Magazine Cover Without Central Image

Here is my magazine cover, I decided to leave out the central image I chose previously due to feedback I was given. I will do a second photo-shoot which will include pictures which are more dramatic and have better lighting. I will choose a midshot of the cover model, and possibly incorporate a prop to further the theme of anger and violence.

Photo selection process

 Image 1
 This Image is suitable however it is slightly blurry, the cover model is showing an expression which may confuse the audience, it doesn't demonstrate the emotion of anger which is usually linked to rock music therefore I won't use this image.









Image 2
This image is interesting, it show anger and frustration which makes it suitable, the cover model is well lit and the attention is all on him. However I don't think the image is perfect for my magazine cover as it may confuse the audience because it isn't clear that the cover model is associated with rock. I won't be using this image as I think I have better images which would be more effective in communicating the emotions of rock.
 






Image 3
This image is suitable for my magazine cover as the cover model is showing a facial expression which indicates he is angry and frustrated. The cover model is also well lit and the background is plain which  means the full attention is given to him. However, once again, I think other images I have are more suitable for creating the biggest effect on the audience.





 

Image 4
This image is unsuitable for my magazine cover as the facial expression of the cover model communicates the emotion of innocence which is the opposite of what I want. The raised eyebrows and fully opened eyes show that the cover model isn't angry or frustrated like in my plan. For this reason I won't use this image.

Image 5
This image is perfect for my front cover. The cover model is showing an expression which communicates rage and frustration to the audience. The eyes are squinted and the mouth is open at an angle which demonstrates that has a media value of anger and rebellion. The cover model has a beard to show he is outlandish and is 'out of sorts', this is a common personality trait for people within the rock genre.  He supports the imaginary entity because he is an adult male who looks like he could be a member of a band and could adapt the role as a music-obsessed fan. For this reason I will be using this image for my front cover.

Photoshoot Plan

For my front cover I’m going to prepare by making sure I have a camera of high quality which is ready to use and the permission of the cover model.

The picture will be an extreme close up meaning the location is irrelevant, the background will simply complement the image, and it will be plain so that the entire attention of the audience is directed at the cover model.

I will use natural lighting and a fill flash to make sure the image is correctly lit up. The cover model will be a middle aged male and he will demonstrate an angry expression in order to denote the emotions associated with rock music.

The photo will be taken from directly in front of the cover model so that the full emotion of anger can be created using the facial expression and colour of the eyes.

The cover model will have a beard to illustrate the outlandishness of him and thus highlights a connotation of rock music as a whole. The media message will be anger and rebellion.

 

I will go ahead with the photo-shoot on Saturday 22nd November 2014

Gender sterotypes

Male stereotypes

• Traditional masculine man- often shown as being muscly, strong, brave, heterosexual, working in manual jobs such as building, plumbing ect. They are often aggressive, tall and dominant over women, works to provide for family, does no cleaning, cooking or childcare
• New Man- often shown as being less masculine but still heterosexual, very peaceful, looks after the family, stays at home to look after family does cleaning and cooking ect. shown as equal to women
• Gay Man- Often shows as being very feminine, weak, working in jobs such as fashion or hairdressing, bitchy, ect

Female stereotypes

• Traditional feminine woman- often shown as being girly, likes pink, wears dresses, does feminine jobs such as working in fashion, hairdressing or stays at home to look after the children, needs a man to cope, weak, scared of things, needs rescuing, pure and innocent
• Sexy woman- very flirty, dresses in a revealing way, more powerful than tradional women, uses men to get what she wants, no loyalty to other women, bitchy
• Lesbian woman- often shown as dressing in a masculine fashion, doing masculine roles, hating men, looking masculine

Front cover mockup and explanation

Masthead- This will be a singular letter in the style of ‘Q’ magazine which a bold colour scheme which will reflect the rest of the front cover as being ‘in your face’ and exciting. The magazine will be given an identity by this and will be recognisable by the memorable masthead.

Tagline- This will be something which helps identify the target audience and will be easily readable and distinguishable from the background.

Cover Line 1- This will have an association with the central image; it will help identify who/what the image is showing. It will be bright to stand out and capture the attention of the reader. It will possibly have a special type of font to highlight how significance it is as the cover line for the article linked to the front cover.

Cover Lines 2 and 3- This will refer to another part of the magazine however it will use words which are related to action like ‘Unleashed’ and ‘Epic’. These words will be highlighted. Alternative colour will be used to create a house style and show they are different cover lines.

Cover Line 4- this will have a list of artists which are in the rock genre such as The Foo Fighters, ACDC and Led Zeppelin. It will stand out on the background and use a special font to make the

Puff- This will indicate that the issue is a ‘special edition’ which would make the magazine more desirable and interesting. The puff would stand out and be eye-catching to a potential reader.

