Different Variations of my front cover

My Progress in Photoshop

 I took my photo at Myton Bridge in Hull. It took a few tries and had to go back to take them a couple of times. In order to get my colour scheme I looked at some older magazines and picked some colours that I thought would work well together.

I used two separate text boxes so that I can change the font of the mast head.

 I used the layer style effect to change the writing. Although I changed the font of the mast head, I used the same effect on the different text boxes. I used the drop shadow and the inner shadow to form a black line around the title to make it stand out against the background image. I made it quite thick so that it would be easily seen.

I used the rectangle tool to make a banner at the bottom of the page. I pinpointed the colour of the mast head for the competition writing. I found a picture of the logo for Avril Lavigne's album and chose the pink off there and adjusted it to make it my own shade. I changed the levels on the picture to make it more dark and make it seem more gritty which would enhance the effect of it being a rock music magazine.

I used a bar code generator to make the barcode in the corner, rotated it and placed it in the corner. I used the same colour that i used for the sell line for the issue number and price. I looked around at the typical prices for music magazines and used the most used one.

I used the text box and chose the same font that i used for the 'Rock'. I used the layer style options for this in exactly the same way i did for the mast head.

For the black Splash i used the custom shape tool and selected the explosion style one. I used two separate text boxes over the top of it and wrote the texts. With the 'Tour date guide' I pin pointed the red from the mast head, I used the drp shadow and the inner shadow but this time did them different shades of red so that it looked 3d. I did the same for the pink of the sell line.

I used 3 different text boxes to make the band name. I used the pink from the sell line, the red from the mast head and found a different colour that was between them both. I chose a soft font font for the 'sugar' and a sharp font for the 'spice'. With the 'n' I chose a font that was a bit of both.

With the 'sugar' and the 'spice' i did the same effects as I did for the story in the corner. For the 'n' I made it more 3d and made it stand out by adding a bevel to it.

I took the advice from my teacher and put 3 black boxes around my band name to make it stand out even more.

My Photoshoot

I Like this picture that I took of my models. I like the way that they are looking at the camera and are standing back to back to show the differences between them, such as the gender and that there are differences of opinion. This could be relevant because the instrument that I am going to take a picture of them with is an acoustic guitar, this goes against the typical conventions of a rock group. I decided not to use this because my male model wasn't stood how I wanted him to. Also, the picture was brighter than I wanted it to be.

The reason why I didn't use this picture was that my male model wasn't stood in the place that i wanted him to be in. Also, my female model was smiling which I didn't want. I liked the lighting on this photo because it isn't too bright that it makes their faces look abnormal, but it wasn't too dark that it made them look too sinister.

I tried this background because I thought it would represent the different aspect of rock music that they are going to attempt to re-create. They are a rock band that play just acoustic guitars, therefore they are different to any other rock band that there is.

I decided to try the urban background and found it looked effective. The lighting on the models looks good because it isn't too bright and isn't too dark which makes it easier to manipulate it. However, the reason that I haven't used to is because the space between them is too big. This could be a difficult thing to change, therefore, I will try to recreate this pose when I retake the picture but make sure that the models are closer together

I like this picture because it has an urban background which could represent the different aspects of the rock music industry. It is also more 'gritty' which is what is associated with the rock industry because the main colour of a rock music magazine is black and red. The idea that the girl is stood up, gives the impression that she is the lead singer, which goes against the stereotype because men are usually the lead singers in mixed two-person bands. I haven't used this because the light is too bright on their faces and I feel that this might be difficult to change.

My choices for institutions

This is a list of the institutions that I think would like to publish my magazine and why I have chosen them.

I have chosen IPC publishing because it has a wide variety of magazines, I know that they have NME magazine, but I feel that my magazine is different because it shows a different side to rock music.

I have chosen Dennis after doing some research on the type of magazines that they already publish because they don't have a music magazine but they like to publish magazines that are out of the ordinary and that try to beat the stereotype. I think they would like my magazine because it doesn't follow the stereotype of the normal music magazine, and the stereotype of the typical rock magazine.

I have chosen Imagine publishing because the magazines that they already publish are all based upon things that attract a teenage audience, such as; X360 and Smartphone Essentials. Therefore, i think they will like my magazine because it's audiences are for teenagers.

Ideas for my title

These are a few ideas I have for the title for my magazine:

Wicked - Could represent how people could feel about rock music, because wicked is a slang way of saying brilliant.


