Evaluation

In what ways does your media product, use, develop or challenge forms + conventions of media product?

• I researched on various types of music magazines to analyse the conventions which are similar and those which are different. I learned that all magazines have to follow some significant factors which enable the consumers of this product to be aware of some important information. This is necessary for the consumer, these factors consist of for example the title, bar code, issue date, price, an image of a popular artist or band which may intrigue an individual to buy the magazine and headings to show what is inside the magazine.

• I challenged some conventions in my magazine and others I kept the same. In this case I challenged the title, most magazines tend to insert there title at the top however in my magazine the title is on the bottom just beneath the image of the artist. The purpose of this was to spread out the information provided to show what is inside the magazine around the front cover. This layout gives me the opportunity to write more information as I noticed that when I look to buy a magazine I look for a story I am interested in and the more stories you present the more chance the consumer will find something to make them want to buy the magazine. It is not always the case that the main story, which is usually about the artist on the front cover is appealing to all consumers. I could have used layers on adobe photoshop better to have the image over lapping the title but I wanted both the image of the artist and the magazine title to be clear so I put it just beneath her head as it possible a new customer who does not always purchase this magazine can see what it is entitled, if the artist blocked the title the consumer wouldn’t be aware of the magazines name.

• An important factor in all magazines is the price, bare code and issue date. In some magazines the price is fairly large and in others small, I edited my front cover to show the price as small as possible whilst keeping it visible. I noticed that when I look for a magazine and the price is in large print, if its above a certain price I would not even give the magazine a chance. I wanted to to make sure it is the last factor the consumer looks for, once the magazine has already grabbed the consumers attention hopefully there is no turning back.

Comparing two Grime magazine front covers to my media product.

Title is blocked by artist, a new customerwould not be aware of its name.

Price, issue date and bar code kept the same at the bottom corner.

Magazine title is at the bottom so it isnot over the image of the artist or underIt so the title is clear for all customers.

More bold headings used similar to my magazine as compared tothe other it also contains more information.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

• In “social groups” this means to share the same ideas and beliefs, this is also the case in music such as grime. Grime is not only a musical genre but it is also a cultural background, it has originated its own fashion trends, language and many other forms of media.

• My media product is a grime magazine which targets mainly social groups of the lower/middle class as compared to upper. This type of genre would represent the majority of people growing up in a poor environment and living under similar circumstances. This is because the music is similar to poetry, it does not just require a singing voice but it is the UK version of Hip-Hop which means to rap. The purpose of this music is actually given away in the title, grime. This means dirt or unclean similar to most artists lifestyles in the grime industry which use this genre to relate to there unclean lives, which is why mostly lower or middle class can understand it’s meanings as compared to the wealthy who wouldn’t be aware of this background because they would have been well educated.

The grime industry is dominated by the black community and males are also more established in the musical genre than women despite there being some promising female grime musicians. My media product will target strong black males living violent lives due to there poor background, they understand the language and context used more than an average person.

It will also target women which also believe in there own struggles and life journeys as It is not only males which have been brought up in this background, however it is more likely for a female to rap about different struggles to a male, but nevertheless both types of sex will be able to relate to this music.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product + why?

• It is important for institutions to distribute products where they are likely to be purchased or they would not be selling well. Institutions such as HMV would distribute my music magazine as HMV is a music shop. It sells all types of musical genres so if a consumer would travel to HMV with the intention of buying a Grime CD they may notice a grime magazine and be interested. This would make sense as people in HMV will tend to have an interest in music so it would only be logical to have a separate section for music magazines. This allows all types of music products to co-operate and HMV will make bigger sales, this is a classic case of synergy used.

Another institution which could distribute my media product is a music concert. This is an intelligent place to distribute music magazines as people have gone to see music in concert so they may also want to buy a music magazine, perhaps an issue which has information on the concert you went to see to keep as memorabilia and it will hold sentimental value. It is important however to sell the correct genre dependant on the concert, for example if you have gone to concert to watch a grime artist there is a higher possibility of the majority of the crowd purchasing a grime magazine as compared to a magazine on classical music.

The magazine gives somedetail in smaller print in relation to the concert.

Bold heading to show consumersthis issue talksabout Lil’ Wayne’s concert tour.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

• The audience for my media product varies from the age group of 12-30. This is likely to appeal to a younger age group growing up to become adults, it is possible that by the age of 30 people live different lifestyles and may not be able to relate to the music as much as the growing youth due to them becoming wiser. However my product is specific, as the genre may have music with less explicit content for all ages to listen to and others which is specified for the age of 18 and above as it may refer to sex, drugs and violence. \

• This product will target women more than an average grime magazine as the genre is male dominated, it is rare for a female to be on a front cover.

