Q1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms
and conventions of real media products?
I would say that overall I have definitely challenged
the conventions of current media products, the only thing I’ve consistently found
from my analysis of existing media conventions is that they’ve shown me what
my target audience don’t want and don’t find appealing, so they’ve helped mould
my magazine as much if not more than anything else. The
existing conventions in a way actually gave birth to my developments and
various strides away from them in order to strengthen the identity of my own
magazine.
The first convention I wished to challenge was that
despite there being rock bands present in my magazine, I was going to refuse to
have any instruments or musical equipment present in any of the images – the
only exception being a microphone taped to a gun, a statement about the music
industry's decline in part (symbolism and metaphor are things that my audience,
who are very "into" the arts, like to see and I’ve had very positive feedback about it). I
made this choice because I felt the use of instruments seemed too much like
posing; I wanted the pictures to feel more natural, more about the musicians
themselves as opposed to their instruments. I also felt that instruments tend
to clutter pictures of rock bands, so I wanted to avoid them for
aesthetic reasons as well.
On the front cover I decided to choose a close up of
my cover star (Dave Sticks) in profile, challenging the existing motif of the
medium close up as the stable shot for a magazine front cover, something that
my target audience appreciate not only because they feel it looks attractive,
but also because it’s rebelling against the norm. The idea behind the magazine
has been to make something that’s completely original and different right from
the front cover, rebelling against convention; going against the current is
the defining feature of underground music and therefore I wanted to build my magazine
around this concept from the outset because it’s the subculture I’m focusing on. I have read
several comments from my target audience saying that if more magazines were
like this they’d start investing in print again, quite a feat considering
some of the scathing remarks made about music magazines in response to my
questionnaire.
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| A conventional shot for a front cover |
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| My cover |
There are of course subtler challenges to the status-quo of music magazine, little touches for example on the contents page, instead of having what’s referred to in the magazine industry as "white space" behind the text and images, I decided to have "black space" instead. I also decided to have a lot of heavy colours in the contents page solely because it’s something that rarely happens in music magazines. Again, this was all done to strengthen and define the identity of my magazine and to please my demographic.
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| Note the Difference between this contents page |
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| And this one. I also decided against putting my title block in the magazine because I felt my audience would start to see my magazine as a brand with labels if i did. Of course my magazine is a brand, but it's supposed to be subtler than current music magazines, the brand element should be understated |
The ultimate challenge towards codes and conventions can be found when looking at my Streakers double page spread. I did away with the rule of thirds and instead decided that symmetry was going to be what I constructed my design around, a mirrored contrast to reflect the parting of the band. The spread is so different from any other double page spread on the market: it’s hectic, loud, colourful, very "in your face", especially compared to the other double page spread I’ve submitted which still challenges the codes and conventions of how women in particular are viewed in music magazines,( my choice not to air brush the model's face was an attempt to take a stand against the polished, "sexy, perfect" female artists usually found in music magazines and it is a challenge that has been applauded by my audience). The Paper to Ashes double page spread clearly fits the rule of thirds and wouldn’t look out of place in a bog-standard music magazine like "NME" or "Vibe". Despite my subtle tweaks, however, this more conventional spread would most definitely be an exception in my music magazine: in part I created it to better illustrate that I do understand and can abide by the conventions of music magazines, but I’m choosing not to because my target audience don’t want me to and because it just doesn’t mesh with the identity of the magazine.
The Streakers double page spread also looks so
different, so rebellious, because the band I’m covering are different and
rebellious: they’re a Noise Rock band, they like breaking the rules, they like
standing out. Individuality is key to their identity, as it is to my magazine,
so the two reasons coincide nicely. The choice of layout in terms of using a
butterfly gatefold was also done because it’s a very different approach to
double page spreads, and also in order to help the article stand out more when
readers are leafing through the magazine, after all, this is the piece of work
that I feel best represents the spirit of my magazine and will be the piece the
audience will be happiest to see.
The fact that I also used the contrast of orange and
blue as a way to illustrate the split between the two halves of the duo is, from
what I’ve seen, a fairly novel approach in music magazines, in fact I’ve had
feedback saying that this was a technique that people would expect to see in film or art
as opposed to an article in a music magazine. That said they did like the
novelty of the approach and thought it paid off. Others have said similar
things.
