Preliminary Photos

Three photos that could potentially be used ior the cover of my school magazine.

Analysing Block Titles

• The target audience for Kerrang! are 15 – 24 year old males, although it falls under the category of 15 – 44 year olds. Their block title aims at this audience by the use of structure, colour, context and denotations.
• The actual word Kerrang! is the onomatopoeic sound for a violent guitar string strum that implies the genre of the magazine; rock music.
• This is emphasized further by the shattered glass effect within the word that shows how violent the strum was, as it caused glass to break. This gives a sense of distortion and aggression.
• The font is capitalized and ends in an exclamation mark to attract the younger audience by its boldness. The rebellious feature of the coloured in ‘A’ is an anarchical way of going against the conventions of the alphabet; a symbol of their rebellious target audience.
• The black colour also reveals the genre and target audience of Kerrang! to be rock-engaged, stereotyped ‘emos’. This is heightened by the rough edges that could symbolise an audience that have rough lives.

• The target audience for NME are similar to that of Kerrang! – 15 – 24 year old males; their block title aims at this audience by the use of structure, colour, context and the denotations.
• NME stands for ‘New Musical Express’ which clearly denotes the aim of their magazine; to reveal new artists and genres to the world; a journey of discovery.
• NME sounds like ‘enemy’ which reflects a rebellious newspaper; even though now it is more glossy than it used to be.
• The colours are black, red and white that contrast greatly from one another – this symbolises the contrast of all the ‘new’ music the magazine covers. The colours are bold and attract the youth who ant to differ from the older generation and thus have new music, new style etc.
• The letters are capitalized; again to attract the appropriate target audience by its boldness. It is emphasized by a perfectly straight outline to express power, accuracy and stability; emphasized by the pointy ‘M’ centre. This could give the magazine a ‘cutting edge’ to attract the younger generation.
• The ‘heat magazine’ of the music world.
  

• The target audience for ‘MOJO’ are24 – 44 year old males. It falls into the same 15 – 44 year old category as the previous two, however this magazine appeals more to the older part of this target audience. The style, colours and context appeal to this audience.
• MOJO is often used to mean sex appeal, but in this case for a music magazine it means ‘talent’. It is associated with the 70’s, so the 24 – 44 year olds so those that favour this time period would enjoy this magazine. This shows that the genre of their magazine is very broad, concerned only with the best of the music world.
• The black and white theme symbolises the formality of the magazine, aiming at the older of the 15 – 44 year olds. Black and white are concrete colours that have always been in fashion, always used in everything and reflect upon power.
• The writing is simplistic and would not appeal to the ‘hip’ young generation. The font also has a shadow effect to reflect a night life or perhaps a reminiscing-the-old-days effect. Either way, it appeals to the target audience.
• MOJO is an old magazine, sticking to the conventions of the 70’s, which again heightens the word mojo itself having originated from that time period. This demonstrates the target audience to be older themselves.

• The target audience of ‘Q’ are 24 – 44 year old men. It aims at them by the use of colour and style of the block title.
• Much of the magazine is devoted to interviews with popular music artists and are well known for compiling lists; the letter ’Q’ reminds me of queues which reflect lists – a small denotation of the title in relation to the role of the magazine.
• The colours of red and white symbolise power, perhaps a sexual appeal. The red symbolises an alertness, an important warning, which is soothed by the peaceful white ‘Q’.
• It is aimed at the British audience so the colours that reflect their flag -white and red would be appealing to the British citizen.
• The fact that it is a one letter magazine shows the power and prominence of the newsstands.
• The letter ‘Q’ is not perfectly straight, it is slightly tilting to the left; this is visible by the red centre circle. This shows the ‘quirky’ side to the magazine, that is is not what expected. As well as covering the classic rock, it covers the left-field acts, hence the tilt to the left.
• The small shadow is used to show that it is following ’Q’ magazine, just like the target audience are as it is a top-notch magazine.

Analysing Magazine Covers

‘Q’ is a music magazine targeted at 24 – 44 year old British men as much of the magazine is devoted to interviews with popular music artists and serious, in-depth stories. This age group would have interests in a broad serious genre of music, ranging from the White Stripes to 50 Cent and reading deeper articles. We can tell that these interests are met by the magazine because of the puffs that promote articles on a wide range of acts such as Midlake and John Lennon; this tells us that the magazine aims at people that do not concentrate on just one type of music. The puff that that states ‘The 10 Best New Acts’ explains that this first issue of 2010 will predict and promote successes in the following year; it also works as a buzz word as it makes the magazine sound more exciting. This is an effective way to get people to buy the magazine – regular consumers will be attracted to this feature as it consists of new music from a wide range, and new customers who are interested in the upcoming music would also purchase the magazine.

