A gantt chart is a device for planning my time and helping me know when I have to hand in my work an also noting when I have completed my work.
Friday, 27 November 2009
My gantt chart
A gantt chart is a device for planning my time and helping me know when I have to hand in my work an also noting when I have completed my work.
Thursday, 26 November 2009
My music magazine proposal
Proposal for music magazine:
The front cover, contents page and middle page are some of the most important parts of a magazine.
The front cover, as well as the features that it includes, is one of the main selling points to a magazines, it uses things like colours, layouts and snappy slogans to get the readers attention. It also has the advantage as to give the reader a short insight into what’s inside the magazine.
The contents page is there to give us a snippet but not too much information about what the article includes, often leaving an open question so that we feel the need to open the magazine and read on.
The middle page of any decent magazine will include the feature or the main article; it will often be hear that you would find that over anticipated exclusive with the top band or the very famous star.
The main aim or focus that I want my music magazine to have is that it is enjoyable and gripping with good articles. I am going to try, effectively to include the methods that are crucial to the selling of a successful magazine and employ the strategies that make a good article, as I mentioned before this may include the layout and the affective writing.
Before I start work on the magazine, I am going to do research into my target audience and the things that they like to read in an article so that I can then put this into practice in my work.
Methods:
I plan to use an online survey that contains an array of questions that I have come up with, that features around magazines and other music based topics. By doing this I can get an outlook of what would be popular subjects to place in my work.
I am also placing all of the work that I do onto an online blog site, this way I can record what I have done so far and what I need to do in the future.
As well as this research I have also decoded and looked at other more well known magazine to get a feel of what sort of things I should be doing and understanding the things that have made them popular and trying to apply them to my own work.
A lot of time has also been spent looking at colours and what they mean, layouts that will attract attention, different camera angles and shots so that I can identify with pictures that I may want to include and how to make them tell a story without writing anything, also I need to make these pictures worthy of a professional standard magazine.
To start my work I will look through a popular and well-known magazine and find an affective layout style that I can take point from and transfer into my own work, as I have never made a magazine before this is important. I plan to find a number of different layouts so that I can then put them to use in the future if I need them.
Next I am going to copy out a rough sketch of the layout I have chosen to do and then transfer it to Microsoft publisher so that it then forms the foundations for my magazine. When I have thought about the things that I want to include in my work I have to start to think about the colours and make sure that the colours I use flatter the picture, also making sure that I take full advantage of the fonts and style and getting the title that brandishes the name for my magazine in a unique font that none other will use. I intend to have a snappy story or quote that will get my readers wanting to read more as well as this I have an affective original image of an up and coming band.
Audience:
I will aim my magazines at about the age of 15 to 19 and try and make it appeal to females in particular because I feel that I already have a slight advantage, so I am going to make it have a fresh new look and talk about things that generally this age group and sex will be able to relate to. I will use the appropriate colours that back up my intention to make it for females and teenagers. That will be colour like bright pinks, oranges and purples. The subjects and the pictures that I will include will appeal to the female audience. I plan to have articles like fashion and the pictures will mostly be of this target audience. I have taken a risk in making my product for females because it is going against a lot of conventions because most magazines mainly cater for men or both men and women.
I will not price the magazine as a lot of money because if I am appealing at teenagers there is a high chance that they may not be in full time employment or work at all. I think that my magazine will be generally meant for everyone not singling out any culture or religion as the things that I will be mentioning will not show any offence to any cultures. I think that I would try and make it a magazine that would appeal to groups like music lovers and festival goers, but also I would try and include other things like what the people in it are wearing and so it could also cater for people that are interested in fashion.
Equipment:
The equipment that will be most essential in this project will be the computer.
I say this because all of the work that I will be doing will be done on the computer. A majority of the work that I will be doing will be Microsoft publisher, this is a device that allows you to create things like posters and leaflets, but also offers the structures and the tools to create things like this.
Another useful tool on the computer will be Picasa because this is where I will be editing the photos that I have taken so that they will look affective on my magazine. Picasa is where I can crop and add details to the pictures and also change colours, take out mistakes and generally perfect my pictures which I can then transfer to my magazine.
As I am doing an online survey I need to use a computer and the internet on a regular basis to check on the progress of my survey, I am using survey monkey to ask questions about music and music magazines and to see what my target audience like and dislike. Through this I get a rough idea of what I should be putting in my music magazine and also by using this website it automatically analyses what people have said.
I have also created a blog site where I can put all of my written work as well as the results of the survey and pictures of the magazine.
Another piece of equipment that I may need to use is a digital camera or a phone because this is how I will take the photos in the first place. As I am doing my magazine on a band they will also need props like guitars ect.
The front cover, contents page and middle page are some of the most important parts of a magazine.
The front cover, as well as the features that it includes, is one of the main selling points to a magazines, it uses things like colours, layouts and snappy slogans to get the readers attention. It also has the advantage as to give the reader a short insight into what’s inside the magazine.
The contents page is there to give us a snippet but not too much information about what the article includes, often leaving an open question so that we feel the need to open the magazine and read on.
The middle page of any decent magazine will include the feature or the main article; it will often be hear that you would find that over anticipated exclusive with the top band or the very famous star.
The main aim or focus that I want my music magazine to have is that it is enjoyable and gripping with good articles. I am going to try, effectively to include the methods that are crucial to the selling of a successful magazine and employ the strategies that make a good article, as I mentioned before this may include the layout and the affective writing.
Before I start work on the magazine, I am going to do research into my target audience and the things that they like to read in an article so that I can then put this into practice in my work.
Methods:
I plan to use an online survey that contains an array of questions that I have come up with, that features around magazines and other music based topics. By doing this I can get an outlook of what would be popular subjects to place in my work.
I am also placing all of the work that I do onto an online blog site, this way I can record what I have done so far and what I need to do in the future.
As well as this research I have also decoded and looked at other more well known magazine to get a feel of what sort of things I should be doing and understanding the things that have made them popular and trying to apply them to my own work.
A lot of time has also been spent looking at colours and what they mean, layouts that will attract attention, different camera angles and shots so that I can identify with pictures that I may want to include and how to make them tell a story without writing anything, also I need to make these pictures worthy of a professional standard magazine.
To start my work I will look through a popular and well-known magazine and find an affective layout style that I can take point from and transfer into my own work, as I have never made a magazine before this is important. I plan to find a number of different layouts so that I can then put them to use in the future if I need them.
Next I am going to copy out a rough sketch of the layout I have chosen to do and then transfer it to Microsoft publisher so that it then forms the foundations for my magazine. When I have thought about the things that I want to include in my work I have to start to think about the colours and make sure that the colours I use flatter the picture, also making sure that I take full advantage of the fonts and style and getting the title that brandishes the name for my magazine in a unique font that none other will use. I intend to have a snappy story or quote that will get my readers wanting to read more as well as this I have an affective original image of an up and coming band.
Audience:
I will aim my magazines at about the age of 15 to 19 and try and make it appeal to females in particular because I feel that I already have a slight advantage, so I am going to make it have a fresh new look and talk about things that generally this age group and sex will be able to relate to. I will use the appropriate colours that back up my intention to make it for females and teenagers. That will be colour like bright pinks, oranges and purples. The subjects and the pictures that I will include will appeal to the female audience. I plan to have articles like fashion and the pictures will mostly be of this target audience. I have taken a risk in making my product for females because it is going against a lot of conventions because most magazines mainly cater for men or both men and women.