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| the Background to my double page spread |
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| the outer shell of my double page spread - note the fact that the contrast is constantly there |
Also, the use of what I call my "echo technique" is
highly unconventional in terms of music magazine photography. What I did essentially,
in Photoshop, was make a copy of the picture I was using, crop it, make it
slightly transparent and then place it on top of the base picture slightly off
centre to create an almost visual reverb. Clean photography is usually the norm
in music magazines, so this I felt was another brave break away from
conventions, done not only for the sake of rebelling and aesthetics, but as a way
to help the reader get a feel for what the band sound like through the visual image.
It looks hazy, noisy, bright, off-kilter, unique. And, yet again, I’d say that
the band is an extension of the magazine’s identity.
There are actually conventions I haven’t challenged
whatsoever during this process. I’ve constructed and used musicians that are
extensions of the magazine’s identity, in the same way that all magazines seem
to do ("Kerrang" choosing leather clad metal groups is a good example of this).
I’ve also still got a masthead at the top of the page, though admittedly mine
is based in a circle as opposed to just being block letters (I feel that’s more of a
development of a convention). There are also other times when conventions
have cropped up: I still have an issue number on my contents page, I still used
standard fonts for the majority of the text. These conventions were followed
because,quite simply, my audience didn’t mind if they weren’t challenged because
they are needed in order to follow the magazine coherently. I
know "Uncharted" has non-conformity at its core, but I didn’t think there was any
need to be non-conformist just for the sake of it, challenging rules that don’t need to be
challenged and that my target audience aren’t bothered by.
I will end this answer the way I started it however,
saying that although there are instances where I’ve used and included
conventional aspects of music magazine design, on the whole I have challenged
them more than followed them, and that was the point of my magazine. My
audience wanted something new, creative, innovative, unique. And so I provided
them with it.
Q2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
I’ve constantly discussed this aspect
throughout my blog at various stages, a central theme in my writings is that
I’m creating a magazine for a demographic that is currently not being catered
to by music magazines, the "Uncharted" reader has a lot of needs that I’ve been
constantly working to address, and I had to ensure, since the
audience see the magazine as an extension of their culture, that I consistently represented
them as they wanted to be seen by the public.
I do challenge the views of other social groups in
passing (as I said as part of my response to Q1 the portrayal of women as merely
pretty objects to be gawped at) and in some ways I support the stereotypes of
others (the young Streakers frontman is a drug-addled, violent punk in essence
even though in my images he doesn’t look like one, the text on the double page
tells a very different story). All of this is completely secondary though,
because what I was really concerning myself with was trying to make the
magazine an extension of my audience's underground subculture. So
everything, from the general design to the way the images look and what they
mean right down to the way the articles are written, has been done in order to
better represent an audience not spoken for in the mainstream music press. The
reason I’ve used every aspect of my magazine to represent my audience as opposed
to merely using an artist in a couple of pictures is because I wanted my
audience to feel connected to the magazine, I wanted it to feel like every
aspect of the magazine was like them. This is a good way to build up a loyal
readership.
You can read more regarding my answers to this
question at this blog post where I give my rational behind the images in terms
of props and clothing. I will say now briefly the reason why each artist is depicted as
straight-faced is because my target audience typically take themselves very
seriously and I wanted the artists to reflect this. Also in the case of genre
motifs (the Streakers are a gloomy Noise Rock band and Iconoclast Inc is a
Shoegazer) the idea of the artist looking glum is a classic image and
completely in keeping with what the genres are about:
Q3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product
and why?
I actually wouldn’t want a media institution to
distribute my magazine at all because I think that if I were to elect to do
that I would be completely going against everything that the magazine is about.
It’s about rebellion, it’s about individuality, it’s about complete freedom:
"Uncharted" have a DIY approach to distribution. Being shackled to a big
conglomerate would make "Uncharted’s" identity look like nothing more than a cheap
gimmick to get would-be rebels to buy the product. Of course the magazine would
be sold rather than given away, there would be a bar code, it would be placed in shops, but only local
news agents, and in independent record and book shops. It would also be available
in clubs that the target audience frequent. The magazine would not be stocked
in chain stores or supermarkets for the same reason that the magazine would not
be a part of a big publishing firm, because cooperating with a big establishment
goes against the ethos of the magazine and the readership. If the readers thought
the magazine has "sold out", they wouldn’t buy it anymore and the magazine would
close all together, something that the magazine would want to avoid at all
costs.
