Evaluation

For my media coursework, I created a front cover, contents page and a double page spread of a music magazine of my choice. The genre I chose was Hip Hop because I found that the conventions of a Hip Hop magazine are easy to follow.
The conventions of a Hip Hop magazine include a masthead which is usually very bold though use of colour and block capitals. The colour of the masthead is commonly red or white or black because these colours are connoted to be masculine and a Hip Hop magazine has many masculine elements because target audience is mainly males. The number of different colours used in any magazine front cover is a maximum of 3 colours. They also restrict the number of different fonts on the cover to a maximum of two, usually without san-serif which makes the font bold and clear and the typography is almost always in capitals. Also the balance on the front page is maintained by keeping the amount of text on the right and left side almost equal which makes the magazine more organised. The cover image is of an artist and the artist’s pose is very stereotypical of what is known to be ‘gangster’. Moreover the barcode is located in the bottom right hand corner. The colours and sometimes the fonts are kept constant throughout a Hip Hop magazine and the medium shot image in the contents page is usually located on the left while the text is on the right. Also the contents pages use boxes for some of the text which looks very authentic; this is also carried out on the double page spread. The double page spread however has one page that holds just an image and the other page which contains the information.
My media product does follow the conventions of the existing Hip Hop magazines by use of colour; I used a maximum of three colours which were red, white and black. These colours are mainly used in existing media products due to them being clear and dominant to the eye. In addition; instead of using a boring straight layout, I used a very edgy layout by placing text in various ways e.g. the triangular effect on the front cover and ‘The’ in the title was rotated vertically and ‘Reload’ horizontally; because it links to an urban culture style that Hip Hop Magazines conventionally have. One of the strap lines concluded what artists are present in the magazine to beat competition by offering more to the audience. To make my product look like a good quality magazine; I tried to include little amount of text and to make the layout clear. Throughout my product there are more words than images because Hip Hop is about expression through words and it makes my magazine more informative. I also used boxes which many existing magazines have to hold sub-headings. Furthermore to finish my double page spread off, I used a border which followed the conventions of some of the Hip Hop magazines I had researched. I used appropriate fonts without san serif because this also follows the codes and conventions of a Hip Hop magazine. The images played the most important aspect of the magazine. I used a close-up for my front cover because existing magazines use close-ups and in my research medium shots were used on the inside of the magazine; so I followed that. In order for my magazine to look like a Hip Hop magazine, I took pictures of people with a serious look and their costumes had to reflect on the existing Hip Hop Artists. In addition to make my double page more authentic I used complementary colours and I also made a box quote which is aligned within the text as this is what an existing magazine included.
My media product represents teenagers and younger adults in the Hip Hop business as well as the teenagers who tend to read Hip Hop magazines. My project was aimed at these teens and so I produced it so they would like it and want to buy it. So I tried to make it unique yet simple and not too wordy. The colours used are dark and dominating which relates to the target audience I was going for. The target audience I was trying to attract were mainly boys however girls are not excluded. My media represents my target audience by linking my magazine to the target audience. The black culture is the main ethnicity that most Hip Hop magazines are aimed at including mine. Their interests include self-expression through rapping and MC. Also the types of clothes which they wear are usually baggy jeans with ‘hoodies’ and caps. Moreover they are normally into the biggest labels of clothing i.e. Nike. Therefore I focused a lot on my cover-image so the clothes and attitudes of the models in my images reflected on reality and my target audience. The images convey confidence and a ‘mean’ look which also relates to my target audience.
The media institution that I think would distribute my product would be one involved in catering for teens to younger adults and informing them of the Hip Hop culture because that is what my project is aimed to do. A well known music organization that can distribute my magazine could be Hip Hop Village or Deaf Jam who are dedicated to promoting the best up and coming independent Hip Hop artists. Another institution could include Bauer Publishing which is the largest privately owned publisher in Europe, publishing in many different countries. It includes titles such as Arena, FHM and Zoo magazine.
The target audience would mainly be boys aged between 15-24 years as I think they would be the ones most interested in the Hip Hop industry. It is aimed at an audience who are hungry to know what behind the scenes of the Hip Hop industry and acknowledge what artists think and do for their careers not just the music. The target audience would focus on people who live in urban areas such as the city. In order to attract this type of audience I used quite masculine colours and the images are very stereotypical of the Hip Hop music culture so the target audience are able to automatically identify the genre of my magazine. The fonts and aspects of using borders and boxes make the magazine appealing because they are also quite fixed and masculine. The carries brand values of a man as being sharp and contemporary in order to reach my target audience.
In making this project I have learnt that magazines do take a lot of work and research to produce and the images are the most important part in appealing to the target audience. I also learnt that you can edit images and add many things such as boxes, shapes etc jus by using Photoshop software and publisher but the best choice is to make the magazine simple yet stand out to the audience. But it does take a lot of thought and planning into how to produce a magazine because the tiniest thing can make a difference e.g. the use of boxes. I also learnt how to use Photoshop and Publisher and you can use a variety to things on these software to create a lot of effects. At the start, I also experimented with the effects which you can make on images but using the least amount of changes is the best option because the magazine will look more authentic and not just amateur and fake. In Photoshop layers must be inserted so you can add different elements to the page. To add text in Photoshop I added a new layer then I used a text box tool which allowed me to type text where I wanted it, for the front cover I rotated the text so it stood vertically. Furthermore I added auto shapes by clicking on the auto-shape tool then I filled these shapes with the colour I wanted. I also air-brushed my cover image and I erased the background using a rubber which I changed to a grey colour so the background turned grey. By using Publisher I created my contents page and half of my double page spread. I used text boxes after I had inserted my images as the background. I chose to use the font ‘Bauhaus 93’ for my double page spread heading because it looks very cool and stylish. Then in my double page spread I added a quote in a text box in the middle of the page by making the layout square so the other text goes around it. I also added a border to the image page by clicking on insert shape, then I selected my shape and selected no fill but outline it to make it look like a border.
In finishing the project, I understand that magazine front covers should ideally use a close-up image which I did not know while in the preliminary stage. I now acknowledge that my preliminary task could have been improved by using less colour and more outstanding font because the font did not relate to the target audience. In addition, I don’t think I should have used so much information and images in my preliminary task because the cover looked too busy; little is more. Also throughout my project I always needed to remember the target audience and what they look for in a Hip Hop magazine and planning beforehand is essential.

