Prezi

This is my Prezi that I presented in front of the whole of my media class at the end of my project after I finished creating my final product: my front cover, contents page and double page spread. 

HYPE Magazine Evaluation

As part of my AS, my task was to create a music magazine using certain technologies for an audience that I was able to choose myself. To start off, I looked at many existing music magazines such as Word Up and XXL to get inspired and find ideas that I could interpret in my own way when doing my music magazine.

My music magazine has many features that is linked to and are similar to other existing music magazines. Looking through music magazines I realised that the colours that have been used carry on throughout the whole magazine. For my music magazine I have also carried my selected colours red, black and grey throughout the front cover, contents and double page spread.  My magazine front cover has features such as plugs, selling lines, buttons and teasers which make it look like any other ordinary existing magazine front cover. The structure of it is that I have the picture in the middle with cover stories around it. The masthead is written in a big font so that it is big enough to catch reader’s eyes when they see it in the magazines section at a shop. My magazine also has a barcode, date, issue and price on it which is really important on the front cover and in my opinion it is what makes my front cover look like a real existing magazine. I use emotive language such as ‘exclusive’ which is also a factor that other magazines have.

On my contents page I have many features such as cover stories, competitions and regulars. These have page numbers on them and are something which every magazine has so that it is easier for the reader to find the right page. I have got an Editor-In-Chief Letter section on my contents page. Many magazines have this on the contents page however it is not on every magazine. I was excited to try this out and wanted to be original so I left a section on my contents page for that. I have a small image of my front cover on my contents page because when I did some research on Editor-In-Chief Letters; I found that many of them had that.  My contents also have a big font at the top because I wanted to carry that out throughout all my pages, and again I have written the masthead and date so that there is no confusion with the readers. On my double page spread, I have features such as pull quotes; stand first, an image and most importantly; the interview. The features that I have used challenge forms and conventions of real, existing music magazines, and most importantly, something that all existing magazines do is to Photoshop there images and that is something that I have done throughout my front cover, contents and also double page spread.

After looking at existing magazines and doing a survey, I decided that I wanted to base my genre on hip hop music. I was excited about doing this because I know a lot about this music genre as it is the type of music that I am into and listen to myself. The questionnaire that I did before starting to do my magazine helped my figure out the age group to base it on. Many people that said they were into music magazines were in the age group of 16-21 and they were of all genders so therefore I came to the decision of making my hip hop music magazine for ages 16-21 of all genders and when I came to making my magazine, made it clear throughout all the pages that it is a music magazine. The colours red and black often represent hip hop in magazines; looking at other magazines such as XXL, you will see that it is also a colour the both males and females like. I came up with names for my magazine and my favourite ones were Replay and HYPE. Out of those names, from my own opinion and others I chose HYPE because I felt that it sounded more like hip hop than Replay and relates to hip hop much better. Replay sounded like a name that could be for any music genre so I finally decided to go with HYPE which makes my magazine not only look hip hop but also sound hip hop. Looking at my front cover I think it is obvious that the music genre is hip hop. I have a ‘PLUS’ section which has names of hip hop singers Nicki Minaj, Waka Flaka, Kanye West and Swizz Beatz. These are existing singers which a very popular and famous to people who listen to hip hop music, I believe that they are a success in the music industry so therefore I added their names on my front cover. My model is also posing in a way that young adults of the ages of 16-21 usually pose, the mise-en-scene such as the clothes he is wearing and the way my model is standing by a brick wall also makes it noticeable that it is a hip hop magazine.

Harry Publications is a magazine publisher of many magazines including a lot of hip hop magazines such as XXL. I think that Harry Publications might distribute and publish my magazine because it is a music magazine of the genre hip hop and they have published hip hop music magazines in the past such as XXL so they have experience. As well as that, I would like it to be sold in music shops such as HMV or even corner shops that sell magazines.

I attracted my audience by having a male model. This is so that male readers look up to the hip hop model and so that females get attract to it and lead it to buy the magazine. The colours of my magazine also attract female and male audiences because it is colours they both genders like. My masthead is also big and bold so I think it would attract someone’s attention as soon as they see it on a magazine shelf inside a shop. My cover stories are very interesting so I think that that is a way of catching my audience’s eye. Also, there are names of singers nowadays so I think young audiences would get attracted by it and want to know more about it.

