This is my Final front cover, it has been drastically improved since my first draft. After receiving pupil feedback and doing additional research i decided to change the layout of the cover, I placed the text into rows and changed some of the text colors so the text in the white is emphasized, I made the name Sofia Prescott larger so that it is emphasized, and these changes made my magazine look more professional and neat, I also changed the typeface of some of the text, as it makes the text stand out less, but also made it looked more neat. Overall, i feel like the colors i have chosen compliment the cover very well, and the use of two typeface means that i am able to choose which things are important and things that are not as important and and make them stand out less or more accordingly, I feel like the layout is much better and looks more professional, and i also think that changing the color of certain words of the text has helped in my emphasis of certain words to draw in readers. i changed these things because of extensive research into magazine front covers.
AS Media production
Thursday, 24 March 2016
Wednesday, 23 March 2016
Finished music magazine contents page
Tuesday, 22 March 2016
Music magazine feature page
This is my music magazine feature page. It has design continuity in connection to my other products as it is using the same colours (black white and red) while also using the same fonts. I have added red writing to emphasize main points as you can see above, and I have also put red rectangles in to further draw the readers eyes to points also. some points are also in capitals to scream out there importance, and I have used a capital S to start of the story on the right had page which is in red which also makes it seem important and interesting and will stick out to the reader. The contents is in small text so I could fit as much as possible on the page, and it is restricted to one page because when I carried out my magazine research I felt like this was the best way to do things as it made the magazine look less complicated and more neat, while also giving more of the page to the artists which visually draws in an audience and keeps them interested. My text is in columns which also makes my feature page look more neat, and the writing also had a quote going through it in capitals with a line at the top, this emphasises its importance and also is a way of poking it out the text in order for the reader to get a taste of what information they might by getting if they read the article. I have used the same artist on the front of my magazine for my feature page as this is the generic convention as people want to read about the artist on the front, and from doing my research I found out this is generally what happens. In the image I have made sure to use pop connotations, such as colourful colours, and instruments to give of a pop theme to the image. at the bottom of the page is a web link and this shows cross media convergence, and in the rise of the digital age this is very important as it means that the brand can rise in readership ad the audience can get as much information as they want about the topic in hand, which is also why I linked the interview with another online link so that the reader can get more information and use and get to know the magazines website. I feel like the content of my text is very interesting and juicy, and covers all of the generic points and facts that you want to know bout an artist, and even facts that you would not know if you did not read the interview, which makes it more interesting and makes people trust the brand to give them the best information. Overall after changing many aspects many times to this feature page I feel that I have got the bet possible outcome and the result will connect to the target audience well.
Monday, 21 March 2016
Sunday, 20 March 2016
Thursday, 17 March 2016
Contents page analysis (work in progress)
This lesson I was able to half complete my analysis of the contents page of a music magazine called vibe, next lesson I will carry out some extensive research into the matter and complete a more filled detailed analysis of the contents page.
Wednesday, 16 March 2016
Tuesday, 15 March 2016
Monday, 14 March 2016
Saturday, 12 March 2016
Reflection on my research and how it may influence my planning.
Reflection on my research and how it may
influence my planning.
my research and how it may
influence my planning.
I particular like the matching red
dress to the back ground, and the connotations that red has power,
(being strong, passion, love and
empowerment) and may consider using this colour in my magazine cover, I also
like the way the picture covers part of the logo, as it shows that the artist
is more important than the magazine itself and it makes the artist stand out an
I like that aspect because it presents them as a role model. I will also
consider using different sized text to enthuses certain aspects, and
different fonts to make things stand out
using colours that contrast against the background that I choose. I like the
way that the background is a slightly brighter surrounding Beyoncé than when is
toward the edges, this illuminates the artist and makes her see more important.
I also like the use of different colour text because it makes things pop out
from the cover this would be useful in my cover for that very same reason, and
integrating it may draw more people in to look.
