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

MASTHEAD OF MY MAGAZINE

While I was in the process of making a masthead for my magazine, I first wanted to sort out the colours for it because it would help me a lot when creating the actual magazine it self, I also wanted to make it very easy to read and memorable rather then having a very complicated for the audience to have. I did a lot of research on how the masthead should be for my magazine and where it should be placed too. As in this case this goes with the use of forms and conventions for my masthead because I wanted to make it something very similar to the real life magazine which go with the genre of my music magazine. Through the construction of my magazine I have specifically been looking at magazines such as “HIP-HOP connection “ and “VIBE” as both of these magazines have a link to rap genre. The reason why I chose these two is because I felt that they would help me a lot in the constructing my pages as they had the perfect colours and fonts which I could also use. For my masthead, I have purposely followed “vibe” because I wanted to imitate what they have done and apply it to my design. I made my masthead the similar colour as the magazine which I saw and I wanted to give it a cool and bold look to it which would make the masthead stand out and this had worked really well. In terms of positioning of the masthead. I have found out that in Rap magazines, they are normally placed in the middle of the page. This goes with the codes and conventions oft the magazines as this makes it easier for the audience to read and see properly. Another feature which I have followed is the text use. Normally the masthead is in capital letters and in really big font. This would go with the convention as I wanted my masthead to stand out for the audience e just as much how the real life mastheads stand out for their audience The last and final convention which I will be talking about is the positioning of the image . After looking at other real life magazines, I found out that all the magazines place their photos in the middle of the page as it is the main feature which attract5s the audience most. For my magazine, I decided to also place it in the middle of the page as I thought that would be the most efficient place for it to be in and attract the target audience first as it is the main element of the front cover.

MISE-EN-SCENE When I was in the progress of my photo-shoot, planning the costume was key as it needs to relate to the genre so much otherwise it would have no link to the magazine whatsoever. From my research I have found out what the models normal wear when they are on the front cover of the magazine. Having the correct costume would also allow the audience to figure out what the genre of the magazine would actually be. For my model on the front cover I decided to make him wear a black tee and a snapback which symbolises a lot of the rap genre as that is what rappers usually wear. These two were essential because it had a strong association with rap and if I made him wear something else then it would of went against the genre of the magazine.

As you can see from these images, I have show what helped me make my front cover image and what I did to make it work. It also shows the props which I have used on my photo-shoot. The vibe magazine is what helped me design my magazine front cover as it helped through out the construction for it . The picture of my model is of course before the editing of the photo. This goes with the codes and conventions of this magazine as to make the magazine have a strong link, it should also have a the correct clothing which would link it to the genre.I also decided to go with a medium shot because I wanted to show only the top half of his body only .

FONT STYLEThe fonts of the magazine play a key part of the magazine as they make the magazine more appealing to the audience and also plays as sometimes the font could also determine the genre of the magazine depending on which font has been used. I have researched and looked at many magazines and for me, them magazines which helped me most were “vibe” and “hip-hop connection”. These two had the perfect font for which suited my genre and that was the type of font I have decided to use too. I wanted a bulky and bold font which would stand out when my front cover was finished. The font which I used when I created my front cover was called “impact” and I thought that this would be the perfect font to use for my masthead and of course my subheadings for my double page spread. I was lucky to have found this font on InDesign on because I wasn’t able to find it on other programs such as Photoshop or word and it would have been better if I didn’t use those two programs anyway because when I will paste it in it would make my masthead and other texts look very pixelated. For my cover lines, I have used different fonts compared to the masthead as I wanted the front cover to look different. I have also made each cover lines a different size because I wanted to show the importance of each cover line which also gives the front cover a better look to it as well as an effect to the magazine

CONTENT PAGE/DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD For the content pages and my double page spread I, decided to go with certain shots which would allow the pages to show what they are. Through out my photo shoot or my content pages, I have taken a variety of photographs of two different people which would have place to be on the content page. I have also seen from my research that they take many photographs to see which would be the best one which would suit the page. The shot that I have used when I took the picture was a medium-long shot as I wanted to show only the body and upwards. This would go with the codes and conventions with some content pages of real magazines. The placement of the model is also an important feature because you would need enough space for where the text would be. The pose also is another important part of the content page because it says a lot about what genre the magazine is. For my double page spread, this was the easiest out all three pages in terms of creation. It has many codes and conventions which link to rap genre and magazines itself. For example were i have placed text on one idea and the image on he other, this would allow the audience to find it easier to read. I have see this from my research and a lot of magazines have that sort of style.

