Original Masthead Designs

These are a few of my original masthead designs, I am not overly happy with the designs, as I feel they are slightly basic and I also feel I could improve these dramatically. I am glad I completed these original designs though as I think it has helped me to understand and view which one I would like to complete as a final masthead. I have chosen to settle for the word 'chart' as my title for my magazine. By knowing the word I am going to use , I will be able to work on my original designs to improve these and make them look more professional. I intend to choose a different font than any pictured above and also use brushes on my final design which will make them more interesting and improve the appearance of them.

Plan for Photoshoot

I plan to carry out a photoshoot to obtain the 3 photo's I need for my music magzine. I am going to have a 'chart' theme to my photoshoot, and so my female model will be dressed in modern party wear.
My photoshoot will be carried out in the afternoon, so that I have time during the morning to set up my photo shoot and also check my camera and get generally organised. I also feel the lighting and mood of the photo shoot will be better by completing it in the afternoon. I plan to carry out this photoshoot over the christmas holidays because everyone will be dressed up for christmas.
I will take the photos set up against a plain wall, or maybe an award ceremony background. If i can not get hold of an appropriate 'awards' background, I could photoshop my model onto an award ceremony background. Possible props I will use are a microphone, a CD and party poppers as a 'celebration' or being in the charts.

Flatplan for DPS of My Music Magazine

The above scan shows my original flat plan design for my double page spread of my music magazine. I plan to have a medium close up photo on the left hand page, taking up the whole page and then have the text of the interview on the right hand page. By using a drop cap I feel it will make my interview/text more visually appealing and interesting. I also want to include a pull quote to make the interview seem more exciting.

Draft of DPS interview

When trying to arrange an interview with a top of the charts singer where do you go?! We settled on a café on the outskirts of London which is where we are now, scoffing cake whilst trying to carry out this interview!

Well, haven’t you made a great entrance into the world of chart?

I most certainly have! How many other chart artists can say they’ve gone from being just a normal girl in a big world to being number one in the charts?! I couldn’t believe it when my new single “Just livin’ my life” went straight to number one!

How do you feel when you walk down your local high street and people start shouting your name?

Because I was never the most popular girl at school, I find it incredible that people know my name and recognise me! Im still a homely girl at heart, so I like to spend much of my spare time in my village and the local town which is very close by. When im walking along and I hear my name I have to pinch myself to check it’s not all a dream!

So… what is your day to day routine like?

Well, if im in the studio recording then my alarm usually goes off about 5.30 and my taxi picks me up around 6 which gives me enough time to search out some clothes and put them on. When I get to the studio around 7 I get whisked off to the stylist’s room to have my hair and makeup done. The dressing room then dresses me before im finally allowed to step foot in the studio around half 8. We stop recording around 10 for a mid morning break and someone usually brings in some biccies! An afternoon of recording is then ahead of us, finishing about half 4. By the time I get home, my mum has tea on the table and then I snuggle up in front of the TV with her for an evening of soaps!

And if you’re not recording?

If im not recording it’s a totally different story! Because I still live with my parents, im waited on hand and foot! My mum will bring me breakfast in bed late morning, which actually means it’s more like brunch! Many Saturdays have been spent with me laying under my duvet sleeping... after all though, the *counts on fingers* 11 hour days are a lot of hard work!

Do you have any exciting tours or gigs booked for 2012?

I can’t say, because that really would be telling*with a cheeky grin*, but I can certainly say, 2012 is going to be a great year for my music career! Keep your eyes open on ticketmaster and you never know what gigs you might be attending!

At just 20 you’re still young. Do you worry that your music career might not go to plan?

Worry? When my first single is at number 1 in the charts? Of course I don’t! Haha! Music is a tough industry to get involved in, but even tougher to stay in so of course I worry, but after all, you only live once so why not go for it now whilst I can!

What are your plans for your music career in 2012?

Well, im obviously working hard every day recording my newest single, and I hope by the summer of 2012 to have produced my first album! Anything could happen though so I don’t like to plan too far in advance!

Well, best of luck with your music journey and I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot more of you this year. We’re also keeping our eyes peeled on ticketmaster to see what gigs and tours are coming up!

Thank you very much. Im still not giving it away, but yes keep watching ticketmaster!

Reported by Poppy George for Chart! magazine.

