Q2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Transcript of the voice over that runs through the above prezi:

I focused on creating images conventional to the genre. I had observed from magazines such as NME and Q that the indie genre was most commonly represented through bands (e.g. Kings of Leon, Coldplay). Furthermore, these bands contain predominantly males. Therefore, my cover stars were an indie band that was almost all male, with one girl. Females in indie bands are regarded as somewhat of a novelty (e.g. Of Monsters & Men); therefore I referenced the fact that she was the only female in the band several times in my article.

In the mise-en-scene, I tried to encapsulate the relaxed, laid back style of the Indie genre. To do so, I styled the men in denim jeans, casual shirts and t-shirts. Male indie artists are always represented in the same way, allowing the audience to relate to them by coming across as the ‘everyman’. An example of this is Ed Sheeran, who is almost always dressed in a t-shirt, hoodie and jeans. These are items of clothing his fans are likely to wear, allowing them to identify with him. This impression is particularly important to portray in a magazine, as using the Uses and Gratifications theory, this is one of the reasons why someone would want to buy and read the magazine. I used a beanie on the band’s lead singer ‘Damon’, as these hats are stereotypical of the genre. This instantly communicated the culture associated with indie music, attracting that type of fan base to not only the magazine, but to the band being featured also.

The poses used by my models were quite subtle. Again, to contribute to this idea of ‘normality’, my four models stood in fairly neutral positions. I asked them to do so particularly in the band shots, as this neutral stance is seen in many magazines when it comes to indie bands. Furthermore, my models didn’t smile in the pictures, as this is seldom seen of indie artists. Also, the song content is often a lot deeper and more meaningful than pop music. Therefore, smiles would seem unnatural, as it would conflict with the genre’s representation.

I used an acoustic guitar as a prop for my guitarist ‘Caleb’ and my guitarist/singer ‘Dawn’. Choosing an acoustic guitar promotes the idea that their music is raw and naturally formed rather than produced in a studio for the sole purpose to make money. Fans of the genre often strive to keep music ‘pure’, therefore  the article focused on the struggle each individual had before success and how they all made music just for the pure enjoyment of it, rather than for the fame or the money.

I chose models that I felt represented elements of the genre. Two of my models ‘Max’ and ‘Dawn’ are Caucasian redheads. As redheads are considered unique and individual because it is a rarity, I felt that this portrayed what the genre represents. Furthermore, successful indie artists such as Ed Sheeran are known for their red hair and it is somewhat of a trademark. Both ‘Damon’ and ‘Caleb’ have curly hair which is slightly longer than Max’s. This has a slightly scruffier, casual look which conforms to the stereotype that indie artists don’t care about their appearance and tells the audience that they are ‘all about the music’. Also, this will appeal to a male audience, as they stereotypically are less bothered about looking good than females.

The magazine is targeted at the social class ABC1, who are stereotypically better educated than those of the C2DE social bracket. I have reflected this in the detail of my article, in which all four of the band members explain elements of the music making process and the band’s dynamics when working together so closely. The ABC1 class will be more interested in reading an informative article rather than a gossip article about their personal lives or discussing rumours about them. Also, the overall tone of the article suggests that the band is also made up of a similar social class, following the stereotype that indie artists are ‘just like their fans’.

I have also represented the genre in other ways. The other content described on the contents page suggests a lot about what fans of the genre would be interested in. Firstly, two of the contents page images are at concerts. As live music is an exceptionally important to the indie genre and its audience, I decided to portray this consistently through the magazine. Not only did I display this on the contents page, but the importance of live music was demonstrated through the article also. I mentioned the band doing a soundtrack at Camden Roundhouse. This is stereotypical of the genre, as indie artists usually perform smaller more intimate gigs than pop artists. Therefore, I would not suggest that ‘Tigerilla’ were performing at Wembley Arena or the O2 Arena, as they would be more likely to perform at smaller venues such as the IndigO2 or Camden Roundhouse.

As live music is particularly important to the genre, one of the features I have included is a list of 5 iconic festival moments. Festival culture is very closely linked with indie music; therefore fans of the indie genre will most likely attend festivals.

On the contents page, it is clear that the reviews section of the magazine would be quite substantial. This links back to the genre’s primary concept, that fans of the genre are interested in music itself.

