Binary Opposition

Binary Opposition is the theory of Levi Strauss. He believed that the way we understood certain words wasn't because of their actual meaning exactly, but much more by our understanding of the difference the word and its 'opposite' or as he called it - 'binary opposites'

Binary Opposition is commonly used in films and some examples are:

- Good vs Evil
- Young vs Old
- Male vs Female
- High Class vs Lower Class
- Rich vs Poor
- Pretty vs Ugly
- Black vs White
- Man vs Nature

My Album Cover

Here is my album cover that I have created for the 'Lord NB' character that will feature on the front cover of my magazine and possibly the contents page too. On the front cover of the album is an image of the character and I have added an effect to the image to make it have shadows of some sort. This all links to the name of the album 'IN THE SHADOWS'. I chose the name because it represents how my character was seen as a nobody and then all of sudden became an iconic rapper. He was in the shadows and is finally being known for his music. The dollar bill on the album is stereotypical for rappers to do, as money associates with rappers a lot these days. I have used it so it looks like the iconic 'gangster' thing to do and will hopefully appeal to the target audience. The colour of the album is red because it denotes danger, and that's what a lot of rappers personality's are like. I have also included the parental advisory logo again to show the type of music my character produces and that it is explicit. The album will have a small feature on my magazine on the contents page or the front cover and can hopefully be used as a selling point.

More photoshoot plans

Here are some extra photo-shoot plans I have made before the real thing actually happens. I have decided to change locations because I think it would be more suitable for my character and the genre of the magazine I'm producing

Album Cover Photoshoot

Here are some photos that I took for the front cover of my album that will feature on my magazine. I will use one of these photos for the album cover and then post what the final album cover will look like in an upcoming post.

Album Cover for Double Page Spread

Here I have created an album cover for the character featuring on my double page spread, King Hale. I have called the album 'Throne' because it links to the personality of my character, he wants to be looked up to by his fans and appeal to a wide audience. The image used links to the title because he is striking a worshipping pose of some sort which gives the impression he has power. Behind the image is a skyline of LA which is where my character is from. The crown at the top links to the title of the album and the image, because it gives the impression the character is a king of some sort which also links to his name 'King Hale'. The imagery and words I have used have synergy and make sense to who the character is. I have also included the parental advisory logo to show the genre of the music. The album cover will feature on the double page spread of my magazine.

Contents Page Draft

I have also created a contents page draft. Again these are just a few ideas that I have had and I'm sure the final product will look quite different.

Front Cover Draft

Here is a front cover draft that I have made for a practice attempt. These are just a few ideas that I have had and the final product will have changes like the main image.

Final Masthead

Here is my design for a masthead for my rap magazine Explicit. I have decided to use a gold/yellow for the font because a lot of rappers tend to wear gold as it is considered cool and is a part of the gangster look. This all links in to the genre of my magazine and will hopefully appeal to the target audience as being a rap magazine. I have decided to use red behind the main masthead because it represents danger, which links to the personality of many rappers. My background on my magazine will be black as it doesn't contrast with the colours used on my masthead.

Font Change

I have decided to make a change to the actual magazine production and have decided to use a different font to the one I set out to use. I found this font and asked my target audience about it and the results concluded that they liked this one more than the previous one I chose. I also like this font more and I still think it fits in to the genre of my magazine with the graffiti like style to it. 

Possible props for magazine

Here are some ideas for some props that I might use for my photo-shoot. I think some of these props are important because it will symbolize my character and represent the genre of the magazine.

Practice shots for double page spread character

Here are some practice shots that I took for my character that is going to be featured on my double page spread, King Hale. These are just some practice attempts and I will plan more when it comes to the real thing. These practice shots are how I want it to look however, but with my character wearing a different outfit and a different location for the pictures.

Character for double page spread

Here is my character that I will use for my double page spread on my magazine Explicit. I will get some practice shots of my character so I know what to do for the real photo-shoot.

AIDA Theory

After doing media at GCSE, I learned about AIDA theory and thought that I could apply it to my magazine work too. I think its important that I apply it to my magazine and therefore I have done some research into it.

Magazine codes and conventions

I thought that it would be useful to do some research into magazine codes and conventions. These are the main terms that you need to know before making your own magazine in order to be successful. Now that I have done this research, I know what features I need to include on my own front cover and the rest of the magazine.

