1. Final evaluation of my music magazine project CLICK ME

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

3. I have used a strap line/skyline on the top of my front cover, to help give my magazine a more eye catching appearance. I have used a san serif style font which is bold and also ensures an easy read. I have similarly used two colours that go well with my main house colour. The cover lines of my magazine are advertising live performances at a hip hop festival called Arrested development. To the readers of my magazine this is a very big annual event. It would be on a similar scale to Reading or Glastonbury festival in the hip hop scene. I have annotated each section of anchorage text and each lure with a page number; this ensures that the reader knows which page to go to if they want to find an article. This lure is important because it draws the reader in and suggests that buying mymagazine will benefit them. In this case getting the chance to meet a famous music artist, which to some readers would be a great opportunity. I have used a slogan on my front cover to help catch the attention of a potential reader. I have also put the slogan in an artistic text box, in keeping with the house colours and used a small characters head wearing a cap. This not only makes my magazine stand out, but it also links with my main genre style of hip hop. My headline is very eye catching and uses a combination of a bold text combined with a blacked out background. This is why it stands out from the page so much. I have used very bold house colours shown not only on my front cover, but through out my project. These are purple gold and black. This will help the sale of my magazine and will make the reader become familiar to these colours and give my magazine a brand identity. I think that the anchorage text I have used is very striking. The abstract serif font style I have chosen to use, catches the readers eye and stands out from the page. The barcode of my magazine shows the company distributing it, the price, the location of the manufacture and a description of the magazine. I have used an attractive mast head that I created using Serif photo plus. I think this gives my magazine a competitive edge against others, because it supplies the magazine not only with a name but a logo, which is key to the brand identity of the magazine. I have used a baseline to help with advertising of my magazine and also to make the page more appealing. Having a baseline gives my magazine a leg up on others, because I have used all the space available rather than leaving large pages of blank page. My central image is one with many striking aspects. I have used a medium close up shot and asked my model to use direct address which helps to catch the eye of the reader. I have also dressed her in clothes that would be related to the hip hop genre. A fur coat, a gold chain, big earrings and lots of makeup. The date line on my magazine shows the reader the date of the issue and also which issue they are buying. For example, 11 JAN 2010, issue # 210. I have used buzzwords to hook the attention of my readers and make them aware that they will only be able to read this article in my magazine. This is a part of my reader loyalty. My magazine says in confidence that readers are getting the best and most exclusive information out on the hip hop scene.

4. This part of my contents page gives the reader a preview of my main features page. It is a scaled down snapshot of the page, enticing the reader to skip forward and read it. I think that this gives my magazine an edge over others, because some magazines are very minimalistic, whereas I have filled up my pages with eye catching pictures and text. I have used my magazines logo on the contents page to keep reinstating the image, which will in time be remembered as the “hip hop magazine logo”. This is a key part of my magazines brand identity. I have used a graffiti style text for my mast head, this links back to the genre of hip hop and also gives the magazine an appealing look. The website I used to create the text was www.cooltext.com The part of my contents page that lets readers know about tours and gigs is the section called “show dates”. This box will be placed on different parts of the page, depending on how much is going on and also what time of the year it is. In winterthe box will be smaller; this is due to a decrease in people going out. But in the summer, the list will be extensive and may need to take up more of the page. I have used a special features section on my contents page named “exclusives”. This part of my magazine is where I have obtained exclusive information and am letting my readers know. This is important, because my readers (like most other magazines readers) like to hear gossip about stars. The part of my magazine about new and up coming artists is called “new on the scene” this is the part of my magazine in which new and upcoming artists get the chance to be interviewed or discussed. This can help them to become more well known. Also it lets my readers know who to look out for in the future. This is a very popular part of my magazine, because if a reader is looking for a new artist to find out about, they know exactly where to go. The section of my magazine called “reviews” is important to the artists featured, because it is the part of my magazine that could influence my readers to buy a new album or track. As a good music magazine, you not only want to please your readers, but also help music artists to become successful. The house colours on my contents page are represented well. As mentioned before they are gold, black and purple. I have integrated them as much as possible throughout my project to demonstrate my understanding. I have used a message from the editor of my magazine to make my reader feel part of our culture. It is a simple but affective way of communicating to our readers; giving them reason to read more. Another small touch is the signature at the bottom of the paragraph; this makes it more of a personal message and is a good demonstration of my mode of address. The part of my contents that can be considered as very important to my fans is the section named “stars & fans”. This is the section in which the readers of my magazine can win the chance to meet an idol of theirs. They can also read interviews of their celebrities, getting to know them more and finding out new information. Although having a dateline on a contents page is not normally a conventional part of one, I have decided to include it to allow the reader to remember which issue they are reading, without having to look on the front of the magazine.

5. Shown on either side of this text are two key images, I used when making my features page. They required a lot of editing to make them usable. I have also used a small but affective album rating. It has a hip hop magazine rating and also a small description as to what to expect from the album. I have also created a miniature album cover using serif photo plus. For my mast head, I took a photo of a cap and used serif photo plus to edit all of the photo out, apart from the writing. This gave me the inspiration to name my artist Chicago. This also provided me with a good colour scheme of gold and black to work with. I found that these colours worked well with my house colours so incorporated them. I have used buzzwords which often come up in other magazines. These are another good way of advertising and creating an eye catching page. I have chosen to locate it in the top right hand corner, because when you are flicking through a magazine this is the first part of the page your eyes naturally go to. I have used a drop cap to help catch the eye of my reader. It also gives the magazine a more professional look. This is the page lead, I have used it to give my reader a small introduction to the story, making it sound interesting. Using pull quotes are a good way of attracting the attention of a reader. The bold sans serif style font, combined with bright colours help to create a very striking feature. I think that my features page is the best page in my magazine for representing my house colours. All three are represented clearly and all combine well with my main image. Shown here are two of the main parts of my magazines folio; this includes page numbers, logos, datelines and issue numbers. My main body copy consists of an exclusive interview with “Chicago”. This will be the part of my magazine that my readers would be most interested in. It is formed of a mixture of formal and informal questions. This is important to me, because although my readers will appreciate the more informal questions, they will still want to know some real information about our interviewee. This is all part of my mode of address. The line down the middle of the page helps to give the page an expert look.

6. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

7. I have used my model in a way that I think a hip hop artist would dress. Referring back to my reader profile, most of my readers are on a relatively low income, there for would not be expecting to pay much per issue. This is also the case for vibe magazine. I asked my model comb her fringe back and straiten her hair to give her a well presented look. I then moved the hair so it was over her right shoulder displaying her left ear in which she was wearing a gold hoop earring. This simple touch of having the jewellery on display helps to portray a strong self image. VIBE magazine have positioned Ciara in front of the mast head, making her seem important and in control of the shot. This seems to be a similar trend with most issues of VIBE. Both magazines have quite a minimalistic layout, keeping the page well structured and clean. The jewellery I asked my model to wear has a very big part to play in creating her “gangster” image. All the gold combined with the real fur coat, adds together to create a convincing shot of a hip hop or R&B artist. I have chosen to go for a conventional look, by adding well known artists names in the skyline, which is similar of that from VIBE magazine. I noticed that both my magazine and VIBE have used bold fonts to name their artist on the front of the magazine. I have noticed that vibe magazine have focused the attention of the reader on Ciara’s bottom by forming the letters around the outline of it, this appeals to the male audience. Both my magazine and VIBE have located the bar codes in the bottom left hand corner and also located the web addresses just underneath. I made the decision to dress my model in a figure hugging dress which is a very popular choice on the hip hop scene. The dark blue denim also helps to bring out the red in her lips. When choosing the camera angles and also the mode of address I sampled a few different techniques. In the end I chose to go for a slight high angle shot with the model using direct address. Using a slightly high angled shot gives the subject a slight innocence, which to the male audience is an attractive sight. Combined with her seductive red lips and her use of direct address, this makes for an attractive , eye catching image. I would say that both of the girls represent the stereo type of a “rude girl” a girl with attitude and a lot of confidence. This stereo type is very widely used in the hip hop industry. The lighting I used for my shot was chosen very carefully because of the amount of makeup my model was wearing and also the strength of the light. After trying numerous angles, I chose to locate the light just above her head on the right hand side. This made the light reflect of her jewellery in an appealing way and bring out her soft skin complexion. The lighting also helps to set the mood of an image in this case giving it a seductive edge.

