For my project I had to create a music magazine front cover, double page spread and a contents page based on a genre of my choice. However before I started the main music magazine project, I produced a college magazine front cover and contents page as this would help me familiarise myself with the tools on Photoshop to aid me in the production of my final piece.
The music genre I decided to focus on was heavy metal, as the magazines belonging to this genre had a mystifying feel to them and greatly stood out to catch the eye of potential audiences- compared to other magazines which belonged to different genres. The first thing I had to do was to analyse 2 existing magazine covers of the same genre and then analyse a double page spread along with a contents page.
The first magazine cover which I decided to analyse was the cover of the heavy metal magazine; Metal Hammer.
To ensure that I thoroughly analysed the front cover, I chose main areas to work around which consisted of the font, colour, title, the target market, and images that were used (including their placement on the page).
I also compared this magazines front cover to the front cover of the magazine Kerrang which led me into producing a fusion of the 2 magazines to create my own magazine; Mad Metal. I adapted ideas from both the magazines front covers to ensure that they appeal to my target audience. To make sure that my magazine definitely appeals to my target market, I conducted a questionnaire which consisted of 7 questions- this enabled me to have a clear understanding of what things appeal to the potential customers.
Having analysed 2 front covers, a double page spread, and a contents page of existing magazines, expanding my knowledge of the genre and noticing the codes and conventions of a metal magazine, I started drawing out a paper draft of how I would like my magazine's front cover to look like.
Whilst creating a paper draft of my front cover, I tried to expand on the existing magazines characteristics to ensure my final piece would be successful.
I felt that I did this task well and managed my time efficiently to ensure I had enough time for my next task, which was to do a computer draft of my front cover.
As I had used the Photoshop program previously I was more confident in producing my front cover and adding more effects, and therefore I used my paper draft as a guideline of how to produce the computer draft. The computer draft consisted of images and texts in the correct colour however the images were taken off the internet and instead of inserting all the images, I inserted text saying “image” so that I knew where the placement of each image was supposed to be.
Also in my draft I inserted the typical features such as the barcode, price and respective issue date alongside the design of the logo of the magazine.
In order to give the magazine a metal effect I researched the internet thoroughly and downloaded the iron maiden font from http://www.fontfinder.ws/7982/Iron-Maiden.html, as i felt this font best portrayed the genre of music.
I then typed up my title in the font, inserted it at the top of the page and made the layer bigger so that it stands out and can be easily read.
Having produced my computer draft of the magazine cover, I opened the file and started adding further information and effects. I understood that third party images could not be used in magazines, so therefore I used a digital camera to take photographs. Having analysed the stereotypical metal artists and understanding that they wear make up, I picked an appropriate candidate and applied a white base to his face, as this is what some metal artists do. As I had already visualised in my head what I would like my artist to look like, I applied black eye make up and red lipstick to make the face stand out; this task took me around an hour which I felt was a good management of my time as I have never used make up in my life!
After finishing the make up, I placed the candidate against a white background as it would contrast with the black clothing and make it easier to edit and crop using Photoshop. I then took many medium close-up shots, as I knew that the task consisted of creating a contents page and an article as well as the front cover, and images would be needed for many activities. To produce my final cover, I uploaded the images from the camera to Photoshop and replaced the existing third party images with the images that I took. I wanted to create the effect of many artists on one page however I chose just one artist and cropped many pictures as I felt this would challenge the codes and conventions and make it stand out. I felt I created this effectively as it still maintains some characteristics of a metal music magazine.
I then added the background choosing to use a silver colour as I felt this best represented Metal itself. To make the colour look more like a physical piece of metal, I changed the tone of the silver from dark to light whixh created a more realistic effect.
Next, I added the top banner of the front cover. I felt that using an image of an axe would deliver a semiotic code, to the target audience, of death and this stereotypically represents the culture behind the background of metal music. For those who are not familiar with metal music, I felt that the names of the bands I created alongside the imagery would construct a behavioural ideology of metal artists.
At the bottom of the page I used images of flames as I felt this best portrayed the name of the band ‘Burnt Alive’. I felt that having ‘exclusive interview’ layered on top of the image of the flames would lure in fascinated potential audiences and appeal to them so that the magazine can demonstrate an up-to-date representation of metal music in our media and society.
In order to make the page stand out some more, I added film reel just below the main images of the band which further illustrated the one man metal band, I felt that this would also signify to the audience that an exclusive photo shoot was taken for the magazine and make the potential reader more likely to purchase the magazine.
I feel that my media product uses the forms and conventions of real media products as I have adapted the main aspects and added them to my work. For example, I noticed that some characteristics of a real metal music magazine consist of a barcode, images of a violent nature, artists with heavy make-up, loud music and a lot of energy. I tried to portray these aspects in my work and I also feel I have developed the conventions, as my front cover allows the text and images to be seen clearly and catch the eye of potential customers. When compared with the real media product; metal hammer, my music magazine front cover is much easier to understand, and I feel I have given my magazine a 3 dimensional aspect due to the images I have layered on top of each other. I also feel that I have fused both Kerrang and metal hammer in my work which would target a much larger audience and bring in business from all metal music lovers. I feel that my music magazine represents the orthodox metal lovers very well. This is due to the vast amount of preliminary research I carried out in order to ensure my target market is engaged with the product. The fusion of both Kerrang and Metal Hammer ensures that the magazine will be a success, I adapted the main characteristics of metal artists such as the make up and dress code (predominantly black). I also used the body language used by metal artists and fans such as the Satan hands, in my work represented as the main artist; Burnt Alive uses this sign to represent Satan in the world of metal music. I have represented the social groups associated with Metal music stereotypically and I have not made any particular representation to ethnic backgrounds as I wanted to group all the metal music lovers together regardless of other factors such as race. The representation consists of usual metal artist's activities such as wearing heavy make up. I also understand that metal music also influences suicide in some cases and I feel that the Satan sign represents this ideology. My magazine consists of real issues and typical metal language which would appeal to all metal music lovers.
