Evalu

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge

forms and conventions of real media products?
Masthead-My masthead follows
common conventions due to its bright
colour and attractive font style. It also
covers about one fifth of the page which
is usual for music magazines, thus it
leaps off the page. This is also seen in
‘TRACE’ and ‘VIBE’.

Images- I have followed the
common convention of using a
medium-close up for the central
image so the audience can see the
personal expression and direct
address of the artist. This creates
intimacy and is also seen in ‘VIBE’
and ‘TRACE’. My artist is of a
different ethnicity to the ‘TRACE’
and ‘VIBE’ artists, thus challenges
common conventions and opens
R&B music to a larger multicultural
society. All the images are edited
to remove imperfections which are
not seen in the R&B industry.
Cover lines and Strap Lines- My
cover lines follow common
conventions for music magazines
as they list bands and artists in the
R&B genre to attract audience
members who may not be
attracted by the central image. I
have also used strap lines to
develop the cover lines which is
also conventional to add detail to a
story to attract a larger audience.
My coverlines are within a black
shape to stand out, as are
‘TRACE’S’.

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

Colour Palette- I have used a
limited colour palette of different
types of blue and pink with black
and white for text. This develops a
house style, looks neat and visually
pleasing. ‘VIBE’ magazine, also in
the R&B genre, uses a very similar
colour palette to appeal to both a
female and male audience. This
follows conventions as many R&B
magazines do this to represent one
style or one emotion.

Gradient- I have applied a
gradient to my background which
becomes lighter around my
central image. This prevents dead
space and emphasises the
central image. This is also
apparent in ‘VIBE’ magazine
where there is a dark gradient
around the central image, thus
uses common conventions of
music magazines. The second
‘VIBE’ cover does not use a
gradient highlighting that it is
down to creative choice.

Barcode-I have included the
barcode in the bottom right hand
corner of the page conventionally,
unlike the first ‘VIBE’ cover who
may have placed it elsewhere so
not to detract from the creativity
and visual flair.

Website address- Advertising the web
address of the magazine attracts an
online following as the internet now
dominates printed media, thus is a
common convention for modern music
magazines as seen on the two ‘VIBE’
covers. Websites are also able to
provide more current information due to
constant updates, once a magazine is
printed it is dated news.

Font and style- I have challenged
conventions of font through using serif
text on occasion. The use of this formal
font is an unusual choice for the youthful
and informal genre of R&B , however It
works for my magazine as it looks sharp
and edgy. The two ‘VIBE’ covers only
use sans-serif text to represent the
smooth and beautiful voices of the R&B
genre.

Tone- A common convention of R&B
magazines is emitting a tone or emotion.
This is apparent in ‘VIBE’ magazine as
Kanye West is showing dangerous and
intimidating emotions to match his
musical persona and Janet Jackson is
sexually suggestive through her pose,
emitting sexual voyeurism. I have not
challenged this convention, however I
feel I have not met it as my artist does
not suggest anything through her pose
or facial expression.

Genre- My image challenges the
common conventions of a music
magazine image as it does not include a
music instrument. Without the masthead
and cover lines ,which are most
definitely based on music, my image
would suggest the magazine to be a
fashion or gossip magazine rather than
R&B. Billboard and Vibe have not
featured musical instruments on their
covers either which suggests that R&B
music is more associated with
synthesisers and the voice.

Date and Price- I have conventionally
positioned the date and price under the
masthead on the right hand side of the
page, however ‘VIBE’ has not. This
suggests their loyal and established
audience are already familiar with the
price.

Footer and Header- Many music
magazines use footers and headers,
however ‘BILLBOARD’ and ‘VIBE’
have not, thus within the R&B genre
headers and footers would be a less
common convention. I think they are
useful to list popular artists to attract a
wider audience.

Layout-My magazine does follow the
rule of thirds quite accurately as the
Masthead and image is equally
proportioned within the guidelines.

