Developing and Challenging Forms and Coventions
Let us begin with evaluating the three media texts and I will discuss ways in which I’ve used, developed and challenged forms and conventions.
The front cover of FRANK uses simple conventions such as a masthead, sell lines, a banner, a puff and an image. FRANK follows the conventions of an existing music magazine of its kind, for example, the music magazine NME, because they both focus on Indie/ Alternative music. It includes a feisty and edgy image of an artist, who is dressed in a leather jacket, which is an item of clothing which is often associated with Indie music. The sell-lines follow the conventions of existing publications as they are short and witty; they avoid going into too much detail in their description, for example, like a Lifestyle magazine would. Alliteration is used for one of the sell-lines, "Gigs, Groupies and Electric Glockenspiels" because it provides the sell line with a catchy and quirky tone.
However, the front cover also challenges the conventions of music magazines in its portrayal of women. FRANK reinforces a positive representation of the modern woman; the majority of existing music publications, in my opinion, re-enforce a negative representation. When a female is featured in a music magazine, they usually fall into one of the four categories of female stereotypes. These stereotypes include the 'Girly-Girl', the 'Sex Object', the 'De-feminised Artist' and the 'Basic Fan'. These stereotypes were established in a previous post. The image on the front cover of FRANK is of a female artist whose body language and facial expression successfully establishes her confidence and feisty attitude. This type of expression would fall into the likes of the 'De-feminised artist' category, as the language and expressions displayed may be considered quite mannish. Yet, the artist on the front cover of FRANK maintains femininity with her mid-length curly hair, pieces of eccentric jewellery and tight-fitted leather jacket. Juxposition is used between key elements of the image, such as body language, facial expression and costume, which prevents it from falling into one specific category. The front cover of FRANK inverts and challenges the conventions, as it features a female artist on the front cover without representing or expressing her in a degrading, sexist or stereotypical fashion.
The contents page uses conventions such as a title, text and an image. I also thought it would be an interesting attribute to feature an Editors Letter, which maintained an element of femininity. The use of an editors letter appears to be commonly used in lifestyle and fashion magazines, yet few music publications include them too, e.g. ‘Kerrang!’ and ‘NME’. It is also situated to the left side of the page which is where they would typically be placed. The contents pages of other existing music magazines vary in the style of how much content they actually show. For example, the music magazine Vibe highlights the main features of the issue and the page references; NME list the page numbers according to the bands that are featured on those pages. Other publications list the entire content of the magazine, along with page numbers and captions. I chose to highlight the four main features of the magazine to emphasise their importance and to give the page a fresh and de-cluttered look. However, some aspects of the contents page invert conventions, as the text including the title ‘features’ and the page numbers have been placed directly on top of the image, using the whiteness of the artists’ t-shirt as a background. This clever and quirky transaction reflected the style and content of the magazine.
The double page spread (DPS) of FRANK follows conventions by including a title, a title caption, an article, a pull quote, gutters between paragraphs, an image and image caption. There is use of brand identity of the three pieces as layout and style, colour and font is repeated. This makes the product more realistic and recognisable. There is consistency of the colour grey, as it is featured on the background of the masthead which is used on both the front cover and on the contents page. It is also used as a background colour for the double page spread.
Originally, the masthead featured black font on top of a red background. I chose to use red as it is a commonly used colour within music publications and the style of the masthead was inspired by the magazine SPIN. On the mock-up, the decision to use this particular colour appeared successful. However, when creating the final pieces on Photoshop, I discovered that in reality, this particular colour, however convenient and traditional, did not achieve the main aim of the magazine. Using the colour red made the front cover appear too masculine, which defeated the purpose of FRANK.
Representation of Social Groups
Gender
My media product re-enforces a positive representation of modern women, as strong, independent, feisty females with a passion for British Indie music. This representation is uncommon in the music magazine industry. There is currently a system of inequality, where female artists only ever appear in music magazines if they have been either masculinised or sexualised. For example:
RnB music magazine, VIBE, features semi naked artists striking provocative poses. I personally find this concept of selling magazines through sex and exploiting young women as absolute carnage. This is why I have created a magazine that challenges the conventions.
If women are not selling magazines through exposing themselves, they de-feminising themselves in order to be acknowledged and taken seriously in the magazine music industry.
Race, Class and Youth
The artists I have used to feature on my media products represent white, upper working class teenagers. The social group represented here could be referred to as ‘rock chicks’ and ‘indie kids’.‘Rock chick’
‘Indie kid'
A combination of style:
Media Institutions
I have researched the Media institution that could potentially distribute my magazine.
