Friday, 18 March 2011
Thursday, 17 March 2011
Audience questionnaire research towards my music magazine
1. What gender are you?
Male
Female
2. How old are you?
16
17
18
19
3. What music genre are you into?
R&B
Hip-hop
Soul
Rock
Rap
Classical
Indie
Heavy metal
4. How often do you read magazines?
Everyday
Every week
Monthly
Sometimes
Never
5. What colours would attract you to a music magazine?
Dark (black, navy, greys)
Vibrant (bold colours)
Pale (baby blue/pink)
Rainbow (red, yellow green)
Black and white
6. Do you prefer more words than pictures or more pictures than words?
More pictures
More words
Both
7. Which one of these names would be most suitable for my magazine? I chose a few that relates to music in general
Sound
Volume
Scream
Loud
Yell
8. How much would you pay?
£1-£2
£3-£4
£5-£6
£6 +
9. What topics would you like to see?
Competitions
Real life articles
Interviews
Reviews
FAQ’s
Advices
Celebrity lives
Upcoming artists
10. What would make you want to read a magazine?
Image
Cover lines
Price
Celebrity
Magazine title
11. Do you think the magazine should contain freebies? Would it make it more likely for the reader to purchase it?
Yes
No
12. What type of freebies would you like?
T – shirts
Wristbands
Sweets
13. What type of artist would you like to see in a magazine?
Drake
Rihanna
Michael Buble
Bruno Mars
Katie Perry
Tinie Tempah
Eminem
14. Do you think a music magazine should contain more simple or complex terminology?
Simple
Complex
15. Do you prefer if the magazine was more about the celebrity or about the music?
Celebrity
Music
Either
16. How long should the magazine be?
20-30 sides
40-50 sides
60-70 sides
70-80 sides
80 +
17. Would you like to include unknown or upcoming artists in the magazine? Or artists that are already famous?
Yes
No
Either
18. Do you think the magazine should have a page where the readers can take part in?
Yes
No
Either
19. Should there be a competition for the readers in every issue?
Yes
No
Either
20. Should there be special edition magazines on holidays such as Christmas and Easter?
Yes
No
Either
Analysis of a double page spread
This double page spread denotes an image of a woman posing seductively and cut around to outline her shape on the middle of the page. There are also two images on the right, one of her icon and the other of herself. The article takes up the whole double page spread which goes around the main image. The masthead is ‘I spent £20,000 to look like Bardot’ which consists of the cover line underneath it. There is also an information box on the right which contains the price of her ‘makeover’.
The masthead’s font is serif which feminises the look of the font. The colour of the font is in hot pink, pink holds connotations of sexuality, sensuous and associated with feelings of self-worth and acceptance. The connotations reflect her and what the article is based on. The article is filled with three quarters of writing, being that it is based on a true story. The writing goes around the cut out of the main image and by doing so it focalizes the writing onto the image.
The main image shows ‘Cindy Jackson’ laying on her front in a sexualised position, her left arm and hand is holding her chin up and her left leg is upright. Her costume consists of black lacy lingerie, covering only her tummy, breasts and bum. Her makeup is dark and sultriest with big blonde hair. Females with blonde hair is usually portrayed as ‘bimbos’ or ‘Barbie’ as this article is about a her wanting to look like Barbie, spending £20,000 on cosmetic surgery. Her posture is in the form of a pin-up girl showing glamour and desirability to be this ‘icon’ she wants to be.
The cover line draws the reader in as it describes the main image as ‘the living Barbie doll’ as though she’s just an object. She is also put in a male gaze as this sexual object, seen as ‘Barbie’ who is a plastic doll. ‘Plastic’ is seen as fake and an unnatural material.
The way they put a price box of her surgery exaggerates the story making her seem self-obsessed which makes reader feel emotion towards it such as sympathy or irritated.
I think that the cover line for double page spreads is what draws the reader in and persuades them to be interested in it. The images also has an input to it, relating to the article otherwise if it was just words it’d make the reader lose interest therefore a mix of images and words together for the double page would appeal to the audience in a way that they could read with interest rather then thinking it was boring.
Wednesday, 16 March 2011
Analysis of a contents page
Contents page 1:
· The numbering of the pages is not in order from lowest to highest therefore it makes it confusing to look at because the numbering is all over the place.
· I don’t like the way the words and information are written side by side and that the numbering is in the middle because it just looks like the words are overpowering the whole contents page which makes it look dull.
· Although the topics in the content page gives a lot of information the way it is laid out looks too much which makes me think where should I start from.
· I’d prefer if it had more pictures of apple electronics devices because it can also promote them.
· I like the silhouette of the male wearing visible headphones connected to the iPod and that his body language shows us his dancing to it. This lets the audience know that the magazine is designed to give information on technology.
· I also like that the famous ‘Apple’ logo is on it therefore we can identify what the magazine is about and in this case it’s about electronics which may link to apple.
· I like that the colour coordination goes really well together, the blue’s gives off an electronic feel because electricity is seen as blue.
