2011-12 LMED8 Gabriel: October 2011

Denotation: The magazine cover consists of a black/white (possibly taken in a studio) photograph of a famous rapper looking directly into the camera. It is a medium-long shot (showing his head to his knees). He is standing on his own, looking supercilious and careless with his head tilted back. He has his hands in his pockets. He is wearing a plain white t-shirt and embroidered black baggy jeans. he is also wearing necklaces, two of which have pendants on them; A watch; and a bracelet. The background of the photo is white. The photograph covers most of the magazine cover. Behind the man is the 'KING' Masthead in bold, black, wide lettering, and in front of him are approximately 6 separate cover-lines in yellow, black, white and grey. The bar code is visible in the bottom left hand corner.

Masthead: 'KING's masthead is bold, wide and strong. it is in black, which matches the man's jeans and some of the shapes and text on the cover. it is also complimentary with the back ground (black and white are complimentary colours). The font used is a serif font and all the letters are wide and squat. The font looks very masculine and would appeal to males more than females. This links to the hip-hop culture (e.g. Low riders and baggy jeans worn below the waistline). The font used looks broad and tough, which again links to the hip-hop culture (e.g. 'Hard' rhymes and tough lifestyles) The word King connotes riches, royalty, power, authority and respect, which links to the famous rap star in the picture.

Character: The photograph is of a famous rapper who goes by the name of Jay Z. Many people title him as the 'King of hip-hop'. This links to the Masthead, which is entitled 'KING'. the photographed rapper's face is easily recognized and the target audience will be attracted.

Composition: The rapper is posed in an arrogant, careless and slightly intimidating stance. This connotes the rapper isn't interested in something. According to hip-hop culture, a man's main priority is to get money. so he may not be interested in anything else e.g. criticism.

Costume: The Rappers costume is quite plain. He is wearing a plain white t-shirt with big baggy black jeans. There is some embroidery design on the right pocket. he is also wearing a black leather belt with a metal buckle. On his left wrist he appears to be wearing a rubber band. On his right wrist he is wearing a leather strap analogue watch. He is also wearing three silver, possibly platinum necklaces with pendants. The costume is quite plain but in hip hop culture, is quite symbolic. The rubber band on his left arm gives the idea that the band is from a wad of money. The necklaces may be worn for religious reasons, but in Hip hop culture, big chains are worn to show wealth. Usually diamonds in the pendants are more expensive and attractive, and that is why most people who follow this still prefer 'Ice' (jewellery with diamonds in them). The embroidered jeans are likely to be made by a designer brand and would also cost a lot. The wristwatch also has diamonds in it and would probably have cost a lot of money. This all links to the hip-hop culture and how what you wear is used as prejudice on how financially stable you are.

NVC: His NVC is also quite arrogant. His hands are in his pocket and his head is slightly tilted back while looking directly in the camera with a straight face (hardly any facial expression)

Lighting: The lighting is studio flash high-key.

Setting: The setting is in a studio with a plain white background. It is quite strange to observe, as the background of the the image is white, and his white shirt blends in. This can also be symbolic, as it connotes blending in to the urban society. He had a rough childhood growing up in ghetto America, made a living out of rapping and soon became successful for it.

Cover-lines: The main cover-line links to the rapper and says: "Jay-Z; 2009 Hip-Hop Cash King". This links to his costume and how his clothing is expensive. The rubber band in particular symbolizes the rapper handles big money. The 'Cash king' is the person who holds the title as the biggest spender/money earner in the year, in the Hip-Hop industry. The Hip-Hop culture is mainly about working from 'the bottom' and working your way up. So most rappers intentions are to get as much money as possible. 'Cash Kings' Supports this point, as it allows some of the richest rappers to compete in being the wealthiest. The audience will be drawn in by this as the target audience will have the same interests as most rappers in the hip hop industry, and knowing who the richest is would be quite appealing to them. The other cover-lines involve other hip-hop artists such as 'Tupac', 'Kanye west' and 'Eminem'. All these artists are famous and known worldwide, so it will attract more of a wider audience. The rappers are all male, so it would be suggested that most of the audience would be male as well. The only cover-line which doesn't show a male rapper is 'Fergie; New photosession'. She is a female R'n'B artist but she is only in the magazine for photographs, which will also attract more males. All the artists are American, where the Hip-Hop culture originated and continues the strengthen. The other cover-lines explain that the magazine isn't just about Hip-Hop culture and music, as one says "Tupac is alive!". Although Tupac was a famous American rapper, the cover-line is gossip, and isn't music based.

Target Audience: Understanding all of the above, I believe that the target audience will be people with an urban/hip-hop sense of style, culture and/or music interest.Both sexes would be interested in this magazine, but definately more males than females. This is because most females prefer R'n'B music than rapping/Hip-Hop. The fonts used are also quite masculine. The age range of the target audience would be from the age of 13 to about 40.The reason why I chose such a young age as a target audience is because 13 is the age children become slightly more independent and start to buy things for themselves. They are also influenced by the media quite easily at this age and Hip-Hop culture is quite manipulating, as it involves dressing and your appearance. Youths always judge each other by their appearance so following trends is usually an issue e.g. to avoid bullying. Hip-Hop appeals mainly from youths to 30 year olds, but Hip-Hop originated about 40 years ago so people who were young at the time it began, may still be interested in its culture and music.

My name is Gabriel Kusimo and I am an AS Media Studies student. I am working towards producing a full contents page, front cover and double page spread. During the course I will be learning vital information which will help bettering my final designs. I will also produce a range of planning and research. An evaluation will also be produced at the end of the unit.

Research will include:
- A Front cover textual analysis: The denotations and connotations of aspects in a magazine front cover.
- A Front cover Conventions diagram: Labelling and defining the items/components used in a front cover.
- A Contents page Conventions diagram: Labelling and defining the items/components used in a contents page.
- A DPS Textual analysis: The denotations and connotations of aspects in a magazine DPS.
- A DPS Conventions diagram: Labelling and defining the items/components used in a DPS.
- Audience research: gathering information about the type of audience which are potential customers to a specific genre.
- Profiling Audience: Creating an 'ideal' reader.
- Mood board: A collection of images which describe/stereotype my specified genre.
- Case study of a publishing house

Planning includes:
-FC/CP/DPS Mock ups
-Unmanipulated Photos
-FC/CP/DPS Final
-Post production feedback
-Evaluation Final

My chosen Music genre i will be working with, is Hip-Hop. I chose this genre because I enjoy listening hip-hop music, and i grew up in a society which has been influenced slightly by the hip-hop culture, so gathering research information about it will be easier to understand and interpret.