1. Evaluation Sonia Akhtar Hussain

2. Front Cover

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

4. I have used ‘XXL’ Lil Wayne’s front cover for inspiration in order to make my front cover seem real and look like it’s a real magazine. This is the way I had interpreted XXL to my work.

5. Pug The masthead I created is similar but the title stands for ‘New Swag Entertainment’ Maximum of four/five font colours used More straplines on to either one side Here, the masthead is bold Cover image hiding the masthead Here is a barcode and the date it displays till The price is not displayed but the date and barcode is Kicker stating the model/artist + a quote from them

6. To emphasize the concept of swag and its purpose Text + Language Capital letters to emphasize important people in the hip hop culture therefore it stands out and it then catches the reader’s eye to purchase the item because they would be interested knowing that the content inside is going to relate to the names on the straplines The use of the ‘+’ to replace the ‘and’ is to make the text more balanced. Plus, it will then relate to the target audience as they like to shorten standard English Non standard English to appeal to target audience. This will then engage the younger generation as they could relate themselves in terms of dialogue

7. Mise-en-scene Costume: Smart wear, bow, chinos, an earring. Acting: Direct eye contact to the reader, hands behind the back Lighting: Quite light and bright. Make-up: Light, natural looking, facial hair is quite stereotypical of black males. Hair is also stereotypical Props: None Setting: None, just plain white background

8. Continued.. Costume: He is wearing smart clothing which shows some kind of formality. This may challenge the stereotypes of a usual black rapper. It implies not to judge or underestimate hip hop artists. Furthermore, he seems to be in trend with the latest fashion also. Lighting: As the lighting is quite light you could see the model. Therefore you could see the whole mise-en-scene. It is not dark therefore it does not suggest doom or anything related to being scary. This implies the magazine is then friendly. I took this idea from the XXL front cover. Acting: The model has direct contact which then means the model is straight forward and therefore the magazine contains new entertainment. It seems as almost he is welcoming the readers to read it, that is why I thought to have the model having some kind of direct contact.

9. Make-up: The male model does not have any girly makeup on at all but looks very natural. This fits in the stereotypes of what a hip hop artist would seem. Setting: It is plain background because it would then had some contrast which was not needed. I also took it from the XXL magazine.

10. Camera Angle.. The camera angle used in the front cover is a medium long shot which shows the model usually cut off across the legs. This shows the physical setting but in this case it is white and no background. Also it show the facial expression which is engaging direct contact with the readers.

11. The media product (front cover) I have produced uses, develops and challenges forms and conventions of real products. This is because all the products I have produced are all generic conventions as existing real magazines. So as I was researching many other existing products I found out what were similar under this genre (Hip hop) or any type of genre that they include: masthead, pug, straplines, kicker, price, cover image. Furthermore, I looked at the detail of the magazines and spot what was essential in them.

12. The magazine which I looked over for inspiration was XXL Lil Wayne’s front cover. I did this because it reflected on the type of magazine I was producing which is Hip Hop genre. My Masthead is called ‘NSE’ which stands for New Swag Entertainment. I chose this because the word swag means to impress others, confident, arrogant, aggressive, ‘a person’s manner of walking’ and showing a certain of behavior. Most hip hop artists have some kind of swagger in order to appeal to their audiences. Therefore the magazine implies that it provides new, bang-up-to-date information involving people related to this genre Another, thing that I have noticed on XXL is that there are straplines on one side. They include hip hop related names therefore I did that on my product because it will then interest the reader to purchase the product.

13. Iused the colors blue and grey for the straplines which are quite boyish and relates to hip hop. This is because they complement each other as the color blue’s connotations are calm and cool. This relates to the meaning of swag to be ‘cool’. The text also, frames the image. It is also bold to show some kind of emphasis to imply the important names in Hip hop. The name of the model in my front cover is being emphasized. It also in italic and some kind of graffiti text. This relates to the genre of the magazine because hip hop is not just about music but black people and graffiti art. Therefore, this will target a more of a wider audience who is interested. Plus the name I had chose were nick names. This is because many hip hop artists do not really use their names but some sort of short, snappy, individual name to stand out from amongst hip hop artists.

14. Themodel’s name is emphasized to suggest this is the important element and suggesting the magazine will feature him. The balance of the front cover is distributed in a way to achieve an effect of a clear and pleasing layout. This then avoids clumping elements therefore grouping elements makes it more balanced and clear. I have noticed this in other magazines like Vibe, Rap up and XXL In addition, I have visually connected elements on the page so their edges and axes line up. This creates a stronger balance.

