When creating my masthead, I wanted to emphasis to be placed mostly on the ‘LOUD’ part of the title, rather than the whole of the title ‘LiveLoud’. Adobe Gothic Std was my chosen font for ‘LOUD’ whilst also being written in capital letters and a size 550pt font. I chose to use white as the colour of the text as the light colour contrasts with the dark background allowing the text to stand out.
‘Live’ is written in the MV Boli font, and has a minimized size of 250pt compared to the 550pt used on the word ‘LOUD’. The slight italic style of the black coloured text which is placed overlapping ‘LOUD’ and has an outer glow of a light grey colour is also made visible, though the emphasis is still placed on the word ‘LOUD’.
The masthead of Kerrang! has also used the general conventions of using large, bold text with a memorable though the masthead is spread across the whole of the top of the page, whereas mine is spread across the left and the middle of the page.
My reason for not choosing to place my masthead across the whole width of the page is because it would have meant that the image would have been overlapped, which in my opinion would not have achieved the professional look I was hoping for.
My sell line also follows the conventions of a sell line, and is written underneath the masthead. The sell line – ‘Live Life Loud’ was chosen because it relates to the title of the magazine, and once again relates to music, which is what the genre of my magazine is.
‘Life is Loud’ is the sell line of Kerrang! which like the sell line chosen for my music magazine, relates to the music genre, and also the fact that the rock/metal genre that the magazine specialise in is also seen as being typically ‘loud’.
The barcode, price, issue and date of a magazine are conventionally placed in the bottom right hand corner of a magazine, as demonstrated on magazines such as ‘Kerrang!’.
The barcode is made visibly clear, however, the font of the information such as the price, issue and the date of the magazine is often small, therefore not a focal point of the page.
However, as this is where such information is usually conventionally placed on the front cover of a music magazine, this is where customers and retailers of the magazine are most likely to look, hence my choice to place the barcode, date, price and issue in the bottom right hand corner.
If a magazine company wants to be popular, then the price of the magazine must be affordable, and reasonably priced for the contents within the magazine.
I decided on the price of £2.00 for my music magazine as I felt that this was a reasonable price which could be afforded by the target audience of teenagers (14+), at such a time when teenagers struggle to find jobs etc.
I also chose the price of £2.00 as I felt that this would also be competition of other magazines who specify in the same genre(s) as my music magazine such as Kerrang! and Rocksound.
Kerrang is usually price marked at the price of £2.20, whereas the price of Rocksound has increased to £3.99.
I wanted the main focal point of my music magazine front cover to be placed directly on the main image used, which I believe has been achieved due to the editing of the hair to experiment with colours available on Photoshop, and also increasing the brightness to maximise just how eye catching the hair is.
Another choice for me choosing to colour the hair red/orange is because it then partially continues to carry on the colour scheme used throughout the magazine; Red, Black and White.
With the Kerrang! copy that I am using as part of my evaluation, the main focal point is the main cover line of ‘Bring me the Horizon’.
The main cover line is in the centre of the page, written in black and in Eras Demi iTC as a font. ‘Music is my life’ is what the cover line states, and is a quote taken from the double page spread I also created. The black Eras Demi iTC font used contrasts with the red rectangular box which is the background of the cover line. By including a quote, this could be seen as a personal touch been added to the cover, whilst also acting as a teaser as this could prompt the audience to buy the magazine so they are able to read the article.
The use of the colour red as the background could simply be a denotation as being ‘red’. However, the use of red could be an example of connotation as it could signify ‘love’ which would link in to the fact that ‘Music is my life’ has being quoted, which could also be interpreted by the audience that ‘Ellie Diggle’ (the main person of the front cover), loves music also.
The main cover line on the Kerrang! cover is ‘Bring me the Horizon’. The use of white text outlined with a red outer line allows it to seem ‘bold’ compared to the other text surrounding it, which also seems to emphasise the text, therefore making it a focal point also. The cover lines of the Kerrang! magazine are spread across the page, though the two main ones are linked in to the main cover line, and around conventionally placed next to it, making it easier to view.
‘’You don’t know me’’ is a quote from Oli Sykes featured in the interview of him inside the magazine. This could also be recognised as a teasing content as the splash next to the quote states ‘Most revealing interview ever!’ which could provide curiousness to the reader, once again possibly prompting them to buy the magazine.
My cover line is also conventionally placed next to the main cover line, and is relating to the main cover line itself by saying ‘Ellie Diggle for Eccentric tells all’. As the main cover line says ‘Music is my life’, the cover line I chose to use could be interpreted as also being a teasing content similar to the Kerrang! issue as it doesn’t specifically say what the article is about, however by including ‘tells all’, it possibly suggests that there is something that is going to be revealed within the article. I decided to go against the conventions to include a skyline as after experimenting with a range of colours, fonts and sizes, I felt that it took the focus away from the masthead which I didn’t want, therefore my choice to not include a skyline on the front cover of my magazine.