I would consider using IPC Media to publish FRANK magazine as they are one of the leading media institutions in the UK; being a well established company also means more advertisement options, making it inexpensive and more efficient to advertise with a reputable institution.
They have mass market women’s division called (IPC Connect) which comprises women’s weekly magazines such as Look and Now. They also have upmarket women’s divisions called (IPC Southbank) where they comprise luxury fashion brands such as Marie Claire and In Style. The men’s portfolio (IPC Inspire) consists of music magazine NME. This is the perfect institution to distribute my magazine as they produce publications that my target audience are likely to read.
IPC Southbank advertisement:
“The portfolio bristles with high quality imagery and high quality editorial – Fashion and Beauty trends and advice, home styling, celebrity, environment, education, business and real world news”
“Delivered to our readers through glossy magazines and exiting websites”
Here is a link to the website:
The Target Audience
Browsing old record stores, sitting in starbucks, discussing last weeks Gossip Girl over a Frappachino.
‘Frank’ is targeted at a female audience aged 16-19; young girls who are currently studying in sixth form, college or university. They are creative and ambitious girls and are most likely to be studying Music, Art and other such creative subjects. They are likely to be involved in casual relationships or are part of the ‘dating scene’. It is likely that they play instruments themselves or sing and write songs in a band. These girls are creative, artistic, quirky and fun and they just need that extra boost of confidence in order to truly express these traits to the world. They are well grounded, reflective and reserved individuals who enjoy time to themselves; to listen to music, to write songs or write in their journals, play an instrument, to sing, read poetry, novels, and magazines or to paint. They are popular and admired by their friends and family for their talent and style. Their style is eccentric and chic; they may like to customize garments of clothing to make them truly unique. They are passionate about music and are also interested in fashion as they are both arts that express individuality. Their philosophy is to ‘never follow the crowd’ and to always be themselves. They shop in high street stores such as Topshop, H&M, Zara and Urban Outfitters whilst also shopping in vintage boutiques to find one-off distinctive pieces. These girls wear their hair long, naturally tousled and backcombed, because it’s all about the volume! 
They like to visit art galleries, museums on history and culture, whilst also enjoying trips to the theatre to watch plays and musicals. They are committed gig goers and festival attendees. On weekends they like to party and go shopping in central London. They also enjoy browsing music stores for old records or new album releases and hanging out with friends at Starbucks discussing last week’s Gossip Girl over a frappachino. They are interested in photography and are constantly taking snaps of themselves and friends, cityscapes and still life compositions. Hobbies may include singing practise or ‘jam sessions’ with the band. They are interested in social networking and are constantly updating their Facebook and Twitter pages on their Blackberry’s and iPhone’s. They are interested in fashion-blogging and downloading music. They are heavily involved with all aspects of the music scene by listening to underground, contemporary and artists from previous eras. Their iPods are filled with bands and artists that fall into the Alternative, Indie, Pop, Rock and Acoustic genres. For example, Florence + the Machine, Laura Marling, La Roux, Bat For Lashes, Feist, Ellie Goulding, Goldfrapp etc. Music plays a major part in the lives of ‘Frank’s readers. They use music to express their emotions. They are constantly searching for new bands to listen to or to see live; their iPods are jam packed with thousands of songs. Music inspires the way they dress, the way they act, speak and present themselves, the people they surround themselves with and the perspective they have of life and of themselves as individuals. Frank magazine is suitable for my target audience as it covers all areas of key interest. My media product features everything from interviews with the TA's favourite artists to information on the latest bands, gigs and festival line-ups to concert reviews. Everything the TA needs to satisfy their musical desires, Frank magazine has it!
Audience Attraction
After I completed my media product, I created a Post-production questionnaire, asking members of my TA what they thought about my magazine. Listed below are examples of the questions asked accompanied by feedback. I have pulled quotes from those I questioned; I have selected quotes that sum up the entire opinion of my target audience.
Front Cover:
1) Would you say this front cover establishes the fact that it is a Indie/ Alternative rock magazine?
"Yes. It is clear with the use of colours such as grey, red and black. These are colours that are typically seen on the front of a music magazine."
"Just by looking at the model a reader has a clear indication of the magazines genre. What with her dark hair and thick black eye make-up and leather jacket."
2) Walking into your local newsagents or supermarket and seeing the new magazine on the shelves, would you feel obliged to pick it up and read it? Please state reasons for your answer.