Pug- This will show the reader part of the magazine. It will be bright meaning it will stand out and capture the attention of the reader.

Central Image- This will be an extreme close up of a male with an angry expression, it will be head-on so the full connotation of anger can be conveyed to the reader. This effect will be predominately created by the eyes; they will have a tint of red to indicate the cover model is angry. Anger is an emotion strongly linked to rock and roll so this central image will be very appropriate.

Cover model- This will be an adult male. The magazine will be mainly aimed at men so the cover should be aimed to target the male audience. The cover model will look like a member of a rock band and will use the theme of anger to communicate the media value of rock and roll.

Anchorage- This will be a very brief piece of text communicating who the cover model is and a significant piece of information from the interview on the double page spread

Representation of Gender & Stereotypes

"Sex" refers to the biological and physiological characteristics that define men and women
"Gender" refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women.

Representation of Men

Masculinity is a concept that is made up of more rigid stereotypes than femininity.

Representation of men across all media ted to focus on the following:

• Strength- physical and intellectual
• Power
• Sexual attractiveness (which may be based on the above)
• Physique
• Independence (of thought, action, finances) 

Male characters are often represented as isolated, this is because they do not need to rely on others

If they submit to being part of a family, it is often part of the resolution of a narrative, rather than an integral factor in the initial balance. 

Representation of Women

Representation of women across all media tend to highlight the following:

• Beauty (within narrow conventions)
• Size/physique (again, within narrow conventions)
• Sexuality (as expressed by the above)
• Emotional (As opposed to intellectual) dealings
• Relationships (as opposed to independence/freedom

Key Words

"Misogyny"- the hatred or dislike of girls and/or women- sexual discrimination of women, violence against women and sexual objectification of women.

"Misandry"- the hatred or dislike of boys and/or men- sexual discrimination of men, violence against women and sexual objectification of men.

MediaPack

Magazines product a MediaPack for advertisers. This contains information about the demographic, this includes: circulation, readership, class, median age and male/female.
The MediaPack also contains the advertising rates, the price varies depending on the size of the advert (half page or full page).
Contains 'Imaginary Entity'- information about the perfect imaginary reader

Target Audience and imaginary entity

Target Audience:
Mainly for the male audience. Probably around 75% male.
Age:  16-30 year olds. Average age: 25
People who feel music is an important part of their lives. People who choose to listen to new bands, guitar bands and live bands.
The main demographic will be people who are working full-time (the magazine will be priced accordingly) however people who are employed part-time or are full-time students will also be targeted.
The magazine will be for people who are willing to sit down and properly read the magazine for a long period.

Imaginary Entity:
Dave is a music fanatic. He is 18 years old and is the guitarist of his band 'Moving Frost'. He works hard to support his band and hopes to gain wealth and international fame through his band. He tries to attend 10 concerts a year to fuel his music obsession. He buys several music magazines every month and reads each one through several times. Music is his life and highly influences everything he does on a daily basis, he wears the same clothes as his the members of his favorite bands. From the minute he wakes up until he goes to sleep, Dave has his headphones blasting his much-loved tunes on full volume.

Mockup of school magazine contents page

Preliminary Cover

Q magazine analysis

NME Magazine Analysis

Vibe Analysis

Deciding which central image to use

I took 6 photos which I could consider using as my central image. It is important that I pick carefully which image I use because this is the first thing the reader will see when they pick up the magazine, therefore it is pivotal that the image is suitable and portrays the correct media values which should be associated with the magazine.

Image 1

This image isn't very suitable as the cover model has negative body language which doesn't portray positive feelings about the school. The cover model also doesn't have a great facial expression, ideally he would be smiling while looking directly at the camera. The image also doesn't have a very interesting background, this means it would be difficult to decide on a cover line which relates to the image. The lighting in the image isn't great, there are many shadows this would make the reader think the magazine, and therefore the school is unprofessional. The clothing of the cover model doesn't portray the desired media values of smartness and class.



Image 2



 This image is also unsuitable for the magazine as it doesn't portray the desired media values. The background is very aimless, this means it would be confusing for the reader as it would have very little relevance to the cover lines. The lighting is too bright from above and takes the attention away from the cover model. However, the body position is intriguing, promoting the idea that the magazine is interesting.





Image 3

This image is very unsuitable, it is very similar to image 1, however it is arguably even worse as the cover model isn't looking at the camera, also his facial expression infers that the magazine is boring and uninteresting which is the complete opposite to what I want.








