BLOG CLOSURE NOTIFICATION

Center name: Norbury Manor B&E College
Center number: 14343
Candidate name: Khurram Bukhari
Candidate number: 6052
Unit: G321

Final construction piece: Front cover

Final construction piece: Contents page

Final construction piece: Double page spread

Evaluation question 7:

Evaluation question 6

Evaluation question 5:

Evaluation question 4:

Who would be the audience for your media product?

This magazine is aimed mainly at women as stated on the front cover 'Female Issue'. I hope to eliminate the objectification of women and show the world that women are equal to men. Also,  this magazine is aimed at those facing hardship in life as I hope that the interview with Rozay is motivating for those who feel the need to give up on life as a whole. Furthermore, I have aimed this magazine at people who love to listen and learn about grime as I have written about the history of grime and this would be ideal for those who don't know much about the past of grime, where it started to the present day.

Moreover, this magazine is designed for teenagers as grime culture isn't very old and most likely established properly within their lifespan, which might bring interest to them. This magazine is not restricted to just women as this would be a contradiction of equality. It is designed for the world to understand what grime is really about and why people decide to make music. Lastly, Rozay's fans are also a main target audience as there is a whole interview discussing her life and the hardships she went through in order to become the person she is today.

Evaluation question 3:

Evaluation question 2:

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Evaluation question 1:

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

In my front cover, I used the image of a paint splatter to create a background for my text to ensure it was visible. It is unconventional in normal magazines and publishers seem to have fine edges on each border they make. I believed that the graffiti splatter was a great addition to the front cover as a lot of teenagers and young adults from my experience find solace in art and their art is graffiti. Furthermore, in my magazine, Grime is portrayed as an art rather than any genre of music, allowing for these two conventions to link. Moreover, the magazines I saw online used a lot of yellow as it seems to stand out, especially on colours like black. In addition tot his, I ensured the name 'Rozay' was made bigger than most of the text except the masthead. This was done to make sure that the reader understands who the feature is.

In my contents page, I made sure that all the headings and descriptions were made different sizes (small description, large heading) so that the reader knows that each section is on what page and is about that certain topic. Also, the model is keeping eye contact which allows for a real experience as it seems that the model is actually looking at the reader and speaking to him/her. This is seen in a lot of magazine contents pages, even the ones I previously spoke about in my past research.

I used a simple layout for my double page spread which I made using real media text which I found on Google as inspiration. I wanted to keep a simple structured double page spread as if there are a lot of pictures on a page with writing, it can get confusing. The structure consisted of one large image covering the whole background alongside three lines of text in which I placed my interview. I used an interview as opposed to just an article as from reading real media texts, I felt that an interview promote a stronger connection between the reader and the artist.

DPS links to cover/contents

As you can see, my double page spread has used only the colours grey and black. I did this because I could not place many colours because of the image used and so I thought that black and white make grey so I chose this colour. Also, I used the same model as the front cover becuase this is Rozay and she is the main feature. In addition to this, all the models are wearing similar clothing with either black or white..

Interview writing/Artist interview

The Grime industry is dominated by men. There’s no other way to say it however, there is a new face on the strip. That new face goes by the name of Rozay. This rapidly rising artist has proved to us that she has what it takes to become the biggest and best artist in a very long time. Having a female face on the cover of a magazine is a normal thing. We see it everywhere but how are women portrayed on these magazines other than being eye-candy for the male gaze? Exactly, they aren’t portrayed in any other way but Rozay has come to make changes... Big changes. Today we have the one and only Rozay joining us for an interview.

“Hi, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you in person. How are you doing today?”

“Hey, I’m good thanks and believe me, it’s a real honour for me to be here and before we dive into questions, I’d like to say that I am very grateful for this opportunity. Actually another thing, thanks for asking me how I’m doing, it’s a rare occasion, it makes me feel like a human, some people don’t realise that I am just like them.”

“I don’t want to waste too much time so I’ll get straight to it. What inspired to make music?”

“Well, as I was growing up I went through hell, parents splitting, family feuds, you name it, I’ve done and been through it and I’m not saying that in a way to brag, that’s just my honest answer. My mother went in rehab when I was about seven and since then my dad has been taking care of me. I am truly grateful to him, it’s impossible to pay him back for what he did but when you don’t have a mother, it’s like a black hole inside you which can consume one whole so to avoid being consumed by destructive hole, I write music. So I’d like to say it was my mother and father that inspired me but the reality of it is that it is my struggle... As my fellow rapper says all the time “Don’t let temporary situations determine your life”.

“I’m sorry to hear that and to be honest, for one that’s been through so much, it’s amazing to see the person you’ve become today. Anywho, which artist do you look up to for inspiration?”

