Feedback 30.1.11

Gabbie, you have made a good start here. Please ensure you upload the sketched contents page with the prelim task. You need to work on this blog from home and during free periods to keep up with the tight deadlines. You should have your research complete by thursday's lesson in order to start planning and then allow maximum time on production. See me if you need further advice.

Mrs A

Preliminary Task - Front Cover

Preliminary Task Analysis

I am somewhat happy with my preliminary magazine cover, yet I feel there are a few changes I could make to improve the way it looks.

The font and background on the front cover are quite simple and are not very effective. When I start the main task, I will make sure that the font and colour reflect the target audience and the genre of music. I have only used two different fonts and I think this makes the front cover look boring.

I think the title of the magazine, ‘Corridor’, is quite individual and recognizable for the reader. My magazine does not have a slogan, these normally make the magazine stand out from rival magazine companies. The cover star image is conventional of magazine covers as it is a medium shot (used in many magazine covers). The leading caption, which is normally about the cover star, is not very dominant on the page as it is the same font and size as the other captions on the page. The front cover of my magazine does not have any strap lines, I feel if my magazine did it would finish the page of and act as a border. 

To create my magazine cover I used Adobe InDesign. I learnt how to make text boxes and create filled colour boxes for my background. I also used Photoshop and used the pen tool to cut out an image and delete it from its background. With the skills I have learnt using both these programs I feel it will help me achieve an eye catching and professional looking front cover for my main task.  

Conventions of the magazine genre

All magazines, whether music, fashion or lifestyle, all follow the same rules, they can either be monthly 'glossies' or cheaper weekly magazines. They have an image, colour scheme and name that all fit the content and the target audience. Most magazines use direct adress (when the person on the cover looks straight out of the magazine) not many magazines use indirect address as it is less conventional. Most writing in magazines is friendly and informal. Magazines normally include celebrities or starts that are admired and aspirational, the main aim of this is to sell the magazine.
The main advertisement of the magazine is the front cover, because this represents the whole of the magazine, they should be bright, interesting and eye catching, the colours used should reflect the genre of music and the target audience. Normally on magazine front covers a varitey of fonts are used to make the cover aesthetically interesting. 

Most magazines have a title and and a slogan, these create a brand image which will make the magazine instantly recognisable for the audience. There is normally one main cover star either in a close up or medium shot. The leading caption dominates the page and usually links to the article about the cover star.

Contents pages should be bright and colourful to entice the reader, on these pages image dominates text so images are used with page numbers to direct the reader. 

Feature articles in magazines are normally a double page spread (if not more). They include headlines and subheadings to explain the story, many of these are usually witty and pun based on the star. Most artists will not appear in a magazine unless they have something to sell, be it a single, album or tour. There is normally one large image with several others spread out across the pages, these are normally taken in different locations. Some music magazines use slang and swear words as these may be relevant to the music genre and may appeal to the target audience. Many articles use text grabs (quotes from the article that are made bigger to break up the columns) these are usually controversial, funny or rude. 

The magazines cover price doesnt pay for the magazine to be published, the majority of the money that make the make the magazine possible comes from advertising revenue. Therefore the magazine has to appeal to its audience and sell well to make profit, the magazine can then charge for advertising space and encourage companies to advertise within the magazine.

Initial Ideas

 My initial ideas are either a young teenage girl pop music magazine (similar to TOTP/Smash Hits). The target audience for this magazine will be between the age of 12-15. Or an indie music magazine, featuring an interview with an "up and coming band", the target audience for this magazine would be mixed sex and between ages of 16 and 25. Both of the magazines will feature a cover page, a contents page, and a double page spread featuring the cover star.