Time Management- Week 1

Throughout my first week of AS Media Studies, I think I have managed my own time very well. At the beginning of the week, my media class was very hectic and I did not get all of my work finished in college, therefore I took it home or to the college campus library to complete. I have now finished all of the work I have been requested to do, and feel confident that it is done to the best of my ability. It is very important that I use my own initiative and am responsible for my own time keeping skills, as if I fail to do so, it could result in me falling behind with my coursework, not being able to do my future tasks and achieving the grade I wish to get.

Magazine Conventions on a Front Cover

I believe it is very important to include a number of conventions on a magazine front cover. Below I have inserted a magazine that employs a lot of techniques in order to attract their target audience, and encourage them to buy and read on.

Masthead- The masthead is the title of the magazine, and informs the reader on what they are reading. For my magazine, I will include a large prominent masthead, that follows my colour scheme, so I have a running house theme throughout all of my pages, this will help develop a professional feel. The audience will also recognise the magazine due to the masthead I create, as it is important for branding, and is always used for things like logos (however following an urban theme to it).

Main Image- The main image is the photo on the front cover that takes up around two thirds of the page. In most music magazines, it features a popular artist that the most important article is about. This dramatically increases the number of sales a magazine has, due to devoted music fans, being interested in a specific artist, and going out and purchasing the magazine, even if its not one they usually read. The image has to be clear and a head shot for the magazine to look professional, the model must also look straight into the camera lens, for the most effective front cover. I will feature this on my own page, and remember that is the angle my model needs to stand. For the genre of music I have picked, and after a little bit of research, I have come to the realisation that most rap stars look into the camera for CD covers, posters, videos etc. Thus, it would only be best for the model to do this pose on my cover.

Tagline/ Sell Line- A tagline is a small amount of text that is associated with a certain magazine. For example, ‘Mixmag’s tagline is ‘The World’s biggest dance music and clubbing magazine’ and ‘Q’s is ‘Discover Great Music’. These sell lines will feature on every issue, therefore viewers will become accustomed to which magazine it is is, just by hearing their slogan. The audience will also find out information in a quick, single sentence. For my magazine, I need to make sure it sums up my genre and ‘vibe’ well, to attract my target audience easily.

Cover Lines- This convention is short sentences that describes articles inside the magazine. This catches the reader’s attention and leaves them wanting to read the full article. On a traditional front cover, there is normally a main cover line connecting with the main image, and then several sub- cover lines. For my magazine, I aim to have 3-6 cover lines representing what can be read inside, this will also broaden my audience.

Barcode- A barcode is key for sales of the magazine, and not only keeps track of the amount of sales, but makes it a lot quicker for cashiers to scan the code. Magazine companies can keep track of where the most issues were sold, and at what time, this helps them narrow down the type of audience they have and who they are catering for. I will feature a barcode on my own magazine, therefore adding to the professional feel.

Magazine Conventions on 'MixMag'

Issue Number- An issue number helps keep track of what issue a reader is on. The more number of issues, usually suggests how long the magazine has been published for, if its a long time, this normally demonstrates that the magazine has a large target audience, and has interesting topics that keeps people going and buying their magazine again and again. I will include this convention, because it allows the readers to know what issue they are on, and which they might have missed.

Date- Similar to the issue number, this really establishes when the magazine came out. Nevertheless, it does offer more information. For instance, music fans may know when a new album/ song is out, and watch out for the date on the magazine, as the new music may be featured. I will use this convention as I think it connects with the audience and really lets them know key information.

Left Third- The start of the masthead and cover lines are important to the left third, and must be seen in shops where the full magazine is not shown. This indicates whether or not a reader would be interested in buying the magazine, therefore it needs to present thought-provoking stories and fit the genre they are looking for. I need to keep this in mind when creating my own front cover.

Inspirational Texts

Genre of Music

The genre I have chosen to base my magazine on is Rap/ Hip Hop. On the mood board I have created, you can see a combined mixture of artists associated with this type of music such as Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar (which I will be inspired by to use in my magazine). Stereotypical items that are seen on rap albums and are related with that crowd of people are things such as money (as seen on the ‘Rap’ logo), designer clothes, tattoos, legendary rappers (such as Biggie Smalls) and gold chains (clipped behind the ‘Hip Hop’ logo).

However, to match my target audience I have included females such as Nicki Minaj and Beyoncé, which also fit within this genre. Regarding the ‘Laura Mulvey’ theory, this represents woman as being an object of the male gaze, and widens the target audience which I have decided upon.

I believe that having good knowledge about rap and hip hop culture, will help me with researching, designing and creating the framework for my magazine. I can then create suitable competitions, and articles that are related. 

Below are some links that demonstrate the genre of music I have chosen, from watching them it helps me understand what sort of clothing/ makeup/ and style the rap genre has, which will be beneficial when designing my own magazine:

• No Church in the Wild- Jay-z & Kanye West ft. Frank Ocean, The-Dream
• Recognize- PARTYNEXTDOOR ft. Drake
• Do it again- Pia Mia ft. Chris Brown, Tyga
• All Eyes on You- Meek Mill ft. Nicki Minaj, Chris Brown
• Gold Digger- Kanye West ft. Jamie Foxx
• My Love- Drake ft. Majid Jordan
• Pretend- Tinashe ft. A$AP ROCKY
• 3005- Childish Gambino
• Blessings- Big Sean ft. Drake, Kanye West

Furthermore, I think festivals such as ‘Wireless’ really represent the genre and target audience. Below is a video I recorded at the festival. You can see the artist interacting with the audience, and the bright colours behind him. This will help me understand the target audience for my own magazine, and what their interests are (for example, going to festivals).

     Concerts like ‘Watch the Throne’ by ‘Jay-z’+ ‘Kanye West’ signify the rap genre well, here are some links that show this:

• Who Gon Stop Me- Jay-z & Kanye West (Watch the Throne Concert)
• Shutdown- Skepta ft. Drake (Wireless Festival)

Moodboard of the Rap/ Hip Hop Genre

Outline of the Project

For my AS Media Studies, I will regularly post the progress I make throughout this year and it will include my research, planning and evaluation in regards to my coursework. My main goal is to create a music magazine with a front cover, contents page and double page spread. I will use desktop publishing software’s such as Adobe Photoshop, Publisher and Lightroom. I am also aware I must incorporate original photography and take pictures using my own model. Furthermore, prior to making my magazine, I will create a mock cover and contents page to demonstrate my understand of the project.

This unit will assess, and what I hope to achieve;

•         An ability to plan and construct media products using appropriate technical and creative skills.
•          Become independent in research skills and their application.
•      Understand how my work creates meaning for audience/users, applying my knowledge and understanding.