Preliminary Task Plan

This is my plan for the preliminary task (creating a college magazine).

Front cover plan

Contents page plan

College Magazine Research/Analysis

 

 

 

 

Front Cover

 

For the front cover, we see that the main image has been taken at a medium shot, which is typically the expected angle for the main image for the front cover. This image also reflects the purpose and the target audience, as this magazine is aimed at students, so its only right to use images of those who are highly respected  in American college, in this case athletes.  The word "College" is used as the masthead for this magazine, this is ideal as it is a college magazine. The magazine also uses teaser in the front cover to stir up the curiosity of the reader and make them want to read the magazine. This is achieved by using cheeky and alarming phrase such as, "Naked Students" and "Going up in smoke". Furthermore, this magazine is free, which is more appealing to the target audience (students) as they would not have to pay for anything, this will make the students more likely to get a copy. This magazine also is termly paper (issued every term), this is evident as its clearly says "Winter 2008". This magazine also contains an issue number (issue 4) and a barcode which is placed on the bottom left corner of the magazine.

 

 

 

Contents Page

 

 

 

The contents pages is split into 4 sections, from college life, to entertainment, to sex and sports. The contents page highlights what this magazine will contain by putting the page number next to each title, which makes it easy for the reader to easily find each article. The contents page also contains three images, in which gives a visual idea on what the specific article is going to be about. From the contents page, we can see that the magazine will contain  17 editorial pieces, but also this magazine may contain unlisted adverts and possibly other articles. Furthermore the contents page also includes their website site address, which will allow students to find out more about the college, request more magazines or even contribute to the actual magazine.

Analysing a music magazine

This is the Magazine is will commenting on, regarding the contents page and the Double page spread. For the contents page and the double page spread, I will be analyzing the different features they contain.

The Contents page

How many pages are used for the contents?

The contents page is covered over one page (the one above).

Are all editorial item listed? Or just some of them? 

Not all editorial items are listed, this is seen on page ten with Snoop dog which was not listed in the contents page.

How many sections are there, and what are they? How have the sections and pages been organised? is there any order? Consider columns, alignment, captions, text boxes.

There are 6 different sections in which they explain through a brief introduction to the article as well as presenting us with pictures. this is expected from this magazine to have limited sections as it is a weekly mag. 

Which images are used? think of shot type, framing, lighting and other elements of mise en scene. What are the connotations? how do the images link to the listening in the content page?

For this contents page, there are 6 images presented in which is related to the actual issue in the magazine. Each image has a number on them, which is a direct number to the page in the magazine. This is a good feature in this contents page as this is very visual magazine- meaning that there are a lot of images. The contents page also contains an advert.

How does the contents page reflect the front cover?

Firstly, the contents page reflects the front cover through the main colour scheme- red, white, and black. Also the use of the logo is used on both the contents page and the front cover. Furthermore, the front cover is not really structured properly as the text is not written on perfect lines, which reflects the contents page as the numbers page are not organised in chronological order, but jumbled up.

Double Page Spread

The text for the double page spread is basically, about Noel Gallagher's new album, and the story behind every track, and why he chose a particular song to place on the album. The writing style for this article is quite formal, but when Noel Gallagher speaks you can tell he is of a rock artist, as he uses some form of slang and some profanity. This is expected from this magazine as it is aimed at a target audience people who are into rock and aged 17-30.

The article is based on a interview, discussing his latest album. NME cleverly structured this article to look like the track-list of his album, in which correspond with the actual text. The paragraphs are numbered, therefore each paragraph will be about the story behind each individual song. This was a good idea as it gave a good structured layout and made it easy to read and understand. However, the layout of the double page spread does not related to the front cover fully, as the double page spread is organised to a formal standard, whereas the presentation of the front cover is all over the place and is not really ordered. But the double page spread and the front cover does share a similar colour scheme- red, white and black.

Class notes on the DPS and Contents Page

Tuesday 23rd September 2014: In this lesson we took note on the semiotics and features a contents page and a double page spread should contain. We also looked at the purposes of them both and how the purposes are achieved through the different techniques and features.

