The document provides details about the production of a music magazine by the author. Some key points: - The author researched conventions of other music magazines to incorporate into their magazine. - Conventions included color schemes, fonts, and elements like the masthead, cover lines, and barcode placement. - The author challenged some conventions as well, such as the strapline and social media link placement. - Inside pages replicated conventions but also added new elements like promotions and the artist's social media. - The goal was to produce a magazine that represented the hip-hop/rap genre and targeted younger audiences.

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and
conventions of real media products?
Before I produced my own music magazine, I carried out research on other music
magazines and the conventions they have used. My magazine has some of the
conventions of music magazines but challenges others. My music magazine contains
conventions of Vibe, XXL, and The source magazine
Some of these conventions include color schemes which I maintained in all my
pages- black, white, yellow, and red. I also replicated the same font styles from my
front cover to all my pages. These fonts are; Amperzand, fake smith, bad grunge
which I downloaded from dafont.com and I also used some ready photoshop font
styles like Arial and Arial black.

2. • For my front cover, I ensured I had the main conventions like; the barcode, social media links for the magazine which helps to build that personal
relationship with the reader, a date and price, mast head which is crucially important as it is the name of the magazine. I also added an issue
number, cover lines and strap lines.
The idea of using another image on the mast head
was influenced from how used the
microphone on their mast head.
The font styles I used was similar to
The reason I used this is because it is very
clear and outstanding
I placed my magazine’s
barcode the same as the
source magazine did but I
positioned m social media
different to my magazine of
inspiration.
From research, I found out that the mast head is the biggest and
most catching text on the magazine. It also gives an insight to what
the magazine is about or how interesting it will be.
My mast head “DOPE!” is an adjective and it means something
excellent, cool, outstanding or awesome. The reason I chose this
name is because after carrying out my research like survey and
questionnaire, I realized that the other ideas of names were not very
outstanding and did not really match the type of magazine. So I did
some brainstorming and realized that dope best defines my
magazine as it brings out how special or excellent the magazine is
and what it is bringing to the audience. The exclamation sign at the
end makes it sound exciting other than making it look like the name
of a drug as the word dope has several meanings.
Every magazine needs a strapline as
this makes the magazine unique and
different to other magazines. From
my research, most magazines turn to
have their strapline at the side of the
magazine page or close to the mast
head. Magazine targeting similar
music genre to mine mostly have
straplines like ‘world exclusive’.
I challenged other magazines by
making my strapline different.
“The rebirth of dope music” which
connotes that dope magazine brings
all the best artist with great albums.
So it is like a rebirth of something
amazing and also bringing back how
hip hop music should be but still
maintaining the music culture.
A main image of the magazine is the first
thing that draws the attention of a
consumer. I know this because of
research from questionnaires and survey
I carried out before producing my
magazine. The appearance of the image
attracts more people to buy it especially
the male gender as the clothing looks
provocative. And , most of the people
who my magazine is targeted at said a
sexy and informal main image will be
suitable for the type of music genre. This
the reason I used an image lie that.
Also, looking at and
magazines, their main image always
represents the type of music genre.

3. For my contents page, I replicated most of the things I already had on my front cover, like the font styles, promotion, and I also added page numbers, sub
lines to the stories on my front cover and a web address/social networking sites.
I also used another image of the artist gracing my front cover and mostly importantly the editorial which I used a friendly and polite language as it was
addressing the audience.
The main feature of my
contents page is the
celebrity who graced the
front over. This is because
the celebrity who is in the
front cover is always the
model of the main pages
of a magazine such as the
contents and double page
spread especially in music
magazines
The idea of
placing my
magazine name
underneath the
content came
from the XXL
magazine
From research, I found out that all
the cover line stories from the front
cover must be included in the
contents with a more information
added to it or sub stories. As you can
see above I have replicated this
convention to my contents page.
I also included an
editorial, my signature,
name and my website as
this build a good
relationship with my
target audience. I gave a
brief introduction to the
model in the front cover.
Most popular magazines
do not include an
editorial in their contents
page so this is what I did
different from other
media products.
I also added a promotion of the
magazine on the content page.
Music magazines rarely include
things like this in their contents
page. Bu the reason I did this is to
increase my audience since its my
first issue. It’s a method of attract
customers and also from my
survey research, many people
stated that promotion included in
a magazine will entice them to buy
it

