Detailed And Initial Research: Forms and Conventions

The genre i have decided to focus on is rock/metal but I do not want my magazine to appear mainstream or appeal to a mainstream audience, the bands in my magazine will be bands only heard by a certain audience, I will introduce new bands to the audience but I do not want my magazine to be in any way mainstream.
The magazine most like the magazine i am going to create is Kerrang. My magazine will use the same kind of layout as Kerrang but for a slightly older audience and less mainstream. My magazine will contain a lot of gossip about bands, interviews, pictures and gigs. I have researched into Kerrang, Q and NME because these three magazines are most like the magazine i will create. It is like Q because it will be a rock magazine for a slightly older audience than kerrang. My magazine will appeal to girl’s aswell as boys of ages 16 - 25.

My magazines front covers appeal to their audience because the colours on the pages are dark and connote the magazines genres. The genre is rock/metal and you are able to tell by the front covers main sell. The bands on the cover look as if they're from a rock genre by how they are posing, sometimes they are shown with there band instruments. The magazines don't have girly models on the front covers they either have a band or a band member who are well known by the genre audience. The font styles and colours also show that the magazine belongs to a rock genre. The main colours used in the magazines are reds, blacks and whites which highly connote that the magazine is rock/metal. The contents pages also show pictures of the bands, the kerrang magazines are usually cluttered with pictures and writing.



For Q, i have found out that it attracts a much older audience than other rock magazines such as kerrang and NME. The logo appears quite bold; it is in white surrounded by a red background which shows its importance. The font is in sans serif.


The kerrang logo appears bold and in dark colours which could connote that it is important. Another factor to show its importance is how a picture is covering some of the title, so you're not be able to read it if you didn't know the magazine. This could connote that it is a well known magazine and you should know it well, because it is so popular the company presume that people are able to tell which magazine it is without having the full title showing.

The NME logo is red with a black background, again dark colours which could represent that it's a dark magazine, rock music. Rock magazines usually use dark colours such as red and blacks as their logo colours. The logo is in capital letters which connotes its importance.

The genre i am using for my magazine is rock/metal. I will use some ideas from kerrang and NME but not so much Q because it is targeted at an older audience. My audience will be aged between 16 - 20. My audience are students who are interested in new music coming out and all the latest gossip on bands who aren't so mainstream. I will make a magazine similar to kerrang but not so mainstream.


Different magazines that cater for the same audience of the genre I am using.








- I looked at these music magazines to give me an idea of what I want my magazine to look like.

Q magazine
the audience could be both genders aged between 28 - 45.
The magazine is about indie/rock music or some people might call it AOR and could appeal to many people. The magazine contains loads of gossip about the latest music.

The audience for this magazine could be between the ages of 14 - 20. I think this because this magazine is usually bought by young teens and maybe younger adults would also be interested in buying this. The magazine contains the latest gossip about the rock scene, gives out free posters and promotes gigs which a younger audience would be interested in. This magazine appeals mostly to teens because it is the music that teens listen too.



This magazine would appeal to an audience between the ages of 16 - 30. I think this because the magazine is more sophisticated than kerrang but wouldn't appeal to the same type as audience as the people who read Q.

This research has helped me by giving me ideas of what I want my magazine to appear as, I have researched into other magazines and looked at their layouts, font styles used and colour schemes, this has helped me to picture how I want my magazine to look. I will use the same type of layout as kerrang and put the main sell in the centre of the magazine; I will make a big bold title and place it at the top of the page. My title colours will be similar to the three magazines I studied; I will use dark colours such as reds, blacks and whites.

Main Task: Magazines

The main task is to produce a new music magazines front page, contents page and double page spread. To complete this task successfully I will need to finish my research and planning on the 8th January, I will need to have taken all my pictures on the 15th January, by the 12th February I will have completed post - production and on the 5th march everything should be completed.

Media Studies: Magazine

Introduction:


My name is Roxanne Tolley.
My blog is for posting what I have recently learned in lessons.
We are currently studying magazines.
To the right of this page is my annotated version of the magazine front cover my group was looking at.
We learned about strap lines and cover lines, font types and more. The magazine is named, 'Horse and Hound.

The magazine is set for an older audience.
I'd say middle aged people and onwards would be interested in this mag.
The magazine front cover looks quite serious; you wouldn't find a young child reading it.

