Question 7 - Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

When looking at my student magazine and my music magazine you can instantly see the difference in layout and quality on the main cover. I realised that when i started planning that i needed to do more research because this was one of my criticisms in my preliminary task. Also looking at both contents pages again you can see how my final product is more professional than the first task because i have become a lot more used to the technology and now i know how to edit layouts images and other things on photoshop and quark express. The images where similar on both magazines but the image on my final product was a lot better because i learnt from my mistakes in the first one. In conclusion looking at both magazines you can clearly see the difference in them.My final product is more professional with a better layout , less mistakes and appeals to the target audience a lot more.

*pictures will be uploaded shortly*

Question 5 - How did you attract and address your audience?

I wanted to attract my niche audience so i did this in several ways. During the making of my magazine i used information from the research i did and also from posting ideas on social networks.
http://www.facebook.com/murphstarrr?ref=profile#!/photo.php?pid=30941922&id=1426063862
This link shows the responses i got from my target audience in my first draft, using these response i knew this would help in making my final magazine more successful. When i showed my target audience a selection of colour schemes i realised they wanted purple and black and so i took there ideas and used it in my final cover. I also took ideas from research such as bold fonts and ones that would suit my target audience and would connote a 'street' look. I also attracted my target audience by using a typical model for my front cover, a black youth wearing the typical clothes e.g. bright branded colors and a flat peak cap. I also used quotations from the model such as "I am the greatest" this draws my audience to the magazine because they will want to read more about the story. On my contents page i used similar methods and asked audiences for helps with font and coloring to try and make my magazine appeal to the UK grime listeners.

Question 4 - Who would be the audience for your media product?

Question 4
The media product I made was a UK Grime magazine, I researched it , came up with my own ideas and finally i created a final product. Whilst creating ideas and researching into the grime area i had to take into account my target audience . The target audience i was trying to reach was young males age 14 onwards who are interested in grime from the UK, i knew that my magazine would only appeal to a niche market. My target audience would be working class youths that would probably not be attending higher education , they would not be mainstream and would prefer to keep the 'underground' reputation because grime is not a popular mainstream music genre. My target audience's personal life would probably consist of partying, taking drugs and having a overall good time. So when i established my target audience it helped me because i could find people who fit the criteria and ask how they thought my ideas would go down and if they would purchase the magazine.

Stereotype image of a 'young grime listener'

Overall after speaking to a few friends who suit my target audience i believe that i have reached my target audience because i got some great feedback and little criticism. But the criticism i did get i used in saying how i could of improved it.

Question 6 - What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product

Google.com
I use Google everyday so am familiar with using it, Google really helped me when conducting my research as I used the search engine when trying looking for magazines that would influence me whilst making my magazine.I chose to use Google over other search engines such as Yahoo search and Ask Jeeves because i use Google everyday and find it easy to use, also it is the worlds largest search site which would give me the best results. When I finally finished my research i realized Google is a reliable and easy site to use and it also helped me very much in my research.

Adobe Photoshop
When i started to use Photoshop i found it quite complicated to use but soon got used to it. Photoshop helped me edit all the images that i used for my magazine, it especially helped with my main image for the front cover. It helped me refine and edit the image and re-size it to make the image perfect and just how i wanted it. Photoshop didn't just help me with photographs it helped me with my texts , layers and when finalising. Overall photoshop gave my magazine a professional look and helped me appeal to the target audience.

Nikon D60
I used this camera because i am familiar with the DSLR and i knew it would give me the best picture quality. When photographing my first photo shoot i realised that the camera gave my pictures excellent quality and resulted in near perfect pictures.If i would of had to use a standard camera i wouldn't of got the quality or effect i wanted, therefore i learnt that the Nikon camera and its technology gave my magazine a professional and quality looking picture.

Quark Express
I used Quark Express to make my contents page and double page spread, this was the best choice because it is easy for layouts and columns which would help me make my magazine. When I set up my double page spread and contents page I soon learnt how to add texts and images and how to use all the appropriate tools. I had to learn how to move texts around and blend them in to give my contents and double page a professional look. This technical programme is quite hard to use but helped a lot when making my double page spread and magazine.

