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

It would make sense to have my magazine distributed by the school since it is after a school magazine. This means that the distribution would be an independent company and therefore would most likely be funded by the school. 

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My chosen social group is 16-18 year olds and I think because I didn't have an image of a person, but rather an inanimate object on the front cover, it doesn't put off different races from purchasing the magazine so I think that went well. However, I've used a few stereotypical articles: one of which is my feature (it focuses on appearance) and the other by using sport to draw in the male readers. 

I think that my magazine has a positive representation of this social group because I personally can't find anything that would make the public view the students in a negative way. 

How do you attract/address your audience?

The reason I chose to opt for a red rather than green apple is because it appeared to be more appealing to the eye and red was an easier colour to compliment other colours (e.g orange, blue, black and white). Also, I don't think that red is either a feminine or masculine colour so it falls nicely in between both genders. My feature article 'Mirror, Mirror...' is a similar shade of red to the main image - this shows the readers that the image links to that particular headline (its also the largest font so that gives it away).

Issues of 'Red' magazine

The use of the colour white compliments the background image colours (red & dark brown). I wanted the title of the magazine to be visible since it is the first issue and as an editor, you want the name to stick in people's minds so they would get copies of later issues. However, the colour of the title wouldn't always stay the same like it does in the other magazines. For example 'Red' magazine which focuses on food, beauty and fashion, and on every front cover, they have the same font and same colour scheme. I think that though this is a good and distinctive way to draw in your audience since the readers are used to look for a particular colour, I think that at times red can clash with certain colour so changing the title colours plays a key role in appearance. As you can see in the first issue above with Emma Bunton, the red and pink don't compliment each other and clash. That's why with my magazine, I would change the title's colour so they match the rest of the colour scheme.
I chose to opt for an orange colour in 'Fall Fashion' because I think most people associate this colour with autumn. It also compliments the colour of the apple and stands out from the background. However, I don't think the orange goes with the bright blue on the right. If I could edit the magazine, I would go for a darker blue, but if I go for that, then it would be hard to see because the background is the dark and therefore that would be a dilemma. I think then the last option would be to have a light border around the lettering to make it stand out more.
My tagline for 'Fall Fashion' is 'stay warm, stay smart' and the reason as to why I went for a colour that almost blends with the background is because in a way it also stands out. The colour also compliments place where the magazine is set.

Contents of 'Verified'

I wanted to continue the same colour scheme of the front cover to the contents page. Having coloured paper for a magazine is expensive in reality, but I thought that white for this magazine was too bland and made it look like a newspaper article rather than a magazine. The colour of 'facts first' blends in more than in does on the front cover. I think the obvious choice would be to go for a darker shade to make it more visible. The colour of the numbers and words compliment the sidebar images which are taken front the front cover. However, I think the bright white from the image is too bright and if I could re-do it, I would make it a bit dimmer. The colour scheme of the contents page again would draw in more of the female readers rather than male.

August & October contents page of 'The Student Magazine'

If 'Verfied' was to have further issues, I would want the layout to be the same - including the font type and where the pictures go. I researched some other contents pages and across 'The Student Magazine,' which is an online magazine. In their last issue, the font of 'This month' was a lot different that the current issue. It seems as if the magazine is still trying to find what looks best. However, since it is only the second issue that I have come across, it might be a 'thing' that they do in every issue where they change it around. I think their use of relevant pictures is good and it doesn't come across as messy at all. Also, what I like it that although they changed the font of 'This month,' they have kept the same layout of where the images go. I think compared to this magazine, my own content page looks very boring and leaning towards a much older demographic rather than 16-18 year olds. The colour scheme too is consistent in both issues, however, the change of font in the numbers section is quite annoying. I think that they should just choose one font because constant change might confuse the reader.

Who would be the audience of your media product?

Front Cover of 'Verified'

Name: Verified

Type: Sixth Form Magazine

Age: The target age of my magazine would be 16-18 year olds because it's a sixth form magazine. Bearing that in mind, I had to make sure that my content included articles that this age group would be interested in reading - this also had to be reflected in the front cover since its the first thing that people look at. My feature article is called 'Mirror, Mirror...' which focuses on appearance and how society and the media have made us believe that there should be an 'ideal' appearance. This would appeal to 16-18 year olds because I think that they are more concious of how they look but at the same time know that society and media have a role to play in this. 

