Ugne Maria Cijunskyte

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

Front cover

The front cover of my magazine includes many conventional aspects of any professional music magazine. Firstly I have created a colour scheme which is the same throughout the magazine, this is because in my research I found that all music magazines have a colour scheme as it shows consistency which is described as a desirable characteristic by the readers. Furthermore, The layout of my magazine is reflective of a typical music magazine with the title right at the top, the featured artist just below, in

larger font than the rest of the text on the page (excluding the title), the barcode and web address located at the bottom. The image I have chosen is also alike to the ones used in real media products with the main image at the centre of the page with the text positioned on top of it. As well as conforming to the typical conventions I have also challenged them in some ways. The first thing that makes my magazine an outlier is my choice of colours, my target audience doesn’t focus on a single gender however the colours I have used may suggest otherwise. Light blues and yellows are seen as more feminine colours, although this shows that the colour does not determine the demographic as the magazine still looks adequate for its genre due to the font and images.

Additionally, the font I have used is also a contrast to the expected font of a Hip-Hop style, I have chosen to use a more digital and bold font in order to make the magazine stand out and perhaps attract a secondary target audience.

Contents page

The contents page that I have created also has an aspect of continuity through the use of same font and colour scheme as the front cover, alongside the reappearance of the magazine front cover (top left) for brand recognition. My contents page reflects a professional one through the use of conventions such as using images for big featured stories and having an orderly structure of text in columns and the use of images in a differentiating sizes.

On the other hand, not all of my contents page follows the requirements of a realistic contents page. The first convention that I have altered is the way the stories are presented; instead of listing the pages in order I have chosen to list them under sub-headings (such as: music, style) this structure allows the reader to find the area that they are interested in reading rapidly. Another aspect that is used in real media products id advertisements, however most of this aren’t located on the contents page which is what I’ve chosen to take a risk on. I have challenged such conventions as not demonstrating the main featured article within it and merely having each article of the same size, font and style. I have highlighted some features by inserting photos to support. This provides a visual stimulus for the reader.

Double page spread

My double page spread shares many characteristics with a professional version in an existing media product. Firstly the use of a pull quote is definitely recognised as any magazine article convention. Additionally, the actual content of the page (the interview) is ordered very sufficiently and is structured in the typical Question/Answer format. Also, Minor aspects such as page numbers and the website do contribute to making the double page spread appear like a real media product.

The fact that the interview begins with a short paragraph to create the setting gives the DPS a real feel as this is also andimportant convention when including interviews in a magazine. Another convention I have used is the advertisement of the artist for example stating the album release date and their twitter account, all current magazines do this. Furthermore, the images I have chosen are predictable for a double page spread, they are of the artist in an action shot which is the cliché shot to use in a DPS however, one aspect about the picture does set it apart from the rest is the actual composition behind it. The image is of a selective focus and in a close-up going to a mid-shot positioning, this is to allow all the focus to be onthe female, showing her lead role.

Apposing all of the conventions I have used there are some I challenged. For example, I have chosen to have different coloured text allocated to each band member whereas text in magazines usually tends to black consistently. One side of the argument may say that my technique makes the page look tacky and unorganised whereas I believe it gives the interview flow as the reader learns to associate the colour of the response to the respondent.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

To begin with, the language used in ‘Double-H’ is colloquial as the Hip-Hop genre often includes slang and swearing apposed to other genres, this can show that the groups that are linked with this genre (youths) are vulgar however it can also show that they have a relaxed, chilled personality.

‘Started from the bottom now we're hereStarted from the bottom now my whole team fucking here bitch’

‘I got 99 problems but a bitch ain’t one’

Two of the biggest names in Hip-Hop: Drake And Jay-Z are a prime example of the languageused as you can see there are multiple swear words and words that aren’t considered as Queens English such as ‘aint’. Young people are associated with slang speak and are often downgraded for this however it shows that they want to be different.

Secondly, the idea that Hip-Hop is dominated by males is still true today however ‘Double-H’ isn’t trying to promote this patriarchal image, this is shown through the images as the female is centre of them all and is not presented in a sexualised manner whereas this is the case in many Hip-Hop videos.

These two screen shots (Justin Timberlake-Carry out, Pitbull-Hotel room) show how women are often exposed as sex objects which can have a downside in the Hip-Hop industry, on one side it will widen the male audience as they will be attracted to these videos in contrast to the women taking a dislike to them meaning loosing viewers. In my magazine on the other hand, females are equals as the target audience doesn’t specify a gender.

To continue, another social group associated with Hip-Hop is people of black ethnicity, this idea is hard to reject as the majority of Hip-Hop artists are black however this does not prove that their fans are too. The black audiences are often shown as rowdy and rude whereas in my magazine they are shown in a positive light through the captions positioned next to their images, for example ‘new artist’ shows that they have done something successful with their life's. My magazine withdraws the idea that blacks are the thrones in Hip-Hop as the main featured artist is white, this however does not mean that my target audience is of a white ethnicity as other images within the contents page include people of Asian and black backgrounds.

Lastly, Hip-Hop has originated from an urban area, the artists often speak about their own struggles and the lyrics used (as previously mentioned) are offensive; this leads to the target audience being of a middle class/working class background. The way I make use of class in my magazine is through the font and images for example an upper class music magazine is exceedingly different to mine.

Notice the use of a more sophisticated font whereas mine is graffiti style, the image is of a man in a theatre, wearing a suit, on the other hand my images are in an urban environment in which the models are wearing hood's, this gives out a stereotypical ‘chavy’ persona to the middle/working class audience however

this is not how I want my demographic to be recognised as, this is why reading the text is so important as it demonstrates how successful you can be as the featured artists started from the bottom and earned their success through hard work.

Even though the Hip-Hop audience is of a lower class, the music videos within the genre use very expensive objects, in my magazine however, money and flashy things aren’t used purely to show other audiences that Hip-Hop is not all about the ‘bling’.

For example: these hip-hop videos include materialistic things

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

Bauer is a multinational media company headquartered in Hamburg, Germany which operates in 15 countries worldwide, founded in 1875. As Bauer is one of the largest publishers in Europe it would be an ideal company to distribute my media product, this is because it is well known and respected therefore any product that they bring out will be considered and taken an interest in.

Here I have annotated the Bauer website to explain how them buying ‘DoubleH’ would make it a success.

Here, we can see a range of brands that are owned by Bauer, it leads me to think that the company is extremely successful and highly sort after for new media products. With the backing of such conglomerates as these, my product will be easily attainable for the demographic as there are multi –platforms suitable.

Advertisements for subscriptions could help my magazine sell in higher quantities.

The various multi-media platforms owned by Bauer could help me promote my magazine. - A music channel could

help advertise the magazine through advert breaks, this would attract my target audience also as they tend to watch 4music.

- A radio station would be an easy way to attract my audience as the dj could give the magazine a shout out which would be noticed by the millions of people tuning in.

Kerrang and NME magazine are published by Bauer.

The current magazines published by Bauer are rock cantered, this will allow my magazine to add a new variety to the company and avoid competition within the same brand.

The fact that my magazine will have no similar products within the company can be seen as a negative as the publishers may not be familiar with the Hip-Hop genre and won’t have the experience in approaching its target audience as it is very different to the current existing magazines in their range.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Through my magazine I aim to attract an audience which is cool, trendy, youthful and isn’t afraid of trying new things (16-25) as ‘Double-H’ share all these characteristics. There is no preferred gender as I created the magazine to show a side to hip hop that isn’t all about a particular social group therefore there is no specified gender or ethnicity. The one thing that is specified within my demographic is the class; upper class people tend to listen to more sophisticated and cultural music, not only this but as I have previously mentioned, Hip-Hop does revolve around slang and the ‘ghetto world’ which people in the upper class are unfamiliar with, consequently will not find an interest in my magazine. To conclude with, middle/working class people are more likely to be aware of the Hip-Hop industry and will see eye to eye with it.

Here are two character profiles of my friends who match the criteria of the people I would like my magazine to appeal to:

These two would be great as they are social people so could spread the word about 'DoubleH’

Also, they are both studying relevant subjects so could relate to the magazine.

How did you attract/address your audience?

-I attracted my audience by using many different techniques within my magazine and some that I have included in the planning stage only, for example the price of the magazine isn’t stated on the front cover, however my pitch claims I will charge £3 for it, making it attract the working class readers as I believe this to be a reasonable and affordable price.

-Furthermore I have used a number of images, this is a positive as in my survey I found that teens enjoy reading if there’s a lot of pictures involved.

-In the images I have included individuals of all races and ages meaning the magazineDoesn’t discriminate against anyone and therefore will attract all types of readers.

-My choice of colours also attract young people as they are vibrant and striking as confirmed by Samantha in my evaluation video as she states ‘the bright colours make the magazineStand out’.

