Front Cover Picture

I have now chosen the main picture for my front cover and have begun to edit it. This is my progress so far. First I selected the picture I wanted to use, then I rotated it so that it was portrait and rotated it again vertically. Then I removed any red eye and extra shine caused by the camera flash and am now working on editing out the background and the extra person in the corner so that I'm left with just the two main guitar players. I will then import this image onto a different background, which I am yet to decide upon, so that it will be easier to read the fonts and colours, and so that, because of the angle at which the photo was taken, the audience's gaze will be drawn across the characters to the centre of the page.

Mode of Address

As my target audience is young guitar and bass enthusiasts aged between about 16-24, I have tried to use language similar to that which they use on a daily basis.

Editorial Profile and Target Readership

I have now completed my editorial profile and my target readership. They are listed as follows:

Editorial Profile: Plectrum is a music magazine which is dedicated to guitars and provides up-to-date information through news, interviews and reviews of the latest musicians and technology available to all musicians.

Target Readership: Plectrum caters to a wide spread age profile, but its main target audience is young guitarists aged 16-24 who want to be kept in the loop with new techniques, gossip and technology.

Double Page Spread; Guitar Heroes or Zeroes?

This is my completed double page spread, though i have not completed the layout or attached the pictures yet:

Guitar Heroes or Zeroes?

It’s in every games shop we walk in to. We see it every time we turn on our TV’s. Everybody is talking about it. So, what is it I hear you cry? ‘Guitar Heroes’.
With so many different versions, ‘Guitar Heroes’ is globally renowned as the hottest imitation guitar game for the ‘wannabe rock stars’ waiting to step into the spotlight.
The ‘Guitar Heroes’ games give the player the illusion that they are playing the notes displayed on the screen by pressing buttons at the right times, and, if they are confident enough, they can even challenge their friends. The game play allows the player to unlock new songs and characters and the latest versions allow you to play alongside your friends with drums, microphone, lead guitar or bass for the right price. It’s the only game to play for any aspiring musicians waiting to be discovered or music fanatics who want to play rather than listen, but is it any good? We decided to find out. Meet our expert panel of judges:

Rosie (16): An aspiring singer and future actress, Rosie knows how to hit all the right notes and loves to sing her heart out.

Jak (15): A real-life guitarist and future lawyer, Jak practically lives on his Xbox 360 and loves to rock his socks off.

Holli (16): A self-taught bass player and future author, Holli is determined to do whatever she wants and she won’t let anybody stop her.

Tom (16): The best drummer around, but only in his own house, Tom loves the limelight and prides himself on his gaming skills.

We sat our expert panel down in a room together with an Xbox 360, a ‘Guitar Heroes: World Tour’ game and some snacks and left them to it. 3 hours of very competitive rocking and several snacks later, they returned from the game room. What did they think?

Rosie: I love it! The only bad bit for me is how it relates to singing in real life- it’s very hard to stay in the lines they set you as limits, and it’s really difficult to read the words because they scroll across the screen so quickly and they’re all spelt in syllables. It’s irritating because you can’t stray from the tune even slightly or add your own personality to the song because you loose points. It’s a good game for armatures looking for fun, but it’s nothing like real life.

Jak: It’s so much easier to play lead guitar on the game than it is in real life, because in reality there are loads of different strings and things you have to remember, but with the game you just press buttons. It’s not very realistic, but it’s so addictive and it’s very difficult to remember that it’s not real.

Holli: It was really fun! A lot more people can join in and challenge each other- it’s great! I think the drums are the best because they’re a new feature, but playing bass in the game is completely different to real life.

Tom: It’s amazing! The bad thing is that when you set the level at the start, the drumming is either stupidly easy or ridiculously hard!

The results? Though our panel all loved the ‘Guitar Heroes’ games, it was for their entertainment value, not their reality. They all agreed that playing on the game is too easy compared to the years of hard work, dedication and effort that all musicians have to put into learning an instrument. Musicians; we salute you!

Double Page Spread Update

I have now completed writing my double page spread and will post it on my blog as soon as i have typed it up on the computer.

Alternative Guitar Heores

After i decided to write my double page spread on Guitar Heroes, i then had to decide which console i would be writing about, the options being the Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii and the Xbox 360. Though I did get some pictures of Guitar Heroes being played on DS, it's not a very social game, so i decided to go with the Xbox 360, which has been around for longer and is likely to be less expensive and therefore more common in the average home. This was one of the other pictures.

Pictures for my double page spread

I went out and took pictures for my double page spread on Guitar Heroes, and am now deciding which ones to use. Sorry if some of them are at a strange angle.

