Contents Page Audience Feedback

More Changes made

I had decided i didn't like the previous contents page I made, however it is very similar to this one. This is not finished yet.
I have included links to social networking as social networking is an interest of my target audience, and it also it a way of promoting my magazine in other ways, and creating a bigger relationship with my readers.
Where i have wrote the page number by the pictures, i used the spray eraser tool, which gives a spray paint effect, so the erasing has dispersed over the area i removed. The pictures are black and white so that the main picture (Of priority) is the definite main attraction, i have also shown this by giving the page number of the main picture a different colour and font (the font being the one used by the typography of the magazine title) giving links that it is the main picture, again.

Survey on DPS and Front Cover

Click here to take survey

This is the top of my contents page. As my magazine is the summer special, so it shows a seasonal theme. Then i used the smudge tool to smudge the picture with the black to give a good effect when looking at the magazine, and stopping it being really block like from the picture to the black background.

Background

I have chosen a picture to be at the bottom of the contents. I erased the background from the picture alone, then placed it onto my black background on my contents page. I decided to keep the landscape of the sea and land in the background as on the black it gave a good effect. Also it is good to have pictures of my band on the front page as this months magazine specialises my band.

Changes to contents

This is the original picture which i will crop to put the picture at the top of my new contents page.

This is using the rule of thirds, to evenly include the same proportion of sand, sea and sky.

This one uses the rule of thirds to separate the sea, the sand, and the stoney sand.

I have boosted the colours in both of the images. I think i will use the bottom one as it is just for the very top of the page, as I am changing the layout of my contents page to be more like the one below.
As i found my previous contents page did not look mature enough or right for my magazine, to suit the front cover and the double page spread.

Edit of Double Page Spread

I decided to put a quotation from one of the band members at the top of the page, as it was a sentence that caught my eye, and could entice readers into reading the text below.

Double Page Spread

For the words 'Exclusive Summer Special' i tried out 2 different fonts. One is the same font as the logo for 'Priority' and the one on top is the same font as the logo for the magazine 'Re-Mix', however when using the writing on top (The remix logo) i realised that it looked very bloody and halloween like, and the one on the bottom looked more elegant. So i will use the one on the bottom.

23/11/11

Today I have sorted out my layout for my double page spread, and sorted out what will be said in it. I also looked through many double page spread layouts that have been done in previous music magazines, so I could find the layout that I wanted, however I have seen that no magazines have used my unique design and have therefore found one that goes by partly the same design.

DPS Layout

I have used this as my inspiration for my layout for my double page spread. I looked through magazines and could find no double page spreads that matched how I wanted mine. I was looking for one with photos around the edge, a bigger, less distracting, photo in the right hand bottom corner, that can have writing on top of it. I saw this one which had photos around the edge with different captions, whilst still having the writing in the right bottom hand corner, and this is how I have wanted mine to look.

My Double Page Spread Layout

I have completed my layout for the contents page, however I have not filled in the actual contents text as i have not completed my double page spread, which will fill up most of the contents, and will determine what I write.

Semantic Field

Words that could be used to link to my band:

Loud

Sociable

Fasion

Talkative

Unique

Amusing

Fun

Pretty

Pop/R&B

Feisty

Down-to-earth

Up beat

Intertextuality

What would my band be interested in?
My band are 5 girls, that share many features with The Saturdays.They are called PRIORITY. They sing songs in the cross-genre of Pop and R&B, which can be upbeat.
They spend their spare time shopping, cinema, listening to music, seeing friends and family, going to the gym, reading magazines and going out for meals.
They love to go clubbing and meet new people! Their personalitys are all very confident, chatty, humerous, positive, and understanding. They try to raise money for charity at any chance they can take.
Priority love meeting all their fans at CD and Book signings!

For my contents page i have decided to do a 'Editors Note' because i find that it makes the reader connect more to the magazine, and build up a secure relationship. It is quite common for a girls magazine to have one of these also.

I have placed another title with different colouring behind the original, to give it a 3D effect.

Finished Front Cover!

This is my magazine cover. I am proud of what I have produced as i feel it doesn't look too cramped, and grabs the audience's eye, and also I think that it really fits in with my target audience.

