NME Double Page Spread Research

The first double page spread I am analysing is from NME, and concerns Pete Doherty. One page is occupied by a photograph of the subject of the article, while the other is used for the story about the subject. However, the text in this spread is broken up by a large pull-out quote in the centre, and a small picture in the bottom right corner. This adds a more playful and less serious tone to the article which reflects the personality of Pete Doherty. Like I've said I want to put the whole focus of the article on the main artist so designing the page to fit their personality will help this idea to work. They use a simple colour scheme of orange, white and black. the orange was likely chosen because Pete Doherty's jumper and beer being that colour. This would suggest that NME is flexible with the overall design which makes the magazine more adaptable. It concentrates on being innovative instead of having a lasting design theme which will fit the idea of my magazine. Again it gives me the idea to focus the design of the double page spread on the artist. The quote in the centre of the text grabs the attention of the reader and gives away the subject of the article Pete Doherty’s role in his band. His tenuous role is emphasised by the way he is holding two glasses of alcohol in the photograph. Readers who want more information on Pete Doherty’s struggles with drugs and alcohol would want to read this feature, as would fans of his music, as there is a picture of him performing in the bottom right of the text. This helps to broaden the audience of the article as it targets existing fans and new readers. Using features that reach all audiences is useful when designing and established magazine so I want to concentrate on features like this when doing my photography. Props and location will also help to make the story more relevant and appealing. I like the use of text on top of the image as it sort of gives a title to the article and plays with the photography at the same time. Only a small amount of text us used on top of the image to stop any difficulties reading, I want to use this feature with my double page spread so I will stick to the same code. I have noticed they have used a lot of punctuation to reinforce the expression and personality of the artist. It also helps to bring the interview alive as the reader can almost hear the emotions being expressed. This makes the article much more exciting and interesting to read so I may use this when talking about certain topics. 

A Quick Lesson On Double Page Spreads

Today I had a lesson on how to analyse double page spreads to help understand how to construct one in order to fit my target audience. I learnt how to analyse the design features including lighting, positioning, graphology and colouring. I spent 15 minutes practising how to analyse the double page spread, and took notes which are shown on the left. After I looked at the appearance I went onto study the language used in articles. I was given an example from NME which was an article written about Lily Allen. The main feature I noticed was the sophisticated language used mixed with some informal qualities of the artist. They use technical terms and drop names to let the reader know what they are talking about, but to add character to the article they use qualities from Lily Allen's language such as swear words. Not only does this add variation to the article but it helps the reader to understand the artist more which is the basis of the article. This is the type of style that I want to use so I will look at this further when doing my double page spread research. I am now going to do research into the same five magazines as last time, NME, Q, Kerrang!, The Source and Vibe. Again I will point out features from the same design sections and then say how it will effect my design, however this time I will be including the article and doing the same for that.

Double Page Spread Introduction

The final area I now need to study is the double page spread.  I am going to conduct research into 5 established double page spreads, because of my new idea changing the plan of my overall research I will be researching one edition of each magazine I have studied. Again I will study all key areas of the magazine, including lighting, positioning, graphology, text/language and colouring. I am going to concentrate on how they use the text and how colouring is used to give it extra effect. As I have seen the rap magazines are image dominated so if this convention follows through to the double page spread I want to see how they allow the text to fit around it and still be clear and simple to view. Like last time I will highlight all I have influenced from this research in red font to be able to go back when creating my own double page spread.

