In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of

real media products?

• My magazine ‘Lowdown’ develops on the conventions of a indie and rock music magazines. I have taken inspiration from Q and NME magazine.

• I have conformed to the conventions of typical music magazines; an example of this being the single image used on the cover, with a similar layout to popular magazine NME. These magazines typically don’t use more than one image, as they tend to focus on the main subject without any other distractions that obstruct the main image.

• The colour scheme of red, black and white conforms to the ‘rule’ of three or four colours. The red is used to attract attention by the traffic light theory whilst the black and white is simple and understated- what my audience feedback preferred.

• I have conformed to the codes and conventions of a typical layout of a magazine by including a masthead, an image, content features, an issue number and a barcode.

• For my contents page I have used a similar layout to fashion magazine Look. It contains a masthead, columns, images and an editor’s note. However, I have challenged the convention of placing the text on the whole page, instead opting for two images for which take up a third of the page.

• The reason I have done this is because my market research suggested that consumers prefer an even amount of text and images in a magazine. However, I have used the convention of a typical indie magazine by using by keeping things neat and understated. I haven’t used any bright colours as this is what my audience feedback prefered.

• I originally wanted to create a Pop magazine but decided to change this as they challenged what my audience wanted.

• I used a picture of a girl with a leather jacket on as the main image, not conforming to the feminine image pop magazines typically portray of women. Her clothes are masculine and her red hair denotes power and authority, yet her blue eyes symbolises femininity.

• My double page spread is inspired by Q magazine. I conformed to the convention of using one image for one side as I wanted it to look as authentic as possible as double page spread interviews are typically accompanied with a photo shoot.

• Although I’ve challenged magazine conventions by using one image instead of a few I believe this makes it look more proficient and goes with simple and understated and the size of the image means it has a similar amount as the text, all what my target market want in a magazine.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

• The leather jacket that my model is wearing is linked to a number of music and youth subcultures subcultures such as metalheads, goths and punks.

• Her red hair is youthful and appeals to the sixteen to twenty five year old market of both males and females. I have therefore aimed my magazine to particularly cater for the interests of those in that age bracket and hopefully beyond. She’s not seen an object of voyeurism and she is dressed quite masculine, challenging the convention of how a female should dress.

• Youth have a strong interest in music and a large segment of music magazine readers are teenagers. Though as it is not a pop magazine, like Top Of The Pops, it doesn’t appeal to young teenage girls.

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

• Seymour would be an institution that would distribute ‘Lowdown’ magazine. They distribute Q magazine, which I have based my magazine on.

• Seymour is a massive media brand Seymour is 50% owned by the Frontline Group (BBC Magazines, Haymarket Publications, Bauer) and 50% by Dennis Publishing Limited. At Seymour we have 13% share of the total magazine market and the Frontline Group, including Seymour, has 42% share. This gives us the stability and clout to drive your magazine sales, in an increasingly volatile market place. Seymour is the largest distributor of UK magazines

Who would be the audience for your media product?

• The audience for my magazine is sixteen to twenty five year olds, both males and females. This is a broad spectrum and relates to females and male teens to young adults. I believe my magazine would appeal to this group as indie and rock as a genre is getting more mainstream and youth are documented to take a new genre of turn it into a social movement .i.e. mods, rockers, punks etc. The audience is so broad that it would appeal to a large number of people.

• My magazine appeals to both males and females as the fonts are quite masculine and the genre is quite masculine, but it isn’t restricted to them. As shown by the model on the magazine, who has both feminine and masculine attributes.

How did you attract/address your audience?

• I attract the attention of consumers by utilising the colour red on my cover. The red masthead and main content features is part of the reader’s natural eye flow. By the traffic light theory, the consumer would stop and look at the magazine, at this is the effect red has on people. However, I have only used it in small amounts as using too much is counterproductive.

• I address and attract the audience by using signifiers on my cover such as ‘exclusive’, ‘controversial’ and ‘inside the mind.’ The audience would be curious as to what information is inside as the language it uses is secretive and it would entice the consumer to purchase it to find out.

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

• I have learnt during the process of developing my magazine many things; one of these being how to use Photoshop. I’d never used Photoshop before, and if was unknown to me. However, whilst constructing my cover, contents page and double page spread I learn how to use on how to use certain tool and effects in Photoshop. I have also learnt how to construct a magazine layout in Microsoft Publisher.

• I also learnt how to use InDesign, a professional program for magazines.; from this I have learnt about bleed marks and what thei purpose is.

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

• I have learnt a significant amount about the codes and conventions of magazines since I first started my preliminary task. I have learnt how to use Photoshop, a professional software, and how a magazine would be typically constructed and how to use Microsoft Publisher to make a layout.

• I have learnt a significant amount about semiotics and meanings of colours and the effect they create when used in magazines. I’ve learnt how to write in media terminology and I’m more weary of media terms used in print and how to interpret them and use them myself.