* Design * Development * Progression * Technology *

*EVALUATION QUESTIONS*

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Looking at examples of professional products such as RWD, I have used the template and design of their magazine as a guide to my own media product. Taking into consideration the use of various fonts, colours both complementary and contrasting, I have used this to increase the visual effect it has on the audience. Creating a media product that appeals to both sexes forms its own challenges, but after taking into consideration complementary colours tend to satisfy both sexes, it became easier to make use of. This also enabled me to manipulate various images in such a way that, the background colours worked sufficiently with the main image and text. During the production of my media product, I chose to look at not just music magazine but websites associated with Grime & urban music. As there is only one recognised magazine (RWD) I could use as an example, I went into extensive research to find out as much information as possible about the audience, what they enjoy, the most popular features and how the colour scheme represented both the genre and the audience in their social groups.                                                                                

Grime originated or emerged from the urban scene. It is primarily recognised as a development of U.K garage music. Artists such as Dizzee Rascal and Wiley were among the first to bring the genre to the attention of the mainstream media in 2003-2004, with their albums ‘Boys In Da Corner’ and ‘Treddin' On Thin Ice’ respectively.  After a period of time, Grime had now received exposure through the formation of ‘Channel U’ now known as ‘Channel AKA’, Kiss FM and BBC 1Xtra. BBC 1Xtra was purpose built for young aspiring talent to showcase their talents and music. In my magazine, I chose to feature an artist who fits the criteria of a Grime artist/listener. From this research, I was able to feature images and text fonts that open up the reader’s eyes to a world of entertainment, not just entirely on Grime but also Rap, Hip-Hop because Grime has evolved into a diverse genre. From this I then looked at magazines such as Vibe to grasp further information on layout & design.

The front-cover of my media product was designed to have professional features, integrating eminence and   well-defined distinctive content. The first distinctive feature is the masthead, the title of my media product, Disturbing London. The reason behind the chosen name is London is a highly populated city in which it is further identified as the capital of the U.K. The word disturbing has been used not to create a negative reading, but to enable the audience to think and gain an understanding of the sheer amount of talent there is to be discovered within the Grime genre. In addition, London is where Grime originated but through the inclusion of London in my masthead does not exclude other cities from buying the magazine. As I have previously mentioned, Grime is a diverse genre and this also has an effect on the magazine sales. For every city in which the magazine is sold, the name will change to the designated region. For example, if the magazine were to be sold in Manchester, the name will change to Disturbing Manchester. This is to give the reader a more personal relationship with the magazine, integrated talent within the region/city alongside the rest of the U.K.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Nevertheless, looking at the body of the magazine, the layout, I have designed it to look similar to the 100^th issue special from RWD. However, I have opted to feature more cover lines, excluding any open, blank space. This reflects the hectic nature of Grime music. This hectic nature will be something further explored in the analysis of my double-page spread. Moreover, I have chosen to adjust towards the generic conventions of mainstream media products in respect of my target audience and magazine. Reason being, challenging the generic conventions of current magazines is much more difficult in oppose to integrating original, fresh ideas into a recognised popular layout. For my front cover, I opted to feature an artist/image where the composition, lighting and mise-en-scene were completely different to the original product. After receiving feedback, I realised that much work had to be done, adjusting images in PhotoShop, so to make life easier; I used a high quality camera, a Canon EOS 45D to capture the images. In addition, the shoot took place during the day to increase the quality of the images and reducing the chance of shadows appearing unnecessarily in the background.  Additionally, the image is on that can be considered eye-catching especially for females. This leads to the theory spoken of by L.Mulvey (1974/5) Visual pleasures & narrative cinema. The theory presents women to be objects of male pleasure but in my magazine the opposite has been devised to allow females to take interest in the magazine. Also, ‘The Beauty Myth’ discussing the representation of women in popular cultural forms. I have also taken the perspective of a male and used this to re-enforce the appeal to females’ as-well. 

RWD was my main source of inspiration during the production period of ‘Disturbing London’. However, the original contents page was something that needed much improvement as, following the conventions of RWD, the layout was plain, simplistic and consisted of basic features. As a result in the final version of my magazine I opted to look to examples of products created and designed by fellow media students.   From this I was able to generate a rough plan of what I was aspiring to produce. In essence I focused on colour and image composition the most. Reason being, the amount of images used would be significant and would be needed to be positioned in such a way the audience will find them eye-catching. This technique of image composition was the result of re-search and taking into consideration various theorists. For example, L.Mulvey’s (1974/5) theory on visual pleasures and narrative cinema. I opted to integrate elements that would be having a direct link to the target audience in reference to fashion and colour schemes. Grime Daily uses a colour scheme of orange, grey and white. These connote virtue, cleanliness and this is something that would be implemented on my magazine contents page. Grime also follows a sub-genre of Rap. However, I didn’t take up the option of Rap conventions influencing my design process, as Rap tends to consist of half naked women, or men with tattoos all over their bodies. Personally, these conventions carry artificial elements which are something I wanted to avoid.     

Additionally, Grime originated from garage and during its emergence in 2002-03; there were never studio sessions, just a microphone and a basic mixer, so Grime is very much a pure, heart-filled genre of music. Presenting this purity would mean the fonts through to the size of the fonts and images would need to be extensively re-drafted, composed and designed to capture the pure essence of Grime. Moreover, I have chosen to comply with the conventions of current magazines and marginally adjust various aspects of my magazine to suit my target audience. These adjustments consist of the amount of images and the ratio of text to images.  

In current magazines, I found that one large image was used and the text covered a large proportion of the image.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

The double-page required a few revised changes in order to make it a quality piece of work that can be seen or viewed as a professional piece of design.  Additionally, I did not use much internet resources to view double page spreads.  From this I was able to generate a rough plan of what I was aspiring to produce. In essence I focused on the text itself, concentrating on the questions and answers but also where and how the text would be positioned on the page. Image composition would also have a significant place in designing the page. Reason being, the amount of images used would be significant and would be needed to be positioned in such a way the audience will find them eye-catching. This technique of image composition was the result of re-search and taking into consideration various theorists. For example, L.Mulvey’s (1974/5) theory on visual pleasures and narrative cinema. I opted to integrate elements that would be having a direct link to the target audience in reference to fashion and colour schemes. Grime Daily uses a colour scheme of orange, grey and white. These connote virtue, cleanliness and this is something that would be implemented on my magazine contents page. Grime also follows a sub-genre of Rap. Looking at interviews from Rap artists a lot of foul language, short sentences, utterances etc where integrated into the text which is something I would hope to avoid in my magazine.                 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

The double page spread has been composed and designed to capture the pure essence of Grime. Moreover, I have chosen to comply with the conventions of current magazines and marginally adjust various aspects of my magazine to suit my target audience. These adjustments consist of the amount of images and the ratio of text to images.  

In current magazines, I found that one large image was used and the text covered a large proportion of the image. ‘Disturbing London’ would consist of text being on one side of the page whiles the images take up or fill the remaining sectors. Another aspect of the text to be considered is that the covering stories explore men’s issues. This can be related to C.Geraghtys’ (1991) theory arguing media such as soaps/magazines explore women’s issues which are commonly stereotyped. In reference to my media product, I chose to relate it to men to emphasise its appeal to both sexes but preferably young males.

                                                                                                                                                                

How does your media product represent particular social groups? Disturbing London represents a specific social group. This social group consist of young males and females. A revised look over the female audience enabled me to realise that females make up a large proportion of sales and readership which could not be ignored. Nevertheless, taking J.Butler’s (1990 -1999) study on gender identity in magazines into consideration, he found that gender was identified as a social construct. From this I would look at including features that have a direct link to young people, such as large, vibrant text, fonts & most importantly images. Also, I would unquestionably be aiming to appeal to mainstreamers/conformists as it is evident that young people, males in particular don’t want to stand out from the crowd but alternatively aim at aspirers, those for whom personal status is very important. This can be portrayed through the excessive depiction of branded garments. Fashion plays a major part in young peoples’ lives on a daily basis and this is evident from my own research. Taking a college student as an example, out of 100 students, 60% are avid listeners of Grime and the way they dress reflects this. Young males and females are fans of Adidas Originals, Duffer of St.George, Franklin & Marshall, Ralph Lauren and Lyle & Scott. Additionally, looking at the Adidas’s We Are London campaign, various artists took to their hometown in which we were shown the areas they were brought up in and how they evolved into recognised artists. From watching this, I was able to pinpoint my social group target audience.                                                                                                                                                                                                                           The quality of the image does develop upon conventions of music magazines across a wide range of genres.  Furthermore, taking into consideration the theory of J.Berger (1977) the ‘masochistic experience’ I aim to develop upon this, enabling men to gain what they truly want, in oppose to information that will only bore them, such as beauty tips etc. This leads onto the theory of stereotyping, in particular the study on gender identity identified by J.Butler (1990-1999). This theory observes gender as a social construct and my media product develops upon this my identifying the origins of Grime music and where these artists emerged from, thus enabling me to reach out the young male target audience. Moreover, researches lead me to the theory of C.Geraghty (1991) upon media such as soaps/mags exploring female issues. I aimed to produce a media product that explores common points of interest amongst young people as a whole but mainly towards young males who make up a large percentage of Grime fans/supporters.  Nevertheless, the colour theme plays on the connotations on colours, such as orange connoting warmth, white connoting innocence and cleanliness. These have all been accounted for when producing my media product, putting me in a position to both develop & challenge current media products.       

My music magazine in reference to the contents page represents a specific social group. This social group consist of young males and females. A revised look over the female audience enabled me to realise that females make up a large proportion of sales and readership which could not be ignored. Nevertheless, taking J.Butler’s (1990 -1999) study on gender identity in magazines into consideration, he found that gender was identified as a social construct. From this I would look at including features that have a direct link to young people, such as large, vibrant text, fonts & most importantly images. Also, I would unquestionably be aiming to appeal to mainstreamers/conformists as it is evident that young people, males in particular don’t want to stand out from the crowd but alternatively aim at aspirers, those for whom personal status is very important. This can be portrayed through the excessive depiction of branded garments. Fashion plays a major part in young peoples’ lives on a daily basis and this is evident from my own research. Taking a college student as an example, out of 100 students, 60% are avid listeners of Grime and the way they dress reflects this. Young males and females are fans of Adidas Originals, Duffer of St.George, Franklin & Marshall, Ralph Lauren and Lyle & Scott. Additionally, looking at the Adidas’s We Are London campaign, various artists took to their hometown in which we were shown the areas they were brought up in and how they evolved into recognised artists. From watching this, I was able to pinpoint my social group target audience.                                                                                                                                                                                                                           The age bracket remained at 14 – 25+. I felt that after 30 years of age, people took to alternative genres of music as their prime interest. Jazz and Hip-Hop would be two of the main genres explored. As Hip-Hop carries elements of Grime it would be more understandable to analyse Jazz. Jazz fans/audience is represented to be of an older age, going into the 50+ age bracket. However, in terms of ethnicity in not just Jazz but all genres there are a number of ethnic groups that take interest.

