Codes & Conventions

CODES AND CONVENTIONS/RESEARCH 

Clash magazine

Front Cover:

Masthead: The masthead included on the front cover of the Clash magazine grabs the attention of the readers straight away. This is due in my opinion to the color of the text compared with the color of the background which is a very baby blue and would also happen to be a solid color which would attract the reader and would also make the magazine cover very colorful.
Main Image: The main image of the front cover of the Clash magazine shows a mid-shot of a famous rapper named ASAP Rocky, this image would be very effective as a magazine cover as the bizarre dress sense of ASAP is apparent in the picture, the picture of ASAP is also very colorful similarly to the background, The magazine cover would also show asap rocky with a gold grill this would contrast to ASAP's skin color and may also represent the unique style of ASAP rocky that would also be apparent in his music.The sub title would also be relevant in making the magazine front cover successful as " High Life " may be the stereotypical view that rap stars would smoke allot of drugs, ASAP Rocky would also be looking directly into the camera, this would give the illusion that he is staring into the consumers eyes and therefore creating interface.    

Feature: This particular magazine would feature features from Mac Miller, this would be good for clash music magazine as mac miller is a very well known and established rapper, this would also come under the same category of music as the main image of ASAP Rocky therefore I could implement this into my work by only using features that are of the same genre of music this would attract my audience as more people who are interested in that specific genre of music would want the magazine. The colour of the text is also bright and therefore could be read easily, this would make it easier for the consumer to read from a further distance and would compliment the masthead well which is also white.

The price: The price of this certain magazine is presented on the barcode of the magazine which is positioned in the unusual position of the top right corner of the magazine, this could be to show the unusual way or the hipster image that "Clash" magazine would represent.  From my research upon Clash magazine I can say that a subscription of Clash magazine will cost: £47.88 and a standard single issue would cost : £2.33

Target Audience: I believe the Clash target audience would be relatively young, clash use a variety of different genres which would attract allot of different people to there magazines, an example of clash using different genres would be that on another magazine cover they would have used coldplay which is a completely different genre of music compared to ASAP Rocky. This would be good for the magazine as it would improve sales of Clash and would also attract a wider target audience, The involvement of clothing throughout the magazine would also allow me to make a decision that this magazine would be targeted at a younger age group who can relate more easily to the modern clothes worn in todays society than elder adults.  

Contents page:

Layout: The layout of Clash's contents is very attractive as a vast array of pictures have been used to graph the readers attention, these images have been spread out throughout the entire page, this would be successful for the magazine as readers will be willing to read on and it can also be read very easily with text being split up and ordered chronologically, the contents page's layout also allows consumers to see the page numbers without any restraints.

Colours: The colours used in the contents page are very bright and would make the contents page stand out well, the main title has been manipulated with the end of the "T" reading the issue number, this would give the title a unique element. The title would also be in a bold black colour, this would be to contrast the very white background and make it stand out from other subheadings which would be in a vast array of different colours. All around the contents page would be circles in different colours and sizes, this is a good way of promoting future pages into the magazine and would also give the contents page allot of colour with the circles changing in colour, The font of the magazine would be legible and also would change from different parts of the contents page e.g the sub heading compared to the filler text. 
Images: The images of this contents page would allow the reader to see who and what is involved later on in the magazine, famous celebrities would also be on the contents page as usually when a consumer is debating wether or not to buy the magazine they would flick through some pages first and having more celebrities on the inside of the magazine would be beneficial and would ultimately attract more customers, for example in this particular magazine Adele has been used who is extremely popular in the music industry however contrasting to that another feature would be Chase and Status who is completely different to Adele music wise however is popular within their own genre.

Double page spread:

As seen, there is a large medium close up on the left hand side of the double page spread. When comparing the right hand side to the left hand side is is clearly evident that the right hand side has allot more detail in writing compared to the left hand side which is purely a picture. The writing is organised into three columns which as I have researched would be a theme throughout many double page spreads throughout Clash's magazine. Overall I would say that Clash's intention for this magazine would be that it looks very simple however would be very effective as not allot of imagery had to be used as the picture on the left hand side is very striking with the topless man and this would continue with the theme that Clash is very modern with different ideas that would not usually be seen within other mainstream magazines. The models face is looking directly at the camera causing a illusion that the model is looking at the reader he is also topless that is quite unusual, the Image would also show various tattoos of the model again once more showing the unique and peculiar ways of this magazine. I have also noticed that the double page spread doesn’t contain any kind of images scattered around what shows the professionalism of the magazine. The double page spread also uses different types of fonts with the heading and the writers name being the boldest type of font on the paper, with the font of the actual article being very small and would be quite hard to read this is something to thick about on  my magazine as i could improve on this double page spread as i could use a bigger font to make it easier to read.