I will not price the magazine as a lot of money because if I am appealing at teenagers there is a high chance that they may not be in full time employment or work at all. I think that my magazine will be generally meant for everyone not singling out any culture or religion as the things that I will be mentioning will not show any offence to any cultures. I think that I would try and make it a magazine that would appeal to groups like music lovers and festival goers, but also I would try and include other things like what the people in it are wearing and so it could also cater for people that are interested in fashion.
Equipment:
The equipment that will be most essential in this project will be the computer.
I say this because all of the work that I will be doing will be done on the computer. A majority of the work that I will be doing will be Microsoft publisher, this is a device that allows you to create things like posters and leaflets, but also offers the structures and the tools to create things like this.
Another useful tool on the computer will be Picasa because this is where I will be editing the photos that I have taken so that they will look affective on my magazine. Picasa is where I can crop and add details to the pictures and also change colours, take out mistakes and generally perfect my pictures which I can then transfer to my magazine.
As I am doing an online survey I need to use a computer and the internet on a regular basis to check on the progress of my survey, I am using survey monkey to ask questions about music and music magazines and to see what my target audience like and dislike. Through this I get a rough idea of what I should be putting in my music magazine and also by using this website it automatically analyses what people have said.
I have also created a blog site where I can put all of my written work as well as the results of the survey and pictures of the magazine.
Another piece of equipment that I may need to use is a digital camera or a phone because this is how I will take the photos in the first place. As I am doing my magazine on a band they will also need props like guitars ect.
Two deconstructions of front covers of a music magazine
Deconstruction of two front covers
Front covers play a vital role in attracting and enabling a person to purchase a magazine. It is this that we first see and base the decision as to whether or not it is worth buying.
Mojo and NME use a variety of different methods to attract readers to buy them.
Mojo magazine:
Mojo’s front cover shows a large picture of Iggy Pop. The picture itself is not like the average one that you may expect to see as Iggy seems to have been shaded in with bright, colours that show out. The producers of the magazine have chosen the colours red and orange to give us this dramatic affect. By using these two colours it is showing us fire and passion which could give an indication to the reader as what his performances are like on stage and the buzz that the crowds get from him. The look on his face is one of naturalness; this tells us that this photo in particular is a telephoto shot that has been taken from a low angle so as to give him a look of authority. You can tell that this article focuses around Iggy Pop as he is the main picture and is larger then all of the other features of the article, also the space where the ‘O’ in Mojo should be is replaced by his head. This is affective in a way because as a head is round it replaces the missing ‘O’, the magazine uses a clever method to grab the readers attention but still highlight the name and what it is about, as well as this is also gives the feeling that Iggy Pop is apart of the magazine, if you buy Mojo you are also buying him.
The Mojo title is in big Sans seriff writing, this makes it easier for the audience to read because it does not have the flourishes that Seriff font does. It is also written in white capitals letters against a black background making it more eye catching. Mojo is a very confident word that is used to describe somebody’s ego and drive; as a result this magazine is very confident and gives the feelings out to the readers. The magazine also uses not too many colours and all of the colours that they use work well together well and give the desired affect.
The way that ‘Iggy and the Stooges’ is written is faded and worn, this could mean that we do not know everything about this man and that his life is very shaded and blurred up to this point and that this magazine feature is revealing all. The cover has a very dramatic affect placed on it. The red subheadings jumps right out to us and tells us that these stories must be read. Even though initially red is a very violent colour we are soothed by the calming white of the captions, this means that we, as the reader still gets the message that the magazine is trying to portray, but yet it is not forced on us.
Next to ‘Iggy and the Stooges’ it has a quote that is in capital letters and in dark gray which says that it is more important then the other subheadings. It is also in a larger font then any of the other writing so you know that this is the main highlight of this week’s article. It also makes the words ‘America’s’ and ‘ultimate’ bigger. This is because Mojo is an American magazine and ultimate is a very strong word that relates to great bands, something that is bound to be immensely good and the best of the best, it gives you that supreme feeling. The magazine is constantly mentioning big musical names, this shows if you have not already guessed that it is a musical based magazine and to try and persuade the reader to buy the magazine and read about these stars.
It has exclamation marks as if these titles and the magazines are the answers to our questions.
I think that Mojo magazine is aimed at people from early twenties to early forties as there is quite a lot of writing also features older bands. I believe that this magazine would be more for males. The colours have no feminism in them and talks about ‘dream girls’ and subjects that would appeal more to the male sex. I necessarily think that you would need to be in a certain vocation to enjoy this magazine, but if you were somebody who bought it weekly you would need to earn a relatively good salary as it is quite an expensive magazine to buy. This magazine would be popular with certain groups of people like music lovers and people that attend a lot of festivals.
NME magazine:
NME is much more in a way in your face and out there. You have the vibrant blue and the spacey background. The title ‘NME’ is in big San Seriff letters. The colour of it is red to depict the importance against a black background to make it more eye catching. It is also on the left hand so that it is always clear when on shelves in the shops and stores. It defines the title underneath as to show that if we did not know already it is a music magazine.
The headline is an interview with Panic At The disco. You can tell this because it id the biggest writing on the page and is in white writing against the background. After Panic it has an exclamation mark and is so the answer to a question, it says that we should panic, and then it says at the disco, this is a clever method to add drama to the front page. Above that is a very in a way vibrant comment that is in red to depict the anger and violence behind it. Red is the colour of blood and it could be saying that this band is prepared to spill blood to get what they want. As it is in red, involves swearing and introduces the name of another band, at first glance it looks like there is a disagreement and so makes for worthy reading.
The picture, unlike Iggy Pop is a close up of Panic At The Disco, they stand out in there black jackets, which give a feeling of authority and professionalism against the blue background. The camera angle has been shot in a way that makes the band looks straight at the reader and so making them feel that the band is directly addressing them and that they are apart of the magazine. They have a look of mystery yet the bright colours around the eyes bring an almost humorous and back to earth, warm feel.
I believe that this magazine is for early teen to middle twenties as it is the opposite and has not a lot of writing; it has a fresh new look and has relatively recent bands.
As with the other magazine all of the other writing is in red.
The bands on the right hand side of the page are all in capital letters and most end in ‘T’ and ‘S’ as to show the similarity between the bands and give it a certain ring.
There is a telephoto shot of the Fratellis guitarist which is then followed by an advertisement for an NME event; this picture is there to draw attention to the feature.
The lighting has been made to focus on the boys and emphasise there faces, giving them a glory and important feel showing that they are fresh and ready to go.
I believe that NME is for both males and females because the colours, like blue appeal to both of the sexes, this also goes for the subjects that it is talking about. The claim that it is for younger people is backed up by it being priced cheap, basically you don’t need to be in an occupation or have a wealthy background to be able to purchase it.
I think that as well as aspiring to budding musicians it would appeal to people interested in fashion, as the cloths that these people wear are very modern and up to date.
Deconstruction and comparison of two contents pages
Conventions of a music magazine
When you talk about the conventions of a music magazine, you are talking about something in which they all contain or have in common.
In this piece of work I will be defining the conventions of the front cover, contents page and the middle of a music magazine. I will be mentioning things like layout, colour and texts of the magazine.
Front cover:
The front cover is the most important part of a magazine. It is that part that makes us as an audience decide whether we want to buy it or not.
