How are people represented in your magazine?

The artists portrayed on the front of NME almost always wear dark colours/those which match the colour scheme of red, white, black and yellow. Whilst the magazine itself focuses on promoting new bands, it always uses a prominent indie/pop rock artist which the audience are able to recognise and become intrigued to read more about. A simplistic choice of colours throughout satisfies the reader as they are able to focus more on the text and images than the colours which are being used. Artists throughout the magazine follow the grungy look which indie performers are best known for, burgundy being a common choice alongside dark blacks, blues and greens. The colour in general mimics that of the colours which indie fans wear - tartan, leather and dark colours being common features. The images are often very posed - where as childrens pop magazines often chose artists with a 'clean' image and huge smile to be on the front of their covers, indie/rock magazines often opt to explore more vacant and serious expressions which makes the reader more likely to make some kind of contact with the reader through eye contact.

Questionnaire Analysis - Pre-Production

Questionnaire Analysis

Pre-Production Music Questionnaire - Audience Research

Pre-production Music Questionnaire

Indie Music Research

Mood Board

• NME - the most prominent indie/rock magazine for my target audience
• Lana Del Rey/Marina and the Diamonds - indie/pop musicians
• DMs/Vans - attire that indie fans often wear
• Guitar - musical element of indie music

2000s Decade Research Presentation

WWW: I think the research myself and my group conducted for this presentation on the 2000s was relevant and displayed in a relatively attractive manner. The content that was included spoke about the main events that occurred in the early 2000s, and also the popular features that are often associated with the 2000s. I'd say the audience responded well to the presentation, recognizing many of the artists and features that were included due to growing up in the decade that was presented.

EBI: As the research that was being done for this presentation was supposed to be focused on how each category related to music, I feel as though myself and my group could've emphasized this more in each slide as there were a few slides which carried little relevance to how they contributed/influenced music in the 2000s.

Double Page Spread Analysis/Comparison - Kerrang! and Top of the Pops

Comparison of Two Double Page Spreads

Contents Page Analysis - NME, Q, Kerrang!

Music Magazine Cover Analysis - Kerrang!

Masthead: The presentation of the title ‘Kerrang!’ is highly appealing to the target audience. It is capitalized, and shares the ‘screaming’ effect that is shared with the music/artists they commonly promote. Kerrang! itself is a very iconic magazine among most teenagers who have interest in music from the rock genre, due to this the masthead has been pushed to the back of the cover, behind the image of 30 Seconds To Mars. The sharp, cutting lines through the title emphasize reflect the edgy, alternative genre of the music they promote. Capitalization further promotes the ‘screaming’ nature of the music that is promoted, but also the fact that they want the masthead to stand out among the other music magazines.

Image: The portrayal of 30 Seconds To Mars on this cover is very common among all music magazines, band formations normally have one ‘stand out’ member who is usually the singer and often takes center stage in the photo. The attire of the middle member differs from that of the other two quite considerably. His jacket has more accessories on it, which are left relatively uncovered by the cover lines. The two outsiders are also wearing shades, preventing us from being able to establish contact with them, however the middle member is able to because he is the ‘main feature’ of the band. It can be said that this inclusion is important for all music magazines, or even magazines in general. The image itself is a midshot of each member, the less important half of their body in terms of what we look from a front cover is removed. It can be said that the hair colour of the middle person attracts them more than any other part of the image, instead of using attire as the stand out feature, Kerrang! has chosen to focus on other elements that can be used to stand out and challenge the conventions that other music magazines follow. The image overall is very bleak, the three band members all appear to be expressionless and don’t captivate the emotions we would expect a music magazine to have. This said, to stereotype the audience Kerrang! targets, it reflects the attire and attitude that they have.

Font: The font used is very appropriate, predominantly using the same one throughout. The masthead font is the only one that is used just once in the entirety of the magazine cover, this is perhaps to establish an identity apart from the cover stories and such. It could also be that because is targeting a very specific market, they feel it important to have it separate from the other fonts on the page. The ACDC cover line incorporates the lightning bolt they have in their logo to further emphasize their knowledge of such things and inform that the reader that they are a resourceful magazine who are aware of such things.  

Colour: The use of colour on this front cover is very important; four main colours are used consistently to stand out whilst keeping in line with the conventions of the genre that they market. Yellow is used limitedly, perhaps as it is too bright and would be drowning if used too much on this cover. Red is an obvious choice, used commonly on most music magazines of all genres. Black are white are used much more on this cover than the other magazine covers I’ve looked at, again this is most probably due to the colours that are associated most commonly with rock music.

