Research: Music Magazine Covers

Kerrang! 

Kerrang! is a rock/heavy metal music magazine that is released every fortnight. It appeals to it's target audience as the colour scheme and font carries conventions of rock music such as vandalism, chaos and rebellion. Also, the masthead 'Kerrang!' follows the magazine's theme as it is use of onomatopoeia and was created to remind you of the strum of an electric guitar. Further more, a rebellious action is shown in the placing of the main feature. The singer is placed in the middle but the rule of thirds is broken, and also his head covers the masthead. There is also rules on this cover that have bee followed though, such as the left third and multiple cover lines. I also chose a cover from kerrang with a femal artist because i'm thinking of using a female, she too is looking down the camera. 

Hammer

Hammer magazine, like Kerrang!, also dedicates itself to rock music, however it's genre is specified in the rock sub genre heavy metal. It's colour scheme is similar, bright and eye catching, and the masthead 'Hammer' is, like Kerrang!, use of phonology as the sound of a hammer reminds you of loud crashes. Which some may say rock music sounds like, and the word 'metal' holds connotations of sharpness. Furthermore there is also a singer, but he is centered in this magazine, covering some of the masthead.

NME
NME is a magazine that covers a less specific range of music, they cover rock, indie and popular music. On this cover, the rule of thirds is being broken. There is a left third, full of coverlines and a puff/plug. The colour scheme is brighter and a little lighter to the eye, it is also quite contrasting, perhaps conveying the fact that the magazine talks about multiple musical genres.

Research: Two Possible Target Audiences

Research: Conventionial Buzzwords Of Music Genres

ROCK          - Guitar (Electric), Loud, Chaos, Drums, Mosh Pit                
JAZZ            - Trumpet, Saxophone, Calmness
POP              - Mainstream, Dance routines, Fun
INDIE           - Guitar (Electric/Acoustic), Individual/Alternative
FOLK           - Acoustic Guitar, Banjo, Tambourines, Fun, Calm
HIP HOP      - Fast, Mainstream, Break Dance, African Origin 
REGGAE      - Jamaica, Calm, Relaxed, Classic Drum
CLASSICAL - Piano, Calm, Slow
DANCE         - Strobe Light, Fast, Technological, Robotic

Research: Current Popular Music Magazines

Here are some letters posted to the publisher websites from the editors of Kerrang!, Q and NME. These texts will help me find out about existing products on the market, to conclude on a style that will be appropriate, successful and necessary in today's music media industry. 

            In the year 2000, the rock magazine Kerrang! won the title of best selling British music magazine and is published by Bauer Media. This letter provides evidence that the rock genre covers a wide audience, as a consequent of multiple sub genres of rock that all interlink. 'Each issue will include a balance of bands,' this proves that Kerrang! is a magazine that needs to cover a variety of bands to fulfill the need of their diverse target audience. 

Kerrang! is released weekly at the price of £2.20 (conventionally, this varies with special issues)

In the months of June 2013, Kerrang! reached a readership of 345,000

Q is a monthly released magazine in the UK, but is globally known. Q has was one of the first music magazines to be released monthly, stressing the importance of high quality photography and style was in contribution to the overall product. It covers mainly popular mainstream music. 

Q readership in 2013 hit 377,000 at the price of £3.99 

Beaur Media is a useful site in researching existing music media products, and gives me good insight onto how to produce a successful product. Their tag line is 'we think popular,' this reassures me that if I made a magazine similar to one of their texts, it would be for a valid market. 

NME is magazine that again contrasts Kerrang! and Q, it's extremely popular and specifies it's target audience as 16 -24. The fundamental success of NME came because of it's coverage of both pop and rock grand genres, it therefore serves the needs of a wide spectrum of target audience. It is the eldest text in the three examples given, originating as a music newspaper in 1952.

Research: Music Genre Mindmap

Mind mapped different music genres to see which type of magazine i may want to create.