Colours:
Normally the front cover of any magazine will contain bright colours of some sort, this is similar for that of a music magazine, and you will normally see shades of red or florescent colours such as bright orange used. This is one of the methods used to grab the reader’s attention to the magazine.
There is usually white used on the front cover of a music magazine because more often them not, they have a dark or bright background, of which white is the brightest colour to use.
The names of bands are also put in bright colours that make them stand out against that rest of the background, this is for the sole reason that by putting them in this magazine it is a form of advertisement and highlights what the magazine is talking about and so it is important.
They use colours that make the main picture look better, for example they may add a black background or a grey to add suspense to the photo.
This also goes for the title of the magazine; it is always in one of the brightest colours to attract attention.
They also tend to use a three colour theme, it is used to keep it simply and not to complicate it and allow you to focus on the main features.
The colours are sometimes used to tell us what gender the magazine is for, like pink and white colours would tell us that it may be more for young females and blacks and dark blues more for boys.
Layout:
All music magazines have the title placed at the top of the page, this is because it is the most important part of it, and it’s the part that a reader first looks at. The masthead will usually have a unique font style so as it is not like any other music magazines, it is also one of the biggest pieces of writing on the page as it is one of the most important parts of the magazine.
All or a majority of the writing that is on the front cover will be on the left third, this is because it some parts of the world only this part of the magazine shows and so it is the only part that the audience sees.
The main feature and the picture will also be in the centre of the magazine as this is where it is most noticeable.
The picture for the magazine is often the background for the front cover.
The bar code for all magazines would be on the front cover, along with the price.
Features:
The features on the front cover of a music magazine would be solely about music and music related items. You would normally find that the main text would be talking about the main picture.
The main pictures on the front cover of music magazines is always somebody from a band or a solo artist. The writing that will be telling there names would be bigger and in a different font from everything else because they are the main highlight.
Down the right and left hand side of the magazine are other additional articles and competitions ect.
Picture:
The picture that is used for a music magazine is just of one band or musician and it will take up the whole page. These pictures are given a dramatic look and highlight the bands best features; it aims to make them and their appearance look good. The pictures will normally be close ups.
The front page will also have a number of different fonts that will be different sizes depending on what they are trying to get across. Like the names of bands and singers may be bigger and in different fonts to the rest of the text.
Contents:
The contents page is the readers guide as to what is featured in the magazine and where to find it.
Colours:
The colours once again stick to the three colour code and they are often the same three colours that are used on the front cover.
Contents pages normally are keep very simply in colour, there aren’t very many bright colours, but it is keep very formal using a lot of black for the texts like other magazines.
Layout:
You have the name of the magazine and the ‘contents’ at the top of the page.
As I just mentioned music magazine normally have a column for bands and singers. Apart from this though the layout is very much similar to that of all contents pages, it goes in rows. You have the title of the page and then a brief summary below, of course accompanied by the page number.
You would also find that somewhere on the page there will be pictures, whether they are big or small there is usually some on there.
Some music magazines also have a regular’s column where they will mention things that aren’t related to music as much.
Pictures:
The pictures that are in a music magazines contents page are a music based, none of them go of topic. Like the front cover, it doesn’t matter if they are big or small they are normally close ups. If they images are little they may be scattered over the page or in one place, where if the picture was big it would probably take up a majority of the page.
Double page spread:
The double page spread, unlike the front cover and the contents page is actually an article. In a music magazine it is often related to bands to or singers. It could be anything though; an interview, top bands and latest gigs are just a few examples.
Layout:
The middle page normally will be an interview in a music magazine. The structure of it may be a large picture of the band or singer in question with a snappy slogan and a quote from the band. This will always end on a cliff hanger or question so as to make the reader want to read the feature.
The layout of the writing would be simply column form so as make the reader concentrate on that one place, instead of have them looking at different parts of the page.
In the middle of the writing there will normally be small pictures that relate to the topics that they are talking about in the piece.
Colours:
Colours in a double page spread are always very bland. It is mostly black like the writing and the white background. The pictures will obviously be in colour but they will not make them to bright because it will distract the reader from the text.
Picture:
As I mentioned before, depending on what the article is about, the picture will be different. An interview is likely to have one big picture of the band or singer and then little one that reflect on the writing. Where if it was telling you about something like festivals it would be more likely that there would be just little pictures of where the festival is taking place. Also on things like this you would often see pictures of just normal people smiling and enjoying themselves at these events as this is a method of advertisement for the festival. The pictures are often close ups.
When you talk about the conventions of a music magazine, you are talking about something in which they all contain or have in common.
In this piece of work I will be defining the conventions of the front cover, contents page and the middle of a music magazine. I will be mentioning things like layout, colour and texts of the magazine.
Front cover:
The front cover is the most important part of a magazine. It is that part that makes us as an audience decide whether we want to buy it or not.
Colours:
Normally the front cover of any magazine will contain bright colours of some sort, this is similar for that of a music magazine, and you will normally see shades of red or florescent colours such as bright orange used. This is one of the methods used to grab the reader’s attention to the magazine.
There is usually white used on the front cover of a music magazine because more often them not, they have a dark or bright background, of which white is the brightest colour to use.
The names of bands are also put in bright colours that make them stand out against that rest of the background, this is for the sole reason that by putting them in this magazine it is a form of advertisement and highlights what the magazine is talking about and so it is important.
They use colours that make the main picture look better, for example they may add a black background or a grey to add suspense to the photo.
This also goes for the title of the magazine; it is always in one of the brightest colours to attract attention.
They also tend to use a three colour theme, it is used to keep it simply and not to complicate it and allow you to focus on the main features.
The colours are sometimes used to tell us what gender the magazine is for, like pink and white colours would tell us that it may be more for young females and blacks and dark blues more for boys.
Layout:
All music magazines have the title placed at the top of the page, this is because it is the most important part of it, and it’s the part that a reader first looks at. The masthead will usually have a unique font style so as it is not like any other music magazines, it is also one of the biggest pieces of writing on the page as it is one of the most important parts of the magazine.
All or a majority of the writing that is on the front cover will be on the left third, this is because it some parts of the world only this part of the magazine shows and so it is the only part that the audience sees.
The main feature and the picture will also be in the centre of the magazine as this is where it is most noticeable.
The picture for the magazine is often the background for the front cover.
The bar code for all magazines would be on the front cover, along with the price.
Features:
The features on the front cover of a music magazine would be solely about music and music related items. You would normally find that the main text would be talking about the main picture.
The main pictures on the front cover of music magazines is always somebody from a band or a solo artist. The writing that will be telling there names would be bigger and in a different font from everything else because they are the main highlight.
Down the right and left hand side of the magazine are other additional articles and competitions ect.
Picture:
The picture that is used for a music magazine is just of one band or musician and it will take up the whole page. These pictures are given a dramatic look and highlight the bands best features; it aims to make them and their appearance look good. The pictures will normally be close ups.
The front page will also have a number of different fonts that will be different sizes depending on what they are trying to get across. Like the names of bands and singers may be bigger and in different fonts to the rest of the text.
Contents:
The contents page is the readers guide as to what is featured in the magazine and where to find it.
Colours:
The colours once again stick to the three colour code and they are often the same three colours that are used on the front cover.
Contents pages normally are keep very simply in colour, there aren’t very many bright colours, but it is keep very formal using a lot of black for the texts like other magazines.
Layout:
You have the name of the magazine and the ‘contents’ at the top of the page.
