2. In the process of creating my magazine I
looked at various different magazine and
analysed each of the typical conventions
of a music magazine. This tasks shows
the analysis of conventions used:
http://caitlinchandraxx.blogspot.co.uk/2
013/09/conventions-of-magazine.html
I then used the knowledge I gained in
the generic conventions task to make a
series of my own covers which
contained all of the conventions:
http://caitlinchandraxx.blogspot.co.uk/2
013/10/codes-and-conventions-task.html

3. As shown here my magazine
has been influenced by other
magazines such as ‘SPIN’.
Similarities between both
magazines include the main
headline being in a seperate
colour to the subheadlines
which is a typical convention of
music magazines. ‘SPIN’
magazine has a very clear
colour scheme shown through
the consistent sub headlines and
their positions. I feel that my
magazine has incorporated this
also.
In addition to this I can see the
similarities within the
typography used. Both
magazines have got quite
simplistic serif fonts in bold.

4. Looking at all the magazines which I used for inspiration I think it
becomes quite obvious where my influences came from. This is due to
the similar layouts and typography used. Cover lines are spread evenly
across the page in ‘BLENDER’ and ‘SPIN’ magazine and this is what I
have tried to achieve on my cover. All of the cover lines frame the cover
star and fit around her. Direct address is also used in all three
magazines which would instantly involve the audience as a connection
is created.

5. My contents page has the theme
which has continued on from my
cover which shows the magazines
consistency.
The importance of the cover star is
highlighted by the use of red rather
than the magazines theme colour
green. To support the idea that the
cover star is the most important
there is also the use of the word
‘EXCLUSIVE’.
There wasn’t many contents pages
which influenced me however I
was influenced by covers
mentioned previously and I tried to
change the conventions of the
cover to fit my contents page for a
noticeably continuous theme
running throughout.
The layout of my contents page looks
similar to the one in ‘SPIN’ magazine.
This is the main thing which I have
used as influence when creating my
own. Everything has a very organized
structure and there is no sense of
chaos.

6. Inital influences for my double page spread stemmed from the
analysis of a Kerrang! Magazine double page spread:
http://caitlinchandraxx.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/magazine-
research-double-page-spread.html
My double page spread however changed drastically from the
idea’s I had originally. The colours featured on my double page
spread are not the same as the cover and contents page however
follow ‘Cobra Lily’s’ colour scheme on the cover. The use of
red and black on the cover and contents when mentioning Cobra
lily make it consistent right up until the double page spread.
The picture I have chose to use is not put on exactly half of the
double page spread, which is typically what is done in music
magazines. Instead of doing this my main picture overlaps and
the text is put into columns on less that half of the page. I feel
like this gives the magazine individuality as it not part of
magazine conventions to do this however I still feel that it looks
effective and was succesful.
I have used a large quote to keep the dps interesting and I gives
an instant idea as to what the interview is going to be talking
about. This is typical convention which I have used in my work.

7. I feel that my magazine on a whole is very youthful and that is
why I have aimed it at teens in the age range 15-19. My
magazine is also an alternative pop/rock magazine which
features quite strong and independent artists such as Cobra Lily.
I took Miley Cyrus as inspiration when thinking about the
persona of my cover star. I wanted them to be individual and to
stand out completely. I feel that Cobra Lily portrays some of the
attitude that Miley Cyrus has. By using artists like this I hoped to
achieve a magazine which contained people who the audience I
am targeting would idolise.
Cobra Lily has been created to look very carefree and this is
what teenagers would be interested in as they like to look up to
people who are independent.
I chose my main cover star to be female as it challenges the
stereotypical idea of females being dependent on a man. It also
goes against the idea that men are domination as I have featured
more female artists rather than male.

8. The supporting acts I used are styled in a similar carefree and rebellious fashion to that of my cover star.
Although all of the artists I have used are very individual they all have their similarities which means that they
will still appeal to the audience I am targeting. I have tried to style the artists to be looked at in hope of
simulating their looks. They are all very stylish and could easily be looked at for inspiration.

9. The instituion I think would most likely distribute my media is:
http://www.frontlinedistribution.co.uk

10. When researching other magazine
distributors I came across some such as
Development hell ltd which publish mix
mag. I felt that this was a little to
commercial and mainstream for my
magazine as I aimed for mine to be slightly
more edgy and different instead of going for
simply pop as my genre.
http://www.developmenthell.co.uk/
I also looked at the Uptown media group
however they publish magazines such as
vibe which are focused a lot more on RnB,
hip hop and rap music whereas my magazine
is alternative pop/rock. I didn’t think that
this media institution would be compatibly
with the style of magazine I have created.
http://uptownmagazine.com/
The reason why I have
chosen Frontline as
the distributor of my
magazine is because
they also distribute
magazines such as Q
and Kerrang! Which
are both alternative
magazine alike to
mine.

