Evaluation!

In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

For my media project I was to create a Front Cover, Double Page Spread and Contents Page for a Music Magazine, which I called ‘Down’. My Magazine challenges the codes/forms and conventions of real media products – which I am quite happy about. I didn’t want my magazine to be like every other magazine out there, but then again I don’t want it to be too strikingly different that it wouldn’t make very good sales.

Firstly, with my front cover I conform to the typical codes and conventions of having a masthead, headline and strapline, I have an image, barcode, issue number and price. These are all the basic things that I do need for it to be recognisable as a magazine, hence why I conformed to them.
The main conventions I go against is quite obviously the fact that my masthead goes vertically down the page rather than horizontally across. The only other magazine that I have seen do this is ‘Zero Tolerance’. Like my magazine, ‘Zero Tolerance’ has an incredibly niche market – going against a convention like this makes my magazine more instantly recognisable to my niche audience of Generation Y – so this is why I went against this convention.
The other convention I go against is that I only have one headline and no coverlines. This is because I didn’t want any advertisements to ruin the image or over crowd my front page. As a solution to this, I was inspired by a magazine called ‘Metal Hammer’ to give my magazine packaging for my advertisements to go on. I have made a mock up of this and previously blogged about it in more detail.

Moving onto my contents page, I have conformed to the obvious features of having a headline, an editorial, issue date and number and evidentially a list of contents. Again, I kept these because ‘Down’ needs to be recognisable as a magazine, and the editorial is a nice personal touch to the magazine – also it showcases the kind of language and tone that is featured throughout the magazine.
The conventions I go against on my contents page are more noticeable and much more rare than on my front page – these include my two sections at the bottom ‘Live’ and ‘Down Gets Around’. I included these two features initially because I didn’t know what else to put in the empty space at the bottom of my page – I just put boxes there as a temporary layout – but then I grew to like the idea. By this time I had pictures on my computer of a gig I went that week called ‘BBC Radio 1 Teen Awards’ which I decided I wanted to put in my magazine. I obviously couldn’t use them in my double page spread as it did not relate to the interview, so I decided to make them a feature on my contents page, and one of the boxes in the bottom boxes seemed like the perfect place. I then decided to come up with a feature called ‘Down Gets Around’ which will be a weekly feature of any celebrities that we have spotted (I have again written about this in more detail in a previous blog).

Finally, my double page spread conforms to the typical headline and quotes feature, it’s pretty evident why I chose to go with these – it makes a double page spread more recognisable, lets the reader know what the article is about, and gives a little taster of the interview/article.
The conventions I go against are: no page numbers, lots of pictures apposed to a few large ones and no visible strapline. Although, I do have bold text introducing the article, it’s not that much bigger than the rest of the text which is typical of a double page spread – this is because I would have trouble fitting all my text on if I made it much bigger.
It is not completely rare for a double page spread not to have page numbers, I have seen quite a few magazines where they have not included page numbers on main features – I didn’t include them one, because I didn’t have enough space and two, because I didn’t think it was all that important to include them.
As you have probably noticed, I am a fan of having lots of images. There are many reasons for this – the main reasons are: simply, I liked the photographs and am proud of them, so I wanted to include them, also because personally, I find an article much more appealing if there are lots of eye-catching images and it’s not drowning in text. Although I did want a ‘meaty’ article so to speak that provided the readers with a good story, not meaningless gossip, I didn’t want it to be too heavily text based as personally, that would put me off.

Overall, I decided to go against many conventions because I wanted ‘Down’ to be different, and to be a representative for a different kind of magazine – a personal one that to me is based more solely on satisfying the reader rather than the producers, for example having packaging with lots of freebees, such as posters so that readers don’t have to ruin magazine trying to get posters out (explained in previous blog). After all, who is the magazine for?


How does your media product represent particular social groups?

I decided to make my magazine a representative of Generation Y, promoting the stereotype ‘Sex, Drugs & Rock ‘n’ Roll’. The people who fit this stereotype are typically rebellious, ‘dangerous’, bad, horny, chilled out rockers. Upon researching Generation Y, I came across an article ‘Generation Y: Love Them or Lose Them’ which quotes “Its members, born between 1982 and 1994, are known for their sense of entitlement, outspokenness, inability to take criticism, and technological sophistication.” Generation Y is basically made up of rebellious teenagers/ young adults wanting to be controversial and stand out against society.

