Contents Page

Research & Planning
Media Foundation Portfolio Brief 
Breakdown of a Magazine Cover
Magazine Front Cover Deconstructions
Contents Page Deconstructions
Double Page Spread Deconstructions
Inspirational Texts/Moodboard 
Preliminary Task Flat Plans: Front Cover & Contents Page
Photoshop Skills Development
Analysing Previous Student Work
Coursework Stage 1 Proposal Coursework Stage 2 Planning
Institution Research
Audience Research & Analysis of Data
Main Task Flat Plans & Written Rationale 
Photoshoot Planning
The Conventions, Producer & Target Audience of my Text 
Photograph Choices
Fonts with Commentary 
Colour Palette  

Magazine Progression
CourseworkProgress: 25/02//2014
Coursework Progress: 13/03/2014
Final Front Cover
Final Contents Page
Final Double Page Spread 

Evaluation Questions
Evaluation Question 1
Evaluation Question 2
Evaluation Question 3
Evaluation Question 4
Evaluation Question 5
Evaluation Question 6
Evaluation Question 7

Evaluation Question 7

What do you feel you have learnt in the progression from creating the school magazine (preliminary task), to creating your music magazine?

From my preliminary task, to my college magazine, to the final task of creating my music magazine I believe I have greatly developed my skills. Due to the research I have conducted on the magazine industry and the key conventions each magazine contains, my knowledge on magazines as a whole has greatly improved. I have learnt things such as; that Masthead is a key magazine convention, the reason behind ‘drop shadows’ on coverlines, and the institutions behind them. Before this task I was a complete novice at using the Adobe Photoshop software and I relied heavily on basic software such as; Paint and Microsoft Publisher but as my time using Photoshop went on, I grew more and more confident with user interface and the tools it includes which has made the quality of my final magazine much greater than anything I could achieve on a more basic software.

As clearly seen when looking at both pieces of work, there is a significant progression in quality from the preliminary task to the final product. The change of software that I use and the skills I have gained with this software have been the biggest factors that have improved the overall quality as well as the research I have conducted on magazine conventions. For my preliminary task I used Microsoft Publisher, which has very restricted editing options and as a result this software has barriers for creativity so the finished product appears very basic and unprofessional looking. The lack of editing ability was purely reflected on my preliminary task and can be seen through the quality of the final front cover and contents page. By using Photoshops advanced tools, such as; ‘drop shadow’ and ‘magic wand tool’ I was able to cut around my images perfectly and able to emphasise coverlines on my front cover in order to stand out to the audience and give the page a more three-dimensional aesthetic and thus it can stand-out more to the audience. With the help of all these extra features, Photoshop enabled me to create a professional music magazine which is appropiate for my target audience. The magic wand tool was a vital feature for me to use whilst producing my magazine, especially with how many images needed separated from their background, this has greatly helped me to produce a magazine with this height of quality.

Regarding the use of my images on my final music magazine the quality of them is significantly better than my preliminary tasks ones which is due to the quality of camera I was using as well as the setting that I took the pictures in. For the final magazine images I was able to use multiple props and manipulate the space in which I was taking the photos as I wished. This allowed me to have more creative control over the images I would use for my final music magazine. Using the Photoshop software I was also able to edit the images whichever way I liked such as using the hue and saturation tools as well as changing the brightness and the colour exposure of the images.  

Once again when comparing the two pieces together, I believe it shows my greater understanding of the needed conventions on a magazine and the language that should be used when creating a magazine. For example with my preliminary task the lexical field included a very basic use of words and language where as my music magazine is simply all music related with a conscious use of language which aimed more at its target audience of 16-18 year olds.

Although I made several changes from the preliminary task to the final magazine, I kept many of the basic conventions the same and used flat plans as a guide for the production of my magazine. I kept thoroughly to my preliminary task flat plan, but I did not for my music magazine. I made many extensive changes to the flat plan of my contents page and my double page spread to improve the overall aesthetic of these pages and by making them more practical so the reader may navigate these pages more easily.

Overall, during the creation of my media product I had to take into consideration many factors such as; the time I had to produce my work; technological issues and my target audience. I have learnt a great deal whilst completing this project, from the start of the year. Being able to meet deadlines proved difficult, especially when feedback was needed. If I started this project again I would create my own personal and achievable targets and aim to beat those deadlines. By receiving feedback by my tutor I believe my magazine benefitted a great deal, especially by receiving criticism of my blog/magazine as I was able to amend any problems in order to submit better work and achieve a higher grade. 

