EVALUATION QUESTION 6 (What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?)

In the making of my product i learned a lot of new things about the technology I was using and I have found a lot more new and useful websites that I will be able to utilize in the future. Firstly I used a Mac Computer, (but I was not able to get my own picture of it) which was an entirely new experience for me altogether. It took me ages to get used to where everything was and how it worked, but after a few weeks I started to get used to it. I quite like using the Mac now, but I do prefer a good old windows PC. I wanted to take my pictures outside so I had to use my own Canon 450D, which I very much like. I didn't really learn anything new in the process of taking the pictures.I used a memory card and a memory stick to transfer and move my pictures and data around, as they are a quick and easy way of moving files. I used the Power point to plan out a lot of my work. It is a program I have used since I was 5 and I am very used to the software. I used Photoshop to actually make the magazine, and considering I had never used the mac version and had limited knowledge of the program before. I have learned a lot about what you can do with the features of Photoshop and how they can be implemented to improve a magazine. Finally, I used DaFont to get some fonts that I could use for my magazine, and I used YouTube to showcase some of the music my magazine would be representing.

EVALUATION QUESTION 5 (How did you attract/adress your audiance?)

I have made a presentation on the website "prezi" as I felt this would be the best way to show my work.
http://prezi.com/nde1eocqib24/front-cover/

EVALUATION QUESTION 3 (What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?)

My magazine is aimed at young adults, and caters to the Hip-Hop and Rap genre. After doing some research, I have found that a magazine called XXL uses the same genres that my magazine uses. XXL is published by Harris Publications, who are based in New York in America, and have been around since 1971 Harris Publications cover a huge number of magazines and have published five different music magazines. I realise that this is an American magazine, however they've recently started selling in the UK which would make my magazine the forefront of a P.R drive to get people interested in the company and it's magazines. I feel a more established American publisher would be drawn to my magazine more than most British companies, even maybe extending into the british market in order to sell my product. There have been two Rap/Hip-Hop magazines, two rock/metal magazines and an Electronic music magazine.This shows that the company is capable of producing
 a large range of magazine of many different genres. This would put my mind at ease when coming up with new ideas and concepts. Mainstream magazines are distributed in a number of ways. They can be sold on shop floors, given out at concerts, or even sold on the street. They can come in online form, whether that be free or paid, and they can also even be found in app form on tablets or smart phones. A good example of an online magazine in the Hip-Hop genre is http://www.hiphopdx.com/. I think if my magazine was to be published I would like it to be distributed at some gigs for a cut price, before later being sold like a normal magazine in shops. This will ensure that people will at least see my magazine, and if they like it eventually they will be able to go and buy it in shops. Hopefully the magazine will have improved through the feedback we will hopefully receive from these early issues.

EVALUATION QUESTION 2 (How does your media product represent particular social groups?)

The Models are both looking to the side in the pictures, and neither of the two is looking at the camera. Both shots are close ups, and are not at a straight angle. My photograph is angled below the model looking up, and although the camera is still below Macklemore's head, it is a much more acute angle. This makes my model look more imposing and bigger, whilst also making the other model look quite proud and content. This is because of the blank background.  The models have both got a slightly ‘cheeky’ expression, with The other model looking slightly more serious than Josh who looks maybe to be plotting something.  The background of the images are different, with my image looking being shot against a brick wall to give off a ‘street’ vibe, compared to the blank background of the other pic, which means it could be used in a wider variety of situations. Josh is wearing a hat, which goes along with urban culture at the moment, and the other model has braids, which is quite a neat and professional haircut to have. This is part of the general fashion right now and is designed to appeal to a wider audiance than my magazine.  Josh is typical of the teenage urban

group, with the typical urban fashion and setting. He is typical of the British teenager. The other model shows off a more professional and expensive look. He is wearing a red and black jumper which could be typically associated with the upper class. If you did not know the context of the picture, you would assume he was of an upper class background, contrasting the working class look of my shot.
 The magazine is meant to appeal to a wide variety of artists within the grime genre.

• Commercial Grime 
  The last few years has seen an increase in commercial grime in the charts. First starting with artists such as Dizzie Rascal and Chipmunk who came away from rapping about gangs and violence. They realised that this was not making them money and so slowed the tempo of their beats and what they were rapping about. 
  And so today we notice that within commercial grime songs, artists are talking about love and break ups, something which is easy for an audience to connect with on a deeper meaning.
• Underground Grime 
  Underground Grime music is a lot more violent, the lyrics connecting with gang culture and lifestyles. 
  Whilst some artists such as Scorcher and Black the Ripper are still making music videos for this underground music, their videos have been banned from TV for promoting gang culture and violence. 
  Another difference between underground and mainstream grime is that Underground Grime music is of a much more higher tempo, consisting of around 140 beats per minute so the rapper is able to flow to the beat.