Taking into consideration the theory of J.Berger (1977) the ‘masochistic experience’ I aim to develop upon this, enabling men to gain what they truly want, in oppose to information that will only bore them, such as beauty tips etc. This leads onto the theory of stereotyping, in particular the study on gender identity identified by J.Butler (1990-1999). This theory observes gender as a social construct and my media product develops upon this my identifying the origins of Grime music and where these artists emerged from, thus enabling me to reach out the young male target audience.  This is a development on the aims of RWD and also the website GrimeDaily.  Moreover, researches lead me to the theory of C.Geraghty (1991) upon media such as soaps/mags exploring female issues. I aimed to produce a media product that explores common points of interest amongst young people as a whole but mainly towards young males who make up a large percentage of Grime fans/supporters.  Nevertheless, the colour theme plays on the connotations on colours, such as orange connoting warmth, white connoting innocence and cleanliness. These have all been accounted for when producing my media product, putting me in a position to both develop & challenge current media products. My music magazine in reference to the double spread represents a specific social group. This social group consist of young males and females. A revised look over the female audience enabled me to realise that females make up a large proportion of sales and readership which could not be ignored. Nevertheless, taking J.Butler’s (1990 -1999) study on gender identity in magazines into consideration, he found that gender was identified as a social construct. From this I would look at including features that have a direct link to young people, such as large, vibrant text, fonts & most importantly images. Also, I would unquestionably be aiming to appeal to mainstreamers/conformists as it is evident that young people, males in particular don’t want to stand out from the crowd but alternatively aim at aspirers, those for whom personal status is very important. This can be portrayed through the inclusion or integration of text that comments on women/females, tours and album dates allowing the audience to become an inclusive part of the artists projects. Taking a college student as an example, out of 100 students, 60% are avid listeners of Grime and the way they present themselves and talk reflects this. Young males and females across London have more than definitely come across Grime music and artists, as they language they use in their lyrics tends to be grafted into the language of listeners. Additionally, looking at the Adidas’s We Are London campaign, various artists took to their hometown in which we were shown the areas they were brought up in and how they evolved into recognised artists. From watching this, I was able to pinpoint my social group target audience.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?  The magazine will be sold in all major book outlets such as WHSmiths, it will feature in commercial supermarkets such as Tesco and Sainsbury’s but most importantly it will be sold at music stores such as HMV. Reason being, there are 280 stores around the UK and Ireland offering a comprehensive selection of music, film, games and also books across all genres and platforms; a broad and growing range of technology devices and accessories; as well as artist merchandising and t-shirts, licensed products and fashion clothing ranges inspired by music and film housed within HMV’s newly-launched ‘Studio’ sub-brand. In addition, there is extensive access to artists and content through record label/film studio relationships and artist management. From this there are countless opportunities to interact with artists featured in Disturbing London, also maximising the amount of exposure the magazine receives.                                                                                                                                

The fact that technology in the 21^st century is being heavily embraced, apps on the iPhone, HTC, BlackBerry etc. will be introduced to allow the magazine to be viewed on the moved. This element of 24/7 round the clock entertainment will have exclusive benefits to subscribers of the magazine, as regular updates means the audience are never less than a click away from the latest trends, gossip and music downloads. In addition, as Grime is diverse, the magazine can be purchased in clubs, comedy clubs, festivals, and concerts. This in turn maximises the exposure the magazine gets and allows the music magazine to been seen and purchased at every major event taking place in the U.K.  This amount of promotion can be seen as a healthy way of gaining both revenue and readership thus making the magazine The U.K’s leading Grime and Urban music magazine, preferably unrivalled.

Taking into consideration how the magazine is positioned on a store shelf or counter, I would have the magazine somewhere along the middle row of the shelf. Reason being, the erotic segments are placed there to avoid young children from negative exposure. The bottom shelf is occupied by children’s magazines, allowing small children easy access to their beloved cartoon hero’s. The middle shelf seems most appropriate for Disturbing London as the target audience of a young age reaches an average height in which it will be more convenient to reach the magazines. However, the shelves may be in an unexposed area of the store so I would impose having a poster of large banner in the window of the store, alerting passersby of the latest edition/issue. Alternatively, allowing the latest issues to be acknowledged, I would consider having the front cover featured on public transport. Banners at the bus shelters, posters on the tube and the face of the magazine on the side of buses. This will become a major factor in the success of my magazine as London transport covers every inch of the city allowing the magazine to be viewed everywhere possible. Nevertheless, subscription to the magazine will be a vital part of the progress of Disturbing London. Bundles, in which a selected number of issues will be sold at a whole price, will be made available to the subscriber. These offers will only be made available to subscribers, so by including exclusive elements to the front cover/magazine resistance will be futile. A significant or substantial amount of the magazines income will come from subscription, as the profit made from whole sales will stand at a beneficial rate.

Who would be the audience for your media product? How did you attract/address your audience? Throughout the research period for my music magazine, I looked at various websites to aid me in targeting my chosen music genre. One of many websites I used was http://www.linkuptv.co.uk/ this website enabled me to view the comments written by various fans and analyse effect it had on the audience. In terms of text and language, I would use Standard English on the face of my magazine and contents. Within the contents and double-page spread, elements of colloquial language will be integrated. Looking at the study on teen females by A.McRobbie (1977), acknowledging that the conservative ideology that magazines promote gentility/domesticity, I would alter the ideology and conventions to suite young people as a collective not just appeal to one gender.

Representing young people can be considered a challenge to some, but as I myself am a young person, I found myself looking at or taking into consideration what I felt was needed to correctly define the youth market. These elements consisted of inviting colours, simplicity, and detailed information. Especially with 17 – 20+ year olds I found that they disliked vague information and this can be reflected through the detail Grime Artists lyrics. The depth and detail put into lyrics in Grime/Rap reflect the social struggles young people face and through compacted information on the front-page, the audience will feel they are likely to find a significant amount of features and interviews. Nevertheless, In terms of design I also looked at the face of albums/album art. This was to take into consideration the colour scheme Grime artists have opted to use to attract their audience. Looking at Tinie Tempah’s Disc-Overy, dark colours have been used to cause a desired effect. Purple has been used to connote wealth, something young people emerging from the Grime scene aspire to have. Blue has been used to present masculinity, whiles a blend of red and purple connotes the passion. Passion is something found in everyone, but amongst young Grime fans, passion is applied to everything they do. This is something I integrated into my own media product the main colour orange to connote warmth, giving off the sense that the contents are joyous, enjoyable and the audience will take to this positively as in a young person’s life especially between, 16 - 25 the life of a young person can be considered the best of their lives.                                                                                                                                                                                

Taking into consideration the examples of my fellow media students, I aimed to construct a media product that would compete amongst them. I have used elements of vibe magazine and my own design choices to create my contents page as I felt vibe, was more informative and consisted of easily readable text. Throughout the production period, I have learnt about the importance of using good quality image and how to manipulate it further, using Photoshop. This is evident by looking at the progress made from my preliminary task, where I used on the text and rectangle tool to form a base product. In reference to ‘Disturbing London’ I created a much more creative piece of work, using a colour theme that is eye catching and including multiple images, fonts and headlines. This is not only evident in the contents page but from the consistent improvements made to the magazine as a whole.

Disturbing London represents a demographic of young people aged 14 – 30. However the main age bracket I am aiming to appeal to is people aged 14 – early twenties. Reason being, people in this age bracket are more involved socially with Grime music. The contents of current Grime magazines such as RWD contain advertisements and promotions that appeal to a younger audience. For example, in RWD, there are various JD Sports adverts that promote clothing (Adidas Originals & Duffer of St.George) for a young audience. The models used are fairly young, possibly in their teens and this is something I would account for in my magazine.  Nevertheless, In terms of design I also looked at the face of albums/album art. This was to take into consideration the colour scheme Grime artists have opted to use to attract their audience. Looking at Scorchers, Concrete Jungle, dark colours have been used to cause a desired effect. Purple has been used to connote wealth, something young people emerging from the Grime scene aspire to have. Blue has been used to present masculinity; whiles a blend of a smoky background have been devised to add a sense of mystery and secrecy. Mystery is something found in everyone, but amongst young Grime fans, this essence of mystery is applied to everything they do. This is something I integrated into my own media product as a range of images are used, leaving the audience to wonder upon how many different apparels the artist has to present, giving off the sense that the contents are interesting, appealing and the audience will take to this positively as in a young person’s life especially between, 16 - 25 a constant change between moods, looks etc can be explored.                                                                                                                                                      

The garments Grime artists wear, would influence the way in which the models for the music magazine would dress, pose & be positioned. This is further emphasised by Grime Daily’s own segment called “CrepCheck” in which various Grime artist would be called upon to flaunt their latest clothing, designer footwear and accessories. These range from Adidas body warmers to Ralph Lauren polo’s, G-Star hoodies & Gucci shoes. This emphasises the transition that Grime has made, coming from the underground to becoming ever more recognised and up taking a more inviting, sophisticated appearance. This influenced me to include high quality images of artists wearing these garments, as the audience themselves are consumers of these designer products.                                                                                                                  

Nevertheless, In terms of design I also looked at the face of albums/album art. This was to take into consideration the colour scheme Grime artists have opted to use to attract their audience. Looking at Scorchers, Concrete Jungle, dark colours have been used to cause a desired effect. Purple has been used to connote wealth, something young people emerging from the Grime scene aspire to have. Blue has been used to present masculinity; whiles a blend of a smoky background have been devised to add a sense of mystery and secrecy. However, my double page has been devised to have a professional element to it, allowing people to understand and become part of the Artists aspirations and campaign. I am addressing my audience with a blend of colloquial language, integrating quotes from lyrics of various artists but also implementing the inclusion of formal language, so a high level of understanding is achieved. In addition the text fonts will be in correlation to the contents as the product as a whole, will need to follow a level of consistency and be understandable to a broad audience. Nevertheless, I aim to use Standard English at a distinct rate, as for my magazine to be embraced nationwide, I would need to incorporate language that can be understood across the U.K, not just by the youth occupying a proportion of London.                                                                                                                                                    

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?  The technology on offer has been unproblematic as I have become at ease with the various functions within InDesign & PhotoShop. In terms of learning and development I feel InDesign has become a much easier design programme to use as it requires you to only insert text, position text and images and alternate between base colours etc. PhotoShop has also become less of a problem for me, editing, sharpening & feathering images has been fairly straightforward. Using such tools as the magic wand tool has enabled me to enhance the quality of both my images and the final product. Looking back at the preliminary exercise I feel I have progressed at a substantial rate as I now know much more about using Photoshop, InDesign, elements of Photography, Magazine layouts and the creating and the design process of a music magazine as a whole. My first aspirations were to compose images of high-quality in order to generate or construct a magazine worthy of being put on the shelf, and with persistence and the help various students, this has been achieved in my media product. The process of design, research and construction amounted to hours of work, but overall I feel satisfied with my work as it lived up to my expectations and prospects.

However, even though satisfaction was achieved in my media product, I feel that I could have gone the extra mile by looking to do a lot more work outside of college hours. For my final front cover I looked to the software available on the Apple Mac, still using PhotoShop and InDesign as the soul software to design and configure my media product.  PhotoShop has been important in the shaping process in producing my media product as, I found myself needing to sharpen a number of images to fit the high-quality criteria. The images by themselves were of a high-quality but needed sharpening around the edges to fit the page comfortably and also adjust the lighting to increase the visual quality of the front-cover.   To sharpen my skills I looked to the aid of online tutorials but they were limited to the basics. So to improve I then looked to a companion of mine who studies multimedia technology and design at Kent University and he advised me alongside help me configure tools and make full use of what was on offer. This seemed to become a vital part of my development as I became ever-more comfortable with the programme/software. Now reflecting back on my final production of my media product I would say that there is clear evidence of progress and development, through the quality and sharpness of my work.                                                                                                                     

I also wanted to create a contents page in which common interest can be found, leading into the need to follow onto the double-page spread. The process of design, research and construction amounted to hours of work, but overall I feel satisfied with my work as it lived up to my expectations and prospects. In addition, I found myself committing to hours of after-college work on PhotoShop grasping every bit of experience, leading to a quality end product.