Q magazine

Front Cover:

Masthead: The masthead of this magazine is placed in the top left corner of the magazine. It looks simple as there is only one, white letter “Q” placed on a red background. However, the white colour stands out on the red background. It is easy to notice and therefore it is the first element that will grab reader’s attention. The "Q" on the magazine would be very big, I would say this is because the magazine is only one letter and would therefore need to have a title that would really stand out to show the importance of the magazine when comparing it too its competitors, this would be effective as "Q" is very easy to remember compared to other existing magazine labels so consumers will be able to remember the name of the magazine as it is only one syllable. My magazine can take inspiration from this as I believe that the masthead is very successful by using bright colours and also having a very bright background that would easily catch the readers attention.
The masthead would also be very unique and unconventional as it seems to go outside of the border and in that space they have given their email address and also the issue number of the magazine, this would be a good way to promote a website or any type of social media however i believe that it would only suite the magazine if it has a messy feel towards the front cover and would not look good if it was on a cover such as "Clash" which is more simplistic.   

The tagline: A tagline is present under the masthead stating "discover great music" this would be effective as it is a very short slogan that could be easily linked to the magazine when heard by word of mouth, I can use this in my work as a short slogan can allow my magazine to be recognised . It informs the readers that they can find a lot of useful content about music. The tagline would also give the readers an insight that they will be reading or "discover" great music while they read the magazine.
Main Image: The main image of the magazine is of Tinie Tempah who is a very well known british Hip-Hop star, this would be good for the magazine as it would once again attract many customers to buy the magazine as they know who Tinie Tempah is and what genre of music he is. Tinie is wearing sunglasses which causes a sense of mystery around him however he is wearing smart attire that would contradict to him wearing sunglasses. I can also see that he is wearing a watch which would seen to be very stylish that would go well with the smart theme of Tinie who looks very well groomed. 

Cover lines: The cover lines are presenting the names of artists that would be included in the magazines that would also be in the collection that this particular issue is involved with, "The music that changed my life" shows that for the 25th anniversary of the magazine "Q" acts such as "Jay-Z" "Coldplay" and "Arctic Monkeys" are all available to collect when buying the magazine, this would be very attractive for customers as it would cover a large amount of genres of music and therefore the consumers would be able to choose what issue they would want to purchase and not purchase every single one of them.

The headline: Another big element that is very visible is the headline – “Tinie Tempah x”. It is presented in a big font coloured simply in white. This clearly implies that Tinie Tempah's the main focus of this particular issue. 

Contents page:

This particular contents page is very effective, it allows the reader to easily read the contents of the magazine while still looking very professional with photographs scattered around the page in various locations, The image is a full picture on the lead singer from the band "Foo-Fighters" this shows the difference in genre of music that can be seen in the magazine with the Foo-Fighters being very strongly linked with rock and metal music. On the side of the full scale image there are pages and pages numbers that are clear to see and understand on the right hand side of the magazine, this would be very effective for the reader as they are able to see what page they would be able to turn to it also has a larger picture in the top left hand corner, this could be a future issue of the magazine to excite the reader into buying the magazine next week.
Colours: The colours used in this particular magazine contents page are varied, the main striking image is Red this would be a very powerful colour and would attract the readers attention with the eye catching colour.  The colour red is complimented well with the colours white and black that is surrounding the image and the subheadings and headings around it. Having the black text on a white background would make it easier to read and also look very professional.

Double page spread:         
                                                 

What is first noticeable about this particular double page spread would be the large image of the band The Vaccines usually a double page spread would be have one page being the photograph and one page being the text however this example is almost three quarters of the page is the photograph. From the image I can see that there is one man who is in front of the rest of the men, I interpret this as the man in the front of all of the men is the leader of this group and therefore would be more dominant or there would be more empathises on his importance compared to the others in the magazine. They appear to the audience as very organised musical band. The headline is presented in a bigger font written in black. I believe that this colour was used to contrast the white background and make the headline more bold, this would gain readers as it would be more easily read and would also look professional.

The main article part includes the text which is presented in two columns.This would make the double page spread look more professional and in my opinion would show that a considerably amount of time would be taken in the making of the magazine all of these factors would improve the overall feel of the magazine as the consistent high standards would be shown throughout the front cover, contents page and also the double page spread.  There are also some little blue elements included all over the double page spread. This brings some more joyful to this page when compared to all dark-theme colours including the dominance of black. This makes the pages apeal more aesthically pleasant and more eye-catchy.

