Music Magazine: Evaluation

Evaluation

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

I researched lot’s of covers and double page spreads to identity the conventions of real media products and then have attempted to use these my production. Throughout my production I used the programmes Fireworks, Mircosoft Word, Microsoft Publisher and I also used a editing website www.picnik.com.

Front cover.

Masthead- I researched a number of magazine covers, and looked at how their mastheads were placed and what fonts, colours they used. I looked at how productive they were and if they did the job of selling the magazine. There were many factors that influenced my decisions. I realised that most magazines placed their mastheads of the top of the page centred, and on the left hand side. I noticed that the mastheads were all simple fonts and they stood out from the rest of the page. Whilst making my masthead I tried a variety of fonts and sizes. First I used Mircosoft Word to choose font’s and sizes and chose the one that best suited my front cover. I used “stencil” as it took the look of the magazine style. I wanted my masthead to look realistic and professional. I realised that by making my masthead the biggest writing on the page it was obvious to see what the title was, but I tried to not distract from the rest of the page. My masthead developed from Q magazine using the fonts and sizes that they used to ensure that my front cover was not too bold or conflicting.

Cover Lines- I researched magazine covers, and the three that I analysed had different styles, some of the covers did not use lot’s or cover lines whereas some of them did use lot’s of cover lines. I realised that the cover lines were the things that were going to sell the magazine, so they needed to stand out on the page and look interesting. They were all placed very carefully on the page. I also realised that the main story’s cover line was the biggest on the page, it was normally in a bold colour and they used the word “exclusive”. I decided in the production of my cover lines that I would choose a list and see what my audience feedback thought were the most appropriate one’s to put on my cover. My main cover line was “Exclusive, Is Cheryl still sexy no no no or is she fighting for this love?” I ensured that this cover line was the most obvious one placed over my main image as I wanted my audience to realise that it was the main article in my magazine. My celebrity that I was writing about had to be backed by a good, clear cover line. That is how i made my cover line. For the rest of my cover lines i looked at other magazines and just based mine on what would the audience want to see written about? My ideas came from celebrities I had seen written about and how they were placed on the page, I created a list and selected my final cover lines from it.

Main Image- I found that from the research I carried out the main image on some covers were used to fill the whole page, some images were just used to cover a particular cover line. I wanted my image to cover the whole of my page as I wanted it to be the first thing that an audience would look at. It grabbed my attention more when the image was central and looking right at you. I developed my research further and I saw that most images covered the whole of the page of their magazine. This influenced me to do the same. Therefore my main image covers the whole of the page. Many factors were included in my decision. Where would I place it? Why was I going to place it there? What effect would this have on my target audience?

Contents Page.

Images- I researched contents pages and found that most contents page’s had more than 2 pictures of them, although some had only 2. They never had less than one. My ideas were influenced by contents page’s that weren’t clustered and it was clear. I decided that I only wanted to place 2 pictures on CP. I decided that CP would have a picture of the same person on my FC. I decided to make the picture smaller than the other as I thought it would create too much continuity. However I still wanted it link with the FC. I used fireworks to manipulate my pictures.

Colour Scheme- When researching my CP’S I realised that the colour schemes showed continuity throughout the Front cover and double page spread. I based my cover. My colour scheme stayed the same from my front cover through to my CP. I decided to keep the black, white and red colour scheme. My decision  was to keep this colour scheme throughout my whole magazine.

Name Of Magazine- I researched magazines and realised that some of the names of the magazines were simple. They were simple and stood  out. I decided to keep the title of my title simple. I decided to make my name “Alouette” as it links with my celebrity. I thought that it seemed original and that it was a name that audiences would remember.

Layout- I researched my contents pages and looked at the way they were laid out. I realised that every layout was similar in a sense that, they were laid out with pictures and titles separating the page. I decided to use 2 images on my contents page on either sides. I also used a black bar and triangle on my a3 page so separate the whole page. I used different headlines and page numbers to change them around.