"I would pick it up and read it, as the layout appears to contain similiar aspects of a magazine like NME, which I usually read. I'd choose to read this because it looks like a female version of NME."
"Yes. Because it is different from other magazines you'd see on the shelf, such as Womens fashion & lifestyle, lad's mags, mens music mags. It's original because you never see copies of music magazines that are aimed at women in the shops."
3) Do you think this piece looks professional or amatuerish?
"I think certain parts of the front cover look proffessional, such as the sell lines. The sizing, colouring and placement on the front cover makes the piece look realistic."
"I would say there's a mixture of professional and amatuerish qualities about this piece. The layout and organisation of the front cover matches the conventions of existing magazines, yet perhaps the photograph looks a little amatuerish."
4) Which sell lines appeal to you the most?
"The sell line about the best dressed musicians of the week, is the sell line that appeals to me the most, because it integrates my main interest of music with another interest of mine.. fashion!"
Contents Page:
1) Do you think this contents page is successful? Please state its strengths and weaknesses:
"I do think this page is successful. It looks exactly like a contents page should, yet it is one with a quirky edge. The strong points of the piece are the image, and the sell lines. As the image fits in perfectly with the text. The catchy, quirky sell lines are also very well written. The only weakness I recognised is that there could have been more colour."
2)Which page appeals to you the most and why?
"For me, it would have to be the page that focuses on KaytieKat's article! I can't wait to see if she is as catty as we believe.."
"I'd turn to page 6 to read to countdown of the top fifty female artists. It spreads a sense of female pride and is perfect for the first issue of a music magazine aimed at women."
Double Page Spread:
1) What do you think about the layout and organisation of the double page spread?
"It adopts a similiar layout to other music magazines and has been organised in a tidy, simplistic and elegent fashion. I like the use of colour too."
"A classic and stylish layout with a kick of fiesty hot pink. I love it!"
2) Do you think the article itself contained a proffessional or amatuerish quality? Do you think It was successful?
"I enjoyed the layout of the article and I found it entertaining to read. KaytieKat is quite the inspiration! I do think the way in which the article was written was successful."
"The article was good, although I didn't really appreciate the layout. As it appeared a little messy with no distinction between the questions and answers."
3) Do you think the models used were appropriate and suited the style of the magazine?
"I do. I think both the female and male artist chosen to feature in the three pieces of FRANK, really suited the concept of the magazine and reflected the genre of music with their funky, rocky style."
"The models used suited the criteria and the style of the magazine was well estbalished through the costume, make-up and poses of the models. Although, perhaps a few more images of other models would have made the product more successful."
Reflection
What I have learnt...
Since starting the main task and throughout the construction of this product I have developed quite a few technological skills. I have become more recognisable with my camera. I am now able to play around with the focus, the light settings and the angles to capture the exact style of photograph I want. I also have developed my Adobe Photoshop skills and I am now able to edit images without difficulty or confusion. I have become more familiar with the world of blogging. An interest of my own is to read fashion blogs and to be the actual producer of a blog has taught me that it is not as easy as it looks! I have learnt that it can be a long and tedious process and I now appreciate the effort and hard work bloggers put into their blogs. I now know how to set up a blog and upload images and documents onto it, customise the style and how to upload posts.
Since starting the main task and throughout the construction of this product I have developed quite a few technological skills. I have become more recognisable with my camera. I am now able to play around with the focus, the light settings and the angles to capture the exact style of photograph I want. I also have developed my Adobe Photoshop skills and I am now able to edit images without difficulty or confusion. I have become more familiar with the world of blogging. An interest of my own is to read fashion blogs and to be the actual producer of a blog has taught me that it is not as easy as it looks! I have learnt that it can be a long and tedious process and I now appreciate the effort and hard work bloggers put into their blogs. I now know how to set up a blog and upload images and documents onto it, customise the style and post.
Looking back at my preliminary task and having finished the main task. I have come to realise that my technological skills have expanded greatly. I am now better knowledge in areas such as functioning digital camera, editing images via Adobe Photoshop and creating blogs. I have also become more recognisable and familiar with the topic of magazines as I am more aware of the process in which it takes to plan a front cover, a contents page and a double page spread article. I have learnt that every single aspect applied to these pieces is there for a reason and has a function to perform. I believe the layout, organisation, the images and texts of the main task are much more successful and conventional to that of the preliminary task. Over all, I have learnt that the process of creating pages for a magazine is a lot harder than one may think. I have tried my absolute hardest to create a media product that conveys to the conventions, but which also stands out as unique and original and hopefully I have successfully achieved just that.
