Audience Feedback - Front Cover

During class, I got the rest of my classmates to annotate what they liked and what they didn't, to get great audience feedback on my front cover at its current state. Their feedback will help me make adjustments to make it more suitable to my particular audience and improve my front cover page as a whole.

Contents Page Photos - Isabella Upson

Final Edited Photo Shoot Images

Photo Shoot Images

1. 

Photo Shoot Risk Assessment

Possible Risk	Prevention of Risk
Taking my model to the woods, may be dangerous if a tree falls on them.	Check before hand that all tress are secured and check weather conditions in case of stong rain or winds.
Weather conditions may be bad and may damage the photo equipment such as Cameras.	Check weather forecast and make sure the equipment is covered by a waterproof sheet or umbrella.
Being in the woods may result in a trip/fall from roots and branches which may harm the model.	Check that the route is clear from hazardous shrubbery.
Flash on the camera may hurt the models eyes.	Warn the model before hand and don’t use a flash setting when taking close up photographs.

Launching my magazine - editors note

Editors note,

Hello and welcome to Chord, the first edition of our brand new acoustic music magazine! Chord is a new music magazine, focused on the acoustic genre and will feature old and new artists/bands with exclusive interviews, gig details and news of their upcoming singles and albums.

Don't miss out on the best monthly acoustic magazine around and we will see you all next month! 

So go fourth and enjoy the mag!

Jessie

x

Pitching my Magazine

Dear IPC Media,

After doing a large amount of research on the best magazine publishers, I came across IPC Media,  one of the most well-known and successful publishers around, publishing many music magazines, including the famous New Musical Express (NME). I am writing to your company in the hope that you will take my new acoustic magazine ('Chord') into consideration for publishing.

'Chord' is a brand new, cutting edge magazine, that focuses mainly on the acoustic and surrounding genres of music. The audience for the acoustic genre has a very wide age range, but the majority of people listening to acoustic music are of the younger generations, so with this in mind I have decided to aim my magazine at late teens and young adults, between the ages of 15 - 28. I would sell my magazine for around £3 as from my research music magazines such as this one, cost around £4, so being an independent magazine I am making it slightly cheaper but enough money to cover the content. I believe that 'Chord' will give your publications an intriguing approach and will expand your audience with an added large genre, such as acoustic music.

I strongly feel that your publications are the best to help me create 'Chord' as a distinguished and exceptional magazine, which will be both personal and professional to my audience.

Kind regards,
Jessica

Magazine Name

Audience Profile

Lily - Age 16

Lily believes music is one of the key aspects of life, it can change your mood in a second and is something extremely powerful. She enjoys listening to artists such as Ben Howard, Hudson Taylor and Mumford and Sons. She loves singing, being with friends, taking swimming and karate lessons and simply chilling to music.

An acoustic magazine would be the perfect choice for her to read about her favourite artists and discover new songs and acoustic artists that she can sing along to!

Audience Research

Taylor Swift

Most of the Acoustic Artists I have looked at so far have been male, so I wanted to create a small profile on a female acoustic artist.
Taylor Swift is an country/acoustic artist who I believe really uses and experiments with the acoustic sound. Her songs are consumed by emotion and meaning, a common quality to acoustic music and every song seems to tell a story.

Album Covers - a look at the Mise En Scene

Album covers from jessieopie

Reflecting on Music Videos

Looking at examples of acoustic music videos has helped me in designing the house style of my magazine. The photographs and shots I will take, will have been inspired from each of these videos; helping me think about the clothing my model will wear, where the photographs will be taken, what font I will use and if I will use any particular colour filters to make it appear vintage.

Acoustic Artist - Ben Howard Music Video

This video features another well known acoustic artist - Ben Howard. In this video we see the last acoustic music video technique, which is clips of gigs and of the artist/band playing. In this example, and in most others, it features the acoustic instrument - a guitar. These types of videos usually consist of clever lighting shots and many shots of the audience and artist. It gives the video's audience a glimpse into the artists lives and is very common in acoustic music videos. Dim lighting, which is seen in this particular video, is also a well used technique among acoustic videos.

