Original Ideas Statement

The genre of music magazine i wish to create is a rock/metal magazine. The main thing i like about this genre of magazine and the main inspiration for me to create my own is the way it is visually appealing to readers. Especially with metal magazines, i like the use of the blacks and blues and also lightning bolts. I wish to base my magazine along these lines but make it unique by using certain images and fonts and also slightly different colours, but still maintaining that rock and roll feel. Not all of the topics in the magazine will be based on music in general. There will be articles on musicians lives outside the music industries and also things such as competitions and shout outs to other, less known music groups.  Considering the genre of the magazine will be Rock/Metal, the target audience would be big fans of this specific genre. The magazine will not mention any other genre of music that does not relate to rock; it will be strictly based on the rock genre.

Magazine Textual Analysis 3 (Cover)

This is a magazine cover published by magazine company GQ. The cover follows the rule of thirds as the mast head and most of the feature articles are on the left hand side of the page. Bright colours fill the majority of the page. The main attraction of the page is the picture of Kanye West who fills the centre of the page. Kanye is dressed in a smart tuxedo and the cover as a whole seems very basic. The magazine appears to be written about Celeb Gossip.

The lighting and the colours on this cover are all very bright. Both the background and the majority of the writing are in bright colour. The only things that are of a darker shade on this cover photo are some of the feature articles and Kanye's blazer. I think that this magazine would be aimed at males, but more specifically 'gentleman', men who are a bit more wealthy that middle class men. Kanye's eye gaze is as he is staring directly at the reader in order to make them feel more engaged with the mag and the celebrity. Kanye also seems to be smiling at the readers, possibly to give across that this is a friendly magazine. It does not appear that Kanye is wearing make up, but he is wearing a flashy tux to further show that this is aimed at more of a classy audience. There are no props and the background is a plain shade of blue which makes it impossible to tell where this image was taken. 

The shot distance on this cover is a Close Up (CU) as Kanye's head and shoulders are the only thing visible in the image. The camera angle is just a regular eye level shot as Kanye's eyes are what is in the centre of the page. The image of Kanye almost appears to be in two parts. His head is in perfectly clear focus yet his shoulders have been slightly blurred out of the page. The film stock on this cover is rather smooth and everything is in colour. The brightness of the page indicates that the lighting is staged and not natural and is expressive of the somewhat friendly mood of the mag. The overall image is of a soft focus as i have already mentioned, part of the image is blurred out. The headline talking about Kanye is in bright bold writing and is the biggest piece of text on the page. The other pieces of text are of the same font, but are much smaller and only take up a fraction of the page. 

The preferred reading of this cover is to learn about the more classy celebrities and hear some of their personal stories. Also it can be seen as an advice magazine as well relying on the headline 'Our annual guide to the best stuff of the year.' The target audience for this magazine would most certainly be for just men, probably aged between 25-40 years old. GQ is known to be a very mature, formal magazine which talks about celebrities from mostly the older generation. Also, the fact that the main headline on this page is 'Kanye West rocks our Men of the Year issue' further shows the fact that this magazine is mainly aimed for the male audience. 

Magazine Textual Analysis 2 (Cover)

This is a music magazine published by the magazine company NME in 2008. The mast head and some feature articles follow the rule of thirds as they are on the left hand side of the page. The main headline is positioned in the center of the page as well as an image of the band 'The Wombats.' There is a big range of colours used on the cover. At the top and bottom of the page, there are the names of other famous bands to be featured in the magazine. There are also several cover lines on the page, both on the left and right hand side. Also, there is an advertisement for the Glastonbury festival at the very top of the page.

There are a wide range of colours displayed on this cover, most of which are bright. The use of bright colours is to make the magazine as a whole stand out and to make it more eye engaging for the readers. From the use of The Wombats as the main image of the cover and also the images used for some feature articles, it would be clear to say that this is a magazine aimed at 18-30 year old men. The cover does not seem classy at all, so this magazine would be for more middle class/working class people rather than rich/high class readers. In the main image, two of three of the band members eye gaze are focused on the readers, however all of them seem somewhat childish with the gestures they give. The clothing the band members wear are clothing that you could see the average person wearing. This could help the magazine relate to its readers by showing bands like the Wombats dressing how we would. There are no actual props used in the image, however the band member with the green hoodie does have a lot of accessories on his arms/wrists. Its is hard to tell where this image was taken but a plausible answer could be a regular house or bedroom depending on what appears to be a wooden door in the background. The fact that the entire cover seems somewhat immature or even childish definitely brings all elements, like the colours and clothing, together.

