Ben Field's Coursework Blog

Over the Course of the project, I feel my skills have increase considerably, allowing me to create my final product to the best of my abilities. My knowledge of the media business has significantly increased and I feel I know a lot more than I did at the start. I have enjoyed all of the aspects during this process and have achieved more than I thought I could and I really hope you enjoy reading my blog.

Evaluation Question 2 by Anonymous 68ngAWvUE on Scribd

Evaluation Question 2 by Ben Field on Scribd

Evaluation Question 1 by Anonymous 68ngAWvUE on Scribd

7.) Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product? Looking back at my preliminary task, I have realised I have come a long way. There are several features wrong with my preliminary task. The colour behind my main model is horrible, the text goes over my models face along with a horrible stretched font in black which in some parts makes it hard to read. I also included a boarded effect around the cover and my main model goes over that making the boarder seem useless and not needed. The masthead is really small and the barcode it massive. The contents page of the preliminary task is even worse. I have used a horrible front where the text is too big with no explanation below it so the reader doesn’t know what they are reading alongside the numbers which are slanted and makes the preliminary task feel rushed. The main model has some editing problems with part of the zip cut out with the hair looking rough and loo

What have your learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? For the majority of my time I was using Adobe Photoshop CS6 Extended which is the photo editing software I was using throughout constructing my magazine. I used Photoshop for my preliminary task and for my actual magazine. I experimented with Photoshop a lot and created a lot of draft versions of my magazine using Double exposure effects and cool clipping masked text to an image. This helped develop my skills in what I was aiming to do with my final product. I also experimented with different filters to use on my magazine which made my magazine unique and original. I also used Word to write up my double page spread and part of the research and planning. This is because I wanted to get my spelling and punctuation spot on with on mistakes. I used it for the research and planning because I prefer to do each post separately. I also managed to keep a word count and structure my writing before ins

How did you attract/address your audience? My target audience for my magazine is targeted at a male audience between the ages of 18 – 35, predominantly towards a male audience. I designed my magazine in a way that will attract a Hip –hop audience as well as a stylised/niche audience that will appreciate the styling of the artist on the cover. Having a male model on the cover would usually attract a more feminine audience but Hip – hop listeners are not usually looking for a female artist on the cover because it is a predominantly male industry. I used a colourful tone throughout my magazine as it is simplistic and minimalistic which attracts and engages an audience for Hip – hop. The first thing the audience will see of the magazine is the front cover. This is when I decided I need my front cover to look stylistic and attract the audience when on the shop shelf. I decided I needed my artist to look different from other Hip – hop artists which made my magazine stand out from th

Who would be the audience for your media product? The audience for my magazine will be targeted at a predominantly male audience between the ages of 18 – 35 who have a keen interest in the hip – hop genre and want to keep up to date with all the latest news and upcoming tour dates and events rappers around the world will be attending. Because my magazine is a monthly edition, I will be placing the price at the higher end of the scale at £6.99 because I feel that my target audience would feel happy paying that price for a Hip – hop magazine published monthly with a unique and original design. The reason I have not reached out towards a female audience is because there is a bigger male audience who listen to Hip – hop compared to female listeners. The readers will be interested in artists and groups who are new on the scene. Artists such as Eminem, 50 Cent, B.I.G would all be featured in my magazine, whether that would be on the contents page and on a double page spread or just on t

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? I believe the best media institution to distribute my magazine would be Townsquare Media. This is because they already distribute XXL Magazine which is heavily renowned. I think that my magazine would be perfect for Townsquare media because my magazine is stylistic and doesn’t look like anything on the market. XXL was like this when it was released in 1997 with the first issue featuring Jay-Z and Master P. XXL Magazine looked different from anything that was released at that time which made the magazine stand out to a new audience who were captivated by the magazine. I think it would be a good opportunity for Townsquare to distribute my magazine because they will be keeping the same genre of magazine which they already have, but my magazine will reach out to a more sophisticated audience for all genders. My magazine would be distributed the original way, eg, on magazine stands, in shops, newsagents or

How does your media product represent particular social groups? During the research and planning stage of my magazine, the audience research was a very vital process to make sure I represented a particular social group. This gave me a clear indication of the type of audience that would buy my magazine and have a huge impact on the type of genre my magazine would become, and the type of style my overall magazine would have. After I did research on Google Forms, I decided that my magazine genre should be hip- hop. I decided to include a male hip – hop artist on the front cover because there are not many female hip – hop artists because it is a predominantly male audience. Hip – hop is also a genre where female listeners would happily listen to a male hip – hop artist as much as a female artist. I was aiming at an audience between the ages of 18 – 35, even though my artist is 16 years old, I believe he will attract an older audience as much as a younger audience.  I also believe

