Friday, 30 March 2012
Wednesday, 28 March 2012
Flat Plans - Front Cover, Contents Page, Feature
These are my Flat Plans for my magazine, they are the basic design for my final product, these designs will most likely be altered in the finished product.
Front cover
Contents
Front cover
Contents
Feature
Tuesday, 20 March 2012
To get an idea of the common conventions of feature articles, I am going analyse a feature article of Corey Taylor. I think that the target audience for this magazine would be 15-60 year old white male, metal heads, the images used follow the common conventions of metal magazines because its all dark and ominous with the dim lighting and the canvas background, the main focus of the picture is the star vehicle Corey Taylor, and it connotes the genre with the classic style of clothes he is wearing.
The layout of the feature is relatively simple, it features a large image of the star vehicle on the first page taking up all of the available space on the page with very limited amounts of text, and on the next page it has a large starting word to the article where it utilises a sort of graphically edited 'No' which also features a quote inside the 'O' which looks good and follows the same style as the imagery and text. The pages feature a flowing style where the theme is classic and it goes very well together. The colour they have used connotes the genre because the black is a classic convention of the metal genre because its used quite frequently.
Typography, it doesn't feature much text but the text featured is brief and informal and the story features short, easy to read words in a readable font, the text is short because the readers are stereotyped as drunken and drugged up and so they have made the magazine very easy to read, the readers are probably in the social classification D1 to E. The stories themselves are not overly informational and seem more like person was recounting there night out rather than a conventional interview.
The imagery used in the feature is grimy and looks like it was taken in a dirty 1930's american alleyway, and the main model for the spread (Corey Taylor) is featured in a medium close - up wearing a classical mafia style suit with a fedora, this would appeal to the target audience because the style of shoot is a classic convention of this genre of music where they would use a setting from 50 or more years ago and make it look like the image was taken a long time ago giving this classic photo style.
The colour used is plain black and white for the text on the second page which keeps with the on going theme of using a classic style which makes the text stand out and easy to read, the image on the first page however, uses a variety of different colours such as; red, orange and grey, the red is used on the tie which could connote violence as it is a metal magazine, the gray backdrop makes it look like it was canvas when mixed with the dim lighting giving it a weathered look and the orange was used like a backlight for a sign like you would find in Las Vegas which has Corey Taylor written on it. These features would appeal to the target audience because metal is meant to be seen as grimy and dirty and violent which would all appeal to the target audience who expect to find this in their magazine.
Equipment list & Studio Lighting Research
For my photo shoot I will need to have;
- Canon 600 D
- Background cover
- Model
- Props (Guitar, Hat, Jumper, Jacket)
- Reflector
The studio lighting that we have used includes apparatus like the reflector, the reflector is used to redirect or 'bounce' light from another light source toward the subject. Reflectors can be made of various materials from foam core to nylon. The more reflective the surface, the more the reflector will provide strong directional light. Less smooth surfaces provide a more diffused softer light. Reflectors are most often used in the studio to fill shadows, but can be used for getting light into any part of a scene. Once in place, they can be treated as a light source.
We also used a canon 600 D camera, it is a powerful and high quality camera capable of taking high resolution photographs which are perfect for magazine covers due to it's 18 megapixel resolution, it also lends itself well to using accesories such as different lenses and the ability to be mouted on a tripod. It features a HD recording ability although we did not use this it is still an impressive feature found on the camera and features an articulated screen for viewing newly taken pictures and video.
- Canon 600 D
- Background cover
- Model
- Props (Guitar, Hat, Jumper, Jacket)
- Reflector
The studio lighting that we have used includes apparatus like the reflector, the reflector is used to redirect or 'bounce' light from another light source toward the subject. Reflectors can be made of various materials from foam core to nylon. The more reflective the surface, the more the reflector will provide strong directional light. Less smooth surfaces provide a more diffused softer light. Reflectors are most often used in the studio to fill shadows, but can be used for getting light into any part of a scene. Once in place, they can be treated as a light source.
We also used a canon 600 D camera, it is a powerful and high quality camera capable of taking high resolution photographs which are perfect for magazine covers due to it's 18 megapixel resolution, it also lends itself well to using accesories such as different lenses and the ability to be mouted on a tripod. It features a HD recording ability although we did not use this it is still an impressive feature found on the camera and features an articulated screen for viewing newly taken pictures and video.
