Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Evaluation- AS Media
Max Fox
22/04/2012
1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
iconographic props used relative to the genre (Spray can hip hop) Colour theme repeated throughout
Footer used
More content advertised inside with a PLUS reeling people in Barcode and price in a common position on the page, either at bottom left/right
22/04/2012
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Bars covering the cover star, this would be uncommon, I chose to do this as the bars can represent a feeling of rebellion also conforming to the hip hop genre
One large, main cover line, my magazine did not use this
22/04/2012
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
The use of large strokes on the cover lines Is used to emphasise them and make then stand out, this challenges conventions as they would not normally be seen in a magazine
22/04/2012
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Conforms to the convention of contents Colour layout pages, would say something along the lines followed throughout of inside, contents etc. page
Contents has a smaller version of the masthead on it Images linking to other content within, anchored with the page numbers Props relative to the genre Contents split into categories, e.g. Features etc. Images anchored with text and pages Advertising offers to subscribe to the magazine Has a smaller image of the front cover on the contents, this is a common convention for contents pages Black and white used on images
22/04/2012
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Text isnt layered out in the format of cover line and strap line
Another common convention would be a single main image on the contents, I chose not to do this in my magazine
22/04/2012
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
An intro paragraph is common to articles Both articles have drop caps, this is common to magazine article
Artists name is in bold, highlights who the article is about and gives them credit
Byline
22/04/2012
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Challenges the convention layout of double page spreads, commonly 50/50 split, my page is more of a 70% image to text split, this is developing that convention.
Article isn't in a common 2-3 column layout Colour layout is sort of similar but doesnt conform to the conventions of a magazine
22/04/2012
The social group that my magazine is aimed at is from teenagers to young adults. They are young so they most likely have a smaller income. Issues of race are dealt with as I have used a different array of models from different cultured backgrounds. This also links back to Hip-hop as it is a culture which celebrates its diversity
22/04/2012
Gender has also been dealt with as only male models have been used. This is because Hip-hop is primarily a male dominated industry.
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22/04/2012
3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
During my research and planning I looked at different publishers which could publish my magazine. I mainly looked at IPC and CPL. I checked which magazines they had already published and if any of them where the same as mine (Hip hop genre)
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22/04/2012
3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
First I researched publishers who already have an established rap/Hip, one of which was Cambridge Publishing Limited (CPL), a British publishing company who produce a magazine called Hip Hop Connection. This magazine is read predominantly by males aged between 17 -21, it is published 11 times a year and has an estimated readership of 50,000 (ukmagz.co.uk)
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22/04/2012
3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
I was considering using this publisher as mine but they already have an established magazine aimed at a niche market. They would not publisher another magazine of the hip hop genre as they already have one and it could jeopardize the sales of the first
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22/04/2012
3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
I then decided to look at a publisher with an already successful music magazine. IPC publishes NME, this aims at the genre of rock. They already have major experience with music magazines, this will help them in targeting a niche market.
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22/04/2012
3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
IPC would be an appropriate publisher because they have published many different magazines and they have a successful history of magazines. They would most likely to publish music genres they dont currently publish so they dont damage the sales of the other magazine.
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22/04/2012
My magazine would be aimed at 16-24 year old males who are up to date with modern culture or who just want to keep up to date with it.
In terms of NRS profiling they would mainly be from the group of C2DE, this is kind of profiling doesnt start until you are 21 and it is unlikely that young 2124 year olds will be categorized into it.
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22/04/2012
The readers would want to keep up to date with the current gossip of the stars Using psychographics they are most likely to be categorized into the aspirers category, this is because they are young there is a lot of pressure to fit in. They want status symbols to acquire social status, these can come in the form of the newest clothing brand, a big TV, or in the case the latest cool magazine
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22/04/2012
By using a variety of techniques (Fonts, models clothes, props etc.) I have been able to address my specified audience
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22/04/2012
Tom also has a skin fade haircut which also conforms to the younger culture of today.