Chosen Font

 

After asking my target audience about some different fonts that I could potentially use, the results showed that they liked this font the most out of all of them. This was also one of my favourite fonts to use because I think it is suited to the rap genre with the style of it. The letters are large and stand out and they almost look like a sort of tattoo font, which rappers tend to have a lot of. 

Additional Colours

Another colour that I'm intending to use is Yellow. It is another bright colour that will stand out and attract attention. Yellow also looks quite golden which I think represents the rap industry in a good way. Rappers tend to wear a lot of gold in the chains they wear, watches or even teeth. I'm intending to use yellow on the masthead for my magazine with a black background because I think these colours go well.

Asking the TA about potential fonts

Music Magazine Publishers

I have done some research into who publishes music magazines and this is what I found out. It has just given me a better understanding of the music magazine genre in general.

Photoshoot Test

 Here are some pictures that I took as a practice for my photo-shoot. When I come to do my real photo-shoot, there will be changes to the location and outfit that I'm wearing. The sorts of poses that im doing may also be different. These are just some practise shots and I may take some more before I do my actual photo-shoot.

Font Styles

Here are some examples of some potential fonts that I could use for my own magazine. This font would be applied to the masthead of the magazine and most of the other text in the magazine. These are just a few examples and I may do further research into more fonts. However for now I will ask my target audience on their opinion for a font and then make a decision.

Magazine Name Decision

I have now given my tally chart of names to many members of my target audience. From the results I can conclude that my target audience liked the name 'Explicit' the most. I am happy with this decision and the name was one of my favourites from the start. I think 'Explicit' is a good name because it sums up the rap genre in a word. Most songs rappers produce contain explicit lyrics and most rappers have a personality that are explicit to some people. Rappers are seen as a tough and are described as being gangsters of some sort. I just really like the name 'Explicit' because rappers and the music they produce are not for younger people and that's why I also think the name will appeal to the target audience I've gone for. On the songs rappers produce, you will see a symbol saying parental advisory, explicit content which looks like this:

I can use the logo in some way on my own magazine and try and make my own version of it. This logo is very symbolic of the rap genre and represents it well.

Masthead Analysis for Rap Magazines

Here is an analysis of some rap magazine mastheads that I have done. I now have a much better understanding of the style of mastheads that are used on rap magazines. Hopefully I can apply this to my own magazine when it comes to making a masthead.

Colours for my magazine

From my questionnaire results, the colours that my target audience said stand out the most were black, red, blue, green and white. I think these colours were chosen because they are quite bright and attract attention easily. Out of these colours I think I am most likely to be using black, red or a dark blue. I think these colours go well with the genre of my magazine and attract attention at the same time.

Questionnaire Results

Here are my results from the questionnaire I asked my target audience to fill in. I got the results and put the results in a pie chart to make it easier to look at. The questionnaire has helped me further my research a lot, I now know what my target audience want to see and what they don't from a rap magazine.

Tally Chart for TA

This is a tally chart that I have created for my target audience to fill in. I have designed this just to get some opinions on what name for my magazine the target audience like the most. After I have asked some members of the target audience, I will make a decision for a name of my magazine.

Magazine Name Ideas

Here are some of my ideas for a name for my own actual rap magazine. These are just basic names that I thought of by doing some research and some of them are my own ideas.

Photoshoot Planning

Here is a basic photo-shoot plan that I did so that I know what I'm doing when we come to do the actual photo-shoot after I have done all of my research needed.

Blog Progress

Blog Progress so far

Successes – 17 posts

-          Target audience

-          Character

-          Analysis of magazine genres

-          Questionnaire planning

 

-       Deciding on the genre

Next Steps –

-          Giving my questionnaire out

-          Photo-shoot

-          Planning my actual magazine

Research and planning –

-          I need to plan my photo-shoot and the things ill need for it and also the location.

-          I need to gather research from my questionnaire once I have given it out to my target audience

-          I need to start planning the design of my actual magazine like looking at things such as colour schemes, name, logo and so on.

Construction –

- I will start the construction of my actual magazine once I have done all the research that I need from my target audience.

- I need to think about in the meantime about the name of my magazine, colour schemes, images I will use and so on.

