Research Conclusion

 Magazine

Write about the main concept of your magazine:

My product will a metal rock music magazine, i will conform to typical magazine elements and layout, i will take my own photographs for the main image, my initial plan is to photograph my dad in appropriate clothing and assisted with appropriate mis-en-scene. My main image will be central, surrounded by cover lines on the side and a masthead along the top, with smaller elements included such as a puff, barcode etc. The name of my magazine will be "Metal Pulse", this name relates with the vibrant and active genre. The word 'metal directly relating to the genre" and "pulse" being related to music. I will design a logo design with this name, likely using a slab serif or sans serif font with a unique twist on the logo such as the metal hammer logo having the "metal" in the word hammer.

Write about how this concept will fit into the genre

I will try to conform to codes and conventions of other researched metal music magazines such as metal hammer. I will include an appropriate colour pallet such as black and white with a brighter colour accompanying such as yellow or red for contrast and emphasis. I will use appropriate lexis in my text, words that connote violence or strength are quite prominent in other metal music magazines (In metal hammer some examples are maniac, flaming, wrecks etc). I will also uses a typical main image for a music magazine, a mid shot of my pretend artist looking directly at the camera.

Write about how this concept will attract a specific audience

My target audience for this product is 16-25 year olds who enjoy listening to metal music. I will achieve this through the use of typical stereotypes for metal music magazines as-well as using modern slang and lexis that is appropriate for a younger generation, i may also use a younger model for my main image to seem more relevant to a younger audience.

Write about how this concept will fit into the core values of the institution you are working for

Silverback publishing is very passionate about print media and its remaining relevance in modern media, so in my magazine i will put some emphasis on the preference of physical magazines rather than digital news, this could be completed by including things such as CD's to encourage the purchase of the physical magazine. Silverback publishing also is passionate about producing high quality magazines that perform well and are "some of the best and most informative magazines in the world" so i will attempt to make my magazine to a very high standard while maintaining informality to correspond to the genre and target audience.

Write about how you will use technical codes to realise your idea

I will use appropriate mis en scene in my main image to match codes and conventions of metal music magazines. Usually consisting of all black clothing, sunglasses and something to contrast this intense idea, many metal music magazines often have a completely contrasting element that is the opposite of typical metal music stereotypes to achieve a shock factor and interest. (for example in a metal hammer music magazine i researched, the model was holding very cute kittens, completely contrasting the violent and intense tropes of metal music).

Write about what representations this mis-en-scene will produce

The all black clothing will match typical mis-en-scene of metal music as a general representation. if  i do choose to add a contrasting element to contrast typical representations it would also be a common trope represented in metal music media. All black clothing and a serious expression may suggest an environment of seriousness and gruffness that matches typical representation of metal music.

Write about how these representations will attract your audience 

Matching and using stereotypical representations of metal music such as black clothing, gruff expression etc will attract an audience of people who enjoy metal music and adding a contrasting element such as a cute animal may attract a younger audience who are interested in animals and peak interest with a shock factor.

Write about how you intend to use intertextuality in your product

Following very commonly used and famous poses, expression and clothing in my main image, i am referencing the intertextuality of extremely famous metal artists/bands who use these same ideas. By using modern slang and maintaining and informal tone in my lexis i will also be referencing modern texts that appeal to modern, younger audiences and the slang that has been created and used in modern society.

Write about the text and image as well as your construction and mediation of representations will be appropriate for the genre, publishing house and audience.

I will use appropriate representations in my main elements of my magazine cover and contents page (Masthead, Logo, Cover lines, Lexis, Main image) that conform to typical codes and conventions of other metal music magazines i have researched. I will achieve these accurate representations of metal music through applying my previous research into metal music as a genre and incorporating its core values and tropes (Black clothing and matching mis-en-scene, contrasting elements, an environment/semantic field of gruffness and violence). 

Through the application of a passion for print media(Encouragement such as CD's included in physical copies of the magazine) as-well as being high quality print media i will follow and conform to the values and ideologies of Silverback Publishing (my publishing company)

I will attract and interest my target audience (16-25 year olds who are interested in metal music) through the use of accurate metal music codes and conventions as-well as attracting a younger audience through the use of modern and new lexis and maintaining an informal tone through my cover and contents page.

Website

Write about how you are going to use media language of websites and conventions of web designs and what specific websites look like for the given genres in the brief.

I will incorporate typical media language elements standard for websites such as a menu bar, drop down menus, multiple pages (About, Store, News,, Shows etc) i will lay out these elements in a typical fashion for a website, menu and about us being near the top, having the home page have a brief rundown of the website then trailing off into other sections of the website as you scroll own. I aim to have a fairly typical website layout that conforms to what i researched. However i found in my research of the 2 websites that the actual design (Colour Pallet, Lexis, Typeface etc) was fairly standard and uninteresting, usually having a colour of pallet of black text on a white background or vice versa accompanied by a brighter colour to emphasise specific elements. I will try to create a far more interesting design that has a much more intense and passionate representation of metal music, likely having a black background with multiple brighter colours such as red, yellow, silver and trying to design elements to be interesting and eye catching for a audience.

Write about how your design choices are going to attract your audience.

I will use contrast, brighter colours and unique design to create an eye catching and interesting design, my target audience (16-25 year olds) may enjoy a far more colourful, chaotic and informal design due to being much younger and having an interest in more original and unique designs that piques their interest. For example i may design a banner for the top of my page, i think i may design my own font for this text with the name of my website spanning across it, i will try to create an aggressive and  shocking design that immediately attracts attention.

