Planning: pictures

These are the pictures I used on my magazine. Before taking them I asked my model to wear denim and casual clothing. Jeans, shirt and casual tops were required. I did not use any props like musical equipment as the R&B magazine I researched did not have any props. I chose to follow the conventions of existing magazines. I only had to edit one of my pictures as the rest of them were set in locations which were ideal to the design of my magazine. Two of the pictures were close up shots in which the location was not a problem. The picture used on the front cover was important and so I had to get that spot on. I think it works perfectly with the rest of my front cover. The colour and brightness oes well in showing an excellant front cover. The picture that I edited had a car init which I was going to use but I changed my mind at the end and decided not t as after it could have portrayed somthing different. Down below is the edited picture in which I have removed everything from the picture except for the image of my musician.

Original pictures

Evaluation

http://www.slideshare.net/ibi1990/evaluation-4069993

Constuction: Final documents

After making the changes these are my final media products.

Construction: Changes

To the front cover I just added a black background to the masthead to give the title some effect as it looks plain and simple. Also the black goes with the gold colour in the masthead. I also added a little quote at the bottom of the cover as this gives the magazine class. Also people will look at it and like what they see. This will make customers want to buy the magazine.

I have changed the total outlook of the contents page as I was told by friends that it looked to plain and simple. It needed a different layout and structure. So I moved all the information about what is going to be in the magazine and placed them into different sections. This meant that there was a lot more to look at in the contents page. I also changed the heading by creating my own. This looked better and would gain the attention of the general public. I also changed the pictures around. I removed the pictures from the contents page and placed a different picture.

I also made drastic changes to the double page spread. I took out the enlarged picture and placed same picture as that of the front cover as an album cover. I then used the two pictures from the draft contents page and placed them on the bottom right of the double page spread. I also added some background information of my artist. This meant that the double page spread is better laid out and has a structure.

Construction: Drafting

These are the draft copies of my media product. I have produced these from the plans that I created. I may have made some simple changes but this is the initial magazine front cover, contents and double page spread.

Planning: Double page spread

This is my plan for my double page spread. This is a indication of what it will look like. It looks very simple at the moment but I hope that when I place the pictures and text into the boxes it will look like classy.

Planning: Contents page

As before I have just placed where I want to put certain things on my contents page. I have decided to go with a couple of pictures in the bottom right corner. while down the left side I have placed what is going to be in the magazine and the page number down the side of it.

Planning: Front cover

This is an initial plan of what my front cover will look like. My final media product could look nothing like this. I have just incorporated the important concepts that are in majority of music magazines.

Planning: Questionnaire

Questionnaire

To attract the interest of the general public I have created a questionnaire to see what people look for in a music magazine. This questionnaire helped me to design my media product. The questionnaire is shown below.

Results

I have evaluated the results from the questionnaire above to gain some knowledge on what the general public look for in a music magazine. I asked 20 people and the results obtained have been put into pie charts. These pie charts are shown below.

Planning: Gantt chart

The Gantt chart above shows how I have divided my time to complete each part of this project. The chart shows the start and end dates of each section. This is a good way to plan my project. This was my initial Gantt chart. This was not accurate as these dates were not conclusive in showing exactly when I started and finished each task.

This second Gantt chart is an updated chart which I created to show the difference between this chart and the initial chart. This chart shows that I was 33 days off. This was down to me taking longer then expected in taking my photos. Also the construction of my drafts and final product took longer.

Research into double page spreads

I found this double page spread on the internet. I really like the way the photograph of Jamelia at the top of the page is in black and white and then her name is in block writing and over the top but has been made transparent so the colour of the original photo underneath is shown through the word. I really like this effect as I think it looks really nice and adds a bit more colour to the photo.
I also like the way two photos of the main artist are used on the double page spread, I think this makes it clear who the writing or interview is about. I like the way the black boxes what the writing is on has been made translucent, I think the effect of this is to makes sure the photo is clear underneath the writing but bold enough so the writing is visible. I also noticed the colour scheme of the writing which is red and white. I like the use of these colours on the page because I think the colours work well together and stand out against the black background. The questions in the interview have been set out in neat columns and either side of the page and overlapping the photographs. I think this effect really breaks up the page and makes it look spacious but still including a lot of informative information.

I found this double page spread on the internet, this is from the magazine, NME. What first drew my attention to this page was the newspaper theme; they have made the letters look like they have been cut from a newspaper and stuck down on the page. I like this effect because I think it helps make clear the genre of the magazine, the way the letters are different sizes and not neatly set out gives the page a wild, messy look which portrays the idea of this magazine being of the punk/rock genre.
I also like the way the model in the picture, Lily Allen is stood with her hands on her hips, almost giving off an attitude which I think again portrays the genre of the music magazine, also her red and black clothing and the way her hair have been messed up and looks out of place and she is wearing very dark eye make-up again gives the impression that this magazine is portraying a punk style. I also like the way the writing on the page is in neat columns I think this makes the paragraphs and information look neat and organised.

