Flat Planning

This week in my Media Studies lessons, we have been doing the flat planning for our final production of our magazine. I did a brief flat plan of what kind of things I would like my magazine to feature. This will help when choosing what article I wish to do for my double page spread. It will also help me when I am doing my contents page as it gives me a rough idea what I will need to put on it and on what pages.

Double Page Spread Analysis 1

http://www.slideshare.net/GraceOrmandy/double-page-spread-analysis-67299008
Here is the link to my double page spread analysis. This will help me with my coursework as it will inspire my own double page spread and help me to create it.

Double Page Spread Analysis 2

I have linked a double page spread analysis. This will help with my coursework as it will allow me to get inspiration for my own double page spread and will help me to create it as I understand the effects of different fonts and images.
http://www.slideshare.net/GraceOrmandy/double-page-spread-analysis-2-67299017

Mood Board

As I have decided to do a kids pop magazine I need to make a mood board to help me when thinking of the content of the magazine. This is will be useful because when I am struggling for ideas I can look at my mood board and know what else I can include in my magazine and make sure I haven't missed out any potential important articles.

Final Magazine Idea

I have chosen what music magazine I wish to do. It may change along the course of the production. But for the time being this is what I fully intend to produce.

My Final Magazine Idea

Genre: I have decided to produce a pop magazine for my coursework. The main focus of the magazine will be pop music and will have very small additions of fashion, clothes, apps and beauty bloggers. I will add these so I can have a more widespread appeal to my target audience.
Target Audience: My target audience will be young girls from the ages of 12-14. I did originally plan to have a target audience with an age range of 8-14; however, I thought that I would find it easier to make something targeted towards girls who are closer to my age as I could relate more and produce more appealing content. Also I didn’t want to make the target audience age range too broad. This means that I will be able to have a broader range of articles as some people aged 16, for example, would not want to read the same articles as people ages 12. I have no preference in class status for my target audience as I want it to be available for many young girls from all social backgrounds and I want it to be inclusive for everyone.
Unique Selling Points: I will hopefully have many unique selling points (USPs). The main USPs that I will include will be free posters of different artists. I will also have exclusive interviews with famous pop stars and famous YouTubers. As well as this I will have a competition in my magazine to win £50 for the ITunes store- I feel this will be appealing to my audience as people in the age range of 12-14 . I may also include a competition to get free tickets to a meet-up with either the audience’s favourite band/ artist or with their favourite blogger. I don’t want to include free tickets to events like gigs, as I don’t feel my target audience will really have experienced gigs before or want to at that age and are more interested in meet and greets and book signings.
Key Features: I would like my final product to firstly be very eye-catching, with bright colours. The bright colours will be more appealing to my target audience and will also make the magazine look lively and youthful- characteristics of my target audience which they may find appealing and convince them to buy my magazine. I will also include exclusive interviews with famous pop stars, bloggers and new upcoming artists so that the reader will feel like they are getting the inside gossip and want to read my magazine as they feel they will not be able to get this information from anyone else. I want my magazine to feature the latest chart updates, as I feel my target audience would find this interesting and enjoy finding out what songs are really popular as at that age they just want to fit in and be like everyone else. Finally, I want my magazine to have small fashion, clothing and social media sections as my target audience won’t be interested in reading a magazine all about music at such a young age and they want a variety of content. This added content on social media will be based around bloggers and vloggers. Also as my target audience are aged 12-14 they will be interested in snapchat and Instagram so I may feature articles about that. I will make my magazine relatively cheap as young people may not be able to afford an expensive magazine. This will also be more appealing to parents as they won’t mind buying a cheap magazine for their children. This will bring in more customers for my magazine and therefore, if I was actually publishing this magazine, it would bring more money and profit to the institution.

Lists of artists I may include in articles

• Justin Bieber
• Selena Gomez
• Ariana Grande
• Shawn Mendes
• The Vamps
• On Direction
• Little Mix
• Fifth Harmony
• Adele
• Taylor Swift
• Demi Lovato

Other topics of articles

• Bloggers/ Vloggers- eg. Zoella
• Instagram
• Snapchat
• Clothes- “#ootd”- these will be from places like New Look and will be cheap as they are young so won’t have much money
• Makeup- again, cheap as they won’t have much money

Name Suggestions for my magazine:

• POP!
• Pop 4 You!
• Pop Is Life!

3 Magazine Proposals

In my media lessons, I was given the task of making 3 proposals of potential music magazine genres that I may wish to produce for my final piece. They all had to be different so that I could have a variety of different choices to choose from.