As a young audience, my magazine also suggests they would be interested in social media platforms. However, I have placed much more emphasis on the ‘alternative’ networks Twitter and Instagram as opposed to Facebook. It is intrinsic of the genre that fans of the genre are interested in things that are new, different and ‘alternative’. Therefore, though they may have a Facebook account, they are more likely to be more frequent users of ‘creative’ and ‘expressive’ networks such as Twitter and Instagram. Both of these allow its users more creative freedom with their words or with their pictures, and this is something that indie fans would prefer. Furthermore, I have referenced Spotify several times and YouTube is one of the social media sites mentioned. As both are ways to share music (through playlists on Spotify or videos on YouTube), this conforms to the stereotype of the genre being ‘all about the music’, which is why I felt these were both important forms of social media to include in the magazine (particularly as it is targeted at a young audience). 

Q5. How did you attract/address your audience?

Overview of what was covered in the above video:

I aim to attract my audience using Uses and Gratifications theory. I have contained entertaining content for the reader by listing many features about current indie artists and news that would be interesting to my audience. This further entertains my audience as I have included a variety of images. Having the band on my front cover not only establishes the genre of the magazine but, due to their recent success (as mentioned in the article), also attracts the band’s fan base.

The content also informs the reader, as the content of the article provides them with information about the band, how they were formed and what they think about their music. Furthermore this allows the reader to identify with the band, as it gives them more personal knowledge of the band members and how the band functions. Also, the band is represented as being ‘normal’ in terms of their personality (their talent is sensationalised rather than the people themselves). Therefore, this allows the reader to relate to them and encourages them to read the magazine.

Finally, the magazine offers social interaction to the reader, with social network icons and a twitter name displayed largely on the contents page. This gives readers a sense of community, which would encourage the reader to regularly buy the magazine to remain part of this ‘community’. The magazine has content which readers have written or that they can get involved in and this also satisfies the reader’s need for social interaction. The reference to social networking continues throughout the magazine to the double page spreads, in which a small selection of pictures from Tigerilla’s Instagram feed is presented. The magazine’s involvement in social networking will attract my target audience because young adults spend a lot of time using these.

I have also attracted my audience through the use of a big, current, up and coming indie band on the front cover. As an indie-pop magazine, having a band that people recognize establishes the genre. As they are new to the industry, this appeals to fans of the indie genre because they will not know so much about them. This is particularly important as a young target audience can easily find out most information about popular bands online (on their Wikipedia page, for example). As a new band, there will be less known information about who ‘Tigerilla’ are and how they came to getting their ‘big break’.

Also, I have used sell lines that are a little bit ambiguous, not particularly stating an artist or band. However, each sell line is about a specific feature in the magazine about an artist or band. This will raise the potential reader’s interest because they want to check inside the magazine to find out who the sell line is about. This is particularly true for indie fans, as they are interested in things that are different or unique.

I have also attracted my audience through the use of social media and the magazine’s website. Throughout the magazine, on the cover, the contents page and the double page spreads, I have placed reminders that the magazine makes use of social media. The website is displayed in the corner of every page next to the page number, along with two tweets in the banner along the bottom of each page. This attracts a young audience, as they are likely to be frequent users of social networking sites themselves. Publishing tweets from the readers encourages them to get involved with the magazine on social media (e.g. using the hashtag ‘#indievisual’ or tweeting the magazine’s twitter account). This will attract an audience, because they feel they can get involved in a community of people who are interested in the same genre of music that they are.  I have mentioned that Indievisual has a Spotify account on the contents page, both at the top and in the editor’s note. Spotify is becoming an increasingly popular way to share music. Therefore, as this is a new trend, this attracts my audience because they are likely to be interested in new technologies and trends due to their age.

Another thing that will attract my reader is that there is an opportunity to win 2 tickets to see Tigerilla on tour. The opportunity to win something is often an attraction in itself to many readers. However, as these tickets are for Tigerilla’s tour, this will further encourage anyone who is a fan of the cover stars to purchase the magazine.

Q4. What would be the audience of your media product?

Overview of what was covered in the above video:

My primary target audience is male mainstreamers between 18 and 25 in the ABC1 social bracket. My secondary target audience is both genders between 16 and 30.  I decided to target my magazine predominantly at men because there is a larger male readership of music magazines. Furthermore, the indie genre is dominated by male artists and bands, although there are successful females. Therefore, I feel males are more likely to relate to and identify with those featured in the magazine. This was reflected in my contents page, where only one article focused on a female artist. The others were male artists, all male bands or male dominated bands.

