By Timothy Ogden

AS MEDIA PRODUCTION PORTFOLIO EVALUATION

My Portfolio Magazine

Focus Group Feedback

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Target User Group Feedback.

1. Do you think the colours are conventional of the

genre?YesNo

2. Do you think the layout is conventional of the

genre?Yes No

3. Do you think the im-agery is correct for the

genre?YesNo

4. Do you think the syn-tax is correct for the

genre?YesNo

5.Do you think the fonts are correct for the

genre?YesNo

6. Do you think the maga-zine conveys the correct emotions and attitudes of

the genre? YesNo

7. Do you think the it has the correct amount of in-formation for the genre?

YesNo

8. Do you think the house style is correct of the

genre?YesNo

My product uses several conventions of a real media product of the same genre. For example, the fonts used are san-serif which is typical of the hip hop genre. It also employs the three most popular colours for hip hop magazines: Red, White and Black. The layout could be considered similar to the conventional layout for hip hop magazines, where there is the names of the artists featured in the magazine, rather than their name and a cover line to go with it, which isn't as space efficient. I also developed a logo for my product, utilizing a san-serif and bold text with a square box, which is conventional of the hip hop genre which favours bold and straight edged designs. The imagery I developed and used was digitally modified to show the person in a more dominating stance. This is typical of the hip hop genre, where artists are always shown as dominating and powerful either by their stance or the camera angle. Lighting can also be used to influence the shot to make the artist look more dominant. In the instance of my imagery, I used manipulation to lighten the shot to surreal ranges which gave the impression that the person was dominant and powerful.

1. IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?

I engineered the layout of my contents page to be similar to that of conventional hip hop contents page, where there is a lot of free space, or the impression of it. Typically an image of an artist is used and the background in that image is where the text goes. The use of san-serif thin font also helps give the impression of space. This is usually contrasted by the bold edging and title. On my contents page I also included the editors letter on the left side of the page, but to keep the feeling of space I used a glass effect backing which ensured it didn’t look cramped, but it also separated the editor’s letter from the rest of the content. I also manipulated the image of the artist to change the perspective of the image and make it appear more serene and almost elegant, which is typical of the hip hop genre and this theme can be seen on the real world magazines to the left. I also manipulated the imagery so that there was blank white space where the text was, which made it easier to see than if it was overlapping the image.

With my double page spread I used up one page with a large image of an artist, which is conventional of the hip hop genre as it allows for an image of an artist to be in proportion and allows for a full body shot. On the right hand page I put a large title, which was more of a sentence than a title but it introduced the article. My article was an interview asking questions, and the questions were highlighted in red to easier discern them. On the full page image I put a quote from the article which the artist had said, which is a much used convention. I manipulated the image to suit the tone of the article and interview, which was a bit darker and less happy. I stuck to the conventions by using bold hard edged styling. I would argue I challenged some of the conventions by using an image that didn’t necessarily show the artist in a dominant stance, yet it didn’t make the person appear vulnerable.

2. HOW DOES YOUR PRODUCT REPRESENT PARTICULAR SOCIAL GROUPS?

My magazine represents the hip hop social group. This is done by using imagery of an artist of the stereotypical style, such as wearing a branded hooded sweatshirt and sweatpants. I would argue that my product represents the British hip hop social group rather than the typical American hip hop group as the persons in my magazine aren’t black, which is an associated factor with the hip hop social group. The magazine is intended for the hip hop social group who want an interesting, informative and partially informal magazine.

3. WHAT KIND OF MEDIA INSTITUTION MIGHT DISTRIBUTE YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT AND WHY?

I think the only institutions that would distribute my product would either be a institution that specifically distributed music magazines or an institution that distributed a broad range of magazines. A example of such a publisher would be Harris Publications.

Harris Publications already publishes similar hip hop magazines such as Source and XXL and over 75 other non music publications. This would allow my magazine to get the correct media attention it would require to sell properly as a large company such as Harris Publications will be able to provide sufficient advertising and distribution.

4. WHO WOULD BE THE AUDIENCE FOR YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT?

The audience for my media product would be 16 year old teenage boys and girls who have an interest in the hip hop genre and want an interesting, different, informative and informal magazine to read that gives them information about the latest events in the hip hop genre of music. My audience would be predominantly male, which is typical of the chosen genre but not exclusive to males.

5. HOW DID YOU ATTRACT/ADDRESS YOUR AUDIENCE?

• I used a variety of bright, clean white and bold red to make my magazine front cover attractive and very noticeable. I also used large key words for example “Dizmul” who is a hip hop artist, and people familiar with the genre are likely to notice the name, especially as it is in bold large red. The large amount of bright white would also make it stand out compared to a lot of other magazines, which tend to have darker colours.

6. WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNT ABOUT TECHNOLOGIES FROM THE PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTING THIS PRODUCT?

• During the process of constructing my media product I learnt how to use several image manipulation programs such as Photoshop CS5.5. I also learnt how to use a digital camera in a more advanced manner to further enhance the image. I also learnt how to use an Apple Mac, which I had no previous experiences with.

7. LOOKING BACK AT YOUR PRELIMINARY TASK, WHAT DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE LEARNT IN THE PROGRESSION FROM IT TO THE FULL PRODUCT?

During the time in which I constructed my preliminary task and finished constructing my full product, I feel I have learnt how to use computer manipulation technologies such as Photoshop, and I feel I have also learnt how to effectively use a digital camera. I also think I have learnt how to effectively lay out a music magazine and how to set the atmosphere with clever manipulation.