Initial Ideas

Title/Genre

The top three title options I has were 'Voltage', 'Hysteria' and 'White Noise'. The masthead I have chosen to use for my music magazine will be Voltage because it was the most popular response with those surveyed and it connotes power and energy which may appeal to my target audience of Indie Rock. I also chose to make my magazine Indie Rock as it is a more specific genre that can appeal to a wider audience and allows Indie and Rock bands to overlap in one magazine. This would give me more content to work with and include within my magazine.

Star image Mood-board

For my magazine I will use a female model. This is because I feel it would be easier to create the Indie Rock look as I will have more options regarding eye makeup and hair styles which i can use to my advantage and obtain the appearance I aim to achieve. I'll ensure the model wears Indie Rock style clothes such as plaid shirts, over-sized jackets, plain t-shirts or band shirts, ripped skinny jeans or boyfriend jeans, shorts/skirt with tights or fish nets and either boots or trainers such as converse or vans. The model would also wear piercings and dark eye makeup such as eye-shadow, eyeliner and mascara. 

Theory of Star Image

Richard Dyer's theory of the star image is broken down into three main components being construction, commodity and ideology.

• Construction - The star is constructed through music videos, magazines and advertising.
• Commodity - Stars are produced to create a profit off related merchandise and record labels often create similar stars as they know certain patterns and trends that work and generate money.
• Ideology - The star should represent certain social groups and views as this gives the fans a star to look up to and copy their style in order to become more like them.

Another aspect of Dyer's theory of star image is the paradox of the star. One part of this is that the star must be both ordinary and extraordinary. This means they need to be ordinary in order for the audience to relate to them but possess an extraordinary talent or quality which makes the stand out and be idolised. The other part of this is that the star must both be present and absent which means they must be present in our lives through merchandise, social media but also not actually there or out of reach.

Examples of Star Image:

Some examples of star image being used are Eminem and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Eminem uses the same consistent font style and colour for his albums and merchandise which makes his work recognisable. This is similar to the Red Hot Chili Peppers as they use a logo identifiable as a star which appears throughout their work and allows them to be easily acknowledged and known by the audience.

Stars are made to appeal to the audiences and establish the artist as a brand. This image attracts their specific target audience which is shown to be necessary for them to become popular and successful. Due to this research I have seen that star images are important if you want the artist to be seen as well-known and come across as qualified, therefore I will create a star image for my music magazine.

Locations

I will take photos of my model in front of a graffiti wall as that will look interesting and add more visual elements to my magazine. I can find these locations in Camden Town, Brick Lane or the graffiti tunnel in Waterloo. I'll use these photos for either the Contents page or Double page spread and they'll make the pages look more interesting and add colour and aspects to attract the audience when reading the magazine. I'll take some photos in a studio with black and white backdrops so I have the option of less distracting images with all the focus on the model if I feel the audience may be distracted from the main feature. I feel this kind of photo would be best used for a front cover as it will enable the audience to be drawn to the important parts of the page rather than the background which will be informative and practical. I may also do a photo-shoot in a park or with a background of a plain brick wall to get some natural looking surroundings to the images which may interest the readers and look aesthetically pleasing. All three of these locations would be easily accessible and not require permission or be costly. 

Colour Scheme 

For my music magazine I've chosen the colour scheme of black, white and red. The monochrome colours would make the magazine look sophisticated and professional and the red would bring in a touch of colour which would focus the attention on the main aspects of the magazine. Red is a colour that connotes danger and love which is intense and draws attention which would make my magazine eye-catching but not overly bold and colourful to make it look over the top. 

Mode of Address

Mode of address is how the model and text speaks to the audience. The four main types of this are first person, third person, formal and informal. First person is used when someone is talking about themselves so use words such as "I" and "me". This would add a more personal element to the magazine as the model could be looking into the camera or make the reader feel more connected to what is being said in an interview. Third person is used when talking about someone and is often for reviews in magazines, so uses words such as "he" and "she". A formal mode of address would likely be presented in a classical magazine or to end a letter by saying "yours sincerely" and "yours faithfully". Informal modes involve colloquial or explicit language which includes abbreviated words or slang and swear words so bring a causal impression to the media product. 

I'll use an informal mode using first person in my magazine as it suits the indie rock genre and will help engage the audience to what is being written and make my magazine more appealing.