Focus group questions and answers
- 1. FocusGroup: 1) What do you think of the design?Are all media conventionsofmusic magazinesspread out evenlyor clustered? Participant1: All three mediaproductionsare quite similar,asincolourand layoutwhichI like because itshowsconsistencyandaneat piece of work.The feature articlesonthe front coverare of goodquantitybutI thinkthe righthand side isa bit too squashedtothe top of the page,maybe distributingitmore towardstobottomright.Apart fromthat everythingisthere. The designisalsonice;it isa good touchhavingthe ‘GreenAddition’,whichcarriesonthrough all the three pages. Participant2: Out of all three I preferthe double page spread.Ireallylikethe layoutasyou don’tsee suchveryoften;usuallyit’sanimage onone side andtexton the other.Many things are there suchas bolderquotations,abigtitle andI thinkeverything isnicelyspreadout.Iwould howeverchange the size of ‘MainlyIndie’onthe contentspage;Ithinkit istoo small.Iwouldn’t say it’sclusteredbecause the textisjustright,nottoobigor too small;otherwisethere could have beennotenoughor too much space whichwouldn’thave lookedgood. Participant3: all mediaconventionsseempresentandare well distributedbutIthinkthat there mayhave neededmore conventionssuchasfree itemgive aways,makingitmore appealingtoevenpeople whowouldn’tusuallybuythe magazine.The designisnice andassaidI like the ‘GreenIssue’creationasitmakesthe magazine feelexclusive aswell ashavingtokeep the same colours,whichhas beendone well. Participant4: all of the productionsIthinkhave usedthe space reallywell,suchasthe contentspage and havingthe artistsimage onthe right handside reallyworks.The double page spreadlookingatfirstsightlookslike alotbut itis nicelybrokendownintodifferentsections such as the interview andthe ‘RagstoRiches’bit. Participant5: the layoutof the frontcoverand double page spreadisgoodbut I thinkthat there issomethinglackinginthe contentspage whichmakesitlookmore informativeand seriousthenitshouldbe.Maybe adding some sortof designtothe backgroundmaymake it look betterbutI thinkthere needstobe a bit more on the contentspage.The frontcoverlooksgood and so doesthe double page spread.Theyuse the space nicelyandwithenoughtext.
- 2. 2) At first look, what music genre comesinto mind? Participant1: Whenlookingatall three,itsdifferentandI’ve neverreallyseensomethinglikethis before. The drumtellsme it’ssomethinglike ‘EdSheeran’typeof music,countrypop? The colours are greenwhichalsoshowthis. Participant2: It has an indie feeltoitbecause of the clothingandthe patternsused.Iread these typesof magazinesandthe style andstructure is quite similartosome.The title obviouslygivesit away as well butitisalsoclear throughothermediaconventions. Participant3: justas said,indie isthe genre.Indie asIknow isold fashionedanduniqueandIthink that isshownthroughthe patternson the frontcover as well asthe greentheme.Quite alotof these genre bandsalsohave the same conventionssuchasclothingandcolourtherefore Ibelieveit isindie. Participant4: It has a countryfeel toit because of the ‘Greenissue’aswell asthe greencolours.The artiston the front alsogivesme thiskindof impression because of the beardandethnicity.The band inthe contentspage isalsowhite ethnicallyandhasonce more thisrural feel tothem, differentfrom typical musicyouwouldfindnow. Participant5: Assaid before the artistgivesafeelingof the genre beingamix of countryand indie. The indie isshownthroughthe style of the magazine andthe countrythroughthe continuousgreen colourthroughout.Itremindsme of magazines‘Kerrang’havingaunique feel toit. 3) What do you think of the colour scheme and its relationshipwiththe genre?Challenge or developit? Participant1: The colour scheme nodoubtedlydevelopsthe genrewhichthe otherpeople here have said.The greencolourgivesa feelingof nature andcalmnesswhichiswhatthe indie/countrymusichastoit. Participant2: Definitely!It’sgoodthatthe colour isn’tonlygreenasitwouldhave beenabit repetitivewhichwouldhave beenboring,butthe additionof burgundyandreddevelopthe magazinesgenreswell. Participant3: The greendoesverymuch sobut I thinkthe secondary,lesspredominantcolours, such as the greydoesn’tdevelopitasmuch as the green,howeveritdoesgive itanoldtype of feel whichmaydevelopthe genre aswell. Participant4: Yesone hundredpercent.The greenisusedtoa nice extentandportraysthe genre verywell.Iwouldn’tthinkitwasaclubmusicmagazine or mostothergenresbecause of the style andthe use of the greencolour. Participant5: Eventhoughit isa greenissue whichdefinitelydoesdevelopthe genre,Ibelieve evenwithoutthe special editionmagazineissue,the magazine developsthe genre because of the style andpatternsused,eventhe clothing!
