The document discusses the creation of the front cover, contents page, and double page spread for a music magazine. It summarizes the research and elements emulated from other magazines, as well as the unique design aspects. Key tools like Photoshop filters and color replacement were used to enhance images and give the magazine a professional look. Overall, the document reflects on the skills developed in creating a high quality music magazine and how it has improved from an initial preliminary task.
2. Front Cover
These images show both my front cover and a professional “NME” Magazine
with different layouts. When creating my front cover I don’t feel that I
emulated a specific style and layout from other popular professional music
magazines but instead took small elements from a wide Range of them.
When doing my research into front covers I chose the best
features I thought I could use in mine, such as the main image.
I found that many magazines used just one person in the
centre of the page , Meaning the audience would focus purely
on them. I also emulated from Various magazines where the
positioning of the front cover components should be,
including where the price label and barcode should be
placed. Other than those components the rest of my
magazine was a unique design and layout I had made. The
main part of my front cover I Created Myself was the
positioning and style of my text, I positioned it so it
wasn’t obstructing the centre image and chose the colour
because it is able to Relate to the background, without being To bright and
annoying for the Audience.
3. Front Cover
The colour scheme of my front cover was important to me because I wanted
relevant colours to link, for example using specific tools on Photoshop I was
able to select the colour of my models jacket and used the same colour for the
price sticker. With my front cover, I made all the choices to make it seem as
Professional as possible and for it to appeal to my target
audience. Although I have used Various codes and
conventions similar to magazine such as NME and Q, my
Music Magazine is unique. If it were to be sold as a real
magazine, it would Stand Out and alone from the typical
magazines on the market because of its Different layout,
image style and colour scheme. I would keep a similar
Style throughout my magazine by keeping the title, font
and text the same, It gives it a more realistic . I used
the same font throughout for my main Magazine title,
“Treble” and for subheadings, I chose the colour and
style Of the font for it to suit my target audience and the
genre of the magazine.
4. Contents
When creating my contents I found it harder to research and find other
Magazines already on the market to emulate. With this problem I faced I had
To take small elements of a variety of magazines, rather than emulating
Larger parts of fewer. I also had to think about the forms and conventions
To give my product the best edge and uniqueness possible which would
Make it more likely to be successful on the music magazine
Market. When conforming to the usual forms of other contents
I made sure I did so in small parts, because I felt that if I conformed
To all the same elements, my magazine would just be a replica and
Would lack the edge i.e. the unique selling point. The main element
I emulated was the “Vibe” magazines contents titles style, because
I felt that it was interesting and was more unique than the usual
Styles. The rest of my magazine layout, text, graphics etc was unique,
When looking at possible magazines to emulate I found that I liked
“Vibe” and “Spin” the most because I found the arrangement and the
Look of the contents pages to be more interesting than others. In my
Research I noticed that in many contents pages there are not too many
Graphics, images or photos on the page, I think this is because it would
Take concentration away from the rest of the contents.
5. Double Page
With the making of my double page spread, I had to research carefully
Other magazines on the market so that I was able to create the best
Double page possible, in hope that it would sell more copies. As well as
Finding things to emulate in my own work, I felt that it was important
To find elements of other magazines, that I would prefer not to emulate.
One double page spread that I researched and found interesting was the
“RWD” magazine, I felt that the graphics, layout and texts were good
Because they attract the audience and make them want to read it.
When creating my double page spread, because there was little double
Page spreads I wanted to emulate, it meant mine was my unique which
Can be good and bad. It can be seen as a good thing because it means
It doesn't conform to the usual layouts of magazines, giving it a unique
Selling point. However it was also a bad thing as I had to think of a
Whole new and original layout for images and text. One of the only
Things I felt that I emulated from another magazine, already on the
Market was the use of have quotes from the interviewee in highlighted
Writing. I liked this because it made it stand out from the rest of the text
And made it easier for the audience to understand who was saying each
part.
6. When creating my magazine I hoped that my magazine would appeal to and
Represent a large amounts of people from both genders and all types of different
ethnic backgrounds. The ages would most likely be around their early teens to
young adults i.e. 14-22, they would probably be in a college or sixth form with a
strong interest in music. As my Magazine is of a mainstream genre, I would hope it
represents many people As well as up and coming artists themselves. I would try to
represent these age, gender and ethnic groups mainly in my magazine with the
use of my images/photos, they help to Represent the various group because they
can relate to the audience. For Example my front cover and contents features and
school boy in his middle Teens with an obvious taste in music, my audience can
relate themselves to the character and in some cases could even see them as a role
model to aspire to be like. I can also use the images and photos used throughout
My magazine to emphasize the genre of the magazine. With my different colour
Scheme and pictures used it can highlight what type of magazine it actually
Is. I feel that the writing on my double page spread helps the represent
Social groups the most because the article talks about fashion, up and coming
artists and a characters struggle in his career, all these factors can relate to
Problems faced by the audience or their interests.
7. To get my magazine from me to the audience I would need to
choose distributors to sell my magazine. When I created my front
Cover, contents and double page spread I used elements from
“NME,Q and RWD”’s magazines, so I think I would probably try and
Use these companies to distribute my magazine because I feel that
our audiences will be fairly similar. My magazine would probably be
Marketed and sold via shops/news agents because it is easy for the
Audience, they would also be able to subscribe for a month edition
Which would delivered to their home. The audience would able to contact
My magazine using the internet, phone, email, fax etc for any inquires
And for new and up to date information. The magazine would have various
Offers and deals going on throughout the year, this would be likely to
Attract the audience. I would also hope that as my magazine gets more
Wide spread it would be able to develop to other medias such as
Having an online version, iPad editions and to be made accessible
Via androids and smart phones. By making it available on a wider
Range of media devices it makes it easier for the audience to view
And can help it to appeal to a wider amount of people.
