Magazine Front Cover

Draft Images

 

 

These Draft Images are what I shall be using for the front covers of my final magazine (or at least what the drafts shall be until I can obtain more conventional and relevant ones to the genre) These have all been taken with the lighting within the green room and shall although there are ones that have been rendered useless either due to the fact that the image has come out blured or not framed properly or the fact that it has me in the image. This would be problamatic to use since it is not aloud to use yourself on the magazine.

Moodboard

Costume Ideas

 

Both of these ideas are similar in the sense that ther represent the rock genre through the conventions of being dark and simple. And also the fact that they are casual clothing is the norm for what you would see on the front cover of Kerrang! magazine, but this is mostly depending on bands and artists since in terms of the rock genre it seems that when it comes to costume and clothing, they eirther go all out and not at all. I have desided upon these specifically due to the fact that they are easier to create conserning my own wardrobe and over all would be cheaper to put together if need be.

 

I looked at some photo shoots of bands and artists that are apart of the same genre in which I am basing my magazine on. I did this so I could get an idea of what I would need to include to ensure that the audeince recognise that it is apart of the Rock genre and is suitible and not out of context. I have noticed in all of these images that they are all wearing similar clothing. It is dark and the colours usually assosiate with black to give of that rebellious and Rock look, a conventiontion of the Rock genre, and is usually casual clothing. This could be trying to relate to the audience and make them relatable to the audience.

LIIAR Analysis

 

 

 

Social Class & Demographics

I have researched into the demographic to ensure that I know and am able to indentify the audience that some of the magazines are trying to attract. Magazines addentify and gain their audience by the use of advertisement since that is how they make their money. Instead of selling the magazine for profit, they use the advertisement to make their profit.

 

This grid shows the different rankings and classes that certain people fall into, which is based on what their occupation is. This is used to ensure that it is clear to see whom you are aiming your magazine at. For example, Vogue being a high end magazine at the price of £3.99, has much more content both being expensive and intricate. Meaning that it would most likely be Upper Middle Class that are targetted in this situation. Whereas with magazines such as NME are at the price of £2.40 and have much less content compared to that of Vogue. This would mean that the magazine NME would be trying to aim for the C2 and D ranking due to the price and content.

Due to tthis research I shall be aiming my magazine at the D - E social class due to the fact that it is aimed at a younger age range. Some of which shall not be working, still in education, and others whom have just entered the working world. This means that the price shall be low, £1.90. NME a lower class magazine based around the indie genre has a price of £2.40 as well as Kerrang! which has the price of £2.20. This is the sort of price I wish to aim for since I would have a similiar audience as well as the content. This is how I would adhire to their needs so that it is affordable as well as making sure that they get what they paid for by including many articles and information that is relevant to the magazine. I will also include free gifts and competitions so that it seems more interesting and that the creators wish to be more involved with their audience. This happens in almost all magazines and where they include competitions for the audeince to get involved which normally consists of a drawing competition, Quiz or simply to text and see if you won by mere luck of being chosen. The prize which you get would usually be tickets to up and coming concerts, things signed by various bands and artists or could even be limited editions of said magazine. You can also include free gifts such as tickets, rist bands, CD's and the most common of all posters. This, by using a plug, would make the audience wish to buy the magazine since it offers many free and limited gifts.

Music Magazine - Box Planning

Magazine Image Analysis

In all of these magazines you can see that they are all very similar. All using a medium close up that is considered a major convention within magazines. Using this type of framing and shot for the front cover ensures that the audience is able to the expression on the models face, in this case artists. Depending on genre of course means that the facial expression shall be different. Using this type of shot also means that the feature articles are able to fit onto the page easily around the face and help shape it so then it shall look attractive towards the audience. Another aspect about the use of a medium close up apart from the facial expression is the fact that the audience is able to see clearly the eyes of the model/artist, the use of direct mode of address (looking straight at the audience) may have some sort of impact on them and acts almost as if it is pressuring them into buying it (drawing them in). In the magazine that I shall be producing shall also use a medium close up for the main image since it is both conventional and effective. As well as the fact that it shall be easier to position and place the feature stories onto the front cover. 
 

 

In all of these contents pages there are multiple images. As any contents page you would get multiple images and this is to inform the audience of what is going to be in the magazine. It is important that they make the contents page eye catching and informative to the audience since that is what they are going to see first when they pick up a magazine. Usually have concise information so that the audience aren't bombarded with text that makes them uninterested. Large images are used to keep the interest. The images usually consist of Bands and Artists, Album Covers and concerts. Anything that it relevant to the music industry and even more relevant to the genre of music. All of these contents pages are arranged differently, so all are unique to themselves. This could have something to do with the fact that they are all from a different genre. You can tell clearly the different in genre from the images are the fact that they all have different Mise en Scene within each image. On the Q magazine contents page there is a long shot of all of the band members standing in what seems to be a field. Which could express the need for freedom and to be able to have whatever music they choose. On the Mojo contents page it shows multiple images which are mostly in black and white or are washed out in colour due to the fact that it is a magazine that bases itself on the classic rock which is normally from the 60’s through to the early 80’s. For the Kerrang! contents page just like many others it has many images which are all relevant to the specific genre of music, such as the main image which is a man holding an electric guitar which is in a medium shot in which you are able to see what it is in his hands, all of the other images consist of relevant images and artists. These give the audience a chance to see what will be inside of this magazine and doing this shall make the audience wish to buy the magazine due to the content. The letter from the editor has an actual image of the editor which is in a medium close up so you are able to see her face and facial expressions. This I think is a good idea due to the fact that you are able to the editor enables the audience to connect with the editor and the editor to the audience. Direct mode of address is also used here for this reason, to connect to the audience. Billboard like the other contents pages has a number of images all relevant to the genre which is in the many. Consisting of 4 images, the three images at the top underneithe the title which are all in a medium close up. Another image which I imagine is the main image of the contents page is clearly photoshopped well and like the Q magazine is the form of a long shot. Doing this makes it easier for the text/articles to fall around the figure, making it look more appealing and professional to the audience.

