Similar Product Research: Analysis of Contents Page 3

Similar Product Research: Analysis of Contents Page 2

Analysis of contents page:

                    

Similar Product Research: Analysis of Contents Page 1

This contents page features a lot of pictures of music artists and articles, giving the page a full, 'busy' look, which is something I would like for my own contents page.

The use of bright colours, such as yellow and blue, is eye-catching, but I would personally use darker colours such as red and black for my contents page to give it a more 'Rock' feel.

Since my issue is going to be a Halloween edition, I would not use such bright colours or light backgrounds; I intent for the backgrounds of my pictures to be black, or darker colours. 

I do however like the way the pictures overlap slightly. This is a common convention for music magazines, and I feel that it gives the page a more modern look. Sine my target audience is teens/young adults, it is important to appear modern and up to date.

The use of black stars to show the page numbers of the featured articles gives the magazine a unique touch; it is small details like these which make a good magazine. For my issue I would like to use small skulls or pumpkins in keeping with the scary/Halloween theme.

Similar Product Research: Front Cover Analysis 3 (Halloween Issue)

Similar Product Research: Analysis of Front Cover 2 (Kerrang)

Similar Product Research: Analysis of Front cover 1 (Q)

Front Cover Analysis of Q Magazine:

I chose to analyse this magazine cover because of the codes and conventions used. The magazine is popular and sells incredibly well due to the methods used, and so I would like to replicate some of these techniques in my own music magazine.

The dark hair, heavy eyeliner, red lipstick and white teeth of the model in the picture match the red, white & black colour scheme of the front cover. I would like to use these features in our magazine because it is aesthetically pleasing and puts an association between the magazine and the artist, giving the impression that the magazine ‘owns’ her.

The use of colour and makeup also gives the model a rather daring, edgy look; as my magazine will feature the rock/indie genre, this is something I would like to replicate. The mise en scene used in this picture is also important for me as it represents the artist as a strong, independent woman. This breaks the more traditional convention of showing women to be weaker, and since I plan to use a female artist for my front cover and DPS, this is something i would very much like to replicate.

The sell line (the UK’s biggest music magazine) is very effective as it grabs the attention and focuses on the magazine’s reputation as a selling point. I would like to use this technique in my own music magazine as, according to the research we have done, the reputation of a magazine is an important factor as to whether the customer decided to purchase it or not.

The simple use of three colours (red, white & black) is effective as it is bright and bold, catching the eye of the customer, without being over complicated. The simple layout and lack of any explanation or extra information about the featured artist (simply the words ‘Cheryl Cole Rocks’) is a code used that suggests that the artist is too important – she needs no introduction. This is especially important, as it is vital to create a 'star image' for any artists I feature in my magazine, especially one I plan to feature on the front cover.

Evaluation of Key Skills

In completing my work so far I have learned to use various equipment in order to produce my first front cover of a magazine. I have learnt how to position the cameras, and adjust their settings in order to take the best pictures and avoid mistakes such as
blurriness:                                

  

Or bad lighting:

                    

                                                                            

                                                                         

I have also learned how to use programmes such as Adobe to create drafts for my first magazine, including a front cover draft:

and a contents page draft:

Using this knowledge, as well as skills learnt from phtotoshop,  was able to produce my first magazine:

                                

Preliminary Task

Evaluation of Photographs:

The lighting is ideal in this picture, although the models' eyes are narrowed, so she appears to be yawning. Other comments suggest she looks 'shocked' or 'surprised', which was the desired effect.

This picture is better as the lighting is perfect and the facial expression of the model is easier to interpret; her eyes are wide and you can see that she is surprised. All of the students who reviewed this agreed that it was my 'best picture', which I agree with.

I don't think that this is a good picture because of the lighting, which I feel is too bright, and the fact that the models' eyes are closed. Other people have also pointed out that her face 'appears red' and that this 'ruins the effect' of the picture. One of the three who reviewed this said that it was the worst picture, although I personally disagree.

I like the effect of this picture, although the lighting is too bright. Others also say that the picture is 'blurry' and 'out of focus'. Two of the three people who reviewed said that this was the worst picture, but I disagree with this.

This is one of my favourites, because the lighting is ideal and you can clearly see the expression on the models' face, although, as others have pointed out, the light is shining on the picture she is pointing to, so it is not as clear as I would have liked it to be.

This picture is a good idea, as the setting and background are ideal for the effect I want to create, but the lighting is too bright for my taste so I cannot use it for my magazine.

I like this photo because it is interesting, and gives the viewer more to look at than just the model, and the photo is portrait rather than landscape, which would be better for the cover of a magazine.

I like the lighting in this picture, as the lighting is ideal and the setting gives the photograph a great background but it is landscape, not portrait, so it does not follow the conventional style for a magazine cover.

Front Cover Plan:

Contents Page Draft:

First Front Cover:

I kept the idea for the picture in my front cover, but I changed the articles so the text was only on one side - this means that if the magazine is stacked on its side, there are still things to grab the readers interest.I chose the picture of the girl looking through the window because it appears paranoid, and fits with the 'Conspiracy' part of the title. 'The Brigg Conspiracy' Is a conspiracy theory magazine, so it needs to appear to be suspicious and not mainstream.