Category: Music Magazine

In order to create a proper double page spread I needed to create some content to fill it, that being a written article, as shown below. Whilst the whole text won’t be included on the page due to the formatting and size of it, I still made sure to write a full piece, including an introduction, context, the discussion/interview itself, a reference to the future of the project and a conclusion, directing the reader to further engagement if they’re interested.

Once the first draft was written I used a method of recording myself reading the article out loud to check that it all made grammatical sense and read clearly and easily, shown here;

Click to open full PDF

After some feedback and reflection from my teacher I feel that I need to include some more exclusive information / gossip to further draw the reader’s attention and make them feel as if they’re included in something more secretive and exciting by reading. I will do this by adding more information regarding the future of the band, without giving full details I will drop more hints to add intruige and build anticipation in the audience.

Before writing my article in full, I first worked on this planning document in order to get a better idea of the format/structure I’m going to use and how the content of the magazine fits into it;

Research/Notes

Possible Topics / Formats	Q&A Interview New artists Release review
Key Terms / Language	Genre specific terms, adjectives relating to the group’s newness and use of strong, confident vocabulary (use plosives?) and terms to reflect aggressive nature.
Questions	Inspiration? Motivation? Plans? Writing process? Relationship?
Uses and Gratifications	Reader wants to know more about the new group and learns about them from reading, with a general introduction followed by Q&A section the reader can align themselves with the perspective of the interviewer as they learn more about the music/band members in digestible sections.

Planning

Topic  Introduce the issue – sum up what the reader is likely to discover in the article.	”Reinvented, refreshed and ready for action, previous Komodo Dragons frontman Luke Halker (guitarist and vocalist) bands together with Patrick Curk (drummer) to expand his career to new horizons as they form the alternative punk musical duo that is Hazard.”
Background – Context The article is likely to outline a brief history of the person or event which the article concerns, so that readers are fully aware of the background facts…	”After announcing his decision to take a break from Komodo Dragons last year, Luke has finally made a return as he declares this collaborative project with Patrick Curk. This dynamic duo allegedly first sparked the idea for this two-piece band when Luke noticed Patrick’s potential and unique character as a drummer when visiting a local gig night, taking the young and spunky percussionist under his wing.”
Discussion, Q and A or interview. The article is likely to return to the present-day situation at this point, discussing and giving different viewpoints of the person or event, with details and examples and quotations, and making comparisons with the past or with similar topics.  The writer’s own viewpoint maybe inferred, alternative views might be given equal weight.	Inspiration/motive behind band- name? themes?  Future plans Band dynamic/relationship Random/quirky facts
Prediction – Future? At this point the article may deal with the future developments or predicted outcome of the present situation: That the star will go on to become even more famous and successful, or that a current predicament will become worse if nothing is done about it.	Information about upcoming releases, an idea of dates and possible tours
Conclusion The article needs a neat conclusion, which may be an ironic reference or humorous comment, or an evaluation of the different viewpoints, or a reference back to the standfirst or a quotation from the star.	Overall statement  Encourages further reader interaction- makes reference to artist’s social media and reassure reader of more coverage on the group in future magazines issues

In order to acheive a better understanding of what to feature in my own article, I looked to analyse the styles and language used in a real world article that covers a similar topic as I plan to; this being the construction a new band/group.

As a provided example by our teacher, I have analysed and commented on this article by Billboard magazine.

For a general overview, this article is written as an introduction to a new music group, beginning with a general description of the group and following into an interview with the members, the readers are introduced clearly to the who, what and why of the artists, including clear titles, photos and information to convey this. The attention is immedietley caught with the title spanning the length of the page, unconventionally formatted vertically to further draw attention, this is accompanied by clear photos of each band member as well as their names clearly listed above the article content itself. The introductory article is written in a third person voice, followed by the interview questions and answers that are written in first person from the perspective of the intervewer/band members respectively, this creates for the readers a clear view and outside look to contexualize and familiarize themselves with the characters of the band before they move to a more personal interaction with them, creating a natural progression and introduction to them as a new, upcoming group.

The reader is then drawn into the text itself, with an initial drop capital to catch their eye and make the beginning clear, the article sets the scene with a descriptive, narrative tone; “The three men gathered this sunny Memorial Day afternoon on a patio in Los Angeles could not, in some ways, be more different.” illustrates a clear image to the audience and sets them up to find out more, as they ask themselves what these differences are, and how, from this declarative statement, the three men came to form a band. From this opening sentance, the article immedietley answers these questions, satisfying the reader’s needs and describing each member individually to continue building a mental image of the scene and context. This descriptive, clear and declarative style fits well as an article as it clearly conveys to the reader’s the information they want to gain in a standard rhythm, as they are proposed an idea which is immedietly followed by it’s context/answer, consistently stimulating them as they read on and learn more.

My next step is now to look at working my second photoshoot, this time outside and interacting with the environment as well as a second model. In preparation for this I completed the following production meeting agenda and created a small moodboard displaying my costume and prop choices for this shoot. I aim to maintain a similar theme and colour scheme as the previous shoot, with dark greys and blacks combined with stand-out bright yellow; I also intend to experiment with more interesting make-up, using face paint to write a rebellious message or band name of the faces of my models, really emphasizing the non-conformist nature and attitudes of the genre.