The main audience for my music magazine would be metal music lovers of all nationalities above the age of 14 due to the mildly explicit content in the interview. I have taken into account that some 14 year olds would not agree with the language used, and personally, I feel that young people are being exposed to explicit language in this day and age more than ever before.
However, to still ensure that a large target audience remains engaged, I used asterisks to replace letters in some mildly explicit words, i.e. S**T. This avoids disputes over vile language exposure. The music magazine would attract both sexes as the magazine includes the singer ‘Burnt Alive’ who is portrayed as being a 'ladies man'. However, bands such as ‘Black Blood’ would appeal mainly to men due to their forward thinking female nature.
The target audience will also have a fairly steady income as I understand the price is not relatively cheap. Nevertheless, this portrays the quality of the magazine itself and its content which I therefore think will not sway a 'real' metal music fans decision in purchasing the media product.
I also feel that I have met my target audiences needs and expectations as my product gives them a clear insight on up to date information in the world of metal music. I feel I did this well by the actual content of the magazine, such as the text, and ensured that the target market is lured in by the colours and images, which I think are very appealing and compliment the representation of metal music lovers by using black and red colours.
I addressed my target audience by using my preliminary research which consisted of a target market questionnaire (primary research) alongside internet research (desk research). I used my questionnaire to find out about various different aspects of a music magazine that appealed to my target audience and then used this information in the production of my own product. From this research, I found out that the target market is attracted to red and black colours and prefers the name ‘Mad Metal’ for their music magazine along with various other characteristics such as font style and the articles in the magazine.
After producing a magazine with these aspects, I kept developing it to ensure my audience wouldn’t be able to walk past the magazine without being drawn to it and reading the articles. I feel my final piece of work reflects all the preliminary research I conducted in order to fulfil the expectations of metal music lovers.
When I first started my school magazine, I had no experience in using an apple operating system, let alone Adobe Photoshop as a production program. I feel that the preliminary task enabled me to become more familiar with the program and learn how to use all the tools. Even though I found it extremely difficult to adapt to the program at first, I managed to utilise the skills I gained from the experience of creating the school magazine and adapted these skills in the production of my final piece. As I further stretched my knowledge of the program through producing drafts I started to become more engaged with how real production companies have to research their target, market and discover their interests in order to ensure that their magazine appeals to their audience. I have learnt many different things through the progression of the coursework such as the nature of metal music lovers along with the lovers of rock music. Having looked at Kerrang, I started to understand the symbolism of the Satan hands and started to reflect this in my front cover as I felt this represented the target audience well. Through the progression, I also feel I have learnt how to work independently to progress through a certain task from the research. right up until the production of my product. I feel I have shown all that I have learnt through the progression of the coursework in my final piece; a music magazine.
From the process of constructing the product, I have learnt many things about technology, mostly to do with computers.
Firstly I learnt about the digital camera and how lighting affects the way the image is taken. I learnt about different camera functions, such as macro where it changes the focus on the camera for very close objects to show detail. I also learnt about how to upload pictures onto an apple operating system and how to import them into a program such as Adobe Photoshop. Having imported the pictures, I also learnt about the different tools available such as cropping and smudging to make the image look more realistic as well as sharpening tools to enhance the look of the image. The use of layers to produce a product was also new to me, however I now understand all the technical operations a magazine editor must go through to produce an article or design for a front cover. I have also learnt that technology has come very far from how it was decades ago; The use of digital cameras, for example, has greatly increased, allowing better images to be produced due to the capability of being able to synchronise the device with a computer and use a compatible program to achieve greater results by using photo editing software.
Future Publishing is a media institution that is the largest publisher of guitar magazines in the world and the biggest music-making publisher in the US and UK.
It has published magazines such as Guitar World, Revolver and Metal Hammer which are all very successful magazines.
Bauer Media is another instituion which owns more than eighty influential media brands spanning a wide range of interests, including Heat, Kerrang magazines and Kerrang radio station along with its television channel.
Having looked at both of the mentioned institutions, I feel that Future Publishing would be most likely to distribute my media product. Even though my product is a fusion between Kerrang and Metal Hammer I feel that the distributors of Metal hammer will be the best firm for my magazine as my magazine is slightly swayed towards the layout of Metal Hammer, as I feel this magazine influenced me more in the creation of my product. Having looked at the background of Future publishing, I feel that the institution would have a lot of experience in how to ensure the magazine is a favourite for all metal music lovers.
The instituion also specialises in website design and has designed the websites of popular music magazines such as http://www.musicradar.com/ and http://www.metalhammer.co.uk/I. I feel that the firm will ensure my product is a huge success to music lovers who enjoy an online presence, which could also further result in the magazine selling songs via their website which will increase its popularity and expand Mad Metal.
