Research: Front Cover 2 - Country Weekly

Country Weekly Taylor Swift

Masthead

The masthead is located towards the top of the page, this is a common place to position this as all mastheads are situated there. Country Weekly use different colours for there mastheads but they always keep them a light but bright colour as this still stands out to the audience but isn't to direct, in this article there colour scheme is orange and white. The font used is sans serif, this font is used for the country magazine as a brand identity. The magazine masthead is all in upper case and also covers one fifth of the page therefore attracting the audiences attention. Swift covers the middle section of the masthead, therefore showing that Country Weekly is a popular and well known magazine because the customer can identify it. The masthead keeps the house style throughout there magazines this is to keep the magazine recognisable. The front cover is very minimal and tidy this is common throughout Country Weekly magazines as it is aimed at an older target audience, therefore looks more appealing. beneath the masthead features a dateline which is when the issue was published, this issue was published on October 24th 2012.

Central Image

The image is of Taylor Swift, this links to the genre as she is a country singer. The size of the image is substantial this suggests that this article is mainly about her. Swift poses quite natural in this image, this is to create a sense of kindness. Swift is dressed in a black top this is to contrast with the text on top, therefore making it distinct. Swift breaks Laura Mulvey's theory 'women are viewed for the pleasure of the men', this broken because she is covered up and not posing seductively for men's view. The photograph was taken outside I know this because you can see greenery, as a result this links to the genre because country music is associated with the countryside.




Her makeup is very soft and minimal this is because she is made to look innocent and all natural.There is a slight wind blowing through her hair this is to give the look of a country breeze therefore linking to the genre as it is very natural and country like. Swift is looking straight into the camera this gives the impression that she is looking directly at the reader this is direct address. 

Head Line

Swift is featured on the front of the magazine as this is to promote her new album 'Red'. The editor uses a tag to empahsise the word 'new' this entices the reader as they want to find out something new about Taylor Swift. They use a box-out behind the words 'exclusive interview', as a result this draws in attention there because the reader wants to get brand new information on Taylor Swift. The main head line is in white, this contrasts with the background, therefore standing out and catching the customers attention. 

Banner

The banner is placed at the bottom of the page so it doesn't distract you form the rest of the article. A tag has been used here to entice the reader, in addition the tag is green contradicting the colour scheme therefore standing out. Certain parts of the text are in orange highlighting the important parts where as the rest is in black.

Cover Lines

The cover line features small bits of text on artists giving you an incite to what is in this issue. This would appeal to a target audience of both male and female also appealing to the older generation. The artists names are in an orange colour this is because they want you to look at this first rather than the text.




How has this research influenced my creativity and planning

• I like the way that the magazine isn't cluttered, I think that I will use this in my music magazine 
• I'll also include in my music magazine a box-out because this makes certain parts stand out.
• I like how the model covers the masthead as this means the magazine is recognisable.

Research: Front Cover 1 - Q

Q Liam Gallagher June 2013

Masthead

The colour of the masthead is a bold red, this stands out and links to the genre of music as this is a pop/rock magazine. The connotation of red is danger this magazines is rock/pop therefore suggesting that these artists are a threat to the music industry. The masthead is also positioned in the top left corner, this is a very common code for Q as they use this in every magazine. The size of the Q is very large due to there only being a single letter this is very unique as most magazines don't use a single letter. The masthead follows the house style throughout all their magazines, therefore the magazine is easily identified by customers. A flag is covering almost half of the masthead, but as this magazine is well known it doesn't change that it is recognisable. The masthead also includes a slogan 'the world's greatest music magazine' 

Central Image

The central image is of Liam Gallagher a member of the band Oasis. He is wearing an astronaut suit this may be because he is promoting a new album or because he is showing a sense of authority. This links to Richard Dyer's theory 'a star is an image' but Liam is a artist so he isn't actually an astronaut. The photograph is taken in a studio and is totally artificial. Liam is stood in a posture resembling arrogance this links to the quote from him as he says 'But I wanna be The Man'. This also links to Dyers theory as he may not actually be 'The Man' and is putting this on to advertise the magazine. As Liam is dressed in an astronaut suit this links to the head line as Q say 'LIAM'S ON A MISSION'. This issue of the magazine is quite busy therefore appealing to a target audience of ages 16-25.

Head Line

The font is in san serif, this is a common code that Q use throughout there magazine. Another feature about the head line is that there is a slight shadow behind it, this is used to make the writing distinctive.

Pull Out

Q uses this as a pull out, however this is very unusual as this breaks Q's own conventions. On the front of the magazine they only show Liam Gallagher, but as this is the pull out they show the rest of the band members, this may have been done because there may be a relation to them somewhere within the magazine.

