Drafting and Finalzing House Styles, Drafts and Layout (Planing)

My questionnaire has been completed and it is quite apparent that the audience would prefer me to call my magazine ROGUE. Although I was having doubts I am going to stick with the audience feedback as it is very important in this project.

 

 Some of the feedback I got back was "it's original" "it sounds good, new and interesting, different from general pop magazines"

 

Upon this feedback I have decided to stick with the name ROUGE!

 

 

Drafting and Finalzing House Styles, Drafts and Layout (Planing)

Here is a screenshot of my Questionnaire, I am now going to get a couple of people to fill out this questionnaire so I can get a good idea of what the audience would much prefer and this will then help me with naming my magazine.dbhm
 
 
 
 



Drafting and Finalzing House Styles, Drafts and Layout (Planing)

Hi guys, 

So I have been having doubts on whether or not I should name my magazine 'ROGUE', as I am now getting further into the production of my magazine and I'm having cold feet about the name. The reason why I decided to go with this name is because it has elements of my name in it and also the name is associated with the fashion magazine 'VOGUE' so I feel as though this magazine would catch the readers eye. However, further researching POP Magazines I realised that the name doesn't really associate with a POP Magazine and I want my magazine to be an identifiable with its genre - POP.

I am going to create a survey/questionnaire of potential names for a POP Magazine, I am also going to include 'ROGUE' as I would like to see what the audience think of the name. I will post my findings on my blog so you all can see the feedback, but for now if possible I would love if you suggested any titles for my magazine - remember I'm creating a POP Magazine.

Feel free to comment.

Thank you :)

Media Tech - STUDIO TIME (Instructional Only)

 We recently had a Tech lesson here at the studio and to be honest it was sooo much fun, it was really interesting because I've never seen anything like it up close, i'm used to seeing these things on TV or better yet - America's/Britain & Ireland's Next Top Model, so it was nice seeing this in person. 

We were able to get familiar with the studio as this is where we will be taking the pictures for our very own magazine and spending quite a lot of time here. 

A couple things we need to be up to speed with is; there are white and black backdrops as you can see in the image. There are also thee really big flashlights called 'Trinity Flash' which unfortunately i wasn't able to get a shot of them but these Trinity Flashlights are covered in 'Soft Boxes' and this helps to defuse and soften the lights because they can get really bright. 

We also got very familiar with the sort of cameras we will be using to take the photographs for our magazine. There are two types of cameras we could be working with one would be the Nikon D40 with 7 million mega pixels with a 150 millimeter lense. The other would be the Nikon D7000 18 million mega pixels with a 155 millimeter lense. We were then schooled on how to use the camera - things of this nature. 

Our teacher - Scott then took these test shots. 

This session was very helpful to us in general as we can now have the confidence to produce professional images for our magazine. 

Planning - Drafting and Finalizing House Styles, Drafts and Layouts (Part One)

We was introduced to this new software called 'Adobe Illustrator' and this is where we will be constructing our mastheads for our actual magazine titles. I like this software as its really easy and straightforward to use. 

We was taught many things during this session and once we grasped onto the basics, we got to play around with our mastheads and here is 2 examples of what i came up with. 

Out of the many things i tested on the software, i'm just going to show you something real quick and simple. 
I'm going to show you how i got my 'R' to mirror itself. I firstly right clicked it, then i selected transform, and selected mirror - that's how simple it really is. There are also many different styles and choices you can make on this software which is the cool thing. 

Research/Case Studies (Part 2) - NME Double Page Spread (DPS)

Here is the DPS from NME Magazine.

Firstly I analysed the Image. I really liked this edition of NME Magazine because they took a different approach to what they are usually known for and from looking at this double page you will never guess that its a Rock/Alternative/Indie magazine, it looks like something out of a pop-girly magazine which is such the opposite of what the magazine truly is. I liked how they kept the image very simple there isn't much going on apart from the image they have used. Its in the same format at the image on the front cover was, they are still styled the same - just in a different pose. As its the same shoot to the image on the front cover the lighting stayed the same. They were styled in a way to match their personalities and also to go with that 'rebel look' which suits the image they're trying to give off. Altogether the image is very simple nothing complex, and they kept it with just the one. 

