Final Coursework

Mock ups- Front Cover

This mock up for my front cover is inspired by the 'NME' front cover by using a similar layout with the image in a similar positioning also. I believe this will be effective as it has quite large fonts to be used and the typography will therefore attract the reader more by being large.

Double Page spread:

The mock up for my double page has taken inspiration from the double page spread in 'Rock Sound' as I am using a larger image compared to the smaller images used within 'NME'. I feel this will be more effective as it will be more appealing for the reader as they will feel there is less for them to read. Therefore the layout for my double page spread has taken more inspiration from 'Rock Sound'.

Textual Analysis- Double Page Spreads
This double page spread has been taken from the magazine 'Rock Sound' and uses a large image to cover two pages with a smaller article.
The effect of using this large image is so that the reader gains instant interest by being able to directly focus on a large image.
This is therefore more successful than using smaller images as the reader is able to focus more towards the article related with the individual image and it looks more appealing to read as it is shorter, and as the article continues onto another page, the reader will be more likely to continue reading. For the image, the individuals are all wearing similar colour clothing which identifies them as a group. The magazine then uses yellow title boxes in the corners as to make them stand out as the section within the magazine on band 'exposure', this stands out to the reader and draws them even further into looking at the page and reading the article. The image also presents the main/lead person in the band to be percieved as the person in the centre as he is the person with the most animated expression, while the others look closer to being contempt. This ensures that the reader is focusing more upon one individual that the article may focus on.

This double page spread is within 'NME' magazine and has a large amount of text and images. This is a large contrast to the double page spread in 'Rock Sound' as it uses several images rather than one and uses several smaller articles. The large titles for each article are clearly displayed, making it simple for the reader to know which article is associated with each image. It uses similar techniques as the contents pages by using text boxes to surround the articles, this makes the articles stand out against the images and colour upon the page, making it more attractive for the audience to read as it is very clear and also short. 'NME' has a successful double page spread as it also includes small advertisments along with images to make the page more attractive and 'busy for the reader.

Textual Analysis- Contents Pages

This contents page, taken from the rock/alternative music magazine 'NME', is very crowded and busy in order to appeal to their target audience of young teenagers.

This is done by presenting lots of articles available within the magazine as well as a band index so that readers know if the band they like is in there. This therefore widens the target audience due to the amount of artists within the magazine as more people will look for an artist they like and if they wish to read about it they will purchase it. The contents page also uses the name of the magazine to again make it stand out and also use a form of masthead to show that it is a weekly magazine by using 'THIS WEEK' followed directly by the date below it. This therefore reminds the reader of which issue of the magazine they are reading as well as reminding them that there are other weeks to follow. On the contents page a single image is shown with a small related article, this keeps the focus on a single section and is like an introduction to the nature and style within the magazine. Beneath this a subscription section has been inserted, this stands out on the page as it contains the only other form of image. This contents page is effective as it addresses the reader through colloquial text and centred images that capture the readers eye. The contents page being crowded also makes the reader look more at what is available to read within the magazine, whilst searching for the artist they have bought the magazine to read about.


This contents page, is very contrasting to that of 'NME', as it comes from 'Hip Hop' magazine.



In comparison to 'NME', this contents page is very minimalistic and uses a single photograph to cover the entire page. This draws the readers eye directly to the page and makes them want to read it to see if any articles within the magazine are linked with the image that is being displayed. The typography on the contents page is small with larger bold titles, this draws the readers eye first to the title which is catchy enough to make them want to read the entire article. The date of the issue is also on the contents page so that it is obvious as to which issue they are reading and can know the clear date in which it came out so that they know the information in the rest of the magazine is up to date. Therefore, the bold image of orange immediatley draws attention to the reader.

Front Cover analysis
'NME' stands for New Musical Express but sounds quite subversive due it sounding like the word 'enemy', this portrays a very rebellious magazine just from the masthead. The house style of the magazine is rock/alternative music magazine that would appeal to people who enjoy rock and indie music.
The cover image of the magazine is very subversive due to the woman smoking and having a visible tatoo on her stomach, these are today considered very rebellious things to do, especially among young people. The mise-en-scene in the image also creates the idea of rebellion as they are wearing leather, which is a widely known 'rock 'n' roll' image. From the cover image, sex appeal has also been created due to the skin being shown on the stomach which shows the audience a small amount and leaves them wanting more. The camera angle used for the cover image is a high angled shot looking over the two individuals which creates the idea that they are lying down together. This therefore presents a very prevocative connotation of them lying down together with the man's hand on the bare skin of her stomach. The straplines are about the band 'Crystal Castles', shown in the kicker, and show a very rebellious side to them as they say 'Murder, Drugs and Twisted Love'. These things are all very subversive, but at the same time quite dark and sinister as you don't know how they are involved in the aspects of 'murder' and 'drugs'. This therefore makes the resder want to pick up the magazine and fond out what happened to them and what they were involved in.
The magazine also usews an 'exclusive' story in order to attract more readers: "Nirvana 'My life with Kurt' ex-manager speaks". This story would appeal to many fans of Nirvana and Kurt Cobain as many people would want to find out as much as they could about him now that he is no longer alive and widely regarded as a 'legend'. People may therefore use this to discover information they did not know about him along with what he was like to be around while he was alive.
Other straplines on the image also help to present a subversive theme from the use of expletives on the front cover: 'f***ed up'. Expletives are not coventionally used on the front covers of magazines as it is often percieved as being offensive to many people. This shows the reader that rebellious theme as been incorporated into all aspects of the magazine from the staplines to the masthead, to the cover image.

Textual Analysis

The genre of 'Blender' is a mens music magazine aimed at males aged 16 to 36. This target audience is quite broad which means that lots of people will buy it and will also appeal to a wide range wherever it is sold. The was head has been hidden by the cover image, this shows that it is a recognisable and well known magazine. The masthead also has a slit through with gives the effect that it has been cut, this suggests a theme of rebellion and not being your 'usual' music magazine. The target audience can mainly be identified through the cover image as it is of Britney Spears wearing nothing but a sheet which would appeal to a lot of men.

Textual Analysis

The masthead 'NME' for this magazine stands for New Musical Express which shows the audience that it is a magazine for new and upcoming music or artists. However, despite looking at what NME stands for it actually sounds like the word 'enemy' which suggests rebellion. This connotation therefore links in to the target audience of the magazine as being rebellious by listening to the 'alternative/indie' music being promoted within the magazine. This therefore shows the target audience as being both males and females aged around 14-24 who are into this particular genre of music.

The cover image captivates the audience as the entire band of the arctic monkeys is looking directly at the camera, but it is almost like they are looking down on the audience due to the worms eye view effect from the camera angles used. The image is very subversive as they are all dressed in elf costumes for the magazines christmas issue but have sledge hammers in their hands and Father Chistmas on fire in his sleigh in the sky behind them. This cover image also uses the rule of thirds where the main image is mainly kept in the top two thirds of the cover and slightly to the right. This therefore keeps the audiences eye on the image. The theme of rebellion has been continued into the cover image by the use of sledge hammers but is also used to represent the artists as being different and not conforming to stereotypes.

The typography used on the magazine front cover has elements taken from the popular Tim Burton film, 'The Nightmare Before Christmas', the font '100 page', 'presents' and 'starring' all use the same font as used in the film and on the DVD front cover. This wording of 'presents' and 'starring' also makes it appear as a film itself with a title to the film and the people involved within it. The kicker on the image is: 'Their favourite worst nightmare before christmas', this also links in with the film 'the nightmare before christmas and the rebellious cover image. However the term 'favourite worst nightmare' is the name of their latest album which has cleverly encorporated to promote the Arctic Monkeys' new album, which is who the article is on.

The straplines are in the form of just text on the front cover are of other bands featured in the magazine which helps people looking at the magazine know that even if they didn't like the arctic monkeys there are other artists which they can read about within the magazine. On the front cover there es also a skyline telling the reader it is a christmas special as well as offering free posters within the magazine. This therefore gives the reader a larger insentive to buy the magazine as something free is being offered. Lastly they also have other shapes on the front cover containing other things within the magazine and the barcode which allows people to purchase the magazine. The website for 'NME' is also on the barcode which allows readers to get more information of the website and so they can find out more about the magazine at home.

Preliminary Production Task
For my preliminary production task I have taken this image to put on the front of a school's photography magazine. This is supposed to represent photography in the school, so i took the image as if the person themself is taking a photograph. This would therefore engage the reader as when they are to look at the front of a the magazine it will almost seem like she is taking a photo of them.

I then opened this image in photoshop in order to see if an effect would look good and be more capturing for a school magazine. I therefore changed the main colour to blue on photoshop and looked at different effects in 'Filter Gallery'.

I then chose the 'stamp' effect to apply to my photograph. I applied this and then increased the canvas so that it would be sitting to the right of the canvas which would help it fit the conventions of a magazine cover. I decided to keep this effect on my image as it looked more creative and suited the colourings of the magazine for the school. I then inserted a masthead onto the magazine front cover which filled the top of the magazine but still left enough room for a skyline. I used a dark grey colour for the masthead so that it would stand out against blue but not be has harsh as using black against I lighter background. I also added in at the bottom of the page: 'Photo by Billi Hatfield' as it is a photography magazine and should therefore present the artists to the readers. Finally I felt the colour of the blue was too dark so I changed the opacity to make it slightly lower, this faded the image slightly and made the masthead even clearer to the audience.


After editing in Photoshop I then saved it and opened a publisher document and inserted my image. The first thing i did was add a skyline onto my magazine cover by creating a box and filling it with the colour blue, I used a slightly darker blue to my image as it was more striking and is also the colour of the scool uniform. I then used a dark yellow within this blue box to write the test which also stood out against the blue without being too light. I used a yellow as it was eye catching and also resembles the colour of the school badge. The gold-yellow colour is also used within the staplines along with dark blue and are alternated so that each of them stand out and they are not merged into one strapline. I put all my straplines on the left hand side and they all lined up equally which helped the straplines to conform to the conventions of a magazine cover. Lastly, I added in an issue and date number along with "FREE" in the bottom right hand corner to let students know that as it was a school magazine they did not have to pay for it.

After I finished my front cover I did a mock up of the contents page which included images that I took, these helped to display things that are going to be within the magazine. I also caried on the same colours and design from the front cover on to the contents page. Therefore the title was a dark grey and the contents itself alternated between dark blue and yellow-gold colours, this helps the audience to create a link between the front cover and the contents page which also makes the school magazine more indentifiable.



Evaluation
My school photography magazine uses many conventions of real media products as my cover image is not centalised, this is used by many fashion magazine as they are able to show the entire face and features of the person and put straplines in.

The conventions of a magazine cover are displayed within the one that I have created. I have not used more than 3 main coulours on the magazine cover, these are orange, black and white. I have also used a familiar layout of straplines, masthead along with a skyline, cover image, prices and a barcode. I have chosen all of these to appeal to a target audience of women aged between 18 and 26. This would mean that there is very wide audience as it will appeal to many people including fans of Keira Knightley.

By using the colours orange, black and white it will appeal to women in a more sophisticated way as the more conventional 'young colours' of pink and red are not being used.