“Eminem. That is all I have to say... You and everyone reading/listening to this interview probably knows why but if you don’t, he is by far the best lyricist in the world, that’s in my opinion, give him any word and he will break it, make it and rhyme it. For example, tell him to rhyme orange with something, he came up with, ‘Listen, I will bust through that orange four inch door hinge’. That’s talent... For years people say that one line “You can’t rhyme orange with anything” but there you go. Not even a stutter and he managed.”

“That was actually quite cool, I need to watch that interview. How has your fanbase grown since the release of your first album?”

“It has BLOWN up. Before, I could sit at my laptop procrastinating but now... Impossible. Probably most of my day gets consumed by replying to my fans and although it takes time, I couldn’t care less. As far as I’m concernced, I am where I am because of my fans so the least they deserve is for me to put in the effort to reply to their messages. I might not get through everyone but it’s the effort that counts for me.”

In

“Wow, a lot of famous people don’t even bother replying to their fans but you’re totally the opposite. When you originally started music, what did your family say?”

“Originally, nobody knew what I was doing. I would miss college just to do what I always dreamed of. Every teacher would cuss me saying I’d fail in life, etc. But look now, I’m bigger than ever before and now they all want to praise me without an apology... I’m not about the whole bragging thing but now they want to know. When I released my first song, my brother came charging into my room and screamed in my face ‘IS THIS YOU?!’, I laughed and said ‘yeah, now get out my room’. Then my dad followed ad gave me the biggest hug and laughed at me saying ‘at least all the penalties from the council because of you not attending school weren’t for nothing’.

DPS image decision

I decided that this was going to be the picture which goes on my double page due to the clothing she is wearing and the way she is presenting herself. It seems as if she is alone but this was the real reason why she started music. Furthermore, there is a lot of space in the mise-en-scene which is grey and this was one of my main feature colours.

Double page spread market research

Front and contents page feedback

Image choice (contents page)

I chose this picture as it replicated real media text previously posted. It relates most with the image of the man on the contents page of the other magazine which was the image style I preferred. Also, the model is making strong eye-contact with the audience which may help readers engage as there is a feel of closeness.

Contents page choices (layout)

These were the two contents pages I looked at to get the idea/layout of mine. On both of these, the text seems to be on the left while the model is standing on the right. Both models are looking directly into the camera. I especially liked the second contents page and so took most of the features from there as I found it very appealing. Furthermore, all the text is easy to distinguish between allowing for readers to read without struggle and find what they want to find.

Front cover features

In the beginning, I chose my layout so it was surrounding the model, however, because I had to change my image, I had to change the layout of the text which was mostly brought to the right. I increased the size of the masthead by removing 'time', which as stated before sounded childish. Removing the 'time' also allowed for 'Grhyme' to stand out more due to the fact that there was enough space for it to be made larger.

Furthermore, I used the font 'Tw Cen MT Condensed' for my features as it was bold and readable. I further went to adding 'Bevel and emboss' along with 'contour', 'texture', 'stroke', 'outer glow' and lastly 'drop shadow'. All of these effects allowed for the text to be easily distinguished.

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Masthead and font decisions, front cover linked to research, Cover layout decisions

 Grhyme time masthead was changed just to Grhyme as Miss Collins said it would be too small and sounded childish like ‘Story Time’

I chose the bristle brush font as I will be writing an article on Grime being an art in hopes of stopping people from looking at grime as a negative influence in society and instead looking at it as an art that people use to express their daily struggles and this brush relates to art as artists use paint brushes.

Also, I increased the size of the text to ensure that it stood out as the masthead should be the first thing readers notice in order to create a brand and the readers kind of know what the magazine is about from a distance. Also, if people want to buy the magazine again, they will know what title to look for.

I took this picture of the model and placed it on Photoshop and in doing so I felt as if the picture was giving the wrong message and felt as if people would have criticised me for that saying that if the young audience just saw the front page they would take it in a wrong way so decided to change the image of the model holding her hands out towards the screen rather than at herself and made a pull-quote ‘Shooting for the stars’ in order to create a link between the content and image.

I changed the picture to Rozay pointing her fingers towards the audience with a pull quote saying 'Shoot for the stars' and a gun shoots which created that link.

The masthead related to Grime as it looks like there are strokes from a paint brush but I thought it didn't stand out enough and looked very generic.

After choosing this font for the masthead, I realized that it was too blocked and it was difficult to distinguish between the letters within the masthead.

This font caught my eye as there were splatters on it which related back to the graffiti splatters I placed on the front cover.

