Mock - up of existing magazine front cover

Here is my mock up of the Rolling Stone magazine of Prince.

I chose to do a magazine cover with Prince on the cover because i have a friend that looks a bit like him. I stood them against a white board, i would of used a white screen but in the original image the background is slightly discoloured so the whiteboard seemed best. I put mascara on his face to look like facial hair and a mole. The lighting was coming from above in the original magazine cover, so i did ther same in my mock up, plus darkening the underneath of the eyes to enhance this.

I used Photoshop to edit my image, i started off by changing the colour of his eyes, Joels eyes are actually green, but Prince's are brown so i used the burn tool on Photoshop to darken them.  I then used the burn tool again to darken the moustache and beard and his eyebrows. I then slightly darkened around his eyes and cheek bones to make his face more defined. Next i took the hair from the original image and pasted it in, and i did the same with the collar. I used the text tool and found the most suitable font that looked most like the original. I found a barcode on the internet and pasted onto my image. The title 'Rolling Stone' was difficult to replicate using the normal fonts so i got one of the titles off the internet and changed the size and colour.

I would say that the font i used was as close to the orginal as possible, and i am happy with this area of the cover. I think i made the face as similar as possible and this was another successful part, i think the lighting i used worked well, it's not too ehnanced.

The facial hair doesn't look very realistic, perhaps if i had used fake facial hair rather than mascara this would have turned out better. I think the hair and collar that have been pasted in don't look very realistic because they have become slightly pixelated, and this would be something i'd like to improve on. I think the barcode i used is slightly too bright, the magazine cover i was replicating was done in 1990 and the barcode and background were quite discoloured, i should have found a slightly more yellow barcode to enhance this.

Questionnaire

Questionnaire

Hello, my name is Samantha Hulmes and I am a student at Sponne School sixth form. I have devised this questionnaire to find out what sixth form students would like in a music magazine, and I would appreciate it greatly if you could take time to fill out this questionnaire. Please circle the appropriate answers, and if for any reason you feel uncomfortable answering a question, feel free to leave it blank.

Many thanks

Samantha Hulmes

What gender are you?

Male         

Female

How old are you?

7-10

11-14

15-18

19-22

23+

What is your favourite music genre? (Please tick one)

Pop

Rock

Indie

Drum and Bass

Other

…………………………………………………………………………………............

Do you buy music magazines?

Yes

No

If so, what music magazines do you buy?

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

If not, why?

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

How often do you buy music magazines? …………………………………………………………………………………………..

How much disposable income do you have per week?

£0 - £10

£11 - £20

£21 - £30

£31+

How much are you prepared to spend on a music magazine?

0 – 50p

51p - £1

£1.1 - £2

£2.1 - £3

£3.1 - £4

£4.1 +

What is your favourite part of a music magazine?

Interviews

Stories

Quizzes

Free offers

Other

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

Should the language used in the magazine be formal or informal?

Informal

Formal

Both

Does the main image attract you to the magazine?

Yes

No

Sometimes

Where do you usually buy your magazines from?

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

Who is/are your favourite music artist(s)?

………………………………………………………………………………………….

Do you go to music festivals and concerts?

Yes

No

Would you like upcoming gigs and tours to be advertised in the music magazine?

Yes

No

How often do you think a music magazine should be published?

Daily

Weekly

Monthly

How do you purchase your music?

CD

Download

Other

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

Thank you

Target Audience

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Representation of Artists in Music Magazines

Here i talked about the representation of each of the artists on the covers of the magazines in terms of costume, facial expression, pose, hair and make up and framing.

Music Magazine Analysis

Here i analysed the layout, presentational devices, language and content of the music magazine KERRANG!

College Magazine Front Covers

This is the magazine cover that i feel is the least successful. The set up is similar to my most successful cover, with the props and the background the same. On this cover, i think having the cover lines spread over both sides works quite well, and the headline stands out to the reader. I also feel that the seal of approval appeals well to my target audience as many college students are interested in music. 
However, i feel that the quality of the image is poor, and the face seems quite blurred. I also feel that the figure looks quite uneasy, and the props are in the way of her body. Also, unlike my most successful cover, the seal of approval is covering the paint pots in the background, which i think makes the magazine less colourful. Also, the background looks quite busy, more so than my most successful cover, because of the cover up of the paint pots. In this cover i only included 3 cover lines unlike my previous magazine covers which both had 4, and this means there is less for the reader to look at. Also, none of the cover lines relate to the main image.

College Magazine Front Covers

This is the magazine i feel is my second most successful. I think the colour scheme works well, the blue on the wall and the bits of blue on the figures shirt works well, and the wall being all one colour allows for the headline to stand out. I feel that the cover lines also stand out, and you can see that i went for the simple black and white look which i think helped this. I feel that the seal of approval also works well, and the word 'WIN!' attracts the reader. I also feel that the image is of a good quality and looks good enough to be on the cover of a magazine; it's believable. The cover lines would appeal to college students, and the 'WIN! £100 worth of Topshop vouchers' would appeal to males and females, as the figure in the image is wearing clothing from that actual shop.
I think the cover is missing a few things, for instance, the figure is not engaging the reader by using direct mode of address. Some of the cover lines relate to the main image, however their isn't a clear main cover line linking the image to the stories. I also feel that the cover is maybe a bit too simple, i didn't use any props and could have done with adding more colour into the cover lines. I also feel that a completely blank wall would have been better to use rather than the wall having photos on it, because this take away from the main image and the cover lines and may lead the reader to think the magazine could have something to do with photography, which it doesn't.