Name : Charlotte Butler Candidate number : 2173 Centre: 33435 Aquinas College

Name: Charlotte ButlerCandidate number : 2173 Centre: 33435 Aquinas College

Question 1) Who would be the audience for your media product? Interested in… Girls 11-16 Like going to concerts My magazine is aimed at Pop/chart music Interested in shopping Famous pop artists/bands Celebrity style and fashion

About my magazine genre… Before I started to create my magazine products (front cover, contents page and double page spread) I looked in to different genres of magazines and chose to base my media products on pop/chart music. I chose to have a main focus on girls who take an interest in pop/chart music between the ages of 11-16. I then decided to include famous pop artists which were popular and recognised as having a big female fan base. The main cover star on my magazine is a teenage girl which the target audience of my magazine may be able to relate to and this would also persuade them to read the magazine as they have something in common. I also believe the target audience would include girls who look up to pop stars for inspiration and see them as their idol so be interested to read interviews and articles on them. I made sure to have a clear link between all the products I created so they were professional and linked the articles together.

Sub genre and hybrid genre The sub genre for Pop life magazine includes chart music and recent artists which are popular and have a large fan base. The types of artists and bands such as One Direction, The Wanted and Katy Perry. I also thought of the hybrid genre and decided to include celebrity gossip and fashion. I thought I could link this to the interview I included of a teen pop sensation and give fashion tips from the main pop star included on the cover. Audience idols Before creating my magazine when I was thinking about the genre I thought of the biggest stars in the pop music industry and that I should include these in my magazines to attract people to buy it. The artists I have chose to include fit in because they are pop musicians but also seen as fashion icons such as Rihanna.

The main cover star on the magazine is teen pop sensation Lucie O’Gara which relates to the audience of the magazine being young girls who will look up to celebrities for advice such as style and if they have any problems. Like all of these magazines above they focus on a young pop star who teenagers may idolise.

On the contents page I made sure to include articles which I found interesting and would make me want to read the magazine. I also looked at We Love Pop magazine for ideas of what articles I should include which fit in with the genre and also link to celebrity/showbiz gossip and style. I looked at these articles for ideas of what I could include.

Why this genre… The genre of pop magazines is very popular so I thought my magazine would fit in well as it has a large audience and many people already consume these magazinesfor many different reasons. From researching magazines which already exist I found that my target audience of girls between the ages of 11-16 will be interested in style, celebrity gossip, celebrity interviews, what music is popular, quizzes, embarrassing stories and a range of other topics which I planned to include. I feel that readers would like other pop magazines such as We Love Pop, Top of the pops and Sugar which are all very popular on the market at the moment and hope that mine would be similar to them. I was also interested in this genre of music and had a good background knowledge on what I wanted to include such as the different artists and bands and also how to display the genre so it would attract the audience to purchase the magazine and become recognised in the pop music magazine genre.

Primary audience The primary audience for my magazine would be a female audience as I have chose to include famous boy bands and young female artists such as Katy Perry which will appeal to girls and also include a key area of the magazine which links to fashion and style. I made sure to research and read other pop magazines that I enjoyed and see what they had used to make me attracted to the magazine and why I bought it and to try to include some of these key conventions and features in my media products. Ideal readers I would like my ideal reader for my magazine to be girls who look up to young pop stars as their role models and aspire to be like them as that is one of the main features included in my magazine. These people could also be interested in finding out fashion tips or advice from these pop stars. I would also like the audience to take an interest in the latest music which is in the charts and current artists and bands.

Question 2) How does your media product represent particular social groups? The model on the front cover of Pop life is wearing typical clothes of a young pop star and is going for a look like Jade from Little Mix or Pixie Lott. To make sure my magazine appeals to as many readers as possible I wanted to make sure that readers could be able to relate to Lucie. Lucie represents other pop stars through her style, choice of clothing and in the interview by showing how her personality and what she is like as a big pop star in the music world today. Lucie is wearing a casual outfit consisting of denim shorts and a checked blouse which fits in with the style of singers Perrie and Jade from Little Mix. Lucie is just a normal teenage girl who has recently become popular in the music industry and is an idol for many girls to look up to.

Pixie Lott: mainstream representation Eye contact with the audience Low key hair and makeup Well coordinated outfit Casual shoes, not wearing heels Appeals to young female audience Smart blazer over a dress, sophisticated Simple but chic dress Positive role model, shown by dressing sensibly Image is a full shot of Pixie Lott Smiling to the camera Designer handbag

Pixie Lott: niche representation This image of Pixie Lott is from a fashion shoot and shows a more rebellious side to her as she normally looks very innocent and we can tell by the clothing and pose on this picture that she is going for a different look maybe to shock the audience and to show a different side to her personality and she isn't that innocent as seen on the previous picture. Revealing clothing Eye contact with the audience Posing to the camera, not smiling Shows a good girl gone bad Hand on hip to shows confidence Bold eye makeup which stands out

The image on the left is the typical style of Pixie Lott that you would associate with her and is appropriate whereas the other image is for a magazine photo shoot and would not be seen right to use in a magazine such as We Love Pop because it isn't appropriate to a young audience as the clothing is quite revealing and provocative. Both these images would appeal to very different audiences and would give different impressions of Pixie Lott and how people view her.

Lucie O’Gara : mainstream representation I think this image of Lucie is appropriate for the genre of pop music as she looks like a real pop star by the clothing she is wearing and also the way she is stood and how she is smiling to the camera. As Lucie is against a brick wall it may not seen typical for a young pop star but I think it works with her style. Suitable clothing Low key hair and make-up Smiling to the camera Playing with hair, shows innocence Full shot picture Eye contact with the reader Appeals to the audience of my magazine as they can relate to Lucie

Lucie O’Gara : niche representation This picture shows a different side to Lucie as she looks more rebellious and daring and doesn’t fit with the typical image of a pop star. The location is that of a graffiti background which would be associated with R&B music rather than pop music. I think as she is wearing a leather jacket this makes her seem less innocent than on the other picture. Not looking at the camera Gold jewellery Graffiti background, rebellious image Wearing a leather jacket Location of image isn't typical of a pop star Smiling but not to the audience Black clothing, tights and leather jacket

I made sure that all the images I included on the products I created would show my star as being someone to look up to and someone who was aspirational to the audience. She is also the same gender and a similar age as the readers so they will be able to relate to her which I believe is important. I didn’t want to make my model stand out too much as I wanted her to just be seen as like other girls out there.

Question 3) What kind of institution might distribute your media product and why? Distribution of Pop life I would like for my magazine to become a well known, memorable pop music magazine which is like We Love Pop and Top of the pops both have a large consumer market and are very popular. Egmont is the UK’s biggest children’s publisher and I would like this company to publish my magazine as they already publish We Love Pop. Egmont sell more than 25 million books and over 12 million magazines a year. Egmont don’t publish any other pop music magazine except from We Love Pop and I believe there is room in the market for Pop life.

Pop life I would like to publish my magazine fortnightly and sell it for £2.00 as I believe this is a suitable price and is also cheaper than We Love Pop. I would also like to include free gifts in the magazine which would persuade more people to buy it. www.poplifemag.co.uk On the contents page and double page spread that I created I chose to include a website address for readers to visit to get more information on the magazine. I would include this website address throughout the magazine to encourage readers to go on it and take a key interest in Pop life.

Ways in which to get the audience to find out about Pop life • Websitewww.poplifemag.co.uk • Twitter page giving information about the magazine • Facebook page • Magazine subscription • Pop life advertised in other pop magazines • Advertised on the television such as on music channels e.g. Capital TV

Pop life As well as having a website for my magazine I would also like more ways in which readers of Pop life can have an input in to the magazine and get involved. I could do this by creating an app which readers can download on to their electronic devices to access special features from the magazine such as online competitions. Also readers could download previews of upcoming issues of Pop life to view what is inside which will persuade them to purchase the magazine. I think a subscription to the magazine would also work well as many magazines have annual subscriptions which are popular as they work out cheaper than buying the magazines separately for the year and also normally include a free gift which appeals to the reader.

Question 4) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? I have created a pop music magazine which I chose to call Pop life and for this magazine I created a front cover, a contents page and a double page spread. I researched real pop music magazines to help me when planning and creating my product so that it was professional, successful and that all of my documents included key conventions of music magazines. Pop life front cover Clear bold title Boxes to make text stand out Relevant information Details of articles inside Main picture List of artists included Suitable pictures Barcode

I wanted to make my front cover eye catching and did this by using bright colours to highlight information and attract peoples attention to buy the magazine. Pop magazines are associated with using bright colours and I did this by using blue and green against a brick wall background which made the text stand out. Before I started creating my pop magazine I chose to look at real media products such as this pop music magazine We Love Pop which is a very simple front cover with not much information on but the bright colours are eye catching and make the magazine look interesting. Pop life For the title I chose to use a simple font (Arial rounded MT Bold) like the magazine above as I wanted it to be memorable. I chose the lime green colour as it is bright and made the text bold to make it stand out more to the audience.

Like this music magazine Billboard I chose to include a list of articles which are featured in Pop life which gives extra information to people interested in buying it and also a list of artists/bands to attract the audience to purchase the magazine. Red circles indicate places on my magazine front cover where I have included information about what is included which I have done to persuade people to buy it.

How my front cover uses forms and conventions of real media products… • Bright bold colours for text to make text stand out to readers • Use of key information such as date, issue number and price • Details of what articles are included in the magazine • Main image of pop star • Clear masthead which stands out • Use of a quote from an interview inside the magazine • Suitable images which link to articles • Barcode

Pop life contents page For my contents page I decided to use the same colour scheme as I did on the front cover so that the magazine was consistent throughout. I chose several images which I thought were suitable and fitted in with the articles on the front cover and contents page. I made sure to include an editors note which was personalised to the reader and was welcoming to read the magazine. I also included a web address to make my magazine more similar to those of real media products. Picture relating to main article List of main features Page number to direct reader Editors note Page number Relevant images

I chose to look at We Love Pop magazine again to give me ideas on what to include on my contents page and how to make it successful and realistic. I noticed that the main conventions of an effective contents page were: details of articles included with page numbers, suitable images, editors note and also the articles were linked to those that were mentioned on the front cover. I read a variety of editors note so I knew what to include Clear layout which makes text easy to read Clear area showing what is included in magazine Page numbers on images to guide readers Website address

Pop life double page spread The last product I made for Pop life magazine was a double page spread. I chose to do a simple question and answer interview with the pop star that I included on the front cover and contents page so that all my products linked together. I had to plan the questions and think of responses so that the interview was realistic and also interesting to read. I followed the same colour scheme so it was consistent and also made sure that it fitted in with the front cover and contents page by using the same background and font colours.

How my double page spread uses forms and conventions of real media products… • Question and answer style like most pop music magazine interviews • Large appropriate image of person being interviewed • Pull out quote from one of the answers given • Details of interviewer and where picture has come from How this double page spread from We Love Pop includes key conventions on my double page spread… Quote, found inside interview Suitable image Question and answer format Questions in bold

Question 5) How did you attract/address your audience? Front cover I had to think carefully when planning for my magazine so that my magazine would stand out in a shop and make people pick it up and buy it. I analysed pop magazines which I had bought in the past and observed the covers to find out what made me buy them and how they were effective and used different conventions, colours and designs to attract the audience. On the front cover I chose to include many different features and ways in which to attract and also address the reader which I have shown on the next slide by annotating my own front cover and looking at what I included to make the audience want to buy it.

Masthead Extra information about articles Price, date and issue number Competition details Main features Cover star Capitalised bold text Quote from interview Button List of famous bands/artists Free posters Extra images Barcode

The masthead is effective as I used a simple font which is easy to read and a bright colour. Unlike most pop magazines I used lower case text which is breaking the conventions of most magazines. I chose to include a list of popular pop artists that are included in the magazine and used ‘PLUS’ to show that there was much more. The word exclusive stands out as it means the interview is a one off and limited to just this magazine. I chose to make the font bold and also put it in capital letters to make it a main focus. I used a button and included capitalised text and included the word ‘revealed’ to show that it was exclusive to this magazine and couldn’t be found anywhere else which would attract the reader.

