Evaluation of Music Magazine

My music magazine relates to existing music magazines as the structure and aspects within the magazine are similar. The imagery in my magazine is bright and eye-catching, like images within other music magazines such as ‘Q’ or ‘Kerrang’ are, also the font I used within the magazine is large and effective, meaning that the reader immediately notices it and gains an interest on what’s inside the magazine. By using aspects that relate to music, for example imagery of guitars or musicians it makes my music magazine look as sophisticated as professional music magazines. I used anchorage that is relative to the topic of music, so that the main focus of the magazine is identified by the reader.

The design of my front cover is similar to other front covers in the aspect of imagery and fonts. I used ‘Rocky’ fonts to give the reader the knowledge that the magazine is based around Guitars or Rock music. The design I followed was mainly of the musical instruments being presented to the viewer, therefore I used an image of a guitar as the main focus in the background. By using imagery like this, it highlights to the reader the main aim of the magazine, to analyze music. The design of my contents page is different from other contents as I combined different aspects that I liked about previous magazine contents pages to create a difficult but effective layout and structure. The design of my double page spread is structured so that the image of the female musician is large covering most of the page, on top of different colours to contrast the pages. The text is then alongside the image in different areas, meaning that the reader does not look at the page and see too much text, as this would decrease the chances of them reading the article (in this case the interview with “Julia Liewald” the female musician), this led me to spread out the text into text boxes spaced out to make it look interesting. The mode of address used in my cover for my music magazine is informative, but casual language is used as the majority or consumers that would have interest in this magazine would be younger, possibly late teens to adults, and if the language was too specialized or complicated then the readers would lose interest reading it. I used text that would inform the viewer of the articles inside, whilst trying to gain their interest. As adults may read this magazine if they have an interest in music, I used language that was appropriate to the audience.
The mode of address in my contents page is simplistic as there is not much text, it jus states that the page is the contents page and a small colourful list of the aspects or articles within the magazine. An example of the mode of address within my contents page is “Strings that are HOT and strings that are NOT”, this Is a method used in order to interest the reader, as the language is not too technical and seems interesting. The imagery used in my front cover is mainly images of the instrument of main focus within the magazine; in this case I used an image of an electric guitar. This highlights to the reader what the magazine is about. The image of the electric guitar seems to be much more effective than an image of an ordinary acoustic guitar, as it gives off more of a lively vibe within the imagery. I also used an image of a female music artist (this relating to the interview on my double page spread) to highlight to the reader what articles are inside. By using an image of an attractive female artist, readers are more likely to be influenced to read the music magazine. There are not many images used in my contents page as I think that too many images will make the page look over-crowded, However I used an image of the top half of the guitar after being edited. This made the contents page look interesting as simple images can sometimes be better than images that are too extreme or “In-your-face”.

I approached this task by using several editing programmes to make the imagery and fonts used look professional. I used programmes such as Xara and Photoshop in order to edit the images to make them look more attractive and eye-catching for the reader. I think that I have improved on my editing skills after creating the college magazine, therefore editing the images and fonts for my music magazine seemed to be less time-consuming, although I had difficulty using the ‘Lasso’ tool to cut around the image of the female music artist used on my double page spread.
I think overall the production of my music magazine was a lot simpler than the production of my college magazine.

When editing the images for my front cover, I came across several problems. One of these were that the image I took of an electric guitar was affected by the lighting from the flash on my camera, therefore I struggled to edit the picture to remove the shine of the flash on the guitar. By editing the photo in Photoshop, I used a variety of filters and tools to hide this. When editing the image for my double page spread, I used the lasso tool to cut out the image of the musician. When i cut the image and copied it as a layer onto my double page spread the outline of the musician was too obvious, however I later edited this with the sponge tool to blend it in and added a thick purple lining around the outline of the musician, This made the cut less obvious and made the impact of the image greater.

I organized my human resources by taking photographs of my friend holding an electric guitar, I could then use these photos as the imagery for my music artist, as I hoped to create a double page spread with an interview taken place with an artist. Only one person was required in order for me to successfully complete all three projects (the front cover, contents page and double page spread), therefore I chose an attractive female as the musician.

The locations for my photographs were all indoors, and the costumes and props were simply guitars owned by one of my friends. Costumes were "Rock-like" music artists every day clothes, using a stereotypical rock artist as an example of what clothes are likely to be worn.

When I created of the particular pages, the outcome that was relatively similiar to the drafts I created on paper. I used images similiar to those that I had plannned in my draft, for example the electric guitar image was used in my draft, and was also used in my final peice. The drafting enabled me to feel more confident in creating the design, as I was not expected to create the front cover, contents page and double page spread with no basic design. I found drafting very helpful.

