Images

These are some images that are a basic idea on what i am wanting to take when doing my real photos.

Logo

Here is my logo for my magazine

I have given a basic idea with colours but it depends on the background i use and other colours around it. But this is the logo and layout style which i will also use as a my masthead. 

Models for my magazine

These are my models that I am using for my magazine.

 Grant (percussion) and Hannah (clarinet)

 Glen (saxophone)

 Sarah (singer/pianist)

Studio for models

I am taking the photos in the JCG hall against the black wall and wooden floor to reflect the basic but smart style of my magazine (add pictures)

Classical Magazines

these are classical magazines i have looked at.

All Things Strings

Andante

BBC Music Magazine

Classical Singer

Classical Source

Cultrekiosque - Klassiknet

FanFaire 

Gramophone

La Folia

La Scena Musicale

Music and Vision

Music Teacher

Musical Opinion

Muso

More Covers

 

I did some more research on classical covers for layout and found that 'Strings' magazine does a version for the younger musicians giving them tips on how to play and choosing the right instrument for them.

As I am using 4 young teenagers for my magazine I thought this would be appropriate to look at to see what type of information they include and what they write about. 

My magazine, I think will be aimed to the younger age group for this particular issue and say there is some event happening which is why this is a special issue for example 'young musician of the year'. 

The layout for the front cover is still plain and basic but more appealing to younger people with more attractive colours and how the model appears.

However this magazine is only for string players but mine is for all instruments.

Planning - Fonts

The fonts on a magazine are very important. You have to consider where about the magazine will be read, at a cafe, restaurant, in the mail?

This will influence how much text you use and how detailed it is.

Costs need to be considered so a very large title and lots of writing would cost so much money and would be too busy.

The style of font is important to reflect the type of magazine you are producing e.g. a classical magazine would work better with italic font.

Planning - Layout

For magazines to be readable to to attract an audience the words that go on the front have to be interesting and catching. 

Depending on the magazine depends on what you say on the front e.g. a gossip magazine will want juicy quotes that make you want to find out what its all about.

If doing an interview it has to be easy to read on the eye. The questions should be ones that the readers may ask and ones that get into the persons life so the reader feels closer to the person and understanding out of what they read.

This is the kind of style I am thinking about but instead f one big picture a collage of smaller pictures, some of natural action shots and others of my models posing.

JCG magazine - contents page

This is the contents page for my school magazine. It follows the same fonts as my front cover and similar background colours. 

I found a contents online that I liked and used it to structure my contents. 

The pictures I used were a range of different activities showing the range that JCG offers. I went round JCG to lots of different departments. 

I found it difficult to find a contents page that suited the magazine I was making but I thought this one was good because its a simple layout but shows a lot is happening without it being too busy.

My school magazine - front cover

This is my front cover for my JCG magazine. I decided to keep it quite plain and used a black background to make it stand out and seem quite stylish. The white and red writing is sticking to the school colour theme.
I used the picture because it gave an idea of things happening during school and also was a natural shot.
The writing on the front is plain and bold with basic story lines that don't take long to read.

I like the picture on my cover and the layout of the magazine name and positioning of the logo however I'm not to happy with the layout of the stories because I couldn't find a layout that worked without it being too much or too little.
The magazine has the logo and school quote which i felt important to be on the front to make it look like a real JCG magazine. I looked at previous JCG magazines to get a good idea of the styles they have used and how the layout is with text.

My practice magazine

This is my practice magazine front cover which allowed me to use photoshop and get used to experimenting with text and layout. This is a rough idea of what i will do but there will be more text with a better style font to match the magazine. 

I will stick with simple. neutral colours as it will be a classical magazine with italic text. The front pictures i'm yet to take but will be simple pictures. 

Contents pages

Here is an example of a contents page for a magazine. There are pictures of what is in the magazine like 'tasters'. The layout is basic and simple and easy to read meaning the pages are easy to get to.

Double page spreads

Here are some examples of double page spreads. 

There are pictures of different sizes giving the article more to look at and also relate the the article. I will include pictures of people playing their instruments because it allows the readers to see what they look like and just to look at something other than loads of words.

Interview Setting

I have decided a couple of places for my interview to take place. 

I will take general photos of them playing in one of the school music rooms for my planning but i will take the final photos in the JCG hall against the black wall and wooden floor to reflect the type of magazine i am producing. 

