Development- Questionnaire results

1. What is your gender?
    Male [ 10  ] Female [  10 ]

2. What is your age group?
    <16 [  1 ] 17-24 [  11 ] 25-35 [ 5  ] 35-50 [ 3  ] 50+ [   ]

3. What is your preferred music genre?

R&B/HipHop- 12      Rock- 5      Pop-3

4. What is your occupation?

Nurse/Carer- 6    Sales Manager- 1    Student- 11   Teacher-1    Artist- 1  

5. Which title do you feel is most relevant for a R&B music magazine?

[6   ] Beat

[ 5  ]B.A.M (Bust A Move)

[  2 ]RATT (Run and Tell That)

[   ] PTTR (Paint The Town Red)

[   ] Tune

[ 2  ] Whip

[  3 ] Ebony

[   ] Inferno

[1   ] Rush

6. Do you have any other suggestions i could use as a magazine title?

Swarve, Hysteria, Mirage, Cherish, Satin

7. How much would you be willing to pay for this type of magazine?

    <£1.00 [  4 ] £1.01-£1.59 [  8 ] £1.60-£2.01 [ 4  ] £2.00-£3.49 [  2 ] £3.50+ [  1 ]

8. How often would you like new issues to be released?

    Weekly [ 4  ] Monthly [ 14  ] Annually [ 2  ]

9. Which gender would you prefer to see on the front cover?

    Male [ 6  ] Female [14  ]

Development- Questionnaire

Questionnaire

1. What is your gender?
    Male [   ] Female [   ]

2. What is your age group?
    <16 [   ] 17-24 [   ] 25-35 [   ] 35-50 [   ] 50+ [   ]

3. What is your preferred music genre?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

4. What is your occupation?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

5. Which title do you feel is most relevant for a R&B music magazine?

[   ] Beat

[   ]B.A.M (Bust A Move)

[   ]RATT (Run and Tell That)

[   ] PTTR (Paint The Town Red)

[   ] Tune

[   ] Whip

[   ] Ebony

[   ] Inferno

[   ] Rush

6. Do you have any other suggestions i could use as a magazine title?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

7. How much would you be willing to pay for this type of magazine?

    <£1.00 [   ] £1.01-£1.59 [   ] £1.60-£2.01 [   ] £2.00-£3.49 [   ] £3.50+ [   ]

8. How often would you like new issues to be released?

    Weekly [   ] Monthly [   ] Annually [   ]

9. Which gender would you prefer to see on the front cover?

    Male [   ] Female [   ]

Images

Front cover drafting

 These are two ongoing ideas i have for my final front cover of my magazine. I really like the tagline, masthead and date line in this front cover. I also, although it is not edited properly think the image works well as it is pointing towards the masthead entizing the reader.  Im not too sure on the coverline as of yet. I like the positioning of the barcode, however this still needs a lot of work. There is a lot of space left for cover lines and maybe some images. However it has the potential to be a good front cover, and unlike the over front cover it leaves a lot of space for headlines etc.

This is a completed draft of how my front cover could look if i use this idea. I think yet again the masthead and date line look good and the colours go well. However i'm not totally sure on the colour schemes for either of these drafts although i think i shall keep the masthead colouring. Although yet again the images are not yet edited properly i think this set up of the two artists is good in a versus style. Also the image connotates a new upcoming artist taking over and older artist etc. I think the colouring and set out of the cover line works well, and i like the exclusive line. There is not much room left for anymore text although i dont feel that anymore is necessary. I think this has the potential to be a really good front cover, although the barcode seems to of gone missing!

Magazine Masthead

I need to think of a catchy masthead for my magazine. It needs to be something that is imaginative, easy to remember and makes a lasting impression. As a convention of a music magazine usually a short one or two syllable word is used so this is something i would like to use in the production of my magazine. Although i could do something similar to 'NME' and create a magazine with a long meaningful title but shorten it to abbreviated letters.
I need to take into consideration my target audience and the type of music magazine i am creating. Here are some ideas i have thought of:

BEAT- I like this idea for the title of my magazine as it is a connotation associated with music. Also a 'beat' is a big part of R&B/HipHop music, it is one of the major factors of this type of music that gets the isteners up on their feet dancing. This masthead can also connotate that this music magazine will 'beat' all of the others of its kind.

