Preliminary work

For my task I need to do a preliminary piece of work first. For this I am going to design a college magazine for my college. My target audience is the students of the college, with the majority aged between 16-19.

This is a scanned image of my flat plan. I have considered many factors to assure that the magazine appeals to my target audience. For instance, I have used a Bold sans serif font because it is modern, this connotes that is a modern magazine for modern people.
Also, the photograph of my person on the front is slightly covering the title, this suggests that the magazine is well know and the whole title doesn't need to be seen for the magazine to be recognized.
My main sells are in a bigger bolder font that most of the other text on the front. This is because they are the main catch and it makes them stand out, making people take interest in the magazine. Most of my sells have got colored shapes around them. This makes them stand out even more and makes the magazine catch peoples eye.
My magazine is called Sussex Student because it gives the student prestige of their college as it makes the college to be THE college of Sussex.
I have put the date as "weekly" this is becuase the college time table is broken down in to weeks, and therefore the magazines comes out every moday at the start of the week.
Finally, my magazine is free. This is because college magazines aren't normally at the top of students lists of things to buy. So making it free will get more people taking it and more people reading it.

This photo is the one that I have chosen to discard. This is because it is too dark, dull and unclear to be on the front of a college magazine.
















However, I selected another photo which was much better suited for my magazine. This photo is a lot clearer and defines, with a brighter back ground which makes the photo easier to photoshop. Also i chose this photo because it has a good mise-en-scene with a bright blue sky in the back ground. As well as this the angle is good, it is straight on meaning it doesn't looking dominating or intimidating.


Here are some pictues of my finished magazine and contents page.

1. Introduction

I have been asked to make a music magazine from a genre of my choice. I have chosen to do rock as it probably has the biggest market for magazines compared to most other music genres. By producing this magazine I will be furthering and developing my skills that I learnt from doing my preliminary task.

2. Audeince

By looking at http://www.nrs.co.uk/toplinereadership.html (July 08 - June 09) , I can roughly workout the target audeince of these magazines. I took my results from Kerrang july 08 - june 09. I can see that the magazine is read by 239000 people in the socioeconomic group ABC1, 178000 people from C2DE, 378000 people aged 15-44, 39000 people aged 45+. Also it was read by 290000 men, and 127000 women. From this I can workout that the main target audience is men from ABC1 aged between 15-44.
However, these results are very vague and do not give me a specific target audeince.So, by looking at Kerrang and its cotents which contains artist with scruffy black clothes and spiked up hair with metal jewelery. From this i can deduct further that the magazine is aimed at more heavey rockers who are into punk and metal. The Kerrang motto "Life is Loud!" suggest to me that the target audience are people who like to enjoy themselves in more extreme ways than others, such as extreme sports and parties. Also they are people who make themselves different from others, and are individuals, this is reflected in thier type of music.
By looking at http://www.slideshare.net/belair1981/kerrang-readre-profile i can get a more detailed target audeince published by kerrang itself. It says that Kerrnangs readers are aged between 16-24, with 60% of them male, and 40% female. It also states that 58% of Kerrang readers think that it is important to be well dressed,and therefore spend a lot of thier money on fashionable clothes. From this i can work out that they also buy lots of media related goods, such as albums(on average 31 a year). This basically furthers my conclusion that Kerrang readers are young, modern individual that love heavier/punk rock music.

