Above is a Jpeg and  PDF of the first draft of my double page spread.

My Feedback…

• Like the layout yet think it is bland.
• The quote on the picture needs more detail, find a way to make it more interesting.
• Add graphic illustrations
• Add more eye catching things
• Add in more detailed or more quotes

My Targets…

• Change the layout of my article, put the introduction in bold and take it out of a column (standfirst)
• Fix line spacing in questions
• Put in the drop cap to the first letter of the article
• Overall add something more interesting in
• Add page number
• Byline
• Include who the photography is by

A Page Spread should contain…

• An article centred around a celebrity
• Images of the celebrity
• Page numbers
• Title
• Standfirst
• Byline
• Information for the reader

Generally, I like where my double page spread is heading however, there are many aspects that I can improve to make the most pf my design skills and expand on them.

This is the first draft of my article that will go into my double page spread.

That’s How He Did It? Charli And His Success. 

In this exclusive double page article of Thunder magazine we interviewed the named most popular male artist of 2019, Charli. With a highly in depth interview with him we’ve got all the answers you wanted about him, and some exclusives of what he is panning in the near future. 

Charli has been labelled as the leading male artist of 2019, for his huge involvement in gaining success and changing the game of pop just within one year. Charli has always been passionate about music and performing, this is highlighted by his early career before he became famous in the world of wider music and the media. Music has been close to Charli’s heart ever since a youngster as he has been part of performing arts since the age of 4 and has been enrolled onto the west end since the age of 14, starting off with very minor roles however he eventually grew into some of the most famous leading roles in the west end, however Charli didn’t stop there. And he still plans on going further with his growing ambitions. 

How did you deal with the pressure of your overwhelming success?

My success and fame hit me like a ton of bricks! I never expected what was to come for me, it all started when my friend posted a video of me showing her what I created and it blew up from there, people found the video and asked me to publicise the song I had created. I believe that because my career lifted off so quickly I never had time to process it so I  think I never had time to deal with the pressure it kind of just fuled me to go bigger and better! 

How do you keep your music unique, do you think you have changed the way people look at the genre of pop?

I dont think ive changed the pop genre I think I’ve given it a new feel, a more refreshed version.  Many people do say that my music is very unique however, I just think its my style so its true to who I am, that clearly makes me a unique person! However, all jokes aside I like to experiment with my music and create different sounds and beats that are unusual and that people haven’t heard before, this keeps people interested as its not mainstream and its different to what they are hearing all the time. 

What’s coming up on your agenda?

I have many plans, lots of things that have been announced, a lot of things that haven’t been announced and a lot of things in the works, I’m extremely busy. Obviously I have been announced as one of the many headliners of the Uk festivals, I am also starting my tour in late 2020. But most importantly, I’m always writing new music and always exploring new sounds, so you will never be without any content from me! 

As Charli said he is planning on making more content for his audience. Well Thunder magazine has an exclusive from Charli himself, he has announced to Thunder that he is planning on releasing his new album named ‘Elevate’ will be released in early June. Stay tuned for the latest exclusives from Charli. Never stop working hard, and you will reach where you want to be in life’ ‘Never be a sheep, be your own person and people will look up to you’  These final quotes from Charli to show that anyone can reach where they want to be whether it be reaching fame or not, just keep your passions close to you and never forget about them.

Here is a voice memo of me reading my article out Lous to check for errors and see if the article flows well…

*Will insert*

My feedback targets are…

• Check accuracy
• Add more detail
• Add exclusives
• Adapt language to make the reader feel more inclusive

A contents page is vital part in every magazine, this is because it is an informative page to guide the reader to each section and give a summary of what is contained in the magazine. It is important for the contents page to be clear and readable as well as being eye catching and interesting as this is one of the first parts of the inner magazine that the reader will see.

Below area couple of rough designs that I created of what I believe is a good contents page, along with a few catchy headlines…

When creating my contents page I want to keep it simple yet eye catching as I want the reader to be able to easily navigate the magazine due to the informative contents page, this further highlights the importance of this page in a magazine. Along with the contents page I would also like to add in an editorial, as I think this is and interestingly little additive that really makes this page more interesting.

A contents page should include the following…

• page numbers
• catchy headlines
• information bites
• images
• descriptions

When creating my contents page I must keep in mind Blumer and Katz…

• Educate (inform)
• Personal Identity
• Social Interaction
• Entertainment

and AIDA…

• Attract
• Interest
• Create Desire
• Call to action

Below is the plan for my article in my pop music magazine.

Above is my completed second draft of my cover.

What I added…

• I added a slight bit more of glow behind my image to fill the blankness of the background.
• I added my issue date with a yellow trim to make it stand out and match the catchy caption on the other side.
• I added a caption on the blank side to make it more eye catching and add something to the cover as it was blank.

