EVALUATION QUESTION 7 -LOOKING BACK AT THE PRELIMINARY TASK WHAT DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE LEARNEDIN THE PROGRESSION FROM IT TO THE FULL PRODUCT?

My preliminary task was to create a front cover, contents page and a double page spread for a music magazine. In-order to do this I need to take photos, (Canon EOS 400D camera) at first instant I found it difficult to focus my images but after a few practices, I found myself to be a lot more familiar with the camera. With my rehearsed skills I found that there were conventions in how images were taken for music magazines. After doing extensive research as well as looking at recognised and well known magazines, I found that the image on my contents page will challenge the standard conventions of a music magazine. At the early stages of constructing my contents page I was hesitant to challenge the standard conventions, however after looking more deeply into my research I found that other magazines as well as the well established ones have challenged the standard conventions of a music magazine, this gave me reassurance as I realised convention are what is identified to a certain genre but they can be broken and do not always need to be followed. We this relevant information I have both followed and challenged conventions of a music magazine which can be found in my first question.

A main issue that I encountered was time management I found my-self really struggling to get tasks completed on time, this brought me a lot of stress this also gave me taste of how a professional who has a short space of time to create a magazine must feel. However after going over things a couple of times and managing my time better I found that I could complete tasks on time, this also gave an indication the professionals manage their time well and focus which is why the majority of the time they meet their deadlines. Focusing also allowed completing task at a faster rate as I progressed with it allowed me to complete Photoshop tasks quicker which gave me more time for other assignments i.e. evaluation.
I also learned a great deal about the equipment needed to take pictures such as what is known as the soft boxes diffuse the light so that it hits the subject softly eliminating harsh shadows and creates a smooth effect when lighting a subject. This allowed the images of my models to look very natural which was beneficial in creating the magazine, however there hazards with working with the soft box, this equipment needs to be operated with caution and attention as it could cause injury to an individual uses it in the wrong way. The result of misuse of the soft box could result in an electric shock.

Q6 WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED ABOUT TECHNOLOGIES FROM THE PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTING THIS PRODUCT?

I learned a great deal about Photoshop as I was not familiar with it before hand. I used adobe Photoshop CS3 it is an advance editing software. This software helped me to do two things, firstly it enabled me to create and edit my media product. When creating my media product I used tools such as the spot healing brush tool to improve the appearance of the models and blending options to lower the opacity of the images as well as the horizontal type tool for the purpose of text. I used the brush tool in order colour various components of the magazine in my chosen colour which is purple. Secondly it helped me to convert files, for example from a Photoshop file to a JPEG file as Photoshop files can not be placed on blogger.

I used the search the Google search engine in order to provide me with various music magazines which I then used for my textual analysis. Google has a large image database which I could view a vast number of professional magazines. In terms of research Google provided me with web search to find a range of different publishing companies. It is hard to put a number on the amount of images Google have stored which is way I used this search engine in order to supply me with images relevant to my coursework.







Before hand I have already used the Canon EOS 400D 10.1 megapixel camera so I did not learn anything relatively new about it, however when taking the picture for my magazine there was a need for lighting to improve my images, I learned as you take a picture using the cannon it had a sensor on the top of it which gives out inferred readings, the camera the sends a reading to the other inferred sensor which then makes the light flash. This all happens in a few seconds which means as the picture is taken with the cannon a flash is given off at the right time. This light that is given off has the ability to lighten a picture in the right places depending on where it is located.
I a used software on the computer called Microsoft word 2007 this is where I typed my work before it was transferred to blogger. Word was used frequently in order to finish my work and it has a feature called spell check which prevented me from making a lot of grammatical errors as well as providing word count to track how much I was writing. The similar software before, however I have not used the 2007 version, this version allowed me to change the font quickly and easily. The software also provided me with a dictionary to find or check any words I was pondering on.

EVALUATION QUESTION Q5 HOW DID YOU ATTRACT/ADDRESS YOUR AUDIENCE?