Double Page Spread.

Columns- Whilst researching my double page spreads I noticed that there was a continuity of the articles being in columns as this looks professional. Most of them had a picture of the pages separating the article. I thought that by placing the article on the right hand side of the page would be more appealing to the audience. So I decided finally to keep the question and answer style in to columns of the right hand side of the page, and the image to the left.

Image- When I did my research I noticed that most of the double page spreads only used one photo. They rarely used more than one photo. I ended up using one image which I wanted to be playful and fit the style of my whole idea for my magazine.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My magazine is aimed at people aged over 16+. Although I think that looking back at my magazine now, I think that my magazine is geared more towards women. Although my magazine was not aimed to bias. I wanted my magazine to be aimed at that particular age range because many magazines these days are aimed from 18+ as some things are unsuitable, by gearing mine from age 16+ I think that all age ranges would benefit and enjoy reading it. Younger people are most applicable to want to read about celebrity crazes, so I gathered my overall product of on this basis. I noticed that my magazine would be aimed more at the working class as they are most likely to pick up the magazine and buy it as its about celebrity’s nothing is official, whereas middle class are hardly likely to want to read about “hear say and gossip”. They would not want to take the time to read something unofficial.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

The kind of media institution that would distribute my media product would most likely be supermarkets. I think this because my magazine is geared towards 16+ and their age is shown throughout every supermarket. As well as being geared at my age range then may also grab the attention of an older person which is never a problem. I think that this institution suits my product as they would sell it on the shelf and I think that they would be able to sell many copies supermarkets being one of the biggest sellers.

 Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience for my product would be mainly females as they it looks very feminine. However this not intentional, I think that coming from a female view products are more likely to be similar to the gender of its creator. Although this view is shown, there is nothing that would stop a male consumer who may be interested in the type of things within in my magazine. The colour scheme is the thing that I think makes it more feminine. It is definitely aimed at the age rang 16+.   

How did you attract/address your audience?

I attracted my audience by creating a questionnaire. I used 4 different pre-made covers to find out what my audience preferred. They all preferred the edgy look; the majority of these people were girls. My questionnaire was made, and I asked questions and made different colour scheme samples to see what people preferred. Most people preferred the colour scheme that I have used for my final pieces. Addressing my audience was all used within the questionnaire, I have also used audience feedback to determine what they thought was good and what they think I should have changed.

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

I have learnt a number of things from the different technologies that i have used constructing my product.

Fireworks- Whilst using fireworks I picked up things that I would have never noticed normally. I learnt that I could manipulate the picture to get rid of backgrounds that I didn’t want.  I only used fireworks a few times so there is nothing more I can comment on.

Mircosoft Publisher- Whilst using Microsoft publisher I learnt that I could separate and move objects at the same time. I could shadow the words that I had written and made it look more professional.

After using these two programmes I started to use a website called Picnik from the internet. I realised by using this website I could change the entire picture from colour to size. This website allowed me to edit my pictures to the way I wanted them from once I took them. I think that whilst using this programme I edited most of my photos. I used mircosoft excel to create my graphs from the results of my questionnaire.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Looking back at my preliminary task I think that the progression I have made to finish full product it greatly recognisable. I have learnt many different skills. I learnt that contrasting two totally different colours can make something look more professional, instead of just using typical colours which can look childlike. I have learnt that I can manipulate my work to look how the image is perceived in my head. If was to re-do my product I think that there is more i could learn from it. But overall I am happy with my final product.

Music Magazine: Double Page Spread

TITLE: I decided to have the name of my magazine in the black border with the red colour scheme to show continuity throught the whole magazine. I kept it symertical on both sides in small writing to that it was obvious to see the name of the magazine. I kept it simple as i didnt want it to distract the audience from the main article and picture.

