Front Cover Analysis
The first magazine I will be analysing is an issue of Clash.
Layout- The route of the eye for this front cover goes through the Masthead followed by the image and then the main coverline which is Paul McCartney’s name. These things have been place along the route of the eye as they are the most important things featured on the front cover as they are what appeals to the target audience so most of your attention needs to be drawn to them.
Nothing has been placed in the terminal area, this allows for the main coverline to take the main attention and allows the front cover to also look ordered and simple. Seen in the primary optical area is the first letter of the masthead with “student special” above it, this attracts students and younger people to the magazine as its offering to give them essential university survival tips and information. Placed in the dead areas are other less important coverlines, they are placed here as it doesn’t interfere with the picture and still allows for the main coverline to take the main attention while still showing other artists that may interest the readers are included in the issue.
The main coverline is across the bottom of the whole front cover, as its situated along the route of the eye it is the last thing the person see’s while looking at the magazine allowing all there attention to be focused on it. The other coverlines are situated around Paul McCartney’s head, again to show what else is included but with out effecting the main story. This shows that the article about Paul is important this is because when this magazine was released it was John Lennon’s 70th birthday and he was talking about life with him in the Beatles. Around his name it says ‘Splits, muggings, feuds and fury’ this suggests that he’s going to talk about it in detail and maybe reveal some secrets which again attracts the reader as they want to know more about what he’s said.
The hotspots of the magazine are around McCartney’s face with two being on his eyes, this draws attention to his eyes and as his has a blank facial expression his eyes and wrinkles make him look like he knows a lot and that he has many story’s to tell which entices the audience in again.
Images
The main image is of Paul McCartney as its John Lennon’s 70th birthday and he is a former friend and band member from the Beatles. The picture is in black and white with a plain grey background. The shot is a close up which shows Pauls face front on. The use of this type of shot with the black and white picture draws attention to his eyes and facial features. Again this is to give the impression that he has a lot to tell and that he may be sharing it in the article.
There are no extra images on the front cover, this is because the magazines layout is very ordered and by adding images it would ruin the feel of the magazine. Also extra images may take attention away from the main coverline which is the most important part of the magazine.
Colour
The colour scheme on the front cover of this magazine is consistent, there are only two colours that are used which are white and lime green. The lime green stands out well against the black and white picture and due to its colour attracts your attention. White is used as it not only goes well with the green but also shows up on the image while not being as eye catching as the lime so it doesn’t overpower the cover. The colour usage is limited and this gives it a mature feel as the magazine is also ordered in its layout. Green and white are non gender specific colours allowing the magazine to appeal to anyone opening up to a larger audience. The use of font and colours together allows certain coverlines and item to stand out such as the mast head and main story, this is because the fonts look bright against the picture of Paul McCartney and they’re also large. For the smaller articles the colour alternates on each line making it easier to read a differentiate between different articles and bands at a quick glance.
Covers
Double Page
Conventions
From my magazine analysis I have found that music magazine follow simple conventions that I will to attempt to include in my magazine. These include; an ordered layout, uncluttered pages with minimal but large images, a range of artists of different styles and genres are advertised and included, text is often in sans serif to follow they uncluttered feel and the picture on the front cover doesn’t usually have a busy background allowing most of the attention to be drawn to the articles instead.
Institutions
Websites for NME:
NME is published by leading magazine publishers IPC media, which is owned by Time inc who is owned by Time Warner. Time Warner is the worlds biggest corporation and is the second highest in terms of profit. The IPC website gives information into what it produces including 85 media brands, there print brands reaching 27 million UK adults. Their online brands also attract the attention of 20 million user a month. They have three main audiences, men, mass market women and upmarket women.
They print well known mens magazines (IPC Inspire) such as Decanter and Horse & Hound as well Nuts and NME. While the mass market women (IPC Connect) include Look, Now, Chat and women. TV entertainment is also in this section and magazines such as TV time and What’s on TV are also part of their portfolio. IPC Southbank (upmarket women’s division) contains more upper class expensive magazines such as Marie Claire. Lifestyle brands like Woman & home and home interest which include Ideal Home.
Internet Research
Through internet research I’ve have found that almost all music magazines are aimed at men and the ones aimed at females are for children. The magazine that is most like the one I will be making is NME as its based around indie music but also incorporates other styles. I would like to produce a female version of this magazine as NME is aimed at 18-25 years olds; however my target group is younger, although they will both be aimed at the student demographic. I have found out that over half the readers are ABC1’s which supports the reasoning behind the layout of the magazine and different products on the market alongside NME. NME follows the latest trends, fads and anything that is popular to help draw in customers. The adverts included in the magazine show this as they’re for clothing to computers. I will use NME to help me design a female version by taking notice of the layout which is ordered and stylish. It would also be sensible to use gender specific colours to help show who my magazine is aimed at. This information will help me make sure that my magazine is aimed at my target audience through use of layout, colour and advertising as well as style.
Plan of Magazine
Fonts and Colours
I will try to use the same fonts on the contents page as on the front cover, the mastheads will be the same fonts on each and the list of what’s included in the magazine will be in the smallest font with the subheadings being the middle sized one.
