Sunday, 11 November 2012
Analysing contents pages
Analysing contents pages
The four magazine contents pages we looked at were called Q Magazine, NME, Mixmag and We Love Pop. The target audience for We Love Pop is younger teenage girls whereas Mixmag would be aimed at older teenagers or young adults. The target audience for both Q magazine and NME is men or women but more for men aged between 30 and 40.
NME and Q Magazine are both very similar. They both use a lot of pictures and very little writing. All the pictures on both of the contents pages are of people posing with very few action shots. NME uses quotes under every single picture which give a little information about the picture and the article they are about. Q Magazine has information next to the picture but it is smaller and quotes are not used. Both magazines have the page number of the article they are in next to them. Neither of the magazines are really set out in chronological order instead they are more spread out because the pictures are spread out. However Q Magazine has a small section of the contents page called “regulars” where the articles are set out in chronological order. The language used is more complicated because the magazine is aimed at older people and there is a sentence about each article that is linked to a picture instead of just having one line. Different fonts are used and bolder fonts are used for the main title and for the name of each article, with smaller font used for the information about the article. Colours are used to show the different title and writing. Both magazines use different colours for the smaller and bigger fonts. Q Magazine uses red and black and NME uses black fonts but bold and lighter shades. Q Magazine's title also has comical cartoon characters which add humour to the magazine. I will use this when I come to create my own magazine by having information or quotes next to the picture because I believe it helps the reader know more about what is featured in the magazine. Unlike these magazines I want my contents page in chronological order as I feel it is more organised and looks better on the page. Also because my magazine is for younger people I wouldn’t want to use such dull colours as I would want it to look a bit more appealing.
We Love Pop uses lots of different types of pictures and quite a lot of writing. The pictures are all ones that have been purposely posed for although a few of them have not been posed for in a studio but on the street. We Love Pop has writing under every picture it uses to tell the reader what the article is about. There is a letter from the editor of the magazine on the contents page talking about the issue of the magazine and what is included. Each picture has a number next to it telling the reader what page number that article and picture is on. We Love Pop has a section where the main articles and the page numbers are listed but not all the contents. The language is very simple and the titles underneath the pictures are also as it is a magazine for younger people. Instead of using bold writing for the titles it uses italic bold writing for the main titles and just bold writing for the information under the titles. The magazine mainly uses pinks, blacks and blues. It uses these colours because they are bright but also uses them so the magazine isn’t aimed at just one sex, using pinks to attract girls and blues to attract boys. It uses the logo of the magazine and the website address on each page to advertise the magazine more. I will use this to create my own magazine by having a lot of pictures but not as many as We Love Pop because my target audience is a little bit older then the target audience of We Love Pop. I think I want to use a few different colours to attract different sexes. I want to use pictures and quotes as it gives the reader information and is easier for them to flick right through the magazine and get to the articles they want to read straight away.
Mixmag uses 2 big pictures on its contents page and different fonts. The pictures links in with the main articles and like the others have the page number written in the corner. Both large pictures are posed for and not naturally taken. The pictures link in with the audience as the people in the pictures are teenagers or older which makes it clear what age range the magazine is aimed for. Unlike the others it doesn’t have writing under the pictures only the page number and title of the article. The writing is white against a black background so it stands out with the title of the articles bolder then the information underneath them. The language used is still simple but plays with words more and has more tongue twisters aimed at the older target audience so the words don’t need to be as simple. The contents page of this magazine also has information about the free gift with a picture which is helpful to the reader as they can just flick to the next page to find out more about it. It uses black and whites for the background and then bright pictures against it so that the writing and the pictures stand out and look interesting and make the whole contents page look better. It also uses the page numbers and email address of the magazine. I will use this in my magazine by using simple words but also using tongue twisters and interesting words to make it fit my target audience. I will use bright images maybe against a darker background because I think it looks the best and fits in well with the target audience I am aiming for.
By analysing these magazines it has made me think about what types of things I want to include in my magazine and what type of things I don’t as well as making me think about what things would be suitable for my target audience and what type of things wouldn’t be.
From doing this analysis the things I want to include in my contents page are a few pictures and a bit of writing but making it interesting and not to much. I also want the page numbers and email addresses on the bottom of every page including my contents page. I want to use a colour that is aimed at female and males and have a few pictures with the page number underneath and a caption. I will then have some of the other articles and their page numbers but I do not want every single article listed as I think that is too much and gives too much away about the magazine by just flicking to the second page. I want to use contrasting colours because I think that worked on the other contents pages and made things stand out more. I want to use simple language like Mixmag as it is aimed at younger people rather than older people and is quite a simple magazine.
