Monday 17 December 2012

Music magazine: Genres connotations

''connotation is a commonly understood subjective cultural or emotional association that some word or phrase carries.''

Rock music connotations:
Riff, Chord, Power, Amp, Emo, Goth.

Pop music connotations:
Teenagers, Loud, Auto tuned, Chav-like, Cheap.

Rap connotations:
Black, Anger, Fierce, Power, Life.

Indie connotations:
Calm, Easy-listening, Varying, Different.

Music magazine: Four genres defined

Pop: 
Pop music is a genre of popular music which originated in its modern form in the 1950s, deriving from rock and roll. The terms popular music and pop music are often used interchangeably, even though the former is a description of music which is popular (and can include any style), whilst the latter is a specific genre containing qualities of mass appeal. Pop music usually contains electronic, urban, dance, latin and country.
For example of a pop artist one would be: Katy Perry.

What kind of target audience is pop music aimed at?
Pop music is aimed at a younger target audience. Usually teenagers ranging from the age of seven to twenty five. Although, a lot of radio stations play pop music on repeat and radio listeners range from all ages.

Rock: 
Rock music is a genre of popular music that originated as rock and roll.The sound of rock is traditionally centred around the electric guitar. An example of a rock band would be the Foo Fighters.

What kind of target audience is rock music aimed at?
Rock music is aimed at a target audience of males ageing from 20 to 40, although sometimes women of these ages listen to rock as well. Teenagers also listen to rock as well.

R and B:
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B and RnB, is a genre of popular African-American music that originated in the 1940s.

What kind of target audience is R and B music aimed at?
R & B (i.e. popular music) of today, is aimed at 16-25 year olds. It's aimed at black and white audiences of both genders, because the corporates want to maximise revenue so they need to appeal as large an audience as possible.

Hip Hop:
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a music genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted.

What kind of target audience is Hip Hop music aimed at?
Hip hop is aimed at a target audience of young adults ageing from 15-25, because it usually has a swear words and foul language in it. It isn't something that an older audience would listen to as they would probably find it outrageously bad.

Music magazine: Genre mind map

What is a target audience? 
A target audience are people of a certain age group, gender, marital status, race etc. (For example; single people, teenagers, females, males.) A specific group of people within the market in which a certain product is aimed at. Discovering the appropriate target market(s) to market a product or service to is one of the most important stages involved with market research. 

Below is a mind map of different genres within the music scene: 


Tuesday 11 December 2012

Student Magazine: Action Plan

To improve my student magazine I could:
  • Try not to structure everything in to points, and be more creative.
  • I could have rearranged my contents page better.
  • I could do the flat plans by hand.

Monday 10 December 2012

Evaluation of the student magazine cover and contents page!

To the left is a screen grab of my front cover whilst I was in the process of designing it. It shows a series of different tools that I used to make my magazine front cover. I firstly added the main image,  and I sized it too fit within the size of the A4 page on indesign. I then added my masthead and I used the 'Swatch' colours to design the colours for the text in which I chose red and green to fit the theme of 'Christmas' for my magazine. I also used the shapes to help me with me puff/plug. 


To the right is the finished draft of my contents page for my student magazine. I firstly used the different fonts to choose which font I liked, and then I used the colour 'Swatches' to change the colours to red and green to fit with the 'Christmas' theme. Lastly, I placed my images around the text which helped too complete the layout of my contents page. Without the tools I wouldn't have been able to finish the front cover and contents page of my student magazine.


<-- These are the tools that I used on indesign to design my student magazine front cover and contents page. 

The draft of my student magazine contents page


My finished student magazine cover


Friday 30 November 2012

Initial ideas- Flat plan

Below are the layouts of my front cover and contents page:

FRONT COVER:



CONTENTS PAGE:



Monday 19 November 2012

Photography: Magazine layout!

Vanity Fair magazine:


Vanity Fair have used Lady Gaga on their front cover. Lady Gaga is placed on the left side of the rule of thirds, this gives the magazine a larger space to fit other things on the front. The cover line is in the middle at the top of the rule of thirds, the rest of the cover lines are to the left of Lady Gaga. The background of the magazine cover is a dark grey, therefore Vanity Fair have used white writing which makes them stand out and it appeals to the audience. Lady Gaga is wearing a black dress which makes her light hair and pale expression catch the eye of the reader, the magazine layout is simple but effective. The photo of Lady Gaga is pleasing to the public eye. Vanity Fair have shown Lady Gaga represents Vanity, therefore she is an appropriate image for the magazine.

