Final products

First drafts without images

Rough hand-drawn drafts

These rough drafts are being used to give an idea of the layout of the pages. (Loacation/size of images, headlines, etc.)

Spider diagrams

Price/How often published

As my target audience will mostly be in the C2 and D demographics and will not have that much money to spend on things such as magazines, the price for the magazine must be quite low. However, it is a relatively niche genre so it will not have much competition in terms of price. Due to it being a low price, it will not have much content in an issue as a more expensive magazine, and so should be published more often.

The magazine will be published weekly and cost £1.99 per issue.

Briefly outline your target audience

As my magazine will have an emphasis on classic rock, it will mostly contain musicians who were around in the 60's-80's. This is quite a niche audience, and most of the audience for my magazine will be people who were around when some of these bands first formed, growing up listening to them. Because of this, the main demographic for my magazine will be the 35-55 demographic.
However, not all of the audience for the magazine will be this age. The audience will also include younger readers who started listening to the genre later than those in the 35-55 demographic, including some who have only become interested in the genre recently. Some of my audience will be in the 24-35 demographic.

The genre the magazine will focus on is not generally a "high" kind of music like classical, which is mostly listened to people in higher classes and demographics. The genre is open to people of all demogrpahics, but is mostly listened to by working-class to middle-class people, mostly male adults.

For these reasons, I think the main SEG demographics for the magazine will be the C2 and D demographics.

Market research - Magazine 3 - Double-page spread

Language - Lots of dark colours used, mostly red and black, with all pictures in greyscale, to reflect MCR's emo style of music. This is further conveyed by the main image, a mid-shot of the singer looking away from the camera and the reader, as well as a headshot of one of the band members shouting in the corner of the page. The headline stands out against the dark colours of the rest of the page, especially the words "The best MCR", displayed in large white text to stand out agaisnt the colour black and get the attention of the reader.

Institution - Bauer Media

Ideology - The spread conveys a sense of darkness and sadness through the use of black and greyscale, as well as the content of the images, especially the main image. It also gives the message that MCR are getting better, as stated in the large, instantly noticeable headline.

Audience - The audience for this article are mainly fans of MCR, mostly early teenagers, who will see the large stand-out "MCR" and the main image of the singer and want to read the article.

Representation - The spread represents MCR as being somewhat of an emo band, which would be seen as positively by the band's fans who would be the audience for this article. This is also an accurate representation of the band's style and music.

Market research - Magazine 3 - Contents page

Language - The contents page is less cluttered than the cover, with more toned-down colours, mostly white and yellow. In terms of layout, the main image takes up much less space than in other magazines analysed, without a paragraph giving more detail on it. Smaller pages of important, but not main, features of the magazine are displayed clearly in a square layout. The images are large enough to grab the reader's attention but allow room for the smaller contents and other images. This is unlike Kerrang's usual covers, which are cluttered.

Institution - Bauer Media

Ideology - This page uses calm colours and a clear layout to convey a more relaxed feeling than the cover analysed. However, t he images are still of metal bands like Lamb of God and Taste of Chaos, which is juxtaposed against the colour scheme and layout. This may have been done solely to make the page clear and easy to find certain features, rather than to convey a specific message.

Audience - This page targets Kerrang's usual audience, as the musicians featured are largely the same as the ones featured on its covers and inthe magazine in general.

Representation - This page represents the musicians accurately, as some of the images are of them playing at concerts, etc, rather than a publicity shot. The images of the musicians seem to have been used to reflect the types of music the play, such as Taste of Chaos being in a cluttered, chaotic image. Also the singer of Lamb of God with black hair and clothes to reflect his, and the band's, style.



