COURSEWORK

EVALUATION
 1. In what way does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Throughout my magazine I have tried to use many conventions for the front cover I used a midshot of my model wearing clothes
typical of that genre, the model is also looking into the lens which is typical of hiphop magazines and is also a convention of many
other music magazines. When a model looks into the camera the audience feel more connected with them and I have used this
convention across my magazine. The title of my magazine is positioned at the very top of the page and spreads the width of the
page, like other hiphop magazines such as Vibe. my front cover also contains a barcode, price, issue date and a pug which are all
conventions on all types of magazines. I decided to place the barcode and cover lines in the left third as another convention. I
have chosen to use conventions rather than challenge them, I have chosen to do this as I feel that using conventions is the best
thing to do for a new magazine as challenging conventions is risky so I thought the most sensible thing to do was to use
conventions as it would be the best thing for my magazine. I did not use a skyline in my front cover as I did not feel that my poster
looked more appealing with one.
On my contents page I have also used many conventions as I have continued the same colour sheme as I feel this will make the
magazine look more professional as it flows from page to page, this is also a convention of many magazines across al genres.
The first letter of the title BARZ has been used for the logo of the magazine and has been used on both products from inside the
magazine as this is a convention as it lets people know what magazine they are reading if they havent looked at the front. The
page is split into three sections, Features, Regulars and the editor says. This is conventional of magazines as it allows the
audience to find the pages they are interested in easier, it also makes the page look more professional. I have used the ‘editor
says’ as it is not a clear convention of hip hop magazines but it separates my contents page from others so it doesnt look like a
clone.
On my double page spread I have also used conventions. I have followed the colour scheme that was used on the front cover
and contents page to make my magazine flow nicely. I have also. Another thing I have done is place the page number bottom
right hand corner and left corner so when the reader is flicking through the pages it is easier to find, this is a convention in every
type of magazine. I have chose to use one dominating image that takes up the whole right hand page, I have done this as it is
quite a strong convention of magazines and I wanted the main focus of the page to be the interview. I have gone against
conventions by only having one image but I wanted the focus to be he page appear professional. I have also made sure that the
arrangement prevents the fold down the centre of the double page from interrupting any text. This is definitely an important
magazine convention as words tend to get lost in the centrefold.
2. How does your media product represent particular social
groups?
My magazine is not aimed to any particular social group as I feel that it should be enjoyed by anyone passionate about
hiphop and rap, however I feel that majority of readers would be of male gender at a reasonably young age, this is
because I dont think my magazine would appeal to females and older people as much. My music magazine clearly
represents the RnB genre of music .The model on the front cover is wearing clothing that is often associated with rap
music which is quite casual and urban, but not too rough. The flatpeak cap is the most obvious representation of the
social groups as many rap and hiphop fans own one. The models is young as this represents my target audience that
are aged around and above 16. On the front cover I hardly used photoshop to alter my models appearance as this would
misrepresent my target audience as I know most hip hop fans are not glamorous and perfect but I did use it to make my
model look slightly more mature and older so got rid of some spots. On my magazine the main gender is which is the
target audience of my magazine so I wanted something they could relate to. I would’ve liked to have an even spread of
both genders in my magazine but there wasnt space in the three products. The model used in magazine is white british
which this goes against conventions of rap music however I wanted to represent that rap music is for all races.
 3. What kind of media institution might distribute your
media product and why?
I think an institution such as BAUER MEDIA group might like to publish my magazine as they are
already into the music magazine market, however with rock magazines such as Q and Kerrang, I feel
they would publish my magazine to strengthen their media empire and have a large customer base,
although they aren't the same genre as my chosen genre.
 4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
The audience I feel would be most interested in my productions are young males living in urban areas,
however I have not aimed the magazine at a particular group of people as I would like my magazine to be
enjoyed by many different people with different styles as this would make my magazine more succesful.
5. How did you attract/address your audience?
I have attempted to attract my target audience by producing a conventional magazine
typical of other rap magazines that could also be in the audiences interest as it is based on
UK hip hop which has not yet got a magazine out. The images I have used in my magazine
is of a young male in mid teens, this is one method of appealing to my audience as this will
connect with them as it is something they can relate to as they are of a similar age. I have
also tried to style my model in clothes that are appealing to my audience and clothes that
they wear but to also fit in with the genre of rap and hiphop. Using this type of clothing
allows the audience to relate to it as using high priced clothes may make the reader feel
unworthy of the magazine.
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process
of constructing this product?
Throughout the coursework I have learnt to adapt to new technologies
and use a variety of technology to produce my product. I have had to
adapt to using MAC computers at school aswell as microsoft at home as I
am only used to windows computers as I find them much easier to use. It
was not the first time using a MAC so it did not take long to get used to .
Another software I have learnt to use is Blogger. Although I have used it in
the past, I have not used it this much. At first I would have preferred to
have all my work presented in a folder as I feel it is more presentable but
now I feel that it is more modern and easy to present it electronically as it
saves paper and you have less chance of loosing it.
Another software I used was photoshop, I am very familiar with
photoshop as I have it at home and have used it at GCSE media, however
I had not used it in a while so I was a bit rusty at first but got used to it
again quickly. I found it very easy to use and it makes editing of images
very easy and fast, when doing my preliminary task I was not as good at
editing on photoshop so it was not as good as my final products
I have also learnt about Scribd. I had never heard of Scribd before but I
have found it extremely useful as it allowed me to present your work in the
easiest way possible through the very popular powerpoint and microsft
word. It also made my blog more attractive and neater.
.
Another technology was a Cannon camera, like the one shown in the
image.before this I only ever took photos on my phone but I have found
that these cameras are extremely good and the images have incredible
quality. I really enjoyed using this higher quality camera as the images
were better and it made the products look more professional
7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel
you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
I have learnt alot since the preliminary task and I feel that my skills of editing
and my knowledge of magazine conventions helped my photoshop work
improve from it. For example no research was compiled before I designed my
preliminary task so I did not know what would look best and most
professional. The images were not planned and I had no freedom as I had to
use the props that were on hand. At the time I felt that my images and final
products were very good however looking back and comparing them to my
new product I have realised that they were not The camera I took the photos
for my preliminary task was a standard digital camera which did not much
have quality at all. I put alot of thought and effort into my final products for
example I analysed magazine covers, contents and double page spreads to
find out what is conventional in music magazines.
I feel that my creativity on a whole has improved as I have tried to make my
magazine look very appealing and sophisticated compared to my boring plain
preliminary task. I have used the same colour scheme as preliminary task as
these are my favourite colours but I feel my latest product look much better.