MAGAZINE EVALUATION

Mariam Ammour

My media product, fits into the genre of music magazines, and largely conforms to the conventions of how a music magazines should be, this is because i made sure everything I used, from images, to fonts,

to the way i presented the text and language, were all conservative grime related. I got ideas from looking at professional grime magazines, and that helped me a lot. For example the image i used for the front cover was a teenage boy at the age of 18, who was wearing a big puffy jacket and leaning against a

wall in an alley way. The image was taking at a medium shot, and was taken from a side angle, which jazzes up the image a little making it look more conventional, and fitting into the variety of the magazine.

The image was the background of the magazine, and the title and texts were set all around it which makes the picture stand out.

my magazine conforms to the codes of what would be acceptable of a grime magazine. The fonts, colours, and pictures I used are what you would expect to see on a magazine shelf in a shop,

which is what is accepted. I used a big bold font, which looked like graffiti in a bright attractive colour (purple), and the way I laid out the text was very similar to how you would find in a grime magazine. The language I used wasn’t

formal, it was more slang, but not in a sense where it wasn’t understandable. For example ‘keep locked on’ is a slag phrase and people who aren’t into grime or the language they use, the way the talk etc,

wouldn’t understand what it meant. Something unconventional about my grime magazine, was the fact that I didn't format my whole magazine in slang or ‘ghetto’ language, as you would normally find in grime

magazines. I decided to use understandable English language where not only people the magazine is aimed at can understand it.

In what way does your media product use, develop, or

challenge forms and conventions of real media

products?

Front cover

Contents page

• My contents page follows the conventions of a typical contents page, with a few images, which link to the ‘features’ and ‘regulars’. There is nothing that challenges the conventions because everything was

set out ordinarily: A Couple of features and a couple of regulars, which will consist inside of the magazine. I used the same color scheme as the rest of my magazine, to make it look professional and

organized. For my title I used a purple font with white font overlapping, which gives it a nice 3D effect, and same for the title ‘features’ and ‘regulars’ I used turquoise for the writing because it clashes against the black back ground and stands out clearly. The images I used was of the boy who I was interviewing,

an image of two boys who have collaborated and made a song together, and an image of a girl who performs her new single at a show. On the images I labeled what number page each article was going to be on, this was an easy way for people to access and realize where to look when they want to read each

article.

Double page spread

• My double page spread was an interview of a friend of mine who had become a DJ. The way i set out the double page spread was on one side i had a large medium shot image of the boy i was interviewing, standing in an alley way, dressed in a big puffy jacket, with tree’s in the back ground. That was something ididn’t find very conventional because it didn’t look very ‘ghetto’ to have tree’s in a grime magazine, but the image as a whole did look ‘ghetto’ and typical especially the way the boy was posing, with the hands crossed and looking directly at the camera. The colour of the walls were purple, which went well with the colour of the title, (purple) it looked very professional. On the other of the A4 sheet of paper is where ihad written out the interview. I stuck to the same colour scheme as the rest of the magazine. The title was purple , the questions were turquoise and the answers were in white. I had 11 questions with full long answers. I got idea’s of how to lay out my interview from looking at many other magazine interviews, and found the way i done it very clear and typical, as you would find in many magazines.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

• My magazine represents particular social groups such as fans of grime, and hip hop. It’s aims at people from the young ages of 14-24. it will only attract people who are into rap, ghetto music, and the style and conventions they follow. Teenagers and young adults are most likely going to be attracted in what my magazine is about and consists. For example the main features are: a male who has made it into the music industry as a DJ, this isn’t something that everyone would take interest in. The music the upcoming DJ will be producing will be, grime/hip-hop/R&B/Dancehall/reggae – people who are into rock or indie music, wont be concerned in what the DJ will be producing. But people who are into these genres of music, will take huge significance and actually read up on the interview. Another feature is of a female teenage singer performs her single at an event. She performs two songs that she has written herself, but follow the technique of grime, and funky house by what lyrics produced. Two grime artists who collaborate together, to make a song, which consists of them both rapping, the styled and way the produced the song was following the same techniques as the grime artist ‘skepta’ as they both see him as a role model, and take huge importance in his music. The way all the people in my magazine are dressed, is a very specific style, which would most likely be seen as ‘ghetto’ or ‘gangster’ because for instance my front cover is of a male, dressed in a big puffy jacket, with his arms folded, looking directly at the camera, the image was taken in an alley way which is conventional. The second image, is of a female teenager with curly hair, wearing a fury hat, the image is taken close up of just her face. This doesn’t exactly represent grime in anyway its just an ordinary picture of a girl, but I thought it wouldn’t be professional to make every picture follow the conventions. The picture of the two males making a song together, was taken next to a building with them both looking directly at the camera, it was taken from a high angle, to make them look important and significant, one of them were wearing a big puffy jacket, and the other was wearing a red ‘G6’ jacket, which is the new style for teenagers now days, who follow the style of grime.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

