Coursework Evaluation
By Nelson Adebayo
12Pointon
Forms and Conventions
• For my magazine after much deliberation, I decided that I was going to
challenge conventions of regular music magazines. From my textual
analysis of magazines that are familiar to the genre that I wanted my
magazine to appeal to which was Hip Hop, I started to believe that there
was an area in this genre specific publication, in which my magazine would
be able to fit in. The magazines that I read and analysed more closely were
diverse namely King, The Source, XXL, Vibe and Fader.
• I also looked at other music magazines such as Kerrang, NME, Rolling
Stone and Q. Analysing these music magazines even though they are of a
different genre in relation to my desired genre, allows me to look at
conventions spread across the music industry as a whole. The analysis also
helped me to see the boundaries that I would be pushing if I was to
challenge common conventions through the work of my final piece.
Forms and Conventions
• My magazine does however, use the basic infrastructure of a music
magazine, with the use of sell lines, mast heads and so forth. But I felt that
for it to visually authentic in its aim to subvert stereotypes and challenge
conventions, the sell lines involved in the front cover would be limited as
to not divert attention from the focal point which is the image and use a
double paged contents page.
• To challenge conventions, was not initially my main idea to execute, as I
initially wanted to follow the “tried and tested” conventions seen through
out the music industry. However, after the initial task of producing my
School Magazine and consulting my teacher, I decided to take on a more
challenging task and decided to subvert the common route and started
developing ideas for the elements that were to make up my image, such
as mise-en-scene, character positioning and iconography (if required)
Representational Issues
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This magazine, will arguably be seen as inevitably targeting ethnic minorities
such as Black/ African Americans. This may be because the genre of Rap/Hip
Hop is seen as a “symbol” of the Black/African American race.
The “marking” of the black race within the magazine is seen from the front
cover, as the model on the front, is black. As the magazine was intended as a
“high end” magazine, it could be argued that the main consumers of this
magazine, may not be in fact avid black rap fans, but instead middle class
white teenagers from suburbs. As this was something that definitely had to be
considered in the construction of the magazine, I wanted the magazine, to be
seen to remain “neutral” so as to not be overlooking one race for another.
Within society, it could be argued that many black rappers are seen to come
from a “world of hardship” in relation to where they have grown up. This will
be reflected in their lyrics as they talk about their lifestyle and what they had
to go through, and this will in turn determine whether they will have a
successful mainstream career or end up having a niche following due to their
“style” and lyrics.
Representational Issues
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This is something that I had to be wary of while going through the process of
constructing my magazine. To elaborate, I had to make sure that I was not in
danger of being seen as “glorifying” the “hard hitting” elements that are
usually associated with black rap, especially when taken in context with the
character “Lil Ze” who is said to be from the “unforgiving streets of Compton”.
I believe the difference between “glorifying” and “appreciating” where one’s
background lays, is a fine line and the difference may often be blurred. On this
occasion however, I believe that I was able to do this well, while not making
the character of “Lil Ze” seem authentic and someone that the readers maybe
able to relate to regardless of their background.
Institutions
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The initial idea of mine was to make my magazine to secluded to only high end
retailers. However, I then thought that this may leave out a percentage of potential
consumers who may have been interested in the magazine if they had seen it in
their local retailer.
I personally went to a major supermarket, to see what types of genre specific
music magazines were present. I found that Kerrang, XXL, VIBE, The Source, KING,
Q and Hip Hop Weekly, were all available for consumers to buy. I thought that this
was an area that I could see my magazine being present and available in.
However, with a more diverse retail option, comes more competition from other
brands. This is something which is inevitable throughout the market and is an
obstacle that I knew I would have to cover. I knew that as magazines such as the
aforementioned, already had an established consumer group, that for my
magazine to break that mould would mean, that there must be a real “golden
attraction” to consumers.
The use of the artist “Lil Ze” helps to establish that, as he is in theory meant to be
one of if not the best rappers in the industry at present. This sense of “exclusive
content”, may help to gain an initial group of consumers with advertising and word
of mouth helping to gain attention towards the magazine.
Institutions
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When deciding which institutions should be listed as official retailers, I decided to
go in conjunction with my aim of diversifying my target audience, in relation to
potential suppliers. The thought behind this being that I did not want to limit my
potential consumers to just one specific area or demographic, but to many
different areas and demographics which would in turn potentially develop into a
solid consumer group.
So for this reason, I put the following institutions as places where I would want my
magazine to be sold, on the basis of me myself being a consumer and where I
would expect similar products to be sold.
WHSmith
Major Supermarkets
Local Retailers
Genre Specific Conventions
Finally, I came up with the idea of extending the availability of my magazine, so
that no potential consumers are overlooked. For this reason, I believe that the
magazine would be available to be ordered online from the online store.
Target Audience
• The target audience of the magazine was initially intended to be for rap
enthusiasts of black origin. However, I then decided that in conjunction
with my aim to diversify potential consumers, that I would need to amend
my target audience if I was to be successful in enticing other
demographics to purchase the magazine.
• To extend on the above theory, I initially I had an idea that my target
audience would be Black African Americans or anyone of Black origin, with
age ranging from 15-30.
• On retrospect, this already seems as if it is reducing the potential span of
consumers, by limiting the age of black people that we would be targeting.
