Evaluation – Question 5

How did you attract/ address your audience?

Colour SchemeThroughout the magazine, I stayed with the colour scheme of black, white and red. This was

relevant to the audience I was trying to appeal to because indie/alternative rock magazines tend to use this colour scheme. This is because these colours have strong connotations with the overall genre and also, the colour of the clothing worn by indie rock artists (such as Alex

Turner and Tom Meighan) tend to be black, white and sometimes red. These colours are very dramatic and will visually stand to the reader and will perhaps make them more

intrigued to read on. These colours were suited well because the target audience includes both males and females. If the magazine used a colour scheme of, for example; pink and white, this would put off male readers. Therefore I used these colours because they are

gender natural and could potentially appeal to both female and male readers.

The three colours were used variously throughout the front

magazine.

PriceDespite many of the participants in my target audience survey saying they would only pay

approximately £0-£2.50 for a magazine, I felt as though the price should be increased as it is a monthly magazine and the average price for monthly magazines is around £3.00-£4 and if the

magazine cost around £2.50 per month, it may struggle to survive financially. I did consider that some members of the target audience may struggle to afford this price as they may be a student or

may not have a job, so I made sure that the magazine would have the lowest possible price for a monthly magazine, £3.00. I also included a discount offer for the magazine within the subscription box on the contents page. If readers were to subscribe to the magazine, they would pay less than

they would if they bought it from the shop every month. This ensures that I have addressed readers as I have tried to make the magazine affordable for the majority of the target audience.

The price of the magazine: £3 is clearly stated underneath the

masthead.

LayoutIn my double page spread, I used rows for the article's text in order to put across a neat looking layout to the page which the target audience want to see. This was also helpful as I was able to

add the lead-ins of the interview above the dialogue. I used a bold, red font for those and a regular black font  for the dialogue. This way, I could address the audience by showing them which parts

of the text are dialogue and which parts are lead-ins. I also filled the whole second page of the double page spread with a picture of the models. This will mean that readers immediately

understand the significance of the models as they dominate a whole page. Within the three parts of the magazine, I tried to use a minimal amount of images and a minimal amount of colour. This

makes the magazine look very neat and easy on the eye, which ultimately gives it a sophisticated feel, as the genre of indie/alternative rock in itself is also quite sophisticated.

It also matches the preferences of my target audience, as they said in the reader profile that they would be more obliged to read the magazine if it included minimal amounts of colour and images.

In my contents page, only 3

main colours are used and there

aren’t many images included

within.

The differentiation in text styles within

the interview can be seen

here:

CostumeThe style of clothing was of mass importance in appealing to the target audience. As mentioned on numerous occasions, my target audience would prefer to wear mature looking clothes, which do

not include brand labels. In order to appeal to the target audience, I ensured that the clothing worn by my models on the photos were of a similar kind of style. The clothes worn by the models came

from shops such as; Topman, River Island ect. These are all shops that cater for both men and women and also provide a mature style of clothing which does not include branding or labels. This

style is also easily accessible for all members of the target audience to wear and is also fairly cheap. It takes away any sense of pretence from the models as they are wearing clothes

commonly worn by members of the public. This ultimately makes them seem more relatable. This style of clothing is also worn by many different indie rock artists, therefore I wanted to ensure that

the artists from my magazine were of a similar ilk to these and fitted in with the genre, as in the reader profile, participants said they prefer certain artists, such as Alex Turner, who would usually

wear this sort of clothing. The colour of the clothes are often achromatic colours such as black, white or grey. These colours are associated with the overall genre as they give off a grainy,

cutting-edge look which would add to the overall mise-en-scene of the target audience.

A comparison between items of clothing from Topman and the items that my models wore in

the photo shoot.

Font The font I used mostly throughout the magazine was Myriad Bold Italic. I used this font because it

has a sharp, cutting edge look to it and also looks as if it could be the kind of font that would be seen on items associated with the genre such as an indie rock album cover. I felt this would

address the target audience as they made it clear in the reader profile that they would like to see certain conventions that were associated with the genre at hand. I felt this style of font was one of

these conventions. The font was also very convenient in that it was very clear and easy for the readers to see, perhaps due to the fact that it was a bold font and stuck out. Nevertheless, I still felt this would benefit the audience as it ensured they would be able to read the text with ease.

This segment of text in the front cover clearly demonstrates the neat, cutting edge look of the font and also shows

that it is easy for the readers to read it as it is big and clear.

MastheadThe masthead of my magazine was ‘Mayfair’. This was down to various reasons; the name

hadn’t been used for any other music magazine making it new and unique. By choosing this new, unique name, I have addressed the target audience as they would prefer to see

something that is brand-new, cutting edge and doesn’t simply replicate similar concepts of past music magazines. The name is also very trendy, catchy and sounds as though it

would be the sort of name that is associated with the indie-rock genre. Again, this has addressed the target audience as they said in the reader profile that they would like to get a trendy feel from the magazine and I felt that including this masthead would contribute to

that trendy feel of the magazine.

The masthead of the magazine ‘Mayfair’ is

shown here.