Increasing the intensity of the yellow on the masthead allowed for it to be more noticeable but still, this font looked very generic as it was simply in block capitals and didn't have anything attractive about it.

Continuing my research I stumbled upon this font. I decided that this was the best font and adjusted the size of the 'G' but left the rest of the letters small so it appears as if the 'G' is capital and the rest isn't.

Changing the masthead to yellow was a decision that I made from my research. When I searched for Grime magazines, a lot of the colors that came up were yellow, grey, white and black.

Final shot/Photographic manipulation

This was the final image I chose. In the magazine front cover, I cropped Rozay out so there wasn't a grey background, which dragged all the colours down with it. Moreover, this image related to the features on the front page as there is a pull quote saying 'Shoot for the stars' and it looks like Rozay is making a gun with her fingers.

Contents page features

All the text used on this page relates back to music as this is the main focus of the magazine. I ensured all titles and sub-headings were bold to ensure that readers may find what they need quickly and have a brief overview of the topic. Furthermore, I included a quiz as it can help ensure readers are engaged with the publishers of this magazine. Although a grime magazine wouldn't normally have a quiz, other genre magazines do and so I wanted to add a unique twist to my magazine as a whole. There is a pull quote on the page which replicated the real media text which I especially liked (previously posted).

Contents page features

All of the features used within this contents page all relate to music as this is the main focus of this magazine. I included a quiz as I have seen that a lot of magazines have these. Although a grime magazine may not have this sort of quiz, I added it anyway and made it relate to Grime. I intentionally chose to do this as I wanted my magazine to be unique and teenagers would want to win money so it is aimed at my target audience as well. Moreover, I included a pull quote like the magazine I posted earlier.

Front cover test shots

These are the test shots for my magazine cover:

Contents page colour choices

I chose the colours, white yellow, grey and yellow because most of the grime magazines that I saw were consisting of these colours and because my front page has these colours, I have to ensure that the rest of them have most of the colours due to the fact that all four pages which I am producing need to link with each other. Also, colours like yellow stand out on dark backgrounds as it is a very vibrant colour.

Front page shot list

This is the shot list for my front page:

Model consent form

You can find the model consent forms which were signed by Mariyam, Annamaria and Sophia, the models in my magazine:

Flatplan deconstructed

This is the deconstruction of my flatplan below:

Visual mood board

The visual mood board below shows the representations within Grime and why people rap. Some of the words used are totally the opposite of happy but this is due to the fact that these are the reasons why people choose to rap. They are able to express their beliefs whether they are about politics or living poverty.

Reader profile

This is Sophie Cortez; currently she is studying four subjects at AS level which are Music, History, Media Studies and Economics. Sophie enjoys listening to music and shares the view like several others that women are not treated equally enough compared to men. She currently plays basketball in her college basketball team, however also takes part in karate every Tuesday and Friday. Sophie is on her black-stripe belt and will be attempting to obtain the black-belt as she dreams to one day become a sensei and start her own dojo.

Sophie enjoys Grime music as it is something she can relate with as she was born and raised in one of South London’s most crime-ridden area, Thornton Heath meaning she has been around the Grime culture for the most of 17 years as a lot of the people from these areas use music as their escape from all the hardships life has to offer.

Alongside Grime, Sophie enjoys listening to Hip Hop artists such as Eminem who she feels is truly inspiring as he came from the ghetto of America and now he has officially been labelled the ‘Rap God’.

Artist profile

Rozay, also known as Mariyam Khan, is a Grime artist who pushed through her past struggles with gangs mainly due to the area which she lived in and the circumstances her family were in at the time. She started rapping mainly to inspire those just like her in difficult situations and to help them get through what they are facing as sometimes we can’t control the events that occur.

Mariyam’s mother used to really enjoy music when she was younger and was an R&B artist herself. This allowed Mariyam to see what her mother did and gave her the ability to use the tools needed to make music from a young age (from 8 years old Mariyam has been creating instrumentals for her own music and other’s).

Originally, Rozay was noticed on several social media applications like Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter. These social media apps have allowed Mariyam to build a fan base which led her on to make music videos and post them on YouTube. Enormous YouTube music channels such as SBTV and Link Up TV began recognising her and featuring her on their channels. She managed to gain over a million viewers within three days of the videos being released with an approximate 10:1 like to dislike ratio.

As younger music listeners are very active on social media platforms like Snapchat and Instagram, these were the perfect applications to use to boost her fan base as most 16-25 year olds would have both of them meaning she give the ease of access to her audience without them having to download new applications, they can simply just open their normal apps and see what she has posted. Furthermore, Rozay can contact her fans to ask for advice and generally help them if they are struggling with anything as this is her main cause.