However, even though satisfaction was achieved in my media product, the contents page could be better if the on-site technology was up to date. For my contents page I looked to the software available on the Apple Mac, still using PhotoShop and InDesign as the soul software to design and configure my media product.                                                                                                                                                                       

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?   Throughout the construction of my media product there has I have very much gone through a learning curve. Looking at how to target a specific target audience has been something I have been able to refine/improve as I have come up with ideas to capture the interest of young people. Taking into consideration the embracement of modern technology and social networking, I implemented social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace having a strong link in my work. As social networking is very much part of the everyday lives of young people, it would make sense to have a feature in which people could follow the magazine through twitter and other sites. This could increase or strengthen the relationship between the product and audience. In addition, taking into account the various theologies that have value and meaning to my product, enabled me to create a media product that would work and not become negatively viewed, attracting an oppositional reading.  For example J.Winship (1987) study on mags, focus on competition and romance/women against each other. I used this but reversed the subject to male Grime artists, allowing there to be an inclusion of two artists going head to head. In reference to my front-cover I implemented this feature by including cover lines that promote competition amongst Grime artist and their respective fans.

I have learnt that a media product is more than an image decorated in text. There are various concrete elements integrated into a front-cover. There are also abstract readings that audiences make. These will alternate depending on the individual viewing the product. In addition these readings will have elements of social/background taking effect on opinions. Also, I have learnt that from Stuart Hall’s (1980) encoding/decoding model, that the audience will always have one of three readings, either negotiated, oppositional or a preferred reading. This can link to ideas on ideology, dominant ideas around race, class etc. This had an effect on the design of my front-cover as through the inclusion of a fashionable model, it will encourage the young audience to buy the products advertised thus increasing readership and revenue of my music magazine Disturbing London.                                                                                                       

One thing I thought I mastered was the demographic profile/social group clarification. I always aimed to appeal to mainstreamers/conformists as within this demographic you will find the majority of Grime fans lay. However, the artists themselves tend to range between aspirers and individualists, experimenting different trends and styles such as Tinie Tempah, revolutionising the face and apparel of Grime/Urban music.  Looking at how to target a specific target audience has been something I have been able to refine/improve as I have come up with ideas to capture the interest of young people. Taking into consideration the embracive nature of modern technology and social networking, I implemented social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace having a strong link in my work. As social networking is very much part of the everyday lives of young people, it would make sense to have a feature in which people could follow the magazine through twitter and other sites. This could increase or strengthen the relationship between the product and audience. In addition, taking into account the various theologies that have value and meaning to my product, enabled me to create a media product that would work and not become negatively viewed, attracting an oppositional reading. For example J.Winship (1987) study on mags, focus on competition and romance/women against each other. I used this but reversed the subject to male Grime artists, allowing there to be an inclusion of two artists going head to head. In reference to my contents page, I chose to include covering stories that would encourage and embrace the stiff competition within the Grime industry.

                                                                                 

I have learnt that a media product is more than an image decorated in text. There are various concrete elements integrated into a producing a quality, appealing contents page. There are also abstract readings that audiences make. These will alternate depending on the individual viewing the product. In addition these readings will have elements of social/background taking effect on opinions. Also, I have learnt that from Stuart Hall’s (1980) encoding/decoding model, that the audience will always have one of three readings, either negotiated, oppositional or a preferred reading. This can link to ideas on ideology, dominant ideas around race, class etc. This had an effect on the design of my double page spread as through the inclusion of interesting text pieces, it will encourage the young audience to buy the products advertised thus increasing readership and revenue of my music magazine Disturbing London. One thing I thought I mastered was the demographic profile/social group clarification. I always aimed to appeal to mainstreamer/conformists as within this demographic you will find the majority of Grime fans lay. However, the artists themselves tend to range between aspirer's and individualists, experimenting different trends and styles such as Tinie Tempah, revolutionising the face and apparel of Grime/Urban music. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Double-Page Spread

Question1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

RWD was my main source of inspiration during the production period of my media product. The double-page required a few revised changes in order to make it a quality piece of work that can be seen or viewed as a professional piece of design.  As a result in the final version of my magazine I opted to look to examples of products created and designed by fellow media students. Additionally, I did not use much internet resources to view double page spreads.  From this I was able to generate a rough plan of what I was aspiring to produce. In essence I focused on the text itself, concentrating on the questions and answers but also where and how the text would be positioned on the page. Image composition would also have a significant place in designing the page. Reason being, the amount of images used would be significant and would be needed to be positioned in such a way the audience will find them eye-catching. This technique of image composition was the result of re-search and taking into consideration various theorists. For example, L.Mulvey’s (1974/5) theory on visual pleasures and narrative cinema. I opted to integrate elements that would be having a direct link to the target audience in reference to fashion and colour schemes. Grime Daily uses a colour scheme of orange, grey and white. These connote virtue, cleanliness and this is something that would be implemented on my magazine contents page. Grime also follows a sub-genre of Rap. Looking at interviews from Rap artists a lot of foul language, short sentences, utterances etc where integrated into the text which is something I would hope to avoid in my magazine.  

Additionally, Grime originated from garage and during its emergence in 2002-03; there were never studio sessions, just a microphone and a basic mixer, so Grime is very much a pure, heart-filled genre of music. Presenting this purity would mean the content of the double page spread will need to have a direct link to the audience, touching on topics such as tours, album release days and also women. The double page spread has been composed and designed to capture the pure essence of Grime. Moreover, I have chosen to comply with the conventions of current magazines and marginally adjust various aspects of my magazine to suit my target audience. These adjustments consist of the amount of images and the ratio of text to images.  

In current magazines, I found that one large image was used and the text covered a large proportion of the image.  ‘Disturbing London’ would consist of text being on one side of the page whiles the images take up or fill the remaining sectors. Another aspect of the text to be considered is that the covering stories explore men’s issues. This can be related to C.Geraghtys’ (1991) theory arguing media such as soaps/magazines explore women’s issues which are commonly stereotyped. In reference to my media product, I chose to relate it to men to emphasise its appeal to both sexes but preferably young males.                                                                                                                                                               

                   

 Question2. How does your media product represent particular social groups? 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

My music magazine in reference to the double spread represents a specific social group. This social group consist of young males and females. A revised look over the female audience enabled me to realise that females make up a large proportion of sales and readership which could not be ignored. Nevertheless, taking J.Butler’s (1990 -1999) study on gender identity in magazines into consideration, he found that gender was identified as a social construct. From this I would look at including features that have a direct link to young people, such as large, vibrant text, fonts & most importantly images. Also, I would unquestionably be aiming to appeal to mainstreamers/conformists as it is evident that young people, males in particular don’t want to stand out from the crowd but alternatively aim at aspirers, those for whom personal status is very important. This can be portrayed through the inclusion or integration of text that comments on women/females, tours and album dates allowing the audience to become an inclusive part of the artists projects. Taking a college student as an example, out of 100 students, 60% are avid listeners of Grime and the way they present themselves and talk reflects this. Young males and females across London have more than definitely come across Grime music and artists, as they language they use in their lyrics tends to be grafted into the language of listeners. Additionally, looking at the Adidas’s We Are London campaign, various artists took to their hometown in which we were shown the areas they were brought up in and how they evolved into recognised artists. From watching this, I was able to pinpoint my social group target audience.                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

The age bracket remained at 14 – 25+. I felt that after 30 years of age, people took to alternative genres of music as their prime interest. Jazz and Hip-Hop would be two of the main genres explored. As Hip-Hop carries elements of Grime it would be more understandable to analyse Jazz. Jazz fans/audience is represented to be of an older age, going into the 50+ age bracket. However, in terms of ethnicity in not just Jazz but all genres there are a number of ethnic groups that take interest.

The quality of the image does develop upon conventions of music magazines across a wide range of genres.  Furthermore, taking into consideration the theory of J.Berger (1977) the ‘masochistic experience’ I aim to develop upon this, enabling men to gain what they truly want, in oppose to information that will only bore them, such as beauty tips etc. This leads onto the theory of stereotyping, in particular the study on gender identity identified by J.Butler (1990-1999). This theory observes gender as a social construct and my media product develops upon this my identifying the origins of Grime music and where these artists emerged from, thus enabling me to reach out the young male target audience.  This is a development on the aims of RWD and also the website GrimeDaily.  Moreover, researches lead me to the theory of C.Geraghty (1991) upon media such as soaps/mags exploring female issues. I aimed to produce a media product that explores common points of interest amongst young people as a whole but mainly towards young males who make up a large percentage of Grime fans/supporters.  Nevertheless, the colour theme plays on the connotations on colours, such as orange connoting warmth, white connoting innocence and cleanliness. These have all been accounted for when producing my media product, putting me in a position to both develop & challenge current media products. In addition the double page spread has been constructed on a white background allowing every piece of text to be easily read, images to stand out and promotions to be viewed with ease. This all adds to the experience of reading my media product.

Question3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

IPC's diverse print and digital portfolio offers something for everyone, with a focus on three core audiences: men, mass market women and upmarket women. Also, ‘Future plc’ would be another diverse printing company that will publish my magazine Disturbing London. The magazine will be sold in all major book outlets such as WHSmiths, it will feature in commercial supermarkets such as Tesco and Sainsbury’s but most importantly it will be sold at music stores such as HMV. Reason being, there are 280 stores around the UK and Ireland offering a comprehensive selection of music, film, games and also books across all genres and platforms; a broad and growing range of technology devices and accessories; as well as artist merchandising and t-shirts, licensed products and fashion clothing ranges inspired by music and film housed within HMV’s newly-launched ‘Studio’ sub-brand. In addition, there is extensive access to artists and content through record label/film studio relationships and artist management. From this there are countless opportunities to interact with artists featured in Disturbing London, also maximising the amount of exposure the magazine receives. Nevertheless, the fact that the magazine will be sold in HMV allows the audience to immediately acknowledge the quality of the magazine as, there are currently a limited amount of magazines that are sold but are not of common interest.

Where Disturbing London comes into full force is the diverse factor previously mentioned. Currently RWD magazine can be bought at selected JD sports stores. Disturbing London will also be sold at JD Sports but will feature online editions that can be purchased and viewed online on various websites. The websites consist of http://www.sbtv.co.uk/ http://www.grimedaily.com/ but also websites of artists that feature in the magazine and who are Grime artists. The fact that technology in the 21^st century is being heavily embraced, apps on the iPhone, HTC, BlackBerry etc. will be introduced to allow the magazine to be viewed on the moved. This element of 24/7 round the clock entertainment will have exclusive benefits to subscribers of the magazine, as regular updates means the audience are never less than a click away from the latest trends, gossip and music downloads. In addition, as Grime is diverse, the magazine can be purchased in clubs, comedy clubs, festivals, and concerts. This in turn maximises the exposure the magazine gets and allows the music magazine to been seen and purchased at every major event taking place in the U.K.  This amount of promotion can be seen as a healthy way of gaining both revenue and readership thus making the magazine The U.K’s leading Grime and Urban music magazine, preferably unrivalled. In reference to my contents page, the readers will be able to analyse every square inch of the contents page via the online resources. Looking at 21^st century technology, the audience are now able to pin point, points of interest in the magazine and for someone with poor vision, such tools can come in handy. In addition, the colour scheme allows easy sight and a consistent level of visual pleasure.

