Production diary week 14

I've found suitable images which I want to include in my magazine, they were taken with a professional camera in a studio with excellent lighting equipment. On the front covers of the magazines I've been looking at there were hardly any props used just well-dressed celebrities giving us their best smile/pout/moody face. So that's what I went along with. Here are some of the images.

Evaluation questions

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? My publication was produced on the basis of following certain conventions used in publications which are quite rare yet eye catching and popular to certain lovers of the music genre they are written for. i-D magazine follows the unconventional characteristic of having its masthead vertically in the left hand corner, usually in pale, pastel colours which aren't seen consistently in other more rule-abiding conventional magazines. i-D, POP, and DAZED and CONFUSED all share a common characteristic of having their cover lines minimal on the front cover. Sometimes they feel the need to include small cover lines such as 'call me', or 'birth of a muse'. This is the only other text shown on the front cover apart from the masthead and retailing information. POP does this to an extent too - they usually only write on the front cover about the artist celebrated in the main image. They do this too in a challenging away, instead of placing these cover lines on the right and left hand edges of the publication they almost make it part of the image showing a real relationship between the text and its relatable artist. I have tried to shadow this in my publication by putting my masthead vertically on the left hand side - yet using a brighter more obsolete shade of turquoise to insure that it does catch the eye of passers by. I made the name of the musician bold and larger than the other cover lines on my front cover so that one wouldn't question who the musician is and the cover lines which come underneath that still seem as important as its obvious it is related to the artist.

- How does your media product represent particular social groups? My publication represents the urban alternative music social group and I have tried to make this evident in everything from the main image, font, and the idiolect used whilst writing. The 'cityscape' font which I found and then downloaded to use is an alternative to common fonts which are used simply because they are readable. It shows the authenticity and diverse aspect of the publication. I also chose to use a musician which doesn't have 24/7 radio play and consistent appearances of talent shows and late night TV interviews because I want to stress the fact that their are other musicians out there which appeal too a multitude of audiences not just those preferred by the 'pop-music public'.

- What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? As its a new publication with the potential to become up-and-coming it would be best to distribute it for a promotional time period. With the right connections it could be distributed for free at events which are easily connected to certain aspects of the magazine, such as small gigs which musicians featured may have. As popularity grows it could be bought in certain small boutiques or maybe newsagents in areas which the masses flock to in order to be around people who enjoy the genres mentioned. I've seen this in places like Shoreditch, East London which is a hotspot for alternative music enthusiasts. They have newsagents in Shoreditch which distribute music magazines uncommonly seen at your local newsagent simply because they know these publications will more likely sell as the majority prefers this genre.

- Who would be the audience for your media product? There isn't a set audience as I'd like my publication to prevail and make its way into the hands of a diverse group of people - but statistically, 17-26 year olds who are avid followers of music popular on online platforms such as soundcloud, hypebeast, and other music motivated sites. -How did you attract/address your audience? I addressed my audience simply by giving them what they essentially want, interesting articles about their favourite artists which they don't think get enough recognition in other competing music publications. I did surveys and asked questions and used the results of this to pick and choose what should be included and what shouldn't.

- What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? I have learnt they're certain technologies which need to be included in every magazine and they're some that are specific to genre, they're also unpopular ones due to age and/or background of readers.

- Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product? I've learnt that there are different methods to follow depending on the subject the publication entails and these need to be changed to cater to audience, main themes, and in the way the publication will be presented, distributed, credited as, etc.

Digital Flat Plans: front cover & contents page.

Flat plan slides from Antonia Lyall