Photo Manipulation

When I started editing my photo for my front cover I decided that I wanted to delete the background so I could choose whatever colour I wanted to put as the background of my front cover. I used the magic wand tools to delete most of the background. I then used the lasso tool to cut some of her hair down because I couldnt cut around it as it was too difficult.

I then took the image and edited it using lighting effects. I added a spotlight on her face to emphaises her sad expression and higlight the high angle shot. this made her look veery vunerable which is what i aimed to do. I then played with they brightness and contrast in order to make sure the rest of the image wasnt too dark in comparisoin to her light up face.

Double Page Spread Draft

This is my finished first draft of my magazine double page spread article.

When designing my double page spread I started by cutting the backgrounds out of all the images I planned to use on photoshop so I could place them in the image I wanted. I then began moving them around to see which postitioning of the photos I liked. I then wanted to change the background colour from white to something else so I played around and then settled on the light grey background. On the last page I had a choice of two photos to include but decided I liked the one of her in white better as it created constency througout the magazine as she was then wearing the same dress in all photos.

Draft Contents Page

This is my finished draft of my contents page



When I was thinking of how to lay out my contents page I knew that I wanted the title 'contents' along the side , but I didn't know where I wanted to place my pictures and text. I played around with different ideas in illustrator like the ones above until I liked my final version as it looks more like a proffesional magazine.

Draft Magazine Front Cover



This is my  completed draft magazine front cover



 This is what my magazine started as once I had maipulated the picture in photshop to add more lighting to her face and get rid of the grey background she was on.  I played with the colour balance of the image and then added spotlights on her face and body to emphasise this idea of her looking vunerable.

I then had to decide where I wanted my text to be, so I started by adding in the things I denfinatly knew where I was going to place like the bar code in the bottom right and the 'free itunes..' in the bottom left. I then had to decide where I wanted my title and anchorage text to be and I played with the location of it. In the end I decided I liked the one on the right as it looked more like a traditional magazine.

Magazine Images

This is my main image for my front cover

These are my photos for the contents page

These are the photos I am planning on using in the double page spread

Title Block

 In order to decide on a final design for my title block, I Started by looking online at the sorts of fonts I liked. As my magazine is going to be mainstream, I wanted to give it a name that doesnt really hint towards anysort of genre. I come up with the name remix because remix's are edited versions of songs and implies a mmix of somesort, and as my magazine is mixed genre I thought it fitted in with the idea of the magazine well. I then decided that i wanted a plain sort of font but a bit edgy and different, so I went online and looked at fonts such as these above. I liked the last one as it was simplistic but still a bit different as its more rounded than normal fonts.

Once I decided what sort of style I wanted, I went onto font genreator sites and looked for a font like the one above. When I found it, I played with colour schemes and decided to do it orange and yellow as its quite firery and bright. Also the colours blend well together and the glow on it makes the title block really eye catching.

Magazine Layout Plan

This is how I aim to set out my magazine based on what I think will work best from my reasearch.

FRONT COVER DESIGN

CONTENTS DESIGN



DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD DESIGN



Audience and Institutions

Before I started deciding on magazines and layouts, I thought that I should research some audiences and institutions to see how music magazines branch out into other areas and what comapnies own certain genres.

BAUER

Bauer produces many different types of magazines. They own a wide range of all the popular gossips magazines like Heat! and More! As well as men’s magazines, fishing magazines, motorist magazines and music magazines. They produce a mixture of niche and mainstream magazines which means there company extends to all parts of the market as they have magazines for niche markets such as photography as well as huge markets like women’s gossip magazines. As they make so many different types of magazines they have many different audiences, for example magazines such as Zoo are mainly aimed at men or young boys who like to look at women, whereas they have niche magazines like Rail which are aimed at people who are interested in trains. As a result of this Bauer has targeted all sorts of people and produce for everyone, whether it is as small of a market as golf or a huge as women’s gossip magazines. The brands image is also very wide because of this as they don’t just do one thing; they do many different genres and address many people in doing so. Bauer also has linked many of its magazines to radio and TV, such as Kerrang and Q because they both have radio stations and TV programmes which they own. They also have extended gossip magazines such as Heat! Into radio, therefore there media group is very large and is involved in all parts of media. Most of their magazines also have online sites and some are even available on mobiles, so there business expands through all media aspects.

