Media AS Evaluation

MEDIA AS - EVALUATIONBy Gresa Hisenaj

Q1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Identify forms and conventions of a named professional magazine. How does your product use, develop or challenge these forms and conventions?

Front Cover Conventions of Vibe MagazineThis is a good conventional

masthead that focuses across the page in big, bold text in centre alignment. It emphasises on the sub-genre of the magazine of hip-hop and sets the target audience; by the name, style and colours swayed detecting a younger audience.

The main image is aligned in the centre; the eyes from the image of a famous person is focused directly at the reader and is in contact to draw your eyes along the cover lines. The image is placed over the masthead as the audience are assumedly familiar with the magazine and makes it stand out.

The footer is quite conventional in music magazines which is located at the bottom of the magazine cover as an indication of the magazine’s link.

The cover lines in this magazine are cleverly presented in a neat, structured method to present a legible outlook for the readers. They are placed on the edges of the magazine and only have a few fonts as well as colours for effective and conventional purposes.

In some magazines buttons are used to create a eye-catching feature to the audience. It brings out the direct feature and is viewed as a ‘sticker’ for more of an effective and ingenious way to convey their message. This is usually found in music magazines and Vibe has used the conventions to adjust their button on the top right-hand corner to make it stand out.

The main cover line of Vibe’s magazine is usually the biggest and boldest text found to present their issue and is related to the image to suit the purpose. It is presented in a different colour and is positioned in line with the image’s structure mainly to focus their point on the biggest article in their magazine than the rest of their issues.

My Front Cover - DopeThe masthead for my magazine – Dope, was purposely made this way to follow the conventions of hip-hop style expectations and demands. It was placed on the left-hand side and almost half way fitted across the top with bold effective colours; red and black.

The cover lines are in different sizes and fonts as followed by Vibe magazine’s conventions and are separated with spacing for a clear and structured method to represent their articles/ features to make it legible too.

The barcode is an expected element of producing a good, acceptable magazine for the readers and salesperson to purchase their product and submit that this magazine is legally allowed.

The date is shown to inform the buyers of the time the magazine has

been published. In addition the price of the magazine is shown and circled to more of a conventional way to exploit this for a noticeable cause.

The main cover line is the biggest feature and usually the one that stands out most than other cover lines. Like on Vibe’s magazine, the main cover line is positioned on tact by body gesture/language with the main image of the feature. Placed below the main

cover line is a pull-quote where it is extracted from the featured article itself to get part or the biggest headline in the inner section to maintain the buyers attention.

The main image is aligned in the centre of the magazine like Vibe’s to meet the conventions of a good music magazine. The body gesture was essential when taking the photo; eye contact was crucial to grab an interesting outlook and to focus on the readers eye directing where to look at. In the same matter as Vibe’s magazine, Dope also had the image over the masthead for conventional purposes.

How my front cover uses, challenges and develops conventions

I have challenged the conventions for my front cover as I have included a barcode and price button; I wanted to show I could convey more of a suitable magazine that buyers would probably be expected to see.

I have followed the conventions from Vibe’s magazine for my own, as I used basic but bold colours and kept it minimal. I considered this for my masthead, background and font colour.

In addition, I also followed the conventions form Vibe’s magazine of creating a suitable name for my audience ‘Dope’ and ‘Vibe’ both terms used in hip-hop/RnB culture. This sets the theme so the buyers are aware of what they are expected to see from whole aspect of the magazine.

I have used conventions in order to keep at a good music magazine by following what the elements and features are that need to be included when producing a music magazine. This related to the demands from the target audience and what they would prefer them to see in linkage to the culture, background or locality to sell the magazine successfully.

Contents page Conventions of Vibe Magazine

There is one main image here and is taken up most of the page. The colours are quite dark and uses shades for a more effective look.

There are captions to give more detail about the image with considerate font as it is not as relevant information than the other features in a contents page of Vibe magazine.

The featured article page number is located in a unique spot in the orientation of the magazine . It is also a suitable size to ensure the readers it belongs to the image as the feature article.

Vibe’s content page masthead is used in a unique way and the big ‘V’ in the background is reinforcing the audience they are reading one of Vibe’s magazine. It keeps to the house style and it modernised by the font style and layout, by placing it on the right-hand side of the page.

