the final drafts sharon

magazine drafts 2 sharon

magazine drafts 1 sharon

selection and rejection sharon

front cover

I chose to use this photo for my front cover because Amber is looking straight into the camera as the image is sharp and well framed also the rule of thirds is used quite effectively i decided to change the background to snow because then it fits with the time of year.

I decided not to use this image of Amber for she is not look at the camera and the image is slightly blurred and due to the fact that the frontcover is meant to catch the audiences attention i decided against this photo

I chose to use this image of amber for the contents page because it is a image that is sharp and the background is straight.

I decided against this photo because of the main reason that the image is blurred and not a good use of the camera.

I decided to use this image of Kyran for the main photo on the double page spread because of the image being in great focus and the shot show exactly what Kyran is doing in the photo aswell as the bachground being straight and framed well.

I decided against this image because the image is completely blurred so that you can just see Kyran.

I decided to use this image for the smaller image because it shows kyrans personality very well and is the background is slightly blurred so that the readers attention is on Kyran.

I decided not to use this image because on kyrans head being turn too much to the right.

mise en scene sharon

For my front cover image i decided to use Amber dressed in a purple shirt with a stripy cardigen and scarf on. I decided to do this because it gives her a relaxed look and the colour that she is wearing are not too bright to look at also in the photo shoot we give her a red guitar this is so it goes with the logos colours.

For the main photo on the double page spread photos i decided to have kyran wear red to keep with the colour of our logo also he has some headphones which are purple this is because in the articule there is a question about the headphones. I decided to give kyran a bass guitar because he learnt that as a young child so i found it apropprite to have him playing the guitar.

For the smaller image on the double page spread i decided that kyran should wear his skeleton top that also shows his heart because we get to look in to the person who and what he is at the moment.

double page spread analysis Sharon

this double page spread is picture lead because there is more images than text. The images are in black and white because it fits with the logo colours that are used in the logo due to this that is why some of the writing is red. There is a fact side in the white white box this is done to make it stand out in the aritucle the head line of this double page spread is a quote out of the articule with a small headline underneath it. In each of the images there is a strapline to give the readers some information about the images and how the people of the images are.

Analysis of Survey - Lucy Marshall

(again, was previously uploaded but for some reasong dissapeared off the blog)

Analysis of Survey Results

Lucy Marshall

We started off my asking the most basic question there is: Are you male or female? And our survey has said that we asked more female than male, which could alter the results slightly, but the chances of that happening are very slim. I then asked the question: What is your age group? And we found out that most of the people we were asking were between 14-16 and 10-13 with a few older at 20+ and 17-19. This, in a way, could be beneficial towards the results as I feel that the age range the magazine should be aiming for is the age group 13-16, so we will get more answers from the appropriate age range.

                We then briefed them of what the magazine will include (roughly as this could be changed due to the results, however, this gives them somewhat of an indication of what they should be picturing in their heads) and then we gave them a list of potential names, including: MusiMag, Newstar, Atune and MusicMadness. The ‘MusicMadness’ proved itself popular with a whole ten votes, this being the highest one of all, second in line was ‘Atune’ with nine votes, then ‘MusiMag’ with 2 and finally, ‘Newstar’ with none. This obviously means that the public (our target market) prefer the masthead ‘MusicMadness’ as they feel it is ‘catchy’ and relates well to the magazine contents.

                The fourth question was on colour schemes. We gave them a choice of five different colour pairs, and they were to tick the one they thought fitted the magazine the most and which one, obviously, they liked the most. We gave them the options of: Brown and Pink, brown and Blue, purple and Yellow, green and Purple and finally burgundy and cream. We thought about the choices we were wanting to give them, and decided to go for a couple of contemporary and more popular choices (green and purple etc.) to more sophisticated and refined colour choices (burgundy and cream) to see which ones they thought seemed right. This will most likely be down to instinct as 13-16 year olds who were quickly filling out a survey on something they knew nothing about, probably wouldn’t put a lot of deep thought and theory behind their answers. The results were slightly surprising but thinking about it, it did make sense as the highly chosen colour scheme was green and purple. This modern colour choice will be difficult to fit in with the theme and style of the design in which I plan to create, however, this will have to be taken into account as, at the end of the day, the magazine needs to look good to the potential customer.

