Masthead Designs

I asked my target audience what I should name my music magazine.

These were the options;

 

M

ChartOne

Musica

Beat

 

Overall, around 60% of my target audience who had answered chose Beat.

Next, I asked my target audience to choose one of the following fonts.

                            (Stardos Stencil)

 

                (Chickweed Titling)

 

                                        (Typo Slab Inline Demo)

                 (PLAYSIR)


My target audience chose the font CHICKWEED TITLNG.


 

Photo Analysis: Ed Sheeran.

 

 

What is in the centre of the image?

Ed Sheeran is in the centre of the image.

 

What is on the periphery?

There is just a plain grey backdrop.

 

Has the photo been staged?

I don't think this photo had been staged as he is being captured singing although he might have been told to do so.

 

What do you think happened directly before the image was taken?

I think Ed would have been told to play one of his songs so they could get an action shot.

 

What do you think happened directly after?

I think after this photo was taken, Ed would have carried on singing so they could a variety of action shots and also adjusted lighting to get different effects.

 

Is the entire photo equally in or out of focus?

The photo looks as though it is equally in focus which makes the image look clear.

 

Is the lighting bright, dim or shadowy?

The lighting is bright on the right side on the image which makes the left side look shadowy. There must only be one light to the right to create this effect.

 

Is there any obvious cropping? What do you think was left out?

I would say this photo has been cropped just by the absence of the ends of the guitar. This image would have been cropped to get rid of excess background.

 

What age, gender or ethnicity do the model(s) appear to be?

The model seems to be in his early 20's and the only ethnicity that is able to identify is that he his white. You cant identify whether he is British, American, etc by the image.

 

What can you tell about them from their dress or situation?

This image is very casual and relaxed. He is wearing jeans and a t-shirt and his hair hasn't been styled which is very casual. He also isn't doing a serious pose like most models do, he is singing an playing his guitar.

 

Are they looking directly into the camera inviting empathy, or away, signifying distance?

He is looking away from the camera with his eyes closed which suggests concentration and passion when playing the guitar.

 

Is this photo taken at a high angle or a low angle?

Neither, the camera isn't at an angle and is taking the image directly opposite Ed.

 

What is their posture? Does their posture hint at other activities, feelings or situations that are not otherwise obvious in the photo?
His posture it quite relaxed as he isn't doing a pose. This suggests that he has a relaxed personality and is most confident when playing his guitar.

Under what circumstances did the photographer decide to take the picture? Think about weather, time, etc...
This image seems to be taken in a studio so I cannot describe what circumstances the image was taken in.

How 'real' is the setting? Does it look like an actual place or something imaginary?
It looks as though they have used a green screen for the background and changed the colour to grey. So it does look real as no scenery has been used.

Why do you think this photo was taken? What is its purpose?
This image would have been taken for promotional purposes for the singer.

Where could you see this picture appearing?
I could see this picture being used as a poster in a music magazine. It could also be used as merchandise for the artist.

 

 



Photo Analysis: Selena Gomez

 

 

What is in the centre of the image?

In the centre of the image is the singer/actress Selena Gomez.

 

What is on the periphery?

A pool is shown behind the model but there isn't much being shown as the model takes up most of the composition.

 

Has the photo been staged?

I think this photo has been staged as she the photographer would have told the model to slowly move her hair back.

 

What do you think happened directly before the image was taken?

I think the lights and positioning of the camera would have been tweaked to reach its full potential. The photographer would have also instructed the model on what to do.

 

What do you think happened directly after?

I think that after this photo was taken, the photographer would have took a couple more but with slightly different lighting or camera angles. And then they would have tried a different pose for the model so they had a variety of images to choose from.

 

Is the entire photo equally in or out of focus?

The photo is in focus on the model but don't think it is to its full potential. For me, it seems like the model seems slightly blurry but that does add to the water effect.

 

Is the lighting bright, dim or shadowy?

The lighting is really bright in the image but shadows are used on the models face and her arms. The shadows on her arms also enhance the reflection from the pool water which adds a glowing effect.

 

Is there any obvious cropping? What do you think was left out?  

I would say this image is cropped just because of the small absence of her elbow.

 

What age, gender or ethnicity do the model(s) appear to be?

The female model seems to be in her early 20s and the only ethnicity able to identify is white.

 

What can you tell about them from their dress or situation?

She seems sexually provocative in this image as she is looking serious and is wearing a swimsuit.

 

Are they looking directly into the camera, inviting empathy or away, signifying distance?

The model is looking directly into the camera which will draw in an audience.

 

Is this photo taken at a high angle or at a low angle?

The angle of the camera is not at a high or low angle. the camera seems to be directly opposite the model.

 

What is their posture? Does the posture hint at other activities, feelings or situations that are not otherwise obvious in the photo?

The models posture is very strong and straight so it makes her look confident towards the audience.

 

Under what circumstances did the photographer decide to take the picture? Think about weather, time etc...
It looks as though this photo was taken in the summer as it looks sunny which gives the imaged a bright effect.

 

How 'real' is the setting? Does it look like an actual place or something imaginary?
The setting is real as the model is in a real pool and the background isn't produced by a green screen.

 

Why do you think this photo was taken? What is its purpose?
I think this image was taken for promotional purposes for the singer/actress.

 

Where could you see this picture appearing?

 I could see this image in a music magazine promoting Selenas new album or even as a front cover of a magazine she is featured in so it appeals to the target audience and her fan base will buy the magazine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Billboard Magazine Analysis.

 

 

I have decided to do some more magazine analysis. I have looked at Billboard magazine as it is aimed more towards my target audience and has more of a pop music genre feel.

Slight Change of Plan

The further I have gone into researching music magazines, I found that most of the magazines I had came across were rock/alternative genres. I carried on developing my research around rock magazines like NME and Q.

However, the more I looked into the magazines the less confident I felt producing a rock music magazine.

I started looking into more pop magazines like Top if the Pops and Billboard. I become more interested in these so I have decided to produce a pop music magazine inspired by Billboard.

In my next few posts I am going to analyse pop magazines so I can show the difference in layout and themes.

 

Flat Plan: Double Page Feature

Flat Plan: Contents

Flat Plan: Front Cover

Magazine Pitch

Reader Profile: My Magazine