Who would be the audience for your media product?
My magazine has been aimed at an audience of mainly older teenagers or young adults ranging from approximately 16-25. I chose this age range as most events for this genre of music are 16+ therefore they will be able to attend these events, getting a better concept of the music as well as clearly having the money to spend on it, as the event ticket prices always range from £12-£35. In addition their musical tastes would be clear now as they know what they like and what they don’t like. They would also like to read reviews of festivals and shows that the artists have done, wanting to read reviews and recommendations, as well as upcoming shows for every artist and what venues they are playing in, which will generate a recurring audience for people to find out first where people are playing, helping them decide whether they should go to see them or not. I am hoping that my magazine will appeal to both genres, although I feel as if it appeals mainly to the male gender as 99% of artists featured are male, although hopefully females will have a voyeuristic look on the artists features and buy the magazine in order to add to their personal relationship with the artist as they aspire to be like them, and admire their lifestyle and looks. Furthermore, my house colour scheme is blue which commonly denoted as being a multi-sex colour and can be connoted as being passive and relaxing. I believe that this will appeal to my audience as it reflects how both of them can be attracted into reading my magazine as it does not swing towards one gender.
Next, I decided to choose my magazine to be aimed at the social classes of A-C1 as the people included in these social classes are more than likely going to have the greatest disposable income in order to afford my magazine on a weekly basis. In addition to this, I am going to bring forward the idea of a subscription offer so that a wider audience of people outside this social class will be able to receive the magazine for a discounted price.
Additionally, my magazine is likely to appeal to a narrower group of people as the genre of my magazine is unique. However, I feel as though this is a gap in the market as there is no other magazine like this currently on the market despite the large following that it has. Therefore, I think that the audience will be inclined to buy my magazine in order to satisfy their wants and needs and to fulfil their knowledge. Plus, the readers are more likely to be devoted as it is the only magazine of its kind on the shelves; which means that I will have fewer competitors and am more likely to have a better personal relationship with the audience.
People who regularly buy my magazine will stereotypically be similar, although it will appeal to a wide audience as there are several artists who appeal to a wide variety of people, therefore they are more likely to be the USP of that issue making it appeal to the widest audience possible. My magazine would appear as to be ‘underground’ and unique, although with rising popularity and in hope to bring in the most revenue, the magazine would be promoted so it would appeal to as many people as possible, as this in a genre which has only just began emerging into the charts, and except an exception of a few songs. I think the readers of my magazine would like to think they’re unique and individual even though they are all similar to lots of every other people who enjoy listening to the genre. They also will listen to several different artists but may not all enjoy the same ones, this is why I need to try and include a range throughout the genre.
I think that the audience of my magazine will all share different interests and have different social habits. Some may be more into the ‘underground’ side of the genre than others, therefore attending more underground and unique shows or ‘raves’, rather than the ‘mainstream’ side of it, which will be held in proper venues such as the o2 academies all over England. Both of these would be displayed in my magazine for both sides of the target audience.
How did you attract/address your audience?
‘Sub Conscious’ would attract the target audience through the unique feel of it and how the genre is still growing and underground, the attractive pictures, and some of the most talented people that are around today. The colour scheme is also attractive in my opinion, the electric blue, white and black are simple yet effective, using a variety of greys to create different moods on some pages. These can play a major part in how they represent different features. The electricity and energy of the blue also reflect the genre well and make it eye catching. In my opinion my magazine is more mature and grown up compared to pop genre magazines, due to the language used and the more sophisticated look. Furthermore I think this is a good selling point as it shows the reader this magazine is serious about what it represents and no one thinks it’s trying to poke fun at it, as well as the audience I am aiming for.
In addition I have tried to ensure that the content if varied and therefore provided the reader with different artists of different sub genres to ensure there is something for everyone, as well as a few bands for different decades to compare to and to also pay respects to the founds and influence of the new genre, allowing the newer audience to get an understanding and know their facts on how it happened. I have also included competitions and poster like images for the audience to put on their walls and display around their rooms, this convinces them they are getting more for their money and getting a bargain compared to other magazines. I would also include the winners in the issue the week after, attracting readers on a regular basis, generating more money.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing the product?