From this contents page I like the
way the v is In bold text, as it stand out and would appeal to my target
audience, also as well as being in bold it is large and this is something I
will take away from this because it would be useful to have large text on my
contents page to make things stand out. I particularly like this use of a large image as it shows people more of what
they want to see because on the front cover they know that this issue of the
magazine focuses around Kanye west and they want to see and read more about it, and see more
about it . The use of different text may be something I use when creating my
magazine as it puts enthuses on different parts on the text making things stand
out and would be a good method of drawing people in when they look at it, what
we can get from this is that the more fancy the text the more juicy and
interesting the information is. From this contents page like the way the
monochrome represents an urban genre and this would be useful for me if I
decide to make an urban magazine including artist like Kanye West
and it will drive in a particular target audience.

I like many of the features of this
feature page, and would consider many methods when making my magazine. Firstly
I like the use of the text being curved round her body, this would be good to
use if my feature artist was a woman as it would replicate her curves and make
her seem sexy and the image and page itself would look more professional and
planned, I would very much consider using this in my own magazine. Next, I
like the two colours of pink, the text
and the background match and this created simplicity in the image and this
simplicity makes the feature page seem
full of colour and because of this we can also get that the page is fun
information as pink as a colour brings these conations. I like the use of the
big letter W at the start of the text, the big letter emphasizes that the
information stated after it is important and also adds more of the darker
pink making the page seem more
colourful. I would consider using both these in my feature
page when coming to create it. The last thing I like from this feature page is
the way that the text is laid out, it is simple and easy to read, something
that my feature page will need to be so to use the same method of an easy, neat
layout would be beneficial to it.
Thursday, 10 March 2016
An essay i produced based on research on how the Kerrang brand keeps it audience informed
How does the Kerrang! Brand keeps its audience informed?
Kerrang! Is the main access to the metal scene and is a UK
based magazine. It was conceived in the year of 1981 and it focuses on the
genre of heavy metal and rock music. It is a weekly publication which provides
a source of up to date and in the minute news, gig details, articles and
reviews that relate to the metal music genre and its sub genres e.g. nu-metal
thrash, Goth and emo. Kerrang! Is owned by the institution Bauer Media
publications who also own magazines such as Q, Mojo and Empire, the institution
is also the publisher of the magazine, it is a large European based company .
Its readers/ target audience are in there late teens/early twenties between the
ages of around 15-24 with a median age of 22, and split on the percentage of
60% male and 40% female. Kerrang! Features
artists such as Lost Prophets, Bullet for My Valentine, Green Day, Bon Jovi and
Metallica, and has recently pioneered coverage of grunge music. Kerrang! Is
also a means of self-expression for young, individually minded and passionate
consumers, an audience defined by attitude, passion and loyalty. Kerrang! Does
face some issues and one key issue is media ownership it has been owned by companies
such as EMAP were it was the institutions hero brand of the digital age, but
was than soled to BAUER in February 2008. Another issue is that Kerrang! Is still
extremely dependent on shelf distribution like over the counter transactions
for over 95% of sales, Kerrang! Needs to work on its marketing, exchange, and
cross media convergence in order to change this as this shows that Kerrang! Is
not keeping its audience entirely up to date by offering other forms of media,
in other words Kerrang! Needs to proliferate. In 2008/2009 ABC figures showed
that Kerrang!’S Sales were down by 30% going from 75.937 to 52.272, again
emphasising that Kerrang needs to improve its synergy, marketing and
cross-media convergence. The magazine also lost out on proliferation of social
networking sites like Facebook and MySpace in 2007/2008 and this has effected
there marketing, exchange and proliferation over time. Kerrang! Did however try
to with stand this proliferation with the creation of an online addition which
then made the magazine become a subsidiary to the online edition, Facebook and MySpace
page. The changes in which people are listening to music currently threaten to
wear down the financial viability of the magazine, and the magazine is now
having to become more mainstream to gain financial income.
