Profiling my audience

To help profile my audience I will be researching a magazine that is similar to the one I intend to produce. Whilst doing this I will try and find out how to satisfy my target audience and how to in gage other audiences to make my product more successful. Whilst doing my research, I found magazines with the same genre as the one that I want to produce such as, The Source and Vibe who are both magazines that have relation to the type of magazine that I want to produce, I also found a magazine which is very close to this type of genre and this magazine is called XXL, this magazine I believe is the right one for me to look at as I’ve worked on it before and know a bit about it, its also relevant because of its genre which is hip-hop, and this is the path I want to go down.

I am looking at XXL magazine which is a hip hop music magazine. I have chosen this magazine because it’s of a similar genre to the one that I intend to produce. XXL magazine is a magazine that I’m a bit familiar with since I did an analysis on one of their front covers. An XXL magazine I have noticed seems to only consist of male dominated front covers and I think this reflects on the masterhead ‘XXL’. The way they presented it on the cover is good because it’s bold, bright and clear for the audience to see. The colours that are used are very effective (red, black and white) and the reason for this is because these are dominant colours, they are also big and bold and this connotes masculinity. The font used for the masthead is serif font and it works well with the colours because it is very masculine.

A BIT ABOUT THE HISTORY OF XXL

Since 1997, XXL has competed with hip-hop powerhouse magazines such as the source and Vibe. It was founded by former source staffer Jules Winnfield, as well as others who wanted to create a better magazine than The Source, which they felt was compromised because Benzino, a Boston, Massachusetts-based rapper and associate of The Source publisher David Mays, were believed to be influencing the editorial content and rating system. The magazine's editors have included Elliott Wilson (?-2008, formerly of ego trip and The Source and Datwon Thomas (2008-, formerly Editor-In-Chief of King).
In December 2006, XXL took over the hip-hop producer/DJ magazine Scratch (another title owned by Harris Publications), rebranding it as "XXL Presents Scratch Magazine". It shut down in September 2007. Other titles with limited runs have also been launched under the XXL umbrella, including Hip-Hop Soul, Eye Candy Magazine and Shade45 Magazine. The majority of this information was found in wikipedia. On the website however they use quite alot of dark colours which is not a surprise to me as, most of their front covers are very dark and masculine. The site also uses some unusual colloquial language and I think this is to attract their target audience by writing the way that most American hip hop artists speak, and I think this is a very intelligent thing to do and I would like to use this technique when making my product.

finished, Front cover, contents page and double page spread

The front cover





















The contents page




















The double page spread

pictures for my magazine

All the photos above are all photos that i took by myself. I took more than three so that i could pick which ones were better for me to use for my product. I took five vertical and one horizontal. Most of the shots were medium shots because i thought that they were relevent shots for the front cover.

drafting pages for school magazine (front cover nd contents)

double page spread analysis

Denotation: This double page spread consists of a colour photograph of three males behind bars. These males all share a cell in the prison. It is a medium long shot of the men and I know this because you can see each person from their heads to their knee/shin and hide’s their feet so the audience do not know what they are wearing on their feet. The men are all wearing the same thing and look very depressed, this has obviously been done purposely to show how it feels to be in prison. Their face expressions are all different but they all in different ways connote boredom, stress and also show that they are powerless, the way the two on the right are holding the bars shows this, and makes them look weak and show that they can’t do anything about being in there.

The background of the picture is the wall of the cell and it is a green and I think this is important because green is a very peaceful colour and it is also found on the walls in a hospitals to keep patients calm. So the fact that the walls are green could connote that the prison is trying to keep the criminals calm for as if the walls were red this would connote anger and stress and it would be very disturbing for them. I have also noticed that their facial expressions seem to reflect on the colour of the walls because they look reasonably calm and not disturbed or angry. The wall has different shades of green and this looks like the dirt that has been gathered up over the past years and this could mean that the prison is an old one.

‘Straight path’ this is on the first page of this double page spread and its in serif writing it is big and bold and is also green but very pale. This connotes, the people in the cell moving forward in life after they get out but it also connotes masculinity and that men are natually strong. The masthead is the most noticeable aspect on the double page spread. Above this there is some text which explains that there are a lot of ‘mc’s’ and more and more of them seem to get into prison and this magazine ‘XXL’ go to the prisons to interview them. On the right, the second page of the spread is a list of some other artists I think, that also ‘mc’. On the far right on the same page is the interview that ‘XXL’ took of them.

contents pages

planning- front covers for college magazine

Results from school magazine questionnaire

Results from school magazine questionnaire

What race are you?
Black
5
White
3
Other
2



Are you male or female?

Male
4
Female
6


How old are you?

14-16
4
17-19
6



Do you like reading?

yes
6
no
4


Would you mind reading a school magazine

yes
2
no
8


Would you like to see a fashion section in a magazine?
Yes
5
no
5


Would you like a music section in a magazine?

yes
8
no
2


Would you pay for a school/college magazine?

yes
4
no
6



If yes…. then how much?

20p-60p
4
60p-£1
1
£1 or more
0
none
5

pictures for contents page

textual analysis for music magazine

Denotation: This front cover consists of a colour photograph of two RNB rappers looking directly at the camera, so the people in the photo knew that they were being photographed. It is a long shot showing their whole bodies from head to toe and this gives us a good indication of what they are wearing they have very plain face expressions which connotes harness and power.

