Front Cover

Contents Page

Double page spread

What have you learnt about technologies from constructing your product?

Software.

The software I used to help me make my magazine too start off with was InDesign I had a few basic things started for it, but I then changed to publisher where I finished off the rest of the magazine. Although publisher was more basic I found it a lot easier to use and sort out all my pictures.

Photoshop

I used Photoshop to edit my photos for my magazine. I have never used it before and It took me a while to figure out how to remove backgrounds and change colours. It was very useful and made it a lot easier for my magazine. Although I only used the basic tools in Photoshop it was still enough to help me make my magazine look more professional just by removing the background.

Publisher

I chose to use Publisher instead of InDesign because, although I started my magazine in InDesign I wasn’t quite able to manage how to use it, and I found it quite difficult. When I switched to publisher I found it a lot easier, I still used the same layout that I had started in InDesign with but sorting everything into a place and making it fit was much better.

Camera And LightingBecause we had started to look at camera angles and shots in previous lessons I found that I could now take a picture in a certain way to communicate with the audience and give of a certain feel to the magazine. I liked the high angle camera shots purely for the way that it looks on the page as if the person is looking directly at up at you. I also liked this for another picture I took where my two models are looking down at the camera, I thought this gave a good effect and the way the models are positioned and the faces they are doing went well with it as well, it gave a relaxed funny atmosphere like they were having fun. The white drop in the background helped a lot with the quality of my photos because I could focus on what the model was doing and they stood out a lot more. The lighting was a huge help when I wanted to make something stand out, for example there was I photo I took when I was trying out the camera and lighting, I make the model stand near to the light so it shone on his face and made the colour of his eyes stand out a lot.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Audience

I aimed my magazine at a younger audience between the ages of 16 to around 20 who like to listen to rock music and are into that scene of music. I did some research into this by asking a selection of people about what things they would like in a music magazine of their choice. I also did research too see where this type of music is mainly popular. I found out that although it is not promoted as much as chart music in general, where it is advertised it’s a very big thing and there are lots of fashion brands that help to advertise the certain bands that are in this genre.

I tried to attract this audience by adding things on the front cover like bands that are quite up to date or popular in that genre of music.


I tried to attract my audience by using bold and simple layout that stood out alot. I thought by putting popular band names on the front cover that this would attract the audience because they would want to know what is happening with the band. I also used from conventions from a real magazine like a price change and 'exclusive' interviews.

Preliminary task

Looking back at your preliminary task, what have you learnt in the progression to your full product?

When i did my prelimiary task i was limited to what software i could use and how i could take my pictures. They were very basic and easy to use. I used a standard camera to take my pictures and use powerpoint to make my final piece and pic nik to edit my photos.
When i started my real magazine, we had professional cameras and backdrops to use to make the pictures of higher quality. We used photoshop to edit all the photos so it made it look alot more professional. Although i used publisher to make my final piece it still looked the same as using the other software, i found it easier to work with.

How does your media product represent social groups?

In my magazine i have represented my audience and that social group through the colours and the models i used. My models were in the age range of this magazine and dressed of the stereotypical view to how the people who listen to the sort of music my magazined is aimed at do. The colours i have used arent all basic but bold so they stand out to the audience.

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

http://prezi.com/yoqmrtfda1pf/in-what-ways-does-your-media-product-use-develop-or-challenge-forms-and-conventions-of-real-media-products/

My photo shoot.

I booked a time after lesson to take photos of my two friends that I wanted to use for my magazine. My magazine is mainly rock music based and two boys I used as models are already into that type of music and style so there clothing was very stereotypical for the pictures. For my pictures I had originally wanted one of the boys swinging a guitar to make it look like he was hitting the magazine logo, but I changed the logo and decided to go with a close up photo from a high angle of the boy instead. I chose certain camera angles which I felt make the pictures stand out to the audience. I took a range of different angles, from high to low and close up ones. The ones I liked the most were the high angled ones of Shaun, so I decided to use my main front cover photo one of them.

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

I have chosen Bauer Media Group. I have chosen this institution because they publish the Kerrang! Magazine which is a magazine I would like to thing is similar to mine because like Kerrang! My magazine is for rock music and also gives the latest gossip on different bands and singers to do with that genre of music. This is what I wanted to achieve whilst creating my magazine. Also I think that it would benefit being distributed by them because although they distribute rock music they also have a 50% stake in the British television company including different music channels so advertising my magazine would be no problem even if it was done on a music channel that isn’t the same music it would get my magazine noticed a lot more. Also Freeway Press Inc would be a good company to distribute my magazine because it is also very similar to Bauer Media Group in the rock music section.

My Questionnaire

Analysing contents pages

Analysing contents pages.

On the contents page of the first magazine, ‘Top of the pops’ it’s very busy and there is a lot going on. This attracts the reader because they know that they are going to get a lot out of the magazine. The colours, font and style match the front cover, the colour scheme is bright and has a ‘young’ feel to it because it’s very girly and is aimed at a young audience. The pages have been set out in groups, for each category it has a title and the page numbers next to it, too keep it more organised throughout the magazine everything in the same category is one after the other in the magazine and not just randomly scattered throughout, for example everything about fashion and accessories is too the left hand size of the page under the heading ‘We ♥ Shopping’ in the block it also includes a few pictures of what is shown. This is the same for the ‘Wins & Offers’ section where there are pictures of some prizes the reader could win. The main thing that stands out on this contents page is the screen shot of the front cover that is placed at the top of the page. This week’s magazine is clearly about boys that are in music industry as shown by the main picture of One Direction. To the right hand side of the front cover snap shot there is a small heading saying ‘We ♥ boys’ where underneath it states that everything highlighted has something to do with boys. Around the snap shot of the front cover is the pages of the numbers, which is very different to other magazines, they have arrows pointing to some of the stories that are inside this magazine and shows the reader where to go.

