Plumtree

Emily, the front cover is coming on nicely and it does work having the 'Major' link in your contents page. With your front cover, have you looked at removing the blue-lined box so that you can avoid having the blank space all the way round or is it a deliberate choice to have it there? You could experiment with removing it and then expanding your masthead and secondary leads to fill the space.
Your double-page spread layout looks good  - will the boxes that are currently covering the picture stay or will the writing from the article be overlaid onto the picture?

First Draft of Double Page Spread

First Draft of DPS

• This is the start of creating my article page. I have chosen a picture of my featured artist with a guitar, which I will incorporate into my article. Both Pictures have pinkish tones, which adds continuity, because my colour scheme is pink.
• The two lines I have placed in the middle of the page give my an idea where the staples will be placed. I have made sure the picture isn't effected by this placement, for example the face won't be folded into two. 
• I have continued using the word major, with 'major artist', further reinforcing brand identity
• I have used a line to separate columns, on the second page, this is inspired by my case study Q. This magazine often uses lines to makes the article columns neat, so they are easy to read.

Second Draft of Front Cover and Contents

I have added a custom barcode onto my front cover, and experimented with text highlighting.

Most of my development has happened to my contents page. With the feedback given to me by my teacher, I have created brand identity, with the word 'major'. I have separated the pages into different topics, with the associated branding. I have also included new pictures. One of Izzy playing the guitar, for musical reference. And the original model picture, I took of my sister, in the first shoot.

Draft of Front Cover and Contents

Here is my first draft of my front cover and the contents page. I used my layout planning posts to help establish the placement of where the text and images should go. This practice also allowed me to experiment with different colour schemes too.

First Front Cover Page

First Contents Page

My Intial Pictures and Process

Over the weekend I took some pictures of my sister for the cover of my magazine. Here were my initial pictures I took of the main artist I wanted to feature in my magazine:

Originally I was reliant on solely natural lighting for my picture, however I was having limited success, as the picture was quite dark. This made the colours look dull, thus not fitting the glamorous bright-shot conventions.

Original

So I changed the camera settings, from portrait to manual. Where I was able to manipulate the ISO, by increasing it, to get a brighter shot. I noticed this setting made my models hair look a lot shinier, and did justice to the makeup I had applied onto her.

Updated

Although this picture has been significantly improved, it is arguably too bright. However this raw state does allow me to manipulate the colours in the digital editing environments (PhotoPlus x8, and my editing app Facetune). So I cropped the picture, used the 'Blemish Remover' tool, and experimented with the image saturation. My final picture is displayed underneath.

Final Image

 I will be using this image as an supporting featured artist on the contents page, because although I am happy with how this image turned out, there are some thing I would have changed. I wasn't able to take a midshot, because I ran out of card background. And midshots were regarded as a popular choice for the cover photo in my questionnaire. Furthermore, my sister looks too young (she's 14) to be modelling a pop magazines that is intended for young adults.

My Mood board and Inspiration

Mood Board

Dolby

Nice to see some planning here now. I look forward to seeing some photos now and any drafts of magazines. Think also more about the visuals- mood boards and colour schemes would be good.

Planning Of Names

I have listed possible names for my Pop Music Magazines, and any connotations or relevant points.

• Pop Passion- This name uses alliteration to make the name more memorable, whilst still being informative about what the magazine is about - pop music. 'Passion' is defined as a strong feeling / emotion. It represents the magazine as really enjoying / caring about pop music; which is reflective of the indented audience I am trying to attract.
• Major Music - Another example of alliteration. 'Major' is defined as something important. It has a secondary musical definition too, it is used to recognise songs scales - a 'major key'. Furthermore many pop artists who will be featured in this magazine, are signed by major record labels. The reader can connote that the magazine will be talking about the most important music (popular- chart music) and hopefully appreciate the music references.
• Pop Music Post (Abbreviated to PMP) - Inspired from my case study 'NME'. 'Post' is often used in newspapers names, it creates representation that my magazine is professional. Also the abbreviation of the name, makes the name shorter and more memorable.  
• Social Sound- 'Social' defined as an informal gathering of friends. Creates representation that you will talk about the contents on this magazine, and enjoy listening to the songs together. Further links to gender stereotypes, for my target audience young women. I often see girls sharing headphones when listening to music in the sixth form centre, opposed to boys who have solitary listening habits. Women are more likely to enjoy music together - which is fitting to the name 'Social Sound'.

