Evaluation

Now I have completed the magazine, I have moved on to the evaluation element of the project. I have completed the evaluation, justifying my decisions whilst assessing their affectiveness simultaneously.

Here is the evaluation in full:

Throughout the construction of my magazine, I was required to think about my target audience and how I would appeal to my demographic. My magazine (named ‘The Throwback’) would be aimed at a primary target audience of 20-30 year old fans of classic indie rock (as in ‘The Smiths’ and ‘Joy Division’) but it would also appeal to a secondary target audience of teenagers who, to put it plainly, enjoy indie music. The magazine would mainly appeal to a male target audience, due to the fact that indie is a genre primarily featuring men. Moreover, men tend to enjoy listening to indie rock more than female. The magazine would appeal to a predominantly working class audience but would, by no means, alienate potential middle and upper class audiences.

1 - 3. But how did I appeal to this, admittedly, rather broad, target audience? I subverted several conventions of music magazines whilst also conforming to elements of magazines that would appeal to my target audience.

First and foremost, I set out making my cover. Here is my final cover:

I had taken pictures of my cover star and I had to manipulate it as to appeal to my target audience. The original image was in colour, but I removed the colour as to maintain the magazine’s nostalgic edge. Moreover, due to the fact there is no colour, it feels as if the reader is being ‘thrown back’ to another era thus appealing to my target audience and remaining consistent with my magazine’s ‘throwback’ theme. Furthermore, due to the fact that there is a direct mode address from my cover star, Liam Oakley, the audience instantly feels more involved thus making them feel more inclined to purchase it. I based the cover on the style that my target audience preferred in my questionnaire, the ‘Q.’ cover that was sparse yet effective. One would expect the main picture on the cover to be a mid shot, I subverted this by including a close up of my cover star. Consequently, the subversion makes the magazine stand out more whilst engaging the reader due to the closer shot.

I attempted (and, I feel, succeeded) in creating a simplistic, minimalistic cover style. By creating a sparse cover, it forces the reader to focus on the image thus elevating the image and making it more effective. Furthermore, it means the magazine maintains it classic, nostalgic image as it harks back to a simpler era of indie music. But how did I form this minimalistic cover? I restrained from including cover lines which may obscure the image. I used a basic colour scheme of red, gold and white. Due to the black and white picture, the masthead is more prominent, standing out due to the emboldened red. Red is used for the more important pieces of text, as in the masthead and the main story. As such, the reader’s eyes are instantly drawn towards these aspects of my magazine. I did not use crass, brash colours as not to create a tacky feel. A solitary image is used as several images may transform the magazine into a tacky style, reminiscent of ‘Kerrang!’ and ‘NME!’ which would simply not appeal to my older and more intelligent target audience.

The title, ‘The Throwback’, alludes to a bygone era of indie music (as referred to in the tag line) which would appeal to my target audience. The term ‘Throwback’ connotes that, whilst the magazine is clearly modern, it is certainly influenced, if not fashioned, by the 1980’s era of independent music. The tag line is ‘Providing readers with a throwback to a bygone era of indie rock’. This further reiterates the sentiment of the magazine (already referred to in the title, the image and several other elements) in that we are looking back whilst moving forward. The term ‘indie rock’ is a clear signal to the reader of the genre that the magazine focuses on. It also clearly focuses on the term era that we are ‘throwing’ the readers back to – that of the birth of independent music.

The price is £3.99; this is in white text (along with the date and issue number) as it is not as important as the gold and red text. The price was chosen in the questionnaire, in which they thought £3.01-£4 an appropriate price for a monthly magazine. It is essential to cater to the needs of my target audience and, as such, I followed the questionnaire’s results to a tee.

My contents page also uses several conventions to convey the minimalistic, nostalgic sense that I achieved on my front cover. However, I also subverted several current magazine conventions to reference the era I am basing my magazine on. First and foremost - the images, I decided to include some colour as not to make reading the magazine a dirge. However, I retained the nostalgic edge by ‘framing’ the pictures with a Polaroid ‘stuck on’ by sticky tape. This reinforces the independent angle to the magazine, harking back to the days of ‘D.I.Y.’ punk magazines in which sticky tape and Polaroid’s were prominent. This era will resonate with my target audience and, as such, they will be enticed by the familiar images and read on. This ‘D.I.Y.’ sentiment is buttressed by the fact that the images and Polaroid’s are at a skewed angle.

A gold frame is used as to highlight the classic style to my magazine. Moreover, a simple colour scheme is once again employed as to retain a minimalistic edge that will become synonymous with ‘The Throwback’. The contents title is emboldened as to attract the attention of the readers. The page does however conform to some magazine conventions. This is epitomised by the classic contents style of a large sub-title signalling the name of the section followed by a smaller text, describing the section in further detail.

This is the first of my two double page spreads. I, as before, conformed to some conventions of modern day magazines but I also, as before, subverted some conventions. I utilised the convention of including page numbers in the top right of the majority of pages thus informing the reader of my magazine which page they are on. It also makes the magazine easier to navigate as readers can utilise the contents page easier. Moreover, I also included such staples of modern day magazines as the acronym of the magazine and the date of the issue in the top left corner of the majority of pages. As such, the audience becomes engrossed in the magazine as they feel as if, due to the acronym, they are in the ‘TTB’ fan base. The date is an obvious necessity as the reader would want to know the date of the issue.

There is a lack of colour as before, as to retain the minimalistic, classic style that would appeal to my cultured target audience. It also means that the text is easier to read and as such, the lengthy interview is consumed quicker. The picture is, once again, emphasised due to the lack of a background colour and the size of the picture. Moreover, the lack of text on the left side of the page accentuates the powerful nature of the picture. Liam Oakley’s direct mode of address also enraptures the audience as they feel like they are involved within the magazine. It also retains the sense that we are ‘meeting’ Liam Oakley face to face, both visually and textually. The simple, classy font further conveys a sense of nostalgia that harks back to the era of early indie.

I conformed to the interview format of ‘The Word’ and other similarly styled magazines, with the question being asked by the journalist in bold and the answer in normal text. This similarity is due to the fact that ‘the Word’ and ‘Rolling Stone’ have similar target audiences to ‘The Throwback’, as discovered in the research stage of my project. This similarity between the magazines would continue as they both feature similarly sparse styles, simple but classic font and a similar deficiency in pictures.

Once again, I used the aforementioned ‘stuck-down’ Polaroid, a recurring theme, to hark back to the days of ‘DIY’ punk magazines. The lead of the article is featured in red as to emphasise that this is not a part of the article but a paragraph to introduce the purpose of the article. The large ‘T’ that begins the article is also a convention of the music magazine genre but it can also be construed as reflecting the ‘T’ in the title of ‘The Throwback’ thus familiarising the potential new fans with ‘The Throwback’. The black and white picture featured in the Polaroid picture also refers to the nostalgic edge of the magazine.

This is the second, and final, double page spread, focusing on the second most favoured article type in my questionnaire – reviews:

As not to bore the readers with the persistent use of Polaroid’s to frame images, I decided to implement a different style of picture with my second article. I included pictures along the bottom as to make him look natural. The picture is Beatles-esque thus forcing one to infer that the article is, as always, in the vein of the magazine and nostalgic. The pictures were stylised (using poster edges) and removed of colour as to give the picture a classic feel, ensuring that the pictures remain in the vein of the magazine as a whole. I made certain that the pictures would not obscure the text and tried to avoid clutter on the page as to maintain the minimalistic style.

As to maintain a sense of consistency in my magazine, I included the customary page number, magazine name and date. The title of the section, ‘Reviews’ was emboldened as to draw the reader’s attention to the name of the section and thus, the article. The reviews are in columns as to maintain a newspaper style appearance hence insinuating to the reader that the information is factual.

I decided that, unlike ‘NME’ and ‘Kerrang!’, I would not include a rating or stars as this would convey the magazine as tacky and would endorse laziness. ‘The Word’ also employs this policy and they boast a similar target audience to my magazine. I have however included “3 tracks to download” thus implying that despite the fact that ‘The Throwback’ contains roots in the ‘80s, they are always moving forward (due to the modern nature of downloading).

4. My magazine represents youths as the next generation of indie rock. This is most notable in my articles in which I hail ‘Costa Nostra’ and ‘The Tendency’ as great new, young bands. This connotes that youths are the future of indie rock thus inspiring youngsters to join the music industry. The emphasis on youth is epitomised by this quote from the double page spread based on Liam Oakley: “The Tendency claim to be subversive, anarchic and generally different. And who can deny them of their youth?” One could infer from this quote that youths have delusions of anarchy but it also holds connotations that the youth have, and always will be dreamers, dreaming that they can make a difference.

My magazine doesn’t represent females due to the fact that it is predominantly aimed at males. As such, I realise females would be less likely to buy my magazine but due to their indifference towards the genre, the loss is insignificant.

Males are represented as strong and dominant; all the bands featured in the magazine are fronted by males and, as such, males are being championed as the future (and possibly present) of indie rock.

Race issues are not being represented, although that, perhaps, is the issue. There are no races other than white being portrayed in the magazine which could be construed as racism in itself. On the other hand, the inclusion of one (admittedly, white) South African could be seen as a representation of Africans. But, overall, there is no denying that the race of the magazine is largely white; take from that what you will.

5. I would like a media institution that is experienced in the field I am looking to penetrate. As such, a publisher of a similarly simplistic, classic styled magazine would be perfect – perhaps the publisher of ‘The Word’, ‘Rolling Stone’, or even ‘Q.’.

‘Bauer Media’ control ‘Q.’, however, they also control ‘Kerrang!’ thus signifying their poor discernment in choosing quality magazines. ‘Wenner Media LLC’ publish ‘Rolling Stone’, however, judging by their association with ‘Mens Journal’ and ‘UK Weekly’, they lack the drive that I’m look for to create a relatively subversive magazine. ‘Development Hell’ are an independent publishing company that publish ‘The Word’. They also publish ‘Mixmag’, a dissident take on dance music. Due to their association with these reputable magazines and their clear eye for magazines ‘going against the grain’ as it were, I would like ‘Development Hell’ to publish my magazine.

6. I have consumed various skills and learnt various techniques in creating a magazine. First and foremost, I have certainly progressed in terms of Photoshop. It opened my eyes as to how difficult it was to convincingly construct an article for a magazine. It involved patience, dedication and a certain degree of skill. For instance, I learned such simple skills as ‘removing colour’. This is exemplified by the album review, in which Stephen was in colour but removing the colour gave it a classic edge. Moreover, I learnt that by using simple effects in Photoshop, I can transform the picture from amateurish to professional-looking with, for example, poster lines (as utilised in the reviews article).

Another skill I acquired over the course of the project was that of ‘blogging’. It was a necessity to create a blog as the examiners charted our progress and, as such, I was forced into creating a blog. I learnt how to implement images into each blog post, I learnt how to customise my blogs amongst other skills. Moreover, it helped me get feedback from my peers as we proceeded along the course.

From the construction aspect of the project, I also learnt how to maximise a camera’s potential. Beforehand, I had never used a full scale camera before but as I was introduced to one by my friend (who takes AS photography), I quickly grasped how to zoom and focus. I enjoyed taking the reins behind the camera as I was introduced into the world of photography. Now, I can not only manipulate images, but I can also take them.

7. I feel that I have progressed massively since the production of my preliminary task. On ‘Zine!’s front cover, the main picture was not as well thought out; the main image containing a seemingly random effect that bared no relation to my target audience. Conversely, ‘The Throwback’s front cover image is tailor-made to suit my target audience, as one can see from questions 1 to 3. Furthermore, I have also thought about the textual placement this time as, beforehand, the text was just placed in a line down the right. This time, I have thought about where and how the text would best convey meaning.
The change from ‘Zine!’ (our college magazine) to ‘The Throwback’ is evident below:

My 2nd Article

I decided to centre my second article around reviews of new CDs. I elected to avoid creating another article based around Liam and his 'band', deciding instead to utilise the pictures taken (during the same shoot) of another friend, Stephen. Stephen's 'band' were to be the main review of the article, garnering just over half of the double page spread.

The 2nd article is featured below:

The colour scheme maintained the consistence of the previous articles whilst the images were integrated effectively. I decided not to use more polaroids as not to bombard the reader with polaroids, meaning that they could perceive the magazine as a 'one trick pony' of sorts.

I was pleased with the article on the whole, the images maintained the nostalgic style.

My 1st Article

Following the completion of the cover and the contents page, I set out to create a double-page spread article. I decided to base it on the 'cover star's fictional band 'The Tendency', I gave my friend an interview and used the images previously taken for the cover.

The article was based on a 'face to face' premise and, as such, there was a large image of Liam to match the interview.