The main article in the magazine is about Cheryl Cole which is advertised by the anchorage text “3 words... Cheryl Cole, Rocks”; this does not reveal a lot about the story but engages the reader as we are interested in this different representation of Cheryl Cole as she is detached from her zone as a Girls Aloud pop star and portrayed as a rockstar. This satirical use of ‘3 words’ which is the name of her new album is a tabloid way of attracting customers. By creating a ‘rock’ image for Cheryl, this appeals to the target audience who are not particularly interested in her regular pop music. There is a direct mode of address as the magazine wants to create a strong direct relationship between it and its readers. This should typically encourage the consumer to purchase the magazine. Cheryl Cole is on the front cover as she has recently released her solo debut album and as a rising star she would be of interest to readers. Considering that the target audience for ‘Q’ is 24 – 44 year old men, it is evident that Cheryl Cole would have sex appeal and entice readers; she was voted number 1 sexiest woman of 2009 in FHM. It is rather unusual to have someone on the cover who is not under the range of ‘serious’ music, but this is justified because she is a star icon at the top of the music world.

The overall message presented by this central image is her sex appeal. This is heightened by her separation from her regular pop image to meet the interests of the target audience. The image reflects the film “Sin City” which is an intertextual reference that the readers would be aware of; this is to make sure that the readers do not feel estranged or alienated. Her her dark, rough make-up and wet hair create a ‘horror’ effect. Combined with the anchorage text it makes it seem like a scary movie advert; again playing on this idea of “Sin City”. The pointy blade ring emphasizes the overall message of her sex appeal as she is licking the tip in a sexual seductive way. Her red lips make her seem like a vixen, which stands out and sexually attracts men to the magazine. To the female readers of the magazine, this could represent feminine power.

This image represents a few stereotypical groups. As mentioned before, is could symbolise the power and rise of females. It could also be used to show that rock images are stronger than the image of pop, as a pop star was transformed into a momentary “rockstar”. The magazine represents this by the vixen colours, direct mode of address and appealing “Sin City” reference.

The title block reveals the target audience and emphasizes the message of the cover; the colours of red and white symbolise power, perhaps a sexual appeal; both features that the central image tries to convey. The red symbolises an alertness, an important warning, which is soothed by the peaceful white ‘Q’. It is aimed at the British audience so the colours that reflect their flag -white and red would be appealing to the British citizen. The fact that it is a one letter magazine shows the power and prominence of the newsstands. The letter ‘Q’ is not perfectly straight, it is slightly tilting to the left; this is visible by the red centre circle. This shows the ‘quirky’ side to the magazine, that is is not what expected. As well as covering the classic rock, it covers the left-field acts, hence the tilt to the left. This fits in perfectly with the image of Cheryl Cole; she is portrayed as edgy and is not what is expected.

There is a slogan-type coverline at the top that claims that ‘Q’ is “The UK’S Biggest Music Magazine”. This helps to attract new readers by basically saying that ‘Q’ is the magazine they should be reading. It also maintains old regular consumers by saying that ‘Q’ is still the best magazine and they should carry on reading it. It tells us that the magazine is prominent on the newsstands and has the ability to dominate the music magazine market.

The colours used for this cover are black, red and white. These are very powerful, dominant and sexual colours that also appeal to the target audience. The red highlights the sex appeal of Cheryl Cole and the black demonstrates her authority. These colours are the primary colours used in horror movies, especially the typical ones like “Scary Movie” and ergo heightens the “Sin City” appeal. This creates an edgy, dark and rather scary atmosphere that makes us idolise Cheryl as she looks so confident and powerful in such a mood.

The fonts used on the anchorage remind me of the fonts used on horror film posters; the framing and positioning of the text is also similar to this, again an intertextual reference to the film. The fonts used are simple and bold that attract the audience and make it easy to read and quickly spottable on the shelves.
‘Q’ magazine does not aim at its audience through ‘freebies’ or posters; it targets them by the exclusive stories and special features that are promoted by the buzz words such as the John Lennon feature and the Best New Acts, etc. Through the use of all the mise-en-scene and denotations, this magazine successfully attracts consumers.

