Final Contents Page

This is my final contents page. I am very proud of it and I didn't think that I could make a contents page that was even close to as professional as I wanted. I have used bright primary colours (mostly red) to make the page look attractive and draw in the target audience. In my research I noticed that teenage girls of the social group that I am targeting are not the stereotypical girls that love the colour pink and all things girly; therefore I did not use much pink and colours that have been stereotyped as 'girls colours'. The font that I have used to show that this is the contents page is bold and plain, this shows the reader that this page is where they can get all the information they need about what is inside the magazine. The other fonts are quite plain, yet also elegant as they had to target girls specifically. Finally, I used a range of images of girls of the target audience as this will make the reader feel that the magazine is personally targeted towards them.

Mock-up Contents Page

22nd January 2016

A lot has happened in the last two weeks, I have shown my final front cover and received a little bit of feedback from it. I have also found that there are actually many challenges facing the magazine industry which has been interesting to research as it gave me an insight into the real-life media world.

Contents Page Inspiration

These are two perfect examples of how I want my contents page to look. They both have the same colour scheme of red to strike the reader and the layout of the contents page is how I would like mine to be. Many of the images shown are well-known people which makes the reader wonder what their article is about.

contents page analysis

What Are The Challenges Facing the Magazine Industry?

Final Front Cover Feedback

The feedback from my magazine cover is very supportive however it does highlight that a few changes can be made to the magazine to increase the amount of people that feel this is a magazine they can connect to and would potentially buy. In addition to this, it depicts that an area that may be changed could be the price as Rianna said 'some competitors have lower prices'. We may accept this and keep the same price however, I will carefully consider the prices of our competitors and see what adjustments can be made.



Finished Magazine Cover

My finished magazine cover is bright and colourful. I chose the red in one of the letters of the masthead as it is a primary colour so it is eye-catching and some people would associate the colour with love and passion; I want the target audience to believe that we are passionate about dance music. I also incorporated some pink on the front cover as this makes the front cover more girly and targets teenage girls. I have represented a stereotypical teenage girl using this front cover; the stereotype being that teenage girls like the colour pink and everything girly.  The main image is of a cover model who is in a relaxed pose wearing bright colours to represent summer and festivals. This will make the reader feel connected to the magazine which will persuade them to reach for this one over other magazines. The main image is anchored by a bold text which is exciting for the reader making them want to know more about the models first time at a festival.

8th January 2016

Since my last blog post I have been looking at other front covers that have inspired me to set out my front cover in the way that I will. I have done extensive planning and research into the industry of magazines whilst also planning my photo-shoot for the real thing. It may take me a while to get the perfect shot for the front cover but I am sure I will get it! It has been hard to know what will look professional on my front cover so I am going to do some more research into the conventions of a magazine to ensure that I have nailed the art of conventions to make the best front cover that I can.

Contact sheets

These are some contact sheets for the pictures I have taken for my magazine. The ones on he left will be better for the magazine as they are portrait so will fit the shape of the page better. However I think the lighting was good and I chose them to do poses that are suitable for my genre of magazine. If I were to do the photo-shoot again I would have more photos portrait rather than landscape. I chose to do photos in this way because their facial expressions are fun and happy which is what I want to show to the readers about my magazine. 

Planning my photoshoot

For my photo-shoot I am going to take with me my canon camera with fully charged battery's so that I can ensure the battery does not die during the photo-shoot. Furthermore, I need to bring makeup with me for the model. The photo-shoot will happen in the evening using studio lights to make the picture quality better quality; it will happen inside as this eliminates the problems of if it starts raining. We will have use of a white background which will be made by pulling down a projector screen behind the model; this makes it easier when editing the photo as there is a clear background.

As I am doing a photo-shoot including DJ's I will need to use props that are relatable to the festival scene. For my main cover image I will use a girl of the age 16 to pose as a DJ with headphones on looking down at the decks. The reason I am doing this is because she is the age of the target audience so the readers will feel they can relate to the cover model. I will also need a boy for my contents page; it will be a close-up image of him looking sideways on with his mouth open; I will then use editing to put the picture in black and white with the words of the contents page falling out of his mouth. To do this I will not need any props as it is a simple photo. Studio lighting and a tripod will help to increase the quality of the photo so these are some props that I need. Clothing for the models will be essential as this shows a bit about the model. This is why I will be using ripped jeans and T-shirts as this is the normal thing for DJ's to wear.

The cover image will be of a girl who is wearing a t-shirt with bright colours with headphones on around her neck or on one ear to emphasise her role and show the reader what the main story of the magazine is about. There will be a white background so that it is easier to edit. The image will be a mid-shot as this is the most suitable type of camera shot to use for the cover image. I have ensured that the cover model will be available at the time of the photo-shoot to stop any problems arising.

The contents page will be of a boy of around 15-17 who will be side on with his mouth open. In addition to this, the image will be quite a dark and grungy but will show the contrast as I will be editing it to be in black and white. This will be appealing to the target audience as it is eye-catching and different as no other magazine contents pages are set out.

finally, the double page spread will be of the cover model as this links to the main article in the magazine. The double page spread will be about a DJ's first set and how they became a DJ. The image will be a strong image of a girl with headphones around her neck sitting on a chair in a fairly manly way to show that she is strong and powerful, which will be admiral for the readers. The makeup will be heavily made up with a curly hairstyle. it will be in a house background but with a plain wall and plain floor so she is the main image. The lighting will be strong and this image will be the most eye-catching one in the whole magazine as this is the main article. After editing the writing will be around the image emphasising that this is the main focus.