Monday, 9 November 2009
Coming up with a title and tagline...
Coming up with a title for my magazine was probably one of the hardest tasks in this coursework, and along with the title has to come a punch line. From my research i found that one thing for definite was that all titles link with the genre and style of the magazine. For example, Classic rock is the title of a famous rock magazine, terrorize is the title of a heavy metal magazine. So they all link in with their themes and styles. As I was thinking of a title I also made sure that the title is very clear and does what it says on the tin. The title I thought of in the end was 'Stage'. I chose this because music and bands are normally expressed or presented on stages. This then lead to me thinking of the tag line :'Where music is expressed' as it links in with the title and complements it very well. Below is the design for my title and thought it was appropriate to make it black with a white outer glow as it makes it clear and stands out, through its size that it is the title of my music magazine. I have chosen this messy, splattered font as I feel that it lets off a very 'Punk' feel to it and is clearly fit for purpose. However, one thing I was criticised for was calling a heavy punk rock magazine 'Stage'. My reason for choosing this title was purely because my magazine is a generic punk magazine that covers different areas of 'Punk'.
Sunday, 8 November 2009
Magazine theme...
For the theme of my magazine i have decided to do a punk rock magazine as i believe it is open to imagine about what punk is. Also, using existing punk rock magazine and punk rock bands will allow me to build around the genre with my ideas.
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed the perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock. They created fast, hard-edged music, typically with short songs, stripped-down instrumentation, and often political, anti-establishment lyrics. Punk embraces a DIY (do it yourself) ethic, with many bands self-producing their recordings and distributing them through informal channels- Wikipedia.org
This is the definition of punk rock and i have to make sure this is reflected in my production of this project. I am aiming for a rebel, energetic, modern punk rock magazine.
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed the perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock. They created fast, hard-edged music, typically with short songs, stripped-down instrumentation, and often political, anti-establishment lyrics. Punk embraces a DIY (do it yourself) ethic, with many bands self-producing their recordings and distributing them through informal channels- Wikipedia.org
This is the definition of punk rock and i have to make sure this is reflected in my production of this project. I am aiming for a rebel, energetic, modern punk rock magazine.
Picking an ideal reader...
This is Stacy Goldman, a typical 16 year old rebel that doesn't like to do what she's told and just for being her, she will do the opposite. Stacy attends a normal typical state school in London, where she also lives. She lives with her Mum and Dad and older sister. Her perfect Friday night is to sleep round her friends house and drink to the early hours of the morning to Punk music. Her other interests include hanging around with friends in parks and hanging out with her boyfriend, Robert. She never comes home before 10, she hates staying indoors, especially being indoors with her annoying older sister who always criticises her for her 'different' style. She has a very distinct and unique way of dressing because she IS a very unique character. Her favourite place to shop is Camden and Soho. She is a very social person. She enjoys watching and listening to Music channels such as Kerrang! as she shares a passion for punk and rock music, she loves singing along to these channels. Her favourite bands are the sex pistols, The Ramones and Bullet For My Valentine. She watches programmes like Miami ink and loves horror films like paranormal activity as she loves the feeling of knowing that your going to get scared. She is a bit of a rebel and has been kicked out of a school before for having a very vicious fight. She hates going out with the family and wants to be left in her room with her music. In a nutshell, she is a cocky rebellious, young teenager into her music.Saturday, 7 November 2009
Plan for 13/11/09
As I began on my main coursework task I first needed to become
-Research magazine covers online- The is the basis of my task, researching magazine covers will allow me to get a feel around the topic of music magazines. Researching magazines of different genres and components will allow me to devise ideas and think about what will go into my magazine.
-Come up with ideas for layouts of front cover, contents and interview pages- Compiling layouts of all components of my magazine will be vital as it will guide me into how my magazine will come together and look like.
-Come up with title ideas for magazine- Come up with different titles for my magazine and survey titles to see which one packs more of an impact. Afterwards, I will have to do the same process for my slogan/punchline
-Come up with an ideal reader for my magazine- I will need to distinguish the 'ideal' readership for my magazine, so I could build around it to make up the contents of my ideas around this information.
-Plan photo shoot and choose models- This will require me planning out what type of photos i want and the different shots i want to be included in my magazine. Also choosing colleagues for my photo shoot will need to be done as well, to create my own made up band.
-Research magazine covers online- The is the basis of my task, researching magazine covers will allow me to get a feel around the topic of music magazines. Researching magazines of different genres and components will allow me to devise ideas and think about what will go into my magazine.
-Come up with ideas for layouts of front cover, contents and interview pages- Compiling layouts of all components of my magazine will be vital as it will guide me into how my magazine will come together and look like.
