Font ideas

For my front cover, i need a title that stands out and that is easily read however, it has to be recognisable.

I would like my title to either have the letter 'A' in it or the actual word 'Allegro. The reason for this is because allegro is a musical term for the speed of which a piece of music is played. Allegro rolls off the tongue and i just like the word.

Here are some screen shots of titles i could potentially use:

I have tried to look for fonts that look rather decorative and unique as well as intricate. If i have a really boring font it could potentially make everything else look plain and boring and since this is aimed at a more mature audience with elegance and class i believe that the font should resemble that.

 

Why are women used in magazines?

New flatplan

 

FRONT COVER FLATPLAN

 

Likes and dislikes of the photographs

These photographs vary from medium long shot all the way up to medium close up. I didn't wasn't just pictures of their faces as adding their body, clothing and the instruments in bring relevance to my actual magazine.

I really love the close up shots of Josh when he is resting the violin under is chin. The colours work really well. The vibrancy of the mustard colour of his jumper contrasting with the vivid colour of the reds on the violin look amazing and make the full picture stand out. I also like how the light bounces off Josh himself, it makes his skin look radiant and really photogenic. Also, as Josh has pale/fair skin the rich colours bring out a tint of pink in his cheeks.

Alex's pictures work really well. I love the medium close ups of her because her bone structure is beautiful. she has a lovely structured jaw line which compliments her short pixie hair cut. I didn't believe that this hair cut would really work with a classical magazine as i thought of elegant long hair, more stereotypical looks for a classical magazine however this hair style makes Alex look less childish and makes every feature stand out. She has really fair skin and with the light reflecting it also contributes to the 'radiant skin' look. The pop the pink/red lipstick was to make her lips stand out and because when i did my research on classical magazines, a lot of the women either pose in aan attractive way or have their best feature emphasised. I believe Alex has many desirable features about her and choosing her lips has connotations of sexuality and will appeal to the male generations. I wanted to present her as a sexy female.

If i were to imrpove, i would have made them bring more clothes so i could have taken a more varied shot with each model. If they had more clothes i could have taken different ones.

 

The lighting on some pictures actually seem to be too bright when relfecting on the models. The lights look good as it lights up every feature but in some cases it has washed the models making them look ghostly pale.

 

 

Photographs

Throughout this week i have been able to take some photographs for my magazine.

I focused on taking pictures which would be ideal for a front cover or a double page spread.

These are some collages of the pictures i took.

 

 

 

 

Before i took the photographs ...

Before i took the pictures for my magazine i had to find suitable models to appear in my double page feature and on the front cover, basically throughout the magazine.

I chose Josh. He looked well on camera and listened to everything i had to say and when i directed him on how to pose for the camera. Josh used a violin to model with as it is more of a manly instrument. They are beautifully made, the body of the violin is strong and still elegant.

For my female model i used Alex. She is an average build, slim and mid height. She has short hair and i thought she would be well suited to model with a flute. It is an elegant instrument and is long, silver and is rather beautiful.

In preparation of taking the pictures, a backdrop set up had to be made.
there was:

- 2 backdrop lights
- 2 face lights
- 1 back light
- A backdrop
- natural light coming from various parts of the set ( Thee were mainly blocked out by the curtain which separated the back of the stage to the open space in the hall, and the lights were also turned off )
- A still lumix Panasonic camera
- A tripod

 

Before proceeding with taking the photographs i asked my two models if i was allowed to take pictures of them and use them within my project.

Reader profile

Models used

For my magazine i used two main models.                                                                                                A boy and a girl.

Boy = Josh Bloomer
Girl = Alex Thompson

Other models I used:

- Jordan Thompson - Featured on the earlier versions of the front cover, appears on the contents page as the editor and on the article awarding the young musician an award.

- Some other unnamed extras that may or not be present on the final versions of the magazine.

