Tuesday, 19 January 2010
AS Media Coursework Main Task - Evaluation of the Finished Magazine.
Here is a link to the final finished magazine:
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B6yNez5ls6kDMDBlZmNjZjktMDQ2Ni00NGY1LTgwYmYtM2IxMjJkMDQyYzI2&hl=en_GB
Here is a link to my evaluation powerpoint:
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B6yNez5ls6kDZmRmODJhZDAtZDdmMC00YTZkLTk0ZmItNTE5OWQ2ZmIxZWQy&hl=en_GB
Tuesday, 12 January 2010
AS Media Coursework Main Task - Planning and Evaluation of the Article
For the article I am going to include a band summary where the readers can get to know about each band member personally which will provide the audience with information about the new band so that it can develop their interest in the article even further.
To help me plan the article for my magazine, I am going to read some other magazines that are in the same genre that my magazine is aimed at and see what kind of writing style they use, such as informal or formal, interviews or reviews etc.
After reading an NME magazine article, I realise that they generally use informal punctuation but sometimes use elaborate words and write in an imformative way.
As I have previously mentioned, in my article I am going to include a band summary where the readers can get to know about the band, which I feel my target audience will be interested in as in NME's media pack it states '92% of NME readers agree that it is important to be well informed about things' (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWMadwA6k34y6C3CrkjEi93JSc2PYGAlL7Pw2yKwWkuynPJa3x9lemJc-FonXUHQUNg_SnuFzTSwjccxTOimoBKg0hvNbH4IOpBZ3JdBx8WCepgklY6lVVfMp3HDkwAo6GGorwvUoADAg3/s1600-h/NME_media_pack.JPG). I am also going to do an individual profile on each band member so that the audience can get to know the band even more.
I have come up with a draft structure of my article in which I am going to develop:
An introduction to where they are from, some history about them and when they started their own record label. Their current single going straight to number one and becoming the best selling single of the year and wanting to keep on their own independent record label. Wanting to make it big in the United States of America.
Here is a draft structure of the individual band members profiles in which I am going to develop:
Kat - Her age and why she wanted to join the band, what her role in the band is and that she loves singing.
Brook - His age and previous worries about the group and that he loves playing guitar.
Mel - That she's opinionated and loves writing songs and that she wrote their current number one single. Always wanted to be in a band since she was little.
Vadim - Staying up all night producing all their songs in his backroom, and that he has recieved offers to work with Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson.
In this article I am also going to include quotes so that the audience can be well informed of them as a personal and get a feel of how they are like individualy.
Here is the first draft of my double page spread:
Weekend Racket - the new sensation in the British music industry talks exclusively to Core Magazine. The 4 piece band from Brighton which focuses on an indie feel to their music believe that the UK rock scene inspires them to their unique sound. After starting their own independent record label: Racket Records, in 2007 they have worked hard with one aim in mind - to produce new music which Britian would fall in love with. Only to succeed this month with the release of their first ever single ‘Believe All’ which stormed straight to number one and has become one of the biggest selling singles of the year so far.
As a result, they have recieved many offers of major record contracts but decided to decline. Weekend Racket have proved to us all that they can do it alone, so
why should they change now? With a close friend as a Manager, they are looking to expand their new found fame and take it accross the pond to the United Sates. There is no argument that Weekend Racket are going to make it big time, and be around for a very long time.
As Weekend Racket have appreared overnight, we thought you might like to get to know the bandmembers a little more...
KAT - The 19 year old lead singer of Weekend Racket claims that she’s always been in love with music and her only dream was to be in the music industry, now as her dream has come true, she claims that all the hard work she put into her dream coming true was worth it. Kat then auditioned to join a new bandbeing formed - Weekend Racket.
BROOK - The shy quiet 21 year old who seems to be the backbone of the whole grouip. Brook has always been obsessed with acostic guitar.
MEL - The fiesty female of the group who akways has an opinion on her mind and she’s not scared to say it. Mel, who is half italian started to become interested in music when she was young. Weekend racket is her life, always writing new material that they can include on their new album which is out next year.
VADIM - The musical mastermind behind their success, produces all their music in his diy built studio in his backroom. Vadim has had many offers to work with other artists such as Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse. "
I think that the overall structure of this article is good and I feel that the rhetorical question it would appeal very much to the audience as it gives them something to think about while reading the article, but I feel to inform the reader even more about the band and to provide them with something more interesting to read I think that I should add in quotes that the band and the band members have said which would make the overall article feel more personal and feel like the actual band have been involved in the writing of the article.