I will ask them to wear smart concert clothes and have them with music stands playing and also standing with their instrument giving me a range of photos to choose from. 

The interview however will probably happen in the music room because i am less likely to use photos from this and more from them playing. 

General information for my article

The people i am going to use for my magazine article are because they play instruments and know some stuff about music as they have played music for many years.

The people i will use are:

Hannah Grieve - Clarinet

Sarah Watson - Piano and singer

Grant Brown - Percussionist

Glen Brown - Saxophone Player

I will ask them all similar questions but to show who is who will use different coloured writing. I will include pictures of them playing and being interviewed and behind the pictures use borders with their colour writing to make it obvious.

Target Audience

Because i am doing a classical style magazine my target audience will be the higher age group and possibly people who are 'high brow'. 

Because of this i will be using much more formal language and bigger words. I will also carefully chose the type of adverts that i put into the magazine, for example holiday destinations or posh hotels or restaurants. This is something that the age group i am aiming this at will be able to relate to instead of adverts for hair gel or rock concerts that are happening. 

Here is an example of a magazine advert i could use

Questionnaire

I have written a questionnaire asking genearl questions on magazines which i will give out to find out a general idea on peoples different views on magazines to see the type of audience i am aiming towards and also the type of content is appealing.

Elements making up a magazine

To make my magazine look realistic i need to use elements such as a barcode and a price.

Depending on the type of magazine depends on the price and layout of the barcode.


Above the barcode i will include the date and a price which will probably be around £1-2.00


If i followed my idea of making a classical style magazine, my audience would be for the older age group meaning i would have to make the language formal and the design of the magazine basic but stylish using italic titles and softer colours for the headers.

Ideas for Magazine

I still haven't had a reply from any magazine but I think I might make my magazine fit a classical style. This is because I know people I can use with their instruments for photos and also can use them for an interview for my 2 page writing section. Topics I would probably use would be...

-How music plays a part in your life?
-How you knew you wanted to play this particular instrument?
-Do you think you will have a future involving music?
-Was this the original instrument you wanted to play?
-What's your favorite genre of music and why?
-What affect does music give to you?
-Do you have a musical family, if so what do they play?

-What musical events have you or still are part of?

Magazine Front Covers

I'm going to research different magazine front covers with different genres to see the differences with each style.

With the rock magazines they tend to have bold and bright titles with busy pictures.


The Classic fm magazine has a softer appearance with brighter photos and less detail on the front. The font is italic relating the style.

Most magazines had interviews to read but the style of questions are very different with each magazine. Rock magazines ask questions that could involve 'gigs' etc whereas a classical magazine will ask about concerts or orchestras.
I am in an orchestra which is why doing a classical magazine would be so much easier as i have experienced it.

Magazines can often offer promotions or competitions which can go towards selling the magazine. The classic magazines can offer CD's or concert tickets whereas rock magazines can offer winning signed instruments and sometimes tickets to the latest concerts.

Because I'm doing a classic magazine I will probably do a competition to win tickets to a concert as part of the front cover.

Tuesday's Lesson

Today I have emailed Rock Sound magazine, dazed an digital and also Clash Magazine asking about their sale numbers.
I also emailed a classical magazine called Classic FM as a contrast to see how different music magazines genres sell.
Whilst I wait for a reply I will begin looking at different magazine covers for music magazines.

Letter/email to the magazine companies

Here is a rough email that I will send to chosen magazines for sale numbers as part of my research.

' ' Magazine,

I am doing a project on your magazine for my AS coursework and I would very much appreciate it if you could tell me your sale figures in the UK for this year and last year.

Thank You

Research

I've decided I want to do a magazine but am still waiting to find out what topics I can base it on.
I have a check list to do for producing the magazine and stages.
I have now looked up some statistics on magazie sales to get a rough idea and also to include in my magazine.
I can't find any yet because I dont know what type of magazine i'm going to do so dont know which topic to look up however when looking up music magazines I found that Q magazine had a circulation of 130,179 and NME had a circulation of 56,284. To fing out their general sales in the UK I will email the magazine companies for the numbers.

What to choose

I can't decide if I will do the magazine or the film...If the theme of the magazine can be changed then I will most probably do that. I have watched the openings of a few films such as pirates of the carribean, seven, crash and the kingdom.
For the magazine I have looked at different music magazine layouts such as rythem, mixing and Hi-Fi choice to see how they go about pictures and stories.