Research: Kerrang! Quiz

Above are two examples of the Kerrang! Quiz that is featured in every issue of Kerrang!. I really like this idea, therefore i may incorporate this in my magazine.

Questionnaire Results

An overview of the answers from the 46 participants of my questionnaire:

The answers from those who buy music magazines:

The answers from those who do not buy music magazines:

The results from this questionnaire will help me to decide large things like what sort of age range music, in particular Metal magazines are popular with. As we can see, this is the 15-18 age range, which supports my choice of target audience, with most of the participants being male, i can also deduct what sort of content to include in the magazine. Even smaller things like the price are influenced by the questionnaire, as we can see most said that they do or would be willing to buy a magazine that was priced £2-£3.

Analysis of 2 Front Covers

Analysis of 2 Contents Pages

Analysis of 2 Double-Page Spreads

Magazine Title Evaluations

Zerstören: After much deliberation, this shall be the name of my magazine. Zerstören is the German translation of 'destroy', a word I had played around with when thinking of words that could be related to the Metal genres. I believe that this title is suitable for a metal magazine for several reasons, with one being that Zerstören is a song from German Industrial Metal band Rammstein. I personally believe that the word is aesthetically suitable for a masthead, it also holds connotations of power, aggression and complexity, sourced from both the definition of the word itself and the associations of the German language.


Poison: This was another name for the magazine that I came up with during the mind-mapping process. The word 'Poison' immediately produces ideas of harm, toxicity and other perceivably dark things that are associated with Metal genres. However, I decided that it wouldn't make a suitable masthead, choosing Zerstören instead.

Titanium: This was a third idea came up with for the name of my magazine. Titanium, to me, brings connotations of strength, power, durability and force. Being a metal used in the construction of tanks, I believe its earned such associations. For that same reason, it makes a suitable name for a Metal Music Magazine, not only for that, I also think that 'Titanium' would make a good mast head for aesthetic reasons. However, I decided not this as the name of the magazine, as I believe the word could be tied to the Hip-Hop genres, making Zerstören, amongst other reasons a more suitable Metal Magazine masthead/name.

Mood board of the Metal Genres

This is a mood board for the Metal genres, consisting of bands, artist and other things that are generally associated with Metal. I have predominantly focused on the areas of the genres that I listen to myself as it provides me with a broad image of what sort of things i would want in a Metal music magazine if i were to buy it (which aligns with with my target audience). Some of the images may also help me to decide on the outfits for the fictional bands/artists of my music magazine.

Preliminary Task: Front Cover & Contents

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Ideas for the name of my Music Magazine

Above is a mind map of some inspiration for choosing a title for my music magazine. It includes words that are often associated with the metal genres, as well as some bands and artists (including song titles) that may provide some inspiration for the name of my magazine.

My Target Audience

My music magazine's primary target audience shall be both males and females aged between 16-30 who are passionate about the metal genres. I believe that fictional and established bands that are featured within the magazine will equally attract a variety of Metal fans, without favouring a particular sex. The target audience will enjoy seeing mainstream bands at large arenas, but will still keep an eye out for any new and upcoming bands that may be worth seeing in smaller, more intimate venues. They will be the sort of person who spends their money on going to concerts, buying band merchandise and investing in the latest album of one of their favourite bands. My Audience's favourite music may include that from bands such as Rammstein, Slipknot, Bullet For My Valentine or shock artist Marilyn Manson, as well as iconic classics such as Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath or Metallica. Some will prefer smaller bands such as Cancer Bats, Turisas or Airbourne. It is important that I reach quite a broad spectrum within the Metal genres and their fans as there are currently few established Metal magazines, and thus I have to ensure mine is comparable, both in quality and audience.

Edited photos for school newsletter

Below are some photos that I believe are the better shots from my photo shoot and so may be used within my school newsletter. Even though some shots turned out better than others, there were a few that still required slight editing, which I did through Adobe Photoshop. The originals have been included as a source of comparison to the edited versions.

The editing to this shot was very minimal, with just a slight adjustment made to the contrast levels to make to the colours in the photo a little more prominent.

This is a photo of the D-Building, which has only recently been constructed. I found the raw image to be somewhat off level, and their where shadows on the ground as it was a bright day. Ergo, I straightened the image and made the shadows less prominent.

With this shot, the edit is quite clear. As the lighting was really quite bad in the room that we used, I increased the brightness, substantially improving the photo, and making the board contents more visible. Any other photos that may be used within my school newsletter, either did not require any editing or simply needed to be cropped to the appropriate size for their position within the newsletter.

Release and risk assessment forms for Preliminary Task

Photo shoot for Preliminary Task

As photos are a prominent part of any school newsletter, I conducted gathered a range of photos, taken by myself, to use within my newsletter. Below is a screen-capture of all of the raw images that took, although there are some imperfections and problems with some photos, and so I will narrow the amount of photos that could be used in the final newsletter. The students and teachers used were willing participants and all signed release forms, giving me their permission to use images in which they were included. I used Sixth Form Students to create a more mature and college-like feel to my newsletter, which relates to my ideology that has been previously explained. As well as taking photos of the front of the school and the newly built D(eyes) building, I created a number of scenarios, such as a student studying, working on a board, conducting a science experiment and a technology technician working. Overall I took 44 photos.