My magazine represents this in many ways; firstly my front cover image is a photograph which I took myself of a man smoking – he is looking quite rebellious which is therefore backing up my criteria for Generation Y. To me he gives off the vibe ‘I don’t care what anyone thinks of me’ which is just the image I want to portray, it also links to the quote above that states the members of Generation Y like to have their own entitlement and be outspoken – they don’t care what anybody else thinks.
Secondly, the make-up my front man is wearing is very controversial – you don’t generally see a man walking around with this make-up on. It is therefore adding to the statement that the people in this social group really don’t care about what anyone else thinks, they just want to be themselves, and stand out.
The black eye make-up could also add to the ‘danger/bad’ aspect, as black eyeliner is usually associated with other social groups such as Goths, Metalheads, Emo’s etc which are all seen as rebellious, bad teens/ young adults. Although my front man ties in with features similar to those of Metalheads, Goths, Emo’s etc he does have a sense of his own style, again adding to the individuality criteria of Generation Y.


I researched some other subcultures to try to identify any similarities represented between Generation Y and these other subcultures, and perhaps conclude where some of Generation Y’s inspiration came from.

The Goth subculture is a contemporary subculture found in many countries. Styles of dress within the subculture range from deathrock, punk, androgynous, Victorian, some Renaissance and Medieval style attire, or combinations of the above, most often with dark attire, make-up and hair. Generation Y was perhaps inspired by the dark attire and eye make-up, as Goth’s have been around a little longer than Generation Y, dating back to around the 1980s.

Fans of heavy metal music, aka Metalheads, have created their own subculture which encompasses more than just appreciation of the style of music. Fans affirm their membership in the subculture or scene by attending metal concerts, buying albums, growing their hair, and most recently, by contributing to metal websites. Members of Generation Y tend to have long hair and have a love for expressing their taste in music and genre by attending concerts, etc. Also, Heavy metal fans have created a "subculture of alienation" with its own standards for achieving authenticity within the group – this relates to Generation Y as their members want to be known for individuality and self entitlement – so this poses another similarity between these two subcultures.

Emo is a style of rock music typically characterized by melodic musicianship and expressive, often confessional lyrics, which originated in the mid-1980s hardcore punk movement of Washington, D.C., where it was known as "emotional hardcore" or "emocore". As the style was echoed by contemporary American punk rock bands, its sound and meaning shifted and changed, blending with pop punk and indie rock and encapsulated in the early 1990s – Generation Y’s main genres of music and style is rock/indie, which I intended to strongly portray within my magazine.
When it comes to style, today Emo’s are commonly tied to both music and fashion as well as the Emo subculture. Usually among teens, the term "emo" is stereotyped with wearing slim-fit jeans, sometimes in bright colors, and tight t-shirts (usually short-sleeved) which often bear the names of emo bands. Studded belts and black wristbands are common accessories in emo fashion. The only main similarity within fashion that crops up between Emo’s and Generation Y I believe is the heavy eye make-up and longer hair, which can also be linked to Metalheads.
Emo has been associated with a stereotype that includes being particularly emotional, sensitive, shy, introverted, or angst-ridden. It has also been associated with depression, self-injury, and suicide. This is relevant to my article within my magazine itself, as it is about a young male member of Generation Y talking about his struggles and manic depression, which also led to suicide attempts.

After researching these three main subcultures I have come to the conclusion that social groups tend to overlap each other and adopt certain traits and features, but then further adapting them to make them somewhat individual. I believe Generation Y takes a bit from each of these subcultures, moving them forward to make a subculture of its own.


What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

I initially thought ‘IPC’ would be good for my type of magazine, as it distributes ‘Kerrang!’ and ‘NME’ which are of a similar genre to my magazine. When I thought about it more though, my magazine wouldn’t really fit in well – ‘NME’ and ‘Kerrang!’ are both weekly magazines, and I wanted ‘Down’ – my magazine – to be weekly as well. I didn’t think it would be good for sales if this distribution brought out yet another weekly magazine of the same sort of genre.
I then went on to research that was the distribution for ‘Metal Hammer’ and discovered it was a distribution called ‘Future’. There’s a gap in futures market, two of their main music magazines being ‘Metal Hammer’ and ‘Classic Rock’, my magazine would be a good metal ground between these two types of music – classic rock and metal – covering the softer rock/indie side of the music market. For these reasons I think ‘Future’ would be the ideal distribution for my magazine ‘Down’.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

As I have stated many times previously, the theme of my whole Music Magazine is Generation Y, so therefore the audience I am aiming to appeal to are the members of Generation Y themselves – they are the people I want to be buying my product as they are the only people who will really understand the full messages and feelings of my product. Also, the people featuring in my magazine are members of Generation Y themselves, so they are a big appeal for other members of their social group to read. They promote the indie style.

