Evaluation Question Seven

Looking back at your preliminary task (the school magazine task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

When looking back at my Preliminary and main tasks, I can clearly see that my skills have vastly improved. Comparing my construction techniques and time management skills between each task I believe I have produced a far more professional product now, as to the preliminary task I completed at the start of the course.

Front Cover
When comparing both covers I can clearly see that my skills with Photoshop have majorly improved. I believe the main improvement has been how I chose the backgrounds for each. The preliminary cover I simply sat a friend down in the school library, and took a photo without thinking. Where as when taking photos for my main task I found it took a lot longer, I see this as a positive as it shows I thought about the overall image, and not just the person in the photo. The photo for the main task was taken in a room in my house, I thought carefully as I wanted a plainand smooth background, because I thought ahead as placing text on a plain background is far easier than having a natural background. I decided to use the plain background as on the Preliminary I had trouble placing text on it as I could not find a bold enough colour. The layouts of each cover are very different, I believe I have improved as mainly the preliminary is very bare, and actually looks unfinished. This compares to my main cover as I tried to fill as much blank space as possible, this therefore makes the cover look more professional and gives more information to the reader, which will hopefully entice them to buy it. When planning my main task I also chose a colour theme before even taking photos, this saved me a lot of time as when I was doing the preliminary I spent a large amount of time thinking of colours that would suit the background. I believe I have learnt to manage time more effectively, as well as creating a more detailed plan before starting work which helps in the long run of the project.

Contents
When comparing the contents pages I think I have improved in many areas. I believe the layout of my main task shows how I learnt to think more on the overall image of the page, this can be seen by fonts, colours and the actual layout of the text and pictures. At the time when creating the preliminary I did not have that much knowledge of Photoshop and this shows by the contents page. The colours I chose to use on the main match the front cover, which keeps a house style. Where as the preliminary contents has similar colours to the cover, but the background is totally different, I have learnt that to keep a consistent style you need to use similar colours for the text and background. The font used on the preliminary is hard to read from a distance, when starting my main task contents I wanted to use a simple font, because if the reader struggles to read it they may just ignore the content on the page. I also used the same font from the cover to the contents which was 'Jailbird Jenna', I used different fonts in the preliminary and now I can see that using the same font with another simple font looks much more effective.

When adding photos tothe preliminary I can see that I stretched the one on the right, without considering how it looks distorted. When adding photos to the main task I made sure that when re-sizing the pictures they looked original, and not overly stretched.

The main improvement I think is my layout, as the preliminary is purely three columns with text and photos. As I became more confident with Photoshop I could produce a more professional contents for my main task. I decided to use one column, and then a double column for the rest of the page, this was because I wanted to have a different contents to others, as they mainly use single columns. I also think that creating the boxes around each area on the main task is an improvement, as it helps the reader clearly see each section. I also think that I have managed the space available more effectively, looking at the preliminary I have got more text on the page, but I think it still looks bare, mainly because I did not know how to add the boxes around text. Once I added them to the main I learnt that using the boxes around text and titles of each column the page looks more filled, and therefore more like a music magazine.

Language

Another thing I learnt from doing my preliminary and main task was how to address my audience. I had to use different types of language for both as the school magazine is aimed at students, between the ages of 11 and 18. Where as my music magazine is aimed at males aged 15 to 25, therefore each magazine needs different types of language to entice the audience. For the school magazine I wanted to use language that will appeal to the younger audience, for example phrases like 'Top Revision Tips' and 'Maths Trouble?'. I used these as it is a school magazine, and has to have relevant content for the target audience. For my main task, I decided to use more relaxed language as the target audience is different to a school magazine. I decided to use words like 'Subscribe' and 'Exclusive', this is because for the music magazine you want to persuade people to buy it, by showing it has information that others do not have. I think a music magazine needs more persuasive language as it has a wider target market than a school magazine, as wellas different age groups who favour different types of language used.

