Final Product

Front Cover

Double Page Spread

Contents Page

Evaluation: Question 7 - Looking back at your preliminary task (college magazine), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Evaluation: Question 6 - What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Evaluation: Question 5 - How did you attract/address your audience?

Evaluation: Question 4 - Who would be the audience for your media product?

My Questionnaire showed me that for the small percentage that purchased music magazines, the reason for that was a STRONG INTEREST IN MUSIC. So this showed me that for my music magazine I was not to challenge the conventions too much because that risks losing the small percent that read the music magazines.

The factors that would have considered the people who took my questionnaire to purchase a music magazine are:

• Less text
• More Images
• New Artists

This underlines the changes that I had to make when producing my music magazine to make it more appealing and convince more people to purchase my magazine.

The reasons that people aren't purchasing music magazines according to my questionnaire are:

• Too much text
• Boring

These reasons are related to the reasons that would consider the people to purchase music magazines, too much text related to less text and more images and new artists related to boring because they are bored of seeing the same artists on each issue.

The most preferred platform to read music magazines is:

• Laptop/Computer

This suggests to me more of a teenager to young adult audience would be appropriate for my music magazine because of the use of technology which inspired me to use a QR code on my double page spread.

XXL reader profile

This is the reader profile for XXL magazine that distributes rap magazines. This can help me get an idea of what type of reader profile and target audience read rap magazines.

This shows me that it is mostly males between the age of 25-29 that read rap magazines. This would be slightly different for my music magazine because I would have changed my age range to 18-25 because of the fact that younger people completed my questionnaire and this reader profile shows that young adults mostly read rap magazines.



My reader profile for my magazine would be:

• Gender - Male
• Age - 18-25
• Income - Minimum wage
• Ethnicity - Caucasian

This reader profile is information from my questionnaire and also what I know about the typical audience of rap magazines and brought them together to create the profile. This is who the audience are most likely to be because of the results of my questionnaire and also because I have seen people in shops around the boundaries of the profile I made purchasing rap magazines.

Evaluation: Question 3 - What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Due to the fact that none of the publishing companies on the list published any rap magazines, I have had to think of factors that would make any of the companies considering publishing my music magazine.

Evaluation: Question 2 - How does your media product represent particular social groups?

In the above video you will see Eminem wearing a hooded top and t-shirt, the mise en scene from this video matches the same from my music magazine. I have used just a black t-shirt on the front cover and hooded tops on both my contents page and double page spread.

After reading several articles from rap magazines there is no particular colloquial language that I could identify, that particularly reflect the audience that rap magazines have. I have used colloquial language in my article for the double page spread, this is because I needed to use terms that were relevant to the audience and terms that they would will understand. I have a blog post on my double page spread article which is proof of my use of colloquial language. The only other use of colloquial language is the quotations on my front cover.


The social group of the genre is rebellious people, there is no specific age group but people who like to rebel to what is going on in society. This is why they enjoy the genre because rappers are very controversial and will say anything in their songs. The group enjoy the arrogance of the artists and dress the same way as the artists (i.e hooded tops, t-shirts etc.) so I needed to show how my magazine can relate to the social group of the genre.

My artists are all dressed the same way as the artists on other magazines, my front cover artist is wearing a t-shirt and both my double page spread and contents page artists are wearing hooded tops. This is so that the magazine embraces the social group. I have also presented the artists on my magazine in the same way as the other rap artists, with either an arrogant or blank expression on their face. This is used across the genre and because this is the way that the artists are stereo typically portrayed.

My headline on my magazine front cover KC Purta "No one saw me coming" represents the social group because my questionnaire revealed that the audience want new artists. So I have created this artist for the purpose of my music magazine, also using an artists name followed by a quote is a recurring theme in rap magazines. As it is used for the headline in most of the magazines. As you can see on this magazine where the headline is Kanye West "I am rap".

