In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
My student magazine is based mainly upon the magazine Smart Talent, a very informative and helpful magazine for students aged 16-19. I decided to have a big eye catching masthead so people would be drawn to my magazine which is called The View. I decided to go for a singular big picture to fit the whole of the front cover, just underneath the masthead I have put the price in bold letters so it’s clear to see just how cheap this magazine is in comparison to others.
I put a strap line across the middle of the page so it’s easily seen and easy to read, I made it something that would appeal to all students so they are more likely to buy my magazine. I have specified my magazine very well so that it fits the criteria for my target audience.
I decided to add a couple of cover lines to my front cover, I think having a competition is a very good idea because everybody loves to win stuff and having a drum and bass night advertised on a student magazine will draw peoples attentions.
I tried sticking to a very basic colour scheme so it’s not to “in your face”. I think the colours I picked compliment each other well as black and white always go together and then a few things with simple colours help make individual pieces stand out.
My contents page is structured in a way that would appeal to my target audience, by splitting my page diagonally it makes it easy to read and access the information you require, because there is nothing worse than not being able to find what you are looking for. In the left hand section I have pictures of students from the college and this is because we have a story for each of them. In the right hand section we have the page numbers of stories inside the magazine. I tried keeping it quite simple again just like my front cover but I don’t think the colour scheme worked quite so well on my contents page and overall, I preferred the look of my front cover to my contents page.
As you can see they are quite similar front cover layouts, for instance we each have one big picture which fills the front cover, they both have big mast heads that are clear and simple to read. I liked how on smart talent they had left the layout quite simple and not covered the middle of the magazine with a strap line.How does your media product represent particular social groups?
I think my student magazine is very particular to students who enjoy doing well in their studies, maybe enjoy going out some of the time to a gig or some other kind of social event. In my magazine the strap line is saying about how to pass all your exams, at the bottom there is a chance to win tickets to go to a hospital records night.
There are stories on what plans the student council have for the future. I think it represents everyday life for any teenager quite nicely.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
An institution that is most likely to distribute my media magazine is a company that has regular contact with students and colleges, my magazine is specifically aimed at Ludlow College students, as it has information on specific things happening in and around the college for example you can win free refectory food for a week and it has the interests of student council inside the magazine.
Who would be the audience for your media product?
The main audience for my student magazine would be Ludlow College students aged 16-19, it has specific information and requirements around Ludlow College
How did you attract/address your audience?
My masthead is styled to suit my target audience I think its very eye catching and may instantly entice people to have a look inside. I did an audience questionnaire to get some feedback so I could then work what I should put into my magazine off of that. My cover lines appeal to the students and will make them want to find out what it says. I also attracted my audience by having a free ticket give away student’s love free stuff! I think by having a big picture of Beth Hughes as the cover of my magazine people will recognise her and so maybe want to find out why she’s on the cover, it is also quite an entertaining photo which might make students enjoy it more.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
My student magazine was relatively easy to produce, overall I only used Paint to design my mast head and then publisher to decide on the layout of my front cover and contents page, I then used different fonts and colours to add something extra to it. The hardest thing was learning how to make your way around the blog site.
