Planning and Evaluation of an article

For this task I looked at articles from the magazines Vibe and The Source.

The first article I looked at was from Vibe magazine, the article is on Rhianna the singer and how a director says she 'will try anything'. The article is quite short so I couldn't get very much information from it but what I did get from it was that the tone used is quite informal and friendly, it invites you in and is quite easy to read. It also grabs your attention straight away with the title, leading you in to see what it means. Making you ask yourself what will Rhianna try!?

The first line also has the same effect '(Even with controversy steaming from Rihanna's recently released music video, "Rude boy'')', the word controversy immediately attracts the viewers attention and makes them want to read more. This article is more of an interview with the director Melina Matsoukas giving lots of quotes and statements but you don't see what the magazine asked her.

Overall I found this article very easy to read and understand, I think this sort of article would suit my audience of woman and men of the ages of 16-34.

The second article that I looked at was from a magazine called The Source. The article is on an interview about how Hip hop's essential four elements- MCing, graffiti, break dancing and DJing have evolved over the years but some things never change. The interview is between veterans of the graft and the 'newschoolers'.

The article's use of language is quite informal, it appeals to younger people or people that are into the Hip-hop scene, there is a lot of use of slang, for example the word 'newschoolers' meaning newer/younger generation.
The tone of the article is on quite a serious note, the veterans are complaining about the way Hip-hop is today and how it's all about the money and not about the feeling or love for Hip-hop.
This article is an interview but you don't see what the questions are, the pages are just full of quotes from the veterans and the newer people. I find this quite an interesting way to present an interview and seems quite effective, you don't need the questions on the page to understand what the people are talking about. It flows more and seems like a conversation an a page, with the people being interviewed leading off one another. I like the way they chose to show the interview, I think it would appeal to my target audience (woman and men aged between 16-34) as it seems young and is for my genre Hip-hop and is very easy to relate to and read.

I think the second article from The source magazine is much better than the first article by Vibe magazine as it seems to flow more, it's easier to relate to and understand. The first article didn't have enough information in it to make you remember it, I feel an article being memorable is very important for magazines, so they are getting their point across to the reader.

This is an example of my review of the new XBOX360 game DJ Hero, Which will be on my double page spread.

Xbox’s new game (DJ HERO) released on the 27th October 2009 from Activision a follow up from (Guitar Hero & Band Hero) but for a different crowd has been very popular with all types of people and all types of ages. Different to (guitar hero) in that you are a DJ and have a turntable, but the actual game play being the same, they have kept the aims the same and the 4 coloured buttons the same. The full catalogue on the disc consists of 93 tracks covering several genres and appealing to all ages some examples of the tracks are; 50 Cent - “Disco Inferno” vs. David Bowie - “Let’s Dance”, Cypress Hill - “Insane In The Brain” vs. Classics IV - “Spooky”, Daft Punk - “Around The World” vs. Young MC - “Bust A Move” and Daft Punk - “Robot Rock” vs. Queen - “We Will Rock You”.

The makers of Guitar Hero introduce an entirely fresh and innovative way to experience your favourite music. ‘With DJ Hero, be the life of the party as you spin and scratch more than 100 songs into unique mixes. Get ready for a whole new phenomenon in music. ‘(A quote from the official XBOX 360 website)

When I first started up the game, the exciting and enticing music and phenomenal graphics really got my heart pumping and made me excited to see what the game had to show. There are a range of levels to choose from including a beginner’s guide explaining and teaching you how to use the controls to the most elite game player’s level. There are many songs to mix to including nearly all genres for example ‘hip-hop, rock and pop’.

The game play is much the same as guitar hero but with a twist in that you still have the same aims in the game and the coloured buttons are the same but you have to spin the turn table to get the targets rather than strumming like the Guitar Hero game. Another great thing about DJ HERO is that you can plug in the guitar from Guitar Hero and play along while someone else uses the turntable.

‘When I first started up the game, the exciting and enticing music and phenomenal graphics really got my heart pumping.’ (A line grabber to attract reader’s attention)

The one big letdown about DJ HERO is that there have been a lot of complaints with problems with people’s turntables sensor playing up, Luckily XBOX and Activisions are prepared to repair or replace any faulty turntables. But other than the minor technical difficulty I found no other problems or glitches to the game, it’s a great game for almost anyone.

To conclude I think JD HERO is a great game to play on your own or in a big group, the game is family friendly but may need PG because of some of the words in the songs, it’s entertaining and always keeps you on your toes. I had a lot of fun playing the game and would strongly recommend it to anyone; the music is really great and can suit almost anyone’s taste. I give it a 9/10 for being so entertaining and fun to play but the sensor problem is quite common so it doesn’t get a 10 from me.