The magazine keeps its audience informed in many ways using
its unique selling points and brand credibility. Kerrang! Produces exiting
content and genre specific information that is desirable to the target market,
the portfolio of advertisement e.g. Nintendo and PlayStation also keep the audiences
informed in the latest interest of the metal genre. The magazine has a simple
layout including stimulating coloured images with chunks of informative
information which people can dip in and out of, pages are devoted full size
posters which will soon be plastered on the walls of the target audience. The managing
cost of 1.99 means the magazine follows the financial situation of its teenage
target audience keeping them informed giving them more for less. By including information
on feedback pages, news diary pages, and gig reviews the magazine is keeping
the reader interested offering a wide variety of flavours facts, and exclusive
bitesize chunks of information informing the reader of everything that need to
be known about the latest events in the metal genre. Readers are drawn in by
Kerrang! s cover which splashed with genre iconography including gothic makeup,
black clothing, and rough looking typefaces with a touch of vampire and
nocturnal imagery. Kerrang!s covers use the language of the reader using slang
terms that are used by the target audience e.g. the word Kerrang itself is a
reference to the sound of a chord of an electric guitar, and swag to blag which
refers to competitions held in the magazine. The magazine includes grading systems
or reviews advice on essential purchases and songs to avoid, and advice on
music and guidance within songs in the genre keeping the audience informed 24/7
on the best and greatest music of the current day. There diary of the week with
profiles of up and coming events informs the reader of what is going on in this
week’s metal scene and these recommended events helps catalyse and establish
the particular lifestyle taste of the reader beyond the music. Feedback
opportunities also offer a chance for the readers to be listen too in feedback pages,
and rants of the week. Kerrang additionally promotes government messages to
inform the readers of the latest issues. The magazine acts as a form of
advertisement verbally and visually selling music to people through artist and
record labels, the magazine informs the reader on the latest releases from
artists strictly relevant to the genre and also advertises artists tours and events.
Competitions are on the magazine to keep the reader involved and inform the
reader of prises and opportunities. The genre specific fashion of metal allows
Kerrang to advertise specific brands that give of the metal look including
clothes and Jewry brands, this keeps the reader up to date on the latest
fashions and informs them of what their favourite artists are wearing, and what
thy should be wearing to keep up with there genre. All the ways in which the
magazine keeps its audience informed benefits the magazine overall, as it keeps
people interested in the magazine because it is current, loyal to the genre and
the readers, and this keep the reader buying the magazine and there for
financially benefits the brand Kerrang! this creates a returning fan base keen
for information knowing that Kerrang will give it to them by keeping their
ideas fresh and moving with current trends.
Digital convergence gave Kerrang! A chance to reach a larger
target audience. Entering into the digital age Kerrang! Now uses the web, TV
and radio to keep its audience informed, it does this in many ways. Kerrang now
has multiple platforms of webpages in which it can keep the audience informed
on the latest metal/rock genre information, music, fashion and social media a
few examples are listed: www.kerreng.com www.kerrangradio.com www.kerrang.com/tv www.kerrangstore.com www.kerrang.com/podcasts. The first web
link is the main site for the magazine and were you can purchase the magazine,
this website allows the audience to become a proactive consumer as its provides
links to additional websites were you can purchase concert tickets. While
illustrating synergy, the website also allows the audience to subscribe
allowing them to be informed online as well as in the magazine, therefore
websites offer a greater overall informative value covering more than that that
is just in the magazine, the subscriptions cost and are monthly. The second leads
you to the home of the radio station, the third leads you to the online store
and the next one leads you to the Kerrang! Relentless tour and Kerrang! Awards.
Through these web links Kerrang! Is now able to provide informative information
that was previously exclusive to the magazine making it more widely available,
keeping the audience informed quickly and easily as the website is updated
regularly. Kerrang! also has online forums
in which it can ask the audience what they want to know about, this makes them
in charge of what they want to read about, meaning the audience is telling the
magazine what they want to be informed about, this adds an interactive value to
Kerrangs! brand. Advertisement can also appear online which further informs the
target audience of products and new and exciting information regarding the
metal/rock genre. Kerrangs! radio a 105 digital and FM bases radio station
modified its core brand values and further extends the brands informative
nature by playing the latest tracks by mainstream rock and metal artist e.g.
