So it is the moment we have all been waiting for, below you will see a strapping video of my focus group. I found everything that they said in the session really rather helpful and I am already pleased with the changes I have made in which the focus group suggested and something even better is that the feedback seemed to be generally positive - now that's what we like to hear.
Feedback Time
I am rather proud of my magazine cover so far, I think it's time to show it to a focus group and get some feedback. With other people's (in the target age group) comments, I will be able to shuffle and edit my magazine cover to the exact (or close enough) taste of the age group. To kick things off, I wrote out an individual invitation to my members of my focus group.. It went a little like this:
Dear Ann Example,
I would love for you to be a part of my focus group and give me feedback on a Music Magazine front cover I produced for AS Media Studies. The focus group will take place on Wednesday the 29th of February in Mrs Lovett’s classroom at break time.
Thank you for your co-operation,
Amy Thompson
At the focus group meeting, I hope to give each member a copy of my 'Whistling Dawg' front cover in which they can analyse and either praise, but most probably degrade. Well, whatever they say, the feedback will be helpful, so I am going to film the focus
group session- then there will be no forgetting what they have said.
Dear Ann Example,
I would love for you to be a part of my focus group and give me feedback on a Music Magazine front cover I produced for AS Media Studies. The focus group will take place on Wednesday the 29th of February in Mrs Lovett’s classroom at break time.
Thank you for your co-operation,
Amy Thompson
At the focus group meeting, I hope to give each member a copy of my 'Whistling Dawg' front cover in which they can analyse and either praise, but most probably degrade. Well, whatever they say, the feedback will be helpful, so I am going to film the focus
group session- then there will be no forgetting what they have said.
Typography of Whistling Dawg
I came across the typography of my subheadings ( 'Buttons The Bear') on the internet. I think it is rather jolly and a simple font and I love the way it looks a bit like handwriting, (although not at all like mine) as you can easily tell the difference from an F to an A. I thought it fit very nicely on my magazine cover, adding to the childlike style.
However, when the text is required to be smaller, Buttons The Bear font didn't look so clear and not to easy to read, so I thought a much clearer text, such as Georgia would work well. The text seems a little bit boring and plain compared to the rest of the front cover however, but hopefully my focus group will give me some ideas on how to improve that bit.
Another quick thing to mention, is that what I thought would be really beautiful is to change the font when typing the names of the different artists, almost making there own logo. For both my main artist, Ginger, and for Whippet Skip, the two fonts are clearly unique, as you can see in the picture of my magazine cover so far on the previous blog post.
However, when the text is required to be smaller, Buttons The Bear font didn't look so clear and not to easy to read, so I thought a much clearer text, such as Georgia would work well. The text seems a little bit boring and plain compared to the rest of the front cover however, but hopefully my focus group will give me some ideas on how to improve that bit.
Another quick thing to mention, is that what I thought would be really beautiful is to change the font when typing the names of the different artists, almost making there own logo. For both my main artist, Ginger, and for Whippet Skip, the two fonts are clearly unique, as you can see in the picture of my magazine cover so far on the previous blog post.
Whistling Dawg Magazine Cover
So this is the magazine front cover which I showed my focus group, feedback is on it's way, hurrah:
Double Page Spread Photographs
The headline that accompanies my artist (who I have decided to call 'Ginger'- Creative) is going to be something about her new Winter album is going to be realeased. So some pictures of Ginger frolicking in the snow should fit perfectly. Here I have chosen 3 of what I believe to be the best pictures of the bunch I took of Ginger, as well as a beautiful picture of icicles which I hope to squeeze in somewhere, perhaps as a background.
Photographs for 'Whistling Dawg'
After looking at many music magazine front covers, I have decided I am rather fond of this particular front cover of NME as the main picture is only of the music artists head. To me, this looks effective and stands out among other magazines that may show the artists full body for example.
I think it would be a good idea for my 'Whistling Dawg' magazine to have a similar sort of style. Good plan stan.
Here is a plan on what I would love my Whistling Dawg front cover to look like:
I think it would be a good idea for my 'Whistling Dawg' magazine to have a similar sort of style. Good plan stan.
Here is a plan on what I would love my Whistling Dawg front cover to look like:
Main Photograph (Edit)
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Chosen Main Photograph
As soon as I knew what I sort of picture I fancied for my main 'Whistling Dawg' magazine front cover, I got this splendid picture of my friend. It was taken inside and I really like the way the light naturally makes her eyes stand out. It's simply charming. So here is the picture below, have a looky. It also fits beautifully with my genre of magazine, indie/alternative, much like the NME front cover a couple of posts below
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Music Magazine - Masthead
I am rather excited about the chosen title for my Music Magazine, 'Whistling Dawg' so I have set to work to find the perfect font for my masthead. Yesterday I came across this beauty, a font called 'Jangly Walk', and I think it will fit very nicely with my front cover.