Monday 11 May 2009
Saturday 2 May 2009
IMPROVED FRONT COVER
I TOOK INTO CONSIDERATION THE FEEDBACK I WAS GIVEN, THEREFORE I ADDED AN ISSUE NUMBER TO THE MAGAZINE FRONT COVER
IMPROVED DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD
Above is a further improvement from the magazine double page spread i produced below,the page numbers now correspond with the correct page stated on the contents page.
I acted upon the comments i received and removed the images behind the text 'BURNT ALIVE' at the top of the page. i hope this appeals more towards my target audience.Wednesday 29 April 2009
Metal Hammer Evaluation
The title 'Metal Hammer' itself suggests that the magazine belongs to the metal music genre which immediately makes me think of highly energetic bands with guitars whilst trashing the stage. This stereotypical view immediately comes into my head due to the ways that media institutions have put these music artists across to the public. The title is located at the top of the page and is placed as the first layer on the document which therefore allows pasrts of the text to be coered by other images on the front cover. This is one of the charecteristics that many other magazines use such as SFX and Kerrang.
Just like the Kerrang magazine, Metal Hammer has become such a well established magazine and therefore uses the same technique as others as their regular readers and the rest of their target audience will automatically understand and distinguish which magazine they are looking at.
The colour red which is used for the text automatically signifies blood to the reader which is stereotypical of the nature of the music genre, as metal bands often include violence in their music production and in shows by trashing the place up and breaking their instruments.
The use of red colour stands out against the dark background and I also noticed the designer used the opposite technique for the ‘thrash’ text used at the bottom of the page. This helps to clearly distinguish the text from the rest of the page and keeps the readers engaged.
The main image on the front page is another thing point that reflects the social characteristics of the metal music genre and its audience, the motorbike suggests that this is the vehicle the artists used which in turn has had an effect on his target audience as it is clearly visible that many mature metal music lovers own motorbikes along with black jackets. Again the choice of costume and colour reflects the ‘dark’ music produced by these artists which is also similar to the artists which is similar to the music produced by grunge bands.
The stature and pose of the artist suggests that they are ready to speed off on their motorbike as the position of the vehicle is grounded with one wheel in the air. The facial expression on the artist shows that he is in an aggressive mood, similar to the mood that is shown by the metal artists whilst performing, the evidence behind my hypothesis of the mood of the artist is based on the adrenaline fuelled performance metal artists provide on stage by their actions such as smashing instruments up and their highly energetic jumping on stage.
The main headline ‘The resurrection of… Megadeth “im pi**ed off and angry again”’
Is placed in the centre of the page and in bold which suggests that this is the main text that should catch the eye of the reader, the font style compliments the music genre and works well to create an orthodox metal feel to the front cover. The metallic colour used also reflects the genre and creates a 3 dimensional feel to the text.
Due to the way the text has been written, it automatically suggests to the reader that there is an interview inside as the artists has been quoted. The use of ** disables the chances of inappropriate audiences such as young children being exposed to explicit language as the magazine may be distributed at a news agents which caters to many people to meet their needs.
Tuesday 28 April 2009
Saturday 25 April 2009
EVALUATION
For my project I had to create a music magazine front cover, double page spread and a contents page based on a genre of my choice. However before I started the main music magazine project, I produced a college magazine front cover and contents page as this would help me familiarise myself with the tools on Photoshop to aid me in the production of my final piece.
The music genre I decided to focus on was heavy metal, as the magazines belonging to this genre had a mystifying feel to them and greatly stood out to catch the eye of potential audiences- compared to other magazines which belonged to different genres.
The first thing I had to do was to analyse 2 existing magazine covers of the same genre and then analyse a double page spread along with a contents page.
The first magazine cover which I decided to analyse was the cover of the heavy metal magazine; Metal Hammer.
To ensure that I thoroughly analysed the front cover, I chose main areas to work around which consisted of the font, colour, title, the target market, and images that were used (including their placement on the page).
I also compared this magazines front cover to the front cover of the magazine Kerrang which led me into producing a fusion of the 2 magazines to create my own magazine; Mad Metal.
I adapted ideas from both the magazines front covers to ensure that they appeal to my target audience. To make sure that my magazine definitely appeals to my target market, I conducted a questionnaire which consisted of 7 questions- this enabled me to have a clear understanding of what things appeal to the potential customers.
Having analysed 2 front covers, a double page spread, and a contents page of existing magazines, expanding my knowledge of the genre and noticing the codes and conventions of a metal magazine, I started drawing out a paper draft of how I would like my magazine's front cover to look like.
Whilst creating a paper draft of my front cover, I tried to expand on the existing magazines characteristics to ensure my final piece would be successful.
I felt that I did this task well and managed my time efficiently to ensure I had enough time for my next task, which was to do a computer draft of my front cover.
As I had used the Photoshop program previously I was more confident in producing my front cover and adding more effects, and therefore I used my paper draft as a guideline of how to produce the computer draft. The computer draft consisted of images and texts in the correct colour however the images were taken off the internet and instead of inserting all the images, I inserted text saying “image” so that I knew where the placement of each image was supposed to be.
Also in my draft I inserted the typical features such as the barcode, price and respective issue date alongside the design of the logo of the magazine.
In order to give the magazine a metal effect I researched the internet thoroughly and downloaded the iron maiden font from http://www.fontfinder.ws/7982/Iron-Maiden.html, as i felt this font best portrayed the genre of music.
