Magazine- Current Progress

Here is my current progress on my magazine, I am going to get feedback off my teacher after the holidays and see if there is any changes that need to be made before my final draft.

Front Cover:

 

 

 

 

 

Contents Page: 

 

 

 

 Double Page Spread:



Magazine Update 12-12-14

Here is an updated draft of my magazine contents page, I have added more contents onto it as I didn't include the main titles that were on my front cover. This is roughly how my final draft will look like- before I recieve feedback and act on it.

Magazine Update 10-12-14

 

Here is an updated draft of my contents page- I will probably have to add more detail under the small subheadings for my contents, but I kept the same colour scheme and edited the image of my sister so it wasn't so pixelated.

Magazine Update 3-12-14

 

I have now added a colour scheme, pictures and font to my contents page. The S in the corner is to link into the magazine name "Sing!" so the audience will be able to recognise the magazine straight away. The colour scheme is the same as the front cover, this is to link the two pages together. I just need to add the editors message and a picture of the editor.

Magazine Update 28-11-14

 

 

This is the latest update of my magazine front cover, and it is likely that my final draft will come out like this, just some minor changes like moving the text slightly as it is covering the image a little too much and making it bolder so it stands out even more. 

Magazine Update 28-11-14

Today I added the masthead to my magazine, at first I was going to leave it in front of my main image, but then I thought it looked more professional and you could see the main image more. I used white so it would stand out against the dark background and the image.

Another Magazine Update 26/11/14

 This is a new update from my magazine, I have cropped and added the image of my model on the cover, however I'm going to have to soften the edges around the image and add the masthead, but so far I think the colour scheme goes quite well with the image. The dark constrasting with the bright effect.

Magazine Update 26/11/14

 

These are screenshots from InDesign, I have created a basic plan for my contents page and double page spread using text boxes.

The boxes with crosses over them is where my images will be, adn the small box in the centre of my double page spread is where my pull quote will go, I just couldn't type that in the box.

Magazine Update 26/11/14

I have now started to construct  the front cover page of my magazine, I have produced a skyline and chose a red background as I have tested what it looked like with my image- it looked great. I was going to go for pastoral colours but the photos that I had took didn't look too well and clashed quite badly.

Photographs

These are the photos that I have took that will be involved in my Music Magazine, which I also chose to name "Sing!"

 This picture is a long shot, which allows the readers to see the models full body but also the background. This will go on my double page spread where my interview will be of this "artist". I chose this destination to give it an edgy look, but it will add more detail to the picture, so the background won't just be plain and have a colour fill.

 

This picture is a close-up/mid-shot of my "artist" this will go on the front cover after cropping and zooming up closer, I will use Photoshop for this, I chose a very basic destination (my sisters house) so it will be easier for me to crop, if I chose a more difficult/eccentric background, it may become difficult when it comes to cropping and leave it looking horrible and rushed.

 

 

 

 

 

This picture is again another long shot, I took this when I went to a concert a few months ago, this band is McBusted which fits into my Pop genre, so I chose it to feature on my contents page of my magazine, it is to make the pictures more varied in my magazine, and not all completely based around just one artist. Obviously the colours altogether are quite dark, but I think a different use of colour in this photo makes all of them stand out completely.

Finally, this is another photo that will be featured on my contents page, again to add more variety. I took this myself when I went to see Jamie Campbell Bower (above)  and his band The Darling Buds put on a free show in London, I will crop out as best I can the crowd and their phones, as well as zooming up a little to get Jamie and his guitar into the allocated space on my contents page. I might have to take out the background and add a normal colour fill, but I don't think it will be necessary.

InDesign

This is my television print-advert that I created on InDesign.

I inserted an image that contained the three main characters of the TV show, I used the transform tool to re-size my image so it could fit the scale without looking horrible and pixelated.

I used the text tool to add all the text that is on top of my image, choosing different fonts (but not too many so it looked confusing)  and selected colurs that contrasted with the already dark background of Elena's dress, however I had to use black outlining on the text when it came to writing on top of the arms because it was already quite pale, and I still wanted the text to be easy to read.

Recce Questions

This is the Recce Questions for my main magazine.

Recce Questions

Photoshoot Planning

Here is the plan of my photoshoot, which is how I got my images that I took for the magazine. For the main cover and double page spread.

Photoshoot Planning

Stage 2 Planning

Here is a plan of my final magazine.

