This is my preliminary student magazine coursework task.
This is the front cover of my student magazine, this is the first time i had used Photoshop to produce a piece of work. I feel that I could have done much better and that my final piece of coursework turned out much better than the prliminary task as I had gained some experience in using the programme.



This is the contents page of my student magazine. I feel that it turned out better than the front cover although it was not as good as my final peice of work.

This is my finished double page spread article, i am pleased with the finished product. The snow theme continues throughout the produced pages which helps create a sense of cohesion throughout the magazine.

This is my finished contents page. I have stuck to the initial colour scheme, only adding a light pink colour for the editorial, for it to not get mixed up with the bright colours and text around it or for it not to fade into the background.

I decided to change the colour scheme a little so that there was a contrast between the front cover and the contents page. I decided to use red as I already used it in the front cover to write '100 page' so I thought that there would not just be a contrast but a link between to the two also.
The layout remained basically the same although the images are not in columns anymore but are slightly overlapping to make it look a little more interesting.

This is the first attempt at my contents page, I chose the same colour scheme as on my front cover as I thought it would go together.
The layout is quite simple with everything having its own space, quite regimented and not all over the place.

This is the sketch i made from which i created my front cover.

This is my finished front cover, i have stuck with the colour scheme and added some more to the column inch. I have also added a black circle in the right bottom hand corner to make the writing inside look exciting and important. I am very happy with the way it turned out.

Front Cover Ideas

This is my first attempt at my front cover. I feel that the colour scheme works well as it accentuates the more important parts; like headings and band names in black, the pink writing tells the reader more about what is going to be in the magazine. It is very simplistic at the moment but adding a few thumbnail images could improve it although the simplicity of the page could give the magazine cover and identity for the reader to relate to.

I have taken some photos which could be used in either the front cover, the contents page or the article. I have decided on making my magazine a christmas special issue, a winter wonderland. The article and the front are supposed to portray how the band I am focusing on go on a journey from auditions, to recording studios. From the comfort of the common room to the big wide world.























I also really like this image as it has a calm feeling about it, I also like how the two people in the image are not nex to each other but are stood at different distances from the camera, they are not showing their faces or looking straight at the camera which gives the image a mysterious feel. There is also lots of room around the people in the image, giving me space for a column inch, title, tag line if I were to use it a my front cover image.

I really like this image as it shows the freedom and fun the band has in the snow, but also shows a contrast of characters, one is calm and composed but the other is dancing around playing the guitar. I would have liked to use it as a front cover image but the image is landscape instead of portrait so I feel that if I cropped and resized the image, it would become distorted and of not very good quality.

This image will probably not make the front cover, contents page or the article as it was not taken very well and is blurry, with a purple smudge in the corner. The next image is similar so it can compensate for this one.

The series of these images hopefully shows how the band goes on a journey. Venturing from the warm corners of the sixth form halls to the cold uninviting outside into the music recording studios.

During the practice stages of our coursework Charlotte, Benj and I created an interview with Benj's band "Gravity Of The Witchmen". We made this interview in Publisher but we are making our music magazines in Photoshop and/or Scribus.
We first uploaded the imaage, then added titles and text on top as the image was quite dark which made this possible. We decided to go for a main colour scheme of black, red and white as these coloured were the main ones that featured in the image.
The text was placed to the left to make James, the lead singer of the band, more visible.
This is our music magazine interview:

I have decided to call my magazine Enigma, I will be making an indie magazine I will experiment with different font types from www.urbanfonts.com.

Text Type One.



This calligraphy looking text would be a bit old fashioned, for a modern indie music magazine. Although I like how it looks a bit scruffy and dirty. The splattered ink dots around the word make it look as though someone rushed when they wrote it.

Text Type Two.



This text type is quite bold, could be quite overpowering on a music magazine front cover if the text was made too big as it is quite dark. Because it has white scratch like marks on it, instead of being plain black makes it look quite interesting.

Text Type Three:



This font type is not as bold as text type two, it has the same white scratch mark look so I think it could look good, but on the other hand it is quite small and could get lost amongst a busy background and vivid colours.

Questionnaire Charts

Music Magazine Questionnaire

My name is Marta Korycka, for my AS level media project I am creating a music magazine. I have created this questionnaire to help me find out what the public want and need in a music magazine. I would really appreciate it if you could take some time to fill in this questionnaire.

