Q2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

When I was creating the magazine I wanted to represent my target audience in a clear and positive way so to ensure that it happens; I featured artists in my magazine (T.I.N.A) that were of a similar age to that of my target audience which makes it easier for people to relate to if they have something in common with themselves. A few of the artists that were featured in my magazine were; Wizkid, Tiwa Savage, Davido and P Square and I feel like people can relate and connect with one of them, whether it’s gender, age or genre of music. I used ethnicity to represent my social group, after looking at a large amount of Afrobeats artist I noticed that the dominant ethnicity is Black/African; this makes make audience limited and smaller however I feel like the artists touch on different groups of cultures with their music which could help appeal to a bigger audience so I try to incorporate different ethnicities but there is a clear dominant ethnicity, also Afrobeats is now regularly featured in the mainstream UK charts. I believe the colour scheme of black, red, yellow and green will include both genders, I feel like the colours would definitely attract Africans the most because these are the colours associated with Africa and I tried to keep this consistent throughout the magazine. Whilst I was doing my photo shoot I wanted my images to be another representation of my target audience as I believe a picture can tell a thousand words. I felt that my front cover image was a good representation of the magazine as it showcased a clean, smooth and powerful concept. Also the main model can create a link with my target audience due to her appearance and attitude presented in the image; therefore she would be identified as a young, talented, and relatable and dedicated to making her music heard in the music industry. I didn’t want my model to be promoting sex or be provocative to sell my product however my magazine shows that it can sell without her being half naked in the images. I think this is very important because my magazine does target a younger audience and females, who tend to copy what’s in the media especially from their role models and people they can relate with. As well as her positive identity is reinforced in her interview. On the contents pages I used a different images of the same model on the front cover, she is wearing the same outfit and is in the same location but she is now wearing a black leather jacket which is a very trending fashion trend which is in season now. I believe that my target audience can connect and understand her and her sense of fashion; this may even inspire people. The motive of Images in my magazine (T.I.N.A) is to give the viewer a visual source of the artist and the genre without being provocative. Through-out the magazine I used the photography studio to create my main images in my magazine, I felt like this would make the audience focus more on the artist then the background and it would add a mature element to the magazine for the older audience and I really wanted her to represent all her target audience in one. I also tried to present the youth in a positive way however there is an image of two people against each other on the content page which could symbolise negativity and battles that the youth of today are facing such as gangs, peer pressure and bullying. I feel like my magazine represents the youth in a positive way to a certain extend but I think this does show the variety of audience that the magazine is aimed at.

Q4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

The concept of my magazine will appeal to both genders; male and females. I believe the colour scheme of black, red, yellow and green will include both genders, I feel like the colours would definitely attract Africans the most because these are the colours associated with Africa and I tried to keep this consistent throughout the magazine. My magazine is target at 15 -25 years old but I do believe that my magazine is appropriate for people above 25 as I feel like there is a high maturity level. My magazine was originally created for people who love Afrobeats and African music in

general and I don’t believe it has a direct social group or location. If I had to create a profile of my typical audience member; they would be a student; middle class (average); African; a fun and happy person; who lives life without any regrets; a person who loves and haves an interesting dancing, cooking and singing.

Considering that technology has evolved so much and I sure the majority of my target audience has a smart phone or modern technology; I decided to make my magazine accessible to everyone so I added application available for smarts phones and a website for my target audience which makes getting access to T.I.N.A easy and quick.

Q3. What kind of media institution would distribute your media product and why?

When it came to choosing a publisher I did some research because the purpose of my magazine is very different from the usual magazines that are out already which means I wanted a company that is rewarded for distributing modern magazines. After doing some research I chose IPC media to publish my magazine; they are currently publishing established magazines NME and Uncut. I also wanted to use IPC media because I believe that my magazine is an exclusive and special product and a product that publishing companies have never published before; T.I.N.A is very unique as the genre: Afrobeats is a genre that has never been done before in the UK and the artists that are featured ion my magazine range from up and coming artists and semi established artists however they are all trying to break into the mainstream industry. However after doing more research I realised that my magazine is in a niche market so major companies might be hesitant to publishing my magazine; I thought that maybe a record label that produces Afrobeats would be more encouraged to publish my magazine because it would be anyway for the record label to promote their artists. I thought Empire Mates Entertainment (E.M.E) would be a perfect publisher as there are well-known record label and have well-known artists that are already featured on my magazine e.g. Wizkid; also E.M.E already have their own publishing company called Muzik Men Publishing, so it would be a great way to start off their new publishing company with my Afrobeats magazine. I believe my magazine would benefit both of us as it would be a great platform for Afrobeats to be taken to the next level and become more mainstream. Technology plays a big role in today’s society, so an electronic app would be a good way to distribute my magazine across the world and make it more accessible for my audience.

Q5. How did you attract your target audience?

