Preliminary Contents Page

Question 7

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Question 6

Question 5

Question 4

Question 4 | Create Infographics

Question 3

Question 2

Question 2

Question 1

Self Evaluation Questions

1. In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
During the research stage we looked at a wide range of music magazines including NME, Q and Kerrang.  We also looked at other students magazines from previous years and found out that those who followed the conventions of real magazines were the ones that got the highest marks.  The reason for this is that the people who created professional magazines know exactly what looks good and know all the 'rules' of creating a professional magazine design.  We looked at different magazine plans such as the 'F plan' 'E plan' and the 'Z plan' all of these are designed to get the reader to look at the most aesthetically pleasing part of the page, in our culture we read from left to right therefore the part of the page which you want the reader to see first should go in the top left of the page.  The magazine title I chose was 'Parklife' as it is a very well known song by Blur therefore when people see the name Parklife they will associate my magazine with other bands of Blur's genre which is what my magazine is about.  One of these rules is the rule of 3, these 3 things are considered to be the basic things you should consider when creating a magazine, they are; whether the page is portrait/landscape, the colour scheme and the different fonts used.  The front cover should be about 80% image and 20% words, this is because the photo is what makes someone stop and look at the page not the writing.  The mast head should be in the top left or centre of the page because normally you would want it to be the first thing the reader sees when reading the page.  I found out that less colours is better, the magazine must have a theme of colours which runs throughout it for example mine is yellow, black and white/cream these colours work well on each other, if I used too many colours in my magazine it could look like there is too much going on in the page and nothing would stand out which means it wouldn't be as eye catching.  I decided these colour by using what the professionals use - a colour wheel - by doing this it's easy to tell what colours work well against one another.
       When designing the magazine I took into account these conventions because if the professionals use it to make their magazine look good then it must work and therefore get me more marks.  My magazine has high influences from NME and Kerrang! magazine because NME has exactly the same music genre as me and I really like the way that Kerrang! have set out their pages therefore I combined them to make a magazine that had effective layouts on its pages and also had music artists that attract my target audience of 'Indie Scenesters'.
       I think that my mast head is very effective as it stands out due to the colour combination, also it is placed in the top left corner so that it should be the first thing that people see when they look at the page.  I thought the best font to use for this was a font called 'Harabara' as it is sans serif so it is eye catching and bold, also it curved at the edges of some letters which makes it quite quirky as is the band Blur which the title is named after.  I feel that with this font and mast head name people get an idea of what the magazine is like and the sort of information it contains.  I feel the graphology of my contents page uses, develops and challenges the classic NME style contents page, I took the idea of a band index however placed it on the right instead of on the left of the page.  I did this because I think that the main story stands out a lot more along with the mast head, in the NME contents pages the main story stands out less because the eyes are drawn to the large band index on the left of the page.  Also the images on my contents page follows the conventions of NME contents pages because I have a picture of my main model actually on stage performing which makes it look very believable and very professional.
I used, developed and challenged an NME double page spread featuring the 90's band Blur, as I tried to make my magazine in the style of 90's NME magazines i thought it would be beneficial to get inspiration from articles featuring 90's bands.  The image of the NME double page spread is a close up of one of the band members, this takes up a whole A4 page, on the page next to it, it has a quote with the article at the bottom.  My image is also a close up of one of my band members however in mine you can see part of his clothing which emphasises his style and fashion sense, on the page next to mine there is also a quote which shows of my model's (Tommy Cobley) attitude towards the life of being a rockstar 'I didn't meet Liam Gallagher, he met me', doing this makes him look like a role model to many men and his confidence would make him more attractive to most women therefor they will want to read the page and find out more about him, the quote i similar to the Blur quote 'My book would be about Blur, orgies, vomiting and vicodin...'

