2. 1) Before creating my Music Magazine, I had
researched classical magazines and the typical
structure is that it would have the Title Block at the
top - I used a rather simple font as I wanted to give
that impression of the magazine being classical. I also
used less puffs (In comparison to a pop magazine, it
would have bigger and more puffs, it seems more
crowded - whereas classical is more calm and flows)
and the fonts would be more classical and thin. I used
black, white and red as my main house colours, as
they are simple colours, and used it consistently
throughout the magazine (Except the article as I
wanted to focus and reflect that page on the
person), The buzz words are 'GIGI NACARIO -
Exclusive' because the magazine revolves around her
as its the important part of the magazine as well as
informing and catch the audience's attention. For my
central image I used a direct mode of
address, because I slightly wanted to entice the
audience as Its a female, and because she's exclusive
and she's new to the music industry. Her chiaroscuro
ratio is more lighter than dark, this is to give her that
sense of spotlight and give that impression of fresh
and new, although the let down is that, she seems too
bright. As this is my first issue, I wanted to make it
more alluring and persuasive to buy, especially for
the targeted audience. I mounted a CD on the front
cover of a famous classical trio, as it will familiarise
them as well as making them wanting to buy it.
Although it doesn’t seem as if I challenged the
stereotypical classical magazine, images wise, as
some of the pictures seems Indie rather than
classical, and because none of the pictures involved
any instruments, which is a letdown for the specified
genre, finally the page numbers are located at the
bottom of the page in small fonts.
3.
For my contents page, I used the
typical essentials subheadings such
as Features and Regulars, and
separated them so it would
be organized and easier to look
through. I had to put a white-
background at the back so it would
be visible, without it the text colour
would blend in with the image.
Again I put an image of Gigi for my
front cover to show how important
and exclusive this interview is.
Furthermore on two images, I've put
a page number on them; this is
because it's also an important feature
of the magazine. I didn't put an
editors blog as again, I want to keep
that sense of peace in the magazine
(Pop or Rock contents are filled with
images etc.)
For my Article, I put an Image on
both pages; the font size was 9 to
make it seem like a real article. As
you can see I changed the House
styles, from my original to feminine
colours - Pink and Purple. The
reason for doing this is - is to relate
the article to her and also because
she's dressed in pink and purple, and
maybe in some way this can deduce
her personality (Elegant, girly and
sweet). I've also put quotes on both
images, of what she's saying which
directs it to the audience. This quote
is helpful as people can tell what
type of person she is
4. 2)
My magazine is a Classical Genre, because Classical music isn’t a huge genre, it will be a
niche magazine targeted for a smaller audience, so therefore this represent a small social
group of those teenagers and adults that listen to Classical Music. The main image I have
used (which is the cover feature), she dressed rather Elegant and smart, which implies that
she has a simple and well-fashioned style. Her body language is slightly dramatic when she
poses, it gives off that sense of independence and we can deduce that she's probably an
Alpha-Female, additionally she doesn't try to show her true self in the images, most of the
time she's turned away, maybe this is because she's shy or mysterious since she is new to the
music industry. Furthermore her appearance is very stylish and fresh, her clothing isn't
trendy, like what other teenagers would wear (Designer Brands i.e. Super Dry)but she's very
simple nonetheless, we can tell that she's an easy-going person too. We can assume that the
social group targeted, have a clever and a kind personality, they are independent and they
may have a dramatic trait in their personality, I would assume that they are talented and
smart, as well as being popular and having a good social life.
5. 3)
Bauer links their company with
niche and mainstream
magazines, they are big and
dominant which makes them one of
the best companies in the magazine
industry, they own most popular
magazines such as Kerrang, Q and
own niche magazines like Equine or
Photography, furthermore they have
created websites and broadcast
music through radios; Bauer
would be the best choice if I want
my magazine to be noticed.
6. 4)
I am targeting my magazine to both genders at the age of 18
and above as this is the point where people take certain things
seriously such as music lessons and such. my magazine is not
directed to any ethnicity as music is universal. Lastly these
people that I am targeting to have interest in classical
music, those who play certain instruments that relate to
classical genre (i.e. guitars or violins), furthermore they have
an interest in art and are social.
7. 5)
I've attracted the targeted audience by making the magazine as persuasive and classical as
possible, and because this was my first issue, I wanted to do something that would entice
them; also because Classical genre is a Niche genre, this would mean I would want to make
the magazine as appealing to the specified audience. The main image of my magazine was
my key material into drawing in audiences, as it has to relate to them and attract them.
Another way of doing this was to mount a CD on the front cover, which is my unique selling
point - other ways was through the typical conventions of a magazine, this includes putting
buzz words (Exclusive) and puffs to explain and inform the audience of what will be
featured in the magazine, additionally I had to use simple, but contrasting colours and use it
consistently throughout my magazine. Additionally, by editing the photos and making them
more professional this would attract the audience even more. When making the magazine I
had to be formal about it, in the sense of the way it’s been laid out, however my article was
slightly informal. I didn’t want to look as if my magazine is strict, because I also wanted to
make the magazine modern and try to relate with the target audience.
8. 6) By using different programmes such as Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, I was able to create a proper magazine and show it a
wide audience. I learned a lot of things from mainly Photoshop, it helped me to manipulate photos as well as enhancing
them to make it seem more alluring and professional. I found out that you can change the brightness of the photo by
making it more lighter or darker which changes the mood of it whether you want to make it look serious and dark or
illuminating and innocent, additionally you can add filters to it which changes the colour such as 'Sepia' to give it that
vintage look on the photo if you want to make a Classic Magazine, or 'Black and White' filter to give it a dramatic or
saturated appearance. Photoshop allows me to change the Photo to give it more meaning and show a different perspective
to connote different emotions and feelings towards the audience. Photoshop also allowed me to edit photos whether they
are photos from your camera or images from the internet. For example I was able to extract a CD Cover from the internet
and put an image on top of it to make it look like a CD Album, this helped me a lot as I wanted to persuade audience to
buy the magazine, and a barcode to make it complete, finally by using 1001fonts.com I was able to edit and use the font
for my magazine by using the erase or wand to highlight areas needed to get rid of. Although I didn't use a lot of options
such as Spot-healer I was able to find out its use and probably use it for future. Adobe Illustrator however allowed me to
make the actual magazine which was more important and vital for a creation of a magazine, although it wasn't as fun as
Photoshop. But it still helped me nonetheless; I was able to try out different layouts for my magazine, use different fonts
and colours. All the things needed to differ a magazine from just a picture. Lastly my camera allowed me to take photos of
my model; I learned that Mise-en-scene is a must if you want to show location and purpose, because if it was a plain
background, it wouldn’t make that much sense (unless it was a model magazine). I was able to use different shots from
different angle (Medium Shots, Long-Shots).
9. 7) In making the magazine, I have learnt different skills such as
photo manipulation, techniques like filtering and
changing the colour of a photo and comparing different
genres - this is helpful so you can differentiate a pop
magazine from a rock magazine. In my preliminary task I
didn't do as much editing and arranging, whereas in
my actual magazine, I did a lot of editing to my images to
make them look eye-catching as possible and make it
look professional. My layouts also improved, and by
looking at different layouts of classical magazine on the
internet, this helped me a lot. Furthermore I used a house
style/colour that would suit the magazine, instead of
using random and unrelated colours.
What I also learned to do are, ways of how I can arrange
the puffs, anchorage text, buzz words etc, additionally
make the magazine more appealing by adding banners
that promote the magazine - Free CD, adding the
magazine's website address, and decorating it too by
adding a lime-coloured circle on 'Issue 1' to instantly
catch the audience's eye.