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

The master head of my magazine CURRENT was written in Helvetica Bold, which was already downloaded, on PhotoshopCC 2014 on my MacBook. I chose this font because it is bold, large and eye catchy for the audience. This is also the typical lettering that you would expect to find on existing magazines in the shops. I chose the title CURRENT as my eye-catchy name for my magazine; this is because I felt that it links with the music style of pop chosen. I thought this because up-coming pop music are also current and played on many radio stations across the world and so it will appeal to these listeners. This is also the biggest genre of music that people listen to, and so more people are likely to buy magazine like mine. My master head is also very similar to the style of NME, CLASH and Loud and Quiet as this too are written in a bold lettering to help stand out when on a white background. I also tired to make my magazine as simple as possible to meet the demands of the target audience and so that it is suitable for a wider age-range.

The graphology of my magazine was very simple, using Helvetica pretty much all the way through. This font was already pre-downloaded on my mac, however when playing I used www.DaFont.com to look for more unique fonts but I felt Helvetic was the best as it was simple yet very effective. I used the colour of black for all my writing, this is because I felt that it worked best and fitted with everything. I also used it because it was highly revealing on the white background that helped it to stand out and will be appealing to future potential customers and help to promote my brandname. For the other text the colours are monotone, this was because I used mainly black, with the occasional light pink, this was because I felt that this looked the best when placed on a white background and was easier to read for the audience. I used this too because it helped to enhance these words and make them stand out, as these would be some of the key features to why customers would buy my magazine over the pre-existing ones in the high street stores.I feel that the writing on the right hand side of the page is the most effective and powerful text of the cover. This was because it was the most important text to really attract the attention of potential buyers. I chose the sizing of the text depending on how key it was for it to be seen at first sight, this meant that the most eye catchy text was the largest in order to ensure that it is appealing to my target audience as this way theyre more likely to invest in my magazine over the others that already pre-exist today. When creating my magazine I based it around the layout of loud and quiet, this was a different way of coming at for a pop magazine. However I felt that this worked and I used this idea, because there are already many pop magazines out there today, and so mine would be different and unique, helping it to stand out which will result in people being curious and interested in buying my magazine. I used a simple page layout throughout my magazine, because I feel that after doing my research and planning nowadays thats what people want and are more likely to buy. Also creating a pop magazine for the up-coming artist, that are played on radio 1, rather than stations such as capital FM, creates a wider audience range, because its seen as cooler and so I wanted to attract the audience of not only the people interested in upcoming pop music but also those who like different genres too, and by creating a simple layout, will enable this to work as it will be more appealing to everyone. However due to the fact it was a pop magazine, I also used some ideas from billaboard magazine, in order to bring about a pop feel to it. I decided that instead of using the blue lines that they use in theirs, Id use pink to bring colour to the magazine and stop it from looking boring. This will also make my magazine eye catchy and different from those already available today. The styling that I used for my models Molly and Patrick was a very important part to my magazine. They were styled in a number of different ways to fit in with the current Upcoming pop fashion. Firstly Molly wore a grey dress and then a grey, blue and black top, both of these were very simple, however I felt that they were effective and enabled her to fit in with the current more mainstream fashion. Her hair and makeup were both done which made her look like a natural pop artist as it was very basic makeup and natural hair, which is the look that most pop stars go for today. I felt the clothing that she was wearing would be what you expected upcoming artists to wear, and it wasnt tacky or unattractive. Patrick was also dressed in a number of different outfits, from jumpers, to a shirt and a denim jacket. All of what he wore too I felt portrayed the cool pop fashion that the males wear at this moment in time. I felt that he helped to bring attention to the contents page and attract the reader, as it was a different face from the front. Having attractive and fashionable models too will drawn attention to my magazine because people will want to be like them & look like them, and so they will be interested in reading and buying the magazine. Also with Patrick being 20years old, it helps to make the magazine look more realistic because he is similar age to pre-existing male artists/bands.

For my double page spread I used a very simple layout, with the focus being on Molly as she was my main artist. I felt that this helped draw attention to her, and fitted with the simple styling chose that I used for both the front cover and contents page. I also used the simplistic style that both CLASH and Loud and Quiet have on their magazines, because I feel that this is more appealing to the audience, and it doesnt play with their eyes as much as a busy double page spread would. My genre of pop used is shown on my double page spread, not only in the article, with the Q&A being standard questions that are usually asked when interviewing artists, but also by the spread of the page. My photos are big, helping Molly, the artist to stand out, this will be more appealing to the audience and will attract them into reading it, as its more aesthetically pleasing. The pink lines again run throughout my magazine helping all the pages link together but also stopping them from being boring and less appealing.

