Evaluation

Evaluation: Question 1 – In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

My media product follows some typical conventions of its type. From my radial analysis’, I found some generic media conventions that music magazines follow. Conventions of a typical music magazine that I have followed for the front cover are using one main image for a front cover, putting a list of artists on the page, date and issue, website, barcode, inserting the text around the artist and the artist on the left hand side facing the right. My magazine name ‘Urban Weekly’ seems like it could be a typical name for a rap magazine, the magazine Hip Hop Weekly gave me the idea of ‘Urban Weekly,’ except I feel the word urban is less obvious and relates to clothing and self image, which is what rap/hip hop artists care heavily about. From the front covers I have looked at, all seem to have a main image of the artist posing, whereas I decided to show photographs of the artist in performance. This gives the target market an insight to what the artist looks like in performance.

List of artists names featured in magazine at the top of the page, similar to Vibe magazineTagline The official magazine gives

the title a completed feel, used in a lot of magazines.

Artist facing the right, looks tactically placed for ease of vision for audience.

Issue date and website at bar of the bottom of the page

Text is placed around the artist, looks natural

My contents page has followed some conventions, but at the same time challenged some conventions of music magazines. Most hip hop magazines tend to have a very simple contents page, such as the magazine ‘XXL’ that I analysed which didn’t even include the word ‘contents.’ I decided to include ‘contents’ to label the page. The magazine Hip Hop Weekly has a completely opposite approach to XXL, they decided to cram their contents page with stories and images, whereas XXL stretched an image to the whole page with a quote from the artist. I decided to base my contents page around the middle of these two, so there was a fair amount of information, a large image but the page isn’t crammed. The magazine Vibe present their contents pages as very abstract with the use of the word contents. I decided to adopt this convention but by using the letters U and W to stand for Urban Weekly by enlarging the letters and putting them in the background, I thought this added a sense of abstractness.

Evaluation: Question 1 – In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

My magazine also follows typical media conventions through my double page spread, such as my article starting in a large letter compared to the rest of the words. This is common in magazines and newspapers and I feel this gives my magazine a professional feel. I also displayed a large quotation from my artist on to the page, using large quote marks to make sure my artists opinion is noticed. My photograph is an image of my artist mid-performance, I decided to use him for the left side of the page as the readers will see this first, they will then look to the other side of the page to read the article. My double page spread looks abstract like typical pages of this type, this is because the quote, title and photo all lead onto the next page; I think this is needed in a double page spread to maintain a sense of individuality.

Evaluation: Question 2 – How does your media product represent particular social group?

Media represents particular social groups in many ways. For example: magazines can represent social groups through using colour, fonts, language, camera-work, mise en scene, editing and advertisements. I took these into account when creating my magazine so I can represent the

particular social group

My target magazine is aimed for male and females aged 16-25, this is a fairly wide target audience but I feel many people of all ages listen to rap and grime. The

photograph on my front cover shows my artist in mid-performance, the artist doesn’t appear to be pulling any type of facial expression, the artist is wearing a hat, and a ‘Nike’ t-shirt. This is a typical look for an artist of this genre, additionally this clothing choice is common in the fans of rap/grime. The image on my contents page shows

‘Hostyle Flow’ pulling a serious facial expression, this presents him as ‘hard’’ which is a look which grime artists tend to go for, this is because they care a lot about

reputation. This shot is a low angle which presents the artist as dominant. The photograph on my double page spread is a close up of my artist, the lights in the

background resemble stars, which represents hope; my whole article is about how anyone can make it in the grime scene, therefore my image links to the content of my

article. The advertisements I used for my magazine relate to music , clothing, this relates to my title ‘Urban Weekly’; I thought the word urban links to clothing and self

image, which is what the fanatics of this genre aswell as the artists care about. I decided to use a graffiti type font for the title, it is common that graffiti artists also like

the genre of this magazine, as it is cool and futuristic.

Overall, I would say my magazine doesn’t present my social group as really positive, although I doubt their would be a negative view from any outsiders of this music. Everyone has their own opinions of tastes of music and magazines, therefore people

cannot judge from something which is not in their interest. Additionally, grime artists present themselves as notorious, rebellious and hard. This is the image they try to look, therefore the readers of my magazine will aspire to be like the artist,

therefore will share the same views and try to look the same. This supports Hartley’s theory of aspiration, readers will aspire to be like the celebrity as a result of their interest.