Vibe Contents Page Research

This is the Vibe Contents page that I have chosen to analyse, this edition is based around Eminem. The overall lighting and colouring of the contents page gives a dark and eerie appearance which reflects the personality of Eminem (The main article.) This shows they have focused on bringing all the attention to the Eminem article, however unlike the source contents page they have put the main article along with the rest in the page listing. This is a better idea than what I was thinking about doing in the last analysis. I want to put attention on the main article but also want to put a bit of focus on the others, this technique by Vibe does it well. It has became clear that graphology is a key convention to play around with in rap magazines, so I will have to express my ideas strongly in this section. After reading the text I have noticed they use much more Standard English than The Source used. This is because they are going for a much more sophisticated approach to fit with their more serious style. I noticed they touch on more serious matters to do with the artists over the release of a new album or tour. I think a style like this would fit the purpose of my magazine well and I am almost certain I will use it. However as I am focusing on dark music, which could be Eminem, I want to use some slang and dialect that would fit the audience, this makes it much more appealing and interesting to read when talking about certain matters. Like The Source contents page the actual text is positioned by the side of the image in a small font size, again this is to support the image dominated layout. They have used a white text on top of the dark background so it's clear to read. For the subheadings they have used yellow font which is a primary colour, this helps them to stand out from the rest and become appealing to the reader as well as being readable on the dark background. As well as being appealing to the reader this also gives a sophisticated look because it is plain and serious. This is the type of appearance I want to give my magazine so I will use this technique on my contents page.

The Source Contents Page Research

This is a contents page from The Source that I have found, it features Kendrick Lamar as the main article. The whole contents page bases around an image of Kendrick Lamar which fits the conventions of hip/hop, the everybody look at me idea. This would be a key convention of my magazine, however I do want to feature a few more artists on the contents page so I would include a couple smaller images out the way of the main image. All the font on the page is in black apart from the main article page number which is red. Again this helps the main artist stand out from the rest. So far it has all been presented as a competition which helps reinforce the rap ideas of everyone against everyone. I will use the same code while designing my magazine to fit the conventions of rap/hip hop. The listing for the page numbers has been placed in the left third in a small font size. This has been done to put more attention on the image, however they have arranged the text in front of the image. This means it can still be read and spotted, as well as adding a 3D effect to the graphology. It is placed freely on the page with no borders or banners, the only thing that separates the text is the shade and size. This is a good effect to work with the white background but I want to use more than one image. This means I'll have to use something to separate the text and the various images. I have the idea of using black lines to separate the information for each page and boxes for the additional images, however I will allow the main image to the main photo to add importance in order to stick to the conventions. The language used is different from all the other magazines that I have analysed. They all converge to language used by rappers, probably ones they are featuring. I will have to used a distinct language when writing in my contents page, when it comes to some of the more important text they have used standard English so I may do this as well. I will have to focus on using slang and creating an idiolect around rappers language.

Kerrang! Contents Page Research

I have found a Kerrang! contents page from January 2012. There isn't much information as the page is mostly dominated by one photo which I assume is the main story. As I want to put a lot of attention on my main article I may use the same idea. However I still want to put a bit of attention on other articles so the image won't be as big to give room for other images. The image matches the conventions of the genre well and it reaches the demands of the audience as it is typical from a gig they would attend, it also includes some fans in the photo. I think making sure the magazine reaches the demands of the audience is key so I will focus on photography that has the same effect on my audience. I might make a small setup of a gig where I get a few people playing the part of the fans and one person playing the role of a musician. Instead of listing every article and page they have separated them into their categories, feedback, win, news, live reviews, posters, features, reviews, gig guide and the ultimate rock test. I would like to do something similar for my contents page. It makes it more simple for the reader to find what they want as well as seeing what the overall contents is. However I want to give it a more exciting appearance, like the NME and Q contents pages, and put more focus on it instead of pushing it to the left third. I noticed that Kerrang! have used a separate font for the title of the magazine consistently throughout the magazine. The font has an effect which makes it look like it's breaking or about to explode, these have connotations of the genre which help to reach the needs of the target audience. However for the rest of the page they haven't used this font, instead they have used a range of different fonts for different text types, sub headers, normal, headers etc. The idea of using different font types helps each bit of text stand out in a different way. They have used an effect on the important text which helps to add significance to it. I want to use a variation of fonts throughout my magazine as it adds extra effect to the articles and can reinforce conventions of the genre. Where they have placed detailed text they have used a white background and black font, but too much black and white can be boring to look at. To solve this they have used their colour scheme for banners and headers/sub headers. This will help me to fill in any blank space meaning my magazine will be more appealing to the reader. I can also use colours to fit the conventions of the genre and to highlight important sections.