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? During the research and planning stage I looked at various magazine models (Billboard, The Source and Vibe magazine) and looked at the graphology, the page layouts and the styling of the character. To achieve a similar product, I looked at a magazine that adopted specific properties which fit my idealised genre; for example, I used the magazine billboard to focus my attention on Eminem with his styling, positioning and clothing. Billboard was a huge influential magazine cover for me because   of their unique designs and their style they use on their front cover. I wanted to make my magazine name go down the left hand side of the page like the new issues of Billboard. This is because not many magazines have their title in a different position and makes my magazine stand out and look unique from others. I also experimented with text font for my title and wanted it to look like

Photo Compilation by Ben Field on Scribd

Throughout my coursework, I decided that my name was going to be The Heir. This is because my initial plan was to have my model sitting on a throne like chair with a crown on his head. This is because I looked at a lot of magazines that have these designs but none were the same as my vision. Whilst making my final cover, I realised that my name needed to change because my initial design changed and I wanted to change the conventions of a normal magazine cover and add something that hasn’t been added in before. This is why I chose to add a filter to my model in Photoshop and also position my model with a close up and only have his face and a bit of his body in frame to make my unconventional magazine. Alongside this, I tried to include my old title (The Heir) but it didn’t work with the font I was using. I was looking at Billboard magazine designs at this time and really like the title going down the side, ending with a tall letter with a flat surface. This is why I wanted to have a

 

Style of music - The style of music I will be doing is hip hop/ rap music. Hip hop consist of words chanted in a stylish rhythm. The components of hip hop/ rap include "content", "flow" and "delivery". The lyrics are performed in time to the beat and is occupied between a grey area of speech, poetry and singing. The genre is growing increasingly popular throughout North America and Europe with the domination of male artists, it caters more for a male audience instead of female. It is also one of the most listened to genre around the world according to a Spotify analysis of 20 billion tracks.

Institution that would publish my magazine: I am choosing Bauer Media Group as my institution for my magazine. This is because they have a very wide audience all over Europe and already publish huge magazines that have a similar audience. I think Bauer Media will love my new and inventive magazine which isn't on the market making it special and a one-off. This in turn will gain Bauer a lot of money and increase the popularity of my magazine and boost its sales.

Analysis of Colour Palettes by Anonymous Fa7VQJVVT on Scribd

Photographers - Anton Corbijn Anton Johannes Gerrit Corbijn van Willenswaard is a Dutch photographer, music video director, and film director. Most of his pictures are in black and white which gives the magazine a dull looking feel.

These are my favourite music magazine titles due to their colour and the simplistic but stylish look they give too their audience. I like the look of Billboard magazine with the colours in the title because it makes it stand out with the red, yellow and blue. The RollingStone title is nice with the font and the white outline, making it stand out and look nice. I think The S ource magazine title look ok but not amazing and doesn’t appeal to me as much as Billboard.

Clothing Hip Hop artists usually wear consist of a tank top, baggy jeans, glasses, a hat and jewelry (gold chain, watch Etc) - stereotypical. Some have tattoos on their arms and some wear suits when in a fashion shoot or in public. In these pictures, most of the famous hip hop artists are not wearing the stereotypical clothing. Some are wearing a suit, a leather jacket and casual clothing. Snoop Dogg is wearing jewelry with a gold chain around his neck. This is a casual look for Rappers and Hip-Hop artists.

I have had trouble deciding what my magazine name should be. For my drafts I am going to call my magazine "The Heir". This is because i like the theme of my main character wearing a crown or holding a crown to symbolize they are the "king of Hip - hop". This is just a first draft name and a draft theme to my magazine. I will expect my name to change in the distant future but for my draft, my name remains as "The Heir".

This cover is taken from Q magazine featuring Ed Sheeran with his guitar. Personally, I like the layout of the front cover with the writing all around the side and not completely covering Ed Sheeran. I like the different font used for his name because it stands out and is clear to the audience that this is Ed Sheeran if they didn’t know what he looked like. The text is also in the middle of the screen, making it easy for the readers to find the text. I like how different sections are separated using red lines coming out of the side of the magazine, giving it a nice feature and easy for the reader to tell where the text cuts off for a different section of the magazine.   I like that text overlaps the title because I haven't seen that before in a magazine showing it is original and new. I also like the “Essential” mixed with the red, making the text stand out and the white writing in the red circle seen by the reader. Overall, I like this magazine cover. I like how the tex

This contents page is taken from Q magazine. At first look, I think the layout is nice. I like that the features are on the left hand side and the main picture is on the right hand side coving up most of the page. I like the small picture at the bottom of the page is the Q review section and the small writing to the right of it. I like the way that it looks and I will incorporate it into my magazine.  I think the contents page looks dull and boring on the other hand because the colours used are the most common colours used in a magazine (red, white, black). The Colours do stand out and the readers eyes do move over to the section with the most colour, but because it is used a lot, it gets boring and it isnt original. I also think the pictures are boring and nothing is happening in them which doesn’t appeal to their audience. Overall, I like the contents page but wont incorporate much into my final contents page. I might incorporate the title of the contents with the issue n

This double page spread is taken from Q magazine. This double page spread is defiantly targeted towards a male audience with Lady GAGA in a revealing outfit on the left of the page. On the right hand side of the page, there is a big ‘L’ in bright red which takes up the main page. I like this and feel that it brings the double page spread some colour and makes the audience look towards the writing instead of at Lady GAGA. I like the amount of writing that Q magazine added but I am not sure I will incorporate that much and will probably use a lot let. The colour of the magazine is very dull with the colours of black, grey and red. The red is the only eye catching thing on the double page spread. Overall, I think this double page spread is dull and boring but I do like the massive ‘L’ on the other side of the page because it makes it look nice and stand out. It also draws the audience away from the main person on the double page spread.

