Survey

I've set up a survey on surveymonkey which can be accessed with this...
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/359C9D9
I have emailed all the musical theatre people I know, from all areas of musical theatre and asked for them to pass it on to any friends. Luckily, I know really quite a few musical theatre people and so the responses are stacking up nicely already!

Potential Names

For the magazine

• Masque
• Starlight
• Masquerade
• Luvvies
• Behind the Magic
• The Prologue
• Show Business
• Musical Theatre (M.T)
• So You Think You're A Star?
• What Next?
• The Bizz

For the pirate musical

• Anchor
• Crossed Swords
• A'hoy
• A Pirates Life for Me
• The Gallows
• Raise Your Flag
• Treasure Chest
• Captain [name]
• Yo Ho Me Hearties

I will try to be even more creative and add to these but I'm going to include this within my questionnaire to find out which appeal to my target audience the most. But all the names do link with musical theatre or pirates, which is going to be essential for the marketing of the magazine.

Ideas for Content

• In depth review of new pirate musical (this will be the double page spread that I create and it will feature on the front cover)
• Backstage - this will be a regular feature, each week focusing on a different area and a different show
• A what's hot, what's not type thing. Maybe covering new dance wear that has been released. Don't know if this would work.
• Section on audition techniques again a regular thing. Varying between university courses (dance, drama, music, music production, musical theatre, performing arts), auditions for film and TV and even techniques for festivals
• Latest news on upcoming events surrounding the genre
• Review/article from somewhere else in Europe
• Review/article from somewhere outside of Europe
• Interview with one musical theatre performer about their lifestyle
• A few sections on different types of musical theatre e.g. opera, ballet, tap
• Advertisements throughout of related businesses, shows and schools/colleges/universities
• 'A performers body' an article on how to stay healthy, avoid injury
• Information on how to get experience - volunteering, internships
• Review of at least one new C.D released by those in musical theatre
• 'Revive the classics' looking at older musicals, films made of musicals
• Competition e.g. tour around a theatre before seeing current show
• Q+A

My Target Audience

Age - 15-50. A large age range as there are a variety of themes and I want to aim it at those looking to get into the business which is really any age at all.
Gender - Mixed
Ethnicity - All. Aspects from around the World
Lifestyle - Variety. I want to cover those who have the money for all the top performing arts school but a majority for those who don't as this is actually quite a large market.
Socio-economic group - Variety. Anyone from any class could have an interest in musical theatre. For example, Alfie Boe was classed as a C2/D but he had a passion for musical theatre.

And of course, a keen interest in musical theatre, but any aspect...

• lighting
• sound
• overall performance
• production
• film
• marketing
• directing
• choreographing
• singing
• composing
• acting
• dancing
• lifestyle

This range of area I would like to cover within my magazine issues means that it will appeal to a mass market within musical theatre. From research I have found very limited magazines covering musical theatre and absolutely none with key information on 'how to make it' which for a majority of those interested in musical theatre, is a tricky and key question.

Conventions I am Going to Use

Here are some of the ideas from all the magazines I've analysed that I would like to try and use in my own magazine



From Musical Stages:

• Articles and reviews from all around the World


• A really in-depth analysis of at least one Musical


• Adevertising relevant shops, universities, events

From Dancing Times:

• The page numbering system which gives magaznine title and issue as well as the number


• Idea of splitting up the contents page with features and regulars but I will do this in a different way - Maybe colour code it?


• Articles from all around the World


• Advertising relevant events and competitions

From NME:

• Picture on cover being main feature and use of overlapping
• Arranging contents page so that main features stand out
  

From Kerrang:

• Picture on cover being main feature and use of overlapping
• Several pictures on all pages

KERRANG!

My final analysis is of KERRANG! Which claims to be the World's biggest selling weekly rock magazine. the magazine was first published in 1981. It is published in the United Kingdom but also other countries - including Spain! In the UK is is priced at £2.20.

According to the National Readership Survey it is 0.2% more popular than NME but is also read by more males than females. 1.1% of all males and just 0.5% of all females. It's largely more popular amongst those in the age range 15-44 than 44+. And from the front cover of the February 19th issue, you can probably tell why...

