College magazine

These are my final front covers for my College magazine, they were created on publisher so they arn't fantastic. The image on the left is inspired by a college magazine I found and posted earlier on my blog, I liked the collage and how it was very simple but very eye catching, it only has a Masthead, barcode, date and issue number, there is no key image but several images to make up a background. I didn't use any particular colour scheme here but tried to place the pictures at different angles to keep it interesting The image on the right however is more though out, there is a distinct colour scheme of black white and red, using black and white then adding one colour adds a strong effect and will catch a readers eye, there is also a Key image of three lovely Psychology students all looking happy and wearing college lanyards and in a class with work to show they are students.

My contents page is very simple, i have made it to match either front cover, the pictures are angled like the first idea and the colour scheme ties in with the second idea so i could go either way with this, I made the font easy to read and put pictures at the side to keep it interesting, some of the pictures are funny and someone cringe worthy, this also draws people in, everyone likes to laugh at other people looking silly.

Making of a front cover

Normal magazines sold in most local supermarkets or post offices have similar layouts, meaning they may include:

-Mastheader-Title of magaine

-Banner headline-Span full width of page

-Plugs-Attract readers eye (e.g. Price)

-Barcode-Scanned to sell magazine

-Date-Date of release

-Issue number-Number of magazine

-Key image-Largest most important image, usually celebrity

-Logo-Used on every magazine to brand it

-Splash- Main story on front of page

-Sidebar-When main story has additional text box placed in or by the side of it

-Subheadings-Used to seperate the text into smaller, more manageable units

image below is a quick idea of what a simple music magazine could look like, please note my amazing mad skills on paint.

Magazine Research

I have recently be analysing different Genre's of magazine, and the difference between a fashion and a music magazine are completely different, as a music magazine is the main article in this study, I will compare different magazine types to it, for example, fishing magazines, fashion magazines, childrens magazines, hair magazines etc are all different.

I will be analysing magazines Kerrang! and Bliss.

Kerrang! Introduction

Kerrang is a rock music magazine published by Bauer Consumer Media in the UK, retailing at £3.20. The name "Kerrang!" is an onomatopeoia, because it refers to the sound made when playing a power chord on an electric guitar, this gives the whole magazine it's genre, just by the title we already know that it is supposed to be related to electric guitars, which I associate with rock music. The first magazine was published on 7th June 1981 and was initially a one-time supplement in the "Sounds" newspaper which was focused on the genre New Wave Of British Heavy Metal and the rise of other hard rock acts. AC/DC appeared on Kerrang!'s first cover, United Newspapers sold it to EMAP in 1991.

Content

Kerrang! magazine is typically around 48 pages long and is mainly focused on the progression of rock and metal music, this includes old bands doing new things and even introduces up coming bands. Alot of the content is built up of interviews of bands, posters and gigs, there is very little space for advertising throughout the magazine compared to glossy magazines. The opening page is the contents page. The contents page consists of this:

-Page numbers down right hand side.

-Band pictures with page number of where this image is found and small text.

-Page headings.

-Main image, usually someone on the front cover.

-Funny quote from a band at top of magazine.

-Letter from editor at top of magazine to make it seem more personal to reader.

A typical double page spread in Kerrang! would be a band interview, usually a double page spread will be linked with the front cover band, this band will be famous, not new or a promo, this is the first thing people see and if they like it they will buy it, if they don't know who the band are, why waste money? they might not enjoy it! The DPS contains a main image, this is usually a large image which takes up most of one side, the other side is the interview. The header to the DPS is usually something funny or eye catching in a "Oh my days really!?" kind of you have to read on else you'll never know how (insert famous rockstar name here) got 7 people pregnant in one night on tour.

Audience

Kerrang! magazine is aimed at rockers and other stereotyped people who enjoy rock music, in all fairness, this is a very stereotypical magazine, you wouldn't expect to see a 24 year old business woman with bleech blonde hair and pink lipstick pick up the latest Kerrang! cause Bring Me The Horizon are featured in a poster and she has the hots for Oli Sykes. The plain colour sceme of contrast colours such as black and white isn't meant for girly types, it's meant for Goth's and Emo's and Punk's who, stereotypically, like dark colours. However, this also seems pretty boring, which suggests it is for an older audience, and it may be, but i know people as young as 13 who buy Kerrang! every wednesday, I also know people as old as 40 who buy it, therefore my conclusion is that it doesn't have a target age but a target stereotype.