Acoustic Artist - Ed Sheeran Music Video

Ed Sheeran is a well known acoustic artist and has used one of the other techniques of acoustic music videos. Instead of simply following the audience, he has used the words and emotions of his songs to create a story in which he displays throughout his video. The story is the main feature of the video, so there are no colour filters over the video, as he wants it to look realistic. However the colours used in the video are all very pale; you see no vibrant colours which draw away from the storyline. They, like Hudson Taylor are keeping to the acoustic image - casual\informal clothing, such as, hoodies and jeans.

Acoustic Band - Hudson Taylor Music Video

Hudson Taylor are an uprising irish acoustic band who I recently had the pleasure of meeting. As you can see in their video they have made it look very vintage, by adding a vintage filter and using old age effects to make it appear older than it is. They are wearing the stereotypical clothes of acoustic bands - black trousers, white shirt/ t-shit and braces. As in most acoustic music videos, they are also seen with their acoustic instruments, in this case, guitars. Landscape shots and light shots are also used to add in a vintage and acoustic feel to the song and video. Although unlike many acoustic music videos, there appears to be no story in the video, which is a technique commonly used by acoustic artists. However they have used another common technique of having themselves shown and singing throughout the video.

'Acoustic' Magazine Deconstruction

Newton Faulkner edition of 'Acoustic' Magazine

• "Acoustic" set behind main image, which connotes that it is a well-established magazine and is well-known enough to not have to show the full word. 
• Colour Scheme: 

1. Yellow - usually depicted is the colour of happiness or joy. It is used for the masthead and name of artist. Yellow stands out against the other colours used, meaning the words in this colour are significant to the magazine.
2. Red - This colour is another bold contrasting colour and has been used to show puffs and key words which draw the reader in, such as "special edition" and "reviewed".
3. White - Bright, stands out against his shirt and is used for the big names of artists and bands featured in the magazine.
4. Black - used to make things stand out against the background - used for the strip at both the top and the bottom.

• The artist is looking directly at the camera, which draws the reader in and engages them with the artist or band.
• Strip's are used at both the top and bottom of the page to give the reader an idea of what the magazine features.
• The artist is seen wearing the stereotypical clothing for an acoustic artist - a natural coloured shirt which has the top few buttons undone, creating a relaxed feel to both the magazine and the artist. Faulkner is also pictured with his guitar, which is a convention of a lot of acoustic artist images and music videos - connotes the genre.

GENRE MOOD BOARD

Audience Survey

Audience survey from jessieopie

Genre Conventions

Acoustic Genre

Acoustic genre from jessieopie

Researching Genres

Indie music genre from jessieopie

Genre

What is a genre?

A genre is a "style or category of Art, Music or Literature." - Oxford Definition.
A sub-genre is a "subdivision of a genre of literature, film, music, etc." - Oxford Definition.

Production Plan - IDEA, RESEARCH, GENRE, PRODUCTION, MARKETING, EVALUATION

'Q Magazine' Double Page Deconstruction

Ed Sheeran edition of 'Q' Magazine

The image of Ed, captures a lot of attitude and personality by his stance and the way he is dressed. As an acoustic artist, he is dressed in the stereotypical clothing that acoustic artists wear - however by wearing all black, this shows he may have a rebellious streak. Being ginger is a vital part of Ed's image, therefore he has been dressed black but with orange accessories to highlight his hair. His guitar is also shown next to him, which has an orange paw-print, but also makes it clear to the audience that he belongs to the acoustic genre.

Like many of 'Q' Magazines colour palette's, they have kept close to their house theme and used three main colours; black, red and white. These colours are bold and striking to the reader and immediately draws them in. The red has been used for the most important features of this page and stand out against the black and white. The 'Q' logo can also been seen at both bottom corners of the page, which keep the magazine in which you are reading to the forefront of the readers minds.

'Q Magazine' Contents Deconstruction

Their contents page is bold and striking and this is shown through their house style and colour scheme.Black, white and red are three of the most striking colours to use and creates an edgy image for both the magazine and the artist.

Adele edition of 'Q' Magazine's Contents Page

Adele is usually seen as a pop/acoustic artist, but using these three colours around her, implies to the readers that there is a lot more to her than that. For the important information on the page, the colour black has been used to stand out from the rest, drawing the readers attention straight away.The second thing that stands out, is the red which has been used for the more informative purposes and for the logo of 'Q' which is always in red.

