Main Task - Research and Planning

Main Task Research & Planning

On this page I will begin to research and acquire insight into the genre of my music magazine which I will be creating. In order to effectively track my progress throughout the planning process of my music magazine I will be documenting things such as pictures of my work, analysed pieces of work, and decisions explaining my choices.

Here is my response to a question regarding the digital age and how technology is being developed and how this is affecting the way in which we view magazines. [26/04/2016]

The development of digital technology includes the development of new technology, such as cameras and viral marketing. It is currently changing day by day which will help to improve the quality of print magazines and E magazines and also the way they are marketed and distributed. Additionally, the magazine industry is constantly changing and adapting in order to please the audiences changes habits and views. For instance, the view that print media is in decline could be agreed and disagreed with; a proportion of the audience may disagree as they believe magazines are still the most effective media form. However, others would argue that is in decline and have found different platforms in which to obtain knowledge of the music industry at a faster pace or in a more accessible way.

Take for example Bauer, a German based production company which owns a large portfolio of magazines. It covers a wide range of genres which each suit their own niche market e.g. Q magazine for music, Empire for films etc. Not only does Bauer have a portfolio of magazines but every day over 10 million people listen to a Bauer Media owned radio station.

Bauer Media has changed many magazines for example FHM into a multi-platform company. Bauer media is used by 22 million adults every week. Bauer media formed in 2008 and took over a lot of EMAP’s products (including Kerrang!); in 2013 they made 2.4 billion euros, this was due to the fact that they are a conglomerate. Being a conglomerate is important because it helps target a larger audience base through its multi-platforms. Bauer media and Bauer media group are a popular company with an amount of employee’s adding up to 17,400.

“Magazine chiefs urge industry change from burning platform to growth,” Marcus Rich, Chief Executive Owner of IPC media.  This quotation means that the magazine industry needs to open itself to the world of digital media or their magazine will not be successful. Digital technology has encouraged a wider range of audiences; this creates the magazines secondary audience.  Digital media has opened up opportunities for the audiences for example, Kerrang! has an online page, a radio station, social media pages, a television channel (which is owned by BOX who Bauer Media half owns with Channel 4, Bauer Media is also the company who owns Kerrang!), a magazine and a phone app. These open up opportunities because in the magazine they advertise competitions which you enter on their website or the website has links to the competitions.

Here is another response for section B. [26/04/2016]

This is a magazine which i have analysed in lesson in order to assist me when creating my own magazine. [04/04/2016]

With reaction to my case study i also analysed a Kerrang! magazine in lesson to acquire an insight about who they targeted their audience. [04/04/2016]

This is my Kerrang! Magazine front cover analysis. I have used Prezi to effectively portray how I have deciphered Kerrang’s! magazine in terms of why they have made particular choices. I have analysed a total of 3. [04/02/2016]

This is also my Prezi analysis where I have deciphered and analysed 2 non music related magazine front covers [04/02/2016]

This is one of my Prezi analysis. I have analysed 3 Kerrang! Contents pages. [04/02/2016]

Finally, this is also another analysis where I have analysed 2 music related magazines [04/02/2016]

Extra Details:

As already mentioned; the genre for my music magazine would consist of Grime/Rap.

Below are some name ideas that I created for my Music magazine.

·         R&G

·         G&R

·         GRM Monthly

·         SBTV Monthly

·         KROWN Monthly

Additional aims for what I aim to do with my music magazine:

·         Utilise images of the youth to relate to the selected target audience.

·         Give off a sense of reality into how the life of a ‘rapper’ is.

·         Include both genders to portray a sense of diversity that the industry has been recently introducing.

·         Break the stereotype of how Rap and Grime is associated with crime and negative press.

Main Task Photo Shoot [09/03/16]

In order to replicate what a real magazine would like; the whole of our media group organised a day for us to go into the drama studio and create our own original images for our music magazine. The reason we chose the drama studio was because we could control major factors such as lighting and the props that we could also acquire and utilise in our final product that would match our chosen genre. We were all split up into groups based on genre similarity as we would all be able to assist each other in ensuring that the work gets done. I used a professional Cannon camera which was provided by the school which allowed me to capture the perfect shots in high quality. In the drama studio there was a green screen, which would mean I could take an image and then later change the background to whatever would suit the image. There were also plain black and white backdrops which could again be used as images on either the front cover, double page spread, or on the contents page of the magazine.

Keeping in mind the different media shots that I would have to take in order to make sure that I am meeting the needs of the user; as you will see below, I ensured that my images ranged from long shots to mid shots, with a mixture of high and low-key lighting. I took a mixture of various images of different members which all relate to my chosen genre of rap and grime, alongside taking close ups to really entice the audience and put across a message that the industry of rap and grime is back. I also noted how existing rap magazines had created their images for their main cover and kept this in mind whilst creating my own images. 

A lot of the images that I took were shot outside as this related to the culture of rap that I wanted to represent and portray. A lot of grime and rap videos are shot outside hence why I made this decision. Here we can see a high angle shot of 4 ‘rap artists’ behind a brick wall which allows is to visualise the rawness that the rap and grime industry possesses as mentioned that a lot of videos are created and filmed outside where these natural objects are part of the videos. The individuals in this shot are out of sync; by this I mean that they are not prepared and are looking elsewhere. This has been done intentionally as it allows me to capture the moment which is done very often in the rap and grime industry and this sort of image is more commonly known as a ‘mug shot’ where by artists are not prepared.

