Updates Contents Page

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Evaulation Question 7

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

Looking back at my preliminary task I feel the main thing I have learnt is how to produce and create a professional looking media product, this was achieved by the following:

•Audience Research

•Researching Magazines

•Learning How To Use A New Software

I have learnt that it is essential to carry out audience research in order to gain a wide insight to what my target audience would want and like to see. By creating a questionnaire it helped me to make choices on such things as colours and what should consist within my magazine. I was able to understand the conventions of an Hip Hop and R&B magazine by looking at popular music magazines such as :

I also learnt that it is very important to have a target audience and that you should really base your magazine ideas on this target audience. It is important to gain information on this group. I have also learnt that allot about different social groups that magazines aim at. Many magazines included specific topics within their magazine in order to attract more than one type of social group.

At the start of my project I carried out a task in which I had to create a college magazine, from this I learnt how to produce a magazine using photoshop and I learnt about audience research. After this I got feedback from from my fellow students and friends so I can do better in my real media product. From this I learnt the importance of audience feedback. This all helped me to make my media product look professional.

I have learnt that specific colours create a dramatic change in the effect that the magazine gives to my target audience. I have learnt very significant techniques and skills on the 'Photoshop' software in order for me to create a professional media product. I also learnt about different files that must be used in photoshop such as ' JPEG' this is the file in which I had to use when transferring my media product from photoshop to blogger.

During my research I looked at various music genres, it allowed me to gather resources for my product. I choose to base my media product on the Hiphop and R&B genre as I am already familiar with this genre. I knew that if I used this genre then I will have a better insight on the whole product and also I would receive more accurate results from my audience in my audience research.

I also learnt about styles and colloquial language used in Hip Hop and R&B magazines, I learnt that Hip Hop and R&B artists are stereotyped, they are said to always wear tracksuits,big gold chains and hoodies. But I learnt this isn't always true, so this is why I represented my models in a very modern unique style and not a typical stereotype look. I learnt that Hip Hop and R&B is more than just music it represents peoples struggles of living on the streets and trying to get through everyday life on dangerous neighbourhoods and many more difficulty's.

During this whole task not only did I learn new skills but I have also learnt how to be more organised within myself as I organised my time carefully.

Evaulation Question 6

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

At the start of my media course I was taught how to use a professional digital camera, this camera was what I used to capture my media product pictures. It helped me to achieve high standard clear pictures that could catch nearly every detail possible. I learnt about the different options on this digital cameras, I was able to zoom in and out in order to get the correct shots, it had different themes on it aswell which I was able to use. I also learnt how to adjust the light in order to achieve the high key lighting that I wanted.

During my post production i used 'Photoshop' to edit my photographs and create my media product. I gained allot of knowledge on the tools that were available for me to access, they varied from red eye removal tool, to cropping and adjusting, to changing the lighting and contrast. In photoshop I first started to construct my front page cover, I learnt how to create new layers in order for my pictures and words to overlap. From my new knowledge on Photoshop I was able to crop my picture of my model and also size it to the right fit. I used a tool called the 'Lasso tool' which was very helpful at helping me cute and transfer. There were also make up tools such as the spot healing brush tool which would help remove spots on my model. Photoshop offered many tools for me such as guide lines, this helped me when creating my contents page, it made sure my black lines were straight. I have also learnt to add and remove backgrounds on my front page cover, in the end I decided to have a White background.

Photoshop also offered a range of fonts that I would be able to use for my media product,but I wasn't quite so happy with these as I wanted one that would be just right for my target audience. So I used a website called http://www.dafont.com/ to find different fonts that I could transfer to Photoshop. They offered various types of fonts such as, Gothic, Techno, Script and Fancy. In the Script section i came across fonts that i have previously seen in HipHop and R&B magazines in the category of 'Graffiti'.

On this website I found the best conventional font to use on my contents page which I thought was great for my target audience. ( "Miss Leanne Lewis").

Lastly I have learnt that the Internet is very useful as it allowed me to carry out research on real media products and conventions. It meant that I was able to convey an idea of what my own work should look like.

Evaulation Question 5

How did you attract/address your audience?

