Friday 20 January 2012

Work to be completed for Pitch

1. Complete a post on the readership of a magazine in our chosen genre. Use the media kits/ press packs for accurate target audience information.

Check out the following links:
http://www.nme.com/mediapack/pdf/nme_media_information_full.pdf
http://www.srds.com/mediakits/rollingstone/demographics.html
http://www.vibelifestylenetwork.com/VLN-Media-Kit-2011.pdf
http://uktribes.com/

2. Consider whether you are planning to tap into the same audience or make it wider/ more niche?

3. Complete a 'typical reader profile' showing exactly the type of person you are targeting.

4. Complete an animoto Moodboard of your ideas/ inspiations/ genre. What 25 words will you use?

5. Prepare your pitch ideas on your blog:
(a) different title ideas
(b) variety of fonts you like
(c) colour pallettes
(d) ideas for content layout
(e) ideas for your doulble page spread article
(f) who will be on your front cover? - style, costume etc and why

Monday 9 January 2012

Key questions for analysing your chosen music magazines

Using media terminology (what is denoted and connoted) conduct an analysis of the magazine's front cover under these headings:


THE FRONT COVER:
Target Audience: (mainstream, niche, gender, reasons for this based on content)
PLUGS (comment on their positions, what they say and why they are there)
Masthead and Sell Line (mode of address - what kinds of words have been chosen and what are the connotation, colours, fonts, size)
Main cover image (mode of address - ideal self/ideal partner? mise-en-scene, camerawork and composition - what representations do these micro elements create?)
Main cover line for splash article (mode of address - words, colour, font and connotations)
Cover lines (including banners - again look at the words chosen, size, font colour and connotations)
Other images (why have these been used? ideal self/ ideal partner? mise-en-scene, camerawork and composition - what representations do these micro elements create? Juxtaposition with cover lines?)


THE CONTENTS PAGE
Content (mode of address - comment on types of articles and how they target their readership, images, text, colours)
Juxtaposition of elements (space, layout, connotations of juxtapositioning)


A DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD
Content (mode of address - comment on images, text, colours, topic)
Juxtaposition of elements (space, layout, connotations of juxtapositioning)


THE PUBLISHER OF THE MAGAZINE:


Who publishes the magazine?
What other magazines (if any) does it publish?
What other media interests (if any) does it have?
How much does the magazine cost?
How often is it published?
What is its circulation/ readership?
Does the magazine have a website?

GLOSSARY for analysing your music magazines

Masthead – The name and logo of the magazine.
The Lead – the introductory paragraph of an article. Usually written in bold or capitals.
Body copy - refers to the text of your written articles, which should be produced as a printed presentation to accepted industry standards, e.g. correct use of language, font size, word limits etc. Usually written in columns.
Serif font – fonts like Times New Roman, or Baskerville Old Face, which have little bars (serifs) on the end of the letters.
Sans serif font – fonts like Impact, or Agency FB, which do not have little bars (serifs) on the end of the letters.
Drop Capitals – Really big letter, which start off an article.
Cross Head – Small sub-heading used to split up a large block of text.
White Space – white parts of a page other than text or pictures.
Mode Of Address – How the magazine talks to the audience.
Sell Lines – Text on the cover that helps to sell the magazine to the audience. Kerrang!’s sell line is “life is loud”.
Banners – text, which stands out because its on a coloured background.
House Style – a magazines distinctive design that distinguishes it from its competitors.
Borders – the gaps at the edges of the page.
Gutters – the gaps between the columns of text.
Leading - the space between lines of text.
Kerning - the space between letters.
Strap Lines – a smaller headline, printed above the main headline.
By-lines - name of the person who wrote the article. Picture Credits - where did the photos come from, or who took them.
Anchorage – The way in which text helps to pin down the meaning of a picture and visa versa.