Front Page

Contents Page

This is my final contents page. I wanted it to look quite minimalistic, and so I just listed the main for stories. I did this because, while looking at contents pages for already established music magazines, I saw that they all had a lot on them, so I decided to go almost the other extreme. I also tried to theme each section to the story it was showing, for example, I edited the text in the Muse story to look like the Muse logo itself.

Double Page Spread

FINAL Double Page Spread

This is my final double page spread. I'm quite happy with this, especially the edited Union Jack 'UK'. The models' pose is striking, and the almost-symmetry is aesthetically pleasing. The background helps provide more interest in the page, yet doesn't clash with the white writing.

FINAL Contents Page

FINAL Front Page

This is my final front page for my music magazine. I'm happy with the way it turned out, as I didn't want it to be too crowded. I think it is obvious what the main story is, but the other story summaries are easy to read as well. The inclusion of the 'Win' offer and posters made it more apparent that it is a music magazine.

Construction 19

I included this 'Win' offer on my front page. I got a star shape, and gave it ten points. I then used the St Andrews font for the 'Win!'. I used a bass guitar png.

Construction 18

I included this box out on my double page spread to contain a little extra information about the two people being interviewed. I used the logo font of the artist for the names of the members, and just a standard font for the information. The box out also provides a natural border on the right side of the spread.

Construction 17

I decided to change the background on my double page spread, to the gradiented background that I used for my front page. I rotated it 90° and enlarged it so it fit within the page. Lastly, I changed the font to white so you could see it against the darker background.

Total Guitar Inspiration

I read more guitar-orientated magazines that music magazines, so I thought it would be apt to let myself take inspiration from Total Guitar magazine from Future Publications. Because Total Guitar's content varies from that of magazines such as Q and Kerrang!, and is owned by a different institution, it will inevitably be set out differently. This is apparent in my front cover, as the layout is more similar to Total Guitar.

Where I have taken inspiration is obvious - I've set the headline to the left, and made the other stories more noticeable and set them to the right.

Total Guitar contains lots of information on music gear and instruments, so I have done the same; for example in my headline there is the mention of 'studio', which implies there will be talk of what instruments will be used. I also added an opportunity to win a bass guitar 'signed by' one of the people interviewed in the main article, something that Total Guitar also does often.

Construction 16

I arranged the posters like this, with the double spread poster the largest, to put the most emphasis on it. I also fanned out the other three so they fit in the space provided, and so there was a good view of each one. I added the black background, by getting a black colour of the internet and stretching it to fit behind the combined shape of the posters.

Construction 15

This is on of the stories I have included on my contents page. I have imitated the Muse logo as closely as I can, including the lines found in the logo. I have also played on the 'A to Z' aspect, by using words that are associated with Muse and their lyrics ('Apocalypses' and 'Zetas). However, I have maintained focus on the 'A' and 'Z' by making them larger.

Construction 14

This is on the right side of my front page. I used the logos of all three artists, but with the simple 'Impact' font for the rest of the text. I also got a black line, inverted it and lower the opacity, which made it greyer as well. This provided separation between the three other stories.

Construction 13

I changed the background of my front page to this. I found a standard black colour off the internet, then put it into Photoshop. I duplicated the layer and inverted the colour to get white, and put the white layer behind the black. I then used a big eraser, with decreased opacity and hardness, and rubbed out a line in the black, leaving a gradiented oval in the black.

Construction 12

I put this in the top right of my double page sprea. I took a triangle shape in Pages and made it dark grey, and moved it into the corner. With the writing, I originally tried the 'St. Andrews' font, but decided it was too messy, so changed it to the 'Grind Zero' font. I made the colour red, because my logo is red.

Construction 11

I decided to move what was on my front page around a little, so it fit better. I also changed the font and colour of the main story text, so it didn't clash with the picture. I also added a barcode.

Construction 10

I took a screenshot from my double page title 'TAKING THE UK BY STORM !', and then saved a picture of the Union Jack from Google Images. I then put both into Photoshop.

I then removed the black of the writing, and then put the flag behind that layer, and cropped to size. Finally, I flattened the image, and removed the grey background, so it wouldn't interfere with the background of the double page spread.

I placed it in the title, and rotated it a little, to get the above result.

Construction 8

This shows my article on the double page spread. I used the font Tahoma, and put the questions and initials in bold, to provide separation within the text.

Construction 7

I edited the Levels for this picture, then selected the table background, and desaturated it by 50, to make the CDs stand out more.

