7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

My preliminary task was a poor effort in terms of the visions i had of it becoming, very lacking in adventure and skill, i'd like to think that perhaps these are two of the things that i have picked up in producing the real magazine. I have learnt quite a lot of skills in the photoshop department, layermasking, probably being the most useful, however also the using the ruler guides is a very needy skill to pick up, as there is nothing worse than text that should be centred and is not. The prelim contents page looks disastrous, although i am not entirely pleased with my real contents page, it is a massive improvement on the prelim, perhaps with just more care towards colour and i would have been pleased with it. I feel the problem with the prelim was simply that I hadn't learned the appropriate skills by that time, however now, that excuse is not valid, I would have liked to have designated more time into the thought process of the magazine, perhaps even to have been able to continue this process throughout the beginnings of production, allowing me to enable what works and what does not work, however this could not be the case. Before we began, i was almost certain that the practical side of the work would be more my kind of project, however looking back now finished, i do have to say that the audience research and readership profiles, etc really were something i enjoyed doing, and i recognise that this simply is a must in order to produce a magazine that looks at least semi - professional!

6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Throughout this project i have not only used a wide range of software and hardware, i have also used them for the first time! I have had experience with photoshop before so I was quite at home with that, however adobe InDesign was new, SLR cameras were not something i was familiar in operating, and even the blog - i had no previous experience of blogging! I found InDesign fairly difficult to operate, but soon became familiar with it, translating digital files using its quickdraw feature, this meant there was a poor screen quality - which made it difficult to judge whether my work was actually of the quality that I had seen on Photoshop, and would see printed.
I was no stranger to specific file formatting before this course, however i do now keep a clear storage space, and have learnt the hard way that you should never only save a file as a JPEG, it is so important that PSD files are kept in case anything needs tweaked or edited at a later stage.
I was expecting to synchronise technology with my artwork skills a lot more than i have done, however for one reason or anything i found myself too focused on little tricks i had picked up in Photoshop and therefore making any artwork ideas i had obliterate.

5. How did you attract/ address your audience?

In order to attract the correct audience according to my specifications of who they should be, it is important that a relationship is developed between magazines of similar content, they do probably have to be published by the same institution, seeing as though UNCUT and NME have that link through IPC media, it is wise for me to try and emulate that working relationship link with MOJO on Bauer media. This would mean dedicating perhaps a couple of small adverts on the website and also full page adverts in the magazine to MOJO and their current issue, or perhaps their subscription plan in relation to ours, not as a comparison, however perhaps both could be linked as a bundle (similarly to the UNCUT & EMPIRE bundle available in shops).
We would also expect the same level of coverage in return from MOJO, obviously for them to do this it must be of some relation and not an exact replica to their own publication, their needs to be a unique selling point. The main unique selling point of my magazine would be the writing and art direction skills, obviously along with the slightly obscure yet sought after content, a more real product than the traditional 'stock' magazine with bland type, and dull ideas.
The plan would be for the first 12 issues (year 1) to dedicate each issue to a particular 'big event' within the music industry, however create interesting and original use of new graphic work, perhaps based on the artists design work of the time, or recreating old classic snapshots, with hand rendering methods. MOJO have touched on this sort of thing, but it is certainly not something they are known for doing. It is hoped, that the likeminded fan of older, now 'classic' music and the graphic design art world, will have a great interest in this magazine, and to those not too bothered about the art direction surely won't be dissapointed with aesthetically pleasing products each month.


In terms of the actual feedback i recieved from my targeted audience, it turned out that the most pleasing aspect was the double page spread - in particular the layout and fonts used. The front cover was described as being 'a bit clustered' by someone whilst being 'old school rock and roll' from another - the opinion did vary to each person asked, of course each was valued and taken on board.

4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

Myself and another student (also having produced a magazine) went into Darlington town centre, clad with a fluffy boom mic (just for show), to ask our public what they thought of our magazine productions. We got many responses, I particularly enjoyed one response from an older man who said he 'liked' mine and that he was 'a bit of an old school rocker'. This is exactly the kind of response i was hoping for, unfortunately this clip and other footage became lost in translation and therefore unable to use. I have made a short montage of the footage i did have, unfortunately this is only one response, fortunately i have used exciting music that fits with both the footage and my audience's music tastes.
During the planning stages, my audience was quite varied, from an older perhaps near 50ish aged male market to a young and nostalgic mid - late teen audience, this is the case evermore, especially after the trip into Darlington town, both of the two categories liked my magazine and confirmed to me that they would buy it. I found one of my target audience (an older male) heading towards the Beatles remasters collection, i included this in my early audience research for the magazine, pulling all the strings together between my research and final magazine product.
Having now seen what is 'wrong' with the magazine, I can truly say that my audience is certainly not 'niche' and although it is a mixture of ages, this seems to benefit the magazine in terms of being a successful product. The fact that there is a wide age range, allows for people out of most social groups that buy magazines, to buy this magazine. 'Music man' has something for the indie crowd, the urban smart crowd, the rock and roll crowd and the rock crowd, there is a strong decision to banish 'scene' music and anything American punk pop based, other than stated, all are welcome.

3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

The distribution aspect of the magazine process is crucial to it's success, without getting a good foot in early with reputable institutions, such as Bauer or IPC, a magazine will simply not be able to survive. The market of today demands, something new, it does not want the same as it as had previously, most of all it wants quality, this is surely the most desired aspect of production. It is also important you choose the right institution, this is the same with anything in media, a prime example would be the music industry - you would not send your jazz music to a heavy metal label such as Geffen Records!
Bauer Media publish Mojo magazine, whilst IPC Media publish UNCUT magazine, this covers my two main influences when it comes to my own publication, therefore it would be these institutions that I would strive to aim for with my magazine. I believe that parts of it do the job that they should, and would definitely be taken on by eiher of the two discussed institutions. However my main problem is that too much of my magazine is perhaps too tacky to be used in such high profiled institutions, and would therefore not be published by them. My contents page is the epitomy of this, the block colours are wrong and do not work in context with the page, the shaping of each part i do quite like, as it is interesting, perhaps successful institutions do not want 'interesting' though.

