Questionnaire questions

1. How often do you buy music magazines?
weekly       monthly     rarely

2. What is your favourite genre of music?

3. Who is your favourite band/artist?

4. What catches your attention on a front cover of a magazine?

5. Would free items persuade you to buy a magazine?

6. What do you like reading about in a magazine?
Q/A interviews        Articles      Reviews        Tips/advice

7. What makes you want to buy one magazine over another?

8. What would you prefer to see in a contents page?
Image dominated (lots of pictures)       Blocky style (simplistic, easy to read)

9. How much would you pay for a music magazine?

10. Do you prefer bands or a solo artist on a front cover?

initial ideas

This is a mind map of different ideas for my music magazine.

Diary week 2

In the second week, we made a spider diagram of initial ideas for our music magazines. We looked at the different options for fonts, colour schemes, layout and magazine names etc. We then made a questionnaire for our target audience, to find out what people want to see in our magazine. After collecting the questionnaires back, i analysed my data and used graphs and pie charts to present it.

Diary week 1

In the first week, we analysed five different music magazines and a school magazine. We looked at the different codes and conventions used in each one, and how they were different or similar depending on the genre and target audience. I analysed Mojo magazine, NME, and Q magazine. After i analysed the school magazine, i made my own front cover and contents on photoshop for Whitley Bay High. This was useful at putting the different codes and conventions into practice.

'Q' Magazine

Front Cover:

This issue of 'Q' magazine uses a different colour scheme and layout than usual. The background of the page is grey, despite most issues being white. The logo is red and white, which is the main colour scheme throughout. The text is arranged in the middle of the page, however, 'Q' magazine usually places text around the central image. The majority of the text is white, which is presented clearly on the dark background. 'Hottest things in music right now' is written in red, which stands out in comparrison to the rest of the text. There colour gold is used on '101', which is eye-catching and not a colour 'Q' magazine usually uses on the front cover, suggesting this issue is different. The image is of the band being featured. The guitar is on fire, which is in reference to the title 'they're on fire'. There is a red strip at the bottom corner of the page, which stands out and is directly opposite the red box of the 'Q' logo. There is two other images of bands/artists on the front cover, in front of the main image. The front cover is very image dominated, with less text than 'Q' usually has on the front covers. 

Contents Page:

The contents page is set out in a 'blocky' style. There is two images, but the majority of the page is covered by text. The colour scheme is the same as the front cover (red, white and gold). The writing is black with a white background behind it, which is simplistic and easy to read. The 'Q Review' section is underneath the central image and has a pale blue background behind the significantly smaller text. The text sizes show what is more important - the contents section is larger because it is what the page is mainly about. The page numbers are red, which draws attention and makes it easy for the reader to quickly jump to the page they want. The title for 'oasis special' is written in gold, and is in a seperate text box from the rest of the contents, which shows that it is a special feature for this specific issue.

Double Page Spread:

The double page spread is image dominated, as a photograph of lady gaga covers one half of the page, sticking with the rule of thirds, and is eye-catching and attracts attention. The colours are a mixture of black and red, with a simple white background, sticking with the traditional 'Q' colour scheme. 'She's the man' is written in very large font. This grabs attention straight away and makes the reader curious as to what the article will be about. The text underneath is written in smaller black font. 'lady gaga' is highlighted in red, to make it clear that the article was about her, if it was not already obvious from the photograph opposite. There are three arrows in the corner of the page, to show that the article will continue on the next page.

Q January 2011

Front cover:
There are four colours used on the front cover of Q - red, white, black and gold. The red and white is the traditional 'Q' logo colours, therefore they are heavily featured in the colour scheme, whereas black keeps it simple and enables text to be read clearly. There is only one image on the page, with a simple white background. There is lots of text on the front cover, and the text is structured around the image, for example 'the 10 new faces of 2011' is placed around the foot of the woman. The 'Q' logo is in the top left corner, as it always is, with a bold headline across the page 'review of the year and 2011 preview'. It is placed at the top of the page as it could arguably be the most important article/feature in the issue, therefore it stands out and allows the reader to see what will be in the magazine.The headlines are in bolder font, in comparrison to the subheadings, which attracts attention and is able to be read quickly, whereas the smaller text underneath the headings is purposely small because it requires more time to be read.

Contents Page:

There are three main colours in the contents page - red, white and grey. The background is white, which enables the text to be read clearly. The page numbers are in significantly larger font than the text, which allows the reader to jump straight to that specific page, without having to read through text. There are six small images, and one larger, main image. underneath the larger image, the page number is in black, despite the rest of the page numbers being in grey. This could show that page 30 is an important article/page, and the black font allows it to stand out and to draw in attention straight away. The contents page is set out in a 'blocky' style, which is simplistic and not fussy, giving clear information through lots of text. There is a red box at the right hand side of the page, with 'tracks of 2010'. The red background contrasts with the white background on the rest of the page. This highlights what the magazine is initially about - music - therefore the album/track listings stand out.

