Analysis of second contents page - 'Shout'

Analysis of first contents page - 'We Love Pop'

Analysis of second front cover from pop subgenre - Shout

Shout magazine presentation2 from indiajonesmedia

Analysis of first front cover from pop subgenre - Top of the Pops

The first magazine cover I have chosen to analyse is from the magazine brand Top Of The Pops. This magazine is a perfect example of my chosen subgenre, pop music. 

Masthead - the masthead is bold and eye catching. The font used easily catches the eye of the reader, it is big and placed to the left of the magazine. The white colour is emphasised by the use of the pink under lay. The actual wording of the masthead suggests to the reader that this magazines content is the best of pop music today.

Colour palette - the colour palette used is typical of a pop magazine, it uses 2 main colours, white and pink which connote youthfulness and energy, perhaps also innocence and love. Yellow and black are also used to highlight key information. 

Mode of Address - again, similar to the colour palette the mode of address used is also typical of a modern day pop magazine and expected by the pop subgenre. The language and diction used is direct, short and snappy and straight to the point. Abbreviations are used and also slang. Explanation points are used to connote excitement and encourage the reader to pick up a copy of the magazine to see what is inside. 

Images - the main image is of young x-factor originated pop girl group Little Mix. This is key to the magazine as it is the main article. Described as 'Little Mix takeover'. The image links in with the article about one of the members having a 'secret'. 3 out of the 4 girls are looking directly into the camera at eye level, this causes the reader to feel involved with the magazine and as if they are looking directly at them. The images used throughout the front cover and fun and colourful. All images are seen to contain happy, smiling cheerful people which only reiterates the idea of fun, youthfulness and energy. 

Puffs - surprisingly this magazine cover does not include any puffs, which is most unusual for a magazine of it's type. 

Cover-lines - the cover-lines and the accompanied images are found down the left side of the magazine. All of the cover-lines include an explanation mark which draws the attention of the reader, exciting them by the prospect of what the article is about. Interestingly, another cover-line is featured at  the very top of the magazine, this is unusual as usually this space is filled by a puff. 

Fonts - fonts used on this front cover big and bold, which subsequently means they are eye catching and draw the readers attention. 


Shot-type - the shot type that has ben used is a long shot (LS) as you can see the full bodies of the artists.

House Style - the house style of Top of the Pops is typical of a pop magazine. It includes a bright colour palette involving pink which connotes femininity and love - which is perfect for the magazine as it is promoting young boy bands which girls associate with love. 

Brand Identity - the magazine creates its brand identity by using its signature Top of the Pops masthead which uses pink and white - encased with white stars. 

Institution first from indiajonesmedia

Institution Research

Here I have researched a wide range of music magazines, I have done this to analyse and interpret how magazines are laid out and designed. A few magazine front covers I looked at: 

Initial ideas for my music magazine

My initial ideas for my music magazine: 

Genre - for my music magazine I intend to follow the pop genre. I have chose this genre because it holds a lot of variety within it, there are many young pop artists around at the moment, and because of this my magazine will come across as more mainstream, appealing to a wider audience rather than folk or classical music which would be niche, appealing only to a smaller range of audience. 

Target Audience - Because my magazine will follow the pop culture I believe my target audience will be teenage girls interested in young, current pop music and groups. This age range could be from 12-20 years old, I want to make a magazine which is relatable to people my age, this works because I am within this age bracket. 

Artists - pop culture holds a wide range of varying artists. A few of which I will use in my magazine (eg. front cover, smaller images, contents): One Direction, Justin Bieber, Rihanna, The Wanted, Little Mix, Cheryl Cole, Ellie Goulding. All artists that fit into the pop genre. 

Colour palette - I will use colours which are seen to be more feminine, often associated with girls. These will include: pink, purple, white. Bright fun colours which connote youthfulness, excitement and perhaps love. 

House style – All of the above contribute to the house style of my magazine and the brand identity. The colouring will give my magazine it’s individual brand identity which will be feminine, young and fresh. The images of pop artists I choose to include will also contribute as they will act as the leading forefront of the magazine; showing the reader what is included in this magazine.

Mode of Address – The way my magazine will be communicated is by an informal, chatty style. With an almost familiar, friendly sense to it.

Fonts – The fonts I will use will be big bold fonts to draw the readers attention. Fonts typically used on a pop magazine, for example the masthead and splash are usually seen to be quite rounded and colourful, not harsh or edgy.

