Update Post

Since recieving feedback from Mr Ford and Ms Sizer on my first draft I have progressed a lot, during this time I have

• Made a media playlist.
• Created an audience feedback questionnaire and got answers.
• Done peer audience feedback from comments on my blog including positives/negatives.
• Done 1st Draft teacher feedback and stated what i will be changing and what went well.
• Created updated drafts on the improvements i received from teachers and what i think.
• Created a second updated draft with further tweaks and improvements/changes.

From now i will be:

• Getting new and improved photos of my models in various amounts of different settings and different shots to find perfect photos for my magazine.
• Improve my drafts to create my final pieces, most tweaks will be making sure everything is in line perfectly.
• Look at more magazine inspirations for my final piece to find out an overall look i could use.
• Completely finishing my final piece.

Magazine Drafts

DRAFT COVER

DRAFT CONTENTS

DRAFT DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

These are a few mock drafts for each of my pages. I haven't used my own photos for these drafts because i want to get an idea of the style of the image i use and how it contrasts/compliments my overall layout. I am not completely happy with any of these because they are drafts and ideas. For my final pieces i would want to change these a lot and put more effort in to give a sharp and professional look.

Institution

IPC media are a big institution that publish famous magazine NME. It is the longest published and most respected music weekly in the world.

IPC media is the UK’s leading consumer magazine and digital publisher, which gives the institution an edge when competing with others. They produce a huge variety of magazines including big names like Nuts and Now.

IPC media would be a perfect institution to publish my magazine because they are already ready a very high profile magazine publisher therefore they would easily be able to promote the magazine and distribute it.

Audience Profile

He will be spend most of his spare time reading through music magazines which reveal un heard of bands so he can brag and show off to his friends claiming he created them and he was the first one to hear them. Along with this he will love going to big festivals like reading and leads so he can get a nice collection of music bands and small gigs with non-mainstream bands that any particular person wouldn’t enjoy going to. He will enjoy going shopping with friends of similar interests to buy vintage clothing and vinyls. He will enjoy using social networking sites, specifically Instagram taking vintage look photos of his recent purchases.

He will usually wear black spray on skinny jeans (or other minimal colours) revealing his ankles or plain socks, sometimes he might even have huf plant life socks on show. He will never wear clothes, which show off a brand, instead he would chose to wear expensive clothing brands, which are neat and give off a vintage look. He will wear fully buttoned shirts with the sleeves very high up, and also plain t-shirts, which will also have sleeves, rolled up very high. He will also claim he was the first person to start rolling his sleeves. He will always like to have a watch on, watches which vary from retro/vintage along with tacky bracelets and festival bands from many years ago, to prove a point. He will either show off his new short back and side’s haircut with no blend a tall, a casual messy long look or wear a snapback or vintage beanie. Footwear will consist of authentic vans, creepers and boat shoes. Furthermore he will wear denim jackets, oversized coats and an indie femanine backpack. 

Music:

He will listen to a lot of different genres of music but artists in each genre that he doesn’t believe anyone knows. His primary genres that he loves the most will be alternative/indie music, bands like the vaccines and the foals. He will never illegally download any of his music from websites using torrents but he will buy every song from iTunes, to prove that he loves his music so much.

He will enjoy reading music magazines like NME, which will help fulfil his knowledge on indie/alternative bands, however he will also purchase magazines of different based genres like complex because he also likes this style of music.

The audience will be happy in buying my magazine for £5 because he will be able to get a great understanding on some great indie bands that nobody has heard off, which would make him feel like the creator. Along with this the simplistic and minimal look will lure him into buying.

Double Spread Analysis - SPIN

SPIN double page spread cover has a similar conventional layout to NME; this includes a large image taking up roughly 2/3 of the page and the rest left for text. The image used is interesting, it is a close up of Florence, which allows the audience to recognise that she seems to look happy, her hair is clearly blown back and it seems to look like an in action shot. Because the photo is a close up there is a lot to identify and it adds a sense of importance. The image is black and white, which can suggest that there is something being hidden, her true colours aren’t showing.

The whole magazine is in black and white, this is a simplistic look is affective. “Florence and the machine” is wrote in big font, not only because it’s the title of the article but also it is the name of the band, therefore it needs to draw attention to readers so they know who it is. The artist of the year box positioned above the title can make the reader want to go into more depth and find out why etc. There isn’t a huge amount of text used in the spread; this allows more focus on the image itself. Along with this the font seems to be simplistic in the interview, however the writing beneath the title has a feminine touch to it, this correlates well with Florence because obviously she is female.

The kicker is interesting because it is unique. The use of columns give it a magazine feel, on the other hand the black and white can emphasise more of a newspaper feel. 

Double Page Spread - NME

This double page spread by NME involves an unconventional colour scheme, it still consists on the three colour scheme however there are aspects in the image which break this. The colour scheme is used creatively by highlighting key information for the reader in blue, This is so it stands out in contrast to other text. The title “the vaccines” is in block capitals and has a significantally bigger font compared to the other texts, this is so the people reading know the artists immediately when opening the page.

Conventional columns have been used to give it that magazine feel. To take up more room in the text they have used a pull quote in a significantly bigger font, using the colour blue linking in with the colour scheme which looks proffesional. This allows us to get an interperate of the interveiw for people that briefly read through. Kickers have also been used to add to the magazine feel, these letters which start the beginning of each sentence have been coloured in blue, this links again with the colour scheme allowing the magazine to keep a professional look.

The image which is portrayed in the magazine takes up around 2/3 of both pages, this is a large image which draws a lot of attention to the reader. The image includes the four band members of the vaccines which are all breaking the fourth wall by looking into the camera, this can make the reader feel like they are more involved in the magazine which is a useful affect. The image used is also very interesting, this is because the band members arent just stood in a line, they are in specific positions, this could allow the audience to note the importance of each member, for example Justin Young  is positioned at the front which draws more interest to him. All of their facial expressions are serious which links well with the type of music they produce. Along with this the background is quite dirty, like old paper which can be seen to foreshadow their type of music. The vaccines are in simplistic clothing which doesn’t reveal any branding names, the rolled up shirt of Justin can show their kind of style well, so can other clothing items seen in the background.

The overall layout of the magazine is pretty conventional for NME with a main image taking up two thirds of the page. I like this kind of design because I find it interesting, it allows close detail and depth in the image and enough zoom for a valid amount of text.

Double Page Spread Analysis - NME

NME have gone for an unconventional look in this specific double page spread, instead of using the standard colour palettes consisting of black red and white they have gone for an overall darker look, including colours purple and black, this suggests the personality of the band, as their new album has been “death obsessed” and they are a “dark-hearted trio”.

The overall look of the double page spread is a layout that we come across a lot; this consists of a big image taking up usually half, or more of the page. The image in this specific double page spread takes up around 2/3 of the page, it is a long shot of the White Lies, the lightening used in the photo makes the image look dark and dull, it doesn’t reveal anything intriguing about the band. However this allows the page to have a more simplistic look which is very affective. In the image the audience can notice that a lot of their body is hidden in shadows to suggest that there could be something that they don’t know about this band. Along with this the lightening can suggest that although they are hidden, they want to be in the spotlight and they want to be a big, powerful well-known band.

The font used in this magazine is very simplistic and easy to read, this is good because it avoids confusion for the reader. We are instantly exposed to a huge title which is taking up around 1/3 of the left hand page; it is known as a pull quote from a previous interview saying “we want kings of leon’s career”. The font is very clear and bold and it is underlined to emphasise the importance of it.  The pull quote is very optimistic and can be seen as arrogant considering the success of Kings of Leon’s.  The type up at the bottom is in New Times Roman, this is just a standard conventional font. In the text main words are also in purple instead of the black, this goes with the colour scheme and allows more focus on specific words like ‘White Lies’ and makes it look professional. The layout of the font is a lot neat and professional; they have used the conventional columns and have used a little sub paragraph, which looks neat.