-The fact that I have included competitions and chances of winning things will attract young people to buy the magazine as they will are more vulnerable in believing they have a high change of winning,

-The use of big names in the industry on the skyline may not only attract my audience to purchase the magazine but may persuade readers of magazines in compettition to read ‘Double-H’ too.- The sticker on the front cover which states ‘Voted #1 by teens’ make the young people believe that this is the hottest magazine out and reassures them to buy it.

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One of the ways I addressed the audience is by speaking directly to them. These videos show what my target audience think about my work; talking about what attracts them to the magazine, what could be improved and how it fits into the Hip-Hop genre.The first interviewee, Samantha is a 17 year old, she is the prime example of whom I want to attract to buy my magazine therefore what she thinks matters. The second interviewee is Nick Sharman who is a website designer and a graphics teacher, meaning he’s a professional in the media consequently making his opinion highly valid. Lastly, Misha, a music student knows all about different genres in the music industry and therefore can identify if my magazine matches its chosen genre.

Another way that I have addressed my audience is through social networking sites as these are highly used by my target audience. I posted an image of my front cover onto ‘Instagram’ and received 50+ likes showing that it is of a high standard and the youthful users like the appearance of it. Alongside with posting the photo I used hash tags such as ‘#DoubleH #Fresh #cool’ In order for the picture to receive more attention as young people search for these Hash tags daily, giving the front cover more Chance ofGettingNoticed.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?Firstly, there was a variety of software programmes that I used in order to build up and create my

magazine, some of these I was fluent with, alternatively, some helped me gain new designing and presenting skills.

I used Microsoft PowerPoint to help me store ideas in an eye catching way in the process of the research stage.

For example this is a mood board I made which includes the different ideas I had for the magazine, PowerPoint allowed me to move the pictures freely and add desired text

Microsoft word also came in handy for writing tasks as the spell check and document-like layout ensured your work is up to a suitable standard.

I made use of this programme with the longer writing tasks such as: the double page spread text planning and the pitch.

I also used Microsoft Excel in order to create bar charts for the results of my survey which helped me understand what the target audience expect from a music magazine

I was unfamiliar with slideshare beforehand however now I have learnt that it’s an effortless way of uploading your PowerPoint's onto a blog, for example I used slideshare to upload my flat plans onto my blog.

I was really worried about working on Photoshop as In previous tasks I found it to be quite time consuming and complicated However I now have a different opinion. I have learnt a lot of new skills such as adding shadows to images, working with layout and generally understanding the tools. I now feel much more creative and imaginative while using Photoshop as I can alter the page to my standards where as before I would have needed a hand from a teacher, it has helped me become more independent with my work.

I was also wary about using Prezi as I have seen my teachers use it and imagined it as extremely difficult however I learnt that it is a great way to gather and present information – I used it to carry out magazine research and found it to be my favourite programme to use.

Scribd was one of the easiest programmes to use, it simply allows you to upload a single paged file on to your blog, I used this for short pieces of work such as Facebook questionnaire feedback and the publishing logo creation.

I made use of Survey monkey for finding out what my target audience desired in a magazine, it was easy to use and very handy as creating a survey free hand can be time consuming.

The hardware that I used ranged from computers to lighting umbrellas. I learnt a lot about photography within the process of creating original pictures for the magazine. First of all I learnt the basics of a professional camera, then the more complex settings such as changing the depth of the picture. I feel like a lot of what I learnt has been through experimenting with different angles and lighting positions to make the picture lighter/brighter, more close up or further away, I did this through moving the lighting umbrellas closer to the subject to create darker shadows, or turning them off to create a calmer scenario. I also learnt the process of setting up a tripod, using a scanner to relocate drawn documents onto the computer and using the video setting. All of these new skills make me feel very confident about any future tasks that may require me to use this knowledge.

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

When comparing the two different tasks I can see some similarities in my work for example, the contents page is very organised with subheadings in both and there’s a consistent colour scheme throughout. In contract to this I notice a drastic change in my skills and ability. Firstly, it is clear that I have gained knowledge of the magazine conventions as the work to the right actually reflects a real magazine whereas the other one does not due to mistakes such as locating the title in the corner rather than the middle. Moreover, you can see a lot more detail in the music magazine, I have learnt to pay attention to details such as the barcode and website which all add up to a professional look whereas in my preliminary task I didn’t even include these essentials. Another thing I have altered greatly id my ability to create something that attracts a certain group of people, for example you can recognise that the magazine on the right is set out to target young, hip people due to the font, images and colours used, however the magazine on the left gives a brief idea of a target audience however nothing but the models outfit shows that this is an educational piece.