evaluation of my media project

1. EVALUATION
IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT
USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND
CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?

2. BASS | VIBE

3. MASTHEAD
My masthead or magazine logo represents and
conveys the Hip-Hop genre in a variety of
different aspects. Firstly I named it ‘BASS’ as the
element of bass in general is huge in my genre,
and is used often in a huge amount of songs. I
also wanted it to be short and catchy, like the
‘XXL’ logo presented on this slide, as it is simple,
original and fits in perfectly with the genre, as it
looks powerful and serious, like Hip-Hop in a way.
I decided to make my masthead the colour black
as it also has comparisons to the VIBE logo, and
for the fact that black is an extremely dominant
and popular colour in the Hip-Hop industry, and
by using this colour into my product, it would be
enhancing its chance to reflect my chosen genre.

4. MISE EN
SCENE
I tried to use a range of elements within mise en
scene to try and grasp my genre. I especially
looked at Hip-Hop star Nicki Minaj as she is a
dominant female in the industry, like the artist I
was trying to create for my magazine. Knowing
this, I focused on different covers and photo-
shoots of Nicki and tried to bring them to life with
my model. Firstly I attempted to grasp the
performance or expression from my research and
tried to create that in my own photo-shoot. From
the photo from my front cover and Nicki’s front
cover, you can see a comparison in the position
that they are both standing, and in the photos
below, the position and expression on my models
face are almost exact to Nicki’s, to try and present
the ‘fierce female rapper’ look. I decided to use
high key lighting, as this gives the images a
professional effect, and whilst editing in
Photoshop, I also increased the contrast and
brightness to give it a distinct and sharp effect, to
make it appear more attractive.

5. COSTUME
& PROPS
When picking out outfits for my model
for the shoot, my main idea was to
resemble other existing female Hip-
Hop artists, and take inspiration of
some of their outfits. In the end, I
decided that I wanted my model to
wear mostly all black, with hints of
possible other colours like gold, white
and red. With pieces of costume, I
wanted to resemble traditional Hip-
Hop, with a ‘girly’ twist, and to do this,
I added an edition of chunky black
high heeled boots, which included
spike and diamond embellishment, to
ensure a fierce and sassy look. My
model also sported black eye makeup
and red lipstick to also enhance her
powerful feminine look, but also as a
seduction tool, so that men and
women can find the cover attractive,
and initially buy the product.

6. PEOPLE
Throughout the pages in my product, I have included content or
information on different artists from the Hip-Hop industry, as a tool to
present and reflect further on the genre. I used Drake a lot on the
cover and also in the context of my interview with my artist. I did this
as Drake is hugely known around the globe, and from my research he
is the UK’s favourite rap star, and seen as though my magazine is
British, it makes sense to include him in my product. As I also wanted
the element of traditional rap, I added an article on the Hip-Hop
legend: Tupac. I only added one older rap star as the primary
audience are within the ages 16-25, however, by adding a minor
throwback, it adds to the professionalism and the knowledge of the
genre and magazine. Another point to add this, is that my secondary
audience applies to the ages of 26-35, and these people would
definitely have knowledge of Tupac, and enjoy reading a feature of
him. As my main article revolves around a fierce female figure in the
Hip-Hop industry, I also wanted to add examples of other female rap
stars, including Nicki Minaj and Iggy Azalea, who are huge in rap and
also in the charts. Having these artists supports my main article and
proves that the stereotype of men dominating the Hip-Hop world isn’t
always the case.

7. TITLE FONT & STYLES
Within my magazine, I have used different varieties of fonts and texts, to
elaborate further in my chosen genre. But to also add personality to the
context and the magazines look. When I started my research I went on
Dafont.com and scrolled through different fonts and I tried to choose a
bunch that would fit and complement my genre. All of the fonts shown
are different examples of the fonts I have included in my magazine. I
have tried to represent a bold look throughout with different fonts, in an
effort to make the magazine look more professional. With some fonts, I
have tried to represent and reflect the main article, which revolves
around a dominant female figure in Hip-Hop, I've tried to represent and
advertise this by adding some fonts within a black background with the
colour pink to add a stereotypical but effective ‘feminine’ twist. Other
fonts include colours such as Red, Grey, Black and White; all colours
that would symbolise the Hip-Hop industry and therefore enhance my
magazine’s performance.

