This here is my first hand drawn drafts. There is a lot of things I am going to change from this to my final product but it gives me an idea of what to do. If I don't like it that would be great because it gives me time to change it and make my final product the best it can possibly be. I compared my drafts with actual examples of a cover, contents page and article from real music magazines and magazines which either relate to the genre (NME) or a magazine (Kerrang) whose layout and design I'm fond of and would take inspiration from to use on my own magazine.
Front Cover
Contents Page
Double Page Spread
Development
of Planning Ideas
Name of Magazine and Band to feature
To begin I had trouble making a final decision of what my magazine should be called and what the main band interviewed should be named. So I decided to follow my preliminary task and do a survey using Survey Monkey. I made up a list of names for my magazine and band and whatever name had the highest vote I decided to go with that. To promote my survey I again used Facebook to encourage people to complete my survey.
Here are the results;
Indie Magazine name: 'Undiscovered'
As you can see the name Undiscovered will be the name I will choose as the name of my magazine. Personally it is a name which I think best suits the magazine itself because my magazine is about new bands emerging and also the renowned ones. Furthermore the name ‘Undiscovered’ connotes that this magazine is about bands that aren’t well known and are willing to make a name for themselves. The name ‘Unknown’ came second in the votes which is similar to the name ‘Undiscovered’. ‘Shift’, ‘Diverse’, ‘Pioneer’ and ‘Deviant’ also had some votes but I was always swayed by the name ‘Undiscovered’. I was surprised that ‘Alter’ (short for alternative) didn’t receive any votes as it was a name I was seriously considering, I even used it for my first hand drawn draft but despite that many others thought otherwise.
Indie Band Name: Bon Marianos/Pioneers
These are the names I came up with for the name of the band that will feature as the main focal point of my magazine i.e. the cover stars. As you can see the names Pioneer and Bon Marianos beat the others names heavily. I have decided to use the name Bon Marianos as I prefer that one over Pioneers. However I will use Pioneers on my cover as a pug. I was very surprised that the name ‘Where Santiago’s I Go’ didn’t get any more votes as I personally thought that it was a name that was very innovative and I may possibly include their name somewhere in my final coursework because it’s a name that I am fond of. The names that didn’t receive any votes didn’t surprise me because those names seemed quite broad in my opinion and wasn’t very appealing as the others were. The other names that got only one vote were quite likeable too; Polar Chimps, Cataluña and The Orange Submarines, but they weren’t as good as Bon Marianos and Pioneers.
Here are the results;
Indie Magazine name: 'Undiscovered'
As you can see the name Undiscovered will be the name I will choose as the name of my magazine. Personally it is a name which I think best suits the magazine itself because my magazine is about new bands emerging and also the renowned ones. Furthermore the name ‘Undiscovered’ connotes that this magazine is about bands that aren’t well known and are willing to make a name for themselves. The name ‘Unknown’ came second in the votes which is similar to the name ‘Undiscovered’. ‘Shift’, ‘Diverse’, ‘Pioneer’ and ‘Deviant’ also had some votes but I was always swayed by the name ‘Undiscovered’. I was surprised that ‘Alter’ (short for alternative) didn’t receive any votes as it was a name I was seriously considering, I even used it for my first hand drawn draft but despite that many others thought otherwise.
Indie Band Name: Bon Marianos/Pioneers
These are the names I came up with for the name of the band that will feature as the main focal point of my magazine i.e. the cover stars. As you can see the names Pioneer and Bon Marianos beat the others names heavily. I have decided to use the name Bon Marianos as I prefer that one over Pioneers. However I will use Pioneers on my cover as a pug. I was very surprised that the name ‘Where Santiago’s I Go’ didn’t get any more votes as I personally thought that it was a name that was very innovative and I may possibly include their name somewhere in my final coursework because it’s a name that I am fond of. The names that didn’t receive any votes didn’t surprise me because those names seemed quite broad in my opinion and wasn’t very appealing as the others were. The other names that got only one vote were quite likeable too; Polar Chimps, Cataluña and The Orange Submarines, but they weren’t as good as Bon Marianos and Pioneers.
Typeface for Masthead
It’s been a hard decision on which typeface to use for my
masthead. Using the website Dafont.com I have seen and selected many fonts
that I would like to use as part of my magazine, so to help me make my final
decision I have done a survey on which font would suit the indie genre.
Personally I liked all of the fonts but the survey has helped me make my final choice.
I didn’t use Survey Monkey instead I did a survey by asking people which
typeface would be best for an indie magazine.
