CLOSED BLOG NOTIFICATION

CENTRE NAME - NORBURY MANORE BEC
CENTRE NUMBER- 14343
CANDIDATE NUMBER - 9254
UNIT - G321

FINAL DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

FINAL CONTENTS PAGE

FINAL FRONT COVER

Q7. LOOKING BACK AT YOUR PRELIMINARY TASK, WHAT DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE LEARNT IN THE PROGRESSION FROM IT TO THE FULL PRODUCT?

PRELIMINARY TASK-


FINAL -

I feel as though I have learnt so much, and I truly believe that the construction of this final product has given me a new outlook on the attention to detail needed in the construction of any type of product.
               
The layout of my prelim is, if I am honest very weak, and looks like a lack of time has been put into the construction of this piece. I ensured that when constructing my final product, that a Flat Plan was done which acted as a plan for the layout of every single detail, this helped me to structure my magazine in a professional fashion that meant that when readers would see my product they would be able to identify all the aspects that would be necessary for the product to be sold on the shelves. A realistic design and appearance is something that my preliminary did not have, and it does not have the ‘wow factor’ that you would expect from a magazine that should be widely publicised around schools. My final product however gives off the feel that it could be sold on a shelf, that there is something to be interested by and also that the concept several social groups can find appealing.

The quality of the images used on the magazine are very different, even though taken with the same camera, the prelim cover’s image is not as effective as the Final image as no lighting was taken into consideration and therefore the image appears to only look like an image of low quality. This takes a lot away from the magazine, the quality of the image makes it looks very professional and inviting, the only reason I would pick up my own prelim magazine, would be because it was free. The Final product however uses an appealing image that attracts readers in automatically because of the effects added to each image on each page and also the quality of the shot. Although the pictures used on both magazines fit in well with the magazines theme, the music magazine cover photo actually took a lot more time, effort and planning as I had done much more research into the typical codes and conventions expected in an Hip-Hop magazine whereas in the educational magazine photograph, even though the picture turned out quite well there was no direction, little planning and a vague idea as to how the pictures where going to turn out.

I focused closely on conventions of the Hip-Hop magazine I was constructing and ensured that it included features of a Hip-Hop nature that would encourage a social group from a similar background as the main artist to want to buy it, but also others too. In the construction of my Final, I did some market research – which is something I did not do when constructing my Preliminary Product – this would have given me an insight as to what my readers would have preferred, as they would be the ones buying it, much like what I did in the construction of my Final Product. I spoke to a group of my peers during both tasks, however feedback was a lot more detailed and consistent in each of the separate pages constructed on my Final Product, this was not so on my Preliminary Product.

Q6. WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNT ABOUT TECHNOLOGIES FROM THE PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTING THIS PRODUCT?

Q5. HOW DID YOU ATTRACT/ADDRESS YOUR AUDIENCE?

Q4. WHO WOULD BE THE AUDIENCE FOR YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT?

Q3. WHAT KIND OF MEDIA INSTITUTION MIGHT DISTRIBUTE YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT AND WHY?

The media institutions that would distribute my media product would be Harris Publications Inc. is an American consumer-magazine publisher in New York City, New York, that publishes over 75 titles, including XXL, which was the model for the construction of my product, ‘FLOW.With this factor it would automatically be best suited to a counter part that will be released regularly as XXL is released only 6 times a year. My magazine will however be released weekly, and some of the best places to encourage accessibility to the audience I aim to appeal to would be general shops i.e. Tesco, Sainsbury’s (because of the large range of magazine stands they have in stores) local news agents, and even WHSmith as well.

Q2. HOW DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT REPRESENT PARTICULAR SOCIAL GROUPS?

Q1. IN WHAT WAYS DOES OUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCT?

EVALUATION PROCESS STARTS

I am about to start the evaluation process for my magazine , I am supposed to answer a total of 7 questions about the process of construction :

Q1. In what ways does you media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Q2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Q3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Q4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

Q5. How did you attract/address your audience?

Q6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Q7. Looking back at you preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

45. ARTIST INTERVIEW

Interview with ‘Trip’

Trip, the latest signee from T.D.E. is not your average Hip-Hop artist, last year his TRILL EP debuted at no.1 on the Hip-Hop charts, and his debut album ‘HONEST TRUTH’ is one of the most anticipated releases of 2014. T.D.E. reps ensured they snatched him up as soon as possible and now he’s here with us.  

So, Trip... what do you feel you bring to the industry?

