Preliminary work

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



I believe that the biggest improvement has come in my ability was on photoshop. for my preliminary task I did not know how to use it to the extent that I now know how to use it. my preliminary task looked like it was designed on the software programme 'Paint' while my final product looked so much better and as if it could really be a magazine.

Another way in which I have improved is in the way I have conducted research on other media products and institutions and realised what is a traditional set-up on a magazine. I have improved the way in which I analyse media products, for example I know can break media products into pieces and then evaluate them from there, for example I will Analise the colours used, then analyse the images used and so on.

I have now also learnt how to connect with my target audience. In my preliminary task I did not really have a target audience, I just made my product and whether it was people from one social group or another, I was just hoping people would be attracted by it. Since I have been able to attract the type of social group that I want to aim at and have learnt how to gain there attention through the use of images, layouts, colours and stories.

Evaluation question six - What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

when i made my media product I have learnt a great deal on the software programme 'Photoshop'. it was very helpful that I also had it on my laptop at home but it was a different version and it took time to get used to it. There was eight main tools i had to use from photoshop to help me create my media product.
The first tool that I learnt to use was very basic and easy, it was the 'brush tool'. I had to use this to colour in sections of my media product and it was very basic to use, I just had to click and move the mouse in the sections I wanted colouring.
Another tool I had to learn to use was the 'Text box tool'. I had to use this to write information on my media product, whether it be a story or a tag line.
The third tool that I used was the 'Eyedrop tool'. This was very helpful because it helped me match the right colours. The way it works is that you click it over a colour on my media product already and this will automatically select this colour, this helps because it stops you from making the mistake of using two different colours that look alike when you only want to use one.
The fourth tool that I found to help me a lot was the magnetic lasso. This tool helped me to cut out images from there backgrounds, for example I needed to cut my model from the background and place it on my front cover, so I used this tool, the most difficult thing about this tool is the fact you need to have a steady hand to cut around images, one mistake and you will have to start all over again.
A simple tool I learnt to use was the 'move tool' which was very simple to use, you would just click and drag an image to move it.
Another simple tool was the 'rectangle tool' this would be used to make colourful boxes to place on my media product.
The 'magic wand tool' is a very big help to me, this is because you would need this to delete a large section of similar colour, all you had to do is click on the section you wanted to delete, then press the 'Del' button and it would be deleted.
The 'rectangular marquee tool' was helpful as it helped me copy and cut only certain sections of my media products and put them elsewhere.

I also found out how to use the website www.blogger.com, this is where I published all my work for my media task. I also learnt how to use hardware such as the scanner, which I used to scan my magazines I was evaluating and also the Mac computers which I was not used to.

Evaluation question five - How did you attract/address your audience?

To attract my target audience to my media product i had to use things such as colour schemes, images, other featured artists and stories.

Colour scheme

This here is the colour scheme that I used. I believe that it would help attract my target audience due to the fact that it is very contrasting and fun, it is also nontraditional for colours to clash like that, so this again i believe would impress the younger generation and my target audience. I used this colour scheme throughout my magazine because I needed to keep it the same as what my target audience would like, because the age group I am going at is still young they would not like dull colours with lots of writing, they would be more interested in images and bright colours.

Images

I believe the image of my model was very important to me to try and reach out to my target audience. I believe that when my target audience will see this image, the male half of my target audience would see this image on the front cover and because they find here attractive it would draw them to my magazine, and for the female half, because she is slightly older than my target audience, they would look up to her as a role model or icon, and when they see here on my front cover it will attract them to my front cover.

Stories

I have many stories that will help me into attracting my target audience that I have put on my front cover. Below are the stories and how they would help me attract my audience.

This here is my main story. It is in bold black and goes slightly over my main image so my audience know that they are linked. I believe it would help me attract my target audience because people of my target audiences age would be talking about the Brit awards and who won what award, and if they were to see this they know that my magazine has been following the Brit awards and so they would want to know more and this would attract them to my media product.

