Magazine Proposal

What genre of magazine will you make and why? Who will be your primary and secondary audience (by age, gender and audience code)?

I am going to make a popular music magazine, comprised of the pop music genre. It will have a sub-genre of indie music, as some popular artists have music of that genre. I am going to do this because this is the music I have the greatest knowledge of, so will be the easiest for me personally to make. Also I think there are a number of magazines of this genre already on the market, so I can look at them for inspiration and can style my magazine based on those ideas. My primary audience will be people of around the ages 18-30. The secondary audience will be people of around the ages 31-45, as there may be some popular artists featured who were of an older generation. This is because most of the magazine would consist of ‘newer’ artists who had only been around for shorter periods of time, and would have music that was in circulation now. I am going to try to keep the magazine gender neutral, as I want people to read it because they are interested in this music genre more than anything else. The audience code would probably be C1 or B – people with an average income, who have some money to spend on their interests. This is because the magazine will be quite expensive, and as it is a music magazine this would be a purchase they made due to their personal interests. Also the magazine will refer to albums, singles and concerts etc., which they would need money to afford. The language of the magazine will be informal – to appear friendly to the target audience.

What will be in the magazine you make?

My magazine will have a front cover, a contents page and a double page spread. The magazine will have a pop artist of my choice on the cover, with an interview or article about them inside. They will probably be promoting new music, which will be discussed and/or reviewed by my magazine. It will also give information as to how you can find out more about the artist, such as their website or social media accounts. I will use my own images throughout the magazine.

Which magazines exist that is similar to yours? How will you research our magazine?

The two main magazines that are similar to my own are Q and NME. They are both magazines that focus on new pop/indie music. Q Magazine is published by Bauer Media Group. It features articles and interviews with new/existing artists, primarily of the pop genre (e.g. Lady Gaga). It also writes reviews of albums and concerts etc., and looks at music from the past. It is issued on a monthly basis. NME is published by IPC Media. It focuses more on indie music, featuring artists such as The Arctic Monkeys. It also updates its readers with news in the music world at that time. It is published on a weekly basis. I am going to use Q and NME for research, by analyzing their articles and features. This will give me ideas for my own magazine, as I will know what the audience finds appealing. I am also going to carry out a questionnaire with my target audience so that I have direct feedback from the people that would actually be purchasing and reading it. In the questionnaire I will ask questions such as how they find out about new music, how often they read music magazines, the features they would like to see and the content they want in the magazine.

Where will you get your images? What will they be of?

I am going to take all of my images myself. They will be of the artist who will give an interview to the magazine, and one image will also be used for the front cover. The images will be set against a blank background and the artist will be wearing simple clothes, as from my research I have found music magazines focus more on the artist’s music than clothing, and I don’t want it to become a distraction. I am going to use props, such as a guitar for the model to hold and a chair for them to sit on. The guitar will show that the interview is about their music (as this artist will play guitar as well as singing) and the chair will allow me to take photos of them from different angles and in different poses.

What will be the name of the magazine?

The name of my magazine will be Influence. I have chosen this because my genre is based on new pop/indie music. The music and the artists can have an effect on people – if you like their music you may be influenced to buy their album or go to their concert. If the artist is famous, you may want to copy them, for example emulate their style etc. It is also because the magazine itself can influence you to buy music – by promoting a certain band or giving an album a good review.

How will you ensure your magazine looks both original and professional?

My magazine will look original because it will have all of its own images and articles – I will have produced them. I am going to take inspiration from other magazines, but the content will be completely my own, and fictional in a sense, as the ‘artist’ featured won’t actually be a real musician. I am going to make the magazine in Adobe Photoshop, so the design of it will also be original rather than copied. Using Adobe Photoshop will make it look more professional than using software such as Microsoft Publisher, because it is more similar to software used in the media industry. I think I will struggle to use it as I only have very basic skills on Photoshop, however I think overall the appearance of the magazine will be better.

Existing Magazines - What Have I Learnt?

Front covers

Analysing existing music magazine front covers has helped me with my own magazine. I have found that most magazines use a medium close up or close up as the cover image, and a distinct theme in the colours on the page. I also know that the front cover is aimed specifically at the target audience, for example the music artist on the cover will be of the genre that the target audience is interested. I know that the appearance and content of the masthead, subhead and sell lines is also important as they attract the reader to the magazine and may convince them to purchase it.

Contents Page

I have learnt that having a good structure to the contents page is important so that it is easy to read and find pages. It should also be in chronological order. Using images and quotes from articles act as a hook and draw the reader in. Also certain articles should be separated into categories regarding their topic, for example 'Interviews'.

