AS Media StudiesCoursework Evaluation

By Salim Jeylani Saeed

• In order to do this project, I had to undertake a lot of research, particularly into the conventions of a music magazine covers. I had to analyse a number of existing magazine covers and see how they were related in terms of language, ideology, institution, audience and representation. I also carried out research into which programs I could possibly use for my project and what the advantages and disadvantages were. After the research, I had to plan my project accordingly, and I referred back to my research in the planning stages of my magazine. I had to go out and take the pictures which I would need for my final design. These included a medium close up of a student. Once I was happy that I had a good idea, I moved onto actually designing the cover. For my sixth form magazine cover, I decided to use Adobe Photoshop CS5. The advantage of this was that it allowed me to arrange all of my work into layers. For this particular project, I had about 13 layers, all of which were either text, pictures or shapes. In addition, Photoshop allowed me to produce a cover which looked professional, and I would not have achieved this if I had used another form of software. I had a main image of a student in medium close up, which I cut out. The advantage of cutting it out was that I could place her over, and other various items on the page. This made her stand out from the page. This was something I picked up from doing the research, as I noticed that most magazines do this to present the model to the audience as the main topic or subject. Overall, I think the final outcome was successful. This is for a number of reasons. Firstly, everything stands out on the page. This is especially true for the picture of the student. Secondly, it has all the features of a typical magazine cover, including a main title, main picture, appropriate headlines and a barcode. The layout of it is also quite similar to some of the ones I analysed whilst doing my research, so therefore, it shows my research was effective. Finally, in terms of representation, it actually looks like a college magazine. There are a number of different things I could do to improve my sixth form magazine cover. I could do something more creative and add other images, such as add a border, or make them into different shapes, and I could also space them out throughout the page. However, as this is my first attempt at creating a magazine cover, I think I’ve created something that looks quite professional.

Photoshop cs5• Firstly the first image that I used was a picture of my model but without any real colour scheme for context to ensure my

target audiences of 18 were the main target. This was the time that I was struggling the most when using Photoshop sc5 because I was struggling to erase the background without damaging the pictures full affect.

• Secondly moving to the second design I thought really hard on what type of masthead that I wanted to make my target audiences interest in my music magazine, therefore thinking back to vibe effect and how their front covers have developed a type of casual gangster look which motivated me to use the word “vibe” in my masthead but in a different affection by isolating it and making sure my target audience focus more on the word “feel". I also added on some sell lines and other cover line like “50 greatest songs for example to ensure that there is some context that is interesting in the music magazineand the writing being bold and standing out ensures that the audiences are attached upon the release of the album. At this time of the stage of my music magazine I also added a barcode which shows how professional compared to a vibe magazine or a hip hop rap music magazine that there is always a bar code that is used. I also thought about the shape and sizes of certain objects like the circle and other stuff like the words at the side of my music magazine which shows that there is certain things that stand out more than others to emphasise their importance to be noticed by the audience type.one typical conventions that I feel I have followed is the placement of the image at stage 2of my front cover which is right at the middle to show facial, expression the type of clothing their wearing and their overall background. This is very important in music magazine because instantly the audience can relate back to a specific genre based on the clothing and this relates back to the picture because of the word “swag” on his shirt shows that rap or hip hop music is the genre.

• Lastly being my final production of my music magazine was the important convention of were things should be placed and I thought really hard to be aware that I notice this. Another key element was the title as it needed to stand out if I were to follow the conventions of a rap music magazine so therefore in this case I used the affect of the colours red and black together as a mixture of the two in each letter so that the title (masthead) be the most focused point out of all the other typical conventions shown in the music magazine. The most important out of all I thought were things should be placed and also the different font affect as using the stylish font for the “legend of rap” as it signifies that legends are from past memories but also to identify who they are more easily as this information is critical to the audience to notice. Following the same ideology of all music magazine having a male figure and being stereotypical of the male figure being a careless and attractive person this was one convention that I followed throughout doing my front cover and my double spread page. This is were the colour scheme had played a big role into making my music magazine more realistic and more attractive because the use of red and black mixing together does show brightness in colours but also the connotation of it being bold and has that fire affect and it being strict but also that exciting feeling.

Overall I have learnt a lot by using Photoshop cs5 because I have managed to use many different tools that I thought I wouldn’t be able to even identify what they are like for example the crop tool or the pain bucket tool which all helped me to show colour contrast and make things stand out to my target audience of 18.

