Analysis of different music magazines

Rock Magazine

This magazine is a rock/heavy metal magazine. You can tell what the genre of this magazine is going to be because it has most of the convention you would expect to see. E.g. the band have a serious look, it’s quite fierce as well as being all dressed in black and having dark make-up which connotes ‘fear’ and ‘evil’ it has usually negative connotations as we would expect the band’s music to come across as because it is very loud.

The title of the magazine is very bold and plays as a pun with the quote ‘Life is Loud’. The writtng seems ‘cracked’ as if someone has broken it by a loud sound. The name is also covered semi by one of the band members heads because the magazine is very well known and you don’t need to see the whole title to recognise which magazine it is.

The magazine has the story of the rock band written across the picture in big red writing to go with the theme. The main cover line acts as a hard hitting list of three which plays along with the main picture and the writing font as we relate the colour red to something like blood and death.

Unlike some other rock magazines I have seen from Karrang, this magazine doesn't have that much information on it doesn't look so 'stuffy' so we know were to look. It uses more pictures and this is placed at the bottom so that all the attention goes to the main picture. I would say the main target audience of this magazine would be the younger teenage audience as the rock band and other artists seem quite young too.

This is an example of another Karrang magazine with more information on the front cover.

Hip Hop/Rap Magazine

This magazine's genre is hip hop and rap. Again the magazine has a well known hip hop artist (Eminem) on the front of the magazine who seems to look very hench and serious as you can see him crossing his arms symbolising 'strength' and to show he is the 'boss'. He is making direct eye contact with the audience making it more personal. The writing on the front is mostly bold red and black writting connoting 'danger', which is what Eminem comes across as it resembles his personality in real life through music and his appearance. Again there is a list of three as the the main cover line so it creates a  bigger impact. Most of the cover lines are smaller than the main cover line and are usually rhetorical question so that it makes the audience want to find the answer to the question if they agree with it or not. As you can see, the layout is quite spacious and makes it easy to read and looks up to date, which compliments it's target audience (teenagers amd young adults).

Classical Music magazine

The genre for this music magazine is classical with incoparating jazz too. The style of this magazine is quite fresh and basic with the background being a plain white and other colour schemes being red, white and black. The front cover is again a main model who is a well known musician who plays classsical music as you can see by the prop she is holding (violine). Her facial expression is seems friendly and engaging because it seems as if she is smiling the the audience, this really comes across in the way she is also holding  her instrument showing how passionate she is about her music and whatshe does. The layout of the magazine is also quite basic with the a few basic bold headings and small subheadings. The font for the title is quite elegant and in red showing elegance and 'royaltiy' almost. Other advertisisng points on the cover of this magazine is the yellow puff at the top of the magazine which says that a CD comes free with every issue connoting you get a bargin offer with the price and its like a 'reward'. Another selling point is where it says  that this magazine is 'the worlds best selling classical magazine', with the well known BBC logo next to it, this shows that you are buying the best of the best. the target audience for this genre would probably be adults around thier mis 30's.

Something that all these magazines have in common is the fact that every model/arist on the front covers a bit of the title of the magazine, this shows that you don't have to see all of the title of the magazine to recognise it if it is a well known magazine. Plus the main story line of the magazine is usually a personal story to do with the artist on the front.

Music Websites

This is one of the music websites I looked at in the first lesson. The genre of music is 'classical' and the website is promotes the magazine and talks about news and other things such as news about the composers and gifts you can win etc. Things you would expect to see on a website as well as the logo on the top of the page. The colours of this website are mostly white and quite basic going with the theme of sophistication.

This website is called Karrang like the magazine. The genre of music is 'rock'. As you can see the colours contrast from the website above it hasmuch more grey and black colours which we associate with the genre rock. The website advertises the concert of the bands and how you can win tickets for it.

This website is called Vibe. The genre of music it presents is Hip Hop/Rap. The website has a bold look and mostly black and sort of red as this is what you would expect most of the artist to be wearing as do the two 'rap'  artists on the website. They use well know artist to advertise the website, hence Eminem who is well know in the hip hop music industrie, with the man standing in the background showing some sort of 'ghetto' sign and they both look very serious.

Starting my Official Music Magazine

Hello everyone, I started my research for my school magazine about 2 week ago, I did some resaerch on different music websites such as Karrang, Vibe etc. And analysed different genres for mucic magazine. I know it's late, but I just need to upload the work I have been doing onto this blog, which will be very soon!