Red hot Chilli Peppers and Oasis and also informs people on the latest in the
metal and rock genre, this was Kerrangs first venture into the synergized word
of digital media. Kerrang TV made it second in 2001, and was an immediate
success, than added to the long list of informative platforms that the digital
age brought to kerrang! Kerrang TV offers advisement to be made and is also
hyperlinked to online ticket sellers. Through all, of this kerrang achieved
cross-media convergence, synergy, greater methods of production, distribution
and marketing, and also better methods of exchange and proliferation. This has
all benefited kerrang as it means that information can be updated regularly,
and the web has also expanded Kerrangs! fan base and target audience and the
availability of easy subscription and purchases online have profited the brand
financially.
Kerrang! Has a range of social media accounts that quickly
update with news on music and artist, including new music releases and up and
coming artists. An example of these are Kerrangs! Facebook, Twitter and My
Space, and they act as a gateway for key breaking news information updates to
keep the audience informed instantly with articles and other forms of media,
like quizzes and interviews. Kerrang! Has over 200,00 twitter followers an
100,00 Facebook likes, this is great for the target audience as it means that
they are informed everyday 7 days a week on all their favourite artists and
genre, and the audience also trusts the information that is being produced so feel
they are getting quality truthful facts. Also Kerrangs! My Space is linked to
its ticket selling page acting as a form of informative advertisement for artist
and record labels. The My Space also links into kerrang! TV. Through social
media therefore comes huge promotions and advertisements to other parts of the branch
of the Kerrang! Brand which provides the audience with countess information to
read. The social media accounts also allow kerrang readers to share videos and
play lists with each other meaning that they can be collaborative in interest,
this can be done through another social media website they have called YouTube.
Because this is all done through the internet everything that is being talked
about can be accessed easily, quickly and instantly. Kerrang also has a an app
in which subscribers can access the magazine and receive notifications on the
latest events and music updates in the metal and rock genre, this is extremely useful
in keeping up with the brands core values and identity and also everything that
kerrang has to offer. This all benefits Kerrang! as a brand because it mean
that they can 24/7 keep their readers up to date on everything big in metal and
rock, and by having a great spread across many forms of media they come into
contact with more fans creating a larger fan base and therefore a larger sales profit
and readership.
In conclusion, the magazine could be improved by expanding
the target audience so that the magazine appeals to more people, this would
inform a larger number of readers and therefore have a positive outcome on
profit, I would also suggest that the brand should change some of its content
to make its more mainstream and universal to all, this would consequently result
in more sales and a change in brand identity re introducing Kerrang! as a more
rounded music magazine. Overall I think the Kerrang! brand is very effective,
it is able to provide what its audience wants by creating online forums and
surveys to make sure it is doing what metal/rock fans want it to do wants it do
so it can self-evaluate and constantly evolve. Kerrang! Also has many forms of
media meaning it has a good cross media convergence reaching into al the
corners of society that may find a fan, it keeps up with the latest information
and breaking news updates, regularly informing is target audience and executes
the role of a music magazine to an almost perfect standard.
Wednesday, 9 March 2016
www.kerrang.com research
Investigating
www.kerrang.com
What features does the website offer?
The website offers some of the features you wold see on a magazine
cover such as the title of Kerrang
on the top left ,straplines that you can see spread across the whole of the
website including information such as advertisement for new events and even
some suggesting information on popular artist of the genre. The website also
features web links such as twitter names
so fans can follow them, this is like the magazine as the magazine always has
the web link for the Kerrang website at the bottom. As well as holding some of the traditional
features you would see on the magazine, the website also offers a more
attractive and interactive approaches, holding more information that the
magazine ever could. The website offers a range of images of a range of artists
all in different colour scheme in an attractive format. Interactive
features such as hyperlinked images and
text allows the reader to navigate easily to the article they want to read and
websites they may want to go on to buy or follow something from Kerrang,
example of this is the Facebook and twitter signs and the sign that allows you
to buy the magazine by clicking onto it and traveling to another website. The
website also offers more advertisement than the magazine ever could, making
sure that the fans know all of the new events that are coming up, and also
advertising new and popular artists, the increased size of the website in
comparison to the magazine allows it to do this. The website also features
videos on the latest tour artists and festivals informing the fans that were not there about the
event, and also promoting the artist. The website also has a search bar acting
as one of the most important features, this is because the magazine is aimed at
t young people, and this generation has a tendency to dip in and out of
information , and the search bar allows them to do this quickly, allowing them
to find the subject they want to read about .The Kerrang website also allows
readers to get access to a full list of tour dates and tour information, and
also buy tickets directly through the websites navigation system, and you can
even get band merchandise directly too. This particular feature makes the
website an easier and more appealing use of media as it is fast, always updated
and largely interactive. The navigation bar is largely responsible for the easy
to use website and simple navigation, directing readers to there area of
interest quickly, this is featured on the top and bottom of each page. This
website is a good example of how Kerrang’s
proliferation, distribution and Cross media convergence and how it has improved
from its audience interaction has improved.