I have chosen to target a psychographic audience of mainstreamers for several reasons. Firstly, mainstreamers offer the largest target audience for my magazine, meaning I have the potential for a higher readership. Also, indie music is becoming an increasingly popular genre and has become quite a mainstream genre, with artists such as Ed Sheeran and bands such as Coldplay and Kings of Leon getting number one singles and albums. Moreover, indie music has recently become a popular culture, with fashion trends being one of the biggest influences indie artists have had on culture. Indie artists such as Lana Del Rey increased the popularity of the vintage clothes trend. Therefore, my magazine aims to target this indie-pop audience.

The ABC1 social bracket is likely to have more expendable income. Therefore, those interested in reading my magazine will have the money to purchase it. The magazine would have a monthly circulation and for this reason, I have chosen to price my magazine at £3.99, because this is the average price for monthly music magazines. Due to the age of my target audience (18-25 year olds), those in the ABC1 social bracket will be university students and white collar workers. This is why I assume that readers of the magazine will be busy and have tried to tailor my magazine to people who are ‘on-the-go’, having it available to purchase on tablets and smartphones. I targeted this age bracket also because they will be interested in current music news and about the industry itself. A younger audience would not be as interested about the artists and what they have to say about their music and would rather read more about their personal lives.

In my magazine, it is clear that I have targeted the ABC1 social class through the size and tone of the article. I chose to write the article in this way as this potential audience is stereotypically better educated than those in the C2DE bracket.

My secondary target audience is both genders between 16 and 30. Though I have tailored the magazine to a male audience, who are likely to identify with the male artists, there are still female artists featured and mentioned throughout the magazine. Furthermore, indie music has both a male and female fan base. It is also likely that female fans of the indie genre would be attracted to the male artists. Therefore, I am likely to have some female readers. Also, I extended the age bracket for my secondary target audience because there are likely to be a few readers who are younger and some who are older, yet still have the same interests as my primary audience.

Both NME and Q are magazines comparable to mine; both of which have a largely male readership. However, Q’s target audience is older than Indievisual’s. 64.5% of Q’s readers are aged 25 or older. NME’s target audience encompasses my own, targeting 15-34 year olds. This means that I would be in more direct competition with NME than with Q. Stylistically, Indievisual is more comparable to Q, with a black, white and red colour scheme and organized layout. This reflects the target social class, as NME’s readership is largely from the C2DE social group. Both Q and NME do cover indie music; however their focus is usually on pop rock. For this reason, I feel than Indievisual may be comparable to these existing magazines, but would have a potentially new audience that would be similar, but not the same as Q or NME. 

Q3,6 & 7

Q1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Below is a transcript of the audio response to this question:

One of the ways in which my magazine conforms to the conventions of real music magazines is its house style. In my research, I discovered that the colour red is particularly popular among pop/rock and indie magazines, along with the colours black and white. Therefore, I decided this colour would capture the genre the best and attract this fan base, which is my target audience.

My house style is clearly visible throughout the magazine, with cohesive and consistent use of colour and fonts. This is further supported by the masthead and magazine name ‘Indievisual’. For this, I used a bold sans serif font which creates a similar effect to that created by the masthead of NME. The masthead runs across the top of the cover, with the cover stars’ heads overlapping it slightly. It also follows the colour scheme, using the colours black and red to separate ‘indie’ and ‘visual’. The name quite clearly links to the genre. This compound name literally states the genre ‘indie’, and plays on the word the genre is derivative from (‘individual’). I decided to play on the word with ‘indievisual’. As music is an audio experience, you could say that music magazines are a ‘visual extension’ to music.

My cover includes an image of the band ‘Tigerilla’. The indie genre is dominated heavily by bands, therefore I decided that I would use a band as my cover star. Also, the genre is male dominated, with indie bands such as Snow Patrol, The Fray and Mumford & Sons being all male bands. For this reason, I decided to make the band ‘Tigerilla’ a band comprising of 3 males and 1 female. This represents the genre as a whole, as female artists are less common than male ones. Though Laura Mulvey’s concept of the male gaze applies to products targeted at a male audience, I have decided against sexualizing my female cover star. This is because the genre of my magazine tends not to sexualize its female artists, as the focus is generally placed on the music itself and presenting its artists as the ‘boy/girl next door’ type. At the top of the page, I have included a black banner which displays both the twitter name and website of the magazine. Having a banner on the front cover is one of the conventions of magazines, along with mentioning the website.

