Music magazine: April 2010

Thursday, 29 April 2010

Thursday, 22 April 2010

My media product uses forms and conventions of a real media product in a variety of ways such as making sure that somewhere in your images there is something that helps to relate with the music genre (this being rock), whether it be an instrument or the way that they dressed. This is shown on the front cover through the use of the guitar and the image of the band Tora Hearts who are dressed in a way that people associate with rock music. This being the bright coloured hair, styled in a way that shows individuality both males, which links with the magazines target audience of ‘rebellious’ and individual teenagers. I placed a main image in the middle of the magazine front cover to show what is important and the highlight of the magazine.

The main image is of a ‘famous guitarist’ holding a guitar, which again establishes the genre. The image is also purple which links with the narrative of the magazine, this being that Lee Bryne is releasing an album called Ultraviolent. Also the colour purple connotes violence, which links in with a stereotypical view of rock genred music and addresses the audience of the magazine. However the colour also connotes a soothing and calm, which more relates to the females of the genre. So by placing the main image which is male shows that this magazine also relates to the female audience along with the male.

Furthermore the use of a slightly low angled shot allows Lee Bryne to look superior, which supports the fact that he is seen as being legendary. Also the expression on his face is serious, which shows that he is serious about his new album, it also shows experience and maturity. This is also supported by the fact that he is not making any eye contact with the audience. In addition having his hair spiked reflects the rock genre of the magazine, along with showing individuality.

I have used the rule of three as I’ve have used only the colours red, purple and white. Purple plays the role of the magazines narrative and associating with both genders, red connotes danger and links with the target audience of the magazine, being rebellious and white was placed as it stands out to the rest of the magazine, it also shows innocence within the magazine.

The last image is of two members that are representing their band, which is backed up by the text that says how their doing a signing at a shop. By including this it shows the magazines exclusivity through the fact that they already know that a band will be doing a signing in the ‘Future’.

Certain words are highlighted in different colours in a sentence, this allows the audience to see what has the most importance in certain strap lines or kickers along with the way it is capable of catching the eye of the audience. By putting the words 'Legendary Lee Bryne' it helps to anchor the importance of the main image and give the singer a status which could also be seen outside the music industry.

The magazine is called Resistance; this title was decided as it relates to the target audience, being mainly young people. Resistance is when a person is 'fighting' against something they do not wish to do. This is stereotypically associated with the teenage age group. The masthead is placed in a 3D, jester like way (as the title font is a Victorian card pack look) showing that this magazine isn't as completely serious as it is, expressing its comical side. This links in with the type of target audience who like their share of humour. (Exact font Rosewood STD)

The strap line Hime-Wings is used to show that Lee Bryne isn't the only important factor of the magazine, enabling the magazine to show that it contains a variety of news for its readers. Allowing the magazine to have a larger target audience which leads to better profit and so forth.
For my contents page I used images of people that look to suit rock music, which will easily allow the audience to recognise the magazine genre, along with the names of bands that can also establish the genre of the magazine and also attract the audience as they will be interested to see what their favorite band has been getting up to. For the contents page I also used the layout of an actual magazine, using the idea of columns to make it easier for the reader to understand what they are reading.

For both the front cover and the contents page I also used the way that rock magazines make it appear that a lot is going on, which links in with the genre of the music, as when it comes to rock there appears to be a lot going on in the background. In the contents page I used a lot of images which shows a lot of commotion. For the front cover I placed the background of a studio, which is where all the music is made. The blurred effect used on the studio links with the genre of rock which can be seen as a blur to people.

In the contents page I challenged the idea of using 3 main images instead of just 1, as all contents page within the magazines that I analysed used only one main image. I did this as a way to help create a narrative for the magazine and establish the girls status as the girls had split to take a break and have a holiday but are now reuniting.

For the double spread page I used the way that there is always a main image of the band/singer being interviewed/mentioned. I also made it clear that the reader knows exactly who is speaking in the text the same way that all music magazines do it. The house style of the magazine remains the same throughout as the colours used are the same, this being purple, red and white. Also the images and text used throughout reflect each other, for example; place the bands name ‘Hime-Wings’ and then placing an image of the band next to it.