Soon after that, the thought of drawing a speech bubble around the text coming from a whistling dog's head sounded quite appealing, so that's what I did.
This makes a beautiful masthead as well as a dashing logo to perhaps use again on my double page spread.
Target Audience
I would like to aim my magazine at teenagers/young adults (age 16 - 25) so I therefore have been researching (through the media) what this particular age range would like to read about and would relate to.
I have come across a fair few articles online about this genaration being the 'Generation of the interent, television, social networking and mobile phone usage' so including something about atleast one of these elements might be a good start to get my audience interested.
An advantage of focusing on 16-25 year olds is that I am within this target audience age range, which allows me to use my own knowlege about what works and what doesn't aswell as opinions from others. Score!
I have come across a fair few articles online about this genaration being the 'Generation of the interent, television, social networking and mobile phone usage' so including something about atleast one of these elements might be a good start to get my audience interested.
An advantage of focusing on 16-25 year olds is that I am within this target audience age range, which allows me to use my own knowlege about what works and what doesn't aswell as opinions from others. Score!
Audience Theory
The hypodermic needle model (also known as the hypodermic-syringe model, transmission-belt model, or magic bullet theory) is a model of communication suggesting that an intended message is directly received and wholly accepted by the receiver. The model is rooted in 1930s behaviourism and is largely considered obsolete today.’Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypodermic_needle_model
This means that the audience will understand the film completely, as well as the directors messages and values within the film. However, this is not always the case as everyone interprets things in different ways and will see it motifs, themes etc in a different light to others.
The Multistep Flow Model is a theory based on a 1940′s study on social influence that states that media effects are indirectly established through the personal influence of opinion leaders. The majority of people receive much of their information and are influenced by the media secondhand, through the personal influence of opinion leaders.’Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-step_flow
This implies that many people will take into account opinions of those in the media – such as a politician or celebrity and subconsciously take this into account and use it to form their own opinion and thoughts.
Audience theory delves into why people listen to the media and why they are so influenced by it. For example the man who committed the Hungerford Massacre was said to of been obsessed with the Rambo film Solider of Fortune. It is important to take into account these theories when planning my own music magazine front cover and double page spread.
This means that the audience will understand the film completely, as well as the directors messages and values within the film. However, this is not always the case as everyone interprets things in different ways and will see it motifs, themes etc in a different light to others.
The Multistep Flow Model is a theory based on a 1940′s study on social influence that states that media effects are indirectly established through the personal influence of opinion leaders. The majority of people receive much of their information and are influenced by the media secondhand, through the personal influence of opinion leaders.’Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-step_flow
This implies that many people will take into account opinions of those in the media – such as a politician or celebrity and subconsciously take this into account and use it to form their own opinion and thoughts.
Audience theory delves into why people listen to the media and why they are so influenced by it. For example the man who committed the Hungerford Massacre was said to of been obsessed with the Rambo film Solider of Fortune. It is important to take into account these theories when planning my own music magazine front cover and double page spread.
Finished Shcontents page
This is my finished contents page for my Shmagazine. I have changed the pictures and colour scheme to match the requests from the questionares. Overall, I am quite happy with my finished Shmagazine contents page and cover.
Music Magazine Analysis
This essay applies to the music magazine double page spreads above:
These magazines are of the same genre and even from the same company, we can see a number of different codes and conventions constructing each front cover.
These magazines are of the same genre and even from the same company, we can see a number of different codes and conventions constructing each front cover.
The feature image presents an indie style boy band in a number of poses and takes up most of the page, leaving little room for the straplines and headlines to sit without looking clustered.
At the top and bottom of the front cover there are two banners, each advertising other bands featured in the magazine. These banners help to make the cover look completed and structured. The price of the magazine is very difficult to see, perhaps because the magazine is quite expensive and the producers would rather the consumer to see what the magazine has to offer before they see the price. This is the opposite technique used by many other magazines as the price is often used as a lure.
The front cover of this NME magazine is colourful and clustered, giving it a relaxed, ‘who cares’ kind of flair. The masthead is bold and catches ones eye, so even if they don’t buy the magazine the ‘NME’ sign is easily recognised. This may mean things to different people, for young people the signified would be a trendy music magazine but for those of the older generations it may signify an immature magazine for music they aren’t particularly interested in.
