2)

2) How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My magazine hasn’t taken much inspiration layout-wise but the social group it would attract is similar to those of Billboard or NME, a mix of rock and acoustic fans means there is a wider audience. I think my product represents the indie/alternative/acoustic scene as being laid back and interested in vocals – as opposed to the fans of a magazine featuring dubstep style music. I didn’t base the looks or visual appearance of the ‘band’ on any existing bands in particular, I looked at people such as The Dum Dum Girls and Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs to study particular existing girl bands in general as I wanted something to compare my band to afterwards.

The images on this double page spread are all the final ones chosen for my magazine, I took over 200 photos to get a range of possible choices for my magazine as I think it’s important not to just take one photo, as I can always improve the shot.

The qualities the existing NME magazine above shows are the layout of the text, the structure of the image and the tag-lines and advertisements on the cover. Firstly I think the front suits the magazine as well as the band which creates a style of writing associated to them, the yellow and white writing looks really effective over the top of the image. The positioning of the band members in the photograph imply that the band will be lively, which they are - so this depicts a true image of the band; also the clothing they are wearing links through each person to give off a similar vibe. The advertisements tie in with the fonts used on the magazine as well, and they don't distract the audience attention from the topic of the magazine either, which works exceptionally well. I took a small amount of inspiration from this cover however as I was looking for a more simplistic effect with less bulky writing or adverts; the font used on my cover does go with the theme of my magazine and band though so although I haven't used anything similar, I have thought along the same lines as NME magazine.
The Wombats magazine cover portrays the band as idols in a way, as they look the part and have an action photo which makes it a lot more appealing to the eye and would stand out amongst others in a shop. I tried to create the same effect with my photograph but without using an action shot as the band I have featured are more acoustic and "chilled out".

Other bands similar to my false band - Dustland Fairytale - and the exisiting band - The Wombats - are;
Laura Marling, YeahYeahYeahs, The Pretty Reckless and Dum Dum Girls.