Double Page Spread:

The double page spread is image dominated, with one large photograph of the artist crossing the centre line onto both pages. The colour scheme is a mixture of red, black and white, which links not only with the traditional 'Q' magazine colours, but also with the image on the page. The photograph is quite dark, with lots vivid red tones. One half of the image is bright, whereas the other half is dark, which is why the text is purposely placed there. The text is white, in small font, which covers only a small section of the page. the white text contrasts with the black background, making it easy to read. There is a large letter 'I' at the start of the article, a convention used regularly in magazines. The language is simple and straight forward, easy to understand and not sophisticated, which suggests the article is aimed at a younger audience.

NME, November 2010

Front Cover:

There are two main colours used on the front cover of 'NME' - red and white. The text is in white or red, because they match with the logo colour scheme of NME, and contrasts with the dark background, making it easy to read. There is lots of red and black in the image of the artist on the cover. The font is bolder for subheadings and titles, whereas the text is smaller underneath. The main article is written in large red text, as it is eye-cacthing and draws attention to what the magazine will feature. The text is all in capitals, again, making it quicker and easier to read, drawing attention. There is a smaller image near the top of the page, with a caption underneath 'my heart stopped'. This shows that the main stories are going to be about the people in the images.

Contents Page:

The contents page is in an 'image dominated' style. There is one large photograph which takes up most of the page, and two text boxes at the left hand side and at the bottom of the page. The text in the contents page is written in red, with black page numbers. The background of the text box behind it is white, to make the text clear and easy to read. In the photograph, there is another white textbox with a 'mini article'. There is a large red letter 'A' at the beginning of the paragraph, contrasting with the rest of the black text in the article. This is a convention many magazines do, which effectivley catches the readers eye and makes it look more interesting. The language is casual 'what's inside', which suggests the magazine is not for an older/sophisticated audience. 

Double Page Spread:

The double page spread is set out in an 'image dominated' style, as the photograph crosses the centre line onto both pages. The main colours in the article are black, white, grey and red. The red and white are together, which could represent the 'NME' logo colours. The artist is wearing all black, with red hair, which links into the colour scheme. The background of the page is white, with grey and black text. 'USA' is written in significantly larger font than the rest of the text, in a grey colour. 'got the love', the title of the article, is written in black. The text is set out in three columns and is small in size, and, like the contents page, they have used a larger letter at the beginning of the paragraph, drawing attention to the article.

Mojo, Oct 2010

Front Cover:

There are 3 colours in the front cover, black, white and a little bit of red. The layout of the front cover is very image dominated, as a picture of Paul Mccartney is the main focus, with the rest of the band behind him. The photograph sticks to the rule of thirds. The reason the other three are behind him is because he going to be featured in the main article, therefore it shows importance. There are two smaller images at the top of the cover, which also shows who is going to be featured. The picture goes infront of the 'Mojo' logo, which is a common convention many magazines use. This shows the magazine is popular, as they dont need to show the full name and still be recognised as 'Mojo' magazine. The font is bold, in white, which contrasts against the black background, and there is grey text underneath subheadings. There is a 'Free CD' in a circle in the top left of the front cover, which attracts attention and persuades people to buy the magazine by using a freebie.

Double Page Spread:

The Double page spread is image dominated. The image of the artist goes over the centre line. There are three main colours, black white and green. The colours are dark, matching with the dark photograph. There is an apple in the top left corner, and the green font is used to represent that. The text is in small white font, which contrasts against the black background, making it easy to read. The font is in 'Times New Roman', which is simple and not fussy. There is a big letter 'R' at the beginning of the article - a convention most magazines use.

Contents Page:

The Contents page is in a simplistic 'blocky' style. All of the images are on the left hand side, and the text is on the other. There are five images, which allow the reader to know what to expect to see later on in the magazine. There are three colours: red, white and black. The background is traditionally white, with black text, which is simple and clear to read. The headings are in bolder font, and the page numbers are in a mustard yellow colour. The language is casual, but eye-catching, using titles such as 'hot news', which is bold and grabs attention.

