Evalu

EVALUATIONby Shelley Poole

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge

forms and conventions of real media products? Masthead-My masthead follows common conventions due to its bright colour and attractive font style. It also covers about one fifth of the page which is usual for music magazines, thus it leaps off the page. This is also seen in ‘TRACE’ and ‘VIBE’.

Images- I have followed the common convention of using a medium-close up for the central image so the audience can see the personal expression and direct address of the artist. This creates intimacy and is also seen in ‘VIBE’ and ‘TRACE’. My artist is of a different ethnicity to the ‘TRACE’ and ‘VIBE’ artists, thus challenges common conventions and opens R&B music to a larger multicultural society. All the images are edited to remove imperfections which are not seen in the R&B industry.

Cover lines and Strap Lines- My cover lines follow common conventions for music magazines as they list bands and artists in the R&B genre to attract audience members who may not be attracted by the central image. I have also used strap lines to develop the cover lines which is also conventional to add detail to a story to attract a larger audience. My coverlines are within a black shape to stand out, as are ‘TRACE’S’.

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

Colour Palette- I have used a limited colour palette of different types of blue and pink with black and white for text. This develops a house style, looks neat and visually pleasing. ‘VIBE’ magazine, also in the R&B genre, uses a very similar colour palette to appeal to both a female and male audience. This follows conventions as many R&B magazines do this to represent one style or one emotion.

Gradient- I have applied a gradient to my background which becomes lighter around my central image. This prevents dead space and emphasises the central image. This is also apparent in ‘VIBE’ magazine where there is a dark gradient around the central image, thus uses common conventions of music magazines. The second ‘VIBE’ cover does not use a gradient highlighting that it is down to creative choice.

Barcode-I have included the barcode in the bottom right hand corner of the page conventionally, unlike the first ‘VIBE’ cover who may have placed it elsewhere so not to detract from the creativity and visual flair.


Website address- Advertising the web address of the magazine attracts an online following as the internet now dominates printed media, thus is a common convention for modern music magazines as seen on the two ‘VIBE’ covers. Websites are also able to provide more current information due to constant updates, once a magazine is printed it is dated news.

Tone- A common convention of R&B magazines is emitting a tone or emotion. This is apparent in ‘VIBE’ magazine as Kanye West is showing dangerous and intimidating emotions to match his musical persona and Janet Jackson is sexually suggestive through her pose, emitting sexual voyeurism. I have not challenged this convention, however I feel I have not met it as my artist does not suggest anything through her pose or facial expression.

Font and style- I have challenged conventions of font through using serif text on occasion. The use of this formal font is an unusual choice for the youthful and informal genre of R&B , however It works for my magazine as it looks sharp and edgy. The two ‘VIBE’ covers only use sans-serif text to represent the smooth and beautiful voices of the R&B genre.


Genre- My image challenges the common conventions of a music magazine image as it does not include a music instrument. Without the masthead and cover lines ,which are most definitely based on music, my image would suggest the magazine to be a fashion or gossip magazine rather than R&B. Billboard and Vibe have not featured musical instruments on their covers either which suggests that R&B music is more associated with synthesisers and the voice.

Layout-My magazine does follow the rule of thirds quite accurately as the Masthead and image is equally proportioned within the guidelines.

Date and Price- I have conventionally positioned the date and price under the masthead on the right hand side of the page, however ‘VIBE’ has not. This suggests their loyal and established audience are already familiar with the price.

Footer and Header- Many music magazines use footers and headers, however ‘BILLBOARD’ and ‘VIBE’ have not, thus within the R&B genre headers and footers would be a less common convention. I think they are useful to list popular artists to attract a wider audience.


Inside This Week-I follow conventions through using the title “INSIDE THIS WEEK” on my contents page to signify that this page will contain important information. I slightly challenge conventions through not using the title “CONTENTS” however my audience will recognise this.

Letter from the editor-I have used a letter from the editor which ‘VIBE’ and ‘NME’ have not included on their contents, thus I am slightly challenging conventions. They may not have included a letter from the editor as their audience is already aware of the editor and are only interested in the music, however as my magazine is new I wanted to introduce the editor and tone of the magazine.

Images- I have included a large amount of anchored images which follows conventions as an anchored image has more depth and gives the audience a clear understanding of why it is there. ‘VIBE’ magazine has only used one picture on the contents, which is down to creative choice, however I have used many images which is more fun, exciting and diverse. I have edited my images to black and white, as have ‘VIBE’ and ‘NME’ as it glamorises the images and glamour is often associated with R&B.