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The social groups represented in my magazine vary from middle aged rockers, to young and original scenes that may have been missed by the mainstream. Very often people within the music industry forget that not all teenagers are into the 'new' popular music, a lot do appreciate older stuff and would much rather read about the new music that share more than the odd similarity with older 'classic' bands, my magazine reaches out to these people. My cover model represents a typical 'lad' smartly dressed with a music sense, as the two became a good example of synergy within fashion and music in the sixies with the 'mod'. As for the two images featured above, i thought they were both typical of the same social group, there is the same 'not fussed' facial expression yet attitude seeping from both images. Both are dressed and are standing very similarly, and the whole outlook rubs off very much the same. Addressing the reader wih eye contact shows confidence and allows the reader to relate, it is important to avoid anything over the top though, as then the wrong audience becomes drawn in.

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

The masthead of the magazine is displayed in the now standard position of top page left orientation, with the often sophisticated and contrasting use of thin and thick blocks of colour within the typeface. I have strayed slightly from the 'norm' in placing the barcode, pricing and issue number in the top right of the page, appose to the modern day preference of the bottom right hand corner. Although this is an unusual decision, it is not completely unheard of, and in terms of my magazine, it definitely sits a lot easier in the chosen position of my layout. My reasoning for this is simple, a barcode is the least astheatically pleasing element of the cover, so placing it in 'dead space' i can ensure that no roomis wasted where something 'happening' could be placed instead.



In terms of the magazines content, i have challenged the conventions of the usual teenage music magazines, i had to do this considering teenagers were not my only intended audience, the content in my magazine is much more 'classic' orientated. However, the conventions are followed well enough to allow the reader to know what they are getting involved with, all the usual expected features are present, i suppose i should have made this not the case, in order to stand our further from the crowd of regular music magazines. Perhaps if making further issues this could be the case. However in terms of replicating original conventions, i am pleased with how my front cover has turned out, i certainly do not think it would be out of place sat in between nme and uncut.

Construction Process - Contents Page

I originally opted for a yellow colour as the 'main' colour (still out of my colour pallette) i thought this worked well with a sophisicated light bronze colour. For the main body of the contents page i have chosen to tilt both text and later images, this creates the feeling that perhaps the bands featured are maybe of difference in viewpoint to the magaine itself, or perhaps to show their 'wild' side.

I changed my mind about the yellow being the 'main' colour and instead chose a more subtle grey tone, which i felt fit nicely alongside the other colours. I did feel though that in order to differentiate the actual contents information and the online offer, i would leave the triangular shaped online offer with a yellow background. The text on the polaroid effect photos is supposed to look almost hand scripted to add to the almost home-made vibe.

The final addition was the inclusion of the web address at the top of the page, it is in an important position as it is important to the magazine. As well as the final insertion of the polaroid style pictures. The reason i have allowed the the block colour to overlap one of the photos is to make have slightly imperfect qualities, i liked the simpleness of it.

Construction process - Double Page Spread

Each of the three smaller photos used are outtakes from my photoshoot and have been edited to look like old style sepia photographs. The block background colur is an earthly beige colour as it seems most appropriate with use alongside the photos from my shoot and the Northern portrayal.

I have used a variety of font sizes to create an interesting arrangment for the article heading, it is bold and attractive to look at in accordance with the colour and photographs on the double page spread.


The final touches to the Double page spread were the addition of the page numbers, page heading of 'Overture' and also the formatting of the actual article. The page numbers are quite bold and in a white, simply as this suited best, the page heading features Overture highlighted in black with a white font, again simply as this suited the photo best.

Construction Process - Front Cover

Masthead font effets used are stroke, inner shadow and colour overlay, this provides a basic yet classy theme for the magazine. I have also used the circular marquee tool, with a white fill of a lesser opacity, as well as then inversing selection and painting a faded black loosely around the outside, creating a shadow effect. I have also used a stock barcode and created my own issue number, UK pricing and Canadian pricing.







I have continued to use the same text effects, however, used grey, blue and black as the theme for most sell lines and a rearrangement of the masthead colour theme for my pullout quote - the emphasis should be on this. I have arranged the text layout in a centered postition of the lower section, allowing all faces to be in full and detailed view.

Journalism Development

Track: Under My Thumb
Artist: The Rolling Stones
Upon first listen to the track, you could almost be forgiven for being lulled into false security by it's upbeat rythms and catchy riffs, both played alongside the unique sound of the marimba, in which Brian Jones takes good care of on this particular song. It is however on closer examination, that the message is reading loud and clear, with Mick Jagger unresentfully calling out "under my thumb, the squirming dog has had her day", the 'squirming dog' of course presumed to be an ex-lover of Jaggers or perhaps a fictional character created for the song, either way, a Woman. Turning back towards the music, the mix of the track is of very high quality, with an atmospheric would-be haunting vocal, allowing Micks distinguished echo to remain calm and just enjoy itself. The contrast of the echo present within the vocal and percussion has a certain flow when backed against the 'clean' sounds of the smooth guitar licks and authentic marimba ,allowing the song to really stay together with nothing getting lost in the mix. Offbeat overdubs add a real choppy rhythm to the otherwise 'nice' track, allowing the stones to really shine under the light again and reveal themselves to be the bunch of lads they are.

Artist: The Who
Original artefacts of 'swinging London', The Who, were originally a group of lads from Shephards Bush just trying to compete against the other British success stories of The Beatles and The kinks, as well as the newly imported Bob Dylan that had recently made his mark on British soil. The Who began life after the success of the 'The High Numbers', their earlier band name, had faltered, it was a mere attempt to catch out the eye of the British public in giving them music which the band themselves already knew to be solid gold. Listening to their earlier records, it is easy to say that The Who were influenced by London peers 'The Kinks', however to say this it must also be understood that both The Who and The kinks were growing up on similar soil at a similar time and therefore similarities music wise must surely of been expected. The Who, in particular guitarist and main songwriter, Pete Townshend, quickly turned their hand to the concept of creating a concept record, this was something that Pete showed clear talent of, even with the early 'I'm a Boy', in which the words were supposedly coming from a fictional creation of Pete's, this was new, this was not The Beatles or The Rolling Stones, this was The Who.

