1. MEDIA
EVALUATION

2. In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Before creating my magazine, I first did research regarding what makes a
magazine appealing and successful. I looked at several magazines and they all
helped me understand the certain conventions regarding the construction of a
magazine. My magazine uses conventions of real magazines in the sense that my
magazine has been inspired by several current magazines based on the hip-hop
genre, such as "The Source". Through looking at this magazine in particular I
managed to gain inspiration toward the placement of the title block, what style it
is done in, the type of central image and overall layout regarding the front cover
of the magazine which is regarded as the key part of a mag. I tried to stick to the
typical layout of a magazine by following the rule of how dominant the central
image must be.
My music magazine has used several forms and conventions of real media
products. For instance starting with my front cover, the use of the headline artist
is used positively. I have used a mid-shot for my central image, capturing the
artist’s full expression and part of his body language to appear relaxed and
engaged, due to the use of his direct mode of address. I feel the red and white
theme used here also alludes to the use of structure, found in hip-hop
magazines. I have developed the conventions through this aspect. The strict
colour theme shows simplicity and in particularly red is a colour associated
heavily in hip-hop, usually being a desired colour to cars and clothes. I have been
very direct with my use of colour much like “The Source” magazine which being
black and yellow relates to the urban and black-orientated social group related
to hip-hop and yellow emphasizing jewellery and wealth. The title of my
magazine “The Curl” is inspired by the late-80s era of the genre. The jheri-curl
being a famed hairstyle and sported by icons such as Michael Jackson, who had a
huge influence on hip-hop, I felt this name was appropriate to bring back the raw
memories of hip-hop and adds a value of sentiment to my magazine.

3. The use of buzz words was limited on my front cover. I had incentives of prize giveaways and
used words such as “exclusive” and “inside!” to show that the contents of the magazine were
exciting and fulfilling and that my magazine only offered certain contents and bits of
information, a useful and common tactic in constructing magazines.
Despite this I have challenged several forms and conventions of hip-hop magazines. My artist
used for the central image doesn’t sport any jewellery or tattoos and is not posed in front of a
car or surrounded by females and is characterised around a more “hipster” influence more
than anything, with the use of the scarf and glasses highlighting this. I did this to show
diversity within the genre and display the different ways the genre is being experimented with
and developed in the modern industry.
In regards to the contents page, I kept it very simple and catered to the requirements of a
typical music magazine. I focused on keeping the house style in terms of text and colour
scheme from the front page being predominantly red and white. The dark background
compliments this very well and enables a simple yet effective contents page. I feel I could
have added more images on the page however, to give the reader an insight to the tone of my
magazine.
My feature article catered mainly to the conventions of existing through the construction and
structure of the article. I focused on having memorable lines from the article to quote around
the pages as a way for the reader to understand the style and overall tone of the article. The
introduction page of my article featured my artist blowing smoke, which is common in hip-
hop through the glorification of marijuana and I wanted to emphasis on common stereotype
of the genre.

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

5. My magazine represents the particular social group in relation to rap, so it
must be rather urban. My magazine was designed to appeal to a balanced
audience, due to the influence of 80s style, so would range between 18-35,
which modern day rap primarily appeals to in today's society. I feel there is a
honest portrayal of the urban social group inherited from rap due to the
concept of the images I’ve used. This is due to the mentioning of drugs, and
the in adverted portrayal of it in one of my images which is a common theme
in modern hip-hop. The artist used in the central image, has not been
decorated with flashy jewellery or top of the range clothing items, so this
helps give the audience a sense of relation and belonging which is essential
when trying to reach out to the target audience.
Seen through aspects within my feature article also, the representation of
the social group is clear. The “party lifestyle” that my featured artist touches
upon caters to the young and free mentality portrayed by the youth of today
highlighted in popular culture. I was inspired mainly but exisiting artists such
as Wiz Khalifa and Rick Ross, who showcase their lives and journeys through
social media.

