Christal Domingo

Evaluation Foundation Portfolio

1) In what ways does your magazine use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real music magazines?

My music magazine uses the forms and conventions of a real magazine is in the positioning of the masthead, as it has been placed in an area where most music magazines are placed which is at the top of the page where it can be seen. My magazine uses the forms and conventions of a real magazine such as, ‘XXL’ in the way that is uses bold solid capitalised letters to draw people’s attention to what has been written in these solid block letters.

However the ways in which I feel my music magazine has challenged the forms and conventions of a real music magazine such as ‘XXL’ is the fact that my magazine title name is not abbreviated whereas XXL magazine title is. I have decides to use the title roots for meaningful purposes, rather than an abbreviation for it significantly links in with the type of genre I am representing which is Afrobeats incorporating an African feel of basing it on origin and this is how the name came about. The conventions of the XXL magazine show the title cornered into the left hand side of the of the page, my music magazine challenges the format and layout of the masthead for the reason that my title name has been stretched and enlarged across the top of the page promoting the name itself and also making it easier for my audience to see.

The ways in which I feel my magazine has developed the use of forms and conventions is within the use of a bold font style, the way in which it is developed is the fact it has lines running straight across the letters, this shows that although the idea of using bold letters has been replicated it has been developed to stand out even more by having the lines run straight through it to some extent challenging the font conventions of the XXL magazine.

Furthermore my music magazine is able to use the forms and conventions of a real music magazine as one of the essential elements of producing a magazine has been used efficiently in using an appropriate use of font, colour, text and size variation. This has been applied to my music magazine to following the forms and conventions of a real magazine in making the main cover lines much bigger than the cover lines around the page. The ways in which attention would be drawn to it quite easily is through the use of bold letters, appealing font and bright colours as this enhances an alarming effect on the page so that the audience’s eyes are drawn to it immediately. Contrasting colours are used in the title of the XXL magazine cover, the red and white are distinctively two very different types of colours which have been initially made to standout on the page, whereas with mine I have deliberately used the colours from the models outfit as a colour palette to stay within the range of my colour scheme but to also apply the contrasting effect on the XXL magazine to my product.

Christal Domingo

However my magazine in some way challenges the arrangement of the use of colour choice, as the XXL magazine (cover) font colour choices have not been consistent and there is no colour association or link with their attire in the image, whereas on mine the colour scheme has been specifically extracted from the elements of their clothing to initiate the flow of colour on each artefact.

Furthermore I have also used conventions to appeal to appeal to my audience for the reason that in the masthead I have changed the wording of Roots to ‘Rootz’ using a ‘z’ instead of an‘s’ when relating to a plural or shortening sentences emphasising the use of colloquialism in appealing to my target audience as when conduction research through a survey they requested for an equal amount of formal and in formal language sticking to their requirements this has been applied to my magazine.

The forms and conventions of the structure of real music magazines has been applied when considering the positioning of text; the main cover lines and the cover lines around it, they have been positioned to resemble the same structure as the XXL magazine following its forms and conventions of the layout strategy. The main cover lines of the letters in XXL magazine are straight bold and solid whereas my magazine challenges the type of font style so the it fits in with the feel of the genre, keeping the consistency of the bold solid letters I had gone for something that looked quite rigid to attract the audience in creating it a graffiti look.

My music magazine uses the forms and conventions of a real music magazine in the way that it has been positioned, as both images of the models have been made to complement each other with the use of advanced technology I was able to edit the images in separating each individual and placing them on separate layers, using this image manipulation strategy I was able to put the two together to create a more powerful image. Using the optical centre positioning technique helped benefit this magazine as there are two of them I felt that one image was more effective looking than other therefore using the placement strategy I decided to put one image near enough to the optical centre so that it will be equally recognised as the other image distributing the same amount of effectiveness. The positioning of the models themselves was deliberately not replicated as i wanted to give off a sense of originality to incorporate my own ideas about positioning and taking images at different angles. The high angle medium close was taken to mark their success as their faces are given greater definition and their legs are made to look smaller conveying that the artists are in the peak of their success, the cover line at the bottom of the page is there to support it ‘Started at the bottom now we’re here’.

Christal Domingo

The barcode near the bottom of the page creates an official look to the music magazine showing that it can be purchased just like any other magazine. However I have challenged and developed the look of the barcode by making it narrower as it creates quite a modern look providing more space for the details on the magazine to me shown. I challenged this for the reason that its proportion size is different and as I developed it in modifying its appearance using the photo shop software in creating my own rather than taking it from the internet as I learnt more from creating own and working my way around the software to make something original.

