Evaluation

Before creating my magazine, I first did research regarding what makes a magazine appealling and successful.I looked at several magazines and they all helped me understand the certain conventions regarding the construction of a magazine. My magazine uses conventions of real magazines in the sense that my magazine has been inspired by several current magazines based on the hip-hop gengre, such as "The Source" but the ones aformentioned all contributed to my influence also. Through looking at this magazine in particluar I managed to gain inspiration toward the placement of the title block, what style it is done in, the type of central image and overall layout regarding the front cover of the magazine which is ragarded as the key part of a mag. I tried to stick to the typical layout of a magazine by following the rule of how dominant the central image must be. The only way I managed to challenge the typical layout to the front cover was that the main artist was not infront of the Title block which highlight the importance of the artist to the magazine but, despite this, I ensured the title didn't interfere with the image and this choice was made so the back ground went well with the artist as separating him from it would have created a rather dodgey synthetic feel to the cover due to the bird eye view the shot was taken in. One other conventions of a Music Magazine I noticed was that they usually follow a certain colour scheme to avoid becoming over colourful and confusing. In my case for my magazine, I went with yellow, black and white which all nicely complement each other. The title block is done in bold and also highlights the important that the mag brings as a source of information regarding the hip hop music scene.

My magazine represents the particular social group in relation to rap, so it must be rather urban. My magazine was designed to appeal to a younger audience ranging from the ages of 14-25,which modern day rap primarily appeals to in today's society. I feel there is a positive portrayal of the urban social group inherited from rap due to the concept of the images used. The artist that it primarily focuses on is still working hard in college, whilst becoming a positive figure in the music scene, as seen in the feature article where he talks about "Broken Britain". The artist used in the central image, has not been decorated with flashy jewellery or top of the range clothing items, so this helps give the audience a sense of relation and belonging which is essential when trying to reach out to the target audience. I believe with the use of a prop and in this case I made it headphones, it links to the artist's focus and love of music and adds a serious tone to the relation of the article and still keeps everything down to earth.

The audience for my magazine will be stundents both male and female ranging from the age groups of 14-25. This is because of the way in which the magazine has been constructed, by give the latelest information on the hip-hop scene's latest talents and keeping them up to date with the latest trends. The particular feature article I made for the magazine is also valid regarding this point. The artist is from a rather troubled background in east london so the target audience may find this easier to relate to as he is down to earth like them and brings a more understandable relationship between the artist and target audience. This enable the reader to feel relaxed and take in what the artist says throughout the article. Another way I ensured that my magazine successfully appealed to the audience is by offering free, special offer t-shirts. The central image used also doesn't have the artist dazzled up in expensive, extravaggant clothing but more casual and relating to his own personal style, whilst the headphones emphasize his love for music.

I have learnt several things regarding this project regarding bloging and photoshop. I believe using a blog to post your work is very useful and offers an easy method of posting work as it is all kept organised and tidy. A blog also dates your progression so you know the production stage and how certain parts of your work have developed. The use of a blogg offers so many advantages. For example, I was able to create a poll for the choice of title block I should use for my magazine which I asked people to vote. This made the need of a poll very useful. The dashboard is also very organised and offered me several uses, such as including video links and inserting iamges in a piece of work. Regarding the use of photoshop, I have been able to learn how to use different elements of media tools regarding design work. It has shown me various methods with how the construction of a media megazine must be heavily planned and it also offers very easy ways to do more complicated things regarding design. I believe photoshop has heavily helped me as I have demonstrated in my magazine how to work things I have known and leant this year. Foe example, I have learnt how to change the opacity with a shape or image, I have learnt how to crop an image to my own satisfaction, I have learnt how to change the texture of an image to add shade and light in different areas of the image. I have previously used photoshop for other projects, however due to the extensive use of it this year, I feel more comfortable using it. There were also occasions where I used other programs such as microsoft publisher, powerpoint and illustrator regarding the design and template of my magazine, but Photoshop was the best programme to use when it came to the overall production, as it offered cleaner finishing and execution to my work.

I have previously done research on media institutions and based on the information gathered I would like "IPC Media" to be the media institution to distribute my magazine, which is known for publishing both niche and mainstream magazines. This media group have worked on successful magazines such as NME, which I feel my magazine falls into the category of being rather niche. Over 44% of the population is also noted to read a magazine product of IPC which shows that my magazine will be open to an audience on a greater scale whilst still keeping it's back bone target audience.

Throughout the production process regarding my work I feel I have learnt several things which have contributed toward the style of my work. I have been able to look to other styles of magazines and how they relate to the target audience and used them as templates to complete the end product of my magazine.