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
After researching different types of social group on a website called UK Tribes, I found out that my magazine suits Indie Scenesters the best because they enjoy the same Indie Rock style music that my magazine consists of.  I have designed my magazine to fit the needs of this social group by having images of people wearing the same clothes as Indie Scenesters e.g. Fred Perry and Adidas.  My magazine is designed and written mainly for young adults because they are the age group who are mostly interested in new bands and artists of the Indie Rock genre.  The gender I have chosen is mainly boys however girls aren't excluded because I made the models look attractive so they would like their music even more.  The models on my magazine are all boys as you wouldn't usually find a female in a band of this genre, I feel that I gave the main model both positive and negative reputations.  The fact that Tommy has a good fashion sense and looks the part of a rock star makes him seem like a role model which other men would aspire to be like.  However the negative side of him is how he is rather arrogant which granted, may appeal to some people but others it may not have such a positive effect.  I tried to create a stereotypical rockstar who lives a 'don't care' lifestyle with influences from stars such as Liam Gallagher and Paul Weller. 
      My contents page represents my Indie Scenesters social group due to its layout and colour scheme.  The layout was influenced by an NME magazine and Kerrang! magazine both of which I would expect my target audience to buy or be interested in.  The colour scheme is black, white, yellow and red, I think these represent my target social group because it's the same colour scheme as an NME magazine that I researched which was designed by professionals.  The camera angles for the image next to the cover lines is a high angle shot looking down on the band
My double page spread looks professional and smart which is how my target audience of Indie Scenesters like to dress therefore it should appeal to them largely.
     I think my front cover appeals mainly to fans of 90's music as the colour scheme is similar to many NME magazines from the 90's which Indie Scenesters would be interested in reading due to the bands from the that decade that would've been included in the magazines.  Also the bands on it are mostly from that era E.g. Oasis and The Stone Roses, however I also have bands from this decade which would appeal with fans of 90's music for example Kasabian and Arctic Monkeys.  There are new, less known bands on my cover page that I thought my target audience would enjoy listening to, I wanted my magazine to be known for getting new artists popularity.  My model appeals largely to fans of this genre of music as he is wearing clothing that 'mods' would wear, also it is Pretty Green which is Liam Gallaghers clothing brand, many of my target audience know and respect Liam Gallagher therefore it is very suitable for my magazine as it means the readers who are male can see Tommy Cobley as a role model and an influence to them.
      My double page spread appeals largely to Indie Scenesters mainly because of my model and the things he says in the interview.  There is a close up of him on one whole page which connotes how he is quite full of himself, the fact he has a whole page of just his face, also he is wearing a jacket with a large collar which stands out for example if you saw him wearing that in the street he would stand out over other people wearing ordinary clothing which adds to his presence that i'm trying to make throughout the magazine.  The things he says in the interview such as 'I didn't meet Liam Gallagher, he met me' and 'I do get sad sometimes but I just look in the mirror and go what a good looking f**k you are' make him come across as a person who doesn't care what people think about him, he even gets cocky to Liam Gallagher, a rockstar who is known for getting into fights with people and trashing hotel rooms.  This attitude makes him stand out over lots of other celebrities which gets him more popularity and also it makes him more of an influence on some men who would read the magazine and some girls would find this more attractive.
      The mise en scene of my whole magazine appeals to my target audience because of the way my models are dressed, they wear Adidas and Fred Perry which after doing some research, is the same brands as Indie Scenesters like to wear.  I use a wide variety of camera angles including high angle, mid shot, close up and side views.  Using this variety is beneficial as otherwise the reader could get bored of the same types of photos of the same people.

3.What kind of media institution might distribute your product and why?
I think that IPC Media would be the most likely institution to distribute my product as they publish magazines such as NME which my magazine is highly influenced by.  NME magazine also has a similar social group to mine, Indie Scenesters are its target audience.  Even though my magazine is targeted at mainly men, women are in no way excluded from buying it however my magazine would be best suited in the 'Young Men and Music' section of IPC as this section is targeted at men who enjoy the same style of music which my magazine consists of, in this section there are magazine such as NME and Nuts.  It is a British corporation and distributes a lot of trusted magazines which will definitely benefit my magazine.  There are many ways you can access magazines that are distributed from IPC Media including; Tablets e.g. Ipad and Kindle Fire, smart phones, laptops and obviously across print.  The fact that my magazine would be very easily accessible means that more people will buy/subscribe to it.