Below is the list of fonts I would like to choose and the
results are also shown below;
As you can see font #16 has the most votes but it’s a font
which I’m not fond of as much, following that fonts #11 and #13 had one less
vote from #16. However I prefer #14 over the others, I won’t choose #13 because
it has an urban, hip hop feel towards it with the buildings on the bottom contradicting the genre of indie. So for
my 2nd hand draft I have decided to use font #16 if I’m not pleased with it
then I will go with the other fonts.
2nd Hand Draft
Similar to my first hand drafts except this is my final layout I will use for my actual magazine. There will probably be some minor changes to the final product such as the masthead.
Feedback
It’s difficult to give any sort of evidence but I have received
verbal feedback from many and they all share the same ideas. I asked my friends
and family and they believe that the structure of the cover contents and double
page spread are all very well organised for a magazine, which I think is great
for my genre indie. However the majority didn’t know what the genre is when I
told them they thought I was saying ‘Hindi’ which I thought wasn’t a great
sign. But some did know what I was saying and they believed it was good; they
particularly like the masthead typeface and location. They told me however that
there needs to be more information and it’s too plain but of course it’s only a
second draft so that’s why. I am happy with it and I am going ahead with it as
I believe it suits the genre and the magazine itself.
Front Cover
Contents Page
Double Page Spread
3rd Hand Drawn Drafts
As you can see I'm not the best drawer but I'm satisfied
with what I'm planning to do. Everything you see here will feature on my final
finished product. There might be some changes to the masthead typeface other
than that this is how my cover will look like. Another point worth mentioning
was the band names, once I completed the drafts I received advice from a friend
saying I have used to many Spanish names and it doesn’t feel like an indie
magazine. Taking that advice on board I agreed with him and will change some of
the names of the bands furthermore I changed the name of the main band on the
cover, from Bon Marianos to The Globals.
Front Cover
Justification: Front Cover
Masthead
I followed the conventional masthead placement
used in many magazines that is on top of the page. At first it looks like Kerrang
in terms of the placement but the typeface is one that had the most votes in my
questionnaire and is one that I am fond of. That said the typeface and
placement of the masthead is perfect because it shows the reader what the
magazine is instantly. Furthermore in a store the top half is only visible to a
customer since it's on the shelves and it won't be on the front because only
the popular magazines will be on the front and my magazine isn't as popular as
the other music magazines in the market. Therefore with the masthead on top
customers will know which magazine it is and I will also include a little
banner below the masthead which reads 'Indie Music Magazine' and that informs
the readers what type of magazine it is.
Image
The image I am going to use will be a group of
three men (young adults) otherwise known as the ‘Globals’ looking straight at
the camera. This follows a conventional cover main image that shows direct mode
of address from the image. This is to entice the customer or reader to read ‘Undiscovered’
since the cover stars are looking upon them this also connotes that the band is
coming back from their absence and want to give the audience everything they
can and want to give. My image will be below the masthead because if I place it
above it then it won’t be right because my magazine isn’t well known and people
wouldn’t know what magazine it is. I’m not sure on what clothes/attire the
people on my cover will wear, which is why I left it out, however when I do
take the pictures I will inform the group on what clothes to wear beforehand.
The clothing will most likely be casual and decent not over complicated. Also
relating to the clothes the faces aren’t in detail because I don’t know who I
am going to use on my cover which is why they are still blank.
Headline
The headline I have used will attract readers
in my opinion. This is because the main headline is the name of the band and
instantly the reader will know who the band is. I included a pull out quote (‘’we’re
back with a BANG!”) From the article which relates to the article about the
return of the band; ‘The Globals’ (fictional).
I included the phrase ‘World Exclusive interview’ to attract readers to
read my magazine this is because the interview is only available in my magazine
and many people will want to read about it. Also I have included a little Union
Jack flag to complement the name of the band which is also the logo of the
band. The colours used for the flag will be different; instead of using red on
the flag I use green instead. This connotes a sense of nature which relates
with the name ‘The Globals’ furthermore the headline will share the same
colours. I have changed the name of the band too, because after receiving
feedback (unfortunately it was after the 3rd hand draft was drawn) I
was told that there is too many Spanish related names and I agreed with that, I
wasn’t sure why I used so many. Spanish names include, Cataluña, Where Santiago’s
I Go and the main Bon Marianos. I’m not going to use Bon Marianos and Cataluña but
I am keeping ‘Where Santiago’s I Go’ because I think it’s quite unique and am pleased
with that name.
