Wednesday, 29 October 2014

Google mockups and layouts

Cover page:

Cover box plan-


Google mock ups 
1) Haim


This cover would have looked better if I had put the masthead slightly behind the main cover photo. This would have made the cover look more professional. I really enjoy the colours that are being used in this cover, I think the blue, white and black go well together, whilst also allowing the reader to be able to easily read the text. There aren't many feature stories on this cover, because I like how it is quite minimal, but I have added a plug and a footer. This follows the conventions as it has feature stories, a footer, a barcode, a plug, and a masthead. 

2) Lorde


I really like how this cover barely has any colour, besides the off white text on the left hand side. I think the colours go really well with the cover picture, and that the colours allow the text to be easily readable. The text fonts are consistent, only using two different fonts, yet using the same fonts throughout the feature stories. This cover has the main conventions, such as feature stories, barcode, masthead and a plug. One thing that this cover doesn't have is a skyline, which I thought would make it look too cluttered when I was making this. If this was my final cover piece, I would make sure that the text wasn't too close to the margins and would make sure that everything was easily readable. 

3) Lana Del Rey


I like that this cover image has the scenery background, but it makes it difficult to place text sometimes. The colour scheme I used was navy blue, white and black, and I followed that consistently throughout the whole cover. Unfortunately, some of the text is hard to read, and that would not be good as some readers may not be able to see the text easily. I have the main conventions such as a footer, feature stories, a barcode, masthead and a plug. I really like the mast head that I have in this cover, as it is bold and easily readable. The masthead stands out from the blue of the background which makes the reader know the name of the magazine, which is good. 


Contents:


Contents page google mockup:


I like this mock contents page. I like the way that the conventions are structured on the page. It includes the feature stories with the page numbers. This contents page follows the conventions of a contents page as it includes the masthead, letter from the editor, feature stories, and a subscription advert, I really enjoy how this contents page includes a top 40 for the genre, and has pictures of the artists which have articles in the magazine. I think the pictures allow for the contents page to have a more fun visual aspect to them, which will keep the reader interested. 


Double page spread: 

box plan- 


Costume Ideas

I have researched clothing styles and costume ideas within the genre of indie rock. These ideas will help me decide what type of costume I will have my subject in when I produce my magazine cover, contents and double page spread. These will give me a range of ideas to choose my costumes from. Costume and clothing styles for my genre will help me when I do my photo shoot for the cover, contents, and double page spread as then my genre will match with my magazine. 

The style circling around indie rock music is seen as 'hipter' or 'indie'. This means that a lot of the styles are taken from past style icons (even 1920 style clothing) and are revamped. There is a lot of baggy clothing, such as baggy jeans and shirts. Popular articles of clothing for women within this style are: bobble hats, beanies, sunglasses/glasses, Doc Marten/boots, vans, band tops, ripped clothing, and satchels. Men who dress with this style normally wear similar clothing to the women, as the women wear 'mans clothes' such as baggy shirts and jeans. The men will also wear bow ties, cardigans, and tartan shirts. 
Most of the clothing that they wear will come from charity shops, or independent stores. For high street stores, they will mostly shop at places such as H&M, Topshop, and Urban Outfitters. The popularity within this style of clothing has allowed the high street stores to have these style clothing. 

Sunday, 26 October 2014

Colour Schemes and Fonts

I have researched colour schemes by looking at existing magazines, and taking ideas from their colour schemes. I have taken these colours that are colours associated with my genre. I have separated the colours into categories which makes it easier to see which colours go with each other. I think I am most likely going to go with the black and white with another colour, as this will make the text easier to read and allow my magazine to look sophisticated. To make my cover more gender neutral, I will probably want to have a black and white with another colour that isn't pink or purple because then it wouldn't look too feminine or masculine. 



I have also researched different types of fonts that I could use for my final magazine. These font styles will help me decide which one will look best, and give me a range of fonts to choose from. 


Price and ideas for my Magazine

Monday, 20 October 2014

Music Videos

I am researching music videos within my genre. This will help me to get an idea of the costumes and props that they use within this genre for when I produce my magazine. I have chosen them and analysed what they all have in common so I can gain some knowledge of the genre. 

Twin Size Mattress- The Front Bottoms


Chocolate- The 1975


Linger- The Cranberries


Girlfriend In A Coma- The Smiths 


Things in Common:
1: There is a lot of black and white, and not much lighting in these music videos.
2: There is many times in these videos that they are in cars, which shows that cars are a main prop used within indie rock bands.
3: They all wear black or dark clothing, there is not much color within these videos.
4: The top 3 all have relevance to smoking with either lighters or cigarettes. 