6. What kind of media institution might distribute your media
product and why?
I have previously done research on media institutions and based
on the information gathered I would like "IPC Media" to be the
media institution to distribute my magazine, which is known for
publishing both niche and mainstream magazines. This media
group have worked on successful magazines such as NME, which I
feel my magazine falls into the category of being rather niche.
Over 44% of the population is also noted to read a magazine
product of IPC which shows that my magazine will be open to an
audience on a greater scale whilst still keeping its back bone target
audience. Working with IPC media would also benefit my magazine
in terms of synergy. IPC heavily advertise their magazine products
on their website, even creating links toward external websites for
audience members to subscribe and purchase their magazine
products. This would be helpful for me, as it would promote my
magazine to other audiences, aside from my urban, male target
audience. Advertising space in other predominantly male targeted
audiences would also help gain a larger following.

7. Who would be the audience for your media product?
Urban males aged between 18-35 would be my desired target audience.
How did you attract/address your audience?
The way in which I attracted my audience was gaining an insight toward what people looked for in a media
magazine through a questionnaire, which enabled me to cater to them and refine my ideas into the
product. Such as, discovering that a headline artists was the popular choice in regards to what people look
for in a magazine, I utilised this in the production of my magazine by putting a lot of emphasis on him.
The use of buzz words was also a way to address the audience. Using words such as “exclusive” in relation
to the featured article, demonstrates that the artist is in demand and much desired within the music world
and hip-hop genre. The direct mode of address I opted to go for in regards to the artist was important as I
wanted to help establish a relationship with the audience that my artist was down to earth, laid back and
not a typical arrogant hip-hop artist as they are usually portrayed. The image was edited to a vintage style
which I felt was important, due to the popularity of the style with the young urban community. The
language used in my feature article was very modern and kept to the requirements of my urban target
audience. Words such as “dope” and “joint” are popular forms of colloquialism in modern urban social
groups, so I aimed to utilise this as much as possible when crafting my article, although, I didn’t overuse
them to take away from the authenticity of the article.

8. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
I have learnt several things regarding this project regarding blogging and Photoshop. I
believe using a blog to post your work is very useful and offers an easy method of posting
work as it is all kept organised and tidy. A blog also dates your progression so you know the
production stage and how certain parts of your work have developed. The use of a blog
offers so many advantages. For example, I was able to create a poll for the choice of title
block I should use for my magazine which I asked people to vote. This made the need of a
poll very useful. The dashboard is also very organised and offered me several uses, such as
including video links and inserting images in a piece of work. Regarding the use of
Photoshop, I have been able to learn how to use different elements of media tools
regarding design work. It has shown me various methods with how the construction of a
media magazine must be heavily planned and it also offers very easy ways to do more
complicated things regarding design. I believe Photoshop has heavily helped me as I have
demonstrated in my magazine how to work things I have known and leant this year. For
example, I have learnt how to change the opacity with a shape or image, I have learnt how
to crop an image to my own satisfaction, I have learnt how to change the texture of an
image to add shade and light in different areas of the image. I have previously used
Photoshop for other projects, however due to the extensive use of it this year, I feel more
comfortable using it. There were also occasions where I used other programs such as
Microsoft publisher, PowerPoint and illustrator regarding the design and template of my
magazine, but Photoshop was the best programme to use when it came to the overall
production, as it offered cleaner finishing and execution to my work. I’ve also learned and
managed to develop my skills with the use of SLR cameras. I have been able to experiment
with putting together photo-shoots and organising the way I want my images to turn out.
Online surveys have also been detrimental in my production process as they have enabled
me to refine my results to contribute toward the overall success of my music magazine.

9. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the
progression from it to the full product?
Throughout the production process regarding my work I feel I have learnt several
things which have contributed toward the style of my work. I have been able to
look to other styles of magazines and how they relate to the target audience and
used them as templates to complete the end product of my magazine. The use of
Photography has also been interesting for me as I have learned what sort of
framing works to get the desired outcome when taking a photo instead of focusing
on clarity. It has also given me an insight toward the way different shots have an
influence on the receptive audience, such as my use of Direct mode of address on
my front cover to make the audience feel close to my artist. I have learned to
extensively use elements of stereotype and social groups as a catalyst toward the
production of a form of media.