Contents Page Analysis: CONVENTIONS

MOOD BOARD FOR FRONT COVERS

Here is a power-point of some images that gave me inspiration for my front cover.

Mood board from JAMESXXHEALY

Title Block Analysis

By looking at this title block of this magazine I can tell that the genre of music this magazine is about is rock/punk. The dark colours tell me that the magazine is about X-Rated stories such as parties, drink, and drugs. The black represents bad and mischief. This colour has been used to appeal to the right audience; the right audience are likely to be goth/emo/teenagers who are interested in loud screaming music. The font tells me that the magazine is rebellious and radical. It also tells me that the magazine covers stories that are ‘’of the rail’’ or stories that wouldn’t be published in other magazines. This connotes that the magazine has a unique feel to it and has certain stories that it covers. It wants the reader to feel cool when they pick up a KERRANG magazine. The title itself tells me that this magazine is meant to be cool and trendy to read. It also makes me feel that the magazine is almost illegal because the title is broken and looks like something a criminal would do. This might infer that the magazine is for people who like illegal things. The title tells me that the target audience are people who like illegal stories and stories that are about rebelling rock stars. Also, they would normally like going to concerts and would most likely be aged from 17- 30.

When looking at the "Q" title block, I can tell that the genre of music that the magazine is about is classical and music that the average person would like. The type of music that you would find on the radio or on the charts. The colours suggest that the magazine is professional and slick. For example the white letter Q stands out from the red background to show that the letter Q is the name of the magazine. The font type looks very classy and italic. This suggests that the magazine is for adults and mature viewers as it wouldn't really appeal to a younger person who would prefer bubble writing or graffiti. The title is simply a letter Q which implies to me that he magazine bases it's stories on interviewing artist. This is because the letter Q normally symbolises the word questions. The target audience for this magazine is normally the average person who likes any type of music. The title block isn't particularly designed after any style unlike kerrang which has a grunge and rock feel to it's block. This plain Q title block suggests that it doesn't want to single out a particular group of people and wants to appeal to more that one type of audience. 

 

The rolling stone title block makes me think that the magazine covers a genre of music such as rock and roll. The colours red and white have been used to maybe symbolise the country the magazine it was made in. Americas flag is mainly red and white and so is the rolling stone title block. The font used tells me that the magazine is about pretty old music as I see the font as an old out of date font that has been used many times. This connotes that the magazine wants to appeal to the older audience who like older music. The title itself is names after a famous rock band. This tells me that the magazine bases it's image on them and wants people to buy there magazine simply because the magazine supports the Rolling Stones. The target audience are those older people who enjoyed rock and roll in the 70s and 80s. This is implied through the use of old font in the title block. 

Title Block Ideas

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Final Magazine Proposal / Character Profile

Proposal from jamesxhealy

Britney Spears Evolution

The image has been cropped to a medium long shit except her feet. The camera angle is taken from the front of Britney where she is in the middle of the shot. This shows that they want to present Britney as the star of the magazine as she is in the middle. They also want her to be viewed as someone who has self-confidence and isn't afraid to show a bit of skin and look sexy. The magazine cover is similar to one of a magazine like nuts. It has her nearly naked which is pleasing to the eye of make reader.

Like mentioned before, Britney is hardly wearing any clothes and has a lot of skin on show. This suggests that the magazine is trying to make her looks seductive and sexy, especially with the lingerie. The bra doesn't match the knickers. The bra is more of an adult type and the knickers are more like teenage pyjamas. This suggests that Britney is still a minor bit has adults assets and is able to show them off on their magazine cover. This would describe young men from 17 to 30.

 There are many props I'm the shot and the main one is the bed that she is lying on. The pink covers on the bed imply that she is a typical teenage girl because pink is a feminine colour that is common among teenage girls. She is also on the phone which suggests that she is wealthy because it was rare to have a phone but she does. The teddy bear implies a similar message to the pants, it suggests that she is still only young as she still has a teddy bear that would normally be for a younger person. The setting appears to be her bedroom because she is on a bed and this suggests that she has a seductive side. The main colour is pink which is feminine which means that she still has a innocent teenage side in her despite being in sexy lingerie that make her look grown up. Her bra is black which is a mysterious colour suggesting that she is unpredictable. Also, the sheets have a dark shade of pink which implies that she has a sexual passion. 

The shot is a medium shot which capture her great body and makes her look very sexy and wild. Straight away, you realise that her pose is really seductive with her leaning up against the wall I'm a passionate way. It's almost like she is inviting the reader into the magazine. In a way she's starting a sexual relationship with the reader because she barely has no clothes on and is looking right into the camera(at the reader). The setting is a room and is very basic so it makes her stand out even more. High key lighting is used to show off her curves and her long blonde hair. It makes her look even more attractive to the readers making them more likely to buy the magazine. This has been done because clearly they are good attributes of hers. The main colour is white which makes her tanned a smooth toned body stand out. Also the colour white suggests that she is like a sexual goddess or angel.  