I used many techniques in technologies in the processes of constructing this product. Before I began this project, I was not very good at using Photoshop and this project has definitely helped me get better at it. I used tools such as cropping, cloning, and brushing and many more which I am much better at thanks to this project. A site such Blogger has helped me put down my feelings and thought publicly and it was my first time using it and I think it has helped me upload posts and presentations of my work. Slide share was a website that I was again new too. It allowed me to upload my presentations in a much quicker and simpler way. I think that my photography skills have improved deeply from before.  I used to take pictures with any sort of camera whereas now, I know to use a better quality camera and I also think about the mise-en-scene, the lighting and camera settings and also the shot type for example whether it is mid shot, long shot or another type of shot.

Looking back to my preliminary task, I have learnt to use Photoshop much better. For my preliminary task I mainly used publisher to layout my magazine and I did not  manipulate my images whereas in this project I did my layout and my image on Photoshop and I just found it a better quality because before, my preliminary task looked more like a poster than a magazine.  I have also learnt about how to attract my audience for example by using the right colour, fonts depending on my target audience.

Overall I have enjoyed doing this project and have picked up on so many new skills on technologies.

My Final magazine front cover, contents page and double page spread:

Shot list for my magazine

This is the shot list for my magazine. I chose different types shots using certain equiptments and places to match with the colours and theme of my hip hop magazine.

Purpose of shot	Feature of shot	Type of shot	Mise-en-scene e.g. costume, lighting, setting, facial expression	Equipment needed	Details of shot
Front cover	Nazir looking at an angle of gaze, pointing at the camera.	Medium shot	In a room looking at camera, neutral facial expression, wearing hip hop like clothes such as a vest top.	Camera and  a chair	In Norbury at 11:00
Contents Page	Nazir standing against a wall looking and pointing at the camera.	Long shot	Leaning against the wall in an alley way, wearing baggy jeans and black vest top to go with theme of my magazine.	Camera	In Norbury at 11:00
Double Page Spread	Nazir sitting professionally on a chair to show he takes his career seriously.	Mid long shot	In a room, sitting on a red chair. I chose the colour red to match with the colour of my theme	Camera and a red chair	In Norbury at 11:00

Flatplan of Front Cover, Contents and Double Page Spread

This is an evaluation of my flat plan in comparison to the research I carried out previously in this project.

My magazine is for anyone of ages 16-21 of all genders. It will be a hip hop magazine even though most people that answered my magazine said they like to read celebrity gossip magazines however most people said that they would choose to read a hip hop magazine to read out of the other genres.

Doing the questionnaire earlier, I found out that most people buy magazines on a weekly basis and get attracted by the colours red and black whereas other colours such as pink, blue, orange or yellow do not catch their eyes as much. Finding this out, I knew that I should base my magazine on the colours red and black to attract as many audience as possible however I will be using the colour grey for the background because I personally think it match’s great with those colours

I am going to price my magazine at £2.45 and the reason being for that is because when asking around, I realised that most people spend around £1-£2 on their magazine. I also think that £2.45 is a reasonable price for a music magazine which has many interviews, posters and articles issued. The magazines XXL and Word Up that I chose to analyze have buttons on its front cover, however I think my magazine will look good and also not as plain so therefore I will have a button on the top below the title. I also have a selling line at the bottom which says 'CONTEST: Win Mc Naz CD's and T-shirts!' Word Up magazine has selling lines and that is where I got the idea from to add a selling line to my front cover. 
I will have a medium shot of Nazir Shah as on my front cover under the title so that both the title and the image stand out. I have writing around the image so that it does not cover the photo. 
On my contents and double page spread, the title will be the same font as my front cover so that you can see the link. I will again have a big and bold title. The writing on my contents will be on the left hand side of the page rather than randomly place because I think it looks more professional this way and also it will be easier for other to read. On the right hand side I will have a long shot photo, and underneath that a smaller, medium-shot photo. 
The image on my double page spread is again of Nazir Shah in a medium long shot. This photo will be on the right hand side, this is because both of the double page spreads that I analyzed previously had images on the right writing on the left. I think this is a good idea because it makes both the writing and photo stand out clear and noticeable. 
The title on my double page spread starts on the top left page with a little bit of it leading on to the right hand side of the page. The stand first and quote is right below that so that the reader reads it before the article. It will also be writing in bigger fonts than the article. Below that there is plenty of space for my to write my article. 

Analyzing Content Pages: XXL and Word Up

XXL
Text: The text on the contents page is similar to the front on the front cover. This shows that it is the same magazine and does not confuse people. This is written in black so that it is instantly readable and is bold so that it is the first thing you read when you turn to that page. The features are written in white which is clear and noticeable over the grey background.


Colour: The main colours on the contents page are grey, red, black and white which carries on from the front cover. Again this shows a link so that it feels like you are reading the same magazine. The black top and black trousers that Dr. Dre is wearing also matches the colour scheme of this page. 


