Evaluation

Evaluation

For my coursework I have created a music magazine portraying the stereotype of Indie. To produce this magazine I had to research the stereo group of Indie I did this by reading certain indie magazines such as NME. These magazines gave me a clear view of what indie is portrayed as within society. As well as this I sent out a survey round my class and to my target age range which was 16-30 year olds. The results from this were very helpful in what the content of my magazine will be. I focused on the interest surrounding festivals within the indie stereotype. Festivals are an important part of indie so my main story was to do with the Reading & Leeds festivals. I feel this would attract the type of audience that I am looking to consume my magazine.
To produce the magazine front cover I used Adobe Photoshop CS4. This program was very easy to make a magazine front as I had already used it for my prelim task and had various skills to do with this program. When taking the pictures of the main model I dressed him in a certain way so that people would look at the front cover of the magazine they knew after a first look that this was an indie music magazine. I did this by dressing my model in a red Fred Perry polo shirt, this brand of cloths is very popular within the indie scene. The models hair was done in a certain way to portray the style which was quite long and messy. The use of the blue Fender Stratacaster is very important as a lot of indie bands use this type of guitar. My model then held this guitar pointing towards the camera and looked down the body of the guitar to add a sense of intimidation towards the audience. i then imported the picture into photoshop and cut the models body out of the image and inserted it onto a plain A4 document on photoshop.
My house style was red black and white, I feel this made it stand out and gave the right effect that I was looking for. I included a website, price and barcode to make it look professional. For the title of the magazine I went on http://www.dafont.com/ and picked a font that will go with the magazines style. I choose this font as I thought it was easy to read and would attract the type of audience that I am trying to gain. I then inserted a image I got from google of the Reading and Leeds festival logo. I then moved onto the contents page and the double page spread after I had finished the front cover. I then changed programs and used Adobe Indesign CS4 to create these pages. for the contents page I then kept the same house style that I had used for the front cover. I used a new model for the main image on the page. this image shows a man lighting a cigarette with a massive flame. As well as this the tattoos on the models arms shows rebellion and attitude towards the audience. I also cut out another picture of my front cover model and shrunk in between two paragraphs, so that the audience remember that he was the main article. I inserted some text which told the audience about a subscription system which saves the audience money on every issue.
I then moved onto my double page spread. I firstly placed a subtitle at the top of the page saying “Exclusive” so that the audience knew they were reading an exclusive interview. I then drew the texts boxes out that would have the interview in it. I then inserted the title, I made sure that the title and the subtitle both matched with the same front. The title also matches the colour of the models t shirt that he is wherein within the shoot. I feel that this would show the audience consistency. I inserted the text for the interview which I had already done on a word document. In this text I brought up issues and question that I feel the audience will find interesting and will enjoy to read about. I then put in the biggest of the four pictures in the left hand side of the page. The image shows the model hold up his collar and looking down towards the text with his elbow just avoiding the text. I then added a section where I reviewed some of the band’s songs. Before I did this I read a lot of reviews from magazines like NME and Kerrang! so that I knew the type of language that I should use for it.
When I had finished my whole magazine I posted my magazine on the social networking site Facebook, so that I could get some feedback off people as to what they liked and what they didn’t like. Jordan Moore said that he like the attitude which was involved in the contents. He also said that the picture in the middle of the contents page showed rebellion. Ben Levesley said that the font that is used in the double page spread interview is very easy to read and the article keeps the audience interested. Cassie Gilbert said that she loves how the front covers mask head is stands out and catches people’s eyes.
I feel that if I was going to do something different concerning my magazine I would have put a lot more effort into my contents page as I feel that it does not really compared to the rest of the magazine. I think I would have included more images so that the audience would have more to look at and more to analyse.

