Third Draft of Front Cover

This has a 3 part colour schemes with orange, black and white. I would prefer to include one other colour on the front cover to contrast the orange, a colour like blue will probably work because it contrasts but does still work.  Also some of the sell lines are hard to read as the black writing blends into the background, therefore I may need to either change the positioning of these or changing the colour of the font. Another thing I would change is that the bottom of the page has nothing there and it is all positioned towards the top of the page. I do like the font of the title because whilst it is quite simple, it still has an edge that works with the genre of indie acoustic artists. However this does not have a tag line which is again something that is conventional therefore I will look to include in the final front cover.

Different Font Styles for My Title

 1.

 2.

 3.

 4.

 5.

 6.

Out of these fonts, I asked people which font they believed was the most suitable to the genre of the magazine. Font 2, 4 and 6 came back with the most results with people saying they fitted with the acoustic whilst also having a connotation of indie/ different. Out of these three I choose to use 6 as I personally believe it did this the best.

Second Draft of Double Page Spread

Second Draft of Contents Page

Second Draft of Front Cover

My second draft of my front cover is how I first imagined my music magazine to look like, however comparing this to a real music magazine I have now decided on a few things I would change. For example I would keep the original image without cutting out the background and although the model is holding a guitar it is covered by a main headline therefore not making it clear to the audience immediately that it is a music magazine. I like the menu bar along the bottom of the page as it keeps the whole page even and the sell lines are quite equally spread out. The title of the magazine links with the music theme however it is quite hard to read from a distance, and will struggle to attract a clear audience.

First Draft of Contents Page

David Carson

In today's lesson we looked at the David Carson and how he influenced the cover designs of music magazines. He is an American Graphic Designer and is most commonly known for his innovative magazine designs. He became art director of Ray Gun.

I believe although his designs are extremely creative and unusual, they are too different that of conventional magazines to work successfully. The designs are aesthetically pleasing however do not convey a particular house style therefore making it difficult to establish and maintain an audience.

Questionnaire

Music magazine questionnaire

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Focus Group of target audience

Ask questions to different age groups in the area of my target audience

First Draft of Double Page Spread

This is the first draft of my double page spread for my music magazine.

In this there is a very clear and basic colour scheme throughout the text.

First Draft of Front Cover

This is the first draft of my music magazine front cover.

There are many things I could improve on for my final front cover. Firstly the main image needs to represent the genre and theme of the magazine, this image does not fully encapsulate the genre of my magazine. To do this I could ask the model to change her clothing and appearance to look like a typical acoustic artist., also I would like to take more photos of a different model holding a guitar. Also the model needs to be looking at the camera, in order to look like they are directly addressing the audience, I have noticed this is very conventional to most magazines therefore in my next draft I am hoping to do this.
Also with this first draft there is not a clear and eye catching colour scheme; this is something that is conventional to the front cover of a music magazine and generally links to the house style of the magazine. For example the title would be the same colour and font for every issue. Another thing I would like to change about this front cover is that the image should be central. I thought I would try and place the image to the side of the magazine instead of central, but looking at my first draft I would prefer this to be central for my next draft.
The title and the font are both still being developed as I ask and explore what my target audience would want from this magazine. So before I finish my next draft I would hope to have established a clear title that works with the genre and hints at it.

Editing Photos

The photos I have taken are quite simple and conventional. However I believe to make this more conventional I would look into editing my images, I am planning on using Adobe Photoshop which I have on my laptop to alter the tones and contrast of the images. I have used Adobe Photoshop now several times and am therefore comfortable using this software.

Photos For My Magazine

These are all the photos I took for my front cover, contents page and double page spread. Some of them are more suitable than others.

Uses and Gratifications

This theory assumes that members of the audience are not passive but take an active role in interpreting media into their own lives it also holds that audiences are responsible for choosing media to meet their needs. The approach suggests that people use the media to fulfill specific gratifications.

