Coursework - Contents Page Analysis

After completing my front cover for my music magazine the next stage in the coursework process was to begin looking at and studying contents page's of magazine's, in particular music magazines. The image I have selected on the left, I believe, is a good example of a contents page. The reasons for selecting this image would be because the title "Contents" is displayed in a varied way, yet one that is still easy and clear to read. The use of colour blends well together and the overall silver colour scheme really gives the page an edgy look which leads to an increased interest from the reader.

I also like this contents page due to the simplicity of it, the text layout and text type is kept to a minimum, which may decrease the interest of the reader but on the other hand is less off putting than a large chunk of text.

The image, of course, is eye catching and sets of a 'glamourous' tone to the overall page. I believe having a stricking image will allow for the reader to be less threatened, as such, and want them to read on to the rest of the magazine.

Just by analysing this contents page, It would be a good example to lead from, however previous research has taught me that in order to get a full understanding of magazines it is important to analysis various aspects of certain pages including different styles, such as rock to indie. However I really am drawn to this style and may find myself returning to it in the future when it comes to planning and producing my magazine contents page.

Coursework - Front Cover Analysis

The image above is an example of my finished front cover for my music magazine. 

It is clear to say that the front cover image has been altered to a professional standard and the image is not pixilated in any way. The overall look of the front page appears professional and sophisticated with boxes (puffs) to make certain information stand out and the "20 page special" to really attract the readers eye.  All aspects of my magazine have been used and taken from inspiration from magazines such as "Billboard", where my central image idea was taken from yet altered to create my own style. The use of colour within the front page is kept to a minimal amount which allows those items in colour to really stand out, such as the puff which reads "Confessions of a rising star". Through previous research I knew this would be a successful factor to have on a magazine front cover, too much colour would overcrowd and dominate the central image and more important information / news wouldn't stand out as clearly. As well adding my own factors to my magazine front cover, it was essential to make it look realistic therefore all the obvious features had to be added as well. These were features such as the price of the magazine, the date and the barcode. The masthead of my magazine is called "Outspoken" and I have chosen this for the reason that it is a music magazine and it makes the magazine sound dominant, as if it would 'out-talk' everyone. Again a lot of this is explained within my media pack. Including key names in the music industry within my magazine, such as "Adele, Madonna, Sheryl Crow and Stevie Nicks" really sets the tone for the magazine and highlights my aim to focus on a laid back but sophisticated audience of music lovers. Overall all the features of my front cover have been carefully planned and with the help of my flatplan I was able to produce a magazine front cover in which I was happy to present. 

However, if I had the chance to do this task again I would focus on putting the title of the magazine, "Outspoken" behind the central image as this is what is common for most magazines. I also would try a different effect, prehaps going for a rock magazine or a more specific indie magazine, but I am happy with the work I have produced and I think it works successfully.

Coursework - Image For Front Cover

After completing a successful photoshoot I was able to choose my deciding image to be placed on my front cover of my music magazine. I chose this image for several reasons. My previous research has suggested that all magazine images show direct eye contact, therefore this image shows this and is suitable to use on my front cover.

I also like the pose shown in the image as it is simple and represents that of previous magazines I have researched, particulary the one featuring Adele.

Using this image creates a slight sophisticated effect, a theme I would like to continue to use throughout my magazine. Although the hair hanging down on the right hand side loosens up this effect. Alongside this the plain background allows for all the typography, masthead and puffs to be added to my final front cover. Having the simple 'pose' or postition of the model allows for more interesting and varied images to be added within the contents and double page spread of my magazine.

Overall the use of photoshop has allowed me to alter and change the contrast / brightness of my image in order for it to be presented with a professional standard, and this will be seen within the evaluation of my final front cover piece.

Coursework - Photoshoot

Now that my flatplan and my research has been completed, I now know what sort of direction I am heading in towards creating my final front cover for my music magazine. The research has given me the background knowledge I need to understand and see what makes a successful front cover on a magazine. From this research I have been able to compose a flatplan design for my own front cover, although kept basic it allows me to follow certain guidlines along the way.

The next stage was to create my own photoshoot, using a close friend as a model and research on makeup / clothing and set design, I was able to get a clear idea on what I wanted for my front cover. Some of the images from the photoshoot are posted below, in a powerpoint presentation, which haven't been altered in photoshop;

Photoshoot

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Coursework - Flat Plan For Front Cover

Now that I have successful created and produced my own media pack for 'Outspoken' I now have a clear idea of where I would like my magazine to end up, hopefully finishing with at a professional standard.

The first step after producing my media pack was to create a flat plan for my front cover page. I successfully produced this on a word document. Having previously completed in depth research into music magazines I have a pretty clear idea on how I wanted my front cover to turn out. The image of my flat plan is shown below;

This is a screenshot of the flat plan I created on word for my final front cover design. I kept the design simple as I felt I could get a better understanding of it when I was in the process of creating the magazine. The title of my magazine is called 'OutSpoken' and this will be placed where my masthead is written. The reason for having 'OutSpoken' as my title for my magazine is because I feel it can express the views of artists which will feature in the magazine.

Overall this flatplan design has allowed for me to follow a guideline when making my magazine front cover, although some alterations may be made.

Coursework - OutSpoken Media Pack

Over the past few weeks I have photographed images of my model, researched and designed my very own media pack for my upcoming coursework of creating a music magazine. Using the likes of Mojo and Q music magazine media packs I have allowed access for readers to understand the thinking behind my magazine, to offer the opportunity to advertise within the magazine and to get a specific idea of who my typical audience member is. The media pack is a good understanding of what I aim my magazine to be and how I hope to achieve this.

Media pack

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Coursework - Magazine Analysis

In recent lessons, to carry out further analysis on music magazines we were studying the content of double page spreads from the well known likes of 'Radar'. The article chosen was a specific feature on Little Boots, who then (2009 - when the article was written), was a new and upcoming artist.

The image on the left here was the image that featured in the double page spread. Here I have written out the analysis in which we carried out in the lesson, analysing and comparing the image, headlines, subheadings, text and many more.

IMAGE - the central image here is one where the artist is looking directly at the camera, a popular feature with nearly all magazine cover pages and double page spreads. The keyboard strongly suggests the use of music within the artist and within in the text which was written on the right hand side of the page. The image is kept to a minimal use of colour, keeping it simple so the reader can focus on the image and text rather than it looking to busy and chaotic on the page.

HEADLINES - Although it is not shown in this particular image, the headline of the article was clear, stating the sub name or name of the article from the popular magazine NME, it read "RADAR, finding the best new music". The clear headline allowed for the reader to be attracted to the piece. 

SUBHEADINGS - The subheading of this article was "Little Boots, Our favourite new UK electro act". The importance for a subheading is to allow the reader to get a quick insight into what they are reading, therefore it neads to be catchy and involve the reader. We as a class decided that NME achieved this very well. 

TONE - The tone of the piece overall seemed to be quite informal and the large chunk of text was off-putting for me as a reader. The lack of colour wasn't appealing and the tone of the text didn't involve the reader and they used very simple language which made the piece seem informal, conforming to a sterotypical article.

PAGE LAYOUT - The layout of the page seemed simple, the use of the plain background gave off a sophisticated and clean look but overall the lack of colour was too noteable and therefore the consequence would be that this piece wouldn't attract a reader easily.

Overall the analysis of this article allowed for me to understand more easily what makes a double page spread successful and what the drawbacks can be, therefore I can input my own knowledge into creating my own double page spread.