Final Copies

My Evaluation

Contents Page- Drafts & Final

Draft 1;

Draft 2;

• Added a coloured box beneath main images
• Added circle with page numbers of the article with the model on (Kerrang! did this with their Slash article)

Draft 3;

• Changed image on cover as the model smoking doesn't make him look like a rolemodel
• Added a coloured box under the 'main article' subheading to make it the most obvious sub-heading section so the reader doesn't have to search through all the text to find it

Final draft;

• Added an image of myself by the editor's letter to make it more personal
• Added 2 images from another photoshoot by the side of the subheadings to make it look more professional (Kerrang! had multiple images from seperate shoots to relate to the articles)

Contents Page- Inital Planning

Contents Page- Images

As well as my photos from my shoot with my front cover model I took a shoot of models Nathan, Helena, Sam and Jordan and made them look as if they were part of a band. These are my edits that I may use:

Since I plan to include an editors' letter, here are some images of me I may use to go with it:

Contents Page- Research Into Similar Media Texts

Kerrang! contents analysis:

NME contents analysis:

Common conventions:

• Highlighted page numbers in a different colour
• Included brief descriptions of some articles
• Used sub-headings
• Used a symbol to indicate the articles on the front cover
• Used a masculine colourscheme
• Similar fonts for article titles
• A subscription feature was used
• Banner-style title

DPS Feedback

Do the pages engage the reader’s interest immediately- if ‘yes’, why do you think this is. If ‘no’ wire some suggestions to improve this quality

•          Yes- smiling model and bright colours
•          Bright yellow stands out
•          Similar photo to front cover
•          Good, large images
•          Yes, bright colours

What does the heading reveal about the potential reader?

•          They want to know more about rockstars and details about their life
•         Someone who likes to hear about success
•          They like the following celebs news

Who do you think this magazine is targeting and how can you tell?

•          Teenagers- girls and boys, gossip about girlfriends but male artist may appeal to guys
•          Female- love object, gossip about the new girlfriend. Male- hard hitting introduction
•         Girls- about his girlfriend

Offer one comment about the use of images. It can either be positive or constructive.

•          Good image- eye contact
•          Good image, clear, but heading covering too much of his head
•          Like the fact there are 2 images from separate photoshoots

Offer one comment about the use of language. It can either be positive or constructive.

•          Chatty and casual, really appeals to target audience
•          Good story
•          Simple and clear, easy to read

Rate out of 10:

•          10- looks very professional
•          10
•          9

Double Page Spread Drafts

Inital draft:

• Experimented with image & text placement but decided against these changes from my plans as they didn't fit convention or look professional.

2nd draft:

• This draft was also slight experimentation and develops to draft 3 where I add images
• On the right-hand side the black box is where text was going to go before I changed my mind
• I used a quote as the title. I liked this but it is more appropriate for a standfirst rather than the headline as it doesn't give an insight to the article

 3rd draft:

• Here I have added my main images. The images have eye-contact with the audience which makes the article personal
• I made the beginning of the article slightly larger and in bold to create a standfirst/introduction
• I also used a dropcap which both NME & Kerrang! used
• I have included 3 articles in this draft: the main article; the Q&A; and 'The Girlfriend' article.

Here is the text from the main article:

Growing up with my 5 brothers and 2 sisters was tough, especially since both my parents were unemployed and we lived in the rough East End. I was the oldest out of all my siblings so it was my responsibility to look after them and provide for our family. My parents found it hard to keep jobs as my Mum has M.E and my dad had some time in prison on his record. From the age of 14, I started to busk with my acoustic guitar I won in a school raffle. I had always been interested in music ever since I was a toddler but busking was a whole new story. I wrote songs (some were pretty terrible) and tried to play some by ear since I couldn't afford sheet music. I didn’t get much money at first, maybe a tenner everyday for 8-10 hours if I was lucky, but after about 6 months of busking in the underground I had some sort of fanbase. I had regulars who would stop to hear me play; I finally felt appreciated. After about a year of busking, when I was 15, I was approached by a short man wearing a suit and tie- he looked like one of those busy London business men who had somewhere to be. He said to me “you’re brilliant! I’ve been looking for a guy like you. You’re different and I like your style”. He grabbed the sleeve of my camouflage jacks and lightly kicked my 3-inch rise creepers with his smart brogue.  “I need someone like you. I’m Ted Smith, owner of Let’s Rock Records- let’s talk”. I grabbed my guitar and hat full of coppers and we headed for the nearest café. After a long talk and an exchange of details we agreed to meet again in his office in the heart of London to write up a contract and produce some tracks for an EP.

