Research into Photography...

Research into photography....

pho·tog·ra·phy

The art or practice of taking and processing photographs.

 

Photography is an art, science and practice of creating  images through  recording light or electromagnetic radiation, either chemically by using  a light-sensitive material such as photographic film or electronically by using an image sensor. A lens is often used to help to focus the light reflected. Photography uses different cameras, lenses, angles and lighting to create different effects.

A good website for photography includes: 

http://www.dumetier.com/photography/

I found this slideshow which has helped me with my research into Photography and has provided me with some inspiration and guidence when taking my photos.

Taking good Photographs for you Media Coursework from carolinebirksatwork


One photogrpaher which I have researched is Angus McBean....

Angus McBean was born in South Wales in June 1904. His Father Clem McBean was a surveyor in the mines and the family moved frequently around Wales with his job. Fascinated by the apparently "magical properties" of photography, Angus wanted to be able to take pictures of people and sold a gold watch left to him by his grandfather to raise the five pounds necessary for the equipment.

here are some of his photos which I particularly enjoy...

 

 

As you can see his perferred style is black and white potraits usually using a mid shot.

Student Magazine Contents Page!

Student Magazine Contents Page!

 

 

 Here is my school contents page, it is rather simple but i tried to keep in with the colour scheme of the front cover, the layout is simple but easy to read, please leave any comments for improvements which I can later apply to my music magazine.

Circulation/ Readership figures

Internet Research - Circulation/readership Figures

Here is some research into circulation figures for various music magazines to analyse readership figures and rates of success for my own music magazine. By finding out circulation and readership figures I am able to see if there is room in the market for my magazine and whether that particular genre is popular amongst readers.  

Music (rock) magazine sales in the first half of 2012 (source ABC)

 Name of title : publisher ; per issue sale ; percentage change year on year

 The Fly (free) : Channelfly Enterprises Ltd ; 108,827 ; 8.4%

New Musical Express : IPC Media Ltd ; 23,924 ; -17.6%

Uncut : IPC Media Ltd ; 63,003 ; -4.5%

 Properganda (free) : Proper Music Distribution ; 76,339 ; 68.8%

 Q : Bauer Consumer Media ; 64,596 ; -19.7%

 Kerrang! : Bauer Consumer Media ; 40,203 ; -6.6%

 Mojo : Bauer Consumer Media ; 85,149 ; -2.4%

 The Stool Pigeon (free) : Junko Partners Publishing ; 54,588 ; N/A

 

From this evidence I have found out that most issues distributed are the magazines that are free. Also we can see that many popular Q and NME have decreased in sales by 19.7% and by 17.6% this could be due to the effects of the current economic climate, due to these reasons I have decided that in order to increase my readership figures I have to keep the price of my magazine as low as possible. This should help to increase my readership figures and generate a popular music magazine.

Some pop magazine figures that I found include:

 Top of the Pops : 78,352 - % change y/y: -20.1 - Sold copies: 78,352

 We Love Pop Magazine : 50,505 - % change y/y: - Sold copies: 50,505

 Mizz : 25,753 - % change y/y: -28.1 - Sold copies: 25,715

From the information I found it is clear that sales are decreasing in all pop magazines, the most popular of these three, 'Top of the Pops Magazine' has had a fall in sales of -20.1 in 2012. This is important as this is the same genre of my magazine however this could suggest that the readers of this particular genre are ready for a new, fresh pop magazine which ultimately increases the chances of my magazine being successful.

 

 

Source: http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/node/49867

Notes from the Textbook on Magazine

Notes from Textbook on Magazines

I did some research on magazines from pages 116-132 from Exploring the Media edited by Barbara Connell and published in 2008. It provided me with a good first insight into magazines, especially the construction and target audience of magazines.

I found out that magazines and newspaper arte in some ways similar yet a magazine can be split into many sub genres. When compared to newspapers they are a lot less factual and are not necessarily released weekly or even daily.  

The typical codes and conventions of a magazine include:  

A masthead - Tile of the magazine

Tag lines/strap lines - Captions to describe the magazine

Lure - for example a competition

Main image

Celebrity endorsement

Bar code

Date and price

etc.

These features show what genre a magazine is and it can change depending on the target audience.

What you can usually expect to see inside a magazine includes:

Editors letter

Contents page - like the front page the colour scheme, images, font and layout all depend on the genre/target audience

Advertisements

Double page spread - usually laid out in 2 or 3 columns with 1 large photo, normally related to the front cover.

Notable Publishers

2 most notable publishers are BBC Magazines and IPC.

BBC Magazines is an English company  usually producing synergies as the BBC is predominately a television institution. Their publications include:

Top of the Pops Magazine

Doctor Who Adventures

Top Gear

IPC is an American company, part of the biggest worldwide media conglomerate. Some of its most famous publications produced include:

NME

Sugar

Nuts

These global institutions often cater their publications to the stereotypes of which buy magazines for example boys are believed to buy car magazines and girls are thought to buy fashion magazine as this makes it easy to target a specific audiences. In addition to this, specialists magazines are targeted at a broad niche audience are also successful amongst specific audiences. These global companies were once thriving as the magazine industry was booming however; in recent years circulation figures for magazines have begun to decrease. This could perhaps be due to new technology as most magazines have apps and websites to keep their readers up-to-date causing them not to need to buy the physical copy.

