How does your media product represent social groups?

Target Audience

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

Evaluation on Prezi

I don't think my contents page really looks like a normal contents page; I don't think they usually put as much focus into their photos as I have done. Although I did attempt to make the photo more like a plain background image like other magazines, mine turned out to be centered completely around my model but I decided to keep this effect as I liked it.
Like a real contents page, I followed the convention that the page numbers stood out more than anything else; I used large numbers that were coloured to match the house theme amungst the other text which was just black.


I think that my double page spread is very typical of that of a mordern magazine as it included a large picture of the model for those who aspire to them and want to see them exposed on a full page, posing. And like a usual article, I had it in two columns to make for an easier read than a big chunk of text which may put people off reading it.
I made the page a green colour to stop the white space behind her looking blank and boring. I chose green as it looked good next to the pale colour she was wearing and stood out in a magazine which consisted mainly of dark greys, black and mustard.

Photoshoot

I needed 4 main pictures when I went into the photoshoot; front cover, contents and 2 for my double page spread.


Knowing that I needed a midshot of my model for the front page I experimented with different poses which I thought would look most effective on the cover of a magazine- it was going to have text tightly fitted around it and the colour look good with the colour of the text and yellow masthead.
I chose green for my model to wear as I thought it was bold and neither blends in nor clashes with the yellow theme.
I tried to make the pose simple so that the text could tighly fit around it- with the concentration of the photo on her face and the large hair giving a dark space for the masthead to be placed over.

I wanted the picture in the background of my contents page to be a wide shot which included the models whole body, also being a simple pose so that the text could fit close but also with her back turned, to make a big change from the front cover rather than just a zoom out from her face from the first page to the next.
On the contents page I wanted her outfit to match the colour scheme so that she became part of the page rather than the main image, as this page was more about the articles than the model.

On the other hand, on the double page spread, she was the most important part of the page. I had her dressed in a less promenant colour here so that the background could be coloured instead without clashing as I wanted this page to be lively and knew I would struggle to fill the white space if it was not a colour.
I needed two photos for this page, I knew I wanted one of these to be my model laying down so I could place her above the text as if lying on it, and the other a midshot to focus on her face and beauty; I chose to have her facing the side as this again showed a difference as it was another different pose and view.
I also wanted this page to have a different tone, as the photos I used for the cover and contents were there to make the magazine look fashionable and professional, but this article was to show the model's personality and to fit the text that was about her so I had her smiling and looking more fun than as if pouting.

Final Contents

After playing around with my main photo for the contents page, I realised I was right to change my idea from having a square photo with text around it to the layout like Mojo where the text was tight around the model's body as it was easier to fill the page and stop it from looking empty and boring.
I didn't use Top of the Pops' idea of having separate categories on my contents page in the end as it was hard to distinguish between the different sections without making the page look too busy and hard to read and understand.
I tried to include as many pages as possible but did also use NME's idea of having some pages bigger, more important, than others on the contents page as it made it less boring and plain.

I am pleased with the way my contents page has turned out as I have improved it by adding more pictures after realising there wasn't alot of colour and continually rearraanged my texxt to ensure it suitably surrounded my model. I think it now looks proffessional and effective and meets my origional aim to have a fashionable music magazine that had a messy look. I think this works well in my final draft.

Talking through my drafts of my front cover

Contents Analysis

I like the layout of MixMag and am also planning to use a dark colour scheme similar to they have used; with a black background and a light text. I had originally planned to also have one large picture with the list of pages at the side but I have changed this idea as I don’t think it looks effective in MixMag’s contents page so instead I will be doing something more like Mojo, where the list of articles are tightly surrounding the figure in the photo down one side of his body.

I’d like to organise the layout of articles like Top of the Pops did as it has been put into useful categories making it easy to read and means I can add more colour to make it livelier with boxes, separators and other shapes to split up the groups.

Unlike Mojo’s contents page, I’d like to include a lot of pages because I don’t think this was a very successful contents page as it only informs you of 4 articles that included in the magazine where in opposition I could do something like MixMag where they have included as many articles as possible.

I also did not like the fact that NME used 7 different pictures on their contents page because although it does successfully explain a mixture of various articles that the magazine included. I thought that the quotes they used and a short sentence underneath on what the article was about was an effective way to list articles and by making the page number large it was clear what pages to find the articles that interest the audience. Top of the Pops also achieved this by labelling a diagram of the front page to show the reader which page to find the cover lines that they are interested in on, although I think this made the page look childish whereas I am trying to make my magazine appeal to a young-adult audience.

Well done Vicky – you have thought carefully about the contents pages of the magazines you have analysed and considered how to use these ideas when creating your own contents page.

