Contents page

Media Double page spread

My Commentary

For my final media production piece I decided to produce a magazine. Before producing the magazine I researched a variety of different music magazines including NME and Q magazine. The research made me come to the conclusion of creating a monthly magazine as they have a more dedicated readership and therefore I didn’t put too much writing on the front cover or use of puffs. I named my magazine ‘Total’ as the magazine is totally music based, I used current music as my genre but in particular indie/rock, dub step and drum and bass. As it is a monthly magazine I have made the text formal and priced it at £2.50 an issue. I aimed my magazine between the social groups B to C2 which is the reason why I didn’t go over the top with writing over the front page and used a simple but recognisable font. My magazine’s purpose is to inform people about current and popular music whilst entertaining them with pictures and interviews. I chose the house style of red, black and white as I liked the house styles used by both Q and NME magazine although, I preferred the house style of NME as it seems to continue throughout every edition of the magazine. However I thought Q magazine looks crisper, the photos also look more professional and deliberate than in NME. My magazine fits Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory as it creates a sense of belonging to the reader by being one of the readers of this form of media groups which understands current and modern music which also fits the Blumer and Katz uses and gratifications theory. On my front and contents page I have used the 3 house colours of red, white and black to show the rock n roll theme represented through the photo’s I took and the chosen font which complements the rock n roll theme. My magazine also helps the reader escape the daily grind of their lives by taking them into a musical world with interviews and articles such as the interview with ‘Diversion’ entertaining their musical needs. My front page uses a medium/ head and shoulders shot which is almost layered as one of the artists is standing behind the other, the reasoning for this is the idea that musically they are one but are separate personalities away from their music. My key demographic would be 14-25 year olds as this is the age when young adults make a choice of which type of music they enjoy the most which is currently an age that the music genre’s of my magazine are popular. The magazine will also attract older people who enjoy the types of music within the magazine. Gender stereotyping is not used in my magazine; although it may look male dominated that is only because there are not many female acts that perform the kind of music my magazine represents therefore my magazine is aimed at both male and females. Socially I would like my readers to consume a variety of different types of media including radio, festivals and music television. On my contents page I decided to use a band index which is used in NME magazine, this makes my magazine more realistic and makes the magazine flexible as the readers can choose which pages they are more interested in reading. I chose to take a mid-shot for my contents page photo and used a glow around the artist in the photo to make it the focal point on the page as it is the most visually pleasing part of the page. I have used a wide range of well known bands and artists to give my magazine more of an appeal to a wider range of audiences. On both my front page and contents page I have placed the magazine’s website in the top right of the page as magazines such as NME relay on their website for more publicity and popularity. I have used the magazine name ‘Total’ on my contents page as well as my front page as I noticed when researching that both NME and Q magazine have the name on their contents page which again makes it look more like a mainstream music magazine. For my double page spread I used a basic layout with the text surrounding the image, I again only used one image as this is a continuous tone I decided to use. On my double page spread I used a quotation from the band which is representative of all music magazines which tells the reader the most memorable quote from the interview itself. All the images I took and used have the artists looking directly at the camera creating almost direct address with the reader which makes them feel closer to the artists. Since starting this task I have learnt and improved my skills using Adobe Photoshop and have become more confident in my abilities. I have made a big improvement since the preliminary task magazine and am now better equipped in any creative task which requires the use of programmes such as photoshop.

Magazine flat plan contents page

magazine flat plan double page spread

Magazine flat plan front page