I then typed up my title in the font, inserted it at the top of the page and made the layer bigger so that it stands out and can be easily read.
Having produced my computer draft of the magazine cover, I opened the file and started adding further information and effects. I understood that third party images could not be used in magazines, so therefore I used a digital camera to take photographs. Having analysed the stereotypical metal artists and understanding that they wear make up, I picked an appropriate candidate and applied a white base to his face, as this is what some metal artists do. As I had already visualised in my head what I would like my artist to look like, I applied black eye make up and red lipstick to make the face stand out; this task took me around an hour which I felt was a good management of my time as I have never used make up in my life!
After finishing the make up, I placed the candidate against a white background as it would contrast with the black clothing and make it easier to edit and crop using Photoshop. I then took many medium close-up shots, as I knew that the task consisted of creating a contents page and an article as well as the front cover, and images would be needed for many activities. To produce my final cover, I uploaded the images from the camera to Photoshop and replaced the existing third party images with the images that I took. I wanted to create the effect of many artists on one page however I chose just one artist and cropped many pictures as I felt this would challenge the codes and conventions and make it stand out. I felt I created this effectively as it still maintains some characteristics of a metal music magazine.
The music genre I decided to focus on was heavy metal, as the magazines belonging to this genre had a mystifying feel to them and greatly stood out to catch the eye of potential audiences- compared to other magazines which belonged to different genres.
The first thing I had to do was to analyse 2 existing magazine covers of the same genre and then analyse a double page spread along with a contents page.
The first magazine cover which I decided to analyse was the cover of the heavy metal magazine; Metal Hammer.
To ensure that I thoroughly analysed the front cover, I chose main areas to work around which consisted of the font, colour, title, the target market, and images that were used (including their placement on the page).
I also compared this magazines front cover to the front cover of the magazine Kerrang which led me into producing a fusion of the 2 magazines to create my own magazine; Mad Metal.
I adapted ideas from both the magazines front covers to ensure that they appeal to my target audience. To make sure that my magazine definitely appeals to my target market, I conducted a questionnaire which consisted of 7 questions- this enabled me to have a clear understanding of what things appeal to the potential customers.
Having analysed 2 front covers, a double page spread, and a contents page of existing magazines, expanding my knowledge of the genre and noticing the codes and conventions of a metal magazine, I started drawing out a paper draft of how I would like my magazine's front cover to look like.
Whilst creating a paper draft of my front cover, I tried to expand on the existing magazines characteristics to ensure my final piece would be successful.
I felt that I did this task well and managed my time efficiently to ensure I had enough time for my next task, which was to do a computer draft of my front cover.
As I had used the Photoshop program previously I was more confident in producing my front cover and adding more effects, and therefore I used my paper draft as a guideline of how to produce the computer draft. The computer draft consisted of images and texts in the correct colour however the images were taken off the internet and instead of inserting all the images, I inserted text saying “image” so that I knew where the placement of each image was supposed to be.
Also in my draft I inserted the typical features such as the barcode, price and respective issue date alongside the design of the logo of the magazine.
In order to give the magazine a metal effect I researched the internet thoroughly and downloaded the iron maiden font from http://www.fontfinder.ws/7982/Iron-Maiden.html, as i felt this font best portrayed the genre of music.
I then typed up my title in the font, inserted it at the top of the page and made the layer bigger so that it stands out and can be easily read.
Having produced my computer draft of the magazine cover, I opened the file and started adding further information and effects. I understood that third party images could not be used in magazines, so therefore I used a digital camera to take photographs. Having analysed the stereotypical metal artists and understanding that they wear make up, I picked an appropriate candidate and applied a white base to his face, as this is what some metal artists do. As I had already visualised in my head what I would like my artist to look like, I applied black eye make up and red lipstick to make the face stand out; this task took me around an hour which I felt was a good management of my time as I have never used make up in my life!
After finishing the make up, I placed the candidate against a white background as it would contrast with the black clothing and make it easier to edit and crop using Photoshop. I then took many medium close-up shots, as I knew that the task consisted of creating a contents page and an article as well as the front cover, and images would be needed for many activities. To produce my final cover, I uploaded the images from the camera to Photoshop and replaced the existing third party images with the images that I took. I wanted to create the effect of many artists on one page however I chose just one artist and cropped many pictures as I felt this would challenge the codes and conventions and make it stand out. I felt I created this effectively as it still maintains some characteristics of a metal music magazine.
I then added the background choosing to use a silver colour as I felt this best represented Metal itself. To make the colour look more like a physical piece of metal, I changed the tone of the silver from dark to light whixh created a more realistic effect.
Next, I added the top banner of the front cover. I felt that using an image of an axe would deliver a semiotic code, to the target audience, of death and this stereotypically represents the culture behind the background of metal music. For those who are not familiar with metal music, I felt that the names of the bands I created alongside the imagery would construct a behavioural ideology of metal artists.
At the bottom of the page I used images of flames as I felt this best portrayed the name of the band ‘Burnt Alive’. I felt that having ‘exclusive interview’ layered on top of the image of the flames would lure in fascinated potential audiences and appeal to them so that the magazine can demonstrate an up-to-date representation of metal music in our media and society.
In order to make the page stand out some more, I added film reel just below the main images of the band which further illustrated the one man metal band, I felt that this would also signify to the audience that an exclusive photo shoot was taken for the magazine and make the potential reader more likely to purchase the magazine.