Evaluation: Question 3 – What kind of media institution might distribute your product and why?

A magazine that would distribute my magazine may be Worldwide magazine distribution ltd (WWM) They distribute magazines such as Q, NME and ArtRocker. Although these magazines are alternative rock; I think that they could still distribute

a magazine of this type as music is the sole subject of my magazine. “The core business for WWMD is the supply of British published magazines to niche and

specialist retailers here in the UK, and globally in all four corners of the world.” The fact that this company is British plays a massive part as to why I think this institution would distribute my product, as the grime genre is famously British and originated from Britain; everyone included in my magazine is British. Therefore using a British

institution company would give my magazine an original feel. This distributing company distribute magazines to high-street shop Whsmith, Whsmith sell a wide range of products from magazines to stationery, therefore if my magazine was at

high-street shops; my magazine would gain more popularity.

Another institution that may distribute my magazine are COMAG; “As the largest and most influential third party

magazine distributor, we represent high profile market leading titles and global brands as well as 

niche magazines and specialist publications, with frequencies ranging from time-sensitive weeklies to annuals. “ This means

that my magazine would have a chance on Britain's hard market as they are the most influential third party magazine distributor, therefore small time magazine makers have a chance to profit in

the sector.

I only chose British distribution companies as my product is only targeted at Britons as I think the content and artists features in my magazine wouldn’t appeal to anyone outside of Britain. There maybe a few outliers of this statement but it wouldn’t be significant enough to distribute magazines globally. Grime is originated in Britain, the language that the artists use; are mostly

only understood by Britons.

Evaluation: Question 4 – Who would be the audience of your media product?

The audience of my magazine are Britons both male and female aged 16-25. This is a wide age range but I feel that this genre can be transferred to all ages. But specifically age 16-25. I chose this target market because this is the rough age of listeners of grime. Although younger people also listen to this type of music, they tend to listen to whatever is ‘in’. At the age of 16 and above the individual can identify what their favourite genre with and stick with it, as my magazine features real rap/grime. According to Burtons theory, my magazine will be targeted through age and nationality. As said before in my evaluation, Grime is a British genre which takes British understanding through words aka ‘bars’ which may not be understood by other cultures. I also think that the United States would not have any real interest in my magazine, as artists who I don’t feature in mine such a Lil Wayne, Drake, Eminem are all American. My magazine is specifically British so Americans and other cultures would not show interest.

The target audience of my magazine are also grouped through media, such as social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. Grime artists are heavy users of social networking, as a starting out artist in this day and age they may use social networking to start getting known. Enter competitions through social networking sites etc. I highlighted this on my double page spread which contains an article about social networking. My target market will also be grouped through their choice of music. Burtons theory is easily transferrable to my magazine.

Hartley expands on Burtons theory and explains that media audiences are grouped through their aspirations. Rap/Grime is a genre of music which is replicated by a lot of people. Therefore my use of only including upcoming artists would give my readers inspiration on becoming a grime artist.

Richard Dyars Utopian solutions says that people will consume media products to take place for the inadequacies in their own life. So a famous artist would give the reader an idea of how it is to be them. This applies to my magazine as someone who may not be skilled In creating music will still follow someone who can.

Evaluation: Question 5 – How did you attract/address your audience?

I addressed my audience who primary and secondary research. Primary research that I conducted was a questionnaire which I asked 15 in the between the age of 16-25. I also conducted an interview with someone from my target market,

who expressed opinions of how a magazine of my type should be. My secondary research was analysing current products on the market who focused on rap/grime. I responded to my target audiences opinions by influencing their

words with the design of my magazine; such as the question: “What type of advertisements would you expect to see in a music magazine?” From the question results I found that jewellery and music products adverts were most expected. I responded to this by including a Rolex advert and a Dr Dre beats competition in my magazine. Another way I listened to my target market was by issuing a weekly magazine, as this was the most common time period where my target market

would buy a magazine. From my audience research, I found that Vibe magazine was the most liked magazine out of Vibe, XXL and Hip Hop Weekly. Therefore I adopted some of Vibe magazines features, such as one main image for the front cover, a lists of artists names and an unnatural background. I also decided not to use a subscription and adopted

the ‘one off’ buying method, this was as a result of a question from my questionnaire. My secondary research was gathered from popular magazines of the same genre, with a target audience that has a similar age range to mine. From

the magazines on the market, I generated some typical media conventions which I may or may not follow. Some conventions which I followed were: one main image for front cover, a list of artists names, issue number and website,

an abstract double page spread and the use of ‘features’ for contents page.