The main age range for my target Generation Y audience is related to the quote above – “members born between 1982 and 1994” – so around 16 to 28. I guess it depends on where you personally believe your youth begins and ends, but it is mainly aimed at teens and young adults. This is appropriate to the social group I am covering because their members fit within this age range.


How did you attract/address your audience?

The main method that I used to attract/address my audience was by appealing to their motto ‘Sex, Drugs & Rock ‘n’ Roll’, hence why my main cover image was of a young man smoking, appealing to the rebellion and drugs aspect. A man smoking can then go on to connote him smoking other things, and also quite often linked to drinking, which appeals to Generation Y and backs up most of their ways of life.

Throughout my magazine promotions of this particular motto crop up, with images of smoking, mentions of drugs and alcohol within the interview itself, and just in general giving off the ‘who gives a damn’ impression – the laid back, carefree rocker. The colour scheme itself ties in with this, as it is very basic – mainly blacks, whites and greys – which I think portrays the ‘laid back, care free’ aspect well as it is not too busy or frantic. This backs up the ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll’ aspect of this famous motto.

Another way in which my magazine promotes the ‘Sex, Drugs & Rock ‘n’ Roll’ motto is in quite a few of my images my front man is seen being kissed by two women, portraying him to be quite the ‘pimp’ so to speak, and adds to his somewhat sex appeal, therefore backing up the ‘Sex’ aspect of this motto. Also, the front man and the women are seen to be wearing bright red lipstick – not only is this an eye catchy colour that makes you stop and look, it also connotes ‘sex and passion’ as well as ‘danger’ – therefore it is promoting the ‘Sex’ aspect further, and also strengthening the motive that this man is ‘bad’, which could then further lead onto the ‘Drugs’ aspect as drugs can be a connotation of bad.


What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

The main thing I have learnt throughout the process of making this Media Product is how to use Photoshop itself. I had never used this Image Manipulating Programme before, so it was all new and alien to me when I first started playing around with it. The only Image Manipulating Programme I had used before was basic Picasa 3 which gives you very few options on how to edit your image, such as adjusting the brightness and contrasts, changing the colours, retouching, red eye repair and cropping are the main features. This is probably because it is not most famously known as being an Image Manipulating Programme, more rather as being a programme in which to store and save your images.

After this project I am not professing to claim I am a ‘dab hand’ at Photoshop as the programme does still greatly confuse me on some levels and there is much, much more I could learn about it, but I believe I have learnt the basics which have enabled me to make a product I am quite proud of.
After I got my images, I uploaded them all onto the computer, edited them slightly in Picasa 3 which I have blogged about previously, and then went onto practising editing on Photoshop. I kept a copy of all my original images to refer back to. On my images I only ever did very basic edits, such as colouring in the background white using the paint tool, which again I have blogged about in more detail, and retouching any imperfections using the spot healing tool, as this was much more affective than Picasa 3’s basic retouch tool.
When it came to making my front cover itself on Photoshop, it was a lot simpler than I had imagined, but I still stuck to the basics. I added affects to my text such as ‘outer glow’, ‘inner shadow’ and ‘outer shadow’ until I got to what I thought was an affective result. I didn’t want it to be too busy though, which was another reason as to why I stuck to the basics.

Before this project I wouldn’t have even contemplated using Photoshop as it springs to mind at being difficult, but now that I have learnt the basic and had what I believe to be quite an affective result, I will be much more confident using this Programme in the future.

I then converted my work into Adobe InDesign and made it a PDF file. This enabled me to show All Printer Marks: Crop Marks, Bleed Marks, Registration Marks, Colour Bars and Page Information. Now that I have used InDesign to convert my image, I can see how much more professional it makes my final work look, and I will now consider using this for any construction I do in the future.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the fill product?

Considering my Preliminary Task was made completely in Publisher using very, very basic text boxes, placement tools etc, I believe I have progressed quite far. Firstly, I have learnt how to use Photoshop and come out having quite professional looking results. I believe also I have progressed majorly in the research aspect – looking at other magazines in much greater detail I have learnt popular codes and conventions, and how to back myself up if I have gone against them for any particular reason.

Looking back at my Preliminary Task itself I am quite shocked at the amount of progression I believe I have made. Whereas my Preliminary School Magazine looks like something a preschool student could put together, I believe my final Media Product Music Magazine could pass as looking quite professional. I don’t think it looks too tacky, and I can spot any errors I have made in the past and how to make them better, which for me is a major progression.