B-A-M-'Bust a Move'- This suggestion is using a similar outlook as 'NME' do by abbreviating a phrase to create an enticing, catchy masthead. Bust-a-move is very appropriate as it continues the theme of the catchiness and dancability to R&B music. It is also a well used phrase within my target audience when listening to this type of music. Also the abbreviation BAM, is appropriate as it can be used to describe the beat and rhythm of music In particular hip hop. I feel this could be a very iconic magazine title, as either way that it is labelled it still gives across the same message.

TUNE- Again this suggestion is very much linked to the music industry. Music would not exist without any tune. I like this idea although i feel it lacks a bit of creativity and think it is perceived to be a bit of an obvious choice for any type of music magazine.

WHIP- I feel this is quite an appropiate masthead for a R&B/HipHop magazine as it contains the word hip within the word incinuating the theme of HipHop into the magazine title, without making it obvious. It also connotates the sort of beat to the music as you hear it and colloquial language used wihtin the stereotype of listeners.

EBONY- I feel this is very appropiate to a R&B/HipHop music magazine as a stereotypical view of the makers and listeners of this type of music are Black people, which has similar denotations to the word ebony. Therefore i feel this masthead title could be quite appropiate although it could possibly come across as too narrowly stereotypical or could be seen as a race issue.

INFERNO- This seems to be a good idea for a music magazine as it connotates the burning need an individual has in order to pick up and read this magazine. Although it is not instantly linked to a music magazine genre. I think it is quite  acatchy mast head and would be a well remembered title, however i am not sure for its suitability.

PTTR-'paint the town red'- This has positive connotations in the sense of the phrase 'paint the town red' meaning 'to go and have a good time'. However i feel the abbreviations PTTR can be a bit of a mouthful to create a catchy masthead and in my opinion it is not the most appropriate idea i have thought of.

RATT-'run and tell that'- This is a stereotypical idea based on a common phrase used by the main stereotype of R&B/Hip Hop listeners. I feel it would be appropriate as the connotations of 'run and tell that' are those of go, and spread the word which in turn could entice more readers. However, the abbreviation does spell that of a vermin species, which does contain negative connotations. However i feel that if i was to have the abbreviations and the phrase within the masthead it may not feel so negative.

RUSH- I like this idea for a masthead as it connotates the feeling of an 'adrenaline rush' when good music from this particular R&B/Hiphop genre is heard. However this could connotate that the magazine has been rushed to be made or a 'rush' read through.

I shall be putting all these ideas forward in the form of a questionnaire which is hall present to my target audience and collect the feedback. From those results i shall decipher which masthead will be best for my Music magazine. Before conducting this questinonaire, based on my preference i feel that either, B-A-M, Beat, RATT or Rush would be the best mastheads for my magazine. I shall also ask the people i question for their thought and ideas for an R&B/Hip Hop magazine title.

First Mock ups of contents Page

These are an example of how i may like my music magazine's contents page to look like. Using a conventional simple layout to create the contents page. I am intending to have 3 or more images along the right hand side page, and the majority of all written content including page numbers, editors letter, regular and special features along the left hand side of the page.

Initial ideas-thought showers

Audience:

Gender-Male/Female

Age Group- 18-30, Teen (13-19), 30+, 16-25

Class- Working/Middle/Upper Class

Social Group- Adults, Adolescents, Students, Stereotypes, Businessmen, Labourers

Image:

Angle- Wide/High/Low

Shot-Close-up/Long/Medium Close-up

Props- Costumes/Models (Artist/Band)

Editing- Colour schemes/Contrast/Brightness/Cropping/ Use of Photoshop etc.

Text:

Masthead

Cover line/Dateline/Selling line/Tag line

Font-Size/Style/Colour

House-Text/Colours/Repetition/Features/Regulars

Genre:

R&B/HipHop

Rock/Metal/Emo/Gothic/Indie

Dance/Rave/Electro

Opera/Classical/Jazz

Format:

Double Page Spread

Contents page

Editors Letter

Front Page

Features/Regulars

Reviews/Advertisements

Music Genre Choice

I have chosen to create a music magazine within the R&B/HipHop music genre. I have decided to create a music magazine based within this music genre, because it is one in which i am most inspired by. I feel this will give me greater insight into how to produce a magazine like this as i have experience in reading similar products. Other magazines that exist within this music genre is Vibe, Flabour and Billboard, these are big successful magazine companies which shows there is a big target audience for this type of magazine but also that there will be stiff competition against my magazine.