Use of colour Deciding on which colour to use when planning for my magazine was very important as I had to make the magazine bright like all other pop magazines to attract the audiences attention. I chose to use blue, green and purple as the three main colours which I used for the text and also the text boxes to make the text stand out. I think that these colours go well together and make the magazine look attractive and fit in well with the brick background on the picture. Gender My magazine is aimed at females who take an interest in pop music and are keen on reading about fashion, style and celebrity gossip. Genre The genre of Pop life magazine is pop music and chart music as I take an interest in this type of music and think there is a gap on the market for a fresh, new pop magazine.

Contents page I also had to make sure that as the first page in the magazine that my contents page was appropriate and attractive to the target audience. I chose to use the same style as on the front cover so that all my products were similar and did this by the use of the colours, font and articles which I had to chose to include. I have annotated my contents showing what conventions I used to attract the audience and also given specific examples from my contents page of Pop life magazine and said why I chose to include these. Double page spread My double page spread was based on an interview with a pop star which was the main feature of the front cover and was also included on the contents page which shows a link through all of my products. I chose to use the same background colour as on the contents page and show clearly how I had used the same coloursthroughout my media products.

Separate colour to highlight title Page numbers List of articles featured in Pop life magazine Main image linked to cover and article Images linked to articled with page numbers Editor’s note Website address Page number

The picture emphasises the main article and encourages the reader to flick through the magazine to find the interview with the star. It also gives a page number to direct reader to page. Competition details on the contents page will grab the readers attention and it stands out as not much text on the contents page is in green. I chose to include an editors note which was personalised and directed to the reader to make them feel welcomed in to reading the magazine and gives extra information in to the articles included on the front cover and contents page. This shows that I have addressed the reader.

Main image Consistent layout Image is central Question and answer format Pull out quote Consistent colour scheme Button Website address Page number

I chose to use a question and answer format and clearly displayed this by making the questions bold so they stood out and then giving an answer to the question. I made sure to keep the layout consistent. I used a pull quote from inside the interview to give the reader an insight in to the interview so they would read it and I chose to use a blue colour for the font as not much text on the page was blue. I decided to use this image of Lucie on the double page spread as she is smiling and looks happy like a pop star. I made the image central on the page as I thought it looked professional and I could fit the text around the outside. I included a button giving details of a competition which will encourage the reader to flick through the magazine and find the page.

How my media products are similar • A repetitive colour scheme of purple, blue and green • Made sure to use the same articles throughout to show a link • Same font styles used on all three products

Question 6) What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? From creating my media products I have gained many skills which will be useful to me in the future. Before starting media I hadn’t used Photoshop before and now have learnt how to use and I am also confident with how to edit pictures so they look professional and suitable for a magazine. I have learnt what the tools on Photoshop are for and how to use them and become more confident with this programme throughout making my media products for my coursework. Microsoft Publisher I chose to use this programme to create all of my products for my music magazine as I am comfortable with the tools and how to use them and thought I could also improve my knowledge of this software.

Difficulties I encountered and how I overcame them As I hadn’t used Photoshop before I encountered a few problems with how to use the tools effectively and what to do. I used Photoshop to edit the images I took to make them look more professional and appropriate for the magazine such as by cropping them so I had exactly what I needed and that they were also professional. I wasn’t sure what the icons on Photoshop were for and how to use them correctly so I watched a tutorial on YouTube of how to edit photos and this helped me a lot when creating my media products. I now feel more confident with using Photoshop and think I will able to use it more.

Using the green screen I used the green screen for the first time and had to learn how to use the camera effectively to take professional pictures. I decided on using an SLR camera to take the pictures I was going to use but I did have the pictures I took in the green screen which I could use on my contact sheets. I became more confident with practicing taking pictures and now understand why it is important to have good images.

