EVALUATION!

1. in what ways does you media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
My magazine follows the codes and conventions of indie rock magazines as I completed a large amount of research to do with different aspects of magazines. My style models for my magazine are Kerrang and Clash, I chose these after I had analysed my other magazines and I decided that the layouts and formats were best for my genre of magazine.

After researching I designed my own magazine and I included the research I had found and followed the layout, I decided I would go for a simplistic front cover with not too much text and images. I would have one main image for my front cover, as this follows the presentational conventions of Clash magazine. Then I decided that the colour scheme for my magazine would also be based around Clash, I chose a black and white image as this is the convention Clash follows, I then had to decide which colour I would like some of my text to be as Clash does this for their text, Clash used yellow, this has connotations of cheerful and happy emotions, this was not what my magazine was based around, I decided to use red as my colour, this brought connotations of danger and blood into the magazine and this represented my genre perfectly as the white that was also used showed a angelic but dangerous side to my demographic.

A typical convention of an indie magazine is to have a mid/long shot on the contents page, I used this to my advantage and also used a mid/long shot, and the attitude of the subject was reflected in the expressions and mise en scene. I made my subject look down towards the floor to show the ‘I don’t care’ expression, he also didn’t have a facial expression; it was blank so that it showed the attitude of the target audience. I also used the checky shirt to match my colour scheme.
I had used a recurring backwards R, this gave my magazine a running theme to show that I had thought about the used of a presentational value that my magazines used, for example in Kerrang they used the title of the magazine on each of the pages, I decided this would be following conventions too much so I used the backwards R in all of my titles.

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
My media product is aimed mainly towards older teenagers, I think it would be better suited towards this age group as it holds some explicit content, e.g. some swearing and indecent images may be used. Where as if I used younger teenagers parental control might need to be included with the magazine or parents may not be happy with their children viewing the images or text.
My magazine is indie rock genre, this could be aimed at any ethnic group, this has not secluded any ethnic groups, and it is more generally cultural based. This is so that I don’t exclude and minority from reading my magazine, if I did so it would mean my demographic was reduced and I don’t want that in my magazine.

My main sexuality it anyone from any sexual background, this is so that I can broaden my demographic instead of excluding anyone from my demographic, also the class and status is mainly just working class, this is because with my magazine being indie rock it is aimed at college and university goers, meaning that they would be more working class based instead of upper class. The vocabulary used is not of a high standard as I would like to make it easy for all of my demographic to read instead of using challenging vocabulary that not all of my readers may not understand, this means that I can still keep a wide variety of people for my demographic. My magazine is more male based, but also aimed at girls too; this is because most of my models within my magazine are male and only one female model. This is because by using the rock genre it shows male characters as being messy characters with plenty of attitude whereas females aren’t really portrayed within this genre of magazine.

3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
My media product would be advertised over a range of methods, I would firstly have my magazine distributed by Seymour, this is the same as Kerrang, this would be a good idea as my magazine was based around Kerrang, also by using Seymour they would have a good idea of how to distribute a indie rock magazine, for example which shops sell out of rock magazine and which area rock magazines are popular it, by doing this it means I can reach my demographic well and get my media product on the market. Also I would use television adverts to get my subscription across to the public giving them the first issue free as a taster, this would mean that my magazine would be read and seen, then by word of mouth my magazine would get more and more recognised in the area that they are distributed too.
Initially I would distribute my magazine nationally, this would get my product onto the market, as if I distributed it internationally it may cost a lot more and may not be as popular in other countries, but by distributing it nationally I can see if my magazine is popular and if so I would then progress to distribute internationally.

4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
My ideal demographic would be older teenagers, this is because of the content within the magazine that adults may find either rude or inappropriate for their children to read, by making it for older teenagers it means that I can use challenging terminology but not too challenging, where as for younger teenagers or children I would have to use simplistic words. Sexuality within my magazine does not matter, I don’t want my magazine to reject people because of their sexuality and would like my entire demographic to be accepted. Gender also doesn’t matter, rock is more orientated around males but also can be for females as the models used aren’t all male, also there is no content females would find inappropriate or offensive within my magazine so all genders are accepted. My magazine is more for working class social classes, this is because upper class would expect my magazine to have challenging words and large amount of text, whereas my magazine has a lot of images within it which upper class society might not feel is appropriate. Also with it being a rock magazine wouldn’t expect people from higher classes to listen to rock music as it has offensive lyrics that they may find offensive.

