AS Media Studies Foundation Portfolio - Amy Wright: November 2012

For my AS Foundation portfolio production I had to create a new contemporary music magazine in which I chose to focus upon the Rock Indie genre. In order to fully understand the coursework task and expectations of a magazine I completed generic research into media terminology, different target audience’s (including demographics and psychographs) and the specific conventions of a music magazine themselves. I mainly focussed on using the website BlogSpot to present my findings in date order however I also used other applications to both create my magazine and present other research such as Photoshop, Microsoft Word, Paint and Microsoft PowerPoint.

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

(Power Point - Point 2)

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The emphasis placed upon the rock genre of my magazine through conventions such as puffs and cover lines immediately represents the stereotypical audience member as rebellious and young. Arguably this could connote a negative impact on this social group however I strongly disagree as these fundamental characteristics appeal to other social groups showing the exciting and fun quality of the magazine. I specifically included rebellious features through the conventions, for example the sexual innuendo “69” as one of the cover lines. This again adds to the representation of the magazines audience as badass and living life to the full. This youthful experience exaggerated through representation would attract different social groups as expectedly older generations would desire to regain their youth and have fun. I attempted to make my magazine suitable to target both a wide female and male audience. The front cover does portray more of a masculine image as the colour scheme follows a more darker tone and the main image is a male model. The audience would make the assumption that the magazine was male dominated likely due to the stereotypical link with between the male gender and music equipment such as guitars. Arguably males are the iconic image of the rock genre therefore my magazine does represent the male gender as dominant. This could be successful as it relates my model with rock legends such as rod Stewart. This ideology has been further promoted in my double page spread when my model is wearing orange sunglasses to impersonate the iconic rock celebrity “….”. With clear comparisons between rock legends and the audience of the magazine the social group is represented as the young generation of rock legends showing their potential in the industry. Finally I have included the puff “WIN” on the contents page to add detail to the main image of “Demi Lowe” combined with a further explanation that the audience have the chance to win signed band merchandise. Clearly I included this incentive specifically to attract the target audience of the magazine. This would appeal to the audience as their favourite rock bands are included and this is what music style they are interested in.

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

Importantly I intend on my music magazine being a national and perhaps international success therefore I must choose a large distribution agency to make my brand recognised and local in the country for the audience. An independent or local publishing company would not be suitable as there would be limited financial advertising to promote the product. Perhaps in the first few months of publishing the magazine a small agency might be a good idea to basically understand the magazines popularity on the market. I intend on using the distribution agency “Bauer Media” to benefit LEAD and promote the brand through multiple media channels. The only slight issue regarding this thriving company is that one of my magazines major competitors “Kerrang” uses this company. I want my magazine to be unique while widely available to the public. It could be suggested after a certain amount of time, if the magazine is very popular and financially in an excellent position, the magazine company could create its own distribution agency making it vertically integrated. This would be beneficial as then the magazine would be completely independent and make clear its national success.

Who would be the audience for my media product? And how have I managed to attract/address my audience?

Previous posts on my blog demonstrate the research and planning completed to decide on an appropriate target audience for LEAD. Considering demographics and psychographics was very important to understand the current trend of different social classes buying certain music magazine. I researched existing music magazine such as NME and Q to analyse how effective the directors have been when targeting audience members. Basically I understand the majority of the decisions made in terms of audience by the both of the magazine companies, however the audience group is very specific and niche. I am to target more of a generic audience including all aspects of the rock/indie genre. NME’s reader profile makes clear the inclusion of students as part of the target audience. Clearly this has been very successful however my magazine is better suited for a mature audience therefore I have imposed the target age group of 18-26. The magazine contains minimal graphic language and sexual innuendos which is not suitable for members under the age of 18. Although this does narrow the audience group for my magazine it is important to include these added aspects of the magazine to connote the rebellious nature of the magazine as the genre is specifically rock. Also the inclusion of these features does target the age aspect of the target audience as the conventions are well suited to the personality of the audience group.