15. In addition, I also used a quote which XXL done. This then catches the reader’s attention and may apply it to their life. The ‘cuz’ is written like this because it relates to the way people in this industry write or pronounce words.

16. Contents Page

17. I have used Vbe’sNickiMinaj contents page for inspiration in order to make my contents page seem real and look like it comes from a real magazine. This is the way I had interpreted Vibe to my work.

18. Text and Language This is in capitals to show the content it features are vital. It also implies that the ones which feature here are the ones which are interesting. The word ‘Juice’ in this context implies who has the most gossip therefore it suggests it is then extremely interesting. This will automatically attract the audience These are numbers showing where the content is placed at. This is showing the title of some articles in the magazine. This is to catch audience’s eyes. Main artists names are highlighted because it gains the interest of the reader. Also, it shows that they are important.

19. Mise-en-scene Costume: Loads of jewellery, shorts, tights, covered Setting: plain. Make-up: Red/brown hair, light make-up Acting: Pouting, sleek, cute. Lighting: Again it is light Props: none

20. Continued.. Costume: The model looks highly in up-to-date fashion which implies fashion is vital and its important to keep in date. This is same amongst other magazines because the model cannot wear something old unless its done on purpose. It will affect their reputation. The camera angle for this shot is a medium long shot. Lighting: The lighting is then again light to avoid any texts not being shown. If it was over ally dark it may look like a different type of genre. Also, it links with hip hop because nowadays music is about futuristic or something quirky therefore not looking all hard or scary would be dark lighting.

21. Acting: The model in the contents page is acting cute, girly girl. This my challenge the stereotypes of women in hip hop because usually they tend to have bog, curvy women who are revealing their assets. But, the model is pouting to attract male attention therefore she looks sexual in some kind of way. Makeup: The makeup is rather cute and simple. This then again goes against the normal rules for women to wear something which is loud to attract attention

22. Barcode and page number page number Main image Straplines Animated animals Content featuring in the magazine

23. The ratio to text to images is that there are the same amount of text as the amount of images. This links to the hip hop because artists reveal as much as image relating to the lyrics they say. It is therefore a balance. The layout of the contents page is organized in columns therefore it creates a strong balance

24. The contents page is consistent with the front cover because the colors used is consistent and the font. In addition, the straplines layout is similar. This is to connect the products together therefore I used some repetition which were repeating colors, fonts. This gives the effect of a controlled sophistication but I never used too much because it could then clutter up a page. Consistent use of colors: blue, red and white. Same use of font and located at the same place.

25. There are features in my contents page which makes it exclusive. For example, there are articles relating to names who are big, well known, popular artists in the game e.g. NickiMinaj and Soulja Boy. I also emphasized them by changing the color of it in order to catch the reader’s eye as they are important and its addressing to the readers what is significant in the magazine as it shows they are in the current news and the target audience will be interested in them.

26. There is one main image and couple of animated animals. This is current as ‘NickiMinaj’ is known for her alter egos and her animated faces she pulls. I also used an existing product which did this and applied it into my product. The mise en scene helps keep it seem hip hop because of the costume the models wear and the animated cartoons as it suggests a new side of feminine artists like NickiMinaj. The costume which the model wears is a lot of jewellery which associates with ‘bling’ and she has red hair. This associates with Rihanna and her current fashion. This links with hip hop because fashion is key in hip hop and how people portray themselves.

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

28. Double Page Spread

29. I have used Streets Lupe Fiasco double page spread for inspiration in order to make my double page spread seem real and look like it comes from a real magazine. This is the way I had interpreted Street to my work.

30. Main image Questions in different colors – differrates from question to answer Quote from the content

31. The layout of the double page spread is in columns. This is the same as the contents page as I then used repetition to create the sense of controlled sophistication. Furthermore, there is again a sense strong balance because there is a clear layout.

32. The purpose of the article is about how an artist has changed and how him being drunk and on drugs affected him and his music career. Therefore, this is to inform the readers on how bad these things are and it could affect people terribly on family, friends and career. It suggests it is not worth it and it is trying to inform the readers to not go through that path as it slows down your success in career/education. The title of the article is called ‘Dying to live’. The color I chose is red to suggest danger and it reflects on the article. In addition, it is also in capital letters to imply this is an important subject to read.