These two tag lines would help attract my target audience. This is because my target audience is from the ages of 15-21 and people of this age enjoy going to concerts, such as the summertime ball and if they were to see that the line up has been announced and is in my magazine it would interest them into buying my magazine because they may be going to that concert. Also my target audience would enjoy going to gigs and if they see that i have a list of gigs over the year, it would attract them to my magazine because they would want to find out when there favourite artists are playing and where, so they can get tickets.

Other featured artists

This banner which is just under my master head, would help attract my target audience. This is because my target audience are into these artists and if they see them on the front of my magazine it would make them want to buy it so that they can find out what there favourite artists are up to.

Evaluation question four - Who would be the audience for your media product?

My target audience would be both male and female and at the ages of 15-21. When I first started designing my media product i decided that it would be unisex and there would be ways in which I would make this happen. An example would be my colour scheme, it is two contrasting colours in yellow and dark blue but with also white in it. i also believe that my stories on my front cover and in my contents pages would attract this type of audience because it talks about gigs coming up and this is what people of that age are into. I also believe the image of my model on the front would attract the audience because males would find her attractive and that would draw them to the magazine and females would see her as a role model and idol so that would attract them to my magazine.

Evaluation question three - What kind of media institutions might distribute your media product and why?

The media institution I would go to too try and distribute my media product would be a publisher. A reason is that they would be able to make copies of my magazine and distribute them around the country so they would be ready to be sold and hopefully bought by my target audience. Below are examples of publishers I could go to.













Imagine Publishing - http://www.imagine-publishing.co.uk/
Imagine publishing is one of the UK’s fastest-growing consumer specialist magazine publishers, with over 20 print magazines and 20 websites published worldwide within the entertainment, computing, digital photography and video games market sectors.


I believe that they would be very good for us because they have much experience and have been very successful. They have published magazines of high quality for sectors such as PC and gaming, photography, science and entertainment such as 'How it works!'. Another reason that i believe that they will be good for us is the fact that they would want to publish our magazine as well and I say this because they do not have any magazines being published in the music sector, so this means that they would want to do that and I believe that it can be through my media product.





















Haymarket - http://www.haymarket.com/home.aspx


Haymarket would be a good publisher to go to because they are very good at what they do. They have offices over the world and pride themselves in being able to communicate with the target audience very well. I believe that they would be good for us because they would be able to help us reach our goal and make our target audience buy my media product. they also train there staff to very high standards so if we do go to Haymarket to publish my magazine we would and can get the most qualified people to help us to do this.












Bloomsbury Publishing - http://www.bloomsbury.com/

Bloomsbury Publishing is a leading independent publisher and winner of the 1999 and 2000 Publisher of the Year awards. The Company recognises the importance of respecting and supporting the communities in which it operates, thus improving the positive impact of business in society. Bloomsbury mainly publishes books, but up until recently they have started to take an interest in publishing magazines in certain markets and so far they do not have magazine in the music market, therefore I believe that they would be a good choice.

Evaluation question 2 - How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My media product represents social groups by appealing to one target audience. This target audience is teenagers to young adults,(15-21year olds), and both male and female.
I believe my media product represents that because of my colour scheme, artists used, Images and stories. I think the fact that my colour scheme is very contrasting and would be very eye-catching would give it that element that it is for the younger generation. Another factor in which I believe it targets that social group is my artists that have been used, I have used artists names in my magazine and on the front cover such as Jay-Z and Lady Gaga, and it is these types of artists that are listened to mostly from the younger generation. The images that I use also would help because the model I used is young and in that age bracket. The stories that I have used on my front cover are stories which would interest that age group in my target audience because people of that age would enjoy watching the Brit awards and seeing who has won the awards, also On my front cover I have a tag lines such as '2010 gig list' and 'summertime ball line up announced', and I believe that people of that age group enjoy going to gigs and concerts such as summertime ball and this would attract them to my magazine.

Evaluation Question One - In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

My magazine is like a real product because it has traditional patterns when comparing it to other magazines. for example my front cover has a main image, main story, to match that image, and also bar codes, issue Numbers etc etc. I have made a PowerPoint presentation about the similarities between my front cover and a 'Q' magazine front cover.