After looking at Blumler and Brown theories I believe that all four of their factors are relevant to a music magazine. These four are:

• Diversion, which is something to do to escape from reality/problems. This is the case for  most people reading a music magazine as they are able to relax and read about other peoples life to either make them feel better or take their mind off their problems. 
• Personal Relationships; this is using media to discuss with your friends therefore acting as a substitute for 'real contact'. The music magazine we have either read and used to gather information is then used to base a conversation with friends. Also if you were to be reading a music magazine you directly talk about the magazine and the content with friends.
• Personal Identity is a way of defining yourself by the media texts you read and you build the sense of self. 
• Surveillance is when you find out about the world through media texts.

Another theory we looked at was the McQuail theory. 

• Find out about events and conditions in society this is generally why some people will read a music magazine as it informs them about gigs and other events.
• Satisfying curiosity which is one very similar to finding out about event. This is very obviously the case for lots of people who read a music magazine, in today's society a lot of people are nosy and want to find out about how other people are living etc. So they will read a magazine or a particular article to satisfy their curiosity. 
• Self education, occasionally this is why some people will read a magazine, however this is not always the case as most music magazines are read so people can find out gossip. Some music magazines focus on finding out about getting into the music industry however these are minimal. 
• Reinforcement for personal values
• Finding models of behaviour is largely apparent for some people when buying a music magazines. If they look up to the model on the front cover then they are going to buy the magazine to read the article about them. It makes them feel as though they are finding out more and more about this person making them more aspirational to them. 
• Identify and find a sense of belonging, I believe this is quite important to why people will by a music magazine. They are reading a magazine that interests them and the journalists and article authors are interested in the same sort of things, therefore making them feel as though they fit into a group of people.
• Conversational and social interaction is the case for a lot of magazines, and is for music magazines if their friends are interested in the same music as their friends. If you see an article or learn something about your favourite artist or your role model then you will probably share this information with your friends making it a basis to a conversation.  
• Escaping from problems is sometimes why people will read music magazines. They are reading about other people and maybe these articles will make them feel better about themselves or make them stop thinking about their personal issues.
• Relaxing is definitely a reason many people will read a magazine, they are using the magazine in a similar way to those trying to escape from problems. 
• Filling time would be a reason many people may pick up the magazine to read as even if they haven't brought it, it may be sitting around and they may pick it up to read when bored.
• Physical attraction is what most magazines will use to get people to buy a certain magazine. In this way it is similar to when people find models of behavior. People will read a magazine because they are attracted to the people in the magazine.

Looking at all these theories and ideas I have decided a few things about how my magazine should interest people and what the content should be like. For example if people are using the magazine as a release from stress and their own problems I should make the content quite light hearted. Also if people are only reading my magazine to fill time I must therefore make the articles quite interesting and inviting to try and attract them to read them as oppose to just flicking through the magazine. Although my magazine is for a genre that is quite low key and unheard of, I still need to include existing artists as those are the people that the audience will want to read about and look up to. 

Layouts for my Front Cover

In order to keep my target audience in mind, I have asked them about their opinions of different layouts for my front cover. This powerpoint shows some of the feedback I got and I have therefore created some drafts for my front cover using the different layout to see which looks more professional. Different Layout for Front Cover

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Risk Assessment & Shooting Schedule

I considered a number of things before I took my photos for my magazine. I established risks of the locations I had to shoot at for both me and the model and I organised a schedule to stick to closely to take the photos. Although I was only taking a few photos and was not on location all day I still had to consider and look into these things.
The risk assessment and shooting schedule may not have been as important for the photos I took, they would be important to create in the future if I were to continue onto study media at a higher level.
So for this particular task I did not write down a risk assessment; but as I have already mentioned I considered things like, carrying props between different backgrounds, if it were to be raining the surface may be slippery so I ensured the model and myself were wearing suitable footwear and was careful when walking.
Also I established things I wanted to achieve on the photoshoot, with ideas about what to capture. This meant I had written something similar to a shooting schedule.

Recce Photos

As my chosen genre is acoustic/indie, I have looked at artists of this genre typical photo shoots and also looked at some of their music videos to see how the background of the images or video helps to convey a certain ideology. Looking into these I have realised that typically they involve either a warn down or aged background, or the countryside. This then allowed me to visit some possible locations for my magazine photographs.

