Media Coursework - Magazine

- Emma Wylie.

Initial ideas

• I want to produce an indie and rock magazine, that will mainly feature up and coming acts.

• The target audience would be aimed at both sexes, aged between 13-20 years old who like rock or acoustic music.

Research – Kerrang! Magazine

• Kerrang! Magazine is published every week, for £2.20 and has main feature articles on rock music.

• The magazine is approximately 63 pages long, and contains gig reviews, album reviews, seasonal articles (for example, Halloween), quiz, news and free posters.

• The magazine also has advertising pages at the back that promotes different businesses –

such as clothing companies• Kerrang has an ‘introducing’ page each week which introduces new acts and who they predict will become famous in the future.

Research – NME Magazine.• NME is an indie magazine, that is released every

Wednesday and is priced at £2.40.• Within the magazine, there are approximately 66

pages that consist of album reviews, gig reviews, fan mail, advertisements for upcoming gigs, and articles on new musicians.

• They also have interviews with different musicians to ask about their

music releases, plans for the future etc.

Research – Q Magazine.• Q magazine is released every month, and costs £4.50.

Though that is more than the previous magazines, this also includes a free CD and has 170 pages – compared to 60-70. ]

• Q magazine consists of live reviews, feature articles, more interviews, new artists and more advertisements.

• Usually, the artists that are on the free CD have articles about them, within the magazine too.

• Q usually features new and popular music, in the pop and rock music industry. The majority of articles are about present artists, with few being about older ones.

My initial plans.

• For my magazine, I plan my magazine to be approximately £2.50 and for it to be published every 2 weeks.

• Within the mag I’d like to have about 70 pages, which include many reviews, interviews and competitions. I’d like to focus mainly on new acts, as they are up-and-coming. I also plan to do special features for the new events or holidays (e.g. Halloween/Christmas).

Annotated Magazine Covers & Contents pages.

Kerrang Front Cover.Magazine masthead is behind the main picture’s head.

The main article is positioned infront of the picture, and is related to it.

The colour red is reused, to keep within the colour coordination.

There are sub-stories positioned around the picture, with pictures as a preview of what is inside.

Price, barcode and issue is in the corner and is small, to make sure that the pictures and headlines are the main focus.

Photo is mid shot, eye level, and has white background so it is a contrast and stands out. The text is above his body, yet face is clear and uncovered.

NME Front Cover.

They have a colour co-ordination of red which is used as the background for the sub-stories. And yellow is used for the text and main story.The main picture is a

high angle shot, focusing on the band members faces. It is a mid shot, however their bodies are hidden by the text and headline story.

The masthead is at the top, and is again covered by the picture. It continues with the colour scheme of red, and is written in bold to stand out.

Small pictures are used to give a preview of what is expected to be within the magazine, a long with a small headline detailing what the story is about.

Q Magazine Cover.The title of the magazine is written in bold, and is written in white and on a red background to ensure it is bold and stands out. The icon covers the picture, which is unusual and covers quite a bit of the subjects head.

The red colour scheme is noticed throughout, in use of the title, the headlines, the sub stories and in part of the picture. (Cheryl Cole’s lips).

The story that is related to the picture, overlaps it and the colours match. (white skin – white text. Red lips – red text)

The smaller stories go down the side in a similar fashion, and have a different coloured background compared to the text, to create a contrast.

Kerrang Contents page.

The main article has a photo to support it, and to show what the subject is about.

This shows the information about the date in which the magazine was released, and the issue number. It also has the same colour scheme throughout the contents page – of black and yellow.

The smaller stories have pictures to match, and outline the bigger picture, indicating which is more important.

There is always a column at the top of the page which is an piece from the editor. This usually consists of what the magazine will be about, or what is new in the music industry. It is then signed by the editor, and his name is printed.

The list of contents goes down the right hand side, and has subtitles of what the category is about, e.g. live reviews, then the list of who they were reviewing.

NME Contents page.The title of the magazine is in the corner and is there throughout the contents page as a reminder of what magazine it is.

The title ‘this week’ shows it’s current and is changed every week, which shows that it is new news and emphasises new events.

The colour scheme is continued throughout, and the use of red, white and black to ensure it looks professional.

The advertisement shows how to subscribe to the magazine, and takes up a large amount of the page, to get as much attention as possible.

The stories are sorted into categories of what they are about. E.g. live, then articles on this weeks news.

The main article has a picture to accompany it, and has a slight introduction to what the story is about, and to get the reader interested.

Q Contents page.The title of the magazine is shown in the top left hand corner, as a reminder of what magazine it is.

The date in which the issue was released is also there, to show the readers that the magazine their reading, is the most current one.The list of contents goes

down the left side, and gives a slight description of what to expect within each article.

There is a band special, in this case ‘Oasis’ which is then structured into separate parts which then has descriptions and page numbers next to it.

The title ‘every month’ indicates how often the magazine is published, and shows what is new, every month.

The article has a large picture to show who the band are, as well as a caption saying the name of the artist, and a quote from the band, to get the readers interested in the story.

Kerrang! Double page spread.

The main feature has a picture to accompany the article.

The colour theme is continued from the cover page from black, white and red. Which includes the picture being in black and white.

Pictures are a main part of the article are dominate the double page. The pictures show different band members and different aspects of their career, e.g. live, and in the studio.

Article includes Drop Captital to draw readers attention to the text.

Minor review of some of the new tracks to show the reader what to expect, and get them interested in their music.

There is a quote at the top, to catch the readers attention and make them want to read more. It’s in red and white to stand as a constrast to the black background.

NME Double page spread.

The text is black to act as a contrast to the white background. All of the article is in small text at the bottom, to minimize the size of it, to persuade people to read it.

The main picture is to do with the feature article, and that is situated on one full side of a page. The model is wearing red clothing, which stands out on the page, due to the dull and boring background. Lilly Allen also has no text over her, showing her importance.

The headline which draws people into reading the article, is written to look as if it has been written by a newspaper, or a collage of text. This is quite new and rare, which makes people pay more attention to it.

The name of the artist is written in red and in bold, to stand out and make it more obvious as to who it is about.

The headline is written as a quote from the text to show what the article is about.

Q Double page spread.The main article is about Pink, so therefore has a picture of her. The picture is an extreme close up, that focuses on her face, and her expression. The picture is on one full A4 page, to emphasise the attention on her. The banner that sits at the top of the page, overlaps her head – portraying that the article is about her.

Cash for questions at the top of the page to draw emphasis on the title. It then has a slight divider using stars, then has the artists name underneath, in a different colour to stand out.

There is a small introduction, which leads into the article, and says a little bit about the feature.

The main article is written in columns and structured in lengthy paragraphs, which shows its more formal.