Gender: The gender that this magazine is mainly aiming at are females because I think that they are an easily pleased demographic where as its hard to think of an interesting topic for males to read without mentioning sports or other stereotypical things. However, I think that my feature article might interest some guys too since it could be argued that it is a 'controversial' issue and everyone has a view on it. Despite the colour of 'Mirror, Mirror...' being red, it isn't what you would call a feminine shade so that could draw in the wider audience, which in this case would be males. I also made sure the colour had something that would perhaps interest guys too so therefore I went for light blue for 'Success Stories' and under that, I mentioned David Beckham because I thought that showing that the magazine also does sport will appeal to them. I was originally going to put Alan Sugar under this heading since it would also interest females too but I thought that it would sound too broad and not obvious to a wider demographic so therefore I opted for an obvious, if not stereotypical, choice.

Latest issues of 'Vogue' and 'Elle'

Class: There isn't a set class for this magazine, however, the font seems quite traditional and fancy as the font is 'serif' - something you may see on the cover of Vogue or Elle magazine, gives off the message that if this magazine was found on a news stand, it wouldn't come cheap.  Also, due to this traditional font, it gives off the impression that perhaps its suited more to an older audience (much like the magazines on the right), however, the content contradicts that as its focuses more on the younger demographic (again like the magazines on the right). 

Race/Ethnicity: Unlike magazines such as Vogue and Elle who rarely have a celebrity of a different race other than white, Verified does not focus on race or ethnicity because the magazine believes in equality and if it did have a face of a particular race, it would contradict my feature article which ironically is about appearances. The use of an inanimate object shows that my magazine is not centred around a certain race but rather is for everyone, regardless of it.

Profession: The profession of my target audience would be students. Also, since it would be a free magazine (though with adverts due to the need of funding), it would be accessible to students who don't have a part time job - the fact that it would be free also means that they don't need to ask parents for money in order to purchase the magazine. 

Lifestyle (hobbies and interests): From the magazine front cover, the typical hobbies and interests that my target audience would have is: to have an interest in fashion, sports and controversial issues (feature article: appearance). They would also need to have some interest in achievement (Success Stories) and celebrity (David Beckham; also in the content, it mentions Alan Sugar & Rita Ora). Other hobbies should include watching movies and TV shows, as well as music (this would be found in 'Off the Record').

Youth Tribe: I don't think that my magazine reflects any stereotypical views on youth culture. However, the fact that I used David Beckham, who is a footballer, to draw in more male readers, shows that I may have followed that route. 

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (consider images, fonts, layout and language).

Images & Colour.

The images used for my magazine are simple, but also effective. On the front cover, I have a simple image of an apple which is a part of my feature article. Its also associated with the ideology of students giving their teacher an apple which I thought tied in nicely since it is after all a student magazine. The colour scheme of the image is a lot more feminine and I know that this means it will probably mean that it won't draw in many male readers, but I think that its a risk that as editor you must take because if it works, it will work well but if not, at least you experimented with different colour schemes and therefore now know what the readers think works and what doesn't. 

I didn't use images for my contents page which made it look very bland but at the time of creating it, I felt like I didn't know how I wanted the images to be laid out so I thought I'd go for a 'minimalistic' look for the time being because I didn't want there to be too much, but it turns out I had put too little. However, I did add a cut section from the front cover which I thought would give it more of an 'edge' but it didn't and made it look unprofessional - I think if I had placed it towards the title of the magazine, it would look a lot better.

The feature article again very simplistic and minimalist but I think the fact that I kept to the same colour scheme made up for it. Again, I should have used a lot more pictures but I think because of my feature article, it was hard to find people who were willing to have their pictures taken once they found out what the article was about.

The School magazines for 'Hampton School'

The reason as to why I didn't have an image of a person or a student on my front cover is because I didn't think it would tie in with my feature article and it may put off some readers if they see that a certain race is on the front cover. However, I'm aware that I should have placed a student on the front cover to make it more obvious that it is after a student magazine, and then in later issues, I could experiment with other images such as the image I have originally put on my front cover.
I researched a school magazine which featured people or some other way to tell that it is a school magazine. The image on the left is of the school's building which is a clear suggestion that the magazine is aimed at students - however, this would be harder to distribute around other schools since its centered around a particular school where as I think mine would reach a wider market since it does not have a specificly set school. The magazine on the left is from the same school but aimed towards the lower school - this is clearly shown because of the people on the front cover are most likely year sevens. This is an interesting thing to do because its clear to even people who stumble across their magazine/website that the target demographic is for the younger people. I think I might try to use something along those lines in my music magazine to show that the magazine does not have a wide spread audience but rather a set target market. 

