evaluation

Evaluation

The layout of my front cover follows the conventions of a real media product, one of which being ‘hip-hop’ magazine. HHC uses successful rappers in the magazine and I have tried to follow this convention by putting an image of a rapper dressed in a formal way on the cover. Although the rapper is dressed formally, he has aspects of an informal look as well with the use of the mise-en-scene. This is the open blazer, tie loosely done and the sunglasses. My front cover uses the conventions of HHC in the ways that both have a skyline, a cover image and a similar layout to the strap lines at the bottom. I have also used graffiti font as it relates to HHC magazine. It challenges the HHC font because that magazine used serif block fonts and I have used sans serif.
My product uses the conventions of mise-en-scene in some parts as my front cover is on a plain background like the cover of HHC whereas the contents of my magazine is busy and has a lot going on which is different to the contents of the real media product. The colours I have used also use the media product as my main colours are black and red and the colours of HHC are red and white and black. I used these colours because they have a hard edge to it and this reflects hip-hop. The colour red has connotations of danger, power and it could be associated with a rich colour. This colour anchors the masthead of ‘Emperor’ as emperors are seen to be rich and powerful. I chose black with it to give it a hip-hop feel. The masthead suggests exclusivity and a snob appeal for the reader.
On my double page spread, I have used an original image on the left hand side but layering on an already existing image. I added an equalizer to the existing image and a glow around the edge of the original image to make it stand out. I made this glow by using the paintbrush tool and changing the brush style. I changed the colour to white and went around the edges of the layer, using more brush on areas than others.
On the text side, I have used to same font for the masthead as the front cover for the artists name and band. I have used green and white for my colours on a black background as these stand out and go well together. I also used green as there is a green glow on the image and the colours then match. I have set the text out in 3 columns and broken down the middle column by a quote from the artist. I have also put the artist’s signature at the end of the interview as this makes it more personal to the reader. This challenges the double page spread of HHC as there are 2 separate images filling up the bottom bit of each page. The images do not have a background and have just been cut around and layered on a plain background. I have used the conventions in my media product of using 3columns and aligning a quote from the interview in bigger font in the centre.
On the contents pages, I have used an image of my friend on a motorbike. He is wearing urban clothing such as a hoody and trainers. The mise-en-scene such as a motorbike makes the magazine seen more hip-hop. I made the background by taking an image of a brick wall and layering graffiti over it using downloaded brushes on Adobe Photoshop. The graffiti is in all different colours and shapes. I lowered the opacity of the brick wall and layered the graffiti over it. I then placed the image over them layers. I did the copy in publisher but the masthead was made on the Internet, downloaded and inserted into the document. I did this because I wanted to subvert the hip-hop genre and conventions of a hip-hop magazine by using graffiti stamp brushes. I layered it over a brick wall to make it more realistic and blended in.
I made the text colour green and white because it fits in with the graffiti. The white also stands out against the wall and can be easily read. I added red arrows to the stories which are on the front cover to make it easy for the reader to recognize what is an exclusive story. I made these arrows red to match the colour of the bike.
Once again, my contents page challenges the one of the original media product. The contents page of HHC is mainly orange and brown. Whereas I have used a variety of colours mainly red, yellow and green. The text on HHC is in white and this is made to stand out against the dark background. I have layered my copy on top of a dark background and used the colour green to fit in with the other colours used and balance out the amount of colour used. The green colour also stands out against the dark background like in HHC. The image is a medium close up whereas my image used is a long shot. I used a long shot so I could focus on mainly on the mise-en-scene as I have used a motorbike, graffiti walls and urban clothing to anchor the whole hip-hop style magazine. The contents page on HHC is quite plain and straight to the point.

My media product represents rappers and youths in a positive way. It represents them as being positive because it shows that they can be successful in music and not just be involved in gang violence etc. The mise-en-scene challenges this as I have used a lot of graffiti and urban clothing such as hoodies and trainers. Although youths are portrayed to be negative in society today, my media product challenges this but still reflects ‘real-life’. I have considered verisimilitude in my media product by using young adults around 16+ to sell it. I have also created graffiti walls and shutters to anchor the images of the youths. The lighting in my media product is natural representing the social groups as being realistic and not hyperbole and stereotyped.
The images used are all of young males as a mass-market of males are rappers and are interested in the hip-hop style of music.

