7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
It is clear to me that i have learnt quite abit since the prelimanary task. I feel that i have improved on my judgement of quality and knowing how to structure magazines alot better. I also feel that i have learnt how important planning and preperation is. In the preliminary task i didn't really have a plan, i just went out with a camera and took some pictures as i went along. But with the main task i did some research and found out alot about what hip hop magazines are about and what they look like and i think this is clear in my work as people have said that it does look like a hip hip magazine.
An example of my planning was that when we had access to the studio i took in pictures of examples of hip hop magazine covers which gave us a few ideas that we can build on and hip hop photo's were taken. This i think helped tremendously as it helped us know how to pose and the expressions to make which was very important in making the character what he was.
In the preliminary task i dont think i put enough care into taking my pictures, i think it would have been a better peice of work if the pictures were better and planned as i think its the pictures that make the magazine.
Friday, May 8, 2009
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
When i first heard at about the task that we had to do i was pretty nervouse at what i could acheive with my lack of knowledge on making magazine's or taking good photo's.
But at the end of this it didn't end up being that hard. My major fear was wether my picture's were going to look good enough, so i asked a friend who does photography as a subject if he knew anything about taking pictures, obviously he did and said he'd see if we could use the studio in the art block sometime to take some pictures. After some nagging we finally got to use the studio. And it was there that i learnt how to make pictures look proffessional. My friend used a digital camera that could zoom in and expand pictures which was quite neat. We also used a large sheet of black paper for the background. The highlighted affect that was used to highlight the person's face came about from the use of strong lights that we could angle in any direction.
Before this task i never knew that so much care was put into taking photo's as it took us quite along time to find the right angles and the right amount of light to use. So i say i'v learnt alot about photography.
Another thing i have learnt is how to devolpe your magazine using microsoft publisher. We had used this software before to do our premliminary task's but at the end of the main task i am sure that i know alot more on how to use microsoft publisher to develpe a magazine.
When i first heard at about the task that we had to do i was pretty nervouse at what i could acheive with my lack of knowledge on making magazine's or taking good photo's.
But at the end of this it didn't end up being that hard. My major fear was wether my picture's were going to look good enough, so i asked a friend who does photography as a subject if he knew anything about taking pictures, obviously he did and said he'd see if we could use the studio in the art block sometime to take some pictures. After some nagging we finally got to use the studio. And it was there that i learnt how to make pictures look proffessional. My friend used a digital camera that could zoom in and expand pictures which was quite neat. We also used a large sheet of black paper for the background. The highlighted affect that was used to highlight the person's face came about from the use of strong lights that we could angle in any direction.
Before this task i never knew that so much care was put into taking photo's as it took us quite along time to find the right angles and the right amount of light to use. So i say i'v learnt alot about photography.
Another thing i have learnt is how to devolpe your magazine using microsoft publisher. We had used this software before to do our premliminary task's but at the end of the main task i am sure that i know alot more on how to use microsoft publisher to develpe a magazine.
5. How did you attract/ address your audience?
Being a fan of hip hop and a reader of hip hop magazines i didn't find it difficult to know how to address and attract my audience as i have an idea too what readers want (in my perspective).
So what i tried to do was try and attract myself to the magazine and address it as if it was me that was buying and reading the magazine.
There were a few ways that i did notice that would have attracted me to the magazine, such as;
The front cover picture looked quite appealing and and stylish, the sungalsses look especially cool as it looks like a dark setting but still the guy is wearing sunglasses, it sort of gives it a mysterious feel about the person like "do you really know this person?". Also as the picture was taken in a dark setting the flash on the face of the person makes him stand out on the page and makes him look important which appealed to me and i think will appeal to other hip hop magazine readers.
Another way i tried to attract and address my audience was the kind of colours i used. In the whole magazine i only used two colours, white and red. to me this is attracting as it makes the magazine look simple but stylish as the two colours both work well together. They also help the headlines i used stand out on the front cover especially as the background picture is very dark.
I also gave the major headings a slant which i feel gives them more effect and importance than if they were just straight.
But the major thing that i think would attract my target audience would be the pictures i used. Alot of people commented on them, some saying that it looked like the front cover of flo-rida's new albumn (Flo-rida being a hip hop artist), and someone said the picture looked like jay-z another hip hop artist. So i think the pictures created a hip hop feel about the magazine with just one look at the front page, and so i think if a hip hop fan was to see this magazine on a shelf in a store i'm sure that they would be tempted to buy it.
Being a fan of hip hop and a reader of hip hop magazines i didn't find it difficult to know how to address and attract my audience as i have an idea too what readers want (in my perspective).
So what i tried to do was try and attract myself to the magazine and address it as if it was me that was buying and reading the magazine.
There were a few ways that i did notice that would have attracted me to the magazine, such as;
The front cover picture looked quite appealing and and stylish, the sungalsses look especially cool as it looks like a dark setting but still the guy is wearing sunglasses, it sort of gives it a mysterious feel about the person like "do you really know this person?". Also as the picture was taken in a dark setting the flash on the face of the person makes him stand out on the page and makes him look important which appealed to me and i think will appeal to other hip hop magazine readers.