Intended Genre: Popular Music
Popular music as a genre, really takes shape in many forms, as it is simply whatever the popular style of music is at one given time, my intentions are to focus on the popular music movement from the 1960's and 70's with frequent yet brief nods to the 80's, 90's and 00's. Taking this on board, in terms of influences of genre, the 60s was very much blues and folk influenced, and produced rock and roll bands, folk acts and the British answer to the two more American associated acts - Mod bands. Mod was equally about the culture as it was the music, and even more so about the clothes and scooters, prime Mod band The Who began referencing such culture in their songs and hit it off big time, perhaps the start of 'lad' culture. There was no real political spark within Mod songs, this was more present in folk songs or 'protest songs' as they were dubbed, and this peaked the 'hippy' movement, whilst rock and roll songs tended to feature more tender and girl/sex related themes, appealing to a younger, girl populated crowd. It is clear to see that most other popular music genre cultures that i will feature have developed from these intial three, Mod can be linked to Punk and Britpop, and even the one off 'Madchester', Rock and Roll morphs into pretty much any genre of hard or soft rock including glam, classic, prog etc.. and folk pretty much stayed the same, perhaps linking in also with punk culture given the political movement of the two.

My journalism skills have turned my magazine into something more real, something amusing, yet very accurate in its facts. The important factor is to include trivia and mild opinions (bad ones too, can entertain the reader). It is important for the journalism element of the magazine to be down to earth and use language appropriate for the reader, colloquilisms are a must, helping establish a firm bond between editor and reader, as in effect surely that is the most important bond, to get the reader on the same wave length as the magazines editor.

Paragraph Plans

1st Paragraph - Opening paragraph in third person giving detailed background notes about what the band have previosuly done and about their unique act.

2nd Paragraph - Continuous from the last paragraph, this one begins to contain more interviewers observations of the men from the interview, and explaining how this is usual/ unusual compared to a certain event.

3rd Paragraph - The third paragraph is still written in continous prose, however including quotes from the interview and opinions from the band when they are needed.

4th Paragraph - The question - answer format begins, not touching any subject that has previously been mentioned in the interview already.

5th Paragraph - The question - answer format continues, before the interview approaches a climatic end.

Article Planning Sheet

Article Focus
The main focus of my article is going to be the interview, the purpose of the interview i will be conducting is to inform in an entertaining manner. The interview will interchange between 1st and 3rd person as the it takes on new levels of context, and gradually turns into question-answer formatting from its previous mass of interviewers personal and edited response to the men in question. The style of the interview is going to take on a very informal and homely feel, creating a 'real' portrayal of the band by using their actual Northern dialect and other language features such as colloquialisms, which i intend to use frequently. Large portions of the interview will be very subject specific, however not too intentse so that the casual reader would feel the need to put it back in the rack.

Call Sheets

Actor: Peter Hall
Day/ Date(s): 12th - 20th February
Time: 10:00 - 11:00
Costume: Own 'mod' polo and track style top
Make-Up: n/a
Location : The Beck, Baydale

Photographer: David Stobart
Director: David Stobart

Actor: Callum Power
Day/ Date(s): 12th - 20th February
Time: 10:00 - 11:00
Costume: Provided cream 'baggy gentlemen's' coat
Make-Up: n/a
Location: The Beck, Baydale

Photographer: David Stobart
Director: David Stobart

Actor: Tom Norgrove
Day/ Date(s): 12th -20th February
Time: 10:00 - 11:00
Costume: Provided Parka coat
Make-Up: n/a
Location: The Beck, Baydale

Photographer: David Stobart
Director: David Stobart

Recce Of Location

These photos are a variety of angled shots around the location i found for my recce. It conatains a beck with a lot of natural features running through the image. It is the perfect 'feasable' location to portray the intentions of a real band, that are just having a good time by the water and trees. It is easily accessible to me, around a ten minute walk from home, and is open for public use meaning no permission is required for the shoot. The weather condition for the location is going to be a gamble, however the gloomy and miserable connotations created from the photographs i have taken of my recce, is the desired wheather condition of my choice for my cover - depicting Northern gloom for bands along the lack of excitement in the current Northern music scene. The cover is definately very Northern based and represents what being in the North is about, i think it's important that people of the globe reading upmarket music magazines realise the scenes in areas of the UK other than London. The location of recce is also quite tranquil, allowing for the reader to be perhaps introduced to the type of music that the cover artist might be in to.

Photoshoot Plans

River bank shoot

Rationale: The reason i have placed the subject in the great outdoors, in a very natural environment is so they are portrayed as very 'real' people, and not just something that has been invented overnight and glamourized for the publics eyes. I am still looking to take a high quality image, just one that uses natural lighting and can be a warmer (not literally) surrounding for the models (band) to be in. The use of natural lighting can be a bit of a gamble, however the location i have found has a clearing through trees in which the sunlight filters through, it is important that i pick the right day/ time of day to take the shoot, as this has a strong influence on the turnout of the image.

Photography Skills Development

Magazine Flat Plans

Magazine Front Cover

Rationale: For the magazine front cover i have chosen to use a medium shot, with the focus being on the person who is presumably the lead singer in the band and of whom the pull out quote is coming from. The positioning of the pull out quote is arranged to allow the reader to make the connection between the quote and the person saying it, in this case it features just below him. The masthead is to be white, backed against a thin yellow line and then a thin blue line making it stand out whilst also setting the colour tone, this scheme of colour is to be repeated in the border of the magazine, and connotes to a retro feel when combined with the red used on the cover. The sell lines and pull out quote will feature in red with a white outline, allowing for sophistication and to stand out from dark/ light areas of the photograph. The band are slightly canted however the angle is not - this shows the band and the magazine perhaps differ on levels.

