The front cover of my music magazine is very similar to other rap magazines in the way that it has one central image of the main artist, slogan, colour scheme, the title and anchorage text. On the other hand comparing my music magazine to any other type of music magazine e.g. NME magazine I did not follow the normal conventions as I have only one image whereas on the NME magazine there are about 3 or 4 images. See the images below.
The contents page of my music magazine is plain on comparison to other things however I have all the main features required of a contents page e.g. images. The colour scheme carries on from the front cover and develops the theme of black and white further; the font size is a good size and is presentable as well as readable.
The double page spread is very much like other music magazines as it has images of the artist which has been specifically taken for the interview as well as images taken from their normal life. The colour scheme in the article continues on from the front cover and the contents page, overall the text is readable and is structured to go around buzz words, images and page numbers on the page.
However the front cover and contents pages of my music magazine is very plain compared to the other music magazine this could symbolise that my music magazine is very simple, basic and only caters to only the very best of music. This could be a very positive thing for the magazine as it could raise the profile of my magazine and make it very desirable to artists to want to be featured in the magazine.
Rap Magazine NME Magazine
Social Group
The social group that is represented in my music magazine is people that like rap and the common teenager, this can be interoperated from the rap artists who are featured in my music magazine; this is enhanced by using only rap artists such as Mega and Kayne West. My social group is further represented by the images that I have used which are all quite youthful and up to date with the latest rap artists around. Through the content of my magazine it can be assumed that my magazine is about a range of young artists-this assumption can be made solely through the images which consist of young adults. However through the famous rap artist names that I have featured on my front cover and contents page it can assume that my magazine is a serious rap magazine. The images give the impression to the audience of a very glamorous lifestyle; this is done by the body language of the artists which is very relaxed, with a twinkle in their eye and an air around them of having everything that they could possibly want. Also the clothes that they are wearing even though some of them are wearing very formal clothes the majority of the costume design is very relaxed throughout the magazine this gives the impression to the readers or audience that the artists want to create a very intimate and friendly atmosphere. This is shown in the images opposite.
Formal Clothing Informal/Relaxed Clothing
Audience
The audience of my music magazine would firstly be anyone who has an interest in rap. Some people might feel that the age range of my magazine is for a young audience as the main artist is young and the rest of the images featured in my magazine are of young adults or artists it can be assumed that my audience is for young people only. I counter acted this by placing well known rap artists that have been around for some time and have established themselves as rappers on the front cover and contents page. I have done this to sort of give the impression to anyone passing by that there is no age limit to my magazine and that it is for anyone who likes rap. Rap is usually associated with males who are black as this is the culture of rap however in my music magazine there is no such restrictions on gender or ethnicity. I have done this as I want to reach as wide an audience as possible.
In the process of making my magazine I have learnt a number of skills by using Adobe Creative Suite (CS3) which includes Photoshop and Illustrator. From this I have learnt a lot of new skills for instance I now know how to erase the background of an image using different tools such as magic marker, how to erase the red eye on a person or their spots as well as changing the colour of the photo from colour to back and white (this I learnt while experimenting on my images) and that is all just on Photoshop. This allowed me to make my images the best that they can be for example on my double page article I brushed around an image with an eraser tool but it had an effect on it that allowed the edges to bend it so that the image eventually blends into the background. On Illustrator I learnt how to insert text from somewhere else onto the page into a box so that the text doesn’t loose its columns (this was for my mock magazine article) I also learnt how to add effects to images that I had placed in from Photoshop such as feather. Furthermore I leant how to easily group images while being able to send an image to the back or the front. I learnt different techniques needed to use a digital camera when taking the images for my magazine, I learnt how to zoom in and out, how to use the flash to my advantage and how to take the picture in a different colour to help highlight certain areas in the image. But the most important thing I think I learnt concerning technology was how to set up and use a blog to my best advantage.
Comparision of my preliminary magazine of final music magazine
From the time I started Media and did my preliminary magazine until finishing my music magazine I feel that I have learnt loads. As at the start of making my preliminary magazine I had no clue as to what to do. When I started of making my preliminary magazine I had no idea what it took to make a music magazine and what features were associated with a music magazine. However by the time that I finished making my final music magazine I realised and had learnt what it took to make a music magazine (in terms of technology), what features had to be on my music magazine e.g. buzz words & puffs, how much time, effort and creative spark it takes to make a music magazine that will sell. I also learnt the basic features of a music magazine and how the industry has a certain flair to how the music magazines are set out. Furthermore I learnt what a puff is, how important it is to have a central image and how the magazine is set out and how that affects whether the magazine will be bought or not. From my preliminary magazine front cover I have learnt to co-ordinate the information on the page so that the page does not look cluttered and unprofessional; I also learnt that a colour scheme and font style are not only essential to selling a music magazine and showing the audience what type of magazine I am selling but that they are to be kept all throughout the magazine.
Preliminary Magazine
Final Music Magazine
In depth analysis of my Front Cover
From glancing briefly at the front cover of my music magazine the audience can see that it is firstly a music magazine and secondly that it is a rap magazine. This can be seen as the rappers that are featured on the front of my music magazine are very well shown as they are in a presentable font that is very clear and big enough to see from a distance away e.g. Snopp Dogg and Lil Wayne.
The colours I have used are black, red and white I have done this as in my questionnaire that I sent out at the start of producing my magazine the results I got were that the colours black and white were the most popular colours desired for a colour scheme; I added the colour red to give the colour scheme so colour and life also the colour red stands out quite a lot. Looking at the central image it can be seen that the mode of address is direct as Mega is looking out at the audience. I have done this to create a very close, personal and intimate bond between the artist and the audience. Furthermore by having the artist look out at the audience it gives the impression that the artist Mega is not hiding anything from the audience and that he is letting them in on everything. By having Mega on the front of the magazine I have informed the reader that the main feature of my magazine is going to be Mega. The audience of my music magazine is very broad in terms of age as advertised on the magazine are up to the minute rappers and rappers that have been around for years. This makes the statement to anyone passing by that that anyone who likes rap will be able to pick up, buy and enjoy my magazine.
In depth analysis of my Contents Page
I have included an editorial note in my music magazine but I have not included it on my contents page as is the norm but on the back page. I have done this because I wanted to do something different with my music magazine that others don’t. Even though it is as something small as an editorial note I feel that it separates my music magazine from others. Over my front cover and contents page I do have a consistent colour scheme and font style. The colour scheme consists of black on white and vice versa, I also have used the colour red which I have fit in to the colour scheme successfully. For the main titles I have used the colour white or red outlined by the colour black or white. I have used this colour scheme to add colour to my magazine but also give it an air of professionalism; as well as because from my questionnaire I sent out at the start of producing my magazine I saw that the colour scheme black and white was just as popular as the colour scheme red, purple and blue. I made the decision to do a black and white colour scheme. For the main titles on my front cover I have used big text, size 36 or above, to attract the reader’s attention and to make it easier for the audience to identify the key articles and features of my music magazine. On my contents page I carried on the colour scheme however I didn’t use the colour red as I thought my contents page look classier with only two colours which contrast naturally anyway but also because of the background which is black which helps to highlight the white text and the subtext beautifully. In the organisation of my contents page i have used two columns and the different sections of my magazine are categorized according to the important in the context of my magazine. I have used the same colour scheme white & back which I have already mentioned before because I wanted to carry on the colour scheme which I started on my front cover. I have integrated text and images on the contents page as well as the page numbers being on the left. On the contents page I included images of artists that I have included in my music magazines well as the contents of my magazine.