Personally I feel I supply a flavour that could only be found in T.D.E. with the range of artists that you find in the collective we all bring you something different. I feel like I bring new lyrical content and a spin on what is commonly seen across the industry, and play on what is expected. At the end of the day with being an eclectic individual I can listen to a range of genres that others may not like, and flip it on its head and have others questioning why they didn’t think of that themselves. 

Why did you decide to sign with T.D.E.?

Being from New York, I have to say that me and my homies grew up listening to Jay Rock’s old mixtapes and knowing that he was on the label really made me what to see what they could offer me. The funny thing was when I went to L.A I was there for a meeting with Interscope and while I was waiting in the lobby Top Dawg walked past. We started conversation and he asked what I was about and told me that he needed someone young and fresh for his empire. From that conversation, I was convinced that T.D.E. was the place for me and things went from there.

What type of beat do you need to encourage you to get writing?

To be honest, I feel like I’m at a place in my career where I feel as though I am able to adapt to anything thrown at me, however growing up in the church made me always want to work with sampled choir beats.

For example ‘Never let me down’ – from Kanye’s ‘College dropout’ was the type of stuff that I always used to freestyle to when I started rapping.

So with that being said who are your biggest influences when it comes to the music you make?

I feel like I’ve been influenced by a lot of people, I’d have to say – Slick Rick, but also Snoop Dogg’s album ‘Doggystyle’, that album taught me the art of storytelling and how you can take every day events and make them into poetry over a beat. Also the fact that I know how to play drums, artists like Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis help me to understand how to follow beats and improvise on top of them. My mind automatically drew from these artists’ style when putting something together, to create something that was unique to me.

Are you working on anything at the moment?

At the moment I’m in the studio working hard and trying to put together an album for the end of summer. And I am also doing some features on Jhene’s album; I’m a huge fan of hers so it’s an honour to be on such a project.

That’s Jhene Aiko right? How did you meet?

YES! She’s amazing, and so gorgeous! She was working with Kendrick on ‘Stay Ready’ and I walked into the studio, just to listen in... we started talking about her project and I gave her some of my music (with Kendrick’s permission of course) and that was it. 

Along with Jhene’s project, what other projects are you working on other than music?

I actually am working on clothing; I am a huge fashion lover. I actually style myself, and pay close attention to what is and is not in fashion at the moment so I thought that a line would be a great idea. I basically want to extend out and offer my fans more of what I have to offer.

Obviously as a musician, you must listen to music on a day to day. What are you listening to at the moment?

I’m actually fishing through a lot of albums, I’m the type of person that will download albums and listen to them in alphabetical order. So at the moment I am finishing off Little Dragon’s current album, I’m a fan – which is something that many wouldn’t expect. 

You seem to have a very eclectic taste in music name 3 artists that you love that many won’t expect you to. 

Paulo Nutini, Mumford and Sons and Ray LaMontagne.

Who would you say is your dream collaboration?

I would love to collab with Kanye, back in his prime however now based on lyrical content either Common, and production-wise Q-Tip.

Are you in a relationship?

Yes I am, but for privacy reasons I won’t say who with, but we’ve been dating since high school and I never want to be with anyone else.

Final question... what can we expect from your album?

For those who have been rocking with me from day one, expect to see a continuation of the progress that I’m making. I’d definitely have to say that this is my best project so far. For those who are new to me, expect simple, but bangin’ beats that allow you to reminisce on old’skool hip-hop whilst I take you on a journey through my life.

Thank you – 

It’s my pleasure. 

44. RESEARCH: INTERVIEW WRITING

Here are a few interviews from one of my favorite artists 'Jhené Aiko', that I used as inspiration for my interview with my artist chosen. I decided to structure mine similarly as these interviews would be asking my artist about both music and personal things to allow the readers to get a better insight into the artist. I feel as though this makes the reader feel a lot more involved in what is going on in the artists' life, in this way there is a personal relationship forming between the artist and reader.

The first interviewers approach is my favourite, there is a very relaxed feel to the interview and we are able to get a deeper understanding of Jhené's personality and plans for her future project. I aimed to incorporate a very relaxed feel into my own interview with the musician and I ensured to ask what it was that, the new project would contain. This allows the reader an insight into what to expect and keeps them interested through anticipation, because he actually gives a hint of when to expect the release and that he was in fact working on something.

The second interview is of good quality also, and the interviewer also asks what the artists' musical inspirations are which is something I decided to include in my own interview. This also gives the reader an idea of what the inspirations are for the music they will be listening to, they can then compare this to the music they will be listening to.

