Cover Analysis 2

Magazine Analysis: Complex magazine

Title
The name ‘Complex’ could relate to the music genre is contains (RnB) or perhaps the content. The content in this magazine is mixed, there are many different cultures covered so this may be why it is named complex magazine. The connotations of the word complex are varied, mixed, in depth just like the content. This magazine is released every few months and is a men’s magazine containing music articles and other male orientated articles. Its founder is Mark Ecko who runs Mark Ecko enterprises (publisher), the other media interests are his interactive entertainment projects in his company.

Target Audience
The target Audience for this magazine is definitely a male audience and would perhaps appeal to an audience from the ages of 25+ as it has more adult content. I know that this is the target audience because the articles are very male orientated: ‘BBQ Grills, Bikes…’ these appeal to men. Also the banner makes it very clear that it’s for men: ‘The ultimate buyers guide for men’. The main layout picture is targeting men, Rihanna is in a bikini posing provocatively’ this would appeal to men in the above ages I have wrote. The niche audience it is aiming for would be attracted to the article: ’85 things you need to know about comic books’ this is obviously an add-in article to the music side of the magazine which is the main basis of the magazine. The representation of the audience is that they are the ‘boys with their toys type’ hwo aren’t the mainstream RnB fans.
The reader interacts with the magazine through letters to the magazine, the reader can send in their thoughts and feelings of the magazine. Also they can go onto the website and watch videos, get the latest news etc. And subscribe to the magazine.
The ideology of this sort of men’s magazine is that it is a ‘boys with their toys’ type magazine with a few grown up music articles, it shouldn’t look too masculine as it is not aimed at hardcore RnB fans, it is merely for those with a slight interest.

Style and mode of address
I have noticed that unlike other music magazines this magazine has bright colours and has a big bright masthead and text over a deeply coloured background. It is still sophisticated however because of the layout of cover lines which follows the proper conventions of music magazines gives it this look. It looks expensive because of the main picture of a very famous RnB star and the layout which is very bold and shouts at you. Also it looks glossy and quite full. It is very similar to Vibe magazine however it has more variety of content and is more bright and colourful in its looks. The articles are very individual and I have struggled to find a magazine with this variety of articles in it, this makes it very unique.
It addresses its readers in a brave confident way; by the pose Rihanna is modelling, to the bright blue and yellow colours which represent boldness. It shows Rihanna isn’t afraid to cover up, her movements are open and this shows that she is represented as being happy to show her true feelings and to not hide away’. It isn’t threatening and would appeal to a variety of male audiences as it contains mixtures of articles.

FRONT COVER ANALYSIS

The masthead of this magazine is bright, bold and the yellow stands out against the bright blue background. The font looks computerized to link in with the occasional media orientated articles in this men’s magazine.
The colour-scheme is summery with blue and yellow to represent the time of year and the way in which Rihanna is dressed also reimburses this idea (bikini). Her clothes match the colour scheme and the dark black tones of her hair stand out extremely bold and match the car which she is posing on. These colours give the magazine a striking and very eyecatching style which gives the impression that this magazine doesn’t conform to the normal conventions of a man’s music magazine; the colours are not that masculine and the text isn’t sharp or brutal, it’s soft and simplistic. These still manage to give it a sophisticated look.
This magazine cover appeals to its target audience because of the provocative pose in which Rihanna is using; she is washing a car in a bikini; this is represented as being a sexualised scene that would appeal to its male audience. The car is also represented as a masculine object; it is something that interests many men and relates to the ‘boys with their toys’ theme of this magazine.
The main cover line is relating to the main image, it is the biggest to stand out. ‘Bad meaning good’ this shows a rebellious and sexual side to the magazine, the fact that it then says ‘Really good!’ gives the magazine a slightly informal and colloquial format, it is conversational and the simple sentence brings impact. Two of the cover lines contain numbers in them for impact and to show that the magazine is full of information that would interest the readers, it reflects the size of the two articles and is used to get noticed.
Finally the tagline names the target audience and the adjective ‘ultimate’ brings powerful impact and gives the impression of popularity within the magazine. The other graphics that are used on the cover such as the 360 degree arrow reinforces the informal side again and the coloured text box around the cover line ’85 things you need ..’ highlights this article as it is obviously of interest to the target audience.

Cover analysis 1

Rolling Stone Cover Analysis
Name
The magazine ‘Rolling Stone’ could be referring to the rock band ‘The rolling Stones’ which is extremely famous. The word ‘rolling’ could also refer to the fact that the magazine is ongoing and it gets across the latest news fast. The word ‘stone’ could represent the magazine as being a ‘rock’ magazine as well as the band the rolling stones. The significant words are both of them put together as the first thing that comes to your mind is the famous rock band which immediately gives the impression that this is a rock music magazine.

Publisher of the magazine
The publisher of this magazine is ‘Wenner media’ and publishes magazines such as ‘Men’s Journal’ ‘Us weekly publications and of course ‘Rolling Stone’. It is an American based company and the Rolling stone was created in San Francisco.
The rolling Stone costs $4.50 and is published every two weeks.

Target Audience
The readers that the magazine is targeting are men in their late twenties and above that enjoy rock music. It would appeal to an audience that want to know up to date news and gossip about older scene rock bands, this is why it would not appeal to perhaps a younger audience because they would be more interested in modern rock bands. Also there seems to be a political context behind the music side of things, it was after all known initially as a political magazine until it changed its format in the 90s. The layout would appeal to more of a male audience because there aren’t any bright feminine colours; they are white, black, blue and red. These don’t stand out and attract female readers as much.
The reader can interact with the magazine by logging onto their website: www.rollingstone.com and posting comments in forums, voting in online polls and writing letters to the magazine.