My time was managed effectively as when it came to creating my design onto the computer, it took alot less than expected, meaning i had longer to finalise my contents page and my double page spread. I found that as i created the front cover, it made it simpler to secondly create the contents and double page spread, as i could design the pages in a particular theme or sequence, for example the front page anchorage stated "Women in music", this was relative to my double page spread which was later created.

By using programmes such as Xara, Photoshop and Pixelmator i was able to experiment with a large variety of image effects and text tools. This allowed me to create different Mastheads for the magazine and try different effects to see what would make the images more attractive or pleasing to the eye.

I was limited of the time i could use on Photoshop on my personal computer as i was using a trial programme to enable me to complete my tasks in time. Luckily the trial period lasted until the deadline of my final peices, this was beneficial to me as it enabled me to finish in time.

I created a questionnaire which was answered by several individuals. This questionnaire allowed me to gather information in a variety of areas, helping me with design ideas and information that would be interesting from a readers perspective. The results from my questionnaire influenced my magazine highly as I was then aware of the appropriate imagery expected to be seen within a music magazine, along with the events/information that would be interesting to read.

The audiences feedback was not too much of a suprise to me as i have previously read magazines, even though not commonly music magazines, i already had a decent understanding on the look of magazines and what interests the reader, as I, myself am one of them. I was suprised to discover that readers are highly interested in event information rather than actual interviews with music artists, although i thought that an interview with a music artist would be much more effective than event information.

My ideas were highly relative and representative towards music and music magazines as the font and imagery used were aimed to connote the world of music, this could be from electric guitars to piano's, Although my music magazine was mainly focused on the art of the guitar. An example of how my magazine represents music would be the Masthead, The title of the magazine is called "Strings", this being very relative to the topic of guitars.

I have created a sense of reality towards a target audience of possibly teenagers - adults or individuals with an interest in Guitars or music. although the magazine does not highlight who it is intended for, the colour scheme and imagery used in the magazine was to connote what type of audience is expected to have an interest in the magazine. For example, the imagery used of the music artist is a late teen, therefore connoting to the audience that the magazine is more intended for the use of younger people. The colour scheme also has an effect on the audience of the magazine as the use of purple is extreme, this is because it is a vibrant colour and can be enjoyed by audiences of both genders, whilst having a good impact on the reader.

Final Double Page Spread

This is my final piece for the Double page spread. I used a variety of text, anchorage and images to make the double page spread attractive. I used different font colours and font sizes to enable the reader see's the information from the double page spread in cues, for example when they see this double page spread the first thing that is noticed is the image of the musician on the page and the  large title stating the musicians name. The article is noticeably smaller compared to the title and image, this is because the interview is what is expected to be read after the images and the anchorage. The anchorage that i used on this double page spread is a quotation from what was said in the interview. I have used an interesting quote overlapping the image in a larger font so that when the viewer reads the anchorage they are influenced to read the article. I think this has a large impact on whether a viewer decides to read the article or not. The colours of my imagery work effectively as the colours in the background are bright and they stick within the theme of colours used in my contents and front cover, whereas the image of the muscian is in black and white, this making it stand out from the background. I seperated the fonts into different colours, i used gray to highlight the questions asked in the interview, and a light purple colour to "Julia Liewald's" responses, i think this makes the reader identify the sections properly, and guides them to read the article. The colour  seperation with the text in the article make the text seem less, as too much text would possibly put off a reader from reading an article.

Questionnaire Results

By looking at the results from my questionnaire, the majority of individuals who answered the questions shown that they had an interest in guitars or Rock music. I identified that the majority of artists that were popular within the results were mainly male musicians (this gave me the idea for my front cover "Women in Music", because of this i made the main focus within my magazine to be female musicians within the "guitar" or "rock" music industry.

The results also show that the images audiences think would be suitable for the front cover of a magazine are images of the artists entailed inside, or images of the instrument used within the genre of music in the magazine. This led me to use the image of a guitar as the background of my front cover, as well as using the image of a female musician.

It was obvious from the results that the audience believe that information about music events are useful within a magazine, and that they have an influence on the purchasing of the magazine. I also discovered that the articles the audience would like to see within a magazine would be interviews with particular music artists, biographies of the artists involved and finally past events or album releases.

The results shown that when the audience sees a double page spread, they would expect to see interviews with the artists, this was a common result as the audience must find the interviews with particular musicians enjoyable.