Inside This Week-I follow conventions
through using the title “INSIDE THIS
WEEK” on my contents page to signify
that this page will contain important
information. I slightly challenge
conventions through not using the title
“CONTENTS” however my audience will
recognise this.
Images- I have included a large amount
of anchored images which follows
conventions as an anchored image has
more depth and gives the audience a
clear understanding of why it is there.
‘VIBE’ magazine has only used one
picture on the contents, which is down
to creative choice, however I have used
many images which is more fun, exciting
and diverse. I have edited my images to
black and white, as have ‘VIBE’ and
‘NME’ as it glamorises the images and
glamour is often associated with R&B.

Letter from the editor-I have used a
letter from the editor which ‘VIBE’ and
‘NME’ have not included on their
contents, thus I am slightly challenging
conventions. They may not have
included a letter from the editor as their
audience is already aware of the editor
and are only interested in the music,
however as my magazine is new I
wanted to introduce the editor and tone
of the magazine.

Date-All magazines show the date on
the contents page to show the
information is current.

Text- The text is too close to the edge of
the page which is challenging
conventions. If I did this again I would
bring the text further in to make the page
appear neater.

Page numbers-I have included page
numbers to anchor the images and to show
the audience where their favourite features
will be to make them easier to find. This
follows common conventions.

Font-A wide and varied use of font is
interesting, fun, creative and suggests
different emotions and levels of
importance for different articles. This
follows common conventions.

Colour palette-Use of a limited colour
palette follows conventions as it
creates a distinct ‘House style’ and
makes the contents more attractive and
fluid.

Pull quote-I have used a pull quote
from the article with enlarged speech
marks to be an interesting page
feature, this is quirky and develops
common conventions of pull quotes
and speech marks.

Blank space- There is an area of
blank space on my contents which
can make it look boring and
unconventional. Many established
magazines fill this blank space with
a gradient, page number or image,
which I would do in future.

Pull quote I follow conventions by using a Drop cap Use of a drop cap is
pull quote in my article which shows the following conventions as it
tone of the article at a quick glance. Two of indicates the start of the article
the other three covers professional covers and is also an attractive page
have not used a pull quote, however this is feature.
unusual.
Stand first I have
Stripes I follow conventions by using stereotypically and
stripes as an interesting page feature conventionally placed the
to add creativity to the article. It has stand first under the
also been done in the double page headline/title to add depth
spread below as it is a common way to and meaning to the headline/
separate text and images. title.

Images I challenge conventions by using
repeated images of the same model in
different positions to show liveliness and
the brilliant personality of the artist. I was
inspired by the double page spread below
as the images made the model seem like
she was dancing.

Double page split I develop and By-line I have
change this convention as I conventionally used this to
integrate text with images so the express to the reader who
layout isn't too linear and boring. has written the article. It
Many professional magazines do gives recognition and
this to give either the image or credit to journalists.
text dominance or to
controversially subvert Headline I have used a quirky
conventions. headline of different fonts in an
fascinating arrangement. This
Page numbers These help challenges conventions as it
guide the reader through the becomes a visually pleasing page
magazine. I have followed feature rather than just an
conventions so readers can introduction to the article.
skips to the pages they want
to read. They also help Limited colour palette I have used
anchor images. the same colours throughout my
magazine as they are vibrant,
bright, approved by the audience
and create a definite house style.
This conforms to conventions.

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

The background of the image is
extremely important to identify the
social group. Urban settings are often
linked to R&B music, thus my
audience will identify with the
brickwork and metal steps used as it
connotes the raw beginnings of R&B
music.

She has been positioned in a
dominant and powerful stance
as the women in the R&B
genre are extremely strong-
willed and independent, such
as Rihanna and Beyonce. This
means that people who listen
to R&B music will aspire to be
as strong as their R&B idols
and this has been translated in
my magazines images.

