1. By Jessica Freeman

2. In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
This real media product has used a strap line, cover line,
mast head, a barcode and many other codes and
conventions, these ones in particular thought I
see as the main features on magazines.
In my music magazine I have also used the codes
and conventions of a strap line, cover line, barcode and mast
head. Using these my magazine would look more realistic and
appealing to the readers.

3. This real media product of a contents page has used,
bold writing as a heading for the page, a main picture
along with a smaller one, it has included the name of
the magazine again in the contents and has also
made the page numbers stand out, this is what
would be expected and normally seen in
magazines sold in the shops.
In my music magazine I have used the same kinds of
codes and conventions as used in the proper product
above. By using these it helps my magazine look more
like a proper real one and more presentable to the
reader.

4. This is the media product of a double page
spread, it has used a main picture, followed
by other smaller pictures, it has a quote
made large representing what the band
said, the page numbers including the date
and magazine name, it also has a small
block of writing about the band. This is an
example of one of the ways a double page
spread can be represented.
My music magazine double page spread has
near enough the same features as the real
product but also has some different as I have
done an interview rather than a story and I
have the bands name in big writing. My
double page spread would be an example of a
mixture of different uses that a real product
would use.

5. How does your media product represent particular social
groups?
Unique
Teenagers
The people that I have represented in my magazine are of the following:
Boys Happy
Creative
Confident
Expressive
Fashionable Popular

6. How have I represented teenagers in my production?
I have represented teenagers more on the boy side in
my magazine as I have chosen a boy band as my
focus, they are represented as outgoing confident
lads who have a passion for their music.
Is this a positive representation? Have I challenged
stereotypes?
I feel this is a positive representation as it shows
that not all youths of today are wasting their lives,
this group of lads are using their talent to get them
far in life. I have challenged the stereotypes by the
way that they are dressed, they are dressed quite
indie and mainstream, as this is what boys of today
would wear. Their hair is also quite stereotypical
because you would represent their hair and class
them as rock music lovers.
What style do my images promote?
My images promote the rock style, you can tell
this by what I have said in the question above
about the style of their hair and dress style.
What lifestyle do I promote?
The lifestyle I promote is how lads can come
together to make a band and go far with it. It
promotes a good lifestyle showing that you can
do what you enjoy.

7. What kind of media institution might distribute your media
product and why?
Bauer Media
Bauer Media is a company that has more
than eighty influential media brands
spanning a wide range of interests. The
magazine that they sell which would
relate most to my magazine is ‘Kerrang’.
This is because it has the most relevance
to rock and that is what my magazine is
based on. All the other magazines were
for example ‘Heat’ and that has no
relevance at all to my magazine or music.
Here is the front cover of my magazine, as
you can see it is more like ‘Kerrang’ as it is
about music and rock. It also has the
codes and conventions to match that
magazine.
http://www.bauermedia.co.uk/

8. Kerrang Media
Kerrang media focuses completely on
music, especially rock. The music
magazine ‘Kerrang’ has a lot of
relevance to my magazine. This is
because it is all about rock and has the
same vibes that my magazine brings
across to the audience. On the website
(which you can access from the link
below) shows the magazines and types
of music they use, even the brands of
clothing they advertise on there has
relevance to my magazine.
Here is the front cover of my magazine, as
you can see it relates very well to the
magazines produced by ‘Kerrang media’.
All about music and relating mostly to
rock.
http://www.kerrang.com/

9. IPC Media
IPC Media produces over 60 iconic media
brands, reaching almost two thirds of UK
women and 42% of UK men. This media
doesn't focus on music at all apart from
one of the men magazines ‘NME’. All the
other magazines are focused on all types
of brands like TV, Health and sport.
‘NME’ has the most relevance to my
magazine as it is about rock music.
Here is the front cover of my magazine, as
you can see it has more in common with
the magazine ‘NME’ as it is about music
and the magazine ‘what’s on TV’ isn't
about music at all.
http://www.ipcmedia.com/

10. Development Hell Limited
We currently publish two monthly
magazines, ‘The Word’ and ‘mixmag’.
Both of these magazine have reference to
music. Meaning that they both would be
relevant to my music magazine. The
Genre’s of music are all quite varied
though whereas mine only focuses only
on Rock. Apart from this, the magazines
have got a lot in common.
Here is the front cover of my magazine, as
you can see it is like both the magazines
that ‘Development Hell Limited’ produce as
they are both about music.
http://www.developmenthell.co.uk/

11. Who would be the audience for your media product?
The audience for my magazine would be people
that like rock music. It is aimed for secondary
school kids up to people in university, meaning my
magazine would have to be exciting and eye
catching. I would be able to target these audiences
by meeting the demands of what they expect. I
would be attracting a large audience as my
magazine is mainstream, and by using young
people on the front, the target audience would be
able to relate better to it. I have also used quite
popular bands as well in the contents and front
cover to advertise a wide range of rock music to
the audience. The audience is also mainly for
boys, but can be for girls as well.

