Week 7

Work on my magazine rough cut has been going well this week and I completed my work to a standard that I was happy with. However, once my front cover draft was finished my teachers highlighted the fact that it did not compliment the popular codes and conventions of existing music magazines. With that in mind I realised that what I needed to do was transform the cover into one that resembled the look of Rolling Stone a lot more. To help I travelled into town and bought an issue which was very beneficial in helping guide my own work and although I was very proud with the original cover I do like the final front page and it does appear like more of a music magazine.

This was my original cover which appeared to look more like a fashion magazine...

...and this is the improved version along with the completed contents page and double page spread after I had completed my written article. I am pleased with the result but I am mainly proud that I have been able to finish all the work for the set deadline esspecially after reinventing the front cover, I now feel that the piece is more impacting and central.

Week 6

I was able to collect photo's for my magazine draft over the weekend so this week consisted of me continuing work on the contents page and double page spread, they were a lot easier to work on with photo's as I could position text more accurately and organize colours to compliment those within the photo's. This week I also began work on my front cover and everything was running smoothly. Here are all the best photo's that I took for my feature on Courtney Love, I chose to locate the photo's in a building site because it's more original than a white screen and reflects the high amount of people who chose the interesting option background for my questionnaire. The peeling paint could also relate to the distress in Courtney Love's life, I am happy with these photo's...

Week five

This week I began work on the first draft of my magazine, I started on the contents page as I felt that would be the quickest piece to complete and that was the page that I had the clearest idea of how I wanted to look. The work went well and I managed to create a variety of pages to feature as well as sticking to the drawing of my original design. Towards the end of the week I had managed to complete the contents page except for the lack of a main image. I also managed to complete the outline, quotes and title for my double page spread which allowed me to gain a clearer idea of how I wanted it to look with images. I was able to use Photoshop quite easily which was a pleasant surprise and it enabled me to work quicker. At the beginning of the week we also created a photo plan of how we want our images to look. This helped to format my ideas in a way that is more understandable so when it comes to taking the photos I know what I have to do. Scroll down to see the table of my initial photo ideas copied and pasted from Microsoft Word...<><><>   <><><>   <><><>   <><><>   <><><>   <><><>   <><><> <><><>   <><><>   <><><>  <><><>   <><><>   <><><>  <><><>   <><><>   <><><>   <><><>   <><><>   <><><>   <><><>   <><><>   <><><>  <><><> <><><>   <><><>   <><><>   <><><>   <><><>   <><><>   <><><>  <><><>  <><><>   <><><>  <><><>  <><><> <><><>  <><><> <><><> <><><>  <><><>   <><><>  <><><>   <><><>  <><><>  <><><>  <><><>   <><><>   <><><>   <><><>  <><><>  <><><>   <><><>   <><><>   <><><>   <><><>   <><><> (I tried frequently to get rid of these diamonds and the excessive space between the text above and the table below but they kept reappearing.)

