Pagre Plans for Magazine

Double Page Spreads

Above are three double page spreads. They have all been set out in the same style and pop magazines tend to do this as they feel it is a good way to represent the magazine and makes it look more presentable and easy on the eye. The layout on these double page spreads are very similar as they have all placed a large image of a celebrity on the left hand side, then the following article on the right has been placed with a large letter over lapping or underneath the text. This is the basic layout and only the colours vary from the three different double page spreads. This design is popular in magazines such as 'Q' the design is used by many different magazines which are mainstream, all in which think the design is suitable.

The way the text has been set out is in columns which is what magazines do to make the text more presentable, easy to read and breaks the text up so it doesn't look like as much to read. The first two double page spreads each have three columns along the right hand side of the page, and the last double page spread has only two columns, this being because a different font has been used on the first column of the article meaning less space. The columns are all the usual width, they are not too wide, and meaning less information is shown. However on the last double page spread, the first column is wider due to a different font being used.

The font used for the articles are all the same apart from the one section on the last double page spread. Usually with a mainstream magazine, all the fonts are the same and they rarely change and this is the case for these double page spreads. The font most commonly used is Arial font size 11. The size of the font can vary slightly depending on the magazine genre of music it is appealing to. On the last double page spread the first column has been put in a completely different font, this may be to highlight it/ make it stand out and interest the reader as it may be slightly different to the rest of the article.

All three double page spreads have used up all the space available on the two pages, the first page is completely filled with the image of the celebrity which the article talks about. On the right of every page the columns have been added and as the articles are long all the space are again filled up so no other parts can be included like another image.

For the first two double page spreads the colour scheme is very similar between them. The large image on the left has been filtered in to black and white and then a large red letter is overlapping the columns. Then in reverse with the last double page spread, as the picture has been placed with colour, the letter overlapping the columns is black. The colour scheme is very similar to all three double page spreads and makes the magazine look formal and keeps it consistent through each issue of it.

For these double page spreads, only one image has been included on each one. A large image of a celebrity has been placed on the left page and stands out a lot as no other writing is included on the page to make the picture stand out more. On the right hand page, no images are included at all which to some magazines are very un-usual and some would say the magazine is plain and is very limited visually.

The page numbers on the double page spreads are at the bottom left and right of the two pages. The page number is there along with the name of the magazine again. This may be included as the magazine name is very short, it wouldn't be the same effect if the magazine name was longer and more complicated but as for this magazines particular name, it is ok to include it by the page number.

For these particular double page spreads, no branding has been included on the pages. No advertisement or products have been placed on the pages; these have been totally devoted to the celebrity and nothing else. Often, double page spreads have adverts for different products. For example a pop magazine which includes artists such as one direction, may include one direction merchandise which you can buy, on the double page spread. This depends on the magazine and the genre of music they apply to.

The ratio for text to image or image to text is equal on all three. One page is devoted to one picture only and the other side is devoted to the article itself and has completely been filled with the article rather than more images. The ratio of this is equal and this makes it more appealing to viewers. They know the article is not too long in which they will probably lose interest however it is not too short so no important information is included about the specific celebrity.

Possible Pop Magazine Names

Name Ideas for Pop Magazine:

Shuffle- I came up with this as a title I could use for my magazine as it is simple and easy to remember. By just using one word as a title I think it has more of an impact and people are more likely to remember it. It also has a link to the genre of music the magazine is aimed at and would be easy to design around when it comes to creating a front cover for my magazine.

Pop Sound- I thought about using Pop Sound as a title for my magazine as it clearly shows the genre of music the magazine is for. It gives a clear representation of the music and this will increase the amount of viewers from the chosen target audience. The two words used for the title fit well together and flow easily. People are likely to remember them as they are both related to music, in particular pop.

Music Blast- I thought about this as a potential name for my Pop magazine as this is a catchy and simple title which could easily be remembered. It doesn't contain any complicated words which the target audience wouldn't understand. The title also appeals more to the target audience than other people such as older people. This means it will grab the attention of teenagers more and will interest them more. 'Blast' explains the type of music which will be talked about in the magazine, the word blast is not sophisticated therefor people will know the magazine is not aimed at older people and will not contain music which will interest them.

Pop it- I thought about this as a title for my magazine as it relates well to the genre of music the magazine is based around, it has the word 'Pop' in it and this will clearly show to viewers that the magazine is focused on the Pop genre. This means people will realise what the magazine is about a lot quicker which should mean more people will buy the magazine.