Double Page Spread

I have found that the main image on a double page spread should take up about half of the article (in this case the full first page). When the article is an interview, it is important to have the questions and the answers  clearly distinguished so as not to confuse the reader. Using pull quotes can also help to grab the reads attention and draw them in.

Deconstruction of Double Page Spread

Deconstruction of Magazine Contents Pages

Deconstruction of Magazine Covers

Deconstruction of magazine covers from sienamatkin

College Magazine Analysis

College Magazine Analysis from sienamatkin

Editing an image for College Magazine

Unused Image

Unused image

Used image

This is my unused image. I took this image of the new arts building at Bede Campus to use in my college magazine, however I chose not to use it because when I uploaded it it didn't look very professional. You cannot see all of the building and the angle of the camera meant that the roof of the building has been cut off. I decided instead to use another image, which showed more of the building as well as the sports building behind it. It also shows the seating area outside the buildings and some students walking around. This makes it look more appealing to potential students as it shows what college life could be like for them if they chose to go to Bede College.

College Magazine

Cover page

Contents page

Flatplan

Expectations of a College Magazine

My expectation of a college magazine would include information and news about Sunderland College. The topics covered would need to accommodate all students, for example A-Level, vocational, sport and higher education students. The front cover should have a medium close up of a student somewhere around the college. They should look happy as it projects the image that they enjoy their time at the college and may attract potential students. The photograph should be of a student because they are the primary target audience and it is important to appeal to them. It should have a large college logo in the left side third, as this is where your eyes are naturally drawn to and it makes it obvious what the magazine is for. The masthead should be large, in a bright colour, bold font and displayed across the top of the page, to draw the attention of the reader. The sell lines should be displayed around the main image, on the sides of the page, and they should be short and spaced out, to prevent the cover from appearing cluttered.

The contents page of the magazine should be clearly labeled so that the reader knows where to go to find the features on the front cover. Ideally the contents page would have another image of somewhere around the college, to familiarize the reader with it. Page references need to be made very clear for each page so that the reader can find everything easily. Throughout the magazine, images of the college need to be used so that the college creates a clear picture in the readers mind. I think fonts used in the magazine need to be clear and bold, so that the information is easy to see. The font style should also be kept relatively the same throughout, to make the college look professional. All types of feature need to relate to the college, as that is the subject of the magazine. My features will mainly include upcoming events, as well as advertising the new buildings and facilities of the college, of which I will provide photographs.

Media Key Terms

·       Representation – how the media portrays something (e.g. a person, a group or an idea) in a particular way
·       Stereotype - a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing
·       Target Audience (primary) – the group of people that will be directly affected and most influenced by your research or product etc.
·       Target Audience (secondary) – the second most important group of people you aim to attract to your product.
·       Language - the way in which the meaning of a media text is conveyed to the audience.
·       Institution - an organization founded for a religious, educational, professional, or social purpose.
·       Genre – a style or category of art, music or literature.
·       Conventions – the widely recognized way to do something
·       Denotation – the literal or primary meaning of a word
·       Connotation - an idea or feeling which a word or photograph creates for a person
·       Cover lines - short statements found on the cover of the magazine that allude to or describe the articles inside
·       Left side third - important information designed to attract potential readers placed in the left-hand side vertical third of the front cover page of a magazine
·       Masthead - the title of a newspaper or magazine at the head of the first or editorial page.
·       Puff - a phrase that gives the magazine an identity
·       Plug - a piece of publicity promoting a product, event, or establishment.
·       Sell lines – words and phrases placed on the front page of a magazine to try to convince the reader to purchase it

Mood board

This is my mood board. I have looked at Rolling Stone Magazine, Q Magazine, NME Magazine and Billboard Magazine. I am going to make a magazine with a similar pop/indie genre as these magazines, so it is useful to see how they set out their features. I have researched their front covers, logos, contents pages and articles (in particular the double-page spreads).

Introduction

My name is Siena Matkin and I am an AS Media student at Bede College. The purpose of my blog is to chart my progress on my work throughout the year. I am going to create a music magazine that is designed for a certain target audience; focusing on a certain genre. I am going to research and analyse existing magazines and look at their features. From this I will gather ideas as to how I am going to create my own magazine, which will have a cover page, a contents page and a double page spread. I will be uploading evidence of my work through posts on this blog, which may be text, pictures, videos and powerpoint presentations etc. After this I will evaluate my work and look at how I have completed the task.