EVALUATION

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

My media product challenges forms and conventions of real media because it on my contents page it doesn’t stick to the normal codes and conventions, through research on a normal contents page, all the text is either aligned to the left or to the right of the page. Also on my contents page, I didn’t stick to one font, I decided to use a range of three fonts onto my contents page. Another way in which my media product challenges the forms and conventions of real media products is that the front cover sticks to only using one image, whilst real media, such as VIBE music magazine uses a wide range of images. I used VIBE music magazine when thinking of a front cover for my music magazine. VIBE caters for the R&B genre of music, and is very successful in doing so. I looked at this magazine because it successfully merged both glamour and the R&B genre. When researching for my music genre I looked at the kind of instruments that were featured within the genre, I found out that R&B, in actual fact stood for rhythm and Blues. I also found out that it used the instruments piano, saxophone and many other instruments. When thinking of images I wanted to put inside my magazine I found that the piano was an instrument that I wanted to feature in my magazine. The characteristics for my layout was that I wanted my front cover to exemplify the vibe music magazine, VIBE music magazine has a very simple front cover, which normally only uses one image, in my magazine I challenged the way in which VIBE does there front cover, by adding a piano to the image. VIBE uses successful artists on the front cover, this inspired me with possible images for my front cover and articles for my contents page. My magazine develops conventions of real media, in the sense VIBE music magazine always features gossip within the celebrity world, I decided that this was something I wanted to feature in magazine, to create a relationship between the reader and the celebrity. Another way in which my magazine challenges the convention of real media products is that the title, is not in a standard generic form, ‘the’ is turned 90◦ to the left and is made to lie on a slant, I did this because I didn’t want my magazine to be the same as the magazines that will be in competition with my magazine.

I followed the way in which VIBE magazine places its ‘cover lines on the left of the page.

I challenged the way in VIBE places its title all on the same line, I decided to place half of my title on an angle, to challenge the conventions of this magazine, to see whether it will be done successfully.

I also featured a similar kind of ‘gossip’ cover line on my front cover, through research I found out that real media products use this as a way of drawing their audience in.

How does your media product represent particular social groups ? My media product represents the younger generation particularly 17-24 year olds as artistic, as people who don’t really chase the expensive price tag that come with fame. I decided to do this because I looked at hip-hop magazines, and I felt that the youth, mostly of a black culture were presented as trouble makers people who were just there to cause trouble and see who can show off the most expensive designer clothing and jewellery. I didn’t want the females I was trying to represent who would read this magazine to be portrayed as ‘money-hungry, gold-diggers’, I wanted them to be seen as artistic women. I also didn’t want my magazine be too similar to VIBE who portray women with little clothes for the male gaze, I wanted my magazine to represent my target audience as girls of class, and dignity.

The VIBE music magazine, uses a nude woman. Which to me was very derogatory, I didn’t want the girls who read my magazine feel, they needed to seen as ‘sexy’ to get somewhere, or that naked was essentially better.

With my magazine I decided to have ‘Ebonie’ an upcoming artist in simple clothes, to represent the average girl. So my target audience will be able to draw similarities from her.

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

When I researched into institutions that might distribute my media product were places InterMedia Partners which sold the magazine VIBE. I also found out that clubs were most likely to sell my media product. Through research I found out that with the VIBE music magazine it stopped publication in summer 2009, and has a larger presence online. When looking at this I decided the best way in which profit could be made for my media product was online. When looking for media institution that might distribute my media product, I looked mostly at subscription, when I researched I looked at another music magazine XXL, the magazine stopped publications in September 2007, because it wasn’t making enough profit. I thought about this and decided that subscription magazine was a better way of making profit because music magazines only look at a small audience. I also decided that clubs, which normally play R&B music will be a place where I could sell my magazine. I looked at clubs such as Thai Silk in O2, which normally have a very popular R&B audience. I also found out that by supplying at clubs, it wouldn’t be a place in which my younger audience could not buy the magazine. that’s why I looked at publishers, who can cater to all my audiences. I also found out that subscriptions, made it easier for people to look at information. Due to the development in digital platforms it will be easier to load up the information via smartphones, it is much easier to access information. ‘http://www.magazinesubscriptions.co.uk/magazine’ is a publishing company which could cater to my needs.

