Inspirations from other magazines

Mast heads and text colouring

This mood board shows some of the other magazines from my chosen genres, they have a variety of different text colours and styles that have inspired me in what I want to do.

Developing ideas mind map

This mind map shows my ideas for my music magazine and what i will need for my photos. It also shows colour schemes and content.

Aims and introductions

Aims and introductions

The target audience for my magazine will be teenagers of both genders, from the age of 14-25 due to the content and layout suiting that range. This is also due to my questionnaire showing that the majority of people were in this category. For the overall look of my magazine I want it to stand out from existing magazines. To do this I am going to have a picture for my background with a music artist. The artist will be dressed in smart casual clothing so that it gives a stylish look and a glossy finish. The picture will be edited so that specific parts of the page stand out more and have more lighting so they look brighter. The magazine will be a mixture of genres due to the audience on my questionnaires being divided. The text will be legible because I want it to still have a neat look and be easy to read. Due to the target audience of my magazine starting from 14 the magazine will be affordable and under £3.

The inspiration for my magazine came from the fact that there is not very many dance/drum and bass magazine to look at. So I want to create a magazine that fits both these gaps and is for a wide audience. MixMag was a particular help more me in creating my idea due to it focusing on dance style music. My magazine will be focusing on the new upcoming artists from these genres. This will affect the amount of viewers for my magazine because more people are interested in the upcoming artists. It will also affect the cover lines because the artists will be well known so will attract a lot more attention. The basis of the magazine that I am making will be to inform people the new music in the genres and to share stories and information of the artists. There are 3 artists that I am focusing on at the moment but yet to decide the final person. This is important because they will be the main cover line and story of the magazine, often the reason the magazine is brought.

I will use lots of images of the main artists and any instruments which are used in the music so that the audience get a general feel for the music. The models that I will use will resemble my genre due to their style and overall appearance. I want the shot to take place somewhere dark with a colourful background and some lights. I want the lighting to be intense so the image will not look very natural. I will try the shot with a few different outfits and backgrounds so I will get the perfect combination. There will be very little white used in my magazine but a lot of black so I can get some shading. The main article for my magazine will be focusing on their life and how they have progressed with their music.

My magazine will have some features of Swiss style for example it will stick to the grid structure and will have some relevance to how it is laid out. The colour scheme will apply the same for front cover and the contents page that will be chosen based on my questionnaire; however for the double page spread will have the main story about my artist on it with the text aligned to the right to create an interesting look. For the front cover the text will be the dominant feature so the picture will be surrounded by the cover lines. For my contents page I am going to have medium sized page numbers and story names with smaller descriptions underneath so the reader knows what it’s about. I will have some smaller picture advertising things and for some of the story’s.

The title for my magazine might be ‘bassed’ due to it being based on drum and bass and dance music. I feel that this title would suit my genre well.

Production schedule

This is my production schedule for the next few days/weeks of what needs to be done to create my music magazine.

potential options-mind map

This mind map shows all of the essential stuff that I will need for my magazine and it has some potential layout ideas on there. Also it has the extra props listed that I need so that I dont forget the little details.

Music genre- Mind map

This mind map shows all the music genres that there are that might intrest me. This is usefull so I can make my desicion what genre to use based on looking at all of them.

Evaluation of research so far

Evaluation of research so far

So far I have looked at a lot of areas of magazines to help me create the perfect set up on mine. The first step I took was doing 5 textual analyses’ for the front cover, contents page and double page spread of different music magazines. This helped me because I could see exactly what different genres there are and how they are all laid out with a mixture of colour schemes. Also I could look at the content more closely and see what language features were used. This is important so that I have interesting content in my magazine and readers will be attracted.

  I used the 2 questionnaires that looked at target audience, layout and content so I could see what exactly the audience was and what they wanted. I also made graphs for all of the questions so I could see exactly what proportion of the audience liked what. The last thing that I have done so far is 2 mood boards featuring front covers and contents pages so that people can see different genres together.