Tuesday 23rd September 2014 

Task 2: Research / Case Studies of real music magazines

Research / Case Studies of real music magazines

For this task, I will be commenting on the layout, content and the generic conventions of magazines. In order to do so, I will analyse the front cover, contents page and the double page spread (DPS) of two existing magazines of the same genre. The genre of music I have decided to work with for my music magazine project is RnB/ Hip-hop.

The first magazine I will be commenting on is Vibe Magazine.

Vibe Magazine

Front cover

For this issue of Vibe, the front cover features an American rapper, record producer named TI. TI's image is the main image on this magazine, who is in front of the masthead (VIBE) which implies he is actually more important than the actual title of this magazine. In the main image, TI is captured in a medium close shot, which allows us to see his hands, in which he is rubbing his hands together, the connotation of this ties in with the main cover line "people have been comparing me to Tupac..." "teenagers marked for death", which gives the impression of violent aura. This is further shown through his eyes. He is directly looking at the audience, forcing the reader to take the magazine, and further giving the impression this article is going to be quite alarming. The use of a spot light in this image makes the artist the focal point of the front cover. In the front cover, Vibe uses conventions of layout to make this page successful. One of these conventions is the use of mastheads. In the front cover the word VIBE is the masthead, meaning that it is the title of the magazine. This is evident as it is the largest font on the page. Even though the masthead is the largest font on the page, half of the word is covered by the main image, this is because the artist on the front is actually the one who is selling the magazine, which is why it is the focal point and also, Vibe magazine is a well known magazine so even though half of the word is covered, you still know what magazine it is. Also the font choices is also an important convention for this magazine as it needs to be current and youthful but still be professional and clear, therefore, for the front cover Vibe has used large block fonts but uses different colours to make it standout. The font also matches the main image, as the artists facial expression is quite stern and serious, like the font as it bold and strong and gets straight to the point. The front cover also contains teasers to lure the reader into buying this magazine, as it highlights what issues are in the magazine. These teasers are written cleverly, as the writers of vibe cleverly play on words in which will intrigue the reader, and make them buy the magazine to read it. The front cover also uses a three coloured colour scheme which consists of red, black and white.

The target audience for this magazine is people who are into this particular music genre and aged 18-34. I believe the publisher took the target audience into consideration when it comes to advertising and pricing. For advertisement, the publisher specifically chose products which are trending and are affordable for the general audience. And regarding pricing for the actually magazine, it costs £5.28, which is a very good price for this age group, baring in mind that this is a monthly magazine.

Contents Page

In this magazine, the contents page is spread over two pages. On the first page, the Jay-z is feature as the main image with the contents numbers on the left hand side. The content features are presented in a fixed layout which does not make the page look unorganised  and tacky. On the other page, it has a heading which says departments, and has page references that leads you to the different departments on the various pages. The second page has a different artist as the main image, Keri Hilson, who will be featuring in the double page spread for Vibe magazine. Vibe have also have included their logo into these two pages, the logo starts off with the letter V and then the letter I the transitions the rest of the word into some sort of bar code. Both page's colours reflect the colour scheme of the front cover as they have used the same colours, which creates a common house style for the magazine. Also, all the editorial items that are mentioned in the contents page are featured in all the pages is it referred to.

Double Page Spread

In this double page spread, it features two images of the celebrity Keri Hilson, as this double page spread is about her. These two images have been captured  in a long shot angle and are high fashioned editorial  images. In both images, the lighting used it quite natural as it uses outdoor lighting. But in the first image, the

the publishers/Photographers manipulate the lighting so that the focus is on the artist's clothing. The clothing used in these images are high fashioned, to show her wealth and her status as a well known artist. Her make up is quite subtle and natural, but on her eyes she uses dark eye shadow and dark mascara to make her eyes stand out to catch the attention of the reader and also to give her a really strong/fierce look. In the second image, the stylist decided that Keri Hilson should use a prop, which is a show cane. The purpose of this is to further show her status and dominance, which is directly related to the journalistic article.

