Front Cover Page draft By Lucy Barker

Front cover draft By Lucy Barker



This is my first draft of my front cover page of 'the sound of'. I put together my initial ideas to create this draft and once I put it all together I realised that my house style doesn't work well with the chosen image. Although I like my image because of the representation it portrays of a soft gentle but new kind of musician the background doesn’t help the font and masthead stand out.  When I make my front cover I will need to consider the font style and change it to a font that is bolder and bigger and change the colour to a lighter purple, darker green or a white. This will help it to stand out more. I like the way the cover stories are aligned left which makes it look ordered and neat, however this is not part of the house style because one issue may want to advertise more cover stories so may need to use font that is aligned right as well as left. The colours are part of the house style so that means because I am changing slightly the colour purple to make it lighter I will also need to change the colours used in the other Halloween issue. I think that the green works well though so I won’t need to make alterations with that colour. I also like how the first letter of the sentence of the cover story is a different to the rest of the sentence which is green; this makes it fit in with the house style and draws the target audience’s eyes to the front cover. I am going to  change the colour of the font so it stand out more and I will use a black bordering to help make them stand out also, if I need to change the colour of my text i will try and use the house style colours else where on the front cover because my target audience research findings show that they stand out to them more. The font used for the cover stories needs to be bolder. It doesn’t stand out enough for a cover story. I like the positioning of the pug; however I’m going to change the white background colour to one that is used in the photo to make it fit in more. I think the lead needs to be a different font to the mast head to make it ‘belong’ to the artist used in the photograph, this also needs to stand out more. I was originally going to have a white background as part of my house style but because my photo chosen for the front cover wouldn’t work with a background because it wouldn’t look natural compared to if I used the clone tool to pick up parts of the ground in the background on the right to fill in the blue and white parts of the ground that stuck out and looked rather odd. This is what I am going to do when I edit the picture. We decided to stick with conventions and have a banner as although the music magazine is targeted at a younger teenage audience we want it to look sophisticated and I think that it will stand out to our target audience. One thing I think is missing from the front cover is an advertisement for the free poster so I will need to consider this .

DPS analysis research by Maddy Ryder

I chose to analyse this DPS because it is aimed at a teenage audience, and we hope to attract 14 - 18 year olds with our own music magazine. The  large headline and short paragraphs appeal to teenagers, who wanrt information quickly, and in a more simple form than articles aimed at adults, which would priobably spread over several pages rather than just two. The cut-out font style also speaks to teenagers as it appears less formal, and adds attitude to the page.

The use of the colours black and red against a white background causes both the text and the picture to stand out, while the fact that the picture has been cut ouit and placed on a plain background prevents it from dominating the page. The simpe use of three main colours keeps the simple, informal style of the magazine and stops it from appearing crowded.

The use of red text when using Lily Allens' name highlights the fact that she is an important person, and the star of the article. Matching her clothes with the house style of the magazine is aesthetically pleasing and suggests a close relationship between her and the magazine. As I am planning to produce a halloween edition of our own music magazine, I will also have to pay close attention to the

clothess of the people whose pictures I am including.

Although the use of a plain background is effective for this article, I would like to use backgrounds in my pictures in order to emphasize the scary/halloween theme. I would, however, consider using a softer, relativley plain background for the pictures in my double page spread in order to prevent them from dominating the article, keeping the text itself as the main focus.

The use of shorter paragraphs is also one I would like in my DPS, as well as using slightly larger text & spaces than I would in an article aimed at an older audience, which would help to keep the interest of younger people, and appeal to them much more than a long, rambling article.

Photo shoot plans by Maddy Ryder

For my first photoshoot I focused on facial expression rather than background/costume, planning to aim towards a 'scared' look to suit the scary/ halloween theme of my music magazine front cover. I planned the ISO, depth of feild and shutter speed for indoor light, to suit the location, and also planned for the fact that I would be using a hand held camera; to avoid blurriness, I decided on a high shutter speed.

I focused more on costume with my second photoshoot, trying to create a typical haloween look with the use of the pumkin. I used a plain background so that I could add my own background later, as I was unable to take the required pictures at the time. I took both close up and mid shot photographs, so that I could examine them both during the selection process, to see which was more appropriate.