What content is it covering?
There are a number of areas of content that the website covers, and the
navigation bar shows all of these so they can be easily assessable from every
page. These areas are Latest, Hottest, Music and Lists, not to forget the
original home page which can be accessed by just a quick click of the Kerrang
logo. The Latest page includes articles on the biggest and newest news, and
when the page is finished there is an option to access more of this new
information. On this page there is also advertisement and other features such
as social media links, so that the user is constantly being informed of Kerrangs
different platforms. Hottest includes
contents such as the top 10 most popular and most read posts, this insures that
the reader is keeping up with the biggest and best information around there
genre it also has the features described
above e.g. social media links an other links.
Music's content includes the latest music articles listed in the order
of most popular, this ranges from articles on artists, gossip the latest music
news and facts and album and single notifications, also included is videos which support cross media convergence and
keep the audience interested. The music
area also includes the same general features described above. Lastly
lists includes playlists and top 10s including artists favourite songs,
playlist made my artists and others, and also the lists of top albums and even
lists of the best covers and videos.
How
does the website promote interaction of the user and how is producer and
audience benefiting?
The website promotes interaction by
having interactive features e.g. a navigation bar , web
links and advertising. This benefits the producer because it means that the interactive features allow the readership to travel around the website easily, which may make it more favourable than other more tricky user interfaces which will make people want to use it more. This also benefits the producer because companies will pay for advertising space on the website and these interactive adds will make the producer money as they advertisers will pay for advertising space. This additionally benefits the producer as hyperlinked web links and other links allow for cross media convergence between different platforms and the website is also able to advertise other areas of the Kerrang brand through this. Next interaction benefits the audience as a navigation bar means that they are able to move around the website both quickly and easily, so the interface is beneficial to them so they will use it more, interaction also benefits them as advertising and web links allow them to explore related brands such as merchandise sites and allow them to purchase tickets and this merchandise quickly at one click of a button. It also allows them to get to know Kerrang more by getting to follow there social media accounts and watching there YouTube channel. This in turn then benefits them further as it means that they are able to keep up with there favourite artist much more easily, quickly and efficiently.
How are audiences encouraged to become
Prosumers?
The audience are encouraged to become prosumer by the website by offering a contact us system, this allows the audience to tell the magazine directly what content they want, and how they think the website and its content could be changed or altered in order to make there experience of it better. The website also has it Facebook page and Twitter account hyper linked and these pages also offer a form or conversation by which the same things can happen, this applies to YouTube and Instagram also. This prosumer aspect creates a great way for kerrang to understand there audience by working with them to create the best possible product.
What evidence of Synergy is there?
The evidence of synergy in the
website is advertising we can see from this advertising that Kerrang is
working with these companies in order to gain money for themselves and also
help another cooperation. Other evidence of synergy is them working together to
advertise gigs and other events that require ticket purchase with other companies. This helps the
audience to keep in touch with the latest gigs organised by other companies separate to Kerrang, and also help the audience to purchase things like merchandise from artists, when synergy is present between an artist and Kerrang.
How does the website converge with other media
formats?
The website contains many
different social media links such as
Facebook and Twitter, and they also have links to various other website to do
with the Kerrang brand such as get K !mag, K! TV K! Radio, Win, Subscribe and Offers.
The website also tries to encourage cross media convergence by promoting the
purchase of the paper magazine issue and even has an Instagram page linked to
the website too. All of this increases the number of readers Kerrang has.