Josh posed with a violin and featured mainly on my front cover and contents page. The reason I used Josh was because he is genuinely photogenic and he has an older presence to him (he looks older then he actually is). Josh is more suitable for a classical magazine and not an indie/pop punk or rock magazine because when he posed with the violin he looked  authentic and like an actual player. His appearance doesn't seem to fit the type of genre like metal which includes dark heavy colours. The accessibility was rather easy too since he sat just a seat away from me in class so choosing him/ asking him to participate my magazine wasn't that difficult and I didn't have to go find a model somewhere else that could potentially fit the genre of my magazine.



Alex posed with the flute and feature on the front cover but mainly on my contents page. I adored her bone structure and her frame and when using medium close ups to close ups her complexion looked amazing under the camera light and she looked so photogenic. Her appearance also fit the classical genre. However unlike Josh, she could have been used for a 'heavier' genre like metal, or rock as her natural foundations - with her short hair and dress sense; seemed to fit every genre. She was easily moulded into what I wanted/ needed and looked sophisticate d and beautiful in my shots of her.

New colour scheme

The colour scheme is more or less the same as the post prior to this one however I have been heavily influenced on the colour of the violin and I want to integrate this into the house style.  

 The colour is so rich and warm, I believe it shows wealth, colour and has other connotations for elegance.

In this image it shows clearly the rich and vibrant colours of the violin.

 

Listen Music - Listen Audio Files - Media pro

What colour scheme would i choose for my house style?

For my magazine, my potential house style would have to consider, using my research what colours would suit a more mature audience without making the whole magazine look dull and boring.

I would love to use pastel colours that aren't so bright that they look shocking, but calm, warm colours that look suitable to continue throughout the full magazine.




Even though these colours seem rather dark, and a tad dull, with the white or ivory page colour to contrast with these colours i believe that these would be a lovely grown up palette of colours for your eyes to indulge in.

Personally i would use either the Taupe, Blue or Sage grey colour as they seem rather cool looking in the sense they remind me of the sea and of nice natural colours.

 

 



Podcast

Draft of article

Sitting in London’s finest De’Vouire Hotel, I anticipate the arrival of Alexi Davies. It’s 9:26 am and the streets are already teaming with traffic while a parade of business men and women flock the crowded and narrow streets of Westminster. I on the other hand, is sat indulging in a lovely strawberry and crème scone with a delightful tea, heaped to the brim with sugar.

At about 9:39 am, Alexis walks in sporting a flushed look, probably from dodging the chaos that was occurring outside the window. Settling into her seat we begin.

 

Growing up in North Yorkshire with a farmer for a father and a Nursery teacher for a mother did you at all feel that the prospects of becoming a musician were small? Even at a young age I was intrigued by the whole concept of music and how one simple instrument could produce such an intricate sound. My friend’s mother played the flute; I always jumped at the chance to sleepover at hers and all night symphonies of pure perfection would be created. My parents didn’t prevent me from playing an instrument but they weren’t overly enthusiastic. They weren’t captivated by the charm of music like I was so my music career nearly never happened if it weren’t for my friends mother.

Do you think if you weren’t an only child, your chances of becoming a flautist would have increased? No, … well, not really. Imagine if I had siblings, the very little time I had with my parents – due to their busy work schedule, I’d have to share with the rest of my brothers or sisters. It sounds selfish but being an only child was amazing. Not that I was greedy and spoilt, but I was able to get the music lessons I needed, and they didn’t come cheap. Also not having brothers and sisters to nag you all the time allowed me to have free time to play the flute and to just relax.

 

Did you ever believe you’d be where you are today? If you told me today I’d be working with an orchestra on the new ‘Divergent’ film I would call you straight out mad. For me, this industry is all about luck and getting people to notice you. You have a few second sin life to prove yourself before someone else jumps into view, you have to be quick. There are people that have been training all their lives to be where am now, I am genuinely grateful for everyone’s help. It’s not all about knowing people and having contacts, it’s about sticking in, working hard and proving to everyone and yourself that you can do this, you are a performer and you are going to make it; if not, why are you still here?

