As Media Evaluation G321

By Jae Plummer

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

Question 1

Front coverIn the creation process of making my magazine I used a variation of typical codes and conventions. I knew what these were from becoming familiar with them from doing the generic codes task:- http://

jaeplummerasmedia.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/i-used-pun-from-kings-of-leons-hit-song.html- http://

jaeplummerasmedia.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/the-typography-choose-matched-zombie.html

- http://jaeplummerasmedia.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/the-typography-choose-was-revolved.html

- http://jaeplummerasmedia.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/i-choose-this-name-for-group-as-i-think.html

- http://jaeplummerasmedia.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/i-used-white-font-as-it-stand-it-on.html

I then looked at existing products to familiarises myself with these features:- http://jaeplummerasmedia.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/magazine-analysis-of-xxl.html

Question 1

Front coverFrom these exercises I was able to have a clear understanding of the layout of magazines as shown in the example. The convention rules that I followed are circled below, the masthead follows the ‘left-third’ and the

Main cover line stands out a lot more compared to

The cover lines. The bar code and price also are

Placed typically in the bottom right hand corner.

Question 1

Challenges and developmentsTo give my magazine its own identity and interpretation of these conventions I included challenges and developments to them. The main image shown in the example below is in grey which is not something you will

Often see on a magazine. Also the masthead is quite big

I did this in order for it to stand out and show a sense of

Authority on the front cover to show its importance.

Question 1

InfluencesI took most of my influence from similar products in

particular ‘XXL magazine’. This made sense to do as it

shares the same genre as my magazine, which is rap.

I took inspiration for my layout as shown in the XXL edition

of ‘the game’ as this does I put the main cover line in front

of the cover star. I also was inspired by the photography

that was used quite frequently for XXL of the medium close

ups of cover stars, I also did this however decided not to use

a white background as I felt this made it look to plain and empty.

Question 1

Question 1

My contents page fits with my front cover as it follows suit of colours, I was influenced for this mainly by Q magazine even though it doesn’t have the same genre as I do therefore I changed fonts and the style. Using the borders I was able to still keep the focus on the cover star as well as making the Contents clear on the page due to the contrast between the black background and white writing.

Contents page

Double page spreadWhen creating a double page spread I firstly had to look at other existing double page spread and I chose to look at one from ‘XXL magazine’ this being my inspiring magazine.- http://

jaeplummerasmedia.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/double-page-spread-from-inspired.html

I analysed the double page spread

So that I then knew the conventions

of a double page spread. From this

I incorporated a large image that is

Set as the background and I feel

this makes the cover star the main

Focus as it should be.

Question 1

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Question 2

My magazine is aimed at teenagers, mainly boys who enjoy the music genre rap. I used XXL magazine to help me understand how to fit my magazine with its genre and also how to target it at my audience, who is teenage boys.

Cover starThe cover star ‘J Indigo’ emulates a cool laid back teenage boy,

who is shown as being independent through the camerawork

showing him in a lone light but yet still stands out.

Question 2

The other photos used also expressed the same as my cover stars as being inquisitive as well as having depth within their personality that readers of the magazine want to be revealed. They persisted with the theme of being laid back yet shady. Boys dominate the magazine typically teenage boys this gives my target audience something to relate to as they will be mostly teenage boys themselves.

Question 2

What kind of media institute might distribute your product and why?

Question 3

The genre of shiftyrap is similar to XXL and vibe, these magazines are from major distribution companies. Shifty rap could work well for a major distributor as it will feature a lot of upcoming and established artists and will include fresh ideas and styles hence making it likely to be a top selling magazine.

Question 3

I researched on several magazines and the distributor that I think should distribute my magazine is IPC media : http://www.ipcmedia.com/

The reason for this is it is a British major distributor that not yet publishes a rap magazine and I feel that this is a spot that my magazine can fill. They also advertise on many platforms such as websites, printing and modern technology like tablets and mobiles, which would be most beneficial for my magazine.

Question 3

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Question 4

My magazine will be aimed at teenagers mainly boys aged between 16-20.

Question 4

Age and gender of target audienceThe age of my target audience will be people over 16 to about 21, so it is quite a young target audience, it will also be aimed at males and this is shown through the colours used in the magazine and it being dominated by male artists as rap is more of a male genre of music.