There are two subheadings on Vibe’s content page; ‘Features’ and ‘Fashion’. It is organised in a particular way – like as a list so make it legible to the readers to read and navigate without hassle. It keeps to a good font style and colour is related to the theme in general, with the colours black and grey with a hint of red of monochromic colours.

At the bottom of the page, there is a small

print of the photographers credit and by-line to reinforces their rights.

My Contents page - DopeMy masthead is placed conventionally as it placed on the left-hand side on the top as on the cover for my magazine. This informs the readers that it will maintain information from ‘Dope’.

There are two sections for

my two sub-headings of ‘Features’ and ‘Reviews’ just like on Vibe’s to follow conventions from it.

There are two images in my contents page; both have links to the divided sections from the sub-headings. One of the featured articles doesn’t use a lot of colour and maintains the theme for Dope’s house style too.

There are big featured article page numbers located either above the photographs or below it indicating where to go to locate that specific article. As the images have specific sections from the sub-headings as mentioned, the colours also match to keep with suitable conventions.

As well as in Vibe’s magazine, I

have included a by-line to give credit and as part of their rights to the photographers and is usually positioned against the page or against their images in smaller print than the other fonts used as this is not as relevant piece of information.

There are captions with little detail about the featured articles which is along side with the page numbers to reinforce the message to the readers.

I have challenged the conventions for my contents page as I have included more than one image; by having two images I had decided that it was a good way to portray a good conventional music magazine and especially at my sub-genre of my own magazine.

In addition, I also followed the conventions from Vibe’s magazine of having the captions in link to the featured articles’ page numbers’ placed over the photographs to give the readers an easy guide as to where the information are informed on.

I have followed the conventions from Vibe’s magazine for my own, as I organised the cover-lines in a particular way like as a list so make it legible to the readers to read and navigate without hassle. It keeps to a good font style and colour is related to the theme like Vibe’s magazine did to follow as much of the conventions as possible.

Double page spread Conventions of Vibe Magazine

This is Vibe’s magazine

masthead which they keep in every aspect in their magazine for conventional uses. Aligned at the top corner of the left-hand side of the page.

This is Vibe’s stand first is shown normally before the article has began and acts as the introductory to it first; usually the stand first is larger in font and sometimes in different colour to stand out and easy to pick out to read as a reader.

There is a small

caption here to give a brief detail or summary of the image

There is a footer at the bottom in a small print which is usually found below the article and images on the right-hand corner in magazines. This footer is giving Vibe’s web address as readers would be interested and is a conventional method in doing so.

This section next to the main

image is a pull quote extracted form the copy in the article to show the best feature inside it for a dramatic and effective use.

There is one main image and several other images in the background in black and white monochromic colours whereas the main image uses the colour red moreover. The photographs are positioned in a structured manner, presentation is clear and unique.

In between the vast amounts of copy of the

article, there is a gutter; the spacing in between two columns of the copy. This is important to keep as it makes the article easier to read and makes it look presentable.

My Double page spread - DopeThis is my

masthead which I have continuously used throughout the whole aspect of my magazine. It has been placed on the top right-hand corner and been related with the house style.

The font used in the article seen in the copy is suitable for the house style and easy to read.

Drop-cap

Title

Header /Date

The pull-quote originates from the article read on the copy. This is usually what the featured characters’ statements are which could make an impact on the readers i.e. motivational. It is on a blue boxed surrounding to make it stand out.

Gutter

This is a box-out where it gives more available information about the character from the featured article to catch the readers attention.

Footer The main image is placed in the centre of the double page spread and is large enough to view. Same photograph as seen on the cover.

The by –line should be credited to the photographs as apart of their rights.

How my double page spread uses, challenges and develops conventions

I have challenged the conventions for my double page spread as I have included more elements such as ‘Drop caps’, ‘Header’, ‘Box-out’ and ‘Title’. This includes more so it relates to the conventions of a good magazine double page spread.

In addition, I also followed the conventions from Vibe’s magazine of having only one main image as I thought that this focuses more on the article and is self-explanatory with no need of caption for it.

I have followed the conventions from Vibe’s magazine for my own, as I used some of the conventions such as having a pull-quote and gutter, as well as a main image which would summarise to be a good presentation of a double page spread.

Q2) How does your media product represent particular social groups?

What is a representation? What social groups are you targeting? What representations do your photographs construct? What representations does your textual content construct? What representations does your design construct?

