Mise en scene

Magazine double page spread

Magazine contents page

Magazine front cover

My Images

Last year my cover had a picture of a record on it but the picture was pixelated. I thought that this was a good idea because records make you think of older people and the vintage style that a lot of acoustic artists try to recreate. I thought the pixels added a good twist as it made the magazine seem more modern and like it was moving, I think this represented the way that music moves.  Even though I liked this cover I decided to change it as I held a focus group and all 10 people in my focus group said they would not buy a magazine with a record on it. They said the record put them off because they said the record would make them assume it is for an older audience. 

The inside pages of my magazine were pictures I had taken at an Ed Sheeran concert. I wanted to use these pictures because I wanted my article to be about him. These pictures were also criticised by my focus group because they were taken from too far away and you couldn’t see his face properly.  People in my focus group said they didn’t look professional, I think it is because these pictures did not follow conventions.  Because of this feedback I decided to start again and take all new pictures.

This is a close up shot, I took this because most magazines normally include medium or close up shots.  I decided to make the image looked different and unique by playing with scarf. I decided not to use it because I felt it look too strange.

I used the double image app on the schools IPAD because I wanted to experiment with different effects and create some images that were interesting but not boring. I like this picture but it was too blurred to use. The blurred makes it seem unprofessional.

I decided to take this picture because I thought it could work on the cover I thought the effect around the outside would give me space to insert anchorage and headlines. But I do not like it as I am not in thwe centre of the image and I think the hand and arm are distracting as they are too distorted.

When I took this picture I was trying to pose in a natural but silly way. This is how Ed Sheeran poses in a lot of his pictures. I decided I couldn’t use this picture because of the background, you can see that it is shot in a classroom and that looks unprofessional and it doesn’t fit in with the mise-en scene real magazines use.

My favourite images are the two below. I like these because they follow the conventions of magazine covers ie they are head and shoulder shots and it is of an artist/singer/band. It also follows the conventions of my genre of music as my clothing is casual and my pose is not overly posed or stylised. I decided to edit these pictures so the colour seemed no naturalistic.  I think this makes my magazine look more attractive and original. I also think these colours will attract my target audience of young people as they will see how bright it is from across the shop and want to read it.

Institution Study

NME has made its self a huge brand because of all the famous start they put on the front. It has Rihanna on the front who some women/girls may look up to also men/boys might say that she is a sex symbol so also want to by this magazine. This issues also a special edition on Rihanna this makes it seem that the magazine has a good relationship with this celebrity.

 This magazine has a quote under RIHANNA which says ‘you need people who aren’t afraid to tell you when you’re f**king up’ this shows that she makes mistakes like us and she’s not this perfect human being who we all think she should be and think we should be. This helps her and the magazine speak to people.

NME also has a website. This will make the magazine more popular because its shows that some people don’t want to wait around for the next issue they can just search on the internet. This also makes it interactive to younger audiences.

For my magazine I got my inspiration from NME for my front cover as an image of a record. This shows that I have a good relationship with NME. I also have a website this gives my audience the sense of independence and interaction with my magazine. I think also because my magazine is aimed at 16 to 19 year olds boy and girls giving them a website to look on were helpful. On the website they also sell merchandise this shows a lifestyle choice people want to wear my magazine people was to have my magazine on their cup this will help my magazine become more popular. My magazine also has a twitter and facebook page which also helps it become more interactive. My magazine also has live music in every week so my audience can never miss out they are also kept up to date about new and old music

Main conventions

Front cover

·         One main image

Highlights the strength focus on the magazine which is normally the main article in the magazine and it also makes it clear and easier to see.

·         Masthead

This is always at the top of the page because we read top from bottom also magazines in shops are normally stacked one in front on the other so the masthead is always seen.

·         Anchorage

The anchorage is always on the left because we also read left to right. These highlight smaller articles in the magazine and if one isn’t liked there is always a variety. 

·         Price/issue number

Magazines will highlight their price in large text or bright colours to show they are cheap.

·         Barcode

Always at the bottom of the magazine because there not exactly very exciting to the eye.

·         Free gifts

To draw in younger buyers maybe and to also seem friendlier and get more people to buy it but some buyers don’t like this because it may seem desperate.

·         Websites/online details

This is more modern and young. This makes it more interactive to young buyers but not so much older buyers.

