AS Media Report

Pre-production

For my pre-production i created 2 magazine covers of different styles. To complete these i thought about my questionnaire feedback and incorporated research from my textual analysis.

Questionnaire results

I carried out research in the form of a questionnaire concerning the preferences of my target demographic 16-35 year old women. The survey I did helped me with my pre-production as it showed me what people were looking for and what they liked when buying a magazine. All of my magazine survey responses were from women which helped me because they are the target audience of my magazine covers. The survey showed me that the type of articles people want to see in a magazine is celebrity interviews, fashion tips and celebrity gossip this helps me to decide on the type of covers story’s to place on my magazine covers. It also showed me that the responders though that the main image on a covers is the most important. This showed me that the photographs I am taking for my own front covers need to stand out as they would on a normal magazine because they are a main deciding factor in weather people choose to buy a magazine. Pink was also chosen as the colour that most draws people in to reading and buying a magazine showing me that it should be included. It also helped me to choose a reasonable price that readers would not find too expensive. The questionnaire results showed that people were willing to spend anything between £1- £4 for a magazine.

Textual analysis

Researching textual analysis of current magazines helped with my pre-production as it showed different features that are included on a magazine cover. I researched textual analysis of VOGUE and LOOK magazine which showed me the main features on their magazine covers and what I should include on mine to make it look of a similar style.

The masthead is the visual branding of the magazine and is often done on a specially designed type face. Knowing this made me think about how I wanted the magazine to be perceived and similar magazines that I wanted it to look like.

The main image can be what draws people into buying a magazine so it has to stand out and be relevant to the target audience. By looking at current fashion magazines with a similar target audience it helped with my pre-production by showing me what type of images they have used and what type of clothing and facial expressions were used on their chosen model. To take my photography for my covers knowing what type of images were already on magazines and how the person on the cover had been positioned and clothed helped by showing me what is relevant and attracts their target audience.

The purpose of cover lines is to entice the reader into picking up and/or buying the magazine. Generally there's one main larger cover line and then a few (or lots of) smaller ones. By researching magazine cover lines it showed how they link to the magazines target audience because some topics mentioned would not apply to certain ages or genders.

1^st cover 

Images/layout

For my first magazine cover I was inspired by the layout and overall look of VOGUE magazines. I had one image on the cover that dominated the page to assure that it was the main focus front cover. The use of just one image can be recognised on all Vogue magazine covers to illustrate that is a high class magazine as it is simple and elegant. I used minimal make-up and simple clothing so that the magazine would look sophisticated. The camera angle I used is straight on to show engagement with the audience and to represent power.

The Mise-en scene on the cover is the earring that my model is wearing because it looks valuable which links in with the target socio-economic group of the cover.

Colours/fonts

For my first cover there was a definite colour scene of black, red and white so that the cover looks simple and not too busy. These colours each have different connotations. The colour black is considered to be a very formal, elegant, and prestigious colour which links with my magazine because at £3.99 it would be considered a high end magazine. White represents simplicity and is used on all vogue covers cover lines. The masthead ‘Bella’ is a bright red colour which makes it stand out and grab the attention of the audience. The font i have used is fine style .similar to what is used on Vogue magazines.

Language

The mode of address on the cover is formal because the genre is high fashion. It directly addresses the reader with cover lines such as ‘how to cut ‘your’ hair’ as the use of the word ‘You’ would make the reader feel included. The magazine is presented in a friendly manner to attract people towards it as would a normal fashion magazine.

2^nd cover 

Images/layout

For my second magazine cover the layout of it was similar to LOOK magazines. There was one main image with a smiling face and bright clothes to portray that it is a mainstream fashion magazine for young Females. The photograph is a medium close-up which is traditionally used on weekly distributed magazines. Similarly to LOOK magazine I had smaller images also on the front cover of shoes at affordable prices because LOOK is a magazine that advertises high-street brands.

Colours/fonts

On this cover the colour scheme was bright bold colours which would stand out such as yellow, white and different shades of pink. These are all colours that would suggest that this magazine is aimed at young women. The masthead ‘CHIC’ is in a dark pink which makes it stand out from the light grey/white background making it more noticeable. The subheading is written in a slightly different font, but is still very bold, and is white which catches the eye.

Many different fonts are used for each cover line on the front cover this makes it look more visually effective along with the mixture of colours. Each cover line uses a mixture of capitals and lowercase letters to highlight the important parts of each sentence. For example in the cover line ‘the top 5 hair rules, the 5 really stands out as it is a lot bigger than the rest of the cover line and so it is one of the first things you notice.

Language

Seeing as this is a magazine aimed at women each cover line is about a topic that would be interesting to them as a target audience. For example ‘The only mascara all the beauty ed’s use’ This is an interesting topic for women because they want to know what mascara really works and what is worth buying. I mentioned that beauty editors use it to place trust within the article.I have used exclamation marks which connotes that the magazine has new information or surprising one off offers. The mode of address is friendly and inviting to the reader because the magazine genre is fashion and gossip.

Production

My production is a double page spread that would be featured in my second magazine. I got influence for the type of layout and conventions that I wanted to use from an article in LOOK magazine. This is because LOOK targets an audience with the same demographics as I have set out for my pre-production to. The article that I have produced is set out in a double Colum which is a layout commonly seen in fashion magazines. I have used a large font size for the title as it takes up one half of a page. This is to draw the reader’s attention to it so they are aware of what the article is about. The article is called ‘Chloe how her A-List relationship turned her life around’ which uses words that would attract the target audience to read on such as A-list and relationship because gossip articles about new relationships are often seen in womens magazines.

From looking at similar magazine articles I have taken various features that will make my production look more like a genuine magazine article. I have included page numbers at the bottom of each page and a website that would be for the magazine which is seen in LOOK magazines.

I have used a large image that fills all of one page and shows clear links with the article that I have written. These links can be seen as the article is called ‘Chloe how her A-List relationship turned her life around’ and my image displays what looks like a couple. This inference that they are a couple just from the photograph comes from the connotations which the photo shows for example they are holding hands which is behaviour associated with couples. Also they are both smiling and because it does not look like a posed photograph it makes them look as though they are an actual real couple in a natural comfortable pose taken in the moment.

Target audience/Demographics

The target audience for my magazine is women aged 16-35 because it is a similar target audience for the magazines i have researched and done textual analysis on which are LOOK and VOGUE. The cover stories will be based around women’s fashion and beauty which is why it will be targeted at women. I am also aiming my magazine at the socio economic groups A (Higher managerial, administrative, professional), B (Intermediate managerial, administrative, professional) and C1 (Supervisory, clerical, junior managerial).

Evaluation

By looking at a similar existing product which will be a double page spread from the magazine LOOK I will compare my production to identify the strengths and weaknesses of it.

The main weakness of my double page spread is that there could have been more colour on the page such as brighter clothing worn in the photograph to make the article look more upbeat.  

I think that a strength of my production is that the title, article and photograph all all link together so it is clear what the article is about and how it would link in with a woman's fashion/gossip magazine.