PLANNING: double page spread article - real

PLANNING: double page spread article

This was my first draft of my double page spread article however I had to change it because I used a different model for my double page spread article. I took into consideration all of the feedback that I was given so I adapted my final article to suit the criteria. 

RESEARCH : Uses and gratification explained theory

Why do we watch TV? Uses and gratification explained theory. 

Ways in which I use the media:  

• Surveillance - seeking information through factual texts, for example: watching the news and documentaries, reading newspaper, reading reviews.
• Personal identity - texts that reinforce your own values and beliefs, for example: reading magazines that interest me, for example fashion magazines e.g Vogue and watching programmes that relate to my age and generation.
• Personal relationships -  This is where you can make powerful bonds with figures in the media, for example watching series on netflix e.g Gossip Girl and OITNB, reading books and listening to the radio presenters. 
• Diversion - using the medal to pass the time and entertain ourselves, for example looking on social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) and watching films. 

PLANNING: Lexicon of words

RESEARCH: Music videos for my chosen music genre

RESEARCH: Genre of music

Chosen music genre: R&B Pop 

R&B - Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated as R&B or RnB, is a genre of popular African-American music that originated in the 1940s. Now the term R&B is almost always used instead of the full rhythm and blues, and mainstream use of the term usually refers to contemporary R&B, which is a newer version of soul and funk-influenced pop music that originated as disco faded from popularity.

Pop - Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form in the Western world during the 1950s and 1960s as a softer alternative to rock and roll.

Click here to read full interview with Alicia Keys about her new album.

Click here to real full interview with Drake - Billboard 

Click here for the Weeknd's interview with Los Angeles Times

PLANNING: Flatplans for my music magazine

Here are the flat plans for my music magazine. For my central image on my front cover. I would like to have a mid-shot image of my model that represents my genre of music. For the coverlines, I do not want to include lots of text as I think it would be more effective to have short pieces of text that engage and entice the reader.  Underneath the masthead, there is going to be the date and issue number of the magazine to inform the reader. 

For the contents page, the features are going to be situated on the right hand side with the page number and the images will be on the right hand side. The images are going to be different sizes to add diversity and create for a more interesting and exciting layout. I will also include a main image for my contents page. Further to this, underneath the features, I am going to include a small section 'Also Inside' because I think this will attract the reader and will provide them with exclusives, leading them to read on.  

RESEARCH: 3rd textual analysis of music magazine

RESEARCH: 2nd music magazine textual analysis

RESEARCH: Q double page spread textual analysis

RESEARCH: Q magazine contents page textual analysis

RESEARCH: Q magazine textual analysis

RESEARCH: Links to Magazine packs

RESEARCH: Youth sub-cultures articles

    
5  things I have learnt from this article: Article on Youth Sub Culture 

• In the mid-80's people were defined and grouped depending on the kind of music they enjoyed listening to and the clothes they wore. For example: goths, punks and soul boys.
• However, in 2014 the amount of youth cults has hugely decreased.
• A sociologist at the University of Sussex believe this has something to do with Britain's changing class structure.
• David Fowler, author of the acclaimed book Youth Culture in Modern Britain thinks that some subcultures had very little to do with the actual teenagers who participated in them – "They were consumers … they were sort of puppets" – and were controlled by a slightly older educated generation. 
• The main reason for this is the internet and the way it affects people's behaviours and beliefs. 

     5 things I have learnt from this article: Death of the music press

• Monthly magazine Q is down to 50,000 copies a month in comparison to its monthly figures of 200,000 in the 90's.
• NME has produced a tablet version to suit the new digital age, but surprisingly only has 1,200 subscribers. 
• The music press has not been picking up younger generations of readers in the way it used to for quite some time.
• It can be argued that the amount of people reading both Melody Maker and NME decreased when they stopped with the irreverent writing and long features in the late 90's.
• If young people don't make the effort to become ‘someone’ or to be different, they will miss out on the opportunity to create a public persona and be independent, losing out in the long run.

RESEARCH: Media Studies The Basics Chapter 3

1:  Media regulation is relates to power in different ways. Media can be regulated in terms of its content or its ownership and distribution.
2: In a democracy, citizens are entitled to free media.
3: Marxist analysis of media power reveals the ideological  nature of media texts, whereas discourse analysis attempt to trace the intertextual framing of political media discourse. 
4: Feminist theory is varied and changing but they believe the media sees the male point of view as the 'norm' and the female point of view as the 'other'.
5: Postmodernist theorists believe that the idea of the truth needs to be deconstructed so we can challenge dominant ideas the people claims the 'truth'.

RESEARCH: Media Studies The Basics Chapter 2

1: Micro textual analysis refers to the study of specific elements of media texts that can be deconstructed only through the act of 'close reading'.
2: Semiotics is a branch of structuralism and looks at meaning at the level of the individual sign.which is divided into its signifier and signified.
3: The same text can be looked at from different theoretical perspectives. 
4: Representation is the sum of various 'micro' parts and relates to broader theories of collective identity, cultivation and ideology.
5: Editing is hugely important in the construction of media meaning. 

