Drafting of Magazine

Title Block Analysis

HWK                                              Title Block Analysis and Design                                       02/12/12

NME Title Block: NME’s title is made to stand out, three letters nice and clear to the reader. The stroke effect of black white and red has two effects; first it makes the title clear and the colours chosen are the sort of rocky, laid back colours to fit with the genre, also it effectively puts the magazines trade-mark in place as people begin to associate the style and colours with NME itself. The text is not altered into some strange effect but is kept plain and simple, fitting to the audience who are not usually people interested in glamorous titles but instead the old rock and more about the music (though not true in the case of drum & bass or dubstep which very much feels the music) and overall the title is a good marker and its beauty lies in its simplicity and unique colour association.

Kerrang Title Block: This title block is made to stand out, white on a black background, this makes it jump straight out at the reader and connotes a lively feeling to the magazine. Another effect created is the broken, jagged style of the letters fits nicely with the rock genre and gives of a feeling of uniqueness yet also one of passion for music. Kerrang's target audience is largely made up of those who are passionate about their rock music, which this title instantly tells the reader – almost like a stamp or branding to send a clear, immediate message. The exclamation at the end also gives a fairly energetic feel to the title, this is added to by the capital letters which always have a ‘loud’ effect or feel connoting aggression or passion, this is left up to interpretation.       

Vibe Title Block: Vibe is very different to my previous two titles blocks as it had a far glossier feel to it – this is because Vibes covers a different genre of music and this is connoted by the style. The text is still kept simple and clear giving the effect of focus and helps mark out for the reader the style and feelings in the magazine so to speak. The colour scheme has a cool and calm feel to it but also adds to the idea of focus I mentioned before and as with most magazines allows the text to be clear to the reade

Costume/Props Planning

                                                                  Costume/Props Planning                                             

Guitar: I chose this guitar as a prop which I may wish to use in my music magazine for several reasons. Though this I a nice model the model is not the main point, yes I want a decent and indie-rock style guitar but the main reason is the connotations that come from simply having an electric guitar – these being music, rock and an artist capable of creating rhythm and solo for songs of, in this case, an indie-rock magazine. The red is also a colour I like as it stands out is in general a good colour for a guitar though I may change this to something darker such as black or sunburn or colours of that sort.

Amplifier: An Amp can be associated with music and beats of any genre and I want to use an amp for the idea of ‘music’ in general and something that seems typical for a magazine of this style. The black is a common colour but fits nicely or will fit nicely into my colour scheme and makes the amp not the main focus but still noticeable as a symbol of music for my indie-rock magazine, whatever the band an amp is considered a symbol of music and in turn beats, melodies and then enjoyment

Kurt Cobain: Kurt Cobain is not a figure associated with indie-rock, but grunge, punk and music itself. However the two are close in nature and his costume has very cooled yet laidback connotations – nothing too fancy. Jeans are commonly worn and go with the style(s) and his choice of casual dress code, the t-shirt and black jacket can fit into my genre as well, I feel, and so I chose this style for the chilled out atmosphere to go with chilled out relaxed music and the darker colours fit nicely into this idea, I don’t want anything too showy as this would not fit.

Alex Turner: Alex Turner is a prominent figure in the indie-rock genre and as such his choice of clothing or costume fits nicely and so I wish to use this sort of style in my magazine. As with Kurt Alex chooses laid back dark colours to fit the music and also does not dress up fancy or smart but very casually – jeans, t-shirt and a jacket. This casual approach is what I’m after and I feel gives the right feel or mood to my magazine, the jacket may seem a bit flash hut the style is still fitting with my desired genre and connotations.

                                               

                                

                                

Reader Profile

Reader Profile: DMT (Temporary title)

Johnny is 18 years old, he lives and breathes music and is always listening to it, in the shower, at school on the bus and so on. Johnny is into a variety of music including indie rock, punk and drum & bass, all included in DMT. Johnny as a person is out going, confident and always up for trying new things – his friends describe him as a ball of energy to be put to use. Johnny himself is also very laid back and has a positive and casual outlook on things, a calming demeanour. To finish off Johnny has a huge passion for music, a fanatic of his favourite artists, and he’s always going to gigs, festivals, raves whatever as long as the music is that he enjoys.

JAD Feedback

Lots of work missing here Christian. Complete the following tasks and post on your blog immediately:

Key conventions analysis

Focus group video

Reader profile

Title block analysis and design

Costume/props planning

Drafting

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Focus Group Feedback Evaluation

From my focus group I received strong feedback on my media product, for starters that my title ‘DMT’, although somewhat questionable, was short and sweet. I was also told that my plans thus far were in fitting with an indie-rock genre – but I could always make it clearer. Furthermore I was told that my idea to keep my colour scheme in fitting with an already successful magazine – NME – that I had used in my research was good but my peers also suggested I reverse the colour scheme into black background and red/white text for my double page spread, an idea I took on.