My media product represents teenagers/young people mainly through the use of images, these being images of young people/teens that the audience can associate with, examples such as Lee, the 3 girls and other bands that contain young members.It also targets the social group of people who generally love rock music, shown through the use of images. This being the use of guitars which is usually associated with rock/indie music. Also the images of people are dressed in a way that relates to the audience, as the audience tends to dress in similar ways whether it is due to the trend or seeing their favorite band dress the same. Furthermore the language of the magazine represents the target audience throughout by using language that isn’t sophisticated but relevant to their age group. Also by shortening words such as ’Bring Me The Horizon’ to ‘BMTH’, the magazine assumes that its audience know who they are just from the initials.
Kerrang! Radio station might sell my magazine as it links very well with their music genre. Even though they have their own magazine they could still sell this magazine as it narrows down the different types of rock and some people may not buy kerrang magazine due to the fact that it contains a genre like metal.

There is also ‘Scuzz’ a company that also associates with rock music and are likely to distribute my media product.

The target audience for my media product is teenagers/young people, specifically people who love rock/indie music. The magazine is targeted at this age group along with this type of music is because a lot of people in this age group listen to the rock/indie genre music. The magazine is also targeted at both genders to increase the amount of people who consume the magazine, thus creating a larger profit.

I attracted my target audience through the use of images, such as the images of young people that the audience can relate to. Also images of guitars will attract them as it links with the genre of music that they would listen to, along with images of well known bands. These images will attract the audience the moment they see a picture of the band or just their name. To attract both genders I used images of males and females to show that this magazine is for both genders. Furthermore the camera angles on certain images contribute to attracting their audience, such as the mid shot of Lee Bryne looking away from the camera, as if teasing the audience.
Also the language is appropriate to the audience and therefore they are willing to read the magazine with out getting confused about words or sentence structures that they do not understand.Also to address teenagers/young people I use colours that are stereotypically associated with them, this being the colour red. When a person visualizes red they think of danger/warning, so by using this colour it shows the association with the colour/magazine and teenagers, this being rebellion/communism.

I have learnt how to use Photoshop effectively, understanding the different effects that it can produce and how they affect what you are doing. How they can allow you to do things that help you connote something or tell a narrative, such as making Lee purple to tell the narrative of the magazine. From the preliminary task to the final product I have learnt that the more you explore with Photoshop the more you will find that could help you with the making of your product and the easier you will end up finding things.I also learnt that when it came to taking photos it is best to take the photo on a background that you want it to be on, or take the photos on a plain white background. It can also be very helpful if you took a photo of the background itself as it would lead to help making things easier.

Double spread page images

Above are the only original photos that was used in the making of my magazine double spread page which was sued to allow the girls to stand out. Along with the picture that was used in the making of the album cover

Double spread page

This is the double page spread of my music magazine.

Images
The main image of this magazine is of the band Hime-Wings. This image takes up a majority of the double spread page as a way to emphasis their importance of not only this page and magazine but also their importance in the rock industry. Their image is placed in a purple haze to allow the house style of the magazine to keep the same and also to show how the fact that these ladies are now 'hazy' to the public as they have been of the music scene for a while now. I have also included the image of the album cover that i created as a way to show its importance and the link between it and the girls. In the background there is a picture of a purple wall, to link with the narrative for their album 'Dead End', as when you find yourself at a dead end it is usually a wall.

language

On the second half of the page is a small interview which was done in a technically style which is the way that all rock genre magazines appear to type in, along with sense of humour and irony which can be located throughout. Especially with the Page title and the heading underneath the album. The names of the band members are placed in a different colour to help them stand out, and their speech is in italics so that the reader knows when they are reading speech, also to make it easier for them to understand. The use of the word fly is a way of showing the band’s name being Hime-Wings, so by saying princess fly is a metaphor for the magazine.

Questionaire

Here are questionnaires that I made for the purpose of working out whether or not my magazine met its criteria. It was also done to make sure that the target audience understood exactly what type of music magazine that I have done and to also comment on what do they believe ay need changing. Overall the questionnaires show that people believe my magazine suits its genre and is targeted at the right age group.

