Monday, 1 February 2010
Please Note
The times and dates of the postings on this blog are wrong, they have been manipulated so that the blog appears in a sensible order. Thank you!
Friday, 1 January 2010
Planning and Research
My name is Tom Hagues and I am an AS level Media student. My coursework is split into three sections; research and planning (including a school magazine), construction (of a music magazine) and evaluation of the practical work. For research and planning I must research into the music industry, looking at websites, magazines and to produce the front cover of a school magazine.
For the second part, I will be constructing a music magazine, which will include a front cover, a contents page and a double page spread. For this, I will have to look at several music magazines, to get ideas and inspiration. It is best to look at a range of magazines, so I can take ideas from each and use them as inspiration in my own design. For example, I may look at a pop magazine and like the layout and decide to use something similar in my own. Then I may look at a rock magazine and like the idea for a piece of journalism, and again, use something similar in my own work.
For the final part, I shall be evaluating my work. Evaluating my work will include looking at my finished piece, and commenting on what I think went well, what i struggled with or found easy, and what I think could be improved on.
I can see there being problems with photoshop, considering that I have never used it before, but I think that it will be fine with practice. I am looking forward to taking my own pictures and manipulating them for my magazine. I am also looking forward to creating a small journalistic piece for the double page spread.
For the second part, I will be constructing a music magazine, which will include a front cover, a contents page and a double page spread. For this, I will have to look at several music magazines, to get ideas and inspiration. It is best to look at a range of magazines, so I can take ideas from each and use them as inspiration in my own design. For example, I may look at a pop magazine and like the layout and decide to use something similar in my own. Then I may look at a rock magazine and like the idea for a piece of journalism, and again, use something similar in my own work.
For the final part, I shall be evaluating my work. Evaluating my work will include looking at my finished piece, and commenting on what I think went well, what i struggled with or found easy, and what I think could be improved on.
I can see there being problems with photoshop, considering that I have never used it before, but I think that it will be fine with practice. I am looking forward to taking my own pictures and manipulating them for my magazine. I am also looking forward to creating a small journalistic piece for the double page spread.
Analysing a school magazine
This is the front cover to the FFH magazine
Analysing:
Target audience: the parents of the children that attend the school. The target audience could also be the children themselves, as the magazine may include useful news for students.
The image: the image gives the message that the magazine is trying to give the audience is that you should send your children to this school, and that they will benefit in every aspect if they attend this school. This is shown by the happy children on the front, and the smart uniforms they are wearing. The font is the same colour as the children's uniforms, which infers that the school is sleek, sharp and in tune with what is going on around them.
The image on the front also shows children who are happy and content. They have hats made from land marks and monuments which suggests that if you send your child to that school, they could be part of something incredible, such as the designing or making of a famous land mark.
The main background shows leaves and trees, suggesting that the children are healthy and work hard. The fact that the trees are in full bloom suggests that if you send your children to this school, they will be nurtured to grow into fantastic and intelligent adults.
Do you think they are successful in what they are trying to achieve?
I think that this magazine is successful in what it is trying to do, which is sorting out a sleek and sharp front cover, which is what this is. Therefore I think it is extremely successful because it suggests that the students that attend the school are happy and are confident and enjoy the intelligent surroundings in which they are situated.
They are also successful because it will attract the parent's attentions because it is an interesting front cover, with lots to grab their attentions. They have achieved the magazine to look intelligent and full of news, without making the front cover over crowded, which again suggests that the school is the best place for children.
My own school magazine front cover and contents page
This is my front cover for my School magazine.
This is the autumn issue, as represented by the colour scheme. The red, orange and yellow outline on some of the text suggests that the 6th form is in tune with whats happening around it, and as though it is as adaptable as the seasons, and is always changing to suit it's surroundings.
The background image makes it clear that it is the Autumn edition, and the winding road represents the road to success that is available at 6th form.
The main image shows happy students, comfortable in their surroundings, which suggests that 6th form is a happy place to be. The image of the students was originally one with a grey sky background and a field, but cutting the image out and replacing the background with one that I wanted produced a totally different image that works well.
The use of coloured highlighting around the outside of certain words or captions successfully enhances the importance of them and makes them stand out.
Initially, I had problems getting to grips with the use of Photoshop, but after some experience and practice, I was able to work it and successfully get the cover I wanted.
This is the inside of my school magazine, the contents page. This continues with the theme of the Autumn issue with the use of an Autumn background again. Also, similar to the outside, the text all uses colours that makes it stand out and makes it look in tune and brings the over all page together.