Evaluation Question 1 (In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?)

Here, we can see the title of the magazine 'GRM" and the model ( or at least his head!) that I used on my front cover.
The GRM refers to 'Grime' music, a subgenre of Hip/Hop that is very popular in this country and is 'grown' in this country, so I thought this would be a solid base to find a title. I think it makes the magazine sound more gritty and rough whist still sounding professional.
The model is wearing a hat known as a snapback, which is very popular in modern pop culture, this is to help bring in the people who feel that they need a role model who is up to date with pop culture, therefore entertaining a wider audience of people at same time.

This image, seen on the contents page sums up the general idea of the magazine, gritty generally dark and quite brooding actually, whilst still being something that is relatable to the wider audience. The Mise en scene of this picture is a dark street being lit up by a single streetlamp in the middle of shot. This helps me connote

message of the magazine across, no matter how bad life gets sometimes, there is always light at  the end of the tunnel, and that music can help us reach these lights and get through the journey of life.

This is an example of some of the written content that can be found in my magazine. This is from my contents page, ans shows some made up artlicles that I made up to make the page look more realistic, and also some other features, such as competitons, quizzes amd a fanmail page, where people could send in whatever they liked, and we could post this in the magazine. This way, our readers will be able to not only voice their opinion, but actually be able to shape the magazine by offering suggestions and ways to improve. I think this puts our magazine at an advantage.

Poorly Represented

Especially in the part of the country I live in, hip/hop and grime is basically non existent in magazines and in the public at large's view. However this magazine is meant for a niche market, one that would really appreciate the contents of the magazine. There really aren't many others to be found and I feel with a good start our magazine could won't the market.

Magazine initial feedback

These are the sheets my teacher wrote out for me telling me what is good about my magazine, and what I can add/improve. They have been very helpful so far, I plan to work on this feedback as soon as possible, especially on the double page spread which has a U so far. Not good enough.

Peer feedback

This is my contents page now. I know I said the previous post would be the last but you never know with these things. Since last time the pictures have been made way bigger and the text has changed colour from red to black. I think this makes the magazine look slightly more serious and grown up, as it was starting to look more like a kids magazine.
I actually asked some of the people around me and my classmates what they thought about it, and I got a mixed reception. Some said it was good but others pointed out that it was quite difficult to read and that It looked quite childish in parts. I added another colour (yellow) because I recently learned that it's best to have three colours through a magazine rather than just the red and white I had before. The peer feedback has helped me to see things I wouldn't be able to see otherwise.

Problems encountered/overcome

The contents page took around 6-7 hours to make, including taking the pictures, and I had a few problems along the way. There were a some 'OH MY GOD WHY IS THIS NOT WORKING!' moments, but more often than not these would be resolved within ten minutes, or I had gotten to annoyed and decided to do something else. One thing that was very annoying was making the page numbers for the two main articles at the the top of the page. The shapes kept deforming and the font would keep changing colour. Even the font wouldn't do what I wanted it to. It took me about 45 minutes to sort it out, and I really don't want to change it again. Apart from that I had no big problems to hinder my progress.

Timekeeping!!!

Today i've been attempting to create a target for myself to get things done in order to make sure I don't fall behind.
So : Christmas = DPS
1st Week back = Contents
End of Jan = Cover Page

Contents Progress

From the last update I have added a lot of things to the page! Firstly I Made another section at the top, so the two main articles stand out and are not lost in the crowd. I have also added the larger box at the middle-bottom of the page, which will contain all of the sub articles, all with page numbers, and laid out in a 'column' style. I have also added a 'Subscribe' bar at the bottom of the page, and an issue number in the top right hand corner of the page, however I might end up moving that around to see where it looks the best. Apart from these things, there are just a few finishing touches I am debating upon adding.

CONTENTS PAGE SO FAR...

At the moment this is what my contents page looks like. I have my background up, a picture of a wall from a previous photo-shoot. I have also created a design effect using the shape tool to outline my pictures and text. I also have a page title, and an image for an article, however i'm not too sure what that article will be yet.
As you can see it's based around my previous idea of sticking things on a wall. The reason that the boxes are wonky is to make it look like they are falling off the wall, like they are just about hanging on. The brick background picture is present, and I think the read and white combination stands out quite well against the background.

Double Page Spread flat plan

Colour Usage: For my Contents page I am going to use quite dark colours, because this will reflect the mood of the article, which is about the streets and how they are effecting young people and their lives. To reflect this I am going to have a dark background with perhaps a picture, but more likely a picture on one side and a dark background on the other. I will need to choose the exact colour at the time, so I can make it match the picture. I will either use red or white text depending on whether I can get away with red text against the background.