The Source magazine:


Source magazine have put GAME on their front cover and he is in the middle of the interception points. He is the main focus on the magazine cover and the camera is very close to his face. You can see every detail and expression on his face. The coverline is at the top in the middle of the rule of thirds, GAME's face is covering the 'UR' or 'SOURCE' but you can still see what it says as it is very big and bold, and it is eye catching so it pulls the reader in. The other coverlines are spaced around his head, but most of them are on the left-third this is because it is known that the public read from left to right. There isn't any space left on the front cover, as it is filled with this image and other texts. This image isn't pleasing to the public eye, it is very off-putting as he is holding a gun which imitates violence. This image is very sterotypical of how GAME is black and he is holding a gun, whereas it isn't a white man holding a gun.

College magazine photography

Below are four images that I am going to be using in my college magazine:

FRONT COVER PHOTOGRAPH:

I want to use this photograph for the main image on my front cover, because it is a medium close up. The girl in the photo has direct eye contact with the camera, and there is still space to the left of the rule of thirds for me too add cover lines and tag lines. There is space at the top of the image for me too add my masthead and any other extras I may add.




CONTENTS PAGE PHOTOGRAPHS:

Below are three images that I am going to use on my contents page: 






I am using these three images on my contents page because they are informal and they present student life as it is. They aren't too serious for a college magazine, and the images will appeal to students because they remind them of what college life is like. The images also show the different things that you can do around the college campus.

Photography techniques

There are a lot of photograph techniques when it comes to using a camera.

One of them being The Rule of Thirds, by using this your photo will be more pleasing to the human eye. It is a grid of nine squares, two vertical and two horizontal lines and around the middle square there are four intersection points. The rule of thirds says that you should position the most important elements in your scene along those lines, or at the points where they intersect. It looks like this:



It is more pleasing to the eye if the image is based around one of the intersection points, rather than in the centre. The human eye is naturally drawn to a point two thirds up the page, so in the middle at the top of the rule of thirds.

Below is a photo that has used the rule of thirds, as you can see the photographer has positioned the house to the right of the interception points. Notice how the building and horizon are aligned along rule-of-thirds lines. This creates a better image for the reader. Placing your main subject off-centre, as with the rule of thirds, creates a more interesting photo, but it can leave a void in the scene which can make it feel empty. You should balance the ''weight'' of your subject by including another object of lesser importance to feel the space.


Another technique used when taking a photo is Using Lines, when considering the composition of an image one of the key elements to look out for are 'lines.' They can add the dynamic impact to the photograph in terms of mood, as well as how they lead the public into the image.

Diagonal lines draw the eye of the viewer through the photograph. They create points of interest with other lines which gives the image depth. It draws your eyes in to the middle of the interception points. A good photograph will almost always make use of one kind of line or another. There are many different types of lines such as Leading lines, Curved lines, Diagonal lines, Horizontal lines, Vertical lines and Implied lines.

Below is an example of Using Lines:


Initial ideas- Proposal and mind map




Who are you aiming your magazine at specifically? 
As my magazine is a college magazine, I am aiming it at older teens and young adults ranging from the age of 16 to 19 who are a part of South Downs College. 

What will your magazine be about?
My magazine is going to be about South Downs College. It is going to be about things to do with the college, such as:
  • Sports events.
  • Upcoming exams.
  • Drama, music and performing arts shows.
  • Interviews with students on the different courses that they are doing.
  • Offers within the Hair and make-up department.
  • Offsted and changes happening to the college.
  • Parking on the college grounds for students with bikes, cars and mopeds.
  • Information on the gym.
  • Student discount cards.
  • Trips.
  • And, general news on the college.
What are your ideas for cover lines?
I want my main cover line to be along the top of the page, and I want it to big and bold so it catches the readers attention. I want it to be red, because red is an eye-catching colour. As for the rest of my cover lines, I would like them to be on the left-side of the page. With a few at the bottom.

