This is my preliminary work, which was to design a school magazine front cover.
Audience research online
Questions:
1) What attracts you to the front cover of a magazine?
2) What type of music are you into?
3) How often do you read magazines?
4) Why do you read magazines?
Answer 1:
1) Pictures of celebrities and bold colours
2) Anything really but mostly bands such as Coldplay and Kings on Leon
3) Not very often, maybe once every 2/3 months
4) I like reading about new artists and seeing upcoming gigs
Answer 2:
1) Bright colours and a big colourful picture to catch the audiences attention.
2) Indi bands such as Forever The Sickest Kids and We the Kings etc.
3) About once a month
4) Nothing better to do, it passes the time
Answer 3:
1) Well known bands and freebies
2) RnB and Hip-Hop etc
3) Abut once a week
4) To read agony aunt articles and read gossip on the celebs
Evaluation:
After looking over what people have said above, I think it would be a good idea to include bold text/colourful writing on my front cover so as to attract attention and make people want to pick it up and read it. From the answers I also found that most people like indi music and fashion combined so I decided to do an article on an upcoming indi/dance artist who is also a model.
Main Project Planning
Main project:
It was harder to choose a topic for my real project as there was so much I could have done it on. I made a list again to choose topics and this included things such as:
A new marriage for ex WAG
Chipmunk’s success
Latest line-up for gig
Music star injured
However I wanted to write about something interesting, not just the latest celebrity gossip, and that is why I chose my article to be on upcoming artist’s success. I wasn’t sure about what to write about, so I decided to make it into an interview asking questions about her career and what the future holds.
List of questions I chose:
At what age did you start singing?
How did you find out about the competition?
Do you have any role models?
Have you entered any other competitions before?
How will this affect your future?
What genre of music do you prefer?
Where do you hope to e in 10 years?
Did anyone inspire you to become a singer?
The hardest part was taking pictures. I tried lots of different pictures because I couldn’t decide what genre of music she sang. I eventually decided she was a pop artist, but as most magazines are on singers in the charts, I said in my article she was into country music, and therefore I decided to make her look as though she were a country singer.
This is where I came up with the idea of having her outside on the front cover and double page spread. It also made a really pretty scene as it was bright. I chose that specific dress as it added to the brightness and made her stand out more because it was colourful.
I also decided to use a wide shot of her, as the background made the picture look better, and I thought it looked better than having a medium close up or close up, which is what most magazines use nowadays.
I matched the writing colour to the background picture so it made it all fit together better. Some writing was in a golden yellow colour to match the bit of building in the background. This colour also fitted very well because I wanted it to feel like a spring/summer magazine. I then used the colour white again because it stood out from the background better and matched her dress.
I used that certain font style because she looks quite elegant in the picture and aristocratic in the picture.
When designing my contents page I didn’t want it to look plain so I used different colours on the background. I chose pink because it matched the colours on the models dress on the front cover and double page spread. I then chose the light grey as it matched quite well with the light pink. I wanted to use quite bold font to make the topics stand out. I also only chose to have 3 pictures on my contents page because I didn’t want to overcrowd it. However I did rotate them and put them behind/in front of each other to make it look more artistic so they didn’t look they were just placed there without any thought going into them.
I left choosing a name for my magazine to the end. I wanted something that would make it seem like a music and fashion magazine put together. As the magazine was based on music, I had to come up with a name that mainly symbolised that. When looking at magazine names though, I preferred the fashion magazine names to the music ones such as OK and Vogue.
Here is a list of some names I came up with:
Crunk
Rhythm
Megaphone
Fuel
Hip-hop
Hear
Here
I eventually decided on the name Here. I liked this name because it was here and hear combined. As it had fashion elements in it, it meant the fashion news in ‘here’. And as it was a music magazine it was as if saying, ‘hear’ the music.
