Research and Planning: Independant Research. (1)

For my models, I think the ideal outfits to match the theme of the magazine would be very grungy and edgy clothing. Looking at a few bands and artists for example (Arctic Monkeys, Hozier, Imagine Dragons), I noticed that they're wearing a lot of themed outfits, according to the photo, background and their music genres in general. Because my magazine is for alternative rock, I think an outfit such as a checkered shirt, ripped jeans, and a leather jacket would allow my models to fit in with the genre of the magazine. 

Research and Planning: Shot Types.

We did a bit of research into different shot types and their effects. For my magazine cover, I'd like to have a medium close up of one person. In my contents, I'd prefer a longshot of one person. And as for my double spread, I'd like to use multiple shots. For one picture, I want a two shot medium, and a wide shot of a studio themed room, to fit my magazine genre. I'm also taking the use of a close up into consideration, too. 

Research and Planning: Double Spread Analysis.

In this double spread page, there are many more pictures than in the contents page. This is because it revolves particularly around just one subject of the magazine, rather than multiple. With that in mind, we know that there's going to be more space to provide more details about the said certain subject. In this case, My Chemical Romance is the subject of this double spread. The reason we know this, is because of the large slogan covering both pages, in contrasting colours to the background. If the reader does not know who MCR are, the name of the band appears underneath the statement. To the left, is a large mid/long shot of the lead singer. His picture is largest, as he is the face of the band, and the member of the band in which readers are most likely to have an interest in. The bottom right of the left page is the guitarist of the band at a mid-shot, and there's almost a connection between the two pictures, and where the people in the pictures are actually looking, which seems to be one another. The text of the page is smaller, reflecting on how detailed it is. As you can tell, the text on the right page is much smaller than anything else along the double spread, so that's where the reader will know to look when they're interested in the depth of the band's career. 

In the white box on the far right, is a few sections and subsections to stand out from the rest of the page. Much like the slogan, this stands out, as it has important information reflecting the band, perhaps like band concerts and dates, their interviews, and so on.

There's a lot more chemistry (No pun intended.) in the pictures, than in the contents page, which shows the relation of the bandmates and their passion for music.

Research and Planning: Contents Page Analysis.

I've noticed particular parts of this contents page, in which make it vital to the magazine. For example, a midshot of Alex Turner from the Arctic Monkeys is an immediate alert about music, and the props in the photo; such as the guitar and mic, hint at that fact. There's a page number in a different colour to lead the readers to that part of the magazine, and in a smaller font is the brief outline of the story you should expect. Underneath that, is an advertisement for a subscription to the magazine. One thing that makes the advert stick out, is the fact the font to 'SUBSCRIBE TODAY AND SAVE' is in a different colour to the rest of the page. This catches the eye of the reader, and draws them specifically to that section of the page. To the right, there's several sets of headlines with subcategories, to help the reader find the page he/she may take a particular guide in. Many of the subsections have quick, snappy phrases to make their stories stand out. For example, 'OVERRATED BANDS' gives us the idea that there will be a 'rant' about a particular selection of bands, and 'PERSONAL SPACE' might be addressing an issue from an actual artist/band. Underneath, is a section in a red bubble, called the 'UK'S No1 GIG GUIDE', which makes that section very important, as it is what most would expect to read in a music magazine. There aren't many pictures on the inside of the magazine/this contents page, but there is plenty of information regarding the rest of the magazine. Everything is simplified and highlighted specifically when important, for quick navigation and usefulness to the reader.

Research and Planning: Audience Interviews for Music Magazine.

This is an interview with somebody from my target audience, about my music magazine.

She:

- Likes pop music.

- Prefers solo artists.

- Would pay around £2 for a music magazine.

- Likes upcoming events in music magazines.

- She thought bright colours would suit an alternative magazine.

Research and Planning: Podcast.

This is my podcast to keep my achieved blog work, aspirations and current skills up to date.

Research and Planning: Photoshop Task. (Film Poster)

This is the Photoshop task we did around one of the first weeks into the course. Unfortunately, I updated my blog and it removed this post. 

Anyway, this is myself on a poster for American Horror Story.

To do this, I opened two folders, one with a photo of myself, the other with the AHS picture. I then used the magnetic lasso tool to crop out my face and applied it to the picture, before adding a few layers to begin to filter and edit my face to make it look more realistic.

Research and Planning: Music Magazine Questionnaire Results.

QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS.

What I learned from the results of my questionnaire for my music magazine:

• Most of my target audience is male, so I'll have to make my music magazine appeal more to boys rather than girls.
• My target audience age is from around sixteen to eighteen years old.
• My target audience listens to pop music, rock and rap. So, I'll have to make sure my magazine reflects at least one of those genres. Preferably rock.
• My target audience prefers solo artists, so I'm going to have just one person on the cover of my music magazine.
• The majority of my target audience said they do not read music magazines.
• They also said they would pay around £2 - £2.50 for a music magazine.
• My target audience's favourite title is 'Alternative', to that will be the masthead of my music magazine. There were no other suggestions.
• Popular artists that my target audience would like to see on the cover were Bring Me The Horizon, Ed Sheeran, and Lucy Spraggan.
• The types of stories my target audience would like to read about, would be concerts, gossip and scandal stories.
• My target audience doesn't have a most popular song from the votes, as they were all different. However, some titles that appeared were, 'Radioactive' by Imagine Dragons, 'What Do You Mean' by Justin Bieber and 'Take Me To Church' by Hozier.