Double Page Spread

I have decided to write my double page spread on the new Guitar Heroes game and how good it is and if it is anything like playing music in real life rather than just pressing buttons.

Questionaire

I created a questionnaire for my new music magazine. When I asked for feedback on the questionnaire some people said that it was unclear, so this is the second draft of the questionnaire, and this is the one that I handed out to people. It was interesting to see peoples ideas for a symbol, but not a lot of people wanted to draw, so instead I just asked them to write down what kind of things they would like in the space provided.

Media Questionnaire - ‘PLECTRUM’

I am currently in the process of creating a new music magazine called ‘PLECTRUM’ for my AS Media coursework, and it would be a great help if you could fill in this questionnaire for research purposes.

1.Which size of magazine would you prefer?
(Please tick one)

A5
A4
A3
Other
(Please state)_________________________­­­­_______

2.How often should the magazine come out?
(Please tick one)

Daily
Weekly
Fortnightly
Monthly

Yearly
Other
(Please state)________________________________

3.How long would you like the magazine to be?
(Please tick one)

30 – 50 pages
50 – 70 pages

70 – 90 pages
110 pages +
Other
(Please state)________________________________

4.What price would you be willing to pay for the magazine?
(Please tick one)

£1 - £1.50
£1.50 - £2

£2 - £2.50
£2.50- £3
£3+

5.What kind of logo would you like?
(Please draw in the space provided below)
















6. What is your gender?
(Please tick one)

Male
Female

7. How old are you?
(Please state)________________________________________

Thank you for taking the time to fill in this questionnaire.
Once completed please return to Carrie Chapman.

Further names

I asked the other students which of the names they preferred and 'Plectrum' was selected as a clear favorite, so that's now the name of my new music magazine.

Names

I came up with ideas for names for my new music magazine that would sound catchy and create an obvious link to the subject of music and the fact that the magazine is new. A few of my initial ideas were

• Back 2 Basics
• New
• My Generation
• Imagine
• Creation
• Strummer
• Plectrum
• Strings

Deconstruction of Kerrang! Double Page Spread

The two pages have been linked through the use of their colour scheme in the form of a sketchy faint green border which surrounds both pages. The right page is taken up by one image of the same man pictured on the front cover, taken at a different angle, which has been bled off of the page. Whereas the left hand page follows the rule of thirds. Adverts of the featured musician’s new album are advertised on the left hand side of the left page, which again links the two pages together. The same font size has been used throughout, including for the caption of the picture on the right, which links the two pages and maintains both continuity and house style. The magazine name and page number are displayed in the bottom corners of each page, which makes good use of the area known as dead space. The name of the featured band is written along the top of the left hand page for easy identification of the article for the audience member and to simplify navigation through the magazine for readers.

Deconstruction of NME Double Page Spread

The double page spread article is the main feature and uses a similar picture to that shown on the front cover, except that in this photograph, the artists featured have moved slightly, and are just laughing around with the camera as a group of friends normally would on a day out. The same colour of mainly black and white is kept to, which maintains continuity levels throughout the magazine and helps to keep the house style. The use of black and white images also links all of the pages together, and traditionally carries connotations of being old, which contrasts the concept of the ‘new’ in the name of the magazine; New Music Express. Medallions with title of the feature are repeated in the top outer corners of both pages to make it easier for the reader to locate the pages, and because this is making use of the area known as dead space. All of the images are bordered by white shapes, which mimic those from the old-fashioned instant cameras, black text and the background, which makes the page layout look more structured and more attractive for the audience to read. The layout of both pages loosely follows the rule of thirds, and the pages have been linked together through the use of techniques such as black and white photographs, the same text size, font, the same colour of all of the captions, the same colour of all of the font, similar layout and the same colour and font for all of the subtitles.

Deconstruction of Q Double Page Spread

The image has been spread across the two pages and is bled off of the page, which is a link to the water flying off of the page. The well known singer featured in the image is kicking up the water but looking elsewhere, and so is not engaging with the audience. This gives the impression that he is arrogant, but at the same time he looks as though he is having fun. He has a thoughtful expression on his face and is not smiling, which connotes that his mind is elsewhere. His white shirt is even more exposed in this picture than it was on the main image of the front cover, which connotes that he is discovering more about his true self, personality, abilities, and the answer to the question that has been raised by the article. The small logo, page numbers and writers and photographers names have all been moved from the dead space in the bottom left hand corner, and have been scattered across the first page, as though the musician has kicked these up along with the droplets of water. The double page spread keeps to the same colour scheme of blue, black and white. This use of colour, as the picture, links the pages as well.

