Audience Feedback for Double Page Spread

Audience Feedback for Contents

Audience Feedback for Front Cover

Questionnaire for Front Cover and Double Page Spread

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Contents

I have now put a picture of the front cover inside the cover because it gives it a sense on continuity and branding. I have also included the 'Featuring Wiz Khalifa, Kanye West & Tinie Tempah Tour'. This is to tell the audience that these are also articles in the magazine but isn't a main article. I have put an image with the main articles. Where there are areas on the page with nothing on them, I am going to fill them up with things about the magazine and a competition to win something.

Continuing my Contents

I have included images of the featuring artists throughout the magazine and what the articles will include about them. This is to let the audience have an idea of what they are to expect throughout the magazine.

I have my flat plan up when I am creating my contents so I can have an idea of what I wanted to do. I have completely changed what I wanted to do with my contents page but I am still wanting to use the same artists that I originally chose to use in the contents.

Making my Contents Page

I have decided to change my contents page because I thought that this was better then the original one that I did. I have created a separate part in my contents page for my band to make it obvious that this is the main article in my magazine. I have included images of the band to show the audience who they are. I have included a sentence about that 'The JACS' have said in the interview, making the audience eager to look at the rest of the interview. I have kept to the colour scheme of black and red because they are both bright and bold colours and will stand out. I have also included a bit about what to expect in the interview.

Final Double Page Spread

This is my final double page spread. I have included lots of images of my band to show that I have taken them in different locations. By including my CD cover it also promotes it so when it is released people will know what to look for. The double page spread contains an interview that I have come up with and produced.

Final Front Cover

I changed my front cover because I thought with the big green writing it wouldn't really appeal to my target audience and looked a bit tacky. I have changed it to these fonts because I have used them for my double page spread and on my CD cover and they look more professional and are more appealing to my target audience.

Different Front Covers

After using the fonts for 'The JACS' and 'The New Boys In Town' on my CD cover and my double page spread I thought that I should use the same fonts for my front cover. I am still unsure of which one to use though.

By using a transparent box where my article will be it still allows the readers to see the main image. Also it doesn't look tacky, so looks more professional.

Making my Double Page Spread

This is the beginning of my double page spread. I have put other image of my band on the page because it gives the audience an idea of what my band are like in different perspectives. I have also included a picture of the bands new album 'The New Generation'. By doing this it is promoting the band and encouraging the audience to go out and buy the CD.

The Beginning of my Double Page Spread

I want to use one of these as the main image of my double page spread. I was unsure of which one to use because the top one my band are looking into the sea and the bottom one they are looking at the camera. I am going to use the bottom one as the main image because it is closer up and by the artists looking at the camera it will attract the audience because it shows that the band are friendly. 

Double Page Spread Analysis

This double page spread has a main article about a band called ‘The Teenagers’, which is near the top centre of the page in big black bold letters on a bright blue background, this stands out from the rest of the page and shows this is the main article. The main image is of the band ‘The Teenagers’ and takes up all of the left page of the spread and is the main focus point of the double page spread. The image makes the band members look very normal and ordinary, just like any teenagers, which plays on their band name ‘The Teenagers’. Just to the left hand side where it says 'The Teenagers' it reads 'NME LOVES'. This important because the NME is a big music magazine which most people would recognise. All three members are lying on a bed surrounded by posters and images; mainly of young women. The room looks quite old with floral bed sheets and old looking wall paper. The posters create a cluttered messy effect which makes use of the stereotype that teenagers are messy and untidy. In the top left hand corner of the same page is a bright blue box with the word ‘Radar’ in bold white letters and under that in a small black box is the text ‘The best new music’. This informs the reader that these are a new band and the ‘best’ in new music. The word radar implies that the magazine writers have searched for the ‘best’ new music for their audience which makes the audience feel that the writers and editors of this magazine care about their satisfaction, which may prompt them to continue buying the magazine. In the bottom left hand corner is a small fact box about the band which is in a blue box. This gives the audience some basic knowledge of the band before they even read the article and is an ‘extra’ for the reader. The main colour scheme of this double page spread is blue, white and black. The important pieces of text the editors want to stand out are in bright blue boxes as this highlights and attracts the audience to these parts and shows their importance. On the opposite page is the article about the band with a small image of one of the members performing live. The article is laid out in two vertical columns and is broken up by a small quote by one of the band members, which is highlighted in a bright blue box. The article itself is not in-depth as it is only a small feature of the magazine about new bands so it does not have to be; it mainly relies on the image and the highlighted text to engage the audience. Next to this is a small column containing an article about three new bands, each with an image of the band and a small paragraph about them. This column is black to separate it from the main article on the spread which has a white background. The text in this column is white which contrasts to the black background so that it stands out and can be easily read. The target audience for this magazine based on this double page spread is probably teenagers and people in their early 20′s as the band the double page spread features is even called ‘The Teenagers’ and all the bands mentioned seem to be relatively new bands, the language used is also quite informal and chatty suggesting that an audience around this age reads it.