In this piece of journalism, it speaks on the rise in the popularity of Keri Hilson as an Artist, and how she has recently dominated the charts since her first massive single "Knock you Down" featuring Kanye West and Ne-yo. From this piece of journalism, we get a youthful tone , through the vibrant interview between the interviewer and Keri Hilson. The article reaches out to their selected target audience through the mode of address. They do this by using some slang for engagement and also talking about current scandalized issues in the music industry. The structure of this article is based on an interview and is split into paragraphs. On each page there are two columns in which have no images on them. This is because the two images have their own pages before and after the article.

Vibe Magazine Press pack

From Vibe magazine's press pack, I gather that 55% of the readers of vibe are men, in which the main ethnic race that reads this magazine are Black/African American people with are percentage of 75%. Furthermore, the main people who purchase this magazine are in employment with a percentage of 65%, whereas only 20% of people who are currently in college purchase this magazine. Finally, main target audience for this magazine are people aged 21+ as the have a percentage of 82%, but generally the target audience age will lay in between 18-34 year old as they have a percentage of 67%. The median age for the target audience is 30 years old.

Billboard Magazine

Front Cover

For this issue of Billboard Magazine, the front cover features an American Singer, Actress and Fashion Designer named Rihanna. Rihanna is the main image of this magazine, she is placed in front of the masthead (Billboard) which suggests she is actually more important than the actual title of this magazine. In the main image, Rihanna is captured in a medium close shot, which allows us to see her upper body, which shows her hands behind her head, which seems as if she is quite relax but rather confident. As we start to read the main cover line, it says "Rihanna, the world is hers" which gives us further reinsurance in the connotation  that she is quite confident and superior in the music industry. Similarly to the front cover of Vibe magazine, Billboard magazine also makes Rihanna stare right into the lens of the camera to make it look like she is looking directly at the reader, forcing them to buy the magazine. Also the wording of the main cover line will raise questions in the customers minds, making them ask why does the world belong to Rihanna, making them want to buy the magazine due to their curiosity. In the front cover, Billboard uses conventions of layout to make this page successful. One of these conventions is the use of mastheads. In the front cover the word Billboard is the masthead, meaning that it is the title of the magazine. This is evident as it is the largest font on the page. Even though the masthead is the largest font on the page, half of the word is covered by the main image, similarly to Vibe magazine, this is because the artist on the front is actually the one who is selling the magazine which is why it is the focal point and also, Billboard magazine is a well known magazine so even though half of the word is covered, you still know what magazine it is. Also the font choices is also an important convention for this magazine as it needs to be current and youthful but still be professional and clear, therefore, for the front cover Billboard has used large block fonts and uses the colours blue and yellow  to fill the letters "A" and "D" to make the audience recognize the actual brand of Billboard, as half of the word is covered by Rihanna. Furthermore, the font of the cover line matches the main image, as the font in the cover line, the font is quite sharp, similarly to the expression in Rihanna eyes.  Additionally, Billboard magazine also contains teasers on the front cover to further hook the customers into buying the magazine as the teasers are quite striking. Moreover, this magazine's front cover is similar to Vibe's front cover as Vibe has three colours within their house style, similarly Billboard has three coloured colour scheme within their house style  (white, yellow and black).

Contents page 

Unlike Vibe magazine, Billboard magazine's contents page is spread over one page. On this page it features many editorial listed items on it. It also contains four sections from Upfront, to features, to music and in every issue. Also, as this is a music magazine, it also contains the actual charts of the month on the left hand-side. The content features are presented in a fixed layout which does not make the page look unorganised  and tacky. For each story, the page number is listed next to it- this is one of the main features of a contents page.  Billboard have also have included their logo on the contents page, which is used for branding. The colour scheme of the front cover matches the contents page, as they both use black, yellow and white, but they are slightly different as the contents page uses more colours which makes it more fun. Also, all the editorial items that are mentioned in the contents page are featured in all the pages it is referred to.

Double Page Spread

In this double page spread, it features three images of Rihanna, as the article is about her. The three images have been taken at three different venues, at three different occasions. The first image is a cut out from and already existing image, the second image is of her and another lady walking down a cat walk and the last image is of her singing. The first and last image have been capture at a medium shot angle and the second image has been taken as a full image (head to toe).  The clothing used in the first and third image are quite casual and the second one is quite high fashioned and elegant. This may have been done purposefully to show her in three different lights. Unlike Vibe magazine's double page spread, Billboard does not contain a full A4 image of Rihanna in their double page spread.