I think this image has been used to show the reader the other side of Britney, her emotional side. It is black and white to show that she is sad and upset about her personal life. The image has been cropped to just her face like a close up to show her face. This has been done to make her emotions and expressions stand out. It's like they want the reader to really see her pain and connect to her. Britney wants the readers to feel sympathy for her because she believes that her situation is very tragic and clearly wants support and sympathy from her reader. 

Magazine Plan: FEEDBACK

This is a video of me explaining the basic features of my magazine and then receiving some feedback regarding these features. I mentioned things like price, release dates and what genre of music i would be covering, also what type of stories would be in the magazine.

Music Magazine: Initial Plan

The target audience for my magazine is from 16yr olds to 25yr olds. I’m looking to aim my magazine at both genders. I want my magazine to be about mainstream stories and artists. I want to cover cool and unusual music stories. My magazine will contain mainly hip hop and rap music but will also cover songs that are common on the radio and charts. It will appeal to the people with rap and hip hop taste. My magazine will come out every fortnight so it keeps the readers itching to read it throughout the week because it’s been two weeks since they last read it. Considering my target audience my magazine isn’t expensive at all. My magazine will be £2.50. I want my magazine to glossy like Q magazine but I want it to have a clean look to it. Like a professional magazine, not to messy but still attractive.

Music Mgazine Survey: ANALYSIS

1. Do you prefer more images, more text or both the same on the cover of the magazine?
Looking at these results I can see that people prefer more images. However there were some people that like the equal amount. I think that in my front cover it would be smart to have an equal amount because it still has images to satisfy the ones who want more but still has an equal amount to satisfy those who want an equal amount.











2. How many images do you like to see on a music magazine cover?
Clearly more people want just one main image. This will affect my decision when making my front cover. I will try to do what people which is to have one main image on the front cover. However some people wanted to have more than three which is something to think about.

 

 

 







3. How regularly do you want a new edition to be released?
This result was really tight. However I do know that no one really likes to have a magazine come out once a fortnight which means I won’t be doing that. I will decide on whether to release my magazine once a week or once a month.

 

4. Would you like to access this magazine online?
This is a clear result and I should definitely make my magazine accessible on the internet.

 

5. How much are you willing to spend on a monthly magazine?
Looking at this result I know that no one wants to pay more than three pound. People want to pay less than three pound. So when I need to decide on a price I need to think of a reasonable price preferably under three pound.

 

6. How many pages would you suggest a music magazine has?
This result did have mixed data with some people wanting less than 20 and some more than 20. However the clear majority was toward more than 20. This will affect how many pages I will have in my magazine. To be safe I would have 20-30 pages.

7. How often do you read magazines?
This result is tough because it has a balanced mix between once a week and once a fortnight. This information gives me a good insight to how many times people read a magazine.

 

 



Magazine: Institutional Research

	KEY CHARACTERISTICS	TARGET AUDIENCE	BRAND IMAGE	ANY OTHER LINKS
BAUER	This publisher covers a mixture between niche and mainstream magazines. For example, ZOO is a mainstream magazine whereas PRACTICAL PHOTOGRAPHY is a niche magazine because it is for people who like reading about photography.	Once again, Bauer covers a wide range of audiences ranging from men ages 18-35 reading ‘ZOO’ to middle aged women reading ‘Closer’.	Bauers image is to bring you the latest and best magazines as soon as they come out. The want to provide the magazine as something that is easily accessible and can be viewed through many devices.	For example, KERRANG magazine has a radio station, tv channel and an online website. There are links to media services such as YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and there are also links to their magazine services such as radio, TV, mobile and online.
IPC MEDIA	IPC Media provides a wide range of magazines. Some are mainstream and some are niche, for example the magazine NUTS is a magazine that can be virtually read by anyone without having a particular interest.	Like Bauer, IPC Media has a lot of magazines that range from target audiences such as young men looking at car magazines to old women doing gardening.	Just like Bauer, IPC want an image that they bring the best and latest magazines to you the public.	None of the magazines they cover have other links. For example none of the magazine has a TV show or a radio channel. They have high profile magazines but not ones with other links like KERRANG for example.
IMMEDIATE MEDIA	Immediate Media cover mainstream and niche magazines. For example, Match of the day is a mainstream mag whereas magic golf is a niche mag because it has a specific audience.	The magazines on this publisher range from genres. For example there are sports mags and there theirs fashion magaziness. This means there is range of target audiences.	This publisher wants its image to be that they cover the lesser known magazines but they are still top quality magazines to read.	Strangely, most of their magazines have other links. The main one is TV. Several mags such as ceebeebies and bob the builder have good tv links.
DEVELOPMENT HELL	Development hell has magazines that are musically based. Especially club music and party music.	This suggests that their target audience are young adults who like going out and partying to good club music.	They want people who like club music to see them as the best publisher that promotes their favourite type of music.	Most of their magazines have links. Not tv links or radio links but they have links like mobile apps and social meida sites.