I also learnt how important is to make sure to plan carefully before you start to create your product and this means thinking carefully about fonts, colours and pictures that you are going to use. It is vital to make sure you create a detailed flat plan with everything you need to include making sure to go over the key conventions to create a successful and professional product which is realistic and fits in with other music magazines which are currently on the market. • My flat plan for Pop life front cover • Made sure to include where everything would be positioned on the page • What articles I was going to include • Images • Key conventions such as data, price, barcode

Lastly I created the flat plan for my double page spread making sure I used a professional layout and included suitable pictures for the interview. This is the flat plan for my Contents page and shows what I am going to include and how I have chose to lay it out.

Question 7) Looking back at your preliminary task (Aquinas College magazine), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression to the full product? I am now going to compare my products from when I did the Aquinas college magazine task when I started media and my final piece which is from a music magazine and look at what I have learnt in this process and what I believe I have improved on and the skills that I have gained. Aquinas magazine front cover This is my front cover to the Aquinas college magazine which I created. I created this product on Microsoft Publisher and I will now discuss what I believe I could improve now I have had more experience of creating media products.

Looking at the first product I created at the start of the year which was my Aquinas magazine front cover I can see that there are lots of things I would change about it to improve it. I could use the space better and make the text bigger so that main articles stand out to the audience and the front cover is eye catching. I think that I could also use a better choice of font which is more adventurous to attract the audience. Another improvement which could be made would be to include more text or pictures so that there isn’t any blank space which would also give more information to the reader.

From analysing my Pop life front cover I think that I have improved my skills in media hugely and that my Pop life cover looks a lot more professional than the cover from my preliminary task. Some of the ways in which I believe I have made a successful magazine cover and learnt from the Aquinas college magazine task are by: Making sure to use the space on the page wisely and including enough information which will persuade the audience to purchase the magazine Choosing a good colour scheme which goes well together and is constant Making sure the font style is effective and memorable Making sure the cover star I chose was Including good images which link to articles inside Including all the key conventions of a magazine front cover to make it professional I feel that I have become more confident in media with creating products and being able to create a realistic product which is professional and suitable to the genre and audience which I decided on.

Aquinas magazine contents page I think that now I have a better understanding of how to make a successful product there are some changes I would make to my Aquinas magazine contents page such as using a colour for the background, using a different colour for the text and not black, varying my font styles, using more colour to attract the audience to make the contents eye catching and I also understand now that is very important to research other magazines that are on the market to get ideas. I would also of done more research beforehand in to how to create a successful contents page and make sure to include all of the conventions to make it a professional product.

I think that from comparing my Aquinas magazine contents page and Pop life contents I can see that my work has improved and I have been able to create a successful finished product. I have chose to use an effective colour scheme throughout and got ideas from real, popular magazines to make sure I know what to include and what will make the audience attracted to reading the magazine. I used appropriate pictures which linked to articles and made sure to include features such as a list of the articles with page numbers so the reader can easily find the page they want and also an editors note welcoming the reader to the magazine.

Pictures I took for my products

The top row of images are pictures I took for the preliminary task and the other pictures are ones I took for Pop life magazine for my final piece. I wanted to make sure the pictures I had for my music magazine were professional and also fitted in with the genre and style of magazine I had chose which was pop/chart music. I made sure to plan the pictures before I took them taking in to account the location, the model I chose and also the clothing they were wearing. I took a selection of different pictures as I wanted to make sure I had the perfect picture for my music magazine. I used different locations so I had a variety of images to chose from that were different and varied the poses my model was doing and also used ideas from magazines such as pop life. I used both of these images for my magazine – on the cover and contents page. I chose these two as they are in different locations and the model is doing different poses but I still think they fit in with my chosen genre.

The pictures that I took for my Aquinas magazine task were took on a simple camera and I chose to use a SLR camera for my music magazine as I knew these images would be of a better quality and wanted them to be the best they could be for my final media products and make my magazine as professional as I could. The image I took of Laura on the left which I used on the cover of my Aquinas front cover I didn’t plan so I didn’t know the ideal location and clothing which is why I knew it was important to plan for my music magazine so I made sure Lucie’s clothes were typical of that of a pop star so it would be realistic.

Name : Charlotte Butler Candidate number : 2173 Centre: 33435 Aquinas College