Question4 & Question5. Who would be the audience for your media product? How did you attract/address your audience?                                                                                                                                                                               

Throughout the research period for my music magazine, I looked at various websites to aid me in targeting my chosen music genre. One of many websites I used was http://www.linkuptv.co.uk/ this website enabled me to view the comments written by various fans and analyse the effect it had on the audience. In terms of text and language, I would use Standard English on the face of my magazine and contents. Within the contents elements of colloquial language will be integrated. Looking at the study on teen females by A.McRobbie (1977), acknowledging that the conservative ideology that magazines promote gentility/domesticity, I would alter the ideology and conventions to suite young people as a collective not just appeal to one gender.

Taking into consideration the examples of my fellow media students, I aimed to construct a media product that would compete amongst them. I have used elements of vibe magazine and my own design choices to create my double page spread as I felt vibe, was more informative and consisted of easily readable text. Throughout the production period, I have learnt about the importance of using good quality image and how to manipulate it further, using Photoshop. This is evident by looking at the progress made from my preliminary task, where I used on the text and rectangle tool to form a base product. In reference to ‘Disturbing London’ I created a much more creative piece of work, using a colour theme that is eye catching and including multiple images and headings. This is not only evident in the double page but from the consistent improvements made to the magazine as a whole.

This is a link to a YouTube channel in which, all the exclusive interviews, freestyles, acapella’s and much more.  This YouTube channel allowed me to analyse the different aspects of Grime music, from the immediate topic of lyrical content, through to fashion. The garments Grime artists wear, would influence the way in which the models for the music magazine would dress, pose & be positioned. This is further emphasised by Grime Daily’s own segment called “CrepCheck” in which various Grime artist would be called upon to flaunt their latest clothing, designer footwear and accessories. These range from Adidas body warmers to Ralph Lauren polo’s, G-Star hoodies & Gucci shoes. This emphasises the transition that Grime has made, coming from the underground to becoming ever more recognised and up taking a more inviting, sophisticated appearance. This influenced me to include high quality images of artists wearing these garments, as the audience themselves are consumers of these designer products.                                                                                                                  

Disturbing London represents a demographic of young people aged 14 – 30. However the main age bracket I am aiming to appeal to is people aged 14 – early twenties. Reason being, people in this age bracket are more involved socially with Grime music. The contents of current Grime magazines such as RWD contain advertisements and promotions that appeal to a younger audience. For example, in RWD, there are various JD Sports adverts that promote clothing (Adidas Originals & Duffer of St.George) for a young audience. The models used are fairly young, possibly in their teens and this is something I would account for in my magazine.  Nevertheless, In terms of design I also looked at the face of albums/album art. This was to take into consideration the colour scheme Grime artists have opted to use to attract their audience. Looking at Scorchers, Concrete Jungle, dark colours have been used to cause a desired effect. Purple has been used to connote wealth, something young people emerging from the Grime scene aspire to have. Blue has been used to present masculinity; whiles a blend of a smoky background have been devised to add a sense of mystery and secrecy. However, my double page has been devised to have a professional element to it, allowing people to understand and become part of the Artists aspirations and campaign.                                                                                                                                                      

I am addressing my audience with a blend of colloquial language, integrating quotes from lyrics of various artists but also implementing the inclusion of formal language, so a high level of understanding is achieved. In addition the text fonts will be in correlation to the contents as the product as a whole, will need to follow a level of consistency and be understandable to a broad audience. Nevertheless, I aim to use Standard English at a distinct rate, as for my magazine to be embraced nationwide, I would need to incorporate language that can be understood across the U.K, not just by the youth occupying a proportion of London.

Question6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

The technology on offer has been unproblematic as I have become at ease with the various functions within InDesign & PhotoShop. In terms of learning and development I feel InDesign has become a much easier design programme to use as it requires you to only insert text, position text and images and alternate between base colours etc. PhotoShop has also become less of a problem for me, editing, sharpening & feathering images has been fairly straightforward. Using such tools as the magic wand tool has enabled me to enhance the quality of both my images and the final product. Looking back at the preliminary exercise I feel I have progressed at a substantial rate as I now know much more about using Photoshop, InDesign, elements of Photography, magazine layouts and the creating and the design process of a music magazine as a whole. In reference to my double page spread, my first aspirations were to compose images of high-quality in order to generate or construct a magazine worthy of being put on the shelf, and with persistence and the help various students, this has been achieved in my media product. I also wanted to create a double page spread in which common interest can be found, also the audience can find it significantly insightful The process of design, research and construction amounted to hours of work, but overall I feel satisfied with my work as it lived up to my expectations and prospects. In addition, I found myself committing to hours of after-college work on PhotoShop grasping every bit of experience, leading to a quality end product.

However, even though satisfaction was achieved in my media product, the double page could be better if the on-site technology was up to date.

Question7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Throughout the construction of my media product there has I have very much gone through a learning curve. Looking at how to target a specific target audience has been something I have been able to refine/improve as I have come up with ideas to capture the interest of young people. Taking into consideration the embracive nature of modern technology and social networking, I implemented social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace having a strong link in my work. As social networking is very much part of the everyday lives of young people, it would make sense to have a feature in which people could follow the magazine through twitter and other sites. This could increase or strengthen the relationship between the product and audience. In addition, taking into account the various theologies that have value and meaning to my product, enabled me to create a media product that would work and not become negatively viewed, attracting an oppositional reading. For example J.Winship (1987) study on mags, focus on competition and romance/women against each other. I used this but reversed the subject to male Grime artists, allowing there to be an inclusion of two artists going head to head. In reference to my contents page, I chose to include covering stories that would encourage and embrace the stiff competition within the Grime industry.

                                                                                 

I have learnt that a media product is more than an image decorated in text. There are various concrete elements integrated into a producing a quality, appealing contents page. There are also abstract readings that audiences make. These will alternate depending on the individual viewing the product. In addition these readings will have elements of social/background taking effect on opinions. Also, I have learnt that from Stuart Hall’s (1980) encoding/decoding model, that the audience will always have one of three readings, either negotiated, oppositional or a preferred reading. This can link to ideas on ideology, dominant ideas around race, class etc. This had an effect on the design of my double page spread as through the inclusion of interesting text pieces, it will encourage the young audience to buy the products advertised thus increasing readership and revenue of my music magazine Disturbing London. One thing I thought I mastered was the demographic profile/social group clarification. I always aimed to appeal to mainstreamer/conformists as within this demographic you will find the majority of Grime fans lay. However, the artists themselves tend to range between aspirer's and individualists, experimenting different trends and styles such as Tinie Tempah, revolutionising the face and apparel of Grime/Urban music.

From extensive research, I found that media products have a significant impact on the way people lead their lives. T.Modelski (1990-1999) female media forms e.g. soaps/mags on women are stereotyped. For instance a mother stereotyped to patriarchy.  My music magazine, in respect to the contents page, would exclude many stereotypes however; it does play on the view that all young people dress in a particular way, excluding smart clothing, for more casual clothing such as polo’s, t-shirts, jeans etc. effectively to appeal to its target audience without discriminating against social groups. So this is an area I felt content with constructing and integrating into my work.  Personally I feel I am yet to explore the full works of Adobe PhotoShop, although I am comfortable using the software made available, I am aware that there are constant updates to the software allowing more creative, innovating designs to be made. So I feel that if this technology/software was made available, I could produce even better quality work to enhance the quality of my media product.

 

Contents Page

Question1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?       

RWD was my main source of inspiration during the production period of ‘Disturbing London’. However, the original contents page was something that needed much improvement as, following the conventions of RWD, the layout was plain, simplistic and consisted of basic features. As a result in the final version of my magazine I opted to look to examples of products created and designed by fellow media students. From this I was able to generate a rough plan of what I was aspiring to produce. In essence I focused on colour and image composition the most. Reason being, the amount of images used would be significant and would be needed to be positioned in such a way the audience will find them eye-catching. This technique of image composition was the result of re-search and taking into consideration various theorists. For example, L.Mulvey’s (1974/5) theory on visual pleasures and narrative cinema. I opted to integrate elements that would be having a direct link to the target audience in reference to fashion and colour schemes. Grime Daily uses a colour scheme of orange, grey and white. These connote virtue, cleanliness and this is something that would be implemented on my magazine contents page. Grime also follows a sub-genre of Rap. However, I didn’t take up the option of Rap conventions influencing my design process, as Rap tends to consist of half naked women, or men with tattoos all over their bodies. Personally, these conventions carry artificial elements which are something I wanted to avoid.                                                                                                                                                                                                

Additionally, Grime originated from garage and during its emergence in 2002-03; there were never studio sessions, just a microphone and a basic mixer, so Grime is very much a pure, heart-filled genre of music. Presenting this purity would mean the fonts through to the size of the fonts and images would need to be extensively re-drafted, composed and designed to capture the pure essence of Grime. Moreover, I have chosen to comply with the conventions of current magazines and marginally adjust various aspects of my magazine to suit my target audience. These adjustments consist of the amount of images and the ratio of text to images.   

In current magazines, I found that one large image was used and the text covered a large proportion of the image.  ‘Disturbing London’ would consist of text being on one side of the page whiles the images take up or fill the remaining sectors. Another aspect of the text to be considered is that the covering stories explore men’s issues. This can be related to C.Geraghtys’ (1991) theory arguing media such as soaps/magazines explore women’s issues which are commonly stereotyped. In reference to my media product, I chose to relate it to men to emphasise its appeal to both sexes but preferably young males.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Question2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My music magazine in reference to the contents page represents a specific social group. This social group consist of young males and females. A revised look over the female audience enabled me to realise that females make up a large proportion of sales and readership which could not be ignored. Nevertheless, taking J.Butler’s (1990 -1999) study on gender identity in magazines into consideration, he found that gender was identified as a social construct. From this I would look at including features that have a direct link to young people, such as large, vibrant text, fonts & most importantly images. Also, I would unquestionably be aiming to appeal to mainstreamers/conformists as it is evident that young people, males in particular don’t want to stand out from the crowd but alternatively aim at aspirers, those for whom personal status is very important. This can be portrayed through the excessive depiction of branded garments. Fashion plays a major part in young peoples’ lives on a daily basis and this is evident from my own research. Taking a college student as an example, out of 100 students, 60% are avid listeners of Grime and the way they dress reflects this. Young males and females are fans of Adidas Originals, Duffer of St.George, Franklin & Marshall, Ralph Lauren and Lyle & Scott. Additionally, looking at the Adidas’s We Are London campaign, various artists took to their hometown in which we were shown the areas they were brought up in and how they evolved into recognised artists. From watching this, I was able to pinpoint my social group target audience.                                                                                                                                                                                                                           The age bracket remained at 14 – 25+. I felt that after 30 years of age, people took to alternative genres of music as their prime interest. Jazz and Hip-Hop would be two of the main genres explored. As Hip-Hop carries elements of Grime it would be more understandable to analyse Jazz. Jazz fans/audience is represented to be of an older age, going into the 50+ age bracket. However, in terms of ethnicity in not just Jazz but all genres there are a number of ethnic groups that take interest.