Final Double Page Spread

Planning- Double Page Spread

Planning- Contents Page

Planning- Front Cover

Final Contents Page

Final Front Cover

Schedule

Friday 28th November- Friday 19th December

14th November- Finish all analysis of exsisting Hip Hop magazines' Front cover, Contents Page and Double Page Spreads
28th November- Finish all planning for my magazine- Front Cover, Double Page spread and Contents page.
4th December- Ensure all photos have been taken ready to create my magazine.
9th December- Front cover is completed.
13th December- Contents page is completed.

16th December- Double Page Spread is completed.

17th December- Check over magazine to see if theres any changes that need to be made.

18th December- Evaluation completed.

19th December- Hand in all coursework.

Analysis of Two Content Pages

Similarly both content pages title the contents as "Features" instead of 'contents'.

Also the main focus of both pages is the image; the image catches the eye of the reader more than anything else on the page and the image is of the artists contained in the magazine. A medium shot for the image is used on both pages. In addition both magazines have a quote from the artists in the image which is located on the left-hand side. The contents are positioned on the right-hand side in columns but the Hip Hop mag theres two columns not one. In addition the same colours are used; red, black and white because these colours are very bold and masculine. The page numbers are in one colour while the contents of that page and the title of thar page are in a different colour. In addition, both pages have used boxes for the titles and the 'rock' magazine uses boxes for the content texts. There is a mixture of upper-case and lower-case letters to make the upper-case letters stand out more as they are more important.

Analysis of Hip Hop Connection- Front Page and Contents Page

The colours are consistent thoughout the magazine; red, white and black are used again in the content page with suggests that the target audience is aimed at men. The red is used for the titles on the pages because it is more prominent than the other colours. In addition the image used is a medium shot because a close up would be too in-your-face. The artists captivated in the images look very serious and are looking directly at the camera; the reader to engage the reader. They are both male artists which suggests it is aimed at males. Also the typography is the similar on both pages however the content page does use lower-case letters for the descriptions pages in the magazine. Also on the contents page the image relates to another page in the magazine and the text is positioned on the bottom left hand corner. However unlike the cover page, the text is positioned on the right hand-side.

Analysis of Hip Hop Connection- A Double Page Spread

The colours are very bold and masculine to stand out which suggests the target audience is young males. The colours have been used in the boxes which contain the texts. These boxes are either black or red to dominate over the background which is violet or white- the least prominant colours. The title of what the page summarises is black. The background of both pages is two different colours; white and grey to distinguish the two. The page with the grey background has a coloured image whereas the page with the white background has a black and white image, this balances out the double page spread. In addition the text has been written in columns and there are margins along the sides and the top and bottom, these aspects are common in magazines. The beginning letter in on each page is typed in a different font compared to the rest of the text so the page doesn't look dull or too compact and full of text. In addition the images are positioned on the bottom of the pages squared in by the text to create edgyness and to look unique. The fonts used are very clear and there are few fonts used. In the main text there is a mixture of regular and bold fonts used; the bold font is used for the artists names so the reader can scan the page and see that all the artists contained in the magazine and the bold is used because the artists names are considered more important. Between the two columns is text written in bold orange font because it relates to the image used so the reader can link the two. Along the right-hand side are images of the CDs which have been mentioned in the text; this is a way of advertising what the CD covers look like in order for the readers to buy them. Also 'Mikey Mike's UK Top Ten' is in a black box to separate it from the original text. Similarly the layout on both double page spreads are the same; image at the bottom and text at the top.