Blogger.com

Blogger has been the main online resource where we have stored our research , progress and final products. Blogger has helped alot because I have used it to update and record all my work so far. Using Blogger I have uploaded powerpoints , videos , images and added links to my work, and has helped me reflect on my own ideas and think things through.

Question 3 - What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Mainstream magazines sell there magazines to shops that are easily accessed and will attract the main stream audience e.g supermarkets such as tesco and shops such as W H SMITH. Q is a mainstream magazine which has been very successful due to appealing to a wider market and selling in shops which can be accessed easily, both these techniques have been successful with Q as it is now a very popular magazine. However independent distributors sell there magazine in smaller shops and make it harder for people to get. You can access these independent magazines in shops such as small fashion shops , record shops , clubs and over the internet. My magazine is a perfect example of a independant distributor. My magazine only appeals to a niche market of mainly male youths. MURKKED (my magazine) would be sold in more underground exclusive places to give off the impression that the magazine is more street and can not just be picked up anywhere, this will give people the impression that my magazine isn't just another mainstream magazine and will appeal to my target audience alot better.

Vice magazine is a example of independent distributing, the magazine can be found in specific places and does not sell to a mainstream audience and has a nice market.

Question 2 - Hows does your media product represent particular social groups?

Presentation2

View more presentations from Matty Murphy.

Question 1 - In what ways does your Media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

XXL Magazine.
True Magazine.


Compared to my UK Grime magazine 'MURKKED'.


Compared to the media products above my magazine is very similar but also different to these real pieces of media. Using the similar/same conventions, parts, technique and language.

The first comparison that my magazine has compared to the real magazines shown above is that both magazines have a masthead , straplines , fonts and a picture that suit the target audience, editing , language, colour choices , layouts and use of language. Also the differences are that the magazines different depending on the genre of the magazine. E.g. XXL magazine has used very stylish but simple fonts to attract the readers to the main image of the black 'gangsta' this will attract their target audience of rap listeners. My magazine has rough looking fonts in colours which stand out because i wanted to appeal to my target audience, however this is different in all of the magazines above. My main cover image was very similar to the two magazines above because I wanted it to appeal to the target audience and make them realise the genre just from looking at it. Looking at magazines in my research I saw that the models had a serious face and were shot from a low angle, so when taking photographs for the front cover I tried to get my model to look similar and took the shots from a lower angle making the model look more powerful. My magazine and the real media products above have all the parts to a magazine however the styles are different depending on the target audience and genre of music, the real products obviously are more professional due to better funding and technology.

My contents page used the conventions of my genre that I identified in my research e.g. the contents pages I looked at had one main image with writing around it so that's what I used when taking images for my contents page. It was also similar when I looked at ideas for my double page spread and once I found the idea of using one page for the title and main image so i decided to use this in my final double page spread.

First version.

Work in progress.

Audience Research

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2016825&id=1426063862&saved#/photo.php?pid=30941922&id=1426063862

This is a link to my mood board that i posted on facebook, i tagged all my friends that i thought would be interested then asked them these 3 questions.

1.What genre of music do you associate with this ?
2. What kind of people would you associate this with ?
3. What would you expect to see in a magazine of this genre?

I hope to recieve some good feedback off my friends which i can use for further research.

Audience Profile.

The typical person that would read my magazine is a male aged between 14-24, this is because lads these age are more likely to listen to the grime and rap genre. My target audience will mostly come from big cities such as Birmingham , London and Manchester because this is where alot of the grime listeners live, in the urban parts of the cities. The kind of clothes they would wear are jeans with a hoody or t-shirt , the clothes would be branded to show how much money they have got. The shoes they would wear would most likely be hightops either nike or another popular brand and they would show them off by wearing them over there jeans. The target audience would be from familys which are from lower / working class backgrounds. Many of the readers would be looking to make it in the music industry by trying to get on radio stations such as 1extra or music channels like channel AKA. My target audience are likely to be hanging around on street corners doing drugs such as marijuana, also they would partying hard at house partys or trying to get into clubs. This will be because they have been brought up to not know anything else. The artist's they are most likely to aspire too are people such as Skepta , JME, Bashy and Frisco, these are all big artists in the grime scene. The films they will be most likely to watch are Kidulthood, Adulthood , Get Rich or Die trying and Harry Brown. They will listen to underground radio stations and BBC 1XTRA late at night when they have all the grime artists on.

