Media AS EVALUATION

1. Media AS EVALUATION By Jordan Alleyne

2. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? The image I chose to use as my front cover challenges conventions as well as ideology as the way the model “Big D” is looking down towards the ground which links to the idea of the “Hustle”. Because of this the audience is straight to the models clenched fists which symbolises anger and hurt. This is supported by the response I received asking a selection of students what they are first drawn to when they look at the magazine cover. I also purposely linked the image and the texts “#Hustle” as the model seems like he has been through a lot in his life and has a reason to look down. The framing body posture gives off a troublesome vibe as a clenched fist usually means violence. The title and the direct focus of the artist is also effective in working together well as it highlights both the importance of the model and the master head. When analysing answers from others, I found that most people said it was very similar to other magazines but not R’n’B ones and that they felt that the cover was “interesting” however they also said it was “Very One sided” and that the image was “powerful”. This shows that the image goes against the norm of an average R’n’B magazines which presents artists of that genre to be powerful and strong.

3. analysing existing magazines: Colour scheme I have used this particular colour scheme of red, black and white because they are the colours that attract my target audience the most. Because of this I have decided to keep the colour scheme the same, to relate to my target audience. I now feel that the colour scheme is the foundation of my product and theme. Font In many magazine covers the conventional type of font used are always simple and bold in order not to distract the audience away from the main image used and to make it as easy to read as possible. Unlike other magazine fonts I didn’t go for a simple Master head however it is still very easy to read texts I purposely chose a simple font to use called “Arial black”. Master head I have decided that the layout of my magazine cover follows the “Norm”. Because I found that when I decided to make it a bit different from other magazines and place the master head below the image or going portrait along the side my audience responded negatively and I made a decision to put in the “conventional position”. This shows how the conventional position of magazine master head can influence an audiences decision.. Language The language that I used in my media product were chosen specifically to entertain and engage my audience. The choice of language engages the readers and leaves them wanting to find out more about the artist, at times I would just use small quotations from what he said and others include the whole paragraph because I felt that the readers may want to know more things than others

4. How does your media product represent particular social groups ? The audience I had in mind were those who listen to R’n’B which is mainly those of African or Caribbean decent and like to keep updated with all the latest gossip within the industry i.e. People between the ages of 15 – 21 years old. The main representation of young people within my target audience are music lovers, fun and can easily relate to the lyrics being said. Teenagers in general in the media today are depicted negatively by the public and are often affiliated with crime and as being a “burden on society”. My media product does not follow this representation, in the fact it praises the efforts of young musicians in R’n’B and the front cover is of a teenager who has created his own buzz in music. However on the other hand my media product is the challenges that he faced as a young person represented through “#MyHustle” which explains the struggle young people go through to gain acceptance which leads to teenagers being shown in a good way. In addition looking back at my initial survey that I created when planning my product, most of the readers were between the ages of 16-18 and i found that the majority of them would like the representation of teenagers to be a lot better as it has an impact on everyone else in

5. Comparing Representation The image of the artist “Big D” used represents the stereotypical image of a R’n’B artist. There is a contrast in clothes and appearance with the magazine on the right which shows the type of things the readers look for. The contrast in representation is also depicted in the artists body framing posture which is the significance of the mise en scene as it represents how humble the artist is. On the other hand the image used doesn’t show any particular stereotypical representations in terms of the props i.e. mic or speakers. The reason I have represented my artist in the way I have is to establish a contrast in representation. The representation of the artist “Lupe Fiasco” is a direct representation of most R’n’B magazines, the denotation of the artist dark black attire represents depression, struggle, bad attitude and a rebellion. I think the artist Lupe Fiasco has been represented In this particular way in order to attract the attention of the audience. Also the medium close up of Lupe Fiasco on the background that goes from dark to light represents change and new beginnings. This has an influence on his audience as they are being reminded of his importance and allows the audience to have a level of respect for him as both an artist and mentor.

6. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? The publisher that I have researched that might distribute my media product is “IPC Media”, this is because we share the same target audience in which most of the magazines they create are aimed at young adults • Advantages • Greater publicity for my artist. • Allows my magazine cover to grow and expand like other magazines • Disadvantages • I have a limited say on what I want to happen concerning my magazine. • They will control the layout and design of my magazine. Web link – ipcmedia.com/

7. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? Here I have got two very similar magazine covers to mine that was published by IPC Media. Here they have also decided to break conventions by having and image that one wouldn’t normally see on a front cover, which supports my idea that IPC Media may publish my media product as the type of magazines they publish vary. In both magazines the artist is posed looking away from the camera which could symbolise upset and depression In both magazines the artist has been set to be the main feature in which the audience is directly drawn to the artist facial expression

8. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product ? • The technologies and software I used to construct this product were: • Apple Mac computers • Nikon camera • Photoshop • Safari • Word • Survey Monkey • PowerPoint • Word press blog • Windows PC • Apple Mac computers • This is the most common technology that I used during the process of making my media product was the apple Mac computers. This allowed me to use a wide range of software to produce my product such as “safari”. As it was not my first time using this technology I was able to improve some of the skills I already learnt such as Photoshop. This allowed the process of constructing my product much easier for me and use my time effectively. • Nikon Camera • The Nikon camera was much better than using a phone camera and came with a lot more memory which allowed me to take different types of shots for example medium close ups, close ups, low shots, eye level shots etc. for both my preliminary photos and magazine shots which gave me the opportunity to capture as many images as I needed which as a result gave me a wider choice. It also allowed me to edit on the camera before processing it onto my computer.  

9. Photo shop This software was extremely important to my product and was the product that I commonly used throughout the process of construction. And as a result have developed a wide range of skills such as how to edit my images and texts . I learned different ways I can construct and develop images by changing and altering things to the way I wished, changing the colour and design of my images and also reconstructing an image by adding on and removing element. Blog My blog allowed me to document my work and talk about what I posted. As it was my first time creating a blog I learnt a lot from using it, for example how to edit my post as well as add post to my blog and present my work in different formats such as a slide show or a gallery. My blog link http://jordanstmarys.wordpress.com/ Survey Monkey Through out the process of my work I made surveys in order to get customer feedback and help me on my decisions. From this software I learnt how to transfer the survey onto my blog also the survey allowed me to analyse the customer feedback automatically which as a result made it easier for me when making decisions.

10. Final Products : Two page spread Front cover Contents Page

11. Looking back at your preliminary task what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product. Looking back at my preliminary task to my final product I have progressed a lot in terms of my creativity. My initial preliminary task allowed me to explore Photoshop as a whole and discover different design elements I could incorporate into my final product. The transition from my preliminary task to my final media product allowed me to develop particular skills and gain confidence when working with Photoshop. Completing regular drafts and documenting them also allowed me to progress in my designs and gain feedback from the audience in order to improve. This also gave me the confidence to take risk and make mistakes helping me improve. In addition to this looking at different existing magazines hugely influenced my end product, for example I learnt about how different elements can attract the audience such as colour, image and font. More over I also came across many media key words such as conventions, mise en scene, representation etc which has helped me when analysing different existing magazine products as well as my own.