research and planning :analysis double page analysis

Q double page analysis.

The double page features Lana Del Rey she on the front cover as the central image and also has an image on the contents page and this emphasises her importance in this issue. The double page spread has a simple layout and composition as the image takes up the whole page. She has here eyes closed in the close up of her face at low angle, and then has a streak of red light on her face , the red correlates with the house style and the red streak  creates a sense of mystery and excitement. this reflects the mood of the magazine then the text is on the next page in various fonts. On the first column the first letter takes up five lines, drop cap, to indent the text and bring the audiences attention to the start of the article. Q has used its own house style. The magazine frequently has a large letter and this creates a really interesting layout. The layout also reflects what type of artist she is because the article looks serious and is about her as an artist and her music and the use of the colour black and white back ground reinforces the seriousness. All the text is in sans serif except the tittle which is the artists name and this technique is used to show her significance. 

Double page analysis

This is a double page spread article in kerrang magazine that features biffy clyro; a Scottish rock bad.

The article contains the colours red, black and white, and this is the same colour scheme that is found on the contents page and on the front cover and this give the magazine a recognisable and consistent house style. The right hand side of the article has a full length picture of the lead guitarist playing at a gig. This reinforces their rock image as he is not wearing a t shirt, is playing a guitar and has big hair and this is a dominant representation of most rockers and this gives us a look into the rocker’s lives . The name of the band is big, black and bold and is also in a yellow box and these colours complement each other therefore making the page eye catching and this would draw the audience’s attention. The next page also includes images. The images are put together almost in a mood board / collage type of position and this visually interesting and most magazines never do this. On the left hand side is the actual article. The article uses a big W that takes up four lines and is also in red at the start of the column to indent and this is eye catching and draws to the reader to the start of the article. the res of the article Is in black small font and this colour matches the band’s music and also stays true to the house style of the magazine . The last paragraph is in red and this shows its significance compared to the rest of the text.

research and planning : analysis of contents page

is the contents page of q magazine. The contents page has the same consistent colour scheme as the front cover and this establishes brand identity because you can recognize the magazine just from the red, black and white colour scheme. the title is on top centre and so is the slogan ‘discover great music’ and the issue number , this layout and composition is simple and affective and although it changes monthly its never that different and it helps the readers familiarise themselves with the magazine .  The layout contains small text boxes and images that are connected to the text and the type of music q focuses on. There is a balance between the amount of text and images and this keeps the audience interested. The main image on the contents page is of Lana Del Rey and she also the central image on the front cover. She covers half the contents page and this forces the reader to acknowledge this picture and also this sets the tone for what other artists the magazine might include. The contents page includes a lot of subtitles and they are bold to emphasise their importance. The page numbers are written in white in red boxes and the contrast between the colours makes it stand out and also resembles the q masthead and this also establishes a type of brand identity.  

Kerrang content page analysis

This is the content s page of kerrang magazine. The page contains various images of various rock bands, they have roughly similar black clothing, big hair and makeup and this is a dominant representation of rockers, that they are always partying, having fun and living life without rules. The images are all full length and high angle shot so we can look down on the band members as they ‘mess about’. The contents page has a black, white, yellow and blue colour scheme and this is the same colour scheme used on the front cover and double page spread, this consistency creates their house style. The colours also compliment and match each other and this makes the page visually pleasing. In the contents table there is sub heading that are yellow and in black boxes this is used to draw attention from the reader. The lay out shows a balanced ration of images and text .the magazines uses small black font behind a white background which contrasts and makes the text seem a little more interesting

Research and planning : analysis of front covers

Front cover analysis presentation

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research and planning : music magazine moodboard

research and planning : initial idea for music magazine.

Ideas for my music magazine.

I have decided the sub genre of my music magazine will be RnB. The magazine will feature well-known rnb artists like Beyoncé, Kanye west, Mariah Carey and Chris Brown. My magazines will also showcase and review new rnb artists. The magazine will also have a rnb singles/ albums chart of the most selling artists of the month. My magazine will be aimed at an audience of 18- 25 years old. The magazine is targeted at both females and male viewers and this will be reflected through the images .the magazine is aimed at demographics B to D. I came up with the idea to do and rnb magazine out of my own interests but I also researched other sub genres i.e. rap and pop music and looked at various music magazines and I realised that although magazines have a sub-genre they also expand on the idea i.e. not just looking at certain artist but also looking at different musical instruments linked into the certain type of genre . my magazine will also contain advertisements that link to the audience i.e. for brand trainers or brand and this  will appear to the male audience . the magazine will also feature advertisements for clothes in that are available in mainstream shops i.e top shop , new look and H&M 

Research

As the main task of my coursework is to create part of a new music magazine, I’ve decided to research kerrang, a music magazine devoted to rock music.

Introduction.

Kerrang is a UK based music magazine and is published by Bauer Consumer Media .founded by Geoff Barton and Editor James McMahon. has become the world’s biggest selling weekly rock magazine. Kerrang magazine was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in The Sounds newspaper. Launched as a monthly magazine, Kerrang began to appear on a fortnightly basis later, and in 1987 it went weekly. The original owner was United Newspapers who then sold it to EMAP in 1991. Kerrang prides them selves as the UK's premier multi-platform music destination ‘bringing the best in rock online, on the radio, on TV and in print’

The content of kerrang .

