Magazine - First Draft

Magazine Draft by

I completed my first draft of my magazine before the Christmas holidays. I had the most developed ideas for my first double page spread than any other part of my magazine, so I decided to start with this page. I had a double page spread from NME magazine which I felt that I could take ideas from and replicate these onto my own double page spread. As I had already written a draft of my article I could instantly insert this text into InDesign and lay it out the way I wanted. I completed one photoshoot, but when making my magazine I made some changes to the ideas of my colour scheme etc., so I am due to carry out another photoshoot, where I can create my photos in a way that will fit the style and colours of my magazine layout. I think that knowing what photos I need and what I want them to look like will help me to produce a more productive photoshoot for my magazine. After completeing my first double page spread, I moved onto the second double page spread that I'm producing. I found some ideas that I loved from previous student's work, and used these to apply them to my double page spread. I thought the line of photos at the top will display the outcomes of my photoshoot which I am very excited to carry out. I then completed my contents page before moving onto my front page, as the contents is the crucial part of a magazine. I spent the most time on my contents page as I found it challenging to make sure it's filled with text and picture slots, to make it look similar to a real existing magazine. I took ideas for sell lines and headlines from existing magazines such as NME and Q, and applying these to more current artists and music news. I based my layout of my front cover heavily on the same NME magazine that I based my double page spread on, with the sell lines down either side and a strong photo featured in the middle.

My First Photoshoot

I carried out my first photo shoot with my model Scarlett Moss, with a Canon digital camera, trigger lighting and a white back drop behind her. Here are a few images in the form of a video displaying me in action, with my model posing.

Equipment

Here are some images of the equipment I used to carry out both of my photo shoots. The interfit lights work by trigger - as I press the button to capture a photo, the lights flash on, in sync. This is handy as it helps my photos to look well lit and professional. The Canon DSLR made a photo shoot easy to do as it enabled me to take hundreds of photos and flick through them on the camera, deleting those that weren't so good, to save space on the memory card for better ones.

Model Release

I asked my model, Scarlett Moss, to sign a model release form to give me the rights to take photos of her and feature these in my magazine, so my magazine is more ethical. This way, I can use the photos in anyway that I'd like, and make any alterations to photos without Scarlett feeling cheated.

Contents Ideas

Contents Page
We Love Lucy Larch
Stand Up for Scarlett Moss
Top 10 albums of 2012

Sections
Regulars
Reviews
Interviews
On the cover

Artist List
Drake
Frank Ocean
Katy Perry
Arctic Monkeys
Ed Sheeran
Rihanna
You Me At Six
The Weeknd
Example
Calvin Harris
Tinie Tempah
Ellie Goulding
Flourence and the Machine
Devlin
Dr Dre
SBTRKT
Pixie Lott

Main Article Ideas
Scarlett or Lucy - Stand Up for Scarlett Moss / We Love Lucy Larch
Pull quote ideas
"I never imagined fame would feel normal to me"
"It's not about the fame, it's not about the money, it's about doing what I love - music"


In today's lesson I put my mind to what I'd like to include in my magazine - ideas for sell lines, contents and for my main article. I made a list of artists which would apply to the genre of my magazine which I can include in my contents to make it easier for readers to navigate around the magazine and find which artist they want to read about instantly. I came up with some key quotes I can use for the double page spread which is on the main focus of the article. These will be displayed as pull quotes to make the article on the celebrity more attractive and breaks up the text, making it easier to read. I think this will make it easier when it comes to actually making my magazine so that I don't have to come up with these ideas later on, and I can go straight into the layout and applying this information into it.

Props/Costumes

Costume

Audience Data 1

How often do you visit social networking websites?

Extremely Often – 48%

Very Often – 41%

Moderately Often – 10%

Slightly Often – 0%

Not at all often – 0%

Question one allowed me to discover how often my target audience use social networking sites, and I found that the whole of my sample either visit them extremely often or very often, so I can apply this to my magazine in that instead of just being printed, my magazine can have a Twitter and Facebook account, and these can be advertised on my magazine.

Which social networking website do you use most often?

Twitter – 66%

Facebook  – 55%

Tumblr  – 7%

Myspace  – 0%

Google Plus+ – 0%

I found that my target audience use Twitter more than any other social networking site, so I know to apply my magazine to this social network, as well as Facebook, as a large proportion of my audience also make use of this social networking site very often. I can use this information to make my magazine more noticeable and accessible to my audience.

Would you download an app on your smart-phone for a music magazine if it were available to you for free?

Yes – 72%

No – 28%

Would you be interested in subscribing to a monthly music magazine?

Yes – 55%

No – 45%

In which way would you rather consume a music magazine?

Online – 36%

Print – 64%

Do you already regularly read a music magazine?

Yes – 18%

No – 82%

How often do you read magazines?

Extremely Often – 4%

Very Often – 4%

Moderately Often – 25%

Slightly Often – 54%

Not at all often – 14%

Audience Data

Which kind of artist would you most like to read about in my magazine?
Jessie J - 36%
Rihanna - 36%
Drake - 27%
Justin Bieber - 0%
I found it interesting that the two female artists seem to be the ones that readers are most interested in. I feel this has influenced me more into writing my magazine article based on a female pop star rather than a male as majority of my target audience seem more interested in reading about female artists.

Which features would you be most interested in?
Interviews with music artists - 28%
Reviews of albums - 14%
Ratings (Top 10s etc) - 19%
Gig/Festival Listings - 38%
I was unsurprised to discover that my target audience largely voted for gig/festival listings to be included in the magazine as festivals are incredibly popular amongst teenagers of my age. However I did find it surprising that not many seemed interested in reviews of albums at all - perhaps my target audience are strong minded enough to have their own individual opinion and not be interested in others.

Which freebies would you most like to see in a music magazine?
Posters - 28%
CDs - 38%
Vouchers for iTunes - 42%
Exclusive tickets - 33%
I was previously aware that iTunes is commonly used by teenagers to buy and listen to music of their choice so the majority vote came as no surprise to me. But I did assume in the past that teenagers still had a large interest in posters being featured in magazines and being able to put these up on your own personal space. However my poll tells me differently as only 28% of my target audience voted for this freebie, so I know not to include it.

What would you consider the most reasonable amount to pay for a monthly music magazine?
£2 - 9%
£2.50 - 13%
£3 - 31%
£3.50 - 36%
£4 - 4%
£4.50 - 4%
The majority vote went towards the price range of £3-3.50. I'm pleased with this result as I already had this price range in mind which means I have chosen the right kinds of people to aim my magazine at, from the right social classes.

Article Draft

Our brand new star Scarlett peeks her head round the doorway with the biggest of smiles. Without encouragement she makes her way across the room toward me and the seat awaiting her. “It’s brilliant here!” she grins at me whilst she’s handed a cup of tea. The first thing she does as soon as she’s seated is take her six inch high heels off. Although now a star, little Scarlett Moss still appears lost in the world of fame; she looks around the room expectantly, while I wonder what exactly it is going through her mind. Until she announces, “ugh I’ve had the worst morning, missed my train, what a nightmare, feet are killing me, I hope you don’t mind.” Of course I don’t mind. 
Dressed head to toe in designer, the once ordinary girl looks like a runway model on the road. Her appearance isn’t worn, though – unlike most stars I chat with, she doesn’t look like she’s been up all night partying. When I question her on this she simply says “I love to party, just not, you know, all the time. But trust me I know how to party, you can’t live without knowing how to party”. Her words seem carefully chosen and she speaks in a calm and collected manner, with this almost giggly playful tinge to it. She’s the kind of person you want to wrap up in cotton wool and cuddle (of course, I don’t tell her this).
Personally I love Scarlett’s fresh new music, but I always wonder if the big shots can enjoy listening to their own music without cringing? She tells me, “It’s obviously not the same as listening to someone else’s music – that feels normal. Listening to your own music is like being a judge on x-factor, for yourself! It just makes you criticise every little detail of it, makes me think, damn! Wish I could record that one little bit again. Things that no one else will notice, you know?”. 
By this point she’s watching me suspiciously as I take notes, so I'm sure to take note of the fact that Scarlett perhaps isn’t used to all the publicity of a famous lifestyle yet. When I bring this into conversation she says “It’s not that I don’t know why there’s so much of it, because before becoming famous, just like anyone else I read the articles, good and bad, about all my favourite celebs. But I just sometimes forget who I am now, where I am or why I’m there. Like today, I know quite well why I’m here, for you to write about me, right? I just sometimes forget, and it just doesn’t feel like you’re writing about me, it feels like there should be someone else in the room. I don’t know, maybe, someone more exciting!” Scarlett doesn’t realise what a little gem she is. 
She looks uncomfortable in her seat directly in front of me and I see her eyes drift towards the bright pink sofa. “Would you rather...” - I don’t even have to finish my sentence before she leaps up and onto the sofa, sprawled out and relaxed, almost as if she is at home. I ask her how the jump from normality to fame has changed her private life, she doesn’t hesitate to reply: “I think some celebrities are far too up on their high horse when it comes to their private lives. I don’t care what people think of me so the public can find out whatever they want, I mean, as long as it’s true. To be perfectly honest I don’t see my family as much but they accept that I’m just busy, and it makes seeing them that little bit more exciting. I’ve made a lot of new friends since I started making music; it’s just so easy to connect with others who do the same things as you. But I’ll never forget who my friends have been the whole time, back when I was just a drunken karaoke singer down the pub!” She giggles in the most endearing way, I struggle to not coo at her. “I’m not currently dating anyone though, so right now it isn’t so difficult for me really. Some would say I have it easy for a celeb, but I guess it’s only the beginning.” 
I find it interesting that Scarlett mentions the fact that she’s made a lot of new friends; most new celebrities find it’s more of a dog-eat-dog world in the music industry, especially when you’re the newbie, but Scarlett reassures me: “It only gets bitter and unkind if you get in with those kinds of people. Trust me, there are plenty of famous people I’ve met now who tell me they love my music and I know they’re being honest. That is simply the best feeling, when someone above you tells you that you’ve done a good job, you really feel like you’re getting a pat on the back. Feels almost like being back at school, when your favourite teacher says ‘yeah, this is a really good piece of work’ when you’ve tried so hard on something. I put my all into my album, as it is my first, and I must say I’ve had a lot out of it. The clothes and photo shoots and being in hair & make up all still mind blows me. When I walk into a shop full of clothes to die for and realise I’m not just window shopping anymore, I can actually afford these luxuries! Being able to treat my friends and family feels amazing too, giving something back to your number one fans from day one. But it’s not about the fame for me, or the glamour. It might sound like a cliché, but it really is just about doing what I love the most – making music.”

Colour

My photos of my main model contain mainly white and red as a colour scheme, and my other photos contain darker colours such as black and brown to feature on my contents page. The colour scheme for my magazine will be based around red, but will have a complimenting colour as well, such as a pale green colour to background my magazine. As my model is wearing a red belt, heels and lipstick, I will try not to use much more red throughout my magazine as I feel that red is too commonly used, especially amongst music magazines. To keep my use of red to a minimum, I will only have my masthead and the occasional title in red.

However, I decided not to use the photos from my first photo shoot in my magazine as I wasn't happy with the quality of them. In my second photo shoot, I chose to give my model more basic colours to wear, such as grey and black, as I didn't want to overdo the amount of colours featured in the magazine. I chose to do this as I already have teal and purple as a house style, so added colours could be too overwhelming.

Sketches

Double Page Spread

Front Cover

Contents Page

These are my sketches for the ideas of my magazine. Although these are just rough drawings, I feel that this will help me build a basic template for what I would like the magazine to look like. I plan to do more than one double page spread but I only have ideas for one yet, which I have drawn out above. I feel a contents page that is spread across two A4 pages looks more professional and will allow me to contain more information in the contents, as well as images and information for subscriptions or online accounts e.g. twitter. I plan to use one large, relatively close-up photo of my artist for the front cover page, and one very close-up photo to fill an A4 page of the first double page spread that I have planned.

Promotional Methods

When my magazine is first released I will give out some free copies to promote it and make people aware of it, as well as giving them the opportunity to have what is almost a trial run - they may not want to spend money on a magazine if they haven't tried what it's like first. I will hand these copies out in places like Westfield, where I think I will attract the right kind of audience as many teenagers shop at Westfield, especially those who would have the kind of money to afford my magazine monthly, as shops at Westfield are rather expensive.

As well as this, I will post images of my magazine front covers onto motorway billboards around the country to be seen. I believe this is a successful method of advertising because many drivers find themselves waiting in traffic on the motorway in their car with nothing to do. If a billboard with my magazine on were to catch their eye, this could create the idea in their mind that if this same situation were to occur again in future, they should purchase my magazine so that they could read it to pass the time.

New Media

After doing some observational research I have come to the conclusion that Facebook and Twitter are the two most commonly used social networks by people aged 15-25 years, which is my target audience. 

So to ensure that my magazine is noticed on these commonly used social networks, I will create an account for both Twitter and Facebook to represent my magazine. Readers will find out exclusive information from these accounts such as which artist will feature in the next edition. As well as this, readers will be able to share their  personal opinions on the magazine and debate about what they like the most, and I will be able to consume this feedback. Also due to the obvious proliferation of mobile phones, I will also create a smart phone app for my magazine for readers to download, so that they can consume my magazine on the go and in a cheaper form. Information will be more regular - every edition of my magazine will not be posted all in one each month, but rather small articles or pieces of information will be fed to the public gradually.

Mood Board!

Mood Board

In my mood board I included some images of things that relate to music magazines, or that music magazines typically cover. For example the image of the Reading festival logo and image of the crowd at Reading, as well as the award trophy, as music magazines will normally always cover big events that happen in the music industry annually. Also I have included images that have inspired me and helped me to think of some of my magazine ideas such as images of several women, modelling in a way that I would like my model to. As well as this there are some basic images which represent the ideas I've had to set up my photo shoot; the glitter, spotlight, feathers.

My Images Ideas

Target Audience

Target Audience

Friday 5th October

Over the past lessons (and for homework) recently I have been working throughmy list of tasks to complete before I start producing my magazine. These include audience research, as well as general planning and preparation in order to produce the best magazine possible in the end. In Friday's lesson I reviewed the basics of the key concepts and how they apply to music magazines; codes and conventions, audience, institution and representation. Then to continue this, on to a computer, I began working on my own presentation on key concepts. I've chosen to produce mine in a prezi, to mix it up a bit. I will continue this work into next lesson.

Proposal

Proposal

Existing Names and Mastheads

Names and Mastheads

The Key Concepts

Double Page Spread Analysis

Double Page Spread

I analysed three different double page spreads so that I have a range of different music magazines with different music artists featured in them, each suited to different genres. It is important that I carried out this activity before I started producing my magazine so that I can get a real interpretation of what real life music magazines are usually like and what features they typically hold. Also I am now able to understand what the differences are between different genres of music magazines, for example a rock genre magazine will usually publish photos of the band featured in the magazine looking disruptive or as if they are causing trouble in some way; like the first double page spread I analysed, rather than images of them posing or looking innocent; like the third double page spread I analysed. This can help me decide on what kind of genre I want my magazine to be and how I can highlight the genre and make it clear who it appeals to.

Contents Page Analysis - Monday 24th & Friday 28th

Contents Page Analysis
In Monday's and Friday's lesson I continued analysing aspects of magazines as I moved on to contents pages to find what the key features are that a magazine includes and how these are laid out in a contents. I researched this to gather information that I can use to make my own magazine, to ensure that mine matches real life music magazines, looking more believable and professional.

Friday 21st September

Last lesson me, Clare, Alfie and Amy took a different approach to analysis of front covers of music magazines and decided to make a video. This involved me filming the three of them verbally analysing several magazine front covers that we had printed off on A3 sheets as preparation. In the video, colours, fonts, images, mastheads etc. were discussed amongst our group.

This magazine front cover by NME has given me inspiration for what I might want my magazine to look like. The blend of colours and arty fonts make this cover stand out from many others and the image is bold and intense, which is what I'd like mine to look like.

Magazine Front Cover Analysis

Alfie, Clare, Amy and I chose to take a different and more interesting approach to our analysis of magazine front covers and that rather than typing up all our analysis' we would video ourselves discussing about front covers one by one.

Analysis of Magazine Front Covers - Friday 14th September

Last lesson I analysed some real magazine front covers from the past, of professional magazines that you would find in the shops. This helped me to create a more professional looking magazine by analysing exactly what details a real magazine contains so I can apply these to my own music magazine when it comes to creating it, and what distinguishes a good magazine from a bad one.

Name Ideas

In Monday's lesson, I began to come up with some ideas for my magazine's name, as you can see in my Name Ideas post below. I found this quite difficult as I didn't want to go with something too typical of music magazines as I wanted mine to be unique in some way. So in order to come up with some ideas I started a spider diagram of ideas, with 'Music' in the middle and everything that I associate with it around the centre. From this, the first idea I wanted to stick with was 'Boombox', but I later decided against this when I came up with 'Jam', as I preferred a shorter name to a longer one. After much thought, I decided on 'Z magazine' after looking at previous existing magazines such as Q. I believe a one-letter magazine name is effective and memorable.

Monday, 10th September - Preliminary Task

My Front Cover and Contents Page - Preliminary Task

This is my completed preliminary task magazine. Although it is rushed, I am somewhat happy with it, although I feel my work will be at a much higher level when we move on to our actual magazines, as I can spend more time taking photos suitable for my magazine, and adding many more features to my contents page. I also look forward to spending more time on designing and planning the music magazine so I can spend time on minor details which I get picky about.

Friday 7th September

Today, in lesson I was challenged to create a magazine front cover and contents page in just two lessons, in order to compare this in the future with our music magazine that we will produce. The whole point of the comparison is to see the difference between when a piece of work is unplanned and rushed, and when I have the time to plan and improve, how much better it could be. As a group we only had around half an hour to shoot some photos for our magazines in groups, so me, Alfie, Clare and Amy chose to borrow props and outfits from the drama department to make our photo shoot a little more interesting. After taking a load of photos in silly outfits we realised we had no suitable stories to match them for a school magazine, and so we had to rapidly think on the spot of headlines we could put on our front pages. I found this difficult as when I planned my film magazine at GCSE it took me a long time to think of and decide on headlines and stories to feature, and I of course plan to do the same with my A-level music magazine. I also found it challenging to have to just get on with making it rather than thinking about every little detail, because I’m incredibly picky with size, colour, and placing of things on Photoshop. I got as far as almost finishing my front cover by the end of the lesson, to be finished off next lesson.