Evaluation Q7

Evaluation Q6

Evaluation Q5

For my focus group above, I was able to identify and collect insightful feedback from what four individuals thought of my overall magazine product. All four people gave me very helpful feedback in relation to my magazine and the micro features. I was able to gain information about what they thought of the magazine with respect to the genre, the price of the magazine and the general appearance of my magazine and whether it would attract my audience. My whole agenda worked well and this was clearly evident with the focus groups response. They said that it appealed to the audience well especially the front cover and the double page spread, even though there were small features that possibly could have even improved such as the scarce contents page and the contents title. Due to me my vision of getting my magazine appeal to my target audience, I was satisfied that it was recognized by the four members of the focus group. In addition I was thrilled that they thought generally the magazine was pretty decent and that it looked good especially the double page spread where they were quick to note that it looked like a real music magazine article.I knew that the focus group would quickly grasp that it is a hip hop magazine, so I incorporated these features within the final pieces of work. The use of survey monkey was very helpful too as feedback was pretty much similar to that of my focus group. Another key point I got out of the focus group was that they thought the consistency of knowing that it is a hip hop magazine and also not changing the general appearance was heart warming. This was because I made sure that I don't deviate from the target audience and what my competition is. however, a criticism was that I used two different main male characters in my magazine, their thought was to keep only just one person to create more of a convention. With the contents page supposedly being my weakest effort I still wanted to conform to a hip hop magazine which I did and was evident as the answers from the focus group on whether they can tell it was a hip hop magazine was evident, due to the backwards pose and the costume worn which was a black jacket, this pose was imitated by famous rapper Eminem's album cover. Also, they made comments on how scarce the contents page looked, adding that it doesn't conform to a contents page of a well known hip hop magazine. In terms of lighting and the colour scheme used, the major issue raised was that the orange used repetitively was good but that is was very hard to read and could be altered. This I think was a fair point as the readers need to be able to easily comprehend what they read otherwise they will immediately take no interest into what the article has to offer. The costume of the front cover again made it clear to be a hip hop magazine as the focus group pointed out the jewelry seen around the artists neck and the earring. This was intentional as jewelry is a conventional feature and appeals to mt audience. I made note that my magazine was a mere 2.50, some said this was a reasonable price as it is affordable especially as it is a new magazine trying to penetrate the market, however some said they would pay considerably less. Overall, I am happy that my intentions were noticeable. I personally believe that the way in which visualise a product and comment on it is completely different however, having a group of people has the tendency of inflicted opinions to others minds.

Evaluation Q4

Evaluation Q3

Evaluation Q2

Evaluation Q1

Front Cover

Contents Page

Double Page Spread

Production Journal: Double Page Spread

Double page spread Image

Double page spread

Finally, for my double page spread page I used the same artist I used in my contents page, it is an article which tells the readers about him and his rise to rap super stardom. He is centred in the middle of the page which is a convention to the Q magazine which I got a vision from. The page layout is also a convention as he is the main subject and there is text in the right hand corner. 

As you notice it is a close up shot on his face as he strikes a wide smile clear into the camera lens. This was done to emphasise the fact that he is smiling to his fortunate success and he is not caring about the hate.

Here is three elements to my double page spread, the drop capital, the pull quote and the article itself. I found it hard at first trying to fit a reasonable amount of text in a small area. I followed the conventions of a typical magazine article with the drop capital which makes the page look more presentable. The pull quote is also another text I put in the double page spread, this was to attract readers towards the article; the black text is clear and bold which is easily readable.

For the background of the double page spread, the picture was taken in a classroom setting but I ended up using the 'blurred tool' in Photoshop to make is look unclear and for readers to focus mainly on the image. 

Production Journal: Contents Page Image

Eminem Rap God Album Cover

As you can see for my contents page image I used the pose that Eminem used in his album cover. The reason for this was because the person used in my magazine portrays and up and coming rap artist that is starting to acquire haters in the rap business. I didn't want to show his face, leaving readers with  a mystery to want to see who this person is, also he is opening his hands out wide which connotes that he accepts all the hate he gets and that it makes him stronger. Furthermore, If you can spot closely i used an 'outer shadow' tool to make the faintest of shadows appear on my model, in this way it gives the model an effect and makes the image more tangible in a way.