11. My target audience is going to be both male and females
between the ages of 15-19. I have realised that my
magazine is mainly female orintated however I still
think that there is still an attraction to a male audience.
I asked females who were interested in pop/rock what
they would expect to find in an interview of a music
magazine of this genre:
http://caitlinchandraxx.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/results-
of-questionnaire.html
This helped me define my target audience as the results
showed me exactly what I’d expect for the demographic
of people I am aiming to reach
Alike to Blender and Spin magazine I have created my
magazine to be for mass market rather than niche. I
think this was the best idea due to the fact my magazine
contains a range of different artists which would appeal
to a range of people however it has been kept within the
alternative pop genre.

12. Masthead
I chose ‘Connect’ as I felt it was reflective
of the young audience I am aiming to
target. Also when thinking about different
magazine names I completed word
association task which left me with the
word connect:
http://caitlinchandraxx.blogspot.co.uk/2013
/11/research-into-magazine-names.html
Colour Scheme
I think that I attracted the audience through the use of
colour in my magazine. The colour scheme throughout
meant that my magazine has a clear house style which
makes my product a lot more interesting and real.
The colour green is very fresh and young which kept the
magazine very bright and eye opening.
The red was used as the colour for the main star Cobra Lily
and this has connotations of danger and rebellion which is
what I was aiming to achieve. The colour red also connotes
passion which could show how passionate the artist is
about music, keeping the magazine interesting.
The black is used as the font colour to stay very bold and
to make sure it is easily readable making it a lot more
appealing to an audience.
Main Headline
When thinking of a headline which would
address my audience I came up with a few
however ‘Cobra Lily’s Links’ seemed to be
the most appropriate due to the fact it ties
in with the Masthead ‘Connect’. The word
association gives the audience the idea that
they are linking/connecting with the artist.
There is also alliteration used with Lily’s
and Links.

13. I have also attracted the audience by the use
of enticing headlines on my cover. I have
used a quote from an interview with
another featured artist ‘Toby Mills’.
Also I have used the cover line ‘A chance
to win tour tickets’ which would
succesfully entice the audiences interests as
it is offering something more than just
entertainment.
The use of photo’s of the artists inside gives
the audience an insight as to what is inside
which would hopefully excite them and
attract them to the magazine.

14. Paint.Net Page Plus Microsoft Publisher
Good cropping and
editing tools
Useful tools used to cut
out backgrounds of
images
Files don’t need to be
exported as they can be
saved as a JPEG easily
Shapes and text can be
added easily
A wide range of effects Spell check is helpful
Not very complicated Templates can be created
for cover, contents and
dps
It is very simple to use
Strengths of each programme...

15. Paint.Net Page Plus Microsoft Publisher
There is not a wide range
of shapes or text
The text tool provided
isn’t very useful
No filters or effects for
photographs
Complications with layers Some photo’s do not crop
very well
Can’t position text and
images exactly where you
want
When exported as a JPEG
images aren’t of a very
high quality
Not very good quality
images after exporting
Weaknesses of each programme...

16. Through the creation of my first task
creating a magazine cover I was able to see
which areas I was good at and which were
my weak point so that I could work on
them to make it better for when I created
my final product.
For example the cropping exercise:
http://caitlinchandraxx.blogspot.co.uk/2013
/09/picture.html
I created a magazine cover for NME as a
remake/remodel task.
http://caitlinchandraxx.blogspot.co.uk/2013
/11/remake-remodel-task.html
I analysed everything that I did on the
cover and how effective each of the things I
did were.

17. I found blogger very useful as it always
keeps work in order and organized. Blogger
is very simple to use and makes work easily
accessible. It also allows blog posts to be
edited, uploaded and deleted at ease
making it really efficient.
My blog address:
http://caitlinchandraxx.blogspot.co.uk/

18. PRELIMINARY TASK FINAL PRODUCT (MAIN
TASK)The preliminary task
lacks use of codes and
conventions which makes
it very unprofessional.
The masthead takes over
the cover and the main
picture. There is no main
cover line and not a
sufficient amount of
additional cover lines. It
lacks interest.

19. PRELIMINARY TASK FINAL PRODUCT (MAIN
TASK)
My contents preliminary
task is very boring and
uses serif fonts
throughout. There is no
running theme from the
cover to the contents page
making it inconsistent. It
also contains errors such
as there being only 6
pages in the magazine.
However my final product
has a clear house style
and it is a lot more
interesting due to the use
of fonts and the intuitive
layout. Whilst working on
my final product I made
sure there was no
unecessary errors such as
lack of page numbers.

20. Overall I think that my finished product fulfils the task well. I have created a
music magazine with a pop/rock genre with influences from various
magazines such as blender and spin. I have used a clear and consistent colour
scheme throughout and covered a lot of the codes and conventions needed for
a music magazine. I have also tried to appeal to my target audience as best as
I could. Looking at my work now I feel that my double page spread looks to
most professional however it still fits in with my cover and contents page.