Mood Board 2-Contents pages

This mood board shows a variety of different contents pages and there styles, it also shows that lots of reds, blacks and yellows are used across all the magazines. There are also pictures in all of them to make them more interesting for the target audience to look at.

Mood Board 1 - Front covers

 

This mood board shows that there can be lots of different ways of showing music genre because there are lots designs and styles shown. You can either have a very busy and brightly coloured design or a more subtle and less bright design.

Questionnaire 2- Graphs and Analysis

Questionnaire 2-Layout and Content

 This graphs shows that more than half of the 20 people I asked preferred having a coloured background on their magazines perhaps to make it more interesting. Some people would want a normal background so that the articles or page content stands out more and is more legible.

 
This chart is where there 20 people are equally divided between the two answers of ‘do you like different headings for each sub-category?’ This is rare due to the audience being random so the answers are hidden.

 

 

This shows that the audience prefers lots of detail in there articles so that they are fully informed on what is going on in their favourite music genre.

 

People like to have more pictures across the page so that there is more colour and it is more interesting to look at, we know this because of the graph.

 

 

This question has split the audience between three, the audience mainly prefer having lots of language devices in there article so that it’s better content to read.

 

 

This graph shows that most people like the main image of the artist to be framed in the centre of the page as it is the main piece of content in the article.

 

 

This question’s favourite answer is a location background so that It can express more feeling to the article. A block colour was the least favourite background because it is plain and quite boring to look at when you’re reading.

 

This shows that all the different colour schemes are split between the audience quite equally so it show people all have different favourite colours.

Most people have been shown to prefer having an equal balance of text to image so that it has information and some pictures relating to the text.

This shows that people generally find the larger font easier to read to the fact that it is larger, and maybe bolder due to this. Also it can look neater in a magazine to have larger font size.

Questionnairre 2- Layout and Content

Questionnaire 2- the layout and content

1.    Do you like having a coloured background on the page?

Yes   No

2.    Do you like different headings for your sub-category?

Yes   No      

3.    Do you prefer lots of detail in your articles or little?

Yes   No   some of them

4.    Do you like smaller pictures to be displayed across the page?

Yes   No

5.    Do you like having a variety of different language devices in the articles?

Yes   No   Sometimes

6.    Do you prefer the main picture to be in the centre of the page or to one side?

           Centre     Right side    Left side

7.    What sort of background do you like a man made one or the location of the artist?

Plain colour      Patterned    Location

8.    Which colour scheme do you prefer?

         Blue, pink, yellow and green

         Black, white and yellow

         Black, red and white

         Pink, purple and blue.

9.    How do you prefer a double page spread?

        One page picture one text

        2 pages of pictures

        More text

        More pictures

10.  What size font do you find easiest to read?

10  12  14  16  18  20

Questionnaire 1- analysis and graphs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Questionnaire 1- Target Audience

Music magazine Questionnaire

Please fill out the questions bellow about yourself and music magazines to help me create a music magazine that is appealing a wide audience. Place a red tick next to the answers that applies to you.

1.   What is your gender?

                       Male  

                       Female

2.   How old are you? 

                    Under 10

                    10-15 

                    16-20 

                    21-25

                    26-30 

                    31-40

                   Above 40

3.   What is your favourite music genre?

                    Rock 

                    Pop

                   D’n’B

                   Dance

                   Indie

                   Other

 4. What price would you spend on a music magazine?

                  £1-£2

                 £2.01-£3

                 £3.01-£4

                 £4.01-£5

                 More than £5

5. How often do you buy magazines?

                Weekly

                Every 2 weeks

                Every 3 weeks

               Monthly

               Yearly

                Other

             6. Do you prefer music magazines on genres or different

                 Instruments?                

              Music genre

              Different instruments

        

            7.  Do you prefer lots of images or more text?

            More Images

            More Text

            8. Do you like the look of lots of colours or fewer colours?

           More colours

           Fewer Colours

        9. Do you prefer a band or single model on the front cover of a     

            Music magazine?