Subscriptions would be encouraged and for an additional fee the
magazine could be delivered and printed slightly ahead of the press release date for
subscribers. I would opt for "Uncharted" to be printed independently and to be
run at just above production cost prices, admittedly that would leave the magazine
with little room for expansion at the rate of a magazine with a lot of
financial backing, but provided word spread about the magazine, demand would
increase, profits could creep higher, more printing presses could be utilised,
and expansion could happen. I understand that for most magazines and most businesses
money is central to the creators, but for my magazine the money is only
important because it keeps the presses running and keeps good music out there
in print. The financial side, as long as the magazine isn’t making a loss, is
pretty much irrelevant: the magazine is made by and for people who care about
music, not with vast amounts of money in their wallet.
Q4.Who would be the audience for your media product?
I
feel my reader profile pretty much summaries my audience: someone in their late
teens to their late 20s, a middle class humanities student, very interested in
all genres of underground music, very "into" individuality, anti-mainstream,
extremely opinionated, techno-savvy, club-going, mostly but not always into
retro clothing, interested in alternate cinema and cult classic literature. The
magazine isn’t gender specific and I imagine as many women would read the
magazine as men since the music is what’s important to this audience.
Q5. How did you attract/address your audience?
The title block and how the various connotations
interact with my audience can be found here:
The central theme of this evaluation and my thoughts
going into this magazine has been communicating with my audience in an
effective way. At various points in my images I reference music videos and
films that they would be familiar with (the contrasts in the Streakers double
page spread is inspired by a music video to Kerosene
by the Crystal Castles and various scenes from David Lynch films like Wild at Heart or Twin Peaks), either that or they are shot in such a way that the
audience would find them pleasing to the eye. I also reference in the text
bands and artists the audience would be familiar with and like, such as Lush or Grimes. This
would make a member of the audience want to buy the magazine because already
they feel like they’ve found a magazine with an identity that suits theirs, a
magazine that speaks to them about their music and their films and has the sort
of artwork they like to see. This is, taking " Kerrang" in particular as an
example, how magazines develop a strong niche market.
And the language used in the cover lines, although
there are no colloquialisms used, does catch the audience’s eye because they
would know who the people being mentioned were and they’d be interested in
finding out about them. My reasoning for not using slang is that by and large
this audience don’t have any colloquialisms that seemed appropriate for the
magazine, so quite simply they just don’t feature in the magazine.
In terms of a central font for sub headings I wanted
to choose a text with a lot of static about it, but something that was still
readable and discreet enough not to detract from the rest of the
magazine. I chose Earthquake because I felt it met the criteria well: it’s
distinct, unique, but understated. My audience would appreciate this attention
to detail and it would encourage them to make a purchase for mainly superficial
reasons but also because I think they’ll recognise and admire the amount of care that has
gone into crafting the issue.
I’ve discussed my rationale for the clothing selected in detail in the blog below – I would like to add that my audience, although not as superficial as
say the audience of a magazine like "Vibe", do have their own idea of what cool
looks like and their idea of cool isn’t determined by what the people wear or
what they look like as such, but more by the statement they’re making when they
wear it – if they like the statement, they’ll probably be more likely to buy
the magazine:
Q6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of
constructing this product?
I
have become infinitely better versed in photography as an art form as a result
of this project and have learned to use an SLR, changing out lenses and filters
to suit my aims. I’ve had to learn how to do this in order to reach the
standard my audience expected me to reach and to reach the standard I desired. I’ve become adept at using Photoshop and PhotoScape (which I favoured for the
editing of the pictures in isolation if I’m honest due to the comparative ease of the process)
for the same reason, teaching myself via tutorials and trial and error about
what a change in saturation, a tweak in colour balance, or use of a
particular distort will do to an image.
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| A Print screen from photoscape, this is me mid way through editing my a picture for the contents page, i grey scaled it so i could colourise it, at this point i'm still trying to figure out a colour |
As I went on using both programs during my
production, it became clear to me that even though I’d initially gone into using
these programs to create my work as a techno-sceptic, worrying about how
technology was cheapening the creative process, I discovered that there are near infinite
possibilities as to what you can achieve with these programs once you discover the possibilities of what each tool can do. It did feel restricting until I had the programs
under control, and there were moments of sheer frustration
during the design where a layer would mysteriously vanish or the image on
Photoshop would save itself as a JPEG meaning I had to start over. I was very
happy using it looking back now though, and I can definitely see why these
programs are used by actual magazine designers, I did things that would never
have been possible or would have been very difficult to do as a student under normal conditions, like the echo technique that I mentioned
earlier: without a computer I'd never have been able to make that image transparent and I would never have
created that effect. This is how it was done:
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| this is the base image before i have added the effect - i needed to crop the image and then superimpose it over this image |
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| this is the picture mid way through cropping |
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| this is the cropped image - now i have to add it as a layer over the base image |
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| this is the image being added as a layer over the base image, i have resized it and am working out what level of transparency will look best |
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| this is the completed image that can be found on the outer leaf of the butterfly gatefold double page spread - this technique was used for all of the images of the artists featured on the spread |
Fortunately my design didn’t require vast amounts of
complex Photoshop work for the most part, I didn’t need to cut the models out
of their backgrounds for instance because I’d chosen their backgrounds
specifically before taking the photographs (an approach used by music magazines before the digital age that i felt brought some extra authentisity to my magazine and one that again was going against the current Photoshop-crazed trends), and luckily I was able to take pictures that I didn’t need to use
tools like clone brushes on (a tool I find very tricky to use) because one of
the things that my audience wanted my work to be was as stripped back and as
close to the original images as possible because my audience tend to blame the fake
feel of the music press on an overuse of editing software so I tried my best to
avoid that.