Overall my knowledge and skills using Photoshop and Indesign have vastly improved. Before the course I had never used either program, but now I feel confident that if I could re-do my preliminary task it could be at a much higher standard like my main task. But I am happy with my preliminary task how it was because it taught me how to produce a much more professional product.

Evaluation Question Six

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

During the process of creating my magazine I have learnt more technology skills and improved my existing knowledge. This has been due to using new hardware and software, such as a digital camera, Apple iMac, Adobe Photoshop and Indesign.

I began by learning to use my camera properly, this may seem daft as it is simple to take a photo. However, I learnt to focus in on specific objects, use face detection and generally learnt to take clearer photos. The camera I used was a Hitachi HDC-1087E, I believe this camera was suitable for my project as it is digital. Using a digital camera is faster and easier to use as you can delete photos on the spot, and import photos to the computer relatively simply using an SD card. Using this camera also allowed me to take black and white photos, which was part of my plan, this saved me time editing the photo to black and white on Photoshop as it was already done. Looking back I believe my skills of using a camera have vastly improved, as since the start of my magazine I have learnt to think about the scenary and light before taking a photo, as well as angles of the shot.



The second piece of hardware I learnt to use was an Apple eMac computer. I had to start from scratch when using this computer as at home I use a Dell with Windows 7, which is different to the eMac. Using the eMac was however simple as it is similar to a Windows computer, therefore I broadened my knowledge instead of learning everything new. When I first started using the eMac I was slightly hesitant as it was unfamiliar, but as the course went on I feel I adapted to it well. I believe the eMac was suitable to use as it is fast to use the internet and multiple programs like Photoshop and Indesign, which was helpful as it allowed me to complete work faster than it would be using the Windows 7 at home, which I believe is slower than the eMac.


The software I used whilst creating my magazine was the main technology that I improved my knowledge and skills with. This is because I had to learn how to use programs I had never used, these include Adobe photoshop, Adobe Indesign and Grab. There were some programs that I knew how to use such as Microsoft Word and Firefox Internet Browser, this helped as it reduced the amount of new software I had to adapt to. I also had to use blogger for the first time, which took some getting used to as I had never used a blog, however I feel comfortable using it now as I can add photos, text, slideshows, gadgets and change the design. At the start of the course I would have had very little if not no knowledge of doing this, but now I realise that using Blogger to record coursework is much more efficent and easy to do than written work.

Photoshop

Using the program Adobe Photoshop was essential for me to create my magazine. This is because it allowed me to edit photos, add text, insert lines and shapes and also add effects like drop shadows and filters. I had to use Photoshop when creating my front cover and contents page, therefore I had to become familiar with it quickly. I believe I did as creating my cover and contents was a matter of following my plan, and then editing text and photos to my desire. I learnt to use such tools like: clone tool, lasso tool, magic wand tool/quick selection and inserting text. When adding text that also allowed me to add more effects, like the drop shadow, stroke and inner/outer glow, these effects were helpful as they enabled me to give my cover a more professional look. I also used the clone tool, this was to remove a reflection in the sun glasses, the clone tool basically copies a selected area, and covers another area with the selected area. The photo on the right shows how the clone tool removed the reflection in the glasses.

Indesign

The software Indesign took me a while to understand fully, but once I had got to grips with the program I could create my double page spread. Indesign is mostly used for large amounts of text, unlike Photoshop which is used for image manipulation. Using this software allowed me to add a photo, and then insert my interview with ease, as I effectively moved the text straight into the double page. Indesign was also effective as it gave my double page more professionalism, as it had columns that made the text look more organised. It also allowed me to 'place' a title I created for the interview on Photoshop straight into it, this allowed me to have a bold title with effects on the page, as editing text on Indesign is not as effective as Photoshop. Looking back at the double page, I believe Indesign was a good choice of software, because after some practice I believe work can look really professional and organised, and therefore hopefully make my magazine look like it can placed on a shelf along side other music magazines.

