Risk Assessment Forms

Contents Page

Double Page Spread

Final Cover

Drafting Textual Analysis

Q6. What have you learnt about technologies within the process of constructing your product?

Blogger: I have really enjoyed using a website like Blogger to post the progression of my magazine; one of the many reasons is for the easy accessibility to uploading a new post/my work. At the same time, I was able to be creative in the way I presented my work using several different websites/software, which I will continue to discuss in greater detail further on. The way in which you could label and structure the blog was very handy also, making it easy for myself and others to navigate across. Despite having not used Blogger before, I managed to get the grasp of it very quickly; I had never thought of the idea of designing my own blog, however it has made me realise how simple it is to use/navigate/post on. However, I did have a slight technical fault occasionally, as it was sometimes difficult to upload a piece of work; also, the labels were quite difficult to assign to my blog, therefore I had to ask for assistance to place them on my blog, but that was quite simple once I had been taught. 
Prezi: I found that using Prezi was a really fun way of completing and presenting my work; this is due to the big contrast from Microsoft Powerpoint, which made it interesting to use. However, having already used this software previously (therefore did not come across any issues I didn't already know how to fix), I found it quite simple to use, especially embedding the link for the presentation to post on my blog. I thought the idea that you could add music to your presentations was a cool feature, which I have used previously. 
Camera: Before this activity, I hadn't particularly experimented with what types of shots and high quality photos my iPhone could produce, therefore it was great discovering what lengths it could go to. I already knew the basics to its limits, for example: brightness, filters, colours, zoom etc; this knowledge helped me create the best quality images to feature throughout my magazine, especially my main image on the front cover which was shot on an iPhone 6S camera. To improve the quality of the image, I experimented with different filters on an app called 'VSCO', making subtle changes to them. Despite using a Canon Dsi camera for some of the images featured on my contents page, I found that it surprisingly wasn't as good quality as the iPhone camera, therefore proceeded to use that instead. Also, by using an iPhone camera, it added quite an authentic look to the image; I thought it was great that I could experiment with the image manipulating it in several ways. 
Survey Monkey: To create the surveys for my target audience with the focus of ideas for my magazine and what I wanted to achieve/what they wanted to see, I used 'Survey Monkey'. Although I have never used this software before, I found it really easy to use and very helpful also (thanks to how easy it was to understand/use, the results were simple to analyse when they came back, therefore I didn't have any issues with this software. 
Fonts1001: This website was used throughout the production of my magazine for all the different fonts within the text in the product. Despite having never used this software before, it was so easy to use, in fact I'd definitely recommend it to anyone and use it myself again for future projects. It was very complex and simple to identify how to navigate across the website and create different styles of fonts. I was able to copy and paste the word(s)/number(s) really easily onto my work, with hundreds of different colours and styles to choose from. 
Microsoft Word: To create my magazine, I actually used Word mostly throughout; this was due to the difficulties I faced with using Paint.Net. I found this software so much easier to use, as I have been using this software for years, therefore everything was very familiar to me, making it easy for me to complete my production with little stress. 
Paint Dot Net: Initially, I had tried using this particular software to create my magazine on, however I came across many difficulties within the process and felt that I would be better suited to something I was more familiar with, therefore changed to Microsoft Word. Despite changing my software, I did search on YouTube several tutorials on how to use the software, however I didn't want to fall behind or lose time within the production stages and still didn't particularly understand the software altogether.

Model Release Forms

Front Cover

Q2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Age: My media product represents the age of my teenage/young (16-25) audience as the models for my feature artist 'White Walkway' are 17 and 18, which is a similar age to my ideal target audience. This is evident through the use of costume of the models; the clothes in which they are photographed wearing are influenced by the current trends in clothing that young people are following at the moment, e.g. the brand 'Palace' has a target audience of young males. Also, my male model 'Leaver X' is seen to be wearing a baseball cap, emphasising his young age of 19; this could potentially attract the target audience as they feel they can relate to the artists, through age, clothing etc. The age of the models is also evident in the young fresh faces of the two girls, which connotes youth. This creates a relatable image of the artists, as the readers may want to copy their idols style or haircut/may share similar clothes, making them more desirable and more likely to be idolized. This links to the Dyer Star Theory, as the readers are more likely to aspire to be like their idol, copying their look/lifestyle. Throughout my magazine, I feature both male and female artists from the ages of 16-19, this shows a strong variety of ages, making it easier to represent my target audience, again making it easier for the readers to be able to relate to them. Featuring both male and female models in my product means that the female/male gaze is more likely to be applied/occur within my magazine; this is because readers will feel as if they are similar/relatable to the artists, which could increase the attachment to the artist/magazine. Whereas, this isn't likely to occur in a magazine featuring an older artist, e.g. Morrisey (The Smiths), this is because times have changed therefore the older artists no longer represent modernization within the music/media industry; young people want to see young artists, and be in the know with the latest trends, not focusing on old bands that have been and gone. This means that the target audience could be drawn away from the magazine, decreasing the popularity of the product, as young people will not particularly be interested in things that an older artist has to converse about, e.g. their children, buying houses etc. Language: The semi-formal language in which I have used throughout my product represents the age of my target audience as I tried to make it easy for them to understand/not sound too informal that it discourages them from reading the magazine and represents youth as a whole. I did this because it isn't common for teenagers/young people to use formal language, they mainly use colloquialisms, therefore I tried to include slightly informal/slang phrases that would appeal to my teenage target audience. This means that they again are able to relate to the magazine as the language is quite laid-back and chilled out; linking to the uses and gratifications theory, my target audience are more likely to read 'Edge' as it represents social solidarity (having something to read in their leisure time). The two-step theory could occur within the language of the magazine, as they may repeat words or phrases featured in the magazine and repeat them to their friends. Stereotypes: My indie-rock magazine tries to connote the genre and represent the fans/artists strongly throughout, this is shown through the use of costumes and facial expression (shown on the front cover of the 'Edge', as Sian is seen to be wearing a black leather jacket and have a very fierce and emotionless. Drugs and alcohol are featured in the 'White Walkway' interview in my magazine, this portrays youth as the majority of young people stereotypically are known for taking drugs and binge drinking. This is a slightly negative attribute of my magazine as the feature story of 'Lucy's drug struggle', however it shows how she overcame her troubles (this could potentially help a reader if they are going through a similar problem (they have a role model in the artist)). The purpose of using a 'drug scandal' story was for my target audience as young people, to encourage them to stay away from drugs and binge drinking regularly, giving them the awareness needed. This is portrayed in the 'White Walkway' interview when interacting with Lucy, showing how she overcame her struggle with drugs (through music and positivity). This will also remove the negative stereotype/stigma attached to young people and their 'recklessness'. Gender: Within the indie-rock genre, it is very male dominated and lacks femininity; however I chose to against typical stereotypes and used a female model as the feature artist for my front cover. This encourages more women to read the magazine, and creates more equality within the music industry.

Q3. What kind of media institutions might distribute your product and why?

what kind of media institutions might distribute my product? by Alice Porter

Q5. How did you attract your audience?

Q5. How did you attract and address your audience? by Alice Porter

Q7. Looking back at your preliminary, what do you feel like you have learnt in the process?

Q4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

Contents Page

Q1. In what ways does your product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Double Page Spread

Magazine Name Research

Myself and Maisie have done a little research into our chosen magazine name; this is so that we avoid copyright issues, as we definitely do not want to have the same name as a former/present music magazine! This would also give us enough time to create a new name. From this research, we discovered that there is a rock band called 'The Edge Band' who are based in Nepal. We have also found that there are several other magazines named 'Edge', e.g. a gaming magazine and a French skiing resort magazine, however we decided to stick with out current name, as each current magazine with the name 'Edge' are a different type of magazine, which means it will have a different target audience and focus.

Barcode Generator

To avoid copyright, I decided to search google and see if there was a way that you could produce your own barcode, so I did. This is the finished result of my chosen barcode, which will appear on my magazine front cover, in the bottom right corner, rotated 90 degrees to the left.I did this on a website called 'bardcodesinc.com' where you can design your own barcode; you can also have many different types of barcodes.

