Research - Audience Feedback Responses

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AkJAE3ND_CArdDlGZ1YtUkQtWUZJSlpCQmZzUFY1T2c&usp=sharing

Timestamp	Which aspect of the magazine do you feel looks most professional ?	Which aspect of the magazine do you feel looks the least professional	Do you think the colour scheme works / is effective?	Do you think there is enough content included on the front cover to advertise the magazine?	Do you think the artist is a believable character?	Do you think the magazine would be popular with the alternative genre audience?	Which mast head do you prefer / think is most suitable for the magazine type?
12/3/2013 2:14:20	The front page	The front page	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	b
12/3/2013 2:16:40	The front page	The feature article	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	b
12/3/2013 2:20:06	The contents	The feature article	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	a
12/3/2013 2:22:07	The front page		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	b
12/3/2013 2:24:55	The contents	The front page	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	b
12/3/2013 2:27:13	The front page	The feature article	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	c
12/3/2013 2:31:54	The contents	The feature article	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	b
12/3/2013 2:51:49	The feature article	The contents	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	c

Research/ Construction - Mast Head possibilities for the front page

a)

b)

c)

Research - Audience feed back 2

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1G4NZD81YZMm_fX3ol2e3tPhazXXctJiPwTOoAHKkK2s/vie

Construction - Front cover - (draft so far)

Construction - Contents page - (draft so far)

Construction - Main feature page - (draft so far)

Research - billboard Magazine Analysis

•  Latest Edition about Music awards rather than artist
• The award is for ‘Maximum exposure’- this could be a pun relating to previous music award shows where different artists have been ‘exposing’ themselves in front of thousands. The term ‘moving the needle with signature moments’ could be a reference to a seismograph, where a needle moves due to earth tremors – could be suggesting that these performance are causing tremors through the public, with ‘signature moments’ that the public won't forget, for example, artist such as Miley Cyrus. Could also mean how the ‘American music awards and other awards shows’ are progressing/ advancing in the music industry / putting pressure on each other.
• The background of the magazine is a purple curtain – much like the curtain you have at awards shows, however they are conventionally red – so could be challenging codes and conventions by using purple.  ‘Billboard’ logo bold and white against the curtain – they are using the traditional billboard font.
• Puffs of info are little – one linked to main feature, with two others including other features of the magazine – ‘over 120…best  ...’ – make the public feel they are benefitting from buying the magazine – getting valuable information that’s the ‘best’.
• Also another puff at the top – following the title – also states other features of the magazine like artists. 

Research - NME Magazine Analysis

• Main focus of the front cover is the main picture – very little information puffs – only one with a rhetorical question about the subject MIA.
• Picture is a close up of MIA and her hand, sticking her middle finger up at the reader. Gives the impression she does not care what people think of her. However facial expression does not come across as aggressive.
• Whole front cover is in colour co-ordination. The red ‘NME’ logo matches MIA’s hair colour, whilst her eyeliner is the same green as the ‘M’ block. Followed by a pink ‘I’ block, the same colour as her lipstick, and the last block, an orange ‘A’ matches the colour of her nail varnish. This follows a co-ordinated pattern down the magazine. There seems to be little reason for this, but it is a creative design.
• ‘You just can’t take her anywhere can you?’ suggests that the reader knows MIA well – rhetorical question also involves the reader, makes them feel directly addressed by the magazine, interactivity.
• Also little tabs by main ‘NME’ logo – mentions who/what is also included in the magazine, but does not give information. The fact that the magazine does not tell the reader what’s inside may entice them more to buy it and have a look. This could also let the magazine down though, as the reader may not feel they are getting anything out of buying the magazine.
• The photograph pixelates MIA's middle finger, but also the edges of the green puff below it are pixelated. This links the text and action together, so the reader knows that the puff is about the artist featured.