Wicked Riffs


Ultra Classic


Femalestream - a twist on mainstream and the sociological term 'malestream'


Girl Rox


Girls Rock


OutCasts - Because people that listen to rock music are seen as outcasts within society


OutKast Rock


ORM - Original Rock Music


NRM - New Rock Music


Punk Rock


Grunge Rock


Revolution


Age of Revolution


Rock Revolution

Genre & Audience

The genre of my magazine is a rock magazine. It will show some of the different aspects of rock music. However, my main 'band' is going to have a little twist which I will show in my double page spread. It will be a two-person, male and female band, and they will be playing acoustic guitars instead of the stereotypical electric guitars or drums. This will show the different sides to the rock industry than what everyone generally think of when they think of rock music.

My audience will be similar to Kerrang magazine which presents a variety of rock music, such as glam rock (Led Zeppelin, Twisted Sister), heavy metal (Slipknot, Bullet for My Valentine), soft rock (Stone Sour), Dance rock (All Time Low) and alternative rock (Blink 182, +44). 

The age range of my magazine is 16-22 years old. My music magazine will focus more on females therefore; it will appeal to both male and female readers. My audience like to be up to date with the latest tour dates and the latest news about their favourite bands. They don't like being the last to know about tour dates and booking their tickets last, whereas, with my magazine, they are able to find out the tour dates as they are released and can therefore book them as soon as they go on sale. My audience spend most of their time listening to rock music, going to gigs and music festivals. The hobbies of my audience are making music of their own. 

On a monthly basis, the audience of my magazine spends around £30 on Cd's and music downloads. They also spend around £200 to go to a music festival for the weekend. They also go to around 20/30 gigs a year, which makes them dedicated music lovers, which is what the magazine aims to attract. The audience of my magazine live breathe and dream rock music. Music is their life, their addiction' and they crave new information about their favourite bands to fill their needs and give them the buzz they need. The audience of my music magazine listen to most types of music, but they never feel complete until they listen to some good old rock music. They listen to music that describes how they feel that day, however, whenever rock music comes on their i-pods or on the radio, they can't help singing, dancing, rocking along. It really is like an addiction for them, they will never be able to live without the sound of rock music in their lives.

L.I.I.A.R analysis of 3 music magazines, a contents page and a double page spread

I have chosen to do a Rock Music magazine because it focuses towards my style of music. I am focusing my L.I.A.R.R Analysis on 3 Rock music magazines that focus on different types of Rock Music.

Language: The title stays with the conventions of a normal magazine by keeping it at the top of the page. The font of the stories is in italics and in a serif font which fights against the stereotype. The use of the red circle with 'The Lost Issue 09' in it draws attention to what is special with this particular issue. By advertising the free CD on the front of the magazine, it makes people buy it more because it will be seen easier at it will be one of the aspects that will the audience will first see when they pick up the magazine. The picture of Axel Rose in his infamous red headband with sunglasses on top of it and his leather sleeveless jacket will show that Guns n' Roses are the main focus of that issue of the magazine because he is the 'frontman'.

Institution: Classic Rock Magazine is published by Future publishing. It was founded in 1985 and started with one magazine in London, but now it has 180 magazines in the UK, US and Australia. It sells 3.2 million magazines each month and host 27 live events.

Ideology: I would say that the ideology of Classic Rock would be rebellious because it the colour is dark and full of shadows. Also, the stereotypical Hells Angels biker gang would find this appealing because the look of Axel Rose is that he belongs within a biker gang.

Audience: The audience of Classic Rock magazine is a loyal following of 35+ men that are starting a life stage where they are "regaining their wallets, freedom and teenage spirit".


91% of readers of Classic Rock are male, at an average age of 39. This is because they were around when the bands that are in Classic Rock were taking the music scene by storm. The average household income of the readers  is around £43,811. After they purchase the magazine, the readers spend an average of 4 hours reading it and 70% of readers keep it to read in the future.


Representation: I find that this magazine doesn't represent all the people that listen to this type of music or read this magazine because it just represents people that listen to the bands that are inside the magazine, these bands can be seen as a small minority of the bands that are within the genre of Classic Rock.

Language: The language used on the front cover of Metal Hammer is very dark and Gothic. It shows the type of rock music that it advertises which is Heavy Metal. This is shown by the dark colours and the flames at the bottom of the page because heavy metal bands generally talk about the devil and Hell, which is usually shown by flames.