Cover Lines for My Music Magazine

On my music magazine front cover I am going to include a small number of coverlines. To encourage my target audience to read my music magazine I am going to include a number of interesting, exciting cover lines which will appeal to my target audience.
I would like to include a section saying "PLUS" and then a list of chart artists other than that of my feature article. Other cover lines I might like to use are;
The Latest Artists; but who?!
Artists of 2012
"Im really glad to be at the top of the charts" - 2012 chart artist
"There is no competition between us" - 2012 chart artist
New faces of 2012!

These are all possiblities for me to include on the front cover of my music magazine. I have not yet decided exactly which ones I would like to include, however I am going to create a survey on surveymonkey to find out which of these coverlines would encourage my target audience to buy a music magazine, and therefore which coverlines would be best for me to use on my music magazine.

Talktalk's Music Interview with Olly Murs

Olly Murs Interview

When planning an interview for my music magazine I decided it would be beneficial to do some research into other music interviews that I could possibly use as inspiration for the type of questions to ask my interviwee for my own music magazine.
I wanted to look at interviews that didn't focus on just the gossip about the band or artist, but also looked at their progression through music, their style of music and also possible future plans while maybe including a little bit of gossip.
This interview takes a very laid back approach and makes it seem more like a chat than an interview. The questions are also not too intrusive or personal towards Olly Murs and don't ask uncomfortable questions like some music interviews do.
The language used is very much 'every day' language which readers of any age will be able to understand.

My Music Magazine Mindmap

The above mindmap shows a few design ideas, features, images, layout ideas, names, and ideas of different use of colours for my music magazine. This mindmap, alongside my reader profile, moodboard and flat plans will really help me to design my magazine and put all my ideas together to create my own music magazine.

My Music Magazine

Chart magazine is all about the latest newest chart music. It focuses on the newest up-to-date music.Chart is the only music magazinee that follows anf focuses on the most up-to-date chart music. Chart magazines strong links to the new media, such as twitter, facebook and youtube make the magazine an exciting way to use the new media.

Moodboard for my Music Magazine

In preperation for creating my music magazine I created a moodboard using photoshop. The aim of creating this moodboard was to look at other magazines, colour schemes, magazine photography and font's that I could possibly use when creating my magazine. By creating this moodboard, I have looked at many different magazines, styles and magazine photography shoots which have given me ideas for my own music magazine. I have included a number of different blocks of colours as possible colour scheme and possible colours that I will consider using throughout my magazine, possibly as colours for my masthead or spot colours for my magazine. I have also included a number of magazine front covers, I included the top of the pops front cover because this is a pop/chart music magazine and whilst the front cover is busy it also shows how it uses bright colours. The 'Style' magazine front cover is very simplistic as a front cover, and not too busy which I think looks good and I would like to design my magazine front cover as quite simplistic.
Many photos of singers are also included on my moodboard, and a microphone. These pictures are included because I would like to have a photo of an 'artist' singing on my front cover which will mean I need a prop of a microphone. The reason I would like to include a person singing is because many magazine front covers have very 'posed' photos and I think a natural photo of an 'artist' would be a UPS for my magazine. I really like the way NME's front cover uses the same colour for the feature article as it does for the masthead, I think this works really well and would be an idea I would like to try out on my own music magazine design. I have also included a photo in black and white, I think this has the potential to work well on a magazine front cover and create a very strong impact, however this would be something I would want to trial before deciding to place it on my final music magazine as I am not sure it would work on a music magazine. The 'Q' masthead is on my moodboard because I am planning on creating my masthead in the same sort of style as Q's, with it being a square with one big letter, however mine will also probabaly have smaller letters as well. The twitter, facebook and youtube logo's show how I will link people's love of new media and social networking into my music magazine, making it appeal again to my target audience. The various different fonts on my moodboard are all examples of font's which are avaliable on 'dafont.com' and also examples of fonts I like and think would work well throughout my music magazine.

Flat Plans for my Music Magazine

 The above flatplan shows an inital design for my music magazine. By briefly sketching out a plan, when I come to actually designing my front cover I will be able to look at this flatplan and use it as a guide to my design. I decided to place my masthead in the top left hand corner, my cover price and barcode in the bottom right hand corner and my medium close up in the centre. I do not want to make the front cover too busy, however I don't want there too be lots of white space, as this will distract from the image and the cover and feature lines. By having a 'special features' section along the bottom of the page, this will hopefully catch my readers eye if I put the text in a spot colour, meaning it will interest them and encourage them too buy the magazine even more.

