How does your media product represent particular social groups?

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

My final Contents Page

Left Hand Side

Right Hand Side

My final double page spread

What kind of media institutions might distribute your product and why?

What kind of media institutions might distribute your product and why?

Who would be the target audience for your media product?

What have you learnt about the technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Progress I have made on the right side of my contents page

First I put the pictures where I wanted them

I then worked around the pictures to put in my regulars column

I then created sell lines

I wrote a little description for each of the stories

I finally added a Reviews section

Left page of my contents page

How did you attract/address your audience?

Looking back at your preliminary task, what have you learnt from the progression from it to the full product?

I think I have improved a lot since doing my preliminary task and have learnt a lot as I think that my finished product looks like a real magazine cover looks like.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what have you learnt from the progression from it to the full product?

Overall I have learnt just how much the masthead means to the magazine as it will be the first thing that a reader would notice and it needs to be something individual and relevant to the theme of the magazine. It also needs to be something that will be remembered as it will be aiming to be a top selling magazine.

The sell lines need to be interesting, although they cant give away too much on what the story is about but still needs to give away enough to make the reader want to know more. I think in the full product I have made the sell lines rhyme which I also think would draw the reader in as it sounds fun.

My main image needs to draw the readers attention and has to also be as interesting as the sell lines because whether the reader doesn’t want to read on because they don’t like the sell line, then the picture might still make them read on. I think I was successful at making the main image interesting as I took my time on designing what the model would look like and how she was going to pose.  

I have learnt that the subsidiary images are used to also draw readers to buy the magazine and to make the front cover more interesting.

I know the colour scheme for the front cover needs to be relevant to the theme the magazine is going to be about. E.g. a heavy metal shouldn’t have a pink and purple colour scheme as it isn’t the stereotypical colours for this genre. Dark colours like deep red and black would be appropriate whereas mine is a pop magazine and it uses lighter colours to make the magazine appealing.

Adverts for prizes and competitions are also important as people like free things and also like to win. People also like to feel they can also get involved with the magazine and like to participate with what the magazine has to offer, like competitions. 

My article almost finished, I just need to re-arrange my pictures.

This is my final front cover

2 More Photo's For My Contents Page

This is for my nicki minaj story

This is for my Rihanna story

Textual analysis of contents pages

The purpose of a contents page is to tell people of other stories that the magazine contains and what page number to find them on. It also gives the reader a sense of control as is allows people to choose what they want to read.

For this activity I analysed  3 different contents pages which were also in the pop music genre. They were Sugar, Billboard and Vibe which are shown below.

Sugar Contents Page

Sugar

This was my favourite contents page that I found.

-It had a pink and black theme.

-One large picture of the same person which was on the front cover which took up a third of the page. I thought this was a good idea as it didnt actually take up much space but it showed that the picture was the main story in the magazine.

-It had 4 sections; On the cover, which had  7 stories, Up front, which also had 7 stories, Top reads, which had 6 stories and The team, which had 7 stories. All stories had a breif sentence or to about the stories.

-There was a total of only 4 pictures on the page including a picture of the front cover which I dont think was enough.

-There were 20 stories altogether.

- It had a white background.

-The masthead was shown about the "Contents" title.

-There were numbers on the pictures to show which story they belonged to except for the front cover picutre.

-The date "June 2009" was printed on the top right hand side of the page.

Vibe Contents Page

Vibe

 This contents page was far too plain but I thought I'd analyse it to show the dramatic differences in contents page idea's.

-There was just plain black writing with a plain white background used from the picture.

-The "Contents" title was printed in an odd way with the CO on the top, NTEN in the middle and TS on the bottom which I LOVED  the idea of but I think its too risky to use as its a bit too different to try and pull off in my own contents page.

-There were only 3 sections; Departments, which had 7 stories, Seen, which had only 2 stories and V style, which only included 1 story.

-There was then 2 small seperate paragraphs, one saying who took the pictures and the other saying who was in the pictures.

Billboard Contents Page

Billboard

I loved the idea of having this as my design template for my own contents page but it is a bit too complicated to create by myself.