Feedback from peers The feedback from my peers helped me improve my magazine as there were things that I needed to improve e.g. the quality of the images used, originally at the start of this magazine production I had taken images of my models on a mobile phone for the reason I didn’t have a good quality camera to take pictures of my models who were located in Luton. Eventually when I was privileged enough to get a professional camera the images where retaken and reedited to create a more high definition look. My aim was to make the definition of my images similar to the real music magazine; the convention I was following was to make sure the quality of my images looked professional. My peers found that the cover lines on the front cover were hard to read the, by using the same layout and structure of the cover lines from the real music magazine I needed to resolve this problem by applying a stroke on the outer layer of the writing it gave it more definition as it separated the colours of the writing from the models costume so that it wouldn’t blend in and to vary the size of the text so that things can be easily identified however doing this challenged the font size of the XXL magazine as the writing is consistent but is barely noticeable of which the image is made the centre of attraction appeal to their audience through the image, whereas I have tried balance two showing an equal amount of importance in trying to appeal to my audience.

2) How does your music magazine represent particular social groups

The front cover of my music magazine represents particular social groups in a way that it shows the improvement and development within African communities showing young people being proud of their ‘Rootz’ embracing their culture. Socials groups that are predominantly black are represented as having pride being seen as having authority and given the freedom to be proud of their African origin; the traditional clothing enhanced the feel of the African culture representing African social groups. The vibrant colours used are representative of the energy and excitement within young people those who just like to have fun lively social groups. The graffiti style writing

Mobile phone camera

Facts

Celebrities’ life story Party review

Christal Domingo

represents deviation from formality of using straight letters which represent socials groups which are quite rebellious active personalities and those that like the art of graffiti.

The contents page represents a range of different representatives of social groups; social groups that like a bit of humour and entertainment are represented in promoting concert tickets, images of party events for the social groups that like to just have a good time, the magazine also represents those with lively personalities with the choice of colours with the contrast creating more of an impact on its presentation. The consistent representation of afro culture representing African social groups are used in displaying traditional colours and the afro print clothing. This contents page also shows interracial social groups with black, white and Asian people this represents most social groups in promoting the fact that is genre can be enjoyed by anyone and is not ethnic specific although it embraces the African culture doesn’t mean that it is only directed towards that particular social group, by having multiple races shown within this magazine means its representative of all social groups loud, quite, black and non-black people. The mode of address; the tone and register is used to represent social groups through the use of colloquialism is used to represent these social groups through their words of speech.

Some aspects of the double page spread represent different social groups but have all been combined into one; the more angular style of graffiti writing represents male social groups through the style of writing and the bold black colours used representing masculinity of young teenage male social groups. Another social group represented in those that like to read about things as they’re represented in incorporating a factual information area and also including a biography of celebrities’

life experiences. The double page spread also represents those with great interest in gossip about parties (reviews) and exclusive information from a celebrity’s life style this represents those with great interests a form of diversion to get away from the pressures of life and just read it to take their mind off things and for those who simply want to know what is going on in places, parties and concerts. This magazine again represents particular social groups as it is able to cater to their social desirability. The magazine also represents those inspired by the fashion trend of music

ar artists.

Trend followers

Christal Domingo

3) What kind of media institution might distribute your music magazine and why?

The type of media institution that might distribute my music magazine is likely to be general shops with many other music magazines on display, for this is where most magazines are distributed as it is a starting point of advertisement so when people go into a shop and see it stand out amongst others advertised on the television or on music TV channels in promoting something new for this is different and hasn’t yet been produced therefore the first promotion of this would be on the TV to publically advertise the product. Could possibly be advertised on the BET TV channel and MTV as they are music channels watched by a range of people (specifically my target audience). I perhaps wouldn’t have an institution distribute my music magazine but be independent in using the internet to distribute my music magazine as it as it is cheaper for me to promote it, I wouldn’t need to pay a lot of money to the company distributing my product. The expense would be low and the magazine will be able to go viral as my audience will have ubiquitous access on a range of platforms through the use of above the line advertisement: social media, buzz, blogging, and tweeting. Despite the use of ubiquity the disadvantage of using the internet as a form of media distribution is that in parts of the UK there is limited access to Wi-Fi to display the music magazine upon their platforms. Although ‘word of mouth’ may not be at type of media institution for distribution it is still effective in the way the information gets around transmitting from community to community before it goes worldwide.