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

Response to Focus Group

Why was it useful?

Producing this focus group video was useful due to the fact that it helps ensuring my ideals of what is ment to be put into a music magazine, what the demographic is and how they respond to the contents in various magazines. I was able to collect valuable information and what they want to look for in a magazine and what they would think there 'Perfect' magazine would be if they were to encounter it. Things such as posters that may be included as well as any tickets and other various free-bees that you may find in magazines.

How has it helped me in the decisions I will make when creating my magazine?

This focus group has proved that everyone has there own ideals of what they want there magazine, such as genre. But they all have the same ideals of what conventions they wish to see within the magazine. Again things such as posters, tickets and even CD's as well as the usual articles and updates on their preferred bads. But due to the fact that they are a younger audience, I should strive to us and adapt new ideals and designing techniques to make sure that I draw in their attention. So sticking to the traditional conventions within a magazine but trying to adapt it to the younger audiences eye.

Did I find out something I did not expect to?

No, I didnt think that there was anything that surprised me to a point were I thought that changing that within the magazine would be absolutely necessary. But I did find out that,due to the increase and development in technology, some poeple wish to purchase magazine digitally on Apps and other various Websites. This was something that I did not look into and I surely will for extra research.


What was my general findings?

General things that I found out would be the fact that they wish to see all of the normal conventions within a magazine and wouldn't want to change it. They would want the usual things that you find in any magazine which would be known as the Plug. Posters, Tickets and CD's would be welcomed and ensure that more would purchase it. They stated the bands and artists that they listened to and this really reflected on the fact that they are truly a younger audeince since they are into the latest bands and artisrs. Specific ones that have taken over the music industry and have in some cases adapted the genres to create new ones such as the Classical Rock which eventually adapted to Metal through the decades.  


Has it made me change any of my initial ideas?

No, I had the idea in my mind of what I was going to do and it still stands since the focus group has confirmed that what I am going to do shall be pleasing to the audience since it has most of what is requested.

Focus Group

Focus Group Questions

How much are you willing to pay for a magazine?

How often do you purchase a magazine?

What do you look for in a magazine when you purchase one?

What type of magazines do you usually buy?

How could existing magazines be improved?

What attracts you most to a magazine (making you want to buy it)?

Which artists do you listen to?

Fonts for Final Product

Crash is what I have chosen as a Masthead for my magazine. The reason as to why I have chosen Crash for the Masthead of my magasine would be because it implies a rebellious attitude which relates to the genre. Some of these are what I have used for the digital mock front cover for the magazine. I have repeated this in many different fonts to see what it would look like and what would go best on the front cover of my magazine. I have made sure that I had chosen specific fonts to match the genre that I have chosen to do, which is Rock, some are eroded and others have a smashed effect and some look to be inspired by bands and artists logos of this genre. This helps the representation of the magazine and shall inform the audience of which genre of music it is based on (Rock).

Chosen Colour Scheme

 

This is the colour scheme that I have chosen due to the fact that I  think that it works well with the rock genre because it has been influenced by Kerrang which is a well known magazine. These colours go well together due to the fact that they contrast against each other. They are bold and eye-catching colours that can imply that the audience is also bold and outgoing  since this specific genre is stereotypically  a rebellious and bold  demographic.  Using a colour scheme creates a sense of continuity  for the magazine, if the magazine were to have many colours then there would be no continuity and it wouldn't look very professional, neither would it follow the conventions of a normal magazine.

 

 

 

 

 

Colour Scheme Research

The colour schemes of these front covers from Kerrang all have something in common which is the fact that they all use bodacious colours that you wouldn't find on other magazine. For example NME. Kerrang generally uses  these types of colours due to the fact that they are quite relevant to the genre since rock is seen as a rebellious and outgoing genre that stands out compared to the rest. So I think that these magazines reflect the effects of the genre. Some of these magazines such as the front cover on the bottom row on the right hand corner are relevant to the main article of the magazine and in this case it would be the fact that the artists on the front cover, Bring Me the Horizon, Enter Shikari and You Me at Six, are all bands that originate from the UK. This is the reason why they have used a colour scheme that uses the colours of the flag since they are to attend a concert based in the UK called the Warped Tour.  Also on the magazine with Green Day on the front cover, the first magazine  on the top row, it is relevant to the band colours that they associate with which is green. All of these magazines are limited to a maximum of three colours on the front cover since that is what is conventional within any magazine front cover.