Friday, 14 November 2008

Thursday, 13 November 2008

Magazine Ideas

To help me create my own magazine, i have looked at different magazines which could be aimed at an audience aged 16-19. By collecting this information it is has given me ideas of what to produce and how i am going to set it out so that it is appropriate for the targeted audience.

The magazines i have analysed use catchy and one or two word mastheads. This is so that it is easier for the audience to remember and say. I have come up with a few mastheads that i could use to have the same purpose like the other magazine. I have also chosen them because they fit well with the magazine im going to produce. These are the mastheads i have collected for my magazine.

Rumour - This is a good masthead because it is short and catchy. The word rumour is a sort of gossip and it fits well with the type of magazine i am going to create.

Babble - Babble also short and catchy.The word babble is also a type of gossip.

Blast - Blast is my last choice out of these 3, i think it is good because it is short and catchy however it is not really gossip related. I think it is loud but i want a suttel and nice word.

Out of these 3 words, i have finally chosen 'Rumour' as my masthead for my magazine. I have chosen this because

Tuesday, 4 November 2008

Magazine Covers

Rolling stone is a well known music magazine, it can apply for young readers,often focusing on young television, or film actors and pop music.
This magazine cover is similar the 'Vogue' magazine i have previously looked at. It is a similar layout as there is a main image in the center of the cover, and subheadings around either side. The main photograph is of actor Johnny Depp, this is picture dominates the cover because it overlaps the masthead which brings more attention to the person on the front of the cover. The picture also makes the magazine appeal to both, men and women. By Johnny showing his chest, women will find this attractive so will buy the magazine, and men will buy it because he is a popular actor and they may idolise him. Johnny Depp is wearing a black shirt which goes with the text and background around him, it establishes a theme on the front of the magazine. the dark, cool colours such as grey this can suggest that the magazine is cool and laid back. If the colours used where bright and loud then it would not go with the type of magazine this is, which is a music magazine. Its main audience would be men, and bright colours could give men the wrong impression of what magazine this is. The masthead 'Rolling Stone' is overlapped by the main image, so you can only see the letters 'Ro Stone'. They have done this because it shows that the magazines reputation and the fact that it is well known, it shows that you do not need to see all of the title to recognise what magazine it is. The magazine shows off by doing this. The heading 'Johnny Sings' is placed at the top right hand side of the main image, this is so that the audience know that it is heading is related to the photograph of Johnny Depp. It is also in a larger font than the subheadings placed around the main image and it is also a different colour, as it is black instead of grey, this could suggest that this article is much more important than the others around,we know this because of the contrast of colour and size, the colour black is darker and more dominant than the colour grey, and it is in a larger font size so that the audience see that first before the other subheadings. This magazine cover is also very busy, this will give the impression to the readers that there getting there moneys worth if they buy this magazine.
This magazine is very different to the Vogue magazine as it has a more informal layout, and the language used is also informal and more casual. This magazine is aimed at an women orientated audience. We knows this because of what is included on the front page but also the language and colours used. On this cover of the magazine there are a number of different images. some are larger than others but the main 3 in the centre of the magazine are all different sizes, which gives the impression that there is a variety of different stories in the article. The 3 pictures are all placed underneath the headline 'CLINGING TO THEIR MEN' this headline is placed in a box which is a bright yellow in the background and has big, bold, black lettering. This makes it eye catching and the language used is straight to the point as if these women are clinging to there men, when they could not be. this gives the reader an in site to whats in the rest of the magazine and the topic of the story might appeal to them and they want to read more. The masthead 'CLOSER' doesn't appear to be very eye catching because the colour used is white which is not very bright and loud colour, however it is placed on a bright pink background, which separates the text from the background. It is also used in a lower case font, which is unusual for a magazine masthead, usually the masthead is big, and capitals are used. Lower case writing may suggest what the magazine is like and who it is for, because capitals can be seen as dominate and masculine, which would not be well fitted for the audience of this magazine which is women. Other images are used at the top of the magazine, before the masthead. The images also have subheadings along side of them, for example 'Eastenders, Gemma. 'How i lost my beer belly in 2 weeks' This is written in white and yellow and has a blue background. this is a mixture of colours which is used so bring variety and attention to the magazine. The image along side of the subheading is a before and after picture. the after picture is overlapping the before picture because the magazine wants the audience to see the result picture more than the before picture, because the story inside tells you how she got to be like the after picture. This magazine cover is very busy as it contains alot of information about different things contained inside the magazine, by doing this it attracts the audience and they will see that the magazine has alot to offer so they believe that buying this magazine is good value for money because you are getting alot of different features in the magazine.
This Vogue magazine is very different to the school magazine i had previously looked at, however each of the magazines are created by media conventions.
The main image is of the actress Keria Knightly, this is a unnatural photograph in which she has had to posed for, and she is looking at the camera. Keria looks glamorous and dressed up, which could indicate that the article inside is about beauty or an interview with the celebrity on style and beauty. this helps the audience know who the magazine is aimed for, which is women because they are more into beauty and appearance. The masthead of this magazine is written in big, bold, capitals, this is because this magazine is a very well known magazine and when audiences see this title of the magazine they immediately know it is. However in this issue the colour of the word VOGUE is in a bright pink. The colour pink is related to girls or women, using pink on this cover shows what type of audience this magazine is aimed for, it is also a bright pink that catches the audiences eyes, draws them in which means they are more likely to buy the magazine.It is also placed over the top of the women on the front as the main image, this dominates the photograph and can also suggest that the actress on the is involved in VOGUE and likes it her self as they merge together. All the other sub headings are placed around the main image. some are also in the same pink as the masthead, some are in black and white. They are placed either side of the main page which borders the magazine. Also at the bottom of the page, a larger font is used for a subheading, this could tell the readers that the article inside that the subheading is talking about is good and more important than the other small ones around the main image.

