Thursday 26 November 2009

Music Magazine Planning

Music Magazine Plans

Title- Civic (other word for local)

I chose the word Civic as it is another word for local, as I discovered whilst researching names, on a Thesaurus website. I did this as i wanted to find a really interesting version of the word which would capture the attention of the audience, and make them want to pick up the magazine and investigate it further. I wanted to use the word local as the magazine i am going to create is based around local bands, music and the world surrounding the people in them.

Target Audience- 14-25, Mixed Sex

I have decided that I am going to use this age range as my target audience as when i researched music magazines discovered that this is the conventional age for music magazine readers. I want to follow this convention so that the magazine sells well. Also, the kind of music that i have decided to focus on is largely enjoyed mainly by people within this age bracket, meaning i will have a bigger target audience and fan base to appeal to instead of having to cater for a niche audience, which is much more difficult and does not sell as well within the music industry.

Genre- Hastings Music

Music magazine of just music from around the Hastings area, with details of local up and coming bands and gigs from around the town


Gap in the Market? or Rival Others?- Gap in the market

There is nothing else like this currently available, therefore going to be an innovate and give people what nothing else currently can.

Independent Producer?- Yes, independent

I will be independently producing the magazine because it is not nationwide and would not require a producer like Bower

Production Values- modern ,up to date and innovative

The production values will be modern because of the young age range and target audience, and innovative because the magazine is new and there is nothing else like it

Price- £3.00

I have chosen the price to be 3 pounds because there will be alot in the magazine and because its bi-monthly there will be alot more content in it, and comes around less often so warrants the price tag of 3 pounds.

Frequency- Bi-Monthly

It would be bi-monthly because there would possibly be a lack of content if it were weekly or monthly, due to the size of the town.


Mode of Address- friendly and informative

It will be friendly and informative so the reader feels comfortable and a relationship with the magazine and want to come back time after time and keep buying the magazine, and build up a loyal fanbase.

Main Image- Picture of band after a split up

The main image will be of a band who have split up and will be looking moody and looking away from the camera to draw readers in and want to know why and how they split


Articles on Contents Page- Interviews, pictures and gigs

The contents page will have interviews, pictures and gigs on it showing what pages to find them with a breif bit of information about that article. It will also have pictures on there to make there less text and more informal and chatty, easier to read.

1 or 2 Page Contents?- 1

I only want a 1 page contents because I want the magazine to be easy to read and informal. And I think two pages would be too much, and possibly put some readers off. In particular males readers

Double Page Spread- Interview

The double page spread will be an interview of how a band spilt up it will not have too much text but be short, precise and intresting. It will also have some short quick-fire questions to keep it fun and informal

Thursday 19 November 2009

Mock up of Contents Page


School Magazine- Preliminary


Thursday 1 October 2009

Preliminary Task

My target audience for my sixth form magazine will be students of the sixth form, so boys and girls aged 16-19. The purpose of my magazine will be to inform sixth form students of whats going on in the social and sports side of sixth form.

I will have a medium close-up of a student, possibly from the football team or a organiser of the socials. I have yet to think of a title for my magazine.

School Magazine Research



The magazine on the left 'FFH' is aimed at parents of the students. It is trying to make the school look good, and that it is providing a good educationg. It is representing students doing well in their lessons, therefore making parents want to keep their child at FFH.
I think they have tried to make the colour scheme seem simple, and only uses a few colours. This makes the magazine and therefore the school, seem sophisticated and classy. It also makes there seem less going on which makes people more likely to read it, as some more detailed covers put people off as they seem daunting. The magazine has been succsessful in what they are trying to achieve, as they get across all of the points which the parents need to know but in a fun and positive way using images that show the children happy in what they are doing, which is encouraging for the parents. The magazine front cover makes the children look happy and intelligent, creating a good image for the school.
The magazine to the right, 'High Profile' seems to be a college or school trying to advertise out of school trips from initially looking at it. The target audience would be the parents and the students. The students would have to be excited by the magazine, and the parents would have to be convinced its worthwhile sending their child on these trips. They are representing out of school trips, and suggesting their trips are fun, adventerous and educational, making it appealingto both students and parents.
The picture on the front cover, makes the trips seem adventerous, and slightly dangerous by the woman wearing a helmet and the hills looking steap in the background. Yet the scenery would make it look geographical and educational. It also gives the impression that the children are being offered a great opportunity. This front cover isn't as successful as the other magazine i have analysed, as it looks quite cheap and basic, but still achieves its goals.

Thursday 24 September 2009

Introduction to Coursework.

My coursework for AS Media, will be creating a front page, contents page and double page spread for a fictional music magazine, with text and photos produced by myself. The coursework will have three sections; research and planning, construction and evaluation. I will we using programmes such as Photoshop and InDesign.

In the planning section I will produce a front cover for a Sixth Form based magazine, and a draft of a contents page. I will also research the music industry, for my music magazine I will be producing. I am going to do this so that I can look at the typical conventions used in magazine layout and design and apply some of the ideas to my own work.

I think I will struggle with programmes like Photoshop and Indesign to begin with in terms of using the design elements, because I have never used them before. However, I feel that once I have learnt the basics I will be able to experiement and explore the tools to create different effects and moods to portray to the reader. This is important to learn as different genres require differnent design techniques and methods so that it is clear what is being aimed at the audience.