For my second and third photoshoot I also focused on costume, using long shots in order to take in the entire outfit. I used a plain background, setting my models against a white wall, so that I could add a halloween/scary themed background during the editing process. I planned ISO, Depth of feild & shutter speed for artificial lighting, as the photographs were taken indoors, and I used a high shutter speed to avoid blurriness with a hand held camera. I took potrait pictures for these photoshoots as I felt they would be most appriopriate for a DPS.

 My 3rd & 4th photoshoots were also for the DPS - I planned to use them and the costume pictures as 'before' and 'after' shots - and appearance was the main focus, as it was important that the models looked the part. For these particular models, I was going for a pop/soft rock genre, so I used natural hairstyles and makeup and dressed them in casual but stylish clothes. As I was aiming for a young, modern look, I tried to imitate the current fashion among teenagers. Using this style would appeal to our intended audience as they would be able to relate to the models if they are similar to themselves. I planned for indoor lighting and a handheld camera, and used long/mid shots to match the 'after' (costumed) pictures.



Rejection and selection By Lucy Barker

Rejection and Selection by Lucy Barker

I used the feedback from flickr to help me decide which shots from my photoshoot. Here is a link to my photostream on twitter, http://www.flickr.com/photos/76596096@N05/

DPS Photoshoot
I rejected this photo becuase feedback told me that it wasn't as strong as the other shots becuase the lighting was off-balance.I also personally don't think think it's the best as the costumes can't be seen very well, neither are the faces. The lighting makes it look like the model on the right is in the darkness and the model on the left isn't due to artificial lighting. I think this makes them look like artists that are into a darker kind of music, which isn't what I was going for and it gives a sort of dangerous affect it gives them a different representation.

This photo is the second photo that I rejected,  I rejected this one becuase although I like the lighting captured in the background, the models expression is too bland and doesn't portray the artist that they are, this may be due to the flash, however his expression can't be changed on adobe. The pure reason I am rejecting this photo is becuase of the models, I need to think more carefully next time in my photoshoot that I know that the models understand what I want them to do and only take the photo once they are ready.  

Rejection 3: I chose this photo to reject becuase

I am using 2 images on my double page spread, becuase research has told me that our target audiance would be interested in participating in competitions, I have created a competition for the readers to have a chance to win signed T-shirts from the band so will include a photo of that. I am going to make my chosen image spread across both pages, becuase I like the way this looks.

I have selected this photo to advertise the competition becuase readers are going to have the chance to win the signed photos. I am going to cut them out of the background becuase this will look better on top of the photo spread (below)

I have selected this photo becuase I like the symmetry used and I think it would look very creative on a double page spread. Feedback on the photo said that the flash is well balanced with the sunset and I like the feel it creates. I used a small aperture to create sharpness, as this was important, and took the picture horizontally so that it spreads on the page without me having to edit and cut it. The ISO was supposed to be high because of the natural low light, but I took this shot using an average ISO setting and I think if I were to do the photo-shoot again I would think more carefully about how I can control the lighting.

Front Cover Photo shoot

I have taken photos of a different model for my front cover, I am not breaking conventions in using a different model for my double page spreads and front cover becuase my double page spread is not going to be my main article, it is going to be only a double page spread and will start and finish within the two pages. I have choosen to do this becuase I think that my main article wouldn't last for more than around 4 pages as my target audiance are younger and would loose interest.

I have rejected this photo because although I like the pose, which makes her represent a shy, timid kind of artist that produces a soft kind of music, which is what I wanted to portray, I think in comparison with the others this is one of the weakest photos. I don't like the lighting which is yellow looking this is due to the flash which I didn't need becuase it was on so that it gave her a face a flawless look but as the pose doesn't require her facial features to be seen, the flash wasn't needed. I also regret having the brick background becuase it makes her look rural and I don't want this affect. I should have taken less photo's with this background. An advantage of the photo it is a medium shot which would work best on my front cover becuase if it was a close up shot the cover stories would cover the important parts of her face and if it was a long shot she may not be recognised.    

I had to reject this photo because it was taken landscape. For my front cover I need to use a portrait photo because if I have to crop the photo and resize it, it will loose some of it's quality. I don't think the pose is correct for the representation of pop/indie, I think I have captured her at the wrong moment and should have planned what she was doing more carefully. She doesn't look as though she has certainty that she is better than the camera, she looks rather average. The background has captured a bit of the door, which makes the picture look like it was taken lop sided and if I was to crop and re-size it would loose the quality.