The font which is used for the artists that are on the free CD is one that is conventionally used within the heavy metal bands because it comes across as intimidating with all the straight edges. Also, the fact that it is seen as Elizabethan writing it can be seen as keeping away from the conventions of the normal music magazine which uses a serif font, whereas, Metal Hammer like to use a more intimidating and confronting text.

By advertising the free CD in the skyline of the magazine makes it easier for it to be seen because it will be one of the first things that are seen when the magazine is stacked with the rest of the other magazines and makes it stand out with the Iron Maiden mascot skeleton hanging out the skyline.

By having the Masthead behind the  band gives the impression that the title isn't important it's just the music that is the important aspect of the magazine. Also, the use of the chains over the 'Metal Hammer' and 'Disturbed' goes with the main headline that the band has just got 'out the asylum' and the use of the chains gives the impression that they have broken free from being a prisoner, maybe a prisoner of following the conventions of a normal music magazine and following the norm of a music band.

Institution: The publisher of this magazine is also Future Publishing. This particular establishment have offices in the UK, US and Australia. Just within the UK, Future has a portfolio of 70 monthly magazines, 60 websites, a growing number of live events and an expanding number of customer publishing businesses. In the UK, the headquarters is in Bath but they have large offices in London.

Ideology: The ideology of the magazine Metal Hammer, I think, is to express the upcoming tour dates and the news for the bands that fit in the heavy metal genre and that their audience seem to follow.


Audience: 85% of readers of Metal Hammer are young males, that are influenced by the music business, with an average age of 22. Out of all the readers of Metal Hammer, 41% of them are in employment and 51% of them are studying in some sort of education establishment.
Readers tend to spend an average of 3 hours reading each issue and 85% of them keep the issues for future reference. Half of the readers see live music at least once a month and 79% will be attending a music festival at any time within the next 12 months.


Representation: I feel that the representation of the people that listen to this type of music has been accurately shown because the colour scheme is grey, black and red which are dark colours. These colours can be associated with this type of music because people that listen to rock music are stereotyped to wear dark colours; such as black and red.

Language: The colour scheme of red, pink, yellow and black shows that is an equal distribution of things for both genders like there is an equal distribution of colours that are stereotypically for both sexes. On the covers of other magazines, we aren't used to seeing the person swearing like the model is on the cover of this edition of Rock Sound. This could represent how the magazine does all it can to fight the stereotype of a typical music magazine. Moreover, the ring on his hand of the cross on a side could represent that their music isn't how everyone wants it to be.

The iconic way that the masthead of the magazine is behind the models head gives the loyal readers a sense of familiarity as it is unique to Rock Sound Magazine therefore, when the magazines are stacked together, this magazine will be easily recognised. By having some of the bands that are going to be in the magazine in the skyline and by putting them in red will make them stand out and attract attention because it is against a white background.

Having the other bands that are in the magazine in the bottom left corner and having them in small writing makes the potential readers have to pick it up to read it, which will make them more likely to buy it since it is their hand already.

Institution: Rock Sound Magazine is published by Sonic Publishing. This is an establishment that is based in London. They bring exciting and entertaining digital publications by using cutting edge technologies and helps traditional magazines bring their titles to the Internet. They also offer advanced services to some independent websites that wish to join the group by giving them advice about their ad sales, web design and development.

Ideology: The ideology for this magazine could be described as rebellious and resisting the mainstream culture that is within the UK at the moment. This is supported by the use of the colours, red meaning danger, which could give the impression that the people within this magazine are dangerous to some extent. Moreover, the use of the swearing could be a way of saying 'no' to society and their stereotypical ways.

Audience: Rock Sound have found that the ages of their readers range from 15-24 years old. They also found that most of their readers are female, with 68% of the readers being females. Most for their readers are interested in music (preferably rock music), clothes, xbox/PlayStation. Most of the readers went to music tours and festivals regularly, 54% of the readers are actually in a band of their own.

Representation: I think that the representation in this magazine has been accurately done. The magazine reflects the people that are most likely to read this magazine and are most likely to listen to the type of music that Rock Sound includes.

Language: The colour scheme of red, black and white can be described as the signature of the magazine, this is because it is used throughout all the different editions of the same magazine. Where the page name and numbers are there is a use of cold black writing for the title names which is underlined by a red stroke which separates the titles from the description of what the page is about. This is effective because it makes the title stand out from the rest of the page. There is also an effective use of the page numbers on the pictures. This is because we are made aware what article is what page without actually looking at the contents page, also if there is a time when the white page number is going to go on either a white background or multicoloured background then Q used a black box to emphasise the page numbers.

