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1. Chelsea Morris

2. 1 – The Title of the Magazine + Font Style
For my masthead, I chose to call it ‘rK’ since it is an abbreviation of the word 1
‘Rock’ which indicates the genre of the magazine as well as giving my magazine
some individuality. I found in my research that music magazine title’s relate to
music in some form, so my title follows those conventions.
I used the font ‘Arial Black’ for my masthead because it’s clear to read and is
bold, which is also a common occurrence in music magazines. I gave the title a
bright red background – like Q magazine – so that the rock colour scheme of
black, red and white runs consistently through the magazine and so that the
masthead catches the audience’s eye. Giving the masthead a logo type look
makes it more memorable and is able to be used throughout the magazine.
2 2 - Mis-En-Scene of Images
My magazine follows the codes of conventions of typical magazines by way of
the mis-en-scene of my images. I used a photography studio and a plain brick
wall for the settings of the subjects photo shoot, since these are similar to ones
used in other music magazines like Q and Kerrang! and also look much more
professional.
The setting also reflects the music genre, and the subjects poses also aids in
reflecting this. I tried to make my subject appear pensive in the double page
image, but on the cover I wanted to give her an unruly adolescent look which I
think I successfully achieved. Also, I followed the typical conventions of a
magazine by making my subject look directly at the camera for the front cover’s
image, which will attract my target audience to the magazine.

3. 3 - Costumes and Props
The costumes and props used in my magazine ‘rK’ fit the conventions of usual
music magazines. Since the genre I wanted was Rock, I looked at other music
magazines of this genre (such as Kerrang!) and noted down what clothing bands
wore, make-up etc.
I found that heavy eyeliner, dark clothing or bright skinny jeans were the most
common in the magazines, so I instructed my subject to wear such items and do
their eye make-up as dark as possible. We ended up using black skinny jeans, a
leather jacket and a white t-shirt. As for props, I decided against them since I
wanted my subject to be the main focal point.
4 – People
The people/person used in my magazine is quite unconventional. In most
magazines, the band members are usually in their twenties+ and usually have a
more distinguished and unusual appearance, which doesn‘t apply in my
magazine since the people/person is young and isn‘t distinguished and doesn’t
have much of an enigmatic appearance.
However, due to my target audience being young people who are rock fans, I
doubt this being slightly unconventional would be a problem. In fact, this might
be more appealing to my audience since people/person is of the same age and
they would be able to relate to them better and be more inspired by them.

4. 5 - Written Content
The written content in my magazine follows the conventions as it asks about the
reason behind the band name, musical influences, information on the latest
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album and more. These topics are common in music magazines which are aimed
at a similar target audience to mine, therefore keeping these conventions will
attract my audience to the magazine.
However, there’s a slight unconventional as the interview with the band ‘eVoid’
didn’t include an introduction to the band but instead the title of the page was
the band’s name. This is original and could possibly be more attractive to the
audience so that they can get straight into the interview. Also, the contents
page includes the conventional features and monthly features in usual
magazines which are interesting to the audience.
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6 - Music Genre and How Your Magazine Suggests It
The genre of my music magazine is Rock. This is clear throughout the magazine
due to the colour scheme, topics and even the title of the magazine. For
example, the red and black colour scheme is consistent all the way through the
magazine and the colours are used in Rock magazines like Kerrang! So this is a
common convention in for the particular genre of music magazine.
In addition, the topics that are used on the contents page suggest the genre and
also the masthead is an abbreviation of the genre of my magazine which is
individual to most magazines, making it more appealing to the audience.

5. 7 - Layout 7
I kept the layout of the magazine conventional as audiences like familiarity with
magazines and it also makes it look more professional. This is displayed on my
front cover a it has the masthead in the usual place at the top of the page, the
main image takes up the entirety of the page and the sell lines are on either
side of the main image. As well as this, my double page is also conventional as it
uses columns for the interview, a large title and page numbers in the bottom
corners of the pages.
8 – Contents Page
My contents page also follows the typical codes and conventions of music
magazines. One of them being the contents title is at the top the page which I
found in my research is extremely common throughout music magazines. Q 8
magazine gave me the idea of having my magazine title (which is also it’s logo)
in the corner of each page, which gets the audience familiar with the magazine
and it’s logo.
In most magazines, the contents page has a variety of images. However, I had a
different approach with my own magazine, since I used one image alone so that
it didn’t make the page look cluttered and shown the main feature of the
magazine more clearly. The use of common conventions and uncommon
conventions make the magazine more appealing and persuasive towards my
target audience.

