Changes

After receiving feedback from my peers, I realised that there were a few things that were not included on my magazine that would make it that little bit better such as page furniture and space that could be filled on my front cover without spoiling how it already looked. Due to the fact that I had taken the red from my cover models jumper to use as the red throughout the magazine I will make the stamp this colour to keep a common house style consistent.

When I did this, the red appeared to be brighter on the stamp than it is on the text however i can assure you that everywhere that there is red on my magazine the same shade of red has been used. 

The changes will appear on my Final product.

Contents Page Draft

Double Page Spread Draft

Font Page Draft

Double Page Spread

Double page spreads are usually found in the very centre of the magazine. The double page spread topic usually corresponds with the main cover line of the front page of a magazine. Topics that you would usually find on a double page spread would be articles on the artist, interviews about the artist/bands up coming songs and tours etc. and  things such as reviews on artists and their music. 

Key words that will entice your reader:

1. DANGER - The word danger makes alarm bells ring in the readers head as they will want to find out what is so dangerous and therefore feel the need to read into the magazine article and find out more. 
2. CONTROVERSY - This word will let readers know that something may come up in the article of interest as there may be conflict or tension between the interview and artist or artist  and people they know or associate themselves with.
3. ORIGINAL - Original gives the impression to the reader that the artist could be first to come up with an idea or something along these lines, being original often means standing out from the crowd and not being too mainstream (as many artists tend to move towards) so readers may want to find out more about these 'original artists'.

Double Page Spread Mock Up

This is a mock up of my Double page spread design. This is roughly what I want my double page spread to be set out like and hopefully when producing my final piece I will be able to recreate this design while including the different components that will make up the double page spread.

Contents Page Mock Up

For my Contents page, I looked at copies of VIBE magazine for inspiration. I saw an edition of VIBE where the editors had set out the contents over two pages and I really liked some of the features from both. After studying the two pages, I came up with the idea to try and 'fuse' them into one. By doing this I came up with this flat plan for my contents page. I have decided to use the conventional 'contents' as the title of this page, however, I am going to try and recreate the style that VIBE write it in, where the text is broken up to convey the convention that hip hop goes against regularity.

Front Cover Mock Up

This is my flat plan (mock up) of what i think my magazine front cover is going to look like. My inspiration for the layout of the magazine comes from the magazine 'VIBE' which is also a hip hop magazine that includes all the latest hip hop news and trends. After looking at 2 issues of 'VIBE' magazine I have managed to recreate my own layout which I think will give a sophisticated look to the front of my magazine so readers find it easy to navigate the magazine front cover and see which cover line represents the cover photo and so on. Instead of using a typical banner across the top of my magazine I will be using a strap line which is a bit different to conventional music magazines but after doing my research I discovered that a strap line is fairly common on hip hop magazine like VIBE. I think that the strap line is a good feature because it will further attract readers to want to discover more from the inside of this magazine. I have decided to implement this into my design because it will leave room on the rest of my cover for my cover lines to go and will not over crowd the page.

I will be making my masthead solid block capitals and the colour of the font will have a gradient overlay that fades into a transparent colour so that you see the background. This is an idea that I have seen on multiple issues of vibe and I think it gives off a really nice effect. The cover line that will be aligned right will be on the right hand side of the page and will be aligned to this side to correspond with the side of the page that it lies on giving off a real sense of sophistication and a look of professionalism as almost every magazine using this technique in the industry. The main cover line will also be a bigger font size to the cover lines that lie on the left side of the page. This will suggest to the readers that that this cover line coincides to the main cover photo and will therefore be one of the main stories/articles in the magazine.

One thing that I have chosen to do is to keep text to a minimum on the front cover because this will make my front cover look over crowded and will take the focus away from the main cover photo and this is something that I do not want to happen. After doing research I also found out that most readers like to look at the picture so I do not want to include too much text and make the ratio of text:images too big. This is because most people often pick up magazines to have a quick glance at the images before further reading into the articles and stories.