Conventions of Page Layout

The masthead used here is very big and it pretty much takes up the whole page, the font throughout is very simple and basic with not much going on, apart form the colorful drop cap used and the pull quote this just makes the article look less boring and stand out a little more. Here they have added a teaser whereby they give a little introduction as to what the DPS contains. The image and text relates as they describe each of the band members and there personal style and attitude shines in the image and all this helps you get to know them much better. 

Language

The tone of the DPS was adapted to the attitudes of 'Haim', they used a lot of pull quotes to describe their personalities and the tone was very inviting as when your reading it you feel like your getting to know the band. The text as addressed to there 'haters' their fans and there new audiences. I think it was well written as you read it and you feel as though you know them on that level ( when i say level, i mean as though your friends or associates and you go way back in the day lol)  i enjoyed it actually. The structure was well done as we was taken through a journey; from getting to know who they are as individuals and understanding their place in the music scene and just getting to know more about them in general so it flowed very well. 

This here sums up the DPS of NME Magazine. 

Research/Case Studies (Part 2) - NME Contents Page Analysis

Here is the Contents Page of NME Magazine. 

Firstly I analysed the Image(s) on the contents page, there are various images that are used here, most of which are medium-long shots.

Conventions of Page Layout 

The font that they have used throughout the contents page is fairy simple and bold, using colours like black and red.
They have used pull quotes from certain articles and have related it to the image take "40" for example. They have also used drop caps to highlight the more important featured stories in the magazine and this is a good feature to include in your magazine as there are many pages in a magazine so whatever story catches the audiences eye they can quickly navigate to the page rather than flicking through the whole magazines especially when people buy magazines just for a special feature included or their favorite artist is features for the DPS - i know this because i do this also! They have also added the features of this weeks DPS on the contents page "20" this is essential as whoever is on the front cover has to be in the contents page because they are the featured artists and also for their audience sake, so that they are able to flick to the article. On the contents page the magazine have added there own advertisement in subscribing to the magazine and you will mostly find things like promotional CDs , things of this nature here on the contents page. 

Language 

There isn't much language to be assessed on here as it is a contents page, there isn't supposed to be much writing its meant to be short and informative, but the language used here is all in relation to the images and whats going to be included in the articles. This particular contents page has used a lot of pull quotes and this is not always the usual way of doing a contents page but its a way of engaging the audience into further reading.  

Research/Case Studies (Part 2) - NME Front Cover Analysis

The second magazine I choose to base my research upon is NME Magazine, the main genre of the magazine is Rock however over time Alternative and Indie have graced the scene. 

How can I tell that this is a Rock magazine? 

Well, already the girls who are on the front cover look wild and rebellious through their styling -  also isn't the genre of the magazine a little bit rebellious as to what were opposed to listening to? 

Firstly I analysed the Image on the front cover and I can see the shot type used was a medium-long shot, even though the front cover looked very unconventional as were opposed to seeing just a normal band on the front cover, with a few cover lines dressed on the page, but in this instance its almost as if were looking into their lives ('Haim') and there taking a picture of what they see (us) looking at them, and it just so happened they was able to catch this moment that's why the shot is framed as if it were a real picture which looks quite cool and its a very different approach of what i'm used to seeing on the front cover of an NME Magazine. The lighting used is very white-washed  the front cover is really bright. NME did add some props, one of the band members is holding up a camera - this adds to the whole theme of the featured article (taking a look inside Haim) 

Conventions of Page Layout

The masthead is in its regular position for NME in its colour red, seen as this issue was very unconventional the theme colour red ran through the magazine which includes the styling of the band to the anchorage text and pull quotes. The font used is very bold and basic, the cover lines on this issue was very disperse and were spread out onto the frame of the shot, you can see artists names like "Maccabees" "Metalica". The way they incorporated the pull quotes from the double page spread was a nice touch as there was a quote from each of the members and they summed up what kind of attitude they have as a whole. I really liked the use of the anchorage text where it says "GET THE PICTURE?" it was well thought of as it linked to the image, the pull quotes, its as if there sending a message that they are here and they are here to stay. 

Language

There isn't as much writing on the front cover as there usually is on a NME Magazine, but this is a very different issue. 

