Main Task: Evaluation FINAL

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
I think my final outcome will relate to existing hip-hop magazines such as Vibe. My magazine uses similar conventions, such as the style, layout, and simple colour scheme. My magazine will also be of the same genre of music and a similar target audience. However, my magazine will challenge some of the typical conventions of music magazines because it will not be as universal as Vibe. This is because it will be a hip-hop magazine targeted at UK teens and those in their early 20 to mid 20s, focusing on underground, rising artists as well as mainstream/international stars. In doing this my magazine will have a niche audience which is not what magazines such as Vibe strive to do, as they intend to target as many people as possible. There are UK based hip-hop magazines but their main focus is still the international artists, so I think there is a gap in the market for a magazine that will bring you news and events about up-and-coming artists before they make it big.

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
My magazine is aimed towards targeting an audience aged 16-25, both male and female who are interested in mainly UK-based hip-hop. I want my magazine to focus on the positive side of young people in the UK, and their dedication to a continuously growing art form, rather than how they are usually depicted in the media as rude, lazy and dangerous. My magazine will be used to represent urban young people as creative, confident, dedicated and driven. This will be shown in my magazine through the use of article names, pictures and quotations in my double page spread. One of the ways I have represented this social group is in my double page spread and the clothes he is wearing. He is wearing a dress shirt with a hoodie and body-warmer. This combination of clothing is usually associated with the hip-hop genre; the contradiction of the dress shirt being professional and the hoodie and body-warmer being tougher and laid-back.


4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
As I have previously mentioned, my music magazine, ‘PlayBack’, is targeted towards an audience of British males and females aged 16-25. This is because there are many rising stars in the UK urban music scene that do not get much attention because of the wider reach of American artists. Also there is a recent rise of UK rappers and R&B artists such as, Tinie Tempah, Labrinth, Wretch 32, etc. I decided to target a younger audience because this genre’s main success comes from the interest of younger people. Therefore the artist featured in my magazine and the content of it will appeal to this young audience. However, as my magazine has articles about events and gigs as well as the latest news on R&B artists, the magazine does not exclude an older audience from being interested in the magazine as these are pieces that would appeal to anyone who supports and is interested in the genre. The r&b genre is typically associated with black males; however ‘PlayBack’ targets a wider audience in this sense, as there are features on a white R&B artist in the magazine and a female artist. By using these images in my contents page I am showing that my magazine is relatable to those with an interest and passion for the rising UK R&B scene


5. How did you attract/address your audience?
I believe I attracted my target audience by using images of artists that are close to their age range, as well as the costume they are wearing are clothes associated with a young audience interested in the hip-hop genre. However, I have used more than just the images to address my target audience. I have also done this through the headlines and features I have included in my contents and double page spread. For example I have incorporated the use of social networking sites such as YouTube and Twitter which is commonly used by younger people to keep updated about music and news about the music industry.


6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
I have learnt that there are many ways in which technology can help the marketing of a product as well as the production. For example, to find out what is more appealing in a magazine, the aid of social networking sites such as Facebook, is very useful as it is: quick, easy, convenient and free.


7. Looking back at the preliminary task what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to a full product?
I have learnt that making a full product is more time consuming and requires a lot of planning and research in order for it to be successful. This needs to be done so the product is marketed and produced in a way that will attract the target audience, meaning a greater success rate for the product.

Main Task: Post Production Feedback

Main Task: Double Page Spread FINAL

Main Task: Contents Page FINAL

Main Task: Front Cover FINAL

Main Task: Unmanipulated Photos

Main Task: FC, CP, DPS Mock Ups

Main Task: Mood Board

Main Task: Case Study of a Publishing House

Condé Nast is a successful and major American publishing company. It produces 18 consumer magazines; some of which are GQ, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, and Vogue. But that’s not all; they are also responsible for 27 websites and over 50 mobile and tablet apps.

Even though the company is based in New York, I think it would be a suitable publisher for my magazine because Condé Nast is considered to be the first in “lifestyle magazines”, magazines that focus on a particular class or interest instead of trying to reach the largest audience possible.