“Rihanna gets frisky”, “Hot right
now”
A youthful and fashionable social group is Social groups are represented through
represented through Clothing. She is wearing Nike cover lines as I would expect my
Trainers which is a popular brand amongst the R&B audience to be familiar with artists
audience and amongst youth and popular culture. such as Rihanna, Nero and Maverick
This is important to relate to how my R&B audience Sabre. The reference to songs “Hot
dresses and their laid-back and dressed-down right now” by DJ Fresh and Rita Ora
lifestyle. ASPIRERS and “Frisky” by Tinie Tempah also link
to my social group as they should be
familiar with and love these songs,
thus will relate to the cover lines.

groups?
An R&B social group is represented through the
artists tight dress with cut out sections. Revealing
skin can often connote promiscuity and sex, which is
often presented by women in the R&B industry;
artists and audience alike.

She has been positioned with a
hand on her hip to convey
attitude. This is often done in
the R&B industry to portray a
strong or dominant female. My
audience is represented as
they aspire to be these women
and often recreate these poses
in their own photographs.

groups?
• “Mainstream”Those within the “Mainstream” social group are said to listen to R&B music,
aka the music which dominates the charts such as Rihanna, LMFAO, Beyonce, Nicki Minaj,
Drake, Rizzlekicks and more, however some social groups known as “hipster” or “street” listen to
other artists who do not dominate the charts such as Rick Ross, Frank Ocean, Watch The
Throne and Maverick Sabre. This is why I have listed these bands and artists on the cover of my
magazine to attract a ‘mainstream’ and slightly ‘street’ audience.

Examples of advertising popular artists
to attract/represent audience. This is the
header and footer of my cover.

groups?
Within a “mainstream” social group the most popular places to
shop include Top-shop, Bank, office and high-street stores
which is why I have used their clothing to style my artists.
Many people shop at these places as they are popular and
‘cool’, thus they are conforming and jumping from trend to
trend depending on what the media depicts as ‘cool’.
Connotations of a mainstream culture include not standing out
from the crowd, wearing similar clothing and listening to similar
music as peers and buying into popular culture. This is why
the artists in my magazine are wearing similar and typical
clothing; there is nothing wild and out of the ordinary as this
may intimidate a mainstream audience. By creating a
magazine in itself it is conforming to a ‘mainstream’ social
group as it is following a trend and copying what has been
done before, thus when my audience buys this magazine they
are already conforming to popular culture.

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

I have used a multicultural set of models As the R&B genre attracts males and As my target audience ranges from
and artists in my images and cover lines females due to its range of lyrics the ages of 15-30 due to sexual
to appeal to a range of ethnic regarding love, violence, success and references and a sophisticated colour
backgrounds. This is because the artists even politics, I represented males palette I have used models from the
and audience of R&B music is ethnically and females in my magazines ages 16-17. This is because R&B
mixed, thus only representing one through images and cover lines music is a very popular form of youth
ethnicity would be unfair and unattractive which would attract both sexes. The culture and I would expect the vast
to a large amount of people, thus limiting pout, crouched position and slightly majority of my audience to be within
my audience. off centre angle of the camera this age group.
suggests power and dominance,
much the same with my females of
whom suggest attitude and strength.
This makes both genders equal.

3. What kind of media institution might distribute your

media product and why?
• IPC media could distribute my magazine as they only
have two other music magazines in circulation which
include NME and UNCUT. NME is a chart/indie
magazine branching out into R&B and UNCUT is a
rock magazine, thus IPC have not yet got a magazine
purely dedicated to R&B as of yet. This means it
would be sensible for them to distribute my magazine
as it would not detract from sales as the music genres
are extremely different. IPC has a readership of 26
million adults, two thirds of which are females and
42% are males. R&B has an extremely large following
of mixed genders, thus IPC’s uni-sex audience would
be perfect for my magazine. NME is one of the most
successful and popular music magazines in history,
thus IPC has the ability and skill to make my
magazine successful.
• Bauer may be a better distributer due to its extensive
catalogue of successful music magazines including
Q, Kerrang, Smash hits, 4music, Mojo and Magic,
therefore showing specific skills in the musical area.
Bauer may not be appropriate as Q and 4music focus
on chart music, dominated by modern interpretations
of R&B superstars, thus my magazine would detract
from the popularity of these magazines. Bauer also
has a smaller readership of 19 million people and this
may limit the success, audience and popularity of my
magazine.

