AS Media Studies Evaluation by Rahul Ahmed. This is for the three magazines created for the Regent High School 2015 AS Media coursework.

1. Evaluation
By Rahul Ahmed

2. Questions
1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge
forms of conventions of real media products?
2. How does your magazine represent particular social groups?
3. What kind of media institutions might distribute your magazine and
why?
4. Who would be the audience for your magazine?
5. How did you attract/address your audience?
6. What have you learnt about the technologies from the process of
constructing the magazine?
7. Looking back to your preliminary task. What do you feel you have
learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
8. How successful do you feel your end product is in the fulfilling task.
How well does it fit the brief?
9. Audience Feedback

3. In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms of conventions of real media products?
My magazine follows the conventions of a typical rap and hip-hop music magazine; it shares a similar house style to the average
hip-hop magazine and I have included as many features as possible on my media product which define it as a conventional
magazine. In the next few slides, I will be looking at my three magazine pages (the front cover, contents page and double page
spread) to analyse and annotate the features which I feel are conventional or not.

4. My masthead is a conventional one since it’s placed on the
top of my front cover and is the most prominent text out
of everything else. Since graffiti is a part of hip-hop and rap
culture, I felt that my chosen font would perfectly portray
a rap and hip-hop magazine since it holds connotations to
freewill, vandalism and art, just like the popular values of
rap music. The dark red colour which elevates to a more
brighter tone brings in a level of detail which really
represents the professionalism of my magazine; it also
contrasts with the light grey and dull background, making
the page a lot more ostentatious but not too gaudy. I felt
that I broke from convention by naming my magazine with
four words. One convention I have included though is the
overlapping of the main image; although you can still fully
see the text, the underline is partially covered by the
image – the reasoning for this is because my title is quite
long for a magazine and due to this, I thought that if too
much of the text is covered, the audience would not
understand what the magazine is called.
My cover lines are all in a simple Arial font which is a
convention many magazines (if not all) use for easy
readability, My influence came from VIBE magazine,
especially this issue: http://goo.gl/8OEvcZ - you can see
the clear resemblance with the list of simple adjective,
nouns and verbs used; each line on the list is relatable to
the magazine’s genre. It’s also streamlined against the
model’s body which is another convention – the text never
touches image unless it’s the anchoring text, this
challenges typical convention since normal cover lines
include a subheading and a description, I however have
decided to I have chosen to follow the “rule of thirds”
convention where most of the sell lines are placed on the
left third of the magazine, this is because readers can
quickly peak at the text when going through stacks of
magazines. The next sell line is different from the one
above, it is a differently styled and coloured sell line to
show that it’s a bit more important than the others – even
though it’s different it follows the colour scheme.
The barcode has challenged convention because there is not only the standard barcode
but a QR one as well. There is a style with the barcodes too, they link together with each
other but also with the web address and issue date. I noticed that my colour scheme
looked like a Christmas theme and decided to then call this magazine the “Christmas
edition”; this follows convention because many magazines have special editions according
to special holidays.
The anchoring text links to the colour scheme, as mentioned in the section
explaining the colour choice, you can see that it’s one of the more important
texts so I followed convention and made it stand out with a unique font and
size. It’s got a large font size and a little black outline – this just strengthens
the importance of the text which is just another popular convention used.
The colour scheme I have chosen is orange,
green and. red There are three different
colours since it’s quite conventional to
have two or three colours used; they all
contrast with one another whilst
complimenting the main image and
background colour. I broke from
convention by organising my colour
scheme – the red and green were chosen
to suit the date this is releasing in; both
colours are a traditional Christmas pattern.
The orange on the other hand contrasts
from all other colours and is the most
striking colour. This allowed me to devise a
system where red and green are the two
main colours and orange is the accent
which tells the reader what's most
important. The pug/competition for the
PS4 (which is another convention in itself)
is highlighted by an orange box to show it’s
importance just like the sell line about
Chris Brown and the anchoring text for the
main image.
The Strapline is inspired once again by VIBE magazine - more
specifically from: http://goo.gl/IWph3w. I used the idea for
popular artist names instead of a slogan to break from normal
convention. I kept the idea of a strapline but changed the detail
of it. It matches with the colour scheme to give off a Christmas
feel to stay in convention with all other holiday themed issues.
The image used here has conventions of a
hip-hop and rap magazine because it suits
with the genre and it’s culture. The artist
shows his status through looking at his
expensive watch; the clothing worn here
breaks from convention a little since it’s
not seen as the most “gangster” type o
clothing but that was chosen because the
artist himself is supposed to be a break
from convention. The colour black is
prominent in his outfit because this is the
style of clothing that’s worn by rap
listeners. The break from convention was
that the artist is a rapper but who is smart
and respectable at the same time – you
can clearly tell this from his smart hairstyle
too.