Audience Profile

I have carefully put the logo's that The Wanted and Katy Perry use (that are well known and recognisable) and have cut them out, using the magic wand tool on photoshop, and i have placed them on my magazine cover.

After placing the R and the X behind the beach hut, I realised that something didn't look right about it. For it to look good i wouldve needed to place all letters behind the beach hut, not just two. However when i tried to do that, you couldnt see any letters. So, i brought all the letters back out from behind to normal, and copied the logo. I then placed it over the top but to the side really slightly, giving it a more 3D effect. My focus group said that this looked a lot better.

Re-Mix Survey

Click here to take survey

I have done a screen recording of the editing of the title for the magazine 'Remix' - making it superimposed on the page. This will show that it is a well known magazine and doesn't need a fully shown title to be identified. 

As I have changed my target audience to appeal to a slightly younger age, so I have introduced a new person into my focus group who is 14, therefore i have information ranging from 14-17 year olds, which will be very helpful when making sure my target audience is specific to the focus groups likes.

Magazine Title

I have chosen to name my magazine 'Re:Mix' as it has a good connotation of music. My magazine includes the genre's of Pop and R&B, and therefore is a mixture. So by having Re:Mix, the audience should no that in an email the 're:' means what it is about, so it shows that this magazine is a mix.

However when changing it to make the typography aimed at a slightly older age, they said it didn't stand out anywhere near as well as the previous writing. Therefore, they suggested that i should aim it at 14-17 year olds, instead of 16-19. So my focus group would still be elligible for my target audience, however being at the other end of the spectrum of ages. Also the other typography fit in a lot better with my seasonal theme of Summer.

I chose this font at first for my front cover, however when it was applied, it made the target audience seem lower than it is, as the writing is bubbly and childish. From this writing it seems like the target audience lowers to around 14 when i want it to be 17. With this i will chose a new font which isn't as bubbly, but a little more sophisticated.

Front Cover Picture Choice

I have chosen to use this picture for my front cover as it appealing to my target audience, and shows every member of the band. I have made it fit into the rule of thirds and increased the saturation a little bit, so overall it is more aesthetically appealing for readers, and also grabs attention.

Youth Subcultures + History Of the Music Press

The introduction of The Beetles and The Rolling Stones in 1960's changed the nature of music and the way it was written. Music Video's became popular in the 1990's. The audience in Pop Music is so varied that record companies never truly know how to target them.

All Photographs Taken

Picture Locations

This location is Thorpe Bay, Southend-On-Sea. I will use it for my photographs, as i want some photos on a beach, in a grassy area, by a church, and in a family friendly place. It includes all those features and therefore is a perfect place to be used.

Audience Focus Group Profiles

AUDIENCE PROFILES

Masthead for magazine front cover and contents (quick sketch)

This is a quick sketch of what i would like my front cover of my sixth form magazine to look like. I thought of calling it 'InFORM' because it links to sixth form, whilst also showing that it will inform the readers of the contents, up the side of the 'M' will be the website. Each of the puffs on the side will have the word FORM in, i will highlight this buy giving them a different colour to the rest of the text. The moto will be underneath the title, as if it were a subheading. The model on the front will of had a mid shot picture, with a fashionable top showing, whilst holding a notepad. 

The heading 'contents' will be in a bold, colourful writing. The main photo will be of a girl standing on the right hand side of the photo, with another attraction in the background of the left hand side, she will look happy and welcoming. I will have the contents of the pages in a faded box, explaining what can be found inside the magazine. This box will be slightly coloured but with a high opacity, because there will be so many different colours in the background, that the writing will not stand out, and i do not want to use a block colour as the background as it will hide the majority of the background. There will be a tree or pond in the background. Underneath will be a discount of some sort, which would attract students, as saving money on school resources is always a bonus. Then beneath that will be a shot of the magazine front cover, along with two more shots of people enjoying life around school. Then at the bottom left of the contents page there will be the magazine title (in the same writing as on the front) and the moto, to show some replication from the front cover.

Edit of the photograph

I edited the photo that i have used for my front cover. I followed the 'Rule Of Thirds' and made Maisey slightly more central, bringing more attention to her. Then i blurred the edges, but not so it was really bold and noticeable,but just to give an extra element to the attention being at the centre of the magazine. I zoomed in on the image, and used a tool where i could click on the part of the image where i wanted to collect the colour, then I went on colour picker, and went a couple of shades lighter to make her teeth appear whiter. Then i did the same with her green eyes, but i put a splash of the brightest green from her eye to the corner of her eyes, which gave them more of a sparkle.Then i made the colours in the picture 'warmer' and increased the contrast slightly, this makes the girl stand out a lot more than she did before, and the colours more vibrant, and therefore more appealing to the eye.

Title Typography

I will use the last font for my page title. At first i wanted to use just one big bold font, but after seeing the examples of the fonts for the first 3, i wanted to make it a bit different, so by using the 'in' on a different (smaller) font, it brings more attention to the 'form' (coming from 'sexth form) and this can show that my magazine will inform students about their sixth form as well as other topics.

Front Cover Photograph

I will use the picture on the right for the front cover as it fits in with the 'rule of thirds', leaves space around the edge for puffs and a title, whilst the girl still looks very nice. The picture on the left would not be a good picture for front cover, as it is not eye catching, does not seem to have any purpose, and the parcipitants are not even looking at the camera, however in this picture there is an iPad which could show a more interesting side to sixth form(for the student readers) and is a difference to the standard notepad. Also the picture on the left would not be good because of the proximity. The parcipitants are too far away and therefore the shot is not medium, and has no point of interest.
I will edit the photograph on the right, to remove blemishes and adjust the lighting slightly, to make it a better photo for my front cover.

Student Magazine Analyse

What I Learned 20/09/2011

Media Language
That the language we learn about in media, isn't just written or spoken, it is what is portrayed by the media, such as how angles of a camera are like a language for us, how we know what when a camera from above looking down on someone is too make you feel bigger than them, or to show that they have done something wrong etc, or how without hearing a phone conversation, by the looks on the receivers face, we can have a guess at what the conversation is about, and what is being said, whether it is good or bad etc.

Form and Style
How all the 'micro' elements combine to give the form and show the style of the drama. The micro elements are those such as dialogue, sounds effects, editing and ambience.

Convention
Conventions are the 'ingredients' that make up the 'recipe' for that certain genre. All convetnions are those that in the certain genre drama, they are the things that you would expect to see or to happen.

Signification
Signification is applied within a theory called 'semiotics' (the study of signs). This is where a sign has a denotation and a connotation. The connotation is what the sign means, and the dennotation is what the sign actually is. For example, a skull and cross bones, well that is the denotation, however the connotation is danger, or pirates, or death even.

Representation
That representation is how the media text wants to present a certain factor. That what a media text presents something as, may not be how it really is, it is how that media text wants to represent something. This is representation.

Audiences
That a media text may be justified to suit the certain target audience, so that it is best agreed or interested to the audience. And that many media texts are suited to the secondary audiences, more than to the primary.


Narrative and Genre
Every drama must have a narrative - this is the story line. Without a narriative, the media text would be compleyely pointless, and no one would watch it. A narrative is what gets everyone intised in the drama and watch each episode together. The genre is the 'type'. It is how each media is classed, for example in magazines there are music, gossip etc, for music rock, reggae, pop etc and films there are comedys, romance, horror etc! The genre is classed on the conventions which each thing in the media text include.

Creativity
This is the 'performance descriptor'. Every media text has a kind of creativity that has been used within it. 2 Levels: first is the ability to use the digital technologies and the second is the ability to engage the audience!

Connecting the micro to the macro
Micro elements are all those small simple things that add up to the macro element. The Micro elements could be props used, or lighting, or editing, and the macro element is what each of the micro's add up to make.


 

Edited Pictures

Black and white makes the photo more poignant, and as i have cropped the photo, it brings more focus on to the subjects within the photograph.

How To Take A Good Photograph

1. Composition (What is included within the frame)
2. Rule of Thirds http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_thirds
3. Focus (Using correct depth of field) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depth_of_field
4. Lighting
5. Camera Angle - Experiment