Cover lines: Minimal information is given about each story, importance of having a mix of upcoming/well known artists is very important on this magazine. Language such as “sex” and “drugs” is very provocative and expected from the type of magazine that this is, the two topics appealing to the teenage demographic. The reader’s inquisitive nature is satisfied through the inclusion of the magazine claiming to “answer your questions” as an attempt to get them to read on.

Cover price and publish date: Small and beneath barcode, where they are commonly placed on Kerrang! magazines. The price further indicates who the target audience are, costing just £2.30 is very affordable for teenagers.

Music Magazine Cover Analysis - NME

Masthead: NME is an abbreviation of ‘New Musical Experience’, it can be said that this slick portrayal speaks greatly for the magazines target audience. NME is usually known for its bold, red title. In the case of this cover, a replacement of an equally vibrant colour is used to stand out and draw in the reader. The magazine itself relies little on the colour of the masthead, more on the placement and the consistency of this. The masthead is more often than not placed over the image, and therefore conforms to the magazines conventions. Due to its size, it very much stands out on the cover but is not the most prominent feature.

Image: The positioning of Rihanna in this shot is a fairly typical for a magazine front cover. In most fashion magazines, models on the front cover are often seen to pose in a similar position to that of what Rihanna is, though instead of standing completely upright she’s leaning at an angle that challenges the conventions of this shot. Her attire is relevant to the message NME is trying to portray about her character – she is edgy and likes to be a part from the crowd. Though the actual image is provocative, it seems to appear very much as a backdrop to the text in front of it. The bird she has on her shoulder fills the blank space in the right hand corner, and also adds small amounts of contrasting colours to that of the magazine. Her make up and nails match her attire and also the colour of the font that has been predominantly used. By using elements of what Rihanna’s wearing, NME obeys the set conventions. This in particular is something many music magazines and other types of magazines of a similar nature often take into consideration when producing the front page. She is making eye contact with the reader, establishing a connection and need to read around the image to be enticed into purchasing the magazine.

Font: The three boldest, most important pieces of text share the same font, the designer of the magazine must know these short pieces of texts will be the most relevant and should stand out more than that of the others. The bright colours speak greatly for the age demographic; it is perhaps targeted to more mature teenagers and young adults than anyone else. Whilst it looks very professional and sleek, it also uses two contrasting fonts. The extra details that are given below the cover lines are presented in a more mature font. By having two very different fonts attempt to integrate with each other, it reflects the age demographic this magazine is trying to target – being between the stages of a teenager and young adult.

Colour: Colour is a very important part of this magazine; it ignores the usual conventions in terms of possessing a red title, replacing it with a bright pink instead. The fact that ever colour used on this cover matches in more than one place is very clever and establishes the consistency we would expect.

Cover lines: Each cover line is written in capital letters, which further draws in the audience. The image and the boldly stated ‘RIHANNA’ cover line gives the audience a clear idea of what they will expect to find inside the magazine. Like most music magazines, a list of artists that will be included in the magazine is also presented to us. This entices a reader who might not be interested specifically in Rihanna to buy the magazine as it may include opinions of someone they’re a fan of.

Cover price and publish date: Both are of little importance, hidden at the top of the magazine. The price indicates that it would be aimed at the target audience that I assumed it would be, young adults and older teenagers.

Music Magazine Cover Analysis - Rolling Stone

Masthead: This magazine has a very iconic title, and has been consistently used in the same style since the magazine has begun. Largest font of the magazine, bold red colour juxtaposes with that of the dark, black and white image/theme. Most prominent, stand out feature of the magazine – this is very much due to the font and colour choices.

Image: The image used here has been very airbrushed, the ‘impurities’ have been removed and the use of Photoshop is evident. The mid length shot goes against the image conventions we would expect from the front cover of a magazine, medium closeups being the most common. Perhaps because Rolling Stone is such a well known and highly regarded magazine, it can challenge the conventions of a medium close up needing to be appear to be successful and effective. Removing the colour from the image also adds effect, the cover lines become more noticeable and entice the reader to read the magazine because of what they read on the cover more than what they saw. It helps the red text – the text the editor of the magazine would most want them to read/remember – stand out due to the bleakness of the image. The top of Lana Del Rey’s head also overlaps the bottom of the masthead, again due to the magazine being easily recognized just by the layout. It’s as though Rolling Stone has created its own ‘music magazine’ conventions, ones that differ from the typical conventions that other music magazines follow. In terms of the mis en scene, Lana Del Rey is dressed relatively typically for the front cover of a fashion magazine, but perhaps not a music magazine. Her attire is provocative and eye catching as there is a lot of skin on show, not particularly relating to her as a musician. Inclusive eye contact is also made, drawing you in and making you feel a part of the events that are being displayed on the cover.