As I just mentioned music magazine normally have a column for bands and singers. Apart from this though the layout is very much similar to that of all contents pages, it goes in rows. You have the title of the page and then a brief summary below, of course accompanied by the page number.
You would also find that somewhere on the page there will be pictures, whether they are big or small there is usually some on there.
Some music magazines also have a regular’s column where they will mention things that aren’t related to music as much.
Pictures:
The pictures that are in a music magazines contents page are a music based, none of them go of topic. Like the front cover, it doesn’t matter if they are big or small they are normally close ups. If they images are little they may be scattered over the page or in one place, where if the picture was big it would probably take up a majority of the page.
Double page spread:
The double page spread, unlike the front cover and the contents page is actually an article. In a music magazine it is often related to bands to or singers. It could be anything though; an interview, top bands and latest gigs are just a few examples.
Layout:
The middle page normally will be an interview in a music magazine. The structure of it may be a large picture of the band or singer in question with a snappy slogan and a quote from the band. This will always end on a cliff hanger or question so as to make the reader want to read the feature.
The layout of the writing would be simply column form so as make the reader concentrate on that one place, instead of have them looking at different parts of the page.
In the middle of the writing there will normally be small pictures that relate to the topics that they are talking about in the piece.
Colours:
Colours in a double page spread are always very bland. It is mostly black like the writing and the white background. The pictures will obviously be in colour but they will not make them to bright because it will distract the reader from the text.
Picture:
As I mentioned before, depending on what the article is about, the picture will be different. An interview is likely to have one big picture of the band or singer and then little one that reflect on the writing. Where if it was telling you about something like festivals it would be more likely that there would be just little pictures of where the festival is taking place. Also on things like this you would often see pictures of just normal people smiling and enjoying themselves at these events as this is a method of advertisement for the festival. The pictures are often close ups.
Conventions of a music magazine
Conventions of a music magazine
When you talk about the conventions of a music magazine, you are talking about something in which they all contain or have in common.
In this piece of work I will be defining the conventions of the front cover, contents page and the middle of a music magazine. I will be mentioning things like layout, colour and texts of the magazine.
Front cover:
The front cover is the most important part of a magazine. It is that part that makes us as an audience decide whether we want to buy it or not.
Colours:
Normally the front cover of any magazine will contain bright colours of some sort, this is similar for that of a music magazine, and you will normally see shades of red or florescent colours such as bright orange used. This is one of the methods used to grab the reader’s attention to the magazine.
There is usually white used on the front cover of a music magazine because more often them not, they have a dark or bright background, of which white is the brightest colour to use.
The names of bands are also put in bright colours that make them stand out against that rest of the background, this is for the sole reason that by putting them in this magazine it is a form of advertisement and highlights what the magazine is talking about and so it is important.
They use colours that make the main picture look better, for example they may add a black background or a grey to add suspense to the photo.
This also goes for the title of the magazine; it is always in one of the brightest colours to attract attention.
They also tend to use a three colour theme, it is used to keep it simply and not to complicate it and allow you to focus on the main features.
The colours are sometimes used to tell us what gender the magazine is for, like pink and white colours would tell us that it may be more for young females and blacks and dark blues more for boys.
Layout:
All music magazines have the title placed at the top of the page, this is because it is the most important part of it, and it’s the part that a reader first looks at. The masthead will usually have a unique font style so as it is not like any other music magazines, it is also one of the biggest pieces of writing on the page as it is one of the most important parts of the magazine.
All or a majority of the writing that is on the front cover will be on the left third, this is because it some parts of the world only this part of the magazine shows and so it is the only part that the audience sees.
The main feature and the picture will also be in the centre of the magazine as this is where it is most noticeable.
The picture for the magazine is often the background for the front cover.
The bar code for all magazines would be on the front cover, along with the price.
Features:
The features on the front cover of a music magazine would be solely about music and music related items. You would normally find that the main text would be talking about the main picture.
The main pictures on the front cover of music magazines is always somebody from a band or a solo artist. The writing that will be telling there names would be bigger and in a different font from everything else because they are the main highlight.
Down the right and left hand side of the magazine are other additional articles and competitions ect.
Picture:
The picture that is used for a music magazine is just of one band or musician and it will take up the whole page. These pictures are given a dramatic look and highlight the bands best features; it aims to make them and their appearance look good. The pictures will normally be close ups.
The front page will also have a number of different fonts that will be different sizes depending on what they are trying to get across. Like the names of bands and singers may be bigger and in different fonts to the rest of the text.
Contents:
The contents page is the readers guide as to what is featured in the magazine and where to find it.
Colours:
The colours once again stick to the three colour code and they are often the same three colours that are used on the front cover.
Contents pages normally are keep very simply in colour, there aren’t very many bright colours, but it is keep very formal using a lot of black for the texts like other magazines.
Layout:
You have the name of the magazine and the ‘contents’ at the top of the page.
As I just mentioned music magazine normally have a column for bands and singers. Apart from this though the layout is very much similar to that of all contents pages, it goes in rows. You have the title of the page and then a brief summary below, of course accompanied by the page number.
You would also find that somewhere on the page there will be pictures, whether they are big or small there is usually some on there.
Some music magazines also have a regular’s column where they will mention things that aren’t related to music as much.
Pictures:
The pictures that are in a music magazines contents page are a music based, none of them go of topic. Like the front cover, it doesn’t matter if they are big or small they are normally close ups. If they images are little they may be scattered over the page or in one place, where if the picture was big it would probably take up a majority of the page.
Double page spread:
The double page spread, unlike the front cover and the contents page is actually an article. In a music magazine it is often related to bands to or singers. It could be anything though; an interview, top bands and latest gigs are just a few examples.
Layout:
The middle page normally will be an interview in a music magazine. The structure of it may be a large picture of the band or singer in question with a snappy slogan and a quote from the band. This will always end on a cliff hanger or question so as to make the reader want to read the feature.
The layout of the writing would be simply column form so as make the reader concentrate on that one place, instead of have them looking at different parts of the page.
In the middle of the writing there will normally be small pictures that relate to the topics that they are talking about in the piece.
Colours:
Colours in a double page spread are always very bland. It is mostly black like the writing and the white background. The pictures will obviously be in colour but they will not make them to bright because it will distract the reader from the text.
Picture:
As I mentioned before, depending on what the article is about, the picture will be different. An interview is likely to have one big picture of the band or singer and then little one that reflect on the writing. Where if it was telling you about something like festivals it would be more likely that there would be just little pictures of where the festival is taking place. Also on things like this you would often see pictures of just normal people smiling and enjoying themselves at these events as this is a method of advertisement for the festival. The pictures are often close ups.
When you talk about the conventions of a music magazine, you are talking about something in which they all contain or have in common.
In this piece of work I will be defining the conventions of the front cover, contents page and the middle of a music magazine. I will be mentioning things like layout, colour and texts of the magazine.
Front cover:
The front cover is the most important part of a magazine. It is that part that makes us as an audience decide whether we want to buy it or not.
Colours:
Normally the front cover of any magazine will contain bright colours of some sort, this is similar for that of a music magazine, and you will normally see shades of red or florescent colours such as bright orange used. This is one of the methods used to grab the reader’s attention to the magazine.
There is usually white used on the front cover of a music magazine because more often them not, they have a dark or bright background, of which white is the brightest colour to use.
The names of bands are also put in bright colours that make them stand out against that rest of the background, this is for the sole reason that by putting them in this magazine it is a form of advertisement and highlights what the magazine is talking about and so it is important.
