Evaluation questions

1. 1. In what ways doesyour media product use,developor challenge formsand conventionsof
real mediaproducts?
I believemymediaproductisveryconsistentwiththe formsandconventionsof real media
productsthroughthe use of many featuressuchasmastheadformation,barcodes, cover
linesandmore. Itriedmy bestto developthe formsandconventionsof real mediaproducts
by tryingto take the lookof my magazine froma standardstudentcreatedmagazine toa
mediaconglomerate lookandgive of aprofessional vibe;throughthe use of professional
lookingimage shotswithdirectaddressandmore featurestofocus of certainthingswithin
the image.For example inmydouble page spreadfinal image inthe studiowhichhasa very
focusedviewof mixerbecausethisiswhatthe image issurroundby.I wantedthe image to
reallyreflectthe actionandthingtalkedabout whichinthiscase it wasto reflectthe artists
and himproducinghismusicintensely.Onthe doublepage spreadIfeltthatI reallytriedto
developitthroughthe usesof a gradientfade toliftthe textsof the page and alsoto soften
the page upand make everythingmore aestheticallypleasing. Ihave triedtofollow the
conventionsof highendmagazinesbywatermarkingthe magazinebrandingthroughoutthe
magazine inorderto representmyethos.
2. How does your mediaproduct representparticular social groups?
I believemymediaproductrepresentsthe lowertomiddle classsocial grouplivingwithin
the USA mostlyandtypicallyinthe suburbsof majorcitiessuchas Detroit,New York,
Philadelphia,Chicago, andmore.These people wouldtypicallybe blackmaleswithinthese
areas howeverIdofeel thatwithinmymagazine Ihave triedtoengage otherethnicgroups
by mentionedandtalkingaboutrappersof all ethnicgroups.EspeciallyassuchHip-Hopisa
constantgrowinggenre andmore ethicgroupsare gettinginvolvedwhere asinthe pastthe
Hip-Hopscene wasonlyfocusedaroundblacklowerclass. The representationonthe social
groupsmy productfocuseson,helpsrepresenttheirlifestylethroughthe musictheylisten
to and alsothe way inwhichtheylive theirlifeingeneral forexamplewhattheyspendtheir
moneyon.We knowthese peopleare notof the higherclassbecause typicallythose of
higherclasstendnotto associate themselveswiththe Hip-Hopmusiclifestylebecause they
believethatitmayappear explicit,thuggishandinappropriateandthismaybe as a resultof
theirupbringingorotherfactors. The representationisshownbyengagingthe readerand
connectingwiththemandmakingthemfeel apartof the magazine andthe Hip-Hopscene
whichI feel othergenresdonotdoas well.WithHip-Hop,the audiencesfeel apartof that
scene andhype where asa genre like POPforexample,seemslike the artistsof thatgenre
are the stars and the fanslookup to them.Of course the fans of Hip-Hoplookupto the
artistsbut theyfeel more of a connectionandmore relatable tothemastheyusuallycome
fromthe same kindof background.
From the previousresearch tasks,Ifoundoutthat inHip-Hopmagazines,the frontcover
usuallyincludesablackmale.Therefore,Istuckwithcodesandconventionsbydoingthe
same thing.As,the term 'Hip-Hop'usuallyrelatestorelatable andwacky vibes,Idecidedto

2. have my model lookingdirectlyatthe cameraand lookingfocusedanddetermined;which
wouldmake the readermore interestedandpaymore attention.Additionally,asmake up
isn’trelatedalotwithhip-hopmusic,Iwasn’table toinclude thisonmymodel because I
wantedhimto lookverymasculine anddominate;however, wearingfashionableand
differentclothestothe norm makeshimstandout and also challenge the conventionsof
Hip-Hopbyreallyexpressingwhathe likesandinspiringfanswhilegeneratingcontroversy.
3. Whowould the audience be for your mediaproduct?
The audience formymediaproductcouldpotentiallybe anybodyhoweverwe know that
these genresof musictypicallyhave acertaintype of audience thatare interestedinthem
otherwise the productwouldbe broughtbyeverybody.The audience wouldtypicallybe
blackmalesfromthe UnitedStatesof Americawholive inlowertomiddle classareasacross
the country.I feel thatthe product audience isverybroadacrossthe whole of the USA
because the artiststalkedaboutinthe magazinesare alsofromcross country.These people
are inveryaverage or lesswealthyjobsandmaynothave had absolute A gradeshowever
theydo have small amountsof disposableincome hence the reasonforthe purchase of the
musicmagazine whichshowstheyhave moneytowaste ontheirinterestsi.e.music. The
audience wouldusuallybe youngerrangingfromyoungteenagerstomiddleage men.Ido
believethatwomenare alsoinvolvedwithinthe Hip-Hopgenre andare apart of my
audience because Ihave involvedwomeninmymagazine bytalkingaboutthe femaleHip-
Hop artistswhichmanymagazinesinthe real worldhave shied awayfromdoingso. Big
artistsin the Hip-Hopscene suchas Nicki-minaj are amassive helpinintroducingfemale fans
because female artistsinthismale dominantgenre are of course rare therefore they’re a
newsoundand womenwanttohear.
From the previousresearch tasks,Ifoundoutthat inHip-Hopmagazines,the frontcover
usuallyincludesablackmale.Therefore,Istuckwithcodesandconventionsbydoingthe
same thing.As,the term 'Hip-Hop'usuallyrelatestorelatable andwacky vibes,Idecidedto
have my model lookingdirectlyatthe cameraand lookingfocusedanddetermined;which
wouldmake the readermore interestedandpaymore attention.Additionally,asmake up
isn’trelatedalotwithhip-hopmusic,Iwasn’table toinclude thisonmymodel because I
wantedhimto lookverymasculine anddominate;however, wearingfashionableand
differentclothestothe norm makeshimstandout and also challenge the conventionsof
Hip-Hopbyreallyexpressingwhathe likesandinspiringfanswhilegeneratingcontroversy.
4. How did you attract/address your audience
I feel Iattractedthe readerby mentioningthe thingsthatwouldbe withinmymagazine
fromthe contentspage andalsofrom the large appealingcoverlinesonthe frontcoverof
the magazine. Italkedaboutcontroversial topicswithinmymagazine bymentioningthemin
the contentspage because of course people are interestedincontroversyinthe music
industryandwantto be updatedthereforethiswasaneasywas to grab the reader’s
attention.Alsowithinmymagazine Italkedaboutafree giftinside of the magazine whichof
course is a bonusto the audience buyingthe magazineandgivesthemmore reasontobuy