Q has used block text and picture style, which makes it appear professional and well laid out. It proves Q magazine to be a serious magazine for music lovers.In the top right hand corner we also notice that the issue number and date are featured on the contents page rather than the front cover, this may be part of the house style, or to stop overcrowding on the front page.

'Q Magazine' Deconstruction

'Mumford and Sons' cover edition of Q Magazine

Their front cover image for this particular special, is very effective as it captures a lot of personality which creates a bold statement for the band. The items in which the band are wearing help symbolize the genre of their music as they are wearing the stereotypical acoustic style; shirts, jeans, hats etc.

The colour scheme is red, white, and gold which can be seen as contrasting colours, again making a statement. The gold is used for identifying specific bands and artists which need to be highlighted and drawn to by the readers eye. The red is also used for the same purpose, but is also the colour of the logo, which is incredibly important. the white is used for the main artist in this case 'Mumford and Sons' and is also used to fill in the rest of the words and quotes. 

The masthead/logo of the magazine is very well-known therefore does not need to be in front of our main image, but as the colour of the logo is red, this still makes a bold impact on the page and is one of the first thing you notice when you see the page. The strap-line /tag line is also seen within the logo, making it clearly identifiable. 

There a few puffs, but not many which makes is appear as either an independent magazine or one which is well established and does not need to use puffs to advertise. However it does use big names and buzz words such as "special" to entice the reader in , making it a very effective magazine at gaining readers.

Magazine Deconstruction

The 'Florence and the machine' special edition cover for the NME (New Musical Express) magazine.

This front cover image particularly stood out to me, because of its close-up of Florence and its bold and striking colour palette.

This magazine uses three main colours in this edition. Red, White and Black, which are 3 very eye-catching colours to draw the audience in. The black is used as the main cover line which links to the main image and being the only black used on the page, it stands out and is one of the first things you read.

The white stands dominant throughout the cover as the main colour used for the mast-head and sub-lines, which therefore become obvious against the vivid red background of Florence's hair.

This magazine features a mast-head, which sits above the main image, this could suggest a particular design or that the magazine is fairly unknown, however in this case I think it is used as more of a statement and is part of the style and design of this magazine. 

A strap-line can also be seen below the mast-head to offer its readers an understanding of what NME stands for.

This magazine gives a sense of being independent as there appears to be no puffs, meaning that it may be a more sophisticated and professional magazine, which do not used freebies to gain their audiences attention.

However the buzz word "Special Edition" can be seen to draw the reader in and making the audience believe that this magazine is like no other.

NME also uses big names and popular media to grab readers attention, such as "The X Factor" and "Billy Clyfro". Using this technique, it helps to open up the magazine to a wide audience of different ages.

Conventions and Magazine Decontructions

Conventions and Magazine Deconstructions from jessieopie

Music Magazines

Music Magazines:

• Alternative Press - information on music, movies, books etc.
• Amazing Sounds - new age, alternate music
• Babble and Beat - free music mag, featuring interviews, concerts, reviews etc.
• Banter Zine - alternative music news, music videos, interviews etc.
• By Volume - magazine focused on rock and indie music.
• ChartAttack - canadian mag, featuring daily news and covering rock, pop and alternative.
• Glide - todays most innovative new artists.
• Mojo - reviews, news, guides, features etc.
• Music Arts Monthly - californian mag, well known for reviews of artists around the globe.
• Music Box - daily music mag, news, interviews, reviews etc.
• Musos Magazine - mag featuring a wide range of genres, including: folk, blues, jazz, reggae and rock.
• NME New Musical Express - best selling music mag in the world, featuring news, reviews, interviews and concert guides
• Psytrance - psytrance festivals, party info and photos, forums and profiles.
• Q Magazine - music and entertainment magazine, featuring many new relkease in music and film.
• Rolling Stone - music and entertainment.
• Soul Shine - canadian guide to music with reviews, gig listings and indie radio.
• Spin - focusing on new music and youth culture.
• Uncut - UK music and film magazine.
• Vibe - music and entertainment magazine.

