosen genre of music. I also discussed the nature of those who listen to my particular genre, and I also stated how a main feature of my magazine was smaller bands, which is a key representational feature of those part of the 'Indie' culture. 

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My magazine is representing the fans of the genre indie or rock. This is shown by the colours and style of my magazine. For example, I have used mostly dark colours, which are often associated with this genre of music. In addition, the clothing worn by the models in my magazine are wearing clothes that are often associated with this genre. For example, chino’s, white t-shirts and vans are 3 items of clothing which are regularly associated with this genre. The genre is fairly popular and the magazine market that is out there for this genre is quite filled, however there are spaces in the market for a variant on the typical items seen in a magazine in this genre. Something that my magazine uses as its USP to differentiate is to focus on new music. Whereas most magazines focus on well known music and music that relates to the genre. My magazine however focuses on smaller bands that people may not know which is quickly becoming a part of the indie culture, with their focus on unknown bands. Generally, my magazine will only feature artists of this genre, and as such this is the only group that will be represented. For this reason, they will be represented in a positive light, as showing the buyers in a negative light would mean they wouldn’t want to read it. Due to the focus on this genre, this may in some ways show other genres in a more negative light, as a main theme of this genre is showing the superiority of this specific genre. The model used on my front cover can relate to the target audience, due to the fact that they are of a fairly similar target audience. The clothes they will wear will also be relative to the audience, as they will wear similar clothes. Finally, the camera angle focuses on the same level as the eye line of the model, inferring that the audience can easily relate and approach them, adding to the connection between the model and the audience.

Dear Diary

This week I worked on perfecing my coursework pages. I added a website link and a barcode to the front cover to conform to conventions of a magazine. I also added page numbers for the same effect. Tonight I have got my 2nd photoshoot planned, however, my model has forgotten his clothes, so I will try and work with what I've got, but if it doesnt go well I can make my third photoshoot for next week.