Market research - Magazine 3 - Magazine cover



Language - Lots of images and text clutter the cover, creating a sense of noise and energy, reflecting the type of music the magazine is primarily about. Most of the pictures are close-ups of artists singing or shouting, adding to this effect. Bright colours such as green and yellow make up much of the page. The feeling of noise is further conveyed through the masthead, presented in large letters with an exclamation mark and with a the appearance of having been cracked, as well as the fact that it is called "Kerrang!", the sound a guitar makes when strummed. and the tagline: "life is loud". The tagline is also red, which stands out and has connotations of anger and noise. A low-angle mid-shot of an artist playing guitar is used as the main image, often used in music magazines to give the impression the subject of the image is big and  impressive. The large banner headline adds to both of these effects, with the large text and exclamation mark adding to the effect of noise and energy, and "Greatest gigs ever" emphasising the greatness of the musicians included in the list and in the main image.
Institution - Kerrang! is published by Bauer Media, a successful multi-platform publishing company who publish a range of other magazines, including other music magazines such as Q magazine.
Ideology - The ideology of this cover is that the louder music is, the btter it is and metal is the best genre of music. This is shown through the cluttered layout, the tagline, the masthead, and the the images of musicians singing loudly.
Audience - Kerrang's audience largely consists of teenagers and young adults who listen to metal music, reflected by the visually lous, attention-grabbing covers and the relatively low price tag. This allows it to compete with other, similar magazines which are more expensive as its target audience will be in a lower demographic than some other magazines and may not have as much money to spend on things like magazines. (C/D demographics)
Representation - The magazine cover represents its featured musicians positively, and portrays them as playing loud, energetic music which is great to listen to. This is done through the large banner headline of "Greatest Gigs Ever!", as well as through the low-angle mid-shot of the musician in the main image to make him look more impressive. A psotive representation of the musicians will mean more customers.

Market research - Magazine 2 - Double page spread

Language - Q's traditional colour scheme of red, white and grey is used again in the double page spread. An wide shot of the band is used, showing the background of the image, a chainlink fence. This image along with the banner "Born to Run" implies that they have broken out from somewhere. The banner "Born To Run" is presented as one single word, in three colours, causing it to be read quickly as the words "run into" eachother, keeping the theme conveyed in the name of the band and the main image.
Institution - Q Magazine is published by Bauer Media.
Ideology - he ideology of this double page spread is that the band Born To Run are free and play a new type of music, suggested by the main image which implies they have "broken free" of conventional music. The word "run" also suggests a fast-paced,energetic musical style.
Audience - In addition to Q's regular audience, the audience for this article may be people who are interested in Born To Run's music, and other fast-paced music like it.

Market Research - Magazine 2 - Contents page

Language - Similar to the contents page in NME magazine, a large main image of the band The Courteeners takes up most of the page, directing the reader's attention to them as they are included in the main feature of the magazine. The image of the band has been taken from a low-angle, wide shot. This gives the impression that the band member are taller than they really are, and makes them seem more impressive. This effect is enhanced by it being a wide shot, allowing for the landscape in the background. The band members standing in front of this background as to the tall, impressie effect, as they take up more of the image than the sprawling landscape in the background. The field landscape may have also been included as The Courteeners are a British band. The other contents give a small amount of detail about the rest of the features in the magazine and use Q's traditional contrasting, bright red and white colour scheme.

Institution - Q Magazine is published by Bauer Media, as detailed in the previous post.

Ideology - The ideology of this contents page is that The Courteeners are

a talented, impressive British band, conveyed through the large image of them appearing taller than the landscape in the background and the fact that the image takes up most of the page.

Audience - The audience for this issue, in addition to Q's usual audience as previously detailed, are fans of the band Oasis, who are most likely presented on the issue's front cover.

Representation - The Courteeners are represented positively here as an impressive, "giant" (famous) band. This is important in music magazines as fans of artists are more liely to buy the magazine if they see them represented positively.

Market research - Magazine 2 Magazine cover

Language - Wide shot of various artists has been used to show their different stances and reflect their different personalities and styles. The wide shot allows the reader to see the two artists sitting on the floor as well as the artists who are standing up, possibly to further reflect the variety in this issue of the magazine. Mostly dark colours are used, contrasting with the bright, more noticeable Q masthead. Unlike conventional magazine covers, coverlines are not used a roung the cover. This allows the attention to remain on the main image of the various artists. The main image and single coverline at the top of the page give enough infoirmation on the main subject of the magazine, the Artists of the Century feature, without the need for more descripti

Ideology - The ideology of this cover is that Q magazine covers a wide variety of different music types and styles, from Bono to Amy Winehouse, and that all of these artists are great, as shown by the fact that they are included in a list of "Artists of the Century". This allows Q magazine to gain a wide audience, as many people like each of these artists, and many people will buy the magazine if they are all included.

