In what ways does your magazine use , develop or challenge forms and conventions of real magazine products

I wanted to create a magazine which would not only look good but also try and challenge contenders which are already on the market. I tried incorporating some ideas which I thought was missing from magazines which I personally buy myself. I decided to go for a Metal, Rock theme for my magazines styling, I chose this because I am interesting in that genre of music and also frequently purchase weekly issues of Kerrang! A popular magazine focused on that type of music. I also wanted to be creative and try new ideas to help get the most from my magazine; I changed colours, fonts, sizing of images to help me get there. Sometimes technology hindered this process but I managed to correct these problems and also without it I wouldn't even be able to create the final front cover or double page spread in such high quality. I wanted to also create something eye catching and different but still keeping all the conventional colour schemes which will be found on this type of magazine.

School and Music Magazine Covers, how do they relate to existing examples of these media forms?

Similarities

My school magazine relates to existing examples because it has contrasting and large colorful font's which attracts the reader to the cover. Also I have placed pictures of the school grounds and also art pieces which were made in the art department, this compliments the fact that the magazine is about school life and the main news surrounding it. The use of taking on site school pictures is also used in other previous school magazines. My music magazine is similar to existing examples of the genre, I have included a free poster section which is used on many magazines to make the product stand out from the competition, also a easy to read and interesting title in a contrasting colour from the dark background, headlines at the top and bottom which outline the content of the magazine inside which appear in many existing magazines. I also added raging fire at the side to help frame the large main image and to also make the magazine more themed in its genre which is metal/ hard rock music. The band name is also clearly in the middle, in bright and edgy font which makes it stand out on the cover and the large image is situated in the centre taking up the majority of room of the cover, this technique is used to help make a personal connection to the reader and is used in previous magazine covers. The music cover has a price, bar code and issue number as all magazines are required to have.


Differences

Now the differences, my school magazine is situated on one part of the school, the art department this can be clearly seen by the heading 'Art Edition' in the middle bottom. School magazines tend not to focus on just one part of the school but more focus on the school as a whole. The reason i decided to pick an art edition theme was to appeal to two audiences, people who attends or is interested in the school and also people who are into the arts. Also previous school magazines have used techniques to make there covers seem professional; I just used pictures of art orientated objects and used the images I took for the background. I didn't even scale the images so they fit perfectly side by side; these major details are not missed on the existing professional covers.

My music magazine has many differences from existing examples on the market. The reason i did this was to grab the eye of the reader before any other magazine cover has a chance to. My magazine features bright vibrant titles and headers to help it stand out from the dark background, i used these colours to help make the main parts of the magazine stand out such as the heading 'Apocalypse' in bright yellow and the main title 'Amplified' in piercing white. I put alot of detail into how the featured band names are shown, on existing examples the font used on this genre of magazine tends to be straight forward and easy to read, but i tweaked it a bit so it stays in theme with the magazine's look. I also used flames up the side to help frame the central image, on existing covers this space would be filled up with other band names or more 'exclusive' information the magazine contains. My motto for my magazine 'Turn It Up' is also clearly visible, which usually is covered up by an image on existing magazine covers which could then maybe transfer to the reader that the other competitor has more to offer the reader. Another difference is that my main image isn't overlapping the main title of the magazine, this is mostly due to just technical difficulties on my hand, this type of image placement is used on a wide variety of existing covers, to help make the band members raised from the band and more realistic.

My Magazine Front Cover / Double Page Spread and Contents Page

Just starting putting final touches to magazine front cover with the exception of images which are going to be put in soon, may edit the colours a bit to make the 'included' band names stand out from their white backgrounds, I think I have managed to make the cover large enough so it can print A4 size without any pixilation.

I finally nearing the completion of the final product. I am missing the posters which are on another computer and not available to use but they should easily fit in the purple box. Also I added my main central image of the band and added details such as barcode, price (missing pound sign but can put one on easily) and issue number.

The Final Products.

My front cover included many different colours, purple, white, black, orange, electric green, yellow and red. I used all these colours to help make everything stand out from the bland dark background. I have also placed boxes at the top and bottom of the cover to include some of the band names which appear in my magazine, these are then followed into my contents page. The main title "Amplified" is the most dominant thing on the page, this is due to the fact it is the name of the magazine and also because it is has the largest font and is centered in the middle of the page. I have also added a motto to my magazine which the majority of magazines possess "Turn It Up". Also the sub heading reading "Apocalypse" helps compliment and frame the image of the band members above, and is clearly noticed by its bright yellow colour and abaddon font.
I have also included a "Free Poster" section, this is used on a wide variety of magazines to help catch the readers eye and to also persuade them purchase the magazine. I then included 3 cropped images which were all edited so that it looks professional and added there band names underneath.
I included the fire at both sides of the magazine; this not only helps to support the main genre of the magazine but also helps to frame the large central image of Apocalypse. I think this technique works very well and is also situated behind the title of the main magazine title so it isn't taking up much room. I also wanted the 'included' band names to seem like they were real rock metal groups, so I focused on keeping them short and focused like the majority of band names, this also allowed for more of them to be placed on the front cover. I then added the final touches, such as barcode, price and monthly issue (December) in the bottom right corner, all in one place so it makes it easier for the reader to know the price without having to much problems.

Research into existing media products

The Magazine Industry

Research into Magazine Companies

My Preliminary Task

Paper designs for school magazine front cover.

Contents page for School Magazine


School Magazine Front Cover

The Photo Shoot

My main aim for the photo shoot was to take high quality, professional photos which could then be used in my magazine's cover and double page spread. The band members wore make up, leather jackets, and bloody shirts to help support that their music is brutal and hard. This is also helps to compliment the Rock, Metal theme the magazine was trying to convey. The band members were also made to look scary with use of black make up and bland face shall expressions, the reason for this was that these techniques are usually used in magazines out on the market today. I also created a black background behind the band members using a black sheet, this helped the photo blend in with the black, dark feel of the magazine and to also support the bands look. I used a wide variety of camera angles and poses to help get the best image possible, for my front cover shot I wanted the band members to look directly at the camera lens, the reason was this was to try and make a connection with the reader, and is commonly used on the majority of magazine covers. I also annotated all the photos I took and also annotated the final edited images after I completed doing the cropping, hue and saturation

Planning My Own Magazine

These are plans which I created to try and get a sence for what the final front cover will look like. I took into consideration the dark image and feel of the magazine, and also current magazines which are on the market at the moment such as Kerrang!.

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