Picture	Time & date	Model, pose, costume	Location	Lighting	Set-up time	Mise-en-scene	Camera angle and distance
Front Cover   photo	Saturday   11.00	Katie being   Courtney Love with her arms over her head and dressed in a cream white dress,   ripped tights and DcMartins, looking directly at the camera.	In the   remains of a destructed building. She will stand in front of a wall with   multi coloured peeling paint & cracked dilapidated brickwork.	Due to the   outdoor setting I am hoping that the natural lighting will be suitable. If   not I will use the flash on my camera or I could later edit the photo to look   brighter.	Katie will   come to my house at half 10, Saturday morning where we can do her makeup. I   live near to the construction site so we’ll start on the photos quickly after   that.	Relating   to Courtney, I will apply a lot of dark eye shadow to Katie & she can   wear a lot of nice jewellery. Her hair will be down with a messy wave.	The image   needs to be portrait to fit on the front cover and I would like to capture   the interesting setting as well as Katie’s clothing so I’m thinking a medium   shot.
Main Contents   Page photo	Saturday   11.00ish	Katie   being Courtney Love in the same costume but with a different pose, maybe she   could lean against the wall and look confident.	Still staying   in the rundown building site, for the contents image I would like to   emphasize more of this setting.	Again this   will depend on the weather, if raining mildly this could simply add to the   effect but if heavy, photos will need to be taken another time.	I will   focus on taking the front cover image more so as that is the main selling   point so this contents image will be taken after those but still all in one   shoot.	As I want   to photograph a bit more of the wall behind Katie, there will be more colours   in this photo due to the variety of paint shades.	A   wide angle long shot could work well for this image because that would   capture more of the setting as well as more of the models outfit.
Extra   Contents Page 1	I will use   a photo taken at a concert in November	At   the top of the contents page there will be a photo I took of Carl Barat from   The Libertines dressed in a black leather jacket and top.	This   concert was at The Other Rooms in Newcastle and I was lucky enough to be standing   at the front to collect high quality close up images.	There was   use of professional lighting at this gig as well as the flash on my camera so   the photo has come out bright enough to even highlight his necklace.	Because   this photo was collected before I began the music magazine work I ultimately   don’t need to organize when to take any extra photo’s for the contents page.	There are   just 2 colours in this photo, the black of Carl’s clothes and the red of his bandanna.   Also his outfit does relate to the genre of music within the magazine.	This   photo seems to be a medium shot because it shows from just mid-body up to the   top of his forehead and I only zoomed in a little to get a closer up image.
Extra   Contents Page 2	This is a live   photo taken from a summer festival.	photo will be one of the singer and bassist in The Horrors, both members are dressed   with loose fitting shirts tucked in to black skinny jeans.	This live performance   was at the last Evolution festival and I again managed to find a good crowd   position which allowed me to take good photographs.	There was   higher technical lighting on stage here than at the Carl Barat gig, as   captured in the photo, so the variety of colour bulbs and smoke machines help   make the photo look better.	This photo   was also taken before I began this work but the performance was in the day   time and due to them playing at an outdoor festival this was also beneficial for   the lighting because of the natural sunlight.	The main   colours in the photo are lilac, white and black, which are present in the musicians   clothing and in the lighting which looks complimentary & professional.	This   photo was taken landscape which ultimately gives a wider angle. This looks   better because there are two main people in this photo so the wide angle does   not make them look squashed.
Extra   Contents Page 3	This photo   is taken from a gig in RPM record store in Newcastle	I will use   a photo of Paul Smith from Maximo Park playing guitar and sitting on a shop   counter. He is also wearing his trademark hat.	Paul did   an intimate in-store gig which is clear in the photo because behind him there   are music posters and a shelf of CD stock.	Although due   to the stripped back performance there was no technical lighting, the shop   lights were switched on and again, there was a flash light on my camera.	As   mentioned above these extra three photos I will use were taken before with no   intention of being used in a ‘magazine’ so there was  no need to schedule a time, I just got to   the venue when the gig began.	Paul’s red   guitar stands out here as that is the only block colour in the photo, this   will work well for a music magazine and relates to the rock and indie genre.	The shop   this gig took place in was quite small and there was no-one in front of me so   I managed to take another medium shot with little zoom. There is also a slight   low angle as he was sat higher up.
Double   Page Spread photo’s	I will   take these photos at the same time as the ones for the contents and front   page.	I would   like to use four photos on my D.P.S so will ask Katie to pull a variety of different   facial expressions to show separate moods and personalities.	Although   still in the building site, that setting won’t be present in the double page   spread main images as they will just show Katie’s face.	The   lighting may actually be more important for these photos because they will be   closer up and I will also need to consider the effect of flash on the models   eyes.	All pictures will be done at once in one   outfit at one location so I will simply ask Katie to pull a certain position   or expression at the time and relate it to Courtney Love.	I am   thinking of making 2 of the 4 photo’s black and white then grouping them   together in a sort of film strip so will edit the colours slightly once   taken.	I have an   idea of how I want this main article image to look and because I’m combining   4 photos I think head shots would definitely work best.

Questionnaire graphs

Here are images of my questionnaire graphs. I decided to draw them because I felt they would be easier and quicker to achieve that way and I would be more easily in control if I could physically see them and alter the measurements. Although the work does look less professional, I also feel to hand draw the graphs was also more creative and original.

I feel that the reason Q was the most popular magazine choice for question one may be due to the fact that they always produce very detailed issues full of a variety of features and a variety of musicians. The vast content will appeal to a larger audience by offering a lot of different articles that always seem professional and focused with interesting, high quality images. NME appeared to be second choice and some of the reason's offered were the length of their articles and their special feature countdowns (e.g. top 50 albums) With mention to their writing style, here is an interesting response to the next question... "I find that NME is an 'easy read' which is less wordy and more humorous, in places, than others which is kinda important to me as I don't have much spare time to pick up a magazine."