This again is another mug shot of Rob and Vlad and could potentially be used in my main magazine as it is very common for mug shots of artists to go around. Rob has a Microphone in his hand which could be used to show that Vlad and him are about to create a freestyle music video. However, I do not like the angle of this image. Although it can be manipulated later on in Photoshop to give me a specific desired result; I still wouldn’t be too keen on this being my main image.  

This is a mid-shot of Rob and Nehemie. I utilised the white backdrop in the drama hall as I had initial plans of cropping out the background in Photoshop and placing them over a different image. They are both in costume and Nehemie is wearing headphones and holding a mic. Both of which artists utilise to freestyle over beats to produce and create music for the rap and grim industry. Rob has got a metal chain around his neck as this portrays the ‘crime’ aspect to rap/grime genre as it is notorious for playing a big part in certain crimes. This is why I have chosen not to use this image as I do not want my magazine to portray a negative message about the rap and grime genre. 

This is mid-shot of Nehemie doing the dab. This is a very good image as recently the rap and grime industry has been introducing the R&B culture into their videos. One of the cultures of the R&B industry is the dab which is now recognised worldwide in various different countries across the globe. By merging the industries, it shows how the grime and rap genre has huge potential for growth and flexibility. 

This picture could also be used on my front cover; however i may not use it  as the main image as it could be utilised to relate to an article regarding the youths of today and what they get up to on social media, such as taking selfies. This could help my magazine link in with the younger generation as the individual here is taking a selfie and this is what my target audience does.

I could possibly use this image for my front cover as it possesses an obvious rap and grime vibe. This is a close up of Vicky and shows her looking at the camera in a direct mode of address which appeals to the target audience as this is something they will be able to relate to. Semantic props such as headphones and a bandana have been utilised to make it clear to the reader that this a rap/grime magazine.  The colour of the jacket, bandana and jacket are all black, as the colour black has connotations of mystery which again links to the genre. 

This is more work which i have conducted in lesson about how my understanding of the conventions of existing media has influenced the way in which i designed my final product. [04/06/2016]

This is another students work which i briefly looked at as it wasn't the best of examples of me to compare my work against. [05/05/2016]

This is my final front cover which i have printed out and analysed in book. I explained all the decisions which i made and why i made them and how i was influenced by existing media products. 

This is the interview script with Stormzy from my double page spread.

You would probably assume that public rap contests with other non-official mc’s, multiple suspensions from school or even an expulsion from Sixth Form would be the defining moment of an individual’s life. However, not so, not for this young talented Grime artist.  In fact, this particular individual has deviated from the social norms and instead of receiving bad publicity for such life choices, her behaviour has had quite the opposite effect and the consistent attention has only credited to her rise to the top of the most recent charts; her music antics are now the foremost topic of everyone’s conversations. R&G brings you an exclusive interview with an individual who’s on the verge of becoming a worldwide face... yes, it's Stormzy.

So, you are certainly not what we expect to see when we see the name Stormzy; talented Grime artist.  How did it come about?

You're absolutely right there; and to be honest I'm not surprised, usually you would see a dominant male figure representing the Grime scene. However, I'm proud to be one of the only females to progress this far. It all came about with hard work, consistency and sheer resilience.

So Stormzy, without a doubt, the previous two years have been two of the best for you, could you elaborate a bit more for us?

Well yeah, it’s been like a mad roller-coaster.  First of all, what I think really got my career going was the song I produced ‘Shut Up’.  At first, it was just a joke and an attempt at recreating a ‘fire in the booth’ which is held by popular figure Charlie Sloth, but yeah, as soon as it was released, I was getting people such as Chip and other rap artists phoning me and telling me that this was gonna blow up!  Currently, it stands at over 26.8 million views.

We have seen some controversial drama going on between you and the boxer Dillian Whyte; what was all that about?

To be quite honest, it all started with the entrance I made for Anthony Joshua at his recent match against, of course, Dillian Whyte.  Now, during the rap I changed it up a bit and made some comments about Dillian Whyte and how he was going to get beat; which in the end was true, he was beaten!  But obviously, Dillian took it to heart and made it more than what it actually was. He addressed the issue on a video which went viral, so I came back and made a diss track aimed partially at him. At the end of the day, all’s fair in love and war.

Now, at the age of 17 you were expelled from Sixth Form.  What happened next?

Yeah to be honest, I was at a bad place at that time of my life and I was just really immature for my age if anything.  Although, maybe it was the wakeup call that I needed.  Once I was expelled, I went and got myself a job in a bar, which for me at the time was better than anything. But yeah, stay in school kids.

How do you feel about constantly being watched?

(laughs) Yeah, it’s quite scary I guess because personally, I don’t think I’m ready for someone to turn around and say that I’m their role model; it all just seems too crazy (laughs).

This year, you won Best Grime Act at the MOBO awards and you also became the first unsigned rapper to appear on ‘Later with Jools Holland.'  How did all this feel?

It was surreal. Words can’t even explain how I was feeling when I won at the MOBO’s. It’s evident from the clip which you can see on YouTube, that I was speechless! (laughs). And being the first unsigned rapper to perform on ‘Later with Jools Holland,’ WOW!  I didn’t even know that till now (laughs). But yeah, that was mad.

Finally, what can R&G readers expect from you in the future?

You can expect everything (laughs) I’ve been working on a movie called ‘Brotherhood’; I’m sure you’re all aware of the previous two in the saga; ‘Kidulthood’ and ‘Anuvahood.’  That in itself is a big thing for me and you can all go along and see me on the big screen (laughs).  Also, I’ve got some upcoming collaboration with other rap artists, Skepta and Chip; so be sure to check that out.  Yeah, I'll be around for a while yet, so keep watching!

This is my mock up cover and contents page for my magazine: