Who would the audience be for your media product?

From the cover of my magazine people will hopefully be able to deduce that the intended audience is both college students and teachers who wish to settle in at college and learn more about their college the text and images on the front are intended to entice this specific audience by relating to issues that they may have or stories that might interest them which is why I decided to do a range of topics for my sell lines to entice the largest audience possible.

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

IPC media may distribute my magazine as it publishes a large variety of magazines nationwide they sell magazines to a large audience via supermarkets, convenience stores and other retail outlets. This would give a large platform for my magazine to start at. http://www.ipcmedia.com/

 

 

IPC media produce a wide variety of magazines selling nationwide this would mean it is a viable option to try and start my media product at as it would be an established and trusted publisher with many outputs meaning my magazine would reach the widest audience. as well as professional help with editing etc. and funding.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Front Cover

I believe my front cover shows a positive representation of a studious college age teenager. The girl on the front cover of my magazine is a student from my college whom is dressed to be fashionable yet still adhering to a smart casual dress code. This gives off a good impression of her to the audience as she is representing the social group of teens that wish to do well and succeed in education, this is backed up by the fact that she is carrying college work in the photo this shows that she is a hardworking student whom continues with work both in and out of lessons. She is also smiling at the camera which is a positive representation of the dubbed ‘aggressive teenagers’ of this generation however this cover shows the good in college students.

Contents Page

I believe my contents page represents college age teenagers as fun loving yet mature. The images used support the front covers representation by showing teenagers acting maturely whilst keeping themselves entertained. The images show people having fun and yet still learning suiting the stereotypical college environment of 'work hard, play hard'.

What Have You Learnt About Technologies From The Process Of Constructing This Product?

Serif DrawPlus X6 - I don’t believe I have improved in using this software at all as the tools I used to help me create my magazine I already knew/ used beforehand in other subjects/ previous years.

Camera’s - My knowledge of cameras beforehand was basic and I could produce okay photos with little/ no blur, however I had little knowledge of the positive effects on an audience when different angles/ poses are used and the variety of effects the camera can do.

Blogger - I have blogged previously outside of education however not using this specific site, therefore the technology wasn’t new to me. However,  whilst blogging I had to adapt to the layout of this site; this meant it took a little time for me to adjust and start producing things to the best standard I could.

Photoshop - Whilst creating my college magazine I attempted to use Photoshop to edit my main image however this turned out to be more difficult than expected… I hadn‘t used this version of the software before and so the layout was slightly different to what I was used to, this meant that the process was slower than it could have been; however, I got there in the end and feel that my skills with the software this version in specific have been improved.

Prezzi 'How Did You Attract/Address Your Audience'

Contents Page Finished

Front Cover Finished

Unmanipulated Photos

College Magazine Cover And Contents Page Mocks

College Magazine Contents Page Analysis

This particular contents page is arranged into three columns the first including articles, their descriptions and the page number. The second column has both articles like the first and also includes partially the main image relating to the featured story which spans columns 2+3. column 3 contains purely two images part of the main image and one sub image relating to a random article etc. on this particular contents page the pictures do not contain a page number indicating their purpose; however, I believe this was done purposefully so as to make it look more professional and also the main image is an obvious relation to the main article and would therefore need no indication. other than the word Contents the page shows no other sign of which magazine it is from this is different to the usual approach of professional magazines which would usually include either a logo or the actual name of the magazine on this page as well as an issue date. There is also no contact information or other information suggesting how to obtain a subscription/contact the producer of the magazine this would almost always be included in a professional magazine. For this particular magazine there is no editorial letter. The contents are not divided into sections as such however certain stories are under the category of 'On the cover'; however, the rest of the contents are under no category whatsoever.  The main image here is not included on the cover page; however, this would usually be the case on most professional magazines as it would show a link between the cover page main image and the contents. Like most professional magazines the colour scheme is basic and simple this is because the only purpose of the contents page is for navigation and having a complicated colour scheme could confuse those whom are trying to read the magazine. the contents are organised in the sense of layout the all begin with the page number a title then sub text explaining some more about the article itself. There is also net accreditation for the photographer on the main image for the front cover etc. which is usually included on a contents page. The contents page is usually filled with a range of images however this particular magazine has chosen to use just two this is unlike most other magazines. Some categories that are usually used are regulars/features however this magazine has neither this indicates it is either not a professional magazine or it is a new magazine. There is also no page number this is always included on contents pages as it tells the audience the starting point for navigation and so this is a big differentiation from the normal layout of magazines this contents page spans a single page.

College Magazine Front Cover Analysis

Masthead: The masthead on this particular magazine is partially obscured; however, we as the audience can infer from the covered letters and the sell lines that this magazine is called COLLEGE. This is so as to give the magazine a more professional look, the masthead sticks to the established convention of covering the entire width of the magazine. The practise of partially obscuring the masthead can also be used on more well know magazines as most people will know the magazine by look and colour scheme alone. The covered effect tells the audience that this particular magazine is already established and a good purchase.