 The flat plan above is an inital flatplan for my contents page. I have chosen on this flatplan not to design my contents page in the 'normal' way, with reams of writing and images scattered throughout the page, instead, I have decided to place a main image at the top, of the main feature article again or maybe a musical instrument used in chart music. I have almost cut my contents page in half, with the top half a photo, and the bottom half text. By cutting it in half I think it will make the contents page more visually appealing and interesting. I plan to cut my contents page in half in an interesting way, rather than just a straight line so it looks very military.

 The photo above and the photo below both show possible mastheads and name ideas for my magazine. I have designed a variety of mastheads, because then I can choose which masthead is my favourite and then decide colours and sizes for it. On the first page of designs my least favourite are the 'Tune In' one in the bottom left hand corner, the 'Todays Music' one in the middle of the page and 'Listen' in the bottom right hand corner. These are my least favourite because I don't think they are very well designed. On the second page, I really like the 'Chart' one in the bottom right hand corner, and also the 'Chart' design above this one. I think 'Chart' would be a good name for my music magazine because it is all about chart music and I think people would easily be able to associate this with my chart music magazine.

My Reader Profile

This is my reader profile which I designed to show interests of my music magazine target audience. By designing this I have shown that I have taken an interest into what my target audience buy and their interests.

Mixmag Presentation

Mixmag Presentation

This is the presentation that I gave to my media group to show how the magazine Mixmag appeals to its target audience. I included various different technical features that they have used and the reader profile for mixmag.

Analysis of Survey Results

Survey analysis

The above slideshow shows my analysis of my survey results. I completed the survey on surveymonkey and then got various people to fill it out. I emailed it to many people of my target audience age and also put a link to the survey on my facebook page.

Analysis of Music Magazine Mastheads.

I really like the clash magazine masthead because of the way the letters all fit together. The name ‘clash’ makes you think of the sound of cymbals clashing together so the way the ‘a’ and ‘s’ are linked in a ‘smooth’ manner whilst clash doesn’t make you think of smooth and sophisticated.

The NME magazine masthead is very bright and colourful and uses a border to ‘fix’ all the letters together. By using a bright colour, NME have been able to advertise their spot colour from the first glance. By using an abbreviation they have been able to keep it short and snappy but by quoting underneath what the abbreviation means they have made it clear to their target audience. On a shelf, a magazine full of colour will attract readers rather than a dull and monochrome front cover. Readers will glance at the name of the magazine, to see what it is called, and a brightly coloured well designed masthead such as NME’s will stick in their mind.                      

Although Kerrang is created using no colour and is completely monochrome it works well because the letters of Kerrang have different lines going through the letters, breaking them up and making them more interesting. By blocking in all the letters with a black border the creators of the Kerrang masthead have made sure this will stand out from the rest of the magazine front cover or pages where it is placed.

Music Magazine Survey

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PPRQK3D

I designed this music magazine survey using surveymonkey. I chose a selection of questions, the first 2 being relevant to the gender and age, as from my results I will remove the answers given from those who are not my target audience of 14-20 years old. I think the questions I have asked will help me to design my music magazine. By finding out the first thing people consider when buying a magazine I will be able to include the top results on my magazine front cover which will make it more suitable for my target audience.
By asking a wide range of questions I will be able to assess my target audience's wants in a magazine, the price they would be happy to pay, their lifestyles, their ambitions and their values in life. This will help me immensely with my design.
By putting this survey on my facebook page I was able to target my audience very well and get many of my target audience to complete the survey, resulting in very useful answers.

How does the journalist use written language to appeal to the target audience?

The journalist uses written languages to appeal to the target audience in a number of ways. The journalist uses particular types of descriptive language, direct quotes and specific words. The journalist takes a tone and register on the article.

