E M I LY G A U N T

MAGAZINE RESEARCH

INTRODUCTION

• I have begun to look into a broad range of magazines, I am using inductive research to look for a patterns throughout the magazine range, for example:

• Common Conventions:• The masthead • The main image • Heading • Cover lines• Barcode• By looking at a broad range of magazines I have then analysed a fashion

magazine and a school based magazine I have shown how they are different to each other with the convection and the way they are produced for their target audience, I have also explained how most general magazines like fashion magazines are sold for profit to their target audience whereas school based magazines are not sold they are purely for information to be given to their target audience.

RESEARCH

• Looking into different magazines there are patterns of common conventions throughout here are some examples:

• Here are a couple of different magazines to show the common conventions and how they are shown on a magazine front cover.

• First is the fashion magazine, I have explained the different conventions that are shown on the front cover but also show, by using the centre, third left third and right third etc, how they are laid out to then attract the reader.

• I have also deconstructed a school based magazine, I have shown how they have laid it out to attract the reader but also how they have displayed information effectively to then give the audience a clearer reading of the school magazine as it is only used on information rather than general magazines which use profit as well.

The masthead is separated by the model on the front cover however the name of the magazine still clearly

stands out and is recognisable for the client. The masthead is located in the top third of the magazine

drawing in the eye when readers pick it up.

The plug here entices the reader to want to read the magazine because of what they are offering . As the

main target market for this magazine is women

advertising “win you whole fall wardrobe”

appeals to women who may need a new fall wardrobe and could

possibly win it for free, so its hooking them in with

different offers or competitions

The main image on this magazine is used as a ploy to draw in readers attention to buy the

magazine its purpose is to give the representation of the genre of magazine. Having this model on the front gives the connotation that this is a fashion magazines

as she is dressed up in relation to this weeks ethos. Having this

model on the front of the magazine which is a fashion

magazine gives the connotation that she is a fashion model it

becomes the selling point for the magazine

The colour scheme for this magazines is linking in with the ELLE style, the

masthead is the connotation of ELLE

because its in keeping with logo of ELLE, the colours that they have

used

A common convention of a magazine is to have cover

lines, cover lines are used to show snippets of information

that is within the magazines or to show different offers that

the magazine are advertising, as you can see the cover lines on this magazine are located most commonly down the left

and right hand third of the magazines, this gives room for an image to be in the middle but also catching the eye as

most people skim read across the page.

The barcode is another common convention of a magazine, this is

commonly displayed at the bottom right third of the

magazine, this is then used for the magazines to be purchased,

most magazine will have this convention on however free magazines sometimes don’t

have this.

The target audience for this magazine would be a niche market, this is because this magazine targets women as their audience, by appealing

to women they can offer different diets that most

women swear by , they can show what shirt goes with

which skirt so it gives them something that women want to read that they know will

have good content.

Adele is the artist on this front cover of this music magazine,

she is a well known artist worldwide, this would drawn the attention of the audience of Adele and Billboard readers

as she is recognisable as a worldwide star. Having a close

up shot of her face would attract the reader in because her eye line is the first thing that is seen when looking at

the magazine, this is because her eyes are in the centre

third of the magazine straight where the eye first looks.

The main title of the film is “Billboard” even though Adele is covering the middle part of the title it is still recognisable that it

is a billboard magazine, this is because the title stands out even though there is a picture blocking it. Having the white

writing on the black background means that it stands out more, it also has that highlight of colour within which gives it that

edge as well.

The cover lines, which on this magazine are down the

side, follow they typical convections of a magazine. It

has typical cover lines set out around the page in white writing which stand out on

the darkened background. It also has flowered outlines around the writing which

make the page more appealing for the reader.

Down the bottom left hand corner of the magazine, there is a barcode that is

situated next to the issue of the magazine, the date of

the magazine, the cost and the website that links to the

magazine, these are all typical convections that

work with the front cover of the magazine. As the

barcode is situated at the bottom it isn't to

overpowering on the cover so doesn’t draw attention

away from the artist. It also gives clear information that the reader can look at but not have to read to much

detail because its just quick and precise information.

The colour scheme for this magazine is predominantly colourful however has the

darkened background which means that the colours stand out more, this also enhances the picture to make her stand out more. Also she is wearing dark coloured clothes which suggest that the magazine

what's to make her stand out rather than what she is

wearing because it is more about who she is rather than

what she is wearing. They have also made sure that her eyes stand out on the page,

this is because they want the reader to focus in on her. They have done this by

making her eyes stand out on the cover this means that

when the reader picks up the magazine they will look

straight Adele.

Masthead-this shows what the organisation is for in this case it’s the school “Hampton”. It gives a clear indication to who produced it. Also because its in the top third

Logo- this shows/advertises the school towards the parents so the recognise when they are given the magazine, it also advertises it to other parents as well.