Evaluation: Reflection on Student Magazine

   Reflecting on my work completed for the student magazine, i feel pleased with the outcomes. I think that the magazine cover looks presentable as it follows basic conventions of real magazines, such as the biggest text on the page being the masthead and multiple cover lines suitable to the content of the magazine and it's genre.  I think that the cover could have been improved as I could have used a clear main cover line, and also having more time to enhance the over all presentation.
   Looking back I believe that Photoshop may have been a better device to achieve a professional look to the cover, so I'll think about using it for the music magazine task. I was pleased with the contents page as it was only a rough draft, if i were ever to complete it I would think about the background and add in either colour or a photo for more visual variety. Furthermore, I would  add outlines to the fonts and some pictures, but this again is a tool I would have to use on Photoshop.
   I decided to stick to 3 main colours on the contents page, which all contrasted but weren't too harsh on the eye. These colours were also used on the front cover, so there was a clear connection between the two pieces, I liked this aspect of my work and will keep it in mind for the next project.
   I believe the magazine looks like an legitimate college magazine. The model is wearing basic make up and clothing, this was to make sure that there would not be any aspect of the picture that would distract the reader from the cover lines and information featured on the front. Also, Darcy is carrying books and smiling so she looks both happy and like a 'typical student.'

Production: Contents Page

1st draft

Final contents 

Production: Using In Design

I used the type tool, shape, colour and different fonts. I also used 'file' and 'place' to add images. 

Production: Student Magazine Cover

Final Cover

1st Draft

Photography For Student Magazine Cover

 

       I chose the first picture to be the cover of my magazine. It has a simple white background, this i felt would be better than a backdrop with alot of detail as it won't distract the eye from the cover lines and masthead. Further more it gave flexibility when choosing colours for my magazine. Also, Darcy is centred well in the picture. There is room for coverlines to be on the left, creating a left third. This will make my magazine cover look realistic. 

Planning: Flat Plans

Front cover (left)
Contents page (right)

Planning: Proposal For College Magazine. Preliminary Task: Brief

Who are you aiming your magazine at specificly?

Students of Southdowns college

What will your magazine be about?

Current news with the college, opertunities such as enrichment's  achievements with students and information about universities. Also information with exams and different revision techniques. And lastly social events such as festivals, gigs, and local events.

What are your ideas for cover lines?

‘UCAS chart inside! Which uni is for you?’

‘Revision guides and techniques!’

‘New advice area for students, sex, studying, relationships and career help now available’

‘This year’s festivals! How to have fun, and stay safe’

What titles have you thought about? 

Southdowns and you

Educate

Student

What fonts?

Eye catching and fun. Examples:

 Student Student Student Student

Are you going to have a tag line? If so what could it be?

‘Helping you through’

‘All you need for a healthy college lifestyle’

When in the year will it be published?

Before the end of year, around June. This way I can talk about social activities for summer including festivals and tips to stay safe. And also include revision advice and exam dates.

What kind of image will be on the front cover?

A picture of one of my class mates, against a colourful wall that may be good for lighting and represent summer. They will also be wearing their student id/have it on show and be holding books or folders to show she/he’s a student. I will be using my own photography to achieve this.

How frequently would the magazine be published?

Every month, it’ll be sold around the college café’s and available to buy in the library and around the college generally. This way it will not be too frequent and students won’t get bored with it. Also each issue will then be specifically themed for the season/month it is released in.

What dimensions for the cover?

Simple A4 so it’s easy to read and eye grabbing. It’ll also fit into the average college back easily 

What images/colour will you use on the contents page

Greens,  blues and maybe a little pink. These must be bold colours so the text is easy to read, these colours also don’t bled well so they can out line different subjects in the contents page. Also they appeal to both genders and represent summer. 

Research: Photography Comparison

Task 5: Skills Adult

After producing this check list i looked at what i wasn't able to do. 

I know now how to scan images. You place your paper into a scanner and it will normally open the document into photoshop. 

I know how to use bluetooth files. You click on the bluetooth icon and select what you needed depending on the types of files you are using. 