Evaluation Question 6

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing your music magazine? 

For this evaluation question I have used fromtexttospeech.com 

http://www.fromtexttospeech.com/texttospeech_output_files/0350680001399115579/1936483.mp3

"I have learnt about the different technologies that can be used to create a magazine. I have went from being a novice at the program Adobe Photoshop to gaining the skills required to design a magazine. At the beginning of my media coursework I relied heavily upon Microsoft Publisher, which is a more basic design and publishing software, however I stepped out of my comfort zone and began to develop my skills with Photoshop over time. I now feel that I have enough confidence with the Photo shop software to be able instruct other people on how to use it effectively. My ability with the website Blogger has also greatly improved. Over the time I have been creating my magazine and updating by blog I have become comfortable with using Blogger to effectively present my work using external software such as Animoto and Slideshare."

Evaluation Question 5

How did you attract/address your audience?

Evaluation Question 4

Who would be the audience for your magazine?

Evaluation Question 3

What Kind Of Media Institution Might Distribute Your Magazine & Why?

What Kind Of Media Institution Might Distribute Your Magazine & Why?


What Kind Of Media Institution Might Distribute Your Magazine & Why? (Part 2)

Evaluation Question 2

To answer 'How does your music magazine represent particular social groups?' I have used Animoto to create a video which shows images that represent the social group of devoted music fans that my magazine represents with examples of famous artists who are known to have devoted fanbases and play the kind of music my magazine is associated with. 

Below you will find the video I have created to answer this question.

How does your music magazine represent particular social groups?

"My 'social group' will be aimed at those people with a love of music, ages 18-30. It represents a social group with a dedication and almost religious-like following of their favourite music artists. I have used the famous music artists Bruce Springsteen, The Killers, Imagine Dragons, U2, Oasis and The Black Keys within my clip, to show the similarity of the images within my magazine."

Evaluation Question 1

1.) In what ways does your music magazine use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of existing music magazines?

The music magazine I created, ‘Apollo’, I created in a way in which it can be easily identified as a conventional magazine whilst still standing out from competitors. I achieved this through following the guidelines on creating a magazine and attempting to include many of the typical magazine conventions.

After decided on the aesthetic of my magazine cover I decided the masthead should be positioned where it is expected; therefore, I placed the masthead at the very middle top of the page. To make it appear a greater quality and to follow the typical magazine conventions I overlapped the main image on top of the masthead.

The main selling point for a music magazine is the main image which is usually placed at the centre of the front cover. A close-up image or a group image is used in music magazines when it features a music artist. I decided my main image should follow the typical music magazine conventions through the subject in the image’s serious body language and facial expression. It is not uncommon to feature a tone setting image on the front cover which gives the reader an indication to the tone of the featured article which it is linked to. The model in the image is looking directly forward as a mode of address to the audience and draw their attention to the magazine.

The model featured throughout the three pages is portraying a rock music artist who is seen as a prominent and popular figure in modern rock music. Even though I took a wide selection of images, I took them all using a similar style to obtain a coherent theme throughout the pages of the magazine that contained those imaged. I have used the same model for all the main pictures which makes it all complementary however, this may have been a risky stunt and limit sales as readers prefer to see a range of articles/interviews/images. It is typical for a magazine to have a variety of images of celebrities on its front cover but I have only included images of one model. I try to justify this decision by putting across in my article how famous the artist the model is portraying is. On the contents page I have used an additional image of an album cover to preview the reviews section of the magazine which is the only variance in image I use. The font cover of the magazine, whilst only having one image, contains the names of several bands which may grab the attention of the magazine’s potential audience.

Because of the coherence in content within my magazine, selecting fonts that suit its overall theme was relatively easy. I decided on fonts that were easy to read and had a relatively serious and minimalistic look which don’t take away attention from the images I used and the colour scheme. I aimed to achieve an overall relatively simple aesthetic for the pages of my magazine and my plain font choices help me get this effect. Although I aim for a degree of minimalism with my page designs, I use images that steal the attention of the reader from the overall plain page design and the ‘ordinary’ font to stop the reader from being bored by the magazine’s overall aesthetic.

