Evaluation Question 3.

For this question, I was asked to go over any improvements I could make to my product with a member of my target audience (16+). The target audience member is a 17-year-old college girl.

A few things my target audience member found appealing was the name of the magazine definitely sounded artistic in a musical sense. I was also consistent with my colour scheme and used colours that complimented each other. I was able to use the right image for my background as it looked as if the model was directly looking at the reader (angle of gaze). The layout of the front cover and contents page had been nicely developed and looked similar to most music magazine layouts. The features I had used were relevant to today as they are current affairs and they are all real which definitely made it appear to be more realistic in that sense. After editing the models face with the 'spot healing' tool, I made the model appear to have "barely any flaws".

From what I gathered from my target audience member, she would like me to photoshop the models features more to accentuate certain areas of the models face. I then adapted from this critique by airbrushing the models face slightly so some spots and pores weren't visible and used an enhancer tool to make the eyes light brown. I was also asked to perhaps sharpen the photo of the model more to outline the features of her face, I was able to do this by using a 'sharpen edges' tool on photoshop which created a better emphasis on the facial structure. Another renovation I was asked to make was to move one of the features of the front cover models face and place it in order of length which I have done for both my front cover and contents page which made the layout look more cleaner and professional. Lastly, the final critique I was asked to do was somehow try and use darker colours that could reflect a hip-hop genre, I found this quite difficult to accomplish since I had used light gels to photograph my model instead of using photoshop to create layers. Therefore I tried to darken certain areas around the model; hair and clothing.

Evaluation Question 2.

Evaluation Question 1.

Created using Visme. Free Online Presentation Software.

Preliminary Task: Flat Plan

I have started to design a flat plan for my magazine front cover and contents page, my initial theme was for an 'urban' and 'edgy' display and representation of Hip Hop, but whilst going over the answers I had gotten in my survey and focus group I came to a conclusion that the magazine should look professional and 'classic', but still incorporate some urban features. At first, I created some sketches as to what I pictured the final proposal to look like and then researched well-known music magazines in an urban/hip-hop genre to get inspiration for what I should incorporate. I picked up on a few techniques that most magazine companies use on their front cover and combined it with my ideas, for example, the layout of the texts and features, typefaces (fonts), colours and model shots.

The flat plan of my front cover was inspired by two different music magazines; Billboard and Vibe. I researched the different and similar techniques they used and incorporated some in my work. Some of the techniques I used was 'dividers' to separate features by using ' + ' and ' __ '. Another technique I included was design layouts; the masthead is usually on the top, the feature on the left side or whatever side the model was facing, the barcode and pricing placed on the bottom left. Apart from the techniques I incorporated from other magazines, I also researched photographs of hip-hop artists for inspiration and wanted to experiment with light gels (different coloured lighting), and lastly, to make it appears legit and realistic I added social media icons along with a "Find more about us on..." and a "Limited edition" sticker. Whilst keeping up with my aesthetic, I constantly checked whether the font types I initially picked out would suit my page layout on Photoshop whilst creating drafts and came to a conclusion to use only 3 font types on my front cover page which consisted of Onyx (masthead), Haettenschweiler (features) and Century Gothic (other texts).

The flat plan of my contents page I intend on including the use of light gels, but with a pink and blue filter instead of red and yellow which will be used on my front cover. Upon contemplating layout approaches, I had researched and analysed a range of magazine contents styles to create a brief idea of what I wanted my final draft to look like. Initially, I wanted my features to take up the majority of the bottom half of the contents page, but after choosing the final picture I would use the layout did not compliment the pose, therefore I had to slightly alter my layout. The font type I intend on using is 'Century Gothic' as the text because it looks very professional and some of the music magazines I have been using as inspiration (Vibe and Billboard) also have a similar choice typeface and 'Haettenschweiler' for the features subheading because it was very bold and eye-catching.

Preliminary Task: Feedback on design

After gathering feedback from a few of my peers who were the exact age of my intended target audience, I decided to write down their critiques and opinions on a table and try to act on them with my present draft.

Advertisement & Marketing Lucozade

I was asked to find two Lucozade posters one from before the 1980s and one which is contemporary (last 5 years) and deconstruct them. There is a clear distinction between the two which establishes how much technological convergence has evolved from the 1980s to modern times now. The modern day one uses celebrity endorsement (Gareth Bale - footballer for the Spanish club Real Madrid and the Wales national team) to promote more people to buy it as well as directing their target audience head-on; using an athlete to get the product across to other sports people. Whereas the 1980 one was initially created for medical usage on children and had an entirely different marketing strategy; drawn/cartoon picture of a mother feeding her child the medicine, label/logo, target audience and ingredients inside the drink.