NME Magazine

Front Cover: 

Masthead: The masthead present for the NME magazine would be very effective in my opinion, it would easily grab the attention of consumers due to the bright red colour which is present in a rectangular shape with letters inside the box reading "NME" the simplistic masthead would in my opinion be effective in many of the same ways "Q" magazine would be effective, The magazine would have a very short name and would therefore be very easy to remember, the consumer could also use colour association when remembering "NME" they will remember the colour red and the simple logo in general. The white text would be effective because it is very simple and basic but you compliment the colour red. On the side of the magazine I can also see that the publishers have presented the date the magazine has been issued, this would be a unique feature as it is not in a usual horizontal position and however is in a vertical position. 
Main Image: The main image of the magazine is very striking, the black and white picture has been used, I believe that this is to contradict the bright and colourful masthead that I have discussed before, I can also see that the key feature to this magazine would be Noel Gallagher, Gallagher's face in the image is very serious and is staring directly into the camera, this would make the magazine cover more personal and therefore would make the consumer want to buy the magazine. Gallagher's nose is also not correctly shaped, this makes the photograph more menacing and more serious as the picture is a close up there is no way of avoiding the imperfect nose and would therefore be a captivating and intriguing image for the consumer to look at. Noel Gallagher however is wearing very professional clothes with what looks to be some sort of suit he is wearing, this would contradict his demographic location as he is notorious for being from Manchester which is associated with working class people. From this front cover I believe that NME is a very serious brand that offers a wider range of music as Noel Gallagher is not normally the ideal musician to use as a model. I can also say this as names such as "Ed Sheeran" and "Marylin Manson" are mentioned in as features from subheadings around Gallaghers head. 

The price: The price of this certain magazine is presented on the barcode of the magazine which is positioned in the unusual position of the middle right side of the magazine, From my research upon NME magazine I can say that a subscription of NME magazine will cost: ££122.40  and a standard single issue would cost : £1.88, This would be considerably more than subscribing to clash magazine however from researching I have found out that on a subscription for 12months "NME" will publish 51 magazines and "Clash" will publish 12, meaning "NME" would be published more frequently and therefore meaning "Clash" would spend more time on there products and probably to a higher standard with more content and features.

Target Audience: From my research I can infer that the target audience of this magazine would be around 25 years old, this is due to the genre of music in the magazine mostly being rock and pop which would be associated with younger people, I can also say that the target audience would have a majority of men readers with 73% of readers being Male. The majority of "NME" readers would represent the features "NME" would present, this would be a new young and trendy way of living and would also enjoy films and technology.

Contents page:

Layout: The layout of NME's contents page would be very basic however would be very easy to read what exactly is featured in the magazine and what pages the specific features are, on the top of the page I can see that the NME logo is present at the top of the page, this logo would be effective as it has a red background and therefore would look very professional as it would strike and clash with the solid colure of the white background that is behind it. Each of the subheadings are outlined in a black box this would be effective as it would give the reader a way of finding what is important under specific headings, the page number is also next to the subheading allowing the reader to skip to the pages they would want to read. The page is split up into three sections that are the regulars in the magazine, the special features who in the issue of the magazine would be Noel Gallagher and the lastly it would be a list of bands that are on the charts at the time this magazine was issued. 

Colours: The colours in NME's contents page would be varied and would look similar to "Q" magazines contents page, the same colour selection was used being Red, White and Black, The red once again would be the most striking colour and would brighten up the otherwise dull page The black and white theme has now been apparent throughout the magazine with also the front cover being a portrait image of Noel Gallagher which would also be in a black and white format. Black text boxes were placed around the contents page with a white coloured text inside the box creating a contrast therefore meaning it is easier for the consumer to read, this would make the magazine look very professional. There was very little typography used in this contents page with all very basic fonts used for the headings, subheadings and filler text.
Images: There is one stand out image of this magazine and that would be the picture placed in the middle of the contents page with musician "Mark Ronson" in a medium close up shot that is a portrait image, this image would give much need colour to the contents page with the publisher using a bright green background behind Ronson's head, This is complimented with Ronson's darker green blazer that he is wearing, this colour would make the contents page more attractive and would also allow the readers to see if they like Mark Ronson therefore would skip to his feature within the magazine.