Image 4 
This image is much more suitable, it is a mid-shot of a reasonably well-dressed student standing next to an interesting school landmark. The fact that the cover model is standing next to a painted phone box makes the image interesting and would make the reader intrigued to read the actual magazine to see what the significance of the phone box is. The cover model is standing with his arms crossed to suggest that he is organised and knows what he is doing, he is wearing black to show that he is classy and smart. His facial expression infers that he is authoritative so the reader would be likely to be enticed to find out his role.



Image 5

This image has an interesting background, however I won't use it as my central image because the cover model has a negative facial expression which infers he isn't fully enjoying himself. Ideally the cover model would be smiling to show the school has positive media values. The lighting in the photo is good as it doesn't shade any of the image yet it doesn't take any focus off the cover model.






Image 6

This image is pretty good, the cover model is smiling to portray positive media values. The lighting is good because it has no shadows, therefore the focus is not taken off the cover model. He is also smiling and standing straight suggesting he is happy and proud to be at St Gregs. The image also shows the piece of art which presumably was produced by the cover model.







Conclusion
I think Image 6 and Image 4 are by far the best images for a magazine cover, the rest are either low quality or unsuitable. Image 4 is probably more useful than image 6 because there's more going on.

School Magazine Photo Shoot Plan

Photo-shoot plan

Central Image

·        The central image will show every day sixth form life, it will do this by having an appropriately aged student standing somewhere significant within the school grounds.

·        The facial expression will be happy to signify that the magazine is fun.

·        The picture will be taken in an area where the school looks good, this will highlight that the magazine is aiming to show the school in a positive manner.

·        The person will have their arms crossed to show that they are competent and professional.

·        The picture will be taken from a low angle to make the person fulfil the role as head teacher and seem more powerful.

·        The picture will have the person on the left and be portrait; this will make the picture be more focused on the background.

·        The cover model will be male to make the magazine seem more authorities and typically the head teacher of a school is male.

 

 

Armani Diamonds Analysis

Layout of School Magazine

School Magazine Analysis



"THE KING'S SCHOOL" - Masthead, displayed at the top to show the name of the magazine. Capital letters to highlight it's significance
"Issue no.1" - Tagline, positioned underneath the masthead to give more information about the magazine
"Only 80p!"-Puff, yellow text highlights that the magazine's cost as this is a positive because the magazine is cheap
Cover Model- Youth, this shows the target audience as it is focused at school students. Casual clothes- this shows the magazine is casual and easy to read
Secondary Image- Students at a prom, this shows that the magazine is supposed to be "fun". Anchorage with the words "Prom 2010"
Mode Of Address- Personal, there is a question "DOUGHNUTS IN THE CANTEEN?" and direct address- "HAVE YOUR SAY!"
Barcode- Positioned out of the way in the corner
Use Of Colour- Bright colours are used to make the magazine seem appealing and fun, there is a house style with the yellow text on a brown background
Font- "EXAM STRESS!" in bold to show importance, exams are arguably the most significant part of school. "UNIFORM" is a controversial subject, so the font used highlights this. "Photography Room" is in a more relaxed font as this part of the magazine is designed to be fun. "Prom 2010", this is usually associated with classy themes, so the font highlights this.
Cover Lines- Exam Stress, Uniform, Photography Room, Prom 2010

Parts of a magazine cover

Masthead-The name of the magazine, displayed at the top of the magazine front cover
Tagline- Next to the masthead, says briefly what the magazine is about
Central Image- Catches the reader's eye before they can read anything, this makes it very important, it is the main image on the front cover
Cover Model- The person or character on the front of the magazine, this may be a celebrity or a person who is individually connected to that genre
Anchorage- How images are referred to, images may have a caption next to them
Secondary Images- Additional images may be used to show other parts of the magazine
Cover Lines- Located at different points of the cover to show what other articles the magazine includes
Mode Of Address- How the magazine communicates with the reader, some will be more direct than others
Puff- Something which draws attention to part of the magazine cover, this maybe something which is set on a colourful background
Pug- The ears of the magazine in the top left or right corners, they may promote the magazine or show the price
Barcode, Price, Addition- Straightforward features, the barcode should be strategically placed, the price should be nearby
Use of colour- Effective use of colours, some magazines adjust the colour scheme from issue to issue, while others maintain the same one
Font- Different parts of the cover use different fonts to infer meaning about their text

Magazine cover- FourFourTwo

FourFourTwo- Issue 244

·         Yellow and red– Catalan flag linked to ‘Barcelona’ to immediately show what team the magazine is talking about.

·         Red Writing- This signifies warning and excitement. The players shown are often known as being ‘dangerous’ for other teams.

·         Order of players- Signifies competition between them as size of players increase.

·         Neymar looking across at Luis Suarez- Neymar is smaller showing lack of power and status.

·         “You score two, we’ll score ten”- Slogan to signify unity between cover stars using the word ‘we’.

·         “1966 world cup”- attention-grabbing