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

Magazine Front Cover - Draft 5 (Final)

Double Page Spread - Article

Mick Hick is the name on the fans lips as he has burst onto the scene and took the rap world by storm. The young rapper has released his first album (Farm Life), trended six times on Twitter, dominated iTunes and has appeared in venues around the world since his debut release in February last year. We asked how the transition has been from stacking shelves in Parry's to the world stage "It's not been easy I didn't even expect to have my demo listened to but I got a call from K.Winny and he said we started recording within the next week. I just told my boss i'm gone and now here I am." Since the release of the album Farm Life it has become the most bought rap album and the second most bought album in 2013 completely revolutionising the genre and putting rap back on the map. We needed to find out the inspiration behind such an influential album "There is nothing special about the way that I wrote the album, the area I lived in inspired me because I seen some mad sh*t and that is the source of what has been called the aggressive lyrics that I use. Nobody really gave me a chance so I took that anger and put it to paper."All the fame and fortune don’t come without contraversy and for this scouse rapper that happens to be the recent comments made by concerned parents about the content of Hick’s songs and the effect they have on their children. Campaigns out the arists house protesting for mick hick to remove anything that can be considered offensive from his current and future music. Mick Hick speaks out for the first time about the comments “it’s hard to ignore it when I wake up and see crowds of angry people protesting outside my house. But it doesn’t bother me because they are using my music for their inability to parent their own kids. I ain’t changing my music for anynody it is the only way I can express who i am. the only reason they are complaining is because they can’t do their job, if they don’t like what’s in my tracks then they can stop their kids from listening. it's the hardest profession in the world I wouldn't advise anyone to become an artist unless they was ready, because this is the sh*t i have to put up with.”  Inspirational words from one of the prodigies of the genre it is no 50 Cent and Ja Rule level but it has managed to reach national news and bring more drama to an already contraversial genre. His first appearance of the year will be at V festival and we asked the man himself on the festival "It's my first appearance of the year so it sets the benchmark so i'm feeling the pressure. Also to be the only rapper appearing is just a credit to myself and tells me that i'm doing something right, i'm just gonna go out there and hope they like my new material." The pressure is going to be huge for Mick Hick if he plans on replicating the form that made him become one of the most sought after artists of 2013. We spoke to manager Connor Burgess on how he is going to make sure the rapper isn't going to become a forgotten soul "It's my job to make sure that he is constantly busy, check he isn't slacking and to keep him the name on everyone's lips. I have organised a tour for this year both national and global because we need to get his name popping in the states. He is currently working on his second album and we need to make sure it doesn't flop, I'm as surprised as anyone that he is close to completing another album after releasing his debut album earlier in the year; he's just got a gift for it. There are rumours that have been circulating around the press is the collaboration of Mick Hick and the greatest rapper of the generation and the most successful white rapper Eminem. A potential master and prodigy single, we didn't hesitate to see if there was any truth in the rumours "Eminem? That would be sick wouldn't it? I'm sorry to say there is no truth in it. I've had no contact with Eminem but if he would be up for it and Eminem if you are reading this hit me up." Mick Hick is starting to become one of the most talked about rappers in the industry and Acapella are expecting big things from the scouse rapper. it wouldn’t be surprising if this is something that if this is a subject that will remain with the fans throughout the year, and especially not surprised if this turns out to be true. 2014 is certainly going to be the defining year for this rapper.

Magazine Double Page Spread - Draft 4 (Final)

Magazine Contents Page - Draft 4 (Final)

Magazine Front Cover - Draft 4

This is my fourth draft of my magazine front cover, the first most noticeable change that I have made is the font. I know feel that the magazine suits my genre more because of the font I have chosen.

I have noticed that there is a gap between the text that is bigger than it should be, so I am going to have to move the text closer
together and then I might have room for another sell line as well.

The background is something I have noticed may need changing for my final draft. I think that it doesn't make the rest of the content sit on the page so I am going to look for another background but it will have to be grey in order to fit in with my colour scheme.

Magazine Double Page Spread - Draft 3

This is my third draft of my double page spread, the first change I done was change the background to the left page. I have also lowered the opacity on the picture and now I think it fits better on the page than it did on the red/black background.

I have also added another column because my research shows that most double page spreads have three columns. I have also added an important quote said in the interview at the bottom of the article. But I think I will replace it in between two columns because I think that will make the magazine look better and having the quote after it has already been said looks amateur.

I am also going to change what the QR code will lead to because I realised that a QR code would not lead to the rest of the interview but to more content. So I am going to change what the QR code leads to  and I think that the image on the right page needs more manipulating.

Magazine Contents Page - Draft 3

This is the third draft of my contents page, this time I have made the image bigger because it makes the image more dominant with the text and this fits in with stereotypes surrounding the genre.