Mood board

Summary of detailed research.

Typical features :
- Big & Bold Fonts ( colour co-ordinated with model )
- Models dressed in latest fashion
- Models are the genre icons
- Straplines on side feature other well known artists.
- Models wear similar styles of clothing with similar poses.
- Models keep straight face, with no facial expressions or emotions showing.

Detailed Analysis

- This magazine is called XXL and is sort of focused at the same kind of target audience as my magazine, the genre of GRIME does not really have many magazines out on the market but the hip hop magazines are very close. This front cover definately stands out and will appeal to the target audience mainly because of the main image of Birdman and Lil Wayne. The picture itself will appeal to everyone who likes this genre of music because of the fact that they are 2 of the biggest stars in the hip hop industry.The "Bling" they are wearing gives a impression of wealth and ganster looking. The top left corner has the title saying 10th Anniversary our biggest issue ever, which draws our attention too it making us believe it may be better than other magazines. What the models are wearing is very steriotypical , it is usual gangsta clothing. A flat peak cap , baggy jeans , chains , lots of tattoos this means the target audience would most probably wear the same kind of thing because these are there icons.


-This magazine Rap-Up is a magazine on the genre of rap which again isn't my genre but is close enough. The main model is T.I who is a well known rapper, this makes the magazine more appealing because they may want to read about the well known rappers. Also the title RAP-UP is covered up by part of the modles head, but because its such a well known magazine it just adds to the effect and makes it look trendy. The taglines and straplines feature names of other well known artist's which makes the magazine more appealing. The Font style and colour scheme of the magazine with the the pink, black and white makes the magazine appeal to materalists. The magazine is appealing to all the people in its genre or people who like the artists mentioned.





- True magzine is a Hip hop magazine but also has fashion in, this is a good idea because it will appeal to a much bigger niche. 50 Cent is also a major artist in the Hip Hop industry so the title "50 Cent : The Real Curtis Jackson " is appealing to the target audience because they will want to know more about the artist. The colour scheme on this magazine is excellent, the white background makes the blue font stand out, also the way the model is dressed in different shades of blue makes this cover appeal to the people who like fashion and hip hop. As in all the magazines of my genre there are other artists names down the side which will make the target audience even more interested. The strap and taglines also stand out, this will draw the target audience to the cover making them want to read more.


Typical reader :
- Listen to Grime / Rap music.
- They are materialists.
- They are hedonists.
- They are post-modernists.
- They prefer to be out all night than in at home
- They may take drugs and drink privately but openly with friends.
- They like to enjoy themselves by drinking , smoking , partying and taking recreational drugs.

Initial Analysis.

- Grime

- Teenagers / Young Adults ( 14-21)

- The cover appeals the target audience because it has a good main image that suits the genre of the music. The main picture is one of a Mc and in a studio which makes it look fresh and stylish, also the way the Tagline's stand out and how the name of the magazine is writen down the side in a stylish way.

- R&B

- Appeals to people

- The magazine will appeal to the target audience because of the main image which is of Chris Brown who is a R&B/HipHop artist. Also the main tagline stands out to us and the straplines are quite detailed so we know what will be in the magazine. The colour scheme is very stylish with the black gold and white theme, also the main title stands out because it is red. Even tho the N in EBONY is covered up because the magazine is so popular and well known. The Car lights in the background also make the main image stand out more, also because the main models body has been photoshopped so it looks perfect which will draw customers to it especially females.

- DJ Magazine.

- Appeals to people who are interested in Dj's and the music they produce.

- This magazine cover will definately appeal to the target audience because it has so much going out. The main name of the magazine stands out in bold red writing, also there are many taglines and screamers that are in bright colours and therefore this will attract the audience. The main image of the 2 DJ's stands out aswell because they are both looking at the camera which draws our attention to them.

- Hip Hop / Rap

-Would appeal to many people, particular those who are interested in hip hop or rap or possibly people who are just interested in particular artists.

