My music magazine

Front Cover

Contents Page

Double Page Spread

Looking back at your preliminary task of designing the school magazine, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

When designing my school magazine, the whole concept of using photoshop was very new. Most things I did were experimental whilst I was figuring out what photoshop was capable of and forming an understanding of how everything operates. This of course was a benefit when designing my music magazine. At the same time I was looking at other magazines and identifying what I liked and didn't like about each of those, and then attempting to use the tools of photoshop to get the results I wanted. Occasionally I would be trying to achieve a desired result when due to my inexperience with the technology I would get a result that I had not intended, but that I liked. An example of this was when it came to choosing my colour scheme. I chose my main burgundy colour and was pleased with this. When I went to chose this colour again, admittedly I was not paying much attention and selected the wrong colour: a lighter red. I found that this contrasted well with the burgundy, therefore decided to use it in my magazine. But mistakes like this are all part of the learning process.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

There is far more than meets the eye in designing a successful magazine: layout, font, research into readerships and overall look. This has been something I have really enjoyed about the project. I feel I have gained confidence with the tools used in photoshop. This meant that towards the later parts of forming my magazine, I was able to move a lot quicker with the knowledge that I acquired. Working on this project introduced me to different aspects of design that I had not thought about before, such as making a page layout look interesting and appealing, contrasting photographs and where text would look most accessible. All of these skills are important in today's modern world in which a knowledge of computer technology is very important in many professions.




Through this process I also learnt the importance of development. By improving and developing a design it allowed me to make comparisons between the original idea and the end result. When comparing these two  I was able to clearly see and evaluate the choices I made from start to finish. 

How did you attract/address the audience for your music magazine?

The chief aim of the magazine is to focus on music. Music is an essential and important part of young peoples lives. Therefore the magazine should appeal immediately to the youth demographic. Placing a musician on the front cover is designed to appeal to that target market. The colour scheme I chose is neutral, appropriate for both male and female customers.

To ensure that my magazine is suited to my target audience I have used language and terminology that the readership can immediately identify with. Including lots of information on the latest music scene will attract all people with an interest in music. Having information on various different genres gives me a larger target audience. I have catered to the needs of all of them by maintaining a simple magazine design that does not include anything too distinctive to one particular music style.

Who would be the audience for your magazine?

'Melodies Choice' is a magazine dedicated to serious music lovers of whatever genre. However, even though I include styles such as R&B, the image of my magazine is not glamorous or glossy. It doesn't focus on the image of the artist, just the music they produce. This means that the articles inside are mainly music based, therefore 'Melodies Choice' includes many reviews of albums and live concerts. It contains information on the latest music based news, and has some stories on artists, however none of them are written in the same gossip format as magazines like 'Hello'.

My audience would be formed of both male and female readers. Because my publication is quite versatile it attracts many different people, making it impossible to generalize one specific type of reader. But the style of my magazine would appeal in my view to mostly indie fans, as there is more indie based music included within the magazine than any other. The disposable income of my targeted demography is generally modest. (approximately the amount of the weekly EMA allowance as my magazine targets mainly students.) The psychographic of my publication can vary. But social groups interested in the latest celebrity news and fashion styles will not find my magazine too appealing. Music fans in any career could be interested in my magazine, but most likely they will have a high interest within the artistic and creative industries. 'Melodies Choice' is a British influenced magazine, so does not include aspects from the glamorous American lifestyle.

Advertisements would target the youth market: for example, Cd's are generally around £10, DVDs and cinema tickets are approximately that price too, so these would be obvious products. 

What kind of institution might distribute your magazine?

To determine which kind of institution would be a main distributor of my magazine I did had to research different companies of magazine distribution.


Emap is an online and offline distribution of retail, built environmental, media, health, government and education. After further research I discovered that the magazines they distribute fall mainly under business genres, therefore not suited for my magazine. The only media related magazines I was able to find were all linked in with the business industry. After deciding that my magazine does not fit in with any magazines of this institution I continued with my research.

IPC would be an institution that would distribute 'Melodies Choice'. IPC is a huge media brand that distributes other music magazines such as 'Uncut' and 'NME'. I think this institution would be suited to my music magazine because both these magazines are similarly devoted to music; these distributors are therefore clearly appropriate as they have experience in this area. Should the market prove successful in this country I would investigate appropriate distribution worldwide. Initially this would be English language only, but if the brand is successful we could investigate foreign additions in translation with an appropriate localised focus. As 'Melodies Choice' has a slightly different focus and market to other music magazines such as 'Kerrang' and 'Mojo' it should make a valuable addition to the distributors portfolio.