 On the front cover I have included very little text, just the essential information and a few sell-line. The contents page includes a lot more text but it is mainly just headings and sub-headings which include brief detail on the features in the magazine. I believe the format and register used needs to be complementary to the targeted audience, if it was informal it would have created an image as though it was for children taking it away from the expected target audience.

FINAL DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

This is my final Double Page Spread including the article.

FINAL CONTENTS PAGE

This is my final Contents Page

FINAL FRONT COVER

This is my final Front Cover page.

Photograph Choices

By using the photography studio and taking photos on location in a studio, I plan on taking my own images and using some of these in my magazine. 

I plan on using one of these images for my front cover. Which John will be my main model/artist for my magazine. I may also use of these for the inside of my magazine, for the contents page.

For my contents page I will use a variety of images, some of which were taken in a photography studio as well as others that were taken in a music studio. By having a range of images it will give an insight of different articles within my magazine. Although I haven't fully decided on what images I will use when decided I will edit them in order to make them look more professional and conventional. Below are some of the images I will have on my contents page.

Colour Palette

 

This is my favourite colour scheme. The dark tones will reflect the serious tone of my music magazine. The first colour is pure black which will be used for text on a white background and will be the most prominent colour used in the magazine. Black will also be occasionally used as a background especially when I use black and whit pictures. I aim to blend any black and white images into a black background. The middle colour (dark grey) can be potentially used for titles of articles to add variance to the typical black colour scheme for text. The last colour (light grey) can be used as a background or boarder on the contents page of the magazine.

This colour scheme is similar to the previous colour scheme just with a red tint to the lighter colours. I have kept black in the colour scheme as I would use it for text also if I was to choose this palette. The second colour is an unusual colour which is a dark shade. I would consider using this colour for backgrounds or the title  of articles when on a white background. The lightest shade on this palette is just a even lighter shade of the previous colour. I don't particularly like this colour as it would only be of any use for a background colour.

This colour scheme uses shades of blue as well as black which would again be used for text and background with this colour scheme. The second colour in this palette (dark blue) is one of the best colours used on any of the palette in my opinion. I 'd use the dark blue for articles with the lighter blue shade being used as the article title. The lighter blue shade would only be used for article titles.

 

This palette uses shades of a turquoise blue as well as again containing black for text and background use. I don't particularly like this colour scheme and I think it's unlikely that I will use it. The darker shade of turquoise would be a good boarder for the pages of the magazine if the whole colour scheme for the magazine was shades of blue and turquoise. The lighter shade of turquoise would be used for article titles on a black background.

 

Coursework Progress: 13/03/2014

Magazine Front Cover:

• I have began editing my cover image in to the front cover itself and changed the colour settings to make the image black and white.
• I have left space for my essential information in the bottom right corner of my cover page.

Magazine Contents Page:

• I completed the features list of my contents page.
• I have completed editing the image that references the cover article.
• I have decided on which album cover to use next to the review contents section of my contents page.

Album cover image being used on the contents page

 

Contents page image referring to featured article

 

 

 



Conventions, Producer and Target Audience of my Text

In my magazine I plan to keep the majority of the key conventions present in my magazine. As mentioned in my Main Task Proposal Table, I will be including major conventions in my magazine such as: keeping the masthead at the top of the front cover page, including a few sell lines (as well as a main sell line) on the front cover to attract readers and give them an incentive to pick up the magazine and purchase it based on the articles featured. I will also be including essential information, including a barcode and issue date in the lower-right corner of the main cover. On the contents page, I plan to place the heading 'contents' somewhere on the page (usually placed on the top, next to the masthead). The list of contents will be placed on the right hand side of the page. For the language used, I intend to include a moderately serious tone to the magazine but not too serious as to not leave the reader feeling uncomfortable in reading the text. For the colour scheme, I intend to use a grey/blue/black colour scheme that will stand out in comparison to many existing magazines that I have previously researched. Finally, I plan to use a sophisticated font style throughout my entire magazine. By using simple and effective fonts such as Times New Roman or Arial, I will be able to produce easy-to-read articles as well as keeping the font style moderately serious. Times New Roman also produces connotations with a professional-quality magazine, meaning that this font would be a sensible choice. I do not plan to change any of these conventions as I still hope to achieve an effective magazine feel through my magazine.

