Contact Sheet

This is my contact sheet. This shows the options that i could choose for a suitable front cover picture. The ones that i have put with red circles are not suitable because they either are not a medium close up or are not posing the right way to be on a front cover. Another reason is because some of the pictures are not portrait and somtimes do not use direct mode of address.

The reason that i have used the one with the green circles is because there backgrouds are simple and it's possible to have text over them so it would be easy to read. Another reason that i chosen these  photos is because there lighting is suitable to be presented on a front cover. They also use a direct form of address to allow it allow the cover star to connect with the reader and grab their attention. The pictures that i think are the best are the 4 big photos on the left. The reason i have chose these photos is becuase they a medium close ups which allows the reader to see from the waist up to see there body language and facial expressions. The one that i am going to use for my front cover is 2nd one from the left on the top row because the facial expression fits the iconography of rock/ alternative with it being a moody expression.

Flat plans for contents page and double page spread

 

This is my flat plan for my contents page

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the flat plan for double page spread

Flat plan for front cover of music magazine

This is my flat plan for my front cover

Definitions of genre, sub-genre and hybrid genre.

Music Magazine Proposal

Music Magazine Proposal

The main genre for my magazine is rock, but will be sub genre-red into other genres such as alternative, indie and also focusing on new bands as well and big artists. The reason i am having a wide genre is because it will increase the target audience for the magazine. The name of my magazine will be SIO, which stands for Set It Off. The meaning behind this is that music allows you to go crazy and have fun, meaning the magazine wants it to Set It Off and enjoy music.

The target audience of my magazine will be men and women and the main age group will be 16-25. The reason that i have chosen this age group is because it's at that age group where people try and find new music and also be interested in the bands themselves rather than just the music. As my magazine is based at non mainstream music listeners, my target audience will be more focused on the music and keeping up to date with the music rather than gossip. This is important for my music magazine because it will be a music orientated magazine rather than being a hybrid-genre combining gossip and music. The categorization for my target audience will be indie/alternative people meaning that they may not necessary be all about fitting into a crowd and would rather find there own voice. For example people who would read my magazine may want to be in bands themselves and try and get inspiration from the bands in my magazine, or they might just enjoy the kind of music because it might relate and speak to them. Also because of the bands that will be featured in my magazine, my target audience will be focused on going to smaller gigs and standing gigs to see there favorite bands. Also in terms of style, the target audience would normally dress to be individual rather than to be the same, also that it's not dressing. So for example with shoes, you would normally see people with Dr Martens or converse, this is important because it allows me to focus on those kind of things and then advertise them in my magazine.

The production company that i will be using is IPC media. The reason that i will be using this production company is because it's a British company therefore correlating with the magazine being printed in the UK. Another reason i will be choosing this production company is because it is has a large portfolio selling a large range of magazines which cover a wide range of audience and genres.

The features that i will be likely to include are reviews of albums and concerts. The reason that i will have this is because it will be a important convention that the audience expect to see in a music magazine. Another feature that i will have is a 'day in the life of...'. This will be a feature about a musician and will tell the audience about what they do in their lives, such as a day on tour or just daily life. The reason i have chosen to have this feature is because it allows readers to see what their favorite artists get up to. Another feature that i will include is a feedback page. This will let the reader write in about articles, also they can send it pictures of them with certain artists or other things like drawings. This will create audience participation with the reader as every letter that gets printed will also have a comment from someone on the production team. Also as a promotion for this section, there will be a letter of the week and the winner of this will receive a iTunes voucher. There will also be various articles about bands and artists, the biggest articles being about the cover star. The topics could vary for things such as tours, band splits, new albums etc. These articles will allow the reader to keep up to date with the bands. Something else that i could do is have a gig listings page, which will have every band that is touring at that time in alphabetical order and where they are playing and when.

The main way that my magazine will be distributed will be in print form. The reason that i will have it in print form is because it's something that the reader can keep and come back to at their own leisure. My magazine will be a weekly publication, it means that it will be the latest news from the week that they can read about. There will also be a website for the magazine. This will create a symbiotic relationship between the two media platforms to create a world around the magazine. The website will be able to release the latest news to the public when it comes out and then the print version can do a full article in the next issue. Another way i will distribute news will be through social networking such as Facebook and Twitter. The reason i will be using social networking is that looking at my research, most people use these sites so the magazine would be able to get through to people through that.

The cost of my magazine will be £1.75. The reason that it will cost this is because according to my research, most people would likely spend between £1-£2, so i feel that £1.75 would be be a good price for a glossy music publication. My unique selling point for my magazine is that it has a range of music, this is unique because it allows people with slightly different music tastes to connect through one magazine. This is also important because it will increase the target audience by covering a wide range of music.