That is the only change I have made because I thought it was the only change that was needed, I am going to make the 'A' in the background stand out more because it is unique to the design and also include something in the top left corner of the page.

Magazine Double Page Spread - Second Draft

This is the second draft of my double page spread, I have included another image on the right of the second page because my questionnaire told me that magazines need more images.

I also changed the colour of the 'M' in the background and made the opacity higher so it fits in with the design well. The colour of the text has been changed as well because the red font conflicted with the 'M' in the background.

In my next draft I am going to consider changing the background on the left page and possibly using effects to change the colour of the clothes on the subject to match the colour scheme.

Magazine Front Cover - Draft 3

This is the third draft of my magazine front cover, I have used the image I took on the professional camera because I think it sits better on the page than the previous image.

I used the effect bevel and emboss on all the text because it looked amateur when I had put all the text on the page. I have also done that to the two red boxes to make them sit better on the page.

I have included a website and a Twitter hash tag on the front page because my research told my that most people use the internet to read music magazines and it makes my magazine interactive with social media.

Next I will try and make the sell lines below the headline more readable as well as possibly change the background colour. Also add the date and the price of the magazine in the bottom right corner.

Magazine Contents Page - Second Draft

This is the second draft of my contents page, the only thing I thought needed changing was the font of the features. I have seen this font on other contents pages during my research and I think it suits the demographic effectively.

In my next draft I think I will look to do something in the empty space that it above the image. I will only do this if it fits in nicely with the design and doesn't ruin the dynamic.

This contents page is why I used the font that I did, you can see the similar style font for 'features' and I thought that it suited in with the design of my contents page.

Magazine Contents Page - First Draft

This is the first draft of my contents page for my music magazine. I have decided to go with a black background because I didn't think red would be the best colour and the black means that I am staying with the same house style and colour scheme from my magazine front cover.

The faded 'A' behind the image is an idea I got from my magazine research, plus it is also the first letter of my masthead and I think it makes the design more innovative.

The clothes that are on the subject have been chosen fit for purpose because grey is apart of my colour scheme and I think that it sits well on the page. I am going to manipulate the image further in my next draft to see if I can make the image look better and also to remove the logo on the hoodie.

I used red font because it sits well on the black background and if I used grey then it would have made the page look too bland. This way I can use all the colours in my colour scheme.

Magazine Pictures

This is the image I will be using for my front cover, it is the same pose and mise en scene as the original image but it is taken on a better camera so it will sit on the page better.

This is the second image that will be on my double page spread. This will be along side the text because my research told me that I need more images in my magazine. I didn't take another image for my double page spread because I thought the first one I took looks better on the page.

This is the image that I am going to put on my contents page. The last picture I took was in school uniform so I needed to re take it with a better quality camera and with the appropriate mise en scene.

I was going to vary the distances and look at various camera angles for my pictures. But my research showed me that the images are mostly medium shots so I decided just to use the same camera angle for all of my pictures.

Magazine Double Page Spread - First Draft

This is the first draft of my double page spread, I have tried to keep the colour scheme and the house style shown on my front cover in this double page spread.

I have used ideas from my research such as the faded 'M' behind the text on the right page and the QR code on the left page is from the research from my previous blog post.

I have also made the background on the left page two colours because it makes the page look more creative and                                                                                                         less bland. There is still improvements                                                                                                           to do such as another image because                                                                                                             my questionnaire results show that                                                                                                                 more images will attract people who                                                                                                             don't read music magazines.

QR Codes in Magazines

QR Codes are a new diverse way to link online media with print media, the prezi is how I am going to include a QR code in my music magazine.

Magazine Mock Progress Update 2

The Voki I have placed on the page is an update on my progress so far and what my plans are for future blog posts and my contents page and double page spread designs.

Magazine Mock - Front Cover Second Draft

I have just completed the second draft of my music magazine front cover, I have made the changes to the magazine because of my own personal opinion and the results of the questionnaire. The only thing that has stayed the same from the first draft is the masthead and the main image so there has been many alterations for the second draft; the following slideshow shows the step by step process of creating the second draft.

Questionnaire Results

I have went through the results to each of the questions in my questionnaire and decided what action to take regarding the results.

Magazine Mock Progress Update

This will be a small blog post on the progress update of my first drafts and magazine progress.

