1. In what ways does your product develop or challenge forms of existing media products?

1. In what ways does your product develop or challenge forms of existing media products?

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

My magazine is aimed at the target audience of mixed genders, aged between 16 and 35. This outline is a basic target audience and people from outside this target audience may also read my magazine, although they would not be counted in the general age range. The genre of my music magazine is indie-alternative-rock-pop, the genre sounds complex and varied, however it is not; most people of the ages 16-35 listen to some form of music within this genre however if someone is an R&B or Rap music fan, this would not be suited to their taste. I would like to think that readers of my magazine would not necessarily be the same personality-wise; my magazine can welcome a broad range of personalities all with a similar music taste in common.
There is no particular ‘indie-alternative-rock-pop’ style of clothing; therefore my magazine does not represent a specific social group such as punk, or hip-hop. There is no defined fashion to the genre of music that I have chosen as people can create fashion from whatever they want; people claim that there is an ‘indie’ fashion however ‘indie’ just means individual, which means that everyone can interpret their clothes, music, interests, in their own way.

There is nothing particularly ‘alternative’ about the way my front cover is presented; for example, if it was to appeal to a gothic social group there may be a darker colour scheme used and more dramatic hair, make-up, and clothing in the photograph. 

My contents page however does have more of a quirky, unpredictable layout compared to the structured front cover; I chose to recreate the design of R.A.D magazine because I thought it was a particularly eye-catching way of presenting the contents of the magazine. The main feature of the page is of a photograph of a New York skyline from the Hudson River. However this does not represent my indie-alternative genre, as New York City is an extremely famous tourist city; although some would say it’s individual as there is nowhere else like it on the planet.

My double page spread is a simple constructed layout, and there is nothing particularly alternative about it in any way. I have followed typical magazine conventions by using 3 columns of text on each page; having quotes among the article in a bigger font; introducing the article with a short preamble.

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

 As I have looked at existing music magazines, I have particularly focused on NME magazine. NME magazine is an indie-alternative-rock genre magazine, and is published by IPC Media; this is the distribution company that I would probably use for my magazine if it were to be published as a real magazine. IPC Media as a company produce over 60 brands, most of which are iconic and extremely famous; these include: NME, Country Life, Now, Look, and Marie Claire, plus many more. From researching IPC Media it is clear that they do not feature in publishing music magazines alone, this could mean that my magazine would gain a wider audience range, which is ideal for publicity and promotion.

Distribution of magazines is restricted to mainly magazine stands, websites, and posting magazines to subscribers. However, some magazines are advertised on billboards and on television, which also brings about a wider audience; this is something that IPC Media have achieved as there are successful Now magazine advertisements on television, and some magazines appearing on billboards. Having an online magazine can attract more young people as they spend a lot of time on the Internet and on computers in general in the UK; this could make my magazine appeal to youths more, which is a main section of my target audience. Paid circulation would be how I would choose to distribute my magazine; the general public does not tend to pick up free magazines so the features of my magazine would be pointless. My magazine would also feature top stories and breaking news related to popular alternative artists. NME is available for subscription, as are multiple other magazines; I would choose to have this option available for readers of my magazine as subscriptions are well worth the money, and can include freebies and other privileges.

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

Katie Ford would be a typical reader of my magazine. At the age of 17 she has a huge interest in music, particularly artists of the indie-alternative-rock-pop genre. Katie’s favourite artists are among those of The Strokes, The Arctic Monkeys, and Julian Casablancas. Photography and music are two of Katie’s passions, she said, “I love to read magazines to find out about up and coming bands, and gig reports, however I always look at the photography included in magazines as it can give me inspiration.”

As I previously said, my audience can be of a wide range of people, Katie is just one of the typical people to be attracted to my music magazine. Katie is a student currently studying A-levels so when she has free time she is always interested in reading and listening to music. Other people who could read my magazine are those studying at university, and young people without children who have spare time for reading. I would expect the audience of my magazine to be in touch with music at the time that the magazine is released every month; this is only so that they can fully appreciate the acts included in each edition. 

5. How did you attract or address your audience?

My audience can be attracted in any way in which they interpret my magazine; I have not particularly styled the front cover to be attracted to anyone in particular as I have used a combination of styles on this page alone. 