-It contained 4 pictures altogether, 3 were in a row and the biggest was in the centre of the page showing it was the cover story.

-Taking up a 3rd of the page down the right hand side was a "Number 1 Charts" column containing the charts for songs and albums which I thought was an amazing idea.

-There were 5 sections; Up front, which contained 5 stories, Features, which contained 5 stories, Music, which contained 5 stories, In Every Issue, which contained 6 stories and Home Front, which contained 2 sections - Online and Events.

-The colour theme for this contents page was black, white and blue.

I then wrote similarities and differences between all 3 of the contents pages.

Similarities

(these similarities are mainly between Sugar and Billboard as Vibe is pretty boring and doesn't really have anything the same with the other two)

Mise en Scene - They have breif explainations of each story, the title "Contents", one main picture and sections.

Layout and style of language - They are all formal with a colour scheme and columns are used.

Music Genre Conventions - Bright colour themes are used with pictures with well known artists.

Special Features And Articles - Interviews with celebrities (In this case singers or band members)

Regular Sections -  Opinion (Billboard) and Write Here Write Now (Sugar)

Interesting Additions? - An Upfront Section

Differences

Mise en Scene - Vibe - Different position style for "contents" Billboard - 3 pictures in a row not placed with its story Sugar - Colour themed writing.

Layout and style of language - Vibe - One large background picture with one column Billboard - lots of columns Sugar -columns taking up most of the page

Music Genre Conventions - Vibe - Has a boring colour theme with only 1 picture Billboard - Has a "Number 1 Charts" column

Special Features And Articles - Vibe - Has a page for "Editors Letter" instead of actually being on the contents page itself.

Regular Sections - Billboard - Opinion, Marketplace, Over the counter, Market Watch, Charts, Executive turntable, backbeat, inside track Sugar -Write here write now

Interesting Additions? - Vibe - Different sections; Departments, Seen, V Style Billboard - Music and Homefront Section, "Number 1 Charts" column Sugar - The Team section, There is also a picture of the cover used.

 

Techniques used to make me read the whole magazine

• Use good pictures
• Have good brief information about the story
• Have a good colour scheme because if it is boring like the Vibe magazine, it will make me think the rest of the magazine is also boring.
• Have good sell lines
• Use one or two quotes from stories so I will want to know more about what has been said.
• Use good stories that will actually relate to the target audience e.g. don't have stories for young teenages if the magazine has a target audience of 45-60 year olds.

My Own Contents Page Should Include

-In this issue... (Brief paragraph explaining what there is to be read)

- Features Section

- Regulards Section

- Reviews Section

- The Editors Section

- Atleast 6 pictures

-Numbers on the pictures to show which story it goes to

- Brief explaination of each or most stories

- Main Picture

-Contents title

-Colour theme

-Write in and quiz section

- Feedback section

Contents Page Pictures

My finished pictures for my contents page which have had the background removed.

Feedback

Mr Jones asked the whole class to go to different peoples articles and write our opinion of it on a seperate peice of paper.


Here is what was written for mine:


-I like the title and how you've described her background clearly and how you've gone into detail about her life and the sentences we're put together well.


-I like the interviewer's reactions in the questions.


-I thought it was great how you introduced artists from the real music industry e.g. Harry Styles.

My second draft of my double page spread

LALA GONE GAGA

Laureena Davisia is a 17 year old girl who worked in nothing but a simple corner shop in her small hometown of Abergavenny after dropping out of school to earn a  little cash to help persue her dreams of becoming a big star in the music industry. She tells us all about her X Factor experience, her on-off relationship with Harry  Styles from One Direction and tells us about her obsession for Lady Gaga.

So, Mistress LaLa, we're all DYING to know about your relationship with heart-throb hottie Harry Styles, spill all!

-There's honestly not much to say, admittedly its hard keeping a relationship going when your're both in the music industry as you both go on seperate tours, have  seperate gigs to play at, and in different parts of the world. We're still strong, even though we've had our ups and downs. I honestly love him to bits. (giggles)

Aww, how sweet! How do you feel about his overflowing flock of female fans?

