My Chosen Sub-Genre

I have chosen Pop as my sub-genre as I feel I enjoy it most and it is the most commonly listened to genre of music. Therefore it will be easier to create. I plan to follow the codes and conventions of a pop music magazine, but I feel I may subvert some things along the way! Below are examples of a front cover, contents page, and double page spread I plan to take inspiration from. They are from a magazine called Billboard.

Sub-Genre Research Codes And Conventions

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College Magazine Front Cover And Contents Page With Evaluation

Successes of my front cover include;

• Masthead design
• Most images are well composed
• My colour palette is clear
• I have included a medium close up

Things I need to work on;

• Puff- It is usually a competition or a freebie
• My bottom photo is am odd one for a front cover
• Page layout is normally one main image
• I only have two cover lines

Successes of my contents page;

• Clear house style between two pages
• Image choice fits the genre
• Some nice images

Things I need to work on;

• Layout
• Margins and justification of text
• Amount of information included
• Variety of shots

Original Images For My Front Cover And Contents Page

I will use this picture on  my contents page in the top right hand corner as a smaller image. The coverline to go with it will be about students textile work being advertised at falmouth university and what page you can find it on. I liked this photo because it is interesting and colourful. I would crop this picture to focus on the display and not the door and corridoor.

I like both of these computer oriented photos, I would have to choose between the two for my magazine. I may edit them and adjust the lighting. Only minor cropping would be needed on one of the photos. One of these photos would be placed on my front cover as a minor image. I like how they look natural and not posed.

This image will be used as a main image on my contents page. I will crop it so that it is just the image and no wall in the background. I may edit the photo to make the image bolder and more dramatic I like the photo because the dress is unusual and interesting. The topic will be on textiles and photography.

This image will be used to talk about sport science within the college and how they can be easily linked and when put together you can have a career in sport science. I will crop the image to make it fit the page better. It will be on my contents page 

This image will considered for my contents page or front cover as a smaller picture. I may edit this picture slightly adjusting the lighting and contrast etc. I like it because it's natural and not posed.

This image will be my main image on my front cover. It will advertise student success in sport. I like this picture as I chose a side angle to make it unusual and less posed, as I personally do not like posed pictures. I will crop this photo and adjust the brightness and contrast to make the quality better.

Flat Plans

Here are my flat plans, I have kept my colour palette to a blue and fuchsia theme. I feel this will appeal to girls and boys. They are primary and a secondary colour, making the magazine bold and eye catching to the reader. I will include a variety of pictures and different types of text.I decided to keep my magazine simple without too many pictures as I feel it will be too busy with lots of pictures. I will use different shot types for my pictures and include a variety of different subjects in my text for my images. I will use a simple 'courier' font throughout.

Survey and results for College magazine.

I created a survey to find out what sort of things people wanted to see in a college magazine. Below are the questions I asked and results I got.

1) What topics would you like to read about in a college magazine?

• New things in the college- 9
• Opportunities on offer- 2
• Student success within the college- 1

2) Do you think having a lot to read is a good idea?

• Yes- 0
• No- 13

3) How many pictures should be featured on the front page?

• Two- 9
• Four- 2
• Six- 1
• Eight plus- 0

4) what should the masthead be?

• Southwest college- 3
• Empire College- 8
• Victoria Park College- 1

5) Should the magazine be advertising the college to new students?

• Yes- 0
• No- 0
• Yes but only a little- 13

I will take these results into consideration when creating my flat plans.Using the ideas to make my magazine better and appeal more to college students as I got college students to do the survey.

Audience Analysis

The primary target audience for my magazine are mainstream pop music lovers. Their average age could range between 14 years to over 30 years old. My main aim is to keep a simple theme throughout my magazine with iconic pictures that represent my magazine style. Pop music can appeal to a wide range of people from anywhere and any background. There is no set target audience. Pop music is simply down to a matter of personal preference. The lyrics of mainstream pop music are also very relatable to most people and that is why anybody can enjoy it. My magazine will focus specifically on mainstream pop and what is going on in the charts involving this particular genre.