EVALUATION question 1

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



I tried to develop a conventional media product that used aspects of usual magazine conventions, e.g on the cover, i have included a mast head, barcode, advertisement-for my interviews and my two page spread feature as the object to draw attention of the customer. i think the image i used works well with the words (quote) i used to acompany it, with the frase, "with attitude like mine, cooperation goes out the window" and the blurred image of my subject swinging the guitar as if ignoring the camera.

  My contents page, in my opinion, fits the normal conventions of any magazine, lconventionset alone a music magazine. its simplicity, i think is its down fall, due to the fact that this is the area i struggled on the most.

  i think that my two page spread, worked more towards the normal conventions of a music magazine, the writing, small but readable, the image dominating most of the page. it has a direct quote from the text, which i think should have been used for my cover if i had written my text before actual production.

 in my opinion, my product is quite standard in terms of  conventions, some parts are missing, after i overlooked the pieces, but they essential represent common music magazines.

Finishing products

Cover

Contents page

two page spread

PHOTO SHOOT :)

I had alot of fun with a few of my friends in capturing these images, even if it was a very over cast day, and we didnt have much to work with besides the school grounds and a broken guitar, but i tried to use them to my advantage.

My Equipment

In the development of my Cover, two page spread and contents page, I will use a range of equipment.

Cameras, to take the images on my project. this is the closest model to the cameras used in school, the images can both be sharply focused and intensly blurred depending on the way the camera is used.

  the memory sticks i have at my disposal are the SanDisk 8GB and a wrist watch memorystick with 4GB. Each can be used for fast file swapping between computers.

the mac computer is my primary computer, used in the schools media room, where have become atleast a little familiar with the photoshop programme. But through my use of macs, i feel that i am more comfortable using regular computers, such as my Dell Inspiron laptop that has become a perminant addition to my rucksack, and the usual computers used in the other computer rooms in the school.

photoshop is the main computer programme that i must use to create my product. Whilst practicing i have found that opening a powerpoint to produce my word art makes me feel more confident with how my product develops, helping me create the look that i want with the software that i am familiar with.

Front cover

Taking in mind the analysis i did of magazine front covers, i designed the basic outline of my own cover:

in this plan, i have clearly labled where my components are going to be placed. The main idea is that i use an image of my scarf  as if it has been draped over the magazine and poleroid shots have been scattered over it. it is a simple idea, but i think it posesses the carefree style that can relate to my target audience.

Masthead Planning

Masthead
   this began as a doodle in the back of my note book, something that i had been playing with as a graffiti doodle when i was bored, but as i developed the style and colours etc, it began to look more professional and individual.

As the letters developed and i made my own style, the word Gigz became my magazine name, which expressed what the magazine was completely about, like kerrang to its own readers does, the title named after the alleged sound that a guitar makes.

I scanned the resulting image of the title onto the mac computer, after bordering it with black pen to make the words stand out and edited the image on photoshop to enhance the image, adding red and black. 

I used photo shop to darken the background of the title, and the thick edges of the text. I 'hollowed' the white gaps to give the title a stamp like look, like the title has been embossed onto the page over the cover image. I had fun developing my title because it gave me more of a better understanding of photoshop, and made me more familiar with the programme.

my target audience

MY TARGET AUDIENCE

I have decided that my target audience will be the kind of people who do things just for the fun of it. I have always been intrigued by the fun side of teenages that are care free and individual, because they dont care about what other people say. My typical reader would be one of those individuals with fantastic styled hair that has probably been coloured every component of the rainbow, has their own brand of ideas on how the world should be, and have a complete mixture of taste in music. Taking my cousin as an example.------>

 In a recent conversation, she allowed me to use her image as an example for my audience.  In case of extreme individuals,  my cousin is mild compared to some of her friends. Her dress sense is quite masculine , hence the plaid shirt. She has multiple facial piercings which are not very clear on the image, such as her nose stud and lip piercing, and supports a stretched ear, as a statement of rebellion than anything else.

My cousin is the typical example of the 'Mosher' style of teenages(even if a little toned down in comparrison to others), into all kinds of music, ranging from Screamo and heavy metal bands, but is also a fan of Dubstep and various pop icons such as Nicki Manaje. She said, in a recent email-

'Well I am a really big fan of a day to remember. And slipknot. I tend not to look to people for a style icon and I just wear what I find looks good and unique. I vary from heavy rock to alternative singy bands and s**t so yeah ...'

Against this comment, many of her peers tend to follow brands rather than individuals, a popular one being Drop Dead.  I think, even in this short statement, she highlights her not very intrested attitude on much subjects in a cool/not cool kind of way.