Research - Q Magazine Analysis

• Medium Long shot of Jake Bugg with his guitar – music signifier
• ‘Sticker’ next to Jake – ‘His most revealing interview’- intrigues the reader, feel they are getting to know Jake better. Something special for this magazine
• Gossip article – ‘dating models’/ ‘hanging with Noel’- find out something about another famous artist / ‘why he feels so guilty’- curiosity will entice the reader – may feel closer to him, because he’s telling the audience his guilty secret.
• Names of artists in puffs are different colour to the rest of the text in the puff – makes it stand out more- but also keeps in with colour scheme.
• Also contains list of other featured artists – multi-coloured to make it more eye catching.
• Brown guitar stands out bold against Jake all in black. Black leather jacket also has connotations of rock and roll – signifier to genre of music.
• Challenges codes and conventions- no eye contact with the reader- unusual, because he is revealing a lot to the reader – but won’t give eye contact/ connect – may suggest he is ashamed of his secret.
• Section about Bob Dylan- a very famous artist also featured on the front cover – not as important as Jake Bugg – main feature, but more important than the other artists mentioned on the front page – so highlighted in yellow with black writing – looks like police tape
• ‘Special!’ again encourages the reader to buy the magazine – feel they are benefitting from buying it.
• Conventional ‘Q’ logo – signifier to the magazine- music genre they cover – people who buy Q know what they cover. Bright red stands out against the rest of the colour scheme.
• ‘Jake Bugg’ written in an odd font- irregular – could be a signifier to Jake’s music genre- could entice the reader because they think he might be a little bit odd. – Lettering placed over his body so white contrasts with his black clothing.
• Puffs contain the oddest points of the feature to intrigue the reader – ‘talk burning rats, bum tattoos...’ - Reader more likely to enjoy if there is a bit of comedy included- appeal to more people.

Construction - Artist's Album Cover

 Album Cover Image - Draft

I chose this image as my final album cover photo, because it has a direct address with the audience and is more inviting to the consumer. It shows the artist being quite serious, but it adds a mysterious sense to the album that will intrigue consumers to buy the album. I also feel it is the perfect representation of my artist, because she does take her career seriously, but also likes to have fun with it. The image also includes part of her clothing, which relates to the alternative genre of music.

Photo option for the album cover.

i liked this close up shot of my artist, because she is framed well, and has a playful look to the image which I feel would represent my artist well. However, there is no eye contact with the camera / audience, which may give the impression she is a little withdrawn.

I liked this image, because it shows the artist smiling, and also has an interesting reflection in the shot, making it seem more abstract. Again it shows an accurate representation of my artist, but there is no eye contact.

This image shows my artist to be a lot more serious, but the fact that she's playing the guitar makes it more suitable for an album cover. I also like the use of contrast and the bright light, which makes the image a little more intense. A little editing will be needed to improve the background, but overall I think this is a successful image.

Construction - Double page spread (so far)

 This is my initial image, without any editing on either photoshop or iPhoto.

 This was my image after  I had edited it on Photoshop. I enhanced the colour and saturation whilst lowering the contrast and increasing the exposure a little to give a brighter and clearer final image.

 This was a draft I have been working on before I had enhanced and edited the image. I tried working with different opacities for the boxes, and also different angles to make the pages more visually interesting. I also experimented with colours to see which stood out the most against the background image, including font types too.

Planning - Possible front cover photographs

These are some of my options for front cover photographs.

This first image, although suitable for introducing a new artist, I feel would look better as a double page spread rather than front cover image.

 This also a suitable image, although I'm not completely happy with the editing on this image. I used Photoshop to complete the editing, which is a software I have little experience with, although I don't think I did too bad for a first attempt.

The majority of these photo's will need re-editing, because I feel that I have over-edited them a little too much, including this one as the exposure is way to high and the contrast is way too low. However, by experimenting like this, i have better understanding of the Photoshop software. I particularly like this image because the artist is looking directly at the audience/ Reader, and the artist has a very open and welcoming face that would attract the reader.

 This is a good close up image of my artist, although I feel the lack of eye contact would not seem so appealing to the audience. I think this is a very professional looking photo for a first attempt at proper photography of a person. Again I have over- edited the image, so would have to redo.