MAIN PICTURE: I like my main picture as I think it shows a fun side to my double page spread as some magazines can be very detailed and abit repetative and audiences wouldnt bother to take the time to read and would just skip the page. I think that this image is fun and young, and would make an audience reading it think "oo this looks interesting" and read it. Although it covers the whole left side of the double page spread i dont think that it takes away the attention that there is a question and answer style interview to the right of it. My main image was inspired by picture i have previously seen of Cheryl Cole in top magazine interviews such as Q, Vogue and Cosmopolitan magazines. I wanted to capture this is my double page spread. I like the colour scheme i have used for the words "CHERYL COLE ... IT BACK BIGGER BETTER & BOLDER" because it is not too contrasting. Although i am not sure about the  pink colour used to highlight "BETTER". In my feedback i will see what the comments are and may change this as it is completely different to the rest of the double page spread.

ARTICLE: I wrote my article in the style of questions and answers. I did not want the article to be too long as i think that the picture would outlook the rest of the double page spread. So i tried to make it as even as i could. I studied magazines that i have previously read and looked at how the questions were set out and how the questions were answered. So i wrote the answers as if i was the interviewee and tried to make them seem as realistic and as believeable as i could. I think that my questions could be looked over again and changed, because i dont think they have much significance of the type of magazine that it is(Music). The paragrpah introduction at the top of the questions and answers was based upon magazines i had studied and most of them described where they met a certain celebrity and where they interviewed them, and commented on the main features of the questions they were going to ask.

OVERALL LOOK: Overall i wanted to keep simplicity and kepy the background white, so that my colour scheme would stand out and not be washed into the background by bold vibrant colours that might distract attention from the thing i want my audience to focus on. I am going to re-look at the overall outcome and make changes to suit the style of my magazine better. I kept the black bar and triangle from my contents page, to make it link with the article i have written so the audience will see this as an important part of the magazine and the fact that is has stayed the same hopefully won't confuse readers as to what is the main story of the magazine. I did not want to use much word art as it would start to look childish and not very professional, so i kept it simple block colours to keep the attention focused on the picture and article that has been written.

I looked at my double page spread and decided that i needed to make some changes. I doubled my word art and made them opposite colours to have a background around it, to match my colour scheme. I decided that i nee to change the colours that I have used on the main words.

Audience Feedback:

Jai Chahal- I like the overall look of the double page spread, it looks professional. I really like the colour scheme that has been used as I noticed that it has been used for the front cover, contents page and this. Using the white background contrasts the rest of the page. I think that the picture should have kept its background so that there isn't too much white.

Iqra Ahmed- I like the colour scheme you have used, it is original and different it grabbed my attention straight away. I love the picture you have used as it looks fun and captures the style of your article. I like how you changed the pink to red, it looks much more clear.

Music Magazine: Double Page Spread Idea.

This is an mock up idea of what I want my contents page to look like. I think that i will change my ideas as the double page spread  progresses.

TITLE: My titles is going to be smaller than what is pictured above I think that if it is to big it will take away from the attention of the main image. I will do my title in a stencil font in red, because that is the colour scheme for my whole magazine and i want to keep the continuity throughout.

MAIN IMAGE: I want my main image to cover the whole left hand side of the double page spread. I want the image to pop out of the page. I want to picture to be fun and playful, to catch the soul intention of what the audience wants to see.

INTERVIEW STYLE: I am going to make my article an interview style with questions and answers. I am basing my style of the types of magazine like OK!, Vogue and Q magazine. As they all use this similar approach in their double page spreads. The questions will be hip and young, I want the answers to interest the audience rather than bore them.

INTRODUCTION: I am going to write my introduction very casually. I dont want to be too formal as it could get tedious and not  very interesting to read.   


Overall i am going to make my double page spread to catch the attention straight away of the reader, and hope that the photo stands out but doesn't distract from the fact that there is an interview on the other page.

Music Magazine: Contents Page



I based my contents page on a number of contents page's i had looked at.