                We then asked them what they thought was a suitable price range. We gave them the options of £1-2.00, £2-3.00, £3-4.00 and £4-5.00. Again, most went for the obvious choice which was the £1-2.00 range. This would prove to be a difficult selling price if the new magazine were to go and be published, as we would need to take into account the publishing prices, advertisement and for the interviews inside; all costs money, money that we wouldn’t be getting because of such a low price range. It’s instinct to go as low as that; the cheaper the better is all they will be thinking, but we must take into account the other prices for publishing etc. as I have already mentioned.

                We then asked a huge question. What would they like to see as the main article in an edition of the magazine. We gave them a choice of the following: Interviews with popular musicians and tour dates, monthly competitions and handy tips, puzzles, reviews and finally learn to play your own instrument and easy chords sheets. We asked them to tick the ones they liked the most (this allowed them to tick more than one). We got a good response to the ‘interviews with popular musicians and tour dates’, ‘monthly competitions and handy tips’ and finally ‘learn to play your own instrument and easy chord sheets’, ‘interviews with popular musicians and tour dates’ being the most popular with 13 votes and the other two second popular with nine votes each. This will help for the main article as it gives us and indication to what our target group actually wants in their magazine, and lets us have a lot more freedom when creating our magazine.

                Favourite genres of music were asked for the participants. We gave them a list of different genres of music, and asked them to tick their favourites (more than one if they wished). We got a rather big response from indie, alternative and rock, so this gives us the ideas that we should include the genres more than the others (the others will be included to make sure all requirements and tasted are reached).

                After that, we wrote a list of different ways and times people may buy magazines, and asked them to tick the relevant ones, the choices being:  I buy magazines every month without fail, I buy magazines whenever I feel like it, I order magazines online, I buy magazines from a shop/newsagents and I never buy magazines. Our largest amounts of ticks were for the ‘I buy magazines from a shop/ newsagents’ and even this doesn’t take a genius to work out. Most people so go to the newsagents and shops to buy their magazines, so we should make our magazines available there.

                To conclude the survey, and this analysis, we asked them one last question: Would you rather buy cheaper magazines without freebies, or dearer magazines with freebies? And most of them answered that they would rather buy cheaper magazines without freebies. This again relates back to the £1-2.00 price, and how they would rather pay as little as possible.

By Lucy Marshall

Analysis of Q magazine - Lucy Marshall

(Was uploaded previously but for some reason, dissapeared off the blog.)

I am analysing the May 2008 issue of ‘Q’ magazine. The masthead for this particular magazine stands out as more of a logo than anything else. The letter ‘Q’ is always in the same font, (with a serif) same font size and same colour, and this creates an effective logo which people and fans will immediately recognise. The colour scheme is mainly made up of reds, blacks and whites; these colours are loud and they scream out to the potential buyers ‘buy me!’ which is of course the aim of the overall colour scheme. 

                The main lead fits in really well with the main photograph on the front and acts as a good anchorage. The picture of Madonna is highlighted with the large red letters and the lead up to it (how seven popular groups of people interview her). There are a few other leads, the names of different popular artists included in the magazine, just to get the reader interested but it is obvious that the one focusing on Madonna is the main lead.

                This front cover has hardly any white space; there is more text than picture taking up the space and this makes it look very busy and, I think, glamorous which also fits in with the photograph on the front as she is wearing silver which is a glamorous colour. So we now know that the mode of address is glam, fashionable, pop, beauty etc… this is what the magazine says to the audience. The sell line of ‘Britain’s biggest music magazine’ also talks to the buyers saying ‘buy me’.

                The house style is the same simple layout of the masthead in the top, left corner, the photograph more to the right and text surrounding it. The same colours used regularly. There isn’t much of a border visible as the designer would obviously want to fit as much of the text and information as possible.  The price of the magazine is £3.90 which is an ideal price for such a good magazine with so much information in it. There are also a few puffs, expressing more important parts of the magazine, such as the ‘196 page bumper issue’ because that’s what they want the potential buyers to look at first.

