Lucy phillips mock exam question
- 1. Name: Lucy Phillips Candidate number: 2808 Centre: 33435 Aquinas College AS Media Studies OCR G321: Foundation Portfolio Brief: To create a front cover, contents page and double page spread for a music magazine of your choice.
- 2. Question 1: Who would be the audience for your media product?
- 3. Question 1: Audience Questionnaire • Many of the results I received back stated that their preferred music tastes were something along the lines of Pop-Punk, Rock and Punk so I catered my magazine to the taste of my audience. • Another question I asked was Who is your favourite band? and the responses I received were bands such as All Time Low, My Chemical Romance and Panic! At the Disco who are all bands under the Pop-Punk genre of music, which gave me another reason to choose this genre of music for my magazine. • I also included the question What social networks do you use? and the main response I received back was Twitter so I included a Tweet us! caption on the double page spread along with a username for the magazine.
- 4. Q1 : Who would be the audience for your media product? I aimed my magazine at people who… Go to gigs Listen to pop-punk and rock music Are from around the ages of 16-22 Are both men and women Spend money on… Live in the city Are interested in…
- 5. Q1: Who would be the audience for your media product? I feel that my magazine would be similar to Kerrang! and the audience who buys it. However, my magazine includes more pop-punk and rock music rather than heavy metal. I also felt very strongly from personal experience that there was a gap in the market for a pop-punk/rock music magazine aimed at young men/women between the ages of 15-22 who are interested in this genre. This would be my magazine’s unique selling point.
- 6. Q1: Sub-genres and hybrid publications Based on my audience research, I have found that there is a gap in the market for a niche magazine that combines pop-punk music with rock music and very small influences of heavy metal, aiming for a primary audience of 15-22 year olds of both genders, who are interested in these music genres.
- 7. Q1: Who would be the audience for your media product? • The colours used on this front cover are bold reds, yellows and greens with a combination of black and white. The boldness and contrast of these colours implies that their audience are individuals who are interested in the heavy metal/rock genre and are not afraid to stand out from others.
- 8. Primary Audience The primary audience for my product would be both males and females. My magazine will combine pop-punk music, which is typically ‘soft’ music compared to the likes of heavy metal, with rock as there are many bands who are based around both of these genres. The colours I have chosen for my magazine are gender-neutral and this shows that my magazine is for anyone who enjoys the bands in my magazine. The age range for my primary audience would be teenagers/young adults from around the age of 15-22.
- 9. Even though I am aiming my magazine at 15-22 year olds who are interested in this genre of music, I have taken into account that there will be others outside of this age range who will also be interested in purchasing this magazine, and also there will be people who read the magazine because one of their friends/family members has bought it and is just simply available for them to read. I would aim my magazine at a demographic who are very interested in pop-punk and rock music, who aspire to be like the bands they idolise by buying shirts with the names of the band on and going to see them live at gigs. Some fans may even get inspired to start their own band of this genre. There are many magazines that are similar to the genre of my magazine such as Kerrang!. However, many of the bands included in this magazine are from the heavy metal genre, so my magazine is different from this as it centres the attention around the bands within the pop-punk genre, appealing to the fans this way
- 10. Q2. How does your media product represent particular social groups? IDEAL READER: My star represents the ideal reader, with the use of mise en scene. Her clothes consist of dark colours which match her hair, and she is wearing these colours because these are also the colours my target audience would typically favour, both males and females. She is straying away from traditional conventions for female stars, therefore my target audience would aspire to be like her. An example of a band taken from the images on my moodboard wearing dark clothing, as it appeals to their audience.
- 11. Q2. How does your media product represent particular social groups? To appeal to the correct target audience, my star would have to represent an idealised version of the reader. In order to appeal to as many consumers of this genre as possible, the star must appear bold and unafraid to stand out from the crowd. On the following slides I will demonstrate how Hayley Williams, one of the celebrities my chosen audience is interested in, filters her appearance and performance depending on her audience.
- 12. Hayley Williams – Mainstream Representation Her hair is a bright and defining orange, which shows that she is not afraid to be bold and stand out from her audience. The clothes she wears are typical of someone representing the punk genre, contrasting black with bright colours such as yellow or white. Her pose is confident and striking to the audience. Her facial expression shows intimidation and attitude to her audience, which is exactly how she wants to be represented to her audience. Red lipstick conveys boldness to the audience. Direct eye contact with her audience.
