In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
My media project relied highly on the existing media research that was conducted prior to the construction. Without the research I would not have been able to conduct the project to such a high standard as created. In the project my media product uses and develops forms and conventions of existing Hip-Hop orientated magazines: The Source and XXL. I did not challenge the forms and conventions of existing magazines because I wanted my media project to be realistic, rather than fake. I used the conventions of the Hip-Hop genre modelling my magazine front cover on the way “The Source” magazine had modelled theirs. In the competitor’s front covers, colour schemes were used a lot. I also developed on the conventions of the real media products in the front cover. In my own magazines colour schemes were used, but were differentiated in text areas to stand out and catch the reader’s attention; I used this differentiation with the font colours of the buzzwords.
The similarities and differences between my front cover and “The Source” magazine can be seen when compared to one another.
The contents page of the magazine is similarly modelled to those of its competitors of the same music genre. The contents pages from the different magazines predominately were images of artist on a basic background with little writing. I used this convention so my magazines contents page meets the high standards of the competitors. I also developed these conventions so that my magazine could stand out from those of its competitors. I did this by adding an “On the Cover” segment at the bottom left of the page. Some magazines had this; but in not as much detail as my contents page.
The double page spread of the media project is further similarly modelled to those of its competitors of the same genre. Double page spreads from other magazines contained a few different images on simple backgrounds with the majority of the page being text. I modelled my magazines double page spread according to these conventions. My double page spread is on a white background, there are two images on the pages and a large amount of text. I developed these conventions by having a semi-transparent DJ turntable on the white background.
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
The media product which I created is targeted at teenagers between the ages of 15-19; this is due to the target audience research I conducted prior to construction. The genre of the magazine is Hip-Hop and Rap which is predominately listened to teenagers between the ages of 15-19 amongst other ages in the UK. The social group who the magazine are aimed at are represented as being laid back; money hungry; and very informal.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
After doing vigorous research on existing magazines distribution; I examined XXL magazine. XXL magazine are published by Harris Publications Inc. they are magazine publishers located in New York which publishes XXL, 0-60 and Rides, among other titles. If I was to distribute my media product, I would also have it distributed by Harris Publications Inc. This is because the company already specialises in the publications of Hip-Hop magazines; and there already apparent expertise would be extremely viable in getting my product to the mass audience.
Who would be the audience for your media product?
The audience for my media product would be Hip-Hop fans between the ages of 15-19. The reason for this is because the magazine is a Hip-Hop magazine designed for fans; and prior to construction of the project I conducted target audience research which indicated that individuals between the ages of 15-19 would be likely to purchase the magazine.
How did you attract/address your audience?
I attracted my audience to the magazine by using a famous world renown artist “WaxR” on the front cover; and also had the sell line and anchorage text relating to the artist. This was to draw in the attention of the audience because when they see the name of the artist and the image; it would appeal to the audience and they would become prone to pick up a copy, and look forth. I also attracted the audience to the magazine, by including names of other famous Hip-Hop artist as buzz words on the front cover. Another technique I used to attract the audience to the magazine was the use of an informal register. The informal language would attract the reader to the magazine; as prior to the construction of the magazine; the target audience research indicated that informal language was ideal; and formal language may not relate to the target audience. The use of informal language further relates to the audience directly; and would make the reader more comfortable with the magazine; and the reader would feel the magazine was designed with them in mind, furthering the chances of a purchase.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
During the course of the construction of the project, my understanding and abilities of technologies had increased. I have learnt about www.blogger.com/ which is a web service for publishing blogs. I used “blogger” to record and publish my project; making it easier for others to access the project. It also allows me to view information from my teacher; such as text, images, videos and presentations.
I used SLR cameras for taking images for the project. Prior to the start of the project, I was camera illiterate, but through the course of the project my understanding and abilities of using the cameras has developed.
Whilst creating the magazine and editing images I used the program: Adobe Photoshop CS3/4. Before the project began, I had never used Photoshop before, so at the start of the project it was rather difficult to get the hang of using Photoshop, but my skills progressed throughout the duration of the project, and I am now comfortable using Photoshop. Some of the skills I have learnt to do on Photoshop are:
Adjusting Brightness and Contrast of Images
Cropping and enlarging images according to preference
Adding filters to images, such as; Gaussian blur
Adding input masks to images to easily cut out backgrounds professionally
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
After looking back at my preliminary task I am able to see that I have progressed alot. My preliminary task had been constructed to a low standard, this is due to my low understanding of how to use Photoshop, and also there are no conventions applied. The text font and colours are all different; the main image has been cropped to a low standard; and also the text is too close to the edges.
In the progression from my preliminary task to my final product, I believe I have learnt how to use Photoshop; what the conventions of a Hip-Hop magazine are; how to represent these conventions to the target audience. I have gained a true understating of the target audience; and how to apply my product to the target audience. I believe my product applies well to the target audience.