Deconstruction of double page spreads

Finally, I deconstructed the Double Page Spreads from the same magazines.

Deconstruction of Kerrang! Contents Page

The contents page follows the rule of thirds, which helps to maintain a level verisimilitude with the front cover, links the pages together, keeps continuity throughout the magazine, and keeps the house style. A small photograph of the front cover is shown next to the editor’s note in the top left hand corner of the page, which also helps to link the pages together, and is filling up the gutter space. This is a regular occurrence in Kerrang! Magazines, and therefore this helps to maintain the house style and links back to previous magazines. A contents list runs down the right hand side of the page, and is subcategorized for added convenience to the reader. The photographs have been positioned with borders and captions to separate them from each other, make the page easier to read and to anchor the meaning of the pictures to the audience. These take up two thirds of the page, which have been clearly separated from each other by thin black lines, which run down the length of the page to make the page look more structured and easier to read. The use of the phrase “world exclusive!” creates enigma, as the audience will want to know what the review is about, and if it is exclusive then only this magazine will have the information, so it gives them more of an incentive to buy Kerrang! rather than any other music magazine. The contents page keeps to basic colour scheme of black, white and red to maintain levels of continuity and house style, and to link back to the front cover.

Deconstruction of NME Contents Page

The masthead and the colour scheme are continued on the contents page to maintain house style, continuity and to create a link between the contents page and the front cover. The rule of thirds has been followed, which helps to create a level of verisimilitude which linking back to the front cover. There is an index of all of the bands featured in this issue of the magazine down the left hand side in alphabetical order for the reader’s convenience, to make it easier for a target audience member to locate articles about the particular bands which interest them, and to show that all of these are included, which connotes to the potential buyer that the magazine is good value for money. A large colour picture that has been positioned in the centre of the page shows a memorable moment from this week’s music scene, and the text underneath takes up the centre of the page to keep with the rule of thirds and to anchor meaning to the photograph.
A contents list runs down the right hand side of the page, which has been subcategorized for the convenience of the reader. There is an advert for subscription in a strap line at the base of the page, and the list of additional articles featured in the magazine names take up the remaining dead space at the bottom of the page. The use of the word ‘plus’ here promotes to the audience that the magazine is good value for money, and creates a sense of enigma. It is in a bold, red font which stands out as it has been placed under a block of black text, but still keeps within the main colour scheme.

Deconstruction of Q Contents Page

The page is split into two halves down the middle and is spread across two different pages. The rule of thirds has loosely been followed, much as in the same way as the front cover, which creates a link between the two pages and simultaneously helps to maintain a stronger level of continuity throughout the magazine. The title of the magazine is repeated at the centre of the top of both of the contents pages as a watermark to create continuity and maintain house style. A tiny version of the masthead is also repeated at the bottom of the pages next to the page number. This is done both to maintain house style and because this area is known as dead space, because this is where the audience member would place their thumb when turning the page. A contents list runs down the left hand side of the page to make it easier for the target audience to locate particular articles which interest them. Photographs of various features included in the magazine and pictures of the photo shoot take up the remaining two thirds of the page, and captions at have been placed at on these images to anchor the meaning and to explain the action in the images to the audience. All of the pictures are bordered by white gaps in the page, which is also known as gutter space. This helps to make the contents page look neat and easy to read, and therefore it looks more attractive to the members of the target audience. The contents page uses the same colour scheme of black, silver and white to maintain the continuity and house style throughout the magazine. This also links to the front cover.

Deconstruction of contents pages

I also deconstructed the contents pages from the same magazines.