                There is an overlay and a wraparound which makes sure that the white space is made to good use.

By Lucy Marshall

                                

Front Cover Final Draft, Lucy Marshall

Music Magazine, Issue 36, draft 2 of front contents page, Lucy Marshall

Music Magazine, Issue 36, draft 2 of front cover, Lucy Marshall

DPS Editorial, draft 1, Lucy Marshall

Beginner artists are constantly being told that they will never ‘make it’ in the music industry by others who don’t believe. Hundreds of talented young people, just like you, continue to play at live gigs, write their own songs, and get their albums out there for other rising stars to be inspired by.

 “It just takes a little bit of effort and belief” says seventeen year old superstar, Freya, who is currently travelling, at a rather quick speed, towards her second world tour this year after also releasing her debut album, ‘Treecul’, which soared to number one in the charts, above Rihanna, and Beyoncé.

            Freya hit the public with her first number one single, ‘Someone Someday’ last year and has been working busy on her debut album. This was more successful than what she had predicted, selling over 10,000,000 copies that year! The seventeen year old plays guitar, piano and banjo, and has supported acts such as Taylor Swift, Radiohead, Coldplay and Paramore. Her first ever tour, ‘Treecul for Bees’ was one of the most successful tours in the last ten years, selling out everywhere within the first 24 hours of the tickets being released.

            We managed to catch up with Freya this month, in-between her busy and hectic lifestyle, to ask her a few questions and to get you guys some handy hints for making a career out of music.

MusicMaddness: So Freya, how old was you when you first realised you wanted to become a singer-songwriter?

Freya: well, I was fifteen when I started playing the guitar, and I’d always been a singer, but it wasn’t really that serious about it until I’d turned sixteen. That’s when it really kicked in.

 MM: So, did you have lessons for the guitar?

Freya: I had about two, well, I’d always been the kind of kid who, y’know, wanted to learn the electric and be in a band, rock out all night long kinda thing, so, I asked my dad for an electric guitar, and we made a deal. He said, ‘You learn the acoustic, and I’ll get you an electric.’ So I started with and acoustic, and taught myself through old chord books and YouTube, until I realised that that’s what I wanted to do.

MM: When did you start writing your own material?

Freya: Well, I’d always found it difficult to write about ‘my life’ and ‘love stories’ because I was a pretty sheltered teen, and I didn’t let anyone, like boys, upset me too much, and I still don’t! I was and am rather mature for my age, so I wouldn’t go all dramatic on a minor fallout haha. I did start making up my own little stories, to write songs about when I was fifteen, but it really took over me when I was sixteen, and it was almost instinct to write them.

 MM: We know you started to sing and play at random pubs and clubs when you were fifteen. Where was your first live gig and what did it feel like?

Freya: It was at a small open microphone night in a village next to my own; my dad had persuaded me to go and sing there, and I was so terrified. The thing is, I had always been a shy, quiet girl, and I hated singing in front of people, even my family! So, to this day, I still don’t really know how Id managed to get up there that day and sing in front of all those people!

MM: Most of our readers are young musicians who wish to be just like you one day, what tips can you give them to ‘curve the nerves’?

Freya: Hey everyone! Well, even though I look totally at ease (apparently) when I’m playing live, inside, my heart is pretty much doing backflips! Everyone gets nervous, you just have to learn how to curve and morph that fear into adrenaline, and let it shine in your performance!

MM: Your debut album, Treecul, was released last year, and beat Rhianna and Beyonce in the charts, what was your reaction to this?

Freya: To this day, I am still so shocked and, grateful that so many people enjoy listening to my music. The day I found out, I just wanted to flip, and like, do summersaults and eat too much ice cream, and hug every single one of my fans… I just couldn’t believe it.

MM: The album itself, what’s it all about?

