EVALUATION

1. IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?

COMPARING THE COVERS

Q1.

My masthead is very similar to Vibe’s, it is very big, is all the way across and takes up about a 5th of the magazine. The font is bold and very easy to read. Just like vibe, I made the name red, this contrasts against the black and white background and stands out, this would be eye catching on a shop shelf.The difference between mine and Vibe’s masthead is that I have used a selling line and vibe hasn’t, however it is not me that is challenging the codes and conventions it is vibe, most magazines have one.

Masthead

Q1.

Dominant imageJust like vibe, my magazine only features one main artist. Both images are in black and white but have been edited to get rid of the greyness making them look more professional. Both of the people are making eye contact, this will bring intimacy between them and the reader.

The difference between the images is their facial expressions. Vibe has a more serious look with the moody facial expression probably to make him look more professional, whereas my model is slightly smiling giving a more friendly impression.

Q1.

Cover linesJust like Vibe, I have only used a few cover lines that are quite small, they only take up a third of the page. The cover lines are only of artists names and don’t really say anything about anything else that will be featured in the magazine – this is because it is a music magazine so the most important thing would be the artists and the magazine would be based around them.

Q1.

Main cover lineA code and convention I’ve followed is to have one main cover line. At first I didn’t have this and my front cover looked very plain so I added it on. Vibe also has a main cover line and theirs is also featuring an artists name meaning they are probably a key feature in the magazine. Both of the cover lines have a strap line underneath that give the impression that its something exclusive ‘REVEALS EVERYTHING’ and ‘THE UNTOLD STORY’ – this is a way of getting people to buy the magazine as it seems the magazine is giving something extra.

Q1.

Banner

Date

Barcode & Price

Website

I have put these on my front cover whereas vibe hasn’t, they may have theirs on the back as it’s not something that needs to stand out, they’re something that needs to be there but aren’t a main feature. I have used a banner across

the bottom of the cover with a few extras that will be in the magazine, vibe hasn’t but it is still a convention of magazines so i’m not challenging them.

Both my magazine and Vibe has put the date small at the bottom, its not something that needs to stand out but it has to be on there. Both magazines are monthly magazines.

Vibe has put its website on the front cover but not small and at the bottom so it isn’t a main feature, i don’t think it has to be on there and so decided to put mine on the contents page instead.Q1.

COMPARING THE CONTENTS

Q1.

Images

Both magazines have used images in boxes – I think this gives a professional look with it looking very neat, however i’ve used a border around mine just for effect whereas the other magazine hasn’t. The images are all of music artists, obviously because it is a music magazine and so it is all about them. The images have the page numbers on them but no anchorage/caption to say what the articles will be about, both magazines have challenged this convention as it’s what should be on there.

Q1.

Editor’s message and copy of front cover

Unlike Billboard i have included an editors message on my magazine, i have done this to make it more personal, creating a relationship between the editor and the reader. Billboard might have just decided not to have one because they dont think they need one, but i think its a nice touch.

Also unlike Billboard i have a copy of the front cover on my contents, they again, might have decided they dont need it and so haven’t included it but i think it brings continuity to the magazine. However, they have used a copy of the masthead which is bringing continuity, so this could be the reason for not having an image of the cover.

Q1.

SubheadingsJust like Billboard, i have split my contents into different sections, ‘exclusive interviews’ in one section and then the other section is just the other articles. Splitting them into sections makes it easier for readers to navigate around.All page numbers are written down the side and easy to see, i have put mine into boxes for design purposes but Billboard has just kept theirs plain and simple. There is the title and a little description of all articles next to the page numbers, the reason Billboard and I have done this is to give extra information to the readers.Q1.

Header

Like Billboard contents is written is big, black, bold writing to make it really stand out. Billboard has written theirs all the way across the top but has a font that is different and so looks good, my font hasn’t got anything unusual about it but i have cut the word up into 3 sections making it unique.

Q1.

Promotion

I have used an offer on my magazine whereas Billboard hasn’t – maybe because they’ve already used it in a different magazine. Using an offer will help to keep regular customers and i think readers will appreciate having one on there as it is giving them something extra, an offer is a convention of a music magazine.

Q1.

COMPARING THE DOUBLE PAGE SPREADS

Q1.

HeadingThe titles of both articles are very large and take up a lot of the double page spread even though they are only three words long. Mine is very large in big, black, chunky writing with an effect on making it different, NME has gone for a different style of font with a more girly looking font – not bold and in italics, maybe because the article is about a woman.

