Advert 1

I chose this advert for numerous reasons. Firstly, Lana Del Rey is an incredibly well known music artist who can fit nicely under the indie genre so suits my demographic correctly. It can help to push the star image towards my target audience so that they have a better understanding of the genre that they engage with. I think it is important to have an advert in my magazine that publicizes a new album. This will encourage my audience to indulge deeper into my genre and the music that it represents.

Advert 2

For my second advert I decided to use one from the fashion brand ‘Marni’. I think the style of their clothes heavily resembles the clothing that I decided to dress my models in for the photoshoots and fits very well with the star image that I am trying to achieve. I think that this advertisement will inspire my target audience to follow the demographic of indie music even more closely, and create a personal identity that reflects on their music taste also.

Targets

Front cover

• Masthead bigger – ‘P’ needs to be enlarged to catch attention of readers quicker when magazine is on the shelf
• Capital ‘i’ in independent
• Put the word ‘TOP’ in a different colour – red to match colour scheme?

Contents 

• Add red somewhere else on the page – lower down where it is scarce
• Align cover lines
• Make line spacing the same on all cover lines
• Check good English – ‘tells behind the scenes’ ?
• Don’t overdose on the word ‘tells’
• Apostrophe on ‘editors’
• Try moving the editor’s note around – provocative photo so maybe cover a bit of it?
• Put the name of the artist somewhere around or on the album cover
• One of the lines surrounding ‘CONTENTS’ put into red to match colour scheme?

Double page spread

• Paragraphs in the article – needs more space – overwhelming for reader
• Spotify logo on the ‘Mirrors’ box
• Large gap on the bottom right – move the photo down?
• Quotes in article – longer third quote? add another small one? rearrange?
• Bring in some red – match the colour scheme of the magazine
• Main quote under headline – make it the same blue as ‘Prodigy’

Click on image to view PNG

What’s new?

• I have changed the typeface at the top of the front page to red so that it stands out on the page and catches my audience’s attention – they are famous indie music artists so important that they are what the reader sees initially
• Added a red pug at the bottom right to draw in the reader – by putting an opportunity to win something on the front cover, it makes the audience want to open the magazine
• I included an extra cover line at the bottom to fill the space and give my audience a better idea as to what is inside my magazine
• I changed name of other cover line back to Bon Iver as I thought there was too much about my cover star on one page
• Added a shadow on my cover star to make her stand out more on the page and feel more alive

Click on image to view PNG

What’s new?

• I added the Prodigy logo at the bottom left because it is conventional to have the magazines logo included on the contents page
• The highlight colour of the quote was white before with black font but by switching the colours around I feel it makes it pop more and fits better with the black boot
• I added blue lines on lines over and under ‘contents’ – this matches the colour scheme more and makes it more eye catching
• By changing the bubble colour under the album colour to red (matching the colour scheme) and bevel and embossing it, it allows the album to be one of the main focuses of the page
• I added a drop shadow on the album cover again to make it pop more
• Included the Spotify and Apple Music logo under the album cover to inform the reader where they can listen and buy the music
• Changed the page numbers so that they match with each other
• I moved the image up slightly to fill the space and allow the bright nails and rings to be more visible on the contents page
• Made the editor’s signature darker so that it stands out more

Click on image to view PNG

What’s new?

• I changed highlight colour on quote so that it matches the jeans, however it doesn’t stand out as much as I’d like so that might have to be adapted in further development
• Made the ‘mirrors’ advert box smaller and moved it to the bottom because it was not important enough to feature at the top of the article
• I spread out the stand first along the top above the article and changed the strike and typeface colour so it catches the readers attention and makes it clear that it is the stand first of the article
• Added a drop capital at start of article because it is conventional for not only a magazine article but any article in the media world
• Added captions to images
• I made the whole background of article transparent so that you can still slightly see the main image behind it, giving it a flowing and connected feeling

Here is my second draft of my double page spread. This is what I came out with after going over my targets from my first one. After assessing this draft and creating targets for my final product, I should turn out with a very successful double page spread.

Click on image to view PDF

What’s new? 