IPC MEDIA

IPC media makes many different types of magazines, such as music magazines (NME), Fashion magazines (In Style) and Television magazines (TV Satellite). Because they produce so many magazines they cover main markets such as music and fashion as well as less popular niche markets such as boating (Boat Owner) and Hunting magazines (Shooting Gazette). This means that they have more specific audiences for some magazines than others. The target audience for a television magazine will be everyone, as most people watch TV programmes and will want to know about what will be on in the next week. However for niche market magazines such as the Shooting gazette the audience is more specific as it is aimed at people who like hunting, and mainly men because not many women hunt. There overall brand image is very wide much like Bauer’s because they produce so many different types of magazines for many different audiences, so there brand image is quite universal. ICP media doesn’t really link any of their magazines to other media apart from online websites so people can access the magazine from the internet rather than going to get the magazine.

BBC MAGAZINES

 BBC magazines are owed by immediate media co, therefore are produced by the BBC but are published by immediate media co. The BBC does a wide range of magazines again for many different markets, however not as many as other companies. They have magazines mainly for niche markets such as gardening (Country file) or motoring (top gear) however it produces a lot of children’s magazines such as CBBC weekly, Dr Who Adventures and in the night garden.  As they mainly have children’s magazines, their audience for the majority of their magazines are children or teenagers. However for some of the other magazines, the target audience are more specific, like match of the day is mainly targeted at men who like football. There brand image overall is quite big as the BBC is also a television channel and is the source of most British television alongside ITV, therefore the brand is well known and big. There are big links within the media to the BBC as obviously they are a big brand who has online access, radio stations, multiple television stations and magazines, therefore they have many links throughout the industry.

DEVELOPMENT HELL

Development hell is only a small producing company as it only makes two magazines, the word and mix tape, both being very different. Mix tape applies to a niche market of the music industry, as it targets people who are interested in dance music, and although dance music is popular, there are other genres that are more mainstream. The other magazine ‘the word’ is a media magazine that talks about all aspects of the media: music, television and books. This is quite a large market as a lot of people want to know about these things on a regular basis, so the magazine is more mainstream. The overall brand image is basically all about the media as they are involved in magazines that talk about other sections of the media, so they are known for what they write based on that genre. The only links they have to other media is the internet as each magazine has a site, but it isn’t linked to anything else.

FUTURE PUBLISHING

Future publishing is a leading film magazine producer in the UK and USA. It also produces guitar and music making magazines, some of which are the best selling magazines in the industry.  They make many music magazines based on multiple genres to suit all peoples tastes, however they mainly produce rock or guitar based magazines for people with an interest in that kind of music. They cureently produce ‘guitars rock’ which is the top guitar magazine in the United Kingdom at the moment. They also produce links to websites that give more information on the magazines. Other popular magazines they produce are ‘metal hammer’ and ‘revolver’ which are based around heavy metal rock music. They have links to rock events and website so that their audience can find as much information about the rock genre as possible.

Title Block Analysis

Before creating my own title block I decided to research and analyse some exsisiting magazines. I looked at the in detail to see what connotations they had and what they did to attract the audience. This will help me decide on how I want my title block to look and what I could do to show my specific genre.

            From the style of the title block suggest that this is a rock magazine, as the text is broken and has splats, suggesting a reckless kind of lifestyle which fits in with rock music, so we know that this is aimed at an audience interested in rock music. The colour of it is black and red which is dark and mysterious. This connotes to gothic and rock because black is something we associate with the genre of music as most rockers wear black, and the red symbolises danger, which is something often associated with the music and the lifestyle that comes with being involved in it.  The font is really edgy as its got line inside it which makes it look broken like shattered glass. This makes you think of rock music because the artists are notorious for smashing and breaking things and the music is loud and with loudness come the idea of glass shattering because of it. The title ‘Kerrang’ is onomatopia, as it’s like someone playing the guitar and it vibrating, this connotes to rock music as the guitar is associated with it as in most rock songs there is a heavy guitar influence. I think the target audience magazine will be people interested in rock because we can clearly tell from the title that it’s a rock magazine, and the style of it emphasises this.