The style of magazine and mode of address
The magazine’s presentation is quite formal, there is some colour but it is not bright or eye catching, this perhaps relates to the genre of music it contains, old rock music; it is laid out neatly in a sophisticated manner and has an expensive look to it because of this. It addresses its readers in a formal way however the picture of Amy Winehouse addresses the audience in a rather provocative way, suggesting that the magazine has a less formal side to it also. It doesn’t scream ‘look at me!’ but addresses the audience in a different way, it is using its sophisticated look to its advantage, for example Amy’s head covers most of the masthead but we still know what the name is, the title is that recognisable.

FRONT COVER ANALYSIS

The masthead is partially covered but still the reader knows what it says due to the popularity of the well known name and combination of two words. The font is italic and in an ‘old school rock’ font in blue with a black bold outline to stand out against the white background.
The colour scheme is black, blue and red with a white background to contrast with Amy’s black clothing and hair (displaying her dark nature?). The blue, black and red represent masculinity within the magazine. Also Amy’s tattoos match the red and black within the colour scheme. Amy herself as the main image is in a provocative pose; her chest is forward and her strap is of her shoulder slightly, she is also pouting and looking up and at the audience showing a slight sense of innocence. She is wearing all black to perhaps represent her dark times, also the ideology of the black colour of clothing is that it can be seen as rebellious and a person that isn’t afraid of being themselves. This can also appeal to men because they like women with confidence and a ‘nasty’ side. She is addressing the reader in the eye constantly, like in a challenging way.
The coverlines feature the main features in the magazine and the names of older rock bands that would appeal to a slightly older audience, no modern day bands. The cover lines are in Red and black to match the rebellious colours of the front cover, however for the main tagline Amy Winehouse’s name is in the same colour as the masthead to highlight its importance and to make it stand out alongside the name of the magazine, the coverlines aren’t overused and only the main articles that would grab the readers attention are covered. The ‘logo’ style cover line reminds the political side of the magazine and gives a ‘straight to the point’ evaluation of what this article will cover; it is in black and white bold colours to make it stand out almost like a newspaper article to keep its formal side.
The similarities of this front cover is Vibe and XXL magazine however this magazine is less ‘in your face; and is more formal to suit the older audiences looking at the magazine.

Article Analysis 4

Magazine article Analysis: Top of the Pops
Avril Lavigne

Layout and organisation of the article
This article I am analysing is from Top of the Pops magazine in 2007. It is one page and then a double page spread of an interview with Avril Lavigne about issues with boys. The layout of this article on the first page is split into two, on half is the start of the interview and a brief introduction and the other half is the main large image of Avril, the double page spread is mainly another image of Avril Lavigne. She takes up one page and a half of the double pages, the rest of the interview is on the remaining left hand side of the page. This is so that the main focus is on the picture of her and for younger readers a smaller amount of text is what they would prefer to read. The interview stays on the left hand side of each of the pages containing it and there are large quotes surrounding the interview that are needed emphasising, for example: ‘I used to think I loved every guy I dated.’ And they always cover a small apart of the main images so as to keep the emphasis on her.
The masthead on the first page is written in different fonts for each word. ‘Girlfriend Power’, these two words are the largest text on the page, Girlfriend covers the whole top of the page and power is large but stays to the left hand side of the page so as not to cover Avril’s face. There is also a strap line to the left of the page underneath ‘Power’ which is large and emphasised but still stays to the left so it doesn’t cover the main image.
The main interview text is laid out in a boldly lined text box to keep it separated from everything else in the page; it is also slanted to relate to the theme of the article about no being perfect which also gives it a rebellious look. The quote boxes also follow this theme as well as the Strap line and other information boxes. Even though the layout is quite scruffy, it is well organised; the masthead is at the top, the introduction below it, and the interview stays on the same side of the pages. Also snippets of information are placed in bold boxes to keep them separate from the main article and the extra bullet point ‘tips’ are on the right side f the main image on the double page spread to keep them separate from the interview.

Maintaining Interest
The reader maintains interest throughout the article because of the bright eye catching colours, the large quotes that keep the audience interested in the content and also the text box that points to the next page and promises the reader juicy gossip and tips from Avril: ‘Avril’s love, lies and heartbreak- Turn Over!’ This exclamatory sentence urges the audience to read on as the best bits of the interview are still to come. The introduction of the interview; the first question ends with ‘can you give us some advice?’ this hints that the inter view promises boy trouble solutions and this would appeal strongly to its target audience and keep them hooked. Also the interview continues with funny questions and an unserious tone, it is conversational so the reader doesn’t lose interest. The quotes that are blown up hold either funny lines or main topics that concern its target audience: (‘Obsessed over being skinny…’) which then makes the reader want to read on to get to these parts.

Language and layout used for Target Audience
The target audience for this magazine I believe is young girls between the ages of 8 and 14. I get this feeling because of the type of article and how it is styled. It is an interview with Avril Lavigne which focuses on problems with boys; an issue that is very popular with girls between these ages; they would want to read the interview to see if Avril can help them solve any of their own boy problems. Any older girls would have grown out of this type of magazine as they would be looking more into fashion magazines and celebrity gossip rather than a pop music magazine.


