AS Media Foundation Portfolio

Evaluation
Q1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge the forms
and conventions of a real media product?

I have created a music magazine which includes a front cover, contents page and double page
feature. I have selected ‘Hip Hop’ as my genre of my music magazine. I have research a wide
range of magazines of this genre and have understood the conventions used. I have kept this
into consideration whilst construction my Hip Hop music magazine.
I plan that the final outcome of my music magazine will relate to existing magazines such as Hip
Hop Connection magazine. My magazine will use certain conventions of Hip Hop Connection such
as the style, layouts and colours and will share the genre of the music and the way in which it is
presented to their audience.

Although, my music magazine will challenge other magazines on the market, and forms of
conventions of Hip Hop Connection, as my magazine is a music magazine targeted at young hip
hop fanatics. To help make my magazine appeal to young people I researched other magazine
read by youngsters. I believe that my magazine will create a link between the young readers and
there role model. Which will allow the readers to achieve ambitions.

The front cover of my magazine has many conventions you would normally find on a front cover of a
real hip hop music cover, which you would purchase in a shop.
My front cover has a masthead, which is the main focus of the cover and takes up the top of the cover,
thus allows it to stand out and be easily read by customers. You would find this in music magazine as
well therefore showing I have kept to this convention.
The main image is a vital part of the front cover. The common convention is to have a clear cut image
which takes up a large proportion of the front. From my front page you would be able to clearly see
that my image takes up most of the front cover and is clearly visible than any other item.
Most music magazine will link the front cover feature with the main article. I have also kept to this
convention by relating my main article to the front cover image.
Finally, you would always see barcodes, issue numbers and price tags on music magazines. I have also
kept to this convection as my barcode and price is visible to customers.
  Q2: How does your media product represent particular social groups?

• I plan that my magazine will represent young adults aged

16 –21.

• I want the representations in my magazine to be positive

unlike many representations of youngsters in media today.

• My magazine will represent youngsters as being successful,

talented and unique. I will portray this view with pictures
throughout the magazine and quotations in my feature.

• My music magazine appeals to an middle class and

upwards audience, this due to the price being £2.50 which
can only be afforded by customers with disposable income.

• The name of the magazine ‘Billionaire’ will motivate

individuals to reach the peak. As it is every young adults
dream to be star when older.

• The image I haves used throughout my magazine allows

reader to have self belief because the images will motivate
them to achieve as the models are young adults who are
achieving excellence.
 Q3: What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

• Inter Media Partners would be an appropriate

institution to distribute and publish my
magazine. This is due to it also publishing a
similar magazine to mine called Vibe.
• Also I would distribute my magazine in
common stores visited by my target audience.
This would include JD Sports, Base and Ice.
 Q4: Who would be the audience for your media product?

• These are images of my target audience; by

their personal appearance it is clear these
students are into music of the hip hop genre,
the unique stylish clothes worn show they are
young adults. Sunglasses show that they
interested into Rap/ Hip Hop as this is a
common convention of this genre of the
music.
 Q5: How did you attract/address your audience?

• I constantly asked my target audience for feedback on my

media products. I used a variety of images, font, text and
layout which would appeal to my target audience. Also I
added incentives, such as on my front cover I have
advertised a ‘free CD’. This would increase sales of my
magazine, this is a technique used by many magazine in a
way to promote their product. My cover lines are
exclusive which gives my music magazine a unique selling
point.
 Q6:What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

• I believe that I have learnt a huge amount from the beginning to the end product of my music magazine. I have
learnt how a magazine should be presented to the customers. This allowed me to implement those convections into
my own magazine.

• I have also learnt how to take effective images which would be suitable for my magazine. This allowed me to capture
different types of shots such as mid-shots and close-ups.

• There is a equipment list in my research which also states all the programmes and technologies I used to construct
my media product.

I have used different types of technologies to construct my music magazine.

The most import and most used to construct my magazine was Photoshop CS3, this allowed me to make my music
magazine without any limitations. This software allowed me to have full control of the construction process of the
magazine. Having this software helped me greatly and I found it very easy to get hang off and let me fulfil my
potential. However there is one drawback with Photoshop, you are not able to gain full control over writing tools,
this lead to the resolution of text not as clear as Microsoft Publisher and the moving of text is limited. However
the advantages are countless compared with the one disadvantage.

Another technology which I used is a digital camera. I was fortunate enough to use my personal 15 mega pixel
digital camera. This enabled me to take high quality pictures of my models which used in my music magazine.
The quality of the camera allowed me to have realistic photos which would enhance the quality of the magazine
which I have made .
Q7: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in
the progression from it to the full product?

• Generally my understanding of the software has

developed significantly throughout this project.
• I was unable to use photo shop before creating my
magazine and have developed my skills using Microsoft
Publisher. I have enhanced my skills using a camera and
have learnt many new shots and angles for taking
image.
• my preliminary task being an advantage for boosting
my skills for this. My preliminary task has helped me
improve my perception of genres whilst creating the
school magazine, I discovered there are different
conventions that need to fit different magazines.
• I also realised how much planning and research needs
to be undergone before I could have created my final
magazine, I did very little planning for my preliminary
task which made me realise what needs to be done to
ensure my final magazine turns out perfect and fits all
the conventions within the genre.

Overall my understanding of the software has improved

greatly throughout this project because at the start I'd
barely used Photoshop and now I have produced a
professional looking magazine using it.