Charts

Unfortunately, no indie/indie rock music are in the Top 40 Charts at the moment. However, there is an independent singles Top 40 Chart where most of the artists that are within my genre are in. Below are some of the indie rock artists which are in the independent singles Top 40 chart. I have highlighted those. This lets me know what artists within the indie rock genre people listen to the most, so that I can include them into my magazine. This would increase the sales of the magazine as it would be more relevant to the readers. 

Sunday, 19 October 2014

History of Indie

Indie rock is an alternative genre that originated in Britain in the 1980's. Indie rock has many different sub-genres, expanding from dream pop, to jangle pop. The term indie rock came from being associated with bands that stayed true to their independent status. This meant that they worked with low-budget labels which often had a do-it-yourself attitude about the records that they were producing.They enjoyed this because they were allowed to experiment with sounds and emotions that the bigger labels didn't think would take well with the mainstream listeners. In the 2000's, changes in the music industry allowed for indie rock bands to gain mainstream success, and be on associated with certain record labels. The first bands to gain mainstream success were The Strokes, and The White Stripes. After Nirvana gained mainstream success in the 1990's, the term 'indie rock' was then used to describe bands who did not want or did not achieve mainstream success.

Indie rock music originated in the 1980's. In the 1980's, this term was used to describe bands that worked with post-punk labels. It came about in the US from something called college rock, which were songs made by bands to be played on the college radio stations. This included a band called REM from the US, and in the UK, The Smiths. In the UK, the indie pop scene became popular in 1986 because of NME's C86 cassette which included such artists, giving more knowledge on the whole of indie music. The 1990's was a very big and successful time for the indie scene. Grunge bands in the US such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains became popular and mainstream. This influenced the bands in the UK (Blur and Oasis) to emerge into the mainstream which gave popularity to the indie scene from the 1980's. The movement into the mainstream gave a different meaning to the 'alternative' name that it was given, as it no longer really meant that they were independent status as they were mainstream. The term alternative changed to mean a commercially lighter type of music which is achieving mainstream success. 'Indie rock' took up the meaning of artists that decided to stay commercially independent as alternative once had.

By the end of the 1990's, indie rock started to have sub-genres and diversification. Following indie pop, these sub-genres included things such as lo-fi, sadcore, psychedelic rock, and space rock. In the 2000's, the new digital technology and the increase of the internet being used for music promotion allowed for the indie artists to become mainstream. This allowed for existing bands such as Death Cab for Cutie to become mainstream. This also brought a revival of punk and grunge bands. This allowed for indie rock to expand once more, and become more mainstream.

Friday, 17 October 2014

Genre research: Artists

As the genre is very vast and has different side genres within it, it is hard to sometimes get an idea about what artists are included in the indie rock genre. I have figured out what artists could be included within this genre.

Cage the Elephant
Cage the Elephant are an American band which fall under the genres of indie rock and psychedelic rock. They formed in 2006 and include 6 members: Matthew Shultz, Brad Shultz, Daniel Tichenor, Jared Champion, Nick Bockrath, and Matthan Minster. Since the band formed, they have come out with 3 albums, Cage the Elephant(2008), Thank You Happy Birthday(2011), and Melophobia (2013). Cage the Elephant are known well for their crazy antics on stage. Whilst performing live, they are very energetic and move around a lot, meaning they are a lot of fun to watch. Their style of music shifts slightly from album to album. During their first album, it had an influence from classic rock and blues rock. Their second album shifted and took influence greatly from The Pixies who are a punk rock band. The third album however gave off a sense of their own distinct style. Their music videos definitely show off their psychedelic rock side. Below is an example of their music video for "Come A Little Closer". 


             [Sources: WikipediaOfficial Website ]
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The Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips are a psychedelic rock band from American. They formed in 1983 and consist of 4 members including the lead singer, Wayne Coyne, Micheal Ivins, Steven Drozd and Derek Brown. The band has created 15 albums, including their most well known albums such as Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots(2002) and At War with the Mystics(2006). The style of their music is referred normally to as psychedelic rock, but is also called either space rock, or experimental rock. The Flaming Lips are also known for their elaborate on-stage performances, where they feature crazy costumes, video projections, and Wayne Coynes famous human sized bubble which he parades about the audience in. In 2002, Q Magazine added them into the list of "50 Bands You Need to See Before You Die". To get a little taste of what The Flaming Lips are all about, the music video for "Do You Realise??" by them.