Write about what pages will be used on your website and how its going to use social media.

I will incorporate a news page and a store page on my website. The news page is a standard for the websites i researched and discusses relevant and recent news surrounding rock music specifically. My store page will function as an advertisement and store for my magazine for anyone who may be interested in owning a physical copy rather than reading a digital version. I will also incorporate advertisements on each of these pages to match conventions of websites in general. Additionally i will advertise social media across these pages, on the news page i may add a link to my socials with text such as "Follow us now to keep up to date on the latest metal news" i may develop this text to appeal more to my target audience. On the store page i may do something similar, advertising my socials with the text. "Follow our socials to know when every copy releases!". Again i may develop this text to match my brand values and target audience.

Write about how your website structure and social media will attract your audience, allow interactivity and help the promotion of your first product

My website attracts audiences through eye catching and unique design. My website will also encourage interactivity with a developed and high quality comments section on each of my news sections on my news pages, allowing people to express their opinions and discuss with one another about the recent metal news. I may also attempt to add fun elements into my website, such as having to physically do something to access other website pages, such as maybe striking a guitar that plays an audio queue. This may be far to complicated to create and may be simplified and changed when developing my website. My social media will attract audiences similarly to my website, using a unique and eye catching design that reflects the genre.

Write about how your website will reflect the named record company/channel or publisher.

My website will reflect the values of silverback publishing via the store page. Encouraging the purchase of physical magazines and showing a belief and passion for print media while also offering digital versions in order to keep up with modern developments. I will also follow the values of silverback publishing by attempting to produce  high quality magazines and digital representations of my brand, as well as proudly crediting silverback publishing as my publisher.

Write about what audi-visual content you plan to produce and why it will appeal to the target audience.

I plan to incorporate very interactive elements into my website such as a physical action to access other pages, as previously mentioned, one of my ideas was to have the user strike a guitar with their mouse to access a different page. This will play a audio queue. Another idea i may have is some very basic animation on my pages such as an artist striking a guitar by using 2 images and playing them on a loop to make it seem like the artists is actually playing the guitar and moving, combining this with some well timed audio enhances the idea and effect of this element, This will interest my audience by using eye catching and moving elements to interest them and show off my sites originality as well as incorporating very relevant ideas such as a musical instruments and famous metal artists as my target audience are interested in rock music.

Write about how the visual elements of the website will hook in and keep readers on the pages.

I will try to design and create interesting elements and interactive components in my website that keep the audience physically acting and engaging. This will keep them using my website as they may be interested and want to know what other unique, original and fun elements are in my website. Pairing this with interesting and colourful but appropriate (for the genre) colour pallets, Lexis, typefaces and general design will keep the reader interested and impressed, encouraging them to further use my website.

Synergy

Write about how synergy and branding are important to media industries

Maintaining brand values and ideas across products and platforms is very important in order to establish your brands ideologies and values. Not maintaining a consistent point or opinion across brand representations causes confusion and negatively affects your brand as it isn't made clear what exactly your brand stands for and believes in. It may also cause confusion for what your brand actually produces and what audiences should think if representations are extremely different across platforms. Relating, for example, your social media and website by using similar designs also makes your brand more recognisable as people may see a social media post and think about a magazine they read with the same/similar designs and become interested.

Write about how your going to use images, logos, typefaces and colours across your main product and website to create a sense of branding and brand identify across the two products. 

If i decide to design specific logos and typefaces, i will attempt to incorporate these into all of the products and representations relevant to my brand. I will maintain a similar colour pallet across my website and magazine to maintain a clear connection between the two. I will also reference the artists i use on my magazine covers main images in one of my websites news sections and put the magazine on my websites store page to show a clear sense of synergy and organisation between the two products.

Write about how you will use your main product on your website and vice versa- discuss any call to actions, end title cars etc.

On my website, there will be clear references to the magazine via the store page, which directly advertises and sells the magazines i produce, this is a fairly standard way of advertising my other product so i will attempt to make the reference to my website on my magazine far more interesting and unique. 

A couple ideas i have for this is the encouragement of using and signing up for the website by offering a physical reward such as a CD, through the use of a barcode to access the website sign up page, you can enter details and receive a reward through the post such as a CD, Free magazine or maybe even a small trinket of some sort such as a badge or something similar. 

Another idea is hiding the website reference on the magazine and having the reader find it. Perhaps similar to a scratch off ticket, where the reader has to scratch off some material with a coin to reveal the website domain.

Write about what will be unique to your website

What will make my website interesting and unique is the originality of my design and intense representation of metal as a genre, opposed to the other websites i researched, that were fairly basic and i didn't think represented the usually intense genre very well. Another thing that makes my website unique is the interactive and interesting components that require to user to actually physically interact ~(striking a guitar that plays an audio to switch between pages, having a very basic animation play on my home page etc). These designs will definitely be developed and changed in order to be more accurate and effective.

Write about how you will use social media to produce synergy between your products and how this will be useful to the media institution and attractive to the audience.

I would use my brands social media to promote both the website and magazine. Advertising the magazine store page on my website as-well as advertising the presence of my magazines in digital form on my website. I would try to maintain continuity in design and colour pallet across my magazine cover, website and social media posts to make them more recognisable and clearly depict them as associated with each other. When posting about the release of a new magazine i would link the website with a caption such as "Buy the magazine here or check it out on our website!". I would also try to make several posts encouraging people to buy physical copies of the magazine as-well as sign up to the website with encouraging benefits such as discounts on magazines for members signed up for over 3 months.