As Coursework Proposal Table - Stage 2

Audience Research

Questionnaire Analysis

These are some answers from my survey that I sent out based on Music Magazines and what people want/expect from them.
For question 1, this is relevant to me as my main target audience is females, so these kind of proves that females are more likely to read/purchase music magazines.
Question 2, this is relevant as it fits into my target audience of 16-21, so we know that 16 year olds and above are likely to read music magazines, so my magazine stands a chance.
Question 3, this is irrelevant to me as my music magazine is Pop and not Rock.
Question 5, this is relevant as I can see what will attract more of an audience to my magazine, so I will give away a freebie in my magazine.
Question 6, this is relevant so I know what price to charge for my magazine- a price people won't mind paying.
Question 8, this isn't hugely irrelevant but it could still help, so I know what freebie is more liked by people- perhaps this will help sell my magazine even more.

Yes, I have missed out some questions but that is because I have only picked the ones that were most relative to analyse.

Main Magazine Flatplans

This is the flatplan of the front page of my main magazine.
As you can see, I have followed the main codes and conventions that should be followed when creating a magazine, with my masthead being at the top of the page. The Skyline was optional, but because a lot of magazines do actually have this, I chose to add it to my magazine too.
The main image will be behind all of the text on the page, including the coverlines, main coverline etc.
I have added additional info that is also normally on a magazine- because mine is going to be based on the Pop genre, after looking at magazines such as Top of the Pops and We Love Pop, I noticed they use free space to put additional information and skylines, so to follow this, I chose to aswell.
I have used a Bubble on my front page for two reasons, one-for an advertising method so I can get more readers involved in my magazine. Two- Pop magazines tend to use these too, more than one on some occasions.
I haven't yet thought of a colour scheme for my front page, this is because I haven't took my images yet and I don't want to find out that the colours clash at the last minute.

 

This is the flatplan of the contents page of my main magazine.



The masthead is placed at the top of the page, like any other contents magazine, however mine will be centred, not like the normal convention of the masthead being from left to right, to follow how everyone reads-no, mine will be centred as if to say "Welcome to the contents page." quite exaggerated, again just like previous magazines I researched.
Instead of having the usual 2-3 columns of contents, I've just to have a row instead of a second column, because in a We Love Pop magazine, the contents were simply listed in a small box, sectioned off from the rest of the page. Furthermore, I will have a longer Editors message than other magazines do, Pop genre normally has a longer message than other genre's. For Example, Kerrang! Had a smaller editors message than Top of The Pops did.
There will be three images on my contents page, but these will be of different artists that I have took photo's of, so the magazine doesn't look boring with the images of the same person, or make that person look a little too self-centered.
Again I haven' thought of a colour scheme to go on throughout the contents page, I will realise what colours look best when it comes to the practical lessons.

This is the flatplan of the double page spread of my main magazine.
The main image will be of the artist on the front cover, as this is going to be an interview, however I have added a masthead and pull quote so the picture doesn't look like an advertisement, its so the readers can actually associate the picture with the interview.
The pull quote in the middle of the interview to break up the text, so it isn't too boring and text heavy.
The masthead is there simply to follow conventions again, but so the article is actually recognised and the readers can realise what the article is about- so they don't just see the text and read on. By mistake I haven't added spaces where I would put page numbers, but I know these are a necessity so I will make sure they are added to the pages when it comes to the practical lessons.
No colour scheme for this article has been chosen yet.

Preliminary Task- Front Cover and Contents Page



 

This is the front cover of my preliminary task- College Magazine.

I created it on Microsoft Publisher, using my phone to take images and the usual text tool to add text to the cover.

Really, I like how I used colours for the text so that it was clearly visible against the dark background, and followed the codes and conventions such as using a barcode, including a masthead, subheading etc and my image was quite good in quality-it wasn't pixelated.  

However, I definitely won't use publisher when it comes to creating my actual music magazine, the tools are great to help you getting used to starting magazine designs, but they are too basic to help edit images, text and other properties on the front cover.

I will also use a better type of image, yes this has good quality but it is plain, and boring, it doesn't exactly shout out that it is a great magazine.

Finally, I will design a better looking masthead, the textbox that surrounds my text looks quite tacky and as if I didn't have time to complete my design properly, but I couldn't pick a colour without it looking completely awful.

