Time Management

Due to my models not being available to model for my photo shoot I will take the pictures for next week. This week I am focusing on designing my front cover. I have completed my planning for the photoshoots other then what my models will be wearing.

Location ideas

From my research of pop music magazines I found that the images tend to be against a plain background usually white. This gives the images a professional look while looking simplistic and makes the image stand out to the reader. The smaller images tend to be against coloured backgrounds such as blue, purple or again white or against things such as windows and these are not as professional as the larger images and are often close ups or medium close ups. On the front cover the central image tends to be a medium long shot or a medium shot. Contents page images tend to use a range of shots again against light coloured backgrounds or are close up shots showing a small amount of an outside background.

Some possible locations for my photo shoot are:
1. Against a white background: from my research I found that the majority of pop music magazine images are against a white background as it makes the images stand out and a white background connotes freshness.

2. At soccer six event in the VIP lounge as this is the only place I can take my image of Alejandro and will appear to be one of the less professional images on my magazine with people in the background making it a 'busy' image.


3. Outside possibly against a window or in a busy area, however my images I take will mainly be close up showing only a small amount of background. 

4. If I find that I need another location it will be against a coloured background either purple or blue as these are the colours the smaller images are commonly taken against and it also makes the images more eye catching and fun.

Possible people for my magazine images

Lauren Evans
I chose to use Lauren as she is within my target audience as she is 15 being right in the middle of the age range.  My target audience may also be able to relate to her because she is within the target age range. She also likes pop music as she likes One Direction, Katy Perry, Little Mix and The Saturdays. She has a pop style so will be ideal to use for images on my magazine as she will fit with the genre.  It is also easy to arrange a photo shoot with Lauren. Lauren is very photogenic and doesn't mind having her photos taken. Lauren is also very 'girly' which again relates to my target audience.

Jess Shore
Jess is 16 and so fits in with my target audience representing the older end of my target audience age range. Jess also has an interest in pop music and suits my genre of pop well. It is also easy for me to arrange a photo shoot with Jess as I see her most days. Jess also has a youthful look and so is an ideal model for my pop music magazine.

James Gittins
I chose to use James because he fits into my target audience age of 12-17 as he is 13. I also chose him because it is good to have a mix of both genders. In pop music magazines boys tend to be used as girls may desire them and so it will be good to include James as one of my images to appeal to the girls who will read my magazine. James likes artists such as Conor Maynard, Katy Perry and Olly Murs so does take an interest in my genre of music for my magazine.

Hannah James
Although Hannah doesn't fit into my target audience age range as she is 24, she fits the stereotype image of pop. Due to her being older than the target audience, it will be good to use her as she may be seen as role model. It is easy to get images of Hannah as I see her everyday. Hannah is also a pop music fan as she likes One Direction, The Saturdays, JLS and Jason Derulo. As Hannah has been to college she knows how important coursework is so she will very good to use.I would like to use Hannah as the central image on the front cover of my magazine as I think out of all my models she fits the stereotype of my genre which is pop most.
                                     

Craig Bytheway
Pop music magazines contain many images of male pop artists and so I thought that I should use more than one male.  Craig is 24 so doesn't fit in with my target audience however he may appear desirable to my target audience. As I am also using James in my magazine who is 13 I thought that I should include an older male as well which is why I chose Craig. He also fits in with the pop look and so is appropriate for my music magazine. Many male pop singers have tattoos such as Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Jason Derulo and Zayn Malik and all of these singers appeal to girls within my target audience. Craig also has tattoos and in photos the male singers tend to show their tattoos as a majority of male pop singers have them which is another reason why I chose Craig as he will fit the stereotypical male image.

Alejandro Fernandez 
Alejandro is 17 and so is right at the end of target audience age range. I chose to use Alejandro because he appeals to teenage girls and he is a Hollister model.  Alejandro is also in a boy group called Recall and appeared on X factor so is well known by people who watch it. He fits in with the genre of pop music as he is a pop singer himself. It will be good to use an upcoming artist on my magazine as all my other models are people who I see everyday who are not in bands and who aren't actually famous. However I will have to ensure I take good images of him as I can only see him once. From speaking to Alejandro he doesn't mind being used for my magazine.

Sophie James
Sophie is 24 so isn't part of my target audience however she has a 'girly' look which is perfect for my music magazine. Sophie likes pop music and likes artists such as Union J and One Direction. Sophie may be seen as an inspiration to my target audience. Sophie fits the female pop artist look and likes experimenting with make-up.

India Jones
India is 16 and so fits into my target audience age range. India has a big interest in pop music and likes artists such as One Direction and Little Mix. India will be perfect to use for my magazine as she her look is expected of pop artists. As she is a media student herself she understands the importance of my music magazine and how important it is I get suitable images.