Representation is the way in which objects are

expressed, stated or acted based on the aspects of ‘’reality’ for instance images of people, places or objects. In addition, how our text could be visually seen such as videos, affects the way it is represented.

The social class I aimed my product at was between the ages of 16 to 25 where we diverse the age group from teenagers as I find this is suitable for our sub-genre and have given a range from social occupational class from C1 to E, like working/middle class.

I had to take into consideration the way in which I represented my product to refer back to ‘rebellious’ ways in how my model was posing- having his hands holding his belt and portraying the ‘gangster’ sort of look to maintain the ‘coolness’ about the whole aspect.

The representation of my photographs construct many conventions and followed some rules:• Mise-en-scene ( French for ‘put in place’) which consists on

the location of the setting – to use a naturalistic background to relate to the music magazine

• Layers – fewer layers, simple and minimal • Cover design – colour of clothes; objects/props (which

signifies the aspect and reinforces the message); gestures, body language associated with it

• Costume, hair and make-up – which defines people culturally • Eye Contact – it creates focus and scans the image

The representation of my article copy construct many useful outcomes into researching carefully about the article – the biography on Eminem and submitting proper use of language for the audience.

The representation of my design construct many features like the interpretation of colour and image – aimed for both male and female differences and kept in a multi purpose to have a wider selection of audienceExtracted from article

Cover magazine

Q3) What kind of media institution might distribute your media product

and why?

Who distributes magazines? Who produced your case-study magazine? How important is content? How important is profit?

There are hundreds of publishing companies all over the world; I researched that ’Time Inc.’ company would be the best distributor for my magazine as these are the biggest publishers who are based on the genre of hip/hip rap. This company mainly publishes in the USA that also advertises through sources such as the internet, radio and TV which could help me to distribute my magazine in a similar way.

I would start to distribute my magazine locally then expand nationally in the UK and hopefully start expanding my distribution like Vibe magazine do. They employed ‘Time Warner’ to convey their entertainment in their industry to involve more networks like in HD television and in high-speed internet, who would be published by ‘IPC Media’. IPC Media is the parent company of Time Inc. They are based in the UK which would be possible for me to distribute my magazine in this way who sell consumer magazines and comics.

My magazine would be likely to be sold in music and book markets or newsagents such as ‘HMV’ and ‘WHSmith’ where they sell most magazines in this field. Profit is important as I want to make as much sales as possible as IPC Media sells over 300 magazines, this would be beneficial to distribute my magazine.

Q4) Who would be the audience for your media product?

What is the audience for your magazine? What do they look like? What are their aspirations and how does your magazine address these? What are their demographics?

My audience for my Dope magazine would be aimed at both male and females demographic aged 16-25 where we diverse the age group from teenagers who like to listen to hip-hop/RnB as I find this is suitable for our sub-genre and have given a range from social occupational class from C1 to E, like working/middle class.

Their aspirations could be that they would want to see role models in the magazine who aspire them or either read/see about the latest music, fashion etc. The magazine would be published in main cities in the U.K, like London, Birmingham, Manchester, Nottingham, Bristol, Liverpool and Glasgow.

The audience would probably shop in popular high street markets such as and presenting more of a casual look than the ‘indie’ type for instance. They can be identified for their ‘hoodies’ and ‘street style’ clothing as they sometimes exploit their clothing in their own unique way to show individuality but kept in the same stereo-typing existence.

The ethnicity would range from Black (Caribbean) to Caucasian. My audience could possibly be able to understand the language I used – not too formal with some uses of slang for a suitable convention of this type of genre.

Audience Profile

Questionnaire • What age range do you fall into? 15-18 19-21 22-25 26+ • What is your gender? (Please circle) Male/Female • What genre of music do you prefer? Hip-Hop/Dubstep/Rap/Rock/Indie/Other • What is your occupational status? Student/Unemployed/Employed • How often would you like the magazine to be published? Weekly/Fortnightly/Monthly/Yearly • How much would you be willing to pay for a magazine? £1.50-£2/£2.50-£3/£3.50-£4/£4+ • What kind of features would you like to read in a magazine? Interviews/Biographies/Gig Reviews/Album Reviews/Feature Articles/Other • Which of the magazine covers is your favourite and why? Vibe Magazine/Kerrang! Magazine/NME Magazine/Q Magazine/MOJO Magazine/Mixmag Magazine

To find out who our audience would be As a group we have conducted a questionnaire as a primary research source to find out what type of magazine to make. We included questions such as ‘What genre of music do you prefer?’ and ‘How much would you be willing to pay for a magazine?’. This would determine the genre of the music magazine we are going to produce and also know what our target audience would be – an indication to create our music magazine.