4.Who would be the audience for your media product?
My target audience will be mostly young alternative groups such as Indie Scenesters as my magazine consists of alternative rock bands such as The Enemy, Blur and Oasis.  Indie Scenesters wear brands such as Fred Perry, Adidas and Pretty Green therefore I decided to use as many of these brands as possible in my magazine to make the readers think that if they wear the same brands as the models then they will like their music and style.  Most of this group shop in places such as HMV which sell all kinds of genres of CD's including the artists in my magazine (Oasis, Blur, Stereophonics) they are always looking for new artists and bands to listen to which is why my magazine suits them very well as it has been written to tell people about new bands who aren't very well known.  My audience of young adults are likely to shop at supermarkets such as Sainsbury's and Tesco therefore my product will be available to buy in the magazine section of these stores along with similar magazines such as NME, Q and Kerrang!  Also if someone from my target audience goes into Tesco or Sainsbury's etc to buy an NME magazine and they see one of their favourite bands on the cover of my magazines then it is likely that they will buy mine as well, this scenario is very likely because NME readers have the same taste in music as what my magazine contains.  My audience will read other magazines such as NME, Q and Kerrang! due to the music artists that they mention, I fell that my magazine is a mixture of NME and Kerrang! as the music suits NME fans whereas the layout suits Kerrang! magazine.  I must mention bands who are featured in these magazines to get the target audience that I have researched, these bands stretch from the 90's e.g. Stone Roses, Happy Mondays and throughout to current bands e.g. Kasabian and new up and coming artists such as Splashh and The Strypes.  My audience go to gigs on a regular basis therefore I should tell them about upcoming gigs that they would be interested in, this is why I put on a competition to win tickets for a big Kasabian concert in Victoria Park, Leicester this June.  By doing things like this it will increase my audience because they will buy my magazine so that they can find out more information about the competition.

5.How did you attract/address your audience?
My audience ranges from young adults to people in their late 20's.  I would expect the people who buy my magazine to be mostly men as their are no women models in the magazine however there are lots of women who would enjoy the music that my magazine consists of and would also find the models attractive and therefore be more interested in buying it.  I chose to make my models look as smart and good as possible because it would make them look more like role models to the men who buy it, readers would aspire to be like them as they have style and attitude.  Another reason why I think men would enjoy my magazine more than women because they would find the colour scheme more aesthetically pleasing, the main models coat and the brand colours are more 'manly' so mens eyes will be drawn to it.  The fact that my target audience like to go to gigs and festivals in their spare time is useful information for me because I know what their main interests are, therefore I put on a competition to go to a Kasabian gig so anyone who sees that and like Kasabian will most likely want to buy my magazine.  I chose the title of my magazine to be called 'Parklife' as this is a famous Blur song, I would expect a lot of my target audience to know and enjoy Blur therefore when they see that the magazine is called this it should draw their attention to the page and make them want to read on.  The language that I use in my magazine would appeal to my target audience as I use mostly proper English however with some slang as this is how Indie Scenesters talk, they don't like the use of 'text talk' and will use proper words when possible, this gives my magazine a certain level of maturity which shows that it is meant for teenagers and young adults and no necessarily for children , also there are some swear words blanked out with the * symbol however it would still not be suitable for young kids.

6. What have you learned about the technologies from the process of constructing this product?
My school magazine was my first attempt at making one, it was also my first attempt at experimenting with Adobe Photoshop CS6.  I used this software a lot during the coursework and my skills have developed a lot since the first magazine attempt and I think it shows in my final product.  At first I found it very confusing and hard to get used to but I made a number of preliminary magazine covers as shown below and I think I learned quickly which helped me when it came to making the final magazine.  I took lots of pictures in the AVS room for my magazine.  I started by taking practice pictures for my preliminary tasks and once I got to understand the different types of lighting e.g. key light and back light, I decided to take the real pictures for my final magazine.