Deconstruction of Kerrang! Front Cover

Kerrang! Is an onomatopoeic title, in that it is the sound that an electric guitar makes if you drop it whilst it is still plugged in. This creates enigma, as not everybody will know the reason behind the name.
The colour scheme of black, white, red and gold is kept the same throughout the magazine in order to create a sense of continuity and in keeping with the house style. The colour black creates enigma and has connotations of being masculine, dark, dangerous, mysterious, morbid, dishonest, clouded, secretive and unpredictable. In contrast, the colour white carries connotations that it hides nothing, tells you everything, is honest, open, innocent, new and fresh. The colour red connotes heat, passion and danger. The colour gold is metallic, which connotes glamour, enigma, special and expensive, as well as catching the eye, and highlighting information that will be important for the audience to look at and take in.
The tag line is in a stamp font and lists of bands and poster style, which helps to create enigma and makes the magazine look more modern, and more like an underground music magazine that should be kept quiet. The front cover loosely follows the rule of thirds and is split into two across the middle. The main image is bled off of the page, which creates enigma, as the audience cannot see what is off the page. The bar code has been placed in the bottom left corner, which is also known as dead space because this is where the audience member places their thumb when they turn the page.
The main image is in full colour, and shows a man singing into a microphone. He looks relaxed, and his eyes are shut, so he is obviously very passionate about his music, and lost in the song in the picture. He is holding a metallic red microphone, which has both musical connotations and links back to the colour scheme. The fact that the microphone is metallic also adds enigma and glamour to the image. The artist featured also looks as though he’s having a good time and putting on a show by entertaining a crowd, which gives the impression that he is on stage, and must be famous. His face is partially obscured by a pair of sunglasses which reflect the flash of camera and the image of crowd. He is not engaging audience, but is living in his own little world which makes him seem arrogant and gives the impression that he thinks that he’s better than everyone else. The sunglasses also create a sense of enigma, as the audience wants to know who he is. this also means that those members of the audience who do recognize the artist will feel privileged by this knowledge.
Two bordered images are also featured on the front cover, the occupants of which look at the audience and draw the audience’s gaze. This helps to create enigma, as the audience want to know what the images relate to, and the audience want to pick up the magazine and read what the images are about. One of the images is in black and white which connotes age and the artists featured are wearing sunglasses which partially obscure their faces and they are smiling mischievously, which creates a sense of enigma, because the audience wants to know why they are smiling and who they are. The second image is in full colour, though the dominant colour is blue. The subject of the image’s face is partially obscured by the fact that he is half underwater. Despite the fact that it looks like he is standing in a swimming pool, he is still engaging the audience with his gaze. This image creates enigma as, firstly, he is still breathing and is not panicking that his mouth is underwater. Secondly, the audience wants to know why he is underwater and if he is hiding and, if so, what from. Finally, the audience wants to know where he is, and whether their immediate assumptions of a swimming pool were correct or if he was elsewhere. The page is split in two across the middle length ways by a tag line and image proclaiming that an album that everyone’s waiting for ‘is here’ and has been now been released. This connotes to the audience that the magazine contains information that they should read in order to keep up to date with modern music, and that only this magazine has that information.

Deconstruction of NME Front Cover

NME is an acronym of New Music Express. This creates enigma, as the full name of the magazine is not widely known, and the knowledge of this trivia makes the audience members that do know it feel privileged, in the know, included, cool and also helps to create a bond of loyalty to the magazine, almost the same way that sharing a secret would help to affirm your loyalty and trust in a friend. The title of New Music Express also sounds something like an old newspaper, which contrasts the word ‘New’, and creates enigma, as the audience is none the wiser as to what genres of music will be covered by the magazine.
The magazine used the same colour schemes of pink, black and white throughout to help to maintain a sense of continuity. The colour bright pink is commonly perceived as feminine, and is used to draw in female readers. It also carries connotations of heat and passion. The colour black creates a sense of enigma because you can’t see all of it and something could be hiding just out of sight. It also has masculine, dark, dangerous, mysterious, morbid, dishonest, clouded secretive, unpredictable and old connotations. This old connotation is also in direct contrast with the title ‘New’ Music Express, and this clash adds to the enigma. The colour white has connotations that it hides nothing, tells you everything, is honest, open, innocent, new and fresh, which links to the title of ‘New’ Music Express. The deliberate mix of bright feminine colours with harsh masculine colours attracts both male and female readers, and the bold clash is more likely to catch the audience’s eye. The medallions create enigma, and are in contrasting colours of red and blue to stand out from the main colour scheme and to draw the reader’s attention. The colour blue has connotations of being cold, distant, depressing, royal, of a high status, and loyal, which links to the title as knowing what NME stands for is makes the audience feel included and trusted and loyal to the magazine. The colour red connotes heat, passion and danger. The main image is a black and white picture bordered by a solid black frame, which extends around the whole of the outside of the page. The black and white photograph carries connotations and historical context of being old, which contrasts the idea laid out in the title of a ‘New’ music magazine, and creates enigma. The border contains the picture, almost as though the magazine has caught the people in the picture, and the audience must read the magazine before they can escape and get away. The border also surrounds masthead which helps to keep the theme and house style throughout the magazine. The people in featured in the main image are wearing old clothes, which shows their age and links them to the title of the article, which is about their lat ten years. They look relaxed, and their gaze is aimed directly at the audience, whilst their facial expressions show curiosity and shock at finding people looking at them like they are in a fishbowl. The direction of their gaze combined with their expressions draws the audience in, and creates enigma. The way that the main image has been arranged draws in both the male and female gaze, in that men want to be them, and are inspired by envy, and think that maybe the magazine will tell them how to become like the people in the picture, and women want to be with them, and are drawn in by admiration for the artists’ music and the way they look and behave.
The use of the phrases “special issue”, “secret” create enigma, and the audience wants to know why it’s special, and so the y will have to read the magazine to find out. The tag lines are placed strategically on the page to draw the audience’s attention, and words like “plus” are used to create enigma and advertise to the audience that if they buy the magazine they will be getting all that they see and more, which connotes that the magazine is good quality for money, and gets the audience curious.
The main story repeated 3 times in various positions across the page, which reflects the rule of thirds, and keeps with the theme. The title of the article is show in a medallion, which adds enigma. The bar code is in bottom right corner, which is an area known as dead space, because this is where the audience member puts their thumb when they turn the page. The cover loosely follows the rule of thirds, but the words and tag lines more of less create loose border around the faces of the men in the picture.