5. How did you attract your audience?
To attract my audience to my magazine I used a lot of feedback and got the demographic involved with the making of my magazine. I started off by asking a questionnaire of what they would like to be a feature within my magazine and what genre they preferred, by doing this it meant that I could see clearly what my demographic wanted from me. Next I created a rough cut and asked by audience to give me feedback on what they would like me to do differently and what they really liked, this gave me a good impression into what I could do for my final cut to really get my demographic interested into my magazine.
The language I have used all the way through has been formal and informal; I have used a mixture to show the demographic within the magazine, this is helpful as it gives the reader a sense of security. If my magazine was too formal it may put off some of my demographic as they may think it is not for them, but by using both it sows diversity across my magazine. Throughout my magazine I have made sure that I have linked in stories that sound interesting and images that are eye catching and different.

6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
I used within my magazine a range of shots, I used close-ups for my front cover shots and long shots for my contents page, by using a range of images it gave my magazine diversity and a large range to look at to keep my demographic interested.
I used natural light for all my images as they were all take outside, I did not need artificial light to make the images brighter as this was enough. I didn’t need to use any element of Photoshop to lighten my image, this was good as my images didn’t look faded and washed out.
I have learnt a lot about Photoshop as I learnt all the methods to transform my images to how I wanted them, this will be very helpful in other aspects of my school work as it has given me a detail4ed insight into how Photoshop works.
Creating a blog was a very good way to present my work as I could also add images too it as well as text, but sometime the layout wasn’t as I had expected and then it looked untidy and messy.

7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
When I completed my preliminary task I didn’t realise the amount of time it would take to complete, this meant that I wasn’t prepared for all of the work,. So when I came to completing my final draft I made sure that I timed it well and didn’t run over on time and forget to add things in.
Also I learnt how to make new layers on Photoshop and I didn’t realise that was all I had to learn but this wasn’t correct I wasn’t expecting to learn about Photoshop but I got lessons to help with that.

Final Cuts.

Diary entry, 2nd April 2010.

Over the last week I have completed my rough cuts of my magazine, I have changed the format of them and placed them onto my blog, this is to show where i went wrong and where I can change, this is helpful for my final design as I have specific areas where I can change.
I also got feedback on all of the pages, this helped as I let my target audience decide what they would like to see within a magazine instead of excluding them from the process.

Rough cut good points.

Front cover:
-Good front cover.
-Good layout and ripped look.
-Good title, backwards R and colouring.

Contents page:
-Good layout and continuous use of backwards R and colouring red.
-Very good contents page, large variety, good image.
-Image matches colour scheme.

Double page spread:
-Interview is interesting.
-Good images and photoshopping.
-Love the rounded edge.
-Very proffessional.
-Like the way the images have been cut.

Rough cut changes

Front cover:
-'The Originals' put on top of text.
-More colour.
-More information.
-Edgy effect on images.
-Hair looks photoshopped.

Contents page:
-Blury image- take new photo in the same style.
-Change lighting on image.
-Numbers look stretched.
-Effect added to images.

Double page spread:
-Image smaller.
-brighter image.
-More gap for quotes.
-Change one image. Censor it.
-Change title of band to real one.

Rough cuts.

Front cover.

Contents page

Double page spread.

Diary entry, 20th March 2010

Over the past week I have completed my phot planning table to show that I have put a lot of thought into where I am going to locate my images and how the subjects will be positioned as well as dressed.
The table helped when I came to taking the images as I could place my subjects in the correct places so that I could get the best effect and design from my work.

Photo Planning.

This is my photo planning sheet to show that I have planned my images carefully.

Original Images.

Diary entry, 4th March 2010

Over the last week I have completed initial ideas diagram and sketches of my front cover, contents page a double page spread.
I completed the initial ideas diagram so that when I came to designing my pages I had an idea of what I wanted to be on my pages, this helped me so that I wasn’t rushed into making my magazine and planned out carefully what I wanted. I scanned my initial designs onto the computer and uploaded them onto my blog.