4) Who would be the audience for your music magazine?

The audience for my music magazine would be above the ages of sixteen for the reason my music magazine advertises extravagant party events appropriate for ages sixteen and above. My music magazine to some extent is aimed towards black people however the audience for this music magazine as a whole is not ethnic specific therefore the audience for it is diverse as multi ethnic individuals have been involved in the produce of the magazine representing its diverse approach. The audience would be of mixed genders as the magazine itself shows a distribution of both male and female genders therefore the magazine is a unisex magazine using colours appropriate to both audiences. Overall the audience of this magazine would simply be ‘Afrobeat lovers’ those that enjoy this particular genre of music, it would also be those that may not know so much about this genre and would seek interest in wanting to get to know about it. My music magazine has been designed to fit most audiences those that are quite vibrant the colours and the information (gossip about parties) is best suited to their interests, and those that have great interest in reading and finding out information.

5) How did you attract/address your audience your audience in the forms of and conventions used in your music magazine?

Front cover

Masthead: I used the boldness of the writing to create the masthead to make it standout and the angularity of the font style to establish a modern appeal to my audience. By capitalising the letters of the writing makes it even more of an attraction as it gives off a sense of seriousness and maturity of looking official. The contrasting effect of the two colours easily draws their attention, representing the feminine and masculine significance of the magazine as it is

Christal Domingo

best suited to both genders. The white lines within the density of the black writing lighten up the masculinity of the black writing easing the aggressive manly feel of it; by incorporating the white lines it decreases the intensity of having masculine features.

Main image: The main image of my music magazine was to attract audiences from the perspective of females and males. Females would be amused by the young attractive male models in cultural attire, whereas the males would be given the opportunity to admire the young male models wearing the cultural attire and would gain the confidence to do the same, there is also some element of vice versa with the idea of male gaze as the magazine was designed to represent both genders, images were purposely designed for the exaltation of male (in the contents magazine) and female audiences (front page). This would be very much influential amongst the diverse audiences, with the specifically chosen costume design the bright colours of the cultural attire address the audience in a way to say that say it’s okay to be who you are and acknowledge your background. I was able to accomplish this by specifically selecting this choice of clothing and making this my main image to benefit the appeal and representation of the magazine.

Cover lines and main lines: The ways in which I have addressed my audience is through embedding colloquial language to the cover lines to justify the tone and mode of address as this magazine has been made to have this variation to address the audience in a way that is representative of them. Some elements of the uses of gratification has been used to engage the audience to draw their attention from their everyday life to find out what is going on at social events and celebrity life styles and in some way being able to relate it to daily life styles and be able to discuss it amongst social groups. Having a variation of font styles and sizes adds to the attraction strategy of getting my audience to acknowledge the information distributed having a range of writing styles makes it more appealing to the eye however the colour choices were extracted from the colour palette of the models outfit with applying a stroke to enhance the quality of writing. I was also able to attract my audience by having a plug advertisement of the magazine and the free gift that comes with it because of the age range of my audience they are more likely to appeal to them more.

Contents and Double page spread

Christal Domingo

Headline (main cover line): As the headline is the one of the main parts of the magazine I have made it more of an attraction for my audience with the use of a colloquialism in setting the tone addressing them in this way fits in with their demographic. The design of the text was made to attract them for the reason it has a youthful approach a graffiti look and an old school feel to it.

The main image: I addressed my audience in a way that conveys how they are in society fun active and up to date with trends this is shown through the costumes used for the

reason the celebrities (models) are the trend influencers attracting the audience to follow up with the trend too. My audience were addressed in a way to feel acknowledged made to feel on the same level to feel accepted because this genre hasn’t necessarily been applied to a magazine therefore attracting and addressing them was more or less based on research on their perceptive of a music magazine.

Text: Attracting and addressing my audience through written content was difficult but I made sure I was able to make the magazine suited to all their needs, by having a range of information suited for general readers who have an interest in finding out new things as a facts section has been applied. For gossip seekers reviews about youth events and parties as been incorporated to the magazine, this would attract them in the sense that the magazine would be used as an informational guide of upcoming events and a way of getting hold of tickets. I was able to attract my audience through the use of advertisement (plug) of giving away a free mix tape and cultural wrist bands so that they can benefit from the

magazine that they have purchased. By incorporating a web link of my magazine I am able to address my audience in a way that technologically benefits them as they are able to access it through a variety of platforms for user convenience.