Font: The font style is completely consistent throughout the cover, mirroring that of Cambria or New Times Roman. The choice of font adds an element of sophistication to the magazine cover in attempt of identifying with the target audience in a subtler way. Magazines that target audiences of a younger demographic tend to use fonts with smooth curves and bright, vibrant colours whereas this cover is of a completely different nature and looks at focusing on minimalistic effects to draw the audience in.

Colour: Colour in general on this front cover is effectively used and utilized to entice the reader to pick up the magazine and read on. A minimal amount of red is used as a way of identifying important features of the magazine. The choice of colours is highly relevant, whilst a black and white image can be bleak and drowning, this picture works well in terms of standing out from the conventional, music magazine covers which are practically always vibrant, cluttered and coloured.

Cover lines: The main cover line focuses predominantly on the name of the artist that is being promoted, with less focus/attention on the message. The normal cover lines do relate to what readers would typically be interested in reading about, and therefore perform their purpose successfully. Whilst they are not inclusive, they drop names of artists that the reader would be interested in hearing about and hope to identify similarities between themselves and the artist’s stories that are being told.

Cover price and publish date: The cover price and publish date are of little importance/relevance to the message the magazine is trying to convey. Price does give an indication of the age group that is being targeted, a magazine that costs £4.50 wouldn’t be something a young child could typically purchase with their pocket money. This magazine also includes the mention of a website, indicating that the magazine company is in tune with the modern aspects of the music scene and there is availability for constant updates.

Masthead Collage

One of the most important features of my music magazine will be the masthead. Having compiled a collection of different magazine mastheads, I am able to see what features are commonly used by established magazines. Most music magazines tend to be capitalized and use a rounded font - typography appears to be an important element when attracting the audience, it would seem the bigger and bolder the font is the more attractive and appealing it is. Many music magazines use black or red for their masthead - as black is a very transferable colour, it can easily be used on a variety of backgrounds and match most colours. This said, those mastheads in black often change colour to fit the chosen scheme of the publication. NME and Q typically use red and incorporate this into their front cover and house style. The majority of non-music magazines use pink and red for their mastheads connoting femininity and beauty. Use of the colour pink further perpetuates the idea that female readers are more likely to be attracted to purchasing 'lifestyle'/'celebrity gossip' magazines. Comparing this to the colour use of music magazines, they predominately remain gender neutral by using reds and blacks to promote the idea that music is not for a specific gender. Having said this, the pop genre tends to use softer colours to appeal to a younger pre-teen audience as red and black might be perceived as bold and threatening. 

Preliminary Task Evaluation

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

My media magazine conforms to most of the real forms and conventions of media products. I have placed my masthead in the appropriate place at the top of the page, well aligned in the center. Most media magazines follow this convention with the text being slightly more enlarged than the rest of what’s on the page to make the title stand out. The images I used are very appropriate for the audience I am attempting to target for this magazine, by conveying the message I want to get across about the school, I feel as though they themselves conform to the conventions of a school magazine. This said, I have placed three images together in a line without one being enlarged and central on the magazine cover and am therefore challenging the conventions by experimenting with different shots and placements. I do however think it’s relatively effective, the images on the right and left are similar in terms of the positioning of the students, making the image in the middle stand out more as it’s a medium close up and different from the long shot images that surround it. The layout of the magazine doesn’t particularly follow the conventions one would expect a school magazine to, as it arguably looks more like a flyer than a magazine cover. Some of text looks out of place, by using long banners as apposed to the short, sharp snippets of text that are seen on real media products tests the conventions and doesn’t look as effective. The fonts I used demonstrate both the professional/fun side of the school. I chose a simple, smart looking font as the masthead as it looks very appropriate and follows the conventions of a school magazine in terms of establishing an ‘image’. For the remaining text, I thought it would be more appropriate in terms of following conventions to look at using a font more appealing to the target audience.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My media product represents particular social groups by using appropriate images and taking into consideration the conventions of school magazines. The message it attempts to convey is that the school is a fun, working environment with many opportunities demonstrated by the students in the images. Students are represented through image choice in which they are seen to be following the dress code and taking part in some of the activities that take place out side of the classroom. Because they are students at the school, people are aware of the fact that these people are true representations of what it stands for as an institution, and also what is expected of students who attend. Students are made to appear enthusiastic and hardworking – exactly how I wanted them to appear.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