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

Masthead: One convention I have used is having a large masthead, and placing it behind the main image this is also done in ‘classic rock’ as you can see the main image is also in front of the masthead, this is also common in many other magazines like Kerrang, Rolling Stone etc.

The sell line links to the main image this is similar to ‘classic urban street magazine as the sell lines also links to the main image. These are usually used in magazines to attract audience to buy and read magazine.

The main image: This image is a mid-shot (MS), to show the whole of her body language. This is common is all magazines generally as they either have a main image which is a mid-shot or a close up of the models face. Similarly to ‘classic rock’ as the main image includes the models whole body.

The bar code: This is used in all magazines and usually on the front page. I have also added the price, date and issue number this shows regularity. Instead of having a barcode it has a symbol of some kind printed on the right hand side of the professional music magazine.

Slogan: ‘the way to rock’ is aspirational towards my audience as it implies that the magazine can lead them to what they want to be. Similarly to the magazine “Classic Rock” their slogan is ‘High Voltage & Rock ‘n’ Roll’ highlighting what the magazine is about and creates a rock audience, as it underlines their interests.

Main colours/ colour scheme: my magazine colour scheme is red and black as they work well together and stand out front he background. Similarly to ‘classic rock’ they have also chosen a colour scheme of black and grey. Both of the backgrounds are white so the text stands out from it this is common in most magazines.

Direct mode of address: He has

eye contact with the reader to make it personal and shows the artist is confident. In contrast ‘classic Rock’s’ main image doesn’t use this so the reader is more detached with the magazine.

Cover lines: I have used cover lines to introduce what will be in my magazine, in the same way ‘classic rock’ does .

Main Image: Both magazines have large images that links in with the main article. Both images have the cool fashionable look and the clothes are stylish and for summer coolness and have text on top of the image to explain the image further. There is also a lot of fashionable clothes and also wearing customs such as a watch etc. Their facial expression suggest that they trying to act cool. For example in the vibe it shows that in the main image is trying to look at the audience directly whereas in mine I made him have glasses on to show that he cares more about his fashion then respect and being intimidating.

Title: Differently to ‘NME’ instead of having the title of the magazine name I have simply made the title ‘contents’ to make it easier for audience to find pages they are looking for in the magazine. The red and black affect and the writing affects all have an urban street look. This attracts my target audience who are at the age of 17+ to roughly 26. Image: vibe image of usher doesn't include

many pictures in contrast to my magazine. I added 3 main images to make the page more attractive to look at as too much text makes the contents page look dull. However his picture does show him being casual look and having fashionable clothing. The swag represent the type of fashion the artist is trying to bring out to the targeted youth at the age of 18 being stylish and the black standing out being affective.

Bar code The barcode is important to show that my front cover is professional and is appropriate to be approved by the governments and its not a copy right of any other music magazine. This shows the realism.

The Media Language on here instantly tells us that this page is based on hip hop music. Firstly, this is because of all the images, which all have connotations of hip hop such as the hoodies and flash jewellery, the smoking theme and the swag casual clothing.

Main cover line: The main cover in in both of the magazine front covers are of the representation of the artist as it underlines who the audience should focus on .also it might be following the usual conventions as the artist being bold and standing out from all the other text. The other affect that I chosen was trying to change the font design so that it would be appropriate for my target audience.

• There are a lot of main cover headline which are shown in the left hand side because audience read from the right hand side. There has been a lot of words that have been put in emphasis such as “for death” which catches the audience attention immediately .linking I didn’t use this convectional way because I wanted to put emphasis on his latest album and him being a new artist. The colour used in T.I magazine front cover is colours of blue, white which are bright colourful and stand out and this way the colours wouldn’t clash and important sentence can be seen straight away . The main image shows him rubbing his hand suggesting that he might reinforce the fact that he is expecting to receive money. Vibe magazine also has famous rappers who share a common theme of struggling in the hoods and also showing that rap is a big industry that has been widely appreciated by many people. This appeals to a male audience however highlighting Keri Hilson story shows that there might be more than one aim of audience target for vibe .whereas my magazine front cover has famous rappers and also has only male inspirational people which appeals to my male targeted audience of 17-26. colour used in T.I magazine front cover is colours of blue, white which are bright colourful and stand out and this way the colours wouldn’t clash and important sentence can be seen straight away .

