Research (front covers)

Vibe front cover (research)

This is vibe music magazine, it is a mixture of pop and R&B music and is released everymonth. this institution is vibe and this is used for the masthead in everymonths issue. the masthead is printed in big, bold letters to make it stand out and to show the audience that this is the magazine name. The colours used for the masthead are very plain and simple, yet work very well against the background colour, the front cover tells the reader what kind of music genre the magazine is (pop and R&B) . the colours used throughout the cover are quite dark, this . All the text is in a very simple font, this may be to stand out or just make it easy for the audience to read and understand. The target audience for this magazine is around 14-18, boys and girls. the image used is a mid-length shot, this makes the artist

LLIAR

Language:

• Magazine terminology

-Masthead: most magazines tend to have the masthead at the top of the page in big, bold letters, this is to grab the readers attention and promote the magazine name. the masthead is usually printed in an eye-catching colour to make it stand out and to let the reader know that it is the brand name.

-Dateline: the dateline is placed underneath the masthead on mostmagazine front covers, if it is not placed there it will either be at the side or in the bottom corner next to the barcode and price. magazines have datelines to let the reader now what issue it is.

-title: the title is usually in the middle of the page, either covering the image or as one of the main captions. this is also usually big letters to stand out and grab the readers attention, and alos to let the reader know what the main story of that issue is.

-main image - the main image is the first thing that grabs the readers attention

-colour scheme

Institution-

- create media texts

- control language, representation & ideology of a text

Ideology-

- the values that the media text conveys

Audience -

• audience can be classified by:

- age

- wealth

- occupation

- intrests

- groups

Representations -

• how are groups/issues/individuals portrayed?

- representations convey an...

The Brief

main task : the front page, contents and double page spread of a new music magazine. all images and text used must be original, produced by you - minimum of four images.

college magazine front cover

fashion rocks contents page

Institution - Fashion rocks magazine
This contents page of a magazine called Fashion Rocks is quite similar to Elle Magazines contents page. It has mainly all the feature stories from the front cover numbered on the page and some other things from the magazine. there aren't as many images on this page but the images that are there also tell the reader about the magazine and some of the main stories in that issue. The title is at the top of the page (TABLE OF CONTENTS) it is very clear to see and also it stands out because there has been two different colours used through it, the colours that have been used are very bright and the text is quite big and bold, this makes the magazine stand out and look fun and interesting, it also attracts the target audience. the target audience for this magazine is teenage girls and women aged 16 plus and those who enjoy reading about fashion. the images that have been used are mainly mid length shots, and they are images of various famous people which make the magazine look good and give it a good name. Although the text that has been used is quite small, it is still readable and it doesn't take up a lot of the page making the page less dull and boring.

There aren't any dates or prices on the contents page but some do have the issue numbers on them. this is because the dates and prices are always on the front covers of magazines.

The ideology - the name, title and pictures show that the magazine is about fashion, beauty and celebrities. The layout of this contents page is very similar to most contents pages, with the title being at the top of the page, the table of contents being on the right hand side of the page and images around the text, they also have the magazine name on there to.

college magazine front cover

This is a college magazine front cover. The heading is at the top of the page and in big, bold letters, this is makes the magazine stand out and attracts the target audience. The masthead is named COLLEGE this is probably the most obvious name for a college magazine as it makes the reader automatically realise that is a magazine about college. The target audience for this magazine is college students aged 16-19. The image is possibly of a student from that college, it is a mid shot and takes up nearly the whole page. They have used an image of a young person so that people realise that the magazine is aimed at a younger audience. The text around the image is about things happening around the college and other things that appeal to college students, i.e fashion, tattoos etc. These little captions are in smaller text but they are still readable. There is a date and issue number near the top of the page but there isn't a price as most college magazines are free. These are in really small text because they aren't as important as other things on the cover, they aren't really necessary. The layout of the cover is quite similar to any other magazine like music, fashion and gossip magazines. With the image being the main focus, the masthead at the top of the page and small captions around the main image.

elle contents page

Elle magazine have used their own magazine name on the contents page instead of using the word contents. The name is in the top left hand corner of the page in black text, the text isn't very bold but it is still noticeable. The colours that have been used are in theme with the rest of the magazine, they are very girlie yet still make a statement, these have been used to attract the target audience. the target audience for this magazine is teenage girls and women aged 13 plus. The images that are used, around the text, tell the reader what the magazine is about. These images show the reader the ideology of the magazine - mainly make-up and beauty products. all these images and bits of text are snippets of what's inside the magazine.There is quite alot of text on the contents page, not everything in the magazine is numbered on the contents page, it is mainly the stories that are on the front cover. In the bottom corner of the page there are some editors notes that talk about how that issue was made. There are three different parts on the page: this issues stories, the beauty, health and fitness section and the in every issue section. The layout of this age is similar to most contents pages, it is quite simple but still attractive to the target audience of this magazine.

Q music magazine front cover

The layout of this music magazine front cover is very different to fashion magazine covers. The masthead of the magazine (Q) is in the top left hand corner of the page it doesn't take up a lot of the page as they have made the name of the artist (MADONNA) more noticeable to attract the target audience, this is placed in near the bottom of the page in the middle.The issue number is on top of the magazine name but doesn't cover it too much so it's still readable. The image used is a close up shot of a famous music artist, although the image takes up most of the page there is still a lot of space for small captions and other and images. there is a lot of text used on this cover which makes it look quite busy and there is just one focus point.

