My Photo Shoot

My Photo Shoot

Just a note...my edited photos might not be apperaing on my blog until monday at the lastest. As i have a lot of photos to sort through and edit. Thanks.

I took some photos with Chrissy last weekend, and I like the feel of these photos. For a change England's horrible weather was actually a beneficial factor for our shoot. The look that the gray, overcast Sky's gave us a sort of...twilight feel. It gave us the soft lighting that really made the pictures. Out of these pictures i might use one for my front cover, however, they are meant to be together in a band. So it might not feel right just using one of them for my front cover.

I also took some photos of Eve and Sarah this week, as well as with Chrissy for a group shot. I'm not going to post them yet becuase i can't put them onto my computer as of yet becuase of technical faults. However, they will be put onto my blog on monday.

Planning my photo shoot

For my photo shoot i will be taking a good range of photos for my magazine. This way i can play around with different photos.
I have already taken spome photos of Chrissy and like these very much. I am also going to take photos of Eve and Sarah as well, together, these three will make my new band. Who i am going to interveiw for my magazine.

So...to be really organised i have planned out what i am going to on each day. (Hopefully i will stick to it)

Today
Finish off any work that still needs to be done from last week
Plan my photo shoot
Sort out what photos i want that i have already taken of Chrissy

Tuesday
Take photos

Wednesday
Edit photos

Thursday
Edit photos

Friday
Put edited photos on my blog

Layout Designs

Okay, so layout designs.
I have been thinking about these and i have many ideas, some that i can't get out of my head.To the right is my first idea of a front cover layout. The Masthead, however is my first design of it. The block colour behind the font is like Q's Masthead, but i added the detail of the tail of the j, dropping below the box. Overall, i think this layout will work. If i use a picture that will take up all of the front page and wont be to obstructed by the coverlines and the Masthead.
For a rough draft i think that this is working well. So far as i can see if i use these basic outlines then everything should fall into place when i start to assemble my magazine.




The picture on the right is my first layout design of my music magazine's contents page. I like the use of my masthead, but in a faded grey. It continues my magazines brand identity and makes use of the space above the contents.
Hopefully this layout will work. The pictures could be a shot of the new band that the main article is about, the other smaller picture could be another story.

These are very rough, and have no colour or definition, but when i am finished they will look amazing.

By the way, I'm no longer going to be doing weekly reviews like my action plan said. I takes up time that could be used to make this magazine better. I will be writing to talk about my magazine, but not in great length.

Colour and font Analysis

I have tried out many different font types but these were the ones that stood out for me. I think that these are different and aesthetically pleasing. They are all in black as a basic colour, but now that I've looked at them, they look quite dramatic and bold in black. I've looked over them and i am leaning towards using the top, second from top and bottom at the moment.

I like the top font because it gives off a vintage feel, the feel i would like for my music magazine. It's aged as well, the writing looks like those old photographs you see.

The second font i like because the first letter is in lower case and the second is capitals. I did this on purpose because i thought it looked better than if both of the letters were capitals. The overall look of them is okay. It doesn't hit me in the face and make me think...wow, but it does draw my attention a little i have to admit. I don't think i will be using this font.

The third however is more decorative than the rest. It's more like a tattoo than text you would see on a magazine, but the words are eye catching and nice to look at. These draw in my attention and they do make me think wow. But a down side is that the font is a little too decorative and it takes away from the fact that this is text and no an image.

The fourth is simple. The letters are think and not thick like you would see in, for example bubble writing. To me, this font is laking anything that makes it stand out.

The last one is decorative but not as much as the third one. And again, the font is more like an image than text. at a quick glance it is hard to make out what the letters are. But, the font is very beautiful and has the elegance i want for my magazine, maybe a little too much elegance.

What about you? I would love to hear what you think if you just leave a comment. Thanks.

The letters have been used because KJ stands for Kicking JukeBox.

Opposite is my colour chart. These are the basic colours that i will be using in my music magazine. The main reason why i chose these is because of they are simple colours and aren't too bright or vibrant. I like the coolness of the colours, the way that they all merge together and don't jump in your face. The way that my magazine is designed and set out should reflect a laid back and relaxed feel.
These might not actually be the colours that i am going to use but they are similar to the colours i will be using. I wanted my magazine to be fresh. The genre of my music magazine is indipop and alternative rock because using these types of genre, my target audience is more spread out and more people can enjoy my magazine.

