To Do List - Preliminary Task

In order to carry out the preliminary task i need to create a to-do list so i know all the steps i need to go through in order to create my front cover for a school magazine and its contents page.

Here is my list:

1. Think about who i am going to include on the front cover.

2. Have a look at different page layouts and choose the appropriate one.

3. Experiment with different types of pictures in order to take the best shot.

4. Make a list of other stories which can be featured on the front cover.

5. Choose the best picture and edit in photoshop.

6. Transfer to Indesign and edit.

Q Magazine Analysis

This the current front cover for Q Magazine, this is their January 2010 issue.

The front is very bright and colourful which grabs the consumers attention. This edition especially is featuring 'The Gorillaz' on the front page which they have said the 'a star crew set sail again' which just by looking at the front page leads me to believe that the Gorillaz are perhaps releasing more music. Also, playing on the words there, ,they have used an image renowned to the Gorillaz which is the cartoon. They have an image of a boat setting sail with a massive wave behind. This wave includes many a list stars which is very clever how they have portrayed that in the image itself.

Very much like SPIN, the master head is at the top left hand side of the page which is the first thing a consumer will see when its on the shelf in the shop. They have also used the same colours as SPIN as the background is a bright red which stands out with the 'Q' in a bold white.

The rest of the featured stories however, are all lined up along the bottom in different fonts. They have included 'PLUS open up the cover now...' in the bottom right corner of the front page which ill entice the reader into wanting to purchase the magazine itself to see what they have inside on this particular issue.

I like the over all look of the front page as the colours work well with one another and they have used relatively interesting stories to pull in the reader. A successful front cover.

Spin Magazine Analysis

First of all i will look at the front covers, as i believe if the front cover isn't interesting and eye-catching then customers are less likely to purchase the magazine. Therefore the front is essential for sales.

This is the front cover i chose to look at for 'SPIN' magazine. This is their December 2008 edition.

This front cover really grabs the customers attention as they have used bright colours and an upcoming artist of which people may be very interested in. The artist featured on the front is M.I.A, who has been seen as controversial, which i think they have portrayed slightly in the picture as she is pulling a face which you wouldn't normally see on the front of a magazine (you normally get smiley, happy people) whereas she looks like she's rebelling against something. This is then backed up by 'M.I.A with a rebel yell' written on the left side of the page.

The magazine's mast head is positioned ideally on the top left hand side of the page. This is what consumers see first. It is also in a very bright red which stands out from the magazine itself and against other magazines.

The way that they have advertised the featured stories inside is by scattering them along the bottom sides of the front cover. They have also surrounded it in a black box so that they stand out against the artists bright clothing.

All in all, i believe this is a really good front cover, but mainly because of the quality of the picture taken and the colours used.

Plan

In order to carry out my coursework i need to create a rough plan which i can follow.

The Preliminary Task.

I need to create a front page cover of a school/college magazine, which needs to feature a image of a student in a medium close up plus appropriately laid out text and a masthead. I also need to create a mock up of a contents page.

Analysis of Existing Products:

In order to get a rough idea of the kind of cover i need to create i will have to look at and analyse the following magazines:

1. Spin

2. Q

3. NME

Audience Research:

I will also carry out some audience research which will consist of asking random members of the public a range of questions which will include the following:

Do you read magazines? If so, which ones?

Why do you read these magazines?

If you were to read a music/fashion magazine what kind of thing would you like to be featured on the front cover and within the magazine itself.

etc

Research - Magazines

In order to carry out my research i aim to pose questions to consumers of the magazine industry. To do this i'm going to create a short list of questions to ask and those who respond with in depth answers, i plan to delve deeper and find out why they like/think how they do and what they do and don't like about the magazine industry.

I will also try to use different methods of gathering information whether it be using my Facebook account and asking my friends on there or approaching random people on the street.

I believe this will give me a diverse range of answers of which i can then use to aid me in my project.

Do you buy magazines? If so, what magazine do you buy?

Rating myself as an Interviewer.

I didn't really ask that many questions but the ones that i did i believe i managed quite well. It would have been easier if i weren't interviewing with another person as we both had ideas and questions we wanted to put across. I used my initiative and where an answer could be extended i asked further questions to extend the interviewees input.

Overall, i think that i did reasonably well.

Target Audience For Own Courswork

Alyssa is your average 18 year old teenage girl who enjoys partying, drinking and keeping up to date on the latest fashion and music. She spends most of her time listening to her music via her ipod and ipod dock, blasting out her favourite songs for the whole house to hear. She studies fashion at sixth form which is a keen interest of hers. Although she studies hard, Alyssa enjoys the occasional night out, drinking, socialising or just generally not being able to remember what happened the night before. Her room is covered in pictures of herself and her friends, film posters featuring good looking A list celebrities.

Audience Research (Music Magazine)

MOJO (The music magazine)

April 2006 - £3.95

This magazine is aimed towards a typical punk rocker or for someone interested in the history of rock music. The magazine itself has quite a few 'old' musicians featured inside such as Van Morrison and Morrissey.

The front cover suggests that it can be purchased by either males or females but i think it is more directed towards men. Although this is so, there is a lot of pink inside the magazine itself and on the front cover (all of the main stories are in pink down the sides).

However, the kind of people that will buy it will depend on whats on the front. On this particular issue, at the top of the front cover there is a story about Morrissey which has a quotation of "YES, IT'S TRUE I AM IN LOVE...". Which i believe males may not be particularly interested in reading so could be bought by the female population.

Quite a lot of the pictures featured inside the magazine are in monochrome black and white. This suggests that perhaps the image is timeless and that what is in the picture is classic.

I think that target age of the reader would be 20+ as the stories featured include quite a lot of old artists that perhaps a younger generation may not have heard of.

Brainstorming Ideas - Practical

I want to be able to expand my media vocabulary and to be able to use it effectively in a piece of writing.

I would like to work alone.

From the example that we watched (voices from the past) we have come to the conclusion that it is at about a level 3 mark so about 41 out of 60. This is because the beginning was a tad slow. Whereas the ending added tension.