- 3. 4) The use of text fonts,is it limitedor enough? Participant1: Lookingat the productions,there doesn’tseemtobe manytextsfonts;Ican onlypickout twoor three.I thinkthisisby far enoughastypically,followingconventionsof musicmagazines,youwouldn’tsee manydifferenttype of texts. Participant2: I thinkthat lookingatall three productionsthere israrelymore thanthree.I like thisbecause Ithinkitgivesthe magazine aprofessional andneatlook.Ithinkhaving more than three wouldmake anypage looka bituntidyandwithlittle information. Participant3: Asthe frontcoverusedthree differentfonttexts,Ithinkthat,thatcouldhave beencarriedonthroughthe nexttwopages,whichmayhave made the pagesseemless formative andmore fun such as the contentspage, butthe coloursand the interactivityof the pageshave solvedthe problemmore orless. Participant4: twois byfar enoughI think.The use of textand the editingof themworks whichmakesitlooklike there ismore thantwoused.Textisstructurednicely,andexample wouldbe ‘Iceland’onthe contentspage whichlooksboldandreallymakesyouthinkabout the significance orinsignificance of the word. Participant5: Maybe three wouldhave beenbetterasitwouldhave beenavariationand may make the pageslooka bitmore funthan informativelikesaidbefore.Butapartfrom that the pagesstill lookfunkyandexciting. 5) Are the feature articlesrelevantto the magazine? Participant1: The feature articlesIthinkare reallygoodto grab people’sattention.Ifirst one I can spot isunderthe ‘Franz Ferdinand’titlewhichsays“Stage fright?All the time!”I thinkthisreallyworksbecause itisunexpectedfromasignerandtherefore wouldgrab people’sattentions.‘The ByardsvsThe FleetFoxes’alsoisagoodone because I’dlike tosee whatthe rivalryisandwhy there isone inthe firstplace. Participant2: The feature articlesare goodand theyall have the effectthatyouwant to read aboutit after.But I thinkyoucouldhave usedmore feature articles,downthe bottomright of the page or made the textsmaller.Apartfromthisthe feature articlesare all good. Participant3: All the feature articlesare goodandthe use of the ‘Arctic Monkey’one which has a controversial quote notan introto whattheirfeature article will be about.Language is reallywell usedbecause Iwouldn’thave knownaboutthe otherfeature articlesbutbecause theyare smallergroupsIhaven’theardof feature articlessuchas“Folkpopsnew religion”is reallyappealing. Participant4: The feature articlesIthinkare relevanttothe magazine because the soundof the group namesalreadytellsme the genre,andthe use of texttodescribe theirfeature articlesisdifferenttowhatyouwouldsee inanothermusicgenre magazine.