The Treatment Sheet

The Magazine:  KJ  aka Kicking JukeBox

Target Readership:  KJ is the new magazine that offers its target reader, aged between 15 and 18 but the magazine may also be read by younger or older readers as well because of what they find interesting in the magazine.  The readers of KJ might be able to provide their own source of income so that they are able to pay for the magazine. However if they can’t then the price is low enough that they could borrow the money from parents or guardians. I am keeping the price low, £2.00. KJ readers have grown up with the help and support from adult figures to grow and learn. With this support from older authority figures they have grown up with examples always being set for them. So the target audience is mature, but at the same time want something fresh and new. The KJ reader is one who enjoys music and topics surrounding music.

Form and Style:  KJ is an A4 full colour magazine which contains interviews and gossip from and on bands, artists and new bands, also reviews, fashion and new albums. Covers use colours such as blues, greens and yellows. On occasion, KJ will feature famous artists on the front cover; these will be female role model such as Hayley Williams. Cover lines show the magazine to be vibrant and contemporary, talking about facts, gossip and news such as new bands. They will also include details of special offers and competitions such as winning backstage passes to a concert. Graphics used are bold and catchy and the cover will not be cluttered but nevertheless have the feeling that you will be getting value for money. The magazine will sell at £2.00, an average price for a music magazine that will include such features as interviews ect.

Themes and Typical features:  KJ will have many regular features typical to that of music magazines.  For example every issue will include CD reviews and an interview with someone from the music industry. KJ will also try to round up celebrity musician news, as well as reviewing the latest music, music videos ect. The writers will use language familiar to the target audience to make the magazine as useful and interesting as possible.

Potential advertisers:  A range of bands will use the magazine as an opportunity to advertise for up coming concerts or new CDs. As well as advertisements such as perfume or fashion, for example, Vans.

Editorial Team:  The editorial team for KJ will be made up of experienced writers and designers. The team will be made up of a range of men and women. Most of the magazine will be written by them, however readers of the magazine will also regularly be asked to contribute their ideas such as opinions on latest albums. The aim of the team is to bring fresh ideas to the target audience whilst also giving them the information and facts that they will receive from the magazine as a whole.

Weekly Review

Okay, so this week i have got a lot done.

• I've finished my textual analysis of 3 magazines.
• I have found figures of music magazines about how well they have done in the past year.
• I have created a audience questionnaire and posted it, i have also received feedback on it already.

I am happy that i have managed to do so much, this way i can start afresh with what i have to do next week that i have outlined on my action plan.

Textual Anaylsis Vibe

Vibe

Front Page

The masthead is very clear as it is in bold, black, which is clear to the readers. It is also spread from one side of the magazine to the other.
The lure of the magazine is the coverline in the right hand corner of the page. The difference between the Masthead and the title of the coverline is that the coverline title is all in lower case and the colour is yellow. The quote used in the coverline is interesting and the words chosen for it would draw readers in as they would want to find out what the story is about.
The graphics used is a simple pitcure of the singer Usher. The picture reminds me of the movie Top Gun staring Tom Cruize. This milatray look is quite popular and the relation to Top Gun might peek interest in readers.
The picture takes up the whole of the front cover and is evenly spaced. The colours used in the picture are also similar to the magazines colour palette.
The coverlines are small and all use the same colour yellow. This shows continuation in the layout and presentation.

The magazine's colour scheme is a simple, green, yellow, white and black. They have mixted colours so that they all work well to create the front cover that we can see.

ABC Figures for 2010 NME

Mag ABCs: NME down 17% as rock and film titles slump.

NME had an average weekly circulation of 33,875 in the six months to the end of June, according to figures released today by the Audit Bureau of Circulations.
Rivals to NME also suffered in a bad set of results for entertainment titles. Circulation of Bauer's Q Magazine dropped 10.7 per cent compared to the first half of 2009, taking it to an average of 89,450 per issue.

NME's sister title Uncut fared slightly better but still it fell with a 3.2 per cent year-on-year drop to a monthly average circulation of 74,067. Bauer's heavy metal weekly Kerrang! increased its average per-issue circulation by 1.8 per cent to 44,013.