I believe my title is short and easy to remember, I also believe that it is very catchy which is good because it will be a good way of promoting the magazine. I also used a font that is very clear to see, even if the reader was to glance at the font they would be able to see the name of my magazine. i have used a colour scheme which i believe will catch the eye, with the yellow contrasting with the dark blue i believe it will be easy to spot on a magazine stand. I have got one main image, which is traditionally used and it is normally an artist which i have also used, I believe this will attract the audience to my magazine, especially if it is a very famous artist. My magazine has one main story, which matches the main image. This is again very traditional for magazines to do this, if you are to look at the front cover of 'Q' magazine, Cheryl Cole is the main image with the main story on the front cover being about her. My magazine front cover also has the names of other artists that feature in my magazine, which again is another typical technique that is used to draw readers in. Another way in which my magazine matches tradition in trying to draw in readers is the other story lines around the main image and story. This helps attract the reader to many things that will help make up there mind to buy my magazine.

Construction of my double page spread part three

In the final part I have added the page numbers added all of the text and in a yellow font that will match my colour scheme. In the two bottom corners I have added the page numbers, matching what it says on my contents page. In the top dark blue rectangle I have added my title and in the dark blue box below I have added my article. My article is an interview with Katie Curl talking about her recent success in the Brit Awards. In the bottom right corner I have added a quote that will help attract readers to the article. That again is in yellow to match my colour scheme. Overall I believe that it looks very good in the way I have attached and image onto another image to give it an effect that it is one image as a whole. I believe that i have kept with my colour scheme to an extent where I could only use the dark blue and yellow but I believe this still gives the double page spread a good effect.

Construction of my double page spread part two

For part two of my construction I had an image of Katie Curl and I used the cutting tool to cut it out from its background and i stuck it onto my red carpet background. I have done this so it looks like Katie Curl is on the red carpet of the Brit Awards being photographed before she is going in. I have then made two dark blue boxes, the reason they are this colour is to match my colour theme. I have out them on the right of my double page spread and the top rectangular one will contain my title of the page, and the bigger square will contain my article.

Construction of my double page spread part one

For the first part of making my double page spread I got an image of a red carpet and stuck it onto my background layer and merged it into one.

Construction of my contents page part three

In this section of my contents Page I have added the stories and matched them to there pages relevant to whether they will be news, reviews, regulars or features. They are dark blue so it is relevant to my colour scheme and it also stands out on the white background. To make my contents page more interesting I have added pictures. I have added the picture of a Brit award because it is relevant to this issue being a 'special' issue related to the Brit awards. I have also added a picture of Katie Curl because she is my main focus to do with the Brits and my main artist for this issue. The third image is relevant to the 'features' section, it is a picture of a summer gig and this is there because I have a list of summer gigs in this issue of Spotlight magazine. Overall I think my contents is good because it is strict in keeping with my colour scheme and also it has images which will interest the readers.

Construction of my contents page part two

In this part I have added the 'contents' title at the top of my contents page in a yellow colour to match it to my colour scheme. I have also put it on the dark blue banner so that it will stand out more to the reader. I have also added the yellow numbers and put them into the small dark blue boxes, this again is so that it is to stand out but also matching my colour scheme. I have now added the four main sections of my magazine in dark blue, these being reviews, news, regulars and features. On the left of all of them I have added a small 'Spotlight' logo that I have designed to make it look more professional.

Construction of my contents part one

In my first stage I put a white background in, this is to match with my colour scheme. I then got a dark blue banner and put it across the top of my contents page. The reason it was dark blue is so that it matches my colour scheme which is something i have noticed in my analysis that all magazines have a colour scheme throughout the magazine, not just the front cover. I have then put a small dark blue border on the bottom of my contents page because it think it looks more professional. I have then added all of the dark blue boxes that will be filled with page numbers matching there stories.

Construction of my front cover part 3

In this part i have added my main story in a big bold black font, this is so that it it eye-catching and the audience will notice this straight away. I have added three other cover stories, this is because if the Brits would not interest some of my target audience, these stories will. I have put my three other cover stories in dark blue, this is to match my colour scheme, but my main story is in black. I went for black so readers would know that this is my main story and if it is black it will stand out more.

