Sophie Nutt Evaluation 1.

In what ways does your media product use, develop, or challenge forms of conventions of real media products? (i.e. of music magazines) The title of the magazine: For the masthead of my magazine Major I used Lemondrop font taken from dafont.com. This font uses block characters to create a bold and striking masthead which stands out from other music magazines. I used this font consistently throughout the magazine as a motif to link the separate pages of the magazine together, for example, I placed the word Major in this font next to the page numbers and for leaders I also used the same font, showing the link and consistency. The bold font matches the word Major as the word is striking, as well as the font itself. I took inspiration from Complex Magazine when considering my masthead and this can be seen as my final font is similar to that of Complex. This font is versatile on the page and can suit almost any background that it is placed on. Graphology/page layout: The layout of my pages are conventional to other music magazines, however there are detials within the overall layout that challenge the expected conventions of the page. I wanted to create a minimalistic, stripped down style for my magazine and the layout was a major factor of this. Ive used this style throughout to link the pages together. The simplicity of my pages, most notably the cover, goes against the commercial magazines that are available. Commerical magazines conventionally use bright colours, cover lines, and give-aways to grab the attention of the readers, whereas Major uses only the main image and the leader to do this. On my double page spread, I incorporated a faded L into the background of the article and took inspiration from Q Magazine when doing so. Costumes, props, iconogrpahy used to reflect genre: During my research and planning, I ensured that my main model wore clothes suited to the genre of my magazine and represented the artists persona. My genre is Hip-hop/urban and so the models costume included big, gold, triangle earrings, a gold chain, red lips, and black and white clothing. This was appropriate as this costume looked modern and fashionable, inspired by real artists in the same genre. I have used the conventional image of a model against a blank

Sophie Nutt backdrop, however the poses are striking yet look as if they come naturally to the artist, something that isnt seen often in many magazines. Camera work and framing of images: The angles of shots Ive used are straight on mid-shots and side angle mid-shots. I took inspiration from magazines such as HighSnobiety when considering my camera angles and I was careful when taking my photos to ensure that the models costume was clearly visible and that the angle fitted the pose well. It was important that the models style could be seen as a typical magazine audience focuses on appearance and so it was a necessity that the model looked suitable and the photo style was correct. I used no frames around the photos as I felt this could have an effect on the overall perception of the magazine as more authentic and indie rather than hip-hop. Title, article, header, etc. Font and style: The header Libby Zarong and I dont live on other peoples terms are in a standard, bold font on the front cover. This style of font works well with the overall minimalistic style of the magazine and follows the conventions of hip-hop magazines, as this is a typical style font for the genre, such as Vibe Magazine or Complex Magazine. The text used for the contents page and the article is simple and clear, coinciding with the simplistic approach I was aiming for, making the text easy to read and appropriate. The font Edition was used for the header over the main image on the double page spread as it looks modern, simple, and feminine to suit the persona of the artist and giving the audience something to relate the artist to, as this font is only used on this page throughout. Genre and how the magazine cover, contents and spread suggest it: The genre of my magazine is hip-hop/urban. I have used conventions from existing magazines such as Vibe and Complex that incorporate the same genre to ensure that my magazine suggests this at first glance. The front cover shows an image of the model in a mid-shot with a pose, which is striking, with the bold masthead at the top of page and the bold headers a conventional layout of Vibe magazine. I also created the logo The monthly source of hip-hop to distinctively show the genre of hip-hop. I also used the strapline Meet the girl thats changing the definition of hip-hop on my double page spread to reinforce this. On my contents page, I have used a simplistic and modern layout to suggest the theme of a modern hip-hop magazine and keeping a fresh style, which works well with the genre. How my artist is represented: On the cover, the artist is shown face on; the image shows her style, as it is important that the artist has the correct characteristics for the hip-hop/urban genre as it is widely focused on appearance. If she did not look the part, then the audience would most definitely not be interested in reading about them. The male model songwriter shown in the contents also has this modern style, ensuring that this image is consistently shown throughout the pages. The double page spread shows the featured artist and, again, it shows the fresh and modern

Sophie Nutt style, making the audience want to read on. The quotes taken from the interview suggest an attitude and feisty character from the artist that will be interesting to read about. By highlighting this side of the artist it will make the readers interested at first sight, enough to choose to read the entire article. Colour scheme: I chose to use the colour palette of black, white, and red for my magazine. This is a conventional colour scheme but is also simple, effective, and a colour scheme that the majority of hip-hop magazines tend to use. This creates a modern appearance and makes the magazine look aesthetically pleasing overall. Having such a limited colour palette makes the magazine look more professional as it does not include multiple bright colours, which can sometimes look tacky and commercial. 2. How does your media product represent particular social groups? My magazine represents the social group urban amongst the young generation as I have designed the magazine to suit the needs of this particular social group.