Research into contents pages

This contents page is from the magazine VIBE, a magazine mainly based on the genre of R&B. I have chosen this contents page to analyse because I really like how it laid out. I love how simple and plain it is but not in a bad way, because it is still effective even though it is some what simple. I like how the ‘CONTENTS’ is split into three sections and the way all the text is set out on the right hand side of the page and the majority of the picture is set out down the left hand side of the page I think this gives the contents page a very organised neat look. I also like the use of grey/black/white, as I think those particular colours go well together and the way the white part at the top of the page contrasts with the black letters in ‘CONTENTS’. there is a slightly darker shade of grey around the outside of the page I like this effect as I think it gives the figure of the celebrity a lit up effect almost as though she is led in a spotlight, making her the main attraction of the page. The women on this page is Solange Knowles, and the fact the image is very large and takes up most of the page, gives the idea of Solange Knowles being the main concept of the magazine. The pose that the figure is doing and the clothes and heels the girl in the photo is wearing give the page a sexy sophisticated look, making the genre of the magazine very obvious.
I also like the font of the writing of what’s inside the magazine, as I think it looks very sophisticated and classy and the important parts of the writing are in bold so the more important, informative parts of the text stand out.

This contents page is from NME music magazine. I picked this contents page to research because I like the layout of it, and how everything on the page links in together. For example the colours all go together nicely; the black red and white all go together and look good. I also like how cluttered the page looks with different boxes of information all over the page. Most of the information about what’s inside the magazine is down the right hand side of the. I like this idea as it gives the magazine an organised look and gives the magazine a sense of order on top of the busy messy look. I like the composition of this contents page as I like how the picture is placed in the middle of the page and down the right and left hand sides is information.
Also the title which is ‘NME THIS WEEK’ is in a very big bold font and the NME is in a red font and THIS WEEK is in white which contrasts with the plain black box behind it, making the title very eye catching and standing out a lot.

Music magazine research

VIBE magazine
This is an R&B music magazine about music artists, actors and other entertainers owned by Quincy Jones. On this particular cover a body shot of Akon is used but only of his upper body, having the figure with one hand in his pocket and one hand pointing shows the magazine is making a statement. He looks powerful and masculine which suggests the magazine is probably aimed at men or boys. Also having the figure pointing out looks like its pointing out at the person reading it almost attracting someone to pick up the magazine and buy it. The big bold ‘VIBE’ heading is in block capitals with a clear font and clear colour making it easy to see and stand out, and having all the other text and font on the front cover bold and the colourful writing helps it stand out more. The composition of the magazine is set out with the figure being central on the page and informative text on top of Akon either side of his body. It is clear that 3 different layers are used to set out the front cover. The title of the magazine is the first layer, then the figure of Akon is on top of that, and lastly the informative text is on top of that. This layering idea is effective because it makes the cover look less flat and more raised. This makes the magazine stand out more and catches people’s attention. The idea of layering is very popular and used in a lot of magazines.

NME magazine is a very popular punk magazine launched in 1952. Since the start NME magazine has been responsible for; creating the first U.K singles chart, hosting The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Kinks. Bringing punk to the wider world and pioneering funny, critical and truth-telling music journalism.
On this particular cover a body shot of Lily Allen is used but only of her upper body, and mostly her face. The expression on her face is very plain and she is showing an attitude as if she doesn’t care about what people think of her. She is also wearing dull, casual clothes, this is almost suggesting what type of music this magazine is about, her facial expression is very plain and showing an attitude which shows this is a punk/indie genre of magazine. This may suggest that listening to this genre of music will make you feel the same way as what Lily Allen is portraying. Whereas if the cover page had a picture of someone smiling and dressed in bright coloured clothes then this would suggest the music it was portraying was more of a ‘pop’ culture, and it would make the people listening to it feel happy and upbeat. The composition of the magazine is set out with the figure of Lily Allen being central but slightly to the right of the page. The text that reads: ‘LILY ALLEN TAKES ON THE WORLD’ has a black background and white text, the font is very messy with every other letter being slightly bigger than the letter before, giving it a messy and wild look, which again portrays the genre of music this magazine is based on. Also the text that reads: “I can’t keep on living like this. It’s doing my head in” is in a very wobbly font and on a slight slant again making the words look wild and messy. Most of the informative text on the front cover is in basic colours, white, black, yellow and red fonts, which again shows that the genre of the magazine is punk/indie whereas if the genre of music the magazine was portraying was ‘pop’, then the colours would be more bright such as using pink, purple, orange etc. there are 2 circular symbols of text on this front cover and 1 rectangular symbol, which are coming of the page and are on a slant, this again makes the magazine look messy not neat. Like the VIBE magazine it is clear that 3 different layers were used to set out the front cover, the title ‘NME’ and a couple of bits of text are the first layer then the figure of Lily Allen is the second layer on top of that, lastly the bits of informative text on top of that. This idea of layering is very effective because it makes the cover look more raised which makes the magazine stand out more and catches people’s eyes more.