Other than my conventional sell lines, I have also included a ‘+’ section at the bottom right corner, listing several well-known indie artists. This attracts several different fan bases to pick up the magazine and is something that I have seen on many existing music magazine front covers. In the bottom left corner of the cover, there is a bar code and institutional information as this is a convention of all magazines if they want to get published.

On the contents page I instantly reinforce the magazine’s involvement with social media, as the icons are presented at the top of the left page. This is one of the biggest selling points of the magazine, as it indicates that the magazine is current and gives the readers an easy way to get involved. Magazines typically advertise the social networks they are on through the use of their icons.

I gave the contents page an organized, column style so that the reader would not be overwhelmed with information, as a lot of information is on this page. I used a variety of images to illustrate the different content in the magazine. I noticed most existing contents pages had pictures with backgrounds. Therefore, I tried to use images with less white in the background to avoid the page looking too white and boring the reader.

When ordering the pages, I thought about how music magazines were conventionally laid out and numbered the items accordingly. For example, I placed the reviews section towards the back of the magazine, as reviews are typically found towards the back of most magazines (regardless of genre).

As the contents page is the page that will most likely be viewed by more readers, I also placed a little picture of the current issue next to a subscription advert. This means that I am encouraging as many readers as possible to become a regular reader of the magazine, as the more people that subscribe will guarantee a higher readership. Another convention of a contents page is an editor’s note, therefore I felt it was important to include one to make my magazine look as professional as possible. I named myself the ‘Editor-in-Chief’ rather than just the ‘Editor’. I chose to do this because this is a term more specific to the industry, as there are often various editors (e.g. editor-in-chief and managing editor) whose roles differ slightly.

For the first double page spread, I used a large image of the band, which overlapped the first page very slightly into the second. For this I used the text wrapping tool to wrap the text around the image. I used the same font that I had used on both the front cover and contents page on the headline. This font is much bolder than the serif font used on the article text and this allows the headline to stand out a lot more. In the corner, I included “on tour: March 2014”. As the indie genre conventionally refers to a lot of gigs and festivals, informing the reader which artists and bands would be on tour (and when) would be of interest to the target audience.

The second double page spread contains a lot more images and another important convention of magazine articles, pull quotes. For these, I tried to use text from the article that would make the audience want to read why that quote was said. Again, I used a bold sans serif font, creating a cohesive house style throughout the magazine from front cover to double page spreads. Next to the pictures there are little descriptions of the images, mainly to differentiate between the band members. This is seen frequently in magazines, and the text is always smaller than the article. As magazines are always trying to find ways to be more interactive and incorporate technology into them, I also included a QR code. This links to YouTube for the teaser trailer for the band’s music video. QR codes are becoming an increasingly popular way for magazines to incorporate interactivity into a print publication.

On the third double page spread, I included a box featuring several pictures from the band’s Instagram feed. Yet again this incorporates social networking into the magazine; however this isn’t a conventional component of a double page spread. I added this feature to make the article more interesting and different. This also helps the audience to identify and connect with the band because seeing simple ‘snapshots’ make them appear more ‘normal’ and ‘just like everyone else’. This representation is incredibly important to the genre. At the end of the article, I created album artwork. This is cohesive with the music video screen grabs, the image on the contents page and the teaser music video, suggesting that the band’s marketing material is cohesive. At the end of the article is a line of text, telling the reader when the album is released. Often, bands or artists are featured in magazines when they are looking to promote something. Therefore the last line of text gives the article a more realistic purpose, as it suggests that featured band is current in the industry. 

Final Magazine

issuu.com/natalierogers8/docs/indievisual_magazine_-_almost_final?e=10444537/6951086

Production Log 24/02/2014 - Focusing on Details

Over the past week, I have focused on improving the minor details of my magazine. This has included the positioning of certain elements, colour and size of text or objects and adding small details that are conventional of magazines.
This has included resizing the captions below/above each image and the size of the website name next to the page number of every page. Furthermore, I have also created small forward arrows to put at the bottom of each page of the article to indicate that the article continues overleaf.
I also decided to change the box out text announcing the album's release date into a sentence at the end of the article with a small square 'bullet point' beside it, as I have observed that release dates are often used to end an article and conventionally look this way.
I am hoping that making this minor improvements will make my magazine easier to read, more organized and more professional - closer to the standard of existing magazines.