The four magazine contents pages we looked at were called Q Magazine, NME, Mixmag and We Love Pop. The target audience for We Love Pop is younger teenage girls whereas Mixmag would be aimed at older teenagers or young adults. The target audience for both Q magazine and NME is men or women but more for men aged between 30 and 40.
NME and Q Magazine are both very similar. They both use a lot of pictures and very little writing. All the pictures on both of the contents pages are of people posing with very few action shots. NME uses quotes under every single picture which give a little information about the picture and the article they are about. Q Magazine has information next to the picture but it is smaller and quotes are not used. Both magazines have the page number of the article they are in next to them. Neither of the magazines are really set out in chronological order instead they are more spread out because the pictures are spread out. However Q Magazine has a small section of the contents page called “regulars” where the articles are set out in chronological order. The language used is more complicated because the magazine is aimed at older people and there is a sentence about each article that is linked to a picture instead of just having one line. Different fonts are used and bolder fonts are used for the main title and for the name of each article, with smaller font used for the information about the article. Colours are used to show the different title and writing. Both magazines use different colours for the smaller and bigger fonts. Q Magazine uses red and black and NME uses black fonts but bold and lighter shades. Q Magazine's title also has comical cartoon characters which add humour to the magazine. I will use this when I come to create my own magazine by having information or quotes next to the picture because I believe it helps the reader know more about what is featured in the magazine. Unlike these magazines I want my contents page in chronological order as I feel it is more organised and looks better on the page. Also because my magazine is for younger people I wouldn’t want to use such dull colours as I would want it to look a bit more appealing.
We Love Pop uses lots of different types of pictures and quite a lot of writing. The pictures are all ones that have been purposely posed for although a few of them have not been posed for in a studio but on the street. We Love Pop has writing under every picture it uses to tell the reader what the article is about. There is a letter from the editor of the magazine on the contents page talking about the issue of the magazine and what is included. Each picture has a number next to it telling the reader what page number that article and picture is on. We Love Pop has a section where the main articles and the page numbers are listed but not all the contents. The language is very simple and the titles underneath the pictures are also as it is a magazine for younger people. Instead of using bold writing for the titles it uses italic bold writing for the main titles and just bold writing for the information under the titles. The magazine mainly uses pinks, blacks and blues. It uses these colours because they are bright but also uses them so the magazine isn’t aimed at just one sex, using pinks to attract girls and blues to attract boys. It uses the logo of the magazine and the website address on each page to advertise the magazine more. I will use this to create my own magazine by having a lot of pictures but not as many as We Love Pop because my target audience is a little bit older then the target audience of We Love Pop. I think I want to use a few different colours to attract different sexes. I want to use pictures and quotes as it gives the reader information and is easier for them to flick right through the magazine and get to the articles they want to read straight away.
Mixmag uses 2 big pictures on its contents page and different fonts. The pictures links in with the main articles and like the others have the page number written in the corner. Both large pictures are posed for and not naturally taken. The pictures link in with the audience as the people in the pictures are teenagers or older which makes it clear what age range the magazine is aimed for. Unlike the others it doesn’t have writing under the pictures only the page number and title of the article. The writing is white against a black background so it stands out with the title of the articles bolder then the information underneath them. The language used is still simple but plays with words more and has more tongue twisters aimed at the older target audience so the words don’t need to be as simple. The contents page of this magazine also has information about the free gift with a picture which is helpful to the reader as they can just flick to the next page to find out more about it. It uses black and whites for the background and then bright pictures against it so that the writing and the pictures stand out and look interesting and make the whole contents page look better. It also uses the page numbers and email address of the magazine. I will use this in my magazine by using simple words but also using tongue twisters and interesting words to make it fit my target audience. I will use bright images maybe against a darker background because I think it looks the best and fits in well with the target audience I am aiming for.
By analysing these magazines it has made me think about what types of things I want to include in my magazine and what type of things I don’t as well as making me think about what things would be suitable for my target audience and what type of things wouldn’t be.
