Colour experements for media

I experemented with different colour schemes for my magazine, as my magazine is aimed at males and females i couldnt use colours that dominate each other. Therefore i chose colours that would compliament eachother and appeal to both male and female

Font experements for my magazine

Here i have looked at different fonts for my magazine. A my magazine is aimed at men aswell as women i couldnt have swirley girly font so i went for somthing unuseual but also refelcted the messy attitude of teenagers

Institutional data for NME music magazine

Key facts:
Price- £2.20
Frequency- weekly
Launch date- 1952
Male/female- 73%/27%
Average age- 25
ABC1- 73%
Target market- men aged 17-30

Above is some research I have gathered about NME music magazine. The list of key facts includes the price of the magazine, frequency, launch date, gender and target market. The magazine costs £2.20 and is produced weekly. The price of the magazine is very suitable as the target market age range shows that the audience will have some sort of paid work. The price cannot be too expensive though as the majority are still being educated and will be receiving little or no income from their college, university. We can see that the magazine is successful as it is still up and running since 1952. The target market for NME is Males and we can see that the magazine has attracted their target audience well as 73% of males read the magazine. Although the target market is Males, females also take an interest, which is a positive outcome for the magazine as it has a larger audience. The average age for NME reader as we can see is 25. The majority of NME readers belong to social group ABC1 and from this we can see that the magazine is at the top end of all music magazines.

-34% are working full time, 18% are working part time and 26% are full time students
-62% read at least 3 out of 4 issues
-Almost half (49%) have been reading NME for at least 3 years
-84% think the magazine gives them what they want spending an average of 46 minutes reading each issue

Journalism practise

Review of film ‘Twilight’ for Kerrang! Magazine
Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) doesn’t expect much when she moves to the small town of Forks, Washington, until she meets the dark and mysterious Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) a boy who’s hiding a dark secret: he’s a vampire. As they fall in love Edward must control his blood thirst for Bella that would make her his prey. Twilight is based on the no. 1 best selling books by Stephanie Meyer. Twilight is an emotional story with dangerous twists. A must-see.

Review of film ‘Twilight’ for the Guardian newspaper
Kristen Stewart plays Bella, a very reserved pale girl who is the child of a broken home. She has been living with her divorced mother in Phoenix, Arizona. Bella now proposes to live with her farther, Sergeant Charlie. Bella is instantly attracted to the beautiful and mysterious boy called Edward Cullen, played by the young British star Robert Pattinson. Edward is keeping a dark secret that he is infact undead, from a family of vampires who live in the forest, and who have vowed to be "vegetarians" that is, live only on animal blood. Twilight is based on the number one highest selling sesation by Stephanie Meyer. Twilight adds a dangerous twist to the classic story of lovers, a teen romance to get your teeth into.

KERRANG! Front cover!
The colour used in the background is black and makes the text and images stand out on the page. The title ‘Kerrang ‘looks really powerful as it is black on white background. The name of the magazine ‘Kerrang!’ sounds like a guitar being strummed. There are only four colours used to make it simple and easy to read. The focal point is the main picture of a singer who is featured in the main article of the Magazine. You can tell instantly that the magazine is featuring ‘paramore’ as it is the largest word on the page except for the name of the magazine.
The text on the front cover is very vibrant as it is dark text on a light coloured background. Also the use ofexclamation marks after the phrases makes itlook direct like it is being spoken out to you. The main feature on the front cover (the singer) is looking directly at the reader to make them feel involvedand important. There is also a light shining her face.
All the text is in capital letters to grab thereader’s attention and has been clearly spread out to fit around with the main image.
There are also free band posters advertised on thefront cover and we can see that themagazine is aimed at age 14-20 year oldsas people in their mid-twenties are unlikely to hang posters on the room.
There are also hints about what’s inside the magazine to persuade more people to buy it.
The bands in the smaller images are all wearing black/dark coloured clothes to suggest that they are dangerous and mysterious.