Planning the Photoshoot

Front Cover Photograph

Contents Page Photographs

DPS Page Photographs

Double Page Layout Planning

DPS Layout 1
This is a layout based on one of the article structures in Q magazine.

The title is placed in the middle where your most likely to read it.

The writing has been placed in an L-shape around the photographs of the artist. This makes for a good integration of text and images.

The Quote has been used to pull the reader into reading the article. Quotes are generally quite dramatic.

DPS Layout 2
I have created another possible design for my articles structure.

The title is placed conventionally, at the top.

The Article has been placed directly below the title

Any additional facts or information about album release dates etc. has been placed at the bottom to draw attention.

The second page has been dedicated to a full length picture of the artist and has been accompanied with a quote.

Contents Page Layout Planning

Content Page Layout 1
The title 'contents' is placed at the top of the layout. The text should follow the house style so you can quickly find this page again by the distinguished large font.

The style enables the magazine to display its logo in the corner, which helps to reinforce the branding.

The main artist will be displayed in the biggest picture box, accompanied by a quote to draw the reader into looking at the article. In this style I have planned for the artist to slightly cover the word 'Contents'.

The second picture will help advertise a second big artist featured in the magazine. The page number will provide a way of distinguishing these featured articles.

Content Page Layout 2
The title contents is placed in the same position in this layout, however it is not covered by the main featured artist.

The main featured artist will be placed on the left of the page. They will not be featured as big on this layout, because the secondary featured artist takes up more space.

The article pages is where the pages of the magazine will be listed in page order.

This layout enables more space for extra features: editorial, and weekly charts. An editorial allows the reader to get a quick message from the editor of the magazine, it makes the magazine feel more personal and can inform the reader about the theme / feel of that issue.

The charts is a community feature, based online, which enables readers to vote on the best chart songs. This feature adds a community feel to the magazine.

Front Page Layout Planning

Front Cover Layout 1

Here is my flat plan for a possible magazine cover, it is based on typical magazine conventions. The masthead is positioned at the top, which enables the reader to clearly read the name in a newspaper stand, and doesn't steal your attention from the central image.

The main cover line will be used to promote the main feature in the magazine. It will have relation to the main image, state the artists name and a quote. This will help entice people into buying the magazine.

In the centre of the magazine, I will place the main image of the artist. The picture will take up 85% of the page, and will act as a background for the surrounding text.

The puff will be layered over the main image, to give the illusion that a sticker has been added over the top. It will be used to advertise any freebies.

The barcode ( date, and issue number) will be placed on the bottom right corner of the magazine. This positioning enables this feature to be concealed, and will take up little space, because its such a minor feature.

  At the very bottom of the magazine, I will display any additional cover lines, like the names of any other artists featured in the magazine.




Front Cover Layout 2

Here is my alternative plan for my magazine cover. It has been based on one of my magazine case studies, Billboard. The masthead is positioned at the side, this enables the main image to be the centre of attention in the middle of the magazine.

The main image can be displayed a lot bigger in this flat plan. This layout can be used to create the representation that the artist is confident / diva, as other text is small and minimal in comparison.

The main cover line is displayed under the artist. The text can be written big, as it provides an introduction to the cover image.

Other cover lines will be placed in the top corner of the magazine. Shaped around the artists pose.

The barcode ( price and issue number ) will be placed on the bottom right corner again, so it doesn't take away from  the centre image.

Distribution of my Media Product

There are a number of publishing companies available to print and distribute music magazines. One of the biggest names in the industry is Bauer Media Group. They are responsible for the distribution of 'Q', 'KERRANG!' and 'Mojo'. Baur media Group have covered a range of genres: popular music, alternative and rock. Time Inc. is the publication company of NME and Uncut. This Company is more focused on the general entertainment sector. NME is described as a sort of music-news magazine and Uncut is a rock genre magazine.

Another option would be digital distribution of my magazine. Newer Iphone's have the 'News' application, which allows you to subscribe to news sources to read about what interests you. In the music section I found that the app other subscriptions to the music magazines: NME, Billboard, Uncut and the BBC Music Magazine. This enables you to read articles you would see in the physical copy of the magazine digitally, for free. The publishers submit there content to Apple news, and the stories are fetched by Apple from the publisher's website. Digital distribution may prove a good way of distributing my magazine, because the production costs would be low and that format is likely to be used by younger people.

Understanding Pop Music and Sterotypes

With a newly set specification of what my target audience wants; I have come to a stage of planning and development in this project. I researched the genre, to help make sure my magazine fitted the conventions and appropriate styling of pop music.

