When creating a music magazine or any magazine really, you need to understand your target audience ( the audience you wish to reach with the magazine. You can find ways to categorise audiences by demographics which would be age, gender , social economic background or ethnicity, and psycographics which goes into more detail for example interests or hobbies etc.I think that uncut magazine has matched the look of the magazine and the black keys fans interests well. I think this because of the fairly dark and dull main magazine cover. Apart from the free CD there is very little colour and I think that matches the band well as they are a classic rock band and the fans aren’t looking for a colourful pop-star on the cover. I think that this magazine is for an older fan base, I think this because the colours chosen are very simple and if a magazine wanted to attract a younger audience they would use a range of bold bright colours.
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Conventional Design Features Of A Magazine.
The conventional design features for magazines include:
Main title/mast head
captions
main image
bar code, date and price
plug or pug
The unconventional designs features for a magazine:
Free items such as a CD
Multiple images
We were given a magazine cover and we had to annotate the front cover to point out what was the conventional or normal design. In my pair we pointed out that there is always a large bold title but it is not always completely visible, I think ever magazine does this for brand recognition and so if people enjoy the magazine they will remember and pick up the next issue of the magazine. Another feature we saw was the large main image on the magazine, this is probably to gather interest and bring people to buy they magazine if they see a large clear image of a person they like. One more feature we pointed out was the smaller captions and cover lines, these can be found anywhere on most magazine covers and they can show the reader what articles and interviews are inside and is another way to attract readers. Most magazines have smaller features such as a bar code and price but these features are smaller and less important in my opinion. One last thing I want to talk about are the free items that some magazines might have, as we have been looking at the music genre a lot of magazines have a free CD inside which is another way to bring in customers.
Print Media That Communicates Meaning
In a lesson we all learned to be media detectives and we were shown how to break down an image and find more meaning to pictures and forms of media. This particular form of media is a tour poster for the band Muse. The style is clear and it is a western theme, and in my opinion it is a wanted poster design. I think the theme of a western wanted poster clearly shows the American location is a big part of the poster. I also think that the American theme of the poster is smart as the audience for a performance in America would be Americans. One other part of the poster I think is important is the way the picture of the band members are portrayed, and they are shown as a all black drawing. This of course ties in with the wanted poster theme but I also think this shows them in a way to be a rock band possibly with a rebellious or criminal reputation . Lastly I think that calling the fans part of the resistance is also another clever part of the poster because that might create a bigger and more committed fan base as they might be seen as a rebellious fan base. This could also bring in more fans to create a bigger audience.
The slide shows an annotated poster of a the band muse on an American tour.
My Image That Uses Mise-en-Scene To Communicate Meaning.
So… I’m a Media Prosumer
Uses and Gratifications theory
Blumler and Katz theory suggests that people look for media that meets their personal needs. For example some people use types of media for information and they look for newspapers, online articles or follow news sources on social media. Some people look for media that provides entertainment and will look for movies, TV shows and possibly books or magazines for entertainment and enjoyment. Some people look for media sources for social interaction, and will look for types of media that will allow them to have conversations about what they have watched. For example some people may watch Premier League football on the weekend so they can talk about the games to someone at work. All of the ways people seek for media suggests that on the whole as consumers we play an active role in consuming and prosuming media.
This will mean that I will have to really think about what I will put in my own magazine and what audience I would want to bring in to buy and read the magazine. I think that I want my magazine to focus on the artists meaning behind songs and how they created them.
Forms of media I use.
In think it links with Blumler and Katz because I use at least one of them for entertainment, social interaction, personal identity or information.
For example I use Netflix for entertainment, I use twitter and Snapchat for social interaction, I use sky sports and the Premier league for entertainment and personal identity because I am a football fan, and finally I use the Guernsey Press for information.
The media ecology
Social media was my main section out of the media ecology. I think it is the most important because it links to most other sections and can play a huge role in the success of the other sections. For example social media can be used to create large audiences and generate many people such as a creator money. It can also be used to through social media posts, polls and petitions to change the governments mind on particular issues so in that way it can be a very powerful tool.
The sections of the media ecology are:
Money
Audience
Distributors
Institutions
Social Media
Creators
Technology
Government
An explanation of the media ecology would be that all the sections link together and can work together to advance and grow. An example would be that a institution such as the BBC could want a TV show to be created and would use creators to create that show with money and technology. That show could generate a large audience/fan base and could then generate revenue from the show or merchandise, which means it would link back to money.
The media ecology links with the magazine I am going to make in a few ways.
To make a magazine you will need to use technology, in the forms of hardware a computer and software a photo editor or document creator application. To make the magazine you will need creators in my case I will make the music magazine. You will also need an audience for a magazine to sell it for my magazine I will only show it to people that go to the school. Finally you will need money to create a magazine
In groups we created a scene out of Lego and it was supposed to show a scene where everything was connected and relied on each other. We created a beach scene with a stage. In the scene we had fish in the ocean living with some coral and a fisherman getting fish for food and a livelihood. We also had water in the scene with plants living off that. Finally we had the stage which provided money for the area and allowed it to be kept clean. Sadly the scene was destroyed before I could take a picture but I have tried to explain it.
Here is the mind map of the media ecology we did in pairs on paper.
So… Hello Media Studies
So… Hello Media Studies I am excited to get started!
During the course I am hoping to learn how to create new forms of media such as a video or magazine. I am also hoping to develop my skills in team work, listening, self reflection and time management. More specifically I hope to develop and learn new skills in video editing, photo editing and and create my own personal projects and know they are a good quality.
I have an understanding of most google documents such as slides, docs and sheets. I believe I am a good listener and I think I work well in teams but I am willing to learn and develop these skills further. I have tried photo and video editors but I think I still have a lot more to learn but again I am very willing to learn more.
I think media skills could be useful in many ways. I think that team working skills, time management skills, quality management and communication skills can be very useful in many jobs. I also think that now days a qualification in media studies is very useful in a number of jobs and working situations.