It was harder to choose a topic for my real project as there was so much I could have done it on. I made a list again to choose topics and this included things such as:
A new marriage for ex WAG
Chipmunk’s success
Latest line-up for gig
Music star injured
However I wanted to write about something interesting, not just the latest celebrity gossip, and that is why I chose my article to be on upcoming artist’s success. I wasn’t sure about what to write about, so I decided to make it into an interview asking questions about her career and what the future holds.
List of questions I chose:
At what age did you start singing?
How did you find out about the competition?
Do you have any role models?
Have you entered any other competitions before?
How will this affect your future?
What genre of music do you prefer?
Where do you hope to e in 10 years?
Did anyone inspire you to become a singer?
The hardest part was taking pictures. I tried lots of different pictures because I couldn’t decide what genre of music she sang. I eventually decided she was a pop artist, but as most magazines are on singers in the charts, I said in my article she was into country music, and therefore I decided to make her look as though she were a country singer.
This is where I came up with the idea of having her outside on the front cover and double page spread. It also made a really pretty scene as it was bright. I chose that specific dress as it added to the brightness and made her stand out more because it was colourful.
I also decided to use a wide shot of her, as the background made the picture look better, and I thought it looked better than having a medium close up or close up, which is what most magazines use nowadays.
I matched the writing colour to the background picture so it made it all fit together better. Some writing was in a golden yellow colour to match the bit of building in the background. This colour also fitted very well because I wanted it to feel like a spring/summer magazine. I then used the colour white again because it stood out from the background better and matched her dress.
I used that certain font style because she looks quite elegant in the picture and aristocratic in the picture.
When designing my contents page I didn’t want it to look plain so I used different colours on the background. I chose pink because it matched the colours on the models dress on the front cover and double page spread. I then chose the light grey as it matched quite well with the light pink. I wanted to use quite bold font to make the topics stand out. I also only chose to have 3 pictures on my contents page because I didn’t want to overcrowd it. However I did rotate them and put them behind/in front of each other to make it look more artistic so they didn’t look they were just placed there without any thought going into them.
I left choosing a name for my magazine to the end. I wanted something that would make it seem like a music and fashion magazine put together. As the magazine was based on music, I had to come up with a name that mainly symbolised that. When looking at magazine names though, I preferred the fashion magazine names to the music ones such as OK and Vogue.
Here is a list of some names I came up with:
Crunk
Rhythm
Megaphone
Fuel
Hip-hop
Hear
Here
I eventually decided on the name Here. I liked this name because it was here and hear combined. As it had fashion elements in it, it meant the fashion news in ‘here’. And as it was a music magazine it was as if saying, ‘hear’ the music.
Magazine research
I like this magazine cover as it's very simple. I like the way that all the writing is white and the same font because it makes it more established. The picture is also very simple, but it looks interesting. I also like the style of writing used for the title 'Vogue' and it looks very sophisticated which suits the target audience of women aged about 16-early 40's.
Magazine research
Magazine research
I think this magazine cover is really well thought and planned out. I like the use of colour in this one, its bold and captures your attention. It is also good how it says you get a free CD because that will make people want to buy it if they get something free with it. Even thought the magazine heading is quite small it still stands out just enough. I think its very clever how they also have to writing in the middle saying 'LOVE MUSIC HATE RACISM'. This is good because the people in the background relate to tis as they are mixing from different ethnic backgrounds. I also like the way that on the side it looks as if part of the page has been ripped out, it makes it look more interesting. Although the cover is very simple and there isn't actually much on it, it looks busy, but in a good way, and I think it works well at getting attention and standing out on the shelf.
You can see from looking at this front cover that the cover lines are mostly on the left, and for most of the cover, they have used the same font. It also shows a group of teenage boys mixing together from different ethnic backgrounds. You also see that in bold at the top, and again further down, it says you get a free CD with it. Lastly on the right hand side its made to look like art of a page has been ripped out.
Pitch for magazine at the moment
My magazine is a music magazine which incorporates fashion into it as well. It is mainly aimed at girls aged 16-25 who have an interest in the music business, but moslty who just want to keep up with the latest trends and mainstream music.