I rejected this photo (970) becuase of the look the model had was not right for the representation of a 'indie princess' she needed more self possession in her look and her eyes look to narrow because she was squinting. However I like the flash which balances out her skin tone giving it a flawless look but the flash was too bright, resulting in squinting.

I selected this photo becuase I like the clash of the femine dress and chain. It's a fun shot and I like the models smile which is perfectly representing the pop/indie style I was going for. She looks like she is having fun, being herself and knowing that everyone thinks that she still looks beautiful while doing it. Although it's upside down I can easily rotate it and it will be easy to change the blue column that contrasts with the black background to make it fit together. I set the camera to a high ISO speed of 100 to avoid blur becuase the model was moving slighlty to maintain balance. To improve this image on adobe I am going to edit out the freckles on her arms and make the background the same colour.  

Contents Page Photo shoot
I did 2 photoshoots for my contents page becuase I didn't want to use the other photos from my photoshoot with the same mise-en-scene becuase it's not very interesting for the readers to look at.

I rejected this photo from my 3rd photoshoot becuase the foot was cut off the bottem and I caught the model at the wrong moment. I don't like the background either becuase I think there is too much going on and it takes the focus away from the model.

I selected this photoshoot from my 3rd photoshoot becuase although the reflection in the glasses is quite big and will be hard to manipulate I don't think it will matter too much as I will use this image in a very small size, I switched of flash but becuase the model was fasing the sun it caused this reflection. I like the pose of the model which is very representative of the rock chic look I was going for, the close up shot makes her look confident and big headed, her make-up and confident make her stand out and look as though she doesn't belong or fit into any particular group other than her own. Her pose also speaks with fortitude and flair. I don't think this pose would look right if the photo was taken portrait becuase although the top of her hat is cut off, her 'rockers pose' is more important which fits into the frame perfectly.



Content of my Contents page by Lucy Barker

Content of my contents page by Lucy Barker

As I was unsure what to advertise as part of my magazine on my contents I decided to use my target audience research to help me with ideas. It will help me in terms of planning my photo shoot for photos on my contents page because I can make them fit in with the headlines. A few of the headlines can also be mentioned on the front cover. 

Looking back at my Target audience research I can see that freebies was the most popular and gossip and personal information was the least popular answer to the question: 'What do you like most in a music magazine?' this has shown me that I should advertise the free poster included with the magazine but not include any headlines advertising interviews about personal information of artists. The research I did on contents page has shown that advertising freebies in the contents page has become a conventional idea used in a wide range of music magazines from pop magazines to rock magazines, targeting at all ages. This means it is appropiate for me to do the same.

I have decided to keep the number of photographs on my contents page to 4 becuse the research has taught me that the target audiance want it to look sophisticated and more photos would be more appropriate for a younger audience. I have planned 2 photo shoots for the contents page.

Ideas for Headlines and photos for my contents page include:
- 'Exclusive interview with the internets finest, 'Lana X'And then a picture of the artist
-  'Mother of all badgers new and exclusive photos!' On the double page spread I can include a few pictures on top of the photograph which is going to spread over the two pages.  
-I can put band names on the front cover in bold so they stand out to my target audiance and make them want to buy the magazine  

Planning the photo shoot by Lucy Barker

Planning of Photo shoots by Lucy barker

I planned my photoshoot using a grid, I planned costume, props, type of shots, ISO, shutter speeds, Depth of fields, lighting, and locations. For my first photoshoot I came across problems such as not being ready on time, I just missed the sunset so had to use artificial lighting as it was getting dark. One of my models didn't turn up and I had originally thought of a few poses for a band of 3 members so I had to rethink now that there were only 2 present. With the sunset nearly gone, this also affected the settings that I should have had on my camera, I hadn't planned to shoot in the darkness so I had to use the flash. I also took more types of shots than I had first planned, however I think it is a good thing that I did becuase this allowed me to experiment to see what worked best, I found out that full shot wasn't the most appropriate shot for my double page spread. I took about 40 photos during this photoshoot.

My second photosshoot was more succsesful, although I found it hard to find the background I decided to find a place with not much going on in the background so I can edit her out of the photo. I decided not to use the flower hair band becuase I don't think it was needed and may not have been seen. I was lucky enough to have a good model and the poses came naturally, although I think some of the bakcgrounds don't fit with the representation of the model in certain poses. I think the costume worked well to make her look as though she was representing a country soft pop kind of artist such as Taylor Swift. I took about 20 photos during this photoshoot.

