Conventions and analysis of contents page 1

Final front cover draft

This is my final front cover draft. I chose a colour scheme that fits in well with my chosen genre of alternative rock/indie (black, red and white) Also the red makes the front cover stand out well as it contrasts nicely with the other colours. I used auto on my image to make it brighter and more defined. My masthead is conventionally at the top of the page and i think the name reflects the font as it is quite 'fuzzy'. After the feedback, i got told that my plug needed to be yellow and smaller so the text runs over it. I have the basic conventions of the date and price underneath the masthead but i think it needed to make them smaller. I have a barcode at the bottom right corner but again i think i needed to make it a little bit smaller. I have teasing contents at the bottom of my front page which i like as after researching other magazines i have noticed that others have them too and it gives readers an insight into what other artists are featured.

Front cover draft 4

This is my fourth draft of my music magazine front cover. I changed the font but im not sure if it stands out as much as i want it too. The image i really like as it is simple but effective and engages the audience. Although i needed to make it brighter as it looks a bit yellow. I think i like the fact that the main cover line is on a side but i would need to make it a different font so it is more different. When i got feedback they said i needed to change the white circle to yellow and make it smaller so the text ran over it.

Front cover draft 3

This is my 3rd draft of my front cover. I changed the image and i think this is the most clearer image so far but if i were to use it in my final one i would make it brighter. I have stuck to my original colour scheme of red white and black as it seems to fit in with my genre most. I have changed to a different font for my masthead but arent sure which one i prefer so far. I'm not sure that if i made the image brighter i would then have to change the colour of my cover lines so it looks more clear. The image i think looks more like my chosen genre of music aswell.

Front cover draft 2

This is my second draft for my front cover and i changed the image to see which works better. I really like this image as i think that it engages the audience more with there being eye contact. I changed the font of the masthead and the colour which i still think stands out in white and i really like the font. I still have red in my colour scheme to make it stand out. I changed some of the text to blue to make it different but im not sure whether it goes with the colour scheme.

Front cover draft 1

This is my first draft of my music magazine front cover. This one i like but there are some things that  i dont like and would need improvement. I think the text needs to be made more clear on the cover lines and because the text is black it is quite hard to see. The pull quote is also hard to see with it being in black. I like the font of the masthead as it is quite unique and i like it in red because it stands out and catches peoples attention. Also this is the only draft in which i have used an image with a background that isnt white. I like this as it makes it more interesting but it is hard to find the right colour for the text that fits in with the colour scheme and is also noticeable.

Possible photos

Mindmap of ideas using prezi

This is my midmap of ideas using prezi. It goes through step by step of all my ideas for my music magazine. First i looked at possible name ideas and came up with some that i though fit my chosen genre of music. My next point was thinking of different colour schemes for my magazine as every magazine needs a house style and continuous colour scheme that fits in with their genre of music. I then though about what artists i like and what ones will be on my front cover feature stories. After looking at other music magazines and what articles are featured i thought about some possible ones for my own. Ones that will get the audience interested and intrigued but also ones that feature artists who my target audience will like.

Font ideas

After thinking of ideas for the name of my magazine i have decided on 'FUSION'. I think it sounds as if it is related to my chosen genre of indie/alternative rock and it has the meaning of indie and alternative rock being fused together as my magazine aims to include both genres of artists. I researched different types of fonts for my name of my magazine and these were the fonts that rteally stood out to me and seemed unique:

Hand drawn draft - Front cover

1st Box plot draft - Front cover

This is my first draft of a front cover, this is just a rough idea and so is not my final one.

Existing behind the scene photoshoots of music artists

 

These are videos of existing behind the scene photoshoots. I researched into these to give me inspiration for my own photoshoot that i will be doing. It inspired me to try out different poses and positions aswell what angles look good and to be unique. Also it showed me what lighting looks good for when it comes to doing my own photoshoot.

 

 

Behind the scenes of Gwen Stefani's UK ELLE photoshoot:

 

 

 

Florence Welch behind the scenes photoshoot for Bazaar magazine:

 

Costume and make-up ideas

This is my costume and make-up ideas for my photoshoot. I want my model to be wearing a black simple dress and either red doc martens or black biker boots. This i believe fits in with my genre of indie/rock because its not too girly it is a simple look but looks quite indie. I liked the pose at the top right corner as it is a longshot and would be a good photo for my double page-spread. I wanted the make-up to be simple and fresh but with a tint on the lips so it didnt look boring or understated. I have included  converse and skinny jeans into my ideas as this fits in with my genre also and are very popular amongst my target audience of 15-24. For my contents page i want my models to be wearing skinny jeans and converse. I have included a guitar for one of my props because i think i want one of my images on my contents page to involve a guitar to give my iimages variation.