Magazine Double Page Spread

Rationale: For the magazine double page spread photograph, i have opted a slight tilt upwards shot, allowing for both featured members to appear of a bigger stature, it is very much of central persuasion towards the same person who is presumed to be the lead singer in the band on the front cover. The background of the photograph is quite natural looking as it is outdoors, to create continuity of the double page it is important to use natural colours on the opposing page. A light stone background colour is my choice, with a white box of a lower transparency where the text is, that features a bold dark red font colour, the colour of the pull out quote will match the text and stand out on the light background. The four photographs are unused photos from the shot, supposed to be of joking atmosphere and never intended for the cover itself or the doule page spread, they are to all feature a white background with the same stripe colour theme as that of the cover.


Magazine Contents Page

Rationale: The contents page is much more colour orientated then photograph, it is also more a page of information. The two photographs that are present, are presented to look like polaroid snapshots, i will use shadowing in photoshop to make this look realistic. The masthead is to be in the exact same style as on the front cover, which is also going to be present in the space logo - which will feature the masthead from the front cover. The colour theme of blue, yellow, white and red appears in organised strips of dripping colour, perhaps to look like paint - often an image used in the modern music magazine. The triangular shape with slanted text is an advertisement of the magazine's subscription offers, the background colour is yellow whilst the text is in black, this theme is then subverted in th main text area with a red background and white bold text as the actual contents part of the page.

Institutional Context

There are many companies involved in the production, distribution, exhibition and publication of the magazine, i am researching into this as to see how the size of the company can effect my product, and also which company my product fits in to. The content of music my magazine will contain fits generally into EMI's and SONY's subsidary labels that had began as indie labels and eventually been bought out by global media conglomorates as the bands have grown in popularity. In terms of the content of writing, Magazines such as MOJO, UNCUT and even on occasion NME are producing very similartexts to the area in which i am heading, the latter two are published by IPC media, a time warner company, with MOJO being published by Bauer music in the United Kingdom. All three aim to produce a current set of findings within the popular music world, and are successful at doing so, IPC is a larger conglomorate company and therefore is of slightly more a mainstream nature than MOJO, which is why MOJO is of closer interest to me in terms of my magazine. MOJO, with Bauer, claim to work closely with their clients to develop innovative solutions to provide a brighter way forwards. Usually within the production of a magazine, there are many forces present, such as a graphic design specialist, chief editor, chief research and and many writing, this means all aspects will have to be in condensed format as i am having to conduct all areas myself. This is no excuse for producing a lesser end result though, many smaller yet still successful magazines have only a production team of a very small number and still manage perfectly fine, working in all areas could work as a bonus allowing a clarity of meaning in what was supposed to be achieved, which can often be lost in translation upon hiring a larger production team. MOJO have a tightly nit understanding between all personnel involved, one i would be wise in attempting to replicate in the production of my own magazine. It is established that my magazine is supposed to be of a higher, upper market more affluent attracting magazine, with this in mind, looks are important, and will be vital in the magazine fitting into its competitive environment, however i am going to use the ethos of smaller scale more 'human' companies in the actual creative input of the magazine visually and otherwise, it is my thoughts that this will make it a very different upper class magazine and appeal to a different sort of upper class market, possibly being the niche in the mainstream i am in with this magazine. To underline entirely, the roles i will be conducting in the production of my magazine will be as follows; graphic designer, costume designer, cinematographer, photographer/ possibly model, editor, writer, as well as lighting supervisor.

Initial Treatment

My magazine will feature a variety of visually exciting and appealing elements to it, with parts of it to be rendered by hand to create the effect of hand creation, and add to the homemade appeal, whereas in contrast to this, large areas of the magazine will be 'proffessionally' rendered thus higlighting greater the areas that are not. The strict colour pallette is to feature a predominant red, giving connotations of action and danger, alongside a contrasting white, connoting to purity and youth, and also less dominant colours of blue and yellow. The addition of the blue to the already dominant colours in the scheme, creates a retro and older feel to it, whereas the yellow creates a new pallete scheme possibly referring to the new and exciting industry that we are enterring musically. It will look stylish and eyecatching, different to the usual appearance of music magazines, more graphically interesting, with the use appealing images, photoshop rendered work, and a bold plain typeface for the masthead. The masthead is to be positioned centerally and cover the majority of the dead space in the top third of the magazine cover, it will be a contrasting white to the cover image, with a thin yellow outline backed on a thin blue line, bevelled and embossed and feature inner shading, this should help to add sophistication and allow the magazine to stand out from the beginning as a stylish looking publication. The other text will feature on only one of the sides, not both as i want to keep to a minimal design, It will also be in white font, or black if this is a more suitable match to the picture. Sell lines will be edited where appropriate, but will always match the masthead in this. The main focus of the image will be on the left hand side of the publication, with the text only on the right hand side, showing dominant ideology in that photograph is more important on the cover than the text is. The main photograph is to either feature an artist or band (undecided at the moment) addressing the reader with eye contact, or an action shot of a musician showing them in their culture/ environment, not neccessarily with direct address to the reader, it is however decided that both would feature a pull out quote from the inside interview running in 2-3 lines across the left hand side upper section of the bottom third of the magazine. A thin white border is to feature with a medium sized red line running centrally through it, other hand rendered ideas of presenting the text could include, srcunched brown paper as a corner piece, torn white paper with black type on it and black ripped paper with a chalf effect writing across it. These techniques will continue into the contents page, with a very similar layout however with a striped coloured background, and tilted picture box spreading to the left of the page but mainly in the middle. The contents is on the right hand side of the page, presented in a very similar way to the text on the cover, and sticking to the same colour theme as the cover, however possibly reversing which colours are dominant on this page to the cover. The picture box will feaure a hand made looking collage of what is to be expected inside, this would be a running feature of the contents page should more be produced. An advertisement regarding the magazines website and offers can be found below the tilted picture box and filling up the dead space in the bottom section of the page. The masthead will read the same way as the cover, however will say contents instead of the title. As for the double page spread, i am planning to run a photoshoot/ interview with a supposed 'new and upcoming band' that see themselves fitting into any of the previous eras of popular music and want to start a new based on this. The photoshoot should be held at a beach or riverside on an overcast day, wearing parka etc. if successful, i may choose an image from this shoot to use on the cover, if not i will use the same models in the studio to take a cover shot. The presentation of photos and interview should include a full page photograph, possibly presented in an old fashioned style, maybe a ripped page effect as a transition into the following page. The second page will feature a pull-out quote along with four smaller images from the shoot combined in a window frame effect and tilted, this will use of half of the page, whilst the bottom half is to be spilt up into four columns consisting of a short interview.