Contents Page

·         Page numbers

To inform readers on certain articles or on their most exciting articles.  

·         Range of featured images

This shows what and who is involved in the magazine and what article they link to.

·         Editors letter

This creates a friendly feeling to the magazine and creates almost a personality. It’s normally quite chatty.

The conventions of my magazine

On the front cover of my magazine for my main image instead of using a person I used an object which was a record I did this because I thought it was different and more creative to use than just a person. Also because my magazine is aimed at teenagers I thought they’d like to see something different and new than just the same sort of magazines. My image is a blurry image because my magazine is aimed at teenagers I thought this image would remind them of parties or drunken nights out I thought this would give it a fun feeling to the image. For my masthead I used a font which had music notes on/in it. I thought this was suitable because my magazine is a music magazine and I thought teenagers would fine it fun a quirky and also different. I put my anchorage text in bright colours such as red and orange to make them stand out and make them easier to read for buyers I also thought that these colours went well and matched my main image. My main image and anchorage text clash a little because my image is off a record and my text is all about artists that are quite new and related to our age. Also I didn’t include any other pictures on my front cover to relate to the anchorage text. This price for my magazine was big and bright and stood out I did this because it was the first issue so I thought id make the price stand out to all buyers. For the issue I did that smaller than the price and put it in a dull colour because I didn’t think it was that important. For the gift I chose a free Mumford and son’s poster I pit this in the same colours as the price because it’s bright and stands out. I included the website address but I also put this in a dull font I think I should have done this in a brighter colour to make it stand out to the readers so they would know that this magazine is also interactive.

For my contents page I think I met all the main conventions but it was too female and my magazine is suppose to be for both genders so it wouldn’t sell as well as it should off. I added a editors letter but didn’t include an image, the image from the editors letter make the magazine seem more friendly and also lets the reader feel more involved and could also be more personal. I also need to add much more numbers to my contents page and images because it looks to empty. It could also use some sub headings to make it easier for readers.

I also think my centre spread meets all the main conventions but I do need to fix a few things such as the headline should sound more exciting than just Ed Sheerans name. I also have too many blank spaces around my quotes mostly so I need to add many a few more images of text to fill up the page more. I would have to add more page numbers and image to also make it look more exciting and pull more people in.

Target audience

· Female and Male

·         16-19

·         Lively

·         Very sociable

·         Shop at Topshop and Topman

·         Buys 2 music magazines each month

·         Buys albums and singles

·         Very into new music

·         Interested in vintage styles

·         Interested in acoustic music

I will make my magazine suitable for 16-19 year olds. I have picked this age group as I will know more about them because I am that age. It also means it will be easy for me to get feedback, hold focus groups and give out questionnaires because all of the people in my 6 form fit in with this group.  I will make my magazine young but also mature. I will do this by using colourful images and featuring artists, like Ed Sheeran ,that are popular with young people.  This is because acoustic music is normally listened to by people at parties or people who are getting together to socialize. This is something that older teenagers tend to do more than 13 or 14 years might do, so the magazine will appeal much more to the 16- 19 age group.   I have also got lots of style and design ideas from reading NME. This is a magazine that is mostly read by 16 – 25 year old so it means the look of my product will instantly appeal to them more. I wanted to aim my magazine at both men and woman because it will widen my target audience and make my chance of success greater. I also go to a mixed six form so I can get feedback from both boys and girls.

 I imagine that my average reader is very fun and lively so I’ll make the magazine very chatty and sociable so the readers can feel like they are involved with the magazine.  I will also do this by including competitions and links to the magazine’s website,  twitter page and facebook page. I’ll advertises  shops like Topman and Topshop and new albums and singles because I imagine that my typical reader will be fashionable and interested in new things. Because of this my magazine will come out weekly so it will seem up to date, I will also make sure that the pictures include people in casual but fashionable clothes.

I will also try and make my magazine seem quite light hearted so I will use jokey and chatty language. I will also try and write jokey attention grabbing headlines so the magazine doesn’t seem too boring or serious. 

Synergy

Synergy means “working together” in Media synergy is the way different magazines try and make a link with different products and pages. It is like branding as certain colours or images can be used to remind us of a certain magazine and make us realise they work together and are part of the same thing.