The title and style of the title is quite simplistic and plain, and this could suggest that this doesn’t have a specific genre but as it is quite plain and doesn’t suggest a lot, it could be focus more on the artist. The colours used in the title are blue and white. Blue suggests a calm, careless feel and white emphasises the plainness. The laid back style could suggest that the magazine will be about people who are carefree and are bold characters, because they don’t need the title to tell them about their music. The font is simple and smooth but square cut at the ends. This suggest that the music is quite smooth but edgy, and the plainness again emphasises perhaps that the music speaks for itself. The title ‘Mojo’ connotes to someone having that special something that makes them stand out and be different. This could mean that the music and artist featured in this magazine have that special something that makes them popular and a good artist, whether it is in a good way or a bad way. From the title, I think that the target audience will be adults who are in to all kinds of music, as there are no bright colours or extravagant fonts which you see in magazines for younger people. Also because the title is plain, the magazine isn’t just limited to one genre, which means it will address a wide range of people.

            From the title I assume that the genre of this music magazine is rock music because of the style of the title block. The colours used are red black and white which connote to typical rock colours as black is very dark and mysterious and is also a colour typical of the rock genre. Also red connotes to danger and passion and the life of a rock star can be dangerous because there is normally a lot of drugs and mad parties and they are also very passionate and into their music. The font is very square and straight, and it’s also in capitals which normally in writing suggest that someone is shouting. We know that rock music is very loud so the capitals and the squareness make it feel as if the title block is being screamed or shouted at us. The title itself NME stands for the new musical express, which tells the audience that they are all about new music and are taking the readers on a musical journey, as express is often linked with trains. I think that the target audience for this magazine will be people who like to know about new music and are interested in the rock genre because the title blocks colours and meaning show that they are aiming the magazine at people who want new music and like rock and roll.

This title block is simplistic but bright and eye grabbing, which suggest that this is maybe a mainstream, popular music magazine, as the colours or fonts don’t link to any genre styles. The colours used are white and red mainly, but a small amount of black for shadowing. The big block of red makes the ‘Q’ stand out and is quite eye catching. Red also connotes to passion, so it could suggest that the target audience is for people who are passionate about music. The white also connotes to purity which implies that there is no scandal in the magazine and it’s all about the artists and the music they produce. The font is quite rounded and the flick on the ‘q’ is quite posh and sophisticated. It’s a normal but sophisticated font, which again suggests that the magazine is aimed at an audience who is seriously interested in music. The title ‘Q’ is also simple, but ‘Q’ can sometimes be an abbreviation for question, therefore the title implies to the audience that it will answer all their questions on the music and artists featured in their magazine. The target audience for this magazine are people who are interested in all kinds of music and have a passion for it , as the colours and the simplicity show that the magazine addresses all sorts of people and genres of music.

From the title, we can tell this is going to be a rock magazine as the rolling stones were a famous rock band, therefore we can assume that this will be the type of genre of the magazine. The red, black and white is a quite classic set of house colours and it suggests that maybe it’s a mainstream music because it’s something people normally see. Also its quite a formal use of colour so it suggest maybe it’s aimed at more sophisticated, older people rather than teenagers and children. The font is quite smooth and fluent, which suggests that this is a more formal and sophisticated. Also the style connotes to being quite posh as its flows.  The title is also a song my muddy waters, and the song was a blues song, so this also suggests that blues music is involved in the magazine and blue music is something that most genres originated from, so it emphasises the fact that this is a more sophisticated, mainstream magazine.