The second contents page is for NME it also is a very busy looking page which lots of pictures to go with the writing. The colour scheme is not as bright and lively as the first but goes with the front cover and rest of the magazine. In the bottom right hand corner there is an advert which is bright red which adds stands out and offers a deal for the magazine. This contents page however does not show every story with a page number, instead there one main big picture with the page number and then around the outside there are the 6 main stories with pictures of the bands or people they are about – also underneath the pictures are quotes from the article. A few more stories are at the bottom in a small column under the heading ‘PLUS’ however they are just basic small stories. They do not give much away from what the reader can see only the minimalist of writing and information.

The third contents page is from the magazine mixmag. This magazine has used one main picture which takes up most of the page. It goes with the genre of the magazine because it’s a bright lively photo which is also very colourful and the people in it look as if their having a really good time, having a party. It stands out a lot more because the background of the contents page is black. The writing on this page is white so looks good on the black as well. The pages are too the right of the page, it only gets a small slither of the page thought, it looks like they are trying to promote the magazine by the pictures of people having a good time. The main photo is also a story in the magazine as you can see by the page number in the bottom right corner of it. This contents page stands out because it’s basic yet bold which the dark background and the picture contrasting on it.

Lastly the contents page for the music magazine MOJO, I think, is the most effective because although it’s in black and white (which goes with the colour scheme or dull colures) it still makes an impact on the reader when they look at it. There is only one photo which is a guitarist of a band that is featured in the magazine and the main story. This picture of his blends in with the writing on the page because it’s not a square photo that cuts off it’s just the outline of himself. The writing is places to work around the body of the man which looks really good. The title of the magazine is placed at the top of the page. The stories are to the left of the page – not all stories are mentioned, only the basic big ones, so the magazine does not give away a lot of information on the other stories. The Main heading of each story is in bold and underneath there is a small description of the story – which I think looks really good because it gives the reader a little insight into the story.

Front Cover Essay - Marked

Analyse the codes and conventions of four music magazine covers.

On the magazine ‘terroriser’ has a dark theme as you can see by the way the pictures are taken and the colours used on the front cover. The picture is taken from straight on but the guy has tilted his head forward to make it look like he is looking up a bit at the camera which makes him look ‘evil’ because he is not smiling either he is just staring at the camera – showing the theme of the magazine to be dark and quite gothic[r1] .

The font used on this magazine is quite bland but bold and stands out. The colour is a ‘boring’ steel colour which is put on a black background to make it stand out to the reader. The other captions on the page are a dark blue. The main heading ‘Terroriser’ is written in a gothic font and the colour is silver. However the heading is behind the main picture and unless you know this magazine you won’t be able to tell what the name is, I don’t think it looks that good[r2] .

 In comparison the magazine cover for ‘mix mag’ is very bright colours to show that this magazine could be about up beat music like raving music or club music, the bright yellow could be interpreted as strobe lighting that they use in clubs. The main picture on the front is just like the one on ‘terroriser’ – however the man could be seen as a DJ because of how the front cover looks[r3] . The captions on the sides of the front cover give away what the magazine is about because it has stories about Vegas, Ibiza and Ministry of music – these are all topics on which the music is very upbeat and fast. Unlike how the ‘terroriser’ magazine where everything is very dark and so you see the comparison with each magazine because of the colour schemes – they give a lot away.

The High angle shot on the ‘vive le rock!’ magazine lets you see all of the band and a wide proportion of what is around them, you can see what they are wearing and the style, which gives away what this genre of music this magazine is about. The picture is in black and white, and the band is also from quite a while ago so it could also show that the music in this magazine is old bands. The font colours on this magazine are reds, white and blacks which stand out because they are overlapping the photo.

Again this magazine uses the title to blend behind the people in this photo; however you can see the name of it and are able to see what it says. It also looks like the title is in the photo.

The Low angle on the ‘Drummer’ magazine makes it looks like the man has the power of the magazine because it looks like the audience are looking up at him[r4] . In the photo is a man from a very famous band sitting with a drum kit, to show what the magazine is about. His face is the main centre of attentions because the rest of his body has been put out of focus and is blurred. This front cover has a lot more captions and stories going on which makes it look very busy and have a lot of information in.

In my magazine I don’t want any photos to cover my title; I want people to be able to see the name of my magazine. If I were to have the title of the magazine involved with the photo I would have the people in the photo doing something too the title to make it stand out. My colours are going to be bold like the font ‘vive le rock!’ so it stands out. Like ‘mix mag’ and ‘terroriser’ my colour scheme will relate back to the music I am having in the magazine.

Good Danni – you have thought carefully about the magazine covers and then considered how analysing the codes and conventions will affect your own magazine production.

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 [r1]Good – you have linked the image to the genre of the magazine.

 [r2]Do you plan to make your magazine name more obvious then?

 [r3]How? Be more specific.

 [r4]Nicely noted.