Original double page spread idea

This was my original idea for my double spread page which i decided to change due to a number of reasons. One of these reasons is that to me it looked fairly blunt and boring, the second reason is that it didn't match the colour scheme and layout of the rest of the magazine

Album Cover

This is the album cover that i have designed for my music magazine. It has been placed on the contents and double spread pages. I decided to do this to show the fact that the female band has just completed a new album, just like the magazines that i have analysed along with many other music magazines. I used an effect on the image to allow the girls to allow them to look edgy/rough, linking with the bricks of a wall. The reason why i did this, along with the reason their picture is taken against a wall is to link with the narrative of the album. this being that its called 'Dead End', so the use of a wall signifies a dead end. The use of the pink guitar is to signify the music genre and to show its relationship with the female band members. The bands name is placed in the middle in a big font to not only stand out but to also enable viewers to see who these ladies are. They are posed in a way that says 'Ya, what ever. Bring it on', which enables the album cover to show the bands confidence in their return.

Contents page images

These are all the real images that were used in the making of my contents page which all have elements to the genre of the magazine.

Contents Page

This is the contents page of my music magazine, which has a complete different main image from the front cover. The reason for this is to show that this magazine doesn't only focus on one main subject but a variety of other areas. Also by making the front cover main image male and the contents page females shows that this magazine is available/targeted for both genders.
Colours
I made the background purple to link it with the front cover and keep the house style the same. I made a lot of the wording red to allow them to stand out along with giving the magazine a sense of danger due to when red is seen you instantly relate it to something dangerous. Also with the band 'Hime-Wings' in red it gives the band a status of dangerous, in this case the danger of how good they are at their job.
The name resistance was left white to link with the front cover, and it was placed in the font that it was as a way of the magazine highlighting that this is its names 'trademark' and style. Also the band name Hime-Wings is in the same font as title to show that the band is as equally important as the magazine. The names of each of the band members is placed on the magazine due to the fact that this band has been away for a while and now their back there might be people that may not know them (linking with the story on the double page spread). The page numbers are placed in a different colour, in this case being red. The reason for this is to allow the numbers to stand out and make it clear for the reader what page to go to. Also by making it the colour red it helps to keep the house style the same along with again connoting danger.
Images
The main images are three different photo's of the band member, I chose to set the pictures out in this way to show that they went their separate ways for a while so that they could have a break and enjoy things that they wanted to do (shown by them being in separate pictures rather than one), but their now back together (shown by the way the pictures appear to merge together). By making Becky and Hannah look at the camera while Renee doesn't it helps to show that Renee is the leader of the band, by her showing herself of as she is doing and by her not needing to look as the camera as she doesn't wish to.
An image was used of the editor to show the fact that this is the person that enables the magazine to do as well as it does, and is placed there to in a way praise her. I have also placed another picture of lee on the contents page to remind the readers of his importance in the magazine. Also by placing the purple light background it establishes the link with him and his newest album ultraviolet. Also by taking the picture at a low angle it helps to show his authority and power, making him appear strong and confident. I decided to use a picture of my album cover that I made as a way of showing insight on what is contained in the magazine.
Images are used of a solo artist named Lil-J (bottom right corner) and a band member (Bottom middle image) to help attract the audience’s attention through images that stand out. Also by them being used helps to give the magazine
Language
The contents page appears to be quite vague in words, this was done on purpose as a way of making the reader read on and find out what’s happening instead of them just reading the contents page and leaving it there. It is also done so that the reader ca find exactly what they want and go straight to it, such as them spotting the name of a band they really like they can simply go straight to that page. The acknowledgements of the editor were sued as a way to allow her to express herself of how she feels about her magazine.
Layout
The contents page was laid out in columns to make it much easier for the reader to understand the magazine and find exactly what they are looking for. Also there appears to be a lot more going on than the front cover, this is done to show that the more you read on into the magazine the more you will find happening.

Wednesday, 21 April 2010

Front Cover Images

These are the real images that i used in the production of my magazine front cover.

Magazine front cover

This is the final design of my music magazine which was changed a lot from my initial idea. For example placing more text around the main image so it looks like more is going on.

The magazine is uni-sexual which is showed through the use of colours such as pink, which stereotypes females, along with red, which is a more masculine colour. Along with a strap line mentioning females, while the strap images focused on a male band. The target audience age's between 16+, as this is the age group that tends to listen to this genre of music.

The main image is lee holding a guitar which helps to prompt the fact that this is a music magazine, and that it’s more a rock/indie genre magazine. The image is placed in the centre of the magazine and takes up a lot of space, showing that this image is the main importance of the magazine, plus it is taken at an angle that allows the guitar to stand out more than the rest of the image, again to emphasise the type and genre of the magazine. Also by not placing a lot around the image it allows the image to stand out a lot more and increase its importance.

Lee has a serious look on his face, showing that he is serious about his new album.
By having his hair spiked it signifies the personality, being individuality, of this person and how this type of personality links in with the genre of the magazine.
The colour of the image is purple, which helps to prompt the narrative of the magazine. This being that 'Lee Byrne' is releasing his new album which is called ultraviolet, which the purple Lee relates to.

The background is a studio but blurred out, the use of this blur shows that his studio isn't as important as the main image of Lee, plus it helps the audience to focus on the main image. By making the background a studio to show the relation between the magazine and music, by basically how music is made and developed in a studio.

The image is placed above the masthead of the magazine; showing that this magazine is confident in the fact that it is well known so therefore it doesn't really need its named to be explicitly shown as it once may have been.

The magazine mainly based around the colours purple/pink colours to link with the narrative that the magazine is trying to tell and to emphasise this narrative, which is lee's new album.
Plus the colours are stereotypes of females', and this magazine issue focuses on the female bands in the rock industry that are starting to rise. The white was used on the words to help them stand out against the background and to show you what is important in this magazine. Plus by the use of the colour red on the word 'riot' signifies the danger of that word and the danger and situation of what happened, as the colour red itself. Also a second use of the colour red is that red can be associated with rebellion, by the way how it induces warning/danger. This also links into how the magazines genre is showed.

The last image is of two members that are representing their band, which is backed up by the text that says how their doing a signing at a shop. By including this it shows the magazines exclusivity through the fact that they already know that a band will be doing a signing in the ‘Future’.

Certain words are highlighted in different colours in a sentence, this allows the audience to see what has the most importance in certain strap lines or kickers along with the way it is capable of catching the eye of the audience. By putting the words 'Legendary Lee Bryne' it helps to anchor the importance of the main image and give the singer a status which could also be seen outside the music industry.

The magazine is called Resistance; this title was decided as it relates to the target audience, being mainly young people. Resistance is when a person is 'fighting' against something they do not wish to do. This is stereotypically associated with the teenage age group. The masthead is placed in a 3D, jester like way (as the title font is a Victorian card pack look) showing that this magazine isn't as completely serious as it is, expressing its comical side. This links in with the type of target audience who like their share of humour. (Exact font Rosewood STD)

All forms of text, strap lines and pug, have been placed around the image not on it. Allowing the image to stand out more. But the kicker is placed on top of the image, showing its importance along with making the reader look directly there before anywhere else. The kicker is quite a big font, again linking with how it shows its importance. Also the strap line of the names of bands is done to show the variety of bands that the magazine follows.

Throughout the magazine cover there is quite a lot going on, which links in with the genre of the music being rock as in rock there is always a lot going on, with the instruments played and the way the music is associated.

The strap line Hime-Wings is used to show that Lee Bryne isn't the only important factor of the magazine, enabling the magazine to show that it contains a variety of news for its readers. Allowing the magazine to have a larger target audience which leads to better profit and so forth.

Mock - ups

Above are all three mock-ups to my front cover, contents and double spread page magazine layouts.

Double page spread analysis

This is a double page spread from the kerrang magazine that i analysed.

Images
The page consists of many images which take up a majority of the pages than the text itself, which includes 3 strap images and a main image. This links with the magazines target audience, being teens/young people who may not like to read too much. It could also link with the kind of people who create the magazine, who may enjoy as little text as the readers of the magazine.
the strap images consist of pictures that were taken at the scene of the event, while the main image was taken specifically for the magazine. In the main image there are a row of theater chairs which fade in the background, this is to emphasise the setting of where the band were.
There is also the use of an image in the bottom right corner that has Green Days logo on it, as a way to establish who the band is.

Colour
The background is very dark, which links in with the heading of theater being dangerous, as if you were to be in a pitch black theater it would be dangerous to move in, along with how darkness is associated with danger. The colour red is also used which links in with the same reason for the use of the colour black, as red is a colour that connotes danger.

Text
In the heading the word 'Dangerous' is in bold letters, that are also quite deteriorated. This links in with a frequently used font of the magazine, showing how it keeps with its house style. It could also be a way of emphasises the word danger, which also links in with the magazines genre and target audience.
The language of the magazine is fairly simple but also contains many technical words, which shows that the target audience has quite a large age group, as it contains words that people would have to understand to know what they are reading.