Q March 2010

Front Cover:

The 'Q' logo is red with the letter in white, which contrasts with the red behind it. The font is quite curved which makes it femenine. The main colours on the front cover depends on the artist being featured. Gorillaz is the main feautre in this issue, therefore the main colour scheme is different shades of blue. Text and text boxes are red and white, as this is the colour scheme for 'Q' magazine. The image is a cartoon, which is not often a convention used by Q magazine. There are superimposed images of different artists, who will also be featured in the magazine, in the cartoon. This shows the main artist is more important, and the smaller photographs are of lesser importance in this issue. There is not much text on the front cover, and the majority of the text is at the bottom of the page. The layout of the whole front cover is very image-dominated, and does not include much text. the text is white, which makes it easy to read against the blue background image. The language is informal and casual, 'world exclusive' and 'star studded crew set sail again'. 'set sail' light-heartedly links with the image, as the cartoon is of the sea and waves.

Contents:

The layout of the contents page is in a 'blocky' style, but is also quite image dominated. There is 3 main colours used - red, white and black, which links to the colour sceme of 'Q' magazine. There are 5 photographs, with page numbers in a large white font at the corner of each. This makes it easy for someone to notice the photograph then quickly jump to the page the article is on, instead of reading through the text. The subheadings and page numbers are in bold, and the text underneath is smaller. The text is in sections at one side of the page, with the images seperate.There is a main cartoon image of the artist, which dominates the page. The contents page as a whole, uses a mixture of conventions from both the simplistic 'blocky' style and the more image-dominated look.

Double Page Spread:

The double page spread is image-dominated, as a photograph of kid-cudi goes accross the centre line. The background of the photo is black, but the artist in the image has bright, vidid colours in his clothes and around him, which shows he is the main focus. There is not much text, and the font is small. The text is situated on the left side, and the photograph is mainly on the opposite side. The text is white, which contrasts against the black background, making it easier to read. There is a big 'K' at the beginning of the article, a convention regularly featured in 'Q' magazine. The colours and fonts are neutral. and do not specialise for a specific gender.

School Magazine Evaluation

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

I used the school magazine ‘fusion’ as a style model for my school magazine. Fusion magazine used a specific colour theme throughout, using black, red and white. For my magazine I used the colour blue on both the front cover and contents page, because blue is the colour of Whitley Bay high. The size of the image on the front cover is large and takes up the whole page, and the text is in front of the image. The text is written in bold white font, which makes it easy to read as it contrasts with the background, a similar technique ‘Fusion’ magazine used. The language in the school magazines are casual and informal, therefore I used simple language such as ‘I love sixth form’ which presents a casual tone. I wrote ‘issue 1’ underneath the title, as this is an important convention to show the number of the magazine. I used a big, bold font for the title of the magazine, making it easy to read and eye-catching, in a traditional black colour. On the contents page I used page numbers and headlines and subheadings. I used a bolder font for each title of the pages, then underneath I wrote a normal, smaller size font to explain each article is about.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

I used natural light to take my medium close up shot for my front cover. The photo is of Catherine, and I took it portrait. The photo is focused on Catherine, and the background is out of focus, but the colour scheme remains blue, as the background shows the school building. I learned how to put the camera in focus when I took the picture. I used the image as full screen and I put the text on a different layer on Photoshop so the text was in front of the main image. I put different photographs on the front cover, but made them smaller, so they did not take the main attention.

School Magazine Analysis

Fusion Magazine

Front page:

The background is bright red, which is a cold colour. The image on the cover is an edited picture of a boy, which is black and white. This contrasts with the red background, making it eye-catching and makes it stand out. The writing is written in bold font in white. The white writing contrasts against the bold colours in the background which makes it easier to read. The colour white is a neutral colour, therefore it does not give connotations of gender. The photo of the boy has 'words of wisdom' written underneath his mouth, giving the effect that he is speaking, which gives a relaxed, casual tone. The title of the magazine, 'fusion' is positioned so it cuts into the text. The subheadings are written in bolder font and the text underneath is smaller, and explain what each point is about. The language of the front cover is informal and lighthearted, such as 'snack attack'. The languiage suggests how the whole magazine will be written, suggesting it will be casual and laid-back.

Contents page:

The background traditionally white, which makes the text easy to read. The image is of a tape with colours emerging from it. The tape represents what the magaine will be about - music. The colours brighten up the page. The titles are written in different colours, which makes it more bright and eye-catching. The text underneath is written in grey, which keepsi t simple to read and easy on the eye. There is a yellow box positioned at the end of the page, 'keep your eyes peeled for the next issue of fusion' - the colour of the box is yellow which stands out against the background and attracts attention, so the reader is drawn to it and reads it. There is a logo at the bottom right of the page, telling us to recycle the paper after we have finished with it. The white background of the page makes the green logo stand out, through the bold, eye-catching colour. There is a lilac box positioned at the bottom of the page, with small grey text in. The text does not stand out much, in comparrison to the rest of the text in the contents page. This is because the text in the contents page is more important than the text in the box. The language is similar to the language on the front cover, which is coloquial and casual, 'blast from the past'.