MY EVALUATION!!

Working with Layout and Conventions

In today's lesson, we were given a task to help us understand the Layout and Conventions and to see if we could finish the given magazine. Some of the magazines had more conventions then the others, therefore it tested us to see if we could figure out what was missing out and to see if we could add the missing conventions as well as keep in mind the house style.

In this magazine to start off we were only given the coverstar "Drake" and the logo of the magazine which is M. Straight away I realised the main colour is Red, therefore I had to keep that in mind while developing this magazine. However I didn't want to overdo it with the red, so I used it as a Pop of colour as shown on the right on the Drake. The Coverlines shown on the left of Drake I came up with due to immediately seeing drake, I thought to myself what artists are part of Drakes chosen genre. Immediately two Stars came into my mind Pharrell and Nicki who are very relevant in modern time music. To entice the reader I came up with stories that would be relevant to the artists. I chose the Font on the right because it is gritty emphasising Drakes persona of Confusing and Grungy.






With this magazine the first thing that caught my eye was the instruments, immediately this got me thinking about what type of genre this band belonged to. Just like the Drake magazine it is made by the same company M. Therefore the first thing I thought of was cover lines. I thought maybe due to the magazine being owned by the same company then I would need to incorpate similar artists to Drake. Therefore I used Beyonce and talked about her child. However due to an alternative band being on the cover then I Incorporated some bands to be showcased as new and upcoming. I chose the Font on the Chair as I believed it juxtaposed their image. Giving them a false identity so a surprise to the audience.

When I saw this magazine immediately I saw a black and white contrast, which I chose to incorporate throughout the magazine cover. The GIF. type of effect on Bjork gives here a very edgy effect therefore the font of her name was shown to be quite distressed and girtty showing her artist personality. As a coverline I believe using a festival is a good way to capture the right target audience due to them liking the same genre of music.

For my magazine cover of Pitch I decided that the most effective layout for the page would be to have the other coverlines going down the left side of the page with the main cover line under the cover stars face allowing the audiences atention to be drawn towards the main cover line but still will notice the other cover lines in case the target audience aren't particularly interested in Marilyn Manson. The house style I chose was red and white to sustain the colours used for the mast head and the most dominating colour in the primary image of the cover star, I did this to avoid any part of the front cover standing out above the rest except the main cover line which is the largest font type and is white, contrasting with the other cover lines. Finally, I used more generic conventions such as the price and the bar code to add the the authenticity of the front cover.

For my final cover that I created I decided to sustain the house style of red and white by creating my other cover lines in the similar colour. Additionally, I used a font type that looks quite aggressive and wild reflecting the ethos of the magazine. Furthermore, I decided to have the other cover lines surrounding the band King of Leon to ensure the focus of the fornt cover was on them and so the target demographic would be enticed into buying the magazine by them since they are such music icons. Finally, I decided that I would use a pull quote from the band themselves to intrigue audience members by giving them a taste into what to expect from the interview and by menioning a 'tour' going 'worldwide' it creates the sense of infomation being exclusive to this magazine only and so the target audience will feel they are receving a bargain when buying this magazine.

Planning: Things I want to improve on my final draft

Through the creation of my final draft I've come across things that I want to change for my final creation of my magazine.

1. Fonts

I struggled to find fonts that I want to include in my magazine, I found that most of the fonts on the current pc I'm using isn't conforming with my needs for the style of my magazine. The fonts I have used are to bulky and to conform with my genre. I need to research more into my fonts and get them downloaded.

2. Contents Page

I am still struggling with my contents page and the layout of it. This is what I would want to change the most about my magazine. I have found this the most difficult part of my magazine because it wasn't easy to associatate it with the geometric theme of my magazine.

3. Cover lines 

I am not overally happy with the position I have placed the cover lines. I believe they cover up too much of the front cover which is not what I wanted to achieve as a lot of magazines around this genre have their cover star as primarily the main focus.

Drafting and Planning: Contents page theme

Through much consideration into what I want the theme for my magazine to be  I have chosen a geometric theme. This came about through my research into magazines into my chosen genre which is indie/alternative. I came across a geometric pattern on the contents page and double page spread. This made me think if I could potentially do this for my magazine. I then decided to see which artists have been used in this type of theme. The magazine above shows the band imagine dragons in the triangle above. This is a band that is associated with the alternative genre therefore convincing me to use the geometric design for my magazine. Another thing is the editing in the photos, through conducting more research into the photography in geometric frames I noticed light strobes were used for effect which is what I will be trying to get across in my magazine. 

