music magazine evaluation

DESIGN BRIEF: TO CREATE A NEW MUSIC MAGAZINE THAT IS DESIGNED TO

A SPECIFIED AUDIENCE.

RESEARCH OF EXISTING PRODUCTS

IN WHAT WAYS DOES MY MEDIA PRODUCT USE,

DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS

After doing my research I had a better understanding of what makes a conventional masthead. Gathering my inspiration from notorious music magazine. This is how I've created my conventional masthead…

The masthead is bright red making it stand out for the reader and its very neat in the corner enabling a professional look from the product.

I aimed to improve my music magazine by taking Q magazines logo as a guideline to make mine more authentic and attract my intended demographic.

I partly followed the colour scheme but I felt the colour black would make my masthead more eye-catching on a red background

Masthead



Q’s repetitive puff not only gives the magazine its unique identity but gives the magazine a metaphorical attitude of boldness and importance amongst its own competitors in its industry. Q is also attracting its demographic by being vague and withholding the ‘great music’ it includes.

I also incorporated my own puff stating it’s incomparable to other music magazines by making it worldwide ‘THE U.K’S BIGGEST DANCE MUSIC MAGAZINE’.

I wanted to edit my magazine in a clever way by informing my demographic and other possible readers of the magazines popularity and reliability

Masthead



I had also noticed while researching conventions that the masthead is usually placed underneath the feature article photograph.

I felt that covering the masthead did take focus off it, however it could be interpreted as the name being well known and readers being able to notice part of the logo and recognise it to be ‘Database’

Masthead


DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTSCover line

I aimed for my cover lines to add energy and colour to my magazine. This was done by using bright/strong colours such as red, yellow and black.

These type of cover lines are conventional in Dance/DJ magazines allowing a balance of focus on both the feature article photo.

I also attempted to create cover lines to look like volume bars to show creativity and effectively challenging conventions

INFLUENCES



Plugs: What I have learnt from my research was that music magazine has their unique house style and therefore distinctive ways of displaying there plugs.

Flush left

Flush right

I noticed a convention in their alignment. They either were formatted ‘flush left’ or ‘flush right’, which I conformed to only one because I didn’t want my front cover to be compact with information.


DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTSPlugs:

I looked at various magazines with effective plugs, overall being eye catching and adding energy to the front cover.

I took these forms and conventions of a real media product and used it to develop mine.

I choose to unevenly spilt the ratio of flush left and flush right by having one plug flush right and the rest flush left.

The use of different colours compliments the feature article photo because of the deliberate colours which link

I used bold text and bright colours to make artists names a unique selling point, such as ‘G-Beatz being in a bold red font will be seen by his many fans and as a result they would be attracted to my magazine.



I used Vibe’s plug style with others for creating my own magazine, this gave me the leverage to add colours and differentiate the article name to the quote in the text box; creating uniformity.

My research informed me that depending on the genre of the magazine influences the house style, causing it to be neat or like mine, being a Dance music magazine; very eye-catching, connoting energy and a ‘cool’ attitude.

Plugs:

I did vary plug style, by having big bold text like the one in Q. I found this much more conventional but effective due to seriousness it connotes in the black font

Researching my demographic I learned that they would also prefer information in a medium of a picture, so I used one of a famous artists which could be seen as more effective than their name written

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=q+magazine+kasabian&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&docid=Xz-MXQ0e_TYiSM&tbnid=dUiXTzFmumloCM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://www.mandycoakley.co.uk/blog/2012/06/27/nikki-palmer-q-magazine-2/&ei=80leU97xBOK47AaO14G4BA&bvm=bv.65397613,d.ZGU&psig=AFQjCNHN2xYmdwr1qcg0PP07LHXxR9B7bg&ust=1398774640860425



Feature Article Photograph ResearchThe feature article photo has been shot at a low angle and shows a man dressed all in black looking down at us by raising his head.

This connotes that the content may be serious but also makes the man look arrogant , his clothing can also suggest an ‘old school’ or manly impression about him.

His fists are almost clenched, but we see his knuckles, this is called knuckle display and could also suggest anger and dominance.

While his fists are clenched on to his jacket it looks like his yanking it forward to convey he means business.

The lighting used to take the photo creates a shadow on his face, creating intrigue and enforcing that he means business, overall creating a serious tone.



The feature article photograph also creates a fierce but playful tone, because its shows a man with an axe which had been used due to the mess on it; his also shouting which conveys that the magazine is going to be exciting or gory.

The man is also wearing a black denim jacket also conveys a Gothicism and rock and roll tone which would identify their intended audience.

The artist is looking directly at the camera which could be seen as effective because it could be seen as communicating directly with your demographic what type of content they are buying



The mise en scene of the feature article photo is a background lemons, which can either be connoting a playful tone and ‘not to take us serous’ or could be conveying him as silly because there suggesting his thinking off lemons due to his facial expressions. The lemons are an intertextual reference which would appeal to the target audience. Being bright yellow makes it eye catching for potential buyers.

The Feature article photograph is a close up low angle shot of his face to see his facial expressions which suggest puzzlement, this contrast with the stereotype of other DJ magazine which usually have a serious tone.



I used a mid-shot and had my artist look at the camera to enable emotional engagement with my demographic, allowing the feature article to be the most eye-catching subject on the page.

The artist is also holding his hat which connotes a cool, informal and popular mode of address.

I decided have my artist wear a hoodie because the clothing is associated with the dance/RnB/Hip Hop genre.

I used the same bright colours for both his clothing and the plugs so there is a sense of uniformity.

I covered the masthead with the feature article photo and had a puff saying ‘25th anniversary’ which both connotes that my magazine is popular and well known.

The plug being in red and having a bold typography connotes it being a passionate article



Keerang magazine being Halloween themed had to include symbolic trait associated with Halloween such as having the running head as blood dripping which possibly connotes excitement and a eerie mode of address

is a conventional feature to a feature article that embodies the magazine’s house style and provides a brief introduction to the type of article.

Continuity is shown using ‘blood dripping’ to represent symbolic Halloween trait shown of front cover

The warn out effect created emphasises the noisy and shattered connotations associated with the masthead.

The wording ‘25th anniversary collectors edition’ can be seen as a running head due to similarity in conventions of ‘providing a brief intro’ however it could be interpreted as a puff because it raises the prestige of the magazine.



I both challenged conventions and followed them…

I incorporated my heading to enhance my house style like Q magazines

‘Contents’ is big at top of page, instantly presents audience with type of information

However…

I challenged conventions by..• Change in colour

(white, red clearer on black background)

• Structure and typography of fonts (bolder text placed one beneath another)



I subverted convention as this differs from the real media product.

My running head is part of the house style due to the use of black line which is used to construct sections of the double page spread

Headline


DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTSHeadline

The purpose of a headline is to attract a reader and to create a sense of urgency, causing the reader to read that particular article.

An effective headline should be eye catching as it’s the first introduction to the article.

IDJ magazine use many bright colours to connote it being an exciting article

Attempted to follow bright colours by using red, yellow and a black rectangular box to add depth and to highlight as prominent from the rest



I did follow conventions of a headline by concentrating on the visual aspect, adding depth to the typography, use of bright colours and the size of the text… HOWEVER….

I challenged conventions of headlines by only using the artists name. This was done because• Its short, snappy and something

my demographic would expect, instead of having to read a lot

• I used the artists popular name as a unique selling point, instantly attracting readers

• I also highlighted typography with black against a white background emphasising importance and makes it eye catching .



Drop Cap

IDJ Q Keerang

A Drop cap is a initial letter that is formatted to a larger size than the main body of text, that can be filled in a different colour that indents the beginning of the text.

I used all three drop cap as inspiration for my own.

I followed conventions by placing it before text and placing a box (IDJ) underneath the letter.

Instead of using plain, Arial typography; I used very artistic font from www.1001freefonts.com called ‘Curly’. I believe this font provided the visual aspect with energy and creativity efficiently emphasising the characteristic of my house style

http://www.1001freefonts.com/



I adapted IDJ’s use of three digit numbers which made it look digital and provided the content page with a suitable house style for DJ genre magazine

Bold, large rectangles to bring attention to page reference

Page References

I challenged the position of the page reference by placing it in a clear and eye-catching position on that article photo to provide my demographic with easier navigation.