3 Main Images: I choose 3 images to show the urban street popularity of rap music magazine. It also follows the normal conventions of a context page. Also the main image on the content has a girls hand as the attention is on him being famous and his attractive for females and females are the predators whereas my content page has images of people showing off their style of clothes and pausing and trying to look cool for a women attention .This would be the view of a patriarchal society however people would argue this dominate ideology.

Facial expression: Having different facial expressions shows that my conventions are not followed and makes it relevant to many audience type as its not physically meant to be for rap industry.

Colours: The colours being bright and not shadow shows there is really interesting context inside the magazine. Having the colours also orange and light chocolate follows on my design of my front cover as it is colourful. The content page for a real magazine has.

Main title: I have made my main title to be at the top right hand corner but Brocken up words to show style and creativity that the things that would be in the magazine are not dull and boring. Also my main content page is at the right hand side so that it catches the audience attention by the way its cut out into smaller elements shown that the content inside the magazine is not boring and dull.

Layout.: Having the interview of an important artist at the bottom left hand corner but sized bigger shows how important he is and his body language represent higher statues and control. The thing that I changed from my content page compare to the typical structure is that the content and the things which will be in the magazine I have organised it differently and in the middle of the page and in a Colom so that it stands out from the other text and catches the audiences attention instantly.

The numbers: The numbers follow the conventions of a music magazine content page but also gives clear direction were to find a particular info the audience might want to read more.

Columns: I have used the usual convention of three columns down the page. However I have added a twist to the layout by making the introduction paragraph go across the two columns in a red colour so it stands out from the rest. I have also done this with another paragraph and the bottom of the page and made the text size slightly larger so that too stands out.

In my magazines there is a quote which had a white background this is also a common convention. This is so it stands out from the whole article and highlights that it is an important bit of the article. however with my double spread I chose the colour to be red in a way that that colour stands out but also the use of slang language illustrates the urban street rappers.

Title: Masthead I decided that I wanted my title to be plain with just the artists name and a quote from them underneath. In a different way for the ‘Kerrang’ double page spread where they do not name the artists on the tile however underneath the title with a description of them. I wanted my title to stand out and have a different colour scheme and I chose it to be blue. Also I managed to add an affect with it making it 3d style but without it being too bold

Page number: Both of the magazines have the pages numbers. They both also include a mini-logo of the magazine, this is a common convention used in magazine to trade mark the magazine.

My double spread articles begin with the first letter of the article to be much larger than the text that follows it. It is also in a different colour. However I managed to keep it the same colour because I didn’t want to isolate the letter by it self but to also have the whole subheadings to be a main focus point.

Main images: Both images are on the left covering half the page therefore having the article on the other half of the page. Vibe image of usher doesn't include many pictures in contrast to my magazine. I added 1 main images to make the page more attractive to look at as too much text makes the contents page look dull. However his image does show him being casual look and having fashionable clothing. The swag represent the type of fashion the artist is trying to bring out to the targeted youth at the age of 18 being stylish and the black standing out being affective.

Effect of smokeThe smoke blown out of his mouth and used as an effect of dimming fade effect so that it foreshadows his cool facial expression showing that his not concern with anything like wise it was important to show this dim effect in my music magazine.

Forms and conventions• My media product uses different forms and conventions from real magazines such as the title of the magazine. On the