Shoot Title	Town Photo shoot
Date/Time of Shoot:	11th of December 2019 11-12:30
Location of Shoot + Equipment needed	Based at Digital Greenhouse – shoot around town Bringing own camera and tripod
Model	Who?
	Alex Radford Luke Halker
Costume + Make Up (photos)	What?	Who’s responsible?
	Luke – same costume as last shoot Alex – yellow t shirt dark grey worn jeans black beanie rough/worn/casual shoes	Luke – Luke (jeans, shoes) and I (shirt, jacket) Alex –  Luke (jeans) and I (shirt, hat, shoes)
Props (photos)	What?	Who’s responsible?
	Police Tape Drumsticks Traffic Cone	Me Luke Media Department
What is in the background, detail?	Grungy, urban environments to match punk/alternative genre

From my previous drafts, I noted my targets and worked to improve on them; generally aiming to better balance the use of white over the page as well as filling empty spaces whilst continuing to represent the genre. Of course, it isn’t perfect, ideally I’d like to include some smaller, alternative photos of different musicians and bands to fit the articles mentioned, and with more time would potentially experiment with alternative colour schemes. Despite this, overall I am very happy with the outcome, with a consistant, eye catching colour scheme.

PDF of Final Draft

Now I’ve begun to create and design a cover it’s important that I reflect on my work as I produce it, these two designs are my first two drafts of the cover, and whilst neither is fully complete they clearly show my ideas about layout and formatting.

The first draft draws a lot from the yellow police tape used, reflecting this in the background I created and creating a very yellow/black/white colour scheme. Whilst this is successfully eyecatching, it can flatten the image as a whole and doesn’t do much to draw attention further than the initial glance. However I do like the use of torn-paper tabs as part of the design, as this is a feature I carry forward to my second draft.

The second draft immediately makes a stronger impression, as the background is contrasting the photo rather than matching it my star stands out a lot more on the page. I also decided against the use of a light blue tab as this colour doesn’t reflect the rebellious, outrageous and punky aesthetic. For this second draft I also designed a new masthead, using a grungy, all-caps font and overlaying the full title over the initial in a clear, bold and contrasting style to reflect the genre.

I then asked for the opinions of some peers, who also preferred the second draft, reasoning “The font [of the masthead] fits better and the overlapping text in different colours adds interest and layers, and I like the pink because it stands out against the yellow tape so it’s more noticeable. I also like like his name overlayed over it so that viewers know who he is”. I also received the criticism “I don’t know about that white text, it looks slightly unbalanced against the vivid background […] plus I really like the ‘Larson Effect’ black-white effect but again, I’m not sure it works against such a busy background”.

Overall I feel that over these two drafts I have better developed my skills and have gained a better grasp on what ir eally want to acheive with my magazine. To continue from this, I plan to look at how I plan to include more information such as plugs and pugs on the cover, as well as making the masthead smaller and including the price and barcode.

View the PDF files: Draft 1 Draft 2

With all the elements ready, I could now begin my first shoot, experimenting with both the black and white studios, I ended up with the following 188 images shown in these contact sheets. Overall I am very pleased with my shoot, despite the expected mistakes and difficulties, I ended up with a handful of very successful photos that capture my genre and aims really well.

From this, the following 11 photos are my favourite, overall finding that I liked the use of the caution tape a lot as it added a strong splash of colour against the dark, desaturated clothing.

Finally, I chose three images from this to begin editing and cleaning-up in Photoshop, as shown below, in order to get a better idea of how this shoot worked and what basic settings I wanted to use.

Now I have looked into and researched the typicalities and trends of the genre and better understand my aims for my model I have put together a table detailing the requirements and details of my first photo shoot, to be completed using the school studios and using professional standard flash photography equipment.

Shoot Title:	Punk/Alternative Magazine Shoot
Date of Shoot:	Thursday 21st (3:30-4:30pm)
Location of Shoot + Equipment needed – Who is responsible?	Black and White Studios, with standard photography (flash) equipment of which I’m responsible for
Model	Who?
	Luke Halker
Costume + Make Up	What?	Who’s responsible?
	Eyeliner Leather jacket Striped or plain shirt Worn jeans Casual shoes	Me Me Me Luke Luke
Direction	Stern, serious expression Playing guitar Looking into camera Low angle shot Open, confident body language
Props	What?	Who’s responsible?
	Electric guitar	Me

Photo examples of the costumes and props to be included:

As I prepared to create my own magazine it was important to reflect on other magazines of the genre, observing the typicalities and techniques used by them, as explained in the narration for this slideshow;

Video narration

 

Below are five different potential masthead designs for my magazine.

In an attempt to fit the punk/alternative genre I aimed for an overall rugged, scuffed feel, using white texture overlays that fit this idea on the black text. I also wanted to convey a sense of power and strength through the mast head, consequently choosing to use a thick, strong, sans serif font, or alternatively, to appeal more to the rebellious nature of the genre, a hand-drawn typeface to give an image of graffiti on a wall.