Peer assesment of flat plans:

I conveyed my flatplans and ideas to a selected peer group, the feed back they gave me was:
- work around the center fold on the double page spread
- ensure the house style is continued onto the double page spread
- use a variety of subjects and camera shots for the photographs
- use mise-en-scene to connotate the genre


Thus, i took the feedback into consideration and decided i was going to use it in order to improve my magazine, make it a higher standard and gain a level four mark. I am going to concentrate on the layout of the double page spread in terms of text and image as i don't want them to cross the center fold as this will almost distort the image/text and make the readability difficult. To make sure my magazine looks a whole product i am going to use a house style, which involves using the same colours and fonts throughout my magazine, this will prevent the magazine looking like a random collection of pages and more like a consistent product. As i am using several images in my magazine i need to ensure i use a variety of subjects for my photographs as a professional music magazine doesn't just exemplify one subject/artist, this helps the magazine appeal to more people in the target audience as not all of them will like one particular artist. Also, concerning the images, i am going to use a variety of shots and manipulate the photographs appropriate to the genre to help draw attention to specific facial expressions and mise-en-scene which are connotative of the genre; i will use camera shots such as zoom, close up, mid close ups etc. When choosing the mise-en-scene i am going to be particular, i want to use costumes and props which link with the inde pop genre i am projecting in my magazine- i will use props such as acoustic guitars as these are a instrument used frequently in this genre of music and i will use costumes which the target audience are likely to wear which stand out and signify individualism.

Flatplans:

The following images are my flat plans for my indie pop music magazine. I have created a cover page, contents page and a double page spread.

I considered different stylistic decisions when creating my flat plan for my cover page. I thought a formal looking mast head would be the best option as it creates a feeling of high quality to my magazine. I stuck to one font for my sell lines, with exception to one of them, and just ranged the boldness level and size to create depth and bring the key words which to the target audiences attention as these are the main selling points of the magazine. The sell line in the bottom right hand corner is something to take note of, i wanted to make it look like it had been scribbled on last minute to make it seem like last minute exclusives have been put into the magazine, i think this contrasts well with the formality of the masthead as it exemplifies the rough and ready spontaneity of the target audience. I decided using the house colour scheme of red black and white would be most effective as red is a bold colour which is not afraid to stand out, something which the target audience will relate to. I want my main image to be a medium shot of one model, i think by doing this it will prevent the cover from looking too over crowded and thus make it the standards of professional magazines which are already on the market; i also left a 1cm gap from the sides of all the pages to create the professional look as the magazines i have researched seem to have a similar thing. I put the price and bar code in the bottom left hand corner to keep the attention off the price of the magazine so the potential buyer wont be put off.

I decided to use the magazine masthead in the contents page as well, this ensures the buyer knows what magazine they are getting and also it can be a selling point as some people these days buy brands to follow trend and/or fit in so by seeing this masthead they may be encouraged to purchase it. I want to include six images on my contents page, each of these images will relate to one of the articles in the magazine and they will also include the page number they are featured on and a little information about the article, this will hopefully do three things, make the contents page differ from the norm, look more athletically pleasing and make it easier to navigate round the magazine- all of these will help my magazine be of a higher standard.

I have kept my flat plan for my double page very simple, this is to exemplify the simplicity that i want to create. I want the main image to be the focus of the page as i feel too much text can be off putting and the image will hopefully draw the attention of the reader to the article. I intend on using the masthead also on this page, the house theme and the model from the cover page for this photo. The box on the left of the main image i want to have the article story in, i want this detailed and interesting. The box to the right of the main image i want to be questions and answers, i want the questions to relate to the article and to be 'exclusive' and full of interesting details/gossip. In the right box i have drawn two smaller boxes, these are for two smaller images relating to the subject of the article.

Primary Target Audience

I conducted some primary audience research in order to find out what appeals to my target audience, to find potentially improvements i could make, to identify any gays in the market and to replace a freshing new twist on the genre i've selected.

These were the cover page, contents page and double page spread i shown to the target audience i sampled. I chosen Kerrang! magazine as it is similar in genre style, plus i have previously analysed it.

For my research i asked ten questions to each person from a selected sample of my target audience:

What attracts you to the magazine? Why?

Do you like the colour scheme? Why?

What do you think of the main image?

Is the contents page easy to use/navigate and understand? Why?

What do you think of the images used on the main article?

Would you pick this magazine up off the shelf in a shop? Why?

What 3 things do you like about the magazine and why?

What 3 things would you improve about the magazine and why?

Main points made during feedback:

Vibrant colours which work together.

Yellow- vibrant and stands out.

Red- danger and brings intrest.

House theme use all the way through. 

Colours to connotate them/genre.

Images, bold and stand out, subjects looking directly at camera.

Bold page numbers and images on contents page help with locate articles/pages.

Titles relate/interest target audience, ie 'teen' and 'sex drugs and violence'.

Effects on masthead, font is 'scratched out'.

Detailed images. tattoos and facial expressions connotate magazine genre.

"Rough and ready"

Make image on double page spread more intrest and in depth, like the one on the cover

Below are a list of stylistic descions i'll make for my product due to the audiences feedback:

- Keep a house style

-Use colours which connotate the genre/target audience

-Make sure the images are eye catching and detailed (clothes, mise-en-scene, facial expressions) to connotate the genre of the magazine, a prefrence seems to be when the subject is looking directly into the camera lense.

-Use easy to read text, make the font on the masthead stand out and be interesting.

-Use language which will interest the target audience

-Make the contents page layout easy to navigate round. Use bold numbers, subheadings and images to make locating stories easier for the reader.