Magazine

Feature Article

B.A.U.R caught up with Mr. Major, who is taking the world hip-hop scene by storm. The young and talented, east-London-born rapper is tipped to go number one this month with his hit single “Headache”. Although his recognition on the music scene has been rather fast-paced, he is keeping very humble and level headed about it all. “Of course I’m happy with the way things have developed. Growing up where I came from, this would be considered a dream, but at the same time I’m keeping it real with everything. I must admit, I didn’t expect this sort of hype but I’m glad people have adapted to my style so quickly and easily.” Despite this quick rise to fame, it has not been an easy ride for the rapper. With his mother fighting manic depression for the majority of his life, He has had to learn about adult life and the responsibilities at such a young age- being the oldest of his siblings. He said, “It’s been really difficult. When I think about the times when I’ll lay in bed at night in a one bedroom flat with my mum and two brothers; My mother struggling to pay bills, I now laugh ‘cause those times have just made me stronger as a person. There is no way I can look down on someone because of their situation, because I’ve been there. It’s hard. All I can do is offer support that one day the good Lord can bless them with good fortune, like he did with my family. I’ve learnt a lot about my past; like who my real friends are and who to and who not to trust. Fame and recognition can change people for the worst. I just see it as a way to see who would say hello to me all of a sudden when maybe they didn’t at first!”

The 17 year old, real name Marcus Stanley is also working towards putting an end to “Broken Britain” and believes that music has a massive influence in today’s society. “There’s a feeling that there isn’t much being done to actually stop the violence in this country. All the time we get empty promises mainly from the government about ‘influence’, which I feel doesn’t help at all. Not much responsibility is taken mainly from society such as social groups relating to sport and music and other stuff; I don’t think we have many which try hard to appeal to the youth or make the effort within the community. That’s where the boredom stems from and they turn to gang culture.” The rapper said. The strong words said here gives us an idea of where his inspiration stems from when making his music, quite clearly. “With my music, I aim to get the message across that the roads are not the answer especially in this corrupt world. We need more successes in this life and potential needs to be noticed, so it’s time we prove society wrong about the portrayal the youth today and show that we aren’t just thugs and hoodlums.”

During our time spent with him, we followed the hot prospect to the studio where he had what we call in the industry a “barring session”. What’s that you ask? Well basically, for those who have been living under a rock, it’s when the artist goes into the studio and freestyles and gathers new ideas. But anyway back to the matter at hand, we spent the better part of an hour listening to him freestyle with absolutely no flaws in his complicated choice of style and flow. It’s clear all he speaks about is coming from his heart and what he holds dear in his life. He also showed his generous side by letting B.A.U.R hear a preview of one of the tracks from his album to be released on, July 15^th 2010, called “Shout my Name” It talks about the complications he had to endure, during his journey to the mainstream side of Hip Hop. “Boy, what can I say about this track. It’s probably the one that matters most to me in the whole album and probably the one track that I’ll always look back on and say ‘Damn! I went in!’ it’s mainly cause of the words and subtext and what it means as a whole. It wasn’t an easy ride to this stage I can tell you that and while the album tells a story, this one tune probably has 76 per cent of my journey explained. That’s how deep it is *laughs* No joke sir.” Although we didn’t get to hear the whole of the five minute long track, the two minutes we did hear had us watering at the mouths in anticipation toward the end product of the album. It certainly has become an early favourite here at B.A.U.R. Well, closely followed by “Headache”. The album also has features from some of Hip-Hops more established stars such as Eminem, Drake, Lupe Fiasco and T-Pain. When we asked him about doing work with such high profile American artists, he gave a far from convincing answer as to how it even happened! He said, “Look, this is something I’m trying to come to terms with myself! I keep saying this journey has been a funny one. A year ago I think if I had said I would be doing a track with someone like Eminem, it would have most likely been a product of severe amount of alcohol in my system. It just doesn’t sound like something you can throw around in everyday conversation. But when you walk in the studio and you look up and Eminem is there fiddling with his blackberry, getting himself psyched up, then it hits you with how far you’ve come. You’ve got to realise that you need to keep anxiety under wraps and get on with it. But boy the thing about Eminem is that you have to bring your A game. He is a lyrical Genius. I know this will sound cheesy, but if in the next ten years I can say that I’ve achieved even half of what Eminem has in terms of establishment, honours and ability then I can safely say, I’ve lived the dream.”

Sadly, that was all the time we had with the artist as he had to get back to working out kinks regarding his album, but he left us with this “Trust me folks, the album is going to be crazy! Make sure you get your copy as soon as it drops. This Summer will be like no other.”

Mr. Major’s debut album will be released in stores on July 15^th 2010. For more information regarding the album log onto www.baurmag.com

Magazine Images Edited.

Here are the edited images which I will be using for my magazine. They are each to be used for the Contents, Double Page Spread and Front Cover respectively.

Magazine Images: Unedited.

These are the images I am using for my front cover, contents and double page spreads.

Q Front cover analysis

Feature Article Analysis

The feature article here is of the stunning singer Cheryl Cole. She has enjoyed success with british-based girl band, girls aloud and has enjoyed a so far successful solo career. The image of her looking rather rather hardcore and independant here suggests that the targeted audience are young girls, particularly aged around 12-17.

The magazine overall uses formal language due to the quality of artists they use, to maintain a standard of high quality. Troughout the article, there are several references. Mostly to artist such as Jay-Z, Coldplay, Franz Ferdinand and even refers to another magazine in FHM. The article generally has a laid back approach. There are several comments regarding her solo album and comparisons are made toward how her music style is different to when she is with Girls Aloud.