 

I have previously researched institutions that may potentially distribute my magazine. These institutions deal with the publication of various different magazines. The various different options included IPC Media and Bauer Media (the two largest music magazine publishers, with the former publishing ‘NME’ and the latter publishing ‘Q’ and ‘Kerrang magazine’). I decided to opt for Bauer Media, as this is the institution who deals with the publication of ‘Q’, a music magazine from which my own magazine takes some inspiration and conventions from. Judging by the success of ‘Q’ and ‘Kerrang!’, I can assume the company is capable of dealing with publishing more than one music magazine at the same time effectively. The demographic which is usually associated with reading the two magazines published by Bauer Media is not dissimilar to the demographic which I hope to aim for with my own magazine, meaning that by picking Bauer Media to publish my magazine, they are already well experienced with the target audience which I hope to aim for (the 16+  year old audience).

 

I was able to gain information as to what different people’s preferences were towards different ideas after carrying out research on a group of random survey participants. I stated that my poll was a ‘music magazine’ questionnaire, and the age range of the people who took the questionnaire was 15 to 34, which allowed me to see that publishing a music magazine with that age range in mind would do rather well. Based on the audience research, I decided upon not targeting my magazine towards one specific gender, as feedback from my research showed that 35% were male, and 65% were female – indicating that there was no one specific gender that would be interested in reading a music magazine. I also found that people listened to numerous different styles of music, however this was exclusive to the popular music spectrum. This lets me know that by making Rock/Pop the primary style of my magazine, I can reflect the demands of my target audience.

 

For the platforms on which I would like to make my magazine available, I am inclined towards making it available on as many platforms as possible. The number of magazines made available in other forms other than physical copies is rising quickly and because of this, publishing the magazine in other formats than the one expected will enable the magazine to attract a wider audience. This may also possibly allow more people to subscribe, which was one of the most key factors I realized when conducting my audience research. Very few people stated that they had subscribed to an existing music publication, meaning that by publishing the magazine in an unorthodox manner, it will indicate to the audience that the magazine is not the same as the other music publications that are present at the current time, giving them an incentive to subscribe to something new and original.

Audience Research and Analysis of Data

I will now analyse research I carried out on a selection of random individuals. 11 people carried out the survey.

 

AUDIENCE RESEARCH

Coursework Progress: 25/02/2014

Magazine Front Cover:

I finalised the size of my masthead and magazine's logo. I chose the century gothic font and spaced out each letter.

 

I also decided on the content of my magazine's coverlines.

 

I've decided to have my front cover's background white whilst keeping the image itself black and white. I intend to use colour only once on my front page but I am yet to decide how I will implement this.

 

Contents Page:

 

I have decided to include a section on my contents page which highlights the different kind of reviews that are to be contained in my magazine.

 

 

Photoshoot Planning

What emotional impact do you want your photography do have upon the reader and how will you achieve this?

 

I want my photography to attract an audience with the same musical taste as the magazine covers in its contents. I will be drawing influence from the front cover of U2’s album The Joshua Tree for my photoshoot which will be evident through my use of black and white and the seriousness of the models in the shoot. By doing this style of front cover I will connote the dark and serious tone of my magazine without the magazine appearing too pretentious.

 

What personnel do you need? Who are you going to photograph?

 

I will have one person assist me in taking the photos by setting up equipment and help carry any equipment such as; tripods.

 

What props will you need?

 

I will provide a guitar for the models as a prop. The guitar will be the only prop I need as the models will be providing their own clothing/costumes for the shoot.

 

How are you going to emphasise colour?

 

I will emphasise the colour by using a black and white effect with the camera. I will also do all necessary editing in photoshop in the post-production stage of the photo shoot.

 

Have you briefed your personnel/models?

 

I have briefed my models on the location, the theme I am trying to obtain and the general concept I want to compose with the photographs.

 

What lighting will you need? Any other equipment?

 

I may use some kind of light for the photo shoot because of the photoshoot taking place in the evening. This will be the only other equipment I will need to use.

 

Where will you shoot? Will you need a backdrop?

 

I will be conducting my photo shoot at South Shields beach in the mid evening.

 

Mise-en-scene - Make-up? Costumes? Props?

