TASK 11: Planning the Evaluation (Draft)

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

My magazine uses many of the typical conventions that are also used in a real magazine. From looking at the case studies I had done previously, I learned that magazines typically had a large masthead on the front cover to help people to identify the brand of the magazine and make it more recognisable to readers by catching their eye. So I applied this to my own magazine to fit the conventions of a real magazine- making my magazine eye-catching. Other than the masthead, the other conventions I learned from my case studies were that in each magazine, there would be a main cover line. Usually the cover lines would all be written in the same size so that the main cover line would stand out in comparison as it was written in bigger font. The main cover lines would also be controversial lines, talking about subjects people would really want to know about. Again, I added this to my magazine to gain more attraction to my magazine. The other conventions I saw that I included were the bar code, sticking to one colour scheme, the date, issue, price and including some of the artists that the magazine would be about on the front cover.

For the contents, I also found out from my case study that again, the main thing that would stand out again was the masthead. I included the masthead ‘Contents’, this helps people to know what the page is about. In the contents I also included the headers 'Features' and 'Regulars' I had made them a bigger size compared to the rest of the writing on this page to make the contents easier to look for depending on what the audience wants. I have also used Page Numbers and Sub-Headings on the same line to give the reader a brief on what content to expect on this page. Underneath this I have included a short description explaining more information about that page however being very brief and not giving much away.  In my contents page I also included two large images of the main contents of my magazine. They are both exclusive which gives the reader an incentive to read the magazine - as they would not be able to find these interviews anywhere else. The pictures included were relevant to what the magazine was about for example 50 Cent and Soulja Boy were on the contents cover of the XXL magazine – they were talked about on the DPS. I had also used these conventions for the contents; I I included a picture of who I was talking about in my DPS, making the page relevant.

From the DPS case studies I done, I saw that in both the magazines I had analysed – they were written from a Q/A Journalism. I used Q/A Journalism I liked this style as it gave the sense of realism and my readers would be able to know the real thoughts of the interviewee which attracts readers that want to know more about them. I also used the name of the artist and made it very large to add importance and power as his name alone covers a lot of the magazine. I also used a professionally taken image - this picture was taken in the studio and I have covered the whole left page with this picture. Again this shows power and I have used the angle to make it look like he is staring at the reader to make them feel his power. I have also used a pull quote that was taken from the Q/A Journalism - this underlines a key point in the magazine and shows the determination of the rapper which could be motivating to other people. The logo of the magazine included on the top right of the article - this is to show it is an exclusive interview and other magazines would not be able to use this article. 

Overall, my magazine has followed these magazine conventions as I had included many of the conventions of a real magazine by looking at real magazines and applying them to my own magazine.

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

The genre of my magazine was rap – so my magazine was targeted at people who are interested in rap. I had tried my best to make sure that my magazine was suitable for this genre. To do this, I started with the cover star. I told my cover star to dress in a way that would make him appeal to people that were to look at this magazine. The outfit he is wearing suits the genre as it is a typical outfit a rapper would wear. He is wearing a gilet over a knitwear jumper, these contrast and suit each other very well to show that this magazine does not only include rap contents but also about fashion. He has also unzipped his gilet and left it out to make it seem as if he does not care. He also has a serious pose which appeals to the audience as rappers usually seem serious and from my case studies – this was the case.

My cover star is also a young adult which is the average age group for people that listen to rap – this would make people of this age group feel like this magazine is the one for them as we have the same views and interests.

I have also used language that would be suitable to the audience, especially using a word that has been blocked out with asterisks but is still understandable to the audience as they would be used to this type of language – again this would appeal to them because it makes an interesting cover line.
The contents and features included in the magazine are also aimed at this social group as they include many of the modern day ‘big’ rappers, people would be attracted to this as they would be able to read articles on their favourite rappers.

Looking at my case studies I could tell that the stereotypes of rap were that it is often represented by the use of black males. I have challenged this stereotype as I have used an Asian male instead. I've tried to include content about rappers from many different backgrounds throughout my magazine to appeal to all audiences. Another stereotype I found is that the cover models in rap usually have serious faces and act 'hard'. I have kept this in my magazine as I think that's what people would see at first glance and would immediately be able to identify that the genre of the magazine is rap.

 

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

The media institution I would pick to distribute my magazine is IPC Media. The reason for this is because they do not currently have many music magazines. Also, I would choose IPC Media as they are a very well-known publisher and are the UK’s leading publisher which would help to get my magazine recognised.

They also a variety of ways to distribute their contents to the consumer e.g. print, online, mobile, tablets and events. This increases the markets the magazine would appeal to; also making it more convenient for some people and would help to maximise revenue for the magazine and spread the name of the magazine around.

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

This image shows the statistics of XXL magazine. As my magazine is rap and is quite similar to that of the XXL magazine, I believe that my target audience will be very similar to XXL. From looking at this press pack, we can tell that the median age of XXL is in their mid 20s. However I believe that as my magazine is looks more modern and uses younger people as the cover model, this would bring my own magazines median age lower than XXL's.
Also, from looking at this press pack you can see that one gender predominantly reads this magazine, there is a 78%-22% ratio of males to females reading this magazine, this is because the genre rap mainly appeals to men so I can expect a very similar ratio of males to females.
This press pack also tells me that only 44.7% of the readers of this magazine were college educated. This suggests that most of the people reading this magazine are badly educated so they are used to the type of language used in this magazine. I can also expect a high number of non-college educated students as well as they would understand the type of language I'm using e.g. when words are blocked out with asterisks.
Finally, this magazine shows that the median HHI of the reader is $47,007. This suggests that the readers are lower to middle class. This shows that this is the social class that listens to rap. I can also expect my readers to be lower to middle class too.