Date-All magazines show the date on the contents page to show the information is current.


Pull quote-I have used a pull quote from the article with enlarged speech marks to be an interesting page feature, this is quirky and develops common conventions of pull quotes and speech marks.

Page numbers-I have included page numbers to anchor the images and to show the audience where their favourite features will be to make them easier to find. This follows common conventions.

Colour palette-Use of a limited colour palette follows conventions as it creates a distinct ‘House style’ and makes the contents more attractive and fluid.

Text- The text is too close to the edge of the page which is challenging conventions. If I did this again I would bring the text further in to make the page appear neater.

Blank space- There is an area of blank space on my contents which can make it look boring and unconventional. Many established magazines fill this blank space with a gradient, page number or image, which I would do in future.

Font-A wide and varied use of font is interesting, fun, creative and suggests different emotions and levels of importance for different articles. This follows common conventions.


Pull quote I follow conventions by using a pull quote in my article which shows the tone of the article at a quick glance. Two of the other three covers professional covers have not used a pull quote, however this is unusual.

Stripes I follow conventions by using stripes as an interesting page feature to add creativity to the article. It has also been done in the double page spread below as it is a common way to separate text and images.

Drop cap Use of a drop cap is following conventions as it indicates the start of the article and is also an attractive page feature.

Images I challenge conventions by using repeated images of the same model in different positions to show liveliness and the brilliant personality of the artist. I was inspired by the double page spread below as the images made the model seem like she was dancing.

Stand first I have stereotypically and conventionally placed the stand first under the headline/title to add depth and meaning to the headline/title.


Double page split I develop and change this convention as I integrate text with images so the layout isn't too linear and boring. Many professional magazines do this to give either the image or text dominance or to controversially subvert conventions.

Page numbers These help guide the reader through the magazine. I have followed conventions so readers can skips to the pages they want to read. They also help anchor images.

By-line I have conventionally used this to express to the reader who has written the article. It gives recognition and credit to journalists.

Headline I have used a quirky headline of different fonts in an fascinating arrangement. This challenges conventions as it becomes a visually pleasing page feature rather than just an introduction to the article.

Limited colour palette I have used the same colours throughout my magazine as they are vibrant, bright, approved by the audience and create a definite house style. This conforms to conventions.

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

A youthful and fashionable social group is represented through Clothing. She is wearing Nike Trainers which is a popular brand amongst the R&B audience and amongst youth and popular culture. This is important to relate to how my R&B audience dresses and their laid-back and dressed-down lifestyle. ASPIRERS

She has been positioned in a dominant and powerful stance as the women in the R&B genre are extremely strong-willed and independent, such as Rihanna and Beyonce. This means that people who listen to R&B music will aspire to be as strong as their R&B idols and this has been translated in my magazines images.

The background of the image is extremely important to identify the social group. Urban settings are often linked to R&B music, thus my audience will identify with the brickwork and metal steps used as it connotes the raw beginnings of R&B music.

“Rihanna gets frisky”, “Hot right now”

Social groups are represented through cover lines as I would expect my audience to be familiar with artists such as Rihanna, Nero and Maverick Sabre. The reference to songs “Hot right now” by DJ Fresh and Rita Ora and “Frisky” by Tinie Tempah also link to my social group as they should be familiar with and love these songs, thus will relate to the cover lines.


An R&B social group is represented through the artists tight dress with cut out sections. Revealing skin can often connote promiscuity and sex, which is often presented by women in the R&B industry; artists and audience alike.

She has been positioned with a hand on her hip to convey attitude. This is often done in the R&B industry to portray a strong or dominant female. My audience is represented as they aspire to be these women and often recreate these poses in their own photographs.

2. How does your media product represent particular social

groups?

• “Mainstream”Those within the “Mainstream” social group are said to listen to R&B music, aka the music which dominates the charts such as Rihanna, LMFAO, Beyonce, Nicki Minaj, Drake, Rizzlekicks and more, however some social groups known as “hipster” or “street” listen to other artists who do not dominate the charts such as Rick Ross, Frank Ocean, Watch The Throne and Maverick Sabre. This is why I have listed these bands and artists on the cover of my magazine to attract a ‘mainstream’ and slightly ‘street’ audience.

Examples of advertising popular artists to attract/represent audience. This is the header and footer of my cover.


