Main Task Proposal Table

Type of Magazine (fashion, music, etc)	Music Magazine
Name of Magazine	LYF Magazine The RED Baron -1994- Dirt94 TE I am still considering names at the minute but i am really fond of TE which will stand for Totally Electronic which is simple and direct to the point.
Audience (male/female)	Both Male and Female and all audiences really there is no target age group.
Audience (attitudes and interests)	General interests with an interest in electronic music and like to keep up to date with the genre in terms of new artists and new album releases.
Outlet (where it can be bought from?)	Any newsagent including supermarkets, book stores and can be bought digitally.
Necessary Information	Issue Date and No.
Selling Point	The magazine will cater to everyone from album reviews to interviews to introducing the audience to brand new artist that they may not have previously heard of. It will follow similar codes and conventions of music style magazines you see everyday. My magazine will give a un biased approach to everything we discuss and review, with a highlight on being professional and giving out good content.
Theme (article)	My theme will be promoting and shedding light on new and upcoming independent Dj's that will give the audience a better idea of where they come from and the overall production of their music.
Images Front Cover	The cover will involve the best photo i took during my photo-shoot that is impactful and will want to make the reader read further on. Along with a masthed and various other things such as essential info and sell lines.
Images Inside	The images inside will include some of the photos of the model that i took.

Time Management- 24/10/12

I have just started what is going to be a pretty interesting next couple of months of coursework for my AS Media. To help document the process of me doing research and also doing the work itself and the others things like that i am going to every now and again review what I've done, i want to do this on a weekly basis so hopefully i can find some sort of work  to be done to make my blog the best possible to try and aim for those higher grades.

So far i have managed to deconstruct 3 different types of magazines in terms of their covers, contents pages and double page spread which is a good way for me to try and construct my work and give me a sort of a better understanding of what i want to do, i really enjoyed looking at the Q magazine and its series of content they seem to have a very strong way of displaying themselves in a professional yet not so serious way that keeps the audiences attention throughout.

I also had a chance to create a silly college magazine that took about less than half a lesson to create. Me personally i have never touched Photoshop before in my life so it will be a nice change of pace to see how far i develop with my skills using the program as i used it to create the college magazine and it was pretty dreadful as i only have a good idea of what to create using the basic techniques. Im sure i will eventually get better at it though and hopefully my main product will be as great as i see it in my head.

Deconstruction of Double Page Spreads

Kerrang DPS 

The Kerrang double page spread has a format that is easy on the eyes. On one side of the page there is a main image of My Chemical Romances lead singer and a black box at the top that says news and world exclusive, this is Kerrang's way of saying this is our main article in the magazine. On the other side of the page there is small text and a main sell line which is a quote from the interview with the band that is from the article, this is a statement that any fans of the band will be interested in straight away and any other people who may not be fans of this will still look at this first when looking at the page as its the biggest text on the page.

The page has more images than text it seems as there are four different images spread across both pages, the images involve the band looking really focused like they don't want to make any mistakes, which ties in to the main sell line as it relates to the images, another thing that shows this is the white text on the images telling the reader that they want to succeed and not let there fans down, which will make any fans of My Chemical Romance want to read as the article is directed at there fans. 

The colour scheme for the page is mostly black, red and white, the images are also in a haze sort of setting. The way Kerrang do this is to draw attention to the text first then look at the images, the way the images are portrayed its sort of like an instant classic like when the album is released the interview might always be remembered. 

The text is split into different paragraphs, the first paragraph being an introduction into whats happening in this case its that My Chemical Romance have asked Kerrang to come listen in as they record there new album. The remainder of the text is Kerrang telling the readers what to expect in the upcoming album, they do it in a way though like there showing of which makes the fans of the band anxious to see for themselves what the new album is like. 

On the right side of the page there is a round up of what to expect in the tex so its easier for fans to read if they don't want to read the full article. It is laced in a white text box so it stands out on the page for the reader. 

I liked this double page spread I thought there could be a bit more detail added to the text and less images, other than that overall its a good double page spread. 

 

NME DPS

This double page spread from the NME magazine has a basic layout of a key image taking up just over one page and writing on the other. The main image features the band who are in the article, the article is located on the right of this. The name of the band is featured in the title on the right to show the reader who the interview is with and a quote from the article in different font and colour so that the reader is automatically drawn to it. 

The main image is of the band looking very focused holding there instruments which shows the reader that they are ready to play at any time, there is also a plain background just to keep the focus on the band, the colour scheme is really just dull, it might be because of the personality of the band or to just draw attention to the main image either way it works. 