In terms of gender my magazine is male dominated however this is a convention of rock music magazines in its self as males are specifically related with a rebellious nature and musical instruments. NME’s reader profile states 74% of the audience are male clearly there is a gap in the market to target a female audience however this would involve breaking the codes and conventions of a music magazine as males are specifically related. Although a rock magazine is likely to always be male dominated, I do want to make my magazine generic therefore equally suitable for both males and females. I have successfully targeted both males and females in terms of audience in my magazine by fundamentally including images of both males and females and including a wide range of topics through my cover lines. Stereotypically darker colours which I have used such as red and black are associated with males therefore on my contents page I introduced yellow into the colour scheme to highlight areas of importance and make the page brighter and more appealing to a female audience. To target females I also attempted to include an almost gossip tone within the text for example “rex goes solo” this is very intriguing and specifically relates to females who again, stereotypically have this feature of conversation.

Finally previous initial research into demographics has influenced my decision to target the social groups C1, C2 and D. The middle class would provide the main source of finance from buying the magazine; also this includes the more mature audience members previously mentioned who would be at the end of the age group being 25. It is important to include students within my target audience as this category specifically relates to the targeted age group. I made the decision of making the magazine the price of £3.00 from considering both areas of my demographics making the magazine available to both social classes. The ideology of rock and roll as rebellious and youthful has been specifically included in my magazine to target the student members of audience. For example the mise-en-scene used in the image on the front cover of my magazine promotes an independent and wild image. The combination of the red and black checked shirt and chaotic images on the guitar the model is using as a prop, promote how rebellious ordinary life can be for audience members of the magazine and how to theoretically live life to the full. The location makes clear the purpose of the photo shoot and gives a professional and appealing appearance to the magazine. To specifically target the E segment of my demographic data I have included the cover line “MTV” to attract the youth as this is a social normality programme for customary owners of a TV. Meaning people who watch MTV do not have to pay extra money for the programme package therefore are likely to watch the programme and relate with it. The subscription offer on the contents page also offers a similar purpose- to influence customers with a lower income to but the magazine. To successfully evaluate my music magazine I created a number of audience feedback videos giving their opinion on the overall image of the magazine. Their response proved to be both credible and useful.

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

(Power Point - Point 6)

Looking back at your preliminary task, what have you felt you have learnt in the progression from it to yyour full product?

The most crucial aspect regarding the finished music magazine is undoubtedly the clarity of the messages promoted as part of the magazines ideology; this can be achieved by making the overall appearance look professional and suitable to be nationally sold. In terms of the academic skills gained from my foundation coursework; my knowledge on the conventions of certain media texts and genre has greatly improved. This extended knowledge has allowed me to make appropriate decisions when creating my music magazine in terms of deciding whether to use, challenge or develop different forms of magazines. Foremost by experimenting with the programme Photoshop I have been able to physically decide which conventions specifically work well with my magazine. For example during my preliminary task I experimented editing the photograph by using the adjustments tool, my practise using the programme extended allowing me to actually enhance the quality of the image during my music magazine by using tool such as Gaussian Blur and Spot Healer.

I have also adopted basic skills from the process of creating my college magazine to my music magazine including simply deciding which colour scheme’s work well for the purpose of different media texts. With my college magazine I followed a purple theme as this specifically iconic with the college I chose to focus on, also it connotes a loud atmosphere, therefore targeting the youthful audience I intended to aim the magazine at. Alike this ideology I focused on the colour of red throughout my music magazine as part of the house style to connote the rebellious representation of the target audience. The main issue regarding my college magazine is the layout and lack of articles on the page. Clearly in terms of this factor my magazine shows the artistic growth of my skills as my music magazine is by far more technically advanced than my previous attempt. The textual detail on my music magazine is also specifically related to the rock genre by including related articles and direct incentives to persuade the audience to buy the magazine. This seems obvious however I now understand that the specific text on the magazine is as important as the overall appearance and layout of the magazine. This knowledge has developed since creating my college magazine as previously I was concentrated more on continuing the colour scheme and making the text bold rather than the content itself. Although this feature still does have much importance on the page. Even this concept has improved, independent research into the correct conventions of the front cover has helped me make decisions when creating my music magazine about which features are appropriate and which are not.