          Single model

          Band

      10. Which of the following do you prefer?

Understanding Music Genres

Understanding Music Genres

There are lots of different types of music to choose from, that fall under a certain genre which might be rock, R’N’B, D’N’B, Pop or indie. These genres all have different styles which may reflect on the music or the way that they portray themselves, also it will affect the music magazines that they appear in. Some music genres are below with descriptons to give ideas on what music to use for my magazine.

Indie- is a bold style that can be recognised straight away because it is bright and colourful. The style is unusual it has dull colours and then bright parts like the ends of the models hair if it’s a girl like the picture. This genre can produce the connotations that the model wants to be centre of attention because of the extreme look. There is also little typography on some of their magazine covers so you can’t analyse a lot.

 

 

 

Rock- is a style that involves an actual band that plays heavy metal music. They may be extreme looking to send out a message to the audience. They usually wear a lot of black and are surrounded by black stuff with bold colours like red, blue or white to. This could connotate that they are unhappy or that there words are meaningful because black is a dark colour.

Pop-is also usually very colourful to go along with the cheerful music in the genre. The style is often quite childish with shapes like stars used on the page to brighten it up. This connotates that the music is happy and will make your day seem better. The artists that are displayed on the magazines for this genre are all smiling and doing interesting poses as it looks more interesting like the music. This style is quite similar to indie.

 

 

Punk- is also an extreme style; it can look quite messy because the artists portray a rough look. They also have lots of dark colours used because this genre is similar to rock. Occasional bright colours are used so that the page stands out more against competitors. It is a British genre as that is where it first came from. Overall it is an easily recognisable genre.

 

Dance- is a bright funky style because dancing involves lots of excitement and that’s the connotations the colour gives off. The magazines from this genre often have a lot going on and a different mixture of colours. The artists portrayed for this genre are happy and doing dance moves to show what is inside. The target audience is obvious because of what the magazine is about.

All the different genres portrays there music in different ways as you can see from the covers above and the descriptions. I have got a lot more ideas from looking at the different genres becuase i know there is lots of styles i can use.

Codes and Conventions-Double page spread

Codes and Conventions- Double Page spread

There are the same codes and conventions used for the contents page of the magazine. The double page spread analysis uses this system..

Layout- you need to talk about the layout and the effect that it has on the reader for the first part. This is because it’s the first thing you look at. The next part to look at is the way it is the ratio of image to text on the double page spread because it can tell you a lot about the magazine also what your eye is drawn to and why. The next part to analyses is, is there any sub-headings in the text if so what are they like. Colours used and connotations you can make from them are the last part to layout.

Text-You first need to talk about the mode of address of the text this is important to tell the reader who its suitable for. Next is what language and effects are used in the text, for example a pun could have been used to add some humour. What the content of the text is, is also an important part because if it has long words then it will only suit a certain audience. The content is also related to the texts focus which also will need to be outlined.

Image-You will first need to look at how the images are constructed because it helps you to understand the text more. An important part of image is the way that the main image is constructed like the lighting, shot type, framing, background etc. There will be a pre-dominant image that rules the page that you will need to find. You will also need to look at why each image has been used. Finally what do the artists represent to the target audience.

Codes and Conventions- You need to see what other codes and conventions are being used in the text so that the analysis has more detail. Also you can look at how this particular piece fits in with the overall branding of the magazine.

Target Audience- For this sector you need see who the target audience of the magazine is and how that it is possible for us to recognise this. Also you can look at demographics and psychographics.

Codes and Conventions-Front cover

Codes and Conventions

The codes and conventions that are used in the creation of a successful magazine are also very important during the analysis. There are different codes and conventions used for each part of the magazine, the first are for the front cover.

The masthead: is the name of the magazine which is usually across the top of the  page so it is one of the first things that you see. The typeface used might portray the genre of music the magazine is in. It might be very visible or it might have imagery or other features partially covering it.

Dateline: is the date month and year that the magazine issue was published. Some magazines that are commonly published have their issues put on the shelves a month before the date.

Main Image: Is the image that is the largest on the page, it is usually an artist from the music genre of the magazine. It is sometimes related to the main Cover line as it is the main story so has the largest image.

Model Credit: It is unusual for credit to appear from the model on the cover of the magazine but it can be quotes like ‘so hot’.

