In my previous post, I interviewed a girl of my specific target audience on various aspects of a music magazine to gather information on what she would like to see in a music magazine and what qualities would convince her to buy a music magazine etc. Within the video, a two-shot was used throughout the handheld footage. I used this type of shot as I believed it would suit an interview's purpose best. It gave a clear view of the interviewer and interviewee whilst involving the audience in the full communicational exchange between the two subjects. This means that facial expressions, reactions and movement is clear to the audience when viewing this video of both subjects, accompanying the dialogue of the video. Within this video, I did believe that some of the dialogue was particularly difficult to hear due to the filming taking place in a public area. To overcome this problem, I added subtitles to the video, meaning that the audience can read along with the video if they are unable to grape what a certain one of the subjects is saying.
The first question I asked was, 'What is your favorite music genre and why?'
The interviewee, Layla Cairns, is of the female gender and fits within the age range of 16-30, whilst also fitting within the targeted audience code, rating E on the audience code as a student. Cairns comments that she
'enjoys Contemporary R&B because [she] really loves that style of music and also prefers the artists themselves'. This not only applies to the proposed genre of my magazine but gives me the idea that my interviewee (target audience) regularly use social media to follow the artist they enjoy. I will definitely continue to use the genre I have chosen in order to target my primary audience, but it also gives me the idea that my target audience as a whole will be of social media users, suggesting that my magazine should have accompanying social media accounts in order to interact with my argot audience and my magazine's artists, for example, a Twitter page. This also means that celebrities can share articles featuring them gaining a larger audience from their fan base, whilst also spreading the word of my magazine over the internet.
The second questions I enquired was,
'How much would you be willing to pay for a professional music magazine?'
Cairns replied that she would pay approximately
'£4.00 for a monthly magazine', of which mine is. As the magazine will be professional, with a gloss finish and exclusive aspects, I believe that £4.00 is a generally good price and will allow my magazine to compete with the more classic, high-end music magazines. I will take this information and apply it to the considerations of my magazine price.
Thirdly, Cairns was questioned,
'What encourages you to buy a magazine?'
I asked this question so that I could gain ideas as to what would catch my audiences attention when looking for a magazine. My interviewee answered,
'I think there needs to be a attractive celebrity on the cover that I am interested in, then cover lines that will appeal to me.' I will use this information t consider what will be featured on the front of my magazine as these will be what draws my target audience in. I want to ensure that a popular artist of my genre is featured on the cover as a use of celebrity endorsement, in order to attract my target audience who will more than likely be fans of that particular artist, encouraging them to buy the magazine and find out more about this artist. Some find that this gives them a more enhanced understanding of the lyrics that the artists use and provides a better listening experience, also encouraging them to purchase future issues of my magazine as they will desire this enhanced understanding of artists that will be employed in my magazine in the future.
Next, I asked,
'Do you prefer a text or image led double-page spread?'
My interviewee replied with the answer,
'probably image, I think it's important to have at least one page filled with a image as it looks really attractive. It would make me want to read it.' From this reply, I have gathered that due to her indecisive tone, the subject would most likely enjoy a bit of both, whilst preferring the image. Her comments on how attractive it would make the double-page spread look make it a factor that I would seriously consider using within my magazine. She also comments on the way it would encourage her to read the article, and I believe that if the larger image was a photo of an artist of her genre, based on her previous answer of 'What encourages you to buy a magazine?', an artist of her genre who she enjoys would more than likely encourage her to read the double-page spread.
Furthermore, I went on to enquire,
'Would you prefer a question and answer (interview) style in your double-page spread, or would you like a story?'
Cairns answered,
'I think, probably a story.' This short and simple answer gives me a idea of what my tarot audience would like to see in the magazine. This adds to the way in which I would like my magazine to provide a more enhanced understanding of the artist. The use of a story as my double-page spread will most likely cover a range of aspects of the artist's life and personality, giving an idea behind the lyrics.
I then asked,
'Do prefer several images or one main image?'
My interviewee answered,
'One main image' in a very certain tone. I believe that one main image will fit my target audience very well because of this definite answer, whilst also ensuring that my magazine maintains the classy and high-end feel that I want it to employ.
Moreover I questioned,
'What colors are you most attracted to?'
Cairns replied,
'Black and white, I think, really contrast well and if I was to add a pop of colour, it would be red.' I was really pleased with this answer as it completely matches the look I want my magazine to have. I would love to employ this black and white theme to add an element of class to my magazine and I believe the color red would be very striking and adds connotations of strength, power and class, relating to things such as 'the
red carpet'. These are feelings that I'd lie my magazine to employ.
Next, I asked,
'Would you prefer a hard copy of a magazine or would you refer to read it on something like a tablet?'
My interviewee commented, saying,
'A hard copy, I think it's better to have it in person'. When embarking upon further investigation, I also gathered that people are more likely to want a hard copy of a magazine, despite technological advancements, due to them wanting to keep and collect copies. I will definitely sell my magazine as a hard copy due to my target audience preferring this, but depending on the progress my magazine makes, I would consider selling it online to be sent to, for example, the
Newspaper app on the iPhone.
Lastly, I asked,
'What sorts of contents and articles would you like to see in the magazine?'
Cairns informed me that she would like, 'trending music, up and coming musicians and maybe some celebrity gossip'. I will certainly use trending music and up and coming music as I am planning on creating a magazine that will be published a month in advance of the music it will be based around. This creates a feel with the audience that they are setting the trends within music and that they know everything before the majority of people.
The second, and more lengthy, task involved completing an essay-type magazine proposal for a company of the name of Natmags. I have included images of my response to this section of the enrolment task. As you observe these images, it is clear that a lot of detail went into this task as I looked at the task from a fully realistic perspective, writing the essay as if it was a general piece of coursework. 
Overall, the teacher who marked my enrolment task believed I have 'some excellent ideas about both the content and design of [my] magazine' and that I 'understand the connotations of both [my] text and [my] image which is excellent at this stage of the course'. I 'also understand the concept of a target audience'. I was really pleased with these comments and felt they slightly boosted my confidence and made me feel more prepared for the course. I achieved an A* in my enrolment task, which I am thrilled with and hope to achieve grades like this throughout my Media Studies.