My front cover construction part two

In the second phase of my front cover, I added the text in the dark blue background banner going across the top of my magazine, it is again in yellow and this is to keep it with my colour scheme. I put that it was the Brits special issue which would help attract readers and I also put other big names on the front that will attract my target audience. I have also added a dark blue box and in it in a yellow font, again to keep with my colour scheme, I have put information in it, such as the issue number and price. I have also added my second and only picture, of a Brit award itself. I have added this because unless my readers actually pick up and look at my front cover, they may miss the fact that it is a Brit Awards special issue, but if I add a picture of a Brit Award they can have a brief look and see this image and then they would realise I will have information about the Brits inside.

THE MAKING OF MY FRONT COVER

Stage one

In the first stage I uploaded my image which would be my most eye-catching one to try and get the audiences attention, I tried a few different images to see which one would work best for my magazine and I found that it was this one that worked very well so i put it on a white background. The reason I had to put it on a white background was because it was this colour that is one of the three that is in my colour scheme that I am going to use. I then put my master head across the top of my magazine and it would be yellow on a dark blue background, this will make it very easy to see for the audience and also these two colours were in my colour scheme, it is to try and make a yellow spotlight effect on a night sky. I then added more of the dark blue background just to the right of the magazine and below my master head, I was going to use this to add additional information. I then could start to begin to see where i can add my cover story and tag lines and also other stories which would feature in my music magazine. I decided to add my barcode in the bottem right corner so it was not that noticable and also so I could have more room for my stories.

Contents page final

FINAL DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

FRONT COVER FINAL

Possible photos for my double page spread

photo 1

this photo i still need to put onto a new background. i like the pose in the formal dress because it is as if she is going to go to an music awards ceremony and i plan on having the Brits as my main cover story and the story in my double page spread. i like the way the dark hair contrasts with the light dress and white flower in my models hair. i like the way the pose is as if she was posing on a catwalk heading into the awards.

Photo 2

just like photo one i need to put this photo of my model up against a background. i like the dress because of the formal look of it as if she was going to an award ceremony just like i stated in photo one, i also like the pose but unfortunately don't think that it will be suitable because it is not a traditional pose you would make to cameras if you was on a catwalk due to the fact there would not be much to lean on.

Photo 3

in this photo i have yet to put it on to a background. yet again in this photo the formal dress is suitable but just like photo 2 the pose is not. the pose i needed to capture is a catwalk pose, and this is sitting down with a 'cheeky' type of smile with glasses on. it is because of this i will not use this photo.

Possible photos for front cover

Photo 1

this is my first possible photo i can use for my front cover. i like this picture because it has a white background and i can use this space to put other stories that will be in my music magazine. i like the pose because it is as if she has personally done it to be on my front cover and it is not one taken of here in a natural environment. i like the way the colour of the hair stands out against the white background and the grey jumper.i believe this image would help make my magazine stand out.

Photo 2

this photo is very similar to the first photo in the sense that the pose is very much photogenic. there is a grey background this time and not a white, this would help make the magazine cover stories stand out better. in this photo the colour is not as bright as the first photo and this may mean that it would not stand out as much as if it was more colourful. there is also room around the picture for cover stories just like there is in the first photo.

Photo 3

this photo has a similar pose to photos one and two. the biggest difference is that this photo is in black and white while the others are in colour. because of this my magazine may not stand out as much on the shelves on the shop and may lose readers. again i have taken this picture and placed it on a grey background so if i use it i can place other cover stories around it on the front cover of my magazine.

Initial ideas

Possible masterheads

prestige music

spotlight

chart toppers


Images

i am going to have one image of a mid-long shot. the female would be doing a pose and be in a happy pose. i will have it pressed up on a light grey background so that it stands out very well. i will use a female because a female audince who she is very popular with would buy the magazine because they would want to be like her and be pretty like her, and on the other hand with male fans they would see it and want to buy it because they find her attractive and they are intrested in here.

