Codes and conventions used

• In the magazine I have produced I have made sure I have used magazine codes and conventions which would be used in a real music magazine. For example:

• I have included three colours in my masthead on the front cover of the magazine orange, pink and purple. This represents the genres explored in this music magazine I designed (as you can see in the next slide).

Three Colours in masthead representing

three genres

Orange – Bhangra related and representative of Sikhism Pink-

Bollywood

Purple- Urban Desi –a new colour that signifies a movement away form the traditional

The first three letters DMC are in orange this is because it’s a special edition related to the Bhangra genre and emphasise the Indian roots

The special edition theme• The orange theme is carried out through out the magazine, the artist clothes, double paged article and also the colour of

the bottom and top strip on the front cover. My contents looks very different as I made sure this was only page that did have the star persona and main cover image included showing she's the main person and feature article focus in this edition of magazine. I have not added a lot of orange text as the magazine also focuses on two other genres, not only just Bhangra; to emphasis this more I have added to every page the DMC logo in original colours (orange, pink and purple which represents three music genres) and small page strip which have blended these three colours together. Also the number is highlighted in orange showing orange represents Bhangra sending the message that Bhangra is the main article in the edition of the music magazine (more is explained on my blog when I screen shot the process). I think I have created a fresh, Asian mise en scene that has a definite house style and colour palette throughout.

Codes and conventions The left third shows the ‘CD’ logo and cover lines belonging to the three genres in three different colour. This was important to outline even though it’s a special edition the magazine also focus on the other genres as well other than Bhangra (Bollywood and Urban Desi).

The word ‘Desi’ is in the masthead and strap line is in the left third as it’s a very important side of the magazine relevance to importance of targeting the audience. Desi music is a terminology for mainstream music such as Bhangra, Bollywood and Urban Desi (I have researched these genres in my music tribes for more information on these genres).

The pug is in a red circle which is media codes and convention for catching viewers attention as it shows if you by this magazine you get either a chance of wining something or get a item with the magazine free; the red circle particularly catches attention as well as also relating tot the main article.

There is only one image on the front cover which is enlarged and the background is white to emphasis that the article is on this girl also I have enlarged the main cover line onto image foregrounding even more it’s the main article and she is the main person in this magazine and it relates to the Bhangra genre as the cover lines in orange. The image looks very vibrant and looks like a music star where all attention is upon her, I have done this effect by changing the colour of the hair to light brown almost as if the sunlight is on her (as hair colour changes in the suns light) this makes the star stand out in a positive way as well as even having a very smiling pose.

The brown coloured font gives a traditional effect as the magazine is based on a traditional festival to do with Sikhism; this relates to the star as she has organised a mela (Punjabi funfair/event) the mela will; include performances form other stars as well as her self at the mela. The top and bottom strip takes on the brown coloured font and the price and date of magazine, also the magazine flows easily by adding small yet powerful details like these.

Codes and conventions The contents page also has a left third this time with the logo above the star (long shot) with the traditional colours of the three main letter (DMC), he pose is really smiling giving the impression she is happy in her career. I have made sure the artist looks as if she's going to play the ‘Dhol’ (instrument) to give effect of she is passionate and serious about music. she’s also dressed in a orange hoodie and jean’s a universal style again relevant to Vasakhi and the Bhangra genre (orange hoodie). The girl is represented aiming this magazine both at girls and boys showing boys are not the only ones who play the Dhol. The contents also shows the magazine focuses on Desi music but no particular genre within the Asian music scene. For example Bhangra is on the front cover as it’s a special edition as represented and fore grounded a lot, but the contents page is constructed so any cover line belonging to any of the three genres has equal status (one not being higher than the other). Also I am trying here to interest readers who might listen to special Desi genre to be more open minded.

How I developed my codes and conventions.

To make my magazine I had to design a questionnaire in order to understand what the target audience I am aiming this magazine at would want to see they responses helped me to design the magazine confidently especially the feature double page article wallpaper pull out designed for fans. In my research i asked teenage south Asian audience who would be interested in a music magazine covering three genres (Bhangra, Bollywood and urban Desi). From this research I priced my magazine at £1.50 as most ratings showed that this audience would want to see a music magazine covering these genres to be priced at this price. One of my other question was what would they like to see in the magazine and the highest rated was special features, so I added in a special feature yet unique a double page article wallpaper pull out. The second preferred was photo/star features so included photos on to the second double paged article of a photo shoot of the main star the magazine is focused on in this edition. Another element I found in my research was that the audience would only by this magazine only once a month so it was important to have main music cover lines on this magazine and to some times add in special editions (like I have done for a Vasakhi edition).

Codes and conventions challenges real media products

This music magazine in my opinion was very unique as I researched similar magazines covering these three genres and has blend of music and lifestyle, like the one I created and could find no results i.e. internet, shops and newsagent. Therefore I had to create a questionnaire to understand my audience and what they like to see. This is probably the biggest point in this part of the evaluation that challenges the real media product. Blending the genres was challenging but necessary to truly represent a cross section of Asian music culture, as I said there are no magazines that follow the traditional values of Sikhism and also represent a modern and vibrant outlook on the music that accompanies the culture.

