Page Plus practice.

Today's lesson was about getting used to a new software called page plus. In order to help us try out this software we had to create a magazine front cover, contents page and a double page spread. in today's lesson I have created a front cover and a contents page sticking to my target audience and focusing on the pop music genre I have chosen.

The star i have used on my front cover is Selena Gomez because i know that she is a huge star in the music industry and a lot of young girls look up to her and see her as an inspiration. Choosing the right picture/person for the front cover image is vital because it is what the customers see first and therefore it must make a good impression and grab the attention in order for someone to buy it. In this particular magazine i have decided to stick with the colour pink, because it's a very girly colour and it could mean more girls would probably be more attracted to. i have kept it pretty simple but it still looks busy. Normally pop magazine are very crowded giving as much information as possible and this is a way to show how much of the money the magazine is worth. In this case i have made the front cover busy but sticking to small amount of information, probably the man topics inside the magazine.

With the contents page i have decided to include the same font as the Masthead, and kept everything simple and plain.I feel that the contents page has to be easy to read because that is something which navigates you through the magazine. I have only included a few of the page numbers but making it simpler will be better because i do expect young girls buying this music magazine.

Questionnaire.

I have decided to make a questionnaire which will provide feedback for me to influence me what they would like to see inside the magazine. I will print off around 20 copies and give them out. From this feedback i will be able to take any results and  put them into a pie chart or a graph to see which are the most popular answers. This will only really help me in terms of knowing what is the favorable genre of music.And i will also know what they like reading inside the magazines therefore it will give me an idea of what to do for a double page spread.

Planning

 Recently I have began to start planning out what king of character I would like on the front cover of my magazine. To show an example of what my idea is, I have researched 3 pictures of random girls of the internet which I personally think would really suit the POP music genre and therefore look perfect on a pop music magazine. Then reason why I have chose to use picture which are from the internet is because a lot of people stereotype the appearance of girls and I have also done the same with these three pictures in particular.

The three pictures which I have chosen are ones which I personally feel stereotypically would be used on the front cover of a pop genre music magazine. Each of these girls have a beautiful smile which draws a lot of attention to their faces. A smile is very important because it makes the face. Their skin is also perfect with beautiful long thick hair. The make up on each of these girls does look quite natural which is also important. All these features are always something which younger girls who read these magazine look up to and wish they had some of these features. Even though the camera angle on these pictures isn't aren't the perfect, as there isn't eye contact in the first one and the third one isn't a mid-shot, it still gives an idea of some of the features the readers look at from a girls magazine.

A front cover is the first thing which the reader/customer sees therefore it has to attract girls attentions. A pretty, perfect looking girl would definitely grab attention because girls straight away begin to admire her looks as well as then reading what this magazine is about.

This is only an example to create an imagination/idea of what I would like the photography and model for my front cover look. I would like to use this as a guide to any make up styles or how my chosen star of my magazine should look like. I would also like to take some sample photographs of any of my friend after making this post to be able to see how different style of make up work, as well as positions of the camera. I hopefully will be able to get feedback from other people on their first impressions when they see the photographs I have taken.

Planning - Evaluation of Double Page Spread.

As well as looking at the front covers of magazine like To pf the Pops and We love POP, i have also looked at a few of the double page spreads inside the magazine. A double page spread if definitely something that has to be eye catching because it takes up 2 of the pages.

I've decided to pick out a double page spread out of a Top of the Pops magazine and annotate it with the different conventions that make is successful. I think its important to make a double page spread very bold and i find that this one is definitely bright and bold. As soon as you turn the page you can already tell that this is Little Mix.This is important because using someone which is popular in the music industry will certainly attract attention especially at the target audience, which is young teenage girls. I have mainly looked at the information and layout of this page. The layout is very simple yet strong because the audience are able to clearly see what and who this is about. Overall the colours used are pretty simple, having some of the words in yellow indicating they are important. Then advertisement is very useful because its an extra credit to attract young girls. The prize is linked with Little Mix as they have chose to use a signed make up bag. This is a brilliant way to persuade the fans of little mix to own a make up bag signed by this girl band. Therefore that's another thing which is used as a way to attract the readers.

