Prototype magazine cover

I created two 'mock ups' of a front cover to gather my ideas and to see if they would work effectively  I hope to use something like this for my final front cover (obviously with a photo taken by me). I used inspiration from other magazines for things such as the layout to make it look as professional as possible. 

Obviously, before even started creating a front cover I had to decide on a genre of music and a target audience which I want my magazine to appeal to. In the end, I decided on Indie as I think it would allow me to have a calm and in-a-way retro look which is what I wanted. I also chose for my target audience to be 15-32 as i think this type of genre is most popular between these ages.

For the name of my magazine I came up with a short list including possible names such as; Pure, Shadows, Vague and Unica (unique in a different language). I opted for 'PURE' as I thought it represents the type of music and genre I am aiming for as Indie singers are often not as 'auto tuned' as lets say pop artists etc giving them a purer sounding voice and tone. However, this is subject to change throughout the process of creating my final cover!

Adding to this, the overall 'colour' of the magazine was crucial as it had to link with the genre. I made the image have a subtle colour as I didn't want the image to be seen as 'brightly coloured' as it may go against the genre and be seen as 'Pop' rather that Indie. 

However, for my second draft the most drastic change was the idea that I used colour for the font and used the font I used for the title in some of the sell lines. The idea for using the same font came from the need for a house style and I thought an obvious way to promote this would be to have the same font running throughout. I also like the colours as they all have an 'urban' feel and I feel that they compliment the genre by this. 


After re-evaluating both front covers, many things have stood out to me that I will consider/change when making my next draft. Immediately, I dislike the 'TM' sign next to the name as when I looked back at my cover I think it gives it a cliche/amateur look hence why it was removed on my second draft. I would also make the name of the magazine smaller so it did not cover the artists face or I would make sure I take a picture with a big enough margin between the face of the model and the edge of the page to allow my logo to fit in without disrupting the image.

Active vs Passive theory

The Active audience theory argues that media audiences dont just receive information passively but are often unconsciously actively engaged and make sense of the message within their personal and social contexts. Decoding of a media message may be influenced by such things including values, family background, beliefs and culture.

Reading 

Preferred reading/dominant ready

The 'intended' reading of the text

-The simpsons is a program appropriate for all ages. With the show revolving around a nuclear family type ( married parents and blood related children , pets etc) the programme is family friendly. It uses current issues and trends with a twist to add comedy to everyday lives. Through the main characters never changing age , image etc and remaining the central characters in the text the program is made to remain current and to appear as though it is a 'classic'.

Oppositional reader

your dislike/disagree with the preferred reading

- Although the Simpsons is made to appear as though it is directed at a family based audience catering to audience members of all ages and racial backgrounds etc , it simply reflects the bias of the westernised world and elite. It reinforces gender differences in a derogative manner and undermines the role of women through the low status of Marge in the family. It also reinforcenegative stereotypes of ethnic groups for example those of an Asian background simply portraying asian men to be shop keepers and asian wives to have large numbers of kids which is not nececerily the reality. Thus making it inapropriate for younger viewers .

Negotiated reading

you dislike and like different aspects

-Although the Simpsons can in general be positively recieved by all audience types it could be argued that at times it takes realistic and current storylines too far and over exagerates them to the point where they can no longer allow audience members to gain personal gratifications from viewing the text .

Encoding/decoding model

Contemporary semioticians refer to the creation and interpretation of texts as 'encoding' and 'decoding' respectively. 

In 1973, Stuart Hall published a paper entitled 'Encoding/decoding'. This had a major influence on cultural studies, the essay challenges popular assumptions on how media messages are produced, circulated and consumed proposing a new theory of communication.

Uses and gratification theory

Uses and gratifications theory (UGT) is an approach to understanding why and how people actively seek out specific media to satisfy specific needs. UGT is an audience centered approach to understanding mass communication.

Diverging from other media effect theories that question "what do media do to people?", UGT focuses on "what do people do with media?"

Technology

 
I will use many different resources when creating my magazine from the camera for taking the photos to the editing software I will use.

Firstly, I will use an iPhone 5 take my photos for the front cover and double page spread. I will then upload them to either to an Apple Mac Laptop or a Samsung laptop at school. I will use an iPhone 5 camera as I have easy access to one and a clear photo is given.I mainly add to my blog on a Samsung laptop but when at home I use an Apple laptop, because of this, picking an editing software is going to have to suit both makes of laptop. For my preliminary, I used 'pages' on an Apple Mac however I didnt like this software so I have decided to use 'Ipiccy' which can be accessed on a PC and a Apple laptop to edit my . Adding to this, for my double page spread I will probably use word or pages on the mac to get a split page.

Mood Board

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I created this mood board to portray some of the ideas I have already come up with and give a sense of the feel I will be aiming for.
Firstly in the middle of the collage are some potential texts which I may aim to use for my magazine cover. I feel that they fit the concept and style which I am aiming for. 
Also, the pictures of the field have inspired me to use fields as my setting and backdrop (as i handy have fields just outside of my garden.) I think this setting will give my picture a unique and calm feel which I want to aim for. Adding to this, I want to somehow incorporate balloons into my image as i think they again suit my genre and give a fun, cool looks to the image. 
As you can see, I want to use a girl model in my photo as I can the include ideas from the male gaze etc.

Genre

Whilst deciding my genre it is crucial to look at excisting magazines of all different artists to give me an idea of where I could go with the genre I choose.
As you can see, they all have different aspects to them including the colour palet, font and overall house style.

Audience

Genre 2

Research Methods

There are many different research methods which I could choose when creating and researching for my music magazines.

Primary Research is research I could carry out myself.. eg; an interview, survey, questionaire, internet forum and textual analysis

Secondary Research is using research that some else has carried out.. eg; search engine, website, book, magazines and journals

Quantative Research is concerned with data-identification of patterns and trends. eg; more men that woman read Kerrang

Qualititative Research however is concerned with peoples opinions, ideas, thoughts and feelings eg an interview

The research methods i intened to use are probably all 4. I think the method with the main advantageis the Qualitative Research as it shows an overall/fair view of peoples opinions. By using this whilst creating my magazine it will allow me to make my magazine appeal to my target audience as I will have gathered the opinions and ideas of the people I am trying to appeal to.
I will also use primary and secondary research by using the primary method it will allow me to gain knowledge whilst doing the research and again able me to reinforce the appeal to my target audience. However, by using secondary research it will allow me to get quick information and facts which I will not be able to access. This will be helpful in finding out the readership of certain magazines etc.

Rules of Construction (Prezi)

Ideology In Music

IDEOLOGY IS A BELIEF  

All musical genres have a certain 'ideology'. Often genres divide along binary oppositions or dichotomy. 

Ideology- a system of ideas and ideals, especially one which forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy.

Pop and Rock are very contrasting genres so have very different ideologies. 



Pop 

• Clean
• Calmer
• Non-Sexual, A-sexual
• Euphemistic
• No drugs/drink
• Happy
• Professional
• Apolitical
• Fake, artificial 
• Money and success 

Rock

• Dirty
• Agressive
• Sexual
• Literal
• Drugs + Alcohol
• Angry
• Appear to be less competent/concerned 
• Political
• Authentic
• Making a statement

As you can tell form this quick list, Pop's ideology may initial seen as better than Rock's. However, often Pop is seen as fake and artificial and the artists often arent as 'authentic as Rock artists. 

Adding to this, recently Pop has been crossing into the Rocks Ideology. For example, Artists such as Ke$ha use lyrics which links to drugs and sex which was commonly against Pops Ideology. 

Unconventional Magazine Covers

One of the most popualar unconventional magazines is RAYGUN  by David Carson. It is considered very contraversial due to its unconventional designs. It was first published as an alternative rock and roll magazine in 1992, it explored experimental magazine typographic design.

Many of its front covers are seen as very unusual and use strange features such as;

• An upside down image
• Abstract wrting
• Foriegn writing
• Random images
• Obscure placement of things

My Opinion

Although Raygun uses strong counter types within the magazine and goes against the majority of the codes and conventions for music magazines I find that the unigue design is intriguing and interesting as it deviates from the typically magazines.

However, the exremity it goes to to be unique and lack of housestyle is offputting to the consumer as it does not allow a familiarity that magazine readers look for.

Male Gaze

A theorist called Laura Mulvey came up with the theory of the 'Male Gaze'. She argued that most media reflects the male gaze as the audience, or viewer, is put into the perspective of a heterosexual male for example, it may linger on a woman's curves. Woman also seem to be objectified. 

The Male Gaze typically focuses on:

-         Emphasising curves of the female body

-         Referring to women as objects rather than people

-         The display of women is how men think they should be perceived

This is also commonly seen in magazines as well as digital texts such as TV and film.

Both of the magazine covers are clear examples of the camera being used as a 'male eye'.

The front cover of 'Q' is a very common example of how magazines use the male gaze in the front cover. The camera and her pose together excentuate and make the eyes focus on her posterior and her legs. Her pose also links to the male gaze and audience as it is the type of pose which would appeal to men. Similar to this, Rolling Stones front cover of Miley Cyrus also using a peovocative pose and is seen topless much like Lily Allen in Q. Both front covers use the woman to help appeal to both men and woman. They do this as men are attracted to the women they are portraying and woman aspire to be/look like them.

Media Terminolgy

To help make my music magazine look as professional as possible I need to be able to use Media terminology and understand what the terms mean

I shall be using print terms such as;

• Serif
• Sans Serif
• Uppercase 
• Lowercase
• House style
• Mid shot
• Close up
• Long shot
• Wide shot
• Extreme close up 

 These terms will help me with the overall presentation however they may not help me with the initial construction of my magazine pages.

Bleed printing is a technique used by many if not all professional printing companies. It helps ensure that no mistakes are shown at the edge. This method will help me to ensure a professional cut  The picture to the left explains the term 

 1- Shows the trim where the product will be cut.
 2- Shows where the 'Bleed' is, it is a safe zone outside the trim area
 3- Is the margin which is a safe zone inside the trim area

M.I.R.A is a term which will help me to construct my magazine but it will also arise questions for other magazine types.
M- Media form. Movie, TV, Magazine
I-   Institution. Who made it?
R-  Representation. Who or what does it show?
A-  Audience. Who is it for?

