FANZINE RESEARCH

1. Fanzine Research
Charlotte Oliver

2. Existing Product
Front cover Double Page Spread

3. Existing Product
Images
I selected this fanzine because I felt the images were simplistic however, very suited to the genre on which
this fanzine is based on, (The doors) a band, I liked how the images had a wide range of different locations for
the images, i.e. the front cover image to me seems in a studio image, as it was an extreme close up in front of
black back drop, with directed mode of address which is very effective for capturing the audiences attention
and very simple to achieve myself. I also like how the double page spread image took over the full two pages
with text placed on top, it is clear to me that the image is in a naturalistic setting, and caught off guard. I like
how both images worked together well with the black/sepia edit over the top. The overall photography is
very simple but effective. On the main front cover image I liked how the simple white font was placed over
the top of the face Jim Morrison, I felt this gave the front cover an edge and something I feel I could easily
achieve myself.
Fonts/Colour scheme
I liked the font style as it corresponded with the bands album font, I felt it was eye-catching and brought in
the attention of the audience with a pop of bright red to add a little excitement to the mainly black and white
images within its font, On the double page spread again it was kept to a very simple colour scheme, with
bright white font colour, however to change it up a bit I liked how the use of different format and font types
to stop the fanzine seem interesting.
Subject and content
This fanzine is covering the band ‘doors’ however I don’t particularly enjoy or listen to this band however I
noted that a lot the content contained lyrics and quotes from songs and band members, This would have
been to ensure the audience is kept knowledgeable with content from the fanzine. I found that the content
had mainly details about the bands different eras, and factual content for fans of the band to me this is
something I could do myself if I were to do something like this for my own work. The writing style is
something similar to a biography.

4. Existing Product
Front cover Double Page Spread

5. Existing Product
Images- I picked this particular fanzine as I like the animation characters on the front, I believe this is
done to create a comic looking booklet, The use of different scary characters, behind the presumed
‘reader’ informs the reader of what they might expect in the fanzine. These have been either hand
drawn and scanned into Photoshop or animated on a software, This is something I could explore in my
own work. In the corner of the fanzine you can see logo with ‘EC’ which shows the company, this use
of graphics is also something I would like to include in my own work as I feel it adds a sense of
professionalism. As for the images on the double page spread the colour scheme of the images were
much more simplistic, perhaps this was done to ensure the audience focused on the content/text in
the horror stories rather than the images, however the images were still very details along side the
texts. And often have text to coincide with images, which creates text image cohesion. This is
something I want to include in my own work.
Font/Content- I found that a lot of the text was in a very formal font perhaps this was done to keep
the reader engaged to the stories and to show that writing style is of a graphic content therefore
written in traditional font. However the layout of the text is more advanced as it spreads around
different images, and put in different places to stop the reader being bored and to make the double
page spreads interesting, the actual spacing between the letters are close, this might have been done
so the author can include more content on a page. However the cover has much less text on it but
uses different fonts for example the title is bright yellow and uses the words ‘Terror’ in a font that is
visually related to the horror genre, this would have been done to catch the audiences attention. I
liked the colour scheme across the front cover as the white and yellow were eye catching to an
audience. This is something I will use in my own work.

6. Existing Product
Front cover Double Page Spread

7. Existing Product
The reason why I picked this existing product was because the front cover popped out to me as I felt
the main image was very achievable as this shot was clearly taken in a studio, this is different to all of
my other products as it seems more modern and perhaps easier to do myself the actual photograph
itself stuck out to me as its new and refreshing and would most likely stick out in the readers mind. I
also like the red and white backdrop behind the artist as it corresponded with the title cover colour
scheme because the author stuck to three main colours which kept the front cover seem more
simplistic and made the overall fanzine seem professional and very well put together, I also liked the
old style font look in the main title, I felt it match the genre of music this fanzine was trying to
represent, and would certainly catch the eye of any audience. I also liked how the red block behind the
tile ‘L.A Record’ made the title stand out even more with a simple use of Photoshop can improve the
look of a front cover. I also liked how the smaller texts where white and placed over the top of the
artist, I found this was a creative use of the photography and the colours in the image. The layout of
the small print made the audience read in order of the articles, this was a simple way of showing the
contents of the fanzine.
Within the double page spread I liked the use of spacing across the DPS, For example first page has an
interesting graphic/cartoon showing the group De La Soul. I liked how the images of the members
were morphed and edited into different colours, this is something I would like to add to my own work
if possible, Other graphics such as pizza, pyramids and flowers were also added to convey to the
colourful, fun imagery on the double page spread.
The layout of the double page spread was relatively simple in comparison to the previous existing
products it followed an article like layout, with columns with small spacing in-between the letters,
however there is a large gap between the bulk of the writing and the title, which is in the same font
but much larger with slightly smaller text below.