Then I completed my sketches, I did this to show that I had thought about my ideas carefully and had planned out what I wanted to do within my magazine. This also shows that I have drafted my magazine before completing it, if I went straight into completing my magazine there would be more chance of it going wrong than if I had already planned it out, also this helped when designing it for my first draft as I could refer to the sketches instead of going off what I thought in my head. After completing my sketches I then showed them to my target audience to get the opinions off my demographic, by doing this I could find out what my audience wanted and if what I had designed matched up to that. I got feedback from my demographic and then changed my sketches around that to make my magazine as close to what the demographic as I could. This helped a great deal as I could the design a magazine that will interest my demographic.

DPS sketches and comments.

After I had completed my DPS sketches I asked my target audience to have a loog and change things they didn't like.

Comment 1- Drop letter, good idea.
Comment 2- Layout on the page looks good.
Comment 3- You need some room for quotes.
Comment 4- I like the 3 column style.
Comment 5- More images.

Contents page sketches and comments

After I had completed my contents page I asked my target audience to look at it and see what they think would be best to change and keep the same.

Comment 1- More images should be used to fill the extra space.

Comment 2- The image is a good size and well designed.

Comment 3- Maybe more features in the magazine.

Comment 4- The image isn't in the features column.

Comment 5- I like the blocky format on the page.

Front cover sketch and comments.

After I had completed my front cover sketch I then asked my target audience hwat they though of my work, this is so that when I come to produce my magzine on computer I would know what to change to make it look better for my target audience.

Comment 1- The empty rugged boxes should have text in to show the band and what is to come.

Comment 2- I really like the image and the way the subject is looking, gives attitude to the image.

Comment 3- There needs to be more red colour.

Comment 4- More text as there is a lot of white empty space.

Comment 5- Maybe more images would be a good idea instead of only one main image.

Initial ideas diagram.

I completed this diagram so that I could make sure that I had the correct genre and to show that I had planned out my work carefully to make sure I could get it correct for my demographic.

Diary entry, 26th February 2010

I have completed my audience research and have uploaded onto my blog over the past week, I did this so that I knew exactly what my target audience wanted from my work.
this was helpful as it meant that I could ask my target audience and then base the rest of my magazine around this.

Questionnaire.

This is the questionnaire I used to carry out my audience research. I chose my questions carefully as I didn’t want to make my questions biased towards any genre of music. If I was biased towards a specific genre of music my results would be unreliable and I wouldn’t be able to use them in my research.I will present my results in a pie chart or a form of table to make them look professional and planned.

Questionnaire results.

I made these results as I needed to know if it varied in which magazine and genre was preferred depending on the gender of the participant. Also this found that more male participants took part in my survey than female, this may be classed as a biased sample, although I wanted to survey more male as that’s who my magazine is mainly aimed at

Questionnaire results.

I researched which age group my participants were in to make sure that I picked the correct age range to aim my magazine at, if I did not do so I may aim my product at an older age range which may not be interested in the articles that I had designed, also I may design a magazine with the wrong features for an older audience than my actual demographic.

Questionnaire results.

The preferred genre was the best question I could ask as it shows what my target audience listen too, this can be different to the type of magazine they think would be best to base my magazine around as they may listen to Rap and think that the market needs a Metal magazine instead of another Rap magazine.

Questionnaire results.

By asking where the audience prefers to listen to music I can promote my magazine around that, for example I chose exercising as a choice within the options, this is because when people are exercising they cant have fast upbeat music to listen to helping me to choose my specific band to pick, this helped me make a more dynamic focus group.

Questionnaire results.

Following on from their preferred genre of music is which magazine they prefer, this doesn’t have to match their taste in music as they may find the reviews in other magazines better than one of their own specific music choice. Also by finding out the most popular magazine it can help me to build a style model to base my own magazine around.

Questionnaire results.

By finding out if the audience visit live gigs and events helps me to decide whether it would be a good feature to add into my magazine about reviews of gigs and ratings, also this could be made into the feature for my double page spread instead of a review about a band.

Questionnaire results.

This helps with the initial idea of putting live gig updates along the bottom of the pages to interest readers that are looking for live events to go to. By doing this it broadens my target audience as people from outside of my demographic will look to see the updates that the magazine offers.

Questionnaire results.

