Star Image in magazines

The star image in a magazine has to be glamorous as they're a construction, not a real person - Richard Dyer says. I agree. The star image has to look the part for the magazine, they create the image of the star to fit the genre.

Here Johnny Cash sits for a medium close up, looking directly at the camera for Vintage Rocks magazine cover, he shows a powerful, yet emotional facial expression. The direct eye contact of the star and the reader draws the reader in, they want to know about this strong, powerful and deep looking man. Johnny Cash is written in a large serif font, attracting the reader, however underneath it says 'Outlaw poet and voice of the dispossessed', its like the magazine is saying the lost voice, relating to the death of the famous singer.


This magazine cover shows a woman, in a medium close up, that was seen as a 'Rockabilly Queen'. So here the magazine presents her as a beauty, hair in curls that look effortless, bold eyebrows and bold lips and a delicately detailed clothing to show her importance in the music world. She's smiling, showing she is happy and looking directly to the camera, looking right at her audience with bright eyes. This plays a huge part of the star image as they need to look appealing so that people will want to read about her. The star image shows a beauty, with a talented voice, she looks very glamorous and looks as if she is just about to go on stage. It shows that she is passionate for her singing and will attract fans and others to read about her.

Analysis of DPS 3

Locations used in existing magazines

I found that in many Vintage Rock magazines, they contents locations for their shoots are usually on a set and performed.

They have a block colour background and the some of the artists on the front covers are not with us anymore, showing that the magazine edits pictures of the artists onto the magazine.

The photos are not taken by them. The photos are usually black and white, to show the age of the performer, so when they use a block, bright colour for the backgrounds it represents old with new.

The magazines usually show the artists in motion and on each magazine there are various angles, wide and close up shots. The covers usually use a classic coloured background, the colours are strong and mature.

This has influenced my planning and creativity because it shows how the vintage magazines are set out to show the old and the new to their audience. I could possibly do something like this so that I can show the old and the new in my magazine too.

Analysis of DPS 2

Masthead: Font survey

I did a survey involving 20 people and 6 fonts for my magazine masthead. The majority of people (11) chose the font 'Verve' by Dieter Steffmann. This must be more appealing to people as they must think that it goes better with my choice of genre.

Masthead: Possible Fonts

Here are some possible fonts for my masthead. I like each of these fonts because they are each very different and show age of the magazine. Each of them are easy to read and look appealing.

Masthead Name: Check

I checked to see if my name for my music magazine is already used. I looked on Wikipedia for all the names of music magazines; it then shows me all the magazine names and mine is not there.

Masthead Name

I researched words relating to my genre, Vintage. We found the word Notable, I like this as it is relates to music notes in the word. The word also shows that Vintage music is important and is a noted music in history.

Photo shoot plan

For my photo shoot I am going to use two models, my mum and my auntie. My magazine is targeted at a wide audience of young people to older people, using middle aged people will help in my magazine as it will show young people in the past. This will be appealing to younger readers and hopefully to the older audience too that can relate to the magazine genre more, than the younger audience that want to know more about it.

I will shoot my photos at Normanby Hall and also at my grandmas house. This is because the grounds of the hall has some beautiful landscapes to take pictures at and it shows a vintage look with the lovely old hall. The beautiful and free landscapes will relate to my story as a young artist having a comeback into the music world, feeling more free than ever. The scenery at my grandmas house is appropriate because she owns big grandfather clocks, beautiful record players and musical instruments that she once used in her younger days as a singer herself.

I want to use a range of shots, for the cover I would like to use a medium close up shot, so that the model is a main focus for the magazine. For the DPS I would possibly use a longer and wider shot.

Initial Ideas Post

The genre I have chosen is Vintage. I like vintage music because it reminds me of rock and roll, swing, jazz and war time. The genre of music can range from fun and exciting music to classical and softer music. I already own some props that i am going to use in the photo shoot for my music magazine such as a record player.

My star is going to be my mum, my auntie may also be included as a model in my music magazine. I chose them to be my stars because they are also interested in vintage and they enjoy going to 1940's weekends, I also chose them to be my models as I feel like the audience of my magazine could be older ages, this will help me in my process of making my music magazine because they already own the right clothing I would like them to wear for my music magazine, such as fur coats, pearls and big earrings. The makeup they will wear, I will do myself, this will include the classic red lips and the natural eye makeup. The hair styles my auntie will sort as she is a hairdresser, I want to have the classic curls or up do. The glamorous look reminds me of the women singers in the 1940's and so on because they was all so elegant and classy.

I would like to take my pictures at a classy place, such as Normanby Hall or somewhere that has a vintage vibe with big grand father clocks and record players. This adds to the vintage genre because it shows the years it would be set in. The colour scheme I will use shall include gold, black, white and possibly red. These are very classic colours and the gold would symbolise that this type of music should be treasured.

I have decided to make my double page spread on a story of a comeback, a young female artist that wasn't accepted as well into the music industry by the other, older artists. There will be quotes included and a story of the females background, also where she disappeared to in the time she was gone.