After careful consideration I have added in quotes to this article, here is the final draft:
Weekend Racket - the new sensation in the British music industry talks exclusively to Core Magazine. The 4 piece band from Brighton which focuses on an indie feel to their music believe that the UK rock scene inspires them to their unique sound. After starting their own independent record label: Racket Records, in 2007 they have worked hard with one aim in mind - to produce new music which Britian would fall in love with. Only to succeed this month with the release of their first ever single ‘Believe All’ which stormed straight to number one and has become one of the biggest selling singles of the year so far. As a result, they have recieved many offers of major record contracts but decided to decline saying "we don’t want to be commercialised, we want to be unique for our fans!" Weekend Racket have proved to us all that they can do it alone, so why should they change now? With a close friend as a Manager, they are looking to expand their new found fame and take it accross the pond to the United Sates "We have enough sound and style for everyone, our songs are personal and so many people can relate to them, we’re going to prove it to the world !’" There is no argument that Weekend Racket are going to make it big time, and be around for a very long time.
As Weekend Racket have appreared overnight, we thought you might like to get to know the bandmembers a little more...
KAT - The 19 year old lead singer of Weekend Racket claims that she’s always been in love with music and her only dream was to be in the music industry, now as her dream has come true, she claims that all the hard work she put into her dream coming true was worth it. "I’ve always wanted to be famous and spent years figuring out how this dream could come true , then I realised that I wanted to be well known for my singing". Kat then auditioned to join a new band being formed - Weekend Racket. "It was well worth the wait, people recognise me all over the place ".
BROOK - The shy quiet 21 year old who seems to be the backbone of the whole grouip. "There have been times when we have all tried so hard and got nothing out of this band, the rest of the group wanted to give up, but I wouldn’t let them. I suppose they have me t o thank now that we’re well known!" Brook has always been obsessed with acostic guitar "If it wasn’t for this band I wouldnt know what I would do."
MEL - The fiesty female of the group who akways has an opinion on her mind and she’s not scared to say it, "We’re much better than these manafactured groups you see on the X Factor, we actually have talent, and none of our vocals are edited. We’re the real deal!" Mel, who is half italian started to become interested in music when she was young "My dad was in a band with his friends, I was their little groupie, always playing the guitar, wanting to be the best." Weekend racket is her life, always writing new material that they can include on their new album which is out next year. "I’d saythat my main talent is writing music, I wrote our number one hit ‘Believe All’.
VADIM - The musical mastermind behind their success, produces all their music in his diy built studio in his backroom. "I think now that we have started to be successful, we can upgrade that
studio to a state of the art one, I use to stay up all night producing our tracks, I was so focused and determined to get them done." Vadim has had many offers to work with other artists such as Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse. "They all want to pick my brain for my producing skills.."
AS Media Coursework Main Task - Photo Editing
For the double page spread, I decided to edit the band member images to black and white, so that the indie feeling off my band would be given off (black and white photographs are commonly used in other indie magazines such as Kerrang and Mojo, so by doing this, I would be actively helping my magazine so achieve it's target audience. As you can see from the double page spread I have included, the individual band member images are black and white.
Using Abdobe photoshop I am going to show you an example of how I achieved this.
After uploading the photo that I wanted to edit, I clicked on Images > Adjustments > Desaturate (which turns the image into Black and White).
As you can see, the image that I uploaded is now in Black and White.
After changing the image to Black and White, I thought that the contrast of the image wasn't that strong, so I decided to change this. I went to Images > Adjustments > Auto Contrast (which automatically changes the contrast to make the image more contrasted).
Tuesday, 24 November 2009
AS Media Coursework Main Task - Photographs
As the magazine is an indie magazine aimed at young males I decided the dress the bandmembers in indie clothing with the males wearing fashionable clothes that the audience would be interested in and the females looking pretty while at the same time not looking tacky, which, I feel that some 'pop' magazines may give off and I don't want mine to give off that feeling. I decided to make the bandmembers pose in a care free attitude while looking at the camera as I feel that as my magazine is an indie magazine it gives off an impression of an 'indie' feeling to it. The photograph was taken against a brick wall as I feel that this is an ideal location as it is easy to write on when I produce the final outcome of my magazine, and also because the band is called Weekend Racket, the fact that it is taken by a brick wall gives off that they are doing something that they shouldn't be doing which would interest the reader into wanting to find out more about the actual band.
I have taken a range of images in which I am now going to analyse and decide which ones I am going to use for my magazine.
Front Cover -
I have decided not to use this photo for my main cover image as it doesn't give off the relaxed care free attitude I want my band to have, and as my magazine is an indie magazine I don't feel this photo is relevent. Also, the 'bandmembers' all look a bit tense so that also doesn't give off the feeling of being care free.