Proposal of Ideas

I intend to make my music magazine of a standard A4 size format. My intended audience is quite a mainstream audience of 16 - 40 year olds, who have a real interest in music that has been of a popular nature aimed at a teenage audience throughout British history beginning in the 1960s. However they also look for new and interesting music that is approaching from Britain and indeed overseas. The intention of my magazine is to inform my target audience of past, present and future exciting events within the music world, whilst also in keeping to an entertaining and still light hearted nature. I intend to achieve this through the style of language used - fairly coloquial, yet also using opinions and appropriate semantics and as to make the reader feel at ease in understanding the content of the articles. This technique should integrate the reader instantly whilst also help to engage them in provoking a reaction of some sort, good or bad, towards the opinionated article. I would like the publication to be an enjoyable read as well as a knowledgable lesson on music history, therefore i don't intend to make anything too intense an experience, which could spark confusion, and will attempt this by sticking to short bursts of excitingly phrased articles and sell lines. Magazines projecting the success of past music eras are not new to the publication scene, however i intend to make mine unique and stand out within the current market by focusing the entire magazine towards the great (much untalked about in todays magazine climate) events that have occured throughout the popular music history, whilst integrating exciting twists on new aspects of the industry and events in which readers can get involved with and be a part of. I gained the inspirtation to do a project such as this from my textual research analysis, and the most unique area of my magazine competing against other leading UK music publications would be the human element given towards the content and even the content itself, perhaps focusing on niche areas and projecting towards a mainstream audience.

Mood Board

I used this mood board to help me think about arrangements of figures or bands, when being professionally photographed for a shoot. I have taken some ideas directly from other magzines, whereas others are taken simply from photoshoots directly. I have also used this mood board to test run the colours together of which i am satisfied that they work. I have also tested out some fonts that i think might suit the design and look good as a masthead for my magazine. I think combining this with my audience research i have a strong idea of exactly how my magazine will come together, and how i would like my model to pose, whether this be directly addressing the reader or not.

Primary Audience Research - MY AUDIENCE

Write up :
My target audience will be predominantly of a male persusion, sharing similarities to magazines such as MOJO and UNCUT, in particular MOJO, obvious similarities would be the average age of the reader, being close to the mid thirtees (a strong ten years older than NMEs average reader age). My audience are technologically developed however still choose to buy physical content, whether this be music, film or even magazines, and in terms of magazines, although the majority are well acquainted with the web addresses of music publications, all will purchase issues that take their fancy. Many not only purchase CDs but also Vinyl records. My target audience tend to be faithful to 'up and coming' acts, as they all want to be in touch with whatever the 'next wave' of music is going to be, however their true love lies within music of the past, considerating this i will have to moderate the content of my magazine, creating a healthy balance between the two extremes. My research tells me that the audience i am producing for tend to stay clear of whatever the popular dress code may be, this means i will need to seek originality for my magazine and not include anything that it is too 'sell-out' and too far out of touch with the public, sincerity from everyones part. My target audience all specialise in music knowledge, and would like this to continue to expand, it is of their opinion that cliques from the sixties and seventees are of best use music wise, this could be either because they grew up as a teenager in these years, or simply that they have searched backwards for the style they feel close to, both categories apply to my audience. My audience appreciate quality and are therefore a high percentage would describe themselves as affluent, with a good disposable income, that is mainly spent on entertainment (live experience), culture and the arts and of course music, a majority of the audience fall into the category of social econimic grouping AB. Considering this it is also clear that my audience look for style and minimal congestion in a magazine, with a degree of human care and consideration into making it. They are not quite full on 'arty' types but can appreciate it, and do so often to that of which their favourite records wear, they do not forget this in a hurry, packaging is also a strong part of the appeal to most products my target audience will purchase. It is common for my target audience to be able to play an instrument of some form, they will spend a high percentage of their income on this, on well represented brands, which seems important to them in this criteria.

Featured below is a readership profile for my target audience portrayed through images and photographs only.

Primary Audience Research

Copy of questionnaire
that i am going to distribute.

It is important that both quantitative and qualitative data are used during the primary audience research, therefore not only will I be distributing the above questionnaire to my target audience, gaining quantitative data, but also gathering a small focus group of my target audience, answering the same set of questions but able to expand on their response, creating qualitative data. This will ensure that my product meets the expectations of my audience.

I have focused my questionnaire on ages between 15 and 40, this is a wide range gap, however the average reader of magazines such as UNCUT and MOJO, in which my target audience shares similarities with, have an average reader age of mid 30's. The content of the questions focuses on the factors of a music magazine as a whole package, and how my production could be presented based on this, in knowing what the audience wants.

Write up:
I asked 10 males and 10 females from a variety of ages within my focus group, to complete my questionnaire. With the majority getting involved through the internet or another form of media, with at least one music publication, with the majority out of those who do get involved being male.

It is the popular opinion of those i asked, to go against the latest 'in' look, with them all astonishingly looking for their own individual look. Upon first looking at the front cover of a magazine, the most common appealing factor of the cover was the colour, with a minority of females making the topic of it a close runner up. All, both males and females, were in agreement that new/ unsigned bands should feature more on the cover pages of music publications. The majority would buy a music magazine based on its front cover without even looking inside, whilst the majority of males look for high quality articles as well as photographs,a small minority of females take strongly to it not being an issue. It was common in both male and female replies for them to want strongly to learn about music past and present and this to be a running feature in every music magazine. To generalise, the majority do not read music magazines to keep up to date with their social lives/ peers, whilst a minimalist layout of the front cover design is the popular opinion all round, although a minority of males preffered the informative layout.