Firstly I began with creating a big blown up image of my model on my front page as this is what the audience would like to see. I attracted and addressed my audience by using a model aged 17 in order to attract my target audience and people of this age, by using a younger model it allowed my audience to relate to her Whereas if i had used a picture of someone much more older (30 Over) then it wouldn't so much attract my target audience. I have used both males and female models in order to attract the opposite sex to read to my media product.

Another way I attracted my audience was by advertising a familiar social network that people of my target audience use. The social network i used on my front page was "Myspace" which is quite a popular Internet website for new upcoming artists and different genres of music including Hip Hop and R&B. This would mean that it is more likely to catch the attention of the audience that I am aiming for, and it would mean that people who are interested in this website may want to read and article on this topic.

I attracted the female audience by advertising fashion styles on the media front page, I done this as I know females are very much interested in fashion and care about their style. Also quite allot of females are concerned with there fashion and are always up for any tips available.

On my front page I am advertising the new upcoming artist "Leanne Lewis" this will attract the audience because they will want to know about the latest artists and new songs out in the music media As the new artist is female this may be popular with the female audience as they would be able to relate to the new artist, and for some women it is good to see new female artists growing as the music industry sometimes can be very male domineering. Males can also relate to her because they may have an interest in new upcoming women.

I have dressed my model Leanne Lewis in very up to date clothes with a bit of an unique style, this way it stands out and attracts the readers eye. I used jewelery to attract and represent religions, E.g. Leanne Lewis is wearing a necklace with a cross on it to represent Christianity, which I have noticed on a variety of magazines.

Another way I have attracted my audience is by putting latest gossip on my front page cover in order to tempt my target audience to buy my magazine. I also ensured that i used high key lighting when photographing my model in order for the picture to stand out and for her clothing to stand out more this way it attracts the reader to buy my magazine.

I also used a big master head to stand out in order to attract the readers eye. I have included an interview on the double page spread to engage the readers, it is a down to earth interview were Leanne Lewis is talking about her life all the way up to the stage that she is at now. The reason I have done this is so my target audience would be able to relate to what she is saying. I have also included another attractive picture of Leanne Lewis to appeal to my target audience.

As my target audience is the younger generation of 16-24 I have used fonts that would more attract them to my magazine. For example I have used a stylish graffiti font on my contents page which is quite reflective of my target audience :

Evaluation Question 4

Who would be the audience for your media product?

There are many different groups of people that are my audience for my media product. My main age group that I am targeting is 16-24 the reason for this is because the type of music magazine and genre I have based my media product on would be more popular for the younger generation. I also made my target audience 16-24 as the majority of my peers and fellow friends are between this age, which meant that when i carried out my audience research i would gather a sufficient and useful amount of information. Because I have limited my target audience it means that those who are over my target age and have an interest in different genre of music may not choose to read my magazine.

My media magazine is targeting females and males, but there are more topics for women within the magazine. The reason for this is because reseach has found that women are more likely to purchase a magazine than men, so i therfore felt that i should include more women topics within the magazine, but also including men's topics of interests

I am directly targeting readers that are into Hip Hop and R&B as this is what my magazines theme is based on. It will attract audiences that enjoy reading about new upcoming artists and the latest gossip out. It is also targeting audiences that just simply enjoy reading or have a interest in music on a whole.

Before I even started creating my media product I done some audience research in order to find out what the audience do like, and from this information I gained an insight into what I should include in my magazine in order to target 16-24 year olds. E.g. The audience would prefer to see a large image and a bit of information on a front cover, so I took this into consideration and used this idea, this helped me because this is what my audience want to see. The audience also said that inside my media product they would like to see such things as latest gossip, pictures and information on the latest going ons within the music industry.

Evaluation Question 3

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why ?

I have researched into two different institutions that might want to distribute my type of media product. The first company is the "Conde Nast International" ( http://www.condenast.co.uk/).

I believe that this company would want to distribute my media product because it doesn't already distribute my music magazines genre. So therefore my media product would be a good addition to the company. But it does appeal to some of my social groups which are females and the younger generation. It would attract females as the majority of the magazines that this media institution distribute is for women. Also all the magazines are being aimed at the younger generation, so this would be good for my magazine as my audience is the younger generation.