Individual bandmember photographs
Aswell as taking photographs for the front cover, I have decided to take some individual band member shots to be included on the double page spread.
I wouldn't choose to use this image in my magazine as I feel that the long shot of this photograph and the pose doesn't suit the 'indie' feel of my magazine.
I have chosen to use this image of Kat to go with the double page spread of my magazine as I feel that pose and the lighting in this image are perfect and give off a mysterious feeling making the reader want to know more about this person. I might choose to manipulate this image into black and white as it would give off more of an indie impression and feel to it.
Bandmember - VADIM.
I have decided not to use this image for the bandmember feature on my double page spread because the lighting is poor and I think that the pose doesn't give off that carefree relaxed attitude which I want my magazine to give off. Also I don't think that the frame of this photograph (medium close-up), gives off an indie feeling as it more looks like a mugshot, which I think would work better in a R&B/HipHop magazine.
I think that this image would be perfect to use in my magazine as the frame of this image is a full body shot which doesn't give an impression of intimidation at all, also the relaxed pose of this image shows that the bandmember has a care free attitude to the fact that he is 'cool'. I think that this image would appeal to my target audiene of indie young males as he looks cool and is wearing fashionable clothes which most indie boys are interested in. Also, from looking at NME's media pack(http://www.ipcadvertising.com/resource/fd4e20nlh1xefkowjxdha4xu.pdf) I can see that the average reader of NME spends £532 on clothes each year, so, they would be interested in what the male is wearing. So I feel that this image would appeal to my reader.
Bandmember - MEL.
I have chosen not to use this photograph for my music magazine as in my opinion, the angle and the pose of the image do not go together. The fact that the angle is looking up gives of an impression of intimidation and because she has a smile on her face, doesn't work. Also, the fact that it in an indie magazine, an intimidating image wouldn't work (because intimidation is associated with R&B and HipHop).
I think that this photograph would be great for me to use in my music magazine as the pose of the bandmember is giving off an indie impression (care free and relaxed), also what she is wearing is an indie style which works well with the magazine, (if she was wearing a pink dress with frills on it I wouldn't of chose to use the image as that is more of a pop style). Also, I chose to take the image outside as I felt that if the image was taken with a plain coloured background, it wouldn't suit the magazine as most pop magazines such as Top of The Pops use single coloured backgrounds for their images (for example see http://s11.bdbphotos.com/images/orig/f/3/f3cbjc8afbx4f4cf.jpg) .
Bandmember - BROOK.
I have decided not to use this image for an individual photograph of bandmember Brook. The pose looks tense and doesn't give off the care free image that I want the band to achieve. Also, his facial expression doesn't connect with the reader (eye contact), which might make the reader less interested in reading the article. I chose for him to wear very casual clothes (jeans, t shirt and a hoodie) as most males can relate to that, whether your interested in indie music or pop. His hair style has the fringe going sideways across his forehead, which is associated with indie style.
I have decided to use this image for my magazine as the bandmember is posing in the way which gives off a feeling of being relaxed and care free, while looking cool at the same time. He is wearing indie style clothes (and as my magazine is an indie genre, this fits in perfectly). His facial expression connects with the audience which would draw the reader in and make them interested.
Tuesday, 10 November 2009
AS Media Coursework Main Task - Fonts
MAST HEAD (Core Magazine) -
I think that all these fonts (Nilland, Nilland-Bold and Nilland-Extra Bold) would be unsuitable for my music magazine as they are a serif typeface which gives off a formal impression in which I do not want to give off to my target audience as I want Core Magazine to be a 'break' from the every day world so that they can relax, and I feel that by having a serif typeface, this would not be achieved.
I think that this font would be perfect to use for the masthead of my music magazine as it gives off a relaxed feeling but at the same time has a lot of attitude which I think is unique about it, also, I think that my target audience would like it as it looks quite classy (and as my target audience are in social groups ABC1) I think that they would appreciate that. Also the fact that its sans serif gives that relaxed feeling to the magazine overall.
Cheri:
I think that using this font for my masthead would be an awful decision. The font itself looks like you would find it on a child/early teenage magazine such as Top of The Pops. Also, the fact that it has a love heart above the 'i' is quite girly, and as my target audience is made up on mainly males, I feel that this would be an unsuitable choice to use in my magazine.
Vtks Revolt:
I have decided not to use this font for my music magazine as although it grabs your eye, it looks a bit to 'busy' and may distract the reader. Also, I feel that it looks quite childish and 'uncool' which young adult male readers wouldn't appreciate.
