What my target audience preferred about my final cuts compared to my drafts

Diary entry week 7, 8 and 9

Over the last three weeks I have looked at my feedback from my peers and tried to make all the necessary changes to what they wanted. I also uploaded my original photos which I used for the final cuts and analysed them and said what I edited, which wasn't much.

The original photos which I used for the final cuts

This is the main image in which I used on my conetents. The only bit of editing I done was on Adobe In-design, Where I cut out either side of my model, so the image fitted on the page and inline with the others. I could have just used it like it was and made the whole image smaller but it looked stupid as you couldn't really see the main focus, which was the model as he was too small so you couldn't get the full effect of the pose he was doing which shows his personallity.

This is my front cover image. Again not much editing had to be done with this one. This time I used Adobe Photoshop because In-Design cannot do what I wanted. I had to cut around the whole image because I wanted my models face to cover the name of the magazine but not the stories on the front. When I then put the image on my front cover I had to make it bigger so it filled up most of the page because when doing my research I found that, having a large image of the artists head was most common and effective so I tried to replicate the idea and I was happy with how it came out overll.

This image was originally going to be used for my front over but the above image looked more effective and fitted with the artists personallity more, so it went on my contents page instead. I was just fiddling round with my contents page and needed an a small image so I decided to cut the everything out on In-Design except the artists glasses. I thought it looked unique so I kept it there. Again not much editing was done to this image.

This is my double page spread image and no editing went into this, I only made it bigger on the page so it looked better. This image was going to be on the contents page originally but i tried it on the double page spread and I liked it so I kept it. I like this image because he is throwing the stone without a care in the world and he doesn't really mind what it hits or where it goes, so I think it goes with how he is portrayed and fits in with the whole magazine. Origianally I wasn't going to use this image for this as I had another image which really looked good on the page but I thought I would go with this one as it is something abit different.

Final cuts

This is the final version of my magazine front cover. Overall I am very happy with how it looks compared to my first draft. I have filled in alot of the gaps and white space with either bigger text or more main stories or as you can see I added some black lines going horrizontally accross the page to fill the space where there wasn't enough room for a cover story. I have also decided to make the main artists name the biggest text on the cover so it stands out from the rest, because on my first draft I had put it on the bottom of the page in a small bland font which  didn't stand out like it should have done. I also made the image bigger because when I was looking recent Q magazines they had made their image take up practically the whole page, so i then went with doing this and made it as big as I could without it looking stupid or pixalated because you wouldn't see a pixalated image on the cover of a professional image. When I looked back on my peers feedback i realised that they said they didnt like how i had covered up the stories with the artists head so I decided to move the image over to the right hand side of the page and then put the stories just overlapping his hair. I decided to cover the name of the magazine up because when i was analysing front covers I seen that they covered the magazine name because it is already a known name so you can afford for it not to be shown but for people to know whats insde they have to be able to see what the main stories are and I wasnt showing this so not many people would have bought it.

This is my final cut for my contents page. Overall I am reasonably pleased with how it looks, I like how everything seems to have its own place. When analysing other existing magazines i liked the blocky style so tried to replicate it but also i like the look of having large images on it so i mixed the to together as i think it looks boring to open a magzine and just to see piles upon piles of writing, it would un-interest me and I wouldnt want to read on. The main image if of the main artist as I wanted to keep the theme running through the whole thing, so people will know that the magazine is mainly all about this artist. Again with keeping the same sort of stle running all the way through I have went with the colour scheme red, black and brown. I have used red for the most important things so it stands out then brown and black I just thought were nice colours to go with. The main image of this artist also goes with the personality which he is portrayed like. Cock, arrogant or confident, the arms out pose brings accross this attitude as if no-body in the world can challenge him because he is the greatest person around.

This is my final cut double page spread. I have two opinions on what i think of it, half of me does like it but half of me doesnt like it. My rough cut for double page spread I was in the same frame of mind. The photo i really like because again I think it shows the type of person he is, a full grown man throwing stones in the sea like he doesnt care about anything, so I think that photo sums up the title of the page. The artists name i made bigger so it catches the readers eye and it brightens the oage up even though it is in black. I also put a quote from the artist in the middle of the text to catch the readers eye and to break up the large amount of reader which will be done. I put a quote next to the artist in the photo just to fill up the space and make the page look more interesting to look at, rather than just lots of blue sky everywhere. I you are able to reaf the article i really like how I have done that because it really does bring out thye artists true colours about how arrogant he is and everything else the title says. Again I have stuck to the three colour scheme as it makes the whole magazine more professional and make everything seem like it is from the one magazine and not justb random paes which look like they have been pulled out of other magazines at random and shoved in this one.

Overall I much prefer this final cut to my rough cuts earlier on in the project as the whole thing looks more professional and it is interesting and attractive to look at.

Diary entry week 6

This week I received my feedback from my peers about what they thought about my magazine. Because of this, I can now make changes to my magazine making it look more professional and appealing to my target audience. What I have found from this is that I need to make sure you can read all stories which are on the front cover because for my rough cuts my image covered up lots of the text which people did not like. So I will make these adjustments for my final cut.