Stories

i will have one main story which will be with my main image and i will have other stories and tag lines around the image of other stories that are in my music magazine.

possible main stories would be:

-new wondergirl hits charts
-= (name of female) storms the Brits
-the true life of (name of female)

Fonts

i want to keep my font simple but with a unique and intresting edge to it. i like the idea of a simple font because it is easier for the audince to read but if i find a simple one with an intresting edge to it then it may also become eyecatching and will draw readers to it. below are some styles that i saw and i liked.












these here are some of the fonts that intrest me.

Colours

my first idea that i have come up with is black, white and red. i have chosen this because most of my analysis of other magazines have this type of colour scheme. i belive it is a traditional colour scheme but unfortunitly the two magazines that used this colour scheme were indie themed magazines and therefore i belive if i do chose these colours, people may think my magazine is 'indie' themed.










my secound idea is white black and blue, i have come up with this because many magazines have white and black, and instead of using red, which is traditionally indie themed, i will go for blue, which seems to be very neutral. the only worry i have is that it may come across very basic and dull and not very appealing.











my final idea is to have dark blue, yellow and grey, i will have the yellow and dark blue because the dark blue will be like a dark sky and the yellow would be a spotlights light colour, this is because it is most likely that spotlight will be my name for my music magazine. it will attract the audience very well and it would bring exitment because it is like it is an music awards night.

Audience profile

these two are twins, called Victoria and Catherine Morse. they are both 20 and they are my target audience. they both live in London and they are both still in education and at part time work. Victoria studies nursing care and is a part-time receptionist at a hospital and Catherine studies graphics and has a part-time job at river island. There hobbies are going out clubbing, being with friends, listening to music. they both shop in places like river island and similar retail stores. they also like to buy designer clothes when they can and have many favourite designers such as Gucci, channel and Louise vuitton. they both like to watch programs like The Hills, The X factor and Jersey Shore. They like to listen to artists such as Pixie Lott, Jay-Z, Beyonce and Rhianna. the types of films they like to watch are romantics such as the notebook and comedy such as stepbrothers.

i believe they will like my magazine because my magazine features all the artists that have songs at the top of the charts such as lady Gaga and Beyonce. they like music such as hip-hop, RnB and pop, and all of these genres will feature in my magazine.

Colours: the three main colours for this contents page are red, black and white. the white background makes all of the information in black stand out. also the title is white with the red 'NME' in a black box to make it stand out. at the bottom of the page in a black box is information on how to subscribe to the NME magazine and this shows that it is important even thought it is not connected to the contents page.

design: at the top of the page is the title so the reader knows what page they are on. down the left hand side there is an index of bands that feature in the magazine and down the right hand side is all of the pages in order and the titles of that page and a little bit of information so the reader know whats to expect. in the middle of the page is a image of a venue and the title of the main story in the magazine and this would catch the readers eye straight away and interest them into this story.

images: there is only one image and it is very big which shows us that this is the main feature of the contents page and that NME would want the reader to notice this first before any other story or title. the picture is of a building and not a artist or band, this shows that this building is very important and that the readers of NME should know about it. there are two other images on the contents page of past NME front covers, they are on there in hope that the reader would subscribe to the magazine.

words and language: the main words on the right hand side of the contents page are in bold so the reader knows what all the titles of pages below them will roughly be about or be on. all other important words are in bold which will make the reader notice them before they notice other words on the contents page.

overall impression: i like this layout of the contents page the most out all the others i have analysed. it has used a simple and easy template that comes out very well and it helps draw the reader to the important stories and important information. i like the band index down the left hand side because if a reader wanted to find out what is happening with there favourite band quickly, they can by using this.

colours: the colours again are white red and black, this is very traditional for Q magazine and they have used this on all other types of analysis i have done on Q magazine. the black contents is on a red banner at the top which shows the reader that it is the contents. on the right hand page on the red banner in white it shows what issue it is. all of the writing is in small black against a white background which makes it easier to read.