The camera I used was a Nikon D320, I used this camera to capture all
of my images throughout the project as the clarity of the images was clear which would get me a lot more marks for my coursework.  I took over 100 photos of all my models for the project to make sure I got the right ones, when choosing the photos to use I took into account the quality for example making sure they weren't blurred and there was no red-eye, also I took into account how their facial expressions and other prosodic features looked because if they didn't look the part of a rockstar then I didn't want to use them in my magazine.  Another piece of technology I used that I hadn't experienced before this project was an Apple Mac, the Mac made it a lot easier to edit the images to make the models look better e.g. getting rid of spots and blemishes, I did this using Iphoto which is an application that isn't accessible from an ordinary computer, I found it very beneficial and feel that it got me more marks.  In order to display my work in a presentable way which anyone can access easily, I decided to create a blog using Blogger where my work could be seen by anyone at anytime also if I lost any work I could just go on my blog where it is saved and can be edited at any time.  I used Microsoft Word to create documents displaying tasks such as the double page spread and analysing my preliminary tasks, i chose this software to use as it has a range of available fonts and you can insert images from Photoshop.  I had to put these documents on to my blog so I used the website Scribd which allows you to post documents on to the internet, after uploading them to Scribd I embedded a code which allowed me to insert them on to my blog.  I used the website http://www.dafont.com/ various times throughout this project to help find a suitable font for my mast heads, pull quotes, cover lines etc.  Dafont had a very wide range of fonts that I could use including many different categories so it was easy to find one which fitted my genre and stood out as much as I wanted it to.
7. Looking back at your preliminary task (the continuity editing task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?
What I think stands out the most on my final magazine when compared to my preliminary tasks is how there is so much more going on, on the page of my final design.  Whereas on my first draft it looked very boring and didn't give enough information about was was inside the magazine itself.  Secondly I think the final design is more eye catching than the first draft as there is a good variety of colours, on the first draft there wasn't enough however on the final design the amount was just right, not so much that the page looks like there's too much going on but also not so little that it doesn't stand out.  I have learnt how to layout a magazine cover, contents and double page spread effectively, firstly my front cover has largely improved as I took

largely into account the different types of layouts for example the E plan, Z plan and F plan.  I decided to use a Z plan for my first draft because I felt that this was the most effective for my genre also a lot of NME magazine covers use this plan which is the magazine that I have been mostly influenced by.  On my final draft I decided that there was not enough information on the front cover and it didn't stand out therefore I added a pull quote, band lists and a competition to win Kasabian tickets (a band that my target audience would listen to), another thing I have learned is that all the bands must be related to the same genre as your target audience because no one would like to buy a magazine that has one article on a band they like e.g. Stone Roses however the rest of it is about Jay Z, Jessie J and pop music which is completely different to Stone Roses.

Final Magazine

Contents Page

Double Page Spread

Cover Page

Second Contents Page Analysis

Contents Analysis 2

Contents Page Analysis

Contents Analysis

Cover Page Mock

Cover page mock

Contents Page First Draft

First draft of contents page

Double Page Spread Mock

Double Page Spread Mock Up

Second Magazine Cover Attempt

Second Magazine attempt

25 word pitch

• Magazine for indie scenesters
• 13-23 year olds
• Influenced by Beady Eye and Blur
• Jim Marshall style photo's
• Colour palette of green, white, brown and red

Magazine Double Page Spread Analysis 2

Mast Head:
The mast head for this double page spread stands out very clearly and is eye catching due to it being white, sans serif writing, all in capitals on a dark background.  It's in quote marks so we know someone famous must have said it and as our eyes naturally drift to the right we see Liam Gallagher now fans can instantly tell that Liam said that about his new band Beady Eye.

Main Image:
The main image is of Liam Gallagher who is very iconic to many people who would read Q magazine, the image has been edited to make it look vintage and old.  This is the image that Liam tries to make people believe he is, it also could be to represent how he is getting older and very experienced.  In the background we see numerous amps and a drumkit which makes Liam look even more like a stereotypical 'Rock Star'

Lead:
The lead is the gap which seperates each paragraph, it must be right otherwise the reader could easily get confused, on this page we can easily tell when each line finishes and when each line starts.