Contents pages use a range of fonts and colours designed to keep draw the attention of the reader, much like the colours and fonts on the cover. on the cover above, individual bands are named, along with a picture. this gives easy access to the readers preferances.

cover analysis



NME Magazine

NME (New Musical Express) is a popular music magazine, origionally dedicated to the punk rock side of music. It was the first music newspaper of its kind and the first music associated media to hold the UK singles chart, during the 1950’s, its first ever number 1 being ‘Here In My Heart’ by Al Martino. Its contents followed through each musical revalations, through the 1960’s, which saw the rise of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, and the 1970’s/early 80’s, through the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. In its original publication, it was set as a large newspaper, but as years have passed, its size and cover style has developed and been down sized to the magazine that we can find in stores today. It is published weekly.

Content

The modern content of NME ranges from pop styles and RnB such as Lady Gaga and Rihanna, to more alteranative groups such as Enter Shikari. In the past, the dedication to closer, more up and coming bands meant that NME was the only real newspaper available at the time that held all music related gossip, and was the only newspaper that advertised gigs.
Now, it’s function as a magazine is at risk of being over powered by bigger, more international companies, such as Kerrang! and Q magazine, but its contents have remained the same, spanning over all kinds of music that is popular in the modern age.
Its content is similar to that of Kerrang!, consisting of music reviews,  gig feedback, and interviews of popular or rising stars in the music business.

Publishing information

NME is currently published by IPC media, its website and advertisements are also processed through IPC media.

Typical reader profile

I think, the typical reader profile would be people in their mid 20’s possibly early thirties, with a fast moving sense of their musical tastes. The presence of different music styles suggests that it appeals to a wider audience, but the way it is set and written gives it the air of a much maturere magazine, more in the style of its original newspaper format.

Kerrang! Magazine

Kerrang! Magazine officially began as a one off supplement in the Sounds newspaper, dedicated to the rise of hard rock bands such as Led Zeppelin, AC/DC and Aerosmith , and the new wave of British heavy metal, a movement that began in the late 1970’s in Britain, and had branched out internationally by the early 1970’s.

Angus Young of AC/DC was the first act on the cover of Kerrang! Publication continued through the 1980’s and into the early 90’s, edited by Geoff Barton. Publication increased from a monthly bases, to fortnight as the magazine became more popular, and in 1987, to a weekly basis. When its publishers modified its content from thrash and

glam metal, to Emo and metal

core, there was a lot of complaints. Brannigan, the publisher that ended kerrangs down fall, steered Kerrang through its most commercially successful period.

Content

The content of Kerrang! Is mainly based on alternative styled groups, offering opinions on up and coming bands, and reviews of recent gigs.

It ranges its feed back from majorheavy metal like BlackVeiled Brides to the softer, more garage styled bands of You Me at Six, which gives the magazine a broader fan base.

The magazine usually consists of feedback over the past week, such as popular tweets, answered fan questions and letters of the week. The news delves into the more promotive of up coming bands and more interesting stories of the week that involve rock stars. This is usually followed by Reviews of gigs and features advertised on the cover, and a collection of posters containing famous bands.

Publishing information

Kerrang is currently published by the Bauer Media Group, and also, as Kerrang TV is in partnership with Bauer media Group it can be accounted for advertising as well.

Typical Reader Profile

Kerrangs typical reader would be aged 15-25, intelligent and be gladly aware of their individuality. The presence of brands such as Drop Dead and advertisement of gaming, can add to the individuality, showing that readers are active consumers of gaming and fashion. Almost all of the bands profiled promote tattoos and/or Piercings.

Audience theorys

Audience theories

In early years, media was thought to implant certain views into the mind of the consumer, directly by the viewer in taking the information. This is known as the Hypodermic Needle theory. Hitler used this theory to produce the propaganda to change his nation’s opinions on different cultures.

The Hypodermic Needle theory soon became less and less likely as media became more important in society. Because the society had different views, unlike the sheep suggested by the Hypodermic Needle theory, other explanations were sought out.

The two step flow theory describes the idea that information and opinions don’t just directly plant themselves into the brain, but form their own opinions on other opinions used. For example, food critics visit a restaurant, and post their opinions of said restaurant in a newspaper or the internet. Whether the critic gives the restaurant a good review or a bad review can depend on the amount of customers that the restaurant receives, because most of the population would follow the critic’s opinion, good or bad.

After the first generation of media consumers matured, individual differences began to arise, and media theorists discovered that audiences made the choice of what they watched and how they consumed texts. The theory arose that media texts had certain rolls in society-

Ø Surveillance

Ø Correlation

Ø Entertainment

Ø Cultural transmission

And that they intake them for the following purposes-

Ø Diversion, escaping the real world

Ø Personal relationships, e.g. watching soaps with the family

Ø Personal identity, finding yourself in texts.

Ø Surveillance, gossip magazines etc.

The uses and gratifications theory had been considered more rational than other theories because it can also relate to new media.

The reception theory extends the uses and gratifications theory by suggesting that texts can also be chosen depending on the more unchooseable aspects of the viewer (gender, Class, Age, Ethnicity, Sexuality) and to support reasons, the background of the viewer can be a contributer to what they consume.

I think the main theories I will be focusing on will be the reception theory and uses and gratifications, which both describe an individuality of the consumer and how they intake information through there general needs.