It looks better because I have learnt to use better programmes relatively well, to which I am proud. There is also now the knowledge I have of using Adobe InDesign, which I can now use in the future.

Questionnaire Results!

Questionnaire Analysis

Which picture do you think best suits a front cover image for a music magazine?

On average, how many colours do you prefer to be featured in the colour scheme on the front of a music magazine?
Out of the following colours, please choose 3 colours you think look best on the cover of a music magazine?

What gender are you?
How old are you?




On a front cover, do you prefer:

One main image 1; One main image + a few smaller images 2; Lots of images (6+) 3




Do you purchase Music Magazines often?



Out of the options below, what makes you buy a Music Magazine?
Free items/posters 1
Featuring a band you like 2
Featuring a mainstream band everyone likes 3
Regular purchase 4

Which front cover appeals to you more?
Image behind text; Image in front of text

Which front cover appeals to you more?
A more full looking front cover Just one image taking up most of the space



If a Music Magazine has an offer, for example, free posters do you find it more appealing?



I will use these results to determine the layout of my front cover, which main image I should use, how many images I should use, whether my magazine should include any offers, which gender it is more aimed at and distinguish who my target audience is.

Questionnaire!

Which picture do you think best suits a front cover image for a music magazine? Please tick.



On average, how many colours do you prefer to be featured in the colour scheme on the front of a music magazine? Please tick.

...........................1-3...........................4-6...........................7+

Out of the following colours, please choose 3 colours you think look best on the cover of a music magazine? Please circle.

What gender are you?


How old are you?

On a front cover, do you prefer:

Do you purchase Music Magazines often?


Out of the options below, what makes you buy a Music Magazine?

Which front cover appeals to you more?

Which front cover appeals to you more?

If a Music Magazine has an offer, for example, free posters do you find it more appealing?

Front Cover Final, Made in Photoshop!

Some Image Edits~

Here are some images that I edited in both Picasa 3 and Photoshop using the same methods as edited images I have previously blogged.

There are many images that I did not use in my final piece for varied reasons: either they were the wrong layout, didn't fit the theme all to well or they simply just weren't as good as the final images I used. Most of my images are from the same day, but I used some other photo's I used else where.

Again, sorry about the layout. Me and Blogger don't mix too well.

IMAGES!

So yeah, as you've probably noticed some of my images aren't that great quality. Don't worry! I am in the process of uploading ones of a better quality - well at least I hope so.

:D

Contents Page Analysis

This is final design for my contents page; it doesn’t differ much from my mock up layout as I was pretty set on what I wanted from the start.

I didn’t want it to look like solid text, so I broke it up into sections using boxes making it easier for regular readers to find the sections they want. It will also be easy enough for new readers to hunt down features they want to browse at.

The white section is just the main features and its page numbers; I don’t want too many features cluttering the page. There are a few images, as I don’t want it to be overrun with images either.

The dark grey box is a regular occurrence in my magazine for the editorial. It gives the editor a chance to say a personal message to the regulars who keep the magazine going. The tone and language used in the editorial is similar to the tone and language used in the interview – chatty, informal and swearing – ‘Generation Y’. There is a quirky signature at the end to add an even more personal touch to the message.

The two grey boxes at the bottom are meant to be a regular feature on my contents page too – the right hand one is a feature I have called ‘Down Get’s Around’ where we showcase any crafty finds we have encountered on our daily travels – any celebrities that have been spotted, including any chats we’ve managed to get; just a fun little feature.

I believe that this feature implies that ‘Down’ has a good relationship with the celebrities they snap pictures of, as they don’t mind having a quick chat etc. This shows that ‘Down’ isn’t a typical, bitchy magazine and is fun and friendly.

The big ‘8)’ in the middle of box is a popular emoticon that connotes ‘sneaky peeking’ or things along those lines, our target audience will understand what it means.

The left hand side box is displaying some images from a popular gig I have named ‘L!VE’ that my magazine has exclusive information and pictures of.

Again, I have stuck to my basic colour scheme – just blacks, greys, whites and the odd hint of colour. I think it makes it more sophisticated, but then again not too posh. It also works well with my ‘Generation Y’ theme.

Double Page Spread Analysis

This is my final design for my Double Page Spread for my magazine ‘Down’. The first thing you probably notice is that there are a lot of images – this is exactly what I wanted. Initially because personally, I prefer to read something that has quite a few images to go along side it – I think it makes it look more attractive and entices me to read it more. Also, I took a lot of pictures that I really liked and wanted to feature them somewhere in my magazine.