It is similar to the front cover of NME in that it is all capitalised, very busy, 'loud' and the image takes up the entire cover with text written over it. A difference between the two covers is that this one includes other, smaller close-up pictures around the sides. For example in the top right hand corner and down the left hand side. All of which are actually to illustrate free posters or competition prizes. By doing this it draws the reader's attention to the freebies and prizes, possibly persuading them to buy the magazine. The cover uses several different colours. The red and orange could be linked to fire; passion. All of the colours are bold and stand out. The cover also includes a rhetorical question to draw the reader in.

As you can see from this double page spread (6-7) the content isn't very professional, more informal. This feature article on Panic at the Disco is predomionantly made up of pictures rather than text and information. The information that is in the far right column is in small text especially when compared to the quote pasted across the pictures. This shows that the typical reader is maybe not interested in every fact or detail but more in seeing the action and the overall gist of the articles. Maybe aimed at people who do not set aside much time to read? The captions for the pictures are comical, adding to the informal tone.

All structures, layouts, colours and text in this magazine appeal to its target audience and is perfect for its genre...maybe not so much for musical theatre though.

NME

To look in more detail at magazine styles and typical readers I am also going to analyse two magazines of other styles starting here with NME.

NME stands for New Music Express and it has been published weekly since March 1952. It was always printed on newsprint until 1998 when the cover became a glossy mag, full with colour. It covers all new music. So since 1952 it has covered up-coming styles like punk rock and hip-hop whereas now it is majority about indie bands and indie music.

According to the National Readership Survey, it is considerably more popular in men than women, which judging from the style, it is evident why. It is thought that 0.9% of men read NME every issue whereas only 0.3% of females do. It is priced at £2.30 per issue and is available from several countries as well as on subscription.

The language used is very informal with the odd rude word meaning that this magazine is aimed at mid-teenage+. Being extremely stereotypical I would imagine the readers of NME to like to be up-to-date, always in the know, maybe to impress but they maybe don't know all the bands included in the magazine. I would think them to be individual and a bit 'out-there' as NME seems to conform to this image.

To the right is the front cover of the 19th February issue and to the left is the contents page. As you can see, neither are very simple, both busy and 'loud'.

Everything on the front cover is printed in capital letters and the pink is so bright it's hard to miss the cover! Even though it is all in capitals there are still things which stand out more than others due to side and position. For example, 'The Strokes' immediately grabs your attention as it is positioned across the centre in very large font. This particular band name is placed there as they are the main feature of this issue. I do like the layout as it is very modern however I would have to experiment this sort of style with musical theatre. Not sure it would work?! I think that it is clever that the background is made up of a picture of the band and that the text is printed over this. However the picture is layered on top of the logo, concealing some of it. This is because the magazine is so established people will know what it is from the layout.

The contents page, at first glance, doesn't appear to be very organised at all. And at a closer look...well, it isn't really. The page numbers are spread out and the main numbers are actually in descending order. In some ways the layout of the contents page works as it makes all the main features stand out. For this particular magazine it works, but I can't see it conforming to the expectations of a Musical Theatre magazine.

Pictures for my Magazine

So, following my pirate musical idea, when I was in London a few days ago, I visited the 'living museum' the 'GOLDEN HINDE'. Which is a reconstruction of a pirate ship. It's along the Thames, near London Bridge and was actually quite good! I took loads of pictures as I guided myself around with the view of super-imposing people onto the pictures at a later date. (These people dressed as pirates of course.) So here are a selection of a few of the pictures I've taken , obviously not all will be used, some are just more throwing about ideas and getting into the theme and frame of mind for writing the synopsis.

As you can see, there were a lot of ropes, barrels, cannons, lanterns and touch wood, everything was wood...I thought it was a good reconstruction as it had lots of detail and I know I'm no expert, but it seemed quite accurate.






Here is and image of the postcard I brought of a painting of the boat at sea! (I did also buy a pirate flag which I will use in my pictures).




So a few pictures in detail of how I intend to use them...
















In this one I want to have a pirates(s) on or leaning onto the barrel, it will be a long shot and I will experiment with angles i.e whether they will be looking up (maybe with a telescope) or looking straight at the camera.

I took this panorama with the view of having it as a 'cast' photo. Captain sitting in the chair, others dotted around. This will be a bit of a challenge, but I shall experiment. I'm going to have to edit the lighting in this particular picture though because it's too bright.

Providing cutting out the offices in the background doesn't drive me to insanity, I want to impose the captain/lead part into this picture, if I am clever enough, with one hand on the wheel.