The use of the review section at the bottom of the page breaks up the page and acts like a 'word from the editor' section which is a convention of a music magazine. Also, the absence of the subscription section is a different approach towards the magazine, this is because magazines generally have a subscription section in order to entice their readers to sign up to the magazine in order to get more readers.

Institution: Q magazine is published by Bauer Media Group. These are Europe's largest privately owned publishing group. This group has a worldwide empire which has over 300 magazines in 15 countries, as well as on line, TV and radio stations.

Ideology: The ideology for Q could be described as a magazine for all music lovers because it focuses on all different genres of music; from Cheryl Cole to Green Day, to Britney Spears. It is a magazine that brings everyone together and has a bit in it for everyone.

Audience: Q's audience is composed of passionate, engaged and open minded music fans driven to continually discover new music - and to use this lust for discovery to influence their friends. The audience is split 75% male to 25% female.

Representation: I feel that the audience of this magazine is well represented as it includes many different singers/artists from many different genres which is who they want their magazine to appeal to; people who are open minded about the type of music that they like.

Language: The way that the picture is in sepia gives the impression that the band is still just as good as ever, no matter how old the group members get. Also the idea that there is a pop out quote from the story which is used to draw people into the article because we want to know what else he said and we want to know if he explains what has been going on with the band. The use of the change of type face on 'The Best MCR' gives a personalisation towards the band because it was used on their new album 'Danger Days' so it gives a bit of familiarity for the fans towards the bands.

The use of the pictures of the band inside the recording studio gives the sense that we are part of the band and we have some say towards what happens and also gives us a sneak preview behind the scenes to see the new album being written and the image of the lead singer singing in the new recording studio is used to excite their fans because the image shows that the band are making a new album which is what the fans want. This is also implied by using the drop down on the side of the page because the headline on that specific bit is 'New MCR tracks the lowdown' which shows that they have already written or thought about new songs which will also excite their fans and shows them to expect a new album soon

Institution: Kerrang magazine is also published by Bauer Media Group which I talked about on my contents page.

Ideology: The ideology of Kerrang Magazine is to bring their readers news and information about the most popular bands week after week, they also give publicity to upcoming bands in order to tell their readers about who to listen out for. They also make their readers aware about upcoming tours and festivals.

Audience: Audience of Kerrang according to Bauer Media is: young, individually minded and passionate consumers, an audience defined by attitude, passion and loyalty. Radio - 15-35 male bias.

Representation: I feel that the representation of the audience has been represented accurately because it has followed the stereotype but has got its own little twist on it by making sure that the content is different every week and make sure that the colour schemes are different every time.

Music Magazine Brief

The front page, contents and double page spread of a new music magazine. All imaged and text used must be original, produced by you - minimum of four images

Evaluation

I have followed some of the conventions of a typical magazine. I have the put the competition on top of the page which is what I have learnt from other magazines that I have read and looked at. This is because when the magazines are stacked in the shops, the competition and the title are the first things that they will see. I put a picture of the painting within the flash graphic in order to make it stand out, but made it small so that people that buy this will want to see the picture in full. I put the main headline over the top of the picture and made it look better than the other story titles so that it stands out as the main headline. I made the sport story picture stand out by putting the purple box around it and making the story title stand out by putting it in a blue box with bright green writing. I put the date and price under the masthead and in a smaller text because it is still visible but out the way. I have put the model in the middle of my page so that she is the centre of attention and because she is the target of the main story. The competition appeals to a number of people because most students enjoy going to the student parties but feel that they can’t afford it because the prices are too high. Also, because the competition is in the skyline everyone is able to see it, and therefore has an equal opportunity to take part in it. The three main colours I have chosen represent the different aspects of the college, the blue represents the sport part of the college, and the green and purple are the standard college colours.

I have decided to include a sport story on the front page because Wyke is highly recognised for their sports department. However, I have made the story about the art department the main story as I feel the art department gets overlooked due to the fact it is a sports college. The teachers may feel that the magazine is a distraction; however, there are revision tips to ensure the students can get the most out of their courses. Each issue of the magazine would contain stories about different college departments, to make sure that the whole college gets the recognition that it deserves.

The magazine is mainly aimed at all the college students, but they’re likely to only read the issues that concern the courses they are taking or that they are interested in but aren’t taking. The magazine could also appeal to the family of students from the college because it can help them find out what it happening within the college.