I feel that my media product uses the forms and conventions of real media products as I have adapted the main aspects and added them to my work. For example, I noticed that some characteristics of a real metal music magazine consist of a barcode, images of a violent nature, artists with heavy make-up, loud music and a lot of energy. I tried to portray these aspects in my work and I also feel I have developed the conventions, as my front cover allows the text and images to be seen clearly and catch the eye of potential customers. When compared with the real media product; metal hammer, my music magazine front cover is much easier to understand, and I feel I have given my magazine a 3 dimensional aspect due to the images I have layered on top of each other. I also feel that I have fused both Kerrang and metal hammer in my work which would target a much larger audience and bring in business from all metal music lovers.
I feel that my music magazine represents the orthodox metal lovers very well. This is due to the vast amount of preliminary research I carried out in order to ensure my target market is engaged with the product. The fusion of both Kerrang and Metal Hammer ensures that the magazine will be a success, I adapted the main characteristics of metal artists such as the make up and dress code (predominantly black). I also used the body language used by metal artists and fans such as the Satan hands, in my work represented as the main artist; Burnt Alive uses this sign to represent Satan in the world of metal music. I have represented the social groups associated with Metal music stereotypically and I have not made any particular representation to ethnic backgrounds as I wanted to group all the metal music lovers together regardless of other factors such as race. The representation consists of usual metal artist's activities such as wearing heavy make up. I also understand that metal music also influences suicide in some cases and I feel that the Satan sign represents this ideology. My magazine consists of real issues and typical metal language which would appeal to all metal music lovers.
The main audience for my music magazine would be metal music lovers of all nationalities above the age of 14 due to the mildly explicit content in the interview. I have taken into account that some 14 year olds would not agree with the language used, and personally, I feel that young people are being exposed to explicit language in this day and age more than ever before. However, to still ensure that a large target audience remains engaged, I used asterisks to replace letters in some mildly explicit words, i.e. S**T. This avoids disputes over vile language exposure. The music magazine would attract both sexes as the magazine includes the singer ‘Burnt Alive’ who is portrayed as being a 'ladies man'. However, bands such as ‘Black Blood’ would appeal mainly to men due to their forward thinking female nature.
The target audience will also have a fairly steady income as I understand the price is not relatively cheap. Nevertheless, this portrays the quality of the magazine itself and its content which I therefore think will not sway a 'real' metal music fans decision in purchasing the media product.
I also feel that I have met my target audiences needs and expectations as my product gives them a clear insight on up to date information in the world of metal music. I feel I did this well by the actual content of the magazine, such as the text, and ensured that the target market is lured in by the colours and images, which I think are very appealing and compliment the representation of metal music lovers by using black and red colours.
I addressed my target audience by using my preliminary research which consisted of a target market questionnaire (primary research) alongside internet research (desk research). I used my questionnaire to find out about various different aspects of a music magazine that appealed to my target audience and then used this information in the production of my own product. From this research, I found out that the target market is attracted to red and black colours and prefers the name ‘Mad Metal’ for their music magazine along with various other characteristics such as font style and the articles in the magazine.
After producing a magazine with these aspects, I kept developing it to ensure my audience wouldn’t be able to walk past the magazine without being drawn to it and reading the articles. I feel my final piece of work reflects all the preliminary research I conducted in order to fulfil the expectations of metal music lovers.
When I first started my school magazine, I had no experience in using an apple operating system, let alone Adobe Photoshop as a production program. I feel that the preliminary task enabled me to become more familiar with the program and learn how to use all the tools. Even though I found it extremely difficult to adapt to the program at first, I managed to utilise the skills I gained from the experience of creating the school magazine and adapted these skills in the production of my final piece. As I further stretched my knowledge of the program through producing drafts I started to become more engaged with how real production companies have to research their target, market and discover their interests in order to ensure that their magazine appeals to their audience. I have learnt many different things through the progression of the coursework such as the nature of metal music lovers along with the lovers of rock music. Having looked at Kerrang, I started to understand the symbolism of the Satan hands and started to reflect this in my front cover as I felt this represented the target audience well. Through the progression, I also feel I have learnt how to work independently to progress through a certain task from the research. right up until the production of my product. I feel I have shown all that I have learnt through the progression of the coursework in my final piece; a music magazine.
From the process of constructing the product, I have learnt many things about technology, mostly to do with computers.
Firstly I learnt about the digital camera and how lighting affects the way the image is taken. I learnt about different camera functions, such as macro where it changes the focus on the camera for very close objects to show detail. I also learnt about how to upload pictures onto an apple operating system and how to import them into a program such as Adobe Photoshop. Having imported the pictures, I also learnt about the different tools available such as cropping and smudging to make the image look more realistic as well as sharpening tools to enhance the look of the image. The use of layers to produce a product was also new to me, however I now understand all the technical operations a magazine editor must go through to produce an article or design for a front cover. I have also learnt that technology has come very far from how it was decades ago; The use of digital cameras, for example, has greatly increased, allowing better images to be produced due to the capability of being able to synchronise the device with a computer and use a compatible program to achieve greater results by using photo editing software.
Future Publishing is a media institution that is the largest publisher of guitar magazines in the world and the biggest music-making publisher in the US and UK.
It has published magazines such as Guitar World, Revolver and Metal Hammer which are all very successful magazines.
Bauer Media is another instituion which owns more than eighty influential media brands spanning a wide range of interests, including Heat, Kerrang magazines and Kerrang radio station along with its television channel.