Fonts & Colour.

Current issues of 'Vogue' and 'Elle'

The font used for the title of my magazine is called 'Edition,' it was downloaded from a website because I didn't like the other fonts that were on offer and opted for something different (click here to view the font). The reason as to why I went for the white shade is because it complimented the image and stood out from the page. The font used for the front cover was Times New Roman; I wanted to continue the serif fonts throughout. I went for a more traditional font because I think it was more easy and appealing on the idea. However, I realized that these fonts are normally used on women's fashion magazines such as Vogue & Elle so that again would put off any male readers as its leaning more towards the feminine side. I think if I wanted to show that its for people aged 16-18, I need to add a big of a modern twist to the stylisation of the fonts. For example, Teen Vogue, though still aimed towards the more female demographic, shows that its for younger readers, because one side of the title is modern where as the other is traditional to show that its a part of the same 'parent company,' which in this case is Vogue. I think if I were to re-do my student magazine, I would do a similar style to what Teen Vogue does in order to show that its target audience is in fact younger people, however, in order to do that, I think I would need to think of a better name so that there can be two colours. Also, I would make sure that the font and colour draws in the male readers too. 

In regards to the font and colour of the contents and feature article, they are both the same and the fonts are continued from the front cover to show consistency. However, I think that if I'm going to be changing the font of the title, then I would need to take that into consideration when I complete my feature and contents page.

Layout & Language.

My aim for the layout of the front page was to make it easy on the eye and to not overdo something in a certain area of the magazine. The problem with the layout was that whilst the right side of the magazine was in line, the same can't be said for the left. The title of the feature article and the magazine itself were in line, but 'Fall Fashion' was leaning more towards the edge of the magazine - I could have moved it so it seemed professional, however, if I had moved it to the left, it would have gone on the mirror and I didn't want there to be anything on it, apart from the title of the magazine. 

The layout of my contents page as too simple - I think I should have gone more 'out' when it came to it. Again, I think the problem was the lack of images. 

For the layout of my feature article, I think all my paragraphs are in line with each other, and I took into consideration as to where the page would be folded and left a gap in the middle of the article. 

The language of the front cover, content and feature are all same - its simple for my target demographic to read. However, I don't think that there are any slang words so it appears to be more professional.

Normally magazines have a barcode, but I don't have since its a sixth form magazine and this is a unneeded feature for this type of magazine as its free. I haven't stuck to the '3 colours only' rule as I have 4, but I think that they all compliment each other so its not that big of a problem. Also, like many magazines, I have made sure that my main image is relevant to my feature article.
Furthermore, though in my feature article I have used a third party image (a picture of Elle magazine), I did put 'courtesy of Elle magazine' which suggests that I'm aware that those images aren't mine. However, for the music magazine, I wouldn't risk putting third party content because I need to make sure that all contents is my work. 

Front Cover of 'Verified'

Content of 'Verified'

Feature Article of 'Verified'

Evaluation of the JUST DANCE music video by Lady Gaga.

The Just Dance music video gives off the impression that no matter what is happening, such as losing keys or being drunk, you should, as the title says, just dance. A Marxist would sat that the video is trying to influence the public to aspire to become one of them rather than revolt. They may also say that the video message is that as long as you have money and live a luxurious life style, you can have fun and live in a 'Utopia' world.
There is a sense of utopia, a perfect world, as you don't find neighbours complaining about the noise and police telling them off for being disruptive, money is clearly not an issue and there is a sense of community (no one is arguing, just having fun).
There are several feminist views that can be made on this music video. Firstly, the intertext of 'Playboy' could provoke feminists to think that that reference gives a negative view of women since they are thought of being sexual objects - which also links to when the man handcuffs the woman. They would have an oppositional reading to this media text because its not portraying women in a positive way. An example would be that the lyrics in fact say 'checking out the catalogue', this suggests that he can just take his pick and choose whoever pleases his eye. This again links to the idea that women are portrayed as objects.

There is also a lot of Americanisation. Examples include animal college mascot heads, red cups and the pool scene. Almost everyone outside of America does not have these sort of traditions but we know this because almost 99% of the media we absorb is American.

There are also plenty of preferences to materialistic things such as having champagne rather than beer and in the opening scene, Lady Gaga arrives in a limousine.This suggests that without all these things, we wouldn't be able to enjoy ourselves - money is the key to happiness.

This music video also features postmordernism such as the self awareness of 'Gaga' in the beginning of the song.