Currently in production, the company has a wide range of magazine genres, from Fashion & Lifestyle, to Travel and Trade.
I think my Pop/Soul magazine would do well because although the genre is obscure and not recognized as its own genre but as a mix, there are various artists that fit into this genre such as Bruno Mars, Olly Murs, and international superstar Adele. These types of artists have a unique sound, and fashion sense; along with a mixed fan base of adults and teens, female and male. I think this ties in well with the companies publications Vogue, Teen Vogue and GQ because this will mean an update in influential trends and styles for readers of my magazine.

Main Task: Profiling Your Audience

Main Task: Audience Research

Main Task: Double Page Spread Conventions Diagram

Main Task: Double Page Spread Textual Analysis

Colour Scheme
The colour scheme is made up of black and white, it is very minimal. This gives the double page spread a contemporary look. These monochromatic colours stand out on the page and so are visually pleasing to the reader, also the thick black border encasing the double page makes the article stand out. The conotations of black and white used together are serious, business-like and professional, this suits the double page because it is an interview with Eva Mendes - a successful Hollywood actress.

Image
The image here is of a woman, looking directly at the camera in a seductive way. This image takes up the whole of one of the two pages to immediately tell the reader what the article on the double page spread will be about. The image is a close up of Eva Mendes, so only little of her costume is seen. What we do see however, is that she is wearing a white dress shirt with a black tie - very similiar to a business outfit. The colour of her clothing fits in well with the colour scheme and the theme of professionalism seen throughout the double page spread. A ring of a flower on her hand is also in view to show she is still feminine even though her clothing has connotations of being manly. Her femininity is supported by her NVC, she is gripping her tie and has parted lips, both showing her as being sensual and seductive.

Subject Name
The subject's name is in big black font, but in different font to the rest of the article, showing her importance.

Main Task: Contents Page Conventions Diagram

Main Task: Front Cover Conventions Diagram

Main Task: Front Cover Textual Analysis

Denotation:
The front cover is made up of a medium long shot photograph of a woman, showing her head, arms and waist, looking at the camera. Her clothing is a dress covered in vibrant coloured flowers. She is holding her hands to her chest, with her head leaning slightly back. The background to the photo is pink; the image takes up most of the magazine cover and covers part of the Billboard masthead – which is behind her head. There are six cover-lines – including the main – in black and yellow. Katy Perry’s name is in big, bold letters.

Masthead:
The Billboard masthead is simple but effective; it is black sans serif font with red, yellow, blue, and green filling in the lowercase letters. The fact that the main image is placed on top of the masthead connotes that it is iconic, and does not need the reader to see all of it to know what magazine they are looking at. The sans serif font is very business like which gives the reader the idea of the magazine taking what they do and the music industry seriously. The word ‘billboard’ is the definition of a large object or board on which adverts or notices are usually placed. This has the connotations of the magazine having valuable information that is relevant and worth reading. However, from the masthead alone, it is not clear that the magazine is music based.

Character:
The main image is of the famous American pop singer ‘Katy Perry’

Composition:
She is posed in an innocent yet seductive way. By holding her hands close to her chest she appears as vulnerable, this is supported by her clothing and the arrangement of flowers. Her facial expression is seductive and connotes the typical ‘come hither’ behaviour of an attractive woman.

Costume:
Her clothing is a short, mini-dress that although covering her upper body, would expose a lot of her legs – were they visible. The dress is a maroon colour, which contrasts with the light background and bright colours of the flowers which are covering her dress and hair. This costume is aimed mainly towards a female audience because it is very girly and feminine, which is very similar to her image and music.
NVC:
Her non-verbal communication is seductive but not in a vulgar way. Her mouth is slightly parted emphasising her pink lips and white teeth; this behaviour could be aimed towards a male target audience, although it does not exclude a female audience because she looks serene as well. She is looking directly at the camera, engaging the target audience.
Lighting:
There is high-key lighting, which has the connotations of daytime, and pure beauty. This goes well with the bubbly and vibrant personality that Perry is known for.
Setting:
There is no setting, which shows the reader that Perry does not need anything to make her noticed; she is well known and does not need any gimmicks to support her on the front cover of a magazine. The pink background connotes a very girly innocence, therefore keeping with the point supported by her NVC and costume.