One final idea, not to be including any of the pictures gained from yesterday, I will take/use a few picture showing the actual musical and action. So either on a stage, or in a dance studio to show rehearsals. I also want to include pictures showing other aspects of the theatre production i.e lighting, sound, composition and advertisement.

Obviously there were numerous risks in taking these pictures on this location, as there is everywhere. So I had to be sensible and cautious of my surroundings and others that were on the boat at the same time.

Idea for a Review for my Magazine

I have decided for my magazine to review in great detail one musical. So I'm going to write the synopsis for my own brand-new, breath-takingly-good pirate musical..!

Why this theme I hear you ask? Well there are a few reasons. One - I have the resources as far as costume and props go having myself and several other friends needed the costume for a dance show and I know a male with a keen musical interest that owns his own pirate jacket. Two - As far as I am aware there is only one pirate musical in existence, 'Pirates of Penzance' by Gilbert and Sullivan. Three - I love all things Pirates of the Caribbean.

I have constructed a mood board, a bit like my musical theatre one, but just on pirates. To construct this I carried out research in the form of asking people what comes to mind when I say pirates to them. So I suppose I have built up a very very stereotypical view of pirates, but that will be what people going to see a pirate musical would expect. I must say, Pirates of the Caribbean seemed to be very influential in the responses. Which I suppose was expected.

Wooden leg, anchor, gold, hat, eye-patch, hook for a hand, pirate flag, hanging, prisoner, sword, rum, parrot, boots, big jackets. All of these I'm sure speak for themselves. As for the colours, brown and black because of the stereotypical colour of the clothing they wear as well as their ships. And red for danger and fighting because pirates were not exactly law abiding and fought a lot. The words and phrases are typical phrases that you might expect a pirate to say. Obviously a majority is actually taken from Pirates of the Caribbean. But the series of films are very influential on pirate views. I will consider all of these aspects when creating my double-page spread.

Deconstruction 2

I have chosen to also analyse this picture of a male musical theatre star as it is totally different to middle-aged lovely Alfie Boe and maybe not everyone's perception of people in the Musical Theatre business..?

Say hello to Ramin Karimloo...

I must back-track a bit, I know I just called Alfie Boe middle-aged, he's not quite there (I think it's the beard that makes him look older for the part he's currently playing) he's actually 37 and Ramin here is 32 however, I'm sure you'll agree that they are presented in very different ways in the images with contrasting representations!

A bit about Ramin. He's Canadian born but is living in England. He enjoyed musical theatre when he was living in Canada and has been incredibly successful since moving to England. He's currently playing the Phantom in Love Never Dies which is the sequel to Phantom of the opera.

So the image. It is a mid-shot, chosen to flaunt his body build. Compared to Alfie, he is portrayed as a bit of a sex symbol and he looks serious. Some people may interpret his stance as arrogant as he appears very confident. However, it does appeal to his target audience, which if you hadn't guessed, are women as well as homosexuals. This particular image may actually draw people's attention to musical theatre that may not have been interested as this image doesn't necessarily conform to the usual image of musical theatre.

Deconstruction of an Image of an Iconic Musical Theatre Star

Alfie Boe is a new rising musical theatre star and he has an amazing voice! He is currently 37 and was discovered in a rather odd way. He'd always had a passion for music but never knew what to do or how to go professional until that is, he was working in a garage and to pass the time he sang aloud. One day a customer who worked in the music industry told him of a company that were auditioning for a tour. He went along and that's where it all began! Interestingly, he says that he has never since been able to track down the mystery man who convinced him to audition! From that audition his career in the music industry went from strength to strength and is now best known for his performance in the 25th anniversary concert of Les Miserables. Here is the image from the front of his latest album.

It is a head and shoulders shot of him. The way he is posed and with the position of the collar of his coat as well as his facial expression, makes him look happy, friendly and even a bit cheeky. This image would appeal to his target audience (musical theatre lovers of all ages) because the image denotes him to be approachable and a nice guy.

The text in the bottom left hand corner simply says his name and the title of the album. The font, colour and size for his name make's it stand out as it is a contrast to the rest of the cover. The font for the album title appears hand written, adding a personal touch the album and adding to the image of him being friendly. It could also echo his life, in that he is just an ordinary person, discovered by chance; the font is like any other hand-written writing.

