Magazine Institutions

The whole class created a Prezi about magazine institutions. We looked at four companies, Hearst, Bauer, IPC Media and Condé Nast. These are four of the biggest companies in the magazine industry. My involvement in the Prezi was to research and write about Hearst. The prezi can be accessed with this link:

The magazines that I analysed were Q, NME and Kerrang. Q and Kerrang are published by Bauer and IPC Media publishes NME. This gave the impression that the magazine industry is dominated by these four companies, as three of the biggest magazines around are owned by them.

I think that my magazine would be a mainstream magazine. I think this because it is a typical magazine that sticks to the common conventions of the genre. I think that the companies most likely to publish my magazine would be Bauer or IPC Media, as they publish some of the biggest music magazines, such as Q, NME and Kerrang. However, Hearst or Condé Nast might choose to publish my magazine as they might want to get a music magazine of their own to compete with Bauer and IPC Media.

IPads and other tablets are definitely changing the magazine industry. These tablets mean that less paper is being used to publish magazines as they do not need to be printed in large quantities. It also makes it easier to carry around as instead of a pile of magazines you will only need to take one tablet with you that will have hundreds of magazines on it. This new use of technology may mean that paper magazine stop being printed. One magazine that is available on tablets is K-Composite. This magazine is available for free, which may mean that people stop paying for magazines and switch to these sort of magazines that are available for free.

Double page spread construction

Here are the images I used for my contents page.

Here is the text for my feature that I had formatted so it would be in columns.

This is the start of my feature article with the background and the title.

I then added my images to the feature article.

Next I added the page numbers and the name of my magazine in a bar at the top of the page.

Finally I added my interview and 'exclusive' under my title.

Drafts of feature article

Here is my draft for my feature article:

Feature Draft

You readers are in for a real treat this week. We have been chatting with Chris Doyle, the lead singer of Conspiracy, and we have decided to share it with you. The band has recently released their first album, ‘Rebellion’, and it has already sold over 50,000 copies in little more than a week. Here is our interview with the rising star.

So what made you want to get into music?

I’ve always been a massive fan of music; I remember listening to bands such as Queen and U2 when I was younger. I learned to play the guitar when I was 10, and from there music was just the direction I was heading. I’ve always thought that life is better when you’re doing something you enjoy.

How did you meet the other members of the band?

The rest of the group was together before I met them, but they were looking for a lead singer. I was playing in a small concert hall in Plymouth one night, and after the performance they approached me and asked me if I wanted to join their band. I hardly hesitated before saying yes.

How has life changed for you since ‘Rebellion’ was released?

It hasn’t changed too much really. I know it’s only our first album, but it’s a bit disappointing that no-one recognises me yet. I did get excited when somebody shouted my name in the street, but it turned out to be one of my Dad’s friends.

Do you ever here your songs anywhere?

I have heard a couple on the radio while I’ve been driving. It’s made me feel good that our music is being played alongside all the great bands out there.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

In my spare time I like to stay at home and relax. I am a big fan of football, and watch every game that’s on while I’m at home. I also play quite a bit of XBOX as well, mostly football games such as FIFA 12 and FIFA Street.

Do you play any sport?

Not seriously, no. I like to have a kick around with some of my mates from time to time, and I also enjoy playing tennis occasionally, but I’m not really very good.

Do you have any plans for your second album yet?

We do have one idea for a song, but apart from that no, not yet. You’ll have to wait a bit longer I’m afraid.

Okay, well thank you for talking to us today, Chris. I hope the rest of your career goes as well as your first album. I’m sure we’ll see you again for another interview sometime.

Thanks, I’m looking forward to it. Bye.

This draft was without any spelling or grammatical errors so I used this first draft for my feature article.

Contents Page construction

This was my original choice of font for my 'contents'.

This was how my contents page looked with my masthead and title.

I then changed the font of my 'contents' to this one.

These were the titles for my stories that I showed on the contents page.

I added these titles and a description to my contents page and also added the date and issue number. I also decided to change my background from black to white.