Banner

The banner is in gold this is to create some class within this issue of, gold is also used to contrast with the background so the banner stands out. A puff shaped as an arrow is used on the banner saying 'only in Q' this is also a tag which shows an exclusive which can only be found in Q.

Puff

This puff is bright yellow, the editor has done this because it contrasts against the background as a result this stands out on the magazine. The wording that is used in the puff is very inviting as they use 'again' implying they have done it before.







How has this research influenced my creativity and planning

• I like how the puffs have been used in bright colours to stand out.
• I like how they have used the banner in gold to give the magazine a classy look, I may use his style in my music magazine.
• The pull out in this is y favourite part because it is very different and appealing.

Preliminary Task: Contents Page for Magazine

This is also a rough sketch for the contents page of my college magazine. I shall also use Adobe elements 11 Photoshop to create this contents page.


This is my final product.

Preliminary Task: Front Cover of Magazine

This is a rough sketch of the front cover for my college magazine. I will use Adobe elements 11 Photoshop to create the cover of my magazine because this software has many different features to use. For example I will use different styles of fonts as this will not attract attention to one place in my work. I will also use many vibrant colours as this will make the magazine stand out to the audience.


This is my final product.

Preliminary Task : Selection and Rejection

I have chosen to use this photograph as the front cover of my college magazine as it is a angle as she is looking directly into the camera. Also the model is holding a piece of college equipment, this relates to the topic as the magazine is about college. The model is dressed in colours which contrast with the background, this helps as the model stands out, therefore the audience focuses on the model first.

I decided that this photograph is unsuitable for the college magazine as she is not looking directly into the camera and is facing away, therefore she is not associating herself with the audience.

This photograph although it is high quality is unsuitable for the college magazine as the background is to cluttered which takes the attention away from the model. Also in this photograph the model is facing away from the magazine which suggests that she's not connecting with the audience. The lighting in this image is of poor quality and does not contrast with the background, therefore there is no focus point.

Technology: joining slideshare and flickr

Today I joined slideshare and learnt how to upload a powerpoint onto my blog and I then joined flickr.

Research: Institutional 1

Task 2] Institutional Research - Create an interesting word document. Select and analyse a big media institution. An institution is a: ‘media conglomerate, media group, or media institution is a company that owns numerous companies in various mass media; i.e. television, radio, publishing, motion picture and the Internet. “These companies that produce or distribute music magazines. Consider the range of genres of music magazines they sell, their target audience and other Media they use eg apps, twitter, Facebook, Instagram. Can you subscribe? Order online?                                        Have a look at Bauer, TimesIncUK, if you are stuck.

Bauer Media Group is a European based company that manages over 600 magazines, over 400 digital products and 50 radio and TV stations around the globe. Bauer are in a joint venture with Channel 4 which produce music channels such as 4MUSIC,The Box, Heat, Kerrang!, Kiss, Magic and Smash Hits.. They also have various social media accounts, from Twitter to Facebook, this is to promote their brands, and they use social media as they know many people use these, therefore advertising to a wide range of ages.

TimeInc is an American New-York based company that publishes over 90 magazines and sells over 350 million copies a year. TimeInc currently owns NME a music journalism magazine and What’s on TV magazine. TimeInc’s most common genre of music a like Bauer’s is alternative, indie and rock, they also aim for the same target audience as Bauer’s which is ranges from 16-75. TimeInc currently owns LIFE.com, a website committed to news and photography.

                                                                 

CONDE NAST is a New-York based company that has more than 164 million consumers. CONDE NAST’S most well-known brands are Allure, Glamour, The New Yorker, Pitchfork, reddit, Teen Vogue, Vanity Fair and Vogue. CONDE NAST’S common music genre is alternative rock, indie rock and alternative hip hop, the target audience is from the ages 18-60.  

Research: Conventions 1

AS Media Task 1 from RheanonGreenASMedia

Response to brief

I'm looking forward to creating a school/college magazine as this is a new experience for me and sounds very interesting. The photography part of this study sounds very intriguing as I already enjoy taking photographs and will enhance my skills. I like to listen to various music genres, but i especially like to listen to indie and pop music.

OCR G321 Print Brief

Preliminary exercise: using DTP and an image manipulation program, produce the front page of a new school/college magazine, featuring a photograph of a student in medium close-up plus some appropriately laid-out text and a masthead. additionally candidates must produce a DTP mock-up of the layout of the contents page to demonstrate their grasp of the program.
Main: the front page, contents and double page spread of a new music magazine.