AS Coursework

https://issuu.com/liz2339/docs/front_cover_as
https://issuu.com/liz2339/docs/as_contents_page_magazine
https://issuu.com/liz2339/docs/as_dps__1_

Compare your front cover to an RMT

When analysing my front cover to an existing one, I found many similarities and differences. One of the many similarities is the suitable masthead. On the cover of the Kerrang magazine (March 2011 Edition), the page denotes a certain font. The font appears rough and has parts of the letters disappearing. In addition to this, denoted on it is a crack across it- this is a way of connoting the rock music. This was similarly denoted on my front cover- I also chose an edgy font that looked as if though it was deteriorating. The importance of this is to ensure the audience at least has a hint of what genre the magazine and further attracting my target audience- early 20’s male and female fans of rock.

Another convention similar to each other is the heading. Both the RMT and my magazines headline is of the artist(s) denoted on my dominant image. Although it’s the second largest font on the page, the font is not wacky as the main focus is on the brand of the magazine and the face of the artist(s) to further attract fans to the magazine.

Typically, the font size is the largest (another convention denoted on my front cover) as the magazine’s aim is to promote/advertise its brand as much as possible- hence the large font which would grab their attention first.

The colour of the masthead is also a key factor I took into consideration for my front cover. To fulfil its purpose, I chose a bright colour to further grab my target audience’s attention first. However, one of the main differences is that my front cover doesn’t denote any secondary images to further entice my target audience with content included in the magazine. Nevertheless, another similarity is the graphical element included for aesthetic purposes.

The dominant image denoted on my front cover is of a rock duo/band. The typical clothing for artists on front covers of rock music magazines is black/dark clothing, also typically including leather clothing; hence the leather jacket and skirt worn by both girls. A convention that wasn’t so closely followed was the dark clothing- a pink leather skirt was worn as we didn’t have a black one. Nevertheless, the typical dark/wacky coloured hair was worn (in my case black and red for each girl). Denoted on my page is also sell lines; these were used to attract my audience to what the magazine has to offer- ‘launch edition’ is a great way to show people that it is a new brand on the market (fresh with ideas and content- very exciting).

The cover lines are different colours to keep the front cover exciting and vibrant however still sticking to a colour scheme to avoid it from being ‘too loud’ consequently chasing people away- similarly to the three-colour scheme in “Kerrang!”.

Compare your contents page to an RMT

When analysing my contents page to an existing one, I found many similarities and differences. One of the main similarities is the heading which was denoted at the top of the page for a clear indication of what page it is to readers. It’s also one of the largest fonts on the page which is expected for a heading. Denoted alongside the ‘contents page’ title is the name of the brand, which was done intentionally to allow readers to be familiar with it. These conventions are all very similar with the “Kerrang!”’s contents page however my heading is denoted to stand out whereas theirs is in black which is quieter and laid back- perhaps this would’ve been better for mine as a huge section of the page is already red, further creating a distractive page- my target audience is early 20’s and therefore a mature age group- they don’t require so many colours to maintain a level of attention.

This dominant image is of an artist; denoted are her hands in a rock and roll sign and wearing all black- main item being a leather jacket and dark hair. These are typical conventions I found when researching typical rock artist poses and clothing. The image of the model is very similar to the RMT I compared it to however there are two factors that created a huge difference in the outcome of the photos; One of them being the scenery. The photo taken for mine was outside in the sun meanwhile the RMT had photos indoors with a dark, old/mushy background which is more suitable for a rock magazine in comparison to a sunny outdoors and bricks.

Another convection which makes our images very different is the editing. As my pictures were taken outside, the ‘artist’ was more exposed to the sun and therefore the image in itself was also bright- the RMT I compared it to was darker which is a typical convention for rock music magazine. To improve the look of mine, I should’ve decreased the brightness for a "mustier" look.

In addition to the similarities, both my cp and the RMT have a column with the subheadings and the text- this is denoted to signify to the audience what pages consist of what content.

Furthermore, very similarly to the RMT, my cp denotes a selling line used to attract my audience to participating in activities the brand has to offer- advantages of this are that it familiarises people with the brand and could encourage them to become frequent customers too.

Very similarly to the RMT, my cp also denotes graphical elements for aesthetic purposes and to further encourage people to stay interested in the page. However, a small difference between my graphical element and the RMT’s is that, mine is a circle whereas theirs is a star which would have been a more suitable shape for mine due to its relevance to the rock music genre (e.g. rock star). Beneath the RMT’s dominant image and mine is a small intro/article to the magazine just to settle readers into the magazine. A difference here is the font size, mine is large and I can’t include as much content on the whole page in comparison to the RMT which consists of way more.