How does your music magazine represent particular music groups?

From the front cover, you can immediately tell that the genre of the magazine is more indie than pop. However my music magazine is not exclusive to one particular type of music. On the front cover the main picture is a boy playing piano. This suggests a more acoustic genre. To enhance this, the image is in black and white, and has an old look to it, making it less digital and contemporary. However in contrast to this there is a smaller picture of Dizzie Rascal, famous for his grime and R&B styles of music. This tells readers that this magazine doesn't represent just one style or genre.

The use of mellow colours presents a slightly more serious image in comparison to a magazine using more striking colours such as pink, yellow and lime green. I decided to use these colours to indicate the magazines main focus point, the music the artists play, not the latest gossip on each of them. Although the contents page lists a few artist's stories, these resemble biographies and serious news rather than informal 'chit-chat'. These are aimed at people who are dedicated and interested in the artists, not just their embarrassing drunk moments.

The age of serious music fans can vary, but I have specifically aimed mine at young adults aged 16-21. As this publication includes artists of all genres, its target audience becomes larger than a magazine aimed at 5-8 year old boys. To make sure that I catered to my target market's needs, I carried out a questionnaire.

QUESTIONNAIRE

1)What price do you think suitable for a high quality music magazine?

-£1.50    -£3

-£2         -£4

2)Would you prefer a music magazine to be predominantly images or text?

-Images      -Text       -Equal amounts

3)Do you like advertisements included in your music magazines?

-No  -Yes  -Don't mind

4)Do you prefer the layout to be easy to read and clear to see?

-No, I prefer more creative layouts

-Yes I do   -Don't mind

5)How many images would you like to see within an article?

-Minimal amount   -Depends on the article

-Many images        -Don't mind

RESULTS



1)                                           2)










3)                                                4)







5)

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

For me the most important aspect of my magazine was having a distinctive and individual identity. I did this through the use of graphics that tie in with music. My masthead, 'Melodies Choice', was inspired from my own name. The font used for both this and the other headings throughout my publication was downloaded from 1001freefonts.com. When choosing my main font I used the well known music magazine 'Kerrang' for inspiration. I chose something similar. My font, 'Birth of a Hero', is decorated with circular shapes splashed onto and taken out of each letter. The font style used on Kerrang's logo has a much straighter theme, using lines shot across the lettering. I decided to not copy this font exactly because I felt that mine was more creative, less simple and plain. As my magazine has quite a clear simple layout, using a more artistic font added more texture to the pages.

My original idea for the front cover was based on the majority of music magazines. A main image on top of a plain background. However putting a picture of a musician playing his instrument made my magazine appear more natural than posed. My intention was to clearly show that my magazine is largely based on music, unlike magazines such as 'OK!' that are based on celebrity gossip. However I did still conform to the typical magazine front cover layout as I have included a masthead, headings with further information below, detailing the contents of the magazine. I also have a barcode situated at the bottom of the page, along with a main image and a smaller image that is attached to an article heading. I did not challenge the already recognisable contents and layout of a magazine front cover as it would have confused customers and therefore may not acquire popularity within my target audience.

When researching contents pages I found that both 'Kerrang' and 'NME' had very similar designs, cramming lots of images and words on to the one page. I felt that this looked very messy and found it confusing to read. I decided to design a much more tidier looking contents page to ensure that mine was readable. I also did this to attain originality instead of following the steps of the poorly laid out contents pages of others. To provide such clarity I presented my contents in a list format. This creates a well organised appearance as well as being straightforward to read. I have included an album cover to make the page look more interesting. It also acts as an advertisement (charged to the record company at a premium rate) of the album itself, linking to the reviews inside.

Instead of doing a double page spread on one artist, I chose to do two different features. The first one, 'Dizzie hosts youth awards', is similar in layout to the majority of magazines, including a title, columns for the article itself, a main image, and blown up text quoting the subject of the article. I decided to keep this page very simple to complement the amount of images on the following page. I felt that although presented neatly, too many pictures at once wouldn't resemble the type of magazine I am trying to represent. I wanted to get away from the cluttered layout of magazines such as 'Kerrang'.

Evaluation of Original Photos

The following photographs were taken especially for this media project. I was able to take pictures of Dizzie Rascal as I attended Jonathan Ross' Halloween party, where he too went. I saw the opportunity of featuring him in this magazine so took pictures that I could use.

Photograph 1

 This is a close-up shot of a man and a boy. They are both posing for the camera. The smile on both their faces indicates that they are both happy. When used in my magazine I cropped the background out so that the two main figures were all that were left. I also added shadow to the image to give it more depth. There is a slight shadow in the bottom left hand corner of the image, apart from that it is a bright lit photograph giving no specific area of light. Their clothing signifies a more formal than informal event, and gives them an image of importance to the audience.  