Planning: CoverLines

 

I wanted to analyse this magazine today to figure out what type of conventions are apart of my genre of magazine. As we see we have no skyline or pug however I believe my magazine would benefit from having these conventions as apart of it due to the blank spaces needing to be filled in. I want the fonts to be inspired by this magazine in particular as I belive they capture the essence of the free flowing summery vibe that my magazine will need to portray to focus on the genre. The cover star is giving direct address however a part of me doesnt want the audience to be looked at to also keep the theme of the grungy indie vibe. My magazine is a contrast between the alternative and indie rock genres as I belive it gave a larger working plain.

Researching into Similar Products: Figuring out Double Page Spread

I have chose these 2 magazines as I have chose a specific design for the double page spread. The first magazine is what I admire for photography this is because it is different to what I have seen in previous music magazines. Having the artist on the side almost creates a presence as it wouldn't be like this normally, in my photography you will see a photo similar to this however it is fully facing the left hand side, this I believe would be good for my double page spread as i could put the writing around the artists head. I also was struggling where to put my artists name. The second photo allows the artists name to be showcased with being apart of the background creating a flow within the photo. 

Drafting: Second Edit of Photos

From my second photoshoot I have chose these 5 photos out them. The reason I have chose these photos is because I believe they offer a range of indie poses and conform to the indie genre. The photography was taken in a drama studio with black walls. I utilised these black walls to use an effect to make it completley dark therefore creating the effect of the artists being the only thing that are neccesary to look at. The effect of P5 is quite dark and mysterious however possesses a tint of blue which is passed on to the participant of the photo. This makes the artist on this occasion seem very cold which definatley showcases their genre of music which is indie as it associated with the cold and not caring vibe.

Organisation: Second Photography Session

 Here is my photos from the second photography session. This took place in a drama studio, this was really useful for me as it allowed me to use the black walls and take advantage of the dark environment. I also used our teachers camera which was of semi-professional standard. I took the time to take pictures of my secondary artists which are shown on the top few pictures. I kept in mind where I wanted to put these secondary artists, this will be on my contents page primarily as the coverstar will take over the front cover and doible page spread.

Organisation: Coverlines

The coverlines for my magazine will envolve these following things.
-An upcoming gig list in the surrounding area
-News on similar artist such as new bands and what albums are being released

-Top tips to get into clubs underage

-How to become the next artist

-Competions such as like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter for a chance to win a meet and greet with Mumford and sons or a holiday to go see peace perform in Ireland.

Organisation: Feedback on first draft

I have received feedback from my peers on my first draft. This draft wasn't the best in my opinion however my peers believe some aspects were good and that should keep them.

Front cover:

Through my feedback I realised that people really like the use of the erosion on the masthead as it create an edgy feel. They also like the use of the coverlines as they believe the content they possess fits in really well with the magazine genre itself. However the photography could be better in the sense of the resolution

Contents Page:

The contents page received the worst feedback as the layout wasn't good at all, the contents page also seemed very bare and didn't have much do it. This I can work on as the photography session is tomorrow.

Double Page: This received barely any criticism as the photography fit in with the theme of the magazine, the only feedback that I received was that the text wasn't visable and that I could potentially need a new photo to showcase my text a lot more.

Drafting and Planning- Some Article questions.

I have to conduct a interview with my chosen coverartist to entice the readers into reading more about their favourite indie artist. These questions will be placed on my double page spread.

My first question that will be present on my article is, What type of message will your new album entail?
The answer: The message of my album will be about believing In yourself and believing in your abilities to achieve the best in life as I believe it represents my story and shows where ive come from as an arist.
The second question that will be asked is: Do you believe in your abilities to have your album go to number 1?
The answer: Yes of course I do I believe that my album can get to a good rep in the music industry.
The Last question I thought of was: What was your inspiration for creating this album?
The answer: The inspiration for writing this album was through a trip down memory lane and going back to my parents house and it all coming back where I started out. I walked past a corner shop where I used to right music based on the view I could see. It was a view of my city and It was an emotional journey. So I then believed I should write an album based on my area where I grew up.

Organisation: Second Photo Shoot With Fashion Choice.