If you enlarge the picture you can see what our group came up with.

My Magazine:
I am going to create a fashion magazine for an audience of 16-19 year old females.
My magazine will be for succeeders and materialists.
For B/C1 on the Jicnar scale.
My audience go to college, have a good life ambition, enjoy seeing friends/socializing.
Highly Into fashion and the new trends.
The reader shops at expensive stores.
Goes to wait rose instead of Aldi/Tesco.

Magazine Research:


All three models in these magazines are famous and are well known idols for teenagers.
Miley Cyrus, Victoria Beckham and Mary-Kate Olsen are all posing in these photos in a way to show that they’re friendly.
Each shot of the model shows there arms, face and shoulders.
A teenager would be more drawn to the magazine if one of there favourite stars was on the front cover of it.


All three are huge idols for teenagers aged 16-19, the age group the magazine is aimed for. You'd want to read about your favourite stars.
All three models look as if they've been airbrushed on Photoshop, they all look flawless, there hair and makeup looks perfect, but the magazine wouldn't sell unless an attractive, well known star was on the cover.




All three magazines have very similar layouts.
Each title is in big capital letters at the top of the page and each looks really striking.
The models name is also quite bold on the page; it's maybe suggesting that if you haven't heard of the star you should know about them.
In the magazines 'Vogue' and 'Fashion' the colour schemes used are quite vibrant, where as in 'Elle' the colour scheme seems more simple, brown and white and black. Sans serif font is used in all three magazines throughout.
The structure and how the magazine is presented is very similar.
All three magazines are similar in price.

Each magazine has similar text on the front such as in 'Fashion' it states Spring Beauty- 6 best hair and makeup looks.
Then on the front cover of 'Elle' It says 'Change your hair, change your love life.'
On the 'Vogue' cover it says, 'Beauties new masterstrokes'.
Each magazine is similar with what's inside.
The designs of all three magazines are very alike.
I think that the magazine companies employ famous icons so that more teenagers would be attracted to buying the magazine.

You can clearly show from the three front covers who the magazine is aimed at.
Younger children wouldn't be interested in the older teenager text on the covers, such as ' change your hair, change your love life.'
Children wouldn't be interested in that at all.
The reason I don't think that adults aged 25 and over would be interested in buying these types of magazines because the type of model on the front would be an icon for a teenager and adults may not have heard of them.

The magazine is definitely not aimed for old people aged 65 +.
You can tell this because text on the cover of one of the covers says, 'Dressing for dating and ditching.'
Older people wouldn't be interested in this because they're most likely married. It wouldn't appeal to them at all.

Audience Research:
16 - 19
female
b/c1
materialists and suceeders

The subject matter my magazine will focus apon is fashion and the latest trends.
My magazine will be all about fashion and the new trends.
Females aged 16 - 19 will enjoy my magazine.
For a freebie in my magazine I'd include a free makeup gift because I think that's what the readers would be interested in.
My readers study at college or university.
My readers shop at the most expensive stores on the high street and won't settle for cheaply made clothes.

Five ways I am going to target my new audience effectively:

1. I will target my audience by using bright girly colours on the front cover such as , pink or light blue. I will stick to a colour theme.
2. I will use a good background picture so my readers will be attracted to my magazine. I will need to choose an appropriate model for my 16-19 age groups. The model will wear colours to match my colour scheme.

3. I am going to make sure the text I put onto my front cover is actually relevant to what is inside the magazine.

4. The title of my magazine will be in big bold capital letters which will attract the reader’s attention straight away.

5. I will try not to over crowd my page with too many pictures or too much text. I will space my text and pictures out on my page so it looks sophisticated and more mature than the younger teen fashion mags.


Contents Page -

The contents page usually contain a letter or a post from the editor stating what is in this month/weeks issue. The contents page obviously shows pages in the magazine and what's on the pages. The things in the magazine more likely to attract the readers attention is in big bold font. Content pages usually always show a simularity in layout and font type with the front cover. My magazine and contents page will show a simularity in colour scheme, font types and layout.


Choose two magazines aimed at a simular audience to your own.

What features do the contents pages share? / what features do you expect to find on a contents page?
The contents pages both clearly show what's on which pages and the main bits the audience would most likely be interested in on the page is in capital bigger font.

