Colours for the magazine

While deciding what to choose for our colours we both needed to choose different colours as we are doing the same magazine but different editions. Therefore looking back at the magazine front covers in which we researched we analysed the use of colours which are mainly eye catching, therefore we decided on many colours which might suit the different editions which we are doing however we did not pick up a common theme of colours in which pop magazines specifically used to make the magazine cover more appealing to the audience. Therefore we looked at the same magazines different editions in order to see the difference we have to include for our different magazine editions. We found a very common technique which was used in many different magazines that the colours of the magazine front covers where chosen according to the clothes in which the artist on the front cover was wearing. Due to this we decided we will follow this common technique which many major pop magazines used. Therefore I decided that I would make sure I dress my artist for the front cover of the magazine lighter eye-catching colours as these colours would make the magazine more appealing to my audience and it would catch their attention immediately. However we decided that in order to keep our magazine name distinctive we would keep it the same colour throughout both the magazine editions. This is so the name is noticeable and is quite common to the reader in order for them to know the magazine from the name straight away. We decided that the most eye-catching and clear colour we could choose for the magazine name would be black therefore we decided that the magazine name would be black. 

Researching target audience & researching and Choosing fonts

Target audience

Through my research I have been able to build the idea of the target audience which I will be focusing on for my music magazine. Within my research I have noticed a recurring pattern of female singer being on the front page of the magazine. Through this we have decided to use the same for our magazine front cover editions, we have decided that the target audience of the magazine would be both men and women, however mostly women as women are more likely to be interested in contents of a magazine which include celebrity stories and gossip. Even though this is the case men are also interested in pop and music magazines which is why we kept our magazine broad in audience and unisex, we will ensure that it appeals to both genders by including colours which both genders are comfortable and interested in, we will also ensure the content of the magazine is aimed both at males and females. Moreover including a female pop singer on the front cover will appeal to females as they would want to know news about her and about her journey, and it also will appeal to men as they would be interesting in seeing the artist and what she has to offer. Furthermore the ages of our target audience would be from late teen years through to mid 30’s. This is because the magazines in which I have researched all show the same ages of target audience and this is shown through the model which is placed on the front cover of the magazine. In order to convey the target audience of our magazine on the front cover editions we will include content and information or strap lines of famous pop stars which are in the ages of our target audience, in order to grab the attention of our target audience and be able to appeal to them as they will know these pop stars.  

Researching and choosing fonts

















During the process of choosing our main font for the magazine name, we decided to look through other pop magazines and the font of their magazine name in order to gain a deeper idea of what a conventional magazine would be like and what sort of font it would be in. During researching magazine names we came to a conclusion that many pop magazines use a simple font for the name however they use a very bold font in order to make the name stand out and be more appealing to the audience of the magazine. We established through our research that pop magazines use the technique of keeping the name in a simple noticeable font in order to make the name readable and clear to the audience. We then went on to researching different fonts in order to be able to choose a final one for the magazine name effectively. In order to choose one font we had to try many different fonts in order for us to see if the different fonts suit our genre and the magazine style. We ensured in choosing between simplest fonts within Photoshop as we learnt through our research. Furthermore we arrived to a conclusion of still having 6 fonts which we were not able to choose from as we were unsure if these fonts would appeal to our target audience, which is why we decided to carry out a survey in which we will ask people from the magazines target audience to choose which font they prefer the most from the list of fonts in which we provided. From the results we got from the survey in which we carried we chose the font of our magazine name. As the magazines main focus is to grab target audiences attention which means if we go by what the target audience desire as this is what will make the magazine appeal to our audience.

mock ups

Practicing shots

In order to understand different shots which were used within music magazines we looked at some music photography and analysed what the conventions are for these photos, through this we picked out what shots are usually used within music photography and especially in shoots for magazines, we highlighted the aspects of the photo that make it conventional for a music magazine, we then were asked to use the techniques and skills we learnt and take pictures which would be used for music photography. 

This photo would be for bands within the shot I was trying to include depth as the reason in which I included the side of the corridor, it is a mid-shot which is usually used within music photography and magazine as it is very common to show the musicians closely. In this photo I also used the rule of thirds which is why i placed the musicians on the right side of the photo. 

Within this photo I used a low angle to include more depth in the photo, I also used a technique which was quite common through the research in which we done on music photography this was multiple focus, multiple focus usually makes the photo look more unusual and sophisticated which suits music photography. Multiple focus usually makes the viewer see all aspects of the aspects and realise it's depth. 

In this photo I positioned the models right in the middle of the photo as used in some musical photography in order to convey the message that the musicians are the central point of the picture which adds importance to the musicians and shows that they are the central focus.