This is the contents page from my preliminary task, here I have again used clear images and I think the layout is pretty organised and good, so you can clearly see the images and it doesn't look to cramped, however, I don't think that I used the correct text colour because it is hard to read on the darker aspects of the background. Also, the size was a little too big because when I printed it off, it cut off half the sentences, proving it hard to read altogether.

I like the font style I used for the masthead again, but like previously stated, I don't think that the white background looks very nice or professional. 

In addition, I am happy again because I followed most of the codes and conventions, just needed to add an issue number, date and additional info.
From this, I can realise that this is what I will do for my actual music magazine, I will make sure my colours are matched correctly and don't contrast horribly, there will be no white spaces. Saying that, I will make sure my font size is better, images are just as clear but maybe edited with better effects, and I will make sure to add the additional information. Just like a professional magazine would.

 

Double Page Spread Deconstructions

The following are deconstructions of double page spreads from music magazines.

 

 

This is a double page spread from Pop music magazine We Love Pop

 

Layout

Columns are used in this double page spread, five in total which is quite a lot compared to the usual three, but I think they have five because of the picture of Olly at the bottom of the page, it takes up quite lot of room.

Many of the images are in the column space, but they do overlap on some of the borders, maybe this is to represent the target audience, the teenagers tend to step over the boundaries of their parents, but I also think they do this to make the double page spread look more artsy and fun, not just all text and a huge effort to read.

This is an interview,  there isn't a main headline, but loads of little subheadings-which are the questions being asked and are a different colour to the rest of the font. There is also two other subheadings in a larger white font, which lets the reader realise they are different parts of the page, they are not included in the interview.

Yes, there are straplines used, underneath the white subheadings, this gives the reader a brief description about what the subheading was trying to tell the reader without giving too much away.

There is a lot of layering in the double page spread, they are mainly the images that are layered over the column borders and the large Olly image is layered over a large space of the page, this makes it actually quite appealing to see so many images, it lets the reader know they aren't actually going to have to read a lot, again, being a younger target audience, this works well.

Colour is vital in an interview, all questions are in red, so the reader realises what is the question and what is the answer. To break up the red/black theme of the interview, the magazine uses red and white for the smaller parts of the page that aren't involved with the interview, for e.g. Olly's book advertisement. The blue behind Olly's image kind of sets off the whole page, but in a good way. Compared to the contents page, this is a nice three coded colour scheme, so it has that fun feeling without it being too in your face.

I think the main connotation of all this, is that the design really links into the younger target audience, it is colourful, not too boring, and is beneficial. Unlike if you tried to do this in an older generation magazine, I don't think it would go down too well. Also, I think it symbolises the fun character Olly is himself, he's young and vibrant, just like the colour scheme.

 

 

Images

All the images on this page are photographs, no illustrations whatsoever, I think this matches the age range perfectly, they don't really want to be patronised with little illustrations. The photographs are used to advertise Olly's success since the X Factor, probably to help him get noticed more easily off people-if not fans- who are already reading this magazine. Olly himself is the celebrity in this article, yet the images are pretty fun and basic, so this could show that he is just an average guy like anyone else, and doesn't want to be noticed just for his fame, but for himself as a person.

There are captions used for the images, because the images are a mixture of Olly doing activities and just sitting there, captions are needed to help describe what it is that he is doing, if not, the reader would probably have no idea.

This article is most definitely image led, because it is trying to get fans of Olly to buy this and read it, but also try and advertise him, however again not a lot of teens are going to be wanting to read big heavy articles, they are most likely going to buy this for the images.

The PoV the article assumes is the interviewer themselves, but when reading it, it makes the reader feel as if they are the one interviewing Olly, because the answers that Olly will be giving back will include "you." so it will be like he is talking to the reader directly.

 

Language

The typeface of this is mainly normal ariel font, maybe size 11, so its not too small but not too big either for the main interview, whereas you see larger font in the selected boxes around the article, in a different colour, showing the diversity between contexts. However, the font that is used underneath Olly's larger image is in a lovely italic handwritten script, this makes it look much more personal and appropriate, because this is a personal statement from Olly himself.

Punctuation is very basic, used correctly, including quotation marks when Olly uses his personal statement.

There are puns and witty remarks in the baubles section for obvious reasons, which will probably no doubt get the readers attention, especially being teen girls. Olly himself makes some jokes during the interview that will entertain the reader, its good of the magazine to include this so it doesn't sound too monotone and boring.

 

 

 

This is a double page spread from Rock music magazine Kerrang!