Q1.

ImagesFirstly, the number of images is different`, NME has only used one, whereas i have chosen to use many. But also the body language and facial expressions are different, Florence’s (NME) body language looks very confidence and her facial expression is very serious with eye contact bringing intimacy with the reader, Whereas my model has got more relaxed body language, more slouched and his facial expressions look like he has a ‘not-caring’ attitude. The reasons for these differences are because of the different genres they are in.

Q1.

StandfirstNME and I have both used a standfirst on our double page spread, i think its important to have one as it gives the reader a choice of whether they’d like to go on and read the rest of the article.We have both highlighted our artists name in a different colour, this makes it stand out which is what we want as they are what the article is about, it is important to highlight who they are.

Byline Stating who wrote the article and who took the pictures – it is something that has to be on there but doesn’t have to stand out so like NME i have just put it small underneath the title and out of the way.

Q1.

Dropcap

Small font

OTHER BASIC CONVENTIONS NME AND I HAVE USED:

Page numbers

Q1.

2. HOW DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT REPRESENT PARTICULAR SOCIAL GROUPS?

There is a lot of Iconic imagery associated with hip-hop audience. It would represent the gang culture, the kind of person to be wearing a lot of expensive bling, tattoos, with a snapback cap and baggy clothes. The kind of person to be associated in trouble carrying a weapon such as a gun. They would like to be seen with a pretty women for the ‘esteem of others’ (other people to think highly of them).

Q2.

3. WHAT KIND OF MEDIA INSTITUTION MIGHT DISTRIBUTE YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT AND WHY?

IPC media might distribute encore as it doesn’t yet publish a Hip Hop magazine and so there is a gap in the market for it. It would also be a good choice as its good at what it does, it kept NME in the market for over 60 years.

Q3.

WHY NOT ?

Although Bloomberg would be good at publishing a Hip Hop magazine as it already does – Vibe, I dont think it would publish encore as the two magazines would be in competition. It is also a USA based company and so not relevant.

Q3.

4. WHO WOULD THE AUDIENCE BE FOR YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT?

Age and Gender

The target audience for my magazine would be 16-24 year olds as this is the audience for my genre. It would be both male and females as both genders are the audience for hip-hop with just a slight tilt to males, I haven’t put anything in my magazine bias to a certain gender – I’ve used pictures of both males and females and I’ve used colours that aren’t associated with a certain gender.

Q4.

Ethnicity

Typically the ethnicity will be mainly black people as this is the main audience for hip-hop and most of the images in my magazine are featuring black people. However now hip-hop is listened to by a wide range of ethnicities with a lot of white people too, so any ethnicity could be the audience.

Q4.

Social class

The social class group for my magazine is mainly C1 C2 and D as these are unskilled manual workers, unemployed or still in full time education, and people of my age group will mainly be doing this. However, there could still be a significant ABC1 portion among the older age group of the target audience.

Q4.

Psychographic profile

The audience would be dominated by aspirers, they’re typically younger and so want to add to their material world. They will spend their money on the latest brands and gadgets.

Q4.

5. HOW DID YOU ATTRACT/ADDRESS YOUR AUDIENCE?

The list of artists will attract people who are familiar with them – people who listen to this genre of music.

Main image of a young person will attract younger people as it is someone they could relate to or aspire to be like.

Having a list of extra things inside the magazine lets the reader know there will be a lot in there and so worth buying.

My masthead will attract my audience straight away due to the brightness of it against the black and white background.

Q5.

Images of younger people attracting a young audience as they are people they can relate to / aspire to be like. Also the images are of black people and this is the main audience of hip-hop so this could attract them as they think its for their culture.

Using artists names that the hip-hop audience will be familiar of will attract them.

Easy to find articles due to the list format.

Saving money offer attracting the C1, C2, and D audience that my magazine would have.

Q5.

The questions asked are the type of questions the audience would ask about and so this would bring interest for them.

Layout of photos and the way he is posing differently in all of them looks like a photoshoot and makes it visually appealing.

Q5.

To attract my audience I had to add things they wanted, therefore I used my questionnaire results to make sure I included everything they wanted, for example…

Q5.

My questionnaire results shown they wanted to see all of these things in a new music magazine and so I included them all.

Q5.

They wanted the front cover to feature one main artist rather than a range of artists, therefore this Is what I did.

Q5.

Q5.

