Genre Research

What is meant by Genre?

Genre is a style or category of art, music or literature. In music, genre refers to musical style such as jazz, salsa or rock. In film or literature, the genre is determined by the subject, setting or plot of the story.

Different examples of music genres:

-  Rap

-  House

- Pop

-  Heavy metal

-  Rock

-  Bass

-  Reggae

-  Soul

-  Disco

-  Classical

-  Opera

-  Country

-  K-Pop (Korean Pop)

-  Electronic

-  Techno

-  Jazz

-  Grunge

- R&B

-  Drum and Bass

- Folk

Rap:

Rapping (or emceeing, spitting bars, or rhyming) is "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics”. The components of rapping include "content", "flow" (rhythm and rhyme), and "delivery”. Rapping is distinct from spoken-word poetry in that it is performed in time to a beat. Rapping is often associated with and a primary ingredient of hip-hop music, but the origins of the phenomenon can be said to predate hip-hop culture by centuries. It can also be found in alternative rock such as that of Cake and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Rapping is also used in Kwaito music, a genre that originated in Johannesburg, South Africa, and is composed of hip-hop elements.

Drum and Bass: 

Drum & Bass is a genre of electronic music also known as Jungle which emerged in England in the early 1990s. The genre is characterized by fast break beats, heavy bass and sub-bass lines. The popularity of drum and bass at its commercial peak ran parallel to several other home-grown dance styles in the UK including big beat and hard house. Drum n bass incorporates a number of scenes and styles. A major influence on jungle and drum and bass was the original Jamaican dub and reggae sound. Another feature of the style is the complex syncopation of the drum tracks' break beat.

Pop:

Pop music (a term that originally derives from an abbreviation of "popular") is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form in the Western world during the 1950s and 1960s, deriving from rock and roll. The terms "popular music" and "pop music" are often used interchangeably, although the former describes all music that is popular (and can include any style). As a genre, pop music is extremely eclectic, often borrowing elements from other styles such as urban, dance, rock, Latin, and country; nonetheless, there are core elements that define pop music. Such elements include generally short to medium-length songs written in a basic format (often the verse-chorus structure) as well as the common employment of repeated choruses, melodic tunes, and hooks.

House:

House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in Chicago, circa 1984. House music quickly spread to other American cities like Detroit, New York City, and Newark – all of which developed their own regional scenes. In the mid-to-late 1980s, house music became popular in Europe as well as major cities in South America, and Australia. Early house music commercial success in Europe saw songs such as "Pump Up The Volume" by MARRS (1987), "House Nation" by House Master Boyz and the Rude Boy of House (1987), and "Doctorin' the House" by Coldcut (1988) in the pop charts. Since the early to mid-1990s, house music has been infused in mainstream pop and dance music worldwide.

Prezi Presentation on Genre Research:

Google Mock Up Ideas

Double Page Spread House Styles

The three double page spread's I have chosen are from a magazine called 'VIBE' which associates itself with the genre 'RAP'.

You can see many things in common with all three spread's such as the colour scheme, fonts and pictures of artists to match the article.Although the colours are not exactly the same, you can see only a small difference as they all share the same pattern of black and white. In addition to this, they have one extra colour. This is to catch the readers attention and wonder why that one colour is so bold, intriguing them into reading the article. Another aspect that might catch the audience eye is the bold writing. 'VIBE' would have used this technique to make the buyer scan over the title that could tempt them into continuing to read everything below it. The final thing to mention that is included in these double paged spread's is the images included in them. The artist will play a large part in the magazine because it is supposed to be an interesting interview about that particular person. The reader is going to be more attracted to the magazine if they know or recognize  the singer/rapper within it because they'll want to know if anything interesting has occurred to them.

Contents Page House Styles

The three contents pages I chose for this was selected from a magazine called 'VIBE' which is normally associated with RAP/HIP HOP as a genre.

There are many things all of the pages shown have in similar, beginning with the lettering for 'CONTENTS'. The separation of the word is a constant method used by vibe in their magazines. This is eye-catching for the audience as they have to figure out quickly what the word says, before reading what is actually featured within the magazine. There is very little highlighting in the featured section as the magazine may want the readers to be more focused on the images surrounding it. As an example, the first contents page I have used has Kanye West as the main image.This gives the audience an idea of what is going to be included in most articles. Also, the use of a rapper as the main star selects the target audience for itself. The 'V' hidden in the background is a distinctive symbol for 'VIBE' magazine.

Magazine Extras.

Mise-en-scene Location And Prop Ideas

 I think this would be a good setting to shoot the photos because it would catch the attention of an audience with the bright colours and strange location. Props in this location could be a wooden chair sat in the corner, as if it's added some sort of social hangout vibe towards it.

I think this would be a good location because it's secluded yet still has bright colours and a mysterious feeling towards it, since there's nothing else to be seen except trees and a railway. A prop that could be added to this might be some litter being spread around the entire place to make it look messy and abandoned.

This would be a good setting because since it's plain, it's putting all the attention on the artist standing there which would make the audience want to know why they're on the cover. Some props that could be added to this is a light hanging from the ceiling, and the artist could be sitting in the chair in the middle to really focus the attention on them.

Costume Designs

I have chosen these designs as this is stereo-typically what a person who is associated with the RAP/HIP HOP genre would be seen wearing. The mixture of gold, black and gray can be matched with my magazine's colour scheme. 

Social Class & Demographic Of My Product

In my magazine (Expense/EXP), the target audience would be around the ages of 16+ because of the genre. This means the price would be affordable to those within the student age and older. The price should be around two to three pounds. The free gifts received with the magazine would be CD's from artists that aren't popular to try and give those unknown singers a boost in the music industry. Obviously, the music on the CD's would have to match the genre of R&B. The social class most associated with R&B is working-middle class.

Style Iconography Of My Product

Because the genre for my magazine is 'rap', I have chosen a few artists and created mood boards of their past albums they have created through their career as an insight to what I should be include in my own magazine to catch the attention of the genre's desired audience.  Features: - Blocky, bold lettering - Dark colours (one of two included to catch the eye) - Artistic photography and images included ICONOGRAPHY:  Gold chains are always seen to be wore by rappers and artists associated with the genre 'RAP'. This is because gold is seen as an expense item of jewelry and most of the songs produced by these artists talk about earning money, which I have also inserted a picture of to draw a connection. Alcohol is also mentioned within different songs as they elaborate about being in clubs, drinking these substances and partying. One rapper that you could associated these with is Kanye West, the artist in the top right corner.

Reader Profile Research

Reader Profile

Summary Of Conventions

Conventions Analysis Double Page Spread

Conventions Analysis Contents Page

Conventions Analysis Front Cover