Second Analysis of Music Magazine (VIBE)

Here is a second edition of VIBE magazine that I have taken the time to analyse by breaking down different components within the magazine. I will be looking to VIBE for a lot of inspiration when creating my magazine because I am going for a similar look as I feel like it is very styled yet sophisticated.

First Analysis of VIBE

Here is a presentation in which I have completely analysed the front cover, contents page, and double page spread of VIBE magazine. I have tried to include as much detail as possible for each part of the breakdown. I tried to leave out features that were less important as I would avoid using these in my final production anyway, therefore  I have analysed fully features that I deem impressive and would like to try and re-create in my final production.

Final Font Choice for Masthead

I have thought hard about which font I would like to use for my masthead. In the end i have decided to use the font Bebas Neue. I chose this font because I took to this font quite strongly when I first saw it. The font has a very clean, straight edge to each side which gives the text a quite sophisticated look, and I would like my magazine to give the effect of sophistication and professionalism when readers pick up the magazine. That is another reason that I will decide to use this font as my masthead font, because I wish for my magazine to look professional. If I was to choose a font that suited the genre a little bit better but it was graffiti font, then this can be a problem for some readers as graffiti can often be difficult to read. Also, fonts like graffiti can look rather tacky and will make the magazine lack professionalism.

Title of Music Magazine.

After lots of thought and preparation, including brain storming ideas and creating a moodboard with pictures linked to my chosen genre, I have finally decided to give my magazine the title 'MIXTAPE'. This is because I feel that there is a link between my genre and the title. A mixtape is something that small time rappers compose and put together when trying to make it in the music industry, they either sell it or give it away as a mixtape. By naming my magazine 'MIXTAPE' I feel that people should be given a strong enough idea of what genre my music magazine is and can therefore decide whether or not they wish to purchase it.

Font

I have reduced my options to three main fonts for my masthead. Bebas Neue, Old Sans Black and Arial Black. The reason that I have decided to shortlist these three fonts is because of their 'boldness'. I am really fond of the font Bebas Neue because it instantly caught my eye as a stand out font that would be ideal for my masthead. The next two fonts, I also really like, however, I much prefer the look of the first.

Brain Storming

Below is a picture of a mind map that I had drawn out in one of my lessons. The main idea behind this mind map was to brainstorm as many possible ideas into a mind map that I could that were to do with my chosen genre, whether it be artists, clothing, lifestyle... Whatever.

The main outcome from this was to hopefully think of a few titles for my Music magazine.

 Although the mind map is not completely full or finished, I think that I have jotted down a good amount of ideas which will help me decide on a title for my music magazine alongside my already fairly good knowledge of the genre.

Chosen Genre

For the chosen genre of my magazine i have decided to pick Hip Hop/Rap. I chose this because I feel like I have a real passion for this Genre of music. I have listened to and enjoyed this style of music for a number of years and still do today. I often wish to know what is happening in the Hip Hop industry with regard to artists and albums and I think that this ardor for this certain genre of music will help me produce a music magazine of the finest quality.

Target Audience

The ideal target audience that I am aiming my Music Magazine at will be young males that range between the ages of 16-22. I have picked this target because I feel that at this age most young males are interested in music and current affairs to do with the music industry, artists, albums and other components inside a magazine. Even though my magazine is male based, this does not mean to say that my magazine won't incorporate will include articles that females won't enjoy reading just as much as I would like my magazine to purvey for both genders, and not be too male based, even though young males are my ideal target audience.

I think that articles about artists, reviews and maybe fashion will play a big part in the production of my magazine as I think this is the most interesting thing to include as I myself find these types of things very interesting to look at. I think the ideal figure to buy my magazine would be someone like myself who enjoys listening to Hip Hop and Rap, and not only takes a huge interest in what is going on in the music industry but having a look at what artists are wearing which is where fashion comes into play. 

School Mag Analysis

As part of the prelim task we had to analyse a school newsletter in order to show our understanding of the different components that make up a magazine front cover etc. Below is my example of an analysis in which I analysed a Deyes High Newsletter, it includes my thoughts on what i think is done well and some of what may not be so good about the Newsletter.

