Media Playlist

This is a playlist for the sort of music my magazine will feature. There are well known bands like Oasis and Artic Monkeys to smaller bands like The Drums. All the music is Indie/Alternative which is my specified genre for my final magazine. This should give the examiner a better idea of the overall base of my magazine.

Final Draft Double Page Spread

This is my final draft for my double page spread. I like the colour scheme I have used because the black and white allow the blue to stand out drastically which adds focus to pull quotes well. I have also underlined the title of the pages in black, this makes the title seem more professional which is what I intended. The overall lay out is quite conventional, it is usual for a magazine to use an image with text by the side of it, however my image hasn’t fitted how I intended which was a shame. I like the use of my subheading because it introduces the article well which is what is often seen in magazines.

I really like the image I have used the black and white is affective because it keeps the overall look simplistic, for my main cover I might think about having colour, but low contrast/brightness to keep it simplistic/neat. I will try to get this kind of shot in a portrait view, this will allow me to fill the whole half side of the page more accurately.

I like the use of pull quotes because they break the text up and make the read of the article more interesting, for example a huge pile of text can be quite hard and boring to read. Along with this the colour palette has worked well for pull quotes, this is because it has allowed them to significantly stand out in the article well.

I used Helvetica font, this font is sharp and easy to read, however I will probably test different fonts for my final piece to find a specific one that suits my magazine precisely. I made my title bold so people can instantly see the name of the band clearly and have a better understanding of what it is about, the sub heading adds to this as well.

For my final piece I will make a lot of improvements, for example I will definitely put a lot more focus into the sizing of my image and the amount of text I use, during this draft I didn’t put full effort into getting the right sized image to fit the page perfect, therefore the page can be seen to look pretty unprofessional, I would like my photo to cover half to page fully, if not 2/3 but still leaving enough space for a decent amount of text for my article. Furthermore I will make sure all of the article text boxes used are level and the same width, this will allow for the professional look to be enhanced.

Final Draft Contents

This is my final draft for my contents page. I am please with the overall look because it is simplistic and conventional. It also uses a neutral colour scheme consisting of black grey and white, which adds to the minimal look. In addition the colour palette used allows the photos to stand out more, which draws attention.

I like the overall layout of my draft contents, this is because it looks smart and professional, and this is something I could take into account when doing my final pages. I felt putting the information on the left of the page was a good idea because in general people read from left to right. I chose to put the most important features of the magazine at the top because that’s what will most likely want to be seen first, and the regulars will be something that appears in most issues.

For the title ‘contents’ I used courier in bold for the font, I chose not to have ‘contents’ in very big writing because people will be able to tell it is a contents page anyway, however it is still eye catching because it is the biggest font on the page. The style of the font looks very formal which is what I wanted. For the main texts I chose to use Helvetica because it is a sharp easy to read font. Therefore it will be simple for the audience to read comfortably.

I decided to use subheadings for each of the three photos I used; this is so the audience can instantly interoperate the photo. I underlined each sub title as well, I believe this drew more attention to them and also made the overall look neater. Along with this for each photo I used a circle and page number, it tit this so it is clear what page the audience will be looking for, and it also fit in with the neutral colour scheme very well.

For my official piece I will spend more time on writing articles to make it suit the genre of the text more, for example ‘the new ride’ text information is irrelevant to the magazine and what people will want to read. Along with this I will put more focus into the lining of my photos, some photos aren’t 100% in line, which can give it an unprofessional, and slightly tacky look. In addition I will try to fill the whole page, for example I could include twitter ads and email links etc. I think I will keep the overall layout and scheme but just make vast improvements in making it look professional, while still keeping the simplistic look.

Cover Draft

This is my final draft cover of my magazine. I like the overall look of my cover, the image is very eye catchy, I didn’t spend much time taking my photos so the clothing and overall look doesn’t 100% fit the genre, so in my actual cover I will have a lot more time to make it perfect. I am planning on using a black and white image for my main cover; this is because it adds to the simplistic look of the cover. It also allows for my fonts to stand out well in contrast. I like the fonts I have used; the masthead is very clear and the colour allows it to stand out and be easily noticed. My colour scheme I have used is white black and blue, the two neutral colours allow the blue to really stand out, especially with the black and white photo. For my final piece i will spend a lot more time on the actual photo and getting it perfect, this way the whole clothing will suit the genre as well as the surroundings.

For my final piece i am looking at keeping the same look with a black and white image because it looks simplistic and allows my text to stand out well, however i will try using colour because it will add more interest and enthusiasm to the cover. Furthermore i will spend time on my actual image making it sharper with a better overall fit to the cover. Along with this i will make sure the models expressions and body language matches the look i want.

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.

Draft Article

The Everything. Just small band from Leicester who are taking up a lot of stoplight after their recent mention in Foals’ interview, they claimed The Everything to be “the ones to watch in 2013” and Basic Magazine wanted to be the first to hear from them.

The new band consists of three members James, Hadley and Reece who have grown up together. The 18 year olds are still young and lack experience in the industry but the music they have been producing has caught a lot of attention. The Everything originally started posting their songs on YouTube and received a staggering 1.1 million views on their most recent single “Carried Away”. XL recordings, a big record label who have also signed Friendly Fires to their label and worked with The XX saw potential in there videos and decided to sign them on. “Life changing.” Is what James from The Everything said, “when we got the call from XL it was one of the most nerve racking conversations, it was just such a shock for us, but we are so happy to be with XL and recording our new album” The teens have been warned by there label not to get much spotlight, the lads were recently captured in a bar fight in their local town. “There still young and learning,” spoke Richard Russell, founder of XL Recordings, “they have great potential and we don’t want them to waste it away through their behaviour”.

            They are due to release their new EP “Back Where We Started” on June 14^th and Hadley has high hopes for the release. “We have spent a lot of time recording our album now and its almost complete, it’s been a great laugh with the lads” During the interview we got to catch up with songwriter Reece who explained how the boys kick started their careers. “We’ve always been mates during school, music has also been our interest so we just thought, fuck it lets make a band… and it worked!” he also added “We started off small performing at pubs/bars etc. until we realised YouTube could help us get more attention, and we noticed people actually really enjoyed the music”

            

Band Profile

Band Name: The Everything

Music Style: Guitar, Bass Guitar, Drums, Synths

Influences: Foals, Two Door Cinema Club, The Vaccines, Everything Everything, Friendly Fires, The Maccabees 

Members: 3 members, bass guitar, drums and vocals. 3 males, 1 guitar and vocal, 1 bass guitar, 1 drums.


Cover: 3 members, possibly two so i can avoid overcrowding and cramming on the cover which could potentially give off an unprofessional look.

Style: stand next to each other to add to the simplistic look, or in a triangle e.g 1 in front, two behind, to add a feeling of importance to the lead singer of the band. Clothing will be skinny jeans, plain simple t shirt or shirt branded, e.g fred perry. Mid shot, no shoes or full jeans revealed. Hair style is neat, add to simplistic look, also short back and side haircut. Or messy hair, contrasts to simplistic look and fits the genre better, conventional look of a typical indie/alternative band e.g foals. Or more vintage, old fashioned shoot, adds effect well because it looks minimalistic.

Examples