- 4. Participant5: The feature articlesare relevanttothe genre youare doing.The groups I have neverheardof but the language usedmakesme wantto.As the otherhave mentioned language suchas “Stage Fright?All the time!”thisisreallyappealingtome because inthis genre the groupmust be bigand you wouldn’texpectpeople of theircalibretobe scaredof singingif theyhave done ittime andtime again. 6) Have I used appropriate language for all three mediaproducts? Participant1: All three articleshave usedlanguage reallywell.The frontcoverhasnice feature articlesandthe language theyuse isappealingsuchasthe ‘ArcticMonkey’s’agroup I like.The contentspage hasa nice use of the editorial andonce more the language isreally goodin itbecause itgivesme a prevue of whatI can expectinthe magazine.The double page spreadusesnice coloursand texttoemphasise alotof the writingandcrucial events. Participant2: YesI thinkappropriate language hasdefinitelybeenusedinall three pieces. The contentspage has nicelysetoutarticlesandtheirpage numbers,undersubheadings such as ‘News’and‘Radar’whichIlike a lot.The double page spreadisalsonicely setout withthe quotationsandthe title forthe page beingboldandevidenttopeople whowould flickthroughthe pages. Participant3: All the language isusedverywell.HoweverIthinkyoucouldhave usedswear wordsto make it evenmore appealingbecause peoplelikeme wouldn’texpectthatfrom any magazine there attractingme tosee the attitude of the person.Apartfromthat I think youhave affectivelyappealedtothe audience withyourlanguage. Participant4: I reallylike the language usedasmentionedinthe previousquestion.Not manygroups I wouldknow,butthe use of language toattract me and the audience isgreat. The bestone wouldbe the FranzFerdinandone butjustas goodis the ‘Noahand The Whale”.Language inthe contentspage alsoappealsto me because the one of the feature articlesisdisplayedwithgooduse of language. Participant5: Language I like throughoutall pieces!The editingof certainwordsandphrases alsowork toadd emphasis,suchas‘Iceland’inthe contents page andincreasedquotesfrom the artist inthe double page spread.The structure of the language isgoodas ithas an effect that youwant to readabout it.The double page spreadhasreallynice quotationsused whichmake me feel surprisedfromwhathe hassaidbut I thinkyoucouldhave useda few swearwordsif your personisthat type of guy. 7) Do the horizontal patternsat the top and bottom of the page work? Participant1: I thinkthe use of those patternsdefinitelyworksif itistryingto portray the magazine genre!The patternslookverycountry,rural themedwhichIthinksuitsthe magazine youare doing.
- 5. Participant2: The patterson the page I thinkworkbecause theymake the page lookbolder and more exciting.Withoutthe patternsIthink the page wouldbe toobland.Theyreally workin showingyourmusicgenre. Participant3: I reallylike the patternsbutIthinkthere couldhave beenacontinuationof themmaybe inthe contentspage and doublerpage spread,butcertainlyinthe contents page.If you continuedit,Ithinkitwouldhave workedasyourtheme throughevery magazine youpublishnotjustaone off ‘Greenaddition’ Participant4: The patternswork onthe frontcoverif theyare a piece of designaswell as presentingyourgenre tothe audience.Ilike itasa piece of designaswell because itclearly establishesyourindie musicgenre. Participant5: as everyone hassaid,the genre isdefinitelypresentedthroughthe patterns and itis a nice design,butIthinkyou should have continueditthroughoutthe paper, especiallythe contentpage. 8) In what ways are you attracted or not to all pieces? Participant1: the frontcover I like because itshowsitisa special additionwiththe ‘green issue’.The feature articlesare alsoappealingbecausetheyall create acontroversial message,suchas“Stage fright?All the time!”because youwouldn’texpectthatfromartist ina famousandpopulargroup.The colourtheme isverynice tolookat as well,andthe double page spreadgetsmyattentionbecause itlooksinteractive,funandexciting. Participant2: The biggestwayI am attracted to yourpiece isthe double page spread.Ithink that youhave usedthe coloursreallywell tocreate a happyand excitingmood,andthe artisthimself showsafunandboldcharacter throughthe camerashot.I like the wayyou usedthe textediting,in‘Iceland’inthe contentspage,Itmakesitboldandnoticeable, attractingme straightawayto the feature article. Participant3: I reallylike the wayyoumade the genre evidentinthe frontcover.The green colour,the use of language all worksreallywell.Iwashopingthere mighthave beenmaybe one or two more feature articlestoaddmore hype and appeal tothe audience if theywere to pick it up andscan throughit. The contentspage isnice laidout across twopageswhich letyouput a lot of textintoit.The double page spreadisexcitingandIlike the wayyou used the globe onhisfingerto showhow he has alreadysethiseyesfora biggerchallenge. Participant4: I am attractedto your piece throughthe use of the language inall three pieces such as “Is the worldreadyforUK’s new indie king?”inthe frontcover,“Iceland?Bringon the world”in the contentspage andof course inthe double page spread“UK,isonlythe beginning”reallygrabsmyattentionastheyare contentious.The use of imagingof the artist inthe contentspage alsoworksto show how significanthe is.Maybe abit more colouror patternscouldbe put on the contentspage.
