Quick Anaylsis- Smash Hits (the earlier magazines).

Smash Hits, although folded in 2006, is the other magazine that has had a big influence on my magazine. However I am thinking more about the original Smash Hits, when it was the 'Pop bible', than the later ones when it was competing to be more like a teenage lifestyle magazine. I want my magazine to be focused purely on the music, just like the original Smash Hits and that is why it is such a big influence on my idea. Also, like X Magazine, the age range and gender of the original Smash Hits, is like mine and so there will be similarities.

Font size and choice of colour: The font, like the X Magazine, is more of a 'serious' font and so gives the impression that the article is of a serious nature- in fact it gives the whole magazine this 'serious' look, meaning that it is scene as a serious music magazine. The titles are larger but in the same sort of font, so again showing the serious-ness of the magazine and article.

Mode of address: The tone set by the magazine has a familiar quality to it, making the reader feel like the magazines best friend and so are more likely to continuously buy the magazine as they feel they know it.

The Content: The magazine is focused on the Pop music and so the content is based around that. This means that there are interviews with pop stars and reviews of albums and singles.

Images: Most images are paparazzi like which suggests that the magazine is based around the gossip in the pop music world. However it also includes some staged images which shows that artists in more of a positive light, which adds more appeal to this artists. It also shows that the magazine isn't purely based around gossip.

Demographic: The demographic of the older issues is both male and female (female might be slightly dominant), in their teenage years and take an interest in pop music.

Language: The language used is informal making the magazine more relevant for its target audience. There is a tabloid style of journalism used which again makes it more relevant to the target audience.

Layout: Narrative is broken up into bubbles or blocks, with pictures being dominant in every article. This breaks up any narrative making it easier to read and follow. Some articles are presented like in a newspaper with the text in columns, giving the article more of a serious feel to it.

Quick anaylsis- X Magazine.

X magazine is one of the magazines in the current market that has a big influence on my magazine, POPtastic. However this magazine only influences mine in terms of the music aspect, not the lifestyle content, as it is essentially the only 'Pop' magazine on the market. Another reason is the age of the target audience of this magazine, as it is similar to mine. This means that there will be similarties between the two in terms of the language used and the sort of articles that are published.

X magazine is a cross between a women's glossy (like Marie Claire) and and women's gossip weekly (like Heat), with aspects of being a music magazine. This means it is very hard to categorise its genre.

Font size and choice of colour: The articles themselves, are written in what could be considered a more 'serious' font such as Times New Roman, with the titles being larger in size and varying in font style. This means that the articles have a more women's weekly feel to them, such as Heat magazine. The articles are written in black with some titles written in other colours dependant on the content of the article. Again this gives the article more of a women's weekly feel to it.

Mode of address: The tone of the magazine is casual and informal and so positions the reader to be the magazines 'best friend' or as part of 'in' group. This again conveys the idea that the magazine is a cross between a women's gossip weekly and a women's 'glossy'.

The Content: The magazine contains interviews with celebraties and the contestants of the show, reviews of albums and downloads, fashion and other lifestyle elements. This shows us the genre of the magazine- music and womens lifestyle.

Images: The images are a mixture of staged photoshoots and paparazzi like. The big interviews with celebs, such as the judges, have images that are photoshoots to give a glamours impression of the person being interviewed. Other articles contain more paparazzi-type pictures which give across the impression of the magazine being a women's weekly gossip magazine. As the magazine itself is a mixture of a women's gossip and music articles, it is right that you would have a mixture of both staged and paparazzi style images.

Demographic: The magazine gives the impression that the demographic is women aged 18-30 who like the X Factor.

Language: The language used in the articles is simplistic with no overly complicated words used. The text flows well together making it easier to read, whilst techniques such as rhtorical questions and similes add more intrest and makes the articles more humours. Some of the articles also have a sarcastic tone to them, which again adds a humours edge to them.

Layout: The layout is very like a celb gossip magazine but also like a music magazine, such as NME, with interviews presented with both questions and answers, not a long article. Every article has a couple of images to either show the person being interviewd or re-enforce the purpose of the article. Everything is boxed off and that means that it is easier to read.

Mood Board.

This is the mood board for my music magazine. It focuses on all the things that i believe my ideal reader will be into such as certain artists and MTV. This then gives me ideas of what the content should be and so it is easier to begin creating my magazine.
I believe that my target audience are going to be really into pop music and/ or the current chart-toppers and so will read my magazine purely to gain more knowledge about pop industry. This is why my mood board only features things to do with the music industry.

Pre-lim task: A school magazine front cover.

This is my preliminary task of a school magazine front cover. I chose to focus on the younger years of the school-years 7 to 9- as i felt that they would be the age group that would be most interested in what was happening in and around school. The magazine would contain information on school events, new staff and anything else that KS3 students would need to know about school life.
The central dominant image is of our new headteacher as I believed it was fitting as a 'new issue' along with 'new students' and would be relevant for a school magazine.
The colour scheme used is the school colours as this re-enforces the objective of the magazine and makes it relevant for the school that would be producing them.
With an article asking for the students opinions means that the readers get involved with the magazine and so are more likely to buy it, creating a profit.
In all, the front cover really re-enforces this message of it being a school magazine, and it also gives the impression of it being for the younger students.

An Introduction.

Hi.
My name is Hannah Gordon and this is my blog for Media AS course, 2010.
My coursework this year is based on a music magazine, and so we, individually, are making our own. My idea is of a Pop music mag with a target audience of students of both genders aged 16-20 with an interest in the current Pop charts and artists. The magazine will feature the current charts along with reviews of album's, artists and concerts.
I chose this genre of music magazine after looking at the music magazine market and establishing that there was a place in it for this sort of magazine, as the only other competition would be the new X Magazine (X Factor) which also features elements of fashion and gossip. My magazine will solely be about the music.
The frequency would be weekly, as that means that the magazine can feature the current charts and be constantly up-to-date with whatever would be happening in the music world.
And so it is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the blog for the up and coming:

POPtastic.