Nicola's Evaluation

Between completion of my preliminary task and completion of my final production, I feel I have learnt a number of new skills. I have learnt the use of technologies such as Photoshop, cameras and lighting etc. I have also gained a greater appreciation of the way media is presented. For example, in my preliminary work I had a lot of empty space on my front cover, and small fonts which were hard to read, and didn’t really appeal to a particular audience and weren’t really very eye catching.

When comparing my final product to my preliminary work, I feel that I tackled the weaknesses of my preliminary work successfully. I ensured I had no large empty spaces, my fonts were appealing, easy to read and were eye-catching as they used contrasting colours.

However, I feel that had I managed my time more efficiently, such as spending equal amounts of time on all aspects of my magazine, I could have achieved a higher level of professionalism.

Feedback for my magazine was mostly positive. I showed it to teenagers, who were my target audience, and they said that it was ‘their type of magazine’, for example, they were interested in the genre of music that the magazine was representing. They also commented on the fonts saying that they were ‘catchy yet easy to read’ and suited the genre of the magazine well. The teenagers I asked all stated that they would happily buy the magazine, and said they saw the similarities between our magazine and NME, such as cover layouts and genre, which are components of the music magazine that we were influenced by.

Amy's Evaluation

Since my preliminary task, I feel that the standard of my work and understanding has increased vastly. The quality of my preliminary task was low, and showed limited levels of professionalism. This is due to the fact that I didn’t have a clear understanding of how to use Photoshop, as I had never used it before I began my preliminary.

However, I feel that my understanding of Photoshop has developed, enabling me to create a more professional looking piece of work. In the preliminary, there was a large amount of white, empty space, and the images used were of a low quality. Also, the title was not distinctive, and the fonts were unprofessional looking. The contents page was of a very low standard, with lots of empty space once more, and typing errors.

After completion of my main task, I believe that the criticisms of my preliminary tasks had been overcome. There was no white space, and the title was eye-catching.

Time management, however, was quite a big issue. In retrospect, I wished that I had took greater care in using the amount of time available to my advantage. This way, I feel that I could’ve possibly produced work of a higher standard.

I retrieved feedback for my magazine cover, contents page and double page spread from my target audience, teenagers. One individual said “I like the colours – they are very appealing. The title is eye catching and tells me straight away what the magazine is about”. Another person said “I would definitely buy this magazine; it looks like it would be interesting!” The positive feedback that I received tells me that the magazine was successful in attracting the target audience.

Overall Evaluation

There are several ways in which our magazine shows resemblance to other real music magazines. We decided to base the style of our magazine on that of NME magazine. We think that we achieved this successfully as we aimed our magazine at a similar target audience i.e. teenagers that are interested in a particular type of music that we would say to be indie/rock. We also attempted to replicate the style of NME by using similar fonts, headings and images therefore we believe that we have achieved our aim, creating a new music magazine similar to existing music magazines.

However, there are also several differences and ways that our magazine differs from existing products. Existing music magazines are obviously more professionally constructed. Also, we believe that if we managed our time more efficiently then we could have achieved the same level of professionalism as those achieved by existing magazines.

As we worked on the composition of our magazines separately, there are several similarities and differences which could be pointed out. The obvious similarities that we achieved were the fonts, the titles and the layouts of the cover, contents page and double page spread. However, the colour schemes differed in several ways. In the first version of the magazine (Nicolas version) the colours used were maroon and yellow. These colours contrasted successfully, however appeared more mature than the colours used in Amys version of the magazine, which were purple and green, and more suitable for a younger audience. However, as the intended target audience was teens, the colours could accommodate the expectations of teenagers of different ages; therefore this wasn’t much of an issue.

As we decided to aim our magazine at teenagers this would be the social group which we would be representing throughout the magazine. On our front covers, the pictures were of teenagers to give potential audiences an idea of whether the magazine was aimed at them or not.
Teenagers in the media can be represented either in a positive or negative way. We have decided to give teenagers quite a positive image through the pictures that we used.

For example, in both magazines, the models that we used were smiling in the images and were posing in ways which made them look light hearted and fun.
Also, the articles on our double page spreads portrayed the band members to be good natured and aspirational. These are not very common attributes that would be associated with teenagers in the media today.

There are several ways in which we attempted to attract the target audience of our magazine. The colours that we used are quite contrasting and striking in order to attract the attention of potential buyers. The images that we used are bright and effective at appealing to the eye of our target audience.
The fonts are also quite playful and eye-catching, as opposed to being formal and sophisticated which are fonts usually associated with magazines aimed at an older audience. For example, our title fonts contain an additional colour to the black, which gives it a playful edge and incorporates it with the colour themes of each magazine.

During the time we spent producing our magazines, we have learnt about the use of different technologies, e.g. the use of cameras and the use of lighting in the media studio, as well as the use of Photoshop.
When using the camera we tried using it both with the flash on and off, as well as taking photos indoors and outdoors, this was to find out which settings and environments our cameras worked best in.
When using the camera indoors, we used the media studio, which had a white background, as well as professional lighting, which we felt gave our photographs a professional look, which was of a suitable quality for a magazine front cover.

We also experimented with portrait and landscape photographs. We felt that portrait photographs were suitable for front covers, which we had found from previous research of existing music magazines etc, however, we also felt that our middle page spreads may benefit from some landscape photographs in addition to the text, and so took a variety of photographs for use on different pages of our magazines.

Also, when working on our magazines in Photoshop, we needed to edit our images, such as cutting the models out from the background so there were no distractions. We also wanted to edit the brightness of our pictures, as when we out them onto our magazine covers we found they looked slightly too dull, and not bright enough to attract peoples attention, so therefore we increased the brightness, which we also feel gives our magazines a brighter, more positive look.

We also used text in Photoshop, and we decided that in order to make our texts appeal to our target audience of teenagers, we needed to give them a playful edge, which we felt could be achieved through the use of strokes around our fonts, and the use off contrasting colours on the front covers. However, to ensure that our magazines remained similar, we used the same fonts and strokes, but altered the colours and sizes according to the covers and colour themes of our individual magazines.

As we progressed from our preliminary work to our final finished product, we learnt many new skills regarding technologies as well as aspects of the project such as time management. We asked people for feedback on our front covers, contents pages and double page spreads, in order to discover the opinions of others on our pieces. Overall, we feel that our project was relatively successful, and in our opinions, we achieved our aim of creating a new music magazine.

Gradual Production - Amy's Double Page Spread

Instead of creating my double page spread in photoshop, I used microsoft publisher. This was because my primary focus was the text, and I found it easier to use this office based programme rather than a programme that focused more on editing images. The first thing I did was insert the headers "What's the deal with..." and "Chasing Daylight". I created both of these headings separately in photoshop:

The first I created using te 'black background black text' technique that I used on my contents page. Again, I made the text visible by putting a white stroke on the edge of the text.

For the second heading, I just duplicated the heading used on the front cover of the magazine. This gives the impression that this is the band's 'signature title' or logo.

I then selected four images that I wanted to use on my double page spread. For three of these images, I used the quick selection tool to delete the background so that the images were just of the models. However,the background on the other image was much too complex to delete quickly, therefore I decided to keep the background and edit it by making it brighter and decreasing the contrast. I also put a black stroke on the edge of the image, which I cropped to be a square shape. This caused the image to fit in nicely in the top right hand corner of my double page spread, as one of the two largest images featured.

The other large image is the one in the bottom left hand corner of my double page spread. The guitar featured in the image enhances the musical theme of the magazine.

The two smaller images are used in a way to make the page look more colourful and interesting, rather than there being just too much text, which could seem boring to some readers. One of the images (used on the right side) mimics the famous pose created by the famous rock band Queen, which readers of this type of magazine should identify.

After inserting and posititioning the images, I decided to create a page border using thin, long rectangle shapes that look like thick lines. These lines are purple and green, in keeping with the ongoing colour theme o the magazine. In each bottom corner I added small black boxes containing page numbers - making it easy for the reader to navigate their way through the magazine.