Q7. Looking back at the preliminary task what do you feel you have
learnt in the progression from it to a full product?
I
think it’s fair to say that the preliminary task was a great learning curve for
me. When I did it at first I was completely disorganised, I didn’t have my own
equipment, I didn’t really have a plan for what I wanted to do or why beyond
the obvious, I didn’t know how to direct photography (I’d hardly ever even picked up
a camera before) or actors, I didn’t really have a clue how to edit or use Photoshop.
I made all of my mistakes on my preliminary task, but I’m grateful for it
because when the main task came around I knew exactly what I had to do. I took
charge, I made a very detailed plan of action about what my magazine
was going to be like and why.
I
bought my own camera, I invested in editing software at home (Photoshop and
PhotoScape), I picked my models carefully for my pictures. Every detail was
thought out because I wanted to do my idea justice and do myself justice. Time
management was not much of an issue for me this time around, all work, although
submitted later in chunks to my blog, was done in Microsoft Word on time and up
to the required standards. I tried to shoot as much of my photography in school
as possible since that seemed to be the best place to work with my actors, but
I made good use of what I had to work with in terms of location by scouting
around to find buildings that could be used to create something that fitted in
with my magazine’s identity and my audience’s requirements.
This
time my photography was a lot better, a lot more stylised: I’d looked into rock
photography a great deal, I’d looked around and studied the sort of film/art
that my audience were interested in and tried to incorporate that into my work
as best as I could and to a large degree I’m happy to say I believe it was
successful. My ideas came mainly from what my audience’s tastes were as opposed
to anything else, I just moulded their tastes into images and pages I thought
would work well. My audience wanted bold, surrealistic, original and dynamic
images and a unique, completely niche feel (the questionnaire confirming all of
this, which I had only guessed at beforehand going by my own tastes – I am after all
a member of my target audience). The audience’s needs influenced every tweak,
every click, every filter, every word that led up to my completed product
because as I keep saying this magazine, like all magazines, caters to its
audience first and foremost, and builds an identity from that.
There
were still some initial snags using editing software, for example learning how
to make a picture transparent. And even though I had general ideas in my head
for what each section of the magazine was going to look like, the designs did
change over the course of my production, something I predicted would happen
(hence only a very general draft). The drafting process was important for me
because it served as an anchor for my thoughts, a guideline that also served as
a safety line to stop me straying off course with my ideas.
Looking
at the drafts compared to the finished pieces I can definitely see changes, but
the overall ideas of what each piece was to look like have stayed the same, and
I do believe that the drafting process did make it easier for me to get through
production without any major design problems.
Q8. Evaluate how
successful your product is with your target audience using audience
feedback.
I’ve collected my target audience’s feedback in a very simple way: I’ve basically asked all of the people who filled in the first survey to look at the finished products on the blog and say what they think (via private messaging on Facebook mostly). The response has, thus far, been universally positive. The only thing I can deduce from this is that clearly my idea of what my target audience wanted and what my target audience actually wanted are the same, and in my eyes that makes the magazine an undeniable success because it appeals to the demographic it sets out to appeal to.
I’ve collected my target audience’s feedback in a very simple way: I’ve basically asked all of the people who filled in the first survey to look at the finished products on the blog and say what they think (via private messaging on Facebook mostly). The response has, thus far, been universally positive. The only thing I can deduce from this is that clearly my idea of what my target audience wanted and what my target audience actually wanted are the same, and in my eyes that makes the magazine an undeniable success because it appeals to the demographic it sets out to appeal to.
