Pulse

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

Some of the convensions and forms of these existing magazines

have been incorparated into my front cover design.

I have incorparated a strap line into my magazine front cover

Taken in inspiration from

Rythm

I have also incorperated a bold outstanding masthead in keeping with the house style and making the front page easily recognisable.

I have used drop shadow inner,outer shadow and bevel in photoshop in order to enhance the title which was created with the hardrock font

I decided on the name pulse beleiving it to be

a sutible name for a music magazine medium

and something authentic and plusable in coparison

with other Brit rock magazines I have studied.

some other convensions my magazine has been somewhat centered on

my magazine like all follows a house style limiting it to some extent but importanly ensuring it is identifiable and stands out. I made sure my magazine stuck to the green, black, red and white colours just as kerrang seen on the left has stuck to a yellow, black, red and white colour. My front cover also like kerrang uses the photograph to its fullest extent making it extremely large drawing all attension to it ensuring it even overlapes the masthead. The picture just like Kerrang has a small capion giving the reader an insight into what the article inside might be about this also draws the readers attension making them want to read on just like the buzz words and pugs promoting features inside. My magazine also included a strap line 'unbiased, unique, unrivalled'.

Overall my front cover incorporates a great number of the convensions that are found in most exisiting music magazines.

For my contents page I have followed a basic layout which most resembles a kerrang contents. I have ensured using a great number of images on the contents a convension of most magazines. I have also like most magazines attempted to keep writing to a minimum just telling the reader what they need to know written in a very informal and often witty way. Another important convension of a contents page for most exisitng magazines is to ensure continuing promotion offers and free inserts, I have therefore continued my endorsement of a free cd which can be found inside.

Finaly my double page spread which as expected also uses and develops convensions of exisiting music magazines. My double page spread (just like the kerrang one next to it) keeps a house - style geared towards the magazine/ related band genre, my magazine uses the radiation styled graphics and colour in keeping with the rock genre. The other convension my magazine applies is the use of quotes from the band this helps ensure the article is more personal and gives the feeling of in depthness. The article like kerrang uses informal stlye language and the interview asks the type of questions readers at home would ask themselves if they were conducting the interview.

However as well as utilizing some convensions of existing media products I feel my magazine to some extent challanges these convensions and forms.

these are examples of convensions my magazine has chosen not to include beliving them to not fit in with my magazine style. also another convension I have not included is the use of pugs.

how does your media product represent a particular social group?

I beleive my magazine has a dominant representation of a 'rock' style image. It supports connotations of attitude, youth and a cool, rock and roll image all things that symbolise rock music and culture.

As I have already mentioned my magazine is geared to the specific social grouping of rock / pop. The pictures in the magazine as well as language and quotes used all help to define this image of 'youth' and 'attitude'

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

I beleive Institutions that are most likely to distribute my product are:

• social networking sites
• newsagents
• digital publishers
• Large music institutions such as HMV e.c.t

I beleive the best distributor of my media product is newsagents it is convinant for the reader to get hold of my product and genrally the first place they would look. Another good distributor of my magazine would be a large music store such as HMV in which the particular social groups buying my magazine would go, big music stores such as HMV would attract my target audiance. Digital distribution is also a media institution increasing in popularity it alows distribution on a much larger scale and much more conviniant for readers.

Bauer Media Group - a company which produces and distributes media products globally both Q and kerrang magazine fall into this institution.

As well as distribution through the usual newsagents, convenience and music stores the Bauer media group rely heavly on internet distribution and subscription. The groups also use there stake in the british television to produce television programs such as:

• Q TV
• 4Music (all of which are used to promote there media
• Kiss TV products)
• Kerrang! TV
• The Box
• Magic TV
• Smash Hits TV

who would be the audiance for your media product?

I used my questionnare in the early stages of my magazine development in order to gain some idea as to the audiance of a media such as mine.

How did you attract / address your audiance?

I used my front cover to attract my target audiance, with use of the pictures buzz words, graphics and even language.

The front cover of the magazine is the most important part for attracting the audiance. I designed my front cover to draw the attension of the reader making them want to read on. All images graphics and language is used to attract the target audiance fans of rock music.

Throughout the rest of my magazine I maintain an informal language which adresses the target audiance. I also ensure that the pictures and graphics used are continuing with the pop / rock theme and that any anything talked about in my double page spread is relevent and informal in attracting and addressing the reader.

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

I have learnt alot about software such as photoshop from the making of this product. through trial and error and lots of practice I have managed to gain a better understanding and capability of the software, built from very little initial knowlage

As you can see when I first practiced with the software the results were not brilliant the teqniques used were very rough the outline of the band was quite uneven in places and not very clear.

It is clear that there has been a massive improvement in my

understanding of media products and my implementation of ICT

from the preliminary task to my final front cover design.

The college magazine preliminary task was built using microsoft publisher next to my final design the magazine looks primitive and very plain.

Building my magazine in photoshop allowed a much more extensive

array of Techniques to make my magazine look much more profesional.

using photoshop I had a much more advanced pallet of colours I could use shadowing adjust the brightness, contrast and colour balance of any items.

These were my orignal photoshop practices

Compared to later efforts you can clearly see my improvment

with the software is extensive.

free insert used

again to draw attention

It can definatly be said that existing media texts

have inspired the creation of my magazine whilst

still retaining its own identity.

stereophonics are a band that in some way represent this pop/rock social grouping

As we can see my media product Is aimed at people aroud the age 16 - 25, although this may not nessisarily be the age of the reader it is my target audiance and the people that the connatations of the magazine most apeal to.

My magazine mostly however attacts people of any description who like rock / pop music and may fall into the 'indie' or rock social grouping. This is most important when considering a magazine is a product used to generate money it therefore must attract as many readers as possible whilst still retaining its fundametal target audiance in this case those who like pop / rock music.

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

As you can see the original designs for my preliminary task are very plain and imcorporates little or none of the Techniques I latter used for my final designs.