By giving the reader the opportunity to choose which type of article they would like to be included in the magazine gives me the chance to plan out my contents page as I am going to split the page up into running features and different interesting features that may have not been in another issue, by doing this it gives the image that my magazine wont always include the same information it will have new interesting things that will interest the audience. For example a running feature will be that I will carry out reviews on bands and a new feature would be that I would have a music quiz within the chosen genre.

Focus group and audience research.

This is an image of my target audience, by taking an image of this I have an image to base my target audience around. Mark is a 17 year old student studying music at A level, he listens to rock music and also plays it, this is a perfect example of what my demographic will be.

Diary entry, 25th february 2010.

Over the past week I have carried out research on my style models front covers contents pages and double page spreads. I did this so that I can see how my style model does theirs to give me inspiration of how I should do my own. By researching my style models it means that I can see what existing products sell and what don’t, what features each of my style model uses and why this is so important for me to try and input into my own magazine.

Also I began my audience research, this is so that I can find out what my demographic want within my magazine, this means that my magazine will be more popular with the demographic and more people will want to purchase it as they have given their specific ideas. Question for example, ‘What artists would you most like to read about within a magazine?’ this is so that when I come to design my magazine I will be able to include bands like this.
I recorded my information using video interviews and questionnaires. I also added images of my focus groups to show an exact image of what my focus group should look like, making sure I picked the correct age group and a mainly more male biased gender.

Double page spread 1.

This double page spread is a very good house style of what I would like my page to look like. I like the use of all this images on the page and I would like to do this within my page showing different angles of the band. But taking the other magazines into account and making the images faded, but not the main image within my page.

The only problem with this style is that there is only one column of text; I would like to have more text on my page as this would make my page look better and not be as image orientated. Also the text will only have the two colours whereas this follows the features of the magazine and uses three. Also I would like my text to overlap the text on the page instead of being broken up with a gap in between the image and the text.

This page has used a messy look, and I like this. The images look like they have been ripped and torn, also all of the other images are layered on top and tilted to give a more chaotic and crazy nature which is a good reflection of the demographic. When I come to design my own magazine I will be sure that I put this is that I want to have my image ripped and torn so that they look messy and old instead of crisp and clean, which does not reflect the audience.

Double page spread 2.

This page is image based and contrasts with the codes and conventions of the rule of thirds; only one column of text is used to cover the part of the page which is not covered by the image. This is a bad use of text and ii don’t plan to use this within my magazine as it makes it look unprepared and lacking in information for the audience to read.

This is also a highly image based double page spread. The image is in black and white, by doing this it give the image a better effect of the dark and light side of the audience and characters within the magazine. I plan to use a similar style of image to make my page black and white and keep a plain house style on my page. Also the location of the image is one which I wish to take from this to maybe find a location similar for my double page spread as I like the effect this has.

The font used for the title ‘Slave’ this is a very edgy use of text as it has very sharp turns and a hard look to it. This may reflect the sharpness of the audience instead of being uneducated and thick like some of the younger generation. This gives them a better representation and I like this about the text, I may use this in a different style for my own magazine.

Double page spread 3.

The double page spread is heavily image based; this is a good idea as the images all link together. By doing this it makes the page look organised and prepared. The large main image is used as the background and instead of being cut to fit in the other images it has been layered so that the main background image can stick out the side and the additional layers can be made slightly transparent so that the background image can be seen through the boxes of text. Also the images reflect my target audience as they have the rough chaotic look about them; this reflects the personality of the reader as they look up towards the characters in particular bands as role models.

The colour scheme on the page is red white and black, this shows contrasts between the audience and bands. The red may reflect danger within the audience and there dangerous nature, this also may have connotations of death that can be reflected within the music. The black that is used is a good colour to use to show the dark side of the audience and the band, this shows they have a hidden side that they do not show off or just have a dark nature. And finally the white contrasts with the black and may show the good angelic side of them, this is a good contrast to show that they audience and band are not all bad within the music and mise en scene.

There are two columns of text together and 2 columns that are separate to the text, this is not a usual format within magazines as they are not eye pleasing and using the rule of thirds. But without using the rule of thirds this has made a good layout with tilting a box of text to make the page look messy and chaotic to reflect the personality of the readers.

Double page spread 4.