Mood Board

Moral Panic

Moral Panic. 'A condition, episode, person or group of persons emerges as a threat to societal values and interests: its nature is presented in a stylised and stereotypical fashion by the mass media: The moral barricades are manned by editors, bishops, politicians and other right thinking people; socially accredited experts pronounce their diagnosis and solutions; ways of coping are evolved or (more often) resorted to.'

Features of Moral Panic

Concern - Behaviour of a particular group represented as having threat.

Votality -  Short-lived. Panics erupt dramatically but are difficult to sustain. Results in negative consequences for the rest of us.

Hositility - 'Folk Devils' constructed to create a clear division between 'them' and 'us'.

Consequences - Widespread acceptance of the threat posed by this group. Not necessarily reflecting national concern, but the campaigner will be very vocal whilst the opposition will be weak and disorganised.

Disproportionality - Wild exaggeration of evidence. Not only the number of people involved but also the scale of the problem.

Prelim Task: Completed

This is my finished PRELIM task. The task we got set was to produce a finished college magazine front cover and contents page using Adobe Photoshop and InDesign. The photos that I used are original photos taken by myself, and because they were taken on a fairly cloudy and musky day, I have used Photoshop to touch up the photos and make them look more appealing to an audience. I aimed to create a magazine that will appeal more toward the parent of students by keeping text very clean and sharp on the cover. Although it is primarily aimed at parents this does not mean to say that students cannot enjoy reading the Newsletter. The masthead is nice and simple, clearly stating the name of the school and pointing out the fact that this is a newsletter, and I have used a small cover story to invite readers in and want to find out more on that topic.

By completing this prelim task I feel that I am now able to go on with my Music Magazine task and have gained the skills and knowledge that I now need to produce a front cover, contents page and double page spread to a very professional looking standard.

Media/Music Mag Terminology

• Masthead - The name and logo of the magazine.
• The Lead - The introductory paragraph of an article. Usually written in bold/capitals.
• Body Copy - Is the text of your written articles. use correct features in body copy e.g. font, font size. Usually written in columns. 
• Serif Font - Fonts like: Times New Roman, or Courier which have little bars (serifs) on the end of letters.
• Sans Serif Font - Fonts like Arial which do not have Serifs on the end of letters.
• Drop Capitals - A really big letter which usually starts off the Article.
• Cross Head - Small sub-heading used to split up large blocks of text.
• White Space - White parts of the page other than text or pictures.
• Mode of Address - How the magazine talks to the audience.
• Sell Lines - Text on the cover that helps sell the magazine to the audience.
• Banners - Text which usually stands out because it is on a coloured background.
• House Style - Magazines distinctive design that separates it from competitors.
• Borders - The gaps at the edges of a page.
• Gutters - The gaps between columns of text.
• Leading - The space between lines of text.
• Kerning - The space between letters.
• Strap Lines - A smaller headline, printed above the main headline.
• By-Lines - Name of the person who wrote the article.
• Picture Credits - Who took the picture, where did it come from.
• Anchorage - The way in which text helps to pin down the meaning of a picture and visa versa.

Music Magazine Questionnaire

This is my Music Mag Questionnaire. Please take the time to fill out the questionnaire as the results that i collect and gather will influence my decisions when creating my music magazine.

Ideology

An ideology is a world view, a system of values, attitudes and beliefs which an individual, group or society holds to be true or important; these are shared by a culture or society about how that society should function.

Feminism

Throughout history, women have fought for equality and rights from their male counterparts and through years and yeas of trying they eventually managed to get the right to vote in the 19th/20th century. As women eventually got the vote and were being more recognised for their impotence in society, the debate of feminism widened to a range of issues: sexuality, family and the workplace. Feminism is still and issue in society as we hear of stories of women being victimised at work or turned into sexual objects by the media.

LAURA MULVEY

Laura Mulvey is a British feminist film theorist and worked at the British Film Institue for any years. She states that Hollywood cinema puts the spectator in a masculine subject position, with the figure on screen as the object of desire and the 'male gaze'.

