Evaluation

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



My magazine is conventional in the sense that it uses the traditional colours usually associated with rap magazines and also the bold fonts that other existing rap magazines do. Magazines such as XXL, Vibe and The Source were where I gained inspirations for my magazine from. On the cover of my magazine, I tried to emulate XXL’s theme of black, red and white. My masthead is similar to most rap magazine styles as it covers the top of the whole page and I’ve used the colour of white just like XXL magazine. My artist was placed in the centre of the page, looking right at the audience with a angry expression this is typical of pretty much all rap magazines especially the anger portrayed on the artists faces which is why I decided to do the same with my artist. My double page spread also follows the conventions of a real magazine. The use of drop lettering to show the beginning of the article, one large image on right side of the double page spread with the text on the left is also a typical convention and the use of pull quotes which are a main feature in magazines.



How does your media product represent particular social groups? Who would be the audience for your media product?


I tried to represent social groups through the use of language and colour however in particular images. The artist I used represents this group as he is of a similar age of my target audience which would attract them to purchase the magazine. He is also wearing a hoodie and new era cap which would appeal to my social group as this is how teenagers/young adults who would buy this magazine would typically dress themselves so they feel as though they can relate to him as an artist. My target audience is people aged from 16 – 20 predominately males who enjoy rap music and hearing the latest news from the rap scene.



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


I would like my magazine too be distributed in newsagents and supermarkets such as Tesco, Sainsbury and Asda. I also feel as though the magazine could be distributed through social media such as our own website where you could purchase yearly subscriptions to the magazine for an overall cheaper price than buying it each month at the retail price.



How did you attract/address your audience?


I attracted my audience by manipulating the colour, images and text throughout the magazine. The colours of red, white and black of my magazine are usually associated with males who are a part of my target audience. My artist being male, aged 19 and wearing a hoodie and cap gives my typical audience something to relate to as he is dressed and aged in relation to my typical audience. The fonts I used throughout the magazine were either bold or had an urban/graffiti edge to them which would appeal to my audience and give it a kind of street/underground vibe. Also the text which is used took quite an informal tone which is something my audience could relate too as they would probably use some of the words themselves. The added artists listed on the cover of the magazine would also attract the audience as it consists of famous rap artists those they most likely listen to and have a interest in further attracting them towards the magazine. The masthead immediately attracts the audience and addresses that it is a rap magazine as ‘rap’ is incorporated into the title of the magazine, ‘RAPCITY’. The angles of gaze, having the artist look right at you.



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


I’ve learnt how to use Photoshop efficiently to improve my work and take it to the next level. I also learnt how to effectively use a camera to take photographs and the variety of different shots that can be taken too show something for example a close up too see someone’s expressions or a long shot so that mise en scene can be taken onto account. I also learnt how to use social networking such as BlogSpot where I created my own blog.



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


One of the major progressions I made was learning new skills on Photoshop. When I first did my preliminary I struggled with everything even the basics such as resizing an image. However throughout the main task I developed my skills and learnt new things (such as the magic wand tool to get rid of parts of images you don’t want). I also learnt shortcuts such as ‘Ctrl T’ to resize images which helped speed up the process rather than looking for the resize image every time. When taking photos for my preliminary I only took one shot and relied on that but for the main task realised the importance of taking a variety of different shots at different angles and points of views which then allowed me to choose which picture I felt would work best and have a choice instead of having too use one because I had no other alternative. I’ve also learnt a lot about the music industry especially rap.