I really like this image too, it is very visually interesting with an abstract edge to it with the reflection in the mirror. I had very little to edit on this picture as all the lighting and colouring were pretty accurate in the initial editing, I have just lightened the picture a little to brighten it up. However, I still don't feel it is front page worthy, and would be more successful as an album cover for example.

Planning - Lexicon of Words

Alternative

Melodic 

pop-rock

Riffs

Hooks

Acoustic

Ballads

Emotive

Guitars

Patchwork pop

Energetic

Gigs

Internet

Underground

Mainstream

Tempo

Solo

Debut

Lily Allen- Hard Out Here - Music Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0CazRHB0so

I think that Lily Allen's new video is very effective at highlighting the inequalities between men and women that still exist today. I believe it's a very accurate representation of some of the stereotypes women face, although still a little controversial, but that is just another reflection of society. I think it's unfair for Lily Allen to be compared to other controversial artists, such as Robin Thicke and Miley Cyrus, because her views are in favour of women, not degrading them. The method she uses to portray this, if misunderstood, could seem as if she is degrading women, but the video is so obviously sarcastic showing the audience that she is just emphasising how outrageous these other artists are. Adding a little controversy and humour makes sure that the video gets good press, and resulting in making it a wider known message, making sure she gets her point across. The fact that the video makes people uncomfortable emphasises even more that this kind of view and representation of women should not be acceptable. When I first saw the video, I was a little uncomfortable, but I was more surprised by how little it actually shocked me. These kind of videos should not be so common, that people begin to see it as normal behaviour, a point I feel Lily put across perfectly.
It was a very brave decision for Lily, as she would have been aware of some of the complaints she would get, but it shows that she is standing up for her views, not just doing as she's told, especially by male executives, as she expresses in her video.
Lily uses features from these other controversial artists, such as the balloons from Robin Thicke's video and Twerking from Miley Cyrus's video, but uses them in a humorous way, mocking these other artists, and highlighting how wrong these portrayals of women are.
Lily Allen shows her feminist views in this video, which I find admirable, as it seems no other artists have had the confidence or willingness to do so before.

Planning - Youth Subculture Collage

This collage is supporting evidence of my Youth Subculture/ Reader Profile

My Magazine is aimed at young people aged 15 to 25, who like pop-rock/alternative style music. These teenagers are socially active, either on social networks or out and about with friends. They like to shop and experiment with styles and are also a confident audience that like to have fun and do not take themselves too seriously. They are passionate about music, always on their ipods, playing instruments or at concerts, contributing massively to the music industry. The kind of music they like is not always necessarily in the charts, but are relatively well known amongst the genres audience.

Research - My Sixth Form Magazine- Annotations and Denotations

The Arctic Monkeys

The Arctic Monkeys were an unsigned band that promoted themselves. They had no idea how to publicise their songs on the internet, so resolved to creating free demo cd's of which they handed out to the public. These cd's became known as beneath the baordwalk, and often are mistaken for their first album. Their fanbase quickly widened as their accumulated fans created a famously popular MySpace page of which the band had no idea about, or participation in, helping to make them more well known.
As the Arctic Monkeys became increasingly popular across England, BBC Radio and Tabloid press became increasingly interested in them.
The band played at a number of festivals such as Reading and Leeds for unsigned or unknown bands, where they could publicise to audiences. However, due to support from the music press the turn out for the Arctic Monkeys was greater than expected.
In 2005, the banned got signed to DOMINO records.

Planning - Featured Artist Inspiration: Music Magazine.

 Nina Nesbitt

Of Monsters and Men

Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir

These two artists are the basic inspiration for my own artist to be featured in my Magazine. Both Nina and Nanna have their own distinctive voice and music sound that makes them stand out of the crowd as musicians. They also have very distinctive style that I would like to apply to my artist too. They are both simple, with great voices and their guitar, making them relatable to a lot of the public, and in particular, my audience.