Analysing a Music Magazine. The way in which a music magazine is set out is what makes it stand out to a customer. In this issue of NME magazine a high angle shot of the Arctic Monkeys looking up. This goes with the subtitle under the band’s name saying “The World At Their Feet” this could connote that they are about to make it big, as it makes the audience looks down on them. This could mean that everyone is watching them to see what they produce next. As the band are standing very close together this lets us know that they are very close friends. The white background connotes purity and it makes the centre fold stand out more to the audience. The Main Title is written in red this can connote love, warmth or aggression. What NME are trying to put across is maybe that this is a band which everyone is going to love or that the type of music that this band creates is done with an aggressive nature. The Warmth point could be seen as that they are hot on the scene at the moment. The Subtitle saying “The World at their feet!” is done with a black background and the text is white so that this phrase stands out towards the audience. All the other tittles around the cover are done with a blue text so that they stand out with the white background but not as much as the black text within the Cover. Blue connotes cold, which could relate to the main title in the way that these other stories are not as big as the main story. With the title saying NME Award Tour Preview, this makes it a special edition so this may intrest customers to purchase the magazine. Although most images and text within this cover overlap in some way the name of the magazine has not been covered up at all this mkaes sure that the customer know what the magazine is. The main title on the cover of this issue of NME is white with dabs of colourful paint to make the title stand out to the audience. The colours also relate to the subtitle above the name of the band as it says "psychedelic" which is related with bright colours. The main picture of the band has been laid out so that different members of the band are more prominent than others. This may have been done to show popularity within the band. They have been dressed in black to show mystery and to go with the style that they are trying to portray which is gothic. The front man of the band has been placed in the middle of the page with his eye line on the same eye line as the viewer so that he stands out. He is also pushing his hair from eyes and is staring very menacing into the camera to add some mystery so that the a customer may want to know what he is all about. The red on the page is to go with the house style of NME. The banner across the top of the page saying Free Oasis live poster, this gives the audience something free when the purchase the magazine so therefore it will attract more people to purchase it. Also Oasis is written in a white text to make it stand out on the red background. There is also a rhetorical question in the top of right of the cover to make customers want to read the article to see what the outcome is. A graphic is used about the Leeds and Reading Festivals so that if people are attending either one of these events they will want to read news on it so they will purchase the magazine. This issue of NME is a special edition celebrating ten years of the band The Strokes. So straight a certain audience will be attracted to this magazine as it is a special edition and may be worth something one day. “Special Issue” stands out straight away on the cover as it has been written in black text and is in a bigger font than the rest of the tag lines. The shade of purple that dominates the page can connote royalty so it can be said that NME see the strokes as a royal band within the music industry. The purple also catches people’s eyes so that it is noticed. The NME house style of red and white has been changed to purple and white to go with the royalty theme. The picture of the strokes that is placed in the centre of the cover is put in black and white for effect and it also makes the picture a lot older than what it is. In the white graphic on the right hand side of the cover they have wrote the band Guns n’ Roses in red bold font to make it stand out to the audience. They have included this band on the cover as they are a very popular band so they will may be able to get some older readers who are fans of Guns n’ Roses. The main tagline at the top the page is put on a black background so that it stands out to the audience so they know that it is the contents page. Down the right hand side of the page it tells what is in every section this week and some these titles have a graphic next it saying on the cover to make it easier for the consumer to navigate themselves round the magazine. These sections are done in black and white again to make it stand out to the audience. The main picture on the page is placed in the centre of the page so that it stands out to the consumer; the text which follows it also has been done in black with a white background so that it stands again. Also the page number for this article has been put in red text so that it stands out again. Down the left hand side of the page there is a list of bands that feature in this edition of NME with page numbers next to them so the audience knows exactly where they are in the magazine. This is useful as if the consumer is a fan of a certain band they can just look on this list to see where they are very quickly. At the bottom of the page there is a promotion banner for their subscription service. It draws in the audience by telling them they can save money. All the ways in which they can do this have been put in a yellow text so that they stand out too. Two images of previous magazines have been placed in this banner as well. The contents of Q magazine are very different to the contents page of NME. It looks like it is aimed at a older audience as the layout of it is very tidy and classy. Next to both of the pictures which are in the contents they have the page number so that the reader can navigate round the magazine with ease. The sections are clearly marked within the features section. One thing that NME has that Q doesn’t is a list of the bands which are featured within the edition of the magazine and the page number is next to the name so that if the reader just wants to find where their favourite band is it is easier for them. The section called oasis special has been done with a gold title, outline and page numbers. This could connote that they are seen as one of the greatest bands as gold is a very powerful colour. Also as this is the only part of the contents that is different it stands out and makes the reader think why which means they will read it to find out. The every month sections gives the audience the usual page numbers which feature every month. The picture of the band (The Courteeners) is the biggest image on the page and stands out the most to attract the reader to turn straight to this page to read the interview. The website is at the top of the page in a black