From doing this analysis the things I want to include in my contents page are a few pictures and a bit of writing but making it interesting and not to much. I also want the page numbers and email addresses on the bottom of every page including my contents page. I want to use a colour that is aimed at female and males and have a few pictures with the page number underneath and a caption. I will then have some of the other articles and their page numbers but I do not want every single article listed as I think that is too much and gives too much away about the magazine by just flicking to the second page. I want to use contrasting colours because I think that worked on the other contents pages and made things stand out more. I want to use simple language like Mixmag as it is aimed at younger people rather than older people and is quite a simple magazine.
Thursday, 8 November 2012
Questionnaire
Questionnaire
I am asking you these
questions for my Media AS level. I will use your answers to help me produce my
magazine.
1. How old are you? (Please circle one)
Below 16 16 – 18 19 – 21 22 – 23 Over 23
2. What is your sex?(Please circle one)
Male Female
3. What draws you to the front cover of a magazine?(Please circle one)
The pictures The colours
The writing Other (if chosen
other please state) _________
4. What genre of music are you most in to?(Please circle one)
R&B Pop
Classical Rock Metal
Other (if chosen please state) ________
5. List 3 things you expect to find in a music magazine?
6. What do you look for in a music magazine?(Please circle one)
Pictures Singers you know of Free gifts Competitions Other (If other please state) _____________
7. Name 3 of your favourite artists
8. What would you like to see in the magazine? (Please circle two)
Reviews Gossip Real life Pictures New music Posters
9. What is your favourite music magazine?
10. How much do or would you spend on music magazines a week?
Less than 50p £0.51 - £1 £1.01 - £2 £2.01 - £3 £3.01 - £4 £4.01 – 5 More then £5
I chose these questions because I wanted to find out what to include on my front cover most of all. I asked questions about what draws them to a magazine to know what to put on the front cover so it looks good. I also asked what type of music people like best to try and work out what type of music to base my magazine on to appeal to teenagers. I asked questions to see what people in the age range I'm basing my magazine on would like best articles so I knew what to put on my contents page.
Monday, 5 November 2012
What I learnt from doing my drafts of my school magazine
From doing the three drafts of my school magazine the most important thing I learnt was how to use photoshop and indesign, and became more confident with them which I knew would help me when I came to do my other magazines.
I also learnt what looks good and what doesn't by doing more and more drafts. I realized on my first draft I had a lot of big white gaps and hadn't thought about where the pictures should go. I had placed them anywhere I thought they might fit and wrote underneath them, but by my third draft there were no white gaps and the fonts and pictures were more interesting. I thought more about what a contents page should include and knew it would help me decide how many pictures to use and what kind of writing to use on my contents page for my proper magazine. For example I knew after doing my three drafts that on my magazine I didn't want a list of all the articles that are going to be in my magazine on my contents page. I just wanted a few because it looked too boring and I didn't think many people would bother looking at it all. Instead they would focus on the most important articles so I only want to include those.
I also learnt from doing my drafts of my school magazine that I want to do more with the pictures on photoshop for my proper magazine as the pictures weren't that interesting. I want to use more tools to make the pictures look different. I don't want as many pictures, instead just a few good and important ones.
Overall I learnt a lot more about what I want to include in my own magazine, and what looks good and what doesn't look as effective.
I also learnt what looks good and what doesn't by doing more and more drafts. I realized on my first draft I had a lot of big white gaps and hadn't thought about where the pictures should go. I had placed them anywhere I thought they might fit and wrote underneath them, but by my third draft there were no white gaps and the fonts and pictures were more interesting. I thought more about what a contents page should include and knew it would help me decide how many pictures to use and what kind of writing to use on my contents page for my proper magazine. For example I knew after doing my three drafts that on my magazine I didn't want a list of all the articles that are going to be in my magazine on my contents page. I just wanted a few because it looked too boring and I didn't think many people would bother looking at it all. Instead they would focus on the most important articles so I only want to include those.
I also learnt from doing my drafts of my school magazine that I want to do more with the pictures on photoshop for my proper magazine as the pictures weren't that interesting. I want to use more tools to make the pictures look different. I don't want as many pictures, instead just a few good and important ones.
Overall I learnt a lot more about what I want to include in my own magazine, and what looks good and what doesn't look as effective.
