Drafting & Planning

As I have said before, I am re creating a music magazine and the magazine in particular I have chosen to do is NME so I have taken some photos to use for the front cover.

From researching the NME magazine I know that the image of the main cover artist on the front cover consists of a white back ground and a male cover artist. So I have taken some photos in that style.

Also from researching the magazine I have noticed that the main cover artist usually wears dark clothing hence why my cover artist Is wearing dark clothing and furthermore the main cover artists on the NME magazine normally has a blank facial expression because NME's music genre is alternative/rock which is stereotypically associated with being 'cool'.

I will use these photos that I have taken to recreate a music magazine in the style of NME.

Research into similar products

 

As I said in my previous post for a task I am recreating the NME magazine. I have been researching into the magazine so I can successful recreate it and from looking at the magazine I have noticed that most of the main cover artists that are featured on this magazine are men. The main reason of this is because NME's magazines genre is alternative/rock and most artists in this category are men, also the magazines target audience is aimed at guys so the use of male cover artists is appropriate. By me now knowing this, when I come to create my remodelled version of an NME magazine I will use a male for my main cover artist to truly show that I've made a magazine in the style of an NME magazine front cover.

Research into similar products

I am planning to create a front cover in the style of the famous music magazine 'NME' and I have chosen to do this magazine in particular because of its very distinct stylisation.

From researching into this magazine I can see that the colour scheme which is red, white and black is very constant as these are used on nearly all issues of this magazine. Also the magazines ethos is consistent too because the use of 'cool/alternative' artists on the front cover and this is effective because the magazines target audience are fans of this sort of music.

when I come to recreate this magazine I will try to incorporate most of the magazines key elements to help successfully convey that its an NME.

Research into similar products

Adele is a Grammy Award-winning artist whose soulful sound has made her an international success with hits like "Rolling in the Deep" and "Someone Like You." From North London, England the singer has sold millions of albums worldwide and winning multiple Grammys. She also received a songwriting Oscar for the James Bond track "Skyfall."
Adele is an iconic figure is the music world hence why she is hugely successful and know to many people.

Due to her popularity from her songs Adele is easily recognisable which explains why on most music magazines she features on the front cover is very minimal and simplistic. This is the same for the 'Rolling stones' magazine featuring her because as you can see it that the front cover only includes a masthead, main cover image, main cover line and a small bit of anchorage text. This magazine cover featuring Adele used simplicity very well and even the cover artist has a minimal use of gimmicks as you can see that she has a small amount of makeup on and a dressing gown.

From looking at this I now know that the cover artists popularity is a key factor when creating magazine front cover as when I come to create my music magazine I will probably have to include more things like cover lines because of the fact that my artist I create won't be as famous so more will need to be revealed about them in order for the reader to actually want to buy my music magazine.

Research into similar products

Here are two music magazines that use two different shot types for its main cover image. The first magazine which is the "Billboard" magazine featuring Adele uses a medium close up shot and this helps draw the reader to her face, making them instantly realise who it is and what is the magazine issue about. Also because Adele is a solo artist it is appropriate to use a medium close up as the enphasis of the magazine should solely be on her.
The second magazine is the "Rolling stones" magazine featuring The strokes uses a full length shot. The use of this shot in particular is effective for the magazines cover artist because of the fact that they are a band so for the reader to easily see and identify who it is a full length shot is used. Also by using a full length shot to see all of the cover artist helps to show that everyone in the band plays an equal part.
From looking at these two magazines I know that the type of shot used for the main cover artists image is important and when I come to create my own music magazine I will have to think about this when I decide who my artist is.

Research into similar products

This is the NME magazine featuring Rihanna and i have chosen to look at this magazine in particular because of the effective use of its colour scheme.

There is a minimal amount of colours used on this front page which is effective because it helps to draw attention to the things in pink i.e the masthead. The fact that they are in a different colour helps to highlight the key points of the magazine and and the use of pink shows Rihanna's femininity.

From looking at this i now know that the use of colour plays a big factor in what message you are trying to convey to the reader. So when i come to create my music magazine i will think carefully about what colour i'll use to help highlight specific things.