I would say that this image is a Medium Long Shot (MLS) as you can see all of the band members torsos but only goes down to their knees. Due to the shot distance, i would say that the camera angle would be almost a low shot as the boys faces are not in the centre of the page and you have to look up to see their heads. Everything in this shot is in focus and nothing is blurred out. The image has a very smooth film stock and all is in colours. Plus, the whole image has a high contrast in colours. The lighting appears to be all natural, however the lighting in this does not define or express the mood, the image itself does that on its own. The main caption in the centre of the page is in big bold and bright writing to make it easy for the reader to see. other feature headlines are also in bold bright writing, but are scattered around the page. 

The language and use of words used on this cover page also contributes to the overall childishness of the page with lines such as 'Why Britain's gone SILLY for the lords of the indie dance floor.' The mag also gives direct quotes from the bands themselves. This can be used to make the readers feel closer and more engaged with the bands and their stories. The overall preferred reading from the cover is to make the readers feel closer to the bands and to make them feel as if their lifestyle is somewhat similar to the bands themselves. In terms of the overall target audience, i would say that this magazine title is aimed at the more younger generation of music listeners. This is because NME is commonly known to be one of the less serious magazines and does not really deliver its contents in a posh or formal matter. This is a magazine that commonly uses rude terms and does not take itself seriously at all, a thing that a music lover aged between 13-18 would really enjoy to read. The image of the band 'The Wombats' just backs up this concept as the band members just appear to be playing around and the shot was taken.

Magazine Textual Analysis 1 (Cover)

This is a magazine published by the magazine company 'Ebony.' This magazine clearly follows the rule of thirds as the main title and also most of the feature articles are presented on the left hand side of the page. The main eye catcher of the magazine cover is the photo of Beyonce that fills a lot of the page. The image of Beyonce is positioned in the center of the page. The background colour and also the clothing on Beyonce is presented as very dark. The writing on the page, however, is very bright. The magazine is clearly made for adults as some feature articles include 'Who's watching your kids?' and '9 tips for managing your money.' Also the use of Beyonce on the front and the feature article concerning children, this could be passed as a parenting magazine of sorts. Beyonces hair also covers up a part of the masthead yet the feature articles are placed over Beyonces image. 

The background colour and the dress that Beyonce is wearing is a very dark shade. This would be put in such a way so that the brightness of the text would stand out a bit more and catch the eye a little easier. Even though there would have been staged lighting in order to get the picture of Beyonce, it seems all natural as the image is made out to be somewhat realistic. This magazine was definitely made for the more older generation but the use of Beyonce on the cover steers it more towards a females magazine. There is not really a specified class that the magazine is aimed at as Beyonce is well known throughout classes and also races. The eye gaze of Beyonce is as if she is looking straight at the reader as if she is telling all the info in the magazine herself. Her expressions and gestures give across almost a serious yet interested feel as if she was serious and supports all of the magazines contents. It also seems like she is somewhat proud to be the face of the magazine.

I would say that the shot distance would be a Medium Shot (MS) as you can clearly see the whole top half of her body yet you don't see anything from the waist down. Again, the camera angle is just simply at a medium/eye level. this gives the impression that Beyonce is staring into the eyes of the reader. a worms eye or a birds eye camera angle wouldn't give the same effect. Everything on this cover is perfectly in focus. this is because the background is just a plain brown one so there would be no need to blur anything out. The image of Beyonce is the only thing left on the page, other than the text, so there would be nothing else to fade out. The film stock over all is rather detailed therefore making a smooth film stock. Although the colours on page, mainly the background colour, is very plain, all of the page is in colour and not black and white. The lighting is set to look natural, but i would expect that it would have been staged lighting. The overall image shows some low key lighting and also has a very sharp focus which draws your attention to the image. All of the text is in either white or bright green which is used to make the writing stand out a lot more in contrast to the dark shade from the background. Its all in bold and all text, except from the masthead, is place in front of the image.