8. Research summary
• Summarise what you have learned about fanzines.
• I found that fanzines often have a range of different types of imagery/photography, for
example some fanzines use animations/cartoon, some images are archival or some are taken
within a studio.
• I also noted that a lot of fanzines a wide range of colours or very simple black and white, this
can purely depend on the subject matter of the fanzine or how the author wanted to present
the zine.
• The layout and design of many fanzines can vary again, for example the formation of the text
can be presented in a traditional article writing style, or it could be more abstract as seen in
my second existing product.
• I found that some fanzines use both photography and graphics placed on top, this is
something I might want to include within my own work.
• I found that many fanzines have very different writing styles for example, The first existing
product was written more like a biography/book, whereas

9. Initial Ideas

10. Idea
1
My first Idea was to base
my fanzine on one person
and his works, The reason
for this is that I feel I am
fairly knowledgeable on
Louis Theroux
documentaries, I had the
idea of doing a fact file on
some of his best films, and
the outcomes of his work. I
would hope to include 5 to
8 best documentaries and
explain them in my own
words.
Layout/Design I think I would
layout my work in a creative way,
for explain I could either arrange
my work like an biography type
booklet similar to my first existing
product, for example on my
double page spread I would use a
picture of participant in one the
documentaries across the whole
page with different types of font
style and layout so the audience
can stay interested. I would use
Photoshop to add different
graphics and edit the stock
images I would find to make it my
own.
Visually Id would like to
include stock images from
different documentaries from
Louis Theroux series, and of
himself and add my own
graphics, potentially add fonts
on top of images, as seen in my
first existing products
I think I would like to include in
my content a description of each
documentary and rate them
according to my own personal
opinion, however this might
change over time as I develop
my idea. I would add interesting
graphics, fonts and images to go
along side this.
I would also like to
consider using archival
shots from different
sources and using
photoshop to make them
my own. To add a little
interest to the eye.

11. Idea
2
For my second idea I thought I could
again use a similar idea of fact file,
where I make the actual fanzine look
like a ‘top secret’ file with all the stains,
marks, consistent to a file. I would list
out top conspiracies with diagrams,
images and timelines to make the story
telling more interesting for the audience
to read. I would hope to include
between 3-5 conspiracies in my
fanzines.
I also would write up my own content
from different sources in my own
words, I'm not sure how I would
layout the text out but most like in
old fashioned type writing font, to
add to aesthetic of my work. Id hope
to include stock images to add to my
work as it will be hard to get my own
images on the topics I would be
covering
For my colour scheme I
want to use black, beige,
and red, to match the
Mise en scene of a lost
file. Id hope to ensure
the majority of my text
is black. I would also like to use
archival images as I think it
will be very hard to produce
my own images.
List of conspiracies I would
hope to include.
1. The Bizarre Death of Elisa
Lam
2. The spontaneous human
combustion of Mary
Reeser
3. Lizard people aka
“Reptilians”.
4. Nasa faked the moon
landings.

12. Idea
3
My third idea was to create
a fanzine on one of my
favorite artists Beyoncé. I
felt that I could almost do a
biography of her life/music
career and key albums and
songs.
The layout/design for my third
idea would follow the codes
and conventions of a
biographical fanzine.
This would include,
1. The reader gains an
understanding of the
writers personality
2. The reader gains an insight
into the writers life
3. People and places are
described in detail
4. Language is descriptive
and imaginative
I wish to include stock
archival images with the use
of Adobe Photoshop and
other Adobe software's
I also considered using
animation to create
iconographic animations I
could relate to Beyoncé and
her music.

13. Bibliography

14. Bibliography
1.MatheusFrieredaCosta.
(2016). TheDoors. Available:
https://issuu.com/deisgnfreire/docs/fanzine_fin
al_baixa_. Last accessed 10/09/18.