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

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

How did you attract/address your audience?

I also asked 4 people who fit the criteria of my target audience some questions about my magazine:

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Magazine Audience by kmaxey18 on GoAnimate




Magazine Audience Part 2 by kmaxey18 on GoAnimate

The audience for my magazine is students aged 16-24, from either gender, with an interest in the Indie Rock genre. I targeted this audience because felt as though I could relate to them the most as me and the majority of my friends fit these criteria too. This enabled me to have a first-hand insight into what this audience would want out of a magazine and the features they would be interested in.

I did research into audiences, via looking at existing reader profiles for NME magazine and a videoed Q&A with a focus group that were members of my target audience. These were very helpful because they gave me a clearer idea of what my target audience want and expect out of a magazine. They helped me to decide on a price, the type of bands I should include, and that the features I should include need to be directly about bands/artists, their music, and their life, as this is intriguing for their fans who might read the magazine.

Product Feedback from an example member of my target audience: 

I put together a quick Q&A with Tommy, an example member of my target audience. He is very involved and interested in music so I thought he would be a great audience example to use because he has sound knowledge into what a music magazine should be like. I wanted to get some further feedback for my product to ensure it appeals to my target audience as much as possible. I also felt doing this Q&A in an informal setting (McDonald's) would make the it more of a casual quick-fire style Q&A so he wouldn't feel uncomfortable with answering my questions.

I also did a quick Q&A with Manpreet, who fits the criteria of my target audience. As she is a fellow media student who has also created a music magazine, I felt she would fully understand and be confident with answering my questions. Like Tommy, Manpreet also has a major interest in music, especially Indie Rock, so I knew she would be comfortable answering questions on my product in this way as well.

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

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

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

House Style & Continuity:

Conventions Analysis:

Final Product - LIIAR Analysis

This is the LIIAR Analysis for my final product. I have not included a 'Institution' or 'Ideology' section for my contents page and dps because it will be exactly the same as the description I gave for the front cover.

Final Product (FC, CP & DPS)

Updated Drafts (FC, CP & DPS)

Finishing Touches - Screen Shots

Front Cover:

Contents Page:

Double Page Spread:

DPS Draft

This is my double page spread draft. I edited the photo of my model, Lucy, on Photoshop, wrote up my article on word, and then used Publisher to put the whole piece together. I got inspiration for the layout of my DPS from Q and NME magazine, following the conventional features and placing of these examples. Examples of the conventions I have followed are: the picture of the subject of the article on one side of the spread and the actual article on the other; a drop cap at the beginning of the article; a pull quote within the article; page numbers at the bottom corners of the spread; a masthead at the top of the page; and social media logos at the end of the article. 

I am quite happy with how this draft has pieced together but there are still changes/improvements I want to make for my final product. 

Contents Page Draft

This is my contents page draft. I edited the photos and put the piece together entirely on Photoshop. The inspiration for the layout of my contents page came from Q magazine, and I followed the conventional features and placing from there and many other contents page examples. Examples of the conventions I followed include: the title/masthead at the top of the page; the date of the issue; multiple pictures that relate to stories within the magazine; an editor's note; headings for each section; page numbers; social media/magazine website address; and a subscription ad.

I am pleased with how my contents page is coming along but there are changes/improvements I am still yet to make to make it look more professional and effective, for my final product.

Cover Re-Draft After Feedback - Two

This is my updated/improved front cover draft. I took on the advice after my previous draft had been marked and made changes to the piece. I moved the masthead to the corner rather than placing it in the middle as this is more conventional. I changed the plug to be more appealing/exclusive to my audience as this would attract them to the magazine more, as well as then moving it to the top right corner of the cover. The text in the footer, I changed to red to create more variety and make it look more effective. I also adjusted the opacity of the boxes with my feature stories in to make them look slightly less harsh, as well as changing the font of my main story to ensure it stands out more compared to the other features. I placed the barcode in the left bottom corner of the cover and rotated it so I could place both the date and price of the issue alongside it, which is another convention of a front cover.

Contents Page & DPS Shoot/Pics

These are the pictures I took of my model, Lucy (and a couple from previous gigs I've been to), for my Contents Page and DPS. She wore two different outfits: one for the contents page and the other for the dps. This shows more variety and allows me to explore and show my understanding of the Indie Rock look/fashion. I also got her to do a wide range of poses but the majority of pictures are natural/action shots which reflects the nature of Indie Rock - not forced and posed but natural, highlighting talent rather than image. For the dps pics I used props which reflect that the magazine is a music magazine, and reinforce the idea that Lucy is an artist within the music industry, rather than her simply looking like a model.