DR.G music mag

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

Before I created my music magazine I looked at a number of different magazines associated with my genre(hip hop), magazines I looked at included Vibe, The Source and XXL. This was in order to find out what codes and conventions these magazines used in order to attract an audience to buy their magazines

For my front cover I placed the main image of my artist in the centre, this was to attract my audience and also to show the focus of the magazine. I placed the masthead of my magazine at the top of the front cover in big, bold and embossed fonts. This was to distinguish my magazine from other magazines so that it would be easily recognisable. Aswell as this I have made the masthead a different colour to the rest of the magazine, this was also in order to establish the magazins name. I also strecthed the masthead across the top of the front cover in order to make it stand out. My magazine also follows the typical coventions of a music magazine such as the use of cover lines(exclusives, prices, puff). I have also used the huge headline towards the bottom of the cover in order to let the reader know who the magazine is about.

I also tried to make my magazine unique. This was done by using a black and white picture and also using an outdoor background included on the front cover instead of a typical coloured background. Also my main image is not a typical image of an artist looking directly in to the camera, i aimed to have him lookingaway in order to create intrest amoung the reader. The use of the black and white picture diverts away from a typical coloured picture and adds a sense of mystery and art to the front cover.

The magazine closest to mine is probably Vibe this is due to Vibe also trying to divert away from typical magazine covers and trying to add a unique quality to their front covers.

Below is my magazine compared to an issue of Vibe.

My contents page keeps to the typical conventions of a music magazine. This is in the sense that i have normal page numbers and titles to inform my audience about the stories included in the magazine. I also have an editorial at the top of my contents to inform the reader of the origon of the magazine. I also have the contents title typed in bold as well as subjects such as ECLUSIVES and FEATURES.

However agian I wante to make my contents page unique just like my front cover. In this case I used one image for the whole contents page and spread it across the whole page I also again used a black and white picture in order to keep to the theme of the front cover. I didnt use any additional photos to show other artists as i wanted to draw focus to theartist on the front cover. However I did signify these other artists by using their names in the copy. Yet again i found that Vibe was theclosest comparison to my contents page.

Below My contents page and a Vibe contents page.

My main article uses very typical conventions of music magazines for example the article is written in colums. Also there is use of floating quotes. I have also used a bold typograpghy for the title of the article and used a typical Times New Roman font for the article. I have also made the questions of from the interviewer in bold and the answers in a regualar font. I have also tried to make the artile unique by using black and white photos aiming to keep to that thee presented in the front cover and contents. However I have added some colour, making the floating quotes red helps to add colour to my article.

Below my double page spread.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

I generally wanted to represent hip hop artists in my magazine as tough independent people. I did this by getting my artist to pose in strong poses and also looking away from the camera to show he doesn't regard anyone but himself. I also wanted to represent hip hop artists as simple people that come from urban settings. I acheived this by getting my model to pose in simple clothes like a grey hoodie and black trousers. I also achieved this by getting my model to pose in an outdoor setting surounded by an urban setting. I aso wanted to represent youth as independent and simple. I did this by againmaking y artist pose with plain and smple clothes and also by making him pose by himself. As well as pictures I also used the copy to achieve this. I did this by using words such as "PLAIN AND SIMPLE".

What would be the audience for your media product?

The audience for my media product is ranging from 16-24. This because most hip hop youths can relate with my magazine. for example the use of the young artist on the front cover and main features.

How did you attract your audience?

I made my main image black and white to make it look more unique than other magazines.
I made my masthead stand out in a big bold and strong font.
Made my main image huge so tht it covered the page.
Made my puff stand out aswell as other copy.
Used words such as exclusives to entice audience.

Who Would Publish your Magazine?

I believe that Harris Publications would distribute my magazine. This is due to them already publishing XXL magazine. This would be good for my magazine as it shows this Company has experience in distributing the same genre music magazine as mine.

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

During my production of my Music magazine i learnt a lot about different technologies these technologies included:

Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Audition
File Sharing sites to upload media such as mp3's and pictures
Digital Photography

I learnt many techinques such as editing and peicing images together, recording and editing audio files. I also learnt how to upload photos and auio up on to the internet. Aswell as this I also learnt how to master Adobe photshop in order to create my magazine.

adobe audition

photoshop

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

Looking back i realise I hav learnt a lot since the develoment of our preliminary project to the actual production of our final magazines. This includes perfecting my skills on Photoshop to properlylearning how to cut , edit and place images and text on to an A4 page.

I have also learnt how to makemy magazin more appealing to an audience. During my Preliminary task I didnt really learn the proper dvices of a magazine, but eventually I went from my amatuer looking preliminary magazine to a more professional looking final magazine.