Evaluation of my magazine front cover and contents page

First of all I had to changed the colour theme of the magazine so that I could have similar colours running through it insead of the red colour which was quite random. I also included more pictures in the contents page so that it would look more colourful and more relistic. I wanted the picture on my front cover to look realistic so I used photoshop to edit out the model and put her on to the background (school hall) as I wanted to create illousion that she really is there and that is were the event will take place. Things that went well when creating my magazine front cover and contents age were the fact that I could use a variety of different techniques to test out fonts that when well with the elegant theme of the prom. I also liked that the title of the magazine went well with the theme.
Overall, I wanted to include what my target audience thought most importantly, what the magazine to include/look like. Although for my contents page I went for the 'Beaverwood' theme but using pictures instead like the school hall and the front of the school entrence. It was imporatant for me to keep looking back at the data I found out from my target audience so that I didn't just include what 'I' wanted in the magazine, that way it would show that my magazine could cater for the year elevens taste. 
I would change the fact that I did most of my work for the front cover  of the magazine on word document instead of powerpoint that way the magazine could have looked more professional. I would have shown print screens of my work in process to show how I actually made the front cover and magazine  i.e. what equiptment I used.

My Final School Contents Page!

For the final copy of my school magazine contemts page I used brighter colour so that it matched my front cover more and added a few pictures like you would usually see in a contents page. The background image of the school entrence is blured out with this sight I used called 'Pic Nick', I used a colour contrast equiptment on Photoshop so that it looked more blended in. I tried to match the trees next to the entrence match the titile 'Contents'. I used a bright turquoise colour so that it stood out and when with the 'summer' theme.

My Final School Magazine Cover!

As you can see I made a few changes to the final magazine cover from my first draft. I changed the background colour of my magazine so that it was a more 'midnight' colour theme. I mades shore that the writing was kept the same because it stood out from the dark backgroud and you could read it easily. I made shore that the main words such as 'Glam Factor' etc stood out and make the magazine look elegant and different. I also added a puff near the top of the page in a bold blue cover as a form of advertising to show that it's a good value because it's 'free'.

I ended up choosing the first imgae and the 7th image for my magazine front cover as you could see on my drafts. I choose these two images because the colour contrast are similar and it looks like it was taken in the evening which was the effect that I wanted. I used photoshop to merge both of the images together so that it looks like she is really there.
For my contents page I used the last image as the front of the school would be more effective, I croped some of the image then added a colour contrast and blur effect.

The pictures I used for my contents and magazine front cover and the pictures that I rejected

1st Image: In this picture the lighting is shining directly on the model and the picture is a mid shot. The way the model is dressed and the make-up goes with the theme of ‘prom’ the glamorous, chic look. Although I might have to be careful with the lighting as this lighting is quite bright and the might make a contrast with the background (the school hall) which would be taken in the morning.

2nd Image: In this image the model also looks elegant but is wearing a different dress. I think that the lighting in this picture is wrong because it looks a bit dull and blue and I don’t think it would go with the background. And it seems as though the pose is quite uncomfortable.

3rd Image: I think that this picture would work to as the magazine front cover as it is a perfect mid shot. Although I think that she doesn’t quite look as if she is going to prom as she should have more jewellery.

4th Image: I have rejected this image because it is not a mid shot and the camera angle is tilted plus she is not looking at the camera, which would mean that she wouldn’t be making contact with the audience which is important.

5th Image: I wouldn’t use this Image as the back ground for my model because it seems colourless and it doesn’t look like a prom background.

6th Image: This image would is showing the whole stage a better setting but the angle of the shot seems a bit tilted and the colour looks to bright because it was taken in the daytime, but the prom is going to be held in the evening so u would have to contrast the image more.

7th Image: This image has a better contrast and would look more realistic when I place the model in the image.

8th Image: The picture is a midshot. As it is showing the front of the school and would be more effective. I would improve the angle of the camera because it is a bit tilted. The picture is a midshot.

1st draft of my contents page

This is the 1st draft of my contents page for my school magazine. I edited the picture of the school enternce on photoshop so that it gives s nice summer effect with a glow around the edges as the graduation will be held near that time. I went for green writing so that it stands out from the background but also has similar colours to the trees. The bright blue writing makes eye-catching and looks quite illouminous. If I were to change it I would add more pictures to do with graduation and the school and maybe change the colour so it matches more with the front cover.



1st draft of magazine front cover

This is the 1st draft of my magazine and cover. I have gone for a nice red colour to go with the theme of 'prom' it looks a bit more clssy. I have given the main picture a 'fady' effect. I decided to go for the colour pink as my subheadings with white so it stands out from thedark background. The magazine includes the basics like the main model on the cover, a location and the school logo so it is recognisable. I might need to make the title a better colour so it's more eye-catching. I edited the phtoto on Photoshop.

2nd Media lesson-Other examples of school magazine

Point 1: The title of the magazine isn't that obvious as it not in capitals and mixes in with what  they say is going to be in the magazine.

Point 2: There is a blue theme with the magazine with a faded background image that gives a good effect 

Point 3: The school logo is relevant for the magazine so that it can be recognized

Point 4: The magazine shows  two students from the school so we know they are from the school. They look like they are in year 11 (maybe the target audience) because they are in uniform.

Point 5: The main story looks like its about the new humanities building and it shows what page you have to go on to read about it.