8. COPY/ WRITTEN
CONTENT
Throughout my pages, I have made an effort to
include language that would link and belong in
Hip-Hop culture. In my contents page for
instance , I have added articles like ‘Turn Up
Tuesday Rundown’ which links to the Hip-Hop
culture in the way that it is inspired by a song
that is extremely popular in the Urban, Hip-Hop
and Official charts. By doing things like this, I
have made a link straight away to the culture,
and the fans or readers would recognize this,
and perhaps buy the product knowing that the
genre is definitely reflected. Along with the use
of this language in my work, I have included
artists from the genre to feature in my pages,
and therefore, creating a larger Hip-Hop based
product which can be trusted and seen as
professional to customers.

9. HOW IS GENRE REFLECTED
IN YOUR MAGAZINE?
My genre is hugely reflected through different aspects
within my pages. The first example would be colour. I
have made sure that I have included colours that
represent the industry and genre. These would include
colours like Red, Grey, Black, White and Gold. I have
also used these colours within my costume, to try and
reflect more of a Hip-Hop figure.
To back my previous evidence of the genre of my
magazine, I have added well known names of Hip-Hop
and the whole music industry all together, in an effort to
show readers that if these certain artists are included, it
would definitely revolve around the genre they create
their music in.
Also when shooting photographs, I tried to reflect a lot of
mise en scene aspects and to make sure that my model
was making certain facial expressions and poses that
represents my genre. For example, as artists in Hip-Hop
are quite dominant, powerful and feisty, I have tried to
create a look that would show a confidence and fierce
attitude, to back up the style of music chosen.

10. LAYOUT OF FRONT COVER
My magazine followed a lot of conventions from previous and popular magazines. I
took a lot of my inspiration from already existing Hip-Hop magazine: Vibe. A lot of my
colours are similar to this Vibe cover.
I noticed that a lot of Hip-Hop covers included a list of artists at the side of the page,
and knowing this I added this convention to my work, to represent a popular layout,
and also to represent other existing artists to attract customers.
The position of my model is similar to Miguel in the Vibe cover, in the way that he is
also dressed in black, but also for the fact that it is a medium shot. This creates a
professional effect, and allows readers to interpret my magazine with other popular
prints.

11. LAYOUT OF CONTENTS PAGE
My contents page needed to be bold and to stand out, to allow the readers to glimpse easily at
articles in the magazine. I took some inspiration from this contents page, in the context of its
layout and structure. 50 Cent in the existing cover is facing the long list of text, like mine also is.
However, I labeled mine more abruptly, in an effort to make it easier form readers to quickly
notice the conventions on the contents page.
Also, the colours also contrast to the front page. As I tried to make a more ‘feminine’ colour
scheme, to represent that women in Hip-Hop can still belong in the industry and still carry that
fierce and ladylike personality.
I have definitely challenged conventions in this page. However I noticed from my research that
in most Hip-Hop magazine, including Vibe, the contents pages were not represented within a
grid, like many other prints, but in a list with an artist on the side, and therefore my reason for
choosing this method.

12. LAYOUT OF MY DOUBLE PAGE
SPREAD
I tried to produce my double page spread in an original but unique way. I used two
block colours on my spread, as the use of black and white allows the page to stand
out but it also represent the traditional Hip-Hop culture, and also the atmosphere of
the article, and idea of feminism in the culture.
The vibe double page spread and my double page spread are similar definitely in the
use of colour, and because of this, I have also tried to elaborate on the layout more. I
have added my own twist on the main title of the article, as Vibe’s has quite an impact
on the page, and I tried to incorporate an aspect of this in my work by using different
fonts, sizes and lengths of texts to create a strong effect.

13. CONCLUSION
Overall, I believe that I have tried to create my
own perspective and my own ideas, tied with
my inspiration of other prints of my chosen
genre. I have created an acceptable and quite
enjoyable product, that represents the current
Hip-Hop culture and industry. I believe, that
from my magazine, you can definitely tell my
chosen genre, and the ideas I was aiming to
get across. I agree, that I have challenged a
few aspects of traditional and already existing
products, however, I know that I have mostly
took inspiration from professional work and
tried to use their own personal vision into my
own work. Personally, I would think that an
audience would be satisfied with my creation,
and would agree that it would fit into the genre,
and includes all of the conventions that a
professional magazine would require.