Music Magazine Annotation

Annotating Music Magazine

1: The Masthead- Produced with a white bold instead of the usual red, the Masthead for this edition of NME is super-imposed behind the Main Image and is placed in the typical top-left corner. The reason it is white is to focus on the pink Headline which states "The Strokes".

2: Slogan- Like the Masthead, the slogan is placed underneath the masthead and similar in the sense that it is still there but imposed behind the main image. The purpose is again to make sure buyers focus on the Headline.

3: Main Image- The facial expressions of the band members are shown as disinterested but also suggests that their attitudes are care-free which reflects the style of their music and the conventions of the magazine. Frontman Julian Casablancas is placed in the foreground and the main image takes up most of the page meaining that this edition of NME is exclusive. Imposed behind the headline but infront of the masthead.

4: Buzz Word- The buzz word used here is World Exclusive which helps promote a feature.

5: Masthead- Masthead colour matches the rest of the coverline text it its located at the center of the front cover and is the most eye-catching element of the mise en scene. The headline is the name of the artist and is significantly larger than the other text on the page, informing us on what we will be reading about.

6: Barcode- Essential to the cover, includes general information about the magazine such as date and time. Font is usually small and irrelevant to the rest of the cover.

Colour Palette

The colour scheme for this magazine is not typical of most music magazines as this features black, white and pink. In this case, the background is grey and white nearer the middle. They all contrast with each other to stand out. It is a common used colour scheme when looking at alternative magazines.

College Magazine

Finished School Bulletin

 

This is my completed college magazine which I have produced through Photoshop. I included a medium shot of students with my IPhone camera while they were in the study area. This created my headline which is imposed in front of the main image. I also included other images such as the 3D digital view of the new school. Also, I included the schools logo as well as its motto on the front. This is the completed magazine.

 



Positives and Negatives of Photoshop

Applying Photoshop to Images

When editing images using photoshop, the outcome can be positive or negative. These are some of the points that when applying photoshop, can enhance the images which also has its negatives or make the image look unrealistic and ridiculous. The following points highlight the positives and negatives of using photoshop...

Positives

• Editing makes it look more appealing- Editing and enhancing the image can make it look more appealing to people. It can inspire people to model themselves on the enhanced images as it is more appealing. If used correctly, editing can enhance the current image by editing the colour or applying a glow/shine to the image.

• Gain new followers- By editing the images, a new look will gain new followers. It inspires readers to want to look like images in magazines and gain new followers. A perfect example of this is the Cheryl Cole edition of Q Magazine. This images gives her the 'rock n roll' look instead of her usual 'pop' look. Through wearing clothes, pulling the facial expression and make-up, Cheryl Cole has been transformed into a rock icon in this edition of Q Magazine.

      

• Breaking into a new genre- By breaking into the rock and roll genre, Cheryl Cole is gaining more readers. Current regular buyers of Q will buy this edition and then read the main article which will reflect the truth and see her for what she really is and this results as gaining new followers

Negatives

• Unreal perception- Readers would have a perception that isn't real. If they were to meet the person in real life, they wouldn't be as attractive and it would be disappointing.

• False illusion- False hope for young girls is created as the image is an illusion, it is false, enhanced too much and heavily edited.

Ideology

Ideology

Ideology is the ideas behind a media text, also known as the secret agenda of its producers. It is important to be able to identify the different ideological discourses that may be present in even an apparently simple photograph. In sociological terms, ideology is a body of ideas or set of beliefs that underpins a process. These types of beliefs are held by groups within society. Media texts always reflect certain values or ideologies though sometimes and we may not be aware of this. Types of ideology are portrayed in these images of my old school building...

The ideology in this image is represented as positive and portrays the building as inviting and welcoming. The sky is blue, bright and clear and the actual building looks inviting and safe to work in as well as a looking like a positive environment and a school which you would want your child to attend.

This image of the school here is a juxtaposition to the one above as it portrays the school as unpleasant. The dark sky makes the image look uninviting and demonic and taken from a low angle, the building looks misshapen and unusual as well as the tree making seem creepy.

Subo and 50 Cent Magazine

HMM Magazine

This is my newest edition of my magazine, portraying the collaboration of Susan Boyle and 50 Cent, resulting and Boyle 50. I tried to apply as much of the terminology to the front cover as possible as well as making look as professional as possible. I looked at the likes of NME, Q Magazine, GQ and Rolling Stone magazine as inspiration. 

First Attempt at Music Magazine on Photoshop

Photoshop

As I am already quite familiar with the Photoshop software, I have a good understanding of how it works. I have it at home as well so I think I have an advantage over those who have not used or are unfamiliar with Photoshop. Furthermore, I have managed to produce my own magazine as a fist attempt using Photoshop. In this blog, I will show the progress of the magazine to prove that it is my own work and then I will post a blog of my completed first attempt, highlighting all the terminology and analyse my own magazine. Below is a progression of screenshots I have taken, each time I have added to the magazine, making it look better. When making the magazine, I tried making it look as professional as possible for example super-imposing the central image in front of the masthead.