Colours:
The colour palette on this page is a mixture of brown, white, black and light blue.   This is quite a good combination of colours to have because it is half dark colours and half light colours this is a perfect balance so that the page doesn't look too dark or too light.  The brown sets the vintage sort of mood and the black is a good background to have the lighter colours on because it makes them stand out more than any other colour would.  There is also a very small amount of red to decorate the look of the page.

Image Description:
The description of the image is in the bottom right corner of the page, this is because that is the last place the reader would look and the description of the image is not seen as an important feature of the page.

Quotes:
There is a small quote from Liam in the top right corner of the double page spread, this could be to fill the empty space however it also singles out an important part of the interview as it says 'Oasis Reunion' which is something that lots of people all around the world have been looking forward to.  So if a person who doesn't like Beady Eye but does like Oasis is just scanning the page and see's that quote then it will make him/her want to read on

Magazine Article Analysis 2

Mast Head:

The mast head in this article is good because the white stands out clearly on the black background and the red background, the font is sans serif because it wants to be bold and catch the readers attention with the name 'KASABIAN' 

Lead:

This is the gap between the two sections of writing on the page, it is an important feature because without it the reader could easily get confused with what they are reading.  In this article the two sections have been separated clearly with a slight gap therefore it is easy to distinguish which line belongs to which paragraph 

Colours: 

The colours used in this article are white, red and black.  These 3 colours work well together and stand out well against eachother.  White works well on red and visa versa, black works well on white and visa versa and finally red works well on black and visa versa. Also there is brown on the guitar in the image which sort of decorates the page and makes the image stand out as it's the only thing on the page that isn't red, black or white.

Main Image:

The main image is of the very well known guitarist in Kasabian (Sergio Pizzorno) this image is eye catching and interesting because it shows off Serge's unique style that he chooses e.g. the bandanna and baggy, torn shirt.  It gives the band a laidback, rock and roll image which is how most Indie Rock bands like to be represented.

CVI (central visual interest):
The CVI on this page is the picture of Serge and his guitar, this is what most people want to see as it's 'eye candy' for the girls and looks cool and iconic for the reader.

Magazine cover analysis 2

Mast Head:The mast head on this magazine cover stands out fairly well with the use of the colour white on red, it makes it easy to read and both of the colours are bright so are very eye catching.  The 'Q' is on top of the image unlike previous 'NME' magazine covers that I have researched which have the image overlapping the Mast Head, they can do this because their magazine is one of the most famous music magazines in the UK so are not as worried about advertising their magazine like 'Q' are.

Main Cover Line:
The main cover line stands out more than the rest of the coverlines because it is larger and coloured red, red stands out a lot.  So when someone walks past the magazine, one of the first things that they will see is the name 'Liam' and in the music business, the name Liam usually means Liam Gallagher therefore the fact that his name is the first thing they see is very important as that name will decide whether they want to buy it or not

Cover line:
The coverlines are the rather small headlines around the sides of the page, they let the reader know what else is in the magazine as most people would not buy a magazine just for one story about an artist that they like.  The coverlines on this magazine cover are intriguing for the reader because they have bands and artists in big bold writing such as 'Noah And The Whale' and 'Elbow' this is making as much use as possible out of the room left on the page making sure there is no empty space.

Main Image:
The image is of a very iconic figure to large amounts of people (Liam Gallagher) and it is eye catching therefore his fans would want to buy this magazine as soon as they see his face on the cover.  It has been cleverly edited as he has his band members in the reflection of his glasses which show the reader that there is news about his new band Beady Eye.  This will make the reader want to read on.

Barcode:
The barcode is seen as the least important feature of a magazine and is therefore placed in the bottom right of the page which is the very last place people in our culture would look

Colours:
The colour palette in this cover are brown, red and white this is a good contrast because it contains both dark and light colours which means it doesn't look like there is too much going on on the page, also the brown and white both stand out on top of eachother.