The quality of the image does develop upon conventions of music magazines across a wide range of genres.  Furthermore, taking into consideration the theory of J.Berger (1977) the ‘masochistic experience’ I aim to develop upon this, enabling men to gain what they truly want, in oppose to information that will only bore them, such as beauty tips etc. This leads onto the theory of stereotyping, in particular the study on gender identity identified by J.Butler (1990-1999). This theory observes gender as a social construct and my media product develops upon this my identifying the origins of Grime music and where these artists emerged from, thus enabling me to reach out the young male target audience.  This is a development on the aims of RWD and also the website GrimeDaily.  Moreover, researches lead me to the theory of C.Geraghty (1991) upon media such as soaps/mags exploring female issues. I aimed to produce a media product that explores common points of interest amongst young people as a whole but mainly towards young males who make up a large percentage of Grime fans/supporters.  Nevertheless, the colour theme plays on the connotations on colours, such as orange connoting warmth, white connoting innocence and cleanliness. These have all been accounted for when producing my media product, putting me in a position to both develop & challenge current media products.

Question3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

IPC's diverse print and digital portfolio offers something for everyone, with a focus on three core audiences: men, mass market women and upmarket women. Also, ‘Future plc’ would be another diverse printing company that will publish my magazine Disturbing London. The magazine will be sold in all major book outlets such as WHSmiths, it will feature in commercial supermarkets such as Tesco and Sainsbury’s but most importantly it will be sold at music stores such as HMV. Reason being, there are 280 stores around the UK and Ireland offering a comprehensive selection of music, film, games and also books across all genres and platforms; a broad and growing range of technology devices and accessories; as well as artist merchandising and t-shirts, licensed products and fashion clothing ranges inspired by music and film housed within HMV’s newly-launched ‘Studio’ sub-brand. In addition, there is extensive access to artists and content through record label/film studio relationships and artist management. From this there are countless opportunities to interact with artists featured in Disturbing London, also maximising the amount of exposure the magazine receives. Nevertheless, the fact that the magazine will be sold in HMV allows the audience to immediately acknowledge the quality of the magazine as, there are currently a limited amount of magazines that are sold but are not of common interest.

Where Disturbing London comes into full force is the diverse factor previously mentioned. Currently RWD magazine can be bought at selected JD sports stores. Disturbing London will also be sold at JD Sports but will feature online editions that can be purchased and viewed online on various websites. The websites consist of http://www.sbtv.co.uk/ http://www.grimedaily.com/ but also websites of artists that feature in the magazine and who are Grime artists. The fact that technology in the 21^st century is being heavily embraced, apps on the iPhone, HTC, BlackBerry etc. will be introduced to allow the magazine to be viewed on the moved. This element of 24/7 round the clock entertainment will have exclusive benefits to subscribers of the magazine, as regular updates means the audience are never less than a click away from the latest trends, gossip and music downloads. In addition, as Grime is diverse, the magazine can be purchased in clubs, comedy clubs, festivals, and concerts. This in turn maximises the exposure the magazine gets and allows the music magazine to been seen and purchased at every major event taking place in the U.K.  This amount of promotion can be seen as a healthy way of gaining both revenue and readership thus making the magazine The U.K’s leading Grime and Urban music magazine, preferably unrivalled. In reference to my contents page, the readers will be able to analyse every square inch of the contents page via the online resources. Looking at 21^st century technology, the audience are now able to pin point, points of interest in the magazine and for someone with poor vision, such tools can come in handy. In addition, the colour scheme allows easy sight and a consistent level of visual pleasure.

Question4 & Question5. Who would be the audience for your media product? How did you attract/address your audience?                                                                                                                                                                               

Throughout the research period for my music magazine, I looked at various websites to aid me in targeting my chosen music genre. One of many websites I used was http://www.linkuptv.co.uk/ this website enabled me to view the comments written by various fans and analyse the effect it had on the audience. In terms of text and language, I would use Standard English on the face of my magazine and contents. Within the contents elements of colloquial language will be integrated. Looking at the study on teen females by A.McRobbie (1977), acknowledging that the conservative ideology that magazines promote gentility/domesticity, I would alter the ideology and conventions to suite young people as a collective not just appeal to one gender.

Taking into consideration the examples of my fellow media students, I aimed to construct a media product that would compete amongst them. I have used elements of vibe magazine and my own design choices to create my contents page as I felt vibe, was more informative and consisted of easily readable text. Throughout the production period, I have learnt about the importance of using good quality image and how to manipulate it further, using Photoshop. This is evident by looking at the progress made from my preliminary task, where I used on the text and rectangle tool to form a base product. In reference to ‘Disturbing London’ I created a much more creative piece of work, using a colour theme that is eye catching and including multiple images, fonts and headlines. This is not only evident in the contents page but from the consistent improvements made to the magazine as a whole.

This is a link to a YouTube channel in which, all the exclusive interviews, freestyles, acapella’s and much more.  This YouTube channel allowed me to analyse the different aspects of Grime music, from the immediate topic of lyrical content, through to fashion. The garments Grime artists wear, would influence the way in which the models for the music magazine would dress, pose & be positioned. This is further emphasised by Grime Daily’s own segment called “CrepCheck” in which various Grime artist would be called upon to flaunt their latest clothing, designer footwear and accessories. These range from Adidas body warmers to Ralph Lauren polo’s, G-Star hoodies & Gucci shoes. This emphasises the transition that Grime has made, coming from the underground to becoming ever more recognised and up taking a more inviting, sophisticated appearance. This influenced me to include high quality images of artists wearing these garments, as the audience themselves are consumers of these designer products.                                                                                                                  

Disturbing London represents a demographic of young people aged 14 – 30. However the main age bracket I am aiming to appeal to is people aged 14 – early twenties. Reason being, people in this age bracket are more involved socially with Grime music. The contents of current Grime magazines such as RWD contain advertisements and promotions that appeal to a younger audience. For example, in RWD, there are various JD Sports adverts that promote clothing (Adidas Originals & Duffer of St.George) for a young audience. The models used are fairly young, possibly in their teens and this is something I would account for in my magazine.  Nevertheless, In terms of design I also looked at the face of albums/album art. This was to take into consideration the colour scheme Grime artists have opted to use to attract their audience. Looking at Scorchers, Concrete Jungle, dark colours have been used to cause a desired effect. Purple has been used to connote wealth, something young people emerging from the Grime scene aspire to have. Blue has been used to present masculinity; whiles a blend of a smoky background have been devised to add a sense of mystery and secrecy. Mystery is something found in everyone, but amongst young Grime fans, this essence of mystery is applied to everything they do. This is something I integrated into my own media product as a range of images are used, leaving the audience to wonder upon how many different apparels the artist has to present, giving off the sense that the contents are interesting, appealing and the audience will take to this positively as in a young person’s life especially between, 16 - 25 a constant change between moods, looks etc can be explored.                                                                                                                                                      

I am addressing my audience with a blend of colloquial music, integrating quotes from lyrics of various artists but also implementing the inclusion of formal language, so a high level of understanding is achieved. In addition the text fonts will be in correlation to the contents as the product as a whole, will need to follow a level of consistency and be understandable to a broad audience. Nevertheless, I aim to use Standard English at a distinct rate, as for my magazine to be embraced nationwide, I would need to incorporate language that can be understood across the U.K, not just by the youth occupying a proportion of London.

Question6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

The technology on offer has been unproblematic as I have become at ease with the various functions within InDesign & PhotoShop. In terms of learning and development I feel InDesign has become a much easier design programme to use as it requires you to only insert text, position text and images and alternate between base colours etc. PhotoShop has also become less of a problem for me, editing, sharpening & feathering images has been fairly straightforward. Using such tools as the magic wand tool has enabled me to enhance the quality of both my images and the final product. Looking back at the preliminary exercise I feel I have progressed at a substantial rate as I now know much more about using Photoshop, InDesign, elements of Photography, magazine layouts and the creating and the design process of a music magazine as a whole. In reference to my contents page, my first aspirations were to compose images of high-quality in order to generate or construct a magazine worthy of being put on the shelf, and with persistence and the help various students, this has been achieved in my media product. I also wanted to create a contents page in which common interest can be found, leading into the need to follow onto the double-page spread. The process of design, research and construction amounted to hours of work, but overall I feel satisfied with my work as it lived up to my expectations and prospects. In addition, I found myself committing to hours of after-college work on PhotoShop grasping every bit of experience, leading to a quality end product.

However, even though satisfaction was achieved in my media product, the contents page could be better if the on-site technology was up to date. For my contents page I looked to the software available on the Apple Mac, still using PhotoShop and InDesign as the soul software to design and configure my media product.

Question7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Throughout the construction of my media product there has I have very much gone through a learning curve. Looking at how to target a specific target audience has been something I have been able to refine/improve as I have come up with ideas to capture the interest of young people. Taking into consideration the embracive nature of modern technology and social networking, I implemented social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace having a strong link in my work. As social networking is very much part of the everyday lives of young people, it would make sense to have a feature in which people could follow the magazine through twitter and other sites. This could increase or strengthen the relationship between the product and audience. In addition, taking into account the various theologies that have value and meaning to my product, enabled me to create a media product that would work and not become negatively viewed, attracting an oppositional reading. For example J.Winship (1987) study on mags, focus on competition and romance/women against each other. I used this but reversed the subject to male Grime artists, allowing there to be an inclusion of two artists going head to head. In reference to my contents page, I chose to include covering stories that would encourage and embrace the stiff competition within the Grime industry.

                                                                                 

I have learnt that a media product is more than an image decorated in text. There are various concrete elements integrated into a producing a quality, appealing contents page. There are also abstract readings that audiences make. These will alternate depending on the individual viewing the product. In addition these readings will have elements of social/background taking effect on opinions. Also, I have learnt that from Stuart Hall’s (1980) encoding/decoding model, that the audience will always have one of three readings, either negotiated, oppositional or a preferred reading. This can link to ideas on ideology, dominant ideas around race, class etc. This had an effect on the design of my contents page as through the inclusion of a fashionable models and additional text, it will encourage the young audience to buy the products advertised thus increasing readership and revenue of my music magazine Disturbing London. One thing I thought I mastered was the demographic profile/social group clarification. I always aimed to appeal to mainstreamer/conformists as within this demographic you will find the majority of Grime fans lay. However, the artists themselves tend to range between aspirer's and individualists, experimenting different trends and styles such as Tinie Tempah, revolutionising the face and apparel of Grime/Urban music.

                                                                                                      

From extensive research, I found that media products have a significant impact on the way people lead their lives. T.Modelski (1990-1999) female media forms e.g. soaps/mags on women are stereotyped. For instance a mother stereotyped to patriarchy.  My music magazine, in respect to the contents page, would exclude many stereotypes however; it does play on the view that all young people dress in a particular way, excluding smart clothing, for more casual clothing such as polo’s, t-shirts, jeans etc. effectively to appeal to its target audience without discriminating against social groups. So this is an area I felt content with constructing and integrating into my work.  Personally I feel I am yet to explore the full works of Adobe PhotoShop, although I am comfortable using the software made available, I am aware that there are constant updates to the software allowing more creative, innovating designs to be made. So I feel that if this technology/software was made available, I could produce even better quality work to enhance the quality of my media product.

Key Questions for Blogging Entry

Question1.                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Looking at examples of professional products such as RWD, I have used the template and design of their magazine as a guide to my own media product. Taking into consideration the use of various fonts, colours both complementary and contrasting, I have used this to increase the visual effect it has on the audience. Creating a media product that appeals to both sexes forms its own challenges, but after taking into consideration complementary colours tend to satisfy both sexes, it became easier to make use of. This also enabled me to manipulate various images in such a way that, the background colours worked sufficiently with the main image and text.  During the production of my media product, I chose to look at not just music magazine but websites associated with Grime & urban music. As there is only one recognised magazine (RWD) I could use as an example, I went into extensive research to find out as much information as possible about the audience, what they enjoy, the most popular features and how the colour scheme represented both the genre and the audience in their social groups.             