boarder with white writing so that it stands out to the audience so that they may visit it. NME’s contents pages normally stick to the same style however they can change on an occasion so that the reader does not get bored of the same style. The banner across the top of the page has a black background so that the words “this week” stand out, the text is wrote in white so for the same reason. The band index down the left hand side of the page is there so that the consumer of the magazine does not have to flick through the magazine to look for their favourite band as there is a page number next the name of the band, this is done to navigate around the magazine with ease. The picture has been placed in the centre of the page so that it is the first thing the reader sees. The text underneath saying “the moment that...” is written in red font with an italic style on it so that it is different to everything on the page. The words make the audience think that this was a major moment in the weeks music which makes them want to read the little article underneath it. Down the right hand side of the page there is all the sections of the magazine and tells you exactly what is in them. If a certain article is on the cover of the magazine it has a little graphic next to it saying on the cover so that the audience know it is the same article. The page numbers are written in a red font so that they stand out to the consumer. Down the bottom of the right hand side of the page there is the usual section which is everything that is in the magazine on a weekly basis. In the red graphic at the bottom of the page it says “the UK’s number one gig guide...” this is getting the attention of all the live music lovers as it is UK’s number one so there is not a better guide for the UK. The subscription advertisement attracts the audience by having the title giving the consumer information on how they can save money, which is useful due to the credit crunch that our country is current in. It is also the only part of the contents that does not stick to the house style of red white or black as it is wrote in yellow. This double page spread is taken from Kerrang! Magazine, and is about My Chemical Romance recording there new album. The main title is a quotation from the text so that the audience sees what the article is going to be about. Half of the title is in red and the other is white. The white is used so that it stands out to the audience due to the black back ground. The red connote violence and blood, which can tell the audience that the album could be very heavy. The first letter of the article is done in a bigger font and is also written in red. All the images that are on the page are shown in black and white maybe to show that My Chemical Romance are a very dark and depressing band. Under each of the pictures there is a little description to say what is going on in the pictures. The image that consumes the left hand side of the page shows the lead singer of the band holding onto the microphone. This gives the audience the impression that he is a stereotypical rock star. We can tell this due to way in which he is hanging onto the microphone and the way in which he is dressed. In the top left hand corner it lets the consumer know what section of the magazine it is by putting “news”. A graphic has been placed next this saying World Exclusive this attracts the audience as Kerrang! are the first magazine in the world to have this story. Down the right hand side of the page there is a text box that is done in white so that it is different to anything on the page and it stands out to the audience. This text box tells the audience what the songs sound like and what they are about. This is helpful for the audience as if there is any big fans of My Chemical Romance then they will be very interested to read what the new songs sound like. This double page spread is taken from NME, and is about Lilly Allen. The title is once again taken from the article, we can tell this due to the quotation marks around the title. The words used are very controversial as it refers to what people think of her. This makes the audience want to read on to see what else she says. The title is done with different sizes of fonts with a black background this makes the white stand out to the audience. The text also is done in drop capitals to add a sense of youth. The main image of Lilly Allen shows that she is very stylish and it also matches the page and text. The tartan shirt connotes masculinity, which makes the audience think that she is more masculine than feminine. She is stood with her hands on her hips to revel her tattoo to the reader; this shows that she is rebellious. She is looking directly into camera which lets the audience relate to her. This could also mean that she is attention seeking. This also represents a stereotype of youth that most people in Britain have that they are rebellious and disrespectful. This double page spread is also taken from NME and is taken from the radar section which is all about new bands. The section is displayed in the top left of the page to let the audience know what section they are looking at. A graphic has been placed next to the name of the band saying “NME loves” this gives the audience reassurance that this band are good enough to be in the magazine. The name of the band has gone with the colour scheme of the page so that the audience does not feel like there are too many colours going on within the page. The main picture that consumes the left hand side of the page has been set out so that they actually look like teenagers in their room the pictures behind of glamour models also connotes teenage boys. The way in which they are dressed as well gives this impression. There is a graphic that is over the bottom left side of the page which gives the audience more information about the band and familiarises them with them. In this box its gives such information like who they are like, where they are from, when they are playing and many more. In the middle of the article there is a quotation that has been blown up so that it may interest the consumer and make them want to read the full article. There is a picture inserted within the text as well this makes sure that audience doesn’t get to bored when reading the article. At the bottom of the article it tells you that some of The Teenagers tracks are on the website which advertises the website at the same time. Down the right hand side of the page there is a section called “everyone is talking about” this is has a black background so that it is different to the main article. These are very small reviews of unknown bands just to give the audience a taste of them, the bands MySpace is also written at the bottom of the page so that if the consumer likes what they read then they can visit their site. Right at the bottom of this section there is a little article written by Alex Turner from the Arctic Monkeys reviewing his favourite new band this may be very appealing to many of the readers as he is a very big figure within contemporary music.

