Evaluation In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? For the front cover I chose to have a simple layout using a direct quote and lead because I think it looks more professional especially in presenting my idea. I have made the masthead “Encore” a big size and positioned it over part of the main image because it easily attracts the target audience to the magazine. I’m am glad that people had chosen “Encore” because I think it is a good word when mentioning entertainment, and dominance, as the reader will always expect more. This gave me ideas on what I could have for my slogo which will make it appeal to the target audience. I put the slogo underneath it, instead of above because I didn't want it to look like a banner, and the first thing I wanted the audience to see was the masthead. Also “Demand more. Get more.” relates to the masthead, and it is easy for the target audience to remember and recognise. The main image is a close up of the rapper “Lil Diamond” posing to the side with her hands on her chest smiling, but it looks as if she is saying it because the direct quote is next to her mouth which makes it more immediate. This is why there are no main sells, as I wanted to only focus on the bold statement that she is making. Also she is smiling, as it is very feminine, and because she is happy that she is the wealthiest, as the quote then continues on the double page spread. I used a female because it will grab the reader's attention, as people associate rappers to be male and to be the richest ones as well. The lead is going across the image so that that everything relates to each other. The “Lil” part is the same colour as the masthead, and is small to balance out the magazine, as the rest of the lead and the masthead are already big. The “Diamond” part has a sparkling effect to fit in with the connotations of being wealthy. Also the audience is aware that the article may be about money. If I were to do this again the reader would be able to see the whole face, as I feel that the audience may be even more drawn in. Also I would go to the extremes of Hip Hop, but would have a male on the front connotating the idea of wealth and success.
For the contents page I used a medium sized box to present the artist because she already appeared on the front cover so the photo didn't need to be any bigger. I used colours like purple and yellow like I did for the double age spread, but I didn't want it to be obvious so I didn't use bold font. There is an editorial, the cover and lure at the top of the page. The lure appears on the
contents page because there wasn't room for it on the cover. However, the reader may not notice this especially if it is online publication they may be less likely to look at the contents page. I think I needed more pictures, but I didn't have a wide variety available, and I wanted to have more regulars on there because the point of this magazine is to give the target audience more than they expect and the way to show this is to put as much relevant information on the page. For the double page spread I have one main image in the middle. I have chosen to put pictures in the first column because I wanted to keep with the conventions of three columns. Also the smaller pictures of “Lil Diamond” and her album cover is facing towards the main image which draws the reader in on what she does best which has contributed to her success the most. The headline alternates colours, and I have used yellow for the words that connotates wealth, such as “Success”. The stand first is underneath so that the reader isn't confused, as it's then followed by a drop cap and article. The pull quote is within the column, because it makes sense to place it near where it is mentioned in the article, rather than on its own. One of the magazines that I got my inspiration from was mostly “XXL” which I have analysed already in my art book. I liked how the direct quote really stood out, as well as the lead, and so I thought of ways of how I could manipulate it into my own idea of wealth, and success. I also like the type of camera shot was used, and the layout is simple, to easily represent Hip Hop. The name of the magazine also inspired me to think of masculine names for my magazine like something that represents dominance, and power that is all part of Hip Hop. How does your media product represent particular social groups? On the front cover I have given the artist a glamorous and feminine image, even though she is a rapper, but I have made her out to have the attitude of rappers in Hip Hop culture which is shown in the double page spread, as she is very confident and full of herself. I used a pull quote to get a reaction from the target audience, especially males because of what the direct quote say, as a lot of rappers are always saying that they are the greatest, so the male audience are likely to be attracted top t he magazine to see what she is saying is actually true. I wanted to also focus on the successful, and the money side of the Hip Hop culture, instead of the extreme side of it which meant that the artist had to be very ambitious. In the double page spread I made sure that the headline was clear about what the double page spread may entail, but to not give too much away. To create the article I first done a character profile of the artist to help me think about what her life may be like now. This helped me come up with many themes that relate to just one main theme of success. I decided to use quotes within the article, as I could use description to build on her character and image even more. I focused on the
positive side, as you don't need to do wrong to be successful and rich, as the artist is showing a good example of this. What kind of media institute might distribute your magazine and why? Issuu.com is where I would launch my magazine because the cover is in black so it would reduce ink and distribution costs. Also because the mag is aimed at 1624 year old people they are more likely to go online than any other age group. I think the effectiveness of the magazine looks better on screen than print out. However, a few copies may be distributed, to certain record companies like HMV to display near the checkouts. Who would be the audience for your music magazine? The type of person who will buy Encore magazine is someone, mostly males, whose lives revolve around music and entertainment. They have strong views about why they like Hip Hop music, and the things that represent it. It is important for them to look the way the type of music that they are into. For example, baggy jeans, oversized tshirt, Nike trainers and jewellery when they are not in their work environment. They are most likely to look up to people like 50Cent, and Jay Z. Encore readers like to: Go to battles and concerts Spend up to £395 per year on clothing Spend on average £450 per year on records and downloads Go on the internet they spend on average 20 hours per week Know as much as possible about things entertainment wise They are into any technology that provides entertainment, such as games consoles and mobile phones. Male 89% Female11% Average age 24 years old Work full time 51% Work part time 22% Still studying 37% Circulation 60,120 Readership 356,000 How did you attract/address your audience? I got feedback from my target audience, and they said that the genre of music was clearly represented well, especially the front cover. They commented on how I needed to have more photos on different artists for my contents page so that it really brings out the genre of Hip Hop so the audience can tell what type of music the magazine is representing if it didn’t have a the front cover with it. The features of the magazine they said that attracted them the most was the masthead. However, near the beginning of the project I asked a few people who aren’t fans of Hip Hop, and they said that they would associate “Encore” with band and punk music. But I thought if I represented Hip Hop
well then I would be able to change that idea. The audience liked the layout of the double page spread because the page is well balanced. The headline for the double page spread, and the main picture were most people’s favourite part of the double page spread because it gives a sense of style to the magazine. What have you learnt about using Photoshop CS3 and digital cameras during this project? I have learnt that using Photoshop gets easier the more I used it, and was able to come up with things by accident. I have learnt how to do a tinted effect which made it look like a diamond. (Please refer to my art book) Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in progression from it to the full product? I feel that I have learnt to manage my time wisely and that every chance I got I made sure I used Photoshop. An example of how I saved time was to use the magic eraser tool to get rid of the background so that I could easily add effects. I found that it was really easy for me to come up with ideas, as long as it was on paper first providing that I got feedback from the questionnaire that I did which was an important source of my ideas. This is because it helped me decide on a name for my magazine. This made it easier to translate onto Photoshop, and to see how I developed. To make sure it was the best quality when I printed it out I made sure that I zoomed in on every part of the magazine, as the college magazine had rough edges around the lettering, and was easier to see the effects as well. I reviewed my work and made lists of everything so I was aware how much I needed to do to complete the work.