 For my 3rd photo shoot which was for my contents page, I used a brick background which I think best suited the representation of my model who was going for a rural image. I chose to do completly different poses with this model, compared to the others becuase of the style of music which she represents, which is rock. Looking back at the photos I think it is clear that the model is a rock artist. Becuase I was shooting photoshoots 2 and 3 in daylight I didn't need any artificial lighting and I didn't use a tripod, I held the camera because I think this affect works and makes it look less formal. The settings I used for this photoshoot included a high shutter speed as I was using a hand held camera to avoid blur, a large depth of field to create sharpness and a high ISO. The make-up I used on my model was much different to the other used on my indie and pop shoots because it needed to look fierce as I wanted the model to portray a 'I'm fierce and different and proud' kind of look which was acheived with the black lipstick.

For my 4th photoshoot I used a wider variety of backgrounds and different types of shots than I planned becuase I was finding different ways of getting the groups representation across and experimenting. I hadn't planned the lighting becuase I used a variety of lighting include natural and artificial, to find artificial gave a better affect. I wanted sharp photos so I ensured my camera was set up for a large depth of field, this was important becuase although the image is only going to appear small on the contents page, I wanted to ensure I had the best quality I could get so it doesn't loose any quality when I re-size it. I also took photos both landscape and portrait so that I had the choice and if the there was only enough space for a landscape photo of large width and small height on my contents page, or vise versa it would fit perfectly. Although I planned to use the tripod, in many shots I didn't and had to use a high shutter speed to avoid blur becuase sometimes it was impractical for example in low shots, and becuase I had a small amount of time it was very time consuming.

Once I had completed the photo shoots I uploaded them to flickr to get opinions and comments from people so that I could use the feedback to help me decide on which photos to use. Here is a link to the website, http://www.flickr.com/photos/76596096@N05/with/8178772567/#photo_8178772567.  

Institutions & Audiences by Lucy Barker and Maddy Ryder

Institutions & Audiences by Lucy Barker and Maddy Ryder

We have chosen Bauer Media as producers for our music magazine because we aim to produce a none genre specific magazine; as Bauer said “genre is dead”, we feel that they are appropriate. Bauer Media is also responsible for a number of other music magazines, and has business in magazines, radio, and many other franchises – having such a strong presence behind our magazine will give it a good reputation which, as the results to our questionare show, is considered important by our intended audience (14-18 years).

We have also considered offering our music magazine to a competitor, such as ICP media . ICP is also a very influential producer responsible for popular magazines such as Teen Now, which is aimed at teenage girls and focuses mainly around pop . ICP does not produce magazines like the one we plan to make, and can be offered as competition to Bauer media.

We plan to sell our magazine in chain shops, such as Tesco, because our research shows that teenagers find their favorite magazines in shops like these these more often than specialist music stores, which are less readily available, and cater more to an older clientele. Tesco's is also a very well known shop with a huge amount of customers, so we are more likely to gather a large number of buyers.

Analysis of Target audience research by Lucy Barker and Maddy Ryder

Analysis of Target audience research by Lucy Barker and Maddy Ryder

We asked 20 males and females aged 14 – 18 to complete the questionnaire. We are going to focus on a range of genres in order to appeal to a wider audience including those who are unsure of what genre they are into which is not uncommon for our target audience. All the genres were ticked and others were added such as blues and country. This gives us a variety of genres to work on because our target audience don't tend to have one specific genre that they like, the question allowed them to tick as many genres as they likes and not one person ticked only one. We were unsure which colours to use because we wanted to appeal to both genders so we asked the target audience and the colours which we were initially thinking of (purple, green and white) purple was popular with females and green was popular with males. We have decided to use white as a neutral background colour and hints of green and purple so that there isn't too much of one or the other and there is a fair balance. Most people answered yes to the 'Do you read magazine based on reputation?' question so to encourage them to read our magazine we have decided to announce that we are 'the best magazine of 2011' we are going to put this on the front cover so that readers will see it and want to buy it. Most people found out about their favourite music magazines through friends or by browsing in shops, this has told us that the first thing they see, the front cover, is very important which we already new but now we know that it must appeal to them. For the content of the magazine most people wanted reviews, interviews behind the scenes, freebies, concerts and dates but not gossip and personal information or quizes because they don't appeal to the age or genre that our magazine is targeted at, this is more suitable for younger gossip based magazines. We have decided to use a freebie to encourage our target audience, who said in the questionnaire that this is what they most like about music magazines, Most people ticked all the boxes, wanting CD's, posters, wrist bands and tickets. We have decided to advertise tickets but not to give them away as they are very expensive and aren't usually given away for free because of this.The majority of people said they they would participate in competitions so we are going to advertise them in our contents page. Without exception everybody we asked said it was important to have a brand or logo so we are going to concentrate on making our mast-head into a different, bold and accepted logo which will be easy to recognise.

