How does Plumline construct and reflect its intended audience?

After studying the school magazine I can see that the collective school identity of the audience is addressed through various individual elements such as the mise en scene, use of colour, fonts used, text sizes and the title.

Firstly the mise en scene that is used throughout the magazine are the pictures of students that are placed within the magazine show identity within the school because they are all wearing the school colours or the school uniform which gives our school its own identity that enables the reader to feel a sense of shared experience. In connection with this there are conventions that the magazine follows and are in the same place in every issue of the magazine. These are the issue number, three small images that represent the school as a performing arts school and the date of the issue. All these things are placed directly underneath the title of the magazine. There is also a logo that represents the school with a picture of what the new school will look like in the future in the top right corner.

The use of colour used throughout the magazine is very uniform as all the block colours used are pastel colours that stand out and draw your attention towards the magazine and are used to separate articles from each other so they all stand out. The articles are written in columns like you would find in a newspaper, but by having it written on a different pastel colour makes it less formal and aims it more at the students that attend the school.

Secondly the fonts used in the magazine are kept very simple and are consistent throughout. A basic font of times new roman is used for the articles so that it is clear and concise, and so that it is easy to read. The title of the magazine is “PLUMLINE” which is in italics and is written in capitals, this is so that it stands out and grabs our attention. The name plumline uses part of the name of the school which is Plumstead Manor, so they have taken the plum from Plumstead and incorporated it into the title of the magazine which gives the school collective identity as it is unique to the school and school student, teachers and parents that read the magazine feel a part of a community.

The text sizes throughout the magazine are very consistent, with larger text sizes for the names of the articles published and a standard size 11 or 12 for the actual articles, this is so it is still legible but it’s the right size for it to still be appealing to the audience without it being too big and looking like its aimed at young children. The articles that are written are written by the students themselves which gives the people reading it a different perspective of the school as it is not just an adult writing what people want to hear but it’s an actual student’s experience, which connects with other students reading it because they can relate to it.

The dominant mode of address for this magazine is the students their parents and teachers. The various elements I have written about help to convey an image or send out a message to the targeted group of people that are going to read it. It is almost as if only the people that attend the school or have heard about the school can really understand the concept of what the magazine is trying to tell us.

Vibe Double Page Spread

This double page spread is from Vibe magazine. It uses a very basic colour scheme of contrasting colours blue, black and pink. These colours are striking and attract the readers. With the main image being in colour, slightly off center and larger than the rest of the images of the woman gives the readers eyes something to be drawsn to as it stands out the most among anything else on the page. The use of the colour blue to highlight the artists name means readers are able to find who the article is about just by quickly skimming and skanning it. The woman used is stereotypically conforming to the genre that is hip hop as she is of black origin and she is showing flesh and standing in a sexual way with her hands on her back and pushing the rest of her body forward.

Kerrang Double Page Spread

This double page spread is from kerrang!. You can see clearly that it is a rock magazine because of the images used through the use of colour and the clothing worn by the singers used. The images used all come from a live gig which could imply that rock music is best enjoyed when its live. The guitars used also show that it is rock genre.The smaller images are scattered around the large one of the main singer of the band 'Avenged Sevenfold', this gives it a disorganised and scruffy look. Reflecting on the rebellious and carefree attitude of this magazine and genre. The text in contrast to the image is very little, which could suggest that they want readers to make up their own decision about the band from looking at the pictures rather than reading the text and being influenced by what someone else has said.

NME Double Page Spread Analysis

This double page spread is from NME.  The colours are very simplistic as only blue, black and white are used. This gives the article a clean cut look which conforms to the stereotype of 'Indie'.  The image of the teenagers fills the entire left page which tells the readers whom the article is about along with the bold heading that s written in capitals. From the image we can tell that the band is quite laidback and relaxed, which is then carried through to the layout of the article. 

The heading of the article is bold block written in black to make it stand out against the other writing on the page and against the image used, which draws the eye of the reader. The band members are dressed casually and they are using direct eye contact in the image. This relates to the youthful audience that will read the magazine and makes this sort of lifestyle seem easily obtainable to them, making them aspire to be like this. This is also carried through into the text of the article as it is more like a conversation between people that can be easily related too. The patches of blue highlight the key points of the article, and the use of the white writing on the black background creates a stylish yet simplistic appearance.

NME Contents Page Analysis

This contents page is from indie magazine NME (New Music Express).  

The contents is placed on the right hand side with it split into subheadings indicated by a black strip and white writing to help the reader find what the are looking for easily. The colours used are limited and simple they are red, black and white, which relate to the 'NME' logo, keeping it very uniform. And still appealing to both a male and female audience.
The images used on the contents page  
feature two big stars that the target audience would be into in this specific type of genre. The pictures only take up half the contents page, leaving the other half to be filled with a taster article giving readers an insight into the rest of the magazine. By doing this you could suggest that the target audience are of a higher intellect than the other two contents pages i studied, as they would prefedr to read a little bit about the band than just look at the pictures of bands which feature.

