Possible photos for my magazine cover

Changes to model ideas

I have had to change the model for the cover of my magazine so I have got some inspiration for my next model.

Music magazine cover analysis

 I really like this cover of FROOTS magazine. I like its simplicity and the way all the sell lines are down one side leaving the image to take up the rest of the cover. The way the masthead covers the top of his head but not his face I think is particularly effective and the simplistic colour scheme fits in very well with the colours of the main image.

 I love this masthead where the first letter is a different colour to the rest of the masthead. I really like the complete simplicity of the cover although I know that my cover would have to have more on it. Also, I like that the colour schemes of both the text and the main image merge into one another so easily and still remain clear against each other.                              

Ballad Mission Statement

Ruth's new magazine ballad is a new kind of national folk magazine. Music-led and feature focused ballad will use witty and intelligent features on all aspects of the young folk scene.
Ballad is aimed at the 16-24 year old's. Ballad's readers are fun-loving and laid-back with a thirst for knowledge and a humour-filled outlook on life.
Ballad contains many of the components that are essential in the interests and aspirations of folk-loving youths lives outside of education and work - gigs, festivals,albums and reviews. Ballad's edge is its youth orientated approach to which music and bands are featured in the mix of first-rate writing and striking photographs. Ballad will strive to promote the biggest and best musicians and artists on the folk plane as well as future hits. It will also attempt to introduce readers to folk classics from the past century.
Ballad's role in its readers lives is to entertain, excite and inform. 

Pictures that inspired my magazine

Bellowhead

music magazine masthead

ballad-a simple narrative poem of folk origin, composed in short stanzas and adapted for singing.

Evaluation of music magazine questionnaire

I asked six 16-17 year olds seven questions regarding my music magazine. The first question was about the masthead, both "Rhythm Bones" and " Ragtime" received two votes and "Matachin" and "Ballard" both got one vote. I will probably use "Ballard" as my masthead even though it didn't get many votes as I prefer it to any of the others.
Question two asked whether they would prefer the main image be of men or women. Four people said they wanted a man on the cover and two said both. Surprisingly no one said they wanted a woman on the cover, however, I will still use a woman on the cover.
Question three was about how many people there should be on the front cover of the magazine. Four people wanted a group of three people on the cover and two people wanted four people on the cover. This is in stark contrast to the one person that I plan on using.
The fourth question asked whether they wanted the main image to be in black and white or in full colour. A massive five people wanted the main image to be in full colour and only on person wanted it to be in black and white.
The fifth question was about how the main image should be structured. Three people wanted a full length picture of the whole body, two people wanted a medium close up of the face and shoulders and one person wanted a close up of the face only.
The penultimate question was about which colours they would like to see on the cover of the magazine. I asked them to choose up to three colours. Green, blue and orange all got three votes. Red and white got two votes each and gold and brown both got one vote.
The last question was about which stories they would like to read about in the magazine, I asked them to choose up to four. Interviews got five votes, album reviews got four votes, reviews of bands, up and coming bands and festivals all got three votes, tour diaries got two votes and music awards and competitions both got one vote.  

Reader Profile

General
 Male- 60%
Female- 40%
Average age- 20
Still studying- 75%
Work full time- 25%
In the last 12 months readers bought on average:
35 CD albums
20 Singles
50% Buy most of their music from a major music chain ( HMV)
45% Specialist record shop
30% Festivals
10% Online retailer ( Amazon)
10 Tracks downloaded in last month
14 Albums burned to computer/ MP3 player
54% Own an iPod
23% Own a digital radio
87% own a CD player
Gigs and events
68% go to gigs regularly
90% go to at least 1 festival per year
70% get their tickets from online retailers
20% over the phone
44% agree that " reviews helps me choose what music I listen to"
98% agree that music is a big part of their lives
72% agree that they " like to listen to new bands"

Music fan Profile

Folkey Dolkey

Age 16-24
What is he wearing?  Loose, unbranded clothing brought from charity shops or relatively  unknown organic, fair trade designers selling from large canvas tents at festivals. Tie-die and slogans on peace, equality and "being green" feature heavily on t-shirts as do grandad collars, seasonal colours and socks with sandals. Long hair and beards are also very popular especially when paired with thick woollen ( possibly homemade) jumpers.
Listening  New folk bands and artists who tend to fuse traditional folk with more modern music including, electric guitars and drum sets. Mixing of older bands and musicians ( usually having been introduced to by their parents) e.g. Martin Carthy, John Tams, with newer singers that they've seen at various festivals e.g. Jim Moray, Seth Lakeman. Females of the species will be irresistibly drawn to them as they are both young and talented.
Wants to be  Many play one or more instruments and are in a band, so they hope to become successful like Mumford and Sons. Soloists want to become as iconic as Bob Dylan and women want to be Bellowhead's Rachel Mc'Shane.
Find Him  During the summer they will be congregating at folk festivals such as Sidmouth, Cambridge and Bromyard also at smaller festivals like Greenman. Throughout the year they can be found at small, intimate gigs in theatres or in a session at a pub.

Questionnaire.