Feedback Analysis

After creating my first draft for my magazine I had lots of mixed opinions on the whole product. For my front cover many people were complementing on the image as they said it catches their eyes because of the seriousness expressions which I got the model to do, also when I analysed magazine covers I found out that mainly for Q magazines they had a large close up of the artists face and they were staring into the lense of the camera, this is most effective for the front cover so I tried to replicate it. The criticism which is got for making the image this big was it covered up the text on the front cover so on the final product I am going to have to get the balance right between how much text I cover. I was also told the model in which I picked was good because he is very photogenic so it doesn’t look like he is afraid of the camera. A couple of people commented on the size and placing of my barcode, and where is the price, so I made the barcode smaller, moved it down the page slightly and added in the price just above it.

For my contents page I had only a few positives and many negatives, when I first made it I thought it looked very good and was happy with it but now that I have been pointed out things which don’t look so good on it, I have realised what is wrong with it and I don’t think it looks very good at all, a couple of people said that they didn’t like the layout of it. I have started changing the layout, as I have added in an extra photo and made them all slightly smaller as people said only having two images didn’t look very good, I was originally going to have three images but I decided just to have two in this first draft to see what people thought, they as you can tell they didn’t like it so I will go back to having three images. Also I have changed the text size so I can fit more stories in so it looks more like a magazine as it will have more stories in so it will be worth the money. One person also said that all the titles need to be the same as in either small caps of capitals, so I changed them all into capitals.

For the double page spread I had a lot of compliments saying about how professional it looked because of the layout, also a lot of people liked the quotations. Because of the research which I carried out I found out that they have a quotation somewhere on the page then they have one in the middle of the article as I catches your eye and gives you a break from reading all the text. I also wanted to have drop capitals at the start of the article but I forgot about that and a few people realised that and so I will add them in for the final product. I had mixed feedback for the image on the spread as some people thought it fitted the title very well which is also what I thought, but then one a couple of people pointed out that the image looks like it should be on the front cover so I am going to have a look at some of the other photos which I took and see which one looks better.

Diary entry week 5

Throughout the past week or so I have been creating my rough cuts on the computer with the help from my previous lessons on how to use Photoshop and In-design. I didn’t only used Photoshop once and that was to cut out my front cover image but the rest of my magazine was created using In-design.

First Draft

This is my first draft front cover. At the time when i first made it I thought it was fairly decent. Looking back on it now though, I have a basic idea of what I was wanting to do but it has so much white space and nothing seems to look like it is in place. For example, the artists name at the bottom of the page, the magazine is based on this artist but the text is the same size as most of the other text on the page and the colour which I picked doesn't allow you to be able to see it properly, so it doesn't stand out like it should. Also I have covered all the stories with the main image and it doesn't look big enough to catch your eye. The ear at the top of the page has the basis of what it is ment to be like but the ring around it is way to big and thick and doesnt stand out because of the white background inside the ring. Overall though I think this draft made a decent base to go on and edit it to make it look more professional and more like a real magazine.

From this contents page draft to the real thing i did not make that much change like I did with the front cover. One problem with this is that I made the text for the stories inside too big so I couldn't fit anymore stories on, and in what magazine do you only see five stories in. Where the title of the page is, is a style which I tried to replicate from Q magazine because i think it makes the page look brighter and more attractive. The page numbers on the smaller image looks quite silly aswell because it takes up a quarter of the photo. The reviews bit at the bottom of the page is an idea which I got from Q magazine, it fills up what would have been white space with something different rather than just more stories or an image.

This is my double page spread draft. Overall when  first completed it I was fairly pleased with the outsome because i think it looks fairly professional and I think the image goes very well with the title of the page. One slight problem is that you can't read the quote on the left hand side of the page very well because of the colour text I have used, so on the final cuts I changed that so you can read it clearly, also I had to move it over to the left because it was in the fold line so when it would have been put together you wouldn't have been able to read it all. Also the fonts on the top left hand side of the page are all different sizes which makes them look like they have just been put there and left without any sort or re-adjustment to see if they can looks better in any other way. Also i have kept the same colour scheme running all the way through so it looks professional and looks like all the page are from the same magazine.

Photo planning sheet

Front cover, Contents and double page spread drawings

This is my front cover draft which, I have chose to go with a close up image of the artists face as I think this looks the most effective and I prefer having an image dominated cover rather than more text. The artists facial expressions will probably be him looking quite angry and arrogant because thats what i want him to be portrayed as. I have also chosen to go with the colour scheme red and black as I think red stands out the best. I also chose to make a box behind the magazine name which is also red because of what I said before. I have put a banner at the top of the page saying how good the magazine is because it will put some confidence in the target audiences mind about buiying it. All of the text which is going on the cover is going to be in capitals to show its importance except little words like "and" may just be in small letters, also the important words are going to be in a bigger size than other words.
In the top right corner I have added an ear in about an exclusive nine page interview with The Gorillaz.

