The brief for this task was to create a music magazine, this consists of a front cover, content page and double page spread and had to include four of our own original images. Before anything could be done I had to research similar magazines so I could get a better idea of what was expected from me, in this case I researched magazines such as 'Kerrang' and 'RockSound'. I focused on how the main images portray the magazine as a whole; I also took note on how important continuity is within a successful magazine as it keeps the same genre through out and does not look like some pages belong in different magazines. Plans were made on different possible compositions for each page as well as different magazine names but decided on 'KML' meaning 'Keep Music Loud', not only is it short and simple but it also links with the genre of the magazine and gives the audience an idea of what to expect in the magazine. I wanted this magazine to appeal to 16 years and over, this is really for anyone who as a passion for the actual music itself and not what ever happens to be in fashion.
All individual sections of the magazine follow the same theme including colour and font, this takes a big part in a successful magazine as it has to be the same genre through out, however, the colours and fonts used also have to match with the chosen genre as this is what notifies you straight away of the genre. Of course not forgetting the usual conventions of a magazine such as bar code and price. I believe that my magazine has succeeded in this aspect as the chosen font for the masthead looks like it has been scratched into the page showing anger and aggression which stereotypically is linked with the musicians of the rock/metal genre and with it also being red this resembles anger as well. The image I chose for the front cover is a close up shot of the models face, firstly, with it being a close up is slightly intimidating but with the extra red eyes, dark eye make-up and facial piercings you know what the genre is. The red eyes in particular show that she's wild, and with her crouching near the bushes it looks like she's going to attack. Leading us onto the background itself, the fact that the model is outside next to the leaves shows that she is wild and with it being at night an eerie atmosphere is achieved. Also on the front cover I have added offers such as 'free posters' so that the buyer would feel it is good value for the price they are paying.
Naturally, the contents page has the same font for the headings as the masthead, this is to follow continuity, the reason for the separate headings is so it is organised and easy to read rather than having to search for the particular article you want to read. I chose a black background with white text as the high contrast between colours makes it easy to read, another good point about putting the contents into categories is that it makes it look like there's more than there actually is which is another way the buyer believes they're getting good value for their money; another way of doing this was using the heading 'Plus...' which sounds like some extra was added just for the reader. The main picture for the contents page is a medium close-up of my model in dark clothing and with facial piercings, this part of the picture is to continue with the genre, however, this time she is crouched near some bushes to keep the wild aspect of the genre but it is a sunny day to show that there can be a bright side to this genre of music. The facial expression my model is expressing is a relaxed, at ease expression to show that from now on she is taking things easily also to show that she is a fun person to be around as no body likes people who are to serious about themselves. Another feature I have added at the bottom of the page is an advertisement to subscribe to the magazine, this wold make it easier to get the magazine each week as it would be delivered to your door, this would encourage the audience to subscribe as the price of the magazine would be lowered.
It was particularly difficult to find a suitable background that would match the genre and be able to have text on that would be easy to read, eventually I had my model stand next to a metal shutter and lean on a brick wall. She's leaning on the wall with ease to show that she's used to the 'average' lifestyle, it was what she grew up with. The metal shutter shows that where she has come from there has been alot of crime, and shops are often closed down due to people stealing and in a way this adds to the genre as she us used to the rough lifestyle. The name 'Lina' is in the same font that appears on the front cover and content page, this is her 'logo' and is recognisable and used on nearly every picture of her, the font itself is red and has spikes coming out of each letter showing aggression. There an extract from the article across the page saying 'Trust me, it will be fantasic' this is to get the reader interested straight away and make them want to read it even more.
In order for my magazine t sell I'd have to use a rival distributor from magazines such a 'Kerrang' and 'Rocksound', the reason for this being that the distributor would want to sell magazines of every genre in order to get a vast amount of money, the publisher of 'Kerrang' wouldn't see any reason for selling two magazines of the same genre. for this reason I'd use something like Alternative press inc. that are used to publishing the actual magazine 'Alternatie Press' which is more indie rather than rock/metal.
So I could get a good feed back from the public I asked ten people to fill out a questioner, the first question was "Which genre would you say this magazine is?" Everyone from the ten people I asked said either rock or metal which proves I have succeeded in making the genre clear. I asked quite basic questions so that they would feel confident of giving me an honest answer so I asked "Does the theme flow through the whole magazine? If yes why?" 8/10 people said about the same colours and the model giving the same impression, but everyone said the fonts added good continuity. From then on there were extra comments about the subscribe advert being a good idea and good use of pictures.
During the production of this magazine I have learnt many new things when looking back at my college magazine, being able to use Photoshop alot better has advanced my skills in making this magazine in general as it looks more professional. Cropping and scaling images was one of the things I couldn't handle before but when creating this magazine I believe I have no problem with that anymore, to sum it up my technical skill have improved alot since the college magazine as I didn't even use Photoshop to create that.