 5.      How did you attract/address your audience?

I used a variety of techniques to attract my audience. I think the main way of attracting the audience is to have a unique magazine and making it presentable to the audience. In my opinion the front cover has to be the best page, as this is what the audience see's first and would judge at first sight. To make my front cover appeal to people looking at it I used a variety of conventions to make it stand out. By just looking at my front cover, people can clearly tell what the name of the magazine is as I have made it bold, large and stand out by using a very dark colour. I also used a very unique style to give the magazine its own feel to it and included the word 'rap' in my title so readers could clearly tell what the magazine was going to be based on.
Another way that I attracted my audience was by using an appropriate cover model. The picture is large and covers most of the space on the page, this helps to catch the readers eye at first glance and interest them. Also, the way the cover model dresses fits the stereotype of a typical 'rapper' look which would help to make people be more attracted to the magazine as it helps to empathise the 'rap' feel.

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

I have learned how to use many different types of technology whilst constructing my product. Each program was used for specific tasks which helped me a lot to accomplish my final magazine to the standard I had wanted it to be. The main three programs that I used to construct my magazine were Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign and Adobe Illustrator..

Adobe Photoshop:
I used Adobe Photoshop to create the Front Cover of my magazine and to finalise my Contents Page. This allowed me to be creative with my front cover. I found it useful to add pictures, of which I had taken in the studio to great effect. I was able to rub out some bits of my model to give him a 'smoother' effect and was able to size the picture to make it big and recognisable whilst also filling the front cover. I also used PhotoShop to add text using the text box. This allowed me to create mastheads and resize them, I also found a font I liked on PhotoShop which I used consistently throughout my magazine. I was also able to layer using this program so that I could layer my text in before my background picture so they could be seen. I also found it useful for removing backgrounds using the 'Magic Wand Tool' which I found very useful when trying to give my magazines the effects I wanted.

Adobe InDesign:
I used Adobe InDesign to create the Double Page Spread. InDesign was the perfect program to create this Double Page Spread. It allowed me to place 2 A4 papers together to give the Double Page effect. I used InDesign to add a picture, again; of which I had taken in the studio. InDesign allowed me to resize the photo perfectly to cover on side of the A4 which gave the Double Page Spread an authentic look. In InDesign I was also able to create columns for my question/answer type DPS which allowed me to lay out my DPS to make it look professional. InDesign also gave me a variety of different fonts to use and like photoshop, allowed me to layer which I had found useful for adding text in front of the A4 picture.

Adobe Illustrator:
I used Adobe Illustrator to begin making my Contents Page. I found Illustrator useful for adding pictures and creating a good layout for my magazine. I was able to create a good feel to my Contents Page using Illustrator by using my colour scheme to great effect. I used text boxes and coloured it black with white writing to make the text see through. I also used it to place my text on my Contents as I found it very useful for that.
However I felt it was difficult to include pictures on Adobe Illustrator as I could not remove the backgrounds of my pictures on Illustrator. I had to save my contents page as JPEG and convert to using Photoshop to finalise my Contents Page because of this.

Other types of technology I have learned how to use while construction my product are:
- Photo Studio: I used the Photo Studio in Leyton Sixth Form College. I had to fill out my call sheet and make an appointment to arrange a time. Here I learned with my cover models how to take different kind of shots, close up, medium close up, full body shots to create different effects. We also learned how to manipulate lighting for different effects and learned how to use a DSLR camera.
- SurveyMonkey (www.surveymonkey.co.uk): I used Survey Monkey to gather audience feedback on my work. I was able to ask questions and they would respond written, or in option form. I found it very useful as I could view all the feedback on one page and look at the statistics of my audience.
- Blogger (www.blogger.com): I used blogger as my blog. I found it very easy to use and it was a very good way of presenting my work. I was able to do many things on blogger. I could edit my posts whenever I wanted to, edit the date and time and work to my own leisure at home; it was very convenient. It also helped me to keep track of my work - it also allowed other people to check my work and give me feedback.
- Prezi (www.prezi.com): I used prezi to present my proposal. I found that using Prezi was a very good way to summarise my work and make it more interactive for the watchers - also making my presentation more fun to watch. It also gave me a variety of layouts and styles to use which I found good.


7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Throughout this task, not only have I learned how to use many programs, I developed a lot of skills along the way. From looking back at my college magazine you can see there is a clear difference in skill and knowledge on how to create the 'perfect' magazine. I realised a lot of effort goes into how to make the magazine stand out, conventions such as masthead, cover lines, cover stars all have to be thoroughly thought out. However from the case studies I had done and with some guidance I was able to produce my magazine just how I wanted it to be using Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign and Adobe Illustrator. I feel like this task has been very successful in teaching me how to create a magazine and is a skill I would be able to use in the future. Looking through my blog you can definitely see the progression and the clear difference in skill from start - to finish.