Magazine Research-Montage

Montage

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Editorial Profile

So, 'The Revolution'. Don't worry you haven't stumbled onto an extremist mag. We're not calling for a political uprising or any drastic action at all.

Instead this Revolution is centred around music.

There are thousands and thousands of freaks, geeks and misfits out there and I have the great pleasure of being one. We don't fit the norm. We don't connect to the corporate produced music that smothers the charts day in day out. Instead we seek comfort with something entirely different. Indie. It encompasses a whole range of music from rock, punk, alternative, emo, dance; anything so long as it's independent.  

With our music it doesn't matter how many columns the artist has had in the press, how revealing their outfit is, how white their teeth are or how much controversy they can cause to get more attention because this is all immaterial to music. Music is emotion. It has the ability to make you cry or make you euphoric. It's not the note that matters but the emotion being played out through it. When you hear Thom Yorke crying out that he doesn't belong here, or Matt Belamy declaring he's feeling good, Robert Smith promising he'll always love someone or Ian Curtis warning that love will tear us apart you feel that emotion. It reverberates within you and it is through this that you connect to the music and let it play through you.

We are the great unheard section of society. For too long have we put up the same old processed beats in the charts with the odd flash of something great. For too long has our music been left unheard and unsung. If you like all the music in the charts then that's absolutely fine, whatever makes you happy, that's the only important thing. All I ask is that Indie music is celebrated as well.

This is the Revolution.

 We will celebrate the music that goes uncelebrated. Music may be a business but lets make it an art again.

So we may be creeps and we may be weirdos but we sure as hell do belong here and in the charts because where would music be without the true artists that we love?

Vive la révolution!

Syd Bird 

XX

Questionnaire Results

Questionnaire results

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Advantages of using a Questionnaire

• Through asking my target audience questions about my magazine it helps me to determine what it is that they want from the product. This is vital to know because, as I discovered through audience theory research, my audience has a huge impact on what my product will be like as I need it to appeal to them and ultimately give them what they want in order for my product to be successful and a questionnaire is the most effective way of understanding my target audience.
• It also provides quantifiable data that I can process and understand the results easily which enables me to shape what my magazine will be like as I will follow what the majority of my target audience wants to appeal to the largest market I can.
• One of the most important advantages of a questionnaire is simply that it is direct communication with my audience which is often hard to get. This direct line of communication allows me to ask them the questions that I want to know their responses to in order to help me create my magazine. 

Disadvantages of using a Questionnaire

• It is often hard to get an accurate cross section of my target audience which means that the data I collect isn't as reliable or valid as it cold be. I have tried to combat this by questioning both men and women of a range of ages from 13 to over 25. However it is still not an accurate representation as I have only questioned people within my local area which is not indicative of society as a whole or all f my target audience. The number of people I questioned is also a problem as I only asked ten people which again is not a large enough number for my questionnaire to be accurate. 
• Another disadvantage is that through using a questionnaire and better understanding what it is my target audience want I could theoretically create a magazine that provides these desires without any USP or new angle to make it interesting and would just create another version of one of the pre-existing magazines. 
• Questionnaires can also often be biased with specific questions asked to get a desired response which again makes results less valid. 
• Questionnaires usefulness is also determined by how seriously the people answering the questionnaires take it because if they do not answer honestly it defies the entire point of creating a questionnaire at all. There is also no way of determining how seriously they took it so a questionnaire is essentially built on trust. 

I will use the data I have gathered to shape how I will create my music magazine as I want it to appeal to my target audience, however I also want to include new innovative ideas to create a USP. 

Customer Profile

As expressed in the last blog post because of the reception theory the audience influences the text and the meaning of the product so hugely that it's vital that I understand my target audience so that I can provide what they want. Typically for Indie magazines there is a largely male audience ranging from the ages of 14 up to 35. However there is a growing trend of a female audience of similar ages as males for Indie texts and because of this I want my magazine to appeal to both sexes. In order to better understand my audience I have created a customer profile below. 

 Tom  and Ella are 17 and students at college. They're reasonably high achievers at school and do well in lessons however they're introverted and awkward and often find's it difficult to be themselves around other people. However they're proud of their uniqueness and doesn't want to be 'normal' and have strong friendships with similar people. 

One of the way they expresses their differentness is through their clothes and interests; especially music. They dresses oddly in terms of societies norms wearing skinny jeans and often tight t-shirts which reference bands, programmes and people they likes and idolises to a degree. They don't follow fashion trends and wear instead what they want which are often retro.
They also have a passion for indie music which is one of the most important things in their life; they feel as if they live for music. They escape into it and listen to a wide range of genres within Indie from rock to dance. Most of their favorite bands are relatively unheard of within the mainstream charts but held in high regard within independent publications which they read regularly. They are passionate about live gigs and have seen a number of bands such as Foals, Noah and The Whale, Biffy Clyro, White Lies etc. and are always on the look out for more gigs. They like discovering new bands as well as listening to seminal artists and established bands and often reject mainstream music and artists vehemently.
 They  have a strong sense of identity as an Indie lover and this influences all aspects of their lives. 

Audience Theory

"We must get away from the habit of thinking in terms of what the media do to people & substitute for it the idea of what people do with the media" 

-Halloran 1970

Within the last forty years there's been a shift from a hypodermic needle theory of how mass audiences passively accept media texts with little or no input to the product itself to a reception theory where the emphasis is placed on the reader and the codes they decode from the text. The main shift from the 1930's to now is the way in which texts are understood with reader's passively being fed codes to readers now playing an active part in the meaning found within the text as everyone will read a text differently. Therefore producers encode texts and will try and encourage their readers to decode a preferred meaning which I need to replicate within my magazine as there will be preferred meanings that I want my reader's to get from my magazine. 

C. Wright Mills also writes about the four functions of media which are to give people and identity, provide aspirations, give instructions as to how to reach these goals and aspirations and provide a form of escapism. In order to provide what my audience want I need to use some of these functions within my magazine especially the concepts of aspiration, identity and escapism. People who like Indie music tend to feel isolated and different and by providing them with a sense of identity they feel part of something and can escape into a world and community that they fit into. They also escape into a glossy world full of passion for music and normally attractive people who appear immortal through the use of static images and helps readers escape their own morality and drudgery of day to day life allowing them to focus completely on the music and the arts.  Also by providing them with images of strong confident people who are content with themselves within the magazine it gives them an ideal of confidence to aspire to. 

Questionnaire

In order to better understand my target audience and what they expect and want from a new Indie music magazine I've designed a questionnaire which tries to explore different aspects that I need to consider when creating my magazine. It's important to understand what my target audience want as it's vital that I appeal to them and ultimately supply what is wanted for my magazine to potentially be successful. It is also incredibly useful as it helps me decide and develop certain aspects of my design, content, layout, mode of address, colour codes etc to again best attract my target audience.

Music Magazine Questionnaire

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Magazine Double Page Spread Deconstructions

Again just as it was important to research the contents page and front covers it is equally important to research and deconstruct double page spreads to help me create my own ideas.

Deconstruction of Indie Music Magazines Double Page Spreads

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Magazine Contents Page Deconstructions

Just as it was important to research and analyse front covers of indie music magazines it's also vital to research the contents pages as well to help me develop my own ideas about the contents page I will create.

Deconstruction of Indie Music Magazines Contents Pages

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Magazine Front Cover Deconstructions

Before creating a front cover for my music magazine it's important to research other successful music magazines front covers, especially indie ones to better understand the conventions and techniques used in creating an engaging cover. Below are three deconstructions of indie front covers. 

Deconstructions of Indie Music Magazine Front Covers

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Moodboard & 10 Conventions of a Magazine Front Cover

In order to explore our chosen genre for our magazine and the conventions of magazine front covers I made a moodboard. Within the moodboard I gathered images that I feel had specific connotations to do with the indie genre or had some aspect of them that I liked. For example I've collated images of indie music magazines front covers such as NME and to a certain degree Q as well as images of live shows.
This moodboard has helped me to further comprehend the genre of indie and helped me to think of ideas for my own magazine.

10 conventions of a magazine front cover

1. Strong, striking images-one of the most important features of a front cover as they draw the reader in and demand attention and I hope to be able to replicate this with my own front cover.
2. Bold mastheads-usually placed along the top of the cover or in the top left corner as this is the most seen area by potential buyers.
3. Covelines-usually placed down the sides of the magazines and they act as a lure to entice the reader to look through the rest of the magazine.
4. Unique Selling Point-expressed through a variety of techniques form images to main stories and coverlines.
5. Clear and defined colour codes-text in the masthead, coverlines and colour of the image are usually similar or the palette is confined to a few bold colours to provide a sense of unity and professionalism.
6. Lure/hook-all magazines have some lure on the cover ad give the reader incentive to buy the magazine.
7. Clear mode of address-whether it's formal or informal there is always a clear mode of address which reveals the magazines target audience.
8. Main coverline-the largest coverline on the page which refers to the cover image and main story.
9. Brand/identity-may be a logo or specific colour code which runs throughout the magazine such as the red 'Q' for Q magazine which makes it easily recognisable.
10. Dateline-the publication date and price usually shown somewhere on the cover, however it often is very small as it is not as important as it doesn't provide any incentive to buy the magazine.

Preliminary Task Evaluation

Overall I'm quite happy with the outcome of my preliminary task.
I feel that through a variety of different techniques I have created a front cover that is eye-catching and would connect to the target audience of 6^th form students. 

For example I have used a strong enigmatic image of a girl wearing a Venetian mask pushing her hair out of her face. This creates a sense of enigma and juxtaposition as the reader wants to know why she is both hiding behind a disguise and revealing herself to the reader by moving the hair out of her face. This creates a connection between the reader and the magazine as they are intrigued and want to know what is happening within the picture so persuades them to look closer and see the cover line above the image saying “How to come out of hiding within 6^th Form” which then reveals the concept behind the image; that of a girl coming out of hiding as she enters the 6^th Form, thus linking into the school magazine.

However the image could also been seen as too abstract and not related enough to school magazines as it does not fit the cultural stereotype and expectations of a school magazine which usually has an image of a student doing work. However I feel with the accompanying cover lines and masthead it does denote a 6^th Form magazine.

It also mimics more editorial and fashionable magazines which have enigmatic and artistic images on the front cover which implies to the reader that this school magazine is a more fashionable lifestyle magazine instead of a study based one. However this link could also alienate potential buyers as it appeals more to young women not men so reduces its readership.

The girl is also staring straight out at the reader which is again engaging and reinforces the connection between the reader and the magazine. It also connotes a confident woman who doesn’t want to hide which is the message the main article within the magazine is portraying to the reader. The use of bracelets and bangles on the front cover image also connotes a sense of individuality and freedom of expression which is again what the magazines main story is about.

The use of complimentary colours has also been used on the front cover to again grab the attention of the reader. For example the girl has bright red hair, lips and bracelets whereas the background, her eyes and eyeliner are a greeny/blue which creates a strong contrast. This contrast is an unusual one for a magazine front cover which often favour black or white backgrounds so grabs the attention of the reader. The bright red of the hair, lips and bracelets also connotes a sense of danger and confidence which coupled with the black mask and vest implies to the reader that this girl is powerful, confident and in control which is again what the main message of the cover story is.

There is also a sense of unity of colour on the front cover with a theme of red, white and black all of which are eye catching and bold. For example the red of the girl’s hair, lips and bracelets is also the same red as the last word of the magazine’s masthead and the black of her mask and vest is also used in the second word of the title and in many of the coverlines. This gives the impression of a cohesive coherent magazine and makes it look more professional and therefore believable which is important as it needs its readers to respect its contents or else it wouldn’t be bought.

The font type on the front cover has also been chosen carefully with a font type that looks like chalk on a board used for the magazine’s name. This connotes that it is a magazine linked to education and reinforces to the reader that this is a school magazine.

The coverlines are written in Comic Sans as this is the most used font by young people so again reveals its target audience of students in 6^th Form and portrays what they are used to and familiar with which makes the magazine more appealing to them.

All of the coverlines also have a drop shadow on them, especially the white ones as this makes it much easier to read from far away to enable potential customers to see easily what the main stories of this edition are about and entice them to buy it and fits the proper mode of address for a magazine.

The actual text has also been used to entice the reader into buying the magazine. For example there four main stories shown on the front cover and all have been placed on the left hand side and as high up as possible as this is the most seen area by customers when it’s on the shelf so this space has been utilised to try and persuade the reader to buy the magazine. The main article is written along the top and connotes what the cover image is about. The other main articles are placed down the left hand side with relevant stories and articles such as “Poet Laureate Visit” and “Top 10 Tips to deal with exam stress” which shows that the magazine deals with current news such as important visits and also offers advice and guidance all of which a 6^th Form student would expect to find in a school magazine and would theoretically want to read so this provides incentive to the reader to buy it.

There is also another main story on the front cover which says “Win a Macbook!” with an image of a Macbook below which provides even more incentive for the reader to buy the magazine as they could win an expensive computer. The use of the term “win a Macbook” also suggests to the reader that it is something that is easy and could be achieved whereas if it had been phrased differently, for example maybe “have a chance to win a Macbook”, it would provide less incentive as there appears to be less certainty at wining the desired object.

The magazine’s title and pun of “A New Level” also reveals to the reader that this is a school magazine and implies that through reading this magazine they can make something better of themselves which 6^th Form students are already trying to do through furthering their education, so again persuades the reader to buy it.

Overall the language on the front cover is fairly formal with no colloquial language which shows that it is well written piece so worthy of intelligent people such as its target audience but is also not too wordy and does not use complicated language so appeals to the younger generations which are its target audience.

I am overall very pleased with how my preliminary task has gone as I feel I have created an eye catching front cover that fits the appropriate modes of address for a magazine front cover. However I feel there are a number of aspects I can improve on such as making it clearer as to what type of magazine it is. 

Preliminary Task - School Magazine Front Cover

Preliminay Task

Using DTP and an image manipulation program, produce the front page of a new school/college magazine, featuring a photograph of a student in medium close-up plus some appropriately laid-out text and a masthead. Additionally candidates must prouce a mock-up of the layout of the contents page to demonstrate their grasp of DTP.

An Introduction To Media

The Media
A basic definition of the media is the means of communication that reach and influence people widely. However it is increasingly difficult to define what the media is due to the rate at which it's developing and growing however there are some factors of the media that apply to all media products throughout history. For example the media reaches a large number of people (relative to the type of product it is and it's target audience), media products are shared, they are expensive to produce, they are modern for their times, they rely on sophisticated technology, they are often regulated and they are centrally produced but consumed privately.  


Media's Importance in Today's Society
There are a number of reasons as to why the media is so important within our society. One of the most important factors to consider is just how central it is to our everyday lives; we use it daily for a number of different functions such as relaxation, a plethora of information from the latest celebrity gossip to world events and persuasion through advertising and political campaigns. This can be seen through the sheer number of domestic media hardware within our homes and lives that we use daily. For example 32 million people in the UK are 'online' meaning they have access to the internet at home, work or through studying and 99% of all homes have at least one television set with most having numerous in different rooms showing just how integral the media is to our very way of life which also means that the media holds an incredible amount of power and influences us. They influence our beliefs on what is and isn't acceptable, our morality, our actions and how we live our lives. Although these influences are often criticised and can be perceived as detrimental it is not just the media that influences us but other factors too. 
The media also informs us about the world easily and quickly which makes it incredibly important especially in our diverse society which is affected by events thousands of miles away.
And finally the media also makes huge profits and provides thousands of jobs and affects the economy hugely which has implications within our everyday lives. 


Web 2.0
Web 2.0 is a term that is being used to describe the way in which the world wide web is developing into second generation web based communities which have grown through the use of social networking sites, wikis, weblogs, podcasts, video sharing sites and RSS feeds. The term web 2.0 does not refer to an actual update but rather the way in which the web has changed from the passive consumerism of media into an interactive one where people not only consume media but easily produce and share their own too, or many-to-many publishing, through sites such as Blogger, Facebook and Youtube. 


Media Regulation
The media is seen to be needed to be controlled and regulated in all countries all be it to different degrees, for example within the UK we have the watershed and the British Board of Film Classification whereas in other countries such as China, Burma and Ethiopia where they restrict the media to control the circulation of ideas and criticisms. It is a way of restricting the freedom of speech and ideas which is often used in dictatorships or regime changes. 


Media Sharing
Media sharing refers to the way in which popular media become part of our common culture, for example famous phrases are known throughout society from T.V. programs even if individuals do not watch it themselves we are collectively aware of the phrases and connotations that go along with them such as "You're fired!". Media becomes a 'common language' which is used worldwide. However this can lead some to be concerned that this causes 'colonisation' of the worlds' media from mainly American corporations.
Media sharing can also reference the sharing of media through social networking and digital communities which has become increasingly easier and a common part of our culture which has completely revolutionised media. 


Media Terms
Mediation:
The process by which a media text represents an idea, issue or event to us. This is a useful word as it suggests the way in which things undergo change in the process of being acted upon by the media.
Saturation:
A term used to describe the way in which the media today 'saturate' all aspects of our lives and the extent to which our experience of the world is dominated by the media, not only on an indevidual level but also nationally and globally. 
Proliferation:
A sudden increase in the amount and number of different forms of media and how we access it, create, interact and view it. 
Media Convergence:
Media convergence is the coming together of different communication technologies such as the telephone, the computer and the television.