Weekly Update

After being away over Christmas, I have had a lot to catch up on. Therefore, this week I have been very busy; so far this week, I have completed all of my drafts for my front cover, contents page, and double page spread. This has helped me figure out/given me an idea of how I want each page of my magazine to be laid out. Also, I have written up my interview transcript for my double page spread, which will be featuring the female duo made up of my two main models, Sian and Lucy. And I have started editing my front cover for my magazine 'Edge'; tomorrow, I will begin to take my photos for the image content throughout my magazine.

Double Page Spread Interview Transcript

Double Page Spread Draft

Contents Page Draft

Magazine Front Cover Draft

Costumes

I have decided to feature four models in my magazine, two of which are male, and two female, and have received consent to use their images, from them signing the model release forms. This is so that the genders are balanced out, meaning that there is a wider spread audience that could be achieved by using both genders as models. The outfits which my chosen models will wear, will fit a certain colour palette, being the one that is linked to the genre of rock most (red,black,white,grey etc.), and is similar colour palette of my magazine also; this helps achieve a bold statement to the audience/readers. The female models will be photographed for the front cover as a hot new girl band on the rock scene, wearing similar outfits but opposite colours, to show contrast. One of the models (Lucy Kind), will be costumed in a white Stone Roses band t-shirt, which I think could help bring in a bigger target audience, as the Stone Roses are a well-known indie-rock/rock band from the 1980s/90s with a wide fan group. I will also style this outfit with a black leather-look jacket, black ripped/distressed jeans, white Reebok trainers, and a black and gold choker. She will also have her make-up done so that it links into the rock theme, making her look quite edgy and cool, with some black winged eyeliner and dark lipstick; this helps link back to the genre of music. For inspiration, I have looked at current rock magazine covers, to see how their look is presented, from this research, this is my best finding, and the one that I plan on using as inspiration (shown below):

My other female model (Sian Platnauer), will be photographed wearing a long, black, mesh t-shirt, with a black bralette on underneath that, she will be wearing grey or black ripped jeans, with black ankle boots, a light blue leather-look jacket, and a white choker (to contrast with Lucy's). This model will have a contrast of make up from the other female model; she will have dark eyes and light lips, this will make a noticeable difference, here is an image of the outfit she will be wearing:

Each of my female models, will be photographed with props, which will obviously link to the genre of music. One of my chosen props, is a cigarette, the shot will be taken with the prop in Sian's mouth (obviously there are safety precautions with this, however we won't be lighting the cigarette); I have decided to use this prop as many rock magazines choose this as a prop as it shows an edgy side to the artist, for example, in Rolling Stone magazine, they shot Bruno Mars with a cigarette in his mouth (shown below):

Another prop that I will use in my shots, will be an electric guitar, this will help link in with the genre of music, as it is a musical instrument which is featured in all rock songs. The guitar will be positioned standing upright from the ground, and Lucy will be holding it. Also, this kind of prop is used in a lot of music magazines, to connote that they mean business, e.g. this magazine cover featuring Dave Grohl, frontman of the Foo Fighters:

The two male models, will be featured on my contents page, as other upcoming/present artists in the music industry. Their outfits will be mainly black, white, and grey, as this fits the colour palette and the rock genre. My model, Sam, will be costumed wearing black skinny jeans, with a black Palace long sleeve top. I have chosen to costume him in this particular brand, Palace, because a lot of indie kids wear this brand, which links in with the genre of music for my magazine, which could potentially help bring in a wider audience, targeting a lot of young people. He will also be wearing, white trainers, with a black jacket:

The other male artist, will be wearing something similar to this, but opposite colours to create a contrast, and not a stereotype for artists in this particular genre of music. I will be sourcing these items from either the models' or my own wardrobe, as thankfully they have been very helpful in offering their own clothes for the production; this is because I chose the models wisely as their current looks are quite cool and edgy also, meaning that we could use some of the items they own already in the shoot. This helps also as I don't have a high budget for the creation process of my magazine. However, certain items, e.g. jewellery or scarves etc, I may possibly purchase if it is necessary. Most of the female models' clothes are sourced from mainly high street stores, like Zara, Topshop, Urban Outfitters etc, therefore it will be easy to attract a young adult audience, as these clothing stores are very popular within my target audience, hopefully boosting my magazine's reputation and attraction towards it.