5. I have added links to different social media sites to connote that this magazine is based on the internet as well
as on paper. This is a convention since with the advancing of technology, more and more magazines have
established themselves online which is what I am implying with different links. I got this idea from VIBE
magazine once again because they have prominent advertising of their website on their physical magazines.
The colour scheme continues with the front page; the
green is the most prominent colour with the red being
the second main colour. The orange is once again
highlighting the most important contents. This is a
convention because the colour scheme continues on
throughout the whole magazine in many other
magazines.
The “CONTENTS” follows convention because it is written in a unique style to the rest of the other texts. This is
also in a different colour which once again keeps with the standard convention since it’s a title for the whole
page. I got my inspiration from: http://goo.gl/angtcS because I felt that if I imitated this style, it would fit into
my packed page. There was not a lot of space for a title once I had fitted in all my other texts and images. This
style also fitted with the pattern of revolving around the main image which is a convention for the front page,
not the contents page however.
There are two sections for my contents
page; the REGULARS and FEATURING. This
is a common appearance in many contents
pages. I once again got my inspiration from
VIBE magazine once again, specifically this
issue: http://goo.gl/angtcS. I felt that
instead of having a “featuring” and a
“fashion”, it would suit my magazine better
to change the “fashion” to “regulars”. The
colour scheme is once again carried on,
since green is a lot more easier on the eye,
this is a common occurrence for a colour to
be the main one, it doesn’t always have to
be equally distributed. I have followed the
convention of not ordering my contents in
a chronological order, they’re randomly
ordered in the list. I have also decided to
stick with the convention of giving a title
and a brief description for each content – it
looks more appealing than a bunch of
random titles. The orange “X” placed
between each content title is a divider to
allow for clearer reading. This is another
convention that I have followed – although
this is not as common as the other
conventions I have implemented. The text
is aligned against the main image, its not
overlapping and is keeping a consistent
pattern, this is a convention of most
magazines since the image is not supposed
to “touch” the text.
I have implemented the convention of using more than
one image for the contents page however, I have
adapted from the normal conventions by using a main
image which is centred around the text like a front cover
would be like. The three small images are aligned with
each other just like a conventional magazine would; I got
this idea from: http://goo.gl/2kxwQ5. This for me felt
controversial since the source I took this from was not a
rap and/or hip-hop magazine.
Another convention I used which relates to the image is
the model. Many magazines choose to have a different
artist on their contents page because it feels like the
magazine is solely focusing on the one artist. I have
followed this general rule by choosing an entirely new
model to be on my contents page. I have however
chosen to keep an image of my main model to also show
that they’re in the issue. Once again the orange colour
highlighting him shows that it’s an important article for
the magazine.
The background of the contents page is not a solid
colour; this breaks away from convention since you
would mostly see the background to a s single colour or
a slight blend in colours. This is done in order to allow for
the text to be readable. Although I have broken from
convention, I have still considered these factors; for
example I have chosen to shoot in front of a white wall.
This is because even though it’s a new location and it
would break from convention, you can see the actual
contents on the contents page.