The colour scheme on this page has stuck to the original codes and conventions of magazines, only 3 colours are used as this makes the page look neat as the colours don’t contrast and make it hard to read, by using light yellow black and white they are all simple colours and are not too bright to put people off reading the articles. When I design my magazine I will make sure that I pick a good range of colours so that it is as eye pleasing for the audience as possible. Even though the usual codes and conventions used are to use three colours, I may use two in my own magazine.

The page is split up by half text half image with the image overlapping to the text side. This makes the page look good as there is not too much text over the page too put some readers off reading and although the rule of thirds is not used to make the page more eye pleasing the two columns make the page look very professional. Also within the image there is also text, this helps to promote the band with quotes from other people instead of the band to make sure that the band has the right level of praise instead of being pushed aside. I plan to use the rule of thirds within my magazine but I also plan to overlap my centre line to make my double page spread more image based instead of text. I will also have text on the image in small transparent shapes this is so that the image doesn’t cover too much of my page leaving out the text.

The page is very well presented as it looks as if it is faded, this may show the band as being older and washed out but by using the yellow it breaks through the old look at is coming back into the music world. I like this idea and I may use this in my magazine but with the representation of the band breaking through the norm and moving up in the music society.

Double page spread 5.

The style and colour scheme of this page is black and white, this is what i would like to follow but putting in some colour images and random pieces of information in a different colour such as red to reflect danger within my magazine and the personalities of the audience.

This is a good page as the use of rule of thirds is used to make the page eye pleasing for the reader, this is also good as it doesn’t cover the entire page and is not too much for the audience to read so it doesn’t put them off. Also it is broken up into paragraphs instead of being a big block of text that also outs people off reading text. This is a good feature and I will incorporate this within my magazine.

Contents page 1.

Clash magazine has a totally different layout on the contents page; instead of only highlighting the main features within the magazine it has different topics on the page. It has the highlighted features in one box to show the audience the now interesting articles and it also have a column for the regulars that feature within the magazine, this is a clever idea as the audience can be sure that the features they like are still there. Even though this is a good idea I don’t think I will be using this within my own magazine.

Although I will use the layout of using columns. The columns of features is down the left hand side and in the middle and right hand side is covered by images of the main features, I don’t like the look of this as it makes the page looks crowded and messy. I don’t like the look of this as I would like to have a simple layout on my page.

Although I don’t like the layout of the picture I do like the use of colour scheme as only 3 colours are used. This is sticking to the codes and conventions, even though I like this I would like to only stick to 2 colours which I feel is more effective to a magazine.

Contents page 2.

Rock sounds contents page is heavily image based, by having a the main picture being of ‘Ville Valo’, this shows that there is going to be a lot more information throughout the magazine about him and that he is of major importance as he was used on the front cover of the magazine also. This is something I won’t do within my own magazine, I think it makes the text hard to read and understand ad that it may put some of the readers off having a magazine based around him, as not everyone will like him within the demographic, but this may grab the attention of others that don’t necessarily read the magazine as they like and want to know more information about ‘Ville Valo’

This contents page also only has the main features within the magazine, this make the reader look through the best features and then have to go back to look for others that may interest them, this is a good idea as it doesn’t give too much away and still leaves it to the reader to find out the rest. This may put some people off reading it as they may not like the articles that are included in the main features.

There is a quote on the contents page that is by ‘Ville Valo’ this is linked to the other articles throughout the magazine and is an insight into what may be in the articles. With the quote being on the contents page it means that the consumer has to buy the magazine to the find out what is inside. Even though this is a good idea my front cover and contents page aren’t linked together by images and articles.

There isn’t much text on the page which makes it simpler, this contrasts with the complicated main image that the page is based around, this is what I would like to carry out on my own magazine with as little text as possible to keep my page simple.

Contents page 3.

This contents page hasn’t used other images of people; it uses an image of a grenade. This is a good image to use as it shows the destructive nature of the demographic and the personality’s of them.

A plain colour scheme is used on this page that matches the grenade this is very effective as it all matches, by having a plain background on the contents page it makes the image stand out and the text on the page clear and easy to read. I would like to have a plain background on my contents page as it make it more effective, although I would like to have more images as I think page looks very plain but yet still effective and I will take this into mind when I start to design.