Dancing Times

May not strictly be musical theatre but this magazine - Dancing Times - is about dance...in case you hadn't worked that out. So it does cover one aspect of musical theatre.

The history - Amazingly, it was first published in 1894! It was originally published as the house magazine for the ballroom establishment Cavendish Rooms which is in London. However, in 1910 it was brought out by two men who developed and turned it into a national magazine and has had a huge impact on the world of dance. In 1962 dancing times turned into a4 size as it remains today and an a5 magazine called 'Dance Today' was spun-off and named its sister magazine. Dance Today is purely about ballroom, where the original idea begun whereas Dancing Times covers all styles, though predominantly about ballet it would seem.

The particular issue I have is priced at £2.95 however on the internet it is announced that the new issues will be 'begrudgingly' priced at £3.15. It is a monthly magazine and I am going to analyse the Feb '11 issue.

Here is the front cover. It is conventional and it is all actually light blue and white, apart from the black background of course. All these colours work well with each other and compliment each other. In the title of the magazine the word Dancing is in italics and is bold which emphasises the word, thus making the genre stand out. As you can see, just below the name is the issue reference and price, to the right side there is a tagline stating that it is 'Britain's leading dance monthly' and the website address. This tagline would actually help in persuading someone to purchase as it gives it dominance over the market and hints that it is the best. The use of the word 'leading' is a bit of a pun really as, especially in ballroom dancing the word is used as 'the male leads'. The image is, well, quite stunning. It is a longshot of Erina Takahashi who is a member of the English National Ballet, performing a classical ballet movement. The magazine features a 4-page spread of an interview with her. As I've mentioned before, it seems to be mainly ballet, this image will therefore appeal to its audience. The light colours of her leotard, tights, and pointe shoes stand out against the black back-drop. The text surrounding the picture is fairly large and because of the colours, it also stands out from the background. A majority of the text is bold to grab the reader's attention and also most is in capitals. In the bottom right corner the word 'WIN!' is in capital letters which also works as a selling point. Although it is not in this image, in the very bottom right corner there is the bar code with the phrase 'Sister to Dance Today' above it, advertising that magazine also.

The contents page still conforms to the blue+white colour scheme with some black ink. It is professionally organised with subheading splitting up the contents - Features and Regulars - both of which are bold to stand out. Whilst this is a good idea, easy to find what you're looking for, it is not in order and so the contents jumps about which can be frustrating. The features section (Top left) has a pale blue background so that is stands out and the section includes a picture which is later used in one of the feature articles. All of the page numbers are bold to stand out and in the feature section they are all black but in the regulars section they are multi-coloured, following no pattern. The titles of all the pages are also in bold and of a bigger font to stand out. Within the short descriptions of what is on the pages, the names of the people it features are in bold. This is a good idea as it allows the reader to see quickly what they might be interested in. In the top right there is the blue heading 'On the cover' and a smaller copy of the image from the front cover, just below this there is the name of the dancer, the dance it is taken from, the choreographer of the dance and the photographer of the picture. This makes it very informative and professional. In the regulars section there is a turquoise box featuring three more article information as well as a picture. This box is titled 'IntoDance' which I think appeals to a certain audience and it seems to be a slight gossip section as it delves into peoples lives as well as including 'Your Page' for the reader to get involved.

This is pages 36-37 of the magazine and I have chosen to look at this page spread as it shows world dance. The left-hand page is an advert for a competition in Beijing. The writing at the bottom of the advert is both in English and Chinese which keeps the location known as well as appealing to an audience of Chinese ethnicity and those who also enjoy travel. The red and white on the blue background stand out as well as the red being the colour of the countries flag. The image is a series of white lines making up a simple image of a dancer in a tutu. This image is original and effective especially as the background colour has a section which is lighter, coming from the dancers head. The right-hand page is an article about 'how ballet is soothing the current economic crisis in Greece'. The layout is professional and typical of magazines/newspapers with a large picture at the top, large title, subheading, first paragraph in bold and the text arranged into columns. The article still follows the house-style, meaning the magazine is flowing and continuous throughout. The article does actually go on to a second page and it is very informative. Its purpose is not to entertain but it gives a lot of facts and information to the reader in a formal way. Both images have strips of navy blue at the top and bottom, separating them nicely, they also both have the photographer and where is was taken in white. Like the contents page, in the sub-heading the name of the writer is again in bold. At the bottom of every page it says the magazine title, issue and page number in light grey, italics. For example, this particular page says 'Dancing Times\February 2011\37'. This is an excellent idea as it makes navigating around the magazine easy.