The finished article is as follows:

I am pleased with the finished product. I had some issues with removing the shadow from his face and cutting off his shoulder but, other than that, it was relatively simple to create.

I felt that the colour scheme was simple but effective and the interview looked realistic in mimicking a double page spread's style.

As with the previous two photoshop efforts, I shall explain my decisions in full in my evaluation.

My contents page

I have now finished my contents page. Unlike my cover, I have decided to keep elements of the practice contents page for 'Zine!' in my final magazine. I used polaroid images to lend the magazine a 'DIY' element, harking back to the days of original independent music (punk began it all) and thereby remaining consistent with the ideologies of the magazine. Here is my completed contents page:

I am pleased with the contents page; it maintains the sleek, understated style of the cover despite containing a few images and portions of text.

I will, as with the cover, explain my decisions in full in my forthcoming evaluation.

My Cover

After much deliberation and work in general, I have constructed the cover.

The cover took a while to construct but I was, on the whole, pleased with it. I will justify my decisions in the evaluation - the last part of the project.

The cover that was the most popular style in the questionnaire (and shown below) was a heavy influence on my final cover. The minimalistic style (with one image and a simple colour scheme) was evident on my cover.

My Main Image

I have now taken a variety of images, each consisting of one of two people. I have chosen the following as the image for my cover. I have chosen it due to the direct mode of address and the fact that is, to put it plainly, a good picture.

I shall include this image on my front cover after inverting the colours. The colour inversion will give the magazine a nostalgic edge thereby conforming to my conventions.

Construction - Finding an Image

Now that I have completed my 'Zine!' practice cover and contents page, I will now begin creating my 'real' magazine. The first step is the cover and the first step for creating the cover is acquiring a main image. To acquire this main image, I shall take photos of a cover star that would be appropriate for my target audience and the genre I am covering.

I have decided to take pictures of my friend, Liam Oakley. I believe he will appeal to my demographic whilst being a plausible frontman of a band.

Practice Magazine Construction part 2 - Zine contents page

After completing my 'Zine!' cover page, I moved on to the contents page. I was hoping, once again, that the construction of my practice piece would aid my proper piece.

This is my completed contents page:

Practice Construction Work

I have now begun to create a practice cover and contents page in preparation for my real magazine. The cover will be for 'Zine!', the college magazine.

I have encountered Photoshop previously, but never this advanced. This is my first cover attempt:

I have now begun to create the contents page for 'Zine!'. I am hoping it will be similarly helpful.

In retrospect, the cover was incredibly poor. However, it helped my development of the real magazine thus making it worthwhile. It helped me learn how to implement cover lines and how to affectively create a render of a main image.

Analysis Completion part 2

After finishing the advert analysis; all that was left to complete was the contents page analysis.

I decided to compare a 'Q.' contents page and a 'Kerrang!' contents page. This was due to the fact that they are vastly contrasting magazines and, as such, analysing them will help to establish the conventions of an indie magazine in contrast to another genre's conventions.

The analysis is featured below:

I am analysing the two covers featured above; one belonging to ‘Q.’, the other belonging to ‘Kerrang!’. They are vastly differing contents page hence appealing to their vastly differing target audiences. Whereas ‘Q.’ appeals to a fan of, albeit mainstream, rock, ‘Kerrang!’ appeals to fans of heavy metal music. Moreover, ‘Q.’ appeals to an older audience that would, predominantly, be reasonably intelligent. Conversely, ‘Kerrang!’ appeals to a younger audience, consisting of mainly pre-teens and teenagers, therefore, the audience appeals to a less intelligent audience. This difference in target audiences is why the magazines are so different and the contents pages’ are no exception.

‘Q.’s contents page is much more organised with clearer labels to signify each section and only one image whilst the descriptions are fitted around this image. This is juxtaposed by the plethora of images and the lack of clearly labelled sections on ‘Kerrang!’s contents page. The lack of organisation will appeal to their particular demographic as they will see the superfluity of images and feel there is more to read than if there were no images thus being attracted to the magazine from the off. Furthermore, the contents page isn’t conventional due to the mixture of images and text thereby creating the pretence that the magazine is anarchic – a key factor in the movement of heavy metal and ‘emo’ fans. This further entices them to read thus achieving the magazine creator’s goal.

Furthermore, the colour schemes contrast each other immensely. Whereas ‘Q.’ stick to red, black and white, ‘Kerrang!’ implements several different colours – yellow, black, white, red and blue – although some of the colours are more dominant than other, they are all contained in one A4 sheet of paper. This contrast of colour reflects the difference in their target audience; whereas ‘Kerrang!’ needs to attract it’s younger and easier influenced audience with bright colours; ‘Q.’ lets the music be the focal point of the magazine – the simplistic colour scheme meaning the readers are not distracted from the content.

One element of the contents pages that are similar, however, is the conventional title of the article followed by a less brief description of the article. The use of this convention in both contents pages connotes that it is a tried and tested formula and that most, if not all, music magazines use this style in their contents pages.

Analysis Completion

I have now almost finished the analysis stage of my coursework. Before the construction of my magazine, I have to complete the comparative analyses of 2 contents pages' and 2 adverts.

I began the advert analysis, deciding to compare an advert for two vastly contrasting films, 'Control' and 'Wall-E'. Despite the fact that I am not creating an advert, it will help my contextual understanding of the magazines. The analysis is below:

The advert I will be analysing was featured in Q. and is about a film called ‘Control’, which is based on the life and times of Ian Curtis, front man of Joy Division. The advert is shown below:

The fact that the film is based around indie music forerunner Ian Curtis is a salient enough reason to feature in a relatively indie-based music magazine. The decision to include the advert in ‘Q.’ is more likely to attract audiences to the film than if it was in, for instance, ‘Kerrang’ as the film appeals to the target audience of the magazine.

The advert itself uses several conventions to convey meaning. There is one main image, thus signifying that this male is the focal point of the film. The inclusion of a cigarette in the advert could also represent his anarchy and, eventually, his downfall.

The picture is in black and white, which holds connotations that the film is focusing on a life in the past whilst reinforcing the biopic style of the film by making it seem like a natural photo (further re-iterated through the lack of direct address from ‘Ian Curtis’). Furthermore, the previously mentioned black and white colour scheme is starkly juxtaposed by the bright purple text. This means that the text in purple denotes elements of the poster that they want to emphasise. This is exemplified by the fact that the title of the film is in purple and extremely large as to make the name of the film clear.

There are also quotes from reviews of the film down the left. They are all positive as to give the impression that the film has enjoyed critical acclaim and to inform the potential viewer of the positives the film boasts. Moreover, the quotes are in purple, as to force the reader to focus on the positive reviews (due to the juxtaposition of colours) thus enticing them.

The main actor’s and the director’s names are in grey thus putting the aforementioned aspects of the poster to the forefront of the poster. This connotes that the people working on the film are not as important as the film itself. Furthermore, the decision also helps to ensure that the film retains a sense of reality as the film is a documentary, the actors should be emphasised as it’s meant to be real life.

The other advert I will be analysing is an advert featured in ‘Smash Hits’ about the film ‘Wall-E’:

The films are vastly differing films that cater to extremely different target audiences. This is reflected in the difference of the magazine’s target audiences. Whereas ‘Q.’ appeals to an older, more mature audience, ‘Smash Hits’ appeals to a younger audience consisting of mainly pre-teens. As such, they are more likely to want to see Wall-E, hence the inclusion of the advert in the magazine.

The advert uses similar conventions to ‘Control’ but uses them to convey a completely different meaning. For instance, there is one significant image – of the robot Wall-E looking into space. As with ‘Control’, the poster shows one being thus suggesting that they are the main character. The picture is clearly a still from the film, there is not much text as they want the powerful image to speak for itself. The text suggests the plotline of the film. Conversely, ‘Control’ doesn’t reveal the plotline. This is due to the fact that, whilst ‘Wall-E’s target audience needs to be told the premise of the film as they would quickly forget the film’s image without relating it to a plot, the target audience for ‘Control’ would investigate further into the Joy Division-related film.

Whereas ‘Control’s colour scheme is dark and sombre (hence reflecting the mood of the film), ‘Wall-E’s is vibrant and bright. This, yet again, reflects the difference in the audience they are attempting to appeal to – a younger audience would generally be attracted to brighter colours whereas an older audience would appreciated a black and white colour scheme more due to the eminence of black and white in ‘their day’.

The line “From the creators of Finding Nemo” further signifies their target audience – those who would be fans of Finding Nemo, a fellow Disney animation. The youngsters would see this and want to see it if they were fans of ‘Finding Nemo’, thus enticing them to see the film more.