By asking around the college, other students have positively commented on the prize of free tickets to the Wyke parties because they spend enough money travelling to and from college every day, getting to and from the parties and buying their drinks when they get to the party. Because the stories are written by students, I feel that the readers are getting a students’ point of view on what is happening around the college. The fact that the painting is a well-known childhood character, gives the sense of familiarity and comfort which makes students feel that they can relax within the art department, even if they aren’t taking a subject in the department. They also believe that they would buy this magazine because it is unique to our college, due to the fact that the colour scheme is the college colours.

While making this magazine cover in Photo shop, I have learnt that the tools take a while to get used to but they worked together effectively for what I was trying to achieve. I learnt that the quick selection tool isn’t always necessary when cropping aspects out of a photo. I have learnt that when cropping people out of a photo, sometimes it is best to use the polygon lasso tool, it may be time consuming but the results are enhanced. I learnt how to add effects to a certain piece of text to make it look more professional and to make it stand out against a busy background. When taking photos I learnt to take light and composition into consideration, and understand how the image will help my magazine appeal to the target audience that I wanted it to. I used my own digital camera to take my pictures; this helped me because I already understood the different effects that I can get on my camera have and the different types of shots I can get from my camera. I found that the angle of the photo makes a big difference to the image of the magazine cover. This is because it can change how the cover looks dramatically. I have never used Blogger before so I had to learn how to use that in a short space of time and learn how to add pictures and change the format of a save in order to add the pictures to my blog. I started to try and learn to use Prezi, however, I soon stopped using it because I couldn’t understand it, but I feel that this would have helped the planning of my work more if I had continued to use it. In order to get my paper drawings into the computer, I had to learn how to use the scanner, I will be using this in the future because I find it easier to plan my work using paper drawings and being able to show my friends and get their opinion and make any changes that they think would improve it.

Rough pictures

 I chose to put my model in the right corner because I am going to put the painting behind her to look like it's in a professional gallery. however, the colours in her jacket and the big logo on her shirt would make it difficult to choose a text colour to folow a specific colour scheme.

 I decided to try to put her in the middle of the page and then put the painting behind her. However, it would make it more difficult to put text on the page and put it over her. This would give me more work to do.

 I thought the idea that my model has the art department behind her would make it attract the some of the art students within the college. Also, the idea that my model is wearing alternative clothes would attract the alternative clique within the college. However, the different colours within her jacket would cause me more problems when choosing the colour scheme.

 The use of the art classroom in the background gives the idea that it was done in college and shows that she is studying Art within the college. However, the image in the background doesn't give the impression that it is an art classroom because it is empty. Also, we can see the big logo on her top and it will cause problems for me when it comes to choosing the colour scheme.

 This is the picture that I used for my magazine cover.

I chose that she should wear a black jumper because it would make it easier for me to choose a colour scheme and for me to write over it. However, I didn't use this one because the lighting on her face didn't give the impression that I wanted

Contents page mock-up

Final Design

This is my final design of my magazine front cover.

Screenshots of final design

I took a photo of a plain wall for my background and put a print screen of the college website on another page in order to get my colour scheme. I clicked the rectangle tool and drew the blue banner at the top. And made the writing for 'WIN!!!' bigger than the rest of the skyline.

I used the Polygon Lasso tool to cut out my model and clicked 'Transform - scale' and dragged the photo until it mirrored itself because her right arm was cut off, so I swapped it to make it look better.

I used the rectangle tool to draw the green box for the masthead, and used the idea of the logo for the 'Wyke' and the idea of the communication tool for the 'SKYPE'.

 I used the custom shape tool and chose the explosion for the green 'flash' and took a photo of my models actual painting for the artwork within it. This would act as the artwork that is for the gallery.

 I wrote 'Student Wins Artwork in Top London Art Gallery'. This would act as my main story for my magazine.

 I used a barcode generator to make the barcode in the corner and used a version of the logo for the logo on top of the barcode. I couldn't decide on a colour of writing for the main headline, so I added some different patterns to it to make it stand out better.

 Under the masthead, I put the price and the date, the in put a purple rectangle under it using the rectangle tool and placed a photo of a basketballer for another story.

 I put the blue box inder my basketballer and wrote 'Championships Here We Come' to represent the sport side of the college in green.

I then put another explosion in the top right corner to add another story and to draw some attention to it, but I changed the opacity of it so it isn't as bold as the rest of the magazine cover. Inside it, I put 'Revision Tips', to attract people that are looking for help.