This is my contents page draft. I chose to go with the blocky style and also quite image dominated. I though that going with the blocky look it makes things easier to to read, looks more attractive and makes it easier to find a certain artice which you may be looking for. I have put a large banner accross the top of the page with the magazine name, issue number and the title of the page which is 'contents'. I have kept to the same colour scheme of red and black because I want to have it running through the whole thing as it makes it look like every page is part of the magazine whereas if i had different colours on each page it would seem so good. I have kept all the main headlines to the page black, page numbers red and a discription of what the article is about in red just so it doesn's look hard to read and work out what is on what page. At the bottom of the I have a review box which I noticed when doing my research, it was on every Q contents page so i thought I would put one in seeing asthough Q magazine is my style model.

This is my double page draft. I have chose to go with a long shot for the photo on this page as i think it will vary things because i have a close up on the front cover, a mixture on the contents so i thought i might go with a long shot. i was thinking about going with a close up because you tend to get quite alot of DPS with them on. Again i have stuck to the colour scheme because because of the reason in the paragraph above. I have put a quote from the artist on the left side of the page with the photo and also in the middle of the article just to break the large amount of reading up. I have made the title of the page and the name of the artist so big just so it catches the readers eye and adds abit more colour to the page and looks that little bit more appealing to look at.

Initial ideas

Diary entry week 4

Over the past week I have been gathering some audience research by making a questionnaire and handing out a to twenty people, 10 male and 10 females so I could get a mixture of opinions/views so I could make my magazine be the best for both sexes. Once I got the questionnaires back I made the results into pie charts so you can clearly see the results.

Audience research results

This graph shows whos how many male and females I gave this questionnair to. As you can see 50% of the people I asked were male and 50% female.

This graph shows how old the people were that I asked. 50% of them were between the age of 16-25. 25% of them were between 26-50 years of age and 12% we above 51 and that is the same as under 16 years of age.

This graph shows that 40% of the poeple I asked mainly liked rap music, 10% liked rock, 25% we fans of indie which is the same as alternative types of music.

This graph shows that I found 50% of the people i asked minly read magazines because they found the images attractive and eyecatching, 15% read magazines because of the colour whereas 35% were mainly intereste in the story plugs.

This graph is showing that 40% of the poeple I asked read Q magazine which is also the case for other types of magaiznes which I did not ask. the other 20% of poeple i asked either read NME or Mojo.

This graph shows that 75% of the people who I gave this questionnair too read a music magazine monthly and the other 25% chose to read one every two weeks.

This graph shows that 90% of the poeple I asked would buy a music magaizne if you were to get a free gift whereas only 10% were not bothered about free gifts.

This graph shows that 60% of the people i asked would only paye between 1-£2 for a music magazine, 30% said they would pay between 2-£3 where as only 10% said they would pay between 3-£4 and nobody said they would pay £4 or more.

Audience Research - Questionnair

Diary entry week 2 and 3

For the last two weeks I have been annotating five front cover, contents and double page spread pages, analysing the codes and conventions I had to say what I don’t like about them and what I do, also had to say which ideas I would like my magazine to have in, for example, on Q’s contents page they have the name of the magazine, title and issue number all at the top of the page which I decided to replicate slightly for my magazine.

On the above…

This double page spread is about ‘Lilly Allen’. This spread is dominated by a large mid-shot of the artist and also a quote by her. The quote says “people think I am an attention seeker but I’m just are calling her an attention seeker by the way she is presenting herself, for example, it looks like she is wearing a man’s shirt which is too big for her, she has it buttoned three quarters of the way up and has a sovereign hanging out of it. This is not the Lilly Allen people know, she used to be a quiet singer but looking at her now, she has changed, and this is why people have this opinion on her. The way in which she has done her hair and eye shadow also draws attention to her by it being so dark and gothic. This is why people may have changed their opinion on her. The way in which the photo has been taken seems to me like she is looking around for attention. All of these things are making you think about the quote she has on the opposing page. When she say “I’m just honest” she draws attention to herself by doing things either to hurt or intimidate other people and the sovereign which she has on represents like she is trying to go for a rough, bad girl, who thinks she can say what she wants. On my double page spread I will have a quote on it but not as big as this one, as in this case it seems like the quote it titling the page.

The colour scheme which has been used involves three colours, black, white and an orangey/red, that orangey red colour is the colour of the shirt she is wearing so they have kept that colour running through the page as otherwise it would have looked silly having a few random words in a colour which isn’t even linked with anything on the page. There are only a few words in the orangey colour, which are ‘Lily Allen’ and who this page is edited by. This is because it catches the reader’s eye and in case they didn’t know who this woman was as they’re not used to seeing Lily Allen portrayed this way. Also the producer/editors name is in this colour so it also catches the reader’s eye and people will know who it is by and be able to spread an opinion about this persons work. Again the main background colour where the written is, is white with black written. This is the most common colour of background and written because it creates the biggest contrast which makes it the easiest it will ever be to read.