Another reason why this company may want to distribute my magazine is because my magazine has a range of different topics within it. It has topics on fashion, latest music, technological websites and articles.

Condé Nast Digital UK's stable of websites now attracts over 2.6 million unique users with 46 million pages viewed each month which shows that this company is quite popular, my magazine would therefore get alot of attention.

The second media institution i have researched is a company named IPC (http://www.ipcmedia.com/). This company is one of the worlds leading UK consumer music magazine, this would be good for my media product as many of the magazines that this company has distributed are popular and have a wide rang of audiences. IPC Media uses its own products to advertise its own products, the synergy at this level would mean that the advertisement and marketing would be from the same institution.

This company would also be a good company to distribute my magazine as it has a very large variety of different types of magazines ranging from, fashion, beauty, music magazines to sports and homeware. It would appeal to many different social groups such as audiences that enjoy fashion. IPC has many different fashion magazines that the younger generation of readers would be familiar with.

IPC Media produces over 85 iconic media brands, with their print brands alone reaching almost two thirds of UK women and 44% of UK men – almost 27 million UK adults – while their online brands collectively reach 20 million users every month. This shows me that if IPC was to distribute my media product then I would have a wide selection of readers varying from different ages and genders.

Evaulation Question 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My media product represents different social groups such as:

•The younger generation of 16-24

•Hip Hop and R&B audiences

•Males and Females

•Audiences of Fashion

The age that I am targeting is represented through images used in my media product, colloquial language and font. The image I have used on my front page cover is of a 17 year old girl which is in my targeting age group, the reason I have done this is so that the audience can relate to the picture, which shows my magazine has been made for the younger generation of 16 - 24. I have dressed my model in modern everyday clothes that you would see a young person wearing, this way it conveys the stereotype for the younger generation, which therefore shows it is aiming for 16 - 24 year olds. On my contents page I have used an image of a male model with dyed red hair, the reason I have chosen to dye his hair for this image is to reach out to the younger generations and also people with unique styles because Hip Hop and R&B is normally stereotyped as 'Gangster looking clothes and 'Hoodies and tracksuits', but this isn't necessarily true so I decided to come away from this stereotype.

I styled my models hair this way as I know that this is one of the latest hairstyles so therefore it will attract a specific type of social group. My models are wearing specific props to add to the picture. E.g. The male model is shown here wearing a gold ring to give an extra 'bling' to the photo.

In my media product I have decided to use specific colloquial language on my double page spread in order to represent particular social groups, in this case 16-24. I created a interview were the interviewer is talking in formal language and the person being interview ( Leanne Lewis) is talking as she would in her everyday life. To do this I included slang words which the majority of the audience can relate to. I also used other colloquial language such as "Totally".

Another way i have represented different social groups is by placing " The best Myspace Rappers" on the front cover, this is my unique selling point, which targets a more technological social group that use the Internet. This type of social group is usually aged between 16 - 24.

My media product also represents the group of people that like "Hip hop and R&B" magazines. This has been achieved through my front page cover were I have advertised latest gossip at the top of the page, the exposure of a new R&B artist Leanne Lewis and also " The best Myspace Rappers". It has also been achieved through my contents page where at the bottom I have advertised the latest Hip Hop and R&B music out in order to attract this type of social group. I have also written about other pages that can be found within the magazine, e.g. latest gossip about Beyonce. Lastly I have also represented this social group through my double page spread where I have a full on interview of a new upcoming R&B artist "Leanne Lewis".

My media product represents both male and females which is one of the main reason of why I choose to have very natural colours that would appeal to both genders. I have included both male and female models, and I also ensured that I have advertised different types of interest on the front page of my magazine. I have also used these natural colours as my media product is supposed to be a spring issue and these colours connotes spring colours.

The title of my media product "Base" represents the younger generation. The word "Base"is quite modern and the audience can tell that it is related to this kind of genre of music. This is a way in which it relates to my audience. It is young and It relates to Hip Hop and R&B, as the base is normally an important part of this genre of music.