As it stands, the magazine is unfinished but this is what I have so far. I imported a picture of Alex Turner from Google, included text and also placed a barcode in the bottom right-hand corner.

Music Magazine Genre Type

Genre Type

This blog is about my idea for the music magazine I am to produce, what type of image used for the main image as well as looking at examples to take inspiration from and what genre of music the magazine will be based on.

The type of genre I am most familiar with is the Alternative/Classic/Indie rock genre and so I have chosen this music genre to focus my magazine on. As well as this, I am a regular reader of magazines such as NME and Q and will usually buy the magazine based on the front covers content. In my research, I will look at different examples of magazine covers in order to create a template on which I will create my magazine from. Looking at different magazines as a template will help me to establish what type of image, font, content, language and colours to use when producing the magazine.

The types of images I will use will be of a band, either a three piece or four piece, with one or two guitarists, a bassist and a drummer.



   
This is a good example of what I would like my main image as for my music magazine. It shows the four band members all directly looking at the camera. The picture is high quality and would be ideal for a front cover image.

Again, this shows the four band members without instruments, even though we know they are band members, looking directly at the camera but this time there is an edit with the blue lighting, highlighting their facial expressions. Also, this image is aligned horizontally and neat which would also suit the front of a magazine cover.



Muisc Magazine Front Cover Analysis

Analysing Front Covers With Terminology

I analysed a front cover of Q Magazine, applying the terminology to the front cover and highlighting the key features of the front cover and elaborating in detail the key features such as the Masthead, Main Image, Headline, Bar-code, Buzz Word and Slogan. I chose this cover in particular as Arctic Monkeys are my favourite band and I have read Q before. I did this as a document on Word and then screen-shotted the document as an image and put it on my blog. This front cover in particular immediately caught my attention.

I recently attended the Arctic Monkeys tour of the UK at the Echo arena, promoting their most recent album AM. I was standing when watching them live and I am also seeing them again at T in the Park 2014. This was my view when watching them in October 2013 performing Old Yellow Bricks....

Looking at Magazine Terminology

Terminology

In order to produce a professional looking college magazine, i will need to be able to analyse all the different features of a music magazine and apply the terminology when analysing the magazine. A range of features can be identified when looking at the front page and contents page. These features make the magazine more appealing to the target audience’s eye. As well as this, if the magazines main image features a band or artist in which readers find interesting or their favourite, they are more likely to buy it e.g. if I seen Arctic Monkeys as the main image of the magazine, I would buy it as they are my favourite band and it intrigues me to read about them.

1. Mast head- Name of the magazine, usually located at the top of the front cover
2. Buzz words- Words such as Wow, Exclusive and Free
3. Caption- Description of an image, usually located underneath the image
4. Copy- The main text
5. Anchorage text- The way in which text helps to pin down the meaning of a picture and vice versa
6. Strap line-  A memorable phrase that is recognisable to a brand 
7. Sell lines- text of the cover that helps to sell the magazine to the audience 
8. House styles- A Magazines distinctive design that distinguishes ait form it competitors 
9. Headline- The introductory paragraph of an article usually written in bold or capitals 
10. Drop capital- Really big letter which start off an article 
11. Puffs- Colourful boxes promoting features inside the magazine
12. Pugs-  Placed at the top left and right hand corners of the paper and are known as the ears of the page. The price of the paper, the logo or a promotion are often positioned there. 
13. Banner- Text which stands out because its on a coloured background 

   

 

Introduction to Photoshop

Using Photoshop

In this lesson I became more familiar with using Photoshop on the Apple Macs. I became aware of the different tools as I am already familiar with Photoshop. Also I found out how to put a simple effect onto inserted text to use for my magazines masthead. As well as this I got used to the magic wand tool, inserting a border from the internet and removing the unwanted white background. I also managed to import my picture and use it as my background image. I am used to Photoshop and find it quite simple and therefore, I can develop my magazine front cover further and try and make it look professional.

Analysing a college magazine

College Magazine Analysis

This newsletter instantly catches the eye as the red banner stands out. The contrast of the red and black colours also represents the school uniform. As well as this we see the pupils at the bottom of the bulletin dressed formally and smartly in uniforms which shows that they are part of the school.

Also, the sub-title 'Christmas Concert' shows that the school also offers after school extra-curricular activities such as choir club. Although it is a school news bulletin, the numerous amounts of text displayed in newspaper form shows it has a formality show that it can also be targeted for an older audience.