Freya: Well, I originally came up with the title, ‘Treecul’, to represent a struggle, as I imagine it hard to walk through a bath of treacle! Haha! But, in all honesty, it was extremely difficult to get to where I am now, I was only a normal girl, I mean I still am, but, my family didn’t have endless pits of money, which they could throw at a recording studio for my demo… I had to graft to get to where I am now. It was a constant struggle, but it was all great experience for what I do now. At some points I’d give up, and say ‘I’m never going to make it,’ but my friends and family just kept pushing me, and boy, am I glad they did! So the album is about knock backs, and getting back up again to achieve what you set out to achieve, even if people say that you can’t ever be this, or will never be that, because, if you fight, and fight and fight for it, you will one day get there. And that’s what I wanted people to know and to realise.

MM: Beautiful. But moving away from the subject of music, and to your personal life, there are rumours that you and the equally famous heart throb, Ed Sheeran, are dating. Are these true?

Freya: Haha! Yes, they are true, we are dating.

MM: Result! So, thanks so much Freya for taking part in this; any parting words/ tips for us and your fans?

Freya: It’s been a pleasure! And yes! Guys, don’t ever listen to people when they say you can never be this, or that, always listen to your heart! As cliché as that may sound, it’s what I believe in and what I have always believed in! Also, thanks for all your support and awesomeness! It really has helped me through this wild and crazy journey! Get yourself out there! If you aren’t playing live gigs yet, then do so! Go on to tinternet and research open mics near to you! Get exposed! And always keep dreaming!

F

Reya is working on her second album, ‘Picking up the pieces’, which is to be released next year. Her second tour which was a huge success, ‘Treecul for bees’’ dates will be released shortly on her website, to keep a keen eye out!

www.freya.co.uk

Music Magazine, Issue 36, draft 1 of front contents page, Lucy Marshall

Music Magazine, Issue 36, draft 1 of front cover, Lucy Marshall

content page analysis

The content page for Q magazine is very

 simple, there is no fancy editing tricks used.

The layout of the is well put together, it is neatly

separated in boxes. It has a simple and clear title

with the issue number beside it. 

  Down the left hand side the features are laid out

very clearly, one beneath the other.The Sub-heading

for each feature is in bold letters and a clear separation

can be seen between each one. There is also a splash of

red with some of the fonts rather than black to make it 

stand out from the rest and draws the readers attention.

    The image down the right had side have been used to

give the readers a glimpse of what the article may be about

without revealing everything. Overall this content page is very

clear and supplies the reader with easy access to the content

of the magazine. It is also very organised, classy and well put

together.

front cover analysis shron

. Masthead - Name of magazine displayed. Wrote in a unique style. Q's use of mast head is a Bold red square, with a bold capital white Q in the centre. The Q may represent 'Que the music' as in the word 'cue' they use a play on word affect.
. Date Line - Month and year of publication, for furture references. Q's dateline is situated on the right hand side below the coverlines. noramally situated underneath the masthead or at the bottom of the page.
. Main Image - In the case of this cover there is just one single image of the artist Madonna. The Shot fills the whole magazine front, with the artist making full eye contact with whoever looks at it.With Q you usually refer it to bands and indie artists, we start to see more pop groups within these issues.
. Model Credit - This Says : 'Madonna: "Stupid question! Next!" It is not unusual to have a credit like this on such a bold music magazine. The cover line shows Part of the interview puplished. Grabs the reader with this tiny bit of text.
. Cover lines - Q uses a many cover lines, which are spaced out around the main image. Making sure it does not draw its attention from the main shot. The cover lines are in either white or red, the same as the colour of the mast head. The colours stand out to give it a fresh bold look as the back ground is very dark.
. The main cover line - Covers up to a quarter of the cover area, the font used is mainly in three sizes and or colours.Q uses two font sizes to create there main coverlines, using the largest for the Artists name(most important). In the second to largest font they use speach, large bold writing with one of the words in italics, this line is in white font witch contrasts the black background colour to capture the artist shown staring at the reader. The size in which they use there main cover line attracts the audience because they are bold and attract the audience, the main coverline appeals to the audience through the use of sans serif, it creates a proffesional look to the writting.
. Left third - the left third of the cover is the part shown when up on magazine stands, containing most of the cover lines and the main line. the title must be recognisable in a dozen of other competitors. Q uses a big bold font with the use of reds blacks and whites to create there main title to stand out, all the writting is large enough to see, the use of colours gives it a crisp fresh look, which is easy for the eyes to read. Its important the mast head is viable here.
. Bar code - a standard bar code used by all retailers, contains the price of the magazine once scanned. Q's bar code is situtuated in the top right hand corner, which is easy to find and not stuck down in the bottom right like other magazines normally place them.
. Selling lines - Short, sharp description of the title's main marketing point. Q('Britains Biggest Music Magazine') or perhaps setting out its editorial philosophy.