That sums up the front cover of NME Magazine 

Reaserch/Case Studies - Secondary Audience Research - MOJO Magazine Press Kit Analysis (Part 2)

For my research, I decided to focus on a different type of genre rather than the usual genre i'm used to picking (Hip-Hop/R&B). 
I decided to focus on MOJO Magazine. Let me brief you on MOJO's mission and what they offer to the music magazine industry. 
MOJO Magazine is for rock lovers but they do dab into classic rock. The typical age would be 35 and over for both genders. The artists they most focus on; Boy Dylan, The White Stripes, Guns and Roses and many more. The ideology of MOJO is showing its value as they're allot of classical rock artists out there. MOJO Magazine focuses more on having articles rather than writing reviews of gigs and festivals like Kerrang Magazine. 






Here is a screen shot of MOJO Magazine's Mission Statement from Slideshare - http://www.slideshare.net/HeworthMedia1/inside-nme-and-mojo

The Credentials 

MOJO Magazine is the worlds largest UK Magazine and there unique selling points would be there monthly dosage of world class journalism and its iconic photography to an audiences who are extremely passionate music consumers. 
So basically if you're featured in a MOJO Magazine you matter!

MOJO is The Music Expert - as the magazine is filled with high brand values. Its carefully crafted music archive, covering the best music across genres from classic rock, folk, soul, country, Reggie - the list goes on. They prefer quality over popularity - music that will stand over time. 

The MOJO Reader

 This is a screenshot of MOJO's reader. Collectively i gathered that males are 73.1% of the reader, this tells me that the magazine is mostly male orientated. I also found out that the popular age range is 45-54 as they had the highest percentage rate (28.8%) with the age ranging from 15 - 65+. Those are the things i picked up on.

Publishers
MOJO Magazine was initially published by Emap but since January 2008 Bauer are now the official publishers. Bauer Media Group is a multinational media company headquartered in Hamburg, Germany. Which operates in sixteen different countries worldwide. Other than publishing MOJO Magazine. Bauer also invest in different projects as they have there own radio company called 'Bauer Radio' they also own 50% of a British television company called 'Box Television' which broadcast a variety of popular music channels such as; 4music, Kiss, Smash Hits, Kerrang etc. 
Bauer is very familiar with cross-media projects for example, Bauer brands include women's weekly and TV listing magazines such as; Take a Break, Total TVGuide etc. They also produce a number of puzzle magazines.

Drafting and Finalizing House Styles, Drafts and Layouts (Planning) - DRAFT

This is just some thoughts and ideas for my main task which is creating my own magazine. I have not yet finalized my ideas, but this is a sneak preview as to what may become of my finalized piece. Here I've talked about possible magazine titles and the genre of the magazine.

Magazine Newsstand Task/ Distribution of Magazines - Part 2 (Planning)

For my research in other magazine distribution methods, i decided to go with VIBE magazine which is a R&B/Hip-Hop magazine.

Distribution and Selling Areas

As of April 2013 VIBE Magazine is owned by Spin Media.
VIBE Magazine has many ways in which its distributed for example; you can find a VIBE Magazine in nearly every magazine outlet or in a supermarket in the UK. They also have an online website (www.vibe.com) where you can also get additional information but the magazine and vibe.com do not all the time correspond as the magazine is issued every other month, whilst the online magazine is constantly updated.
I have also found that VIBE online has a larger presence than the magazine and that's its selling area, but i personally think we are now in that generation whereby everything is technological so not many people buy magazines anymore but read them online.

Attracting and Satisfying 

Id say VIBE's biggest selling point and what attracts most readers is there daring front covers and the artists they feature on them. Over the years these artists have graced the covers; Beyonce, 2pac, Micheal Jackson, Obama, Ciara, Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar, Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj, Amy Winehouse, Lil - Wayne - the list goes on but just to name a few.
The magazine also satisfies audiences by including revolutionary music reviews, its celebrities gossip columns, next profiled up-coming artists. They also devote several pages to photos of high-end fashion for example Rocawear and Fubu.

Online Magazine vs Print Magazine

• The online version has more information than the print magazine. For example the print magazine is dedicated to specific articles displayed inside it, whereas the online magazine goes very broad staying in trend with what is going on in the music scene right now
• The online magazine has ore facts and extra information like including videos in relation to a specific article, however in the print magazine its up to you to research a specific topic being mentioned in the magazine as it isn't available in the print you're able to look it up on the online magazine. 

