2. In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
This is another convention The masthead is bright
of VIBE magazine which is yellow which has been
an eyebrow on the front done by VIBE to grab
cover which enables the attention of the
reader to see what might audience, as it stands
be coming up in the out on the black
magazine background.
There has only been 3
font sizes used on the
It is a convention for the this front cover which
model on the front cover vary throughout the
to be above the magazine which is part
masthead, and that they of the house style
are making eye contact
with the audience. Also This magazine from
the posture of the model is VIBE uses the rule of
done so that the reader thirds which each
would follow his arms up section has a important
to the to main two of the magazine and is
articles. divided into sections to
catch the readers eye.
The colours used on
The barcode is set out in this magazine is the
a sideward way which is same colours
a convention of VIBE throughout the whole
magazine, this is a magazine which has
unique feature as its not been to maintain a
standardly straight. house style
3. In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
A similar convention which
I have used for my front Another similar convention is
cover is an eyebrow which that the masthead is straight
tells the audience that this in the middle of the front
is the best selling magazine cover and its eye catching
because the colours stand out
with the black background.
Also my magazine is similar For my magazine I have also
as the main article stand s used a variation of 3 main
out most with the cover line colours which consist of blue,
being pointed at by the red and white which are the
model to gain interest from house colours for my
the reader. magazine and are used
throughout the whole
The posture of the model magazine.
which I have used faces the
audience and makes eye For my magazine I have also
contact to gain the attention used a variation of 3 font
of the reader and is also sizes which is used
pointing at the main article throughout the magazine to
which would make the maintain a house style.
reader look at the article.
My magazine also includes a A difference in my magazine
cover mount which can is that my barcode is set
attract the audience to buy straight rather than the other
the magazine as it includes a way and gives a price which
free magazine. is reasonable for my target
audience as its affordable.
4. In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
There is a header which
The contents page has been includes the title of the
split into sections so readers magazine and the date of the
can go and read about things magazine release.
that they may be more of
VIBE uses a convention of
interest to them, this way it
using the similar contents
makes the magazine easier
masthead throughout all
to read, such as a features
their magazines, which is
section and fashion section.
unique and grabs the readers
attention.
This is a section of the
magazine which has probably The colour of the magazine is
been linked with the image red, which is bright and grabs
used in the contents page the readers attention as its
which allows readers to eye catching and makes them
visually see what type of read about what is in this
fashion is being mentioned. issue of the magazine and
therefore lead them on to
The image used on the reading it.
contents page represents the
readers social class and There is an image of a main
music genre as this is how artist on the contents page,
people of the hop hop music and the posture of holding
scene are represented with the jewels, will make the
tattoos, caps and jewels. reader want to read on more
about what the article may
There is a footer for the be about. As there is a
contents page which includes section of the contents page
details of the image and the to do with fashion, and is
date of the magazine release. most probably linked to that.
5. In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
My magazine includes a My masthead is coloured
header which includes the red so that it stands out on
name of the magazine with a black background and is
the same logo used on the eye catching.
front cover.
The magazine has also been The background colour I
put into sections so that the have used for my contents
reader can look through page is black. This is not a
different subjects to do convention of hip-hop
with the hip-hop and rap magazines, but I have used
genre, such as latest black to make the magazine
artist, exclusives. a unique magazine in its
genre so that its different to
The colours used on the my the rest and so that an
contents page are the same audience would decide to
colours used throughout read this rather than any
the whole magazine as this others, I understand that its
is the same colour scheme not normal to have a black
and I wanted to maintain magazine but the colour
the same house style to scheme is also eye catching
readers know which to the reader and the colours
magazine it is by creating a stand out.
trademark.
The image I have used is
The magazine also includes linked to an article in the
a footer which informs the magazine for fashion, and
reader what issue of the the model is postured in a
magazine they are reading way to link to the rap and
and also the website of the hip-hop genre, this is create
magazine which can be a connection between the
visited to find out more reader and magazine.
information.
6. In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
There is a header
which includes
what the article is
about so that the The colour used
reader is able to on the double
know what the page spread are
article is about. bright so that
they catch the
readers eye and
is also VIBE
magazines house
style.
The copy is shared
between both the
right and left ear of There have been
the double page a variety of
spread this is done images used of
so that the reader the same artist
spreads their eyes which make eye
across the whole contact with the
page. reader and are
very eye
catching.