WHOLE IDEA: I wanted my contents page to follow the same colour scheme as the my front cover to keep the continuity. I think that the page is too clustered and could be improved on. I don't like the page is it just looks too busy and my eyes cannot focus on a certain thing. The picture could have been edited better.

My ideas for using the black lines to separate everything came from the random line i used to separate the main titles. Although I like the titles i have used on the right hand side of the page, if the audience reads these titles they should be excited and interested.



Music Magazine: Final Cover Target Audience Reviews

I am going to get feeback from my target audience.

Alex Smith - I really like the way that you have made the image the background, i think that this works effectivley as it grabs my attention and persuades me to read the magazine. I also like the colour scheme red and white although not everyone might as they might think that red is seen as danger since you created it the little devil :).

Jack Callaghan- The colour scheme is good and makes it clear and easy to read, the picture is good as it looks straight to the camera.

Daniel Smith- I dont like the colour scheme that is used on the front cover.; This is because I think that they are too stark and contrast each other too much as they take too much of the attention away from the main image. I dont like the font that is used is very nice because I think that it is not a very nice font. However, I think that this font is good because of the fact that is qute large and in your face. I dont think that the bar code should be on the front cover. I think that there should be more cover lines on the page because they are what is going to sell the magazine.


The feedback that i have got from my target audience i am going to use and change my colour scheme slightly to suit the main image. I am going to take into consideration of my feedback and add more cover lines for maximum realisticness. 
I think overall that my front cover could use a little more work and i am going to change it. I will take into consideration what Daniel has said and i will add more cover lines as that is what sells the magazine, editors of magazines cant just rely on a good front cover main image. Other than this i will keep the rest of my magazine the same and will keep the colour scheme throughout.

Music Magazine: Final Cover

Music Magazine: cover pictures

I am going to use this photo for my front cover. I like this photo because it looks very nice and i think that it would be the type of photo used on the front cover of a magazine in the music industry. I nice and genuine picture.

I might use this picture for the contents page as it was one of the best pictures that i took. I think that it captures the theme i was going for, Cheryl Cole.

I am not going to use this photo. It does not look very serious and it just doesn't look right at all. I wouldn't want to see this in a music magazine as i would most likely laugh at it rather then be interested by it.

I may use this photo somewhere in my magazine, because i like this photo. It looks very pretty and think that it would be a good picture to put in a magazine.

I am deffinatley going to use this photo for my double page spread as it looks playful, and looks like something that would be put in an article with pictures.

I am not going to use this photo as it is not a very good picture with the scarf being blurred.

I am not going to use this photo because it is not a very good shot of her.

I am not going to use this photo because it looks very evil, and i would not want to see this in a magazine.

Music Magazine: Contents Plan



This is just a mock of how my contents page is going to be set out like.



Music Magazine: Mock Cover

This was my inital idea, to have my picture covering the whole page with cover lines over the picture. However looking at the cover the colours would not go over the picture as well as i had hoped. I am going to try and use different images and shots of the same image and see what i can do with the page, as i don't want readers distracted and not know what they would be looking at. I think that i could edit the jewels that are on her jacket and make the writing stand out more so that it would not cause any confusion for the readers.
I used the fireworks programme to manipulate the photo of Cheryl Cole by taking away the background and thining out her hair and hairlines.



I chose this picture because i like the pose that she is doing, and when it comes to taking my own pictures i would like the pose to be in this similar sort of style. The colours contrast the whitebackground, i would like my cover to carry on this colour scheme as most people chose the red, black and white scheme.



Music Magazine: Ideas

Names For Magazine;

Musqiue
Vibez
Beatz
Alouette

Contents Page;

HAND DRAWN PICTRURE......




Article;
About Cheryl Cole being the most stylish woman in the world.
fashions do's & dont's
New platinum selling album?