Research and Planning: Music Magazine Analysis. (2)

The genre of this magazine is an alternative rock, which can be told by the bands labelled on the cover, such as Imagine Dragons, Bastille, and Beecake. The genre of the magazine is made quite clear, because of the 'HIGH VOLTAGE' logo, in which is a clashing colour scheme in which draws your attention to the masthead. The genre is also given away, by the picture itself; what the band is wearing, their expressions and their body language. They seem like a typical clash of rock and indie, in which delivers that alternative look.

The representation of the magazine is presented to be specifically for fans of alternative rock and indie music, as it's overall appearance does not appeal to pop or classical fans, for example. This is because of the lack of light colours and use of a band rather than a solo artist in order to present the music genre of the magazine. Ultimately, the magazine is represented as the ideal paperback to read if you're interested in bands, as it is represented as the ideal magazine for group artists, due to those appearing on the cover, including the listed artists.

The audience of the magazine is most likely aimed to be a teenager or young adult, more stereotypically a male, because of the rock elements. Many people who enjoy gigs, concerts, and loud noise may be fans more likely than those who prefer classical music, because of how the cover is illustrating it's music. I see the target audience being around 16 - 19, as artists such as Imagine Dragons and Bastille tend to attract that type of audience, specifically when a new song comes out.

The media language of this seems to expose the fact that the magazine's centre of focus will be bands, due to the shot type, which is a medium shot to allow Imagine Dragons to all fit into the shot. Another way the media language affects the magaizne, is the masthead type and font, which is a capslocked and very grungy font. The colour scheme is also an essential for how the media language connotates the genre of the magazine, because the colours seem very eroded and are cohesive to the title, 'High Voltage'. (Voltage being in a yellow, electric shock, which is a play on words.)





SIDE NOTE: This was published late, because I had saved but forgot to share it onto my blog. Sorry!

Research and Planning: Questions Sheet for Music Magazine.

These are the questions I'm going to use for my questionnaire about my music magazine.

QUESTIONNAIRE.

1. Are you a male or a female?

2. How old are you?

3. What type of music do you listen to?

4. Do you prefer solo artists or bands?

5. Would you read a music magazine?

6. How much would you pay for a music magazine?

7. Which do you prefer out of the following names for a masthead: Vibe, Alternative, or Loud?

— If you don't like any of the names, which would you suggest?

8. Who would you like to see on the cover?

9. What stories would you like to read in a music magazine?

10. What is your favourite song? (If you had to choose.) 

Research and Planning: More Masthead Ideas.

So I tried a few new fonts on Photoshop / Moldiv, using inspiration from logos such as Imagine Dragons and Arctic Monkeys, and I think they're quite successful. I prefer the Photoshop options, though. This is because there's a wider choice of fonts to choose from.

Research and Planning: Target Audience.

This is my stereotypical target audience member. They would be a teenager, around 15 - 18 years old, and most likely a male. They would be interested in bands and solo artists of rock, horror movies, skateboarding, and moshpits. They would be lower class, as they perhaps would not have a job and would most likely rely on their parents for money. If they were employed, it'd be a part time job most likely. 

Research and Planning: Font Examples.

These are some examples of the font types I'd like to use in my masthead. They all seem to have a distorted appearance, apart from Imagine Dragons, whose logo is quite clean looking.

On the other hand...

Arctic Monkeys, another band I would like to list on my magazine, as they fall under the genre of rock. Their logos are quite clean, and compact or impacting. So, I'm going to try a few mastheads with their font types:

Research and Planning: Magazine Mastheads.

I went onto Dafont.com and selected several fonts for my magazine cover masthead. The titles I'm thinking of using are either ALTERNATIVE or LOUD, as they both suit the theme of alternative rock. Right now, my favourites are dk_face_your_fears, a_bite for the 'alternative' masthead, and brushstrike.

Research and Planning: Music Magazine Analysis. (1)

The genre of this magazine is clearly for rock/alternative rock music. Hot Press covers several rock bands and artists, U2 being another example. You can also tell that there's some form of religious element to the music, as the font of 'HOZIER' is quite traditional, and the cover consists of heavenly-like rays along his face. This is in connotation to one of his most popular songs, 'Take Me To Church'. Additionally, you can indicate the genre of this magazine, due to what Andrew-Hozier Byrne is wearing, and his expression. He seems quite edgy, and his overall features leave that sense of a rebellious attire. 

Another way the magazine is resembled for its genre, is the 'HOT PRESS' masthead on the top left. It's bold, and the fire in the 'O' is cohesive to the word 'hot', perhaps indicating some of the best alternative rock music in the charts at the moment. The same 'holy' font is on different parts of the coverlines along the cover; such as U2's album: Songs of Innocence. Also on a few of the other rock artists, which draw attention even more to the genre of the music magazine. The colour scheme is quite mixed, although retaining dark shades to maintain the edgy appearance.

The representation of this magazine delivers the same appeal as the genre. Simply because of Andrew's expression, his dark clothing, and the holy effect over his face which brings light to his song, 'Take Me To Church'. His hair is quite shaggy and messy, which delivers on the careless and relaxed type of artist. He doesn't have any effects or edits, conveying that the music is real, with minimal autotune and so on.

I think the audience of this magazine would be a mature group, probably young adults and concert enthusiasts. More specifically, I think fans of rock music would prefer this type of magazine over others, as some of the bands mentioned are specific types of music, rather than just one type. The magazine is also aimed at movie watchers. For example, Hozier is Alternative Rock, U2 is Rock in general, and Andrew Scott is an actor.

The media language of this cover is the same throughout. The photo of Andrew is a medium close-up. The background consists of a simple grey shade. Also, the dark colours of the magazine portray a very serious cover.