8. The audience for my music magazine I feel would be someone that have a
keen taste in new mainstream music and would probably be between the
Ages of 14-22. I would hope that my magazine would appeal to both genders
And can represent as many social groups as possible. I don’t feel that my
Magazine has a specific genre of music because it is mainly based on
Mainstream music at that current time. My typical reader would have an
Interest in a variety of different medias, for example they would watch TV,
Listen to the radio and use the internet for social networking frequently.
Although I would prefer my media product to appeal to both genders, I feel that
The audience will be slightly more male than female because of the type of
Music the magazine is based around. My reader would be a fairly mainstream
Audience in all types of the media, such as favouring comedy and action films
Apposed to dramas. I think that because my magazine is British based, it would
Probably appeal to an White-British audience more, purely because that is the
Majority. However I feel/hope that as my magazine would progress and the
Readers widen, I would like my range of audience to as well. If my magazine
Were to spread to other countries, there is more chance of different
Ethnicities to become apart of my audience. Although I was able to give a
Fairly clear explanation on who and what type of person my audience would
Be, they would all have a uniqueness about them, as does my magazine.
9. Throughout the making of all my magazine, I had to take into
Consideration how I planned on attracting my audience, otherwise my
Magazine wouldn’t do very well at appealing to the public which would
Result in a lack of sales. I feel that the main ways in which I was able to
Attract and address my audience was with the use of graphics, images,
Layouts, texts etc because I was able to strongly highlight who and what
Type of person my target audience would be, it was easier for me to
Appeal to them. On my front cover, I was able to take most of the colour
out of the main image, leaving only the centre character in colour, with
This and the used of attractive text in appropriate positions it would easily
Appeal to the audience. I used various techniques and tools in my contents
Page and double page spread, but all had the same purpose and intentions.
I feel that the most important thing to consider when trying the attract an
Audience is the use of graphics and the colours. Bright bold colours are
Extremely good at catching a persons eye so I tried to use them as much as
Possible in all parts of my magazine. However I had to keep in balance the use
Of all the elements to attract an audience, if I used too much text, colour etc
It could become overpowering and could have the opposite effect on the
audience. My audience would also be attracted in other ways because of the
Things my magazine offers, such as special deals and offers going on
Throughout the year , they would also be attracted by my magazines
content/genre.
10. During the whole course of making my magazine, I have learned new and
developed a variety of skills to get the best quality possible, giving it the
best chance to be a successful which would hopefully result in more sales.
The main software I used was Photoshop which has various tools, filters
and editing techniques used which can enhance images and text, giving it a
more professional look. I also gained the developed knowledge of these
tools via another subject, ICT, I frequently used Photoshop to change the
look of photos and images when appropriate. In the front cover I felt that
the tools I mainly used were the sponge tool, plaster tool, filters and colour
enhancing techniques. I took most of the colours out of the image, leaving
only my character and the bridge floor in colour. I used this technique
because I thought it would be eye catching for the audience, and may appeal to
them by it having a more professional layout and look. The tool that was most time
consuming on my front cover was editing the leafs on the bridge floor, using the
quick selection tool I was able to selection a area of leafs and pasted them on the
bare areas of the bridge. I did this because it made it seem like they were there
from the start, and gave the image a better look and quality. I also used the colour
Replacement tool effectively in my front cover, on my characters printed t-shirt
And the cord of the headphones. The colour replacement tool selects your
Chosen shade/colour in the selected area, you can them alter this colour and make
It brighter, more vibrant and many others. I feel that on my contents page and
double page spread, I tended to use the colour replacement tool more
Frequently in my images to give them a more professional look. I also used
other tools such as filters. Filters were very good for giving the magazine a better
And more unique look, you are able to choose from a wide variety of filters to get
The best look. For contents page I gave my character a grainy look filter whereas
On my double page spread I used a filter on my character than gave him more of a cartoon/sketch look,
which I felt suited in with the background image very well.
11. When looking at back at my preliminary task and comparing it to my
finished music magazine, including the front cover and contents page I
think I have improved a lot. Looking at my preliminary task, although it was
Meant to be a different genre, I still showed weak knowledge and lacking in
Professional looks, however I feel like I accomplished these factors as I carried
On with my full magazine product. I noticed the development in the way I went
About creating a magazines, I now take into consideration many other factors.
These factors would include who the target audience is, what graphics and text
Would appeal to them etc. However I think the main element I have progressed
And developed when going from my preliminary task to my final product was
The use of tools I would use. When I was creating my preliminary magazine I
Had very little knowledge of tools on Photoshop which meant my all images,
Backgrounds, texts etc were not to the best quality possible, meaning my
Whole magazine was not entirely to a professional standard. Now I take the
Research of other magazines more seriously and do so in more depth, in
Order for me to emulate the best elements and create its own uniqueness.
When I look at my final magazine I have now been able to use tools such as
colour replacement tool, filters and many others. I feel that if my final
Music magazine were to be put on the market, my full product would be
Much more successful at targeting my audience and would sell more than
My preliminary magazine.
12. Price sticker,
giving it a
professional
Large eye catching title. look.
Colourless
background.
Same font used
everywhere.
Central,
focussed and
eye catching
image.
Professional music
company.
Barcode, giving it
a professional
look.
13. Emulated title.
Interesting and
graphic
background.
Easy to read font.
Page number, and
the same font. Filtered and
colour changed
eye catching
image.
Professional music
company. Iconic T-shirt
14. Relevant
stories.
Interesting
and bright
background.
Headings.
Filtered
image
Professional
music
company. Quotes