- 6. Participant5: I reallylike the usesassaidbefore the language andimage.The imagesof ‘Luke Clark’are usedinall three whichtellsme asan audience the significanceand importance of himinthe article.The colourscheme throughoutkeepsthe ‘greenissue’in tack, and I like the feelingof the magazine beingexclusiveandaone off. The layoutof the three page challenge conventionsIwouldusuallysee inothermusicmagazineswhichmakes it nice as itsdifferentandunique,notthe same aseveryother,especiallythe doublepage spreadwhichlooksverygood. 9) What doesthe size of the image on the front coverinferto you about the person? Participant1: The size of ‘Luke Clark’is a mediumshot/longshotwhichisobviouslytryingto getas muchdetail aboutthe character as possible.Ithinkfromanaudience perspective it showsthe magazine wantto focuson himmainlyandshowinghissuperiorityinthe magazine. Participant2: The image of the mainartiston the front coverisappealingtome as he looks un- intimidatedandpowerful.The use of the guitarprop showshismusicgenre type.The mediumshotisdone toemphasise andgive me the feelingthathe isthe nextbigthing,and the seriousstraightface givesthe impressionhe isconfident. Participant3: The main image coversthe mastheadwhichI thinkshowshow bighe is comparedto the restof the feature articlesaswell asthe magazine,emphasisinghispower. It showshisdominance overthe otherarticlesandthathe is the mainstar of the show. Participant4: ‘Luke Clarks’mainimage islarge and coversthe mast head.Ithinkthisisa goodideaif the article revolvesanditbasedaroundhimself.‘Luke’lookslike aserious character that has highambitionsandwantstoreach the top withhisNVCandposture. Participant5: ‘Luke’portraysthe indie/folkpopgenre reallywell throughthe use of props. His personalityisshownthroughthe shottype,whichisamediumandrepresentshim 10) If there were room for improvement,whatimprovementswouldyou make? Participant1: as mentionedbefore Ithinkthatthe frontcover,to the rightside isa bit squashed,soyoucouldhave thoughtoutspreadingthe feature articlesacrossthe page differentlyorhavingone lesssoitisn’tasclustered.ApartfromthatI reallylike it. Participant2: I saidthat ‘Mainlyindie’onthe contentspage wasa bitto small andthe ‘This month’on the same page couldhave beenmovedabit more central and furtherawayfrom the textbelow,buteverything elseisreallygood. Participant3: issomethinglackinginthe contentspage whichmakesitlookmore informative andseriousthenitshouldbe.Maybe addingsome sortof designtothe backgroundmay make itlookbetterbutI thinkthere needstobe a bit more on the contents page. The textmay have usedone more fontbut that mayhave not workedaswell.
- 7. Participant4: I thinkyourthree piecesare all verygood.The only criticismIwouldgive youis that the contentspage colourslooklackinginenergy,somaybe changingthe colourfroma darkergrey to a littergreenora completelydifferentcolour. Participant5: The contentspage as othershave mentionedlackedabitof energy.Iwould add the patternsfromthe front coverontothe contentspage or as justsaidchange the colourto make it lesssimple andratherlivelier.