2) How does your media product represent particular social groups?During the research and planning stages of my magazine, I decided that I wanted my magazine to stand out to most groups of people. This then enabled me to have a clear idea of what type of audience will be buying my magazine. My audience profile was also a key element to my research and planning as I had to ensure that my magazine would attract the target audience, which was mainstream however pop music attract most people at some point in their lives and so I had a much wider audience to appeal too. In order to do this I decided that my magazine was going to have a simplistic style so that it would reach a larger target audience of both male and female. I did this by having everything on a blank white background, this meant that the pictures and the text where the main focus. This is quite different to most of the pop magazines pre-existing today, meaning that mine has more of a chance because there is a gap for it. Having the pictures and text standing out means that my magazine will be more attractive to the audience and so they are more likely to buy/read it. I also feel that the pink that I brought in across the magazine, helped to reduce it from looking to simple and plain, and brought about a more pop feeling to it, without it looking too in your face. The clothing I chose my models to wear was influenced heavily on the site UK tribes; this was because I followed their mainstream kind of style, where I had Molly wearing high street fashion clothing that most pop artist wear today. Patrick too was dressed in high-end fashion clothing, that wasnt at all boring, and fitted with the styling of my magazine. I feel that having Molly and Patrick in this way meant that more people will be attracted to my magazine, from all ranges of age and fashion sense because a lot of people nowadays base their fashion around the mainstream style and interpret this in their own why and so it will ensure that I have a wider audience to appeal too.

I feel that my main artist Molly appeared similar to most girl pop artist today, especially Hannah from London Grammar, this was due to her look being very simplistic and natural, but Hannah too represents the kind of artist that Molly is, and so this will help Molly to gain fans, but also readers for my magazine.

Patrick too was used to portray another pop artist on the contents page. He was dressed similar to George Ezra, who is an upcoming British pop artist, but also Mark Ronson. This was because he wore some plain jumpers that were similar to what both these artists wear. In the test shots he too wore a shirt, which was similar to Ronsons style. However this was much jazzy, making it appealing and standout, but these pictures where not used on the contents page as they didnt fit with my lay out. Patricks clothing too was very simplistic like Ezra and Ronson, which meant that, people would look at his clothes and be interested in buying them however; they would be more interested in his music rather than his fashion, as this is a music magazine.

3) What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?I would say that out of all the publishing companies that BAUER MEDIA is the one for me. It is a division of the Bauer Media Group, Europes largest privately owned publishing group. The group is a worldwide media empire offering over 300 magazines in 15 countries, as well as online, TV and radio stations. Their business is built on influential media brands with millions of personal relationships, which engage readers and listeners. Bauer Media Groups strategy is to connect audiences with excellent content through their broad multi-touch point brand platforms. Their wide portfolio of influential brands gives them the advantages over pure play magazine and/or radio competitors. It already publishes Q magazine and other music ones, which are different genres too mine, which is why I think that there is a gap for mine, as there is nothing like it in their company before. This could be a unique selling point for them and give them a boarder range of customs, and also increases my viewing figures and publicity.

4) Who would be the audience for your media product?From my research in my target audience for my Pop music magazine, I came to the conclusion that my target audience would be aged 15-25 and both male and female. I felt that this age range is easy to reach because at this point in your life, mainstream music is played everywhere, from the radio to parties and so everybody listens to it, even if they prefer other genres. I chose 15 years old as a starting point for the age range, this is was because I felt at this age you begin to become more independent, and parents/careers allow you to do more things by yourself, for example going to gigs and festivals. After doing some research too, most venues only allow 14 to 16+ on their own without a parent or guardian, and so this will mean that for some gigs 15year olds will be allowed to go on there own with their friends, making them more interested in music and so more likely to start buying my magazine. I then chose to stop at around 25years old. This was because at around this age you begin to finish off your education, such as universities and colleges, begin to settle down and get a job of your own. This means that you are less likely to be visiting gigs and festivals, meaning that youll be less out going and so this could affect your interest in music and buying music magazines. I also decided that I wanted my magazine to appeal to both male and females equally. However when it comes to sales this will mean that depending on the artist on the front cover, there may be more sales of one gender rather than the other within each issue. For example, when there is a female artist on the front then females are more likely to buy my magazine, on the other hand when there is a male, their will be more males buying it because it will appeal to them more. The genre of my magazine and music is within the mainstream/pop group, this means that my magazine will focus on the characters within the crowd that like to be the same as everyone else, however some characters within this group may like to be unique too, but people in the mainstream/pop group tend to be the same and follow the crowd. I feel that there is a gap in the market for my genre of magazine as there is the only well-known billboard available. I also feel that my pop magazine is coming from a unique style and so is more likely to catch the audiences attention, as its something that they havent seen before. I also decided on quite a high price range for my magazine, which affects the audience and potential buyers because if I price my magazine too high then people will be less likely to want to buy it. However I conducted market research and found that people would be willing to spend up to 4.00 on a new pop magazine, and so from this I decided to price mine at 3.99.

