Music magazine- Evaluation

Final front cover

Forms and conventions

When it came to the different genre conventions i took a bit of time examining the elements held by a Hip Hop music magazine which was the genre i would be doing, and how i could conform subvert form these different elements. Firstly many hip hop magazines tend to have single, or double word mast heads however, i wanted my magazine to subvert from this convention by giving it a triple word mast head. This gave my magazine uniqueness and authenticity making it stand out. I think that apart from this my magazine cover conformed to most of the other genre conventions such as the clothing worn in the imaged used, the style of typography and the layout of the text. I did this because i did not want the cover to be too different as this could diver potential consumers from buying the magazine.

My contents page also conformed and differed from those used in hip hop magazines. Firstly, i made sure to stick with a few colour schemes through out the contents pages so that the reader is not bombarded and feels overwhelmed with too many colours. Many contents pages that i have seen are very simplistic and i tried to follow this by only using three images. The research also allowed me to create different drafts of for the contents page.

Draft Final

RepresentationHow does my magazine represent particular social groups?

I think that my magazine represents the young people that enjoy listening to Hip Hop music. I have done this by using a teenager for the main image of the front cover and also in the contents page, this would allow the readers to feel closer to the magazine because the individual in the image is of a similar age to them . I have also included pictures of people that may influence the young people of today in the contents page.

Distribution of magazineWhat kind of institution might distribute my magazine ad why?

I think that institutions that might distribute my magazine can vary. Firstly, i think that my magazine could be distribute at all major book shops such as WHSmiths etc and also at corner shops and any other stores that distribute magazines. I also believe that clothing stores such as FootLocker, JD and Urban outfitters could possibly sell the magazine because these clothing stores provide clothing that you would link to the Hip Hop industry meaning that the magazine would not be out of place there. However, stores like FootLocker already provide customers with a free magazine meaning that my magazine would have to be cheap if not free.

Furthermore, due to technological advances in recent years I think that my magazine could possibly be distributed on the internet or the consumers could possibly access it through a subscription which means that they will receive the magazine each month.

Target audience

As i have stated in my rationale the target audience for my magazine are males and females from the ages of 16 to around 25- 26 years of age. This is because i think that this is the age group that mostly listen to Hip Hop and R&B.

What would be the target audience for my magazine?

Attracting/ addressing the audienceHow did i attract/ address my audience?

I attracted my audience with a colourful and eye-catching masthead. This drew the reader towards the magazine before my next from of attraction took effect. My other form attracting the readers was naming big artists within the Hip Hop and R&B industry such as 50 Cent, drake, Jay Z and Lil Wayne. This might attract the reader to the magazine even though their favourite artists may not be the model on the front cover they will still be interested in purchasing the magazine because they will want to find out about the stories associated with the other artists. Moreover, the sub heading will also attract reader because it is promoting other articles within the magazine making them want to buy it to read the other articles and shows them that there is more to the magazine than just the feature article.

Technology/constructionWhat have i learnt about technologies from the construction of my magazine?

I have learnt many things through the construction process of my magazine. Firstly i have learnt that with photography it is not always good if the model is looking straight down the camera. Also it is sometimes effective to have an image that is not in focus was it could have many different connotations. Also lighting plays a major part when it comes to connotations and also editing. Whilst taking my picture it was very easy to achieve lighting effect using simple lamps which could come in handy if i move on to do my own photography out side of school. The pictures to the right are an example of experimentation with lighting that i have created using a small computer lamp at different angles. It looks very good and effective and can have different connotations.

When it came to editing I found that it was easier to cut images that had contrasting colours, meaning that it was easier to cut out someone's body if they were against a white background. This would come in handy when editing and taking images because i will know how to take pictures that i will be able to edit easily. I have also improved my Photoshop skills greatly due to the production of my magazine cover.

Preliminary and music tasksLooking back at my school magazine cover, what do i think i have learnt between creating that and creating my music magazine? How did the school magazine task help? I think that the school magazine task helped me greatly. Firstly, it allowed me to familiarize my self with Photoshop meaning it helped me learn the basics such as cutting out images adding different backgrounds and text. It also allowed me to get to know the basic layout of a magazine even though the two magazine were completely different basic things such as masthead placement and main heading placement where similar between the two magazines.

Once i had completed the school magazine cover i was happy and at the same time i wanted to out do myself when it came to creating the music magazine on my own. The preliminary task allowed me to get more confident with photography and also editing making me want to improve and create an even better quality piece of work.

Music magazine

School magazine