Evaluation Question Five

How did you attract/address your audience?

After thorough research into my target audience in Evaluation Question Four actually creating an Urban look for my magazine was easier said then done. I had to take into consideration certain rap artist names to put on the cover, language, clothing and content. I had to be specific with these factors as the Urban or Rap genre is a niche, and needs certain aspects to attract the audience. For example having a model with skinny jeans and dyed black hair would not appealto Rap fans, as that look would be associated with more Emo or Death Metal music.

The first aspect of attracting the target audience would be the front cover photo. This is because it is the first part of my magazine that people will see, therefore it needs to grab their attention as quickly as possible. Before I took my cover photo I researched other Rap music magazine covers. The one that stood out to me most was one from Vibe magazine (here). I wanted to follow this style as it attracted me straight away, because the bold colour of red stands out from the page. I adopted this technique as I too wanted a bold red in front of a light colour background, I believe this method will attract more Rap music fans as other Rap music magazines often use black, white and red. (Shown here, here, and here)

I believe the mise-en-scene used can also attract the target audience. I believe this because the clothing my model is wearing can represent those of Urban culture. According to the BBC website visited in Evaluation Question Four clothing in hip-hop can range from baggy jeans and a t-shirt, to more up-market styles like a suit. I also believe the suit and glasses add more mystery to the artist, as the reader cannot see his eyes. This may entice them to want to buy the magazine. The image below shows the contrast of Rap artists clothing styles, which ranges from the baggy jeans and t-shirt to formal suits.

Language:

I tried to use colloquial language within my magazine, but only to some extent. I used slang when creating the double page spread as I wanted to use language that was familiar to the reader, which would hopefully be a teenage boy or young adult. I did not feel the need for swearing in my interview, mainly because I think rock and indie music magazines tend to use swear words. I also noticed when watching and reading interviews with rap artists they do not use swearing, so I also used this to follow the Rap style of my magazine. I did tend to use words such as "man" after certain words on the double page spread, this is because many Rap fans are used to this type of mode of address. Therefore I believe this helped me attract my target audience as they can easily understand what has been said.

I believe the content of the magazine is one of the main factors to encourage the target audience to buy the magazine. This is because it has to have artists that interest them included so that they want to read the articles and interviews within. I wanted to add the latest and popular rappers to the cover page to attract the readers, this is because if I had put well-known and older rappers on there the target audience may have already read about them before. So using recent names like Drake, Plan B and Lil Wayne may have helped me as people may not have read much about these artists, as they have all recently found fame with their music.

Evaluation Question Four

Who would be the audience for your media product?

My magazine 'The Mix' contains music artists within the Rap and RnB genre. My target audience will therefore be similar to those of Vibe, XXL and The Source. I will aim my magazine at males aged 15-25, this is because I am in this category and therefore can relate to my target market. I believe my magazine also appeals to males more than females, as the colours arevery bold. (black, white and red) I still believe my target market is young males, however this still can include females as they also like Rap, but I don't think they like it as much as young males. A typical Rap orientated male is shown on the BBC website, it shows what they do and types of clothes they wear etc. (click here to see a typical urban/rap male)

To find the ideal age group to aim my magazine I also looked at other genres of music magazine and their target age groups:

NME - Males between 18 and 30.

Kerrang! - Males between 15 and 40.

Vibe - Males between 16 and 30.

Q - Males and Females between 16 and 30.

The most relevant magazine above is Vibe, as it is similar to my magazine. I still intend to aim mine at males aged 15 - 25, mainly because I can relate to them as I am in that age group. Below is a grab from the BBC website, and two pictures of typical Urban wear.