Another way i tried to attract and address my audience was the kind of colours i used. In the whole magazine i only used two colours, white and red. to me this is attracting as it makes the magazine look simple but stylish as the two colours both work well together. They also help the headlines i used stand out on the front cover especially as the background picture is very dark.
I also gave the major headings a slant which i feel gives them more effect and importance than if they were just straight.
But the major thing that i think would attract my target audience would be the pictures i used. Alot of people commented on them, some saying that it looked like the front cover of flo-rida's new albumn (Flo-rida being a hip hop artist), and someone said the picture looked like jay-z another hip hop artist. So i think the pictures created a hip hop feel about the magazine with just one look at the front page, and so i think if a hip hop fan was to see this magazine on a shelf in a store i'm sure that they would be tempted to buy it.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
4. Who would be the audience of your media product?
The audience of my magazine would be quite a large number of people. It is targeted at people who are into urbun music, primarily main stream hip hop, and as hip hop is a very popular genre especially with young people i think the main audience would be teenagers who are into the urban scene and are into hip hop. It is hard to say a specific type of person that would buy the magazine as a wide range of people are into hip hop, but i think the typical kind of person that would buy the magazine would be a male around the age of 20, proberly not from a very rich family or background but interested in hip hop and interested in what hip hop artists are up too.
This magazine is not only aimed and males its just that hip hop is dominated by male artists, and i'm sure that if an issue had a famous female hip hop artist on the front cover it may appeal to more to a larger female audience as they would have more to relate too.
The audience of my magazine would be quite a large number of people. It is targeted at people who are into urbun music, primarily main stream hip hop, and as hip hop is a very popular genre especially with young people i think the main audience would be teenagers who are into the urban scene and are into hip hop. It is hard to say a specific type of person that would buy the magazine as a wide range of people are into hip hop, but i think the typical kind of person that would buy the magazine would be a male around the age of 20, proberly not from a very rich family or background but interested in hip hop and interested in what hip hop artists are up too.
This magazine is not only aimed and males its just that hip hop is dominated by male artists, and i'm sure that if an issue had a famous female hip hop artist on the front cover it may appeal to more to a larger female audience as they would have more to relate too.
3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
There are not many big name publishers that publish hip hop magaines, most are pubished by individuals or the publisher only publishes that magazine.
So it would be difficult to choose a certain publisher as most are tied down to one perticuar magazine. For example vibe magazine are published by the vibe company and xxl are published by Dennis S. Page.
So when it would come to publishing my magazine i think it would be hard to find a company that would be willing to publish my the magazine. I think the best way that the magazine could be published is by partnering with a current publishing business that publishes other magazines proberbly not hip hop magazines. I know it sounds risky putting the publishing of your hip hop magazine with a publisher that dont know alot about hip hop but if the right people are employed i think it would be the best option as finding a specialised hip hop publisher especially in britain would be quite hard. so going into partnership with a well known publisher such as IPC would be the wisest move i think. The IPC publish alot of magazines such as the NME magazine, and the guitar and bass magazine. I know that these are different target audiences as it is a different genre of music but IPC is a well known publisher and 26 million people in the uk read a magazine published by IPC so i know that they will do a good job if guided.
The way i would try and publish the magazine woud firstly be the most common way in which magazines are distributed, by putting physical copies of my magazine in popular retailers that are likely to appeal to the kind of people that are likely o buy hip hop magazines.
seeing that the major supermarkets are the main of magazine i would also try and aim on getting the magazines into these major supermarkets, simply because large numbers of people go to these places and more likey to pick up an issue.
There are not many big name publishers that publish hip hop magaines, most are pubished by individuals or the publisher only publishes that magazine.
So it would be difficult to choose a certain publisher as most are tied down to one perticuar magazine. For example vibe magazine are published by the vibe company and xxl are published by Dennis S. Page.
So when it would come to publishing my magazine i think it would be hard to find a company that would be willing to publish my the magazine. I think the best way that the magazine could be published is by partnering with a current publishing business that publishes other magazines proberbly not hip hop magazines. I know it sounds risky putting the publishing of your hip hop magazine with a publisher that dont know alot about hip hop but if the right people are employed i think it would be the best option as finding a specialised hip hop publisher especially in britain would be quite hard. so going into partnership with a well known publisher such as IPC would be the wisest move i think. The IPC publish alot of magazines such as the NME magazine, and the guitar and bass magazine. I know that these are different target audiences as it is a different genre of music but IPC is a well known publisher and 26 million people in the uk read a magazine published by IPC so i know that they will do a good job if guided.
