EVALUATION OF

“STREET BEAT” …

URBAN MAGAZINE…

BY VIDUSHA MURALEEKARAN

IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOU MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS ...

Front cover: For my front cover I have tried to use and keep the conventions similar to a real media product. I have done this by keeping the layout the same and a real media product (music magazine front cover) and going with having traditionally three to four colours running through the whole magazine.

The layout is the same as a real media product as the masthead has been placed at the top of the cover in bold font also it is larger than any other piece of cover line or copy on the page. The mast head uses forms and conventions of a real media product as it is like many existing music magazines such as ‘Kerrang’, ‘Vibe’ and ‘Q’ , as these magazines have the main image layered over or under the title. Furthermore I have created a tag line or slogan which goes with the masthead, traditionally this would be placed under the masthead but I have decided to place it in the eyebrows of the magazine in a yellow banner in black text as I believe that is an development to how real media products are created also the slogan has been written in black text so that it would stand out and attract the readers eye. However most magazines do have an eyebrow in which they write phrases such as ‘world’s best selling music magazine’ or the editor decides to place the most important cover line in the eyebrow, the banner over the mast head.

The information on the front cover is arranged in a way in which the audience would recognise straight away as it is displayed on the left hand column which would the first thing the reader would see at an magazine stand. The colours used for this magazine are very simple I as I have tried to create a house style throughout the whole magazine. I have used a black background so that the music artist on the cover would stand out more and the cover lines on the left hand side of the front cover is associated with the image, as they are in large bold pink writing and would suggest that the person in the image is a person of importance. I have chose these colours because they I have tried to coordinate this issue of the magazine with what the artist is wearing. I have used the colour pink and yellow as these are colours that attracts the eye the most and would come to the reader’s attention as soon as the magazine has been picked up.

The price of this magazine is £1.89. I have come to this price by looking at the prices of magazines which are in the market now and are in the same genre of music that my media product. These magazine prices vary from £1.50 to £2.99. furthermore the price has come from the fact that are target audience is young adults that would most likely be studying and this price is the average and demanded price. Also the fact that there is quite few advertisement in this magazine which pay for production costs.

The price is shown near the bar code and the date of this issue. The bar code is there so that the publishers know that they have enough stock also to see if they are producing too much or to less as they could lose advertising if not producing enough copies or not having enough sales, and if they have to produce more magazines, therefore production cost decrease.

The image on the front cover is an medium body shot of a young teenage girl. I have chosen this image because it allows the readers to relate to someone. Furthermore this image is representation of teenage girls who enjoy the same aspects of life as the artist. I have chose to place this artist’s image on my front cover as I believe that the audience has someone to look up to and idolise. The image on the front cover has eye contact with the audience so it looks as if she is looking at you when the reader would pick up the magazine.

Contents page:

The contents page that I have created uses forms and conventions of a real media product as it has an regulars area in which it shows what articles are featured in every issue. I have placed these at the bottom left hand corner of the page as I believe that the placement should remain constant. On the top right hand corner I have placed the features column, this column shows what articles are just in this particular issue, under these articles there is a brief about what it’s about.

Also there are two primary images on this page. As the I have used an image of the artist on the front cover in the contents page this allows the audience to recognise her and relate to her. One of the up coming music artist and another of an instrument that she plays. These both images have been taken and photo shopped to fit the page and make them blend in.

Double page spread:

The double page spread that I have created uses forms and conventions of a real media product as it has it has a headline as well as a standfirst which is as introduction to the article and would get the reader into the article. Furthermore my media product is like a real media product as the copy has been written in columns and there is a pull out quote which summaries the whole article. However there is a development from a real media product as most articles do not have an character profile box which allows the reader to get to know the artist.

There are also two different images of the artist which show two different sides of her the first image is an image of her walking with one hand on her waist which shows that she can have a hard and strong character side of her where as the other image is one of her in a dress smiling sitting on a sofa which shows that she likes to dress up and be a girly sexy girl once in while.

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

There are many people behind it who choose what we watch and how we watch it. Representation is the way People... Place and Events are RE-PRESENTED to us through media. And for this to happen there is a process which I know as MEDIATION ...  Mediation occurs daily in our lives .... you could see an photograph with a headline and think they were meant to be together but truthfully someone out there has the opportunity to make a choice to get that image with that particular headline.Therefore representation is created by the THIRD PERSON and can be biased.

The social groups for my music magazine would be a mix of both gender from 16 to 34.

The image in the front cover represents teenage girls or even young adults. It represents high spirited young female adults who are really jubilant and giddy. Who share a common interest in music and fashion. This magazine is trying to attract audience whom believe that behind every one there is someone else and that its not just about the music anymore but about the people who create it.

Also in the language used throughout the magazine is very simple. I have kept the language simple because I believe due to the fact that my target audience ranges from 16 to 14 there would be a vast difference in vocabulary and in context. Furthermore according to my research into the urban culture and its different types of magazines which suggest that there is not as much copy or text in them and if there is it would be in straightforward language so it would appeal to everyone. There are phrases and words that would relate to young male adults, such as ‘ 10 things boys MUST know about girls’ or an review on the N-Dubz’s concert who are famous band. As in the double page spread I have added a character profile where there are facts about the artist whom I had interviewed.