8. What kind of media institute would distribute your media product and why?

9. When looking for a suitable magazine publishing company to publish my magazine I came across a few different options, but unfortunately most of them only dealt with music in the genres of rock or indie music. I then came across a company called MusicMags and although they didn’t deal with hip hop magazines directly, they were the closest to my genre. MusicMags has a lot of acoustic music, but seems to be open to incorporating new genres into their company. I found this out by reading into their company history and what they aim to provide to the public. On their magazine they quote “MusicMags strive to cover every category of music”. If I was to take my magazine abroad and publish it in America, then my magazine company would probably find it easier to compete with other bigger magazines, but as I am located in the UK, I have decided to go with MusicMags. I think if my magazine company was to come up with some real plans to make Hip hop magazines a big success in the UK, MusicMags would gladly offer to publish my magazine. A magazine company that I would look at for inspiration would be VIBE magazine, they are an internationally known magazine company, founded in 1993 by a man called Quincy Jones. VIBE magazine now holds the title of being the worlds largest Hip hop magazine company and as of 2007 have had a circulation of around 800,000 people.

10. Who would be the audience for your media product?

11. My “ideal reader” Clothing and shoes Favourite TV program Holidays Life style My ideal readers ideal holiday would be somewhere hot, for example the Caribbean or someplace similar. These holidays would full of going out, partying, late nights a lot of drink and loud music. He may also go to a hip hop festival, with friends. My ideal readers life would be quite average on the whole, he would work in a normal nine till five job, five days a week. At the weekends, he would go out clubbing with friends, pick up a few people to bring back to his house/flat and carry on the party. He would also spend time with his girlfriend over the weekend. Self image is a very big part of my ideal readers life (as mentioned in my reader profile). From his monthly wage he will put aside a sum of money to go on a large shopping trip, often with his friends. Most of this budget will be spent on big branded names. The reason why these brands are important is because a lot of the hip hop culture revolves around money, and wearing expensive garments. Having the brands suggest that you have money, which to others is impressive. Most of the TV programs watched by my ideal reader are sit-coms and comedy films. My ideal reader has a very good sense of humour and finds most comedy programs to his taste. Most of the TV he watches is either on cable TV, such as sky or virgin media, but also commonly on free-view. Music interests My ideal reader listens to hip hop and rap music. Other genres such as dancehall reggae, soul and RnB would also be commonly seen on his music play list. Most of his music would be downloaded off the internet, or from a music program such as I-tunes. Most of this would be loaded onto an I-pod or MP3 player. Hobbies In his spare time, my ideal reader would MC or rap. Writing his own lyrics , he would inspire to perform in front of an audience. This is also where hip hop magazine can come into play, because it gives readers the opportunity to meet people and to go on days out. This could be the head start to someone's career.