Doing the same for NME in the same time period I can see that 250000 people from the socio-economic ABC1, 137000 people from C2DE, 339000 people aged between 15-44, 39000 pople aged 45+, 296000 men, and 96000 women. From this I can deduct that the target audience is men from ABC1 aged 15-44. I can narrow the age down to late teens/early 20s as the magazine is released on a weekly basis and costs £2.20 a time, so the reader must have alot of disposable income. I have chosen a more detailed age of 15-20 becuase this is the age when the target audeince will most likely have a job, but no bills to pay, so all disposable income. http://www.ipcadvertising.com/resource/fd4e20nlh1xefkowjxdha4xu.pdf
Again, this is also very vague. So, using the link above I have visited IPCMedia.com, to get a more detailed analysis of the target adience for NME. From this i can see that NME's target audience is males (69%), aged around 24 working full time in the ABC1 socioeconomic group. The magazine is quite expensive, costing £3.20, so the target audience must have alot of disposable income to buy it (ABC1). Also it shows that the readers have a great interest in Internet, games and DVDs, with 94% of them using the internet. Also, by looking at the reader profile I can see that somone from the target audience likes to enjoy themselves with things like the internet, gaming, drinking and eating junk food, listening to music, and taking pride in thier clothes and hair.

By looking at the target audeince of kerrang and NME I can figure out who my magazines target audience will be. I will be aiming my magazine at a highbrid audience of the two. It will have the heavey and punk rock of Kerrang, whilst presenting lighter sub-genres of rock like NME. They will be the type of person who likes to lead an extreme lifestyle. It will be aimed at people in the socioeconomic groups ABC1, who will have a full time job, and therefor more disposable income. They will be between the age of 16-24, and mainly male. A stereotypical reader will like to: wear black clothes, have peircing, watch DVDs, play games consoles, take pride in thier hair, play or like a musical instrument, spend thier disposable income on fashionable clothes and hairstyles.

3. Analysis of existing magazines

Kerrang
My interpretation of the title “Kerrang” is that it is supposed to represent the clash of a symbol on a drum kit. Seeing as drum kits are involved in almost every rock group, this would make sense for a rock magazine.
The font used for the title is a bold modern sans serif, this is because it is a modern rock music magazine, and therefore the title must connote this. The title has a smashed glass effect to it. This effect gives the magazine and the rock genre a rebellious representation.
Furthermore, the cover is predominately black. This is the main colour associated with rock as it is also the main colour in many of the rock fans fashion. The title is in black whilst most of the other text is in white; this makes the title stand out and draws attention to the magazine. There isn’t much colour used in the magazine as it is basically all black and white. This is typical of the rock genre as black and white are the two main colours associated with the genre and style of the followers.
The language used in Kerrang is quite formal; all of the phrases and sentences are like this because it is a serious rock magazine. There are many other rock magazines out there; however, Kerarng is one of most established and well known magazines, its formality is a reason for this. Also this cover quotes from band members on the front, in this case “it’s ok to hate us”. This gives the magazine a personal feel to the reader and makes them fell involved. Another aspect of the language is that it assumes knowledge on the subject. It mentions Fall out Boy’s new album. You are only going to understand this if you know of their new album. So this connotes that the magazine is for regular buyers and not just one offs.
I would say that the Kerrangs target audience falls between B and C2, mainly based around middle class people who have an interest in modern rock music, mainly aged within 16-30. I say this because Kerrang’s type of music caters for this age group.
The image is common of rock magazines; there is a picture of a group on the front, which happens to be My Chemical Romance. This group are all standing in a line, looking straight into the camera, this makes the reader feel as if the group are looking at them, enticing the reader into buying the magazine. Also all of the members are wearing black clothes, with pale white faces. This matches the black title and white background and gives a rock feel.
One of the main sell on the cover is the “My Chemical Romance reader’s poll special”. It appeals to the reader because my chemical romance are a famous rock band and therefore the reader will want to buy the magazine to read more about them. Also at the top of the page, there is an “Exclusive” with Fall Out Boy and their new album. Again, this will make the readers want to buy this magazine it is the only place they can find this article.
Also, the magazine denotes a barcode, date, and price all in a white box in the corner. This is in the bottom corner as it isn’t that important in selling this type of magazine.