Possible backgrounds for photos

Although this is a plain and simple background it could work to represent the ideology of the genre of music. This background would be more conventional for an article about an indie band or artist as oppose to an acoustic artist. Therefore if my article was focusing on indie then this is a more suitable backgrounds than others photos I have taken. This would work because it is slightly damaged and scratched which fits into the ideology that indie artists are quite laid back and don't want to have a slick, perfect appearance. The second image has a very similar background to the first image, conveying all they same/similar representations but in this image the wood could be used as a seat. This would then make it suitable for an acoustic artist because they could sit on the wood with their guitar.















This would not work as just a background to the image in my opinion the model would need to be either sitting on the front of the caravan or the step of the caravan. This could work for the acoustic genre as camping links with the countryside and  the country is what is typically thought of when people think of acoustic artists. The two different caravans could both be incorporated into the picture in a similar way, but when the photo is completed they will convey separate things. The first caravan is a lot cleaner and more liveable than the second so would convey more ideologies of an acoustic artist. However the second caravan is more damaged which would give an unusual backdrop to a photo but could work in a way that indie artists are different and bring something different to the music world.

These 3 images would be what you would typically expect in a folk or country music magazine as oppose to an indie magazine. However most folk singers fall into the acoustic genre, meaning that if the article was about an acoustic folk singer these backgrounds could be successful. The horses add to the countryside stereotype, but would be difficult to photograph as they would constantly be moving around. However the stable could work as a background to the images. With the image of the fence, the model could be sat on the fence looking into the camera or into the distance.

All of these images, like many of the others create the countryside theme and ideology of the acoustic genre. The stream in the background helps to create this and the model could sit on the bench, in the tree or stand near the bank. This is not as suitable for the indie genre though as there is nothing individual about this place and it would create ideologies of acoustic rather than indie music.
The third one of these images could be too busy to have as a main image on an article as the model would appear very small in the shot in comparison to the tree.

This background would be much more suitable to a more indie band as they would fit into the dirty and imperfect nature of the steps. This would be very easy to model someone one, however it would look better if it was a band being photographed as they would fill the height of the steps.

My Design Philosophy

I need to decide what I would like to include in my magazine and what layout I would like from my magazine.
The four F's:

• Formula-the articles and features that go in magazines, they should remain the same format every month. This is not something I will be able to explicitly apply to my magazine as I will only be creating one edition of it, but this will be something I will consider depending on what type of the articles I would like to include.
• Format -the design and layout of the magazine and the general appearance. This is something I will definitely need to look at and think about when designing the magazine, and is something I will begin to explore in this post. 
• Frame- the margins and gutters, although this doesn't seem important, it does help with the general layout of the magazine and make it look professional.
• Function- what is the magazine for? this must me made clear.

Not only do I need to look at the Four F's I also need to look at:

• Retro vs. Modern-modern is my preferred design, however retro design creates quite a different and interesting appearance
• Minimal vs. Cluttered design-I would definitely say I prefer a minimal design, and this would work best with my style of magazine. Cluttered designs appear to work for pop artists.
• Balance- It it important in my opinion for the balance to be even so that sell lines are positioned around a main image. However I am willing to look at different layouts and see how they work with my genre,
• Conventional vs. original- Although some designs like Shindig! look quite eye catching and original, for my coursework I think it is important to be conventional. But I will look into developing some conventions. 
• Use of Colour- All the colours used in the magazine need to go with one another, however also need to contrast so that sell lines and other features stand out and are eye catching.  
• Consistency vs. inconsistency-It is extremely important to be consistent throughout my magazine, if they style or overall representations change the reader will be confused and the magazine wouldn't ne as successful. 
• Effect of genre/ideology on design

Decisions about my music magazine

After looking at different music magazines and researching topics and ideologies related to different genres of music, I have decided to create a magazine that would feature acoustic or indie artists. This magazine will be based on designs and structures of NME and Q. My target audience will be people of a similar age 16-24 this is because they will relate to some of the people in the magazine. The target market will be smaller than these larger magazines like NME and Q because it focuses on two particular genres whilst they have a broader range.