The journalist has used specific words such as “gotta” and “nah”. Words like this appeal to the target audience because it makes them think of how they speak. This article is quite obviously aimed at teenagers and young adults who use this style of words. When Usher was asked “Why didn’t your mom support you getting married?” he replied “Uh… I don’t know.” Magazines which are aimed at a more mature target audience would edit out this “uh” rather than including it because it would be seen as ‘slang’ and wouldn’t suit a more mature target audience. This kind of response to questions is what most parents get from teenagers, therefore by using these specific words the target audience can relate to the language used. Not just individual words, but the responses from Usher to the journalist’s questions make the reader think ‘that’s the kind of thing I would respond with’ and by engaging the reader with the article, the journalist is more likely to maintain their focus.

The main direct quote used is “Michael Jackson was the greatest entertainer that ever lived. I just want to be the greatest entertainer living”. By overlaying this on the photo the editor has assured people will read the quote. Because of the strength of the quote and how it relates to Usher’s article and ambitions, the target audience will want to read the rest of the article.

The editors of ‘vibe’ magazine have used a variety of design features on this double page spread to interest the reader and enhance the look of the article. Not only have they used a pull quote to focus on one of the main features of the article but they have also used drop cap on the introduction to the article. By using a stand first the journalist has encouraged the target audience to read on. By adding white space and guttering onto the page the editors have made it look less cluttered and more professional.

The overall tone of this double page spread and feature article almost forces Usher into replying with what the journalist wants. The interview questions suggest that Usher could not reply with a one word answer and also want to get inside Usher’s mind. The interview starts off asking about his career and slowly gets more personal. The tone is also quite patronising to Usher and the description given before the interview doesn’t necessarily portray him in the best way possible.

Analysis of NME front cover, contents page and double page spread

The NME front cover is very lively and the use of bright colours attracts the target audience towards the magazine. One of the cover lines is featured in a box to the right of the masthead which means buyers of NME will look at this before looking at the smaller, less noticeable cover lines. The lead article in this issue of NME features The Arctic Monkeys. By using a bright red font and a very large font size the feature article stands out from the other cover lines. The NME masthead is very simple, following the spot colour used throughout the magazine of red. The NME masthead is placed very subtlety in the top left hand corner of the magazine front cover. The masthead doesn't particularly stand out from the rest of the magazine, but works well with the layout of the front cover. The cover price for NME is just under the masthead, and also beside the barcode. By placing this on the front cover twice NME are promoting the price of their magazine, and compared to the other music magazines I have analysed this is the cheapest, therefore they are trying to make this easily viewable and increase their readership. This also encourages downmarket people to read their magazine. The cover lines on NME are all rugged and line the bottom of the magazine front cover. The layout for NME's front cover is clear; a medium close up photo takes up the majority of the page and is centred whilst the cover lines and headline are formatted around and over this photo. There is no whitespace on this front cover, and the lack of this makes the magazine look lively and interesting. The front cover also uses different weights of text which adds emphasis to different articles in the magazine.

NME'S contents page is very busy but has quite a lot of white space but because this is spread out over the A4 contents page, it doesn't look like that much to the reader. Each of the main articles in the magazine is in a box, although not very obvious. Each photo on the contents page also has a caption which tells us about the photo and then a description of what we can expect from the article. The captions for each of the photos on the contents page are also quotes from the main body copy on each of these articles. All of the listings on the contents page have text formatted to flush left, apart from the main feature article which is the biggest in the centre of the contents page and has a ragged margin. A variety of fonts have been used on NME's contents page, which adds interest and variety. The main feature article/lead article has been placed in the centre of the contents page with the largest photo which will attract the readers to this first by instinct. The introduction to the page 'inside this week' has used an indentation on the word week to fit the layout of the page better. The masthead of NME is not actually featured on the contents page, however they have used an advertisement in the right corner of the contents page for two reasons, one to remind you that you are reading NME and two to promote their magazine. By seeing this advertisement in such bright colours it makes you think the magazine is aimed at lower class people and this is reinforced by the price of the magazine too. The lead article of the magazine uses a mug shot to advertise it and the majority of the photos featured on the contents page are mug shots or medium close up's. The spot colour of red also features on the contents page of NME. The different weights of text also create an interesting contents page.