They use colours that make the main picture look better, for example they may add a black background or a grey to add suspense to the photo.
This also goes for the title of the magazine; it is always in one of the brightest colours to attract attention.
They also tend to use a three colour theme, it is used to keep it simply and not to complicate it and allow you to focus on the main features.
The colours are sometimes used to tell us what gender the magazine is for, like pink and white colours would tell us that it may be more for young females and blacks and dark blues more for boys.
Layout:
All music magazines have the title placed at the top of the page, this is because it is the most important part of it, and it’s the part that a reader first looks at. The masthead will usually have a unique font style so as it is not like any other music magazines, it is also one of the biggest pieces of writing on the page as it is one of the most important parts of the magazine.
All or a majority of the writing that is on the front cover will be on the left third, this is because it some parts of the world only this part of the magazine shows and so it is the only part that the audience sees.
The main feature and the picture will also be in the centre of the magazine as this is where it is most noticeable.
The picture for the magazine is often the background for the front cover.
The bar code for all magazines would be on the front cover, along with the price.
Features:
The features on the front cover of a music magazine would be solely about music and music related items. You would normally find that the main text would be talking about the main picture.
The main pictures on the front cover of music magazines is always somebody from a band or a solo artist. The writing that will be telling there names would be bigger and in a different font from everything else because they are the main highlight.
Down the right and left hand side of the magazine are other additional articles and competitions ect.
Picture:
The picture that is used for a music magazine is just of one band or musician and it will take up the whole page. These pictures are given a dramatic look and highlight the bands best features; it aims to make them and their appearance look good. The pictures will normally be close ups.
The front page will also have a number of different fonts that will be different sizes depending on what they are trying to get across. Like the names of bands and singers may be bigger and in different fonts to the rest of the text.
Contents:
The contents page is the readers guide as to what is featured in the magazine and where to find it.
Colours:
The colours once again stick to the three colour code and they are often the same three colours that are used on the front cover.
Contents pages normally are keep very simply in colour, there aren’t very many bright colours, but it is keep very formal using a lot of black for the texts like other magazines.
Layout:
You have the name of the magazine and the ‘contents’ at the top of the page.
As I just mentioned music magazine normally have a column for bands and singers. Apart from this though the layout is very much similar to that of all contents pages, it goes in rows. You have the title of the page and then a brief summary below, of course accompanied by the page number.
You would also find that somewhere on the page there will be pictures, whether they are big or small there is usually some on there.
Some music magazines also have a regular’s column where they will mention things that aren’t related to music as much.
Pictures:
The pictures that are in a music magazines contents page are a music based, none of them go of topic. Like the front cover, it doesn’t matter if they are big or small they are normally close ups. If they images are little they may be scattered over the page or in one place, where if the picture was big it would probably take up a majority of the page.
Double page spread:
The double page spread, unlike the front cover and the contents page is actually an article. In a music magazine it is often related to bands to or singers. It could be anything though; an interview, top bands and latest gigs are just a few examples.
Layout:
The middle page normally will be an interview in a music magazine. The structure of it may be a large picture of the band or singer in question with a snappy slogan and a quote from the band. This will always end on a cliff hanger or question so as to make the reader want to read the feature.
The layout of the writing would be simply column form so as make the reader concentrate on that one place, instead of have them looking at different parts of the page.
In the middle of the writing there will normally be small pictures that relate to the topics that they are talking about in the piece.
Colours:
Colours in a double page spread are always very bland. It is mostly black like the writing and the white background. The pictures will obviously be in colour but they will not make them to bright because it will distract the reader from the text.
Picture:
As I mentioned before, depending on what the article is about, the picture will be different. An interview is likely to have one big picture of the band or singer and then little one that reflect on the writing. Where if it was telling you about something like festivals it would be more likely that there would be just little pictures of where the festival is taking place. Also on things like this you would often see pictures of just normal people smiling and enjoying themselves at these events as this is a method of advertisement for the festival. The pictures are often close ups.
Deconstructions for a music magazine
In this piece of coursework I tried to deconstruct two middle pages of NME magazine in as much detail as possible.
Deconstruction of a music magazine
Article 1: Amorphuous Androgynous.
This magazine article is an interview with the band the amorphous androgynous. This is a feature that has been published inside of music magazine NME.
Masthead:
The title of this particular magazine is simply the name of the band ‘Amorphous Androgynous’. Also there is a quote above it.
The name of the band is in san serif letters making it easier to read, it is in capital letters and in red meaning that it is the main title. The writing that it is in is interesting font, it looks like a font you would have seen in the 60’s, and it is comparison to the ‘hippy’ text that you would have seen during this time. This matches the style that the band is brandishing in the photo below.
Above the title is the quote ‘Hey! Come on! Take a trip with’ and then the name of the band. This line is there to make the reader feel that they are directly involved with the story and the band that it is talking about. This is also in capital letters and in black.
Main image:
The main image of the story is the band. It is based in a field and has natural surroundings like a horse to give the band a natural feel. The whiteness of the horse gives a tranquil, spacious feeling. The different members of the band are all looking directly at the camera and are all looking happy. The cloths as they are wearing as I mentioned before look like they date from the sixties and the hippy style of the clothing that they are wearing could also tell us about the music that they sing. As well as this the cloths all are very colourful and welcoming. You get the feeling that the band is a friendly, happy band because of the colour and the expressions that they are wearing. The sheer mass of greenery in the background also shows nature and health. The images that are on the opposite page are quite strange and the method that I think the editors are trying to tell us is that we have to read the article to fully understand what the pictures are telling us. These pictures differ from black and white to colour.
Writing style and layout:
From the writing style I believe that this particular article is trying to appeal more to the adult readers. I think this because there is a lot of writing, to much for a child or teenager to be interested in. Also the band is not that well known today and so the topics would not interest the reader as much as it would if it was a modern day band.
The subheading for the article is quite strange it dubs the band ‘a bunch of ex 90s rave heads’ this is not the normal method of advertising using the word ex tells us that they are has been and that for some reason they are not around anymore. The way that they make this a article that people will want to read is by introducing names like Noel Gallagher who is still very well known today. Also it includes the name Cobain we relate this instantly to Kurt Cobain. The second page of the magazine is nearly completely writing with four pictures and a quote.
The writing is also in a small font but it is a serif form of writing. It is set in columns, reading through the magazine it is quite hard to understand what has been written as it jumps from one thing to another. This backs up the idea that the article was made for adults. The colour of the font is black; this is a serious and professional colour and so shows the professionalism of the article.
Article 2: The year underage grew up.
Masthead:
The title for this article is ‘The year underage grew up’, straight away from this we know that this article will be talking about singing that has become famous at an early age. The title is written in large, black capital letters. They have used the large writing and the capitals letters to draw attention to the title and grab the reader’s attention. The ‘grew up’ part of the title is larger then the rest of the title because it is the main feature in the article, it is talking about growing up. The reason that it is in black is because it gives a professional and important feel to it. The subtitle or the writing that is below the title gives a brief explanation of what inside, this is just a taster to get the reader hooked and encourage them to read the rest of the article. There is evidence in this statement to depict the age that should be reading the magazine as it mentions the under 18 scene.