-Layout
The layout of the article appeals to the target audience also. Firstly the main pictures; Avril takes up a lot of the pages and she looks happy and confident, but also wears hair ribbons with a skull on it reinforcing her old punk rocker side; this then could make the reader aspire to be like her, they want to be a strong, successful and independent person. The first image of Avril depicts her making a ‘shh’ gesture which gives the reader an impression that she is telling them her secrets, thus making them feel special and in on her secretive tips; something that young girls love.
The colours in the pictures could represent a lot of things; the red background could represent her fiery and bold personality, and her black clothes and dark accessories reinforce her ‘punk rocker side.’
-Language
Secondly, the language of this article is very informal, it is almost like a conversation and this is very appealing to the audience as they could read the interview quickly and not have to read lots of formal boxes of text; the interview is like a quick, friendly chat: ‘Yeah! I used to think I loved every guy I dated in High School!’ and ‘Just cos you like a guy...’ The use of colloquial language makes the interview flow more quickly and makes the reader feel like they are part of this conversation. Also some of the things Avril drops into the interview such as: ‘But high school guys are extremely immature’ are things that the target audience can relate too, making them feel as though Avril knows what she is talking about.
The masthead of the article is attention grabbing to the audience; the words ‘Girlfriend Power!’ each have a different meaning; ‘girlfriend’ is the name of her hit single at the time of the article and ‘power’ is there to give the female audience a feeling of empowerment, to be like Avril Lavigne who is known for her independent, rebellious personality. The strap line underneath the masthead holds a brief introduction and gives an insight into what the article is going to be about. It appeals to the audience because it flows well by using alliteration: ‘-the boy-bashing beauty with brains,’ and keeps it humorous and unserious, also the sentences are mainly simple to get straight to the point and keep the pace going.
The interviewee uses plural pronouns: ‘We won’t start...’, ‘What if we’re to shy...’ and this is to make the questions seem personal to every reader, it is including each reader as if they are the ones being answered, and it is personal reference to the audience.
On the strap line Avril is called ‘Miss Avril Lavigne!’ there are no references made throughout the interview of her present love life, despite the fact she is married. I feel the magazine has done this to make the audience feel they are on the same level as her, the title ‘Miss’ represents young girls and I think the magazine wanted the readers to still think of her as young and independent so that they could feel as though they related to her in some way.
The ideology of this article is that she is back; she’s a new Avril and has changed from ‘rock goddess’ to ‘confident girly girl with attitude’, however this idea is conflicting as she talks about ‘being yourself’ when the media and record companies have changed and developed her image.

Article Analysis 3

Magazine article analysis: XXL #2
This final article I will be analysing is a filmography type article; it contains a written timeline of what the singers /rappers have done in film/ television. It is a detailed summary of how they got into acting and how music linked in with it. This article is useful for analysing as it links in with the genre of music magazine I will be creating in my final piece.
Layout and Organization
The layout of this single page article is very neat and formal, much like the other article I analysed from this magazine; the main text of the article is at the bottom half of the half of the page with the main image, mast head and smaller images at the top half of the page. There is also a small summary of the artist’s filmography in the bottom right hand corner. The masthead covers the right corner of the main picture without obscuring the artist; it uses a bold and block capital text and it is next to the running black line which goes down the whole right hand side of the page. This is used purely for the layout and to link it with the other articles in this section (special Hollywood pages) as they all have this line down the page. Underneath the masthead there is a sub heading and an arrow pointing to the main picture, however this arrow is not that bold so the article still holds its formal and organized look. The two small pictures only cover a small corner of the main picture so that the focus is still on this photo, they have sharp square edges and this stops it looking messy and informal.
The main text is in four columns like a newspaper; it uses black simple text and has occasional words in bold that are wanted to be highlighted. In the small filmography in the bottom corner there is a heading that uses the same font as the masthead as it wants to be bold and eye-catching. The text underneath is in blue font to make it stand out from the main text and is separated once again by bold text.
The main picture depicts the rapper ‘Ice Cube’ sitting in a chair not looking directly into the camera, giving the feeling of superiority above the audience, he also looks relaxed and effortlessly ‘cool’. The picture is black and white which matches the colour-scheme of mainly black and a white background; it also makes the photo look professional and sophisticated. This is perhaps how he wants to be perceived and it stands out from the smaller coloured pictures giving it emphasis.
The colour-scheme is black and white with occasional blue text that is meant to stand out and be separated from the other parts. The blue also stops the article form looking boring and makes it more eye-catching.

Maintaining Interest
The audience maintains interest throughout the article because of it’s easy to read layout and formal and sophisticated look. Firstly the overall layout grabs the reader’s attention without ‘shouting’ at them; this is done by the bold black colours used all over the page and the professional black and white looking photo which stands out against all the coloured photos in the magazine giving it an individual and subtle change. The bold words capture the audience’s attention as they highlight the names of singers/ relevant info and the way in which the text has incorporated quotes into it. It is a very conversational style article which makes it flow and easy to read.

Language/layout used for target audience
The target audience I feel for this magazine is a male audience in their twenties, I also believe after studying this magazine deeper that the magazine is aimed at mainly a black audience as all of the artists featured are of this race and the adverts are the same. Also in this particular article this is mentioned: ‘...institutionalized racism against Black people’ which is made to stand as an important moment in musical history in this magazine. This audience is a very cultured audience making it a very individual and not at all mainstream magazine.
-Layout
The layout of this article appeals to the target audience because of its formal and sophisticated organization. After all the genre of music is all about style and relaxed and subtle ‘coolness’, unlike rock music it isn’t about shouting out and standing out to attract attention. All the colours; black white and blue are key masculine colours and these appeal to the target audience. The whole organization of the magazine is very simple, it isn’t complicated looking; there is the text and images placed separately on the top half and the bottom half of the page so that it is easily readable.
-Language
The language used occasionally relates to the way in which the audience would talk to each other when speaking about music, it is conversational and informal and is straight to the point. The mast head of the article is the name of the artist it is about, which is simple but is obviously enough to catch the audience’s attention; it is again keeping straight to the point. There is use of colloquial and conversational style language on the brief introduction: ‘PC Gangsta’ which is a term that is linked with this genre of music and gives an idea of what this artist is being represented as.
The first line is a short simple sentence ‘It’s funny.’ which is seriously informal and is usually recognised in a conversation between two people; this makes the reader yet again feel as though they are listening into the conversation. The whole article is like a timeline, giving the historical backgrounds on the films Ice Cube has starred in and name dropping the films and some quotes from these films: ‘You got knocked the f**k out!’ which happens to be a very violent based humour with swearing, this keeps the audience interested as they may reminisce to the film if they have watched it in the past. There is alliteration used which speeds up the flow of the article and makes it more readable and interesting: ‘groundbreaking gangsta group’ and this appeals to all audiences as an article with no description wouldn’t be interesting.
There is a vast quantity of swearing in this article as it is obviously a common way of speaking in this culture of music and occasionally the language used is slightly complex... However the text is still simple but the odd complex word shows an intellectual and sensible side of the genre of music: ‘hugely lucrative sequels-establishing Cube’s production company’ this gives the magazine a more serious side.
At the end of the article there is a small biography of Ice Cube which summarises his luck with stardom and how successful he has been in the film industry. It is a positive end to the article and leaves the audience feeling satisfied that they have recognized the stars achievements.