Sunday, 4 November 2012
What I have learnt
By doing the school magazine I have learnt a lot about taking and editing photos. I have learnt about what I should focus on when taking my pictures for my music magazine, as well as how I should edit each photo to make it look better. I have learnt how to use photoshop and indesign and how to use each tool on both of these programmes. By doing the three drafts of the school magazine I have also learnt to watch out for little mistakes like capital letters and learnt what to include and not to include on a front cover and contents page. For example writing and where the images are placed. I have learnt to take my time and be more creative. I will use the things I have learnt in my music magazine by thinking very carefully about the images I want before I go and take them, I will decide what I want to edit about each one and why I want to edit that about it before I start editing as it will look better and I will be more organised. I will be more prepared to use photoshop and indesign and will be more confident with it when I use it. When doing my music magazine I will look over it again and again looking out for the little mistakes. I will think very carefully about the layout of my magazine and where I want things to do and how I want it to look as well as focusing on the different titles and font styles I want to include. I will take my time so it looks exactly how I want it too.
Magazine mood board and discussion
I chose these picture because I want to produce a magazine focused more on R&B music and performers than any other genre of music. These pictures include some very famous artists from rock bands as well. The other pictures are all things I associate with the type of music I want to include in my magazine. The institution i think my magazine would most suit is BBC worldwide. This is because the people I want my magazine to be based around will be known worldwide as they are usually from other countries not just England. Lately their sales have increased which means they are a better business and are getting better each year, they also produce a wide range of media so I think they would produce my magazine well.
Different institutions
Bauer Media
Bauer Media publish
these magazines:
National Magazine Company
The National
magazine company publish these magazines:
Future Publishing
There most successful
products include TechRadar (the UK’s number one consumer technology website), T3,
Total Film, BikeRadar, MusicRadar, Classic Rock, GamesRader, Digital Camera, Mollie
Makes and Official Xbox Magazine. Future attracts more than 38 million monthly unique visitors
to our digital properties websites; and they deliver over 100 digital editions
and bespoke apps on tablet devices. They sell 2.2 million magazines every
month, and export or syndicate to 89 countries, making us the UK’s number one
exporter and licensor of magazine content.
They do a wide range of magazines inluding:
- Linux Format
- MacFormat
- PC Format
- PC Plus
- T3
- Tap! The iPhone & iPad Magazine
- What Laptop, Smartphone & Tablet
- Windows:
The Official MagazineEdge
- GamesMaster
- GamesMaster
Cheats
- GamesMaster
Presents
- NGamer
- Nintendo:
The Official Magazine
- PC
Gamer
- PlayStation:
The Official Magazine
- PSM3
- Xbox
360: The Official Magazine
- Xbox
World
- Classic RoCK
- Classic Rock Presents AOR
- Classic Rock Presents Prog
- Computer Music
- Future Music
- Guitar Techniques
- Guitarist
IPC Media
IPC media produce a lot of different magazines including:
Conde Nast
Conde Nast produce these magazines:
Conde Nast produce these magazines:
They produce many different types of magazines, including fashion magazines that are very popular. There sales in the past few years have increased a lot.
BBC Worldwide
The business works across brands including Lonely Planet ,Dancing with the Stars, Top Gear, BBC Earth andDoctor Who, developing them on an international scale to deliver even higher returns for the company. Through expanding brands into different areas of entertainment - such as live events, theatrical, books and licensed consumer products - the division has grown some of the company's premier brands into international household names, whilst maintaining their original integrity and values. BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, is a fast-growing media and entertainment company. There mission is to maximise profits on behalf of the BBC bycreating, acquiring, developing and exploiting media content and media brands around the world. They are self-funded and return profits to the BBC to be reinvested in programmes and services to help keep the UK licence fee as low as possible. There sales have gone upby 5.4%.
Hachette Filipacchi
In France, Hachette Filipacchi Media publishes 47 magazines, including Action Auto Moto, Elle France, Entrevue, France Dimanche, Ici Paris, Joystick, Le Journal de Mickey, Parents, Paris Match, Jeune & Jolie, Pariscope, Photo, Première, Télé 7 Jours, Top Famille Magazine and TV Hebdo. It also publishes dailies La Provence, Nice-Matin or Corse Presse. HFM also owns 25% of Éditions Philippe Amaury, which publishes Le Parisien, L'Equipe and other sport magazines.
In France, Hachette Filipacchi Media publishes 47 magazines, including Action Auto Moto, Elle France, Entrevue, France Dimanche, Ici Paris, Joystick, Le Journal de Mickey, Parents, Paris Match, Jeune & Jolie, Pariscope, Photo, Première, Télé 7 Jours, Top Famille Magazine and TV Hebdo. It also publishes dailies La Provence, Nice-Matin or Corse Presse. HFM also owns 25% of Éditions Philippe Amaury, which publishes Le Parisien, L'Equipe and other sport magazines.
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