Contents page 2:
· The numbering and topics on the content page is very clear. I like the fact that they put the topic then write a short brief underneath. This gives the audience an idea what they will be reading about.
· These images of the drummers show what kind of audience they want to attract, in this case the magazine is attracting rock and indie. Therefore we are given an insight on what the magazine is about.
· I like the way the content page layout the images which relates to the topic and also putting the page number on it.
· I also like the fact that there is an ‘+’ box in the bottom left which shows that there are more features to the magazine than just rock ‘n’ roll.
· The word ‘drummer’ gives an impression of rock ‘n’ roll which reinforces the stereotype of rock therefore the audience could relate to because that’s the kind of things they’re in to.
· The colour co-ordination of the page is red black and white which goes well with the theme of the magazine.
· The ‘EXCLUSIVE’ shows that the magazine has some well-known celebrities to have a chat with therefore the reader are likely to want to check it out first.
· I prefer this magazine to the other one because it shows more interest into music and the way they lay out the contents is clear and that it relates with the images.
Analysis of a music front cover
The Magazine front cover denotes an image of a muscular male covered in tattoos, wearing a backpack and holding a gun underneath his left arm in a medium shot. The background is black with a spotlight on the male. There is also a puff in the top right corner and a visible barcode on the bottom right. The masthead is on the top left under lapping the male figure. There is also a main cover line which takes up the bottom overlapping the muscular male.
The music magazine masthead is called ‘XXL’ in bold capital sans-serif letters in the colour white. It’s placed in a bright red background. The colour red holds connotations of danger, power and intense passion. The red background contrasting with the white makes it looks dangerous as though you’re alerted for exquisite information inside the magazine. By doing so, it attracts and encourages the reader to buy the magazine. ‘XXL’ reminds me of the size ‘extra extra large’ which suggests that the magazine contains more than music yet it makes the audience more intrigue by the magazine.
The cover line at the bottom which says ‘VENGEANCE IS EMINEM’ quotes that the rapper is back on track into the music world as before that he took a long break from the music industry. The sentence ‘Vengeance is Eminem’ shows his status in the music industry and that only Eminem can bring ‘Vengeance’ this inflicts the other stars in the magazine because he is the main icon put on the front cover therefore the readers are focalized on him. It is also the same colour as the masthead which is red and white which could also mean the rapper is ‘extra extra large’.
On top of the masthead it says ‘Hip-hop on a higher level’ this gives a brief of the magazine that it is about hip-hop and that hip-hop is changing. As the audience is into hip-hop they will want to purchase the magazine to read further on. Also beneath the masthead it says ‘SPECIAL COLLECTION EDITION’ therefore it doesn’t happen regularly, and by putting a well-known rapper on the front cover who hasn’t been in the music scene for awhile makes the magazine more worth it.
The main image is of a well known rapper known as Eminem. He is topless, the only costume that can be seen are his white boxers. Furthermore he is inked with tattoo all over wearing a backpack and holding a gun. By being topless and muscular it shows his masculinity as a rapper. By photographing the rapper topless and defining all this muscles and tattoos it inspires other rappers to want to be him. The tattoo of the skull in the middle of his body visibly shown could show that he is ‘deadly’ and warn the other rappers to be aware of him. Rappers are stereotyped as masculine and strong-headed and for that reason Eminem’s prop and costume was considered carefully to capture the look of a ‘rapper’.
The prop is a gun is being gripped and hidden between his arms by the rapper. This reinforces the stereotypes of violence commonly related to rap music. Another prop used is also a backpack which we can only see from the front, shows that he has come back after a while ready to make music.
Crime is also connected to rap as most rappers tend to write and improvise rap about their life in crime as a teen or about a dangerous lifestyle. This therefore can relate to younger generations and young adults who may be going through the same problems. As you can see from the rappers body tattoo, it seems to tell a story of his life which consists of a 80’s car which can represent ‘escapism’ and the names ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ who were famously known as outlaws, robbers and criminals who travelled around America during the Great Depression. This tells us that he had a difficult upbringing and brings that into life through his music.
The puff of the magazine is in a golden yellow colour which says ‘XXCLUSIVE THE PUNISHER COMIC INSIDE’. The colour golden yellow connotes with royalty and by using this colour the magazine makes the prize seem extraordinary. By spelling exclusive ‘XXCLUSIVE’ makes the prize more personal to the magazine as it’s spelt with ‘XX’.
The lighting on the background is low key and a spotlight is shown on the rapper. This emphasizes his presence and gives off superior glow showing him as ‘god-like’ as Eminem is known as the greatest white rapper. The dark background makes the magazine seem more intense and powerful.
The most likely target audience would be females and males, however more males, aged 18-35. The audience tend to have an interest in rap music in general although mostly young adults that can relate to the rappers who have had a difficult upbringing or are still struggling in life. I like the way the magazine captures the image of a hip-hop magazine because then I know instantly that it’s the genre of the magazine I want.
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