Technologies Used to Develop their Product

• By having their merchandise on other internet sources other than their own for example you can buy current or previous issues from eCommerce websites
• They can create adverted on TV or on the Internet
• By having their magazines placed either the first or second shelf of a magazine stand in a magazine outlet as this will bring better business for them.

Social Media/Networks

Nower days it is very important to involve yourself in Social Media/Networking because its sort of  place whereby you can advertise yourself for free, whilst being able to promote your brand as at least one person belongs to a Social Media/Network so its a good way of putting yourself out there. 

VIBE Magazine have many was on how you can keep in touch with their movement through various Social Media/Networks.You can find them on:

Twitter: @VibeMagazine

Instagram: @VibeMagazine

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/VIBE

Magazine Newsstand Task/ Distribution of Magazines - Part 1 (Planning)

For this task i went to visit WHSmith, which is a book/magazine store.

I found that the music magazine section was quite restricting as it didn't have a variety of different genre magazines, but i worked with what i got.

Lets begin with the top section of the music magazine stand. 

The magazines that are displayed here are; Prog, Blues, Q - just to name a few. These magazines have been displayed on a shelf and when you walk into the magazine section they are facing the audience (you) and for this specific shelf the magazine are facing upright not slanted, displaying the whole magazine name, maybe this was done as these are prestigious magazines and they deserve to have their full name of the magazine displayed. From looking at this shelf i can identify that these must be rock or indie magazines by just looking at the front covers, for example; i'm not quite sure what the name of the magazine is but where the masthead says 'Arctic Monkeys' i know that they're an indie band, i can tell this through the image of slumped looking guys, whom are dressed very laid back, with that " i don't care attitude". 

I also noticed that most of the magazines displayed here have a very bold and striking looking masthead apart from that magazine 'Shindig' which is quite funky in comparison to the other magazines displayed next to it. I didn't really notice any prominent cover lines here, the ones i picked up on was on the 'Country' magazine whereby it says "Johnny Cash" this is probably referencing this issue of the magazine is dedicated to that artist. Another cover line i spotted was on the magazine where the Arctic Monkeys are displayed on and as far as i  see it says "From the rubble" that must have a correlation to the artists on the front cover as that's what cover lines are meant to do, its like giving the reader a short snippet as to what entails inside. 

Lets move onto the middle section of the music magazine stand.

Just to name a few of the magazines displayed here; Rolling Stone, XXL, The Source, Terror, Kerrang and 

NME. The way these magazines have been displayed in is more of the usual way i'm used to seeing it, which is called the 'Left Third' this is when the magazines are placed - showing the name of the magazines and where most cover lines are placed (on the left hand-side) this is a good feature to include in making a magazine, and i have taken this into consideration as i will soon be producing my very own magazine, but when we enter a magazine store or anywhere where they sell magazines most of the time or eyes go straight to the center (where the image usually is) or to the left hand-side (where you will find a cover lines). I couldn't really see all the images of the magazines, but what i got to see was 'Terror' magazine and i identified this as a rock or a heavy metal magazine because of the masthead, its still bold but the font-style has that bloody halloween feel to it. i also noticed the house-style of the magazine is black and white no colour at all, even the image is shot in black and white. However the image doesn't really scream rock or heavy metal because of the artist they choose to use because the artist is styled with glasses, but then again hes wearing black and his hair and beard are black and hes embodying a true rock or heavy metal artist.


Lastly lets move on to the bottom section of the magazine stand.

The magazines displayed here are; mixmag, Beats & Bass - just to name a few.
These magazines are also displayed in the 'Left Third' technique and the magazine that stood out to me the most was the Beat & Bass magazine because i like the front cover, there is no image but it looks like a sound wave coming out a giant speaker and this tells me that this must be a dance or techno or house music - something in that lane of magazine genres. Also Beat & Bass magazine isn't its usual layout for a magazine because firstly the masthead is usually in the top right corner but not in this case, its very much centered and on top of that there is writing above the masthead which is quite usual and also there isn't that much on the front cover of the magazine this tells me that the magazine doesn't really need to sell itself that they may have loyal audiences, and their guaranteed to sell magazines even without the typical conventions of a magazine.

So that sums up my findings from the magazine newsstand task.

