Genre: Black Female HipHop&RnB Music

Aziza Ouladhmidou-RobinsonMagazine Coursework

AS Media Studies

BLACKGYAL

Magazine Pre-Production Checklist

Done

Research

-Latest Music-Unsigned Music-Celebrities and Artists-UK Music related TV shows-Competitions to win prizes&vouchers-Interviews

Similar products on the market

Survey1. What gender are you?

2. Do you buy/read music magazines?

3. What would you like to see in a magazine?

4. How much would you usually spend on a magazine?

5. What type of black music would you like to be featured?

6. Would you buy a copy?

MusicFashionLife StoriesPuzzles and Comps

Latest GadgetsHealth and beautyYoung News/Events

Don’t <£1 £1.50 £2+

Hip-Hop Unsigned R&B Grime

Yes No Just Read

TV and Films All of the aboveSports

Yes No Not sure

If Other, please state _________________________

Male Female

1. What gender are you?

2. Do you buy/read music magazines?

3. What would you like to see specifically in a magazine?

MusicFashionLife StoriesPuzzlesTv and filmsLatest GadgetsHealth and BeautyYoung NewsSportsAll

YesNoJust Read

MaleFemale

1. What gender are you?

2. Do you buy/read magazines?

3. What would you like to see in a magazine based on black youths from South-East Londo

4. How much do you usually pay for a magazine?

5. What type of black music would you like to be featured?

6. Would you buy a copy?

Don’t<£1maybe £1.50upto £2

HipHopUnsignedR&BGrimeOther

YesNoNot Sure

Audience MemberMy chosen reader is a real life examplechosen as she is a typical girl of the blackheritage but very streetwise and sociable. She is quite intelligent and currently studyingAS/A Levels and BTEC Courses at College.She’s a typical representative of SouthLondon girls in general as she shares many interests with them.

DemographicsName: Leia CarterAge: 16Area: Croydon and Stockwell, UKGender: FemaleRace: ¾ Bajan and ¼ British

PsychographicsInterests: Photography, Music and Creative ArtsFavourite colour(s): Pink and GreenMusic Genre(s): R&B, HipHop, Slow Jams and RapSpare time: Socialising, studying, listens to music, watching movies, partying and going out with friendsSocial Network(s): Twitter, Kik, Whatsapp Messenger, Facebook, Instagram, Skype and BlackBerry Messenger (BBM)

Target Audience Profile

Analysis

I quite like the layout of this magazine as it is basic and clear to understand. However, it looks a bit too plain. The model on the front is eye catching as the clothing she’s wearing must have matched the fashion from that time. It looks like a very old magazine, a little bit vintage, which is something I’m not quite interested in. I like the font of ‘BLACK’ as its bold and straight forward.

I quite like the structure of this magazine as there aren’t any other captions revealing the content.

The font is quite basic, written in black as it is a black magazine relating to the contents and target audience. Also, the font is clear and basic but stands out.

The model on the cover is a black youth with represents the content of the magazine to express the involvement of black youths.

Graffiti on the wall behind the girl hints at black youths and being the ‘Genius of the crowd’ as well as including the last 3letters of the ‘youth’ as a clue that that’s the target audience.

Indicates that it is a teen magazine, highlighting it’s target audience.

An interview with a fashion designer which is what some youths, particularly female, will be interested in. This targets the female audience who aspire to fashion.

The background colour is quite neutral and calm. Also, it looks like a cool shade of blue. It’s quite plain to allow the model to stand out with her different colours.

I prefer this magazine layout as it is brighter and more colourful which appeals to youths as it seems ‘full of life’. It is eye catching and the model is attractive and targets girls that like the look of the model’s fashion. This magazine also aims at boys around 16-18 as captions includes ‘car drifting’, ’comedy debut’ and ‘first year survival’. I like the layout as it has a few captions revealing the content which is good as it doesn’t expose everything. This magazine more relates to the idea I had in mind of MY magazine.

‘Free’ is appropriate for the target audience as it’s for teenagers.

‘Moola’, also spelt as ‘Mula’ meaning money is street slang which is aimed at the youthful target audience.

Carmen Solomon’s a South African model that many young girls will know about if they are into fashion and can be seen as an inspiration to young girls.

‘Win’ is very eye catching for a lot of youths as an offering.

Indicates that it is a teen magazine, highlighting it’s target audience as ‘The fiercest mag for all SA youth’. Also, the font represents that it’s not a serious magazine and it is aimed at youths.

The bar of captions relate to their target audience ‘First Year survival’ targets 16-17 year olds starting college.

The background colour is quite plain and allows the cover model to stand out as it is so dark so her skin shade glows.

Analysis

This magazine is more relatable as it is similar to my magazine idea. It is the type of look I’m aiming for as it includes humour and targets it’s audience well. It includes quite a few bright colours that makes the magazine stand and catches the reader eyes. It targets both boys and girls as it’s captions in the tagline include things/people boys may be interested in as well as the image of the main image which may attract girls. However, it doesn’t have enough sub-stories to grab a variety of audiences, which is something I want in my magazine.

The subheading relates to the main story using the word ‘recipe’ and encourages youths to read further using the word ‘success’.