-I think its wonderful he has so many! Come on, what boy doesnt act more confident infront of women? Especially as you need a lot of confidence to be able to get up on  stage and sing and when girls scream his name, it gives him the right amount he needs.

Very supportive of you! Is he just the same with you?

-Definaitely! He understands just how hard it is to be a singer and how you need the support of your fans, he understands the space we need due to attending concerts  and going on tours but when we see each other, we value our time together.

Too cute! Your music career must be tough having hard faced Simon Cowell as a manager!

-(Gasps)Oh no! Not at all! He's the most softest man on the planet. Although he looks very hard faced, he's honestly not. He's been so supportive and had so much faith in my when I was on the X Factor and I proberably wouldn't have made it to 3rd place if I didn't have him as my mentor. He did scare me a little at first, but now we're close.

Wow! Softest? We're shocked! Has he introduced you to any A-list celebrities yet?

-Umm, quite a few actually! A fortnight ago, I attended Rihanna's birthday party. It was wild, Bubbles covered the floor, balloons fell from the ceiling, music blasted from each direction and Ed Sheeran sang a few songs for her. I met Ed, The Wanted, Chris Brown, Ne-Yo, Beyonce, Adele and obviously Rihanna.

How did you react when you met them?

-When I met the A-list stars, I had to keep very calm because all I wanted to do was scream, ask for their autograph and have a picture with them so I could post it on my facebook and rub my friends noses in  the fact that i've met the most amazing singers in the world! I'm like any other teenage girl really, I honestly don't feel like a star at all.

Well, you've certainly rubbed it in our noses! Anyway, lets move on. You are now 17, but what happened when you finished school?

-Oh, no! I didn't do too well in school due to my song wrtiting. I was always distracted from my lessons if I had a pen and piece of paper in my hand, I'd write song  after song, so I quit school as soon as I was able to and started working in my local corner shop, to save up a little bit of cash but it also gave me time to write  more songs.

You are very dedicated to writing music. You said you saved your money, what were you saving up for?

-Music has always been one of my top priorities and something I've deeply fallen in love with and wanted to base my life around. I always wanted to prove to people I'm  worthy enough to become a famous singer. I wanted to let everyone hear my songs which I've spent most of my school life writing. I also have a mad dress sense and the  outfits I wanted to create, it didn't come cheap.

You have certainly proved yourself! Your the second person in the music industry to have a very wild and crazy look, was Lady Gaga perhaps an inspiration you got your  style from?

-As obvious as it is, Lady Gaga is my inspiration. She is so passionate about her music and every song she has written has been amazing as I think everyone would agree  and I love her style, it's so weird and strange and no one understands it. Which is like me, I make my songs about my experiences and who I am so people can understand  me but then make my dress sense so weird that it gives me that little bit of mystery that only I understand about myself. I just simply hide my body behind my outfits  and spill my life story out in songs.

Although strange, Lady Gaga is a very inspirational woman. Any particular songs you like of hers?

-I love every single one of them, but my favourite has got to be You and I, as it's about how passionate she feels about someone else, like how I feel about Harry.

You seem to really understand music and the meanings behind the lyrics don't you?

-I do yes, its not just a beat and words thrown together and hope for the best, there is always a meaning behind each and every song, whether it is a simple meaning or  whether its someone's whole life, written down into verses.

You have a new album out FINALLY!

-(Laughs) Yes, my new album is called 'Like Everyone Else' because that's who I am. Just because my name is up in lights doesn't mean that I have to be treated any  differently. It has most of my songs on it from high school up until now.

Your picture doesn't look very mad and crazy though?

-I know, its a natural photo of who I am underneath all of my make up and cray clothing. Like everyone else.

I can't wait to listen to the album. Any last words before you go?

-I hope I don't dissappoint. Umm, yes, for readers who have read my story, no matter what your dream is, you can fulfil it, I did.