Vibe Contents Page Analysis

This is the contents page from R&B magazine vibe. It is very eye catching as the main focus on the page is a picture of Ciara wearing very little. Using an image like this follows the conventions of R&B because that genre of music is very much into body image. It will appeal to both men and women from teenagers upwards in different ways firstly because the colours used are very neutral and secondly it will appeal to women because they will see this image and may aspire to look like her, and it may appeal to men because they can feel a sense of admiration towards her. They layout is very basic and minimal but it still looks sleek and sophisticated. The colour scheme is very minimal with a basic faded grey background that ties in with the colours of Ciara's clothing, and the writing is black and white is used for the title to make it bold and stand out. The title of the page 'contents' is split into three parts creating an impact and catching the readers eye. The actual contents part is right aligned and is separated into two sections; 'Features' and 'Fahion' this makes it easy for readers to find what they are looking for.

Kerrang Contents Page Analysis

This contents page is from Kerrang magazine which has a target audience from teens to 25 i would say. The contents is displayed on the rght hand side of the page and sub headings are clearly written in black and yellow, which you could relate to the colours of 'warning signs'  which are eye cathing and stand out. This is done so the reader can find exactly what they are looking for and  Images are used to show other features in the magazine these take up most of the space on the page, the target audience will prefer to look at images rather than read the contents. In the top left hand corner there is a short note from the editor of the magazine with her picture this givers the reader an insight into how she created this issue and is hand signed by her which relates to the the target audience and offers a more personal approach to the reader, the language used in this is chatty and informal.

Reader Profile

My magazine readers are passionate music fans who are very much into fashion and spend much of their money on food and going shopping. While they spend their spare time listening to music, reading and going.  With many of our readers attending live concerts 3-4 times a year it wouldn’t go unnoticed that they are the first to hear about upcoming new bands.  This gives the perfect opportunity to advertise concerts/gigs and give free music downloads. Our magazine has a young intellectual target audience of 70% female and 30% male aged 16-25, who frequently read books and music magazines. They are sociable people who use the internet as a way of keeping in touch with friends and finding out about their favourite bands, as well as socialise in the flesh at gigs. From the questionnaire the majority of readers say they would pay £2-£3.50 for the magazine that contains interviews, reviews and news. Their favourite bands and artists include Mumford and Sons, Enter Shikari, Kings Of Leon, Florence and the Machine and Biffy Clyro.

Media Magazine Questionnaire & Analysis

The target audience of the magazine will have a big impact on the magazine. From the results i can conclude that the readers are 70% female and 30% male and are aged between 16-25.   Many of them read music magzines weekly and spend between £2 and £3.50 on them meaning they have a low expendable income.  They attend conerts 3-4 times a year meaning they have an appreciation of live music and when they are not attending concerts they hear about the latest music through newspapers/magazines and the internet.  The readers are very much into their fashion and shop at levi, topshop/topman and urban outfitters and spend much of their spare time shopping, listening to music and reading.  I have found that 75% of readers look for interviews while 20% look for reviews, 10% news and 5% advertising.  These findings will help me to create an indie magazine with a balence of interviews, news and reviews with some advertising and a neutral colour scheme that attracts both men and women, it will have to be priced cheaply.                                 

Metal Magazine Front Cover

For my metal magazine front cover i have chosen to us quite dark and depressing colours to fit in with the mood for the picture i have used. Thes colours are typicaly used in rock/metal magazines and they contrast well with the photo, an are the colours you would usually associate with metal/rock music.I have used well known bands along the bottom of the magazine that have quite large fan bases to appeal to the readers and make them want to read it. I have chosen to advertise a free giveaway which would also attract customers into buying the magazine. The text i have chosen to use looks quite gothic and it is all written in capitals to give the impression someone is shouting them but it is still easy to read.

Indie Magazine Front Cover

In my indie magazine i have chosen to use a stereotypical image of what you would expect an indie music artist to look like; long scruffy hair, skinny jeans a blazer and brogues. So by using this image it would attract the intended audience. I have chosen a simple colour scheme of the blue that’s in the image and black; this keeps it easy to read and gives it a clean cut look and appeals to both men and women. By putting the image on the right of the page and keeping the title and the articles on the left makes it easy for the reader to read that articles on the cover at a quick glance, as we read from left to right it makes more sense having it laid out this way therefore making it easily read without any fuss or confusion. The stories i have put on the cover are very music based as this genre of music is very much just about music and less about image. I chose to put an article about the NME tour as that is an iconic music magazine and such a prestigious award ceremony in this genre. The main story is bigger than the others to highlight that is the main story in the issue. The '90 Minutes With' is bolder to draw the attention of readers and to make it stand out. The language i have used is kept very formal and full English is used as the magazine is intended for the more in educated audience. Typically ABC1.

R&B Magazine Front Cover

For my R&B magazine front cover i have chosen a simple black and white image as the cover photo which is very similar to those used on various other R&B magazines, it is conveying the power of women in the industry and is impacting on the audience at the same time.  I have kept with the colour scheme of the photo and used that in the font colour, i decided on using red to contrast with the grey so it would stand at. This again gives impact and draws its target audience towards the magazine. I have used the names well known R&B artists that have large fanbases which will again grab the attention of its possible audience. I have kept the layout fairly simple so it is easy to read and gives the impression the layout of the rest of the magazine is like this and kept simple throughout. I think that my use of colour works well because it contrasts with the cover image, yet it is bold enough to stand out. Stereotypically this genre of music is associated with black ethnic origin with a background of low social classes whos audiences are typically C2 to D borderline. I have tried to get this across with my use of picture and stories on the cover. I feel my final outcome has come out well However if i was to do this again i would use a better software where i could crop the background behind her head and have the title of the magazine behind the picture so it would look my proffesional and like something you would see on a magazine.

Negus Magazine