LIIAR analysis of Billboard- Double Page Spread

This is a very simple layout of a double page spread that works really effectively. The typography is all easy to see, and the house colours of pink, balck and white work well together and appeal to a predominantly young female audience. The artist is represented to be quite small as she is trapped in a corner, also connotated by the headline "girl, youll be a woman soon/2 suggesting she is trying to hard to grow up and is being shot down again, and put back  in her place.

LIIAR analysis of Billboard- Contents Page

This is a conventional look of a contents page. containing a list of page numbers and storylines along the left handside of the page, aswell as features on the right handside contained with a mixture of images of both females and males. The house colours of blue and black work well on the simple white background and the age numbers are clear. The main image is of a woman who looks happy which connotates to the audience that they enjoy their music. There is a mixture of close ups and long shots in this contents page, which suggests a mixture of up close and personal interviews aswell as information of favourite artists.

LIIAR analysis of Billboard- Front cover

This Music Magazine uses conventions similer to alot of Music magazines do for their front covers
They use a Mast head the colour of this is white this works well as a contrast to the black background there is also colours used in the font this links with the genre of pop music. The text is bold which is succesfull as this again links with the genre.
The Main image takes up most of the page, this works well as the audinece are direct to the artist. The picture is also of the artist performing again this draws the reader in.
The sub headings down the side allow the audinece to know whats inside, this persuades them to buy it again. The colour of the text is turqioise this is used regulalry throughout the front cover creating a theme.

Different music genres

Dance/Electronica - Basshunter
Pop - Lady GaGa
Rock - Kings of Leon
R & B/Hip-Hop - Usher
Indie - The Wanted
Drum 'n' Bass - Swedish house mafia
Classical - Katherine Jenkins
Metal - Slipknot
Blues - Jimmy Reed

LIIAR analysis of Flavour-Contents page

This is a very simple contents page, using the house colours of blue and black. Keeping the background whitre keeps the page looking clean and smple and allows the images to stand out. The contents page uses the conventions of using text and page numbers along the right handside and using images on the left handside, however they are a bit bigger than normal conventions. The page reaches to a predominantly female audience as most of the images contain women.

LIIAR analysis of Flavour-Double Page spread

This is two double page spreads of alexandra bure from flavour magazine. I shall be talking about the first image, however this just shows a convention that a double page spread is usually four or six pages long. As we can see the double pae spread uses the convention of one main image, taking up at least an a4 side, and an interview using a simple colour scheme of black and pink. The iage is a medium long shot, and the artist is ressed in a very short dress, therefore appealing to a male audience also. However the article is mainly aimed at females, which we can tell through the connotations of the pink font which connotates girliness. The artist is portrayes in a sultry way as shown by her dress and pose in order to entise readers.

LIIAR analysis of Flavour-Front cover

Flavour magazine, is a pop magazine aimed towards 16-24 year olds. We can tell this by the fact it is a free magazine, therefore ideal for students who have low income. It aimed predominantly at females as shown by the image of JLS who are a big hit with young teen girls. The houe colours of gold, black and white, work well together and are consistant throughout. The magazine uses the convention of a tagline, showing artists that are included within the magazine. It also uses the convention of a bold masthead in an easy to read font. A medium shot of the band is used to include all band members and the shot is at eye level allowing the readers to feel connected with the band and as if they are looking directly at them. There is not much text used on the cover, however the simplistic stle works well and because of the big image including four males not much text is needed. The convention of a website is included on the front cover, however a barcode is not used on this magazine, instead the magazine is free which challenges conventions of music magazines.

LIIAR analysis of VIBE- Double Page Spread

This double page spread uses the conventions of one big image, and textalong the right hand side. It uses a long shot of the band, however three of the members slightly out of focus, to highlight will.i.am (the person who they are interviewing. He is dressed in gold, which connotates money and power, whilst saluting as his pose. The text on the left hand side is quite hard to read as the background i quite dark and the font colour is black, however the txt on the other side is easy to read. The audience is yet again still predominantly male as three of the band members and the female is dressed quite provocatively.

LIIAR analysis of VIBE- Contents Page

This is an unconventional contents page, as it contains 5 big images, and not much text. The masthead is split into blocks, of letters making it harder to read, and the magzines logo is quite small. The images are not very clear nor bright, but they all contain either a long shot or medium shot, making the contents page quite distant to the reader. Four out of the five images contain "black" men which is stereotypical to the listeners of R&B/hip-hop and all of the images contain men making thiss appeal to a predominantly male audience. The men are all quite oung and look like they come from a middle/working class background. This contents page uses a simple layout, and will appeal to someone who is just interested in their music rather than dressing it up.