The way in which the page has been set out is the complete opposite to other magazines I have looked at, this is by having the image on the right hand side and the text on the left whereas it is normally the opposite, again this is representing her in a bad way, a person who just wants to get more attention, that is why the page is set out that way. I am not sure how my page is going to be set out yet, but I do want to have a larger image taking up one half or more of the page and also a quote from the person, but I think I will go for three columns of written unlike this one, but that really depends on the type of image I have on there and how it looks.

On the above….

There is a close up image of Michael Jackson wearing sunglasses but you can tell he is staring straight into the camera. It also seems like he is smurking to the camera in a way, when I have been analysing magazines there has been either a serious face being pulled like the jay-Z one which I just analysed or like this Michael Jackson one where he is smurking at the camera. They both give different effects and give the magazine a different look, also it represents the sort of character who is on the front because it would looks silly if, for example, the Jay-Z cover which I just analysed would look silly and people wouldn’t be able to take it serious if it has Jay-Z himself having a massive smile on his face because people don’t associate him with being like a big happy person, he is thought of as a gangster, so if he had a massive smile on his face people wouldn’t be interested in buying the magazine because it is portraying the artist in the wrong way, he would look like a pop artist when he’s the opposite. When taking my photos I think I am going to have the person staring into the camera with him either a tensed up face or a relaxed one and I may have him put sunglasses on as I like the effect it has because even though you can’t see his eyes you know they’re looking at you.

The colour scheme which is used involves three colours: red, black and white. With every magazine I have analysed they have either went with a three or four number colour scheme, for example, the Jay-Z cover involved four colours which looked good, whereas this one has only has three colours involved but looks equally as good. At this moment in time I’m not sure whether to use three or four colours so when it comes to me creating my cover I will try out having both three and four colours involved and see which one looks better and then I will make my decision. I am also not sure yet to what colours I will be using but I will decide that when I am creating my cover.

The layout of this cover is just the same as many magazines as they have the image centralised and all the stories around it. I am not quite sure where I am going to have my image as I like the look of them when the image is centralised and also when it is over to one side. The thing in which I don’t like about this magazine is where they have the name of it, well I like where is actually is I just don’t like how they have put it on top of the artists head, so on my cover I am going to have the artists head covering half of it, well that is only if the image is so big it has to cover the name, but I will not be bothered if it does.

This cover just like most magazines has a banner running across the top but unlike the Q, Jay-Z magazine I analysed this banner is back to what most magazines do and brag about how good their magazine is, I am going to have a banner running across the top of the page as sometimes you have them along the bottom but mine will be bragging about how big and better than other magazines it is.

Analysis of Q magazine cover

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There is a close up of the main artist in which this magazine is based around, in this case its Jay Z. in this photo he is staring straight into the lense of the camera which is what I have seen on every cover I have analysed. This is because it gives an effect of when it is on the shelf in the shop as it seems like if you make any eye contact with it, the eyes will follow you everywhere in an attempt to grab your attention and get you to buy it, when taking my photo for the front cover I will also get the person to glare into the camera, they have also went with a grey/white background which I will go for too. The facial expressions in which Jay Z is pulling is making him look very serious and giving a mean look to the camera, I’m not sure yet whether I want the person to have a mean/serious expressions on his face like this one or have a relaxed face as I think they both have different types of effects. Also they have positioned the photo in the right hand side of the page, out of the four others I have analysed, this is the first one in which I have seen where the image has not been centralised, I like this style so I may choose to put mine on the right hand side as it looks unique and I like it.

This cover has a colour scheme involving four colours which are red, black, white and brown. In all of the magazines I have analysed they have either went with a colour scheme of using either three or four different colours, most often it is only three colours. When making my magazine I will try using both three and four colours to see which one is most attractive to the eye. Sometimes I think using four colours looks un-neat and un-professional but not in this case as they haven’t used the colour brown too much but they have spread it out across the page which makes it look like more has been used. Before analysing this magazine I was only planning on using three colours, not knowing what they are, but since analysing this magazine it has changed my perspective so I may use four colours but at this moment in time I’m not quite sure so I’ll make my mind up by trying different colours and amounts when creating my magazine cover and I’ll make my mind up then.

The layout of this magazine is different to most others, which is what i just touched on slightly in the first paragraph. It makes the cover look original and unique which is what will catch the audience’s eye. I do like how they have placed the image one side and then the text on the other. When designing my cover I try this design out and see if I like it.

This magazine has a banner at the top of it which my cover will also have, this one says “the 10 most exciting people in music”, usually with banners on a magazine they tend to brag about how good their magazine is which is probably hat my magazine will have but I like how they have not followed the crowd and again it makes the magazine more unique and original, although it looks like a general music banner when you get closer and read you’ll see what I mean.

Analysis of NME double page spread

On the above…

This double page spread is dominated by a mid-shot of the vaccines which takes up two thirds of the page and only allowing 2 columns of writing instead of the original three columns which most magazines tend to go for. In the shot they have got all the band to stare straight on into the camera. A lot of the time you only have the band/artist making eye contact with the audience is on the front cover to grab their attention, most of the time you have a chilled out image on the double page spread where the band are not looking at the camera as they have already managed to grab the audiences attention. This band looks like they want to look like they are from the 90’s so they have old clothing on and old school haircuts. Also the background colour looks like it has been stained with tea to emphasize that they don’t want to be resembled as a new band.