Double Page Spread - Progress

This is my double page spread after editing in Xara, I had edited the text box to be smaller, meaning that there is not too much text exceeding the page. I also edited the coloured rectangle on the left to ensure that when the reader looks at this page, the first thing they notice is not the rectangle, as i aim to make the main focus the image of the artist. I added a small rectangle above the text box indicating that the double page spread is an interview with a music artist.

The image above shows the progress of my double page spread, after adding several rectangles to seperate the text from the imagery. The white space between the rectangle on the left and the indication of where my article will be placed, will be covered by an image of the artist. I have used different colours to keep the page interesting.

This is the basic layout of my double page spread. I have used the name "Julia Liewald" for the name of the arist being interviewed. As the double page spread is going to be an interview of a particular music artist, i have included large font's for the masthead, informing the reader of the artists name. The colours used in this first layout of my double page spread are bright and eye-catching, making the page interesting for the reader. The colours still seem relative to the original colours used on my front page and contents page. I decided that the colours in this magazine could be a particular theme, mainly purples. The name of the artist on my double page spread is large and bold, as well as being immediately noticeable by the reader. I have used small rectangles to seperate particular aspects of the page.

Final Contents Page Idea

This is my final idea for my contents page. I used colours that are similar to my front cover, meaning that the contents page does not look too unusual or random. The layout of my contents page is separated, meaning that the features are separate from the reviews. I designed a layout that is appropriate and unique for a music magazine. I added a title with larger fonts identifying that this page was the contents page, and added a variety of different fonts and font sizes when adding the additional text to the page.

The imagery used on this page is simply the bridge of a guitar that i edited using Photoshop. I used different filtering tools in order to give the image a glowing purple effect. This image now looks very effective on the contents page.

I added text identifying the particular articles within the magazine, including the title of my double page spread "Women in music". This is also effective as text entailing "women in music" is used on the front cover of my magazine. I think overall that the layout of my contents page avoids boring the reader with too much information, or overcrowding it making the page confusing to the audience. I kept it simple and effective.

Final Music Magazine Cover

This is the final creation of my music magazine cover. As you can see from the image i decided to use less anchorage and more imagery, therefore giving a greater impact on the viewer. I have used similar colour within my cover, keeping the theme neutral but effective as i think purple stands out to the eye and is a colour suitable for both genders. I used imagery of a female music artist playing the guitar, as i thought this was relative to the topic of the magazine, and also benefits me as for my double-page spread i am producing is going to be an interview with a female music artist (this also making the anchorage "Women in Music" effective. Other anchorage used in my front cover states another one of the articles inside the magazine, "Hot strings or Not Strings". 

I think that my final cover design is very effective as the colours are bright, and the imagery used if immediately noticeable, influencing the target audience to be interested in the magazine.

Contents Page 1

Questionnaire for Music Magazine

I am creating a questionnaire in order to identify the aspects of music magazines that are expected to be seen by the audience.

Questions that i am using on my questionnaire are:

How old are you?
-Under 16
-16-21
-21-30
-31-40
-40+

What type of music are you interested in listening to?
- Indie
- Rock
- Pop
- Electro
- Techno
- R&B

Do you have any favorite artists?

Do you play any musical instruments? (If so please state which instrument)

What influences you to buy a magazine?
- Images on the front cover
- Free stuff
- Articles inside

What imagery do you think would be suitable on the cover of a music magazine?

Would information about music events be useful in a magazine?

What particular articles would you like to see in a music magazine?

-Interviews

- Past events

- Album Releases

- Rock Biographies

- Male/Female artists

What would you expect to see on a double page spread of a music magazine?

Contents page 2

Music Magazine Front Cover Progress

I decided that an idea for my double page spread would be to give a detailed analysis on a particular rock band, and decided that if i was to create an article about a female music artist, it would balance out the dominance between male and female "String" music. I plan to use images of a female artist, therefore i have added text onto the front cover highlighting this to the reader: "Women in music".

I decided that the previous cover i created, involved too many clashing colours, therefore i edited my design and began from scratch, using the same image of a guitar in the background as the main focus, however in this image the guitar is much brighter and seems more vibrant to the eye. I liked the idea of "Guitar Evolution" for the anchorage on the cover therefore i included it making it noticeable to the reader. I edited the style of the title, changing the font to a more read-able font and also made each letter of the Magazine title unique. I added a strip down the right side of the front cover, taking the whole focus off of the text and the main image. The strip makes the cover more interesting and decreases the chances of the viewer being bored of looking at too much text. I have used different colours within the anchorage to highlight to the audience the main articles within the magazine. Colours such as Purple, white and grey are useful as they stand out from the black background, however they also contrast nicely with the colour of the guitar in the imagery, which is also purple.