Coverlines;

Cheryl Is Still Sexy No No No.
Britney Hits Back With New Chart Topper.
Is Justin T Still Crying Rivers?
Beyonce DIVORCE!
What Do You Do When You Cant Go Higher Than Platinum? (DRAKE)
Rihanna Only Girl In The World Finds Her Man?! (MYSTERY PHOTOS)

Cheryl Is Still Sexy No No No -
 I chose this coverline because i think that it is a catchy line. People who know Cheryl Cole was part of one of the biggest girl bands ever, Girls Aloud. This would appeal to the people that  do know this, as one of their most famous songs was Sexy No No No. This line would grab my attention because if you understand the meaning of it, then i would be intrigued to see what this meant.


Britney Hits Back With New Chart Topper-
I used this coverline because I think that it would grab peoples attention because the media has been drowned with crazy stories about Britney Spears and by saying that she has come back with a New Chart Topper. I think that this would grab the attention of the readers. I think that this would influence the older generation to read as they would be able to see her from bad to worse to good again.

Is Justin T Still Crying Rivers?
I though that this was a good coverline as the words are incorporated in the phrase from one of his most famous songs. It makes you wonder what he could possibly be crying about, there is so many questions that could be asked by the readers such as has he broken up with a girlfriend, has something bad happened to him, this is what i think a magazine should be able to do, to get the readers interest without them even having to open the front page.

Beyonce DIVORCE-
I chose this coverline because I think that using something dramatic and in capital letters never fails to grab the readers attention. So I thought using the line Beyonce Divorced would make the readers instantly shocked and want to open to page and find out more. Using such an iconic famous figure in the music industry and pair her with something dramatic and bad would make the front cover more appealing, this coverline can also appear to older audiences. The younger generation will just be more intrigued to see the pictures and not care so much for the article. The older generation will care more for reading the article, therefore it fit's every age category within reason.

Rihanna Only Girl In The World Finds Her Man?!
I chose this coverline because i thought that with using the words from her hit number one "only girl in the world", and saying that she has found a man will make the younger readers more determained to open the magazine and want to see pictures and articles that would be written about her. Also the use of the media the way they twist things could make the readers itching to find out wether these things are true or not.

Music Magazine: Graph Results

This graph shows that the majoirty of people said Yes that the main image should catch your attention. This questionnaire was completed by 20 people so you can see that 17 of the people said Yes and 3 said No.



This graph shows that 7 people think that 3 cover lines is most appropriate for a front cover. No people though that 7-8 lines should be on a front cover, yet it is interesting to see that 1 person thought more than this would be appropriate.



This graph shows that most people prefered font 4, with 9 likes. The least popular is font 5. Looking at my results in this graph I think that I should have had an open question asking why they prefer the fonts theyv'e chosen.



This graph shows that 11 people prefered colour scheme 1. Only 3 people chose scheme 2. I think that most people went for the in your face colours as they stand out and match better.



This graph shows that 6 people thought 3 lines were enough pictures for the contents page, and 6 people also though 6 lines were appropriate for the contents page.



This graph shows that most people listened to Hip-Hop. No people listened to Jazz music.
As you can see the next most popular type of music is Pop with 5 likes.

This grah shows that 9 people prefered cover 2 (Rihanna). The next most popular magazine cover these chose was cover 1 of (Cheryl Cole). This is interesting as I would like to know why people chose Cheryl Cole over Nicki Manaj, based on their popularity and music as they are all singers.

Music Magazine: Questionnaire

This is my questionnaire as you can see there are only 7 brief questions.

Music Magazine: Questionnaire

This is my questionnaire, i am going to create graphs to show the results of who prefered which option.