Focus Group:
To collect qualitative data with a range of people the same ages as my target audience, i asked the group what they would expect to see in a music magazine, and for them to highlight preferences in areas such as layout, colour theme, content, photography and portrayal of musicians, using specific examples if they could. I recorded the response i got and below have transcribed each reponse in no particular order, and sticking by my word of leaving all anonymous.

Transcription:
"Simplistic and stylish designs are usually better, but i like to see the style of design change regarding the genre of the cover feature band, or even seasonal theme, an example of the seasonal theme i've got is from an NME from October 2007, it featued dave grohl holding a severed head - i liked the way it combined seasonal halloween theme with grunge music genre, and also mocking his 'nice guy' image"

"If there's an in depth interview with somone, i like there to be a cut out from the interview to epitomise the feeling of the interview - i like to know if its going to be an intense read or light hearted humour before!"

"I like the photography to look real, for me it doesn't matter if they're looking at the camera, all i want is sincerity in the photograph cover, for it to show the real them"

"I really appreciate the complexity of MOJO's sophistication, their colour theme always looks spot on, bold text is a must and as a general rule only one image to be used on the cover"

"On a whole, i think its important that a leading music magazine should have a main feature article about great rock and roll, punk, etc bands from the past, and then include a wide range of musical era, id be happy to see A mixture of more interviews with the younger lot, and articles on the older bands!"

"I'm a big fan of colour themes that manage to single handedly capture the essence of a generation, i'd use the example of the britpop issue from the questionnaire, MOJO do a great job it, something like that is really important too"

"I would expect, from a leading music magazine, the quality of the writing to be up to scratch, light hearted enough to just read pretty absent mindedly but enough sustance to actually enjoy, UNCUT do a good job of this, particularly in their anaysis and reviews of situations"

"I don't want a lot, quite simply - original music, original and stylish layout design and a minimalist compostion, originality is the key, which NME tend to have too many 'off' weeks on"

"For me, it's really important for music magazines to take themselves seriously, they should report an effective overview of the latest happenings in the music industry, and not be too caught up on who's watching who's paint dry etc. Monthlys tend to do a better interpretation of this and that's what i'm into"


Overall Write Up:
This audience has proved really helpful and crucial in me discovering exactly what my audience wants to see in its music magazine, I will now use these findings as the base for my own project and build it to the audiences expectations. I will use space effectively and stick to a minimalist approach, I will use a colour theme that stays in touch with my subject and i will be sure to integrate music from all the popular eras into the more contemporary music scene and create a very bold publication.

Secondary Audience Research - READERSHIP PROFILES

Readership Profiles

Uncut magazine audience profile - from the profile research, it is clear that average reader of Uncut is male, averaging 86% of the entire market, with an average age of 37. Statistics show that 77% are in full time work, allowing them to earn on average an income of £29,263. Interestingly only 60% of the market are married. The audience research of readership profile describes Uncut as 'NME's cooler, older brother', which is a fair evaluation of its 'roots music' ethos. Uncut readers are very technologically involved, with on average of 86% downloading music a week, making more Uncut readers downloading 54% more than the average weekly amount. 68% of Uncuts audience own an mp3 playing portable device, given the fact that only 29% of men aged 37 actually own an mp3 player, which makes for fascinating results.
http://www.ipcadvertising.com/resource/78cq08efmszrn0r8it1l6yxr.pdf

NME magazine audience profile - from the profile research, it is apparent that it is very much a male orientated audience, seeing males dominant 69% of the audience with the other 31% is filled up with women. The average age of the magazine and only a supposed 52% are working full time, with a further 7% in part time employment, it is then no surprise that 29% are still studying in some form of education system. The readership profile shows that 76% have broadband out of the 94% that have an internet connection, showing speed is important. They are also spending on average 19 hours per week online, through, leisure, work or otherwise! Along with being 'down' with new technologies, NME readers also seem to be part of a new mass-spend scene in which each reader spends averagely £152 on footwear each year, £532 on clothes per year and a staggering £1229 on audio equipment per year, boasting that as the main expenditure of their interests. A rather tame £66 is spent on DVDs a year along with the 52% of the audience that own a digital camera splashing out a further £170 on digital cameras per year, showing that the recording of memories is important to readers.



http://www.ipcadvertising.com/resource/fd4e20nlh1xefkowjxdha4xu.pdf














Mojo magazine audience profile - The publication describe themselves as a journey into the heart and soul of music, featuring artists from The Beatles and The Clash, to Radiohead and The Ramones. MOJO's readership profile shows that it's audience is a predominant male affair, seeing 72%, out of these 72% a further 36% also admitted to consider themselves comfortable/ well off. The consumers main interest is music, and in more depth, the discovery of music, this is including both old and new styles, as it is the quality of music that is of importance to MOJOs audience, appose to the genre or decade of release.










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

Textual Analysis - NME : CONTENTS PAGE

This is the contents page featured in NME magazine, it is a commemorative 20th anniversary special marking 20 years since the Stone Roses self titled debut album was released.The masthead can be seen extremely boldly positioned against black in a large white, very 'now' looking font, "NME" is positioned left of this however is made out to be of little significance next to "contents". The sophisticated colour theme has been not stolen but replicated from the original issue 20 years ago marking the release of The Stone Roses. To generalise, the red is used in tandem with the white and the black with the yellow, this allows almost for two different connotations, the yellow/black combination connotes to underground music scene and modern times, whereas the red and white portrays a very English vision and could be seen as a more retro implication, possibly referring to the wide range of music eras that the publication covers. In terms of the layout of the page, everything flows stylishly into the next, each picture box/ text box are straight edged, apart from one on either end of the length at the right hand side, wich help sophisticatedly hide dead space. Scanning the page from left to right, it would seem all the important textual information is presented from the light, with the plain left hand side column featuring and index of the bands appearing in this mgazine, implying that NME do realise that all of their audience do not look at all of their content and may seek for ther own interests. Three quarters of the larger, centre column is dominated by the main article, consisting of a picture and summary, suggesting that with the magazine being sold through its cover, the consumer will always be most drawn to that particular 'main' story, making it a very safe position for this. The remaining quarter of the centre column is used up through the promotion of their own subscription deal, perhaps this is of significance to both publisher and audience. It is surprising when into the third and final column, that the 'contents' is only now beginning, although it is bolder text than other columns, and easier to read, regarding its layout position, the assumption must be made that NME value their contents page for imformation other than the physical contents/page number combination of the traditional idea of a contents page.

