for my media project which is called 'foundation portfolio'. For this project i have to create a magazine of a particular genre of which i would plan and research the particular genre in which i pciked, this genre is going to be POP. this particular genre of musci interested me because pop can allow you to express you bubbliness, personality and happiness. This can be seen through colour, text and pictures in POP magazines. This all allowed me to express myself and my personality through my planning and research. throughout my planning and research i had to create:
Target audience profile
Mission statement
Carry out target audience reasearch
Analyse results of reasearch
Brainstorm the codes and conventions of POP
Analyse exisisting media texts and ideas and inspiration
Explore costume ideas
Explore mis-en-scene Carry out recconaissance and reaearch into locations Decide which artist will feature in your magazine
Carry out practuce shots
Produce mock-ups
Carry out a post production questionnaire

ANALYSIS OF DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

This Top of the Pops article is a double page spread of an interview with popular boy band The Wanted. The first page of the double page spread is the interview with the band, and the second page of the double page spread is for the images of the band and a box that has one question asked by the interviewer to the band. The whole article would attract a large audience of girls to it because they are a famous boy band that a lot of girls would fancy and would want to know more about what they personally have to say about curtain subjects.

On the first page of the double page spread when looking at the headline that the interview will be on them working out, which would attract a lot of girls because they will want to learn more about them working out and how they keep fit. The image of the band is in the centre of the double page spread, meaning when looking at just one page you can see that half the image has been cut of from the rest, when there is an image in the  centre of the double page spread the reader will be attracted to the image and they will read the interview to find out more about why that images is there, the large ratio of images to text suit’s the very young audience.

Another thing that would attract the audience to the article is the stand first, because it tells the reader what the interview is going to be about in just three sentences. It says at the top right of the second page ‘Exclusive interview’, this convention of a magazine is the first thing that the reader will see when flicking to that page, and the reader will become interested in knowing what is so exclusive about the interview. Another thing that the reader first sees when flicking to that page is a smaller image of the band working out, this would straight away attract the reader to the article because they will want to know more about how they keep fit and healthy.

The audience of the magazine can keep interest throughout the article with the images of the band, as the image takes up a lot of the page the reader would be looking at the image so they can relate what the member is saying with the image of them, so that they have an image of the member in the article when reading about them so they can relate. Another way that the reader can keep interest is that there is direct mode of address from the image of the band, this helps the readers relate to the image and they will become attracted to the image because of the direct mode of address. On the second page of the double page spread there is a box with a question from the interviewer asking “what do the boys first notice in a girl?”, with any girl that is attracted to the boy band then they will want to know what kind of girl they are interested in and what they notice first, with the girls reading the interview they will become interested to know more about them and what kind of girl they like.

The article has bright colours that attract the eye of the reader keeping them engrossed in the article, and keeps from the reader from getting bored. The comments make by the members taken out of the interview are placed next to the member that said it, making the reader want to know why that member said that comment and what the question was. The whole layout keeps the audience interested because they don’t lose interest, it’s not complex.

When looking at this article I would believe that the target audience of the magazine are girls aged 12 to 15, this is because the article is on a boy band that would attract the readers. Another reason that the target audience would be girls aged 12 to 15 is the colours used, they are very girly colours, with the girly colours being pink and a mix between blue and purple, these colours suit more girls than they do boys.

The language is suitable for the target audience because of the slang used, for example, ‘lanky’, ‘chubby’, ‘pig out’, these are very common slang words that most people now believe that they are not slang words anymore, even though they are not the strongest slang words most commonly used the target audience for the magazine would be able to relate to them, the target audience for the magazine would be able to relate to them, whereas if the target audience was adults, they would be confused to why there are slang words in the interview. The interview is very informal meaning that the target audience will be able to relate to the interview, if the interview was formal the target audience would become bored and would either turn to a different article or they would start to wonder when reading.

The colour scheme used in the article is pink, white, black and mix between blue and purple. The pink is used for the stand first and to highlight the members of the band. The black is only used for the text in the interview. The white is used for the masthead and the comments that the members made by the image. The mix between blue and purple colour is used for the background to the masthead making it stand out to everything else, and used for the questions that the interviewer asks, which separates all the questions.