Institution - Q Magazine is published by Bauer Media, who publish magazines for a wide variety of audiences, with magazines such as FHM and Heat magazine.Bauer Media are a large, successful company.

Audience - Q's audience are open-minded people who enjoy a variety of contemporary music. The audience for this particular issue also includes fans of any of the artists presented on the cover, creating a wider audience for this issue than with most other issues.

Representation - This cover represents the artists in a positive light, including an image of them along with the coverline "Artists of the Century". There is almost nothing in the bottom two thirds of the cover other than the arists themelves, keeping attention on them. It is important to create a positive representation of the artists so that their fans will be more inclined to buy the magazine.

Market reseach - Magazine 1 - Double-page spread

Language - Very large, mid-shot picture of Lily Allen takes up a lot of space on the spread. This contrasts with the headline : "I'm not an attention seeker", implied to be a quote from Lily Allen, with the image taking up a large amount of space, even part of the other page, with the image placed to give the image that she is elbowing the headline out of the way to gety attention. Also, the only bright colour used is red, a bright, attention-grabbing colour. It is only used in the image of Lily Allen, and to highlight her name in the text.This creates a kind of joke using the image and headline. The image also takes up more space than the text, adding to this, as well as the fact that her name is in red in the sub-headline. A large picture of Lily Allen may also have been used so that anyone looking through the magazine would recognise her and read the article.
Institution - The magazine is produced by IPC Media, as detailed earlier.
Ideology - The ideology of this spread is that Lily Allen is well-known, and an attention seeker, as shown by the image taking up most of the space.
Audience - The audience for these pages of the magazine are people who are fans of Lily Allen, and will noptice the large, attention-grabbing image of her, plus the quote by her, and be interested in reading the article.

Market Research - Magazine 1 - Contents Page

Language - Despite being a contents page, the imge takes up almost the whole of the page, which is somewhat unconventional, with the contents only taking up the left side of the image. This draws attention towards the main article of the magazine which is represented by the image. This main article will probably have also been displayed on the cover, and been a main reason why the reader has bought the magazine, so is emphasised in the contents page. Like Oasis in the contents page for the other issue, the main image is taken from a low angle, making the artist look bigger and more impressive. There is also not much in the
background of the shot to distact attention from the artist,  The other contents are kept short and simple with no description to  make more room for the main image.
Ideology - The large image taking up most of the page, as well as the low-angle shot and the fact that the image takes up more spce than all of the other contents of the magazine conveys the message that guitarist is big, famous and important.
Institution - The magazine is published by IPC Media.
Audience - Mostly male, average age of 23.
Representation - The guitarist is represented positively, with the large, low-angle shot of him taking up the page. He seems to be represented as a solo artist, as there is very little in the background of the image, including other band members. The simple may also be representing him as an indie artist, as he is just sitting on a chair indoors, rather than at a huge concert.

Market research - Magazine 1 - Cover

NME Magazine cover

Language - The main image of the band takes up most of the cover, attracting attention and informing readers what the main part of the magazine is about. The banner headline, as well as much of the rest of the cover, including the masthead, also uses contrasting colours of red and white to stand out. The main image has been taken from a low angle, making the band members look taller and more impressive with the band appearing to be looking down on the reader. The only other elements of the magazine cover, other than the masthead, are all related to the band. The large banner headline uses short phrases to emphasise the impressiveness of the band.

Ideology - The cover conveys the message that Oasis are an impressive, great band. This is shown through the main image taking up almost all of the cover, taken from a low-angle shot with the band looking downwards. This is also shown in the large "Oasis" in the banner headline, and the text in the headline "Back to blow your mind." The cover of the CD also has an image of one of the band members from a low-angle shot, further conveying this message.

Institution - The publisher of the magazine is not visible in this image of the cover. However, the magazine is published by IPC Media, who publish a wide range of magazines for a broad audience, including Look magazine.

Audience - The audience for this issue of the magazine is fans of Oasis, or people who are interested in listening to them. This is clear as the cover is all about the band Oasis, and the magazine contains a free CD of Oasis, which poeople will want to listen to if they like the band or would like to start listening to them.