Article Analysis no.2

Magazine article analysis: NME magazine

The magazine article I will next be analysing is a review of a live gig in London from NME magazine. It comments on the four musical acts that performed that night giving a declarative and opinionated review.
Structure and Organization
The layout of this article is a double page spread with a small separate article on the right hand side of the second page. The first whole page is dedicated to the main image and a large box of bold text saying ‘LIVE, upfront and backstage’ which is the subtitle for the upcoming pages and what the articles are based on; (live music). The image has a whole page to itself because this is what is going to catch the reader’s eye, it needs to be kept away from the review so people don’t lose concentration. Also at the bottom right hand side of the main image there is a small text box containing a humorous comment about the image itself, it has a white background and simple text to make it stand out against the dark image. The mast head is exactly half way between the two pages, it half covers the main image and half covers the review side. It is not so large that it takes up a lot of space but it is still noticeable along the top, it has the same sized font and it is black and plain, rather like a newspaper article, this masthead would make the article look quite formal without the neon pink colours surrounding the article and the rebellious looking images. The background of the review side is plain white with the black typed text in neat rectangle columns which also adds to its slightly formal side, however it steers away from this as the bands names and first letter of the review are made bold with a neon pink colour to show the magazine doesn’t want to be taken to seriously.
There is a banner and a strap line underneath the masthead; the banner contains a picture of a map to show where the gigs took place, then the names of the bands and where exactly it all took place. The banner is neon pink to match the colour-scheme and used bright white bold text in capital letters to contrast with this. The strap line has no background; it is just black, plain text that is directly above the beginning of the review, showing that it is a brief introduction of what the article is about. There is also a smaller picture on the bottom left hand side of the review page which links in with the text and it contains another small humorous text box.
The overall organization of this article is very neat and well organized. It looks formal with its newspaper like columns and perfectly square images but has a rebellious edge to it. With the neon pink colours and the big bold text on the top left of the main image: (LIVE!) it makes it look very modern and individual.

Maintaining Interest
The audience maintains interest throughout the article because of the interesting pictures such as the main picture which depicts a musician crowd surfing; this grabs their attention away from any other article and holds their gaze for a moment. Also the band names mentioned in the article are highlighted in pink so the reader knows what’s coming next and they will want to read on to get the news about them. The language itself will keep the audience interested, it uses lots of alliteration to keep the text flowing: ‘spasm in epileptic ecstasy.’ and ‘swamping stoned lullabies’. This helps to make the review flow easily and quickly so that the audience don’t get bored. The article holds very wacky and descriptive sentences such as: ‘beats to heavy they leave craters’ and ‘teenage girls who mirror their every twitch, jerk and spasm.’ This creates visual imagery in the readers mind and also makes them have to contemplate what it means occasionally, thus making them drawn into the article. Also the tags on the pictures are humorous and keep the article funny and unserious, they also could catch the readers eye and draw them back into the article if their attention lapsed for a moment.

Language used for target Audience
I believe the target audience for this magazine is mostly men in their late teens to late 20s and I feel this article is successful in appealing to this audience because of the layout and the language used. The review informs them about the modern bands and this would appeal to them as they would want the latest news and opinions on how the bands are performing at the time. However the language I feel is more appealing towards men as there is a lot of swearing and complex, wacky language that could be represented as being more of male orientated language.
-Layout
The layout of the article appeals to the target audience because of the formal text in columns which appeals to men more because it is uncomplicated text, whereas women like bright, colourful and bold text. The main picture appeals to the audience because it’s a situation they can recognise; they can feel the exhilaration and the rush of being in a crowded and energy filled gig. The colours in the picture are dark and represent the genre of music and the situation. The colours are limited, mainly black and white (masculine) with some occasional pink which could represent the wacky and lively genre of music and catch the attention of the audience. The font of the masthead is very basic and black again referring to the simplicity that appeals to the male audience, also the strap line’s text is basic and black typed text. The tag line text box saying ‘LIVE!’ immediately gives the audience an idea of what the next few articles are to contain and this appeals to the audience as going to live gigs is one of the best aspects of music and they will want to know the review and find out how the gigs were.
-Language
Furthermore the language used in this article appeals to the target audience because it manages to keep flowing at a fast pace, this is essential to an article that contains a lot of text and needs to keep the readers attention. The masthead of the article uses a declarative and slightly wacky sentence: ‘This is computer love’ the word ‘computer’ gives an idea of the type of music it is reviewing and the word ‘love’ linked with computer puts a positive light on the article and the genre of music. The lead then reinforcees the idea of it being computerised music ‘The electro-punk noise…’ this then grabs the attention of any electro music fans reading the magazine. Also in the lead there is: ‘bring the (white) noise to the capital’ referring again to what the music is and sounds like, perhaps the noises from computers and the audience reading this would understand what it meant and other people may not be able to. Throughout the article there are names of bands and singers dropped into it; ‘Crystal Castles’ , ‘Alice Glass’, ‘The Big Pink’ and many of these are highlighted in bold pink text to put emphasis on them, this is because the audience reading it would recognise them and be interested to find out about these bands/singers.
At the beginning of the article the language used is very brutal and creates strong imagery in the readers mind: ‘you need to be up front tonight, shoved against the wall, beaten out the way by writhing teenage girls who mirror they’re every twitch, jerk and spasm’ this appeals more to men because women don’t appreciate harsh language so much as it sounds very rough and physical. There is a lot of alliteration (as mentioned before) to make the article interesting to read, but overall the language used is very complex, perhaps too complex to keep younger teenagers minds from wondering when they read it. There is occasional swearing in the text, which perhaps makes it slightly conversational: ‘felt like a band too f***ing cool’ and is like spoken language; this again appeals to the target audience as older males sometimes have a tendency to swear in conversation.