Tuesday, 7 October 2008

Textual Analysis of Secondary Teachers Magazine

Textual Analysis of Secondary Teachers Magazine

The institution of this magazine is a teachers magazine. This front cover i am anlaysisng is taken from a magazine which is aimed at secondary teachers but can also be aimed at students. The purpose of this magazine is to give advice and information to the teachers, and a view of the current education system.

The Language used on this front cover is simple but noticeable. The masthead ' SECONDARY' is written in a big, bold font, this helps catch the attention of the reader, however the word 'teachers' is written in much smaller print. I think they have done this to help identify that the magazine isn't just for all teachers it is specifically written and published for secondary teachers. we can tell this by the size of the word 'secondary' compared to the word 'teachers'. The colour and font of the 2 words in the masthead are both the same, this is so that the words are associated together and are done like this so they are not mistaken for individual words. The blue used for the masthead is bright and colourful, to catch the attention of the reader, it does not have any connection to the specific genre, but are appealing to the reader. The cover also includes small headlines in its layout, these are placed at the top of the page. some are quotes from storys included in the magazine and some are topics in the magazine. The colours of these texts are red and pink. These two colours are bright and bold are can be associated as happy colours, which can indicate of what type of story or topics are included in the magazine. Another part of the magazine that attracts my attention is the headline that is placed on top of the central image 'cook with me!' this text is also big, and bright for the same reasons as the masthead and small headlines on the cover. The colour stands out from the background image which makes it more noticable. underneath this headline is a smaller subheading 'How schools can make lessons tasty' this subheading informs the audience what is included inside the magazine and could suggest that inside there will be a more informative article on cooking in schools. The most noticable, and eye catching aspect on this magazine cover is the main image. The photograph includes a tray with two ginger bread people on it decorated as if they were in a school uniform, we can tell that one is a girl and the other one a boy by the way the uniform is presented, the left one has a skirt which is associated with girls. Both genders have been used on this front cover so that the audience know that this particuar magazine is aimed for both genders and also boys and girls attende certain secondary schools. The photograph also includes the bottom half of a student holding the tray, we can tell it is a student by the uniform, it shows a red shirt, a tie and trousers. The red shirt helps the audience notice its presents and makes the reader think more about who is holding the tray and who can be involved in this subject.


Tuesday, 30 September 2008

Fondation Portfolio - Preliminary Task



Producing a college magazine front page and contents page



L- Language - Language used in this task will be things such as the layout of the magazine, the font of the text, the size of the text, the photograph, the process of taking the photograph, the colour and the masthead.


I - Institution - The insitution of this magazine is Wyke College because its what the magazine will be about, and who has made it.


I - Ideology - The ideological values of this college magazine will be achievement, respect, educations and aspirations.


A - Audience - The audience this magazine will be aimed for is students that attend Wyke college, teachers that work at the college, and students aged 16 - 19 years.


R- Representation - The representation is going to be the college or the students or teachers that will be on the front cover of the magazine. It could also be a subject that is being featured as the main story, such as science or sport.