Thursday 11 December 2014

What I am going to achieve this lesson



I am going to try and complete as much of the feedback from my ILP book as possible today.

Key:
Completed 
Uncompleted 

- Reader profile - Use NME profile style 
- Peer feedback - Reflection
-Media rich
- Cover analysis
- edit - Pug - Ears of mag
- Font choices - link to genre + target audience
- Interview - reflection 
- Colour scheme - genre + target audience
- Competition - how will you compete





Thursday 27 November 2014

Reader Profile

This is the reader profile for my music magazine. I collected the data from my survey that I posted on survey monkey. The results painted a picture of what the average reader would be interested in and the things that they would own.  

The mood board above shows me what my reader profile enjoys to do with their free cash and time. The age range likes to use technology to communicate and use it to consume content. The readers favorite activities include drinking with friends, listening to music, looking for new clothes and using tech.  

The genre of the magazine fits with this kind of 'student' lifestyle. while doing research for the reader profile i also found out that my target audience doesn't have much money. So to help them i will be making the price of my magazine cheap so that the target audience can afford to buy it.

Thursday, November 27th, 2014

Goals for the end of todays lesson:

- First draft of billboard
- Finish reader profile

Thursday 13 November 2014

Radio Advert Analysis

I found it very difficult to find radio adverts as most of the ones that I found were from the TV. However, I was able to find some adverts for campaigns and sales, but unfortunately none for film adverts. Despite this, I can use some of the same techniques to create my own radio advert.



(This is a combination of two adverts, however I'm only analysing the first which lasts up to 40seconds). Taken from a driving and phone campaign, this radio advert is made to shock it's listeners to re-inforce the laws of the road. It's an advert designed to prevent drivers from using their mobile phones whilst driving as they are "4 times more likely to have an accident". The confusion of the merged voices creates a sense of what the dsistraction and confusion a driver would feel when driving on the roads whilst using their mobile. The voices eventually untangle to reveal what they've actually been saying, suggesting that by not using their phones, drivers are much more in control and focused. It addresses the audience directly with "you" immediately involving them in the radio campaign; this makes them listen to the facts which are inserted to shock the listeners and make them realise how dangerous using a simple mobile phone can be. The repetition of the speakers voice and by using the same speaker makes the advert brainwash the audience as they are intent on listening and trying to make out what is being said. The speakers voice is also quite monotone which gives it a dull feel to (I think) show how serious it is and possibly represent how an accident can affect your life, especially if it's fatal.
Who is the ad intended for? Drivers.What is the ad wanting people to do? Stop using mobile phones whilst driving.
Why are they wanting this? Because drivers are four times more likely to have an accident.




This is an advert for moving house. It has funky music in the background which suggests that they are friendly and approachable. The music could also be to make the listeners listen to what they have to say as the beat is infectious. The voice over is that of a male with an enthusiastic and friendly tone. This again reinforces the message that they are the people to go to if you're thinking of moving house. The script uses words such as "we" and "you" which relates directly to the listener as they're being addressed, whilst the "we" groups all the workers who work for Quick Move and shows that they are all willing to help. Other words which help to sell the company are "professional", "friendly" and "specialists" which suggest that they are the best people to go to. It gives information with how to contact them towards the end of the advert and keeps repeating the name of the company; This is a kind of brain-washing technique which will make the listeners remember their name.
Who is the ad intended for? Middle-aged people, those moving house.What is the ad wanting people to do? Choose Quick Move to help them move house.Why are they wanting them to do this? More money for the company.