What title have you decided on and why?
I have decided on the title of 'South Downs Social.' I have chosen this because it isn't too formal, and it appeals to students. I have made sure ''South Downs'' is in it because the college is the main topic of the magazine, and I have used ''social'' because that is what students do most; socialise. I was going to use ''College'' but I realised this didn't hold enough detail for the magazine, and that it is a very simple title that would not attract a young audience.

What fonts do you want to use?
I have two fonts to decide from. The first one being big and bold, that would definitely catch the eye of a reader but it could be a little too much. And the second one being elegant but simple, which could be seen as boring.
Below is an example of the two fonts:

What are your ideas for taglines?
I was thinking of using ''Make your student life that little bit better'' as a tagline, because it is persuasive and it will interest the target audience.

When in the year will it be published?
I would like my magazine to be published around Christmas time, because I want my magazine to have the Christmas theme. I want to use red and white, and maybe a hint of green. And Christmas is a time of year that everybody is happy, and I think students like the idea of Christmas as it is exciting. And I will be including upcoming exam dates and times, which a lot of the time occur in January (the month after Christmas.)

What kind of image do you expect to put on the front cover and how will you go about getting this image?
I would like the image on the front cover to be of students, or of the college itself. I will get this image by going around the college with a Fujifilm camera, taking photos of students and the college. I want to capture an image of the students studying or eating in the canteen. 

How frequently would it be published?
I would publish two magazines a year, one in the Summer and one just before Christmas.

What are the dimensions of the cover?
I would like my magazine to be the normal size of A4, so that I can fit everything on it and nothing will be squashed together. So it will be easy to read.

What images/colour would you use on the contents page?
I would like the contents page to use the same Christmas theme, as the front cover. So I would like to continue to use the red, white and green colours. And as for images, I would like to use a number of photos of students around the college.


Monday 12 November 2012

Task 5: Skills Audit


I'm not sure on how to scan images onto a mac but after watching http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1QnldaLjjk, I have a good idea on how to scan a photo onto a mac.

I have never used photoshop before but after watching http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzQTpxQulro, I have a better idea on how to use Photoshop.

Monday 5 November 2012

Task 4: IPC Case Study

I found all of my information out on the following websites:


http://www.ipcmedia.com/about/companyhistory/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPC_Media


IPC Media produces over 85 iconic media brands, with out print brands alone reaching almost two thirds of UK women and 44% of UK men – almost 27 million UK adults – while our online brands collectively reach 20 million users every month. IPC Media is the UK’s leading consumer magazine and digital publisher.

History of the company

This company goes all the way back to the 1800’s, but in 1963 The International Publishing Corporation Ltd was initiated by the UK's three leading magazine publishers George Newnes, Odhams Press and Fleetway Publications. IPC magazines then came around 5 years later in 1968. The story of IPC is an 150-year period. IPC Media is a Time Warner Company.

Publications IPC media have been associated with


IPC media have worked with Country Life, Woman's weekly, TV times, The Field and Musical Express in the past. These magazines used to be very popular, and some of them still are. 


Current portfolio titles


IPC Media are made up of three divisions; IPC Connect, IPC Inspire and IPC SouthbankIPC Connect, are currently working with Now, Chat and Woman; TV entertainment such as What's on TV, TV Times and TV and Satellite week. IPC Inspire, the mens portfolio: has a lot of leisure brands such as Country Life, Horse and Hound, Rugby World and Decanter, and a few lifestyle brands like Nuts and NME. IPC Southbank is a women's division and comprises fashion brands including Marie Claire and InStyle, and lifestyle brands including woman&home and Essentials and home interest brands including Ideal home, and Livingetc. On the side there is also IPC Advertising and IPC Marketforce. 


The Structure of the Company and recent news about them

IPC media have recently launched 34 new brands on Amazon, they have just given Chris Dicker to the digital business director, on the 24th September 2012 it was announced that IPC Media is the UK's leading cross platform director and and NME has just been launched an app on spotify. IPC media are always supporting success in their business. Sylvia Auton is Chairmen and CEO of IPC Media. Fiona Dent is the managing director of IPC connect, Sylvia Evans is the finance director of IPC Media as a whole, Stephen Hurst is the managing director of IPC marketforce and Dee Mair is the HR director of IPC media. These people keep the company running smoothly, there are also a lot of other people who work for IPC 
Media.

