The evaluation of my music magazine.

1. Q1.Who would be the audience for your
media product?

2. My magazine is based around vibe and they use various different conventions that represent my target audience.
They have used artists who are popular in the hip-hop industry to appeal to their target audience therefore I'll do
the same so the content I include is relevant to my target audience. They have used popular artists which attracts
their target audience. I’ve decided my target audience based on the research that I’ve done.

3. I created a survey and handed it to people who were
interested in hip-hop so I could try and get a better
idea of what my target audience would be like.
Everyone who completed the survey was aged
between 16-21 therefore I included this age range
within my target audience.

4. My target audience is mainly black teenagers and young adults aged
between 16 – 24. My ideal reader is a 21 year old black male who is
passionate about hip-hop. I came to the conclusion of my ideal reader
through researching about other magazines. I based my magazine
around the magazine "Vibe" therefore I felt my audience would be
similar. To determine this, I researched and found the most popular
type of reader of their magazine and decided my target reader. Another
reason why I chose this audience was because this was a popular music
market with hip hop dominating the charts. Which meant that if I chose
a hip hop audience I'd have a larger audience.

5. What would they be into?
• Headphones
• Shoes – Mostly trainers
• Jewelery (Bling)
• Sports clothes
• Other music
• Hip Hop tours
• Snapback's

6. Q2: How did you attract/address your
audience?

7. Masthead
Main feature
Skyline
Cover image
Features

8. Gender – My target gender is primarily male but is
also for females who like hip hop too. He is wearing a
hoodie which is the type of clothing my target
audience would wear therefore by making my model
wear a hoodie, it would appeal more to my audience.
Age – My target age is 16 – 24 therefore I made my
model wear a hoodie because this will attract that
age range. It will attract them because hoodies are
common amongst this age group therefore they will
feel like they can relate to my model and are more
likely to buy it. I’ve also included artists on the
features who are popular amongst this age group to
attract them even more.
Genre – The genre is hip-hop which is known as
being slightly rebellious therefore I named my
magazine “SUBVERT”. The definition of subvert is to
undermine the rules of doing something so I thought
it was fitting. The other artist and features are hip
hop related so this also attracted readers.

9. I used large text in capital letters to stand
out on the page to catch the readers eye
when the magazine is on the shelf. I’ve also
chose white text to stand out on the blue
background.
I used popular artists in the hip hop world
to further attract the reader. This would
attract them because if they see a popular
artist featured, they are more likely to buy
the magazine. I also used contrasting
colours to the background to catch the
readers eye to attract them even more.
I deliberately made my model look directly
at the camera because it appears as though
he is addressing the reader on personal
level. This would encourage them to buy it
because they feel like he is looking at them.

10. Q3) How does your media product represent
particular social groups?

11. My target audience is represented through the
mis-en-scene used because he is wearing a hoodie
with his hood up which is rebellious and the
readers of my magazine are people aspire to be
like the artists I use.
I’ve used intertextuality by
using artists that are likely to
feature on the magazine “Vibe”
(the magazine I based mine on).
Most people would just see
these as artists however my
audience will already know who
they are and information about
them just by reading their
name.
The type of model I’ve used is an example of intertextuality
because the audience will know what type of magazine it is just
by reading the artists name or looking at his clothes or position.
They gain this knowledge from reading similar magazines.

12. To represent my audience I made my model look slightly rebellious
because this is what my target audience is likely to be like through the
clothes they would wear. I’ve gone for a slightly mainstream approach
because this is popular therefore it is where most of the consumers will
be.

13. My model has his hood up in
the photo shoot which is
unusual for a magazine shoot
representing that he is
rebellious.
An aggressive look on his face
perhaps suggesting that he’s
tough
Hands folded suggesting he
doesn’t trust or welcome the
audience.
Here is a photo of what I would
expect my target audience to look like
and as you can see he is wearing
similar clothes, standing in a similar
position with his arms folded and a
similar tough expression on his face.
That’s why I decided to make my
model appear the way he did so he
would represent males aged between
16 and 24.