During the making and construction of my magazine I had to keep the research and planning Id conducted at the beginning in mind. This way I could ensure that everything I was doing fitted with the style and met the interest of my target audience. I made sure that my artist MolMac was modeled appropriately to fit the clothing/hair styles of my genre so that the audience can relate themselves to my magazine. If the audience can relate themselves to my artists on my magazine then they will me more likely to buy my magazine and talk about it with others, which will bring about success for me.

5) How did you attract/address your audience?It was vitally important that my front cover attracted my target audience, this was due to the fact that it would be the reason to why people brought my magazine over the others already available, and the front cover would be the first page theyd see. In order to do this I decided that it would have a very simple look about it, which occurred as it only had minimal layers. It too included a large center image, which linked to members from my target audience group, big and bold text, which is eye-catchy for the audience to read, and the colour pink that ran throughout, this will make it more attractive and appealing to the audience. I feel that this page helps to attract the audiences as it fits with the requirements of what my target group and everybody looks for too, as a simple layout magazine is more likely to be brought rather than a busy one, as this for the audience is harder to read, and is more complicated for the mind.

Master Head: This would be one of the first attractions to my magazine; this is because I positioned it on the top & center of my magazine. This was a key element to my magazine as whenever we read we read left to right from top to bottom, and so the masthead would be one of the first things a potential buyer would look at. The font and sizing of CURRENT that I used was very bold and large, helping it to stand out over the others that already pre-exist, this will hopefully mean that the audience are attracted to my magazine. I was inspired heavily by loud and quiet magazine for the master head, this was because they too use a large and bold text, which helps it to stand out and look appealing to the potential buyers/readers. I too chose to have my text in black, this was because it will help to increase the attention because its easy to read at a quick glance and isnt too long.

MOLMACThe main model I used throughout my magazine was Molly, was styled in similar clothing to what my target audience would be interested in. This was because on the front cover she was wearing a checked top and a skirt with tights; this type of clothing is what youd expect someone within the mainstream fashion style to wear.I also make Molly face the camera, with a straight on shot; this helped draw attention of my audience and potential buyers.

6) What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? Camera- during the construction of my media product, I used a Nikon D3200 camera to take my images for my magazine. This was a helpful piece of technology as it provided high quality images and so this meant that when inserting them onto my magazine they were the best quality, which looks professional on the page. I also used a tripod and lightening, this enabled me to get the correct angles for my photos and also take landscape and portrait pictures. The lightening too meant that there were no shadows in the pictures and the all have a white background, making them look realistic, and help enhance the look of my artist. Photoshop- I downloaded this programme on my MacBook and used it to create the majority of my magazine. I had never used this programme before the creation of my magazine and so when using it I learnt how to edit my images in order for them to fit it my requirements, but also how to add layers of boxes or text to make my magazine look the best it could. Since completing my magazine I have much greater knowledge of this software. Online sites & software also for the making of my magazine I used many online websites, such as Blogger, Scribd, Flickr, Google, UK tribes, PowerPoint, Word and many more. Blogger was the main website as this was where I created my coursework blog, this meant that I could post all my research and planning on their and also the creations and adaptation of my magazine constantly, so that it was easy to see how I progressed. 7) Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?Mise en scene and camera work: looking back there was a huge improvement in my work from my preliminary work to the work that I have recently produced. In terms of the camera work, my lighting is improved, as there are no longer dark shadows, and the photography quality is much better and all photos were in focus, this ensured that the final magazine I created looked professional. On the cover of my final magazine Molly, my main artist has eye contact with the audience and is facing the camera, however in my prelim Rhia wasnt, which was a key element that I changed, as this makes the magazine more appealing. The use of a tripod too came in handy because in my prelim, my model wasnt centered in the middle, she was slightly off to one side, however when it came to photographing for my real magazine, I moved the tripod around in order to get in the correct position for my model to be in the center, especially for the front cover as this was the page that everybody would see first and the be eye catchy key element to my magazine and so it had to be exact. There was also improvements in the styling of my artist, as in my prelim the clothing was very simple and boring, however in my final magazine it was much more eye catchy and appealing, which will draw attention to potential buyers and customers. The clothing that Molly too wore fitted the genre of the magazine, which means that the listeners of that genre will be able to relate to the clothing that she is wearing and therefore be more attracted into buying my magazine. I also feel that the makeup and hair my model wore for my prelim was very simple which didnt help her to stand out amongst a crowd of magazine, therefore, in my final magazine I ensured that my artist had natural hair and makeup but enough on to make her look effective and stand out, but also still showing off her natural beauty. Overall I feel that the improvements I made were beneficial and helped to ensure that my final magazine looked as good as it possible could. I felt that making the preliminary at the beginning helped to gain an idea of what to do and what I need to do in order to improve it. This was a good starting point for me, which I built on in order to get to my final creation. I also carried out no research before completing my prelim magazine, and so when doing this for my actual magazine, it helped me to gain ideas in what to include in order to attract my potential customers. I feel that the prelim was a good place for me to start, however my improvements to my actual final magazine are huge.