The logos that are clear sponsors of the magazine and are in colour which makes them stand out a lot more clearly, if I have sponsors for my magazine I think this would be a good way to advertise across my magazine as they are easily seen on the page.

This page has all of the pages in the magazine, unlike the other magazines which just have the main pages on the contents. This helps the audience get around the magazine and pick the specific page easily. I don’t think I will use this idea in my own magazine as I would like my audience to have surprises throughout my magazine instead of knowing what was coming up.

Contets page 4.

This is another use of more images on a contents page; this is set out on the left hand side of the screen that covers most of the page. This is more image based and gives an insight to the articles for the reader. The images have the page numbers on them so that the reader can go straight to the right page instead of having to look through the whole magazine to look for the article.

Also on this contents page only a few of the pages are on the contents page that are only the pages that are mainly important within the magazine, as if they had to name all of the pages the reader may not be interested and just flick past, by putting the important ones on the reader can go to the main articles within the magazine and then look back through the magazine. Also by doing this it means that the audience’s attention can be diverted all over the magazine instead of just a few places.

The colour scheme on the page is using 3 colours, red black and yellow. By doing this it meant that it was simple and stuck to the features that other magazines used, this means that the magazine is stuck to the codes and conventions to be safe, this suggests that the magazine is new and is still trying to fit in with all of the other magazines in the media. I am also going to do this within my magazine as mine is also a new magazine and I would like to get as much of a sale as I can.

Contents page 5.

The range of images on the contents page suggests that the magazine is trying to cover a wide range of demographics. This shows the magazine as being very diverse as they are trying to reach a large demographic across the magazine. Also the images that are on the page are linked to the writing, this is so that the audience can see what the articles are going to include, the writing also gives the reader a insight into the articles with a small introduction to them, this is only linked to the articles that have images on the contents page. This is a very good idea and I would like to add this into my own contents page, it gives my magazine a more unique edge.

The images on the page are very clearly placed on the contents page, this contrasts with the messy chaotic nature of the demographic, this is a good contradiction as the people in the images have this sort of personality demonstrated with the mise en scene especially costume and hair and makeup.This is done by using a casual costume that the demographic would also be wearing as sort of a fashion trend. The demographic looks up towards the characters within the bands to follow what they are doing; they are role models within the magazine. This is also a good idea and I would like this to be en forced into my magazine by making the page look neat and tidy which will contrast with the rest of my magazine.

All of the images are in colour and by doing with is means that the text can have a simple look instead of bright and by using the colour scheme of black and red it keeps it simple but also shows connotations of danger, like the personality of the demographic. I would like to use this sort of idea in my own magazine but I may just stick to using one colour. If I have colour images I will use a black font colour.

Clash front cover 1.

The target audience for this music magazine would be 16+, it has a broad range of demographics as it targets the audience through the range of bands and artists that it includes, this is a good technique as it means they can get their magazine out into society regardless of age.

The colour scheme on this cover is very effective, and has a major contrast. By having the main picture and most of the text in black and white with the contrast of the yellow text is very effective, it catches and drags the reader’s attention to the yellow highlighted text, this also suggests that the text is important an d is the main part to look at as if it is the most important text or image on the page. The large black and white image suggests that with his rough look and the smile on his face that he has a contrasted personality, from the shadowing on his face is the dark side of his personality that he has not shown to many and the light is his good side. This is a very effective method and I will plan to use this in my own magazine by using artificial lighting to get the shadowing on the face correct, also I will use the black and white image and mainly all the text the same but highlight some as I really like the use of this and think it is very effective.

The large image used on the front cover is of Pete Doherty, this is a good image to use as he is a well known celebrity, his name is on the cover to show any people that don’t know who he is, his name is outlined in black and has a faint scribble pattern through it, this is to suggest the attitude of him, that he is chaotic and grubby.I would instead of doing this on relating articles and names I would do this on my title, maybe with pages that looked like they have been ripped from a magazine, almost like a ransom note. This would be effective as it shows the attitude of the readers and the diversity within my magazine.