Audience Feedback and Evaluation - Preliminary Task/College Magazine (Planning)

What I think went well with the front cover is the photography, I really like the image I have chosen as it shows a strong happy person, I think the pose as well caters to the layout of the magazine it doesn't look to messy it has a simple but sophisticated look to it. However, seen as its a student magazine I wish the image included the Student ID card so that it will be more identifiable to the target audience. Also on the contents page i tried to show college life that's why I've chosen to put up a few students instead of using the same image but different shot on the contents page, so its a student magazine i thought that made more sense.

I like how i manipulated the image on Photoshop, as I have made the image be placed on the right side of the page, whilst the text is on the left hand side, I think this gives a straight forward look as in most magazines you normally have the main image on the front cover centred and the text is adjusted around the image but in this case I was going for something very simple as I didn't want the audience to feel uneasy, I think my colour scheme makes up or it.

As I've alliterated i enjoy the page layout, i like how I've kept all the text to one side of the page as this is what they call the lower left third. This is a good feature to possess on a front cover because this is a key factor into distributing magazines. The layout of the contents page is simple, following the same features from the front cover, as in the text on the left hand side of the page and the images on the right hand side.

The masthead I've chosen is LSC as its Leyton Sixform College abbreviated and I've used this purposefully as this is how the school is recognized amongst the youth so it as a play on words a bit like 'text' language which my target audience will know well of. The colour I've chosen blue and black compliments the image as the colour of the top is blue and the skirt and jacket is black so I thought it would be nice for the image and colour scheme to correspond, and this followed through on the contents page. My main house style was Stencil Std I choose this as its very bold and strong and that's the impression I want to give off. I stuck in the same colour scheme I used dark blues, light blues and off purple. For my cover lines on the front cover, I wanted to do something different, so for my first cover line I took out what is yet to be a feature from inside the magazine and extracted a quote so that the reader is able to read it and if they'd like to know more about this student they will have to read on. My second cover line is of coarse a freebie as anyone who sees something free is instantly drawn towards the magazine and I've made it relevant to any student at the college even though I haven't said what its for, but once they find out that its a free voucher to the school meals i know this magazine will be on demand as everyone would want one! The last cover line I included is something that is relevant to the whole student body so I think it was a nice touch to add that piece of information as everyone - second year or first year can relate. This is also how I've set out  the contents page in the same format only difference is I've added page numbers and I created it on InDesign, I wanted it not to look that different from the front cover, although I could've made it look more interesting as right now it isn't standing out as much as the front cover is on its own.

What I need to improve on mainly is the contents page as its quite bare at the moment, so I've only added simple features I haven't made it dynamic in any or even interesting at that matter.

I have taken the audience comments into consideration and these are the three main points I need to improve on when it comes to producing the main task, what I need to do is :

• Put more thought into the structure of the magazine and how my layout is going to stand out from the rest and be more dynamic
• Put more thought into picking the right images and placing them where necessary in order for the magazine to have a nice flow to it
• Put more thought into the cover lines and the magazines selling point, as I feel on this task I didn't put enough thought into it so that I'm able to give the best possible magazine out there, as this is a very  important aspect of a magazine, it must have meaningful content. 

.

Preliminary Task : LSC Magazine : Contents Page : (Planning)

Preliminary Task: LSC Magazine (Planning) : Student Magazine

 

 

This is the final copy of my student magazine (the front cover).

 

I like the colour scheme and I don't really like the picture for a student magazine. 

Student Magazine : DRAFTED NOT FINISHED!!!

 



Research/Case Study - DPS : XXL

The DPS which features Drake consists of 9 pages this is unusual for a normal setting of a DPS. Lets begin with the introduction to the article. The image is that of Drake holding an owl which is a medium long shot the constancy of the lighting follows through. This in the first time the image was in colour as they've all been black and white so far.

Conventions of the Page Layout
There is a masthead on the top right corner in a thin bold font saying 'Everything I Am' and below it its got a Pull Quote from the article this is nicely done as the audience would want to know more and understand the quote more.

The next DPS that's linked to the feature is a text on the left hand side; the text looks quite messy as there's no structure into it its just writing so as the reader you haven't really got a set place to focus your attention on. However on the right hand side we have an image of drake - a close up, whereby tge lighting is focused more on his face and the rest of it becomes a shadow, it looks very editorial. The font is very simple and straightforward wasn't really anything to catch your attention.