Q5) How did you attract/address your audience?

What specific techniques did you use? How did you manipulate representations? How did you select content?

I had attracted and addressed my audience by referring back to my audience profile where they submitted their answers of what type of music they listen to and what they prefer to see in a magazine cover. Dope magazine is influenced by the hip-hop/RnB culture and the majority of the audience answered this as their preferred type of genre.

As I targeted this at both genders of the audience and basically around teenagers, my magazine had a lot of influences from existing magazines such as. Vibe Magazine and Hip-Hop Magazine. These were the most selling magazines so I researched the contents to see what ideas I could interpret into my own for good conventions in a music magazine based on the genre.

I have used a well known music artist for the cover of my magazine with careful consideration of how he had posed and what he wore and how the background looked like. I made the cover lines in different font sizes and addressed the audience in ‘slang;’ terms which they would be familiar with. They would be comfortable reading and looking at the magazine in this way as this is what the hip-hop/RnB culture and industry portrays.

Q6) What have you learnt about technologies from the process of

constructing this product?

What ranges of technologies are available? What hardware and what software is available? How accessible are they? How difficult/easy are they to use?

The were a small range of media available, such as using professional cameras in order to take the photos which I had to take out of college. I used a DSLR camera, Nikon(pictured on the right) which I hired in the media department where they had quite a lot available to take out with consent from my teacher. I knew the components and knew where they are places arranged in the camera such as ‘camera lens’ and ‘battery’. At first I found it difficult to use but progressed after more use of the hardware of more practise. I took my photographs well and considered lighting of background in advance.

When I had finished taking my photographs I had to use a software the whole class had to use to upload all their work they done on a blog. We used ‘Word press’ as this technology was accessible on the internet and we chose our URL to create our blog. I found the website quite easy to use as it was very detailed and helpful to navigate around. Making categories and sub-categories were the only problems I encountered when processing the work on my blog.

When we had to edit our photographs and make our cover, contents page and double page spread we had to use two suitable software's – Adobe InDesign and Adobe Photoshop. Photoshop mainly focuses on changing the appearance of the images whereas InDesign relates more to the whole aspect of inserting layout, text and designs. They were very accessible and quite easy to use as found on the college computers where I had done most of my work as I don’t have these software's downloaded at home. I had difficulties with some of their functions but I managed to complete my work from past experience with these software’s.

Q7) Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt

in the progression from it to the full product?

What skills have you learned? What skills have you developed? What have you learned about planning? What have you learned about manipulation of representations?

The photograph I took

After edited

The final magazine cover I created

When I first was set to complete a magazine for Stanmore college, I wasn’t sure what had to be included and what the conventions were. After being told I had to take several photos of one of my classmate’s I had to consider obligations to produce a good student magazine cover. Later in editing format in Adobe Photoshop, I had to adjust the photo and then use a software called InDesign to insert cover lines, the masthead, symbols, colour, effects etc. I then made a blog on Wordpress, and uploaded all my work giving evidence to show my work. Below shows how I took the photo and created the final magazine cover:

I have developed some skills such as using more of the correct terminology when using suitable software's i.e. when creating magazine covers and contents page like ‘masthead’ and ‘cover lines’. I have interpreted these terms into my work and related to them in many ways. I have also developed a skill to work in a group to manage the name of the magazine and discuss matters an share ideas. We agreed on the target audience-age, gender etc.

I have learnt how to use two main/useful and related software's; Adobe Photoshop and Adobe InDesign. I have found many useful tools that I encountered and helped me to edit my presentation of work in advance. Although I had never used these two programs before, after the classwork set and preparation , I feel much more comfortable using InDesign and Photoshop and have learned many useful skills to take in for future references.

When planning my work I had all my ideas down so I found this was easier to manipulate my later work for later editing. Planning is a guide as it helps to manipulate anything for improvements or changes which would encourage me to do better and increase my creativity and imagination levels to come up with unique and relative ideas such as coming up with the name ‘StaNews’.

Beginning End Result