The title ‘Clash’ suggests that the magazine is a lot of music mixed into one; this shows the attitude of the target audience in the title, also by having an S backwards to for an A this shows that the target audience is complicated and mixed up. Also this shows a view of symmetry within the text, contrasting with the first idea that they would be mixed up, maybe the target audience would be easy to read and simplified than first impressions.I would like to do something similar on the front cover of my magazine, once I have chosen a relevant title for my magazine I can transform the title into some unique and recognizable, meaning my target audience would notice it straight away. The text on the front page gives the reader an insight into what may be happening through the rest of the magazine for example on this specific magazine it has a large image of Pete Doherty, relating to the fact that there will be a lot more about his within the magazine, by doing this the reader can become interested in the articles and want to read more. This is also a chance to promote some of the freebies inside, for example in this magazine a free download card is awarded to readers, this make the reader more interested as they get a treat when they buy the magazine.In my magazine I will offer a free CD to any reader when purchased related to one of the bands within the magazine, this will mean the reader enticed by the CD and if it is a band they like they will also read the articles about them. This will be a weekly feature for my magazine and this will also help promote the artists.

The large central image on this magazine is mainly of a face, this is so that the reader can see what is coming up within the magazine, also by using a large image of the person must mean that they are very influential in the magazine and that it is going to have a lot about the certain person. By doing this it sometimes can single out readers, take Pete Doherty for example, i the reader does not like Pete Doherty then there is a high possibility that they won’t want to but the magazine due to this, by each magazine may have this problem throughout the making of the magazines. My own magazine may be following the format of using a large facial image for my title, however I may use other images such as a long shot of a band.

Clash front cover 2.

This is a complete contrast from the first of the layout, instead of a central image of a face it is a mid shot 2 shot, this is to show part of a band, I researched this magazine cover as I would like my magazine cover to be revolved around one more like this. I would like my models to be a long shot in the image though, and I would have to decide whether I would like to have my image in colour of in black and white as they are both as effective as each other.

This front cover is in colour and has a range of colours; overall there is more of blues and whites in this image. Even though it is in black and white it is still sticking to the idea of having some of the text highlighted, “Daft Punk” is colour in colours from the spectrum like a rainbow, this is effective as the colours are located in one place instead of all over the page to make it look messy and unprofessional. This is a good idea as it adds colour to the magazine in its own unique way. I would like to add this on my front cover but I would add this as the only colour and keep the rest as black and white.

There is not much text on this front cover, it advertises what is inside the magazine to grab the reader’s attention and drag them into reading it, also by not adding much text it persuades the readers to buy it and read on as they won’t be able to see the full amount of what is inside.If I carried this out on my own magazine I would make sure that the small amount of text I have on the outside is very interesting to grab the readers and drag them into reading on into the magazine.

This front cover has a very sharp look to it whereas the other had a messy chaotic look about it. This makes the appearance of the demographic look smart and tidy with a contrast to a hidden depth.This shown by the image, the use of masks on the band shows that they have a hidden personality that hasn’t been shown to their audience. I would not use this for my own cover I would rather have the rough messy look for my front cover using magazine cut outs for the title.

Clash front cover 3.

This is the more original clash front cover, this has the black and white image and text with the important text highlighted, this is a very good feature and I wish to use this for my magazine but giving it a more rough and dangerous look, by doing this it means that I can have made my own magazine that looks unique and is recognizable.

This shows the contrast in personality from the rough look with the smile on his face shows his cheeky side to personality and love for music. This is very clever as it is not expected within a magazine to give the contrast of them all. This would be a good idea to use within my own magazine as it has a good contrast throughout the magazine and this is the look I would be going for.

The word Nirvana is larger than the original title, this is because the magazine will have a lot of information about Nirvana, and by putting this larger than the title it shows the importance it has within the magazine, also the word Nirvana is highlighted in yellow, also to show its importance. I wouldn’t do this within my own magazine as it is a new magazine and I wouldn’t want the attention taken away from the title and information about the inside of the magazine. The layout on this front cover is messy and informal, this is a good effect as it reflects the personality and attitude of the target audience. It shows a rebellious side to the magazine instead of following the codes and conventions of magazines.

On each of the magazines there is not as much information into the magazine, this is to grab the reader’s attention and not give too much of the magazine away. By doing this the reader may become more interested to find out what is inside the magazine. Also the bar code on this particular magazine is placed on the side, this relates to the titled main image as if the whole cover has been tilted to the right. This is a unique feature of this magazine and one I wish to carry out in my own magazine.