title there is a strong bold font and related colour scheme that portrays the magazine in a strong, powerful way. The Mis-en-scene used in my media product shows the artist as an intriguing character with an indecisive look, a confident look to show he has a 'swag' attitude about him. the style of the glasses and the expression on the artists face describes the magazine as laid back and established which is perfect for my designated target audience. the use of the greyscale background makes the title and the red vibrant colours stand out which will attract the audience too. The layout of the different features in the magazine are set out in a way to attract the reader and inform them of the different points that the magazine will cover. for example the layout of 'EMINEM' and 'TI's' quote are positioned to give the reader an insight of the magazine and tell them what will be coming up without giving too much of the story away. In order to do this project, I had to undertake a lot of research, particularly into the conventions of a music magazine cover. I had to analyse a number of existing magazine covers and see how they were related in terms of language, ideology, institution, audience and representation. I also carried out research into which programs I could possibly use for my project and what the advantages and disadvantages were. After the research, I had to plan my project accordingly, and I referred back to my research in the planning stages of my magazine. I had to go out and take the pictures which I would need for my final design. These included a medium close up of a student. Once I was happy that I had a good idea, I moved onto actually designing the cover. For my college magazine cover, I decided to use Adobe Photoshop CS5. The advantage of this was that it allowed me to arrange all of my work into layers. For this particular project, I had about 13 layers, all of which were either text, pictures or shapes. In addition, Photoshop allowed me to produce a cover which looked professional, and I would not have achieved this if I had used another form of software. I had a main image of a student in medium close up, which I cut out. The advantage of cutting it out was that I could place her over, and other various items on the page. This made her stand out from the page. This was something I picked up from doing the research, as I noticed that most magazines do this to present the model to the audience as the main topic or subject. Overall, I think the final outcome was successful. This is for a number of reasons. Firstly, everything stands out on the page. This is especially true for the picture of the student. Secondly, it has all the features of a typical magazine cover, including a main title, main picture, appropriate headlines and a barcode. The layout of it is also quite similar to some of the ones I analysed whilst doing my research, so therefore, it shows my research was effective. Finally, in terms of representation, it actually looks like a college magazine.

• After the research, I had to plan my project accordingly, and I referred back to my research in the planning stages of my magazine. I had to go out and take the pictures which I would need for my final design. These included a medium close up of a student. Once I was happy that I had a good idea, I moved onto actually designing the cover. For my college magazine cover, I decided to use Adobe Photoshop CS5. The advantage of this was that it allowed me to arrange all of my work into layers. For this particular project, I had about 13 layers, all of which were either text, pictures or shapes. In addition, Photoshop allowed me to produce a cover which looked professional, and I would not have achieved this if I had used another form of software. I had a main image of a student in medium close up, which I cut out. The advantage of cutting it out was that I could place her over, and other various items on the page. This made her stand out from the page. This was something I picked up from doing the research, as I noticed that most magazines do this to present the model to the audience as the main topic or subject. Overall, I think the final outcome was successful. This is for a number of reasons. Firstly, everything stands out on the page. This is especially true for the picture of the student. Secondly, it has all the features of a typical magazine cover, including a main title, main picture, appropriate headlines and a barcode. The layout of it is also quite similar to some of the ones I analysed whilst doing my research, so therefore, it shows my research was effective. Finally, in terms of representation, it actually looks like a college magazine.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Stereotypes: My magazine follows the typical stereotypical rap genre, this is firstly because of the image that I used of a fashionable looking person. I used on my front cover and throughout the magazine. To follow the conventions of hip hop-RAP from west coast hip hop rap genre being famous , I intentionally used light/dark colours as I made my model faded his facial expression to be dozing and looking at the sky showing that his a cool guy. This express the same social group of cool and fashionable people . I chose the front cover to be bold and not really bright colours. The models facial expressions are very confident and has a body language that looks calm and approachable, and it complements the genre and clearly underlines that it is a rap magazine when you look at the image. The clothing used is all grey and dim brown to show the typical style that has been emphasised by rap famous artist. Social Class: The price of my magazine is £2.50, I specified after researching existing magazine prices I found that the average price is varied from £2.50 and above, therefore I made my finale decision based around that. This links to my target audience as they are young and will not have a high income. Also the importance of it being a good reasonable price be the fact that lots of teenagers can afford this hip hop music magazine as they will target this magazine because of the fashion and style being shown. This will attract many different social class and age also gender but specifically the age range being 18 and older. The institution of Vibe is that it is a commercial music magazine, which makes it's money out of advertising and fashion promotions. The Audience for these particular pages are of course hip hop music lovers; people who like that genre of music. It will be a mix of roughly equal ratio between males and females, as I can tell because of the mixed use of interviewed celebrities. These main images have many connotations with hip hop. The pictures have nearly all being taken from a low angle, which introduces superiority to the images meaning. These are just a very few of the conscious decisions that the photographer makes when taking the image.My importance of the price was its placement and I have put it in the left hand side next to the sell line because instantly the audience would turn to that area of the magazine and that would grab their attention immediately rather than later on