Music Magazine: Double Page Spreads



The centre image of Solange is colourful in comparasant to the other images on the spread, which are in a simple black and white, by using a coloured image of her in a bright red dress makes her stand out from the rest of the page, this could be abit of a bad thing as when I look at the page all I want to do is just stare at her picture im not intersted in reading the article. The dress and fancy shoes suggest that she is a woman of wealth and she has her own sense of style. The strip along the top of the article where she is standing doing different dance poses suggests that she is maybe a dancer and an athletic person. The line above the top of the article saying "FORGET HER SISTER, THE OUTSPOKEN SOLANGE KNOWLES CREATED ON THE YEARS BEST R&B ALBUMS", everybody knows that her sister Beyonce Knowles is a worldwide famous singer, by saying "FORGET HER SISTER" makes Solange seem much more important as if to say that she is the new girl on the block and to watch out. By putting her name in brighter blue writing again empasises the fact that she's having the article written about her and that it's possibly a big moment for her.
The article is layed out in 4 collums and they are side by side on each sides of the main picture, this makes is fit the whole page and the space is being used fairly well.
I really like this spread as it shows a fierce looking picture of her and they use a strip of images to indicate what she is all about without even having to read the article.

The main picture in this article covers the whole left hand side of the page which suggests that he is a big character. This is emphasised on the fact that he is wearing a big Rolex watch and typical designer American G-Star brand. Smoking the cigar makes him seem a little more superior as it show's him with power just the position his arms are in. The little line used about his right shoulder saying " MICHAEL JACKSON WAS THE GREATEST ENTERTAINER THAT EVER LIVED. I JUST WANT TO BE THE GREATEST ENTERTAINER LIVING", suggests that he was very admiring of "JACKSONS" work. He is bigging him self up to seem appealing to the readers, by saying he "just" wants to be the best enterainer living makes is seem a little more realistic and geniune as he is not trying to replace the spot of one of the most succesful and famous people of the world.
The article itself is very simple and is made up of questions ( asked by the interviewer ) and answers from himself. By looking at his picture you wouldn't think that his responses to the questions would be that detailed and long as they appear on page. This would give the audience a different out look on what they are expecting to see in comparasen to what they are about to read. I don't really that like this article as it seems bland, and there isn't much to it, me as a reader looking at this i would look at the picture and most likely turn the page. There is not very much use of colours or images, and the set out makes it look like two totally different pages. Without the tagline over his shoulder i wouldn't realise that it was part of the same article.



The picture is very edgey and quite masculine, with the checky shirt, black eyes and messy hair. The tagline saying " PEOPLE THINK IM AN ATTENTION SEEKER, BUT IM JUST HONEST" matches the picture the way it is done in capitl letters and white against a black backgroud. The letters aren't alinged properly which gives it a sense of rebelion. Her stance is quite suggestive in that she's got that rebilious side to her. Her elbow come across the other page which her stance which suggests that she's not really bothered about having a prim and proper way of posing for a picture and that she's quite layed back.
The line just above the article is in simple writing, but her name is in red and a mixure of lower and upper case, this shows that she's possibly not a very stable person who shows her personality as up and down.The whole of the page catches your eye instantly, it would make an audience be intreigued to see what this article is all about.
The background is a faded collage of pictures which also suggests that she isn't the "feminine type" and is quite boystrous and wayward. Using the the tagline that they have shows a very honest perception of her and it is in interesting subject. It makes me want to know why she has said this as it catches your attention and has you fixated straight away.
The article itself is simple and in 4 collums this keeps the simplicity of the double spread, it's nothing extravegant, but still has the power to keep you interested in the whole page.

Music- Contents Pages.

I have noticed that looking on various Q pages and covers they use the same layout on each page to keep the similarity. The letter Q is used on every page which could be classed as their "stamp". Their use of the colour red, white and black shows stands out agaisnt the white background that they use each time. They use the a different technique when showing a special thats in the magazine by using a different colour and putting a box around it. They tend to put the titles in captial letters making it easier on the readers eye to notice. The main picture is to the right of the page, the 4 boys standing on a high hill makes the contents page/magazine seem abit more interesting and important as they are standing in the same stance, but they seem quite relaxed and have a look of serendipity about them, as they don't look extremely famous or important but they have obviously had some good luck getting into famous magazine and making up half of the contents page.
The review part at the bottom of the page is stated obviously by using a red block colour with the letter Q inside of it. The word review is written in white agaisnt a jet black backgroud. I think this contents page has been well put together although it seems to be abit scattered, with lot's of writing. 

