Analysis of magazine 2

The most outstanding feature of the magazine is the picture because the person, Blondie, is looking away from the camera and looks as if she doesn't care, she is wanting to look above things.
The masthead in at the very top of the page, to the left. It is boxed separately with the 'Classic' text in the red box, and the 'Pop' text in a black box. The text colour is white and contrasts against these two colours, they are very classic yet rebellious colours. The text is a serif font and is different to each other so the top part shows the classic vibe and the 'pop' part shows a more modern vibe. It is the same on each of their magazines, this makes it more recognisable for the readers.
There is up to 12 cover stories on the magazine, this appeals to the audience as they know there is plenty of things to read.
The magazine is intended to appeal to both genders because they include stories that would interest each gender in different ways, the magazine makes sure to have a range of stories.

The features are laid around the image and doesn't over lap very much, this doesn't really break the conventions. However the name of Blondie lays overs the image of her, this does break conventions but it catches readers attentions and makes sure that the audience knows that it is her and the magazine is mainly featuring Blondie. The image relates to the main headline because it shows Blondie looking like she isn't bothered and she looks powerful. It also relates because it mentions her name and has the image of her. The image is a medium close up. It is a studio shot and is well performed. The image is in colour so that you can see the bright coloured clothing that relates to the exciting, pop genre.

The hair and makeup is very bold, this relates to the pop genre because it is exciting and expresses herself. Pop is a bold and buzzing type of music that makes you want to dance, when you look at Blondie, she looks bright and happy, this is what you want to see in a pop artist.

The magazine includes puffs such as a barcode and the price, this makes the magazine legit and gives the reader knowledge of how much it'll cost.

The background of the magazine is a dark purple/pink colour, this contrasts against the bright image and bright headline, it also contrasts against all of the writing and masthead so that it is easy to read.

The image supports Laura Mulveys male gaze, as it looks seductive and her clothing is quite revealing as it doesn't cover her shoulder towards the camera. The lipstick she wears is red which can be looked at as a sexual colour. It breaks conventions because it is a magazine focused on the pop genre and they are creating a seductive type of woman.

This magazine cover has influenced my planning and creativity because it has shown me that I can do shots where the model is looking away but it makes the magazine intriguing still. It can make the model look powerful.

Vintage makeup inspiration

I was looking on the internet for makeup ideas and I saw this makeup look. The makeup on the model reminds me of the type of makeup you would apply for a vintage look. The colours are quite classic and stand out, women used to apply makeup to the eyes and lips mainly to make themselves stand out. This could've made them feel more powerful, this inspires me to do a vintage music magazine because I like these makeup looks.

Analysis of magazine 1

Vintage Rock magazine cover

The masthead is large and uses serif text. It is easy to read and is recognisable as that magazine to the readers. The masthead is coloured black which is classic and reminds you of a newspaper,
which nowadays could be seen as quite a vintage thing. The masthead is underneath the image which goes along with conventions.

The image is a medium shot, it is black and white, this shows that it is a vintage magazine because we now have coloured photographs. It is placed in the centre of the cover to show that it is the main subject in the magazine.

It shows Elvis singing with an old fashioned microphone, which also suggests the year the magazine is set in and also shows him playing a guitar, it implies that he was a talented man.

The font is serif and gives the vibe of vintage. The colour of the text is black, this makes in bold and easy to read and is also a classic colour. There are six cover stories and two features, they're placed around the main image so that the it is still visible, it only over laps a small amount so it doesn't really break any conventions. They can be linked to the genre because they have included old, well known famous names and it talks about vintage albums and music.

The magazine could be aimed at either males or females because it includes subjects for women's likes and also men's, it has features that attract both genders.

The background is gold which symbolise treasures, this could mean that thy view vintage rock stars as treasures. They include monochrome text which contrasts from the gold background and matches up with the photograph. They use modern text for the features and cover stories, this could be a mix of the vintage rock and the new rock.

This magazine cover has inspired me because I like the way that it is laid out and that the image the centre of attention. I also like that it includes lots of features and doesn't break many conventions because it is laid out so that the image is the main focus.

Preliminary task: contents page draft

Preliminary Task front cover

For my prelim task  I designed a front cover for a college magazine. To create the magazine cover I used Adobe Photoshop Elements 11. I found this software quite easy to use, it was simple and clear.

What I like about my magazine is that the image fills the whole cover and the model is looking directly at the camera. This makes it look like they are looking at you, this draws in attention. I added text that is different sizes to draw attention to the features which interests the reader, it means they have to look closer to the magazine to see what is included. The bigger and bolder writing is what readers want.

I could make this magazine cover better by spacing the text out more and enlarging parts, there is also a lot of blank areas that I could put further writing on. I could also make the text more visible to read, some parts are harder to read than others.

Contents page draft

Draft of my college magazine cover

Selection and rejection

This one is a medium close up and is a nice photo, however it isn't very appropriate because it is landscape and we want a portrait one.








This in an appropriate picture as it is a medium close up and it is also a portrait picture. I like this picture because he is looking straight at the camera.














This is a good photo as it is an over the shoulder shot and it is a medium close up.

Joining Flickr

Today i joined Flickr, this will allow me to add more photos and expand my blog. I also joined the Vale Media group. 

Joining SlideShare

I joined Slide Share today, this will allow me to add a range of media such as power points, to expand my blog.

Research Codes and Conventions 1

Codes and conventions of a music magazine from BethanyAlisha

Institution Research - Bauer Media

Bauer media is the part of the Bauer Media Group, which is Europe's biggest privately owned publishing group. It is a worldwide media group,  with over 300 magazines on offer, some of the biggest music magazines being 'Q' which Bauer media bought from EMAP in 2008, this now has a circulation of around 33,300. There are also online websites, radio and T.V stations.


Bauer media was mainly known for publishing magazines, not just music magazines but ones that are linked to everyone's liked reads. They also focus on radio stations such as Kiss 100 station, this was Bauer's first radio station created in 1990. The magazine industry within Bauer goes back to 1953 when the first magazine called 'Angling Times' was created. This was then followed by 'Motor Cycle News' in 1956.

The company expanded slowly by buying magazines from other institutes. In 1994 they bought a smaller magazine company named 'For Him Magazine', which is now a larger, more well known magazine. They then went onto purchasing a digital music T.V channel: 'The Box', which is a very well known music channel, this was a route into the small screen business which has led Bauer to have big links with the music channel 4Music and Channel 4.

Response to brief

Reflecting back on the brief, I am excited to take part of this course. I like that we have freedom to be creative and artistic. Some of the music genre I like to listen to is R&B. I enjoy listening to artists such as Rihanna, Kanye West, Drake and other artists based on R&B music.

OCR G321 Print Brief

Preliminary exercise: using DTP and an image manipulation program, produce the front page of a new school/ college magazine, featuring a photograph of a student in a medium close-up plus some appropriately laid-out text and a masthead. Additionally candidates must produce a DTP mock-up of the layout of the contents page to demonstrate their grasp of the program.
Main: the front page, contents and double page spread of a new music magazine.