3. the magazine.Because of the large amountof albumreleasesinthe new yearof 2016, it
made it veryeasyto talkaboutin mymusic magazine andof course audienceswanttolisten
the albumsof theirfavourite artistsandlearnaboutthembefore theycome outso
obviouslythisgoeswithoutsayingthatitattracts the reader’sattentionbecausethey
become desperate toknowanyexclusive informationif theyare strongfans.Ifeel thatI
addressedmyaudience bymakingthe magazine feel relatable andontheirlevel ratherthan
have the feel of majorcompany.I wantedthe audience tofeel they’re apartof the
magazine.
5. What have you learntabout technologiesfromthe process of constructingthis product?
Alongthe wayof constructingmymagazine product,Ihave learntmanynew thingsacross a
range of software.Firstof all are the new toolsandeffectsthatI have learntonPhotoshop.
Photoshopwasa programthat I was verycomfortable withbeforeconstructingmyproduct
because of whatI had self-taughtmyself howeverasa resultof creatingmyfrontcover and
contentspage I have learnta lotmore about gradienteffectsandcroppingthe background
of photoswithmore efficientlysavingmyself alotof time comparedto how I wouldof
originallydone so. AlthoughI’mfamiliarwithmanyadobe productssuchasPhotoshopand
affecteffects,IhadneverusedAdobe InDesigntherefore thiswasacompletelynew
experience forme andI had tolearneverythingfromscratch.Forexample inInDesignIdid
not knowmuchabout howto create the page spreadformy double page spreadtherefore
we were taughtin lesson.Despite thisIdofeel thatIbecame verycomfortable withthe
productafter the teachinginlesson Bloggerasusedfrequentlyinourpreliminaryproject
and i had neveruseditprior.Howeverthe firstlesson,bloggerbecame prettystraight
forwardand a great tool to displayour productand layit outneatlyinseparate folders. Prezi
was a great tool forpresentingmylocationrecce.The locationrecce wasneededtoexplain
and displayourshotsanddescribe whywe tookthe shotsthere.i have neverusedprezi
before thistime therefore i founditchallengingsometimesbutneverthelesspreziisquite
simple anda greattool for presenting.Preziwasagreat tool forpresenting mylocation
recce.The locationrecce wasneededtoexplainanddisplayourshotsanddescribe whywe
tookthe shotsthere.i have neverusedprezi before thistimethereforei founditchallenging
sometimesbutneverthelessprezi isquitesimple andagreat tool forpresenting. Prezi wasa
great tool forpresentingmylocationrecce.The locationrecce wasneededtoexplainand
displayourshotsand describe whywe tookthe shotsthere.i have neverusedprezi before
thistime therefore i founditchallengingsometimesbutneverthelesspreziisquite simple
and a great tool forpresenting.
6. Looking back at your preliminarytask, what do you feel youhave learnt in the progression
from it to the full product?
Since mypreliminaryIbelievethatIhave learnedmanyvaluable skillsandinformationabout
the conventionsof magazinesandwhythey’re doneandthingsare usedthe wayin which
theyare.I learnthowimportanthouse style isthroughoutamagazine andthat colour
scheme isveryimportantinremaining consistentbecauseitisatheisticallypleasing.Inow
understandthe layoutof mymagazine isessential ingainingattentionwhichIdidnot
considerinmypreliminaryasmuchas youcan see fromthe two.My preliminarylooksvery

4. basicand obviouslystudentcreatedwhere asmyactual magazine productlooksalot neater,
professionalandaestheticallypleasing.Ihave defiantlybecame more confidentwithmyIT
basedskillssince mypreliminarytasks.The actual taskswere a lotmore challengingand
meantthat I had to use a range of new software’sanddevelopnew andexistingskills.
Despite beingamajorHip-Hopfanbefore creatingmyfinal mediaproduct,Ihave defiantly
learnedalot more aboutthe genre’shistory,the artistsandmore.AlongwiththisI have
gaineda lotof knowledge onthe musicindustryasa whole fromdistributorsandmarketing
inthe industry.While doingmypreliminarytasksmyknowledgeof the musicindustrywas
extremelylimitedhoweverIdofeel ithascome a longwaysince this. Anotherthingthatwas
crucial in me learningfromthe preliminarytaskswasmytime management.Withoutgood
time managementinmediastudies,youcandefiantlystruggletherefore youmustefficiently
manage your time while constructingyourprojectand alsouse yourpersonal time because
all your creativitysimple cannotbe done inthe standardsessions.