I have looked at NME and I have realised they use synergy as the logo is used on both the cover and contents page. This keeps reminding the audience of what they are reading.  They also use the red, white and black colour scheme on also every page. These colours are powerful as they are gender neutral and will appeal to a big group of people.

I decided not to use synergy because I think it seems cheesy, I want  every page of my magazine to seem to  like a new experience so people keep being interest and keep wanting to buy the magazine to see what new style and design ideas we have.   The only bit of synergy I decided to use was including the same shade of light blue on my cover and contents page. This blue is used in the writing of my title on the cover  it is also used twice on my contents page. I felt this was a good way of reminding people what they are reading without making the branding seem over the top. 

Cover plan's for magazine

Questionnaire number 2

1.        I’ve looked at 3 different brands which would you most like my magazine to be like?

NME
Top of the pops
Vibe

2.       What colours would you prefer my magazine to be?

Bright colours
Dark colours
Earthy colours

3.       What would you prefer the name of the magazine to be?

Lego House
Rebel
Our Time

4.       What type of artists would you like to be seen in my magazine?

Acoustic
Rock
Rap
Pop
R&B

5.       Do you want to hear about recent festivals and get and insights from pictures?

Yes
No

  Would you prefer to have live or posed pictures of celebrities in my magazine?

Posed
Live
Both

8.       How many images would you like in my magazine also which photo do you prefer as the main image on the front cover?

4-6
7-12
13-18

9.       What genre of music would you like this magazine to be?

Folk

Pop

Rock

10.   How much would you be willing to pay for this music magazine?

£2.99

£3.99

£4.99

Pitch

For my music magazine I plan to make an acoustic style magazine because I enjoy this type of music and I think this type of music is big at the moment which will make my magazine more popular and will sell more.  I will also be able to research this genre of music as bands like Ed Sheeran are in the media a lot at the moment. I think I have the potential to appeal to a very big group of people as both men and woman seem to enjoy acoustic music equally. I can also appeal to a wide range of ages  as this type of music does not seem too kiddy or old. I think a 27 year can enjoy Ed Sheeran as much as a 18 year old. This means some people might still want to buy and read my magazine even if they are not in my specific target audience of 16 to 19 year olds.

Also these songs are easy to cover so it would be nice to watch different covers of acoustic songs by different people because they have different styles. If I was to really create this magazine as a business I would link it with an online website and I would regularly update the website, this would make my brand seem exciting and fashionable because we would seem like we are up to date with everything. This would make my print magazine and the magazine website more popular and interactive.

 My target audience is older teenagers (16 to 19). My readers will be interested in this music because this music relates a lot to teenagers. I also asked around school to see if my classmates where enjoying this type of music right now and they agreed. I plan to speak to my class mates a lot through this project because their feedback and opinions will help me check that my ideas are good. They can also tell me what they like and that might give me new ideas.

I am inspired by the music magazine NME because they don’t cover much mainstream music NME is a lot more indie and my magazine is acoustic. These are different but I could not find an existing magazine on the market that is just about acoustic music.  I think this will make my magazine more popular as it will stand out and it is my USP. I researched Ed Sheeran  on Wikipedia and his music is described as nu folk. When I have looked at folk magazines they have been aimed at older people and have cover traditional older folk music. This wouldn’t appeal to my target audience but NME would, this is why NME has inspired most of my ideas.

My magazine has many features in it such as a live section and an interview with Mumford and sons about when they won a Brit award and how they are getting on. We also have an article that 17 year old teenager girl wrote for us on when she went to see Ed Sheeran live. I think this is a good selling point because the target audience can relate to a 17 year old writer more. I would also like to give my audience the chance to write in the magazine as well so I would run a competition were people could write about concerts they had seen.

 We also have silly articles like acoustic pie off. We get all our acoustic singers to see how many pies they can eat without being sick, that is a two page article. I would include this because it seems funny and light hearted, silly things appeal to teenagers. This will also give celebrities the chance to appeal more normal, this will help increase their popularity as it will show fans that they are not always posing.  We also have Karaoke hall of shame we find the worst covers of songs and list them up from that week/month. This is another example of a feature that will make my magazine seem fun and lively.

I’d like to launch my brand by festivals because a lot of older teenagers male and female go to a lot of festivals in the summer. I would also like to post my magazine on billboards and on its website because most teenagers see billboards everyday and they use the internet nearly everyday it also makes it more interactive.