The NME double page spread uses an interesting layout and choice of background colour. This double-page spread takes a particular angle on this story about drugs helping someone, and the title suggests that drugs can be positive. The body copy on this double page spread uses a variety of different techniques to make it interesting; it uses a drop cap at the beginning of the story which enhances the look of the story and makes it more interesting and it also uses the magazines spot colour of red for some of the text's colour which also enhances the look of the double page spread. The editors have only included text on one half of the page, and have opted for a visual aid of a photo on the right page of this double page spread. A section of the text has also been placed in a box which highlights this piece of information. There is a small caption at the bottom of the right page of the double page spread giving us a 'quirky' comment about the photo the editors have used. The double page spread uses a delayed drop by not jumping straight into the important part of the story, encouraging readers to carry on reading the article. The main body text is formatted to flush left which is the format many magazines use on their articles. The gutter in between the columns of the main body text isn't very wide however it is enough to distract the reader from reading across all the columns and almost instructs them to read down the columns. This articles intro actually comes immediately under the banner of the article, giving us a short intro about the article. The photo used is a medium close up shot which works well as there is quite a large space to fill on this page. The text on this page is of varying weights, the thicker letters by instinct are the ones the target audience will read first, and hence why the title is bolder than the main body copy.

Analysis of Music Tech front cover, contents page and double page spread

The MusicTech magazine clearly states on its front cover, "the magazine for producers, engineers and recording musicians" instantly making anyone who is not one of these think that they are not the target audience for this particular magazine. This also limits the readership for MusicTech.

Although there are many pictures on this front cover, there are no captions for the photos, instead cover lines telling the readers what they can expect to find inside. The cover price for MusicTech is just above the barcode which is where most people would expect to find it. On the left hand side of the front cover the cover lines flush left and on the right hand side of the cover the cover lines flush right. This creates a jagged look on all the text in the centre of the front cover. A number of different fonts have been used on the front cover of MusicTech. The layout of MusicTech's front cover is very busy and quite cluttered which makes the readers of it think the magazine will be quite busy and will provide them with lots of relevant and useful information. It is difficult to tell from the front cover what the lead article is in MusicTech because of the wide range of varying font sizes and weights. The masthead for MusicTech is very simple but informative. The masthead used on the front cover is not only the title of the magazine, but the explanation of who the magazine is for underneath the title too. The title actually works as WOB on this particular front cover; however this is not the case for all the issues of MusicTech. The images used on the front cover of MusicTech actually look like a photomontage rather than one image featuring all the items of technology. The spot colours for Music Tech are both mainly red and yellow as these feature throughout the magazine.

The contents page of MusicTech is actually a double page spread. This reinforces what the magazine front cover tells us about the magazine being very busy and including a lot of information. The contents page makes it slightly clearer, with links to the front cover of what the main article is; the spread on creative distortion. We see that the angles of the stories are from a music technological angle front the contents page. The MusicTech masthead has not actually been used on the contents page, however another style of font has been used to say 'MTM Contents'. The issue number and month is located on both the front cover and under the words 'MTM contents' on the contents page as well. The body copy of the contents page is featured on the far right hand side of the right page. This body copy is the text which explains which item is on which page of the November issue of Music Tech. The body copy is placed inside a box to highlight that it is all the listings of the magazine. By using pictures/relevant images MusicTech have made it very clear as to which articles they have mainly focused on and which articles they think will appeal to their target audience. There are captions with each of the photos which explain what they can expect to find out if they read the spread which relates to the image shown on the contents page. This magazine contains the majority of editorial rather than advertisements. The majority of the typeface on the contents page has been formatted to flush left. By using the headline 'Creative Distortion' and making this a different weight to the rest of the font on the page the editors have made it clear this is the feature they want their readers to read. A house style font has been used for the box of all the listing in the magazine, however hasn't been used across the whole of the double page contents spread. The creative distortion article on the left page of the double page spread's text is unjustified. At the top of both pages of the double page spread there is white space.

This double page spread of MusicTech is the lead article of MusicTech's November issue. It uses the spot colours of red and yellow and the 'MTM' masthead which featured on the contents page also features on this double page spread, however isn't the same masthead as the main one used on the front cover. The angle of this story is from a technical editor's view and the language used reinforces the target audience of this magazine.

The body copy of this double page spread uses the spot colours and WOB. The text across this double page spread also uses different weights to emphasise on different parts of the body copy. The body copy is only situated on the left page of the double page spread, and the right page features only a photomontage of relevant photos. The body copy starts with a drop cap which enhances the look of the page and the first lines of the main body copy are arranged around this. By using a spot colour alongside the drop cap the editors have enhanced the look of the page majorly.

