Original Photographs

Looking back at your preliminary task (the school magazine task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

I have learnt alot since my preliminary task. I have gained a better understanding of how to use photoshop, aswell as better photography skills. I have learnt how to arrange things on covers/contents pages in ways that looks professional, aswell as being able to manipulate photo's, use suitable fonts, and good use of colours.

I have also used better planning methods when prepearing for my task. Producing a questionaire and graphs of the reeults, doing research into target audiences, producing a drawing plan of my front cover, a mood bored, and flikr analysis of covers, a contents page, and a double page spread.

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

I have learnt alot about technology whilst in the process of constructing my products. I have learnt how much the internet can be used to create products, aswell as analysing them. Using sites such as Blogger and Flikr.

I have learnt about the many different things you can do with photoshop, such as drop shaddows, using layers, and using brightness and contrast, aswell as many other effects.

I have also used excel in my planning works to produce graphs.

How did you attract/address your audience?

My Magazine Cover
Originally uploaded by Karl Barwick

Read my flickr analysis of how I have addressed my TA, by clicking on the images.

I have used a quite informal mode of address when writing articles in my magazine. Mt magazine would be an outside informant kind of magazine, rather than an older brother/sister type.

My Contents Page
Originally uploaded by Karl Barwick

My Double Page Spread
Originally uploaded by Karl Barwick

Who would be the audience for your media product?

My target audience is 15 - 22 year old (mainly male) teenagers, most of them would be emo/indie music fans.

They would lisen to rock, indie, emo, punk, hardcore, and metal music. Shop in places such as HnM, Topshop, aswell as less mainstream shops such as local shops selling indie/emo clothing, and online shops selling specialist brands (http://www.bbycks.com/) and band t-shirts (http://www.mamstore.co.uk/). They would usually watch music channels on tv such as Scuzz and Kerrang!, but would also watch shows such as Heroes, Lost, Hollyoaks, Scrubs ect.

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

As my magazine is very similar to Kerrang! it could either be published alongside it by the same company that publishes it (Bauer), or by a competing publisher (IPC).

The role of distribution is to attract the target audience into buying the magazine. As the more people who buy and read the magazine, the more money is made via sales and advertising. It attracts the target audience through advertising, marketing and then distribution to point of sale outlets, where 90% of magazines are sold. You would use an expert distribution company to distribute the magazine, such as Menzies, or Marketforce. Aslong as they think your magazine is comercially viable.

My target audience is reasonably large, so would probably be sufficiant for national distribution, but if not it could easily become an online magazine.

My magazine could be sold in outlets such as large supermarkets Asda, Tesco and Sainsburys, high street stores such as W H Smiths and Waterstones, aswell as local smaller newsagents.

How does your media product represent particular social groups

I constructed my image to be based on kind of music represented by bands in magazines such as Kerrang! and Rock Sound, magazines my magazine is very similar to. I chose to base one of my front cover images on the main cover image from of an issue of kerrang.

I used a microphone from the college recording studio, and used a white backing sheet, along with two lights to give the feel of a live singer. I then got my model to act as if he was live on stage singing, to get a realistic live feel to the photo.

The images are very similar, both photos have a male looking as is he is screaming/singing loudly into a microphone. Allthough my photo looks a bit tamer, as the bald and tatooed look of the kerrang image, makes the model look alot "tougher".

My image also is very representative on males, as it shows a very angry, strong figure. I have implied the sense of anger using a screaming face and clenched muscles.

I think that most of my images used on my magazine definatly represent the particular social groups i wished to attract. I have done this by using photo's of people from these social groups.