After spending an hour creating a 'go animate' for my uses and gratifications theory, I was unable to finish editing before my '14 day free trial' finished.
On the bright side, I think i'll really understand and remember why people use the media (that is AFTER my second attempt at this presentation.)
This is my analysis on the February 2010 double page spread of Cheryl Cole, when analysing I followed these rough guidelines:
The artist- who are they? Large photo is more likely to bring attention to that page as if she is a big artist it is more of a selling/attraction point, may be used as poster when finished with magazine
Type of shot Background, does her makeup and facial features contrast the colour background i.e. dark eyes on white background, does the makeup make her look gothic or scary Hair and the way its styled, is it a crazy hairstyle? Is there a constant theme i.e. black eyes and red lipstick = punk rock contrasting photos- confident VS dark and mysterious
Font- connotates for being girly and soft harsh and bold contrasting fonts could as a split personality
Colour scheme Is it the same colour as the front cover- Q magazine tend to follow through with their red, white and black theme to maintain brand identity
Small typeography on bottom corner of the page Intertexuality- the idea of connecting 2 types of media, likely to be on every printed page, if they enjoy that article may decide to look for other content
Q- anchors the magazine name into the audience
Page number Easy access to page, date makes for a more sophisticated look, good for collectors
Quotes- pulls away important or shocking parts of the story – ‘don’t know what I look like anymore’ there is proof in the background colour of the 2 contrasting photos, she is hidden behind heavy makeup and contrasting costumes- not an everyday outfit (non-casual clothing stands for the non-casualness of the situation
Clear columns- makes article easier to follow, typical convention of any magazine
Large ‘C’- follows the magazines typical celebrity double page spread, makes it stand out, keeps in with the colour scheme, looks sophisticated
Overall, it is a clear easy to read and professional double age spread
Here is a clearer photo of the double page spread:
Why I did this task and how it will help with my research:
I completed this task because i thought that from the knowledge i gained from analysing the conventions of this double page spread I could then adapt and use the codes and conventions portrayed in order to create a double page spread that fits the ideal and looks unique to any other current music magazine. I chose to analyse Q magazine as it has a similar target audience therefore traits such as colour palette, font and layout can be closely related.
the task was to interview people from my target audience (16- 26) to find out what they look for in a music magazine, why they want to read it, what would turn them away, what they look for, what they want to get out of it ext...
What did you learn-
-the price of the magazine, cluttered front covers, the convenience of buying one and ugly colour scheme would turn people away from buying the magazine
- the thing that attracts someone most to a a magazine would be: the colours used, the text, pictures (and their arrangement) and the celebrity on the front cover
- people want to be informed and entertained (to the point of escapism), and a creation of personal indentity
- Popular celebrities and eye-catching colour schemes helps attract the reader
- Want informative and entertaining information/content e.g. interviews and whats trending
How would this information help improve my work?-
Knowing this information, I now know that in order to gain and maintain an audience I would need to:
- keep the price of the magazine down
- make it convenient to buy
- use a neat and clean color scheme/ format
- include entertaining and informative information e.g. concert dates and interviews
- use current and interesting celebs
I have created a competitor research wordle with the names of all the magazines that have the same chosen genre.
How will this be useful in my research?
It will be useful as it helps me to look at these magazines and analyse what is the missing gap in the market is for RnB magazines, so I can ensure that my magazine is not just another music magazine. When researching, the first thing I noticed is that it was extremely hard to find and compile a collection of RnB magazines as most are extremely niche and only available in certain parts of the world e.g HipHop Weekly is solely based in Atlanta, Georgia; this isn't beneficial for UK readers as it then becomes hard to get a copy of magazine. The other problem that occurred is that music magazines don't have a large frequency e.g. VIBE magazine is released on a quarterly basis, this may seem a problem for keen readers. The final problem I came across is that most magazines are slowly becoming online only e.g. VIBE or not issuing copies anymore due to decrease in readership.
How this will be useful in my production:
Make my magazine appeal to larger target audiences
Ensure that it is easily accessible
Ensure interesting topics/ content for the readers
Make sure the frequency of my magazine is regular e.g monthly
