Porduction Diary - 06/07/14

Upon being briefed about our upcoming coursework investigation, I began researching ideas on the internet and using a list of ideas provided. I found it very difficult to decide what to do as I wanted something different to others but also that I was interested in and passionate about. Eventually I came across the idea to compare the language used by the character Walter White in the popular Television Series Breaking Basd as his indentity develops throughout season 1-5.  To help with my research, I will find a variety of scenes from various seasons of the show to prove how power changes the vocabulry he uses.

I have written my proposal and introduction to the investigation however my introduction is not complete as I still need to pick my specific scenes of the show. Once I have chosen this, I will edit my introduction and proposal if necessary.

Piece Two Commentary - Reason Magazine

When I started to create my magazine, I firstly had to think about how I was going to make it appeal to the audience of the genre I had chosen as no magazine can continue into production without sales. I used similar product research to give me a better idea about the typical conventions of Hip-Hop music magazines and their success. Once I felt I had gathered enough knowledge I began to create my own magazine with a target audience of people between the ages of 16-30 of both genders, but mainly males.

 

The most important characteristic of any magazine is to establish how you can differentiate yours from others, either competing against its typical conventions or going with them. I mainly wanted to make my music magazine stand out on a shelf, however I did take careful consideration of the Hip-Hop genre’s typical codes and conventions too so that my magazine didn’t seem too different, therefore looking unprofessional and strange. Firstly, on my front cover I created a red, bold masthead to make it look strong, rugged and basic in order to reflect the common connotations of a masthead but also to establish a brand font and image that would be commonly recognised within my magazine. Also, for magazines that have an adult target audience, the colour red is commonly used as it holds connotations of power and danger as the other Hip- Hop magazine competitors will be scared of our magazine just as some artists are when the spray a particular rhyme in a certain verse and this is what keeps rap alive, competition. My model is not wearing any fancy jewellery or equipment. This connects with the audience as they know that Alysha Hackett is just like them. The model is holding direct eye contact with the camera lense which is very common of music magazines as they believe it creates a personal equality connection between the artist and the reader. The facial expression also reflects the characteristics of the artist and implies that they are rebellious and daring. This is appealing to the audience and therefore lures them into reading it as they want to discover the story behind the facial expression. Also, the image of my model is a mid-shot which is very conventional for a Hip-Hop magazine as most producers decide that mid-shots look best on front covers because it gives the model to show off their cool clothes and fancy bling. I did decide to follow this convention by doing so. I then selected the colours of red, black and white because red holds connotations of energy, power and determination while also being linked with passion, desire and love, suggesting that my magazine is different, going against typical conventions of Hip-Hop magazines, white being youthful, innocent and sophisticated, and black holding connotations of darkness and maturity. I have seen the colours black and red be used in Hip-Hop magazines before so typically this is quite conventional. Furthermore, it holds the conventions of creating a relationship with the reader as when they see these colours they instantly know that it is my magazine. My magazine also holds the typical conventions of having a banner at the top and bottom of the page which will prompt the audience to view our social networking sites which I will go into more detail later in this evaluation.

Finally, the double page spreads which I have used to conform to the house colours which I have earlier discussed in order to create a brand image and reinforce the relationship with the audience. Furthermore, on the first page I used this as an introductory page which is very conventional of aHip/Hop magazine as it briefs and introduces the reader to the article about to be presented. I also created a quirky grid of different close up shots of my model making ‘silly’ faces and poses. Usually, Hip-Hop models are quite posed and serious, but my model goes against this convention in these facial shots, presenting a completely different fun side of the Hip-Hop genre, while still being able to make the best verses in the industry.The language used within the main article is what you would normally expect from a Hip/Hop magazine. It is a tale of the artist life talking about her dark journey to get her to the top.

 

David Campbell

Piece One Commentary - Kony 2012

I chose to write a rap in order to employ the purposes ‘to inform’ and ‘to entertain’. The rap is based on my own personal opinion on the well-known topic of Kony. I researched the topic in order to develop my understanding and knowledge, and used what I learnt to achieve the purposes and appeal to my target audience.

 

In the opening line of the rap, I straight away introduce the topic of “Kony 2012”, which illustrates to the audience the subject of the rap. The rap is written in the first person and uses many pronouns: “I”, “my”, which highlights that I have emphasised my opinion on the topic.I use various different conventions of a stereotypical rap including Rhyme in order to make mine fit in with the medium, such as “pressed to play” and “impressed to say”. This is found catchy and links with a certain flow/beat which is more like to be remembered by the target audience.

 

I also use colloquial language in order to make my rap sound more urban and street-like such as “aint” and “Cause”. This is used because rap is more targeted at teenagers and younger generations and they are more likely to understand/relate to this language.

 

I also use rhetorical questions in my rap as it allows the target audience to think about the question that I have asked while it also allows for a brief pause for the rapper to catch his breath back. For example, “What better way to start than having you backing a cause so that if troops are in their country they all clap and applause?” This adds a new meaning to the whole Kony 2012 situation as the video seemed to have brainwashed a lot of people to believe whatever “Invisible Children” said. When doing my research I found out that the company have been known for manipulating the truth to try to persuade more people to donate to them. I state my concern about the company’s integrity in the lines “See the charity that’s causing this spectacle, has a shady past that aint to respectable, accused of bending the truth to make you more susceptible.”

 

Anaphora (repetition) is also used throughout my rap. This links in with using Rhymes as it makes it more memorable and catchy. For example, my last three lines all finish off with hyphens between the last two words. “Dam-shame”, “can-change” and “dam-train”. This makes the last three lines sign off quickly but without feeling like the rap is half finished. The anaphora of the word “dam” shows how passionate I am about trying to prove the other side of the argument while also still trying to sound cool and Hip/Hop like.

 

David Campbell