WHAT KIND OF MEDIA INSTITUTION MIGHT DISTRIBUTE YOU MEDIA PRODUCT AND WHY ...

My case study was on ‘Vibe’ magazine this magazine is also published Quincy Jones. They define there target audience as people whom are open minded and this inspired me to chose Quincy Jones as the institution to publish my music magazine.

I would use Quincy Jones to distribute and publish my media product. I have chosen this publications because they produce a wide range of magazines and appeal to a wider audience. Furthermore categories their the magazines into men and women’s interest and some what need. So therefore I believe that they would be the right publication house for my media product as they would have an interest in my magazine also it would help promote the magazine. Also because I am trying to create a magazine based on a channel that has mass cross media productions but does not have a magazine, this is another reason in which I believe that Quincy Jones is the right media institution to distribute my media product.

I also considered having Future to be my media institution to distribute my media product but the fact that they target niche audiences and are a global institution so as they are global there production costs would be higher and therefore the price of the magazine would be high. This would affect the target audience of my media product as they are young adults from 16-34 and could be on full time education or unemployed.

As for who would distribute my music magazine I’d consider small and local news agents, but also large supermarkets like Tesco, ASDA, Morrison's etc...

I would have this magazine distributed in areas where there are many young adults, such as family, colleges and universities orientated areas.

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

I have chosen for my music magazine to create an urban Magazine....this allows me to target the younger generation. 16-25 years old female and male who have just entered the adults world. The audience would be around late high school / college / universities or even working.

When it comes to ethnicity there is no specific audience as it should appeal to all urban music fans. Therefore when it comes to the consumers lifestyles it would be middle class families orientated in towns and suburbs. It would targeted in large major cities such as London, Manchester , Cardiff and many more.

HOW DID YOU ATTRACT / ADDRESS YOUR AUDIENCE ...

To attract the audience to the magazine I believe I have used various ways, such as they would see the yellow highlighting the word FREE. This word would draw the readers attentions and allow them to pick up the magazine and take a look at it. . This magazine is trying to attract audience whom believe that behind every one there is someone else and that its not just about the music anymore but about the people who create it.

Furthermore another thing which would attract the reader would be the colours and context on the front cover. The front cover of my music magazine I believe is very pleasing to the eye as there are not too many colours but just enough. The title of the magazine is in pink which would attract the reader also the main cover line and the artists name is in pink which is would stop the reader draw them in.

The cover lines may also attract the reader as the articles may look interesting to them, as there could be some branded names as well as famous people they may enjoy reading about for example; L’oréal make up or N-dubz concert review.

The language would attract the audience as it is very informal and they may be able to relate to it.

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNT ABOUT TECHNOLOGIES FROM THE PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTING YOUR PRODUCT ...

To create my music magazine I have used various amounts of software and electronic devices. Firstly I had to use a SLR digital camera to take the pictures for my media product. For me this was very difficult as I am not familiar with using this type of digital cameras as usually I would properly use a small Hitachi hand held camera. I used this camera as it produces high quality images and makes them look professional and due to the backgrounds may appeal more to the audience.

For my research I have used may elements of the internet such as online magazines and search engines such as GOOGLE. Also I had looked at layouts of hardcopies of urban music magazines such as vibe, to find suitable questions to ask my artist for the interview.

To create my music magazine I had used two software’s that I had never used in my life. I had used Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Indesign. In Photoshop I had created my front cover and contents page. I had found this software really hard to use. But with the help of my peers and playing around with the tools I eventually learnt how to use Photoshop. In this software I learnt how to create and layer my work, to add images and to depixelate them. Furthermore on Indesign I had created my double page spread which allowed me to import text from Microsoft word and import JPEG images.

But before I used these complicated software’s I used a software which I have been using for many years which is Microsoft PowerPoint to create a slideshow on a famous existing magazine, I had chosen ‘VIBE’. In this slideshow I had analysed the front cover, double page spread and contents page in depth and also compared it with another genre of magazine ‘Q’.

Addition to these I had used WordPress where all my work was kept and published for the teachers too see and slide share which allowed me to upload images and PowerPoint's on to my blog.

Overall I believe that I have learnt many new skills in the process of creating my magazine about technology that may come in handy to my in the future and I may use them again for work or generals skills practise.

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

Looking back I have learnt many things one of which is what we see is not necessary what we believe or want to see. This is done through media and mediation. Which is we see what the media wants us to see. I have also learnt by creating my own magazine what preparation goes into each issue and that everything must be placed in a certain way otherwise it would not be appealing to the readers eye and therefore would not buy the magazine which would create a loss instead of profit.

Furthermore I have learnt a great deal about media institutions and how something as small as a barcode could help the publishers know how many magazines are needed or if there is an over production.

Since the preliminary exercise I have learnt many new techniques on different software’s, as in my preliminary exercise I had made many errors and did not know what I was doing but now if asked I could recreate it again and make it ten times better.

These were my preliminary exercise. Student magazine (front cover + contents page)