Well, that's about it for now. This blog contains everything that I've done in my AS level, from my preliminary task to the final product.

Q.7 Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
As I've mentioned in the earlier post, I was a rookie when it came to using the Adobe Photoshop tools, which, by the way, can do wonders! I think I've learnt a lot .. So much so that I changed my spreadsheet design twice because I was not satisfied with the overall look and I would find something wrong with the editing, font style or anything else for that matter, over and over again. When I showed my final design to my teacher, she was pretty impressed and admitted that the results of my second attempt turned out to be much neater and better than the first one.
The most important thing that I've learnt is that the whole layout, images, font color and style should be organised and coordinated in such a way that nothing looks out of the place. After hours and hours spent on research, I realized that the magazine layout should be as simple as possible and should give a review of what's in store for the reader. All in all, I was able to polish my skills over time through practice and experimentation. 

Q.6 What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?


I have learnt a lot from the process of constructing this product. Initially, I had no idea how to use the Adobe Photoshop tools to get the best results. For my preliminary task, I took a mid shot and did some simple editing and it is quite apparent that I was not really good at it!

I did not know how to use the quick selection tool and as weird as it may sound, I actually used the eraser tool to remove the background! It does not look neat, since the edges of the main image look quite rough and out of place, not meshed well with the background. I did not retouch the main image, i.e., the colors have not been enhanced. But gradually, I mastered the art of using various tools to get the best results as is apparent from my  final product (At least that's what I think. Haha!) :

I experimented with the smudge and blur tools to create new and unique font styles that meshed well with the whole theme. Also, re-sizing and adjusting different layers into one single layer is something that I learnt over the process of constructing my final product.
Moreover, I learnt how adjust the settings of a digital camera to get the best image quality under different settings. For instance, the ISO settings need to be adjusted when capturing an image in low light. This is the camera that I used to make my product:

For my preliminary task, I used my friend's cell phone and took her mid shot. This is the cell phone that I used:

Not to forget, I learnt a great deal about different camera angles and camera shots, including mid shot, long and wide shots, over-the-shoulder shot, aerial shot, close-up, medium and extreme close-ups and many many more. 

Most importantly, I learnt how to save files in the appropriate formats! And of course, I did all this using my precious Lenovo R61i.

That's about it!

Q.6 How did you attract/address your audience?
Facebook! Honestly, Facebook advertisement is the most cost-effective marketing method ever. Everybody who knows the basics of computer usage is a member of the respective network. 
To get the audience feedback on my magazine cover, I put it up on my Facebook homepage. Below are the comments:

Some of the people were critical of the usage of cigarette but this issue was a trivial one, as the people who are actually into metal and rock music actually are not naive and are well aware of the lifestyle of those associated with this genre of music.Other than that, the feedback was generally positive and I did not have to make any changes.

Moreover, my publishing company, Rockhound Publishers, is very good at organising the marketing campaigns, for instance, radio advertisements and various billboard plus advertisements in different magazines helped a lot in addressing the target audience.

Q.4 Who would be the audience for your media product?
My media product is not targeted at any particular age group since rock and metal music is followed by not only teenagers but by middle and old-aged people as well. When conducting a survey, I came across a variety of responses from my target audience:
Adam, an eighteen-year-old student, when asked what genre of music did he like, said:


"Rock. As in most rock, I'm not really picky. My tastes range from the Ramones to Journey, AC/DC, Pink Floyd, The Doors to more modern things like the Shins, Wilco, and a lot of indie.

I also listen to classical and some pop.

Contrary to popular opinion, I strongly believe that most people listen to rock over hip hop or rap. The majority of youth listen to some form of rock, whether it be pop rock or pop punk. I'd bet most people in their 20s-30s don't listen to rap, and you'd certainly be hard pressed to find one in their 40s listening to rap.

Rock holds such a wide variety of different genres, while hip hop and rap is just that."


Moreover, my survey results clearly showed that not only teenagers are into rock and metal music. Amir, a forty-year-old banker says:

"Its rare these days to find someone that doesn't listen to rap and pop and other mainstream genres. I prefer had rock and metal and alternative music. Rock is better in my opinion... "


So, basically my media product is targeted at all those people who listen to hard rock and metal, regardless of age groups since my product does not contain any explicit material.

Q.3 What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
My media product will be distributed by Rockhound Publishers because it is a quality conscious company with a higher degree of responsibility then conventional trades. While publishing and printing magazines and periodicals the proprieters  keep in focus all areas of their operations ranging from using the highest "Quality Paper", ensuring "Quality Printing and Binding" all the time keeping the costs at minimum and within the reach of general public. They do their work with the honesty and responsibility with a dedication to serve fans of entertainment in the country. Below is the company's logo:

Since the company provides publishing and distribution services at very reasonable rates, it becomes easier for me to target a huge market and sell my product at a reasonable and affordable price.