The main image of the article is placed
in the middle of the page so that the The background colour of this page is a
reader looks at it and makes eye very creamy sort of colour which is
contact and then looks to the right and neutral and it’s a convention to have
left of it to read what its about. light colours through pages rather than
darker.
7. In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
This masthead
which is done in
red to create an
eye catching The posture of the
heading so the artists is
reader is enticed something of the
to read about the hip-hop genre and
article as it relates to how
stands out. people of the
genre are
A drop cap has portrayed. Also
been used to the artist is facing
make the first the audience
letter stand out which means he
from everything will be making eye
else so the contact with the
reader sees the reader.
first letter and
then begins to The background
read the rest of colour used on the
the article double page
spread is black,
This is the copy which is not
which is arranged normally a
on the left as its convention as they
an interview and don’t really use
the picture of the dark colours, this
artists on the left therefore making
so that the my magazine a
audience is able The artist image is on the second page
unique magazine
The magazine has page numbers which of the double page spread, so that the
to see who the on the market.
makes it easier for readers as they can audience is able to focus their eyes
new artist is.
go to an exact page to find out about mainly on the artist after they have read
what they want to read about the interview
8. How does your media product represent particular social
groups?
Representation- My media product represents a social group of young people aged
between 14- 25 as this is mainly the age group of people listening to hip-hop and rap
music. The social groups this magazine is aiming at people who are of middleclass or
lower and mixed gender which maybe interested in hip-hop and rap music.
The location of this
photo represents
young people as
they are known for
being on roads.
The pose of the The clothing of the
artist shows the model represents
hand gesture being someone of a hip-hop
something of the hip and rap music genre
hop music genre because of the way he
which also wearing trainers with
represents the young a flashy watch which
people of nowadays. can signify street
credit in the hip-hop
The clothing used in and rap world
this image portrays a
young reader, and The posture of the
the clothing of the model shows that he is
hip hop genre, such slouched up against a
as a cap, bracelet wall which is known
and dark clothing. from someone in hip-
hop music and that they
are on the road as that
is how young people are
portrayed.
9. How does your media product represent particular social
groups?
Textual Content- the textual content used in the magazine was normal English with little
slang but also with very little formal English. There were more shorts words than long
words as this was done to make the text short and snappy, which would be more
entertaining for the reader of this magazine as they were aged young people. The only
place where there may have been slightly slang is the interview, as the interview with
the artist was mainly a conversation rather than a formal interview.
Design Construct- The design of the magazine has been created so that the reader can
easily flow through the magazine with ease. The design for the front cover has a few
cover lines and an image which is easy to view. The contents page is designed so you
find the article and look across to find the page number. For the double page spread the
layout is simple as the interview is the first thing you read and then an image on the
second page. The fonts used are very simple and easy to read therefore making it easy
for the social groups that the magazine are aimed at.
10. What kind of media institution might distribute your media
product and why?
Magazine Distributors- A magazine distributor which I already looked at was IPC Media.
They print almost two thirds of women based magazines and 42 percent men. There main
audience is adults of which are men, upmarket women, and mass market women. The
men's specialise in leisure and lifestyle. And the women's specialise in famous women’s
weeklies and luxury fashion brands.
Another one which I looked at was Bauer Media. They offer cross media production with
300 magazines, online, TV, and radio stations. This includes Kiss Radio, Box Tv channel.
Existing Magazine- An existing magazine which I looked at was VIBE. This magazine is
produced and distributed by InterMedia Partners. This magazine aims predominantly R&B
and hip-hop music listeners. The biggest competitor of this magazine is XXL and The
Source.
My magazine would be sold in shops which could be easily accessed by young people and
places which be affordable by them, this such as book shops, corner shops and on the
internet. I would say that Bauer Media would be the best institution as they deal with
similar music with what my music magazine deals with, and also offer cross media
production, which offers future prospects in different media, such as tv and radio. They
also aim at a similar audience to which my magazine deals with which is good as they
would already have a base and audience who would see interest in the my unique
magazine.
11. Who would be the audience for your media product?
Audience- The audience for my magazine is mixed gender of young people aged around
14-25. The class of the audience is middle class and lower, hence the price of the
magazine which would be affordable for the classes aimed at. The location of where
mainly the magazine would be sold is in area of where hip-hop and rap would be seen as
important. Some areas would be South London, Croydon and East London, Lewisham and
Hackney. The income of these people of who buy this magazines would be of a lower
bracket rather than higher as it is aimed towards younger people who may not always
have a job. My audience would most probably be interested in the latest fashion and
would therefore relate to my magazine as it would include images and articles about
recent fashion.