The most popular answer for this question was the aesthetics of the magazine. I feel this is because it is the image that most draws people towards a magazine and with consistent use of high quality photos the magazine will be more appealing and look more professional. Other feedback included this valuable and detailed quote about Q's writing style: "They are fairly open to new music and most of the time they seem more interested in the actual music than the lives of the musicians. I also like the length of the articles."Another interesting point was raised in this question about magazine websites, this led me to research how many music magazines have also adapted into websites or more. In doing this I found out that NME, Q, Kerrang and Rolling Stone have websites as well as Twitter accounts. Not to mention a variety of the referenced magazines also hosting awards, organizing tours and broadcasting radio shows as well. Interestingly, I also discovered that Rolling Stone, as an American production, has more global success, which could define as to why they are such a renowned magazine. 

Interview's seem to clearly be the most popular type of article within my target audience. I think this is because they are usually the first thing that springs to mind when considering which type of texts are included in magazines, so may therefore be expected to appear. Simple question and answer interviews are a basic and understandable method of providing information so are easy to follow and take in. More complex interviews styles also exist and are usually written in a block of text, they sometimes begin by describing either the setting, the artists body language and clothing or their past,

before including a quote. The variety of styles within one text type will also appeal to a wider audience and because there is always direct speech from the musician, this gives a sense of personal depth and honesty, as if the reader is more involved with them than in a gossip article. Gig reviews and album releases were also popular choices and this shows that the people I asked also care about the actual music and what has been recently going on with the bands. I shall remember to consider this when creating my own magazine work by possibly referencing concerts and new releases within the contents page.

It is very beneficial for me that the strongest results for this question are also the genre's that I want my own magazine to focus on - rock, indie and alternative, I think this is because me and the people I asked to answer my questionnaire all share similar music tastes. This positive feedback is also helpful to my idea of focusing on Hole, because they are an alternative rock band and although no body mentioned them in the question below, their style of music fits perfectly to the most popular styles chosen within this question. Rock and alternative are both very vast music genre's containing a massive variety of artists, old and new, as well as the exceptions of soft rock and hard rock as well as experimental and unique. This means that a lot of popular musicians will most probably categorize under the genre's of rock or alternative, which could be a reason why they were the most popular choices for this question.

There was understandably a vast amount of responses for this question and I think the answers were in such high quantity because people who have a passion for music will most likely be open to a variety of artists, even within just one or two genres. Because I asked 20 people that also resulted in a lot of responses, not to mention the amount of musicians that are out there to choose from. I decided that the best way to graph the results in a more orderly format would be to section the responses into individual categories based on the answers themselves. In doing this the results are easier to digest as I was able to display the musicians as follows: solo artists, bands that have split up, older bands, new bands and other. The most popular answers within the solo artist category were Lady Gaga and Nick Cave, I feel this is because Lady Gaga is possibly the most well known musician/ celebrity right now and has a massive fan base so will be understandably very popular. However, the artists most frequently mentioned overall were The Smiths/ Morrissey whom appeared (due to Morrissey's current contribution to the music industry) in the older bands category. I think they were most popular because they are seen as cult musicians meaning that people who like them really love them and become dedicated followers to the music, as highlighted in the results. Interestingly, newer bands appeared more popular than older bands which is a worthwhile finding for me when beginning my own magazine work, so that I will know to reference both. I think my target audience are more interested in up and coming bands because they are advertised and referenced in magazines and on the radio more so than older artists, as well as touring more frequently. These overall results were very interesting because I happen to like all the bands that were mentioned, this is also beneficial as I will be able to happily reference these artists within my own work still knowing that the target audience will also appreciate it.

