1. O C R M e d i a S t u d i e s – A S L e v e l
U n i t G 3 2 1 : F o u n d a t i o n P o r t fo l i o i n M e d i a
P r e l i m i n a r y Ta s k , L o g B o o k a n d Ev a l u a t i o n
Name: Divine Kila
Candidate No. 8242
Center: St. Paul’s Catholic College
Center No. 64770
Set Brief - Print
Music Magazine – Production
Preliminary Task Progression, Log
Book and Evaluation
2. Preliminary Task Progression– Evidence
Front Cover
Step-by-step
To create a successful magazine cover I made sure I had all the conventions of a typical magazine.
Firstly I started off with a mid close up of my model, Elijah, then i decided to start by creating the title,
this was so I could plan a colour scheme around it. I used pink because it’s stereotypically a ”girls” colour,
then I decided to add pastel accents to the cover lines for a feminine touch.
4. Music Magazine – Genre research: POP/R&B
Mainly black artists as cover star
LARGE masthead
Sex appeal
‘female gaze’ (Diana Sacco)
‘male gaze’ (Laura Mulvey)
Stereotypically “black music”
(as seen in Billboard & Vibe covers) Heavy colour contrasts
Sharp/Bright colours
(blue, pink, yellow, orange)
Mainly white cover stars
(V magazine)
• 6 out 6 people agreed RnB music is commonly associated with black people
• “I don’t know any RnB artist that isn’t black
• Pop music usually attracts teen girls no matter the gender of the artist
5. Conventions of a Music Magazine
Masthead
Cover star
Headline
Cover Lines
However, this cover doesn’t have an issue number, date or price, therefore it doesn’t meet the typical codes and conventions of a magazine cover.
On my magazine I will make sure I include this so the consumer knows what issue they’re buying and when it came. Personally, when I buy
magazines, I always check this. As well as that there’s no puff promotion to draw the reader in and tap into their confidence and self esteem. I will
be adding puff promotion as an incentive to my reader so it seems like I’m offering them more than just a magazine. The chances of a consumer
being able to win something will boost their sense of achievement, this comes under Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs.
Convergence (web
address)
The Vibe masthead is very
bold and eye-catching
The cover lines are quite small in
comparison to other magazines,
this makes Kanye’s image stand
out and can suggest that he’s
superior compared to the other
artists listed.
On my magazine I will make my
cover lines roughly the same size
as my headline so consumers can
see what else the magazine has
to offer. I will then use different
fonts to differentiate between
the main headline and the cover
line.
Kanye’s headline is
much bigger
compared to the other
cover lines making the
focus all about him.
This is very small and
not easily noticeable
For my own magazine
I will make sure it
stands out.
Colour scheme
6. Monochrome colour scheme:
The colour scheme for the contents
is completely different from the
front cover. The styling of clothing
here is also more sophisticated
compared to the casual jacket
Kanye is wearing on the front cover.
This can suggest that Kanye can be
versatile and there are different
sides to him.
Large V symbol:
A large V has been used to
represent the brand Vibe; they
have incorporated this into the
background rather than using
Vibe’s logo. This allows for the
focus to remain solely on Kanye.
Magazine features:
The contents of the magazine are
shown quite small in comparison to
Kanye, because of this, readers
might not pay attention to or read
the other pages.
Large Kanye image:
This image of Kanye takes up most of the page which shows that it’s all about
him and he is the main focus of the magazine. He is also much larger than the
“features” text, this could suggest that his story is more important than the
others.
Edgy contents title:
The “contents” is displayed
in a cool, interesting way
which adds a uniqueness
to the magazine. This style
of text is also used in all of
Vibes’ content pages.
No supporting images:
There are no supporting
images, again, making
Kanye the main focus.
COVER PAGE
Colour scheme
Colour burst:
This heart is the only piece of colour
on the page and immediately draws
the reader into this. Someone is
reaching for Kanye’s heart which
could suggest that he can captivate
people with his music.
7. Colour scheme
This colour shows continuity from the contents page, however the difference is Kanye himself is
no longer in black and white. This could suggest that on this page we’ll be seeing Kanye more
clearly.
Background:
The background is very plain and simple., making
Kanye the focus again. There are a few graphics which
gives the page the typical Vibe Magazine edge,
however, it’s not so empowering to the point that
focus is drawn away from Kanye.
Sunglasses give
Kanye “Star Image
(Richard Dyer)
No pull quote Different suit, continuing his
sophisticated style from the
contents page
8. Lana Del Rey is the cover of Q magazine in this
issue, she is staring straight at the camera (direct
mode of address) which makes it look like she’s
staring at the viewer. Lana is quite pale, so the
white dress she is wearing doesn’t really stand out,
however, it makes the blood dripping down her
face extremely noticeable. The cover line “So
what’s so bloody good?” is a play on this, because
she’s bleeding it suggests that she, Lana Del Rey, is
“so bloody good”.
“LANA DEL REY” is written in pink and is the
largest text on the page, the font looks like it’s
been spray painted or written with a marker
suggesting that she’s here to make her mark on us
as reader. Because it looks handwritten and not as
formal as the other text, It seems more personal.
Alternating colours make it
hard for the reader to miss
Colour scheme
9. Colour scheme
No more pink, however it still has colour continuity as it
wasn’t extremely prominent on the Cover Page
Supporting images
Lana’s image is quite big compared to the other supporting
images on the page. It features an extreme close-up of her
face with the same “blood” idea, this can be a reminder to
readers that they should find out “what’s so bloody good?”
as the cover line on the cover suggested.
Continuity
The layout is very simple and organised. The importance of
stories are indicated by the size of the supporting image. By
Lana’s being the biggest it shows that she’s the main
attraction.
10. Target Audience – Katz, Maslow, Hartley and/or socio-economic needs
The target audience for Vibe magazine can be denoted as young black males (predominantly) age 16-
24 as it focuses on the hip-hop and R&B genre which is stereotypically associated with black people.
However, to an extent, I think it can also appeal to females depending on the cover star. For example,
these issues of Vibe feature Nelly shirtless and biting his lip and Trey Songz also shirtless and oiled up,
attracting the “female gaze” (Diana Sacco)
Male gaze
(Mulvey)
Female gaze
(Sacco)
11. Publisher research
30
million
fans a
month
350
million
page
views
Publish 20
music &
entertainment
sites
• Urban music,
entertainment and
culture
• Engage consumers
18-54
• 2.6 million views
monthly
• 8 million page views
SpinMedia bought Vibe in 2014 with the plan of turning it digital and
stopping print publication
12. For my photoshoot I used 2
models so I could see whose
photos would turn out
better, giving me more
options to choose from
18. Analysing my Front Cover
Masthead
Headline
Convergence (QR Code)
Strapline
Barcode
Puff promotion
Convergence (web address)
Cover line 1
Puff promotion
Price | Date
Issue no.
Supporting image
Convergence
(social media)
19. Analysing my Contents Page
Magazine logo
Signature
Supporting
images
Magazine
cover
Editor
photo &
details
Graphics to match
front cover
Page no.
Cover lines
Convergence
(social
media, web
address)
20. Analysing my Double Page spread Interview
Same
colour
scheme as
front page
to keep
consistency
1 main image (this was the preferred option from my
audience feedback)
Persuasive
language