Main image:
There is no main image to this article, but there are eight images that show musicians before and after. The before images are all in black and white, this does not necessarily mean that they are old, but just highlights that these are the older forms of the singers. I can tell this because when we see a black and white image we relate it to a older time when media items like camera and television all showed black and white images. All of these black and white images are all telephoto and so taken without the starts knowing, this could mean that there former selves were oblivious to what they would later become. All of these shots are close ups and show them in a band situation for example with microphones or with instruments in the background. The after images are all in colour to show a fresh new musician. All of the images are close ups and all are looking directly at the camera which makes the reader directly involved as it looks like they are looking at them. It also shows that where before they had to work for the popularity they got they do not have to do as much of it now. These images have been made to look good and attract people to the bands or the singers. The colours have all been made to fit in with each other like in the first image the musician is wearing black and white and the background is white, in the second the band is wearing black and the background is red. It puts the musician in black or white in every image, these colours are very professional and important; they are the colours you would see a person wearing if they went to an important event and in a way are very spacious. As I said before the new pictures do not show the musicians with any form of musical equipment but in the last two pictures it shows the bands with other props that are not related to music in anyway, it is showing that nowadays we do not necessarily need to show them as image is now more important. It is important that these images are up to date because by putting them in the magazine they are also advertising them. In between the two images is a two-way arrow, the colour of this arrow is light blue which is a unisex image and therefore telling the reader that it is both for males and for females. The white writing that they have put on to it shows up great against the background. This writing is in white and capital letters, white shows up good against a blue background and gives a calming feeling as it is like the sky with the white clouds against the blue background. It is capital letters because it is important as the magazine is advertising the band.
Writing style and layout:
This writing unlike the last is much easier to understand, the language is more simply and it uses quotes that include things like ‘Beth Dittos bra and Alex Turners hair’ this backs up the claim that it is more for the younger generation as it uses language that will appeal more to children and teenagers. There is a lot of writing so I think that it probably more for teenagers. It does not only focus on the people in the pictures but a range of different bands and events. The writing is in a small font and like many other articles written in a serif font. It starts, also like many other articles with a large, bold letter that represents the first letter of the first word and that is purposefully put in to grab the reader’s attention. It is very easy to understand and has a layout in the style of columns that make it easier on the eye, rather then being dotted around everywhere. On the right hand side of the magazine is a fame and shame column which is something else that you would see in a teen mag. Once again they use the same light blue background and the white writing on it.
As well as this though they have also used black writing to highlight the important parts like the names of the musician and the fame and shame.
Deconstruction of a music magazine
Article 1: Amorphuous Androgynous.
This magazine article is an interview with the band the amorphous androgynous. This is a feature that has been published inside of music magazine NME.
Masthead:
The title of this particular magazine is simply the name of the band ‘Amorphous Androgynous’. Also there is a quote above it.
The name of the band is in san serif letters making it easier to read, it is in capital letters and in red meaning that it is the main title. The writing that it is in is interesting font, it looks like a font you would have seen in the 60’s, and it is comparison to the ‘hippy’ text that you would have seen during this time. This matches the style that the band is brandishing in the photo below.
Above the title is the quote ‘Hey! Come on! Take a trip with’ and then the name of the band. This line is there to make the reader feel that they are directly involved with the story and the band that it is talking about. This is also in capital letters and in black.
Main image:
The main image of the story is the band. It is based in a field and has natural surroundings like a horse to give the band a natural feel. The whiteness of the horse gives a tranquil, spacious feeling. The different members of the band are all looking directly at the camera and are all looking happy. The cloths as they are wearing as I mentioned before look like they date from the sixties and the hippy style of the clothing that they are wearing could also tell us about the music that they sing. As well as this the cloths all are very colourful and welcoming. You get the feeling that the band is a friendly, happy band because of the colour and the expressions that they are wearing. The sheer mass of greenery in the background also shows nature and health. The images that are on the opposite page are quite strange and the method that I think the editors are trying to tell us is that we have to read the article to fully understand what the pictures are telling us. These pictures differ from black and white to colour.
Writing style and layout:
From the writing style I believe that this particular article is trying to appeal more to the adult readers. I think this because there is a lot of writing, to much for a child or teenager to be interested in. Also the band is not that well known today and so the topics would not interest the reader as much as it would if it was a modern day band.
The subheading for the article is quite strange it dubs the band ‘a bunch of ex 90s rave heads’ this is not the normal method of advertising using the word ex tells us that they are has been and that for some reason they are not around anymore. The way that they make this a article that people will want to read is by introducing names like Noel Gallagher who is still very well known today. Also it includes the name Cobain we relate this instantly to Kurt Cobain. The second page of the magazine is nearly completely writing with four pictures and a quote.
The writing is also in a small font but it is a serif form of writing. It is set in columns, reading through the magazine it is quite hard to understand what has been written as it jumps from one thing to another. This backs up the idea that the article was made for adults. The colour of the font is black; this is a serious and professional colour and so shows the professionalism of the article.
Article 2: The year underage grew up.
Masthead:
The title for this article is ‘The year underage grew up’, straight away from this we know that this article will be talking about singing that has become famous at an early age. The title is written in large, black capital letters. They have used the large writing and the capitals letters to draw attention to the title and grab the reader’s attention. The ‘grew up’ part of the title is larger then the rest of the title because it is the main feature in the article, it is talking about growing up. The reason that it is in black is because it gives a professional and important feel to it. The subtitle or the writing that is below the title gives a brief explanation of what inside, this is just a taster to get the reader hooked and encourage them to read the rest of the article. There is evidence in this statement to depict the age that should be reading the magazine as it mentions the under 18 scene.
Main image:
There is no main image to this article, but there are eight images that show musicians before and after. The before images are all in black and white, this does not necessarily mean that they are old, but just highlights that these are the older forms of the singers. I can tell this because when we see a black and white image we relate it to a older time when media items like camera and television all showed black and white images. All of these black and white images are all telephoto and so taken without the starts knowing, this could mean that there former selves were oblivious to what they would later become. All of these shots are close ups and show them in a band situation for example with microphones or with instruments in the background. The after images are all in colour to show a fresh new musician. All of the images are close ups and all are looking directly at the camera which makes the reader directly involved as it looks like they are looking at them. It also shows that where before they had to work for the popularity they got they do not have to do as much of it now. These images have been made to look good and attract people to the bands or the singers. The colours have all been made to fit in with each other like in the first image the musician is wearing black and white and the background is white, in the second the band is wearing black and the background is red. It puts the musician in black or white in every image, these colours are very professional and important; they are the colours you would see a person wearing if they went to an important event and in a way are very spacious. As I said before the new pictures do not show the musicians with any form of musical equipment but in the last two pictures it shows the bands with other props that are not related to music in anyway, it is showing that nowadays we do not necessarily need to show them as image is now more important. It is important that these images are up to date because by putting them in the magazine they are also advertising them. In between the two images is a two-way arrow, the colour of this arrow is light blue which is a unisex image and therefore telling the reader that it is both for males and for females. The white writing that they have put on to it shows up great against the background. This writing is in white and capital letters, white shows up good against a blue background and gives a calming feeling as it is like the sky with the white clouds against the blue background. It is capital letters because it is important as the magazine is advertising the band.
Writing style and layout:
This writing unlike the last is much easier to understand, the language is more simply and it uses quotes that include things like ‘Beth Dittos bra and Alex Turners hair’ this backs up the claim that it is more for the younger generation as it uses language that will appeal more to children and teenagers. There is a lot of writing so I think that it probably more for teenagers. It does not only focus on the people in the pictures but a range of different bands and events. The writing is in a small font and like many other articles written in a serif font. It starts, also like many other articles with a large, bold letter that represents the first letter of the first word and that is purposefully put in to grab the reader’s attention. It is very easy to understand and has a layout in the style of columns that make it easier on the eye, rather then being dotted around everywhere. On the right hand side of the magazine is a fame and shame column which is something else that you would see in a teen mag. Once again they use the same light blue background and the white writing on it.