Front cover, contents page and double page-spread comparison

These are my comparisons of front covers, contents pages and double-page spreads. I compared all the common conventions that are featured, the colour schemes, feature stories, layout etc. I found out that each magazine has its own style which i need to incorporate in my own magazine. They all have a house style colour scheme which follows through the whole magazine, the colour scheme also fits in with the genre of the magazine and has given me ideas on my own colour scheme. The main images on all front covers are very strong so i need to make sure mine is. After comparing contents pages i know the kind of layout that i want and that i need to include a 'features' section and a 'regulars' section. I also need to know that i need to include other images from related articles to give it more depth. After comparing the double-page spreads it gave me inspiration for what to do for my own layout and story. Also that i should include a 'pull quote' from the article. Comparing three magazines for all three pages has been very useful and has given me inspiration and ideas for when it comes to doing my own magazine.

My Reader Profile

This is my own reader profile that i have created after looking at NME's reader profile. After identifying that my targer audience will be 15-24 i chose images that are aimed at this age range. The images also link in with my magazine genre of alternative rock/indie. For example, people in my magazines age range wear a lot of converses and doc martins but also people who enjoy indie and alternative rock music. I have included the price and frequency of my magazine to make it informative.

NME Reader Profile

Top 40 Download Chart

1. Trouble Maker - Olly Murs
2. Little Thins - One Direction
3. Beneath your beautiful - Labyrinth
4. Something New - Girls Aloud
5. Girl On Fire - Alicia Keys
6. Gangnam Style - PSY
7. Candy - Robby Williams
8. The Power of Love - Gabrielle Aplin
9. Ho Hey - Lumineers
10. Locked Out Of Heaven - Bruno Mars
11. DNA - Little Mix
12. Diamonds - Rihanna
13. A Thousand Years - Christina Perri
14. Dont You Worry Child - Swedish House Mafia
15. Not Giving In - Rudimental
16. Can You Hear Me - Wiley
17. Skyfall - Adele
18. Sweet Nothing - Calvin Harris
19. One More Night - Maroon 5
20. Latch - Disclosure
21. Hall Of Fame - Script ALTERNATIVE ROCK
22. Shine Ya Light - Rita Ora
23. Give Me Love - Ed Sheeran
24. Beauty and Beat - Justin Beiber
25. We Are Never Ever Ever Getting Back Together - Taylor Swift
26. Tidal Wave - Sub-Focus
27. Back In Black - AC/DC HARD ROCK
28. Anything Could Happen - Ellie Goulding
29. Try - Pink POP ROCK
30. I Found You - Wanted
31. Love Is Easy - McFly POP ROCK
32. I Cry - Flo Rida
33. Va Va Voom - Nick Minaj
34.  Live While We're Young - One Direction
35. Wings - Little Mix
36. Right Now - Rihanna
37. Wonder - Naughty Boy
38. Do You Think Of Me - Misha B
39. Gold Dust - DJ Fresh
40. Highway To Hell - AC/DC HARD ROCK

This is the top 40 download chart at the moment. As you can see there arent many of them that are in my chosen genre of indie/rock. The nearest to it would probably be 'Hall Of Fame' by the Script. This is good in the sense that i can do my magazine to make indie rock more popular and well known. A lot of the artists on this list are pop and R&B which is very popular at the moment on the charts so if i can make a magazine based on indie rock it will hopefully make it more popular and encourage people to listen to it.

Uses and Gratifications Theory

Demographics

Price

Focus group

We had to do a focus group task where we ask each other questions regarding music magazines. The answers that were gave will help me to develop the price and my overall product, such as whether i am going to include a free gift.
One of the questions that was asked was 'how much would you expect to pay for a music magazine?' The feedback given was she would pay anywhere up to £2,50 for a weekly magazine and up to £4.00 for a monthly one. This helped me think of the price for my magazine.
Another question asked was 'how often would you want it to be published'? The feedback was if it was to get quick updates on artists etc then it should be weekly.
We also asked whether free gifts would persuade you to buy the magzine and the answers was that it would and these included free posters.