I put the name of the band ‘Above Board’ right at the top in the middle to attract the reader’s attention – fans of the band will be drawn directly to this page, also they will recognise the pictures of their idols.

I chose the name ‘Above Board’ for my band as my interview is about the front man who has just made it through a really tough time and come above his emotional issues – he has come above it – above board.

There are also two quotes featured on the double page spread as another method of trying to attract the attention of the readers. The main, big quote states “People look at me and think ‘Sex, Drugs & Rock ‘n’ Roll’ and that’s exactly what I want them to see.” – This backs up my ‘Generation Y’ approach completely. The front man himself is even admitting that this is the image he wants to portray, and so do I – the magazine – hence why I have emphasised this quote. The fact that this quote is featured beneath one of the larger images also draws attention to it well.

Just above the large image that the main quote is staged, there is a smaller quote in the middle of other smaller images. This quote is commenting on how David – the front man – “hasn’t banged them yet” referring to the female members of his band. This is promoting the sex side of ‘S, D & R’n’R’ implying he is quite the womaniser and very much into sleeping around.

I have chosen all this images, not only because I think they look good and have strong, warm colours – but because they help portray many messages I want to put across in this particular interview.

The image I was originally going to use as a front cover image is now one of the larger images on this double page spread, and it features both girls – Zofia and Victoria – kissing David’s cheeks whilst he is blowing smoke out of his mouth. This is boosting the ‘Sex’ side of things – he is an appealing man and the rebellion only adds to his sex appeal. They don’t care that he is a bit of a bad man, why should anyone else?

Also, in many of these pictures you can see the band members laughing and smiling together, connoting that they have a fun side and don’t take things too seriously, which backs up the jokey sex quote near the images. They also seem loving towards one another in the pictures, which portrays the strong bond they have between them, which is backed up in the interview itself.

There is also an advert featured near the bottom of the page near the smaller images, promoting the band’s new album ‘Generation Reborn’ – this is done in the same font as the band’s name, therefore promoting them further. I called their new album ‘Generation Reborn’ as it includes the word Generation – ‘Generation Y’ – and the word reborn backs up their story of how the front man has come out of the dark hole of his life, and his spirit is being reborn so to speak. This is all backed up in the interview.

The interview itself is talking about the front man’s spiralling depression and how his new found band members have brought him out of his dark hole and shone happiness into his life again. So, there is a serious side and a casual, funny side to my interview.

I put boarders around some of my images, because sometimes the photo itself finished either halfway through their hair, or their clothing etc, and it looked odd with a white background, so I gave them a black boarder to cover this.

I didn’t want my double page spread to look too heavy with text, but I didn’t want it to be too wishy-washy, and something pathetic no one would bother reading. I changed the layout slightly from my original plan, because I couldn’t have anything overlapping the middle as this caused problems in printing. I also prefer this layout.

Again, like the front cover I wanted to stick to minimal colours because I didn’t want it to look too busy.

Final Front Cover Analysis

This is my final design for the front cover of my magazine. This was not my original choice for a front cover image, but the original photo I wanted to use was landscape and was difficult to place on the front cover with the kind of layout I wanted. I have written about this in more detail in a previous blog.

The first thing I want to talk about with this design is the name/title, ‘Down’. The name came around when I was listening to music, and a song called ‘Down’ came on, I was originally just using it as a temporary name – but it then came to me that this fit my magazine quite well. David, my front man for my magazine has had a rough past, feeling down and this is all about his comeback, so I thought it was quite a good name for this particular magazine.

Another thing I liked about the title was how well it fit with the image. At first I thought the photo would create problems as a front cover image because the title wouldn’t fit well at the top, but then I thought – to be different and to make it fit better – I would put the title going down the side. This way it goes against the conventions slightly, which is what I want, and I have the title ‘Down’ actually going down, which I thought worked well.

The font I used for the title and for the main theme of my magazine is called ‘All Over Again’ which we got downloaded from www.dafont.com and put onto the school system. I originally only had the normal font going down the side, but it didn’t stand out above the ‘Above Board’ strapline, so I edited the font in Photoshop to make it stand out more – giving it a blue/grey shadow. I was a bit worried initially about editing the font, because I didn’t want too many colours on my front cover – I wanted to stick to about 3, if that – but as I only used a grey/blue colour for the shadow, it made it stand out without making it look out of place, which I liked.

I decided to put the issue number and price beneath the title, rather than near the barcode to help the title stand out further.