Double page spread:  

In this particular magazine the double page spread seems to be mostly a photograph, however this photograph would completely go against the theme of the issue so far which has been predominantly black and white, this image is very colourful with a vast array of different shades of blue and green grass in the background. The imagery in this image is aesthetically pleasing with what looks to be a luxury setting around the sole man in the middle of the image who is wearing modern clothes. On the far right side of the double page spread you can see that there is a small amount of text that is outlined in a white text box allowing easy acsess to read the text. The heading is also in a bright yellow box distinguishing the heading and then then filler text. This would be effective as it allows the reader to know what the feature is about and wether or not they would like to read it, using yellow would also make it more unique and add colour once again to the double page spread.

VIBE

Front Cover: 

Masthead: The masthead of this magazine is bold which uses the colour pink. This contrasts with the plain background of white, which makes the masthead of the magazine stand out to its target audience this would be extremely eye-cathing and would gain more attention compared to other existing magazines that could be competition. The calligraphy makes the magazine stand out. The usage of bright colours will attract the fashionable young audience which is Vibes target audience the bright colours will also go well with the featured artists who usually are very eccentric. Therefore, it also shows that masthead has been slightly the audience must be covered by the image of the dedicated to the magazine and buy it constantly. This holds connotations reinforces the idea that of identity and loyalty for its magazine is loyalty to its audience. It shows that the audience will be able to tell the identity magazine makes the without seeing the full masthead. audience feel apart of it.
Main Image: Image The dominant image of this magazine shows a well- known artist. This will instantly attract its target audience Akon is very well known and people who may not like Vibe however like Akon would buy the magazine as they would be interested in the cover artist, The image overlaps the masthead. This suggests loyal customers will purchase this magazine as it is a well-known name. The image is a Long mid shot which will help to promote to the audience that the magazine is of an R&B genre of music, and therefore will be interested to read it if they are interested that particular genre. The image itself is black and white, which also reinforces the idea that the genre of music is R&B as most of the videos are known to be set in black and white. Therefore, appealing to its audience. This also helps the rest of the headlines to contrast and stand out, attracting the audience with its eye-catching colours. The artist is seen to be top-less which could appeal to both males and females, potentially attracting new audiences. The artist is also shown with what looks to be expensive jewellery which helps to promote to its high-waged audience and if their interested in fashion.
Banner: The banner or boost helps to sell the magazine. It is bold and fits in with the colour scheme. The headlines flow around the image, which also acts as boost. The headlines are a convenience to the audience as people read form left to right. The banner is black which again contrasts with the other colours used to help promote the magazine. The fans will notice the banner due to it being placed at the top of the masthead and recognize the bands shown.

Strap-lines: The main headline says ‘AKON’ this relates to the dominant image of the front cover. By supporting the image, this headline will pull the audience into seeing what is in the contents of the magazine. The strap- line underneath ‘AKON’ explains to the audience what the main title of his article is. The headlines and strap-line are used with contrasting colours to stand out to the audience; it also helps to determine the difference between them. The strap-line saying ‘R&B for real’ then listing artists of this genre, will potentially targets the main target audience for this magazine. This suggests that the magazine is aimed at serious music fans of this particular genre, and therefore attracting the audience. The listing of the well-known artists underneath the main strap-line acts as anchorage to tell the audience what the magazine will be aimed at, just with a glance at the front cover. This strap-line acts as a ‘plus’ column in the lower right hand corner. These show a variety of different artists which are of a similar genre to the rest of the magazine. Again, appealing to its target audience. It helps to create the magazine more diverse then the mainstream, which could therefore gather new people to buying the magazine. The colours used are similar to the rest used throughout the front cover which follows the same house style for the magazine. The colours are of contrast to each other which makes them stand out due to them being placed at the bottom of the page. However, this aspect is quite unconventional to its audience as it is situated at the bottom right, which makes it more difficult for the audience to read as we read from left to right, top to bottom.

The price: Vibe magazine subscribers pay £9.95 for 6 issues which works out at £1.60 a magazine I feel that this isa very cheap price for the magazine and I feel I can charge more for the magazine I am going to create.