They have went for a grey background behind white text. Every magazine has done this, either going with a grey background or white with black text, this is because these two colours create the biggest contrast which makes it the easiest it will ever be without making the text huge. They have also went with streaks of blue throughout the page which catches the readers eye and doesn’t allow it to properly settle. They have went with the first letter of the first two paragraphs a lot bolder and bigger than the rest of the text but also making them blue to show the start of a new paragraph.

They have went with a serif text style for the title which most magazines do as it stands out off the page and looks better than if you had san serif text. San serif text style is used in most magazines for the actual text throughout the page as it looks neat and gives a joint up handwriting effect and is easy to read as it makes it look like the text is flowing. I will most likely do this as it gives a nice effect as I it is both eye catching and easy to read.

The layout of this magazine is pretty standard apart from the fact that they have used two thirds of the page for the image and only managed to fit in two columns of writing, I have not decided on the amount of columns I will be having and also how much of the page my image will be taking up. They have also went with a quote from a band member in the middle of the text, this is to catch the readers eye and also gives them a rest from reading all the small texted article. I will go with this idea as I like the fact that it catches your eye and you can read it before you start reading the article as it will give you an insight but you can then read it during the article to break up all the text and it gives you a so called rest from reading.

Analysis of NME double page spread

On the above…

This spread is based on ‘The Teenagers. The left hand side of the page is dominated by a high angle shot of the band lying on a bed. This is a great photo I think because it brings out one of the stereotypes of teenagers being lazy and lying round the house all day doing nothing. Another thing I like about this picture is the posters which are behind the band on the wall. This seems like a typical teenager’s room by having all the posters of half-naked/naked women on the walls. Also I noticed that the bed covers look like an old women’s house’s bedroom as they look out dated and old fashioned. This is probably because they have been kicked out their own houses for being lazy and not getting a job so they have had to go and live with their  grans and have just completely taken over because if their granny seen this they would be truly shocked at what they were seeing. I do like the way in which they have planned and set up this scene for the photo because I like the story it tells and the pure stereotype it portrays.

The colour scheme for the written is again a white background with black written. This is because it has the biggest contrast as they are two colours completely opposite to each other which make the written very clear and easy to read. The main stand out colour on this page is bright blue because it stands out from both the picture, black written and the white background, so this was a really go choice as it catches readers eyes as there are different amounts of it on each part of the page. When using the blue they have used it as a background to other written which makes that bit of text stand out because of its importance and also its need to be seen, so the blue helps do both of this. I am going to go with an idea like this about having a block of colour to background some important text as I like the effect it gives and how it makes the page look.

In the text on this magazine they have started it with a drop down letter which is bigger than every other letter involved in the paragraph. They have decided only to go with one of these letters when in some magazines they have two but it doesn’t really make any difference all it does is show the start of the text/paragraph. It looks like they have ony went with two different styles of font which keeps it looking neat, in my opinion I think anything more than three fonts on a page looks very un-neat. They have also went with a ‘San Serif’ text style for both the title and the main text. In a lot of cases I have found that the style of ‘San’ tends to be used for the title as it is big and bold and san serif is used for the text which makes up the paragraphs. Looking at this magazine I’m not sure whether to use both styles of text as this has shown me that san serif can look bold and stand out as well as san does.

Analysis of Q double page spread

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This double page spread is image dominated as the right hand side of the page only has an image of the artist (Cheryl Cole), that isn’t the only image on the spread as on the left had side there is an image which takes up about a quarter of the page. The main image has just a plain white background which is also the same background as the other page, whereas the other image has a background of a dark city with just lights on, on this photo she is tipping her hat towards the camera which creates a shadow over her eyes, even though they’re not visible you still think they are making eye contact when you look. This is a powerful image as the shadows follow you around the page making sure you focus on everything. I like this idea of having these two different styles of images as one is focusing on the camera and one isn’t. these images make the page seem more interesting and attractive on the eye as it doesn’t allow you to get bored of it. When making my double page spread I am yet to decide how many images I am going to have on it, looking at this one though I may go for having two images on as of the effect it has, I will not go for anything more than two though as it will be un-attractive to look at.

Again with a Q magazine they only have three colours on the page which are black, white and red. As with every other Q magazine I have seen they have went with the big red letter in the middle of the page, this is very eye catching and I think it looks good, but, at times it makes the text hard to read and makes you squint more than you already have to. Q is unique in the fact at how the only colour they have is the big letter in the middle of the page, as most other magazine have to have splashes of bright colours dotted around the page to keep the reader interested and attractive whereas Q  only have the coloured letter. Another thing which I have noticed when analysing Q magazines they always seem to go with a black and white image. When analysing the Lady Gaga spread I didn’t agree with having a black and white as nothing on that page seemed interesting. But in this one the whole image seems black n white but they have chosen to make her lipstick coloured which makes you focus towards her face which many people find attractive. When taking my photos I’m not sure at the minute whether or not I’m going to have a black and white image as I have mixed opinions on it.