I did originally consider my front cover image being of Hole instead of just Courtney Love until I realised that it would be easier to position one person correctly and get a successful photo than to try with 3 other members as well. Luckily, the second most popular answer for this question was to have just the singer in the main image so these results will not negatively effect my ideas after all. I think the reason that the people I asked like full band images more could relate to the previous question about music genre's. Because rock was the preferred option and that type of music is known mainly for guitars and loud instruments, people will instantly picture the entire band instead of just the singer so may ultimately prefer group shots. Famous re-used photo's also peaked highly on the graph results and I think people like these because they can instantly recognize an iconic image and therefore understand it's importance and meaning, possibly without being told. The Beatles' Abbey Road is possibly the best example and when magazines re-print or re-use such well known images readers will know that the band's history will be discussed. NME recently used this technique on their front cover by issuing a previously used image of Jarvis Cocker to symbolize Pulp's reunion, this will bring back nostalgic memories to those who may have bought the original copy and will also highlight how loved that band are if they have a universal image.

These results were quite harmonious and equal which is helpful to me as after being inspired and guided by the answers I can still decide the final outcome myself. Because my target audience are partial to both natural and posed photos this means that I could incorporate both styles within my magazine. Posed photo's seem more professional and organized so (as somebody in the questionnaire mentioned) would look better on the front cover yet natural photo's appear more intimate and personal so would be better along side the double page spread,  a mixture of the two will also appeal to a wider audience and demonstrate wider photography skill.

Interestingly, black and white images were the most popular choice for this colour scheme question. I presumed that people would be more drawn to bold and colourful images but I think people like black and white as well because the simplicity seems classic, respectable and quite honest with a sharp impact. I will take these results into consideration when later experimenting with image editing. Warm colours were also highly favoured and I think this is because red is the most unmissable and commonly used colour in music magazine covers so will therefore look professional by complimenting popular codes and conventions. Both black and white and red colours are also flattering and complimentary to both males and females as well as all music genre's. This ultimately makes those colours very versatile and easily adaptable, possibly suggesting why they received the highest rating for this question. 

The results for this question were the most interesting to me because I thought they would be the complete opposite. For example, I instantly presumed that the most popular image location would be indoors in front of a white screen as those types of photo's seem to be the most frequently used within music magazine covers. Instead, that was ironically the lowest result. Perhaps this is because being so regularly used those images may actually appear, to some, quite boring and un-original. The highest result however, was photo's with an interesting background which is actually the option that I thought people would least like but also the option that I myself most wanted to do. This is very beneficial in helping me to still pursue my original magazine ideas knowing that the target audience will appreciate them. Outdoor images were also a high rating which I think could possibly be influenced by festival/ outdoor gig photos that usually appear within the contents pages or double page spreads.  

I feel that these results are very understandable because an orderly contents page is easy to follow and due to it being one of the first magazine features, the readers will not need to be majorly impacted until reaching the main articles. The aim of a contents page is simply to inform the reader where certain aspects of that issue's features will be placed and offer a brief description of what that page consists of. Because of this it is understandable that text dominated was also a popular response because that way readers can simply scan for a piece that seems interesting to them and flick to that page instead of being obscured and baffled by excess images. Image dominated contents' were not rejected however and I feel this is because a page with no images will be less appealing and possibly less professional. I will also take all points into consideration by producing a contents that is easy to follow with informative text and a few photo's simply to compliment the discussion and make the page more attractive, also to include more of my own photo's.

These results compliment my original thoughts perfectly because I have interesting ideas about the location of my own photo's so an image dominated double page spread will ultimately allow me to exhibit the image in a way that will gain more focus. I feel that my target audience also prefer image dominated texts because large photo's act as an interesting and visually stimulating break between text that makes a read seem less challenging. This could also reflect the previously used quotes about the length of articles and the amount of time there is to read a magazine because a large block of text will not advertise a piece as much as an impacting photo would.

I feel that the largest response for this question about colour schemes was aimed toward the option 'don't mind' because most music magazines seem to usually use a colour scheme on text that has been inspired by the colours apparent with the photo's, instead of always taking photo's to fit the conventions of a chosen colour scheme. Always sticking to a fixed colour will be more difficult and could appear less experimental and interesting as apposed to a new variety appearing more complimentary and well coordinated.

I feel that the reason dark colours and a variety of different colours were the most popular answers in this graph may be due to the fact that current music magazines tend to use those two combinations rather frequently, for example a colourful image combined with black or dark text. The balance between colours looks professional and I think because that scheme does appear regularly my target audience will therefore appreciate it as a common convention within magazines. Another possible reason why dark colours were a high choice could be demonstrated within the previous results for question 8, because during the question about image colour, black and white was also the most popular choice.

