LO4: Review of assets

LO3: Following codes and conventions (M)

 

For my front cover I aimed to match the codes and conventions of two different boxing magazines by combining individual components from each one to create my own product, although the image I have used isn't identical to all magazines I wanted to create something original which had its own unique look while also fitting the genre of a typical sports magazine, furthermore I felt out of the image options I had it was the most effective because of the clarity of the image and the general atmosphere it creates of the menacing and suspenseful aspects of boxing. My front cover image is a medium shot meaning I have included the head, torso and top of the legs, this means the boxing gloves are visible as well as the boxing attire which matches with my house style/colors, further meeting the codes and conventions of a typical magazine. The layout for my front cover well suits the typical codes and conventions of a boxing magazine with a large masthead displaying the title of the magazine 'Ring side' which connotes an up-close first-hand experience into the latest boxing news and content, I ensured my masthead was large enough to catch the audience attention but wasn’t so large it took away from the other aspect of the magazine. I also have a main cover line which says "Pound of flesh" this sort of brutal cover line gives insight into the contents of the magazine and similar ones are featured on nearly all boxing magazines; in my case it foreshadows the vicious battle between two boxers that is discussed further into the magazine. I used large striking font types to present a rugged, rough and ready look while ensuring it simultaneously looks professional and sleek. ​

(Rick Altman 1999) Genre offers pleasures – Genre is an act of 'Similarity and difference' This theory is crucial into understanding genre theory. The idea which is portrayed is that when an audience views written content that is defined by a specific title/label/genre they have preconceived expectations of the content they're going to see. The audience expects to see certain features which are described as the 'repertoire of elements'  Carl Rogers (1980)  Ideal self/ Ideal partner (How characters are mediated as a role model or attractive to appeal to an audience) My front cover showed what could be describes as an ideal self/partner to some this is because the image I used portrays a quite obviously very healthy fit man which many would look up to. This can be said about the majority of other boxing magazines as the people displayed in them are usually idolized. Gauntlet (1995):  We can filter and adapt content in media (we separate the good and the bad and as an audience are intelligent enough to know that some of the stuff we see via media outlets isn't acceptable/possible in ordinary society). This applies to my magazine as boxing is a professional sport which should only be performed in the correct environment. Furthermore, the quote displayed on the front page 'Pound of flesh' shouldn’t be taken literally by an audience and is simply an exclamatory metaphor describing the fight to attract more attention and excite the audience more than a literal statement about the fight would. 

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LO3: Body copy for articles

 Community benefits to boxing

 

I truly believe that community boxing clubs are more than just a place for fitness, they can help to encourage a sense of belonging, offer a safe space, a connection with others, role models, discipline, and respect, which can bring about positive change and guide people to stay on the right path.

Through my research I’ve found that unlike many other sports, boxing clubs are inclusive and aren’t aimed at a certain groups. People from all ages, backgrounds, fitness levels can come together without fear of not fitting in and unlike many sports people are not excluded by wealth.  This level of diversity is unique and in urban communities where people tend to mix less, creates an environment which can bring people from all sectors of the community together who would otherwise be strangers. But that is just the tip of the iceberg, community boxing clubs have the power to break down social barriers to dissolve fear especially in communities where crime rates are high, poverty overshadows opportunity and aspirations. They have the capacity to encourage better understanding and to bridge the gap between certain sectors of our communities.

In urban communities where people are often strangers with their neighbours, inclusive social spaces can be invaluable. They not only allow a range of people to mix but by doing so bring people together in a co-supportive way. Those people who perhaps have difficult home lives or no one to speak to, can find positive role models, guidance, and a sense of purpose. Social fitness also offer a range of  mental health benefits, whilst involve this gives people the chance to switch off, to put their everyday worries to one side and focus on the presence. In fact it seems it has become the latest strategies for top celebrities in their bind to gain greater mental strength in dealing with anxiety and depression, certainly cheaper than years of therapy! Boxing is a great stress relief, producing natural endorphins and allowing people to vent their frustrations in a socially acceptable way!

On a more serious note in communities where young people may be experiencing poverty have less opportunities,  feel lost or lacking a sense of purpose, there are real risks of falling in with the wrong crowd leading to anti social behaviour or crime, community spaces such as boxing clubs offer an alternative space for young people to focus their energy. Boxing is a good physical outlet but also encourages discipline, a sense of pride, values and empowerment. 

By engaging with communities,  boxing clubs really do bring people together and reinforce the need for us all to support each other whatever our differences.

LO3: Creating production materials

To make my masthead/title for my double page spread I simply began by typing it via the text tool in photoshop, I next gave each line of writing a black box in order to make it pop from the screen more and have more depth, I then decided to change the font of 'Irvin Magno' as he is the talking point of the article, finally I tilted the second line of writing and turned it blue to fit my house styles because I though this portrayed metaphorically a 'Unique Take' as its of centre and different from the others.

The image of the model hitting the bag was originally a full photo however I used the magnetic lasso tool to cut him from the rest of the image, this was because I felt it would help give the double page spread a cleaner more professional look, Furthermore other magazines do the same by only featuring the person and no background which meets codes and conventions.

Finally I added my Interview/Article into the space I had left blank by once again using the text tool, I had to rearrange the text a few times in order to fit them in without ruining the aesthetic. I added a black box around the questions so that the audience are able to differentiate between question and answer. I also made the first letter of each paragraph considerably larger than the rest as this is common in the majority of other magazines.