ANALYSIS OF DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

By looking at this double page spread I can tell it has been taken from a pop magazine. I know this because the colours used are bright and bright colours are often used throughout a pop magazine. Another way I know  this double page spread is of a pop genre is that the artists shown fit into the pop genre. Also the whole double page spread has a fun and light hearted element to it which is something that is often seen in pop magazines and not in magazines of a different genre such as rock. 

This double page spread focuses on one artist. A band called The Jonas Brothers. On the double page spread the band are represented as teenage heartthrobs that lots of girls would like and find attractive. I know this because they are all posing in a seductive and intense way to attract girls. Also they are shown as being down to earth. I think this because they are wearing normal clothing just like us. As well as this they are looking straight down the camera lense and look as though they are looking directly at us. This is done to make us feel like we can relate to them and be just like them. 

The target audience for this double page spread is teenage girls. I know this because the colour scheme for this page uses a lot of pink and pink is a colour that is often associated with girls. Another way I know the target audience is girls is that their is a big picture of good looking guys that fills the whole page. This image will most definitely attracts girls and probably not guys. Also the main title for the article on this page is 'Brother Love'. This title is targeted at girls and would interest girls and not boys. Also the quotes from the band written in the article will be of interest to girls and not boys. 

On the left hand page their is a mid shot showing the band that takes up most of the page. This shot is high angle. This is done so that it looks like we as the audience are looking down on them. This makes us feel superior to them or make us feel like we know them even though they are big famous celebrities. On the right hand page their are shots of the band rehearsing and performing. These shots look like they are taken backstage. These shots include long shots, medium shots and two shots. 

The article is set out into four columns. Also their is a big picture of the band on the left hand side and four smaller ones on the right hand side. As well as this the title for the article is written in a large font and positioned 3/4 of the way down on the left hand page.

ANALYSIS OF CONTENTS PAGE

The genre of this magazine is pop. This is shown through the use of colours because they are bright and represent pop due to the use of bright colours such a yellow, pink, and bright blue. These are colours often useed to represents girls and this helps due to the fact that the target audience of pop magzines are teenage girls. Also the artists featured on the contents page are part of the pop genre. As well as this the contents page has a light hearted fun element to it which is associated  with the pop genre and if this magazine was rock then it would not have thid light hearted feel to it.

The target audience for this magazine is teenage girls. This is shown because the magazine uses girly colours such as a lot of pink and this appeals to girls and is known as an girly colour although this could be seen as a sterotype but it is true that these are used to symblise girl therefore pop magazines use them. Also the magazine features articles like we heart boys and has a picture of boyband one direction this is a popular band with teenage girls therefor pop magazines will use these boy bands to get the target audiences attention leading them to purchase the magazine.

The information on the contents page is put into 3 three columns this is to allow an een proportion the informationa and not just in one long column. Also there is a picture of the magazine cover on the left hand side and a banner that says "inside the mag" running across the top of the page, This helps to gie ecxcitement to the magazine and make you want to see whats inside. The contents page also has a page number at the bottom of the page positioned in the centre. The use of information which is represented and shown with numbers helps to make the contents page and information easier which allows the contents page to be more exciting and interesting allowing the information to be exicitng and less formal.

The people (artists) shown on the contents page are represented as happy and content. I know this because they all are smiling whihc allows them to be shown as happy to the target audience also allowing them to relate to the magazine and the artists themselves. Also they are shown as being 'perfect' but still down to earth at the same time. This is shown through the images which have been air-brushed to make them look amazing but they are wearing normal clothes as worn by anyone allowing them to realte to the target audience again. Also they are shown as being just like the target audience as they are looking straight down the camera lense and look as though they are look directly at us and because of this we as an audience can then relate to them and be like them.

On the contents page there is an image of three of the boys from one direction. This shot is a mid shot. This shot is used to make them look attractive and make them appeal to the target audience as they are used to appeal to teenage girls as they are a popluar boy band with this age range and therefore are specifically used in pop magzine allowing them to sell. There is also a meduim shot of selena gomez. This shot is used to make her look pretty so other girls will want to look like her and will buy the magazine. Throughout the contents page there are many points such as the use of imagery and text and colour to relate to the target audience which gives a sense of realness to them magazine making it more real.