When discussing magazine styles I was advised to keep mine ‘matt’ as opposed to ‘glossy’ to once maintain genre and audience appeal, though I never really intended to do a glossy magazine. Moving on, I found out that I was also on the right lines of text to image ratio, I followed typical conventions of the front cover being dominated by a focal image, albeit for cover lines but having the double page spread feature a few images and an exclusive interview, text. Finally when conversing about what to feature on my contents page I confirmed having more artists other than the main band was naturally appealing but I leaned also that I could fuse genres to increase the range of audience appeal, and possibly comeback artist as well.

Focus Group Video

Mood Board

This mood board was intended to give off some ideas to viewers as to what my magazine 'DMT' will feature. Naturally there's always more but this mood boards provides a taster an includes showing of indie-rock artists, instruments and both gigs and festivals where the rock life really comes out.

Media Analysis NME Double Page Spread

                                                Media Analysis: NME Double Page Spread                                

Text: Here the text – though there is a tonne more of it, typical in a double page spread – is made to stand out as per usual for the black and white and blue background with white and black text allow the words to stand out to the viewer. Also to keep it sensible the bigger titles or headlines are made bigger to catch the reader’s eye whereas the main information is nice and small to keep it need and because that is not the piece which draws in people.

Setting: This time NME use a setting which fits nicely on a double page spread. The setting is a casual one with a sofa and posters, simple things yet the setting connotes their casual attitude, normality and perhaps laidback attitudes.

Props: There are no props in the image and there doesn’t seem to be any need for them either, it’s fairly obvious they produce music and you wouldn’t be reading NME if you couldn’t figure that out.

Costume: All the artists are dressed stylishly and casually to make them look presentable yet nothing too far above your average guy which helps them relate to the reader and connotes their youth but also a lot on their attitude.

Lighting: The lighting is bright again to allow the readers full view of the information, of which there’s a lot on the double page spread, and so the focus becomes on visibility.

NVC’s: All artists are shown with a calm, collected, confident expression which helps them look professional for readers and also bigs up their image as an artist.

Media Analysis NME Contents Page

                                                  Media Analysis: NME Contents Page

Text: The text is used in similar colours to the front cover which fits in with the idea of ‘branding’ the magazine with NME’s mark; this is done though the colour and font of the text. Another familiar idea is that the text is in the chosen colours to help it stand out to the reader – it does this with the colours of red, white and black, making the titles and/or headings stand out clearly. In terms of information the contents page includes the typical features such as title, index and page references.

Setting: Once again a setting is not really necessary however the image used on the contents page does contain some form of setting unlike the cover page. The setting is the artist’s home environment – performing on stage – this gives us a feel for the artist’s style and confidence in his job.

Props: Here props are used – unlike with the cover- as the artists show there instruments clearly in the image which connotes there musical talent to the audience and once again adds the natural music feel to the magazine.

Costume: The costume is casual and natural, the actual clothes he wore for the specific gig are shown and this makes the whole thing more realistic.

Lighting: In general to keep in the NME style the lighting is bright however in the image it does turn darker, perhaps due to the stage lights or perhaps deliberately to connote danger and mystery from the artist’s image.

NVC’s: The artists face are fairly hidden in the photo making NVC’s hard to judge however they seem to be calm and happy which adds positive effect to the magazine.

Media Analysis NME Front Cover

                                                  Media Analysis: NME Front Cover

Text: The text in the magazine cover is designed to stand out to make it convenient for readers to see. The red, white and black colours all are on either a black or white background causing them to stand out. Also to do with colours is the fact that the colours used for the text are typical colours or a convention of NME magazines, so in a sense they are marking the magazine as their own with the text style. The text is different sizes all over the cover – this is to emphasise the importance or stand out of certain parts such as the masthead ‘NME’ and the main headings, to catch the reader’s eye.

Setting: There is no real setting for this magazine cover but instead the plain white is used to ensure focus is on the artist’s in the foreground and also once again fits in with NME’s style.

Props: Props are not needed in this cover as both artists are famous and well known so they don’t need instruments for people to be aware of their musical talent and so the fact that no props are used connotes the simplicity of the cover and the popularity of the artist’s.

Costume: Both artists are dressed in plain black jackets. The two main reasons for this are firstly the black coats act as a background for white and/or red writing to stand out in full view to the audience but also the black jackets show the two as a team, or together and connote mystery to the reader.

Lighting: The lighting is bright to ensure the readers can focus on the information and artists on the cover, with average lighting there is no alluding to information it’s just there for you to see. Also dark lighting doesn’t coincide with the NME ‘style.

NVC’s: Both artists wear the same expression of being calm, cool and prepared. This once again shows them as together but also means the artists look professional and quietly confident which most people would relate to the knowledge they already have that both artists are already famed for their music.

school magazine contents page

school magazine front cover

media photos 2