2. I have used ‘The Buzz’ as the title because it is a magazine which gives
information about the music world which most people call the buzz. I
have chosen this style of text because it looks modern and cool which is a
look I am going for to capture peoples attention. Also I chose black writing
on and white background to make it stand out more from the backdrop to
make it eye catching when people are scanning through a magazine rack
to find one to read.
I have used yellow writing to make it stand out against the dark back drop
so it is eye catching to the readers and really grabs their full attention.
Also the colour yellow gives off a good vibe which will put people in a
positive mood. I have written it all in capitals to make it eye catching as
well and also make it look professional and bold to the readers. I have
used different font sizes to show the importance of each article preview on
the front cover for example the word competition on at the bottom of the
page is in bigger writing than everything else on the page because it may
attract more people to buy this magazine knowing that they have the
chance to win something. Things such as ‘Bruno Mars takes London by
storm!!’ is in smaller writing because it is just a preview of what's inside so
it isn't that important and also there is a picture so people can see what it
is before they read it.
I have used this picture to take up the whole front cover so it is eye
catching and also gives the potential readers a massive clue to what’s
inside the magazine and may make them buy this because it has a review
and picture about a concert in. I think this is an action long shot as well
which really grasps the atmosphere of this event which may attract people
to come and read about where it was and when.
I put the price and what issue it is in the top left corner of this front cover
because I thought although it is important but it is more important that
the readers know what is inside the magazine. I made it quite big as well
to make sure the readers can still see it when looking at the front page.
3. I used this style of writing for the word contents because it seems
funky and that is the look I want. I want to keep things interesting
so the reader doesn’t get bored while looking through my
magazine. I also put it in white against a white backdrop with a
black outline because I thought it made it stand out and give a
cloud effect. This sometimes is better than having bright colours
because even this style is eye catching when you look at the page.
I wrote the word index in red to make it really stand out in the
page so people knew what this page it was on. I then put
everything that was in the magazine underneath but in the same
colour. I just put it in black because I believe that I have got the
audiences attention already with this bold red writing so they can
just read my bold black writing on its own. I have used capitals
again in it to show the importance of some of the stories such as
‘COMPETITION!!!’ to make it stand out.
The pictures I have chosen for this are linked to each of the stories
for example the rising stars of 2010 list is linked with the picture of
my friend playing his guitar and the review and pictures from the
music concert is linked with the top picture. I have photo shopped
the picture of the guitarist to make it look more interesting and fit
the genre of rock. I also photo shopped the music concert picture
in the bottom corner to give it more of a glow effect. This will be
more interesting to look at for the reader than looking at a boring
original picture for example without the photo shopping of my
friend with his guitar it would literally just be a boy in his room
playing a guitar which would look very amateurish.
4. I wrote a bold title which took up half of the first page
which was in bold writing and in bright pink it make it
stand out against the dark background. This title gives
people and idea of what this article is about and if its
interesting then people will want to read it. I then used
quotes of what people have said from the concert and
put them underneath the title to show how much people
enjoyed the concert. I put the quotes in bold to make
them eye catching and stand out and then I put them in
different colours to keep the reader interested and make
it stand out. I chose these colours carefully and placed
them carefully to make sure that it could still be read.
On the second page of my two page spread I used two
pictures, one of Bruno Mars taken at the concert and
another of my two friends after the concert with
recording artist Example, and placed them at either end
of the page. I did this to make it feel like the page was
spread and not just all cramped up. I photo shopped the
one of Bruno Mars to give it a glowing feeling and make
I used the column effect on this two page spread to
it pink as if the light from the back was shining on him.
give the feel that it is a high quality magazine rather
than it being in blocks of writing. It also makes it easier
I chose to write the actual article in pink because it stood
to read for the audience. I think the use of capitals in
out the most and I want this article to be as eye catching
this really shows the excitement of the people who
as it possibly can. Also I chose a font type that was easy
went and the fact that I put a lot of band and artists
to read so when the readers eyes start to get tired or
names in the article will keep the audience interested
they are reading it in a dark place they can still read it
while also give the artist so media attention.
with ease.