Preliminary Task: Model consent forms

Here are the people that were apart of my focus group and took part in my survey along with my model for my magazine front cover and contents page:

    

Preliminary Task: Deconstruction of real media texts

Before I start to create my front cover and contents page for my music magazine I wanted to deconstruct a few music magazine covers to understand what techniques I'll need to use. I will incorporate basic techniques such as features/cover lines, puff, pull quote, anchor, masthead and hopefully experiment with more. The aim of my magazine cover and contents page is to present a professional and appropriate level of representation of what I think a teen 'Hip Hop' artist would look like. Here are the 2 music magazine cover pages I deconstructed:

Preliminary Task: Magazine details

Upon contemplating what genre and magazine name I should pick, I came to a conclusion to choose the genre Hip Hop and my magazine name will be 'Prodigy' and I will direct this genre towards my target audience of 16+ year olds. The names I spent time considering were: Apex, Silver, Complex, Balance, Empire, Inferno, Logic and Power. I chose the name 'Prodigy' because the meaning of it is a person with exceptions abilities and traits, therefore I thought it would appeal more to my target audience. I also found out that 'Prodigy' is a name of a music festival and music group, so it does in fact have music links to it. The genres I was considering choosing were either Hip Hop, Pop or R&B/Soul.

Upon experimenting with many different font types, I finally ended up with 3 main fonts that I will be using on the front cover and contents page of my magazine. I found these fonts on Microsoft and began practising my writing, constantly checking if it suited my front cover and aesthetic well. I may also add in one more font for my contents page, one that is somewhat similar to the 'Century Gothic' font.

The features I am going to use on the front cover will be 3 of the following 4:

1. J Hus Common Sense Exclusive 
2. Hip Hops Guilty Pleasures: Kojo Funds, Rihanna, Drake
3. Official Album Charts: Gang Signs & Prayer, Digital Druglord, More Life, Ctrl
4. Top 5 Men in Music: Post Malone, Bryson Tiller, J. Cole, Drake, J Hus

Preliminary Task: Shot list/Model styles

After carefully planning the fonts, colour scheme and other little details of the magazine, I have come up with 6 different shot types, most of which are medium close ups. I intend on photographing the models full face and hair, showing some area of the shoulders. I want my model to look somewhat between intimidating and expressionless, I might also consider doing multiple low and high angle shots just to experiment. Below each shot I wrote a brief description of how I want the model to pose and look. I intend on showing an 'ordinary' yet 'intense' and 'urban' person that my target audience (16+ year olds) can relate to and find attractive. I am currently considering to choose numbers 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 as the final poses for my model.

Preliminary Task: Focus Group

I have a rough idea about what music genre I am considering using when creating my front cover and contents page so I decided to choose 5 individuals I think my magazine would appeal to and sat them down to ask them a series of questions to help me make a plan for my magazine. The focus group included pupils aged 16 and 17. Initially I had planned on surveying a wider age group, but in the end, I had various opinions given to me which made up for it.

 I chose to write down what my focus group said on paper then created a mind map of each question I asked showing their individual answers. Some had similar opinions as others which means when designing and planning the layout, I will take the most mentioned opinions into consideration first. Here are the mind maps I made:

Preliminary Task: Reader profile

I have been assigned to create a reader profile, this is an imaginary person I have created that I think my target audience may be similar to.


Aiden is a 17-year-old boy who attends college, he does 4 A-Levels which conclude of Engineering, English Language, Business Studies and Psychology. Aiden wants a career in Business and/or Psychology. He enjoys playing football, listening to music, playing on his Xbox, watching TV and hanging around with friends. He dislikes doing homework and cleaning. On a regular basis, when walking to college, Aiden listens to music, his favorite genre's are Hip Hop, Grime and R&B/soul. He usually listens to UK music, but some of his favorite artists are American. Some of his favorite artists are Bryson Tiller, Rihanna, Post Malone, J Huss, Kojo Funds, Lotto Boyz and 410. When in a lesson, his teacher allows the class to listen to radio stations and his favorite is Capital Xtra. Aiden often reads music magazines such as 'Vibe' and 'Billboard' when they show exclusive artists or artists that he listens to. He likes Hip Hop and Grime most because it has a certain appeal to it as he is able to choose from a variety of different song choices depending on his mood.

Preliminary Task: Introducing the brief

'To create the front cover and contents page of a new music magazine using Photoshop.'

With this brief, I intend on creating a front cover and contents page of a music magazine using the 'Hip Pop' genre as my muse. I usually listen to a lot of Grime, Pop and Hip-hop artists such as; Yxng Bane, Rihanna, Daniel Ceasar, Drake, Post Malone, H.E.R, Bryson Tiller, J Hus, Not3s, Kojo Funds, Geko, Maleek Berry and Lotto Boyzz. I feel as if the music that appeals to me is a very inclusive genre and therefore can be widely used. Initially, I intended to create a very sophisticated cover and contents page that was similar to most music magazines such as 'Vibe' and 'Billboard'. I intend on incorporating the genre I am doing into the design of my front cover by adding 'edgy' tones and perhaps using a sharp high toned pose for my model to make it somewhat obvious of the genre I am using. I also intend on using coloured layovers when photographing my model to make it look professional and eye-catching.

