Diary Entry 7 - 21st March

This week I began to take my photos and create my magazine. Because I finished creating a template the week before, I spent this week editing my photos. Most of the editing was spent on the double page spread, where I cut them out and put them onto a white background, where I roughly cut them out again and placed pins around to make it look like I pinned them to the magazine, which has been used on a few of the style models I had been looking out. I overcame the problems of taking the pictures on a green screen when I had my models wearing white. However, I changed this by asking them to wear dark colours to match my style model. The week was intense and several changes had to be made, however, the deadline is on monday so I will spend the weekend to complete any outstanding work ready for the deadline on monday.

Diary Entry 6 - 14th March

After returning from the week in work experience, I began to plan the proper magazine on paper and use that template for how my magazine will look like onto the computer. I started out by creating a photo planning table on the computer, which helped me plan how, when, who and where I would take the pictures I would use. But I could not fill this out until I completed the drawings. I drew out my designs for the front page, contents page and the double page spread, but this took a lot of time as I tried different ideas from a variety of styles used from older issues of Kerrang! and occasionally asked people from my target audience if certain aspects I tested would appeal to them.  Once this was completed, I created the template of the contents, front page and double page spread, ready for the pictures I was to add in the next week.  Then, when the designs were completed, I moved onto the photo planning table, which helped me organise how I would take the pictures and when I would be able to do it. So by the end of this week, I managed to have everything on my magazine completed apart from the photos, article and the other mentioned artists I would include on my contents page. 

Inital Drawings

Diary Entry 5 - 28th February

This week was the last week we had been given to complete our audience research, as the deadline was Friday 4^th March. In order for me to complete this task on time and to my best ability, I completed the outstanding task I had, which was 2 of the 5 double page spread analysis that I did not finish in the holidays. Also, I had to scan in and add the initial ideas to the blog so I had a starting point for my magazine. I had to analyse my questionnaire as well that I got my target audience to fill out. This was specifically designed for me, so I will be able to understand what my target audience is looking for in a magazine that is what they are interested in reading. As well as filling out a questionnaire, I also randomly selected six people to participate in a focus group that allowed  them to be able to go into more detail into their answers. This would mean I had a clearer idea for what aspects they particularly enjoy in existing magazines and how I can incorporate them into my magazine. From this part of the coursework, I discovered a lot about my focus ground and what they prefer in a magazine, like they prefer bold colours as opposed to a simple black and white text theme. Another thing they preferred was having the price between £3-4, which surprised me because I was expecting a different (lower) amount to have been the most favourable. However, after the deadline and the week of work experience, I will begin to create my magazine rough cut based on the information I found out with my audience research. 

Questionnaire for the Target Audience

I asked 20 of my target audience 12 questions which would alow me to make decisions for the magazine that would ensure my target audience would be more likely to read what I have created. The questions and results are shown below:

1. Which existing magazine do you prefer?

• Kerrang!    \\\\\ \\\\
• Rock Sound \\
• Q  \
• NME  \\\
• Classic Rock  \\\
• Rolling Stone  \\

2. Why do you prefer this magazine?

Most people answered with ‘My Type Of Music’, some others answered saying ‘Gives Me New Music That Is Coming Out’ and ‘Simple Yet Effective Covers’

3. What makes you usually buy a magazine?
• Featured artist \\\\\ \\\\\ \\
• Mentioned articles \\\
• Interviews  \\
• Reviews
• Gig Guides  \\\

4. What colour do you prefer the magazine to be in?
• Bold Colours  \\\\\ \\\\\ \\\
• Pastel Colours
• Dark Colours  \\\\\
• Light Colours
• Black & White  \\

5. Who is currently your favourite band?

Kings Of Leon, 30 Seconds To Mars, All Time Low, Framing Hanley, You Me At Six, Machine Head, Slipknot, Bullet For My Valentine, We Are The Ocean, Boyce Avenue, Madina Lake, All American Rejects, Murderdolls, Three Days Grace, Octane OK, Panic! At The Disco, Fall Out Boy, Alter Bridge, Paramore, Deaf Havana.