 

I plan to instruct the models to be dressed in black or neutral colours to coincide with the dark and serious tone I am aiming for with the overall magazine. I want to make the models appear serious in a natural background in a similar sort of style of U2’s Joshua Tree album cover. In the main article it will mention that U2 is one of the band’s major influences are U2 so I believe the audience will respond positively to the models clearly mirroring the famous album cover which was photographed by the celebrated photographer Anton Corbijn.

Location Recce

1.    Are there any potential hazards that could pose a health and safety risk where your photo shoot will take place (trailing cables/traffic/other objects )?

At my photo shoot the only potential risk would be the unpredictability of the weather. Since it is February there may be adverse weather conditions of heavy rain or snow which could damage equipment. We will have to be sure to not go to close to where the waves break as to not get anybody wet or any equipment damaged.

2.    What will you do to ensure these risks are minimised?

We will check the weather forecast before going out and have to reschedule if the weather is forecast to be adverse out on our location. I will also be sure to stay relatively close to some kind of cover if it does begin to rain/snow.

3.    Will the time of day/weather affect the outcome of the photos? Have you allowed for this?

I plan to do my photo shoot at night to enhance the effect of my photos. The weather may have a negative effect on my photos if it begins to rain or snow.

4.    Have you considered the background to your photos, particularly if taken outside? How will you ensure you will get the background you want?

I will be sure to pick a suitable location on the beach to conduct my photo shoot. I plan to have the sea in the background of my photos and I hope that there will be a reflection on the water.

5.    Have you considered lighting? What about the ‘problems’ of natural lighting, either outside, or streaming through a window? Will you need to use a flash? Have you considered reflective objects that might spoil the effect?

I plan to use a flash for my photos to give a dramatic effect to my photos and to ensure you can actually see the people in the photo. I will be sure to stay away from any reflective materials and attempt a trial and error method in the different angles I use.

6.    Do you need permission to take photos in the place/venue you have in mind?

I do not have to gain permission from anyone for my photo shoot.

7.    Do you need to book time in a room (eg the photography studio)?

I do not need to book a room for my photo shoot as I will be taking them outdoors in a public space.

8.    Are other people/crowds likely to be an issue for you? What have you done to ensure that it will not spoil the effect?

Since I will be conducting my photo shoot on a February evening at the beach I do not anticipate any crowds or many people to be around that will spoil the effect.

9.    Are you reliant on lifts/props/friends’ equipment/models? How have you planned that these things will come together at the appointed time? Plan B?

I plan to use equipment owned by Gateshead College and I am reliant on a few friends to help me with this photo shoot. If I can’t get all the necessary equipment from Gateshead College I will ask friends or family if they have any photography equipment I can borrow.

10. Finally, have you thought of every eventuality?

I will not have to rely on others for props as I can supply them myself. I should manage to get all the equipment I need from Gateshead College or if not, family members or friends. The only problem I may face is the weather due to the time of year, however I will be sure to check the weather forecast before going out to shoot to avoid any problems.

Font Choice

I am going to sample and assess a variety of fonts to see which one would work well in regards to coverlines and subheadings. I plan to draw my masthead and later scan it and apply Photoshop to it to make it a more original font, however I still need a style for basic text.

I don't want to use a font like this one (Lucinda Handwriting) as I think a handwritten/calligraphy font would be too informal and distracting, and it may also be difficult to read. I think a printed font would work much better.

The font above demonstrates Helvetica, which I think would work well especially for the double page spread/interview as it is easy to read and understand. It's simple and is used regularly by other publications.



This is example font is a font I will consider using for my magazine. Unlike the fonts used in many current magazines, this font is quite formal and seems quite eye catching and I believe it was attract attention.

This example is Century Gothic. I like this font as it's simple and easy to read, although it looks formal, I think it would look aesthetically pleasing on a double page spread and the contents page.

The above font example is called Adobe Fan Heiti and I think it's similar to Century Gothic, it's formal while at the same time connotes informality, but not too much. It is likely that I would use this font in my magazine on either the double page spread or contents page.

Flat Plans with Written Rationale

Colour Usage:

I will be using a grey/blue colour scheme specifically for the front cover of my magazine. After conducting my research I decided on the colours to bring a more original look to the conventional music magazine cover so my product will stand out among competition. I will be sure to tailor the colours of my main image to the colour scheme of my magazine.