Institution Research
We researched various institutions that produce magazines for different companies, the institutions we looked at were the four main institutions for magazine production, these are; Bauer media who are the largest privately owned publisher in europe, IPC media who have been producing magazines since the 1950's, Hearst one of the biggest fashion magazine publishers and Conde Nast who produce a wide variety of magazines from automotive to fashion.
The magazines that I analysed were; Kerrang and Q, both of these magazines are owned by Bauer. The research for Bauer media and other magazine producers is on the prezi that has been created.
The link to the prezi is as follows -
My magazine would most likely fit into the category of main stream magazines, as it doesn't go against the common conventions of music magazines and so would most likely be produced by a company like IPC media or Bauer, who produce mainstream music magazines like Q and NME.
New media technology has created many new advantages and disadvantages for both existing companies and also new companies. The advantages for new companies is that they have a chance to diversify themselves by using digital production to distribute magazines making them interactive and unique allowing them to enter a relatively new market and have a fair chance to succeed, whereas, the bigger oligopolies are going to have some of their market dominance removed because of this new, cheap digital distribution, however, the oligopolies can also press there respective companies into creating digital distribution giving them a wider audience and allowing them to produce magazines for businesses abroad because they only have to send the file instead of printing hundreds of thousands of magazines and then transporting them to shops around the nation.
The magazines that I analysed were; Kerrang and Q, both of these magazines are owned by Bauer. The research for Bauer media and other magazine producers is on the prezi that has been created.
The link to the prezi is as follows -
My magazine would most likely fit into the category of main stream magazines, as it doesn't go against the common conventions of music magazines and so would most likely be produced by a company like IPC media or Bauer, who produce mainstream music magazines like Q and NME.
New media technology has created many new advantages and disadvantages for both existing companies and also new companies. The advantages for new companies is that they have a chance to diversify themselves by using digital production to distribute magazines making them interactive and unique allowing them to enter a relatively new market and have a fair chance to succeed, whereas, the bigger oligopolies are going to have some of their market dominance removed because of this new, cheap digital distribution, however, the oligopolies can also press there respective companies into creating digital distribution giving them a wider audience and allowing them to produce magazines for businesses abroad because they only have to send the file instead of printing hundreds of thousands of magazines and then transporting them to shops around the nation.
Friday, 9 March 2012
Mick Hutson - Case Study
To further my understanding of music photography, I looked at Mick Hutson. He has taken photographs of bands such as Muse, Rolling Stones, U2, Pink Floyd and Coldplay. He mainly works as for Metal Hammer and Q magazine, some of the biggest music magazines around making him one of the best known photographers around.
He does different styles of images for different bands, he will take studio shots, gig pictures, on set, off set and staged photographs with editing afterwards. This is a close up of one of the band members from Motorhead, it is a studio shot. The black and white styling could connote the age of the band and also that they are a metal band because the blak and white is a classic convention of the metal genre. This picture would be best suited for a front cover or a contents page in a magazine.
This image is very different to the studio shot above, this is because the background has been efited in afterwards using programs like photoshop to make high quality lighting and settings, for example the moon in the background is a high quality render which has been added after the shoot. The picture itself is medium shot because you can see his entire body. The lighting connotes the metal genre because it is seen and stereotyped as a dark style of music which is another convention of the metal genre. This style of picture would be well suited for a front cover as it is very eye catching.
Tuesday, 6 March 2012
Paul Harries - case study
To futher my
understanding of the types of photography in music magazines, I have looked at
photographers who work for NME, Kerrang, MOJO and Q, specifically I looked at
Paul Harries work.
Paul Harries is an
internationally renowned photographer, he has photographed some of the worlds
best known rock musicians. He has worked as a freelance photographer for twenty
years, most of the time was spent working for Kerrang. He has taken pictures of
musicians and bands such as; Ozzy Ozbourne, Foo Fighters, Slash and Green Day.