Photograph 2

This is a close up of a man. He appears unaware of the taking of this photograph therefore making it a natural action shot. The movement of either the camera or the person has produced a type of reflection of the upper left hand corner of him. The light is very general also, only creating a very small shadow of his hand onto his t-shirt. For my magazine I cropped out the background leaving a single figure as the image. This then of course made him the main focus point as nothing else is included in the image for distraction. I found that the colours of this picture were already quite full so therefore didn't manipulate the image in that respect.

Evaluation of Original Photos 2

These photographs were not taken specifically for this media task. In year 10 I did a photography course using the theme of music. These are two images that I thought appropriate for this piece of work therefore decided to use them instead of taking new pictures. I did this because I found these pictures well suited to my magazine.

Photograph 3

This is a mid-shot of a boy playing piano. He is smiling, indicating happiness and joy, this could suggest that the music is having this influence on him. The photo is black and white, giving at an authentic look. This also adds the naturalness of the action shot. The photograph was taken in black and white, therefore further manipulating was unnecessary. The lighting captures his face well and creates a shadow on the door behind, adding more life to the photo. The light also hits the piano keys making it quite a striking part of the image. 

Photograph 4

This is a close up of a boy playing the guitar. It has only captured him from the lips to the knees (as he's sitting down). You cannot see his facial expression therefore the main focus of this image is the guitar; making the first thought music. I enhanced the images colour on 'Toycamera Analogcolor' for my photography project (I unfortunately am unable to locate the original photograph). The background is very dark with the end of the guitar disappearing into the black. The main light source is focussed on to the middle section, his body and chin. It also captures his hand very well, showing clearly the actual playing on the instrument making this another action shot. Although slightly posed, the movement within this picture gives it some naturalness.

Evaluation of Original Photos 3

These photos I used as album covers for the reviews page on my double page spread. For each of these photographs I placed a photo of an album case behind the image used and added an individual barcode to make them look like album covers. (The album case is an image downloaded from google images.)

Photograph 5

 This is a long shot of a couple posing in front of a sunset. They are on a beach not too close to the sea. The warmth from the sun enhances the romance between the couple, making the picture very romantic. The two figures are silhouettes. Although this picture is posed, the sun, water and beach provide it with a natural presence. The only editing I carried out on this image was cropping as I felt the image was rich in colour already. (This picture wasn't taken especially for the course, it was taken on a holiday in The Gambia during the half term of October 2010.)

Photograph 6

This is a close-up of the back of a girls upper body and head. Her hair is pulled over her right shoulder to show the writing on her back. Her face is slightly turned to the left so that we can see a small proportion of her face. The writing relates to music and the stars and musical note add creativity and decorativeness to the photo. The image was originally taken in black and white therefore I did not edit the colours at all for this one. I also didn't crop it as cropping of any section would erase a vital part of the photograph. The majority of this picture is in light shadows however there is some light hitting the middle of her back, and the background at the bottom right hand corner. (This photograph was taken for the media course.)

Photograph 7

This is a long shot of a girl playing guitar and singing on stage. The colours are very mellow, dominated by mainly reds from the backdrop and drum kit. The spotlight highlights the background on the right hand side and shining on everything but the bottom sections of her legs. The spotlight is reflected off the guitar causing it to shine. This highlights the instrument and therefore the music aspect of the photograph. I cropped this photo when using it in my magazine to make her the focus of it. (This photo was not taken especially for the media project, I took it at a school concert in the early months of 2010.)

Photograph 8

 This is a mid-shot of a band. The lead guitarist and singer are posing for the camera at the central point of the photograph. The other band members are all smiling, symbolising happiness. The main source of light is illuminating the whole of the central figure, hiding some of his facial features. There are softer lights on the other three figures, but none as strong at the main figures This use of light gives the image sharpness. I enhanced the colours of this picture on 'Toycamera Analogcolor', and unfortunately again cannot find the image taken before this manipulating was carried out. To make this an album cover I cropped the edges.

Photograph 9

 This is a mid-shot of a boy playing the guitar. He is turned to the right making his face a half profile. Because this image was not specifically for media, I had to edit out the writing on his cheek. I also edited out the cigarette in his ear as I thought it wrong to promote smoking. To make it look like an album cover I cropped out the background leaving only him, and placed his figure over a picture of the moon that I downloaded off google images. His face is lit softly, with light also reflecting off his guitar. This is an action shot therefore appears natural.