5. In my music magazine I used quite a few forms and conventions of a real music magazine for example I
have used the same layout on the front cover as many music magazines I have researched and I have also
done the same for the two page spread for example using the columns in the article to give it a professional
effect and using a picture as a whole page really grasps the concept of a music magazine. I have however
tried to make my two page spread more eye catching that ones I have researched by using brighter coloured
writing and using quotes and capitals to challenge the quality of music magazines. I wanted to make the
contents page more about the pictures rather than having lots of words in it so the reader doesn’t have to do
a lot of reading in order to find out what is inside this magazine. This challenges the conventions of a music
magazine because normally the contents page is all about words and informing the readers what I going to
be in the magazine using the pictures as visual aid. I haven't seen this from the music magazines I have
researched so I have developed the music magazines. I also made the pictures take up more of the page than
the words to which makes it eye catching and more enjoyable rather than most music magazines who just
have lots of words and not many pictures. This also challenges the forms of a music magazine because most
magazines the words take up more space than the pictures but in my magazine it’s the other way around
and in a way the words are visual links for the picture. My 2 page spread however uses and develops the
form and conventions of real music magazines because it uses the typical layout of a magazine with the
column effect and a large picture taking up the whole page. The fact I use interviews and exclusives in this
uses the conventions of a music magazine because in all the ones I researched there were lots of interviews
and exclusives. This would attract people to read the magazine especially if the interview has a topic that
fans want to know about e.g. tour dates coming up for an artist.
6. I think my music magazine represents different social groups because it has different genres of music
in it for example on my contents page I have a picture of a guitarist whose genre is heavy rock which
would relate to a different social group compared to in my main task where I mention The Black Eyed
Peas who are more in the techno and Hip Hop genre of music. I think my magazine relates to nearly
all the social groups because I do mention lots of genres for example heavy rock, techno, Hip Hop and
Pop which a mixture of groups like to listen to. Pop is mostly listened to by girls and some guys so
would relate to that social group whereas Hip Hop is more of a masculine and dance genre of music
so more men will listen to that so that’s their social group. Although my magazine is mainly pop
genre based it still has a modern and techno theme to it such as the masthead on the front cover is in a
futuristic style so people of that social group will want to pick it up because they will think it has
something that will interest them in it. With lots of genres mentioned it means that both boys and
girls of all kinds which will increase how many people pick up the magazine and buy it. All the
different genres are linked by the UK Top 40 which is a massive chart open to all kinds of music.
Obviously not everyone listens to the same type of music that’s why I have broken it down because
some music appeals to some social groups and other music appeals to other social groups. My
magazine is also divided into boys and girls with some of the artists I have put in my 2 page spread
for example I have put a picture of Bruno Mars in it for the girls whilst I have a picture of Example in
there for the guys which follows the conventions of a music magazine because they want to keep both
genres interested in order to sell more copies.
7. I think that the print media institute will distribute my
magazine because it is laid out to be a magazine and I think it
will sell better as a print product although I think the internet
would be good as well for the promotion side of the magazine
to get the name out there and well known. The print side such
as magazine and newspapers are also more suitable because
they can distribute in large quantities and can get it to major
shops. I can imagine my magazines in local newsagents and
big supermarkets being in the racks ready to be sold to
customers. Because it’s a print product I would want it sold in
as many places as possible e.g. supermarkets, corner shops,
newsagents and many more. This would give off a popular
vibe to the magazine because only the best magazines get into
the racks in the supermarkets so more people would see it
and want to buy it without even looking at the name. I think
the type of media institution I distribute my product in is
very important because my magazine isn’t well known it
needs to be in a place where people can see the content and
not just the name which is why I brought up the part about
internet advertising because lots of people will get to see it
and then go to their local shop to buy the magazine.
8. The target audience for my magazine would be youths aged between 13 and 18 and then young adults
who are interested in music. I have chosen this because they will relate to the charts and are interested in
new stars compared to the older generation who listen to whatever they want and aren’t interested in
the top 40 hit songs. Using artists pictures such as Bruno Mars would attract the 12 to 18 year olds,
mainly girls, to buy the magazine because they really like his music and want to follow him. Also I
targeted the youth audience by putting reviews about concerts in there and upcoming events because
that is what youths want to read about so they can decide if they want to spend their money on it. This
would be effective because I believe that the majority of people who go shopping these days or have a
major say in what is bought are teens who we are aiming the magazine at. This is known as pester
power. The stories that are involved in my magazine are very much aimed at the younger generation
because all the music is very recent and a very different genre to what the older generation would listen
to. Also having lots of information about music concerts wouldn’t appeal to people over the age of 50 as
music concerts tend to be loud and full of youths. I have proven that my magazine is very much aimed
at youths because I have put the download chart. This shows that it is youth based because most youths
download their music from ITunes whilst adults still go to shops and buy the CD’s. The majority of
magazine readers are also youths as adults tend to read newspapers and youths have lots of leisure time
to relax and read magazines.
