Thursday, 29 March 2012

Mise-en-scene of my front cover

On my font cover is an image of a teenager posing as a DJ. I chose this because I think it is a good representation of what my magazine is about. One way in which my front cover does this is that the colour scheme I decided to use is that of bright and vibrant colours in the front cover because it is similar to the flashing lights of the nightclubs and music festivals where this genre of music would usually be played at which reflects the style of my magazine and the Electronica/Dance musical genre that is relevant to the colour scheme I used.. I have a bold and big heading that stands out and attracts the readers attention to the cover and lets the readers know what genre of music the magazine is about. I settled on the name of 'Elektro' quite quickly as it is a stylisation of the name given to the genre of music that my magazine will cover. I feel this is a good title as readers can immediately know what to expect from the magazine and what they could find there.

Wednesday, 14 March 2012

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience for my media product is young adults aged between 16-19 years, this is because in the current climate there is a lot of emphasis on music festivals for teenagers which provides them with an opportunity to taste and explore different types of genres. This product would be most suited and aimed at those teenagers who are starting to show an interest in Dance, Drum & Bass and Dubstep which in my questionaire was the most popular genre but perhaps need a point of reference for future music events and the readers who might need information on upcoming music, festivals, new artists or any other articles relevant to the Elecronica/Dance, Drum & bass and Dubstep genres.

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

I have researched into various magazine distributors and I have found that companies such as Development Hell Ltd. would be the most suitable for distributing my magazine. I felt that these are the most suitable as they currently distribute magazines such as Mixmag which is also a dance/electronica music magazine which is of a similar style to my magazine ‘Elektro’ and I feel that they would aim them both at the same target audience. I decided that Development Hell Ltd. would have the best business experience and understanding of where this product would sell the best.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

This magazine represents young adults aged between 16-19 particularly males and some females. It does this by the selection of material included which would be of interest to the target audience. The magazine represents teenagers who have a particular interest in clubbing. This is why my layout attempts to be modern, exciting and not presented in a stereotypical feminine pop magazine. On my front cover there is a male DJ aged 17 which matches the age of my target audience. The aim was to create an idol for the potential DJ or clubbers to look up to.

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Having conducted my research and obtained the results from my questionnaire it is evident that the most popular choice of genre was dance and drum & bass / dubstep. Having a lot of knowledge on the DJ industry and having a passion for dance music, I used my research skills to look at electronica and dance music magazines such as Mixmag. Mixmag was used as the foundation to base my ideas for my magazine on. In my opinion this magazine works because it is bright and informative, provides details on the success of different artists and usually always features a main DJ displayed on the front cover who is modern.

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


How did you attract / address your audience?

Wednesday, 7 March 2012

Results Of Questionaire - Bar Chart

The majority of people who completed the questionnaire were aged between 16 and 18.  This means that my results are going to be biased in favour of this teenage bracket.   The following results were obtained:-
What is your favourite music genre?
Conclusion
Drum & Bass / Dubstep, Techno and Dance were the most popular genres and therefore influenced by choice of audience and genre for my magazine. I decided to produce my magazine on the music genres of Electronica / Dance, which also incorporated music from the genres of Techno, Dubstep and Drum & Bass in my magazine.

Questionaire





Monday, 5 March 2012

Magazine Research

MARCH 2012

Researching the market place

I based my initial ideas on a dance music magazine called 'Mixmag' the worlds biggest dance music and clubbing magazine. I liked the way this magazine is not only informative of events, but also displays a popular featured artist as the main theme for the the edition. The magazine layout is interesting as the artist is shown in the middle with other coverlines down each side. Each issue changes it's colour scheme to suit the theme of the artist or band displayed on the cover so every issue is different and easily recognised as the latest issue. On researching existing magazines, I found that ‘Mixmag’ would be the most likely competitor to the magazine I aim to base my magazine on as it is of a similar nature.

I also used my own experiences and intrests in the electronica/dance music industry to infulence my decision in the creation of the front cover and my ideas of the artists names that i designed and created.


I also found that this magazine is priced at £4.20 which is significantly more expensive than my plans for my ‘Elektro’ magazine. I decided that my magazine would be a monthly publication similar to Mixmag which is also published monthly. I discovered that the regular content of 'Mixmag' includes a DJ cover star displayed on the front cover, a free mix CD as an incentive  to purchase 'Mixmag', and usually there is guest interviews with various artists. The general content of the magazine is predominantly ‘all things dance’, this would be reflected in my own magazine. The latest issue of 'Mixmag' includes featured articles such as information on particular events for example, ultra music festival in Miami, an opportunity to win a residency in Ibiza, and a 10 page guest article edited by DJ Chuckie.