Kerrang content page shows many pictures of thier artists that are going to be features within the magazine. The reason that they show alot of the artists on the contents page is to entice the reader, making them want to read on and buy the magazine. This is becuase the artists are the most important aspect of the magazine and they are the main reason that the fans buy the magazine.
Also on the Kerrang contents page, all of the pictures are linked to one of the articles at the side. This is so that you can see what articles are inside aswell as read what articles are inside. This is very important for Kerrangs target audeince (16-24) as this age group tends to be very lazy and including pictures to back up the text will mean that they know what is inside.
Another aspect of Kerrangs content page is the advertisement in the bottom left corner that is promoting a subscription to the magazine. The reason this is on the contents page is becuase the reader spends quite alot of time lookin at the contents page, and therefore they are more likely to see the advert and subscribe.

Kerrangs double page spread contains alot of black connoting rebelion, and also lots of red connoting danger. These two connotations are very relevant to kerrangs target audeince who like to rebel and live dangerously.
Also on Kerrangs double page spread there is a news section, updating all of the kerrang readers of the latest rock music news. The reason kerrang have done this is becuase their audeince like to keep up to date with the current affairs of the artist. This is important as the rock music industry is always changing and n ew artist are becoming big every day. A news page connotes the magazine as contempary and modern; it will also mean that the fans can keep upto date.

NME (New Musical Express)
I think that “New Musical” Express connotes how the magazine is up to date with all of the new music, and “Express” suggesting that it brings you all the latest Music news quickly.
The font used on NME’s title is a bold, sans serif font with 2 different coloured lines bordering it. This is to make it stand out and catch the reader’s eye. Also the title is in a bright red, which is linked with rock, but not as heavy rock as Kerrang (black). This enables the reader to determine whether the magazine is for them.
NME’s colour uses have some similarities with Kerrang in the way that they both use black and white a lot. NME has a white background to connote that it is a neutral rock magazine and doesn’t specify in any rock sub-genres. There is also a lot of red within the text, this contrasts the white and black background making the text standout and easy to read. However, NME’s cover is still predominantly black and white, these 2 colours signify rock, and will help the target reader associate themselves with the magazine.
The language in NME is mostly formal on the front cover. However it offers a less formal register as well, with colloquial phrases such as “Ding! Ding! Round 2”. This creates a relaxed atmosphere and connotes that the magazines is an easy, laid back read. This is important because the NME is supposed to be a leisure magazine that is read for enjoyment. Also, most of the text on the front cover involves names of artists, band, or music related people. This is because music is revolves around its bands, artists and related people. Without them there would be no music. A lot of the time people buy the magazine to read stories about the bands or people that they admire. As well as this, NME uses rhetorical questions like “Petty. Odd?” This entices the reader to buy the magazine and read more.
From looking at the cover I would say that NME has a very wide target audience. I say this because there are many signifiers that make me believe that the magazine caters for many types of rock, and not just one sub-genre. For example NME covers artists from “The Rolling Stones” to “Amy Winehouse.” From this I would say that NME readers are males, aged anywhere between 15-50 in the socio-economic groups B, C1 and C2.
The image on the front of NME represents the magazine. It shows a picture of 2 famous artist from the 60’s, Alex Turner and Miles Kane. This connotes that the magazine is in touch with music from the past as well as new music. Having an image that shows this means the magazine appeals to a wider audience. The 2 figures on the front are dressed in long black coats which are typical to the style of rock. Many of the readers will have similar styles clothes and therefore they can relate to the magazine. Also the figures have “mop” like haircuts which where the thing to have in the 60’s if you where into rock n roll. Older readers may want to buy the magazine for the memories.
On NME’s front cover there is a bright red masthead that stands out and emphasises the text on it. In this case it is emphasising the “studio news”, showing that the magazine is up to date with the music current affairs.
Also, another key feature on NME’s cover is its main sells. One of them is “Tom Clarke vs. Faris Rotter”. This presents a competition between 2 groups/ artists, and is a microcosm of the music industry where there is a lot of competition between artists to be the best.
The cover denotes a barcode, date, price, and website in a small white box in the corner. Similar to kerrang, this is because these aren’t that important in selling the magazine. However, the website is in a bigger red font, this is to make it stand out so people visit the website aswell.