Cover Lines/Pug
There are quite a few cover lines featured on
my magazine cover. I decided to place them on both sides of my cover, two on
the left and one on the other (pug is different, placed at the bottom). The cover
lines will be in a bold typeface and so it stands out on the cover but it won’t
be placed on top of the image because that would be unconventional. One cover
line will be placed below the masthead and above the image, it will also be in
a shape of a ribbon or banner because it is one of the main features of this
issue of ‘Undiscovered’. For the pug I have to make it stand out but also make
sure it isn’t in the way of anything which is why I placed it at the bottom of
the image. The pug is important because it relates to the main cover story and
it’ll read ‘Win Tickets to The Globals @ O2 Arena’. This will persuade readers
to read the magazine because it’s a chance to see a band that has been absent
for quite some time and people will want the opportunity to do so.
Banners
There will be a top and bottom banner on my
magazine, a convention used on many magazine covers. The top banner will promote
the free downloads available in the magazine. I could’ve had that at the bottom
but going back to the shelf theory (scroll up and look at ‘Masthead’) only the
top half will be visible which is why I used ‘Free Downloads’ on the top banner
so it’s visible to customers who will be encouraged to buy the magazine because
of ‘free downloads’ in the magazine. For the bottom half I have included a list
of band names both real such as ‘Keane’ and fiction such as ‘The Keyboards’.
This list is provided because these bands are also featured in the magazine so
if someone isn’t a fan of ‘The Globals’ then they may be persuaded by the other
bands in the magazine.
Barcode
The barcode will be located on the bottom left
hand corner which also has the price and issue number within. The price will be
£2.99, according to my research is quite cheap for a music magazine in contrast
to the others in the market. I put it at a cheap price because it’s a new
magazine on the market and people won’t be willing to pay the full price they
pay for the likes of Q or Kerrang, so £2.99 will be a perfect price for my
magazine.
Contents Page
Justification: Contents
Top Banner
As you can see I have done
something similar to the front cover’s Masthead for the contents page. The
words ‘THIS MONTH’ shows what this page is about furthermore I included the
masthead above it so it looks as if it says ‘Undiscovered this month’ which
connotes the new bands this month and also what is in this issue. I have accidently used this week when I was supposed to use this month I will change this for my final piece. On the banner
I have also included the date as well as the issue number.
Images
I have decided what I am going to include such as the stance and images but I have not yet taken them which is why they aren’t as neat and perfect. For the main image of my band I decided to make it look different with all members looking up to the sky that connotes a sense of nature which relates to the band name itself; The Globals. As for the other pictures its images of other bands playing and those images are images I plan to take once I am 100% sorted. Also for the editorial picture I decided to use the main image I used for my preliminary task because I feel as if it’s remarkably similar to an image of many other editorials in magazines and it makes it look professional.
Listed Contents (Features)
I organised my features on the side of the page because it makes it look precise and accessible for a young audience too. Alongside each paged feature I have included a page number which is used in nearly every magazine contents page which allows the reader to know what page that particular feature is on. I have divided the features into three sections; first Cover Stories, then interviews and finally regulars. The reason it’s in that order is because people would pick up the magazine because their attention is drawn to the cover and if they are reading the contents they are probably looking out for the cover stories because that’s what has made them read it in the first place. Secondly the interviews are known to be an exclusive which is why they are placed second and then it’s the ‘Regular’s which is a section based on the common features of ‘Undiscovered’.
Extras
For the extra conventions of my contents page I have an editorial and a subscription note at the bottom. For the editorial it’s a convention that is used in many magazine contents page because it makes the reader feel as if they are part of this magazine which is something I would like to enhance in my magazine to attract new bands to feature in my magazine to gain popularity, so an editorial would be great to use as it relates to the magazine itself. There will be a subscription box too attracting customers to buy the magazine with a special offer or to visit the website; this is a great way of using technological convergence a method many other magazines use to gain more fans of their magazine.
Images
I have decided what I am going to include such as the stance and images but I have not yet taken them which is why they aren’t as neat and perfect. For the main image of my band I decided to make it look different with all members looking up to the sky that connotes a sense of nature which relates to the band name itself; The Globals. As for the other pictures its images of other bands playing and those images are images I plan to take once I am 100% sorted. Also for the editorial picture I decided to use the main image I used for my preliminary task because I feel as if it’s remarkably similar to an image of many other editorials in magazines and it makes it look professional.
Listed Contents (Features)
I organised my features on the side of the page because it makes it look precise and accessible for a young audience too. Alongside each paged feature I have included a page number which is used in nearly every magazine contents page which allows the reader to know what page that particular feature is on. I have divided the features into three sections; first Cover Stories, then interviews and finally regulars. The reason it’s in that order is because people would pick up the magazine because their attention is drawn to the cover and if they are reading the contents they are probably looking out for the cover stories because that’s what has made them read it in the first place. Secondly the interviews are known to be an exclusive which is why they are placed second and then it’s the ‘Regular’s which is a section based on the common features of ‘Undiscovered’.