NME, first published in 1952, stands for ‘New Musical Express’ which clearly denotes the aim of their magazine; to reveal new artists and genres to the world; a journey of discovery. The target audience for this ‘heat magazine’ of the world are 15 – 24 year old males. Their block title aims at this audience by the vibrant colours and simple font. NME sounds like ‘enemy’ which reflects a rebellious newspaper and interests their target audience; even though now it is more glossy than it used to be. NME targets two audiences of diverse interest; it established new genres to its readers and it aims at regular readers by its close association with punk/rock music and has adapted such a reputation. Therefore readers with interests in punk/rock and readers with interests in new music would buy this magazine, creating double the profit for the magazine. The puffs scattered all over the magazine establish this “punk” association as the music it talks about is classified as rock/punk or somewhat indie; e.g. Vampire Weekend, My Chemical Romance, etc. This is also an effective way to attract potential buyers.

The main article in the magazine is about a member of the punk band My Chemical Romance which is explained by the anchorage text “MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, on their punk comeback album”; this anchorage text also mentions the interests of the target audience – PUNK; this would not estrange the regular readers from what they are accustomed. However, NME will also attract customers that have an interest in a broad genre of music as this is a ‘comeback’ of My Chemical Romance and would possibly strive to be popular in the upcoming year. There is a direct mode of address between the reader and the man on the cover as the magazine wants to create a strong relationship between itself and the reader to encourage them to purchase this magazine. However it is evident that this contact is an unfriendly one; perhaps to show his uneasiness with the world or detachment from society; possibly even a malcontent of the music world? He is on the cover because his band are going tor release a ‘comeback album’ that rock fans have been anticipating. The framing of the shot is a long-shot that shows his entire body; this is to show that perhaps he was in motion when the picture was taken to echo the chaos of the music and to emphasize his body language. His left-faced body position could symbolise the left-faced music acts, not just punk and rock; again to subtly entice both punk lovers and new-genre fanatics. His edgy haircut and dark make-up could reflect his character; it makes him appear like a Vampire. This is strengthened by his facial expression and studio lighting. His facial expression is a solemn, mysterious and edgy one that although communicates with the reader, it is still a distant one; like he doesn’t want to let the readers access his personality, which ironically he reveals in the articles. The shadow caused by his hair combined with the dark lighting of the studio shows that there is a hidden part to him that could be released in the new album – this again heightens the aim of the magazine ‘NME’ to revel a new music genres to the world, yet still please the punk/rock audiences. This creates an overall message that his edgy persona will be revealed in the new album and that there’s more to him than just punk. His outfit also hints at the idea of vampires; this costume looks like a common uniform for a time period back in the 1800’s, yet it has been made “cooler” and more fashionable. The colour theme of this cover is black, red and white. These are very dominant and powerful colours that would appeal to the male target audience; they also fit in with the consistent colours of the title block to compose the magazine cover and glue all the factions together using the same colour theme. These colours are often stereotypically associated with rock/punk magazines, as it reflects the personalities of the “emo, rocker, scene” kids .

There are slogan-type cover lines at the top and bottom of the magazine, both of which promote artists featured in the magazine. It is interesting how both cover-lines contain a buzz word each, i.e. “NEW” and “PLUS”; this attracts readers as it makes it seem like there is something in this issue that is exclusive and not found in others, e.g. NME was the first British magazine to include a singles chart, so they could potentially continue to surprise their audiences with new ’inventions’. The fact that the artists featured in these cover-lines are in fact not classified as punk, such as Kid Cudi, allows the magazine to function as the “New Musical Express” that it is by featuring new genres of music.

NME magazine does not aim at its audience through ‘freebies’ or posters; it targets them by the exclusive stories, special features, compiled lists, etc. Through the use of all the mise-en-scene and denotations, this magazine successfully attracts consumers.

Magazine Covers

The editor's main concern is the magazine cover. The cover attracts consumers and tells us all about the magazine. It is the face of the magazine and establishes a brand image; regular readers will be aware of the conventions and a consistant magazine will be easy to spot on the shelf.

On a Kerrang! cover, the "main sells" are exclusive 'freebies' such as posters, free stickets, calenders, etc. The editor of Kerrang covers all aspects of music on the cover to appeal to all of its readers; even though it is a rock magazine, it often features subgenres such as punk and indie music. As the target audience is teenagers, special-edition promotion magazines are often published to attract new consumers and engage the old ones; e.g. collect 5 issues, each one with a different member of the group My Chemical Romance on it.

A cover-mounted CD makes the magazine more desireble and can boost sales of 40.000 purchases; magazines then try to maintain those extra 40,000 consumers by enticing them with less-expensive freebies. Mixmag magazine always features a CD in each issue which raises the costs of production and thus raises the price of the magazine, it is very time-consuming to produce a desireble CD and eventually, people will begin to expect the free CD's.