'Pass along audience' is also important to consider when researching your target audience. These readers are also known as a 'secondary audience'. These readers are not people who actually buy the magazine. This could be due to the fact the magazine has been left around the house or found in a dentist waiting room.

When constructing my magazine I will need to consider the use of Gutters and Alleys. The gutter in a magazine, especially a two page spread allows room for the binding eg the staples. It also ensures that the text wont get lost between the two pages. An alley is used to make the text more clean on a page. A magazine often uses columns and an alley is used to seperate the two texts to make it easier to read.

A Strap line is a short 'slogan' which is used to identify brands eg Tescos 'Every Little Helps'. I will need to include one of these whilst producing my magazine as it will make my magazine identifiable just by the memorable slogan. A strapline is also known as a 'tag line' which is used to strengthen the memorability of the individual product.

Pug is a media term which describes the extra information seen at either side of the title- like ears (hence the name pug). This will able me to add snippets of information on my front cover.

I also may use a Call out/Pull quote in my magazine. These are small pieces of text from an article inside the magazine- often no longer than a few words long- which will engage and interest the reader/buyer. They are normally very short and snappy.

History of Music Magazines

For my 'History of Magazines' I have chosen to investigate the music magazines 'KERRANG' and 'Q'. I will be discussing topics including the history of the magazine, the typical content, who the typical readers are etc.

 For the first magazine, I chose the Classic Rock magazine 'KERRANG'.

Kerrang! was first published on 6 June 1981 and was edited by Geoff Barton, initially as a one-time supplement in the Sounds newspaper, which focused on the New Wave of British heavy metal phenomenon. Angus Young of AC/DC appeared on 'KERRANG!'s first cover. Launched as a monthly magazine, KERRANG! began to appear on a fortnightly basis later, and in 1987 it went weekly. The original owner was United Newspapers who then sold it to EMAP in 1991.

 The target audience was 16-25 year-olds (particularly rock music fans). Although over a period time the age of the target audience dropped to 14-17 year-olds (teens who tend to buy the magazines due to the featured bands on the front cover portrayed to much 'cooler'. Additionally the older years began to see 'KERRANG'! in a different light, some saw their obsessed with rock music and being an emo as a faze and grew out of it.

 The agazine tends to include things the audience will be interested in, such as; gig reviews, posters and competitions. 'KERRANG!' also includes full page advertisements for music companies such as HMV and Play.com as well as promoting other retailers such as Virgin, Playstation,  xBox, alternative clothing and jewellery manufacturing and concert ticket lines.

The first 'Q' magazine was published in October 1986. Its Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers. 'Q' was first published by the EMAP in October 1986, setting itself apart from much of the other music press with monthly production and higher standards of photos. In the early years, the magazine was sub-titled 'The modern guide to music and more'. Originally it was to be called Cue (as in the sense of cueing a record, ready to play), but the name was changed so that it wouldn't be mistaken for a snooker magazine.
The magazine has an extensive review section, featuring new music releases, music compilations, film and live concert reviews, as well as radio and television reviews. It also includes a list of approximately eight albums, which it classes as the best new releases of the last three months.
Much of the magazine is devoted to interviews with popular musical artists. The magazine is well known for compiling lists. It has created many ranging from 'The 100 Greatest albums' to the '100 Greatest '100 Greatest' Lists'. Every other month, 'Q' have a special edition. These have been about musical times, genres, or a very important/influential musician.
'Q' is considered to have a very niche audience as it is specifically aimed at only music fans. However, the founders of the magazine felt the older generation were being ignored so chose to aim the magazine at over 25's rather that teenagers. By doing this, it allowed the magazine to be more expensive as most of the buyers have a paid job.

Text Analysis

For this post, I am going to compare a real school magazine to my completed cover and deconstruct each cover.. Before creating our school mgazine cover, we recapped on the stereotypical magazine conventions;

• A masthead at the top of the page 
• Sell lines
• Images
• Main story as the focus 

FFH Magazine
 The Masthead of the magazine clearly fits into the codes and conventions of a magazine as it clearly placed at the top of the cover which immedietly draws the eye to the title of the magazine. Also, the font within the cover is Sans Serif. This fits into the style of the magazine as the use of Sans Serif is seen as more 'trendy', 'modern' and 'present'. Compared to Serif which is seen as more 'traditional'. The FFH also includes the convention of 'Sell lines' which are commonly used to persuade and to sell. Adding to this, the image used on the magazine is that of a mid shot which are very commonly used on the covers of magazines. 

My Magazine
 Similarly, my magazine includes a clear Masthead and many sell lines. Adding to this it also includes a main mid shot as the main focus. However, one of the major differences is the fact that my Masthead is in a Serif font as I wanted my School Magazine to appeal to parents who would relate to the Serif along with the younger generation who would relate to the more 'modern' Sans Serif font used through the rest of the cover.