The most popular genre of music that our target audience are interested in are rock, pop and indie. These are the genres we will cover because following the idea that 'genre is dead' as said by Bauer, our research confirms that 'as access to music has become more universal for even less fanatical musical listeners, music consumption is less stringently defined by genres as consumers cherry pick their journey' our target audience like many different genres but the reason why we have picked rock pop and indie is because they are the most popular amongst the genres.

Analysis of contents page Maddy Ryder

Analysis of contents page:

                                           

I have chosen to analyse this magazine because of the unique layout – the quirky, personalised style is one I also hope to achieve with our own music magazine contents page. The clear spaces between the text & boxes leave the page looking simple and uncomplicated, creating a laid back, casual effect which I hope to replicate as I feel it appeals to a younger audience, namely teenagers, which we are targeting.  The unique style also breaks the neat, ordered convention of the average magazine, causing it to stand out among competition.

The large headings and bold text also appeal to a younger audience, rather than the small print found in magazines aimed at adults, and the house style of red, black & white, commonly found in magazines focused around a rock genre, appeals to both genders. This is important for our magazine as we aim to target teenagers as a whole rather than a specific male/female audience, although the artists featured in the magazine appear to be all male – in our music magazine we would like to represent artists of both genders.

The artists featured appear to be largely average, without the emphasis on a toned body and large, muscled physique seen in a lot of other magazines, especially rap. This is important to us as it defies stereotypical representations of masculinity in the media; as we aim to appeal to and represent teenagers rather than adults, the focus on body and ‘sex appeal’ may not be appropriate.

The images range between portrait and landscape, and different shots – mid and body – are used, creating variety. A landscape photograph can be used in a contents page when the image doesn’t dominate the page, although portrait pictures are usually favoured in magazines. The landscape picture is ideal for a group of people as it fits them all in without too much going on above/below, allowing them to remain the main focus of the picture.

The use of dark text/pictures against a plain white background creates a bold contrast and doesn’t dominate the page as some picture backgrounds/larger photographs miht do, preventing the page from looking over crowded. A plain or light background for my contents page is ideal, as I aim to keep a simple, uncomplicated style.

Analysis of front cover by Maddy Ryder

Front cover analysis:

I chose to analyse this magazine cover because of the codes and conventions used. The magazine is popular and sells incredibly well due to the methods used, and so I would like to replicate some of these techniques in our own music magazine.

 The dark hair, heavy eyeliner, red lipstick and white teeth of the model in the picture match the red, white & black colour scheme of the front cover. I would like to use these features in our magazine because it is aesthetically pleasing and puts an association between the magazine and the artist, giving the impression that the magazine ‘owns’ her.

The sexual conventions used on the front cover (her heavy makeup and expression - she is looking straight at the camera and has her tongue out) will not be used in our magazine, as we are aiming towards an audience of teens rather than adults. The close-up increases the sexualised nature of the picture, as it appears to be more intimate, although a full body shot may be used in this way, depending on the clothing (or lack of it) of the model.

The sell line (the UK’s biggest music magazine) is very effective as it grabs the attention and focuses on the magazine’s reputation as a selling point. I would like to use this technique in our own music magazine as, according to the research we have done, the reputation of a magazine is an important factor as to whether the customer decided to purchase it or not.

The simple use of three colours (red, white & black) is effective as it is bright and bold, catching the eye of the customer, without being over complicated. The simple layout and lack of any explanation or extra information about the featured artist (simply the words ‘Cheryl Cole Rocks’) is a code used that suggests that the artist is too important – she needs no introduction. The lack of any other pictures or artists featured on the front cover implies this further, although since our magazine focuses on new artists rather than more experienced, popular ones, we may not use this technique.