On the 23^rd May 2000 we signed a contract and he hooked me up with top song writer Sam Stone to write a real song that my audience could relate to- ‘Cry’, The song is about my childhood and growing up on benefits with 10 hungry mouths to feed. It really pulled on the heartstrings to record but after a month it was done and it was released as a single on 30^th June after some heavy advertising in magazines, newspapers and posters around London. After 2 weeks my single had sold over 100,000 copies and it went to number 5 on the charts. I had finally made my parents proud.

12 years down the line I’m now a Rock sensation with a perfect life. My life is sweet. I have a perfect girlfriend (Mollie), a flash Mercedes, houses in 3 countries and my proud family who see me at every concert. Not only are they proud of me, but I’m proud to be me. If it wasn’t for my determination I wouldn’t be where I am today.

In a month (1^st January) I’m releasing my new album ‘Don’t Give Up’ featuring Metro Station and Paramore and going on tour with these guys and my amazing girlfriend- she’s even supporting me on 2 of my tour dates! The tickets will be out 10^th January and I have dates in Dublin, Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester and 2 in London. Tickets start from £20 and I’m even selling backstage passes to meet me, Hayley Williams and Trace Cyrus.

Final draft:

• In my final draft I added an image to 'The Girlfriend' mini-article
• I moved the main headline up to stop covering as much of the artist's face as possible
• I added 'exclusive interview' which was in my plan

Double Page Spread Planning

Initial computer plan:

Initial paper plan:

Main design features:

• Image takes up all of left page (convention of music magazines)
• "Exclusive interview!"- exclamative, makes the audience want to read the article as it is exclusive to my magazine
• Title split into two and tilted at different angles- angled title similar to Kerrang!
• Main article split into two sections by a pull-quote and an image- breaks up the large quantity of text
• Large amount of text- my audience is passionate about music so they are interested about the artist and want to find out more about him
• Second article- a Q&A, gives multiple perspectives about the artist

Double Page Spread Research

Kerrang! analysis:

 NME analysis:

Conventions in both Kerrang! and NME:

• Used an obvious colourscheme
• Main cover image took up the whole of the left-hand image (K!- had no puffs due to studio shoot, NME- used 3 puffs on image to break up from busy backdrop)
• K! broke up text using highlighted questions in Q&A whilst NME used images and pull-quotes to break up text
• NME used a side-article to make page look busy whilst K! filled the right-hand page with one article
• Main headline for both pages was bold and stood out from image and text

Audience Feedback for Front Cover

Does the front cover engage the reader's interest immediately? If 'yes', why do you think this is. If 'no' write 3 suggestions to improve the quality?

1. Yes- lots of colours (good colour scheme), model looks directly into the camera, exciting variation of fonts
2. Yes- use of colours, model staring straight at you
3. Yes- catchy title, recognised artists

What do the sell lines reveal about the potential reader?

1. The bands included e.g. YMAS and The Indigo Girls suggest they like rock music
2. They like rock music
3. The audience are predominantly male but some female interest

Who do you think this magazine is targeting and how can you tell?

1. Male & female, age 16-25 (model could be love object, neutral colour scheme)
2. Rock indie fans because of the artists & rock guitar
3. Male & some female

Offer one comment about the use of image. It can either be positive or constructive.

1. Can't think of any criticism
2. Model engaging with audience
3. Clear engaging image

Offer one comment about the use of language. It can either be positive or constructive.

1. Could put more detail about what's going to be inside e.g. give more hints about articles
2. "TUNE IN!"- engages with audience
3. All artists that interest people

Score out of 10

1. 8
2. 6
3. 9

Front Cover- Evolution From Start to Finish

I have put the model over the top of the magazine logo, making him seem the most important thing on the page. This is a common convention of magazines. I also used a customised barcode (this is a found image) as it reinforces the theme of music by being a tape. Similarly to my school magazine I used a puff in the upper right hand corner with the price in.

Here I have reduced the brightness of the model and increased the contrast to bring out the pattern of his camo jacket and the deep red of the guitar. I did this by making the model a seperate layer to the background of the image so the background would not darken & have an increased contrast. This makes him stand out more. I also included a code in the bottom left hand corner which is similar to Kerrang! Magazine as it is a code to download the magazine onto an iPad/iPod. This keeps the magazine up with current technology and appeals to the younger generation, who is my target audience. In addition, I put in a feature of a free guitar picks which are limited edition to entice the audience into buying my magazine.