Monday 22 October 2012

Task 3- Essay

My five magazine covers aimed at teenage girls:




To what extent should magazines be held responsible for the social ramifications of the representations they offer?
Magazines are popular buys nowadays, almost everyday you are likely to see somebody with a magazine in their hand. It is a norm to buy a magazine once a week, or maybe even twice. Wherever you go you can't ecscape them; whether you are walking down an isle in a shop or sitting in a hairdressers, they are there. Some people feel as if they have to buy a magazine to fit in with the crowd, or maybe because they want to see the new dieting tips or read the new gossip about celebrities. But studies show that teenagers are the ones most likely to buy magazines. '' According to a 2006 report by Magazine Publishers, 78% of teens read magazines.'' I found this research on http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/fall07/Moorhouse/impact.html. This shows that more teenagers than adults buy magazines nowaday
Above I have images of five different magazine fronts aimed at young adults, mainly girls but sometimes boys read them too. 

The first one is MORE magazine which I got from http://www.angeleyefashion.com/cms/content-manager/album_images/19_09_2011_10_50_32_13964_7.jpg, the magazine have used a headline story about Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattison which a lot of teens like to read about. 
The second one is BLISS magazine which I got from http://gossipteen.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Demi-Lovato-Bliss-cover.jpg, Bliss have used Demi Lovato as their 'Main Image' and a lot of teens see her as a role model.
The third one is SUGAR magazine which I got from https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8_o8R2DvG1y-UF_ejDjJMhh1Y1_yVeJnyVWEM5-yrhkdlX-jUn8JNp7T1qeudIdfDLRg9E-bHnHf2SK8VxtIbUCD0WBEEFAnU6lJsZ8mmN0Jy9MdCaYd7Yw5ve0mJfECPKw-JpnmAczdk/s1600/Sugar+Magazine+Front+Cover.jpg, Sugar have used a main image of Rihanna and a puff/plug that reads 'Rihanna exclusive, the truth about boys' this is something that a lot of teens would like to read.
The fourth one is MIZZ magazine which I got from http://www.magazinescelebrity.com/images/mizz050407.jpg, and they have promised a 'free mascara' if you buy the magazine, they have used this because they know that young teens are interested in make-up.
And the fifth one which is the last one is TEEN VOGUE which I got from http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/7/2009/10/teenvogue2.jpg, who have used Miley Cyrus as the main image who is a teen sensation.

After looking at these five magazine covers, do you think they could have a bad affect on young teens? Whether your answer be yes or no, the answer is yes they do have a bad affect on teenagers. All of these magazines are aimed at teenagers aged 11-14 and at that age do they really need to know about dieting, or boys? This is where the Hypodermic needle theory begins to show, these magazines are injecting things into these teens that they shouldn't know about until they are older. The magazines have used rhetorical text which persuades the teenagers to take notice of things like make up and dieting. On my fourth chosen cover MIZZ, they have used a puff/plug that reads 'Decoding boy texts' at the ages of 11-14 girls shouldn't be worried about boys texts, but this magazine is making them believe that they should. 

These magazines are making young girls believe that they have to follow certain fashion trends which means they can't be their own person. And they are making them believe that they should look a certain way, when really they should look how they want. All of the images on these magazines are photo-shopped so in reality the celebrities don't actually look perfect everyday, but these teens won't ever know that. ''Women's news'' have done research that shows that these magazines are affecting teens in a bad away, they have said that ''Teen magazines are giving girls all the wrong messages.'' I found this study on http://womensenews.org/story/uncovering-gender/031029/teen-magazines-send-girls-all-the-wrong-messages#.UJZgGMVFWAg. Although these magazines are aimed at girls, and most obviously represent girls, teenage boys are also represented. The magazines have put what a 'perfect boy' should look like and how he should act, when really they should look and act how they want and however they feel comfortable.

In conclusion, teen girls shouldn't have to worry about what they look like or what they wear. They should be enjoying life with their friends and family, they don't need to worry about boys or dieting; it's okay to be curvy and it is okay to be single. Magazines need to get rid of the perfect girls as their main image, and they should add a normal teen who isn't stick thin with perfect skin. The magazines are portraying false images and text of how teens should look. Magazines need to change completely unless they want to keep feeding teens lies.