This is my front cover after it has been edited in Photoshop. I have added the title to the front cover and am currently deciding which anchorage will be suitable for the page. The language in my anchorage will be casual but informative. The language needs to be catchy and interesting in order to make the readers want to read the articles inside of the magazine.

After experimenting with fonts and boxes i arranged a structure for the title of my magazine. The square on the left of the page will contain "S" (This meaning that the logo would be instantly recognizable in the future). I used a different font for the rest of the title, this giving a good effect. The style of the title and imagery used on this front cover so far seems very modern and seems to be aimed at people with an interest in music, possibly more likely to attract a teenage-adult audience.

Once the background image was mainly completed, i experimented with different fonts in order to add the title to the page. This picture shows how i added a large "S" (S being the beginning of the title of my magazine). I made the font Large and Bold so it is clear to the reader, and that is is noticeable immediately.

This is my front cover once i combined the image of the CD's with an image i taken of an electric guitar. I edited both these images to make them stand out more and used a close up of a guitar for the main focus of the page. The guitar is bright purple making the cover attractive to the reader.

Above is the original image of the CD's. I bundled a bunch of CD's together and took a photograph with the flash and it added a nice shine to the discs. I think this image is interesting.

This is the image i created after editing a photograph i had taken of a bunch of CD's. I thought that as music can be purchased on CD's that this image seemed relevant to the magazine. I also thought that as the CD's give off a shiny look it attracts the viewer, therefore i used this image as the image in the background.

Imagery For Music Magazine

This is one of the many pictures i took for ideas of imagery for my music magazine. I took a picture of a guitar with an active background to make the image seem interesting and attractive. As the magazine is focused mainly on guitars i thought this picture would be appropriate.

This is the same image as above, although i edited the image in Xara in order to change the shape. This made it easier to try and think of ideas of how to involve this image within my magazine, as i believed that just a single image of an attractive guitar would be more suitable for the front cover.

Above are my experimentation of Mastheads for the front cover of my magazine. As i decided the title would be "Strings" i experimented with different font's and colours in order to create a title that seems suitable for this magazine's purpose.

Above is an example of the masthead's i created within Xara. I preferred this masthead to the others that i created, although i later created a different masthead that i thought was more attractive and eye-catching for the audience.

This is an image i took of a guitar, i used this image for my front cover, after cutting the guitar out of the image so it is seperated. I edited the image of the guitar to make the colours more vibrant, this was effective.

This was a second image i took of a guitar that i was thinking about using for my magazine. I decided that this guitar seems too simplistic compared to the other images i took of guitars, however the image is still attractive. I think for the main focus of my magazine, this image seems too subtle, therefore i used a different image with an Electric guitar to give the audience the "Rock" magazine effect.

This image i found attractive as the colours of the guitar stand out. As the guitar is not fully one colour, it allowed me to use an image similiar to this of the same guitar, and use the contrasting colours for a good effect on my front cover.

Ideas for Music Magazine Cover

For the front cover of a magazine, i believe that the viewers expect to see imagery related to the subject, for example different varieties of musical instruments. If the magazine i create is specialized to a particular group of music, the image used on the front cover should imagery related to the type of instruments used. 

I think my music magazine will be about Guitars, as i think an edited image of a guitar would be good for the front of the music magazine. I have been testing ideas for the magazine Title in relation to the topic and decided that a good name for the magazine would be "Strings", as it shows relation to the guitar as a guitar has strings, and it is catchy and easy to remember. 

I think the colour scheme expected off of a music magazine would be bright and in the readers face. Bright colours will contrast well with the font colour used in the anchorage, as well as standing out to the reader. Bright colours will make the music magazine look more interesting.

Front Cover Evaluation

Evaluation Questions:

1)     How does your school/college magazine relate to existing examples of these media forms?

My magazine cover is similar to other magazines as I have used similar techniques, for example large font and bright contrasting images in order to catch the viewer’s attention. The structure of my front cover is so that an image of a happy student is centered in the magazine, being the main focus point. In the background is an image of the school, this highly relating to the topic of school. The choice of images in my cover are similar to the type of images that would be seen in magazines, large bright images that take up most of the cover I personally think are very appropriate, as long as when the anchorage is added to the front cover ,that the structure does not seem to crowded. This would distract the reader from the main aim of the magazine, to illustrate the articles inside and still connote the message about school.

2)     What conventions have you used in terms of the following:

Design

Mode of Address

Use of imagery

I have used Design as I have specifically chosen a structure for my cover, and produced a variety of images that could be used in order to catch the eye of the reader. The photos I used in my college magazine front cover were two main images, these being one of a smiling student wearing the school uniform, and a low angle background image of the school building. I think that the images I used are interesting, and are relative to the main topic of the magazine.