Column structure

During my competitor research process, the organised information created through grids and columns of the contents page which was an important process of the creation of my magazine.

IDJ have created columns using the six large images ,they use no conventional visible line to divide the information however its neatly arranged into columns that promotes positive connotations of a well organised serious magazine.

Q contents page is similar to mine in the sense that I use many images to provide a visual medium of service for my demographic.

The use of black lines to separate columns provide the content page with uniformity , however the image structure is appealing because of its layout connoting a ‘3D view’ due to a man in shallow focus in a image.



I created a ‘cut out’ image which was separated the background from the subject creating a ‘3D perspective’ and placed it in a rectangular column of pictures

Like Q, I separated the ‘Features’ from the ‘Regulars’ which creates uniformity and a professional impression to the reader.

I also followed conventions by including a subscribe column due to the extra space which was provided by the column lines, to give my content page a authentic impression contrasted with a real magazine

HOW DOES MY MEDIA PRODUCT REPRESENT PARTICULAR SOCIAL

GROUPS?

I attempted to represent a large section of society, middle class and who are also knowledgeable about dance music and enjoy catching up on news about the industry and dance music artists.

The clothing worn on both images being a hoodie was to show my demographic their own representation by society so they could both relate to magazine content being for them and to also suggest that the magazine should be taken less seriously but casual.

I have aimed for a multi-diverse demographic by including different ethnic groups such as Black and white. I believe this would increase my demographic due to ethnic groups presented .

Class/Ethnic group


GROUPS?

I have represent young artists in dance music, by my photographs having artists from 17-27, I did this so my demographic could see artists in this magazine as aspirational due to being older than them.

In this photo of Zack, Todd and Joe it connotes a laid back expression due to them laughing and furthermore connoting that there young and willing to have a laugh- a trait which is conventionally found in my young demographic

The artist expressions were also friendly and warming which instantly removes the thought of the articles being about these artist, boring but instead light-hearted.


GROUPS?

I have represented both male and female throughout my magazine in order to reflect my entire demographic.

I have represented males as friendly, funny, light-heart, and most importantly not intimidating type of people. I’ve done this by presenting the bands and individuals with natural expressions. Their relax stances and smiling facial expressions allows males to be seen as light-heart, relatable and approachable. The band become recognisable due to unity they show as being three normal friends by being connected by the middle guy connoting friendship

I have represent the female demographic positively, connoting that they are friendly, strong and knowledgeable about fashion. The image of Abby conveys independence which can be seen as a aspirational figure to young woman in my demographic but the image of her has been cut away from the background which conveys a sense of dominance that connotes power. In further analysis, Abbys clothing is fashionable and what is perceived for a young person to wear and be interested in. This is a fresh open interpretation of a female that my audience would find more relevant and aspirational .

WHAT KIND OF MEDIA INSTITUTION MIGHT

DISTRIBUTE MY MEDIA PRODUCT AND WHY?

International Publishing Company

• They produce over 60 iconic media brands.

• Print copies alone reach approximately 26 million adults in the UK

• IPC distribute their magazines in various places such as shops, online supermarkets, online websites.

• IPC have a large portfolio and sell over 350 million copies every year.

• Their worldwide distribution is fairly big, with approximately 90 countries and a team of international specialises at their disposal.



What music magazine’s do they already publish?

IPC is not known for publishing music magazine however it does publish one in particular that is very successful in the

media business….

It has been said that NME is one ofthe longest and most respective music weekly in the world



Why IPC?IPC have excellent publicity and efficient resources that can support and nurture the integrity of my media product. Deciding with IPC as DataBase’s publisher, there is a chance for worldwide distribution which could lead to more copies being sold and evidently making DataBase magazine more successful. IPC might wish to publish DataBase magazine because they achieve such a success with NME and they are looking to extending their market.

Due to the similarities such as music genre between NME and DataBase , IPC would be knowledgeable at marketing my product. Perhaps across different media platforms such as apps and online contents to reflex the trend of the younger generation downloading content onto their portable devises

WHO WOULD BE THE AUDIENCE FOR MY MEDIA

PRODUCT?

Genre and Target AudienceWhat is my music genre for my magazine?

Dance/Electronic/Hip Hop music

Who is my target audience?My target audience was predominately male orientated, multi-diverse and stretching from the ages of 16-26. However, I didn’t single out the female demographic because I wanted my magazine to appeal to all those who are interested in Dance music.


PRODUCT?

Learning about my AudienceI constructed a questionnaire to enable me to know what exactly my audience expected to see.

These results reflect my demographic being mainly male, however to stop my questionnaire being biased I included a female artist.

It was evident that having a single artist on the front cover created a one on one engagement with the individual viewing it, making the individual more likely to purchase it, and it adds all the focus to that artist making it easier to spot.


PRODUCT?

These result clearly demonstrate that my audience like to feel there self by being engaged with and not just spoken to. I already know how passionate they are about music, this therefore highlights that just don’t want to read about music, they want to feel involved and as a result of this learn new information. Perhaps they feel ridiculed and uncomfortable with a serious mode of address and formalities because of the condescending impression it connotes. I have also learnt that the mode of address can

instantly decide whether a potential buyer decides to purchase it or not, this is because as consumers we usually make are mind up by merely are first site and decide whether its in our interest.

Learning about my Audience

After researching deeper into how my target audience I can specifically expand on my demographic. My audience does consist of both male and females, ranging from 16-26 years old that like Dance/Electronic/Hip Hop music. However, I now know that they’re open minded characters that like to feel that they have some control in situations along with being passionate people that find their genre of music aspirational. A typical DataBase reader may live around south London that live a fairly hectic life, nonetheless make the time to appreciate things that matter to them. This is key for my audience, they are alternative and challenge the norm and do what’s right for them not what is conformed by the majority. Many may have creative connections and jobs, some in the music industry itself or wanting to hit the big stage.

My Audience

HOW DID I ATTRACT/ADDRESS

MY AUDIENCE?

1. A recognisable branded masthead with bright colours

2. A puff informing them that DataBase are ‘The U.K’s biggest Dance music magazine’

3. A feature article photograph of a young male with a hat and hoodie is closest representation of demographic to attract them

4. A variety of energetic plugs informing the reader of additional content., such as ‘the most exciting acts on earth’

Having more than one artist on the cover to enable attraction with a glance, seeing an artist they recognise

HOW DID I ATTRACT MY AUDIENCE?

The masthead is a classic statement of red and black which are the colours my audience find exciting and attractive.

The colours contrast each other effectively, making it a prominent feature that demand the attention from the reader. It’s very important to catch the readers eye so then it increases the possibility of the reader to be engaged with the rest of the content.

It was a conscious decision to have my masthead conventional underneath my feature article photo because I believed my magazine already being a well known one, having half of the lettering would still be recognised. Examples of real media products which do this are…• Keerang• Vibe• Billboard


‘line up revealed’ connote that this information is exclusive and instantly raising the prestige of the magazine

The use of ‘plus’ connotes that the demographic is getting more than other magazines may give them. This word also creates a sense of benefiting more from the magazine than what you paid, creating consumer satisfaction

The use of ‘25th anniversary collectors edition’ provides the magazine with prestige and reliability for going so long.


I attracted my audience by using the artists name as a unique selling point, along with the quote ‘God and music changed my life’ which creates intrigue and accumulates new readers.


I made DataBase appealing to its demographic by using both multiple images on the contents page that represent my demographic and embodies all the qualities of which my audience find appropriate about music.

Aaron’s pose could be seen as relaxed due to him looking away from the camera and posing in a dramatic way (hand on chin) wanting to look cool.

Enabling reader to be interactive with ‘DataBase Quiz’ and also benefit from winning a prize causing an attraction form the demographic,


The reason my audience like visuals is because photographs and pictures give them some kind of creative control. It is already established that they are creative individuals and images have more open interpretations that allow them to play on their creativity. So despite my intentional connotations associated with my photographs, the reader is free to think for themselves and isn’t undermined and therefore turned off by the magazine.