Image: The image of Dr. Dre takes up the bottom left of the contents page. That is the only image on the contents page which hints out to us that Dr. Dre is the artist that is interviewed in this magazine. The artist photographed on the contents page is the same artist on the front cover of the magazine however it is a different image. The continuous images of Dr. Dre tells us that he is the centre of this issues XXL magazine.


Layout: The title of the content page is at the top of the page just like most magazines so that it is the first thing you see on that page. Things that are featured in the magazine are all placed on the right side of the page  with Dr. Dre's photo placed on the left. There is a quote above Dr. Dre's image written in big. Around it is a clear space so that it is readable. 

Word Up!
Text: The text on this contents page are on the left which is different to the other magazine I analyzed. The cover stories and features are written in white which whereas the title is written in yellow. As you can see these colours are continued from the magazine cover. 


Colour: The colour of the writing on this page are yellow and white which is noticeable over the blue background of the page. The images on this page are previews of what is inside the issue so therefore the colours are depending on each individual page. This is not colour schemed to fit the contents page. 


Image: There are six images on this page and all of them are images of pages which are issued in the magazine. In a way this is a good idea because it allowed people to see what is issued in the magazine however in my opinion I prefer is there were fewer images so that the reader is surprised at what they see when they flick through the pages. 


Layout: The layout of this contents page is simple. All cover stories and features are written below the title down the left hand page and all images are placed on the right. The images take up more space then the actual text on the page and the title isn't that big either. 


Doing these magazine covers will help me make decisions on how to make mine later in the project. Word Up and XXL magazine covers are completely different from each other, both of them has helped me in different ways. 

Music Magazine Cover Analysis

During this slideshow, I will be talking about the front covers of XXL and Word Up magazine. 

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Double Page Spread Analysis

Reading through pages in magazines, I have learnt many techniques that producers use in their double page spreads. Most magazines have a big image, with a big and bold title and a stand first as well as the article or interview itself on its double page spread.

I have spotted many things when analysing a double page spread in Word Up magazine. Starting of with the background, I instantly knew that they used gradient tool using the software Photoshop when editing this. The colour is darker at the top left corner of the page and gets lighter towards the bottom right hand corner.

On the right side of the page there is an image of the model Nicki Minaj in a medium shot which fills the whole right page of the double page spread. The black top she is wearing goes well with the light grey background. She is looking at is from an angle of gaze, showing a connection between her and the readers. She is posing with her hands on her head to emphasize her hair that often changes to different styles and colour. This also makes the tattoo on her hand stand out. The pose that she is doing shows her inner self let out and how she really is like. Lastly, there is a shadow effect on the image which shows the great use of photo editing software that is used on her.

At the top of the left page, there is a blank space. This makes the double page spread look better because it makes the writing that comes after it look clearer and more effective, because it shows that ‘less is more.’ The title is ‘BEFORE SHE WAS BORN’ and this starts a quarter down the page with enormous writing so that it is visible and readable, and also the first thing we read on the page. The stand first on this page is written in bigger fonts in this article, most people tend to read this before the article because it allows us to have a preview of what the article is going to be about before we read it. Under the stand first is always the journalist’s name. Reading through the article, there are many quotes from Nicki Minaj which shows the type of person she is and the type of way she speaks. The article starts of with a big and bold ‘E’ that announces the article and overall, it isn’t very chatty but rather formal.

The second double page spread that I analysed was from a different magazine called XXL. The two double page spreads have many things in common for example in both articles, the image fills most of the right hand page leaving the article/interview on the left, both with big and bold headings that start of a little lower down the page, however this double page spread has a lot more writing than the Nicki Minaj one.

The background colour for this double page is a creamy-white. The artist model Dr.Dre is looking at an angle of gaze however he has a very serious facial expression. The image is taken in a medium long shot so that we can analyse the black clothes he is wearing.  You can tell that this image has been photo shopped well because of the sepia/old fashion effect on the image. The colour of it looks similar to the background.

This double page spread is written smaller then the first double page spread analysis because there is more writing, however it is still as effective as the other one. The title is the first thing that people would read when they see this because it is catchy, big and bold. Alliteration is also used in the title which pulls the readers attention right when they start reading the beginning. This article does not have a stand first but on the other hand it does have a paragraph on history for people who have missed out. This interview is different is different from the Nicki Minaj one. In the Nicki Minaj double page spread, there are a few quotes whereas this one has a more of a question/answer layout where the interviewer asks a question and Dr.Dre answers them. The questions are written in bold and the answers are normal. This makes the question stand out more and just like the Nicki Minaj double page, this is not a very chatty interview but a more formal one.