Planning a Music Magazine

My target audience for my magazine will be teenagers who listen to mainstream music, as they are normally the people who buy them and keep up to date with music, therefore it will sell more if I aim it at them. By having a mainstream magazine, my magazine will show all main music types, as I gathered from my survey that most people had a wide range of favourite music types. Therefore I think it will be more effective to have all types of music as it will attract a broader range of people with different tastes. It will also be more appealing because people who like a lot of different music don’t have to buy loads of magazines they can just buy one. My magazine will be released monthly as then it can give a review of the month in advance. This will attract teenagers because if I release it monthly it will cost them less money and this will appeal to them more as they don’t have their own income.

          I want to make my music magazine relatively cheap as my target audience is teenagers and they do not have their own income, so if it’s cheaper it will attract them more. I aim to charge around two pound fifty, because it’s not too expensive and it only comes out monthly so they only have to pay it once a month.  I want to make my magazine a glossy magazine because I think it looks more attractive and it rips less easily, and if someone wants to keep it for the month it will be less likely to break. Also if I want to include a lot of pictures, they would look better on glossy paper.

Analysis of Double Page Spread

I also wanted to analyse a double page spread from the same magazine to see if they carry on with the house style and to see what sorts of things are included within a music magazine article.
 

 The band chosen for the double page spread is evanescence, which was a band that was quite popular but then disappeared for a while and is coming back. This suggests that this is for people who have been into rock music for a while and are fans of the rock sound evanescence have.  The article uses phrases such as ‘I’m about to rip you a new one!’ to tie into the whole rock image, as saying something like that is quite edgy and sounds as if its meant to be shouted rather than said, and rock music is very loud and exciting, which is the image that they want to put across. However as this is an article about all the bad things that has happened to the bad , the writer tries to make us empathise with her by making the whole ordeal seem sad, ‘ went through a painfully public split/spat with seethe singer Shaun Morgan’. This is different to the main idea of the magazine as it is much more sad, but the article as a whole is about there new music, so it talks about the rock music genre a lot. The colour is very different to the contents and cover page as its pink, black and white which gives off a more girly and excited feel. This suggests that maybe this article is targeted more towards the women who read this article as pink is a feminine colour. However the text font is still the same bold edgy font, which shows the consistency of the magazine and ties it all together.

                The pages are laid out with a lot of large images and the text boxes surrounding them that link to what they are talking about. The text box that talks about all the negative things has a picture of the lead singer Amy Lee singing but she looks rough and worn down, where as on the other page where it talks about what has changed and how it has become better, we has an mage of her with a direct mode of address looking strong, therefore it shows contrast. The article addresses the reader as a fan, as they are telling them all the facts but not having much interaction with them, as they are telling them the story of what happened. They are treated them as an intellectual fan and answering the questions they want to know. The article doesn’t really demand much prior knowledge as it tells us the basic background story of what happened with the band in the past, ‘Amy entered a legal battle with ex manager.. ‘, so you don’t need to know a lot but if the reader really wanted to understand what had happened they would have to read the articles on these matters as it only gives brief information on them.

Analysis of Contents Page

As well as analysing a front cover, I felt it was important for me to also look at a contents page to see whats on there and how it works. This will help me get an idea about what sort of things I can put on my contents page and why i would want them there.

           The magazine uses four images on the contents page, one large and then the other three slightly smaller. They fit in well with the general feel of the magazine as they are all images of rock bands performing, and this is a magazine based around rock music. This entices the audience because they get to see what sorts of bands are included and if they are bands they like. The colours and fonts used are the same as the house style on the front cover. This ties the magazine together to make it professional. It again is also quite bright and eye catching which is how it attracts the audience to read it. The information on it is organised down one side of the page so they can clearly see where it is situated. It also has sub-heading such as ‘features’ so the audience can easily find the section of the magazine that interests them. They have also kept the page titles quite short so it’s quick and accessible fro the reader to find the exact article they are looking for. The sections includes are; Feedback, news, win, live reviews, poster, features, reviews, gig guide and the K! Quiz. This tells us that the magazine has a wide variety of articles for all tastes like some people like posters and some people like music news, so it acquires to all of the audiences personal favourites.  They have some promotional features for bands such as the gig guide and articles on various artists so people who are interested in that kind of stuff can look through and see what’s happening with gigs and other things. They also have posters which a lot of people like to have of there favourite band, so this something that adds more appeal to the magazine. The logo is placed right at the top left side of the magazine so it is the first thing you see, this makes it a very dominant feature as it immediately attracts your eye. The logo also stands for the music channel kerrang as well therefore it links to the music channel, so as well as advertising the magazine, its advertising the music channel, however there is nothing mention on the contents page about the music channel but the logo itself links to it.