Main image- the main image on here shows a school performance of Les Miserables, this gives the parents an incite into what kind of performances they do at the school and different types of arts they can get involved in.

Les Miserables is a well know musical, so having this on the

front of the school magazine gives the school a more appealing and creative aspect that will make the

school more well rounded and interesting whereas if it was something no one knew then

parent would be disinterested.

Using columns are a typical convection of magazines, this gives the magazines a better look, cleaner and shaper cut. It also makes it easier for the

reader to flow through the article rather than be looking

for the start and end.

Using original images give a better interpretation of what the

magazine is trying to convey, it makes the reader more interested

because they become more appealing if they can see photos and recognise the children that

were within the play.

As this is a school magazine there is no barcode situated on the front of the cover, this

is because a school magazines purpose is for

giving information only this means that it doesn’t gain

any profit from the magazine, it just informs parents and advertises the school to others who may see this

magazine.

On the cover of this school magazine it shows what will be in this issue this is listed as a

column down the side of the cover. This isn't typical for a normal school magazine however this just may be a small informant of what may

be more detailed inside .

The colour scheme for this school magazine is mostly yellow, black

and grey suggests that as these are similar colour to the logo then it

suggest that the school magazine would want to keep in theme with

the colours of the logo so the reader wouldn’t be confused if the was a

completely different colour scheme.

The logo at the top right hand corner of the

magazine, gives continual advertisement for the

magazine Q. going across the top of the contents page

of the magazine is the heading of the page it gives a clear banner with the date

of the magazine and then the issue No. etc.

This gives clear indications that this is the contents

page and makes sure that the reader is reading a

recent magazine not an out of date one.

The main image on the page is of a recognisable band “The Courteeners“ this picture shows the band on top of what seems to be a hill, this shows them as

quite an outdoors band. The main image takes up half of the page which draws attention to the picture

for the reader. It shows that they are the main feature.

Down the left hand side of the magazine, there is a column of the articles/interveiws that are within the magazine. Its in the

typical convection of a magazine and has a features sub-heading that informs the reader of where to find the features are, it gives

the page numbers of the magazine in red which make them stand out on the page,

making it easier for the reader to identify where each article is. It

also splits the contents page into three parts, the features, every month and review. The subtitles

of the “Q contents” and “Q review” are both the same text and the same font so they are consistent with the theme and style of the magazine. This will make the reader feel like they

can read through the magazine with a flow and it wont feel like everything is all over the place.

The way the contents page is laid out gives the whole

page enough space so that it doesn’t feel to crowded on

the page. This makes it easier for the reader to pick up different page number and the different articles that they want to read

without feeling like they are all jumbled up at the side of

the page.Having the numbers in red

and the “features” and “every month” in red and

white suggest that the magazine wants the reader

to be attracted to these important parts of the

contents page.

The language used on his content page where they used “you” and “we” suggest that the magazine

want to draw them in and feel like they are involved. It uses this

language to persuade them to buy the magazine because it makes

the reader feel like they are reaching out to them. Also the

layout on the page is very organised this means it wouldn’t confuse any of the reader when

they are reading them.

Heading at the top of the page to show the title of the magazine, the title will always be at the top because it draws the reader in at first glance, it would also give continual advertisement for the product.

Having the sub heading standing out as sort of a headline for the reader also the numbers going down the side give a clear indication as to where the pages start so its quick and easy for the reader to navigate to a certain part of the magazine. Using the red writing on the white background makes the writing stand out more and gives the connotation that the magazine has a fiery edge because of the red on white which can give the representation that the magazine is edgy and outgoing.

The photograph of the model that is on the

contents page again gives the magazine an edge because of the way the

model is dressed, her hair style is pulled back which gives he a dramatic edge

to her appearance also the bright colour in her outfit

makes her stand out on the page more so it catches the reader eye line when turning on to the page, it

also includes a page number overlaying on the main image which would be for the reader if they

wanted a specific information about the

model e.g. what they wear or about their makeup

then having the number of the magazine of the

magazine which the model was on they then could find it straight away and gives a brief incite in to what's on

the page.

This magazine contents pages has the conventions of a magazine because the

list of contents , its in simple conventions of it being in columns with a

main heading of the name of the magazine with a main image which is

different to the main image that is on the front of the

magazine.

Numbers on the side of the articles, this shows the typical conventions of a contents page, it shows simple direction for the reader from the contents page to the article that interests

them the most, they are also in a clear eye catching font which would be easy and simple for the reader to read.

The list is coherent with the style of the magazine the writing either in black light grey or pink which is in line with the

colour scheme.

The main image on this double page spread is a long shot of the “kids in glass houses” this shot has been taken by all of the member of the band jumping up in the air and

the shot being taken slowly as to capture the

detail into the photo. As it is set outside the picture looks bright because of

the natural light, it brighten the page up

more and links in with the theme of the magazine.