Layout
Three columns are used in the double page spread, this is a normal convention/number of columns magazines use when creating double page spreads, the images on this page are very organised, not like the We Love Pop one, there is only two and they are clearly separated across the pages. Maybe this is because of the slightly older target audience? Or maybe the magazine prefers its articles to be well organised, because to be honest, a cluttered double page spread is kind of annoying, your eyes are constantly getting distracted.
Heading is placed on the top right hand corner, which again follows conventions as this will be the first thing that people will read when opening this page, there isn't a subheading as such, but a brief description that tells the reader what the double page spread is about.
The main image is layered over the next page, but I think that is to break up the writing a little, so the page doesn't look too boring and plain.
The background colour is plain white, but this is good because then the magazine can then use basically any colour and it won't look bad, it looks quite nice and pristine, which is a difference from its front cover and contents page. Maybe to symbolise how quirky the genre is?

Images
There is only two images on this page, and they are both photographs, which are better, it makes the colours in the images stand out more against the white background, they are both images of males since it is a band that are all male. This article is text led, unlike We Love Pop, the readers of this magazine are more likely to read about the band other than just want to see pictures, the smaller image does have a caption to go along with it, probably to describe what they are doing because if you didn't you wouldn't know and would think they are just standing there for the fun of it.
The article presumes a first person PoV, so it is the band member telling you about his life, or whatever event. He says "We, me, I" etc.

Language
The font is very small, I would say about 10, and has a basic Roman font, however the article does use larger drop caps to help guide the reader to the start of the text. The font used in the heading is handwritten, but boyish and in uppercase, it stands out and completely disobeys the rules of "capital letters at the start of the sentence" so this could be used to symbolise the genre itself, it breaks the rules and stands out from all other music genres. It contrasts with the rest of the article because it looks so clean, mature and accurate, but this font seems to spruce it up a little-to attract the younger audience perhaps?
The register of the whole text is quite informal, for e.g. "its the goddamn..." since it is someone talking about their own personal experiences, they are going to talk like they would on a day-to-day basis, maybe this is better and suits the genre more, because I couldn't really picture a very formal use of language in a rock magazine.





This is a double page spread from Rock music magazine NME

 Layout 
This double page spread is really...small. Well, the text part is, only featuring two columns which is quite different as the norm is about three. The heading of the article is split up onto two different pages in two different colours-probably down to the colour on the background. There are no subheadings, there is quite a lengthy description underneath the heading on the right page.
There is a drop cap at the start of the first column though. A little layering is involves, the second part of the heading is placed on top of the second image, and the image goes onto the right page a little.
Again there is a strict three colour code, and it goes together perfectly, again because this magazine has an older target audience, the colours are sophisticated yet still have the element of rock in them.

Images
There are two photographs used, as if he is looking in the mirror, I think they have used a real photograph to make the pragmatics of the image stick into the readers head and make them think about the meaning more, the heading "always different, always the same" links into how the images are placed. They are different because they are facing different directions, but they are both of the same person.
The image is of a male, David Bowie himself. I would say this article is image led, purely because of the lack of text. There are no captions used, and the article presumes a first person's PoV again, as David is talking about himself to the reader freely, it isn't an interview. Or it was and the magazine has simply printed out his long-winded answer.

Language
The heading is bold and a huge size around 42 at least, it is in ariel rounded font, but in two different colours, linking into the heading's meaning again. The punctuation is good and used in a correct manner, again probably because the audience is older and will "know their stuff" about punctuation. The register is fairly formal, this might be because David is quite high-spoken, so the rest of the article has tried to have the same high level of register, so it didn't make the magazine look too "rough" or "slang ridden". Sadly, I couldn't find anything that was actually entertaining about the article, I purely think that it is because my own age isn't in the target audience, I'm not particularly well known of David Bowie, so his life doesn't interest me, but there wasn't any aspects of humour in the  text to make it more appealing, so this leads me back to my interpretation that this magazine has a very set audience, so they know what to print, they know what their audience wants, but it doesn't really focus on achieving any new audiences. NME is for quite an older rock audience than Kerrang! and a much older audience that We Love Pop.

Contents Page Deconstructions

These are deconstructions of magazine contents pages from music magazines.

 

This is the contents page from rock music magazine Kerrang!