Photos for music magazine 5

 

This picture shows the guitarist and singer from a band called Tonight Alive. The genre of this band is rock/alternative so they would be good to use in my music magazine. The camera shot for this picture is a medium shot, so you can see that they are mid gig. The way that they are stood shows that they are engaging as a band. This photo would be good for a concert review.

This would be a good picture for a music magazine becuase it's a clear photo and you can identify the artist clearly. The camera shot for this is a medium close up so you can see the artist from the waist up and see their body language and facial expression. The camera angle is a low angle, the connotations of having a low angle shot is power and dominance to the singer. This could be used for a concert review and a photo gallery for photo of the week.

Photos for music magazine 4

This photo is showing people having a good time at a club/gig. The people in the picture look happy and jumping around, this shows the fun side of going out and listening to music. The features that i could use this picture in is a reveiw and have somone from the photo talking about the gig. Or i could have a feature about what makes gigs fun and a how to have a good time.

This picture shows sound boxs which are for stage use. The camera shot is a medium shot which allows to see all the boxs comfortably and idenify what they are for. This picture would be useful in a music magazine becuase i could use it in a feature about how a gig is produced, or i could use it in a day in the life page about an artist or part of a production team.

Photos for music magazine 3

 The band that this guitarist is from is We Are The In Crowd, the genre that this band goes into is rock/ alternative meaning that they would be a good feature for my magazine. This would be a good photo to use in a music magazine because it is a clear picture so you can identify the musician. This is also a good picture because it is a medium shot, meaning you can see the setting as well as the full musician. The way he is facing the side shows that he is potentially looking at his other band members whilst playing, this could mean that hes enjoying himself and is engaged with the bands music enough to look at the other members.

This would be a good gig photo becuase you can see that whole of the stage. As this was at a Paramore show, this would fit into my genre. This is an extreme long shot, so could be used as a feature on larger gig venues, or as a reveiw for the band itself. The use of the lighting is effective becuase it highlights the stage aswell as branching out into the audience, this connotates that the fans are an important part of the gig to aswell as the artist. 

Pictures for music magazine 2

This would be a good photo to feature in a music magazine because it shows a singer at a gig, so this would be good for a concert review or an interview with the singer. The camera shot for this picture is a medium shot. This allows you to see the full person aswell as the surrondings of the gig. You can also see hands in the corner, this shows that it is a small gig venue which i could do a feature on upcoming bands and as this band is american, i could also talk about bands trying to break england.



This picture would a good picture to use in a music magazine becuase it shows the bass player mid-gig performing. Another thing that is good about this picture is that is a medium shot so it shows the full person. The way that the bassist has his leg on the moniter conntates confidence and also getting into the gig. It's a clear picture which means that they bassist can be idenified easily.

Pictures for music magazine 1

This would of been a good picture because it is a close up and allows the reader to see the persons facial expression. You can tell by the picture that the singer is mid gig and singing, therefore it would be good for a concert review. Having the hands in the bottom left of the picture adds to the effect of the picture because it shows the singer getting involved with the audience and how it's a smaller gig that the band can get to interact with the fans.

This picture correlates with the picture above, so i could use both of the pictures in a concert review. The camera angle for this picture is a low angle shot, the connotations of having a low angle shot is the singer shows dominance. The shot that is used is a medium close up, which is shows the singer in mid flow of there set and in this case, having the crowd holding him up by his feet, this would be a good thing to mention in a review because it allows the reader to see that the band relies on it's fans to make a gig amazing as well as them putting the effort in.

Research

These are my market research results for my music magazine. From my results i will be able to conclude what readers want from a magazine.

Looking at my results i can see that the two top musicans are Avril Lavigne and Arctic Monkeys, so i will use them in my magazine aswell as other bands surronding the genre i will be focusing on. For my housestyle i will be using Black, White and Greys the majority of people wanted these as the house style. For social networking i will cover a varity of different sites but will focus mainly on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. The offers that people want to see on a magazine would be photo gallery's and interveiws and reviews, also the special offers i will put in a magazine are iTunes vouchers and clothing discount as these were the most popular. Most of the people that filled in my magazine said that they would prefer larger gig venues so i could feature gigs that are mostly at larger venues.The kind of adverts the audience would like to see were mainly clothing. When asked how much they would spend on a magazine the majority would spend between 1 and 2 pound and when asked how they would be involved with the magazine they responded with competitions. My final question was what shoes would the target audience most likely to wear and the top answer was converse, this means i could have adverts promoting converse in my music magazine.

Mind Map

This is a mind map of what i will do for my magazine.

Mood Board

This is a mood board of the genre that will in my magazine.

Contents Page Analysis

This contents page that i have used is from a copy of Kerrang!. The target audience for this magazine is 16-24 and the genre for the magazine is rock/heavy metal. The important codes and conventions on this contents page is the issue number and the date of issue for the magazine. These are important codes and conventions becaus the audience expect to see them.

