Drafting and Planning - Masthead

For my music magazine masthead I am planning to use “shock” I have not decided on a font but I will use a different font for the “S” which will give my magazine an original left third. I don’t want my masthead to cover the whole top of the page like mix mag so I only want it to reach half way. I plan for my cover line to use a bright colour to go against my dark background. I would also like my artist to slightly cover the masthead. 

drafting and planning- drafts

these 3 images are my first complete drafts of my front page, contents page and double page spread. my ideas are only draft  at this stage so they could possibly change, before making decisions i viewed my recent questionnaire analysis  so i had more guidance. my images show where conventions are going to be placed and what colour they are going to be . this will help me when making my final version as it will act as a plan,

Drafting and planning: Publication plan

Drafting and planning: Publication plan

Front page

Title/masthead: shock

Selling line: N/A

Frequency of publication: Weekly

Price: £2.00

Who will distribute the magazine: proper music distribution

Rationale: my music magazine is a music magazine that promotes new artists with interviews and song/album reviews of popular artist’s from the electro dance genre such as daft punk. My magazine also offers a range of competitions.

Target audience: males and females aged 14-25.

 Conventions: cover star with credit, pugs, cover lines, skyline, date, URL, barcode and price.

Contents page

Content: interviews and images

Features: artist pictures

Supporting story’s: other artists like daft punk.

Double page spread

Plan: one main image covering two pages with text around the outside.

Target Audience - Questionnaire Analysis

Having creating a questionnaire I was able to collect a number of views and tips from my target audience to help me when creating my music magazine. By using the results I can make accurate decisions to suit my target audience.

The feedback from my first questions was fairly even but “a darker background” was preferred by a few votes, this was my original plan however i would use a black background but my feedback suggested I choose a dark grey instead. Also as the votes was so close I can make the decision to choose a light background in which case the suggested colour was white and a pale pink.

As for my second question on the colour of text was more clear results as the majority suggested light/bright colours. The example colours I was given was: red, white, blue and green. However based on a previous drafting task and research I would add yellow to this list.

My third question was based on props which I was planning on using however the feedback I received seems to suggest  I should not use props which is very similar to mix mag as they don’t tend to use props in the photographs.

My next question asked about the double page spread lay out and I again had mixed responses but the votes suggested having an image over the two pages with text around it was the better choice which I again means I am going to change my mind as it is what the target audience wants.

In response to my final question (which was based on effects) I received split responses which means I have to take effects into consideration. This means I will use more effects than “minimal” but I won’t be going over the top. The effects I am going to use are not yet decided but I want them to link closely to my cover line and artist for example if the cover line mentions “fire” then I might add an effect that looks like the photo is burning.

This questionnaire has helped me in making informed decisions for my music magazine. I have learnt a lot about my Target audience so I can use their tips which I will refer too. I did have ideas on what to put into my draft which would have been a bad choice but now I know which direction to take my project in. the questionnaire has also proved that some of my initial ideas have been good for example the colour scheme. 

Target Audience - Questionnaires

Today I have created a questionnaire designed for my target audience which help collect ideas on how to improve my magazine in order to suit them.  I have chosen these questions as I think they cover the important areas of my magazine that I need get right so with more opinions I should get reliable answers. the answers will help  me when planning my magazine and when it comes to creating a magazine i will refer to my answers. 

Drafting and Planning - Track Listings

For my music magazine I will be using a solo artist for my main cover line/ story. So in my double page spread I will be using this artistes and his fictional album for a review that will cover my main cover line.  I think that it is important that I use a track list for my target audience (which is electro dance music) to see as I think that will interest them. I don’t expect to use a long list because I want the review to focus on the main songs so I plan to use 4-5 but there is a possibility that I might use around 10 in a list form to show the reader full coverage of the album. My song choices so far are: Motivation, right now, electrons, the mad time, let go, survival, off the rails, advanced, higher, fell the game. However this is just a quick draft of songs so I expect them to slightly change.