The two most important areas on a magazine cover are the lofo and the 'sweet spot'. The logo is necessary for recognition, a well-established magazine can then progress on having images cover the logo as people will still identify the magazine. A 'sweet spot' is the place where the reader's attention is drawn to first, to tempt the reader into buying the magazine. Magazines try to reassure you with their front cover yet still attempt to do something different.

Magazine Publishers

Task 1 - Researching Publishers

1. IPC MEDIA - http://www.ipcmedia.com/

IPC Media is split into five distinct publishing divisions that manage different parts ot IPC, they are; IPC Connect, Inspire, Ignite, Southbank and TX. Between them they publish 80 magazines as well as contribute to the production of other forms of media. IPC publishes both niche and mainstream magazines as this is a large company and covers all sorts of magazines. This publishing company claims that 26 million UK adults read an IPC magazine, that's over 44%. It works with magazines on TV listings, music and film, lifestyles, health, country, men's interests, etc. Examples of these magazines are:

- The railway magazine, NME, Country house, The field, Caravan, Classic boat

Evidently, many of the magazines IPC publish focus on the country side, health and lifestyle. This shows that the target audience would be the middle-aged and the older generation who are interested in a "healthy living". This also would make IPC a niche publisher, as it focuses primarily on one aspect. IPC only covers one other form of media, websites:

- http://www.housetohome.co.uk,/
- http://www.countrylife.co.uk/,
- http://www.nme.com/,
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2. BAUER - http://www.bauermedia.co.uk/

Bauer has established itself as the largest consumer magazine publishing company in the UK, working with over 282 magazines. It publishes magazines on women’s interest, lifestyle, TV listings, puzzles, music and film, men’s lifestyles, etc, they cover magazines for all types of different demographics. This variation of publications makes it a mainstream company; however there are a few examples within the company of niche. Some examples of the magazines they produce are:

- Kerrang, FHM, Mojo, Q, Empire, Heat, Take a break, Grazia, Closer, Zoo

In terms of brand image, I think that Bauer have a music-based image, because their music magazines are the most popular, however they work with many "womens" market leading magazines too. This publication company has a wide, general audience ranging from middle aged women to music rock fans. Bauer has links between production of magazines and other forms of media such as:

- TV channels; “The Box”, "4music", "Smash Hits"
- Radio stations; “Magic” and “Kiss 100”
- Websites; http://www.heatworld.com/ ______________________________________________________________

3. BBC MAGAZINES - http://www.bbcmagazines.com/

BBC magazines is a niche publisher, focusing on the home, garden and education. The well-established company is a world-recognized publishing organisation that claims to produce "a range of quality publications you can trust". Some of the magazines that BBC publish are:

- Top gear, Wildlife, Gardener's world, Sky at night, Top of the pops

Most of their magazines evolve around nature and the home which highlights a particular audience for BBC publications; the older audience with an interest in a health, lifestyle and sporting. However, there are anomolous magazines that have a completely different audience, e.g. top of the tops is targetted at children. This shows that BBC cover a wide range of magazines but their expertese lies with healthy living and the home. BBC covers many other parts of media, in fact publishing magazines is not even their main concern:

- Radio: "BBC Radio 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.."
- Websites: http://www.bbc.co.uk/, http://news.bbc.co.uk/
- TV; "BBC 1 + 2", "CBBC", "Cbeebies", "BBC News"

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4. DEVELOPMENT HELL - http://www.developmenthell.co.uk/


Development Hell has a brand image of being a a small publishing company in north London that publishes niche magazines. The company only publishes two magazines, both of which are music-based:

- The Word and Mixmag

The company targets consumers that are interested in music. Both magazines have a more specific target audience, such as, The Word aims at people who are interested in older music, so preferably adults or just anyone with an interest in oldies. The only link that Development Hell covers with other media is a matching website alongside both of its magazines:

- http://www.wordmagazine.co.uk/
- http://www.mixmag.net/

Representation of Jennifer Lopez

InStyle is a fashion magazine that features beauty, entertainment and celebrity lifestyles.

Jennifer Lopez is presented as a powerful woman. Her image covers a part of the title which establishes her importance, perhaps even more important than the magazine itself. Her appearence also conveys a sense of power and control; the monochromic dress suggests sophistication and the harshly pulled back hairstyle portrays dominance as this particular hairdo is often assosiated with businesswomen. In complete contrast, her facial expression is a smile which welcomes the reader. This sense of friendliness is also reflected in her standing postion; the fact that she is facing to the left is a much softer pose than if she was facing forwards. However, her hand on her hip reminds us again of her high status, power and dominance.