 

Masthead

The masthead is placed off centre, in the right corner inside a black bubble, which is quite a clever manoeuvre as other magazines usually have their masthead on the left hand side which is what people are used to seeing so don't usually take notice in the masthead. But, because this masthead has got a dark and attentive background, it stands out and actually makes you read it. The font of the masthead is capitalised and looks like it has been spray-painted on, its white too so it is clearly visible and contrasts with the black background so you can clearly read it. In addition, there is a kicker underneath the masthead, "All hope has returned yay!" This will hook the reader in to see what the magazine is talking about, making them read the contents page to find out.

 

Necessary Information

At the very top of the page, in small yet large enough font, there is a date for this magazine: 18/10/14, along with the issue number right beside it:1539, this information is placed just to the right of the contents. So really it's there for those who want to read it. However, unlike other magazines, this page does not have a page number, only the page numbers for the various features for the magazine. These are placed next to the features.

There is no website address or additional links on this contents page, there is a small message from the editor telling fans to enjoy the issue.

 

Text

There is text almost everywhere on this page, on the images, under the features, the side of the page. The largest part of text is definitely the message from the editor which is under an image of him. The second largest part of text is where it tells the readers who helped to create this issue, no doubt the photographers and journalists.

There is only a small amount of text under only certain features, mainly under where the magazine sells itself with the larger articles. Subheadings are included throughout the contents page, this is to help organise the magazine and make it easier for readers to find the information they want to read. The order is put in a way of "the most important features go first." therefore, the news of bands, songs etc is at the beginning, feedback is second etc. Also, the page numbers listed are mainly even numbers.

The layout has three separate columns, they aren't symmetrical but you can still clearly make them out, they have small white lines separating them. Numerical features are used too, mainly for the page numbers which are again next to the features listed and on top of some pictures.

 

Font

There are two main uses of fonts on the contents page, mainly bold and regular, the regular font is used for the brief and small descriptions underneath the features title. The bold font is used for showing us the article, news and other(s) titles, this is used so that the readers will be able to clearly see what is featured in the magazine without needing to completely read the page thoroughly. The font used in the headings isn't as big and bold as the titles for the features are, they are in capitalised yellow font on top of black boxes, as this contrasts. Perhaps to show how alternative and unique this genre and magazine is. The main colour of text is black, with only the numbers in red, to separate the page numbers from the page information.

 

Images

There are seven images in total on the contents page, three larger images and four smaller images. The larger images are of bands and artists, this will help sell the magazine, and it seems like these are the most important and integral to the situation. The smaller images are more unimportant as one is of the editor and one is of the people who helped publish the magazines, so these seem to just be space fillers, again, they are there if you really want to see them, if not, it's not a big issue if you don't take any notice.

The images that are linked to the features have anchors, for e.g. the picture of the Black Veil Brides the anchor says "Only 2/5 of the BVB have their duck faces down." however for the smaller pictures, there aren't any anchors at all because the text they are associated with explains why they're there anyways.

There is numbers and text written over the images, the largest image has the most text and the largest number placed over it, this is to help the readers to associate the correct page number, however the text is not as serious, mainly just a joke or snide comment.

Images are separated round the page, so it doesn't look too cluttered, but it breaks up the amount of text that is on the page.

 

Composition

You can clearly see that the Kerrang! magazine contents page has three separate columns holding all information and images together in a nice and tidy manner (even though the rock magazine and overall colour scheme is messy and loud) this is so the reader doesn't get confused based on what they are reading. However, one of the main images at the top of the page covers two columns. Six out of the seven images are all mid-shots, and one of them is a close up shot (the image of the editor) this is because it is a more personal picture so the readers and fans will automatically recognise him. There are captions with the images and some of the topics on the contents page link to the images, which is good because if your reading this magazine for the first time, you won't know what band is what unless you read the text. I would say this contents page is more text led than it is image led, with only a decent amount of images used not to spoil the magazine or seem too packed.

 

 

Linguistic Features

There are a use of rhetorical questions in the descriptions underneath the features of the magazine, mainly to get the reader to read on and keep them intrigued until they read the article, there are no other immediate linguistic features used, such as alliteration, assonance etc, however there is a use of sarcasm and humour used in some of the captions and descriptions, for e.g. " 'Sorry we've been quiet.' they said, before making a ton of noise" This was the description for the LIVE section for DEAF HAVANA.

 

Colour

There are three different colours used for text: Red, black and yellow. The main colours of the images are dark, with also usage of white. The colours of both the text and the images link together, they are a set of colours that contrast-but not in a bad way, they are colours that you would associate with the rock genre also. In your face, rebellious colours.