Pop music was the most favored type of music genre for a magazine, so I did some quick research, so I could understand more about this style of music. Pop music is defined as the genre of 'popular music', that originated in the form we see today in the United States and United Kingdom back in the 1960s. Pop songs are generally short- medium in length, and use a verse- chorus structure (basic format). Other identifying factors are the common use of repeated choruses, melodic tunes and hooks; making the song catchy. 

With this in mind I created a collage of music magazines; to see how the styling and colour options are used on magazines featuring a pop artist.

I noticed a lot of the female pop artists fit societies' beauty ideals: slim, use of makeup, and the outfits worn were either feminine or revealing. This links to Laura Mulvey's theory of the 'male gaze', where women in the visual arts are depicted from a masculine viewpoint, in an objectifying manner. The theory is heavily linked to society's beauty ideals; for the pleasure of hetrosexual men. Interestingly enough women critique themselves using this theory. This is evident from subliminal messages in media,to improve on your attractiveness to get more attention from men. This is relevant to pop culture as nearly all the stars featured on these magazines, are evidence of this theory and reinforce these beauty ideals. My magazine is aimed primarily at older teen girls / young adult women. I would like to fit conventions in showing stars have a glamorous and successful life, whilst still challenging the lack of diversity and set beauty ideals.

Results From My Questionnaire

I handed my magazine out to twenty of my peers, to create an understanding of what would make a successful magazine for that target audience. I asked a mixture of girls and boys, from different social groups, to make the feedback applicable for all the members of my intended audience.

 The most popular genre of music magazine was Pop Music, 62% . A general music magazine was also seen as a favourable choice, with 30% of people choosing that genre. From these results I can see that main-stream music was more favourable, than niche music types like Indie (Only got 8%). In order create a successful magazine, I need to choice a music type with the biggest support, in order to get as many copies sold as possible.

The next question I asked concerned the presentation of the cover image. I asked people whether they prefer a  solid colour background, or a photograph covering the front of the magazine. The feedback was a lot more split with this question with: 54% of people saying they wanted a photograph cover, and 46% said they preferred a colour background. I think this reflects that people appreciate well planned photographs, however the simplicity of using a plain background is also well supported. When it comes to actually making my magazine I will choose a background that fits best with the model, and styling.

I also asked about the presentation of the logo: whether the artist should be layered over the logo or  the logo layered over the artist. There was an overwhelming majority, with 69% of people deciding they prefer the artist layered over the logo. I think people choose this as they like the way the main feature has a relationship to the magazine. This technique also avoids blockiness, as layering makes the magazine look fluid.

The fourth question I asked was about colour schemes. I thought of colours of a range of colour that covered both the main cover image styling and possible text colours. My target audience was allowed to choice a maximum of 3 colours, so the percentages add up differently, however the results still show me the levels of popularity. The most popular colours were red (54%), blue (52%) and black (52%). Red and blue are primary colours, so I think people prefer the simplicity of these colours. Red is a colour that is used often in magazines, for example in Q, so I should consider trying to incorporate this colour into my magazine. Black (52%) and white (29%) were also popular selections, I will be using these colours for the cover story text on my magazine. I think the colours pink, purple, and blue are also colours to consider - they might be useful in reflecting a more feminine / passive mood. Yellow and green were unpopular colours for my audience, I think they make for difficult text reading and are rarely associated were music / branding of products.

I asked people what shot they liked most for a front cover picture too. The most popular response was a whole body shot, 54%. I think people favour the detail and level of professionalism a whole body shot has, and there is more variety of poses with this shot. Mid shots were also well supported, with 38%. I noticed that professionally this was a popular shot, because although there might be less detail - you can still create relevance to cover line stories.

Drawing of Key Figures

My next question concerned the contents of the magazine, I asked my target audience what stories they would like to see featured. Again I gave multiple choice for this question. The most popular choices were upcoming events (68%), interviews (65%), charts (50%) and celebrity gossip (43%). I think the nature of pop music is that the songs are generally disposable, and new songs are always being released, so I think this has been reflected in the 'what's in' type of articles. Articles which were less popular were: reviews, music gadgets and editorial. I think these articles are considered as 'additional', and not particularly convincing to a potential custumer when they first see the magazine.

Lastly I asked about whether my target audience would be interested in a slogan. 54% of my target audience said no, whilst 46% said yes. One of the member of my target audience commented that 'Slogans are cheesy' before writing no. Because of that, it it is evident from attitudes and figures, slogans are not a popular choice for my target audience.