Ideas for my music magazine

Idea 1

• Genre- The genre for this music magazine will be kid’s pop music.
• Target audience- The target audience will be girls aged between 8 and 14.
• Unique Selling Point (USP) - There will be exclusive interviews with upcoming pop stars and there will be a selection of free posters. Also there will be code for a chance to win a £50 ITunes voucher.
• Possible features- exclusive interviews with famous pop stars, upcoming pop stars and famous YouTubers about their favourite genre of music. Chart updates. Bright colours. Gossip on the latest artists.
• Possible Artists you might feature- upcoming artists- will take photos of ordinary people and say they are the newest celebrities. Ariana Grande. Little Mix. Taylor Swift.

Idea 2

• Genre- Classical music magazine
• Target audience- 60+ male and female.
• USP- There will be a chance to win tickets to the Proms- my magazine will be paired with BBC to make this possible.  Free classical music CD
• Possible features- Interview with top composers. Review of the latest Prom. CD reviews. Soprano of the month. Concert review. New composer every month
• Possible Artists you might feature- Beethoven, Gabriel Foré, Mozart, Schubert

Idea 3

• Genre- dance music
• Target audience- all genders- 16-25
• USP- free tickets to music festivals
• Possible features- interviews. Best dance tracks of 2016 so far. Posters.
• Possible artists- top  DJs. Rihanna, Beyoncé etc…

Mojo Contents Page Analysis

In my media lessons we have been talking about the effect of magazine contents pages as this is what we will have to produce in both our preliminary task and our final production.

MOJO

Out of all the contents pages I have analysed, this Mojo contents page is the simplest.  This could be good for the audience as it could convey the idea to them that this magazine is simple and easy to read- a convention that readers of this magazine may find appealing and one that they may like and favour when choosing what magazine to read.

Like all contents pages, this one has included the masthead, familiarising the reader with the masthead and brand of magazine so that they can pick up the magazine again, bringing more money to the magazine institution.

The central image on this contents page has 1 model like in Glamour but not in Kerrang. The central image is also the background for the contents page allowing everything to blend together. The central image is in quite a peaceful and calm setting creating a tranquil atmosphere for the audience as they read through the magazine. The model in the central image is looking directly at the camera; this creates a direct mode of address as the audience feel like the model is looking straight at them; this makes them want to read about this person as they feel a connection towards them.  Like Glamour, this magazine contents page only had one image- central image with no secondary images. This allows the majority of the reader’s attention to be drawn to the article that anchors and, in this case superimposes, the central image.

Unlike the other two contents pages this one is split into two columns- the others were split into thirds. This adds to the simplistic layout of the contents page and again, makes it easier for the readers to pick out the articles they want. Another thing that adds to the simplistic layout is the big, clear fonts of the text; these are very legible and clear so that a wider range of audience can read through the contents and probably the whole magazine.

There is also a very simplistic colour scheme: black, white and red. The red stands out a lot more which catches the attention of the readers and makes them want to read the magazine.

There are not a lot of article headings; this could create a more exclusive atmosphere with the audience as there isn’t as much variety of content.

There is no self-promotion; this could suggest that the magazine is well branded and self-promotion is not needed to get a wide range of audience and also it sticks to the simplistic theme as it is making sure that the page isn’t too full.

Kerrang Contents Page Analysis

In my media lessons we have been talking about the effect of magazine contents pages as this is what we will have to produce in both our preliminary task and our final production.

KERRANG

This contents page- unlike Glamour- has some self-promotion- a puff. At the bottom of the page there is a box that advertises a subscription deal: “Get a K! Subscription for £15”. This shows that the editors want more readers and want to attract more audience. The deal will be appealing to potential audience or the audience they have already as it will appear that it will be cheaper for them. This could also potentially bring in more money for the magazine institution as it attracts more audience.

Again, unlike with the Glamour magazine, there is a secondary image as well as a central image. The central image is intriguing to the audience as it is a direct mode of address. The models in the central image are the band All Time Low. Then there is a vacant space where the editor has put “THIS COULD BE YOU!” This appeals to the readers as it makes them feel that they could be part of the group and it intrigues them as it making them want to read about how they could be there with that band. The editor has superimposed a puff onto the central image to advertise a competition so that the readers can actually be there with All Time Low. This again makes the audience want to read on as they want the chance to be there with the band. The secondary image looks like it is an image of the editor. It is anchored by a letter from what looks like the editor. This is another way in which they have used a direct mode of address. The editor is personally addressing the audience which makes them feel special as they think the editor is personally addressing them and that magazine is meant just for them. This could make the audience feel compelled into buying and reading the magazine bringing more readers and money to the magazine institution.