 

In the top left hand side of the page there is the masthead. It says Kerrang! content, this is presented in a blue banner across the top of the page. The reasons of doing is that people know where they are in the magazine. Down the right hand side of the page is the listings of where eveything is in the magazine. This is presented in a blocked columed veiw, the reason that this is done is becuase it gives the professinonal look.

 

The colours that have been used are Blues, pink, yellow and white. This is the continuing house style throughout the magazine. The reason that this is done is because it gives a sense of continuality throughout. Also in this issue there is a special feaure called "pop punk's not dead", the ideology of using this is that it follows the iconography of the genre pop punk being bright and good music. Somthing else about the colours is that where the magazine listings are, the headings for each section are in black with yellow writing. The connotations of using these colours is that they represent caution/danger (for example when caution tape is used) which tells the reader that the features could have a sence of danger, which links to the iconagraphy of heavy metal/ rock music.

 

The pictures on the contents page take up most of the room. The denotation of the main image is the lead singer of a band holding there hands out. The connotations of this could be that they are inviting you in to read the feature they are in. The secondary image on the contents pages are some of the actual pages from the magazine. The representations of doing this is that the readers get a preveiw of what is in the magazine. There is also a use of pugs on the contents page. The ones that are used are red circles with black stars in them. The connotations of having these pugs next to the stars that are featured are that they are the main stars of the magazine and that they are the famous people featured.

 

Taking up most of the bottom part of the Mise-en-scene is the editors letter. The editor has included a image of himself in the bottom left with his thumbs up. The reasons of doing this is that the editor wants to get across that it's a good issue. The letter itself is written in a informal style to allow the reader to be involved. When the editor finishes the letter it's signed in his own handwriting. The connotations of doing this is that it is more personal. In the right hand side of the Mise-en-scene there is an offer to subcribe to the magazine. This creates audience participation becuase there are allowing the reader to feel more involved by having somthing that says they get in week in week out. They are also offering a promo which is a book by Dave Grohl. The representations of using a book by Dave Grohl is that he fits the rock iconography and the target audience that read it will know who he is.

 

Double Page Spread Analysis

I will be looking at a double page spread featuring the band Paramore. The magazine this is from is Kerrang! which has the genre of rock/heavy metal.

At the top of the magazine it using the headline "Go Down Under with Paramore!". This is to tell the reader who the feature is about. Also insted of using the word Australia they use the phrase "down under". The representations of doing this is that it makes it more informal to fit the target audience. Also it's a phrase that everyone uses so not many people would not no what it means. Undeneith the headline there is a stand first, which leads you to the artical. This starts with a list of 3 to give the reader the topics that will be metioned in the interveiw. The stand by also has a  rhetorical question. The connotations of using this is that the reader will want to find out more to answer the question. Another thing that i have noticed in this stand by is that when it mentions Paramore, it changes the text colour from white to blue. The representations of doing this is to highlight the stars of the interview.

Underneith the stand by there is a pull out quote from the lead singer of the band. The representations of doing this is it leads the reader to find out about what the artical is about. Underneith the pull out quote there are two secondary images. The denotation of one of them is a picture of a poster advertising the band saying that one of there shows is sold out. The connotations of this is that they are a very famous band that can sell out shows not only in their own country but also in other continants. The other picture is the set list for that leg of the tour. The ideology of this is it allows the reader to see it and think about weather they would want to be at the show with that kind of setlist. The way that it is presented is on a crinkled piece of paper, with the font being like handwriting. The representations of using this is that it is a genuine set list and that it was put together by the band.

The main cover image is a live picture, of the lead singer. The camera shot is a long shot, which allows you to see mainly the person and their body language and facial expression. Also the camera angle in a low angle. The connotations of having a low angle that the lead singer Hayley Williams is dominating the stage. The facial expression and body language show that she is getting into the music and showing passion within the music.

In the top right hand side there is a regtangle which say's "news". This is an important codes and convention becuase it's correlates to what the contents page has said will be in the magazine. Underneith that and all the way down the right hand side of the Mise-en-scene is the actual artical. It has a blocked structure so it is easy to read and starts with bold writing to start the interview. This shows the reader that it is a professinonal magazine. By the top of the start of the text is a small picture of Australia, they have coloured this is blue which links to, in the stand first where Paramore is blue. The connotations of doing this is that Paramore have dominanted Australia. In the bottom right of the Mise-en-Scene there is the name of the magzine and the page number. These are important codes and conventions becuase they correlates to the contents and it's that audience expect to see. Also in the bottom right there is a picture of the guitarist saying somthing with a speech bubble. This creates informality becuase it's like the guitarist is speaking to you.