                                                                                                                                                                     

Grime originated or emerged from the urban scene. It is primarily recognised as a development of U.K garage music. Artists such as Dizzee Rascal and Wiley were among the first to bring the genre to the attention of the mainstream media in 2003-2004, with their albums ‘Boy in da Corner’ and ‘Treddin' on Thin Ice’ respectively.  After a period of time, Grime had now received exposure through the formation of ‘Channel U’ now known as ‘Channel AKA’, Kiss FM and BBC 1Xtra. BBC 1Xtra was purpose built for young aspiring talent to showcase their talents and music. In my magazine, I chose to feature an artist who fits the criteria of a Grime artist/listener. From this research, I was able to feature images and text fonts that open up the reader’s eyes to a world of entertainment, not just entirely on Grime but also Rap, Hip-Hop because Grime has evolved into a diverse genre. From this I then looked at magazines such as Vibe to grasp further information on layout & design.

The front-cover of my media product was designed to have professional features, integrating eminence and   well-defined distinctive content. The first distinctive feature is the masthead, the title of my media product, Disturbing London. The reason behind the chosen name is London is a highly populated city in which it is further identified as the capital of the U.K. The word disturbing has been used not to create a negative reading, but to enable the audience to think and gain an understanding of the sheer amount of talent there is to be discovered within the Grime genre. In addition, London is where Grime originated but through the inclusion of London in my masthead does not exclude other cities from buying the magazine. As I have previously mentioned, Grime is a diverse genre and this also has an effect on the magazine sales. For every city in which the magazine is sold, the name will change to the designated region. For example, if the magazine were to be sold in Manchester, the name will change to Disturbing Manchester. This is to give the reader a more personal relationship with the magazine, integrated talent within the region/city alongside the rest of the U.K.                                                                                                                                                                                              

Nevertheless, looking at the body of the magazine, the layout, I have designed it to look similar to the 100^th issue special from RWD. However, I have opted to feature more cover lines, excluding any open, blank space. This reflects the hectic nature of Grime music. This hectic nature will be something further explored in the analysis of my double-page spread. 

Moreover, I have chosen to adjust towards the generic conventions of mainstream media products in respect of my target audience and magazine. Reason being, challenging the generic conventions of current magazines is much more difficult in oppose to integrating original, fresh ideas into a recognised popular layout. For my front cover, I opted to feature an artist/image where the composition, lighting and mise-en-scene were completely different to the original product. After receiving feedback, I realised that much work had to be done, adjusting images in PhotoShop, so to make life easier; I used a high quality camera, a Canon EOS 45D to capture the images. In addition, the shoot took place during the day to increase the quality of the images and reducing the chance of shadows appearing unnecessarily in the background.  Additionally, the image is on that can be considered eye-catching especially for females. This leads to the theory spoken of by L.Mulvey (1974/5) Visual pleasures & narrative cinema. The theory presents women to be objects of male pleasure but in my magazine the opposite has been devised to allow females to take interest in the magazine. Also, ‘The Beauty Myth’ discussing the representation of women in popular cultural forms. I have also taken the perspective of a male and used this to re-enforce the appeal to females’ as-well. 

Question2.                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Disturbing London represents a specific social group. This social group consist of young males and females. A revised look over the female audience enabled me to realise that females make up a large proportion of sales and readership which could not be ignored. Nevertheless, taking J.Butler’s (1990 -1999) study on gender identity in magazines into consideration, he found that gender was identified as a social construct. From this I would look at including features that have a direct link to young people, such as large, vibrant text, fonts & most importantly images. Also, I would unquestionably be aiming to appeal to mainstreamers/conformists as it is evident that young people, males in particular don’t want to stand out from the crowd but alternatively aim at aspirers, those for whom personal status is very important. This can be portrayed through the excessive depiction of branded garments. Fashion plays a major part in young peoples’ lives on a daily basis and this is evident from my own research. Taking a college student as an example, out of 100 students, 60% are avid listeners of Grime and the way they dress reflects this. Young males and females are fans of Adidas Originals, Duffer of St.George, Franklin & Marshall, Ralph Lauren and Lyle & Scott. Additionally, looking at the Adidas’s We Are London campaign, various artists took to their hometown in which we were shown the areas they were brought up in and how they evolved into recognised artists. From watching this, I was able to pinpoint my social group target audience.                                                                                                                                                                                                                           The age bracket remained at 14 – 25+. I felt that after 30 years of age, people took to alternative genres of music as their prime interest. Jazz and Hip-Hop would be two of the main genres explored. As Hip-Hop carries elements of Grime it would be more understandable to analyse Jazz. Jazz fans/audience is represented to be of an older age, going into the 50+ age bracket. However, in terms of ethnicity in not just Jazz but all genres there are a number of ethnic groups that take interest.

The quality of the image does develop upon conventions of music magazines across a wide range of genres.  Furthermore, taking into consideration the theory of J.Berger (1977) the ‘masochistic experience’ I aim to develop upon this, enabling men to gain what they truly want, in oppose to information that will only bore them, such as beauty tips etc. This leads onto the theory of stereotyping, in particular the study on gender identity identified by J.Butler (1990-1999). This theory observes gender as a social construct and my media product develops upon this my identifying the origins of Grime music and where these artists emerged from, thus enabling me to reach out the young male target audience.  This is a development on the aims of RWD and also the website GrimeDaily.  Moreover, researches lead me to the theory of C.Geraghty (1991) upon media such as soaps/mags exploring female issues. I aimed to produce a media product that explores common points of interest amongst young people as a whole but mainly towards young males who make up a large percentage of Grime fans/supporters.  Nevertheless, the colour theme plays on the connotations on colours, such as orange connoting warmth, white connoting innocence and cleanliness. These have all been accounted for when producing my media product, putting me in a position to both develop & challenge current media products.       

Question3.                                                                                                                                                                          

IPC's diverse print and digital portfolio offers something for everyone, with a focus on three core audiences: men, mass market women and upmarket women. Also, ‘Future plc’ would be another diverse printing company that will publish my magazine Disturbing London. The magazine will be sold in all major book outlets such as WHSmiths, it will feature in commercial supermarkets such as Tesco and Sainsbury’s but most importantly it will be sold at music stores such as HMV. Reason being, there are 280 stores around the UK and Ireland offering a comprehensive selection of music, film, games and also books across all genres and platforms; a broad and growing range of technology devices and accessories; as well as artist merchandising and t-shirts, licensed products and fashion clothing ranges inspired by music and film housed within HMV’s newly-launched ‘Studio’ sub-brand. In addition, there is extensive access to artists and content through record label/film studio relationships and artist management. From this there are countless opportunities to interact with artists featured in Disturbing London, also maximising the amount of exposure the magazine receives. Nevertheless, the fact that the magazine will be sold in HMV allows the audience to immediately acknowledge the quality of the magazine as, there are currently a limited amount of magazines that are sold but are not of common interest.

Where Disturbing London comes into full force is the diverse factor previously mentioned. Currently RWD magazine can be bought at selected JD sports stores. Disturbing London will also be sold at JD Sports but will feature online editions that can be purchased and viewed online on various websites. The websites consist of http://www.sbtv.co.uk/ http://www.grimedaily.com/ but also websites of artists that feature in the magazine and who are Grime artists. The fact that technology in the 21^st century is being heavily embraced, apps on the iPhone, HTC, BlackBerry etc. will be introduced to allow the magazine to be viewed on the moved. This element of 24/7 round the clock entertainment will have exclusive benefits to subscribers of the magazine, as regular updates means the audience are never less than a click away from the latest trends, gossip and music downloads. In addition, as Grime is diverse, the magazine can be purchased in clubs, comedy clubs, festivals, and concerts. This in turn maximises the exposure the magazine gets and allows the music magazine to been seen and purchased at every major event taking place in the U.K.  This amount of promotion can be seen as a healthy way of gaining both revenue and readership thus making the magazine The U.K’s leading Grime and Urban music magazine, preferably unrivalled.

Taking into consideration how the magazine is positioned on a store shelf or counter, I would have the magazine somewhere along the middle row of the shelf. Reason being, the erotic segments are placed there to avoid young children from negative exposure. The bottom shelf is occupied by children’s magazines, allowing small children easy access to their beloved cartoon hero’s. The middle shelf seems most appropriate for Disturbing London as the target audience of a young age reaches an average height in which it will be more convenient to reach the magazines. However, the shelves may be in an unexposed area of the store so I would impose having a poster of large banner in the window of the store, alerting passersby of the latest edition/issue. Alternatively, allowing the latest issues to be acknowledged, I would consider having the front cover featured on public transport. Banners at the bus shelters, posters on the tube and the face of the magazine on the side of buses. This will become a major factor in the success of my magazine as London transport covers every inch of the city allowing the magazine to be viewed everywhere possible. Nevertheless, subscription to the magazine will be a vital part of the progress of Disturbing London. Bundles, in which a selected number of issues will be sold at a whole price, will be made available to the subscriber. These offers will only be made available to subscribers, so by including exclusive elements to the front cover/magazine resistance will be futile. A significant or substantial amount of the magazines income will come from subscription, as the profit made from whole sales will stand at a beneficial rate.

Question4&5.                                                                                                                                                                                       

Throughout the research period for my music magazine, I looked at various websites to aid me in targeting my chosen music genre. One of many websites I used was http://www.linkuptv.co.uk/ this website enabled me to view the comments written by various fans and analyse effect it had on the audience. In terms of text and language, I would use Standard English on the face of my magazine and contents. Within the contents and double-page spread, elements of colloquial language will be integrated. Looking at the study on teen females by A.McRobbie (1977), acknowledging that the conservative ideology that magazines promote gentility/domesticity, I would alter the ideology and conventions to suite young people as a collective not just appeal to one gender.

Representing young people can be considered a challenge to some, but as I myself am a young person, I found myself looking at or taking into consideration what I felt was needed to correctly define the youth market. These elements consisted of inviting colours, simplicity, and detailed information. Especially with 17 – 20+ year olds I found that they disliked vague information and this can be reflected through the detail Grime Artists lyrics. The depth and detail put into lyrics in Grime/Rap reflect the social struggles young people face and through compacted information on the front-page, the audience will feel they are likely to find a significant amount of features and interviews. Nevertheless, In terms of design I also looked at the face of albums/album art. This was to take into consideration the colour scheme Grime artists have opted to use to attract their audience. Looking at Tinie Tempah’s Disc-Overy, dark colours have been used to cause a desired effect. Purple has been used to connote wealth, something young people emerging from the Grime scene aspire to have. Blue has been used to present masculinity, whiles a blend of red and purple connotes the passion. Passion is something found in everyone, but amongst young Grime fans, passion is applied to everything they do. This is something I integrated into my own media product the main colour orange to connote warmth, giving off the sense that the contents are joyous, enjoyable and the audience will take to this positively as in a young person’s life especially between, 16 - 25 the life of a young person can be considered the best of their lives.  