On this copy I included a banner at the bottom which is a common convention on music magazines and nearly all have a banner somewhere on the cover. I have also included a description of the main article about 'Will Coleman' to give the reader an idea of what the article will be about, this makes them want to read it and know more. I put the free guitar picks coverline in a banner under the model's head as it uses up white space and looks more professional than a coverline (also makes it stand out).

In this image I further edited the model by airbrushing his face to remove any blemishes. I also included a coverline about Atomic Sound. I made the article about the band splitting up as it is gossip that many people would want to get involved in and can talk about with friends- therefore the magazine is becoming a social event. 

I included a description of the code that allows the reader to download to their phone- however I took the code off the cover in the next draft due to them being seperated by the barcode. I would also include the code in the contents page so there is no point in the code even being on the cover. I also altered the logo I used for the Sex Pistols (found image) as it was pixelated and blurry. This logo is much better and is one we all know. I also added colour to the bottom banner to make it look more professional.

This is my final draft. To make the magazine appeal to females I edited the 'Kings of Leon' sell line to 'The Indigo Girls'- a classic girl band. This band would appeal to my female target audience as it is relatable to them. I also included a coverline 'We Style Paramore!' which both adds an exclamative to the cover to add a variation of linguistic techniques and it adds the feminine element to the cover- fashion and styling. Finally, I slightly altered the puff in the upper right hand corner as it was too prominent and was more noticeable and bigger than the model's face. I made it lighter, no outline and behind the banner.

Images

Front Cover

Why I chose that model

Has the rock image;

·         Messy hair

·         Has a wide range of rebellious clothing: studded items; creepers; camouflage & leather jackets etc.

Not bothered about appearance- will do poses and expressions some people may not because of being self-conscious

See often- convenient and no risk of sudden cancellation of shoot as we could always do it on another date

Why they are wearing their outfit

·         Rebellious image

·         In fashion at the moment (camo jackets and creepers)- makes it relatable to the audience and the model will also seem like an icon that one could look up to

Why I chose that location

·         Challenged convention- being in an abandoned warehouse it isn’t then clean-shot, studio image often used. Also gave me the freedom to do the shoot anytime and not having to bring the model into school during term-time

·         Props- In the warehouse there were abandoned vehicles, tables, chairs, drinks machines, broken windows and generally unkempt. This meant I could use props within my photoshoot: the front cover image I used in the end was taken whilst the model was standing at the back of a van, this gave me the opportunity to experiment with shot-types: low angle; high angle (I stand on the van and him stand below); straight on shots etc.

·         The warehouse consisted of 8 separate buildings which meant I could find different backgrounds and textures that could be used in the contents and d.p.s as well as the front cover

·         Easy to get to- would be no complications in terms of transport

Favourite Images:

These are my favourite images as the model is in focus and there is space around the sides of him and over his head for the sell lines and cover lines to go

Final image:

Double Page Spread

I used images from the same shoot as my front cover, as in music magazines shoots are normally kept similar/they use the same photographs to portray continuity.

Favourite images:

Final Image:

Initial Ideas- Moodboard, Reader Profile & Sketch

Audience Research- SurveyMonkey Results

Response-

• Rock Out & Tune In were the most popular in my survey: I think this was because of 'The Buzz' having no connotation to a music magazine
• The other results I recieved were not appropriate and were joke answers
• 'Rock Out' sounds very cheesy and may not use because it's cliche
• 'Tune In' relates to music as many teenagers 'tune in' to the radio to listen to their music (possible idea- could mention within my magazine about having a radio station to make it similar to 'Kerrang!' magazine)

Response-

• Since my readership want a magazine aimed at females I could use a male model on the front cover as it implies he is a 'love object' to the audience. This would also capture a male readership as they could see him as an 'idol' or 'inspiration

Response-

• The most popular magazine was 'NME' but only by one vote
• All the magazines were popular in my research so I will combine research from Q, Kerrang!, Vibe and NME in order to appeal to the biggest audience possible
• The 2 'other' answers were names of pop bands- irrelevant to question

Response-

• By far the most popular answer was the image. This shows that my magazine should have a 'famous' artist on the cover as he/she will draw the audience to the mag. I will have to chose my location and model carefully in order to make the use of image effective
• 'people' was also another answer, this reinforces my point above

Response-

• The most popular was obvious again- 'black, red, white'. This is a very common colourscheme used by most rock magazines as the colour 'red' connotes danger and rebellion; a common image my readership would want

Response-

• Most of my readership want a new generation rock magazine to be released as it is modern and fresh (something teenagers want to read as it is new information to them and something they can discuss with friends)
• With this, I can style my magazine in a fun, exciting way as this will engage the audience into reading about a cool, new artist 

Research into Similar Media Texts

Final Drafts of Magazine + Peer Feedback

Feedback:

Does the front cover engage the reader's interest? Why and how?