The next page of the feature is that of another black and white image of Drake where hes showcasing his tattoos, on the right top corner we have another pull quote and this is becoming effective because as theirs so many breaks between the article the editor is giving you snippets of what is yet to come therefore you wouldn't mind that there's a gap as your more focused on reading along. The house style was included here as we began to see the theme colours of white and red showcase itself. They highlighted important information through further bolding out the words and making it larger so that the readers eyes will go straight there and hopefully be intrigued.

The next page of this DPS had the unusual similar but effective layout there was 3 text boxes all aligned around the image, the font that was used was very standard, they used a thinner and thicker font to highlight another pull quote from the article. The colour scheme was dull but it relates to the type of images displayed so everything corresponding.  The image used is a long-shot with the same theme of black and white.

The next page is a continuation of the previous page which carries out the same layout only difference is the image that they've used is a close up and its in colour.

The next page of the article has the same layout also but what differs is that the image is a  medium-long shot and the pictures in black and white.

The final page also has the same layout but they've chosen to include another pull quote with the same conventions as the previous and the image used is that of a black and white with a medium - close up.

That sums up the DPS of XXL magazine.

Research/Case Study - Contents Page : XXL

 

 

 

 

Firstly I analysed the Contents Page, I began my analysis on the Image. I began on page 1 there was various images used but the 7 different shots consist of Medium Long Shot, Medium Close Up. The lighting used for the images varies but the style of the front cover runs through. The styling of the first page of the contents page relates to the front cover as its the same image just different shots. Page 2 has a different approach, instead on focusing on Drake they've shot various different artists//celebrity's. For example A$AP Ferg, King Louie and Troy Aves shot is a Long Shot and the styling used clearly portrays the genre Hip-Hop/ Rap from the gold chain to the oversized attire. Page 3 of the contents page is an editorial column and the main image that relates to the editorial article which is the owl which denotes that the editor has intelligence, brilliance, has wisdom, power and knowledge as these are the things associated with an owl therefore the article is meaningful. Page 4 is more of the credits but its still a part of the contents page but there are no images.

 

Conventions of the Contents Page Layout:

On Page 1 & 2 there is a Masteahd - The A-Side & The B-Side. This is a good word play about as The A-Side is the most important feature which is Drake that's why he's the only one on the page. Page 1. Consists of the magazines logo 'XXL' this is usually done throughout most magazine contents page. There is a use of Margins whereby the magazines just dated the issue. There is a use of alignment instead of text boxes, this is better as the text just flows through the magazine and it looks like its meant to be there. Page 2 also consists of the logo 'XXL' and has the same layout as page 1. however there are more text boxes filled with images with just a small piece of text with numbers this is done to not give too much away as you want the audience to flick to the article and read for themselves. The relationship between the image and the text correspond as they're leading you in with the text displayed through the image as the images are purposefully chosen.

 

Language:

The language used on Page.4 is very standard English as its formal its writing to the reader so it has to be addressed formally so that the readers can take the editors seriously, that explains the mode of address.

 

 

 

Research/Case Study Front Cover : XXL

The magazine that I have chosen to base my research upon is XXL magazine, the genre of this magazine is Hip-Hop. This is portrayed through the styling of Drake, you can very well tell of the back that this is either a Hip-Hop magazine or a Rap magazine.

Firstly I analysed the front cover and I began my analysis upon the image. The shot type of the rapper 'Drake' used is a Medium Close Up. The lighting the magazine has chosen to use is directed towards Drake's face and beyond that becomes more or less of a shadow. Drake is fairly styled as in he's wearing what we as the audience are used to seeing him that of a; bummer jacket, white t-shirt and a gold chain, this all fits the styling of the magazine as its in black and white.

Secondly I moved on onto the Conventions of the Page Layout. Lets begin with the Masthead. The masthead is generally behind the artist/musicians head, this is done because the artists used - in this case Drake is very well known by the public or those interested in the genre itself, by the magazine using a popular artist this will already attract customers. This is also done as the magazine is already established the first 'XX' is enough for the audience to identify which magazine it is. Also in most cases the masthead is the largest font of the whole front cover but in this case the Anchorage Text where it says 'Drake' is the largest font of the issue.