A regular issue of kerrang is 70 pages long and focuses on rock music and always has famous rock bands on the cover. The main image on the magazine features a different band every week. Due to the large circulation of the magazine, readers are given the opportunity to interact by writing letters and reviews that may be published in the magazine. Magazine always has new interviews with an artist or new articles about different artist. Kerrang includes full page advertisements for music companies such as HMV and Play.com as well as promoting other retailers

The publishing institution of kerrang

Kerrang is published by Bauer Media Group, which is a large German publishing company which operates in 15 countries worldwide. Europe’s largest privately owned publishing Group. The Group is a worldwide media empire offering over 300 magazines in 15 countries, as well as online, TV and radio stations.. The company was founded in 1875. Worldwide circulation of Bauer Media Group's magazine titles amounts to 38 million magazines a week. Bauer media group also publishes other successful magazines i.e. Bella, take a break, q magazine, closer and heat.

The typical reader profile

The magazine is aimed at a young audience, through the use of graphics, fonts, layouts and presentation. Kerrang is aimed at the youth and their lifestyles. It has a contemporary and up-to-date look. The magazine even accommodates the young readership by using advertisements that relate to their interests. Kerrang Aims itself more at a male audience and appeals to them by using content such as hard rock and metal iconic male bands on the front cover.

layout trademarks  of kerrang

The main colours are white, black, red and grey. These enable the magazine to be eye-catching and it allows certain cover lines to stand out. These basic colours are continued throughout the 70 pages creating a dark and moody ambiance. Kerrang has a house style and this makes the magazine instantly recognized by regular audience. The main layout trademark of kerrang is that it fits the genre of perfectly by using big black and white images and red fonts to add contrast. The variety of images makes it appeal to a wider audience.

Values of Kerrang’s audience

The magazine appeals to a specific niche audience because it concerns topics and themes that are relevant to people who listen to and are interested by rock music and its background. Kerrang identifies its audience as ‘individually minded, independent of thought and musically experienced, an audience defined by attitude, passion and loyalty’

Intoduction to main task

now that i have completed the prelim task , i am going to begin to research and plan for the main task , which is produce a music magazine . before i start producing the magazine i have to research existing product.

Action plan!

16 January

1.   Compare magazines & research the magazine market place.

2.   Research similar products: 3 x front covers, 2 x contents pages, 2x double page spread.

24 January

1.   Initial ideas.

2.   Audience research.

3.   Writing a treatment plan.

30 January

1.   Layout/ masthead ideas

2.   Plan photo shoot and take photos.

3.   Drafting of pages.

4.   Audience feedback.

6-27 February

1.   Drafting of pages

2.   Audience feedback

5 march

1.   Evaluation

9 march

1. Final deadline.

Evaluation

Evaluation for prelim task.

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

Before I produced my own student magazine, I researched other magazines to look at the codes and conventions of student magazines. One convention I have used is having a big central image with cover lines on top, informing you of what inside the magazine. On my front cover. For all the text I used one single colour and this challenges magazine conventions. Typically magazines usually have colour scheme that involves more than one colour to attract a wider audience. On my contents page i used a green and red colour scheme, had a list of contents and a few pictures and this is similar to most student magazines, a bright colour scheme, list of contents and pictures. looking at other student magazines I realised that they  included information about courses and content  to do with college work and that’s why I included features like ‘ top ten tips for revision’  and this did make the magazine balanced , because it now had information on courses and also on fun things to do around college.

2.       How does your media product represent a particular social group?

My magazine represents teenage students, so I aimed to make it fun and youthful but also aimed to make it informative. on the cover and the contents page I used a simple Arial font and also used standard English and this would represent teenagers in a positive light than using text speak  and having the words different sizes and fonts because this would just reinforce the dominant stereotype that teenagers are uncontrollable and troublesome . I used pictures that represented student life outside college i.e. pictures of students during the Christmas concert arranged by Ludlow College. This also represents student in a positive way because it shows teenagers can have good clean fun that doesn’t involve alcohol or troublesome behaviour.

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

My student magazine is college specific and only features information about Ludlow College or events taking place locally, so the magazine would have to be published and distributed by Ludlow College. I think I would do well if I sold the magazine at the college because it’s not like other magazines that only focuses on the serious side of college and feature articles only about courses, careers and universities, mine is about the fun side of college i.e. like my article of the bake sale for red nose day.

4.       Who would be the audience for your media product?

my audience would be college students aged 16-19 , that attend Ludlow college . the audience all genders , any sexual preference , all ethnicities and any cultural background , the magazine ia already niche because its targeting on students ,if the audience was more specific it would limit sales .

5.       How did you attract / address your audience?

I attracted my audience through the front cover. I used a colour scheme that they had chosen in a previous questionnaire so I was aware they would respond positively to it. The central image was slightly dark and I also used the image as the background. So to make the magazine more contrasting and striking I decided to use red for the tittle and all the texts and this made my magazine look interesting and professional. The cover lines on my magazine were in little boxes that also included images and I think this made the magazine look less busy and serious. The images on the context page are slanted and this connotes a sense of fun and youth, it also makes the magazine seem more carefree and a lot of the students would relate to this.

6.       What have you learnt about technology from the process of constructing this product?

Technology was really useful during this task and I think I have learnt a lot during the production of the magazine. I have learnt how to use Photoshop to edit the images that I had taken using a digital camera. To make the magazine I had to use the software ‘InDesign’ to create the front cover and contents page , prior to this task I had never used ‘InDesign’ so it was fun having to learn how to use everything. It was also the first time, using a blog to post my research but I’ve learnt how useful it is to use a blog because you can keep track of your progress during the prelim task.

final outcome contents page

 

final outcome for front cover

 i choose this to be my front cover central image .