With Kerrang! they have included a skyline and it links in with the main image and the main cover story, therefore it links in with one another. The use of yellow, red and black also links in with the main cover story, and the main image, so has managed to blend in with the magazine, without focus being taken away from the masthead etc.
The cover line ‘Ellie Diggle from Eccentric tells all’ acts as a teasing content because despite there being a quote ‘Music is my life’ being used as the main cover line, it doesn’t reveal a great detail of what the article is about. By including teasing contents, this could have an effect of prompting the target audience to possibly by the magazine to find out what the article is actually about.
The rectangular box at the bottom of the page could be suggested as going against conventions as it doesn’t state ‘Plus’ though it is clear by using the symbol ‘+’ instead. It is also a teasing content, as the audience are made to look inside to see what the bands written in the rectangular box are about etc. ‘Most Revealing Interview Ever!’ and ‘You Don’t Know ME!’ and ‘Rock’s Most Controversial Star Bares His Soul’ are all examples of the teasing contents used in the Kerrang! front cover.
As previously explaining, they do have an effect, as this emphasises the ‘shock’ factor of the interview, which could make the target audience feel intrigued as to what has been said.
In my opinion, by including an editor’s note, it allows the readers to feel more ‘involved’ within the magazine, having a positive effect as they are then more likely to purchase the magazine again.
For the contents page of Kerrang! that I have chosen to compare my magazine too, I have used the one once again featuring Oli Sykes.
There are six images on the contents page, though the one featuring Oli Sykes who looks as though he is signing something is the obvious main image used on this issue’s contents page. The image’s layout is across half of the page and the range of the colours blue and purple reach out from the page, and contrast against the main colours of the rest of the page of white, black and yellow.
Inside the contents page that I created, I sectioned off the page into categories of; Gig Reviews, Features, Posters, News, Album Reviews, and Gig Guide. By doing this, I have conventionally matched what you would expect to find in a professionally made magazine. The effect of categorising the page is that a sophisticated look is achieved, which also looks professional.
Also, it makes the contents page convenient for the reader as they article(s) that they are wishing to look at can be easily found, without having to look through the whole of the contents looking for the desired article.
By designing the headings of the categories so that they have a continuous style of the first category ‘Gig Reviews’ being written in Impact font in white, placed on a red background, and the second category named ‘Features’ also being written in Impact font, but red text placed on a white background allows the audience to be visibly clear as to what the contents headlines are.
The contents of each category are written in a white font which is also made understandable and easy to read from the black background.
Because of the decrease in font size of the categories compared with the contents of each category also allows the reader to be more aware of the difference between the headline, and the contents etc.
Kerrang! have also chosen to be conventional with their contents page as each article is categorised into any of one of the following; Feedback, News, Swag, Live Reviews, Features, Album Reviews, and ‘Famous Last Words’.
This also has a sophisticated look, and is also another example of convenience for the reader as the headline title of each category, and the contents of each category is also made clear due to difference of font used, and the difference of the colour of the font used.
The headline is conventionally written in an Impact font which then continues to carry on the house style used throughout the whole of the magazine.
The headline’s text is written in a large font, in black, therefore contrasts against the red rectangular box I have placed behind the text, allowing it to be eye catching towards the reader.
The headline is a quote saying ‘’Watch this space’’ as I felt that by including a quote as the main headline, it could be used as part of a teasing content, making the reader feel intrigued to read what is included within the article of the double page spread.
With the Kerrang! article I have chosen to compare too, there has also been a continued use of using conventions.
The band featured in the article is We Are The Ocean, a band which specialise in the genre of ‘Post Hardcore’ as stated in the introductory paragraph of the article. The album that they released ‘Cutting Our Teeth’ seems to be portrayed in the main headline of the article, with an image of a pair of scissors ‘cutting’ through the middle of the main headline.
The text of the headline is written in a large, understandable font which sticks to conventions as of a double page spread.
I chose to have an introductory paragraph in my double page spread as did Kerrang! because I felt that by using an introduction for the article, it allows the audience to get a ‘feel’ for the article, making them have a better understanding of the article.
Kerrang!’s introductory paragraph ends with the use of an ellipsis after ‘But they’ve got a new direction in their sights…’. By leaving an introductory paragraph finishing in a way like this, it could be factor which could be implied as being a ‘teasing content’ as it the reader is then likely to continue reading.
I included a photo credit as a conventional factor of my magazine as this is included in the music magazines of the rock genre I wanted to pursue in, and in order to continue with the professional look hoping to be achieved, I felt that it would be ideal to include a photo credit.