They have chosen to go with the artists name as the title of this page which is very much like all of their spreads whereas other magazines tend to title the page with something else. Also they have went with san serif text style for the both the title and the main story whereas normally you have the title in serif style as it gives a more bold, standout effect and san serif usually just used for the main story as it makes the text look hand written, joined up and makes it flow more which makes it easier to read. I will probably go with what most magazines do and have a main title and not just the artists name and also make it in serif text style so it stands out more and again have san serif text for the article.

Analysis of Q double page spread

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This article is based on Lady Gaga. The colour scheme used is mainly practically all black and white with one big letter in red. I have found that in almost every magazine I analysed they have had a white background with black written, before I started looking at them I was expecting bright colours everywhere, e.g. background and all the text, but, through the process of looking at them and finding out the main colour schemes used I think it would be silly to have bright coloured written for all the text as it would be un-readable.  So going back to this double page spread I would expect to see some more colours because I think having everything black and white makes it seem as though the artist whom this page is on is old and not around in the music business anymore, when in fact lady gaga is in the peak of her career. When creating my magazine I will go for a white background with black written but I will have bright colours dotted around the page, which will grab the reader’s attention from the whole page.

This double page spread is dominated by one mid-close image up of Lady Gaga. This is the only image on the whole page itself and I kind of like it but don’t at the same time. The thing I like is the fact that as there only is one image it makes the reader focus on that image and the text only as there is nothing eye catching on the page. What I don’t like is I think it looks boring and in my opinion I would want to read this because there is nothing interesting on the page, if they had some images of her performing live and recording new songs it would appeal to me a lot more but this just seems boring in my opinion. I think you can guess that when I come to create my page like this I will go with more than one image purely because it makes things look interesting and is better to look at. Or even if I don’t go with more than image I will have some bright colours dotted around the screen to catch the readers eye.

In every magazine I have looked at they have had large drop down letters at the very start of the first paragraph and maybe one more later on or sometimes not. In this case though, they have decided to put one in half way through the text and another later on. I think this looks wrong and doesn’t fit in, in my opinion. i can only think they have put them there us because it is lady gaga this is about and she isn’t normal and likes to stand out and maybe they have added this little effect in to do so. Usually the title of a page in a magazine is in the style of ‘San’ which makes it bold and stands out a lot but this time they have decided to use the ‘San Serif’ style which is just used for the actual story in most cases. Again I think this makes the page look boring and doesn’t appeal to me. It seems strange because usually Lady gaga likes to stand out from a group and to have a ‘scrawny’ title it seems she can’t do this. I will go for to two different styles in my magazine. Also the font which they have used looks like the average Word font and again doesn’t stand out or look appealing.

Also, double page spreads which are about famous people tend to have a quote by them in the centre of the text, but this one does, again this makes it look boring. But, having said all of this and the above about her always wanting to stand out, by going the complete opposite to what you usually see in a magazine makes her stand out, but in a boring, bland way which not many people know Lady Gaga by.

Analysis of Q contents page

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Q has a double page spread for contents whereas most magazines only have one A4 side for it. This is because of how image based it is, it seems like it’s going to have a story on it as when you first look at it, it has one side dominated by a large image, in this case Cheryl Cole and has very little text which is what an actual double page spread is like. In all of the Q magazines I have looked at they have done this, I think it is so they make sure the reader know that this person/band is the main focus in this edition of the magazine. The way which the creators of this magazine have laid it out is very clever as they have used the double page to good effect in not just it allowing many images to be used but also they have alternated the page numbers from one side of one page to the other on the other side. This makes the reader scan across the page when looking for another page number to follow on from the left, so makes him see everything which will be inside and if they have not bought it already this should encourage them to do so.

As in the above I have talked about the images. This page will catch the readers eye because of all the colours the pictures bring, also the page is very attractive to look at. But, by having all these images on the page it doesn’t allow you to focus in on just one, you have to look at them all and it makes you want to read on into the full story of all of them. I really like the idea of having lost of images on the page without it looking un-neat and like they have all just been thrown on anywhere, but, unfortunately my contents will not be able to have the amount of images this one has in as I’m doing mine on A4 paper so it will look silly not having many words on the page when really that’s what contents pages are all about, slightly introducing you to  story and leaving it  at a sort of a cliff hanger so you want to read on and find out.

The colour scheme used on this page is red, white and black. A white background, with black written and two paragraphs in red. The red is mainly used for underlining the title of a story. This red catches your eye as it has a great contrast with the white background. This also doesn’t let your eyes settle on just one thing as there are lines of red all over the page. This is like the images in the fact there is so many of them they don’t let your eyes settle on just one thing. I like this idea so I may use it when creating my page as I like the fact of your eyes never been able to rest.