The last interviewer speaks on her journey and the transitions she has experienced, along with her recent tour. I asked my artist what they felt they brought to the industry and why they decided to sign to a particular label as well, this may inspire a reader to make a smarter decision when picking a music label, as they need to feel comfortable.

link for the interview below - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZajPGZOdooM




link for the interview below - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLlHq35IOac



link for the interview below - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onz9ro50iRg

43. DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD - IMAGE DECISIONS

Above are the images I considered using on my Double page spread, I had looked at what was conventional for XXL magazine; however I wanted to find an unconventional element for the magazine in at least one aspect of my magazine as I had stuck to the convection in all other elements (regarding images). I decided to go with a close up, instead of what was conventional – a long shot, as I wanted to remind the readers of the importance of the main artist and that he should maintain the main focus.

42. DECONSTRUCTION OF DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

Here is a deconstruction of a double page spread I aim to base my own upon, it has all the necessary conventions I would have on my double page spread. The pull quote is my favourite aspect of the double page spread because it draws the reader in.

41. COVER PAGE RELATING TO RESEARCH

I chose to base my contents page on this XXL cover with Soulja Boy and 50 Cent on it because it consisted of all the conventions that most Hip-Hop magazines consist of and mis-en-scene as well. The magazine involves a constant use of the cover page image which we know are the main artists, so with my magazine I did this also on my contents page. However because I wanted to include a range of images on my contents page I also added a two shot which would then relate to fashion due to the mis-en-scene of the dark clothing which is a current trend in fashion at the moment but also related to the musical aspect as many artist are known for wearing all black. The image on the XXL contents page is very interesting and has a lot of levels to it due to the poses of the two artists, their jewelry and also their facial expressions. I wanted to incorporate this into my magazine by using more that one image that would get the readers attention as soon as the turn the page - as the main issue artist is included along with two new individuals they may not be able to identify. I took a lot of inspiration from the cover in regards to layout of text boxes behind text to make them stand out more and the decision of where I would place it. The layout of the graphics on the contents page are crucial when deciding on how effective the layout will be , therefore I chose to stick to the basic layout of the XXL issue. I also really like the way that the text just looked like it fell down the page, so i adopted this in my contents page as well as the readers eyes will automatically just follow it.

40. DECONSTRUCTION OF MY CONTENTS PAGE

39. CONTENTS PAGE FEEDBACK

38. CONTENTS AND COVER OFFICIAL

Above are both my cover page and contents beside each other, Here you can clearly see that there are major similarities in design. This is my final presentation for both after numerous changes and feedback sessions with members of my peer group. Originally I had a particular vision for my contents page, however i went through a number of changes to get to what you can see now. It still isn't how I thought it would look - if I'm honest my flatplan looks nothing like this contents page because I was not very realistic when setting out to design my contents and cover pages. 

Text choices were an issue for me in the beginning for both cover and contents, Contents especially because there was no text that i thought would best match what I originally planned to put on my magazine, however I magazine to find the correct one ('century gothic') and it worked out well. With images I originally planned to use my cover artist as a main focus of both cover, and contents with no other images, because the magazine I based my cover and contents on used this as a convention. However as I remembered that i had a fashion feature on my front cover, I decided to take pictures of the two models below and it was perfect to use on my contents because of the links to my features and my mis-en-scene.

I decided against including an editors' letter because this is not a convention of the particular genre I have chosen, it is more conventional to include a large contents page image, one to be specific. As I used two very different contents pages as my inspiration I chose to include two images: one a single shot, and the other a two shot. Spacing was an issue for me, I originally set out to just include on image but because of the combination of the two contents pages I decided that the images would be best presented in large.

37. FEATURE CHOICES AND DETAILING

When deciding on the features to include on my contents page I had to make sure that I included those that were visible on my cover page but along with that I had to include others that may be conventional for this magazine contents. I decided to include a mixture of music and fashion related features because they were the conventions of the magazine that I had designed. Each feature was important to include to give my magazine a sense of reality and for it to suit a magazine of my genre choice best.

36. TEXT CHOICES

Here is a print screen of the 2 different fonts I found on dafont.com, that i chose to use on my contents page.'Dolce Vita' - used for the 'FEATURES' masthead was also used on my cover page as well because of the shaping and boldness that I needed for a magazine of the Hip-Hop genre. This text would contribute to the mis-en-scene because the genre is incredibly bold, and includes bold characters.This text was the best suited for my magazine layout as it suited the text I originally put on my flat plan. This text was most appropriate because of it's very simple shaping and simple appearance. This font, also featured in my front cover was used because it is crucial that I male my magazine consistent in regards to colour scheme and font to make it look professional.

(BELOW) Here you can see the official text used on the cover page with the text choices visible also. For my detailed feature list on my contents page I chose to use 'Century Gothic'.
