All in all - a good informative, professional magazine.

Musical Stages...again!

There's no need for me to call into one of the shops in London...they've posted me a copy of their latest issue for free which is usually priced at £4! I sure do love Musical Stages....especially when you consider that I've emailed M.IsFor 3 times now and had zilch back!

So this issue is the same issue that, if you scroll further down, I have already analysed the cover and talked about the contents.

Anyway, looking through this magazine its fantastic! It's got so much information in it, quite literally everything you need to know about current musical theatre and it looks very professional. The general house-style seems to follow a pattern of blue and white headings with black text for the articles. My scanner isn't big enough for the magazine so I've resolved to taking pictures, I know it's not very clear but it will give you the general layout.

This is pages 8-9 and they're under the heading 'Ron Cohen's Broadway'. The magazine has reviews from the Westend, Broadway and regions across the UK and so it appeals to a wide audience and a large range of people as it just about covers every genre within musical theatre! So as you can see the headings are a blue block with the title printed in white capital letters across it, indented to the nearest edge on either page. There is a subheading which is black ink, bold and slightly bigger than the rest of the text. It is actually also a rhetorical question meaning the reader's attention is immediately grabbed. The main text is black with the names of other musicals in bold to make them stand out. This is effective because people can essentially skim read and if they find a musical they're interested in, read it! As you can see, there are two large pictures, one of each page which take up half of the page. They are establishing long-shots which are action shots as in both cases the casts are in the middle of a song and/or acting. In small white writing in the top left hand corner the title of the musicals they are taken from is printed, with the photographers name down the right hand side. The actual content of the text is not only reviews, but facts and history of musical theatre on Broadway thus making it highly informative.

So a quick look at some of the other pages...

To the right are pages 14-15. This comes at the end of the Broadway section. I have chosen to upload this image because the double page spread has a range of things. Top left there's the final part of the Broadway reviews and information with a picture that has the same layout of where it's from and who took it. The blue rectangle to the right of this image is an advertisement for their own magazine. 'Have every issue of MUSICAL STAGES mailed to you direct for just £20 per year - see page 43 for details'. By putting their title in capital letters it makes it stand out. Presumably, to be reading this the reader would be into buying the magazine. However, as this talks about subscribing, it must be aimed more at readers who are not regular in the purchase. They choose to say 'mailed to you direct' because it makes it sound easy and effortless to have in mailed to you. The bottom half of page 14 and the bottom left hand corner of page 15 are two more adverts. The one in a yellow (to stand out) box is advertising the shop Dress Circle which is 'The Greatest Showbiz Shop in the World' and also one of the few. The advert consists of explaining what type of things it sells then 5 little images of CD covers and information on title, artist, price and content. Underneath this is the companies address and other contact details. The advert on page 15 is for Hurtwood House. I have been on te website given and have discovered that it is a very expensive, but the best in the country boarding school which actually focuses around performing arts. The advert takes an image and style from artist Roy Lichtenstein which they've cleverly manipulated so that the speech bubble says 'I wish I'd gone to Hurtwood.' From the underneath text it's clear that the advert is aimed at people looking for sixth forms/colleges so 16+. I think it appeals to this audience because of the modern picture. The actual content on page 15 is entitled 'Repetitive Strain Injury' which I have said on a previous blog what a great idea i thought it was, given all this extra information. Well, it's a very misleading title! It's not about RSI at all. It is in actual fact someone analysing song lyrics, past and present! Which is still a good article and breaks up the reviews...just not what I was expecting.

There are a few reviews which are in so much detail. There are some shows that have a double page to themselves with pictures, background information, the actual review and a list of all the cast members and characters as well as the creative team and jobs!

One last thing I want to comment on, because it's genius!

Say hello to 'Musical Mole'!!

So this little Mole is a character created by the magazine and acts as a kind of Agony Aunt/question and answer thing. Basically if people have a query about some musical theatre trivia...then they can ask Mole. And it would seem from this issue that if you're having friend/bully issues surrounding musical theatre...you can write to Mole! In this particular issue Mole responds to 4 issues/questions as well as giving and introduction of musical trivia and news. In his closing paragraph the writers really do create a character for him which adds comedy to the magazine. For example, Mole signs off saying 'Ah well, back to cutting out all those pictures of John Barrowman and pasting them over the walls of my office - good times'

So, all in all a very very good magazine! It's informative as well as adding humor to it, it's aesthetically appealing and keeps the readers attention throughout.

