Time Management - 25.09.15

This week, I begun work on my preliminary task, to create a magazine for my college. Firstly, we looked in class at different techniques used by magazines including types of female poses, deconstructions of magazines, and denotations and connotations. This will help me with my magazine as it will help me to understand the features that I must use and incorporate to target a specific audience. After this, I took photos of various places and people around my college, including the following:

 All of my work was completed within class time, and I had plenty of time spare to take any additional photos needed. After this, I begun to consider names, sell lines, cover lines and contents for my magazine, which I will begin to put together next week.

Target Audience

The target audience of my magazine are young people aged around 14-20, who are typically already interested in the culture of alternative music. I am going to try to keep my magazine gender-neutral, by using typically gender-neutral colors (avoiding blues or pinks) and gender-specific or orientated language.

The type of people who would buy my magazine would have a specific interest in the culture of alternative-rock/pop-punk music, such as enjoying bands like Panic! At the Disco and Fall Out Boy, wearing dark clothing, and having un-natural hair colors. The sub-culture has been called an offspring of Emo and Goth culture, designed specifically for todays ever-changing generation.

I asked a group of young people on Facebook who are fans themselves of the genre about their opinions on what makes a good music magazine and what is likely to draw them in so I can use this research later on whilst producing my magazine. Here are some examples of what was said:

Images of my target audience:

Magazine deconstruction #2

Contents Pages

 This contents page is from NME, I really like the layout of it and how simple it is, as it makes it easy to navigate and follow. I like the idea of having the images of the artists featured with quotes underneath and clear page numbers, I would like to follow a layout similar to this on in my own magazine. The black lines are simple yet manage to organize everything much more clearly, which I think is a good idea. I also like how the date is written in small numbers under the bold heading. Quotes are used beside feature images to give the audience an insight into the article they are about to read, and they are often very vague quotes, taken out of context to deliberately cause the audience to have very little understanding until they read the article. This is a persuasive technique, used to encourage the sale of the magazine to the audience.

This contents page is also from NME, I like the different colors used on the right hand side, however I think the subscription box is too big. I would like to use a subscription offer in my own magazine, however I'd make it smaller so I wouldn't take too much faces from the features. 

I like that the masthead is in the top right corner and would like to incorporate this in my magazine too, as it's not noticeable enough to distract attention but is still enough to stand out.

This contents page is from Q, I love the positioning of the page title and the date, and I think the black lines add a sense of direction and organization. I think something like this would work well in my own magazine, as it is simple enough to guide readers without looking crowded or putting them off. I also like that the feature models image is positioned to the left instead of being central as it leaves enough room for the page numbers and information on the articles.

Double Page Spreads

I love the orange and black color scheme here and the way the pictures have been made black and white. I would love to use a color scheme like this in my own magazine as I think it connotes a dark theme such as halloween, so for bands focused more around punk I think it would work well. I also love the way the article title and subheading contrast each other with the colors. 

I like that in this article, the model is facing the camera directly which draws in the attention of the reader and I would position my model similarly in my on magazine. He comes across quite intimidating, however, which is something I would try to avoid. I like the use of the drop quote being a letter, however, and may incorporate this somewhere, as well as the use of the pull quote.

I love the use of the pull quote here as it seems to create a square shape within the main body, which I think looks really effective and would like to use myself. The colors of the text directly reflects that of the photo of the model which makes the article in general flow better despite there being no overlap in the pages. I also like that the top section of the left page is left blank as it creates a sense of simplicity and gives an impression there is little text, which is likely to draw in younger viewers.

Front Covers

I love the squared layout of this front cover, however if I were to use this in my own magazine I would try to ensure a more similar lighting was behind each model so the pictures blended together better. I would also have the models stare directly at the camera like the two on the right, instead of having one look another way. I do, however, like the idea of having the model look at the sell lines as the viewers are likely to follow his gaze so they may catch their eye more. The tagline of the magazine is "new musical express", which has a formal tone to it, being written in a fixed, professional font. This further supports the idea that the magazine has an older target audience. There is a plug on the cover, saying "22 Page Special" which is likely to catch the audiences eye, persuading them that this issue is somewhat special or unlike others, so if they were to buy any of their magazines - it should be this one. "The Vaccines" is written across the centre of the page, in bold white text with a slight black drop shadow. It fits perfectly in the centre of the main image, which creates some order and adds to the formality of the page.

