In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (i.e. of music magazines)
My magazine uses many conventions similar to those seen in music magazine seen on stands. One of the most obvious is the house theme used throughout my magazine, I have tried to maintain a clean look throughout, similar to the house style seen in GQ and Esquire. I hope this has given my magazine a professional look, with a smart clean finish, making it a better read for the music fan.
I would argue that I have helped to develop conventions seen in magazines, by using a more simplistic look throughout it helps to show that a magazine doesn’t have to be busy and full of a lot of pictures and files. By using less images it helps to make the magazine an easier read, and a more enjoyable read.
How does your media product represent particular social groups ?
I feel as though my magazine not only represents a particular group but it also challenges them. The particular group that I feel my magazine is aimed at is young ‘hip’ males aged between 17-24. With a particular interest in rap/hip-hop music, and are keen with popular street culture and fashion. I feel that my magazine is aimed at these people but is designed in a way which challenges them, rather than having a hooded youth on my front cover, or a black man in a puffed coat, I decided to go in the oposite direction but still with the same genre, aimed at the same social group. Similar to how Esquire works, I decided that I would do a up-market rap magazine. I dressed my models a lot more formal, similar to GQ and used more formal english, but with the use of rap artists and street slang. Creating a more formal rap artist. Showing that they don’t all have to be violent thugs.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
I feel as though a more successful media institution would publish and distribute my magazine, one similar to Hearst. With a repertoire of other up-market magazine with a high volume of sales. I feel that this is down to the fact that my magazine would be a big seller within the new breed of hip hop fans, such as kanye and cudi fans. Having other up-market magazine in their repertoire shows that they have a history of creating formal magazine that work for the masses and not just the unique people.
Who would be the audience for your media product?
I believe that the audience for my media product would mainly be males aged between 17-24 with a particular taste in street culture, fashion and of course hip hop music. This is due mainly to the genre of the magazine, but also that I would not expect an older reader to want to read about street art or sneakers.
How did you attract/address your audience?
I chose that to keep the particular house style that I was after, which is quite formal with a more upmarket feel i would address the audience very formally but also using as little words as possible, even for the headlines on the front cover. This worked well for various reasons, partly so that I didn’t write to much for and end up losing my house style as it could of been considered to formal, or in some respects quite feminine. I thought that keeping the words down will also make it a lot easier to read as you aren’t forever darting back and forth reading a lot. Also it left most of the words down to the readers interpretations, so if the reader themselves were quite formal then they might seen the magazine as a formal upmarket magazine, where as if they were more inner-city type youths they make read it and feel as though the magazine appeals to them with their use of language.
It also helped to tie in with the house theme of minimalism, creating clean spaces not only on the front cover but also in the contents as well as the double page spread.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
The main technology that I have used throughout the production of my magazine is photoshop. Already having a basic knowledge of photo shop and a basic understanding it was quite easy for me to get stuck into my work and to try and create a decent magazine.
Although saying this I have advanced quite far in my photoshop skills, I have developed new skills and techniques that i didn’t before know how to do.
The main thing that I have learnt though, is that although magazines on the shelves seem appear as an easy process, churned out month by month, they are in fact a lot more complex than that. Having to take hours myself perfecting just one photo I know understand and appreciate the amount of time and effort that is put into creating just a front cover, let alone various pages.
Looking back at your preliminary task (the continuity editing task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?
I feel as though looking back at my preliminary task there is a clear sign that i have progressed, not only with my skills on photoshop, but also with my design perspective.