Question6.                                                                                                                                                                             

The technology on offer has been unproblematic as I have become at ease with the various functions within InDesign & PhotoShop. In terms of learning and development I feel InDesign has become a much easier design programme to use as it requires you to only insert text, position text and images and alternate between base colours etc. PhotoShop has also become less of a problem for me, editing, sharpening & feathering images has been fairly straightforward. Using such tools as the magic wand tool has enabled me to enhance the quality of both my images and the final product. Looking back at the preliminary exercise I feel I have progressed at a substantial rate as I now know much more about using Photoshop, InDesign, elements of Photography, Magazine layouts and the creating and the design process of a music magazine as a whole. My first aspirations were to compose images of high-quality in order to generate or construct a magazine worthy of being put on the shelf, and with persistence and the help various students, this has been achieved in my media product. The process of design, research and construction amounted to hours of work, but overall I feel satisfied with my work as it lived up to my expectations and prospects.

However, even though satisfaction was achieved in my media product, I feel that I could have gone the extra mile by looking to do a lot more work outside of college hours. For my final front cover I looked to the software available on the Apple Mac, still using PhotoShop and InDesign as the soul software to design and configure my media product.                                                              

PhotoShop has been important in the shaping process in producing my media product as, I found myself needing to sharpen a number of images to fit the high-quality criteria. The images by themselves were of a high-quality but needed sharpening around the edges to fit the page comfortably and also adjust the lighting to increase the visual quality of the front-cover.   To sharpen my skills I looked to the aid of online tutorials but they were limited to the basics. So to improve I then looked to a companion of mine who studies multimedia technology and design at Kent University and he advised me alongside help me configure tools and make full use of what was on offer. This seemed to become a vital part of my development as I became ever-more comfortable with the programme/software. Now reflecting back on my final production of my media product I would say that there is clear evidence of progress and development, through the quality and sharpness of my work. Throughout the construction phase, I have learnt the there are many elements that need to be integrated into a media product, to consider it a success. Photoshop presents its own challenges & complications, as the editing tools are at times too intricate to control. Nevertheless, precision, patience & tolerance have to be adapted to your mindset during construction as, the product as a whole has to meet a professional criterion. However, once you have reached a proficient level of design etc. It becomes easier to use and it becomes evident in the media product final piece.  In addition, a balance needs to be found between construction and the thought process. Personally, I chose to brainstorm ideas then select the ones that could be integrated or put into action without significant complications. This enabled me to construct and design the front-cover with minimal inconvenience.

.

Question7.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Throughout the construction of my media product there has I have very much gone through a learning curve. Looking at how to target a specific target audience has been something I have been able to refine/improve as I have come up with ideas to capture the interest of young people. Taking into consideration the embracive nature of modern technology and social networking, I implemented social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace having a strong link in my work. As social networking is very much part of the everyday lives of young people, it would make sense to have a feature in which people could follow the magazine through twitter and other sites. This could increase or strengthen the relationship between the product and audience. In addition, taking into account the various theologies that have value and meaning to my product, enabled me to create a media product that would work and not become negatively viewed, attracting an oppositional reading. For example J.Winship (1987) study on mags, focus on competition and romance/women against each other. I used this but reversed the subject to male Grime artists, allowing there to be an inclusion of two artists going head to head. In reference to my front-cover I implemented this feature by including cover lines that promote competition amongst Grime artist and their respective fans.

                                                                                 

I have learnt that a media product is more than an image decorated in text. There are various concrete elements integrated into a front-cover. There are also abstract readings that audiences make. These will alternate depending on the individual viewing the product. In addition these readings will have elements of social/background taking effect on opinions. Also, I have learnt that from Stuart Hall’s (1980) encoding/decoding model, that the audience will always have one of three readings, either negotiated, oppositional or a preferred reading. This can link to ideas on ideology, dominant ideas around race, class etc. This had an effect on the design of my front-cover as through the inclusion of a fashionable model, it will encourage the young audience to buy the products advertised thus increasing readership and revenue of my music magazine Disturbing London. One thing I thought I mastered was the demographic profile/social group clarification. I always aimed to appeal to mainstreamer/conformists as within this demographic you will find the majority of Grime fans lay. However, the artists themselves tend to range between aspirer's and individualists, experimenting different trends and styles such as Tinie Tempah, revolutionising the face and apparel of Grime/Urban music.

                                                                                                      

From extensive research, I found that media products have a significant impact on the way people lead their lives. T.Modelski (1990-1999) female media forms e.g. soaps/mags on women are stereotyped. For instance a mother stereotyped to patriarchy.  My music magazine, in respect to the front-cover would exclude many stereotypes however; it does play on the fact that all young males parade the streets in hoods. My media product uses this image of a hooded artist effectively to appeal to its target audience without discriminating against social groups. So this is an area I felt content with constructing and integrating into my work.  Personally I feel I am yet to explore the full works of Adobe PhotoShop, although I am comfortable using the software made available, I am aware that there are constant updates to the software allowing more creative, innovating designs to be made, so I feel that if this technology/software was made available, I could produce even better quality work to enhance the quality of my media product.

                                                                                                  

*Double-Page Spread*

My media product develops upon the features incorporated into the conventions of RWD’s double-page spread. To create a quality media product I looked to incorporate elements of alternate music genre’s themes etc. to broaden the appeal of my own product. This enabled me to develop upon my own product by including more text than originally planned. Increasing the amount of text incorporated into my music magazine allowed me to use a significant amount of space giving the page more completed professional apparel. In addition, I have designated a whole page to an artist of choice, including contact information allowing the audience/readers to interact with the young Grime prodigy. This page allows the readers to use this page as a poster if desired and this can increase the popularity of the magazine as a whole. These improvements upon the original ideas & plans have enabled me to develop upon the designs made by RWD. When conducting research, an observation made was that the ratio of images to words was significantly imbalanced. The double page spread as a whole are mainly compacted with text & information. The amount of images used varied between one, two or possibly three images of high quality resolution. From this I opted to use two high quality images that have been positioned to create a positive effect, one in which the images tell a story of its own whiles the text reinforces the message shown in the images. Taking into the image composition & the mise-en-scene, I have elected to feature an image taken outdoors which is rare to find in current music magazines, as predominantly they are taken in studios, with artificial lighting (lamps), white, green screens etc. The use of images taken outdoors challenges the common conventions of magazines that choose not to look to nature as a natural backdrop for the images.  However, the quality of the image does develop upon conventions of music magazines across a wide range of genres.  Furthermore, taking into consideration the theory of J.Berger (1977) the ‘masochistic experience’ I aim to develop upon this, enabling men to gain what they truly want, in oppose to information that will only bore them, such as beauty tips etc. This leads onto the theory of stereotyping, in particular the study on gender identity identified by J.Butler (1990-1999). This theory observes gender as a social construct and my media product develops upon this my identifying the origins of Grime music and where these artists emerged from, thus enabling me to reach out the young male target audience.  This is a development on the aims of RWD and also the website GrimeDaily.  Moreover, researches lead me to the theory of C.Geraghty (1991) upon media such as soaps/mags exploring female issues. I aimed to produce a media product that explores common points of interest amongst young people as a whole but mainly towards young males who make up a large percentage of Grime fans/supporters.  Nevertheless, the colour theme plays on the connotations on colours, such as orange connoting warmth, white connoting innocence and cleanliness. These have all been accounted for when producing my media product, putting me in a position to both develop & challenge current media products.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

The technology on offer has been unproblematic as I have become at ease with the various functions within InDesign & PhotoShop. In terms of learning and development I feel InDesign has become a much easier design programme to use as it requires you to only insert text, position text and images and alternate between base colours etc. PhotoShop has also become less of a problem for me, editing, sharpening & feathering images has been fairly straightforward. Using such tools as the magic wand tool, has enabled me to enhance the quality of both my images and the final product, however further improvements will be made in time for final submission. This will be because, there is always room for improvement & I will look to add more images and also more text where possible. Looking at my preliminary task, it is difficult to discuss improvement as double-page spread production has only been introduced for the production of the music magazine. However, considering the quality of images I have used, there is evidently a significant amount of improvement being made as I have taken much more consideration into the mise-en-scene, the model, the clothing worn and also image composition. This has all enabled me to produce a higher quality of work.                                                                       

                                                                                                 

*Design & Development* 

I am designing my media product to develop upon the characteristics of current double page spreads. Looking at current double page spreads from magazines such as RWD, I aim to improve upon the design of the page. RWD uses a high quality image that has also been edited in the form of airbrushing and optimising the resolution to create a well lit positioned image. The amount of images used remains bare; only using one main image for the double-page. The image does take up 3/4’s of the page but does feature a follow on, in which two more pages of information is supplied consisting of questions, smaller images and various promotion and advertising elements. In addition, there are also a few editions in which the images used take up half the page where the following page is completely text. This feature allows the main image to be used as a poster if the reader desires. Moreover, the layout of the page emphasises the visual pleasures (L.Mulvey 1974/5) & the ways of seeing (J.Berger 1977). The page is designed in such a way that, the main image features on the left hand side of the double-page. As we read from left to right, we naturally turn our attention to the left hand side of the page and gradually move across to the interview. When designing my own media product, the variety of text fonts and size will vary as I aim to create something that consists of simplistic features but also interests the reader. In addition, the contents of the text will need to be a topic of interest, one in which the question do not follow a strict order but consist of information the readers will welcome and want to read on from. Also, the interview will be an in-depth one, because taking into consideration the issue of space; I aim not to leave vast amounts of blank space which may affect the visual quality of my media product.                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Nevertheless, the colours I use for my double-page spread will reflect the face of Grime, a balance of contentment, exhilaration & the diligent, conscientious attitude of Grime artists. The colour theme will vary between a white background where an explosive, exuberant array of colours will be used or alternatively a purple base, with white text is used. The final decision will be made after extensive research on colours themes of current music magazines. In addition to the text, I will look to use animated text fonts to add a sense of welcome and interest. Furthermore, the model himself & the covering artists will be ones who carry the ‘eye-candy’ factor. Reason being, taking into consideration the Beauty Myth which discusses the representation of women in popular cultural forms (N.Wolf 1993) I would aim to use models that attract female readers along with the main young male target audience.

J.Winship (1987) conducted a study on magazines, focusing on competition & romance, women against each other. In my media product, I aim to highlight the sense of competition which is heavily integrated into the nature of Grime. This competitive nature of Grime artist will reflect the competitive mind-set of grime fans as in everything young people do, comparisons and achievements must be made, in order to boost or enhance the apparel of both themselves & their work. Nevertheless, I am designing my media product to appeal to young people in such a way that, it is recognised by both sexes in oppose to just focusing on one particular social group. Nevertheless, language will also be a feature that must be used to attract or appeal to a particular social group. Grime artists have been recognised for their extensive use of metaphors and similes in their lyrics & I will look to use elements or extracts from songs to attract young readers.   Representing social groups is somewhat of a challenge as young people are always looking for perfection & can pick out specific elements of a media product they like and dislike. The levels of criticism may reach high levels so to avoid this; I will look to emulate the designs of magazines that represent the same social group as my own media product. This will maximise the representation of young people and in-turn magnetize the audience/readers.

I am addressing my audience with a blend of colloquial music, integrating quotes from lyrics of various artists but also implementing the inclusion of formal language, so a high level of understanding is achieved. In addition the text fonts will be in correlation to the contents as the product as a whole, will need to follow a level of consistency and be understandable to a broad audience. 

                                                                               

*Development or Challenging of Forms & Conventions of Real Media Products*

My media product uses a range of images, all of the same nature to directly appeal to the desired target audience. These images have been devised to have a close association to the heart of Grime. In contrast to other mainstream magazines in genres such as hip-hop, pop etc. my magazine consists of images that have not been edited in any shape or form in Photoshop. Reason being, Grime is considered a “real “music genre consisting of raw, street-bred talent. In comparison to magazines such as Vibe, cover stars/models are airbrushed in editing and further adjustments are made to facial features and background to create a mise-en-scene that meets their requirements. I have chosen to challenge the common conventions of photo editing to suite my genre of Grime, because I aim to successfully separate my music magazine from all other mainstream rivals.

