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

In what ways have you developed or

challenged/changed the conventions of

front covers, contents pages and double

page spreads that you highlighted in your research?

How have you stuck to the codes and

conventions of front covers, contents pages and

double page spreads that you highlighted in your

research?

I tried to copy the magazines that I had seen previously in my research, by having a main dominant image of a

hip-hop artist on the front cover. A way I tried to make it much more realistic- is by standing him next to a music studio

microphone and putting headphones around his neck (use of musical props)Also, it is a midshot and he is holding a

moody expression (hip-hop genre)

I decided I only wanted to include a footer on my front cover as my magazine research led me to conclude that not all magazines include both headers AND footers. Therefore, I chose to have a footer instead of a header where there was no space at the top. Similar to most magazine footers, my footer displayed famous artists names. (Also big, bold font for ‘PLUS’ to draw attention)

Ways I stuck to the codes and conventions of magazines from my research (Front Cover):

The masthead is large and bold which is what all magazine masthead’s must be like. It also carries the magazines colour theme. The effect I added to the masthead allowed it to carry a sort of tarmac/gravelly texture which reflected on the literal ‘street life’ of the underground genre which most of the underground artists originally come from. The slow grey to black gradient and red backdrop helped carry the colour scheme of the magazine. (Red, black, white and grey)

Positioning statement is below the masthead which is

conventional

The barcode is situated in the bottom left hand corner along with key info (date, issue no. & price)

The main cover line is the largest font excluding the masthead and it relates to the main image. (‘KARMA’ is the name of the artist pictured on the front cover.

I wanted to adopt the ‘exclusive box’ that I found on the Kerrang Foo fighters issue. Here I promoted an exclusive interview with a new upcoming underground artist.

Similar Front covers found during my research (Vibe):

Large unique masthead which carries distinctive colour scheme

Main cover line is about the artist situated on the front cover

Very few cover lines found on the front cover

Main dominant image of 1 artist

Large unique masthead which carries distinctive colour scheme

Magazine masthead in the top right hand corner along with the date.

Photographer and stylist credits found on all contents pages.

Ways I stuck to the codes and conventions of magazines from my research (Contents):

Broken up ‘Contents’ heading (I tried to make it similar to vibes unique

technique of breaking up the word on every contents page. Recurring font and

colours from front cover masthead)

Use of headings and sub-headings to help break up info.

Similar to vibe magazines use of headings such as ‘Fashion’ and

‘Features’; Headings are universal on every issue, there will always at least be a ‘Features’ and ‘News4U’ section. Whereas the sub headings

underneath vary depending on what the issue entails.

Main, dominant image that takes up half of the page of a group of

rappers called ‘S.O.A’Also, the group are situated in a

specific area of the page (lower part) which is a technique used by many

vibe contents pages (see next slide)

Similar to Vibe magazines use of the faded ‘V’ in the background of some of there contents pages, I decided to use that technique. Therefore, I used a section of my masthead which was the symbol and added it the back to give the page a bit of texture and to implement vibes interesting and creative technique.

Image of a female designer who offers the readers tips on their fashion. I used this as magazines usually use words that relate to their target audience such as ‘swag’ and on the front cover I used the word ‘kicking back..’ which are both street/slangy words. Offering another branch such as fashion and clothing in a music magazine is another method I saw in other magazines during my research.

Although vibe magazine contents pages aren’t full with writing, if I was to improve, I would ensure I don’t have too many gaps and blank spaces on the contents page.

Similar contents pages found during my research (Vibe):

One image spread across the page, artists in the image only taking up the bottom half of the contents page allowing room for text

The faded vibe masthead ‘V’ faded in the background of a clear backdrop behind the image and text.

The cut out square shaped ‘Contents’ heading used on all

vibe contents pages is a unique design used by Vibe which I decided I would like to adopt

and use on my contents page.

Vibe masthead & date

Very little writing found on the contents page (only strips or blocks of info) Page numbers in bold & use of sub headings to divide

Ways I stuck to the codes and conventions of magazines from my research (Double Page Spread):

I included page numbers in a unique and creative way by placing the numbers inside the symbol from my masthead which

combined the two principles into one.

A way I tried to make the images look similar to

professional music magazines is by is showing lots of musical

equipment being used by the artist in the images. (Picturing a

sort of home made studio-Apple Mac, MPC, headphones around his neck, speakers. Etc)

The extract below is from avibe magazine article

featuring drake.