The target audience for the magazine itself are mostly men, on average aged 23 years old. This cover is effective at targeting this audience, as Oasis were popular in the 90s, and many of the magazine's audience will have grown up listening to the band, so they are instantly recognisable.

Representation - The band on the cover is represented positively through the main image, banner headline, and the coverline which contains a positive quote about them. This will convince fans of Oasis to buy the magazine as they want to see a band they listen to represented in a positive light.

Identify and explain choice of music genre

I have chosen to theme my music magazine on the genre of classic rock music. I have chosen this genre as it is my personal favourite type of music. It is also because this a relatively niche genre of music. During research on the internet, I did not find many existing magazines about the genre compared to magazines about pop, rap, dance music etc. This means there is less competition and a potentially larger audience.

LIIAR Interpretation of the Brief

Language - The front cover must contain the conventions of magazine covers, such as a masthead to identify the magazine, a main image, coverlines, etc. Music magazine covers often feature main images of bands or artists, in which case a mid-shot is usually used. The magazine I produce will be centered around classic rock music, so the central colours used on the cover will be colours like black, white and red. It should be visually interesting enough to gain the attention of potential readers without being too overstated. The cover should draw the focus towards the main image, with the image and masthead being the main parts of the cover. There should not be too many coverlines, but enough to give some information about what the magazine contains. This style and colour code will also be present in the contents page and double page spread, but they will focus more on the text than the images.

Institution - My magazine will appear to be published by a publisher who is responsible for similar kinds of music magazines.

Ideology - The magazine cover and other pages will convey the message that this is the best genre of music. As it is a music about classic rock, it will also convey nostalgia.

Audience - As a classic rock-based magazine, much of the audience will be people who listened to the music when it was first around, so mostly between the ages of around 30-45. However, the target audience will also contain younger fans of the genre who have started listening to the genre more recently.

Representation - My target audience and the artists the magazine will focus on will be represented positively. If they were represented negatively, no fans of the music genre would want to read the magazine. The artists will be represented as accurately as possible to add authenticity to the magazine.

The Brief

Produce the front page, contents and double page spread of a new magazine. All images and texts used must be original , produced by you - minimum of four images.

Full Evaluation

Joe Megson Media Studies Coursework Evaluation

This is my evaluation of my AS Level coursework to produce a magazine cover.

LIIAR Analysis of the cover:

Language – The medium-close up head-on view of the student is, in my opinion, effective at drawing attention to the cover. The large text is coloured red and green, bright colours which also attract attention and have connotations of positivity, as well as making the cover more aesthetically pleasing. For the masthead I have used funky lettering for the font, which furthers these effects. However, I have used a more clear, bold font for the coverlines so as to not over-do it, and make the main feature of the article stand out to the reader. The microphone, as well as the speech bubble surrounding the masthead, is meant to reference the main content of the magazine, the interview with media students. This could perhaps have been enhanced by having a photograph of more than one media student as the main image.

Institution – The magazine cover does not include the logo of a publisher. However, as it is named “Wyke Weekly”, it is published by the staff/students of Wyke, intended for sale to Wyke students. This is also implied by the image of a sudent on the cover.

Ideology – The bright, funky lettering on the magazine cover suggest a message that life at college is fun and enjoyable. This is also shown through the main image of a student smiling, looking relaxed and happy to have his photograph taken. (I originally used more than two colours for the coverlines, but this over-did the message and took attention away from the main image). The large image of the Wyke student, as well as the coverline telling the reader about the main article, give a message of relating to the audience, as the main article is an interview (or interviews) with students at Wyke.

Audience – The audience of the Wyke Weekly magazine is students who attend Wyke College. This is shown first in the title of the magazine and the strapline, which reads “for your college life.” Also the image of the student conveys this. The cover does not really specify a gender towards which the magazine is targeted, as there is no specific one; it is just aimed towards students of Wyke.

Representation – I think that the audience, Wyke students, are represented positively in my cover, through the positive image of a smiling first-year student as the main image and the strapline showing that students are contributing to the main article of the magazine. I also think this creates a positive representation of college life, as the students enjoy it. I believe it is important to create a positive representation of students and the college, as it encourages people to buy the magazine. The people represented in the magazine are also the magazine’s target audience, so it is especially important to create a positive representation or no one would want to read the magazine.

