Looking Back at Your Preliminary Task, What Would You Feel You Have Learnt in the Progression from it to the Full Production?

In the preliminary stage, I was not as confident with the programmes I had available to me to use. I was also not very well informed about the music magazine industry.

I now know of many different programmes I can use that are available for production and editing. I am aware of different forms and conventions of music magazines and of magazines in general. However, I know of what limitations I can be faced with in the making of further magazine based products.

I am more aware of how to attract an intended audience, through specific uses of things such as images, colours, layout and style.

What Have You Learnt About Technologies from the Process of Constructing this Product?

I am more confident when using media programmes, such as Publisher and photo editing programmes such as Fireworks. I feel that I can now use them to their fullest potential.

I now know how to research necessary information, and am able to find reliable sources, as the internet can sometimes be risky and contain false information. I know that I have to back up my points with evidence from real products.

I have also learnt that I can not entirely rely on technology. For example, programmes have limitations, therefore stopping me from other things that I could have gone on to do.

How Does Your Media Product Represent Particular Social Groups?

As mine is targeted at mainly men, my magazine could be seen to stereotype what men like, such as using black and blue as they are ‘masculine’ colours.

The age I targeted were adults, which highly influenced the style of writing I had to use. I wrote in a formal style, with a relatively complex writing style. However, I would use some formal stuff, such as conversational speech for the interview in order to make the reader feel comfortable. I also used formalities such as exclamation marks to express emotion throughout the text.

I used an image for my front cover of a man in the same age range as my intended audience, which can be seen to represent that age group.

How Did You Attract/Address Your Audience?

The target audience for my music magazine are men of the ages 28 to 35 with a special interest in acoustic music and acoustic guitars.

The use of text and background colours that are typically seen as dark and masculine help to attract a male audience.

The only time when they are not typically manly, is when there are features on woman based articles, which need more feminine colours to suit the content.

Text and language is more mature and formal for the age targeted.  However, there are hints of informal conversational tone so it is not boring. This style also helps to form emphasis and show emotions.

It is in a clear format that is easy to read and understand for many different ages.

Images are typically manly, unless once again they are for female based features.

As I am not in the age range of my intended audience, I found it quite difficult to ensure my magazine would relate to those targeted, but I got a lot of help from conducting questionnaires.

What Kind of Media Institution Might Distribute Your Media Product and Why?

I think a publishing company such as Bauer Media would be interested in my magazine.

This company publish many music magazines, including MOJO, Q and Kerrang! and other non-music magazines such as Empire, FHM and MATCH!

They publish Fashion magazines and hobby and interest magazines, for example golf, photography and motoring.

They also specialise in media such as radio, websites and TV.

They may well be interested in publishing my magazine, as they do not already cater for the Acoustic genre.

The kind of place that may wish to distribute my music magazine are retail stores such as WHSmith.

In WHSmith there is a wide range of magazines that are available, and it would be a perfect place to attract the attention of my intended audience.

When doing my research, I went into different stores and noted down the magazines that they sold. WHSmith was the only store that sold a wider range; others stuck to fashion, celebrity, male interests, puzzle, and a very slim choice of each genre were available.

Newsagents may be less likely to distribute my magazine as the demand for Acoustic magazines is not as high as other magazines, for example, Celebrity, Fashion and Rock magazines. A newsagents will only distribute the most popular magazines.