Article Research No.1

Analysis of magazine article: XXL magazine
The article I am analysing is story style article from the music hip hop /RnB magazine: XXL. This magazine is imported from the USA which shows the definite lack of this genre in England! The article is a short reminiscent story from celebrity singer Ciara about how she used to feel going to concerts and seeing live celebrities onstage.
Layout and Organization
The layout of this article is neat and is laid out in a very formal way, it is over half a single page spread, and the text is displayed on the right with the main picture taking up the other left hand half of the page.
The text is in two equal, neat columns with a straight black line and a small picture in between the middle of them; this makes the article look very tidy and organized. However the small picture in between the columns is slanted slightly and bordered with a dark white to make it look like a photo to perhaps not make the columns look too formal. The main picture has sharp edges again to make it look neat and the masthead stays completely to the right of the page; it doesn’t cover any part of the main picture. The picture is also very dark; it is almost all black and grey and this matches the fonts used. There is a small logo placed in the top right hand corner of the picture; its design is in graffiti style and it looks as though it’s been spray painted. This relates to the genre of music this magazine is presenting; RnB/Hip hop is a very cultural street genre of music and the spray paint text could represent the lifestyle of the streets. The logo is also designed in white which contrasts with the black picture to stand out.
The mast head is in block capitals in bold, black font which matches the layout of neat columns and the big black main picture, and the lead is directly underneath this with more black font and bold text for the celebrity’s name: ‘Ciara’. This is so that it matches the theme of the layout and to link it in with the other articles in this section of the magazine
The pictures in this article relate to the text and give the audience an idea of what the article is about if they glanced at it. The main picture of Ciara is depicting her getting into a car at night, possibly from a show or awards ceremony as she is dressed up and unlike many of the pictures in this magazine she is smiling and doesn’t look intimidating. This contrast in facial expressions may attract the readers and engage them in the article as she looks different to the other artists. The smaller picture shows Nelly on stage, this relates to the article as she is reminiscing about when she went to see him live on stage, he is wearing red in the picture which matches with the small logo over the main picture and stops the article from looking too black and formal. This is used so that if the audience glanced at the article they may recognise him and want to read to find out what is mentioned in the article.


Maintaining Interest
The audience maintains interest throughout the article because it is concise and easy to read; it isn’t a long winded article about her life, it sticks to the music side of things which is what the audience wants to read about. It does this by cutting to the interesting parts of her story, it is only two short columns of writing and it fills up space with a main picture and a small accompanying picture.The audience may find this article especially interesting because Ciara has said everything that has been written down, it is written in 1st person and they can feel like they are in on her personal experiences. In the beginning Ciara recalls on classic band moments: ‘St Lunatics were at their all time high’ which some of the audience may relate to and want to read on, and she also name drops singers and bands throughout to have the same effect: ‘Destiny’s Child and 3LW’ they recognise the names and get interested in what she’s saying about them. Also it is written in a conversational style so the audience gets drawn in as though they are part of it. The picture in the middle of the text draws the audience’s eye towards it and they want to read on to find out what she says about the singer in the picture (Nelly).

Language used for target audience
I feel the target audience for this magazine is a male audience in their twenties, this is because the overall feel of the magazine is rough and tough, and the articles are too masculine for women, there are interviews with mainly male singers and provocative pictures of women in some articles. Also there is content such as swearing and long articles that wouldn’t appeal to a younger teenage audience, some of which isn’t suitable for younger readers. It appeals to men who like hip hop/ RnB music and who care about their image.
-Layout
The layout of this article appeals to the target audience because of its simplistic and neat layout; there are two black typed columns which are easy to read and give the article a formal and sophisticated look. Also the colours are masculine; black, red and white which appeals to men, there are no shouting bright feminine colours, they are all dark and appeal to men more than women. The main picture is set out on the left with the text next to it, it is easy to read and the picture itself will appeal to men because of her tight clothing and ‘off the shoulder’ dress.
-Language
The language used in the article engages the target audience because the language is informal but informative; it speaks in a conversational manner and this particular article is a key example as it is actually a monologue of what a singer is saying. Names are dropped in and the reader feels as if they are listening to her in person; there are non verbal pauses and short simple sentences. This doesn’t necessarily make the article flow very quickly but it does keep the audience interested as it is not complicated and long.
The mast head ‘Get up’ is imperative; it is instructing the reader to do something, it is slightly intimidating and brings the image of someone telling a person to ‘Get up and fight’. However this is not the context it is meant to be in, it is talking about getting up onstage and performing; but still it is a short and aggressive set of words and appeals to the audience as this is like the genre of music. Secondly the lead uses informal and language that the audience would use: ‘Nelly got it hot up in Atlanta...’ this ‘street hip hop’ language would appeal to the target audience as they use this language in conversation.
The article is in 1st person and this gives the audience an insight into the singer’s life; they could possibly feel personal identity with her and relate to her reminiscent past, it makes them feel as though they can understand what she is remembering.
She uses a lot of descriptive language and name drops places and bands that the audience can recognise. The audience would most likely value the opinion of this star as they know she is a highly talented singer of the genre and want to compare their opinion with hers. She also gives information on what its like backstage, her feelings and what she personally felt like; the audience then feel they are in on her personal thoughts and secrets: ‘I was fascinated by…’ thus making them want to be in on the gossip.