For the double page spread I’ll use a simple sans-serif font for the main text and a different font that will portray the artist’s personality and style.
The fonts I have chosen to use:
Draft of text
For my double page spread I have decided to do an interview with a small introduction to the artist at the beginning. The interview will start by covering the artist’s music and then be followed by a mix of questions about different things such as their personal life, how they’ve adjusted to fame as well as their style. Below is a draft of the text that will appear on the spread.
Meet 17 – year – old Allison Palomo. Born in a small town on the outskirts of Cambridge she moved to London a year ago to follow her dream in the music industry. She’s been singing since she could talk and playing the guitar ever since she was six years old. “My dad bought a guitar home one day and I was hooked instantly, I knew I wanted people to hear my music from that day on” she says with a massive smile across her face. Its obvious she’s passionate about her music from our interview and with her raw talent and unique take on today’s indie pop scene we’re sure she’ll make it big.
We’ve heard that you’ve just made a single with Florence and the Machine, what’s it like working with Flo? Amazing, she taught me so much. I’m still very new to the music scene so I’m still finding my feet at the moment but she gave me some great tips and she’s so down to earth. I’m so grateful that I’m working with people like her so early on.
You grew up in the 90’s do you think you’ve taken any inspiration from music from that era?
Oh, no! 90’s music is so cringe worthy, don’t you think? It’s all pop and cheese (laughs). Although I do like to listen to a bit of house music every now and again, my dads a fan but he likes the more ‘old school’ stuff.
You’re first single “Bright Lights” was released earlier this year and reach number two in the charts, what’s the story behind the song?
I know, how exciting! Its just about my journey to where I am today, moving 200 miles away from my family at the age of 16 and trying to find my way in music, I’ve still got a long way to go, I’m only just starting out!
You’ve already been noticed for your girly yet unique fashion sense how does that make you feel? I’m not sure really, its still really weird seeing my picture in magazines I used read instead of doing my homework! I did read somewhere that I got called a fashion icon and I just thought I’m far from that! I just put on whatever I’m feeling and go.
When you were younger you moved schools a lot, do you think its effected you?When I was little I got bullied a lot because my parents didn’t have that much money, so I moved to get away from them but where ever I went there were more. I would say its made me a stronger more confident person and looking back it was a hard time but kids will always pick on someone, it just happened to be me.
In the future who would you like to see yourself collaborating with? Loads of people, from Example to Tinchy to Taylor Swift. Everyone’s so inspirational these days and they’re all at the top of their game. I just want to learn and grow as much as an artist as possible so one day I’ll be where they are today.
You’ve just finished your first album is due to be released soon, describe it in three words.
Ooh thats a tough one! I’m going to go with... Fresh, unique and uplifting!
Allison, you’ve been amazing to interview so just one last question, who’s your main source of inspiration? My dad definitely! He raised me on his own after my mum left and gave me my first guitar. He was the one that got be hooked on music and taught me to follow my dreams and kept me going when I felt like giving up. I owe a lot too him.
Photo Plan
Dates | Location | People Involved | Equipment | Props | Costume |
Mid January | My house – March | Allison Neugebauer and myself taking photo’s | Camera, Laptop for uploading pictures, editing software. | A chair, guitar. | Cream/camel clothing either a dress or jumpsuit. Fur hat, beads, flower headbands, boots. |
Mid January | My house/Wooded area | Same as above | Camera, Laptop for uploading pictures, editing software. | Chair, table. | Camel chinos, blouse, skinny jeans, blazer, heels and boots. Lots of bracelets. |
Photo’s that have already been taken | Concerts and Festivals | Famous Bands and solo artists | Laptop. | Microphone, speakers, instruments. | What they were wearing at the time. |
The first set of photo’s will be taken at my house where an empty room will be used, a range of backgrounds will be used, a light one, a dark one and some with things in the background. This is to give the idea of the photos being taken professionally in a studio. The clothing chosen will match the feel and vibe of the photos – stylish but individual, following an indie theme. In the first set of photo’s I want my model to look more girly. Props will be used including an acoustic guitar rather than a electric one as I want my artist to produce acoustic more raw music that involves showing vocal ability rather than just making generic pop songs, this is because I want to introduce different styles to the popular music that is always heard.
The second set of photos will be taken at a different time to the first set due to time schedules and convenience. In these photos my model, Allison, will be wearing more relaxed clothing such as trousers and jeans this is to show a different side to her and that she doesn’t follow just one style and likes to experiment with both her look and clothing. I would like to experiment and take some photos outside if the weather permits as I think it will add variety to the photos, stopping them from all looking the same and again showing a different side to the artist.
The reason I have chosen to use a female model and dress them in feminine clothing is due to the fact that my target audience is females and I would like to draw them in as much as possible and I think that by using a stylish girl this will work better than using a male.
The third group of photos are ones I’ve already taken at gigs and festivals; these will be used on my contents page and possibly my main cover as I may make them the poster pictures. The main artists I’ll be using include Ed Sheeran, Example and Tinchy Stryder as they all produce different genres of music but are all well known.
Making the Magazine
First Draft
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Media Evaluation
