AS Media Coursework Main Task - Photographs

As I want my magazine to be of the highest quality, instead of using a normal digital camera I decided to borrow a friend's digital SLR camera as I feel this would produce better quality images. I got a few friends together to pose for my band 'Weekend Racket'.
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.






I have also decided not to use this photograph for my main cover image as the 'bandmembers' don't connect with the reader e.g. eye contact, and as a result doesn't draw the reader in which I feel is important when creating a magazine as I want the audience to be able to connect with the magazine to give them a 'space' away from everyday life.








I have decided to use this photograph for the front cover of my magazine. The lighting in the photo is perfect and all the bandmembers are giving off a care free attitude aswell as connecting with the photo which I feel is important as it gives the audience a feeling of being involved and draws them in.













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.

Bandmember - KAT.

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.

AS Media Coursework Main Task - Fonts

I am now going to choose the type of fonts I am going to use for my music magazine.

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.


Accents Euro Birth of a Hero:

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 -

Accents Euro Kimberley:

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

MAIN FLASH

MAIN SELLS

AS Media Coursework Main Task - Flat Plans

As I have conducted research into my magazine target audience, I feel that I am ready to move on to develop my magazine itself by creating flat plans so that I can have a rough guide to how I want my magazine to be like.
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.

FRONT COVER.

For the front cover of my magazine, I have decided for the masthead to be at the top of the magazine so that it stands out to the reader, also, I have decided to not have a background (just an image of the band 'Weekend Racket) who are going to be the main feature of my magazine. I have decided this because it makes the cover of the magazine simple and not busy, which I feel many magazines in which mainly are aimed at a pop audience give off, as my magazine is an indie genre magazine, I don't want to give off this 'busy' impression. I have decided to include a strapline on my cover to give the reader an insight to what else is included in my magazine, and by researching my target audience I know that they are interested in going to gigs, so I have decided for the 'must see gig guide of 2010' to be on the strapline, which would attract the target audience greatly. Also, I have decided to include the main sells on my cover at the top of the page so that my cover remains simple to the busy young man of my target audience, so that they can get straight to the point and read what they are interested in. I have decided to use a pull quote ("glastonbury is past it's time") as it makes the reader want to read more about the article as it is quite a dramatic quote which would make people who are interested in festivels and music events, (which I know my target audience is by conducting research from NME's media pack: http://www.ipcadvertising.com/resource/fd4e20nlh1xefkowjxdha4xu.pdf). By looking at the front cover of other music magazines which match the target audience in which I am aiming for, such as NME and Mojo, I can see that they also incorporate the elements which I am planning to use on my music magazine, such as pullquotes on the cover and straplines etc. The typeface is of Sans Serif which gives the reader a more relaxed informal feeling to the magazine. The language used is informal, using no complicated words(which is the same as other magazines for the same genre use, such as NME), which again gives off a relaxed feeling as I want my target audience to feel that the magazine is a break from their everyday busy life. Plus, I decided to have the mainflash placed at an angle, which I think would give off a relaxed impression to my target audience

Here is an example of an NME front cover:

CONTENTS PAGE.

I have decided to keep my contents page simple so that the reader can easily navigate their way to the page that interests them. The magazine logo from the front cover's masthead has been added to the top of the page so that it stands out and reminds them of the magazine that they are reading and keeps them interested in other copies of Core Magazine, in which you can see that NME also incorporates on their contents page, from the example NME contents page that I have included below. I have also added images of the band Weekend Racket, to go with my main article, to keep the audience interested and wanting to read more about the article, which I feel is important as it is the mainflash on the front cover. As I can see from my research for my magazine, 94% of NME's audience use the internet, so I decided to add some information about Core Magazine's website information onto the contents page so that when they have finished reading the magazine they can still remain interested in it by looking at new information about the indie music scene online, which is easily accessable to my target audience of which the typical reader profile is 'A young male adult, who is probably studying at ALevel/University level, who enjoys going to music events/festivals/gigs and who is in a middle class social group (ABC1).'