Magazines similar to mineMagazines similar to mine are XXL and vibe magazine, they will also have a similar target audience to mine which will be young males again the reason being that rap music has a large male audience that tends to be quite young.

Question 4

How did you attract/address your audience?

Question 5

MastheadMy masthead ‘shiftyrap’ is in a bright red colour which makes it stand out as a

masthead should as should, the font of the masthead is also different giving it a unique look this is something that people will remember and be attracted to as it gives them visual interest.

coloursThe colour scheme of black and red contrast well together, the colour red has

connotations for energy which relates to my target audience of youth and teenagers. The black gives the magazine a dark and mysterious edge. Red is also used in similar products such as ‘XXL’ so it is clear that this is colour is successful in attracting an audience.

Question 5

ImagesThe images in the magazine use direct address to engage with the audience, the

direct address is particularly strong on the main image (front cover). The images of the cover star show the dress code of most teenagers today for example the cap and hoodie, presenting this as being magazine including young artists that my audience can relate to.

PugThe pug attracts the audience as it offers a free item inside the magazine creating

a want from the costumers for the item and is an incentive for the audience to want to open the magazine. It is in the middle of a circle making it stand out on the page.

Question 5

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing the product?

Question 6

During the process of making the magazine I used a number of different software's and each of these had there strengths and weaknesses. Here are the strenghts of each:

Question 6

Microsoft Publisher

Pageplus Paint.net

Easy and logical to use

Being a software used for magazines means it gives a professional look.

Use of layers allows you to return to layers and edit or delete at any time

Able to add text and images on to documents easily

Cut-out studio allows to crop images accurately

Easy to use and understand

Has a spell checker meaning mistakes are prevented

Images and text can easily be transformed

Able to add text and shapes

Clear print previews

Able to save in many different formats

Images can be edited with the effects and tools

Weaknesses:

Question 6

Microsoft publisher

PagePlus Paint.Net

Programme is too simple

New users of the programme will find it complex to use

Effects come out as a poor quality

Limited effects gives little choice to what you can do

A wide choice of effects could lead to over using them

Unable to edit text after deselecting a layer

Exact placement of text and images is fiddly and difficult

Limited choice of shapes and brush effects

Drafting and planningBefore creating any features of the magazine I firstly had to draft and plan. This involved me looking at existing products and looking into more detail about my genre of music so that each aspect of the magazine was going to be well thought out. I experimented with different features of the magazine and this helped me to come to a final idea by building my skills and creativity before hand. A difficulty that I faced in the process was getting the layout right as this could be the difference between it looking professional and looking amateur.

http://jaeplummerasmedia.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/page-plus-project.html

Question 6

Photographic choicesBefore I even began to take my pictures I needed to make a plan of how my pictures would be taken to convey the music genre and the artists attitude and also how it would fit in with the layout with the cover lines and other features.

Doing this allowed me to have an idea in my head of how the photographs should be taken and this mean that the end result would be better and I would have a wider choice to choose from.

These are some of the photos that I ended up with:

Question 6

Blogger The whole process of the magazine was displayed through the use of an online blog. I found this as an effective way to upload and display my work on. I am able to access the blog anywhere at anytime as there is an app which proved to be very useful. This was a much better way to display coursework rather than using a folder as it is self organised and the work cannot be lost this way. Blogger also had an added freedom as I could add, delete and edit posts and this was much more efficient than having to rewrite work.

Question 6

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

Question 7

Question 7The layout of the preliminary task is very simple and the fonts are too big and don’t surround the cover star well. The fonts also seem to be all oversized.

Preliminary task Final product

Question 7The contents page of the preliminary task is plain and includes no images. Looking at the final product I can see that There is a clear colour scheme and layout and also there are images, so I can see a real big improvement.

Preliminary task Final product

How successful do you feel your end product is in fulfilling the task? How well does it fit the brief?

Question 8

Question 8Overall I feel that my final product was successful and that it fit the brief well of a music magazine. Through thorough research I was able to identify my target audience and then manipulate this into the product through colour schemes and features that appeal to them. I created a rap magazine that uses inspiration from existing similar products helping it the fit the music genre. I feel that each page is linked to each through the brand. I feel that main cover is the strongest part of the magazine as it includes good photography and layout that all ties in together with the colour scheme.