The main body copy on this double page spread has been formatted to range left whilst also indenting the text. The layout of this double page spread is very clear; text on the left page and a photomontage on the right. The word creative has been reversed out to attract readers to the headline of this page.

Analysis of mixmag front cover, contents page and double page spread.

The cover lines on the front cover of 'mixmag' are all written in black writing which stands out to the audience. The use of a white masthead and black cover lines contrast well with each other and the background making them stand out to the target audience. Mixmag has decided to place the majority of its cover lines around the edge of the medium close up photograph, which I think works well because it highlights the medium close up photograph. The cover price for mixmag has been positioned next to the barcode in quite a small font. Mixmag's front cover has a very distinct layout; the masthead taking up approximately 1/4 of the page, the medium close up taking up the majority of the page and a house style simple font has been used. Mixmag's masthead is slightly covered by the medium close up photograph; however it is still recognisable what the magazine is called. The masthead is quite modern and unique with its curved font and instantly tells us the magazine is not mainly about rock or heavy metal music, but about a more 'delicate' style of music. On the right hand side of the front cover the cover lines use a range left and on the right hand side of the cover the cover lines have been formatted to range right. By using different weights of typeface on the front cover it has added depth and means it will catch the target audience's eye better than if it was all one weight.

The front cover of mixmag doesn't easily define its readers; therefore the readership for mixmag covers a wide range of people.

The majority of the contents page for mixmag is white on black. These contrasting colours work well to highlight the white words and the contents of the magazine. The contents page also uses a flush left which works well to give a professional look to the contents page of the magazine. The heading of each spread of the magazine has been put into a bold font to make it stand out more from the description of what the spread is about. A house style font has been used for the explanation of the free cd and the description of each of the spreads in the magazine. The masthead has again been used which adds to the house style of mixmag. The layout of this contents page includes both pictures and text which work well together and give the reader more to look at. On the contents page, the producers of the magazine want the first thing you look at to be the photo therefore they have made the photo the main item on the contents page. Again, the contents page uses different weights of text to attract the target audience to read the contents page in a particular order. The spot colour used on this page is yellow which is bright and will instantly attract reader's attention. The way the producers have only placed small pieces of text in the spot colour yellow on this page makes that particular font stand out a lot more. At the top of the page there is also a small amount of white space but I think this works well because it attracts your eyes to the word 'contents'.

The angle of this story promotes these particular nights and gives information about those featured on this double page spread. The body copy has been split into 3 sections, one for each place/night. These photos don't have captions as such, but the captions are the places where the nights are and what the nights are called. The crosshead on this page is "the big 3" and by using white and a bright pink this has been placed to try and capture the reader's attention. The editors have made the type flush left so the left margin is straight but the right one is ragged. By using the same font throughout the body copy on this double page spread they have insisted a house style. The gutter on this double page spread isn't very big between the 2 columns but is enough to define and stop the reader reading along the same line and reading down instead. There are 3 headlines on this page, one for each of the nights and the use of this has enabled the reader to be attracted to where and what the nights are before they read into the details of the different nights.

The different nights have used delayed drops to introduce the nights and the layout has been designed to include both photos and text. The lead article/night of this page is the one on the left hand page in Leeds; this is the lead because it uses up a whole page and has more text and a bigger photo than the two that are both on the right hand page. Mixmag has not placed its mast head on this double page spread but on the bottom left hand corner of the right page has put their website address. The photo on the left page uses a mug shot whilst the photos on the right page are medium close ups or again mug shots. The weight of the text across the double page spread changes.

Reader Profile- My Magazine

My music magazine will be aimed at people of the BC1 and 2 social grade. They will be male or female young adults who are currently studying or have a full time job. They will work in their lives and use magazines as their escapism route. They will also get entertainment from reading the magazine and will learn about the latest music 'fashions' from reading the magazine.

V-   People who read my magazine will think about music and their future career.

A-   People who read my magazine would like to have the stereotypical happy family, with a house- preferably in the city, a good job and watch artists live in cities e.g. London. They will also aspire to many of the musicians featured and will want well paid jobs.

L-    People who read my magazine will probabaly have a part times job, be studying and spend their weekends working or partying. Many of them will probabaly also drink regularly as teenagers tend to.

