AS Media Studies

Coursework Evaluation

Adam Fitton

http://adamfittong321.blogspot.com/

The title is in the primary optical area this is wee the eyes looks first then down to the bottom right.

The image uses direct mode of address, this makes it seem that the person is looking straight at the reader, creating more of a connection between the reader and the magazine

Guttenberg Diagram – the magazine follows the convention of crating a flow from the top left to the bottom right, I have placed certain features on the magazine to create this flow.

Main Cover Line – Drake Rise To Rap Royalty – This cover line is not significantly larger than the others but can still be identified as the main focus of the magazine

Top Rankin’ – is an addition to the title, it adds more meaning to the masthead as it is a reference of Uptown Top Rankin’, which was a Jamaican reggae song of 1977, this fits with the genre of the magazine of hip hop which reggae is a sub genre of.

The image itself does contain element of the principle of thirds.

The magazine uses two colours, white and yellow, to contrast against the dark background

The tree main colours used are black white and yellow; these are used to create a unique style for the front cover. The black and white colours denote the juxtaposing elements of the hip hop world.

Polaroid's used with the images, I used these because it makes the magazine more visually interesting and also conveys that the magazine isn't taking itself to seriously but still maintaining a sense of style and elegance in the process.

The masthead for the contents is a main feature which is visually interesting and stands out.

The heading ‘feature’ uses a different colour to contrast against the other heading s and against the background. The gold connotes elegance which I wanted the style for the contents page to be.

The text which shows the features that are included in the magazine maintains the sense of style and order which I have tried to keep constant with all the pages of my magazine.

All the images I have used on the contents page maintain the conventions associated with the hip hop genre , they are all interesting which will appeal to the audience

I have separated the contents which is constant with all the issues that the magazine would produce this is done to show the difference between the articles and special features, it contrasts by a different text colour and font style

The title is again in the primary optical area which is the first place the reader will look.

A simple colour scheme has been used as well in the article which is appealing to my target audience

Active space is used to please the reader in a visual way.

This picture is in the terminal area of the whole double page spread which the reader will get attracted too. The bold text emphasises the image and contrasts well.

The text has been positioned around the image emphasising the images importance and creating a visually interesting double page spreadThe large amount

of text has been spread across the pages to make them more appealing, they have been positioned around the title and the image.

Stuck to convention by having page numbers and the magazines name.

The quotes from the article draws the attention of the reader in. The use of the different colours of text also makes the article appear well organised and more appealing to the reader.

The use of columns within the article makes the page well presented and neat for the reader to understand.

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

My magazine uses many of the convention used by real media products, the typical conventions of music magazines are used throughout the magazine. I have used a sense of balance prominent on the front cover. The text and masthead create a framing for the image which is the main focus on the page. There is a element of symmetry each cover line is balance by an opposing cove line of the opposite side. I have also used similar colours and fonts to other existing magazines, for example Vibe and XXL. My double page spread is structured in the conventional style, however I have thought a lot more about the design rather than producing generic work. I have taken an image used brightness and contrast effect on it, everything else including the background and text is also follows the style of black and white with the use of red to draw the readers attention and create more focus towards the title and other eye-catching elements of my double page spread. I have used some conventional features such as; text wrapping around the image and a pull quote. This all contributes to the orderly style it conveys and also helps make it more appealing.

My magazine also includes some unconventional features such as; mock-up Polaroid's used with the images, this is shown on my contents page. I used these because it makes the magazine more visually interesting and also conveys that the magazine isn't taking itself to seriously but still maintaining a sense of style and elegance in the process. Another unconventional feature which is displayed is my use of model posing, the image isn't of the usual artist posing and trying to create a sense of importance of themselves, instead it conveys more in the way of not taking itself too seriously and showing a cheeky, bold and charismatic portrayal which contrasts against the orderly text and layout of the rest of the front cover. I also used a lot of artists names on my front cover rather than pull quotes as my research shown that my target audience will buy the magazine depending on what artists are included in the issue.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The target audience for my magazine is teenagers, who are interested in such aspects as the world of hip-hop and therefore by buying my magazine they will find out new information on certain music artists. This will not only include information from the music side of their life but also what happens off stage. The magazine will also have other focus on fashion which people interested in the hip hop genre will definitely have an interest in hip hop fashion

I have also included eye catching images throughout my magazine, therefore persuading readers to read on in the magazine and if they like what they see, which according to my research they should, then therefore the reputation of my magazine should positively increase due to word of mouth, media advertising and promoting.