As it is a magazine about one particular school, the likelihood is only Plumstead Manor Sixth Form would be willing to distribute my magazine. Having designed it to be the magazine of just one school limits how widely I’d be able to distribute it. This said, it conveys are very positive message about what the school is about and the distributor would most probably take pride in it. The message coincides with what the schools is about the brilliance of exam results and satisfaction of students. In terms of ways the magazine could be distributed internally, it could be offered in tutorial sessions or at open evenings for prospective students to gain an insight to what does on at Plumstead Manor Sixth Form, hopefully persuading them to attend.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

I would say the target audience for my media product is very obviously aimed at prospective and current students between the ages of 15-19. Choosing purple to be the most prominent colour of the magazine targets both genders – though it has a feminine edge, masculinity is reinstalled by is being a darker shade of purple as apposed to a lighter shade/colour. The main three images are all of students, targeting the important relatability between the reader and the magazine. I would say the front cover attempts to target both prospective students – through heightening the relevance of the current exam results and using positive images of students, and current students – by the reminder and consistency of the purple colour throughout, and also the dress code working as a reminder to what they should be wearing at school.

How did you attract/address your audience?

I attracted the audience initially by using engaging, eye-catching images that meet the conventions and what they would expect to see on the front page of a magazine of this nature. I think the colour scheme is perhaps the most attractive element of my magazine, the school is known for having purple as it’s colour theme and this magazine conforms and addressed that need of consistency for all products that are related to/produced by the school. As purple is neither too masculine or too feminine, it attracts both genders without one feeling isolated by the colour choice – something I felt important that I achieve being a sixth form predominantly dominated by female students most years. The use of humor too addressed the audience’s needs, poking fun at the strict teachers who have a strong work ethic without accepting the importance of having time to take a break. Directly talking about seemingly exciting opportunities entices the audience to continue to read what’s inside the magazine, as students they might be looking for fun opportunities like the ones described. Using splashes and banners also adds something to the cover, not only does it remove some of the blank space, it also makes the cover look lively and energetic which the audience would appreciate as students.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Using publisher to create my product worked to my advantage as I already had some previous knowledge of how to use it including basic construction skills. We looked briefly at the differences between Publisher and Photoshop, and how to use Photoshop for our actual magazine covers for which we will be marked on. Editing images differences dramatically, there is multiple ways in which they can be constructed and formatted. I learnt about removing backgrounds from images and the importance of layering and labeling these labels so they could be easily identified and be changed. Alignment is something I learnt about too, I had to use a ruler to make sure all my text was in line with each other. Although I have blogs outside of the one I need for my Media coursework, the construction of this one was a new experience and something I have had to think about carefully to meet the purpose and also audience expectations that one would expect. The process of converting and overwriting files was also new; saving word documents as JPEG files was something that I struggled with at first but now have enough knowledge to go forth with my actual coursework. Learning about slide share and upload limits was valuable, I know how certain hosting websites have limits to what they will hold.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt?

I have learnt a considerable amount about the importance of conforming to the placed conventions of a media product, or challenging the said conventions with justification for going against them. Being consistent in all areas of my work is something that I have learnt will help me achieve success in my media work, not only in the layout of it but also being on top of the given tasks. The evaluation of my images has made me realize a great deal about the changes I will have to make when taking pictures for my actual magazine, lighting, mis en scene and also the people I use will be an important part of determining whether my images are well produced. Continuing from the idea of things being well produced, I have learnt that I will need to use different software if I want my magazine to look as professional as possible, though for the time that I had to produce this product I feel as though I did a relatively good job with the resources I had. I think that when I do my actual coursework task, I will focus a considerable amount more on following the smaller conventions that we subconsciously ignore in well-circulated magazines in terms of the placement of images and positioning of the masthead.

Contents Page - Preliminary Task

Sixth Form Magazine - Preliminary Task

Evaluation of Images - Preliminary Task

Preliminary Task - Questionnaire Results

Preliminary Task - Questionnaire Results