Compare your contents page to a DPS

When analysing my double page spread and comparing it to an existing one, I realised that there were many similarities and differences. On my double page spread, denoted is a masthead. I placed this masthead at the top of the page and it is one of the largest fonts and brightest colours. Although these conventions are typically to attract attention from an audience, in this case it was just to alert my audience what the article will be about. Furthermore, the subheading beneath it, is a bright yellow colour and this colour was chosen for aesthetic purposes. Similarly, to the real media text I compared it to, it denotes a large white masthead and a red subheading. These colours were kept consistent throughout my magazine to further emphasise the aesthetics of it as well as suiting the rock theme. The double page spread of the real media text also denotes a piece of graphical element. On the RMT, the graphical element is a bright colour (the brightest colour of the colour scheme), to change up the atmosphere of the page and keep it interesting g to read. My magazine DPS has also included a graphical element and has followed the same ‘rules’ as the RMT by also being a bright colour. In addition to this, my double page spread denotes a star shape on the bottom left hand corner. This is to further entice my audience into reading the article. The graphical element also has a sell line denoted on it to encourage the audience to interact with the magazine brand. This was done intentionally as it could further encourage them in the future to purchase the magazine. Furthermore, the colours chosen, are very contrasting to further attract the audience. The star shape was chosen as it’s a typical shape related to the rock music genre.  The font is one of the largest on the page and also consists of the brightest colours in my colour scheme. This was done for aesthetic purposes as well as grabbing my audience’s attention. A convention found on double page spreads is an article written in the layout of columns.  The DPS of the RMT has columns similar to mine however a difference between the two is that due to the colourful double page spread denoted in my magazine, the text wouldn’t have been clear for the audience to read. Consequently, I inserted red boxes behind the text o allow a clear view of the article. Again, the box behind the text is red to suit the consistent colour scheme. Another similarity between the RMT and my DPS is the style of the dominant image. The RMT denotes a rock artist with dark clothing and dark hair. This is very similar to my one DPS which denotes two artists in dark/rock related clothing (i.e. Leather skirts). One main difference that affects the quality of my DPS is the edit of the dominant image. On the RMT, the image is black and white to suit a rock theme however for my DPS, not only is the image in colour, but it was taken outside in the sun. This kind of photo is not suitable for a rock magazine as they typically include dark lighting as well as dark clothing which I managed to achieve. To change/improve this in the future, I would have to further edit the photo on Adobe photoshop by decreasing the brightness and saturation to decrease the vibrant colours. Nevertheless, my dominant image denotes the artists pulling rock hand symbols and facial expressions typically related to the rock music genre which was a good idea to clarify to my audience what the genre is.

How does the media represent particular social groups?

Typically, the rock music genre has a specific target audience for their magazines of whom are young men and women ranging from age 21-29. The media has represented this age group as an audience whom are laid back and mature. Through conventions such as colour schemes, throughout my time analysing magazines from this genre, the themes used tend to be dark emphasising the mature side. However, this can be argued with the hand symbols, facial expressions and hairstyles worn by rock artists. The media presents this form of style to the public as strange and rebellious.

What kind of media institution might distribute your product and why?

There are many media institutions which focus on the distribution of music magazines, in particular, one of them are NME. NME is a music journalism business of which use to sell music magazines typically of the rock genre. Although they now focus mostly on the website, they still promote rock artists and their own magazine, this would be a perfect institution to promote my music magazine as t fits the criteria of being the rock genre. Furthermore, they would be suitable for the distribution of my magazine because they already have a high platform (in terms of the number of people who are associated with the company) and are well known for exposing rock artists. This means that my target audience (people aged 21+) interested in rock music are more prone to being interested in my magazine brand. This would increase magazine sells.

Where would the institution distribute your magazines?

There are a number of places of which an institution could sell my magazine such as shops and high streets. The places at which they are distributed would have to be chosen according to my target audience and the cost of the magazine itself. If I’m more interested in exposing my magazine’s brand first and distributing copies of the magazine free of charge, the perfect places to do so would be highstreets with main stores as my target audience are an age group who tend to socialise outside and shop a lot. However, if my intentions with this magazine brand are to make a financial gain, I would need to sell them in stores. The type of stores in which they would be distributed would be common food stores and selective retail store (these retail stores would be chosen according to where my target audience tend to shop).