RESEARCH: Media Studies: The Basics Chapter 1

1: Media studies is concerned with the relationship, people, life and society and looks at these relationships in a variety of different ways.
2: Media studies also focuses on the nature of media texts and ways the student can deconstruct the ways meaning is made throughout and between texts. 
3: Media Studies became an academic subject with qualifications in the 1960's.
4: Sometimes it's difficult to tell where one media ends and another begins, this state of confusion is down to convergence.
5: Theories of creativity are becoming more important to media students because an increasing amount of people are starting to make their own original media. 

RESEARCH: Textual analysis of my sixth form magazine

PRODUCTION: Sixth form magazine contents page

PRODUCTION: Sixth form magazine front cover

THIS IS MY FINISHED FRONT COVER AND CONTENTS PAGE FOR MY SIXTH FORM MAGAZINE:

PLANNING: Flatplan

RESEARCH: Adobe package

I will use photoshop when editing my photos for my sixth form magazine.This is because photoshop will enable me to retouch photos and also to resize them to ensure they are the right fit. Subsequently, this will make my photographs look slightly more professional and  more visually appealing for the reader.

I will be using InDesign to produce my magazine because it boasts all of the features that would be useful when creating my sixth form magazine. For example, InDesign will allow me to set-up master page templates so page designs will be the same throughout the entire magazine which is good as this will demonstrate consistency.  Further to this, pages are automatically numbered and and can be re-ordered or swapped easily. InDesign is good when producing anything with large amounts of texts so it will be suitable when making my magazine because there will be several articles inside that require a lot of text. InDesign works with Adobe Digital Publishing Solution, so I would also be able to create an interactive magazine.

RESEARCH: 3rd Sixth Form magazine textual analysis

• The front cover of this magazine features a model in a mid shot and also happens to be the central image. The expression on her face clearly shows she is happy and is enjoying herself. This is good because it instantly creates a happy vibe. Furthermore, she looks fairly relaxed which suggests to the reader that the students at this sixth form are content.

• The masthead is in a sleek and delicate font. This implies that the sixth form is sophisticated due to the simplicity of the headline. The colour white connotes to purity but also it helps the headline stand out from the grey background. The strapline is also in white, this presents a house style and also shows helps to create a modern typography.

• The name of the magazine itself 'ONE' is quite declarative due to the fact the sixth form is attempting to make a statement that they are the best. It could also be argued that the name of the magazine entices the reader in because they want to see what the sixth form has to say about itself.

• On the front cover, there is a feature article which happens to be the only article on the front cover. This tells the reader that this is the lead story and persuades them to read this particular article. 

• The coverline is in white bold font which attracts the reader and also because it is directly in the middle of the page it demonstrates importance. However, this magazine does not follow the typical conventions of a usual magazine because most coverlines are placed along the sides and there are usually more than one.

• Another way this magazine does not follow the conventions of a magazine is that there are no pugs. It can be seen that the right and left hand corners of this magazine are left plain. Despite this, the ways this magazine does follow the typical codes/conventions of a magazine is that the masthead is at the top of the page and there is a subtitle underneath. 

• The target audience for this magazine is probably younger people with a certain level of intelligence, for example students. These are probably their primary audience, I know this because the photograph is of a young girl and the layout of the magazine looks sophisticated and aimed at older students. Their secondary audience may be parents or carers of these students therefore they must attract the older generation which they do because of the colour palette and the simplistic cover.

• This is the contents page of the magazine. The layout of the page is visually exciting, the text and photographs have been placed diagonally which makes for an interesting composition. Consequently, this engages the reader and will more than likely lure them in to continue reading. 

• The photographs used are all of a similar shape and there is not one that stands out on the page. This could be seen as boring however it does create a neat and contemporary contents page. 

• The font used is still sleek, again expressing a house style and brand identity. Although the font for the subtitles 'WELCOME' and 'CONTENTS' are not in a particularly bold font they are still larger than the text underneath them so it is easy for the reader to identify them was titles.

• The chosen colour palette for this page are quite pale colours, consisting of white, green and black. They complement each other well and present a sophisticated arrangement. The green/blue colour symbolises peacefulness and a sense of relaxation, this could lead the reader to think the sixth form has a pleasant atmosphere and is a calm place.

• The reader is able to see what topics are included in the magazine and what pages they are on.This is good because it means they can find what they are looking for easily. 

• The contents page does not adhere to some of the conventions of a typical magazine. For example there is no link to any website or social media page. A lot of magazines have this because it shows they are being interactive with the reader and the reader feels as if they are included in what is being said. Moreover, the fact the text is slanted makes this magazine different to many others whose text would just be in a straight format but this does create an edgy look.

• Regarding the magazine's target audience, the contents page definitely provides a clean and precise layout making it visually pleasing. Students and adults will want to read this as it shows a lot of work has been out into creating this magazine.