Ahmed Mohamed

Evaluation

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

To accomplish any professionalism and conventions I have to research and analyse other magazines that use similar register and genre to get an exact idea of layout and content. My magazine can be recognised as one which uses traditional forms and conventions yet challenges them at the same time . This is evident as my magazine consists of a masthead which is located on the top left, my focal image which is a conventional medium shot of the main feature artist who is looking directly at the reader and dominates the magazine, the use of cover lines is also conventional and attracts the audience as its the first page they will view and a decision will be made whether to buy it or not and can be seen above the masthead and finally the front cover illustrates what is featured in the magazine and is located next to the focal image. Moreover the barcode, price and date of the edition is also conventional. These are conventional methods of addressing the layout of a professional magazine. Finally if we look at my masthead I have used lines and colours which are used in the union jack, this is due to wanting to promote a fully British magazine.

Furthermore my double page spread also uses conventional methods, if we look at the bottom of the page we can gather that I have included the page number and the month of the edition. Similarly if we look at my article on the left I have used a drop cap which is essential in a magazine and newspaper article. In addition use a large picture which covers just over a page is another conventional method, the reason for using such a large picture is to be pragmatic and limit the use of words as my target audience ranging from teenagers to young adults prefer less editorial content. My contents page has conventions such as the features being numerically ordered in one section, the footer which includes new musicians and an image, however it differs from conventional contents page as the layout is unique and the voucher is unconventional.

The masthead is located in the

earpiece .

The eyebrows is of the same principle.

The focal image might not be in the

same region however it

dominates the page and is the centre of

attention, in addition both

images are looking at you so the reader

can relate to the magazine.

Front cover

When deciding the right typography for my headline I went for the more conventional serif font, and so did

NMEIf you look at the feature numbers,

both content pages have bold and large numbers

Contents page

I’ve adopted the same layout as

NME, due to my target audience

preferring limited content and more

pictures.Both double page spreads have bold

headlines to attract readers.

The date and page numbers are

located at the bottom which

makes the magazine more professional.

Double page spread

Representation is how you convey an image, an individual or item to the wider world, these days media is dominated by American beliefs which is due to giant American media groups such as ‘Warner brothers’ owning many media institutions world wide . My magazine represents predominantly middle-class and upper-class students as this genre is widely accepted by them. If we analyze my front cover we can gather that my chosen artist is dressed in a casual yet presentable way with a wooly jumper, jeans and smart shoes, nevertheless there is a cross section between the middle-class and the working class as many artists target the working class, similarly the lyrics used in certain dubstep songs contain slang again attracting the working class. Whilst I understand that dubstep has been represented as a genre which promotes vast amounts of drug intake which fans believe increases the power of bass and also promotes sex, this is usually due to the lifestyle of artists which has a direct correlation to fans behavior. I have attempted to divert the stereotypical image of dubstep and create a more respected and diverse genre. This is evident when we look at my contents page and double page spread, I have not used slang or swear words and I have also created a clean and professional image of dubstep. Furthermore the register I have adopted does not contain slang but is quite formal and I have also included a pun as my main target audience are sophisticated students who will eventually be in the A-C1 category of the socioeconomic status table. This register is similar to that of NME, this is primarily due to similar audience.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

For the distribution of my media product I have chosen future publishing. Future plc is an international special-interest media group. Founded in 1985 with one magazine, today they have operations in the UK, US and Australia creating over 180 special-interest publications, websites and events for people who are passionate about their interests.  In addition they hold market-leading positions in games, film, music, technology, cycling, automotive and crafts. Our biggest-selling magazines include T3, Total Film, Classic Rock, Guitar World, and Official Xbox Magazine. Future sells 3.2 million magazines each month; we attract more than 23 million unique visitors to our websites; and we host 27 annual live events that attract hundreds of thousands of enthusiasts.  In addition, Future exports or syndicates publications to 90 countries internationally, making them the UK’s number one exporter and licensor of monthly magazines. Choosing the right publisher is essential to maximise circulation which has a knock on effect on the level of advertisement and profits which can help expand the magazine into other niche markets. There are two main reasons why I chose Future , my first reason is that they are a British based company therefore representation of certain topics remains British and also they are renowned for entering niche markets such as game magazines and have not yet entered the dub/modern rock market. Secondly dubstep is forming and rapidly growing on a daily basis in other countries such as Canada, Belgium and Germany therefore I need a publishing firm which can meet my demands in expanding on an international scale which, if you check their profile they most certainly do. I have set the price of the magazine at 3.50 again due to my target audience coming from wealthy backgrounds.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product

