Defined Target Audience - Rock Genre

I am going to be producing a Rock magazine for my selected target audience (18-26 year old's), for the magazine to appeal to this audience there should be dark colours and a large, bold masthead; I would want my masthead to have a look to it that fits the rock genre (shattered/distorted). The language used will have to be appropriate for the age range in my target audience, using slang and informal language to appeal to them.

Audience Research Questionnaire

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/14R_67E8kGfjsY6o8lGjo1B7352lIgMvclVAbx9UluPM/viewform?usp=send_form

Codes and Conventions of Rock Magazines

A typical rock magazine should include:

• Large, bold masthead to capture the attention of the audience.
• Fonts that are eye catching.
• Main image including dark clothing and little to no facial expressions.
• 'FREE' give away offers.
• Pull quotes from the artists.
• Colours like red, black, white, green (simplistic).
• Other bands featured (pictures).
• Barcode, issue number and price.
• mid-shot and eye level, looking at audience.
• Multiple images.

Similar Products - KERRANG! Double Page Spread Deconstruction

The left page of this magazine is mostly the image of a band playing, this is used as the background and blends in with the next page to make it more appealing to the audience. Quotes are also used in the double page spread, this makes the audience feel more involved as they have an insight in to what the band/artist is saying and how they are feeling, this quote is in large text and will catch the gaze of the audience as soon as they look start looking at the second page. The use of different images with different environments and instruments again gives the audience an insight into the lives of the band/artist in the rock genre and makes them feel involved, the lifestyle of the artists interests the audience. The images contain the band members constantly doing something about their work showing how dedicated they are and how passionate they are about the rock genre. There is a use of dark colours which links well with the rock genre along with the colour of red which indicates danger. The use of exclusive stories gives the audience an impression that they won't get this information anywhere else, the magazine stands out from the rest. Lastly on the top left of the double page spread is like a convergent link showing that the magazine is branching out into other areas of the media to obtain a wider audience, it also keeps the readers involved whilst they wait for the next issue to release. 

Similar Products - NME Magazine Contents Page Deconstruction

At the top of the page the name of the magazine is shown as it looks on the front cover; the audience will always see the 'NME' logo and will remember it when they see it again, they have familiarised themselves with the 'NME' logo. The logo and the text for the contents is large and bold and will be the first thing the audience sees, it has to be eye catching, appealing and will have to compliment the colour scheme. Everything throughout the contents page is ordered and neat and this is more appealing to the gaze of the audience. The image of the main band and the page it features on is dominant on the page,  this band may have been shown on the front cover and could be the reason why the audience bought it. The index on the left side of the page is for the audience to know what pages the stories are on. The picture in the middle looks as if it were taken by a fan, the audience can definitely relate to this as they are fans themselves, they would happen to take a lot of photos during concerts and this type of picture will draw them in. The language used can be seen as the sort used by teens, with words like tunes to represent songs and informal text. At the bottom right of the contents page is another showcase of the magazine trying to show the reader one of its more interesting articles, keeping the audience notified about cool features in their magazine. The colour scheme for this page is red, white and black, flashy or vibrant colours don't fit the genre that this magazine is based around (rock), it compliments it with red possibly meaning danger. The editor has also included a large subscription notice at the bottom of the page, this way the audience can continue to read their magazines, it has been made to stand out with the use of yellow and white on black.

Similar Products - Rock Sound Magazine Deconstruction

The Rock Sound title is large, bold and white standing out from the background, the 'R' also counts for the logo of the magazine, the audience will notice the logo first and recognise what type of magazine it is. There is a use of bright colours to catch the eye of the audience, it is predominantly blue as this particular band has a majority of male fans. They have used a mid shot of the lead singer of Foo Fighters 'Dave Grohl', he is looking at the audience, this is a direct address on the audience, making them feel involved. There is more text than pictures, this means the target audience would not necessarily be young, but young adults to adults (24-35 years old). The font for the Foo Fighters logo is the same as the one used by the band, this ensures that the audience will automatically notice that the band being featured is Foo Fighters. The language used would be appropriate for young adults, these includes 'epic', an older audience may know what the words mean but would not use them in their vocabulary. There is a convergent link on their logo in the top left of the magazine, this shows again that they have branched out to other areas of the media to appeal to another type of audience that may not read magazines. Dave Grohl is a popular artist known for being a lead singer at Foo Fighters and a drummer at Nirvana; most probably he has a massive fan base, this use of a rock idol such as himself on the front cover will attract a wide audience.