The social class of my magazine has been portrayed by the hip-hop artist Drake. What he has achieved so far in life and what he hopes to achieve in the future. Also what he feels about his new mix tape ‘So Far Gone’. This allows readers to create there own opinion on the hip-hop artist.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?The magazine of which I have based my magazine idea on, is that of Vibe magazine. Vibe was founded by a well known record producer so I think my magazine would benefit from gaining popularity by using an already known person of the music industry and the hip-hop genre to promote this newly introduced magazine.

My magazine project would be best the Universal Music Group. Universal Music Group is the largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry. It is the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations. Other magazines in this genre already are distributed by this group such as XXL which is one of the other magazines which my magazine will be in competition with, if my magazine was also distributed by this group then it will help them gain more market share which would decrease if we were distributed by one of their rivals. Finally publishing it on the internet as an online magazine could also be successful and would be a lot more cost effective, it will help with gaining more market share and reaching more people.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

My target audience is predominantly young urban followers of the hip hop culture, this would be 16-25 year olds, the majority of which would be male but maybe some female who are fans of hip hop music and any of the sub genres within it. This audience will be the most interested with my magazine and I have designed it to be easily identifiable as such.

My magazine will include different features each month. Therefore, the age and gender of the reader will depend on what the monthly feature involves for example one month the main feature may be that of Jay Z which is likely to attract a more male orientated audience, where as another week it may include a poster of Chris Brown, which may influence a lot of females to buy the magazine.

Most importantly the readers must be interested in the style of music in which my magazine displays, which is mainly Hip-Hop. Someone who enjoys listening to Kings of Leon or other indie artists would most probably would not enjoy reading this magazine.

How did you attract/address your audience?The elements that contribute to the look of my magazine all contribute to the attracting the audience to read the and buy the magazine; the large bold masthead creates a lot of focus as it takes up a lot of the cover and one of the dominating features of the magazine. I attracted my audience as firstly I used bold colours such as yellow contrasting against black to attract the audience and the font style is easy to read and bold. Also the picture I have used is of a young well known male as this is what they would rather have a male then a female also it is using direct mode of address to catch the eye of my audience. The font style is bold and sharp shapes to attract the male audience as they are my target audience. The articles are well known to the audience but brief to make them buy it. Buzz words such as “exclusive” to catch the readers eye and draw them in. I have included many names of famous artists on my front cover which are used as buzz words to entice the reader in and get them interested.

I attracted my audience with the content as it is bold and has a lot of things on it and it looks messy but it is organised mess which my target audience wanted. Also the stories that were on the content appealed to my target audience. Also the content is eye catching and stands out to the reader so they read it.

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

.After looking back at my preliminary task I feel the main thing I have learnt is how to make my magazine look more professional. By using market research I gained an understanding for what I needed to include to make it a success. When I look back at the preliminary task I feel its not professional enough to actually be a real magazine, whereas my final piece is a massive improvement to when I first started, this is due to audience and market research I carried out.

As I have had little use on Photoshop before taking Media Studies, this project has allowed me to develop my skills and knowledge in this program and also in the research area. I have used new websites to search for fonts rather than using standard ones, uploading to my Blog and also use tools within Photoshop that I have previously never seen or used. I believe this will benefit me in future use of this program and others that are similar.

Another point I feel I have improved on is how to use Photoshop effectively. In my first task I didn't know what features to use on what images but now I have gained an understanding on how to use the program and I fell a lot better. In my final piece I felt more comfortable using the program which benefited my final piece.

Before I started this task I already had good background knowledge on my preferred music genre which helped me to complete my magazine a lot quicker. I also had a good understanding of the music industry which again helped me through out. Researching existing magazines allowed me to see conventional techniques being used and how they are best used to suit the magazine. I can now distinguish artists for each genre a lot better, my greatest growth in knowledge was in the photography section. Going into this coursework I have minimal knowledge of photography but I now understand the use of most shots and why/when they are used. I also have a better understanding of what type of articles, language and photography are used in certain magazine genres.