Drops caps is used as it is conventional and is a way to draw in the attention of the reader, directing them to the beginning of the article.

The left page of the double page spread is of one single image which has been expanded to fill the whole page. This was a technique I found in quite a few vibe issues (although not all). The pose my artist is holding fits the genre well.Next time I think I should include a quote in the upper blank fifth of the image.

Credits for the photographer and stylist are included in the bottom right hand side of the left page.

I changed the colours of each paragraph in the article whenever the artist was quoted talking. Small paragraph and colour variations is a technique I found throughout my research. (Also use of ‘big’ quote)

Similar double page spreads found during my research (Vibe):

Similar method of using the main image on the left page and the article about the artist on the right hand side page.However, next time I would insert another quote on the same page as the image to add a bit of variety.

Use of quotes in between the article. The quotes are larger than the text and in a different font and colour.

Use of drops caps

Page numbers and part of magazine masthead.

Different colourvariations used

throughout the text in the article

Ways I developed and changed/challenged the conventions of magazines from my research (Front Cover):

Although some of the magazines that I researched don’t necessarily

follow the rule of thirds, I would have inserted my flasher on the left third

but the microphone would have meant that it all would have looked

crammed and unprofessional, therefore I just moved the flasher to

the other side where there was much more space.

Furthermore, the rule of thirds wasn’t used as I decided to have the artists eyes based in the centre of the page as my questionnaire showed that the

covers with the artists face in the centre were much more appealing

and attractive.

Very few music magazines (especially in Vibe) include a picture

on their front cover. However, I thought I would challenge this

convention as I felt it would look very good with the writing involved and

also if readers see a new face next to the word ‘Exclusive’ it may draw them in- so they can be first to find

out about the new upcoming star in the underground.

The use of a big drop shadow was what I found by accident, by just playing around with the drop shadow option. I found that after I had increased the size and distance- it gave a lot more thickness, texture and strength to the cover. Of course I would want my front cover to be bold and eye catching, especially as it is a hip-hop magazine it would have to compete with the others which all carry this ‘big ego’.

Not many magazine mastheads include a sign/symbol which combines together to create one main masthead. I found this a very unique way of bringing something new to the music magazine industry. Furthermore, it allowed me to play around with this symbol later on (page numbers and backdrop fade on contents page)

Ways I developed and changed/challenged the conventions of magazines from my research (Contents):

Unlike most hip-hop music magazine contents, my magazine doesn’t really

offer much about ‘love’ and ‘money/materialism’ and tends to

discuss and offer issues which many of the underground hip-hop fans are interested in when they listen to the

songs.

I didn’t really follow the default layout that most major music magazines practice on their

contents page.NME: Tend to go for a boxed

approach and split info into sections through boxes spread

out on the pageVIBE: Have very little writing,

and what is there is just a simple strip on one side of the contents

page.(Hence why I appear to have

lots of blank spaces)

As mentioned earlier, I took vibe’s contents pages as an example- by having one main dominant image on the contents page. However I wanted to add something else (a female artist and an extra field) I have a random box position in the editors place, where I decided to have this as a separate fashion section where I had something different to offer to my readers.

I didn’t want my article to be too heavy with text as I didn’t want to put off too many people with too many information. Plus, when interviewing an artist, you

don’t publish everything, therefore I only included the journalists key parts of the interview that may interest the readers the most.

(Vibe article extract showing how most of their articles are heavy text based)

Ways I developed and changed/challenged the conventions of magazines from my research (Double Page Spread):

I decided I wanted a clear title and subheading at the start of my article

which I know many vibe magazine double page spreads don’t tend to

do. However, I thought it would be a good idea for me to do this as he is a

new artist and needs to be introduced well. Also, it makes it

clearer for the readers to find the page from the reference in the contents page and on the front

cover.

Because the article is on a new and upcoming artist, I decided I wanted to include more photos than usual- hence why I have a strip of photos going down the middle of the page, so as to allow readers to see different shots of him and what he does with his equipment.

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Do you represent a sub-culture? (e.g.

‘Emos’, ‘Goths’, ‘Hoodies’)

Do you deal with issues of race, ethnicity,

gender, age, social class, disability?

What different areas of society are represented in your magazine?

Underground hip-hop is all about the freedom of expression and diversity- and the fact that REAL hip-hop

joins everyone from different backgrounds together.