This radio ad is advertising subway. The voice is very energetic and enthusiastic. His accent is also different which makes the listener have to listen slightly more to what he says. The words used to describe the food makes the listener wants to try them more, because in radio no images can be used to persuade the audience! So everything needs to SOUND good to them, that's why words such as "tasty", "yummy" and "scrumptious".
The speaker is directly addressing the audience with "you" again involving them within the advertisement. He also relies on comedy such as imagining the steering wheel as a pretzel to try to entice people in, and the irony of "don't listen to the voices in your head" also adds a comedy factor. The speaker also includes the slogan of "Eat Fresh" at the end and repeats the name of restaurant "Subway" several times throughout the ad. Information regarding price is also put in there to persuade the listeners that it's too good to miss!
Who is the ad intended for? Drivers / People who have a busy schedule and need to grab something and eat.What is the ad wanting people to do? Go and eat at subway.Why are they wanting them to do this? Make more money for the company. 
To conclude, these adverts couldn't be more different. Both the last two are advertisements aimed at making people spend money at their stores so that the companies can make more money whilst the first advert is designed as a prevention of road accidents. The last two have more similarlities, using energetic voice overs, catchy music and taglines. However, they all do share similar conventions of having one voice over, repetition of words (or phrases) and lasting between 30 to 40 seconds.

Thursday 23 October 2014

Peer assessment analysis







Strengths:

- I have a lot of in-depth research
- Clearly expressed my points that I want to make
- Very detailed. I go in a lot of detail and break everything down
- Good mix of images and text
- Clearly demonstrates that I know what I am talking about

Weaknesses:

- Not much variation on media used. Need to embed more media
- My posts can be too long and look like a wall of writing. 

Reflection 
Looking back on this feedback i have decided to include more media rich content instead of writing a wall of text. This will help push my marks into L4 and keep my blog fresh. the feedback told me that the amount of detail in my blog posts is good so I'm going to keep that going through out my work. But on the other hand some people didn't like the amount of words i used so I'm gong to take a conscience effort to cut down on the word count or try and summarize better.












Time Management for half term week


This is what I have planned for the half term break. I want all my research and planning completed. This will most likely take up most of my time but if I have spare time left over, I want to get a start on making my project. 

Thursday 16 October 2014

Survey #2

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world's leading questionnaire tool.

Cover Analysis #4


Main image

The use of a large main image is to promote the content inside. The bigger the star, the more copies a magazine will sell. Hence why the image is large and centralized. 

Masthead

The iconic masthead is covered by the main image. Rolling stone has been running for decades and the front covers are legendary in their own right so the editors are not bothered if the whole masthead is covered, the magazine will still sell. 

Cover Analysis #3

Cover Analysis #2


Masthead

The masthead for Kerrang! magazine is very clever in my opinion. the main target audience is people who listen to the bands featured. This is mainly rock/metal genres. The masthead appeals to this niche audience by been black, bold and distorted. The cuts within the mast head give it an edgy feel to it, which is the main characteristic of these bands. 

The masthead is behind the frontman of thirty second to mars (the main focus of the band, poster boy) and in front of the other two, lesser known band members. This is done to promote Jared Leto, the main focus/image of the band. 

Fonts

The front cover uses 4 different fonts on the front cover. This is done to make the front cover exciting and interesting to look at. Another reason for the font choices is to represent the magazine and the content it produces. The cracked font in the masthead represents the hard music it advertises and the genres it covers. The  Quadraat font in the white, cracked circle represents what it advertises. 'World exclusive' is says that this is a first anywhere in the world so we take pride in it, look its in a fancy font.

Barcode et al

The barcode, date and issue number and the price are all located in the bottom right hand corner. This is to save space for more important things like:

- Main image
- Plugs
- Strapline



iPhone app

I have downloaded the blogger app for iPhone. This allows me to post blog entrie where ever I'm at. So if I have inspiration to write on my blog I can whenever I want to.


Monday 13 October 2014

Model confirmation


This screen grab shows that I have permission from my chosen model to take pictures of him and use them in my project. 

Font Choices



Font 1

Font 1 is called 'PRIMETIME'. The reason why I've picked this font is for its simplicity. Its bold, stands out and easy to read. 

Strengths:

- Big and bold
- Stands out 
- Easy to read

Weaknesses:

- Looks very familiar to NME logo font.
- IMO it's quite boring to look at. Not much you could do with it










Font 2

Font 2 is called 'Wolf in the city'. This font is very aesthetically pleasing. It flows and adds a layer of cartoonynish (yes made up word) to a piece. This font reminds me of Coca-Cola and Disney. The curled handwriting suggest something casual and friendly, but are distinctiveness enough to indicate a special, possibly even magical quality. 