The informal wall graffiti shows that the school is a relaxed one as well as a creative school, offering a different selection of subjects such as art. The 'Head's Message' also shows that the headmaster is considerate and gets involved.

The badge placed in the top left hand corner is the old school badge which represents the magazine as traditional. The magazine is informal as the second picture is slanted which shows that the school has a relaxed atmosphere. There is a contrast of formal and informal ideology in this news bulletin, It appears to be displayed as a broadsheet but has the content of a tabloid. 

Feminism and The Male Gaze in Hollyoaks

Hollyoaks clip

I found this video on YouTube which supports Laura Mulevy's 'Male Gaze Theory' and how we as males see women. The audience has to view the characters in the clip from a heterosexual male's perspective. It is as though the women in this clip are being viewed as objects and the camera focuses on their figures which also helps us as males to keep focused on the programme.

From our point of view as males, we do not focus on anything else in the mise-en-scene other than the female figure which also supports the male gaze theory. I am not a regular watcher of Hollyoaks but I understand that the majority of their actresses are attractive to the male eye and they do a calendar each year. Its as though the women have a sense of power when using their attractiveness.

Feminism in Music Magazines

Beth Ditto
Beth Ditto is an American singer/songwriter as well as a feminist. As someone who is a feminist and who was influenced by radical feminism, she states that you can’t live your life to please other people and there’s all different kinds of approaches. She also believes that the beauty of punk feminism was that you never really had to explain yourself. On a cover of the UK's NME magazine, Ditto posed nude and captioned the edition with 'Kiss My Ass', having a lash out at the media and standing up as a feminist.

 

In this edition, she is going against scopopilia and exposes her female body on the magazine cover seen here defying the conventional values on how men visualise beauty based on the 'Male Gaze Theory'. Instead of portraying an 'attractive' woman to the male eye, this cover is the complete opposite of 'traditional' beauty, trying to popularise that all women are beautiful. Its as through she is opposing to conform with what is so called 'modern beauty' and does not care about the male perspective.

 

Feminism in the Media

Feminism in Media

History of Feminism

In 1918, the first Women's Conference was held in Moscow and during the 1920s, under Lenin, the Soviet Government promoted equal rights. Marriage, divorce and contraception were made simple. However, in the 1940s, Stalin went back to the 'norm'. Divorce was then made difficult, abortion was banned and contraception restricted. In China, the 1949 Revolution brought formal equality for women and men. But in the USSR, women did the housework as well as their jobs.

During the 1960s, feminism came back again in the USA as part of a radical culture that included Civil Rights and sexual liberation. Feminist groups campaigned on issues such as childcare, health, education and abortion. In Europe, Canada and Australasia, new ideas and laws were changing society. In 1975, the United Nations announced an International Decade for Women. Revolutionary movements in Africa were including women's liberation. In Europe the peace movement became the focus for feminist activism. Feminism then boomed in America after the restoration of democracy during the 1980s.

Feminism symbol

Feminism In Media
Feminists believe that the media portray women as cleaners or housewives providing comfort and support for men or sometimes even a man’s sex object to service men’s sexual needs etc.. Feminists believe that this gender representation is an aspect of patriarchy. This is a social system where the male is the primary authority figure to social organizations. Feminists believe that the media suggests that these roles are normal and so, feminists see this as an example of patriarchal ideology- a set of beliefs which supports male dominance.

The Male Gaze
Laura Mulveys' essay 'Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema 'expands on this conception of the passive role of women in cinema to argue that film provides visual pleasure through scopophilia and identification with the on-screen male actor. Scopophilia is when sexual pleasure is gained through by looking at nude bodies, most often without their knowledge. For feminists, the male gaze can be thought of in three ways:

1. How men look at women
2. How women look at themselves
3. How women look at other women  

  

Music Magazine Qusetionnaire

I have decided to create a Music Magazine Questionnaire in order to find out what people want out of a Music Magazine. This questionnaire is an indication of what I need to include in my music magazine and will help me when creating my own music magazines front cover, contents page and double page spread. The Questionnaire is located below, if you can not see the remaining questions then scroll on the questionnaire itself instead of the blog post.

Semiotic Theory

What is Semiotic Theory?

Semiotic Theory is the relationship between signs, objects and the meaning behind it. When a person interprets the sign they believe that the sign may represent something else. The sign is the interpretation which means that it is the representation of the object; according to C. Morris people are the interpreters of signs and interpretations are concluded through three stages:

1. Perception - the person is aware of the sign in front of them.

2. Manipulation - the person starts interpreting the sign and decides how to respond to it.

3. Consummation - the person responds to the sign.

Denotation

Denotation is the literal meaning of the sign and can be referred to the dictionary as the definition of the sign. Denotation can be contrasted to connotation if the sign does not have the same connotation as the denotation. An example of a denotation is that a skull is just a part of human skeletal system

Connotation

Connotation is the person who views the sign personal opinion on what it portrays. The connotation can contrast with the denotation depending on the sign. This is the choice which responds in either a negative or a positive way. The difference between denotation and connotation is that for everyone the denotation will be the same but connotation is people's own personal opinions as this differs for different people. An example of this is that the skull has a connotation associated with death.