6. The title of my Double Page Spread is copied from the anchoring text in the front page. It’s the name of the artist I chose to focus on.
This is a clear convention since many music magazines use the same style associated with the artist throughout the magazine to give
it continuity. The font is even the same as before as well as the orange colour – showing that this article is very important. The orange
once again contrasts very well from the dark background and can be clearly seen. This is important because a convention for Double
Page Spreads is to have the main title as powerful in order to make the article seem a lot more important.
The main image is of the same person
as my front cover; the difference is
that they’re wearing a completely
different costume. This follows
standard convention because it
shows that the magazine is a lot more
professional. Using the same costume
would seem a lot more
unprofessional and wont feel like a
real magazine. One other point is that
you cannot show the convention of
costume effectively if you only use
one outfit. I wanted to show the
stereotypes of a rap artist, this was
done with the two conventional
outfits that the model has worn.
I have shown my Photoshop skills by
making a colour splash effect – this is
when a certain segment of an image
is in colour whilst everything else is in
black and white or when everything is
in colour and a small segment is in
black and white. The reason I chose
to do this was to accommodate the
dark colour scheme but to also break
from convention. Typically, the
double page spread image is in front
of a white background; there is no
real background to it – just some
colours or even just white. I decided
to go against that because I felt that it
matched with the contents page but
it would also break from the
continuity of the whole magazine;
this would really emphasise the
Double Page Spread’s importance.
Another convention which I chose to follow is the font for my article; it’s in a clearly laid out and easy to read font. I chose to
keep the same font in the contents and the front page since it’s really easy to read and looks good at the same time. The layout
of the interview is fairly standard and conventional; the text is in regular mode until it gets to the name of whoever is speaking –
this is so it’s easy to distinguish who’s saying what. The first letter is capitalized and enlarged to show where the article starts.
There are many conventional styles in order to do this. For example, you could make the first paragraph bold or use a different
font for the first letter. The reason I decided to just enlarge the letter was because it matched the whole article.

7. How does your magazine represent particular social
groups?
The social groups that are represented in my magazine are the young generation of the lower class rap listeners. My magazine is
aimed to appeal to younger kids who listen to Rap and Hip-Hop or even RnB. The genres themselves can be seen as a sub culture
within themselves; with conventions such as graffiti (like the font on my front cover’s masthead), cars, money, drugs, street
fashion, sex and women. The social group I am trying to represent house a certain set of stereotypes, these are:
• Misogyny: the artists that are mainly featured on the magazine have little respect for females, they look at them as sex
objects rather than beings. This is a very common mind-set the average rapper would have. Even female artists over
sexualize themselves through provocative dresses.
• Drug and Alcohol use: this is a common practice for this social group; they daily drink alcohol (even if underage) and do
drugs (commonly marijuana).
• Crime: the main source of income is through illegal activities; whether that’s selling drugs, murdering, prostituting etc.
• Lifestyle: partying is one of the many unethical hobbies that this social group has; they like to partake in raves daily.
• Image: their image is obviously not a good one; they are often depicted as hooligans and thugs – especially with the police.
The artist I am portraying on my magazine is a strong and independent male figure who has recently upgraded from the middle
class to the high class. He is a young adult who although is not from an African heritage, represents them due to his background
and friendship with them. This is just like many other conventional and stereotypical rap artist who currently exist – just like them
my artist represents the struggle of rap and hip-hop. My magazine represents this type of social group.

8. What kind of media institution would distribute your
magazine and why?
My magazine includes many of the features a standard rap magazine like ‘VIBE’ or ‘The Source’ has; they are all portraying the
same genre and they have similar content. Due to this; I think that the best media institution to distribute my magazine would be
the same one that distributes VIBE. I acknowledge the fact that ‘VIBE’ and my magazine are very similar but the difference is that
‘Non Stop Hip-Hop’ is based for the UK whilst ‘VIBE’ magazine is more popular in the US than here. I feel that since both
magazines share similar content, it would be wise to publish them under the same institution since it would be a lot easier and
the institution would be seen as the main seller of that genre. The fact that both magazines are similar could be a problem too; it
wouldn’t be a smart investment to have to products which are their own competitors – one magazine would definitely sell better
than the other which may lead to the cancellation of the less popular one.
Due to this reason, I think that Time Inc. (formally known as IPC Media) would be the better option. The reason I specifically chose
this company is they’re the biggest magazine distributer in the whole of the UK (with over 20 million readers) but also because
they already distribute 60 different magazines which all belong to different genres. More importantly however, there isn't a genre
which my magazine portrays already being distributed. One example of a well known magazine that is distributed by this company
Is NME, the UK based rock/indie magazine.
Time Inc. have equally both male and female customers; this can be beneficial for both my magazine and their company since
‘Non Stop Hip-Hop’ is intended for males which would bring in more male customers for the company but more female customers
can be brought into my magazine.