In this piece of journalism, it speaks on Rihanna's new album (of that time) 'Unapologetic', and how she has developed/changed her sound musically since her last album. The article then goes on to talk about her journey in making this album. The article also highlights areas such as, her latest appearances and her management team and Record Label.  The structure of this article is based on an interview and also contains general facts on Rihanna and her music career. On each page the text is put into three columns and is split up into paragraphs.

Billboard Magazine Press pack

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From the Billboard press pack, I gather that depending on the cover story, you'll get a dominant gender view. So therefore, its not certain whether men or women read this magazine more. Furthermore, the main target audience that reads this magazine lay in between 25-54 year olds, with a median age of 47. Also, 82% of readers are college graduates and 27.5% of readers have a post degree. 

Task 1: Production Schedule

Introduction Assignment Evaluation

For this assignment, I was asked to create a piece of journalism on the topic piracy, and had to voice my opinion on the matter on whether piracy was destroying the music industry and to argue against the opposing view. After I had wrote my piece journalism, I had to create a double page spread, which will feature my piece of journalism. The first thing I had to do was some research on the topic of piracy.

For my research, I had to bare in mind the side of the fence I was standing on; I either had to be for piracy or against it, I therefore chose to be against illegal downloading. I then went on to the internet to gather some facts and figures to add in my article, as I need evidence to support my argument and also to dismiss the opposing view. I also looked on the internet, to find celebrities who where also against piracy, this was important as it would kind of endorse my argument, and it would also show the reality of piracy as you would actual see the affect piracy had on these artists. Moreover, I also had to do further research by looking at existing magazines to get an idea on how actual magazines laid out there articles. This was beneficial as when it came to my double page spread, I would have a general idea in advance.  I believe my strengths in my researched skills where, looking for facts and figures efficiently, as I collected the relevant information quickly and was ready to incorporate it into my journalistic writing.

While writing my piece of journalism, I had to bare in mind my chosen target audience, which was 12-25 year olds. This was important as I had to write in a style which would keep the reader interested as it had to be engaging. So I therefore use a lot of rhetorical question to make it seem as if I’m actually talking to the reader, and I also used some informal language so my writing would be similar to the way they speak, but I had to be careful about on how much “slang” I used in the article as it may take away the seriousness of the actual article. I believe my weaknesses in writing this piece of journalism was, actually trying to balance the seriousness of the article and the use of informal English, as the article had to make sense but also engaging for the younger audience. However, I did over come this problem by doing a few drafts and getting people to read my work, in the end I actually wrote an interesting youthful article. Furthermore, I believe my strength in this written piece was, adding the facts and anecdotes in the correct places within the argument. After writing my article I then went on InDesign to create my double page spread.

Using InDesign was a completely different experience for me, as I have never used it before. While still figuring out how to use InDesign, I had to think of how to design my two pages. I then stated to experiment with some text boxes to form columns and picture boxes, I then decided to have the main artist I will be talking about to be on one page, and on the other page I would have my article. I then decided my page to contain two columns and two images; these images are the two artists I wrote about, Angel Haze and Britney Spears. For my main image of Angel haze, I decided to use a pull quote and layered it on to my main image. I thought this was a good idea because a lot of existing magazine do this and it brings the attention of the reader to the actual quote, which will make them want to read the full article. I believe my strengths in this task were actually meeting the deadline of this task. My main weakness was figuring out how to actually use InDesign, as it wasted some of my time.  

Publishing my double page spread on to my blog was pretty straightforward and didn't take much time, as I am use to the format of blogger.

After completing this task I gave myself 4 targets for improvement, so when I do this task again, I will do it more efficiently. My targets are as followed;

-          To learn all the functions and tools on InDesign so next time I will have no problems so I could work faster

-          Getting familiar with different types of writing styles so I can adapt to different aged target audiences

-          To further experiment with the layout, so I wouldn't use the same design repeatedly

-          To have a person to constantly give me feedback so I know which places I still need to improve as I may not be able to identify every error in my work.

This is my Evaluation for my Media AS Induction Assignment

This is my final draft. This is my final Journalism.