Final Front Cover, Contents and Inside Pages

Final Front Cover, Contents and Inside pages

Front Cover

This is my finished front cover, after doing my research I have targeted my magazine for teenagers as they are the most likely to purchase one. To appeal to my target audience, I also got from my research that the music genre that I should do is Indie rock as it is the music group that has been most popular recently. I have portrayed this music group by dressing my 'celebrity' in a trending fashion called 'Indie' that consists of band shirts, boots and an overall cool and laid back look. I thought this would be a good selling point as teenagers can relate to this celebrity and I have also used the gratification theory, so when girls see this young model they will want to be like her. Also she isn't just selling music but being a fashion icon so this magazine has a wider range in readers.

When thinking about creating my Mast Head I wanted something that would be short and easy to remember but also recognizable. Rock and Roll is a music genre that has been around for many years and there isn't a person who hasn't heard of it, so I thought this would have been a good Mast Head. Even though my magazine isn't aimed for the older ages because it is a music group that has appealed to many ages, that all ages would have a look to see what new Rock and Roll there is.

I have gone for the colour scheme red and black as they are the colours most of the older rock bands have used e.g. The Rolling Stones, so yet again it would be a good way to keep everything representing the genre of music. Them two put together also make good contrast and become very eye catching.

As I have a  patterned background, I had to put a block behind the Mast Head as I didn't want it to blend, so if I was to do this again, I would have taken my image on a plain background.

I used a very bold font to keep it eye catching and it really makes it stand out on the page. For my copy I completed a significant amount of research to see what kind is written on the front of a music magazines and it was mostly to do with concerts and new songs and albums coming out. They also advertise new bands on the front to help them get heard, so I took all this in to consideration when thinking about the information I was putting on the front. As you can see it is all to do with gigs, festivals and bands. I kept them short but interesting to the readers. People are very nosy and are very interested about finding out things about peoples' personal life, so I gave a little bit about what the interview was about but not too much that there is still some mystery.

When getting ready to take my photo for the front cover I purchased several music magazines to get an idea of how my 'celebrity' should be positioned. They were all very similar, if it was a band I would have a mid-shot of all of them in some sort of standing position. However, the people on their own are in all different kinds of shots and positions so that gave me a chance to be creative. I chose to have her in a slouched sitting position as it made her look very carefree and laid back, this would be good idea as the music group I am representing is very chilled out. Also I had to think about having a good image and also have enough space to have my copy, and I did well with this as there was plenty of space to play about with and try different kinds of fonts and sizes. Although I would have moved the camera up a bit more to give me some more space to put a bigger Mast Head. Having a patterned background caused a few problems for me as it was hard to find a colour and a font that didn't blend in so I did have to highlight most of it, this wasn't too bad as it goes with the colour scheme and if anything, helps make it look more like a magazine cover. 

Contents

After purchasing a variety of different music magazines and looking at the contents I had put a list of the different conventions that were always included. They all had very similar thing such as sub headings, they make it easier for a reader to find what it is they want from the magazine - if its whats in this issue or if it' in every one. Contents are also linked to the front cover, they tend to have the same colour schemes and also it is common to have the biggest image linked to the front cover. There is always a lot of writing in small basic font.

When taking my images I really had to make them look appealing. To represent my 'Styles' page I took a picture of some Vans, theses shoes are a very popular brand and I thought that this would spike interest because that fact they are so well known. Fashion is a huge thing in this day and age so I thought that it would be a positive selling point as teenagers are always looking for new styles to wear and since my target audience is for teenagers it will be a popular page. However, I tried to make this magazine for both genders but this particular addition has turned out to be more appealing for females.

My 'Where's B & Zoe?' image is very basic but also effective, they are supposed to be people that are a big part of the magazine, they are always in it with a page about venturing around seeking new and amazing bands, like I said with the Oscars, teenagers are always looking for new music and this is a great way of finding new tracks.

Finally 'Megan Spencer' is the main focus, as you can see it has the biggest picture, this is because for this particular addition, she is the 'center of attention' and probably the reason why most people purchased the magazine. The image on the front cover was showing her cool and sexy side and the one I have used in my contents is more of a fun side of her which again is drawing the reader to find out more about what she is like.

As you can see I have stayed with the colours red and back as it help creates synergy, it links the front cover and the contents well, I have also used one of the fonts from the copy, again linking it with the front page.

Inside Pages

For my inside pages I wanted to keep with the synergy, so the images are from the same photo shoot, however because the interview shows a different side to her I put a more 'natural' picture so the readers can picture her as they read but I kept her 'stage' style. I have carried on using red and black and have used a bold font from the cover to create house style and synergy.

My aim for my inside pages was to go with the stereotypical set out of an actually magazine. The stereotypes consist of having the writing set out in a justified style as it makes it look a lot neater and more professional, its also very common in written pieces such as newspapers. The questions and answers are in columns on the page because it allows you to write a certain amount of information with it looking neat. I have enlarged some of the important parts of the text as I thought that they will catch the readers attention and spike their interest which will make them continue reading. I have also enlarged the beginning letters of each answer as it makes it look that little more professional.

My media product is for the target audience of teenagers that like Indie Rock. All the red on my pages connote love and passion, love and passion of music, singers, band members and fans. This magazine is for the girls that look up to Megan as a role model, hearing her story of how she came to fame and what she done in times of need. Megan's picture in the contents connotes that you don't have to be serious and cool as she is shown on the front, but crazy and weird. For the readers that are looking past Megan, there is so much information of all different kinds of music and gigs, it influences younger people to start getting out and experience festivals. 

If there was a company that was to distribute my magazine it would be 'Bauer Media Group'

as they publish a various of different genres. They produce the magazines Kerrang, Mojo and Q magazine. They operate in 15 country's  and they only like to do genres that are popular so since Indie Rock has become so very popular recently I think my magazine would strike their interest. Their target audience is also aimed at young adults so having that in common it also another reason as to why this company would be well suited for my magazine.

I have learnt a lot about technologies from the process of constructing  my product. When taking my image I used a Canon 550D, because of the lighting and the enclosed space, I had to learn what kinds of settings was needed, so as much light could be captured and I had to learn about aperture so I could make sure everything in the shot was in focus and nothing was blurred. Once I had chosen my final image, Microsoft Word helped out hugely. I learnt how to group everything I had on my page together to create one final piece and everything. I also learnt about all the different fonts, sizes and that you could highlight certain words that you wanted to stand out. All of theses helped with the completion of front cover, contents and inside pages. 

Looking back at my product I have learnt that detail is very important, when taking you image you have to think about clothing, body language, facial expression and mise-en-scene because you are representing you genre and you have to do it by your image, font and colours. I have also learnt that you have to really think about who your target audience is and how you can relate to them in the magazine. I have learnt the correct way to set out the copy and the mast head and way in which will grab the readers attention to your magazine such as the triangle where you create a triangle using the same colour. All of theses techniques have allowed me to create my final pieces.