Magazine Deconstruction and Evaluation 2

“Preliminary excercise: using DTP and an image manipulation program, produce the front page of a new school/college magazine, featuring a photograph of a student in medium close-up plus some apporprietly laid-out text and a masthead. Additionally candidates must produce a DTP mock-up of the layout of the contents page to demonstrate their grasp of the program.”

I have followed through my colour scheme and pallette to my contents page to keep a constant house style and to be recognised out of its context. In doing this I have chosen particular images that represent the school and feature my three main colours strongly. For example, Tom my background model is wearing the school uniform, which is a blue shirt and black jumper which are two of my main colours.

I have faded out his picture to create a proffessional effect and so the important information can be displayed over the top of his image. In doing this, it also makes the picture at the top left hand corner stand out, which connects to my front cover as it displays “reading buddies” at our school, a particular article featured on the front page.

By using a short introduction at the top of the page, it adds a personal sense and engages the reader to read further. However it is not in a bold font as it is not the most important piece of information on the page. This leads me on to the main contents and features of my magazine. These are displayed in bold down the left hand side of the page; sticking to my colour theme, I have put the numbers in blue to make them appear more striking and easy for the audience to read. The numbers, plus the main information are also written in a bold font, which matches the house style and masthead to keep consistancy throughout but also to appear eye-catching.

I am also very pleased with my contents page, particulaly with the consistancy of my house style throughout the two pages. I think this page flows really well and looks sophisticated for a first attempt at creating a page like this and with using photoshop. If I had more time in creating this piece, I would have added more pictures and may have replaced my introduction with an editor’s note. This would make it more proffessional and more appealing to the reader. However I am overall very pleased with the work I have achieved and hope to continue improving my skills in photoshop and magazine creating.

What would you change if you could do this again and why?

In creating the desirable magazine front cover and contents page I would have preffered more time to work with photoshop, experimenting and learning how to use it to create what I wished. I felt the time that we had to get used to photoshop was limited, so in order to create the piece that we desired, more time was needed. If I got to do the project again I would alter the majority of my front cover. Although i am proud of what I achieved, I felt it was lacking in energy and needed more features to stand out and be appealing to my target audience. Perhaps by using strips and puffs to create more depth to it.

Mock Magazine Contents Page - PRELIMINARY TASK

Magazine Deconstruction and Evaluation

“Preliminary exercise: using DTP and an image manipulation program, produce the front page of a new school/college magazine, featuring a photograph of a student in medium close-up plus some appropriately laid-out text and a masthead. Additionally candidates must produce a DTP mock-up of the layout of the contents page to demonstrate their grasp of the program.”

I chose the masthead; Kings Krave, because it relates to the school and the word “Krave” makes it appealing to the students.  The font I used was informal instead of formal, which I believe to be more enticing for my student audience.

The main colours I have used in my palette have been black, white and blue. I chose these colours as I believed that they would be bold and striking, which would attract my target audience. The black and white stand out and make a statement, wheras the blue symbolises the school because of our school uniform and colour code. My front cover image also helps portray this by having my model, Izzy, to wear a white lab coat with the school logo on it and having the blue door in the background stand out against the picture.

The black star at the bottom right of the page is in bold, which draws the audience in and empahasizes it as strong and important point of the magazine.

At the bottom left of the page I have placed some useful information to the reader, which allows them to get quick information on the price and issue of this magazine.

Overall, I am pleased with what I have achieved in this magazine front cover. Throughout this project, I have learnt the basics of photoshop and how to take a good image – all of which I did not know until taking this course. I am happy with the picture I have taken, as the main focus of the image looks towards the camera, helping the audience and reader to connect with the magazine. Although, I now know what I can do to improve my picture and will use these techniques I have learnt to make my final piece of coursework the best standard it can be. The colours of the image and the fonts I have used help reflect my magazine and the themes within it, however if I did this again, I would plan better into particular colour schemes and why they are important to my front cover.

For my first attempt, I am very happy with the work I have completed, and will continue to grow in my knowledge of photoshop to improve the cousework for my final piece.

Mock Magazine Front Cover - PRELIMINARY TASK