I chose to use the same text for both mastheads ('Dolce Vita'- from Da font.com) this shows an immense amount of consistency through out the magazine. I also chose to use ('KG why you gotta be so mean') for minor heading so that I could use a range of fonts to attract my readers.

35. FINAL LAYOUT

Here you can see my final, and official layout for my magazine contents page with mastheads in chosen colours which are 'gold' which relates closely to the mis-en-scene of my genre which is commonly affiliated with a rich lifestyle. The contents page relates closely with my cover page due to the choice of graphics and masthead .

34. INITIAL LAYOUT

Above is my official layout of the contents page, shown above without any text and images. On this layout I will put text and images on top to layer and add an element of continuation from my cover page which will give it an element of reality and professionalism.I chose to include the same colours of my cover page using the 'eye drop tool' crucial to keeping the samples I had on my contents page, because I wanted a professional and appropriate look to my contents page.

reasons for the blue/grey boxes - to write the features out so they can be seen clearly as the text is black.
- why I chose the number colours to be black?

33. FINAL IMAGE DECISIONS

Here are the final images I decided on using on my magazine contents page. Both images relate well to what is on my cover page because of the mis-en-scene used in both images. The first image (of the male model) is actually a similar image to what is found on my cover page, the second relates strongly to my feature relation to fashion and these female models will be used to represent the feature on 'KTZ' an urban fashion brand that will be releasing their 2014 pieces.

32. IMAGES FOR THE CONTENTS PAGE

Below are the images I will potentially use for my contents page, I have decided I will pick two of these 4 images one of the 2 shot and the other of my cover model Oke. The reason I chose to take these images, and in the studio in fact was I wanted them to have a very staged element to them. The two shot of the two girls would be best suited to my feature aimed at the fashion brand 'KTZ' therefore I made sure that my models wore black because of the fashion line's elements of design. Looking at the two shots it's not clear how it relates to the particular magazine however it will work well on my contents because of the potential link I can make to the feature on fashion on my cover page. The two shot images could be well suited to a fashion shot because of the mis-en-scene and the use of the two very pretty young girls. Normally a convention of a Hip-Hop magazine is that there are very attractive young women on it either included in glamour shots or fashion shots therefore they are well suited to my magazine's genre.

31. CONTENTS PAGE DECONSTURCTION/COMPARISON TO FRONT COVER

contents page comparison to front cover

This particular contents layout is conventional to most Hip-Hop magazine contents pages found under the genre, and from the particular XXL magazine contents. The contents page links well with the front cover because of the use of mis-en-scene of the models, their jewellery and their poses. The colour scheme is also the same, it consists of  black, white and red throughout the magazine and therefore the original masthead on the cover is also in theme with the one found on the contents page. The cover page's image is very different in comparison to the contents', it has a very dark element to it because of the use of styling and accessories we can observe that both artists' have on. The effects of the face covering and tattoos really does play into the belief that the genre is one best described as tough and firm.On both the front cover and the contents both models are either front to back, or in front of each other - the smaller of the two is in the front of the shot. Jewellery is a constant in both cover and contents, the mis-en-scene of the cover and contents is crucial in presenting the magazine genre along with this the text is also a constant theme.

30. FRONT COVER TARGET AUDIENCE FEEDBACK

Aisha – I love the colour scheme, because it looks very fresh and modern. The font it unique and effective this automatically draws me in.

Heleni – I like the main image it attracts me to want to buy the magazine, I like the colour scheme and the masthead looks very current. I like the range of fonts used. However there is no price or date of issue. The sub-heading however is very interesting.

Sabrina – I like the obvious link with your artists clothing and the colour scheme, your font works very well with your genre. Grey box behind text makes it bolder and more effective. You’ve laid out features equally, and the pale white background encourages a good contrast between it and text, this makes the text more visible.

Cherise – I like the colour scheme as it goes well with the genre, it looks very professionally put together.

Precious – You need to include issue number and date along, it also conforms to all the conventions of a Hip-Hop magazine. Mis-en-scene of the cover artist conforms well, as chain clearly represents what the genre puts forward “arrogance, and pride” along with this the blank expression. The features artists are appropriate, and I love the punchy tagline and easy to read.

Jhineil -  I think it looks very profession, I love the colour scheme. I think it could be improved by moving the issue to where the masthead is. I think the masthead could be bigger and potentially  be embossed.

29. FRONT COVER LINKED TO RESEARCH

From the research results that I got, I have gone with the preferred colour scheme however have improved it as well. The colours I decided on were black, navy, grey, white and gold. My target audience requested ‘simple and plain’ colours however I added in the gold as well as it ties in with the genre.