Having looked at both of the mentioned institutions, I feel that Future Publishing would be most likely to distribute my media product. Even though my product is a fusion between Kerrang and Metal Hammer I feel that the distributors of Metal hammer will be the best firm for my magazine as my magazine is slightly swayed towards the layout of Metal Hammer, as I feel this magazine influenced me more in the creation of my product. Having looked at the background of Future publishing, I feel that the institution would have a lot of experience in how to ensure the magazine is a favourite for all metal music lovers.
The instituion also specialises in website design and has designed the websites of popular music magazines such as http://www.musicradar.com/ and http://www.metalhammer.co.uk/. I feel that the firm will ensure my product is a huge success to music lovers who enjoy an online presence, which could also further result in the magazine selling songs via their website which will increase its popularity and expand Mad Metal.
Next, I added the top banner of the front cover. I felt that using an image of an axe would deliver a semiotic code, to the target audience, of death and this stereotypically represents the culture behind the background of metal music. For those who are not familiar with metal music, I felt that the names of the bands I created alongside the imagery would construct a behavioural ideology of metal artists.
At the bottom of the page I used images of flames as I felt this best portrayed the name of the band ‘Burnt Alive’. I felt that having ‘exclusive interview’ layered on top of the image of the flames would lure in fascinated potential audiences and appeal to them so that the magazine can demonstrate an up-to-date representation of metal music in our media and society.
In order to make the page stand out some more, I added film reel just below the main images of the band which further illustrated the one man metal band, I felt that this would also signify to the audience that an exclusive photo shoot was taken for the magazine and make the potential reader more likely to purchase the magazine.
I feel that my media product uses the forms and conventions of real media products as I have adapted the main aspects and added them to my work. For example, I noticed that some characteristics of a real metal music magazine consist of a barcode, images of a violent nature, artists with heavy make-up, loud music and a lot of energy. I tried to portray these aspects in my work and I also feel I have developed the conventions, as my front cover allows the text and images to be seen clearly and catch the eye of potential customers. When compared with the real media product; metal hammer, my music magazine front cover is much easier to understand, and I feel I have given my magazine a 3 dimensional aspect due to the images I have layered on top of each other. I also feel that I have fused both Kerrang and metal hammer in my work which would target a much larger audience and bring in business from all metal music lovers.
I feel that my music magazine represents the orthodox metal lovers very well. This is due to the vast amount of preliminary research I carried out in order to ensure my target market is engaged with the product. The fusion of both Kerrang and Metal Hammer ensures that the magazine will be a success, I adapted the main characteristics of metal artists such as the make up and dress code (predominantly black). I also used the body language used by metal artists and fans such as the Satan hands, in my work represented as the main artist; Burnt Alive uses this sign to represent Satan in the world of metal music. I have represented the social groups associated with Metal music stereotypically and I have not made any particular representation to ethnic backgrounds as I wanted to group all the metal music lovers together regardless of other factors such as race. The representation consists of usual metal artist's activities such as wearing heavy make up. I also understand that metal music also influences suicide in some cases and I feel that the Satan sign represents this ideology. My magazine consists of real issues and typical metal language which would appeal to all metal music lovers.
The main audience for my music magazine would be metal music lovers of all nationalities above the age of 14 due to the mildly explicit content in the interview. I have taken into account that some 14 year olds would not agree with the language used, and personally, I feel that young people are being exposed to explicit language in this day and age more than ever before. However, to still ensure that a large target audience remains engaged, I used asterisks to replace letters in some mildly explicit words, i.e. S**T. This avoids disputes over vile language exposure. The music magazine would attract both sexes as the magazine includes the singer ‘Burnt Alive’ who is portrayed as being a 'ladies man'. However, bands such as ‘Black Blood’ would appeal mainly to men due to their forward thinking female nature.
The target audience will also have a fairly steady income as I understand the price is not relatively cheap. Nevertheless, this portrays the quality of the magazine itself and its content which I therefore think will not sway a 'real' metal music fans decision in purchasing the media product.
I also feel that I have met my target audiences needs and expectations as my product gives them a clear insight on up to date information in the world of metal music. I feel I did this well by the actual content of the magazine, such as the text, and ensured that the target market is lured in by the colours and images, which I think are very appealing and compliment the representation of metal music lovers by using black and red colours.
I addressed my target audience by using my preliminary research which consisted of a target market questionnaire (primary research) alongside internet research (desk research). I used my questionnaire to find out about various different aspects of a music magazine that appealed to my target audience and then used this information in the production of my own product. From this research, I found out that the target market is attracted to red and black colours and prefers the name ‘Mad Metal’ for their music magazine along with various other characteristics such as font style and the articles in the magazine.
After producing a magazine with these aspects, I kept developing it to ensure my audience wouldn’t be able to walk past the magazine without being drawn to it and reading the articles. I feel my final piece of work reflects all the preliminary research I conducted in order to fulfil the expectations of metal music lovers.