I added text underneath the main headers Introducing the band and making a start to the main article. This text is showed to be separate from the rest of the article as it isn't in the same noticable column format.

I created the interview article in microsoft word and pasted it into publisher. Beforehand, I split the whole double page spead into six columns, and filled these columns with text boxes. I used the 'link' tool to link the text boxes together, so that when I pasted the text into the first text box, it flowed into the rest of the text boxes until it filled them all. This gives the illusion of a professional magazine article. I used a tool which made it so that the text also flowed around the images, rather than overlapping and disturbing them.

I emboldened the interview questions to split the article up and to also enable the reader to navigate their way around the page easily, for example if they wanted to read the answer to a particular question.

To finish off my double page spreI used two black text boxes with purple outlines to highlight some of the best features of the article, and also to split the article up. These boxes contain bold white text to catch the readers attention & draw it to the relevant points in the article.

Gradual Production - Nicola's Contents Page

When creating my contents page, i tried to ensure i continued the colour theme from my front cover, yet also make sure my contents page had a similar look to Amys, so that it looked like we had created two versions of the same magazine.





In the top left hand corner of my contents page i had 'this month in volume' in the same colour and font as on my front cover, and also in the same way Amy did, continuing the theme of two similar magazines.


I also split the page into two, with the left hand side and the right hand side of the page being two complementary colours, and continuing my red and white colour theme.





Underneath my title i had a relatively large font, regarding my main story - the band interview - and the page number it could be found on. This kept the main feature running from the front cover onto the contents page, to ensure it remained the most important part of my magazine.





On the left hand side, we both decided to have two text boxes, titled 'on the cover' and 'regulars' which gave the impression that this was a regular magazine, and also that we were both providing two issues of the same magazine. These also provided easy reference when using the contents page. Within these boxes i put short headings and page numbers, again in colours complementary to my colour scheme. I added a stroke to these text boxes to make them stand out and make the contents page look more lively and exciting.





In the bottom left hand corner i put a small picture of the band which was being featured in Amys magazine, which again made the two magazines feel like they were two issues of the same magazine. I also featured a picture of my band in the top right hand corner with a small caption underneath, again this ensured that the band interview was the main feature within the magazine.





Down the left hand side of the magazine i had the features of the issue and page numbers, however, to give my contents page a fun feel, i had all page numbers lined along the center of the page, with titles on opposite left and right sides.





As with my front cover, i felt that the colour theme of red, yellow and white gave my contents page a modern look, as well as making it appeal to a slightly older audience, and also complementing the colours of my band photographs.


I also kept the fonts on my front cover and contents the same, to ensure they both looked like they were part of the same magazine.

Gradual Production - Amy's Contents Page

Below I have displayed the gradual production of my contents page.

Step 1:

I divided the page into two, continuing the theme from the front cover by using the colour purple. I feel as if splitting the page in half using two contrasting colours gives the illusion of the page not looking too empty and cluttered. I used the same font style as the main title for the "This month in volume" so that the theme continues from the front cover.

Step 2:

I inserted a smaller version of the front cover image at the top of the page, with the caption "The boys from Chasing Daylight spill the beans". The image already makes the page look more interesting, and the black rectangle shape that acts as a background to the text separates the image from the rest of the white.

Step 3:

I inserted two boxes, each with a thick black border created using the stroke tool in photoshop. I filled the boxes in black, and made them nearly transparent to create a dark shadowy fill - still revealing the background underneath. I did this to make the boxes prominent, and stand out from the rest of the page. I used titles with on the top line of the boxes so the magazine contents are categorized, and so the readers can refer quickly to the section they'd like to read about. Although there aren't any boxes on the right hand side of the page, the white space still acts as an area for categorising the contents of the magazine. I have entitled the area "Features", and in the white space will be enlisted the main features of the magazine.

Step 4:

In the space between the main header and the first contents box I added the text "Chasing Daylight EXCLUSIVE Interview" and the page number that it's on. Being separate from the rest of the contents gives the reader the impression that this is the main story, which is true. The image on the right hand side accompanies this text too, so the reader knows who the header is referring to. The black star shapes (created in photoshop) draws the readers attention to the header.