Q Contents Page Research

This is a contents page from Q Magazine published February 2013. The contents page is image dominated focusing on the artists from the main articles in the magazine. This seems to be a consistent theme through contents pages as NME did the same. I like the idea and want to do this when creating my contents page. It helps to bring focus on these articles and artists as well as making the page more exciting and appealing to view. They haven't singled out a main article, instead they have placed them around a centre circle using images of each artist with a small preview of the article. Again this seems to be a consistent convention throughout the design of contents pages so I will use the same idea when designing mine. The images each have a different layout, some are in boxes with a border and others aren't in boxes and are arranged in front of everything else to stand out. Giving each individual article preview a different layout makes them all interesting in a different way. The Biffy Clyro and the David Bowie articles stand out from the rest as they are arranged at the front. This is done as they are the most famous artists on the contents page making it more appealing to a larger audience. However the centre circle is on top of the Biffy Clyro preview but behind the David Bowie, making the David Bowie image stand out the most. The image is also placed exactly in the middle third, reaching the viewers eye sight immediately. I want to give my contents page image previews a unique layout design as it helps to make each article appeal interesting and different. My idea is to take this further and make the layout design match each artists unique style by playing with colouring and lighting. This will help each article to stand out further as different and unique. The individual layout has meant they have had to play around with the house style, especially the colouring. The colour scheme for Q is red and white, they have kept to the colour scheme well while designing each preview. Some of them use a white box behind red and black font while others just use white font on top of the image. All the text is easy to read and again backs the idea of each article being unique. Although this is done well I want my text to be separate from the image, this will make the images clearer to see and add more attention to them. It also means I can keep my font style consistent throughout the contents page. 

NME Contents Page Research

This is the contents page for an NME magazine, I noticed it is a consistent design that they use. They have gone for an image dominated layout that includes all of the main articles in the magazine with a short preview. When creating my contents page I want it to also be image dominated so I could include images of the main articles. If one of the images is of the musician on my front cover and double page spread this will keep the story constantly on topic meaning the reader will want to find out more. The main article is positioned in the centre of the page as the largest photo. Again I will do something similar to add more attention to the main article over everything else. The header is very plain and simple, 'Inside this week' and then the date, behind this text is a very faint font of grey which is extremely difficult to read but does make a difference of the plain white background. I want to make my header more complex than this to fit the conventions of my front cover. However I do like the idea of faint background content as it fills the blank space and helps the content on top to stand out of the page, which has an appealing effect on the viewer. The preview that goes with each image includes a quote from the article and a short sentence saying what the article is essentially about. Using this for my contents page will help to add more information about the artist, although I won't use the same layout I will still include a short preview for each article I will be listing in my contents page. The smaller articles information has been positioned by itself in a small section at the bottom left of the middle third. It's header is 'Plus' inferring that there is nothing special about these articles. I will include all my articles together apart from the main article which will be written in a much larger font. I won't include images for every article as there won't be enough room on the page but I will include a few images. I will have a couple for the normal articles and then a larger image for the main article to add focus on these articles and make them stand out. The layout for the page is unorganised but is still clear to read and simple to understand. The page numbers a typed in a large red font which is then placed in a white box over the image. Red is the most eye catching colour so I will also use it for my numbering so it stands out for the reader. It will also go with the house style I am considering of red, white and black. At the bottom right of the page additional information is placed about a subscription offer for NME. I may include additional information on the contents page such as editor credit, advertisement or posters included.

Quick Lesson In Contents Page Research

Today I took a quick lesson on contents pages to help me in my further research of them. I studied all the key areas to look out for ways in which I can influence my final design. I researched an NME contents page as I found it eye catching and appealing. Before I looked into key features and techniques I made a list of all the codes and conventions of a contents page to make sure I could make a legit and professional design. After learning about key features to look out for I did a quick analysis of the contents page to help get myself thinking for the actual research. I will now go onto research my five contents pages.