I began by laying almost a foundation for my contents page in order to stick to the codes and conventions of other boxing magazines, I created 4 boxes all intended for text and left room for images to be placed in near the top, after typing in the contents text I edited it by giving them each short titles and put them in bold so they stand out, next I numbered each one to let the audience know which page each topic is on. Finally I added my QR code which offers a chance to win a prize, this along side the ranking of the boxing gloves adds some enticement to the page as generically they can be quite boring. The screen shot on the left shows my contents page prior to putting in my own pictures, I did this in order to get a better sense of the images I wanted to use and how they would look. 

                                             

These were my first attempts at my contents page however I felt they lacked the characteristics of other magazines and therefore less met the codes and conventions, the house styles and colours felt a bit unprofessional and almost childish so therefore I decided to redo it. I kept a few elements I liked from these attempts such as the small 'ring side' and contents titles at the top of the page.

                         

This is my front cover page where I experimented with a colourful but simplistic look which I think resulted in a sporty look which stands out and captures the audiences attention, the photo you can see on the left screen shot was an example image I added prior to taking my own so that I could get a better feel for what the end result would look like and I came to the conclusion that it worked well however achieving a similar image would be quite difficult in the timescale I had, therefore I aimed to capture an image which creates the same sort of menacing suspenseful tension but that is much more simplistic and easy to capture.

                                                                                  

Out of all the photographs I took this was the one I felt would be best to use, this was for many reasons such as it being an action shot, the quality of the photo was better than most of my others etc. Although I like the photo itself I think it could match better than it does with the colours of my magazine. I felt my front cover looked slightly bare so added my text into the boxes in order to give insight into the magazine contents, I also added a puff which gives the chance to win a free pair of boxing gloves, this gives the audience an initiative to interact further with the magazine.

 

LO3: Contact sheet and evaluation

 Whilst taking photos on my first shoot at the boxing gym I found it very difficult to capture a clear image due to the fast movement, this could have been countered by me asking the model to stand still whilst I took a picture however I decided not to do this as I feel as so it would have taken away from the action shot aspect of the images. The benefits of my first shoot photos is that the colours in the boxing gym match up to that of the ones I aim to use in my magazine, furthermore the majority of the shots are medium close ups which are a common shot type used in most other boxing magazines. There were quite a lot of unusable photographs due to motion blur or incorrect settings on my camera. For the second shoot of the boxing gloves, although it sounds easy I found it rather difficult for multiple reasons, first of all the lighting was very difficult to get correct as some images looked under exposed and lacked detail or the light would reflect of the gloves and result in a seemingly over exposed image however I aim to edit these photos to black and white in order to make up for the difficulties during the shoot but to also further meet the codes and conventions of my magazine colours. Finally I changed between orientation whilst taking my photos as I knew I would need some landscape and some portrait in order to fit into my magazine pages better.

LO2: Questions for interview

 

“Where did your boxing career start?” - “My dad had always been a big fan of the sport and I remember sitting with him while he watched it. I was only young, maybe 4 or 5, and didn’t really know what was going on, however it amazed me. I forgot about it for a bit as I got older, and my attention mainly began to revolve around football similar to my younger brother although he was younger than me, he was miles ahead and I quickly realized it wasn’t for me. We moved to the UK when I was 7 and I loved it. After about 2 years living here my dad got cancer and was very unwell, he sadly died 6 months after his diagnosis which was a massive shock to the family and my mum was a bit lost without him. I was about 10 when I decided Id have to step up and help my mum look after my siblings, as I was the oldest a lot of responsibilities were left on me, and it definitely made me mature for my age. Around that time was when I decided to join the local boxing club not only because I loved the sport, but I felt like my dad would have wanted me too. I joined a club called Spire Boxing Academy and I loved it, I'd go nearly every day after school, and it almost became an addiction. After about a year I had my first match and I still remember how terrified I was, I walked out to ‘A change is gonna come’ by Sam Cooke as it was dad's favorite song and to my surprise I won easily, after that I just knew pro boxing is what I wanted to pursue.”

“Have you had setbacks during your career?” - “yes, Of Course there's been some downs you can't avoid them, but I like to think it's all part of the process and growing as an athlete, that is of course only true to a certain extent as there's lots of variables to what your ‘setback’ is, for me I've had multiple smaller setbacks like small injuries and losing matches I should have won etc., just the normal setbacks every athlete normally faces, however recently I've had a setback which has really put a roadblock on my career as a boxer, last year due to head trauma I began to struggle with short term memory loss and I had to weigh up my options and decide if I still wanted to pursue my lifelong dream or priorities my health, the moral of the story is, As much as you want to become a pro-boxer or fighter, realize that the ultimate price to pay in the end is your life or your health. The potential money you could earn and the fame you could gain is not worth losing your memory and health for. Choose wisely and do not let your emotions dictate your decisions.” 

“What have you taken from the last 6 years of boxing?” “The past 6 years, what a roller coaster, the catalyst was losing our dad and for me it was the unrelenting desire to take a U-turn and chase the boxing dream. I did it. It was hard, but I have come away with lifelong friends and memories that no one can take from me. Boxing saved my life at a time when me and my family had lost so much. Few can say that. We had no blueprint. Just straight into the deep end. I did the best with what I had, and I can only thank my coach Ronan carter for guiding me through the pro ranks.”