Deconstruction of Q Front Cover

The magazine uses the same colour scheme throughout of black, white, red and blue which has connotations of the British flag and helps to keep continuity and house style.
The colour black has connotations of being enigmatic, masculine, dark, dangerous, mysterious, morbid, dishonest, clouded, secretive and unpredictable, and so makes the people featured on the cover carry these characteristics as well. The colour white connotes that the person featured has nothing to hide, is honest, open, innocent, new, fresh, and tells you everything in the article inside the magazine, which makes the audience want to pick it up even more. The colour blue connotes people who are cold, distant, depressing, loyal, royal and of a high status, which can be linked as characteristics of the featured artist. The colour red connotes that the person featured is hot, passionate and dangerous. There is also rain falling in small droplets, which could be mistaken for snow if glanced at quickly. This is a link to the time of the year, as it is a December issue, and a link to the featured artist’s mood. The rain adds to the connotation that the artist is confused and doesn’t quite know the answers to a question.
The masthead is bold and well recognizable and the rule of thirds has been loosely followed, with the exception that the name of the band cuts across middle of page.
The use of the word “Reloaded” carries connotations of guns and his hand is hidden by his jacket so the impression given is that he could easily be holding a gun, which in turn connotes danger, curiosity, enigma, violence, power and a lack of control or reality. The language used gives renovation connotations and implies that the artist is new and improved, and you can learn about it all inside the magazine. The use of a rhetorical question gets the audience thinking and makes them curious in that they want to know the answer and think that maybe the magazine can give it to them. The use of the phrases “all access” and “most” connotes that this magazine covers everything there could possibly be that an audience would want to know and therefore is the best of the best, and is good value for money. The bar code and the price are grouped together in the bottom left corner, which is known as dead space, because this is where an audience member puts their thumb to turn the page.
The main image is long shot which captures the full body of the artist as he is walking towards the audience through rain, but only just, which gives connotations that this man is not easily captured for an interview, but this magazine managed it. The image is bled off of page, which helps to underline the connotations that the artist is difficult to hold onto once you’ve got him to talk to you. The gaze of the well known artist featured on the front cover is directly at audience, and so is engaging them. The expression on his face shows confusion, shock and surprise, which connotes a direct link to the article and people’s feelings towards him, with the possibility that he could be shocked at how other people view him. He is wearing darker clothing which is slightly open to show a sliver of the white shirt he is wearing underneath. This use of colours connotes honesty both to himself and to others around him, and creates the idea that he has discovered his true self and personality and the answer to the question raised by the tag line from the featured article. His hand is open and held loosely at his side, which shows that he is relaxed, but also holds connotations that he is at a loss of what to do. The silver * symbol in the top right hand corner of the page adds enigma, and the metallic font used adds glamour and catches the eye of the reader.
The use of small font size for the quotation on the lower left hand side of the page adds enigma because the audience member will have to pick up the magazine in order to read it and read the article inside the magazine in order to make scene of it.

Deconstruction of front pages

I deconstructed 3 front covers. They were from Q, Kerrang, and NME.

Things to think about...

When I begin to create my new music magazine I will think about:

- the cover image
- brand identity
- cover lines
- positioning of image
- positioning of text
- rule of thirds
- golden line
- target audience
- mode of address
- distribution
- socio-economic group
- lures of advertising
- house style
- masthead

I will attempt to incorporate all of these things into my new music magazine.

The Brief

To design a front cover, contents page, and double page spread for a new music magazine of your own invention. You must use at least 4 original images.