My content page

Layout- front coverAt the very top of the magazine, I will be placing the masthead. From the research that I have, I found out that the placement of the masthead is a key convention of the magazine as it has to be placed in a positions where it is easily visible for the audience to see as it is the most important convention of the magazine as it also needs to be placed in a convenient place. Alongside the masthead, I will also be including a date issue underneath the masthead. The date line is the smallest element of the magazine as it isn’t one thing that doesn’t need to be noticed as much as the masthead even though it is still an important element for the magazine as it tells the audience whether it is the newer version or not.At the centre of the page as you can see is where I will be placing the main/centre image of the magazine. This is a key convention of the magazine as it attract the audience quicker and makes the magazine look less boring. Also, the magazine main image could also attract the audience if they have someone really well known and famous who is linked to the genre as they will be able to spot it from far away. Next to the main image will be the name of the artist who will be on the front cover of the magazine. My idea for this will be a signature/autograph of the rapper as this will give it a professional look to it. At the bottom of the page, I have included two things. One of the two says free gift. I will be doing a promotional offer on my front cover because it would attract the audience so much more and my research says that majority of my audience would buy a music if it included a free gift for example they could be given a free CD which is related to the genre, in this case its rap and can have albums from well-known rappers and hip-hop artists. This would attract the audience more as it will make them want to buy the magazine due to the fact that it offers a free CD with music that they love listening to.

Through out the creation of the magazine, there have been some changes to how I laid out the page

At the top of this page, this is where the title “content page” will be placed and will make the audience know what page it in. It will be written in a different font and colour that would go along the genre of the magazine, so I will be using dark colours for this as I think it will tan out so much more and the specific colours that would be used would put the magazine content page (dark colours). Also, as the title of the page is probably one of the important elements of this page, it needs to be big and bold as it need to be easily read and visible for the audience to see.On the sides of the content page, I will be including images of famous rappers/hip hop artists a well a page numbers where that would be able to find the article to read about whatever the headline is. This is also another key convention as it would allow the audience to know where the pages lead to as it will engage them if they like the headline or if is about someone who is well known in the rap industry. I also included mages as it makes the content page look more appealing for the audience to look at rather than it be just text as it would make the page look very boring and the audience would lose interest in it once they just see a bunch of text. The smaller boxes would be the les important headlines which are made and the ones which didn’t take much attention and the bigger box on top is the headline which is the important one.At the bottom of the page, as you can e is where I have placed the review box which would show the audience the reviews of the latest music and what pages they could find the review on for extra and detailed information. This is an additional feature which would make the page look more appealing for the target audience and an extra bit of interesting information for the audience to look at and if they follow the latest rap music/trends. Alongside the review box is an article page where the audience can find different types of articles of different about different artists, for example they could find one about Jay-Z and how he progressed in the rap industry so not only it would be an article but it would also have small interviews with famous and well-known rappers and hip hop artists. THROUGH OUT THE PRODUCTION OF MY MAGAZINE I HAVE WENT AGAINST THIS

LAYOUT WHICH I HAVE CREATED BEFORE MAKING MY CONTENT PAGE

At the top of the page in my double page spread, it is where the heading of the article needs to be placed. This is a convenient place because it is in a position where it will be very visible to the audience as they wouldn’t struggle to know where it is. Also, from what I have searched, the heading needs to be really big and bold and for my magazine I’m planning to use the same colour as what I will be using for the logo colour on the front cover. This is appositive thing because my magazine pages would have consistency and that’s is another thing which I have found from research and from other professional magazines.Under the heading of the double page spread is where I have placed the article based on what the audience have picked to read from the content pages. I used two boxes for this as it is in the content page in a sub heading telling the audience what the headline is and by going to that certain page would mean that they would the article in much more detail. It is a good thing because it would also have a link to the main image on the content page and would have picture of a famous rapper. This is what I have seen on many different types of magazine and thought that this would be a good thing for me to use in my own music magazineFor the last part of my double page spread, I put in a smaller box which says “rapper image”. This will give the audience a picture of how the rapper would look like up close and for the page itself, it could also make the page look more attractive to look at rather than t just being all text will I’m sure will make the audience feel bored. Next to the image is where I will place the rappers name in a funky font. I am doing this because it would give the audience of whom the rapper is

THROUGH OUT THE PRODUCTION OF THE DOUBE PAGE SPREAD, I HAVE WENT

AGAINST THIS LAYOUT SLIGHTLY