By doing the above i think my magazine would be of a high quality and to a professional standard, also fit the genre/target audience perfectly- all of these would encourage more people to purchase my magazine over others.

My Target Audience:

With thanks to my research i have discovered key features of my intended audience which will affect my magazine over all look and the contents.

Age- 16 to 25.
Gender- Predomantly male, but with an interest from females. Probably, 60:40.
Style- Individuallistic and out of the ordinary; standing out
Music intrest- Indie pop/rock
Intrests- Music related products/hobbies such as gigs and albums, also fashion/style.
Media impacts- Social networking sites


All of the above will help me ensure my magazine meets the interests/needs of the target audience. The fact the age is 16 to 25 the majority of the consumers will have jobs and therefore be able to fund gigs, festival and cds therefore i'll include details, dates, promotions, updates and purchasing offers of the prior things. As the intrests of the target audience are also fashion/style, alongside music, I will include fashionable music icons and website of where the reader might finder similar products as they are likely to want to look like them; I also must make my magazine athetically pleasing as they are not going to want to spend money on something which doesn't look good nor meets their standards. As the target audience is in to social networking sites i think it'd be a good idea to embedded music stories related to social networking sites as they will find this off intrest, also maybe be able to suscribe for the magazine cheaper than normal if subscribed on Facebook or something. The predominantly male gender will be exemplified in the main image as it will be a female subject with a sexual factor which will persuade them to purchase the magazine, and hopefully the fact the subject is female and successful will persuade females to purchase the magazine as they may inspire to be her. The gender split will also be exemplified with the colours and articles I include in the magazine, I will aim to try and satisfy both using colours and articles which appeal to both genders.

Secondry Audience Research

The genre of music for my magazine i am doing is indie/rock, similar to magazines such as Kerrang! and NME. I choose this genre as it is the type of music i listen to and therefore i know more about that then alternative genres, also i will find this the most engaging and intresting to do research on.

I used readers profile to see the particular magazines target audiences prefrences, interests and products they buy- this helps to statisfy during production, to come up with advertising strategies and to identify their main interests.

Readers profile for Kerrang!..

Kerrang's! 15-24 year old readers (60% male
40% female) are sharp,
 intelligent and rejoice in their individuality.
Typical of modern youth, media savvy
and marketing-averse, they are active
consumers of computure games, media
and fashion. On average they buy 31
albums a year (!). The brands that make
the effort to talk to them in their language
are rewarded with enourmous loyality.

Median age: 19
58% think its important to look well dressed.

Kerrang! plays a crucial role in the UK rock scene and celebrates all that is fresh and new.
Kerrang! is a consistent bastion positivism that tells it straight and speaks to the readers with the same fervour with which they buy music, gig tickets, trainers, jeans and T-shirts.
Fashion is of the up most importance to the Kerrang! reader, as they mimic the look of their rock heros. Expressing their different tribal looks of extreme sports, skate-rock, punk and metal.
It is seen as an integral part of the 'scene' rather than simply commenting on events.

After looking at this readers profile i have noted that the median age for the readers of Kerrang! is 19 and 20% more males read the magazine than females. Therefore it may be a good idea to use a female artist on the cover which females aspire to be and therefore purchase the magazine, the female model will need the 'sex appeal' to also attract the males to the magazine- although males is not the worry as they are evidently already intrested in the magazine. The magazine also must be athetically pleasing and name drop specfic impressive brands as 58% of the readers think it is important to look good and therefore will be attracted to a good looking magazine. I think it is important to feature a lot of bands/artist as on average the target audience buy 31 albums a year therefore they are clearly intrested in music.

Textual Analysis:

Research into institutions that distribute similar magazines.

Owner/Publisher -Bauer Media

http://www.mediauk.com/owners/88/bauer-media

http://www.bauermedia.co.uk/Brands

Kerrang!, MOJO, Pop,  Q are a range of magazine's which Bauer Media publish. These magazines focus of different genres of music from mainstream to niche, Bauer Media will have selected these magazines to publish so they have a greater target audience and thus sell more magazines and make more money. Bauer Media are also sell magazines concerning women's and mens lifestyle, equine, gardening, transport, football, golf, pets, angling, motorcycling, outdoor, photography, automotive BRB, motoring. There brands also include a wide variety of radio stations.

Bauer Media conveys Kerrangs! audience is "Young, individually minded and passionate consumers, an audience defined by attitude, passion and loyalty" and they say "Q's audience is composed of passionate, engaged and open minded music fans driven to continually discover new music - and to use this lust for discovery to influence their friends. The audience is split 75% male to 25% female and is affluent" and "The MOJO audience is predominantly male and affluent. Thus i think my magazine would be of interest to Bauer Media as my magazine's target audience is not just males nor females, i am to interest both genders with particular tools such as colour and articles of both their interests. Also, my target audience is young people who relate to music, who listen to music to feel something, who when desrcibing their life mentions music frequently- youth passionate of niche artists, therefore youth's who aren't afraid to be different and stand out from the crowd by buying the magazine and listening to the music. I don't intend to make my magazine pricey and therefore it is not just for the affluent, i want it to be accessable for anyone who wants it. For those reasons i believe Bauer Media would publish my magazine as it is noticably different to the others they currently publish.

Brief: Print

Preliminary exercise: using DTP and an image manipulation program, produce the front page of a new school/college magazine, featuring a photograph of a student in medium close-up plus some appropriately laid-out text and a masthead. Additionally candidates must produce a DTP mock-up of the layout of the contents page to demonstrate their grasp of the program.

Main task: the front page, contents and double page spread of a new music magazine.
All images and text used must be original, produced by the candidate, minimum of FOUR images per candidate.