Target Audience: From the research I have conducted I have been able to create a demographic that the Vibe target audience would consist of 

Demographics Results :

Men 55% Women 45% 

Age: 18-24 35% 18-34 67% 21+ 82% 35+ 29% 

Median: Age 30 

Education: Any college 55% Currently in college 20% 

Employment: Employed 62% HHI Income $52.5k Black /African AMERICAN 75% White 15.9% Spanish/Hispanic/ Latino 12.4% Asian 1% Other Race 11.3% 

TOTAL AUDIENCE - 2,400,000 (2011)

Contents page:

Large V to indicate that the “V” in Vibe magazine is important. The magazines logo also includes the issue of the magazine underneath. The title ‘Contents’ has been placed in a different approach to other magazines. This makes the title contrast with the dark red background. The background colour is a dark red to red gradient. This makes the hip hop artist stand out even more the red in the background of the contents page could also represent danger or intimidation this would be suggested by the way the rapper is staring dirtily into the camera . It also makes the spot light on him, showing he’s the main focus on the contents page. Topless rapper to show body tattoos. This suggests that tattoos are a strong part of the hip hop stereotype. The artist is holding a mask to possibly suggest that he is wanting to gain a unique image that he isn't afraid to mask from the public. Subheadings located in capitals to made it easier for the reader to find what they are looking for. The title features is a curved fancy text. This looks like a classical text for a hip hop magazine due to its originality

Double Page Spread:

When looking at this double page spread there is various different features that make the double page spread effective. A combination of layout features make the double page spread very effective. features such as the colours.

The colors that are used on this magazines double page spread are predominantly blue, white and black. these colors allow the double page spread to stand out and also make Bruno Mars himself stand out. when background colour on the right hand side of the image is white, this is due to the fact that the text colour is black creating a contrast which then makes it easier to read for the consumer. It uses a combination of different fonts and font sizes when looking deeper at the text , This is effective as it distinguishes important points of the double page spread and less important parts. The colors represent a clean look which is also quite calm due to the off colour blue, The blue is a gradient which also contains the color white which matches the background of the text. 

The image dominates the double page spread as it is interesting and out of the ordinary. The large prop of a jukebox shows that Bruno Mars is a musician if the consumer is not already aware of this. The model has props such as a fedora hat and also sunglasses, this make the model mysterious as the face cannot be easily identified. This creates the urge to find out more about the artist by reading the magazine. The magazine takes one side of the double page spread, This shows that the text is equally important as the content of the magazine. The actor looks stylish and trendy which could indicate what type of music the musician makes, with trendy clothes meaning the artists is usually associate with a modern form as music such as Pop music or indie. 

The layout of the double page spread is effective as it splits the page into two sections. The left hand side of the double page spread is the image of the actor which I have already discussed and the right side of the double page spread is the content. This makes it very easy for the consumer to read, There is also a barcode of some kind on both of the sides of the double page spread. This seems to be a house style that Vibe have used to make the double page spread more aesthetically pleasing.        

Researching different media institutions

Researching different media institutions

Media intuition is a large chain an organisation which is branched into different companies. For example the variety of mass media contains radio, movies, television, magazines and internet (social media). The larger the company is the larger impact it would have on the audience such as, influencing their mind-set, interests and attitude.

The first Q magazine was published by the media group called ‘EMAP’ media group in October 1986. Q magazine is UK’s commonly known for the music charts which seem to attract younger generation of the consumers. It is also UK’s biggest selling magazine monthly due to the fact that Q magazine covers various genres which leads to wider target audience.

BBC music magazine is part of the synergy and one of this includes music magazine. BBC music magazine is published monthly which associates with the immediate Media company limited under publishing house industry. One of the elements that created the Immediate is BBC music magazine; the first magazine was published in June, 1992 and 1993 in North America. When looking at the target audience based on the jazz and classic music genre I would say the target audience would be around over 40.

NME is a music magazine, which is owned by the Time INC, along with that IPC media is a subsidiary company of time Inc. It was created in 1950s. IPC media contains three divisions of publishing targeted at men which suggests that the NME target audience is also for men at around 20-30. The magazine is published weekly by IPC.

Research existing music magazines

Research existing music magazines

For this research I would look at the existing music magazines to expand my knowledge for further production. In this way I will have a better idea of what is expected on my music magazine. To meet its convention of a magazine I would be looking at the well-known and successful magazines and therefore I would like to make my music magazine look professional. When looking at the professional features I can see different types of music magazine which I will use as inspiration and apply that to my own magazine. The examples I have picked out are: 

Billboard

Billboard magazine is a famous music magazine which was first published in 1894. Billboard contains variety of information such as, recent news, reviews, events and most importantly – music charts, for example, ‘Billboard hot 100’ and ‘Billboard 200’ of the most popular tracks and album during that period of time for various genres.  Prometheus Global Media company is the owner of Billboard music magazines along with Tony Gervino(editor). 

