IIWII Evaluation

In what ways does my media product develop forms and conventions?

My media product develops the forms and conventions set by leading Hip-Hop magazines. Hip-hop magazines heavily influence my magazine as it is seen as the foundation of all types of rap, including Grime. Therefore alot of my research was around Hip-Hop magazines and layouts to get an idea of what really sells. Most of my influencing was heavily from Vibe and King magazines although i have been a fan of Rolling Stone magazine.

My front page clearly took the look of King magazine. It has a bold, clear magazine title with one main subject. it features little information on inside features, leaving that all to the contents page. The housestyle is suttle yet it still manages to give a gritty edge to the magazine. This has then been further developed by making sponsors brazen on the cover in order to attract the eye of the targeted audience with companies that are familiar to them e.g. Grime Daily is a internet production line which is familiar to the urban public. In terms of image, i went with a complete opposite idea to what you could expect from Vibe or King. I decided to trade in 'glitz' and 'glam' for 'raw' and 'rugged' as i think it adds to the authenticity of the magazine.

My contents page seemed to merge the influences of Vibe and King magazine. It took the concept of having a different main subject on the contents page, however i decided that i wanted 2 main subjects on my contents page. this is because i wanted to add something extra to my layout as i felt something was missing. My contents follows a similar style to the contents in terms of colour scheme, however i decided to use a different colour scheme.

My double page spread is clearly influenced by Vibe, with the idea of having one page of the double page spread with just an image and the other with writing. It also has quotes in bold and singled out from the main body of the text. This is similar to my DPS however I decided I wanted to add some type of artist profile on my single page image as well as a interview quote. I think this develops typical conventions as i have taken the primary idea of a magazine which clearly knows how to attract its target audience and sell, and made the idea my own.

How does your product represent particular social groups?

My media product doesnt just represent one social group, it represents my current generation and also the working class. Yes, the target audience is inner-city teenagers but it a magazine with a culture that can embrace all walks of life. Therefore i think my magazine represent teenagers and young adults as a whole not just a particular social group.

What kind of media institution might distribute your product?

I believe an indipendent media institution would distribute my product such as Grime Daily, which has a huge Youtube following. This is because not only does it have its Youtube channel to promote the magazine, but it is also the only magazine in its nature.

Who would be the audience of your product?

My target audience are prodominately teens and young adults, however it is a magazine open to those who embrace good music and also embrace the urban culture. Within my target audience, the most likely buyer of my magazine are Males from around the ages of 15-21. This is because this scene is prodominately a scene of male artists. However because of the Penumbra Effect, many people will indirectly consume my magazine as it has a wide social audience. Many of the articles will be discussed openly in bulic and also the inclusion of posters will not damage the idea of recognisation through exposier. This does however have a negative effect, the magazine may be shared between people directly lowering sales.

How did you attract/adress your audience?

By using gritty imagery common to every city, bourough, estate e.g underpasses, this immediately makes the reader feel like there is a empathetic bond between themselves and the magazine. This because it is scenery they see day to day therefore they feel like it is something they can relate too. Also, if they see someone of a similar appearance to them they will automaticly be attracted to the magazine.

How have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

I have learnt to use hardware to a better advantage. I am now comfortable using high performance camera's in a way that allows me to take good quality images. Also I am now comfortable scanning documents into the computer, something I wasn't comfortable doing before hand.
I have also become more comfortable using software in order to enhance my images etc, such as using photoshop. Although I felt comfortable using the software before hand, I am now even more able to enhance and edit images.
In addition to software, I now feel able to use blogger confidently. Before the start of this course I had never heard of blogger, now i feel able enough to give tutorials in using it and keeping and maintaining a healthy blog.

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

I feel like I have learnt to plan my work better and schedule my time. For my preliminary i didnt use a layout plan which meant i spent time flashing through variations, where as with this full product I had a clear outline of how I wanted my product to be percieved. I feel like i am now more creative with my photography than I was with my preliminary. This in turn leads to a better construction of my final production.