 

 

This is the contents page from rock music magazine NME

 

Masthead

The masthead is placed at the top of the page, on the left hand side which follows the simple convention and tradition of people reading from left to right, so the masthead will be the first thing that people see, so they will intantly know what page it is they're reading, so this comes off as a tradional magazine, people will be used to seeing this in magazines. The masthead is in plain black, almost army type font-maybe to symbolise the alternative style of music? And it gives off a sort of "rebel" message, also linking into the audience of this music genre. The NME logo is also beside the masthead, I think this is just to allow the magazine to "claim" their contents page.

 

Necessary Information

There is a date just under the masthead, but there is no issue number or page number on the page. There is also no website or other links, maybe this is because this music made for an older target audience, the editor realised that they probably don't use technology as much as a younger audience would, so this is why there is no website or other links like Kerrang! has.

 

Text

Unlike Kerrang! There is a lot of information, but in smaller portions, as you can see, under separate subheadings there is a very small description to go with them. The layout of text is in four separate columns, which is a little unusual as most magazines have the highest of three, however this could also be because of the older audience again, the older generation would probably prefer to read more than the younger generation would. The largest section of text is where the "band list" is, even this is small sentences, but there is a large number of bands.

The purpose of all text is to inform the reader of the contents of the magazine, also inform them what is in the images (the captions).

There is a use of numbers for the topics and their page numbers, this is to help the reader navigate throughout the magazine, or find a certain point that they bought the magazine for anyways. The order is again set in a way of "the most important news first." and the main part of the issue directly in the middle-in this case David Bowie.

 

Font

For the subheadings, the font is plain ariel  but in uppercase, this is probably to stand out of the other plain ariel font used on the contents page, it is in white so it contrasts with the red and black highlighted background behind the font itself, this goes for the smaller subheadings also. The small explanations are in ariel, but more bold. And for some of the contents listing, text is underlined too, but the font is still the same. This is so it still looks quite mature and professional, the best for the older target audience.

 

Images

There is only one image on this contents page, it is a medium sized image and it is linking to point 46, Julian Cabalancas. This image is anchored by a small description about what it is about-not a caption because it is too big. The only writing that is over the image is the page number that it is associated with, also the image is in the centre of the page, at eye level, so it can get the readers attention pretty quickly.

 

Composition

This magazines layout has four columns, which is more than what all other magazines would only have three, you can also see a clear outline of the columns, not like Kerrang! Where it was still noticeable, but you had no visual aid. The image is framed in a mid-shot, you only get half of the participants body but still get great detail. There is no layering in on the contents page, this page is also more text based, clearly because there is only one image and the rest is all text.

 

Linguistic Features

There aren't any main linguistic features used on this contents page, there isn't any clear signs of humour, sarcasm, puns.. This is a basic and straight-to-the-point contents page, with brief explanations of what is featured in the magazine, I think because of the older generation target audience, there is no need for witty remarks to make the readers like it more or want to buy the next issue, this is because the magazine already has such a stable and reliable audience, they don't see the need to sell themselves other than the story that they have. Or the fact that they are NME.

 

Colour

There are three basic colours used throughout the whole text, red, white and black. All rock themed colours yet still sophisticated and mature, text is varied between white and black, depending on what background it is in front of. The colour of the only image is vibrant, this is perhaps to break up the monotone of colours, this means that it is showing the readers that the magazine might be for an older audience, but there is still some colour and life to their magazine.

 

 

This is the contents page from Pop music magazine We Love Pop

 

Masthead

The masthead is positioned at the very top of the contents page, in the centre as the outside of the page has a border. The font is uppercase and black, with one of the letters filled in, it is quite basic, but contrasts with how loud and colourful the rest of the page is.

 

Necessary Information

There is no date or issue number, there is a page number in the bottom right hand corner, which is right beside a website address, the font for both of these features are fairly big- not too big where it takes up too much room, but not too small so you miss it.

 

Text

There is a lot of text on this page, the main cluster of text is the message from the editor, this is positioned on the very far left, so it is the first thing you read, but it also has a small bubble on top of it, advertising a competition for the reader to be able to win an afternoon with The Saturdays, which is clever- this grabs the readers attention so then they have to keep on reading throughout the message. There are various subheadings throughout the text, mainly to outline the different topics in the magazine and the different sections on the contents page.