My magazine attracts my audience by having a very large dominant central image which features a young 16 yr old using a model of this age may encourage teens of this age to purchase the magazine. The costume that the model is wearing fits the trend or is very fashionable of what teens are wearing currently by young teens. The clothes being worn by the model is very expensive and this is what teens want have or aspire to have, which will again attract the audience that my magazine is aimed at. The clothing also helps the audience keep up-to-date changes in fashion. Teens have grown with technology with technology and are the consumers of most headphones, which is a reason why the model on the front page is wearing headphones. Most of all teens who will purchase the magazine will be owners of their own headphones; this will attract them as the model fit into the category or group they do. This also gives a clear indication along with the mike that the magazine also includes forms of music technology which as what my chose publishing house Musicmags specialize in.


The model is holding a mike in his hand, not only will this give an indication the audience about the artist but it will attract musicians. Musicians of this genre use mikes a lot and connote a saying in the rap industry which is “king of the mike”. The make signifies that the artist is a rapper which will cause anyone wanting or aspiring to be a rapper to purchase the magazine. The model at the front of the magazine will attract males, not only because of his sex but because he represents a music genre which dominated by males. On the contents page there is an image teenage male with a teenage female sitting on his knee this to show a strong female within the industry which all also attract females.

At the top half of my magazine where my masthead is situated I have used a large bold sans-serif font which gives an indication to my target audience that it is contemporary and the content which is inside. The cover lines are all highlighted in order to make them eye- catching as well as this the cover lines include “Exclusive interviews” which will attract the audiences as these are things the would like to read and will entice them to purchase the magazine

Q4 WHO WOULD BE THE AUDIENCE FOR YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT?

Base magazine is aimed at people of all races that listen to rap music. At first the large majority of people who listen to this genre of music were people of a black ground however this has changed over the years which means that the audience has also evolved. The magazine is aimed at people In the British and American culture as they have the most artists involved in the genre of rap in its current form. The culture presented in this genre is also British and American. In terms of age base magazine is aimed at teenagers and up from ages ranging from 15-30. There is a high age range of 30 to give people of this age who are within the rap music industry and others who also still listen to this genre of music. Typically people at the age of 30 enjoy reading relevant information and reviews within the music industry as well as the artists.
Teenagers are the main audience as the majority of the models within the magazine are teenagers. This is because the vast majority of music technology such as mp3s, iPods and the new doctor Dre beat head phones belong to young teenagers, this means that teens listen to a lot of music especially rap, suggesting that they are the right target audience. In addition to this the magazine contains information and reviews about interviews as well as concerts which is watched and attended by a vast number of teenagers.

EVALUATION QUESTION 3: WHAT KIND OF MEDIA INSTITUTION MIGHT DISTRIBUTE YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT AND WHY?

Link: http://www.musicmags.net/

Referring back to my case study on I found that they would be likely to distribute my music magazine
This would be beneficial for Musicmags as there is no magazine within their portfolio like or similar to the genre of my magazine. Although Musicmags focus mainly on music technology for music dealers having a music magazine of a genre similar to mine, will see Musicmags move into a new market. If this particular media institution does this it may increase its total market share throughout the total music magazine industry. As well as this it may also bring in a new stream of revenue for the media institution which will increase finance.

As the genre which I have chosen is Rap/hip-hop which is one of the most popular genres of music plus it is also entwined with products and advertisers. This means that a lot of advertisers will want to advertise within the magazine. An example of this is may be the headphones that are coming out from one of the most well-known rapper 50 cent; Adverts like this will provide Musicmags with another stream of revenue.
I would also choose to distribute my magazine through music stores and magazine retailers such as WH smith not only is this a well-known retailer but a means for the possible consumers of the magazine who live in the city to access the magazine. Also by using retailers such as WH smith connotes a sense of quality which can be indicated by the level of the price, different to a corner shop.

EVALUATION QUESTION 2: HOW DOES YOUR MUSIC MAGAZINE REPRESENT PARTICULAR SOCIAL GROUPS?