Iconic Graphics Designers - Paula Scher

In the 1970s and 80s Paula Scher begun her career as Art Director for CBS records, where she designed posters, ads and over 150 album covers a year. In 1991 Scher joined Pentagram as Partner, developing identities, packaging and signage for a variety of major clients including The New York Times Magazine, Bloomberg, Target, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Madison Square Park, Tiffany & Co., Citibank and The Public Theater. In 1998 she was inducted into the Art Directors Hall of Fame and in 2000 she won the Chrysler Award for Innovation in Design.

Audience Profile - Tommy Cobley

Name: Tommy Cobley
Age: 16
Background: Born in Leicester, lives with his mum, step dad and sister in Cosby except weekends where he stays in Dunton with his dad, step mum and little brother.  When they moved to Dunton he befriended his neighbour Jack Hall and they decided to form a band together.
Occupation: Makes tea for his dad's company Cobley Transport

Interests: Loves a limited variety of music including 'Mod' and 'Northern Soul' he only wants to listen to the same 4 bands on his ipod, these bands are Arctic Monkeys, Oasis, The Beatles, and Miles Kane.  Also he only likes to talk about his band, how they could improve and whether they will practice this week or not.  His favorite brand of clothing is Pretty Green mainly because it is Liam Gallagher's clothing line and he is Tommy's iconic figure.
Dislikes: Cobley hates music genre's such a punk, heavy metal and rap, if you like any of these he will have no interest in being your friend.

Ambitions: Tommy would love to be a football hooligan when he has finished his carpentry course at Leicester College, however he has a plan B.  If his football hooligan dreams don't come true he will just settle for being in a band.

Iconic Photographers - Jim Marshall

Regarded by many as "THE rock and roll photographer," Jim Marshall's career has always been focused on the documentation of people. A son of San Francisco, Marshall's favorite subjects were musicians, and his 40-years of extraordinary photography include very special shots of Johnny Cash, Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles Janis Joplin and other stars in the rock music hegemony. Unlimited access to the musicians coupled with an inviolate sense of trust between subject and photographer allowed Marshall special opportunities: he was chief photographer at Woodstock and was the only photographer allowed backstage at the Beatles final concert. Since he demanded total access, Marshall lived 24-7 with his subjects, and his pictures reflect affection for the artists as they describe the musicians' character. Marshall has said that it's no accident if his pictures seem musical because, "I see the music."

                                             The Beatles coming off the plane                                                               
                                             for their last ever show in San      
                                             Franciso






Woodstock 1969












                                                                                                                         Jim Morrison


                                                                                         


                                                                                                                                                 



From his unique style of photography I have learnt about how to capture the music in a picture for example in the Woodstock picture he has captured the whole stage including instruments, speakers and lights in the foreground and then the whole crowd in the background.  The colour of the sky in the picture is yellow which has connotations of mellow and happy moods, this suits Woodstock because it was a festival of peace and love.  When Marshall took pictures of musicians he made it clear to the viewer that they were in bands whether it was because of what they were holding/doing or whether it was what they were wearing e.g. in the Jim Morrison picture he is smoking a cigarette which have connotations of being 'cool' and most band members do smoke.  

Language Register

The language that I will use in my magazine will be semi formal, the articles won't be all slang, they will be rather formal however still use some colloquialisms used regularly by the modern generation today.  This is because my magazine is aimed mainly at teenagers and young adults and by speaking in the same way that they do it could create more of a bond between the text and the reader.  I will make sure that explicit language will be starred out except for the first letter to make sure I do not offend any of my readers as even though it is aimed at a certain generation there's still a chance that younger people or older people may read it, however keeping the first letter still helps them to understand what word is being said.  

