Thursday, 24 January 2013

Front Cover- Evolution From Start to Finish



I have put the model over the top of the magazine logo, making him seem the most important thing on the page. This is a common convention of magazines. I also used a customised barcode (this is a found image) as it reinforces the theme of music by being a tape. Similarly to my school magazine I used a puff in the upper right hand corner with the price in.


Here I have reduced the brightness of the model and increased the contrast to bring out the pattern of his camo jacket and the deep red of the guitar. I did this by making the model a seperate layer to the background of the image so the background would not darken & have an increased contrast. This makes him stand out more. I also included a code in the bottom left hand corner which is similar to Kerrang! Magazine as it is a code to download the magazine onto an iPad/iPod. This keeps the magazine up with current technology and appeals to the younger generation, who is my target audience. In addition, I put in a feature of a free guitar picks which are limited edition to entice the audience into buying my magazine.


On this copy I included a banner at the bottom which is a common convention on music magazines and nearly all have a banner somewhere on the cover. I have also included a description of the main article about 'Will Coleman' to give the reader an idea of what the article will be about, this makes them want to read it and know more. I put the free guitar picks coverline in a banner under the model's head as it uses up white space and looks more professional than a coverline (also makes it stand out).


In this image I further edited the model by airbrushing his face to remove any blemishes. I also included a coverline about Atomic Sound. I made the article about the band splitting up as it is gossip that many people would want to get involved in and can talk about with friends- therefore the magazine is becoming a social event. 


I included a description of the code that allows the reader to download to their phone- however I took the code off the cover in the next draft due to them being seperated by the barcode. I would also include the code in the contents page so there is no point in the code even being on the cover. I also altered the logo I used for the Sex Pistols (found image) as it was pixelated and blurry. This logo is much better and is one we all know. I also added colour to the bottom banner to make it look more professional.


This is my final draft. To make the magazine appeal to females I edited the 'Kings of Leon' sell line to 'The Indigo Girls'- a classic girl band. This band would appeal to my female target audience as it is relatable to them. I also included a coverline 'We Style Paramore!' which both adds an exclamative to the cover to add a variation of linguistic techniques and it adds the feminine element to the cover- fashion and styling. Finally, I slightly altered the puff in the upper right hand corner as it was too prominent and was more noticeable and bigger than the model's face. I made it lighter, no outline and behind the banner.


Thursday, 6 December 2012

Images

Front Cover
Why I chose that model
Has the rock image;
·         Messy hair
·         Has a wide range of rebellious clothing: studded items; creepers; camouflage & leather jackets etc.
Not bothered about appearance- will do poses and expressions some people may not because of being self-conscious
See often- convenient and no risk of sudden cancellation of shoot as we could always do it on another date
Why they are wearing their outfit
·         Rebellious image
·         In fashion at the moment (camo jackets and creepers)- makes it relatable to the audience and the model will also seem like an icon that one could look up to
Why I chose that location
·         Challenged convention- being in an abandoned warehouse it isn’t then clean-shot, studio image often used. Also gave me the freedom to do the shoot anytime and not having to bring the model into school during term-time
·         Props- In the warehouse there were abandoned vehicles, tables, chairs, drinks machines, broken windows and generally unkempt. This meant I could use props within my photoshoot: the front cover image I used in the end was taken whilst the model was standing at the back of a van, this gave me the opportunity to experiment with shot-types: low angle; high angle (I stand on the van and him stand below); straight on shots etc.
·         The warehouse consisted of 8 separate buildings which meant I could find different backgrounds and textures that could be used in the contents and d.p.s as well as the front cover
·         Easy to get to- would be no complications in terms of transport



Favourite Images:


These are my favourite images as the model is in focus and there is space around the sides of him and over his head for the sell lines and cover lines to go

Final image:

Double Page Spread

I used images from the same shoot as my front cover, as in music magazines shoots are normally kept similar/they use the same photographs to portray continuity.

Favourite images:


Final Image:




Initial Ideas- Moodboard, Reader Profile & Sketch




Audience Research- SurveyMonkey Results


Response-
  • Rock Out & Tune In were the most popular in my survey: I think this was because of 'The Buzz' having no connotation to a music magazine
  • The other results I recieved were not appropriate and were joke answers
  • 'Rock Out' sounds very cheesy and may not use because it's cliche
  • 'Tune In' relates to music as many teenagers 'tune in' to the radio to listen to their music (possible idea- could mention within my magazine about having a radio station to make it similar to 'Kerrang!' magazine)


Response-
  • Since my readership want a magazine aimed at females I could use a male model on the front cover as it implies he is a 'love object' to the audience. This would also capture a male readership as they could see him as an 'idol' or 'inspiration


Response-
  • The most popular magazine was 'NME' but only by one vote
  • All the magazines were popular in my research so I will combine research from Q, Kerrang!, Vibe and NME in order to appeal to the biggest audience possible
  • The 2 'other' answers were names of pop bands- irrelevant to question


Response-
  • By far the most popular answer was the image. This shows that my magazine should have a 'famous' artist on the cover as he/she will draw the audience to the mag. I will have to chose my location and model carefully in order to make the use of image effective
  • 'people' was also another answer, this reinforces my point above

Response-
  • The most popular was obvious again- 'black, red, white'. This is a very common colourscheme used by most rock magazines as the colour 'red' connotes danger and rebellion; a common image my readership would want


Response-
  • Most of my readership want a new generation rock magazine to be released as it is modern and fresh (something teenagers want to read as it is new information to them and something they can discuss with friends)
  • With this, I can style my magazine in a fun, exciting way as this will engage the audience into reading about a cool, new artist