To ensure that my media product represented this specific social group, I researched into existing female rappers in the hip-hop music industry as this was the character I was aiming to achieve through my artist. As I was using a model of a white ethnicity, this was something that was vital in trying to effectively represent the urban social group. Iggy Azalea (right) was the most suitable artist to take inspiration from when considering costume, appearance, and pose. There were obvious restrictions concerning costume, such as the limited access to designer clothing, worn by such artists in the hip-hop genre. Also, there were restrictions to the amount of skin that could be shown by the model, so the outfit worn by Iggy Azalea in the picture above would not have been suitable for photographing and therefore there were limitations to the images I could use.

Sophie Nutt However, I have incorporated minor details from shots of Iggy Azalea into the images of my model. For example, the blonde hair, red lips, dark eyes and overall heavy make-up was used. Her overall style is similar to my artist, as well as the style of music, showing that they will have similar audiences. The photograph style is also similar across the two images as they are both side angle mid-shots modelled against a blank wall, with the sole focus on the artist in the shot. Libby Zarong (left) is presented as a more boyish character in her style whereas Iggy Azalea is presented as a sexy and feminine through her costume and, in this sense, Libby Zarong appeals more to both genders. However, both of these artists would appeal to the Major magazine audience. 3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? I think that the most appropriate distributor for my magazine would be Bauer Media. This is because they already have a vast portfolio of magazines that range from different genres. This means they have good profitable revenue so could invest in a magazine like Major because, even though it appeals to a niche market, it still has a profitable wide target audience of males and females aged 16-25 years old. It also means that it would not be a great financial risk to the magazine company. This is because their wide range of magazines such as Q and Empire suggests that Bauer is a profitable company and can invest in new niche magazines. Bauer Media Group publishes MOJO, a magazine that focuses on all genres of music, from electronic to modern rock to hip-hop. Their mission statement includes A magazine that is packed with insight, passion, and revelatory encounters with the greatest musicians of all-time, be they established or emerging musicians. My magazine would have similar components but focusing on solely the hip-hop/urban genre with an audience of 16-25 year olds. Therefore, although Bauer Media do have successful magazines within their range such as MOJO, there is a gap in their market for Major magazine and, consequently, this distribution company would benefit from expanding their genres and increasing their potential consumer span. Bauer Media spans over 80 influential brand names covering a diverse range of interests, which is why this institution would be suitable for my magazine, as it would be adding further to this variety of brands with a hip-hop/urban genre. As well as this, Bauer Media reaches to extensive audiences circulating 38 million magazines a week, partially ensuring success for Major magazine and guaranteeing an audience for the magazine.

Sophie Nutt 4. Who would be the audience for your media product? My magazine has a target audience of both males and females, 16-25 years of age. The male audience would have specific tastes in style; favourite clothing brands would include Supreme, Billionaire Boys Club, HUF, and Undefeated. The music that they would listen to mainly consists of hiphop, namely artists such as Kanye West, Kid Cudi, Jay-Z, Childish Gambino, Kendrick Lamar, A$AP Rocky, etc. The female audience would also have specific tastes in style concerning music and fashion. Favourite clothing brands would include Comme Des Garcons, Bitching and Junkfood, House of Holland, Givenchy, and Nasty Gal. The music that they would listen to also mainly consists of hip-hop, namely artists such as Azealia Banks, Angel Haze, and Iggy Azalea. However, the audience are also open minded and do listen to other music outside of the hip-hop genre and do take interests in fashion and media as well as music itself.
5. How did you attract/address your audience?

To attract the audience of 16-25 year old males/females to buy my magazine I have taken inspiration from existing magazines with a similar style, genre, and target audience, and then identified and incorporated key conventions of these magazines into Major magazine. I have followed the genre conventions of a hiphop magazine as, on the front cover, I have used an image of my artist that shows attitude, character and is striking something that is used on any hip-hop/urban magazine to reflect the outgoing and loud culture of the music itself. This use of iconography will make my audience want to read into the artist as she looks interesting from the images and the quote I dont live on other peoples terms, another genre convention that I have used to attract and address my audience. The title of my magazine is bold and makes a statement, which is similar to titles of existing magazines such as Vibe magazine. This grabs the audiences attention and implies that the content within the magazine will be only the most important news with the most important artists in hip-hop music. The design and style of my magazine is simple, stripped down and modern, this is a similarity shared with Complex, Highsnobiety, and Hypebeast magazine. This minimalist approach to the design will attract the young audience that I am targeting my magazine at, as it is youthful and fresh, not out-dated or unfashionable. This has been consistent throughout the pages of my magazine to ensure that this appeal to the audience carries on through the magazine and links the pages together. I have identified the unique selling point of Major magazine as being a magazine that