There was an equal amount of people who picked colour photos and a mixture of black and white and colour. Therefore I did a mixture to please both as a mixture has colour in too.

6. WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNT ABOUT TECHNOLOGIES FROM THE PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTING THIS PRODUCT?

I used a digital camera to take all of my images. You could manipulate the images and edit them on the camera, but I decided I’d rather do this on Photoshop with a bigger screen to work with.

Q6.

I used Adobe Photoshop to make my front cover and to edit photos.

Q6.

I used Image Adjustments to change the brightness and contrast of my image to get rid of the greyness and make it look more black and white.

Q6.

From the ‘fx’ menu i added a stroke to my cover lines, making them stand out and easily readable.

Q6.

One of the photos on my contents page had a yellow tint, so i used photoshop image adjustments to change the brightness and contrast to get rid of this.

Q6.

I used Adobe InDesign to make my contents page and double page spread.

Q6.

I used the Magnetic Lasso tool from the menu on the left hand side to do my cut outs. I selected carefully around the edge of my model and then selected round the edge and clicked delete. This created a clear cut out and I did this for all my double page spread images.

Q6.

I used a stroke around the images to give them a double lined border. This fits in with the design of my magazine as i have used thick black lines in a few places.

Q6.

I used a text box and used the rotate button at the top to rotate it clockwise.

Q6.

I used the line tool from the left side bar to create the design of lines across the page. I made them solid and 5pts thick, I repeated this 3 times. I then sent them to the back so they would be behind the main image.

I also used the line tool to make two small lines to put a design around the page numbers.

Q6.

I added a drop cap to my text using the paragraph icon on the right. I changed it to go two lines down as any bigger than looked too big.

Q6.

I used Microsoft Powerpoint to make my presentations, i then uploaded them onto slideshare before embedding them onto my blog.

Q6.

I used dafont.com to download a font to use for my double page spread title.

Q6.

 

7. LOOKING BACK AT YOUR PRELIMINARY TASK, WHAT DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE LEARNT IN THE PROGRESSION FROM IT TO THE FULL PRODUCT?

When doing the preliminary task i learnt codes and conventions of magazines that i then went on to use for my main task, things such as...

To use the rule of thirds when laying out my pages, it is a convention of all magazines and makes it look much more professional.

Q7.

To make my masthead as big as possible, all the way across and big, bold and in a bright colour to make it stand out. However in my preliminary task i noticed it still looked abit small and is it wernt very big vertically, therefore when i went on to my main task i made it so it took up a fifth of the page and it looked much better.

Q7.

To use a banner at the bottom of the page just to add a little bit extra. However in my preliminary task i did it quite big taking up alot of the page and standing out as a main feature, i also added a puff on it which stood out as a main feature on the cover. When looking back at my cover i thought it looked too much and so for my main task did it much smaller not standing out much and i think this looks much more professional.

Q7.

To put cover lines around the edge but not covering any of the models face. In my preliminary task i just used plain text for my cover lines and looking back at it i dont think they stand out very much and they aren’t that easy to read, therefore for my main task i used strokes around the cover lines to avoid this problem.

Q7.

To have one main artist on the front cover is effective as they can make direct eye contact with the reader creating intimicy. Also to keep the eyes of the model in the top third of the cover makes it look much more effective than if they were to be lower down. The facial expressions of the model help create a mood for the magazine, i learnt this in my preliminary task when my model was smiling a big smile it gave the magazine a cheesy feel so for my main task my model only did a slight smile making it much less cheesy but slightly friendly but professional instead.

Q7.

To add an effect on the border of my images to make them stand them out – i added an outerglow on my prelimary task and a double lined border on my main task. I played around with all the effects so i knew what they were all like by the time i come to do my main task.

Q7.

To use boxes for everything when using indesign makes it much more accurate when lining everything up and the spaces between them, e.g. All the text in the same row could of been done in one text box but i learnt putting them in seperate boxes is much easier. I was much more familiar with using them by the time i got to do my main task.

Q7.

In my preliminary task there was a lot of empty space, i didn’t know what else to put on there it was just images and the text, but after a bit more research i found i could include things like a copy of the cover, a subscribe offer and an editors letter and so i included these in my main task.

Q7.

We didn’t have to make a double page spread in the preliminary task, but when making the main task a lot of the stuff involved things i’d learnt from using indesign in the preliminary, e.g. Placing photos into boxes and having seperate boxes for everything.

Q7.