Like the Glamour magazine, the majority of the page is split into thirds. The editor’s letter is separate from the rest of the contents page and that little box is split into thirds as well. This all makes it look very organised and professional and makes it much simpler for the reader to find the article headings that they want to read.

This contents page has a general colour scheme of black, red, white and yellow.  These colours all stand out and even though they aren’t particularly bright and lively, they are still quite eye-catching to readers and will attract a wider audience. This is probably because the black, white, red and yellow all contrast but at the same time go together. If it was purely black and white, it wouldn’t be very eye-catching meaning a loss in audience.

Like Glamour, the editors of this magazine has included the masthead on the contents page, to just ensure that the readers are aware of the magazine they are reading and maybe to familiarize them with the masthead so they can pick up the magazine again.

The wide range of headings provides a variety of content for the readers meaning there may be something for everyone. Again, this could attract a wide range of audience and bring in more money for the institution.

Glamour Contents Page Analysis

In my media lessons we have been talking about the effect of magazine contents pages as this is what we will have to produce in both our preliminary task and our final production.

GLAMOUR

This contents page had 1 image- the central image/key signifier. This is done to suggest that this is the main article of the magazine is about Emma Watson- the model in the central image- and this could mean that the editor wants the reader to focus on this article the most. The headline that superimposes/anchors this image is intriguing to the reader as it is a rhetorical question the editor is trying to say: if you don’t know find out here on this page. This may excite the reader as it is letting them know some inside gossip- implied by the buzz word “secret”- and make them want to read on and therefore buy the magazine.

The colour scheme on this contents page is quite eye-catching and bright which helps attract reader’s attention. When a reader picks up a magazine, the first things they look at are the front cover and contents page to get a grasp of what is included in the magazine so that they can decide whether they want to purchase the magazine or not. The fact that the contents page is eye-catching is good for the magazine as it will drag in readers due to the bright colours and “liveliness” of the magazine, meaning more people will purchase the magazine.

The contents page has included many headlines which gives the reader a sneak peek at all of the variety of content included in the magazine. Apart from the one that is superimposed and anchored onto the central image of Emma Watson, none of the headlines stand out very much. This implies that they are all of equal importance and equal value to the reader. It also shows that there is one main article and all of the others are secondary articles.

The fact that the line “THE STYLE ISSUE” is capitalised and larger than the other text implies that it is important to the reader and could be the link between all of the articles. The fact that “style” is in another colour shows that that could be a buzz word in that phrase and the most important part. It could also imply that each issue has a different theme and this month’s issue is based on the theme of style.

They have included the masthead on the contents page. The colours used in the masthead are different from the general colour scheme of the rest of the contents page. This is done to separate it from the rest of the page and to make it stand out to the reader. The masthead is included on the contents page to remind the readers what they are reading. Editors try to put the masthead on every page so readers are well aware of the magazine they have bought and are reading so that if they want to recommend the magazine to others, they are recommending the correct magazine and not others that have similar layout.

The page is split into thirds. One third for the headlines and article titles. Two thirds for the central image. This is again another indicator that our main focus should be on the article related to the central image and that is the most important thing on the page.

There is not much self-promotion on this contents page implying the magazine is very well branded so therefore does not need self-promotion. There is also no letter from the editor. This could imply that this is a completely separate article in itself or that the editor does not need to address the readers as much as the magazine is well branded so the readers are very familiar with the editor already. Also there could be a number of editors that can’t all address the readers at once.

My Preliminary Task

For my preliminary task I had to make a magazine for my school. I decided to make a magazine exclusive to the 6th Form at my school. For this task I had to use original photography and I used publisher to create it. I purposely made my preliminary task a poor magazine as I think that it will help me to explain the differences and improvements made to my magazine production skills when making my evaluation. In light of this decision I decided not to use any photography editing programs like Photoshop and I didnt plan out my photography much before taking the photos. Here is the finished product:

 

There are many improvements that can be made to this. For example, I should plan my photography a lot more and also plan the spacing of all the features on the magazine so it is precise, neat and professional. Also I may need to plan fonts and colour schemes so that it matches my chosen genre of music and it is clear what that genre of music is.