There isn't that much order or an actual layout, it looks like there is only one section for the contents-and this is small, but then a lot of pictures with small subheadings are scattered around the rest of the page-maybe a different method of organisation?

This contents page includes numerical features, this tells the reader what page that certain topic is on.

 

Font

This contents page uses various fonts, the heading is uppercase and in bold. The message from the editor is in a much softer roman font, this is probably to separate it out form the rest of the page and look more personal. The list of contents is in ariel, bold, but follows a pattern of black and pink, this links into the target audience, by the colour scheme... I would say female teens, 16-18. There is italic blue font underneath the images, these are kickers, which hook the reader into each article.

 

Composition

There are various frames used in this contents page for the images, using a mixture of mid and close-up shots, like I previously said there isn't the usual two, three, four columns of layout, there is one box where the contents are listed, and the images are scattered around it including the small headings and descriptions underneath them, maybe this is to also link into the messy stereotypical life of a teenager?

Most of the text relates to the images, especially the headings and descriptions that are directly underneath the images, there is a small section of layering at the top of the page, where an advert for a competition is layered on top of the editors message, so you have to read both.

Finally, I think this page is more image led than text led, again to suit the younger audience.- it looks like magazines who target a younger audience use more pictures than text based pages.

 

Linguistic Features

You can hardly move for witty comments and puns on this contents page, again I think this is because of the younger audience, they will get bored of reading so the magazine has decided to add more entertainment for them too keep them attracted to the magazine. The heading also uses ellipses, this is to "egg the reader on" into reading what the magazine has left to offer, it hooks the reader in. There is a large use of the pronoun "you" throughout this page too, for e.g. "it wasn't all shopping and tanning you know." so it looks like the magazine is actually appealing  to you directly.

 

Colour

The colours to me are overused, you can see a colour scheme of pink and black-both vibrant and very contrasting colours that work well, but the fact the magazine has put yellow and blue in small places, makes it more noticeable, cluttered and a bit of an eyesore. Again, I think this splash of colour is to symbolise the "colourful and crazy" life of a teenage girl, so this magazine focuses very hard on keeping there target audience, its like its not relaxed to rely on selling all the time, so it has to be in your face.

 

 

 

Institutional Research

Institutional Research Worksheet

This is a table of magazine publishers, I've used two music magazine publishers and two woman's magazine publishers. I won't be using Egmont or Baeur Media to publish my magazine as they already publish Pop music magazines and  my magazine will have competition in selling. So, I'm actually going to use Cande Nast Publications as they don't publish any Pop magazines, yet they are successful already in selling magazines. So maybe this will help my magazine to sell and get noticed.

Analysing Previous Students Work

Looking at Previous Student Work

This is a table where I looked at previous students work, took not of their strengths and weaknesses and ensured what I will do to apply this in my own work.

AS Coursework Proposal Table- Stage 1

As Coursework Proposal Table - Stage 1

This is a table based on what I am going to base my magazine on, including genre, target audience and selling point. It includes what I my "theme." will be, so in my case it is going to be an interview with my main artist.

Preliminary Task Flat Plans

The first image is of my front cover flat plan for the college magazine, which included the masthead which is placed at the top of the magazine as it is where it normally goes and is the first thing people look at when they buy a magazine. Main image is more dominating than everything else on the page as it usually is on other front covers of other magazines, however the coverlines, main coverlines and barcode will be in front of the main image.

The main coverline is on the right hand side, this is because people are supposed to read from left to right, so they will look from the masthead, down to the image, then sideways to the main coverline. The other coverlines will be near the bottom of the page, which is what the readers will finally read. The barcode is there because all magazines have one, however I will have additional information there, like the price, and maybe even an email so the readers can enquire anything in the article. Especially for this audience as it is based on college students, they can email the magazine writer about anything that they are interested in, that was in the article. 

The second image is of my contents page flat plan for the college magazine, which features three images, however one of them will be a faded background image behind everything on the page. It will be faded enough so that it won't contrast with the smaller images. Linking this with the smaller images, these will simply be of places in the college, with a small caption underneath each one to give a small description of the images. The contents that will be included in my magazine will be listed on the right hand side, including the page numbers. The contents that are shown on this page will be brief, so that not too much information is given away before the reader actually reads the magazine. The content's page coverline will be placed at the top of the page, purely because it will let the readers know they are on the contents page, this will probably be the largest feature on the page.