12. How did you attract/address your audience?

13. Questionnaire Mode of address layout Target audience I composed a questionnaire using to survey the public on what they would want to see in a music magazine. I found that the majority of people wanted a low cost magazine with a well-ordered layout, and a good contrast of text and images. I posted the questionnaire on and asked my friends to take the survey, in order to help me with my results. After receiving the replies to my survey, I made the final decision that I was going to make a hip hop magazine, this was not only because I liked the genre, but because in my results it shows that hip hop music was the second most popular choice. The mode of address my magazine aims for is mixed. Some aspects of my magazine are informal to the average person, but to my readers, the slang is used every day and helps them to relate to my magazine. Other aspects though, such as the main body copy on an article, are written formally. This will usually be formed of paragraphs in a column like structure and will use full English. The layout through out my magazine, is well structured and neat. I prefer this look, because it gives the magazine a fresh appearance. First impressions and being well presented is something that my readers see as very important; this is why I have made my magazine so well laid out. This is another part of my mode of address. My target audience are between the ages of 16 to 30. This is quite a large age range, but when doing research I found that this age group was the one most associated with the genre of hip hop. I did my research on . Searching for a number of things such as “age range for hip hop music”, I found that i got a very wide array of results. But after a while I concluded that 16 to 30 was best suited to my magazine. The gender of my target audience is mainly male, but as a magazine company i would make sure that some more feminine aspects would be added to the magazine to make It appealing to my small but just as important group of female readers. The percentages show that 87% of my readers are male and that 13% are female. House colours My house colours are very prominent. I have chosen to use three main tones as my house colours, gold, black and purple. These are 3 colours that are very closely related to hip hop. There are endless amounts of clothes and music related objects that are made using this colour scheme.

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

15. Online services Blogger is definitely the most important part of my media course work. I have learnt how to use the facilities that the online blogging site has to offer. I have added hyperlinks to all of my photo’s, so that when you click on them it in larges them. I have found blogger a very easy and user friendly web site, and would gladly use it again. I would say that I have learned a lot from blogger, because before starting my media course, I had never come across it at all. I found the instructions easy and before long I was using every single tool it had to offer with ease. For example, the picture tool, where you click on an icon, and you are able to add as many pictures into your post as you want. Survey monkey is an online service that allows you to create numerous types of surveys, questionnaires and information gathering documents. It is very user friendly and has a number of facilities to offer. I found it very simple to figure out and after about 5 minutes of mooching around the sight, I was signed up and was encouraged to begin making my questionnaire. After entering my results, I was displayed with a web address to post on Facebook, which I did. I have learned that if you need to make a set of questions quickly, with a modern looking group of tables, then survey monkey is the place to go. If I was ever making a questionnaire I would use this site again. Facebook is a service that I am very familiar with, it is used amongst most people aged 10-25 and more commonly now a days with more adult users. I used Facebook to provide an online social networking environment; this made it perfect for me to post my survey results on. Within about half an hour I had already received 12 sets of results, which proves that social networking can be very helpful, even with the most unlikely of subjects, media coursework. I have learned that through Facebook, you can receive an unlimited amount of information, to help you with tasks. I also found the ease and simplicity of the sight helpful when posting my survey questions. Slide share is an online service that allows you to put a number of types of documents into a simple and easy to use format, that will then make them suitable to post on the internet. I think that out of all the online services, slide share has possibly been the most helpful. I had a few problems with it producing the wrong HTML code, but after a while I figured it out and was on my way once again. I have learnt that such a simple service, can be so helpful when making a blog. I would gladly use Slide share again. Cool text is a service that allows you create different texts and font styles, this is helpful when trying to find a unique font style, that no one else is likely to have. Although I found the service a good one, it did have its floors. When using the site, there are pop ups that come up every now and then, and also if you select a certain colour, there is no way of saving it for you to use another time. This meant you have to sit there and go through the colour wheel, finding he exact right colour. I have learnt that free font creating services such as cool text can be very helpful, but you have to watch out for the pop ups that can cause your work to be lost.