Mistress LaLa's album Like Everyone Else is released the 14th of January 2012

First Draft of My Double Page Spread

 LALA GONE GAGA

Laureena Davisia is a 17 year old girl who worked in nothing but a simple corner shop in her small hometown of Abergavenny after dropping out of school to earn a  little cash to help persue her dreams of becoming a big star in the music industry. She tells us all about her X Factor experience, her on-off relationship with Harry  Styles from One Direction and tells us about her obsession for Lady Gaga.

So, Mistress LaLa, we're all DYING to know about your relationship with heart-throb hottie Harry Styles, spill all!

-There's honestly not much to say, admittedly its hard keeping a relationship going when your're both in the music industry as you both go on seperate tours, have  seperate gigs to play at, and in different parts of the world. We're still strong, even though we've had our ups and downs. I honestly love him to bits. (giggles)

Aww, how sweet! How do you feel about his overflowing flock of female fans?

-I think its wonderful he has so many! Come on, what boy doesnt act more confident infront of women? Especially as you need a lot of confidence to be able to get up on  stage and sing and when girls scream his name, it gives him the right amount he needs.

Very supportive of you! Is he just the same with you?

-Definaitely! He understands just how hard it is to be a singer and how you need the support of your fans, he understands the space we need due to attending concerts  and going on tours but when we see each other, we value our time together.

Let's move on. You are now 17, but what happened when you finished school?

-Oh, no! I didn't do too well in school due to my song wrtiting. I was always distracted from my lessons if I had a pen and piece of paper in my hand, I'd write song  after song, so I quit school as soon as I was able to and started working in my local corner shop, to save up a little bit of cash but it also gave me time to write  more songs.

You are very dedicated to writing music. You said you saved your money, what were you saving up for?

-Music has always been one of my top priorities and something I've deeply fallen in love with and wanted to base my life around. I always wanted to prove to people I'm  worthy enough to become a famous singer. I wanted to let everyone hear my songs which I've spent most of my school life writing. I also have a mad dress sense and the  outfits I wanted to create, it didn't come cheap.

You have certainly proved yourself! Your the second person in the music industry to have a very wild and crazy look, was Lady Gaga perhaps an inspiration you got your  style from?

-As obvious as it is, Lady Gaga is my inspiration. She is so passionate about her music and every song she has written has been amazing as I think everyone would agree  and I love her style, it's so weird and strange and no one understands it. Which is like me, I make my songs about my experiences and who I am so people can understand  me but then make my dress sense so weird that it gives me that little bit of mystery that only I understand about myself. I just simply hide my body behind my outfits  and spill my life story out in songs.

Although strange, Lady Gaga is a very inspirational woman. Any particular songs you like of hers?

-I love every single one of them, but my favourite has got to be You and I, as it's about how passionate she feels about someone else, like how I feel about Harry.

You seem to really understand music and the meanings behind the lyrics don't you?

-I do yes, its not just a beat and words thrown together and hope for the best, there is always a meaning behind each and every song, whether it is a simple meaning or  whether its someone's whole life, written down into verses.

You have a new album out FINALLY!

-(Laughs) Yes, my new album is called 'Like Everyone Else' because that's who I am. Just because my name is up in lights doesn't mean that I have to be treated any  differently. It has most of my songs on it from high school up until now.

Your picture doesn't look very mad and crazy though?

-I know, its a natural photo of who I am underneath all of my make up and cray clothing. Like everyone else.

I can't wait to listen to the album. Any last words before you go?

-I hope I don't dissappoint. Umm, yes, for readers who have read my story, no matter what your dream is, you can fulfil it, I did.

Mistress LaLa's album Like Everyone Else is released the 14th of January 2012

Contents Pictures





With the three pictures above, I will remove the backgrounds and choose the best one to use for my contents page to advertise my free CD. I prefer the top one to the others.

With the three pictures above, I will also remove the back ground and see which one I prefer to advertise the headphones for sale with a christmas card from B.

With the two above, I havent fully decided which of each I'm going to advertise to sell. Either the JB purfume on its own or the whole box set, but I'm going to remove the back ground and also see which looks best.