From the research results, most people said their favourite genre of music was Hip-Hop. When i first started my magazine I wanted to try do a Hip- R&B magazine which is where I would've incorporated the Hip-Hop genre and R&B genre together but pretty early on I decided to just make a Hip-Hop genre magazine. I feel as though the front cover shows evidence that the genre is Hip-Hop. The gold jewellery represent what a typical Hip-Hop artist would wear. I took the colour from the chain and put that on my masthead. The colour gold represents wealth, success, achievement and triumph. These are all representative of who she is, achieving success and triumphing despite struggles she has faced. Along with that my artist has a very blank facial expression, this represents a sense of arrogance and assertiveness all thing that within this genre are represented.

A question that I asked in my questionnaire was 'what would most attract you to a music magazine cover'. Most of the target audience answered the artist on the front cover, I made sure my artist was doing angle of gaze so that it felt as if she was engaging with readers.I refrained from chaging anything on the artists face just because i felt it would not have been an honest representation of them if I had done so. With this I believe I could reach a wider audience because of the honesty of my artists’ depiction.
My price range was clear due to the question I asked my target audience on how much they will be willing to spend on my magazine, I set it at a higher price between the £1-2 bracket because I believe my magazine is of a higher quality.

28. STEP BY STEP PRODUCTION

Above you can see the transition that has taken place for me to arrive at what is my final cover .I started off with a plain white background and then added my chosen image onto a second layer called 'image'. I then added the boxes behind each position I wanted each piece of text to be places and changed the colours as a way to test what colour schemes would work best for the magazine and the image used. 

I finally decided that grey and navy were best due to the image's background and the model's jacket; I used the ‘eye drop tool’ to get these colours. With the background boxes that were to be set behind the text and also the Masthead. I added my masthead; originally on my flatplan it was going to be red however I decided that gold would be the best colour to use due to the bright colour of the models’ chain. I used the ‘eye drop tool’ again.

 I started creating my features on the front cover afterwards making sure everything was aligned, here is where I began to include names of artists that were related to my genre to allow readers to get a greater understand of my target audience. For this text I went to dafont.com and used ‘Dolce Vita’.

 Bit by bit I added more features ensuring I added colour to the text in the features section that I needed the readers to pay most attention to and also to make the cover more exciting.

 After completing my features on both sides, I added the tagline below the masthead to give the magazine an extra flavour and make it clearer as to what genre it was specific too, also to make the magazine seem more like a real one. 

I started work on the area where I was going to place my main artists name and also the necessary titles and text around his name to attract my readers. I made sure to emboss the text so that the name stands out more. 

Other than the masthead being the biggest thing on the front cover I ensured that my artists’ name was also large but instead of gold I made it white. This ensured it was prominent and stood out from the other text.

 I then added a tag line underneath the artists name to let readers know what my artists’ role is in the industry and that they are new. I then added on a barcode, this added a sense of reality to the magazine and I then added on an issue date and price as well.

27. FINAL FRONT COVER

This is my final front cover. I created this using Photoshop and included all elements that a professional magazine would include: masthead, pull quote, tagline graphics, bar code, price and sale lines. Looking back at the steps that I have taken to create this music magazine, I can see how I've made the right decision to change the colour scheme, and less features that I had planned due to the fact that they were not genre appropriate or appropriate for my target audience.

Getting rid of my features referencing ‘female pop and r&b artists’ helped my music magazine front cover stand out as the features are things that would interest my target audience. I prefer the navy, lack, grey, gold and whit colour scheme to my original one which was based off of a XXL cover. Everything links in with my artist so it's easy to see where the colour scheme comes from.

I originally wanted to incorporate both Hip-Hop and R&B into the magazine as there are not any which do this to a high standard. I changed my idea to it being just a Hip-Hop magazine; I found it was easier to find other magazines which I could compare it to and because of my love for the genre would be able to produce something of a very high standard.

I am pleased with how my front cover turned out. How the front cover looks is different to how I thought it would look. I took inspiration from XXL magazine which I feel is shown in my music magazine. The layout of the rest of my magazine will be based on this magazine also.

26. PHOTOGRAPH MANIPULATION

I decided to manipulate the photo by changing the brightness and contrast, other that I refrained from smoothing the skin, or removing any creases in the clothes because the genre itself is extremely raw and edgy it would have been very unnatural to do so. 

My model does have very spotty skin, however this shows his age and is a very honest depiction of my artist. Instead of making him look too false, I preferred the more natural look so decided to stick with it.

(here is the picture un-edited)








(here is the picture edited)