4. Flat Plans

My flat plans







To assure that i had a guidline for making my magazine on indesgn I drew up some flat plans to help me condense all of my ideas into the magazine itself. I created 2 front covers so that I had a choice in the one that i wanted. This also meant that I could take bits from one and integrate it with the other.
For my front cover, I chose to go with the first one. This is becuase I felt it had more conventions of magazine design than the second. For example the title on the one I chose was better suited to my target audience. This is becuase it was bolder, which connotes how my audience stand out from the crowd.




One aspect of my rejected front cover that I will include on my chosen front cover is the small image that accompanies one of the sells. After analysing Kerrang, which is from a similar genre I can see that it uses this convention within its front cover aswell. This is becuase it offers diversity to the reader as they not only read about what is inside, but they can see what is inside aswell.




Nearly all of the text that I have used on my front page is astist names. I have done this becuase it is the artists within the magazine that make the audience want to buy the magazine. Especialy with my target audeince (see aueince) where they are very commited to the artists and are often loyal to certain groups. It is this love of the artists in rock music that means kerrang also do the same, seing as the artists are what make up the magazine, they advertise them heavily on the front cover.




On my double page spread, I have decided to have "black news". The reason I have chosen a news page is becuase the music industry is always changing. My target audience like to keep in touch with what is going on with the rock music current affairs, seeing as music is a very big topic in thier everyday lives. The fact that my magazine has a news page connotes to my audeince that it is modern and up to date. Kerrang also has its double page spread as a news page.

5. Fonts

For my magazine I obtained all of my font off of www.dafont.com. The reason I used this website is becuase it offers thousands of different font that are more proffesional looking then the standard fonts on adobe indesign.

Font 1



I have chosen this font as I feel that it is very relevant to my magazine. It is bold and black, and also looks faded and worn. The fact that it in't a perfect font connotes how my target audeince arn't perfect citizens, and how they like to lead extrmem lifestyles. Otehr magazines from similar genres also use fonts like this, eg Kerrang.


Font 2



I think that this font is well suites to my magazine and target audience as it has a graffiti effect to it. Graffiti is seen as art among the rock audeince and therefore this font connotes that the magazine sees graffiti as art too, agreeing with the audeince. Again, kerrang also use a graffiti like font for thier motto.



Font 3



I also feel that this is a good font becuase it has the effect of messy, splattered paint. This connotes the "careless" attitude that many of my target audeince will have, not caring if they look a bit scruffy or their room/house is a bit untidy. I think that this font also has the look of worn leather which is highly fashionable among my target audeince. This will mean that the audeince see the magazine as a modern and "trendy" magazine.


Font 4



I chose this font specifically to be the title of my double page spread article. The reason for this is becuase it is a serif font, and therefore has resembelance of the old newspaper headings which makes it really well suited to the heading of the articles on "black news". NME uses a similar serif font for thier double page spread news article.



Font 5



This is a font that I considered using within my magazine, but due to my own reasons and feedback from others I decided not to. One reason why I thought that this font wasnt appropriate for my magazine is becuase I felt that it looked outdated and resembled rock music from a few decades ago. This is no good as my magazine is a contempary rock magazine that is for a modern young audeince. Also i noticed that magazines from similar genres such as Kerrang and NME dont use any fonts that resemble this one.
Other feedback about this font that I recieved meant that i decided not to use it.

Feedback: Letters not clearly defined, looks old, serif font isnt modern, doesnt suit genre of magazine.

6. Photos

My photos
Many of my photos where taken at a freinds gig so I feel that they suite my magazine very well, and will appeal to my target audience as they are of an actual rock concert.


