There are many different distribution companies that I could use to distribute my magazine however not all would be suitable. I researched on the internet to try and find the one that fitted best. The Prezi we made previously really helped me with my research and my decision as well as the internet as a lot of the information I'd already found previously. I narrowed down the companies I would choose from to IPC, Conde Naste and Bauer.
IPC distributes Uncut magazine as well as NME, as well as TV Times and Look. IPC seem to distribute a variety of magazines. Considering the fact that NME would be one of my main competitors, it wouldn't make any sense for me to allow that company to distribute my magazine. Considering NME is already a popular selling magazine IPC will not want or need to distribute another indie/rock magazine. This is highlighted by how they also distribute the R'n'B magazine Uncut.
Next I look at their rival company Bauer Media who have over an audience in the UK of over 19 million people. Bauer Media distributes the magazines Grazia, Empire and Take a Break, as well as 282 magazines worldwide in more than 10 countries. However they also distribute Q magazine which as a magazine is very diverse in what it produces, however a lot of it's content will be similar to what is featured inside my own magazine. Due to Q magazine it would be very difficult to expect Bauer Media to take on my magazine as well. Although I think even if I did choose them they wouldn't be the best option as the Q Magazine fan basis is so high it'd be hard for them to sway the public towards my magazine.
I did consider looking at independent distributors but that is really uncommon within indie/rock magazines. Independent companies tend to focus more on Hiphop magazines like VIBE, therefore it would be unconventional for me to chose such a small company.
This is why I've picked Conde Naste to distribute my magazine. This is because unlike IPC and Bauer Media they don't already distribute indie music magazines. However they do distribute other successful magazines such as Vogue, GQ and Easy Living. Therefore I know that they're reliable and will be able to get as much public appeal towards my magazine as possible.
Tuesday 31 January 2012
Monday 23 January 2012
Sunday 22 January 2012
How Does Your Media Product Represent Particular Social Groups
When creating my magazine I tried to consider what fashion style of my model, type of font and bands used would appeal most to the indie, urban and care free image of my target audience. I wanted the genre to be clear and easily noticeable upon first glance when looking at my magazine. This is why I chose the name "Amplified" as it has connotations of loud which related to the music and the sometimes outgoing fashion of my Target Audience. I was also consistent in my colour scheme of grey and red as the subtle tones are not only common in what target audience may wear but also suits the style of music. The affect of the drop shadow highlights how the genre isn't quite so mainstream and how its originality is underrated.
I made sure not to use bright colours like orange and pink as I didn't want to conform to the expectations or conventions of a pop magazine. I also made sure that my models facial expression displayed attitude as I didn't want her to have the 'happy go lucky' image of a pop star. On the front cover of my magazine my model is looking straight in to the camera with a pouting smile on her face. The way her image is the centre of attention and dominates the page displays the rebellious attitude expected from the audience. The angle of the shot is that it's looking down on her yet she is making eye-contact with the camera. This highlights how she is being perceived as the underdog yet she intends to defy expectations by flaunting her success.
My model is wearing a simple, fitted green dress which helps to highlight her confidence. I expect that this would relate to my target audience as they will be comfortable in how they dress no matter how 'out there' their outfits are. As my model is female I made sure I had a male model on my contents page to display what they'd wear. I used two different models highlighting either end of the style, one wearing a shirt and a flat cap again looking straight into the camera to display confidence. Whereas the other was dressed in white portraying a more innocent look yet highlighting his interest in music by wearing headphones. The use of the male models highlights how this magazine should appeal to both sexes whether its through fashion or attraction.
I made sure not to use bright colours like orange and pink as I didn't want to conform to the expectations or conventions of a pop magazine. I also made sure that my models facial expression displayed attitude as I didn't want her to have the 'happy go lucky' image of a pop star. On the front cover of my magazine my model is looking straight in to the camera with a pouting smile on her face. The way her image is the centre of attention and dominates the page displays the rebellious attitude expected from the audience. The angle of the shot is that it's looking down on her yet she is making eye-contact with the camera. This highlights how she is being perceived as the underdog yet she intends to defy expectations by flaunting her success.
My model is wearing a simple, fitted green dress which helps to highlight her confidence. I expect that this would relate to my target audience as they will be comfortable in how they dress no matter how 'out there' their outfits are. As my model is female I made sure I had a male model on my contents page to display what they'd wear. I used two different models highlighting either end of the style, one wearing a shirt and a flat cap again looking straight into the camera to display confidence. Whereas the other was dressed in white portraying a more innocent look yet highlighting his interest in music by wearing headphones. The use of the male models highlights how this magazine should appeal to both sexes whether its through fashion or attraction.
Audience Feedback
This video contains camstudio images of how my magazine constructed and the progress its made and is followed by comments from the audience. I have taken into account what my audience have said and have made changes to my magazine since. The audience feedback was filmed on a DSLR canon camera to make it as high quality as possible.
Sunday 15 January 2012
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
When planning and creating my magazine I tried to conform to the typical conventions of an Indie/Rock magazine. When doing my similar product analysis I tried to focus on products which I could base my product on and to help develop my ideas. I gained further knowledge on magazines like Q, Kerrang and NME when doing my Key Concepts Prezi which then enabled me to start my magazine appealing to a target audience of 14-25 year olds. My target audience needed to have an interest to predominantly mainstream music and have similar-ish fashion to the iconic artists who make up the genre.
I aspired for my magazine to be the most eye-catching among the others of its type in the hope to sway their audience on to my magazine making it the most popular. I adapted my masthead from how it was originally going to be built up from speakers and guitar necks to make it easier to read and bolder, I extended the letters to make them taller and added a drop shadow. The colour of my masthead is grey which is a underrated colour, this could imply that the artists within do not get the recognition they deserve therefore this is why the magazine is promoting them. This is reinforced by the bold red background as it represents the passion for music that the magazine will be representing.