Contents Page Introduction

After getting the feedback for my Preliminary Task I have found numerous areas in which I can improve in, the main area was the contents page. I am going to conduct research into 5 established contents pages, because of my new idea I will look at 5 different magazines based around the genres I am contemplating. Like last time I will look at an NME, Q and Kerrang! magazine but I am also going to do research into two rap magazines. The magazines I am currently looking at are Source and Vibe. These both cover rap and hip/hop which is the main genre I want to focus my design on. Again I will study all key areas of the magazine, including lighting, positioning, graphology, text/language and colouring. I want to look into the use of colour and fonts throughout the contents page as I am currently uncertain about my colour scheme and how to use fonts for effect. I will highlight all I have influenced from this research in red font to be able to go back when creating the contents page.

The Evolution of My Ideas...

After studying various front covers I now have a clearer idea of how I will design my magazine. I want to create a magazine that bases around the horrorcore genre and similar punk/heavy rock alike. I like this idea because it gives me a unique magazine that still has room for a lot of development and a large range of features. I am going to change my style model to Kerrang! as they use similar conventions to attract the interest of a large following. A lot of codes they use could work with mine, e.g. the font type infers a feature of the genre 'smash' which not only stands out to the reader it gives extra information about what the music is like. I will study how Kerrang! carry this through to the contents page and stay consistent to their distinct house style.

Preliminary Task - School Magazine

My Preliminary Task was to create a school magazine for Whitley Bay High School, I had to create a front cover and a contents page. There was only one rule, all photography had to be taken ourselves. I started off by selecting my house style, I used the same colours as Whitley Bay High School do, blue, red and white. I also selected a similar font of the one that is used on the logo of the school. Both of these instantaneously gave it the feel of the schools magazine. I then worked on the header, I selected all of the key information about the magazine a laid it out to give it a stylish look, I made sure it all fit in the top third to give room for my photography and text. I included images that I had taken around the school and then used a mid-shot for the main story of the magazine which took up a lot of the page. Additionally I added references to important/interesting stories inside. On the contents page I kept to the same house style as the front page, this kept the magazine consistent. I also included the logo of Whitley Bay High School on the top right of the page. Next I listed all the contents to its page number from 1-5, giving extra information about each page to draw the reader to it. At the bottom I included two images that I had taken around the school to give a feel for the school and to make it more appealing than text dominated.

I was given feedback which told me ways in which I could improve. To improve the front cover I was told that the images shouldn't be covering the mid-shot I had used for the main photo. This is because it needs to stand out from everything else and appeal as the main focus of interest. For the contents page I was told the numbering started too early and that it would never happen in an established magazine. Advertisement and credits take up the first lot of pages so an established magazine would really start at around page 6. I will use this feedback and the skills I have developed to help evolve my ideas for creating a professional magazine of high quality. I would say the contents page was the main weakness of my preliminary task so, doing research into various contents pages will really help to strengthen my ability.

Kerrang! Front Cover Research

This is the front cover for a January 2011 issue of Kerrang! The issue is based around Blink 182 working on their new album, however a lot more graphology of other artists is shown on the front cover. Because Kerrang! is a rock based magazine their colour scheme bases around black however they have still used some primary colours for the font and borders/additional features. This will be a good idea for my magazine as I will be using dark colours. So the primary colour for the text helps it to stand out and make it more appealing to the reader than all black.  The most important text, such as the name of the magazine and the band, is given a damaged effect which offers connotations of violence which are suitable for the genre. When designing my font I will research connotations of my genre and find the most interesting ones to add effect to my font, or maybe other parts of the magazine such as text boxes and the photography. A lot of information is included on the front cover so they have sectioned it around the page into boxes. They use images for most of the information to attract fans of each individual band to have a look, it also helps the magazine's appearance to stand out. I like the idea of including a lot of information however I won't include as much as Kerrang! because it looks like there's too much cramped together. I also want the main focus of the front cover to be on the image artist as this is what the magazine will be focused around. So I won't be including as many other photos but will still include information for other stories. The photograph used is quite a basic design which just focuses on the individuals of the band and not any other features, because they are working on the album they have nothing to advertise or promote yet. The white background makes all the text and information clear to read and stand out, making the headlines jump out to the reader. As I am using quite a lot of information on the front page this idea will be suitable for me and will work well, it also allows me to use any primary colour for the text. The plain background also puts more focus on the individuals and will allow me to use any pose and lighting to add connotations or semantics.