Ideas of styles:
Rihanna
Pixie Lott
Lady Gaga
Kesha
Jennifer Hudson
Beyonce
Esmee Denters
Main cover will be of a girl in a big house doing a fashion shoot kind of thing, main article inside maybe on the girl having won a competition to perform her new song at the start of London Fashion week.
Or how she's a new RnB artist who has recently been found and signed.
Props:
Guitar
Microphone
Style of clothes:
Jacket
Going out dresses
Oversized top, jeggings and heels
Backgrounds used in shots:
Garden scene
Scene in games room by pool table
An old fashion room
In a sitting room by a fireplace using low key lighting
Preliminary Planning
Preliminary:
School is all about, the ability to do well, so as to be able to carry on and go into further education. This is why I decided to base it on the topic of what to do after school. I chose it to be about travelling after school as many people think this is a good idea if they are not sure whether to go to University or not.
I chose that specific picture as it was a picture I took from a school trip, and with the badge he is wearing, it is clear he is on some sort of trip. Although I was told it would have been better to choose a picture that filled the whole front cover, I quite liked it when mine left a white gap at the top, because I have only seen one magazine which does this, and it’s quite original and different.
I decided to go for the colour white and black for my smaller topic headings, as they match the title. I also used black and white because these colours showed up better on my picture, unlike other colours I chose such as green and purple.
For the contents page I decided to keep with the same colour scheme, except add red to make it stand out a bit more. I also kept with the same topic line, which was about University, because I used a picture with someone wearing a top from University. I also added a picture which is a picture of a pool, looking over to the mountains, and I decided to use this picture for the topic, successful school trips. I made it go across the whole of the bottom of the page to make it look like there was more on the page, and also to make it stand out more.
I came up with the smaller topics by making a list and then choosing the best things. This is the list I made, with the ones I chose in bold.
New head teacher
New school cafe
Revision tips
Good ofsted report
Girls rugby team
New school equipment
Arts and Crafts fair
Exam results
Getting ready for university
School trips
School is all about, the ability to do well, so as to be able to carry on and go into further education. This is why I decided to base it on the topic of what to do after school. I chose it to be about travelling after school as many people think this is a good idea if they are not sure whether to go to University or not.
I chose that specific picture as it was a picture I took from a school trip, and with the badge he is wearing, it is clear he is on some sort of trip. Although I was told it would have been better to choose a picture that filled the whole front cover, I quite liked it when mine left a white gap at the top, because I have only seen one magazine which does this, and it’s quite original and different.
I decided to go for the colour white and black for my smaller topic headings, as they match the title. I also used black and white because these colours showed up better on my picture, unlike other colours I chose such as green and purple.
For the contents page I decided to keep with the same colour scheme, except add red to make it stand out a bit more. I also kept with the same topic line, which was about University, because I used a picture with someone wearing a top from University. I also added a picture which is a picture of a pool, looking over to the mountains, and I decided to use this picture for the topic, successful school trips. I made it go across the whole of the bottom of the page to make it look like there was more on the page, and also to make it stand out more.
I came up with the smaller topics by making a list and then choosing the best things. This is the list I made, with the ones I chose in bold.
New head teacher
New school cafe
Revision tips
Good ofsted report
Girls rugby team
New school equipment
Arts and Crafts fair
Exam results
Getting ready for university
School trips
Preliminary planning
- Get pictures for the front cover
- Do a mock up of my page layout
- Research other school magazines
- Edit pictures
- Do my final layout and add pictures to the magazine.