4. Who would the audience be for your media product?
AGE- The target audience for ETHNICITY-As I have GENDER- As I have represented the
‘RHYTHM’ magazine is 15-30 year male (masculine) and female (feminine)
represented different ethnicities in my genders in my magazine, my target
olds with the most popular bracket
magazine, my target audience will audience will be uni-sex, however slightly
being 16-22. This is because the
also contain many people from tipped towards females. This is because I
connotations linked with the R&B
different ethnic backgrounds. This is have used a large amount of pink, which
genre are of an adult nature. These
because R&B music appeals to all is a stereotypically soft and feminine
connotations include sexual
cultures due to its diverse lyric topics colour. I have also used a larger amount
voyeurism, glamorisation of weapons of females in my images to show female
which discuss international issues
and lyrics regarding relationships, power and dominance, however a
and different ethnic backgrounds of
politics, culture and love. I have considerable proportion of the audience
the superstars which dominate the
explored some of these themes in my will be male.
charts.
magazines and have not censored
them for younger audiences. A
younger audience would not DEMOGRAPHICS AND
appreciate a limited colour palette and SOCIAL CLASS-My
neat layout, which is the direction my audience will be of the C1,C2,D,E
magazine has chosen. demographic profile which ranges
from lower middle class to lower
working class. This is because my
PSYCHOGRAPHICS-My audience will audience is young and will only
mainly contain ‘aspirers’ as they are younger have part-time jobs or will be still
and need to be reassured by social status and be working their way up to the top
brands such as NIKE, VANS and ADDIDAS. My from lower positions. This means
audience have not yet reached their full that they have the opportunity to
potential and show their success through spend their disposable income on
branded products which raises their status and products such as magazines,
reputation. This matches the R&B genre as it is clothing and music. My informal
all about showing wealth, dominance, tone, language, image
independence, success and whether you are composition, colours and cover
better than another person or artist. lines are all designed to please this
demographic profile.

5. How did you attract/address your audience?
Initially I asked 15 people within my target audience of 15-30 year olds, C1,C2,D,E
demographic profile, females and males 10 questions regarding their preferences within music
magazines and also carried out a focus group finding out more detailed information which
helped me make choices. These questions included:

•Which music magazines are you familiar with?
•What section of a magazine are you most attracted by?
•Which of these artists have you heard of?
•Would the prospect of free iTunes vouchers entice you to purchase the magazine?
•Would you prefer a male or female cover star?
•How often do you attend gigs or concerts?
•What is your favourite genre of music?
•Do you read articles about music artists?
•What colour palette would most appeal to you?
•Is an image on the front cover more important than the cover stories?

My audience said they were most interested in interviews with artists, new
artists on the scene and images.
I have met their interests by advertising interviews with established artists on my
contents page including:
“The return of Missy Elliott”, “From zero to Nero”, “LMFAO-Sorry for Party
Rocking?” and “F.R.A.N.K World Domination”.
I made my double page spread with a new artist “Leanne West” appear really
exciting and bold so it would stand out. By calling Leanne “THE NEW QUEEN
OF R&B” it emphasises that she is new on the music scene and ignites intrigue
for the audience.
I have used 10 original images which means that my media products aren't
overwhelmed and dominated by text making them more visually pleasing and
attractive to the audience.

My audience said that they recognised all of the artists I listed to them including
Rizzlekicks, Jay-Z, Beyonce, LMFAO, David Guetta, Frank Ocean and
Rihanna. I made sure I used most of these artists on my front cover to attract
those who wanted to read about their favourite superstars.

My magazine
addresses the
audience personally
through use of the word
“you” and direct
address of the cover
star which creates
intimacy and an
informal tone to make
the audience feel
comfortable.

All 15 people said they would be attracted to the
magazine if free iTunes vouchers were offered,
however I did not include this in my magazine. I
should have used this as it would have been a
popular feature which would attract many people
and prevent people from illegally downloading
music.