This magazine cover is taken from Vibe which is a hip-hop, R&B type magazine. The main masterhead of the magazine is taken up by the main person Eminem. This could suggest the masterhead is a well-known name and doesn’t need introduction on what it spells out. It is also taken up because Vibe want the audience’s attention to go towards Eminem who is in an extreme close up. The main colours used in this magazine cover are red, white, black and grey. These are very common colours to be used on a magazine cover. The red stands out with the black and the white are the background colours. I personally like the layout of the text around Eminem because it is not covering his face which is the main attraction on the cover of the page. This magazines target audience will be towards fans of Eminem, and people who regularly subscribe to Vibe. I wouldn’t say the audience are viewing the cover as a female because Eminem is not known as a sex icon. Instead, they would view the magazine

This contents page is taken form the R&B and Hip-hop magazine Vibe. Personally, this is a very bland and dull contents page with the colour being grey and black doesn’t stand out to the audiences eye. It is also a very traditional contents page with the main writing on the right hand side and the main character on the left. Kanye West is the star in the contents page shown with a medium shot with a red love heart on his chest. I personally like the dark grey ‘V’ sign behind Kanye West because I like the aesthetic look of the contents. Overall, I will not incorporate any design of this contents page into my magazine because I find it too dull with no colour except for the red love heart. I think there is too little writing on the right hand side, and the picture is too big. 

Looking at this double page spread, I really like it. I like the picture on the left hand side with the retro speakers and Bruno mars. I also like the play on words with “when Mars Attacks” in an alien type font. I also really like the Vibe logo in top right because it is an aesthetic detail which Vibe have added to make the magazine look formal. I like the amount of writing on the right hand side and will incorporate that into my own magazine double page spread. I like the simplicity of the colours used in this magazine double page spread. I like the blue gradient used in the background compared to the white on the other page. This is because they are both light colours used and the blue and white look really good together. Overall, I will be incorporating a lot of this double page spread into my own magazine with the aesthetic logo in the top right, and the play on words at the start of the writing. 

The main image of Eminem is in the centre of frame with a close up covering the masterhead Billboard, drawing the audience’s attention to him. Because he is covering the title, this suggests Billboard is a well-known brand name and doesn’t need to be shown to realise what magazine this is. The black background draws the attention to Eminem and the writing around him. The white is very hard to miss as well as the yellow. Eminem himself looks calm and relaxed compared to when he was younger and looked angry and sweaty. He is also wearing normal clothing which doesn't make him stand. Compared to the stereotypical rapper who wears baggy trousers, a tank top, sunglasses and a hat he looks fashionable and modern. This portrays him as grown up and mature. The magazine itself doesn’t stand out to the audience’s eye. The magazine is using two colours which are the most widely used colours, making this magazine boring and dull compared to other billboard magazines.  The yellow is the

This contents page contains four pictures with a lot of writing. The contents page is split up into different sections which makes the magazine look neat and modern. It also makes the contents page more organised and easy for the audience to find what they are looking for. They have also added numbers on pictures to indicate where which page it is on. Some pictures themselves don’t have labels and it is hard to tell what they are there for. This is not a feature I like in their contents page because it would frustrate me to not know what is happening on that page. The colours used on this contents page is very bright and vibrant. There is a mixture of colours spread around the contents page to make the page less dull and boring. The same font is always used on the cover in the billboard title and then it is carried onwards into the contents page, emulating the house style of the magazine and connoting its simplicity. I personally like that they have added the Billboard logo

This double page spread comes from Billboard magazine. The colours used in this magazine are very simplistic. The modern font style with the black on white makes this double page spread look traditional and not original like the magazine contents and the cover. The main image on the double page spread is targeted for a male audience and some Katy Perry fans. This is because Katy Perry is wearing skimpy clothing and looking directly at the camera which is presented in a sexual manner.  I like the layout of the double page spread with the boarder across the top and to bottom looking modern and making the magazine interesting. Overall, I will not be incorporating the picture idea into my magazine because it sexualizes women and it would fit in with my genre of magazine which is Hip-hop. I will be incorporating the boarder and the black on white writing font because I think it looks modern and stylish. 

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In the next two weeks, I will gather my audience profile and I will complete my analysis of real magazine covers, contents and their double page spreads. This will help me gather ideas for my final product and allow me to begin the process of making my magazine.

This week, I will have completed my Flat plans for my preliminary, drafts and my final product. This will then allow me to prepare and start using Photoshop as soon as possible.

AS Media Schedule 2017 by neill ford on Scribd