9. I attracted the audience to my magazine by using pictures I have taken from a music concert I had been to.
This would immediately catch their eye as most other magazines would just have an artist on the front but I
have an action shot of a concert on it which will make them want to pick up the magazine and find out more
about the concert. Also I used top artists to attract the audience to my magazine because every youth in the
country is interested in what the big stars are getting up to so I used pictures of the artists on stage that I
had taken to make the audience pick up the magazine and want to buy it. The title will also attract my
audience because it is bright and is on a white background which will make it stand out even more against
the darkness from the photo which will make it appear more eye catching when on a rack of magazines. I
have used lots of capital letters and large fonts to grab the attention of my readers once they have picked up
the magazine because it shows excitement and the importance of most of these articles and exclusives
because that might be the difference between someone buying a magazine and not.
I addressed them in a formal way but still used some slang words to keep the youths interested. This would
target the youths and make them carry on reading because they would get bored if they read something
they couldn’t relate to. I also used bright writing to stimulate their minds so they don’t get bored while
reading the magazine. The use of bright colours on my front cover will catch potential readers eyes when
they are looking at a magazine rack and will make them pick it up. The use of yellow on my front cover
gives off a vibe of excitement. Once they have picked up my magazine I have attracted them with lots of
interviews and exclusives from top music artists as well as lots of pictures and a big competition which
takes up most of the bottom of the page.
10. From constructing this music magazine I have learnt about the many different ways you can get a product out
into the world for example a print product or a music product. I have also learnt how to use photo shop in this
process which will help me when doing other things with my pictures. I learnt that their are 5 ways to get a
product out there and it is easier than it looks. I have also learnt about the program Indesign which I used to
construct my magazine. It is really good for producing media print products so I am glad I found out about it.
At the start of this course I didn’t know how to use things such as Indesign and Photoshop so I have learnt
how to use new technologies as well as learning about them which was majorly helpful moving forward to
next year. I have learnt you can edit pictures by using things such as tinting, cropping and fades to make the
picture and magazine look as professional as possible. I also leant about a website called Slideshare which
enables you to show off all your work that you have done online and present it in a nice powerpoint organised
by the website. This helped me make my coursework look neat and presentable ready to be marked. I leant
that in Photoshop you can also change the focus of a picture which really helped with some of my pictures
because they weren’t very high quality. This also allowed me to add effects to the picture which I would not of
been able to do before. I have also learnt that the actual picture for your front cover can make a massive
difference for example the angle it is taken at or if it has been edited on Photoshop. I did a front cover without
it being edited and then one with and I could see the difference straight away and decided that the edited one
looked more professional by a long way.
11. Looking back at my preliminary task I have learnt many things such as how to use Photoshop and also I
learnt about Indesign. If I knew how to use them when doing my preliminary task it would of looked a lot
better and a higher quality. Also I have learnt about all the new types of font that can be used for mastheads
and articles which makes my finished product look so much better and more professional than my
preliminary task. Also the fact that I knew more about camera shots and angles with lighting has helped me
with my finished product because I have more knowledge of it now compared to when I was doing my
preliminary task. During my course I feel I have learnt how to manipulate pictures and make them look more
professional by using such things as fade, tint and crop which added a glow to my finished products which I
didn’t have in my preliminary task. I have also learnt about different perspectives and type of pictures which
can add a major effect on the audience. For example a large picture of an artist or location can really grab
potential readers eyes rather than lots of words. I think I used to many words in my preliminary task rather
than letting the picture do the talking and grab the attention of readers first before they find out what is
inside. I have also learnt that the use of punctuation and capital letters on my front cover can really
emphasise points and show their importance. Also it can show excitement which is what music is all about so
I want to portray excitement to keep the audience interested and it also links to my title of the magazine
which is called ‘The Buzz’. Buzz is a slang word for excitement and my target audience for this magazine is
youths who use this way of speaking so it shows which age range it is aimed at. I have leant that there are
many ways to do a title and masthead instead of using Word art which I did in my preliminary task. This
involved me going onto websites and finding modern and exciting looking mastheads which would fit into
the style of my magazine.