I didn’t want too much on my front cover, as this is a ‘special issue’ so to speak that is mainly focused around David and his band ‘Above Board’ who are making a come back. I was inspired to do this by other Music Magazines such as ‘Q’ who recently did a special on John Lennon, and ‘Kerrang!’ who also recently have done a special on ‘My Chemical Romance’. The covers of the magazines were basically dominated by the special features, and this is what I wanted mine to be like.

So, because of this I decided that I would have one large photo being the main image as well as the background, so it completely dominates my cover. I didn’t want any other features to ruin the image, so I only had a strapline of the band’s name and a quote from their interview. There’s always the issue though that my magazine wouldn’t sell well if it only showcased one feature, so I decided to do packaging which I have previously blogged about.

I wanted the title of the band ‘Above Board’ to stand out to grab fans attention, but I couldn’t have it drown out the attention of the title of the magazine. I downloaded the font ‘PEIXE FRITO’ again from www.dafont.com to use as the band’s logo/signature font, which is featured again on the double page spread. I then just used the simple ‘Arial’ font for the quote as I didn’t want it to look ‘too much’.

Getting onto the image itself, I took ‘the rule of thirds’ into consideration – our audience is typically drawn straight to the middle third/section. My image fits this really well, as bang in the middle section you have David’s bright red lips. Red is a good colour for attracting attention – it connotes ‘stop and look at me’. Also, red can connote ‘danger’ which fits well with the theme of my magazine ‘Generation Y’ – David is a dangerous come back kid, who is backing up the stereotype ‘Sex, Drugs & Rock ‘n’ Roll’. He is a rebel and slightly ‘off the rails’, which will appeal to my target audience. My magazine is backing up the stereotype of ‘Generation Y’. Another thing red can connote is 'sex and passion' which relates to Generation Y's main motto 'Sex, Drugs & Rock 'n' Roll'.

I wanted David to look rugged and rogue, to fit my ‘Generation Y’ criteria. David was a good model for this, as he has the messy hair and rough stubble – he isn’t a primp and preened pretty boy, which is good for my type of magazine. When it came to his make-up, I wanted a slight ‘Corpse Paint’ inspired look, but not too heavy as my magazine isn’t a metal magazine, so I didn’t want it to look too pretentious. Also, this whole rebellious look helps the connotations of ‘danger’ and ‘Sex, Drugs & Rock ‘n’ Roll’.

Because of this, I only did one eye ‘Corpse Paint’ inspired, and didn’t overdo it too much. The other eye I just did mascara marks, and messy marks to attempt to make him look more ‘roughed up’ so to speak. It was all a bit experimental really, the red lips were just mainly to attract attention and to make him look more controversial and not like every other male artist out there.

The reason why I had David pose topless for this picture was because I wanted to add to the ‘Sex Appeal’ to fit the ‘Sex’ part of the ‘S, D & R’n’R’ criteria – even though my magazine is a male based magazine, and my target audience features more around males – I wanted there to be some sort of appeal for female readers. Also, David has a hairy chest, which adds to the ‘rugged’ look (manly) and I had kiss marks put all over his chest to add to the ‘womanising’ sex appeal.

The cigarette in this image is evidentially not accidental – I wanted David to be seen smoking and blowing smoke from his mouth on my front cover. It adds majorly to my ‘Generation Y’ criteria – he is rebellious and a ‘bad man’ – he’s not afraid to be seen smoking and doing other ‘bad man’ things, i.e. drugs, which is mentioned in the interview. It connotes that he is into drugs and doesn’t have a problem with breaking the rules, or being caught breaking the rules.

When Rock ‘n’ Roll is mentioned, the image springs to mind of care free rockers jamming, smoking, drinking and having a raunchy, fun time. I want this image to be portrayed throughout my magazine, and my front cover image helps support this to some extent.

Also, the cigarette is in the middle third/section so you are drawn to it, so immediately the reader can tell this is a magazine about rebellion, and ‘true rockers’. He hand is right in the fore-front as well, which draws you to it. This will attract my ideal audience well.

I want my magazine to say, "Generation Y all the way!"

Mock Up Contents Page

Here is the mock up for my contents page. I am challenging the conventions with my contents page, as I don't want mine to be too similar to every other magazine out there. My contents page will only include the main features of the magazine, and have boxes at the bottom showcasing some of these features along with images.

I also want there to be an editorial at the right hand side, with a picture of the editor, along with the date and issue number. I also want to include a signature style sign off by the editor as to me that seems more personal to the reader.

The bottom box on the right hand side I want to portray a feature I'm going to call 'Down Get's Around' - here there will be pictures of celebrities the workers at 'Down' have spotted on their daily travels, and maybe even spoken to. Unofficial meetings, so to speak.