Production Journal: Contents Page Layout

Vibe contents page layout

My contents page layout

For my contents page as you can see, I used the vibe magazine contents page as an idea which I thought is very creative. The writing I lined it up to one side (right), this gives room for my image which is put in the centre. I did this so the image can be the main focus so that readers can focus on the image and the motive behind it. 

In addition, for my background of my contents page, it was originally white but because it made it look to empty and dull, I changed the colour to a mixture between ashy green and grey, I used to the blending tool to interlock the colours to give it a very cool, unique look.

For the contents title I used the font 'Showcard Gothic', this is a very cool, youthful look which is a representation of how my magazine is set out to be. The font size is 68 which is a convention to how it is seen on hip hop/RnB magazine. Another idea I got from the vibe magazine was using the first letter of the magazine and making it a logo to use in the contents page. I think this is very creative and playful as It makes readers familiar with the brand name of the magazine. Also I kept the colour the same so that readers won't get confused with the original masthead.

Production Journal:Front Cover Imagery part 2

Bar code position

My front cover

My bar code position

For my magazine front cover I did not go with the conventions of the magazine I was trying to portray. For my bar code I positioned it to the left of the magazine while the magazine that gave me inspiration's bar code was to the right side of the magazine. I wanted to give more room for text on the right side as the main message of the my magazine was taking up most of the space.

Here in my magazine front cover as part of the models look I had the model wearing an earring and a necklace. The crucifix/cross necklace is part of the them of this idea that the artist is on the road to redemption and he is trying to repent for his mistakes if you will.

Silver earring

Crucifix chain

The earring adds that conventional look to how a stereotypical rapper is depicted. Due to my original shot of the earring being unclear, I edited the real image by inputting a shinier earring from a picture already taken to make it more realistic and empthasises on the riches he has. Below are some of the images I used to give me some ideas when deciding what type of look I needed.

Production Journal:Front Cover Imagery part 1

This is the magazine that I got my idea from. It has the grey background which I used which I meant to do so that it will give my magazine a sorrowful mood. The colour scheme is orange which I think compliments the grey really well. The magazine is a tribute to the '8 mile movie' which Eminem featured in. The general look of the magazine was something that inspired me mainly the image. The facial expression linked to the theme I was setting out to do which was that my model is on the road to redemption and he is repenting for all the chaos he has done. I think this magazine coheres with this idea hence the reason for me choosing this an inspiration.

Draft Image

This is my first draft photo which I took, as you can see what I had in mind for my model was to have a grey costume with a grey hat, this is because I wanted to give my model a subtle look and make him look like he is ,calm and meek. He isn't looking directly at the camera which I purposely intended to do, this way he isn't looking at the readers but suggest that he is thinking about something. The lighting is bright and on his face which I meant to do  so that the readers can clearly his facial expression. However, I didn't end up using this image due to the poor camera work and lack of effect.

Final Image

This is my final image which was used in my magazine, I chose this looks because it was more like the vision I had intended on having. the beanie hat gives my model a simple street, yet no to ambiguous look. As you can see the camera work is a bit better as I managed to filter the picture taken, as well as making it a medium close up emphasising my theme.

Production Journal: Front Cover Masthead/Text & Font Style

Masthead

As you can see this here is the masthead of my magazine which is called 'URBAN FLOW'. The font size very a convention to a typical size you would see on a Hip Hop/RnB magazine. The font type is not installed on Photoshop CS5, i downloaded it on a website, and the font style is known as 'freshman'. As you can see the theme of my magazine was a vibrant orange which i think best suited the magazine I am trying to portray.

Text/Font

The next stage of my front cover was imputing some writing and text to it. Again i used the same colour scheme as my masthead which is orange while adding white to give the magazine a blend with two colours. However the font style I used was different from the masthead, this time it was from Photoshop, which was 'impact'. This is also a convention to magazine as they do not always keep the text the same making it a bit more stylish and eye-catching so to speak.

Slogan

Underneath my masthead is my slogan which I think suits the meaning of what my magazine is trying to say which is 'the music that flows within'. The font i used for this was 'impact' and I positioned it right under the masthead to the right which is a conventional way of arranging your slogan.