MAIN FLASH -
Accents Impact Label:
I think that this font would be an amazing choice for my main flash, as it grabs your eye and goes with the genre of the magazine (indie/rock). I feel that my target audience of mainly males would be attracted to this font as it is bold and masculine (which all young males want to be). Also, if the main flash is dramatic, I gives an extra emphasis to it.
Kaileen:
I would not choose to use this font for my magazine as it gives of a childish theme to it, which I feel young adults wouldn't be attracted to.
Accents Dirt2 SoulStalker:
I think that this font wouldn't be suitable used for a main flash for my magazine, as it seems quite busy the emphasis of the main flash may be taken away from it and wouldn't be so serious as it may be if the font was simpler.
MAIN SELLS -
I personally wouldn't choose to use this font for the main sells as I personally find it too bold for my magazine and I feel it would take the emphasis away from the headlines/main flash.
Accents Euro Lane:
I like this font a lot and think that it would be perfect to use for my main sells on my magazine, it is simple yet effective as it looks unique but simple, also as its Sans Serif it gives that relaxed feeling that I want my magazine to achieve.
Accents Euro Dream Orphans:
I wouldn't use this font for the main sells in my music magazine, as I think that it wouldn't appeal to the target audience of my magazine as it is mainly males, I feel that this text gives an impression of femininity as the font itself is 'tall and slim'.
After analysing the different types of font in which I could use for my magazine (Core Magazine), I have decided to use the following fonts:
MAST HEAD
AS Media Coursework Main Task - Flat Plans
I feel that before I can start my flatplan I should come up with a name for my magazine, before I decide what the 'official' name for my magazine is, I am going to list a few ideas and analyse what I like/don't like about it and why I feel my target audience would or wouldn't be attracted to it:
- Core Magazine
I think that this would be a great name for a magazine as it would attract the target audience as it could be interpreted into the 'core of the music scene'. And while conducting my research, looking at NME's media pack, it says that their target audience are mainly interested in gigs, and Core Magazine can be seen as the centre of the music scene, which I think would attract my target audience.
- MM Magazine
Although this is a simple name for a magazine (MM - Music Magazine), it has a ring to it which I feel would attract readers as although it is simple, it stands out and it quite memorable.
- Rock Magazine
I don't think that this would be a suitable name for my music magazine, as my target audience is of ABC1, they would most probably have a good education and this would be to simple and wouldn't really attract them. I feel that it isn't a memorable name and would be easily forgotten.
After careful consideration I have decided to call my magazine Core Magazine because I feel that out of all the ideas that I have had for my magazine, I feel that 'Core Magazine' would strongly attract my target audience as it gives a masculine feel to it.
Now that I have developed the name for my music magazine, I have decided to develop the actual physical layout of my magazine, for this I have produced some flatplans for the front cover, contents page and the double page spread. I have created outlines of what I want these pages in my magazine to look like, to give me some guidance when producing it.
Here is an example of an NME front cover:
DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD.
Tuesday, 3 November 2009
AS Media Coursework Main Task - Analysis of existing magazines
I am going to analyse two magazine covers, one contents page and one double page spread:
The cover has incorporated lots of pictures to draw the reader in and makes the article seem more exciting.
There are pull quotes from the body of the text which make the reader want to read more about the article, especially if the quotes are dramatic (such as, "I was sick before going onstage at Wembley").
On this front cover, there is a feature listed as '569 UK Gigs Listed' which reflects that they know who their target audience is, as, in their media pack states that their audience enjoys going to gigs, so, obviously this would attract the target audience.
The use of colour on this page gives a relaxed feel as there is no dramatic colouring, which I feel would attract the target audience of young males as they would probably read this magazine to chill out and relax, and not worry about dramatic things. Even though the target audience consists of social groups ABC1, there is no intellectual language used on the front cover, it is all very informal, this is probably because the magazine is a young mans 'break' from the world. The masthead is at the top of the page, in red, which makes it bold, even though the rest of the text is in more relaxed blues and yellow colours.
The main image used to go with the main article, is a very relaxed picture of a band which give off that cool, humorous, care free attitude which a young male audience would have and appreciate in their leisure time. The overall feel of the magazine cover is of a colloquial style.
The use of colour on this magazine cover is very basic, there are 3 main colours, black (for the masthead) red for the background, and white for the text. I think that this is good as it is basic yet affective as it is more of an upmarket magazine (attracting ABC1) and doesn't give off a 'tacky' feeling to it.
I am now going to do an analysis of an NME contents page:



