My Magazine

Just how does my music magazine compare to theconventions of other such magazines?

The model is on a fairly blank background The eyes of the model look at the reader The model wears clothes suitable for their image Text layering is used to give the magazine depth Text never placed in front of the model Words extra and exclusive used to lure reader Multiple text colours but no more than 5 Different font styles used to add variation Pictures in medium close-up Issue number, price and barcode are small Cover lines show what's in the magazine Exclamation marks used to add emphasis Mast heads give brand Identity Competitions or offers promoted

How Does Mine Compare?

As you can see from the list above, my magazines front cover conforms to most of the typical music magazines conventions, however I think that my magazine breaks one of the most common conventions of a typical magazine in that the model is not looking at the reader, I believe in this case this breaking of convention is justified, my magazine is all about how music is made for film and TV, so my model is working at a sound mixing desk, if someone were to be busily working they wouldn’t stop to look at

You whilst they were working, instead they would look at what they’re doing, I framed the picture as a mid shot and also framed the picture so that the model would be on the left hand side of the page, so that text could be placed easily on the right of the page, but also so that the model appears to be looking at the cover lines drawing your attention to them and consequently what's inside the magazine hopefully enticing someone to pick the magazine up and buy it. Another convention I have mildly broken is by having the issue number in a large font, I thought this was a good idea as this is the magazines first issue, and the prominent issue number advertises this well, I also like the look of the issue number as it is anchored to the side angle of the mixing desk.

How Does Mine Compare?I do however think that it is good that my magazine follows many of the conventions of a traditional music magazine, as if it were too far and unconventional potential readers mightn’t realise that it was a music magazine without closer inspection, presumably leading to a lot less sales.

I have decided to have a consistent colour scheme throughout the magazine, with blue yellow black and white, this is shown on the front cover in the gradient fill background, (plain as per convention) blue and off blue of the cover line text and the stripes of blue and yellow in both the upper right and lower left corners of the magazine.

The magazines cover lines are written in two alternating fonts in alternating colours to add variety and words such as exclusive used to entice the reader into read the magazine, like a conventional magazine.

I think that my magazines masthead helps compliments the magazines identity, the title of my magazine is soundtrack, the font is made up of three different lines (or tracks) curving to form the shape of each letter, and the tag line below the mast head of “Film and TV Sound Magazine” simply and effectively tells a potential reader what the magazine is about without sounding vauge or pretentious. Its just straight to the point.

How Does Mine Compare?I think that my contents page both conforms to and breaks some conventions of a usual music magazine.

oA message from the editor is includedoThe message is written in an informal fashionoPictures, page numbers and contents are in groupsoThe pictures and pages are anchoredoThe colour scheme from the front page is repeatedoImportant stories are biggeroThe logo and title are repeatedoThere is no empty spaceAs you can see from the list above it meets many of the conventions of a magazine contents page that we noted in class, however I think the main thing my work does to challenge a convention we didn’t list is that it is made of two pages as opposed to one page as per convention. I decided to do this as the contents page is usually on the third page (right hand side) and not much on the left, so I decided to add a large picture of some speakers, grey scaled, posterized, then re coloured to go with my colour scheme, overlaying this with a quote, I think this adds to the magazines aesthetics and further reinforces the magazines brand identity.

The rest of the contents page though is relatively on convention.

The contents page has a table of pictures with related page numbers inset, so the reader can see which pictures most interest them, look up a brief description in the contents and find the page, I think that this gives the contents page a clean and organised look, the letter from the editor is written in an informal style in the top right, with an advertisement for subscriptions in the bottom left, to help promote future sales, as this is the first issue and fill in space so the contents page doesn’t look empty.

My front page.

The price, frequency, barcode and web address are printed in small here, this is so the customer knows information about the magazine and where to look online for more information about it, a common

feature of magazines in general

Here is a special offer to help entice the reader

The issue number is placed here large to draw attention to the fact that this is the first issue of a new magazine, it is also placed at an angle so that it appears to line up with the angle of the mixing desk

The font style and colour alternate between two different styles and colours to add variation to them making tem more interesting, the

cover lines also have a slight drop shadow which helps give the page some depth.

The font style and colour alternate between two different styles and colours to add variation to them making tem more interesting, the

cover lines also have a slight drop shadow which helps give the page some depth. The fonts are also made so that they stand out

from the pages background making them easier for a potential customer to read

The word exclusive is used to entice the reader, suggesting the magazine is special among other similar magazines

I took this image of Mike in the music room at Priestley College, the lighting was not ideal and this caused mikes skin and hair to look washed out, because of this I used Photoshop to edit the colour levels of the photo increasing contrast, and creating an overlay layer over his hair to remove too much shine from the bright un natural lights, I cut him and the desk from the background using

the background eraser tool and used the spot healing brush to get rid of the shine in his glasses, I then gave him a drop shadow to

give him some depth

The masthead of my magazine is on a clear white background, this is so the title is clean, clear and easy to read. Helping give the magazine a stronger brand identity, this helps distinguish the

magazine from similar ones. The font chosen for my masthead is big and bold in an interesting font which should help grab the

readers attention.

My contents pageI have used the title of my magazine in the contents page, helping

implement brand identity

The art page adds to the overall aesthetic of the contents page and appeals to our arty target audience, its colours are also the same as the colour scheme again helping to implement brand

identity

These images are specially made to look both interesting and slightly mysterious grabbing the readers attention compelling them to look at the chart below to find out more from a small

description. They can then look up the page number and turn to itThe editors message is written in an informal and friendly style,

designed to sound as if the writer is writing directly to the reader, this should naturally appeal to them and give them a sense of

connection and involvement with the magazine, this could inspire some form of brand loyalty from the reader causing them to

continue to buy the magazine the letter is even signed at the end, but using a shortened down more informal version of the editors

nameThis is an advert for future subscriptions to the magazine, the

advert offers a special offer giving the first 3 issues for £2 each, this is advertised in the bubble, and using exclamation marks for

added emphasis, helping entice the reader, into future sales promoting that a subscription is a good saving for them, this is also good for the magazine as it guarantees a definite monthly

income

My 2 page spreadThe caption of the photo helps anchor

what is happening in the image to what is being written about in the text, linking the

two

Here is a key quote from the article, it can help the reader tell at a glance the sort of

article they’re looking at, it also helps them get a feeling about if they’d like the

article or notIn this image the model looks away from

the camera in an over the shoulder shot, I did this so that he looks like a busy

professional, but also being able to see what he’s working on can help include the audience in the action, they can see what he does making them feel more included in the story, and have a stronger positive

feeling towards the magazine, as if they’ve connected with it in some wayThe article is written in a quite informal

style, just like the transcript of a chat, this helps the reader follow the flow of the interview and helps them imagine the

peoples voices inside their heads, again making them feel more involved

The logo is again repeated to reinforce brand identity and awareness

Who might distribute my magazine? I think that the media organization most likely to distribute my magazine is IPC media,

this is as the group seems to publish the most niche magazines such as volksworld,

superyacht and niche magazines which may also interest the people my magazine is aimed at such as

amateur photographer, I think meaning that my magazine fits in well with their current output.

I think that the best sort of stockist for my magazine are specialist record or music shops, recording

equipment shops, instrument stockists, college or university libraries, this is because my magazine

is aimed at quite a niche audience and so probably wouldn’t have a huge circulation, and probably

wouldn’t be suitable to a more general stockist such as WHSmith or smaller newsagents, which

is why the magazine would be stocked in places that sell related equipment or in education

establishments where film and media students could buy the magazine to help with their learning.

How my magazine represents peopleHow my magazine represents people

On the front of my magazine is my model, Mike. Mike is a music teacher at Priestley College, Ithink he is a good representation of someone who works professionally in the music industry,and his funky glasses and cool hair are representative of the sort of independent film makers

themagazine is aimed at, mikes pose also represents something about the type of people who

work inthe creative industries, he’s looking at what he’s doing working hard. This idea is also evident

in theother images of people in my magazine, no one’s just standing around they’re all at work, I

thinkthis helps set them up as positive role models to the readers, and can be a sort of inspiration

thatthey too can do this sort of thing if they put the effort in and learn.

Out of the four people shown in my magazine 3 are male, one female, and it might be a goodidea to add another female to the magazine however this is indicative of the industry which

doesseem more male dominated. Another thing I might want to look at should future issues be

madewould be to include people from other ethnicities or disabled people, as all 4 people shown in

themagazine are white, however I think it’s important not to necessarily actively think about this.

Asreally it shouldn’t make much different, it’s just nice for all types of people to be represented in

mymagazine.

Who are my audience?

Click to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GpKGezuqqQto play the photo story.

Who are my audience?My audience is mostly younger people, between the ages of 16 and 30, both

male and female

The magazine is for creative people, who enjoy film making, usually on a small budget and with their friends, having only a small amount of experience in the making of sound and music for films because of this the magazine aims at being informative and useful to learning but not in a lecturing teacher way, it aims to be more like a helpful friend with tips you should know

The people my magazine is aimed at tend to have a particular flare or style, often described as trendy

How have I attracted them To try and attract my target audience, I have used Mike my cover model,

Mike fits in with the target age range of my market and seems to represent them quite well and his funky glasses and cool hair are representative of the sort of independent film makers the

magazine is aimed at

The mast head of my magazine is big and bold, this helps to attract the attention of the potential reader, and the gradient helps attract their attention lower, through shades of white to the cover lines of the magazine.

These cover lines use words like exclusive, to make the magazine appear more special, they are also written with a relatively informal tone, this fits in with the earlier idea that the magazine is more like a helpful friend than a teacher, helping them trust the magazine more, and consequently making them more likely to buy it.

What do they think?

Click to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2DIN_3COVsto start the short film

How have I learned?Here is some work I have made in Photoshop, the first is my magazine, the other is a poster for the colleges storytelling evening that I made after making my magazine, I think it is a good example of how I have learned to use the program and have put that learning into practice. before making the magazine, I had only a basic understanding of the program and it confused me but now I have learnt how to use it properly and also learned many new techniques, letting me make the images I want. I have also learnt how to use Quark Xpress, after no previous experience

I feel quite confident in using Quark, after learning how to use it to easily sort text into columns and to use the wrap around feature so that the words fit perfectly around my images, however I also feel that there is some room for improvement, as I find it hard to keep the layer ordering simple and I don’t really like how the program limits the size of your images as this can sometimes lead to photos being the right size but not show enough of the image.

overlaysOne technique I used on Photoshop is creating a colour overlay, with this technique you can easily change a persons hair colour, you first create an extra layer, on which you draw around the object you want to re colour in the newcolour and fill this shape In, you then use the layers blending

options, changing it to overlay or multiply depending on which works best.

Artificial lightingYou can also use Photoshop to add lighting effects that aren't real, in this demonstration I’m adding light from the candles to the boy, to do this I’ve first cut out the cake and candles, this is so the light doesn’t go on them as I only want it on the boy, I then use a large soft edged paintbrush with the blending settings set to add soft light colour, I then paint this onto the boy and place the cake back in its original position, making it look like light is coming from the candles

Adding and cuttingYou can easily add extra images to your Photoshop image, in this example I’m adding a hat to the boy, first I need to cut the background out around the hat, to do this I can use the magic eraser tool, this can get rid of the background in one go as it is all one colour, Any extra trimming can be done with the lasso tool by hand, when

this is done you can use the transform controls to move, resize and reposition the hat so that it looks like it is on the boys head. I then tend to use the blur tool to help mix the newly added object into the scene as its edges can often appear to be too sharp to look real.