16. Computer software Serif photo plus 11 has had a large part to play in my media course work and without it I haven't got a clue what my work would look like. I have found it easy to use, with the simple guide through instructions that the package offers. I found that there were a few things, at times could be a tad annoying, such as not being able to copy and past e certain objects from photo plus to page plus. I over came that by saving the object or picture and just reopened it as a new document. The amount of tools you can use are vast and I found this very helpful, and actually found that i could sometimes do things to my page, that i didn’t even realise were possible. I have mixed opinions on serif photo plus 11 and looking back, I think that I would have used another type of software, such as Adobe Photo shop (by far more superior software). I think the reason why I didn’t enjoy using photo plus, was because the facilities it offered, although good, they were by far more awkward and to use than that of photo shop. Photo plus, didn’t like me coping one photo and trying to past it on top of another, so I would have to make a whole new layer on the photo just to get a small picture in, and sometimes only a few letters. I have learnt that when using photo editing software, it is better to go for the more recognised and by far more highly established software, than page plus. I would recommend adobe photo shop CS5. Microsoft word is a world renowned software, that cleverly combines the ability to write near enough endless text documents, but also incorporate pictures into them. I have been using word for a long time, and have used all the different versions out in my life time from 1997 to 2010. I have always been a fan of the ease of the software and the compatibility with near enough any other text writing software. I have learnt that word is also a good tool for posting results tables on and that you can use words facility's online, as well as on your desktop. Microsoft PowerPoint is also to me, another piece of software from Microsoft that is faultless. I have found it helpful, when making presentations and PowerPoint's to either read out in front of my class or post on my blog. It is a great software that allows you to write documents incorporating, video, sound and images into it; this comes together to make an eye catching view and an interactive page. I have learned that PowerPoint presentations are actually possible to post on the internet using a simple online service, which has been very helpful with my media coursework. Microsoft paint is a simple and affective way of making minor adjustments to images. I have used Paint throughout my project to make little additions to images. I like the fact that Microsoft have kept the design of paint through out their production, this shows that it is a reliable design that even young children are able to figure out. I have learnt that pint can be used to do simple tasks effectively, but that it does have its limitation, baring in mind it is a extremely simple photo editing software, with out a price tag.

17. Equipment To take my images I used a £200 Sony A200 DSLR camera, it was a nice light camera, with a 10.2 mega pixel shot quality. It has in camera stabilisation, which insures a steady shot, and reduces all vibrations and blurring. It was fast and very easy to use. The Sony is at the bottom end of professional quality cameras, but preforms, just as well as some of the bigger brand names. I have learnt how to use a professional camera to do a number of different shot types. When taking my shots I used my £600 Sony 20mm fixed lens. This is a good lens for taking portrait images because it is fixed with no zoom. It also has a low aperture, which means you can select a certain object in the scene, depress the shutter half way and then move the camera with the lens still focusing on the original subject. This blurs out the back ground and keeps the view on the original subject, causing the attention of the reader to be focused on the matter. I have learnt that having the right sort of lens for a shot, makes the image quality so much better, than that of a digital camera. When lighting the selected scene I used a tall floor lamp, white a high energy bulb. The reason why I used external lighting rather than the camera flash, was because a camera flash can wash out parts of the image when doing close up shots. Also using a lamp makes it easier to manipulate the light, which helps with creating a mood in the photo. I have learned how to position a light properly insuring that minimal reflection happens and also how to control the amount of light is being created.

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

19. Shown here are all 6 of the main pages I have made for both my preliminary task and my main task. There are significant differences between the quality and quantity of my preliminary task and my main task, these will be explained in the next page.