I have learnt many techniques when researching and analysing these double page spreads such as having a plain background with a big image of an artist on one side and writing on the other. I will definitely make my title big so that catches peoples attention and is the first thing people look at to read.  For my own double page spread, I will add a lot more writing than the first double page that I analysed and hopefully as much as the Dr.Dre double page spread. 

Reader Profile

Amirah is a 16 year old girl who’s in her first year at sixth form. She is studying Media studies, Music and Design and technology. She is very serious when it comes to her studies and has a high interest in all her subjects; she is focused towards all of them however her favourite subject is Music because it is something she can relate to as she loves singing and wants to become an artist when she is older.

Amirah is very adventurous, living everyday like it’s her last. She loves trying out new things with her close friends and browsing the World Wide Web, going onto socialising sites such as Facebook or MySpace. She has been to many karaoke parties and also does covers of other singers and posts it on YouTube where she can get a lot of views and feedback from viewers.

Trey Songz, Drake, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj and Tyga are some of Amirahs favorite artists. She gets inspired by them and looks at Nicki Minaj for her fashion tips but creating her own looks out of it, she also loves to read about them in magazines such as XXL. She has been to a lot of these artists’ concerts in the o2 arena in London with a lot of her school mates. That’s how much Amirah actually loves music!

In the future Amirah defiantly wants to for fill her dream of being a successful, popular hip hop artists were her songs can change peoples lives all around the world.

With this reader profile, I’m sure I can create an entertaining music magazine that will  amuse my readers.  

Market Research Evaluation

I decided to make a questionnaire as part of my market research to see other peoples views on magazines, also helping myself later on in the project when I make my own magazine, I will find it easier designing it depending on how my target audience would like it to look like.

I asked four males and six females when doing this questionnaire, most of them in the age range of 16-21. Whilst doing this questionnaire, I found out that most of the people that I asked brought magazines on a weekly basis. I also realized that most of them listen to Hip hop as a music choice, which I found interesting because it is the music genre that I have chosen to make a magazine on. 

I am not too sure on what colours to use throughout my magazine, but after this questionnaire, I have a better idea. Most people were quite fond of the colours Red and black and also chose other as their option, whereas not many people were too keen on the other colours such as pink, blue, purple, orange or yellow. 

Another question I asked people was what kind of magazines they like to buy. I found this one of the most important questions on the questionnaire because it shows how many people buy music magazines which is one of the main reasons that I have done this questionnaire.  Unfortunately, most of the people who answered my questionnaire said they they like to celebrity gossip magazines but 20% of them did say they buy music magazines. Another 20% said they buy TV Drama magazines which leaves films with only 10% of the votes, and other also with 10%.

None of the people who answered my questionnaire spend more than £5 on a magazine. 60% of them spend around £1-£2 and 40% of them spend £3-£4. Most of them like to read articles and see posters in the magazine that they buy, some like to read interviews. One person that answered my questionnaire likes to read reviews and one person chose other. 

Overall I find these answers quite interesting and I am happy with results that I have got back. 

Market Research Review

1. What gender are you?
Male         (4/10)
Female     (6/10)


2. What age group are you?
10-15       (2/10)
16-21       (8/10)
22+          (0/10)

Rolling Stone Magazine

As part of our media magazine project we were given a task to create a powerpoint presentation about a music magazine that was chosen for us with a partner. The magazine that I did a presentation on is an American based magazine called Rolling Stone which also has international editions in many other countries such as such as Argentina, Uruguay, Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Colombia, France, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Russia, Spain, Turkey and more. 
Rolling Stone Magazine was founded in 1967 by Jann Wenner which is still the magazine's owner, editor and publisher and Ralph J. Gleason. Rolling Stone magazine has a huge popularity. Each issue reaches 1.5 million people and has the average of 228,469 copies per issue. It targets adults aged 18+ and when researching this magazine, I found out that most of the readers were young men aged around 20, most of which that are single and have kids in the household. 
Rolling Stone has improved MASSIVELY over the years. Around 44 years ago, Rolling Stone used to look more like a newspaper but nowadays, due to softwares such as photoshop, it looks more like a typical magazine look with better quality images which have been edited and airbrushed. Each front cover of Rolling Stone usually has one big image of a celebrity (mainly singers) which usually covers some parts of the title which has the same font and colour in every issue. 
Rolling Stone also has an online version of the magazine which shows news, reviews, channels and blogs although they do not put too much on there as much as they would in the actual magazine because they want people to buy it instead of reading it online for free. To check out Rolling Stone magazine just go to the following link: http://www.rollingstone.com/ 

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