Image: The images on the contents page were made to attract the audience due to the contrast of modern and cultural clothing. The excitement of what is going on in the images with exaggerated gestures and expressions to give it that fun commercial look revealing individual personalities representing young people, addressing them in this way gives it a more playful approach of doing what is expected of young people preventing negative stereotypical ideas about young people in representing them in a way that shows them high spirited. Having a consistency of age group addresses the audience in a way that makes them feel these people (the models) are just around the same age group and are more likely to feel that they are on the same level with them.

Christal Domingo

6) What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing your music magazine?

With the use of technology I have been able to crop and resize my images to fit my music magazine by using this adjustment strategy I have learnt that with the use of technology images can be cropped, reduced and enlarged in size but the images properties will not be affected by looking pixelated.

What I also have learnt about image manipulation (due to technology) is that two separate images can be made to merge into one, I have learnt this by editing the background of the image of the models in separate images, then putting then putting on two separate layers where they would be grouped together to become one image. I learnt that with technology you can do almost anything, if you feel a particular shot of one model doesn’t particularly look good with another it can be edited in a way to have them put together to create a new image and this is what I did with my main images. I learnt that with layers they create the effect of overlapping, I used this to the advantage of separating my images I came up with the idea to have the shoulder of one of the male models overlap the other to create a more realistic effect. By applying shadows to the image gave off the effect of it being their real existing shadow making the stand out on the page having more of a defined line around the shape of their body. I also learnt that even though when the image had been taken it appeared a bit dark in the face and with the use of technology the image could be made to appear brighter without affecting the consistency of the colour or the image as too much of this would make the image appear grey. With access to the internet I was able to explore understand more things in learning about technology; for example the use of Polaroids enhancing the creativity of my ideas breaking the image up with the use of a polaroid frame to create something new and different, from this I have learnt that technology provides a range of resources to execute the process of constructing a magazine to enrich its quality. With this use of technology I was able to create my very own barcode from scratch as well as creating my own smiley face as an artificial one from the internet wasn’t recommended therefore using the advantage of technology and the tools of the Photoshop software I was able to do this.

In addition, from the process of constructing my music magazine I have learnt that with technology I am able to manipulate images as well as text through apply font found from the internet downloading it and reducing and increasing the size of text and applying additional effects to it. By going through the internet to fine more advanced styles of font benefited the magazine in making it look better as the font styles built within the Photoshop software not to my satisfaction as going above and beyond in using the internet to find and create new ideas.

7) What do you feel you have learnt in the progression from the preliminary task to the full product the music magazine?

Over all what I feel I have learnt is the importance of camera quality where in the preliminary task I had taken the images with a phone camera the idea of taking images in relation to the magazine, as supposed to taking the images with a professional camera but at the time we didn’t have the skills need in taking images and to simply operate the camera. When taking the images for the preliminary task I had little understanding about camera angles and how it needed to be positioned and its effect

Christal Domingo

on the image, I found with taking the images on my phone decreased the quality of the image seeing as I had attempted to use images taken for my music magazine on my phone lowed its professional value therefore the images I had taken needed to be taken again. I learnt that with the professional camera it enhanced definition to their facial feature and made their faces clear.

Furthermore I have also learnt the difference between the two softwares used to create each magazine. With the preliminary task we used a word document therefore we had limited use of technological editing software to make the magazine look professional. To make the outcome of the magazine beneficial the right software needed to be used, whereas using photo shop gave us access to a variety of editing software to use to construct a proper magazine. I have learnt that the more advanced the technology the better the production of the product. I have also learnt the value of having a barcode and issue number during the production of the preliminary task this didn’t cross my mind up until I discovered that the barcode, price and issue number developed the effect of professionalism and the feel of it being official. My understanding of layout has developed as my research has helped me understand how and why the positioning theory is key as it is meaningful in terms of which areas of the page need to be where and its beneficial to general audiences for example having the masthead at the top of the page. The layout of the front cover of my school magazine doesn’t really look like a magazine neither did it look attractive , therefore as my knowledge of layout has become substantial as suppose to the way was at the beginning of the course because it has enabled me to broaden my skills in constructing a magazine. Overall I have learnt how to explore and experiment with different types of font, I found that I had a number of small images on my front page of which neither one of them was made the main image which made it slightly confusing as to what my audience was made to observe first. I learnt about the relevance of using a barcode and how to design one, also how to use proportion in utilising space on the magazine and editing images effectively; cropping, enlarging and resizing images but still keeping them image intact, eliminating the backgrounds and editing text.

Christal Domingo