Album Cover

I created an album cover for my band as a give away in my magazine that I will be creating. I used Photoshop to create this simple but effective album cover. The fonts were taken from dafont.com. On Photoshop I cropped the image to make it the right size and shape and then increased the saturation and contrast of the image to make it bolder and brighter and stand out. I chose to use this image as the cover because it shows that they are active and they are all smiling and happy which shows that their music will be fun and exciting. This will increase the chance of it being bought then if they were sitting there looking angry or sad. 

Semantic Field

Words that could be associated with my artists

Hip-hop/ Pop/ Rap

Fun

Exciting

Loud

Individuality 

Confident

Young

Original

Active

Social

Style

Intertextuality

What would my band be interested in.
The band I have created were inspired by 'Rizzle Kicks' a new boy new duo. They sing songs which are hip-hop/ pop/ rap and always seem to come across as happy.

From my reader profile and questionnaire I have found that my target audience are quite active and enjoy socialising with friends. So therefore I have made my band to be interested in different types of sports such as football, boxing and athletics.

As for socialising with friends that speaks for itself. My band will enjoy going out with their friends and making sure that everyone around them has a good time. There are a few images of my band where there is a member smoking. This means that my band shouldn't be for a young audience.

Making of the Contents Page

I am sticking to the red and green and red colour scheme throughout my magazine. I am trying to stick to my original flat plan as much as possible, so I have it up on the computer to see what to do. I have changed from 'contents' to 'this month because I feel that it is more attracting to the audience as they will want to know what is happening inside of the magazine.

I used this clip to help me edit out the shadow on the middle boy. This is my final front cover

This is a clip of myself editing part of my magazine. 

Different Front Covers

I made two different front covers and was unsure of what one to choose. I asked my target audience which one they liked better and they chose the one on the right hand side. I have also darkened the colour of the title because I felt that it didn't really go with the rest of the cover and was too girly in comparison to the other colours used.   

Essentials for a Music Magazine

After reading through the power point there are things that I did no realise which were essential to put onto the front cover:

• As the front cover is the first thing that the audience will see of the magazine it has to be attractive and unique so that people are willing to buy the magazine. We read from left to right, top to bottom so the best place to put important information is in the top left hand corner of the cover. 
• There are different sentence structures used on the cover as well: Declarative - making a statement, Imperative - giving orders, Interrogatives - asking questions and Exclamatives -  surprise or alarm.
• There are tricks with language; Rhyme, alliteration, sibilance and assonance which are used to catch the eye of the audience. 
• Intertextuality is often used also. This is when we are reminded of another form of media or saying e.g. 'Boys r us'. 

Making of the Front Cover

This is what my front cover looks like at the moment. My main image is of my boy band 'The JACS'. The boy in the middle has actually be photoshopped into the image because the one of him in the middle was of him holding a cigarette so I was unable to use this as my main image. I have increased the contrast of the image so that the colours are bold and stand out more. The name 'BEAT' for my magazine is original and is easy to identify as a music magazine. I chose the name "The JACS" for my boy band because it is the initials of the members of the band, and is short and easy to remember. The fonts that I have used for the title and the anchorage text are taken from the site 'dafont.com' and are bold and eye-catching for the audience.

Flat Plan for Front Cover, Contents and Double Page Spread

 This is what my front cover will look like. The main image is of my band the 'The JACS'.

 This is what my contents page will look like. It includes everything that will be included throughout the magazine.

This is what my contents page will look like. It will include an interview with my band 'The JACS' about how they got their record deal and their new single 'The Shock'

Reader Profile

Reader Profile Questionnaire

Name: _______________
(Circle where appropriate for following questions)

Age: 12- 15
        16- 18
        18 +

Gender: Male / Female

How often do you watch TV each day?: 0-1 hours
                                                              2-3 hours
                                                              4-5 hours

How often do you listen to music each day?: 0-1 hours
                                                                   2-3 hours
                                                                   4-5 hours

How do you get your music?