design: the contents is over two pages with there being a lot of information and images on both pages.going down the left hand side of the left page and the right hand side of the right page are the contents of what is in the magazine with a lot of information of what it is about and in the middle where the two pages meet there is a lot of images with numbers set into them to show you what page is relevant with that story .

images: there are many different images in the centre where the two pages meet. and all the pictures are very similar when it comes to there colour, they are rather darker and dull colours which shows you that it is in the 'indie' theme and this will attract that audience.

words and language: the red banner at the top of the page shows the bold and black writing of 'Contents' and 'Issue 283' all of the titles of the page are in a simple font to read so that the audience understands what they can expect on that page. where it says 'the 2010 preview' it will make the audience excited because they would want to know what is going to be big in 2010 so they would want to go straight ahead to that page and find out.

overall impression: i like the way that there is a lot of information for every title on the contents page, this way it will help readers know what to expect when they go to that page. i also like the way that there are many images and they all have there page numbers on them, i like this because it makes the contents page less dull and interesting and also if a reader sees a image they are interested to they can go straight to that page.

colours: the three main colours used are white black and green. these colours are not very exiting but the way they use the green and black in the large quote makes it seem 'twisted' and this keeps in theme with the 'emo and rock' of Kerrang.

design: the design of this double page spread is that the image is placed on the right hand side when all other double page spread analysis shows that it is more traditional for it to be on the right hand side, i believe the reason for this is because it is the rebellious theme of the rock genre. the image is placed on a white background to make it stand out. on the right hand page the large quote takes up half of the page and the article starts halfway down the page. i believe the reason for this is because the first thing the audience will read is the quote and this will attract them to read the rest of the article.

image: there is only one image and it is a mid-shot of the my chemical romance lead singer. the seriousness of the face expression is traditional theme of the rock theme, this will also attract readers to read the article because it shows that this has been a serious interview with personal issues being brought up. he is pressed up on a white background which also makes him stand out.

words and language: there is one very large quote that is also acting as a title to the double page spread it is very long and a lot longer than a usual title. it comes across boring with the colours but the green tries to bring out certain words to make it more interesting.

overall impression: i believe that this double page spread is very boring and dull with the title being long and it doesn't give the double page spread as much interest as other double page spreads that i have read, the colour i believe also lets it down because that is also very dull. altogether i do not like this because it is a very dull double page spread with a dull image, dull colors and dull language.

Colours: the colours are kept very similar to the tradition white and red of Q magazine. the colours are also very similar to what was on the front cover of this magazine. the white background makes the images of cheryl cole stand out and also it makes the big red 'C' stand out to.

Design: the design is very simple. on the right hand page is a large image of Cheryl Cole and on the left there is the main article of her. on the left hand page there is another image of cherly cole on the bottem right part of the page and to the left of that there is a enlarged statment from cherly cole saying 'i dont know what i look like any more, do you know what i mean?' and this is to attract the reader to the article because this statment shows that cheryl cole is speaking about very personal feelings she has.

images: the images are kept in a very dark theme, this is to match the theme of Q magazine which is 'indie'. just like the front cover Cheryl Cole is not her typicle 'pop princess' self but instead something else much more darker. the image on the right hand page is very dark up against a white background which makes cheryl cole stand out very much.

words and language: the big red 'C' is very similar to the big red 'Q' at the front cover of the magazine. this shows that Q magazine are trying to keep everything to a similar look throughout the magazine. the enlarged quate from chery cole is to try and attract readers and when they read the quoate, 'i dont know what i look like any more, do you know what i mean?' they will know that this is a very personal interview for Cheryl cole and this is very rare so it would make them want to read it.

overall impression: the overall impression is that Q magazine have kept it very simple to read and used a quate to attract the audinece to read the magazine. it also shows that Q try and keep the same type of template throughout there magazine, for example the same colours and similar layouts.