My genre will follow codes and conventions as it will use the target audience as an age guide, a wide age bracket should be able to enjoy this magazine and it will be from a young age of 15 to later ages such as 40's +. This is a wide target audience and I need to ensure that I include many features to attract this wide range of audience, such as formal yet exciting and fun language to get the readers attention to the genre of my choice. I will use page numbers, columns and correct text wrapping for my magazine.

Analysis of DPS 1

How research has informed my creativity and planning:

• I like the different types of text for the title.
• The text wrapping looks attractive because it shows the full image of the singer.
• I like the pull quote, I could use this in my magazine to add more features.
• The bright colours make the magazine more appealing.

Contents Page Analysis 3

Contents 3 from BethanyAlisha

Ideas: Record Player

There is a vintage record player that my grandma has at her house, it has given me inspiration to choose vintage music as my genre because I like the old, classy look of the instrument and the chic, glamour and amazing music that came with this. Records were played and danced to, I like to imagine the scene of the older days and the joy that came with the music.

Magazine Contents Page Analysis 2: Rolling Stone

Mediacontents from BethanyAlisha

Magazine Cover Analysis 4

The most outstanding feature on this magazine is the image, it is a long shot of Elvis Presley. It is black and white which is attractive to the target audience because it shows that it is within the vintage era, this links to the magazine title. The image is partially covered by text but his face and body are not.
The image looks to be taken as a studio shot, it is sharp and clear. Elvis looks like he is having fun and is in action, this shows that the magazine is fun.
The masthead is at the top of the page, just underneath the banner that includes features. The masthead is large and is in a bold and is a serif font, this links to the genre because it isn't a very modern looking text yet it is bold like the vintage rock music is. The colour of the masthead is black which links to the background and image, it shows the links between the vintage genre.
There is around 11 stories featured on the cover, the main one being Elvis Presley. The text is all the same, however different colours which tie into the background, black and white text, with pops of red, this is a classic colour that shows boldness, just like the genre of music.
The magazine is intended to appeal to both genres, it includes many stories that could appeal to both. The target audience could be aimed at an older audience because it is an older genre of music, however if young people are interested this is a good magazine because they use types of slang and fun ways of writing the stories.
There are pugs included such as a barcode, prices etc, this makes the magazine good because it gives information and looks formal.
This magazine could come across cluttered to some people but in my opinion I like that it has a lot to offer inside and it shows it in columns which still makes the cover look organised.
This magazine cover influences me to do a black and white theme in my magazine because it shows age and you can make it look good by adding pops of colour.

Links, synergy and brand identity

The magazine cover and the contents page have similarities and a brand identity is clear:

• the colour red is the same 
• font styles
• the images 
• coloured background with white font

How this research has influenced my planning and creativity: 
1. Colour needs to carry on through the pages
2. I need to carefully choose font styles that i can use on all pages.
3. Need to ensure that my images are of the same style and genre.

Magazine Contents Analysis 1: Vintage Rock

Images

These are some images I took of my mum when she took part in a 40's weekend. This inspires me to do a vintage music magazine because I like the makeup looks and the clothing styles, it looks fun and stylish! I'd enjoy doing this because it looks like a creative genre.

Anaylsis of magazine 3

 The most outstanding feature on the magazine, for me, is the shot of Wanda Jackson. The black and white photograph contrasts from the red background and looks very classic, it is also eye catching because it is a medium close up and its placed so her face is centre.
The masthead is underneath the banner at the top of the magazine and is behind the image, this follows conventions.
It is big and bold so that people can read it easily and they can recognise it. The font of the masthead is serif which captures the vintage look because it is very fancy compared to sans serif which is modern.
On this particular magazine cover, there are up to ten cover stories and features. These all have the same sans serif font, it is more funky and slightly more modern however I do not think you would see this font on many modern magazines. The sizes of the text vary, the more important, appealing names and stories are in a larger text, the less appealing is in smaller text.


The magazine is aimed at both genders. It includes articles that females would enjoy reading and the same for male readers.
The text on the banners is regularly black, the colour of the banners and the shapes are a bright yellow, it is classic and contrasts which makes it stand out. There are some banners which are semi-transparent and the text is a white font, it stands out against the red background and is easy to read.
There is a colour scheme for this magazine cover. The colours used mainly are red, white, black and yellow. The brand identity would be the masthead, it is always the same and is very recognisable.
The magazine is very appealing and makes me want to buy it because of the vintage photos, it makes me sure that the magazine will be about vintage music and I personally like the layouts and the colours. There are pugs included such as a barcode and prices, this is helpful to the audience because they will know how much it is.
The magazine includes puffs because it has bright bold shapes that promote some of the features which the editor may think that the audience will want to read. The magazine includes a slogan, 'Hail! Hail! Rock'n'roll!...' etc, this makes the magazine seem very joyful and will make people want to read it.
The image is a medium close up shot and it relates to the main headline because it mentions the name of the person who the picture is featuring. The feature character is looking directing at the camera which is intriguing to readers. They're smiling, showing they're happy and they look relaxed, just being their selves. Only a small amount of the image is taken up by the text so it doesn't break much of the conventions.

This research has influenced me to do a vintage music magazine because I love how it shows a powerful women on the cover being called a 'queen', breaking through and showing her voice. I love the way the magazine is set out and how each of the colours compliment yet contrast each other.