Similar Products - Classic Rock Magazine Deconstruction

The 'Classic Rock' magazine is aimed at older people (aged 30+) who had enjoyed rock music and various older rock bands when they were younger. The colour scheme used for this genre of magazine makes it look like an old movie, it has a vintage look to it which appeals to the audience of older people who enjoy rock music. The large masthead is very dominant and covers 1/4 of the page, also being at the top it will be the first thing the audience sees when they look at it from a magazine stand. There is only one picture on the magazine as it is solely focused on the Metallica artist, he is shown as a very important rock icon and this will surely capture the attention of their fans. The fact that the target audience is 30+ is backed up by the use of language, there is no use of slang in the magazine that could be seen in other magazines meant for a younger target audience; these include words like 'wtf ', 'wicked' or 'awesome'. The way in which the artist is standing portrays him as a god-like figure, this may be the way his fans see him and will want to buy a music magazine he features in. They show a puff in the shape of a guitar plectrum with 'FREE 15 TRACK CD INSIDE' and this is yellow which stands out and is eye-catching to the audience, this promotes the magazine and will make the audience want to buy it over other rock magazines, this of course gives it an advantage.

Similar Products - KERRANG! Magazine Deconstruction

The use of language in this magazine appeals to a teen and young adult audience with words like ‘awesome’. There is a direct mode of address as the rock icon (Billy Joe Armstrong) is looking right at the reader which makes them feel involved and the masthead is white and bold which stands out from the black background, it has a distorted and shattered look to it which fits the ‘rock n roll’ genre for this magazine; the audience will understand genre of magazine it is. It is a mid-shot of the rock icon wearing dark clothing, dark hair with a serious look on his face; as this can relate to the rock audience this look also links to the exclusive story where he talks about him feeling secluded. There is a lot of photos as opposed to the text which appeals to the teen audience whom may not want to read a lot. The photo of the Green Day lead singer is dominant in this magazine, this is effective because he is a very popular icon in the rock industry and he will be the first thing that the audience will see in the shop. At the bottom of the cover is a list of other rock bands that will reach out to other people in the rock audience that have different interests, and there are 5 posters of other bands that must come free with the magazine, this appeals to any audience. The dark background makes all of the text stand out, the typography is bold and some of the text is distorted or has a damaged look to it which again fits the rock genre, therefore, addressing the reader. The lighting in the front cover is light just behind the rock icon to highlight his body but the dark background compliments the mood of the main story about being secluded. ‘KERRANG!’ is relevant to the rock genre as it sounds like the crashing of symbols on a drum. There is also a convergent link on the magazine about the 'KERRANG! awards' which shows that the magazine has developed and shows that they are reaching out to other areas of the media, this means that if their audience may not read magazines that they could watch it on the TV.

Audience Research for Music Magazines

Primary Research

Primary research is a collection of information that you have gathered yourself be it through questionnaires, surveys, focus groups or interviews. You will know that all of the information you have gathered is correct.

Secondary Research

This is the opposite to primary research, it is information found in magazines or on the internet which would have been gathered by someone else in the past. Secondary research helps you find information that you may not have been able to find with your own primary research.

Qualitative and Quantitative Research

Quantitative research generates numerical data or information that can be converted into numbers like 'yes or no' questions (closed questions), this type of research is conclusive as it is narrow and focused. Qualitative research is non numerical data that asks open questions, this type of research is more exploratory and creates a broad hypothesis where you can see the bigger picture.

Qualitative research would be focus groups, non-structured interviews or in-depth interviews, whereas, quantitative research could be questionnaires or surveys.

Focus Groups

This is a form of qualitative research in which a group of people are asked about their opinions, beliefs and perceptions on a product or idea.

Surveys

Surveys are questionnaires sent to people, usually in the form of quantitative research that uses closed questions ('yes or no' questions) to create a conclusive set of data.

All of these areas of research are very important, when they are used they will give someone information they need in order to know who they are making their product for or who their target audience is. This ensures that their product will reach out and grab the attention of the target audience they wish to look at their product.