The way i would try and publish the magazine woud firstly be the most common way in which magazines are distributed, by putting physical copies of my magazine in popular retailers that are likely to appeal to the kind of people that are likely o buy hip hop magazines.
seeing that the major supermarkets are the main of magazine i would also try and aim on getting the magazines into these major supermarkets, simply because large numbers of people go to these places and more likey to pick up an issue.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
2. How does your media representation represent pirticular social groups?
My magazine tries to provide a different more poitive look at hip hop for young people who are not into the negative's that most hip hop magazines try to portray as being good or gangster. My magazine repersents young people who are into true hip hop, people that are into the music that hip hop is and not everything that is associated with it that has given it such a bad name.
Nowerdays hip hop is less about the music and more about taking drugs having guns and being violent. My magazine tries to shy away from this and i think this will appeal to young and even older people who are into hip hop.
I treid to achieve this more positve image especially in the interview that i composed. Most of the questions were about hip hop as the music, also questions about being famous and making money in different ways other than just music like his clothing line, which i think will appeal to young people that are looking at trying to ake music and have dreams of being a hip hop artist. Hopefully this will give someone with such dreams a more positive look at how to become a hip hop artist and what it invovles being famous, instead of other magazines that might brainwash younger people into believing that you have to do all the negative things associated with hip hop to become an hip hop artist.
My magazine tries to provide a different more poitive look at hip hop for young people who are not into the negative's that most hip hop magazines try to portray as being good or gangster. My magazine repersents young people who are into true hip hop, people that are into the music that hip hop is and not everything that is associated with it that has given it such a bad name.
Nowerdays hip hop is less about the music and more about taking drugs having guns and being violent. My magazine tries to shy away from this and i think this will appeal to young and even older people who are into hip hop.
I treid to achieve this more positve image especially in the interview that i composed. Most of the questions were about hip hop as the music, also questions about being famous and making money in different ways other than just music like his clothing line, which i think will appeal to young people that are looking at trying to ake music and have dreams of being a hip hop artist. Hopefully this will give someone with such dreams a more positive look at how to become a hip hop artist and what it invovles being famous, instead of other magazines that might brainwash younger people into believing that you have to do all the negative things associated with hip hop to become an hip hop artist.
1. In what ay does your media product use, develope, or challenge form and conventions of real media products?
My magazine definately has some similarities to other media products of this form but at the same time there are some differences that i hope will make it a unique media product. It is similar to such other hip hop magazines such as vibe, xxl and the source, as it includes things such as:
. a date and issue number
. a large heading about what is inside
. a large title that uses two colours that stand out from each other making it bold and easily caught by a passing eye.
Other things that are similar to other hip hop magazines include the way in which it is written. This is a hip hop magazine and most hip hop artist have different ways of saying things i tried to include this in the interview.
Also the pictures i used gave a hip hop feel to it. as it was me that was in he picture i tried my best to look hardcore and gangster, and i think i succeeded in doing this.
So my hip hop magazine would seem to be no different to any other, but i hope this isn't true. i tried to change my magazines image from the traditional way that most hip hop magazines try to portray. Hip hop music has been always been given a negative image, this has probably come from the way most hip hop artist claim to be in gangs, carry guns, sell drugs and being pimps and this does not change in the hip hop magzines that are produced. so in my magazine my main objective was to shy away from this negative image and try and give hip hop a different more stylish and friendly look. which i hope i acheived especially in the kind of topics i chose to use in the interview and the ways the pictures were taken.
another thing that i hope is different to other similar forms of media is my front cover. most hip hop magazines have many pictures on the front covers of there magazines with loads of writing. i tried to minimize the amount of writing i had and had only one picture on the front cover. this i hope will give an effect of the person being really important as the heading says that he is the saviour of hip hop and he is the only person on the front cover and the picture is very close up.
My magazine definately has some similarities to other media products of this form but at the same time there are some differences that i hope will make it a unique media product. It is similar to such other hip hop magazines such as vibe, xxl and the source, as it includes things such as:
. a date and issue number
. a large heading about what is inside
. a large title that uses two colours that stand out from each other making it bold and easily caught by a passing eye.
Other things that are similar to other hip hop magazines include the way in which it is written. This is a hip hop magazine and most hip hop artist have different ways of saying things i tried to include this in the interview.
Also the pictures i used gave a hip hop feel to it. as it was me that was in he picture i tried my best to look hardcore and gangster, and i think i succeeded in doing this.
So my hip hop magazine would seem to be no different to any other, but i hope this isn't true. i tried to change my magazines image from the traditional way that most hip hop magazines try to portray. Hip hop music has been always been given a negative image, this has probably come from the way most hip hop artist claim to be in gangs, carry guns, sell drugs and being pimps and this does not change in the hip hop magzines that are produced. so in my magazine my main objective was to shy away from this negative image and try and give hip hop a different more stylish and friendly look. which i hope i acheived especially in the kind of topics i chose to use in the interview and the ways the pictures were taken.
another thing that i hope is different to other similar forms of media is my front cover. most hip hop magazines have many pictures on the front covers of there magazines with loads of writing. i tried to minimize the amount of writing i had and had only one picture on the front cover. this i hope will give an effect of the person being really important as the heading says that he is the saviour of hip hop and he is the only person on the front cover and the picture is very close up.
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