I have changed many more things on my double page spread than I did on my contents page and front cover. I was not very happy with my first draft so was looking forward to making improvements. A lot of the targets that I made via feedback from my teacher were only minor things that were quick and easy to change, such as:

• Making the page numbers slightly higher – further up the page and a bigger number itself so that it doesn’t get lost at the edge of the magazine and so that it matches with the front cover numbers
• I made a minor spelling error – ‘avaliable’ – so that had to be changed to the correct spelling
• Turning the font of the quotes in the black boxes to bold and italic so that they stand out more on the page and attract the readers attention faster – drawing them into the article itself
• The standfirst needed to be bolder so that the reader immediately sees what the article is about
• Make the main image itself much bigger as the star is who the article is about – needs to take centre stage
• Changing the typeface of the headline so that it fits the genre better as well as matches the rest of the magazine more fluently
• Removed the black bordering lines of the double page spread as I felt like it made the whole thing feel much too enclosed and cramped

In addition to these minor changes there were still numerous other things that needed changing. I felt it was necessary to add in another quote within the article to make it appear more even to the eye – I think the rule of three that can be used as a language technique can also be applied here, but in a different context. Furthermore, the headline ‘Doing it my way’ seemed crowded at the top of the page so decided to relocate it down at the bottom. After changing the typeface and by outlining the letters in white, I think it stands out much more now and fills a space that was empty on my first draft. I also think it was necessary to move my headline to the bottom because when it was at the top it was distracting the attention from the cover stars face. By making the image itself bigger and relocating the headline, it is not only drawing more attention to the headline, but allowing the stars face to be the main focus which is what is conventional in magazines.

Next I thought that the inserted image at the bottom right was in need of a caption of some sort. In order to keep it conventional but not repeat myself I chose to put the prices and places of where the outfit my model was wearing in the picture was from. I put the prices fairly high on this to show my stars wealth through fame yet made it an affordable price because I expect people of all backgrounds to pick up and read my magazine.

Finally, in my first draft I did not consider the fact that I would end up with a staple fold on my double page spread – I had my quotation over where the fold would be. To avoid this I moved the quotation down to underneath the headline. Doing this meant that I had to rearrange a couple of things, however, it is now looking much better than what it was before. It is becoming more conventional and more unique by every edit.

What’s next?

1. Move quote under headline further left to avoid staple fold
2. Make the far right picture fit the text box?
3. Add in a drop capital
4. Rearrange – move ‘mirrors’ box to the bottom? and put headline along top?
5. Have a very small white border around the article itself so not as cramped appearance
6. Paragraphs
7. Make the inset photo with a frame or less towards the right hand edge of the page
8. Make the quote black a dark blue, like her jeans with rounded edges and italic font?
9. Perhaps do the Mirrors inset in a different font to make it stand out like an advert?
10. Flowers fade under the article?

Below is my improved contents page that I have adapted in accordance with my targets from my first draft of the page. By making yet more improvements to my second draft, hopefully I can develop this contents page into something that considers all aspects of Mine En Scene and attracts my target audience.

Click on image to view PDF

What’s new?

From my first contents page draft there were a number of targets that I made so that my second draft could be even better. I firstly decided to change the general typefaces so that it would be more conventional for my genre. I changed it to ‘Times New Roman’, which also now matches my front cover – making the magazine really start to come together. However, for my second target which was to ‘spread out the cover lines so that it is clearer for the reader’, I chose to not act on this one because I felt that if I did increase the line spacing (which I did try), there would be a very limited space left on the page to add in insets and quotations etc. I think that is is clear enough for the reader to scan over the page and get a good idea of the contents of the magazine. Likewise to my second target, after many attempts, I also decided to not act on my third either. I wanted to cut out my model on Photoshop so that I could show more skill and play around with the text and image a bit more. Despite this, it proved incredibly difficult to do this due to the white dress matching the white background. I attempted to use the burn tool on Photoshop to make the dress darker than the background to make it easier for me, however it did not work.

The next thing that I wanted to improve on was the facial features. I decided that I wanted to make the features on her face – such as her eyes and lips – brighter so that it would draw more attention to the main part of her. I did successfully use the dodge tool on Photoshop on her eyes and mouth, however because her face is located so far away from the camera, it is difficult to tell what I actually did. To make this more conventional as a contents page I also made the target to consider including insets. Instead of adding in more images from my shoot and linking them to certain page numbers, I chose to design my own album cover, using an image from my photoshoot and the album name ‘Silver Linings’. I thought this would fit very well on my contents page as my cover star is an emerging artist, and this debut album will help draw the audience in. I tried to keep the cover conventional to other Indie music album covers and think I did it well.

A couple of other changes that I made excluding my written targets was firstly moving the quote to the bottom of the page in order to fill the blank space. I also highlighted it as I think it makes it stand out more – it is a key quote from the cover star herself so I felt it needed more recognition that what I gave it previously on my first draft. I also deleted one of the feature article titles as I felt I needed more space and established I didn’t really need as many as I had before. I think fewer headlines looks much more conventional than a crowded page.