Step 5:

I added the contents to the boxes along with the page numbers. I added the main contents on the right hand side, with small descriptions of each feature. The green of the page numbers and the purple of the main feature text coincide once again with the colour theme of the magazine. I also added a feature at the bottom of the page very similar to the feature on the front cover - enlisting the bands and artists which feature in the rest of the magazine.

Step 6:

To fill the empty space in the left hand corner of the page, I used an image of the band used on the cover of Nicola's magazine. This shows the link between the magazines, and ongoing themes and features. The image has been brightened and brought to the front of all layers, so it looks almost 3D with the models heads in front of the text box. The image caption "Othersideup's single review!" informs the readers that this the name of the band in the image. The black text against the black background is highlighted by using the stroke tool to create a white outline. The black box stands out against the purple background. I also used a duplicated image of a CD to make the page look more interesting, and to enhance the musical theme. The shadows on the CD's again make them stand out from the background. I also used the stamp tool in photoshop to create two large stars behind the text boxes. This was to make the page look more interesting and fun.

Gradual Production - Nicola's Front Cover

Step 1

I started the production of my front cover by editing my chosen picture. I used the quick selection tool in photoshop, to get rid of the background around my models so that the image would be the main feature of the page, i also brightened the picture slightly to avoid it looking too dull on the front cover of my magazine.

I then added the title 'VOLUME' across the top of the page in the font 'denial', which is the same font used for the title on Amys magazine, but i changed the colour of the font to tie in with my colour scheme which was going to be red, white and yellow. I chose this colour sceme as it complements the colours in the photo of my band, and also gives the impression that the magazine is for a slightly older audience. The matching font titles but differnt colours of our two titles makes our covers like two versions of the same magazine. The tagline 'turn it up' is also used on both magazines and is situated in the same place, also making our magazine covers have a similar look.

I also added a box across the bottom of the page, advertising what features were available in the magazine, without adding full titles for them. I feel this gives the magazine a modern look, and also makes it look as though there is plenty of value for money with in the magazine. I also added the box as i felt there was too much unwanted empty space towards the bottom of the image, which may make my magazine cover look a bit boring and unappealing.

Step 2

I then added the name of the band 'othersideup' onto my magazine cover. I decided to rotate the title slightly, as this gave the cover a more fun and playful feel, and also gave the impression that the girl was holding the title due to her hands being held up in the picture. I also changed the colours of the words to yellow, white then yellow which again ties in with the colour scheme and makes the title look more playful, as opposed to being all one colour, where it may have risked looking boring on the front of my magazine.

I also added a subtitle 'their first interview' under the name of the band, to give potential buyers of my magazine an idea of what the magazines main feature would be about. I wrote this subtitle in a bold red, to make it stand out, but made it smaller so that the name of the band would still be the main focus.

Step 3

I then started adding small subtitles along the right and left sides of the page, advertising smaller articles that would be available to read in the magazine. I wrote the main subtitles in red and then had a small introduction to what they were about underneath in smaller white writing. Again, these colours complemented my colour scheme, as well as making the titles stand out and appeal to potential audiences. I spread these titles out equally around my page, to avoid my front cover from looking cluttered, but also giving my cover a modern look.

In the bottom right corner, below the name of the band, i felt there was too much empty space, so i decided to add a competition advertisement. I added a small yellow circle on photoshop and then made it look translucent so the colour didnt look as harsh against the background picture. In red again i added a short sentence on what the competition was about.

Finally, I added small pictures relating to what each title was about on my front cover. I put these on angles next to each title, which again gave a fun feel to my magazine cover. They also gave my magazine cover a similar look to Amys, as she was also using small pictures next to her titles, aswell as a similar competition and relating picture.

Gradual Production - Amy's Front Cover

Below I have displayed the gradual production of my magazine front cover.