Construction 6

This picture was fairly simple to edit; I just cropped it down and altered the levels.

Construction 5

   This edit is also for my contents page. I cut out the subjects and then placed the blue picture behind them as a layer, and reduced the opacity by 50%. This gave the image pale blue background.

Construction 4

   This will be one of my edits for my contents page. Above, I have included the steps I used to complete the edit.

Construction 2

   I have now cleared up the lower subject's skin as best I can, and I have also moved over to Photoshop, as I have more freedom to do as I wish.

Construction 1

What I've learnt:

   Between these two ideas, I prefer the first one. This is because the subjects fill the cover more, and are closer to the camera, bringing more impact. However, I will need to revisit the image used in the first one, and do some more editing; mainly to clear up the lower subjects's skin.

Contents Page Photo Shoot

What I've learnt:

   By having all these pictures together, I can see which photos are the best . Also, it will help me work out which ones will work best on the contents page, and together.

Double Page Spread Photo Shoot

What I learnt:

   I actually did this shoot before my Front Page shoot, and it was my first time using a 'proper' studio, but I think these came out okay; there are a mixture of shots, both posed for and 'candid' (I told the subject's what to do for all the photos).

Front Page Photo Shoot

What I've learnt:

   I feel this shoot went well, as I got a variety of poses that could be used for a number of allocations. Some of them are unfortunately slightly blurry, but I think that is down to movement of the subjects.

Planning the Layout - Mock Ups

Front Page

Contents Page

 Double Page Spread

What I've learnt:
   This task helped me develop my ideas about the layout of my front page, contents page and double page spread, until I could finally put them into mock ups. For the contents page, I plan to have a picture (with a letter-box crop) relating to each story as the background to the story text. I might alternate the text alignment as well, so as it goes down the 4 stories, the alignment will be left, right, left right, to help break up the page a little. On the double page spread, as well as the more serious main picture, I hope to a include a couple of slightly more relaxed pictures of the subjects.

Typography

What I've learnt:

   The information in this task has helped me increase my understanding of how the lettering in magazines affects the feel of the particular page, including text colours, sizes and fonts.

Costume, Prop, Location and Actor Planning

What I've learnt:

   Doing this task aided me in developing ideas for how I wanted my magazine to look. I used this software to show the kind of look I want for my magazine. I split the flipbook into  front page, contents page and double spread. with a different style of shot for each section. For the fashion aspect, I don’t want to be hugely specific or stereotypical, and have the models wearing what they want to wear, and that express themselves. The locations differ, again, with each section. I would like a darker background for the front page, and maybe have the models with their respective instruments (like on the first page above). For the contents page, have a mixture of live shots and photos of them looking at the camera in a specific location (as shown). And finally, for the double page spread, I would like to have the models in a photography studio with a white background, so that can bleed into the background of the text in the article.

Music Magazine Photo Shoots Plan

Media Music Magazine Article First Draft

After a marathon run of gigs around the country, each set a behemoth of original songs and covers, the four Page Reset rockers from the South West of England are ready to finally put their heads together, record some of their fans’ favourites, and create their first studio album. Our ‘Upcoming’ Reverb editor caught up with Andrew Cooper and Robert Mason, the bassist and guitarist from the band.

So guys, you’re obviously about to go into the studio to record your debut album. Excited?

RM: Yeah we’re really looking forward to it. We’ve had previous experience of a basic studio when we recorded a number of covers of bands we liked. It was fairly primitive recording equipment though, so it’ll be interesting being in a fully fledged studio.

AC: It’ll also be good because me and Rowan [Vincent, guitar, lead vocals] learnt a lot about recording and software while still at school. We both took Music Production as an A-Level, so much of our knowledge will come from that. James [Ashley, drummer] also did it at A-Level, but he went to a different Sixth Form! [laughs].

How do you think your fans will react to your absence from the stage, considering you’ve hardly stopped playing?

AC: We think they’ll be understanding. I know, we’ve played so much, I think many people kinda get used to us always being around and playing gigs, but we feel going into the studio is a good idea, least of all so we get a break!

RM: And we know our fans well enough now so we can kinda craft our album into something they’ll really enjoy. We’re going to put a few fan favourites, songs that our fans always go mental for, as well as our personal favourites

You as a band have obviously been together for a long time. When did you four first come together?