-Come up with title ideas for magazine- Come up with different titles for my magazine and survey titles to see which one packs more of an impact. Afterwards, I will have to do the same process for my slogan/punchline
-Come up with an ideal reader for my magazine- I will need to distinguish the 'ideal' readership for my magazine, so I could build around it to make up the contents of my ideas around this information.
-Plan photo shoot and choose models- This will require me planning out what type of photos i want and the different shots i want to be included in my magazine. Also choosing colleagues for my photo shoot will need to be done as well, to create my own made up band.
Thursday, 5 November 2009
Introduction to coursework and music magazine research
In this double media lesson on Thursday 5th November. We began to look at the areas needed for our main task of the coursework, Creating a music magazine with a contents and two page spread interview.
Our first task was to look., in depth, at certain readership and how the can say a lot about the type of person who reads a particular type of magazine. We were put in pairs and given a magazine between us to answer particular questions on. I was paired with Jake and we were given 'Junior' magazine. The questions we answered were:
What does this reader eat for breakfast?
What car/ mode of transport do they use?
What accommodation do they live in?
What do they drink?
What music do they like?
What sport do they play or watch?
Where do they go on holiday?
Are they married or single?
After answering these questions we gave feedback to the class about the magazine we were given. After this brief discussion we then researched existing music magazines, baring in mind these questions. Junior magazine seemed like a magazine that is aimed at couples with a lot of money that live in a house and have a fancy car. Also this magazine is aimed at people that go on expensive holidays and spend a lot on the image of their children.
The music magazine I researched was Classic rock magazine and found that the main article was on Metallica. I only assumed this from the front cover of the magazine and it had an iconic picture of the lead guitarist, and I was right. In addition to this, the title was in big, white, bold lettering and stood out form the page. The font of the title is very Also, around the bottom of the page it had other stories that were in the magazine and. The choice in colours with the black and whites and golds are used brilliantly to show that everything is clear and thought about carefully with a purpose. Another thing I noticed was that the top half of the page is left pretty bare, in comparison to the bottom half, creating a pyramid shape. There are about 3/4 different fonts on this page sand they are all used for different things. The other fonts are used for article titles, tag line, and freebies.Everything on this front cover is also appropriate to their ideal reader and genre of music. Everything on this fornt cover screams out rock: memorable title, snappy tag line, Iconic rock image, relevant rock articles and stories. From my research I found that the conventions of a music magazine are very clear. Everything from the title to the positioning images and texts are all thoguth about and done on purpose by the editor to make the magazine appealing.
Our first task was to look., in depth, at certain readership and how the can say a lot about the type of person who reads a particular type of magazine. We were put in pairs and given a magazine between us to answer particular questions on. I was paired with Jake and we were given 'Junior' magazine. The questions we answered were:
What does this reader eat for breakfast?
What car/ mode of transport do they use?
What accommodation do they live in?
What do they drink?
What music do they like?
What sport do they play or watch?
Where do they go on holiday?
Are they married or single?
After answering these questions we gave feedback to the class about the magazine we were given. After this brief discussion we then researched existing music magazines, baring in mind these questions. Junior magazine seemed like a magazine that is aimed at couples with a lot of money that live in a house and have a fancy car. Also this magazine is aimed at people that go on expensive holidays and spend a lot on the image of their children.
The music magazine I researched was Classic rock magazine and found that the main article was on Metallica. I only assumed this from the front cover of the magazine and it had an iconic picture of the lead guitarist, and I was right. In addition to this, the title was in big, white, bold lettering and stood out form the page. The font of the title is very Also, around the bottom of the page it had other stories that were in the magazine and. The choice in colours with the black and whites and golds are used brilliantly to show that everything is clear and thought about carefully with a purpose. Another thing I noticed was that the top half of the page is left pretty bare, in comparison to the bottom half, creating a pyramid shape. There are about 3/4 different fonts on this page sand they are all used for different things. The other fonts are used for article titles, tag line, and freebies.Everything on this front cover is also appropriate to their ideal reader and genre of music. Everything on this fornt cover screams out rock: memorable title, snappy tag line, Iconic rock image, relevant rock articles and stories. From my research I found that the conventions of a music magazine are very clear. Everything from the title to the positioning images and texts are all thoguth about and done on purpose by the editor to make the magazine appealing.
Wednesday, 4 November 2009
Feedback on premiliminary task
Today I was given feedback on my preliminary task and I got a chance to see what it could have done better on my preliminary task so I could make sure I could develop and avoid any problems in my main coursework task. For my preliminary task School/College magazine I got 42/50. I was given both positive and constructive criticism for my magazine cover.