To burn discs you need to insert a blank disc and select the data/files you want to 



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M3r7cy-RPc.  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7toY14d9Hfo

Task 4: IPC Case Study

Task 3: Essay

To what extent should magazines be held responsable for the social ramifications of the representations they offer?

The five magazine covers I chose to analyse were all targeted at teenage girls. Comparing them all I saw that they all shared similar conventions and characteristics that may influence teenagers to act or think they have to look a certain way. I will explore whether or not the magazines should receive the blame for social ramifications (such as eating disorders, problems with relationships, sexuality and peer pressure) and how they may encourage these ideologies.
  A dominant characteristic in these teen magazines is the main image on the front page, a celebrity is used, under the age of 27 that the readers can relate too and idolise. The use of images of 'beautiful' or even 'sexy' stereotypes act as a role model to the teenagers, and they subconsciously see them as a figure of what they are meant to look like. This is especially reinforced when combined with the cover lines, some of my chosen examples included '4 moves to a strong, sexy body' and 'get pretty essentials' this relates to the celebrity image as the magazine has presented them as an 'ideal' to relate too. 
  The readers may read these cover lines and look at the image and then believe that if they follow the magazines steps they may achieve a body image similar to theirs. This can be seen as alarming as some of the readers of these magazines are as young as 10 or 11, and for the encouragement of looking 'sexy' would also persue younger girls to mature faster and they may fall into bad situations, maybe even stimulating health issues such as eating disorders as they strive to fit into the 'ideal skinny celebrity'. This point brings us to the essay question and shows that magazines can be seen as influential when it comes to body image, as the cover lines show clear encouragement to be seen as better looking. Furthermore they also imply that your body/looks are not okay as they are now, so they may result to lowering self esteem and creating paranoia in the teenagers subconscious. 
  Another frequent occurring topic appearing in the coverlines of these magazines is the subject of teenage relationships and boys. In my examples, there is '5 guys you'll date.. and why you'll dump them' and 'how to ditch your dating disaster.' These statements imply massively that girls are seen as high maintenance in relationships as they present female dominance. Maybe also suggesting that men are inferior to us. This also stereotypes teenage girls as the subject isn't raised (from my recent research) of sexuality. The reference to boys in relationships may make gay girls feel like they're different in negative manner and may feel like being straight is 'right'. 
 The magazines use the idea of 'fitting in' and popularity to entise readers. One cover line of a real story shockingly read 'pretending to have sex made me popular.' This is an extreme encouragement of negative behaviour and the use of being 'popular' suggests that it's something you should strive to do.The use of clothes and fashion is used on the covers of magazines to promote sales, the items are labelled as 'must haves' or 'the next trends' these uses of terminology also make teens believe they will not fit in to what is 'popular' if they are not on trend or have the newest fashions. 
  However, all of these arguments favour that these teen magazines have massive influence on their readers and how they choose to act because of their content. But obviously, on the other hand some readers may not be interested in what the magazines have to offer and not 100% of girls buy or read the magazines. So perhaps they cannot receive total blame for the social ramifications of today's society. 

 All in all i believe that teenage magazines are too specific, i think that they should open up their ideas and not be so drilling as to what their 'perfect image' is and why everyone should resemble it. It is obvious that some of the content is not intentional but it's having a massive impact on the youth as they promote what to wear, how to look, who to 'date' and degrade their readers into thinking they're not good enough. 
  

Task 3: Magazine Presentation

Magazine presentation from Bethsumecki

Task 2: Magazines & Audiences Essay

Task 2: Analyses On Target Audience Essay

   From looking at the cover of my chosen magazine I can tell that the target audience are upper working class or middle class women, maybe in an age range to 15 – 35. They will have an interest in celebrity news and fashion; they may even have confidence issues and are seeking advice.

  The magazine’s cover has succeeded in presenting the target audience with a product they will be interested in buying. The main colour scheme of the front page sticks to basic white and beige. The white attracts the target social group as it represents innocence and femininity, the beige however contrasts and stands for expenses and luxury as it resembles gold. The two colours contrast but however complement each other as they add class and elegance to the style of the magazine. Black and white is also used in the text on the cover, along with fluent san serif font. This combination also adds style, it’s extremely formal and classy as it’s simple and a trade mark font, this appeals to the upper class. 