I addressed my target audience through the design of my magazine. Such as the colour scheme I used, which was red, navy, grey and black. Red is commonly used in magazines of

this type as it represents danger. The font of my magazine was futuristic, which reflects the genre of grime which grows with

technology. I also addressed my audience through my photographs of the artist, who fits in the same age range as my

target audience, which would give them inspiration to start making their own music. 16-25 year olds like staying current on

what's in and what's not. Therefore I included adverts on self image and I also made some of my stories on what's happening

and less of what has happened.

Evaluation: Question 6 – What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

In the whole process of creating my magazine, I have learnt different technologies to help me display my work. Using Blogger was the first time I’ve made a blog of any sort. I think blogs are a vey good way to express opinions and show work, they allow the user to stay updated. I also used the website ‘slideshare’ to upload any PowerPoint presentations or word documents to my blog.

I also used Youtube to upload some of my work, such as the interview and 48 hours of media consumption. Youtube allows me to use an embed code to display my video onto my blog. The embed code is something I

have never used before until my blog.

Another website I used for my blog was Prezi, prezi is a website which is easy to sign up, and very simple to make slideshows with very creative transitions. Prezi allowed me to create and present my work in a different way. Using Prezi for my blog was the first time using it.

I created my practical production with Macromedia Fireworks, most people tend to go for Photoshop, but I stuck with what I knew on this one. I did learn a little on Photoshop, such as making a reflection underneath of a word which gives off an abstract effect. I also discovered some features of fireworks which I wasn’t aware of

before, such as fading an image.

I took my photographs with a Canon camera, this was effective as it allowed me to capture high definition photos which would give me a higher mark of quality for my magazine. When using this

camera I learnt to use focusing to create a depth of field. I also learnt about camera angles and which were effective.

From the beginning of the creation of my product, I was misinformed of all the technologies that could help me, this reflects my preliminary task, which was very basic. I would say I have

learnt a lot since the beginning of my coursework.

Evaluation: Question 7 – Looking back at your preliminary, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it your full product?

I feel I have progressed since my preliminary task, my preliminary was very basic and I didn’t take my target audience into account. The front cover of my preliminary looked very basic, bland and unprofessional. I used

Microsoft word for my preliminary, this was a bad choice as it didn’t allow me blend colours and add any effects to my images or fonts.

The front cover from my preliminary contained no colour matching, the font was very basic and it feels like it was more of a newsletter then a magazine. The page was very spacious and the price tag was like something you would expect to see in a newspaper. The image for my front cover contained no effective media features, nothing was used to present any social groups in a particular way. My final front cover is a much more developed version of my preliminary. I have used editing software to give my images effects, my experimenting with the software. Since my preliminary I have used glows, shadows and fading effects. I also feel that my front cover contains the perfect amount of content, compared to my preliminary which had minimal stories. I also developed photography skills by capturing images of my artist in ways to

present him in certain ways, such as a low angle shot to represent my artist as hard and rebellious.

My contents page from my preliminary was also very basic, it looked like it was from a newsletter. The way the stories were presented was very unimaginative, there was no real use of individuality and abstractness. However, my final contents page uses an individual way to present the stories. The ‘main features’ were spread throughout the whole page in a way where they shaped around the photograph of the artist.

I wasn’t instructed to create a preliminary task for my double page spread, but if I did; I’m sure my final double page spread would be a far improved version. I have learnt how to use professional editing software's such as

Adobe Photoshop and Macromedia fireworks, on these I learnt to add a effects to photos such as fading , hue, brightness, shadows and glows. I also learnt about media technologies. I feel I have learnt a lot from my

magazine.