Music magazines (percentages represent year-on-year change)
The Fly - 108,207 (0.4%)
Mojo - 91,678 (-6.2%)

Q - 89,450 (-10.7%)
RWD -78,867 (1.7%)
Uncut - 74,067 (-3.2%)
Classic Rock - 70,323 (0.0%)
Metal Hammer - 44,034 (-4.3%)
Kerrang! - 44,013 (1.8%)
New Musical Express - 33,875 (-17.3%)

These figures are from Press Gazette.

These figures show that when i make my magazine i will have to keep in mind how my magazine will circulate. If the figures of my magazine drop then i will have to keep it mind how i can rise them again. After looking at these figures i now know that if my magazine is kept at a suitable standard of quality then my target audience will be continually interested.

Textual Anaylsis Q Magazine

Q magazine

Front Page

The strapline is in white writing with a block black background, this makes the writing stand out. The strapline is also a promotional feature as it reads "The UK's Biggest Music Magazine", this could be an appealing feature for readers because through this they know that it is popular.
On the front cover there is a picture of the main story, Artists if the Century. The picture featured on the front cover is of the main story. This draws the reader into reading the magazine because of the interesting story. This is called a lure, using part of the main story to draw readers in.
The masthead is a simple one letter. The letter Q is an interesting choice for the title of the magazine. With the square red background it is classy and has a simple style about it.

The colour scheme of the front cover is red, white, grey and black. This colour scheme is bright and it attracts attention.

The brand identity of the magazine is clearly visible because of the layout and presentation of the front page. The masthead, Q, is always placed on the left hand side in the top corner.

The text is classic, smooth and easy to read. It's class adds to the over all professional edge of the magazine.

The magazine's cover isn't cluttered or full of coverlines, this means that the reader is automatically drawn to the main story and this could be a way of encouraging readers to buy the magazine.
The overall presentation of the cover is attractive and looks professional.

Contents

The colour scheme is again red, white, black and grey. The continuation of the colour shows that the magazine layout has been thought through and carefully planned before construction.
The graphics on this page are limited but effective because of this simple design that the magazine has. They are around the same size and they offer an insight to what the magazine has to offer the reader.
The layout of the magazine is spacious and simple. It gives the reader a non cluttered page to look at.
The brand identity is shown through the use of the Masthead again on the contents page.
The pictures used are varied, for example the front cover is also on the contents page as well as a picture of someone who has been reviewed.

Textual Analysis Kerrang

Kerrang
Issue 1293

Price £2.20

Sections in Magazine 7

Front cover

On the front cover there are a variety of cover lines, for example, artists names and band names that are featured in the magazine. The colour scheme for the magazine is black, yellow, red and white, you can see this because of the yellow black colour as a background for a strapline and also because a cover line is written in yellow writing. Red is also used  as a background for writing in the shape of a circle, however black is the dominant colour.

The magazine includes posters and the cover lines mention them as well as other articles that are in the magazine. The magazine’s front cover is attractive because of it’s range of pictures and graphics used. The font and also the colours are used to make the magazine more aesthetically pleasing. The front cover is full of information, it's cluttered and it looks like the reader would get good value for money.

The Masthead is an onomatopoeia word, and suits the magazine type that it's used for. The sound 'Kerrang' is often said to be the sound made when strumming an electric guitar. The Masthead is written in bold and is also made to look like smashed glass, to further the feel of the 'hard' rock theme the magazine has.

The target audience, music lovers, will be more attracted into buying it because of the appearance. Within the magazine are other appealing features such as the inclusion of posters of bands, solo artists ect. The presence of the posters could be a factor which is taken into consideration when being purchased, because this magazine has posters then it is more likely to be chosen by a reader than a magazine which doesn’t include a poster and/or gift.

Contents

The contents page is spilt into sections or columns, this make the page more appealing to the reader as it is easier to read the different articles or headlines. The different columns are called names such as, News, Feedback and Swag. These common terms are familiar to the reader and therefore are easier for the reader to understand and relate to. The use of easy to understand language such as these are again appealing to the magazine’s young target audience.

The contents page again continues with the same colour scheme as the front cover, this continuation shows consistency within the magazine and that the presentation not only in layout but also in colour has been thought through.

It is interesting, but not uncommon to find the contents of a magazine to be placed underneath or even over a dominating picture on the page. The picture is often a major story or article within the magazine and therefore takes priority. The presence of a picture on the contents page usually peaks the readers interest to the story, kind of like an advertisement for that story. As with any magazine, the biggest and most popular story is first and usually takes up more of the contents than other stories.