Double Page Articles Analysis

My idea will be similar to the double page article that I studied from NME magazine; I will have a picture take up one whole page and on the opposite, half a page of article with a large title above.
I also liked the inclusion of a caption on the photo in Mojo's article which gives a small hint about what the article is about and possibly make them interested and want to read on.
I didn't want my article to be an interview as my questionnaire of my target audience proved that not many of them are interested to read articles.

Cover Analysis

By using a main photo to give the overall effect of the magazine, the genre, target audience and possibly even the content of the magazine can be conveyed. The technical aspects of the photo used vary depending on these factors of a magazine. For example, MixMag is an example of a dance music magazine in which the photo is of a DJ. The genre is demonstrated with this photo of a DJ because the use of a mid-shot shows the view of his body that can be seen by the audience when he is behind his decks. He is also surrounded by bright colour shadows which resemble the effect given by disco lights in a club he may play at.

By using the mid-shot on the cover of Drummer, it captures the positioning of a typical drummer, seated at his drum kit. The slight low angle of the shot gives the impression that he looks down onto audience, that his drum kit gives him the power over the music and whoever listens to it as this magazine focuses on the instrument and what effect they believe it has.

Another style that is successfully shown through their photo is Terrorizer, where a closer shot is used as the face is all that is need from this model to show his style and therefore the genre of the magazine. The dark colours in his hair, make up and clothing closely relate to the “Goth” or “Grunge” fashion so it portrays to the audience what style this magazine represents. The fact that the photo covers most of the masthead may also link, making him look evil or dangerous.

Oppositely, wide shot is used for Vive Le Rock where a band is shown from above. This gives the impression that the person taking the picture is high up and has focussed all the way down just to this band as they are the most important things on the street; the people who get the attention in this area because of their music/talent/fame.

Considering that I would like to have a focus on fashion in my magazine, I would like to have a shot which includes elements of it, like a wide shot to include a whole outfit in which the model is dressed in “fashionable” clothes, so that it is clear to the audience this will be included as part of the content of my magazine. But because I still want it to be clear that this is a music magazine, I will not have my model on a cat walk or with just a white backdrop; I do not want the focus just to be on the clothes but on the person, so I’d like to frame the person with other things that show their personality and genre of music.

Everything included on the front cover represents something; all colours and clothes have been carefully selected to covey the right message and chosen to symbolise particular themes/styles to the audience.

In MixMag, the clothes that the DJ is seen wearing are plain, he has not been done up as he wants to remain simple to show that the music is most important  to this artist and not his image, like Drummer also in which he is simply smart. On the other hand, Terrorizer has clearly chosen what he is wearing just to show his style and exaggerate it.

The fact that the photo on the cover of Vive Le Rock is in black and white is to represent the vibe that the band want to be associated with, like an old fashioned, classic rock look. They have used the setting of a normal street to show that they don’t want to look like they are trying to be fancy or in with fashion, just simply themselves. The fact that they can been seen standing casually with their hands in their pockets it’s as if they’re comfortable with their status and don’t care what people think, a confident band bringing their own style to music that look like a “cool gang” which hopefully will be a good message to show on a front cover as people want to find out more about them and what else they do.

To make evident the fact that I believe fashion is an important part to people who they are and want to prove it through experimenting with different styles accompanying music genres in my magazine. I will ensure that my models also look confident with their taste in clothes and will have the poised as if to show off their style; for example, dancing or strutting as if down a cat-walk or posing for a camera like a model as i think this makes it more proffesional than having people dressed in clothing in other settings. If I were to make more than one issue of my magazine, I would show a variation of fashion so that I prove that it isn’t for a specific group of people and hopefully I will be able to choose a look that doesn’t only appeal to one of these groups.

The cover lines and captions on the covers of magazines contribute to the way the magazine is seen by the audience, both through choice of wording and also colours and styles. The word “mix” in the name of the magazine MixMag was chosen specifically because it represents the art of “mixing” which DJs do in this dance genre of music. The other words highlighted on the page are those related to dance event at which you’d find these DJs and which attract people into this kind of music, including superlatives to make the audience believe it is about the “best” or “biggest” events.

Similarly, both Vive Le Rock and Terrorizer included the names of rock bands to attract the audience because bands are what most people who like rock are most interested in and looking to read about. By having this list on the front cover, it not old established what type of music this magazine is focussed on but also interests fans of these people who will then want to buy the magazine to find out about their favourite artists. Drummer includes some big names that would stand out to its target audience too.

I would like to include a lot of famous names, a collection of various types of artists so as to attract big fan groups from separate genre’s and also some key words about clothes and fashion, I think using big shop names would be a successful way of achieving this.