                     [sources: WikipediaOfficial Website ]
                                 
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Lana Del Rey



Lana Del Rey is the stage name of Elizabeth Woolridge Grant, the American singer/songwriter. Lana started writing at the age of 18, and released her first digital album, Lana Del Rey in 2010 with 5 Points Record. She then signed a joint contract with Interscope, Polydor, and Stranger Record in July 2011. Since then she has come out with 3 albums: Born to Die, Born to Die: Paradise Edition, and Ultraviolence. She has also come out with a short film called Tropico in 2013 where she played the role of Eve. Lana's music has been noticed for her cinematic sound and her references to 1950's and 1960's Americana. She has described herself as a "self-styled Gangsta Nancy Sinatra". She draws influence from Elvis Presley, Nirvana, Janis Joplin, and Bruce Springsteen. In relation to her music videos and short films, she gains inspiration from film noir. To understand how she takes inspiration for her music videos from film noir, below is a music video for her song Young and Beautiful.


                            [Sources: WikipediaOfficial Website ]



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The XX

The XX are an English indie pop/rock band that formed in 2005. They released their debut album xx in 2009. Their album was met with critical praise, reaching a rating of 'univeral acclaim' on Metacritic. It placed ninth on the Rolling Stones list, and second for NME. Their second album Coexist came out in September 2011. The XX gained influences from Joy Division and Electralane. They have taken a quite electronic style to the field of indie pop/indie rock. They come under the genres of dream pop as well, which has links into psychedelic rock. To understand what they mean by dream pop, below is a song off their second album Coexist called Angels.

                 [Sources: WikipediaOfficial Website ]

Tuesday, 14 October 2014

GENRE

The genre that I have chosen to use for my music magazine is indie rock/alternative. Included in this genre are things such as psychedelic rock, experimental rock, or hippie rock. I have chosen this genre of music as:

  • It is the main genre of music that I listen to. This will help me create my magazine as I already have a preexisting knowledge about this particular genre. 
  • This genre is quite well known, especially in teenagers/young adults. My target audience for my magazine is teenagers/young adults, so this will allow for more people to read my magazine.
  • There are some aspects to this genre that many people might not particularly know about, so my magazine will be a good way for the readers to expand their knowledge on the genre and hopefully become more interested about it. 
  • Additionally, there are many existing artists and products in the genre. This will make it easy for me to talk about artists and advertise products that the target audience will be interested in. 

Magazine Analysis


Language: The image in this cover is a conventional medium shot. The subject is looking at the camera which speaks to the reader as they will feel like she is looking directly at them. However, the way the subject is holding her coat over her face can give off the impression that she has a secret to tell the reader, and this is also conveyed with the way she is staring at the camera. This will entice the reader to buy the magazine so they can read about what the secret she has to share is. The cover has a colour scheme of red, black and white and this is consistent throughout the text. The colours of the image and the text connote winter, as the subject is also wearing a black coat and the background is white such as snow. The text on top of the image is white so stay with the colour scheme, and to allow the reader to see it clearly. The text over the main cover image also is over the image to show that they are related, and that it is the main feature story as it is in the middle of the cover, and it larger than the rest of the text. The text on the side stays consistent with the red and black colours. The masthead is placed appropriately at the top of the magazine in bold lettering. However, the masthead is slightly hidden behind the main cover image and this may be because they feel like the magazine is well known enough, that readers will be able to recognise it by what they can see. The issue, barcode and date are all at the bottom smaller than the rest of the other text/images. All these follow the magazine conventions. 

Insitution: Billboard is a magazine that was established in 1894, and is owned by Prometheus Global Media. The magazine is headquartered in New York City. It originally focused on bill posting and outdoor amusements, but then switched over to music and the entertainment business. According to their website, they are 'a primary source of information on trents and innovation in music, serving music fants, artists, tour prodcers, etc..'. They are seen as a popular magazine for music fans. Billboard also talks about current events and news other than those in the entertainment business. This makes the magazine a bit more formal and modern. This is seen in the cover throughout the lack of many different colours other than in the masthead, and the way the whole cover is structured. This gives off a more serious modern vibe. 

Ideology: This cover gives off a very serious air to it. This is because of the way the subject is holding herself and the clothing she is wearing as it is a black coat which is covering most of her, including part of her face. This can be seen as somewhat sexual as she is looking at the camera, inviting the reader to find out what she is hiding from us. Most of this cover however, is not promiscuous, as it can promote business as it looks as if she is on her way to her next project. This cover can also show how a women doesn't have to be revealing herself to look pretty as she is doing it by only showing part of her face. Overall, this cover shows off how sometimes music can be serious and professional, whilst still being fun which can be seen through her eyes. 

Audience: Billboard's audience is 'key executives in and around the music business' and 'music fans and artists' according to their website. This particular cover doesn't seem to be targeted at a certain gender, as she is wearing gender-neutral colours and there isn't anything suggesting it is more geared towards a certain gender. The sophisticated clothing and layout shows that this is targeted at an higher social class or age. The artist is popular, so this will mean a younger audience or other social class might buy this magazine as they will want to read about the artist.

Representation: This cover, looking very sophisticated, represents a more upper class and professional. The artist's clothing also gives off a professional air. The pose that the artist is in, and also with the black man-like coat, it shows how women are empowered and can make it big in career. The way the artists make up is done shows that even though women are in a high position, they are still beautiful and still should be looked at in the same way no matter what their job is. 




Language: This cover page follows most of the traditional contents page conventions. Down the left side of the page, has the top artists and songs for this edition of the magazine. Since this is a popular music magazine, the top charts is a very good thing to have because the readers will most likely enjoy it. The articles are all under headings so the readers will easily find the articles they are wanting to read. The bigger articles include pictures of the artists, and they have bigger and bold page numbers which will attract readers to that page. The pictures will also make the contents page more interesting, so this will allow more readers to look at this page. The masthead is quite small which shows that they feel as if they don't need to show what magazine they are as they are already popular enough. At the bottom of the page, they have the other editions of the magazine, and explain how you can view the magazine on the internet, which may be beneficial to people who use the internet a lot. They also have a section for events happening, which readers may want to know about. There is no letter to the editor however, which is quite unconventional. They might have thought that they if they added that to the page, it may have looked like there was too much on the page, and readers would find it cluttered.

Representation: The style and presentation of this contents page shows how it is a successful and professional magazine which knows how to have fun. This is shown by the way the page is laid out in a conventional way, yet the colours and text used show that it can be anything but boring. All of the colours in the images used in the page are darker colours, which shows how the magazine is a professional one. However, the images are ones that are appealing to look at which will intrigue the reader.





Language: This is a conventional double page spread. The image spreads over the two pages which is normally used for a double page spread. This creates continuity across the pages and shows that the image is related to the article.  This allows the reader to immediately know that the article is going to be about the artist in the image. The feature story title text is bold and big, directing the readers attention to the name of the article. The title also uses red behind the black text allowing it to stand out. The text is in one column, which helps the reader read the article. There isn't much article, which suggests that there will be another page for the reader to read. The overall look of the double page spread is quite minimal, but sophisticated and enjoyable to look at. The different colours used make the article look fun, yet they are used minimally so that it still looks professional. The clothing of the subject in the image match the minimal colour scheme of the article, which helps it look more professional. The use of a drop cap allows the reader to know where the article starts, and helps to make it look professional as well. The only convention they haven't followed is that they haven't used columns, but that is because they only have one. 

Representation: The colour scheme and minimal use of the bright colours make the magazine look professional and fun. The subject in the image is holding a guitar, which reinstates that she is in a musical career, which reinforces that the magazine is a music magazine. The clothes that the artist is wearing also show that she is younger and fun, which appeals to the younger readers of the magazine. 


Existing Magazine covers, contents pages, and DPS


Cover page
The mastheads in all three of these front covers sit behind the main cover image. This means that the main cover image is in front of the masthead. This makes the main image stand out rather than the masthead. The second two cover pages use a conventional medium shot for the cover image which is commonly used. This shot was probably used in the two of the covers as they are men, and they are showing how they are serious about their music and aren't used as a sexual image as much as the second cover is. The second cover however is a medium long shot, as it shows off the rest of her dress and her thighs. This shot was probably used to give off a sexual air about the photo. The sexual air is also given off through her pose, as she is holding her hands up to her chest and showing off her body.
The feature stories on the front differ from cover to cover. The second cover (Billboard) has five feature stories including the main feature story. These are all in easy to read black font to stand out to the reader, and they all are quite long feature story titles. The first cover (NME) has quite a few feature stories on the front. In the left side of the cover, they have names of bands in white and blue font. These stand out to the reader to let them know what artists they are talking about in the magazine so they can know whether they want to read it or not. On the right side, there are feature stories in black text. This text is smaller, and shows that it is included as well as the artists that are mentioned on the other side of the cover. The main feature story title is spread across the whole bottom of the cover image. This really makes the feature story pop out to the reader and lets them connect the main cover image to the main feature story. The third cover (Rolling Stone) unconventionally only has two other feature stories besides the main feature story which is connected to the main cover image. These feature stories are in white font which also allows them to stand out against the black of the cover image. Only the first cover includes a barcode and a price, whereas the other two don't. This may be because they have them in a different place as they didn't want to crowd the front cover.

