Alice's AS Media Studies

Welcome

Welcome to my blog. I'm Alice and this is where I'll be presenting my AS Media Studies foundation portfolio.

‘Student Life’, a completely free school magazine, is aimed at sixth form students studying their A-levels. It will be distributed monthly and be on display in the sixth form common room. The magazine is professional, but not overly formal and has an appropriate mode of address for its teenage audience. The magazine aims to inform, advise and entertain sixth form students and be beneficial to their life as a sixth-former.

‘Student Life’ will give the audience a better structure to their studying schedule to cope with the pressures of A-level work. Also, the magazine will ensure that the reader’s social needs are fulfilled through advice on how to maintain a healthy social life. This includes information on a variety of extra-curricular activities that the readership may enjoy or participate in. In addition to information about current events, the magazine includes articles relating to the future plans of students, such as university reviews and tips on how to write an impressive curriculum vitae. Rather than big blocks of information, there will be bite-size snippets of text and pull quotes to intrigue the reader. To add to reader interaction, it will feature different styles of articles including interviews, quizzes and competitions.

It will primarily fulfil the social and academic needs of the reader, whilst also encouraging an increase in self-esteem and enabling the readership to become the best they can be, so the audience will be able to work confidently to achieve their full potential.

Target Audience Profile

The target audience for my school magazine is male and female students that are studying full time in sixth form, and anticipating part time employment. When they have completed their A-levels, they hope to either continue their education at university or begin full time employment.

The target audience have a good social life outside of school. This includes participating in sport clubs, watching films at the cinema and eating out with friends. Although they are outgoing, they invest in the latest technology such as laptops and mobile phones to communicate with friends, as well as study. The audience doesn’t enjoy using public transport, so therefore hopes to begin driving lessons soon.

They are kind, helpful and generous students who are happy to give up their time for the benefit of others. Therefore they may like to take up volunteering, as it will be a good use of time and may add to their work experience.

The audience take their education seriously and they hope to get good grades so they can continue in the direction of their chosen career. They are proactive in their learning, so they like to get involved in extra-curricular activities such as trips to universities or theatres shows, which may entertain them and benefit their education. Although they are hard-working, sometimes they find studying stressful due to the pressure teachers put on them to complete work on time – therefore they sometimes manage time badly and spend excessive amounts of time studying. This suggests they need guidance on time management and balancing school and social life.

The audience will benefit from the magazine, which offers information and opportunities regarding universities, work experience and volunteering which will assist the reader in making vital decisions for their further education and commence their life in employment. This will reduce any over-whelming worries they have about the future. They will also be informed of new clubs and upcoming school trips which may take their interest. Furthermore, the audience will be advised on how to study and revise effectively, with tips on how to balance work and rest. This knowledge is important to the audience as it will assist them in getting high grades with minimal stress.

Mock Ups

Final Front Cover

Introduction to main task

The main task requires me to research and analyse existing music magazines in order to create a front cover, contents page and double page spread for my own music magazine.

Choice of Genre - Rock

I have chosen to use the genre of rock for my music magazine. I have chosen rock because it is my favourite genre of music and therefiore I will be able to represent the genre well in the music magazine.

Mission Statement

The Edge is a new music magazine that has been written to inform young rock fans of new and exciting music. The name of the magazine reflects the genre of music, which often sounds aggressive.

The Edge will emphasise the fact that rock is still alive and there are many talented bands which deserve the assistance of a magazine to gain recognition from an appropriate audience to be successful. These bands will be featured and advertised in the magazine through interviews, reviews, or information about their music and tours.

The magazine will be distributed monthly and will be £2.00. As a magazine based on music, The Edge will be sold primarily in music stores, but will also be available in large supermarkets and newsagents. The option of subscription to the magazine is on offer on the magazine website, www.theedgemagazine.com. After subscribing, the magazine will offer the reader discount codes for merchandise.

The magazine will be very factual and informative, focusing on the musical interests of the reader. In addition to this, the genre of the magazine is dominated by male artists, and therefore The Edge is largely for a male audience. Nevertheless, female artists may also occasionally feature, as they often appear in mixed gender bands. This might encourage an increasing number of rock-loving females to buy the magazine.