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

• In my magazine I have various features that address and attract my audience that were included for this specific effect. magazines try to make the reader buy the product again and again so it is important that they address and attract the audience in the correct way. IPC would be the publisher of my music magazine because although it doesn't publish magazines of the hip hop genre it would open up a gap in the market and maybe my magazine would be a big benefit to this type of industry. is a consumer magazine and digital publisher in the United Kingdom, with a large portfolio selling over 350 million copies each year. IPC Media produce magazines such as NME and other relevant magazines and although it is unusual for a magazine of this type to use an institution like this I feel that it could be a massive success. The target audience would increase if my magazine was published with IPC because they currently aim at indieaudiences but however this could increase to hip hop audiences if my magazine was produced. Bauer is a similar organisation that produces hip hop magazines and so if I chose these it would be more beneficial as these have more expertise's in this area. For my representation I looked at things that would interest young people who read Vibe magazine. For the clothes I looked extensively into clothing and found that polo shirts and tank== tops are popular within this genre. Vibe magazine has introduced some artists showing them smoking or displaying a similar image, but however I overruled this decision as i decided it would be too much to include on the font page and would take away some distinguished features from the page(s).After browsing various music magazine covers I found the following to be interesting to me, as Lil Wayne is posing he displays a look that typifies the generation I want to attract with my magazine and so I would look into something similar for my magazines front cover. He ticks all the boxes for someone of the age and genre that I am trying to persuade and so my artist will be based around her style and dress sense, giving more representation. when comparing Lil Wayne and Albion I noticed they had many similarities between them and so if I could capture the correct pose in a picture then I might be able to make my magazine look like the professional one

• As you can see both are wearing a fashionable checkered shirts that typifies the generation. My research was key and thorough when deciding how I should approach my magazine since I knew of the ruthless nature of the magazine industry and the need to be competitive. So I thought that styling Osman like Lil Wayne who appears in Vibe magazine regularly would be a excellent way of reaching out to my readers profile and help me to sell more magazines.

• IPC – www.ipcmedia.com

• IPC would also be suitable to distribute my magazine at it also distribute popular indie rock magazines like NME. This links in with my genre of magazine, as they are already experienced distributing a indie rock magazine, it is made future success in the distribution of my magazine. ‘PC Media produces over 60 iconic media brands, with print alone reaching almost two thirds of UK women and 42% of UK men – almost 26 million UK adults’

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The age group of my audience is the age group from 18 to about 26years of age. The magazine will be aimed for both genders, female and male. But I am mainly being specific to male people who I think will attract the most attention from. Doing my questionnaire and research that most 18+ preferred a lot of pictures instead of a lot of text to have tried to limit my words so that it can attract my target audiences.My magazine is aimed at young adults studying in university or are young professionals, my magazine is suited to this particular audience as conventions sometimes using lots of informal language used throughout my magazine makes clearly states that this is magazine that follows many gossip news that might be interesting. Therefore using informal and some formal language creates a mature and formal content to give an adult feel however also creates the urban fashion and style to all the street hood stereotypical brands that might endure in being at a lower class . The artists my target audience would listen to and prefer is Kanye West, T.I Wiz Khalifa, Lil Wayne 50 Cent,My audiences fashion would be adventurous and colourful in what they wear, denim and comfortable clothing. They will not have the stereotypical view of Rap genre wearing black constantly. They will be individualistic through their fashion sense and personality. An urban youth culture associated with rap music and the fashions of African-American residents of the inner city.Thing they like doing is to unwind and "chill out" to and be fashionable. They will also spend time with friends socialising and use social networking sites. They will be focused on there studies and could have a full time job. The personality of my target audience will have a loud personality, and as I said before they will be very individualistic. My Magazine is striking and it links back to the sub-genre of my magazine which is hip hop west coast American rap as this type of music is emphasised on really loud and outgoing music like my target audience.

How did you attract / address your audience?

Feel the vibe masthead is very striking and mind boggling, the lines look as if the words are vibrating and almost moving of the page. This links back to the sub-genre of my magazine which is rock as this type of music is emphasised on really loud and outgoing music like the typeface.

My slogan attracts my audience who possibly have aspirations of becoming a rap star themselves. Using a bold slogan like this creates interest in my audience and will gradually form a connection between the two, thus making them want to buy the magazine every month.

It was very crucial to use a model with cheeky smile and with glasses on that shows his careless because that suite the genre of my magazine. The make-up, clothing and facial expressions are key to the images as the model appears to look like a professional rapper star. This draws audience to my magazine as they too might have the ambition to become a rapper star in which they will look up to professional artists.