Text Usage: I would like the text to be either red or white against the dark background .his will not only look striking and stand out, but it will reflect the moods of the article, dark and striking. Again, I am unsure how the red will look against the dark background, and white may both look more professional and stand out more. The text will centre around the streets and how street life is changing the way young people live, and consequentially the music the streets make. The masthead of the article is going to be quite large, and I have a number of fonts in mind for this (see fonts post).

Image usage: I have am image in mind that I have taken previously during and 'artsy' moment of a dark street corner being lit up by a lone street lamp near my Gran's house, I was on the way there one day and I just thought it would make a good picture. However, I took this with my phone, and I have some concerns about the quality of the picture and whether it will be good enough to put in my magazine when stretched. If this is the case, I shall have to go out and take another picture with my good camera. This will not be to much of a problem, as i already have a similar place at the end of my street, and I think it would be perfect, and convenient for the magazine.

Contents Page flatplan

Color Usage: For my contents page, I would like to use the same colours as on the cover, to carry a scheme through the magazine, and to make it look more professional. I would like to use mostly dark colours, with a few bright colours that will stand out and attract attention. I would like my title to be red, with a yellow/gold outline, to make it really stand out. I'm thinking about using a brick wall as the background for my contents page, as this will make the magazine feel more joined together and will be smoother in transition. I would like there to be a red outline around the outside of the images and the text boxes, because this will make the images and especially the text to stand out against the brick background.

Text Usage: I would like the text to be black, and on a red background. This will make it look really striking, however I am slightly worried about how readable this will be. I will need to test what it looks like printed before the final edit. I will have text about my double page spread on 'The Streets', and how they are effecting young people. I would like this to be the main article in the contents but i would like there to be other non essential articles on the contents page, visually to fill the page and make it look good, but practically, who ever heard of a contents page with only one article on it?

Image Usage: I plan to use three images on my contents page (not including the background). One/Two for my double page spread article and one for each of my space saving made up articles. I will take all of the photographs myself, and I will use Either my camera or the camera on my phone to take the pictures.

Simpsons Movie Poster

This is another practice piece I did on photoshop, this time surrounding The Simpsons Movie. This was a big help for me, as almost every picture had to be cut out and placed into the project. We had to put the date that the movie came out, and also required at least one Simpsons member to be on the cover. This has helped me to familiarize myself with photoshop, especially since I've not had much experience with photoshop in the past. The cutting out part will especially help me when I'm creating my own magazine, as I'm pretty sure i'll have to use this quite a lot.

Pictures Chosen for my magazine.

The above photographs are the ones I have chosen to use in my magazine (there is one more to add to this list, but the picture was too big to add to blogger). I used these pictures because they fitted into what I planned for my magazine. For example, the mid-shot is the one I will use for the cover, and the Picture of the dark street is perfect for my contents page. All of my pictures are of high quality as I used my SLR camera to take them. Even the Blank picture of the wall is going to be used, as I will be able to use it as a background for my contents page. The dark street picture could be used for a number of different situations should I need it to, which gives me flexibility if I want to change anything. The wall could be used throughout the magazine such as the background of the contents page and double page spread. I want the design to look like things have been stuck to the walls in a DIY kind of way.

Here is a colour scheme I've been thinking of doing for quite a while now. I want the whole background of my magazine to be made of bricks, just like a wall. This will help the whole street image and should help attract the young teen demographic.

Fonts

I've been looking at fonts that I could use on the really useful website 'DaFont' which has loads of free fonts that offer something different to the norm and what you would typically see on programs such as Microsoft Word or Photoshop. The first one has a design based on what I'd call 'American High School Stuff', because that's what I feel it resembles. I think it looks quite youthful and may help attract my target demographic. Both of the other posts were chosen because I think they look sleek and could attract a slightly wider demographic, should I choose to go that way with my magazine. This post is to help show which fonts I've chosen to help with my work.

Potential Coursework Problems

Potential Problems with My Coursework 

Potential area where there might be a problem	How I will deal with this problem
Front cover images	Getting together with the model, sorting out times. Finding a good place to take the picture, which suited both the model’s needs and mine. Getting images exactly in exactly the right frame, to get the model in from the waist up (mid shot)
Article Inside Magazine	Writing the article and trying to write it through the artist’s eyes. Deciding on a title that would fit the rest of the article. Using a header that fits the article.
Images to accompany article	The article inside the magazine is basically a lot of work for what you get out, I took a lot more photographs than I actually needed. Choosing the pictures used for the actual magazine, as I wanted to make sure it was the right picture.

To help combat these problems I will need to do a lot of research and preparation to make sure that each part of my magazine has a place and belongs where it does.