Interview (final)

To change the previous problems of poor quality images, I retook the images, and changed the colour levels to the best as I could. I also changed the background for the introduction paragraph as this seperates the page. I also chose to add in captions to give each image more meaning and reason.

Gig Review (final)

To solve the issues with the page split I moved the text and scaled the images to make them fit the columns. I changed the colour of the opening paragraph so that the reader will subconciously know that this paragraph would be an introduction, the colour change also helps separate the page and give it an added edge to it.

Contents Page (final)

With a week to go before the final copies were due I decided with feedback from my teacher that my contents page was worth leaving as it is, as the page layout works well, with the images and the text and font size.

Front Cover (final)

When creating my final cover, I retook my main image, and as the sizings then had to change I moved the main strapline to make the image look more proportionate.

As I changed the position of the strap line I also changed the opacity of the background to the substrapline, making it blend in better.

Interview (draft)

This is my interview draft, I tried to make this peice my most text dominant, however in doing so I made it too dominant. As well as this the quality of a number of the images including my main one is not worth putting into my final peice.

Gig Review (draft)

This is my gig review draft, there were a few problems with this, namely the size of the 3 secondary images as well as the overlap onto the second page. When creating this article I was not sure about where the two pages divided.

Contents Page (draft)

This is my draft contents page.

When I analysed magazines contents pages I noticed that when the magazine dominated with images there would be a set layout for them, this layout often was symetrical. As such I created my own layout for my contents page.

I chose to have the 4 smaller images divided into halves, one side being live reviews and the other being single model images. With the bigger images I chose to use two unconventional images (the white line on the lower image is meant to be there, I took a picture of a mirror and thats the wall next to it).

I chose to write a letter to the editor to give the magazine an open feel to the reader.

Front Cover (draft)

This is my initial draft cover,
Its noticable that theres issues with the main image.
Other than this I feel the borders at the top at bottom help frame the page, and with the main strap line at the centre of the page with the main feature and then the second strap line and feature to the side of the masthead, making it easily noticable as the person looks at the masthead.

Questionnaire Analysis

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AY6xCtXXHiK_ZGM5bjNuZzNfNDRkcmhiNzlnYg&hl=en

After input the information I recieved from my questionnaires into excel,
I created a number of graphs, and in this document I analysed the different graphs.

Questionnaire Final

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AY6xCtXXHiK_ZGM5bjNuZzNfMzdmOTRqczhjOQ&hl=en

After changing my initial questionnaire I ended up with this.
Handing out roughly 15 copies of the questionnaire had no issues, and no-one that I asked had an issue reading or filling out the questionnaire.

Questionnaire Draft

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AY6xCtXXHiK_ZGM5bjNuZzNfMzZjcDQzdnJjbQ&hl=en

This is my initial design for a questionnaire to hand out to my target audience and other members of the public. However once I handed out a few copies of the draft I noticed a few issues with it.

Double Page Spread Analysis (Summary)

http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B46xCtXXHiK_ZDYxZDAwZTctMDEzZi00MjQ5LWI3YjgtNWE2Njk3YzNmYjU0&hl=en

This is simply the summary of my four article analysi.
Applying the points I took from each article to my own product.

Double Page Spread Analysis (Plain White Ts)

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AY6xCtXXHiK_ZGM5bjNuZzNfMzRjM3gzcjhkeA&hl=en


















After analysing the gig review, I figured my review article would then be more effective as a darker page. As such I want to create my second article as a light one.
This article is similar to how I would like my second article to look like.

Double Page Spread Analysis (Killswitch Engage)

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AY6xCtXXHiK_ZGM5bjNuZzNfMjlmdDJmM3hkZA&hl=en



















As part of my research I chose to analyse another Kerrang article, as when I saw this article, as when I first saw the article, I liked the layout and the effectiveness of the quotes and colour scheme.

Double Page Spread Analysis (Leona Lewis)

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AY6xCtXXHiK_ZGM5bjNuZzNfMzF2aHF6bmdncg&hl=en

When researching into articles, I had to chose an article outside of my chosen genre.
As such I decided to analyse this Leona Lewis interview from a pop magazine. As I am planning on writing my own interview and can take points for my structure and questions from this article.

Double Page Spread Analysis (My Chemical Romance)

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AY6xCtXXHiK_ZGM5bjNuZzNfMzF2aHF6bmdncg&hl=en



As part of my research task I had to analyse 4 double page spreads.
So as I am planning on creating a gig review, I decided to analyse this Kerrang article about My Chemical Romance.

NME Contents Analysis

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AY6xCtXXHiK_ZGM5bjNuZzNfMzJwbm1nOTZnMg&hl=en

My third magazine that I analysed the contents for was NME as it is from the same genre as my magazine, however it isn't as image dominated as the other two magazines, which means that I'd be getting information about a range of styles of contents pages.