Q Front Cover Research 2

The second issue of Q I have chosen dates back to February 2010. The issue is based on Cheryl Cole becoming a solo artist. They have used the front cover to show off the change Cheryl Cole has made as a solo artist. They have given her an appearance which juxtaposes her well known style of an innocent, girly pop star. This adds shock value to the start of her solo career which will get people talking. Shock value will be a good way to get people interested in my magazine. If they see someone well known juxtaposing themselves, people will want to know what’s going on and why they are doing it. They use black and bright red colouring to portray the image of a rock star. This also backs the idea of Cheryl Cole juxtaposing herself, and changing for the better. As I am going to use similar colours and style I could use an opposing musician to also create the shock value, it also gives the idea that they have completely changed attracting an original and new demographic. Again they use the album to play with the language. Her new album was called ‘3 Words’, they have used this to comment on Cheryl Cole ‘3 words… CHERYL COLE ROCKS.’ I may use the latest album as a basis for my front cover as it helps to set a style for my colouring and language. I will also be able to play around with the lighting to infer conventions of the album. Existing fans of the artist will be interested about the new album as well and seeing how the artist has changed. Although they are portraying Cheryl Cole in a completely new style they have kept some of her characteristics which helped to attract her existing fan base. Cheryl Cole is used to sell an image through sex appeal. They use red lipstick and the rain to back her pose in order to give her a sexy appearance. Although she has been portrayed this way, it is usually in an innocent style but this time the red lipstick, dark clothing and rain portray it in an alarming and rebellious way. For my magazine I won't be selling an image but focusing on the actual music, so I won't using any effect like this as it would be irrelevant to the conventions of my magazine. 

Q Front Cover Research Issue 1

The first issue of Q I will be looking at is a review of 2011, based around Coldplay. They have used a variation of bright and primary colours as this is the theme of their latest album, Mylo Xyloto. This colour scheme also makes the magazine stand out more from the rest, and catch the viewers eye. They play with the colour scheme variation more by using yellow and white text, which stands out even brighter over the colourful background. Making it stand out more will attract the viewer to read it. Using a recent album or style of the band can make it appeal to their fan base and even focus the magazine around them. Because I want the double page spread to be appealing, showing off the basis of the story is important for the front cover. I will make the theme of my front cover around the band. They have positioned the logo Q in the top left corner like NME did. They also use a red and white colour scheme, and also play around with the image and the logo. Instead of leaving it by itself they have created a 3D effect with the image. They have made it so the Q loops around Chris Martin's arm, making the logo look 3D as well as Chris Martin. Playing around with the photo and the logo seems to be a common convention of all these magazines. I may use my logo to create an effect with the image as it can reflect an image of the band and the magazine. For example, Coldplay are know for being artist so the artistic effect works well with the band and reflects on the magazine. They then include the title of the issue '2011 REVIEWED' behind Chris Martin's head, to add more of the 3D effect. The 3D effect is interesting for the audience to look at, it also adds attention to that certain focal point. All the other content, from the middle and bottom third, is placed on top of the graphology. Not only does this reinforce the 3D design, it also makes it easy to read in contraction with the multicoloured background. I will position all the text ontop of the graphology so it is more clear to read. However I won't include much text because I want mine to be image dominated to add more attention to my story.Although the front cover is devoted to Coldplay, there is only a small amount of writing on that article (which is placed on the left side.) This is done to create a great recognition for Coldplay, but also let the other exclusive articles stand out and appeal to the reader. They have included the other article information on the right, and names of other bands/artists included at the bottom. This is done to keep it out the way, so more importance to given to the main article. Again a reflector is used during the photography, from the right side. Extra lighting is added to Chris Martin, but no shadows are shown. I would like to use a reflector when doing my own photography so I can play with the lighting. The lighting really makes a difference when adding effect to the photo. I am currently contemplating a dark them so using a reflector for a small amount of light will work with mine. This helps the viewer see the variation of colours used, which helps the front cover to stand out even more. It also gives conventions of the album, a happy and bright experience. The language used draws the reader in by making it personal with them. They use pronouns, 'ARTISTS WE LOVE,' and ambiguous expressions to get the reader thinking and wanting to find out more, 'THE SECRETS OF COLDPLAY.' Even though I am just using a small amount of text I can still make it effective. I like the idea of amking it personal for the reader as it can link them in with the musicians that they're reading about. 

