At the beginning of this coursework unit I analysed two music magazine covers. I analysed the conventions that were used and discussed how they displayed and presented the magazine. I followed similar conventions that were used on previous music magazine covers when creating my own one. For example, I included a central image, accompanied by anchorage text creating a lead story for the magazine. The central image was taken as a mid-shot, cropped just above the waist which allows the audience to connect and focus more on the artist. The anchorage text was also included to add a purpose; it will direct and inform the readers of what will be inside my magazine. I only used 4 main colours; they were bright and attractive causing the magazine to stand-out and become noticed to the public. I also included a title ‘The Beat’ which was extremely bold and prominent; this reflects the R&B/Hip Hop genre of my magazine.
My title was also very simple but it was still distinctive, this would help my magazine become recognized and identified when displayed to the public. At the top of my music magazine cover I used a slogan; this reads “The Worlds No’1 RnB Music Magazine”. This strap line helps to sell and promote the magazine, when the readers read this line they will be convinced that my magazine is the number one magazine for RnB music, this will persuade them into purchasing my magazine. I also incorporated puffs on my magazine cover and one reads “Free Inside...Rhianna Poster”. The purpose of the puff is to inform the reader of what had been included inside the magazine and will then cause them to buy it. Also, the fact that I have included the buzz word “Free” in the puff will persuade customers even more to buy my magazine as they will feel as though they would have received this aspect for free.
I have also followed similar conventions to the layout of existing magazine contents pages by including both text and image. I chose to merge the text and image together to create my own style of presentation other than following the usual structure of one side being text and the other images. Like the content pages I have analysed, I have placed my text in box columns making the page appear organized, neat and tidy. The colour scheme that I have used in creating my magazine cover has also been used when creating my contents page as the same colours have been displayed.
2.) How does your music magazine represent particular social groups?
My magazine represents both a male and female audience of an age range of 13-18; these teenagers would all obviously have a keen interest in the R&B/Hip Hop genre of Music. On my front cover I have included a central image; this consists of a young male artist aged 17 years old. I wanted my audience to feel as though they could relate and connect with the image on the front cover as this would be one of the first areas they would be drawn to when reading the magazine. The artist has been presented in a typical and similar way to the male teenagers of an urban street culture; his facial expressions, dress code and posture imply how he may have the same attitude and personality as the male youth’s of today. The chosen artist name for him is “Ruthless”. This again suggests his personality to the readers; people may want to read the interview to find out if he is like what his name suggests or is it just a barrier guarding his natural personality? This may be the case for many male youths today not just the artist Ruthless.
In the article (double page spread) Ruthless discusses how he grew up in a dangerous area, was a victim of knife crime and was never really given a chance in life. Again, many teenagers would have been involved or are well familiar with these issues and could relate to and connect with the article. I feel that if a member of society was to look at my magazine they would see a stereotypical male teenager on the front cover. However, if they were to actually read the article then they would be able to understand and gather that like many other teenagers today Ruthless has tried to make a better life for himself. It shows how Ruthless has tried to overcome the problems that he has faced in society and there was no better way for him to do that other than turn to music.
3.) Who would be the audience for your music magazine and why?
The target audience for my music magazine would be teenagers, both male and female between age ranges of 14 to 18. I decided to have this age range because of the feedback I received from my questionnaire; the majority were of this age range. The reason why it wouldn’t attract a younger generation, for example 10 and under is because it contains no features in which they would be drawn to for example, puzzles, games or free toys. It wouldn’t, in the same way appeal to an older generation as the magazine doesn’t contain features in which they would demand and require either. I know for definite that people in the age range 14-18 would most definitely purchase my magazine; this would confirm to me constant sales as people would be continuously buying it. In terms of ethnicity, my magazine could possibly appeal to all races for example, Caucasian, Black, Asian etc... However, considering the genre of music that my magazine is promoting it would possibly sway more towards the young black youth’s of today as the genre is of black origin and they would possibly prefer and associate themselves with this genre of music. Nevertheless, in the same way this could be the case within other ethnic groups.
I want my magazine to strike up a relationship with the reader, this would make them feel comfortable when reading the magazine as they could possibly connect with artists and relate to the stories. I chose to have a young male artist on the cover for these reasons, I know many youths out there would want to read a magazine which centres around and includes information on artists of a similar age range.
4.) How did you attract/address your target audience?
One of the ways I addressed my target audience was by having an artist of a similar age range to them on the front cover. This artist was a new artist in the music industry; he had just turned 17 and he is a young male. This would attract my target audience in many ways, as young females may have taken a liking to him finding him attractive and many boys may also find that they can relate and connect with him. In the double page article, “Ruthless” discusses some issues that he has faced in his life and how he got to where he is now. Ruthless makes reference to issues in which many youths today can relate to, for example, he talks about knife crime, gangs and also living in dangerous and underprivileged areas. I feel that my target audience would feel much more comfortable reading about an artist such as Ruthless. The article may have inspired and encouraged the readers to never give up and try to succeed just as Ruthless has.
I ensured that I made the front cover really bright, colourful and appealing, this would appeal to people in the teenage age range as they would prefer brighter variations of colours and I know this because of the colours that they chose on my questionnaire. Adults wouldn’t really demand these vibrant and striking colours, instead they would prefer a much simpler, intelligent and mature magazine design. I also attracted my target audience by incorporating the buzz word ‘Free’ into the puff ‘Free inside...Rhianna poster’. This will persuade the audience to buy the magazine as they have been assured that they will be gaining something more for free and will cost them nothing. On the contents page I have also included a promotional feature, it allows the readers to subscribe to ‘The Beat’ in which they will be able to receive the magazine
5.) What kind of media institution might distribute your music magazine and why?
