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

In comparison to magazines such as Vogue I think I have taken the essence of minimalism and simplicity to give a fresh outlook and keeps everything looking organized and structured. In regards of photography medium shots seem to be conventional within professional magazines which is why have replicated this for my magazine’s front cover as and taken the photograph from the waist up. Also I've tried using the two thirds rule and kept the eye line on the top thirds which show my model as dominate. yet because it a college magazines I’ve ensure the model is smiling and has direct eye contact with he camera which not only creates a sense of synthetic personalization but also comes across as friendly and welcoming as the model and reader would be of a similar age. I’ve used a three color palette of purple, yellow and white which follows convention ideologies of professional magazines it looks eye catching whilst still controlled and neat. Also for my contents page I’ve kept it structure and broke up into two columns which is seen in magazines such as Vogue and Glamour, this also make it easier for a reader to find the content they want to. In addition professional magazines such as Kerrang have a striking mast head which catches the reader eye when they would be trying to find it on a shelf which is why I’ve ensured mine is large enough for a reader to pick out and the use of the display font is bold and easy to spot. Also because my magazine main image was taken in a studio it allowed me to change the settings off the lighting to ensure the correct brightness for the photography so it looks professional. Also following professional practiced I’ve stuck with a limitation of one font to ensure the magazine doesn’t look messy and therefore again looks professional. I have also tried to follow generic features of having a barcode however I had unfortunately forgotten to add a price and issue number which would be a disadvantage to my magazine.

2.Who would be the audience for your media product?

My target audience for this product would be college student in particular who are motivated and determined to do well and go on to achieve great things in the future. the magazine would be mostly focused on freshies who have just started out as they are not only new and bring new ideas to the college but the magazine could act as a helping hand to getting to know the college and familiarizing themselves with the activities and events on offer within the college. I want to target students between the age of around 16-18 years olds as this is the age where they would be setting up their lives and trying new activities they can become passionate about later on.  also I would like my magazine to be appealing to both genders which is why the magazine would included features that either are appropriate for both or have even amounts of features that would appeal to both sexes. In addition I would therefore avoid all stereotypes or decimation that would separate either sex. 

As colleges obtain a wide variety of students all interested in different things varying from sports, to music to fashion or TV my magazine will have a wide audience to please which is why my magazine will have to target a wide variety of hobbies and interests but also focus on activities that most students would probably share for example, student nights and music events. Furthermore when music is mentioned in the magazine it will not only focus on mainstream bands which are current in the charts but a wide variety if music varying in genres to please the majority of readers. 

Concerning with fashion there are many people who are grouped in different social groups who are expect to dress a particular way, varying from people who wear niche clothing bought from small shops or vintage stores that can carry from skinny jeans with original hair and make-up to people who take inspiration from celebrities and shop in high street shops and follow current trends, which is why my magazine has to take in consideration these different needs of the audience and therefore have features that group everyone together.

Students are usually the first for cheap food and drinks which is why they are usually drawn to fast-food chain stores like McDonalds, KFC and Subway which provide high energy food for low prices which are brightly colored and brightly advertised as well. As for drink my target audience would be interested in high energy fizzy drinks such as coca cola and energy drinks.

3. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

I’ve tried to stay clear of representing a specific stereotype because as its for a college magazines it should therefore apply to all tribes within a said college and someone who is dressed in certain way to represent a specific social group would not be representative of the student body. That is why I've tried gathering a wide variety of people to model for my magazine and incorporate everyone from social groups together when in the group image on the contents page; also because the image is composed symmetrically it shows that everyone is even. Next, for my front cover the girl looks like an everyday girl who is suitably dressed to attend college and looks like she achieves well in college, therefore my audience could relate to her. Also as she doesn’t look threatening to girls by being provocatively dressed the magazine would attract both genders.

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

During the production of this product I have used new technologies in order to complete my final product. First I started by using Blogger which was used in order to store or my work so far and keep a track of what has been done. This was also a useful tool in sharing my work with my teachers. Also it allowed me to access my work at anytime so I could keep updated. 

I then used Photoshop to construct my front cover however as I was quite new to this I had to develop my skills through out. However I did learn how to use the layering tool well and how to adjust photographs certain levels.

I used InDesing to create my contents page even though this was again new to me I didn’t find it too hard to use as it already had set out columns to easily aline text and images and I found that the more I used it the more familiar I got with the tools which therefore helped me in improving my product to. 

Also this was the first time I really used an Apple Mac so it took me a while to adjust to the new settings and positioning of the features however with more practices I could identify the advantages of Apple Macs as they are more precise. Also they offer a wider range of soft ware which helped me to create a professional looking product because Apple Macs are also used by professionals who create media products such as magazines. However I am excited in learning more and becoming more comfortable with this new technology. 

Lastly, to take my photographs I had to use a professional camera and because this was also new to me it was daunting to get comfortable with all the settings however as I got use tot it I could identify which light setting would give me the best result.