The document discusses the process of creating a music magazine for a media studies assignment. It describes researching existing magazines to understand conventions. It then details designing the logo, choosing a genre of R&B/hip-hop, and creating the front cover taking inspiration from other magazines in that genre. It also discusses constructing the contents page without direct inspiration and a double page article spread inspired by rock magazine layouts.

1. MEDIA STUDIES UNIT 1 EVALUATIONLEONI WICK

2. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? My music magazine uses the foundations of current music magazines such as ‘VIBE’ and ‘KERRANG!’ I compared the two different genre magazines in sections analysing the front cover, contents page and double page spread. By doing this I gained an insight of certain characteristics different magazine’s use. By increasing my knowledge of the layout and what to and not to include, I briefly planned out my music magazine in stages. I then researched masthead styles and then thought about names for my magazine. At this stage I had not chosen my music genre and I wanted my masthead to have a connection with the genre and style of my music magazine. I briefly looked at magazines in the news agents as well as on the internet to gain primary and secondary knowledge. After I had done my research into masthead styles and names, I began to brainstorm names such as sample, babe and M (music ministry).I then chose what genre I wanted to focus and represent, which was ‘R&B’ and ‘Hip-hop’. I then constructed my front cover taking on board the information I had learnt previously with my analysis. I took inspiration from a handful of R&B magazines. My contents page I think is individual and creative. At this point I did not take inspiration from any magazines and I think that my contents page fits in well with the rest of magazine and does not look out of place. The inspiration I took for my double page spread was from rock magazines with one page being devoted to a main image and then the second page of the article is complete writing. However I did not want to bore the readers so I used font and colour to break up the text.

3. How does your media product represent particular social groups? The artists included are well known as they have become famous celebrities, which would suggest that they have a high status in society. However all the artists mentioned within my magazine come from all different social classes and have built themselves up. Lastly, using the standard occupational classification system I have concluded that my magazine targets the C2 – E band. The reason for this is that from the C1 band above it is associated with middle class status, which I do not think my magazine targets. Also the language, artists, genre etc used I think targets the C2-E band. BEFORE AFTER

4. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? The kind of institution that may distribute my music magazine would be IPC. The reason that I think IPC would be the correct choice to distribute my magazine is that the publication is the UK’s Leading consumer magazine publisher. “IPC's diverse print and digital portfolio offers something for everyone, with a focus on three core audiences: men, mass market women and upmarket women.” – IPC Homepage Website. IPC states on their website that they produce over 60 iconic media brands. Prints alone reaching 42% of men and approximately 26 million UK adults. IPC also features music magazine’s such as NME amongst others. I find IPC publications to have a diverse portfolio of magazines and that my music magazine would fit within their portfolio. They as well state that their website reaches over 14 million users every month which would bring more attention to my music magazine. Which would gain more readers or purchasers gaining overall more exclusivity.

5. Who would be the audience for your media product? • Who would be the audience for your media product? My magazine is a male’s magazine which entirely targets a male readership. The articles and other content are directed to a males’ perspective, such as the articles mentioned would be only of male artists, the colours used are generally thought as masculine colours. The age range of my magazine is between 16 – 35 years old. The reason I chose 16 as a starting age is because my music magazine includes competitions, concerts and festivals which are mentioned. Meaning that children under 16 could not enter, the age 16 is an age that they become adults and get jobs and other adult responsibilities, meaning they can now pay for charges when entering a competition or paying for a concert ticket etc. The ethnicity does not contribute a huge factor in my music magazine as the contents are not influenced to a certain ethnicity. THE RED CIRCLES INDICATE THE AREAS ON THE FRONT COVER WHICH SHOW THAT MY MAGAZINE IS TARGETTED TOWARDS MALES AND THE AGE RANGE I HAVE CHOSEN

6. How did you attract/address your audience? Part 1 With the research I had previously done I knew what I needed to include, the rest was based on my execution. I started on my front cover as a foundation for the rest of my music magazine. I first designed my logo, thinking about a short sign to catch my male audience; direct, with an easy to remember single letter, which they could associate with ‘Music Ministry’ (which is written below the letter ‘M’). I chose colours white and red for my logo which I thought was simple. I didn’t want to complicate the logo by bombarding it with a number of colours. Men aren’t complicated so why complicate it I thought. The colour red can be linked with sexy or dangerous, which I thought would subconsciously make the male reader grab for this magazine amongst the others on a magazine isle. Secondly the image and the background make the basis for a front cover as this is what takes the majority of the cover and is the first or second item purchasers see first. The image consists of a male slightly smiling with his hands in his pockets; giving some attitude. From researching other magazines relating to the same or similar genre I have chosen, I found that the main artist on the cover gave attitude and was not bland but slightly smiled, frowned or spoke through their body language. The model on my front cover represents music artist Nelly, and I find that my model brings a strong and inviting essence which entices readers to purchase or pick up the magazine. The background is a pattern of tones of black-grey which I think suits well with the image and logo as the background makes the image and especially the logo to become more striking.