Photo 1



This photo is taken in black and white as it is to go on the front cover of my magazine. The reason that I have chosen for it to be in black and white is so that it matches the black and white theme on the front cover. Also, black and white connotes class and shows that my magazine is a quality magazine which is important if it is going to compete with other well known magazines of the same genre, such as Kerrang. This photo also has a guitar that is framed under the legs of the model. This puts extra emphasis on the guitar which is a very important signifier of rock.
Also, the model is standing in a very heroic, statue-like stance which connotes that the artists are legends. This then relates to the target audience and how they look up to thier artists that they follow.
Lastly, this photo's mise-en-scene denotes lots of rock music related items such as guitars, amps, drums, stage, musicians. All of these create the atmosphere of a gig and put the reader right in the center of the action.

Photo 2



I chose the model in this photo to be looking at the camera so that the readers feels as if the photo is looking at them, which makes them feel that they are envolved in the magazine.
Also the model in the photo is a representation of my target audeince; letting the readers know who the magazine is aimed at (young males that like a variety of rock music). This important again as it connotes that the magazine is for them which makes them feel as if they now have to buy it.
Another point about this photo is that it envolves a drum kit. This connotes to my audeince that the magazine offers variety and covers every aspect of rock. This will give my magazine abigger audeince as it will apeal to more people.

Photos 3,4,5





These photos will all be on my contents page. The reason I have chosen them to all be on my contents page is becuase they are all from the same gig. This tells the audience that the this gig is the main story of the magazine, giving them a sneek preview to what the big exclusive story is about. Also i have chosen these images becuasr they all have differnet shot types. One is a long shot, one is a mid shot and the other a clse up. This important as I am going to be including them on my contents page it is crucial that I have variety to keep the reader interested.

Photo 6



This is a photo that I made from 2 photos on photoshop. which I will explain how in my "Photo editing" blog. The reason I chose to have this photo composed of a CD and a Limewire symbol is becuase it symbolises the on going battle between record companies and limewire. It Also represents the divide within my audience; those who buy legitimate music, and those who download illigally off of programs such as Limewire. This photo represents how Limewire is damaging the rock music genre and its industry. Hopefully the photo will persuade my audeince that download illigally to start buying music legit, which is very important for the rock genre as many new and upcoming bands are on indie labels that require the money from record sales to survive and become big.

7. Photo Editing

Photo Editing

Firstly I took 2 photos; one of a CD and another of a look-a-like limwire logo off of a piece of paper. I impopted them with clear/transparent background to, make sure that they would cut out easily.



I then cropped the look-a-like Limewire logo so that it was a perfect semi circle.



Then I rotated the photo so that it covered half of the CD diagonally.



AFter this stage I flattened the image and exported it as a JPEG ready to be usd in my magazine.

8. Planning and evaluation of the article

Articles





Within thier articles, both Kerrang and NME use quotations from artists and other music related figures. For example a quote from one of kerrangs articles is "to be able to let go of your game plan is really hard." This is quoted by Gerard Way, the lead singer of the highly popular rock band My Chemical Romance. From NME there is "Oh baby, arnt you something" quotes from the artist greenday. The reason that they include quotes from popular artists within thier double page spreads is to show that they have actually spoken to the artist and gained first hand information. It also makes the reader feel as if they are having a conversation with the artists themselves, something that many fans could only dream of.
Another aspect is the informality of the articles from Kerrang and NME. They both use thier language to create and informal relaxed atmosphere. One way in which kerrang does this is by using personal pronouns such as "... that makes you want to jump up and down". It is the word "you" that makes the reader feel involved in the magazine and makes them want to read on. NME uses Puns to create a light hearted informal atmosphere within thier article. An exmaple is "... return of billie joe and co.." It is this play on words that creates humor, making the article an easy read.
One other thing is that the magazines vary with the format of their articles. For instance Kerrangs article is an interview, whereas NME's article is a review. They both have thier advantages, for example kerrangs interview gives the reader the artists first hand statements from the artists that they love. This is good becuase it shows that Kerrang is in touch with the highly popular artists that thier audeince love.
NME's review doesn't envolve the actual artists, but instead it reviews the artists album. This is relative to the target audeince as they spend alot of thier money on albums, and therefore needing reviews helping them choose which ones to buy.