I ensured the double page spread is highly visual in order to appeal to my audience who may feel intimidated by a feature . I did this by using multiple images and an insert and pull-out quote to break up the sections of texts.

I also included information concerning the artists new album with a summary and review. This can be used to boost the artists name but to also help the reader find more information on him

HOW DID I ADDRESS MY AUDIENCE?

I addressed my audience with a combination of sophisticated language and appropriate use of quirky colloquialism for my young demographic.

an example of my use of quirky colloquialism is ‘tunes raved to’

The use of language would be understandable for my Demographic instead of a 50 year old for example, due to the society and class they were brought up in.

Why did I use this mode of address?

My audience like to feel relaxed and comfortable by reading easy material however not overwhelmed by the refined language could be seen as patronising. They expressed to me directly that they prefer to be communicated to in a less informal approach but ‘calmly’.

WHAT HAVE I LEARNT ABOUT TECHNOLOGIES FROM THE

PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTING THIS PRODUCT?

Making the Masthead

Using colour pad, I selected a colour.

Then used the rectangle tool placed a rectangle behind text to create highlighted/glowing effect



I was then able to selected the textbox tool ,that allowed me to create text of my choice for masthead.

Using the toolbar, I edited the size/font and colour of the text.

Making the Masthead



Separated every text so I was able to manipulate them and work them around the page reference, overall giving it a professional finish

I have also learnt making it fashionable and visually appealing by merely using default shapes such as Q magazine.



Cutting content images

My decision to cut out the background was to create a sense of establishment with the picture merging with the black background.

Another reason to cut out the background was due to what was in the mise-en-scene. In the picture above there are coats there which diminish the quality of photography and focus, so by removing will stop this mistake.



Cutting content images

Images such as this require a high knowledge of the programme to effectively and neatly cut out the mise-en-scene of this photo with bright contrasting colours in the background.

This process required using the selection brush tool and the magic eraser tool to complete this.

Editing Finished product is a better photo than the original and adds focus to the subject.



Filling negative space

On my double page I had negative space were the article ended, I decided that I didn’t want to add anymore text but have a….

ALBUM REVIEW!!!I did this to keep the enjoyment level of the article up, I gave my demographic something new and beneficial on whether they wanted to know more about the artist.



I created the review surrounding with simple default shapes and changing the colour.

I originally got the idea of doing a review form Q magazines interview with Pitbull. It was evident that the article was able to cover the negative space so they inserted a review on his book, which was different but enjoyable and funny to read

Filling negative space



Editing a Drop capA drop cap is a distinctive characteristic of a double page spread which begins the article

Some drop caps vary in just being a bold letter or a letter highlighted by a text box

I used a red text box to bring focus and style to my drop cap, following IDJ’s type of drop cap.

WHAT HAVE I LEARNT IN THEPROGRESSION OF MY

PRELIMINARY TASK ANDMY FULL PRODUCT?

What I’ve learned?

The masthead shows no difference in colour and font to the cover lines altogether portraying a poor construct of the magazine and confusion of what to read

The feature article photo is harshly cut out giving it an untidy unprofessional finish to the editing

There is no real colour coordination and the colour green isn't the most visually appealing colour to a demographic.



I have learned that making your magazine consistent and visually appealing in within my demographics likes. I have made sure my magazine has more picture’s to word and emphasised with colour, text boxes and punctuation important artist and information to be instantly seen.



The information on the magazine is very compact and unstructured finishing of the magazine unprofessional.

This magazine is professionally structured due to the research I did enabling me to create a authentic magazine



I attempted to add urgency to my cover lines by using punctuation however compared to my full product it lacks the excitement to go with it with the use of different colours, different shapes and intriguing information..

The feature article photo has no links and no connotations which deems it as ineffective and not appealing.

LOOKING BACK AT YOUR PRELIMINARY TASK, WHAT DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE LEARNT IN THE PROGRESSION FROM IT TO THE FULL

PRODUCT?

THE END

music magazine evaluation

Education

Transcript of music magazine evaluation