Cover lines: are small pieces of text that are dotted around the cover underlining what is in each article inside.

Main Cover line: is the largest cover line on the page, it takes up the most amount of space. It explains in more detail than the others because it is perhaps the most important.

Left third: the left third is very important for the sale of the magazine because it is the part that is seen in the shop on the shelf due to the other half covered. Therefore it is vital that the name of the magazine is easily readable.

Barcode: the barcode used by retailers that is an iconic sign.

Selling line: is a short selling line used to attract readers and buyers to the magazine.

Kerrang textual analysis 5

Kerrang Double page spread textual analysis

This double page spread has some neatly arranged columns along the bottom of the page, there are six of them and they all carry on the same story. This makes the story look neat and it is easy for the reader to read. There is more text on this double page in ratio to image so the page is very colourful and shows more of the actual band in picture. Your eye is drawn to the fact that the one of the musicians in the band has bright red hair that immediately catches your eye. There is only one sub-heading which is the main heading on the page that says ‘lost album’ in big black letters mounted on a red arrow it advertises the text. There are a variety of fonts used across the double page so that it has clear sections and each piece of text looks unique. The colour template being used is blue, red, black and white which are typical heavy metal colours.

The mode of address is to inform people about the band my chemical romance in detail neatly laid out. One language device that is used in this double page spread is alliteration. For example it says ‘Danger Days’ which is a name of an album and using alliteration makes it more descriptive. An ellipsis has been used to make the reader think on about one of the topics spoken about that is ‘enemies made and vanquished…’ There has been a rhetorical question used so that the reader is also left thinking on that is ‘what would people think?’ Another ellipsis is used as a pause in the article, for example it says ‘you can officially lose your minds starting from…now!’ so that it has more of an effect on the reader that you can start it instantly. The content of the story is a description of what my chemical romance have done during their music career, and details on their band. The sub-heading used directly focuses on the content of the text in the article.

The artists are in a medium close-up shot and one of them is standing to his side. One male with red hair is standing so that the light gives his hair a shine and his clothes look very bright. All of the artists are looking at the camera other than the blonde one to the side of the right page who is looking away to the side. This gives the connotations that he is maybe not one of the main members of the band. All the members of the band are wearing clothing with red, blue, white and black on them so they have a colour scheme being used. The bands clothing are also all leather jackets so it shows a rock look and contrasts with the rest of the layout of the magazine. The background of the magazine is white so it feels expressionless and blank, it also then also you to only focus on the band and music type as there is nothing going on in the background. In this double page article the text is the dominant factor because the text is mounted on the less important part of the image.  The is a question for the reader to answer which has a picture of a gun and then the answers labelled with a,b,c to see how much people know about guns. The target audience of this magazine is teens from 13+ because my chemical romance have lots of fans from all different ages. The article also has little text and is very bright with lots of pictures so teenagers will be interested in it.

Some other semiotics that are used in the double page spread are the word ‘MCR’ written which is a symbolic sign because you have to learn what it means to be able to recognise that it means my chemical romance. It is also an indexical sign because it has no connection to the band some could not be understood straight away. This piece fits in good with the overall image of the magazine because it’s a heavy metal magazine and needs to educate people on music artists of that specific genre. The fact that there is two arrows across the page that say ‘my chemical romance’ which is the name very clearly in white on a black arrow and then on a red arrow ‘lost album’ which is what the article features in a black font. This attracts more readers because it is clear for them to see what the article is about and if it will interest them or not.

Acoustic Double page spread textual analysis 4

Acoustic Double page spread analysis

On this double page spread there is only 2 columns of text that are on the left page. One is longer and one is shorter. This has the effect of drawing the readers in because there is not a lot of text to read it is mainly pictures in articles to look at. There are more pictures in this article to text so it is more interesting to look at. When you look at the page your eye is immediately drawn to the fact that there is a large amplifier on the right page of this spread which is an advert. There are no sub-headings used in this article because there is not a lot of writing just one story continued from the previous page. The font that is used in the article is again an average style black font on a white background because they contrast with each other. The colours in the pictures on top of the white background go well because there are no clashes and it makes the big black amplifier look a lot bolder.