Script!

He’s been hidden in the dark for so long most people thought he no longer existed, but ‘Down’ get up close and personal with the forever comeback kid David Mobberley in this exclusive interview.
Not only is he letting us through the doors to his past, he has also brought along his two new gorgeous band members Victoria and Zofia, who have undoubtedly stolen the messed up rockers heart…


David! It’s been a while since we’ve seen you step through our double doors. Where on Earth have you been hiding?

Well, if I told you it would no longer be a secret. You just want to know where I found these lovely ladies.


Haha, you got us there! So David this is an ‘Up Close & Personal’ interview and there was a lot in the tabloids in the past about your spiralling drug problems and sinking depression, what happened?

Yeah, I’ve just come out of a really rough patch of my life, probably a chapter I won’t revisit much in the future. Everything just collapsed after the death of my brother. I couldn’t think straight and I sank into a deep depression, not coming out of the house drinking my sorrows away. I missed him so much, he wasn’t only my brother, he was my best friend. We spent every day together, we were in a band together for f*ck sake. I couldn’t cope without him there. Things got worse when my parents split under the strain, I just couldn’t deal with anything. Then when the drink didn’t numb the pain enough, I stupidly turned to drugs. And I’m not talking the odd bit of Green, I’m talking hard drugs, they completely f*cked with my head. I couldn’t communicate with anyone; the only thing I cared about was my next fix. It got to a point where people stopped trying to approach me because I’d cut them off too much. I’d hit rock bottom and I just couldn’t pick myself back up.


Dam, that’s pretty low dude. How did you manage to get yourself back on your feet?

After 3 suicide attempts? I’m not so sure. My family were terrified for me and booked me into sh*t loads of counselling, but they’re a load of stuck up airheads who’ll label you with anything as long as they get their pay. I wasn’t interested in a word they said to me. My life had well and truly spun out of control and nothing made sense, until one night I found myself in this run-down bar and two young ladies approached me. They didn’t seem like the typical slaggish punters that infested those types of bars; instead they actually covered up just the right amount of skin and smiled with grace rather than sleazy lust. Zofia and Victoria – the girls who saved me – introduced themselves and told me they were huge fans of my bands previous work, and by God, I’m so f*cking happy they did. They’ve been the highlight of every day of my life since then. In time they helped me off the drugs and the alcohol, and got my life back on track. I still enjoy the odd joint, but who doesn’t? I was so low I thought I’d never get back up, but these girls pulled me through; they are my best friends, I don’t know what I’d do without them. I love them very dearly.

Aww! That’s the sweetest thing. But, how did you get from friends to the record breaking band you are today, ‘Above Board’?

Good question! I don’t think we ourselves really know. I remember I was staying over at the girls’ place – not in a sexual way, I haven’t banged them yet – and we were just casually drinking and jamming when Victoria jokingly suggested we formed a band. We laughed about it to begin with, but then thought ‘why the f*ck not’ and went for it. Now look at us, our beautiful faces are plastered all over the place! Nah, I’m not that arrogant but I am having the best time of my life – I get to play the music I love to millions of fans with the two greatest people in my life – what more could I want?



You do make us laugh, David.


What about you two lovely ladies, you haven’t got a word in edge ways. You are quite often referred to as Mr Mobberley’s hoes, how do you feel about this?

Zofia: Love it. Who wouldn’t? Just look at him, the sexy beast! He could have his wicked way with me any day!
Victoria: Lol! Zof, you randy fool. But yeah, it’s cool being known as his hoes. He is our main man and we support him every step of the way, and we know he loves us and doesn’t just see us as pieces of meat. Believe it or not, David’s actually very respectful of women, even though he acts like a horny tw*t half the time.
David: I love my hoes.


Ah dear, you guys are rare. So David, you mentioned earlier that you haven’t ‘banged them yet’, is there any hidden romances going on between two of you… or all three?

D: Yes, yes there is. We’re all top notch at Kama Sutra; we’re actually in the process of writing our own manual. I get these girls screaming every night.
V: He wishes.
Z: I wish.
D: REALLY?! Nah, in all honesty it’s never really come to mind. We’re just really, really good friends and a relationship – especially in this industry – could seriously ruin the friendship, and that would kill me. Not only that, I wouldn’t be able to choose between the two. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t mind the odd experiment with either one of them; I can’t say I haven’t dreamt about it.
Z: Oh baby.

