Feedback - 28/11/09

A good start Jess - good research and analysis- good use of images - dont forget you can upload videos from Youtube to your blog - e.g. music videos.

When analysis the conventions of music magazines think about the following questions...

- Do they follow typical conventions of music magazines? If not why?

- Who is the target audience (GRASS) and how have they been made to appeal to them?

- Do they successfully make the audience want to read on? ( Cover and contents?)

- why do they work?

In research you need a little more on audience - who is you target audience (Demographic - GRASS and psychographic profiling - Young and Rubicon) Also how will your product appeal to its audience - use MAslow too.

Audience questionnaires are needed - to your target audience - and feedback on this - charts and graphs are always good!

Go onto the ABC website to find out audience/circulation figures for magazines too - is there a market out there for your product?

Now move onto planning this week - ( see the last two sheets on the 'before you blog' handout) Start your mood boards, rough mock up of pages, props list, shooting schedule etc....

featured articles

Here i have researched two featured articles with a double page spread. We can identify some of the similar key points in both structures for example the column styled writing, a picture used as the main backgroung with other images included and a bold heading along with other sub-headings. As we know that in music magazine no artist will appear unless advertising something therefor in this article it is Lady Gaga and she it is revolviong around her music tours. I am liking this article very much, its bold; 'in your face'. It sums up the whole look of what i am looking at creating for my article. I think the snappy heading 'GIVE IT UP FOR GAGA' is brilliant. Its enforcing the idea her work has been successful, her tours are fab: as it does actually say within a sub-heading in the article 'if you were lucky enough to catch LADYGAGA at her private showcase, you too, would have gone all googly-eyed.' This sub-heaading also entices the reader in as we want to know why, what was so brill about her tours. The use of words within the this-subheaidng are great, its like a punn: 'googly-eyed.' The article is a mixture of facts and little phrases of an interview. which i think is a good combo to use within an article. I think this is a good article i should use for inspiration as like i said its combined with facts and an interview whic is what im looking at creating. But i think im going to add more parts of an interview within mine though.

The audience for this type of article would be around 13+

Here is the other article i researched. Both articles are similar with what they have used but yet there are differences too. This article for the punk styled band 'THE TEENAGERS' includes advertisements of other bands, as we can see along the right side. As well as chosen speech which has been highlighted. Some articles choose to do this as the speech could involve humour or important as to it revealing part of something interesting and so therefor helping to entice the readers on. The colour scheme and style of this article, to me, is pretty boyish and aimed at the male teenagers and again like the above article 13+.

contents pages

Here is another example on a music contents page.
As you can see this one is very different as to the other i have researched. This has good use of abold background image which clearly stands out to us as an audience which again just like every contents page should do as it has similiar qualities to a front cover. This one creates a more of an effect with the image used more than with its actual content because other than the image its dull and boring, the text just sits back within the image and i think it all should have just as equal effect. I personally would like my contents page to be in the stly of the other i have researched as it goes better with the genre im looking at using.

Your contents page is just as important as your front cover as it still needs to entise the audience in and also to get attention by the audience towards particular articles. As well as continuing with the colour scheme choosen on the front cover which will also be used throughout the magazine. Pictures are also sometimes used which will make the contents page even more noticable. The idea of advertising different competitions and quizez which can be taken on a contents page works very well and draws in even more of a wider audience. As the contentspage is the second page you see within a magazine therefore including things such as these entises the readers to read on. Also magazines are used as quick access, as we use them to quickly find out the page number of the article where most interested in and flick to it. My opinion is that if magaziens didnt include a contents then there audience numbers would decrease as i bet most people would get bored of flicking through and trying to find an article which they have seen published on the front cover and wanting to read.

cover research

I have decided to create a hybrid magazine which will feature MUSIC and FASHION as these are two things im very much interested in!!!!

I have found a few magazines similar to the one i am wanting to produce ..........

Im hoping to combine all the types together giving me my magazine full of the latest music gossip and fashion style trends. I have this image of my magazine being something querky and extravagant with my artist styled in a unique way positioned in a shape with a bold background which will also clearly show the audience my music is also about the fashion along with the music. The example above, 'FASHION' would be really good for me to look at as the masthead is obviously giving away what its mostly about but yet there is a music artist as the model therefore its suggests it could be also something to do with her music. I really like the style of my example magazine 'FLARE' i like the way the artist is styled along with the selection of colours used and just how just her hair is bold and hits you in the face, its extravagant just how i want my magazine to be: the style also matches with the personality od the artist, shes very edgy. So these are the three main types of magazines im looking at combining to produce the issue of my own magazine 'SHOUT.'

preliminary task

Also as part of the preliminary task we had to produce a mock-up of the layout of the contents page for our college magazine. My contents page is good as it contain all of what it needs in a stylish way which is what the teens of today like to see. I have included my masthead, subheadings along with play on words ie 'look' 'read' gossip' above the headings and i have also included the college logo within.

Although i can now see that when i next come to producing my contents page i should focus equally on what is going on the contents age and its layout because here i have looked mainly on whats going on my contents and because of that my page looks bare and full of spaces. so maybe when i next come to producing i will input more things onto it creating it just a little more busier.

preliminary task

As part of our preliminary task we had to use the desktop publishing software to produce the front page of a new college magazine. It had to feature a photograph of a student in medium close-up along with some appropriately laid-out text and a masthead.

My college magazine cover works pretty well as i have a good clear image with direct address plus a good use of props within my image. my range of colours i used go well with my magazine as they are noticeable and bright. The masthead i used is short and snappy and easy for my audience to remember.

Although there are a few things that i would change for example the size of my picture as i have had to put my masthead over my model. Where as it would have been better if i had created a shot with a bit of space above my model where i could of put my masthead. But i now know to do this in future reference. As well talking about my image, although i do have a good use of props which link in well with my main featured article i do think i could of placed them in a more of a visible position within my shot.

Also maybe i could of got a better font to use to make my magazine stand out a little more.

Jessica Knowles- i have chosen to create a music magazine for my media coursework and i am intending to create a pop magazine using my artist, 'MADAM'. My theme would be very outragous and as they say 'in your face' linking in with the style of my artist. I am also at the moment considering calling my magazine 'SHOUT!'