Double Page Spread

The band Placebo are the main focus of the double page spread. On both of the pages is a picture of the band performing, I would think at the concert that the article is about. This draws the reader in and shows them a visual reference for the article, so that they aren’t just reading about it, but also seeing something to refer the writing to.

The main part of the article is placed on the left hand side of the left page and is in a typical column layout. The writing is spacious and easy to read with the colourful background. This leaves room so that the text does not overlap onto the picture so much as to obstruct what the picture is showing.

On the right there is also some short quotes from three people who went to the concert and their own opinion on the concert and the band. The layout for these are basic and include a picture of the person who the quote is from. The text is a basic black, just like the rest of the magazine, again this shows consistency within the magazine. However, the only colour within the double page spread is the lighting you can see in the picture, which is, green, white, red and purple.

Audience Questionnare

This is my audience questionnare, please if you could find the time to answer it i would be grateful becuase this will contribute to what i include in  my music magazine.

1.      What would you prefer to see as the main article of a music magazine? Articles about new bands? Or reviews on concerts and/or albums?

2.      If there was an article about a new band, what kind of band would you like to see?

3.      Would you like to see posters of bands being offered?

4.      Would you like to see interviews with some bands/stars?

5.      How much would you be willing to pay for a music magazine?

6.      How many pages would you expect to find in a music magazine?

7.      What other subjects or issues would you like to see covered? E.g., punk fashion? Guitars for sale?

8.      What music are you interested in?

9.       What would you like to see inculded?

10.     Are you interested in fashion? If so what kind?

Comparing Music Magazines

Comparing Music Magazines

Mixmag
Price £4.20
Number of pages 122
Sections in mag 21
No. of pages per section 6
Sample of advertising Gods kitchen, Above and Beyond Concert
Typical articles Fashion, Tunes, VIP-Interview with Dizzee Rascal, Features, Tech, Regulars

Big Cheese
Price £3.90
Number of pages 102
Sections in mag 26
no. of pages per section 8
Sample of advertising Vans Jeans
Typical articles Regular, King size, Interviews

Q
Price £3.90
Number of pages 102
Sections in mag 26
no. of pages per section 42
Sample of advertising Hard-Fi, Empire, Vinyl
Typical articles Reviews, Digital Gadgets, Features, Songwriters, Every Month

Vibe
Price £3.95
Number of pages 120
Sections in mag 13
no. of pages per section 6
Sample of advertising Mast Card, Beyonce-Heat, Heineken
Typical articles Fashion, Cars, Football, Usher, Soldier Boy

The different magazines are similar in layout and construction, but different in what is included in them. It looks like the bigger the magazine, in both size and in its popularity of name, the higher it's price. More well known magazines like Mixmag and Q are more expensive. They would appeal to different readers because of what is included within the magazine. For the sports and car fans, Vibe looks to be more suited to them than Mixmag. Some of the magazines might also appeal through it's aesthetics. The cover and layout of a magazine is sometimes an important factor when someone is deciding to buy a magazine. Therefore, perhaps the magazine that looks more aesthetically pleasing than others would be bought.
In conclusion i have found that when looking through magazines, the graphics and layout are important as well as the brand identity. Contents and the stories/articles that the magazine covers are important and contribute to the magazine as well.

Music Magazine-Action Plan

This is my music magazine's action plan. Hopefully i will stick to this closely so that i am well organised and so that the magazine produced is as good as it could be.

3/1/11
Create blog
Write up action plan
Write up textual analysis of mags, front cover, contents, double page spreads (this might run over to the next week)

10/1/11
Internet research into institutions and readership figures
Audience questionnaire and analysis
Poll-name of mag
Weekly review

17/1/11
Treatment sheet
Layout designs
Colour and font analysis
Weekly review

24/1/11
Plan photo shoot
Photo shoot
Edit photos
Start magazine
Weekly review

31/1/11
Construct-front page
Post
Weekly review

7/2/11
Construct-contents
Post
Weekly review

14/2/11
Construct-double page
Post
Weekly review

21/2/11-half term
Construct-2^nd drafts of all
Post
Weekly review
Audience feedback

20/3/11
Evaluation
Finishing touches
Weekly review

7/3/11
Evaluation
Finishing touches