My evaluation for my project

Foundation Portfolio report: Fresh magazine

Who is the audience for my media product?
I have created my front cover, contents page and two double page spread articles from my ‘Fresh’ magazine and have put together research of articles, front covers and audiences to help with my understanding of the conventions of my chosen genre of magazine which is RnB/ Hip Hop. The target audience of my magazine is 17-20 year old males, as I previously thought before giving out my questionnaires. This is because I associated Hip Hop and RnB with more of a male audience rather than female and younger teenagers may have been more interested in genres of music like Pop or soft rock. However over half of the females I asked would be interested in a new RnB/hip hop magazine so perhaps some of the audience will be made up of females; but mostly men. As this project went along I realised that a bigger audience would be achieved if I mixed the genre with RnB as well as Hip hop, because there are Hip Hop magazines selling and I feel a new RnB magazine would attract a larger audience if it featured Hip Hop as well, as the two genres are similar in terms of culture within the audience. Also I feel the magazine would sell better in highly cultural and urban areas such as London and other main cities.

How did I attract/address the audience?
I didn’t address the audience in an intimidating way; unlike many Hip Hop magazines because I wanted the RnB side to come through stronger than the Hip Hop looks. The conventions I found of Hip hop front covers are that they use a formal look; blank white backgrounds with the focus on the intimidating cover star mainly. There is also a lot of slang used in the coverlines of articles. With RnB front covers it tended to be bright colours that stood out and a glamorous shot of an RnB star (usually a woman) and not so threatening but more enticing. I found in my questionnaire that contrasting colours that were eyecatching appealed more than any front cover in the selection so I decided to use that convention to attract my readers; blue and yellow with large bold fonts.

In what ways does my media product use/develop/challenge forms of conventions of real media products?
In my article on ‘Amy’s new single’ I have used slang: ‘Feelin’ Angelic’, this is developing the convention of colloquial language which I have seen in the Hip hop/ RnB magazines which I researched into. For instance on the cover of Complex magazine it says ‘Rihanna go getta’ this appeals to the audience as it is similar to perhaps their spoken language. I have also followed the convention of making the articles follow a formal layout, using fewer colours than perhaps beauty magazines and keeping block black types columns of text with dark bold mastheads. There are limited fonts that I have used to match the different roles e.g. Mastheads and the main text which is a convention used by all magazines from beauty to music. The convention that I have changed slightly is my interviewing style; the interviewer is more informal and happy rather than serious and all about the ‘genre’ and also I have been more adventurous with my ‘Ice flake’ article with pictures and the ‘edgy’ layout (lots of small pictures and the graffiti style). I have done this because I feel my audience would benefit from a ‘new’ style of article to link in with the new magazine; a ‘Fresh’ type of layout whilst at the same time keeping some of the conventions of RnB and Hip Hop magazine articles.

How does my media product represent particular social groups? What kind of media institution might distribute my magazine and why?
My magazine represents the cultural young youth of urban areas such as London and other main cities. The hip hop genre could be linked to religious groups as well and perhaps even influences the ‘gang’ culture in some cities today. However I didn’t want this to influence gang culture so I stayed away from the dark and ‘hooded’ side of Hip hop as there are magazines that are already filling the market for that, for example XXL magazine. Also the media institution that would distribute my magazine would be a mainstream company like IPC media, this is because companies like this specialise in magazines that attract more of a mixed audience; for example NME which is a magazine on various genres of music and as my magazine mixes Hip Hop with RnB I feel that this is a suitable company for it.

What have I learnt from technologies from the process of constructing my product?
This product has given me the chance to learn how to use technologies such as Photoshop and improved my skills in Microsoft Publisher. With Photoshop, it took me a while to get used to it but once I got the hang of it I learnt how to layer my pages and use the text and image correctors properly. This then meant that I could

experiment with my work and try to make the front cover look as magazine like as possible using all of the conventions I had researched into from RnB/ Hip Hop covers. Photography was also a technology that I had to
practise with; I looked into how RnB stars and Hip Hop stars posed and tried to get my ‘models’ to strike poses similar to those in the magazines and also dressing them up in styles that represented the look of the stars that would feature.

What do I feel I have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
From this project I have learnt a lot; mainly through the research and development of my ideas. I have learnt how to use new technologies such as Photoshop and I have broadened my knowledge of conventions in all genres of music magazines, I have gained a new approach towards planning a project.
In conclusion I feel like out of all my pages my front cover was the most successful, this is because I spent a lot of time on it and had the background research to base my conventions on; it was well planned and I had a lot of fun making it. I also am pleased that the colour scheme worked as it did what I wanted and stood out to catch the reader’s eyes without being overpowering.
Justification of my whole magazine

