IntroductionThe task was to create a music magazine, while concentrating on the factors of:

-genre

-target audience

-magazine codes and conventions

-the overall appearance of professional music magazines

This task was the main piece of media coursework which we were going to be doing, previous to this, doing the Preliminary task of creating a school magazine prepared us for the more advanced music magazine which I have now constructed.

My school magazine

My music magazine

Question 1:In what ways does your media product use,

develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

My music magazine is incredibly unique and different from many of the codes and conventions due to the fact that the genre I used, a hybrid and fusion of two different genres which up until now have yet to have been merged. When coming to this decision our group came to the conclusion that different features of the magazines would have specific qualities which relate to both genres, recognisable for the certain qualities. The two genres which we decided to mix together are Jazz and Pop, which forms the new hybrid of Japop.

To begin with I considered the features from each genre and those which had seen on both Jazz and Pop magazines:

The mast heads both feature the colour white, white (in this case) can therefore, be referred modern Jazz. Similarly they are both featured in bold capital letters therefore, aptly able to lure the eyes and interest of potential buyers. The title of ‘Jazziz’ is accompanied by a dark drop shadow, this effect is very ‘in your face’ and makes the title both attractive and memorable. The shadow effect on ‘Diverse’ may not be exactly the same style but can have the same influence , this design could have the effect of luring potential buyer’s eyes to the prospect f buying the product.

Both of the main images include the production of fun and energetic poses. This particular factor, therefore, being able to target a younger more energetic and youthful audience as well as an older one. The differences in lighting, of these images are fairly substantial. The lighting on the Norah Jones image is much cooler , and clean looking. Creating a bright glow upon her face, reinforcing the sophistication of Jazz, making her appear mature, accenting on her features, e.g. Her hair style, and the dress she is wearing setting trends. The lighting I used on this image of Jess, in comparison is much warmer and can be compared to lighting that might be used on a professional stage, in both the Jazz and Pop industries. The warmth of this spot light appears very inviting and comforting, both images portray this welcoming and attractive lighting scheme, trying to get this idea across luring more potential buyers of the magazine.

Similarly, both of these magazines have a main article and the use of sub headings. The main article in my magazine, is that of “Jess and her Japop Valentine’s single”, and on this feature I wanted to make the writing; a) stand out, while b) continuing to target my appropriate audience, therefore, fitting the specific genre. I chose two different fonts for this feature, “Jess” written in Berlin Sans and the title of the article in Arial Rounded. Similarly, between this feature in both magazines is the fact that both are written in bold, large, text in comparison to the sub headings. However, I have used the colours red (linking to the rich colours of Jazz and appearance of Valentine’s day) and the pink (linking to both Jazz and Pop)

which are both very vibrant (linking to pop) while the font on the cover of Jazziz, is much cleaner and simplistic, making quite a large difference between the two. The white suggests maturity, simplicity and when matches with the evident shadow present, really encourages peoples eyes to be lured there and entice people to buy the magazine. I was obviously unable to use a shadow effect upon this text as it wouldn’t have been visible, in conjunction with the black background, which is one of the reasons I chose these vibrant colours to compensate for this fact. The box outs I used, on the sub headings were my choice , as they do a very effective job of standing out and being one of the first few things seen on the magazine cover. This something unlike “Jazziz “ which is much more simplistic, just consisting of writing all in one colour, which is very uniform. This once again is very smart, and clear in design. I used quite a range of colours, ranging from purples to pinks and reds, all of which can or have been associated with the genres in question and Valentine’s day itself. This issue of “Jazziz” doesn’t portray a bottom strip. I did use this feature as I thought it would be the most effective method of showing that my secondary image was to do with this particular article. I used these colours as the different shades link to the appropriate genre and target audience. These colours, perhaps targeting a young female audience, even though “Jazziz” doesn’t include this, it is still a very attractive magazine.

“Jazziz” doesn’t appear to have a slogan, the slogan in my magazine’s case is “Japoppin for the very first time”. This was most popularly voted for out of a list of options. As my magazine is the first to be centred around this hybrid genre, this slogan focuses on the fact that this is a first, and very different. Also, informing potential readers of the new Japop terminology, that the experience of listening to and enjoying this genre is called “Japoppin”.

The colour scheme present when the two magazines are compared to each other consists of two completely different palettes. While “Jazziz” is centred around, cool, natural and chrome colours, “Diverse” is much more colourful however, centred around a specific theme. These light colours used in the production of “Jazziz” informs the fact that this type of palette is commonly used in the industry of modern Jazz, once again providing a specific target audience. As these colours often present maturity and simplicity, it could perhaps suggest that this magazine is targeted to an older audience. The idea of my using the different shades of pink, purple and red is creating a mixed genre persona. The deep and enriched properties of the colours I used links to Jazz, the creative and complex use of the box outs and sub headings altogether refers to Pop. The mixture of both of these factors refers to the Japop hybrid. The colourful appearance could perhaps refer to those people who enjoy the genre of Pop, perhaps a younger audience of aspirers, those who enjoys being colourful and a bit more experimental with their appearance. However, the familiarity which is created from the colours and shades being repetitive could target an older audience who perhaps are more simplistic and conservative and who are more routine and less adventurous than the younger group of people who are most well known for enjoying the Pop genre. These factors are those of which I had to think about during the construction of my magazine to properly link the two genres. All of the text fonts I used were carefully decided upon to ensure that the appearance provided a clear and professional finish, which is similar to the sub headings in this issue of “Jazziz” reinforcing both the factors of common magazine codes and conventions as well as a common genre characteristic, sensibility and simplicity.

The mast heads between these two magazines are in fact incredibly similar. They are both featured in a more fun and adventurous font therefore, this decision for my magazine’s text is more likely to target a Pop orientated audience. Perhaps those who are of a younger age, more flamboyant rather than simplistic. The used of colour between the two mast head are also incredibly similar, the pink on white appearance, links both to Jazz and Pop. However, in this issue of “Smash hits” the white is most definitely over taken by the pink showing a very dominant persona of how the pink is much more suited to the genre of Pop and also how the target audience is attracted to this colour more than they are in the case of the white. Suggesting that this magazine is mostly targeted at a female audience, perhaps of aspirers and followers who wish to follow that particular trend and appearance in this case, the fond portrayal of these specific colours and adventurous text could perhaps suggest characteristics of that genre of which listeners and perspective buyers of the magazine may wish to follow. My magazine obviously uses the same colours however, the shades of said colours give out different messages in reference to target audience, the deep pink rather than the baby pink leads away from the genre of Pop, reaching more toward to the sophistication commonly associated with Jazz. This rich colour could therefore target a slightly older audience.This Pop magazine unlike the Jazz magazine “Jazziz” has the use of more than one image on the front cover. The sheer multihued of images clustered upon this magazine cover reinforces the flamboyancy demonstrated by the characteristics and the audience of Pop. While the single image of Norah Jones on the cover of “Jazziz” shows the effect of being sparse in the design of the magazine linking to the characteristics of the Jazz genre. In order for me to create a magazine which fuses both of the genres together I used two images which isn’t too many and too flamboyant (similar to Pop) and not too little or incredibly simplistic (related to Jazz) This decision also ensured the fact that any perspective buyers would have a couple of images which really told the truth of Japop, whether about costume and appearance, music tastes or age groups. All of this consideration in an attempt to create an attractive magazine, which took into consideration the appearance of both genres concerned.

Similarly to my magazine this issue of “Smash hits” has the use of certain colours which are used repetitively. This is a tool used very often in magazines to establish both a target audience as well as a house style. Therefore, my repetitive colour palette can also be linked to the genre of Pop. But as I have previously mentioned the colours of which I have actually chosen to use could target people who enjoy either Jazz or Pop.

Both of these magazines use a clear font in the sub heading, therefore, allowing it to be easily read and target a wide ranged audience. The sub headings really stand out on both magazines as, they both feature fairly large, bold text, used in an attempt to lure the eyes of the perspective audience. Getting them interested and enticing their like for the particular genre. Although the use of large bold text was used less on the issue of “Jazziz” (linking once again to simplicity), the magazine was indeed very effective in attracting it’s specific audience.