 

Image Usage:

For my main image I plan to take photos of a band in an organic background without instruments. The body language of the band will reflect the overall tone of the magazine as serious but accessible to the target audience as I don't wish to intimidate any potential consumers of the magazine with a magazine that may appear pretentious or too niche.

 

Text Usage:

I don't want to litter a lot of text onto my front page but at the same time I wish to have just enough to attract consumers. Through my research I found that magazines with too much text on the front cover can be off-putting by having a messy presentation with the majority of the contents of the magazine being all over the front cover and distracting attention from the main image. I will have a brief main sell line which will showcase the exclusive interview inside my magazine. I will also have sell lines which will mention the other artists featured inside.

 

Layout and Font:

The overall font of my magazine will be serious and stylish. The font will be easy to read but won't attract all of the attention away from my main image. I aim for my font to have the effect of impressing my target audience through it's style and sophistication, also how it reflects the overall theme of my magazine.

 

 

Colour Usage:



For the colour scheme on the article page, the colour scheme would generally be that of grey/white, similarly to the front cover page. There may be certain colours that are added/changed depending on the colour of the background image. For the background of the article I intend to use white with a very dark grey font to set a serious tone for the article and connote the dark melnacholy of the featured bands music. I will colour the caption box black and use a white font there to give a bit of variance to the overall double page and continue the serious tone.

 

Image Usage:

For the images used within the double-page spread, there will only be one prominent image used. This is the image featured on the left hand side of the page, above the start of the main article. This image will be of the subject of the article, the new artist of whom the article is reporting on who is also featured on the front cover. As for the second image, this will be featured in the top corner of the right page and be related to the article.

 

Text Usage:

The article text would be written as a first person account to start with and then go onto the typical interview format. The language used would be positive, but not hyperbolic and have connotations that resemble the subject's desire and determination to be successful. The article image may be accompanied by a caption which may border on hyperbolic as many other music magazines do. This enforces a contrast to the overall serious tone as to counterbalance the effect it will have the on the reader, ensuring they do not take the publication they are reading too seriously. The article would also feature a drop capital at the start of the article.

 

Layout and Font:

The fonts featured on this page will be consistent, sophisticated and will compliment the styling of the article. Like the previous two pages the font usage will be completely consistent with only one change in colour for the caption. The font would still need to be serious but not gothic, I have been considering a font similar to New Times Rome but with a variance. Impact may be a suitable font to use due to it's simplicity yet emphasis on the text. There is no overlapping on my double page spread in order to keep overall layout tidy. I found in my deconstructions that double page spreads can appear messy if the majority of it's features are going across both pages which would contradict the style of magazine I am trying to make. Now the reader is reading the magazine, grabbing their attention is not required as much as it was on the front cover, so text can be more traditional and plain.

Colour Usage:
Much like my double page spread, a grey/white colour scheme will be implemented. The white gives a subtle and gentle highlight to the page, yet the grey allows a subtle implementation of emphasis without being too overpowering. The grey will standout just enough from it's white background and should provide a good aesthetic for the overall page. For other areas where causing the areas to stand out is not a priority and not required as much as other parts of the page.

Image Usage:

For the contents page, the images which are used would not be as prominent as the one(s) on the main cover, and would generally be smaller. This even includes the image used to represent the main article, which may only be 60% of the original page size. There could also be many smaller images used to represent the numerous other articles within the magazine. The images would link to the magazine's theme of featuring new and upcoming artists, therefore feature images of the artists the magazine will feature, standing confidently to represent their desire to be the biggest they can possibly be.
 

Text Usage:

The text featured on the page would be generally in third-person, and give clues as to what will be featured within the article. This would mean that parts from the article are not revealed in this section, but are hinted towards. This is an example of how the contents page would use teasers to draw the reader into the magazine and get them prepared for the articles inside. A masthead would also be present on the contents page, creating a sense of cohesion throughout the magazine.
 

Layout and Font:

The font style for the contents page must be coherent throughout the magazine to ensure that the font is also professional and simple. The simple fonts work best in professional magazines, such as Times New Roman or Arial. Using fonts that are seen as unprofessional will cause the magazine to appear in the same way. The contents page is also structured so that there is room for everything to be featured on the page without making it seeming overcrowded.