4. The main image repesents what kind of
From research, I found out that the main
artist featuring on the front cover is always
the one on the double page spread, so that
is why I used Female Weezy as the main
image on this page.
I decided to present my story in a
3-column layout due to the way
that other hip-hop magazines do.
I felt that it provided me with
more possibilities to manipulate
the text around an image
manifested within the column.
I added a quote from my artist as I
found out from research that all
magazines do this on the double
page and also to let the readers have
an idea or hint of what is going on
with the artist. This quote was taken
from a line in the artist interview.
I added the social media links of the artist under her
main image in other to keep that personal
relationship between her and her fans. This is
something I did different to other media products as
they do don’t include their artist social media links
on the double page spread of their magazines

5. The immediate dominant for hip-
hop/ rap music has connotations of:
Powerful
Sassy performer – shorts unbutton.
Attracts the male gender.
Confident and posture.
How does you media product represent particular social groups?
As you can see from my front cover of my magazine, the representation is much
more seductive. The magazine is aimed at mostly the male gender and age 17-
25. This allows it to have a wide audience and there it represented the music
industry to appeal these ages. My masthead ‘Dope’ connotes several things in
the music industry such as; drugs, appearance, awesome things especially hip
hop artist who turn mostly to be drug addicts and have sexual appearances. I
also used hip-hop language throughout the magazine such as ‘cuz’ instead of
because which is popular amongst young people and also it makes the magazine
more interesting. I did this because from the research I carried out, I found out
that the type of music they listen to influences 60% of people’s styles. So mostly
people who listen to hip-hop music, dress seductive or like people with a style
like this are more likely to consume my music magazine. With evidence to back
this up, from my survey results based on my magazine, many people wanted a
sexy look on the front cover and throughout the pages as this represents the
type of music genre.
The sub stories of my magazine are hip hop/rap artists. For example the story
‘meek mill and Tyga rap battles ‘ already gives the audience so much information
of what they will be seeing in the magazine without reading throughout the
pages. So people who listen to hip hop/rap will be buy my magazine as they
would to be involved in what is going on in the music industry.
The interview with the artist represents this particular genre as down to earth
and up for a laugh. This also helps increases the magazine target audience to
people who are out going

6. What kind of media institutions might distribute your media product and why?
• Harris publication is a good example who would distribute my
media product as they produce magazines for similar music
genres.
• They are an American consumer-magazine publisher in New York
City, New York, that publishes over 75 titles including juicy, XXL
and king magazine.
• These magazines are hip-hop but also genre of music that target
a certain audience of young adults and also the male genre
especially the king magazine.
http://www.harris-pub.com/

7. What kind of media institutions might distribute your media product and why?
Spin media which is the company that own vibe magazine .
it might distribute my magazine as they as it also produces
magazines with similar music genre.
 L. Londell McMillan is the publisher of the source magazine which is
covering hip-hop music, politics, and culture.
 The publisher of this magazine might publish my media product
because it is based on the same genre and target audience are very
similar.
 The source also focuses more narrowly on hip-hop/rap music which is
the same with my media product.

8. Who would be the audience for your media product?
• The target audience for my magazine are teens and young adults. It is
aimed at students or young adults of the age who are young
professionals and want to read about the latest gossips going on in the
music industry. Also people who want to know about certain artist that is
why my double page spread is an interview of the artist gracing the front
cover. I used Slangs and other informal language as this makes it more
interesting for my target audience and also from my research, I found out
that these is the language spoken nowadays of young people and it is
used in music magazines producing this kind of music genre.
• From the questionnaire I carried out, many people are willing to spend
£5 or more for a good quality magazine music magazine in a month and I
believe that my magazine has those features. So my magazine is aimed at
people with disposable income that is why I set a price for £3.95. This
also comes from my market research the price of vibe magazines.
I am 18 years
of age. I am middle
class
I
socialize a
lot
I like hip-hop
/rap music
I have a
part time
job.
I like to read
magazines.
I use social
networking
sites
My magazine is aimed at ABC1 audience. This is the lower middle class and upper
middle class.
A- Upper middle class
B- middle class
C1- Lower middle class
My magazine is aimed at this audience because of their class. They can afford to
spend £3.95 on a magazine and items other than their necessities

9. How did you attract/address your audience?
• How my photo attract the audience.
• From research, I found out that, to attract hip hop/ rap , a powerful main image is
required. I used a good and seductive image to attract my target audience especially
the male gender. The unbutton shorts connotes that the artist is a sexy performer. Also
my images represents the hip-hop music genre from the type of clothes, jewelleries
and poses of the main artist in my magazine.
• In addition, the quotes which I used in the magazine such as: ‘Im not gonna hold back
too much’ leaves the audiences thinking of what the artist means by that and also gives
them the anxiety to find out especially for curious people.

10. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this
product?
• Photoshop is a computer based software which used to make my magazine. I never
used Photoshop before so completing this task was a big challenge for me. I have
learnt so much skills which enabled my magazine to look realistic. I can superimpose
photos onto one another, used editing tools on the photo such as magic wand, quick
selection too and magic eraser. I can also edit the text such as adding the ‘stroke’
effect or making it look faded. More so, I can download different fonts of the internet
and incorporate them into my magazine.
• Using these tools, I was able to select and image, the use ‘cmd + I’ to inverse the
selection then remove the background from the image. This made my product looked
more professional.
• I used the eraser tool to get rid of any errors that did not removed when removing
the background using the selection tools.

11. Word press is a website that allows anyone to create their own blog. I have ever made a blog before , so
during this media, I have learnt how to upload and categorize things on a blog. I also learnt how to upload
different materials like Prezi and slide share rather than just images.
Slide share . This is a website I knew nothing about previously. It allows a user to upload a PowerPoint then
embed links unto the blog page. I used this to insert my questionnaire and survey results onto my blog page
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

12. Photography planning-front cover
The first image I took for
my magazine. This was not
a very powerful main
image and also it did not
stand out.
This image was not clear
and also the hair was a
problem when removing
the background.
This is the final version of the
front cover. I chose this one
because it fits in well with the
text and also the type of music
genre. This photo was also a
photo shoot which looked more
professional.

13. Photography planning-contents page
The first picture I took for my contents
page. I did not use this image because the
I took out the background of the image, it
looked vey unprofessional. It did not fit in
with the magazine style and also created
irrelevant spaces.
The final image I chose for my contents page. This
was a photo shoot and also it is a very powerful
image. The pose and colors represent the type of
music genre. The facial expression and the
clothing represent social groups at which my
magazine was targeted at so that is why I chose
this image.

14. Front cover analysis
Color scheme of magazine
changed to black, yellow,
red and white.
Larger main image to
fill up the empty space
and increase the
dominance of the
image and article as
the MAIN FEATURE
and the most
important USP of my
magazine.
Included web address,
social media links, price
and issue number.

15. Front cover analysis
Puff to win an ipad
and free music
download is
another USP of my
magazine to attract
audience.
Mast head dope was
used to give audiences
a hint of what the
magazine is about and
I made the font really
big because it is one of
the important
conventions on my
magazine.

16. Contents page analysis
Added a subscription promotion in
order to encourage readers to buy
the magazine as it is its first ever
issue.
The editorial welcomes the
readers and also gives a brief
explanation of who features in
the magazine.
The signature of the editor and
her contact details build a
personal relationship with the
readers of the ‘Dope’ magazine.
Another image of the model on
the front cover to show that
continuity.
Sub lines( secondary stories)
from the front cover have
little details added to them
and also a page number so
that the readers will be able
to find these stories in the
magazine easily.

17. Double page-analysis
Positioned a unique quote to
keep the audience interested
with the interview and also give
them a window to ‘Female
Weezy’s’ world
Keeping to the conventions of a
magazine interview, I used a large
drop capital letter to start the
Introduction and Conclusion of the
interview with female Weezy.
Keeping convergence and synergy in mind, and to
promote the article, I placed female weezy’s social
networking links below her image so the audience
can play an active role in keeping up-to-date with
her and I also placed the magazines social Media.
I added text
encouraging the
readers where to
find the full
interview with the
model.

18. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have
learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
• I have learnt to use the pen tool and the quick mask tool to manipulate text around my
images in my work to a professional standard. Through practice, trial and error, and
training from the academy class I feel that I have been provided the skills to make my
work look like that of an existing magazine.
• I have also learned how to brighten images and manipulate them. There is evidence of
progression that I feel particularly demonstrates how I met the demands of the
production process, for example my double page spread originally had the
background which I took the picture at and it was a bright color so I removed the
background color by selecting the image and saving it the worked on the
background using the adjustment tools.
• Also I am able to take away background quickly using the magic wand and the
magic eraser.
• The use of keyboard shortcuts, quick mask tool and the pen tool have allowed me to
meet deadlines set for my production work and therefore meet the demands of the
process.