- The front cover would definately appeal to the target audience because it has a big picture of Lil Wayne on the front cover, who is a very popular artist at the moment. The title of the magazien XXL stands out aswell because of the red background around it and the bold white writing. Also the big tagline of "Lil Wayne - Im not hot, Im Great" attracts us to it because of the fonts and writing. Also there are straplines on the side with other artists mentioned which makes the magazine appeal to the target audience even more.

contents page.




main cover

Contents page research.

Contents pages normally have the features that have been advertised on the front cover of the magazine these are usually very clear so that you can find what you want very easily. The contents page would normally have a main picture or possibly 2 which would relate to the magazines genre or the topics on the cover page. Seperate from the main headlines there will sometimes be the regulars which will usual be in the same place. Also there will normally be a specific font throughout the contents page.The magazines appeal to there target audiences because they are both very trendy and cool fonts that will appeal to they young target audiences. The designs of both magazines are very trendy and modern and will appeal to the younger generation the layouts are also very modern and would appeal to its target audience. The pages are very different but you are able to tell what there target audience is, the contents page on the right is from VIBE magazine however i am not sure about the magazine on the left. I am not able to compare the front covers to the contents pages because i was unable to find them however on the VIBE magazine it has a small image of the front cover in the corner and you can see the similarites.

Preliminary Project

http://katiejacobs.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/tell-cover.jpgAbove is the link to the magazine cover that i believe suits my target audience. As you can see from the text below the magazine weve chosen is affective with use of colours and content. Also the use of coverlines and straplines linked with images is affective as younger audiences will be attract immediately to images and use of colour.Also the masthead is effective as it uses lower case lettering which gives a softer more friendly feel to the magazine, appealing to the target audience.

As the producers of "I Love College" magazine we believe our readers to be people:

-Who love college
-Between the ages of 16-21
-Who go on nights out without any idea of how they are getting home
-Who are constantly looking for savings
-Who prefer action to romance
-Who celebrate occassions with a weekend with no sleep rather than the family
-Who are able to distinguish the difference between different genres of music
-Who appreciate having a good time, with no regards to consequences.

Student Magazine Analysis

Both the Chinese magazine and the Indian magazine use lots of coverlines and straplines together. Also these two mags both use basic names maybe suggesting that the content is more important than the presentation to the people who produced it.
Also both of theses use only one main image on their cover whereas 'tell' magazine uses a number of smaller images aswell depicting the text.
The 'tell' mag uses serif font, emphasising the magazines focus on design and presentation. the other two mags use sans serif which is a basic text.
I would prefer to read 'Tell' magazine in my own opinion. This is due to the presentation of the magazine, the bright colours and use of images attract me to the magazine if seen in a shop etc. Also by reading the coverlines you can see that the magazine has interesting content that 'student' aged people will be willing to purchase it as it is worth reading. Also the main image is more appealing as it is an action shot of the women out in public whereas the other two are either studio produced images or plain background.
'Tell' Magazine
Teenagers/young adults would read this magazine due to the presentation and content. I feel aspirers/radicals/underachievers would all read this magazine as it has interest and not everyday content. It also talks about relaxed topics rather than world issues meaning that this will attract these types of readers. I also feel that this type of magazine would attract hedonists and post-modernists as these are open minded, outgoing people interested in unusual/specific topics. On the Jicnar scale i would put the readers of this magazine at around C1 as i would imagine them to be around the middle class.
Main image
The image appears lively and full of fun as it is very colourful and a very busy image. It is of a women on a merry-go-round at butlins which is impotant as it goes onto talk about this within the magazine. The women is shown smiling portraying happiness which will also help in attracting readers.
Use of colour
There is alot of use of colour on the cover of this magazine this is due to the type of reader the publishers are trying to attract. It also portrays fun/excitement when there are a large number of different colours used.
The Masthead
The masthead in in lower case serif font, the serif font show sophistication and the lower case softens up the text, this is because the targeted reader are most likely to be students, these people like to be sophisticated yet also modern/trendy.

Audience Profiles

My magazine is essentials

- It is a magazine for Mothers roughly late 30's mid 40's.
- Aimed at aspirers, the adverts are all about low budget things and ways to save money.
- The Gender would definately be Women.
- On the Jicnar Scale they are probably C1&C2 people who are earning a standard amount of money but nothing special maybe wantin to earn more.