Planning For My Photography

Analysis of Three Images

Front Cover Mock Ups - Other Images

These are five different front covers I've created with other peoples images of famous pop artists. With each variation I've tried to experiment with the various conventions typically found on a normal front cover. Through this, I was able to familiarise myself with the conventions and layout of front covers which, in turn, will help me prepare for my own front cover and the mock ups I will create. All of these were made on Adobes Fireworks.

Music Magazine Visual Syntax

These are six visual designs for my front cover. I've tried to create six unique designs which all follow the typical conventions found on a typical front cover. I've tried to incorporate a variety of conventions such as pugs, banners, lures and smaller images. This, I feel, has allowed me to broaden my thoughts about what I want to include in my own front cover. Its also helped me to familiarise myself with what makes an effective front cover.

Questionnaire Analysis

From my results we can see an almost equal demographic of males (55%) and females (45%). This information is beneficial due to the genre of "Pop" being appealing to both genders. These results have shown me that my magazine should have appealing aspects to both genders if I am to fully take advantage of the demographic shown to me through this questionnaire.

From these results we can see that the majority of the people who took my questionnaire are between the ages of 21 and 35. This amounts to 84% of the total whilst the ages of 10-15 and 36+ both equate to 8% each. These results help consolidate my chosen age range of 20-35 due to the majority of the participants falling into that age range. With the genre of Pop being widely popular with younger people it seems reasonable to target my media product at people within this age bracket.

From these results we can see that students make up the majority of the people who took part in my questionnaire. This, I feel, helps consolidate my chosen age range due to students being relatively young. Whilst students make up 66.6% of my participants, the remaining 1/3 (Or 33.3%) consists of hairdressers, people in retail, people in customer services and people who are unemployed. This, again, helps to justify my chosen age range due to the people in these professions generally being quite young.

From these results we can see that the majority (77%) of the participants said that they listen to music everyday. This piece of information is critical due to the fact that people who don't listen to music wont purchase a music magazine. None of the participants chose the category "Rarely" or "Never" which is reassuring to know that the people I'm targeting my media product at are somewhat interested in music.

From these results we can see that the majority of the participants said that their preferred music genre was Pop (45%). This is reassuring to know due to the fact that my chosen genre is Pop. However, the remaining 55% of the participants chose a different genre to pop such as rap, rock and indie music. This, I feel, is not too much of a problem as the genre of "Pop" encompasses a variety of different genres which in turn can appeal to a much wider demographic. For example, if there is a rapper who is widely mainstream then it is classed as "Pop" due to it being widely popular. This, I feel, is a huge benefit when targeting fans of the pop genre for my media product.

From these results we can see that the majority of the participants (63%) listen to music on their phones. This piece of information is useful for a variety of different reasons. It can help me to think about what kind of promotional freebies I could include in my magazine. For example, with the majority of the participants listening to music on their phones a good promotional freebie could be a competition to win an ITunes voucher or a premium subscription to Spotify. The remaining 37% of the participants said that they listen to music on a radio. This, again, is a useful piece of information due to the theme of my magazine being heavily influenced on radio and its synonyms. All my masthead ideas relate to radio in someway, which in turn could help to attract people who listen to their music on the radio.

From these results we can see that the majority of the participants (54%) admitted to very rarely purchasing music magazines. The remaining 46% said that they never purchase music magazines or purchase one monthly. This piece of information is useful for a variety of reasons. It tells me that there is a big market for people who do not purchase music magazines. It could show that with the right brand and marketing people could be enticed into purchasing a music magazine.

This is a table showcasing how the participants in my questionnaire rated the importance of various conventions found on a magazine. 84% rated the Masthead and Main Image as the most important feature on a magazine. 53% rated the Headline as the most important whilst 38% said that a good variety of articles was the most important. 38% however said that the inclusion of freebies was not that important as well as 23% saying the same about price. This has shown me what the consumer thinks about what makes a successful magazine. From this I am able to have a much clear focus on the construction of my media product. From now knowing what people consider to be important conventions I'll be able to put more effort in to meet the demographics opinions.

These results show how often the participants of my questionnaire attend gigs. 30% said that they sometimes go to gigs whilst the remaining 60% said equally that they either never, hardly or occasionally go to gigs. This piece of information is useful in understanding what my demographic is willing to spend money on. If my audience is paying money to see their artists live then it's likely that they'll pay a sum of money for a music magazine featuring their artists.

From these results we can see an overwhelming majority of the participants (90%) preferred my first "FREQUENCY" masthead. This is reassuring due to the fact that this is the masthead I have chosen to feature on my final product. The remaining 10% of the participants said that my"AIRWAVE" masthead was more preferable. In terms of what people liked about my "FREQUENCY" masthead was the boldness and sharpness of the design. People also praised the colour scheme and the "good play on words". Others also complimented its simplicity and its ability to stand out.