My main sell line is centred near the bottom of my page, I felt positioning is crucial as well as size, font and colour. It needed to have some form of diversity from the rest of my sell lines so that it didn't blend in. Therefore I chose the font impact and capitalised the text. The artists name is in red to signify her importance, similarly to the masthead she has a drop shadow on her name. However the colours aren't the same as there needs to be something that differentiates them to avoid confusion and to create hierarchy. My model is positioned in the centre of the page leaning forward towards the audience. I chose this particular image as it's like the model is inviting the audience to join her. The models head covers some of the Masthead which signifies how the magazine consider their stories and artists more important than the name of the magazine. There is a banner that spreads across the bottom of my page which says "FREE RHCP POSTER" the use of the acronym for Red Hot Chilli Peppers signifies that the audience will have preconceived knowledge of what this stands for. My sell lines are situated down either side of the page in the same colour as my masthead. The feature bands such as "Atryeu", "Lana Del Rey", "Kasabian" and "Blink 182".
My contents page highlights the consistent colour scheme of the magazine. I followed a similar layout to NME by separating what bands are featured in my magazine down one side as well main stories and news down the other. Again I've used the centre of my page for the pictures, creating a staircase image with the most important story at the top, again establishing a hierarchy to the audience. I included a subscription box in the bottom corner of my magazine which also has details of a smart phone AP. I also got inspiration from the Facebook button to create my own for my magazine. By incorporating social networking and APs into my magazine will appeal to a broad teenage audience as they rely on communication a lot via social networking sites.
My double page spreads again uses the same consistent colour scheme of red and grey, which will create familiarity for my magazine. The colours will help demonstrate the mood and add mystery of this weeks artist as the audience may not have heard her story. I created an introductory page consisting of the pull quote; "SOME PEOPLE PRAY I TURN UP THE RADIO" which already gives an insight into the artists faith in music. There are 3 images underneath the quote of my model sitting on an amp which signifies what type of music she plays. On the other side of the page is an introductory paragraph and an anecdote from my artists mother which helps to give a back ground story. I put a picture in behind the text of my artist holding a microphone out to the audience which signifies how her voice has been heard and now it's their turn. I changed the opacity of the picture to help blend in behind the text. My second double page spread features a black and white picture of my artist eating a strawberry. The whole picture is in black and white apart from her lips and the strawberry. I followed a similar style as y first page with my second as I put a picture in behind the text of my artist throwing confetti in the air which helps to display how she is young and celebrating her success. I also have a third and final double page spread being made which features most of the article.
I aspired for my magazine to be the most eye-catching among the others of its type in the hope to sway their audience on to my magazine making it the most popular. I adapted my masthead from how it was originally going to be built up from speakers and guitar necks to make it easier to read and bolder, I extended the letters to make them taller and added a drop shadow. The colour of my masthead is grey which is a underrated colour, this could imply that the artists within do not get the recognition they deserve therefore this is why the magazine is promoting them. This is reinforced by the bold red background as it represents the passion for music that the magazine will be representing.
My main sell line is centred near the bottom of my page, I felt positioning is crucial as well as size, font and colour. It needed to have some form of diversity from the rest of my sell lines so that it didn't blend in. Therefore I chose the font impact and capitalised the text. The artists name is in red to signify her importance, similarly to the masthead she has a drop shadow on her name. However the colours aren't the same as there needs to be something that differentiates them to avoid confusion and to create hierarchy. My model is positioned in the centre of the page leaning forward towards the audience. I chose this particular image as it's like the model is inviting the audience to join her. The models head covers some of the Masthead which signifies how the magazine consider their stories and artists more important than the name of the magazine. There is a banner that spreads across the bottom of my page which says "FREE RHCP POSTER" the use of the acronym for Red Hot Chilli Peppers signifies that the audience will have preconceived knowledge of what this stands for. My sell lines are situated down either side of the page in the same colour as my masthead. The feature bands such as "Atryeu", "Lana Del Rey", "Kasabian" and "Blink 182".
My contents page highlights the consistent colour scheme of the magazine. I followed a similar layout to NME by separating what bands are featured in my magazine down one side as well main stories and news down the other. Again I've used the centre of my page for the pictures, creating a staircase image with the most important story at the top, again establishing a hierarchy to the audience. I included a subscription box in the bottom corner of my magazine which also has details of a smart phone AP. I also got inspiration from the Facebook button to create my own for my magazine. By incorporating social networking and APs into my magazine will appeal to a broad teenage audience as they rely on communication a lot via social networking sites.
My double page spreads again uses the same consistent colour scheme of red and grey, which will create familiarity for my magazine. The colours will help demonstrate the mood and add mystery of this weeks artist as the audience may not have heard her story. I created an introductory page consisting of the pull quote; "SOME PEOPLE PRAY I TURN UP THE RADIO" which already gives an insight into the artists faith in music. There are 3 images underneath the quote of my model sitting on an amp which signifies what type of music she plays. On the other side of the page is an introductory paragraph and an anecdote from my artists mother which helps to give a back ground story. I put a picture in behind the text of my artist holding a microphone out to the audience which signifies how her voice has been heard and now it's their turn. I changed the opacity of the picture to help blend in behind the text. My second double page spread features a black and white picture of my artist eating a strawberry. The whole picture is in black and white apart from her lips and the strawberry. I followed a similar style as y first page with my second as I put a picture in behind the text of my artist throwing confetti in the air which helps to display how she is young and celebrating her success. I also have a third and final double page spread being made which features most of the article.
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