FRONT COVER 1ST DRAFT















Firstly with my front cover I approached the photographs first. I wanted a picture to base the cover around and then work from that; so I asked my friend Amy to dress up as an RnB star and pose, I gave her layers of gold jewellery to wear with a plain top and lots of makeup. I took several shots of poses we found in magazines we were looking through and tried each of them out to see how they looked. Here are some of the shots that we took and felt worked best.
After talking about which one we thought would look best on a magazine cover, I decided to choose the first picture. This is because of the confident pose; I wanted to address the readers in this way and I definitely wanted to pick a picture with her looking into the camera to make a connection between her and the audience. Once I uploaded the picture onto Photoshop I cut the picture and feathered it from the background to then place in the middle of my cover to have something to base it around. Next I had started to try out my background colours and masthead fonts. From my questionnaire evaluation I decided that I like the idea of using the bright blue background and contrasting yellow font to grab reader’s attention. So trying out several different shades of colours I picked my background colour. Next choosing the font took a lot longer I wanted it to look professional but struggled to stop it from looking like a beauty magazine because of some of the dainty font. Finally I found a font that went well and made it large and bold to attract attention (bold like the genre).
I chose a second front for the coverlines and placed them around the picture trying not to overlap any main features. I also chose colours that changed and that stood out against the blue background, and used a bold black circle shape containing a number with a fact underneath it about the magazine to attract attention to the audience which is one of the conventions I had noticed on the front of most magazines.

FRONT COVER FINAL EXPERIMENTATIONS
Once I received my draft product back I decided that the cover needed to be changed completely because I feel that the magazine didn’t look like a music magazine, it didn’t give the impression that it contained ‘rebellious’ and groomed RnB/ Hip Hop stars. Firstly I experimented with just changing the main picture. I got together with my friend Amy again and tried out some different poses. However this time I got my inspiration from some RnB music covers I researched into, these are the ones we looked at:

These are some of the pictures I took getting inspiration from these covers; we decided it would work best trying out the Ciara cover so we spent time trying this pose out:

However it was immediately apparent as soon as I uploaded this image onto my front cover that it still wasn’t eye catching enough, it didn’t stand out from the page, I decided that it would be better to get more of a close up image of Amy to catch the reader’s eye and make it look appealing as she her face and hair is her most ‘stand out’ feature..
For my final set of photos I decided to put Amy in a dress because the casual look didn’t look glamorous enough, I tried close up images and various poses to keep the emphasis on her face which would eventually be the eye catcher of the cover












These were a lot more successful than before, we realised that smiling wasn’t an option as it doesn’t link in with the edgy RnB image so we tried various poses close up and tried using a prop (Amy’s hat) to see if that would make the image anymore eye catching. We also tried the camera pose found on a Vibe front cover (previous page) but I feel it didn’t match her characters personality enough.

Finally I decided to use this image for the front cover:
This is because it was a close up of her and I think makes her look mysterious, as though she is hiding something. She is not smiling too much but is still making contact to the camera. Here is the final outcome for my magazine front cover. It has been completely changed; the layout, the colour scheme and of course the picture. I got my main inspiration from a mixture of RnB covers but I followed the use of the white background from this XXL magazine where the image has the main impact on the audience. I decided against using a stormy or patterned background because the character for Amy wasn’t meant to be intimidating unlike 50 cent on the Vibe cover (on questionnaire) where the storm links in with the ferociousness. The masthead is bolder, Amy doesn’t cover the masthead as it is a new magazine and people need to get to know the name first. The fonts are also a lot more varied to make it more exciting and visually interesting, however I did keep the circle statistic coverline as I think this follows the conventions well.

I feel this cover worked a lot better than before, I understood where I went wrong and put a lot of work into making it right mainly through experimentation and research, I feel this followed the conventions better than my first draft.

CONTENTS PAGE 1st DRAFT
In this project I was least of all pleased with my draft contents page. This is because it doesn’t look busy enough compared to the front page and the text doesn’t match at all, however for my final contents page I will spend time making sure that the text and colours are bold and link in with the rest of the magazine.
To make this contents page I used Photoshop, first placing a main image onto the page and then working around it. The reason I chose this particular image was because I feel it worked well on the side of the layout and was less bold compared to the main images for the article and front cover. I tried unsuccessfully I feel to follow the conventions of an RnB/ Hip hop contents page by having a plain layout with the main focus upon one main image, however with time I feel that this can easily be fixed. In my opinion I think it is the fonts and colour scheme that need to be altered, I may try using a white background and playing around with striking text to put the emphasis on them as I feel the main emphasis at the moment is on the colours. Although I will keep the contrasting text for the word ‘Fresh’ as it makes it stand out against the other font.

CONTENTS PAGE FINAL
For my final contents page I found that it looked a lot busier and more interesting and neat compared to the draft. This is because I carefully planned this piece and I knew how much I struggled with it before. I was also a lot more confident in using photo shop than I was before and I knew how to use everything. I decided to use a blank background as this was a convention found in most RnB music magazine contents pages; the image and layout is meant to make up for the lack of background colour. This is the image I chose to use; I made sure that Amy looked more glamorous than the previous contents so that as much attention is placed on the image as possible. However I found the quality of the image looks a look worse when printed compared to that of the image on the screen but I tried to make it as sharp as possible. I kept to the colour scheme of the front cover to make the pages feel linked and I also used the same fonts to have the same effect where as on the previous contents page there didn’t feel like a link whatsoever because the fonts and colours varied too much. I also wanted the subscription details to stand out so I used a contrasting white text box against the black of Amy’s dress to make it catch the reader’s eye. This works better than before because there was no text box on the previous page and nothing at all to make it stand out.

ARTICLE ONE: AMY (RnB)
1st DRAFT
My main influence for the styling if this article was from XXL magazine articles with their formal layout and slight edgy look. I used bold black text and striking black and white photograph with block columns of text for the formality side, then used a bright contrasting colour to give the article the ‘edge’ it needed. I chose pink because it links in with the articles theme about being ‘angelic’ and a ‘girly girl’.