Anaconda- I thought this would be a possible name for my magazine as it is a memerable name. It's short and cathchy and due to it being so un ordinary, it will grab the viwers attention. I thought about using this name for my magazine to associate it with an animal. By doing this it would become more well known throughout the target audience as the type of animal would relate to the magazine. The name 'Anaconda' also relates to a pop song which means when people read the title of the magazine they will know straight away that the magazine is to do with pop music and artists such as Nicki Minaj, Rihanna e.t.c

Conventions of Pop Magazine

This is a contents page for a pop magazine, it includes a number of different aspects such as a page title and snippets of information to what is included in the magazine. They have also used a continuous colour scheme throughout the page which relates to the genre of music, there is no darker colours used on this contents page as it is aimed at a younger age group. There is various pictures from artists which are included in the magazine and different featured stories on the contents page. The font used is clear and easy to read, it is all spaced out well and includes different parts in which the celebrities have spoke. There is page numbers included which tell you what parts are on each page. The contents page includes a lot of information and from this various language techniques have been used.  The logo has been used on the contents page and a main image has been placed along with other images. The main image has been placed in the centre of the page and is larger than all the other images on the page.

Below is a double page spread for a pop magazine. A feature which is used on this double page spread is a large image is included, usually the image will be eye level, so the person will be looking directly at the image and this is called direct address. This would encourage the viewer to buy the magazine as if they're looking directly at the person, they're more likely to buy the magazine. A quote is usally included on the double page spread, it is usually made to stand out by being a much larger font than the rest of the writing and being in a different colour. The quotes used are usually controversial or shocking to grab the reader's attention. Another convention in which is used on a double page spread is the name of the celebrity is usually in bold or larger than all the other text, this is done to grab the interest of the reader as by seeing the name of the celebrity first, they will want to look into the magazine furthur as it will interest them. They also include a stand first which is an introduction on the celebrity which features in the article. This is a good point to include as the viewer can get a feel for what the whole article is about and can see whether they would be interested in the article or not. The text in which isincluded on the double page spread is always on size 11pt. The usual font for the text is aerial however certain magazines change the font to fit around the specific genre of music.All double page spreads have a drop cap which shows the reader when to start reading. The text is set in to columns, usually 2-4, this is done to make the text appear tidy and not all over the page. The page number, magazine name and text throughout usually use the same fonts. For the main image which is on the double page spread, the image is usually placed to the left of the page however some magazines go against the tradtional conventions and put the image more to the right, which is the case for the double page spread below. Sometimes the image bleeds over the whole page, although this is not something which occurs in every magazine. The image included on the double page spread always relates to the article. By lines are also included below the image to give credit to the photographer and writer. The title on a double page spread is usally short to make the reader want to know more and read on to find out the information. The article is written in informal mode of address therefor it relaxes the reader.

Pop Magazine Questionnaire

I am currently doing research to help me design a Pop magazine and I have decided to create this questionnaire to help me see what people would like to see and what they want. This will help me to produce a good quality magazine which will be suitable for my chosen target audience.

Results:

Picture Analysis

Picture Analysis:

-Group Shot

-At Home

-Live Shot: On Stage

-Posed Shot: Camera man directs talent, can use props, mise-en-scene

-Everything in the shot of the scene includes: lighting, body position, facial expressions, clothes makeup and props, proxemics and camera angles

-Impromptu Shots: Unplanned Shots

Advantages of posed shots:

-Can manipulate it, so the model can do the pose you want

-Guaranteed a good quality shot

Disadvantages of posed shots:

-Can look too forced

-Time consuming

-Expensive

-You have to turn up with a lot of stuff i.e. lipstick depending on the shade you want

Advantages of Impromtuous shots:

-Get more personality and feeling from it

-Live action shot, can always get the unexpected

Disadvantages of Impromtuous shots:

-Can’t direct them, won’t turn out how you want

Laura Mulvey:

-Media Analyst

-Male Gaze Theory

-The camera is a heterosexual male; the camera can be accused of objectifying women

-Feminist theory states that women only exist as a metonym. This is backed up by the make gaze theory

This picture which was taken is an Impromtuous shot, the photographer did not plan for this pose, and it was simply something which occurred at the concert. It’s an action shot of Pennie Smith, London Calling. This picture sums up 1970’s punk music. The reason for this is as it’s not planned. This is not someone’s opinion on how the music should have been its how it actually was.

Photo Editing

I have started to use the software Pixlr and have created a new image from one i got fro the internet. I added another layer to the original picture then from this i could erase from a layer then this can change the colour of specific parts of the image. This shows that photo shopping is easy and every aspect of a person can be changed and edited. This gives us an unrealistic expectation of everyone we see in pictures used for media.

Today i also learned about hyperreality and how the media can manipulate and change a picture and make a person change completely so they are in fact a different person. This makes unrealistic expectations for people as they think people can actually look like the people in images which are completely different to the actual person.

From using Pixlr for the first time ever, i have experienced how easy it is to change different parts of an image and each change will make the person less and less human and this is something which offers frequently within media. People are changed in to a different person to meet everyone's expectations on what looks the best and in every case, this is simply not real or correct.