Q Magazine & The Contents Page

Q magazine is catered for a variety of genres as suggested by the Q channel on television. The magazine is also called Q because it's simple and easily recognise as the mast head is covered bt the image and by text. The target audience for this magazine are the late teens and younger adults as the layout of the magazine is very sophisticated and fresh. The Q contents page follows the conventions of the Q magazine front cover. The Q logo is similar on both pages and is positioned on the top left-hand corner. The colours used are also the same; red, white and black which denotates passion, innocence and darkness which links to music and the pose which Madonna is doing; trying to hide away suggests mystery. The typography and font is the same on both pages and the text is all in capitals which is masculine and eyecatching. In addition some of the text on the contents page are in boxes like the box for the logo on the front cover which gives th magazine a more profession and neat look. Also the contents page is in 3 columns like all magazine. The image of the cover is of Madonna who is known world wide which suggets that the magazine is trying to reach out to a variety of people. The image is a close-up and Madonna is giving eye contact to the camera because she is trying to catch the readers eyes to interact with them. The image of the contents page is of a band standing on a hill which is natural which is quite calm and different to the conventional plain background.

Analysis of The Source Magazine

The source magazine is a hip hop magazine aimed at the younger generation of between 15-25 years.
The maximum number of font colours used are 2 colours; red and white and the masthead is a combination of the two to make it stand out more and the "THE" in the title is positioned vertically to create an original style and it also emphasises that the magazine can be identified just by the word "SOURCE". The masthead is covered slightly by the cover image to suggest that the magazine can just be identified by the codes and conventions it follows and the image is the most important element on the cover as it stands out more than anything else on the cover. The typography is all in capitals and the colours used are very masculine which suggests that the magazine is aimed more towards the male audience. The barcode is in the bottom left hand corner and the logo is placed on the bottom right hand corner. The artists in the cover image are making eye contact with the camera and the straplines are evenly distributed on both sides to maintain the balance. Also the artists have their name in the kicker and this is the next piece of text which stands out the most. The white texts stand out the most because they are the most important straplines.

Genre Associated Images

Here are a few images which associate with the genre of Hip Hop/Rap. These will be useful in my magazine because they will give me an indication of what my magazine has to follow in order to reach the target audience for the Hip Hop/Rap magazine.

Identifying the Connotations of Hip Hop Connection

These two magazines follow the Hip Hop/ rap genre. The connotations of these two magazines are that the mastheads on them both are bold, the lower case and upper case letters are the same height and it is only one colour. It is usually a bold colour; in these two magazines it is red and white which are two colours which can be identified as masculine. The colour of the masthead changes which is very rare within a magazine. The masthead also looks quite original as one of “Connection” is placed in “Hop” vertically. Also beneath the masthead is very small text which states “’88 to ’08: The Worlds Original Rap Magazine”.
The skyline is similar as it is offering “Free CD” and the artist who has created the CD on offer is in the image cover. The maximum colours used for the texts are just two colours; for one it is red and grey and for the other it is white and yellow. These colours are all very bold and stand out. The fonts are the same; they are fonts with sans serif but the font for the mast head is not san serif which makes it stand out more because it's much clearer. Most of the text is located on the right because on the left there is an image of the cover of a CD.
The angle of the image is front on making eye contact to the camera. In addition the cover image is covering the masthead because the magazine is very well known which suggests that due to the connotations the magazine is easily recognisable and doesn’t rely upon the masthead to identify the magazines. The image is of very famous Hip Hop artists; Snoop Dog, The Game, 2Pac. Also the background of the image is either just one colour or quite plain so it doesn’t drown out the other elements of the magazine. The pose of the artists are very 'gangsta' and cool such as The Game holding his hat at a tilt. He is also dressed smartly but with an edgy style as he doesn't have his tie tied around his neck buy hanging loosely and his tattoos are showing which also looks very cool and original. In contrast to the Q magazine (from previous posts) which had a Great Britain flag, the Hip Hop Connection magazine has The Game standing in front of the American flag which shows the heritage of the artist. The barcode is located on the bottom right-hand corner and next to it is text which starts off with just one word on one line then the lines get longer. There isn't much text which suggests that the target audience is teenagers who are more likely to be attracted to the magazine by the cover image.

Annotated Kerrang! Magazine

This is an annotated Kerrang! Magazine which is analysed on how it reaches the target audience with the connotations and denotations. As the magazine is called Kerrang!; the exclamation mark suggests that it's loud which outlines that the genre of the magazine is a loud rock magazine. Also the colours used are very masculine and the fact there are 5 men as the cover image suggests that the magazine is aimed towards men.

Finished School Magazine

This is my finished School Magazine Front Cover. The layout and fonts and colours used are very consistent and don't clash too much. My aim was to make the magazine cover look professional.

Draft 2: School Magzine

Draft 1: School Magazine

Dwell Magazine

We were given the elements of a magazine and told to reconstruct the layout, text, font etc to make a consistent magazine front cover.