Here is a mood board of some of the magazines I will be using as inspiration to create my magazine front cover and contents page:

The Colour Theory & Semiotics

Camera Treatment

Media producers are able to create an atmosphere by the different camera angles and shot types they use, each angle and shot type shows a different frame of reference in each scene. For example, this could show the scene from a character's perspective (first person). Close-ups show detail and the actor's expressions, whereas long shots show the characters actions and their relationship with the surroundings. The establishing shot focuses on the location and usually sets the opening of a new scene.

Close up shots:

1. Extreme close up -  this would show only a persons face usually the eyes and mouth only, in intense detail. This generates an emotional viewpoint of the character to create a dramatic and suspenseful scene.
2. Big close up -  displays the persons face from a greater distance than an extreme close up, usually from the eyebrow down to the mouth, still not a full face close up but is in-between. This is usually used as a cut-in technique when transitioning scenes to allow the audience to get a better read of a characters facial appearance.
3. Close up -  shows the full face of a person or can be used to zoom in on an object. This is used to show the expressions of a person which allows the viewer to easily interpret what they are seeing, often blurred so the viewer fixates on the area where the producer wants them to look; creates the mise-en-scene showing very little background detail.
4. Medium close up -  shows the person or object in a more clearer vision, this is often used in interviews for dialogue sequences and mostly in movies to initiate the start of a scene. This allows the viewer to see body language, emotion and to pick up on the characters movements or facial expressions.

Medium & long shots:

1. Medium shot -  shows the person from the waist upwards, this allows the audience to see the characters body language and emotions that affect the top part of the body (creates a scene that makes the viewer feel as if they were standing right next to them).
2. Medium long shot -  shows the person from the knees upwards, used to allow the audience to see the character as well as their surroundings. Can include up to 3/4 people in one scene; allows the viewer to interpret characters relationships better.
3. Long shot -  shows the person head to toe (can be less, but still fits most of the frame), allows the audience to see the characters body movement, how they are represented in relation to the scene and atmosphere as well as their relationship with their surroundings (for example, a long shot in a horror movie where the murderer is close by to the character).
4. Very long shot -  shows the character from a great distance, allows the audience to scan the environment and surroundings. Also, lets the audience know where the location of the character is.

Other shot types:

1. Two shot -  shows the interaction between two people; their movements and actions, this allows the audience to understand the relationship between the two subjects. It is mainly used in interviews where both people are facing the camera or during scenes when a character is talking to a person directly.
2. Over the shoulder shot -  shows the perspective of one character viewing another, typically in a conversation. This allows the audience to see the emotions and expressions of a character from another's viewpoint. Angles are sometimes changed to get a better sense of the conversation from both standpoints.
3. Establishing shot -  unveils the location and used to set the opening of a new scene/sequence. This allows the audience to be able to position where the following scene is taking place.

Camera angles & narrative styles:

1. Pan -  when the camera follows the subject of interest moving from one side to the other.
2. Tilt -  when the camera moves vertically (up and down creating a tilting effect).
3. Zoom -  when the camera pulls in (becomes proximate to the scene) or pulls away (distant perspective), often used to reveal information.
4. Bird's eye view -  shows the scene from a perspective of a 'bird', high viewpoint/view from above looking down.
5. Worm's eye view -  shows the scene occurring facing upwards making it feel as if the perspective is from a ground angle. 
6. Dolly -  a continuous shot which requires the camera moving back and forth showing the subject of interest.
7. Handheld -  an innovative technique which involves the person recording to travel and record the scene alongside the subject creating a bouncy unsteady scene.
8. Objective treatment -  involves treating the viewer as an observer from an omniscient vantage point.
9. Subjective treatment -  involves treating the viewer as a participant, similar to a 'first person' perspective. The scene is displayed as if the audience is viewing the scene directly through their eyes.
10. Mise-en-scene -  attempting to show the relationship/contrast of the subject and objects in one scene; how they are arranged/set, portrayed and represented.
11. Montage -  shots which are compiled together and show the sequence of events that occurred during a period of time, often accompanied by music in the background for cinematic effect. 