The mode of address I used in the college magazine front cover is both casual but informative, I have used font and text that aim to attract the reader, but inform the reader in detail of the stories inside of the magazine. I think that the language I used in the anchorage for my cover was suitable for Parents/Students as it is not too technical but it is informative. I used anchorage such as "Rego International School Presents: The Sound Of Music Production", and "IB Ready or not?". This language can be easily understood by any age, attracting a wider target audience.

I used bright images as I thought that images with a lot of colour will have more of an impact as they are more easily noticed, therefore I brightened the selected images in my front cover so they stand out. I used Brightening tools, and i edited the saturation level within the picture. The picture looked more effective after i used the sharpen tool on Photoshop.

Working in Media Production

Professional Practice

1. How did you approach the tasks as an individual and how did you manage using the equipment and resources?

I approached this task by using a variety of media editing programs in order to create a front cover for a college magazine. I used programs such as Photoshop, Xara, Publisher and Pixelmator to select and edit several images that could be used for my front cover. As I enjoy editing images on programs similar to the ones listed, I found that editing images as a whole was quite simple, although combining images, and adding several layers to one image can become very difficult and time-consuming.

 

2. Can you provide any examples of creative problem solving decisions you have had to make in relation to the development of ideas/still photography/image editing/desk top publishing and trialing work?

When I was creating and editing the images for my front cover, I noticed that the image taken of the smiling student had a problem that would have looked better if it was fixed. This problem was that the student smiling within the image had opened his mouth slightly, this making the image seem un-proportional. I think that this could have been a distraction from the main image that I was hoping to get across to the viewer; therefore I used Photoshop to edit the section of the image, and enhance it in order to make it look like the student’s mouth is closed. I think that this was beneficial as it removes distractions from the main focus influencing the reader to view the anchorage and make them want to read the magazine.

When I attempted to create a title for the magazine, I made a rough draft on paper, but when it came to creating the image on Photoshop or Xara, it was a lot more complicated than planned; therefore I experimented with different fonts in Xara and created a Magazine title.

 

3)     How did you organize your human resources; ie. The people in your production?

My human Resources were organized by choosing a particularly pretty-faced student (This showing Representation of Gender, as i chose to use an attractive image of a person on the cover) with an innocent smile, in order to attract the viewer, and the school building. Only one person was required in order to capture an image of a student. The image of the student was taken in a quiet location that was not busy, with a white wall (This making the image simpler to Lasso in Photoshop).  This helps represent a school magazine as a student seems to be the most appropriate face to be on a school magazine. By using an image of the school building, it immediately connotes to the reader that the magazine is about school, and the students within the school.

 

4)     How did you manage locations for photographs and any costumes or props?

No props were required within my photographs, however the school uniform was required to be worn by the student, and as the photograph was taken during a school day, the student was originally wearing the school uniform (I found this very beneficial).

The location for the school building photograph was obviously shot on the school campus, however the angle of the shot was important as I aimed to get the images taken from specific angles, therefore I used a low angle shot of the school building.

 

5)     Reflect on the importance of design and drafting and how the final outcome related to the draft layout in each case.

The final outcome was actually very similar to the draft I created before creating the magazine. One section of the magazine making process that did differ from planned would be the title of the magazine. I drafted a title for the college magazine but later changed the plan and created a completely new title.

The layout of the anchorage used on my magazine cover differed slightly from the draft, although the text and information used on the cover was the same information I had planned in my draft.

 

6)     How did you manage your time? This is important when creating a media text.

I think my time could have been managed more effectively, although I downloaded picture editing software at home in order to continue the editing of my images outside of school. I think if I did not download the required software, I would have struggled with my time a lot worse than I did. I think for the music magazine cover, I should spend more time creating ideas for the anchorage, rather than the imagery.

I had training in Xara and Photoshop, which was very helpful as I learned the main tools used in both programs. The training allowed me to edit the images productively, and enabled me to structure my front cover the way I planned.

 

Using Technology

 

1)     Can you provide examples of the DTP Technology allowing you to do things that extended your creative control?

I experimented with fonts and imagery in aim to create a contrasting image that the viewer would enjoy.

 

2)     Are there examples of the technology obstructing or limiting the creative process?

Whilst creating my front cover, the computer programs I required were not accessible for a short period of time; this affected the creative process, although I believe that the time I lost was added up for as I worked at home.

As the technology programs that I used are quite sophisticated, the tools accessible are slightly confusing, therefore although I had the opportunity to use the specific tools, I had little or no knowledge of how to use them.