Musical Stages

So I wrote a letter to the magazine 'Musical Stages' and they emailed me back within 24 hours of me posting the letter, which is amazing!

So in my letter I asked about where the magazine is distributed and asked if they could give me any information on any statistics. Unfortunately they didn't give any numbers but informed me that it changes per quarter.

So what have a found out? It has contributors from a great long list of countries including America, Australia, South Africa, France, Germany, Sweden and Japan...!

It is predominantly sold by subscription to people and only available from 3 retail shops, all of which are in London. Conveniently, I'm going to London next week so I'm going to try and get hold of one. I was also informed that all major drama schools and societies subscribe to the magazine and have copies in their libraries/reading rooms.

So just a bit of extra information I've gathered. But I will consider this when deciding on my final target audience.

Types of Research

1. Primary
2. Secondary
3. Quantitative
4. Qualitative

Primary Research means research that you do yourself and textual analysis. For example, a questionnaire, sending a letter and sending an email all class as primary research. This applies to my research as I have written to and emailed the two Musical Theatre magazines that I have analysed and I plan to do a questionnaire/survey as part of my planning to find out exactly what I my target audience wants. The questionnaire will be specific and all relevant to my audience and magazine style, it is also easy for me to distribute.

Secondary Research is research that has already been carried out by somebody else. For example, on the internet and books. Despite information in books being available and reliable, it may not be the most recent and relevant as things change quickly these days and 'go out of fashion'. The internet, for me, is easily accessible, fast and personally doesn't cost me any money! I will be looking at and finding information via the internet through industry and individual websites.

Quantitative Research is research based around numbers and finding patterns/trends within these numbers. This will become relevant in my research when I analyse the results from my questionnaire I'm going to circulate. The more people that answer the questionnaire; the better and the more reliable my average results.

Qualitative Research, this is more like carrying out an interviews, gaining opinions and feeling of people toward questions and ideas. I will use this method of research with a few people as I begin constructing my magazine to find out what 'works' and what doesn't 'work'.

Musical Theatre Mood Board!

In order to think in greater detail about the world of musical theatre and possible target audiences I have created the following mood board based on all things musical...


So why have I included these things?

To keep it simple I placed a short definition of what musical theatre is in the centre of the mood board. To the right, a large image of two drama masks which are a stereotypical 'logo' to musical theatre and generally drama. I have used lots of colour charts because musicals are seen to be very vibrant and colourful. The colour I predominantly used is pink as it is bright and stereotypical a female colour which, again stereotypically, musical theatre appeals more to females. Down in the bottom right hand corner I've stuck a small piece of red ribbon and a picture of a costume from the magnificent masquerade scene in 'The Phantom of the Opera'. I including this image because of the attention to detail in all the costumes and because they are so important in added to a character as well as looking aesthetically appealing.

The lights at the top are included as a technical aspect of musical theatre as it is important to remember that it is not just about the finished project, what is seen on stage. There is a lot of preparation to every show and without technology, theatre would be incredibly different! The stage in the bottom left corner is a standard, simple stage, included in my mood board for obvious reasons. Further up from this, and again placed for obvious reasons, there is an image of some musical notes. Music is very important as it is what makes this style of theatre what it is. In TV and Film music is often used to create atmospheres. In musical theatre it is not only used to create an atmosphere, but to actually tell a majority of the story...as well as something to dance too!

I have included images of the logos of 6 popular musicals. I have grouped them into two 3's because of the variation in genres/styles. To the right of the definition there are 3 musicals classed as 'classics' and from these examples, all in fact are operas. They have been around for years! To the bottom left there are 3 'modern' musicals. They all have a completely different style of music to the other 3 and so appeal more to a younger audience, especially 'Rent'! Having said this, 'We Will Rock You' is all Queen music. This completely broadens the audience.

In between the images and colour charts are three phrases and three stars. The phrases link to musical theatre in some way whether it be the stereotype 'Diva' or the quote from 'Annie Get Your Gun' - 'There's no business like show business'. The stars are because, well, the performers, in a way are.




All images used in mood board taken from google...