I have just recently finished the first draft of the front cover of my magazine, I have identified what will remain and what I will be changing. I am now going to start preparing the first draft of my contents page and then my double page spread, the first drafts are going to be prepared before I start adjusting the first drafts. The images have been prepared and I am going to manipulate them before applying them to the contents page and the double page spread.

Magazine Mock - Front Cover First Draft

This is the first mock of my front cover, I think that it is a good first effort but still need to do more to make it look the way I want it to. But because this was my first draft I was experimenting with different fonts and the colour of the background.

I think that there is still a lot more I need to do to the front cover until it looks professional. I have used Photoshop manipulations on the subject to make him more photogenic as seen on one of my previous blog posts.

I think I will experiment with more manipulations to see if that is how I can improve the magazine, as well as using different font, colour of the text and changing the colour of the background. What I know will be remaining the same is the masthead and the strapline.

Production Schedule

I was informed that I needed a production schedule to keep the making of my music magazine on track. So I have made a short Voki highlighting what my production schedule will be and what I intend to do between now and the end of my blog.

Magazine Interview

For my music magazine research, I have interviewed one of my class mates Lewis Webster and the questions are about his opinions on music magazines.

Magazine Mock - Air brushing the main image

I have created a prezi containing the before and after of my main image for the front cover of my magazine after I air brushed the image. Please watch the following prezi.

Magazine Mock - Templates

 This is the layout to my front cover first draft, as you can see the masthead will be displayed across the top of the front cover, the main image will be centred in the middle of the page because of the "wanting to be the centre of attention" representation of rap artists.. There will be sell lines, and several features displayed across the page and they have been placed in these set positions because of my research. There is also a barcode in the bottom right corner because this is where it is placed in every single magazine that I have researched.

 This is the layout for the double page spread, as you can see I have put the main image on the left page covering the majority of the page because this is how double page spreads are designed in magazines of my chosen genre. There is also a quote from the artist in the bottom left corner because this is also a recurring theme in rap magazine's. The main image will take up the page to make the artist the centre of attention which is a representation of the rap genre. The headline will be displayed across the top of the page, another image of the artist on the right of the article and the article will be started with a drop capital to make it more appealing.

This will be the contents page of my magazine, the design of the layout is basic because there is not much that is on a contents page; because it's only purpose is to reveal the content of the magazine. The main image will be of another artist and this will be to the left of the features, a drop capital of the first letter of the masthead will be behind the image. I got this idea through my research and think that it makes the design look more professional. Then to the right of the page will be the features that reveal the content of the magazine, lastly the contents headline will be in the top right of the page so it does not conflict with the main image.

Magazine Picture Mock Analysis (iPhone Camera)

 This is the first picture that I have taken and this was to go on the front cover of my magazine. One of the bad things about this picture is that the light from the right of the person is too bright, and if I am to make this picture my front cover page I need one with dark lighting. Apart from that I think that the picture is good quality.

 This is the same pose and same person except that the lighting is much darker compared to the first picture. I think this is the best out of the two pictures because this has good quality and there is no bright lighting so the lighting looks dark/naturalistic. This will be the one that I use for the front cover of my first draft because this fits the genre more than the other picture I taken.

This is the first picture for my double page spread, I think this looks professional because there is the dark/naturalistic lighting as well from the image for the front cover; and the pose and facial expressions is exactly what I was trying to do when taking this picture. The quality of this picture is better than the double page spread image I had taken on the professional camera so I will be using this for my first draft.












This is the second image I am going to use for my double page spread and this is going to go next to the article. This has a similar pose to the first image for the double page spread but from a different angle. I think the pose and the facial expressions also match the genre as well as the quality is high compared to the professional camera.


Overall I am happy to use all of these images on my first draft of the music magazine and think that the images match the genre successfully.

Magazine Picture Mock Analysis (Professional Camera)

 These are the mock pictures I have taken for the first draft of my music magazine, I have taken these pictures using a Nikon camera to see if the quality of the pictures could be good enough for my magazine. The first picture is the one that I am going to use for the front cover, as you can see it can fit the genre of the magazine through his facial expressions and his body language. I took a medium shot so that the school pants was not visible in the picture and all images on front covers of magazines are medium shots.









This is the image I am going to use on my double page spread, once again through the lack of props the left person is not dressed for the part but aside from that it is a good picture. This is also lacking in quality because the image is quite blurred, both of them have followed what I said and have the arrogant look on their faces that is associated with artists in the rap genre. Next time I will have more props and experiment with different poses to see if I can make the picture look more suitable for my double page spread.

