male V female

Looking at the National Readership Survey I wanted to see who was more interested in NME (the magazine I focused on) men or women. The survey suggested that 

189,000 Men read NME
96,000 Women read NME

This shown that the male generation read NME more than women do. This then meant that I had to approach my magazine targeting more at males as they are the popular reader.

How can I do this?

Due to my magazine representing the indie/pop genre I believe an image of a female would be suitable on the front cover. This image should be a 'attractive' image representing the indie genre,which will attract the typical male reader.

However I do not want to target just males for my magazine, why can't I increase the female readership figure?

How to attract females?

The article presented in my magazine is going to be about the down to earth artist, which will present her massive success. I believe females like to see other females being successful, so an interesting article may attract the female generation. 

Risk Assessment.

I had to draw up a risk assessment before producing the images for my magazine, it was vital that the model I chose for the photo shoot was safe.

Due to my magazine portraying the genre of 'indie/pop', the background of the images were extremely important, I wanted to make it look quite adventurous. 

The place of the photo shoot were chosen in the school surroundings, this made it easier for the model and I to meet up and take the photos without inconvenience. I chose to take most of my images under a bridge of the school, the natural background added interest to the photo. The natural dirt and nature came with the chosen background, I thought it was a brilliant place to take the photo and help follow the Indie convention.

As the background was so natural and was located on a slight hill, I had to be sure the model felt comfortable and safe. There were many bumps on the hill, so it was important to make sure the model didn't trip.

I also borrowed  a photography camera from school, due to the background being outside, I had to be careful with the handling the camera. 

To take the close up for the front cover of the magazine, I had to use a white back ground, I simply used a white background, no risks were involved.

front cover draft.

contents draft

double page

another double page

Uses and Gratifications Theory

McQuail classified the following common reasons for media use:


Information
Personal Identity
Integration and Social Interaction
Entertainment


Uses and Gratifications - This theory is about 'what people do with the media' rather than 'what media does to people'. It assumes that members of the audience are not passive but take an active role in interpreting and integrating media into their own lives. The theory also holds that audiences are responsible for choosing media to meet their needs. The approach suggests that people use the media to fulfill specific gratifications.

more double page drafts.

This is my first double page draft for my magazine. The image shown is the artist in a 'grungy' background, this represents an Indie artist well. The name of the artist is in a bold blue font contrasting with the black background, this helps the artist name stand out and also contrasts with all the colours on the page. The article is in pink, I chose the same shade of pink that comes from the jeans of the artists clothing, again I am linking in the artist with the edited double page spread. In one part of the article I made a quote from the artist larger than the existing text, this makes it stand out, the quote I chose emphasises the whole importance of the magazine, that the interview is about her first year of fame.  This links in nicely with the sub heading, which explains what the article is  going to be about, this is represented in a white background

double page spread draft.

front cover first draft.

Above is the first draft of my front cover for my magazine. I decided the title of the magazine to be 'LOUD', my reasons for choosing this title is because music is LOUD, whether your listening to it through head phones or in the car the demographic for my magazine like to listen to their music being played LOUD. The font I chose was found on google under 'magazine font', I think the font looks quite quirky, the outline of the title is 'edgey', which is conventional of 'indie' artists. However, as this is my first draft I may have to change the title font, as as it is not bold it doesn't stand out like conventional music titles do. A sell line is conventional for a music magazine, 'biggest music guide' just represents how popular the magazine is. The font is different to the title, the dark shades surrounding the text makes the sell line stand out. When researching music magazines, I noticed that it was conventional for a quotation of an artist to be on the front cover, this will intrigue the reader to purchase the magazine. The quote 'Im only honest' gives a bit of an edge to the magazine, it is quite interesting to the reader as to what the artist will be talking about,it will persuade the reader to read the article. The artists name is in a bold white font, the white contrasts with the models black jumper this makes it stand out. The bottom line of the magazine names the artists that the magazine has information about, this again will persuade readers to buy the magazine as it contains well known artists. The quotation marks are in a strong pink, this matches the models bright lipstick, I noticed that many magazines tend to edit their front cover around what the artist is wearing, therefore the matching pink I believe links in well.

Schedule for Photo Shoot.

Wednesday March 7th - Text model Emily Hawksby


'Hey Em, it's Amber can you do me a massive favour? I need a model for my media magazine and think you would be perfect for it. My genre is indie/pop, so if you could wear any quirky clothes that could represent my genre well, please do. However, can you make sure you wear a black top, as I need to take a close up for the front cover of the magazine. Is it possible to take for Friday 9th, Break time? X'


Friday 9th March


10 am - Go and get camera ready for the pictures to be taken.
10 40 am - Meet Emily
10 45 am - Take the photo under the bridge (make sure enough photos are taken)
10 55 am - FInd a white wall for the close up image
11 00 am - BREAK OVER 


Photo shoot finished.

double page spread draft photos.

recce backgrounds.

 This is a picture that I have edited, originally it was a wall, however using I-photo booth I have enhanced the colours to make it have that ancient feel. An advantage to this background is that I can safely put any font colour onto it, as the cream colours will go with any colour.

I really like this background, the shades of brown enhance nature which is liked to indie. The only problem I face is the houses in the background. If I wanted to use this image I would put my model behind the fencing, but would have to edit out the houses.  

The image of the bushes again highlight the nature feel, I really like the use of the shades of brown in all my images, I think the colour goes with the indie conventional colours.

To change the shades of brown like the other images, I decided the enhance the colours of the brick wall. I quite like the background, however if using this I would have to choose carefully the fonts surrounding the cover.