50 cent and Tony Yayo were photographed in jail, this also connotes hardness as jail is a hard place to be in and it makes them look like ‘gangsters’. The only prop that I have spotted that has been used in this picture is the black jacket which is on a very low shelf behind 50 Cent, the jacket probably belongs to him and it has been placed there to make it look like he had it on then removed it to make him look harder.

The background colour is grey which is a very plain and lonely colour the desk and shelf are also grey and this is done deliberately to enhance the loneliness in the cell. In front of the boys are big bold writing of their names this just makes it easier for the audience of this magazine to know who is going to be in this magazine and who they are going to talk about and possibly an interview of these two artists. There is also a phrase underneath their names, ‘we can’t be stopped’. This phrase most probably came from the artists themselves but it is hard to tell as it doesn’t have speech comers to help us know this.


Masthead: the masthead in this picture is ‘XXL worldwide’ I think this is the name of the company that made this magazine. The way they presented it on the cover is good because it’s bold, bright and clear for the audience to see. The colours that are used are very effective (red, black and white) and the reason for this is because these are dominant colours, they are also big and bold and this connotes masculinity. The font used for the masthead is serif font and it works well with the colours because it is very masculine. Obviously this front cover clearly shows that the magazine will consist of music because of the subheadings and the people who have been photographed, if someone saw Twiggy on the a front cover of a magazine it would be obvious that the magazine would have something to do with modelling, and this makes it easier for the audience to know what the magazine will be about.

This magazine was published in July 2005 we can see this on top of the bar code but it doesn’t give the exact date. This magazine probably hit the news strands a month or so after it was published.

Costume: Because the picture that was taken is a long shot we are able to see the person/people from head to toe. The way they are dressed reflects their personalities I know this because I have herd their music and I have seen the way they act through media. 50 cent on the left is dressed in the clothes that he usually wears in his music videos and magazine photos, so he simply came as himself and this connotes that he is not fake. He is also wearing two dominant colours (black and white) and this connotes the masculinity in him. Yayo on the other hand is dressed in the prison clothes and this can connote him being in the prison and being visited by 50 cent. The costume has been chosen carefully to appeal to the target audience of the magazine, who are most likely to be teenagers or young adults. The clothing worn is a typical outfit for rappers because it’s a music magazine and that’s what it is representing.

There is a bar code at the bottom of this front cover which means that it has been or will be sold in shops.

I would suggest that the most likely audience would be both male and female but mainly male, and young people who are interested in this kind of music.


Rachelle Mvuemba

Textual analysis college magazine


Denotation: This cover consists of a colour photograph of a college student looking away from the camera, this makes it look like it was an unexpected shot and that the student was unaware of the person who was photographing him. It is a medium shot showing his hand holding his hat and his face expression showing that he is very happy about something.

The background of the photograph has two other people in it which I presume are also students of the same college because they also have the same hat and top as the student that has been photographed but they are slightly blurred to emphasis the student being photographed. Behind the boy is the Beloit college masthead and the date of which the magazine was made and in front of him is some written also showing the date of which the magazine was made and a phrase.

Masthead: the masterhead is the name of the college; it’s bright yellow and bold so that it stands out. The font used for the masterhead is serif font and it’s all in capitals to show that it is the college’s magazine. There is also a phrase at the bottom of the page “nothing but blue skies” and this is in san serif font. The font is very old fashioned and looks like it was written in the roman times font because of the straight boldness which sends the message across well. Obviously Beloit college magazine is clearly telling you that the magazine is going to be about the college and something that has happened in it or just about the college it self and how good and popular it is and the picture they chose to put as the front cover also shows how good they are academically.

The magazine was published in 2004 it doesn’t give an exact date but I assume it was at the end of the school year so around June- July. This magazine probably hit the news stands roughly a month after it was published.

Costume: The boy on the front cover is wearing the traditional graduation clothes, the long dress type top and hat and we can’t see the bottom as this shot is a medium shot only showing his top half. His pose is asymmetrical and it works because the boy doesn’t know he is being photographed. Obviously the costume has been chosen carefully to appeal to the target audience of the magazine, who are most likely to be parents and students. The clothing worn is a typical outfit because it’s a school magazine and that’s what it’s representing, and the mortarboard completes the look because without it, it wouldn’t.

The main coverline that relates to his photograph says:

“Commencement 2004 nothing but blue skies”

This is connoting that the school has a good record of pass grades and they enjoy the learning there. “Nothing but blue skies” indicates happiness, enjoyment, a lot of learning, clear minds and no dark skies. This I think is the school motto or something similar, relating to the college.

There is only one coverline which tells us that the magazine is only concentrating on the college and nothing else.

There are no bar codes on this magazine which probably means that this magazine was not sold in shops and was only sold in the college.

I would suggest that the most likely audience would be both male and female, young people searching for better colleges or universities and also parents getting to know more about schools. The students would be aged between 15-18 and would have a brief idea of what college is like; they are likely to be students who are well educated and determined to further their education in this college.




Rachelle Mvuemba

Introduction

My name is Rachelle Mvuemba and i am 17 years old. I have been set a task, and the task is to complete a school magazine. This involves creating a front cover,a contents page and a textual analysis of a school magazine that has already been made. i am going to plan all the work i do and have a number of different drafts and ideas. I am going to use adobe photoshop to help me create my front cover and contents page for the beginning of my school magazine.