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.