My article I have chosen is called ‘Cash for Questions’, written by Paul stokes and with photographs taken by Adam Lawrence. Under the title is a subheading stating; This Month: ALT-J. 

The journalistic techniques of ‘what’ was used a few times, however I think it could be used a lot more when asking questions. The layout of the magazine shows that it is evidently a Q&A. Aside from the title having ‘questions’ in it, the questions are highlighted in bold and the names of the people asking the questions are highlighted in red which makes the magazine more personal and interactive for the target audience.

The journalist makes his presence known when asking questions by saying stuff such as ‘tell us’ and ‘I heard’. This is impactful as it allows the reader to feel more connected with the writer and the questions feel more personal. It’s written in a mix of first and third person text. The main introduction is made clear as the writer talks about the band and some of their background in third person, before switching to first person when writing the questions and answers. This allows us to feel one with the writer and fellow readers of the magazine, as our perspectives are all merged together through first person narrative. A key feature that makes the introduction more noticeable is a large capital letter in a box to start off the sentence. I think this presents it as an introduction very well and is a key feature that I would like to use in my own work.

We get a sense of location in the library as the writer talks about the band making jokes with each other about being dressed in leather in a library. There is a picture also which confirms the idea of their current surroundings.

The tone and register of the writing is very fitting to the genre of the article. The questions are very personal and direct and the bands replies are quoted exactly, making it sound very human and realistic. This is perfect for a Q&A as the readers will obviously love how in-depth and personal the replies are to the questions. As a result of reading the article with quotes from the band members, the reader will walk away with the experience of feeling more close with their favourite band members.

In conclusion, the journalist represents the band through their writing as the questions from the public and the answers give a more in depth look into each of the members lives. It creates the vibe of the band being more ordinary, allowing them to sound more relatable to the people at home.

This is the first draft of my contents page. It needs a lot of editing and changing, but this was just to give me an idea of what I wanted and what I need to improve on. I have use images from the internet as I do not have any other suitable pictures at this moment in time.

I put ORBIT at the top to create the affect that the magazine is important and that its title should be impactful. I added a subtitle ‘what’s inside’ so that people knew that this was the contents page. The page numbers also allow people to understand this is a contents and they are put into categories of the front cover and extra’s.

CONTENTS PAGE PEER ASSESSMENT

What type of shots have been used to create a variety of shot distances and how has the camera been used to communicate meaning?  

Although Max has used examples for now, he has chosen both a close up and a medium long shot. These satisfactory shots present the models both ordinary and extraordinary. 

What choice of Mise en scene is appropriate for the star image and genre?

The casual clothes are good for representing her as a R&B star, who are often laid-back and relaxed. The glamorous makeup also shows the elegant side conventions of this genre.  

  How far is the font used readable and reflects the genre?

The masthead is clear, strong and easy to read, the cursive titles help keep it classy. They are successful in presenting both sides of R&B. 

What technical conventions of a Contents page are present and used effectively?  

There is a captivating masthead used which captures the attention really well. Cover lines are present which are great in giving an insight into the magazine. Pictures are included which is useful in making the page more interesting for the audience. 

How has Indesign been used to layout the page to convey a brand?

The layout is clear and functional, making it easy to read and understand. It is clear what is going on and is  not overly busy. 

 How well have the text and visuals been integrated together?

The different sized images paired with the coverlines work well together, the colours also don’t clash and give an easy read. 

Where has photoshop been used to manipulate the photos to enhance the star image or genre? 

He has not used Photoshop yet as they are only example images. 

 How is the language used appropriate for the genre and target audience?

 ‘Iconic’ and ‘Do’s and Don’ts’ help keep it colloquial, modern and youthful. This                            is appropriate for his target audience (16-25)

5 Targets for Next Draft

• Find better photos
• Find a way to present photoshop skills effectively
• Display the fonts better
• Perhaps different colour scheme
• Find a better, more organised layout, the picture and texts overlapping isn’t ideal)

Now that I have this draft, I will be able to go on to make a better and more effective draft that fits more into the vibe of R&B and has more impact on my target audience.

Going forward, I have to start thinking about my contents page. The contents page is the page that has everything you need to know about the magazine in it and is like an index. It is filled with cover lines and page numbers that draw the reader in and make it sound even more interesting. It provides just the right amount of information so that an audience is attracted, but doesn’t give away too much information or make the page too crowded.