The main feature of the magazine, the boy band, is typical of the indie/alternative genre. They fill their stereotype as they are a grubby looking, colourful clothed group of young men with floppy hair. In this case, the name of the band is ‘The Wombats’; the name of their band is the first thing that catches your eye when you look at the magazine as it’s in a bright yellow font, larger than the rest of the text. This is a lure to the consumer as most people interested in this genre of music would also be interested in this band.
The niche audience for this magazine would be young people aged between fourteen and early thirties, probably due to the bright colours and informal mode of address. The typography is fun and not sophisticated so may not cater for the older generations, or perhaps those who are hoping for a more serious magazine.
The layout of this magazine is still cluttered but is slightly less messy than the previous magazine. The bold colours help to distinguish the straplines from the headlines and the fact that there is only one person in the main feature image makes it easier for the straplines and headlines to be read. This time round, the NME magazine doesn’t look as light hearted as we can see a more depressive quote from Lily Allen and dark colours, perhaps to present the darkness in her. Once again there is a banner at the top and bottom of the page to help keep the cover well structured.
The next magazine is still from the NME brand but from a first glance could easily be a different magazine. The colour scheme is set mainly red and black, tidier in comparison to the previous magazine; it’s also more passionate as the colours present anger. This seems to catch the eye more and looks a lot less messy. The main feature of the magazine is Lily Allen, a female indie/alternative artist who often puts dark words in to contrapuntal jolly music. She is unsmiling, wearing lots of eye make-up and has straight black hair with a baggy checked shirt. This makes the magazine look almost ‘grunge’ style and on the left of the magazine is a quote from her interview, encouraging the consumer to buy the magazine. The magazine denotes a female artist with a baggy shirt and dark hair, however it could connote that the female indie music is becoming just as popular as male indie music and could present the myth that women are becoming more equal to men in society and the workforce.
The Finished Shmagazine Cover
A background colour (suggested by the focus group) of pail blue really added to the piece as a whole, and demolished any bareness that the front cover may of had.
The feedback from the focus group after showing them my finished piece was positive, they particularly liked the masthead as it supplemented other elements (such as the colour schemes) nicely.
Focus Group Results
I asked a focus group of 12-13 year olds to comment on my magazine cover (first draft) and write down what they liked, disliked or what they would change etc.
This way I got plenty of useful and helpful information to improve my Shmagazine cover, and gave me a clear idea of how to create my Shmagazine contents page to a good standard.
I found these particular following comments rather helpful:
''Perhaps the style of the writing (not the title) could be a bit less boring?''
''More colour!''
''The big picture is a bit pixlated''
With the comments in mind, I set to work to produce the final front cover.
This way I got plenty of useful and helpful information to improve my Shmagazine cover, and gave me a clear idea of how to create my Shmagazine contents page to a good standard.
I found these particular following comments rather helpful:
''Perhaps the style of the writing (not the title) could be a bit less boring?''
''More colour!''
''The big picture is a bit pixlated''
With the comments in mind, I set to work to produce the final front cover.
First Draft - Shmagazine Cover
This is the first draft of the Shmagazine cover. I decided to go ahead and use the typography I came across earlier as a masthead but used a clear font for the rest of the text.
I created 'Your School Choir Needs You' with a font I found on the internet which I thought looked simple and effective.
I am quite pleased with this first draft and the focus group will hopefully give me some useful feedback and good ideas to improve my magazine cover.
I am quite pleased with this first draft and the focus group will hopefully give me some useful feedback and good ideas to improve my magazine cover.
Editing My Images
These are some of my chosen images for my front cover, and I intend to edit them to make the overall presentation of the front cover look more professional. I'd like to use picture one and two to match the appropriate headlines and picture three as my main image for the cover. I am also going to attempt to crop picture three and edit out the background so only the person in the middle is visible, this is a technique seen in many professional magazines, particularly on front covers, as seen in picture 4. It's not that I read 'Woman's Weekly' or anything...
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| Picture 1 |
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| Picture 2 |
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| Picture 3 |
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| Picture 4 |
Typography
Important things I Must Remember When Creating My Magazine Cover.
When I have chosen my genre of magazine, I must stay relevant to the genre, gender and age. Keeping the target audience in mind is key to make a magazine cover stand out amongst competing producers.
I will also need to think about:
I will also need to think about:
- Masthead (Typography, titles and themes)
- Overall Visual impact (House Style: font, images and colour)
- Language (Mode of address, content and structure)
Web 2.0
Just a quick note about Web 2.0 applications, which allow media consumers to also become producers.
The well known and widely used YouTube, Facebook and Blogger would all be examples as each application allows you to create and publish your produce to others.
Audience and Institutions
The Concept of audiences and institutions refers to roles in media.
