Music Magazine Research- Looking at current magazine's.

Under The Radar.

I was researching music magazine's and came across Under The Radar. Whilst looking through these cover's I saw a similar pattern with consistent and simple colour scheme's, which I personally quite like because I think it looks sophisticated. I also like the image of Jenny Lewis because the angle of the camera and the direction she is looking is quite nice. Also it's not bright colours so it looks clear. Whilst the font on the top cover is also very sophisticated, I prefer the more informal cartoon style because it breaks up the image and draws my attention to it, though this may also be influenced by the bright blue colouring. The layout of both of these are also quite simple and not cluttered, which I think looks very professional without looking too formal.

This magazine has influenced my thoughts about the music magazine I will be creating a lot because I now feel I know the type of image and camera view I will use, the style of font I want and the kind of layout.

NME.



NME was another magazine I came across that I found several things I like about it. The direct eye contact draws you in and the positioning of both is quite interesting. The top one shows a closeness between the two 'Indie-pop takeovers' whilst Pete is portraying a more delicate image and this also goes with the pull quote 'I'll say sorry to every single person from the depths of my heart'. I think having the image and pull quote related has a big influence on a magazine and this is something I think i'll make sure I have. I don't like having the writing across the page or image, and I like the way the bottom NME has a clear structure and doesn't look cluttered, messy or unprofessional. I also quite like the idea of having it Indie based so I think I will consider that for my magazine.

From looking at these I have decided my magazine will be more similar to Under The Radar. I have looked into some more of their magazine covers and found a range of them which I think are very effective and would like my magazine to be similar too. Under The Radar is a Indie based magazine, which is my main interest when making my magazine. Here are a few copies of the magazine which I found interesting:

Preliminary Task - School magazine analysis.

Front cover:

I found the front cover quite hard to make look professional. Because of the background image, the colours wouldn’t fit so I had to do a lot of photo editing which didn’t make it look as good but it meant that the text was easier to read. I chose the colour scheme because that is what my target audience thought would be most appropriate. I thought I’d use quite a clear and smart image so it looked school related and caught your eye. I included a range of information on the front cover and gave varied topics so it applies to more people and so more people would be willing to purchase it. I tried to make the layout as clear as possible and so it didn't interfere with the image too much or take away the focus from the model because from my research I found that the image is the thing that attracts a person to a magazine most therefore this was the most important thing for me to do. I have learnt from this task that next time I need to choose perhaps darker colours, or more vibrant so it’s more eye catching and so that it’s easier to apply text on to it.

Contents page:

In the box on the left: Here I will include a general list of what is included in the magazine with each page and topic so it is clear. Perhaps even have a small bit of information about some of them.

In the top box on the right: I will divide these three boxes in half and have an image on one side and a quote/bit of information about the article featured. For example on my front cover it says interview with Miss Neads so I will have a picture of her on the left and then a quote on the right.

  

For my contents page I thought I keep the theme I have on the front on green and blue. I will also keep the same typeface to give the feeling of consistency. By diving the page into sections it will make it more appealing and less formal. Also by having it relatively detailed it make it easier to find exactly what you're looking for and easy to find.

Editing Practise.

Before:

After:

Evaluation:

I decided to take a posed picture for this one. I found a picture of a band and decided to use a cutting tool to remove the model and place her in this image. I then adjusted the brightness to make it seem a bit more in tone and took away the shadowing behind her.

Feedback:

The editing is good as it does look like the girl is in the final picture, however the picture looks a little bit squashed and the colours don’t match up perfectly. It would have been better if she was looking in the same direction as the band, to make it more believe able. As she’s looking at the camera it makes her stand out more and it’s easier to see the faults and that she has been edited in.

Before:

After:

Evaluation:

For this I decided to use 3 images to create one. These were all natural shots. For this I had to cut the image of the person out, then make the background black and white and re incorporate the person in. I then put the 3 photographs into one to make it look more professional and I thought by laying them out in the gradual slant style it gives the idea of growing up and hobbies in a way? It also shows a bond in the second one which can suggest either a close relationship or it even being the same person at different ages.

Feedback:

I like the colour change, as it makes the subjects more apparent, and I like how the date as been taken out to make it look more professional and they way it has been grouped together.

Audience research evaluation.

1)      Would you be interested in purchasing a school magazine?

Yes                 12

No                  3

2)      How much would you be willing to pay for the magazine?

Free               5                                              Under 50p           2             

50p                 5                                              75p                         0                             

£1                   2                                              £1.50                     1                             

£2                   0                                              £2 +                        0

Other:______________________________________________________________

3)      How would you rate the way information is passed through your school currently?

(5 being the highest, and 1 the lowest)

1         2           2              6              3              6              4              1              5              0

4)      How often do you read magazines?

Weekly                      5                                 Once each term                                0

Every 2 weeks          5                                               Twice a year                       0

Every month            4                                                Once a year                        1

5)      How often would you like the magazine to be published?

Weekly                         2                                              Once each term                  1

Every 2 weeks           4                                              Twice a year                       0

Every month              8                                              Once a year                        0

       6)      Would you rather school updates/information included or popular culture?

Updates and Information                3

Popular Culture                                 1

Both                                                    11

Other:_________________________________________________________________

7)      What are your favourite sections of a magazine?

(Tick as many as applicable)

Interviews                8                              Horoscopes                                                      3

Real life stories       4                              Music/Film ratings and updates                   11

Fashion                    7                              ‘Agony Aunt’                                                     4

Home ed. Related    1                              Competitions                                                   0

               

Other: Sport

8)      What type of colour scheme would you prefer?

School colours (blue and green)        7

Purples /Blues           3                              Yellows/Oranges              3

Pinks                          2                              Reds                                    0

Black and White        2                              Other: Variety

9)      What is it that attracts you to a front cover?

The image                        14

 

The colours                      1

The information given  2

Other: Shocking headlines/quotes

10)   Would you be interested in helping write a school magazine?

Yes                 2

No                  5

Maybe          8

My target audience are sixth form, I decided for my questionnaire to only ask the sixth form students at my current school as this would be who I'd aim the magazine at. As you can see from my results my target audience all wanted around the same thing. The majority of them would purchase the magazine and even though the price they would pay would be free or 50p, I have chosen to price it at 50p so it can support the cost of the materials needed to produce the magazine and any competitions or extra funding for school events in the sixth such as Prom that are needed. It also shows people thought information was passed relatively poorly throughout their school, therefore having a school magazine published every month would give them a clear update on what is happening around them. The majority of people also said they would like not only school updates but also Popular Culture included in the magazine, and the most popular topic for Popular Culture was Film/Music ratings and updates therefore that would be something I'd definitely include inside. I will use the school colours as my colour scheme as not only was this the most popular choice but it relates to the school. My questionnaire also showed me that having a good clear and interesting image is the most important thing for the cover as this interests people most and is the main reason they choose to look at a magazine. Also by having people saying that they would definitely or maybe help with the production of the magazine, this means that it would be more likely to be created by the sixth form which in turn makes it more appealing to the target audience as they are more 'in the know' about what people at this specific age are interested in and the type of language to use.
From doing my questionnaire I have found out a lot of things that will help in creating the ideal magazine and managed to create an idea of what my target audience want. This will make me more able to produce a better cover and attract my audience with the right image, colour scheme, pricing and information.