Research into similar products: my own We Love Pop Magazine

As I mentioned in the previous post I really wanted to have a go at making something very similar to the 'We love POP' magazine because I felt it differed from the 'Top of the Pop's slightly. I noticed that this magazine always included a fashion advertisement on the front cover, where as Top of the Pops haven't. therefore i included a small fashion section in the corner. I have also included the masthead which was always slightly slanted on each magazine. The masthead is covering my original photography slightly however it's very bold and clear which is important because therefore it stands out much more. The main colour focus was purple because of the masthead i have picked. When everything is matching it all looks very neat. I have also decided to make some of the coverlines, including the date and price in yellow. This is because the dress which i have picked stood out from the rest and i felt that making some other coverlines the same colour as the dress would make it much more interesting. I also got rid of the background because all of the magazines i have looked at, had a plain background. The white background works really well with any dark colour therefore everything looks good together. the original photography which i have used maybe could have been better as the flash covers the features of Fran's face however i thought it was pretty because it really outlined her eyes. Fran is looking straight at the camera therefore it's direct address to the audience making it appeal to them in particular. By using a teenage girl could indicate to readers that is mainly targeted at teenage females. Fran is smiling which makes the audience feel welcomed into the magazine. i have decided to use very popular artists on the front of my magazine because that always grabs attention. Especially using Justin Bieber on the front because he is a teenage pop sensation.

More music magazine Analysis.

Recently I have only really been focusing on the 'Top of the Pops' music magazine for young teens. However I have also came across the 'We love Pop' magazine which is very similar. I have done my research and have focused on what appears to be on this magazine repeatedly. This magazine does differ from the 'Top of the Pops' magazine because this magazine looks a lot more busier and always has a fashion topic on the front cover of the magazine.

I have also realised that the colour pink is used an awful lot on teenage magazines and that's to appeal to the female gender which is very important. Particularly the 'We love Pop' magazine, uses a lot of pink colours on nearly every magazine I have came across.

I have decided to try and produce my own version of this 'We Love Pop' magazine to get as close as possible to achieving the same appearance and the impression that the magazine creates when a reader first looks at it. Before creating my magazine I have looked at these 2 in particular because I like the effect they give to the readers.

I think both of these two magazines have a very similar layout but still look very different. Therefore I have decided to try and make a third magazine which looks a little bit like these 2.

Drafting: Remake - Remodel Task

For this task i had to choose an existing magazine and create the front cover which would match the style of the genre and audience that the original magazine was aimed at. Because i have recently been focusing on the pop music genre i decided to go with 'Top of the pops' which is a magazine loved by teenagers and includes the whole pop music package. I added my own original photography along with the cover lines, pugs, colours, fonts and the little bits and pieces like barcodes, datelines and the price to make this magazine successful. I have only annotated the codes and conventions of this magazine. Underneath will be the Photography mise-en-scene which i have also written about.

Photography Mise-en-scene:
Setting and Location: Originally the photo would be taken in a studio where there is a lot of space so that the subjects and any props can be managed effectively.

Costume, Hair and Make-up: The original Photography which i have taken is very natural and clear. Its not anything busy or over the top, Shannon looks very delicate and pure. I think the whole picture is natural because her hair is naturally down as well as her make up which is also delicate and natural looking. The knitted jumper she is wearing is the colour baby pink. This also gives this delicate effect to it. By having all these delicate colour involved its very easy to make the font and information to stand out on the magazine, in this case i think the colours work very well together.

Facial Expressions: Shannon's facial expressions are very warm and welcoming. The way she is smiling indicates to the reader that its inviting him into the magazine. She is using direct address with the reader meaning shes helping to stimulate interaction.

Lighting: The lighting in this particular photography i think is very warm and gentle. The whole edit of the photo works really well with the Masthead and the colours used for the font. Lighting is very important because it could show the mood or the feelings of someone. In this case the whole image looks very warm and happy.

Layout: The layout of this magazine is quite busy. After doing my research on the previous post taking a look at some of the 'top of the pops' magazines i have spotted that the magazine are all very full and packed with information. They try and include a lot of the information because the magazine does have a lot to offer. In my magazine i have tried to make it look busy but still make it clear, including some of the things a real 'top of the pops' magazine would include, for example the Pugs, every top of the pops magazine includes at least 2 pugs.

Ethos/Philosophy: I personally think that my magazine would defiantly match what an original 'top of the pops' magazine would look like. After doing my research and looking back i have included everything that a teenage magazine has to offer. My original photography was a friendly welcoming picture of a teenage girl also which helps invite the young readers in. The main colours on this front cover were pink which shows that i have aimed it at young females in particular as this was my target audience. The celebrities i have included were linked into the pop music genre. Using pop sensations Justin Bieber and famous pop female artist like Jessie J and Selena Gomez shows that i have chosen artist which will be easily recognised by the young girls. Especially using Justin Bieber as a way to attract the young female fans in particular.Teenage pop magazines also offer gifts with the magazine, in this case i have also included gifts like poster and a lip gloss to show the extra attraction towards my magazine. Including a chance to win any prizes also shows there is a lot more to the magazine inside. For all these reasons i do fell that i have successfully met the Ethos and Philosophy of the magazine of my choice.