The media institution that I feel will distribute my music magazine is IPC Media. IPC Media is a leading UK magazine publisher, it claims it is very ‘diverse’ and ‘offers something for everyone’. When looking at the magazines IPC publishes, I can tell that it is in fact very diverse, it publishes magazines varying from homes, music, sport and more. One of the music magazine that it publishes is ‘NME’, this magazine is similar to my magazine as it falls into the same ‘Music’ category, however it vary along the lines of the genre. ‘NME’ displays a Rock/Indie type genre while my music magazine ‘The Beat’ displays more of an R&B/Hip Hop type genre. IPC Media does not publish any magazines that are similar to the music magazine I created; therefore I feel that as IPC are so diverse they would possibly publish my magazine. They want to offer something for everyone so I feel this would appeal to another range of people.
6.) What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing your music magazine?
I was extremely excited before starting this coursework because I knew there would be no limitations when creating my music magazine. It would allow me to be as imaginative, artistic and creative as possible. Many products of technology were used during this unit of coursework, for example: digital cameras, computers, programs (Photoshop & Illustrator CS3) and the internet. I first began to use a digital camera to capture the images that were going to be used in our magazines. Obviously this wasn’t the first time I had used one but it did allow me to think about the image rather than just taking the picture. When I took my images, it made me consider the framing of the person i.e. was it a close up shot, a mid shot? It also made me consider the lighting and which area would be best to take it.
Once the images had been taken, we were then able to experiment with Photoshop CS3, a program that allows you to edit and improve the appearance and quality of your work. I enjoyed editing the images, for example, adjusting the contrast and brightness and also inserting different lighting effects to help the image become bold and stand-out. The program I used to actually create my music magazine cover, contents and article was Adobe Illustrator CS3. I found this program really easy to use; it was exceptionally clear and very understandable. I have developed many new skills and although these programs may appear quite difficult and ‘scary’ they are also very simple and straightforward once you have experimented with it. The program contained many various tools, effects, font styles and colours which were excellent as it allowed me to experiment with different styles and designs until I was pleased with what I wanted.
I also used the internet in this unit of work, I set up my own personal blog on Blogspot in which it allowed me to present and display all my work for this media coursework unit. This, I feel was an excellent way of presenting my work as many people, even those in which I have not met could even view my work and give an opinion of their own either on the polls or reaction tabs. I was therefore able to gain quick audience feedback which I used to continually improve my work.
7.) What do you feel you have learnt in the progression from creating the school magazine (prelimina
ry task), to creating your music magazine? 
Before starting this coursework, I had the chance to undergo a preliminary task. This task consisted of creating a school magazine cover and contents page to help me become more familiar with using programs such as Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator before I began my actual coursework task. The creation of my school magazine cover and contents pages was very basic and simple as it was the first time I had used the creative suite programs. I first experimented on Adobe Photoshop editing my pictures, I experimented with cutting out the figures, changing the colours of clothes and making the image bolder and more attractive. Photoshop also allowed me to improve to quality of my pictures by adjusting the brightness, contrast and colours. My school magazine cover and contents were very basic and boring compared to my music task. On my school magazine there was no real attractiveness, there was no great variation in colour and only one image.My music magazine however was extremely appealing, I included a background which helps the magazine achieve its boldness, more text and colour variation and I inserted another image. My school contents page, I feel is much worse compared to my music contents page. Again there is no variation in colour, little images and no background. When creating my music contents page I wanted to make it as attractive as possible, instead of having the text information in lines, I inserted it in boxes. I also included some more images and a background. I really enjoyed working with Adobe Illustrator; this is where I could bring my magazine together. I first experienced Illustrator when undergoing my preliminary task (school magazine), it contained text tools, which allowed you to create the titles, sell lines and puffs for the magazine. It also had many different colours and font styles which i enjoyed experimenting with and developing my creative skills.
When looking at my school magazine task compared to my music magazine task, there is a huge different in class and quality. Since completing my preliminary task I have developed many skills using these programs and I believe I have become more creative and artistic, I’m very fond of design and I’m very pleased with the final outcome of my music magazine task. On my blog I included polls; one of the polls asks a question referring to my preliminary task, asking whether I have made an improvement from that to my music task. As it stands, the result is positive as everyone who voted think I have made a huge improvement.
Audience Feedback
Audience feedback is very important and was a key element during this coursework unit. The feedback that I received allowed me to recognize what I had to do in terms of changing and improving my work. In order to receive this audience feedback, I had to set up polls and reactions on my blog where people of the public could interact with and give their opinion. I included two polls, one asking “Which item do you prefer?” and the other asking “Have I made an improvement between my preliminary task and my final one?” For the first poll, 60% of the audience preferred my cover, 30% preferred my double page spread and 10% preferred my contents page. This proved to me that more people liked my cover of my magazine and less people preferred my contents page. If I was to improve my work in the future then this would confirm to me that it would be the content and appearance of the contents page that I would have to improve.
The results from my second poll was extremely positive, I received 100% feedback in making a definite improvement from my preliminary task. I was extremely pleased with this result. I also included reactions on my blog, these reactions were ‘Excellent, Interesting, Good and Poor’, they were placed and the bottom of each post in order for the readers/audience could give their opinion. Another aspect of audience feedback and input would have been my questionnaire. The questionnaire allowed the audience to select the features in which they would want, desire and prefer in the music magazine, this then helped me to create and build upon my own magazine.