Within a “mainstream” social group the most popular places to shop include Top-shop, Bank, office and high-street stores which is why I have used their clothing to style my artists. Many people shop at these places as they are popular and ‘cool’, thus they are conforming and jumping from trend to trend depending on what the media depicts as ‘cool’. Connotations of a mainstream culture include not standing out from the crowd, wearing similar clothing and listening to similar music as peers and buying into popular culture. This is why the artists in my magazine are wearing similar and typical clothing; there is nothing wild and out of the ordinary as this may intimidate a mainstream audience. By creating a magazine in itself it is conforming to a ‘mainstream’ social group as it is following a trend and copying what has been done before, thus when my audience buys this magazine they are already conforming to popular culture.


I have used a multicultural set of models and artists in my images and cover lines to appeal to a range of ethnic backgrounds. This is because the artists and audience of R&B music is ethnically mixed, thus only representing one ethnicity would be unfair and unattractive to a large amount of people, thus limiting my audience.

As the R&B genre attracts males and females due to its range of lyrics regarding love, violence, success and even politics, I represented males and females in my magazines through images and cover lines which would attract both sexes. The pout, crouched position and slightly off centre angle of the camera suggests power and dominance, much the same with my females of whom suggest attitude and strength. This makes both genders equal.

As my target audience ranges from the ages of 15-30 due to sexual references and a sophisticated colour palette I have used models from the ages 16-17. This is because R&B music is a very popular form of youth culture and I would expect the vast majority of my audience to be within this age group.

3. What kind of media institution might distribute your

media product and why? • IPC media could distribute my magazine as they only

have two other music magazines in circulation which include NME and UNCUT. NME is a chart/indie magazine branching out into R&B and UNCUT is a rock magazine, thus IPC have not yet got a magazine purely dedicated to R&B as of yet. This means it would be sensible for them to distribute my magazine as it would not detract from sales as the music genres are extremely different. IPC has a readership of 26 million adults, two thirds of which are females and 42% are males. R&B has an extremely large following of mixed genders, thus IPC’s uni-sex audience would be perfect for my magazine. NME is one of the most successful and popular music magazines in history, thus IPC has the ability and skill to make my magazine successful.

• Bauer may be a better distributer due to its extensive catalogue of successful music magazines including Q, Kerrang, Smash hits, 4music, Mojo and Magic, therefore showing specific skills in the musical area. Bauer may not be appropriate as Q and 4music focus on chart music, dominated by modern interpretations of R&B superstars, thus my magazine would detract from the popularity of these magazines. Bauer also has a smaller readership of 19 million people and this may limit the success, audience and popularity of my magazine.

4. Who would the audience be for your media product?

AGE- The target audience for ‘RHYTHM’ magazine is 15-30 year olds with the most popular bracket being 16-22. This is because the connotations linked with the R&B genre are of an adult nature. These connotations include sexual voyeurism, glamorisation of weapons and lyrics regarding relationships, politics, culture and love. I have explored some of these themes in my magazines and have not censored them for younger audiences. A younger audience would not appreciate a limited colour palette and neat layout, which is the direction my magazine has chosen.

ETHNICITY-As I have represented different ethnicities in my magazine, my target audience will also contain many people from different ethnic backgrounds. This is because R&B music appeals to all cultures due to its diverse lyric topics which discuss international issues and different ethnic backgrounds of the superstars which dominate the charts.

GENDER- As I have represented the male (masculine) and female (feminine) genders in my magazine, my target audience will be uni-sex, however slightly tipped towards females. This is because I have used a large amount of pink, which is a stereotypically soft and feminine colour. I have also used a larger amount of females in my images to show female power and dominance, however a considerable proportion of the audience will be male.

DEMOGRAPHICS AND SOCIAL CLASS-My audience will be of the C1,C2,D,E demographic profile which ranges from lower middle class to lower working class. This is because my audience is young and will only have part-time jobs or will be still be working their way up to the top from lower positions. This means that they have the opportunity to spend their disposable income on products such as magazines, clothing and music. My informal tone, language, image composition, colours and cover lines are all designed to please this demographic profile.

PSYCHOGRAPHICS-My audience will mainly contain ‘aspirers’ as they are younger and need to be reassured by social status and brands such as NIKE, VANS and ADDIDAS. My audience have not yet reached their full potential and show their success through branded products which raises their status and reputation. This matches the R&B genre as it is all about showing wealth, dominance, independence, success and whether you are better than another person or artist.