Who would be the audience for your media product ?The way in which I designed my media product, was suited best for my audience of age 17-24 because of the type of font I used, I looked at different genres of magazines which catered for this age range. I looked at a range of text from ‘www.dafont.com’, I decided to use fonts. Also on my media product, I used very little text and more images, I found that my audience prefer to visually read information rather than a lot of text. When creating my double page spread, I followed the same design similarly to VIBE music magazine, who used very little text and more images, although my double page spread only uses one image, I decided to place my information all around the image therefore creating the effect of very little text and more image. I identified my target audience, by carrying out research into who exactly listens to R&B music, I found out that the ages in which I originally pin-pointed where the exact same audience who preferred to listen to R&B music. I also found out that girls were more likely to listen to R&B rather than males, so when deciding in colours I was going to use for my media product, I wanted to keep it feminine and bold at the same time that’s why I chose colours like red, black, blue, pink and green, which are all feminine but dominant colours. Also when I researched about my target audience I found out that the females in particular didn’t like the way in which the women were presented as sexual objects to the male gaze so when taking images for my music magazine I steered away from derogatory images of women

I used the font Nowarehouse on www.dafont.com, I choose this font because I felt it best represented my audience.

When designing my double page spread, where there was more likely going to be more text, I decided to place my text around the image, breaking up the illusion, therefore catering for my target audience who prefer to visually interpret information. Also to cater for my audience I added the colour pink to represent the females that would be reading the magazine, bringing in a touch of femininity

I decided to only use three cover lines again to not bombard my audience with too much text.

How did you attract/address your audience? The colours I used in my magazine best attracted my audience who could be argued to be feminist, I also steered away from sexual images of women, which will attract my audience because they didn’t like the fact that women had to be naked just to be heard. In the sense of the colour I used in my magazine such as black and red, were really bold colours, I used them because it will attract the gaze of my audience. I laid out my front cover in this way because I thought it was a simple design something in which my audience preferred, to clumsy looking front covers of other music magazines. I decided to place my masthead in that way because I felt it would require more concentration from the audience therefore attracting them into the magazine. I decided to use the colour red because I thought it represented, dominance, power all the things in which I found my readers aspired to be. The audience will see themselves reflected in my magazine in the way I laid out the image, it is simple yet still says something. All the things the young and older females aspire to be.

With my front cover, I wanted it to be simple yet bold, that’s why I chose the colours, they were bold with a hint of femininity.

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

I have learnt via YouTube how to airbrush an image using Photoshop, it was difficult at first but when I watched the tutorial I learnt how to correctly and successfully airbrush an image. Also with InDesign I learnt how to crop an image using the polygamic tool, I also learnt how to use different swatches, when I was creating my double page spread I wanted there to be a white background behind the text bringing the text to front, I learnt how to do this by simply adding a rectangle tool, clicking on swatches and then clicking on the colour white to create that effect. I also learnt how to add text to the page, by simply clicking on the text tool. I found it difficult to create to pages for the double page spread, I learnt again using YouTube how to create two pages. I also learnt how to distort an image using Photoshop cs4. When looking for fonts I successfully learnt how to download the fonts onto the computer, and how to use them, first I went onto www.dafont.com, selected the font that I wanted to use, then I clicked download, re-booted the computer, then clicked install when the program was successfully downloaded onto the computer. Although I found it too difficult to edit my image, I used a website called ‘www.picnik.com’ which was much easier to edit images.

When I wanted to create a double page spread, I clicked on pages, then carried on clicking till two pages were made, then I began work on my double page spread.

I selected the rectangle tool, creating varying rectangle sizes, that will be enough for the background of the text, went to swatches, made sure that the white was selected then made it the background of the rectangle.

I watched this tutorial and it helped me to airbrush an image.

I learnt by placing the image as layer 1, it will become the background of the double page spread.

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

I feel I have progressed from my preliminary task, I learnt how to successfully use different software's, such as Photoshop for airbrushing and cropping an image. I didn’t know how to use this properly for my preliminary task, I also learnt how about the genre carefully and more vividly, I also learnt how the music magazine works more via subscriptions rather than publications. I learnt how to crop an image using the polygamic tool on InDesign, which I couldn’t use properly when I was creating my preliminary task.