This is also a “sticking point” as rap enthusiasts specifically black, could be
of any age above 14-15. I say 14-15, as the artists featured use “strong
language” which may not be appropriate for younger ages.
Target Audience
• The idea to change the target demographic, came about on reflection of
the journey that this specific rap genre has taken to reach the arguably
unrivalled levels, it is at now. Taking into account acts such as The Beastie
Boys have contributed to the genre of Rap, I felt it almost impossible to
overlook other demographics, namely people of Caucasian origin.
• Also, I felt that there was no need to limit potential consumers, but
instead, find a way that all fans of this genre could be stimulated. I believe
that listeners of this genre can be from any background or demographic,
so to limit them from reading a magazine that aims to promote this genre,
would be detrimental to the success of the magazine.
Addressing the Readership
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I attempted to attract the readership of my audience, by using a specific colour scheme,
whereby I could display consistency within the whole piece. Also by using a colour
scheme, it served to help make my magazine look more professional, without
“overdoing it” in the sense that I used programs such as Adobe Photoshop to
manipulate my photos, too much.
The use of bright colours, also in a sense connotes the origins of not only the rap genre,
but also the black race as a whole. Also, I felt that the colours also displayed throughout
the magazine, are in keeping with the belief that Rap is an art, and is a “tool to express
yourself”.
The colour scheme I used was also bright, mainly primary colours (Red, Yellow and
White). The Masthead, was designed to also follow the colour scheme but be very bold
and be under the artist, so that this is the first thing that potential consumers see.
Another area which I felt may have benefitted attracting consumers, is the model on
the front cover. This model is of an artist who has a huge “buzz” about him from far and
wide. By getting an artist who is so popular, it reinforces the idea of the magazine, being
exclusive in both it content and style
Technical/Construction Issues
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During the construction of my magazine, I had a lot of opportunities test different
themes, colours and other effects, with the aim of making it seem very professional.
It turned out to be an arduous task to try and get the best effects and colours that
would enable my magazine to reach my aim. This process, was seemingly about
learning about how colours fit into different magazines, but also a chance for me to
develop further skills that I had learnt at GCSE level, in the hope that they stand me in
good stead for A2.
I also enjoyed playing about with Photoshop to enhance my pictures and layout of
magazine. I also discovered different techniques of taking pictures, and what effect
could result from these techniques. I have also discovered different angles, and how
they could affect the final picture.
However, “playing about” with such a powerful tool such as Photoshop, has its
downfalls, as too much “photo shopping” and your magazine is likely to be ruined. It
may be ruined as an over photo shopped item may end up looking “tacky” compared to
something that has been photo shopped correctly.
This is something I inevitably had to be wary off, when producing my magazine, as I did
not want a “tacky” looking product, as that would have strayed to far off my initial plans
of making an affordable but high end product.
Comparisons between preliminary and
main tasks
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In retrospect, I believe that the initial idea behind the production of my school
magazine was good on paper, but when it came down to it, it lacked the technical
proficiency needed to execute the initial plans.
I believe that the evident lack of technical proficiency visible in the preliminary
task, may be down to a lack of time management and efficiency on my behalf.
Also, the hardware used in producing the preliminary task was evidently not of
sufficient standard. The camera used to take the picture, was in fact a mobile
phone. This again may tie in with the idea that I did not display very good time
management skills.
As a result, I decided to scrap the entire concept of my school magazine and start
from scratch for my main task. The school magazine did have its positives, as it was
used to see where I went wrong with my initial project, and how I would
eventually change it for my final project.
In my main task, I was sure to plan my time properly, which would ultimately help
me produce a better and classier magazine. The hardware used was much better,
as I used a Sony CyberShot, which helped to establish a much better quality in
picture.
Comparisons between preliminary
and main tasks
• Also, in my main task I was able to display my skills in Photoshop. This is
something that I felt was limited in my preliminary task, as I did not make
any major changes to the pictures used in my preliminary task.
• However, in my main task there was a marked contrast, as I set about
changing most of if not all the pictures used. The picture with the most
drastic change, was the Double Page Spread, which had an effect called
“vintage” added to it, to add a more “yellowness” to it. This process,
seemingly added a touch of “finesse” to the final picture used which in
turn aided the quest for professionalism.
Comparisons between preliminary
and main tasks
Here, I have put the
two sets of main
pictures that were
used in my
Preliminary Task (to
the left) and Main
Task (to the right) to
help to highlight the
contrast in quality in
terms of the picture.
The hardware used
in the two different
sets of pictures, is
definitely clear to
see in the outcome
of the pictures.
Summary
• The skills developed in this course, acted as a great follow up to the skills I
learned in GCSE Media. These skills will further be enhanced in
preparation for A2, where I hope my skills in different aspects of the
course will be displayed.
• The AS course was vital in me being able to see my weak points in
different elements and where I can further improve on. My use of
hardware has definitely improved as has my use of software namely
Photoshop. I believe that by the end of the course, I had shown that I was
able to execute my ideas in a technically proficient manner.
• In conclusion, AS was a great preparation for A2, and I fully expect to enjoy
A2 as much as I have AS. AS, was initially a daunting task, but with the
help of my teachers and peers, I was able to over come the tasks and
produce my own piece of work, to my satisfaction.