Textual Analysis - MOJO CLASSIC : CONTENTS PAGE

This is The contents page featured in MOJO CLASSIc magazine's Britpop issue, which bears of relevance to the analysis. The masthead of Contents, is created in a very inspiring and unique way, it is made to look imperfect and sketched, and alongside computer enhanced layouts and images this looks very bold. The intention of the style in which contents is written, is almost to look like school book graffiti, which connotes to the idea that MOJO are expecting the majority of their targeted audience to see this issue as a return to their youth and school days. This can perhaps be seen as the USP of the page, and allows the page to appear very scrapbook orientated and again is very evident in the background photography arrangement, of which is merely an array of scattered record sleeves from the Britpop 90's era. On the desired scattered effect of Britpop memorablia, it is clear the function was to create something vaguely reminiscent of a teenagers bedroom wall or even floor during the 90's. Style and sophistication is added to the contents page with a slightly transparent white, bevelled-cornered shape, present underneath the text and above the photograph, allowing some of the image to clearly filter through, whilst keeping the main focus well and truly on the text. The colour theme is not present outside of the text box, however inside it, the blue, white and red theme from the front cover continues to shine in it's simplicity. The colour theme gives the page a real retro feel about it, allowing the reader to feel at one again with these particular colours, almost serving as a trip down memory lane.

Textual Analysis - UNCUT : CONTENTS PAGE

This is the contents page of UNCUT music publication, the masthead reading 'contents' is of the same retro style font that UNCUT can be seen wearing on the front cover, the interesting use of shadowing plays around with the traditional form of shape and creates a nice focus onto the page. The page is then setup in a fairly standard format with a picture box in the top left of the layout, three columns beneath it and running alongside both, a longer column feature from the editor. What makes UNCUT differ from this is how information and image is fitted inside this regular layout. In terms of the one picture box allowance, UNCUT have managed to include a feature photograph, along with two stand alone photographs, and a final image overlapping each of the three other photographs. The main photograph is oriented straight against the box layout line, the two other photographs are canted, each tilting in towards the middle of the page, unevenly, to create imperfect effect. This use of image layout connotes to the fact that it's targeted audience will be neither completely straight edged or a rule breaker, but will fall into both categories. The 'homemade style' arrangement is exciting to look at and it works as a media publication in its own stylish way, it also has a charming factor appealing to its audience, in the sense that they are not perfect, much in the way this isnt the typicalidea of perfect. The colums then stick to a strict colour theme, red, white and a pale green, the two main colums, feature white backgrounds, with gold font as the heading of each page and black font as a slight synopsis, this connotes highly to power and importance, so the reader knows this it is this that is of main significance to them upon just flicking through. the third column beneath the block of image features a bolder red as the dominant background colour, it is on reviews, audience can soon deconstruct that red means reviews in this publication, possibly connoting to the danger of the nitty gritty undergound scene in which music gigs of this nature thrive upon. Finally, the large column, spreading the length of the page, features a plae, bland looking green, with it being a note from the editor on the particular issue, it could be suggested that the green connotes to neutrality in the sense that the editor can take no sides of music, and must remain a 'neutral' to give a fair assessment of each musical project leaving all opinions aside. Not only by doing this does the editor establish a reputation and reliability but it also leaves a wide gap in the market for the consumer to say their opinion and what more develop it all by themselves.

Textual Analysis - NME : DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

This is a double page spread featured NME music magazine. The main focus of the spread is the extreme close up shot of Graham Coxon along with the large pullout quote taken from the interview below it. The artist is portrayed to look glum and miserable, this is executed through Graham's facial expression, the fact that it's an extreme close up shot showing facial expression in great depth, and also the dim lighting that barely sheds any of the artificial light onto his face. The dull colour, remains the theme on the second page of the double spread, particularly in the subtle vomit enducing shade of green that interchanges with a bold black of the font, both contrast greatly against the clean and purity of the white. The interesting layout of the text, in it's quirky altering of font size of each letter, draws the reader into almost the same as image might do, it looks to be in the semantic field of punk rock and roll, which would relate to the content of the text, in quite literally saying drugs, sex, and rock and roll, although worded with more integrity. The plain and drab colour scheme of the double page does have quite a homely feel to it, and comes as a welcome change from bright colours and loud photographs. The change of font size and font colour of individual lettering is designed to catch the readers attention, resulting in the pullout quote being of more success to the comercial market. The main photograph, features an unsavoury looking Graham Coxon, addressing the reader directly through eye contact, this also pulls the reader towards the article, using such a bold and contrasting image is no uncommon trait, the added factor that allows this particular double page spread success is the combination of facial expression, extreme close up shot, and use of white space, allowing the reader to really feel sympathy for and empathise with Graham before even reading the article. Also the combination of complicated text arrangement and bold photograph help stitch the two individual pages to become one, and make for a visually exciting and stylishly presented double page spread.

Textual Analysis - NME : FRONT COVER

The target audience of this magazine is young music fans that have a strong awareness and interest of the current scene. This is suggested by the use of language used, 'secret solo album', 'new Babyshambles album', 'win tickets', all implying that the consumer is not up to date with the latest information and that this publication will change that. The Photograph on the cover features a forlorn looking Pete Doherty, addresing readers directly, staring the audience squarely in the eye, as if almost a fresh bid for forgiveness from his fans from whatever his recent antics have involved. Pete Doherty is well known for his image and his iconic rock and roll danger, it is also well publicised that he is quite the 'sex icon' as well, thus allowing the magazine to push past boundries of mere music followers. Pete is very much portrayed and exploited here for his vulnerablity, as he often appears after a bad spell, to critics launching him as 'the new pete'. Although this particular time, the mise en scene of a cigarette lit in mouth, almost completely discards that image of a sorry saint, to one of a complete contradictory status.