This contents page is quite simple in the fact that it uses just a plain white background. The contents page lists quite alot of pages but it states by using numbers the most obvious ones to read. By using a collage of the people it's featuring to the side of it and using numbers placed over them aswell as labelled in the contents list, makes them look more important and when an audience see's pictures it's so much more interesting then just alot of writing. They have been very clever about the way they have represented Madonna by using a picture of her looking fiesty and edgey, then using the line "DOES SHE STILL DO IT LIKE A VIRGIN" contrasts her as two interesting characters. The line stating that she was a clean angelic figure, then by using that picture of her showing how she has changed and will the article being written about her be as interesting as the line being used to describe her.
There is a colour scheme of white, grey, black and red being used. This works as they stand out agaisnt the white background and using darker photographs of the people on the right of the page. It is easy to distinguish to pages being labelled and using a little sentence under most of the them to open up the article, This gives the reader a little glimpse of what they are about to read. 



The contents page is layed out very well, the use of colours and clothing on Ciara work well with the whole page. Everything is grey, white and black. The contents page shows the headings for the articles and pages written very clearly. It is easy to establish which are labelled titles and the ones that are not. By using the picture of Ciara is shows that the main article will be mainly based on this famous figure. It shows the magazine to look glamourous and possibly aimed more at females as she looks wealthy and her pose looks very interesting, this would make the audience want to see the rest of her photo's and read the article written about her.
The use of using different fonts shows that everything has been thought about quite obviously and clearly as to who the magazine would appear to. It is also easy on the eye to gather that it is a contents page. By placing the letters of contents underneath eachother and using the picture of Ciara lying down with her legs up and the page numbers and headings underneath eachother possibly suggests that everything inside the magazine goes down, for example putting the less interesting things or not as noticed things further towards the back of the magazine. I think that this is a very well layed out contents page, it doesn't confuse me and it is clear what i am looking at. The surface area of the page has been used to it's best and too many things aren't being just thrown on the page without any thought and lot's of confusion.



Preliminary Tast- Mock Contents

Music- Magazine Cover Research.

The masthead is just the letter Q but it stands out because of the two colours. It is obvious what the title is because it's bigger than the rest of the writing on the magazine cover. The main picture is in the centre of the magazine, the colours are very dark with the clothes that Cheryl is wearing, her make-up however is quite light, and her lips are red the same colour as the majority of the writing on the magazine. The colour red contrasts the other colours which instantly makes you want to open the front page and start reading. The cover lines are varied in font sizes from CAPS LOCK to just normal, by doing this it's easy to distinguish what are cover lines, names and the title. This shows you the different sections of what is most likely in the magazine. Everyone knows that Cheryl Cole is a pop icon from 2004 to present, she's very popular and girly. However this cover shows a darker side to her which represnts the magazine e.g the cover line 3 WORDS CHERYL ROCKS!. The magazine Q is not a pop magazine for example the bands and music it talks about such as Muse, Vampire Weekend & The White Stripes these are popular things.
The main target audience is obviously aimed at people who love music, and want to find out what is going on in the "musical world". The fact that above the masthead the line " The UK'S biggest music magazine" is placed there bigs up the magazine to look the best on the shelf. Using such a famous icon instantly makes the magazine more interesting and most people would probably only buy it because it has her on the front page. It also gives the reader and sense of enthusiasim to read it to see what " CHERYLS DONE NEXT!" effect.