• Buy the CD
• Itunes 
• Youtube converter
• Limewire

What's you favourite genre of music?: _______________________

Who is your favourite artist/band? : ________________________

Do you use the internet?: Yes / No

Do you have a mobile phone?: Yes / No

How often do you use social networking sites each day?: 0-1 hours
                                                                                      2-3 hours
                                                                                      4-5 hours

How often do you buy a music magazine?:

• Never
• Once a month
• Once a week

Photo's for Magazine

History of the Music Press

Melody Maker and New Musical Express - 1950s/1960s
Included charts, singles and gig listings.
Changes in the society in the 1960's with the arrival of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, drug culture of the 1960s - changes with the nature of the music and writing.

1970s - First of all was "Glam Rock". Musical papers still largely uncritical of groups until the Prog Rock bands begin to spend too much money on staging, lighting and lasers etc.
NME was produced

1978- Smash Hits was produced for catering a younger audience who were interested in music.

 Late 1970s / Early 80s - Style in the pop music become more important than content: make-up, clothes, the video, fashion and hair.

1980s- Independent music labels wanted their own voice and began producing fanzines. The Face and Blitz were produced.

1990s- Every single came with a video and sometimes more money was spent on the video than the single.

2000s- Limited "music press" because "everything is pop culture".

Youth Sub-Cultures

What is a youth sub-culture? 
A group of individuals who are united through common value system and taste ( clothes and music)
OR
A group of people who are positioned outside of the mainstream, and who unify as a response to the mainstream.

The Postmodern View- Plenitude
Grant McCracken took a different attitude:

• The postmodern world is full of diversity, dynamism and creativity
• CCCS's view ignores this - assumes basically that all sub- cultures have similar origins (reaction to mainstream)

There are two views of the relationship between pop music and youth..

• Pop stars are constructed to appeal to specific market with specific values
• The audience are also unpredictable in their likes and dislikes that record companies can never truly know how to target them

Focus Group for Magazine

Name: Katy Bailey

Age: 16
School: SHSG
Subjects: English Language, Business, Media and Maths.
Favourite music genre: Reggae
Favourite magazine: Heat
Interests: Hockey, Friends, Chocolate, Modelling and Music
Favourite Artist: Bruno Mars, Mohombi and Rihanna

Name: Bethany Goldfinch
Age: 16
Subjects: Media, Product Design, Maths and Business
Favourite music genre: Chart
Favourite magazine: OK
Interests: Swimming, tennis, music, food and going to the gym.
Favourite artist: Wiz Khalifa









Name: Maisey Farrell
Age: 16
Subjects: Sociology, Psychology, Media and English Language
Favourite music genre: Pop
Favourite magazine: Look
Interests: Cinema, friends and Nandos
Favourite artists: Example and Rizzle Kicks

Name: Lucy Webster
Age: 16
Subjects: Media, Psychology, Product Design and RS
Favourite music genre: Rock
Favourite magazine: Look
Interests: Friends and Nandos
Favourite artists: The Strokes

History of Music Press

Analysis for Front Cover and Contents of Sixth Form Magazine

Final Contents Page for Sixth Form Magazine

Final Front Cover for Sixth Form Magazine

Making of my Front Cover

So far I have only put the title on my cover. I have chosen to use these colours for the masthead because they are natural as we can tell that the season is changing because some of the leaves in the tree in the background are changing colour. By doing this it shows that the edition will be an autumn term edition. I have also chosen these colours because they are bright and bold. This means that it will stand out and catch the eye of the audience.

My Flat Plan for my Contents Page

These images are going to be used in my contents page.  

I have chosen the first image as one of the images because Bethany and Bethan look happy and you can see on their lanyards that they are from Southend High School for Girls which is relevant as the magazine if for the school.

 I have chosen the second image of Bethany climbing up the stairs to be one of my images because she looks happy to be going to one of her lessons. She is holding her school bag and a folder, which gives a good impression about the school.

The third image is of Katy and Maisey looking at their homework outside the sixth form block. I have chosen this because the magazine is for the sixth form and they both look like they are happy about their homework which shows another good impression of the sixth form. 

This will be my image for my front cover. I have edited the image so that Maisey is more central to the magazine cover, so that she is the main focus of the front page. By darkening the image  it makes the colours in picture stand out more because they are brighter and bolder, therefore making the overall image more appealing to the buyer.