- Do the contents page
Action Plan
Sunday 24th Jan - Research other music magazines
Tues 26th - Friday 29th - Get audience research
Saturday 30th - Plan main layout of my magazine and do a mock up of what I will include in the double page spread and front cover
Tuesday 1st Feb - Make a final decision on the design/content of my magazine
Friday 5th - Friday 12th - Start designing the layout of my front cover
Saturday 6th - Saturday 13th - Get pictures for my magazine
Tuesday 16th - Sunday 21st - Finish my front cover
Tuesday 23rd - Tuesday 9th March - Start and finish the main double page spread
Tuesday 9th March - Tuesday 16th - Check both the front cover and double page spread and make final alterations
Tuesdya 16th - Tuesday 30th - Put everything together and make sure everything is to my highest possible ability
Tues 26th - Friday 29th - Get audience research
Saturday 30th - Plan main layout of my magazine and do a mock up of what I will include in the double page spread and front cover
Tuesday 1st Feb - Make a final decision on the design/content of my magazine
Friday 5th - Friday 12th - Start designing the layout of my front cover
Saturday 6th - Saturday 13th - Get pictures for my magazine
Tuesday 16th - Sunday 21st - Finish my front cover
Tuesday 23rd - Tuesday 9th March - Start and finish the main double page spread
Tuesday 9th March - Tuesday 16th - Check both the front cover and double page spread and make final alterations
Tuesdya 16th - Tuesday 30th - Put everything together and make sure everything is to my highest possible ability
Planning my magazine
Planning:
- Research other magazines
- Research target audience and write who my target audience is
- Plan what to put on my front cover
- Start taking pictures for my magazine
- Mock up of magazine cover
- Mock up of double page spread
Audience research:
My target audience is girls aged 16-25 from the B social class, meaning that they will mostly be middle class.
Research
Bang: April 2003 launch that marked a departure from Future's usual formula and markets (though does have 2 magazines for guitarists). A monthly music title in small-A4 format that went straight up against established titles from Emap and IPC, as well as Development Hell's recent launch Word. Closed in January 2004.
My first impression on this magazine is that it looks like its for boys, aged 15-25. The magazine title is very bold and bright red so this helps to make it stand out. The images are also quite good because they are spaced out which gives it a better layout. However I think I would have chosen to put the barcode at the bottom and not at the side, and I think the colours should may be be different colours. I don't really like the way they use different fonts and colours because it makes it look a bit messy.
Characters
Jerry Maguire
Works for a Sports Management International company.
He seems a bit bigheaded
He seems to like being the centre of attention because he really get it.
He is quite important but never gets to be seen, he's always behind the scenes.
Lester
Works for media management
Lives with his wife and daughter who don't like him very much, or pay much attention to him.
He obviously doesn't like his life very much as he says he will be dead in less than a year and his life is already over.
House/life looks perfect but inside its not at all.
Jason is an 13 year old boy from Newcastle. He lives in a council house with his mum and has an older brother who has moved out to live with his friends. Jason's mum doesn't really seem to notice him and doesn't care about his education and 5 months ago he was kicked out of his school for not attending classes. For the past 2 years his mum has been on and off with guys, but finely he thought his mum had settled down and decided to have a break from men and life was good when Jason took up a dance class. He had made some great new friends and really thought this could be an opening for him at last, that was until his mum dropped the bombshell that she had met someone else and they were moving away.
Audience research methods
I will put a survey/questionnaire on a networking site, e.g. Facebook, for people to answer questions.
I will also do an interview, on my friends and people in my age range.
Seeing as my magazine is on fashion and music I should probably ask more girls than boys to get a better idea of how to make the magazine better.
Audience research
Mainly for guys.
Early 20 to early 40's.
Josh is a 23 year old student studying music and events management at university and works part time in a recording studio. He is middle class in the classification of B. He is interested in the history of music and wants to delve deeper into the music industry.
National Readership Survey (JICNAR)
| Classification | Description |
|---|---|
| A | Upper middle class |
| B | Middle class |
| C1 | Lower middle class |
| C2 | Skilled working class |
| D | Working class |
| E | Subsistence |
The audience I am aiming at is fairly middle class people interested in music and fashion. It would probably be more for late teen girls. Not necessarily interested in the media business but wanting to keep up with news from the music industry and hear the latest gossip.