33. I have used many conventions of double page spread such as quotations, main image, writing and the gutter. Here is a quotation from the content. This is used to interest the reader and it then makes them more curious therefore they will then read the article and find out more information.

34. There was one main image being used. This shows the reader who the person is therefore they could identify them. The picture to text ratio is that there is a balance of images and text. The effect of this creates a clear layout and plus it allows the reader to read and see the image therefore it is not just all text and small amount of images. That way they would not get bored.

35. Natural Make-up Light lighting Earrings Tattoo Vest T-shirt Black male model Ed Hardy belt This relates to hip hop because this model looks like a stereotypical hip hop artist.

36. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

37. Hip hop relates to youths in the ghettos but the media represent them with outrageous stereotypes such as violence, vicious but the media does not look at the other perspective. Hip hop music is a way of to portray artists, their communities and their music. Some hip hop music represent bad stereotypes of women and black people. My media product represents both genders of males and men who care about their looks and the way they talk therefore they have some kind of swag. For example, the name of my magazine NSE (New Swag Entertainment) it suggests that the readers who are going to read this are the ones who are concerned about the latest gossip, news and fashion.

38. Furthermore, the models and the hip hop names used in my magazine represents the social groups who would purchase my product. For example, it represents the ones who love music and tend to rap or write their own lyrics. Furthermore, the text written on the front cover suggests people to inspire. They would purchase this for some kind of inspiration from the articles and also to idolise an artist.

39. The contents page represents girls who love fashion, who are trendy, love big brands yet focus on their education or career and become what they aspire. This is shown through the jewellery the model wears, cartoon pictures illustrating how this represents the people who love cute and care for things – shows they are girly. Furthermore, the double page spread represents boys who have had a had a terrible childhood or has some sort of problems. For example, ‘Dying to love’. This shows how hard life is for some yet they have to carry on with their life. It implies they may take drugs.

40. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product an why?

41. Bauer Media The media institution that would distribute the magazine would be Bauer Media. This is because they have many influential media brands and it reaches many, many people. Therefore, if my magazine was distributes then it would have meant that people would be interested because it would have been ‘new’ and ‘fresh’. Also, because they are a large company it will allow their readers to read this magazine if they are interested in urban culture.

42. Who would be the audience for your media product? How did you attract/address your audience?

43. The target audience for my media products would be targeted at young teens to late 20s who love hip hop culture and R’n’B. The target audience would recognize the old school hip hop music, for example Tupac. People who love hip hop will associate him the best rapper and a true legend. This is shown through the contents page where there is an article about Tupac.

44. In addition, male and females would be interested in my magazine because it has ‘juice’ and news for both of them as hip hop is not just only related about girls or boys but both. However, there are many males in the hip hop game whereas there are limited amount of women. This is shown through by having two models one female and one male. This is to attract the target audience. Furthermore, the target audience would be attracted because of the articles such as the double page spread. It conveys important messages for males. Furthermore, I made the model the similar ages as the target audience so they could identify themselves to them or even aspire to become like them.

45. There was also slang used to attract the audience in order for them to relate themselves to them so they could understand. But, there is also standard English been used to target the older generation who are interested in this type of music and people.

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

47. I have learnt many skills which I could apply to my life about technologies. For example, at the start I was a bit weary on the use of Photoshop and did not know what were the best tools for something specific. It was difficult if you did not knew the tools because you would of then end up with something unprofessional. In addition, the small details could affect how your magazine looks like because a gutter or a change in colour could affect the balance.

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

49. One main image Overload of pictures. This gives a cramped effect. Too much contrast. Clear masthead Unclear masthead. Not good use of font and color Kicker cramps the front cover Kicker is clear

50. One main image. Relevant images In column. Balance seems sophisticated and is similar to existing products Font looks too big. Seems unprofessional Too many images. Seems cramped

51. When I was doing my preliminary task, I did not have much knowledge on Photoshop therefore I never knew which was the best tool to do one certain thing. My end result of my preliminary task was rather cramped and seemed unprofessional. I did not knew much about the layout and how to distribute elements on the page to make it seem more balanced. In my preliminary front cover I was unsure on where to put the straplines and how much I should put in. I have learnt that you need to think about and research other similar types of magazines to know where to distribute elements.

52. Furthermore, I learnt that too much emphasis would confuse the readers what information is vital therefore the contrast was not good as things seemed quite similar. In addition, I also clumped things in one area which went against a pleasing and clear layout.