Firstly I will start with the positives of my final product. I was told by my teacher that the colour schemes on the front page were good. The mix of blues, blacks and whites fitted the purpose of the task. Also, the highlighting of the title and images on the front page was effective and created an impact. Generally, the actual task itself was produced to a satisfactory level. However, there were minor faults in my work that were highlighted in order for me to know so i didnt commit the same faults in my main task. One fault was the Lack of variation of fonts and font sizes. They were very similiar and it was clear that it did not follow the industry conventions. Also, for the pictures, there wasnt a variation of shot distances and types. Tghis is something important to include and adjust in my main task to get the highest mark possible. In a nutshell, my layout and text choices for my main task have to be thought about very carefully and constant surveying of my work has to be done to ensure everything is spotted and for my work to be the best it can.
Firstly I will start with the positives of my final product. I was told by my teacher that the colour schemes on the front page were good. The mix of blues, blacks and whites fitted the purpose of the task. Also, the highlighting of the title and images on the front page was effective and created an impact. Generally, the actual task itself was produced to a satisfactory level. However, there were minor faults in my work that were highlighted in order for me to know so i didnt commit the same faults in my main task. One fault was the Lack of variation of fonts and font sizes. They were very similiar and it was clear that it did not follow the industry conventions. Also, for the pictures, there wasnt a variation of shot distances and types. Tghis is something important to include and adjust in my main task to get the highest mark possible. In a nutshell, my layout and text choices for my main task have to be thought about very carefully and constant surveying of my work has to be done to ensure everything is spotted and for my work to be the best it can.
Sunday, 1 November 2009
Prem coursework- Preliminary task evaluation
Throughout this preliminary task of my coursework I have come across some challenges but the task itself has been quite straight forward, with the hard work and effort put in. When i was given the task, I must admit, it was quite hard to come up with an idea for it as I didn't know whether or not to make it a focused on a department magazine (like the exemplar shown) or a more generic magazine. It took me a good week to finalise my idea after discussions with my teacher and weighing up the pros and cons. I found that if it is more generic you can include a variety of things, whereas if it was focused on one department it would require accuracy on what is written as it cannot be off the main focus.
Throughout my front cover production I came across some problems that were not too hard to cross. Ior example, I found it quite tricky to change the lighting on the faces of the front cover. It required alot of playing around on photoshop for it to finally look retouched and slightly more professional than my first go. Also another problem encountered with the front cover, that was mentioned by peers was a spacious area that was empty. This made me have to think about what could go in this space and after a while I came up with an idea for it. These, I guess, were quite minor problems as I managed to overcome these problems.
For the production of my contents page, ideas for layouts was my main problem as I didn't know how to lay out my contents. I eventually came up with an idea after visualising and playing with areas of the contents page and pictures to compile my contents page. I also had to be accurate in trying to link my contents page with my front cover so they complimented each other.
On the other hand, I found that this preliminary task went quite smoothly and I did not encounter any big problems that could not be overcome. I believe that my product was a success as I kept to deadlines and did everything to the best of my ability and with he resources provided.
If I had a chance to re do this preliminary task all over again I would of probably would've taken more exciting pictures and I might of changed the topic of the magazine. other than this I do not think I would have changed much.
I hope that the problems I encountered are Something i later to hope on to improve and consider spending detailed time on when i do my main coursework task.
Throughout my front cover production I came across some problems that were not too hard to cross. Ior example, I found it quite tricky to change the lighting on the faces of the front cover. It required alot of playing around on photoshop for it to finally look retouched and slightly more professional than my first go. Also another problem encountered with the front cover, that was mentioned by peers was a spacious area that was empty. This made me have to think about what could go in this space and after a while I came up with an idea for it. These, I guess, were quite minor problems as I managed to overcome these problems.
For the production of my contents page, ideas for layouts was my main problem as I didn't know how to lay out my contents. I eventually came up with an idea after visualising and playing with areas of the contents page and pictures to compile my contents page. I also had to be accurate in trying to link my contents page with my front cover so they complimented each other.
On the other hand, I found that this preliminary task went quite smoothly and I did not encounter any big problems that could not be overcome. I believe that my product was a success as I kept to deadlines and did everything to the best of my ability and with he resources provided.
If I had a chance to re do this preliminary task all over again I would of probably would've taken more exciting pictures and I might of changed the topic of the magazine. other than this I do not think I would have changed much.
I hope that the problems I encountered are Something i later to hope on to improve and consider spending detailed time on when i do my main coursework task.
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