Colours: the master head 'NME' is in bold red which makes it stand out against the dull grey background, this way the audience knows and recognises the name of the magazine before they even know who the band on the front of the magazine are. the image used is in a grey and black colours which makes it look mysterious and unusual, this matches the 'indie' theme of the music magazine the white tag line of the black clothes of the band show us that it is matching with the main image of the front cover.

design: the image takes up most of the front cover which shows that they are a very big band and this would attract readers. there is a banner going across the top and bottom of the magazine, with the top banner telling the audience about a story they have inside and the bottom stating which other artists and bands they have inside. there is also a notice of joining a new band and this is put into a circle to state that it is a story of its own.

image: the image is a dull grey and black colour of a band and is the only image and this shows the band is big enough to attract the audience that the NME magazine wants. the pose of the band is very serious and this is a traditional pose for a indie band. the three band members are positioned one after the other, this shows us that the one furthest forward is the lead singer of the band and the most recognised figure of the band.

language and words: there are not many words used on the front cover. the bold red 'NME' shows us that this is the master head. in the banner above it says 'BOWIE SPEAKS' this is to try and create and excitement that he has spoken out about something very personal in his life. the circle with the 'join biffys band' shows that this may be a competition due to the traditional competition in the circle. at the bottom it has 'let the battle commence' then above that it has certain artists and bands against each other, this is to create an excitement for the reader to see who really is the best band/artist in the indie genre.

overall impression: i do not like the fact that the front cover is very dull but it also helps it reach its target audience which is the 'indie' theme. i do like the way they have minimised the amount of text they have on the front cover because i believe that sometimes it can be to much and can ruin front covers. i believe this magazine has confidence in itself to attract there target audience due to the lack of stories on the front of the magazine.

Colours: there are 3 main colours on the front of this Kerrang magazine front cover, they are red, white and black. The reason it is black is because it is an ‘emo’ and rock themed magazine and this will attract that type of people. The white is there to make everything else stand out on the front of the magazine so it can be clearly seen and bold and also the red is used for certain parts of the front cover to make it stand out from just a dull white colour. The three colours together have tried to make a ‘death’ and ‘fear’ theme so that the readers know what to expect even before they have opened the first page.

Design: the main point of this front cover is the image itself, but the name of the magazine ‘Kerrang’ and the name of the band ‘RAMMSTEIN’ also stick out very much. The smashed letter effect of ‘Kerrang’ is to try and keep it with the ‘rock’ theme. There are many other stories that are all around the main image but notice they are kept close to there relevant image so that they match each other.

Images: there are many small images that are all around the main image and these are put there to make their story lines look more appealing. The main image itself is a mid-shot of the band Rammstein as they are the band that is chosen to be on the front cover. The image is as if they are coming out of the magazine which draws the audience in and it is also as if they are trying to come out to get you, and this would match the tag line put with them ‘be afraid Britain, be very afraid’.

Language and words: the words that are used are very bold so that it stands out and this is very themed with rock music. The master head ‘Kerrang’ is very bold in white so it can be seen and it is in a smashed font to keep to the rock theme and to attract that audience. Is some of the story lines there has been a red font used and this is to try and put fear into the front cover. For example in the tag line ‘there’s something dangerous about us’ the ‘dangerous’ is the only word in red, which tries to make it seem fearful which matches the emo theme. In the competition they have used the words ‘mega competition’, this would attract the audience to this and make them buy the magazine and also take part in this competition.

Overall impression: The front cover matches the theme of the magazine very well which would make people into rock type of music buy it. I like the fact that the tag line states that people should be ‘afraid’ of rammstein and in their image it is as if they were coming out to grab you.

Courtney Love double page spread analysis

This is a double page spread in 'Q' magazine and it is with Courtney love.

As we can see the whole two pages is one image with Courtney love sitting on the right hand page. There is no main articles. The picture is taken as if she is in a comfortable situation talking to a friend, this is to try and show the reader that Courtney Love is talking what is on her mind. The coloring is in black and white on this page and this is to give the impression that she is in a studio and she is not worried about her pictures but more on the interview .  There is a small box in the top right hand corner of this page that is bright red so the reader can see clearly that this would be an in depth interview. It that states the interview is a "studio special", this shows the reader that they have got her to personally come into the studio so that they can get first hand information and music gossip from Courtney Love. 

