WHAT I HAVE LEARNT FROM MY RESEARCH AND HOW I WILL USE IT TO

INFORM MY MAGAZINE?

MY AUDIENCEI have carried out research on my audience this included carrying out questionnaires and focus groups to determine and pinpoint my target audience. From the information I got through this research was that my primary audience is will be 60% male and within the age bracket of 16-20 year olds for the vast majority of my magazine regardless of age. I feel this is down to the fact that this genre of music alternative rock which is the basis of my magazine is popular at the moment suggesting that younger people would be interested in it. My secondary audience supports this information as it is 20-25 year olds I fell this is for similar reasons to the first. My focus group supported this as the idea for my magazine proved popular with people within my primary audiences age group. From my research I know that the people who will be most interested in my magazine would fall under the socio-economic groups E-C1. I feel this due to the fact that the content within my magazine will be most appropriate to them and also that the price for my magazine is best suited to the prices people within these groups would be willing to pay.

WHAT I HAVE LEARNT ABOUT IMAGES?From the magazine deconstructions that I carried out I have gained knowledge on the use of images from other magazines and now feel that I have the ability to implement the knowledge into the creation process of my magazine. From the front covers that I deconstructed the use of imagery on the cover was usually a close up shot, from this I can see that it has an impacting effect as people are drawn to the magazine through the image on the front of the magazine as it is clear and easy to see. I am going to use this on my magazine as I feel it is a simple and effective way of drawing attention to my magazine. On the contents pages that I deconstructed there was a range of different ways in which images were used but all of them used one large image of the key artist within the magazine usually placed to the right hand side of the page that shows an image of the main artist within the magazine. This has helped me realise that the use of imagery is important to my magazine as it can draw the reader in and help it appeal to them. From other research I have learnt that the lighting, facial expression and positioning within photos are a key factor. The lighting influences the overall quality of the magazine as if it is poorly lit or the lighting is too harsh the photo will not work. Positioning on the photo is key as if part of the person is cut off the part of a person and make sure they are fully within the frame so the photo feels complete. Finally the facial expression of the model can give a diverse range of different feelings to the person looking at it as it they are smiling it will give the photo a happy feeling. This is not what I want to achieve in my magazine so I will have my model show little emotion as this gives off the a darker feel as this is important for my genre of magazine.

HOW WILL MY MAGAZINE BE CONVENTIONAL?

My magazine will be conventional as I have studied the layout and key features of leading magazines that are similar to mine and have implemented them into my magazine to create a a conventional and professional layout. I will achieve this through this across my magazine such as the layout and the use of imagery as mentioned previously. My layout will take the critical and key design concepts from the top magazines and combine them into mine. I have took inspirations from magazines such as Q and NME. My front cover will incorporate a close up shot this decision has being influenced by Q magazine as they use this on there front covers and it gives the kind of effect that I want to on my magazine. My double page spread and contents page have also being heavily influenced as I have mixed the styles of these two magazines and incorporated them onto mine.

HOW WILL MY MAGAZINE MEET THE NEEDS OF MY GENRE?My magazine will meet the needs of my genre through the atmosphere it creates this will be influenced by things such as the colours and fonts that I intend to use. I will use colours such as white, black and red. This is so that the magazine will have an appropriate feel as I will chose not to use vibrant colours as this will give the magazine a warm and friendly feel which would not fit in with the alternative rock genre. So I will use more appropriate colours that give off a darker feel to complement the genre of my magazine. My font will also be more appropriate as it will be big and bold to help fit in with my genre.

WHAT PAGES WILL I MAKE?

For my magazine I will create a front cover, a contents page and also a double page spread. On the front cover I will have a close up shot of my artist with the masthead for my magazine as well as sell lines inking to what else will be in my magazine. On my contents page I will include all of the various information on what other parts of the magazine contain with information on each one as well as a image of the key artist in my magazine. For my double page spread I will include an article based on my main artist.