AS MEDIA STUDIES

G321 FOUNDATION PORTFOLIOEVALUATION

By Tia Seymour

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

The Front CoverMy magazine incorporates generic conventions through the use of a clear layout displaying a masthead creating a unique and individual brand for the product, which implies the magazine is for those into music especially of hip/hop and rnb genre, the name titled as ‘Bass’ which is referring to the rhythm and baselines of rnbs music. The use of frequent cover lines was also greatly considered through my product with lines such as ‘50 songs of the summer', 'From the Streets to Making Beats. Tricky G’ using a sense of rhyme in order to relate back to the idea of Hip Hop Rap artists rhyming their lyrics, to create a more long lasting effect on their target audience whilst sharing personal experiences similarly to the content of the article. The main focus however was the main cover line presenting my artist ‘Flossy B’ as an overpowering and dominant in the issue through a main image of herself placed central on the front cover and a bold statement ‘’I’m just me’’ underneath the text of her name. Barcodes and a date were placed to reveal whether the magazine was weekly/monthly etc while a price was chosen through the feedback from my audience research questionnaire through the process of creating the magazine.

http://tiarianna.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/final-magazine.html

A quote was used similarly to other magazines out in the market to create a strong personal connection between the artist and her fan base/demographic. The idea was taken from ‘Blender Magazine’ where Alicia Keys featured on the front.

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The Contents Page- Through the development of the Contents page conventions such as titled page numbers and a editors note were present in the product in order to reflect a diverse and familiar magazine out in the market. Colours throughout were kept within the house style with a shade of pink, white and black. Additional features such as links for social networking sites such as Facebook and twitter gave the target audience the opportunity to search for further updates or information. Flossy B was again the main focus similarly to other issues of magazines as the image had taken up half of the page. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rPre2_IMTRA/URzzUS1hopI/AAAAAAAAAic/Z_kCaZojYNs/s1600/base+magazine+contents+final.jpg

Inspiration came from the Q magazine’s contents in the sense that they’re cover stars feature once again in the contents page. The titles of pages were left with a white background to give the impression that they were almost like labels, edgy and rough. The idea came from a music magazine that lily allen featured in.

(continued)Double Page Spread- Through the Double Page Spread I edited an image in black and white to replicate the effect that Lady Gaga’s image had on myself in Q Magazine. The image appeared professional and realistic to the audience. http://tiarianna.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/content-of-double-page-spread.html#!/2012/12/content-of-double-page-spread.htmlThe idea was then posted on my blog indicating that I had carefully considered and studied various magazines double page images and layouts. The article itself was planned through reading Taylor Swifts edition of the rolling stones where I found the article began with a description of her rise to fame which I decided to incorporate into mine. I also studied the visual content of the double page spread and images which could be used for my product. http://tiarianna.blogspot.co.uk/?view=magazine#!/2012/11/rolling-stones-taylor-swift.htmlPromotion of the artists debut single was added at the bottom to reveal the magazines support for the artist . The Questions asked focused on the her successes.

The use of highlighting various letters whilst keeping others black was constructed through studying vibes text in there front covers.

http://tiarianna.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/possible-features-for-bass-magazine.html

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My magazine targets mainly teenagers who mainly listen to hip hop/rnb. My Cover Star has been represented as an individual black female artist which I feel has came across through the whole product. In rnb artists such as Rihanna and Beyonce they have been displayed as ‘fierce’ ‘sexy’ and unstoppable, all three elements in which I wanted to portray. The Female has definitely been portrayed as the most dominant and powerful sex through the use of bold statements such as the cover line ‘I’m just Me’ and fun, natural shot revealing that she's in fact like everybody else and in touch with the latest fashion styles and trends. Stereotypes of the dominant male in hip hop have been challenged relating back to the now success of more female urban artists and there impact on music. http://tiarianna.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/identity-of-cover-star.htmlThe link is of other urban artists image and persona that I researched and greatly considered.

http://tiarianna.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/rihanna.htmlThis entry shows that from the beginning I have considered rihannas image to reflect through my artists.

3.What kind of Institution might distribute your media product?

Bauer Media- Is a UK based media group distributing magazines such as Grazia,Heat,Closer and Empire. My magazine ‘Bass’ would be one of the Uks leading Hip Hop/Rnb music magazines which therefore means it

would need to be distributed successfully and be up against other music magazines of various genres including kerrang. Bauer Media would then give my magazine the opportunity to sell effectively and compete in a

competitive market due to the magazines unique and individual approach to urban music. It would be the first urban magazine to be apart of Bauer Media Group.

4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

• My target audience was females and males ranging from 16-25 as the magazine will focus on the latest young, hip and diverse musical talent in the urban industry with exclusive interviews and behind the scenes info. My audience has been based around the type of demographic 'Vibe' Magazine may attract-young individuals who have a love and passion for hip hop/RnB music and possibly are trying to get into the industry through producing and writing their own music. Other Magazines similar to my own include the US Hip Hop/Rnb magazine ‘Vibe’ and ‘Rap Up’ which cater to the same audience I am targeting.

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

Colours- The use of colour was evident applying tones such as a bubblegum pink,black and white because they appealed to the female audience that the weekly issue was targetting- a fierce, dependent and successful young artist. The Pink emphasised the feminine and insightful side of the issue whilst the black for the masthead and contents implied a bold and strong statement all which hip hop/rnb music display through their lyrical content.