Focus group planning

These are the questions that we asked each other in our focus group in order to get some ideas on what to include in our magazine:

• Do you buy magazines, if so how often?
• What makes a music magazine appealing?
• How much would you be willing to pay for one?
• How much would you want it to be published?
• What would encourage you to buy a magazine?
• Do competitions in magazines make you want to buy it more?
• What free things do you want to be included?
• What type of music do you like?

Practice photoshoot

These are some of the images that were took on the practice photo-shoot. Although they weren't serious photos they gave me inspiration for when i do my actual photos. I liked the one shot photos as they seem quirky and a little indie which fits in with my music genre of alternative rock/indie. I also like the two shot photos as they seem edgy and different. However the second one and the last one you can see the green background on the photo so this would be something that i would have to be careful about when doing the real photo shoot. Shadows can can also be seen so i would have to be careful about that and have the right lighting.

Initial ideas spider diagram

Moodboard

This is my moodboard for my music magazine task. I included examples of mastheads from existing magazines to get inspiration from. All of them are bold and bright as well as being short and memorable. This is something that i wish to have for my masthead.I included examples of a double page spread, contents page and many front covers that have given me inspiration. I also included some band pictures which i want my magazine to include such as 'Coldplay' and 'The Kooks'.

Conventions and analysis music magazine - front cover

Conventions and analysis-music magazine front cover

Genre

I have chosen to have my music magazines main genre as Alternative/Indie. These are bands such as 'The Kooks' and 'Linkin Park'. I have chosen this genre of music because this is one of the main genres that i listen to and love. Existing magazines that are this type of genre are ones such as 'NME' and 'Q' magazine.

The Kooks -

Florence and the machine -

Linkin Park -

Coldplay -

The Brief

The music magazine task is to produce a front cover, contents page and double page spread of a music magazine. The images and text must be produced by you and there must be a minimum of four images.

Evaluation

For my media preliminary task I had to come up with a college magazine front cover and a draft of a contents page. I chose to do magazine front cover that is aimed at both male and female students and so when I came up with my sell lines I didn’t stick to particular articles. For example I did one about becoming a doctor which can be aimed at both male and females. My main cover line was about life after college which is what a lot of students will be interested in and will want to find more about. To make my magazine appeal to more people and persuade them to read it I added a special offer of a free revision guide and timetable. When people automatically read the word ‘free’ they are drawn to it and so this will attract more readers.

I placed the masthead conventionally at the top of the page in simple, bold font. That way it is the first thing the audience will see and they know what the magazine is about. I also added a black outline to the masthead so it makes it stand out even more.  I stuck to a simple of colour scheme of red and different shades of blues as I didn’t want it to look over crowded. I chose red because it stands out the most and also it connotes happiness and joy which puts a positive representation on the college.

I took the photo of the model myself against a background of lockers. I was going to use this photo as the whole image but I thought there wouldn’t be enough colour so I decided to put the model against a background of a library. That way it shows more aspects of the college more. I found it tricky when using the magnetic lasso tool to crop the model out as if I made a mistake I would have to start again from the beginning. Once I had finished cropping I put her on the background of the library and tweaked the edges making it smoother. I placed her conventionally in the middle of the front cover.  The model is smiling which connotes that she is happy to be in college and she is also wearing casual clothing connoting that college is a laid-back and relaxing environment. I wanted her to hold folders so that it reinforces the idea of college life and makes her look more like a student. I used the clone tool on the models face so it gave her face more of a clear complexion and made it a little lighter. The background of the library was a little bit dull so I increased the brightness of it as well as the contrast to add a bit more colour. The conventions of a magazine front cover include a barcode and so I added one to the left third of the magazine. I resized it so it was smaller and rotated it to go on its side. 

If I were to do this project again there are some things that I would do differently. I would try and be more imaginative when thinking of sell lines, more which relate to specific courses. That way I know that the target audience would be more varied as I would try and do an article to relate to all types of people. I would also take the pictures that I needed in portrait as I took them in landscape and so they wouldn’t fit properly into Photoshop.

I think my front cover has a positive representation of the college as the model is clearly smiling showing that she is enjoying college and she is wearing causal clothing connoting a relaxing and chilled environment. I want the readers to believe that college is an independent workplace but also a happy and welcoming place to learn. I added a subtitle underneath the masthead in blue font which contrasts well against the red masthead making it stand out more. It says ‘student guide to life at college’ This I think  will let the readers know that it is an informative magazine aimed directly at students and so it will attract more people who need to know about what life is like at college.

By Rosie Thompson

Hand drawn contents page draft

Final front cover

Existing magazines

Examples of types of picture framings

Original images

ICT Draft of College magazine contents page