Semiotics

What is Semiotics? Semiotics is the study of codes or language and this can include either the written or spoken word. There are a range of codes which we have learned to read over time and this can help us understand what things mean when people do it. For example, we all know that when a person shakes their head that they mean no, or could be showing disappointment. These are just two simple readings of what we can pick up from what a character is doing. Another example is semiotics could be used in films and magazines, if you were to see a very clean, polished looking man driving a very fancy sports car or a luxury car next to a man driving very old banger, you would soon realize that the man driving the luxury car is perhaps wealthier than the man driving the old car. Some things that us as a media audience would look for as semiotics would be: Colour, camera shots, clothing, editing, text and mise-en-scene.
The word 'Semiotics' was invented by the linguist and philosopher Saussure. He was a Swiss linguist and semiotician whose ideas founded many significant developments in linguistics and semiotics in modern society.

Adobe Products: InDesign

Another piece of software that we have been taught how to use is Adobe InDesign. InDesign is another essential programme when it comes to magazine production as it allows us to correctly position, align and organise text and images. Upon opening InDesign we are given the option to have guidelines on the page, including: gutters, borders, leaning and kerning. This is very helpful when spacing out text to give our page a very professional organised look.

Adobe Products: Photoshop

For the past few weeks we have been learning how to use Adobe products to better our production skills which will help us by giving our magazine a top quality look and a professional finish. The first piece of editing software we were taught to use was Adobe Photoshop, which is a professional photo editing software crucial to the production of magazines in the industry. Photoshop is used to touch up photos to give them more of an appeal to the audience. We were first taught how to colour correct our photo, which means giving the photo a bit of a glow to make the cover model or artist look more attractive, as you can give them a hint of tan. We also learned how to use the 'Spot Healing' tool and the 'Clone Stamp' tool. the Spot healing tool allows the user to remove any small blemishes or spots on the skin to give it a nice clear look. By making a persons skin more clear the target audience are instantly drawn in because they do not see multiple spots on the face and find this repulsive. The spot healing tool gives the picture a nice clean 'airbrushed' look however the shot still looks fairly natural, it's just we know that skin cannot be perfectly clear no matter who you are.

As you can clearly see, the photo on the right has clearly been edited and you are instantly drawn to that picture. Why is this? It is because the use of Photoshop has given the editor the ability to make her skin very soft and glowing, and as part of the 'male gaze' theory we are drawn to this picture because the model appears to be more attractive after having touch ups done to the picture. Photos after editing attract a larger audience and also give the magazine a more professional look, therefore I will be using Adobe Photoshop in the production of my Music Magazine.

Link to a Website I Frequently Visit

Whenever I am on my computer I always have a tab open on YouTube because it is great for watching videos. It is always open so that if I want to listen to music I easily can or if I wish to watch funny videos or movie trailers etc. it is there for me to use.

Here is the link to YouTube:

 http://www.youtube.com/

A Video Game I Enjoy Playing

I enjoy playing Fifa because I am very much into football and play it as a hobby on the regular.

A Movie Trailer That I Enjoy Watching

I enjoy watching the movie trailer of 'The Conjuring' because it is filled with dark scenes which instantly set the mood and scene for the film. The trailer gives me an insight into what the full feature is going to be like and the lighting on the scenes signify horror and mystery which suits the genre of the film.

A Music Video That I Enjoyed Watching

 I enjoy this music video because if I'm honest the girls in the video are something else.

Introduction

Hi! I'm Rian and this is my blog. I love school. I am currently 16 years old and have chosen to study A Level Media in year 12. I am not sure how I would like to use the subject in the future, perhaps for a job in the media business somewhere, but I chose to study the subject at A Level because I took the subject as a GCSE option. I studied Media for two years at GCSE and thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of it which is why I have chosen to take the subject further and carry it on at A Level. For this piece of coursework we have been given the task of creating a Music Magazine front cover, contents page and double page spread. I have created this blog so that I can keep you up to date on how I am doing on each section of the task.