Introduction to main task

The Brief

Now that I have finished my preliminary task, I will now start the main task.

Main task: to create the front page, contents and double page spread of a new music magazine.

All images and text used must be original, produced by myself. Minimum of four images per individual.

WORK FLOW:

14th October - 

• Introduction to main task
• Initial ideas for music magazine
• Research of chosen subgenre: Front cover analysis

21st October - 

• Research of chosen subgenre: contents page and double page spread analysis
• Develop Pitch

4th November - 

• Pitch & audiences
• Style sheet & mock-ups
• Planning for production

11th November - 

• Indesign / photoshop training
• Designing front cover

18th November - 

• Designing front cover

25th November - 

• Designing contents page
• Audience feedback on contents page

2nd December - 

• Designing double page spread
• Audience feedback on double page spread

9th December - 

• Designing double page spread
• Audience feedback on double page spread

16th December - 

• Finalise magazine design
• Introduce evaluation

6th January - 

• Evaulation

13th January -

• Evaluation

20th January - 

• Evaluation
• Final blog check

My Evaluation

Question one: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? 

Before creating my own magazine I did research on the key elements of student magazines and magazines in general. I found that a lot of the features were similar. Student magazines tend to focus on a certain person/band as the main image which is therefore the centre of attention to the audience, the person/people are usually that of a younger generation in order to relate to the reader. The mode of address used with student magazines was seen to be informal and chatty to relate to the target audience. The colour palette used often consisted of either two or three main colours. These colours were bright and bold which not only caught the eye but also had connotations of youthfulness and energy.
Looking at my research I then went on to photograph a student which again, relates to the target audience and to coincide with the brief I used a medium close up shot. I chose the colours of black, blue and white as I thought these were eye catching and also gender neutral. The black masthead also contrasts nicely with the white background, which perhaps connotes a more grown up vibe for the magazine, but then the youthfulness is reiterated with the splattering of blue boxes which encase the cover lines  splash and puffs. For my masthead I chose the word 'Current' as I feel as though this connotes a young and flesh, almost electric vibe for the magazine, and also playing on the idea of electric that the magazine is exciting and new. 

• Question Two

       How does your media product represent particular social groups?

d    My magazine represents teenage social groups averaging from 16-24 as I am apart of that social group. I have shown this by photographing a student, keeping the colours quite simple, such as white which connotes freshness. As a result of this I believe that although the image is of a male, my magazine still targets both genders due to the colour palette I have used. From my target research I found that students were willing to pay 50p at the least and £1 at the most, perhaps £2 depending on the thickness of the magazine and the quality of content. I chose to price my magazine at £75p as it is affordable for students who perhaps do not have much money, which I think is a fair price for the amount of content. 

• Question Three 

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? 

I feel as though my media would be most appropriate distributed within a college or university as the content within the magazine is targeted at students and college life, with competitions and prizes which would benefit students. The magazine is relatively inexpensive and therefore I think it will appeal to many students. 

• Question Four

       Who would be the audience for your media product?

The target audience for my magazine would be mainly teenagers, and people ageing from 16-24. I say this because the content in the magazine is created and based for and around students, who will enjoy the competitions and also reading about college life, achievements. Also the magazine involves top tips for studying and also veers away from the work-based aspect which compiles the majority of the magazine and focuses on outside college life matters, such as music downloads and festivals which may interest a lot of students. 

• Question Five

     How did you attract/address your audience?

I 

     I attracted my audience by using a clean, fresh and simple central image on the front cover, which was cluttered, abstract or hard to understand. The image is also of a student who attends the college and therefore will attract other students as they will relate to the pictures as it is someone of their own age. I used black texts which stands out against the white background covered in blue boxes which adds to the youthful look. I addressed my audience with an informal chatty style which relates to young people. My cover line, splash and puff fonts are the same as on my contents page which adds to the continuity of the magazine. The fonts I have used are clear and easy to read. 

•  Question Six

      What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

      To bring my ideas to life I used a programme called Indesign. This was a new programme I was not familiar with and had to learn in order to create my magazine front cover and contents. I had to use layers when I wanted to add images or text to my magazine. Deleting or adding items as my magazine developed and changed. However, I did find it quite hard and at times frustrating placing images or text as I often kept forgetting to add a new layer every time I made something new! It was quite hard getting used to but I know that now I can effectively and easily use Indesign that it will be extremely helpful in creating my music magazine for my main coursework task in the future.

My front cover and contents page

Mock Up Front Cover and Contents