What they do:

The urban group enjoy listening and making their own music, in the studio or just making rhymes in the street. They also like to remix songs, as well as MC or freestyle against each other. They mainly play football or basketball as sports, mainly because they can play with all their friends, and also many role models may play the sport in their leisure, for example the American rappers like 50 Cent and Eminem enjoy basketball. The website UK tribes also states the Urban group chose 'really enjoy sport' more than any other group. As for music they may go to small gigs rather than larger mainstream gigs, they may go to V festival or Wireless as they often play RnB and Rap music.

Where they shop:

People who fall into the Urban group like to wear named brands, so that others can see they wear that brand. Specific shops may include JD Sports, Adidas, Nike and New Era. I believe my target audience shop at these places as they wear comfortable clothing, which is still original so they stand out. The New Era is a type of brand for baseball caps, these are popular with the Urban group as many Rapartists wear them. They tend to wear baggy or straight jeans with a plain t-shirt or colourful jacket, unlike Indies who wear skinny jeans, check shirts and plimsols.

Music they listen to:

The music I believe my target audience would listen to will be similar to what I like. For example: 50 Cent, Eminem, Drake, Devlin, Tupac and Jay-z. I believe the Urban group mainly look up to these artists as they all have rose up from the bottom. There are not many Rap groups as each artist has their own style, the only Rap group I can think of would be Roll Deep. I also believe they listen to more males than females, this is because there are more male rap artists than female. The female rap artists consist of a small number, with Niki Minaj and Missy Elliott being the main female rap artists.

What they watch:

The Rap scene is shown on music channels such as Channel AKA, Kiss and MTV Base. The music channels are mainly where they listen to their music, where as Indie and Rock prefer to go to a gig to listen to their music. They listen to it on T.V so they can have it on in the background when they are socializing round someone's house, or at parties. Watching the music channels can also help them find clothes to wear, as they may want to have the same clothes as their favourite rapper. Asfor usual T.V they would watch 'The fresh prince of bel air', 'The Inbetweeners' and maybe 'Skins'. This is mainly because these are targeted at the younger adults, and most Urban and Rap people are teenagers. I believe 'the fresh prince of bel air' is definitely the most relevant as it is about Will Smith, who grew to be a famous rap artist, and now actor.

Socio Economic Groups

I decided to research the wealth of my target audience. As I am aiming at teenagers who are mainly unemployed it would be group E. however, young adults will also read my magazine, so it may fall into groups C1 and C2 too. I am not narrowing my target audience down to purely groups C1, C2 and E though, this is because anyone can enjoy rap music. It does not technically be based on wealth, but I do think the lower groups will be more reliable, as teenagers and young adults would not have top paid jobs at a young age.

The price of my magazine is £3.99, I believe this is relatively cheap for a monthly magazine. I chose the lower price as my target market are young, and may not have well paid jobs, or any job at all. Therefore having a small price will encourage them to buy my magazine as it is affordable and includes their favourite music.

Evaluation Question Three

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

When deciding on what publishing company to use for my magazine, I tried to think of the most reliable and famous companies over ones that relate to Rap or RnB. This is because I know that they would know exactly what to do for a new magazine, advertising and publishing wise. I broke down my research into two companies: Bauer Media and IPC Media.

Bauer Media Information from their website.

IPC Media information from their website.

Evaluating IPC and Bauer

Although the companies I have researched above do not produce Rap or RnB music magazines, I still believe either one will be effective.

The only music magazine IPC publishes is NME, even though they only produce one the actual magazine is very popular with a circulation of 33, 875 (January - June 2010). Another advantage of choosing IPC would be that because they do not challenge any rap music magazines, therefore if they publish my magazine they can compete in the market of music genres like Rap and RnB. The only music magazines they do compete with are magazines such as Kerrang! and Mojo. This is because they are both similar to NME as all of them are based on rock music.

Bauer Media produces two music magazines, these being Kerrang! and Q. The music magazine Kerrang! is one of the most popular weekly magazines, with a circulation of 60, 289 (January - June 2008). It also has 1.35 million listeners a week on the radio channel. The huge popularity of this magazine will persuade me to choose Bauer mainly because it has so many fans, even though it is a totally different genre to my magazine. But the large numbers of consumption clearly show that Bauer has advertised it effectively.