This is my mood board of magazine contents pages that inspire me. The magazine’s I have chosen and appeal to me most are all very neat and sophisticated, yet have some fun aspects to them like in the pictures or the layout and typeface of the fonts. A lot of the pages have the magazine name included in them which I think is quite good as it shows that the magazine is important and compliments its own brand. I will be able to use this collection of media to create a magazine contents page that fits the vibe of my front cover.

Here are a few hand-drawn ideas for me contents page layout:

These are my ideas for how I want my contents page to look. They are all fairly simple layouts that I think would  compliment my front cover well. I will make use words like ‘Contents’, ‘What’s Inside’ and ‘In This Issue’ to make it clear what the page in my magazine is. I will have coverlines presented neatly and with page numbers to direct the reader to each part of the magazine. I will have a pug included that directs the reader to a page number attached to an interesting picture to leave the reader wanting to see more and know what is happening on that page.

5 eye-catching headlines:

• Exclusive interview with Elly Anslow
• Q&A with Meg reveals secrets of music industry
• Rhianna’s do’s and dont’s
• Drake talks about breakup and its influence on his music
• Trl talks upcoming album

These are headlines that I want to use in my contents page that I think will grab the attention of the reader and make them want to read more. I will make some of the words bigger and bolder like the dramatic language and names that would hook the reader in.

Now that I know the technical design features and how to layout a contents page, I can move on to trying to make one of my own.

Here is my first shoot contact sheet. These are all the photos I took with my model:

Unfortunately, many of the photos turned out quite blurry. I believe I need to work on my camera skills and  how to work one. However, I found styling and directing my model fairly easy. The model, Elly, was very good at posing and it came very natural to her. The poses were very glamorous and flirty, which is the exact vibe i was going for.

As you can see here, I tried taking photos from a low-angle to try capture the feeling of her confidence and dominance. 

Here are my favourite photos from the shoot:

The first three are close-ups/mid-shots of my model. She is wearing sunglasses but has her eyes peering over them. I like the first and third photo as I managed to get no reflection from the sunglasses and got the shine in her eye. Her blingy jewelry and sparkly pink top connotes that she is extraordinary. I think the last two pictures are best as the makeup, hair, wardrobe and the quality of the picture is better than the rest. I think my target audience will be able to decode this picture and see the conventions that makes it R&B, for example the butterflies in her hair and the sparkling jewelry.

Here is my first draft of my magazine. As shown below, I have ended up going with a more sleek and classy layout and colour scheme that I think looks adequate and professional as a magazine and fits the more luxurious side of R&B music.

ORBIT MAG 1

5 Targets for Next Draft

• Make everything look more tidy and professional
• Brighten up the picture in photoshop
• Find better fonts that fit the aesthetic better
• Find a better way to present the pug
• Maybe change up colour scheme

Now that I have my first draft and targets, I can work on creating a better piece of media. I want my front cover to really stand out and look special. I shall do this by making it more colourful and bright.

Here I have created a production meeting agenda for my first photo shoot. This will allow me to be organised and have little stress when it is time for my shoot.

Now that I have my agenda I will be able to get everything I need in order to take my first shoot.

Here I have created a small collection of some masthead designs i may use in my music magazine. I created these on indesign and played with different fonts, the boldness weight, size, height,  colours and outlines to find what matched the vibe I wanted to create in my magazine.

These are the masthead designs I have come up with. Some are nicer than others, but I feel experimentation is important when finding the perfect masthead. I personally really like the first three. The first shows my magazine is ‘fiery’ and full of life. It connotes towards my magazine being filled with hot gossip and many more things which is attractive to my target audience. The pink and red contrast goes well together as it makes the pink a more warm, ‘hot pink’, which is appealing to a more feminine audience. The second font is playful and fun, more cartoonish like some R&B artists are. My main cover star however will be dressed very cool and collected so I am not sure if it is the best font for her vibe, but it may work out? Finally the third font really appeals to me as it is big and bold, so it is basic and clear enough for the reader to see it and immediately understand what they are looking at.  It gives a good mix of seriousness and playfulness which is how I want my model to be. It also really matches well with the name ‘Orbit’ as it is quite modern looking.

Brand Moodboard

Here is my brand mood board that i made on pinterest:

These are a collection of magazine covers, album covers, shoot pictures and just casually taken pictures that fall into the R&B genre. It is evident from these that I would prefer to go with a more classy, vintage, feminine theme when making my magazine cover. I intend to use lots of pink and purple tones as well as some vibrant colourful ones. I have found that the style worn by R&B female artist are very much old-school baggy trousers and shirts, miniskirts and crop tops, bandannas, blingy jewelry, and glossy lips. They pose very confidently, with a serious, almost flirty expression on their face. Their lyrics are bold and passionate, expressing and representing their femininity in a bold and domineering way. Any groups have similar or matching outfits to show their fans how close they are which meets audience expectations.

This my colour pallete. As you can see, i really want to use pink, purple, blue, red and orange tones as those colours are all very popular in the pictures I found on pinterest. I think this will attract are more female, feminine audience. Pink and red connotes passion and romance, whereas blue coneys the more emotional and sad parts or R&B. I find orange hints fun, but in a more relaxed way rather than extreme yellows or greens.

Star Image

Here are the things captured that make Rihanna an extraordinary person. The apology clip shows that when she makes mistakes, the consequences of being such a large public figure make it so much more impactful. However it shows to the public she is a good person by apologising.  When she even takes out her bins, something so casual, she is dressed up and makes it extraordinary. One clip says, ‘Here’s what Rhianna wants you to wear to bed’, giving the impression that Rhianna’s fame and social status is so powerful and impactful that she can literally tell you what to wear. She is also put on the list of, ‘Forbes’ richest self-made women’.  This is extremely extraordinary as being one of the richest self-made women is an incredible goal not many people achieve. I really like this as it shows she is the boss and she is dominant and powerful, which is something i want to portray in my magazine.

Here is where Rhianna is presented in the media as more casual and ordinary like everyone else. She bumps into a fellow celebrity at the supermarket. It may seem extraordinary, but really she is just seeing a friend while doing something everyone else does. Above is a collection of photos of her as a child, before she found fame. This shows she had a normal childhood, just like everyone else. Rhianna waiting  at the bar just like everyone else shows she isn’t spoilt and doesn’t see herself as better than anyone like some celebrities would. Her shopping for her own things, instead of an assistant, is very ordinary and shows she is like everyone else. The picture of her at her birthday party with her family shows that she has a normal family life and enjoys their company just like so many ordinary people.

My Star Image

This is my star image presentation that shows exactly how I want my model to be. I will be able to use this when styling my model and can go through it with her to show her how to do her makeup and how to pose. When we begin the shoot, my model can look at this and immediately know how to pose so that there is no waisted time or photos taken.  She will be posing in both very feminine and playful ways as well as more casually and laid-back. The clothing and accessories will be a mix of ordinary (crop top, shirt) and extraordinary (mini skirt, heels, bling jewellery). The lights and background in the white studio will allow me to get clear and bright pictures of my model. I may keep it the same, or edit it to make it look like the lighting is colourful and vibrant or dim in other places, like a spotlight.

I have decided to go with the genre R&B. R&B stands for Rhythm and Blues and is a genre of popular music that includes artists such as Drake, Beyonce Rhianna, Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey, Bruno Mars and The Weeknd. The term R&B has been used for many different types of music such as electric blues, gospel, and soul music. Sometimes Rock and Roll can be incorporated into the mix. As of more recently, R&B has begun to also focus on incorporating themes of pop, soul, funk, disco, hip-hop and electronic music. R&B lyrics often focus on the African American experience of pain and need for freedom as well as economics, relationships and aspirations.

I have decided to name my magazine ‘Orbit’. I have done this because an orbit is a path an object in space follows around another object. In this case my magazine is the orbit and the thing it is circling, its main focus, is r&b. Also, I associate the word ‘orbit’ with space and stars and vibrant coloured planets which is something I would like to show in my magazine, especially stars, with lots of bling and colour. The Unique selling point of my magazine will be the vintage-looking and blingy theme i wish to create, as aesthetically pleasing things are very important to younger people in this day and age.

Mission statement: Orbit focuses on anything R&B, which means any fellow listeners of Rhianna, Beyonce, Drake and many more will adore this magazine. This magazine shall provide you with entertainment and information covering anything from the most famous stars and upcoming artists, fashion and culture, as well as the albums we think you’d love and tour dates from your favourite artists.  Orbit will allow you to be one with your idols and the best artists we know who build on to your personal identity. This stylish, easy-going magazine is perfect for any young people wanting to get involved in the blingy, soul-filled life of R&B.