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

Initially I asked 15 people within my target audience of 15-30 year olds, C1,C2,D,E demographic profile, females and males 10 questions regarding their preferences within music

magazines and also carried out a focus group finding out more detailed information which helped me make choices. These questions included:

•Which music magazines are you familiar with?•What section of a magazine are you most attracted by?•Which of these artists have you heard of?•Would the prospect of free iTunes vouchers entice you to purchase the magazine?•Would you prefer a male or female cover star?•How often do you attend gigs or concerts?•What is your favourite genre of music?•Do you read articles about music artists?•What colour palette would most appeal to you?•Is an image on the front cover more important than the cover stories?


My audience said they were most interested in interviews with artists, new artists on the scene and images. I have met their interests by advertising interviews with established artists on my contents page including:“The return of Missy Elliott”, “From zero to Nero”, “LMFAO-Sorry for Party Rocking?” and “F.R.A.N.K World Domination”.I made my double page spread with a new artist “Leanne West” appear really exciting and bold so it would stand out. By calling Leanne “THE NEW QUEEN OF R&B” it emphasises that she is new on the music scene and ignites intrigue for the audience. I have used 10 original images which means that my media products aren't overwhelmed and dominated by text making them more visually pleasing and attractive to the audience.

My audience said that they recognised all of the artists I listed to them including Rizzlekicks, Jay-Z, Beyonce, LMFAO, David Guetta, Frank Ocean and Rihanna. I made sure I used most of these artists on my front cover to attract those who wanted to read about their favourite superstars.

My magazine addresses the audience personally through use of the word “you” and direct address of the cover star which creates intimacy and an informal tone to make the audience feel comfortable.


All 15 people said they would be attracted to the magazine if free iTunes vouchers were offered, however I did not include this in my magazine. I should have used this as it would have been a popular feature which would attract many people and prevent people from illegally downloading music.

My cover star is a female which is what 10 out of the 15 people wanted. This will attract my audience as other females will buy the magazine to be influenced and inspired by the female artists. I have incorporated males into my magazine to please the minority of the audience who would prefer to see males.

6 people out of 15 said they attended gigs often and 3 go at least once a month, thus I have attracted those with a passion for live music with articles regarding gigs.


7 people out of 15 said they would prefer a vibrant and colourful colour scheme, with three preferring black and white and 5 preferring pastel colours. I have used a house style and limited colour palette focusing on electric blue and fuchsia due to their vibrancy, uni-sex appeal and ability to stand out. I have used black and white photography to help the colours stand out and appeal to those who preferred a black and white colour scheme. Pastel colours are too soft and weak to portray the exciting genre of R&B.

All 5 of the people said they preferred ‘RHYTHM’ as the magazine masthead as it perfectly connotes the genre of R&B and is easily recognisable as a music magazine at first glance, thus I used it.

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

I used a digital camera to capture all of my original images. My images were not pixelated although they could have been a higher quality finish, however this was fixed on the computer by changing auto levels and contrast. I was able to determine the frame of my photography accurately through using a digital camera so I could leave space for a masthead/header/footer and cover lines. I was limited on plain locations around college which led me to having to take photographs on a background I did not wish to use. This was later fixed using cut out tools on Photoshop. I made sure that I did not take my photographs in very low-key lighting or extremely high-key lighting to avoid the quality being cheap or over-edited.

OR

IGIN

ALE

DIT

ED Editing the image allows

light levels to be changed and ugly backgrounds to be removed which is something the camera cannot do.

I have used slide share to present my power points and images in a neat, organised and technically advanced way.


Dafont.com allowed me to choose from millions of fonts to present my masthead in an interesting and eye-catching way. Dafont.com made my magazine look more professional as I had not made a regular text selection. I eventually chose this font:

However there were many contenders including:

These fonts did not work as they were too thin and insignificant and would not fit with the bold and vibrant genre of R&B. These fonts would have been lost behind the image and would not stand out, as a masthead should do.

Title for contents found on dafont.com.


I used the lasso tool and magnetic lasso tool to cut out unwanted backgrounds from my photos. It was hard to give them a clean and neat edge due to irregular bumps and fine hairs in the photo, thus I alternated between the lasso tool and magnetic tool. The magnetic tool was easier and quicker to use as it stuck to the nearest and darkest edge, however did prove difficult at times. The finished products had clean smooth lines, plain backgrounds to develop creativity and were not obviously or untidily cut out.


I used a clone stamp to eliminate the shadow from around my image to make it look more professional. I did this by holding down the Alt key and the cursor changed to a target. I then clicked the point I wished to use as a sampling point and this was my colour reference point for cloning the colours to blend the shadow out of the image. It did have some limitations as a slight shadow and imperfection can be seen where the colour match is not completely perfect, however this was eventually solved by finding a better colour reference point.