and why?

These are a few of future magazines

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Dubstep is widely regarded as the genre by and for the young generation ranging for 14-26 years of age. It attempts to include Drum ‘n’ Bass, Grime and Garage. The earliest dubstep releases date back to 1998 and were darker, more experimental, instrumental dub remixes of 2-step Garage tracks attempting to incorporate the funky elements of breakbeat, which makes the genre a relatively new, therefore my magazine might at a later date attract a much wider and diverse audience. Typically my initial target audience spans from 14-26 year olds, on the socioeconomic status table they would be in the E region which loosely translates to unemployed as their are generally in higher education. The stereotypical image of a dubstep fan is that of a young male wearing skinny jeans, high top trainers, a funky jacket and a flat cap. Having personally experienced this trend I would assume that is what a typical DUB enthusiast would typically wear. Moreover my target audience have high aspirations in life such as pursuing a degree and securing high end professional jobs, this is due to my target audience predominantly studying at university. The demographic of my audience is white male although more and more black people are listening to dubstep, from middle class families and are thinly spread out around Britain usually living in areas of prosperity and wealth. In conclusion I’m confident of my choice of audience as I personally listen to dubstep and have experienced the dress sense and lifestyle, furthermore I have many friends who are currently at university who inform me that many dub nights are located and promoted near universities throughout Britain.

Firstly I used bright colours in my front cover such as light blue and red, this is due to the fact that the younger generation prefer bright colours as opposed to the older generation wanting less bright colours this is evident in the Mojo magazine on the right. In addition I dressed my artist in retro urban clothes since the majority of my audience have similar tastes. Furthermore in my double page spread I used minimal content to again not deter my audience away, I also used a formal yet causal register to prevent boredom and confusion, this again differs from Mojo as they use very formal language and vast of content. In my content page I used a pun to explain Rusko’s drug habit this is simply because drugs is a controversial issue amongst our teens and young adults and so its again a topic which they can relate to from either first or second hand experience.

How did you attract/address your audience?

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

Initially I had no experience with ‘InDesign’ or Photoshop which is unusual as most teenagers are familiar with Photoshop therefore I was at a slight disadvantage. Once I started using these software's I picked up techniques very quickly and I believe it is easy and accessible. My college has a variety of InDesign software such as illustrator and other software . Furthermore I used the media departments camera which I used to create the pictures for my front cover, contents page and double page spread. This helped me learn about lighting, different angles and the different features on the camera to take a wide range of pictures. Finally I have used word to do my research and PowerPoint, this technology was not new to me as I have been using it for my whole school life and outside of college.

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

When assessing my preliminary exercise I realised that I had not adopted any conventions which is the basic necessity for any professional magazine. Moreover I also realised that I had various software I could have used to do my preliminary exercise, in addition I also was lacking basic understanding about layout and how crucial it is for a professional magazine. I had no idea about the significance of the angle and type of shot I should follow in order to produce a professional image, so when taking a picture of a powerful musician taking a picture that is looking up at the artist gives them significance. Finally I had a limited knowledge of the use of colours, this evident in my preliminary exercise where the colours didn’t match nor were they professional. In conclusion I believe that I have progressed a considerable amount as I now understand; the significance of taking a photo, conventions, the use of various software’s which make a magazine professional, the use of content to match the right register for your audience and planning and the structure layout.