SoundCloud Playlist

Target Audience Research

Target Audience

First magazine cover attempt

First task

Magazine Titles

Colour Palettes

Black, yellow, white - I think these colours would go well together because of the contrast of dark and light colours

Yellow, black, blue - This mixture of colours might not work as well because there are 2 dark colours with only one light colour therefore the page could look quite dark.  It may look good on a heavy rock magazine cover

Green, white, blue - I think this combination of colours wouldn't suit the genre of magazine that I am using, it would look best for a kids magazine as thee colours are bright and fun. 

Red, white, yellow - I don't think these colours would work well together because they are all very bright and the page would look like there is too much going on, on the page

Black, white, green - The black works well on the white and visa versa and then the green adds variety to the page which prevents the page from looking dull

White, blue, black - I don't think this combination of colours would work well for many genres of magazines due to the colours being quite dull 

Blue, yellow, red - These colours are all quite bright and even though they wouldn't work well with the genre of magazine i'm creating, I believe they would work best for a children's comic or kids magazine

Blue, white, yellow - The blue would stand out well on top of the white because of the dark on light contrast however i think that the yellow wouldn't suit these other two colours and would look out of place

White, black, red - I think that these colours would work well if the creators of the magazine are trying to set a mysterious atmosphere, this is due to black having connotations of darkness, and red having connotations of caution

Green, yellow, red - All 3 of these colours are very bright therefore I don't think they would look very well together as the page would have too much going on it would distract the reader from the main purpose of the page

Double Page Spread Analysis

Mast Head:
The mast head for this double page spread is a unique style, we first see the words 'book'  and 'blur' which after seeing the picture of Blurs guitarist we instantly know it's him who's saying these words.  This could make the reader assume he's talking about writing a book on Blur or something which would appeal to the reader and grab their attention.  

Main Image:
The first thing we see on this double page spread is a large image of the Blur guitarist placed on the left side, the writer must have wanted this to be the first thing the reader see's as the left is the first place we look when looking at a magazine/book/newspaper etc.  His eyes are level with the start of the top section of the page, this is just right because there isn't a large empty space above or below his face (which is the main feature). 

Lead:
The lead is the gap which seperates each paragraph, it must be right otherwise the reader could easily get confused, on this page we can easily tell when each line finishes and when each line starts.

Colours:
The colours used in this article are not very bright or eye catching, they consist of white/grey, black and a small amount of red and green.  They could have done this to show his personality to the reader or to reflect the mast head which is him saying his book would be about vomiting and vicodin pills which aren't very pleasant.  It could get the reader to start asking questions about his life and could feel if they read on they may find out.

Magazine article analysis

Mast Head:

The mast head stands out as it's a black font on a lighter coloured background, also the title itself shocks the reader as it's not something you'd expect someone to say about Alex Turner (frontman of Arctic Monkeys) due to his confidence on stage and being good at what he does you would assume he's no where near 'the dullest man in the world' but thats what grabs the readers attention and makes them want to read on.  It is placed in the top section of the article because in this culture it is where we look at first on an article, the writer wants us to see this first so that the reader knows what the article is about and makes it appeal to them.

Lead:

This is the gap between the two sections of writing on the page, it is an important feature because without it the reader could easily get confused with what they are reading.  In this article the two sections have been seperated with a picture of Tom Clarke from The Enemy the fact he is placed inbetween the writing tells us instantly that he is the one accusing Alex Turner of being boring.

Colours: 

The colours used in this article are white, red and black.  These 3 colours work well together and stand out well against eachother.  White works well on red and visa versa, black works well on white and visa versa and finally red works well on black and visa versa.  The makers of the magazine would have only chosen 3 colours to keep it simple and not have too much going on, on one page since there is already lots of writing, any more colours could make it confusing and distracting for the reader.

Main Image:

The main image is of Tom Clarke from The Enemy, he is in the centre of the page standing directly underneath the quote at the top of the page, this makes it very clear to the reader that it is him who is saying this quote. It shows his full body and as this is a Q and A article it's almost as if he's allowing the reader into his life.

Magazine Cover Analysis

Mast Head:
The mast head on this magazine cover doesn't stand out very much (the letters NME in white) this is because it is a very well known magazine and means it can concentrate on the picture and main cover line.  The mast head is in a sans serif font which again doesn't draw too much attention to itself and allows more focus on its surroundings.  It has been placed in the top left of the page because it is aimed at a British audience and in our culture we naturally look at the top left of a page first and finish in the bottom right due to the way we were taught to read.  NME have done this so that the name of their magazine is the first thing we see so even though it doesn't stand out, we still know what genre of music the magazine is about due to NME being a famous company which most people know. 

Main Cover Line:
The main cover line stands out very well with the use of yellow font on a dark background.  They have done this so when the person see's it they know that it's big news, since Blur had split for so long and had hardly been mentioned in a magazine yet alone the front cover, it grabs the readers attention.  It is placed in the bottom section of the page just below the main picture, this is the usual spot for the main cover line to go.

Cover line:
The other cover lines are place don the right hand side of the page which is the last place that the eye is drawn to when reading a magazine, they did this to emphasise how big the news of Blur's return was, the bigger the news, the more people are going to buy it.  Also they are yellow and white to keep with the theme of 'Blur' as these colours are the same as the main cover line.

Main Image:
The main image is a picture of the members of Blur with the frontman Damon Albarn standing out the most as he is the most famous, if Blur fans see his face first when they look at the magazine then they know instantly what the articles about.  The band members eyes are level with the start of the top section of the page, this is the perfect height because it's not so low that there's lots of empty space above it and it's not too high that it makes the people look ridiculously tall.  

Barcode:
The barcode is seen as the least important feature of a magazine and is therefore placed in the bottom right of the page which is the very last place people in our culture would look

Colours:
The colours used on this magazine cover include; yellow, black, blue, white and red, these colours have been chosen because they stand out well on eachother, yellow, white and red all stand out best against dark colours such as black and 
blue.  

Skills I have Learned So far

So far in this course I have mostly learned about the different layouts of magazine covers, there are 3 main styles, the Z plan, F plan and the E plan.  There are 3 sections on every magazine cover, the massed head is the title of the magazine and it should be placed in the top section of the page, it should only be slightly covered if it is a well known magazine such as NME.   The persons eyes should be level with the start of the top section, the body should be in the second section and the main cover line should be in the bottom section or in the start of the second section however this varies depending on what type of layout is being used.

I also learned about three point lighting and the effects it has on the picture. The three main lights are called the 'Key light' 'hair light' and the 'fill light' I found out you can turn one or two of each to make different effects and set different moods.  The key light is the strongest light, the fill light is the furthest away, this makes the light weaker and finally the hair light is what makes the picture/film 'pop' out.

Magazine Examples

Examples of Magazine Covers

Targets

- My main target for the next week is to conduct further research into the style of magazine which I want to use in my style of design.
- By the end of the week I should know what genre my magazine will be E.g. Music, fashion, education.
    - Analysed at least one magazine cover and its contents, one double page spread. Analyse a minimum of three using at least 10 technical terms from the list provided.  The magazine must come from the genre you are making
    - I should have by the end of the week completed my schedule of coursework and post it on my blog
    - Examples of other texts
    - 3x analysis of Magazine covers, contents and a double page spread
    - Analysis of colour palettes fonts 10 examples of each
    - Language register
    - Decide on style of magazine
    - Analysis of existing magazine titles
    - Decide on title of Mag
    - Research relevant fashion/styling associated with genre
    - Mood boards
    - Audience research, from at least 10 people
    - Audience profile
    - Research relevant photographers, graphics designers, magazine creators
    - Analysis of institution that wold publish your mag
    - Preperation of a 25 word pitch
    - Compose a 20 song playlist of track which have inspired you

Class Notes -

Planning a prototype magazine:

Over the last few lessons I have learnt about the different layouts that could be used in magazine covers these include 'Z' plan, 'E' Plan and 'F' plan.  The style i chose for this is the E plan because I think it stands out more than the others.





















The basics of film making:

Coursework Schedule

AS Media Studies Coursework Schedule 2013-2014