Cover-lines:
The main cover-line relates to Katy Perry, saying "Inside The Court Of The New Queen Of Pop". This is telling the reader of how highly praised Katy Perry is in the music industry, the cover-line is royally themed to really state the fact that Perry is one of the biggest female artists around in pop. This part of the cover-line is in white in between the other cover-lines in black, this means that it stands out and will not be lost among the other stories being promoted by the cover, therefore showing its importance and relevance to the main image. The various coverlines on the cover show that the magazine talks about different genres of music as well, and incorporates non-music articles too - they focus on what will be interesting to the reader. Different artists named are Taylor Swift, Mike Posner and Sheryl Crow (different genres and generations). Also mentioned is the famous social networking site Facebook - showing the magazine is up to date and modern. The Mercury Prize is also named, this reveals that the magazine also praises rising and successful artists and chooses to make this known to its readers. All of the cover-lines are in sans serif font connoting a modern magazine. However there are two cover-lines that are in serif font, this makes them stand out among the others, telling the reader that they are the more notable articles.

Target Audience:
From the cover, it shows that the likely target audience of the magazine is both male and females (especially females for this issue) with a variety of ages, showing that the magazine is open to a wide range of ages and is not centred towards a small group. There would be a wide range of musical interest, styles and musical knowledge

Main Task: Introduction

For the main task of my coursework I have been asked to create:
- a front cover
- contents page
- double page spread
For a new music magazine.
I will be picking the genre of music and target audience for my magazine.
I will have to produce pre-production research and planning before making the magazine.
After completing my final magazine pages, I will evaluate what I have done (the appearance of the pages, is it suitable for the genre? How successful is it with the target audience?)

Preliminary Task: Contents Page FINAL

Preliminary Task: Front Cover FINAL

Preliminary Task: Front Cover & Contents Page Mock Ups

Preliminary Task: Front Cover Conventions Diagrams

Preliminary Task: Front Cover Textual Analysis

Denotation:
This magazine cover shows a colour image of a young man looking directly at the camera, showing no background. Behind him is a cartoon-style image of a young girl and another man on the background. It is a mid-shot showing him from the knees up, although text covers his lower body. He has his arm raised and is holding something in the hand he has away from the camera but it is not clear what it is, but it looks like a baton of some sort. The background of the magazine cover is a grey with cartoon-style work. Behind the subject of the magazine is the EMPIRE masthead, and in front of him there are two cover-lines in red, white, and yellow. The main cover-line is also in red and white, with a link to the anchorage text – which is the name of the film the photographed young man stars in. There is a selling line running across the top of the cover.

Masthead:
The EMPIRE masthead is quite iconic as the magazine has the reputation of changing the effect on the masthead and also has the reputation of placing the main image in front of the masthead covering most of it. This shows the magazine has plenty of confidence to know they will be recognized purely because of the font and the first letter – E. In this case the colour of the mast head has changed to suit the main feature of this issue, which is the film Kick-Ass. This has been done by giving the masthead the effect of painted blood; this connotes action and violence for the film. As where the texture of the masthead changes, the font never does, to show continuity throughout the numerous issues that are published through the years. The font used is serif, bold and in capitals to distinguish it from the rest of the cover as well as the whole name being in capitals shows authority. The name EMPIRE makes you think of a successful and powerful business, telling the audience the magazine is successful. There is also a cinema in South London named Empire , this links the magazine to film.

Induction: Movie Poster Textual Analysis

Induction: Re-Creation of a Movie Magazine Front Cover

For the induction task I had to recreate the front cover of a movie magazine, using Photoshop. I was given the original cover and an image similiar to the one on the cover in order to recreate it as best I could.

Here is my final version of the 'Empire' front cover for the film 'Kick-Ass'