6. Do you prefer the image to be close-up or include the bodies?
• Close Up  \\\\\ \\\\
• Bodies \\\\\ \\\\\ \

7. Do you prefer when magazines offer extras? (free posters etc.)
• Yes, posters \\\\\ \\\\\ \\\\\
• No; I get it for the articles \\\\\

8. What is the highest price you would pay for a magazine?
• Up to £1 
• £1 - £2 \\
• £2 - £3 \\\\\
• £3 - £4 \\\\\ \\\\\
• £4 +  \\\

9. Do you prefer the magazine to stay to a certain genre or include a few more?
• Same \\\\\ \\\
• Include a few \\\\\ \\\\\ \\

10. Do you prefer your contents to be image dominated or contain more texts?
• Image \\\\\
• Text \\\\\ \\
• Equal \\\\\ \\\

11. Do you prefer your double page to be:
• Equal with text and images \\\\\ \
• More images than text \\\\\ \\\\\
• More text than images \\\\

12. Do you like lyrics when referring to a band?
• Yes \\\\\ \\\\\ \\\\\
• No \\\\\

After I collected these results, I made some conclusive decisions on how I would have my magazine. It needed to be in a price range between £3 - £4 (typically, the value would be £3.50), and including offers such as free posters would also grab their attention. The front cover will need to be in bold colours and include one of the bands suggested by my target audience to grab their attention. The contents page should be equal, which made me choose the 'Blocky' style, because it would be able to contain both images and text in an equal way. For the double page spread, the target audience seem to prefer more image/images than the text, and would prefer to have lyrics when referring to a band (usually in a caption or incorporate it into the title of the article) to appeal to the fans more. They don't mind a few genres mixed together in the magazine, so I chose to think about having pop-punk to metal mixed together because of the chosen bands and what sub-genres they fit into. When it comes to the images, most people prefer images that consisted of their body, rather than just a close up. However, I decided to incorperate both aspects, just dominated with full body images where possible.

Focus Group of Target Audience

As well as doing a questionnaire, I also videoed a focus group where I asked five random participants from my target audience and asked them a few questions. Then, they gave their answer and adding more description and advice I could use when creating the magazine which is aimed for them. Below is the video that was made:

From this, I found out what my target audience was looking for. Having similar products that are already out on the market to show them was a good starting point, so I could see which of the covers I laid out caught their attention. This means I could see which aspects they liked about it and what they didn't. There was a variety of answers given, but I managed to get some similar answers for some of the important features, for example, the front cover and which layout shown was most commonly chosen as one they liked and the reasons behind it. Doing this on top of having a questionnaire done allows me to have more in depth answers that you would not get with simply just using questionnaires. Using both parts, this will allow me to have a 'pen portrait' in my mind of what my typical target audience will look like and what they would be interested in reading about and/or who they would prefer on the front cover. 

Initial Ideas

Before we came up with a final decision for our music magazine, we created an A3 mind map where we could put a few suggestions for each part, like front covers, colour scheme etc.

Double Page Spreads Analysis

This is a double page spread for All American Rejects

The image uses bold colours on the lead singer, which makes him stand out against the other band members which are in weaker colours that don't stand out as much. Out of the big image, he is the centre of it, which makes the colours he wears stand out even more. There are 4 inset images surrounding the bigger image, all in black and white. This fits in with the theme of using block colours with a pale background. The colours on the outfit are used on some of the text and the stripe found on the top of the two pages. Also, the red is found around the border of the inset pictures. The text has a consistent style in the three columns, the main difference is the colours used and making the questions asked in bold. Using pink, white and red for the text compliment each other and make some parts stand out more than others. For example, using the red for the artists names makes them stand out so you know which person said what. The interview itself is kept with the same size font, but the name of the band above the first column is bigger and so is the quote, the title and the introduction to the article itself. The title uses two types of sans-serif fonts, each very different. No drop capitals are used in this, but it is usually common with rock magazine articles. The text is laid out in three very distinct columns, separated by different questions and the answers below them. The heading takes up a lot of space in the top third of the left page, making it stand out. The image dominates the spread because everything is arranged around it. It forces the last column onto another page on its own, separating it from the rest of the article. This also makes it less conventional, yet more interesting when even simply glancing past it. The main photoshop effect is using layers in a way that fits everything on the page without making it look cramped and having it layer on top of each other. This would be done by controlling the layers and organising them. My opinion is that it is a very interesting style of double page spread, but I prefer something a little more eye-catching. It is clear this is for fans of this band who would want to get more information on them. The article is styled in a Q&A session, including a posed picture and some less posed inset pictures.  

This is a double page spread featuring My Chemical Romance. The images all follow the same colour theme of being an off-black colour and white, using light on the bigger image to highlight certain parts of the lead singer more. The three images along the bottom are all the same size, containing the captions and the rest of the band which aren't included in the bigger picture. Having the image in a off-black colour scheme means it makes them stand out more against the black background but also keeps the theme of having dark colours with bold font colours going. The colours compliment any other colour used on the page. The text used is consistent, using the same font through the article itself, but having a different font for the title to make it stand out. Using a big drop capital at the start of the article shows you where to begin and it catches your attention. The fonts used are sans-serifs because they are softer. But the title uses serif because it is harsher and less rounded. The text is laid out in an organised way. The main article itself is placed into two small columns, broken up by paragraphs. A strip of white along the right edge of the spread makes the 'low-down' stand out from the article separately. There is barely any text on the left page apart from the titles. There is also a little introduction to the article before you read it, giving you more of an idea of what the article is about. The layout is set so the main article is in the centre of the right side page, looking like it is boxed in the page. It is very organised and some of the text is on a slant. This would have been in created in Photoshop by using free transform to move the text onto an angle. The columns are either broken up by paragraphs ending or using sub-titles to introduce you to the next paragraph. My opinion of this is its very nicely set out, however, there is too little text on this and it doesn't have some of the codes and conventions found with this genre of magazine. It is clear this is made for fans of My Chemical Romance and want to know their plans of the future. It has a style of displaying new news for this certain band.