Organisation - Photo-shoot effects

for the photos that i am going use in music magazine article i expect that the photo effects will be very  useful as i think i can get it to link to my music genre theme "electro" really well. i have noticed in previous magazines linked to my genre such as mix mag photo effects are used sometimes in small amounts and in others quite a lot however for my magazine i don't want to fill my photo with effects so there will be a limit, to type of effects i plan to use is stuff like blurs and fades.

drafting and planning - influences

for my music magazine i will be looking closely at the mix mag magazine which has an influence on me as it is from the same genre of music as my magazine. although i don't  particular the layout and colour scheme (with a few exceptions) i can learn a lot about how  to present my artist and what sort of text to because it will be ideal for my target audience. i can take the ideas about presentation and use them to help construct my own music magazine.

organisation- style of artist and costume

When it comes to my photo shoot need to have a clear understanding of my artist as I need to prepare for what type and style of artist I need because if I get an artist that  does not  match my target audience then no one will buy my magazine so it is very important that I get it right. In a previous peer assessment   had a similar issue with the content not matching the artist and genre so it’s clear I need to make a change.

As I am planning to do an electro/dance/house theme  I have been viewing the “mixmag” magzine and I have notcied that quite a few artits in the picture above  using sunglasses which gives them an identy that I rarely see in other genres. I have also noticed that some artist have very complex costumes such as daft punk which will be very challing for me to replicate however most artits like the ones in the picture above such as david  guetta and grove armada tend just wear plain t shirts with some with text on like “we like elcetric”

So when it comes to my photoshoot I plan to have solo artist with a similar appearnce like the artists above (sunglasses and t shirt)  where as if I was wearing a big trench coat I will through my target audice off.

drafting and planning- remake remodel task peer assessment

http://callumcarter17.blogspot.co.uk/  task link

on a previous task i was given the "mix mag" masthead and i had to set out and create my own magazine using original photography. today i was give feedback on how i can improve my work as well as positive feedback.
one thing i did well was my colour scheme as it when well with my my background and showed potential.
however i was given a list of improvements the first one been "orphaning"  when it comes to my title which is where  words are left on there own.
secondly there was a big gap between the artist and the masthead so it would be good to have either the artist overlapping the masthead or the other way round. finally my content was a bit vague and not closely related to my genre.

this feedback has helped me understand where i am going wrong and how i can make changes/adjustments to improve my magazine. i will refer back to my feedback when creating drafts and my final version. i have also learned that my colour scheme is going in the right direction so i wont have to make adjustments there.

research into similar products- band profile

band name: major lazer


members: Diplo, Jillionaire, Walshy Fire


description: Major Lazer is an electronic music group originally created by record producers Diplo and Switch. Switch left in 2011, but Diplo remained, with additional members Jillionaire and Walshy Fire. Their music spans numerous music styles, mixing EDM with reggae, dancehall, electronic, reggaeton, house, and moombahton genres. Major lazers most famous song is "LEAN ON" by major Lazer and dj snake.

drafting and planning - front cover conventions

for my front cover of my music magazine it is important to use a number of conventions that will make my magazine both professional and unique. some conventions are essential to have  and are found on all magazines. this contains a website URL, date, price and a bar code. i believe that this particular aspect will make my magazine professional. other conventions that i plan to use which are optional is a skyline along the top to form a sort of border which can also act as a sort of cover line. i also may use a PUG or a PUFF to attract more people to my magazine for example a person ma not like reading about their favourite band but they may want a chance to win tickets to see them.  

research into similar product.

.

here i have chosen another magazine article from mix mag which is similar to my style of magazine. i can use this magazine to help me with my music magazine as it will show many similarities as with my genre. 

the layout is particularly is important because it contains to usual conventions such as bar code but it dose contain  conventions such as a skyline at the top which i plan on using my self. there is cover lines on the sides with a main cover line  in the middle. finally there is a main image which slightly covers the masthead at the top of the page.

the colour scheme is basic with red, white and black mix mag is one of the few magazines to adapt there colour scheme very new magazine as seen in previous research,

the photography is simple yet effective as it contains a mid shot of the artist with has obvious effects such as the drawing on top of the image. 

drafting and planning - target audience

for my music magazine i hoping to base my genre of electo music so i will have to aim for a particular audience. as most music genres have a broad range of i wont bel looking for a particular age demographic but i am aware that small children and the elderly wont be choosing to view this product so i wont be considering them when i make my decisions. also i know the people viewing my magaine will show an intrst in my genre of music so i have to base my decisions on my genre because i dont want to create confusion for example using a choir as a band.