The aspirations of the audience of my magazine would be to be successful and to do well
and have things people in the rap and hip-hop music scene own, such as clothing and
fashion accessories and to basically be like other people in the industry. These are
addressed as my magazine would include images of artists showing off what they own
linked to their success, such as jewels, and also include articles about fashion and the
latest of what going on in the scene.
12. How did you attract/address your audience?
The first way I addressed my audience is that the front cover image makes eye
contact with the reader which immediately makes the reader want to read
about the magazine as he also points towards the main article.
Also the double page spread showed that the artist again made eye contact with
the audience which would attract them to read more about the magazine as
they may find more pictures or any other articles. His eyes a piercing so
therefore immediately grabs the readers attention.
On the contents page the model made eye contact with the reader which would
make the reader to look at what the article may be about.
My magazine also contains a layout which would attract the readers eye as it Is simple and easy for the
reader to understand and read. Also the colour scheme used in my magazine has been used throughout
the whole magazine maintaining a colour scheme which can be remembered by readers as a trademark
colour scheme. The colours used are very eye catching and all colours contrast with each other gaining
attention of the reader.
13. How did you attract/address your audience?
To construct the photo to make them more attractive to the audience I made the artists and model face
towards the reader and always make eye contact with the reader, to create a connection between the
reader and the magazine.
To make the titles more appealing, I found colours which would stand
out on a black background. The colours I found were red, blue and white
which you can see stands out and is very attractive and eye catching and
therefore sticking right out to the readers eye.
I selected content for my magazine by including information that the audience reading this would be
interested in. such as fashion, new artist, and basically what is new in the rap and hip-hop music
scene. I also decided to include an interview with an up and coming artist as I believed that this
would be of more interest to my target audience as they would like to know more about an artist.
14. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of
constructing this product?
There were many types of technologies available, such using the computer to do most of my magazine.
The hardware available for me to do my magazine, were computers, cameras, scanner, mobile phone.
The software I used was mainly Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe InDesign and also the internet for things
such as google and wordpress which has been used for my blog.
To access the software it was easy and always accessible as the college had always provided computer
rooms and at home I was able to access the softwares. But the hardware was a little harder to access as
cameras had to be booked out and also I had to use a scanner in college.
The cameras at first were difficult to use as I didn’t know how to work them, but then I learnt all the
functions and how to use them so I then found it easier after. Also I found using software such as
Indesign and Photoshop much harder as I have never used them so it took me a long time to learn the
functions and tools in order to use them.
I used software InDesign to create my magazine by editing text and the layout of my magazine using
fonts, colours and moving images. I also used software Photoshop to edit images which I had needed for
my magazine, such as to crop, resize or cut around the images.
15. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you
have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Comparing my preliminary task with the real magazine I have learnt many skills. These skills are that I
have learnt are to use software such as InDesign and Photoshop as I am now able to edit images better
than before. I have also learn a lot more media skills such as important knowledge and concepts of
media magazines.
From looking at both contents page’s, we
can clearly see that I have developed my
skills on InDesign and learnt about
conventions of layouts for contents pages.
We can see how I have included imagery in
the new one and didn’t consider it in the
old one. Also we can see how the colour
schemes are different and the new one
looks more attractive and appealing to an
audience rather than the first, although
there are bright colours they are not
appealing to a reader. Also the conventions
of a proper contents page cannot be seen
in the first as there are a number of
missing conventions such as no header. We
can also see the improvements on layout
as the old one has just been arranged
without being alligned or in any particular
way whereas the new one has used
margins and been arranged in a certain
way to look more like a music magazine.
16. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you
have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
From looking at both front pages we can
again see the improvements with InDesign.
We can see how I have learnt the
conventions of magazine covers from the
new magazine cover as I have included key
features such as a barcode, eyebrow, cover
mounts and many more. These
conventions have been less used in the old
front cover. Also in the old one the colours
used aren't eye catching and probably
wouldn’t attract an audience to read it as
they are not appealing. In the new front
cover we can see the colours that are used
are very eye catching and stand out with
all the other colours. We also get to see
the images used are different as the old
one doesn’t really get the reader
interested as the model is more interested
in the book and in the new magazine the
model has made eye contact with the
reader and is pointing at the main article,
which is something which I have learnt
about composition and layout of a
magazine.
