mr hibbert..

I have done the focus group survey to add to my research and have added mode of address and a summary to my analysis of similar products as well as uploading my front cover progress..

Focus group survey on indie/rock

1.    What colours would you like to see on an indie/rock magazine?

Relevant/ useful responses:

·         White

·         Blue/black

·         Blue/white

·         Blue, white, black

·         White

·         Black blue

2.    What font styles would you like to see on a indie/rock magazine?

Relevant/ useful responses:

·         Bold, block capitals

·         San serif

·         Big, bold

·         Big, bold, unique rock style

·         Rocky

3.    What information would you like to see on a indie/rock magazine front cover?

Relevant/ useful responses:

·         Whats new, i.e. releases and whats coming up

·         tours. festivals,

·         festivals, bands, gigs, tours

·         lastest band news, tours, albums, festivals

·         songs in the charts that are indie/rock

4.    what bands would you be most interested in?

Relevant/ useful responses:

·         The Kooks = 33.3%

·         Arctic Monkeys= 50%

·         Coldplay= 66.7%

·         The Wombats= 33.3%

·         Oasis= 16.7%

·         Kings of Leon= 50%

·         Other response = Greenday

5.    what style of layout would you like to see on a indie/rock magazine?

Relevant/ useful responses:

·         filled up

·         cluttered but with structure

·         cluttered style

·         normal

6.    What festival would you want to see in an indie/rock magazine?

Relevant/ useful responses:

·         Any

·         Vfest

·         Glastonbury or Vfest

·         Glastonbury

·         Rock festivals

7.    What would you like to be the main attraction of a indie/rock magazine?  

Relevant/ useful responses:

·         Top 10 songs

·         Coldplay

·         Band or festival

·         Band

·         Green day

·         coldplay

I carried out this survey using 'survey monkey', and used a sample of 7 people who were interested in the indie/rock genre that i am using in my music magazine. This allowed me to get useful feedback which would be very helpful when coming to contructing the magazine. The first question allowed me to make my mind up on what colour scheme i was going to use, because the majority voted for either white, black or blue. The second questions results showed that people would like to see big, bold font styles with a unique rock style. Therefore, I will incorporate that into my magazine. The third question gained feedback on what information people would like in the indie/ rock magazine. The results showed that bands, tours, festivals, charts and new releases were the favourate overall. The fourth question asked what bands the sample of people would be most likely interested in. I found from the results that coldplay were the most popular, but with all the other bands closely behind, so i will try to include as much as these as possible. The fifth question, asked what sort of layout the sample would like to see on an indie/rock magazine. The main answer I recieved was a cluttered style; which is very popular amongst other music magazines of this genre. The results that I found from the next question were that the most popular festivals were Glastonbury and Vfestival, becasue of this I will then include them into my magazine. The final question asked what they would like the main attraction of the magazine to be. The feedback i got showed that a band was the most repetitive result, so i will implement this to be the main feature on my front cover and have a double page spread on  the subject.

Construction: Front cover progress

Production Plan for Photography

The images that will be used in my music magazine will be taken between the dates 4^th January 2012 and 10^th February 2012. The location I will use for my photography will be in the drama room and the hall at Cromwell Community College. I will use the both the drama room and the hall, so that I can use the lighting and the stage to give the impression that someone is performing at a gig/concert. The equipment that I will use in the photography will include; lights, guitars, drums, and a microphone. The personnel that will be used in the photos will be students from the college that are willing to take part. The costume that will be worn by these people should connote an indie style to the audience of the magazine. All these factors will help create the photography so that it looks like they are performing. I will use variety of shots, ranging from long shots, to mid shots, to close ups, to establishing shots. These shots will be taken at different angles, such as high and low. Each of the shots that I use will connote a different effect to the audience. For example, a mid-shot from a high angle will signify that the person has ‘power’.

Pitch of Music Magazine

My research has consisted of a questionnaire which allowed me to find out my specific target audience, so that I know who to cater for. This helped me because it allowed me to get the public’s opinion across to me, thusly making me fulfil their needs, views and interests. By getting their opinions across this will help me into improving my magazine so that it is the best it can be.