ANALYSIS OF CONTENTS PAGE

This magazine contents page is taken from a pop magazine. This is shown throuhg the use of colour, which are bright and happy. Throughout pop music magazines you will notice a use of a three colours which are used to show a continuous colour scheme and is also use to allow the audience to notice a music magazine when it is on the shelve in a shop and be able to look at it and automatically think that is a pop magazine. Also the artists featured on the contents page such as Beyonce, McFly and Blue are associated with the pop music genre. The band 'Blue' are used to attract girls as they are hunky men and this is somethin girls will want to look at and these types of images are expected to be seen in music magazinesa. As well as this, this page has a light-hearted feel to it and contains jokes which is common feature of pop magazines, which allows to make the target audience warm to the magazine which will want them to experience this again therfore buying th emagazine again.

The target audience for this magazine is teenage girls. Throughout my research and planning i have found out that if not all but the majority of pop magazines are aimed at tennage girl. This is shown by this particluar pop magzines contents page as the main colour used on this page is pink and pink is known as a girly colour and although that i seen as a sterotype for girly girls thats what attracts girls to read magazines so therefore you see the majority of pop mazines with mainly pink as a main colour saeen throughout the magazine. Also the magazine contains a main story about boy band The Blues which will appeal to girls. As well as this the magazine contains a story about McFly who's main target audience is girls. Even though this magazine has two boy band featuring in it, it also has parts on 'Ashlee simpson' and 'Beyonce' this gives the magazine a balance and isn't just focused on boy bands so girls also are able to realte to female artists.  

The contents page is set out in two columns which gives the magazine a balance so that its not all information and to crowded by boxes and collumns. This is also seen through the use of images which helps to balance out the magzine and gives it something more inetersting and allows the contents page to look exciting ad this could help to represxent inside the magazine and the contents page is there to tell you whats inside but the images also show you without giving too much away. Also their is a banner running across the bottom with details about writers and photographers for the magazine. On the left hand side of the page their is a list of each article and the page number for each one. On the right hand side of the page their are pictures of pop artists with captions and a letter to the reader from the magazine editor. There is also a page number in the right bottom corner of the page. Moreover the 'Smashhits' logo is positioned in the top right corner of the page as it not so much about the name of the magzine as we saw this on the front cover and now the main focus is to suggest about the inside of the magzine giving excitement to the reader.  

The artists shown on the contents page are represented as normal and down to earth this is to realte to the target audience and allow them to feel a relavance to the magazine and the artists. This is shown through the clothes in which they are wearing. The use of casual clothes also allows a relevance to the target audience, and the pictures look natural this shows them being more real and doesn't allow the target audience to feel they are being fake and unreal. Also in one of the pictures on the page Dermot O' Leary is looking straight down the camera lense and looks as though he is looking directly at us. This makes him relatable and gives the target audienced the sense that the magazine is for them and makes them feelt that they relate to the magazine. 

On the contents page there is a close up of Dermot O' Leary, this shows his up close and might insist that inside the magazine that there may be informartion that shows dermot in a more open way and giving information that you may not know before but will now, maybe information about him on a personal level. Also their is a two-shot of Friday hill. This picture shows the two of them hanging out and having fun, this may be something that the target audience does wiht their friends on the weekend and they may feel like they can relate to the magzine gain because its something they do personally. As well as this there is a medium close up of Sean performing at a gig, this may give the reader a sense of what a gig is like if thay have not been to a gig before this could allow the person to want to go to a gig, therefore the magazine is giving them excitement. Then at the bottom of the page there is a 3-shot of the boy band 'blue', this shot is used to show their aggressive body language towards each other although you can see that it is playful and they are not being serious.

IMAGE IDEAS FOR FRONT COVER, CONTENST PAGE AND DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

ANALYSIS OF FRONT COVER

The masthead of the magazine is normally the thing that audiences look at apart from the main image on the front of the magazine.  The masthead of this magazine is Sans Serif and is quirky and poppy therefore relating back to the magazine. This helps to draw the attention of the target audience to the magazine as it gives them a feel that the magazine in a way is about them or to do with them. The use of lower case helps to do this also as it is cute and now powering. This shows it’s quite a girly and feminine magazine and this is shown just by the masthead. This helps to allow the audience to notice the magazine on the shelves if the shop that It is in and leading to people to purchase the magazine. Also the use of pink font with white outline helps the audience to define whether it is a magazine with what target audience specification. The use of white around the pink gives of a girly feel and that it’s bubbly and fun this is shown within the style of font as it looks like bubbles. With this particular masthead we are able to see that the magazine is for more of a girl of the ages of 13-15 maybe even 12-15. This is shown by the masthead as the colours used are pinks and whites and this is also seen through the front cover as the font colours are pink, white and yellow allowing the magazine to have a colour scheme. Without being sexist these are colours that are used more to resembles girls therefore the magazine has used the colours in the masthead to show this.