I used a smaller picture to accompany the article which was less serous looking and shows Amy laughing; this was used because it tends to be a convention I notice in most magazines with an unserious small picture accompanying the article to show some of their natural personality. I thought it would link in well with the interview because it is discussing how she is portrayed in the music business. I also added a quote (mainstream convention from all music magazine interviews) that is interesting enough for the reader to want to read on. It sums up what the article is mainly about; in this case how she is accustoming to famous life and how she feels her fans perceive her. Much like this genre of music magazines I have also used a header at the top of the page to link it into a certain section of the magazine.
To create this article I used Microsoft Publisher as I find it easier to use with the more text I use in the work, I also used it to show that I am capable of using different technologies. In my opinion I feel this article worked well in following the conventions, however there is always room for improvement and I would like to make the main picture more striking.

FINAL OUTCOME
To improve my article form the first draft I was advised to make it feel like more of a double page spread so I decided to make the mast head cover two of the pages and create another header running along the main picture page to link it in with the first page. I also felt that the black and white didn’t work as well as I planned so I changed the pictures back to full colour and altered the red eyes and the brightness of the pictures. I did this using my cameras software on the computer. Next I mirrored the main image to face towards the interview to again make the pages feel more linked, then added a small black text box with an informal comment in to accompany the picture as I noticed this was very common, there is a great example in the NME article I analysed.
For some final adjustments I made the text considerably smaller and added more of it as the text before was too large for magazine articles, next I made the strap line a different colour to make it stand out along with the promotional music release date at the end.
I didn’t change the mast head and the colour scheme because I feel the bold masthead worked well at catching your eye and followed the conventions I researched into. The colour scheme I feel represented Amy’s personality straight away.
In my opinion this final draft works a lot better than before; it looks more linked together and is busier. However if I had more time, again I would have liked to have made the main image more interesting using photo shop. But overall I have tried my best to follow the conventions of a double page spread article.

ARTICLE TWO:
ICEFLAKE (Hip Hop) 1ST DRAFT
Most importantly within my articles I wanted to give them a feeling of linkage; I wanted to give each article something that would make them look like they belonged in the same magazine. To do this I chose to use the same masthead font with the ‘signature’ bold black print which then dominates the page along with the more subtle black line to use with this section of the magazine. You can tell this from the header at the top of the page which reads: ‘Fresh this week’.
To make this article I also used Microsoft Publisher, this is because of the same reason as before, I am more experienced in Publisher and I am much quicker at being able to use all the tools. Because of the Hip Hop styling of this article I wanted it to be intimidating and so the first thing I wanted to catch the audience’s eye would be the main picture. I decided to try out some different effects of the pictures of Abbie and after trialling many of them this black and white effect stood out the most.
The pictures down the side were used as Abbie herself took some really striking poses that reflected the Hip Hop music style well and so I thought I would put them alongside the article to test it out as I haven’t came
across this in any magazines yet and I thought I would stretch the conventions. In my opinion it worked out well but I will try and make them clearer next time. I would also improve the text that is slanted along the top of the article as I feel it looks to neat and perfect against the rebellious and messy looking layout.

FINAL OUTCOME
I kept the most of the original layout for this article as you can tell it is a double page spread,I also kept my main image and the smaller images as these are the main focus upon the article; the main image is edgy almost graffiti like and the smaller images I have darkened and I decided it worked really well and linked in with the rebellious ‘gangsta’ theme of the page because of her mysterious look. I changed the font for ‘off the record’ as I felt it stood out too neatly against the messy and hectic layout and used a font which looked more scribbled and careless just like the star. I also moved around the paint splodge image to go behind the word ‘Hot’ and make it stand out even more and removed the small graffiti splodge on her hand as I feel it didn’t do much to the image.
Finally like my first article I made the text a lot smaller and added more of it. I also changed her name to a ‘Hip Hop’ style name; Ice flake to make the article more realistic. I added the header ‘fresh this week’ to the other page to link the pages and articles together in that ‘section’.
In conclusion this is my favourite article out of the two as the page is more informal and full, I could see this article in a magazine because of the careful and planned layouts.

FINISHEDDD

Today I handed in my final portfolio YESSSSSSSS

Nearly There

I have just printed off my evaluation and my final articles after remembering that they needed page numbers! I also needed to edit my contents page as I made a mistake with the 'Iceflake' article page numbers. I also put together my original images page and put the finshing touches to my photo shop guides for my front cover and contents page.
When I get home tonight I will put together my course work in my new folder (as I have run out of room in my present one) in order and organise it within the proper categories. I am also in the process of printing out my extra copy of my portfolio which is wiping out my printer credits by the minuteeeeeee.

At homee

Today I have annotated some more drafts and organised my folder some more I have also finished my step by step photo shop guide for my contents page. I also started my original images document. Tomorow I will work on my evaluation some more. Monday is mainly printing day!

My To do list for Monday

- Print off original drafts of two double page spreads then annotate them
-Put page numbers on final product articles
-FIND OUT EXAM NUMBER
-Finish off contents page
-Finish photoshop step by step for contents page.
.. and breathe :)

WORK WORK WORK

I have been very busy working on my final portfolio, I have been correctng my research with any mistakes and then organising my folder. I have been mainly trying to evaluate my drafts and how I can improve them with my latest articles. I have been making notes on post its over the top of my drafts so that I can easily look up what I want to change and what needs to be altered to make it look as best as possible. I have completly changed my front cover and contents page layout. Firstly I drew out the layout and researched into a wider variety of this genre of magazine covers and contents pages so that I could draw some ideas and some inspiration from them.

This meant that I also had to take more pictures of Amy to suit the new front cover, then decided that a white background suited the contents and front cover best, and that the font and images needed to stand out more to contrast against this.

In this lesson I need to print off my original questionnaire and original articles so that I can analyse them at home and explain what I changed and why.

Over the weekend I am going to continue with my evaluation and then start my image manipulation explanatories.

This is my new front cover and my old one (blue one). I am pleased with the improvement.