Sophie Nutt focuses on upcoming, big artists in hip-hop music, as well as having content related to fashion and media (films, photography etc.), which will address my audiences needs and wants. 6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? Camera: To take my photos I used a Nikon D3100. The high ability of this camera allowed my shots to be of a high quality and of a sharp, concise colour. The flash allowed an automated reaction to the lighting equipment to also ensure a high quality image was produced. The blank background allowed the image to be clearly isolated all contributing to the overall quality and professional style of the shots. I learnt that using a high quality megapixel camera enhanced not only the images, but the whole appearance of the magazine and played a huge factor in the professional look of the magazine itself. Images were also easier to take in fast sequences, which enabled me to capture shots of the model that look natural and forced. Computer/MacBook: I used the school computers and a MacBook Pro to create my coursework. I used these for researching my target audience, music genre, and magazine stylisation. I didnt learn anything new about these machines during this task, however I did learn significant amounts about the programs that I have used on these computers. Photoshop elements: The main platform I used to construct my product was Adobe Photoshop CS6. Techniques I used that were implemented in my work included the use of new tools such as fading the colour of a text to create a translucent effect, used for the L beneath my article on my double page spread, to create a more interesting design. I learnt new techniques from YouTube tutorials, which demonstrated step-by-step guides. Blogger: I documented all stages of my coursework processes on Blogger - I posted each stage of research, drafting, final pieces and evaluation. This is my first blog that I have frequently posted on and I have learnt how to use it effectively during the course.

Sophie Nutt Animoto: Animoto is a platform that helped me create a video for my initial pitch that allowed me to add music, photographs and words altogether to emphasize my magazine idea. This was embedded into my blog and also played in front of an audience and helped represent my magazine genre and style more effectively. Flickr: I used Flickr after I had taken images from two different shoots with my model. This online platform allowed me to create sets for each shoot, which then were shared onto my blog for easy and quick viewing. This also allowed me to browse through my photos and highlight/select the appropriate images that I was planning to use in my magazine. Microsoft Word 2007 I also used Microsoft Word 2007 to construct the text to my article and contents before inserting it into my PSD. This helped me as it meant I had a secure version of the article and I could edit the layout straight away using the grid on Photoshop to achieve an equal distribution of text. I learnt that by forming my article first it was then easily transferred onto Photoshop and I knew which column proportion and amount of text would be needed in each space on the grid. Spell check was also useful on Microsoft as it ensured that my article read well and was professional with no spelling errors. 7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full project?

Sophie Nutt Looking back at my preliminary task to create a school magazine, I like the colour scheme I have used for the front cover. I used the eyedropper tool to take the colour from the models shirt and use it in the font for the cover lines, which stand out over the neutral background. However, this lack of variation of font means that the masthead is also in the same font and colour so it is hard for the audience to differentiate this from the cover lines. Also, the size of the masthead is too small and is not bold enough to grab the attention of the reader. The image of the model is also a very standard mid-shot and the pose is not interesting or eye-catching. The costume of the model does suggest that this is a school magazine as he is wearing a smart polo shirt and looks clean cut. However, the mise en scene in terms of background has been edited out and the background design has no significance in the design overall, so looks accidental.

Initially, my contents page looks empty; there are not many page numbers or features, if Id spent longer on the contents page I would have added more and there would have been more detail. I like the consistency, however, that Ive kept from my cover to the contents page with the font and the colour scheme. All four images on the contents page display little variation in camerawork and show little skill in camerawork, as they are all face-on mid-shots. The positioning of the images on the page looks untidy because they are dispersed on the page, with some images larger than others for no apparent reason. However, the poses in the photos look natural and fun, which is something that is needed in a school magazine with the audience of students. The mise-en-scene includes props within these images to make the shots more interesting, however there is little connection between the props and the content.

Sophie Nutt

Comparing my preliminary work to my coursework I can see how my Photoshop skills and ability have improved. In the preliminary magazine, little techniques were demonstrated in my editing and layout and I did not use Photoshop to the best potential as I did not use many tools in the process of creating it. In my final product, I have used a much more minimalistic approach as I learnt that this would prevent the magazine from looking cheap by using too many cover lines, which became evident after I created my preliminary. The main image on my final still a mid-shot, however is at a slight angle for an interesting edge and I have used lighting effectively to create a shadow behind the model for a 3D appearance something that was not considered at all in the shooting of the models in my preliminary magazine. My contents page in my final product has a significant amount of detail in comparison to my preliminary and I used the grid to view my document when placing the text so that there is a direct line for the text to follow to prevent any untidiness. There is a variation in font throughout the pages in my final product, however there is still consistency between the pages as these fonts are used for separate roles as I learnt that I needed to make a distinct difference between the masthead and headings, and the content such as the article, which couldnt be clearly seen in my preliminary. Overall, I have learnt the importance of a correct layout, style, and effective images in making a professional magazine. I much prefer my final product due to its professional aesthetics, attention to detail, and distinctive minimalistic style.