LIIAR analysis of VIBE- Front Cover

april/may 2010

VIBE magazine's masthead is in the stereotypically conventional colour of red, it is also in a big block, bold font all in capital letters. The fact the masthead is in the colour of red, connotates an impression of power and anger within the VIBE magazines context in this issue. Also the fact that some of the masthead has been covered by the artist shows that the magazine is popular enough to be recognisable even with having some of the masthead covered up. The colour of red is continued throughout the front cover of the magazine through the use of text it is contrasted against white text, creating both sets to be bold and stand out. In the use of text red and white are the only colours used on this front cover thus creating a house style. VIBE have used a medium close-up shot of a famous R&B star Trey Songz. This allows the act to show off his facique and endorse for Calvin klein briefs (synergy). It also shows off his tattoo's which connotate a hard man impression which is also supported by the backgroud of the magazine which is like a metal grill fence conontating the ideology of being in prison. Which fits in with the headline Trey Songz 'The hardest in R&B'.

The magazine is aimed an audience who like R&B and hip-hop music, although this is a niche audience, most of the music we know find in the charts are classed as R&B therefore the magazine is hitting a bigger audience than before.
The ideology behind this magazine cover, is a stereotypical 'hard man' as conveyed through the use of language, and the image used on the front cover.

This magazines audience would be a niche audience, however in the mainstream age range of 16-25. The magazine is mainly aimed at a male audience as its features are "4 ways to rock a suit" also talks about being the hardest which is stereotypical for men. We can also tell it is aimed at men by the picture of the male on the front and the red and white house colour.

The representation of the R&B artist on this front cover is stereotypical of a 'black man' or a 'gangster'. As he is placed half naked, showing off his tattoos infront of a grilled fence connotating the barriers of prison.

Conventions of a Music Magazine

Conventions of a Front Cover page:

• Masthead
• Main image
• Main cover line
• Sub-cover lines
• Date line
• Issue number
• Price
• Bar code
• Selling line
• House colour scheme
• Smaller Images

Contents Page:

• Page numbers
• Headings
• Sub Headings
• Emphasised cover stories
• Contact information
• Featured images
• Regulars section
• Features section
• House colours
• Simplicity
• Editors Letter
• Title of magazine and page number at the bottom of each page

Double Page Spread:

• Large Masthead
• Short description of the article
• Inserts relating to the article
• Drop cap to begin the article
• Full page Image
• Quotes
• Website link
• Smaller Images
• Title of Magazine and page number at the bottom of each page

Conventions that could be used to create the stereotypical Music Magazine:

• Gig listings
• Artist/Band interviews
• Music reviews
• Posters
• Music-related advertisements or target audience related advertisements
• Music chart listings
• Music/live gig news

LIIAR interpretation of the Brief

Language- For my front page i will need to include a masthead, dateline, issue number, barcode and price. I will also need Main feature Headlines and subtitle's. I will need a main image and maybe some smaller images also. I will also need to choose a house font and colour scheme to be used within my music magazine. Synergy is used within a lot of magazines and would be an important factor of any music magazine. Synergy is the promotion of the magazine because of the celebrity, in return the promotion of the celebritys new project/album from the magazine.

Institution- For institution i will be looking at which publisher i could use to produce my music magazine. If i wanted to create a monthly glossy magazine i could use a company called BAUER MEDIA, they publish magazines sich as Kerrang, Mojo and Q.

Ideology- For the ideology of my music magazine i need to think about what values i wish the magazine to contain. Also what moral's and messages i wish to contain within it this can be through storylines or through the way the images are produced and the way in which the whole magazine is portrayed. I will need to constantly consider my target audience throughout all the decisions i make whilst creating my music magazine.

Audience- I will need to decide who my target audience will be. I think a younger generation would be more interested in a music magazine than an older generation. Also depending on which genre i choose a gender preference may also need to be consider. I could also take into consideration what sort of background theyre from, wether they are wealthy or poor, wether they are a student or a high flying businessman.

Representation- I intend to represent my target audeinces intherest in the artists and music used within my magazine ina positive and stereotypical way. I will be using house colours, bold mastheads, stereotypical looking main images etc to create a familiarised intizing magazine.

Music Magazine Brief

I need to create a front page, contents page and doublepage spread of new music magazine. All images and text must be original, and my music magazine must contain a minimum of four images.

