Front cover
My music magazine uses many of the conventions for a standard magazine. I have a masthead because people should know the name of the magazine they are purchasing. I thought of the name “Musang” through other magazines such as “Kerrang”, this is where the “ang” part comes from and the “Mus” comes from music. When I put these together I thought that it sounded good and kept it for the name of my magazine. This was the only name that I did come up with. I think that it has a sound at the end which will allow the customers to remember the name of magazine and what it stands for. The font used for my masthead is called “Metal lord” the font itself reminds me of music and I believe fits into the genre of music that my magazine is about, this will help attract a audience that listens to the type of music presented in the magazine. This magazine will appeal to people from the ages of 16-24, the model on the front cover is around this age and the language used is quiet conversation/colloquial that is used on the double page spread. The main point on the double page spread will also appeal to someone around this age looking or fighting to fulfil their dreams and aspirations which the pull quote “Never Give Up” represents whether it is to do with music or not anyone can use it.
The strapline is located above the masthead, it has some of the things which will be inside the magazine such as “Gigs” and this is there to entice the reader to purchase the magazine to get information on the things which will appeal to them. The reader would most likely be someone who enjoys socialising, going out having fun and getting the latest things which appeal to them therefore falling into the category of a “Post Modernist”. The people who fall into this category likes to have, to pay and be something which this magazines gives them the opportunity to do all three as shown in the contents page and front cover.
There are two coverline with editorial pillars which are also used to attract the audience in wanting to purchase the magazine as it gives them a slight indication of what to expect. The main coverline is in a different colour to the other coverline to make it stand out more, this is also the reason why it is bigger and the word “Tama” is bigger than the rest of the coverline to make him stand.
The other conventions I have used include a barcode, price and issue number. It would not have been appropriate to break any of the conventions as I didn’t have an image that needed to do this for example have no coverlines. Thought this was shown on other magazines this was not seen on any music magazines which I looked at.
Double Page Spread
I have used some of the standard conventions for a double page spread such as a “Pull Quote” and “Slug”, the slug was used to show what the page was about as there was not a big title present on the page. The “Slug” says “Interview” and it is written in capital letters and the colour red. Both of these things were done to attract the eye of the reader.
“Pull Quotes” are generally used to entice the reader to read the entire double page spread because the short phrase makes them want to read the interview/article. In my case the “Pull Quote” is something that is easily remembered by the reader and is didactic in a sense as well as encouraging them to read what is written on the double page spread.
As seen in some magazines there were two images on a page and I liked the idea of this so I decided to do this, one image is on the left and although it is bigger it helps the eye flow go down the page and continue reader before it goes across and another image smaller than the first is shown. I liked the way the text went round the images and the way that it looked on the page.
How does you media product represent any particular social groups?
My magazine does not target a specific social class in reality because the music which a person purchases and listens to may not represent the class they are in accurately. From this price it can be said that the magazine is for people within the working class because £1.50 is cheap and the upper and middleclass will be able to afford to buy a magazine at a higher price such as £3.00 even if it is weekly.
What type of institution might distribute your media product and why?
Media institutions such as IPC Media may publish my magazine because they do a variety of magazine genre and the current NME which is a music magazine is different to the one I have created so there would not be a tension between the two as the target audience is different and both magazines are promoting something different. “Musang” will sell in shops such as WH Smiths as it is a place that is located in many areas and attract customers for a variety of reason, they also have a magazine collection which “Musang” can be part of because it is ideal for people to read when they are going on holidays or are just looking for something interesting to read. Not many other magazines fit and appeal to the target audience of “Musang” so the shop would benefit from selling it. Other places such as supermarkets or News Agents would be idealistic for the increasing circulation of the magazine because they are places which a number of people visit daily.
Who would be the audience for your media product?
The target audience for “Musang” would be someone around the age of 16-24, that listens to rock music primarily but other genres such as alternative as well. It will not only feature artist that play in the UK but other places as well this means that the reader will be someone who is willing to listen to other things which are similar and are not closed minded. The gender for the magazine is not specific as it can be read by either male or female readers although one of the articles is about fashion worn by Within Tempation and a image of a dress is on the content page may make it appear more for females but only the lead singer within that group is female and the others are males so the males that read the magazine will see fashion for themselves aware. Even though this is not made clear everything else within the magazine and images can appeal to a male or female audience.
How did you address/attract an audience?
The image of a male around the age of 17 is shown on the front cover holding a guitar, this shows that the artist is around the same as the target audience as what he does appeals to them. The font used suggests the image of the magazine and along with the guitar confirms this genre. As well as a unusual name for the artist there is also the fact that it is his “first live performance” by putting first people would want to know more about him so I’m addressing the fact that even if you do not know anything you can still learn a lot because he’s fairly new to the scene. From the questionnaires which were carried out the three colours which gained the most votes were red, blue and white and these have consistently been used throughout the magazine. These colours standout on black and go well together on a page. When used well they standout on a page which is a good way to attract the eye of the reader. The colours also appeal to both male and female so it’s not excluding any gender out or appears to be singling out a specific gender. This would have been different if the colours pink, purple and yellow were used because they seem to appeal to more females especially if referring to stereotypes.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Front cover
The "magnetic lasso" was what I used the most as it was used for the front cover, double page spread and Contents page. As the background for the photos which I took were not needed for to be placed on any of these pages. By using this tool it allowed me to remove part of the image and then paste it onto a new template so the construction can begin.
Contents page
When using Adobe Photoshop it was extremely useful to have the “magnetic lasso” tool as it allows things to be cut out then they can be copied and pasted onto another page and the construction of the magazine can occur. I have learnt that it takes many edits to create a magazine which the creator is pleased with and that has the right quality to make it look legitimate instead of creating something that goes against all the conventions and does not catch the eyes of the target audience. I painted and changed the layer of the dress to change it's colour becuase the black dress did not stand out on a black background. I prefer it this way and think that helps make the page look more intersting. This means that I coloured the dress in blue and changed the layer to "Overlay" as it made it look realistic.
The last tool I used on Adobe Photoshop was the "Clone Stamp" unlike the purpose of the "Magnetic Lasso" tool I wanted the background of the image; by cloning certain things out it allowed me to keep the entire image without having anything that looks out of place.
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