Overall, I am happy with my magazine cover and the draft of the contents page. The cover effectively conveys a positive representation and message about Wyke students and life at the college. The main image, text and masthead are effective at drawing in readers and attracting their attention while encouraging them to read it. The edited-in microphone and speech bubble relate to the main content of the magazine, and information about the main contents are clearly displayed and visible on the cover in bright, attractive colours that make it stand out.

However, there were some problems I encountered during the production of the cover. I originally intended to cut out the image of the student and place it onto a different background. However, this took a long time due to the imprecision of cutting it out and I had to use an eraser tool to get rid of parts of the original background. I eventually decided to just use the original image with the original background and edit it by placing an image of a microphone into it. In retrospect, this could have been avoided b using a Magic Eraser tool in photoshop, or using a USB mouse to make cutting out the image more precise.

I also did not allocate much time for planning the coursework, partly due to an absence at the start of the project. As a result, I spent time making some changes as I was creating it, which could have been planned beforehand otherwise. I can avoid this in the future by not being absent, and by thinking ahead at the start of projects.

In conclusion, I am pleased with the results of my coursework. The effects used are effective, and the cover is attractive and positive to readers. Future projects could be improved with more plan ning and more understanding of the image editing tools available.

LIIAR Analysis

This is the LIIAR analysis of my magazine cover, included in my evaluation:

Language – The medium-close up head-on view of the student is, in my opinion, effective at drawing attention to the cover. The large text is coloured red and green, bright colours which also attract attention and have connotations of positivity, as well as making the cover more aesthetically pleasing. For the masthead I have used funky lettering for the font, which furthers these effects. However, I have used a more clear, bold font for the coverlines so as to not over-do it, and make the main feature of the article stand out to the reader. The microphone, as well as the speech bubble surrounding the masthead, is meant to reference the main content of the magazine, the interview with media students. This could perhaps have been enhanced by having a photograph of more than one media student as the main image.

Institution – The magazine cover does not include the logo of a publisher. However, as it is named “Wyke Weekly”, it is published by the staff/students of Wyke, intended for sale to Wyke students. This is also implied by the image of a sudent on the cover.

Ideology – The bright, funky lettering on the magazine cover suggest a message that life at college is fun and enjoyable. This is also shown through the main image of a student smiling, looking relaxed and happy to have his photograph taken. (I originally used more than two colours for the coverlines, but this over-did the message and took attention away from the main image). The large image of the Wyke student, as well as the coverline telling the reader about the main article, give a message of relating to the audience, as the main article is an interview (or interviews) with students at Wyke.

Audience – The audience of the Wyke Weekly magazine is students who attend Wyke College. This is shown first in the title of the magazine and the strapline, which reads “for your college life.” Also the image of the student conveys this. The cover does not really specify a gender towards which the magazine is targeted, as there is no specific one; it is just aimed towards students of Wyke.

Representation – I think that the audience, Wyke students, are represented positively in my cover, through the positive image of a smiling first-year student as the main image and the strapline showing that students are contributing to the main article of the magazine. I also think this creates a positive representation of college life, as the students enjoy it. I believe it is important to create a positive representation of students and the college, as it encourages people to buy the magazine. The people represented in the magazine are also the magazine’s target audience, so it is especially important to create a positive representation or no one would want to read the magazine.

Conventions of a magazine cover

As part of my planning, I have produced a short list of elements used in magazine covers.

Conventions of a magazine cover

These elements are often, or always used in magazine covers. By remembering these conventions, I can use them when creating my cover.

Masthead – The title or logo of the magazine, used to identify the magazine.

Main Image – The main central image of the cover, used to attract potential readers and inform them of some of the content of the magazine.

Strapline – a subheading, used to give some more information to the reader

Coverlines – these short phrases on the front cover inform the reader of other contents in the magazine than the main article which is often represented by the main image.

Barcode, Dateline and price – Provide the date and price of the magazine, usually found near the barcode.

Brief for preliminary excercise

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 appropiately laid-out text and a masthead. Additionally you must produce a mock-up of the layout of the contents page to demonstrate your grasp of DTP.