My media product is aimed at 16-18 year old males and females in Sixth Form at St. Edmund's College who are interested in the latest news around school (such as sports reports, school productions, inter-house competitions) as well as news outside of school (including television shows, fashion advice etc)
How did you attract/address your audience?
I believe i attracted this audience by firstly, representing them on the cover and also keeping the design quite sophisticated and minimal - if there was too much going on in the front cover it would seem overcrowded and the target audience would probably see it to be more childlike. "Edmundia" is the type of student magazine that you want to be seen reading because it not only helps you with gaining important messages for future studies but it also informs you of the latest t.v, music and fashions that are essential to have knowledge of in today's society.
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
The key codes and conventions of a magazine front cover includes a background image, a masthead, cover lines and a headline; of course you can include other graphics in your front cover however these conventions are almost necessary for a typical front cover. The typical contents page includes multiple images, cover lines + lures to reel in the reader in, a masthead usually stating "contents", near the bottom of the page would be a byline stating the photographer,editor and designer of the magazine, possibly a letter to the editor - although i did not choose to include that in my magazine i feel i have included all of the other conventions in my Front cover and contents pages. I actually used St. Edmund's College school magazine "College Life" design as an inspiration for my own front cover in the sense that i put a banner and the school logo on the front, however, compared to "College Life" i think "Edmundia" appeals visually to students more as the colours are brighter and the cover lines include things that students would be more interested in. The main image on "College Life" is of a school passion play; a relevant theme to portray on the cover however i chose to go for a more glamorous photoshoot image with the subjects of the main story featuring on the cover of which i used my audience feedback to choose. I had 5 potential images for the cover and so i asked people to vote and used the most popular for my cover - this also ensured that it would appeal most to my target audience, as they had a say in the image in the first place.
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Through my questionnaire at the start of the project, i found that a Rhetoric magazine would be most appreciated and so i decided to represent the target audience on the cover of my magazine. I have represented the cover students to be just normal teenagers, they are wearing smart clothes yet Charlie's tie being quite loose still shows some vibrance in the students. I chose to have the models smiling because this will bring a light-hearted tone to the magazine compared to if the models were straight-faced, where the magazine could then take on a more serious tone. The language i have used on the cover is quite informal yet not colloquial. "Catch up on the latest fashions with our Style Guru!" - This is clearly aimed at young people, not only because of the content of the cover line but a formal magazine would not use "catch up" for a more up-market audience, they would probably just say "This Seasons Dior range" - short and simple.
I have also used this kind of language in the contents page, "Last years Rhetoric give you the 411 on how to manage finances..." is one of my cover lines, it is quite informal by the use of "411" which is a colloquial way of saying "gives you all the information" - in this case, the contents is more informal than the front cover and students may relate/be more obliged to read through the magazine with more language like this used. On my contents page i have a fairly even image:text ratio, i only have 4 pictures and quite a few paragraphs of text yet the red background with snowflakes on it ensures that the contents page is lively and bright and so i think i have included just enough images to make sure the page is not too loud and not too boring.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
The institution most likely to publish my magazine would be the college, this is because it is a student magazine aimed at Sixth former's that fits the overall house style of the college's other magazines. Although the college already has a student magazine, "Edmundia" is for an older audience which contains features that Rhetoricians would be more inclined to read and it would mean that the magazine that is already running could contain younger themes for the lower school and "Edmundia" would be a way that Sixth Former's could feel different and privileged to have their own student magazine.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
During the process of making this magazine, i have used Photoshop, Publisher and Blogger. I have learned a lot about each of these technologies; although i already knew how to use Photoshop and Publisher, i have used them for new reasons therefore discovering new gadgets and ways to create designs. In Photoshop, i learned how to use the smudge tool when i decided to try and cut out the camera that was around one of my models neck's in an image that i wanted to use for my contents. I managed to do it successfully by selecting the camera, filling it to the colour of Charlie's jumper, and then smudging the colours together to make it look more even. I also learned how to adjust lighting and contrast colours through photoshop to give my images a better complexion.
Using Blogger has been a great new experience to interact with the audience as you update them on the production of your work. I have learned how to create things like 'polls' to make your blog more exciting and interactive for the audience, its also a great way to get clear and precise feedback on certain aspects of your magazine.
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