How does your product represent particular social groups?

So by my product being dark lighted and oozing individuality my audience will be proud to be seen in possession of it as the magazine is a statement of social status, it shows the rest of the world who you are and that your 'cool and popular' as you are the first to know what clubs to go to this week and know the latest clothes.

The language i have used is quite informal with the use of 'creepier' and the not politically correct 'garage royalty', in my contents page this informality is further used as words such as 'lowdown' and 'adopted' are used to set a relaxed tone as my target audience have very relaxed personalities and wont like reading a magazine that influences their life in an informal tone. The language used in my double page spread is not really representative of my social group which is a major flaw of my double page spread as i could of used street slang to have a further, more deeper connection with my audience however, the interviewer portrays herself as one of the target audience as she shares that she has attended one of the creeps live shows which will then cause the audience to respect her alot more as there is that connection there. Due to the interview being semi-structured the flow of the interview represents the free flow of the lives of my audience as their life goes with the wind wherever it will take them.

The clothes that my models wear represent the target social group of my magazine as the creep is dressed in street wear and in the background is a DJ set which the audience will be familiar with as they see it every weekend, the clothes of DJ Katy also represent my social group as she is dressed extremely individual, also by having a female artist as one of my main stories it represents the equal balance of gender in the particular social group.
The eye level shot angles of the images in my magazine are nearly all eye level to enhance the balance of power between artist and audience, it represents the vulnerability and mortality of the creep as his story backs up.

This particular social group has a very open view on sexuality and bisexuality tends to be popular within the group, this is represented through the image of DJ Katy as she is seen getting intimately photographed by another woman which creates the feeling of sexual tension between the audience and the artist.

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

http://prezi.com/mnfublynlrdt/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share

My other products such as the contents page and double page spread are very much more conventional than my front page as my contents page has boxes that add a layering affect that most contents pages have, pictures supported two of my stories which is a common practice for example;






My contents page also has subscription instructions, however usually magazines have inside forms that the reader has to fill out and post, but due to my audience being on the internet most of the time due to the easy access, the subscription is all online.
I also have challenged the convention of all the content under one heading, I have split my content into two subheadings that fulfill two different aspects of my audiences life, I realized my magazine has to be organised just as well as the audiences life as the music genre influences heavily on the life of my audience.
One convention i have followed is the carry through of the house colours, i realised that this was the professional thing to do instead of completely uprooting the conventions.




My double page spread contains many typical conventions such as the crediting of the journalist and photographer, text contained in collumbs to make navigation easy, directly addressed photo, representative colours of the artist, a pull quote, page numbers and a starting capital latter to show the reader where to start.
But i have challenged the conventions in ways such as replacing the typical masthead brand that appears on the page with one of my iconic masthead figures (the flamingo) which will build up association with the brand and increase the status of the figures. I also noticed that most double page spreads are quite plainly coloured to enhance the focus onto the story itself, this is something i challenged as my background colour is a faded, pale green which represents the creep subtly, i also changed the colour of the text background to signify a change in mood or topic which creates excitement and curiosity for the reader.
The title of the double page spread is not exciting ON PURPOSE as the audience are intrigued by the front cover anchorage text the title of the story inside still doesn't give much away which forces the audience to read the spread.

How did i attract/address my audience?

The uniqueness of my masthead will attract the eye of the audience no doubt as my masthead spans across the entire width of the page in club-like colors which my target audience will connect too. The unique iconic flamingo and palm tree will intrigue the audience as my magazine is different which will also add to the attraction of my magazine as my target audience loves to be different in there clothes and style so why should they be an different in what they read?
The main photograph has intense eye contact as the model is peering down the lens of the camera straight at the reader, this creates an automatic connection and intimacy between the creep and the audience which heightens the direct address.
I attracted my audience by targeting not just their music interest but there style interest as well via a sell line, as my target audience has a certain dress code which is associated with this genre of music = street wear. My audience also like to be at the forefront of everything new and are usually the first to know about the latest fashion and set the new trends so by my magazine stating it has the 'latest street wear' then this will most certainly attract my target audience.
The language used in the anchorage text "the background to my new album is creepier" is a play on words to create intrigue and a tone of humour to supress the darkness of the story and the main image. The inside story about the creep gave the audience serious insight to the history of thr artist and opens up the what he's gone through which creates an emotion of sympathy and awe around the artist which causes an emotional attraction.
The moderate price of £2.35 is extremely good value considering the content of the magazine as it includes fashion, emotional interviews and information about nightlife and the street scene, this magazine is a teenagers guide to street life so a couple of quid is a very decent price.