Strengths:

- Very pleasing to the eye
- Beautiful flow
- Can be altered 100's of different ways. Let's you be creative with it

Weaknesses:

- No other music magazine uses such a font. Might not work for the masses
- Could be hard to read for some people





Font 3

Font 3 is a mix between font 1 and font 2. It has the same user friendly readability to it as font 1 but isn't as straight forward and 'boring' as it. With it's blocked edges I can see this font going well around a logo image and underneath it as well.

Strengths:

- Easy to read
- Bold, stands out
- Easy on the eye, not too formal

Weaknesses:

- Font is used all over especially in america 


http://www.youthedesigner.com/graphic-design-tips/how-to-choose-the-right-font-for-your-logo/

Thursday 9 October 2014

Time Management

5 weeks into my A2 course and I think my blog is coming on good. Aims for the next 5 weeks ( 13th of November, 2014):

- First draft of front cover
- First draft of contents page
- First draft of double page spread
- All Initial research completed
- All Initial planning completed


Interview with target audience





Reflection 

The interview with my target audience was a great success for getting to know my target audience. What I learnt was that my TA want a colorful, informative front cover. This means using plugs to advertising what content is inside the magazine and the main image has to do with something inside the magazine as well. the audience want a quick synopsis of what to expect inside from the front cover. So if I am reviewing a new album then it must be said on the front cover. This also applies to the contents page as well. Users want an easy experience where all the information is presented clearly and not very hard to use. Correct page numbers with detailed blurbs will help with this. Also for the main articles little images next to the blurbs will help.


Media Institutions - Bauer Media Group


Bauer Media Group is a large European based media company that manages a portfolio of magazines, digital products, radio and TV stations in local markets across the world.


Bauer Media is a multi-platform media group, with locations across the UK. Following their purchase of Emap in 2007, The Bauer Media Group acquired a collection of media brands, including heat and Grazia as well as a radio portfolio of national radio brands includingKISS FM UK and Magic, and regional radio brands across major UK cities. In 2013, Bauer Media also acquired the Absolute Radio Group from Times of India.
Bauer Media also broadcasts TV music channels including The Box TV, in a joint venture with Channel 4. In the UK Bauer Media is the sister company of H Bauer Publishing, who publish titles including Take a Break .

Q

Q started out as a music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom. Originally it was to be called Cue (named after the act of cueing a record to play), but the name was changed so that it wouldn't be mistaken for a snooker magazine. Founders Mark Ellen andDavid Hepworth felt the music press of the time ignored a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology — from artists such as Paul Simon, Level 42, and Dire Straits. Modeled after Rolling StoneQ was first published in 1986, setting itself apart from much of the other music press with monthly production and higher standards of photography and printing, with an emphasis on style.

The Q music brand has expanded to Radio and Television, with Q Radio and Q TV being music entertainment that specialises in indie, rock and alternative. Q also holds annual music awards in the UK, known as Q Awards. Since they began in 1990, the Q Awards have become one of Britain's biggest and best publicized music awards, helped in no small part by the often boisterous behaviour of the celebrities who attend the event.
In spring 2010, Bauer caused controversy with its attempt to unilaterally impose a new contract on all photographers and writers, which takes away their copyright and off-loads liability for libel or copyright infringement from the publisher onto the contributor. 200 photographers and writers from Q and Bauer's other music magazines, Kerrang! and MOJO were reported as refusing to work under the new terms.[6]

Kerrang!

Kerrang logo.png
Kerrang! is a brand that specialises in Rock Music. It originally began as a magazine and in 2004 Kerrang Radio was launched. A Kerrang TV channel also exists and as of 2005, all of its programme content is music videos, the majority of which is open scheduled, for text requests from their playlist.

Why have I chose Bauer Media Group?
If I had to pick between Time Inc. UK or Bauer Media Group I would pick BMG. It's centered in Europe and in my opinion has the better portfolio (although it is half the size of Time inc.). With magazines like Q and Kerrang, the company shows it knows how to make a popular magazine for the masses. The company has 8 TV stations that are used to market its own products and reinforce brand strength. Thats why you see people walking around with Kerrang! t-shirts and not NME t-shirts. 