The Font Choices used are very simple throughout the front cover, all the text is bolded out this gives it a surreal look as its merely plain and standard. The Colour of the Masthead is its usual red background with its bold white 'XXL'. For this issue they incorporated gold into it. The Anchorage Text is in gold saying 'DRAKE WATCH THE THRONE' the gold symbolises all of Drake's winnings, also his hot new album that's about to drop - which has been the talk of the town everyone thinks this will be the album of the year. Also the image and the colour of the Anchorage Text are linked up and this detonates the fact that all the praises Drake has been receiving, he's perceived as a 'gold star' so by Drake not looking into the camera and addressing the audience (mode of address) it shows his humility and humbleness as he's grateful for the compliments and the spotlight he's been receiving.

XXL used the 'Left Third' technique whereby we as the audience tend to look at a magazine and the first place we tend to look at is the left side of the magazine this is where the important facts are, on this magazine they've included BIG names in the music game (industry) for example; Kendrick Lamar, NAS, Macklemore etc. Those are the kind of names that will instantly attract a customer or the audience. 

This issue of XXL doesn't really have that much Cover Lines other than on the top right corner of the page with only to stories and this is done to advertise the articles and entice the reader to pick it up and read on. This may be purposefully done as theyve wanted to keep it simple as the main focus of the issue is Drake. 

Thirdly moved onto the Language used on the front cover and the tone of it would be quite straightforward as there isn't nuch information , although they do draw you in through the use of the numbers on the top right corner (cover lines) as it looks like a lot of information so more people will wan to read on.

This summs up the codes and conventions of the Front Cover.





Preliminary Task LSC Magazine: Research College Mag

This is an annotated front cover of 'College' Magazine, just highlighting a few key points of the codes and conventions of a front cover. 

Quick Photoshop Test Run: BUZZ Beyonce

This is a print screen of my quick Photoshop run.
firstly in order to begin, we had to create a sheet into an 'A4' piece of paper, we did this by  clicking on 'File' then press 'New' and there's a multiple choice column you change it to 'International Paper'.
we then needed to align the paper using the ruler tool this is to endure that the text will be aligned we did this by clicking the 'Curser' and getting the white curser and dragging it across and down to any number as long as its all even.

 We also learnt how to zoom in and zoom out; to zoom in you have to press 'Ctrl +' to zoom out you have to press 'Ctrl -' and that's how your able to zoom in and zoom out when you want.

Also in the right bottom corner there is a section whereby your able to adjust each image, text, background etc.you do this by selecting what you wish to work on and then editing it to fit your needs. For example to edit an image you first have to unlock it, you do this by clicking the lock icon and double click then press 'OK' then press 'Ctrl T' this helps you to navigate the image around easier. 

Those are some of the things that we learnt in our test run of photoshop.

Kerrang Magazine Analisys : Double Pages Spread

 

This is an example of double paged spread that we looked at in lesson:

This is an article of the band 'Chemical Romance', talks a little about themselves and them as a whole , their music and many more.

The font is fairly standard, its bold and strong just like the band being represented. The images used matches the house style and the colour scheme as the heading of the article is in red, so as the artists hair, there is also the use of black and blue which flows through the article also. also the arrows signify the band moving forward in the music business and that they are now being noticed and adored by fans. these images definitely effect the genre as Kerrang magazine is a rock magazine that's why there is a rock band on the double paged spread and its quite evident even without knowing the name of the magazine. The magazine were very intelligent in making the DPS, they only used 4 columns but  when you look at the DPS it doesn't look like there's much to read but once you start reading you find out that its quite lengthy and that's a good trick to use as the audience just like to read between the lines and look at pictures. Overall it was a well rounded double page spread.





Crash Magazine Analysis of Contents Page

This is an example that we looked at during lesson:
The font use is very professional and bold, very straightforward, however for the title they used a more creative font.
The contents page includes:

• Features
• Regulars
• Fashions

They give a detailed description of particular parts of each section as they've detailed the more important ones with numbers so that it gives the audience an idea of what article they should locate first.

There isn't really a colour scheme other than the fact that monochrome seems to be the standard theme, which makes the contents page and magazine as a whole look very modern.
the images used make the magazine look as though its a fashion/photography/art magazine because the images have an 90s vibe but once youv4e read the contents page you'll find out that they are artists/musicians.They didn't include the logo of there magazine.