Magazine media institutions

In this PowerPoint I have highlighted the points of the companies values that I think compliment my own values for my music magazine.


http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/31120630




I have also research another media institution apart from the main 3 in my slideshow that my magazine would fit perfectly with its values.

Spin Media has over 30 million obsessed fans that consume 350 million page views each month which then leads the audience 2.5 times more likely to follow a brand of Spin Media and makes the audience 4.5 time more likely to stream the music which would make a magazine signed to Spin Media attractive to artists that would be involved in the magazine as they know Spin Media has a hugely span audience.

However although Spin Media is an online media that their audience consume, being a music magazine published by Spin media will allow the vast audience figures to give your brand quick recognition and iconography. The reputation of Spin media has in the music industry will automatically make your product authenticated which will boost its brand.

VIBE is a leading entertainment and lifestyle brand delivering content across multiple distribution platforms to a culturally diverse audience around the world. Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2013, VIBE continues to embrace its roots in music and chronicle the celebrities, sounds, fashion and culturally-relevant events from hip-hop to the modern day converging music landscape. Over the past year, VIBE has been significantly refocusing its efforts online – doubling its online traffic to become one of the most vibrant digital music brands. VIBE is a member of Spin Music, a division of Spin Media.

In this day and age my target audience spend a lot of time on the internet so for spin media to be a platform for my magazine online then it is a perfect publisher for my magazine as they use different platforms to advertise the brand and also get the most out of advertising for the magazine.

 Do the values of the company match the values of my magazine?

One of the main values of the company is to create a credible connection with the audience through partnerships of brands that they can trust, considering that my magazine will influence aspects of my audiences life I think a trust connection is extremely important.

Institutions

What is an institution?

Institutions are the regulatory and organising structures of any society, which constrain and control individuals and individuality. The term more precisely refers to the underlying principles and values according to which many social and cultural practices are organised and co-ordinated.

 For instance, we think of journalists, regardless of politics and rightly or wrongly, as sharing the same set of values as their newspapers. We see 'Newspapers' as something bigger than, and probably more authoritative/powerful than us as individuals.

However, as global patterns of ownership change, so does the concept of Institution. Media ownership is now concentrated in the hands of a few companies worldwide, and these companies own examples of many different media. So, it is true to say that the 'Institutional Values' of, say, Disney, are reflected in a number of different media companies that they own (e.g. Marvel Studios, the Discovery Channel), which can therefore be grouped together and considered as part of the same institution (the Disney Corporation).

Basically, understanding institution is about understanding

• who produces media texts
• what their set of codes and values is
• and their relationship to us as individuals

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

During the process of making my media product I vastly improved using and applying different types of technology such as; digital camera, internet explorer and different software platforms.

Software platforms  

Microsoft Publisher

This software created a platform for me to create all my magazine pages but it was most useful in creating the double page spread as I could see the pages together as they would look in the magazine so it was easier to design. The features such as the cropping device allowed me to crop my photos too fit the page as this would not cause pixilation, the transparent tool allowed me to blend my print screens into the background of my magazine, at first I was quite slow to apply these tools but as time went by it became a second nature to use these tools. The different contrasts tools allowed me to make my images more professional and enhanced.

Another software platform I used was PAINT, due to some of my blogs being done on word documents and my fonts having to be print screened I had to transfer them to paint in order to be able to save them. Paint gave me the tools to crop my images too get rid of the background it was situated on in order to look clean cut for my magazine.

Internet explorer

I used the internet to research music magazines so without the internet I wouldn't of have a proper idea about the conventions or layout of similar magazines. In order to research into my target audience I used the internet as I found out radio stations that play garage music age ranges and typical audience. The internet also allowed me to post my production onto blogger as without blogger there would be no platform for my work.

Other skills

Management, especially time, was a big issue for me in the preliminary task as I found myself in a constant rush to get the pages done and I think the pages reflect the rush I found myself in as I spent time on too many colours when I could of spent more time perfecting the text on the pages.
But on the final task I managed to reach each deadline with my work up to a high standard as I worked after school and tested different ideas until I got the best results. I learnt from my poor time management in the first task by appreciating the importance of a to-do list which helped me organise my blogs in order and it helped me to not forget to include anything.
In my first task of the school magazine I never went out of my way to get props or make up/costumes, but I recognised that this looked unprofessional compared to other magazines and it didn't have a uniqueness about the magazine. So in my final task of the music magazine I used my improved people management (which improved due to my need to get things completed) too be assertive and ask around for street wear (cap, t-shirt etc.)
I produced a brief description of my desired outcome from each photo-shoot I arranged and showed my models which inspired them full of motivation, my people management had to be on top too achieve the best results from my models.