Image used for front cover:

The photograph is of Georgia’s face, however she is pulling a funny facial expression which could appeal more to a younger audience as it suggests that she has a fun, outgoing character. The title of my magazine is very bold and simple to read, this shows that there is a level of sophistication within my magazine and that it is not just appealing to students. To contrast the bold, simple, title I chose to have a scribbled or handwritten font for the features of the magazine on the font cover. The scribbled effect can either look childish and messy, or can look organized in a playful way; by using a combination of fonts I have attracted both students and young adults. My front cover has a very simple colour scheme, black, white, and red; this is so that my magazine cannot be confused with a ‘teen-pop’ magazine. The types of magazines that are ‘teen-pop’ are often filled with multi-coloured images and text, which is the opposite of how I have presented my magazine cover.

My contents page is also organized in a quirky way, I have chosen to have text at the top and bottom of the page and a large photography filling up the entire background of the page. This comes across instantly as creative and fun for students to look at, however the photograph I have chosen is very scenic and bland so that the contents page is still accessible and makes it easy to navigate the magazine.

The language I have used in my article on the double page spread is legible and written moderately formally. The layout of my article is an interview between FUGUE and Georgia; this is clearly shown by having colour coded ‘F:’ and ‘G:’ which shows that my article is clearly labeled and easy to follow. The way in which I have interpreted Georgia’s interview answers is to make the language and structure of sentences easy for people of all ages to understand.

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

My skills with Adobe Photoshop CS5 have improved greatly by producing my magazine. I already knew how to work the program due to having it on my laptop at home; however I had to organize a large number of layers for my front cover and double page spread pages as there is a lot of content to them.

My photography skills have progressed in terms of editing and lighting; I used a Canon 1000D SLR camera to take the photographs for my magazine, which was helpful as it is a high quality camera. I edited the photos of Georgia so that the lighting was altered, and the contrast balance appeared more realistic.

I also used Flickr to upload my photographs of Georgia onto; this meant that I could show a wider audience my photography for my magazine. I also used Slideshare and Animoto, which are both websites that I am unfamiliar with, so I have now broadened my use of websites to present my work on for future reference.

7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to your final product?

From the start of this coursework to the end my skills have developed well, I feel that my product even since my draft magazines has improved. I have stuck with a similar design all the way through for my front cover and double page spread; however I changed my contents page dramatically. I failed to achieve the design that I had planned for my contents page so I did some more research in contents pages and looked at one of my peers’ contents pages which is where I took my inspiration from.

Final: Cover, Contents, DPS

Article

Fugue: Hi Georgia, how are you?
Georgia: Ah on average… I’M FEELING GREAT! I couldn’t dream of a better lifestyle right now.

F: Well that’s good to hear! How does it feel to leave such a successful band to make a career of your own?
G: It was such a hard decision, but personal issues got in the way of our friendship – working with 3 guys who are all best friends could be difficult to handle at times! I’m still in contact with two out of the three…

F: We’ll leave that there… So while you were a member of The Skeleton Boys, you made a music video to your number one single, how was that?
G: The months of filming that video were the funniest months of my life, filming in the pool and in the forest at unsociable hours was great fun! I think I was closest with the boys during filming; it makes me sad to watch that video now though as it reminds me of how things used to be!


F: Ah, we understand that it’s a sensitive topic so we’ll move on from your old life. Georgia, how did you come about the song, Symmetrical?
G: If I’m completely honest, it started from the cliché idea that ‘boys are attracted to girls with symmetrical faces’… and I sort of rebelled against that – as I don’t have a very symmetrical face at all.

F: That’s an intriguing song meaning, and we’ve never noticed your unsymmetrical face before! What would you say are your biggest influences in your style?
G: Well that’s surprising… my mum mentions it to me all the time!! Ooo tricky question, I like to think that I take a twist on some original styles. I look at LookBook online a lot, and I am subscribed to a stupid amount of fashion magazines! However I’m repeatedly drawn to the grunge/punk kind of styles – obviously not too dramatically but sometimes I dress

F: We love the grunge looks! Now I know that everyone’s dying to know where you shop?!
G: This is going to be the most boring answer ever – I shop anywhere. Anywhere I can find anything that I like… I’ll sometimes go to Topshop or H&M, and other times I’ll pop into vintage shops or charity shops – yes, I’m very into the second hand clothing! It means I can buy more for less… rather than having a restricted expensive wardrobe.