Tomorrow I will be conducting a second photoshoot. This photoshot will be taken place in a drama studio which will enable me to use lighting, I believe I can use the lighting to my advantage and have a neautral white lighting. The drama studio has black walls which will allow me to do alot more with it, and have the artist be the centre of attention with them wearing a green harrington jacket to highlight their authority. I will have my artist stand in various positions in the frame to give me a larger variety when coming to create my magazine as i found that my last photoshoot didn't offer alot of choice when it came to actually creating my first draft. Therefore i will make sure to take many photos.

Planning: Names of my Solo Artist

Dean Elliott
Jay Foss
Dwain O'Neill
Dale Ellis
Keiran Close


Here are some names that I have come across that I believe would be great for my artist to have. I believe my decision is set with the first one Dean Elliott. The reasoning behind this is that I believe it has a nice ring to it, however I really like the way that a similar artist to the genre James Bay has a short name which i believe is cathcy and works nicely. Therefore I believe Jay Foss would be better so it is definatly between these two.

Drafting and planning: Layout of magazine ideas.

With my magazine I want it to look more than just the average indie magazine out there. I want to bring my love of mixed genre into my magazine. I thought these designs captured various genre techniques for example the bottom magazine uses geometric designing on the left hand side to convieniently position a section of text that is easily accessible by the reader. I really like the one in the top right corner, this is because of the positioning of the text I believe this would be perfect for my magazine as it would still leave room for text however would also leave room for the cover artist themselves. I really like the photography as well as the layout, I believe incorporating the action shot of the coverstar really gives it an iconic look.

Drafting and Planning: Double Page Spread Layout

This picture is what I want to portray through my double page spread, I really like the contrast between the grey and white and like how the name of the artist carry's forward. I believe this gives a sophisticated look however still possess an element of grunge. I believe I can make the text very unique and sit right around my chosen cover-star. This will also give me an idea of certain poses I may want to have my star be in during the photography.

Drafting : First Draft of Full Magazine

Here is the first draft of my magazine to give you an overview of what I am aspiring to. I will go through each of them explaining what I tried to achieve and how I want my actual magazine to look like.

Front Cover:

I really like the photography of this cover as I believe I edited the photo very well to achieve the right amount of lighting and to create the contrast of the colours. Here I tried to incorporate many of the magazine conventions as I could for example the pug in the top right hand corner, looking back at this I should of made it a bit more vibrant and make sure it isnt as big due to it taking away from the masthead. I really like the coverlines as I believe they are placed just right. Due to me using publisher I wasnt able to achieve the magazine I wanted however for my real magazine I will be using PagePlus which will allow me to do alot more with the magazine itself.

Contents:

With the contents page I really struggled with what I wanted to look like which highlighted to me instantly that more planning should be done here. However I gave it my best shot at trying to achieve what I wanted my magazine to look like, I believe I have failed here to capture the realism of a magazine and will not be using this in my actual magazine. Although I dont like the magazine contents page, I do infact like what is advertised there, such as the behind the scenes of the TUT! photoshoot. I believe this is very unique and would appeal to many people in the indie genre.

Double Page Spread:

Again I really like the photography used here and I especially like the way the artist is looking over near the text on the left hand side. The article hasnt been placed in there as I have not quite yet thought of the questions that will be asked or the answers that will be given. I may conduct an interview with Finn and get his answers to create the full effect.

Drafting- Edit of photos

These three photos are in my opinion the best three photos from the photoshoot, however they were very over exposed to fit my chosen genre of indie rock. With the first photo I chose an effect that emphasised the shadows alot more, this was A6 on the app VSCO cam. I thought this was a good idea as it would also emphasise the lighting which as we can see has showcased his face giving him a sense of authority.

With the second photo I only needed to add an effect the photo wasnt overly exposed at all however did need slight tweaking. The effect is A6 again with a higher contrast to create this effect of washed out colours.

The third photo I have edited to showcase my band that I'm using, We see the photo focuses on the whites and dark colours making it very deep and mysterious. I like the way it does this as the main singer of the band (One on the left) isn't shown giving a sense of insecurity about the new and up coming band.

Drafting and Planning - Photos

 

Here are the photos that I have aquired from the photoshoot, I believe the photos turned out well and are possible contenders for my actual magazine, However some photos may need editing, this is just for the exposure and some little details that I do not want to be apart of my picture.