The final change that I made was significant but I think it allows the contents page to make the magazine itself much more interactive for the reader. I decided to add in an editors note that I wrote myself. I really think it fills an empty space and allows my contents page to instantly become more conventional and look more professional.

What’s next?

1. Change page numbers for articles eg. match up cover star number with quote number
2. Make the signature a darker colour – black so that it stands out/matches the text
3. Bigger main/star image?
4. Attempt to change the brightness to accentuate facial features again
5. Move around text so that ‘cover story’ ‘features’ and ‘interviews’ are all in one column?
6. Take the quote off her fingers so that we can see the blue nail varnish
7. Buy now…where…remember call to action…how and where do they get it? spotify logo add in?
8. You have two different page numbers for Millie…4 and 64…which one is the one the relates to the DPS?
9. Cover Stories, Features feel like different sizes to each other
10. Get a blue line in or two?
11. Put prodigy masthead as a tiny logo top right or where it is mentioned in the coverlines – it is a brand.
12. Bit of drop shadow on the inset CD?

After reviewing my targets for my front cover, I have changed my draft to make it even more conventional and appropriate for my target audience.

Click on image to view PDF

What’s new? 

I have made numerous changes to this design. I started with focusing on my seven targets that I thought would be good to aim for when completing my first draft. Firstly I made the face brighter to accentuate the facial features. I did this in Photoshop using the dodge tool. This allowed the model to stand out on the page more prominently. After this I decided to have the cover stars name bigger and bolder. I thought for it to stand out as much as I wanted to, I had to place it horizontal rather than diagonal. This will now catch the readers attention much faster. In addition to this, the cover lines on my first draft were difficult to read, therefore meaning that my target audience could reject my issue. I simply fixed this by:

• Adapting the main cover line so that it wraps around the model without it overlapping. I changed the word ‘independent’ to ‘indie’ in order to do this. By doing this. it has made it much more attractive and less crowded for my target audience to read.
• Changing the small cover line from a white font with black outline, to a basic white font. This immediately made the writing stand out more on the page.

Another thing that I changed was the placement of the artists names. They were originally vertical on the right hand side of the page and I eventually saw this as an issue because the reader would have to turn the magazine in order to read what it said. I also think it took up unnecessary space that I could use to make my image bigger. I have now placed and fitted it at the top of my cover. This way you can read it with ease and takes the form of a plug and doesn’t look out of place. A small difference that I made was changing the Bon Iver cover line to making it about Millie instead. I think this makes the cover fit together much better. Furthermore, I also changed the cover line underneath ‘Millie Sutton’ from ‘rising up’ to ‘oh, the places you’ll go’. I think that this slogan-type headline is much better associated with the article that goes with it. I also think it will attract a wider audience because it’s written in a way that almost talks to/is aimed at the reader. As well as acting on my targets I also did a couple of other things that I didn’t mention in my aims. I made the ‘exclusive interview’ text box red so that it would more urgently catch the readers attention as red is a colour that people are generally drawn to. Finally I made the word ‘top’ white with a black outline. This made the word stand out more on the page and the language that I have used will hopefully make the audience want to pick up and continue reading my magazine.

What’s next?

1. Create a drop shadow on the cover star – give her some depth
2. Make cover star less orange in Photoshop – will match rest of magazine better
3. Add in some pugs – competitions etc
4. Include insets – fill the page more
5. another smaller banner centred at the bottom?
6. two coverlines about her…make her the main coverline but change the other one to another artist as it is lacking reference to what else is in the magazine…choose one of the coverlines from the Contents page to hook it to
7. Regulate the line spacing of the main Top Tracks coverline
8. Bit of red at the top somewhere?

Below is my first draft of my double page spread. After recieving feedback on this I will be able to improve it so that my target audience accepts it as a music magazine of the Indie genre.

Click on image to view PNG

Targets

1. Higher page numbers
2. Paragraphs
3. Another quote in article
4. Quotes in italics/different font
5. ‘Avaliable’ typo
6. Make photo bigger
7. ‘Doing it my way’ at the bottom?
8. Standfirst – bolder
9. Caption insert
10. Change font of headline
11. Consider folds and staples and rearrange

Below is a contact sheet of all the photos that I took when we went to town. I have created it using Adobe Bridge and Photoshop. My aim for this photoshoot was to take an image that could be used as a main image for my double page spread of my magazine. I think that I successfully have done this, as well as collected numerous other photos that I could use for different sections of my magazine eg. inserts for the contents page as well as for other stories on my double page spread.

Overall I am very happy with how my photoshoot went. To make my photos have more meaning to them, and make them stand to from others I decided to bring numerous props with me to experiment with such as:

• A mirror
• Dead flowers
• Old books

I tried to use these props as much as I could in my shoot and think that they definitely helped to take my pictures to the next level – without them I don’t think I would have been able to come away with images that can tell a story.

Furthermore, to enable me to come out with the images I did, it was essential for my models to look the part. After my progressive research on the Indie genre and music magazines that are targeted at that specific audience, I knew how to pose my models and how to dress them etc. I used Mine En Scene through the planning process and in the shoot itself. I also made a mood board on Pinterest for this shoot and it helped massively when taking my photos. This way I could quickly and efficiently return to this board whenever I was stuck for a pose for example. I tried to get my models to look as natural on the face as possible – with little to no make up, and a straight yet kind facial expression. I wanted them to interact with each other in unique ways, because I believe this reflects on Indie music itself. This genre is very individual and distinctive and I wanted this to be highlighted in their body language – which I think was successfully done. I wanted my shoot to have a vintage authentic feel, so decided to dress my models in basic yet effective clothing. The first costume was a plain white shirt tucked into blue baggy jeans. I think this will give a relaxed and common feel to my audience and allow them to see the stars as more ‘ordinary’ people rather than these ‘extraordinary’ stereotypes of musical stars being wealthy and vain. The second costume was a loose white floral maxi dress. I chose to do images with this dress in the sunken gardens. I thought the soft white of the dress would contrast very well with the bright greenery as surroundings. This again gave a laid back free vibe to the images – engaging the readers to hopefully permit them to feel more free within themselves.

I loved taking these pictures because I went to the shoot knowing exactly what I wanted to achieve.  I particularly like the ones with the mirror in it as I could play around with different angles and think that the low angle that I have on the models conveys a sense of confidence – something that reflects on my genre brilliantly and will attract my target audience. Another collection of images that I liked were the ones on the balcony in the market. In particular when one of my models is sitting on the chair holding flowers. These worked well, especially the landscape ones because there was the fabulous reflection of the buildings shining on the window to the right of my models – this contacted very well with the white walls and shutters.

Although there are many photos that I like and am happy with, there are also ones that I don’t like as much. In my contact sheet there are an obvious few that could not be used for my magazine. There are a couple of my face up close – these were purely just to test the zoom and focus of the camera. In addition to this there are a few darker images. In these, due to my models posing in front of the light, it caused a shadow on them when the picture was taken – meaning that they came out as almost impossible to use images. However, they would be good pictures to use if I was aiming for a more silhouette approach as it has the bright background behind the models. There are also some images that were taken in the sunken gardens that have turned out to be too bright. This is because I did not consider the strength of the sun, therefore did not adjust the exposure on the camera before taking them. I could change this in Photoshop, however the quality of the image would not be quite as good.

To improve this shoot I think I could have experimented with a few more locations. This variety would have allowed me to have a wider range of images to choose from. After I have chosen my favourite images I will need to edit numerous things in Adobe Photoshop. I will most likely need to brighten facial features, add more contrast to them and make the images sharper – as on many of them the lens is very slightly out of focus.

The images that will work best on my double page spread of my magazine will be the landscape ones that have a large space on the right hand side. I tried to get this space in all of my landscape images. I will want to wrap the text of my article or quotes around the star on the left and continue the writing onto the second half of the page. I will also be using numerous other images – that are not landscape – to pose as inserts on both the contents page (to show what will be in the magazine) and on the double page spread itself (to advertise new albums, relate to other smaller articles etc). I will need an image that portrays the star as confident in herself as that is what my article focuses on. Matching the image to the article will help my audience to accept my magazine as one from the genre and associate it with their form of entertainment and interest.

Top 5 Images

I have chosen these 4 images as my favourites as I think they connote the correct feelings for a confident independent music artist, and reflect very well on my genre. The Mise En Scene highlighted in these pictures highlight the relaxed, urban type feel that I was aiming for. I think with these images I can create a double page spread that can connect well with the reader.

Here is a re-do of my draft feature article. I have made improvements after receiving feedback on it, and I feel it is now an article that would fit comfortably in my magazine. It draws in the reader and includes many language techniques that will help to attract my target audience.