mediaas

My original hip hop photographs

Location of my photo shoot and choosing my model

I have decided to locate my photo shoot in my own home because it is winter and I suggest that my photographs will be interrupted as passengers will be heading for shopping as it is the Christmas period.

I have decided to use one of my closest friends as my front page, contents page and double page spread model. She will be portraying the look of a famous Hip-hop and Pop artist and she will look very extravagant. (Like Nicki Minaj in my secondary research) I have decided to promote sex appeal in the way my model is dresses, positioned and with her facial expressions.

Unfortunately I am still not able to access a professional camera, as I did claim that I would be able to get hold of a professional camera, because of the poor quality of my school magazine images.

I have decided to use a range of camera shots and angles such as

vMedium close up

vWide shot

vMedium shots

vLong shot

vLow angle/ High angle

How did the photo shoot go?

I would like to believe that my photo shoot was indeed successful and went extremely well. I managed to secure a range of camera shots and angles. I also managed to dress my model in 4 different outfits , which may be seen as Hip-hop and pop clothing. I judge that I was successful in portraying the style of my chosen genre music, I suppose that this is correct because I am a fan on these genres. On the other hand I do believe that if I had a professional camera I would have presented a better quality result

My chosen target audience and genre

My Chosen Target and Genre Audience

Through carrying out my research of different music magazine genres, from looking at a range of front pages, content pages and double page spreads, I have come to a decision that I am going to create a Hip-Hop/Pop magazine. Firstly my reason for this is because it was most voted for evidently in the results of my questionnaire. I handed out my questionnaire with a random sample of 15 participants in my neighborhood. I am pleased with my results because I am more involved with the Hip Hop and Pop genre in my day to day life. Personally, I enjoy Hip-Hop and Pop music and therefore I feel that I have enough familiarity to produce a well detailed magazine, which will obviously include elements of what I know and enjoy of the genre.

Secondly my research analysis of the Hip-Hop and pop displayed many of my famous artists such as ‘Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Trey Songz and Lil Wayne. And my Pop research included the famous artists ‘Keyshia Cole and Katy Perry. This influenced me particularly because I am a massive fan of all these artists and therefore I feel that I can include appropriate information of what I already know about the genre. In my research I felt that both the Hip-Hop and Pop magazine had more of a creative approach to its audience, it included a range of colours compared to the other genres such as Jazz and Classical, which I found hard to relate to. It lacked interest in these magazines as I found them boring, which made me believe that it may not attract my chosen target audience. Positively the hip hop and pop magazine were colourful and flamboyant which allowed me to believe that I can replicate some key features to ensure that it grabs my reader’s attention.

My secondary research lastly displayed a similar key feature which was that they all had a seductive approach. I personally believe that sex does sell in the market, as it is eye catching. In my research analysis the VIBES magazine contents was an image of Solange Knowles, her posture was very seductive which I believe captivates attention from the male and female audience. I would like to replicate seductiveness in my photographs because I believe they are more appealing and also bribe the audience to want to read more about the person displaying seductiveness.

Unfortunately, I struggled with coming to a decision of the age ranges I wanted to target my magazine to; this led me no choice but to carry out my personal secondary research online. I found out that the most popular consumers of Hip Hop and Pop magazines were between13-34. This was very helpful in terms of me coming to a decision, (as it is a statistic), to base my magazines target audience between the age ranges of 13-34, as it is proven that they are the most popular readers of the genre Hip Hop and pop magazines

Prices of the magazines I have researched and my set price for MY own music magazine

Prices of the magazines I have researched

Kerrang magazine: £2.20

Classic Rock: £2.99

Billboard: £4.99

Vibe : £9.68

Classical music : £4.85

Jazz legends : £7.99

SET PRICE FOR MAGAZINE

Doing a bit of maths, because I have decided that my magazine is going to be a mix of hip hop / pop magazine, I have decided to calculate the average price for my magazine by adding up the price of ‘VIBES’ and ‘BILLBOARD’ magazine then dividing it by two which totalled up to £7.00 rounded to the nearest 10. On the other hand these music magazines are well established and popular, which explains the fact that they are priced highly. Lastly I do not believe that people in my area who are mostly working class would prefer to buy a music magazine for £7.00, so I have now set the price down to £2.00 because I believe it is affordable.

Analysing my questionnaire results

Question one: Do you read music magazines?

For question one, I asked my target audience (13-34yr olds) whether they purchased music magazines in general to see whether they had an interest in music magazines. The majority said that they were interested in music magazines. The majority who had my questionnaire voted for yes, as 9 out of 15 people voted for yes. This was very encouraging and exciting for me to create a magazine. Because it shows that my chosen target group is interested so it motivated me. The feedback I have received from my first question in my questionnaire has no input in the physical magazine, but it means that there is relevancy in my assignment.

Question two: What gender would you most prefer to see in the front cover of a music magazine?