I would like my front cover to be quite simple and sophisticated whilst still attracting the attention of the audience. Due to wanting a basic and not too overcrowded cover I will be using one person as my model as oppose to a group/band and it must be a plain background to draw attention to the sell lines. Or the background must be quite simple as to not distract the audience. The title of my magazine needs to be related to the genre and themes of the magazine, as it will be one of the firsts things that attract an audience. This title must be displayed in a way that can be used every issue of the magazine in order to establish a house style that the potential audience could relate to.

Examples of Double Page Spreads I Like

These two double page spreads are amongst the designs that seem to grab my attention and make me want to read them. I think that the title of the magazine looks good when it fills a large amount of the page, this may be even more than half of the page. Also these show that the image/images should fill a whole page of the double page spread.

Wide Audiences vs. Niche Audiences

When deciding on a target audience of a magazine, TV show or any other form of media, there are two different outcomes; a mass audience or a small audience. Mass audiences are for media forms that appeal to a large group of people and maybe have a broad subject/genre, whilst niche audiences are aimed at a small specific group of people which is significantly lower than the mass audiences.

Wide Audience: Case Study - Q

Q magazine is aimed at more mature music lovers and cover recent artists without forgetting the older ones. They cover a diverse range of music genres to interest all. This allows them to build up a larger audience as they are covering more of a variety meaning more people are likely to be interested in different parts of the magazine so buy it to read that part. The National Readership Survey website shows that 476,000 adults read Q magazine which in comparioson to other music magazines on the site, is the highest value. They must base their ideologies on all the music genres so the magazine is not so specific to a certain genre, but holds a sophisticated house style.

Their cover model ranges from celebrities from the pop world like Cheryl Cole and those from the indie scene like the Artic Monkeys.



Niche Audience- SHINDIG!

Shindig is a magazine aimed at people who love music from the 60's like mod, garage rock, psych and freakbeat. This is a clearly much smaller than the market of Q magazine and the audience have to source the magazine from a particular music shop or even the internetm, whereas magazines aimed at a mass audience can be found in supermarkets and most newsagents.Technology has allowed music magaines to be aimed at niche audiences because of desktop publishing software things can be created that look quite professional at a reasonably low cost. Also this allows a small group of people to be employed by a magazine as there is the use of technology that has developed. Due to SHINDIG! being aimed at a very small audience it allows the ideologies and representations of the few genres to be shown, so it will only ever attract those interested in that type of music.

The readership of every edition of this magazine is approximately 26,000 which in comparion to the 476,000 people that read Q, this is a very small market.

 

Intertextuality

There are many recurring ideas in all different industries and there is the idea that 'it's all been done before'. This idea comes from all different ways for people to use a recurring theme, post modernism, bricolage and parodies.

Tropes are things that are repeated over time and eventually form a common convention. A trope maker is the initiator of the trope, an inverted trope is when the trop is reversed so the opposite is used or a subverted trope is when they are attacking the trope and challenging it.
Memes are ideas that aren't copied, like tropes, they are thought of at the same time.

Tropes are sometimes the representations that have built up about a certain thing, but in terms of music it is very closely related to the ideologies of the genre. For example pop music has tropes that it is fun, non explicit, whilst rock artists are said to be rebellious and all the tropes seem to reflect these.

Target Audience

Different genres of music

Some different genres of music magazine:

• Garage Rock- this is a raw form of rock and roll that was first popular in America and Canada.
• Jazz - this is a musical style that originated in the beginning of the 20th Century
• Rock- this is heavily influenced by rhythm and blues, and country music and became popular in the UK and US
• Pop- this is a genre of popular music that derived from rock and roll.
• Acoustic-music that primarily uses instruments to produce sound entirely.
• Indie- artists that are not signed to commercial record labels.
• Indie Rock- alternative rock music with artists not signed to commercial record labels. 
• Hip-Hop- a style that consists of stylised rhythmic music, that generally involve rapping.
• Beat boxing- a form of vocal percussion.
• Dance- music solely made to facilitate or accompany dancing. 
• Dub-Step- a genre of electronic dance music originated in South London.
• Metal- a genre of rock music, with blues rock and psychedelic rock 
• Folk- music that involves traditional and contemporary folk music

Technology

Technology

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