• Bright colours are eye-catching
• Eye contact from the student
• Distinct colourscheme

I agree with the feedback given and I believe I could not further improve my front cover from the feedback.

What do the sell lines reveal about the reader?

• They strive for success
• Want to combine school with a social life and job- they are an average student
• They are into humanities- Psychology AS for example

This is exactly what I wanted back from my questionnaire and I'm glad I did not alter the sell lines from my inital draft as they worked well on this copy.

The next questions were 'who do you think the magazine is targeting and how can you tell?' and 'what does the representation in the image and/or in the language tell us about the potential reader?' but these got very similar results to the last question.

Offer one comment about the use of image:

• Quality could be improved
• Like the eye contact and dark clothing (does not take away any focus from model & cover lines)
• Good composition- room for sell lines and masthead

For the image I used an SLR which is good quality, however I did not use a professional backdrop as I did not have access to a white one (a black one would be inappropriate for a magazine as an institution would not be willing to print excessive amounts of black due to expense) nor did I use any professional lighting, this is what let the quality down. None of the other responses say the quality is bad so it would be okay to use this image as it is not that noticeable.

Offer one comment about the use of language:

• Good sell lines, range of linguistic techniques
• Informal- suitable for school magazine
• Too many exclamatives (slightly cheesey)

The comment about exclamatives is fair as 4/6 of my coverlines are exclamatives. I could improve this by using another rhetorical question or a declarative.

Do the pages engage the reader's interest immediately? How could this be improved?

• Yes, lots of text and images
• Good use of highlighting cover lines
• Relatable images, could reduce text size and add more?

The text size is 18 which is huge for a contents page. They are definitely right, I could reduce the font. This would make room for more images and an editors letter.

Does the contents page suggest this is a busy and exciting magazine to read? Offer a suggestion to help improve this quality

• The amount of text shows the magazine is busy 
• Use of rhetorical questions & exclamatives
• Way 'contents' is split up is exciting (needs to be larger than magazine logo)

I do not need to alter the amount of text as it is sufficient. The page layout is also effective as there is limited white space.

Are there several subheadings to divide the contents into sections? How effective are these subheadings and how can they be improved?

• Yes- bold, easily visible
• Could be made a different font to stand out further
• Yes, made good use of subheadings

The subheadings are the same font as the rest of my text (except from the subheadings), changing the text would be effective as it would stand out more and make it more exciting visually.

Who do you think this magazine is targeting and how can you tell?

• Not obvious it is targeted at 6th form in comparison to front cover
• Students from FSG
• Pupils and teachers

I have not effectively designed my contents as the target audience is not clear. I attempted to target 6th formers but I put in general articles rather than those targeted at the 6th form.

Offer one comment about use of images

• Good images, relevant to school
• Appropriate amount of images for a contents page
• Could use more images of 6th form students

The images I have used are very general and barely apply to 6th form students. In order to improve this I could take images of friends in school.

Offer one comment about use of language

• Appropriate articles
• Good
• 6th form events???

The articles are general, also. A way to improve them is to include events specifically for 6th form as suggested.

Give one comment about the editors letter

•  There is no editors letter

Every magazine has an editors letter but I didn't include one. For my contents page to meet convention I need to include one.

Images- Original, Manipulation and Final

Here are my original, unmanipulated images:

I have chosen image P1110006 because it was portrait (most suitable for a magazine cover), both models are smiling and there is minimal shadow on both their faces:

In my manipulation I experimented with using both models but found it was hard to make room for coverlines due to there not being any room either side of the models. Instead of using this image I decided to use P1110005 (image to the left in the printscreen). This way there is space either side of the models:

The model on the left moved during the photo so I cropped it down to just the right model:

Here I have edited my image by making the background whiter, airbrushing her skin, making her eyes brighter and lips redder:

Here are all my coverlines & images added from my initial design of my front cover: