My Evaluation:

Evaluation

In my magazine I have mainly stuck to the usual conventions of music magazines by linking my front cover and contents page by colour scheme. I have also used a bar code on the front along with a title, a slogan and I have used a puff to attract more attention and my font is consistent throughout the magazine. I have also included a competition for a chance to win something and also a free gift which are usual conventions of a music magazine. I have differed from usual conventions also by having a picture as the background that contrasts everything rather than a plain colour which magazines usually use and this is consistent through the magazine. My colour scheme is also a way I have differed from usual conventions; usually magazines use bright attractive colours to attract attention but I have used darker colours throughout. If a magazine uses a darker colour, they usually put some lighter colours with it such as kerrang; they use black but with white and yellow, whereas I have gone with all dark colours. I have used 3 different colours for text on the front cover which other magazines do not do; they usually use only one or two. I have used a little icon in the corner of each page to keep the title and logo on every page; also I have put more than one quote on the first page of the article when in other magazines is usually only one or sometimes two to emphasise interesting points in the interview. Usually there are more images around the interview but I have only used two so the interview fits on the page without being squeezed together and there is a balance between images and text without being too busy. I have also used a picture type font for my title being the dripping blood; most magazines have plain fonts for their title whereas I have decided to use something a bit different which attracts to my target audience more and stands out from the other magazines. Also in my interview I have asked questions solely about music; most magazines ask questions about rumours or gossip, personal lives and family etc. The person on my front cover has been made to look quite angry and also strong and bold; this is common among people in this scene, also as top of his game as the anchorage text says. His clothing is quite plain yet the bracelet he is wearing connotes he has darker side. The girls in the smaller picture are presented as united as they are all linking arms, their skin is bright which connotes angelic-like qualities, they also represent the different sub-genre’s in the alternative scene as they each dress in a different style within the alternate genre.

The audience for my magazine is people who are in or interested in the rock/alternative scene aged about 15 to 30 as the magazine deals with the rock/alternate scene and music and the language is aimed at the older audience. To attract the target audience I based my magazine on rock/alternative music, I wrote about the type of music they would be interested in and the top artists they would like to read about within the genre. I made the language universal so all ages can read it easily although it is more adult. I added information that is relevant to the alternative scene such as winning a guitar and CD’s, gigs and tours within the rock genre. I also used dark colours and a skull background to attract the target audience as these colours and images are those found within this scene. Also the main image on my front cover uses a direct mode of address and his facial expression is that of anger and strength and serious repressed feelings which relates to the audience as most people in this scene have repressed feelings they let out through music and also almost everyone as an expression like this and it has become expected within the alternative scene. My contents page is arranged in tables to make the information clear and easy to read which is useful to my target audience as some teenagers may not be good readers and also the adults may have poor eye sight and the adults may not buy the magazine if it is set out in a confusing or messy way as they may not take the magazine seriously. My double page spread also has qualities that appeal to my target audience such as the questions asked; they are mainly based on music which is what my target audience is mainly interested in; some people like to know about gossip, rumours and their personal lives but most people in the alternative scene-especially the older reader focus more on the music as it has deeper meaning. The font for the title also appeals to my target audience; the dripping blood has associations with the Goth scene and therefore would attract such a reader. The title itself-Anarchy- attracts the target audience as anarchy is a key theme in the alternate world; with people wanting and enjoying the idea of it and enjoying being an anarchist, it fits in well to have a magazine that does just that and therefore would more likely be bought.
The media institution that would distribute my magazine would be the institution that distributes magazines like Q, Mojo, kerrang and NME such as EMAP as my magazine covers the rock and alternative music covered by the magazines that are owned by EMAP. They also own kerrang radio which also links to the type of music my magazine covers. I have learnt how to use Illustrator and Photoshop; I can now easily use the tools on these programmes. I know how to edit pictures on photoshop and create documents on illustrator to a good standard. I have also learnt how to effectively use a digital camera to take good pictures for my magazine. I have also learnt how to create a blog, upload images and my work onto it, add friends, polls and move between blogs. I have learnt different technical media language that are better descriptions such as connotation, denotation, puff, sell lines and direct mode of address. Also I have learnt that in media technology is used to change images to the way the person or company want them to seem which changes people’s perceptions and opinions of what or whoever the picture is of, they also use airbrushing in photoshop to make people better looking or perfect which deceives the reader into believing they are perfect and sometimes leads to them trying to be like them which can be dangerous. I have learnt that things like font and colour for text are important in making a magazine, the font and colour should remain the same unless for added effect as it is too confusing and most magazines stick to this rule, I used all kinds of fonts on one page and now know this is bad. I have also learnt that the front cover needs to be consistent with the contents page in colour scheme, font and layout, my preliminary task pages had no consistencies at all and I made sure this did not happen in my music magazine. I also picked up on using puffs to make the cover more attractive to the reader; I did not use any attractive devices on my cover and made sure I corrected this in my music mag. I learnt that there is a ‘sweet spot’ where most people tend to look first and that the best information should be put there. Also there should be a balance in images and text, and the image you put on the front cover is a major influence on whether people will buy it or not; magazines that are bought tend to have someone who everyone wants to know about and that is using a direct mode of address as it connects with the buyer. I have also learnt that layout is key in making a magazine as it cannot be confusing or sloppy, I put text randomly on the page in my preliminary task and have learnt this is not the way to organise a contents page, it needs to be clear, coherent and have a balance with images and I made sure this happened in my music magazine. I have also learnt how to use a digital camera properly, and that there are things you can do and use in your magazine to make your magazine more attractive and suited to your target audience like the title name, font and colour scheme and pictures.

Chelsea Williams
Media

My final double page spread:

This is my double page spread. i am very happy with these pages. I love the layout of the title and interview. The colours coincide with the front cover and contents page. Altogether i think these pages are very well designed and are my favourite of the magazine.

My final front cover:

This is my final front cover. i changed the size of the title to make it bigger and i adjusted the position of the main image. i also changed the colour of the title to make it fit in better with the colour scheme. i am overall happy with this page and the changes i have made.

My final contents page:

This is my contents page. the background and colours have gone through many changes but i have finally found what im happy with. it links with the front cover by colour and font and i think it is well set out so it is easy to navigate and is not too complicated or distracting. i realise the background is a bit of a distraction but it really draws your attention to the page therefore i am happy with it.

Future Publishing Magazines:

Total Guitar - A magazine for beginner and intermediate guitarists. It features profiles and interviews with famous guitarists, in which they reveal their secrets and tips for playing guitar. It also includes the latest guitar tabs so you can learn to play songs. Readers’ questions are answered in a Q&A, and guitars, amps and other equipment are reviewed.
It is a monthly magazine and its editor is Stephen Lawson. Its target audience is people that listen to rock music and play guitar, people that can or want to learn to read guitar tab and have enough knowledge to be able to use the tabs.

Guitar Techniques – A magazine that teaches you how to play guitar at a higher level than ‘total guitar’ and uses non famous guitar players to teach you. Its target audience is those that play guitar at a higher level and take it more seriously, those that have a higher knowledge of guitar and reading music as it is more complicated than ‘total guitar’.

Classic Rock – a magazine that goes behind the scenes with highly respected rock artists and focuses on tours and gigs – stories from, dates, merchandise etc. It is a monthly magazine and its editor is Scott Rowley. Its target audience is people that listen to rock music and are more interested in the tour side of fame.

Metal Hammer – a magazine that covers metal of every kind and comes with a free gift. It covers the general reviews, news, interviews, tour dates etc and adds in sections written by members of bands such as ‘Jurgen’ who answers readers’ questions. It is a monthly magazine and its editor is Alexander Milas. Its target audience is adults who listen to metal, death metal, black metal and other such dark genres of rock.

Computer Music – a magazine that aims to help people create music on the pc. It includes software and reviews and a free CD with the latest software and things of interest to their readers. It is a monthly magazine and its editor is Ronan MacDonald. Its target audience is those that use computers and are interested in creative computing rather than instruments/guitar playing and those that want to create music, perhaps students studying creative or music computing or someone that works in the industry or a musician putting together their work.

Guitarist – a magazine similar to ‘total guitar’ teaching how to play guitar, reviews, tips and techniques and a free CD/DVD with every issue. It is the longest established guitar magazine in the UK. It is a monthly magazine and its editor is Mick Taylor. Its target audience is those that are interested in playing guitar and catching up on the latest equipment.

Future Music – a magazine that focuses on the technology side of music. Offering advice, reviews and insight into the best equipment on the market. Using professionals from within the industry to get the best perspective. It is a monthly magazine and its editor is Daniel Griffiths. Its target audience would be those more interested in music technology, perhaps someone working in a music studio, or creating a home studio or those aiming to break into the industry.

Rhythm – a magazine that focuses on learning to play drums. It follows the same pattern as guitar magazines with reviews, interviews, equipment, learning how to play, drum tabs and advice from famous drummers. It is a monthly magazine and its editor is Chris Barnes. Its target audience is those that play or are learning to play the drums and have knowledge on how to do that. People that also listen to rock music as it focuses on that.

Hi-Fi Choice – a magazine guide to the best stereo systems available on the market. With reviews and testing of every piece of stereo equipment you could think of. It is a monthly magazine and its editor is Dan George. Its target audience is those interested in technology and are keen collectors or users of stereo systems or perhaps people that sell stereo systems in shops etc.