Questionnaire

Masthead Developments For Chosen Name

This was my fifth and final development for my masthead. I chose to keep the bold, Sans Serif font that was used in my fourth development. This was due to its striking appearance and ability to draw the reader to it. When observing my first development to my final development, it is clear to see that I've retained some ideas that were present in the first development. The heart-montior frequency graph has now been merged with the text itself, instead of it being overlapped by the text like it was  in the first development. This, I feel, makes my Masthead look more professional due to all the elements being merged and locked together. 

In my fourth development I tried to incorporate images into my masthead. For the font, I chose to use a standard capitalised Sans serif font. Below this, I included a small image of a pylon. This links in well with the name of my masthead due to a pylons ability to send out signals. I've also coloured the the airwaves in three different colours coming out of the pylon. These colours consist of red, blue and green and are carried on through the lines underneath the masthead. This in turn helped give this masthead a colour scheme. It is through the use of a colour scheme that makes this masthead stand out visually. However, upon reflection, I feel that this Masthead is too busy and draws too much to much attention to itself.

In my third stage of development I chose to return to the red and black colour scheme/house style. I used a standard Sans Serif font and duplicated it to create the drop shadow. I did this to give my masthead a greater sense of depth. Although visually appealing, I felt that this development lacked any originality and was missing a vital flair to its design.

In my second development I decided to try a new font along with a brand new colour scheme. The font is, again, sans serif with slight distortions taking place throughout. This in turn gives off a very technological vibe to the masthead which, I felt, was appropriate when considering the name of my masthead. I chose to use yellow as the main colour and slowly fade it throughout the masthead to give the impression of transition. Upon reflection, I feel that the usage of the colour yellow is far to drawing and bright for it to be a masthead. I chose for the text to be capitalised to, again, give it a greater sense of presence and more eye-catching due to its bold nature. 

This was the first development I made for my Masthead. Early on in the development I knew I wanted to experiment and play with the idea of including a heart-monitor in my masthead. This was because of the relevance it had to my masthead name. I chose a Sans Serif font and placed the monitor behind the text. Although unique, I felt the masthead looked too "empty" and lacked any depth. I also experimented with the positioning and size of the letters by capitalising the letter "F" as well as the letter "Y". I felt like this helped broaden the Masthead in terms of size and give it a greater sense of presence. I chose to colour the text black due to its bold contrast with the red present in the heart monitor.

Masthead Ideas

This is my first Masthead idea, which encompasses the name "Airwave" for my magazine. For this, I have chosen to use a Sans Serif font with an image of a wave behind it. This was strategically placed behind the "Wave" part of my Masthead, to really play with the imagery. A smaller font was used to create the "Magazine" title situated directly underneath the masthead.

My second Masthead also uses Sans Serif font and is titled "Transmission". I have also spaced out the letters to give a more elongated effect. An image of a pylon also replaces the second "I" in the word. This again really plays on the connotations of the word "Transmission". I have also capitalised the entire name to give it a more bold and enticing effect.

My third Masthead uses the name of "Frequency" and has a Sans Serif font. The entire Masthead is capitalised with the letters closely spaced together to give it a more vibrant and bold effect. I have also used an image of a pylon underneath the letter "U" with three distinctly coloured lines emanating from the image. The lines are coloured red, blue and green which match that of the pylons sound waves. This, I felt, made the masthead look more visually appealing and professional.

My fourth masthead uses the name "RAW". As it only contains three letters, I tried to really emphasise the size and sharp colours that are present on the Masthead. All the letters are capitalised whilst also being in a Sans Serif from. I have also included a drop shadow behind the masthead to create a sense of depth. I also decided to colour the Masthead in various shades of red so it instantly stands out to the reader.

My final masthead again uses the name of "Frequency". This time however I decided to experiment with images and how they could be encompassed within my Masthead. I used an image of a heart-monitor frequency graph and placed it within the word itself. This, I feel, really has a clear and strong link with the Masthead name itself whilst also looking sharp and enticing.

Five Masthead Desgins

                

List Of Possible Magazine Names

Listed below are some potential names for my music magazine:

• Transmission 
• Frequency 
• Airwave 
• RAW
• POPular
• Broadcast
• Wireless
• Radius 
• The Station

As you can see, all these names are within the semantic field of radio. This is due to "Pop" music being frequently played on various radio stations. This, I feel, is a good way of producing different names for my magazine.

Music Magazine "Artists" Moodboard

This is a mood-board consisting of various artists that could feature in my media product. There is a mixture of both male and female artists, due to the genre of pop being popular with both genders. Artists such as Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Sam Smith and Adele are all examples of artists most commonly associated with the genre of pop. By using a variety of these artists, I will be able to attract a wider demographic due to the relevance these artists have with my genre.