• The audience for my media product would most likely be teenagers, and young adults who take interest in the genre and style my magazine is following, people who enjoy grime/R&B/Hip-hop music, would have benefit of reading the magazine I have made. Because it is a music magazine, it consists of information and gossip about artists, and what they will producing, or have produced. I think my magazine will attract quite a wide audience, because its something most teenagers would be into, and it also consists of three genres (grime, r&b, hip hop) so it widens the range of people that it will attract. I think it will aspire the audience, because it contains of articles and interviews that will give them an example of what they might want to do themselves. For example the interview on the double page spread, is of a boy who has been longing to become a DJ since he was a little boy, and he worked as hard and achieved his dream in the end, this could boost people to work hard with what they want to do in life, and end up achieving what they’ve always wanted to do. Another article was of a female singer who has always been stage shy, but has over come her fear, and preformed in an event, she speaks to us about how she had over come her stage fright, this could help and advise a lot of people who have the same problem as her, not only as singers but anything, from acting to dancing, to whatever they do but don’t have enough confidence in themselves, there are many other articles and interviews consisting in the magazine which would help and aspire many individuals reading the magazine, this is also a benefit because it attracts a wide range of audience, as it is aimed at teenagers and young adults who follow the style and conventions and genres of all grime, r&b and hip-hop.

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

What have you learnt about technologies from

the process of constructing this product?

• Throughout my whole making of the product, I have used many programmes. I first started by using Microsoft word, because I had to evaluate magazines that I will be looking at for ideas for my own product. I used Microsoft throughout the whole project because it was something that I needed to use at all times. I then went on to using Microsoft power point, to make a presentation on a magazine I evaluated, looking at the front cover, contents page and double page spread, which is what I had to do for my own magazine that I had produced. I used PowerPoint to make slides on each of the pages, and analyse the magazine in detail. We then got introduced to in design which is a software that allows you to make magazines, at first it was difficult, but then I got used to the techniques and structure of using it. This was a rough sketch up of how to make magazines, we the got on to making our own real magazine, for this I decided to use photo shop, because i am more experienced and know how to use it much better, so from there I made my front cover double page spread and contents page. After that I had to make an evaluation which I produced on PowerPoint. I am very experienced with using PowerPoint because I have used it for a long period of time. I found using in design quite difficult because I was new to it and it was complicated, I then got used to it but I didn’t find it useful to make my whole magazine on it. So throughout my whole project i used many different programmes to get me through my work, and l learnt how to use new software's that i have never used before, which makes me more experienced of these technologies from the process of constructing my product.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the

full product?

• I feel that I have learnt so much from when I have started the preliminary exercise, because I have used many different software's and programmes throughout my whole task, and have improved my skills and abilities to do new and different things. My preliminary task was made on In design, but it was a very basic and simple magazine. With a title and a few features, it wasn’t catchy or attractive and nothing stood out. This was because I was new to the programme so I was only able to do basic stuff such as adding a picture and title and writing, I wasn’t able to add effects or make anything complicated or interesting. Because I am more developed in using photo shop I decided to produce my final product on there. Before I went onto making my product on photo shop I tried to create it on in design but because it was hard and difficult to use I went straight onto making it on photo shop. Other software's that I used was power point and Microsoft word, which I already have the ability and experience to use, so there was nothing I progressed on.