When I first started my school magazine, I had no experience in using an apple operating system, let alone Adobe Photoshop as a production program. I feel that the preliminary task enabled me to become more familiar with the program and learn how to use all the tools. Even though I found it extremely difficult to adapt to the program at first, I managed to utilise the skills I gained from the experience of creating the school magazine and adapted these skills in the production of my final piece. As I further stretched my knowledge of the program through producing drafts I started to become more engaged with how real production companies have to research their target, market and discover their interests in order to ensure that their magazine appeals to their audience. I have learnt many different things through the progression of the coursework such as the nature of metal music lovers along with the lovers of rock music. Having looked at Kerrang, I started to understand the symbolism of the Satan hands and started to reflect this in my front cover as I felt this represented the target audience well. Through the progression, I also feel I have learnt how to work independently to progress through a certain task from the research. right up until the production of my product. I feel I have shown all that I have learnt through the progression of the coursework in my final piece; a music magazine.
From the process of constructing the product, I have learnt many things about technology, mostly to do with computers.
Firstly I learnt about the digital camera and how lighting affects the way the image is taken. I learnt about different camera functions, such as macro where it changes the focus on the camera for very close objects to show detail. I also learnt about how to upload pictures onto an apple operating system and how to import them into a program such as Adobe Photoshop. Having imported the pictures, I also learnt about the different tools available such as cropping and smudging to make the image look more realistic as well as sharpening tools to enhance the look of the image. The use of layers to produce a product was also new to me, however I now understand all the technical operations a magazine editor must go through to produce an article or design for a front cover. I have also learnt that technology has come very far from how it was decades ago; The use of digital cameras, for example, has greatly increased, allowing better images to be produced due to the capability of being able to synchronise the device with a computer and use a compatible program to achieve greater results by using photo editing software.
Future Publishing is a media institution that is the largest publisher of guitar magazines in the world and the biggest music-making publisher in the US and UK.
It has published magazines such as Guitar World, Revolver and Metal Hammer which are all very successful magazines.
Bauer Media is another instituion which owns more than eighty influential media brands spanning a wide range of interests, including Heat, Kerrang magazines and Kerrang radio station along with its television channel.
Having looked at both of the mentioned institutions, I feel that Future Publishing would be most likely to distribute my media product. Even though my product is a fusion between Kerrang and Metal Hammer I feel that the distributors of Metal hammer will be the best firm for my magazine as my magazine is slightly swayed towards the layout of Metal Hammer, as I feel this magazine influenced me more in the creation of my product. Having looked at the background of Future publishing, I feel that the institution would have a lot of experience in how to ensure the magazine is a favourite for all metal music lovers.
The instituion also specialises in website design and has designed the websites of popular music magazines such as http://www.musicradar.com/ and http://www.metalhammer.co.uk/. I feel that the firm will ensure my product is a huge success to music lovers who enjoy an online presence, which could also further result in the magazine selling songs via their website which will increase its popularity and expand Mad Metal.
Saturday 11 April 2009
Target Market Questionnaire
As some people felt that the first image in this post is difficult to read, i have typed it up again:
Having asked these questions i found out that potential customers like the name mad metal and will be willing to pay between 4 and 5 pounds for the magazine. The potential customers also felt that the colour black will be most appropriate for the music magazine, however many people also felt that red will be an appropriate colour, this could be due to the colour red signifying blood which is related to the metal genre along with death. Therefore i will address this by using the colours black and red a lot in my magazine.
Potential customers would also like to see interviews and posters in the magazine so i will be sure to add these when i am producing my magazine as this will surely attract metal music fanatics. The font i will use is called COPPERPLATE GOTHIC BOLD which is the font used for the first option of the last question.
Analysis Of Kerrang Front Cover
Kerrang is an unusual name for a magazine, therefore I thoroughly researched the internet and found out that “The magazine's title is onomatopoeic and derives from the noise made when smashing an electric guitar”.
This means that the word Kerrang sounds like the noise made if you smash an electric guitar, this fits in with the genre of the magazine as rock is all about electric guitars and “rocking out” which can consist of smashing things up. This name clearly makes the kerrang magazine unique and stands out against all other music magazines.
This means that the word Kerrang sounds like the noise made if you smash an electric guitar, this fits in with the genre of the magazine as rock is all about electric guitars and “rocking out” which can consist of smashing things up. This name clearly makes the kerrang magazine unique and stands out against all other music magazines.
The main flash story is about the Trivium band member, Matt Heafy. It introduces this by a main headline, quoting: “Under the skin of Matt Heafy”. This wording could lead the reader to thinking many things; which is obviously appealing as the reader would be more likely to buy the magazine, to find out what the cover story is about. The image of the man topless goes well with the main headline, because it shows literal skin (although the story may not literally be about this). If the reader is interested in him or the band, then they will definitely want to read the magazine and find out what the main headline is about. I feel that main flash headline is very effective, as it doesn’t really give too much away, but it provides enough information to appeal to people, which will encourage them to buy the magazine.
The main image on the Kerrang cover which I analyzed, had a band member from Trivium, and from what I know about the band, they are a very successful rock/heavy metal band, who are very popular at the moment. They cover all the topics that a rock/heavy metal band are stereo-typed to, such as sex appeal, rebellious attitude etc. Therefore the band has a good attractiveness, which is most probably why they are featured on the front cover. However, this issue’s cover is different from how the cover normally is, because instead of having a picture of the whole band, it only shows one band member, with a girl behind him. As the main headline suggests, it is a feature about the band member himself, rather than the whole band. This member is most likely to be the lead vocalist, as they are usually the most popular person in the band, and they normally always get the most attention as they are the most famous. The photo is definitely a posed photo, as the man is looking straight towards the camera whilst showing a serious/angry expression. As mentioned before, I feel that most bands try to look tough and rebellious, as that is a main element in modern day rock and heavy metal. The photo shows the man lying on his stomach with his arms folded, whilst being topless, which is probably a way to advertise the tattoos on his body. This image portrays a certain attitude and sex appeal. In addition to the man, they have also photographed a woman, which altogether makes the photo more effective. She also seems to be topless, but is hiding behind the male in a sexually appealing way. She has very black hair and make-up and has a lip piercing, which is very stereo-typical of modern day rock/heavy metal. Kerrang uses both genders on this certain cover, but I feel that gender isn’t really of importance as long as the image demonstrates the main features of the type of music the magazine is trying to promote.