Analysis of Front Cover

I wanted to analyse a front cover of an exsisting magazine in order to help me get ideas from my own and see what they do in order to draw in their audience. This will help me decide how i want to set out my front cover and give me idea's.

       

         Kerrang magazine is a rock magazine and from the front cover I can see that inside there are going to be lots of stories on rock artists, albums and media news stories around certain rock artists. The target audience for this magazine is teenagers/young people who are interested and listen to rock music and enjoy it. The central image is of the lead singer of evanescence, Amy lee and she has a direct mode of address. This shows that she wants a personal relationship with the reader as she is directly looking at them. She’s on the front cover because evanescence is releasing a new album and a lot has changed in the band. The anchorage text says ‘Amy lee bares her soul’ and this implies that she is going to tell the reader everything about what’s happened and her life, which is why the direct mode of address works because she wants to show that she feels confident about this and wants to tell them. The overall message that the artist is trying to give is that she’s ready to tell everything and she isn’t afraid. There are buzz words on the cover like ‘win’ and ‘plus’ which makes the reader want to buy the magazine even more because they could win something and they get more for their money.

                The title block is in black and has like an edgy cut out font and this tells us that it’s a rock sort of magazine because its messy and it’s also in capitals which are often interpreted as shouting. The title of the magazine is also the title of a television music channel so the readers of this probably listen to the music channel and vice versa. Also its trying to give across a reckless image, which is often the life of a rock star as they are laid back and don’t really care. This magazine has been styled to fit in to its rock genre as it’s very dark and this is typical of rock style. The puffs such as ‘SACKINGS! LAW SUITS! HANDBAGS! AXL ROSE!’ suggests that this magazine has a lot of scandal articles and information on artist which is typical of a music magazine. This suggests that the people reading this are interested in the lives and scandal surrounding the artists. The house colour style is yellow, red black white and blue, which are a lot of colours but are all quite bright apart from black. This makes the black stand out and also draws the eye to the magazine because its really bright and attracts their attention. They also use quite bold fonts and most are in capitals to make them really jump out and be noticeable to the reader.

Survey Results

These are the results from my survey and I have displayed some of the more important ones here that I am going to use in order to help me design and plan my music magazine.

 This shows me how many people who took my survey actually read music magazines, and from this I can see that over half of them do.

 From this I can gather what sort of music people are interested in and like and I can also see what range of music people like as I left it as a multiple choice question where they could tick what they wanted. I can see that the majority of people chose R and B, but there was also a high percentage of pop, dance and rock. Rap was the least popular answer, so from this I can see that not many people like it.

 This chart shows what articles and extras people like in a music magazine, and from this graph suggests that most people like to see articles on artists. They also like to see other things such as latest music, interview and music news.

 This question shows me that most people dislike rock music , but some people dislike pop, dance and rap. However no one ticked hip hop and only a small percent ticked R and B which suggest that they are music types most people like.

From this I can see that people do like to have freebies in the magazine because everyone answered and no one chose to skip the question. I can also see that most people wanted a free download or signed posters, however there was still a high percentage of  people that preferred the other option.

This was an open answer question which required the person completing the survey to give a response of their choice. No one wrote down the same artist so from this I can see there is a wide range of preferences as to what artists people like and want to see on the cover of a magazine.