Analysis of NME contents page

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The style of this page is very different to the ones I have just annotated as this one is jam packed with information where the other ones have either had many images on or just nowhere near as much information as this one. On the other ones I have been saying how you can’t just look at one picture or story as the others all catch your eye, but, in this case there is so much information you don’t actually know where to start, this may seem like a silly comment but the fact at how small the written is, nothing really catches your eye as to where to start except from the only image in the centre of the page. This may seem like a bad idea in your head but looking at the style of this magazine it fits and looks cool. When it comes to making my contents I will have to think about the style /genre of my magazine and that will depend on what i want my contents to look like.

Again the colour scheme of this magazine is red, white and black. I think these seem to be frequently used colours because of how different they are in terms of contrast because you can have any of them colours for the background and you’ll be able to see the writing on top if you use one of the other colours. The background colour they have chosen to go with and it’s the one I may end up going with is white, but they have varied the colour of the text up on both sides as on the left side the text is red with black page numbers and on the right it’s the opposite. On the right hand side they have separated it up by having a block of black with white written to show different parts of the magazine and also to separate out the amount of text on that side of the paper. I think I may go for a three colour, colour scheme for my contents as I think this works the best but at the moment I’m not quite sure what colours I will use.

Throughout the page they have used ‘San’ text style which where the letters are all straight up and can be made very bold, so they have no fancy flicks on the end which is ‘San Serif’ most magazines tend to have the title in san and the rest of the text in san serif but not in this one, I think this is again representing the coolness of this magazine as they don’t want to have a text style in which the letters have curls on the end as that looks girly and I don’t think would appeal very much to the audience which this magazine is targeting.

Also on this page it has an advertisement for how you can subscribe to this magazine, usually in magazines you don’t see this on the contents it will just be a random page in the magazine which will catch you out. I will not be having an advert for subscription on my contents as I think I don’t think I will have enough space for that as well as the other information I will be putting on, if I was going for a double paged contents I would more than likely have it on there.

Analysis of Mixmag magazine contents page

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2 thirds of this magazine contents are filled with a picture and stories which will be inside, the other third is taken up by the advertisement of the free CD which get when you open the magazine, this section tells you a little bit about the album which you get free and also is showing what songs are on this album. I think this is a good idea to use when you don’t have the biggest magazine and you don’t have enough stories to fill the page without making things too big and looking stupid. If I find myself in this position I might think about doing something like this. I do like the layout of this page as usually when you only have A4 contents pages you have the written on the left hand side then images on the right, but this magazine has done the opposite in going with  larger image on the left and the written on the right. I like this idea as I think it looks original and unique because it is not being a sheep and following what other magazines tend to do. I may go with this style but I’m not sure.

There are two images used in this contents and the main one really fits in with the style of the magazine as it is a DJ/dance magazine and it has a girl dancing in the club. The other image fits, but in a different style to the other picture, as this magazine isn’t, mainstream and the band that they have put in this mag don’t look like the type who like dance music they look more like an indie band who would be in something like kerrang. I think this is a good idea but I my contents I will stick to images which I think people can relate to with the genre/style of the magazine.

The title on the contents page is the only bit of text which uses ‘san serif’ text style which is when they letters curl at the end. I think this works with the style of the magazine because of how it is a DJ magazine I get the picture of the letters being spun round on the decs and it has created this sort of effect. All the other text is ‘san’ which means it is very straight and very bold , this makes it stand out from  the page whereas ‘san serif’ doesn’t in my opinion. Most of the time though in magazines the titles are in the style of ‘san’ and the rest of the text is in ‘san serif’ but in this case they have went opposite.  As in most magazines the main stories title are in bold and the little introduction is not, as it is not as important. The colour scheme in which has been used is black and white mainly with the odd bit of yellow or pink for the title and to advertise that free CD you get inside. On my contents page I will go mainly for a white background with black written with a stand out colour which is involved on the front cover so it looks like it fits in with the magazine itself.

Analysis of Mojo contents page

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The layout of this page is the first thing which strikes you when you turn onto the page; it’s not what you would expect to see in every magazine contents. What I mean by this is that, it has its own unique style, this is through having what looks like a receipt running through the middle of the page which is the actual bit in which you get told what is where in the magazine. I like this magazine because of its uniqueness; I have never seen any other contents like this as they are usually more formal than this. When making my contents I will have a try at making my contents like this and see what it looks like. Also the placement of the pictures is a key thing because they have four pictures on the right hand side, they go in a pattern of colour then a black and white one. If they had decided to put the two coloured ones at the top of the page and the others at the bottom this would not have the same effect because when you see the coloured image it draws your attention to the black and white one above which then has the same effect on your attention been taking towards the coloured one above. All these little things have helped make this content as effective as it is and when creating mine I will have to have the same mind set. They also have added in the title of the magazine at the top of the page in the exact same way as it is presented on the cover, e.g. same font and size. On some magazine contents they tend have the title of ‘contents’ at the top of the page, this looks silly in my opinion as everyone will know it’s the contents, so on mine I will have the title of the magazine on this page.