- 13. Hayley Williams – Niche Representation This portrays a message to the audience that it is unnecessary to dress up for interviews etc. as for Hayley, it is all about the music. She is smiling and not looking directly at the audience. Her hair is simply pulled back into a ponytail, yet it is still her most striking feature. Highlights just how small she is compared with other people. She is wearing casual clothes, compared to the boldly coloured top and skin tight pants she was wearing in the previous representation. There is no hint of intimidation that there previously was in the mainstream representation.
- 14. COVER STAR: In all the photographs of my cover star, I tried to make sure she would be aspirational for the readers. She is the same age as my ideal reader, and therefore would attract the target audience. The mise en scene of the star represents a slightly rebellious young woman, who is not afraid to stand out from the crowd.
- 15. Q3: What kind of media institution might distribute your product? I have chosen Bauer Media Group to distribute my product as I feel that Calamity and Kerrang! would compliment each other. Bauer Media Group currently publish Kerrang! Magazine, one of the most successful magazines in this genre of music.
- 16. Calamity would be a fortnightly magazine priced at £2.50 an issue. This is a similar price to Kerrang! , however it is slightly cheaper as Kerrang! is priced at £2.70. It also comes out weekly rather than fortnightly, thus costing the reader a lot more money compared to my magazine. There will also be a lot of advertisements in the magazine aimed at brands and other items linked with my target audience.
- 17. Kerrang! website Having podcasts, radio, tv, and a link to the magazine increases the brand reach. This means that the brand can reach a wider audience, and therefore sell more to its target audience. Having a subscription package is necessary as it helps to keep the readers loyal to the magazine Kerrang! promote their other features on the website such as TV, radio, the K! Tour and the magazine
- 18. Website Social media links available to allow the audience to interact with the magazine and follow them for updates, promotions, etc. Includes main stories involving certain bands which would attract the readers. It is easily accessible for the audience to read. Includes a search bar so the audience can search for what they want to read, watch etc. on the website Includes the latest and most recent news for readers who like to be in-the-know about their favourite bands Includes a music playlist promoting many different bands. Has my brand logo so it is recognised straight away My website has a subscription link for the magazine which offers them the latest deals and helps them save money
- 19. Merchandise
- 20. App and ‘C’ Festival Stage Calamity
- 21. Q4: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? For my magazine front cover, I took my main source of inspiration from the magazines above, Rock Sound, Kerrang! and Q, as they are all music magazines which link in with the genre of my magazine Calamity, which is pop-punk and rock bands. I decided to include many features from these front covers onto my own front cover, such as: • Bright and bold colours for the masthead • An image where the cover star is giving a direct mode of address to the reader • A competition titled WIN! on the skyline of the magazine • An extra feature at the bottom of the magazine which labelled more bands which were included in this issue • Original masthead typography • Anchorage text, a quote from the double page spread to entice readers into buying the product • Buzz words such as WIN! and PLUS! • Cover/sell lines used along with secondary images developed to show the reader what else is included in this magazine. • Graphics such as the small yellow stars and the paint splashes across the masthead have also been used.
- 22. For my contents page, although I was influenced by magazines such as NME and Q, I based my ideas and design heavily upon the Kerrang! Style contents page as I liked the way it was neatly set out. I continued using the typography from the front cover for all of my subheadings and kept to my colour scheme of red, white and black, to keep to the house style of the magazine. On this contents page I used conventions typical to a music magazine contents page such as page numbers, to show the reader where each article was placed in the magazine; an editors letter, as a welcome message to the reader; a larger image in the top right of the screen along with the band name and page number of the article, the name of the photographer who took the cover photo and also information about the issue number and the cover date. I challenged the idea of having secondary images where the article information is and instead kept them all at the top of the page, as it would be more neater this way. I also left out the idea of a subscription to the magazine as would have made the page look messy and cluttered, and it could have been easily included on another page instead. I left the background on the larger image in the top right of the magazine and applied it to the rest of the top half of the magazine because the stage background really enhanced the image and is relevant to the music genres that this magazine is based upon.
- 23. My double page spread was influenced by the magazines Kerrang!, NME and Q in a number of different and unique ways. The title of the Lily Allen article in Q, which is a quote from the article itself definitely inspired my masthead as I liked the rough impression that it gave off to the audience and decided that a similar masthead would work out for my magazine. I chose the colours carefully, deciding that white and pink-purple would work well against a black background as it enhances the masthead with the boldness of the colours. Underneath the masthead is the subheading which introduces the audience to the interview written below. Synergy is also taking place inside my DPS in the top left hand side of the page, as I am advertising the magazine website to the audience, as well as giving them the magazine’s twitter username so the audience can go online to find out more about the latest news in music.Another part of my DPS inspiration came from Kerrang! as it inspired me to place the image on the left hand side of the page, and the overall page layout is very similar to that of Kerrang! However, I decided against the idea of having more than one image on the DPS as it appears to be cluttered and there wouldn’t be enough room for the interview otherwise.