Point 6: Something intriguing makes you want to buy the magazine to see what  the story is going to be.

Point 7: Advertising what might be inside the magazine like an advice column 

Point 1: Talks about what is inside the magazine but not in that much detail and the colours match with the background- maybe hard to see.

Point 2: You can see the model in the picture who looks like she is looking at a results sheet or something.

Point 3: The location gives it a nice affect.

Point 4: The font of writing doesn’t look that professional.

Point 5: This magazine doesn't look that professional, because you can easily see it hasn't  been photo shopped, although the photo is set in a nice scenery.

Point 6: The magazine doesn’t have a school logo or bar code which makes it not look like a real magazine.

Point 1: This school magazine looks  quite professional because of the sophistication of one colour and just two pictures. Although I would say that it looks more like an ‘induction booklet’ of the school then a school magazine.

Point 2: There is no barcode on the magazine.

Point 3: The name of the school looks almost like the logo giving a good affect.

Point 4: The first photo looks like its of the school but not photo shopped that much, whereas the second image looks more edited and contrasted.

Point 5: It doesn’t have any labels, or information on the front about what is going to be in the magazine which is un-professional.

Pie chart of my results (questions 1-5 analysed)

For the above question there was one person who suggested colours black, white and grey for the ‘different colour option’. Another pupil suggested red, purple, green, yellow and blue. The other two pupils just ticked the box and let me decide the colour order. Originally if pupils ticked this box and didn’t suggest a colour, then I would pick the colours of my preferred choice. There was one pupil who went for the 'one theme colour' choice, she suggested the colour orange.

Font Styles for my magazine front cover

Beaver Times

This is my first font; I wanted the colours to be like the Beaverwood school uniform as the graduation/prom is the last time the year elevens will be together as a year, so I wanted to be like a memorable gesture.

What I like about it: the colours match with the uniform and it’s bold.

What I would don’t like/need to improve: Have a more elegant font maybe.

Font: Times New Roman

Beaver Times

This is the improved font from the one above, I went for a different font to see if could find a more sophisticated font; I kept the colour the same to see if they fitted together.

What I like about it: It goes with the graduation theme of elegance and the colours combine a memorable status of a title.

What I don’t like/need to improve: n/a

Font: Edwardian Script ITC

Beaver Times

I changed the colour to a pinky/red to look more girly and classy, I also underlined the title.

What I like about it: It’s an eye popping colour, would go with the theme proms.

What I don’t like/need to improve: It needs to have a bolder line underneath.

Font: Edwardian Script ITC

Beaver Times

For this font I tried a lighter colour so that it looks more relaxed and I made the letter at the beginning of title bigger so that  and to also go with the background which would be the school hall.

What I like about it: I like the two different colour themes.

What I don’t like: n/a

For the cover of my magazine I have chosen to go with the second font as I felt that it looked elegant to go with the prom theme but also away of remembering the school with the theme colours. Plus, preferred this font to the others.

I collected the results of my questionnaire that I had given to 20 year 11 students (all girls). Next I'm going to make a table with my results and maybe a bar graph and analyse them.

Today, i finished my questionnaire. I decided I want my target audience to be year 11. I also started researching other school magazines looking at the advantages and disadvantages of each of them so that i can take it into consideration when designing my own school magazine.

This is my questionnaire.

Questionnaire

Hi, my name is Tasnema, I am a year 12 student and I’m designing a school magazine, could you please fill this questionnaire out for me. Thanks.

1.)   Which name is your favourite for the title of the magazine?

(Tick one box)

  

 Beaver Times                   Beaverwood news             The Beaver                

 Beaver’s news             BW news                   

   

2.)   What colour theme would you like throughout the magazine?

(Tick one Box)

      Beaverwood theme colours                                

       (Colours of the school uniform)                   

      Natural/ Pastel colours

       (Soft beige, light greens and yellow colour etc)

       Luminous colours

       (Green, pink, yellow etc)

    

      Different colours for each page                      

      (No order)

      One theme colour

      For whole magazine

Suggest colour

 

    

3.)  Which price do you think is adequate for a school magazine?

(Tick one box)

Free                40p               50p               £1.00              £1.50              

4.)  Would you like competitions and games in the magazine?

Yes                                                No   

5.)  What would you like the magazine to be based on?

(Tick one box)

Transition to college                    

Or 6^th form 
              
Graduation/Prom

  
         Coping with the                                                               

         Exam period

        
         Revision techniques

          

 (The boxes to tick a option were included in the original questionnaire.)

This is my third media lesson. Today we looked at another example of a school magazine to give us some ideas of how to do our. I looked at some other examples to, we also noted our target audience and what things we are going to include in our own magazine like the price, the name of the magazine, theme etc. My target audience are year 11's.

Just made my blog account! Had my second media lesson, and today we saw examples of another students school magazine that they had created and discussed what the good and bad effects of it were.