The document summarizes the process of creating an R&B and rap magazine. It describes researching case studies from other magazines in the genre, incorporating codes and conventions like placement of the masthead and barcode. It discusses choosing a multi-ethnic model for the cover to distinguish the magazine from competitors aimed primarily at the Black community. The intended audience is teenagers and young adults interested in music, fashion, and celebrity gossip.

1. My magazine is an R&B and rap magazine, however at the beginning I wasn’t
entirely sure on what genre I wanted to do so I looked at vibe magazine and rolling
stone magazine for my case studies. On the front page my model is using direct
mode of address and she is placed in front of the mast head to show she is more
important which is common in R&B magazines. I also used psychological pricing
which all magazines use to make the buyer think they are saving money and will
lead them to then buy the magazine. I also placed the barcode on the front page on
the bottom left corner as on my vibe case study that’s where the bar code was
placed.
My mast head is the biggest font on the page and my main cover line is the second
biggest which is common in most magazines. I also included the website on my front
page to show my magazine has cross media interests. Looking back on my case
study of vibe magazine I saw that on their contents page they had features (things
that are only in this issue) and regulars (things that appear in every issue). I also
included page numbers on each image which makes it easier for readers who take
an interest in the picture and want to see what that page is about. I made sure I
included an editor’s note which from my case study I saw was a regular on the
contents page.
For my double page spread I decided to place the photograph of my model and the
pull out quote on the right hand side so it’s the first thing my readers will see when
they turn the page. I also included page numbers at the bottom of each page and
columns which make my magazine look realistic and organised they are both
common code and conventions.
I challenge other R&B music magazines as there demographic audience is mainly
aimed at the black community I challenge this by having a model who is of a different
nationality on the front page and the black artists and fashion is shown inside. I feel
she still fits in with the genre and I feel R&B music should be aimed at a variety of
other nationalities this makes my magazine different from others. She is young so
she appeals to my audience of teenagers and people in their early 20’s.
My media products primary social groups are secondary school kids in years 10 and
11 and students whether that be college or university. Those are the people I had in
mind when constructing my magazine. My aim is to represent those social groups in
a positive light I do this by including a variety of young people within all three pages
and they represent chasing dreams and living it which is a positive light on the artists
as well as being an inspiration to other young people.
In my magazine presentation pitch the media institution I chose was Bauer as they
are an international publishing company and owns brands such as; 4 music, Box,
Kiss, Kerrang etc. Which show me they have experience publishing music products
and radio programmes. I also realised they haven’t yet published an R&B music

2. magazine so mine would be the first and it will expand their audience. Because
Bauer own a lot of different cross media interests such as radio, magazines,
websites and T.V programmes and also have a facebook, twitter, flickr, youtube and
tumblr account they could help me with the cross media interests I want to go into
which is to have a website, facebook and twitter page.
My magazine will be distributed to supermarkets and news agents as my target
audience tend to go into those shops. It will be in the home and leisure magazine
section as it is aimed at both males and females and its more of something you read
in your spare time as it features a lot of celebrity gossip. It will be laid out in levels as
my audience will notice it more if they can see the full front page. I will start promote
my magazine by using controlled circulation as my primary target audience is
teenagers and they won’t pass up an opportunity to have a free magazine I could
also use there feedback to improve on my second issue so it fits my target
audience’s needs.
My primary audience is teenagers from 15-18 my secondary audience are teenagers
13-14 and adults 19-25. My music magazine is aimed at both male and female their
status in society would primarily be students and they will have a passion for music
and fashion. The type of students that always listen to music whatever they are
doing and keep up to date with fashion and like to look good. Their hobbies are
reading magazines, watching t.v and being up to date with celebrity gossip. I don’t
have a primary ethnicity as most R&B magazines are mainly aimed at the black
community and I want it to be mainly aimed at all ethnicities.
I addressed my audience by making a presentation to pitch my idea to them; I then
collected audience feedback and applied it to my magazine as they helped me
decide on the font for my masthead. I chose my model to put across the point that
it’s not just the black community that are R&B artists other ethnicities are as well and
that makes my R&B music magazine stand out from others as it has someone of a
different ethnicity on the front page.
During making my magazine I used a variety of different technologies such as
Photoshop, Indesign, DSLR digital camera, blogger and a studio. I used Photoshop
for my front page and I learnt that the different texts, shapes and images should be
on different layers and how to move the layers around if I want those things to
overlap. I also worked out how to cut out my photograph from its background as my
image on the front page was one of my location photographs. I used Indesign for my
contents and double page spread, I learnt how to use the ruler tool to make columns
and an opacity tool to change the opacity of my text overall my skills on both have
improved.I was asked to present my work using blogger which I found was better as
my work can’t get lost as well as it being displayed nicely. It also helped me to
interact with my fellow class mates and give feedback on each other’s work which

3. helped me to improve my magazine. In the studio I used a studio flash kit which
includes 2 soft boxes which soften the light and poly boards which are used to reflect
the light. I also learnt that the model should be standing 5 to 6 feet away from the
back drop because if they stand to close what they’re wearing could blend in to it.
The camera I used was a Nikon D7000 16 million mega pixel and I also used a
Godox remote control which sync’s the camera to the lights.
I also used a proper studio which helped me get an insight on the real world of being
a photographer and giving my model directions because in the preliminary I just told
my model to stand against a wall and smile then took the picture.I have come a long
way from the preliminary task as I have given more thought about where I want to
place things and researched in depth how my genre of music magazine is
constructed, which then helped me to either use, change or develop the codes and
conventions they have.
I also developed my improvisation skills as the shoot of my main artist on my
magazine was a location shoot which is not what I originally planned, but It still
worked. It took more time and effort producing my music magazine because I kept
looking back at my case studies and made sure I had includes all the codes and
conventions such as where they place the front cover image and mast head , where
they place main cover lines and cover lines , where they place bar codes, skylines ,
the use of columns for the contents page and double page spread and psychological
pricing which makes my audience feel they are getting a deal on the price of the
magazine all of this I did not think about when constructing my preliminary front page
and contents page so overall it has developed my skills.