Monday 8 October 2012

Task 2- Magazines and Audiences

Part one:

Glossary- 15 different types of magazine terminology!

Listed are fifteen things that nearly every magazine uses:

1) Masthead- This is the first thing you notice on a magazine, it is the title at the top of the page telling you the name or brand of the magazine. (e.g OK, Vogue)

2) Dateline- This is the date of when the magazine came out, and when it expires.

3) Barcode- Every magazine has a barcode in a corner at the bottom of the front page, it is for shop use when you buy the magazine.

4) Colour scheme- Every magazine has a different colour scheme which appeals to readers, the colours usually fit in with the text and the images on the magazine. The colours will always have a theme, sometimes they reflect the season. (e.g at Christmas, they may have red green and gold)

5) Puff\Plug- A puff is an extra bit of detail on the magazine front, which advertises a plug (information that is inside the magazine.)

6) Price: Every magazine has the price of it on the front, it is usually in the corner of the page. This is conventional for readers.

7) Cover-line: All of the noticeable texts on the front of a magazine, are known as a cover-line.

8) Main image: This is the big photo which appears on the front of a magazine which takes up most of the page. It is always linked to something inside of the magazine.

9) Pull quote- This is a quote taken from an interview inside of the magazine. 

10) Left third- This is when everything on the front of the magazine is usually on the left of the page, this is because we read from left to right. It is the busiest part of the front cover.

11) Font type- Sans serif: This is the text that most magazines use because it is easy to read and it is big and bold, it's new and fresh. 

12) Font type- Serif: This is a little bit harder to read than Sans serif, it is classic.

13) Number- Numbers lure the audience in. A beauty magazine cover would usually read something like this ''100 beauty tips'' which the audience like to read.

14) Exclusive- A claim from the magazine that says it has a story inside that no other magazine has. 

15) Paste up- This is the page layout pasted into position.


Part two:

My chosen magazine cover-

My 500 word analysis: 


The magazine I have chosen is called ''Women's Health.'' It is a magazine about health for women as displayed in the masthead. The magazine is aimed at a target audience of middle-aged women, who care for their health. The front cover is plastered in dieting tips, how to be sexy, and how to control cravings. This shows that the magazine has concentrated on the 'HEALTH' subject. Women who are on diets or those who are trying to stay healthy would buy this magazine because the cover is full of promises on how to get slim. The puff/plug on the cover reads ''SLIM LEGS! FIRM BUTT!'' this lures the public in because in the twenty first century every lady wants to be slim. The main image is a celebrity named Lea Michele who is always in the public eye so everybody knows her; this will also make the audience want to buy the magazine because they enjoy reading about her. Lea is wearing bright colours like pink and blue; these are the same colours that are used for the text on the cover so it all fits in to a colour scheme. The colours are eye catching so they get the public’s attention.

At the top of the cover there is a cover-line that reads ‘’YOUR FAST TRACK TO A FLAT BELLY’’ this is rhetorical text as it persuades the audience and it gives them another reason to buy the magazine. It appeals to women because they would like to have a flat stomach. This cover-line is promising and very believable; it would make the audience think that this was their answer to getting the belly they have always wanted. The text producers have used different dieting options and a celebrity who is in the public eye to appeal to the audience, they have used devices that they know the audience want to read. By doing all of this they have still focused on the subject of their magazine; ‘’health.’’

The text producer has used pull quotes on the cover; e.g ‘’wear this, not that!’’ By using these it makes the reader want to read more, and to do that they have to buy the magazine. The text producer has also used numbers to attract the audience; e.g ‘’12 new ways to control cravings.’’ This also lures the audience in, because yet again it is promising them a way of keeping skinny.

This magazine is similar to a lot of other magazines. Most magazines use the same devices because all they want to do is lure the audience in. They use rhetorical text to persuade the readers and they include things that they know the readers want to see. This ‘’Women’s Health’’ magazine is a perfect example of what magazines are like these days and how promising they are. This magazine is full of promises and different diets, and that’s all women want to read nowadays. Who wants to read about celebrities, when they can find out how to lose weight?