In both of the images used the icon/artist in question is staring directly at the camera, therefore, enticing the buyer. This technique, could possibly, create the illusion that the artist is staring right at you, this obviously catching the perspective buyer’s attention, giving them ammunition and an excuse to look at and maybe even buy the magazine if it interests them. The edition of “Jazziz” features the image of Norah Jones, not looking directly at the camera, which is slightly more evasive and also more discrete, once again referring to a generic characteristic of Jazz. In the same token, this image of Britney Spears is much more stern and pouty rather than smiley. This sometimes is known as a Pop trait, most commonly portrayed by Posh Spice (The Spice Girls). Whereas, Norah Jones if smiling, similar to this image of Jess . These factors and the eventual conclusion of my magazine’s front cover shows my efforts to try and find the middle ground between the amalgamation of both Jazz and Pop. As small facts and features can send out

completely different messages as to the characteristics and target audience of the particular genre in question.

The title of the contents page is written In the same style as the mast head on the magazine cover. This reinforces the house style creating a sense of familiarity for the readers of the magazine. The contrasting colours which are present in every issue of this magazine repeats the idea of house style and links to the appropriate genres and target audience e.g. pink- often associated with a female audience.The images are of the same people featured on the front cover of the magazine, and the style continues throughout my publication.

The font I used for the text is one of the few I used on my front cover, this was my bid to try and make my contents and front cover similar enough to each other that they would actually look as if they are supposed to be from the same magazine. I used these two main different colours to portray the contrast between Jazz and Pop and so that the same colours wouldn’t appear too overused and boring. I changed the page numbers to this shade of red sot that any perspective buyers wouldn’t find it too hard to locate the appropriate pages. Some people might find it a slightly longer process to directly locate what they are interested in looking for in an average magazine. This feature prevents that making the text really jump out at you.

This is the first of all of the page numbers which would be featured in my magazine, this, therefore, setting a house style and showing the readers what to expect when they are looking for their page.

I have continued to use the same fonts as I have on the previous pages once again in an attempt to show familiarity. During my construction I was repetitively trying to show that these different pages of my magazine were identifiable as being from the same magazine .One of the most prominent features of my double page article, is my inclusion of lyrics. Many music magazines have been known to include lyrics to songs, however, is often featured as a later inclusionon a separate page, rather than in the way I have portrayed it. I have written this song and it has been featured upon this page as I felt that this would be the most effective way of allowing the perspective readers to get an understanding for the world of Japop e.g. The type of lyrics involved and the set out of the song.

Here I have continued the portrayal of the page

numbers in the same design to show off the house style

and familiarity.

Another feature that is not always

entirely common in double page articles is the portrayal of a CD cover from the artist in question.

Once again the reason behind my

wanting to add this is due to the fact

that it (similarly to the song lyrics)

informs the readers about Japop. For

example appearance and

professional appearance in

terms of trying to attract buyers not

only to a magazine, but a musical

feature like the Japop CD.

I decided to add the greenery in the background, because as Jazz is commonly known for it’s uniqueness and difference , I didn’t wish

to make my magazine double page article too generic, instead wanted to make it over to seem one of a kind not unlike Japop

itself.

Question 2:How does your media product represent particular

social groups?

Social groups are classified and measured in different ways, they can be in terms of psycho dynamics or social economics. In terms of social economics the different gages of audience are tiered by the occupation, judging by the amount of income the person or people in question get, in terms of how they receive the media publication and the genre in question. This form of social grouping is symbolised through letters, the lower skilled and income workers or non workers rated at the lowest letter E, while the higher managerial positioned and skilled working people are rated at the highest letter A. The Psycho dynamic scale is measured less practically and numerically measured, but is more about the reasons behind the specific audience of people receiving and enjoying the particular genre. For example followers and aspirers are a category which means that the audience listen to and buy music magazines as they follow and aspire to be like the artist who perhaps is showcasing the particular genre or want to follow the trends which follow the genre, whether its type of sounds or appearance.

In terms of social economics:The most likely audience groups to be targeted and attracted by my magazine, via social economics, are those people who are classed from E to C1.

A-Higher, managerial, administrative professionalsB-Intermediate, managerial, administrative professionals. C1-Supervisory, clerical, junior managers, administrators and professionals.C2-Skilled manual workers.D-Semi skilled and unskilled workers.E-Unemployment, unwaged pensioners, people on state benefits and seasonal workers.

In terms of Psycho Dynamics:The most likely groups to be targeted are those who are aspirers or followers. Due to the portrayal of my magazine images; for example the main image of Jess featured upon the magazine cover accompanied by the image of Lillah and Lola, as this gives an adequate representation of the codes and conventions of the genre. This sets a standard of a) the clothing and overall appearance of the artists and listeners of this genre, b) the age group of the artists and listeners concerned and finally c) the characteristics for example the types of poses, facial expressions and other factors which contribute to the portrayal in it’s entirety. These features reinforce the fact that my magazine would target aspirers and followers, people who follow the trends being set for example wearing the style of clothes that Jess, Lillah and Lola are wearing. Similarly certain people might aspire to perhaps sing like a Japop star.

C1-Supervisory, clerical, junior managers, administrators and professionals.C2-Skilled manual workers.D-Semi skilled and unskilled workers.E-Unemployment, unwaged pensioners, people on state benefits and seasonal workers.As a factor of my magazine is to target an audience of young females to slightly older people in their 20’s and 30’s . Obviously those people who are perhaps in school or other forms of education, don’t have a specific profession so might be classed as an E in the social scale as unemployed people. This being the reason for my magazine targeting the lower end of the social economical scale. As my magazine, (as I mentioned before) also tries to attract a slightly older audience of people in their 20’s to perhaps s mid/early 30’s. This is why my magazine is able to attract the tiers of C2 and C1 in the centre of the scale. As older people are more likely to get further in jobs due to the amount of experience involved, meaning that the youngerWorkers are more likely to be perhaps in junior positions of authority in the workplace

Justifying my reasons in terms of targets audience for having this span of different social economics.I felt that the best way to ensure that my appropriate social groups were targeted to my magazine would to be by, first ensuring that my magazine targeted it’s appropriate audience judging by gender and ages. For example, the colour scheme , of pinks and purples, which are more likely to attract a younger female audience holds with it the ability to target it’s appropriate corresponding groups of people in the social economic scale e.g. A female teenager in school, would most likely be E in terms of social economics. Finally the poses that have been featured, The poses included by all of the artists in my magazine give out a fun vibe and really showcase the characteristics of Japop. As the majority of my target audience are of a younger group, more likely to be seen out enjoying themselves and who are also either in school are maybe starting to go to work . This therefore demonstrating how the poses can attract people belonging to all of these social economic tiers.

Question 3:What kind of media institution might distribute your

media product?

Due to the fact that the genre of my magazine is a hybrid of Jazz and Pop, it means that the particular institution who would be responsible for distributing it who be questionable. The reason being that in many cases the institutions are more specified to a single genre, in terms of potential profits. In order to cater for both the Pop and Jazz aspects of the hybrid, the institution would be very likely to be the one that markets and promotes to music/ artists of Japop- hence it would market it’s own interests i.e. Time Warner or Sony. As I have continuously mentioned this hybrid had to include a balance and the features of both genres, otherwise they would not have been fused effectively.

So after considering the factor of genre and audience, I came to the conclusion that the institution, which would be best fitted to distributing my magazine for it’s Jazz qualities would be Blue note records: a label well known for it’s distribution of Jazz music and they would be willing to foray into the Pop genre.http://www.bluenote.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Note_Records

To compensate for the Pop side of the genre hybrid, the eventual decision for the institution which seemed like a good fit for the distribution of my magazine for it’s Pop qualities would perhaps be RCA Records (Sony music entertainment)http://www.rcarecords.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RCA

I eventually chose Blue Note as the music institution to support the Jazz side of Japop. One of the reasons being the fact that this record company has supported artists such as Count BasieNat King Cole, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald, who are obviously very well known artists. Therefore, this music institution would be a good company to really showcase the Jazz of Japop, and perhaps try and make it to appeal to a wide ranged audience.

Facts about Blue Note:-Part of EMI music publishing, which happens to be the fourth largest music publishing company. -This label started in 1939 in America focussing on the genre of Jazz. -In the past the concentration of the different forms of music have consisted of Bebop, soul and the old fashioned rhythm and blues. All of these genres are related to Jazz, some indirectly in many cases consisting of similar sounds.

As I have previously mentioned I waned to try and use a suitable record label which would target a wide ranged audience, and still remain modern. Norah Jones, is a famous modern singer/songwriter who has been known to dabble with Jazz. As she is another artists who is represented by Blue Note Records this demonstrates that choosing this record label to represent the Jazz of Japop, would be the best choice, as through the older stars that have been represented by this label in the past can attract an older audience the younger more modern artists might attract a younger audience. So just by association with the record label it is feasible that this could bring a wide ranged audience’s attention to Japop, both the music and the magazine.

RCA Records (Radio Corporation of America) is the other Record label that I chose for to distribute my magazine compensating for the Pop side of my genre. As RCA records is a very well known record company who supports many modern Pop artists I thought that this label would be the most effective to target my appropriate audience and keep with modern times. This label has represented artists such as Christina Aguilera, Kings of Leon, Avril Lavigne and Kelly Clarkson.

Facts about RCA Records:-This label is a part of the Sony Entertainment music organisation which is the second largest of the music publishing companies.-RCA was founded in 1901 in America.-RCA has been known for supporting various Pop artists, such as the ones stated above and has dabbled in certain other genres such as rock and country.

In the 1980s artists such as Rick Astley and The Eurhythmics were part of RCA Records. As these artists were very well known and popular especially in the 1980s, it can therefore relate to an older target audience who enjoyed listening to artists like these when they were younger. This could therefore maybe bring the new reality of Japop to the attention of an older audience, getting them interested in the genre. The Eurhythmics and Rick Astley are artists which have been known to attract a mixed gendered audience , probably to be most likely gauging from adolescence to middle aged people in their 30’s. This spanning the target audience in modern times, those who were in their teens when they enjoyed listening to these artists in the 1980’s now provides an older audience who are have aged to their mid thirties to forties. This could therefore draw an audience who enjoy to listen to both older and modern Pop, meaning having more ammunition to listen to Japop and see once again how sounds have developed since the hey day of the 1980’s.

Question 4:Who would be the target audience for your media

product?

In terms of target audience, my magazine would definitely target a young female group of people. The colours I have used on the cover of my magazine e.g. pinks and purples are very likely to target a female audience. The reason for my expecting it to target a younger audience perhaps approximately 13-25, is due to the younger age groups of the artists featured and the types of content included. For example it is more likely that a younger audience rather than an older audience would want to spend their time reading a magazine, which has columns featured around subjects like; gossip, gigs/concerts and quizzes. The reason being that an older audience might not be able to relate to and enjoy the topics of this magazine like a younger audience would. However, when taking an in depth look at the appropriate target audiences of either genre involved, it might become apparent

that as Jazz has been known to attract a slightly older audience in the past that feat may still be accomplished via my magazine. But when concentrating upon modern Jazz with idols such as Norah Jones the target audience is much more uncertain and questionable. As I previously mentioned aspirers and followers are likely to be targeted in terms of psycho dynamics but in the same point you could also say that non conformists may also be attracted to my magazine, as this fusion of genres is most definitely a different and unique combination which might encourage those potential buyers who wish to be different to buy this magazine and listen to this completely new genre. I think that is would be very unlikely for my issue of this magazine to attract a male audience, this obviously due to the colours and imagery, of which I used to complete my magazine front cover.

Before I started this project I had an idea of the audience I intended my magazine to target. I feel that I’ve done that well.

Question 5:How did you attract your audience?

I attracted a female target audience first of all, by featuring female Japop artists on my magazine front cover. Now this can work both ways, some might say that the inclusion of female artists would only target a female target audience, while others might say that this could also target a male audience of aspirers or followers who want to be with someone like the artist being featured. But in this case I think the female artists being portrayed can and do attract a similar female audience, around the same age groups and maybe a bit older than Jess, Lillah and Lola. I used colours such as pinks and purples, to try and target a female audience and also in an attempt to reference Jazz and Pop.

In terms of Psycho Dynamics, I wanted my magazine to try and attract aspirers and followers. To achieve this I used fairly large images of the artists, therefore, making it more likely to attract an audience who aspire to be like the Japop performers or at least want to follow the trends and styles which have been set by the artists. Similarly followers might be attracted, those who wish to take part in the quizzes being advertised on the front of the magazine. Also, followers who enjoy to read the types of columns that are shown in my magazine, e.g. people who like to read columns about, gossip and music news. This is the reason for why my magazine due to it’s content might be able to attract a range of aspirers and followers.

My magazine could attract a range of music lovers, those who are very much interested in finding out more of this brand new genre and taking the time to read about it.

Question 6:What have you learnt about technologies from the

process if constructing this product?I have used a vast number of technologies during the planning, constructing and evaluating portions of my magazine work. To begin with I started (during the planning and research section of this work ) by using technologies such as the internet , using the internet to research into topics such as; other magazines, music institutions, music tribes and magazine institutions. I found this section of work lightly trying at times when attempting to look for specific features and amounts of information which are relevant to the topic in question. I enjoyed researching the different music institutions and music tribes and used the internet to find appropriate images and the information which helped me put slide shows together. I found it easier to use the internet to find the appropriate images e.g. Of artists and groups belonging to those tribes e.t.c whereas I found it slightly harder to use the internet to learn certain aspects of the information of which I was required to research.

Using Blogger was very different to me as I’m not very used to using blogs. So I have had to adapt to using Blogger, learning as I went along about things like posting Power Points and embedding videos from YouTube . When it came to more basic things like posting updates, I felt a bit more comfortable using this technology. But, as I have previously mentioned with the slightly more advanced skills that I had to learn I felt a little bit more apprehensive about how my blog would turn out by the end of the project. At the moment I am feeling fairly more confident using this technology to portray my media work.

When it came to taking the photographs for my magazine I felt quite confident about using the cameras and lighting equipment as I have used them before, for previous media work .

When using Adobe Photoshop, although I have used this programme before on previous pieces of work I did have a few small issues along the way. I have learnt up until now how to edit images to an extent, being able to delete the background and modify the sizes of the images ready for the magazine, but through this project I have really learnt so much more about using this photo manipulating programme. For example, I have learnt using the colour balance and contrast tools, I have learnt how to add effects like the glow around the images and how to actually make a magazine using Photoshop (my Preliminary Task), applying colours and text to this programme to make my school magazine. I found that slightly difficult, specifically using all of the different layers to add in different features to my magazine. I feel I can use Photoshop more efficiently now than I used to be able to.

Creating my magazine on Adobe Indesign has proven to be a large and at some points hard task to complete. Until this project I hadn’t ever used Adobe Indesign s once again it was really all about trying to understand and get used to the programme so that I would be able to create my magazine both conscious of target audience and while understanding and appreciating how to use the vast array of tools and options available in his programme. In many ways Indesign is very much like Photoshop, when it comes to layout, certain tools and the use of layers which I have felt more comfortable using, particularly using the layers, was much easier after I had learned how to use them from my preliminary task on Photoshop. However, in the same token there were some tools such as; making pages and importing images onto Indesign which I had not yet learned how to do, however once I had learned what to do and had gotten used to the programme properly I didn’t have as many problems using it to make my magazine. I have learned from using these programmes over these two tasks that although Photoshop is a very good programme to be used for image manipulation, it isn’t a programme best fitted to the actual construction of magazines. Which is why I feel that my Music magazine looks much more professional and is better made , considering the fact that I used Indesign to construct it.

I have acquired a range of the skills and knowledge required, to make magazines learning a huge amount about the programmes and how to use the tools available.

Question 7:Looking back at you Preliminary task, what have you

learnt in progression of you full project?

My Preliminary task was to create a school magazine. The work and planning that went into this included researching into previously existing schools magazines, how they use and differ from the codes and conventions of professional magazines. This task was a starting point to get used to using the technology and differs vastly to my main task of creating a music magazine. As the music magazine task was after the school magazine I found that I had acquired a large amount of skills in using the programmes necessary for my magazine construction and research.

When researching into music and school magazines I found that there were many differences and similarities in the construction and overall appearances. When I researched into school, magazines in particular, I found that many of the codes and conventions were unlike those of regular commercially brought magazines, so while making my school magazine I had to bear this factor in mind.

Some factors between my two magazines which are the same (and are common magazine codes and conventions) are those such as:

The bottom strip, which in both cases I used to show case one or more of the additional columns featured in my magazine. I used this on both of my magazines because I find it an effective method of advertising certain aspects of the more exciting content of the magazine, for those perhaps who might look at the front cover and not at the contents this is a good way for them to find out what is being featured in the magazine without having to go directly into the contents.

Use of interesting poses, on the front cover of both of my magazines I tried to include the use of interesting and attractive poses. The reasons for this being a) to appeal my target audience (being eye catching at the same time), b) to suit the genres and topics of the articles. To clarify, the topic of my main article for my school magazine, ‘Brain Wave’ is that of a fashion show, therefore the pose and facial expression match this subject. In the case of my music magazine ‘Diverse’ this pose suits the way in the genre is supposed to be represented, as a fun and youthful hybrid, linking to the character of Jess herself, as she would be happy (like she is in her picture) with a new chart topping single.

These factors between my two magazines are obviously what they have in common, and how they can be related to each other in terms of appearance and codes and conventions. Though ‘Brain Wave’ obviously did show many contrasts to ‘Diverse’ in appearance and codes and conventions...

The results of Preliminary and main task have differed in reference to logo, as you can see for ‘Brian Wave’ I did feature the school log, as I thought that this would be a good example association to the magazine’s institution which of course in this case would be the school (Oakland Girls Art College). The portrayal of this feature can make the link between the magazine and the school, I could have done this, by using another method, which would have looked much plainer by merely typing the school name beneath the mast head, where ordinarily the slogan would be placed. This potentially being another way of challenging the ordinary codes and conventions of magazines. However, I felt that making a logo, would not only be more attractive and eye catching for the audience but also an opportunity to gain more skills in using Adobe Photoshop to help create icons, such as this one. I didn’t feel the need to use a logo on my music magazine as it would have been a difficult decision to make in reference to images and the best route to chose for the picture and representation of my magazine. As this is a hybrid genre I could not have chosen an image that represented too much of Jazz or Pop, also it would be going against magazine codes and conventions to have a logo in relation to the music institution. Which is reinforcing the idea that school magazine, codes and conventions differ to those of professional magazines.

Finally my music magazine has a slogan which my school magazine does not. This feature is incredibly common amongst commercially brought magazines, which is one of the reasons I wished to include it. One of my main goals was to create a magazine of which people wouldn’t easily forget, adding this memorable and informative (about Japop and it’s recent introduction into the music scene) was in a bid to make it stick in people’s minds enticing them to want to read it. The fact that my school magazine doesn’t include this convention, reinforces the way in which school magazines don’t always stick to the traditional codes and conventions of professional magazines.

During the construction of my school magazine I learnt a lot more about the use of different technologies and magazines. The most significant lesson I learnt was using Adobe Photoshop and how to how to actually construct an entire magazine using Photoshop. I also learnt about how to make logos and other features using Photoshop, which proved to be incredibly useful when it came to making icons such as my page numbers for my eventual music magazine. From using Photoshop during the construction of my school magazine, I improved in my speed, efficiency and knowledge of editing my necessary magazine images. This was an incredibly helpful skill to acquire as it means that I can spend less time concentrating on my images and more time on the construction of my magazine.

My double page contents from my school magazine is also unlike my music magazine single contents page.

What is probably the most prominent difference between my two contents pages would be the page numbers. As can be seen upon my school magazine contents page, the page numbers ascend, in chronological order e.g. from 3-4 and 5-6, including all the numbers from 3 to 13. While my school magazine does not , there are gaps between certain numbers e.g. jumping from page 14 to 17, some of these gaps are in compensation for there being double page article creating longer intervals between features, however, it is not always due to this in some of these long gaps I was compensating for advertisements, like those which are featured in all magazines. Where the music institution which distributes the magazine advertise some of their other products in an attempt to increase the popularity of some of their other products. For example, in my magazine’s case the institution responsible for the distribution of my magazine (e.g. RCA or Blue Note) might advertise a new album being released by another one of their other artists, therefore, encouraging more people to buy the institution’s products.

Looking back at my two publications I would say that an improvement I would have made in the case of my school magazine would be to include a slight amount more of the generic codes and conventions of magazines. Although I know that school magazines differ from professional magazines I felt that I could adhered to them a bit more to more effectively target my appropriate audience and make it appear more eye catching and altogether memorable.

Conclusion

To conclude, throughout the construction of my magazines and the work I have done about both the magazine and music industry, I have acquired a great amount of skills which have put to good use and used the technologies which were appropriate. Finally I have come to understand a great deal about music industries, tribes and magazines and how these factors have such an influence upon the production, sales, genre and target audience of different magazines.