The only problems that were encountered during the photo shoot were problems with lighting. Some of the locations of the pictures contained quite dim lighting. However, in most cases, this can be combated and solved through editing using software such as Photoshop. There was a minor problem of students wandering in to long shots of the D-building, but again, this may be altered and removed using editing.

A second, smaller photo shoot may be required to achieve some of the desired shots that were not achieved previously due insufficient amounts of light or due to previously inaccessible locations for example.

Below is a screen-capture of some of the more useful images that are currently suitable or have the potential to be through editing using Photoshop. Once the photos have been edited, I shall consider whether they are still suitable for the positions within the newsletter that I had previously created in my mock-ups, or whether they would fit better in a different position etc.

A couple of examples...

As you can see, the image on the bottom is more suitable than that on the top as the camera is more level, filling the frame more, and allowing a greater impression that a science experiment is being conducted, with more flame being visible and the male student in the foreground appearing to be concentrating more.

This is another example of how I had to make decisions about my raw photos and decide whether they could or had the potential to fit in to my newsletter. As you can see, in the top image the student is laughing, whereas he is not in the one below, thus meaning I would use the lower one as it creates a more mature and studious feel, which is what I want for my newsletter.

Shot Lists For Prelim

This is the shot list that I drafted to give me an idea of what sort of images i wanted to use within my newsletter. Having a shot list would also help cut down the time of my photo shoot as i would not need to wander round trying to instantaneously create ideas in my head, as I had them pre-planned. The shot list made sure that for each shot I myself knew what type of shot it would be, whether I would take a few variations (mid-shot then close-up etc) and what clothing and equipment etc would be in the frame. I also made a small note/reminder of what ideology it links into, as to remind of where it would be going within my newsletter.
   

Theories In Media

Cohen's Moral Panic:

A moral panic is a mass feeling expressed within society about a supposed threat to the normal social order and conventions. In 1971, Stanley Cohen named deviant groups as folk devils. The 'panic' that is created through this, turns other people against these groups. A prominent example of this, that is still witnessed today, is the British press reflecting immigrants in a negative light to turn the public against them, and the nations that they originate from.

Richard Dyer's Star Theory:

Richard Dyer theorised that instead of being a person, they were simply an image created for audiences. He based his theory on two paradoxes; with the star having to be present yet absent, while being both ordinary and extraordinary. Dyer said that they were commodities, ultimately being produced and consumed on the strength of their meanings.

Laura Mulvey's Male Gaze Theory:

Laura Mulvey, a British feminist and film theorist, came up with a theory in 1975 called the 'Male Gaze Theory'. Within this theory, Mulvey stated that cinema audiences look at films in two different ways, fetishistically and voyeuristically. She states that this results in two effects, a narcissistic identification of an ideal shown on the screen as well as the objectification of females. Mulvey used her theory to prove that the media of the time and to much extent today, is created on the basis of satisfying males, with females being used as mere 'objects of desire for their visual pleasure'. This theory has formed the basis of many arguments used by feminists who campaigned for women's representation in the media.

Analysis of St.James' High School newsletter

As a part of the research for the preliminary task, I shall look another school newsletter, that of St.James' Catholic High School. The initial impression of this newsletter is that it is quite formal in both design and content. Due to this, i can assume that the target audience for this newsletter is the parents rather than the students of St.James', which is also supported by the opening words being 'Dear parents/carers' which makes it quite clear who the newsletter is for. 

The first page is very formal and mature in it's style of presentation due to the large amounts of text and quite bland colour scheme. It opens with a message from the Head teacher, which is then followed by a prayer and  key information. There are some downsides however, especially in relation to the production of the newsletter, which has been created using software such as Microsoft Publisher or similar, making the text boxes, lines and inconsistent use of font come across as quite unprofessional, which is not what you want when trying to impress and inform the parents of your pupils.

Throughout the newsletter, the colour scheme is very inconsistent and bares little resemblance the school's colours. This can be seen in particular on the third page where several different colours are used, giving the impression that there is no formality to the structure, which instead just consists of random colours to try and attract the reader's eye, which is only partly successful. The main website for the school is predominantly dark blue, purple and gold, so to include colours such as red (as well as leaving a lot of white space), it can give the impression of unprofessionalism.

Furthermore, the images that have been included on page one and four, although useful in supporting the surrounding information, are not very professional. To combat this, a more professional camera could be used, which would help to create a more mature impression and feel to this newsletter. Overall, I believe that this newsletter was mostly successful in reaching it's target audience, the parents, but still has potential to enhance the overall structure and feel to the newsletter. I will take into account my criticisms, such as those about the lack of consistency of the colour scheme and unprofessional photographs, and make sure that I avoid these when making my school newsletter.