Immortal technique as an activist at a New York protest (image from

Google)

Many people who read my magazine are not only young hip-hop fans, they also like to take part in community activism, whether its attending anti-war conferences or protests, youth initiatives, listening to radio shows or other ways of giving back to the community actively.

Image I took of my friend

Omar, on his weekly radio

show for youth.

Lowkey on tour (image from Google)

Because so many of the underground rappers are political activists, it helps encourage their fans to become more politically aware of their surroundings and the other injustices around the

world.

How do you deal with particular issues such as race, ethnicity, gender, social class, equality?

Even the masthead and caption give a sort of identity to my target audience as it displays the music genre in the name ‘Underground’ and it mentions what many fans take pride in their genre for: That it is ‘The REAL HIP-HOP’

The text in my article explores the struggles of many youth and

underground rappers, and also expresses many of the opinions

and values that fans of this genre share too.

There is a slight political twist to

the actual content available in my magazine

due to the political interest within my target audience.

Information on protests, debates, news, tweets

etc is all available to the fans

My artists include a wide range of ages, ethnicities and genders which is what the underground community is all about.(Hip-Hop typically has been stereotyped for the black Afro Caribbean street thug. However the underground scene breaks that stereotype positively. Opening up the purpose and audience.

As I’ve mentioned, underground hip-hop is a

branch of mainstream hip-hop

with a much deeper meaning to it and a more positive

purpose to life. Therefore, my target audience (Fans of

underground hip-hop) are within themselves a

‘sub culture’

How does your magazine represent your sub culture? What different areas of society are represented in your magazine?

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

Which companies might distribute your

magazine?Do they already distribute magazines from a similar

genre?

IPC media produces over 85 different media brands. Their brands collectively reach 20 million users every month. IPC also publishes a

wide range of magazines to suit everyone. And alongside their experience of producing their leading music magazine ‘NME’ then I believe they have more than enough knowledge and expertises to

uphold and publish my hip-hop magazine. (It will also be a very good opportunity for the company to be the first to provide a magazine that

caters for the underground hip-hop community which will widen and expand their audience and customers!)

The methods in which IPC could distribute and promote my magazine, hence reaching out to the target audience, is through selling ‘the Underground’ magazines outside tube stations in London (around public transport hot spots where my target audience can be found), at music shop stalls, around town centres, supermarkets and newsagents, and they could leave a link to it on the IPC website.My genre and magazine style is unique, and IPC wont have anything like it- therefore I have a better chance of doing well as I would not have to compete with other music magazines in my chosen area (whereas if I went with Bauer, I would be competing with their magazines such as ‘Q’ and ‘Kerrang’)

Which companies might distribute your magazine? Do they already distribute magazines from a similar genre?

4. Who would the audience be for your media product?

Define your target audience in terms of age,

social class, gender, ethnicity and psychographic

profile.

The majority of underground hip-hop fans are from lower social classes and from mixed heritages or ethnic minorities (such as black, Arab, Asian, Caribbean, Latino.. Etc) So I tried to instil that variety through the artists in my magazine. There are no barriers when it comes to underground hip-hop as it doesn’t direct itself to a certain social class, gender or racial background- all the topics are made available to anyone with an interest in them.

My readers are young people who believe underground hip-hop plays a major part in their lives, they analyse each rapper by their lyrical ability, some fans even write their own poetry ‘’bars’’, some readers attend protests and are active online whether it be on Facebook or Twitter, they are regularly watching or discussing hip-hop/politically/youth empowering related things.

They dress the same as everyone else (As seen in the images) but usually implement their own twist of the hip-hop element in their choice of clothes. There is no real age or gender range for my genre, it is for both genders and any ages (roughly from 15-30) – it all depends on their interests.The colours I chose to use in my colour theme (Red, white, black and grey) offer a street like feel to the magazine due to the bold yet subtle vibe the colours give off. The bold colours like Red play on the big ego that hip-hop holds and the blacks and greys play on the tarmac/dark/street life that many of the rappers as well as readers share.

Define your target audience in terms of age, social class, gender, ethnicity and psychographic profile.

Haitham Abdo, 19 (Yemeni) -Studying Btec Accounting in college-Part of a local football team-Used to be in a hip-hop group in high school days where they used to make their own songs on their laptops.