The masthead on this cover is covered up mainly by the main picture and a cover line. This works because it is a well known music magazine (Rolling Stones). So the missing S T O doesn't make a difference to fact that you can't see the whole title. The main picture of Zac Efron works well agaisnt the white background of the cover as he has a white t-shirt on and fairly tanned skin. The fact the coverline next to him is in capital letters and big saying " New American Hearthrob", and showing him with his abs out and his top lifted up to show his physique and his big Hollywood white smile makes him look and sound like the new face of the media. The audience of this cover is obviously aimed preferably at females. The colours are playful which suggests that the magazine is possibly aimed at younger people, rather than older.
The coverlines  for example,  "M.I.A SEX,TERROR & HIP-HOP" these three words are very strong and are normally associated with younger generations. They are at the bottom of the page to suggest that it isn't as important as the rest of the coverlines on the cover. The colours that are used are neutral and the braclet that Zac Efron is wearing is orange like most of the coverlines this makes everything match and go together. They have the kept the similar colour scheme which works it doesn't clash with the rest of the cover. Seeing a younger person on the front of a cover who is well known straight away makes you want to open the front page and find the main article straight away.

The masthead is the same size font and colour as the name "RHIANNA", however it is still easily distinguishable what the title of the magazine is as it has a website underneath of it. The colour scheme is mainly dark colours using black, pink and purple. Rihanna's make up is also dark colours using black and purple too, this shows the obvious colour scheme on the cover and on her face. The glitter encrusted parrott on her shoulder gives the magazine cover a sense of edgeyness. Her stance shows alot of attitude with her hand on her hips and how her face is slightly facing up rather than to the floor to show that along with he cover line underneath her name " YOU NEED PEOPLE AREN'T AFRAID TO TELL YOU WHEN YOUR'E F**CKING UP". This empahsises the fact that the magazine is obviously trying to be edgey.
There aren't very many cover lines on the cover of the magazine, but the big writing and famous picture on the front makes up for it. "THE STATE OF MUSIC TODAY" coverline is in capital letters showing that it is standing out and you eye wanders and see's this straight away underneath listing other very well known people bigs up the magazine and shows how popular the magazine obviously is for somebody that doesn't actually read them. By telling the audience at the top of the cover that they are introducing a new NME, and that this one is 4/10 special edition covers, they are obviously trying to state that they are making a new type of this magazine and they want it to be better and bigger than ever. Saying that this is the 4th edition of the this "new NME" and using Rihanna as their centre picture shows that they have thought about profit they would make off the front cover from people just buying it and who their targer audience is, which is obviously younger people although it could be aimed at the older generation too.

Preliminary Task- Contents Examples.

I think that this is a good contents page, the image is placed centrally and it is set in collums. It is clear to read and understand. You can see an obvious colour scheme that works well with the picture.

I don't think this is very good contents page, as there is too many images and it is abit scattered. The website at the bottom cuts through the middle of the page.

I don't think this is a good contents cover, because there is too many things

Preliminary Task - Cover

This is my final cover for my magazine, I have ussed to the bar code to make it look more realistic than it is. Ive added my cover lines and used the colour scheme of rose pink black & white throughout. I think the pink & white contrasts the black and the background and skin tones used on the actual photo itself. I made it so that the majority of the cover lines were more or less the same size and font because i didnt want everything to just look scatterd on the page in any random order.



This is my final cover I have played around and changed the colours to make it compliment the colour of the clothing and background. I think that this colour scheme works.



Preliminary Task - Test Photos.

I took this photo as a tester, my story for the magazine is wacky hairstyles among girls in colleges. This was a bad photo as it doesn't really show the key concept of my cover.

Test picture 2 - I took this picture at random to show the variations of "wacky hairstyles concept".

This was a good test picture because it is for a school magazine and it shows the child like side. However I may not include this in the final piece as the face isn't very clear, and i don't think I could do much manipulation with it.

This is the photo I am going to use as my cover photo, because i think that it shows the concept of my magazine.

I manipulated this photo and put a pink translucent cover over it, I am going to make a few more of these to show how my progession in using the fireworks programme can make my photos look better.