F: Would you say you have any particular style icons?
G: I tend to just look around the streets a lot and see what people are wearing, especially when I visit bigger cities… I’m still yet to visit Paris – it would be my absolute dream to venture out there! Other than that, I love Alice Glass’ style… and Courtney Love in her younger days.


F: Paris?! Sounds adventurous, would you go out there to perform? Or just to visit?
G: If I managed to get a venue to perform at I would be thrilled, although… would I have to sing in French?! Imagine that. I’d definitely still just go there to visit though, it’s a stunning place – and I’m not into all the romance sh*t but it looks so lovely.

F: You’re not into romance? Are there no relationships on the horizon then?
G: Oh God no! My career is my only love interest right now... except food.

F: We’ve also noticed your fans trying to talk to you all the time on your Twitter page… Does that get annoying or do you like that they’re interested in talking to you?
G: I absolutely love that my followers tweet me all the time, I try to reply to as many as possible but sometimes I won’t check my twitter for a few days and people will be like ‘YOU NEVER NOTICE ME I’M CRYING,’ and I just sit there like ‘oops’.

F: Do you have any celebrity friends yet - even if they’re just following you on Twitter?
G: I’m being followed by Fearne Cotton which is AMAZING, I love her style and general personality a lot, she’s so inspiring. But other than that I haven’t really made the effort yet – I feel like people won’t know that I’m a musician and they’ll just assume I’m a teenage fan girl!

F: We love Fearne Cotton! Have you met any of your idols in person yet?
G: I met Taylor Momsen a few weeks ago which was exciting! I just stood speechless like an idiot, I’m glad I managed to stutter some words to her!


F: Now, we best get back onto the topic of your career… Have you been asked to do any gigs yet? We know that the FUGUE tour is eager to get you on the line-up!
G: Are they?! Excellent - I’d love to come on the FUGUE tour. I’ve only played in small bars and venues so far, for example The Musician, and The Shed, both in Leicester. I’m planning on trying to perform at an O2 Academy… That’s my challenge for May this year!

F: Georgia, have you thought about doing any collaborations? or do you have anyone in particular who you have always wanted to sing with?
G: I’d have to say a collaboration is definitely on the cards but I can’t tell you who with yet! Other than that, I like Foster the People and would like to meet them and discuss a small collab!

F: Yes, Foster the People are great! Apparently they’re fun to hang out with as well! Now we’ve heard you have a weakness for dance music, is this true?
G: Oh dear, you caught me! Whenever I’m on a night out I’m always caught dancing to the most embarrassing of songs, I just can’t help it!

F: We love your honesty! Now, who would you say were your influences for wanting to start a career in music?
G: Well, I’ve been singing since I was talking, but mainly bands like Nirvana, or The Beatles... But then for my solo career I’d have to say Alice Glass, Courtney Love, and Taylor Momsen.


F: You have a good range of influences then! Do you think you and the other Skeleton Boys will reform?
G: I can’t see that happening if I’m honest, it’s a great shame as we produced 4 albums together which have no just become memories - but you never know! I don’t think our friendships will ever be the same again.

F: That’s a shame to hear, the band will be missed greatly by their fans! Even your group Twitter account has become inactive! What are your plans over the next year, Georgia?
G: Yep! It’s all official now, we each have individual accouts however which you can find links to on my Twitter page @OfficialGeorgia_. Over the next year - who knows!!!! I’m hoping to create my album with a few friends of mine, I have a close friend who is a great songwriter so I’m sure he’ll be accompanying me around for a while... other than that, I have a few small gigs lined up, and hopefully more to come!

F: That’s what we like to hear – some challenges here and there! Well it’s been great to talk to you and find out a bit more about yourself, thanks Georgia.
G: It’s my pleasure – any time! Really, any time… I have nothing planned for this summer yet ‘hint hint’… Thank you very much for having me FUGUE, I look forward to hearing from you!