Saif Khalil, 16 (Afgan/Jamacian)-Studying GCSE’s and moving onto A-Levels next year-Involved in a lot of youth initiatives, and is a prominent speaker within the schools student voice.-Helps advertise events and protests online through internet activism.

Batula Al-Mahdawi, 23 (Palestinian/Iraqi)-Graduated with a degree in sign language.-Works within that field as a part time job and the rest of the time volunteers at a local charity called ‘Interpal’ (Helps with Palestinian crises) Soon wants to go into working with youth offenders.-Has liked Hip-Hop since she was a teenager and continues to listen to it.

In depth examples of my target audience

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

How did you implement ways in which you

designed your magazine to appeal to your target

audience?

Front Cover:- The bold red really contrasts with the white and the black and therefore really makes the magazine cover stand out amongst the rest (The colour contrast was a technique that my research showed was popular amongst my target audience). The red really helps to highlight the passion filled within the magazine and the genre itself. The only issue I see at the moment, is although the masthead is of a distinctive font and size, the colour used was a gradient of black to grey and may not stand out as bold as the rest. However I feel my reasons for choice were reasonable.- The cover lines I used offer a wide variety of topics which involve my genre which many fans of the underground will find very appealing (my questionnaire results showed that my target audience look for latest news on upcoming artists, exclusive interviews and Freebies) Elements like these will therefore persuade them to pick up the issue.- In terms of price, I decided to price it at £3 as the highest results from my questionnaire indicated that the most popular price range was £2-£3.- From my research, I found that the most appealing and grasping/attractive covers where those which were a mid shot of a well known artist situated right in the centre of the cover, giving direct eye contact with the reader (see my questionnaire) This is one of the main reasons why I chose to position my artist face/eyes right in the centre of the page (so as to maximise the eye contact he has with the reader- looking directly at them) - The footer includes names of major underground artists which my target audience rated as their top and favourite underground rappers- according to the results of my questionnaire.

Contents Page:-My research into my target audience found that they looked for: Exclusive interviews, political discussions, new info/gossip on top artists, controversial/latest news and opportunities that they could get hold of. I tried to cater for all of these categories by: Including an exclusive interview with new artist ‘SiGuy’, political discussions/gossip and info on top artists through behind the scenes and latest tweeting debates, including latest news such as interesting articles and latest releases by underground hip-hop groups (such as S.O.A) and finally by promoting the recruiting of Logics ‘Peoples Army’ rapping team. - My audience are also very proud of the variety of background, cultures, genders and age ranges within their hugely diverse genre and are very proud of this- therefore I ensured that the pictures used on my contents page represented this as well as all the other images throughout my magazine. Furthermore, the fact I got the boys to pose specifically works well with the format of the page. (Rayan and Hane on the sides are both raising their outer arm and then Haitham in the centre is folding his arm) this works well and positions them all neatly and professionally. This works well for my target audience as it makes the contents page look attractive and appealing to them and their interests which is what I was constantly aiming to achieve.- I continued to try and impress/cater for my target audience by using Vibe Magazine’s method of sectioning and breaking up all the information on the contents page so that my target audience don’t get put off or overthrown by all the text and information; an attempt to make it easier for them to navigate their way around specific areas by including categories (Sub-headings)

- The clear and concise ‘Contents’ title, carries on the magazines colour theme and also carries on the font and style that is used for the magazines Masthead- this helps to unite all sections of my product to one final magazine.

Double Page Spread:

-My double page spread attracts the audience through the neat and simple colour scheme that is continued on from the essential magazine colour scheme- therefore making it noticed and recognisable. The bold title and sub-heading contrasts with the remainder of the page and hence directs the reader to the start of the article. (Because the font of the text is small- the title needs to be the element that grabs the readers attention- followed by the picture) - The drop caps is also another technique which helps not only with presentation, but also to highlight and draw attention to the start of the article. However, one thing I would do next time is probably make the drops cap and quote in the colour red too (along with the title and heading) so as to break the black, white and grey dominance on the page. - The image was edited to have a heavy contrast/gradient. This makes the whites stand out very bright and the black become very rich and deeply dark- This helps make the new artists image stand out very bold and assertive whilst also fitting in with the underground hip-hop theme. The audience will like this effect as it adds volume and texture to the image making it more heavy. The black & white effect can also give it a more original look which would help gain the readers attention.