I included the sell line ‘The crazy days of… POTR – Chris and Anth reminisce about the band’s glory days’. In doing this, I have addressed the target audience by creating an

intriguing enigma as this line is mysterious and doesn’t give off too much information. This will therefore make the target audience more interested in reading the article as they will

want to gain more information. Also the fact that the line is mysterious and subtle matches the indie rock vibes of the magazine as there tends to be a lot of mysteriousness and

subtlety surrounding the genre. Ultimately, this matches the requirements of the target audience as they stated that they want to see an indie rock feel to the magazine and

therefore by including this subtle selling line, I feel I have matched the mood of the genre which will benefit the target audience a lot. Also within the selling line, I used the first

names of the artists “Chris” and “Anth”. This will ultimately address readers, as they will see the artists as being relatable as they have been referred to by their first names. This means that they will want to read on as they will want to hear what these relatable artists

have to say. The fact that I have used the word ‘reminisce’ also makes the line more appealing. If I had just said ‘talk about the band’s glory days’ or ‘discuss the band’s glory

days’, then the line would seem plain and boring, however the word ‘reminisce’ puts forward the sense that the artists will give a very, interesting, detailed account of the

band’s past.

Sell Line

The magazine’s sell line.

Pull Quotes Throughout the magazine I used many pull quotes. These are a very common convention

of rock music magazines as they add a sense of mysteriousness to the magazine and similarly to the sell line, create an enigma. Pull quotes lure the readers into reading the piece that it is attached to as it does not give away much information but merely hints at some of the content. This will ultimately make readers feel more eager to read on as this

pull quote is intriguing. Pull quotes are used commonly in magazines such as NME, UNCUT, Mojo and Kerrang. These are all magazines that participants of my reader profile said they prefer to read. By using pull quotes, I have made my magazine similar to these magazines mentioned and therefore the target audience have been addressed as I have

tried to replicate features of magazines they like. Due to the fact that pull quotes are small segments of text taken from an interview or statement, the target audience has been addressed, as pull quotes give off the impression that the person being interviewed is

speaking directly to the reader.

Pull quotes were a common convention used throughout

my magazine.

Images (Colours)The images used throughout my magazines are all similar in certain ways. One of these similarities is

between the dominant image of my front cover and the one on my contents page. They are both in black and white. In order to address the target audience, I made the images these colours because they have strong connotations with the genre at hand and members of the target audience would want to see them

included within images. These colours also give a stale, grainy look to the magazine which fans of this genre would also want to see in this sort of magazine. Using only this effect is also a benefit because it restricts the images to only two colours and most members of this target audience would want to see a

minimal amount of colours used, therefore it matches their preference. I also addressed the target audience by ensuring that in all of the images, the models are wearing black and grey items of clothing. This gives off an effect of darkness which is strongly associated with the genre and adds to the overall

mise-en-scene. I also took the photos for the contents page and front cover in a studio up against a white canvas. I felt that using this colour for the background would benefit as it would ultimately make it easier

for me to edit the images in order to give it the neat, easy on the eye style that members of the target audience want to see.

Images in my contents page

and front cover both

used the black and

white effect.

Dark clothing was worn by the models on the double page spread picture.

Images (Camera Work) For the images, I used lots of particular camera angles, shot sizes, facial expressions, lighting, etc so that I could address the target audience. First of all; in the images for the contents page and front cover, both images are eye-level angles. I did this in order to make the models seem as though they were on a similar level to the readers. This would relate to them as it creates some psychological equality between the two. Both are medium close up shots which suggest that the reader and model are fairly close to each other but not to an extent where they are too familiar with each other. Also, in both images, the models are pulling Millum’s practical expression. This goes with the mise-en-scene of the genre as this expression is quite stern and suggest the models have the sort of attitude that is so strongly associated with the genre and is what target audience members would want to see. Both images also use a high key lighting. Not only does this put forward the sense that the models are bright friendly characters to the readers but also highlights the darkness that connotes with the genre, due to the fact that it stands out against the brightness of the high key lighting. The image used for the double page spread contrasts somewhat with the way the target audience have been addressed as it is fairly different to the other two images mentioned. It is a long shot which puts forward the sense that the models are distant from the reader. This ultimately could suggest a sense of arrogance which lots of indie rock artists have, where-by they don’t want to be associated with fans as it puts forward the sort of attitude which (as mentioned previously) connotes so strongly with the genre. However, most members of my target audience would admire this, as it is the sort of attitude they would usually see in modern day indie rock artists. Moreover, a similarity is that the image does use high key lighting. I used this lighting method because of the reasons I stated previously. Another similarity is that the models are pulling Millum’s practical expression. This again was for the reasons stated previously. A further difference, however is that the image is a low angle. This suggests that the model has authority over the reader which would again, create that sense of arrogance that was mentioned previously. Mebers of the target audience would admire this as this is the mind-set they would usually see indie rock artists as having.

Images (Mode of Address)For the images in the contents page and front cover, I made sure that the models were in in-

direct mode of address. This makes the artists seem arrogant and obnoxious. Although these may seem like negative personality traits, it matches the sort of attitude that artists of this genre

usually have, and as mentioned previously, certain members of the target audience would admire this sort of attitude seen as it is so strongly associated with the genre. However, this

differed on the double page spread image as on this, the models were in direct mode of address. This addressed the target audience because it made the models seem more relatable to the readers which was relevant to this section of the magazine as it involved an interview which

meant that the artists were talking to the readers and therefore addressing and relating to them.

Models are seen to be indirect mode of address, where-as they are in direct

mode of address on the double page spread image.