 

How did you handle rejections? Have you nearly given up before? The ‘one door closes and another one opens’ is a lie. You will get a thousand knock back, I have had about a thousand. In 2001 I applied for a Guildhall school of music and drama. Even though it was a school I failed the entry audition and I thought my life was over. For weeks I dwelled on what my life would become. Soon enough I realised that if I am not performing I am not living, I picked myself up and I auditioned and pushed my music into the faces of anyone who would stop and listen, with years and years of blood, sweat and tears I ‘made it’. Well, ‘making it’ isn’t about money and all the fame, it’s about being able to have a career and do what you’ve always dreamed of. I have given up numerous of times, looking back, I look so stupid giving up.

 

What was your greatest achievement? Definitely winning the National Musician award for the youngest musician of the year. It genuinely shocked me and I had some of my idols from when I was a little girl come and greet me and congratulate me. By far one of the best days of my life.

 

Where do you see yourself going? I believe, and hope I am rather young to be in the ‘music industry’. I am 25 years old and have achieved so much in so little time, I really don’t know where I will end up but I do hope its somewhere good. All will be well if I can continue playing my flute. It’s my passion, it’s my job, it’s my life, I really do enjoy every moment of my career so far.

Do you want to start a family? I’d have to find someone first! I would love to start a family. To move back to my home town eventually or somewhere so tranquil and peaceful, to bring up a family in that environment would be amazing. I’d love to have children but right now I’m more focused on my career … but maybe one day.

 

What a wonderful interview with the lovely Alexis Davies. We will post updates on our twitter feed of how she is getting on and you never know, we may be covering an article feature where she wins the Global Musician Award!

Uses and Gratifications

Draft of the front cover

 

This is a screenshot of my magazine - front cover.

- All I have added is the male model and the title//logo

First draft of my double page spread

I have chosen a nude/plain/dullish off grey/blue colour for the background.
I actually took the colour from my models tie// surrounding area near the tie and I think I just enhanced the colour and went 2 shades lighter.

NOTE TO SELF
- The models face needs the yellow taken out.

Mindmap of potential ideas of my magazine

Flatplan

 

 

Flat plan of article // double page spread

 

 

 

 

Flat plan of contents page

 

 

 

 

Flat plan of my front cover

( first design)



What have i done? Podcast -

 

 

Pie chart analysis

Analysis:

 

 

I handed my questionnaires out in my community. I live in Hebburn and the peope i live close to are not exactly around my age group. There are very small children or people roughly over the age of 25, there are few that are near my age group, however i still managed to target some so i could make my research rather varied.

 

Looking at these pie charts i can tell that:

- I questioned more females then males

- People who were 40 years + answered the most questionnaires

- Most of the people were unemployed or looking for work. This could either be the varied amount of ages that were under 40+, or that amount of people unemployed were the majority of the 40+ group.

- The most favoured genre of music was classical and tock music.

- The majority of the people dont spend more than £2 on a magazine

- The majority download music most of the time

and the purchase of magazines is more often than not constant.

 

 

The point of me using a survey to gather research was to find out what sort of auidence responded to my questions. It was to see what qualities they may posses and what they do when purchasing magazines. It basically gave me an insight into what sort of poeple buy magazines and listen to music. This has opened ip my view of how many poeple are interested in different types of music in my community.

 

If i were to do this again i would hand out more questionnaires to a lot of people, i would give out about 500 questionnaires. The more questionnaires i hand out the better as i would get a better in sight on what people think. I would also hand them out not only in my community but id expand it further and go into my school, and maybe closer places like Wardley or Pelaw which are close to where i live.

Pie Charts
Results from questionnaires

 [ These are the answers i gathered from my questionnaire. I used 'Microsoft Excel' to create my pie charts ]

Gender?:

Age group?:

 

 

 

Are you unemployed?:

 

 

 

Favourite genre of music?:

 

 

 

How much money do you spend on magazines?:

 

 

 

How often do you download music?:

 

 

 

How do you usually listen to music?:

 

 

 

How often do you purchase a magazine?:

 

 

Survey

Questionnaire template of what was given

This is my questionnaire. It is a closed questionnaire as there are boxes/options you can choose from. I wanted a closed questionnaire as they are more accurate as you dont get a lot of different opinions and if i have a more controlled questionnaire, they'll have to choose form my options meaning i will get a more selected and specific answer from the people i have questioned.