Document: Download or Down - No?

Download or Down-No?

We live in a generation of everything having its cost, but there’s that one thing that seems to become more and more price free and that’s what they call Music Piracy also known as music piracy.  

So the big question is what exactly is music piracy? Well I can clear that up for you. Music piracy is when music files are copied and shared in which the composer, recording artist, or even the copyright-holding record company did not give permission/consent to own this piece of music, this is then called copyright infringement. As we all know music piracy is a criminal offence, so why is it that in the last decade it’s become such a popular crime to commit? Is it because m any people don’t see it worthy enough to be a criminal offense? Or is it because our generation is just rebellious? Well almost a third of the UK internet users who stream or download music, TV and films did so at least once illegally in the quarter to the end of January, with a gob smacking total of 400million files digitally pirated in the three-month period during 2012. I know you’re thinking wow, that’s a lot for just a three month period, so you can only imagine how much music files are downloaded illegally in just a year! Let’s get our breath back from that whopping piece of information and get to the root of the matter.

So do you think music piracy is wrong or right? Well I agree with music piracy and let me tell you why. If were looking from an artist’s prospective, free downloading of music is a good thing as your promoting and distributing the artists music, it’s almost like advertising in a way and exposing their music for free. Also free downloading can lead to later purchases from the consumer, because someone may genuinely like the song and just purchase it for “keep sake” as they call it, so downloading music promotes future purchases and without it those purchases wouldn’t have been made. Music is by far the most popular digital media pirated, accounting for 280m of the 386m items of file sharing websites illegally accessed over the three-month period in 2012. There are two main popular websites that seem to be gracing the scene which are ‘YouTube converter’ – in which you copy the link from YouTube and paste then download. Another example would be ‘aimini.net’ which provides very good quality of music. The most important reason why most people download illegally is because purchasing music can be expensive and as we know we are living in the recession and the majority of the pirating generation are teens and college aged students, whereby money is tight so it’s simply easier to download for free.

Some people may even argue that file sharing is destroying the music industry but I’m here to tell you that it’s not, in no way shape or form. I’mma let you in on a secret, artists get up to 25% of the sales they make from their singles; meaning their record label gets up to 75% of the single sales - now isn’t that a rip off? Even influential artists like Lady Gaga agree with file sharing she says “Artists make up to 50 – 100 million on their tours, I don’t really care about that, I make most of my money on my tours anyway”. (huffingtonpost.com – 2011)Even the beautiful and talented Joss Stone said:“I think it's great. I love it. I think it's brilliant, and I'll tell you why. Music should be shared. I believe that this is how music turned into, like, some crazy business. Now, the only part about music that I dislike is the business that is attached to it. Now, if music is free, then there is no business. There is just music. So, I like it. I think that we should share it. It's okay. If one person buys it, it's totally cool. Burn it up. Share it with your friends. I don't care. I don't care how you hear it, as long as you hear it. As long as you come to my show and, like, have a great time and listen to the live show, it's totally cool. I don't mind. I'm happy that they hear it.”

However there are many people out there including artists that strongly disagree with music piracy, due to the facts that it its ilegal – stealing is morally incorrect and stealing if defined as claiming anything without permission from the rightful owner. Also some people may say it is an insult and harmful to the artist as they’re putting their all into their music and not getting anything back from the audience this then makes them feel betrayed or ‘double crossed’ as they say, because some bands live off the money they make from the music sales so it’s basically like were stealing from them, that’s one way to look at it. Illegal file sharing negatively effects the music industry as they have to invest in studio time, music videos, hair&make –up, styling etc. some argue so where is their return? Do we live in the day and age whereby people now work for free? It also effects the artists and the record label because they’re missing out on BIG money and their royalties therefore this could make them increase the prices of the singles making the loyal fans who genuinely buy the music very much legit they have to pay more. Globally music piracy causes 12.5 billion economic losses every year and about 71,060 jobs are lost through this, so from that perspective it seems pretty bad, and it is. Even Michael Jackson the influential king of pop said “it is wrong to illegally download, but jail isn’t the answer” So there you have it that’s music piracy summed up all in one, the good and the bad – the bad and the good.

Now it’s your turn to decide what you think?

Production Schedule

File Sharing Article