12. How did you attract/address your audience?
The way I attract my audience to read my magazine is to have an
exciting front cover that will capture the readers attention, it will also
have a lot of popular music rock bands that the target age group
would know and relate too, they would also relate to the use of young
people on the front and inside because they are around the age and
have the same type of style. The mainstream attraction would help
address the audience because it is similar to how they dress/act
anyway and so it would fit there being better.

13. For the school magazine I originally did as the preliminary task my target audience was year
11’s going on to either sixth form, college, or an apprenticeship. I addressed the audience by
using the term ‘thinking big’ meaning the choice the make going on would be a big choice and
that they had to think carefully about it. I attracted them by using colours that would be unisex
so anyone could read it and the pictures were of people their age, that way they could relate a
lot easier to what the magazine has to offer.

14. For my music magazine the target audience is for people in secondary school right up to
university. I addressed the audience by using title ‘slam’, as my magazine is about music,
especially rock, I felt this would be the best word to use and it is quiet a loud word, just like
rock music is loud. I attracted the audience by using quite rock like colours, black, purple and
grey. This would help the magazine to stand out, also using a picture of a band around the
target audience age would help attract the audience even more as they would be able to relate to
it. The colours and bands advertised are also all unisex meaning that the magazine would be
suited to both genders.

15. What have you learnt about technologies from the process
of constructing this product?
&
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you
have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

16. Once I had completed the school front cover, I realised that it was good practice for when
coming to do my real one. It gave me an insight into the level of work that would be expected.
For example I have to think very carefully about the target audience and the skills I can use to
achieve this. Also about the basic codes and conventions of making a realistic magazine with
simple things included such as prices, barcodes, page numbers etc, this adds to the realism of
my products and what essentially makes them comparable to existing magazines.

17. After finishing my music magazine and comparing it to the school magazine I made I could see a
huge improvement in every aspect of it. I feel my skills in making a magazine are a lot stronger
as I understand the criteria's needed to be met and all the codes and conventions needed to
make it as realistic as possible. I feel I was most strongest at improving the codes and
conventions as you can see in my school magazine front cover it is very bare and hasn't got
much too it, whereas in my music magazine front cover I have met the demands of several codes
and conventions that would be found in a typical magazine. By putting the two magazines next
too each other I can see clearly what my strengths and weaknesses are. For example my
strongest point was the photography as I captured the image needed pretty accurately in both
images.

18. After comparing the contents pages together also it shows how much I have improved in
making a more realistic magazine. Just like with the front covers my main weakness was
defiantly the codes and conventions, as you can see in the school contents I haven’t got much
to it at all. The mast head is bare and blank, compared to my music contents where the mast
head stands out and includes the title of the magazine produced in the same writing as on the
front cover. Another thing I have improved greatly on is the page numbers. In my school
contents they are just listed in a boring fashion and doesn't give much of a variety, whereas in
my music contents it gives a lot more to offer and has been representing in a much more
exciting way. The way I have used my pictures also links to the page. Whereas in my school
contents they are just put at the bottom of the page with no real link.

19. When making the magazine it also helped me to advance my creative skills by using several
websites to help make my magazine more realistic. For example the website I found the most
useful and the one I used the most was dafont.com, this website gave me the opportunity to get
the words I wanted in a huge variety of style, by using this I managed to get the writing that best
fitted my magazine brand.

20. From using the website dafont.com I was able to produce the title ‘Thinking BIG’ and
‘SLAM’ and get it in the style writing that I felt would represent my magazine front
cover to help it stand out to the readers. Comparing the two titles from my school
magazine to my music magazine I can see a huge improvement once again. I have
been able to make the writing a lot more clear and neat. Whereas the school
magazine one looks scruffy.

21. Overall throughout the process of making the magazine I have learnt so many skills in creativity
and learning as I have learnt all about codes and conventions and what is needed in a real
magazine and what I can use to make it more realistic. I have leant all about how to produce an
interview and how to make it interesting with the questions and answers I could come up with. I
have come a long way through improving from the school magazine to the music magazine as
the music magazine looks so much more realistic and eye catching tot he audience, it also
meets the demands of the target audience and social groups I had picked.