Indicates that it is a teen magazine, highlighting it’s target audience through the font. The font represents that it’s not a serious magazine and it is aimed at youths. Also, underneath the title, it states the slogan ‘Music. Culture. Life’ which ensures the reader what the magazine is based on

The bar of captions relate to their target audience, e.g. Rizzle Kicks and Body Piercing. It is also highlighted in yellow so it is more noticeable.

The background colour is clear white making the model the main focus.

Analysis

The main heading is brightly coloured and outlined in black to catch the readers attention. The heading relates to the main image quite well and has a sense of humour for the audience as the ‘Jam’ relates to the sandwich in the image

It signifies the magazine issue and volume which is very useful for the audience as it gives them a sense of knowledge. The model is quite conventional to a 18year old South London girl’s look with the makeup style and the nose piercing which targets that audience.

From your research so far what are your initial ideas? What do you propose your magazine will be like? Name?My initial idea of naming my magazine was ‘UKBY’ which is an acronym for ‘UK Black Youths’ and it targeted young black teenagers living in the UK but I decided on targeting specifically South London youths and naming my magazine ‘S-LDN’. I chose the genre of youths in South London as it is where I live and I am familiar with youths living in areas in South London. Also, I want to target youths I could relate to. My magazine will feature many sub-genres such as a unisex mixture of signed and unsigned music, fashion, films and news. Specifically, I will include an ‘advice and help’ section, enrolment and employment tips, Youth local news and Tributes, UK TV shows including youths that people will familiar with such as ‘Some Girls’, ‘Topboy’, ‘Waterloo Road’ and ‘Youngers’, competitions to win prizes including vouchers and interviews with local celebrities.My magazine cover layout will be quite basic with a few eye catching captions of each genre to entice my target audience. I will also have a girl and a boy as my main image on the cover to target both teenage girls and boys. I will include colours such as green, blue, purple, red and black which are all unisex colours alongside freebies and giveaways to grab the audience’s attention.

Response to brief/proposal

PLANNING

Moodboard

An overview/description of what your product will look like including ideas for colours, fonts, cover story and images.My magazine will be an all round teenager based from the streets of South London as it is more relatable. This would be easier to research into as I can get feedback from many different people I know. Also, to create the magazine, I can get local people, friends or family to model and interview. My magazine will have a variety of topics discussed in articles and upcoming artists and latest tunes featured as well as interviews. I am planning my magazine to be quite aspiring and relatable for youths of ages between 13 and 18. I also want it to be fun and entertaining to encourage youths to read more and get involved in the good way rather than the stereotypical ‘hood life’.I will use a variety of colours to symbolise diversity and to come across more appealing to the audience. I will layout the subheadings and hook stories inn animated bubbles for the theme of childhood but with a fun aspect. I will also include a variety of images of local ‘celebrities’ and latest news such as music updates, main TV soap and drama gossip, South London news, tips and advice and fashion extracts. It is aimed at many different audiences.I have two cover story ideas.The first one is a made up opinion on the app used by thousands of youths all around London, BlackBerry Messenger, being introduced to Androids and iPhones. I will gather opinions on the app and what people actually think of it and discuss whether it was a good transition or bad.The second is youths opinion on stereotypes including parties, alcohol and the well known drug Weed/Marijuana. I personally think this is a controversial and interesting topic that many youths will; share a variety of opinions on.

Treatment

Research into fonts

The font ‘Bernard MT Condensed’ as it is quite straight forward and bold. Also, it puts a cross the sense of basicness. It relates to my audience as it is quite similar to the artist J Spade’s mixtape which many teenage boys will recognise.

S~LDN

‘Stencil Std’ is quite a military font and represent tough which most teenagers will relate to ‘the streets’.

I chose this font ‘Bangers’ as it is quite cartoon like and not as serious as the basic and military fonts. It is aimed more at young people due to it’s simplicity but humour and amusement. Also, it isn’t straight, it is slightly slanted making it seem more realistic for a teenager to have stereotypically spray painted. It represents fun and is a well recognised font.

My Pictures Taken

When and where is your photo shoot happening, bearing in mind changes in the weather and access to equipment and personnel.I checked BBC Weather to see when it is sunny and warmish which is going to be quite rare as we approach winter. I am planning to take these photos outdoors on either a roadside or in an abandoned park with graffiti, for effect of the magazine. This would be very stereotypical but it symbolises the roughness and run down area but still with hope and community within the young people. To do this I could seek help from family members who would help with no charge. These people will be my photographer cousin Shyanne to take the pictures using her camera as access to equipment and helpful tips. Then I will get my cousin Leia and my sister Tia to model for my front page. I chose Leia to model as she is a stereotypical figure of South London as we know it. “A pretty light skinned girl +Curvy figure +Good fashion sense”However, if the weather continues to get worse (100 days of snow apparently) then I’d have to proceed with the photo shoot indoors. To do this, I could probably get Mr Jarrett to take some pictures of a few girls to model. Hopefully, this will run smoothly and the pictures will get taken and embedded into the magazine during production. As for models in school, I will get my close friends either Teri, Destoni, Vanessa or Natasha free of charge as they are the perfect example of representatives of my magazine.

Production scheduling