My cover star is a female which is what 10 out
of the 15 people wanted. This will attract my
audience as other females will buy the
magazine to be influenced and inspired by the
female artists. I have incorporated males into
my magazine to please the minority of the
audience who would prefer to see males.

6 people out of 15 said they attended
gigs often and 3 go at least once a
month, thus I have attracted those
with a passion for live music with
articles regarding gigs.


7 people out of 15 said they would prefer
a vibrant and colourful colour scheme,
with three preferring black and white and
5 preferring pastel colours. I have used
a house style and limited colour palette
focusing on electric blue and fuchsia due
to their vibrancy, uni-sex appeal and
ability to stand out. I have used black
and white photography to help the
colours stand out and appeal to those
who preferred a black and white colour
scheme. Pastel colours are too soft and
weak to portray the exciting genre of
R&B.

All 5 of the people said they preferred ‘RHYTHM’ as the
magazine masthead as it perfectly connotes the genre of R&B
and is easily recognisable as a music magazine at first glance,
thus I used it.

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

I used a digital camera to capture all of my original images. My
images were not pixelated although they could have been a
higher quality finish, however this was fixed on the computer by
changing auto levels and contrast. I was able to determine the
frame of my photography accurately through using a digital
camera so I could leave space for a masthead/header/footer and
cover lines. I was limited on plain locations around college which
led me to having to take photographs on a background I did not
wish to use. This was later fixed using cut out tools on
Photoshop. I made sure that I did not take my photographs in
very low-key lighting or extremely high-key lighting to avoid the
quality being cheap or over-edited.
ORIGINAL
EDITED

I have used slide share to present
my power points and images in a
neat, organised and technically
advanced way.
Editing the image allows
light levels to be changed
and ugly backgrounds to be
removed which is
something the camera
cannot do.

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

Dafont.com allowed me to choose from millions of fonts to present my masthead in
an interesting and eye-catching way. Dafont.com made my magazine look more
professional as I had not made a regular text selection. I eventually chose this font:

However there were many contenders including:

These fonts did not work
as they were too thin
and insignificant and
would not fit with the
bold and vibrant genre
of R&B. These fonts
Title for contents found on would have been lost
dafont.com. behind the image and
would not stand out, as
a masthead should do.

I used the lasso tool and
magnetic lasso tool to cut out
unwanted backgrounds from
my photos. It was hard to give
them a clean and neat edge
due to irregular bumps and
fine hairs in the photo, thus I
alternated between the lasso
tool and magnetic tool. The
magnetic tool was easier and
quicker to use as it stuck to
the nearest and darkest edge,
however did prove difficult at
times. The finished products
had clean smooth lines, plain
backgrounds to develop
creativity and were not
obviously or untidily cut out.


I used a clone stamp to eliminate the
shadow from around my image to make
it look more professional. I did this by
holding down the Alt key and the cursor
changed to a target. I then clicked the
point I wished to use as a sampling
point and this was my colour reference
point for cloning the colours to blend
the shadow out of the image. It did
have some limitations as a slight
shadow and imperfection can be seen
where the colour match is not
completely perfect, however this was
eventually solved by finding a better
colour reference point.


I also used the clone stamp tool to remove
imperfections such as spots and blemishes
from the skin. I did this by holding down the
Alt key and the cursor changed to a target. I
then clicked the point I wished to use as a
sampling point and this was my colour
reference point for cloning the colours to
cover areas of imperfection with areas of
really clear and beautiful skin. This
heightened the quality and professional feel
to the photograph as images in real music
magazines are extremely airbrushed to
present the idea of glamour and perfection.
BEFORE

AFTER


By changing the auto levels
it automatically makes the
image appear brighter, more
vibrant and of better quality.
After clicking auto levels the
blue dress looked even
deeper, livelier and eye- By changing the brightness/ contrast
catching. levels of the photos I can make the
images appear professional, more
wonderful and give them life, rather
than appearing dull.