 

Thinking about the audience

 

1)     Throughout the two activities you have been making, creative decisions based on ideas you were developing about your readers. Where did those ideas come from and how did they influence the ‘micro’ detail of shot composition/framing/anchorage/text layout/mode of address and register?

My ideas were created as I researched previous front covers, and caught onto the particular style and structure that the audience would prefer to read or to look at; therefore I collected these ideas, and expressed them into my draft. Anchorage text was quite simple as school events can be used as anchorage and interviews with either head teachers or students etc.

The text layout used in my front cover is similar to the layout used in a variety of other front covers; I just changed the idea of the layout of several front covers, and combined them in order to have the layout that my final front cover has.

 

Representing-constructing the ‘real’

 

1)     How did your ideas and their execution amount to specific representations of school life?

My ideas represent school life highly as both the imagery and fonts used within the design of my front cover connote college or school as a whole, For example the background image used in my front cover is of the particular school/college building, and in the foreground is a contrasting image of a smiling student wearing the school/college uniform. This shows the reader immediately that the magazine is about school/college.

The ideas for anchorage seem to be very appropriate as they language used is not too formal, it is quite casual, but also is very informative, therefore giving the reader an insight on what is inside the magazine.

 

2)     What sense of reality have you constructed in each case and who is included and excluded as a result?

 I have constructed a sense of reality in which age groups are an important matter of this particular cover, as it does not state which particular age group the magazine is aimed at, but it does have an image of a younger student, therefore the reader notices that the magazine is for all ages within the school. The image of the younger boy gives the reader the knowledge that it is about students and about a school.

Examples Of Contents Pages

This contents page contains too much White space. The font seems to be very plain and boring, does not look the slightest bit interesting. The imagery used on this contents page is very simple, no editing techniques are used, they are simply just images sectioned onto the contents page. The pictures need to be alot brighter, and the background maybe should not be white as it is far to plain for a contents page that is supposed to be interesting.

The contents page below seems to be interesting as the contents page title is largely placed onto the page, aswell as an attractive image of a female, accompanied by the information about the articles inside.
I think that this contents page is affective because the fonts used are large and bright, and colours are used in order to highlight the page numbers and the most important information from the page. Imagery effects are used to blur the image slightly, so the focus is spread between the variety of sections within the contents page.

The contents page below has a variety of text and imagery. I think the imagery used in this contents page is very effective as is is organised in a way that grabs the viewers attention. Two different colours are used in this contents page in order to seperate the information from the images. The features of this particular magazine are listed on the right, whereas there is still different information listed on the left. It gives the reader a variety of text and imagery to view when looking at the contents page.

The contents page below uses a large image for the background, in order to grab the audience's attention. The text one this contents page overlaps the image to make it more affective. The colours of text used on this image is white red and black, colours that contrast. Smaller seperate images are used on this contents to gain more interest from the viewer.

The contents page below is my favourite out of all, as it is simple but effective. The object that seems to be a Yo-yo is shown on the left hand side of the page, accompanied by the information on the right side of the page. The background to this page is white, enabling the editors to use particular techniques to contrast the colours of the font and imagery to the background colour.

Glossary of Key Terms for Magazine Analysis

Glossary of Key Terms for Magazine Analysis

Masthead – The name and logo of the magazine.
The Lead – the introductory paragraph of an article. Usually written in bold or capitals.
Body copy refers to the text of your written articles, which should be produced as a printed presentation to accepted industry standards, e.g. correct use of language, font size, word limits etc. Usually written in columns.
Serif font – fonts like Times New Roman, or Baskerville Old Face, which have little bars (serifs) on the end of the letters.
Sans serif font – fonts like Impact, or Agency FB, which do not have little bars (serifs) on the end of the letters.
Drop Capitals – Really big letter, which start off an article.
Cross Head – Small sub-heading used to split up a large block of text.
White Space – white parts of a page other than text or pictures.
Mode Of Address – How the magazine talks to the audience.
Sell Lines – Text on the cover that helps to sell the magazine to the audience. Kerrang!’s sell line is “life is loud”.
Banners – text, which stands out because its on a coloured background.
House Style – a magazines distinctive design that distinguishes it from its competitors.
Borders – the gaps at the edges of the page.
Gutters – the gaps between the columns of text.
Leading - the space between lines of text.
Kerning - the space between letters.
Strap Lines – a smaller headline, printed above the main headline.
By-lines - name of the person who wrote the article.
Picture Credits - where did the photos come from, or who took them.
Anchorage – The way in which text helps to pin down the meaning of a picture and visa versa.