Photography for Preliminary Task

For my preliminary task I will make a magazine front cover and contents page that I will target at the 6th Form at my school. To do this I had to get some original photography to put onto my magazine. I did not put much thought into my photography as when I produce my real magazine I will be able to compare the photography and show how it has improved in an evaluation. I took all the photographs on my phone, which has a camera of decent quality but is not as high resolution as a professional camera- one I will be using to take the photographs for my real magazine. I also decided not to edit any of my photography on Photoshop to ensure there is a clear difference between my photos on my preliminary task and on my real magazine. Again, this gives me more to talk about when I am writing my evaluation. I had to take a photo many times in order for the end photo not to be blurry and in order to make sure everyone was looking at the camera or in the right direction.

 

My GQ Magazine

This is the remake of a GQ magazine on Quark in my media lessons. We have been intoduced to Quark as it is one of the best programs to ensure that our magazine will be produced at the highest level and that it looks as professional as possible. Quark is one of the programs- alongside Photoshop- that I will be using to produce a magazine of the highest standard I can possibly make in order to achieve the highest marks. This task was very useful for my magazine production as it allowed me to familiarise myself with some of the most essential features of Quark that I will need for my magazine and it has allowed me to truly analyse the features of the original GQ cover in order to make a believable replica. This is useful as it had made me more aware of the more intricate details of the front cover that I will need to take into account when producing my magazine front cover and it is allowing to make small plans in my head of how I want my magazine to turn out as I can use different features that I find most effective in my own magazine to make it as realistic and effective as possible. This is what the original cover of the GQ magazine looked like this:

I couldnt get my version perfectly the same as the original; firstly because I did not have access to the same software as the editors of the magazine so could not use the exact same tools to create my copy, but also I was not able to retrieve the original image that the editors used for the cover image so we had to find another one to use. This meant that I had to change some of the colours of the text so that all the text coud be seen and read clearly with little difficulty. However, apart from these few issues, I would say my copy of this GQ magazine front cover is quite good in terms of similarity and accuracy.
When producing this magazine I did not have to use photoshop to get rid of the background of the cover image as there was a tool on Quark that allowed me to do so. Thanks to Quark I was able to replace the background of the newly found cover image and replace it with a pale blue like on the original front cover.
I had to do this again with the GQ logo as I added it as a separate image. I had to delete the white background so it would blend nicely onto the magazine and would look professional.
For the rest of the cover, I used text box tools to add the text and change the colour of the text box to resemble the original cover.
I have found this task very useful in helping develop my understanding of magazine front covers in order to produce the most professional looking and highest marking magazine I can.

Kerrang Front Cover Analysis

In previous media lessons we have been asked to analyse magazine front covers of any genre. However our course wants us to make a music magazine therefore this week we have been asked to analyse the front covers of music magazines to introduce us to the layout of music magazines. We were asked to find two magazine front covers of two different music genres in order to analyse them properly and get us used to the type of layout on these magazines and to give us ideas for our own music magazines. The first magazine I decided to analyse was KERRANG! This is a rock misoc magazine that has a lot that can be said about it. It has a simple layout that I may look more closely at when making my magazine as I may like to make one similar. The second one that I analysed was Classical Music. This magazine is of a completely different music genre so shows a lot of variety in layout and content which will help develop my understanding of music magazines and it will also help me make some decisions about how I want my final product to look. The Classical Music magazine has a lot less to say about it as it has a simplier layout with less content on the front cover. This is probably not going to be how I set out my magazine as the more content I may have on the front cover, the more advertising it will do so that if it were really to be published, it will attract a wide range of audience and be more appealing so that people will want to read it.
KERRANG!:

Masthead– KERRANG!-  The font of the masthead and the lines cut out in the text help this magazine conform to its genre. From the masthead, I can tell that this music magazine is based on the rock genre of music. The white text sticks with the colour scheme as the most important parts of the text are in white with the lesser important coverlines in yellow and green. The fact that the cover image is slightly superimposed on the masthead shows that the masthead doesn't necessarily have to be seen fully to know what music magazine it is as the magazine is such a well branded magazine on its own you can immediately recognise it by the text font and colours, layout and maybe a few of the letters in the masthead.  The exclamation mark in the masthead implies it could be shouted which is a common thing associated with rock music as it is loud and sometimes shouted.
Tagline-  There is no tagline for this magazine. Like the superimposition on the masthead , this could suggest that the magazine is very well-branded therefore does not need a tagline to appeal to its audience.
Central Image + Cover Model– The central image on this front cover is an image of the lead singer of the band– Green Day. This represents that the main article will most likely be about Green Day. The low angle shot of him implies that we should worship him– like a Godly figure. This is also implied by the light that is behind him. This image is anchored by text that says “”THIS IS THE BEST SHOW OUT THERE!” GREEN DAY EXCLUSIVE U.S. TOUR REPORT”; this will attract readers as the buzz word “exclusive” implies this gossip can only come from this magazine and fans will want to get this gossip about their favourite artists. The black that the cover model is wearing  fits in with the background which is a grey colour; this makes the text stand out more as none of it is black or grey.
Coverlines– On this front cover there are 5 coverlines. All of them are sticking to the genre of rock . They all use colloquial language which implies that  the target audience is a younger generation– teenagers– of rock music fans.
Direct Mode of Address– There is not very much direct modes  of address on this magazine. This could suggest that the editors don’t want to direct it at one person but a group of people, showing that the magazine is for all rock music fans, implying a sense of inclusion  for everyone.
Puff– There is a puff that  says “WIN” talking about a competition that will be in the magazine for readers to win. This is attractive to readers as it will encourage them to get involved in the magazine and buy it in order to win the competition.  There is also one that says “PLUS!” Which is also advertising the contents of the magazine. 
Pug– There is one pug on this front cover. It is just a collection of photos but ones that will perhaps advertise some of the articles or posters or photos that will be included inside the magazine.