Classic Rock Presents Prog – an offshoot magazine from ‘classic rock’ magazine that focuses entirely on progressive rock. (Muse, The Mars Volta) it includes interviews, reviews, tour guides etc within the Prog rock world. It is a monthly magazine and its editor is Jerry Ewing. Its target audience is those who listen to and are very into and devoted to progressive rock.

Computer Music Specials – a spinoff magazine to ‘computer music magazine’ that focuses on one topic one issue at a time to give you a more in depth knowledge on certain topics within creating music on the pc. It is a bi-monthly magazine. Its target audience is the same as the one for ‘computer music’ magazine but the different topics might attract other people that have an interest in certain topics that they cover.

All of these magazines have a link to each other. There are many magazines that cover the same topic i.e. learning to play the guitar. All have a link to getting a hand’s on approach to music. The company is very clever by having these magazines linked as they can advertise each of the magazines within each other. For example they can advertise ‘Rhythm’ magazine in ‘Guitarist’ magazine or ‘Computer Music Specials’ in ‘Computer Music’ which will help with sales and saves money on advertising as they can use synergy to advertise within themselves

Font styles and titles for my magazine:

One title I have picked is Broken.
This is very gothic writing which goes well with a rock magazine. Although it is very plain.

Purple is a dark gothic colour which goes well but it makes the writing more difficult to see and the white outlines take away the effect of the feathered edges of the text.

The dripping blood effect goes well with the Broken theme as people resort to desperate measures when feeling this way and I think this connotes it well. The large spaces between the letters also illustrate being broken. But this font doesn’t look very professional.

Again I think the dripping blood effect goes well. This font is a bit better than the last. The big bulky writing again I think looks unprofessional and messy.

I like the idea of the dripping blood effect therefore I found another font which I feel looks more professional and still keeps the broken theme going. I would be better with some colour, perhaps a deep red to give it more appeal and make it more attractive instead of plain how it is now.

This font is very different. It reminds me of anxious or angry scribbles and creates vivid pictures in my mind of an alternate person scribbling to express emotions as they often do. I feel this goes very well with the theme of the magazine.

This font illustrates the broken theme well as the text is cracked. This is good imagery. I feel the writing could be a bit more interesting though, a pattern or maybe smaller more defined cracks running through the letters. It is very plain.

Of course this doesn’t look much like cracking but it was only done in paint, but i still think it makes the text more interesting and eye catching. If done properly i think it could work well.

I like this because it looks really cool and interesting and goes well with the gothic theme of the magazine. It doesn’t really connect with the word broken therefore I don’t think its a good choice.




Another title i have picked is Anarchy.

This font is very gothic and goes well with the gothic theme of the magazine. It is very plain though and not eye catching enough.

Again the blood dripping theme works well with the theme of the magazine. I like this title but I think it needs to be more eye catching to be a title for a front cover.

I like this title because its eye catching and reminds me of the way a rock band called ‘Paramore’ write the title to their album ‘Riot!’ which links in with the theme of music and creates common ground for the readers to associate the magazine with a band they like.

This title is very eye catching, the skull draws immediate attention. It works well with the theme of the magazine and the audience it is aiming for.

Audiences and Institutions:

Bauer:

Magazines they own – Kerrang, Closer, Grazia, Empire, Mojo, Q, Your Horse and other sport, transport and men’s magazines. They also own radio stations for their magazines like Kerrang radio and Kiss fm.
Their target audience spans from alternate teenagers to housewives to young men. They have a magazine for most interests and hobbies and most music types therefore their target audience is huge.
The company started in 1953 with the Angling Times. The radio started up in 1990. It continued to adopt magazines and music channels.
Bauer Media is a sister company of H Bauer UK, publisher of the UK's biggest TV listings, Take a Break and Bella.

IPC media:

Magazines they own- Horse and Hound, Horse, Hair, Chat, Essentials, Loaded, Look, NME, Nuts, Pick me up, Web user, World soccer and other magazines for hobbies and general interests among other TV magazines.
Their target audience is again quite big and varied as it ranges from teenagers with NME, to Horse riders with Horse and Hound to housewives and women with Chat and Pick me up. I’d say they mainly focus on those that watch TV as most of their magazines are based on TV, TV listings and celebrities.
They have three different divisions each dealing with different categories of magazines which are – IPC Connect which deals with the women’s division (Chat, Pick me up’), IPC Inspire which deals with the men’s division (Loaded, Horse and Hound’) and IPC Southbank which deals with the ‘upmarket’ women’s division (‘Marie Claire’, Ideal Home’).

BBC Magazines:

Magazines they own – BBC Wildlife Magazine, Easy Cook, Girl Talk, Match of the Day Magazine, Bob the Builder, Toybox, Charlie and Lola among other gardening and wildlife magazines and children’s magazines.
Their target audience is those who watch BBC programmes. This spreads to people with an interest in Outdoor and Home activities and children.