Progress with final idea

Above is my finished design of the school magazine. As you can see by the image, the main focuses of my cover are the school in the background, the happy student, and the text on the cover influencing readers to view the magazine.

I decided to add more structure to the cover of my school magazine, so i added thin rectangular layers overlapping the image of the student, mildly seperating the subheadings on my cover.

I created a section at the bottom of the page entailing the reader that there is a production at the school. I think that separating this information from the rest made the information easier to read and also meant that it had more of an impact on the viewer, as they may have more of an interest.
I continued to use the similar colour scheme throughout adding the different subheadings to the page.

This is my cover after i have begun adding the anchorage to the background. I think the colour of the font i used is very appropriate as it still mainly involves the school colours, and the different tones that i used within the fonts make the text effective.

I used different sized font for different sections of anchorage. On this image are two sub-heaings, being "Interview with Mr Naylor" and "Rego international school presents: The Sound of Music".

I have structured the text on the cover to overlap the image on the lower section of the body, but have ensured that it does not cover the face of the student as this is one of the main focus points that the viewer will immediately notice.

This is the image after i had edited it on photoshop and added the title of the magazine which was created on Xara. I added the school logo to the magazine title, highlighting the school within the magazine. The title colours are bright and effective.

Draft for Preliminary Task

Images for Preliminary Task - After Editing

This is the image i created when i added both the image of the student and the school building together. i think the difference in contrasting colours makes the image alot more affective. It makes the school look very vibrant and the students in the school look happy. This image is calming to the viewers eye, and also looks interesting.

This above is the original image of the student that i taken. I think that a mid-shot picture of a happy student is more affective than a full length image because it crops away all the unnecessary attention to aspects of the image that the viewer doesn't need to focus on, therefore the focus mainly goes to the face of the student. As you can see from the image below i have edited the colours from the original and made them brighter. I have sharpened the image to put more focus onto detail.

This is a copy of one of my layers in photoshop. This is the image of the happy student that i am going to use for the cover of my preliminary task. this layer, after being more edited will be added into the image of the school and brought forward to grab the viewers attention. 

I think that with the image being brightened, it grabs the attention of the viewer alot more, as they would prefer to be looking at a bright fluorescent image of a school, compared to a duller darker image of a school.

I have removed the sky from this image and replaced it with a bright colour, in this case a darker blue, connoting a sunny sky.  The school looks alot more adventurous and fun compared to the original image.

As this image is low angle, and it is slightly zoomed in, there is no need for more cropping nor special effects, i experimented with different contrasts and colours on photoshop in order to get the image looking like this.

Images for Preliminary task

Below, are two of the original images i have taken for the preliminary task before they have been edited.

I have taken an image of the school building as i think that with this image in the background, it doesnt go off what the original message from the magazine is (that it is about school), therefore if i use an image of the school building, and used photoshop or Xara in order to combine two images after i have edited them. The image i am hoping to get is of a full page of the school brightly glowing, and an image of a happy student wearing the school uniform.

i think if i am to brighten the contrast of the school, make it seem more vibrant and active, and also make the image of the student more contrasting. I aim to have the student be the main focus of the screen, therefore the image of the student needs to be sharp.

Anchorage Ideas for Front Cover

On the front cover of my magazine, i want to highlight events that are taking place in the school, have already taken place or are due to happen. I aim to include anchorage on the cover about a variety of events or topics, for example i have had an idea about using subheadings about sports events, for example "Rego Rugby heads to Cambodia" or something giving information about sporting events taking place in the school. I think that using information on sports will attract both female and male readers, widening the target audience for the college magazine.

As the International Baccalaureate will soon be begun, i think that manipulating this into a subheading maybe using a rhetorical question, questionning whether or not the readers of the magazine are ready for IB. An example of subheadings i could use about this topic could be "Ready for IB?".

As the target audience for this magazine would be students/parents, the language has to fit to both audiences, both elderly and young. I aim to use catchy quotations for the subheadings on the cover; I want the viewer to immediately have interest in the articles.

On the front cover, i aim to satisfy the viewer with information based around different interests and events, therefore increasing the chances of the viewer seeing something they are interested in. I am trying to include information about interviews that have taken place with either students/the head-teacher etc. I want to include factual events that are taking place over this school period, for example the production called the sound of music. This production can allow me to put catchy phrases about the events and highlight them on the front cover.

I could use events such as the International Baccalaureate joining the school, I had an example of a subheading that could be placed on the front cover, this is that "Ready for IB?" could be a section of the anchorage; this would be put in Large possibly white font that is noticeable and attractive.

I have also thought of the idea of mentioning Valentines Day within the front cover, for example i could use anchorage such as "Love is in the air at rego" and support an upcoming event in the school.

Analyzing contents Pages

Contents pages come in all different structures, and the use of graphics on different contents pages varies. Below are some examples of contents pages i have been analyzing. All three contents pages have used images, either these being large images taking up the majority of the page (like in example 1) or smaller images that are sectioned off next to the appropriate information. Personally i prefer the method where smaller images are used next to information about the features inside of the magazine, therefore for my contents page, i think i will use a similar structure.





I like this particular contents page because the separation between text and images is large, therefore i am tempted to look at it, recognizing the people within the images provided, and later reading the text surrounding the images. This particular contents page is separated so that the left section of the page is mainly images, and the right section of the page provides all the information required.

This particular contents page seems to simple, it includes images and text which is beneficial for the reader, but the background image is constant, and the images are too dull. The contents on this page seem too little, there is not much information used on this page, therefore the magazine as a whole seems less interesting to the reader. With bright images and decent sized quotations from text, the reader feels motivated to read the magazine.

Does the magazine use images?

These particular contents pages use alot of images in order to catch the readers attention. Each contents page uses a particular structure in order to use the imagery. Some contents pages prefer to use larger images or a large image and use as little text as possible. Imagery makes the contents pages seem much more vibrant, rather than crowding a page with text.

How have these images been constructed?

These images have been constructed by organising them in a particular order or pattern, and arranging them to merge with the text. One technique that is used within these contents that i think is very effective would be to use different size images, and different shaped images around the text.

How do they support your initial findings about the style of the magazine and its intended audience?

The images support my initial findings about the magazine style as the images give an insight for the reader about whats in the magazine. Imagery is much more affective than text, to use both is beneficial as the reader gets more information immediately. The pictures grab more interest from the reader.

What colours and fonts are used?

Bright colours are mainly used in the imagery, although most text in the contents pages i have analysed have been black or white. The technique that makes the text satisfactory would be how magazine editors place the text on a contents page over a darkened colour or a box to highlight the text to the reader.

Does this support the style of the front cover?

This supports the style of the front cover as the text is then immediately noticeable, and it adds design onto the page. The boxes used in this way add more to the page making it seem more interesting for the reader. Readers will not be influenced to read a contents page this is overcrowded with text that looks boring and the least bit interesting.

How is the information organised so that it is accessible to the audience?

The information is organised in these examples of contents pages by seperating imagery from text, but arranging them so that they can combine together having a large impact on the reader. I have noticed that a common technique used in the creation of contents pages is that the contents page is usually split in two, imagery on one side and text on the other, or imagery taking up the majority of the top of the contents page, whereas text is on the bottom.

What are the different sections?

The different sections of a contents page are "features" which gives the reader a cropped amount of detail about the articles within the magazine, aswell as "Departments" which mainly obtain notes from the editor of the magazine.

What does this tell you about the magazine?

This tells the reader that as there is alot of information within the magazine, it needs to be arranged so information is easily accessable or easily discovered.

Are there any promotional features?

There are not really many promotional features on the contents pages i have analysed, although there are some sections on the contents page that have events listings.

Is the magazine logo placed anywhere on the page?

The contents pages that i analysed did not have the magazine logo, but i do think putting the magazine logo onto the contents page would be effective too.

How dominant is it?

The contents pages seem very dominant. They have given the reader options, whether they wish to read the text and discover what they wish to read, or by viewing the imagery they are able to see the page numbers within the magazine.

Does the brand have any other franchises?

The brand of these particular contents pages do not seem to have any visible franchises.

Are these promoted on the contents page?

No promotions are used on the analysed contents pages.

How does this magazine, aimed at a different audience compare with Kerrang or NME?!

These magazines dont seem to be as highly known, as some of the contents pages contain information of topics that are not too well known. Kerrang or NME contents pages are alot more technical and informative, and the imagery used catches the viewers eye immediately.

How would you describe the layout of its contents page?

The layout of the contents pages i am analysing are very organised, nicely set up so that they are attractive to the viewer. The sections in each contents page vary, although the type of information given to the reader in the examples above is different to the information you would see in a music magazine.

Does it remind you of anything?

These magazine contents page examples are not all based around the topic of music, however they remind me of sports or entertainment within media.

What does this say about the audience?

This says that the audience of these magazines, possibly have an interest in sports or particular areas of entertainment, for example images of gambling stations are used in one contents page to catch the eye of the reader.

How is this different to NME/Kerrang?

These particular contents pages do not seem to be as sophisticated as the contents pages produced by higly known magazines such as NME or Kerrang.