The colours used are very dark compared to others, this tells the reader what genre maybe of music they will be reading about. For example if they were reading a girlie pop magazine then the colours used are more likely to be bright and cheerful.

The date & price are both together on the right hand side of the page on the barcode, again this is probably because it is a more expensive magazine and it might put the reader of buying it if they see the price first before anything else.

The target audience for this magazine is teenage girls & boys, women & men aged 16 plus. The ideology behind the magazine is to appeal to music fans. The magazine is mainly about music and not much else, in the magazine they promote new artists, releases and singles.

Marie Claire front cover

The layout of Marie Claire magazine front cover is very similar to vogue magazine, with the heading at the top of the page and small captions around the image that tell the reader about main stories/topics inside the magazine. The masthead is in very big letters at the top of the page but not in capitals.

The colour used for the title is very bold and stands out, it is bright red and is in theme with the rest of the page. The background is very plain and simple, being white though makes the image stand out more.

The image is a mid length shot and takes up most of the page, this magazine also uses images of high profile celebrities (Beyonce Knowles) for their front covers to attract a certain target audience and to represent the ideology of the magazine. The target audience for this magazine is teenage girls and women aged around 16 years and over.

Ideology - The magazine discusses lots of different topics, including fashion, real life stories and celebrities. Price, issue & date - these are all in the top left hand corner of the page in very small text, this is so not to take up to much space, but still noticeable for the reader to see.

The colours used are used deliberately to match the theme of the issue, these themes change every issue and sometimes the layouts also change. there are a lot of small captions around the image and each one is about something different i.e real life, fashion, that issues celebrity etc..

Vogue front cover

The masthead of the magazine is at the top of the page, in big capital letters, although part on the image is covering a letter, it is still readable and as it's such a well known magazine the reader knows what the title says anyway.

The colours used for the title change every issue, they have used the colour orange to match this issues theme.

The layout of the front cover is very simple yet eye-catching. It is very easy to see everything and it's not too busy.

The ideology of the front cover is to make the reader realise it is a fashion magazine and a designer magazine, so it's not to cheap and doesn't advertise high street fashion.
Image - this is a very large image that takes up most of the front cover. The image is a full length shot. There are quite a few people in the image but the camera focuses on only one of the people. Vogue have used a celebrity (Penelope Cruz) on their front cover to grab the target audiences attention. The target audience for this magazine is mostly teenage girls and women aged 16 plus, and those who are interested in big brand fashion names i.e Ralph Lauren, Gucci, Prada etc.. I think the reason Vogue has used such a high profile celebrity on their front cover is to give the magazine a high standard name, so that the readers realise it's not cheap like high street fashion magazines and to show that it is at a much higher standard than those magazines.

The small captions around the image tell the reader about main stories in the magazine. On this front cover there aren't many captions as it would take up a lot of the image and maybe make the magazine less appealing to the target audience.

Date, price & issue number - the issue number is in the top left hand corner of the page, covering part of the letter on the title (VOGUE). The date is on the barcode which is on the bottom left hand corner of the page. The price is underneath the magazine name, and is in really small text. I think this is because the magazine costs a lot more than others (£3.80) so they have made it small so not to put the target audience off buying their product

contents page

conventions of a contents page:

• contents - the table of contents on a contents page makes it easier for the reader to find stories in the magazines and other things that grab their attention from the front cover. not everything in the magazine is usually in the table of contents as most magazines have at least 100 pages, so it would be to much to put everything in there, it is mostly just the stories from the front cover that are in, but not always, sometimes if it is a small magazine then it will have just about everything in the magazine on it. magazines sometimes use different fonts and colours for the numbers and for the text to make it more eye catching and make the magazine look interesting.
• page numbers - these numbers tell the reader what page the story is on that they are trying to find to make it easier.
• features & pictures - the features and pictures are usually on the right hand side of the page, these aren't often very big as they tend to just be little snippets of what's inside the magazine
• websites - the magazine website is usually in small font at the bottom of page.
• editors notes - not very often are there editors notes, but sometimes there is a small part of the page taken up with a few words from the editor and occasionally there is an image of the person
• subscriptions- most magazines give a free gift if the reader subscribes to the magazine, this can be to grab to the target audience's attention.

Magazine conventions

conventions of a magazine:

• title at top - this is usually in big, bold letters to make the brand stand out and make people remember it.
• image on the front page - this is usually a mid shot, to grab the readers attention and it usually takes up the whole front cover, leaving space for only small captions around the image.
• issue number - this tells the reader what issue the magazine is that they are reading, on most magazines this is next to the date and sometimes the barcode.
• Date - on most magazine front covers this either in the top corner of the page or at the side next to the barcode and issue number.
• websites - most magazines have their own websites, so this is usually on the front cover to promote the magazine, so that people can go on it and find more things out about the magazine. Also some magazines let company's and stores advertise in their magazines so this can be good for the brand name.

the brief :)

Preliminary exercise: using DTP and an image manipulation program, produce the front page of a new school,college magazine, featuring a photograph of a student in medium close-up plus some appropriately laid-out text and a masthead. additionally you must produce a mock-up of the layout of the contents page to demonstrate their grasp of DTP.

main task : the front page, contents and double page spread of a new music magazine. all images and text used must be original, produced by you - minimum of four images.

presentation of you work: the presentation of the research, planning and evaluation may take the form of any one, or combination of two or more, of the following:
- a presentation using slideshow software such as powerpoint
- a blog
- a podcast