The picture continues over to the left hand page but there is not much in the picture, instead there is the main article which is the main focus on the page.  above the main article is the main heading "a conversation with Courtney Love". The "Courtney Love" in the heading is in a bold red boxed background, the red is to keep with the Q magazine colour scheme. It is also in this because it is showing the reader the importance of Courtney Love and making her name the main part of the double page spread, this is to also help the reader know who the double page spread is about.  At the top of the page it says 'The 2010 preview', this shows that the Q magazine regards her to be one of many talents in the year 2010 and so this would help attract readers to this article. 

analysis of "kerrang" contents page

The contents page of kerrang seems to have a very similar style to its front cover, in which it uses smashed lettering in the bold writing. the coloring also matches the coloring of the front cover, the fact that there are three dominant colours; yellow, black and white.

the contents page seems to be split into two half's. the top half is showing the reader the main articles of the magazine, they are big so that the reader straight away is drawn to them. it also has two pictures of the double page spreads to show readers what to expect, it may also attract the reader to those articles straight away. there is a big picture of a guitarists from the band "Dragonforce", this is to show that "Kerrang" have had personal contact with Dragon force and this is shown because he has the main picture in the contents in which suggest Kerrang have taken that picture.

on the left half of the bottom of the contents there is a introduction to the magazine from the editor. it also has a picture of her above the letter and this symbolizes that she considers herself just a fan as well because she wants to be recognized by the readers so she can come across as there friend. the letter itself is very friendly and informal, she talks as if she is just like a fan and she is describing the tour that the "kerrang" has organized.

in the other side of the lower half of the contents it shows all the articles and page numbers. the subheadings are all keeping to the "Kerrang" style, which is broken yellow bold font in a black box. there are then sub-subheadings in bold black writing which is stating the article names on the pages, there is then in small writing a little description under it. the page n umber's have been distinguished out very well because they are in bold red lettering so that it is clear to thew reader that it is the page number to that article.

stories that are on the front cover are clearly labeled with a red and black star that reads 'cover story' in them, this is to quickly guide the reader to something they wanted to read about on what they saw on the front of the magazine. the contents also has competitions on it and it tells you the prize as well, this is to attract the reader to that page.

colours: the main three colours that are used are red white and black, this is to match the colour scheme of the master head and also it seems to have a blending effect with the image of Cheryl Cole. the dark colours also match the indie theme of this music magazine which would make it stand out more to its audience. the word 'ROCKS' in the master head is red and this is to make it stand out because they want the audience to believe this. also the name of the magazine 'Q' stand out.

design: the master head of the magazine is in the top left corner of the magazine and in all Q magazines this is where it is. notice that the master head is over the image and this is because the magazine wants to be noticed first even before Cheryl Cole does. the main story is put into 3 sentences with the top one starting small and then increasing in size as it goes down to the other two. down the left side of the magazine there are other stories that feature in the magazine. in the top left there are regulars off what feature on a magazine.

images: the image is Cheryl Cole, she is a very famous celebrity and her usual 'pop princess' image has not been used in this photo, instead she is portraying a 'dark rock queen' and she is like this so the image can fit the indie genre of the magazine the reason for this is because Cheryl Cole is launching her new solo career and her first album and she wants to let people know that she has a wider target audience now.

Language and words: the master head is very bold so that everyone knows what magazine it is. it also has a banner going across the top that says 'THE UK'S BIGGEST MUSIC MAGAZINE' this is something they are very proud of and want to boast. they also use the main cover line '3 words, Cheryl Cole rocks' very well because '3 words' is the name to her new album and also the Cheryl Cole rocks, shows that it will be a rock themed Cheryl Cole inside the magazine.

overall impression: the layout is very well done with the name of the magazine at the vocal point of the front cover. they have used a very famous celebrity on the front of the cover to try and entice people to buy the magazine because she will feature inside of it. it will also make Cheryl Cole fans buy the magazine who don't usually buy it and also make regular readers buy it because it is still kept in an indie theme.

AS media Brief

The front page, contents and double page spread of a new music magazine.

All images and text must be original produced by the candidate, minimum of four images.