9. Who would be the audience for your magazine?
There are four main factors which put you into my target market category, they are:
• A black and African heritage: this is because the genre originally started from this ethnicity but has also spread to other
ethnic groups who enjoy reading this genre.
• Young adults (Roughly aged between 15-21): they’re the main age group since it’s a lot more relatable to their current likes,
hobbies and past times but there are elder readers (22-31) who enjoy still enjoy the rap and hip-hop genre
• The Male gender: this is the main gender of readers, there normally isn’t a lot of female fans for this type of genre – they
usually prefer the more relaxed genre of RnB
• Middle Class to low class: these classes are the main focus since they are the ones the struggle of hip hop and rap relate to.
Just like the ethnicity, this is where the genres originally came from.
These are the basic factors for my target market but that does not limit it to them; there can be other readers – anyone who is
interested in the rap genre are welcome to read the magazine.
As stated in slide 7, I am representing a particular social group; anyone who is a part of that group are also the target market for
the magazine – it allows for that group to read about their lifestyle.
My audience are the same of those who read ‘VIBE’, ‘XXL’ and ‘The Source’ magazine since the three magazines share many
features.

10. How did you attract/address your audience?
Since my target audience were the social group who listen to rap and hip-hop, I decided to make my magazine appeal to them by
adopting hip-hop culture and rap designs. There were five main factors which attracts my audience, they are:
• Colour: The colour scheme chosen is bright against dark images and backgrounds; this gives a hip-hop style colour scheme
which can closely relate to brightly coloured graffiti against dark walls – this was one of the reasons as to why I chose the
graffiti font for my masthead. The red is a prominent colour alongside green which contrasts it. This was chosen for two
reasons; one was because it held a Christmas theme which relates to the magazine issue but also because red is a popular
colour amongst my audience type. For example, there is a gang which implement the colour red into everything i.e. their
clothes, cars etc. Both green and red are masculine colours which appeal to my male dominant target audience.
• Language: The language used in the front cover and contents page are standard and easy to read; there is no complicated
language which can put off readers – the terminology is suitable for all types of readers, even those who are not even my
target audience. The reason for this is because with the social group I am aiming for, language varies i.e. there is new slang
which not everyone can understand. Due to this, I have chosen to keep it slang free so everyone can understand. The
language used in the double page spread article is a lot different; it represents the social group I am looking at – this is
because it’s coming from the stereotypical rap artist who uses slang. This is a convention I have implemented because I am
showing exactly what the artist is saying; I am not changing the words so that the readers can understand. The magazine is
not censored; there are swear words fully on display on the magazine, this is because my target audience share the same
bad language.
• Images: The images used represent the hip-hop and rap culture very heavily. The front page image used represents the ‘rich
rapper’ stereotype; his pose is clearly done to boast his expensive watch; a convention in many rap magazines. The camera
angle is low for every single main image – this was done to show dominance and power. The three minor images used on
the contents page resemble ‘mugshots’ taken in a jail to reference the hatred and poor affiliation with the police. For my
double page spread image, I decided to pay homage to an existing famous rapper by recreating his album cover. This can be
found here: http://goo.gl/ARy2qy. I think this would appeal to many of the readers since this image is widely known by my
target audience.

11. How did you attract/address your audience?
• Mood: The mood and atmosphere my magazine creates is an exciting yet ‘grimey’ one. It represents the rap and hip-hop
culture so it should give off the mood of this genre too. The bright colours and representation give off a vibrant attitude
which inspired you to have the lifestyle that these rappers live. The main image on the front contrasts to the articles
surrounding it; the artist looks very smug and self absorbed in his watch whilst the sell lines connote to exciting stories. For
example, one sell line is “hottest interview” which implies that the interviews in the magazine are extremely good with new
and exclusive content. The reason I chose to keep this facial expression is to show that the magazine can give different
emotions. At some points you can be inspired by the stories, engrossed in an interview or even sadden by another article.
The whole point is to give off a mix of emotions.
• Masthead: The masthead is directly taken from hip-hop culture; graffiti is a common convention of hip-hop. The art form
which connotes rebellion makes a great font for the masthead. I chose to use the font “Bombing” because it looks like
genuine graffiti; this nicely represents the social group I am trying to represent. The colour is a deep red which then blends
to a lighter and brighter shade. As stated before, the colour red is a convention for rap music since it connotes danger. The
masthead is appealing to the audience because it represents a rap magazine properly.