In response to my questionnaire it is made evident that the colour scheme red, black and white was preferred most, so I used it throughout my magazine. As I have kept the same colour scheme throughout my magazine with some typical changes in my content page which was done deliberate to gain the audiences attention on the wordings and the style of urban street rap music. The pages flow together and it is constant. It also continuity of the magazine and will be recognised easily by the audience. The colour scheme I have used appeals to both genders so this will attract a wider audience. The colours I have used contrast from each other this is so they stand out, and is also eye grabbing so the audience is attracted to the product.

My target audience would typically enjoy going to chill out with mates and smoke so I added a cover line which included a I added slag language to show the street rappers

My audience are interested in upcoming new artists and music my magazine offers this information thus attracting an audience. Also I have chosen 50 greatest song to be in red so that it attracts the audience attention

Listing the popular artist of rap music on the front cover shows there will be information about them inside the magazine, audience will be attracted to this as they are admired artists that audience will like to know more about their roles in the music industry

The slogans and the style of writing was important for me to find the write style for my target audience of 18-26.Both font style and different slogans were used to grab young teenagers attention and I used many of the font style from Google researching on the different affect it has to my target audience to show that it isn't a strict and the magazine has interesting information attracts audience as it is linked to the main artist in the magazine. Audience will be interested in this as there is a chance for them to find things in detail about the artist. The language as well is very informal and is colloquial language

How did you attract / address your audience?

Audience Feedback Audience feedback is essential to any music magazine as audience feedback informs producers whether or not their magazine will be a success or not.In order to receive audience feedback for my final product, I gave out questionnaires for people of my target group to fill in. Through this I would get an understanding on the strengths and limitations of my magazine, what was done well and what could be improved. In the questionnaire I asked key questions so that the questionnaire was not too time consuming for audience, this would also allow me to get more detailed and critical answers to get in depth feedback for the audience.

Audience Feedback Questionnaire –1. How does the layout attract you?2. Is my target audience made clear in the magazine?3. Would you buy the magazine and why?4. What is your favourite element of the magazine? 5. Does the magazine link back to the sub-genre of rock? 6. What can be improved?

Audience FeedbackHere is some of the Feedback from the questionnaires:How does the layout attract you? “I like the layout because it is easy to navigate throughout the magazine, all text and images are presented clearly.”“The red and black colour scheme is consistent throughout the magazine, this makes the magazine look professional.”

“The main image and the fonts are really eye grabbing and effective throughout.”Is my target audience made clear in the magazine?“Obviously your targeting has been achieved because of the slang quote and the informal language. The images you used were really good and were clear which makes it easier for us to see the facial expressions on his face”“I would say that your targeting quite a young audience from about 17-18 and above.”“The language used shows that the audience is mature.”Would you buy the magazine and why?“The price of the magazine is affordable, so I would be more likely to buy it.”“The cover lines make me interested, as they are artists I like.”“ I would buy this magazine because of the front cover maybe not because of the too much colourful affects on them“I would definitely buy this magazine but I would feel it wouldn’t be aiming at a target audience of me which I'm 20 so “I thing mainly because of the colour scheme and the slang words repeatedly used”What is your favourite element of the magazine?“I love the title, it’s really bold and different.”“the main image emphasises the rock genre.” “Everything is clear to read .”“The picture that you used was particular impressive”“the layout of your front cover and content was good”“I really like how you used the gadgets on the computer and the affects came out good”Does the magazine link back to the sub-genre of rock?“I think so, although it might get confused with a hip hop magazine but they are similarly the same genre.”“Yeah everything in the magazine is bold and eye catching with the mood being relaxed and street life.”“ Its done well to refer back to the genre however their could be improvements on picking up certain words and putting emphasise on them”What can be improved?“I think that you could have used a different model in your contents page.”“The front cover has a lot of text maybe if there was less of it, it will look better.”“Maybe you could put borders around the front cover and double page spread like you did for the contents page.”

I am very happy with the feedback which I received for my final product. I believe everyone was very honest whilst giving feedback, it has been extremely helpful and if I was to make another magazine I would understand the concepts I need to improve. I am really satisfied with the feed back because its mainly positive feedback but however there is a lot of point about the amount of colours used that some colours might not interlink well so this would be my main thing to improve on. Overall I have managed to commit to the task that I was suppose to do and create a rap music magazine that fits in quite well with my target audience.