The type of writing used is ‘san’ and ‘san serif’. San means there are no fancy flicks at the end of the writing. This is made for the title in most cases including this one, this is because it is big, bold and stands out more than ‘san serif’ writing, it has more of a convincing look about it because of its boldness, I think this it shows that they are not messing around and if you want fancy flicks on your title you’ll have to go somewhere else. San serif writing is used for the actual text which is not meant to be standing out, for example, the little bits of text under the main story titles. When making my magazine I will go with this type of text as this is how it is meant to be.

The colours used mainly on this page are, black, white and red. There is an image of what looks like a magazine cover for a story in the magazine, this has the colours red, white and black on, so it looks like they have stuck to the colour scheme from that. Having the black text is the best colour to have on top of a white background as it is the most obvious contrast in colours which makes it easy to spot things and to read. I will most likely go with this style when it comes to making mine.

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There is a colour scheme involving four colours to make this cover, these are blue, red, white and black. There is also a change in font size and boldness. To create this cover they have put the most important words/names in a large bold font which is bigger than the rest of the words around it. For example, ‘U2’, ‘OASIS’ and ‘THE STONE ROSES’. These are the most important things in the magazine after Lilly Allen herself. This catches the audiences eye so it they. These words are also in black as it creates a stand out colour contrast because it is basically a white background with the black written, this does make the written stand out a lot but the sheer boldness of the text itself makes it stand out the most. The colour red has been used in two different ways on this cover, as it has been used for the word ‘exclusive’, this word has been put in red because this is something exclusive which you will not see anywhere else except in this magazine. The other words in red have been used to represent the other side of her. The word ‘wicked’ is in red, and when I think of the colour red I think of blood, and the panthers on the front can cause a bloody scene. This is showing she has a bad side to her and she can cause a stir up in the music industry. I will use this idea when creating my magazine as it separates the importance out of the things on the cover and gives a nice effect.

The layout of this cover is something what I liked because it lets the image dominate the whole page as it only has the person’s name over the image and the rest of the things like the inside stories are tucked away in the top right corner and more inside stuff is as the bottom of the page. Also there are many layers used in this as the image is behind the artists name, but the actual name of the magazine is used in a layer below the main image as her arm goes over part of the logo. One of the panthers on the front then covers one of her feet. I like this idea so when making mine I am going to see what it looks like having the main image covering parts of the title to see what it looks like. I also noticed that one of the panthers is covering the Lilly Allen text, this is showing that they are more aggressive and get/want more attention than Lilly herself.

The main image is a long shot of her with her back to the camera and tilting her head and making eye contact with the camera. The way in which she is positioned in this shot is showing a cheeky, arrogant side to her. This shot goes with the quote which is in the double page spread. It looks like she doesn’t want this shot taken of her, so she makes them get her attention and she looks over her shoulder like she doesn’t have to do this but if she wants the attention which she always seems to be want she will have to have her photo taken. When taking my photo I think I am just going to go for a mid-close up as I think it catches the audiences eye more.

Analysis of Mojo magaizne

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The main image on this cover is a mid-shot of Bob Marley with his arms folded, laughing face and looks like he’s leaning back. This image is replicating the chilled out life that Jamaicans and Bob Marley have, it seems as though whatever problems they have they can just get high and laugh it off. I think they have went for a mid-shot to show the real emotion on his face and also so you don’t have to see a long-shot of what he is wearing because it probably won’t be the best dress sense and people care more about what Bob Marley is rather than what he looks like. When taking my photo for my cover I will have this shot in mind purely because of the happiness in which is being shown. So, depending on the genre of my mag, will depend on what the emotions are like in the photo.

The colour scheme used on this cover really does work well; the colours used are black, red, yellow and green with a black and white photo. Having this photo in black and white reminds you of the times of when he was around as a digital camera may have only been getting invented 10 years after he died. Also this black and white image really brings out the Rasta colours which are used for all the text associated with the man himself. If they had decided to go with random colours on this cover, for example, blue, it would have looked stupid as this edition is all about Bob Marley and the colour blue has no association with him where as green, yellow and red do. When creating my cover I will think about having a black and white image as I like the effect it has on this one. When it is on the shelf you will not expect it to stand out because of the image but in fact I think it will stand out more as all the other magazines will be full of bright colours so this one will look unique.

The layout and style of this magazine is very original as it has many different fonts, font sizes and also the angle at which the text is at. There is text all over the page, a CD cover over half of his body. I think all of this contributes to replicating the laid back style that he used to have. It seems like they have just chose a font, text and a size and just put it anywhere on the page and not really thought about what other people think it looks like as long as the producers like it. The text which has been put on an angle is showing the highs and lows in which he faced in his life. Also there is a photo in the top right corner which just looked like it has been planted and left there, whereas if this was anybody else on the front it would not have been just left there as it looks messy and un-neat but because of the style of this magazine it looks cool. I will consider using this effect when creating my cover if it fits in with the style of the edition; just like this one has with the laid back lifestyle of the Rasta’s.