The image also known as the Main image is the image that is centred in the middle of the magazine as it is also one of the first things that you see when you look at a magazine on the shelve in a shop. The main image on the front cover of this magazine is a medium close up which allows this shot of Britney spears to show her upper body which is from the waist up. Alexandra Burke has her arms by her side striking a pose showing her girly side and that she like to pose and take pictures something that the target audience may do when they are going to their friends party or to sleepovers at their friends. This gives her relation to the target audience and allows giving them inspiration. She is facing directly with her body position which allows the audience when looking at the magazine on the shelf to feel as if Alexandra Burke is actually looking at them making them pick up the magazine and take a closer look at her then into the magazine. The use of the image and person may be used to make the target audience by the magazine as this may be one of their favourite artist therefore by using a celebrity for the main image on the front cover of the magazine or any magazine is gathers an audience to see and find out more about the celebrity and what they do and what they think and they know that this is what they will find inside the magazine.

The sell-lines of the magazine are to help the magazine to temp to target audience to pick up or in fact decide to purchase the magazine. The sell-lines on the magazine help to pull in the audience and help to interest them with subtle but tempting information about what is going to be inside the magazine. The main sell-line of this magazine is found at the bottom left hand corner which is known as the main sell-line as it is the sell-line which allows you to win something, and in this case you can win ‘HSC prizes worth £1500’. This sell line helps attract the target audience as this is something that would like to win as this is something that is popular within the target audiences personal likes and things they like. The smaller sell-lines on the bottom left hand side of the magazine are there to allow the target audience to have some excitement when picking up the magazine on the shelve as they feel like that’s something I would want to know and read about. This magazine has choice an odd place to place the sell-lines as you would usually fine them on the left hand side as this Is where we read from but instead we see other things before actually seeing the sell-lines when these bits of information are the things that are used to make the magazine sell. Instead this magazine has replaced where the sell-lines would usually go with pictures and information about the boy band ‘JLS’. This would still allow the magazine to sell as these are a popular boy band and something some girls are actually obsessed with therefore making them want to but this magazine just on the basis that ‘JLS’ are inside the magazine and there are pictures of them topless inside this itself could be seen and used as a selling factor about the magazine. The colours of the sell-lines are pink, white and yellow with some bits are black. These colours are seen throughout the front cover of the magazine therefore they have used these colours in the sell-lines to show a fluent colour scheme throughout the magazine and this helps to show that these colours are what are going to also be seen throughout the inside of the magazine. These colours also help to attract a certain target audience as these colours are girly and usually seen throughout girl’s magazines and used with girls. Even though there is a use of black front this still doesn’t mean it changes the target audience as this is the colour that is used to help even out the colours so that the magazine isn’t over shadowed with pinks and yellows to make the magazine blur into one big colour mismatch. The mode of address used in this magazine is informal and is language used for teenagers. The use of big font with some of the text helps make the magazine look less formal as it makes it less important but because it is big it is still important.

The layout of the magazine is where everything is placed and put onto the magazine. This can help create the magazine to how you want it to be like and with the slightest of changes it can change the whole magazine. The sell-lines on the magazine are on the left hand side and the bottom right hand side this goes against the codes and convention as normally the sell-lines would be on the left hand side as this is where we red form left to right therefore making us look at the sell-lines and this is what makes the audience and the target audience buy the magazine as it excites them with what they could find inside the magazine. The front cover has quite a lot of text and imagery on the front so therefore it could be seen as cluttered but everything that is on the magazine is everything that should expect to see on the front therefore it doesn’t look that cluttered. Without everything on the front cover that is on their now you wouldn’t get half the information about the magazine that you would now this because the front cover has followed all of the codes and conventions. The front cover is also quite busy but in a good way because the target audience aren’t going to be boring as they are in their early teens meaning they are hyper and excited therefore the magazine is relating to the target audience therefore the busyness has a positive outcome. It also shows that the magazine isn’t going to be boring and make you read lots of stuff but you will find images and exciting stuff inside.