The colour theme plays a large part in this issue of NME's cover, it is interesting that the first sell line about the main article of pete doherty features simply, 'no drugs, no police, no kate' each on respective lines, and in bold black font. It could be suggested that each line appeals to a different section of the targeted audience, 'no drugs' possibly aimed at the pure music fans that don't like to tollerate foul play in the music business, 'no police' appeals to members of the pete doherty 'tribe' that follow his every move, as it increases the chance of them catching more glimpse of him live, and finally the 'no kate' line deconstructs to connote to one simple word of 'single', exciting any female fans. 'Pete Doherty' is written in a large red font spreading most of the cover from the left across, connoting to dominance, the red also connotes to danger, perhaps implying that although currently there are no drugs, no police and no kate, it is not going to be long at all until they all come rushing back. The further contrast still appears in the binary opposition of white text on black background, 'Exclusively on the new Babyshambles album', although it literally is about something new, the white can also connote to a fresh slate of music appose to endless media controversy for Pete Doherty and the fact then that it is actually a music magazine so surely the most important factor should be the music itself. This case of Binary opposition is the same indeed with the photograph, Pete Doherty looking to be in a dark place, dressed in black, against the purity and cleanliness of a white background, two things never adorned to Pete's name.
NME's use of language is interesting as it appears they show a softer, filtered attitude towards the expicit content, especially on the front cover of their publication, quote by johnny borell "the cribs are talking bullsh*t", this suggests that they do actually care and acknowledge that they do attract a younger audience in addition to their targeted audience. The cover is absolutely crawling with examples of declaratives including,'crap name. great sound' and 'your 'instant expert' guide', this connotes to confidence of opinion and authority in the sense that people will respect and furthermore follow the nature of everything the NME prints, the fact that such bold honesty appears on the front cover can only reinforce this confidence. This is also apparent in the organisation of dead space and white space, everything is positioned neatly and stylishly around the face of Pete Doherty, the masthead fits tightly into the top left hand corner, whilst spherical sellers float innocently either side of the face.
In conclusion it is clear that NME are using their front cover as an advertisement for the type of article that can be expected once inside the publication, subverting stereotypes and appealing to their target audience this way. The clever use of statements allows consumers to feel in good and trustworthy hands, alongside an extremely tidy layout, a layout which compares greatly to the photograph of an unkept and perhaps slightly unhealthy star. It will be of great merit for me to consider such traits as these when finally going on to produce my own magazine front cover.

Textual Analysis - MOJO CLASSIC : DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

This is a double page spread featured in MOJO CLASSIC music magazine. The outlying focus is the photograph of Noel Gallagher, in particular the left hand side page of the spread, as well as the somewhat synical article heading of 'Britain's Got Talent'. The target audience of MOJO are those who appreciate what might be seen to be 'real' music by real musicians, considering this, it is interesting to then read a heading saying that of 'Britain's Got Talent'. Of course referencing the popular reality television series of recent times, the irony being that Noel Gallagher is on the other side of the spread, at a time when music was judged on merit appose to it's 'reality' qualities, perhaps adopting the mind frame and opinion of the targeted audience, in silently evaluating that Britain and talent are no longer associates.


The combination of photograph and heading is an attempt to provoke reaction from the targeted audience, an attempt to make them read the article, which it most certainly does in an effective manner. The iconography of Noel Gallaghers British graphically designed guitar, denotes to the heading of Britains got talent, perhaps suggesting that Britain no longer has talent, given that the photograph was taken at one of Oasis 90's spectacular Knebworth shows, a strong ten years ago. There is brave use of dead space on the right hand side page of the spread, which draws attention to and effectively emphasises the text, and amplifies the sheer size of the audience that this 'British Talent' have attracted. MOJO have stuck with a simple design, along with the patterned border featured throughout the publication, and a colour code in keeping with the British colours and photograph, the text is aligned left, bold and in a very British looking font, possibly connoting to the fact that oasis are British, and therefore the analogy that oasis have talent, therefore British people must all have talent and be great at everything.

Textual Analysis - UNCUT : DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

This is a double page spread featured in UNCUT music magazine. The wide angle shot of the band 'The Stone Roses', is the main feature of the spread, in particular bass player Alan 'Reni' Wrens, who is the sole member featured on the right hand side page. Alongside the photograph being of main interest, there is also a pullout quote scattered across the top of the spread, each line is angled differently to create sense of messy overlapping youths. This is also present in the front sizing and arrangement, each line different to the next, possibly connoting to the difference of each band member. The style compliments the photograph very nicely, as the band seem to be all over the place in comical fashion also. Consumers get the sense that the article is going to be from the point of view of Reni, and that it is his quote featured above, although he is not centered or in the highest frame position, he is in the foreground of the shot and the one most connecting with the audience, this is apparent through eye contact and hand gesture. The content of the image is supposed to correlate with the large pullout quote, this is particlarly evident in Reni's rather chimp-like pose, along with the general larking about of the other band members in the supposed serious climate of a photo shoot.

The fact that the photograph is in black and white, means that colour used by the magazine has a good chance of standing out, in terms of text colour, the only colour used is green, the word acid tends to be associated with the colour green, this choice could be to emphasise that. However it does also amplify the quote as a whole, and direct some of the readers attention towards it. There is also, hidden beneath strips of text, a Holland flag in paint format, strikingly similar to the one that appears on The Stone Roses debut album, the lemon in the top left hand side corner has also been created this way. The bridge that the band are on, looks amazingly alike to the iconic bridge that other Manchester band, 'Joy Division' were famously photographed on, the two bands obviously share similarities musically, perhaps this is suggesting that The Stone Roses merely began where Joy Division left off and possibly a near glimpse as to where the band would end up very soon.