Planning - Codes and Conventions

One of the main conventions that are covered by all three examples is the placement of the Title. In each magazine the Mast head is situated in the top left corner. This is a convention that is typical of many magazine layouts. Two of my three examples include the word 'six' in their main title, such as Blackpool's "sixth sense", and St Joseph's "six". The connotations of this word link directly to 'sixth form' implying to the reader that the magazine is of an educational genre. The title 'Sixth sense' acts as a type of pun, as 'sixth' relates to the sixth form and 'sense' refers to education, but put together, they have a different meaning. On the front cover, it is also typical of all three examples to include the name of the establishing school in a tagline either underneath or above the main title.This will be a good idea to include because it gives a more professional tone to the magazine.

In the contents page it is typical to have a list of articles and their page number references, and in all of the examples the titles of the articles have been given educational puns and names that relate to sixth form. This shows that the magazine is aimed at an audience of young students.

In two of the examples, the magazines have included a 'letter from the head teacher' or 'note from the editor'. This may be quite conventional in school magazines, as it promote interactivity with the teachers at school, so would be a good aspect to include in my sixth form magazine.This also promotes a positive representation of the school, as the photo of the headteachers show them bright and smiling, and engaging with their students.

The magazines do not have a narrative because they are of an informative nature. They do not tell a story but inform the students and their parents of certain events and notifications happening at school.

The Contents pages are also quite conventional. They all include a contents title at the top of the page, with the contents list situated to the top left of the page, so this is something I shall consider using in my contents page too. Another similarity between two of the magazines is that they both include a picture of the front cover on their contents page. This helps to give the magazine a brand identity, so is something I shall definitely use in my magazine.

All the sixth form front covers have the Title coloured in white. The colour white has connotations of purity and innocence, something that is relative to children, or those at school. The majority of the colour schemes are similar, mainly white backgrounds with black font and a splash of colour here and there. This simple colour scheme keeps the magazine looking professional, therefore showing a professional representation of the school itself.

Research/ Planning - sixth form magazine analysis

Sixth form magazine analysis from sbiscoe21

Research - Textual Analysis of ELLE magazine

The Title of the Magazine, "ELLE" repeats the consistent font that ELLE magazine has used since it was originally published to show the brand identity. This stands out to the reader, because it is a recognisable symbol that the audience associates with the magazine, meaning they will know the type of genre the magazine is and the kind of articles it will include. 

The Weblink of the Magazine is also included on the front cover, inside the "E". Because the web-address has been placed in the position, the reader knows exactly where to find the address without having to look for it. This is also a very logical place to position the weblink, because the font colour can be changed to contrast with the colour of "ELLE" to make it stand out more. Including the weblink on the front cover also promotes interactivity with the reader and the magazine.

Cheryl Cole's name has also been printed in bold on the front cover. This acts as anchorage for the image, and explains to the reader who the main focus of the magazine is. This also allows members of the public who are unaware of the celebrity to find out about them.

On the cover, there are several puffs of information, each advertising a different aspect of the magazine. The more puffs a magazine has, the more enticing it becomes to the reader, because they feel the magazine has more to offer, and more value for money. The puffs on this magazine advertise hair tutorials, "shoe specials", and work. These kinds of puffs show that the magazine appeals mainly to women. 

The image used for the magazine is a central mid shot of Cheryl Cole. In this photo, she is showing direct mode of address and looking straight into the camera lens with eyes wide open. This shows that she is trying to engage with the public/reader. Her body language, open arms, shows that she is also open to the public. This image conveys a strong, independant woman, but with her hands stroking her hair and face, shows that she is also gentle and caring.
Cheryl Cole's hair and makeup has been styled in a very natural way, although it is made obvious that she is wearing makeup. Her long flowing brown hair adds femininity to the photograph.

The magazine has a very simple and limited colour scheme of neutral browns, beige and cream. These simple colours add a naturality to the magazine, and reflect the serious mood of the magazine. Around Cheryl's face, the puffs are off a lighter colour font to contrast her hair, whilst the puffs around her body are darker to contrast with the light beige tones of her outfit. The font of the puffs is also very dainty and the itallics, whilst emphasising certain words, add more femininity to the magazine. 

Construction - Media Story Board

SHELBY