Schedule

Date	Task
18/01/2012	- Start Production Coursework
20/01/2012	- Start and finish the preliminary task- school magazine
23/01/2012	- Start research – front covers of magazines
25/01/2012	- Continue research- double page spread
27/01/2012	- Continue research- contents pages
30/01/2012	- Finish research- continue with contents page
01/02/2012	- Start planning- view different music photography
03/02/2012	- Continue planning- make music poster
06/02/2012	- Continue planning- work on mock ups
08/02/2012	- Continue planning- work on mock ups
13/02/2012	- Continue planning- work on mock ups
19/02/2012	-Continue planning- work on mock ups
20/02/2012	- Continue planning- work on mock ups
22/02/2012	-Continue planning
24/02/2012	- Finish planning
25/02/2012	-  Start Production
27/02/2012	- Continue production
29/02/2012	- Continue production
02/03/2012	- Continue production
05/03/2012	- Continue production
07/03/2012	- Continue production
09/03/2012	- Continue production

Practice shots(music poster)

Front cover magazine research 2

Genre: Pop

The target audience for this front cover would be fans of Leona Lewis as the main image of the front cover is of Leona Lewis the magazine is searching to grab in the fans of Leona Lewis, all people who are interested in Pop music are also the target audience of the magazine as Leona Lewis is a pop singer and she is placed with a big full image at the front cover of the magazine showing that main target audience of the magazine are the people who are interested specifically in the genre of pop. Additionally due to the fact that Leona is in her mid 20’s the main target audience who are interested in her music would teenagers in their late teens and people in their 20’s up to 30’s therefore they would be the main age target audience for the magazine.

The image of the singer Leona Lewis relates to the music genre of the magazine pop as Leona is a famous pop singer therefore she is associated with the genre of the magazine and she is known for this genre therefore an image of her would relate very well to the music genre. The only image placed on the magazine cover is the picture of Leona Lewis, this emphasises the importance of the image of Leona Lewis on the magazine cover as this shows that the main audience that are targeted are her fans. Also the fact that there are no other images a part from the image of Leona shows that the main focus should be on Leona’s music throughout the magazine and it shows the importance of the singer Leona as avoiding any other images on the page shows that the magazine producers want her to be the main focus as other images would take away the full concentration on the singer which is the main reason they have been avoided on the page.

The framing of the image uses the rule of thirds in which a mid shot of Leona is used taking up the most space however the upper and most half of her body is posing towards the right side, this use of framing made it possible for the copy to be placed on both the left and right side of the magazine cover, this made the copy effective as it was clear for the audience to be able to read. Also the framing used within this magazine cover made the singer Leona Lewis be the main attraction of the magazine and made the image of the singer be more effective on the front page of the magazine cover as it stands out well for the target audience to be able to notice the singer and grab the magazine. A mid-shot is used within the framing where we can only see the upper half of Leona Lewis’s body and the bottom half is then cropped out of the picture this makes the image more effective as it gives the image more depth of field which then makes the image clearer and more interesting for audiences who are about to buy the magazine.  

The costume used within the mise-en-scene is very basic and does not use much conventional costume in order to convey messages and relate to the genre directly, however the costume used does still convey some meaning as the top Leona is wearing is basic and she is also wearing some jewellery, this is familiar to her fans which are the main target audience of the magazine as Leona is known for her simple and basic clothing therefore this would be acceptable to her fans and they would notice who the singer is. Also her simplistic clothing could relate to the target audience as she looks ordinary therefore similar to her fans. Also the colour of the costume used is black, dark clothing is usually associated with parties or concerts as the colour is very common within these events therefore this further links to the music genre of pop. Also the colour black used within the clothing is very effective as the background is white therefore the image stands out very well and is clear for the audience to see as it contrasts with the white background.

Language:

The name of the magazine is Blender, this name comes from the machine which mixes everything together all in order for one outcome therefore the name will suggest that there will be a variety of music information in the magazine, therefore suggesting that many people will find some interest in the magazine as it will include a mix of content on music and especially the music genre of pop. The name of the magazine is very relevant to the content in which it covers therefore this name will catch the audience’s attention as it shows them there are variety of pop music news and interviews which makes them more interested in buying the magazine.

Within the strap lines various things are advertised which all reflect and link to the genre of the magazine as they are mainly about other pop singers. For instance the main strap line at the top of the magazine reads “look out Mariah Carey…” this suggests rivalry between Mariah Carey and Leona Lewis in order to be famous high rated pop singers in the music industry, this interests the audience as it instantly makes them think there are problems between the two singers which gets them more excited to read the news inside the magazine and they are more likely to buy it out of interest in order to find out why this particular quote was used in the front cover of the magazine. Also mentioning another pop singers name in another strap line appeals to the audience as they are audience that are interested in pop therefore will be more interested in buying the magazine if they notice that the content will include many pop singers.

Bold, black typeface is used in the strap lines of the magazine this has a very good effect on the text used as it makes it very clear for the audience and they are more likely to be able to understand and read the writing even before buying the magazine which makes it successful for audiences as it the typeface is clear for them they are more likely to see what some of the content of the magazine will be which then grabs them further and interests them more in the content of the magazine.