Final Front Cover And Comments

This is my final front cover. All the conventions of a music magazine are still the same as my old choice however the colouring has changed slightly to make it look more realistic and less in your face and pop like. The set up for this front cover was the same as my old front cover but with different images.

• Masthead - I chose the name Country Star because I felt that it gave a great impression of what my magazine was about. Country = country magazine, country music, country artists Star = Great stars of country music, shining above, great, artists that are upcoming and shining in the industry at the moment. I also chose this name because it was most popular on my questionnaire. The colour pink was chosen because it topped on my poll and questionnaire. It also stands out very well making the magazine eye catching and noticeable. 
• Skyline - I chose to have a skyline because from my research I learnt that most Country Music magazine have one. The light purple colour was also part of the swatch that topped the poll and questionnaire. I have included in my skyline what the magazine has to offer, this will make the audience want to take advantage of the offers and deals and make them want to see inside the rest of the magazine. I have used words such as 'Free' and 'Exclusive' because these are words that would get people interested and locked onto my magazine. 
• Slogan - I have included a slogan in the top left of my magazine to reveal what type of magazine it was and to get people convinced that this is what they wanted to buy. I have used the word 'Your' to make it more personal. 
• Anchorage Text - The text explains the winter hood and the guitar plectrum. The plectrum and the hood contrast slightly but I like this as it shows the Winter/Christmas part of the DPS and the Country part of the DPS and the magazine as a whole. 
• Price - I have placed the price on the top right of the magazine as I believe this is a reasonable price for my magazine. According the 'z rule' this would be around the second place the eyes look when picking up the magazine, hopefully the audience will see what a great price it is for the magazine quality the would be getting. 
• Main Image - Represents who the main part of the magazine is focused on and what is inside the magazine. This image is a direct, eye level shot.
• Barcode - The barcode is placed in the bottom right hand corner because according to the 'Z rule' this is the last place the eyes will look. The barcode is important to have on there so the magazine can be bought but it has no importance to the actual magazine. 
• Sell Lines - I have included sell lines on my front cover to give insight as to what is inside my magazine, this will help the audience decide on whether this is what they would like to read.
• Puff - My puff is located in the bottom left hand corner but still stands out and provides an insight to an article inside of the magazine. Most puffs are usually shaped in a star or circle however I chose mine as a rectangle as you can occasionally find these on a Country Magazine and I feel it shows the modernness of the magazine. 

The layout of my magazine I feel is good because it is not to overcrowded and busy. It follows the 'Z Rule' as to draw attention to what the magazine is about and a cheap price and leave un interesting parts such as the barcode to the very last place the eye will see, which is the very bottom right.

Mise En Scene;

• The brightness of the lighting connotes that the magazine is fun, modern and up to date. This will tell the audience that the inside of the magazine is not plain or boring and will keep them interested. 
• My model is wearing a winter coat to connote the winter themed photoshoot she has taken part in. The plectrum in her mouth connotes the Country genre side of the photo and shows her interest in guitars. 
• The make up of the model is very natural connoting that she is a very natural person and very down to earth. The hairstyle can only be seen a little but it is clear that the hair is straight and coloured blonde. From my research I learnt that this is typical to a Country Star. The coat worn by the model shows that it is set in a current modern time period. 

Connotations-

• The hood around the model connotes winter and links in with the winter theme. 
• The plectrum in the mouth of the model connotes Country and links to guitars which are a huge part in the Country genre. 
• The pinky/red colour connotes Country also as from my research I found that this colour is very well associated with this genre. 
• The font connotes a laid back interesting type of magazine because it is not too in your face or unusual. 

I chose the fonts because of how they connote. I made the 'A' a different font from the rest of the Anchorage Text to make it stand out and look more interesting. This connotes that the inside of my magazine will be fun and interesting and not just plain and boring.

Feed Back:

Female, 18; For me, the front cover looks very professional. I really like the colour scheme, main image and the use of a quote. I also like how the bullet points at the top of the page are stars as it links back to the title. Personally, I think that the font on the ‘A’ for ‘A Country Christmas Party’ should be the same as the rest of the text. However, if it is designed to emphasise the word I think that ‘Christmas’ would be more appropriate. I really like the advert section at the bottom of the page using a plus sign and image. Although, I think the smaller image of the singer should be different to the main image. In doing this, it would make the section more appealing and eye-catching.

Male, 22; I think the front cover of this magazine looks very proffesional, I paticularly like the way the 'A' is seperate from the rest of the title because it makes it stand out and look nice. I also think the speech marks are a great idea because it makes the quote stand out. The bar at the top of the page is very helpful because it tells me whats inside and makes me more interested in the magazine. A suggestion I would make to improve it would be to maybe add a logo where people would know what magazine it is without a name.