You can see her choice of fashion below. Mariyam tends to wear dark colours to suit the genre but most importantly because she prefers to wear darker clothing. Dark colours suit the Grime genre as the stereotypical view of a 'hood rat' is someone seen in dark colours and looking intimidating however I don't believe that you have to be a 'hood rat' to make Grime, you just need the flow and punch lines. 

main cause.

Findings

Through this research I have found that the methods that most 16-25 year olds use are extremely digitised. I understand this because a very small minority of people actually bought music magazines. Due to this, I will incorporate a code which the reader can scan and which will lead to a website where the reader can vote their best artists and vote for interviews. This is to ensure that the readers of these magazines feel that they have a say within it.

I further found that there were others who agreed with my statement that males dominate Grime. This shows that I have other people who also have the same opinion as me on female grime artists. This means that I will be typing the ideal content for my audience.

In addition to this, I found the perfect price for the magazine I am going to publish which is below £3.00 as the majority of people voted for this (8/9 respondents).

Lastly, I found that the main thing people look at when they first look at a magazine is the images that are present on the front cover. Due to this, I will need to ensure that the images have a lot of colour in them or colours that really stand out and contrast with each other like black and white or red and black.

Focused research

Question 1) Who is your favourite Grime artist and why?

Question 2) Do you listen to more male or female grime artists?

Question 3) From looking at this magazine, what grabs your attention the most?

Question 4) What information would you like to know about a Grime artist in an interview?

Broad research

It is evident from the bar chart above that not very many people purchase magazines anymore (1/9 people buy music magazines). I believe this is due to the social media platforms and applications we have available to us. Social media platforms and other news applications allow people to access magazines online maybe for cheaper or even for free meaning people don’t have to make the effort to go out to buy the magazine which is easy access and this could be something I could incorporate into my magazine.

From this data I have collected on Survey Monkey, I am able to understand that the most popular price groups for magazines are £0.01-£1.49 and £1.50-£2.99. As I have given this survey to those who listen to and enjoy Grime, it is clear that I have to keep the price low as it is affordable and the price will stand out to my target audience.

Most of what is listed above I was going to use anyway but the interview was a great idea and I will try my best to slot in at least one within the magazine. I especially like the idea of the list of top Grime artists and I will do this by giving the readers access to a website where they can vote who they think should go on the list.

It is clear that I have to include celebrity gossip, features and information about new releases. I was going to include all the things listed by the respondents but this has just certified the importance of these topics.

Approximately 70% of respondents informed me that the pictures on a magazine cover is the first thing they notice so to ensure I am meeting the requirements of my target audience I will use interesting images along with a punchy colour scheme ensure it stands out from any other magazines which are of the same genre if there are any.

Artists of Grime

I have embedded a power point I made on two artists from the Grime industry who are female which is my main focus for the magazine I am going to produce.

Genre research

If you read the timeline below, you are able to understand that Grime has had a very uncertain past however large icons within the industry today made sure that Grime remained by making large sacrifices for themselves and all the others within our society who want to make something out of music due to a lack of opportunities or just a passion and real drive for music.

Research rationale

My target audience for this magazine are for those who are interested in grime from the age 16 onwards to 25. I chose the age group starting at 16 because I believe that Grime can be very explicit due to the profanity used and sexual innuendos. I purposely didn’t make the age group starting from 18 as I believe those who are aged 16 are mature and have been exposed to that kind of material especially in this day and age where movies which are 12A have profanity showing that it is more accepted. Also, through my own experiences, I have seen that students tend to listen to a lot of up-tempo, rave type music going to school, while doing work, while revising, going home, etc. And have had a lot of peers who have decided to pursue a career within the grime industry however have had no female friends entering the grime industry. This magazine is aimed at a female audience but doesn’t have any restriction as if men are interested, they are more than welcome to read the magazine but it is aimed mainly for women due to the fact that as I said in my brief, not very many women are given the limelight for their music even when it is of high quality.

For example, Lady Leshurr had some publicity for her music however this was very short-lived but if you look at male artists, their music seems to have a very long life-span like Ard Adz. He didn’t post for quite some time but people were still much hyped and in my opinion, Lady Leshurr did a greater job than him which isn’t just my opinion but my peer’s opinions too.

Lady Leshurr

Ard Adz

In order to generate graphs for my research, I will create a survey on Microsoft Office Word and ask a minimum of ten people to complete the survey to ensure the reliability of my research. For my audience research I will gather a focus group and conduct an interview with them which will consist of two or more students within my sixth form. This is beneficial because it will give me opinions of my target audience allowing for the production of my magazine to be at the best of my ability and to hopefully meet everybody’s expectation.