On this front cover there aren’t the usual “main sells” such as competitions and freebies. In fact, the only main sell is the list of bands that are featured in the magazine. However, I don’t feel that this is a big problem, because usually if the reader likes one or more of the bands then it will attract them, and they will most probably buy the magazine. There are possibly some competitions in the magazine; but they are not advertised on the cover because it may be that, in this issue, they are not as important as the bands themselves. As for freebies, I think that although they are a good publicity device, it might make the magazine look slightly childish (as most freebies only come with magazines aimed at children). Nevertheless, Kerrang has a mini-box which promotes what other items or articles are within the magazine, such as posters.
The font used for the main logo is very bold and emphasises on the black and white colours which contrast greatly. The font used is sans-serif which makes it less complex looking, and personally I think the choice of font makes it less intimidating to the reader as most magazines that use serif fonts are usually serious and are more focused on the heavy text approach, therefore Kerrang is more likely to be less serious and more image based, also the vocabulary used is then likely be simpler and easier to read. The font has a smashed and cracked look; this is usually a typical style for rock and heavy metal bands. They try to make the font look distorted, eroded or damaged to give it a more sinister and horror like feel. Rock and heavy metal bands like to be rebellious too; therefore some of the fonts used are based on violence and war which matches the attitudes and their overall style (such as blood splatters or bullet holes). Kerrang’s logo is more of a damaged font, it has cracks going through it, and it does have some erosion around the outside of the letters. I think the logo is very well suited to the whole look and feel of the magazine, the effects on the logo are good and the placement and size is suitable. As it is arranged as a layer behind the main image, this signifies that the magazine is already well known therefore a reader would automatically recognise that this is a kerrang magazine regardless of the font being visible or not.
As Kerrang’s style isn’t as sophisticated as newspapers such as The Times, it is more likely to use informal language such as slang as its main target audience are more likely to be young people due to the overall presentation of the magazine. Most informal magazines like to use a lot of puns, alliteration and abbreviations too. On this cover it is hard to spot any of these features, however there are many other pages in their magazine that do. Most of the language used on the front cover of this edition is straight to the point and can come across as assertive; this helps to make it stand out and makes it easy for readers to find out what they want in an instant. It mostly advertises the bands that are featured in the magazine; this gives the impression that the magazine has knowledge of the subject area.
Rock and heavy metal bands like to stick with dark colours which nearly always consist of black. Black is usually portrayed as being the colour of death and hatred, it is the most rebellious and outrageous colour someone could pick. Kerrang uses a lot of black in their magazine; however they use a lot of white too. Their main logo is a mixture of black and white, while the background is generally black, the text is made white as it stands out more than any other colour (as black and white are opposites on the colour wheel).
After analyzing the style of Kerrang’s cover, I feel that is mostly aimed at teenagers as it has a rebellious look. Teenagers are often stereo-typed as having a rebellious look or attitude, and I think that this magazine tries to fit in with the teenage trend; and it does a very good job in relating to them. The magazine’s main focuses are modern day rock and heavy metal, which are genres generally aimed at younger people, because of certain song lyrics, dress styles and attitudes of the bands. In fact, most rock and heavy metal bands are generally formed of young people. This could suggest that they will be better at communicating with teenagers, as they are teenagers themselves and they know of certain trends in this world today, that may be classed as “cool”. Also, bands formed of younger people probably have more sex appeal to their target audience of teenagers, as they are obviously of the same kind of age and are going through the same types of hormonal changes. In addition to these emotions, the bands and songs are also usually more sexually orientated to make the teenagers relate to them, and then like them more. Overall, Kerrang features many bands that would have sexual appeal, as well as rebellious attitudes. The front cover, of this magazine, presents this very well with a young man without a top on who looks quite menacing (trying to look angry, violent, rebellious etc). He also has some tattoos, which by young people are classed as rebellious. The girl behind him has lip piercings and very black hair and make-up, which also suggests a rebellious look. This magazine appeals to both genders, as music is not really gender specific. Also, both men and women are featured in this magazine which shows this that there is content for both girls and boys. The age range that this magazine targets is most probably mid-teens to mid 20’s, mainly because of what it contains. Nationality could be a target, as in some places rock or heavy metal may be more popular than in other places around the world. However, class types are not really an issue, because the magazine is rather cheap and the paper type that is used in Kerrang is basic and has no special qualities, and is therefore affordable for most people. Also, it is distributed weekly rather than daily, which means most people will be able to buy every issue.
Friday 10 April 2009
My Contents Page
I edited the contents page below as i took into account the feedback i received regarding the text.
As some of the white text could not be seen due to the bright background, i utilised the skills i gathered from the production of my double page spread and added an effect to the text called bold outline, i then filled in the inside of the text to make it stand out and make it more easier to read for my target audience.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)