Target Audience

Target audience

My target audience will be made up of 16- 30 year olds as my magazine will tackle issues within music that they will know about and understand. I sent out a questionnaire to my class to see what they would want in the magazine. I asked them such questions as what type of music do you listen too? The results said that most teenagers listen to indie and rock so this is what my magazine will be based around. I have decided to focus on the indie stereotype for the style of my magazine. To do this I have analysed magazines like NME which is probably the biggest selling music magazine within the UK and it portrays the style of indie very well. It is important that the model that is seen on my front page shows this indie stereotype. I will do this by dressing him in cloths that are seen as cool to young people. So I will dress my model in a red Fred Perry t-shirt. The whole colour scheme of the magazine will be based around this to make it look professional. The model will also be holding a Fender Strat guitar which also associated with a lot of indie bands. He will be pointing this at the camera and looking down the body of the guitar. This adds a sense of rebellion to the audience. My model will have long messy hair which is associated with the stereotype of indie.

I then created this picture in Adobe Photoshop CS4 to show what my target audiences interests were. I feel that this gives a clear impression as to what my target audience would like to see in my magazine

In my questionnaire, although the majority who took it said they have never been to a festival I am still going to include it in my magazine due to the massive following behind certain festivals like Reading & Leeds. So therefore I the main article with have a relation with the Reading & Leeds festival.

I analysed magazines such as NME and Q which are the type of magazines that my target audience read. The reason I did this is to see the type of style that both of these magazines use. The colour scheme on most of these magazines is bright and sticks to their house styles very well. I have decided to do this in my magazine so that it stands out and stays consistent with the colours that are used. The colours of my magazine will also match with the models cloths.
My magazine will attract my target audience because of the codes and conventions I have used within the context and the layout. I analysed various articles from a book called “The Language Of Magazines”. I took this quote from this book that I believed would help develop my magazine to gain the qualities needed to create a magazine that would appeal to a mass/mainstream audience. This quote was “A magazine front cover image and cover lines are persuasive selling tool”.

Audience Research

Audience Research on Prezi

NME

NME on Prezi

I have created this Prezi to show my research into NME magazine.

Print Prelim

Before I can create a magazine to semi professional standards I have to first get to grips with Photoshop and how to use it. I have some experience in using Photoshop, as I used it in my GCSE Media. So I created a prelim task just to do the basic skills on an image to make it into a magazine. To be honest my magazine will not resemble this prelim task at all as I will be looking to attract a different audience. I feel that the image I used is not what I had in mind but I used it so I could just get the general layout of the magazine set out. I included certain traits like barcodes, titles, maskheads, and subheadings. I then applied some effects to the text so that it follows a certain house style. I feel that if I was to do this task again I would have made it more relatable to my actual product that I am creating. I feel that doing this task has helped me in developing my skills in Photoshop however I would not say that it has helped me in developing what I would need to include in my magazine.

Stereotype

Indie Stereotype on Prezi

Outline of Brief

I will be creating a music magazine to appeal to a certain social group and a certain age group. In doing this I handed out a questionnaire round college to see what my potentional audience will want to see in the magazine. I will be focusing on the youth tribe/ social group of Indie. My target audience will be 15-26 as the stories and context of the magazine will have a very contempory feel to it. To create this product I will need to research into the social group of indie and look at similar magazines to what I want to produce, so that I can see the common traits involved in them. I will be looking at such magazines as NME and Q as I feel these relate to my certain audience. NME is the leading Indie magazine in the world including all new music and world exclusive interviews. I feel the reason I am creating a magazine relating to indie music is because I am very interested in new music and rock music. I will be creating a front cover, contents page and a double page spread showing an interview of the cover story.