These are some of the best images I could take, with a lack of lighting and battery. I have arranged for another possible shoot in the daylight but it was a good first attempt.
Tuesday 18 December 2012
Music Magazine Article Analysis
Music magazine articles, particularly double paged ones, can be displayed, laid out and visualised in many ways.
Article design can vary between not just magazines but the article contents. If you were to look at two articles in the same magazine, you would see they both vary in terms of colour, number of images, style of writing, etc. due to obviously the different people with different inputs. With that in mind, the three example below will demonstrate that point, however you will see how they all are still related by small conventions.
The first one displayed above can be described as busy, in the sense that there are a lot of items that catch your eye, the numerous pictures, headlines and quotes. The main colours being used here as you can see are red, beige, black and grey. This is the articles unique colour scheme and is used very effectively, for example "We're ready to rock" highlights the word "Rock" in red, contrasting the image behind it and therefore catching the reader's initial intention.
One convention obvious between any music magazine article is promotion. In this article for example, displays it obviously on the right in its own column, giving "teasers" into their coming album, meaning to tempt the reader to discover more about them and even buy their music. It even asks the reader to help promote them with a pug at the bottom stating "Get the word out".
The second here immediately contrasts the first. Firstly there is more text space than image space compared to earlier. There are only two images, quite simple. It doesn't have a title, it has an opening paragraph in bold, but otherwise is quite simple and plain, with a colour scheme of white, with purple from the lighting in the images. However, again promotion is obviously in effect if you read the article, it promotes the tour that Wickham was in the middle of.
The third is similar to the second example, but more developed. For example, it still maintains a use of two images, however, they both contrast each other in terms of colour and content. Also, compared to the other two examples, the article is written in a Question and Answer format, where the interviewer lists their questions and the artists response. This generates quite an informal discussion and reader opinion of the article. The title is simply the artists name with subsidiary text boxes listing her accomplishments and quotations.
In summary, articles vary in appearance and design, however typical codes and conventions are still maintained despite the differences. For example, the text sizes are always small and boxed.
Monday 10 December 2012
Q Magazine Mock Up - Final Draft
Sunday 9 December 2012
Poll Survey
Instead of doing a questionnaire, I shall be using polls to get an immediate idea of how my magazine should be produced.
New polls will be added daily and I would appreciate any readers taking a few seconds to answer them on the right.
Tuesday 4 December 2012
Reader Profile
The reader for my magazine will be in the youth age of 16-25, interested in indie, garage bands and new, aspiring bands beginning their journey in the music industry.
70% will listen to a wide variety of music whilst 30% will both listen to music and be interested in being involved in the music industry, hence reading this magazine to find out more information. 90% will be male, 10% will be female. 80% will be full time students at either secondary or higher education, 20% will have finished or left education.
70% will listen to a wide variety of music whilst 30% will both listen to music and be interested in being involved in the music industry, hence reading this magazine to find out more information. 90% will be male, 10% will be female. 80% will be full time students at either secondary or higher education, 20% will have finished or left education.
What I've Learnt
Through the process of creating a school magazine and mocking up an actual magazine cover, I have begun to understand the effort and work needed to create a front cover, contents page and an article for my upcoming music magazine.
Whilst in the production process, I learnt what attributes to give the three main sections of the magazine, otherwise known as the key codes and conventions. These include eye-catching or stand-out images, informal/humorous/attention seeking language and vocabulary, and interesting articles that appeal to the target audience. These all depend on each other to function and draw the reader in to purchase and read the magazine.
The layout is another aspect of magazine production. Depending on where text, images, and coverlines are placed can determine how appealing and successful the magazine is. My chosen mock up for example, had a simple but unseen image of music legend, John Lennon, in the centre. The coverlines were placed in the top right side of the page, so they are still visible but not focused on compared to the main coverline. The text accompanying the image, "the unseen pictures, the last interview, the whole story." simply draws any fan of Lennon, The Beatles or the magazine in.
Finally the design is a key development technique that also decides the success of a magazine. Each brand will have their own design format that will make them stand-out among others, but not necessarily making them more successful. At a first glance, the brand will be identifiable to the common reader. GQ for example have their masthead in the top left corner with the two big bold letters, printed different colours depending on the main image. Q has the iconic "Q" in a red box at the top left which remains in every publication, no matter what the focus is on the cover. Time has the iconic four printed letters at the top-centre, followed by an image of a well-known figure in the world. The key word there, iconic, is another key code magazines must follow. It determines how much of an impact the magazine has on the industry and the general public.
Overall I have learnt a lot about magazines and their production process, which is useful now as the next stage of the project will be using everything I have learned in the past few weeks to produce my own independent outcome.
Whilst in the production process, I learnt what attributes to give the three main sections of the magazine, otherwise known as the key codes and conventions. These include eye-catching or stand-out images, informal/humorous/attention seeking language and vocabulary, and interesting articles that appeal to the target audience. These all depend on each other to function and draw the reader in to purchase and read the magazine.
The layout is another aspect of magazine production. Depending on where text, images, and coverlines are placed can determine how appealing and successful the magazine is. My chosen mock up for example, had a simple but unseen image of music legend, John Lennon, in the centre. The coverlines were placed in the top right side of the page, so they are still visible but not focused on compared to the main coverline. The text accompanying the image, "the unseen pictures, the last interview, the whole story." simply draws any fan of Lennon, The Beatles or the magazine in.
Finally the design is a key development technique that also decides the success of a magazine. Each brand will have their own design format that will make them stand-out among others, but not necessarily making them more successful. At a first glance, the brand will be identifiable to the common reader. GQ for example have their masthead in the top left corner with the two big bold letters, printed different colours depending on the main image. Q has the iconic "Q" in a red box at the top left which remains in every publication, no matter what the focus is on the cover. Time has the iconic four printed letters at the top-centre, followed by an image of a well-known figure in the world. The key word there, iconic, is another key code magazines must follow. It determines how much of an impact the magazine has on the industry and the general public.
Overall I have learnt a lot about magazines and their production process, which is useful now as the next stage of the project will be using everything I have learned in the past few weeks to produce my own independent outcome.
Q Magazine Mock Up - Second Draft
There are still final touches to be made such as the image edges need to be rounded off, some text needs to be larger and the flash on the right needs to be placed off the main image.
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