 My research also consisted of research into similar products. The other products that I researched were ‘Q’, ‘NME’ and ‘Rolling Stone.’ By doing this research I have found out a variety of conventions which will be very useful when making my magazine. I have found that the typography must include a variety of font styles and sizes, which will represent what is on the magazine. For example, the masthead is stereotypically larger than the main cover line; however this can be changed depending on the importance of the story/article behind the cover line. I will use these findings to make my magazine more successful because I have learnt how to structure the typography so that it is appealing to the audience. I have also found that the layout of the magazine should be set so that it follows the ‘route of the eye’. This is when the audience get drawn towards the masthead, then to the main/central image and then to the main cover line. Also whether the magazine is cluttered or organised depends on the genre in which the magazine wishes to connote. For example, if the magazine’s genre is rock then the magazine will be more cluttered compared to a magazine which connotes the genre classical music. The finding that I have received from this research has given me the chance to make my magazine more successful. This will be done making sure that I use the ‘route of the eye’ technique and I may choose to slightly give my magazine a cluttered effect so that it relates to the indie/rock genre of my magazine. I have found that the language that is suitable when making an indie/rock magazine should be quite informal; using short and snappy phrases which catch the attention of the audience, thusly enticing them to buy the magazine. I will use this type of language in my magazine to make it more successful and more interesting for the audience, thusly increasing the sales of the magazine. From the research I have found that when using colour, you should stick to a main colour group, such as red, white and black. These will be known as your trademark colours. These colours however can be altered so that it relates to what is in the magazine. For example, on the front cover of the ‘Q’ magazine I analysed, there was a main cover line of ‘Greenday’. This cover line was coloured green, so that it related to the band. This further emphasized the band when looking at the magazine. I will use a main colour group in my magazine so that I have a set of colours in which the audience can relate to. This should make my magazine more recognisable to the public which will increase the success of it. I have also found that the camerawork has a massive effect on how the image is portrayed to the audience. For example, if the image has a low angle of a musician, then this makes the musician come across has powerful. Also if there was a close up of a musician, then this will convey the expressions, emotions and effort from the musician. In my magazine I intend to use a variety of different shots so that the images I use relate and connote to the article/artist/band that I am portraying to the audience.  I also found that the mise-en-scene used in the magazine must relate to the genre, style and theme of the magazine. An example of a setting for my magazine could be a stage, because this would signify to the audience that the musician is performing. An example of a prop which relates to my magazine would be a guitar, a microphone or drums. These props would further connote to the audience the genre of the magazine. An example of costume used in my magazine could be darker clothing which would connote the darker style of the music genre. From these findings I will use similar ideas so that my magazine has a fully emphasized genre, therefore making it more appropriate to the targeted audience and increasing the demand for it. Lastly, I have found that the mode of address which I use for my magazine will have an enthusiastic tone. This tone could be connoted to the audience by using short phrases, capital letters, larger/bolder font and including exclamation marks. I will also use an enthusiastic tone when creating my magazine because this will get the audience upbeat and excited when reading the magazine.

By adapting all of these conventions to suit my magazine this should make my magazine become more successful. This is because I have learnt how to get the magazine to become appealing to the audience and entice them to buy it. By having the correct conventions in my magazine, this might increase the range of audience that buy the magazine, thusly increasing the popularity of the magazine.

I also conducted some research into an institution called ‘IPC Media.’ This company would be suitable for my magazine because it owns the magazine ‘NME’ which is similar to my magazine. This research has helped me to find out the demographics in which my magazine will cater for. This allows me to adapt the magazine so that it suits the audience which will increase the success of my magazine. I think that my magazine will be successful as a weekly issue rather than a monthly issue because magazines such as ‘NME’ have been very successful over the years when producing weekly issues.

NME and Q Background Information.

‘NME’ (New Musical Express) is a popular publication for music and has been published weekly since March 1952. It began as a newspaper, but in the 1980’s it gradually adapted and from 1998, it was known as a magazine. They demographically cater for those of a younger age in the population. NME don’t only produce weekly magazines, they have an international website. The website includes the following categories:

·         News – bringing you the latest news from the music industry.

·         Video – this category includes music videos, interviews and backstage insights.

·         Tickets – this section shows you all the tickets for upcoming events.

·         New music – shows you the new music of the week.

·         Reviews – this category gives you track/album/ live reviews.

·         Photos – shows you all the photos from albums, festivals and photos which are on sale.

·         Blogs – this brings you blogs from internal people and external people of the company.

·         Film & TV – this keeps you updated on all the latest film news, including actors/actress’.

·         Artists – This gives a list of all the artists and giving the most popular ones at present.

·         Awards – gives you the latest news, pictures, videos and tickets to the awards.

·         Metal – brings you all the rock & metal news, videos, reviews, albums, tickets and merchandise.

·         Shop – This section gives you the opportunity to buy a range of NME items, from magazines to clothing.

·         Lists – this offers a wide range of lists including the 100 greatest albums of the decade and the best albums of the year.

This shows that they are a massive company providing a lot of media. By providing a wider range of media, the company will expand and a larger audience range will be intrigued by NME. If they didn’t have the media involved that they do at present, then they wouldn’t be anywhere as big as they are at now.

The ‘Q’ magazine has been published monthly since October 1986. It was named ‘Q’ because the creators believed that it would make the magazine look more prominent on newsstands. Q is a magazine that demographically caters for a range of ages in the population. The reason for this is because it has up to date music, so it will suit teenagers and young adults. However, the style in which it is made and written makes it appropriate for an audience of an older age range. Q magazine also has a similar range of media like ‘NME’, ranging from latest music news to latest tickets. The company Q doesn’t only have a magazine, it has other brands including, ‘Q TV television channel’ in the UK. It also holds a yearly awards ceremony called the ‘Q Awards’. This signifies that they are a large company and have the audience range to grow in the industry and have television channels and award ceremonies.

Overall both the companies ‘NME’ and ‘Q’ have been and still are extremely successful mainly due to not only producing magazines, but many other types of media to expand their brand to a wider audience. The brands have also become bigger and more recognisable to the population due to advertisement and sponsorship. Also both the magazines have been adapted over the years to keep up with modern day music, styles and graphics. This has allowed them both to be continuously popular and appealing to the audience they cater for.

Drafts of Pages/Text