Like Kerrang! I also include a by line which states the name of the journalist of the magazine, once again wanting my magazine to have similar features to Kerrang!
I only included one pull quote of my magazine, as did the article featuring We are The Ocean. My choice for this is because I wanted the focus of the reader to be directly pointed to the article, rather than the quotes.
In my opinion, if there is an increased usage of pull quotes, then the focus steeps away from the article, and more focus in placed on the quotes.
By only including one pull quote, this means that the reader has to read the article to find out what it is about, rather than relying on the pull quotes to find out the information. The quote ‘I used to play little concerts when I was five in my living room!’ could suggest to the reader that the feature of the article, Ellie Diggle, has a ‘down to earth’ personality, which is quite popular, therefor making the reader more likely to read onto the article.
‘We want to take a risk’ is the pull quote included in the feature of We are the Ocean. To the audience, this could be interpreted by the audience as being a teaser also, making them curious to read on.
The stereotypes I wanted to relate to in my music magazine are stereotypes that Kerrang! also pursue in the creation of the magazine. I wanted to aim my magazine at stereotypical groups which are seen as being ‘individual’ such as ‘emos’ etc.
I think I have managed to achieve this in my magazine with the use of red, black, and white, which are the usual colours associated with such stereotypical groups.
With the front cover of the Kerrang! magazine I chose to analyse, they have also managed to aim their magazine at the specific stereotypes by including Oli Sykes, who is often associated with such stereotypes due to the band he is a member of, his appearance, and his vocal style.
The quote ‘You don’t know ME!’ could just be seen as a denotation of Oli Sykes claiming that people don’t know me. However, the connotation of the quote could be seen as being able to be related to by the stereotypical groups that the magazine is aimed at, as people of such groups are often bullied due to their appearance etc. for being associated with a stereotype.
As I wanted my magazine to be aimed at teenagers/young adults, I didn’t want to use fonts, images, and words that seemed ‘child like’ as in a way, this could be seen as being patronizing, which wouldn’t be very popular.
I used the colour scheme black, white and red as I felt that they are more ‘adult’ colours, rather than using primary colours red, blue and yellow as once again, this could be seen as being childlike. Kerrang!’s age group seems to be aimed also at 15+, and manages to target this audience by writing articles in a way that seems to target the audience with the use of taboo language, whilst approaching subjects that members of the target audience are likely to face, or have been faced with; i.e discrimination/bullying due to their appearance.
Because of approaching subjects like this, the audience are likely to feel that they are able to relate to such a magazine, therefore continuing to purchase to magazine. For the Socio-Economic Groups I aimed to target groups C1 (Supervisory or Clerical, Junior Managerial, Administrative or Professional), C2 (Semi Skilled Manual Workers), D (Semi Skilled And Unskilled Manual Workers) and E (Casual Labourers, Unemployed, State Pensioners).
By pricing my magazine at £2.00, it allowed it to be affordable, and with the content included it meant that it was reasonably priced for money also. By putting an affordable price on a magazine, this widens the target of the audience as more people are likely to buy it. By placing a higher price on a magazine, this decreases the audience population as people are less likely to be able to afford it.
I think Kerrang! has also targeted the same Socio-Economic groups because their price of £2.20 is also affordable, and also for the content within the magazine is reasonably priced for money, meaning that their target audience is also widened.
Bauer Media would be my chosen media institution to publish my music magazine as I feel that they have expertly produced Kerrang!. As the genre of my magazine is the same as Kerrang!, I would also want the expert look with my music magazine also, which I believe would be achieved if Bauer Media were to produce it.
My target audience of my music magazine would be teenagers/young adults (Demographic Age Range of 15 – 24) and I would like to aim at both male and female. However, due to the images of the magazines I have included only being female, it could be suggested that the magazine is predominantly targeting females.
It could also be argued however, that there are males names listed in my contents page, possibly suggesting that the magazine is indeed aimed at both male and female.
I would target my demographic S.E.G audience by ensuring that the price is affordable (which I think is when priced at £2.00), and I would also probably include a number of competitions as this would also possibly attract members of the D to E category of the S.E.G demographics.
Another idea which I would include if my magazine were to be published is making the specified audience feel more ‘involved’ within the magazine, but also feeling like they can relate to the articles. If a person feels as though they can relate to something, then they are more likely to feel as though they are involved, resulting in them being more ‘willing’ to buy it, especially if it such an affordable price, and also good value for money.