The other music magazine they produce, Q is also a popular monthly magazine. This applies to my magazine as I also want to publish it monthly. The circulation of Q magazine is 113, 174 (January - June 2008), these figures show that for a monthly magazine it is very popular, this may be due to the pop music genre which is liked by a large proportion of the country, hence the name 'pop music'.

Conclusion

To conclude I have chosen to use Bauer Media to produce my magazine 'The Mix'. This is mainly because they produce more magazines than IPC, and Kerrang! and Q are both vastly popular across the UK. I believe that because they have produced both weekly and monthly music magazines they hold a large knowledge of the music magazine market. The fact that they do not produce Rap or RnB magazines may mean I am taking a risk with them, however the benefits would be greater than the risks because they have a reputation of producing top quality, and popular music magazines. Bauer producing my magazine will also benefit them as they could therefore enter the rap and RnB music magazine market, and compete against others such as XXL and The Source. This means both parties will benefit from my magazine being published by Bauer Media.

Evaluation Question Two

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

I believe my magazine is targeted at the more Urban social group. The chart above is from UK Tribes, the website shows many types of social group based in the UK. Rap music is based within the group Urban according to the website. I can relate to this as I enjoy Rap music, and the options in the chart relate to me as I enjoy music from Channel AKA and MTV Base. Therefore the social group I have aimed my magazine at is people who enjoy the same music as me.

The posture of each model is similar, as both have tilted their headand are looking at the camera. I believe the postures are relaxed and therefore relate to the Urban groups as they are usually laid back people, based on my friends who also enjoy rap music.

The angle used for the Vibe cover is straight, with the artist (T.I) looking eye-to-eye at the reader. The angle may just be low as the artist is looking slightly down at the reader, this may show how the artist has power in the industry. For my cover I used a high angle, this makes the audience look slightly down at the artist, which may show how he is humble, as he has just found fame.

I wanted to follow Vibe's convention of music magazines by using a close-up or medium shot. The close up I used is not as close as the cover for Vibe, which shows the blank expression on the artist's face clearly. I opted for a slightly less close-up as I wanted to show more of the artist' clothing, this is because the suit is sophisticated and the white shirt shows more of the colour theme I wanted. (black, white and red) The picture below shows other magazine covers with a close up/medium shot.

I believe the lighting for both are similar, with a Low Key Light being used for both. The cover for Vibe may look brighter as the background is solid white, and my background is a blue wall which was photographed in black and white, which I prefer as it gives the cover more depth. I also think that the low light gives each cover a more natural look, as some covers edit the photo so much that the reader can easily tell it's been edited. I wanted the cover to look more subtle as does the cover for Vibe.

I wanted to use a black suit, white shirt and black tie as does Vibe. This is because I believe a suit can show the social audience is Urban, as many Rap artist's wear suits in their videos and when they are seen going out (shown in the picture below). I think they wear suits because there is a stereotypical view of rap artists being involved in gangs and being very rugged, wearing the suit gives them a more elegant look which challenges the stereotypical views. I also opted to use black sun glasses, where as Vibe use clear ones. I think Vibe chose to use clear ones as it allows the artist to engage with the audience. I developed this convention as I believe the dark glasses show a dark past, and add mystery to the artist.

Moving on to the artist's actual image, I wanted mine to have his hair combed over. This is because it is a modern trend for males to have this hairstyle in the Urban social group, mainly because it has come back into fashion since the 1980's. There are also some white rappers who also have their hair like this, for example Devlin and Professor Green have had this hairstyle. The cover for Vibe does not show a hair style used, as the artist is wearing a hat. The hat itself is often shown by many types of music, with Indie artists such as Mumford and Sons sometimes wearing them through to RnB artists like Ne-Yo.