What I need to improve…

• I would like to make the master head more interesting and maybe add bolt to it.
• Possibly change my colour theme or add more colour to it.
• Add more features to the cover to make it more interesting.

Above are all the contact sheets from my second shoot as well as a small slideshow of my favorites from the shoot. I am very pleased with this shoot as I believe a lot of my pictures followed the narrative that I was trying to convey, my pictures also came out very well with the brightness and focus, I also think that the angles and shots will work well in the final design. During the shoot we went to an offsite location, this was at Castle Cornet , the day was challenging to take decent photos in however, we adapted and ended up with some very successful shots that fit the design of my magazine.

This is my second shoot, once again for every shoot a Meeting Agenda must be made to ensure everything is organised. However the difference with my second shoot is that it is off sight which means that risk assessment must be made to ensure the safety of everyone on my shoot.

Aims of my second shoot…

• creative a narrative/story with my images
• explore different angles and poses to reinforce that narrative
• use the new environment to create good images following the narrative

Below is the meeting agenda for my second shoot along with the risk assessment.

Part of creating a music magazine is not just to take photos and create a narrative through images and words, but it is too also provide information relating to the genre in order to inform the audience. In this task we create a full music magazine, this means that there is not only the design part of the magazine but we are also tasked with creating a double page spread, the writing of this is also assessed.

Therefore it is good practice to analyse articles from a professional perspective.  In this analysis I will explore how the article is written and how that relates to the psychographics and demographics of the target audience. In this task we had a choice several different articles to follow and analyse they were …

• Biography
• Intro to a long read.
• 10 Tips for Life
• Q&A
• New Band
• Album Reviews
• Interview

Below is the article I chose..

And here is my analysis of this article…

The Article

Q September 2017 “The rapper and musician’s rule for life” This is by Chris Catchpole

I have chose to analyse this article as it is from Q magazine which is of a similar genre to my own music magazine as it is also a very well known magazine, which helps me understand how to cover a wide audience. This article also covers a personal insight into a particular star, this could be helpful for my magazine as I might want to base my article on a specific artist.

Structure

This article has a unique structure as it is a list, this article explores the stars top 10 tips for life, this is a very personal article which also makes the audience feel like they are involved with the star and makes them feel more in touch, this links to Dyer’s theory of how star image is portrayed, and that stars can be ordinary or extraordinary, with this case the star is portrayed a fairly ordinary.

Presence of a Journalist 

This article seems to be written in the first person which suggests that there is no strong journalistic presence, this meant that the article is all written from the perspective of the star and his thoughts and feelings are shown through his own words. This is a really effective way of connecting and gaining a liking from a targeted audience, this is because the audience feel as if they are involved in a conversation with the star as well as having personal insight on the thoughts and feelings of the particular ☆, once again linking back to the ideology of Dyer.

Language and Aim 

Linking back to the lack of journalistic presence in this article this again makes the reader feel like they are in conversation with the star, this is also highlighted by the design of the article as there are speech bubbles, these show direct quotes of what the star has said, this then links back to the audience feeling like they have a personal insight and feel like they are in conversation with the star in the article.

The article is aimed at the target audience of the rap genre this means that the way the article must be written must follow the conventional language that would appeal to the specific target audience. This is clearly shown on a direct quote from the star “I remember when is was 27 this person was an asshole to me” This shows the typical conventions of  the rap genre as he is using an aggressive tone which is usually associated with rappers. However in contrast the star also wants to connect with his audience like he has been doing throughout the article, this is further highlighted as he goes on to show appreciation for other artists that have had an impact on him personally and the way he now creates his media, this shows the audience that he is humble and appreciative for other people which also shows that he is emotional and empathetic. Overall, the reader will gain a sense of closeness with the star and a personal insight into their thoughts and beliefs, this looks like what the writer is trying to aim for within this article.

Representation of the Performer 

In conclusion this article helps the target audience with their sense of personal identity as it follows the conventions of the rap genre, this is shown by the use of an aggressive tone in several of the quotes. However, the article is written in the first person which shows that the star is a genuine humbling person which seeks attention from the audience as they feel like they can relate, throughout the article the star continues to share how he has learnt things from other people and how they have had an influence over the way he lives, this shows once again that the star is a genuine person, this also shows the audience that the star could be a role model and someone to learn from as he has done him self.

please click image for clearer image

Here is the my first draft of my Music Magazine cover that i created using Photoshop and InDesign, From my first draft i then asked one of my peers to do a peer assessment.

Here is the feedback that I gathered from my peer…

The Pro’s…

• Likes the font that the stars name is in.
• Thinks that the colour scheme works well
• Things that the glow around the cover star works well

The Con’s…

• More needed in the background
• Issue number and date

My targets for my second draft is to add something more to the background or the font to make the cover more exciting, I think I will also explore more fonts to see if that brings more excitement and audience attention.