As well as this though they have also used black writing to highlight the important parts like the names of the musician and the fame and shame.
Background research on two music magazine
Background history of two magazines
Mojo Magazine:
Mojo is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom. It is published by Bauer. Following the success of fellow magazine Q, publishers Emap were looking for a title which would cater for the ever expanding interest in classic rock music.
Mojo was first published on 15 October 1993 and in keeping with its classic rock theme, the first issue had Bob Dylan and John Lennon as its first cover stars.
It is popular for it’s in depth coverage of both popular and culture acts and it was the inspiration to many other music magazines.
Many music critics have written for it including Charles Shaar Murray, Greil Marcus, Nick Kent and Jon Savage.
The launch editor for Mojo was Paul Du Noyer.
Mojo regularly includes a covermount CD which ties in with a current magazine article or theme. In 2004 it introduced the Mojo honours list, an awards ceremony which is a mixture of readers and critics awards.
As well as having a monthly magazine, Mojo also has a radio station. This station was called Mojo Radio, and was transmitted on the digital television networks in the UK and online. The output of the station was based on that of the magazine. This means that they would be drumming up attention for the magazine via the radio.
Q magazine:
Q is a music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom, with readers reaching 130,179 as of June 2007.
Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs. This magazine much like MOJO was published by Beuer.
Q was first published in 1986, setting itself apart from much of the other music press with monthly production and higher standards of photography and printing. In the early years, the magazine was sub titled "The modern guide to music and more". Originally it was to be called Cue as in the sense of cueing a record, ready to play, but the name was changed so that it wouldn't be mistaken for a snooker magazine. Another reason, cited in Q's 200th edition, is that a single-letter title would stand out a lot more on the shelves and it would be a lot more easier for the viewers to remember.
Q's current editor is Paul Rees, former editor of the UK edition of Kerrang!
Production industry
Bauer:
The Bauer Media Group is a large German publishing company based in Hamburg, which operates in 15 countries worldwide. Since the company was founded in 1875, it has been privately-owned and under management by the Bauer family. It was formerly called Heinrich Bauer Verlag KG.
It produces and distributes many popular magazines and has stakes in television and radio, recently completing the purchase of a consumer magazine division and radio station division of the British company, EMAP.
Worldwide, Bauer Media Group's magazines sell the amount of 38 million magazines a week.
Bauer are the producers of some of the biggest music magazines that the world has to offer which are ‘Kerrang’ and ‘Q’.
EMAP
EMAP is a British media company that specialises in the production of business to business magazines. It is currently in the ownership of Apax and Guardian Media Group. EMAP is the abbreviation of East Midland Allied Press and provides essential news for millions of people across the globe.
Currently EMAP has in total 59 magazines to its name some of these include: Nursing times, Architects journal and Health service journal.
The Guardian Media Group is one of the UK's leading multimedia companies. Its portfolio includes products like the Guardian and Observer newspapers, the Manchester Evening News, the Real Radio, Smooth Radio and radio rock.
EMAP started as a local newspaper company in 1947 and is now a global media group. It plays a role in giving the retail, media, finance, fashion, health, education, and government essential news, analysis and access they need to succeed.
Mojo Magazine:
Mojo is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom. It is published by Bauer. Following the success of fellow magazine Q, publishers Emap were looking for a title which would cater for the ever expanding interest in classic rock music.
Mojo was first published on 15 October 1993 and in keeping with its classic rock theme, the first issue had Bob Dylan and John Lennon as its first cover stars.
It is popular for it’s in depth coverage of both popular and culture acts and it was the inspiration to many other music magazines.
Many music critics have written for it including Charles Shaar Murray, Greil Marcus, Nick Kent and Jon Savage.
The launch editor for Mojo was Paul Du Noyer.
Mojo regularly includes a covermount CD which ties in with a current magazine article or theme. In 2004 it introduced the Mojo honours list, an awards ceremony which is a mixture of readers and critics awards.
As well as having a monthly magazine, Mojo also has a radio station. This station was called Mojo Radio, and was transmitted on the digital television networks in the UK and online. The output of the station was based on that of the magazine. This means that they would be drumming up attention for the magazine via the radio.
Q magazine:
Q is a music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom, with readers reaching 130,179 as of June 2007.
Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs. This magazine much like MOJO was published by Beuer.
Q was first published in 1986, setting itself apart from much of the other music press with monthly production and higher standards of photography and printing. In the early years, the magazine was sub titled "The modern guide to music and more". Originally it was to be called Cue as in the sense of cueing a record, ready to play, but the name was changed so that it wouldn't be mistaken for a snooker magazine. Another reason, cited in Q's 200th edition, is that a single-letter title would stand out a lot more on the shelves and it would be a lot more easier for the viewers to remember.
Q's current editor is Paul Rees, former editor of the UK edition of Kerrang!
Production industry
Bauer:
The Bauer Media Group is a large German publishing company based in Hamburg, which operates in 15 countries worldwide. Since the company was founded in 1875, it has been privately-owned and under management by the Bauer family. It was formerly called Heinrich Bauer Verlag KG.
It produces and distributes many popular magazines and has stakes in television and radio, recently completing the purchase of a consumer magazine division and radio station division of the British company, EMAP.
Worldwide, Bauer Media Group's magazines sell the amount of 38 million magazines a week.
Bauer are the producers of some of the biggest music magazines that the world has to offer which are ‘Kerrang’ and ‘Q’.
EMAP
EMAP is a British media company that specialises in the production of business to business magazines. It is currently in the ownership of Apax and Guardian Media Group. EMAP is the abbreviation of East Midland Allied Press and provides essential news for millions of people across the globe.
Currently EMAP has in total 59 magazines to its name some of these include: Nursing times, Architects journal and Health service journal.
The Guardian Media Group is one of the UK's leading multimedia companies. Its portfolio includes products like the Guardian and Observer newspapers, the Manchester Evening News, the Real Radio, Smooth Radio and radio rock.
EMAP started as a local newspaper company in 1947 and is now a global media group. It plays a role in giving the retail, media, finance, fashion, health, education, and government essential news, analysis and access they need to succeed.
Three potential ideas for my music magazine
This is task number 7 and it is writing about three potential ideas that we may want to put into our music magazine.
Three potential ideas
New band makes it big:
I think that this is a really good idea for a topic to include in a music magazine because it is a topic that a lot of people will relate to wanting to do. The band would include people of our age and so provides inspiration to others and would give them a sense that it can happen and so make for interesting reading. If I wrote an article about a new band forming, I would do things like interviews with them and describe their road to stardom. I would include things like top tips on the page so as to break it up a bit and not have as much writing, by asking the band to give public certain treats and tips on how to go about forming a band.
Also on the page we would have some good photos of the group. We will make them up to date and so wearing the latest clothes and with the appropriate equipment that you need to be in a band, for example guitars microphone etc. The photos will be action shots in a sense that they will have the equipment on them as part of her outfit in a way. The shots will be at eye level and at a medium range. As well as this though there will also be some shots taken of them playing the instruments that they have, so it would be a telephoto shot.