Q (magazine)

Q (magazine) is a British music magazine displaying different types of genre and was founded in 1986.  Q magazine has developed to higher standards by improving the quality of the photographs and printing. It is a monthly published magazine that provides information about new music released, concert (live) reviews and radio using a system called star-rating. This is a convenient star rating, simply from one to five. Q magazine is owned by Bauer Media group. 

New Musical Express (NME)

NME runs by the ‘Time Inc. UK’ company, it is highly based on three different genres which are rock, alternative and indie music. NME publishes weekly since 1949 and was the first British publication to involve a music chart. Consequently in 1970s it became the most popular and best-selling publication. The NME is largely based in London, Southwark, England. There are several editors however for the magazine specifically the current editor is named Mike Williams. 

Rolling Stone 

Rolling Stone is a very prestigious magazine that is considered to be one of the best mic magazines on the current market. The magazine issues around 26 magazine issues a year the magazine which was founded in 1967 by Jann Wenner, With the first magazine being issued on November 9th 1967. Contents wise the magazine provides a wide variety including predominantly pop music, however also has additional features such as recent news, reviews and even politics. 








Complex

Complex magazine is an established music and culture magazine located and founded in new york city. Complex is a recently established magazine that was first issued in 2002. The magazine was founded by Mark Ekko and is now being published by Rich Antoniello every month. The magazine its self has two main features that will attract their audience, these are the high amount of Rap/Hip-hop music genre fans and also lifestyle enthusiasts.  







VIBE

Vibe magazine was founded in 1945 by Quincy Jones, the professional publication offers fans exclusive content from the rap/hip-hop music genre. The company that produces the magazine is called Spin media and it produces the magazine quarterly. The total circulation of the year 2011 was around 300,00+









XXL

XXL Magazine as founded in the year 1997 and is classified as the new voice of the Hip-Hop generation. The magazine offers features such as exclusive interviews with many art its associated with the music genre as well as reviews. The magazine is issued quarterly and is based in New York city where it was originally founded. 

Primary Research

Front Cover -

For my research task I have used the internet to gain a wider perspective upon what is already existing in the market, this would give me a better understanding on what is already out in the market and what my magazine can include to add a diverse feature upon my magazine, using other aspects such as my questionnaire that i have created I can make my the magazine to please my target audience which would be according to my questionnaire is around 16-17 years old. When looking at the other magazines I can find online I must look at the format of the magazine, so how it would be presented. From this particular magazine I can see that the company is called Vibe and has a very basic theme when it comes to colour, Blue,Pink and Grey is mostly used on the magazine front cover. I believe that there so lours have been used as the would not be gender stearotyped so there would be no bias towards buying the magazine from either man or woman. I will incorporate this into my magazine as the magazine will be multi gender to gain consumer maximisation. The colours of
my magazine would be similar in the fact that multiple colours will be used however not only to gain popularity from both genders but also to create the magazine to be more eye-catching and would be creative, i would need this as my magazine would have to stand out on a shelf and I believe that using bright colours will create interest particularly with a strong picture such as the one shown on "VIBE" magazine.

The photograph is a close up of Kanye West  this is a very striking photograph as there is no expression on his face and his skin colour would be in contrast with the background, this would make his head stand out, His clothes is also taken into consideration as his clothes are the same colours as the text around the picture, this would make the magazine cover look very professional and would also entice the reader to be more impressed as more time time has been taken with the photography and therefore would be more enjoyable to read as more time would have been taken with the making of the whole magazine. I can also see that lights have been used on Kanye's face, this would show professionalism and would also make the consumers to think that more time was invested into the magazine. I have used lighting previously in my preliminary task and therefore can use the equipment quite easily and effectively when shooting photographs for my own magazine. The school also has a very professional camera which could be used to make the photography very sleek and very clean.

On this particular magazine cover a different type of typography has been used effectively, the font type for billboard magazine is quite slim, this would be in order to fit the title in and still make it look

professional. There has been two colours used in this cover with the letter A and D being filled in with the colours blue and green respectively. I can use this level of creativity in my own magazine to ensure a high level of standard in my work. A high level in standard would mean that my magazine would be one of the highest quality. The Text would have changed the the left hand size of the magazine, this difference would show diversity and styles of text, the creator of the magazine has used a different size of text of the top of the subheading "Bruno Mars" this would show that I would be able to conserve space like this on my own magazine allowing my text to be legible and also be very creative and effective in allowing me to input more into my magazine front cover by overlapping text.