Development Hell:

Magazines they own – Mixmag and The Word. Along with their accompanying websites.

Music magazine title anaylsis:

This is the title for kerrang magazine.
The colour scheme is black and white. The dark colours suggest a move away from pop or hip hop as they are generally vibrantly coloured. The black connotes depression; sadness and general negative feelings and these sorts of feelings are expressed in the music that is focused on in this magazine. The white is a contrast as white generally connotes innocence and light, in this instance I think it connotes a ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ type of attitude as many bands have songs or lyrics that help many people through hard times that most often are being spoken about in the songs and for many this brings hope or a sense of not being alone and can bring people through rough times and often stop suicide which has a high rate in this type of social culture.
The smashed glass effect within the writing connotes anger, a range of emotions are expressed through rock music and most often is that of anger. The way in which the music is played generally connotes anger in itself; the heavy guitar, shouting etc. Anger is a key issue in rock music and is the most common emotion expressed therefore it is a good idea to have the smashed glass effect as it shows kerrang understand this and are getting in touch with the emotion of the music therefore have a passion for it. The smashed glass effect also connotes the feeling of being broken. ‘Broken’ is a word that comes up quite often in rock music and is the way many listeners feel. Kerrang having this in their title gives a sign that these listeners are not alone in that feeling and they understand. Because of all this kerrang readers feel better as they feel they are not alone and this makes more people not only buy the magazine but buy it regularly.
We get from this title a sense of deep communication between the magazine and the reader and a deep understanding of the readers from the magazine which makes for loyal readers and a successful magazine.

This is the title for Q magazine.
The colour scheme is red and white. The vibrant red connotes a strong attitude towards music and a boldness to cover music which is different from general music and to be different from other magazines. It also connotes a want of being noticed over other magazines as red is a very eye-catching colour and shows they think highly of their magazine and it has importance over others.
It is very plain in style, with only the big Q as the focus. This shows that they think very highly of their magazine and it is good enough to have the actual magazine as the focus rather than dressing it up with patterns etc.
We get from this title that this is a bold, important, ‘in your face’ magazine that is trying to grab your attention.

Front cover of a music magazine analysis 2:

Title: the title is big and bold and very noticeable. The red is contrasting to the rest of the colours and by far the most noticeable which connotes its importance and that it is used to attract readers.

Slogan: this being next to the main focus draws attention to it and it makes the reader want to buy it as it’s a special edition.

Sell line: the bold sell line does attract attention but does not steal attention away from the exclusives list.

Main image: beyonce is used as a main selling point as she has high status compared to the others in the list. Her brown skin and white dress link with the colour scheme as though the magazine has a colour scheme to suit her. She is looking straight at us to make a connection with the buyer. The sunlight behind reflecting on her makes her seem almost angelic and innocent. The umbrella connotes her being protected.

Puff: this being red ties in with the title in being red and attracting attention away from the rest of the page. This puff makes buying this magazine more worthwhile.

The colours tie in with beyonce’s colours which connotes the magazine is all for her. The red is a contrast which attracts the eye and connotes there are other things more important than her.

Lead story: the main story is not focused on beyonce herself but she is apart of a list of exclusive interviews. She would attract most attention which denotes Q are thinking about the reader’s preferences and interests. the title attracting most attention coincides with the fact she is not the main focus.

Front cover of a music magazine analysis:

Sell line: The only white writing on the page which is in your face connotes it is important and the scandal it talks about backs this up.

Slogan: small to make the focus centre on the main image which connotes they find the main story to be the best thing on the magazine.

Title: sets off the colour scheme. Chad’s head covers it so it is not that important and they are the main image. The outlined letters attract attention to the title as it breaks up the plain red present in the colour scheme which connotes its importance.

Sell lines: as big as main story which connotes that the main story is not the main focus yet this writing is a touch smaller that the main story which then connotes the main story has more importance.

Lead story: big, bold and in the sweet spot which catches people’s eye, anchorage to the main image. It is the biggest text on the page which connotes that we should focus our attention on the band and they are the best thing here.

Three main colours: red, black and white. These colours emphasize the glowing skin the band members have. The red is eye-catching and only the most important text is in red i.e. the title and the band name which connotes their importance. Most rock magazines have dark colours and this not connotes its uniqueness.

Main image: the shot makes us look up at them as if they are higher than us; looking down at us. Them being topless connotes a god like status which is backed up by their golden glowing skin. The wind swept hair connotes male models as does the lead singers expression which connotes sexiness and appeal.

Layout: the writing is arranged around the image to show its importance. The writing is mainly large and bold with colours that stand out which connotes the magazine is trying to be in your face with words that jump off the page.