I think that I have attracted my audience by use of models, the majority of the models I used in my magazine are females but I believe that males would still be keen on the product as opposites attract so they may be interest by the models; however I don’t think that my model promote sex so this would hopefully stand out more and attract them to the content of the magazine. My main model that I used in front cover, content page and both DPSs was Hilda Oware; I chose her as she is within the age range of my target audience which means it would be easier for my audience to relate to her and understand her situation. I also believe that she could be an inspiration for young girls, a good role model and a great representation of my target audience. Whilst I was shooting all the artists I didn’t give them an exact brief on what to wear, I told them to wear clothing that would describe and represents them as artists, in way that they (my audience) would appreciate and also display their music. Whilst showcasing my magazine to my target audience I find out that they was interested in the artist at the front as she looked friendly. I went on my own private

audience feedback session, and I found that the colours I used throughout my magazine; black, red, yellow and green appeal to my target audience as it not sexist and colours are very engaging as they are recognisable colours. the language I used in the second DPS is semi-formal as it was a question and answer interview article which I believe would attract my audience as it not like reading the newspaper or a chats between two teens, it just in the middle. The layout of my front cover was create in way to the audience could see as much of the main image as possible, especially since I wanted the audience to be able to recognise the artist in the near future; I tried to get rid of the back as much as possible so that the artist stands out more. The cover lines that I used were also to attract the audience as the artists that I used are well-known artists to some and may not be to others which would encourage the audience to read about the artists they know or artists they don’t know. Some of the cover lines are there to attract more than other because of the way there are phrased (questions). I feel like my masthead would be the first thing to attract my audience due to the abbreviation of it; T.I.N.A stands for This Is New Africa.

Q6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process if constructing this product? I’ve learnt a lot about many different technologies and software’s that I didn’t even know existed.

Software’s like Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator etc. for my front cover, I create it on Adobe Photoshop; I have never used this software before this project, so at the beginning it was very hard and very tricky to use and get the hang of, and I must say that it was the software I had the hardest using even after having a lesson on using it and experimenting with it on my own and that’s why I feel like it has an affected on the outcome of my front cover. Even though I had problems with it, It helped my see that some of my ideas that I planned may not work as well as I wanted it too however it all fell into place at end. I learnt how to use layers in my magazine which made it easy for me to move and edit

certain objects for example when creating my cover lines for my front cover I could put each sentence or word in a separate layers and arrange them in a way that I want. I learnt how to use the eraser tool which I really enjoyed

using. I used the tool to eraser the masthead so that it seems behind my main models head, I like how I could change the size of the eraser. I have learnt a lot during the construction of my front cover and I now feel a bit more confident using Adobe Photoshop. To create my content page and DPSs I had to use InDesign which I was very comfortable using and found it very easy because I had used it a while ago, however I learnt how to use rules to keep my work in order and to prevent my work from being cut off the page. This software is much organised and allows you to be creative. I liked using InDesign for both the contents page and DPSs because it meant that I could apply some of the same basic structures for example spacing, page numbers, fonts, the size of the text and the positioning of the masthead for branding. I also used the website prezi which is an online presentational website, it was my first time ever using it and I found that it was very easy to use; all I had to do was to create an account and follow the instructions. I like how there was a choses of either creating your own or using a template which meant you could be as creative as you want. I used this technology to present my proposal, I like the outcome and the animation looks great. To create my masthead I used Adobe Illustrator, it was really tricky to get the hang of it at first but after it was pretty easy. I liked using

the outline tool because it allowed me to edit each letter differently. I also like using the eyedroppa tool as it allowed me to get the same colour through the whole masthead. Using blogger was also very easy and simple, although I had no experience of using the program. I think it is really effective way to present my work and the progress that I have made. I thought that using blogger was very easy, whereas I have never used the website before; I learnt how to embed content on my blog which I like as it presents my progress between each task. I learnt a lot when it came to using the photography studio as it was all new to me so I took some notes; however it was simple and easy to understand. I noted down that there are two big flashlights called’ trinity’ that are covered with ‘soft boxes’ which helps to soften and defuse light so that it’s not too bright. I liked how you could change the intensity of the flash (6 being the brightest and 1 being the lowest). In the photography studio there are only two backdrops; a white and black backdrops but I was very interested that you could make the backdrop look grey in the image with the positioning of lighting. Even though I used a white backdrop, I would have liked it more if the creases didn’t show and if it didn’t have any previous stains. As for cameras I used in the photography studio, I used DSLR camera (digital single-lens reflex camera) which was a first for me. I found it easy to learn about the setting. I was happy that you could choose whether you would like the camera to focus automatically or manually, I think this gives the photographer (me) the chose to be creative and decide what is in focus. Overall I really enjoyed shooting in the studio and I am very happy with quality of the pictures.