The stacked books with page numbers on it produces an effect of 6th form being intertwined into every aspect of the students and their learning, and suggests that they are there for extra support and advice. Some important articles are highlighted at the bottom, which brings the reader's eye down to the articles which may be of interest.
The fonts used in both the front cover and the contents page are in harmony with each other, and are both big, bold and attention grabbing. This is perfect for what I wanted, and I think it has achieved exactly what I wanted, which is to produce a bold and smart front cover and contents page.
There were some difficulties in making the pair, such as getting to grips with the tools on Photoshop and overcoming obstacles such as manipulating images and cutting them out to create exactly what I wanted. Overall, I am happy with the result and wouldn't change a lot, due to the fact it all turned out how I wanted it to.
IPC, Bauer, Future and Development Hell
Research
IPC: IPC is a huge mainstream magazine and advert producer, owned by Time Warner. It is a UK company and over 26 million UK adults read an IPC magazine. Magazines that IPC produce include:
NME
Uncut
Guitar and Bass
Chat Passion
Now
Sporting Gun
Country Life
NME is a music magazine produced weekly and is one of the worlds largest read music magazines. In 1996, NME.com was set up and fast became Europe's biggest music website, with roughly 16 million page views a month, and 1.6 million users across the globe. NME claims it is 'the worlds essential guide to the week in music'.
Acts such as The Arctic Monkeys, The Smiths, Klaxons and Oasis were all introduced on the pages of NME and are now some of the most successful groups around.
Recently, IPC was sued by Peter Andre for allowing one of it's magazines to publish false and incriminating information. Andre won the court case successfully.
Bauer: Bauer is a major magazine publisher, with a typical type of magazine being aimed at men, usually with a desire for news on classical rock. Magazines include:
Kerrang
Q
Mojo
Empire
Most of the magazines are similar in content although Bauer does publish women's magazines such as Bella, Eat In and TV Guide. Mojo, founded in 1993, contains music news and information on classical rock bands. Published monthly, Mojo has an adult readership of 100,507and most are mainly male. Their target audience is specifically men aged 25 - 44 and who can relate to most of the acts being written about. Therefore, the editor and assistant publisher are both men and typically always have been.
Future: Future is another one of the biggest main stream producer, supplying magazines such as:
Metal Hammer
Classic Rock
Futuremusic
Rhythm
Guitar Techniques
Metal Hammer and Classic Rock cover news and music genres, generally rock music, and the others are about music making. Again, these magazines have their very own particular target audience. Guitar Techniques and Rhythm are both magazines that cater for individual, amateur music makers and bands. Classic Rock and Metal Hammer supply for rock fans and enthusiasts.
Development Hell, an independent company produces the magazines Word and Mixmag. These magazines cover news, reviews and music features that cover their genre. These magazines are generally not as popular as the majors, but still have a comfortable group of readers.
The magazine Word is generally a high earning male aged between 30 and 55. 44% of readers own over £50,000 per year and 11% earn over £100,000 per year. The typical reader spends about £90 a month on music, films and books.
First Ideas for Music Magazine
Target Audience: The target audience I wish to focus on is an audience of ages 16 to 30 with an equal male and female readership, with an interest in pop music. I also aim for the second readership to be people aged 30+ so therefore the magazine can cater for anyone.
Name: There are several names that I have thought of that I would like to call my magazine. They include:
Name: There are several names that I have thought of that I would like to call my magazine. They include:
Candy Shop
Million Dollar
Incredible
Pebble Pop
Poplicious
Photo-Pop
Names like "Poplicious" and "Photo-Pop" are probably more suited to a younger audience, such as the early teen years and are probably more siding on the female gender. My current favourite and working title is the name "Incredible". Incredible is a name of a Madonna song, one that not many people would have heard of unless they are really into the current pop scene. I think this name will let the audience feel like they're reading an exclusive magazine, as only they know where the name has originated from.
Article Ideas: Ideas for articles include:
Interview with Cheryl Cole
"Today's Music Generation"
True Vocalist, or Entertainer?
Best Ways to Break the Music Industry
Pop Groups through the Years
These articles are all music and pop related, and I am currently planning on using the article "True Vocalist, or Entertainer?" as my double page spread article, and having the other articles advertised on the front cover and the contents page.
Kerrang Double Page spread
This is an analysis of a double page spread in the popular rock magazine, Kerrang. It is an article on My Chemical Romance.
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