The mode of address for this article is to inform people about the new amplifier in a large over the top advert across the whole right page. Some language effects that are used in the spread are some alliteration on the right page that says ‘the pioneers of acoustic amplifier innovation’ which make it sound as though it does more things to the reader because there are longer words. There is some sarcasm used in the article on the left page that says ‘mud? No there is no mud at worthy farm!’ which he is being sarcastic about because you can see from the picture that there is a lot of mud. One other feature that is used in the left hand page article is a rhetorical question that says ‘Now, where Is that Kinks album, and could you pass the foot spa?’ It has been used to have the effect of leaving the reader thinking about the article after they have read it. The focus of this article is to inform people about Glastonbury festival from previous years so they are more tempted to go to a future event there.

The images are constructed in a random way; they don’t have a lot of organisation to them. One of them is a large guitar slightly to the side of the right page and the others are of Glastonbury on the left page. They also have random order to them because there is a crowd of people at a concert and one girl on someone’s shoulders higher than the rest of the people’s heads. The pictures on the left page are framed so that one overlaps onto the others and creates a 3D look to the article. It also makes it looks scruffier and as though it had been stuck on at last Minuit. The facial expression that you can see on the spread is of the girl on someone’s shoulders and she looks chilled out which connotates that she’s having a good time at the concert.  The dominant feature on the left hand page is the text because it puts the images into their place in the article. On the right hand page however the image is the dominant feature because there is only one sentence of text used other than the image. There is also a picture used of men dressed as unicorns for the children to make it funnier at the festival and show how fun It is. The target audience is shown by having lots of different features that would interest both genders and lots of different ages in the article.

The overall look of this article fits in with the branding by showing festivals to do with ‘acoustic’ festivals and instruments seeming that’s what the magazines supposed to be about.

RHYTHM double page analysis 3

RHYTHM Double page textual analysis

The layout of this double page spread from RHYTHM is very organised and has 7 text box that label the different symbols on the drum kit. Each of these text boxes are yellow with black small writing on them to provide a description for what each different symbol is. This has the effect of pulling in more readers because they are fascinated by what symbols were used by a certain artists who owns the drum kit. There is more image on the page compared to text so the page is very bright and it is diagram. Your eyes are drawn to the picture on the musician who plays the drums by the title at the top of the left page. This is because he has got his hands crossed and he is trying to act cool even though he is older. The only sub-heading on the page is ‘KITS OUT’ which is at the top in yellow printed font with a box around it. The font that is being used in the boxes is just a plain style because it’s a formal style but chatty language article. The colour scheme that is being used is black, yellow and white and then the pictures. The connotations of this are that its rock because black is the colour commonly used. Also the picture with the band member acting cool goes along with this idea.

The mode of address is teaching people how to use this certain drum kit and helping them learn what drums this artist uses. Some language effects that are used are a pun in the main headline of the article. For example it says ‘kits out’ meaning his kit out on show and people need to kit out and get the drums.  An ellipsis has also been used in one of the labels. It says ‘clean, symmetrical and really metal…’ to keep the readers thinking about the topic. Some alliteration is also used in one label that says ‘super smooth’. Making it sound stronger worded. There is a simile used that is ‘really metal…like the front end of a truck’ is they understand just how hard metal it is. The focus of this story is to teach people the basics about heavy metal drum kits and what is needed. The sub-heading used does not relate very well to the story and is off topic compared to what the picture is about.

The image is mounted across the two pages so that you get a bigger better look at the drum kit. The drum kit is framed so that there is a white line of light shone on each symbol. The shot type used in on the double page is a medium close up because you can see all of the sum kit in it. The drum kit is laid out on a black background so it is again dark and connoates heavy metal music. The image is the dominant feature on the page because the text is only labels explaining the picture. The target audience is represented by only featuring guitars so that has to be the interest of the viewers. 

This article goes with the overall magazine branding because it is trying to explain music inside and this article is a drum kit diagram.