20. Contents page Specific things that I have learnt Now that I look back at my preliminary task, it really does show how much I have improved throughout the course. Comparing each of the pages, shows just how much of an improvement has been made overall. The reader profile and the features page were not included in the preliminary task, but there is enough to compare, just from looking at the front cover and contents page. When looking at my contents pages, you can see a big difference in terms of ability and improvement, but not as large at the front covers. I think that in a school magazine, you wouldn’t expect much in terms of having a bold and busy page, but a simple design that directs you trough the rest of the magazine with ease and gives short concise answers. I feel that my school contents page, was a nice simple design, but unfortunately the serif type face, combined with the italic style font, makes it hard to read. I like the photos I have used and also the flocked border. On my main music magazine contents page, I have displayed a number of different techniques. This is personally my favourite page, simply because of the contemporary layout and the good use of camera shots and angles. I also enjoyed taking the photos, using a number of different locations, to get the perfect images. The rule of thirds is when would take the image you are looking at and split it into thirds, both horizontally and vertically, as shown in the image below. I have been taught that, to use the rule of thirds properly, you have to situate your points of interest towards the centre of the thirds. This helps to catch the attention of the reader. I have used the rule of thirds for all of my photos. Front page When comparing my front pages you can strait away there is a dramatic improvement in terms of my technical ability to use a camera and the computer editing process. On my preliminary task I didn’t use a medium close up , and kept it very minimalist. On my music magazine, I have used a much more conventional style, with an eye catching main image. I have used a medium close up shot, using direct address, this is one of the many factors that helps to make my main front page stand out. On my preliminary task, I have used a font that is quite hard to read and doesn't give off a professional feel. On my music magazine front page, you can see that there has been a large improvement in terms of the photo editing and font style selection. I have used a number of different font styles, each in a sans serif type face. I have used a number of different colours to help the font stand out even more. I have also compared my work to real magazines, all the way through out make sure that it looks like conventional music magazine, rather than just guessing. What have I learnt overall In progression from my preliminary, I feel that I have learnt a lot. I have learnt how to use a camera properly and how to manipulate the camera angles, to make your image a perfect one. I have learnt how to properly use lighting and all of the different types of lighting you would use and need to do certain shots. All of the new media vocabulary is interesting and helps me to understand different parts of the subject better. I have also learnt how to properly use photo editing software, and how to use all of the different tolls. The best technique I have learnt on the photo editing software is the layering tool, in which you separate a photo into different layers, so you can put in new layers and fit new photos in the space have created.

21. These are a few photos, cropped to fit the page. Photography Mode of address Layout Fonts I have learnt a lot to do with photography, one of the main things would be camera angles. Displayed on my slide show with all my images, it shows that I have used at least 7 camera angles, with a number of effects. Using the right type of camera angle helps to set the mood, for instance if you use a high angle shot , it can make the subject appear small or intimidated. Where as if you go for a low angled shot, it makes the subject appear dominant. The lighting also has a large affect on the mood of the photo, if the photo is set up with low lighting and the model is wearing dark clothing it sets a sinister mood on the photo. I have also used a mixture of direct and indirect address, which is when the model is looking either into the lens or away from the lens. There a mixture of font styles used throughout my projects. This shows that I have a good understanding of how to use them and where it is appropriate. I have used mainly sans serif fonts in my music magazine, because they are bold and eye catching, which is what you want to see in a music magazine, where as, in my school magazine I have use a lot of serif, free flowing fonts that are less eye catching, but give the page a more formal look. Since creating my preliminary task I have learnt a lot more about how to layout a page in a magazine. This goes for both my front page and contents pages. I have taken into account my target audience when laying out my pages, keeping them neat and well ordered. I have used quite a lot of bold images used to help catch the attention of my reader. After catching the attention of my reader, I draw them into the text by using a large drop cap, which leads them into the first sentence. I would say The mode of address used in my preliminary task and my main task are completely different. My school magazine, was set out to be completely formal, with no slang, colloquial language or abbreviations. Where as on my main music magazine, I have used some informal language, slang where relevant, and lots of bold type faces. 12PT 14PT 18PT LEADING 24PT 36PT Drop cap SANS SERIF ITALIC that my layout is conformist and relates perfectly to my target audience. BOLD caption TYPOGRAPHY SERIF

22. Thank you for watching/reading my slide show