Q.2 How does your media product represent particular social groups?
My media product focuses on a few certain social groups. My magazine cover features the vocalist of renowned rock band Wolverine, who made his career in singing through conviction and hard work, refused to go commercial and instead continues to make music for a niche market. He's one of those rare multi-talented individuals who master the art of doing multiple tasks at one time, for instance, Omair is not just the frontman of one the leading underground rock bands but he also happens to be a very influential activist, organizing charity events, rallying support for the have-nots and those who are the less fortunate members of the society.
The main cover story focuses on the band Wolverine, a group of middle-aged laid back, hard working guys. They represent those people who work with passion, not only to make money but to make a statement.
So, my media product basically represents those people who have a passion for rock and metal music.

OCR Media Studies G322 Evaluation

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

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed in the 1960s from 1950s rock and roll , rockabilly, blues, and country music. The sound of rock often revolves around the electric guitar or acoustic guitar, and it uses a strong back beat laid down by a rhythm section of electric bass guitar, drums, and keyboard instruments such as organ, piano, or, since the 1970s, analog synthesizers and digital ones and computers since the 1990s. Along with the guitar or keyboards, saxophone and blues-style harmonica are used as soloing instruments. In its "purest form," it "has three chords, a strong, insistent back beat, and a catchy melody."

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, rock music branched out into different subgenres, ranging from blues rock and jazz-rock fusion to heavy metal and punk rock, as well as the more classical influenced genre of progressive rock and several types of experimental rock genres. 

The massive popularity and worldwide scope of rock music resulted in a powerful impact on society. Rock and roll influenced daily life, fashion, attitudes and language in a way few other social developments have equalled. As the original generations of rock and roll fans matured, the music became an accepted and deeply interwoven thread in popular culture. Beginning in the early 1970s, rock songs and acts began to be used in a few television commercials; within a decade this practice became widespread. Starting in the 1980s rock music was often featured in film and television program soundtracks.

The rock and roll lifestyle was popularly associated with sex and drugs. Many of rock and roll's early stars (as well as their jazz and blues counterparts) were known as hard-drinking, hard-living characters. During the 1960s the lifestyles of many stars became more publicly known, aided by the growth of the underground rock press. Musicians had always attracted attention of "groupies" (girls who followed musicians) who spent time with and often did sexual favors for band members.

(Wikipedia)

After spending enough time on research and planning, I decided to focus on the "Sex, drugs and Rock n' Roll" convention of rock music. 

Here is my final media product: Front cover of a music magazine. 
Genre: Rock

This magazine cover, in particular, is very similar to my media product. It features Ville Valo, who is holding a cigarette, emphasizing on drug and cigarette usage of those associated with this particular genre of music. The color combination is very subtle and gloomy and restricted to only 3 or 4 colors namely black, grey, white and red. So, while constructing my magazine cover, I kept this combination in my mind.

Convention: Sign of the horns

The sign of the horns is a hand gesture with a variety of meanings and uses in various cultures. It is formed by extending the index and little fingers while holding the middle and ring fingers down with the thumb.

It also has a variety of meanings in heavy metal subcultures, where it is known by a variety of terms, most commonly maloik, devil sign, devil horns, Leviathan Horns or metal horns, among others.

Ronnie James Dio was known for popularizing the sign of the horns in heavy metal. His Italian grandmother used it to ward off the evil eye (which is known as malocchio). Dio began using the sign soon after joining (1979) the metal band Black Sabbath. The previous singer in the band,Ozzy Osbourne, was rather well known at using the "peace" sign at concerts, raising the index and middle finger in the form of a V. Dio, in an attempt to connect with the fans, wanted to similarly use a hand gesture. However, not wanting to copy Osbourne, he chose to use the sign his grandmother always made. The horns became famous in metal concerts very soon after Black Sabbath's first tour with Dio. The sign would later be appropriated by heavy metal fans under the name "maloik", a corruption of the original malocchio.

Terry "Geezer" Butler of Black Sabbath can be seen "raising the horns" in a photograph taken in 1971. This would indicate that the "horns" and their association with metal occurred much earlier than either Gene Simmons or Ronnie James Dio suggests. The photograph is included in the CD booklet of the Symptom of the Universe: The Original Black Sabbath 1970–1978 compilation album.

Hence, the use of "Sign of the horns" on my media product implies that the product focuses on Rock and Metal music.