Peer Feedback

Oliver Riches - "I like the title as it can appeal to both genders of the audience buying the magazine due to the pink and blue colours, also the title is bold and has a clear white outline which shows on the background well. Secondly, i like the images on the left side over and under lapping each other i think it looks great and is very effective as it shows the students in the school itself however you should also get some pictures of the school life as it doesn't show very much of what the school is like. You should also put some more information of what's inside the magazine as there is only a few on the magazine. "

Final Copy Of College/Sixth Form Magazine

I had not made many major changes to my front cover but was given criticism by Dima and Ollie to make the text a lot larger and to change the colours and font. The previous picture I used was also used by another student so I had to remove it start again with a different one. The colour scheme I went with in the masthead was blue and purple; I believed this would appeal to a male and female audience. There was a 'splat' that I placed near the masthead, the shadow makes it stand out from the background more and this I believe this is effective because it says that there will be a 'Free Revision CD Inside' which will capture the attention of students as it is relevant to studying and school. 

The issue number and the selling line are much smaller than the masthead as they are not as important, I included a range of pictures of the students outside of the school to fill in the gap on the left side of the magazine and to add more variety with the pictures I used. I had blurred out the background so the audience would pay more attention to the student rather than what is behind him; this makes sure the audience sees him first and could relate to him. The colours and fonts I used on the cover lines and main cover line helps it stand out from the background, I didn't want the colour scheme to be too simple as I thought it would have made my cover look bland. 

Flat Plans + Photo Ideas

In the rough plan of the cover I needed a mid-shot of a student and I took a range of shots using a camera and a phone, I followed this same plan throughout the production of my magazine cover. Here are my range of shots that I took for my magazine:

The preliminary stated that the shots had to be mid-shots, I took many mid-shots outside of the school, even though I took the pictures so the school would be present in the background I believed that the shot of the student wearing a typical sixth form/college uniform was enough for the audience to relate to the student and realise what the purpose of the magazine was.

Some of these shots had been used already but I used the shot where the students were looking down at the camera, this means that the audience will look up to the students like a role model.

Skills Audit

STRENGTHS:

• Photoshop
• Camera Work
• Understanding of Target Audience

WEAKNESSES:

• Editing
• Time Management

Social Grading Scale

Audience:

An individual or collective group of people who read or consume any media text e.g. radio listeners, television viewers, newspaper and magazine readers, web traffic on websites.

Media producers want to know the age, gender, race, location and by this method of categorising it is known as demographic, once they know this; they can begin to shape their text to appeal to a group with known reading/viewing/listening habits.

Why are audiences so important?

Without audiences the media would be pointless as the media organisations produce media texts to make profit. The mass media is becoming more competitive than ever to attract more and more audiences in different ways and stay profitable.

Types of audience:

Mass audience - often called ‘broadcast audience’. Those who consume mainstream or popular texts such as soaps or sitcoms. Media and communication that target a very large group.

Niche audience - much smaller but very influential. A niche audience is a small, select group of people with a unique interest in the media.

Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy Needs

Maslow's hierarchy of needs is often portrayed in the shape of a pyramid with the largest, most fundamental levels of needs at the bottom and the need for self-actualisation at the top.

This is very useful for research on audiences as the media institutions may use these tiers to relate to an audience and apply products to appeal to the needs of the people according to the hierarchy.

Deconstructions of Two College Magazines

The masthead is in large, bold letters and the yellow text stands out on the black background and draws the readers in and makes them read it first. The subject on the front page is a young man and he symbolises a student, he also holds textbooks in his hand and the audience can relate to him, the dark background keeps the attention of the audience on him. The pink splat on the page is eye catching and draws the attention of the reader in. Different colour cell lines also stand out from the black background. The subject has the light behind him and it highlights his body making him look more important. This is the same with the size of the text as the most important parts are larger than the others, such as the barcode and the issue number. This looks like a magazine for the student who cares about lifestyle and fashion.

The text is also large and bold, the girl is wearing a red shirt and the masthead is also bright red, it is a dominant colour and stands out well on the page. The girl is young and symbolises a student just like the man on the previous cover, it is a mid shot and the background behind her is blurry and this makes her stand out more and she is most of what the audience can see on the picture. The colour scheme is red, blue and black and it closely resembles what she is wearing, this makes the cover look more co ordinated. The cell lines include some interesting stories and that will draw the audience in and will make them want to read the articles.

Introduction to Media Studies Blog

I have chosen a simple background and colour scheme for my blog. I didn't want it to be too vibrant so I used a black and white colour scheme with a picture of film/photography setting, this links with the media course as film and photography obviously play big parts in the media.