Contents page




The contents pages here all have their masthead on the top of the page to allow the reader to yet again know what magazine they are reading from. The first and third contents page both have artists down the left hand side. The differences between the two of these is that the top one (Billboard) is the Top 40 Hits which applies to the genre of the magazine, and the third one (NME) is a list of artists with the page numbers that they are mentioned on. These artists also go along with the genre of the magazine. All of the contents pages have a front cover story picture with the page number of the article. This picture is larger than the others to allow the reader to know that it is the cover story. The middle contents page (Q) only has a large picture of an artist without the mention of the name/story. This allows the reader to know that it is the cover story since it is larger than the other pictures, but unconventional as it doesn't tell you directly. The top two contents pages both have multiple pictures relating to the feature stories, whereas the last one mainly deals with text. The top and bottom contents page have a part dealing with the previous issues, and about how you can subscribe where the second one doesn't. 

Double Page Spread

The top two double page spread image is only on one of the pages. These photos however take up the whole page, and are both medium/close up shots of the artists face. The last DPS goes over the two pages, which makes the two pages flow together to allow the reader to know that they go together are are about one artist- the artist in the image. All the articles have stand firsts, which allow the reader to know a little bit about what the article is going to be able before they read it. The first and last DPS have drop caps at the beginning of the article so show the reader where it starts. Unconventionally, the middle DPS doesn't have a drop cap. The drop cap in the first DPS is a big red letter in the background of the article, showing it off and drawing attention to the fact that the article and the artists name both start with that letter. 


Music Magazine Conventions




My Reader Profile


NME Reader Profile

Main Brief

To design a front cover, contents and double page spread of a new music magazine. All images and text used must be original, a minimum of four images must be used.

Evaluation

The college magazine cover that I produced uses the main conventions normally included magazines. These include things such as the masthead, a plug, barcode and price, feature stories, and a main feature image of students working. My magazine has all of these things which gives verisimilitude to it, making it look professional. I have used a consistent theme throughout my magazine, including the text, and the colour scheme. I have used the same colours throughout my feature stories to make sure they all look consistent. On the main words of the feature stories I have made them a bigger font size so that they will stand out, and draw the readers attention to them. I have also used colour to highlight the key words as they are a brighter colour than the others text. To make the main front colour, I have learned how to use Photoshop efficiently. I have learned how to add text to an image, and crop and shrink certain images within the main image. I have also learned how to change the colour of parts of images through Photoshop as well. The main cover image I have used shows two girls working hard on college desks. This photo will appeal well to other students who attend the college, as it shows that they are doing work, and are enjoying what they are doing at their college. This means that the audience for my magazine will be other college students of a similar age to those on the cover/students who attend Wyke College. Overall, I think this cover for a college magazine is suitable for its purpose as it allows the reader to know straight away that this is a magazine for students, and inside it will be interesting articles which will help them with their college career.

Thursday, 9 October 2014

Final draft cover page

In my final draft, I have rearranged the feature stories,and I have moved around the logo and the plug. I found that the new places that they are in are more suitable for their purpose. I have also added in a header, which I previously didn't have in my cover page draft.

First Draft Cover college cover


Friday, 3 October 2014

Digital draft

                                                                       Cover page
Contents page

Thursday, 2 October 2014

Sample Photos


 I would be able to use this photo as there is room at the top for a masthead, and they are both working hard, which would be good as the magazine is a college magazine.


 I wouldn't use this photo as they are not doing suitable things for someone who is at college. They aren't focusing on their work, which would give off a bad opinion on the college.

I would use this photo as there is room at the top, and plenty space to write the feature stories and sell lines in.

















I can't use this picture as the people are completely blurred.

Wednesday, 1 October 2014

Colour schemes, feature story ideas, and name ideas for College Magazine


The colour schemes that I have chosen, I tried to make sure they were complementary. I also tried to make the font samples complementary as well, and chose ones I thought would look nice in the colours.

Mood Board