Throughout the process of constructing my music magazine, I have learnt a range of technologies which I feel that have helped me a lot whilst creating it. When starting my media course, I was unfamiliar with Photoshop, and how to work it, though I feel that I have progressed throughout the duration of my course. I learnt to improve my skills on Photoshop by watching YouTube tutorials on the website, which go through each process step by step making me feel more comfortable about what I was doing, whilst also making it more of a convenience to me too. For the images used, I edited the colour of the hair by selecting the brush tool, selecting ‘mask’ and colouring in the selected area I wished to change colour. I then unclicked mask, selected ‘inverse’ and then creating a ‘new fill layer’, selecting ‘Solid Colour’ and then changing the mode to ‘Soft Light’ before selecting the colour I wished to change too. I also changed the brightness of the colour of the face of Laura (The girl I chose to use for my magazine), by completing the same process of changing the hair, though making the skin paler. I rotated the rectangular box of the background of the main cover line on the front cover, and also the headline of the double page spread, as I felt that this made it look more different as opposed to having just a rectangular box placed at a straight angle.
The red eye removal tool has also been used, to edit the ‘red eye’ effect that can happen when taking images on a camera with a flash. But with the use of the ‘red eye removal tool’, the red eye(s) can then be eliminated from the image.
Compared to my preliminary task of creating a college magazine, I think that I have improved drastically, and I am impressed and proud of the change that I have managed to achieve. With my college magazine, I stuck to the conventions throughout the front cover.
However, I think that with my music magazine, I have managed to create a more professional looking font cover which looks sophisticated, and with the mixed use of using, and not using conventions, have managed to achieve the look that I was hoping for.
At the time of creating my college magazine, I was unaware of how to use the wide range of tools available to use within the Photoshop Programme, and because of this, I think that this was where I lost the confidence to experiment.
Whereas with the process of creating my Music Magazine, and watching the YouTube tutorials that I viewed, I became much more confident with experimenting with the tools available, therefore able to get a much wider choice of what I was able to do with it.
Overall, I am very impressed with the outcome of my music magazine, and I am pleased with the progress I have made throughout the year.
Audience Feedback of my Music Magazine:
Male - Sixteen - College Student.
What would you rate my music magazine? (1 - Low. 10 - High)
9
On the music magazine front cover, what is your favourite feature(s)?
The main image links in with the music genre of the magazine.
The masthead is appealing and easily noticeable.
The colours used also link to the genre of the magazine, and are also used throughout the rest of the magazine.
The teasing contents box at the bottom of the front cover is also going against conventional ideas with the '+' sign rather than saying 'plus'.
On the music magazine front cover, what is your least favourite feature(s)?I would use a varied range of fonts.
Other than that, I like the music magazine front cover.
What would you rate my music magazine front cover? (1 - Low. 10 - High.)
9
For my music magazine contents page, what is your favourite feature(s)?
I like the general layout of the contents page.
The font is easy to read, meaning that anybody is able to read it.
The use of one image also goes against the conventional ideas associated with music magazines, so this is also another feature that I like.
The editors note also adds a professional touch within the contents page.
For my music magazine contents page, what is your least favourite feature(s)?
Though I do like the use of one image as it goes against general conventions, I would probably add more images to make it look less 'plain'.
What would you rate my music magazine contents page? (1 - Low. 10 - High.)
10.
For my music magazine double page spread, what is your favourite feature(s)?
I like everything about the double page spread.
The layout looks professional.
The colours used relate to the genre.
The title is understandable.
For my music magazine double page spread, what is your least favourite feature(s)?
I like everything, so nothing.
What would you rate my music magazine double page spread? (1 - Low. 10 - High.)
10.
If you had to change anything about my music magazine, what would it be?
The use of more images.
I would also add more page numbers in the double page spread to make it look like a genuine magazine.
Female - Seventeen - College Student.
What would you rate my music magazine? (1 - Low. 10 - High)
10.
On the music magazine front cover, what is your favourite feature(s)?
The masthead looks different.
The image also looks fun, so I like the image.
I also like the cover line too, especially the layout of it.
On the music magazine front cover, what is your least favourite feature(s)?
I would probably add more images to the front cover.
What would you rate my music magazine front cover? (1 - Low. 10 - High.)
9.5
For my music magazine contents page, what is your favourite feature(s)?
Everything, the layout looks sophisticated.
For my music magazine contents page, what is your least favourite feature(s)?
More images are needed, I think.
What would you rate my music magazine contents page? (1 - Low. 10 - High.)
9
For my music magazine double page spread, what is your favourite feature(s)?
I like the double page spread, it looks great.
The main image compliments the article well, as does the masthead of the article.
I also like that page numbers have been included which once again makes the magazine look as though it is a real one.
For my music magazine double page spread, what is your least favourite feature(s)?
Maybe more quotes could have been added, other than that, nothing. :)
What would you rate my music magazine double page spread? (1 - Low. 10 - High.)
10.
If you had to change anything about my music magazine, what would it be?
Nothing.