Audience - The consumer (reading, watching or listening to the product)
Institution- The producer of the newspaper/magazine/film ect.
It also concerns the relationship between the media and audiences made up from social/cultural groups, who are involved in the consumption the text and the responses to them.
Audience - The consumer (reading, watching or listening to the product)
Institution- The producer of the newspaper/magazine/film ect.
It also concerns the relationship between the media and audiences made up from social/cultural groups, who are involved in the consumption the text and the responses to them.
Form, Style and Conventions
Forms and Conventions refer to the forms, categories and conventions used to organise and structure the languages of media products.
The form of media text is its shape and structure and the combination of Micro Elements. For example for a Radio Drama: Dialogue, Sound effects, editing and ambiance are used to create it.
The form of the text is instantly recognisable to the audience style.
Style: The style of the text uses the form.
Eg: Shameless on Channel 4 has a particular aesthetic feel that makes it unique within the genre TV Drama, making its style entirely different to another, such as Holby City.
When producing my own magazine cover it is important to think about these key questions:
What category of genre/text is it and how can we identify this?
What can we learn from this text from the front cover?
What codes of conventions does it follow or disobey?
What categories and conventions do we need to consider and use when creating our very own media text?
The form of media text is its shape and structure and the combination of Micro Elements. For example for a Radio Drama: Dialogue, Sound effects, editing and ambiance are used to create it.
The form of the text is instantly recognisable to the audience style.
Style: The style of the text uses the form.
Eg: Shameless on Channel 4 has a particular aesthetic feel that makes it unique within the genre TV Drama, making its style entirely different to another, such as Holby City.
When producing my own magazine cover it is important to think about these key questions:
What category of genre/text is it and how can we identify this?
What can we learn from this text from the front cover?
What codes of conventions does it follow or disobey?
What categories and conventions do we need to consider and use when creating our very own media text?
Narrative and Genre
Narrative
· The story line & structure of a media text.
· Fictional television & film tends to operate on a simple structure of balance, conflict & attempts at resolution.
· Narrative describes the processes of balancing what we see or hear and what we assume in addition.
· Narratives are structured within genres which provide frameworks of expectation, predictability and outcome.
Genre
· A category of media products classed as being similar in form and type.
· Film, magazine, newspaper and television are all media genres.
· Types of film (westerns & musicals), magazine (lifestyle & music), newspaper (tabloid & broadsheet) and television shows (sitcoms, crime dramas & soap operas) are also genres.
· Genres operate alongside narrative constructions in line with audience expectations, for example, magazines of a particular genre are expected to contain a specific kind of narrative discourse.
Semiotics
The Study of Signs
- Providing a system for de-constructing and analysing visual moving images.
- For explaining the wider cultural choice and combination patterns that generate cultural meaning.
Signifier - Physical appearance/form
Signified - An idea or concept associated with the form. (The meaning being different to the individual)
Denotation - Straight forward description of a text.
Connotation - Associated information, insights and values to a text.
Representation and Ideology
Representation - The process of presenting/showing someone or something. Used to describe the processes by which an image etc. may be used to represent/stand for someone or something, for example a place or idea.
Ideology- System of ideas, values of beliefs which an individual, group or society holds to be true or important; these are shared by a culture/society or groups therein, about how individuals/society should function, this considers the relationship between: People, places, Events, Ideas, Values and beliefs.
Ideal Magazine.
Usually, people (or children if you like) aged around 3-12 years care most about what free gift comes with a magazine, even if they prefer the content of another, they seem to always choose the magazine that includes a bat man water pistol rather than one they would actually prefer to read, just because it only comes with a puzzle.
But when you grow slightly older, and in some cases, the brain matures, we look at front covers when choosing the right magazine, which is what directed me to this particular one.
The language used has a very mature style, again, aimed at older readers.
This monthly magazine changes the design each time to match the background 'star' room, but keeps the title (masthead) the same so it is easy to spot amongst others on the shop shelf. The masthead is placed at the top of the magazine cover in a large white font which stands out against the cool blue.
Only when I began to read this did I realise that actually, I don't have my own home to make 'Ideal', a toddlers room to re decorate nor do I have the odd £87 lying around for a new beige lampshade.
So yes, I only chose this magazine for the cover, it is sophisticated in its colour themes and has a refined style filling the page.
The cover also managed to make me feel slightly excited when I read the subheading ‘Choose the perfect carpet’ which just proves how powerful the classy design can be, even if not to its target audience.
It seems to me that more time, effort and care is spent on the front cover of any magazine. After all, it is first impressions that count with a product and even though you should never judge a book by its cover, sometimes you just can't help but go for one that looks pretty.
I'm sure my mum will read it.
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