Title: I eventually decided on the font 'Jangly Walk' for my masthead. This font seems
like a win
because of its slightly less formal approach giving it that rebellious and
different edge to the cover. It fits the
conventions of a typical music magazine by being bold and the ability to
attract attention of the potential consumer. However, it could be said that the
title also challenges the music magazine conventions by being a little less
regimented and together, instead similar to handwriting- Something that is
uncommon in most magazine mastheads.
The bold and
straight lettering of Cliché, The Fly and NME is apparent in my masthead, but
also changes and develops into something a little more 'messy' and less
straight forward. This creates a unique look, which should attract more of an
audience.
Like most
magazines, such as NME and THE FLY, my masthead is made up from capital
letters, which helps to make the magazine as a whole stand out on a shop shelf,
and also puts emphasis on the informal attitude the magazine carries. Like most professional magazines, my masthead
is repeated onto my contents page. This ties the two pages together, enabling
them to flow smoothly and to keep up the style and themes of the magazine.
Layout of the magazine:
The layout
of Whistling Dawg follows conventional ideas throughout. Firstly, the front
cover- the masthead fills the top quarter of the page and it is easy to read,
even at a first glance and could easily become recognisable. I also have a central picture in filling my
page of my main artist, with the cover line overlapping it (a common
conventional magazine technique)
Another way
that my Whistling Dawg front cover is following the common conventions of a
music magazine is seen through the position of the barcode. It is found in the
bottom left hand corner, which is the norm for most music magazines. However,
placing it here could be a good move; it is then easy to find for the consumer
and avoids confusion at the tills.
My double page spread also follows many of the conventions of the average music magazine, it includes one main photograph, the text is organised in columns and it has the odd inspirational quote on the side. The pictures are also effective as there is not much colour in them apart from the splash of colour from Gingers coat- making them interesting candidates to complement the text.
Moving on to
contents now, unlike many magazines in Whistling Dawg's genre, my contents is
built with only two main photo's than a series of small photographs dotted
about the page or one large photo. But,
again, there are similarities such as the lures and page numbers written on a
featured photo giving the consumer a taste of what they can expect later on in
the magazine.
The
remaining space on my contents page is filled with a list of page descriptions
and numbers. I decided to change these to alternate colours, making it easier
to read and follow. I also wanted to make text describing the featured artist (Ginger)
and the page number a different colour completely. I feel this emphasised the
fact Ginger was a special subject in the magazine. I did this, as contrary to
magazines such as NME, I didn't feel it necessary to insert another picture of
Ginger for the contents page.
Colour Schemes
I feel my main colours of orange, white, yellow and black work well together, and stand out against each other and most other colours. They are bright colours, which could symbolise fun and happiness, just like the pictures through out my contents page, double page spread and front cover.
Mise-En-Scene
The
Mise-En-Scene firstly challenges the convention of the average music magazine
as there is no instrument in the photo on the front cover, nor the double page
spread. I felt that when an instrument is used in a photo, it narrows the
choice of poses for the model, making the pictures rather boring and similar to
other magazines. In other ways however, my artist does follow conventions as
Ginger looks straight into the camera, a technique used in professional
magazines such as NME to give the feel of the artist linking to the audience.
The scenery
in my double page spread also fits nicely; it shows Ginger jumping in snow,
accompanied by an article/interview about her new winter album.
Camera
Another convention that fits with my magazine is the use of a close up shot on the front cover, clearly showing the artists emotion and the use of full body shots on the double page spread clearly show body language and the artists pose.