14. Gender
The male gender is dominant throughout my magazine as there is a photo of male on all of the pages.
This is to relate to my target audience as my target audience is predominantly. The use of female
artists on my front cover and contents page represents the female gender. With the most magazines
the dominant gender is male on a magazine hence why I decided to do so however I’ve also
represented the female gender.

15. My model is the same age and gender as my target audience so this would encourage them to buy it because they feel
represented. I’ve also made him wear the type of clothes they are likely to wear to further represent them. By
representing these various social groups I’m making it more appealing to my audience encouraging them to buy it
more.

16. Q4: In what ways does your media product
use, develop or challenge forms and
conventions of real media products?

17. Masthead – The masthead is being obscured by the model. This suggests
to me that the magazine are expecting us to know what the name of the
magazine regardless to whether we can see it or not. They also use a
mixture of upper and lower case letters within the masthead which is
incorrect. This suggest to me that they are being rebellious and unique
from the rest and the hip hop genre is known for being rebellious.
Layout – The model T.I. is massive within the hip hop world therefore the
editor has made a cluttered layout around the model without
obstructing his face. This is presenting his importance to the reader
almost making him an idol to most readers.
Content – The content of the page further presents the rebellious and
edgy element of the magazine. They highlight how someone has been
“BAD”. They also enlarge the word “death” on the front cover which is
usually a sensitive subject but because they are rebellious they are
presenting they don’t care by putting it on the front cover. Notorious
gangster Tupac is mentioned another highly influential person within the
hip hop world. He caused so much trouble but this magazine is
presenting him in a good way almost suggesting to the reader that they
can be like him by reading this magazine.
I chose VIBE magazine because I was doing a magazine about modern
hip hop and this was the magazine most similar to mine so it would be a
good start to determine what my magazine would look like.

18. Masthead – The masthead is being obscured by the model like it
was in the magazine “Vibe”. I chose to use this convention
because the hip hop industry is renowned for being rebellious and
by blocking some of the masthead it was a rebellious thing to do
so I felt it represented hip hop.
Layout – The magazine “Vibe” chose to have a photo of their
model as the main image and the features around him. I chose to
use this convention because it makes the cover start stand out and
the more he stands out, the more likely the reader is to buy the
magazine.
Content – The content of the page further presents the rebellious
and edgy element of the magazine. They highlight how someone
has been “BAD”. They also enlarge the word “death” on the front
cover which is usually a sensitive subject but because they are
rebellious they are presenting they don’t care by putting it on the
front cover. I challenged this convention because I felt if their was
more positivity on the front cover then the reader is more likely to
buy it. Sometimes negativity doesn’t sell well so I decided that by
putting positive articles on my cover, it would be received better
by the audience.

19. I’ve developed the convention used in the magazine I looked at because they
have used a title and made the artists name stand out, which is what I used
when I wrote my title however they created a title for their magazine but I
used a quote. I chose to include a quote as my title because I felt it would
stand out more and would attract my audience even more.

20. Q5) What kind of media institution might
distribute your product and why?

21. I did my research for my magazine based on “Vibe” which is published by
SpinMedia which meant that I would publish my magazine alongside Vibe
magazine. The main reason I chose my magazine to be published my SpinMedia
was because it already has a large share of my target audience. It would be too
hard to compete with a company with a company with a large share of the market
therefore it would be better to join them. They boast impressive amounts viewers
to their content so it would be excellent to join them. Another reason I chose
SpinMedia was it claims to focus on “The most engaging voices in pop culture”
which is a unique selling point as other magazine publishers don’t offer this.

22. My magazine would cost £2.50 per issue and would be released
monthly because I believe this is a reasonable price to pay for a
monthly magazine. Also, Vibe magazine works out about £2.70 per
issue so my price is suitable. This slight decrease of cost of the
magazine will increase my audience which will increase sales. My
magazine will include adverts relevant to Subvert and Hip-Hop only
otherwise the reader probably won’t be interested.

23. I’ve decided to create a twitter page because this is an efficient way of distributing information about my
magazine. Twitter is available on nearly every device therefore this is a good way to distribute information across
multiple platforms. 83% of teens aged between 14-17 own a smartphone therefore by using twitter I can distribute
information to a large proportion of my audience. This is also a good way to build up hype about my magazine as I
can publish small pieces of information about my magazine.