By looking at the above I have made some changes to my article. I have realised that my article was too serious and needed to be more colloquial to create a humurous atmosphere that makes the magazine an easy read for the audeince. Also I have realised that I want my magazine to be a highbrid of what I have mentioned above, both an interview of an artist/s and thier album.

9. Evaluation

My final magazine
I have tried to upload my images via google documents but had problems with uploading and the uploaded magazine appeared fualty, so I have uploaded JPEGs straight on Blogger.










Overall I am very pleased with the final outcome of my magazine. I fell that I have matched it well to the my target audience that I specified at the begginging (see Audeince). Below I will analyse and evaluate my magazine finding the good points of my work, but also spotting what I could change to make it better next time.

Title
I have chosen "Black" as my title becuase it is the most comonly used/worn colour among the rock audience as it connotes rebeliance and death, two major themes within rock. Instantly when you say "rock" you associate the work black with it. This will help the audeince to associate themselves with the magazine.
I Have chosen my title to be in a bold black font that looks like it has been worn down and torn. This is to represent the "tough-guy", anti society lifestyle that many rockers lead or aspire to lead. Other popular magazines with the same genre have similar titles to mine.





Images
The image I have chosen for my front cover is of a teenage boy playing a guitar. This is becuase guitars are most probably the best known and recognised instrument in rock and it will give the audience security as it signifies that it is a rock magazine. The teenage boy himself connotes the age range of the magazine and tells the audeince that it is a magazine for modern young rockers. I have made my model raise his knee and look down towards is guitar as this gives him a "cooler" look. The fact that I have used a medium/long shot is becuase both of the 2 magazines (Kerrang and NME)use medium/long shots in their front covers. Also i think that a medium/longshot is good becuase it shows the artist close enough so that they can be quickly recognised by the audeince, but also shows enough of the artist to show them with thier insrument.



However, I feel that my main image is slightly rough around the edges and would look better if it was smoother. The reason for this is becuause the image wasnt taken on a highly contrasting background as i took it at one of my friends gigs, I had to work with the background I was given. Next time I will arange enough time after thier gig to asure i can get a picture of them with their instruments with a clear background behind them.

Also on my front page I have included a picture of another young rocker playing a drum kit. Again, drums are a signifier of rock and suggest that it is of the rock genre, whilst the drums offer variety rather than just guitars. This is important, as in the analysis of NME above I had established that NME offers a variety of Sub Genres in rock ranging from hard rock, to pop rock. The different instrument within the pictures that I have included such as guitars and drums suggest that my magazine is more diverse and will apeall to a wider audience.




On my contents page I have included images of bands playing at gigs. Each of the images relates to the text that is paralell with it. I have done this becuase it helps promote the given stories within the contents page. Also I have chosen a range of different shots with in the contents page, ranging from midshot, long shot, to extreme longshot. This again connotes that the magazine is diverse and makes it appeal to a wider audeince.




Language
I feel that that is a very large part of my magazine, especialy on the front cover. For instance I have chosen to use aliteration in my main sell "Battle of the bands". This is becuase it will help catch the readers eye and differenciate it from other magazines. Also the word "Battle" connotes the competitiveness of the music industry. Along with this I have used the group of three rule "Who you like. Who you hate. Who will you vote for?" to show that this competitiveness is controlled by the fans, as they have the power to decide which bands make it and which bands fail. Also I have ended that quote in with a rhetorical question to make the reader think and therefore intice them in my magazine. Similar magazines like Kerrang use techniques like this; having thier main sell to attract the reader, then having a sentence underneath to further thier sell.





Another example of my use of language on the front cover is " The best bands, Thebest music, The best magazine!" I have used the word "Best" as it connotes my magazine as the number one rock magazine out there, and therefore people are more likley to buy it. Kerrang uses the same method as seen in the cover I have previously analysed, with "The Ultimate Review".






On my contents page I have advertised a subscription to my magazine. I have used the sentence "Subscribe and get your first issue free". I chose "Subscribe becuase it is an imperative verb and demands the reader to subscribe to the magazine.