 When comparing these two these two magazines both created by billboard I can infer that the front cover text is different this means Billboard use a large array of typography not just for the subheadings but also for the main headline of the magazine, I can implement this into my own magazine by not being afraid to change my typography throughout my magazine to prove that i can use Adobe in design and show my skills and creativity when making the magazine. From comparing I am also able to see that the magazine has once again edited the text to conserve space on the front cover, This time the text has neatly been placed in the middle of the "O". From looking at both of these magazines I can infer that form my magazine cover I will definitely use some of these features in my own magazine cover, I can also see that manipulation may also have been used when editing the photograph different colours are on J.Cole's face from the front cover we are unable to see weather or not this is from the lighting in the room or weather or not this is a use of photoshop after taking the original photograph. I will be using Photoshop as my photo manipulation tool, this would help me make my front cover of the magazine look very professional.   

This particular magazine has allot of text by the side of the main picture of Ed Sheeran, This text would be beneficial as it would enable to show what is inside the magazine, The text and typography of the side of the magazine cover shows other additional exclusives that are inside the magazine, for example this magazine would show that Pink Floyd, Kasabain and Neil Young are all in the magazine without opening the magazine to the contents page. I can use this in my own work as this would allow my consumers to have a better understanding of what is in my magazine and it would allow them me to share other aspects of the magazine that would not be shown until opening the magazine. I can also see that the magazine would have a feature that shows the top 50albums of 2014. This would be an added insentive to buy the magazine and gain access and hear what are the best albums of 2014. Having these extra features would be very beneficial to me and my magazine as this would improve the sales of the product and also give people something to talk about my magazine, exclusive interviews would also increase the magazines popularity and would be a good unique selling point (USP) this would mean that more and more consumers would purchase the magazine if they feel they are getting first had information that can not be seen anywhere other than this particular magazine. 

Contents Page - 

From the contents pages I have researched I can infer that depending on the genre of music the contents page would differ, for example this cover of Kanye West is very basic however the simplicity would make the contents page very clean cut and would be very aesthetically pleasing. I can see that the colours are quite dark once again maybe to contrast the skin colour of Kanye himself, the typography used is very complex however could be done in Adobe indesign relatively easily, For my magazine I am hoping to take inspiration from this magazine cover and create my own contemporary contents page. From reading the contents I can see that this particular magazine has fashion involved in the magazine, this would be good as they are expanding the target audience to gain a larger market ultimately interesting more and more people, This is something I can implement into my magazine to offer a variety of different features and not only music, however I have to ensure that i stay close to the marking criteria and put my main focus on the music of my magazine. This particular contents page is very easily legible and is very clear, the main image is not to large allowing the reader the easily read the text next to the image also the text is neither too small or too large, also the font of the text is very easy to read although they have changed the text of the subheading's that could lead to some confusion although it seems very easy to read and looks very professional with that particular font.

Double Page Spread -

This double page spread is very professional in my opinion, the picture is very modern and nice by using lights and also the use of sunglasses creating mystery upon Jay-Z. The double page spread is majority taken up by the image and a quote on the bottom of the image. The spread uses very unique and amazing typography on the text section of the spread, The large red "J" that is taking up the majority of the text it seems is actually transparent and text under the "J" is completely and easily visible. This would be very hard to implement into my magazine due to the complexity of the typography however a similar idea could be used instead and would have ultimately the same effect. The double spread also has a small little story at the beginning of the article to allow the reader to make sure that he would actually want to read. 

Preliminary Task 

My magazine would represent a specific audience who in this case would be young teenagers as it is a school magazine. A young boy would be presented on the front cover and then another two would be presented in the contents page, this would show that my audience would be teenagers as it would represent the younger  generation. My main text would attract my target audience as it is clearly legible for all of the school to see and read my magazine cover, this would allow/enable more people of any specific reading age to be able to read and understand the cover of my magazine. An area of improvement when representing a social group would be i could have added more color into my magazine this would be an improvement as more people would be attracted to my magazine this way with the bright eye catching colors being on display, i have only used very basic colors on my magazine but in order to represent more of my target audience i would need to add more colors into my work.

My magazine cover looks very professional and was designed using adobe in-design, this pro gramme would allow me to create a effective concept/prototype for my preliminary task. I have also used the pro gramme Photoshop to make adjustments to my front cover in terms f exposure and underexposure, i have chosen to use a gradient on my models face to create a contrast and to make it look more professional and to show that i am able to use other pro gramme's to edit and manipulate my photographs, I have made no other manipulations to this image however in my main task i will want to use Photoshop more to manipulate images and make my magazine unique and stand out.