VIBE Contents Analysis

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AY6xCtXXHiK_ZGM5bjNuZzNfNDFncXZrNnNkdw&hl=en

When analysing contents pages, i had to research into one not from my chosen genre, and as such i chose to analyse VIBE as it is similar to what i want my final product to look like as it is image dominated.

KERRANG! Contents Analysis

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AY6xCtXXHiK_ZGM5bjNuZzNfMjdkYzRya2tjbQ&hl=en

When analysing contents pages I chose to analyse Kerrang as I would like my final products contents to be similar to this, by being image dominated and structured.

Pulp Cover Analysis

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AY6xCtXXHiK_ZGM5bjNuZzNfMzVmd2JtZDVnNA&hl=en

This is the second magazine I decided to analyse outside of my chosen genre
This would be a typical pop magazine, due to the format and mode of address.

VIBE Cover Analysis

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AY6xCtXXHiK_ZGM5bjNuZzNfNDJjZ2J0bWNocg&hl=en

As part of my research task I had to analyse covers from different genres to my own.
As such I chose VIBE as it is an RnB magazine, that is mainly picture dominated like the magazine I want to create.
This cover that I chose is a special summer edition, so I could write about how this cover isn't using VIBEs house colours, to denote the special edition.

NME Cover Analysis

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AY6xCtXXHiK_ZGM5bjNuZzNfMzNndnF6cDdkMw&hl=en

The second cover I chose to analyse from my chosen genre is NME.

KERRANG! Cover Analysis

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AY6xCtXXHiK_ZGM5bjNuZzNfMjhnd3JyNDhmcA&hl=en

Kerrang was the first magazine i decided to analyse this is because i would like my final product to be similar to Kerrang, in the style and positioning of text etc.

Research into Magazines

We were given questions to complete on each type of magazine we chose.

Find out when they were launched...?
6th June 1981

How much each magazine cost...?
£2.10

How often each magazine is published...?
Weekly

Who publishes each magazine?
Emap

What type of reader each magazine targets...?
Young teen male, rock music listeners

How successful each magazine is...?
very, branched out to radio and tv, total circulation roughly 52,000

Does each magazine give you a circulation and readership figure?

no, absolutely no mention of Kerrang! magazine on the site

What other magazines (if any) do they publish?
Alot e.g. New Civil Engineer, Local Government Chronicle, Drapers, MEED, Nursing Times etc.

What other media interests (if any) do they have?

Festivals and awards, conferences, exhibitions, insight and data.

If your magazines have websites, visit them and note down any other relevant information. E.g.: how each magazine describes itself and its audience...?
Dark website fits in with the magazines conventions, typical rocker language, not very formal, sells the magazine well, gives a large number of the headlinesl, but not too much detail into each one, making you want to buy it more. it promotes its other forms of media, (radio and tv)

Find out when they were launched...?

March 1983

How much each magazine cost...?

£2.20

How often each magazine is published...?

Weekly

Who publishes each magazine?

IPC

What type of reader each magazine targets...?

Young male older than KERRANG! Audience, rock and indie music

How successful each magazine is...?

Very, with a large fan base and major sponsorships on shows, total circulation 48,459

Does each magazine give you a circulation and readership figure?

circulation=40,948 readership 369,000

What other magazines (if any) do they publish?

Nuts, Womens Own, Country Life, Marie Claire, Look, etc.

What other media interests (if any) do they have?

Radio

If your magazines have websites, visit them and note down any other relevant information. E.g.: how each magazine describes itself and its audience...?

Very busy contents full of headlines, not really promoting the magazine as it gives you all the headlines and information, includes a video box and free radio channel.

Find out when they were launched...?

1993

How much each magazine cost...?

???

How often each magazine is published...?

Monthly

Who publishes each magazine?

InterMedia parteners, LP

What type of reader each magazine targets...?

Young between 18-34 from all ethnicity, R&B music listeners

How successful each magazine is...?

Sells less, but was highest selling rap magazine before its

cancellation in june 2009

Does each magazine give you a circulation and readership figure?
no Vibe link

What other magazines (if any) do they publish?

Uptown magazine

What other media interests (if any) do they have?

TV channels and programmes, like Soul Train and Universal Sport, and Music Events

If your magazines have websites, visit them and note down any other relevant information. E.g.: how each magazine describes itself and its audience...?

Background full of the main promotion, not too busy, but a large number of headlines accompanied with images, easy to read formatt.

Enrolement Task

While enroling to Woking College's media course, we were given a number of tasks, which basically got us to draft ideas for our music magazine and then we had to write an essay on our favourite magazine or artist/band.