 

- I also need to think about the type of information I am going to include on my front cover, contents page and double page spread.

 

 Evaluation –

- I have decided on the character that is going to feature on my magazine and the sort of clothing he wears and the sort of background he has

- I have decided on the genre that my magazine is focusing on which is rap/hip hop

 

 

Questionnaire from a member of my target audience

Here is a video of me asking a member of my target audience the questions on my questionnaire that I planned out. This is just one example and I will ask many more people in my target audience to gather as much research as I can.

Maslow

After doing media at GCSE and learning about Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, I realised that I could apply it again to my A-level coursework. The section of the triangle I think is going to be most suitable for my magazine is 'esteem'. I think this because I want my magazine to appeal to the target audience and maybe even change their lives. I want my character to be relatable and actually give people self esteem. The target audience may look at my character and think of him as an idol and it may give them confidence in themselves. They may also look at something like my characters fashion and wear it themselves after seeing it, because they believe it makes them confident and makes them be like the character I have made. I think Maslow is a huge advantage I can use on my own magazine to hopefully appeal to the target audience as much as possible.

Colour Wheel

My Character for my Magazine

Here is an idea for a character for my own music magazine. These are just my first ideas for a character and I may change some details later on in the process. I think my character can appeal to my target audience of 16-30 year olds and is well suited for the rap genre.

My questionnaire for target audience

Here is my questionnaire that I have designed for my target audience. I will hand quite a few copies out to people who are suited to my target audience. After I have a lot of filled out questionnaires, I will analyse the results and see what my target audience are most interested in seeing on my own magazine.

Pop Magazine Analysis

Here is my analysis into a front cover, contents page and double page spread for a pop music magazine. I now understand the style of these magazines more, the sorts of colours and fonts used, some of the main artists and how it attracts attention.

R&B Magazine Analysis

Here is my analysis of a front cover, contents page and double page spread for a R&B music magazine. After analysing this type of genre, I now have a feel for what most of the magazines look like and I also know some iconic artists from this genre.

Target Audience

As I mentioned in my final decision for the genre of my magazine, I will be targeting 16-30 year olds for my own rap magazine. I am targeting this age range because I feel rap music will appeal to them the most. I will be designing a questionnaire for my target audience to ask them how they feel about this genre and evaluate it after. I think that rap/hip hop music will most likely appeal to men more than women because there aren't many female rappers out there. Therefore my magazine will also be aimed at men but there is no reason why females cant be interested in the genre too. I think that rap music appeals to 16-30 year olds most because of the explicit language that is used in music and the personalities that some iconic rappers have. It is clear that rap music is not for a younger audience. And I think that older people could get offended by the music rappers produce or just don't like it in general, which is why I've chosen a specific age range in which I feel rap will appeal to the most.

Target audience profile:
A typical person in my target audience would be a male aged 18, he would like the big rappers like Eminem, Drake etc. He would enjoy activities like gaming and socialising with friends. He would wear fashionable clothes and tend to stay up to date with everything. He would also be a social media user and follow all his favourite rapper idols on Instagram, twitter etc.

Rap magazine analysis

Here is my analysis of a front cover, contents page and double page spread of a rap/hip hop music magazine. Now I have made my decision to focus my own magazine on this genre, I now have a better understanding of the style of these magazines after my analysis.

Music Magazine Genre Decision

Here is my final decision on the genre my music magazine is going to focus on. I have done research into 3 genres and decided that rap/hip hop is the one best for me as I am passionate about it, and hopefully this reflects in my final product. I am happy with my decision and im looking forward to making my own magazine on this genre.

Research into R&B magazines

Here are some examples of a front cover, contents page and double page spread for an R&B magazine. The genre tends to focus on big names in the industry to try and attract as most attention as possible to the target audience.

Research into Pop magazines

Here is my research into pop music magazines. Here is a front cover, contents page and double page spread. I think that the genre is aimed at younger audiences and the colours used are very bright. Each magazine tends to focus on one popstar which kids and teenagers may like.

Research into Rap magazines

 
This is the research into rap/hip hop magazine and here are examples of a front cover, contents and double page spread. I really like the genre and the style of the magazines and have an instinct that I will go for this genre for my own magazine.