The audience for my media product is a mass market of people interested in the hip-hop/rap style of music. The age range could vary as a lot of people are interested in this house style. I mainly focused on 14-19 year olds basing my imagery, copy, typography and layout on this age range. The target audience could be identified as the images used on the front cover, double page spread and contents are all in the age range I have focused on which is 14-19. The images are all of youths wearing urban clothing that reflects what the target audience also wear.

I attracted my audience as the cover is of a young rapper aged the same age as the target audience. This might make the audience relate to the artist. On the cover I also put a strap line directly aimed at the audience. The strap line was, ‘He Tells YOU Everything About Him And The Streets’. This strap line was a n exclusive with a graffiti style font matching the masthead of the magazine. The ‘YOU’ in the strap line makes the magazine more personal to the reader and the graffiti font and colours are also catching and attracts a young audience. The register I have used is an informal colloquial tone. I have used this so the audience can relate to it as they will also speak ‘back slang’. This will make the media product more personal to them.

The technologies I have used throughout my process of constructing my media product are a digital camera and a computer. From constructing my product, I have learnt that technology is not always reliable as they may shut down or not work. The camera batteries may be dead and the leads may not be available to use or may not be the correct one to fit the camera.

From my college prospectus preliminary task, I feel I have learnt how to handle the digital camera better and take clearer shots. I have learnt new Photoshop skills such as downloading new brushes and I have used them in my media products. I also know how to make my media product look more professional by lowering the size of fonts and kerning text together on the front cover of my magazine on publishing software such as publisher.

Final Front cover

This is the original image I took for my final front cover. I cut out the green background and changed it to black. I then went around the image to smooth the edges with a smooth brush tool in black.

This is my new final front cover. I changed the image because the other one was blurred and this image is more clearer. I kept the colours and strap lines the same as before as well as the masthead and logo. I changed the alignment of the strap lines on the right to make them right alinged. I did this because they look visually better on the right rather than around the image.

I also forgot to add in the date by my Price and barcode on the previous front cover so i added that in the final.

Final Front Cover

This is my first final front cover. The colours on my cover are red, black and white. I chose these colours because they match what the model is wearing and go well together. The colours can be easily read and stand out against the black background.
My masthead is called 'Emperor'. I chose this name because it makes the magazine seem important. I did the font of the masthead in a graffiti style as it matches the genre of the mag zine and some of the context inside. I also did this font style on the 'Bonafyde' lettering showing some connection between them.
On top of the masthead, I positioned a crown on as the text anchors this image. I changed the saturation and hue of the image to make it more shiny and stand out against the text and the background.
I changed the character spacing on publisher on the strap lines to make them tighter and Kern them more. This makes it better visually as there are not as many gaps in between letters.
my strap lines on the right fit around my image and on the left go slightly over. this balances out the cover as the image is slightly to the left so i put more strap lines on the right.

Final Double Page Spread

This is the double page spread for my magazine. One side is an image and the other side is text.

I have used an original image on the left habd side but layering an already exsisting image. I added an equalizer to the exsisting image and a glow around the edge of the original image to make it stand out. I made this glow by using the paintbrush tool and changing the brush style. i changed the colour to white and went around the edges of the layer, using more brush on areas than others.

On the text side, i have used to same font for the masthead as the front cover for the artists name and band. I have used green and white for my colours on a black background as these stand out. I also used green as there is a green glow on the image and the colours then match. I have set the text out in 3 coloumns and broken down the middle column by a quote from the artist. I have also put the artists signature at the end of the interview as this makes it more personal to the reader.

image for double page spread

This is my image for the double page spread.

It is of the same person on the front cover but a back shot. I did this image because it shows the writing on the jacket I deliberately chose.

I cut out the image on photoshop and left in a hint of green as my text on the double page spread will be this colour. The image will be over a background.

contents

This is my final contents page.

I have used an image of my friend on a motorbike. The background has been made and I did this by taking an image of a brick wall and putting graffiti over it using downloaded brushes on photo shop. The graffiti is in all different colours and shapes. I lowered the opacity of the brick wall and layered the graffiti over it. I then placed the image over them layers.

I did the text in publisher but the masthead was made on the Internet and downloaded and inserted into the document.

I made the text colour green and white because the green goes with the graffiti. the white also stands out against the wall and can be easily read. I added red arrows the the stories which are on the front cover to make it easy for the reader to recognize what is an exclusive. I made these arrows red to match the colour of the bike.

I then took a picture of my trainers. I cut around them in photo shop and put them on my contents page. Using the brush tool, I added to the laces and made them wrap around the text. The black and yellow also match the graffiti colours.

ideas

from this image, i want to use the chair idea. i want my model to be sittin on a chair on the front cover. the chair will be black but not as noticable.

from this image, i want to use the background. i want the background to be all black with a touch of white so it shines on the image.

Hip Hop magazine double page spread

the double page spread of HHC had 2 main images. they are placed at the bottom of the both pages and are medium close ups or closeups. the main colours used are black, white and red. the text is written in columns and the page titles stand out aas they have a background colour around them.

Hip Hop magazine contents page

the contents page of HHC is mainly orange and brown. the text is in white and this stands out against the dark background. the image is a medium close up. the contents page is quite plain and straight to the point.

Hip Hop front cover

this is the front cover of HHC.

on the cover there is the mastehead and the cover image layering it. the image bleeds right to the edge of the page and blurs out.

there are not a lot of straplines on the cover but it follows the conventions of a typical magazine. the main colours are red, yellow and white.

NME Double Page Spread

This is a double page spread of NME magazine. 1 page is image and the other is largely text. This double age spread is very visual. the lead singer is central in the image and the lighting shows he is the main focus. the setting of the image is a club/gig and the mise-en-scene mainly consists of girls. The page is a page for new bands and the cations anchor the image. The caption is also humorous showing the magazine is a playful/humorous and informal magazine.

the exclusivity grabs readers attention showing that the magazine has got something nobody else has got.

The use of pronouns engages the audience as well as the use of alliteration. the magazine also uses intertextuality. the tone of the magazine is satirical and hyperbole. There is use of similes and metaphors as well.

The language is very colloquial and the columns are very short set. There are 2 main images. these images are a match on action and show the same thing but from a different camera angle. in the last column, there is the use of play on words when talking about Swede and Swedish.

also the quotes from bands make the article more exclusive.

Kerrang Contents page

This is the contents page for Kerrang magazine. The main contents is on the right hand side and the page is split up into 2 sections and 3 columns. This contents page is more visual than the NME contents page. There is very informal language used as well as expletive language.

The magazine is very rebellious targeting a younger, more rebellious audience range. the editors corner in at the top left flatters the reader as he personally signs it showing he wants to be the readers friend.

The visuals on the page reflect the music genre and the target audience.

The magazine almost promotes expletives and rebel as a positive thing and the magazine hasn't got a harder vocabulary range than NME. this could be because the audience is not as educated. the colours of the magazine are mainly yellow and black. these colours are bold and bright. The yellow is very shocking and can be connoted with lightening which is very bright and dangerous. This may also link to the audience and music as a whole.

NME contents page

This is the contents page of the NME music magazine I analysed. On the right hand side, there is the actual contents of what is in the magazine. This part is split up into different sections making it easy to read and understand.

The language used is very informal and explicit as on the contents page it says, "fucked up" which is an album name but on the front cover it is put in stars.

The section on the side which is split up into columns goes down in ascending page order which also makes it easy to follow. The arrows on the side which say "on the cover" also make it easy to relate to the articles you already know a little about which are on the cover.

On the left hand side, there is a section for a band index. this section has a long list of different bands all in chronological order also making it easy to read and quicker to find a band that you are looking for. making the band list in chronological is time consuming for the reader.

The magazine name which is NME, is kept in the top left hand corner which is in the same place as on the cover. This can be easily identified and follows conventions of a magazine.

NME music magazine

This NME music magazine has an indy genre.

NME stands for new musical express but wen you say it, it sounds like 'enemy'. This gives a very subversive and rebellious response.

The Masthead and the cover image are linked aswell as both are very subversive as in the main image, the female is smoking which is seen to be 'cool' amongst young people. She is also wearing a hood which relates to stereotypes young people get.

The mise-en-scene suggests a street/rock and roll theme as she is wearing a leather jacket and leather is normally connotated with rock.

The skin showing suggests sex appeal and the high angle show showing them lying down also relates to this. the image is very provacative as the female is looking straight at the camera showing she is the main focus and more dominant than the male lying next to her. This suggests she is the lead singer of the band 'Crystal castles'. The fact that she has her hand leaning over the 'E' in the masthead also suggests her control and power on the cover.

the explicits on the front cover also relate tp the rebellious genre flowing through the cover and this language makes it very informal and aims directly at the target audience of rebellious teenagers growing up.

the language on the cover is very non judgemental and it promotes things such as murder and drugs which is written in bold capitals on the left hand side of the magazine.

The typography on the magzine is very simple and gets straight to the point. There is a border around the masthead which makes it stand out and the main articles and exclusive stories are in red. The colour red symbolises danger and love which also relates to the text on the cover. the other colours used are black and white. Black is a very dark dangerous colour also relating to rebellious actions relating to dangerous things.

The layout of the magazine is very balanced. The cover image is placed more on the right hand side whereas the straplines are coming down the left hand side.

Also on the cover, there is an exclusive on the right hand side about Kurt cobain. This grabs attnetion as it shows this is the only magazine with this interview.

Obama magazine cover

This is a Vibe magazine front cover.

The main cover image is of Barako Obama dressed in a shirt and tie looking at his watch. The cover image relates to the kicker at the bottom as it says "ITS OBAMA TIME" and this symbolises the watch that he is looking at in the image.

the masthead is covered on this magazine front cover showing that the magzine is well known and the image is more important and this grabs attnetion.

The magazines main colours used are red white and blue. There are no straplines and no skyline and the layout is very simple. The magazine almost looks boring but getsz straight to the point that the main article is about Obama and the text at the top shows this as it says it is a special issue.

magazine analysis for main task

This front cover is of a music magazine. The Cover image is of a well known R'n'B artist, Kanye West. He is positioned in the centre of the another band called daft punk. This image makes Kanye west, the artist, stand out more as he is the only one without his face covered. The image is overlapping the masthead a little bit showing the magazine is well known. although most of the cover image is black, the spectator can see a hint of pink on the jacket of the right figure and on the top of the mask of the left figure. this adds colour to the image and there is also a hint of pink on the side of the artists face.
This hint of colour is also used for one character in the kicker. the '+' in the kicker is in pink and matches the hint of colour in the image. there are also touch ups on the cover of the magazine with this colour pink. There are lines in between some straplines aswell as some lettering.

The image ancors the idea that your are in a club because kanye west electronic and hiphouse single stronger is a type of music you would hear in a club. the lighting also reflects this as it has very bright and colourful hints.

The Background image is full of other artists names and the colours used are green fading in to blue. these colours aslso macth the colour reflected onto the left figures mask.

The straplines and kicker are mainly written in white which stands out against the dark background and cover image. There are not alot of straplines on the magazine but the audience can tell it is a music magazine through the language and image used. all the conventions of a typical magazine are used in this cover as there is a cover image, straplines and a limit on the colours used. There is not a skyline on the cover but the masthead is made up of 2 parts. The main attraction and brightest colour used is on the masthead, 'SPIN'. This grabs the attention of the reader.
the font on the kciker is simple and is straight to the point. it relates to the cover image as it contains the artists name, Kanye west and daft punk.
the target audience of the magazine is of 16 years and older music fans of different genres. the background of different artists names shows the magazine covers a wide range of music genres.