I like the way the models in this front cover are facing each other and it is likely to draw in an audience as people are drawn in by conflict. In my magazine I would try to avoid this as I think it would work better to have the model make eye contact with the reader so they feel more involved. I like that the barcode, date and price as listed in the bottom right corner and would like to imitate something like this in my own front cover. The price being bold makes it easier to find and I like that it stands out over the issue number, which is less important. In my magazine I would try to make sure the model didn't cover too much of the slogan as in this example it has become impossible to read.

I like that the magazine changed the color of the masthead to fit the color scheme of the week which is something I would like to do myself,  as the font is kept consistent however the changing of the color keeps a fresh and unique look. The sell-lines are quite short and one of them includes a question, which is likely allow readers to feel a sense of inclusion and I think it would work better than simple declarative sentences so I think it would be effective to include questions in my sell-lines, too.

Inspirational texts and music

As part of research for my magazine, I decided to carry out research into inspirational music and text, to give me an idea in what I myself find influential. As I am a member of my potential target audience, I think it is important to create something that I would enjoy reading, as some of my interests are likely to be shared with others of my target audience. Being a fan of a certain genre of music means belonging to a specific culture, and within these cultures it is common to share norms, values, beliefs and ideologies with other members, which makes it easier to create something as I have an idea already as to what others in a similar culture to me enjoy.
Texts that have inspired me include Kerrang, which is a magazine aimed at people slightly younger than myself who enjoy the pop-punk/alt-rock genre of music. I bought the magazine religiously when younger, so I think I will be able to use aspects of it in my own magazine as it is a prime example of a successful publishing.
Music that has inspired me in the past includes:

From the TV show Glee, featuring popular rock-star Adam Lambert. The song bears strong similarities to the type of music, as it is a rock song with aspects of pop, so would be considered Alternative Rock. The song is motivational and uses lyrics to motivate and encourage the audience. The positive messaged emphasized is one I would be interested in writing about in my magazine, as typical punk magazines focus on the more negative side of things.
Another song from the alternative genre I find to be inspirational is

Both of the songs focus on the topic of becoming a "star" and doing what makes you happy which I think is an important message. I think these songs are extremely important the type of positive message I am inspired to promote.

Time Management - 11.09.15

So far, I have been able to cope with the workload and finish most of my work in class so I can complete finer details and touch-ups at home. The main thing I struggle with is putting too much detail into things as I'm too much of a perfectionist, and I need to learn to manage my time more effectively in this sense. 

I think I can do this by setting myself a time management plan and a set of clear goals and objectives for each week, so I don't spend too long on one aspect of the course and leave myself insufficient time to do the rest.

Other than this, I've been able to meet all homework deadlines and carry out every task set so far, leaving me time to go back and check over past work.

Basic Magazine Deconstruction

Basic magazine deconstruction

• Masthead: Q ( for my own product, I would use a large masthead like this, it stands out and is obvious, with bright colors that follow the color scheme of the magazine. I would apply this to my own magazine by making sure I have a clear and outlined masthead)
• Selling line: The UK's biggest music magazine (For my own product, I would make sure to include a catchy selling line such as a slogan or fact to impress my audience. I would make it readable but possibly have it underneath my masthead and not any more noticeable than the main cover line)
• Barcode: Under masthead (I would have the barcode for my own magazine in the bottom corner as I feel it would draw less attention away from the main image or cover lines)
• Dateline: February 2013 (I would put very little priority on the date and probably, like this magazine, have it just above the barcode)
• Main image: Cheryl Cole (In the main image, the photo of Cheryl sticks with the color scheme of the article. I would apply this to my own work by having a model wearing colors that match the scheme of the magazine)
• Main cover line: "3 words, Cheryl Cole Rocks" (Short and vague to make the reader interested, the text is clear to read and stands out from the background, I would like to use a technique like this in my own magazine)
• Cover line: "The Best 10 news acts" "Them crooked vultures" "Muse" "Vampire Weekend" "Snow Patrol" (The cover lines are all small and don't take focus from the main article, they are positioned in the first third and so are one of the first things the reader would see. With this in mind, I think I may want to keep the first third for my model so they are the main focus of attention)

Inspirational posts

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Proposal Form

Proposal Form

Describe your idea for the brief: The brief I was given was to create a front cover, contents page, and double page spread for a music magazine, of a genre of my own choosing for a suitable target audience. I decided I wanted to create a magazine focusing on alternative music, e.g. things not likely to be found within mainstream music charts. I am hoping to produce a high quality magazine with a fixed colour scheme and industry-standard content.