Ruth Bilsborough Music magazine questionnaire

1.     Which masthead do you prefer?

·        Ballard

·        Jig

·        Matachin

·        Rhythm Bones

·        Ragtime

·        Other ( please state)

2.    Would you prefer the main image to be of men or women?

·        Men

·        Women

·        Both

3.    How many people would you want to be on the front cover of the magazine?

·        1

·        2

·        3

·        4

·        5+

·        Other ( please state)

4.    What colour would you want the main image to be?

·        black and white

·        full colour

5.    How would you like the main image to be structured?

·        close up ( of face only)

·        Medium close up ( of face and shoulders)

·        Full length ( whole body)

·        Other ( please state)

6.    Which colours do you prefer to be on the cover of a magazine? Choose up to three.

·        Green

·        Blue

·        Gold

·        White

·        Black

·        Red

·        Brown

·        Orange

·        Other ( please state)

7.    Which of the following stories would you like to read about in a music magazine? Choose up to four

·        Reviews of bands

·        Tour diaries

·        Music awards

·        Interviews

·        Album reviews

·        Up and coming bands

·        Festivals

·        Competitions

·        Instrument reviews

·        Other ( please state)

     

I may use Bob Dylan as the inspiration for my front cover main image.

I particularly like the black and white pictures. I'll probably have a black and white picture on my front cover.

Possible mastheads

I chose all these because they have a connection to my folk genre:
* Ballard
* Jig
* Rhythm Bones
* Matachin
* Ragtime

Music magazine covers that I quite like

This is actually the cover of someone elses AS media cousework but I couldn't tell the difference.

music magazine

I have decided to go for a folk/world music type magazine as I am really interested in this genre of music.

What do you need to think about to create an effective main image for your music magazine cover?

* composition
* colour scheme- mise en scene
* costume/props
* setting- interior or exterior?
* target audience
* Who?- model availability
* theme
* genre
* background
* lighting- natural light
* camera angle
* position of models- pose
* hair and make-up
* number of models
* shot distance
* time
* representation- gender, age, music style, etc.
* is the background going to be removed?
* the models usually represent the audience
* the masthead- how is it going to fit on the page
* take at least 5 shots and have variety
* think about real artists- receate shots

Evaluation of scool magazine cover

The title "Top of the School" is a good name for a magazine aimed at sixth formers. It refers to the fact that sixth formers are the two highest years in the school and so are "top". The colour scheme of the masthead is yellow and black which are appropriate because they are the colours of the uniform. This along with the size and placing make the masthead clearly visible.
The main image of the magazine takes over the entire page and it is part of the main story headline as all the models are involved in the school production. This image consists of five people in a relaxed pyramid formation, three people on the bottom with two above.However there are no subsidiary images on the cover.
 There is one main headline on the cover that goes with the main image and there are also four other sell lines. The language of the magazine is informal and entertaining to keep readers interested but it also gives clear and concise information. A range of  appropriate fonts and colours have been used to relate to the individual sell lines which make them stand out.
There is a clear structure and grid to the cover which makes it clear and well organised. Also it is bright and colourful which appeals to the reader and there are numerous references to the school.
I would say that my main strengths are the choice of main image and headline, my slogan "A-level Antics" and my sell lines. My targets for improvement would be to have a clear colour scheme, have less cramped sell lines and to have a more professional main image.

My magazine cover!

Possible cover photos.

School magazine cover drafts.

School magazine Questionaire.

1.What gender are you?
   Male
   Female
2.Would you read a school magazine if you were given the chance?
    Yes
     No
3.Which of the following mastheads do you prefer?
    Sixth at Henry
    6
    Top of the school
    12&13
    Sixth
4.Which of the following slogans do you prefer?
    Sixth form stress eased out!
    A-level Antics
    Sixth Sense
5.Would you pay for a school magazine?
    Yes
    No
6.Please indicate any of the following stories that you would be interested in reading about in a school magazine?
  Exam Results
  Sporting Success
  School Trips
   Next Drama production
  Teachers Tips
  Local events
  The week in pictures
7.Which of the following images would you want to see on the front cover?
  one person
  a couple
  a small group (3-6 people)
  a large group (6+ people)
8.Which of the following colours do you associate with the school?
   yellow
   black
   navy
   white
   green
9.would you be willing to contribute to the school magazine?
   yes
   no
   maybe
   I don't know
10.how often would like a school magazine to come out?
    every week
    every month
    every two months

Questionnaire Results

In my questionnaire I asked seven sixth formers several questions concerning a new school magazine that I am making. I have decided to aim my magazine at sixth formers because I think that it would be relevant to me and there would always be a lot to write about.
All seven of the participants were female and all said that they would read a school magazine if there was one available.
The third question that I asked them about was the masthead. Two said they liked Sixth at Henry, two said 6 and three wanted Top of the School.
The vast majority of people I asked, 6, said they liked the slogan A-Level antics. Although one said that she liked Sixth Sense.
Unlike what I had expected only four people wouldn't pay for a magazine and three said they would. I had expected that no one would pay!
The next question was about the articles. No one wanted to read about exams, sporting success got one vote,school trips got 4 as did the next drama production,teachers tips got three, local events got severs and the week in pictures got five.
Most people wanted a small group of 3-6 people on the front cover and three wanted more than 6 people.
When concerning colours most people wanted a combination of yellow and black with both getting six votes but one person wanted navy.
The penultimate question was whether anyone would contribute to the magazine if ti were published three said yes and four said maybe.
The last question was how often people wanted the magazine and all seven of them wanted it once a month.

I have created a questionaire and have writen up an evaluation of my results.