    The cover lines on the magazine also show that the target audience may be women who are interested in fashion, and maybe seeking advice in relationships or dieting. For example, this issue has specifically been labelled ‘The Body Issue’ which appeals to those who are seeking weight loss guidance; this also links to the image on the cover of Megan Fox. Megan is a complete style icon and infamous for her figure and beauty, the fact that she has been placed on ‘The Body Issue’ implies to the reader that if they follow whatever advice the magazine offers, they may achieve a look resembling Megan’s and buy the magazine. Most of the cover lines however follow the theme of fashion as the biggest font on the page besides the masthead is ‘175+’ to advertise new stock of fashionable clothing. This appeals to the readers as in purchasing the magazine they will be buying into the newest trends and fashions. Also, the cover lines have shown clear links to the target audience of upper working class/middle class as saving money has been promoted in ‘Fix your hair for under $10,’ this also relates to the younger of the target audience, such as students who are not in full time employment yet. Furthermore, relationships and personal living as also been briefly addressed in a coverline ‘Don’t Break Up! The Science Behind Staying Together.’ This is extremely appealing for the members of the target audience who may be seeking relationship advice. The use of the worlds ‘Science Behind’ also makes the reader believe the contents will be on factual evidence and therefore will be reliable.

       The magazine cover as a whole contains many aspects that make it a recognisable female, celebrity gossip and fashion magazine. The masthead is the biggest font on the page and its intriguing, and an image of an extremely well known, beautiful and respected celebrity has been used. The fonts and colours have been thought about in detail and the magazine title ‘Elle’ represents femininity in itself as in French it simply means ‘she.’ The name is also extremely popular in America, and that Is most probably where a high percentage of the target audience are from. 

Task 2: Magazines & Audiances Cover Annotation

Task 2: Magazines & Audiences Glossery

Terminology glossary of magazine terms

Audience - The group of people of which the magazine is associated with and written to target. `
Connotation - images/words/colours that imply hidden meaning or may be suggesting something
Coverlines - Brief information given on the front page of the magazine about the major articles featured. 
Distraction - Used to break down the resistance of the customer. Often used to distract and relate products to other factors such as sex to sell. Used in advertisement 
Frequency (advertising) -  is the number of times the target market is reached.
Genre - The catogories or type of a piece of media
Left Third - the left half of a magazine cover, where most of the cover lines can be found, so that these are seen when the magazine is displayed on a shelf.
Market Penetration -This term refers to the percentage of potential readers who actually buy the publication.
Masthead - The title of the magazine/newspaper. Usually placed at the top of the page, sometimes to       the left

Puff - words or phrases used to associate with the magazine and boost status and create identity

Plug - Information about the contents of the magazine/newspaper that is shown on the front cover
Representation - How something is presented in the media. 
Serif Font - Font that has curls included, sometimes used in italics. Using these  fonts gives  a sense of class and fancy style to the magazine which may make it more consumable. This can also be used to give a sense of feminine theme. 

San Serif Font - Font that is very straight, blocked and bold. Used to give a more formal style. 

Tag Line - A short phrase or slogan tagged to the masthead giving more information about the magazine/newspaper. 

Task 1: Getting to know blogger

What i can do with blogger

* Post images * Post links* Add videos* Add and receive comments
* Add screen shots

This is a link i used to understand how to set my blog up: 

How will blogger be useful to my coursework?

* I can receive feedback to my work 

* Include images of students that i have taken to create my 'college magazine' and 'music magazine'

* Show rough designs and drafting before i start to plan final pieces 

* Add links to bands, gigs, examples of  music magazines to draft ideas for my final product. 

* Add final designs

 * I can compare designs to other existing magazines to ensure my ideas are presented realistically and professional. 

* Can show my own photography to prove i am using primary source

* Blogger is easily accessible so i will be able to add to my coursework from home as well as during lessons