Ray Gun

'Ray Gun' was an American magazine about alternative rock and roll. The magazine was in business for 73 issues from 1992-1999 and stood out from the crowd as it went for a distinctive, non-conventional style. The typography of the magazine was often ineligible and the name was never in the same font or position twice. In some ways this was a bonus for the magazine. Because it was SO different it appealed to a certain audience, to people who liked to think they're different. However it also hindered the magazine as it was often hard to be recognized because the name or layout never was the same.

For example to the right you will see issue 1 next to issue 3. There is a completely different colour scheme, fonts and layout.

Both of these covers where designed by graphic designer David Carson.

Not only are the magazines covers different to each other, they are also different to every single other magazine as they subvert conventions completely. For example, issue 3's main image is upside-down. This was cutting-edge as was the actual content.

Although this is a very different music style to my chosen genre, I think it is still important to look at other styles to help find conventions as well as explore the more unconventional. This will help me see what is successful and what is not so successful. Personally, for the music genre have chosen, I don't think this unconventional style would work at all. But its still interesting to have researched another style.

'M. Magazine'

So, even though 'Musical Stages' claimed to be the only musical theatre magazine in Britain...I have found this - 'M.'!

In a way, 'Musical Stages' are right to claim themselves as the only magazine as from what i can

find, 'M.' appears to be an online, downloadable free magazine and to have no retailers plus half the time they seem to be living in England and the other half in America! I have contacted the magazine to find out about these things, hopefully i'll get a response.

They sum up their style and purpose pretty well on their 'About' page...

'Now, we don't want to tread on anyone's toes- but we do want to shake things up and make this publication fresh, new and exciting. We like to think of it as the "VOGUE" of Musical Theatre. It’s going to be high-fashion, beautiful, glossy and fun. We are going to be a bit cheeky and have a laugh. In bringing this new generation of theatre out in our magazine, we will also be careful not to forget the past and the classic shows that ran in the years before us.'

The language they use, appeals directly to younger generations as does the casual, informal, modern layout of the website and magazine.

Again, the front cover is relatively simple and of a similar layout to 'Musical Stages' however it is not a digital photo, it is an image. Much of the entire magazine is also simple and the fonts and casual tone works well with this.

What does it include?

• Reviews
• Things they would recommend on youtube!
• A comedy section on which west end parts they think particular x-factor contestants would be good for!
• Theatrical advertisements
• Articles on west-end stars
• Interviews with several people, including production team members that have recently 'made-it'!
• Recommendations of musical theatre products

All the pictures help give a 'cool' and attractive vibe to musical theatre, helping it appeal further to its younger generation target audience.

This >>>>>>

Is what readers are greeted by when they open the magazine.

I personally think this is brilliant!

It sums up a stereotype of musical theatre in a positive way!

It immediately sets a humerus, relaxed and informal tone.

I reckon this is the style of musical magazine that I will strongly consider when creating my own.

'Musical Stages' Magazine

Unfortunately, there is only ONE magazine in Britain which is specialised to Musicals/Musical Theatre. Here it is, 'Musical Stages' issue 68. It is priced at £4 and is released quarterly.

It contains a lot of reviews of different musicals as well as some CDs. It regularly includes reviews and news from theatres and shows all around the world from America, to europe, even in Japan! As well as all this, it has interviews with actors and/or directors and other production members. Another feature of this particular issue which I found good, was an article on "Repetitive Strain Injury". I think including an article of injuries and generally behind the scenes is a good idea as it makes it more informative and gives a break from review after review!

In my opinion, the front cover is not all that great. There's not much to it. The Magazine name, tag-line, number issue, price and a picture. It does nothing to grab the readers attention. From the cover it doesn't really give anything away as to what is inside. However, this magazine can probably get away with it. As they are 'Britain's only musical theatre magazine' they are well established to their audience. As it specifically says 'Musical Theatre' they will know what to expect the content to be. By not having everything standing out it gives the magazine more of a sophisticated style.

So what do its readers think?

• Musical Stages is terrific and so high class. I love it. It is packed and so interesting. I am going through it a little at a time as it is like a rare sweet – you don't want to finish it.

Helen McGrandles, Isle of Bute

• I get Musical Stages for my eighteen-year-old son who is studying Musical Theatre; he is busy auditioning for drama school for three years. I enjoy reading it too!