6. I have chosen to compare images of Oli Sykes and Taylor Momsen with the
image I have used on my front cover to explain how my magazine represents a
particular social group.
To start, I used the ‘Drop Dead’ idea as it suits my magazines genre and it’s
familiar with my magazines target audience. In addition to this, the facial
expression is serious and reflects the attitudes of the target audience and also
the music genre, and because my model is looking at the camera, this will
draw the audiences attention and give them a sense of involvement with the
magazine, therefore making it more appealing to them.
The obvious difference is the gender, as my model is a female. I aimed to
make it so that the magazine is appealing to the female gender as well as the
male, and because my model is of a similar age as that of my target audience,
there is a likelihood that they would be more inclined to read the magazine as
they would have something to relate to and would be inspired by someone
their own age.

7. Another difference is the background and the lighting. Where
Taylor’s photo has a dark patterned background, my photo is
lighter and has increased contrast so that my model stands out
more against the brick background which adds appeal.
Finally, the clothing I have used is popular with my chosen target
audience and people that like rock music. In Taylor’s photo she
wears tight black jeans and a leather jacket. This made me decide
to choose black, tight clothing for my model since it fits with the
genre and will appeal to my audience and persuade them to buy
the magazine.
Overall, the photo I have used for my front cover reflects and
represents a young social group and this is reflected throughout
my magazine because the model I have used fits the style and
attitude of rock.

8. http://www.ipcmedia.com/
I think that the media company IPC Media would be the best to distribute my magazine. It
already distributes well known music magazines like ‘NME’ all over the UK, so they will
already have experience and dependable consumes who may be interested my music
magazine ‘rK’. In addition to this, my music magazine attracts a younger audience compared
to other magazines which would obtain them a much wider market and get the magazine a
distributer.
I considered using an independent distributor however that isn’t common within indie/rock
magazines. I researched and found that these companies tend to focus and distribute
magazines of the Hip-Hop genre like VIBE, therefore it wouldn’t be a good idea for me to
choose an independent distributor since they wouldn’t have experience with my genre of
magazine and being a small company, they may not have loyal consumers like IPC do.

9. I conducted a questionnaire which asked the age of the people that answered it,
and found that the most popular age group was 11-20 that were interested in
reading a music magazine. This meant that I could use features that they wanted
and use the genre of music that they preferred so that I could attract this audience
into buying my magazine.
I avoided asking for the gender as I wanted my magazine to appeal to both
audiences since music is popular to both genders. I was more interested in the age
as people of different ages are interested in different things, so finding a specific
age group and finding things in common that they liked in a music magazine would
help me to make my magazine more appealing to that target audience.

10. In the questionnaire, I
learnt that the most popular
features the audience
would like were band
interviews and latest rock
music in the charts.
In addition to this, I found
I also learnt that they
that 8/10 people that
preferred the rock genre, so
answered the questionnaire
I used bands from that
found that the music they
genre such as You Me At Six
listen to influences their
on the cover so that they
fashion sense, so when I
would be attracted to the
photographed my model, I
magazine.
made sure she wore
clothing that would appeal
to my target audience and
included in the contents the
two popular features to
grab the audiences
attention and persuade
them to read the magazine.

11. Most of the creating process was done at college using college
computers as they had the best software to use to construct my
magazine.
However I used my laptop out of college, but used Remote Access
to get onto my college login so that I could use the software.
To transfer images from home to college I used my memory stick.
This is good so that I have my work backed up and that it’s a
simple way of transferring my work.
To take the photos, I used my Nikon D3100 camera as it takes
good quality photos.
To edit my images I used Pixlr Express, an online photo editing
software that is simple to use but also makes your images look
professional. I had never used this software before but I got to
grips with it easily, and I also learnt how to airbrush, edit the
contrast and make the images more vibrant.

12. Also, I learnt how to use Photoshop CS5.1 and using this software
I learnt how to use the quick selection tool to cut out my subject
so that it had no background. This was helpful for my contents
and front cover, as I used this on those.
To create my magazine, I used a programme called Serif DrawPlus X5 as it’s easy to use and worked really well
to create my magazine. I had previous experience with Serif in ICT lessons, but during the process of creating
my magazine I got better equipped with the software.
Finally, I created a blog on eBlogger. This allowed me to upload my
work onto a blog so that it was easy to reach and clearly displayed.
Overall, throughout the project I have advanced quite a lot with
technology, and now have a lot more experience in using different
software. Also, discovering Remote Access not only helped to get my
magazine finished, but also helped me to get other work done in the
process.

13. Since creating my school/college magazine I have really
progressed with the use of photo editing software such as
Photoshop. For example, I learnt how to use the quick
selection tool on Photoshop so that I can cut things
out, an example of this is on my front cover, as I cut out
my model and placed her slightly in front of the
masthead.
I also learnt how to use an online photo editor called Pixlr.
I used this software to edit my photos before putting
them on the magazine. On this software I learnt how to
make my images sharper and more appealing and in
addition to this I learnt how to airbrush etc. and to make
it appear natural. I liked this software best as it was really
easy to use and did good work.
Overall I believe I have progressed with the use of editing
software as at the beginning I had very little knowledge of
how to use both Photoshop and Pixlr and now I have
created a professional looking magazine using these
software.