Evaluation

Irving Sewell

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and

conventions of real media products? Masthead

Cover lines

Footer

Price

Dateline

BarcodeFront cover photo

Editors Note

Dateline

Contents page layout listing/ showing what is inside using numbers

Images of artists featured in magazine

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

Bold letters to make the double page spread stand out

Image of the artists. This would be challenging conventions of a lot of magazines, because a lot of magazines have the image of the artists taking up a whole page

Website of artists

Drop caps which is something most magazines use when starting off the text part to a double page spread

Page numbers

Article text starting on the first page of double page spread. I think this is challenging/ developing conventions because most double page spreads have a image of the artist or artists covering a whole page

Text is significantly bigger than the usual size of text. This would be challenging conventions

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and

conventions of real media products? • My magazine challenges forms and conventions of real media products in many

ways. In my magazine I used a number of different throughout my magazine especially on my front cover such as:

I have used a dateline in my front cover, which is used in most if not all magazines. In this case my magazine uses conventions of real magazines

I have used a barcode on my contents page but this barcode is different to a usual barcode which is there for retail reasons. I used a barcode on my contents page for a promotional/ prize feature and because I know the main audience of my magazines are young, a lot of them will have Smartphone's which allows them to be entered in the completion by jus using the phone to scan the barcode and automatically they will be entered for the prize. In this case my music magazine would be developing a convention of real magazines

I have used a price on my front cover which is my media product using conventions of a real media product

I have used a symbol/ logo which represents my magazine on my front cover, which is used in most if not all magazines. In this case my magazine uses conventions of real

magazines

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and

conventions of real media products?

I have page numbers throughout my magazine. Most, if not all magazines use page numbers in the magazine. The main reason for this is I think is to do with the contents page if a reader wants to be selective and find a certain article etc in the magazine. This would be my media product using conventions of a real magazine

Drop caps which is something most magazines use when starting off the text part to a double page spread. This would also be my media, product using conventions of a real magazine.

I have used a editors note in the magazine which is common in most magazines when releasing their first magazine. This would be my media, product using conventions of a real magazine.

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

My magazine represents these social groups by the words used meaning the words/language is easier and more catchy for them to read instead of formal language.

The images of people used in my magazine helps to represent the Hip Hop culture with the clothing, jewellery etc and look, meaning facial expression in photos.

I would say the main group of people that the magazine represents would be mainly black boys who like the Hip Hop subculture.

Jewellery Price is right for people it represents

• My magazine also represents social groups by the double page spread. I done a interview of a group for my double page spread and the questions and answers on the magazine meant that some one who comes from the same background as ‘HNO’ (the group I used) could relate to what they were saying when they answered the questions asked that people wanted to be asked. This is good because it could inspire people from the same background.

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

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

Picture of artists of ethnic minority

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

In comparison to the two other music magazines and my magazine below that do the same genre. The main image on the front cover is usually of a artist wearing certain type of clothes (clothes that are in fashion). It could be said that it is a statement. This helps to represent social clothes because of the similar dress sense, the Hip Hop attitude, jewellery etc. I think my magazine can be compared to the best Hip Hop magazines when it comes to portraying social groups associated with Hip Hop using photos. My magazine uses a photo of artist which portrays all the features and all the assumptions of what a Hip Hop artist would look like.

3.What kind of media institution might distribute your

media product and why? • Media institutions that produce Hip Hop

magazines would distribute my media product because they would have a good reputation of distributing magazines in the past. Hip Hop listeners who buy other Hip Hop magazines they distribute, would be tempted to buy my media product because they might think that type of media institution would only distribute good magazines because of reputation, therefore I think they would distribute my magazine but on a trial period and see how successful my media magazine is.

3.What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

IPC Media is an organisation that has been around since the 1800’s. It offers a very wide variety of different magazines but not many music magazines. NME is the main magazine they make. IPC would be a good company to distribute my magazine because it doesn't do that many music magazines and doesn't do Hip Hop Magazines. The only thing which would stop IPC from considering my magazine is that NME is a music magazine based on the charts. If a hip hop becomes more of a mainstream type of music and a lot of Hip Hop artists are featured in the charts, NME would then represent Hip Hop artists. This would not be good for IPC because the company wouldn't want to bring out a new magazine that would then go into competition/rivalry with their existing magazines.

Example of NME with Hip Hop artists

• On the other hand media institutions such as IPC who are known to produce and distribute other types of genre would maybe consider distributing my media product because they might want to expand and enter a new market meaning entering the world of distributing Hip Hop magazines.

• A disadvantage of this is that people who buy other Hip Hop magazines may not expect good Hip Hop magazines from a media institution known for distributing other genres. This could mean the media institution having to spend more o promoting my magazine what maybe they might not be willing to do because of the risk my magazine will not be successful.

3.What kind of media institution might distribute your

media product and why?

Bauer Media has not been around as long as IPC but distributes more music magazines than IPC.

The music magazines Bauer Media distribute are genre based and none of the genres they do are Hip Hop which is the genre of my magazine.

I think Bauer Media would be a better choice than IPC because if they brought out a new Hip Hop magazine it would not jeopardise their other existing music magazines which means they would just benefit from distributing my magazine if it successful.

3.What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

3.What kind of media institution might distribute your

media product and why?

4.Who would the audience be for your media product?

The audience for my magazine would be mainly black people between the ages of 14 to 25 because they are the group of people who listen to the type of music in my magazine the most. Overall my magazine is aimed at everyone but particularly black and other groups mainly because of social trends etc I think is to do where the music originated from and how the music began.

