EVALUATION

Media Evaluation

‘Rhythm’ follows forms and uses conventions of ‘Hip Hop’ magazine as it is has strap lines, a barcode, a skyline, pugg, a kicker, and a masthead, which are all conventional of a Hip Hop magazine. It has a main image, which appeals to the audience of the magazine. The mise en scene I have used is very up to date and modern. The model used on the contents page is very sexual, is titillating women to aspire to look like her and to that genre of music.
The male model has got a rough ‘bad boy’ look, which can again relate to my audience. The camera shot I have used is medium shot to show the mise en scene and also to show who he was. I used an effect on the front cover, where he is repeated, this wouldn’t have been effective with any other shot. Again with the model on the contents page, wanted to show her mise en scene and to emphasize her chain-‘bling;’ this is important for my audience. The masthead relates to the image as it connotes speed; the image is repeated, fading out further out the model goes, and this again connotes speed and reflects the magazine. The image was manipulated and now has an effect, similar to the image on hip-hop magazine where a fade out has been used.
The contents page has a very similar layout to the one in hip-hop magazine, and the shots used of the model are medium close-ups. I have added a gutter to the page, to make it look more professional and conventional. Similarly, to the hip-hop contents page, a plain background has been used of block colour- however mine has an effect, which uses two colours. The font colours are consistent throughout the three media pieces, this was done to ensure the products looked like they were taken from the same magazine, as they are showing consistency throughout. A special effect has been used on the chain, lens flare; this is effective to the young audience, as they are into their jewellery- ‘bling.’
The double page spread follows conventions of the media magazine as the main image takes up a full page, and it also has a gutter. Only 2-3 colours are used which allows it to follow conventions. The image again has been slightly edited. Also an information box can be found, which can be found also in hip-hop magazine.
The composition of the images is also something I took into consideration which is important and the pose/posture of the model. On the front cover the model has his hands on his hood which relates to the street audience as they like to wear their hoods up. The composition is a graffiti background with a medium shot so my subject is recognizable but also to clearly show the setting. Also I had to consider the rule of thirds as the positioning of my image can not be in the centre. On the double page spread the model has his face away from the camera, concentrating the focus on the prop; his phone. The background however is of a studio which shows that work has to be put into to get where you want to be. This can relate to young audience as they like to listen to music on their phones so relates to them. The model on the contents page is putting focus on her chain, which again relates to the modern street audience.
My magazine however subverts conventions as I have used a female model on my contents page whereas in Hip Hop magazine very few women are used. I decided to use a female model as I felt that women also could be an inspiration to men and women also, and I wanted to emphasize the point to women that they can too be successful and the whole idea of me using it is to provide inspiration to women as there aren’t many magazines aimed for women.

My magazine would be for people into Hip Hop, late teenagers till late 20’s, and the way I’ve constructed and designed my front cover reflects this. The house style is consistent throughout. When designing my front cover I had to think about how this particular social group could be targeted effectively. I targeted my audience by using limited amount of copy as my audiences do not want to be overwhelmed with text; they want a simple front cover. Also I have used bright colours which relates to my young audience. The skyline has a competition to win speakers, this would relate to my audience as they like to listen to their music really loud, so it’s something that would make them pick up the magazine. Also, hip hop lovers are represented in the magazine as I have used graffiti font which is modern and urban/street which helps it represent social groups. On the double page spread the artist has his phone out, and dressed in baggy jeans which is the latest trend for urban/street, with the beanie hats. The model on the contents page is emphasizing her ‘bling,’ which also helps it relate more to the social group.

The media institution, which would distribute my media product, would be the music industry, niche market of R’n’B and hip-hop. It would be a mass market as there is a densely populated urban culture so there are many people out there who would buy the magazine, in which the company can make money out of. My magazine is aimed at people into hip-hop and therefore would allow easy sales. Image entertainment Inc is a huge industry which produces and distributes many magazines including ‘Hip Hop.’ This is a industry who could distribute my magazine as it has many varieties of magazines within the same house style.

The audience for the media product is 18-25 year old males as this magazine is full of latest rappers and therefore would appeal to the younger music listeners. I have aimed it at 18-25 year olds by using a young artist at the front, with a special effect, which will appeal to the younger generation, as they are familiar with the update in technology. Also I carefully considered the mise en scene as this is important for my audience that the people that inspire them (artists in the magazine) are up to date with the latest fashion trends and technologies and also jewellery is very significant.

The audience was addressed through the choice of images, colour schemes and layout. The images are of young artists who are starting their careers and it would be easier for a younger audience to relate to. The colour scheme is bright but bold, which conveys masculinity, the use of red connotes strength. It also is conventional of a magazine, as I have only used 2-3 main colours. The text is bold, however some curvy fonts have been used which represents the new artists as funky and make the article more interesting. The layout is simple and there isn’t much copy. The language is very colloquial, to keep it simple for the audience to read and understand without getting bored or not understanding terminology. The register of the language is very colloquial as I wanted to come across as a conversational one and not to over complicate the copy. Also it is informal; more personal to the reader- which makes it easier for the audience to understand. There are many ways to say the same thing according to the terminology you use however I did not want to over whelm my audience with big words as this would put them off, and there’re is no need to do that as I can get the same message across in a better way for my audience. I also used humor to my copy to encourage the reader to read on and to simply entertain them. I have used a bit of slang to relate to the audience and to ensure them that it is for them; make them comfortable when reading the article.

I have learnt a lot about the technical process involved in producing a magazine; it is not as easy as taking a picture and putting text over it. Everything is thought about to the smallest detail, which you wouldn’t think was necessary. For example one method used is before the front cover or contents page are even started, on their blank screen there are columns, which they follow and align text to, to ensure their layout is precise. Before, I would never have thought about following a specific guide and personally thought they would’ve used a blank screen.

The progression from the preliminary task is the skills and mistakes made from the first task were overcome and not faced in the new one as they were taken into consideration. For example the portrait shot is essential; to prevent a landscape image being stretched, which I overcame in the pre-liminary task, and ensured this mistake wasn’t made for in this task.
Also from the pre-liminary task I picked up on the different effects available in manipulating an image. The best way, to choose one, is simply to try all of them- as it is really easy to do it and then undo it to try another one- and then decide on which one you think works the best, and suits your music genre.
It is also important not too over complicate things, as sometimes the simpler things are the most effective. For example, on the front cover, not many strap lines for the house style I chose to emulate are needed as the image does the most talking, and therefore sells itself, instead of relying on much copy. As you can see, the text on the front cover, is just lists of artists inside the magazine, and just gives a little insight to the magazine.
Another key aspect to remember is to ensure there is a consistency throughout your products, and also that from a glance they can quickly picked up on what magazine they are from and make sure that the same house style is maintained throughout. This is rather difficult, I faced this problem as my contents page didn’t have any similarities to the contents or double page spread, so I had to add colours used on the front cover and double page spread.

I printed out a copy of my media work and gave it to my friend; who is into his street music, he commented on it saying it was very contemporary with the funky texts used on the headings. Also he said the orbit speakers was something he was interested in, and one of the reason he would buy the magazine is to enter the competition to be in with a chance to win them. He thought it was a very good idea. Also the language he understood and read all copy, even the contents page. He commented also that the consistency of the red throughout the media products was effective as it showed they were all from the same magazine.