Genre/ sub genre: I have decided to focus on the alternative genre with particular focus on Pop Punk and Alt-Rock music. Similar texts, which have inspired me, include Rock Sound and Kerrang, which are incredibly popular and influential magazines, which focus on the genre of pop-punk/pop-rock. Kerrang in particular has inspired me to create my own magazine within this genre as it has a huge success rate, and is one of the only magazines actively bought by young people.

Target audience: The target audience of my magazine are young people, around 15-20, who already have an interest in the genre of music specified. This familiarity is required to build a relationship between the reader and the writer, so I can use a style of language that is quite informal and is likely to draw in a less sophisticated audience than something like Q. My target audience generally consists of both males and females, who are usually quite outspoken and wear black clothes, with colourfully dyed hair. My target audience often have poor or negative experiences with the education system, due to bullying or difficulty to follow rules, so I am not likely to speak about education positively as I know it is not something my target audience could relate to.

Major conventions: I will use a short title for my magazine, which I would like to fit it landscape across the top of my magazine, with no gaps either side, or in the right hand corner if this is possible. I would like to use a large medium shot of my model in the centre of my magazine, in a way that the model makes eye contact with my reader to draw them in. I would like to use a specific, set colour scheme that is consistent within the front cover and contents page of my magazine, with a different colour scheme for my double page spread. I would like to have my cover lines include teasers and enigma codes which will encourage my reader to buy the magazine and explore what is written inside.

Conventions: I decided I do not wish to have a physical free gift with my magazine, other than posters that can be found inside. Instead, I would like to offer a free download code, as my target audience are likely to have experience with computers and would rather have a digital download than a physical CD. I would have my barcode as small as possible in the left corner of my magazine, which would include the issue number and price, as well as the main barcode and the date. I would want this to be small as to not draw attention from the magazine.

Original images: I would like to have my main image as a medium or head-shot of my model, possibly with a chocolate box pose, and other pictures dotted around. I would like to use an image of some tickets that are available to be won, as competitions are often effective in drawing in an audience. I would like to take original images to use as previews of posters that can be found inside. On my contents page, I am likely to use a long shot of my main model and images of CDs, guitars, or other music related things that would relate to my article. I would need another long shot of my artist for my DPS.

Potential difficulties/ Plan B: If my initial plan does not work, and for some reason my genre becomes ineffective or unusable, I would like to focus on the genre of K-Pop, which is becoming increasingly popular, particularly within online media. There are few magazines currently targeting this genre of music, so I may struggle to find inspiration, however it would stop me from potentially copying or taking ideas from what already exists. If my magazine does not appeal to my target audience I may be forced to raise or lower the age of my target audience depending on the issues that would force me to change the content within.

Genre

For the genre of my music magazine, I have decided to focus on alternative music as it is the music I tend to enjoy the most.

Alternative music is often known as Alt-Rock music, and it is a genre of rock music that emerged from independent music in the late 1980's, becoming popular in the 1990's. The genre is literally defined as anything that is not what would be typically found in the charts of music today. Our society is culturally dominated by pop culture, with aspects of it everywhere, so pop is not often found within alternative music, instead, we find genres such as pop-punk, rock, indie, and even culturally diverse music such as J-Pop or K-Pop. For my magazine in particular, I would like to focus on the genre of pop-punk, which is typically borderline rock music with aspects of pop and pop culture within.

Popular artists within this genre include:

• Panic! At the Disco - A five person, all-male alternative rock band from America.
• Paramore - A five person alt-rock band with a female lead and four male members.
• All Time Low - A four person, all-male pop punk band, with British and American members.
• The Killers - A four person alt-rock band, all male, with American origins.
• Coldplay - A four person, all male, alternative British band.
• Marianas Trench - A four person, all male, Canadian rock band.
• Fall Out Boy - A four person rock band, all male, originating from America.

Magazines that already focus on this genre include:

• Kerrang - Kerrang is focused on targeting young people aged 13-19, offering novelty gifts and posters, with bright colors. The tone of the magazine is one that is not too serious, so would not put of those not as literate, which is backed up by the vast number of, and focus on, photographs and pictures.
• NME - NME is focused on a slightly older audience, possibly mid 20's-30's, who still have an interest in the genre but also in more mainstream music. Although the article has featured bands likely to be in Kerrang such as Paramore and Muse, it also focuses on artists such as Adele, who is unlikely to be seen in Kerrang.
• Rock Sound - Rock Sound bears a lot of similarities with Kerrang, however is less likely to offer novelty gifts and contain bright colors. It is therefore targeted at a more specifically older audience, possibly mid twenties and older for people who still enjoy the genre but would like more detailed stories. Instead of offering novelty gifts such as tattoos, Rock Sound offers its readers a free CD every month, which again is likely to target an older audience as young people typically do not listen to so many CD's, due to the mass free collection of music available online in mere seconds. 

Fans of the genre and fashion associated:

The fans of this genre are typically teenagers, aged around 13-19, of both the male and female gender. There has been controversy within the media speculating the danger of pop-punk music, with tabloid articles claiming that the popular, now separated band, My Chemical Romance, is capable of promoting an unhealthy lifestyle of introversion, self-harm, and the glamorization of mental health issues, eating disorders and suicide. These articles were extremely controversial, and caused young people to protest (peacefully) on the streets of London in late 2008, outside of the offices of these tabloid papers. Young people are often the targets of tabloid attacks, with a lot of these attacks based around this kind of music. This shows that the people who do listen to this music and are fans of it are typically very strongly opinionated and are likely to stand up for what they believe in, which means whilst producing my magazine it is important that at the same time as being honest, the culture of the young people must not be demonized as it is likely to cause unrest.
During the protests of 2008, when hundreds of fans of pop-punk and alt-rock music gathered in London, you could see a common theme within their fashion sense, a lot of young people interested in this culture are likely to wear black, typically t-shirts with slogans on or band names, with tight skinny jeans and boots (converse and dr martens are typically popular). Beanie hats are also quite common, with chokers for accessories and wristbands, typically with spikes on to represent their deviance from common society.

Popular songs and music within the genre:

Ready to go - Panic! At The Disco

Sugar we're goin' down - Fall out Boy

Misery Business - Paramore

Brief

For my Media Studies AS course, I have been asked to create the front page, contents page, and a double page spread for a music magazine. For this magazine, it is important that I chose a suitable music genre, and a suitable target audience to create a believable and effective magazine.

I have also been asked to take into account things such as genre, design, and content, so that my final project is believable and looks like a magazine you are likely to find in a store. To get a clearer idea of what I'd like to do, I decided to research some magazines that have already been published and gained varying levels of success.
One of the most influential magazines within the music industry is Q, as it tends not to focus on a specific genre but instead on all music that is upcoming, however it does seem to have quite an indie, pretentious vibe. People featured on Q tend to have had phenomenal success within the music industry, which is dominated by pop culture, so it is no surprise that many of these artists are actually pop singers, (for example Ed Sheeran, Cheryl Cole and Michael Jackson, who have all been incredibly influential within the music industry) however many of the artists featured on Q rose to fame within different genres, for example the rapper Tinie Temple, indie singer Lana Del Ray, and the rock band Oasis have all been featured on the cover of Q.

Kerrang is a popular music magazine with a lot more specific target audience and genre, as it focuses on music that is typically rock or pop punk. The magazine is targeted very specifically at a young "goth" or "emo' subculture, which differs from the audience of Q which is older, more sophisticated and varied listeners. We can see this targeting through the way in which Kerrang offers its readers free novelty gifts such as temporary tattoos and wristbands, something older listeners/readers may have little or no interest in. Kerrang uses a lot more colors than Q, also, with bright graphics and text which suggests it is aimed at a much younger audience, typically teenagers. I can learn from this that in my own magazine, the color scheme is very important once I decide my target audience. You would never see an issue of Q with bright purple text and screaming models.

I have created this blog to keep a record of my progress whilst creating my magazine, including the process of conducting research and planning, and eventually evaluating my product. I will be updating my blog after everything I do, to keep track of everything and provide evidence that the work I will eventually produce is as accurate and true to todays media as possible.

By the end of this project, I hope to have produced a front cover, contents page and double page spread of a music magazine to the best of my ability, using industry-standard techniques and photography to create a piece of work eidetic to something that would be found in the media of todays society.