Comparing Music Magazines!

My Music Magazine Chart! 

After I had looked at a wide variety of different kinda of music magazine, I chose 5 which i have commented and focused on. A few were quite similar but i did try to get as much variety as possible. I especially enjoyed looking at NME as it had a lot of focus on pop culture which is appropriate for the time, i will look again at it when creating my own music magazine. 

The Treatment

The Treatment!!!

Target Readership:

Chart Poppers! Is a new music magazine with the target audience of female teens aged who enjoy listening to pop music and this is their favourite genre of music. The target age for a Chart Poppers reader is 15-17 year olds but the magazine may also be read by younger sisters or friends. However it is mainly aimed toward the 14-17 year olds because at this age they are most influenced by pop music and this genre appeals to them mostly. A lot of the readers are at the age where they may have a part time job so by releasing the magazine monthly they can pay for it with their wages at the end of the month.  Nevertheless, many of the parents will buy their daughters the magazine and will be in the C1/C2 Socioeconomic grouping so it is important that the magazine is affordable by all and this way the lower economic groups are able to enjoy reading it also.

Some of the readers will be at that age where they look up to and aspire to be like the well know celebrities of today so they will enjoy reading the celebrity features included in it, they will as look to these celebrities as role models and will enjoy reading the up close and personal interviews included it the magazine as it gives them a way to get to know their role models more in detail. The Chart Poppers! Reader will be young and impressionable so it is important that the magazine sets a good example. However, most of the readers will prefer and enjoy media content which isn’t challenging and is relatable and easy to read. To young girls being ‘on trend’ and fashionable is important so Chart Popper! will help by supplying them with information on the latest trends, tips and secrets on how to remain fashionable.  The reader will of course have a keen interest in music and the desire to be a successful singer is common among teenaged girls so the female readers will enjoy looking up to X Factor winners or similar talent shows as they will have followed them rise up from living normal lives like the readers to being rich, famous and successful something which may be a dream of their own. Chart Poppers! readers are the typical teenage girls, they are young, confident and keen to have fun, but they will need help and guidance when it comes to achieving their dreams and growing up and dealing with all the trials and turmoil’s being a teenager produces. This is where the magazine comes in it will help by giving advice and information to make achieving their dreams and general life as a teenage easier like  a big sister to its readers.

Form and Style:

The layout of Chart Poppers! Shall be bright and rather young and hip, it shall use clashing colours which will help when trying to appeal to its target audience. The cover models used will be approximately the same age as the target audience making it more relatable and the magazine shall use bright colours for example pinks, purples and yellows. The layout will be organised and will avoid having too much information on the front cover and contents page which may lead to the audience getting confused as it may lead to it looking clustered and busy making it hard to read. A few of the main cover lines along each page numbers will be the next prominent feature after the main picture and storyline, this allows readers to go straight to their favourite stories. The features of the magazine include typical features of any magazine. This includes celebrity features, competitions, articles, music related stories i.e. gossip and news, beauty, health and fashion tips, and music and gig reviews.

Themes and Typical features:

Chart Poppers! will have many regular features which make it typical to that of teen music magazines. The way it addresses its readers will be colloquial so it appeals to the younger audience, as if it is too formal the reader run the risk of getting bored whilst reading it. The issues discussed in the magazine will be suitable for the target audience and the focus will be on girls around the same age making it relatable. The front cover will be mostly female celebrities or models. But at the same time it shall also contain a lot of male celebrity posters, interviews and features as it obviously has a large appeal to teenage girls as an audience. Another feature which is popular amongst this female generation is fashion and beauty so there will be numerous pages which cover these topics, including tips and high street fashion. Chart Poppers! Has a keen interest in keeping its readers up to date on all the ;attest gossip and music news and this is vital in keeping the audience interested in the magazine and avoids a decrease in readership figures.

Potential Advertisers:

In Chart Poppers! there will be a large range of famous brands which may often be advertised in the magazine, especially those which a related to music and fashion. This helps with keeping the audience engaged as it is what they are interested in. brands featured will often include; New Look, H&M, Benefit, Rimmel, Primark, HMV, UGGS, Converse, Max Factor, Top Shop, Miss Selfridge, River Island, Accessorize.

Editorial Team:

Due to the target audience for the magazine being young, inspired teenagers, the editorial team of Chart Poppers! will be made up of experienced writers and designers with experience in this genre of magazine in the past. It will also m] be made up of mainly females but male contribution will also be welcome as it will help with the boys section of the magazine when it comes to advice on everyday problems etc. and will also help to bring fresh ideas to the magazine with a wealth of experience. The editorial team will be experienced in their field, to give the most effective features and as result the most successful magazine.

 

Research- Magazine Comparisons

Here is some research I've done and magazine comparisons