I have learnt how to create three
pages on INDESIGN. This included
two singular pages for my cover a
contents and a double page for my
double page spread. I had to select
the button “allow pages to shuffle”
I used text to make sure that the pages were in
columns by order of how they would be in a real
magazine.
clicking on the
‘Type Tool’ so I
could type my
article in and it
would look
professional
and neat in
straight
columns.

The use of boxes and resizing these boxes and then resizing the images to fit the boxes
meant that I could easily change around the layout and style of the page. These are some
screen shots of my original attempts at creating a double page spread and contents page
on INDESIGN, however these where changed as I learnt more about the conventions of
music magazines and creating personal style.

7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you
have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
The masthead on my preliminary front cover was
quite small in comparison to the rest of the page
and conventionally it should fit one fifth of the page.
I developed this is my main task and made the text
large, bolder, bigger, brighter and more distinct.

Barcode I did not include a barcode on my
preliminary task and I have done on my main
task to make the product look more
professional and realistic.

Website address I did not include a
website address on my preliminary task,
however through my audience research I
found that the internet was a popular place
to find information about artists and chart
releases, thus I included a website address
on my main task to show convergence
between printed media and the internet.

Header and Footer I have used a footer on
my preliminary task and main task, with the
addition of a header. I used this feature in both
as it was an interesting way to fill dead space
and to present words and artists in the field of
the genre to attract a wider audience.

Image The central image on my main task
is a lot more sophisticated than my
preliminary task. This is because I used Cover lines and Strap lines My cover lines
the clone stamp tool to eliminate unwanted and strap lines are more equally balanced on
backgrounds and shadows, auto levels to my main task compared to the preliminary
make the lighting more professional and I task to fill dead space and look more
learn how to frame the camera so the professional. I also use more varied fonts and
image would be in proportion and have a font sizes than on my preliminary task to be
brilliant composition. more exciting and show the importance of
different features.

Images My images have been edited more heavily to
give a professional and creative vibe which suits the
R&B industry, however it is also important to
understand that a college magazine would not use
heavily edited images as it would be free and
naturalistic.

Pull quote I have used a pull quote on both contents
pages as I believe the oversized speech marks make
visually fantastic page features and the quote sets a
tone of speech for the whole magazine.

Title I have not used the header “contents” in my main
task as I wanted to subvert conventions, however I did
use “contents” in my preliminary task to be safe and
conforming.

Letter from the editor I have included a letter
from the editor on both tasks showing little
progression, however on my main task the tone is
more suited to the audience and the layout is more
sophisticated.

Anchoring From my preliminary task I learnt
that it was important to anchor images with
captions so the purpose of the photo was clear
to the audience, this is why I anchored my
Page numbers I have included a images with text and page numbers on my main Cover lines and articles I feel that the
page number on my main task task. advertisement of articles on my contents
which is a much needed feature page is much stronger and clearer in my
of a magazine and a common main task as the text is more professional,
convention. I did not do this in my stylish and stands out because of the black
preliminary task which was a boxes.
major mistake as it would make
orders unclear for the audience.


My masthead is more professional as it has been created by Dafont.com and not ordinary,
boring and typical fonts available on Photoshop. I have included a sell-line in my
preliminary task which is a common convention, however I have not included one in my
main task because I felt the masthead was effective and commanding enough on its own.
As my magazine is new, during production I did not have a reaction, thus I could not use a
sell-line like “THE BEST MUSIC MAGAZINE EVER" as this would be false information and
false advertising.


My photography has
definitely improved
from the preliminary
task to the main task,
even though I used
the same camera.
This is because I had
a better
understanding of shot
composition/ camera
angles/ shot type/
lighting/ editing/ mise
en scene and
directing the models
to convey the
expressions and
attitude which I
wanted presented in
my magazine.


In my preliminary task we were not asked to
create a double page spread, however I had
prior knowledge of how to do this and found
inspiration through the internet and music
magazines. I feel I have learnt how to create
a realistic double page spread and overall
media product.

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