Q7 .Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

When creating the student college magazine in the preliminary task, I had no knowledge on the software’s and programs that we used such as Adobe InDesign and Photoshop. There wasn’t a lot of conventional magazine to look at and get inspiration from, however I feel like I did well for my first try. I didn’t acknowledge the effect of planning until I started to create my college magazine, as I didn’t really plan anything for my front cover and content page for my college magazine and I feel like the effect is visible from my college magazine to my music magazine as I planned it more and did a lot of research. The images I used on my music magazine were much better than the images used on the college magazine because some of the images used on the college magazine, I didn’t consider the lighting, and backdrop and didn’t have any composition. Also some were taken on my phone which wasn’t the best quality. However when taking my images for my music magazine, I did a lot of research and I thought hard about how I wanted my model, lighting, backdrop to look, also I used a DSLR for the best quality of images and I did professional editing. Looking back at my college magazine I noticed that I used 3 pictures on the content page which makes the magazine quiet plain and boring, on top of using 18 sizes for my font, which limits the amount of cover lines. But for my music magazine I used much more picture ( 6 pictures) which livens the content page, also I used a smaller font size to allow space for more cover lines, that makes the content page more attractive and makes the reader see that its receiving it’s money worth. I remarked that for both magazines I used a lot of colour that attract to males and females, which I think is a great way to make your magazine more interesting and attract your target audience. I feel much more comfortable and confident that I can produce a product that attract my target audience and have its own conventions. I have learnt that models, clothing and lighting are very essential in a media product because the image is the first thing a viewer sees so they are a key part inn representing the nature and concept of the media product. Also the language used in the product represents the target audience, whether its social groups or age. I believe that these

things should be carefully planned before the process of making the media product, as these things can ensure that there is control and organisation in the project. I feel like I have improved my Photoshop skills such as using layers and the easer tool. On InDesign I learnt how to use ruler probably and editing text boxes.

Q1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Considering that my genre (Afrobeats) is not really known, it was hard for me to find a case study with the same genre. To help me create my magazine, I looked at other case studies with similar elements to mine such as Bubbles, African Woman and Arise. Doing so, I created an African and classy themes for my front cover which is also consistent throughout my music magazine. I looked at some online African magazine that I couldn’t find on hard copy such as African Vibes and Genevieve magazine and after looking at these exiting magazines, I notice certain colours kept appearing in the magazine which connotes with genre and theme. In my case I have continued to use the colours ‘black’ , ‘red’, ‘yellow’ and ‘green’ because these are popular colours used in the research I have done, also these colour are the colours of African which links with my genre of Afrobeats. Although I used case studies to help me and give me inspiration for my media product, they were only used as guideline as my own other study into Afrobeats industry inspired me the most. For example I looked at NME magazine so get some ideas; even though NME is a pop/rock magazine there were certain element that inspired me such as layout, especially on the content page, I like how there is a lot of images and a lot of cover lines which shows that you are getting your money worth and makes the content page very interesting. For my content pages I wanted it to be packed like NME. And I section it a way that not many magazine do, I believe that it is important that every magazine should include this convention of a packed and busy content page as it’s what most readers look at after been attract by the front cover and the reader should be convinced that there is good value for money. Whilst I was looking at other music magazines such as NME, Vogue Africa and Vibe, I found that some were designed for a specific target audience either male or female; this was determined by the main model on the front cover or by the consistent colour scheme. All in all, my magazine is targeted at both female and male and I do believe that the image I used for my front cover would attract both males and females to my magazine. In addition I think by putting a female model on my front cover, I would be attracting my target audience more. Images that are used on the front cover are usually close ups or medium close up shots. I followed this convention by using a medium close up shot for my front cover, my model is looking straight at the camera (direct address) and is all so facing straight at the camera. The images used on the content pages are mostly a range of shoots, such as portraits, wide and group/band shots. But in my content pages I used a few pictures of instruments, I thought it was important for me to showcase some instrument as in Afrobeats, the beat/instrumental of the song is a big key as opposed to all the other genre, and I thought it would be nice to show the begin of the songs that my target audience loves. Also instruments are an essential. I find that it is typical to have at least two DPS for a main cover story; one DPS is usually a short introduction with an enlarged image. As for colour scheme, I found that the convention colour scheme is 3 colours, however I decided to go against the convention and use 4 colours (black, red, yellow and green) which I believe makes my magazine more interesting and outstanding, but if I used too much colours or too much of the colours than it would look unprofessional and overcrowded. I thought it was hard to find a convention for masthead because there are all different in each magazine. For my

masthead I followed the big and bold font that most African magazines had such as Bubbles and African Vibes, I think it makes my font cover stand out more which will attract more people to my magazine. Also I followed the convention of the masthead being behind the model which makes my model on the front look more powerful and important. But my masthead is mostly visible making the name stand out too so people would be able to recognise it as it is a new magazine.

Benedicte Beya