Photoshop Skills Development

 

 

This is my magazine that I created to develop my Photoshop skills, instead of creating a music magazine like my actual magazine will be, I decided to create a beauty magazine cover.

 

The fact that the genre was beauty, I decided to use more subtle and natural colours like pink, grey etc,  that weren't as harsh and "in your face." as the colours you would tend to see on a music magazine such as red, yellow etc. So I decided to use a main theme of nude/pale pink and black, these colours are quite popular in the beauty genre, as pink is seen as a natural colour and black is what is used to be striking- which is what women's looks should be. I done this simply by using the colour panel on photo shop, when I created the background.

 

I used the text tool to add text to my magazine, as well as change the font, size and colour, I changed all font colours to black to link into my theme. I used different fonts-but not too many so it has "too much going on." and can be an eye sore, I chose from the same three fonts for different sections of text, this gives the magazine a more professional look as other well known magazines use this technique too. Also using the text tool, I put the Masthead in front of the image, so readers would be able to see the name of the magazine, it is also black to fit in with the theme.

 

I used the magic wand tool to crop out the main images' background, this allowed me to change the background colour to create my theme, but it again gives the magazine a more professional look. This tool helped to crop the image with more accuracy, for e.g. the hair of Jennifer Lawrence has no colour between the strands from the previous background, so it looks like the image was purposely took for this cover, it looks better than it would if I used the rubber tool, where it looked messy and unprofessional. I also used the refine edge tool during this process so the image would have better quality.

 

In addition, I used the transformation tool when adding and enlarging my barcode, including my main image, this allowed me to enlarge the images without making them more pixelated and messy. This has kept both images tidy and effective.

 

Finally, I used the simple eclipse tool when creating my bubble to advertise a free sample of perfume, I realised that other magazines use these to draw more readers in- offering free goodies, so I decided to use it too, again I used the colour panel to change the bubble colour to black to link into my theme.

 

 

 

 

Inspirational Texts & Mood Board

I have been thinking about what genre of music I would like to create my magazine about. Here are some examples of Pop music:





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Here is a mood board relating to the Pop genre, I have added all of the previous artists such as Ellie Goulding, Bastille (The whole group, not just him), Charlie XCX, Demi Lovato and One Republic, some lyrics from Charlie XCX "Boom Clap." One republics band logo, Ellie Goulding's recognisable logo. I have also added pictures of the pop audience, featuring one based on Demi Lovato's concert.

The artists that I have chose for both my videos and mood board are probably the ones I will also use to feature in my own magazine as they are recognisable and well loved artists that will help my target audience feel more attracted to buy my magazine.

Front Cover Deconstructions

This is a PowerPoint based on magazine front cover deconstructions, I used two rock genres and one pop genre, then on the last slide I have a summary based on what I liked/disliked about the magazines, understanding of key features and what I will do on my own magazine.

Key Features of Magazine

I found this image by searching on google for a UK music magazine cover to annotate, using key features that I have just learnt.

The main coverline "Sell line." is what allows the audience to realise what the main article/ context of the issue is.

I realised I put "Context." when I really meant Contents, this allows the readers to see what is also going to be involved in the issue.

Main image is very dominating, and is a picture of the artist that the issue is about, in this case Cheryl Tweedy.

Additonal information is in small print, this involves the price and web address for the magazine.

The logo overlaps the main image including the masthead (magazine name), this is so any fans of this magazine will insantly recognise it, but also it allow more instictive buyers to notice it is a popular UK magazine and will buy it, to see what it's like.

There is a section with a small Enigma Code, this allow the readers to see what is in the magazine without the stories being completely ruined.

The main colour scheme is very basic, using black, red and white. The red could symbolise the passion and lust because it is Cheryl Tweedy, so its advertising her looks as well as her music. White and Black are opposites, the black could be to symbolise her past and how bad it has been, and the white shows that she is now rising above it and taking hold of her music career again.

Finally, there is a bubble which is normally used for competitions or quizzess, which could appeal to the readers as they would feel more involved with the magazine. Its another advertising method.

Foundation Portfolio Print Brief

Preliminary exercise: using DTP and an image manipulation program, produce the front page of a new school/college magazine, featuring a photograph of a student in medium close-up plus some appropriately laid-out text and a masthead. Additionally you must produce a mock-up of the layout of the contents page to demonstrate your grasp of DTP.

 

Main task: the front page, contents and double page spread of a new music magazine (if done as a group task, each member of the group must produce an individual edition of the magazine, following the same house style).