I also decided to split my contents page into sections, such as Features, Regulars and Reviews, so that the audience can find what they want to read easily as they are busy young males, which makes it less time consuming than flicking through the magazine or reading all the information on the contents page, which they may get bored of. Having it in sections means that they can read what they want, when they want. As you can see from the example below, NME also incorporate sections on their contents page which means their reader can find what they want to read easily, and as they have the same target audience as my magazine, would be useful to use on my magazine to attract the reader. I am going to use a Sans Serif typeface so that my magazine is seen as leisurely and not taken to serious.

Here is an example of an NME contents page:

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD.

For my double page spread I have decided to include 5 photographs of the main feature in my magazine, the band Weekend Racket.

These photographs (one group image and a set of individual band member photographs) will compliment the text and give the reader an insight to what they are reading up about. Also, I have made sure that the page numbers are present so that the reader can easily navigate their way around the magazine. I have made sure that the main title of the article is at the top of the page at an angle which gives the article a relaxed feel and for the audience not to take it to seriously, after all, my magazine is a time for the reader to take a break from the everyday world.

Here is an example of an NME double page spread:

AS Media Coursework Main Task - Analysis of existing magazines

As I have now established my target audience for my music magazine, I am now going to start developing ideas for the magazine itself. To help me do this I am going to an analysis of existing magazines of the same genre (rock/pop/indie).

I am going to analyse two magazine covers, one contents page and one double page spread:

This is a front cover of NME magazine from February 2008. On the cover there is a Sans Serif typeface making it have a relaxed informal 'feeling', which is good as it's would attract their demographic factors of their audience which is of young male adults as they want that 'cool' feeling.
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.

I am now going to analyse another magazine cover - Mojo Magazine:

Mojo magazine's demographic factors are young males, aged between 16 - 30 in social groups ABC1.
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.

As the target audience is males in social groups ABC1, the typeface is Sans Serif, and as its a music magazine, it doesn't want to seem to formal as this would make the reader feel like they couldn't 'relax' and although they may also read something like the financial times magazine which would have Serif typeface, this is a totally different genre and the reader want would to get a different feel between Financial Times magazine (also as they have the same social group audience, the age would probably be different) and Mojo. The language used on the magazine cover is overall informal, but with exceptions with words such as 'triumphant' being used.

The main image being used for the headline article takes up the whole page and is a medium close up, and has a angry dominating expression on their face, which goes with the main flash and the subhead 'Heroin, God...And everything'.

I feel that Mojos overall design of its cover page is effective and attractive to their target audience as it is informal and easy to read, which I feel their target audience of young males, either in full time education or work, would appreciate in their leisure time.

I am now going to do an analysis of an NME contents page:

This contents page on NME magazine has a very simple colour scheme to it, with the main colours being black, white and red (similar to NME's front cover). The pictures used on this page go with a magazine article (which helps to attract the reader to the article). Again, similar to NME's front cover, the typeface is of Sans Serif which gives the reader a more relaxed informal feeling to the magazine. The language used is informal, which again gives off a relaxed feeling.

I am now going to analyse a double page spread of a magazine:

This double page spread, from which I have taken from NME magazine has alot of information on it, but also has a large picture which takes up most of the fist page, which gives the reader more interest in what they are reading about as they can visualise it in their head.

Again, the colours used on this double page spread are simple to the ones used on NME's front cover and contents page, with it being simple, probably not to distract the audience from what they are reading. (with the colour scheme being black, white and blue).

The main articles text is in a Sans Serif typeface, but the article heading is in a Serif typeface which makes it stand out to the audience as it is different to any other type of text inside the magazine (it gives a big impact). The overall magazine design is relaxed with masculine colours which would probably attract their target audience even more, as, it is mainly aimed at men, and the majority of men wouldn't want to read a magazine with came accross as feminine, e.g. with a pink font colour.