How do magazines define their target audience?

The photos that are on the front cover of a magazine can define which gender and target audience the magazine is aimed at, for example a young girl fully clothed with careful makeup and hair would be aimed at younger teenage girls, whilst a photo of a young women partly dressed is aimed at older males.

The masthead is also specific about who the magazines target audiences are, which is then reinforces by the colours and house style which is used.

These points show how even just from the front cover, buyers or other people know who the magazines are aimed at.

How do Motley Crue represent themselves in their video 'Girls, Girls, Girls'

Motley Crue- Girls Girls Girls

Motley Crue- Girls Girls Girls

-          Aggressive- chuck knife onto table

-          Main interest is women- women all provocatively dancing

-          Proud of their interest

-          Loud

-          Their ego is defined by their clothes, actions, interests

-          Think a lot of themselves

-          Shows off their gender- most men interested in women

-          Act as if their better than other males

-          Think women will give them what they want

-          Act as if they are younger than they are- like teenage boys are stereotypically seen- smoking, drinking, parties, girls

How are women represented in 50 Cents Video “Candy Shop”?

 50 Cent, Candy Shop

The portrayal of women in 50 Cents video is not just shown through the video, but also through the lyrics used in his song.

The use of the song name “Candy Shop” reminds the viewers of young vulnerable children going into a sweet shop to spend their pocket money. This creates a picture that women are vulnerable and also quite naïve.

The third line of 50 Cents song ‘Candy Shop’ is “so seductive”. This instantly, along with the visual use of a young female, creates a picture in the viewer’s mind that girls are seductive and quite slutty. Throughout the video, the girls are framed on the wall which tells the viewers that females are a possession that can be easily placed and instructed. 50 Cent walks from his possession of a car, to the females again reinforcing those females are possessions and not individuals.

The females also stand around in a lot of the video, as if they are waiting for the male, in this case 50 Cent, to arrive which makes the girls look provocative. The use of their ‘slutty’ clothes also makes the females look needy and naughty.

50 Cents song lyrics patronise and degrade the females through his use of lyrics “I'll break it down for you now, baby its simple”. He also treats the girls as if they are simple and dim.

The females in this video are all stereotypical of the ‘celebrity look’ that many girls admire to follow. They are slim, pretty, toned and tall.

50 Cent uses the girls in this video as an item, portraying them in a very negative view.  Both through his use of props such as baths and sofas linked with the lyrics of the song and the females are used to give a very stereotypical negative view.

Do We Need The Media

Entertainment and diversion- I watch eastenders as entertainment and diversion because it makes me realise how lucky I am and how much more complicated my life could be. I also watch various films as entertainment and diversion because it is an interesting way to kill time and relax.
Surveillance and information- Again, I watch eastenders for surveillance and information, and also use the internet for social networking, such as twitter and facebook to find out about other people and to satisfy curiousity and acquire new knowledge of events, birthdays or what people are up too. Newspapers and magazines such as heat and the EDP are also ways I find out about the world and what is going on in the world.
Personal relationships- I use the internet for social networking on websites such as twitter and facebook to speak to my friends, and keep in touch with people who I don't often see. This enhances my relationships with other people by being able to add another point of contact. X-factor is another example of this as I feel I have to watch it and find out how particular contestants are getting on in the competition
Personal identity- I use again, social networking to help reinforce my values and beliefs through status' and the photos I post.

College/University Magazine Research

I find this university magazine particularly interesting because of the design on the front cover. It follows an architectural plan of the university, which I think is particularly interesting and would be a good way for new students to start to see the university campus. I think the use of bright colours will also attract students of the university to look at the magazine closer and read it.

The magazine pictured above takes a completely different view on a university magazine, and looks more like a coloured newspaper in my opinion. For a start this magazine has a far more unspecific name as to what the magazine is actually about. It also includes writing on the front about what the magazine article is about, and a photo that is relevant to this and not one that stays the same on each magazine like it does on 'University Magazine'.

Skills Development

Skills development

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The above slideshow is my skills development for both my college magazine front cover and my college magazine contents page. My skills development powerpoint shows all the different adjusments and edits I made to create my final product. It is almost step by step instructions of what I done to create the different pages of my magazine.