Masthead- ‘Bass’ is appealing to a target audience as it refers to one of the key elements in creating an urban track. It also however implies the magazine has a cool,fresh and modern vibe to it.

Language/Register- The language I have used is similar to those seen in a ‘popular magazine’s incorporating an informal approach creating a personal connection through not only the interview however the editors note while also keeping a level of sophistication and fluency as the magazine is for 16 years plus, both males and females. The level of connection would then create a more successful and exclusive read for the demographic.

Exclusives- None were used however links of the magazines facebook and twitter addresses were present at the bottom of the contents page in order for the target audience to have updates

(continued)Images- http://tiarianna.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/draft-of-photography.htmlThe use of images throughout the magazine were all of the main cover star ‘Flossy B’ once again highlighting

her importance and career in the urban industry. Shots of herself were individually unique as I wanted to capture various aspects of he personality through different angles and visual effects. The use of a leopard print background created an almost fierce and strong character emphasising a possible alter ego or stage presence my artist may apply to her carrer.

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Shot One- Displaying her flirtatious and daring side as she make strong direct mode of address

Shot Two- Revealing her childish side through the geeky glasses and beanie.

The Costume and Make Up was also greatly considered through planning the clothing ‘Flossy B’ would wear to represent her as an artist and appeal to her fan base and target audience. The Zebra blazer was an essential item as it added style, individuality to her and made her appear almost as a fashion icon with the leopard print also in the backdrop.

http://tiarianna.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/logo-draft.html

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

Through constructing the product various elements of software including Publisher and Paint. Net were used to edit photos and construct a layout. In order to achieve a quality and professional product my IT skills needed to further be developed where I found my strengths and weaknesses.

Strengths- Publisher• Being Familiar with the software and cropping/re-sizing images/text• Applying simple effects on images imported from documents•Accessing a Print Preview to see how the page will appear in full A4 View•Being able to see construction lines

•Strengths-Paint.Net•Files being saved as a J.PEG to upload onto my blog profile•Applying a change in texts colour/background•Adding a new layer

Weaknesses-Publisher•Being able to get a good quality image when cropped•Being able to fit everything on one page

•Weaknesses- Paint.Net•Takes up alot of time to edit small touches such as feathering and the magic wand•Its easy to get confused with layers if they aren’t all named

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Through the process of creating the front cover, contents page and double page spread various copies of sketches were drawn of the layout I had in mind for each page. In order for a final copy to be constructed various ideas had to be deliberated due to the difficulty of creating them or a simple change in mind. Below are the drafts of all elements of the magazines and the reasons for not choosing them.

http://tiarianna.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/draft-of-magazine-front-cover.html -

The front cover draft included a selling line which I later didn't include in the final copy due to a lack of space available above the masthead and I wanted it to be the main focus- ‘Bass’

http://tiarianna.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/contents-page-draft.html

The Draft of the contents was kept fairly the same having the cover star as the main image and content page numbers below however the editors note was placed in the middle. The draft in comparison was slightly more structured and organised however i wanted the page to be a bit rough and untidy relating to the genre.

http://tiarianna.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/double-page-spread-hand-drawn-draft.html

The double page drafts were found the most difficult to pick from as they all were going to be difficult to construct which therefore lead me to pick none of the hand-drawn designs however the blog entry provides evidence for planning of my product

(continued) The Contents page also differs to the final product as there is more colour present as I felt I

was more familiar with the target audience my magazine was being targeted at while the school magazine was slightly more challenging to construct as it was for a smaller range from ages 16-18 therefore the content had to relate to sixth form only, not a wider age gap. The use of websites were however a similarity as when I first began the construction i knew in my final product web addresses were something I wanted to include.

PreliminaryFinal Product

The images have also been edited in my final product in comparison to the school magazine showing my development in skills through ICT.

7. Looking back to your preliminary task, what do you feel that you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product

I feel through the development of my product my IT skills have improved significantly in comparison to the beginning of the front cover. Firstly I was unable to even crop an image in paint.net therefore my preliminary task, resulted in being created in publisher as it was the most familiar with the software. Below is my final magazine product and the school magazine exercise which shows a great improvement in my ability to place various cover lines more appropriately, and spaced out and the understanding of the magazines conventions as on my full product a barcode, price and dateline is present in comparison to my school magazine.

Preliminary Final Product

The Masthead is also larger to reveal the brands importance and keeps to a regular colour scheme.

The use of blogger also enabled me to create a record of evidence and planning towards the final product through posting an entry and recording my level of progress from the beginning of the coursework until the end. When adding blogs they could be edited or removed if they were unnecessary however each blog uploaded helped me get a step closer to my magazine. It was easy, accessible and meant no sheets/sketches had to be in a folder where sheets may have gotten lost/misplaced. Entries such as drafts and re-drafts helped me to see what other information could be added.

Overall, I feel my products fits to the brief as I researched various magazines from my chosen genre ad artists in which I could replicate for my magazine in order for the product to appeal to the same demographic. Also through drafting of magazine names, layout I was able to see what would work and what possibly wouldn't studying not only the magazine of my genre however more rock/pop products such as ‘Q’. The use of conventions were also used effectively as I was able to include various cover lines relating back to the genre and create a strong photograph for the front cover.