My days, you horny f*ckers; you are badmen. Speaking of badmen, have you girls ever enjoyed the ‘odd joint’ with Mr Mobberley?

V: Nah, it’s not really my kind of thing. I’d rather be eating cheesy balls and watching ‘Back to the Future’. But you know whatever floats your boat.
Z: Vodka all the way baby! Vodka makes everything gorgeous!

Good girls! That’s what we like to hear. Anyway, back to the music side of things, what influenced you to adopt the genre of Indie/Alternative Rock?

D: I think it’s fair to say that we all emulate our heroes to begin with before you go off to create your own sound. We knew we wanted to be some form of Rock Band, no doubt about it. F*ck being some pussy Emo band that no one gives a sh*t about. It’s just like ugh, go whine in a hole somewhere. So, I guess we just kinda imitated bands we liked in the Rock Genre, such as Biffy Clyro, Muse, Green Day, Foo Fighters etc and went from there. Whether it’s music or art, we align ourselves with artists that we 100% believe in.
V: But then there was always the issue of being too similar to our role models. No one likes a copy cat. That’s what pisses me off with so many mainstream bands of today; they all sound the same and have basically no song writing skills at all, they just all sponge off each other. You Me At Six and All Time Low, perfect example.
Z: Probably all sucking each other off, too.
D: It really wouldn’t surprise me.

Brilliant, who doesn’t love a bit of Rock? I can’t help but wonder though David: due to your messed up past, does the stereotype that was created back then as the ‘no-good druggie’ still get thrown at you?

Of course it does - the press never let things go, the bast*rds. Although, I believe it has worked in my favour. Yeah, you get the stuck up pricks who look at you, snarl their noses and judge you by the word-of-mouth they’ve heard and the way you dress, but I don’t give a sh*t about them. It’s my fans who I care about, who don’t give a f*ck and support me, despite my past. I like the whole ‘badman/rebel’ image, it really works for me. I get some good attention, if you know what I mean. People look at me and think ‘Sex, Drugs & Rock ‘n’ Roll’ and that’s exactly what I want them to see. I am all that, Generation Y all the way baby!

Brilliant! Just how we love you! Generation Y is what we’re all about here at Down, and you’re our main candidates. You have to understand though, Generation Y is becoming ever more popular… are you ever afraid that some new, hotter band will come along and steal your new found lime-light?

D: Pfft, f*ck no. So f*cking what if some new puss comes along and acts like they own this scene? They know nothing like I know, they haven’t experienced half the shit I’ve been through – and most importantly, they don’t have these two sexy ladies. Anyway, I don’t give two shits about what most of the press have to say about us anyway, our true friends will stick by us no matter what. Not only that, we made this band to have fun by making the music we love, and luckily enough we are able to make a living off of it, so we must be doing something right. If there’s ever a moment where we realise “Hey, this isn’t fun anymore, what the f*ck are we doing with our lives?” that’s when we need to start giving a sh*t and make a change.







This is the script I am going to use in my double page spread. The language I have used fits my 'Generation Y' and would appeal to my target audience. It is quite informal, and that is the kind of tone I prefer. My editorial in my contents page will be the same sort of tone and language.

Packaging

Because I wanted only one image on my front cover along with the title, strapline and quote, I was missing a quite a few features that really do need to be included in my magazine in order to sell well and to entice my target audience.

In order to overcome this problem, I have decided to do what some other Music Magazines do, such as 'Metal Hammer' and sometimes 'Kerrang!' and give my magazine a packaging, which can include all other advertisements, details and other images my magazine needs without ruining my front cover.

It will include other images of features in my magazine, such as pictures of other bands, photo's of gigs etc. and any advertisements such as free posters which will come with my magazine.

I have decided that my magazine is a weekly magazine, and this issue I am basing my project on is a 'special issue' limelighting one band more than usual - in this case my feature band 'Above Board' - as it their 'come-back' after being in the shadows for so long, which adds to my reasons of only wanting a picture of the main band on the front cover, which led to making this packaging.

Also, the barcode will be featured on the back of the packaging, but there is also a barcode on my magazine.

As it was a popular answer in my questionairre, and I know personally that a magazine is more appealing if you get something free with it, I have decided to include free posters with my magazine, of the main band 'Above Board' and other bands featured inside. These will come in the packaging, rather than in the magazine as it is annoying having to tear out pages in your magazine to get the posters you want. They do this in 'Kerrang!' and sometimes you end up ruining your magazine trying to get your 'free' poster, and they also back to back them so if you want both posters on your wall you have to buy two magazines. I have resorted to doing this myself in the past.