The magazine will feature reviews of singles, albums, gigs and new artists. It will also include interviews with successful artists as well as new aspiring artists. There will be information for readers regarding new music and upcoming tours. Furthermore, each issue will provide free posters of featured artists, so the magazine offers an extra ‘gift’ to readers. In addition to this, The Edge will have competitions to win prizes such as merchandise or concert tickets.

Target Audience Profile

The target audience for The Edge is young people aged between 16 and 25. Those aged under 18 will be in full time education at school or college. Those in the higher end of the demographic will be in higher education with a part time job or in full time employment. The audience are young, and therefore may be either single or in a relationship, but are unmarried.

The audience’s preferred genre of music is rock. They might be considered irresponsible, but they consider themselves to adventurous risk takers. They are confident and lively, and they believe that they should embrace their youthfulness by attending gigs and parties. They aim to be the first in line at ticket sales when their favourite bands are performing in the city. Also, they save up to money to spend on merchandise such as posters and t-shirts. They may also attend gigs of smaller artists playing locally. The audience may have hobbies relating to the genre of rock, such as playing an instrument. They use to music to escape their problems in life, and relatable lyrics reassure them that other people have the same problems.

The readers of The Edge will enjoy watching television dramas featuring people of the same age with similar personalities (e.g. Skins). They enjoy buying DVDs of their favourite bands of tour, and watch interviews with the artists as they value their opinions.

The magazine is priced at £2.00, so it is affordable for the young audience.

Codes and Conventions of Rock Music

Questionnaire

I decided to create and distribute my questionnaire electronically. I have embedded the questionnaire below or click here to view the questionnaire in a new window. I used a range of open and closed questions. The questionnaire included instructions and some closed questions contained an 'other' box.

Fill out my online form.

Questionnaire Analysis

The above presentation shows the results of my online questionnaire.

Focus Group

In addition to distributing a questionnaire, I conducted a focus group with a few members of the target audience. I showed them three issues of Kerrang! magazine and asked them some questions in rlation to the magazines. These are the collective responses to the questions I asked:

Q: What is the most important feature of these front covers?
A: “The artists in the images are clearly rock artists. They have musical instruments and they have tattoos.”

Q: Would the rock music magazine name ‘The Edge’ appeal to you?
“Yes because it represents the artists in the genre well. Rock artists are ‘edgy’, and ‘The Edge’ can relate to the rebellious attitude of rock artists; they are on the edge of society and breaking away from popular trends.”

Q: Are the colours on the front covers appealing to you?
“Yes, black, white and red represent the genre well.”

Q: What would you like to feature in a double page spread?

Interviews because then it is obvious that the informaion is factual.

Q: What benefit do music magazines give to you?

They provide useful information such as tour dates and new music recommendations.

Q: Do freebies make you want to buy the magazine?
Yes because you feel rewarded.

Q: Would you rather have weekly issues with less content or monthly issues with more content?

Monthly issues because it is too much money to buy weekly. I'd rather have loads of content relevant to what is happening that month. Weekly issues might be too repetitive.

Q: Do you prefer more images or more text on the…

-Front cover?
-Contents page?
-Double page spreads?

On the front cover and contents page it’s better to have images – they catch my attention and text doesn’t. However I prefer more text and information on double page spreads so I can be informed of upcoming new music and what artists have to say.

Case Study of Kerrang

Kerrang! Front Cover Overview

The front covers of Kerrang! use iconography to appeal to fans of the rock genre. This analysis will identity similarities and recurring features in Kerrang! front covers. The eight covers above all have obvious similarities and follow music magazine conventions. Common conventions featured on Kerrang! front covers include a large main image under a main sell line, feature article photographs and a masthead at the top of the cover.

Each issue features a band or band member on the cover’s main image. Solo artists are rare in the rock genre, so Kerrang! often features whole bands on their front covers. Otherwise, only the lead member will be featured (this is often the case with bands with a large number of members). When Kerrang! uses a whole band in the main image, the members are usually in a triangular or pentagonal formation, with the lead member at the front and the other members at the sides. The main member is placed at the front to emphasises is importance as the lead guitarist and lead vocalist but also because he is the most likely to be recognised by the target audience and attract attention. The artist may be wearing iconic clothes and makeup which represents the genre. They are always staring straight at the camera, attracting the audience’s interest. They often have relaxed facial expressions, but sometimes they’re posing aggressively.

