EVALUATION

For the front cover i used a bright blue background to get the readers to look at the magazine straight away. However i kept it a mid-blue to compliment the style of music this magazine was based on (indie music). At the top i placed a white bar to contrast the blue with the writting about a free poster inside the magazine. I did this so that it would intrigue the readers and give them insentive to buy it. My main photo is of "The keys" (a made up band) , i put their photo on the front big because i was doing my main flash story about them. I did different sections on my front cover as it gives a selection of parts to read for the different (but indie interested) readers. I used a big circle to put the words in "your chance to win free gig tickets.." as this is another insentive for the reader to buy the magazine as they might win free tickets to a gig. This is like one of NME's magazines (feb 8th issue). At the bottom left i have put in a big number of 22 to attract readers and this number relates to how many new bands there are so that also involves the readers as they want to know the coolest new bands around. On the right hand side i have placed a collum about a new band called "sharpe eyes". My first sentence is a question ("do you like sharpe eyes?" and this makes it feel like we are directly talking to the reader themselves therefore making it more personal to them. I have, of course, added a barcode, price and issue date for the magazine but also included my magazines website so that readers know that even if they dont have money to buy the magazine they can always go onto the website at home and get connected with the magazine that way. This is good as the readers feel like the magazine is quite popular and big as it also has a website. I decided to call my magazine "Beat It!" has it short and snappy and easy to remeber. The word beat is also connected to music sounds which makes the link that this magazine is about music. You can also tell easily that is a indie genred magazine because of the bands pictures on the front and their apperance/style.

My contents page as an incling of the same colour used on the front cover to connect the two pages. I have included a short letter from the editor of the magazine. I have made it very unformal as it will be teenagers who read this magazine. I have also included a picture of the editor to tell the readers who is writting this letter. My contents page has sections, for example, regular features (things that are always in the magazine like top tunes), main features (which includes band interviews), New to beat it (new pages that have been added in this issue like posters etc) and then at the bottom i have added Plus (which is where there is compitions etc). I did this is sections as it is easier to read and also it gives the reader freedom to go to a section quickly and see whats in it. I have uploaded photos of some of the bands/artists so that readers can relate to them and see if they reconise them. After each contents page section i have added in the page number that it is on, i did this because readers can easily jump to that page to see whats on it.

My double page spread was based around on eof NME's double page spreads as i loved the style and layout. i have used the same blue colour for the background as i did for the front cover to give the sense that its linked with the main flash i noted on the cover. I have placed a photo of the band "relentless obsession" on the left hand page and over lapped the words "new, fresh and with a funky new sounds, even if they do have a few dirty secrets!" I have written this for two reasons, the words "new, fresh and funky" all go together, they are all catchy and short and sound good when you say them. Also, the fact that their new song is called "dirty secrets" links in with them having dirty secrets of their own. I have used a black circle to highlight a quote given by one of the band members. The cirlcle is big and bold so that reader insantly draw their eyes to it and it says "yes, i must admit our lead singer has had a very embarsing experience on stage!" by saying this, it leaves it on a cliff hanger and people want to find out what experience it was so read the interview on the double page spread. My interview is unformal for the reason that teenagers will read this magazine and it more relaxed if its informal. I have used white for the questions asked and then black for the band members answers. In the answers i have put the first initial of the badn members name to tell the readers who answered what. At the end of the interview i have put a box with more information about the band and when their new album etc is out. This gives the readers a little more information so if they like what they saw on the double page spread they will go out and buy their album. Instead of just putting the band "relentless obsession" on this double page spread i decided to add another new artist called Matt Nash to the right hand side. I did this becuase the readers then can read about another new and fresh artist on the scene, other than "relentless obsession".

The type of audience i attend to read this is teenagers from the ages 14-18 that like the genre indie music. They will be people who wear very indivual style clothes and will probably be from the middle-class.

All in all i found the Indesgin programme alright to use but the blogger.com website was quite annoying and i didnt really see the point in using it. I am pleased with my magazine cover, contents and double page spread, however if i had more time i would have liked to make it alot neater and tidy.

evaluating a magazine article

The first magazine article i am going to analyis is from "Rock Sound". This is a music magazine that focus's on the genre of rock. The article is all about a band called "kids in glass houses". Its a double page spread and on the left hand page there is a quote from one from one of the band members. On the left hand page there is a big photo of the band covering the whole background. On the right hand page, the page has been split into two halves horizontaly. The top half is a picture of the band again (again, with a quote from one of the band members on the photo). It is interesting that they have used a photo of the band and a quote over the photo as this links in the two pages with imagery. The bottom half of the right hand page is an interview format with the band. It is written in simple black writting and white background to stand out and compliment the colours used in the photos. Bold black writing is used as the question and thin writting is used for the band members answers. To make a clear difference in the questions and answers, not only have they used a different thickness but also a different font. This shows diversity as well. The first question has used a big bold black letter to start the question which tells the readers where to start reading. Before each answer, the name of the person speaking from the band is written e.g, Aled Phillips (vocals). This is good as its clear which band member is saying the answer. The questions are a mixture of things about the band itself and some are more personal about the band members. It gives the readers more knowlegde about the band and extra information about certin band members. The type of interview is quite unformal with it being more like a friendly conversation. This shows in the interview by how it is written, the questions and answers are litrelly exactly what the interviewer and band members say. However, the most interesting thing about the interview is that the interviewer is actually reading out the publics questions that they want to know about, for example, "have you guys ever done something you regret?"-kristin jona, Iceland. This makes the readers more involved as they are having an input into the interview. All the questions have been asked by people all across the world like, essex, newcastle, iceland, london, suffolk and sweden. This shows the bands varity in listeners and also that they have been heard about in not only England, this makes readers want to know more about them as they believe that everyone has heard about the band and they should too.