My 'Elektro' magazine is similar as it includes a DJ cover star and various different articles about Elecronica/Dance music.

Analysis of professional Mazagine Front Covers - Mixmag & DJ Mag

The cover of 'Mixmag' is typical of a dance music magazine. The masthead is displayed at the top which is just like other similar music magazines of this nature and of 'Mixmag' itself as the font style is the same every issue and is usually the same colour, which is white. This is 'Mixmag's brand identity which for their target audience is easily recognisable as being official. The font design is quite bold and simplistic. The dot of the letter 'i' in the masthead is stylised as resembling a CD. The name/title 'Mixmag' is a clever and stylistic combination of 'Mix' and the other being 'Mag', which is a common abbreviation/term for a magazine. The 'Mix' element of the title/masthead suggests and refers to DJ's who mix tracks together which is common in the world of dance music and the clubbing scene. This is confirmed/reinforced in the tagline above the masthead which states that the magazine is about dance music as it reads 'The world's biggest dance music and clubbing magazine'.

The main cover star (In this issue of 'Mixmag' the cover star is 'Chuckie') is displayed in a posed picture on the cover. The title of his name is displayed in bold and in red on the cover which is anchorage to a picture of him which lets the readers know who he is and what he looks like. He is very prominent as he takes up nearly the whole cover of the magazine and is dressed in typical trendy clothing (for example, the DJ 'Chuckie' is wearing sunglasses inside, his leather jacket, his hair is cut and groomed and he is wearing a fancy designer wristwatch.) His body language suggests he is in the music industry as it is typical of the genre as his arms are folded and his head is angled displaying a cool attitude.

The coverlines in 'Mixmag' are positioned at the side of the cover at both sides of 'Chuckie'. they are bold and clear and complement the colours of the masthead and stay true to the colour scheme of the cover.

At the bottom right corner of the front cover of 'Mixmag' there is a barcode which all magazines must have on the cover for retail use, the price, the issue date (month and year) and the official 'Mixmag' website.

Another magazine I have studied is 'DJ Mag'. The cover is also typical of a dance music magazine. The masthead is displayed at the top left which is just like other similar music magazines of this nature and of 'DJ Mag' itself as the font style is the same every issue and is usually the same colour, which is red with a black stroke. This is 'DJ Mag's brand identity which for their target audience is easily recognisable as being official. The font design is quite bold and simplistic, but differently the full name 'DJ Mag' is displayed in yellow font inside the post of the letter 'D' in the logo. The logo itself is a abbreviation of 'DJ' which stands for disc jockey, and the other being 'Mag', which is a common abbreviation/term for a magazine. This is confirmed/reinforced in the tagline is this case it is below the masthead which states that the magazine is about dance music as it reads 'Living and breathing dance music!'. This time above the logo, is details of the free CD that is included with the magazine and is attached to the front cover. also the web address, this time is just below the 'DJ Mag' logo.

The main cover star (In this issue of 'DJ Mag' the cover star is 'Rusko') is displayed in a posed picture on the cover. The title of his name is displayed in bold and in red on the cover with a thin white stroke on the outside and also is larger than the title of 'Chuckie' in 'Mixmag' and the letters in 'DJ Mag' are transparent. This title is anchorage to a picture of 'Rusko' which lets the readers know who he is and what he looks like. He is very prominent as he takes up nearly the whole cover of the magazine and is dressed in typical trendy and casual clothing (for example, he is wearing a hooded top with a cartoon style logo. His hair cut is ruffled and sort of messy and he has a short beard.) His body language and facial expression suggests he is quite silly and mischievous as he is scrunching his face and clenching his hands.


The coverlines in 'DJ Mag' are again positioned at the side of the cover at both sides of 'Rusko'. they are bold and clear and complement the colours of the masthead and are different to the 'DJ Mag' logo colours as they are white.

At the bottom right corner of the front cover of 'DJ Mag' there is a barcode which all magazines must have on the cover for retail use, the price, the issue date (month and year) and also the issue number (508). This is different to 'Mixmag' as there is no issue number.


Both magazines have free CD's which are incentives that persuade readers to buy the magazine. The CD in 'Mixmag' is of the cover star 'Chuckie' and the CD attached to 'DJ Mag' is of 'Micky Slim' who is a different artist to 'Rusko' who is the 'DJ Mag' cover star/featured artist.

'Mixmag's cover is more glossy and seems more professional than 'DJ Mag' which looks more informal. The price of 'Mixmag' is £4.20 and the price of 'DJ Mag' is £3.95. The logos, the taglines, cover stars, coverlines and the free CD's all contribute to giving the target audience an idea/impresson of what the magazine would be about (dance music) and is typical of the codes and conventions of a music magazine.