How did you attract/address your audience?

• I have tried to attract as many different types of audiences to my media product as possible. This is a male dominated genre so a male audience would already be present and they would be interested in a new female artist, however as this is a female grime artist this will also inspire a female audience to be attracted to the magazine more than compared to before. A female is more likely to attract males because of her beauty and in fact excite young girls who would consider the artist as there idol, they may want to grow up to be like her. An older age group can enjoy this product to from an adult perspective of listening to lyrics which symbolize a grown ups life and the appearance of the female would also play a major factor. My product will now target not only males but females of a broad age group.

• I focused on the front cover to provide a good blend of colours to represent a female. I used lighter colours and brighter props such as the pink wig to make a fashion statement for women. The text surrounding the artist is also lighter colours yet bold and if you compare a grime magazine with a female on the front cover compared to a male, you will notice a male has darker colours and the images and text show more aggression and make a statement.

Clothing shows youngteen male audience.

Young females whoare inspired.

Older Females.

Clothing showsmid 20’s male.

This shows a good mixture of audiences for my magazine and it is extremely dependant on the content in the music. A female is less likely to produce explicit content compared to a male so the fan base can increase from a younger crowd of 12 to 40. The largest fan bases in the world currently are from women, example Beyonce and Taylor Swift!

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

I learned how to use adobe photoshop to a a high standard. I was at first unable to grasp the idea of layers which was the most important factor in photoshop and would edit my work on one layer. This defeated the purpose of photoshop and I found it extremely difficult to re-arrange and move my items, this made the the software no different to paint orMicrosoft word. Eventually I grasped the concept of layers and now I am able to use them in all of my construction. This was most necessary on my front cover with the writing overlapping the images, this was especially hard in removing the white off the bar code, as in some magazines the white background is not on there. I also used the knowledge I gained cropping images without loosing pixilation when transforming them. I am now familiar with all of the tools in photoshop such as the magic wand which was one of my favourites. I am now comfortable with the use of adobe photoshop and am happy with the progress from the first lesson until now, I have made a massive improvement and this can be seen from my preliminary task when compared to the final.

I also learned how to use a online presentation called prezi. This is an online and a much more animatedversion of powerpoint. Before media class I had never heard about Prezi and I used to do all presentationsfor my other AS Level subjects on powerpoint. However ever since I started learning prezi I have began to use this instead. Initially it was a bit tricky to get used to, especially the use of paths and how to make the prezi focuson a specific section. I grasped the scrolling on it quite easily but I was facing minor technical difficulties suchas putting text in line and spreading out the information in a way that was easy to read when you zoom in.

However I have overcome those difficulties since the initial time I used prezi and now have prepared a complexPrezi in the planning section. We used prezi to analyse two magazine cover, contents and double page spread.The magazines were NME and Kerrang.

Looking at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full

product?

• If I compare my preliminary task to my final media product there is a significant difference between the two in all aspects. I have progressed my knowledge in all fields in Adobe photoshop since my preliminary task. In my preliminary task I used simple cropping of images and a black background. The images I cropped were unclear and the title was placed around a border to prevent layers. My whole front cover and contents page was completed on one layer and this showed my in-experience in using layers, I was un-confident and chose not add it at all. In my final product however my confidence in editing and using photoshop increased massively. I am now able to use layers to a professional level and feel confident in cropping images clearly. I am able to transform images perfectly without loosing any pixilation and can know where to look for every tool in photoshop such as the magic wand, when I need it. The use of layers in my final product and the use of colour has improved a lot more. I was able to overlap my title over the image of the artist, include the bar code and all headlines without hassle. The conventions required were also included which were not included in my preliminary task such as the bar code, price and issue number. I also became more efficient with the use of four different camera angles and now it was re-sized and edited more clearly than the previous images. I became so confident that I even decided to use my imagination to create eye catching items with simple tools. I made a text box with a white air brush and made a gallery of pictures on a movie film using outlines and a paint brush. Re-sizing the image and inserting it was the hard part but I am able to do it easier now. The biggest issue I faced with photoshop was each task was taking longer than it needed to and I realise this now, ever since I have become used to the software I am able to complete tasks much quicker compared to how long it would take me when I was new to photoshop and I am completely satisfied with my progression from my preliminary to my final end result.