At the bottom of the page they also have a navigation bar which shows all the
ways in which Kerrang is trying to media converge see
the example below:
There is many different types of
advertising on the Kerrang website . Most of them are in the form of banners on the right side of
the page or a banner which goes all across the page usually found near the
navigation bar. Most of the advertising is within the interest of Kerrangs
target audience and is also relevant to the music industry, however as the
website opens up the target audience to a larger bunch there is also some
adverts that are not a specific e.g. banking adverting and car advertising. Examples of advertising within the audiences
interests are Kerrang merchandise, Gig advertising and Album adverts. The advertising is specific to these areas in order for them to make the best profit when they are placed on the website as there aim is to attract as many people as possible to buy there product so to put music advertising on a music magazine website is relevant and would make much more revenue than a paracetamol advert as this would not be relevant to the target audiences interests or make many sales because of this.
Tuesday, 8 March 2016
Monday, 7 March 2016
Sunday, 6 March 2016
Saturday, 5 March 2016
Friday, 4 March 2016
Thursday, 3 March 2016
Wednesday, 2 March 2016
Tuesday, 1 March 2016
Monday, 29 February 2016
Saturday, 27 February 2016
Friday, 26 February 2016
Drafting my magazine cover
Drafting my magazine cover
As you can see from above i choose the name Music Fast Track for my cover, this was becuase i thought the name was fun, differnt as its not an everday name, and also relevant to my target auidience becuase they are buying magazines to keep up with the music industry in there specific genre and the name of the magazine and content helps them to do this as it is a "fast track" for them. I have not yet obtained my magazine cover image, but i am now going to base my image on the one used in my draft above, i think it fits the genres of pop and RnB perfectly and also reflects fashion in the music industry currently worn by artsist or the genres, and this makes it more relevant to my target audience. I wanted to draft my work first on an example as i knew it would give me better ideas and would extend my research practicaly. From this piece of work i realy like the dark colours and the contrasting text in comparison to the background. Drafting my unfinished work has given me a great idea of how i could lay out my work on my final draft and what ideas and concepts i could introduce to my magazine to make it stand out on the shelfs from others. It also gave me some great experience in using photoshop and this means that when i come to make my final cover i will be experienced and the cover of my magazine will be imaculate as i will be able to use the correct tools with skill, so overall the prosses of doing this will be verry beneficial to my work.
Thursday, 25 February 2016
Magazine front cover (still in editing)
I have changed my cover image and edited some of the straplines and there placement on the page. I will improve this further by changing the colour and content of some text and also changing the brightness of the image to make the cover image look more professional. I could also change the position of the image within the cover to make it better suited to the text around it.
Wednesday, 24 February 2016
Front cover of my music magazine
This is my magazine front cover it has many changes from the other and visually is more stimulating than is previous version. I have made it more simple by using less straplines to cover the page, which also puts more emphasis on the cover image while also making the magazine cover look more formal than its previous version, and creating more emphasis on less information which is more relevant to the target audience. I have also made some colour changes to that the name Sofia Prescott so that it stand out more than before which makes it more vibrant than the white, which also makes the reader turn to it more quick when they come to read it, this also makes It clear that this is the features artist, which is why I also changed the colour of the now artist column to make them less important. I have also made some changes to the sizes of straplines so some are more emphasizes than others, for example I have made everything smaller and also changed the size of new world tour 2016 so it make the artist Justin Bieber seem more important. Next, I have also zoomed in on the cover image which makes the cover look more full and creates more emphasis on the featuring artist, this also has more emphasis on the eye contact in the image which makes the cover seem more invitational. I have changed the logo slightly by putting the letters above the shape, and this has also made It easier to identify the name of the magazine, while also make the logo more interesting. I have changed the limited edition 1st copy caption to limited edition as if people see that it is the first copy they may be reluctant to buy it as they will question there trust in the brand, interviews, reviews and factual information. Overall I think that this version is much better than the previous and what has helped me in order to achieve this higher quality result was feedback from my peers, and comparing elements of my magazine to those of professionals.
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