A lot of the artists featured in my magazine are of ethnic minority background so even though my magazine is not aimed at just ethnic minorities but I think my media product appeals to them because they might see some of the artists in my magazines as roll models to show hey can be successful and criticisms are wrong.

I think in socio economic terms the audience for my media product would be between:

C1 – Lower Middle ClassC2 – Skilled Working ClassD – Working ClassE – Those at the lowest level of subsistence.

Demographics

But mainly D because most of the artist come from that background and working class people can relate to what they say.

4.Who would the audience be for your media product?

Psychographics

Psychographics is looking at the way people see themselves and the kind of lifestyle they would like to have.

The audience for my media product in psychographics terms would be aspirers because they are people who want to get on in life and care about things that suceeders wouldn't such as expensive clothes jewellery, reputation and fame.

A lot of people that come from working class background, which I said would be the main group of people in socio economic terms would be aspirers because they are not born rich and aspire to be rich, famous and successful

4.Who would the audience be for your media product?

Feedback on my magazine showed me that Black and Asian boys liked the magazines more than any other type of people. It was mainly boys between 16- 23 of working class that liked the Hip Hop the most.

Feedback also told me that the audience for my magazine all seen the artists in my magazine as role models and aspired to be like them because of their success and wealth.

Black boys particularly liked Hip Hop and they said one of the main reasons for this was because they saw being as successful as the artists as a believable goal that could be reached. Also, because a lot of the artists featured came from the same background and areas they were also inspired.

• From the magazine feedback I received, different groups/ types of people said they liked the media product.

• I got better feedback from black and Asian boys than any other type of people.

4.Who would the audience be for your media product?

Did you like the magazine and would you buy it again?

Black

Girls Boys

White

Asian

Yes No

15 15 15 0

15 15 9 6

15 15 12 3

5.How did you attract/address your audience? • There was a number of ways I attracted/addressed

my audience. I used informal and formal language throughout the magazine.

• A reason why I decided to use some informal language some known as ‘slang’ is because I think that it was a good way to approach my readers because I come to a conclusion that the type of people who would listen to the style of music in my magazine would prefer it not to be 100% formal.

• The lyrics used by artists that fit into the Hip Hop genre is informal in a lot of verses and the lyrics are short and quick to remember.

• Even there was a lot of informal language, formal language was used where it was necessary to make the magazine be more professional.

5.How did you attract/address your audience? Another way I addressed my audience were as fans which is what they are, but article headlines were wrote like they were talking directly to the reader which I think had a big effect on the audience.

My feedback showed that the people who read the magazine felt it had a warm and welcoming way of language and made the articles seem like a conversation between them and the artist when there was interviews.

• I have learnt to improve on my skills using Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Indesign and have improved on my PowerPoint and writing techniques in how to address a reader using different types of language.

• I have learnt the importance of camera shots meaning types of camera shots such as medium close up, close up, medium and long shots. Different types of shots all have different effects when a reader looks at them and I think the types of photos say a lot about the magazine as a whole.

6.What have you learnt about technologies from the process of

constructing this product? (Screenshots will help to illustrate this)

6.What have you learnt about technologies from the process of

constructing this product? (Screenshots will help to illustrate this)

I have learnt that when making a magazine In Design is better for layout arrangement and text. Meaning that In Design would be a better choice of software to use than Photoshop when doing double page spreads

I have learnt that when wanting to manipulate photos, Photoshop is the better software to use instead of In Design, because it is better for editing photo and changing thing on pictures. Photoshop is the best software to use for Front Covers in my opinion

I created my front cover by having a yellow background as the first layer on Photoshop. I then placed the photo taken by me on the background.

I then cropped around the image. Once the cropping was done which is the hardest part I just added text to the image.

Example of this

6.What have you learnt about technologies from the process of

constructing this product?

(Screenshots will help to illustrate this)

6.What have you learnt about technologies from the process of

constructing this product? (Screenshots will help to illustrate this)

6.What have you learnt about technologies from the process of

constructing this product? (Screenshots will help to illustrate this) • Cropping • Quick selection• Changing background

In conclusion also learnt that the way a photo is very important to the look the and impression of the artist

Looking back and comparing my music magazine and student magazine.

I think the main difference between them is that my music magazine looks more realistic compared to my student magazine.

It uses more conventions that a real magazine would use compared to my music magazine.

7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Front cover

Comparing the two and looking back. I think I have learnt how to arrange things better on a page and how to make it more organised and not just boxes and text everywhere with no sense of layout. I have learnt that having a background colour is more effective than having the photos original background because when you edit the background it helps to sharpen the look of the photo.

7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Looking back and comparing my music magazine and student magazine.

I think the two contents pages are similar but my music magazine uses more conventions than my student magazine.

7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Comparing the two and looking back. I think I have learnt more about conventions that are used on a contents page such as, page numbers, editors note, dateline etc. I have learn that these conventions give a realer look to the magazine meaning it makes the magazine look better and more realistic. Also I continued to use the same style text that was in in my music magazine front cover which I done to carry on same theme throughout the magazine

Contents

I Did not do a double page spread for my student magazine. Making a double page spread meant I had to use Adobe InDesign more.

Using InDesign more meant I explored with the program more and discovered how to do things which I did not know how to do when I was making my student magazine.

The result of this is that knowing how to use the magazine more it meant I done things to make my magazine look better and more realistic.

7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the

full product?

7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Double page spread

A double page spread a big difference from the step preliminary task to the main task. I have learnt the importance of how a double page looks before reading the article. I learnt the page has to catch the readers eye and there are many ways of doing this such as bright colours, bold letters, pictures of artists and a good theme of the page.