College Magazine- Contents Page

The above photo shows my college magazine contents page.
I decided to use the housestyle of the grey boxes and white writing to continue this theme throughout my magazine. I think my contents magazine works particularly well because the boxes of writing are all different sizes.
If I had more time, to improve my college magazine I would add a bit more detail, because I think it looks a bit simple, however this was due to time.
I think overall, even though slightly basic, my college magazine contents page does what a contents page needs too; informs readers where the particular features and articles are in a magazine.

College Magazine Reader Profile

The photo above shows my completed reader profile for my college magazine. The main point in a reader profile is to give an idea of who might read my college magazine, and what sorts of things they may enjoy doing, lesuire activities and their hobbies. I completed my reader profile on photoshop and exported it as a JPEG photo so I could upload it on here.

College Magazine- Contents Page Medium Close Up

I chose to do my main college magazine feature on an interview with a local university student from the University of East Anglia. I chose to ask my model to dress in something 'university related' and so she dressed in a UEA hoody. This works well because it shows clearly where she is studying.
The brighntess of the bright red hoody works well against the background I have chosen and makes the feature really stand out, which is what I needed for the main magazine feature.
Before putting this onto my contents page I plan to photoshop it onto a white background and remove the background from this medium close up photograph.

College Magazine- Medium Close Up

I decided I would use this photograph as my medium close up for the front cover of my college magazine. When I took this photo, I hadn't given much thought to my magazine front cover, and looking back, it would have saved me editing time if I had have thought about it. I decided when editing this photo that it would look better on my magazine front cover if it was just the two girls, or if the boy was in the middle.
After realising that moving the people about would be a lot of work, I decided instead I would just concentrate on keeping the two girls in the medium close up photo. I think this looks much better and much more even as a photograph.

College Magazine

After my first two college magazine designs, I have decided to change the colour scheme. I think the dark grey I have used here works a lot better and adds a more professional feel to the whole front cover of the magazine.
I also felt that the masthead looked too 'squashed' against the top of the magazine, and decided the only way I could improve this was by moving my medium close up photograph down slightly. This then enabled me to move the masthead down and not cover the medium close up.
I also decided to fill in the masthead with the dark grey colour used in the boxes.
I have decided the barcode which I created on an online barcode generator works best in the left hand corner of the magazine front cover next to the medium close up.

College Magazine- Second Design

This photo shows my second design for my college magazine. This magazine follows pretty much the same design as my first design, however because I felt the barcode on the first design looked out of place, I decided I would move it to above the feature box and next to the medium close up photo. I think this works a lot better, however I am still not happy with my front cover for my magazine. 

I think the bright red adds a somewhat 'tacky' look to my front cover, and I think a more neutral colour such as a darker colour would work better. 

College Magazine- First Design

The above photo shows my first design for my college magazine. I used my original flat plan sketched designs to help me chose the design for my magazine. I decided to situate the medium close up photo to the right of the magazine, as not to follow the trend of it being in the middle. I also felt this would make it slightly more interesting and more eye-catching. I decided to remove the background from my medium close-up photo because it wasn't all one colour and so looked more professional and neater with the background removed. I chose red background colours for my 'blocks' with white writing which I feel works well. I added a red strip down the left hand side to make my magazine front cover look more professional.

I decided to put a barcode at the top right hand side of my magazine front cover above the medium-close up photo. I think my magazine front cover could be improved by moving the barcode because I don't feel it really fits in with the magazine.

Masthead for College Magazine

This is my masthead for my college magazine. I chose to call it 'City News' because I felt it was simple and easily explained what people could expect from the magazine. I wanted to keep it black and white so that if I choose a coloured background my masthead will stand out. I felt the overlap in the 'C' and 'N' made the title look more joined and more as if it was a masthead rather than two seperate words. I chose this font style from 'dafont.com' because I thought it was very simple but easily readable and the shadowed letters make it stand out so its easily readable. The design process for this was slightly more difficult than I originally anticipated though because I had to do the 'C' and 'N' seperate to the rest of the word otherwise both words would have had to overlap rather than just the first letter in the word.

Media studies music cover research

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Before I started designing my CD front cover and CD back cover I carried out some research into other CD album covers. By doing this, I was able to effectively design my CD album cover. My research also helped me choose appropriate fonts and images. The research I carried out also enabled me to look at the normal styles for particular genres of music, and encorporate these into my CD album cover designs.