Barcode, Edition, Price, Date– All are located out-of-the-way in the corners to prevent the focus being taken off the cover model.

Buzz words– To appeal to a younger audience the editors have used the phrase “WTF?!” This is written in bold and is a common phrase amongst their target audience.

Classical Front Cover Analysis

In previous media lessons we have been asked to analyse magazine front covers of any genre. However our course wants us to make a music magazine therefore this week we have been asked to analyse the front covers of music magazines to introduce us to the layout of music magazines. We were asked to find two magazine front covers of two different music genres in order to analyse them properly and get us used to the type of layout on these magazines and to give us ideas for our own music magazines. The first magazine I decided to analyse was KERRANG! This is a rock misoc magazine that has a lot that can be said about it. It has a simple layout that I may look more closely at when making my magazine as I may like to make one similar. The second one that I analysed was Classical Music. This magazine is of a completely different music genre so shows a lot of variety in layout and content which will help develop my understanding of music magazines and it will also help me make some decisions about how I want my final product to look. The Classical Music magazine has a lot less to say about it as it has a simplier layout with less content on the front cover. This is probably not going to be how I set out my magazine as the more content I may have on the front cover, the more advertising it will do so that if it were really to be published, it will attract a wide range of audience and be more appealing so that people will want to read it.
Classical Music:

Masthead– The masthead for this magazine is Classical Music magazine. This shows us that the genre of music that it focuses on is Classical music and gives us an insight as to the target audience– classical music fans– and the content of the magazine. The font and colour scheme are very simple which could imply that the magazine itself is simple and not overloaded with articles. This is also suggested by the fact that the front cover has a very simple layout with very few coverlines. The text for the masthead is also very big and easy to read which is something you would want for the older generation, connoting that this magazine is targeted at the older generation of classical music fans. Tagline– As far as I can see there are no taglines for this magazine. This could be for many reasons.  One reason could be that the masthead of the magazine speaks for itself.  The masthead very clearly states  what the magazine is about therefore the editors may have thought a tagline was unnecessary. Also it could be a very well branded magazine.
Central image + cover model– The cover model is Nicola Benedetti, shown by the fact that her name is in huge bold text. Her outfit corresponds with the theme of black, white and brown as she wears a white blouse with a black skirt. There is quite high-key lighting on her as it makes her look more angelic and more like a goddess implying we should worship her.

Coverlines- There are very few coverlines on this front cover- 4 in total. This allows the magazine front cover to stick to the simplistic theme. The colour of the text is sticking to the colour scheme and is therefore standing out as only the text and the cover models blouse is in white.

Direct Mode of Address- There is not much direct mode of address on this front cover- much like with the KERRANG! front cover- as there are no second person pronouns in the text and also the cover model is looking away from the camera. Like KERRANG! this coukd have been done to create an inclusive atmosphere amongst readers.

Puff- There are no real puffs on this front cover bar the few cover lines that are included on the front cover. These could still be passed as puffs though as they are advertising articles in the magazine and are give the audience a taste of what they will get in the magazine.

Pug- On this magazine front cover the Edition, Date and Price are all pugs. This is good as they are out of the way so that the main focus is still on the cover model. The barcode is also out of the way which helps bring the attention back to the cover model as well.
There are not many advertisments on this front cover. This could imply that the editors do not feel they need them as their cover models and coverlines will attract a wide enough audience on its own. There are also not many buzz words on this front cover. This could be because it may be targeted at an older generation who like it more simple and dont want anything too extravagant and in their face.