NME Front Cover Research Issue 2

I am going to undertake research into another NME magazine, as this is the magazine style I am currently contemplating. This time I have found a standard issue of NME. Still I noticed they have changed the colour of the logo from the last, red to white, meaning they do not have a consistent colour scheme. This is useful as NME aren't based around a certain genre, meaning they can change their colour scheme to match the style of a specific genre. I will use this convention as it allows me to use a colour scheme which is specific for my genre of music, the band colour or the semantics of the story (relating to the photo.) This issue is about My Chemical Romance changing their style of music. As they are moving from dark Goth to a more brighter theme, they use bright colouring (white, light blue and red.) They then use Gerard Way's red hair as a pun for the story inside, they quote that 'GERARD SEES RED,' stating his change of hair and his anger to Goth. I will look to use language to help apply extra information about the story. Using a quick clever pun like that can be interpreted in numerous ways, making people want to read on to understand what it's really about. However, they still include a bit of black, this suggests that the band still has a bit of a dark style. A lot of dark shadowing is also used especially around his face and hair, this reinforces the idea of there still being some dark or it is slowly fading away. It would be interesting to play around with the lighting. Creating an effect like this can reinforce the shock of the story. Keeping to the distinct conventions as well as juxtaposing them will make it stand out from other magazines. The Positioning has been used differently from the first issue I looked at. On the first issue they placed the NME logo behind the image, to allow the viewer to acknowledge the artist. Indeed the artist is easily viewed, but they have included the NME logo over his head. For my design I would like to put my photo in front of the logo to bring more attention to the double page spread. Although it may make the logo difficult to read, I will use the logo again throughout the other pages and include the full name of the magazine somewhere else on the front page. This is done to reinforce the idea of colour and lighting playing a big role in the design of this magazine. Again lighting from a reflector is used on him, making his face and hand a brighter pitch. Making sure as many bright colours are visible as possible will help to give the reader the idea of My Chemical Romance's dramatic change, almost as if they're being reincarnated from their dark routes to god. Again they haven't included much additional information on the front cover, it bases mainly around the story inside. They have included names of bands that are inside, any other big articles to read and a mention of free posters (with small previews) encouraging people to buy that specific issue. The price and barcode have been positioned out of the way, the top and bottom of the left third. I will be including some additional information such as other bands names and the barcode on my own front cover. The medium close up of Gerard Way takes up a huge portion of the space. As he is the lead of the band he has the most recognisable face, making it stand out and appealing for his specific fan base. This idea is backed up as, apart from the NME title, the largest writing on the page is 'MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE,' again attracting the issue to the fan base.