This is an article featuring All Time Low. The images are all from the same photo shoot, using a variety of angles when taking different pictures. The main image is a wide shot, getting the whole band in easily with some of the background included. This is meant to be in a more natural setting. The other five pictures have one or two of the band members. The most common shot used is a close up, but there is also two shots and a canted angle shot. The small images are set up on the page along the top edge and along the right hand side. The main image does not cross the half way line, making this look neat and tidy. There is no colour scheme used. The font style is kept the same all the way through the article, apart from the larger pieces of text. The text looks different for the questions and answers because the questions are in bold and are highlighted in yellow to make them stand out. This is the same for the quote from the article which is in a bigger font size also. The answers are separated by having the band members name in bold before their answers. To make the text on the left hand side stand out, they have a black background, so they don't blend in with the image. Using two different size texts for the title makes the bigger part stand out, as if you didn't see the other surrounding bits, it can be taken out of contexts. A drop capital is used at the beginning of the article to show where it begins. This is a common convention found with double page spreads. Only one text colour is used on the right hand side of the page, but is made to stand out with different effects. Two different colours are used on the left hand side page, following the colour scheme that has been used for this article.

The layout has the main image and the article itself very separate, not having them cross over. The three separate columns are broken up by the questions and the answers are separated by each individual answer.

My opinion of this is its very conventional and I like this kind of layout, it is even, has a lot of images and the article itself makes you laugh. It is clear this is for fans of the band who want to know more of an insight into the band. It is set in the style of question and answer interview.

This is an article featuring the Murderdolls. This article only uses one image, but has the whole layout revolving around the colour scheme. The picture has very little colour in it, matching the background. Yet the lack of colour draws out the features on their face highlighted by shadows and make-up. The image is set up on the page so it goes over the double page line, but is not at the foreground of this article. Having a red border around the image makes it stand out against the similar colour background. The text is at the foreground of this article, as opposed to it usually being behind images of having the text arranged around it. Having a red background behind the text makes it stand out of the page more. Having the text in white means that it will stand out against any of the other colours on the page. There is one consistent font style used in the article itself, only changing with the title, the caption in the middle of the article and the introduction above it. The title isn't fully white, making it look all rough. The introduction is done in a font which is meant to look like handwriting, There are no drop capitals used. The way that the article is separated is by using paragraphs, some starting with the first few letters in bold. The caption is the only text done in black, with a white background, this makes it stand out of the article itself. The layout is not a very common one used, because of the fact the image doesn't dominate the layout. The two columns are clearly set out, making it easier to read. It is uncluttered and very simple, making the image used stand out well. Layers and the opacity tools would have been used to create these different effects and also the artist brush to get the borders that are behind the band's heads. My opinion of this is I think it is too simple, and my target audience prefer busy information filled articles compared to the easy ones. If I was to change this, I would have added more information and maybe included some action shots of the band in action.  

This is a double page spread featuring The Vaccines

This double page spread only contains one image, but it takes up most of the page and crosses the middle line. The picture keeps a theme of a dull effect, having the colour not as bright, washing them out slightly. This gives more of an olden time effect. This gives the random blocks of blue shape scattered on the page the ability to stand out and clash against the colour scheme. However, the block shapes match the colour of the drop capitals and the caption also.

The font style is only two different types, one that is used for the title, caption and drop capitals and the other font style is used for article itself. It has a logo found in the top right hand corner of the page, using the two colours that are used by the text only. The font is used in a sans-serif, very common in double page spreads. The text is laid out into two separate columns, about the same length, separated by paragraphs and the caption on the second column. There is two distinct separate parts of the article, each beginning with a drop capital. The layout is cleverly set out so the page is more image dominated, but still has enough space to have the article not squished against the edge of the page. The title is clear and catches the attention of people glancing through the magazine. My opinion of this is it is too simple, there is not a lot you can write about it because it only uses a few codes and conventions found with rock magazine double page spreads. It is clear this is more fans of this band. It has a certain style for people who want to know the bands plans for the future. If I was to improve it, I would add more codes and conventions and make it look more eye-catching and interesting.