The layout of the double page spread is very spaced out, it is also organised so that when you look at the page you see the title of the article, but also it means that the reader can get a jest of where to

start the article from. The start of the article is clearly from the bold white A at the start of the text and there are different pull

quotes that are highlighted throughout the article.

All the band members are

dressed in a casual way which suggests

that the band is more focused on

creating music and having fun in their career rather than being all glammed up, this would then

suggest that the band was more

materialistic. This also makes it easier

for the reader to actually relate back to them rather than see them in a higher

status. Using this picture of the whole band spread across

the page links in with the typical convections of a

magazine and this makes it easier for the reader rather

than having loads of different pictures

spread out all over the page.

The text on the page is evenly sized, also the

way it goes around the image of one of the band members legs follows the

typical convections of magazine. It makes it

look more appealing for the reader. Having them

at a low angle shot means that they seen in a

higher status because they are essentially floating in the air. It means that they are looking down on the reader whereas the

reader is looking up to them.

The article title gives the reader an eye

catching incite in to what the article is about, it gives the reader an added

question as to why Hayley Williams is on fire. The relation to

fire may then be towards how well she is doing in her career,

it gives the connotation that she is very successful at the moment hence

why she “is on fire”.

The article is laid out in columns

which are a typical convection of a

magazine double page spread. As

shown the picture is presented on the

right side of the double page spread and the writing in the left side of the

page.

As Hayley Williams is a well

known music artist this draws the reader in, it branches out to that particular niché audience which Hayley Williams is in.

this article would appeal to the

niché market of pop punk.

In the article Hayley Williams appearance is

very bright, she is stood in front

of a white background

which suggest that the colour scheme is very

bright and happy this gives the

connotation that they want to portray the

magazine as a happy theme.

The bold red O at the start of article,

indicate as beginning of where the reader would

read the article from. It put in a bold red, not only to go with the theme of the magazine but to attract the eye

towards the start of the article because the magazine wants

the reader to be engaged by the

magazine.

The clothing that Hayley Williams wear’s gives the

connotation that she is a young artist with a knowledge of

fashion, this is shown with the floral bodice that she is wearing it gives of a kind of flirty sense, also the bracelets that are on

her wrist suggest she uses those as a statement . Her

stance/ body language shows a shocked stance which then

could suggest that she is blown away by her progressions

through her career.

As the artist is looking straight

into the camera it gives direct

address to the reader, this then suggest that the

article is informing the reading about

this artist and from the main title

suggest her specific career in

the music industry.

In this photograph of this model, the photographer has put the model in a relaxed way with

casual clothes this portrays the model as student type girl all

natural like she would be on the front of a teen magazine. The

lighting is very bright giving of a sense that the model is happy compared to the other photos. Also because she is natural and she comes across as innocent.

The photographer in this picture had portrayed the same girl, however her body posture is

different because its more of a sexual stance with her dominant

shoulder which give the impression that she has a come

and get it attitude , also the colour red gives the connotation that this photograph was taken for a male orientated magazine because of the clothes she is wearing, the way her hair is making her look like she has been sweating from heat and

passion and the make up blending in with the background gives off a sexual presence. Also

the colour red on the background and her lips gives

the connotation of love and sexual presence

Within this final photograph that has been taken we see the model in a sideward stance, she appears to be thinner than in the rest of the other

photograph's he body posture is very up tight and stiff, we can then assume

because of the white background and the choice of clothing that this would be

for a fashion magazine because she gives the connotation of a fashion model being the size shape and having that tall stance. Also having the blank expression upon her face shows no emotion towards the camera giving her an unrelaxed feel towards the camera, where as in the first

photograph the girl has a natural pose that suggest she is free and independent

in this photo she comes across as she isn't very comfortable and has been told

to stand in that way.

In this photograph, this model is seen with more of a darker edge, it gives the

connotation that this would be on a punk/rock magazine, as the lighting they have used is very dark and moody the model doesn’t look the same shape as

on the other photographs, as she is wearing black as well it also blends it so makes it harder to define her shape, so

because of the lighting and costumes/makeup within this shot she

comes across as guarded, whereas in the other photos she came across innocent.

Analysing Different Photographs With The Same Model

EXPLAINING DIFFERENT TYPES OF MAGAZINES

• From the research that I have collected I have been able to show the differences within a print magazine that is sold to its target audience and been able to show a print magazine that is giving information for free to its target audience.

• The purpose for a school based magazine is to be able to give parents/carers and anyone else that look at it information about the school and what's happening within the school where as the fashion magazine has a more wider range of information for the diverse range of reader they have, compared to school based magazine, most other magazines tend to have a different layout, having the third rule that then shows how they attract readers by positioning and laying out the magazine correctly to what they think the readers would like whereas with a school based magazine it more displaying the correct information so that the readers can pick up on important bit that they don’t want to have to search for.