I feel that a sharp style of font was most favoured within this question because it appears forceful and impacting and usually relates to the genres of music within the magazine. NME and Q both use sharp font and capital letters within their articles and because the first question demonstrates that these magazines were the most frequently read, this could suggest that the reason my target audience appreciate those particular text types above the other options could be influenced by the text used in the magazines they read.

Because free posters were the gift most desired by my target audience this will allow me to pursue my original idea of including some artist images within the contents page. This will demonstrate a vaster assortment of photo's and now also appeal to an audience. I feel a reason why the people I asked like posters and CD's so much could be because of the way they feel about music. When someone likes musicians so much, especially such a vast amount of musicians, they may want to advertise the way they feel through posters and also expand their listening of that artist into albums and CD's, so when such features are advertised on magazines that will appeal to a vaster audience as they will feel they are getting their money's worth from the magazine. Posters are also another visual feature within magazines which could relate to the image dominated response of question 11.

For those who love music and therefore read music magazines, the use of lyric printing within text will act as a special and meaningful feature towards those who recognize them, especially if the lyrics used are favoured within that band's work or seem universal and poignant to what is happening at that time. They could also hint at the topic within the article as well as seem complimentary and knowledgeable of the featured artists work. This could reassure the readers that the magazine does care for who they are writing about if they are aware of the song lyrics. This is why I feel that most people questioned answered yes.

I feel the reason that such a large quantity of people prefer quotes to be displayed on both the front cover and the double page spread could be because when used on the front cover they will invite buyers to read the article itself and therefore see other quotes. This will appear more structured as if following on in order and leading to the complete text. Interesting quotations will highlight the personality of the artist and could also reflect the style of the magazine itself so when successful and appropriate more use of quotes could be a beneficial advertisement towards the main features.

When there is a continuous running theme within a magazine there is a professional sense of organization and structure which could be why so many of the people I asked decided that the contents page, front cover and double page spread would look better when all sharing a similar colour scheme, font style and layout. This way, the running story will be clearer if images from the piece appear on the cover, the contents and the article itself because those who will be interested in the text will gain more satisfaction from seeing regular references to the featured musician.

My target audience have displayed that £4 is the highest price they are willing to pay for a magazine and I think this is a reasonable amount to pay in knowing that you will receive money's worth with detailed text and impressive images. If I were to make my own magazine £5 then less of my target audience would be interested in paying that price for fear of being ripped off. This information is therefore helpful for me when deciding how to price my work so that I'll know the limits as well as the regular/ lowest amount that magazine buyers are usually comfortable to pay.

The people who I asked to answer my questionnaire have clearly demonstrated that they prefer music magazines that focus on broader and more varied styles as apposed to a magazine that discusses specific genre's. I feel that this relates to the answers displayed in question 5 because that resulted in a vast amount of different artists and a broader magazine will ultimately feature a vaster amount of different artists instead of one fixed style. This way the magazine will target a wider demographic who will have more opportunity to find an article or band that interest them as well as an opportunity to discover new up and coming artists.

Week four

This week and last we have been continuing to analyse magazine front covers, contents pages and double page spreads as well as collecting data from the questionnaire. We have also created mind maps of initial ideas for our own front cover, contents page and double page spread and also began to sketch out initial ideas of how we ultimately want our own work to look - here are some of my written pieces along with some of the inspiration...

Here is my initial idea for the double page spread. The layout was inspired by a Queen article I saw in Mojo and I will upload an example of that article soon.

Below is an incomplete yet developed image of how I now want my double page spread to look, I decided to increase the 4 images to an entire page as apposed to a line along the top because I feel that it looks more professional and impacting and relates more to a variety of style models.

Here is a quick draft of how I want my contents page to look. The blank space will be filled with a large image of 'Courtney Love' in a similar position to Nicky Wire (below) with written text on her hand such as 'Who is Courtney Love' or 'Money Can't Buy Me Love' I will be able to include images of Carl Barat, The Horrors and Paul Smith as referenced in the 'free poster' section from when I saw them live because the photo's are of a high quality and will link to my chosen music genre. The general layout of my contents page draft has been largely inspired by the neat yet image dominated styles of Q and Uncut.

The main inspiration for my own magazine came from Rolling Stone because I feel their covers are always professional with deep, interesting and honest photo's. Here are images of my favourite and most inspiring covers...