1. Gender:
Male Female

2. Age:

3. Do you currently buy any music magazines? Please Circle.
Yes No

Is so which ones:

……………………………………………………………………

4. How much would you be willing to spend on a music magazine? Please Circle.

£0.50 - £1.00 £1.01 - £1.50 £1.51 - £2.00 £2.01 - £2.50

£2.51 - £3.00 £3.01 - £3.50 £3.51 - £4.00 £4.01 - £4.50


5. How often would you buy a music magazine? Please Circle.

Once a week Twice a week Once a fortnight Once a Month


6. Which type of music do you listen to on a regular basis? Please Circle.

Rock Pop Indie R&B Hip Hop Dance Trance Drum and Bass

Classical Jazz Reggae Opera

Other……………………………………………………………


7. What would you like to find in a music magazine? Please Circle.

Upcoming Gigs Album Reviews New Releases Music Charts

Band Interviews Promotional Offers

Other……………………………………………………………


Thank you for taking the time to fill this in.

Publish at Scribd or explore others:

This is the first day of my blog, I will upload all my work on here from now on until the end of this part of the coursework.
This next essay is about a previously published music magazine article.

Firstly I will look at the institutions of NME magazine, NME is produced by IPC Media and the editor is Conor McNicholas. The paper's first issue was published on 7 March 1952 after the Musical Express and Accordion Weekly was bought by London music promoter Maurice Kinn, and re-launched as the New Musical Express. It was initially published in a non-glossy tabloid format on standard newsprint. On 14 November 1952, NME created the first UK Singles Chart. The first of these was, in contrast to more recent charts, a top twelve sourced by the magazine itself from sales in regional stores around the UK. The first number one was "Here in My Heart" by Al Martino. The competitors of this magazine would be Kerrang and possibly The Big Cheese.
NME has a large audience, mainly consisting of teenagers who like going to festivals such as Reading, Glastonbury and Leeds. People who like rock, alternative and indie music and those that like going to gigs and having a good time drinking etc. Other audiences such as critics and people in other countries could also consume this product. The producer of the product is trying to appeal to the entertainment section.
The representations of NME magazine are based on band members, bands and fans. The magazine is mainly all about male artists. Female artists and black people aren’t popularly shown in the magazine. In the images the bands are shown in both a positive light, doing what they do best performing and recording albums, but some are also shown in a negative light. Most images are from photo shoots, clean cut and looking their best, but some for example Kids In Glass Houses and Crimesss were photographed at “a house party no-one will ever forget”.
Furthermore the forms and conventions of NME magazine are worth reviewing. The most commonly used article types are interviews. The article I will focus on will be an interview with Late Of The Pier. In the article, the band says that their aim is to “crumble the roots of all the shit music that’s being released nowadays” “ We won’t write songs saying that this band or that band are shit, we will just show a lot of music up from underneath.” The article always mentions that ‘Late of the Pier are so determined to push boundaries that they don’t even care if they like their own music.’ The article shows the band in a positive light, showing how they first set up the band and started gigging, the band also mentions that when they first started playing and gigging they went on a ‘twisted learning curve’. They also said, “We were kids not knowing how to play instruments, writing a lot of weird stuff and not really knowing how to present it.” Now that the Late of the Pier have ‘got their shit together’, Tim Chester, the interviewer writes ‘fingers crossed the band hold it together, because we need them now more than ever before, In an age of insipid, rehearsed and reheated music and a stale and crumbling music industry, Late of the Pier are here to shake things up and push things forward. They’re one of the few bands that can claim to be making something completely unique.’ Throughout the whole article the theme of pushing boundaries, being unique young and new is shown. This is also shown by the use of images as the band are portrayed in a messy, querky paint filled environment, the captions for the images also represent their youth as it says 'No mummy we haven't been near your make-up bag' giving it a fun feel.
The band say that they have had two years of mediocrity and that it will take to more years for people like them to gain control again. They want to become more famous than they already are and are willing to push more boundaries to get there.

I completed this essay over the Christmas holidays. I paid particular attention to forms and conventions but my teacher marking suggests that I need to pay more attention to the representation of NME magazine.