Bliss introduction

Bliss is a mainly British magazine which retails at £2.50 and often comes with a gift such as beauty products. The cover is often a female celebrity, like a singer or actress, but isn't always majorly famous, alot of new upcoming stars are featured on the front cover, this can be argued that the magazine is usually bought just for the free gift which comes with that issue. I remember buying this magazine when I was younger (it was £2.30 then) mainly for the gifts, between Bliss and Sugar it was always a contest of the best gift because that is what appeals to young, teenage girls.

Content

Contains around 104 pages on average, the content in this magazine doesn't really have a main point, whereas Kerrang! is mainly for the interview within. Bliss contains subjects like celeb gossip, latest fashion, hair and make-up looks, problem pages, puberty, sex, boys, friends and an interview with the cover girl. There is alot of advertising in this magazine, not always as an actual advertisement but pages advertise contests, fashion advice pages include where garments are worn so it is like a promo for them, but it is still very different to a more adult glossy magazine which would have advertisements for beauty products, toothbrushes, cars and food, as adults are able to buy this stuff and have interest for more every-day items rather than sandals that won't last 3 hours.

A double page spread is usually a real life story or interview with the cover girl or a "hot" band, I put this in quotes because the band featured in this double page spread is the Jonas Brothers...my case is closed. The layout of the double page spread is similar to the one in Kerrang!, this is because there is a main image on one side and the majority of the interview is on the other side, however, several different pictures are used over the other page too so the interview is possibly not as long as one featured in kerrang! magazine. The header is in the middle of the first page in bold text, it isn't a quote but something about the band or person, in this case, they are brothers, so they have put "Brother Love" as the header, original.

Audience

The target audience for Bliss magazine is teenage girls, varying between probably 12-16, although I read a few problem page people as 17 or 18, but I wouldn't buy this magazine now and I'm 18...in 2 days. It doesn't appeal to me anymore, it's very candy pop girly type, and although alot of the time they talk about sex and boys, I think it may be more to make the younger teenagers feel more adult and grown up reading articles like these. Alot of the stars also seem to be on the Disney channel or famous singers like Beyonce or Christina, because they are modern and have songs int he charts, which will be what younger teenagers hear.

AS Media 18/1/11

I've been considering questions to ask in my double page spread, as it is a music magazine they obviously have to be related else that would be pointless
So maybe questions like:
When did you know you wanted to have a career in music?
What music inspired you?
Did you really sleep with your drummer?

media studies12/11/2010

Right so in the last few weeks I've been learning about sexuality in media, how genders are positioned and dressed to give a certain appeal, and as always, it's all about sex.



Today, i learnt about Tough Guise.

Tough guise is often brought up in media, several TV shows and films, even music videos, have a strong image of men.

For example, if you are a fan of Walt Disney (I know I am) you will see a recurring pattern in his films...Big, strong men, rescuing a damsel in destress. Snow white, Cinderella, Sleeping beauty, The little mermaid, Hurcules, Beauty andf the beast...etc

I am literally just watching Gok Wans "How to look good naked" They're talking about how 60% of people use hand cream, they used woman who work in a hotel using chemicals to clean and men building, and one of the men actually turned round and said that he doesn't wear hand cream cause it isn't very "manly".



So define manly?



Tough, strong, dominant, independant, hairy, smelly, dirty...This steriotype seems to be making a pattern, often in the news.

85% of murder is committed by men

1 in 4 men will use violence against their partner

95% of sexual child abuse is committed by men



So this is what you aspire to be? Think there's a screw loose if this is the case.

This brings me to my next point of tough guise, several White males tend to act "black", a term which means they are tough and strong and not to be messed with, the posture of the body gives an uncomfortable feel to people who witness it, body language which threatens other citizens.



Here's the culture bit, many black families (not neccesserily in this time period) are working class, from the ghetto, gangsters, and several don't have fathers for role models, looking up to how the celebs act in their videos and how they position themselves in pictures screams "MAN" and as a form of survival, they would be tough so people wouldn't disrespect them.



White people put on this front too, without the somewhat steriotyped background, to be respected by others, after all, fear means respect.

Photo Editing

I chose a few pictures for my front cover and had a little play around with photoshop, this is what I came out with.

Draft layout for college mag

Judging from what I've seen in other college magazines, the layout is pretty simple, easy to read, not too flashy or over decorated...well, actually they're quite boring and plain.

I would like to do something that will actually draw attention to it, such as this magazine cover:

The only problem on this magazine cover is that it is hard to read, jumbled and doesn't have a lot of information, older people applying for college may want something more simple.

So I have decided to stick to the basic, plain colour scheme etc.

But my amazing photographic skills will make it beautiful...