When I researched my final magazine my audience all said they would be interested in buying a magazine like mine – they were all South Asian in origin just as my real target audience was intended to be.

What I learnt from my preliminary task During the making of this magazine from my school magazine I have learnt a lot and progressed I have learnt that imaging is important to how you frame, construct, select it and present it. In all my images I had to think constructively of what thought I wanted to represent and how I wanted it to come across to the readers/viewers. It is also necessary to consider what colour you choose for the magazine. I needed to create a recognisable house style and create a sense of mise en scene. I believe it’s important to make sure that when writing and constructing my article I must make sure the font is all the same as it’s very confusing. I have learnt from my last mistake on the poor lighting and have improved since.

Another key area I have improved on from my last magazine is the contents page as that needs to be full of information as with most magazines. Lastly the magazine cover looks interesting and has definitely shown that I have improved in designing and constructing my magazine, comparing my last magazine to the one I have done now. I definitely have improved on the layout and made sure it looks realistic and of professional quality by following the codes and conventions. For example I made sure the font is varied in colour, size and font and that the layout is not too confusing or busy. Also that the text font is the same size as I had to keep on changing it in my double paged article (as shown in my blog). The only concern is for me the image of the boy on the contents page as its rather blurred therefore it is important to take images on the right camera as I did with the other photography.

How my product represents a particular social group

• My magazine represents a particular social group which is south Asians. I have done this by adding the word 'Desi' in the Masthead and strap line which is another term for south Asians (who primarily are the targeted audience) genres such as Bhangrah, Bollywood and Urban Asian come under are referred to ‘Desi music’ this way I thought I had added Desi to it to make sure the south Asians understood what it meant and attract them to the magazine. The languages used in these music genres are all common south Asian languages such as Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu which are all very alike. All these 3 music genres are very similar to each other. 'Desi music culture' is straight away targeted at those who would understand this term and know what this magazine is about; in other word if you understand what Desi means the magazine is for you if you don’t there is no point having a look at it. This has created a niche audience who would recognise and enjoy the genre.

• The Masthead of the magazine is 'Desi Music Culture' short for DMC and on every page at the bottom it has a logo saying DMC. The culture represents Desi music as a trend of sociable people who listen to this genre because it is a cultural experience that moves from the traditional to the modern. The aims of this magazine are to show that it’s about Desi lifestyle/ culture and music. To make sure the readers of the magazine knew it was a Desi music magazine it was important for me to add the word music into the magazine Masthead. Also it is aimed at three music genres which opens up the niche audience to a wider target range.

Which media institution is suitable to distribute my music magazine?

My magazine would have to get out a south Asian teenagers (16-19) thereforethe media distributers for my product would have to be worldwide. In my research for media distributers I found Sony would be the suitable distributer for my magazine as not only is this company worldwide with commercial interest in many countries but it is also big enough to support niche audiences in smaller countries – however, if my magazine was marketed and distributed in India it would be a massive mainstream product and Sony would be able to handle its distribution.

Sony also produces music and this would provide technological synergy and convergence for the institution in that their magazine would advertise their main product - music. Desi music is well known and recognised in Asia, for example this product includes lifestyle information as well as music life so this would go into the Bollywood market producing massive revenue as Bollywood is a massive industry both in India and the United Kingdom

The audience for my media product My audience for the Music magazine I have produced will have to be a South Asian audience who have a interest in Bhangra, Bollywood or Urban Desi, it would also be for teenagers and aimed at boys and girls. The contents of the language used in the magazine targets this audience and also the contents displayed would not be appropriate for over the age of 20 as it would not appeal to them or they would not have interest in the article produced, for example ‘ your views on the hottest music star battle’ this is likely to attract and on purposely been added for teenage girls as their usually targeted or stereotyped have interest in boys. The main image and star the articles about in this magazine is on a girl.. Most of the cover lines are to do with gossip obviously girls are stereotyped for this behaviour, whilst targeting girls I am making sure the article is music related (targeting boys). The cover lines in contents page are music related and so are the freebies shown on front page targeting boys Furthermore the masthead emphasises this. Below are example on what attract the male audience on next slide is what attracts female audience.

Aiming to attract the male gender; related to music

What would attract girls

Key elements attracting the female audience to this product

How it attracted the targeted audience

• The word Desi attracts the audience as its in the mast head and is represented in the logo too ‘DMC’ short for Desi music culture. In my music magazine as you can see I have blended the lifestyle and music in by talking about a important Sikh festivals that is Vasakhi and made the issue on Vasakhi and made the Bhangra to be the main genre in the edition of the magazine; I have done this by making the DMC in the masthead orange although only the ‘D’ is orange originally as you would see on the other pages and we know its all about the Bhangra and Vasakhi lifestyle as the Desi genres listed along the left third has got Bhangra in orange and the other genre in they usual colours example Bollywood is pink and urban Desi - new genre of music formed by the fusion of traditional Indian westernised urban music is in purple. The artist on the page is on the front cover with her name in orange too showing that the Vasakhi edition has got relevance with her in the magazine as it says how she will be marking Vasakhi. The orange was the theme to do with Bhangra music as well as the ‘Vasakhi’ edition as it was to do with a Sikh festival; this was again making a connection between music and lifestyle as traditionally at Vasakhi melas (mela is another Punjabi word for funfair, event or function etc) Bhangrah music is played – this is relevant as this type of music comes from the homeland of Punjab as it is the Sikhs homeland too. I chose a female as many people who play the ‘Dhol’ instrument are boys; this helps to avoid stereotypical views and also aim this at girls too. Even though this is a Vasakhi edition and is related to Bhangra (making it the main genre in this edition) the contents page is shows that it focuses on other two genres too.

How my product represents a particular social group

• My magazine represents a particular social group which is south Asians. I have done this by adding the word 'Desi' in the Masthead and strap line which is another term for south Asians (who primarily are the targeted audience) genres such as Bhangrah, Bollywood and Urban Asian come under are referred to ‘Desi music’ this way I thought Id added Desi to it to make sure the south Asians understood what it meant and attract them to the magazine. The languages used in these music genres are all common south Asian languages such as Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu which are all very alike. All these 3 music genres are very similar to each other. 'Desi music culture' is straight away targeted at those who would understand this term and know what this magazine is about; in other word if you understand what Desi means the magazine is for you if you don’t there is no point having a look at it. The Masthead of the magazine is 'Desi Music Culture' short for DMC and on every page at the bottom it has a logo saying DMC. The culture represents Desi music as a trend of social people who listen to this genre. The aims of this magazine are to show that it’s about Desi lifestyle/ culture and music. To make sure the viewers of the magazine knew it was a Desi music magazine it was important for me to add the word music into the magazine Masthead. Also it is aimed at both genres.

Which media institution suitable to distribute my music magazine

My magazine would have to get out a south Asian teenagers (16-19) thereforethe media distributers for my product would have to be worldwide. In my research for media distributers I found Sony to be the suitable distributer for my magazine as not only is this company worldwide, but it has also links to companies working to broadcast in radio and publishing as it’s the largest company that owns companies that work in publishing, radio broadcasting. This product would also appeal to Sony as it is a music magazine and they have links to music making and products it might be a niche market in Britain, but in south Asia it will bring massive revenues as Desi music is well known and recognised for example this product includes lifestyle information as well as music life so this would go into the Bollywood market producing massive revenue as Bollywood is a massive industry.

How it attracted the targeted audience

• The word Desi attracts the audience as its in the mast head and is represented in the logo too ‘DMC’ short for Desi music culture. In my music magazine as you can see I have blended the lifestyle and music in by talking about a important Sikh festivals that is Vasakhi and made the issue on Vasakhi and made the Bhangra to be the main genre in the edition of the magazine; I have done this by making the DMC in the masthead orange although only the ‘D’ is orange originally as you would see on the other pages and we know its all about the Bhangra and Vasakhi lifestyle as the Desi genres listed along the left third has got Bhangra in orange and the other genre in they usual colours example Bollywood is pink and urban Desi - new genre of music formed by the fusion of traditional Indian westernised urban music is in purple. The artist on the page is on the front cover with her name in orange too showing that the Vasakhi edition has got relevance with her in the magazine as it says how she will be marking Vasakhi. The orange was the theme to do with Bhangra music as well as the ‘Vasakhi’ edition as it was to do with a Sikh festival; this was again making a connection between music and lifestyle as traditionally at Vasakhi melas (mela is another Punjabi word for funfair, event or function etc) Bhangrah music is played – this is relevant as this type of music comes from the homeland of Punjab as it is the Sikhs homeland too. I chose a female as many people who play the ‘Dhol’ instrument are boys; this helps to avoid stereotypical views and also aim this at girls too. Even though this is a Vasakhi edition and is related to Bhangra (making it the main genre in this edition) the contents page is shows that it focuses on other two genres too.

What I have learnt about technologies from processing the music magazine.

I learnt through out the process of making this music magazine how important it is to take images and how important it is to research and plan considering what software I was using before producing the product. It is wise to use various software such as Indesign and Photoshop in order to have highest possibilities of achieving the best results of what you planned before getting into the process of making a music magazine.

Using the main codes and conventions is essential as is trying to create a magazine that stands out and attempts to target a specific audience.

This happened during creating my font as I at first I was not ideally impressed at the results on Indesign the font appeared very cheap and didn’t look as professional as I wished, I didn’t achieve the funky professional music/lifestyle feel I wanted. I screenshot the process of Indesign how it looked, in my opinion the text I used on Photo Impact software compared to text on Indesign (shown on next slide) is more suitable and I felt more confident of the impression given (professional font).

Screenshot of process on Indesign (creating font)