Media Institutions - Time Inc. UK




Time Inc. is an American New York-based publishing company. It publishes over 90 magazines, most notably its namesake, Time. Other magazines include Sports Illustrated, Travel + Leisure, Food & Wine, Fortune, People,InStyle, Life, GOLF Magazine, Southern Living, Essence, This Old House, All You and Entertainment Weekly. It also owns the UK magazine house Time Inc. UK, whose major titles include What's On TV, NME, Country Life,Marie Claire, Wallpaper and InStyle.
Time Inc. also owns the rights to LIFE, a well-known magazine that has been published in many different formats. Time Inc. currently owns and runs LIFE.com, a website dedicated to news and photography.
In 1990, Time Inc. merged with Warner Communications to form the media conglomerate Time Warner. This merger lasted until the company was spun off on June 9, 2014.

Why have I chose Time inc. UK?
Time Inc. UK has a huge portfolio of successful magazines including NME. NME is one of the brands most successful projects and has held this title for decades. NME is a similar genre to my own project and I think Time Inc. UK would be able to market it so it gains a strong customer base from the start. I have made this assumption on that Time Inc. UK sells 350 million units a year. With that kind of customer base and established platform, I think my magazine would fit in nicely with the rest.

Thursday 2 October 2014

Thursday 25 September 2014

Pitch: Colour Scheme



From doing my research on cover analysis I have decided on what colour scheme I want to used. The colors are:

- Red

- Gold
- White

The inspiration for this comes from the NME cover featuring Tyler the creator. 


Colour theory

Red

Red is the color of fire and blood, so it is associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination as well as passion, desire, and love.
Red is a very emotionally intense color. It enhances human metabolism, increases respiration rate, and raises blood pressure. It has very high visibility, which is why stop signs, stoplights, and fire equipment are usually painted red. In heraldry, red is used to indicate courage. It is a color found in many national flags.
Red brings text and images to the foreground. Use it as an accent color to stimulate people to make quick decisions; it is a perfect color for 'Buy Now' or 'Click Here' buttons on Internet banners and websites. In advertising, red is often used to evoke erotic feelings (red lips, red nails, red-light districts, 'Lady in Red', etc). Red is widely used to indicate danger (high voltage signs, traffic lights). This color is also commonly associated with energy, so you can use it when promoting energy drinks, games, cars, items related to sports and high physical activity.

- Light red represents joy, sexuality, passion, sensitivity, and love.
- Pink signifies romance, love, and friendship. It denotes feminine qualities and passiveness.
- Dark red is associated with vigor, willpower, rage, anger, leadership, courage, longing, malice, and wrath.
- Brown suggests stability and denotes masculine qualities.
- Reddish-brown is associated with harvest and fall.

Yellow

Yellow is the color of sunshine. It's associated with joy, happiness, intellect, and energy.
Yellow produces a warming effect, arouses cheerfulness, stimulates mental activity, and generates muscle energy. Yellow is often associated with food. Bright, pure yellow is an attention getter, which is the reason taxicabs are painted this color. When overused, yellow may have a disturbing effect; it is known that babies cry more in yellow rooms. Yellow is seen before other colors when placed against black; this combination is often used to issue a warning. In heraldry, yellow indicates honor and loyalty. Later the meaning of yellow was connected with cowardice.
Use yellow to evoke pleasant, cheerful feelings. You can choose yellow to promote children's products and items related to leisure. Yellow is very effective for attracting attention, so use it to highlight the most important elements of your design. Men usually perceive yellow as a very lighthearted, 'childish' color, so it is not recommended to use yellow when selling prestigious, expensive products to men – nobody will buy a yellow business suit or a yellow Mercedes. Yellow is an unstable and spontaneous color, so avoid using yellow if you want to suggest stability and safety. Light yellow tends to disappear into white, so it usually needs a dark color to highlight it. Shades of yellow are visually unappealing because they loose cheerfulness and become dingy.

- Dull (dingy) yellow represents caution, decay, sickness, and jealousy.
- Light yellow is associated with intellect, freshness, and joy.

White

White is associated with light, goodness, innocence, purity, and virginity. It is considered to be the color of perfection.
White means safety, purity, and cleanliness. As opposed to black, white usually has a positive connotation. White can represent a successful beginning. In heraldry, white depicts faith and purity.
In advertising, white is associated with coolness and cleanliness because it's the color of snow. You can use white to suggest simplicity in high-tech products. White is an appropriate color for charitable organizations; angels are usually imagined wearing white clothes. White is associated with hospitals, doctors, and sterility, so you can use white to suggest safety when promoting medical products. White is often associated with low weight, low-fat food, and dairy products.

Cover Analysis #1

To help me understand the main components to a music magazine cover, I analysed one of the inspirations because I would be taking a lot of influence from this cover. 

Masthead
On this text the masthead is partly covered by the main image. We see this with most mainstream magazines. This could be done for an artistic purpose or to make emphasis on the importance of the person photographed on the front. The magazine would have paid 'Tyler the creator' a sum of money in hopes that his face would sell the magazine. So to cover the brand name with him could have been a tactic to sell more magazines. 
NME uses its classic logo for everything it endorses. This makes it easy for existing customers to recognize its content and for new customers to discover them. I will be making a logo for my magazine that will be featured on the front.

House style
The house style of this text is red, gold and white. When someone sees all these colours put together, they might think of royalty. 
As seen in the image above, the main colours featured in the British royal family is red (Male clothing, red wall paint), gold (medals and background artwork) and white (the woman are wearing mostly white). 
In the text tyler the creator is seen wearing a crown which is directly related to the royal family and the queen. So the house style fits the generic conventions of the already established image of what the crown would wear (Queen or King) and what colours are associated to them. 

Plugs
Plugs ( mention a product, event, or establishment publicly in order to promote it ) are essential for magazines in todays market. The front cover main image isn't enough anymore to sell the magazine. Customers want more bang-for-their-buck in 2014 and demand to know what else they will be spending their hard earned cash on. Without good plugs it could ruin the entire magazine and make it not sell. 
This text has highlighted the main plugs in red so it stands out for the potential buyer. This takes any effort out for the reader to search around for more information and get distracted by another, more appealing magazine. 

Competition: music magazines

Competition in the UK

Currently in the UK, their is 78 'mainstream' ( Magazines that sell more than 25,000 copies a month) music magazines. The biggest selling music mag in the UK is 'Mojo', followed by 'Q' then 'Kerrang!' coming in third. The three main magazines I will be looking at though is Mojo, Kerrang! and NME. The reason for Mojo is because its the best selling magazine in the UK and I want to find out how it achieves this success, NME and Kerrang! because these mags have achieved success in the genre I want to do my project on. 

Mojo History







MOJO is a popular music magazine published initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom. Following the success of the magazine Q, publishers Emap were looking for a title that would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music. MOJO was first published on 15 October 1993; in keeping with its classic rock aesthetic, the first issue had Bob Dylan and John Lennon as its first cover stars. Noted for its in-depth coverage of both popular and cult acts it acted as the inspiration for Blender and Uncut. Many noted music critics have written for it including Charles Shaar Murray, Greil Marcus, Nick Kent and Jon Savage. The launch editor of MOJO was Paul Du Noyer and his successors have included Mat Snow, Paul Trynka and Pat Gilbert.
While some criticise it for its frequent coverage of classic rock acts such as The Beatles and Bob Dylan, it has nevertheless featured many newer and "left-field" acts. It was the first mainstream magazine in the UK to focus on The White Stripes, whom it has covered as zealously as many older acts.
MOJO regularly includes a covermount CD that ties in with a current magazine article or theme. In 2004 it introduced the MojoHonours list, an awards ceremony that is a mixture of readers' and critics' awards.
In early 2010, MOJO was involved in a controversial move by its new parent company, Bauer, via Bauer's attempt to unilaterally impose a new contract on all photographers and writers, taking away their copyright and off-loading liability for libel or copyright infringement from the publisher onto the contributor. Two hundred photographers and writers from MOJO and Bauer's other music magazines, Kerrang! and Q, were reported as refusing to work under the new terms.