Extras
For the extra conventions of my contents page I have an editorial and a subscription note at the bottom. For the editorial it’s a convention that is used in many magazine contents page because it makes the reader feel as if they are part of this magazine which is something I would like to enhance in my magazine to attract new bands to feature in my magazine to gain popularity, so an editorial would be great to use as it relates to the magazine itself. There will be a subscription box too attracting customers to buy the magazine with a special offer or to visit the website; this is a great way of using technological convergence a method many other magazines use to gain more fans of their magazine.
Double Page Spread
Justification: Article
Image
The
image I have decided to use on my article is one of the band itself; The
Globals. I have gone for a long shot which shows the clothing and stance the
so-called artists have that also depicts the character too. However I will have
them with their arm around each other similar to sportsmen singing their national
anthem before a match. The reason I have them in this pose is because it shows
the connectivity and relationship between the reformed band and it also connotes
that the band is back together again not only on stage but everywhere else too
like this magazine. I haven’t chosen a particular background but when I take my
photos I will decide what background I want to use.
Headline
Headline
The
headline I have decided to use relates to the song by Thin Lizzy ‘The Boys are
Back in Town’. Although the song is rock based contradicting the genre of my
magazine itself, it relates to the articles context which is about the return
of the band that has been absent for a couple of years. The font will be simple
which connotes that the band hasn’t been gone for that long because if it was a
rough and rigid typeface it would contradict the genre and it wouldn’t look
right on my magazine.
Standfirst
Standfirst
The
standfirst will be a short paragraph outlining what the article is about. The
band name will not be Pioneers as I have changed it to The Globals. Furthermore
the language will be simple and easy to read but won’t have any colloquial
language which is different to the text of the article as the language in my
article is quite colloquial.
Column Format
Column Format
The
column format will follow the conventions of a magazine article. By that I mean
it is divided in columns and has a pull-out quote. The pull-out quote will be
from the lead artist of the band and will relate to the context of my article.
Columns also make the article look much more professional and attractive as it
also looks as if there’s less writing.
Extras
Extras
There
will be a box located on the bottom right corner named ‘Gig Dates’. This shows
the dates and venues to when the band is playing, this is vital information
because the band is reformed and people want to be the first to see them so
this information will provide them with the dates. Also it’s exclusive! The
name of the band or the logo will be located above the image to show who the
band is, the typeface will be different and specific to that band. Another
feature that most magazines have will be a really small banner on the bottom;
on that banner I will have the page number and the website of the magazine. However
I will have to take note of the page number so it’s the same as the contents
page, if I don’t do that it would look whimsical and would lack consistency of my
final product.
Music Magazine Pitch
As part of my planning I had to pitch my magazine idea which would be sent to publishers, so I decided to use YouTube to pitch my idea. I talked about my magazine in detail and about whether it would be a success. I could've done a Prezi Presentation or a PowerPoint presentation but I decided to use YouTube so I have used a variety of technology.
The Final Article Piece
Click HERE to read the article
I have created my article based on the band I named ‘The
Globals’. I have used a mixture of formal and informal or colloquial language
relating towards the target audience. The article is about how ‘The Globals’
broke up and how they reformed again, it’s an interview that fans of the genre
and band would want to read about. Furthermore I also write up the problems
they potentially face and featured many quotes to support it making it sound
like an actual interview from a magazine article. I tried to make it as real as
I could but I also had to follow my principles I set for myself such as not
using any cusses or such. However I used the word ‘Crap’ which is a bad word
but isn’t classed as a swear word that is why I included it. Overall I am proud
of the article now I just need to receive some feedback in case I am to make
any changes.
CLICK HERE FOR THE EDITED VERSION (UPDATED)
FEEDBACK OF ARTICLE
I sent feedback sheets to my teachers and to my friends who
are fond of the indie genre. Instead of using Twitter and Facebook, I decided
to ask feedback from my target audience via email. Soon after I received feedback
from what they thought about my article. The questions I asked were ‘did the article
relate to the genre of indie?’ ‘Is there too much colloquial language?’ ‘Is the
article fun and exciting to read?’ ‘Is the standfirst appealing and attractive
enough to read the whole article?’ And finally I asked them to name one thing
they would change in this article and one thing they thought was good? As
expected both groups both shared the same opinions on my article. Thankfully
they both thought that the article was related to the genre and the language is
perfect, furthermore they believed that the article was well written and
engaging. The improvement that most of the feedback sheets mentioned was the grammar
and some minor tweaks were needed to the language most of them being spelling
mistakes. Taking the advice on board I decided to make the changes required and
I agree with the feedback because now the article has been improved a lot in my
opinion. Also because I only had two people for my images I had to edit the
whole article, so now I have made the most important changes I needed and I
believe that it’s better than it was before. The images below are how I sent out my feedback sheets and how effective and helpful it was for my article.
Computer Roughs
Front cover
Contents
Article
Photography Demonstration Tutorial: 22/10/13
Today I attended a demonstration session which taught me how to take the best pictures and what not to do. The session began with teachers explaining where we can take the pictures which is the Art building, but before we can go to the photo studio we were told that we have to confirm with the technicians and our media teachers to when we are booking the room. There are also rules we have to follow the main one is that no food is allowed which is obvious to know. Moving on we were told on how to take the photos and what you shouldn’t do. The teachers and also some former students gave us some advise; the mise-en-scene has to be appropriate, you have to have a minimum of four pictures and you must have high quality pictures preferably SLR cameras are the best to use which are available at college. The former AS students also gave us some considerations on what to do. The lighting must be good and visible because having a really dark background would affect the final image however if you decide to use a dark and abnormal lighting there must be a connotation behind it such as relating to the genre. Mise-en-Scene is important too and that is about the clothing, background and pose. They said it has to be different and effort needs to be put in these images however I’ve decided to go for a casual look and everyday clothing for my ‘models’ this is because it relates to my magazine and genre and I explained this in my pitch. The quality of image was mentioned vastly in the demonstration, they showed us the good and the bad and it has motivated me to have the best quality image I can possibly have.
PHOTOS
For the photos I was supposed to use three people however
one of them had other priorities which is why I only used two of my mates on
the photos. We organized to take the photos at college and the clothing used
was decided verbally. I wanted them to wear casual clothing so I asked one of
the ‘cover stars’ to wear casual clothing with a camouflage shirt and anything he
wants for his trousers but I preferred he wore something similar to the shirt
but he wore jeans instead which wasn’t devastating; but thankfully he took note
of what I said and wore it on the day. For the other I knew he had a jumper
which was black but had something written which related a lot towards the
article and band itself. The jumper read ‘Global’ in Arabic which was
absolutely perfect because my band name is ‘The Globals’ and I mentioned in the
article that their new album will have an Arab theme within. So having that
jumper was brilliant and it looked fantastic once the photos were taken. Thankfully
the weather was beautiful as the picture shows and we had to take advantage of
it because it was ‘surprisingly’ raining all week, ironically once we completed
the Photoshoot the wind was starting to increase so we just about took all of
our photos in time. Using an SLR camera the quality of the images were unreal,
they all turned out to be magnificent. At first I thought why couldn’t we just
take it with an iPhone camera but after the photos were taken I understood why.
Overall we took 70 photos and here are the photos I will use for my final
drafts, although my opinion may change throughout the construction process;
Front Cover
For the front cover I am going to use two of the images taken but make
it into one image. The two images is of the two guys on my photos however the
stances is different and I want to make it look as if they are the same which
is why I am going to use both but crop a person in each photo and include them
on my front cover. Another consideration to take on is the mise-en-scene or the
background, I am not going to have a net for my background because it’s totally
irrelevant so I am going for plain background which I will have to edit out the
guys on my cover using Photoshop.
Contents Page
I have used this image for my contents page because it’s a large image
and will dominate the contents page. I was going to use a similar image I used
for the front cover but I thought the image that I am going to use was much
better as it has many connotations and relates to the magazine and genre. The
attitude wasn’t going to be used in my pictures but I decided to include it at
the last moment because this band is based on one that is returning to the
music stage and they mean business which is why I told my cover stars to have
the stance they do. As you can see the background is perfect as it connotes
nature which is what the band is about, however there are some goalposts which disrupt
the picture and I can’t move the goalposts so I can redo the picture. So I’m
not going to let this get in my way and blur the background using Photoshop,
furthermore the blurred background leaves the two members visible clearly. This
connotes that this issue is focused on this band as it is the main/largest
image and also the focus is on them as the background is blurred.
Article
As for the article I have used a similar image from the one I will use
on the contents page except the mise-en-scene is different. I decided to use
this particular image as it matches the colour scheme I could use (Autumn
Theme), also there is space for the text to be place on the left which is
something I considered when taking the pictures. It may not be needed as the
text won’t be visible but I could change that using Photoshop. Another change I am going to make when completing the final draft is to enlarge the image and make the two cover stars bigger and dominant on the article page.
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