24. I chose to distribute it as an application as appose to a website mainly
because you could use it when there is no internet connection.
Websites can only be accessed when internet is available however with
an application all of the data can be downloaded then still accessed
regardless to whether connection is available or not which is a huge
advantage because it would encourage people to use it if they know
they wont have connection.
My application:

25. Logo and title so the user
knows what application it is
Large title which stands
out to attract a user
Images relevant to
the articles so the
user is encouraged to
click on them
A section from the article so the
user is encourage to continue
reading which means they’ll use
the application for longer.
The user can search for specific articles
which attracts them because they’ll read
stuff that their interested in.
Advertisements for our
products which is
another form of
distribution.
The application icon so the user
will recognise the software.

27. Q6) What have you learnt about technologies
from the process of constructing this
product?

28. I imported the image into Photoshop and
selected the area that I wanted to keep.
I then chose the “Layer Via
Copy” tool which meant it
would create a new layer
containing only the area that
I selected.
Once the new layer was
created, I then deleted the
original layer to remove the
first image.
After I deleted the image I
was left with image I wanted
to keep so I saved this image
and used it on my front
cover.

29. I began by using the
gradient tool for the
background of my
front cover in InDesign.
I then imported the image I had
created in photoshop because it
didn’t have a background. I also
resized it so it was in proportion to
the canvas.
I then wrote my
features and masthead
around my model and
used the text tool to
change the text size,
colour and font. I made
the popular features
stand out more to
attract the reader.
Finally I imported the
image of a barcode
onto the front cover
and then it was
complete.

30. Front Cover

31. I took the photo into Photoshop and
used the “crop” tool to remove parts of
the image that I thought were
unnecessary for the contents page.
The final image I wanted to use
for my contents page

32. I used various different font sizes and colours for the different articles but I
used a completely different font for the word “Contents”. I found this font
online and used it for my contents page.
I made the text on the bottom right of the page considerably larger to make it
stand out on the page.
The white text was difficult to see on some parts of the page therefore I used
the “outline text” tool and selected the colour black so the words were easier
to see on the page.

33. Contents page

34. I wanted the letter “R” behind the article because it represented the artist I focused on in my article. However,
as the letter was white I thought it would be difficult to see the text once it was on there therefore I reduced
transparency of the text to 54% so it was easier to see the main article.

35. Once the article was written up on the double page spread I wanted
to format the text to make it look better. I unticked the “hyphenation”
option so it would look more professional. I also selected the “justify
all lines” tool to make the text all inline along both sides of the
paragraphs.
I then imported the image of my model and used the
text tool to write the article heading and the different
quotes on the double page spread.

36. Q7)Looking back at your preliminary task
(School Magazine), what do you feel you
have learnt in the progression to the full
product?

37. Front Covers
My skills on software such as Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign have developed a lot from between the
practice task and the main task. I’ve used and developed various different common magazine conventions
on my music magazine that I didn’t use on the practice task.

38. I’ve used a simple colour scheme on the practice task which is a common magazine convention. Also, I have put
the masthead at the top left of the page. However, it lacks other common magazine conventions because it
doesn’t include a bar code, date or a skyline. I also chose not to remove the background which is uncommon as
it looks slightly unprofessional. Just these simple conventions can help the magazine look like a real product so
by picking up on this, I decided to use these improvements in the main task.

39. I’ve still used a colour scheme because this is a common popular convention. However, I’ve made the more
appealing features stand out to attract the audience more, which I didn’t do with the first magazine. I’ve also
included a skyline, barcode and a date for the issue. I’ve also learnt how to remove the background from an
image using Photoshop to make the cover look more professional.

40. In my practice contents page I used a colour scheme however, it was slightly over congested with images and the
model in the backgrounds face was being obstructed by one of the images. In the main task, I used only one image
of my main model to further attract the reader. Another convention I learned was to make the popular feature stand
out therefore I wrote the artist name and page number in large writing on the bottom right so it would stand out
from the rest, further attracting the reader.