This image is going to be used for my contents page, I think this picture was turned out looking professional because the picture quality is of a high standard and the pose is something out of the box. I have also used a low angle on this shot and close to his face so he is center of attention which is a theme regarding images used in rap magazines. I think I will not change this image but might experiment with different angles and poses to see if anything else would be more suitable.

Planning for Music Magazines - Pictures

Taking the pictures is the most important thing in my opinion when creating a music magazine, because on the design I have in mind and because all other music magazines do this, your main image is pretty much the background of the front cover. If it does not look professional then there is no way that it will look like a successful music magazine. I think I could take professionally looking pictures using my smartphone because of the quality of the camera, it has features such as:

• True tone flash - two flashes are taken so the picture is not too bright and make the image look more natural
• Burst mode - takes ten photo's per second
• Auto image stabilization - prevents motion blur
• Panoramic shot - allows you to capture a wider shot

These features can help me when I am taking my images because it will prevent motion blur which happens when you shake the phone whilst trying to take a picture. Also there is a variety of effects to choose from after taking the picture so I can add effects to the picture without the help of Photoshop. This will help me because if I see an effect to use on my image that suits my house style it will be less time consuming than manipulating my image on Photoshop.

This video shows the comparison of the iPhone camera to a Canon 5D camera.

Planning for Music Magazine - Preparation

Now that we are close to creating our own music magazines, I need to now consider all the factors regarding my preparation. I will take my pictures in a group of five people including myself and they are Michael Hickey, Kasey Porter, Nathan Kearns and Lewis Webster. I have not decided which one will be on the front of my magazine but I will decide once all the pictures have been taken.

We will also be using several props to make the magazine more professional because I am going to have to use clothes that suit my chosen genre. The lighting and the background will also have to be evaluated when taking my pictures but this will all be decided in the coming weeks.

This is an example of a professional music magazine front cover in my chosen genre.

Obvious and Oblivious Photoshop Manipulations

Photoshop manipulations are commonly used on the front of music magazines and I am going to show examples of obvious and oblivious manipulations and why music magazines choose to use them.

Analysing a Double Page Spread

Listen to the Voki before watching the Prezi.

Planning for Music Magazine - Organisation

Actors

Medium Shot

Close up

From the front covers of the music magazines that I have analysed I have noticed that all the actors are presented through medium shots. You can see in the example to the right that Eminem is presented through a medium shot on the front cover. This seems to be the most ideal shot because Eminem takes up the page enough to be dominant on the page with also room for sell lines. I have found another music magazine where the subject is presented through a close up and that is the one to the left. Even though there is still room for the headline and the sell lines I think that this is                                            not the most ideal shot to be used on the front cover, 

                                           so I will be using a medium shot when I take my 

                                           pictures for the front cover.

Locations

Black background

White background

There doesn't seem to be any need for a specific location for the photo shoot because the backgrounds for the magazines are not a brick wall or any other specifically needed backgrounds. As you can see in the two examples I have included the backgrounds are simple black and white backgrounds and they both add to the colour scheme of the magazines. So when it comes to organising the background I will choose a colour that adds to the dynamic of my colour scheme.

Costumes

Front cover

Double page spread

The costumes are one of the most important factors especially in the genre that I am going to be doing (rap) because it is one of the ways that make the magazine identifiable with the genre. The first picture to the left is what the person on my front cover will be wearing, it is a simple black t-shirt because in most rap magazine front covers they are either wearing a tank top, t-shirt or a hooded top so I decided to go with a black t-shirt. The picture to the right is the hooded top that the person in my double page spread will wear, this is another piece of clothing that relates                                              to the genre and the colour grey will also relate 

Contents page 2

Contents page 1

    to my colour scheme. 

  The second pictures on both the right and the left are  the pictures that will be on my contents page. Due to  the fact that the person on the double page spread will  have his hooded top zipped up, I thought on the  contents page the person would not so I needed a  plain grey t-shirt underneath it. Once again the grey  relates to my colour scheme and relates to the genre.

Props

On the rap music magazine front covers, contents pages and double page spreads that I have analysed there doesn't seem to be many props used. The only most noticeable prop is the use of chains that the subjects wear and wear it to be seen. But I will not be able to get my hands on a chain to use in my magazine so I decided to not use any props.