Mrs L March, Bedfordshire

• My Musical Stages keeps me informed and I look forward to the next issue.

Sheila Welch, Derbyshire

This magazine has positive reviews and the response form Mrs L March shows that it is educational and is also appealing to teenagers.

My chosen Music Genre and Ideology of this Genre...

I have chosen to do a Musical Theatre magazine as, despite there being little for this audience; there is most definitely a keen interest out there, a gap in the market!

The stereotypical views of those who tend to watch musicals and have a keen interest in musicals tend to be...

· Melodramatic

· Well-off

· Some homosexual

· Posh

However, this is not necessarily true! People of all ages, gender and classes enjoy seeing musicals. It is true that many tend to know the music or at least the story before committing to see a musical (as they aren’t as cheap as the cinema!).

Due to the success of new(ish) musicals like ‘Jersey Boys’ and ‘We Will Rock You’ Musicals have begun appearing to a wider range of people. These two musicals are tributes to ‘The Four Seasons’ and ‘Queen’, meaning that those interested in these two contrasting styles of music are now attracted to the theatre. The use of film has also enhanced musical theatre as it has made it more accessible to many people. A very recent development that has improved peoples knowledge of musical theatre is through the use of live feeds. For example, recently the revolutionary ‘Les Miserables’ had its amazing 25^th anniversary! In order to mark this landmark it held a concert at the o2 arena in London. One of the performances had a live feed to all Odeon’s in the country, no pressure on the performers or anything...One of the performers included comedian Matt Lucas! Meaning the audience was broadened further. Also Disney star Nick Jonas had a lead part meaning even a younger audience was drawn to watching it.

Despite price, you get an amazing standard and quality every time as the work, energy, time and money invested in putting on a musical is substantial. I plan to have my magazine cover all aspects from the production, set and direction to the actors/actresses lives as I don’t think many appreciate quite how hard and stressful it can be. There is more to musicals than meets the eye...

Music Genres

Here is a mind-map of numerous music genres and sub-genres for part of my research as I decide which music genre I want to create a magazine for.

Preliminary Task

For my Preliminary task I had to create a front page and contents page for a new school/ college magazine. I chose to base it around my school and so used the name, colour scheme and logo in my magazine.

I decided to specalise it for the sixth form at the school and as it was for this age range I used informal language. In order to appeal the magazine further to this target audience, I chose informal font which has a casual look to it as well as tailoring the headlines and contents for their current lifestyles. I manipulated the mid-shot so that no background was visible, giving it a proffesional, tidy look. I left a slightly hazy outline as well around the picture to add to the effect. The thought bubble is made up of the schools logo and so make it directly personal to our sixth form. During sixth form, we are pushed to think about universities and our futures in general. As this is the next big step following sixth form, I chose this as my main headline. I tried to keep the layout and design simple but eye-catching, which the use of red does. The simple design is again, because of my target group. They do not necessarily have a lot of time and so by simply glancing at it they can quickly see whether or not the issue is suitable and of use for them. The fact that there is little text would appeal to the sixth form as it gives the image of the contents not be complicated but easy to understand.

My contents page follows the same house-style with the colour scheme, logos and use of font in the title. I tried tis same font for all of the contents page however it made it look untidy and so I went for a clearer font for the page information. I featured the same picture on the contents page as i did in the front cover to give it continuity.

The articles on the pages are all relevant to the school and sixth form. It includes everything from the standard revision advice to celebrations and other trivia. This helps make the magazine informative as well as informal and relaxed thus being perfect for sixth form.

I have learnt from this task how to use photo editing software which will come in useful for my actual magazine. I have learnt to experiment with fonts as to what looks good and works well within the context. If I did this task again, I would experiment more with the use of colours as I didn't use many, however I do like the fact that the red is bright and so grabs readers attention.

A.S Coursework

For my A.S Media Coursework I have been given the task of creating my own, new Music Magazine. I can chose any music genre in order to produce the magazine. I do not have to create the entire magazine but I will make a front cover, contents page and one double-page spread.

I want to create a magazine that will stand out and that will fill up a gap in the market. This means I will need to carry out a lot of research on existing magazine as well as exploring the genre I chose to pursue.

In order to prepare myself for this I am going to do a preliminary task in which I will create a front cover and contents page for a school magazine. This will allow me to use new software and get me to evaluate and try out things which may or may not work for a magazine.