Photoshoot ideas: preparing for photo shoot

I need to find models that will fit the stereotypical look of the genre of pop. Photography is important in ensuring I make a successful pop magazine.  Once I have found models appropriate for my magazine I will then sort out a photo shoot with them. The male models I choose need to be ones that fit the pop genre and that will appear desirable to girls. The female models I choose need to be 'girly' and fit in with the stereotypical pop look. During my shoot I am going to experiment with camera shots which are commonly used in pop music magazines such as long shot, close up, mid close up and medium shot. I looked at some photos of pop singers to give me ideas for my photo shoot's such as facial expression, stance, body language, backgrounds, props, clothes and makeup.

For my images accompanying my coverline's I am going to use close ups and mid close ups as from my research these are the shot types mainly used. The facial expressions of my models in these images should be surprised,  fun and happy. For my female models I am going to make sure they wear 'girly' makeup to fit in with the stereotypical look. For my poster images that will appear at the bottom of my magazine I am going to take photos like the ones of Conor Maynard and Liam Payne as well as looking back at my research to decide on clothing.  For my central image I will experiment with a range of shots.

For my contents page I will look back at my research to determine my shot types as well as facial expressions. From looking at photoshoot images it gives me some idea of the types of props and clothes I can use on my contents page as I plan to use 4 images. The backgrounds for my images will be grey or white as they connote freshness and makes the images stand out.


For my double the image will be of a female artist and from taking a look at other images I can get some idea of stance, shot type and props I could use.  I would like my double page spread images to be bright to connote fun and youth.

Masthead fonts

For my masthead I experimented with with fonts and colours. I experimented with four different fonts and used my audience feedback to help with my decisions as well as secondary research that I have collected. I used www.dafont.co.uk as it has a wide variety of fonts which were very useful in choosing an ideal one for my masthead.

I used the font KG Wake Me Up which is a sans serif font and so an informal font, appropriate for my target audience of teenagers. The font is also modern and up to date which is expected for a new pop music magazine. It connotes fun and youth. The colours are feminine and bright which is ideal for the target audience as they are girls. From asking people in my media group they found that this font was most appropriate to use for my masthead.

I then used the font KG Wake Me Up again and experimented with stretching the text and spacing between letters. From my research I found that the letters are usually quite close together in the masthead and some are stretched. 

I also experimented with Fontastique which is a serif font. From my research I found that some pop music magazines use fonts that have curves which is why I chose to try this font. This font connotes youth and is quite girly. However I think this font would be more appropriate for things such as my coverlines as I feel that it is to sophisticated to be used as my masthead and isn't as fun or as energising as KG Wake Me Up.  The colours I used appeal to my target audience, stand out and in particular using a range of colours rather then one in the masthead makes it appeal to 12-17 year olds and looks fun, eyecatching and interesting. 

Adam-Gorry Lights font is modern and up to date which is ideal for the audience I am targeting. The house style is bright and the colours stand out against the black background. I think that using two colours for the masthead catches the eye more than using one colour however most pop music magazines uses one colour against a background. This font connotes energy and boldness and matches my mode of address which in informal. While the black connotes boldness and sophistication, the white connotes purity while the pink connotes femininity.

This font 'OhMyGodStars' is ideal for my genre of magazine which is pop as encased in the font is stars which is stereotypical of the genre.  This font is up to date is a sans serif font. Although I like this font and the colour used is appropriate for my target audience, from asking people from my media group, I found that they liked this font and thought it I should use it on my magazine for instance as a splash therefore I will use this font but as something other than my masthead.

Mock up front cover and contents page and Double Page spread

Style Sheet

Pitch feedback

Questions
1.How much would you be willing to pay for my magazine?
2.Which name do you think is most appropriate and why?
3. Would you prefer to see upcoming singers, well known singers or a mixture of both?
4. Do you agree that I should use informal language in my magazine? why? why not?
5. What type of articles would you expect to see in a pop music magazine? what images? what content?
6.Do you think that there is a gap in the market for another music magazine? why? why not?

I asked girls that are at college aged 16 that are interested in pop music. I chose to ask girls because my target audience is girls around their age. From my feedback I found that they wouldn't be willing to pay anymore than £2 for my magazine. They thought that Pop Culture was the best name for my magazine because it was original and appeals to a larger variety of people. The would like to see a mixture of both upcoming artists and well known artists because they will be able to notice the well known singers already out there but they be interested in knowing about upcoming artists aswell. They don't think I should use informal language for the whole of my magazine but for most of it because my target audience can relate to it as they find it more relaxed and easier to understand. They want to see the top charts and what's popular at the moment and images of bands and singers. For the content they would like to see interviews on the bands/artists. Also gigs and band updates, lyric pages for new songs that have been released. They think that there is a gap in the market for another pop music magazine as most of the ones already available are aimed at younger children and there aren't really any for people of their age.

Time management

I am up to date with my analysis of a front cover, contents page and double page spread as well as my magazine institution. I am behind with my pitch as I don't have my audience feedback yet due to missing college on tuesday and not having time to complete it as my laptop didn't work so it I had to wait for it to be fixed to be able to upload things to my blog. Next week I will get my audience feedback and focus on the photo shoot images such as location and what the models will wear. I will also finish my mock ups of my front cover, contents page and double page spread as well as developing them.