Selection and Rejection 2 Lucy Marshall

I chose this photograph because it is sharp, goes by the rule of thirds, and I feel the lighting is appropriate for the picture. 

I chose neutral colours because the issue I am creating is an autumn issue, and so seasonal colours are evident. Also, the colours suit the location of which we took the photograph in. to accompany this, I gave the model neutral makeup, this included browns and golds, with a hint of blusher to add that cold, yet warming feeling.

I chose the model to be looking away from the cameral because I wanted o create the feeling that she was deep in thought and wanted to leave the potential buyer why she is doing so.

I chose the model to be sat on my guitar case, to bring a hint of music to the picture, even-though it is hard to see that. Perhaps this could be an possible improvement, to have the guitar case more visible. On a whole, i probably wont use this for my front cover shoot because of how the model is looking away.

Lucy Marshall

Selection and Rejection 1 Lucy Marshall

I chose this photograph because it captures the seasonal feel of it, with the auburn leaves on the trees and the grass. It also captures the fact that it is a music magazine, as you can fully see the banjo and guitar. It is obviously made evident that the model herself is a 'performer' and this suggests that she is the one included in the main article of the magazine, which draws people’s attention.

The suitcase resembles that she is on tour; the idea of packing her bags, and taking her guitar all over the world will most likely spur people on, young musicians who wish to be like the model.

This particular shot is a long shot, capturing the whole body, and some surroundings; I feel these are good was of expressing the seasonal feeling and the atmosphere as a whole.

Lucy Marshall

Analysis of language and register of editorial, lucy marshall

We analysed the language and register of a double page spread editorial from an issue of 'Metal Hammer'. One of the things we found was that it is quite a sophisticated and formal way of language. For example, there aren't any simple or compound sentences in the text, nor is there any colloquialisms , slang or contracted words. There is, however, rhetorical questions, which includes the reader, and there are also speech quotations to give the opinion and feelings of the actual artist. And this also makes the editorial more believable.

The punctuation is used quite effectively through the double page spread like the comers is break up the long complex sentences and the question marks to give a variety of punctuation. They also use brackets and italics to include more information and make the article more sophisticated. The words they chose are rather complex and sophisticated, which also adds to the believability of the article. We think that the magazine is aimed at 17+ year olds and also we think that the tone is rather intellectual and informative.

Analysing this editorial of 'Metal Hammer', we have decided that we need to take into account out target market etc. We have decided to used slang, colloquialisms and contracted words to make the article a lot more less formal, as our target market is a lot more younger than the ones aimed in the editorial of 'Metal Hammer'.

We have also decided to use less challenging vocabulary and simple with compound sentences, again, because of our target audience. It should be light hearted and have a humorous tone.

preliminary front cover analysis sharon

Chose this font because its bold so it catches the readers attention and it is also  easy to read. I chose this slogan to show that all the students at sixth form always try their best. I chose these two colours because is contrasts with the background. The background is plain so the focus goes on the model and the writing. Chose the costume for the model because it shows a skeleton of the human body and the heart to show that he loves sixth form. Also his is wearing glasses to give the stereotypical idea that he is clever. Chose to have a circular shape around the different points so that it draws the audiences attention to the things that can be found in the magazine.

For my front cover I chose these colours because then contrast with each other which helps the magazine to stand out. I chose the stories because of the new sixth formers have just joined so then may want to know about about the subjects and the names of their new teachers. I chose the picture because it shows that the students can also relax during sixth form and not panicing about the exams. I also chose the circles because of them being simple shapes and easy to recognise. If I could do the front cover again I would chose to change the background so it is more plan and not use a brick wall. I would also change the slogan so it is shorter and catchier.