AS Media Foundation AS Media Foundation Portfolio EvaluationPortfolio Evaluation

Michael MoundMichael Mound

Both have used a large Masthead in a bright, bold font to make it stand out.

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or use 1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or use forms and conventions of real media products? forms and conventions of real media products? Front cover

Cover Lines about the artists featured inside.

Both include a large, striking main image which is an MCU shot.

Website and date featured to inform the customer.

Header/footer letting people know which artists are featured.

Differences between front coversDifferences between front covers

Wave Vibe

I have used different music taste based on that of my target audience.

I have used a gradient on my background to make the image stand out more

My magazine has a footer whereas Vibe has a header

I used a different colour scheme to reflect the views of my target audience

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or use 1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or use forms and conventions of real media products? forms and conventions of real media products? Front cover

Bold title at top of page

Page numbers and information on the left side

Contents overlaps onto picture partly

Date, issue number and website

Magazine name/logo included on page

Differences between contents pagesDifferences between contents pages

I have used a larger image as there is no need for adverts

My text and background follows the colour scheme used throughout

I used one main image to make it stand out more

I have included different sections to separate the magazine

In what ways does your media product use, develop or use forms and In what ways does your media product use, develop or use forms and conventions of real media products? conventions of real media products? Double page spread

Similarities:

•I have used a large quote from the artist and so has Kerrang

•Both magazines have a large image of the featured artist

•We both included an interview with the artist below the quote on the right

•A large first letter has been used to draw the readers attention

Differences:

•I have included a title to let people know what's on the page

•I included my logo in the corner

•I have included page numbers at the bottom of each page

•I included credits for the photo for a professional look

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic subculture that originated in African-American communities during the 1970s in New York City. It is based around MCing, DJing, B-boying, beat boxing, looping and graffiti writing.

Drum & bass is associated with a similar culture and style so they fit together well.

For my magazine I have used an urban looking image as it is against a brick wall and will fit in with the cultures of hip hop and drum & bass. The subject in the picture is also doing a similar pose to the one Eminem has done before – a very large figure in hip hop music.

The stereotype for hip hop and drum & bass is also quite similar and is often young males, usually of afro carribean origin for hip hop and from the UK or America for DnB.

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

IPC Media (formerly International Publishing Corporation),a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Inc., is a consumer magazine and digital publisher in the United Kingdom, with a large portfolio selling over 350 million copies each year.

IPC Media produces over 60 iconic media brands,

with print alone reaching almost two thirds of UK

women and 42% of UK men – almost 26 million UK

adults while our websites collectively reach over 20

million users every month.

They distribute leading music magazine NME and

therefore have knowledge and experience within the

music genre.

I think they would be appropriate for my music magazine as they have a wide range of magazines from different genres.

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

For my magazine I have chosen to have my main genres as hip-hop and drum & bass.

These two genres fit well together and have similar styles as well as audiences.

My audience would typically be males aged 16-24, social class would usually be working class or possibly middle and they would normally be either British, American or Afro-Caribbean.

Some of the magazines my audience may read would be Spin, Vibe or Mojo. A few of the artists they are likely to listen to are Eminem, Chase & Status, Dr Dre, Nero and Example.

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

A bright, bold font to relate to the hip-hop style and the name wave relates to the sound waves produced in DnB music.

A date and website so that people know when it is released and how they can find out more about it.

A flasher with bright colours to attract attention and a free gift to make people want to buy it.

An interview which is exclusive to my magazine so people will have to buy it to see it.

The features inside the magazine are shown here so people know what they can read about.

An agreeable, affordable price which is relative to the amount of pages.

Someone who is doing a similar pose to one done on another magazine with appropriately styled clothes/accessories.

Bold text in different colours with a stroke to make it stand out and bands/artists which relate to the genre

Audience Feedback

A few different people looked at my magazine and rated the different features of it. I have included the results in the table above.

The strengths of my magazine:

•Image manipulation and editing

•Consistent colour scheme

•Nice double page spread

The weaknesses of my magazine:

•Times New Roman font not linked to genre

•Cover could do with more detail

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

I used Adobe Photoshop CS3 to design and construct my front cover and also to edit any of the images I needed for my magazine

I have learnt to use Adobe InDesign CS3 to design the rest of my magazine – the contents page and the double page spread.

I learnt how to use Blogger to upload images and text as well as files to my own blog on the internet.

I took the images for my magazine using a Sony Cyber shot camera and learnt to upload and edit them.

Moodle was available to me so that I could use resources such as the task booklet and Photoshop tutorials which have been uploaded.

Dafont.com has a wide range of professional looking fonts which I used for my masthead and some of the titles.

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

Preliminary TaskFinal Product

I have learnt to use various different effects on Photoshop such as emboss and drop shadow.

How to use InDesign to design and develop a contents page and double page spread including text and photo manipulation.

I have learnt to use a similar colour scheme throughout my magazine to keep it looking professional and consistent.

How to manipulate images using Adobe Photoshop.

I have improved my Photoshop and InDesign skills as well as learning how to design and construct a more professional looking magazine. I looked at various different magazines and now have a better idea of what content to use in one. This was useful for creating things such as the cover lines and the layout of a double-page spread.