RM: In terms of me, Andy, James and Rowan, we first started playing when we were… Must have been around… Fourteen, fifteen? I don’t know [laughs]. But we didn’t actually start properly playing until maybe sixteen, our final year of GCSEs, and even then we were just playing covers.

AC: [Laughs] I remember the first song we ever covered was Supermassive Black Hole [Muse], and then after a couple of plays, Rowan said we should stick the intro and the two main riffs of Iron Man by Black Sabbath on the end. I don’t know how it worked but it did. Our first gig was at a school concert, and when we went from Supermassive to Iron Man, everyone just flipped out.

RM: We won’t mention the fact that Rowan messed up in both Supermassive and Song 2 [Blur], forgetting the lyrics, knocking the mic off, and dropping his pick!

Okay, we have two more questions, one for each of you. This first one is from Jack Daniels in Suffolk, and it’s for Andrew. ‘I heard that you once said that you would like to collaborate with Katy Perry. Is this true?’

AC: [Laughs] Not quite. I was asked by Rowan before we started touring, who I would most like to collaborate with in the studio, who I’d like to have on one of our songs. My actual answer was that I didn’t mind who we collaborated with, it could be Katy Perry for all I cared, just as long as it worked, and they did what we wanted. I just used Katy Perry as an example. I mean we could, it would at least put a different sound to it! [Laughs].

Finally, Robert. Emma Phillips from Yorkshire asks ‘Would you or Rowan ever consider making a signature guitar? I love your songs but want to sound more like you guys on guitar!’

RM: To be honest, I have never really thought about it. I just use what comes to hand (obviously it sounds good), so I can’t say the idea has ever crossed my mind. I can’t speak for Rowan that accurately, but I think if he ever wanted a signature guitar, he might just build one. He and his dad once built a [Fender] Telecaster, and that went quite well. But in terms of an actual company making one, I think he’d probably want a [Gibson] Les Paul. He’s always loved those guitars.

Page Reset will be touring around the country until the end of the year. See www.pageresetbanduk.com or their Facebook page for details.

Flat Plan - Reverb Magazine

What I've learnt:
   Doing this flat plan has helped me develop my magazine ideas, in turn helping me decide what I'm going to put on my final contents page.

Reader Profile/Rate Card

What I learnt:

   By doing this, I have finalised who I want my target audience to be, what they want from my magazine, and how my magazine will provide them with it. I has helped me understand how magazine companies put together rate cards and how it helps them cater their magazine towards their main audience.

Music Magazine Name/Logo Ideas

What I've learnt:

   This has helped me decide finally on what my name for my magazine is going to be, and furthermore,  how I shall arrange it on my front cover. With my chosen logo (red on white) I plan to have no background behind the text, so the image on the front cover can be seen through the text

Music Magazine Dragon's Den Pitch

What I've learnt:

   This pitch helped me finalise the basic ideas I had for my magazine, and performing it as a pitch to someone gave me an idea of how magazine ideas are put forward in the industry.

Mood Board and Video

What I've learnt:

   Doing this mood board helped me gather all my ideas about magazine representation into one place, and seeing them together has provided me with ideas of how I want my magazine to look.

Thinking of a Concept

What I've learnt:

   This helped me finalise what I am going to do for my magazine design and content, but has also opened my mind to other ideas as well.

What I've learnt:

   Through analysing these pictures, I have developed my knowledge on the effects different types of shots can have on the feel of the picture, and ultimately the front cover.

Flat Plan

What I've learnt:

   This flat plan is based on the most recent (October 5th 2013) issue of Kerrang! Magazine, pictured above.

   Kerrang! Magazine is mainly aimed at fans of the rock/metal/punk genres. This is achieved in many different ways; it appeals to the younger generation, obviously with the artists that are interviewed, also with the adverts (new albums, tour dates of various bands, adverts for indie clothing lines). They also support new talent, with the 'Up And Coming Bands' page. They do include the fashion element (with the clothing line adverts) but mainly focus on the music.

   I've learnt that I need to focus who I aim my magazine at, and tailor the whole layout and content of my magazine to suit that audience.

Contents and Double Page Research

http://linoit.com/users/rvincent/canvases/Someday

What I've learnt:

   This have given me some ideas on how I'm going to set things out on my contents page and double page spread, so I have a wide range of options.

Representation of Magazines

What I've learnt:

   Through this task, I've learned how magazine companies set out their magazine pages for maximum effect on the reader, depending on the story. Colours, font, the subject (if there are pictures) all count toward the feel of the particular page(s).