Images for the Front Cover of my 6th Form Magazine

These are the two images that I liked the most out of the ones I took. I was unsure of which of these to choose for my front cover but in the end have chosen the second image. This is because it meets the conventions of a front cover and the background is pretty and natural. Maisey is also using direct mode of address which will be appealing for the audience. She looks happy to be in the school which will also draw attention to the magazine. In the background we can see part of the school as well and the sun is shining is on it which shows that the school is a good and welcoming place. The first image Maisey has the back turned which makes it seem less inviting so it wouldn't appeal to as many people meaning less people would purchase the magazine.

3 Different Mastheads for my Magazine

In these different mastheads they all come from the traditional 'school' looking fonts. By using two different fonts for my title it will make the cover more fun looking and eye catching and therefore more people will purchase the product. I wanted to have the word 'new' in big and bold writing because it suggests that by starting the 6th form you are starting from the beginning again, a new start. I have chosen the third masthead to be my title for my actual magazine because even though it is probably the simplest, it is the most eye-catching and will be the most effective for my product. I got my fonts from dafont.com 

My 6th Form Magazine Cover Plan

The above image was my original flat plan. I have changed it because I did not realise we had to only have one person on the front cover. So now my cover is clearer and meets the demands of the task.

Analysis of a Sixth Form Magazine

Media Language
Media language usually refers to written, verbal, non-verbal, aural and aesthetic communication and usually a combination of these. Over time, we come to expect certain styles of filming, acting, editing and sound for certain types of programme. So we can 'read' the media language as easily as we can understand our friends in a conversation. Diegetic means natural sounds e.g. the wind.

Form and Style
The form of a media text is the combination of the 'micro' elements such as sound effects, dialogue and editing and the shape and structure. The text will be noticed by the audience instantly. And the style is the way the text uses this form.

Convention
Conventions are described as the ingredients of the particular form or genre. An example is period drama, a sub-genre with a range of necessary ingredients which are expected by the audience, making the convention 'contractual' in nature.

Signification
Signification is often applied within a theory called semiotics, the study of signs. Everything we see is a sign and carries a meaning.The basic meaning of the sign that most people would recognise and agree on is known as the signifier or denotation. The individual meanings that people give to signs are known as the signified or connotation e.g. if someone was given a picture of a skull and bones the signifier/denotation would be that it was a skull and bones. And the signified/connotation could be danger or pirates. It depends on the audience and the context. Polysemic means different meanings to different people.

Representation
We see media texts as mediating (goes between two) between out sense of reality and the fictional or factual representation of reality - of people, places, ideas, themes, time periods and a range of social contexts.

Audience
Section on the audience includes a detailed consideration of the audience theories and approaches. The easiest way of analysing this concept is to look for a 'target audience' for a media text or product. Many texts appeal to a range of secondary audiences and the ways that different people respond to texts often challenges expectation.

Narrative and Genre
Narrative (story) describes the process of balancing what we actually see or hear and what we assume  in addition. It is fundamentally to do with order and the relationship between information and enigma (mystery). Whether genre exists more in the minds of producers or audiences we don't know but media is dominated by formats and when the format is seen to work, then we are treated to a huge plethora (lots of different things) of examples in hardly any time. Genres shift over time, producers and audiences subvert (cause trouble, twist things) and parody (make fun of something) the conventions and hybrid (join 2 things to make 1 thing e.g. Scary Movie = horror and comedy) fusions of genres develop.

Creativity
Creative skills operate on two levels: first, the ability to use digital technologies to make meaning so that the audience can respond easily to the text ans second, the ability to engage and interest the audience.

Connecting the Micro to the Macro
The micro elements of a text are the technical and symbolic features which you will need to identify, recognise and describe the function of. The macro elements can be treated separately - for example, the lighting has one range of meanings and editing has another. But when these elements combine they add up to an overall representational 'world' that makes sense and is believable. We call this 'verisimilitude' (does something look real? Does it look authentic? e..g little details in a TV drama)

Multimodal Literacy
Is about users making their own trajectory through hypermedia environments. This means we have to be careful about theorising simple producer-audience relations and creator-consumer patterns of behaviour.

The original image is in colour and is un-cropped. In my edited version I have cropped the photo and have focused on the main points of interest. I have also turned the colour to black and white which makes the image more poignant and the image more flattering for the people in it.

The original image is at the top. I enhanced the colours and sharpened the image which makes the image stand out. This photo uses depth of field.  

How to take good photographs

1. Composition - What is included within the frame The rule of thrids
2. Focus - Using the correct depth of field
3. Lighting - Direction of the sun
4. Camera Angle - Experiment