 

 

Front cover Investigations

During investigating and analysing these front covers i found it easy to spot the flaws and errors in some of the front covers, however there were some front covers that were really good and which i liked the look of, i could use these as ideas when i come to producing my own front cover.

What have i learnt?:
- That the text is better suited if its justified down the margin.

- Depending on who the audience is, it is vital to research as you do not know what type of audience you are appealing to, if you get the wron type of house style or language used within the magazine, and are appealing to an age group that do not fit, for example; using bright, exoitic neon colours for a group of people aged between 50 - 60 years of age. They just dont work. You'd want to have colours that are chique and elegant as it is a mor eprefered layout for a more elegant age group.

- The house style has to be appropriate and be the same throughout the magazine. They have to link and match so it looks like its all part of one magaizne and not random selections of pictures and articles that have been placed on a apage together. If the house style is not the same throughout it can look messy and eveyrthing else onthe page can look terrible and out of place. If i don't want this to occur i will have to find colours that suited to my theme.

Contents page investigations

When i was researching contents pages it took me a while to find some good quality contents pages that were relevant to a classical music magazine. This could be down to the fact that in the music magazine industry, pop, punk, and rock magazines ( as well as many other sub genres ) are found to be more popular and more looked at than classical magazines. I believe this is due to the rise of teenagers and young adults becoming more obsessed with 'new age' music and with the easy access of quickly downloading music no wonder this is the case.

Classical music has always taken a backseat in the music industry. It is seen as boring and tedious. On the contrary, a lot of people think it is soothing, relaxing and rather enjoyable. The age group i have found that listens to this music more is 40+. i am not saying that because of my research anyone under the age of 40 do not listen to classical music, i listen to classical music, it is just that a large percentage of people around that age choose to listen to classical over pop.

Magazine pitch

Magazine Pitch

Genre:

The genre of my music magazine is going to be classical. This is because i do enjoy classical music and it’s a change from all of the pop, punk and hip hop magazines out there. I play the flute and the saxophone as well as having experience playing the violin for 4 years so I know what language to use when discussing theory of music. I own some instruments so taking pictures of classical instruments shall not be hard to acquire.

 

Audience: - Primary

My target audience is going to be aimed at over 20s because the younger age group are more generally into hip hop as most artists that are in that genre of music aim to sell their music to people who are young. Because it Is a classical magazine the language will appeal to the adults more as it will be more sophisticated and the images and house style will be more appropriate and elegant to fit with the adult/ classical theme. As i want it to be aimed at people over the age of 20, a more specific age i want to  aim my magazine at is going to be  35 - 45 year olds.

-         Secondary:

My secondary audience is going to be aimed at people who are over the age of 40. This is because I can appeal to them with operatic singers and more older music (orchestral music ) that a lot of new classical music lovers do not know/heard of.

First Task:


The first task we had to complete was to produce a school magazine front cover and contents page.

 

 

Before starting the task, myself and three other people (Jordan, Alex, and Josh) went around the school to take pictures of the architecture, pupils and teachers enjoying the facilities and of them using them too. The colour scheme i chose was coral pink-red, bright yellow and navy blue which came from the Heworth Grange logo in the top left corner  . i used the school logo to show its the schools magazine. A lot of the text on the front cover and picture differ in size because in order to the quotes and images to stand out they shouldn't be the same size and font/colour. I have seen this occur in a lot of other magazines too. Using sub headings give the general characteristics of a magazine as they show what stories will feature in the magazine and the social logos at the far bottom right indicate its available online too. I used these logos due to the high demand of more online magazines as its easier going online for news instead of physically going and picking up a copy of a magazine.

 

 

 

 

For the contents page i still used the bright yellow and navy theme from the school logo and Incorporated it into the background surrounding the text and pictures. These colours are easy to see, they stand out and make the images on the contents page look good. As this is my first project in A level media, it is not my best work. With the mistakes i have made - With the colour schemes, positioning of the text and images, i can use these mistakes to improve my future work.