My magazine design has been made to represent teenagers ranging from ages 15 upwards, particularly teens that listen to the genre of rap/hip-hop music. This audience was selected from the results of my questionnaire. The magazine features a mixed-race male of the rap/hip-hop music genre, I represented this culture by allowing the model to fit in to the stereotype. For example the model is wearing a new era hat baseball hat which is a prop which is has been around since the birth of the genre.
This male model which I have used for my magazine cover is wearing the stereotypical costume a UK rapper would wear. The puffy jacket which he is wearing as long been associated with teen (youth) gangs it was is commonly worn by young people who are associated with a gang, this then in tern then represents teens. As well as this particular fashion and music are also linked, the change in urban fashion has seen the puffy jacket being worn by not only people in gangs but by a lot of young people which comes back to the sense that it represents them, which is why I have used it. Commonly the new era hat has become iconic not only is it worn by the rappers the makers of the music, but also the teens who listen to the music is know become part of the culture and fits into the stereotype of what a young urban teen who listens to rap/hip-hop music will wear. The hat alone represents both young teens and rappers.
The model is wearing a gold chain this is a well-known fashion statement which is to show the wealth of the individuals and is often linked with the stereotype of a rapper. I have researched and looked at many magazines of the genre and I have found that well-known rappers such as Kanye west and Jay Z wear these gold chains. For teens wearing a chain is an indication of how much money you have, how cool you look or if you fit in to the term “fly”. I also think the chain represents young black males as they are mainly the ones who dress like these and the rap music industry is also mainly dominated by black males which mean that the magazine also represents black males.  The model is also wearing an Armani top which is expensive clothing, in rap music having or wearing expensive clothing shows how cool you are and is once again an indication of how much money you have. In almost every example of a big rap/hip-hop music magazine it will be rare for the person on the front of the magazine to be wearing clothing which is not expensive.

EVALUATION QUESTION 1: IN WHAT WAY DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT, USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENEGE CONVENTIONS REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?

This is the magazine I analyzed in the begging, after looking at the denotations and connotations of the magazine based on the conventions, I decided to base my magazine on the one I previously analyzed. In order to make it look as realistic as possible as well as attracting the typical audience or people in this genre of music magazines, as a result I allocated similar conventions.






An example of this is my masthead which is in a large font size at the top centre of the magazine which is which is a frequent convention used throughout the rap music genre magazine. The font is similar to the example above which shows the sort of bubble writing this particular genre regularly use, this gives it its unique but typical look.

I have used a central image of a rapper on the front of my magazine, music magazines such as NME usually use a group as their central image but in terms of the rap/hip-hop music magazine genre usually use medium close up, as my magazine is of the same genre I have used the same convention. An example of this is shown the left






The medium close up connotes a sense of space for the audience make them feel closer to the person on the front of the magazine. Throughout music magazine history a long-shot could not be said to be the most dominant shot on a magazine cover.
I have also used cover lines on my magazine cover this convention I used in almost every area of the magazine industry and most importantly it is used by my magazine genre. I have used this convention in-order to attract my audience the cover line gives them an indication of the content within the magazine. In-order to separate my cover lines I used the plus sign this allows me to differentiate the cover lines.

A way in which I have challenged conventions is adding the editors note which is rarely used on a contents page. I have only found a small number where this is used out of the majority of the magazines which I researched. The reason for doing this is for an assurance of quality for the target audience. Within the note it is noted that the magazine and its contents has been checked by a test group beforehand.
Another way in which I have challenged conventions can again be found on my contents page, again this is not always found on a magazine contents page. At the bottom left my contents page is slot for competitions this is to tell the target audience where they can find possible prizes they could win. By doing this it will become a known feature of the magazine which audiences who purchase the magazine will always look for. For my magazine this my influence repeat sales.
Barcodes are always situated at the bottom left or right of the magazine this is because it is for the purpose of scanning and purchasing the magazine and therefore does not need to be eminent. The scratch magazine which I have analyzed, which is shown above has its barcode at the bottom left, this is also where I have situated my barcode