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22/04/2012
Chumbo (bottom left on front cover) has the strings on his hoodie tied together, this is popular with modern teenagers and shows the magazine is up to date with modern culture, this is the same for Tom who is wearing a modern style bomber jacket.
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22/04/2012
My magazine is targeted at the hip hop culture, which is dominated by males from diverse backgrounds. My magazine conforms to this with only male images. I could have used female images to appeal to a bigger range of audiences.
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22/04/2012
My magazine was design to be read by teenagers and young adults, the styles I used reflect this e.g. the font isn't straight cut, its bendy and graffiti like, linking back to a younger, more informal culture. The colour of the font also represents this, I have added other colours too for the attraction of other readers.
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22/04/2012
The title is Beats this can be referred to as a slang term for a song/songs
The use of slang and less formal writing also shows the representation of the social group my magazine is aimed at.
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22/04/2012
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? A small digital camera was used for my photography, all images where high resolution, this allowed for greater accuracy during modification
A USB cable was used to transfer my raw images from the camera onto my area of storage
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22/04/2012
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
I used Adobe Photoshop CS3 as my main image editing software. I used it to enhance all of my images and crop off unwanted parts of the image. My front cover was solely created using this software
One example of this is the image of Dean on the contents page. I first cropped the image to the size I wanted.
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22/04/2012
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
I then used the black and white tool to customize the amount of black and white I desired
I also used this technique for the image of Tom on the contents page.
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22/04/2012
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? For the image I used on the double page spread:-
I first used auto levels on the image to enhance the colours and give the image a better look
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22/04/2012
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? I then added a slight green tint to the image
I then unlocked the layer so when I erase part of the image the background will be transparent
I then chose the eraser tool and made the brush large
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22/04/2012
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
I then erased a curved part of the image by using very smooth strokes of the mouse. I continued to do this until I earned the desired effect.
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22/04/2012
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Adobe In-design software, is a tool for designing professional page layouts, and can help publish text. Can also place images and arrange them as necessary. I used this program to create my contents and double page spread
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22/04/2012
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? When opening a new document on Indesign I chose the required settings for my magazine. This option allowed pages 3&4 to be joined as a double page spread
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22/04/2012
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
I first wrote my double page spread article in Microsoft word, as it is a better word processor than in-design, I then copied the text over into in-design so I could shape the text to my needs
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22/04/2012
7.Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Front cover
From my preliminary task I believed I have learned a lot. My main task front cover is completely different from my preliminary task. I also changed my ideas a lot throughout creating my magazine, my drafts are a little different to the final product. I have more stylised fonts and I believe I have improved.
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22/04/2012
7.Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Front cover
My masthead is more stylised and more accustomed to the genre for my main task compared to my preliminary
My footer has more style too and is more accustomed to the genre than my preliminary
The date was placed directly under my masthead in my preliminary, for my main task I decided to spread it across into two parts to reduce the amount of blank space
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22/04/2012
7.Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Contents
I believed that my main task contents is a lot better than my preliminary, it is more complex and is laid out better. It is different to my preliminary but I still kept my main images to the right of the page. It is also less dull and has more volume than my preliminary.
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22/04/2012
7.Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Contents
I have enhanced my skills in Photoshop, one example of this would be that in my preliminary task none of my images where black and white, this was because I did not know how to add this effect to my images
My preliminary task did not include the magazines title on the contents page, this is a common convention to I decided to add one to my main tasks contents
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22/04/2012
7.Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Contents
I learnt in my preliminary task that it is important to anchor images with either text and/or page numbers
I also learnt that pull quotes where another common convention in magazines, this is why I used them in my main task and there where none in my preliminary I learnt that a smaller image of the front cover on the contents was also a common convention, this is why it was included in my main task and not my preliminary
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22/04/2012
7.Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Although I was using the same cameras throughout my work, I believe the positioning and quality of my images has increased as I have learnt skills in photography since my preliminary task
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