Moreover, the layout of text has also been devised to form a contrasting theme to other magazines. In oppose to placing the text along the sides of the page, I have chosen to follow the layout of RWD magazine & place the text at the foot of the page. Reason being, I want the images to be the voice of the contents, the images along with the front cover will immediately notify the audience that the genre is Grime & the ongoing message or aim is to entertain.  

In addition, the ratio of images to text will be of a fine balance. This is to have an evenness attached to the magazine as a whole.

*Technologies - Process of Construction*

Throughout the construction phase, I have learnt the there are many elements that need to be integrated into a media product, to consider it a success. Photoshop presents its own challenges & complications, as the editing tools are at times too intricate to control. Nevertheless, precision, patience & tolerance have to be adapted to your mindset during construction as, the product as a whole has to meet a professional criterion. However, once you have reached a proficient level of design etc... It becomes easier to use and it becomes evident in your work.

Personally, I found InDesign the more unproblematic programme to use as all it requires, is for me to place images where I desire them & position text in whatever fashion I wish. Taking the viewpoint of various theorists into consideration, I found that media forms present females as passive, sex objects of male desire/pleasure. This was the argument put forward by L.Mulvey (1974/5) on visual pleasures. Looking at this viewpoint, I chose to use Photoshop & InDesign to present the genre of Grime of something to be desired, by integrating features that young (male) Grime fans would enjoy, such as fashion, social networking links, track ratings etc.  This would all be achieved through composition and organization with the aid of the given technologies.

*Progression*

Progress has very much been achieved since the completion of my preliminary task.  I have become considerably comfortable with the functions of Photoshop & InDesign & as a result I have produced higher quality pieces of work in comparison to my preliminary task. Additionally, I have perfected the art of picture taking, considering the mise-en-scene, the composition, lighting & the overall appearance. Looking at the use of text, I opted to use alternate fonts taken & constructed from various online font websites and used in my music magazine to enhance the overall quality of my work.

In the run up to the music magazine, I have taken into consideration the representation, concrete and abstract readings, publishing & design in further depth to augment the quality of my media product.

*Contents Post-Production Analysis*

*Development – Conventions – Design*

 http://www.rwdmag.com/

My media product has been developed to look in some ways similar to the layout and design featured in RWD’s magazines. The use of a white background has been implemented in my contents as the colour white allows me to experiment with a series of alternative layouts, mixture of colours & image composition. In addition, the colour white connotes virtue and cleanliness & this is something that I am aiming to promote for the face of grime.

The image composition is also something I aim to manipulate in order to differentiate my own magazine from the likes of RWD, & challenge the conventions of their magazines. Magazines such as RWD use images taken in a studio and later airbrushed in Adobe-Photoshop. Alternatively, my contents will consist of images taken outdoors (on an estate) and then be sharpened, edited etc. to meet professional standard. Reason being, grime originated from the streets and it would be easily accepted by the audience and widely appreciated. The composition of these images on the page will follow a sequenced layout.

Social Group Targeting

The design of my media product will consist of various images & text fonts to represent my target audience/social group. This social group being young people, males in particular. This will be achieved by the inclusion of social networking icons & links such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube etc.

This is because social networking sites are very much a major part of people’s every-day lives and so it would be a major plus in the attraction of my targeted social group.

Nevertheless, taking J.Butler’s (1990 -1999) study on gender identity in magazines into consideration, he found that gender was identified as a social construct. From this I would look at including features that have a direct link to young people, such as large, vibrant text, fonts & most importantly images.

Also, I would unquestionably be aiming to appeal to mainstreamers/conformists as it is evident that young people, males in particular don’t want to stand out from the crowd but alternatively aim at aspirers, those for whom personal status is very important. This can be portrayed through the excessive depiction of branded garments, Gucci, Ralph Lauren etc.

*Attraction & Address*

I intend to address my audience in Standard English, but include elements of colloquial language to make the text or content customary. Looking at the study on teen females by A.McRobbie (1977), acknowledging that the conservative ideology that magazines promote gentility/domesticity, I would alter the ideology and conventions to suite males or young people as a collective. This would be achieved by using language and images accepted by both genders. Moreover, my contents page will consist of several concrete elements that can be identified without difficulty.

Music Magazine Pre-Production

Inspiration - Development:

http://www.grimedaily.com/

This is a link to a YouTube channel in which, all the exclusive interviews, freestyles, acapella’s and much more.  This YouTube channel allowed me to analyse the different aspects of Grime music. From the immediate topic of lyrical content, through to fashion. The garments Grime artists wear, would influence the way in which the models for the music magazine would dress, pose & be positioned. This is further emphasised by Grime Daily’s own segment called “CrepCheck” in which various Grime artist would be called upon to flaunt their latest clothing, designer footwear and accessories. These range from Adidas body warmers to Ralph Lauren polo’s, G-Star hoodies & Gucci shoes. This emphasises the transition that Grime has made, coming from the underground to becoming evermore recognised and up taking a more inviting, sophisticated appearance. This influenced me to include high quality images of artists wearing these garments, as the audience themselves are consumers of these designer products.                                                                                                                  

Representation of social groups:  My Grime Magazine represents a demographic of young people aged 14 – 30. However the main age bracket I am aiming to appeal to is people aged 14 – early twenties. Reason being, people in this age bracket are more involved socially with Grime music. The contents of current Grime magazines such as RWD contain advertisements and promotions that appeal to a younger audience. For example, in RWD, there are various JD Sports adverts that promote clothing (Adidas Originals & Duffer of St.George) for a young audience. The models used are fairly young, possibly in their teens and this is something I would account for in my magazine.                                                                                                                      

Media Institution: My magazine would be distributed by various retailers across London & the U.K. The main distributer would be JD Sports because, Grime magazines feature clothing and adverts made and designed exclusively for JD Sports. Also, JD Sports is definitely a favourite amongst young people and from this the magazine will receive maximum exposure to the target audience. The magazine will also be distributed by Adidas Originals and the neighbouring Niketown.  In addition, further distributors will feature the likes of: Boxfresh, Casio, Famous Stars & Straps, Forreduci & Superdry.                                                                                                                                                        

Audience: My Magazine will be targeted at an audience of young adults filtering down to people in their early stages of teenage years. This will be achievable because, I myself am a young person and from this, knowing what other people amongst my generation will not be difficult.        

*Design - Conventions - Mechanisms of Attraction.*

Currently I am using RWD (Rewind) a Grime magazine as a template to the design of my own front cover & magazine as a whole. Within the magazine itself, in terms of the double-page spread, I aim to incorporate questions and images that differ to the ones used in RWD. In RWD, the images used for the double-page spread are relatively produced/taken in a studio. My magazines double-page spread will feature images taken outdoors. (On a broken down estate, the streets at night etc.) To emphasise the roots of where the young & upcoming Grime Artists originate from. This feature has been recently recognised by Adidas.  We Are London is a celebration of the unique talent and creativity that thrives within our capital city. The sounds, the sights and the vibrancy of young London. We Are London is a declaration of belonging - to a generation that are going places, making their own luck and forging their own path. The We Are London campaign is something I will use in my own media product & hope to take one step further, developing the contents of the articles printed. Another convention of my own Grime magazine would be the quality of images incorporated in all pages of the magazine.

My media product will appeal to young people aged 14 – 25 & this target audience will be achieved through the inclusion of accessories and garments current Grime artists wear, such as Adidas clothing, tracksuits, polo’s, Ralph Lauren etc. As the target audience tend to follow the fashion statements of music artists, it would be logical to incorporate this into the magazine to grasp the reader’s attention. In addition, I will be using the positioning of images and the poses models make to further attract the audience. For example, an image of a young male with his head in his hands. This could show how hard work does take a lot out of you, or it could shoe deep concentration. These small elements will lead to readers becoming ever more interested in the news stories, as they are able to draw up their own conclusions.

Furthermore, the magazine carries some simplistic features regarding positioning of text and positioning of main images, however, the magazine will include designs that depict a sense of exclusivity, originality & sheer brilliance. This could be achieved through the use of alternative images and text blended to make on final image or text piece. This sense of exclusivity is something that runs well with young people, as young people always want to keep up with the latest things, whether it is clothes to TV programmes to magazines.

The choice of language is something that is a key aspect in the success of any magazine. As my magazine will be aimed at young people, there will be a dominance of standard-English & also aspects of formal language. To balance out the differentiation of 14 years old and 25 year olds, some elements of  colloquial language will be used, to add a sense of ‘closeness to home’ and have some features that relate to young people.

Competitions that involve exclusive prizes, such as signed trainers, t-shirts and hats would be a key feature to attract the target audience. Also, in terms of language, I will be using a range of short, snappy phrases to enlighten the reader’s views on the magazine, add elements of amusement. 

*EVALUATION*

Existing Magazines:

The Cover Design of the magazine, especially in the case of the Tinie Tempah edition, is very unique in the sense that, no other mainstream magazine had incorporated this design into their front cover. Also, the clothing worn matches or blends in with the background to enhance the visual quality the front image gives. Looking at the following Tinchy Stryder Edition, the use of special effects to create a smoked background would be something I would take into consideration when creating my music magazine. The quality of the image will be the most important aspect of the whole product.

Front Cover:

The front cover of my college magazine was designed to promote a friendly look, one in which students can pick up and feel a sense of welcoming and become accustomed to.  The title I've opted to use is of a very large, bold font that will grab the readers attention instantly. ‘The F.S’ in the title stands for, Future Stars Daily. Reason being, students are considered to be the future of the world, coming up with fresh ideas, methods and alternative views to current affairs.  The front cover of my college magazine was designed to promote a friendly look, one in which students can pick up and feel a sense of welcoming and become accustomed to. In addition, the font of the title is of a large size to enable people to instantly be drawn towards the magazine. The magazine front cover also features a link to the college website. This feature allows students to go on-line and catch up on any editions missed and also be able to be exposed to a much more entertaining experience. This would be achieved through interviews, video's on exclusive events and also the ability to sign up to become a member of the magazine, which enables members to be treated with earlobe releases etc..

                                                                               

Covering Lines:

The covering stories I have opted to use for my magazine front cover are one that relate to students, such as issues concerning EMA, pass rates and university tuitions. these stories will all relate to students as, students are very much part of these issues and have to be aware of any news within these topics. This will very much be a common feature with every edition and will fair well with students because, they wouldn't want to be left wondering about their futures. Nevertheless, the main image I have used is one that promotes a friendly approach. The positioning of the camera is ever so slightly tilted so the model is looking up at the camera. This connotes a sense of always looking up and the fact that the subject is well lit emphasises this idea of striving into the light/success. 

Contents:

The contents page was designed to promote an up-beat vibe. The use of complementing colours (Black background, Orange and yellow text) will promote a positive image. The use of these colours will draw in the audience as colours such as yellow and orange are warm, inviting colours. I also took into consideration the font of the text and opted to use a slightly comic, poster style font to enhance the apparel of the contents page.   For the contents page, I chose not to include a large amount of text, only the important features such as, pages for major news stories, interviews and posters. This is to minimise time spent reading the contents and maximise time spent on the rest of the magazine.  

Moreover, I aimed to keep the structure to a very simplistic style and optimise visual pleasure to keep the reader interested in the magazine.