Codes and Conventions IV

I have created the front cover of a mass-market music magazine called pitch;

• The masthead is conventional, as it is situated at the top left hand side. It also creates a house style, with the red and black, lowercase lettering, and the font style.
• The puffs I have used are in the coverlines. The main coverline offers an exclusive interview with Marilyn Manson, and the cover line below offers the latest images from a Biffy Clyro gig.
• The pug i have used is a free Marilyn Manson CD, because it fits in with the main image.
• I have used a three-way symbiotic relationship - the lyric in the main coverline from one of Marilyn Manson's songs and the pug only work because the main image is Marilyn Manson.
• I have used the colour red throughout as a house style, however I changed to yellow on the 2nd coverline because i wanted it to look different to the main coverline.
• On the main coverline i have called Marilyn Manson the 'personal jesus'. This appeals to the reader because  he famously covered Depeche Mode's Personal Jesus.
• The barcode and the date are in the conventional place (the bottom left corner)

Codes and Convention III

I have designed a mass-market magazine aimed at proffesional and amateur photographers called 'Photography Now'.

• The masthead is in the conventional place, which shows that it is a mass-marketed magazine. I have used the same font as the masthead throughout.
• The main image is a piece of interesting photography, mirroring the target audience. I have also said in a small caption that is the winner of the 2010 competition, which ties in with the 2nd coverline.
• The main coverline is the most dominant on the page. The use of the imperative 'must' commands the reader.
• The second coverline is a puff, as it offers a celeb exclusive, with Steven Spielberg judging their competition. The third coverline makes use of alliteration as a language technique to draw in the reader
• The pug i have used is the competition to win a NIXON camera, which shows the target audience to be people interested in photography.
• I have the date, price and barcode in the bottom left hand corner because this follows the normal conventions of a magazine, and this magazine is for mass-market consumption.

Codes and Conventions II

Using DTP, I have made another front cover for a magazine called 'Freedom', which targets people interested in Society, Arts, and Culture ('culture vultures'). Therefore it is for a niche audience.

• The theme behind this magazine is 'Big Brother', in the sense of 'being watched' rather than the TV programme, as the people this magazine targets would recognise how much society is watched today and the article about CCTV would evoke feelings of contempt for higher authority's that try to contain 'free spirits' (AKA, Freedom readers). The theme and the main coverline also tie in with the audience, as it targets people interested in society and culture.
• The masthead is situated at the bottom of the cover, which goes against the conventions of a magazine. This again shows the target audience, as it's artistic to push boundaries.
• The 2nd coverline is also a puff, offering an exclusive within the magazine. The language techniques that I have used are; alliteration and the use of the personal pronoun 'your', to engage the reader.
• I have put in a pug at the bottom of the page entitled 'Win Win Win' advertising a photography competition, which again mirrors the audience that is interested in culture and the arts.
• The colours and fonts are all within the house style
• Barcode and date do not go against the conventions of a magazine, and they are situated in the bottom left hand corner

Codes and Conventions

I have created a front cover for a magazine called FILM_ X
It is a niche market magazine aimed at a cult film audience

• The Masthead contradicts the normal conventions of a magazine, as it is on the side rather than on the top left of th page. This shows that this magazine is aimed at a niche market.
• I have used a puff in the middle of the page to show the exclusive interview FILM_ X have in this magazine. I chose to put it straight through the middle of the main image, because this also contradicts the normal conventions of a magazine, as puffs and pugs don't normally cut the main image in half. The puff also shows the main cover line. Another cover line is beneath it, which I have used a triple in, and made it personal to the reader through the repetition of 'your'.
• The pug at the top of the page offers tickets to a film premiere, which is something you would find mainly in 'film' magazines. I have used a rhetorical question here.
• I have kept the font style and colour within the House Style; style - Candara, colour - Red, Black and White.
• The date and price is in the top left hand corner
• The barcode is in the bottom left hand corner

Mock-Up of a Contents Page and Front Cover

I have used DTP to create a draft of a contents page for a school magazine.
Here are my results;

This will be really useful when I come to producing my preliminary contents mock up, and then when I complete my final coursework because I know what I can do using DTP and I can see what I can do to improve my presentation etc...

This is a front cover I roughly sketched as a guideline for my preliminary task;

Forms and Conventions of Magazines

Here, I have analysed the front cover of InStyle magazine to look at the forms and conventions of magazines. When I make my magazine I will refer to this piece of work, as it is a really good guide for what i need to to include on the front cover of both me preliminary magazine, and the final music magazine;

Image Manipulation

When it comes to doing my magazine cover, I have to be able to use DTP to manipulate my images so that they are suitable for use. To practice image manipulation, i did a very basic mock up of a school magazine cover, by cropping the image to a mid-shot, and adding a basic mast head.
Here are my results:

Questionnaires and Analysis

I produced this questionnaire as part of my research for the preliminary task. I wanted to know what Sixth Form students would like to see in a magazine designed for them about them and their Sixth Form. I asked a small selection of people to fill them out for me

My Results:

1. 100% of people said that they read magazines
2. 50% of people said they read magazines 'Weekly', and the other 50% said they read them 'Sometimes'
3. 75% of people said that they read music magazines, and 25% said they they prefered celebrity magazines
4. There was a 50-50 split on whether the school colours should be encorporated into the magazine for the Sixth Formers
5. Most people wanted to know about school related things; e.g. recent news/school trips/competitions. However, some people wanted other things to be included in the magazine, such as the opinions of pupils about issues in and outside of school.
6. 75% of people said that they would like a say in the contents of this magazine, and only 25% said that they wouldn't like anything to do with it.


From my results I can conclude that when i design my Sixth Form magazine, that I will include a range of topics for the 'readers'. I will probably encorporate the school colours into the magazine, so that it is recogniseable for the 'Tommies' Sixth Formers as a magazine aimed at them.

IPC media

http://www.ipcmedia.com/brands/brands.php

I looked at this website because IPC media is one of the largest magazine production companies in the world. There are lots of different audiences targetted through the magazines that they produce; although many of them (e.g. Pick Me Up and Now) fit under the 'mass marketing' scene, they also produce magazines (e.g. Horse and Motor Boat) that are aimed at the 'niche' groups.
This will help me when I come to make my preliminary magazine, and my final magazine, because I can see how each magazine on the IPC media website clearly shows who the target audience is.

This is a good example of how the band on the front of a music mag dominates the mast head. I like the way the background is blank, which also makes the band stand out more. Having the lead singer as the main focus also is a good advertising method, because the lead singers are usually the most well-known in a band. I like the angle of this shot, because it's not exactly straight infront of them - it's on a slight tilt, which enlarges Hayley's face, and puts the rest of the band in the background - almost like they're her army.

The colour scheme doesn't really appeal to me, however it does work together so it's not too busy, but still attractive enough to buy - which i feel is important when producing a magazine.