The majority of artists featured in Kerrang! are male. This is because the target audience is dominated by males. There are very few females featured in Kerrang!, the most notable being Paramore’s Hayley Williams. Hayley Williams is the only female to be used in the magazine’s main image. On the rare occasions which they are featured, female artists are usually used in feature article photographs, as shown in the covers above. Females featured in Kerrang! are usually the only female member in their band, and are often the lead member. They are often defeminised and could be considered to have more masculine personalities and a desexualised image compared female artists in other music genres. This is shown by Hayley Williams through her poses on the Kerrang! front covers. In one front cover she is making a rude gesture and in another she has her fists raised, looking like she is threatening a fight. Female members of rock bands break stereotypes and are often rebellious figures; this will attract interest from a wider audience, particularly female fans of the genre.

The members of the bands have different features which make them look unique and edgy. For example, Hayley Williams has bright orange hair which attracts attention. Andy Six from the Black Veil Brides wears a lot of thick dark eye makeup, which is unusual for a male, and Slipknot’s Clown wears overalls with his characteristic clown mask. These attributes make the artists quirky and define them as individuals. Although each artist has their own individual characteristics, the magazine front covers all have mise-en-scene components which link them together. For example, all the artists wear either black or red costumes. This compliments the colours used in the front cover, and prove attractive to the target audience. The type of clothing is casual, which highlights the carefree attitude adopted by rock bands. This may suggest that the bands are open and sincere as they have an informal and friendly relationship with their audience.

Feature article photographs on the front covers show previews of posters, bands performing or reviewed albums in the magazine. This gives the audience a sneak peek of the inside of the magazine so they can see the wide variety of content before buying it. Posters are an important selling feature of the magazine, as the young target audience are loyal to their favourite bands and passionate about rock music; therefore they enjoy being rewarded with free decorations for their bedroom walls. Like the main images, feature article photographs present mainly male artists. Apart from Hayley Williams, there are very few exceptions to this unwritten rule (namely The Pretty Reckless and We Are The In Crowd are the most notable bands with a female artist, but have only been featured once).

The masthead on Kerrang! Always appears in the conventional place at the top of the magazine. The same edgy font is maintained throughout each issue and may be continued onto the contents page. The colour, however, switches between black and white each issue to compliment the colours used in the front cover. In some issues, the top of the main image is placed over the masthead as the magazine is well known and can be recognised through brand identity rather than showing the whole masthead. Nevertheless, other issues are overwhelmed by images and lack text, so the top of the main image is covered by the masthead to create a balanced layout. Above the masthead is always a strapline, which may have band names, preview posters, or be a sell line. Certain words in the strapline are in red text to stand out and draw in the audience (e.g. ‘exclusive’, ‘free’). For example, one magazine had the strapline “All Time Low want you: Be their roadie for the day!” This emphasises that Kerrang! Values their readers and want to give them the opportunity to meet their favourite bands.

The main sell line is also often the name of the band featured in the main image, accompanied by a pull quote or a smaller sell line. Other sell lines mainly feature in Kerrang! At the bottom of the front cover in the form of band names. This may attract loyal fans of the genre who will buy the magazine simply because their favourite band is mentioned. This also suggests that the content is mainly music related rather than gossip. The list of bands is preceded by the word ‘plus’, implying that the magazine is packed with different content. The cover is dominated by feature article photographs to create a response from the male audience.

Kerrang! tends to use black, white and red consistently in the front covers. These colours represent the shady and violent mood of rock music. Hints of blue and yellow are also used in some sell lines, but are not used a main colours.

The layout used is continued throughout each cover. The main sell line is usually placed over the main image, in the middle of the cover. Conventionally, this is where the audience’s eyes are first drawn to. Many issues feature previews of articles and posters in the form of feature article photographs. However, this layout may vary in some issues. For example, the cover with Slipknot’s Clown has very few feature article photographs and more sell lines than usual. This is because the main image dominates the front cover, and is interesting enough to sell the magazine. Also, including more large images would be overwhelming. Another example is a front cover featuring Hayley Williams, posing as if she is punching the camera. The main sell line is placed to the right of the cover. The left side of the cover is Hayley’s face, which will immediately entice the audience due to their unfamiliarity with females being featured in this magazine.

Having explored different Kerrang! front covers, it is clear that the magazine maintains some form of brand identity through each issue but continues to make each issue unique through slight variations in the layout and colours. Dedicated fans will be able to recognise the magazine through recurring features, yet look forward to having a different cover each week. Ultimately, front covers are highly influential in the selling of Kerrang!