- 24. On the whole, I have used many conventions from Kerrang! Magazine as it has inspired me in my choices towards this magazine, such as the kind of typography to use for the headings and which images will leave the biggest impact on my audience. I was also inspired by where certain things were placed on the page and although I challenged certain aspects of Kerrang!’s style and changed certain features, I can say that, although I have been inspired by other magazines, Kerrang! Has been my main inspiration throughout.
- 25. Q5: How did you attract/address your audience? • I chose the pop-punk/rock genre for my magazine, and I have tried to include themes involving this genre such as; winning tickets to Reading and Leeds festival, real life stories involving fans of a similar age to the reader and recent gig experiences. • I took the theme all throughout the magazine, starting with the cover star. For my star I used a female of 16 years old, and she is dressed in dark colours, however she doesn’t look too ‘metal’ either, and this was the look I was aiming for. • On my cover, I also included bands within the genre such as All Time Low, blink-182, Green Day and Paramore. • The fonts used within my front cover may be successful to attract the genre aimed at because it relates to the scruffy and scribble writing used on album covers, relating to the contents of the magazine. • My magazine is similar to the likes of Kerrang! and Rocksound , as they all have a punk edge to them all. However, my magazine is slightly different as it strays away from the ‘metal’ genre.
- 26. Q5: How did you attract/address your audience? Another important point of the magazine was to address my audience, speaking to them visually and verbally, by using colour to help. I used bright colours contrasting with black to stand out to my audience, and rough fonts to fit in with the colour scheme of the magazine and make the audience feel comfortable. The kind of language I use when speaking to the audience is informative as to what is included in the magazine, but at the same time it is spoken in an informal manner , to match my target audience. I used fonts with a rough-looking edge to connote the genre my magazine is representing. Typically, most magazines of the punk/rock genre use these fonts, so it’s an easy way for the audience to know what genre my magazine is. My cover star, although her overall look is rebellious, is smiling and this creates an enigma for the audience as they may wonder exactly what she’s happy about, causing them to buy the magazine and find out for themselves.
- 27. Q5: How did you attract/address your audience? Bold masthead. Original typography used. Graphics used to display colour among the front cover. Can also be seen as enigmas, as the audience do not know what they mean. Buzz words like this excite the audience before introducing the act. Adding the names of other well-known bands helps to sell copies. Extra images and cover/sell lines. Barcode and price. Cover star uses direct mode of address to attract her audience. Anchorage text; a quote from the interview inside the magazine. Makes the reader want to learn more. The skyline promotes a competition that will catch the eye of the reader. Name of cover star. Typography used to display the aura this star gives off to its audience.
- 28. Gender, Age and Genre Gender My magazine is aimed at both males and females, as the cover stars would differ from different bands to different genders as each issue progressed. Age The target audience for my magazine are aged between 16 and 22 years old. However, it is possible to have a secondary audience as many people older or younger than the target age group may also have taken an interest in the magazine. Genre My magazine is aimed at those interested in the pop-punk/rock style of music and this is portrayed through the clothes of the cover star, as she is wearing dark colours which match the colour of her hair.
- 29. Colour, extra artists and the main feature. Colour My main colour scheme has been the use of red, black, yellow and white. I used red as the colour of the title, borders and the graphic; black is used to highlight the headings, which are all in white and yellow. White is also used as the main background colour. I used these colours because the black, red and white all match with the colours of the cover star, and the yellow is effective for standing out amongst all the other colours. Extra artists At the bottom of the cover, there is a small heading labelled PLUS! and there are many other well- known bands stated there. This widens the audience as a result, offering them more musical talent as well as the cover star. Main Feature The main feature stands out on the cover because the name of the cover star is labelled in white, which is a total contrast from the others around it.
- 30. Contents page: Using pictures emphases the main articles and draws the reader in to flick through the magazine to the pages stated. It also helps them to get an idea of what else the features include. Having a subscription package available will as a result increase magazine profits and reader loyalty The heading and the background of the heading is the same colour as the colours used on the front and throughout the rest of the contents page. This creates a unique selling point and keeps the house style.