- Finally, because the article is about a new underground artist, the quote that has been exploded can be seen as a little pick up line for readers to remember about the artist ‘SiGuy’ as it was the most distinctive quote he gave in the interview. This helps the reader leave with key exclusive info after having read an article from my magazine.

Audience Feedback

Strengthens Weaknesses

• “Style and choice of pictures relates with the genre very well”

• “Excellent image manipulation”

• “Appropriate language to suit the target audience”

• “Excellent front cover & double page spread”

• “Contents layout could be better”

• “Too much space on the contents page”

• “I dislike the cartoon’y effect”

• “Space on the contents page could have been filled”

Audience Feedback

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3

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2

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Section of Magazine

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Excellent Very Good Good Satisfactory Poor

Excellent 1 2

Very Good 3 2 2

Good 2

Satisfactory

Poor

Front Cover Contents Page Double Page Spread

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

What hardware and software have you used to

plan your pages? How effective was it?What hardware and software have you used to construct your pages? How effective was it?

InDesign

Abode

Photoshop

Picnik

Microsoft

Internet Explorer

Blogger

Digital

Camera

Mozilla Firefox

Google Chrome

H/Software's used to plan my product

H/Software's used to construct my product

Adobe Photoshop: (SiGuy Image)

Open the image in Photoshop Next step, get rid of unwanted background, using polygonal lasso tool, (which my target audience will not want) and improve lightening- by adjusting the contrast until I was satisfied.

To give the image a sort of boost, I edited the contrast and brightness levels.

Later on I decided I wanted to play with the gradients to see if this would help the image fit in

nicely with the double page spread yet still stand out.

Microsoft Word & Adobe Indesign:(Double Page Spread Article)

Before: After: Drops caps: The drops caps was inserted from a previous Photoshop document that I had made earlier and then pasted into the article. This was then rearranged and re-sized so that it fit perfectly into the start of the article. This had to be done carefully so that it wouldn’t look out of place and unprofessional.

Gradients: Each time my artist was quoted saying something, I changed the colour to black. As I got to the right hand side, I had to edit the gradients of the black to make it turn to dark grey in order for the colour to show on top of the background.

Layout: The layout I chose to adopt was a simple two columns that is found very often amongst most magazines and newspapers. The reason for this was that I wanted to make it as simple as possible for my readers and not make it too fancy or complicated which may put them off from even reading my articles- which will result in them no longer buying any issues.It is not only split into columns, but it si broken down into chunks of easy information and this makes it attractive as well as easier to read. This was very easy to do on indesign as all that was required for me to do was click on the text box tool and pasted into it from the word document.

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

product? How have you developed your skills and knowledge

since you constructed your preliminary task?

Full/Final product

Preliminary Task

My Photoshop skills have improved vastly. I can now use effects such as drop shadow and merges much more effectively. I also know how to use the magic lasso tool and the polygonal tool which was extremely useful in getting rid of the unwanted background. Also, you can tell my research into magazines really helped as even my choice of fonts is now more contemporary to the young hip-hop genre and the fonts are much more welcoming and appealing. The red and black play well on the ego and the hip-hop passion. The image on my preliminary task is very poor- he has no sense of dominance of the cover and I didn’t understand the importance of eye contact. In my final magazine, with Duaine looking at the camera- it makes the reader feel a connection and helps with the cover become more appealing.

Front Cover

My preliminary task contents page is appalling. I have no sense of colour themes going on, it looks horrendous and completely unprofessional. The images seem slightly distorted and haven’t been edited in Photoshop before hand. Furthermore the layout isn’t very neat and professional. I remember how confusing inDesign seemed to me, and how confident I know feel with it. I am happy we got to make a preliminary task before hand, in order to get to know the software better. I made errors that I could learn from. My research into previous magazines done by vibe magazine was extremely helpful when making my contents page, as this was the page I found hardest to create.

Contents Page

Double Page Spread

Although I wasn’t required to create a double page spread for my preliminary task, the audience feedback had shown that my double page spread was one of the strongest elements of my product. This emphasises how far I have come in terms of the amount of skills that I have learnt since the beginning of this course. For example, the way I used the Monochrome (black & white) effect for my main image which helps create the mood that fits with my genre of underground hip-hop. Furthermore, the constant use of similar fonts and a fixed colour scheme helps add to my professionalism by keeping everything consistent throughout the separate units of my magazine- therefore uniting them into one final product.