7. How did you attract/address your audience? Part 2 MISE-EN-SCENE HIS CLOTHES REPRESENT THE TYPE OF GENRE WITHOUT BECOMING A STEREOTYPICAL IMAGE. HIS CLOTHES ALSO LINK WITH HIS FACIAL EXPRESSION AS WELL AS HIS BODY LANUAGE WHICH ARE RELAXED/CHILLED. THE BACKGROUND SEEMS ROUGH (STREET)AND THE COLOURS USED WORK WITH OUR SUBCONCIOUS MIND TO CREATE A CERTAIN MOOD. MY MODELS FACIAL EXPRESSION SHOWS ATTITUDE YET NOT CANCELLING THE AUDIENCE OUT, YET THE FACIAL EXPRESSION SEEMS TO WELCOME THE AUDINECE. THERE IS EYE CONTACT WHICH ENGAGES THE AUDIENCE, HIS EYES SIGNAL THE MOOD HE IS IN. HIS BODY LANGUAGE SHOWS A RELAXED AMOSPHERE AND REPRESENTS THE TYPE OF MAGAZINE THE IMAGE IS OF A MODEL WHO IS A SUBSTITUTE FOR NELLY. I THOUGHT THE CLOTHES CONTRASTED WELL WITHIN THE BACKGROUND. THE IMAGE IS A MEDIUM SHOT. I THOUGHT A CLOSE UP SHOT WOULD MAKE THE COVER LOOK HECTIC.

8. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? The software I have used to construct my music magazine is Adobe Photoshop and InDesignwhich has allowed me to properly construct the aspects of my magazine easily and effectively. When using Photoshop I found this program quicker and easier to use than Adobe InDesign, as I was familiar with the tools. I used Photoshop mainly to edit and construct the front cover and then transferred the cover to InDesign which I found saved time and unnecessary effort. By using Photoshop to construct my front cover I found that I began using other tool within the program which gave me further knowledge which I will use in future tasks. As I was not familiar with Adobe InDesign I decided to construct the layout of my contents page firstly on Microsoft PowerPoint; to again save time. After I had decided on the layout I focused on the content and briefly indicated what information the contents page would provide. After I had experimented with layout and content using PowerPoint I then began using InDesign and started constructing my contents page from the InDesignprovided. template I had previously made on PowerPoint. As I wasn’t confident using InDesign I was slow but gradually started to become accustomed to the tools Again I used the same method I used for designing and constructing my contents page. I used PowerPoint to create a template which I them mirrored on the InDesign. From using different software to construct my music magazine I have gained a great deal of knowledge. As I have worked with programs which are familiar and not so familiar to me. I have learnt different techniques and processes to achieve a piece of good quality work. As well as software I have also used an SLR Nikon D60 to take relevant and appropriate images. I am accustomed to use a SLR Nikon D60 and I have used different techniques and settings to get high quality images for my music magazine. I have again gained more knowledge of the other settings I may have overlooked before. Adobe InDesign Adobe Photoshop

9. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product? By looking at my work from my preliminary exercise to my final music magazine I can see that I have experimented with different software and techniques to modify an image. I can also see that my work includes information that targets my target audience, from the layout to the language to the content provided within the music magazine. I think that my music magazine shows that I have done research into other magazines in the market currently. Also that I have thought about institutional factors, target audience, media, language and representation. By analysing the aspect of product design, content, register of language, index signs etc. Preliminary Task Using Adobe Photoshop From the preliminary task of creating the front page of a college magazine to successfully completing the front cover, contents page and double page spread of a music magazine, I have learnt about different software which can be used to construct a music magazine. When creating the college magazine I used Photoshop to modify the image however I used InDesign to construct the rest of the front cover which I found difficult compared to using Photoshop. However as I began to create the music magazine I understood more about the processes to construct a magazine using InDesign, which developed from the preliminary exercise. Preliminary Task Using Adobe InDesign Preliminary Task (Front Cover) Using Adobe InDesign