12. What have you learnt about the technologies from the
process of constructing the magazine?
This task required to take full advantage of technologies, programmes and websites such as Blogger, Photoshop, Microsoft Word,
Microsoft PowerPoint and Scribd.
Photoshop: The task was to create a magazine; the best but also most complicated programme to achieve this task was
Photoshop. I have developed many skills in Photoshop and have grown quite comfortable with using the programme. There were
many difficulties at the start since I didn’t know how to use the software fully but as I advanced with the completion of my
magazine, I also advanced my skills in Photoshop. Although I understood the basics of the programme, I never knew how to do
many easy tasks such as cropping and removing the background – I used to manually delete the background with the eraser tool
but I now know how to use the quick select tool to my advantage. One important technique I learnt from independently studying
was to create a colour splash image where a segment of the image is in colour whilst the rest of it was in black and white or visa
versa. To achieve this effect, you must create two layers of the same image, turn on into black and white and leave the other in
colour. Put the black and white image on top and delete the segment you want in colour. Since the images are identical, it should
give the effect of a colour splash.

13. What have you learnt about the technologies from the
process of constructing the magazine?
I never had any problems with Microsoft Word or PowerPoint; I have been using these programmes for the past six years. One big
issue I had was working with Apple Macs rather than a Windows PC, it took me while to configure the Macs to my preferences; for
example I had to manually turn on the right clicking option. I have however become a lot more skilled in using the Apple Macs,
especially since I rarely use them anymore.
Blogger and Scribd: I had never used a blogger account before or even created a blog so managing one was more difficult than
creating the actual magazine itself. There were many problems faced with Scribd too; it took me an extremely long amount of
time to realise that you must copy and paste the HTML code of the Scribd word document into the post. The first problem I had
was actually creating the blogger account, it would not let me use my email address so my solution was to create anew email.
One of the main problems I had though was organising the blog into sections; I had not created a systematic order and uploaded
the first completed task I saw. This was a problem near the end since I was told to organise it. However with the help of YouTube, I
managed to create Pages and links in my blog so you can click on a hyperlink which would redirect you to the post. There is also a
search box in the top right corner to allow for easy access. I also decided to make my blog a private account which only certain
members could access, this was to prevent any sort of plagiarism.

14. Looking back to your preliminary task. What do you feel you
have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
I feel that from my preliminary task, I have improved in making magazines quite a bit! I have learnt new techniques in Photoshop
which makes the work a lot more easier. The biggest example would be the colour splash effect but also basic features like
cropping, changing the brightness/contrast/saturation and even using the patch and spot healing tool to be able to completely
remove a person from the background.
More specifically though, I have learnt about the conventions, codes and representations of my magazine and chosen genre a lot
more than before. My knowledge on conventions and representations on social groups has increased a lot since the beginning. I
know understand new conventions such as the rule of thirds – I was not aware that most magazines have their information on the
left side due to the stacking of magazines. These new and developed pieces of information have allowed me to make the
magazine I have as a finished product.
I feel as if I have become a more creative and computer literate individual now that the task is finished. My understanding of
Photoshop has also made me into a more creative person; this will help with future tasks.

15. How successful do you feel your end product is in the
fulfilling task. How well does it fit the brief?
I think my end product is excellent; it fits the brief since I have included every factor a magazine that I know. I am very proud of
myself since I spent a lot of hours working on and refining the piece to house and break away from as many conventions that I
could possibly think of. I spent at least three hours going over even the smallest details and tried to fix them i.e. the alignment of
the text on the contents page.
I do feel that my final product fits the criteria required for a high grade. There are a few flaws I wish I could mend such as the
image quality however, the lack of a better camera means I cannot do so. One other problem that has occurred is that my files
have become corrupt and cannot be accessed in Photoshop anymore; I am extremely glad that I converted them into .JPEG files
just in time. However, if there ever is a chance to improve my work, I would have to completely start from scratch.

16. Audience Feedback
For my audience research, I decided to ask 10 random and different people to rate my front cover, contents page and double page
spread from 1-10 (10 being the highest). I had done this by attaching my three magazine pages to an email which I sent to 10
people. The two graphs below show the results I had received:
The line graph shows all the results I had received, you can see the three different colours representing the three different pages;
you can align the answers from each line to see what the same person through of all three pages.
The bar chart shows the average rating I received for the three pages; once again they’re split into three different colours to
represent the three different magazine pages.
10 different answers ranking from 1-10 (10 being highest)
8.4
8.6
8.8
9
9.2
9.4
9.6
9.8
10
10.2
Front Page Contents Page Double Page Sread
Average score for each page (Out of 10)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Front Page
Contents Page
Double Page Sread