Smash Hits contents page

The Black writing contrasts with the white background so that you can easily read it. Also there is a heading in bold capital letters so you know that it is the contents page. Each page number has been laid out clearly with the appropriate headline to what is on each page. The text has been spaced evenly around the pictures to that it is clear and easy to read.

The main picture on the contents page is in the centre and the person is looking straight at you, this type of eye level shot is used to make the reader feel involved in the magazine. They have kept the same colour scheme as the front cover, none of the colours dominate each other but they appeal to both sexes.

Kerrang mood board

Kerrang target audience

The demographic profile of my chosen magazines target audience (male, aged 14-19) would look something like this. From my mood board you can see that people would read this magazine are likely to live in the city or town as people that live in the county will read ‘county life’ or a magazine about the environment. The age range that read Kerrang will either be single or have a boyfriend/girlfriend. They are not likely to be married as the majority of people that read Kerrang are not old enough to get married yet. The people that read Kerrang are likely to be working or skilled working class because many will still be at college or university.
Psychographic profiles, the people who would read this magazine are mostly individuals or mainstreamers as they either try and be themselves or try to copy others by what they read in the magazine. As the majority of my target audience are mainstreamers they are likely to have some sort of musical hobby as ‘Kerrang’ is a music magazine.
The social status of ‘Kerrang’ audience will be somewhere between D and C2 as the majority of Kerrang readers are students. Kerrang’s target audience is male ages 14-19. The Regionality of the Kerrang’s audience is that they are still likely to be living at home and single or have a boyfriend/girlfriend.

Kerrang double paged spread

To editor has used a dropcap to grab your attention to the body text. Also the main words are in capital letters to ensure that the reader reads these words first. Pull quotes have also been used to make the reader want to know more about the article. All white negative space around the article is filled with exclusive pictures of the band showing their success if this year. The kicker of an article is very important as it persuades people to read on to the main article. There is a whole page dedicated to the kicker.
The images used in the article are very powerful as the band in the pictures are looking straight at you.
The font used is easy to read as is black on a white background. The most important points on the feature page have been placed on a different coloured background. There is also a short piece at the bottom in bold capitals to show that it is important, to make sure that audience read this.

Smash hits front cover

The target audience for ‘smash hits’ is aged 8-13 and is very different from the audience of Kerrang magazine. ‘Smash hits’ is aimed at a younger audience. We can see this by the type of language used because it is simple and is easier for young teenagers to read.
The colours used are bright colours that young teenagers like. The same colour scheme has been use throughout; pink, blue, yellow, green, black and white. None of the colours dominate each other and they are colours that would appeal to both sexes.
The focal point of the magazine is the main image and both characters are looking straight at you to make you feel involved. Also the caption below the picture is suggesting that the two people in the picture are competing against each other and their stance is very powerful to show that they are eager to win. Also they have their arms up in punching position, to look like they are smashing something. This links in with magazine name ’smash hits’.
The layout is clear and simple to read and also the language is very simple to that an 8 year old would be able to understand it. To makes sure that the audience reads the most important text on the magazine, it has been printed in capital letters and it is black text on a white background so its stands out.
There are also other images besides the main one on the front cover and information about what inside the magazine. Usually the people in the main picture feature inside the magazine in the main article.

kerrang contents page analysis

The most important words in the text are in bold and in capital letters and are in a different colour to the rest of the text to catch the readers attention. This lets the reader know which bits are the most important. The small text is black on a white background and can be easily read.
The main feature is a picture of Marilyn Manson and he is looking directly at the reader. It’s very mysterious and makes you feel uncomfortable. The lighting around him is very dark and creates a mysterious mood.
The colours used are very simple and the colour scheme has been kept the same. The layout is clear and easy to read and it has been spaced out around the images. There are several smaller images around the page that keep your eyes moving around the page. There is also yellow text on a black background to stand out and catch the reader’s attention.