Magazine Deconstruction

Deconstruction is to depict techniques media influencers (prosumers) have designed and to understand why they did it. This is my first time deconstructing a fashion magazine and a 'The Big Issue' magazine. I researched the different types of key terms and applied them to the source. After researching, I found that media platforms choose to present their product in a sense that it will appeal to only their target audience; for example on a fashion magazine the model would be wearing the latest clothing and the front cover could be a long shot to display the whole outfit. Similarly, in a music magazine, the model might be playing a musical instrument or a microphone or even dressed to resemble their music genre.

Magazine constructors also have a selling point, this means that the model will be seen from only the angle the magazine company thinks will advertise the product best. The genre of the magazine will need to be aesthetically subtle in order for the audience to be interested in buying the magazine. Media icons might also be seen on the front cover of the magazine to attract viewers (example below).

Media Representation

Representation is how media platforms choose to portray a certain group of individuals, this category can range from gender, age groups, social class, sexual orientation, ethnicity, race, religion and social issues. The way in which the media "represents" these individuals is often stereotypical and may not be 100% accurate.

When a group is presented by the media, the prosumers often takes into consideration the ideal depiction of the individual (stereotype) and "re-present" them in a new context and in a way which they think is correct and represents them best, this allows the media text to be in charge of what the audience can interpret; this does not mean that the media presents people as how they really are.

Stereotypes are best examples of how the media chooses to represent someone or something. A stereotype is never 100% accurate or true, but slightly over exaggerated in terms of context. For example, a gender stereotype made by modern-day media could be that men are the better sex, they are meant to be strong and smarter than women. Another prime example would be a cultural stereotype, that all Muslims are terrorists.

The Male & Female Gaze

The male gaze is the representation of women in a sexualised manner; the director (often male) chooses to portray women as "sexy", "seductive" or "desirable" in order to catch the attention of the stereotypical heterosexual male, this is due to the stereotype that most women that are seen on media (that have the perfect shape or figure) represent a whole nations worth of females. Examples often include a shower scene in horror or action movies which illustrates an "ideal looking" female in the shower (undressing or already naked) who is overly sexualized. A feminist would often look at this concept from 3 different angles; how men look at women, how women look at themselves and how women look at other women.

The feminist film theorist Laura Mulvey came up with this theory of the male gaze as it suggests that the way women are viewed in cinema is "unequal" and only presents women in this type of demeanour for the pleasure of men. She also came up with the "3 Types of looking", this meant that there are 3 different perspectives/points of view of watching a sexualised female; the perspective of the camera whilst it records the scene, the perspective of the audience as they watch the scene and the way in which male characters view female characters. Mulvey also argued that women would either be objectified as a "sex object" or would just appear on screen as the powerless "damsel in distress" who needs saving. This was seen as a passive role that women would play, whereas men would play the active role.

The female gaze is the representation of men also in a sexualized manner, this is used to draw attention from a female viewers perspective. Similarly, this can also be seen as the director objectifying men and making them appear to be alluring and seductive. This theory is often disregarded by most feminists as it appears that the male gaze is far more occurring in the media industry, mainly for marketing and advertising purposes.

The Media Theoretical Framework & The 9 Forms of Media

Media comes in 9 different forms, this can vary from print media to online media. The 9 forms of media are:

1. Film
2. Advertising and marketing
3. Radio
4. Magazines
5. Video games
6. Music videos
7. Television
8. Newspapers
9. Online/social

In order for me to develop my understanding and techniques of the various forms of media, I first need to understand the concept of the media theoretical framework. The media theoretical framework is a series of factors I must consider whilst distribute my media designs, as well as when analyzing different media forms. These categories consist of:

1. Media language - the way in which text is constructed to create a specific meaning for a reader or the viewer of the text (this can be displayed by signs and symbols)
2. Media representation - the way the media portrays a certain group of individuals (age group, gender, social class, ethnicity, sexuality etc) 
3. Media industries - the way in which the processors of production, distribution, and circulation affect media forms and the media platform
4. Media audiences - how media forms target and approach their audience, how the audience or viewer interprets the text and responds to it and how the consumer can become the producer themselves allowing services to be more accessible
5. Media context - the background information of a piece of media (social, cultural, historical, political and economic factors surrounded by the media text)

My First Post

Hi, my name is Hajra and welcome to my Media Academic Journal. I will be posting my findings and work on this blog in the near future. Throughout my media course, I am expected to deliver the 9 forms of media through each component which consists of; media language and representation, practical preliminary tasks, media industries and audiences, news and long-form television drama.

The sole purpose of my blog is to show you, the viewers, what skills I can master and designs I can create throughout the following 2 years, as well as experiment with my innovative and unique skillset. My blog is aimed towards teenagers roughly around the age of 16; I have chosen this age group to appeal to the modern eye and also give pupils my age a chance to be heard. I believe that media is a source of socializing and letting your opinions and thoughts to be apprehended as well as expressing one's individuality.

Thanks for reading and make sure to keep up to date with my blog!