Fashion on a budget:
If I was to do this feature I would have a number of high class models expressing their views on the latest fashion, but with the twist that it is all low price and far from the designer wear that they are used to.
I would be asking the models for their honest opinion on the wear and also putting them on the spot and asking them to spot the designer wear and the budget pair from a selection of clothing which I would then write about in the article.
Also I would write about where to find the latest must wear on the high street today.
The pictures that I would put on the page would be of the ‘famous’ models wearing the budget cloths. These shots would be of them looking down the camera and making a pose, these shots would be medium shots to show of the whole costume and would be a slight low shot to make the clothing look supreme. I would also have some shots of the panel looking through the designer and budget clothing and making their decisions, this as with the last one will be a telephoto shot and it would be a close up to focus on their facial expressions.
Latest album releases:
This will tell the reader all about the latest music to buy on the high street today.
For this one I would have a group of students reviewing the music, as I am planning my target audience to be of this age. I would get their opinion on the music and to make it fair they would all listen to the same tracks. I would then ask then to say a point that they liked and then a point that they didn’t and then grade the CD out of ten.
The CD that has the best score I will write a separate small feature about.
The photos that I would use for this one would be telephoto shots of the students looking through and listening to the music. I would also have separate images of the CDs in question, these shots would be close ups of the CD case front covers.
My conclusion is that I am going to do a new band makes it big. I choose to do this because it offers the most opportunities and it would be the easiest and most likely the most interesting topic enough. Also when you look in music magazines there is often a lot of interviews with bands and singers and so I think that this would be my best option.
Three potential ideas
New band makes it big:
I think that this is a really good idea for a topic to include in a music magazine because it is a topic that a lot of people will relate to wanting to do. The band would include people of our age and so provides inspiration to others and would give them a sense that it can happen and so make for interesting reading. If I wrote an article about a new band forming, I would do things like interviews with them and describe their road to stardom. I would include things like top tips on the page so as to break it up a bit and not have as much writing, by asking the band to give public certain treats and tips on how to go about forming a band.
Also on the page we would have some good photos of the group. We will make them up to date and so wearing the latest clothes and with the appropriate equipment that you need to be in a band, for example guitars microphone etc. The photos will be action shots in a sense that they will have the equipment on them as part of her outfit in a way. The shots will be at eye level and at a medium range. As well as this though there will also be some shots taken of them playing the instruments that they have, so it would be a telephoto shot.
Fashion on a budget:
If I was to do this feature I would have a number of high class models expressing their views on the latest fashion, but with the twist that it is all low price and far from the designer wear that they are used to.
I would be asking the models for their honest opinion on the wear and also putting them on the spot and asking them to spot the designer wear and the budget pair from a selection of clothing which I would then write about in the article.
Also I would write about where to find the latest must wear on the high street today.
The pictures that I would put on the page would be of the ‘famous’ models wearing the budget cloths. These shots would be of them looking down the camera and making a pose, these shots would be medium shots to show of the whole costume and would be a slight low shot to make the clothing look supreme. I would also have some shots of the panel looking through the designer and budget clothing and making their decisions, this as with the last one will be a telephoto shot and it would be a close up to focus on their facial expressions.
Latest album releases:
This will tell the reader all about the latest music to buy on the high street today.
For this one I would have a group of students reviewing the music, as I am planning my target audience to be of this age. I would get their opinion on the music and to make it fair they would all listen to the same tracks. I would then ask then to say a point that they liked and then a point that they didn’t and then grade the CD out of ten.
The CD that has the best score I will write a separate small feature about.
The photos that I would use for this one would be telephoto shots of the students looking through and listening to the music. I would also have separate images of the CDs in question, these shots would be close ups of the CD case front covers.
My conclusion is that I am going to do a new band makes it big. I choose to do this because it offers the most opportunities and it would be the easiest and most likely the most interesting topic enough. Also when you look in music magazines there is often a lot of interviews with bands and singers and so I think that this would be my best option.
Flat plan
This is the out draught for my front cover
This is the out draught for my contents page.
This is the out draught for my middle page spread
This is the out draught for my contents page.
This is the out draught for my middle page spread
What we have covered
Ok ok i'm going to cover here what we have so far covered in our media lessons at school. Past: In the past lessons of media we have mainly learned alot about the variations of shots that are used in the media to draw us to it. There are actually more different shots then I would have considered there being, all of them used in different ways to create the dramatic affect that everyone loves. Low angle shots: It gives you an impression of power and suppremacy over something or somebody, it can be quite and interegating angle to use, but the affect is always clear. High angle shots: Is the opposite from low angle, it makes a person look small and inferior and you superior. Extreme close up (ECU): Zooming in very close to a feature of a person. Often a persons facial features like the eyes to read their expressions. Over the shoulder shot: Sows somebody talking to someone else. Its normally used in an interview situation. Extreme long shot (ELS): Looking at something very far away, is often used to get in a wide area space. Long shot (LS): Fits in a whole person and not much of the background. Telephoto: Captures people from quite far away and when the people are unaware. Papparazzi adapt this method. Macro: Close up and showing alot of detail. Wide-angle: Get in something whole for instance a car. As well as the different methods and shots there are also things like. * Depth of field Deep: Everything is in focus is used when you want to see it all. Selective: Only one aspect and it is used to focus on something important. Soft: It is slightly blurred and it is sometimes used to glamorise someone like to get rid of wrinkles. We have also learned about composition things like leading lines, Dramatic angles, Rules of thirds, balance and simplicity all are crucial. Present:
We still use these angles alot in the work that we do today for decoding magazines and other practicals in class. Also when we do things like photos we have to use these shots. We normally learn about quite alot of different things in class, but the things that we are doing at the moment is really based around our coursework.
We still use these angles alot in the work that we do today for decoding magazines and other practicals in class. Also when we do things like photos we have to use these shots. We normally learn about quite alot of different things in class, but the things that we are doing at the moment is really based around our coursework.
BLAST workshop
I didn't think that I would enjoy the blast workshop as much as I did. The first one that we did involved filming, during this we got to learn about and put into practice the difference in shots e.g extreme close ups, long shot and over the shoulder shots and interpreted them into a short film about superheros. Also during this we learnt about the effects that these shots had on a film, for example we had a scene where we had to drop a bottle from an unconcious persons hand. Instead of just filming the hand and the bottle dropping, we made the camera film from the arm and then go down to the bottle that then dropped, it added a good dramatic affect. We also put music to this production, by using the computer we put in a suspence track, that worked brilliantly with the shots that we had in the short production. The second time we went to Blast was to work on film stills, this is where you take a series of photos and record voices, you then put in the photos at the correct time so that it works with the voices. The class decided to do an X-facor themed film still which was very fun to film, although in my opinion we didn't learn as much about the shot ect as much as we did in the previous class. Even so at the end of the class we had the opportunity to edit the photos into a film still, adding sounds that we thought were appropriate to the film that we had just made.
Survey
This is the link to my survey that is related to my music magazine.
It includes 10 questions that are based around music and the world surrounding it. I sent this to the peers in my class and asked them to answer it to the best of their ability.
The survey is online and the web site that it is on analyses the results that everyone gives me which means that the results will be alot more reliable.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/R5NFRQP
It includes 10 questions that are based around music and the world surrounding it. I sent this to the peers in my class and asked them to answer it to the best of their ability.
The survey is online and the web site that it is on analyses the results that everyone gives me which means that the results will be alot more reliable.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/R5NFRQP
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