A) Potential Mastheads?

RAWR! ?
Youth ?
Next Gen Music?

B) Target Audience?

Late teenage (15-19) male audience
Drum and Bass, Rock, Indie

C) Potential Features?

Big section of unsigned bands
Every week magazine
Each week a4 sized posters, 4 or 6 posters each week
Opportunity for the public to vote each for the big poster which will be in released with the next magazine at the beginning/end of the month
Set up a myspace page where the public can suggest an unsigned band which will then be interviewed and added into an issue
“We recommend” page
Each issue has an interview with famous bands ranging between Pendulum to Arctic Monkeys, Paramore to Papa Roach.
Advertisement page
Up and coming gigs
Gig reviews

D)Essay on my favourite band/magazine.

My chosen band is Papa Roach. One of the reasons why Papa Roach are one of my favourite bands is that they have a great image, in every photo or video I have seen of the band, they always have their own unique style, dark but powerful and they would most definitely stand out in a crowd, as a teenager, this rebellious image inspires me to dress in a similar manor to feel as powerful. However the bands lyrics pick up on many important issues, one of which is individualism, so despite the bands physical image they encourage their listeners to keep their individualism.

The bands lyrics cover a large number of issues including: poverty, politics, self harm, and much more. The bands success in all their lyrics come from their first hand experience in near enough all of the issues, this shows listeners that this band is the real deal, they don't just sing about these events, they have in fact, lived through them. The lyrics are very empowering despite, in most songs, being about desperation. Listening to the Papa Roach albums really gets me to think more about the world as the band raise issues that, normally, I would not think about and this then gets me to broaden my opinion on the world, as songs like “Getting Away with Murder” highlight the American governments bias view and how, as long as you are in this government you can do anything, listening to this song then got me to think about politics more. Whereas songs like “Lifeline” and “Last Resort” highlight an idea of desperation in the teenage lifestyle, the songs reach out to teenagers while they are in a state of mind where they want help, as they sing about a need for a “Lifeline” to save them from the state they are in.
Each of the Papa Roach albums focuses on a different type of genre with each one highlighting a key topic of issues, for example the album “Infest” is about poverty and a broken home, whereas the album “The Paramore Sessions” focuses on love and fighting for yourself.

The songs on the “Infest” album were written by lead singer of the band, Jacoby Shaddix. He is an inspiration to me as a musician and song writer, as his parents divorced when he was 6 and he had to bare through the arguments between his parents, he also is a sufferer of ADHD, but despite this he still managed a successful music career and ended up marrying his high school sweet heart. Jacoby has suffered from a drug and alcohol addiction, which he managed to kick one year ago. It is also rumoured that during his teenage years and the years of his addiction Jacoby self harmed, which he also recently got over.

Along with the meaningful issues in the bands songs, they're also my favourite band due to their catchy lyrics, guitar riffs and drum beats.

Practise Cover and Contents Page

Before starting on our main magazine cover, Sophie set us the task of taking images and using photoshop to create ourselves a mock "Zine" cover and contents page. This would then highlight the areas on photoshop that we are weak and also where we are strong.

This is an image of Willem Defoe that I used as a practise image on photoshop, the aim was not to make a good image but to play around with photoshop and get used to the tools, as you can see i added alot of zips to his face, i used the clone tool alot because i liked the effect of it and i think that if i could incorporate this tool into my main magazine it would look good.

This is my practise "Zine" cover

It is very basic, this is because i was so far into the editting process, that photoshop would not let me edit the whole image and add in a background, however i feel the cover is not too boring.

I used the image of my friend as he has a nice cheeky smile that is very inviting, this fits in with the theme i wanted for the magazine, the theme of "welcome"

However my friend is no "posterboy" so i decided to edit the image using the blur tool, this would then keep his face the same colour but get rid of his freckles and spots.

To make my image not so rough around the edges i used the airbrush tools at different sizes to blend the image to the background.

To make the image more crisp i played around with colour levels etc.

I then moved on to my contents page, unfortunately i didn't take many of my own images so i borrowed some off a friend, this image was one of them, i chose it as the "Zine" magazine is aimed at Woking students and this is a shot of the skate park not far from the college.

To change the image i decided to make it black and white, this would also blend the colours of the background and not leave any contrasting colours.

However when loading the image onto another photoshop, the black and white effect wasn't loaded so i changed to the charcoal effect which gives a similar image.

I used the gold writing to stand out from the black and white making the page easier to read.

When making my final cover and contents i will aim towards making conventions for my magazine and sticking to those themes throughout, i might stick to a single image on the front cover as this makes it simple but the image needs to be good and filling. I will also work better on a background for the front cover, as a single colour does not look that good, and i will also work better on making the contents page look more professional.