Category: Music Magazine

Below are my contact sheets from my second shoot, relating to my music magazine which was located in town. My contact sheets show my models in my choice of clothing which coincides with my music magazine genre of indie. I will now look to approach choosing my favourite photograph I have taken to use for my double page spread within my magazine. I have used my research of Indie magazines to make my images look as good as they possibly can, using ‘mise en scene’ and CLAMPS. In addition, with my understanding of AIDA my magazine will meet every aspect of a successful music magazine; using my target audience.

On the day of the shoot, our location was town. Throughout the day we were based at the Digital Greenhouse whereby we were able to apply certain makeup, change into suitable clothing relating to the chosen genre and to prepare what props were needed. The purpose of the day was to end up with a suitable/reliable set of photographs that we can use in our double page spread and throughout our music magazines. For my personal shoot, we were allowed to visit a relatives house of one of our teachers (Miss Cobb), within the house was a pool, snooker table, bar, a fabulous stair case and extraordinary views by which we were able to use as a setting for our shoot. My shoot took place in the pool area, bar and on the fabulous staircase located at the front of the house. In addition, I also took my models to Mill Street, the reason behind this was because I felt the brightly coloured graffiti located on walls in the centre of the street had a cool and edgy feel which suits my genre well.

To conclude, I have chosen four of my most favourite images from the shoot. The reason I have chosen these four images is because they stand out to me. Each photo uses different factors of ‘Mise en scene’ and ‘AIDA’ which is what has made my shoot successful and suitable for my genre. Each image is totally different with parts of the image that make it stand out. For example, in the image at the entrance of the house, the grand and luxurious staircase is prominent and makes a statement when looking at the photograph. All of my favourite images have a unique feel with I really love.

My four favourite images are shown below:

Language analysis

For my language analysis of a double page spread, I decided to explore the Billboard (June 2015) article ‘Adam Lambert: Don’t Look Back’ by Shirley Halperin. 

The magazine I am analysing is called ‘The Beat’. The issue date ‘The Beat’ was published on was June 20th, 2015. Billboard is the title of the article – ‘Adam Lambert: Don’t look back’ is the author’s title. 

The article structure of ‘The Beat’ is a biography. I know that ‘The Beat’ is a biography because the article talks about Adam Lambert in third person. The journalist has included many quotes, said by Adam Lambert, for example, “A lot of us go through life trying to recreate something that has already happened, and that causes us to run around in circles chasing our tail”. 

You are not entirely aware of the presence of the journalist, however, people have been interviewed and refer to Adam Lambert in ways such as, “His path has had its bumps and ups and downs” admits Warner CEO Cameron Strang” – this implies more than one person has been interviewed – therefore there must be a journalist of some sort. By including quotes referring to Adam Lambert, it allows the reader to feel as though they know Lambert on a person level. There is a clear introduction and conclusion that concludes the article written up on Adam Lambert. This is done by including quotes from the star. A well built statement is given by the star – highlighting it was all about him which ultimately leaves an impact on the reader/audience.

There are multiple types of words and techniques used throughout the article revolving around ‘the rule of three’ and an example of this would be, “throwback club-kid platform boots”. This portrays a sense of style and success which connotes his power within the music industry. Furthermore, to add to ‘the rule of three’, the journalist has included metaphors and similes to help portray an image of the star, Adam Lambert. The metaphor “towers over a cadre of assistants’ this connotes the star is extremely important and powerful – this implies he is superior and the main focus for the audience. Throughout the article there are quotes from Lambert himself, they join the text together which allows the text to be read with ease. For example, “A lot of us go through life trying to recreate something that has already happened, and that causes us to run around in circles chasing our tail,” Lambert says feebly. This quote was not only there to lead the article onto the next topic but also to allow the reader to take a different approach to life and have a varied perspective on how they treat their life. 

Through the article written by the journalist, the star (Adam Lambert) was portrayed as a down-to-earth but ordinary person; just like anyone else. Lambert is described as successful and powerful within the music industry but was not described as extraordinary. The aim of this article was to uncover the underlay of his star image, by doing so, the reader will feel as though they know him as a person and feel attached to what he does. By talking about the star in such a manner it allows the reader to view Lambert in a way other than what the media presents him as. 

My explanation

For my shoot in town to be successful I will need to include all aspects, for example using    ‘Mise En Scene’ will help connote a story. In addition, using all of my ideas from research I have carried out on my genre of Indie, my choice of clothing will represent an Indie artist.

Below is have inserted my contents page for my own  Music magazine. To create/design my contents page, I had to do this through Adobe InDesign. The photo located in the center of my contents page was edited in Adobe Photoshop; by doing so I was able to transform my photograph from natural colour/lighting to black and white –  also changing the contrast and exposure of the image. I believe my fonts are readable and expresses my chosen genre of Indie.

My shot distances were minimal due to wanting close up photographs.

Due to carrying out an extensive amount of research of contents pages, as shown below:

My design of my contents page is created in a similar way to a contents page I saw when carrying out my research. After taking ‘Mise en Scene’ into consideration, I was able to create an image which not only fits my genre of Indie but also attracts my target audience.

Below I have inserted my drafted contents page for my music magazine:

• The numbers are great
• Perhaps some shadow on them to make them pop a little or some on the copy within?
• Feel the image almost detracts….who is she, caption?  needs to be bigger? more contrast in the black and white? What does it look like with lower opacity in the background, behind the numbers as a larger photo?
• Look at the coverline texts and spacing as they are quite different in some of the numbers? Get some continuity.
• Page number for the actual contents page?
• What do colours on the numbers look like to differentiate a little more to make it easier for the reader to see them?

Self Assessment

It is incredibly important to assess any work you have carried out, this makes it a lot easier to see where improvements are needed. The only way improve you work thoroughly is to critique it until you can see exactly what needs changing. Self assessing my first draft of my front cover will make it easier for me to create my final piece as I can look back on my previous work and see what is and what is not best to do. By following the strict criteria on the blog, I hope to create a magazine which is unique so that it attracts my target audience. In order to finalise my magazine to the best of my ability, I shall follow instructions and feedback given by my teacher. Here is my first draft of my front cover page:

• My masthead design is proportioned adequately to fit around my background image. The colours coincide with my chosen genre of indie. The typeface I have used for my masthead is big and bold, making it easy to see. The overlapping of the font is unique and will stand out more to my target audience. On the other hand, my chosen typeface is not suitable for my magazine culture.
• By placing the image of my model in the centre of my front cover, it takes up the whole page – this leaves spacing around the edges to add information of what the magazine is about, but also what is inside. The borders along the edge of the magazine decreases the size of the image making the model photograph less visible to see.
• Using different DTP has allowed me to make a front cover which stands out. I had antecedent knowledge which I put to use through Photoshop and InDesign. I edited the image of my model through photoshop, making the photo brighter, increasing contrast etc. InDesign aided me when creating my magazine – allowing me to create a front cover in a particular way, examples of this include, bold masthead designs, pugs, and inserting barcodes.
• The colour palette of neutral colours, reflects my genre of Indie well to my target audience. Indie is a genre that is favoured by middle aged people – these people would like a magazine cover which resembles indie culture.
• I used a couple of different fonts: no more than three as this would make the front cover overcrowded and hectic.
• ‘Mes en Scene’ that I used in my front cover gives off a peaceful and relaxed feel because of the pose the model is portraying. Indie culture like neutral and brighter colours; many people from the indie culture like bright eye shadow which is why I replicated the idea on my magazine front cover.
• I chosen certain language phrases such as “exclusive 1-to-1 interview”, “a chance to win 6 VIP tickets”, and “a prestigious interview…Nirvana”, these certain types of language features are useful to entice the reader into the magazine and is appropriate for my target audience. I have used the word “exclusive” which will make the reader feel privileged reading the article, as if they are reading something no one else knows.
• Conventional design features are essential in magazines, I have many on my magazine front cover, for example, masthead designs, a barcode, price of the magazine, issue date, and a main cover star – Aimee Regnard.
• I believe I have used InDesign and Photoshop in productive ways, I used Photoshop to cut out my main cover star using select and mask and inserting the image on a plain, white background. I used InDesign to create my magazine and use conventional features to make my magazine realistic.

Personal self assessment:

• I have used Neutral colours to go with my chosen genre of Indie. I would like my magazine to be of a  natural style – by doing so, this will coincide with my target audience’s preferences.
• By using a varied range of colours (bright, neutral and bold themes), throughout the front cover, it puts the magazine with a better chance of success due to the eye-catching fonts and colours used.
• I haven’t used more than three different fonts within my front cover. This puts my magazine at an advantage because it inhibits the magazine looking both ‘messy’ and ‘rushed.

Teacher targets:

• To use fonts and type faces that relate more with my genre
• Prepare a lot more for the shoot itself regarding makeup, hair style, and clothing which suits my chosen genre of indie
• Be more creative with my style of magazine (carry out more extensive research)
• Next time I would like to use the black background in the studio rather than the white studio background just as a result of personal preference
• Design a more creative masthead for my front cover
• I will also design an album cover for a magazine using one of my photos from my shoot to add to my front cover.
• sharpen the image
• masthead nearer the top – can overlap the background boxes
• too many pugs….
• overuse of the Hollywood font?
• put the barcode and price on the RHS

Below is my first product meeting agenda for my front cover shoot. For any type of shoot/media work it is essential to plan; without planning the work you will produce will be of little standard and chaotic. Planning for anything is crucial when completing a piece of work to a high standard. In this agenda I have included all vital things e.g. clothing, who is responsible, location and what equipment is needed, to ensure my shoot is successful. 

My Introduction

Before designing and producing media, it is essential to plan ahead. First of all, I had to choose a genre for my magazine, the genre I have chosen for my own music magazine is an Indie/RnB. The reason I have chosen this particular genre is because it has all the features of a conventional music magazine; this enables me to interpret these conventions and use them in my music magazine. Once settling on  what genre you would like to focus on, it is pivotal to decide on the name for my music magazine, ensuring it relates to the chosen genre.  After carrying out lots of research and making boards on Pinterest, my final name for my magazine is ‘QUILL’. I believe the name of my magazine is simple but aesthetic. To conclude, the final section I had to complete for this task is my word cloud.

Below is the word cloud I have created:

I have taken time to research words to include In my word cloud, I have used select adjectives, ways in which the Indie genre is used and quotations which I would like to include when I create own my magazine.

Mission Statement

Quill is a unique and funky magazine which captivates itself in stylish and retro trends which helps you become your best, most confident self. Immerse your self in festivals, song writing, and up and coming bands.  Read Quill today to be enticed into the wonderful world of indie. You won’t regret it.