Audience research:
I could interview people.
I could give a survey out and get people to answer questions.
Recording of response.
Vox-pop.
Interview questions:
What type of magazines do you read?
Do you like to read about celeb gossip?
What makes a magazine good?
As an interviewer I don't think I rose to the challenge very well. I think it would be better if I could engage more and ask better qualitative questions and if I actually had a structure set out.
Brainstorming ideas for portfolio
What do I want to achieve?
Better design skills
Learn how to use all the different programme's/software
Get more experience for the future
Alone or in a pair?
I would rather work in a pair because you will both know things, and the other person may know something you don't which would help a lot of the final piece. But then again it would be good to work alone to show how good you are, and not you and your partner.
Comment?
It is a very good design layout and quite professional looking. It shows understanding with the programmes used to reach your full potential. However the pictures could merge together more to fit better and you could have used bolder colours to make it stand out more.
I think after reading over both options given, I would prefer to do the print. I think it would be more interesting that the video option and I would learn the skills I actually wanted to learn. I also quite like photography and as all images have to be our own, this would be interesting to do.
Mark: Level: Level 3: 40/60
Overall I think it is a very good piece and there is a good use of different camera shots and the construction of the piece is quite strong although it was fairly confusing.
Group 2:
Representation of disibility
Disabled parking
Wheelchair
Can't do all the sports we can e.g. running
Not always able to talk/communicate
First impressions of this extract:
Don't look very happy
Reading children's books
Don't treat them very well
Dull and grey.
A few can't communicate well.
He will make the place happier/livelier, or he could mess up the whole place and create mayhem and try to get away because he hates it so much.
Michael
Connotation: He looks a bit sad, he doesn't look disabled when he is sitting there. All sitting together as if its a daily routine. No sense of control.
Denotation: He is quite lonely and independent.
Rory
Connotation: He looks like a bit of a rebel. He's young. The van he comes in isn't very nice, it looks as if he is about to be locked away.
Denotation: He looks independent as you can't see he is in wheelchair.
He is wearing quite a bright top and his hairstyle makes him stand out. He's got a sense of humour even thought deep down he's probably a bit depressed and lonely.
Rory's playlist:
A day to remember
Greenday
Emo music
Rock music
Prodigy
Mise-en-scene
Non diagetic music at start
Diagetic when the woman talks, amd when the tv is playing
Low key lighting
They are positioned all in a neat order/row.
No one wants to go to mass - loss of faith
Non diagetic music again\Then diagetic sound comes in when woman introduces herself
Camera work:
Long shots and close ups used.
Close up used on each individuals face, to show their emotion
Discuss the ways in which disability is represented in this clip
Disability is represented in many different ways in this extract. The idea of disabled people being 'different' or 'special' in enforced by the use of sound, colour, positioning and dialogue.
The colour scheme is often grey, and the camera often zooms in on the patients' faces to show their expressions as they react to what is happening around them. This helps to enforce the idea of the patients feeling frustrated with their inability to communicate and being treated like children by staff.
Sound is used at the start as non diagetic and the music is quite soft and subtle to influence the mood. later one dialogue is used and background noise is used from the tv, this highlights the tension and dull atmosphere.
Often during the scene editing has been used to enhance the mood, especially with the feeling of isolation. The main character at the front of the scene is often in focus, whilst the rest of the scene is in the background and out of focus. This emphasises the separation and lack of communication between the people living in the place. Also there are plenty of shots to help the audience to understand what is going on through the scene e.g. showing the piece of string between the wheelchairs to help us understand what the persons trying to communicate.
Monopoly - Multiple things owned by one company.
Oligopoly - A small elite having a large share of the global media business.
Synergy - The idea of a media campaign to market a particular product. E.g. owning several media platforms to easily market one product to target a particular audience.
The audience is both a consumer of media products but also a producer.
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