This is a medium close-up of the band Foo
fighters, the photographer has chosen to use a purple backdrop for the shot,
the medium close-up allows for the entire band to be in the shot as there are
four members and the image quality is very good and has a lot of detail. The
purple backdrop is relative to the style Kerrang uses in their images, as they
tend to use bright colours in their images so this picture is actually
following the common conventions of Kerrang magazine. This kind of image is
likely to be featured on the front cover of the magazine because it features a
well-known band and it would be the star vehicle for the magazine and probably
relate to the main story.
This is another image of his, it is an image
of the lead singer of Muse, this time he has used a black and white background
instead of a colourful one, and this could be because the band Muse are again
in the rock genre and using black and white imagery is a classic convention of
rock photography. This picture would be good for a feature inside the magazine
as it isn’t a particularly attracting image, which would catch your eye but
instead is a highly detailed, quality shot.
Friday, 2 March 2012
Target Audience Research & Survey Results
The main things that my magazine must include in order for it to be successful would be related to; the positioning and size of the masthead, suitable colour schemes for the genre, teasers which entice readers, good quality images too make the magazine stand out, a good use of typography with more informal writing and a suitable style and a good layout, these are the points that my magazine needs to follow in order for its success. Theorist Fiske claims that readers/consumers take in different forms of media and 'rip' them adding their own meanings to the text, to work with this theory I am going to create a survey from which my target audience can answer and I can take the results and apply this to my magazine making it more appealing. Hartley (1987) said that there are several different categories from which a reader will take interest in, I can also determine these categories through my survey as I will ask questions relating to their interests.
The surveys results are as listed below;
The majority of participants that answered my questionnaire where male, this could be because music magazines may appeal more to males than females this could purely be based on the genre of magazines available.
There were a variety of different age groups who answered my questionnaire mainly in the 16-18 and the 24-26 year old categories, this could be because these age groups are the ones most involved and into music magazines or like listening to music quite a lot, although my questionnaire did feature a varied spread of answers from various age groups.
I asked the participants what magazines they liked out of a selection of four of the main and most popular magazines available, the majority of votes went to Q and NME this could show that the style that these magazines use is appealing to an audience and that my magazine should follow some of there design styles to make an effective and creative magazine spread.
I also asked them why they chose there magazine and asked whether it was the layout, imagery, colour or the genre that swayed there choice, and the majority had said that it was the imagery mainly and also the layout and genre second, these aspects are what I will have to focus on in order to make my magazine appeal to the target audience.
The next question I asked was what was their favorite genre of music and most of the results led to indie, where the rest where between rock and rap. This could be an indication that my magazine will have to be in the indie genre as there is a large target audience for this meaning that I have a bigger audience to appeal to.
Finally, I asked the participants why they would buy a music magazine, was it for entertainment, distraction or for information. The majority said entertainment but a lot of responses said that it was for information, this could show that I should make my magazine entertaining and informative as to not alienate any potential readers.
The surveys results are as listed below;
The majority of participants that answered my questionnaire where male, this could be because music magazines may appeal more to males than females this could purely be based on the genre of magazines available.
There were a variety of different age groups who answered my questionnaire mainly in the 16-18 and the 24-26 year old categories, this could be because these age groups are the ones most involved and into music magazines or like listening to music quite a lot, although my questionnaire did feature a varied spread of answers from various age groups.
I asked the participants what magazines they liked out of a selection of four of the main and most popular magazines available, the majority of votes went to Q and NME this could show that the style that these magazines use is appealing to an audience and that my magazine should follow some of there design styles to make an effective and creative magazine spread.
I also asked them why they chose there magazine and asked whether it was the layout, imagery, colour or the genre that swayed there choice, and the majority had said that it was the imagery mainly and also the layout and genre second, these aspects are what I will have to focus on in order to make my magazine appeal to the target audience.
The next question I asked was what was their favorite genre of music and most of the results led to indie, where the rest where between rock and rap. This could be an indication that my magazine will have to be in the indie genre as there is a large target audience for this meaning that I have a bigger audience to appeal to.
Finally, I asked the participants why they would buy a music magazine, was it for entertainment, distraction or for information. The majority said entertainment but a lot of responses said that it was for information, this could show that I should make my magazine entertaining and informative as to not alienate any potential readers.
Contents Page Analysis - Kerrang
Masthead – There is only a relatively small title saying contents featured here, this is probably because a big title isn't needed as it was on the front cover and it is quite obvious that this is the contents page giving them more space to write things on. It does stand out on the page though, due to it being bolder and more prominent on the page.
Colour – The colour of the magazine is a classic black and white with black writing on a white background, this makes the writing easy to read and also makes the images clear on the page. This colour scheme won’t directly appeal to the target audience because it is more of a classic scheme which has been used quite a lot and is usually changed depending on the band featured. And also the red colouring helps to bring out the adverts on the page.
Typography – The style of writing used would be appealing to the target audience because the style of writing is that of the target audience and is not overly sophisticated making it suitable for the target audience to read. Also there is not a lot of writing featured but mainly images instead and a lot of one line titles above them, this could be a common convention of this magazine to use images and headings instead of just using writing alone.
Imagery – The images used are clear and well presented and the colour scheme matches with the picture which makes the magazine look good, this would appeal to the target audience because the images featured are all of bands in the rock genre which would make it appealing to the target audience. It also features a variety of pictures of various different rock bands, some of which are quite well known which could also be an appealing factor to the target audience.
Layout - It follows the common conventions of music magazines by featuring one main image of a band and also many other smaller images, with little quantities of text and a few quotes, this follows the common conventions through it's use of text and imagery.
Contents Page Analysis - NME
The target audience is still the same as before.
I will begin my analysis with the imagery used. The imagery does not go against pre existing contents page conventions, it does this by using a medium shot on the star vehicle which is the of the arctic monkeys which also connotes the genre and it represents the primary target audience and their needs. The magazine in short will represent white men aged 16 – 34 who are into rock music because the star is a rock musician it relates to the audience although the audience may include a female audience because they may read the magazine for the males featured which is the reverse of Mulvey's theory.
The masthead follows the conventions of magazines where it’s emblazoned on the top of the magazine, its big, bold and visible which is useful for when the magazine is being sold in shops because the top may only be visible at the top, this would appeal to the target audience because they haven’t changed their logo which people will recognize and they have not changed its overall look and style keeping it the same.
The colour used is fairly neutral using black and white for the writing which makes it easily visible in places while in others it makes it harder to read which is a negative aspect of it. The colour contrast also makes the magazine stand out by using white and red which could appeal to the target audience because it is not really bright but it is also not overly dark which stays well within the common conventions of a music magazine, unlike the front cover, it features yellow text in places, this is probably to attract the readers attention as it is an advertisment.
The layout of the magazine is fairly common in terms of the conventions of magazines because it features one main, central image, Text detailing whats in the magazine, a Masthead and suitable text, adverts and also sub headings. The central image also takes up all half of the page which makes it stand out.
The Typography is more informal and filled with some information on the main story, it contains a very modern writing font and looks very clean and tidy which is a common convention of a music magazine of this genre, although some music magazines look more messy, this may be because of the band that is being featured. This could appeal to the target audience because it is a common convention of this magazine.
Front Cover Analysis - Kerrang
Masthead – The masthead is big and bold which makes it stand out and visible as soon as you look at it, and is mostly in front of the imagery except for the main image focus which overlays the masthead, which is the only flaw with it. This would appeal to the intended target audience because it is done in a barbed wire style which would be appealing to fans of rock due to it being a classic theme in rock magazines.
Colour – The colour of the magazine is a classic black and white with white writing on a black background and also black on a white background, this makes the writing easy to read and also makes the images clear on the page. This colour scheme won’t directly appeal to the target audience because it is more of a classic scheme which has been used quite a lot and is usually changed depending on the band featured. And also the red colouring helps to bring out teasers on the page. It follows the common conventions of music magazines
Typography – The style of writing used would be appealing to the target audience because the style of writing is that of the target audience and is not overly sophisticated making it suitable for the target audience to read.
Imagery – The images used are clear and well presented and the colour scheme matches with the picture which makes the magazine look good, this would appeal to the target audience because the images featured are all of bands in the rock genre which would make it appealing to the target audience.
Teasers – The teasers are all in red which makes them highly visible and differ from the rest of the page making them eye catching, this would appeal to the target audience because they are not bright in your face colours they fit in with the magazine style making it look good.
Layout - It follows the common conventions of music magazines by featuring one main image of a band and also the a few smaller images with some teasers but it does not cover the entire page in different colours and images.
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