Product

Below is a picture of my final production front cover.

Below is a picture of my final production contents page.

Below are pictures of my final production triple page article.

Main Task Evaluation

1. What way does your media product use, develop or challenge codes & conventions of real media products?

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My media magazine represents a particular social group of Casuals. My product is for those that enjoy Casual Music and the life that brings. For my front cover I used a teenage boy dressed as a casual and who depicts the Casual Music scene. Also I used the colours red & blue to represent patriotism as Casuals are very patriotic as out the bands on the scene. This means the front cover would attract the attention of my target audience a lot more easily rather than anyone else who wouldn’t buy the magazine. You would understand exactly what the magazine is about just by looking at the image and colour.




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







I would approach IPC Media to distribute my magazine because it offers a different genre of music magazine to those that they already produce. They produce NME magazine which is similar to mine but is a different genre. I believe IPC would be a good institution for my magazine as they do not produce a Casual music magazine that is published fortnightly. I would be widening IPC Media’s range of magazines, I think this would be a good idea as it would produce more profits for the company.
















As you cans see from above my front cover fits in quite well with those that IPC already produce.


4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

The target audience for my magazine is for teenagers-early twenties between ages 16-23. They would mainly be males who like the casual music and lifestyle, the majority of my audience would enjoy fashion and football but the main love would be music. Below is a typical member of my target audience who enjoys Casual Music.



Profile:
Typical member of my target audience.
Mark Williams
16
A-level student on the Wirral studying at Mosslands School.
Favourite Music:
• Casual Music
• Hobbies: Listens to new music
• Goes to gigs
• Enjoys following a football team around the country.
• Shopping for casual clothes.

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

I attracted my target audience in a couple of different ways by using colours and a manipulated image. I also used a blue coloured backgroud for my magazine front cover. I used Blue, Red & white as this would attract the majority of casuals and would also appeal to girls who enjoy the casual music scene. I included bands/artists that would appeal to my target audience who are big in the scene at the moment and up & coming bands in the scene. Bands such as Arctic Monkeys, The Enemy, Twisted Wheel. Also I found out what my target audience would like by using questionnaires and asking questions related to my genre of music that is Casual.

Below is a member of my target audience reviewing the first draft.

Below is a member of my target Audience evaluating my front cover.


Below is a video of a member of my target audience evaluating my contents page.

Below is a video of my article draft 2 being evaluated by a member of my target audience.

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

Whilst constructing this product I have learnt numerous skills using a range of different technologies.
I have picked up key skills in areas such as editing, manipulating and design in photoshop and quark xpress. Also I have learnt about the different angles and types of photos to take and which suite my idea better than others. As you can see from the print screen of me working in photoshop I have picked up the basics rather easily and have learnt how to add effects to backgrounds, texts and images but have learnt that you should not add too many as it doesn’t look as effective as only adding a few effects.

7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

My preliminary task was extrememly basic this was down to the fact I had limited skills and knowledge of the programmes such as Photoshop and Quark Xpress as I had not used so it was a steep learning curve for me. I enjoyed learning new skills although I dont think my preliminary front cover is as good as it could of been I am happy in the way I have progressed.

Main Task 14- Sketches

I drew out all my sketches as to ideally what I wanted my Front cover, Contents Page and double page spread to look like.


Front Cover:



Contents Page:


Double Page:

Main Task 13- Pictures

Main Task Ten: Publication Plan

Publication Plan

Title:
Casual Sound

Positioning Statement:
Sound Of The Weekend

Frequency of Publication:
Fortnightly

Price:
£2.20

Distribution:
Supermarkets, High Street music shops, Independent record shops.

Rationale:
The approach of the magazine is to bring unknown Casual bands to the forefront. To offer opinions in a fans point of view not a professional one. The music articles will be what the fans want to know and what bands the readers have let us know about.

Style:
Informal style, using a mix of language from very basic to slightly more technical language in the music sections. We would not shy away from offering strong opinions on up to date events and political views either in the music world. We would use slang where appropriate. Images will take up large areas of pages.

Regular Content:
Readers Gig Reviews
Journalist Gig Reviews
Readers Photo with musicians
Up & coming bands/Artists
Album/Single/E.P Reviews
Music News
Unsigned Band of the week,
Casual Sound Chart
Best Video of the week
Future Hit
Top 5 gigs of the last 2 weeks
Fact file of best bands in another country
Innovators of different Genres
Editors Letter


Feature Articles
Write up of well known artists/band
Major live review (Arctic Monkeys)
Interview
Free CD
Fact File of Unsigned Bands
Biographical Article on The Enemy
Top Ten Live Bands
Top Ten up & coming bands
Best Sets of The festival season
Best festival in 2009
Emerging Genres
Best Place to buy tickets
Organisation plea for fans to boycott Ticket Touts and unofficial merchandise sellers

Main Task 9-Charts & Graphs

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Main Task 8- Tally of Results

1. Male or Female
12 answered Male
8 Answered Female

2. How old are you
9 answered 10-19
7 answered 20-29
2 answered 30-39
2 answered 40-49
0 answered 50+

3.WHat colour would attract you to buy this Genre of Magazine?
8 answered Red
8 answered Blue
2 answered Orange
2 answered other
0 answered Black

4. How often would you buy a magazine?
8 answered weekly
8 answered fortnightly
3 answered monthly
1 answered seasonally

5. What do you think about when you hear the words "indie" & "casual"
NOTE: The answers to these questions where long worded.

6. How much would you spend on a magazine on average?
0 answered £0-£1
0 answered £1.10-£2
5 answered £2.10-£3
12 answered £3.10-£4
3 answered £4.10+

7. Would you buy a magazine with a Musician, Casual or Both on the front cover?
3 answered Musician
7 answered Casual
10 answered Mix

8. Would you leave comments on our website and/or on a social networking site?
7 answered yes
10 answered No
3 Answered Maybe

9. Would you be happy to pay a little bit extra for a magazine with a CD or other things with it?
6 answered Yes
10 answered No
4 answered Maybe

10. What is your occupation?
6 answered student
5 answered Unemployed
3 answered Work In The City
3 answered Labourer
2 answered Media
1 answered Promotions

11. Do you prefer Music or Football?
4 answered Music
8 answered Football
7 answered Both
1 answered Neither

Main Task 7- Questionaire

I asked 20 people a questionaire to conduct my research for my magazine. Below is 2 pictures of a example of my questionnaire.