My Questionnaire on Music Magazines

My Questionnaire: Please circle one of the options given-

1.       What age range are you in? -                                   

   13 and under        14-16         17-29          30-40           41-50        Over 50

2.       What style of music do you listen to most? –

  Pop    Rock   Rap    Hip-hop   Dance  R&B   Metal        Other___________________

3.       What genre of music magazine would you be most interested in buying? –

Chart music    Rock     Pop      Rap     Hip-hop   R&B         Other___________________

4.       Do you currently purchase a music magazine (on a regular basis)? -    Yes or No

           If yes how often? __________________________

5.        What type of magazine do you prefer to buy?

Gossip     Music     Hair & beauty   Entertainment   Sports   Photography   Cars

            Other _________________________________

6.       Have you ever purchased a music magazine? – Yes or No                                                                                

          If yes which one?____________________________

7.       How often do you purchase any types magazines (not specific to music)? -

More than once a week       Once a week            Once a fortnight                  Once a month  

                                                         Less than once a month    

8.       What average price range would you be willing to pay for a music magazine? –

99p of less    £1-£1.99      £2-£2.99     £3-£3.50      More than £3.50

CLICK HERE  For my Music magazine analysis, on two front covers, contents pages and double page spreads.

Magazine Front Cover Analysis

                                                            Hello Magazine Christmas Special

The purpose of a magazine cover is to draw the attention of the reader and make you want to buy their magazine. To do this the magazine needs a clear, easy to read name, and a bold headline that catches the eye due to the words used. The headline and sub headings need to stand out and the main cover story needs to be about something well known and interesting. Each magazine needs something specific to them, and the layout is important as it’s how the magazine is usually recognised. When magazines are on stands, usually they are layered on top of each other and all you can see is the left third, this needs to be the most striking part of the magazine, as the left third has the job of attracting readers.

This Hello! Christmas special magazine is purposely created for its readers to find out what’s on TV this Christmas.  The main audience is targeted at Hello Readers who may be buying the Hello magazine and also see this one.  By including the Hello Logo and keeping a similar layout, the magazine is targeting a readymade audience. Also the magazine is targeting a wide audience because it has a range of different TV entertainment on the front cover for all different ages - Downton Abbey – period drama,  the regular Soap Operas, Strictly come Dancing, comedy shows and films.  

The mast head is the same style as the usual Hello magazine (keeping the Hello magazine identity), however instead of the logo being red and white, it is gold and white, to represent Christmas and the fact that it is a Hello special, covering television and entertainment over Christmas.  The colours are all Christmas based, and on the image captions the flash boxes are a red background to keep some of the same style and layout of the normal Hello magazine style. The writing all stands out, with the main headline in capital, and part of it enlarged to grab the reader’s attention. This means that when glancing at the magazines, a person’s eyes will be drawn to the headline – so the editors of the magazine have made the cover story and headline important and targeted at a wide audience range.  As the main cover story is targeted at all ages, the main graphic is easily and well recognisable, appealing to all.  The main image includes two key characters of Downton Abbey – a popular rated show, dressed up standing in front of a Christmas tree,  this can be used through connotation to predict that the episode being promoted will be very Christmas based and festive.  The characters shown are composed in a way that looks neither happy nor unhappy, giving the impression that there are not many hints about the episode, leaving viewers to wait and see for themselves. This targets all audiences as many people do not like a storyline to be spoiled, and can specifically target a family based audience, who are gathered together at Christmas watching Christmas episodes and television in the evening.

The main image is clearly a posed shot, and fans of Downton Abbey will recognise the significance of those characters being selected for the front cover. The characters smart dress style and the traditional Christmas photo composition show off the elegance of the drama. The smaller images shown underneath are all to be aired in the week of Christmas, promoting the entertainment over Christmas. This assures the reader that the magazine is purely for television and entertainment purposes and not clashing with the regular weekly Hello magazine. The programmes advertised on the front are targeted at wide age ranges, however are very family based, which complements the tradition that Christmas is family time.

By using the phrase, ‘behind the scenes exclusive’ it prompts the reader to think that this story is only in Hello entertainment,  and persuades them to buy the magazine as it has its own specific stories different to other magazines. This may make the reader think if they don’t buy this magazine, they won’t be able to find out about these stories on the cover that drew their attention in the first place.

Camera Shots

In a group with Beth and Naia, we looked at the different types of shots and took examples to explain them. Beth and Naia took the photos whilst I was the main subject involved in the compositions.

  In a Medium Long shot you see the character from the knees upwards, (this shot does not include the feet).  This shot is usually used in scenes of dialogue.

In a Mid Shot, the character is seen from the waist up usually a shot used for dialogue or to show  the detail in an action. The background is usually minimal, focusing on the character(s). This shot can usually have up to three people, anymore and it becomes a long shot.

A Medium Close Up shot is half way between a mid shot and a close up, usually including the subjects head and shoulders.  It is generally used to show a characters response to a situation or surrounding.

A Close Up shot shows very little background and focus on the subjects face, or occasionally a specific detail in Mise-en-scene. The background is usually blurred or not as focused, and the purpose of the shot is to magnify the object and make it seem more important.

 

The Over The Shoulder Shot is used to show what one subject as seen by another subject. These shots are usually close up of the head and shoulders and are used to show conversation and focus on what one character is saying.

A Two Shot is composed when two people are involved in a scene and their interaction is considered very important to the storyline. It is a good way to show relationships between people, conversations and reactions to one another.

 In a Long Shot the character or subject is usually in the centre of the shot, but some distance away,  showing most of their body, and the clothing they have chosen to wear – which can be used to set the scene of the shot. It generally shows the character ‘life size’ in comparison to the screen and audience.

             

An Extreme Close Up only features a main detail of the subject and nothing else can be seen in the shot. For example in this shot only the subjects eyes can be seen and no other significant details. This shot can be used for intense drama and to bring fear to the screen.

A Low Angle Shot is positioned below the eye line of the subject, looking up.  This is used to make the character or subject look bigger and possibly more superior to their surroundings.

A High Angle Shot is where the camera is located above the eye line. This looks down on the subject as if it’s being swallowed up by its surroundings.

A Tilted Shot consists of tilting the shot either up or down. It is used to create a sense of movement in the shot and show the vertical significance of something.