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

I have never used Photoshop before so I have found it quite hard to work with the program in the start however the preliminary task helped me to become more comfortable using the program before staring the music magazine. Creating the music magazine has helped me broaden my knowledge on how to use Photoshop. When creating the music magazine Photoshop became more easier to use throughout the production. By the end of the production of the music magazine I became greatly familiarised with the program. When using Photoshop I found it easy to work with in some aspects however there where other features that I found difficult to use and I wasn’t sure how to apply them to my work. For example when putting my main image in front of my masthead I found it difficult to put the image in front of the text without complications, as the masthead kept erasing. I enjoyed using Photoshop as it made the production of the music magazine much easier, this is because I was able to use a professional program to create the magazine. Also when placing text and images on the page it was easier to move them around the page and place them where I preferred them on the magazine. The other programs I used for the first time was dropbox, this helped me save my work throughout the production of my magazine and also blogger this was to post my work up so that the examiners can see the stages of the production of my magazine to the finale product.

What do you feel you have learnt in the progression from your preliminary task to the full product?

Things I did well in my magazine is: that the main image reflects the magazine purpose very well, the cover lines link to the magazine and the layout of cover is presented well. Things I could improve on is: The background of the front cover makes it look unimaginative overall , The fonts used are not constant does not look professional and the colour scheme may be mistaken for one group (looks feminine) of audience although I thought it would look neutral. The front cover follows the codes and conventions of a school magazine. I have not used a bar code as I would think school magazines are free that is also why I did not put a price on it. However the typical conventions that are represented on a school magazine have been applied to my cover, for example the issue number and the date of the magazine is important. In addition the cover lines presented on the front cover link to the purpose of the magazine. The main image of the magazine also links to the themes of the magazine as the girl uses direct mode of address and also is holding a book to make clear to the audience that it is a school magazine. The colour scheme of the front cover is constant throughout the magazine cover this also features in real magazines. I also used catchy tag lines like “Be cool and go to school” which is another convention used in real magazines.

Compared to the music magazine there is a big contrast in the way they are presented. For example the way the text is set out, it is much more neater compared to the school magazine. This gives a more professional look and it is made clear there has been an progression of Photoshop skills, editing skills and a wider knowledge of music magazine conventions.

Looking back at my Preliminary task , I firmly believe I have learnt a great deal regarding progression to the main task. When I first made my college front cover, I only had a basic understanding of what conventions should be applied to the magazine. This was because I had only done a limited amount of research. However, before creating my main media product, I thoroughly researched a diversity of different music magazines, to maximise my understanding of the key concepts of a front cover, contents page, and double page spread. In conclusion, I believe I have learnt a lot during this task, and as a result, have ended up with a professional looking magazine piece. Firstly, I believe I have successfully applied a number of conventional elements of a magazine which I have learnt from my research. Secondly, I have constructed the images and style of the magazine specifically to represent a younger audience and to be aimed at them as well. In other words, there is a clear relationship between the representation of the models portrayed and the audience it is aimed at. Thirdly, I believe I have learnt a lot of digital ICT technologies. I believe I have learnt a lot during this task, and as a result, have ended up with a professional looking magazine piece. Firstly, I believe I have successfully applied a number of conventional elements of a magazine which I have learnt from my research. Secondly, I have constructed the images and style of the magazine specifically to represent a younger audience and to be aimed at them as well. In other words, there is a clear relationship between the representation of the models portrayed and the audience it is aimed at. Thirdly, I believe I have learnt a lot of digital ICT technologies.

What do you feel you have learnt in the progression from your preliminary task to the full product?

• Things I did well in my magazine is: The colour scheme throughout the front cover and the contents page are constant and create an realistic effect, The page layout is clear to read this lets it be easily accessible to find articles of interest and the contents page also follows the codes and conventions of a school magazine. Also all the pages are separated into sections this also makes the articles easily found for example I used "main information", "reward", "extra" and "charity". I also added photos related to the articles and put the page number beside them to show were the articles linking to the photo can be found. This is similar to real magazines as they too do this. Things I could improve on: The page looks plane, it is common to have a lot of text on the contents page, also the colour scheme doesn’t have any relation to the front cover therefore they do not look like they are from the same magazine, there should be a sense of fluidity throughout magazines. Compared to my music magazine here again there is a clear understanding of progression between the two contents pages. The music magazine contents page layout is clear and also follows the codes and conventions of a real magazine. The text is small and organised to give a professional feel, also the colour scheme of the contents page link back to my front and double page spread this contrasts from my preliminary task as there is no link between the pages. There are also a number of other stories 'scattered' around the page, along with relevant pictures and subtitles. Also, I have noticed that all of these magazines have a particular colour scheme, which helps the magazine look better visually. This colour scheme is usually continued throughout the entire magazine and especially onto the contents page and the double page spread. Looking back at my Preliminary task , I firmly believe I have learnt a great deal regarding progression to the main task. When I first made my college front cover, I only had a basic understanding of what conventions should be applied to the magazine. This was because I had only done a limited amount of research. However, before creating my main media product, I thoroughly researched a diversity of different music magazines, to maximise my understanding of the key concepts of a front cover, contents page, and double page spread.