 On the right the article features lots of a small print text which is layered into paragraphs the first main paragraph is to give you an insight on the band if you aren't aware of who they are or what type of music they play. and the other half is an interview with the band on an upcoming tour r album they have coming out, this gives the page some sort of structure which is needed for a double page spread.

To still go with NME's individualism they have random shapes scattered all around the page to show the reader that even though the page layout is pretty basic they still want to be a magazine that doesn't follow the grain of normal magazines, similar to Kerrang. 
I didn't like this format NME has for this double page spread they just made it seem very dull and boring and if I'm not interested in the page itself why should i be interested in the article?

Q DPS 

Finally this is the Q double page spread. Q always have a professional approach when it comes to everything they do, as you can see the layout is very easily interoperated and is set out in a very good way that is clear and informative. The page is split into two pages one side has an image of the artist who is in the article, on the second half there is small text and a big red J which they do in every major double page spread, the letter reflects the artist in this case it is J for Jay-Z.

Instead of having a quote from the article on the actual page with the article on Q have gone for a clean look by putting a quote from the article on the page with the main image. At the top of the page on the left there is a statement that says"the most exciting people in music", this shows the reader that this is something they should look at.

The colour scheme for the double page spread trys to keep to the colour scheme the same as the rest of Q the red and white. However on the page with the main image it is split as one side of Jay-Z's face has a red shade to it and the other has a white shade to it, this is to maybe incinuate that the article about him has a dark and light side to it. The image features Jay-Z looking serious this could reflect upon what might be involved in the article him telling something that he wouldnt normally say in an article. Him wearing sun glasses in the image could mean that he doesnt want people to see his eyes becuase of things he has been through and you can see emotion in someones eyes and he doesnt want to show any emotion, this keeps the reader interested in what the article is about.

The text on the right side of the page is very detailed and in depth unlike any other mainstream so to speak music magazine, the text is very informative and gives anyone who doesnt know who Jay-Z is an insight into his career. There is one quote from the article in the bottom right corner of the left page of the double page spread, it is in different font and is well placed that it doesnt take away the attention of the main image but it is also noticable.

This was my favourite double page spread to analyse it was informative and has a professional approach when it comes to its presentation and how they portray there information on music and artists.

Overall the Q double page spread was the best one in my opinion it has everything that you would want if your a real fan of music. The Kerrang double page spread cared far to much about the images rather than the content, and the NME one was just terrible.

Deconstruction of 3 Magazine Covers

                                        For my AS Media, i have evaluated and deconstructed 3 magazine covers which show the characteristics of a cover, what to expect and what some magazines do differently for there covers.

Deconstruction of 3 Contents Pages

NME Contents Page

This contents page is from NME. It is more like a newspaper more than anything else, the colours are your basic black and white, with fonts that are similar to a newspaper like The Times or another broadsheet newspaper. The header reads ‘INSIDE THIS WEEK’, the reason for it to be in capitals is to make the reader feel they are peering inside the week itself. NME is a magazine that thrives on being up-to-date and this is the sort of thing they try to project, also they like to be there own magazine unlike any other so they try do things differently, another example of this would be the date that is underneath the header.

Along the left and right of the page are images of the subjects of the articles from that issue, alongside these are quotes from the articles which give you an insight on what to expect in the article. The ones featured in NME draw the eye deliberately down the page and offer a clean look. In the middle is the front cover of the magazine, which is the ‘Radar’ issue. The idea that this is pointed out on the front page suggests it is imporant and noteworthy.

There is an advertisment for subscriptions in the bottom right corner. Instead of placing the advert somewhere inconspicuous, having it on the contents page means the reader cannot skip it, and is therefore more likely to subscribe, No other contents page besides from Kerrang does this which benefits both sides, NMEs individualism and the more people who subscribe to the magazine.

At the bottom of the contents page there is what looks to be like an ordinary bog standard contents page, this is NMEs way of cramming in more infomation to the page so that they cover the most important pages and the less important pages. The size of it also tells you that NME wants you to focus more on the images and less of the smaller text.

I like the NME contents page I have analysed. It is smart, tidy and simple to look at. However, I want my contents page to be more decorative and informative. It is easy to see the care these magazines put into their design.

  

Q Contents Page 

The Q contents page is completely different to the NME contents page in so many ways the first thing you notice is that Q have a basic white background layout with red text boxes which relate to there mastheads colour. There font is very basic, however the more important article information has bigger and different text than the rest on the page which draws the readers attention straight to it. Q like to take a very professional approach when it comes to the way they portray everything about there magazine from the way under there masthead says the words 'DISCOVER GREAT MUSIC' to the simple things like the layout of the magazine to the colour font and size of the text to little things like the issue number underneath the masthead in the red circle.