For question two, I asked my target audience which gender they would most prefer to see in front of a music magazine. I asked this question because I wanted to understand who my target audience would have a preference of viewing when they want to buy my music magazine. The majority of my target audience voted for a ‘Female’ to be present in the music magazine front cover. So because the most voted for is a female, I have decided that my model/artist MUST be a female, and she would be present throughout my magazine.

Question three: How often do you buy music magazines?

For question three I asked my target audience how often they read/bought music magazines to see whether there was a general demand for music magazines. The majority who answered my questionnaire voted for 0-2times a week. From question one I did believe that maybe the majority of votes for 3-5 times a week .Unfortunately there is not a relatively high demand or want for music magazines. I predict that most people do not purchase music magazines they may for instance find one in a local shop and may just skim read it. On the other hands I am planning to create a magazine that grabs my chosen target audience’s attention which may then persuade them to purchase my music magazine.

Question four: What is your favourite genre music magazine?

For question four I asked my target audience to select one music genre they preferred. They were given a choice from Rock, Pop, Jazz, Hip-Hop, and Classical. It turned out that the majority voted for were both the ‘Hip Hop’ and pop genre. This has made me come to a decision that my chosen genre would be a combination of the Pop and Hip-Hop characteristics.

Question five: What would you like to the interview music magazine double page spread to be based upon?

For question five I asked my chosen target audience what they would like to be included in the double page spread. I previously already decided that the double page spread was going to be based on the magazine interviewing the artists, as in my secondary research it was clear and present that all the double page spreads I analysed were interviews. The majority said that they wanted ‘Facts about the artist’ this can be easily done and included in my magazine.

Question six: What would you like the music magazine to be called?

For question six I asked my target audience what they would like the music magazine to be called. I am glad that I decided to make this questions closed, because if not, I may have received many different answers that would not have been useful, in terms of drawing to a conclusion in what my magazine name should be called. I asked this question because I wanted to have a good understanding of a music magazine name which my target audience will favour to buy and be willing to read amongst the rest. Because the genre ‘Hip-Hop and ‘Pop’’ was most voted, I am not taking into account of the other sub genres which could have been chosen which were ‘Classical, Rock, Jazz. Evidently the majority of votes received for the name of the Hip-hop magazine were ‘BOSS’ in addition to this because Pop also received equivalent votes as the hip hop, the majority of votes received for the name of the pop magazine was ‘Hits’ Pleasantly this gives me a very tough decision to come to a decision about which name I will be using for my music magazine. I will be making this decision later on when I am creating my magazine.

Question Seven: What colour scheme would you prefer to see in your chosen genre magazine?

Tallying up the votes it shows that the most wanted colours were ‘Black Grey and Gold’ I am extremely happy with the decision my target audience have decided to choose because I believe that the colour Gold symbolizes power, authority and a star. These characteristics are the qualities of the Hip Hop/Pop genre (artists, songs etc...) The colour black will allow the gold to be more obvious to my readers and will be more eye catching. Differently I may add additional colours in my magazine, if I feel that they are needed.. Lastly the colour grey, allows texts to stand out in magazines, if they act as a background evidently in my secondary research, This will be beneficial as it will allow my text to project itself.

Question Eight: What would personally interest you to purchase the magazine more often?

For question eight I asked my target audience what would make them interested in buying my magazine. I found out that in my research there were a range of things which its readers can participate in. So therefore I am enthusiastic to also include ideas which my readers can participate in. They also persuade people to buy goods. ‘A free latest album CD from the artist’ had the most votes. Therefore in my magazine I must include this free item

QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS

RESULTS

Do you read music magazines?

1) Yes = 9

No = 6

What gender would you most prefer to see in the front cover of a music magazine?

Male	3
Female	11

How often do you read/buy music magazines?(Please tick one)

0-2 times a week	12
3-5 times a week	3
Over 6 times a week	0

What is your favourite genre music magazine? (Please tick one)

Rock	3
Hip- Hop	6
Classical	0
Jazz	0
Pop	6

What would you like to the interview music magazine double page spread to be based upon? (Please tick one)

Based entirely on the artists music life	2
A mixture of the artists music life and social life	2
Facts about the artists, e.g. 10things you didn’t know about the artist.	11
Other (comment)	0

What would you like the music magazine to be called? (Please tick one)

Hip-Hop magazine
BOSS	4
Envy	1
Direct	1
Rock Magazine
Nutter	1
Envy	1
Auto
Pop
Hits	5
Diamond	1
Trendy	0
Classical
Harmony	0
Class	0
Composition	0
Jazz
Rumba	0
Saxo	0
Jazzy	0

What colour scheme would you prefer to see in your chosen genre magazine?(Please tick one)

Black grey and gold	7
White and red	3
Blue and black	1
Pink and black	4

What would personally interest you to purchase the magazine more often?

A free latest album CD from the artist	9
Competitions	1
Poster of the artist with a signature	5
Other

QUESTIONNAIRE