Preliminary task - contents page

Preliminary task - Front cover

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

My preliminary task was pretty bare, and the main focus seemed to be the background. also, the image wasn't cut out very well and the text looked like it had just been stuck on.
the front cover didn't have much vital content and the sell lines were plain. The masthead was placed at the top of the page but looked out of place.
My contents page looked boring, with a plain background and a badly placed image. There weren't many articles featured and the text was simply stuck at the side of the page.

"What have you leart about technologies from the course of constructing your product?"

Whilst creating my product, I used a small range of technologies.

for example, i used different lighting techniques in a photography studio which made my photos look a lot more professional and sharper.

I also used photoshop to create my front cover, contents page and double page spread. this meant that the editing was much easier, and i could add tect either behind or on top of my pictures. I could also edit images and change/distort them at any time as well as go back on these changes.

I also tried to use Indesign for my double page spread, however, i found photoshop a lot eaier to use.

"Who would be the audience for your media products?" and "How did you attract/address your audience?"

The target audience for my magazine would be teenagers who are interested in alternative and indi music. Probably people who enjoy going to gigs and concerts, and who tend to stay with other people who are more interested in certain styles and music tastes.

I addressed this audience by using a select colour scheme, dressing the models in alternative clothing, having pages on where to find discount band merchendise and upcoming gigs, and mentioning certain alternative and indi bands.

"What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?"

If my product was to be sold, i would think that Future Publishing would be the company to distribute it, as they publish a full selection of music magazines online and in print.

"How does your product represent particular socoal groups?"

My target audience is teenagers who prefer alternative and indi music. To try attract this sort of social group, i stuck to dark colours and i tried to make any text which stands out quite grungy.
The main people in the images are wearing sort of alternative, and even gothic clothing. this would attract certain social groups, as they may notice the clothes the people on the front cover are wearing and become interested enough to read the magazine.

"In ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?"

For my magazine cover I decided to use a lot of typical conventions of other magazines.
I used a bold, white masthead which clearly stands out against the black background. this would attract an audience as it is eye catching and obvious.
The models on the cover are looking directly at the camera, which represents them looking at the reader. The main person is at the front of the cover and facing forward, whereas the other two people are standing behind the main focus and are also facing other directions. This shows the status of the 'band members'.
 I also kept what would be the less important articles in smaller white text, and made the main sell line a lot bolder. I chose to use the colour red, as it is bright but still not as bold as white. apart from the banner at the top of the page it is the only part of the front page that is red.


I also stuck to the usual conventions of music magazines with my contents page.
I used few images which link in with the main articles. Two images show the people from the front of the magazine. this makes the main article recognisable, and as one image shows the main model from the front cover, you instantly know that this person is the main member of the 'band'.
I chose to use a black background and light grey text, so that the writing was easy to read but wasn't too bright against the background. i also took the 'Fresh Riot' masthead and added it to the top of the page with the words "in this issue" along side it to show that the page tells you what would be in the magazine. I also used kickers to give the audience hints about each article. This would help them choose which articles they would be most interested in.


For my double page spread, i used a full page image, however, most of the image is black as it is low key. This meant that the text could be placed over the plain black part of the image. to make it look like there wasn't much to read, i stuck to two and a half columns and kept the title large. the image used looks like the 'band members' are looking at the text.

Looking at Past Students Work

By looking at past students work, I have learned that the colour scheme should have similar colours -  They should either be warm or cold.

I noticed that the magazines that looked professional had interesting images which sort of blended in with the background. Hopefully, my images will do the same.

also, I found that the more interesting front pages showed the illusion of space, with layers weaving in between one another - This makes the magazine look a lot more interesting.

Photoshop skills are a huge benefit. Some of the images on magazines weren't cut out too well, which then made the whole magazine look worse than it actually was. On the other hand, pictures that weren't cut out, and the background was edited using different tools looked a lot better than most of the other magazines.

pictures taken in studios and rooms with blank walls make better front cover images, and images taken on location look decent on contents pages.

I will try to make my magazine look interesting. I will stick to a few colours so that the coloure scheme doesn't look too confusing.

Double page spread

Contents page

Front page