Are there any simularities in the layout or the design of the contents pages? There are a few simularities, both content pages show what's on the cover and where to find the cover stories. Both content pages clearly show the pages that the text you want to read is on.


Are there any simulalarities in the layout or the design of the contents pages?
There aren't many simularities in the layout or design apart from the fact both are showing the same thing, but in different ways. In 'Look' magazine, the content page is more friendly, the editor has left a letter and a picture of herself on the side of the magazine. The 'GG' magazine is more up market, the layout is more basic, un cluttered and serious.

In what ways do the contents pages appeal to their audiences?
In 'Look' magazine, clothes from primark(a cheap store), are located on the left hand side of the page. This could show that the audience are into cheaper clothing rather than spending their money in expensive stores. The magazine is quite friendly though, and draws the reader in. The 'GG' magazine is less friendly because it doesn't contain a letter of the reader and the page is quite serious. I think the GG contents page wants to just show where to find what, rather than clutter it with clothes, letters and other pointless stuff which would probably get ignored by the readers anyway.

Can you see a house style between the covers of the magazine and the contents pages?

Are the front covers and the content pages from the same publication?
In 'GG' magazine, the content page looks pretty sumular in comparrison with the front cover. The colour scheme is pretty simualar. In 'Look' the front page colours are orange and white where as the content page colours consist of pinks, blacks and whites. The content page and front cover both look quite cluttered though and both have clothes from cheap stores shown on each.



Pre-Production -
On my contents page I will include a letter from the editor, but the letter will be more formal and not friendly like the 'Look' contents page letter. There will not be a picture of the editor because that shows friendliness, and I want my magazine to be more serious. I will use a simular layout to my front cover and my colour scheme will be the same. I will use dark blues, light blues, whites and blacks. My contents page will be more like 'GG' magazines because my magazine is more up market. I don't want my contents page to looks too cluttered, over the top or trying to sell cheap clothing. My readers wouldn't be interested in this kind of stuff I think my readers would be more posh and more into just reading the contents, because that is what the contents page is there for. I want my contents page to look as if it's from the same publication to the front cover. I would like my contents page to be quite spread out, not cluttered because I don't think my readers would be interested in something cluttered. I think that my readers would prefer something simple rather then something packed with un-wanted text/pictures.

Evaluation -

The magazine front cover I created is layed out how a magazine cover looks like, I coppied ideas of published magazines to make mine look good. I made the title with a good font simular to the one i saw on a magazine on the internet. I used a good colour scheme sutiable for my audience. My front cover would attract the audience i want to attract like other female magazines do. I used cover lines and strap lines like on real magazines. I used bold font for the title to show that the magazines important. I used a picture of a girls face (head and shoulders shot) as a background (main sell) like many female magazines do. I used sans serif font throughout. The magazine cover is bright, colourful and would easily attract the audience i want to attract.

The audience of my media product would be teenage girls and young female adults. The age range of these readers would be 16 - 25. The readers would be quite classy, up market.

I used girly colours on my front page and contents such as light blues, whites and blacks. The light blues and white connoate femaninity. The picture of the female would connote that the magazine is aimed at a female audience because of the way the model is positioned on the front cover.

I have learnt more about photoshop in the process of designing my front cover and contents page. I have learn how to use quarkXpress. I have learnt new skills such as how to make the font really big on the page, how to import a new text off a website and importing it into photoshop then using it in my publication and changing the size and colour of it.
Using the blog deffinately helped me to keep track of what i learnt.
The new technologies helped me to conplete my task because they were easy to use and figure out. The two programmes, photoshop and quarkXpress are quite simular in the ways of how they work. Blogging has helped me present my work in a clear way because If I was writting this down on paper I would probably end up loosing it. Making a blog is better because It can't get damaged.

I have used websites to help me with my blog, e.g Collecting images off google. I chose some pictures of magazine front covers to give me a breif idea of what I want my magazine to look like.

The camera helped me because i took a picture and used it as the background image.
Photoshop helped me to create my front cover and quarkXpress helped me to create my contents page.

To improve my practical work I need to improve my knowledge, review notes I have made and listen harder.
I need to keep my blog up to date and check over it to make sure everything is completed. I need to make more effort in meeting deadlines and making sure all of my work is handed in on the deadline.