QUESTION 7: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

QUESTION 6: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Through out the production of my magazine I learned to use multiple new technologies that I hadn't previously used.

For instance during planning and research I used Prezi  to present my findings. Prezi is an online presentation maker, it allowed me to create more interactive presentations. Before the project I had very little experience with the software, but now I am able to use it well to produce a professional presentation.

The main technology that I learnt to use in more depth was Photoshop. Before the production of the magazine I'd had some experience with the software, but over the process of production I leant how to use more features than I kew before I started.

QUESTION 5: How did you attract/address your audience?

OUESTION 4: Who would be the audience for your media product?

QUESTION 3: What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

QUESTION 2: How does your media product represent particular social groups?

When producing my magazine it was important to target the social demographics which coexisted with my target audience. My product is aimed at mostly males between the ages of 15 and 24. Due to age most of these people will still be in full time or part time education and likely unemployed, because of this they fall into the lower demographic brackets, C2-E.

Price

In order to appeal to my target audience I wanted to make the price of the magazine affordable. As my target audience are students it is unlikely that they have much money, however they also have less monetary responsibilities as it is likely that a majority of the younger audience live with family. After researching the price of other magazines in the same genre that target a similar demographic I chose to price my product at £2.50 per edition.This is affordable for the target audience as the magazine is released every two weeks. It also leaves enough profit to continue the distribution and production of the product.

                                        Colour scheme

In order to attract my targeted male audience, I chose to use stereotypical masculine colours. The blue and black create a look which is masculine and attractive to the younger and older readers. The yellow serves to highlight selling points on the magazine. Also as yellow is a stereotypical neutral colour, it attracts the less directly targeted female audience. 

Plug

The plug on my cover advertises the possibility to win free tickets to a Royal Blood concert. This would be appealing to my targeted audience as tickets are relatively expensive, and for students the cost of tickets is often too much. Free tickets would be an appreciated prize, however if I were appealing to a higher demographic free tickets wouldn't be wanted as people in a higher demographic can easily afford them.                                                                                 

Artists

The artists I have chosen to feature on my cover are appealing to the target audience as they are relevant in the alternative rock genre. People who know about the alternative rock genre, the targeted audience, will know these artists as they are all well known in the genre. All these bands are formed of male band members. By having just male artists the targeted male audience feels more connected to the bands. 

Photos

These are all the photos of the model used in the magazine.

The model I chose to portray the featured artist, 'Sam Clark', in the magazine attracts the targeted audience as he is a male in the same age bracket as the audience. This makes him more relatable to the audience. The way he is dressed is also very stereotypical of the genre, which makes it clear what genre the magazine is. It's also probable that as the way he is dressed is stereotypical of the genre many of the audience will be dressed similarly.

 Mise-en-scene

In the photos above the model is holding an electric guitar. The electric guitar is a staple instrument for any band in the alternative rock genre. So by having one in my images it re-enforces the genre. The electric guitar is also played by many fans of the genre, so this will again make some of the target audience further relate to the artist.

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

Throughout my magazine I used continuity by creating a house style. As you can see I have a colour scheme which I have used on every page. The colour scheme consists of three colours, blue, black and white. Three colours are conventional for a magazine as they create a professional, clean looking magazine. However a few places in my colour scheme I do use some yellow to highlight selling points and important information. Using a forth colour sparingly is conventional for alternative magazines, such as Kerrang. I have also used the same fonts throughout the magazine. This also adds to the continuity of my product as it is easily seen that the dps would be from the same magazine as the front cover. I have also made sure that the artists I have featured on my contents page are the same as on my cover. It is important to do this as otherwise the magazine would be advertising something that is not in the content of the magazine. My feature artist is also the same throughout. Another small detail which I have kept the same throughout are the page numbers. For instance the main artist is advertised as being on the 24th page and on the dps I have made sure to make it the 24th page.  

Here I have labelled the conventions. I haven't really experimented with straying from conventions. I felt it best to stick to the conventions already in place, as they are known to produce a magazine which is attractive to the audience.