Pitch

Analysis of 2 double page spreads

Teen Now Magazine
Genre: Pop music 
Publisher: IPC Media publishing group
Target Audience: Teenage girls with interests in music, TV, films, celebrities and fashion.

Mode of Address: 
The mode of address that has been used is informal. This is most appropriate for the target audience because they can relate more to it than formal language and also because teenagers find informal language easier to read. The diction used is chatty and light hearted to appeal more to teenagers as well as containing slang. Usually magazines use a drop cap however this one doesn't. 
An example of chatty informal language used on the double page spread is ' twitcams in jimjams, bouncing off the walls and hearing your song on the radio for the first time...awww we love you George Shelley'



Layout
The layout of the double page spread is an interview. It is split into four columns of text making the interview easy for the target audience to read. The format of the interview is question and answer with the answer leading onto the next question asked. The ratio of text to pictures is 45:55 due to the whole of the left page being an image of George Shelley and also an image of George on the right side of the page as well in the bottom right corner.  At the top of the page there is a quote from the interview which is bold and stands out to the reader. The masthead appears on the the left side of the magazine in the top right corner with 'George' underneath it. As the image of George on the left side of the double page spread is a poster which many readers will pull out and keep, by having 'Teen Now' on it, then the reader will remember the name of the magazine. The title on the interview is 'UNION J... GEORGE' followed by a quote 'I love interacting with fans'. The colours used are bright to appeal to a young audience including the colours pink which is feminine, yellow which connotes warmth and energy and blue connoting youth and intelligence.


Images
The image is of George Shelley from Union J as the interview is about him.  The type of shot that is used on the left side of the magazine is a long shot to show George's stance and clothing. The image on the right page is a medium shot to guide the audiences attention to facial expression but is distant enough to show body language and reveals the background.  The images are in colour appealing to teenagers and being fun and interesting. In both images George is looking directly into the camera to make the reader feel more involved with the interview. The image is stereotypical of the genre of pop by George's style. By having images of a male pop singer it relates to the target audience as they may desire George due to the majority of readers being girls.  

Analysis of two contents pages

We♥Pop magazine

Publisher: Egmont publishing group

Target audience:girls aged 13-16 years old with interests in pop music, boy and girl groups and celebrity gossip.

Genre: Pop music

Analysis of two front covers

Top of the Pops magazine
The genre of this magazine is pop and it is published by IPC media who are the UK's leading publisher of consumer magazines. The target audience is teenagers aged 11-16 with 85% being girls and 15% being boys with an interest in pop music.

We♥Pop Magazine
The genre of this magazine is Pop and is published by  Egmont UK Ltd.
The target audience is targeted at 13-16 year old girls with an interest in music, celebrities, fashion and gossip.

Masthead: The masthead is bold and eye-catching. The font is in the left corner and is quite big compared to the rest of the writing catching the readers attention. We♥Pop actually shows that the magazine is for people that love pop music.

Colour palette: the colour palette is typical of a pop magazine using 4 colours which are white and pink which both connote energy, youth, innocence and love. Black connotes mystery and adds sophistication the more child like colours. Blue connotes peace, intelligence and importance.

Mode of address: the mode of address is typical to that of a modern pop music magazine and is expected by the pop sub-genre. The language used is direct and short getting straight to the point and so it is informal.  Slang is also used and word's such as GULP! AMAZING! OH NO! give a sense of how the reader will feel when reading  the main articles. The explanation marks also connote excitement.

Images: The main image is of the young x-factor boy group One Direction and the main article is on this boy group which appeals to the target audience of 13-16 year old girls. The shot is a medium long shot.
Harry, Liam, Niall,Louis and Zayn are all looking towards the camera at eye level which makes the reader feel involved and connect with the magazine as they are being looked at directly. The other images used all seem to be fun or off people smiling to attract the readers attention and give the magazine a sense of fun.

Puffs: We♥Pop doesn't actually contain any puffs which is unusual for a magazine of it's type.

Coverlines: 3 coverlines are included down the left side of the magazine which seems common for pop music magazines as they have 3-5 coverlines usually. They contain either speech or a short sentence summarising the articles. The main article is featured on the image of One Direction showing that it is about them. Each coverline has an image to go with to interest the reader and so that the reader can see who the article is about.


Fonts: The fonts used are mainly big and bold and appear to be eye catching. The fonts used for the coverlines seem to be quite formal unlike the titles of the coverlines and the 'ONE DIRECTION BLAB...BIG TIME' the reason the fonts are all made to stand out is because it interests the reader into reading the articles.


Shot type: The shot type used for the main image is a medium long shot. The images down the left hand side of the magazine are close up's so that the reader focuses on the celebrities face.

House style: the house style of We ♥ Pop includes a bright colour palette which is typical of pop music magazines due to the target audience they are aimed at. The bright colours connote femininity, energy and youth and they are fresh which is appropriate for the younger generation. It also contains language which is most relatable to teenagers.

Brand identity: the magazine creates it's brand identity by using its signature WE♥POP masthead this contains black writing with a heart in the main colour of the magazine depending on the colour palette in this case pink.