NME Front Cover Research Issue 1

The first magazine in which I will undertake research on is NME. I found a copy which was released in 2011. The magazine was released around the time of the royal wedding, this has created a theme for the issue. They have used the British color scheme for the issue, red, blue and white, which is ironic as an American artist is used for the front cover. They use this to mock the situation by giving him a rebellious look, by tilting the crown and adding another around his neck. This informs the reader about the type of person Tyler is. I will use the image to help construct a character for my artist, this will help the reader understand the artist. The purpose of the story is that Odd Future are in fact having an anarchy in the UK, forget about the royal wedding as it's all about Odd Future. This is reinforced with the positioning. On top of everything is 'TYLER,THE CREATOR ODD FUTURE ANARCHY HITS THE UK!' This creates an importance, as everyone is talking about the royal wedding they will see this standing out in front of it. To help my story appear as more appealing and significant for the viewer to read, I will use positioning in a similar way. Behind this they have included names of other artists featured and a quote from Tyler, The Creator. The quote reads, 'I DON'T GIVE A SH*T ABOUT A ROYAL WEDDING', the language used adds shock value to the story inside. The use of the swear word backs up the rebellious style and calling it 'a' royal wedding instead of 'the' takes all the importance away from it, this also helps to give the reader an idea of his personality. Again I will use this as it helps to give the viewer more information about the artist as well as adding shock value to infer a more interesting story. Next they have included the mid-shot of Tyler, it takes up 7 of the 9 thirds. Although they have used layers over his body, they have left his face clear. This allows people to recognize him instantly, especially fans who want to read on. It is also because this is one of the most important parts of the photo, it creates a focal point of attention on him. I will play with this idea on my own design as it helps my photography to stand out, it also attracts more attention to the double page spread about the artist inside. The back layer includes the NME logo. It is very simple but fits the house style of the magazine by using large capital red letter. They have made it a large size so it stands out, but Tyler's head covers part of the E. They are able to do this because they're easily recognized. However they still include the full name, 'New Musical Express', underneath the logo. I may do this as well as it makes the design look clever and adds more importance on the photography, as it covers the logo. They have included a gold border around the front page, at the top they have included some text 'GOD SAVE US FROM WILLS AND KATE COMMEMORATIVE ISSUE'. This pun reinforces the fact they are mocking the royal wedding. The lighting is also used to make the story stand out. The ironic bright lights, which are usually associated with weddings,  helps the image to stand out. I will play around with the lighting to add extra meaning to the image, lighting can be used to infer the semantics of the image. Additional features used are a guide to 2011 festivals, chance to win festival tickets, price of the magazine and a bar-code. They have included all these features out of the way of the story information. This means it won't get in the way as the main focus of the magazine is the story. I can use this to fill up the empty spaces and to show off that there is more to the magazine than just the story.

Front Cover Introduction

I am going to conduct research into 5 established music magazines, in order to learn a range of key techniques and features in which I should use to make mine professional. As I said I am going to use NME and Q as my main style models, so I will undertake research into 2 of each magazine. I will then look into another magazine for my 5th choice. I am currently contemplating Kerrang as I think rock will be an interesting genre to use. I will study all key areas of the magazine, including lighting, positioning, graphology, text/language and colouring. Another feature which I will make an importance is the logo. I think this will be an important feature for my magazine, so I want to know how they use it. I will then use this research when designing my own music magazine.

Introduction

Welcome to the blog for my AS Media magazine. I will use this blog to show you my progress through my magazine and the evolution of my ideas. I will update my blog every time I develop an idea, or create a new feature. I'll post images of each feature and inform you of the reasons I created it. Then I'll write about what I've learnt from the feature and what improvements I can make next. There are three main stages to creating a successful magazine, a rough cut, a final cut and Evaluation. I have already created a preliminary task, to create my own version of a Whitley Bay High School front cover and contents page for a magazine. I created this using a range of photography skills, Photoshop skills and In-Design skills that I have learnt in the last few weeks. I will then present how I undertook research into, professional and established, music magazines. I will take this research to understand how to craft my own successful magazine.

I look to use some of the most successful magazines as style models for my project. At the moment, I am currently looking into NME and Q as they include variations of music which match my interests. Using magazines which I enjoy, and music which I have my greatest understanding of will benefit me a great deal. If I can express my ideas of what I enjoy, I will be able to establish my greatest designs. Because I have a broad taste of music, NME and Q will be most suitable as they cover all the greatest music of recent times. However I am contemplating a more specific magazine design. This would benefit me as I could choose the genre that I have most knowledge with and use this to my advantage.  

I hope you enjoy looking through my progress and the evolution of my ideas.

Thank You.