For this cover, a mid-shot has been used; which is a perfect shot to highlight her outfit yet still notice her facial expression. The white background presents a photo shoot setting to keep the focus on the model. The strong colours of her appearance; black, white and red are the themed colours for this cover. The limited amount of colours adds sophistication and control to the magazine. Also, the magazine is about fashion and therefore the anchorage text for the image is small and cornered as the topic it is not about fashion. Besides, Jennifer Lopez dominates the page and a large anchorage is not neccessary for her to demonstrate her power and importance.
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Cosmopolitan is an international magazine for women that focuses mainly on beauty, sex, relationships, fashion and health.

In this magazine cover, Jennifer Lopez is portrayed as a sexually confident woman. The themed colours of red, yellow and orange clearly represent a fiery and fiesty attitude. These are the colours of her dress and as they symbolise love and passion, it is evident that Jennifer is presented to hold sexual power. The colours also hint at the Spanish flag, to remind us of her culture and the "Latino Heat" she posesses. Her summer floral-like dress, grabs our attention instantly and builds on sex appeal; her cleavage and bare leg show Jennifer in a sexy light. She is lifting up her dress and directly facing the camera, which combined with the colours show us just how sexually confident she is. However it is a relaxed pose, and so together with the bright colours and almost-floral dress, it consequentally reminds us of summer and holidays.

Her facial expression is a natural, relaxed one. Her hair is fanned back, which reveals a wild side to Jennifer, however is also allows the reader to appreciate her subtle make-up. Jennifer's image here also covers the title of the magazine, implying that she is more important and has more power. The anchorage text for Jennifer is small and barely visible, for her image alone is dominating and seductive. However, the other text surrounding her is mainly about sex, and therefore the readers will subconsciously put two and two together and believe that Jennifer Lopez is sexy.
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FHM, 'For Him Magazine', is a magazine for men focusing on areas of their interest such as sports, cars and sexy females.

Here, Jennifer Lopez is portrayed as a sex goddess. Her very exposing outfit of a pale blue bikini is attention grabbing and heightens her sex appeal. The audience of this magazine, men, would find this outfit very appealling. This outfit combined with her body language emphasizes her sexual power. Jennifer is highlighting her curves by having her hand on her hip, this also establishes her sexual authority and dominance. However, Jennifer is kneeling on the floor which is a more passive and less powerful position, which perhaps suggests that she is slightly submissive as well as powerful. Her facial expression here also heightens her sex appeal, as her seductive pout and direct eyes tempt the reader into the magazine. Like in the previous magazines, her image covers the title of the magazine, however here it is only a fraction of the title, implying that she is only slightly more important than the magazine, or perhaps even of equal status.

Jennifer Lopez is presented in a beach setting; the blue backdrop mimics a perfect blue sky, which combined with the sand and soft lighting creates a beach environment. Such an idealistic setting reminds the readers of the romance and sex that could occurr at such a place, which could be a fantasy for men. A long shot has been used here to show the whole body which is attention grabbing and appealling to men who appreciate perfect bodies. The anchorage text is bright red, large and dominative; which could be a reflection of Jennifer's attitude. The actual word "goddess!" states straight away that Jeniffer is a sexy woman. The text next to her head "sex mad" allows the reader to view Jeniffer as a sex symbol instead of a person, which could be seen as degrading rather than faltterring.

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People is an American magazine for men and women, that focuses mainly on stories about celebrities that are of interest to the public.

This magazine shows Jennifer in a totally different light. Instead of her being portrayed as a sexy goddess like usual, she's now an ordinary mother. Her costume is subtle and ordinary, which allows the readers to focus on the babies instead. The brown colouring of her t-shirt as well as her messy hairstyle shows her maturity and sophistication, hinting that perhaps she puts motherhood in front of her career now. This creates an effective connection between her and the other regular mothers reading this magazine. Her body language also heightens her love for her children; she is cradling them in a comfortable position which shows how happy she is doing this. Her facial expression shows Jeniffer smiling and looking geniunely happy. This also shows the friendly side of Jeniffer and it invites the reader to "talk to her" and read the magazine.

For this shot, a casual setting has been created. Jennifer is sitting on a sofa, which is inviting and welcoming. The subtle lighting and gentle colours of nature create a calm atmosphere. The babies are sleeping which emphasizes that sense of peace. A mid-shot has been used for this frame which ensures that the babies are centered; they are the key focus of the magazine and the reason for the story being published. The anchorage text goes into a reasonable amount of detail, nearly all the text around her is talking about her. Also, her image is covering the title of the magazine which shows her importance. All these features of establishing importance hint that to Jennifer, being a mother is now one of the most important things in her life.