I also used the clone stamp tool to remove imperfections such as spots and blemishes from the skin. I did this by holding down the Alt key and the cursor changed to a target. I then clicked the point I wished to use as a sampling point and this was my colour reference point for cloning the colours to cover areas of imperfection with areas of really clear and beautiful skin. This heightened the quality and professional feel to the photograph as images in real music magazines are extremely airbrushed to present the idea of glamour and perfection.

BEFORE

AFTER


By changing the auto levels it automatically makes the image appear brighter, more vibrant and of better quality. After clicking auto levels the blue dress looked even deeper, livelier and eye-catching.

By changing the brightness/ contrast levels of the photos I can make the images appear professional, more wonderful and give them life, rather

than appearing dull.


I have learnt how to create three pages on INDESIGN. This included two singular pages for my cover a contents and a double page for my double page spread. I had to select the button “allow pages to shuffle” to make sure that the pages were in order of how they would be in a real magazine.

I used text columns by clicking on the ‘Type Tool’ so I could type my article in and it would look professional and neat in straight columns.


The use of boxes and resizing these boxes and then resizing the images to fit the boxes meant that I could easily change around the layout and style of the page. These are some screen shots of my original attempts at creating a double page spread and contents page on INDESIGN, however these where changed as I learnt more about the conventions of music magazines and creating personal style.

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

The masthead on my preliminary front cover was quite small in comparison to the rest of the page and conventionally it should fit one fifth of the page. I developed this is my main task and made the text large, bolder, bigger, brighter and more distinct.

Barcode I did not include a barcode on my preliminary task and I have done on my main task to make the product look more professional and realistic.

Website address I did not include a website address on my preliminary task, however through my audience research I found that the internet was a popular place to find information about artists and chart releases, thus I included a website address on my main task to show convergence between printed media and the internet.

Header and Footer I have used a footer on my preliminary task and main task, with the addition of a header. I used this feature in both as it was an interesting way to fill dead space and to present words and artists in the field of the genre to attract a wider audience.

Image The central image on my main task is a lot more sophisticated than my preliminary task. This is because I used the clone stamp tool to eliminate unwanted backgrounds and shadows, auto levels to make the lighting more professional and I learn how to frame the camera so the image would be in proportion and have a brilliant composition.

Cover lines and Strap lines My cover lines and strap lines are more equally balanced on my main task compared to the preliminary task to fill dead space and look more professional. I also use more varied fonts and font sizes than on my preliminary task to be more exciting and show the importance of different features.


Title I have not used the header “contents” in my main task as I wanted to subvert conventions, however I did use “contents” in my preliminary task to be safe and conforming.

Images My images have been edited more heavily to give a professional and creative vibe which suits the R&B industry, however it is also important to understand that a college magazine would not use heavily edited images as it would be free and naturalistic.

Pull quote I have used a pull quote on both contents pages as I believe the oversized speech marks make visually fantastic page features and the quote sets a tone of speech for the whole magazine.

Letter from the editor I have included a letter from the editor on both tasks showing little progression, however on my main task the tone is more suited to the audience and the layout is more sophisticated.

Anchoring From my preliminary task I learnt that it was important to anchor images with captions so the purpose of the photo was clear to the audience, this is why I anchored my images with text and page numbers on my main task.

Cover lines and articles I feel that the advertisement of articles on my contents page is much stronger and clearer in my main task as the text is more professional, stylish and stands out because of the black boxes.

Page numbers I have included a page number on my main task which is a much needed feature of a magazine and a common convention. I did not do this in my preliminary task which was a major mistake as it would make orders unclear for the audience.


My masthead is more professional as it has been created by Dafont.com and not ordinary, boring and typical fonts available on Photoshop. I have included a sell-line in my preliminary task which is a common convention, however I have not included one in my main task because I felt the masthead was effective and commanding enough on its own. As my magazine is new, during production I did not have a reaction, thus I could not use a sell-line like “THE BEST MUSIC MAGAZINE EVER" as this would be false information and false advertising.


My photography has definitely improved from the preliminary task to the main task, even though I used the same camera. This is because I had a better understanding of shot composition/ camera angles/ shot type/ lighting/ editing/ mise en scene and directing the models to convey the expressions and attitude which I wanted presented in my magazine.


In my preliminary task we were not asked to create a double page spread, however I had prior knowledge of how to do this and found inspiration through the internet and music magazines. I feel I have learnt how to create a realistic double page spread and overall media product.

Entertainment & Humor

Evalu