Colour
As my title connotes, my magazine denotes mostly black. I have chosen the colour black (as I have mentioned before) becuase it is the most associated colour with rock due to its significations of satent and death. Kerrang, which has a similar genre to my magazine also uses black as its predominant colour as it is the most appealing to our vague shared target audience of rock.

I have also used alot of red and orange within my text and numbers. This is becuase red connotes blood and danger which relates to many of my target audience's extreme lifestyles where they are often adrenaline junkies and live dangerously. NME uses lots of red within thier magazine, especialy the front cover. However they use it for a different reason, to connote passion for the music and sexiness amoung the often model like artists that appear on the front cover.

Lastly, my magazine also contains alot of white within it. I have done this so it is in complete contrast with the black and makes the magazine stand out. Also white is a symbolic colour in the gothic rock sub-genre. The contrast between the white and the black connotes how my target audeince are clearly independant from the rest.

Fonts
My magazine contains about 4 fonts overall. I have chosen them all specifically to match thier purpose. For example my main sell "Battle of the bands" is in a sans serif font to make it look modern and appeal to my young audience. The font also has a messy edge to its letters which give it the look of being wet paint that has been "messed up" by loud music from an amplifier.



I have used another font for my sells; this is also sans serif, but I chose to use this font becuase it is a little less bold than the one above so it doesn't draw the readers attention away from the main sell, but is bold enough to catch the readers eye after they have looked at the main sell. Also I think that this font has the effect of worn leather; which is very relivant to my rock audience as black leather is a very popular clothing choice among rockers. Kerrang use a font like this for thier double page spread.







Layout
For my magazine I have chosen to have a layout that looks quite messy. An example is where I have tilted one of the images on the front page. This gives the magazine a messy look which connotes how the rock audience dont like to live their life to any set routine or structure.

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
I fell that I have created my magazine so that it is similar to other popular magazines of the same genre such as NME and especialy Kerrang. For instance I have placed my masthead at the top, which is the same for both of Kerrang and NME aswell. This is becuase our eyes naturally read from top to bottom so it will be one of the first things the reader spots.
Another way in which my magazine is similar is the way in which i have listed some of the key content on the front, listed and separated by foward slashes. Kerrang uses a very similar technique in the same part of the page, just with dots saparating the words instead. I have included this section that denotes all of the key content in the magazine becuase it summarises the magazine and intices the reader to buy it.
Also, i have chosen for my models head to apear partial blocking the title. I have done this becuase it shows that my magazine is well establish, well known, and that the whole title doesnt need to be seen for the magazine to be recognised. Both kerrang and NME do this so i realised that it was a very popular technique.





However, my magazine also differs from other from a similar genre such as Kerrang and NME. One way is that I have only included one model on my front cover, whereas Kerrang and NME both use atleast 2 or more. The reason that I have only chosen one model is to show that this magazine supports smaller indie artists aswell as the big known ones. The single figure on the front page signifies smaller/less known artists. This is important as one of the key aspects in music is its development and change; many people want to see fresh new artists that arnt well known yet but are becoming popular. It also puts more of the readers concentration on that one figure so that the image will have more effect on the reader, and they are therefore more likely to buy it.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?
I want my magazine to appeal to my target audeince as much as possible(see audeince). Therefore I have made it appeal to the social groups that my audeince fall into. Rockers is one group that my audeince fall into, the way that my model is holding his guitar suggests that it is a weapon. This connotes agression which shows that my rocker audience like to mosh heavily to the music.
Also, the fact that my magazine is called "black" and contains lots of the colour black connotes that my rocker audience that wear alot of black are very fashionable seeing as the colour is highly promoted within the modern magazine.
Throughout my magazine most of my images are of male teeens. I have chosen to do this as it represents that most of the people in the genre that my magazine is aimed at are teen males. This will help the teen/early 20s male readers to relate to the magazine as many of the artists will be their gender and age, and also alot of the content is written to agree with thier views. For instance, one of my articles starts "Sex, drugs, rock n roll." This shows that the rockers that follow my magazine like to lead this extreme lifestyle.