I then added the images for my contents page and placed them where I wanted them.

I then added a picture of the editor and a message from him. I also created a competition to go with one of my pictures.

Finally I added a design for Interval TV, advertising a show that would be on that channel.

Front Cover construction

This was the image that I decided to use for my front cover. I decided the keep the background of the photo  as I thought it worked very well.

I then added my masthead to the front cover. This was my final choice of masthead after looking at a number of other styles.

I then added my strapline to my cover. I put this just above my masthead.

I then added some teasers to my cover. This featured the names of other bands that would feature in the magazine.

I then added a bar code as well as the issue number and the price. These are common conventions of music magazines so I knew they had to be on my cover.

I then added the free poster design to my front cover, as well as my title and a quote from the main musician of the magazine.

I then added '50 TOP NEW BANDS' and 'Drummers That Changed Rock'. I also moved my title an quote and put a blue background on the quote.

Finally I added a design to make it seem as though there was a hole in the page and the reader was looking through it and seeing what was inside.

Masthead Construction

First I had a look at some existing mastheads for music magazines to get an idea of what a masthead for a music magazine should look like. I looked at four mastheads; Q, NME, Vibe and Kerrang.

I then started looking at some ideas for my own masthead.

I looked at these 4 masthead fonts, and in the end chose the 4th one. I liked the font of the text and the way the colours switch between black and white.

Original Images

Here are some of the images I took during my photoshoot:

The first two photos I took were too bright, so I could not use them.

I adjusted the lighting so it wouldn't be so bright, but I adjusted it too much, and the next photo was too dark.

I liked this photo and considered it for my front cover, but I took another photo that I liked more.

I liked the style of this photo, but it was too dark. I adjusted the lighting and tried again at a different angle.

I liked this photo a lot and used it for my front cover. I thought it looked very professional and I thought the lighting was very good.

Props/ Costumes

When I was taking my photos, my models were wearing ordinary clothes. I decided he didn't need a costume because he would be in my target audience so I thought the way he normally dresses would represent my target audience the most.
The props I used for my photos were a guitar and a microphone. I used these props because they are generally associated with the genre of music magazine I am creating so the use of these props helps connote the genre.

Technology

I have used many technologies in the process of doing this assignment.

I used a camera to take pictures for my magazine. This helped to give my photos a professional look as the camera was of a good quality which meant that the images came out clearly.

I used Photoshop to create my front cover, my contents page and my feature article. Using Photoshop made my magazine easy to make as it gives you a lot of options in editing and styling.

I have also used the Internet a lot during this coursework. It has allowed me to research photographers. It has also enabled me to access Survey Monkey, which I used to do my audience research.

Photography research

Andrew Cotterill
Andrew Cotterill began his career at Dazed & Confused and documented reggae artists for green sleeve records. He has now gone on to successful exhibitions including a collaboration with the Big Issue, and has photographed performers such as The Strokes, Foo Fighters and Kanye West.

This is a photo of the Foo Fighters playing inside a house. It is a low angle mid shot. It uses props well to connote the genre. For example, electric guitars and drums connote the genre of rock as they are instruments used in rock music. The lighting is good as you can see the image clearly without it being too dark or too bright.















Paul Harries
Paul Harries is an internationally renowned music photographer who has photographed some of the biggest names in rock music. He has worked freelance for 20 years, mainly for Kerrang, and has photographed many musicians such as Nirvana, Green Day and Muse.

This is a photo of Matt Bellamy from Muse. It is a mid shot with a bit of a low angle. He is holding an electric guitar, which connotes the rock genre as an electric guitar is an instrument used in rock music. The image is in black and white.

Genre

The genre of my music magazine is rock. Rock music originated in the 1960's in the USA and the UK. Rock music typically features rock groups using electric guitars, bass guitars and drums. There are several sub-genres of rock music, such as blues rock, alternative rock, country rock and indie rock. Some of the biggest rock bands ever include The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, U2 and Pink Floyd.

Flat plans for double page spread

Here are my flat plans for my feature spread: