Contents page

In this lesson, we looked at different styles of contents pages. I found out that contents pages must have a house style - an ongoing theme throughout the magazines design such as colour scheme and similar styles of font. They appeal to their audience with the use of different sections of the magazines and for example; if it were a magazine in home improvement the audience can look straight to a section for home improvement tips and new buys. This means the audience can know where to look for the information they want. Also, they can target their audience with the use of pictures in a collage theme on the contents page with the theme of the magazine in mind, this could make the audience feel that if they read the magazine they could be like the model in the picture.

The house style is very important. This links with the rest of the magazine and gives an on going theme throughout the magazine. For example; the magazine will need a colour scheme of perhaps blue and green. Therefore, the contents page will look more attractive if there is an ongoing colour scheme of blue and green. This makes the magazine appear more neat and presentable to an audience. Also, the cover and contents page will have similar pictures to each other. They will not necessarily have to have the same models/poses but they could have similar themes to eachother. For example 'source' which is a home improvement magazine had an image of a famous actress in red on the front cover and then red and green styled home pictures in the contents page.

'Kerrang' contents page.

Audience Research

For our magazine idea, we had to categorize our audience into seperate groups so that we know how to target them with our magazine. We split them into groups called psychographics, social values, the jicnars scale, age range and gender.

Social values - Hedonists (to play, or enjoy life now)
Jicnars Scale - B (Intermediate managerial, administrative and professional) C1 (Supervisory, clercical, junior administrative or professional.)
Age range - 16-19
Gender - Male/female

We then had to write 8-10 specific statements about our audience which defines their character, for example 'they buy lard instead ofn butter.' Here is ours:

They enjoy party's, but prefer to be performing on the stage.
They love to dance - but always want to improve.
They wear trendy yet casual clothing but like to wear designer dancing clothes.
They eat healthily but do not have lots of money to spend on food, as they are mainly students.
They party hard but also work hard.
They would go on holiday to Ibiza over a country break.
They enjoy socialising with friends in bars and clubs.
You would catch them spending time in the dance studio instead of relaxing at home.

Five ways I'm going to target my audience:
- Use a young and stylish model
- Use bright and youthful colours
- Use an original font that connotes modern and in vogue appeal
- Include tips and fashion advice that will appeal to a young audience interested in dance
- Include offers that will be useful and desirable to young dancers

Research

Our task during this lesson was to find three similar magazine covers aimed at the same audience in which we are looking to target. We then had to see if there was a similarity across the three covers in terms of; subject matter, the colours used, the fonts used, the types of models they employ, the language used to address/target the audience, the design/layout of the covers and the freebies/offers.

subject matter: They are all based on dance. The first magazine is perhaps based on Latino dancing because of the Spanish model. This magazine seems to be about the publicity and celebrity culture compared to the other two which seem to be based around dance technique rather than the lifestyle which accompanies dance.

the colours used: The first magazine gives the feeling of an upbeat dance mag because of it's bright range of colours and the beach backdrop. This gives a party feeling to the magazine. The secod magazine keeps to simple two colours; light blue, grey and black. The blue descends into a lighter sky blue and the floor is a grey. The writing in the forground of the magazine is black which compliments to models black clothes. The final magazine is also partially colour coordinated; red, orange and browns. All three magazines have very differerent colour schemes.

the fonts used: The first magazine uses sans serif font which adds to it's carefree, party feel of the magazine. The soft curves across the masthead on 'dance spirit' contrast with the sans serif font on the 'dance' magazines which is a lot more anguler, giving them a serious feel to the magazine. Both magazines use a sans serif font however, in different ways.

the types of models they employ: the first magazine uses sex appeal with the model they have used - a young, attractive woman yet she does not appear to be dancing. This adds to the party feel of the magazine and contrasts with the models on the cover of 'dance' magazine; who are all in a mid-flow of dancing.

the language used to address/target the audience: The 'dance' magazines use dance related tag lines such as 'what is wrong with ballet schools?' this contrasts with the 'dance spirit' magazine which is all about the lifestlyes of dance, rather than the dance itself.

the design/layout of the covers: The first magazine uses the beach as the backdrop with the taglines along each side of the magazine whereas the magazine covers on 'dance' have simple backdrops and are soley based around the dancing.

the freebies/offers: On the first magazine there is an offer for a dance music CD. This shows that the magazine is based around the partying lifestyle rather than the dance wheras 'dance' does not offer any freebies which shows it is a proffesional magazine.

Preliminary Analysis

To complete the preliminary analysis we need to use DTP and an image minipulation program to produce the front cover of a new school/college magazine. This should feature a photograph of a student in medium close-up plus some appropriately laid-out text and a masthead. Also, we must produce a DTP mock up of the layout and the contents page to demonstrate out grasp of the program.
As a class, we looked at some examples of last years magazines to help us complete our own. One of the examples we looked at was called 'Mizz Glam'. I could tell it was a magazine because their was a large masthead at the top of the cover, several screamers and a few cover lines. The magazine cover also showed images of famous women with advice on how to apply female make up. The audience was targeted at students from an age of 16-19, possibly an aspirer and on the jicnars scale I would guess they are A/B.

The magazine successfully targets it's audience with the use of the words 'Mizz Glam'. The word 'Mizz' gives a feeling of rebelling yet the sans serif font shows class and sophistication, to add the the glamorous feel of the mag. This makes students feel that the magazine is cool, but also has some degree of sophistication. The use of colours is for a youthful girl; pinks, purples and violet.
The student in the photo of the magazine is holding several college folders which shows she is a student, but also has the opportunity to look glam in college. The magazine appeals to 16-19 year old girls by showing different ways to apply make up and wear clothes to college by the screamers entitled 'The guide to student fashion!' and various images of female celebritys in their clothes on the red carpet. She also includes pictures of non-famous women who look very glamorous without the money of famous people, showing that you can look great without the money of famous people at college.

Media Studies Coursework Introduction

Hello, my name is Milly Morris. This blog is for our magazine section of our coursework so that we can complete our AS course in Media Studies. In our first lesson, we looked at magazine conventions as seen below:

There is also a 'screamer' which is when a sentence on the front cover is displayed to 'scream' out at the reader such as 'Shoes for sale inside!!!!' and always have exclamation mark.

Also, text on the cover can be 'reversed outline' where there is a box is surrounding the text and normally has a different coloured background to contrast with the text.

We then had to alalyse Look magazine from an early september issue. The masthead is in bright orange which stands out against the darker colours of the picture in the background. Also, it is an informal font called 'serif' which makes the magazine seem formal and shows the reader they should take the fashion magazine seriously. There is a picture of a popular singer with the text in bold orange 'Cheryl - the easy diet that keeps me so slim.' The use of the first name and not the surname shows a familiarity with Cheryl Cole and makes the story seem trustworthy. Also, in the picture of Cheryl Cole she looks very pretty and healthy which makes the reader want to trust her and her diet methods. There is a screamer on the right of the page which says 'Autumn's Coolest Buys!' which grabs the readers attention and makes them want to have the Autumns coolest buys, therefore making them want to buy the magazine. There is a picture of Kimberly Walsh, a popular singer next to the sub heading 'Kimberly's hot new picks at new look!' which is also a screamer. Once again, the familiarity of the singer makes the reader trust the magazine and want to read her hot tips.