- 31. Double Page Spread: The typography and the colours match with the over all colour scheme. Promotes the website to the audience. Promotes the twitter account to gain reader loyalty and also allows the reader to interact with the magazine. Promotes the tour of the cover star’s band at the end of the interview. Uses a pull quote from the interview to try and make the reader more interested in what the cover star is talking about.
- 32. To get the typography I needed for my product, I used a website called myfonts.com to find a font with a slightly rough edge. The one I chose in the end was called Nidex, so and I copied and pasted it into publisher and made the background transparent for use. I then proceeded to used the same font for the rest of my magazine. Q6: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
- 33. These were some other fonts I had considered before choosing my final typography…
- 34. For my double page spread I had to begin the interview with a dropped capital, so the audience know exactly when to start reading from. I did this by formatting the text box, clicking Drop Cap, and then making the decision on which design I wanted. I chose Drop Cap Style 1.
- 35. For my contents page, I used my own original image for the image in the top of the page. I made sure to edit the image before use, and I did this by clicking on recolour and slightly changing the saturation of the image from 66% to 100% for a more enhanced effect.
- 36. This was the finished result.
- 37. For my double page spread, as well as creating a typography in the same way as stated in the first slide of this section, I also used the effects option on the rectangular shape to create a shadow behind it. First, I chose the shape and the shadow to go behind it, and then I went onto format shape and changed the size of the shadow and also the transparency until eventually I had finished the shadow effect.
- 38. Q7: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression to the full product? • I believe that I have improved since the beginning of the preliminary task, and my technological skills have also improved. • For the preliminary task, we created a front cover and contents page for an Aquinas Magazine. • As well as just creating the magazine, we also had to take our own photos and ecide which ones were more fit for purpose than others.
- 39. Photography
- 40. Photography On the previous side, I showed how I gathered up several images of potential front cover photos and decided which ones would be best to use. I put a green tick next to the ideal shots for a front cover. These shots are correct because they are centered in the middle and are looking out at the reader, therefore they would be ideal for a front cover. By using rule of thirds, I was able to decide which of the images I wanted for my front cover. This particular image was good because the star is centered in the middle of the shot, using direct mode of address.
- 41. My Aquinas Magazine – Front Cover First draft. This was made in publisher and it was what I created after experimenting with publisher in the early days of the preliminary task. The main image wasn’t as transparent as it should have been Too many different fonts makes the magazine look messy There aren’t any secondary images
- 42. Second Draft In the second draft, I added secondary images as well as the main image. I got rid of the gray background and experimented more with colour to try and make the magazine more bold and interesting. I also changed the typography and made it look more appealing to the eye, as well as sticking to a certain font and not using too many
- 43. Front cover - Final version For my final version of the front cover, I improved on the layout, added some newer and better images and cover stories, as well as adding social media links to get the reader more involved with the magazine.
- 44. My Aquinas Magazine - Contents Page First draft. This version of my contents page was extremely basic, as I had no idea of what I wanted it to look like so I created the layout as I went along. I did plan first, but there were various things I wanted to change. There isn't much colour on this contents page besides the main images on the page. The images are loosely placed and one of them is stretched out too much, so it looks unnatural.
- 45. Second Draft The second draft is very similar to the first draft, however there are a lot of differences involved. Image added to the editors letter Image is no longer stretched, looking like a more natural image as a result Image in the bottom left corner deleted as it looked untidy More colour added tot the magazine logo
- 46. Contents page – Final version This is the final version of my Aquinas Magazine contents page and I was satisfied with it because it looks a lot fuller and more interesting than the previous versions. I think this is because I have added more images, including a tiny version of the front cover next to the magazine logo, as well as adding a more effective typography into the editors letter.
- 47. I have also made improvements to my final front cover version. Upon receiving feedback for the original version of my front cover, I was given critique on my work to improve it even further. I had to: • Change the colour of the font from red to a brighter colour, as to make it stand out even further. • Change the font style of the extra information at the bottom, as well as on the sell lines, to match the rough image of the magazine that I had created. • Enlarge the typography on the cover as a whole, to make it seem more appealing to my audience • Add another sell line on the left side of the page as to fill space I also improved on some other aspects of the front cover that hadn't been mentioned. I added a graphic on the left hand side of the page as it matched well with the splashes of colour across the title, as well as it being extremely eye- catching. I also changed all the letters in the typography to capitals, as well as enlarging my main image. I believe these changes were necessary to further improve on my magazine front cover.
- 48. On looking back on the previous task, I believe that I have improved immensely since the beginning of the project, as I have grown more confident with using publisher to create my pages, and my planning and layout have improved also.