What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
I think that my magazine could be distributed in many of the highstreet retailers such as WH Smiths, Tescos, Sainsburys and many other big names. The reason i think this is becuase my magazine is very diverse and it doesn't specify too much within the rock genre. For instance there are many elements to my magazine that suggest it is heavy rock, such as the name "Black". However there are many other signifiers that the magazine also appeals to a punk audience aswell, such as the teen boy artists. I think it is this diversity that means all rock fans can enjoy my magazine, and therefore giving it a large market enabling ti to be solf in major retailers.

Who would be the audience for your media product?
As I have just mentioned above, my magazine has a very diverse audience within the rock genre. I have already stated my target audience in blog 3 giving an example of the specific individual who may read my magazine(see audeince). However, using psychographics I can get a more detailed profile of the target audeince for my magazine. By looking at psychographics I can now see that my target audeince are individualist-YAKS. The individualist part suggest how the readers for my magazine separate themselves from the rest and want to show the world that they are different. YAKS stands for Young, Adventurous, Keen, and Single. This back ups what I have said in blog 2 about my target audeince being young males that like to live adventurous and adrenaline filled lifestyles. The fact that they choose to dress in predominantly black to represent anarchy and supports that they are individualists that choose not to follow the crowd.

How did you attract/address your audience?
I have answered most of this question in the first part of my evaluation where I have analysed the different parts of my magazine and stated why it appeals to my audeince with pictures. However, I will analyse further explaining anything I feel that I have left out. One important aspect that I feel I haven't mentioned above is the mode of address. I have designed my magazine so that it has an informal mode of adress so that the audeince can see it as a way of relaxing and escaping from eveyday life. This way they will look foward to reading the magazine and will want to buy it. I have done this by envolving many questions on my front cover; this creates a personal link between the reader and the magazine as the questions are directed straight at the reader. An example is "will they attack the charts?"
Also, much of the colloquial language I have used on the front page makes the magazine very direct to the reader; it is as if they are having a chat with the magazine. For example it says "Who you like. who you hate, your vote" The use of personal pronouns such as the word "you" informs the reader that they are activly envolved with this magazine and its content.




What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Adobe indesign and Adobe photoshop have been extrememly helpfull in creating my magazine. Indesign was very helpfull by enabling me to easily construct my magazine. The software enabled me to move, rotate, and resize imported pictures aswell as creating text that can be typed in many different imported fonts. All of these features helped to make sure that I could create a magazine that was a good standard.
Photoshop was the other program that i used alot within the production of my magazine. For example, on my double page spread I used photoshop to create the emerged image of a disc and the Limewire symbol. With a photographs I had taken of a CD, and another of a Limwire symbol i was able to cut them both in half and then merge them back together as one circular image. This was usefull in accompanying my article about record sales dropping due to Limewire.
However, there was one restriction to photoshop which mean that that I couldnt include my artist wearing a shark tooth necklace. My idea was to take a picture of a shark tooth necklace and photoshop it onto my artist to match the "Shark tooth: will they attack the charts?" text on my cover. On the other hand It is less of a restricition in the software and more a restriction in my ability to do a complicated task to a good standard within that software. So overall I am very pleased with the software that I used and can find little fault with it.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
By looking at my preliminary work I can see that my finished magazine is a vast improvement. This is due to many factors such as having a greater understanding of magazine conventions of that specific genre. The fact that I have a greater understanding means that I can apply this knowledge and add features that weren't on my preliminary such as specific fonts from external sources such as www.dafont.com.
Also looking back on my preliminary work I learnt not to use too many colours on the fornt cover of my magazine as it makes it look unprofessional and childish (not my target audeince). I realised that I used to many on my preliminary, so on my final magazine I limited it to 4 colours which i feel has made it better suited to my 16-24 year old audience.