The photography used on my magazine was taken by me, the first picture is a medium close shot of a peer/class mate we have used a professional background by being resourceful and using a backdrop and lighting to make the photo a better quality and easy to manipulate if chosen to do so. i have chosen a medium close up as it shows the face of my model clearly and also would be in the specification of the preliminary task. On my contents page I have used a medium close up 2, allowing two people in the shot to give a contrast in skin complexion and to alternate from my front page of the magazine. I have used a professional camera to gain the best results as it would look more professional and would.

Using these particular technology I have been able to expand my knowledge upon the manipulating of photo's using either Photoshop or adobe in design ,using these two programmes I will be to manipulate photos with very little knowledge upon the two applications.

EVALUATION -

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Research

Photography Research
In today's lesson my peers have taught my the basics upon photography, the students that taught me were/are photography students and have good knowledge upon the subject, from the slideshow I have learnt four ways that i can implement in my own work


Overexposed - An overexposed photo would be when the image has been exposed to too much light and would make the photo very bright and would not be aesthetically pleasing, this would mean that the photo would not be able to be attractive and would not be eye-catching for my target audience. A example photo would be; as you can see, the image is very bright and would not be very clear as the visual effects from the sun would be overpowering and would create a very sensitive photo.



Underexpose - An underexposed photo would be when the image is dark when tampering with the contrast and exposure of the photo, and underexposed photo would not allow a clear image and may not be visible clearly for the target audience to see, A hard magazine to view would not be beneficial to me as my magazine would not be attractive as it would be too dark. A example photo would be; as you can see from this picture, this photo is underexposed, the shadow and the overall image is darker than the overexposed image, and this again could be empowering and you overall not be a great image because it would not be effective.



Depth of field - A depth of field would be when the background would be blurred out, solely focusing on the main image, The empathises the image and would only focus on the main image. the blur would be an effect and would be very good for a magazine cover as the blur would be a good base for the text that would be located on the side of the front cover meanwhile still distinguishing the main image.
a example photo would be;

Medium close up - A medium close up would be a good way to show the face as well as some of the upper body, this specific shot will be good for a magazine cover as it would first of all show the whole face and would also show a close aspect of the face whereas any other shot may restrict the view and would no longer be suitable for a magazine cover.
a example photo would be;
From this photo you can clearly see that, this is a professional photo and all around a good looking photo, it shows facial expressions and also clothing on the top part of the body. This would be amazing for my personal photography as it would fit my magazine well and would also be a perfect medium close up.




Overall I can see that I can use a varied array of these particular photography techniques and methods to create a very professional and very clean edit on a photo, having this would mean that my photography would be tophe end and I can use all of what I have learnt today to create a very nice image. I may use some of these techniques in my own magazine on purpose to create an effect on my models face. I may also use a underexposed photograph to create a dark and loony image. This may be to fit a house style or to create a sense of mystery around my actor. I may use a underexposed image to crate a more visible image this would be able to be seen by all of the consumers.

Magazine Drafts

 To the left and right of the screen are two draft attempts I have created when thinking about my magazine front cover, the draft to the left consists of a dominating main image with sub headings that would be going down the left hand side of the page. This would be easily visible for the consumer and wold allow them to understand what is in the magazine when looking ing one place. the right side of the page would show a unusual design with the masthead running through the  idle of the main image.

 This is the main image that I have chosen as it would be once again main image dominated. This would proudly show off the model that I have chosen and would also be clearly visible for the consumers to see what the title of the magazine is called. The masthead would be quite large. My magazine would have used some codes and conventions as well. The use of subheadings and a barcode is a existing theme running through many existing school magazines. I believe that I will be using a medium close shot to show my models face and facial expressions effectively. The use of subheadings would make my magazine front cover more busy, this would also make my magazine look more professional and realistic. I believe that the title I have chosen "Educate" will fit well at the masthead spot that is clearly shown below.

 The two drawings here are attempts at a contents page that I have considered when creating my preliminary task. The option to the left would show a large dominating image with text on the left with the text. This would allow the reader to clearly distinguish what the contents are and who is going to be in the magazine (e.g. main image) The image to the right of the screen would show the contents being listed on the bottom of the screen this would be different and unconventional.

My chosen contents page has the title in the top right hand corner of the page, this would show the consumers that it is the title of the page. The image would be dominating once more and would be a medium close hip therefore the consumer would be able to look into the eyes of the model with my intended pose being one that my model would look into the camera creating an illusion that the model is looking at the consumer which would make it more personal.