The Feature articles are used cleverly as they are all problems or topics that a lot of parents (in particular) can relate to meaning that they would be interested in reading about them. There is also a rhetorical device used as they have merged the words 'Beyonce' and 'evolved' in order to make it sound clever. Overall the magazine is aimed at adults, more specifically parents, and the magazine is set to possibly help them with any troubles or issues they may be having. In terms of the target audience as a whole, it is clear that this specific edition of Ebony magazine is aimed at the black community. This is clear to see as Beyonce herself is black, but also the other famous faces mentioned on this cover are also black icons. These icons include Regina Taylor (American Actress), Eamonn Walker (English Actor) and even the President of the United States, Barrack Obama. This would also be aimed at the more mature audience as the cover features things such as 'Who's watching your kids?' and also '9 tips for managing your money.' This would cry out to the age range of maybe 25+ as this is around the age many people have children and houses of their own. 

Preliminary Task Content Page

preliminary task magazine cover

Textual Analysis

There is a clear image of what would presumably be college student. She appears to be relatively happy in the image. The title of the magazine is written in big bold letters at the very top of the page. The main topics that the magazine will cover is written on the right hand side of the page. The image of the girl is very clear but the background is blurred. There is a competition to win a prize at the bottom of the page.

The main headlines and the title of the magazine are written in dark bold letters as they are the main things that they want the reader to see. The other colours are much more brighter and pleasing to the eye. The girls shirt and the other headlines match a bright pink colour. The blurred background is a very bright white. This is done to make everything else on the page stand out more. The girl on the page has posed as if she is currently working as she has one hand on what appears to be a computer and the other hand on her chin as if she is thinking. However, her expression and gestures show her smiling which could indicate that she is enjoying the college and the work she is doing. Its difficult to tell whether its the lighting or make-up that makes her face slightly pale, but it does make her clothing stand out much more. From the computer and also what appears to be a book shelf in the blurred background, i would say that she is in the college library. The main composition of the image is the girl in the center of the page; she would be the most eye catching thing on the page.

The shot distance from the image of the girl is a medium shot. It doesn't appear as if the photo has been zoomed in or out, it seems as if the photo was just taken up close to the girl. There isn't any complicated camera angles on this magazine. The shot of the girl is taken at a simple eye level. The main image of the girl is in focus whereas, the background is blurred out. The film stock is very smooth. There is no grainy parts of the in focus images and text. The background, being blurred, is more grainy. Nothing is in black and white meaning that all is in colour. There are not many shades of the bright colours though, everything is rather high contrast. The lighting on this cover does not seem very natural at all. it appears as if the lighting on the girl and also the lighting in the background have been enhanced to appear brighter. The brightness of the page definitely give off a positive mood. All lighting is high key. The image of the girl has a very sharp focus whereas the background is more of a soft focus.

The language used on this magazine cover is used to really promote the education standards of the college. The phrases they use are there to make you feel as if this college would be the perfect place for your education. For example, 'The Perfect Major for me' and 'From the most unique to the most in-demand'

Questionnaire Results Review

All of the results were collected from forty individual people from the college. The first graph gives the results for the question 'what would you like in the magazine?' The results were relatively even however, gaming was the most popular choice with fourteen votes. News on the local area was the least popular choice with only three votes. The results for the second question, 'would you be interested in contributing to the magazine?', was set as a pie chart. The chart shows that both 'yes' and 'no' both gained an equal amount of votes getting a total of 17 each. The maybe option gained a total of 6 votes. The third graph gives the results for the question 'How much would you be willing to pay for the magazine?' The results show that the majority of people would be willing to £2-£3 with a total of 22 votes. The fourth set of results were also set in a pie chat form answering the question 'How often should we publish the magazine?' The results show that a total number of 15 people said that they would like to see it published weekly, this being the most popular pick. The least popular option was termly which only gained four votes. The fifth set of results was also set as a pie chart answering 'what colour scheme would you like?' The chart shows that 24 out of 40 people opted for a brightly coloured magazine. The remaining 16 opted for simple, neutral colours for the magazine. Result set number six was set in the form of a graph and answers 'how long should the articles be?' The 21 people opted for each article to be a whole page. The least popular option was half a page which only gained 9 votes. The seventh set of results is, again, set in pie chart form and answers 'would you be interested in competitions?' The results were close to being even with 23 people answering yes and 17 no. Graph eight answers 'where would you like to buy the magazine?' The most popular option was the Library, collecting 15 of the votes. The least popular answer was the Canteen gathering only seven votes. The final set of results was set up as a pie chart and answers the question 'do you currently read any other magazine(s)?' The graph shows that only 13 people said they did read another magazine. Therefore meaning that the remaining 27 said they didn't read any other magazines.