Evaluation of College magazine- Front cover

   

                                            

  

I wanted to create a college magazine that would appeal to students at WYKE college. So i specifically aimed it at these students. I named the college magazine WYKE it's short, simple and straight to the point. I originally thought of calling my college magazine WYKE association, i would of kept WYKE big as it is in the final cover with a smaller font for the 'association' part but when i tried this it didn't look very good. 

I took quite a few pictures, but when choosing an image for my main image on the front cover i felt quite limited. This is because as i re-read the brief and realised the main image had to be a medium close-up shot i realised i did not have as many of medium close-up shots as i would of wanted. Also many if my images were not of good enough quality to be used. However i am happy with my main image as it fits in with the conventions of a hard working student although he does not fit into all conventions of a purposed 'geek' getting on with his work, which gives a cross of a moral that you don't have to be a 'geek' to do your work. Which is the obvious aim of a college environment.

I also chose to take most of my pictures in the new library and the newly opened grassed area showcasing the new facilities. I think this works well with the new image of the college.

I originally used the font TW cen MT but decided to change this to Soho pro for my final front cover. I did this because i felt Soho pro stood out more and made the writing stand out more. I used the same font in my masthead and cover lines to create an on-going convention within its own individual college.

I positioned my bar code in the bottom left hand corner which is also a convention of any magazine. Although college magazines do not usually have bar codes as they are usually free of charge, i decided to use a bar code as it makes the magazine look more important also in case the college decided to charge for the college magazines.

 I used cover lines i thought would catch a college students eye, that would keep them enthusiastic about their college and interested on ongoing events. I did not use all my purposed cover lines i had originally thought of, but as i looked at my images i was influenced on different headlines.

 I chose to put some images also on my front cover, which is not a necessary convention of a magazine but i felt it bulked it up a bit more, and made the magazine look more exciting. It also gives an opportunity for more students to be displayed which in turn will entice more readers.

I chose to use one academic, professional looking photo and one of some students having fun on the new grass , creating human pyramids in a mid action long shot. I backed these images on a black border so that they stood out from the main image.

I think overall this is a good college magazine front cover, i think i could have maybe improved the main image and used a more creative font and colour scheme, but i think i achieved the simplistic, clean layout convention of a college magazine front cover.



Final College Magazine Front Cover

This is my final front cover for my college magazine. I kept everything basically the same as my first mock up as i liked the design. I added an extra headline in 'UCAS- how to be successful in your application'. I also changed the font of each element to Soho pro. I felt this was more appropriate for a college magazine and helped it to stand out.

Potential College Magazine Front Cover

Mock up of contents page

Front cover draft

This is a mock up of how i will set my college magazine out. I will not necessarily stick to this but it is an idea for me to follow in order to create a front cover of a college magazine using conventions.

Some Images i took, for my college magazine

 I like this image, i think it portrays a fun aspect of college whilst using actual students which would draw the audience to the magazine. The only problem i can find with this picture is that it is not a medium close-up shot so therefore cannot be used for my front cover.

 I think the lighting in this picture is really good. The colours are all very vibrant and bright. The picture portrays a moral of teamwork and also fun to the aspect of college. Again the only problem i can find with this picture is that it is not a medium close-up shot so can also not be used for my main image.


 This is a medium close-up shot of a student who is smiling. This could be used as my main image. I have decided not to use this as my main image, as i do not think it is good enough quality. The lighting is not good enough and also i do not feel the student is centred enough. 

This is a nice picture of two students playing a game of chess. The quality however is poor, so therefore will not be used in any aspect of my magazine.

This is again another nice image of two students playing chess. It is however of better quality and i may decide to use this in one of cover stories, although it is not the best quality image.

 I will not be using this image, as i do not feel it fits into the conventions of a colleg emagazine. The student is neither looking at the camere, laughing or getting on with her work.

This is a good picture of two happy students. It is a medium close-up shot so fits the conventions of a college magazine in that aspect. However, it is a landscape image so because of that it would not work. I don't think i will use this image.

This is a good image of a student getting on with his work in the newly built library. However his face is a little bit to low down, so i therefore wont be using this image.

This image is very similar to the one above, the diference being that his head is slightly more arisen with a slight smile on his face. This is a great example of a medium close-up shot. It also portrays a hardworking student. I think this may be the image i use.

This image is off really high quality. It is a great image of two students getting stuck in on some practical photography work. I would love to use this as my main image but it would not fit any conventions. However i think it would make a good coverline story image. I will definately be putting this image somewhere in my magazine.