Step 1:

I took the image that I selected for my front cover and eliminated the background using the quick selection tool in adobe photoshop. I brightened the image to make it look professional and contemporary, and decreased the contrast of the image. I decided to keep the image on a plain white background so that the band stands out, and the minimalism of the magazine attracts buyers. I ensured that the image covered the majority of the cover, so that it is the main focus and the thing that stands out the most.

Step 2:

I added the title, the tagline, the date and the barcode. The title "VOLUME" is in capital letters in a bold font called 'Denial'. The font I chose has connotations of 'edgy' and 'cool', which ties in with the genre of my music magazine. I put a green stroke on the title to make it stand out even more, and contrast with the plain black of the title. The tagline "Turn it Up" relates to the title. The barcode gives my magazine an authentic and professional look.

Step 3:

To fill in the white space at the bottom below the primary image, I inserted a black strip with examples of bands that feature in this issue of the magazine. The band names are written in a casual font in the colour white - the key contrasting colour against a black background. To seperate the band names I have used green and purple stars, to tie in with the green and purple colour scheme that I aimed to achieve during the production of my magazine. The choice of band names relates to the intended genre of the magazine - All of these bands/artists are successful indie/rock/pop artists, therefore give the audience an idea of the content, and the bands that are likely to feature.

Step 4:

I then added the name of the band in large letters in a font named '28 Days Later'. Again, I used the colours purple and green, emphasising the clear colour scheme. I used a thick black stroke to enhance the lettering and make it stand out against the image of the band. The tagline "an exclusive interview with the UK's hottest new band!" informs the reader of the main story that the magazine is advertising, and indicates that this 'hottest new band' is in fact the band pictured on the cover.

Step 5:

I then added various headlines & titles which inform the reader of what the magazine features. I used the theme colours green purple and white alternatively so that each title looks different, for example, for the title "Festival Madness!" I have used white whereas for "Exclusive!" I have used purple. However, I have put a fine black stroke on all of the titles again to make the lettering stand out. The exclamation marks that've been used on the titles give the impression of energy and excitement, causing potential buyers to want to read what's inside. The purpose of putting one of the titles (Plus! Win a guitar signed by the band) is to make this headline stand out above the rest, to attract readers to the idea of potentially winning a prize. The contrast of the theme colours (purple and green) against the black filled background of the circle makes the title stand out even more.

Step 6:

I took the image of a standard guitar, and changed the tint to green in photoshop - to match the theme of the magazine. I put a shadow on the guitar to make it look as if almost 3D from the magazine, and used it next to the circle which offers readers the opportunity to win a guitar. This makes the magazine look a lot fuller at the bottom half of the page already - making it look more fun-filled and appealing. I decided to use a colour that contrasted completely with the colour theme of the magazine by creating a yellow box which contains the text "FREE! HMV VOUCHER". I made the box yellow and enhanced it with the shadow tool in photoshop so that it's appears prominent on the page - and could be another potential selling point for possible buyers. One of the first thing that readers tend to look at when browsing for a magazine is the name - therefore I have purposely positioned the HMV offer near the main title. The final touch I made to the front cover is the "Top 10 tracks you must download" feature. I have accompanied this text with the image of an i-pod, which again could highlight the contemporary feel of the magazine. However, I have deleted the screen of the i-pod and replaced it with the text "Top 10", to relate it to the heading. The items in the white space at the top of the page are quite uneven as opposed to being straight across the page - I have done this so that it looks purposefully careless and possibly quite playful.

Photoshoot - Nicola's Magazine

As our magazines are indie/rock I found a group of three boys and one girl with an indie look. I used the media studio as a setting, and tried a variety of different poses with the group to achieve a suitable look for a magazine cover.



I also took individual pictures of members of the band, which I planned to use on my double page spread, in addition to a group photo.



I found the media studio worked well as a setting as it provided a white background, which meant there were no distractions behind the band once the picture was used on the front cover, as well as having suitable lighting.



I took many pictures, which meant I had a lot of choice when choosing a suitable picture for my front cover, as well as having a range of pictures to choose from when designing my contents page and front cover.

Photoshoot - Amy's Magazine

We arranged a photo shoot session in the media studio to try and obtain suitable images for our front covers, contents pages and double page spreads. In this session, we photographed both bands many times.

The band that I photographed was Chasing Daylight. This band was made up of four boys, who we thought to have quite an indie-rock image; the look that we were aiming for with our magazine. We also thought the name of the band suited the genre of magazine that we were aiming for. I decided to take some photos outside, and some inside, to see if there was a difference in the quality of images, and to obtain a variety of images that would make it easier when it came to selecting those to include in our project. Below are some of the pictures that I took of the band:

I also photographed the members of the band on their own, as I plan to use these images on my double page spread, as well as some others.

Although the photo shoot was relatively successful, I found that the photographs taken outside were of a higher quality and value, therefore the image that I am going to choose for my front cover is one that was taken outside.

Also, because the outside images were taken in front of a simple white background, they will be easier to modify and play around with in Photoshop.

Our target audience

We have decided to aim our magazine at quite a mature audience – from older teenagers aged about 16/17 to young adults aged about 23/24. This, we believe, is the target audience for magazines such as the NME and Kerrang. Therefore, we must design our front covers, contents pages and double page spreads to accommodate the expectations of readers of these ages.

Key concepts in current music magazines

Before deciding that we would like to create a magazine similar to NME, we analysed various other music magazines in terms of their genre, dominant ideologies, the representation and their target audiences.
Below are three different examples of current music magazines.

Top of the Pops magazine
The genre of this magazine is pop music, particularly that young children would listen to. With subheadings such as "when will he kiss you" and "being Britney can't be easy" suggests that the magazine is aimed at young girls, who are interested in more than just the musical aspect of the magazine. It appears that the primary focus of the magazine is in fact celebrities; particularly those appealing to young girls or 'tweens'. Other features of the magazine that suggest it is aimed at young girls are the colours and fonts used on the front cover. Bright purple and pink are both connotations of being girly. The fonts used are casual, informal and 'bubbly'. The dominant ideologies that appear to be conveyed in Top of the Pops magazine are that 'it is cool to listen to popular, mainstream music' and that 'being young means having fun'. The representation of the target audience in this magazine is that young people are free to have fun, and are interested in rather trivial and passive things, such as celebrities and life stories.

Kerrang magazine

The genre of this magazine is rock music. The primary focus of the magazine appears to be rock bands. Nothing on the front cover of this magazine suggests otherwise. Therefore, the magazine is aimed at those interested in listening to rock music, and reading about various rock bands. The colours used on the front cover are quite sophisticated and not at all playful (like on the cover of TOTP magazine), therefore this could suggest that the magazine is aimed at an older audience. One of the dominant ideologies conveyed in Kerrang magazine is that 'Life is loud', which is the strapline of the magazine. This suggests that music should be a big part of your life, and that it is best listened to at a high level of volume. The representation of the target audience in this magazine is that readers are quite dark, rebellious and brave people, who are into dark clothes, tattoos, piercings and loud music. The type of people who read this magazine are not interested in mainstream pop culture.

NME magazine

The genre of this magazine is indie-rock music. Similarly to Kerrang, NME magazine also focuses on the music, as opposed to other topics, like Top of the Pops magazine tends to do. The colour scheme appears similar to Kerrang magazine, using dark reds and yellows, therefore also suggests that the magazine is aimed at an older audience. However, the font is quite informal and animated (particularly on the word 'Automatic'), suggesting that the target audience may be younger than that of Kerrang. Also, the faces that the cover band are pulling suggest that the magazine does not take itself too seriously. This could also make some suggestions about the ideologies conveyed. Such ideologies could be that 'good music could be fun'. The representation of the readers of this magazine is that they are quite cool, laid back and carefree people.

Print Coursework - Music Magazine

For our print coursework, we are working in a group of two to create the front cover, contents page and a double page spread of a new music magazine. We are going to research and analyse various current music magazines so that we have an idea of what features we would like our magazine to have.

We have decided that we like the style of the front cover of NME magazine, therefore we would like to convey a similar look.

As we are working in a group of two, our magazines will have the same name, fonts and colour schemes, however the band and the featured stories must be different.

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