Front Cover Analysis

Contents Page Overview

This analysis of Kerrang contents pages will investigate the recurring codes and conventions throughout Kerrang! contents pages. The pages selected above show some general conventions of music magazine contents pages that the audience expect to see. This includes a main image, smaller related images, a title, column titles/subheadings and a list of the magazine’s content. Kerrang! contents pages are usually image heavy, with about 50%-70% of the page being images, and 30%-50% text. This is appealing to the target audience who is mostly male, and therefore will respond to visuals more than text. Kerrang has two common layouts. The layout of features on the contents page depends on whether the main image is landscape or portrait.

All of the contents pages feature a main image. Main images will usually be a professionally set up photo (like the front cover) or a candid shot a band performing. Certain issues may break away from this convention and use a candid photo showing the wild antics of band member (see the first contents page above). In a similar way to their front covers, Kerrang! will often only use the lead band member in the main image as a symbol of importance but also because the audience will be able to recognise the main member. When all the band members are featured in the main image, there is no particular formation which recurs throughout different issues. For example, some issues may have the triangular and pentagonal formation which is conventional on the front cover, but other issues show the band in a disorganised arrangement. The image will show iconography through the use of casual clothing, long and untidy hair, dark makeup or musical (i.e. instruments, microphones, speakers). In professional shots, the artist will usually be looking directly at the camera with a relaxed pose, attracting the audience’s attention. However candid shots are usually taken when there is action, so the artist will usually be focussed on other things in the image (e.g. playing their instrument).

As the genre of rock is dominated by males, the contents page usually only contains images of male band members. Nevertheless, this convention is occasionally broken by the use of a female artist, as shown in one of the contents pages above. This contents page featuring the female member of We Are The In Crowd also breaks the colour conventions of Kerrang! contents pages by using bright blue and pink rather than black, white, red and yellow. She is posed with her hands outstretched to outline her face and draw attention to it. This issue may have appealed more to females and possibly broadened the target audience by showing that females don’t need to be completely defeminised to be in a rock band.

Features shown in the front cover will be continued on the contents page. For example, Slipknot are shown wearing their masks, just as they would have done for the front cover.

Smaller images on the contents pages will preview a variety of articles, including album covers (indicating an album review) and interviews with commonly featured artists. This will appeal to the male audience who prefer images over text. Double page spread previews are important as they show that the magazine has contact with the band and the information given can be trusted. People might look at the contents page before buying a magazine, so this is an important selling feature. The small images are most commonly in a disorganised format; they appear tilted and are arranged to appear as if they are layered and overlap each other. This maintains the informal and relaxed style of the magazine, as well as giving the impression that the magazine is packed with a huge variety of content.

The title ‘Contents’ is almost always placed in the top left or top right corner of Kerrang! contents pages, which is conventional of music magazines. Otherwise, the title ‘Kerrang Contents’ may be used at the top of the page when a portrait main image is used. However it is often placed between the images and the text when a landscape main image is used. The colour of this often changes between issues, although it is most often black and yellow or red and white. The distressed font used for the masthead on the front cover is used in the title and subheadings on the contents page to maintain brand identity. When a landscape photo is used, the list of contents is in columns and is placed below the main image. When a portrait image is used, the contents are listed on the right side of the main image without columns.

The list of contents has subheading to clearly indicate the sections of the magazine. Kerrang! usually uses the subheadings, ‘Feedback’, ‘News’, ‘Win!’, ‘Live Reviews’, ‘Posters’, ‘Features’, ‘Album Reviews’, ‘Gig guide’ and ‘The K! Quiz’. These subheadings clearly show that the magazine focuses on music rather than fashion or celebrity gossip. The subheadings ‘Feedback’ and ‘Win!’ suggests that Kerrang! gives the reader an opportunity to interact and voice their opinions on the magazine, as well as be rewarded with the chance to win a prize for buying the magazine. Under the subheadings are lists of articles that fit into that category, accompanied by page numbers for convenience and sometimes a brief description to give more information. The editor’s letter is usually included to the left of the contents when a landscape main image is used. Otherwise, it placed below a portrait main image. However, some special issues do not include an editor’s letter as the space is needed to fit the list of contents, but this is rare.