Strapline: The strapline to this issue of COLLEGE is THE INAUGURAL ISSUE SUMMER 2009 this is positioned in the top right hand corner in smaller text than most of the cover this is so that the information is there in an obvious place for those whom seek it; however, it does not take up much space for the rest of the cover. The fact that it is the Inaugural issue leads the audience to believe the contents will be related to inauguration which could generate more interest in the magazine for those interested in news of this nature. 
Skyline: The skyline is an additional sentence to generate interest in the magazine through a 'exclusive' special attraction, such attraction for this magazine is 'YOUR EXCLUSIVE GUIDE TO EVERYTHING HIP, HOT AND HAPPENING'  this would incite interest in the audience of college students whom wish to stay 'trendy' and 'up to date'. It is positioned in the top left hand side of the magazine in a similar font size to the strapline, this is due to the fact that the skyline is usually indirectly related to the magazine and therefore unspecific it is only there to entice those who read it. The generalisation of Skyline enticement is that is usually has three descriptive words and usually alliteration, the rule of three and alliteration create a sense of interest in the magazine with the audience and this is the skylines sole purpose.
Price: The price of this particular magazine is a high one and is therefore small and at the base of the magazine whereas a cheaper counterpart would likely have its price big and bold this magazine we can infer from its price is quite thick and of good quality; however, they keep the price small so as not to deter people from even looking at the rest of the cover. The price of this magazine is $4.99 US / $5.99 CAN this tells us that this magazine is sold multinational so is unlikely to be tied to one particular college this would make the audience feel as if they could learn more about what is going on overall for colleges and not just their own.
Main Image: The main image in this particular example is a medium shot of a college student, it is a positive representation of a model student; hip and trendy yet studious, he is almost a role model for other college students and those wanting to be successful at college whilst maintaining a social/trendy outlook may wish to buy this magazine to find out more about how - who we can infer from the Anchorage Text is Jeffrey ‘ASSASIN’ Campbell – maintains such qualities. Also his personal appearance of clothing suits the colour scheme of the magazine and blends in well seeming almost natural. The picture is also a form of direct address with him looking out into the audience this gives the impression of him being welcoming.
Sell Lines: The sell lines on this particular magazine are on either side of the main image and are justified with a small margin this complies to the conventions of a professional magazine; however they are also very unorganised in the sense of colours fonts and size with one or two of them larger or in a different font and the colours seem to be in a random pattern. The disorganised look may have been done purposefully to draw in a college age audience as this would appeal to them as a professional magazine with a more colloquial approach.
Colour Scheme: the colour scheme is very basic yet effective, this colour scheme is created to emphasise the sell lines and anchorage text which it does extremely well this is the case in most other professional magazines where the focus is to attract a wider audience through sell lines and the related articles.
Slogan: This particular magazine has no slogan in particular and I believe that this is due to the fact that it likely has no or little competition as it is only sold on college campuses the campus in question would have to request orders and therefore it is already sold and would not need a slogan to make it stand out from competitors.
Anchorage Text: the anchorage text refers to Jeffrey 'ASSASIN Campbell who we gather is a model student this is a good example of anchorage text as it will entice the audience to read more, the target audience is college students so seeing a model student on the front cover is promising to them as to how to become a 'model student' and study well, do well and have fun doing it.
Layout: the layout of the magazine is the basic layout of most magazines with the masthead at the top, main image and sell lines making up the main body of the cover and the barcode/skyline etc. filling in any other spaces. this is because the importance of conventional aspects of a cover page are enlarged or belittled depending on their appeal to the target audience and importance toward repetitive recognition e.g. the mast head will always be large as it relates to the magazine itself.

Introduction

My name is Callum Heard, I am 16 years old and am currently attending Bramcote Hills College 6^th Form as an A level student. I believe my media consumption is average when compared to others as I watch little TV and only see films occasionally; however, like many young teenagers in my generation I consume vast amounts over the internet through social media. The social media sites of preference for me would be: YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and although it is not a website as such the PlayStation3 console is a source of media in my life. Other than this I also occasionally read tabloid newspapers which I believe suit my personal media consumption better than that of broadsheet newspapers. My preferred newspapers are The Sun and The Daily Star; this would be because the language is less formal and has a more light-hearted feel to it.  My favourite form of media would be printed media in the form of fictional books; some of my favourite authors are Garth Nix, J.K. Rowling, Rick Riordan and Derek Landy. This would be because my favourite genre is mythical/magical. I decided to pick media because it interests me and I would like to know more about how media affects us in our lives.