Down the left hand side of the page there is information about some of the articles in the issue with the more appealing articles in bigger text or colours.The statement '140 SONGS TO DOWNLOAD NOW!' makes the reader feel like they have been missing out on what is the latest top downloads and will make them want to turn to that page to see what they are missing, we all look left to right when analysing a magazine and its contents so you are automatically drawn to this. 

Q have done somthing different on how they portray images on the contents page,instead of adding an image and text besides it they have let the cover identify what is involved in the magazine and the contents page just has images of the people involved in the articles, with a big red box and the page number you can find the article on. This is a good idea as it gets accross there main stories and the reader might feel like they are in the loop so to speak as they should know who these people are and if they dont that will just make them more eager to get the next issue.

I have enjoyed analysing the Q contents page i prefer it to the NME contents page,Q have a reputation of having a profesional approach when it comes to there magazine and thats why there one of the most recognisable music magazines.

 

Kerrang Contents Page

The Kerrang contents page is different to any other contents page it tries to be one of a kind not like the NME contents page but tries to reflect the type of music they portray, sort of anti establishment like they dont need to follow the codes and convetentions of a contents page they go there own way. The Kerrang masthead that would normally be found at the top of the page is located in the middle of the page as it divides the page up into two sections. The colour scheme is mostly black as well as its imagery which reflects the genre of the magazine.

The contents page is full of information on the bottom of the page ther more important stories have a red circle with a black star inside it which is a good way to attract the reader to a certain article, the page ranges in different colours, another thing they have is sub headings for things such as Posters, Features and album reviews which is a good idea as it actually explains what your going to expect instead of just telling you that there is reviews in the magazine but which artists album is being reviewed.

Similar to the NME contents page they have a subscription for Kerrang in the bottom right hand corner of the contents page which normally would be skipped by the reader but becuase they have it on the contents page and a known artist is advertising it they might consider subscibing as they might be a fan of the artist.

On the top half of the contents page Kerrang has an image of Slash and the page number in which you can find an article or something related to Slash, this is similar to what Q do where they place an image on the contents page and place the page number on the image, this is very eye catching and a very good technique at drawing the readers attention to a specific article.

Instead of putting a quote from an article in the magazine the chief editor has a statement in the bottom left hand corner of the contents page, the editor promotes stories that are involved in the magazine and tells you which page you can find the stories on. Which goes back to Kerrangs anti establishment like attitude like they dont have to follow the original codes and conventions.

On the top half of the contents page next to the main image there is images of the main double page spreads which is only ever used in Kerrang, most magazines would tell you where to find the double page spreads but Kerrang shows an image of the double page spread and the page number where you can find it. This is good in ways for example someone will know what the page looks like if a certain artist they like is in the magazine and they cant find the page.

Out of the three magazine contents pages I looked at this was my least favourite as it didnt really have any specific lay out or professional approach when it comes to how they present themself, I prefer the Q contents page everything is better and easyily interpretated.

Preliminary Task College Magazine

 Preliminary College Magazine Task

 

For my preliminary task i had to create a magazine cover and contents page as a practice for when i do my actual magazine itself. I produced this on Photoshop using images i had taken around college. If i am to improve in my overall finished magazine a am to not make the same mistakes as i have made right here. The contents image are blurry and horrible to look at the placement of my friend Joe in this image isn't placed well on the page and your eyes don't know where to look. The contents page requires more of a less basic layout with the list of content going down the side, also the lack of a background on the contents page makes it hard to dictate what is the cover and what is the contents page, the main cover must always be different than the rest of the magazine. My font colours are also hard to see in places so make them more visible and maybe stick with one colour so that it doesn't look childish and gives it a more professional approach, the masthead needs to be a lot more eye catching as well as the masthead is usually how people identify with famous magazines by their masthead and logo. The big thing missing is that i have no barcode or essential info which is key for a magazine as without it how can the customer buy it or look at the price and date on it.

Preliminary Task Flat Plans

 This is a rough idea on what i will use as my main cover it follows the conventions of what an ordinary cover looks like, this is just a plan so i may change my mind and do something different. The overall choice of placement of the masthead and the main image is something you see in pretty much every kind of magazine today. I have chosen to leave out the essential info as that would be found on the back page to make it save room on the cover for more sell lines.
















This is my contents page plan it is pretty basic and quite generic but because this is just a practice task i don't really need to make it look amazing its just to get a feel of what to do and how to do it. The main focus with this is the main image and the list of contents available.