As I predict that 90% of my target audience will be aged 16-25, I made sure that my magazine kept the zeitgeist of social media, which has been completed by displaying Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites, which are mainly used by the younger generation, this will also allow them to get the latest updates before others and feel even more unique and part of the society. In addition, I also created a website give the readers exclusive content and teasers of what inside the magazines, as well as being able to purchase subscriptions online as well as previous issues. They can also register online to get more promotions, updates, news and offers directly to them, as well as being able get free downloads and prizes to be won, keeping them keen to actually check the emails rather than putting them into the spam folder. I would also create an app for it, giving them notifications straight to their phone when there is either breaking news, updates, new songs, or even just for a discussion in a ‘discussion’ page, allowing members with an account to communicate to other members about content. Whilst constructing my mood board of the target audience, as they are young they would most probably own a Smartphone of some sort, meaning I would make the app accessible on all of the major app stores, such as Apples App Store, the Android Market and the Blackberry App Market. They would also be able to download a pdf of the magazines through the App at a cost if they don’t have the time or it is easier for them to get it straight to their device. Instead of having a poster for these I would include a free wallpaper or theme for their phones. I intend to make the app free for my audience, making the money through the magazine sales and advertisement through the app.
I have used a casual tone in my writing throughout my magazine, making them feel more on level with the magazine and as it is aimed at them, rather than something addressed to someone formal. I have included a few slang words but have ensured all swear words are asterisked out in case some readers are easily offended. The Uses and Gratifications theory states people read magazines to get a sense of escapism and identify with the things being said, building personal relationships and feeling as if they are a friend of theirs. Because of the theory, my tone is friendly and enticing, talking about things they would be able to identify with as well as creating specific jokes that only my audience would understand, making them feel unique and special.
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Compared to my preliminary task, I feel I have ranged in my Photoshop skills, and I now know how to add different effects to different images to create the designed feel of an image and final piece, such as the fonts where I now know how to add Outer Glow effects, and things such as Bevel to Gradient Overlays. I have also learnt the importance of layout which plays a key part throughout my magazine I think. My text and images are displayed well, making the most of the space that I had and adapted my text and images to fit well and give off a positive vibe, ensuring there is as little unfilled space as possible, giving an empty, unfinished feel to the magazine. Therefore, I kept in mind what I wanted to create rather than what was easiest to create. I also regarded the text as an image as if it did not flow throughout the magazine and commit to coinciding and relating with the images and graphics used throughout the magazine. I have also thought about the size in which they are displayed as well as the colours used and the font they are displayed in, in contrast with my preliminary task where I didn’t really consider these factors. This is clearly displayed just by comparing the pages and how they completely different in fonts. I believe the fonts I have decided to use work well with each other and flow consistently.
The second useful skill that has also helped me create my final piece is the use of cutting out images and the filters and effects used to make them look better. For instance, I didn’t even know how to change the saturation, opacity, hue or contrast of an image, but now I know how to use them all confidently, which can be compared with my preliminary task as they can be compared and you can note how my more recent project’s images are more powerful than my original task. I have also manipulated the lighting in some areas, rather than relying on the natural light displayed on the original images. I have also been educated in how to adjust photos to make them look more professional, especially with feathering the edges of the images, making them smoother when I cut them out from the background of the original images, making my final images clearer and look nicer, making them more powerful and clearer, dominating the pages, giving them a strong message to stand out to the audience.
In addition, I have learnt how to text warp, guaranteeing that all the space around oddly shaped images are filled, whereas my preliminary task did not include any of this. I chose to make my contents page with as little text as possible on the images, letting the images do the talking and standing out to the audience. The images of my models on the page dominate the page more effectively and have used creative ways of displaying text on the images rather than just putting it around the image, using a variety of image filters and image distorting options.
Lastly, I have acquired a more creative mind, and the style in which I think rather than just copying other people’s ideas, compared to my preliminary task where I just felt like I was helpless with what I was doing. I was more confident using effects and knew which things worked better together as well as fitting with each other, without distorting the original image. I also believe that the amount of graphics used on each page have been thought about greatly and have been made so they’re interest the audience enough but don’t have so much on them that they turn the reader away from looking at them.