Kerrang! History





Kerrang! commenced publication on 6 June 1981 and was edited by Geoff Barton, initially as a one-time supplement in theSounds newspaper, which focused on the New Wave of British Heavy Metal phenomenon and on the rise of other hard rock acts. Angus Young of AC/DC appeared on Kerrang!'s first cover. Launched as a monthly magazine, Kerrang! began to appear on a fortnightly basis later, and in 1987 it went weekly. The original owner was United Newspapers who then sold it to EMAP in 1991.
During the 1980s and early 1990s the magazine placed many thrash and glam metal acts on the cover (like Mötley Crüe, Slayer,Bon Jovi, Metallica, Poison, and Venom) but later discarded them when grunge acts such as Nirvana rose to fame. Readers often criticise the magazine for repeating this process every time a new musical trend becomes popular.
Kerrang!'s popularity rose again with the hiring of editor Paul Rees circa 2000 when the nu metal genre, featuring bands like Limp Bizkit and Slipknot were becoming more popular. Rees went on to edit Q magazine and Ashley Bird took over as editor from 2003 to 2005. However the magazine's sales went quickly into decline in 2003 and Paul Brannigan took over as editor in May 2005.
The term "Thrash Metal" was first referred to in the music press by Kerrang journalist Malcolm Dome while making a reference to the Anthrax song "Metal Thrashing Mad" in issue number 62, page 8 published on 23 February 1984. Prior to this Metallica's James Hetfield referred to their sound as Power Metal.
With the emergence of emo and metalcore, Kerrang! began to heavily feature this musical trend. However, the revamp was not welcomed by all readers and many complaints were received about Kerrang!'s sudden emphasis on emo and metalcore music. Brannigan took the magazine into its most commercially successful period with a record ever ABC for the title of 80,186 copies.
In 2008, EMAP sold its consumer magazine to current owner Bauer Media Group. Brannigan left Kerrang! in 2009 and Nichola Browne was appointed editor. She later stepped down in April 2011. Former NME features editor and GamesMaster deputy editor James McMahon was appointed as editor on 6 June 2011.

NME History





New Musical Express, popularly known by the initialism NME, created by Theodore Ingham, is a British weekly music journalism publication, published since March 1952. It is largely associated with rock, alternative and indie music. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s and 90s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles chart, in 14 November 1952 edition. In the 1970s it became the best-selling British music newspaper. During the period 1972 to 1976, it was particularly associated with gonzo journalism (self-involved reporting), then became closely associated with punk rock through the writings of Julie Burchill, Paul Morley and Tony Parsons.
An online version of NME, NME.com, was launched in 1996. It is now the world's biggest standalone music site, with over 7 million users per month. As of 16 August 2012, the magazine's circulation was measured as 23,924 (declining).
The magazine and website's headquarters are in Southwark, London, England, UK. The magazine's present editor is Mike Williams, who replaced Krissi Murison on 25 June 2012 (as announced on 31 May 2012). NME.com's present editor is Greg Cochrane – previously, the post was held by Luke Lewis, who replaced David Moynihan in March 2011. In 2013, the list of NME's The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and the way it was conceived were criticized by the media.

Recreation of Music magazine front cover




The above image is my attempt at recreating a music magazine front cover. My skills in image editing has grown seven fold compared to when I started in AS. For example in the bottom left hand corner, the yellow box is zagged and uneven. This took some creative thinking to pull off. The original box was edited using masks and multiple layers then exported into the main PSD file to create the effect. Another example is the font used. The font used for 'FOO FIGHTERS' didn't have the black outline around it. So to successfully complete the task I had to edit the FX and add drop shadow. The drop shadow is set at 75% with 100% opacity so that the black stands out like on the original. 

Strengths

- I really like the font I used for 'foo fighters' and how I edited it to match the second image.
- The colors and placement of everything is just like the original. 
- All fonts used are very similar to the original. This makes it look interesting.
- The images I sourced are very similar to the original.

Weaknesses

- The main image is too long and it doesn't look right.
- The NME logo doesn't look anything like the original. This is because I couldn't replicate it/didn't have the knowledge on how to do it. 

Conclusion

Overall I think my recreation turned out really good. With only limited knowledge of photoshop I think I done a really good job. This been said, its far from perfect and could be improved.