• All music magazine front pages tend to use the following conventions in a regular pattern to get the most out of the magazine...

They have an image that really stands out from the page. They make it stand out further by putting it against a light background and cutting it out and placing it partially over text or the logo of the magazine. This is especially true with the Vibe magazine. The main picture is covering up half of the logo, yet you still recognise that it is Vibe from the distinguished 'V'. This is because it is a well established institution which people have heard of, so as long as you can see part of the logo, people will know it is Vibe magazine. Nearly all of the magazines I have looked at have at least one banner running across the top or the bottom. The banner gives the reader extra information about what is inside the magazine such as posters, reviews and competitions. It also may have a slogan on it. Usually all of the magazines have similar positioning of the logo. They are at the top of the magazine front cover, and usually on the left hand side. This is a typical convention of a magazine front cover mainly because it is easier to find the magazine in a shop if they are stacked in the usual way. The magazine covers have a main title, which is always related to the main image. This is usually short and brief, and gives you a good indication to what the rest of that particular magazine article is about. With the title, there is nearly always a subtitle, which basically gives you extra information about that story. Looking back at my Preliminary task , I firmly believe I have learnt a great deal regarding progression to the main task. When I first made my college front cover, I only had a basic understanding of what conventions should be applied to the magazine. This was because I had only done a limited amount of research. However, before creating my main media product, I thoroughly researched a diversity of different music magazines, to maximise my understanding of the key concepts of a front cover, contents page, and double page spread.

This rapper would be popular for my front cover because he has a urban style. The connotation is that this rapper (the game) is wearing a suit which shows his formal side and his background class therefore it represents him as a higher working class man. This is a typical style for my target audience that are young and love fashion. The close up shot of his face shows his characteristic and his smart look. Therefore showing how professional he is. Also the hat tilt on the side makes him look stylish.

The picture that I am going to take is of a medium shot of a character being stylish and has his arms up just being casual. The clothes that he would were would be fashionable but I didn’t pick a suit for him to wear because of my target audience of 18-26As I have mediated this picture Thorley and changed a lot of its clothes and facial expression as also I concentrate on the setting and light the picture should look.

When doing my double spread page I thought about the image that I was going to use especially it was important for me to fit in a group album because it shows that rap hasn’t got a one aim industry were its only individualism but create a different affect to my target audience to make the feel shocked and surprised I tried using the image which represent 4 new upcoming artist that have done a record together however I thought well and discovered that the image was not relevant enough to grab my audience attention as the placement of the picture being in the middle of the page is not effective as well as I wouldn’t have enough space to write the information that is relevant. Also the clothing was not really effective as they look more casual and fashionable.

After doing so much research I thought about the image that I wanted to choose and I chosen an image that reinforced togetherness and people appreciating each other by theme hugging each other and coming together for the image. I also chose them to wear different type of clothing so that fashion and style can be represented to my targeted audience. I also thought about their facial expression and as they have released a new album I thought I would want them to be smiling so that it can show that rappers don’t only have strict and arrogant facial expressions. Some jewellery and custom has been used like a belt and a watch to show style. This is also a mid shot of all of them together which my target audience can see their smile.

With the text that has been added on I thought about what type of question a interview would ask and I wrote them up. I chose the best ones from a lit of 15 question and asked them in a street rappers why instead of a normal typical interviewer. I also thought about putting them at the right hand side of the page so that my image stands out the most because it shows what type of genre the music magazine I'm presenting is. I also though about enlarging a quote and making it fancy so that my target audience feel that the magazine aims to show fashion and style however also shows that rappers are famous for their stylistic ways.