I used this cover from NME of The Killers as in this cover we can see multiple expressions and this can be interpreted through the connotation and denotation. The denotation is that the band are laid back and don't care about what is going on around them. As well as this, we can also see through their facial expressions how they aren't reflecting any true emotion.

The connotation in this is that really the band does care about what is going on. We can see this as it explains how they are talking about their new album at that time and their passion for the music they produce.

Here is The Killers most recent success, the single Runaways, which is the second track of their most recent album Battle Born. They have recently released a Direct Hits album which contains all of their most famous and successful songs such as When You Were Young, Somebody Told Me and Mr. Brightside. The single Battle Born was released in the UK on 9th of September 2012. It also reached 18 in the UK Single Charts. I attended their 2012 Battle Born tour in 2012 which took place in the Echo Arena and their performance was outstanding.

View of The Killers on their Battle Born tour 2012 which I took using my IPhone

Audience Research Methods

Types of Research

Research is the main source for when making a music magazine and getting readers opinions is the foundation of your magazine. Research lets us discover what people find the most interesting and different types of research distinguish it.

Quantitative Research: Quantitive research is the type of research which is used to get results from a primary source. We can use quantitative research to get the views and thoughts of people so we can guide the product in the right direction. In order to do this, we must get a vast majority of people to take part in surveys and questionnaires to get a range of results which go toward the specific goal.

Qualitative Research: Qualitative research is the type of research in which more open questions are asked to get a bigger understanding and better results. This type of research helps us get understanding of the thoughts and feelings of the audience. Examples of qualitative research is usually done through individual interviews or group discussions.

Data Collected

Primary Research: This type of research is research you taken yourself, involving getting information right from the source. This can be from interviews or questionnaires and is reliable as it is fresh information. However, it takes time and more money is involved. 

Secondary Research: Secondary research is research which has been collected from the past or from other sources. This helps contribute to your own work. Information such as this can be out dated as it is not your own research so it makes it a risk for it to be used as it maybe in use of some one else's research, or maybe copyrighted by someone and this could lead to problems. 

Understanding what a music magazine is

In this blog, I will discuss what a music magazine is taking into consideration the likes of history and genre, popular music magazines to talk about and also to talk about what the future holds for music magazines in general.

To begin with, a music magazine is dedicated to music and music culture. Such magazines typically include music news, interviews, photos, essays, reviews and albums, concert reviews and occasionally have tour dates and advertisements.  

'Melody Maker' was the one of the first ever music magazines released in June 1926 and inside had the honours list which was the first ever recorded charts. Melody Maker Billboards' first music magazine was issued in 1894 which is the first known.

The most popular music magazine in the UK at the minute is Q magazine. This magazine supports a range of music genres but mainly focuses on Alternative Rock and Indie Rock.  

The most popular music magazine globally is The Rolling Stones which was founded in 1967. My favourite genre of music is Alternative/Classic and Indie rock. NME is my favourite music magazine as it features some of my favourite music artists. These include the likes of Arctic Monkeys, Kings of Leon, The Killers, The Stone Roses, The Who and The Stereophonics.

I think in the future, the popularity of music magazines will fade as the majority of music lovers may subscribe online or discover music information through social networking sights such as Twitter.

 

Introduction to my blog

Welcome to my blog

In this blog, you will find the majority of my research, planning and evaluation throughout the year. To support the research i will provide videos and images in my blogs. As well as this, I will purchase specific music magazines that focuses on my chosen music genre. This is to get an in depth understanding of the music magazines layout including the likes of:

• Images and boarders
• Font and typography
• placement and layout
• Information for the front and content

The type of music genre I have chosen to study is alternative rock/indie rock. I have chosen this particular genre because it is my favourite music type. Types of magazines associated with my chosen genre are the likes of NME and Q Magazine. I get these types of magazine's on a regular basis. My Photoshop skills are average but will develop as I progress through the year. Each week I will upload one or more blog informing you of my progress. My favourite bands are the likes of Arctic Monkeys, The Beatles and Kings of Leon.

  

                              

                                                        


About me:

• At the moment I am studying A-level Media, Drama and English Literature.
• I like keeping on top of my fitness and play football on a regular basis.
• I also play bass guitar and have a wide range in music taste.
• I also enjoy attending festivals and concerts e.g. V festival 2013