Research into similar products

Here is the NME magazine featuring Ian Curtis from the band Joy Division and I have chosen to look at this magazine because the house style, text and colour helps to covey that this issue in particular is a special. Ian Kevin Curtis was an English musician and singer-songwriter. He is best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the post-punk band Joy Division and he died 18 May 1980 and this is significant because in this issue they are celebrating 30 years of joy division. The use of the black and white colour scheme is effective because it gives a sense of timelessness, as if the artists relevance and memory of them will live on and it also takes away the distraction of colour which causes the reader to focus on the main image of the cover artist. The fact that all the relevant information about the band is in bold black text highlights the emphasis on the message of this issue which is the artist. Furthermore even though this issue is a special addition the house style of the magazine is still similar, like the masthead is the same and in the same position. However this still fits the theme of this issue and helps to tell the reader that they are looking at an NME magazine due to the masthead being red and standing out. From analysing this magazine front cover I now know the importance of the use of house style, text and colour as these can make a big impact on the magazines message. So when I come to create my own music magazine I will think about what in particular I want to tell the reader in my issue.

Research into similar products

 Here are three different issues from vibe magazine and I have selected to look at vibe's magazine front cover today because it is a clear example of how a magazine sticks to its chosen music genre. As you can see these three magazine front covers have a very similar format to it, which is main cover artist in the middle, masthead on the top of the page and the cover lines around the artists. I think this is effective because by sticking to a similar format it allows the reader to be familiar to the magazine also it makes the magazine identifiable as audiences will know without even looking at the masthead that it is a vibe magazine. Also the fact that the magazine solely features 'hip-hop' artists makes this magazine stand out to a particular audience. By having artists from the same music genre explains why the magazine uses the same format as they know that it helps to convey their specific music genre meaning that it appeals to the audience. From doing this research I now know that to create a successful music magazine I must have my chosen music genre already planned because it will help me easily put together the magazine as I will have an idea of what I want to include on it in mind.

Layout and conventions feedback

I have been peer-assessed on the positives and negatives of my layout and conventions task that I have completed below  ( http://benitaasmedia.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/layout-exercise.html )

For the 'M' magazine featuring drake my peer said that the text used on the cover was very good as the font was appropriate to the magazines genre and that the colours I used were very effective because it matched what the cover artist's clothing which helped relate the magazine back to him. I was told to that I should make the cover line text larger as it may cause difficulty reading, also where it says "more artists inside !" I should include which artists are so then the reader may see an artist that they like.

The positives for the other 'M' magazine featuring a unknown band that I had to create an identity for was that I successfully created a name for the band which was "Poised Resonance" and this was used for the main cover line. I used colours effectively as I kept it simple, by only using black which helped make the magazine look professional. Also I was told that the use of different size text for the cover lines helped make specific parts of It stand out. The negatives I was told that I only used the top right half of the magazine, so I should maybe add some smaller images and more text to the front cover.

For the "Music_X" magazine featuring bijork I was told that my cover lines was effective because I gave an insight as to what the interview with bijork is about and the anchorage text used fitted perfectly with the magazines theme. I was also told that the layout was successful as I put everything around the main cover image of bijork which helped to show the reader that the main focus of the magazine is about her. However the negatives I was told from this magazine is that I should maybe use a fewer style of fonts as this can look unprofessional.

The positive feedback I was given for the "Pitch" magazine featuring Marilyn Manson was that the main cover line is effective as it clearly states what this magazine is about and also the colour used for it fitted in with the colour scheme. Also the use of the colour red for the cover line are effective as it goes well with the masthead as contrasts with the photo of Marilyn Manson's face. An improvement I was given was that add text to both sides of the cover as it looks a bit empty.

The final magazine I was given feedback for was the 'Sound' magazine featuring the kings of Leon. I was told the cover line was effective because it tells the audience why the are back in the spotlight and also the anchorage text is effective because it relates to the main cover line and it gives an insight as to what will be in the article about them. Furthermore I was told that the use of puff was really good as this is what you would normally see on magazines, making mine look more realistic. A negative I was told that I haven't included many cover lines to do with the band, and also the placement of some of the cover lines means that its not easily read.

From receiving this peer assessment I agree with most of my peer assessors comments, for example the one from the Marilyn Manson magazine because now reflecting on it I understand that it does need more things included on it. I plan to use this feedback from my task to help me create a successful music magazine as now I can look back and see where I struggled most with and improve upon it when I come to create the real thing.

Layout exercise

 Here i have experimented with different layouts, cover lines and fonts on theses magazines. The first the magazine cover i did was the 'pitch' magazine featuring Marilyn Manson and i chose to use red and blue for the text because i thought i fitted in well with the magazine. Another one i did was the 'music x' featuring the artist Bjork. I used simple colours because the photo of her is quite minimalistic also i used a well known quote that she says to help the magazine relate back to her. For the 'M' magazine i had to create an identity for the band so i decided to call them 'Poised resonance' because i thought it suited them and their look. From doing this task it has shown me that the use of colour, typography and cover lines are important to make a magazine look effective and to help show the genre. Furthermore it has made me take layout into serious consideration as it is a very important aspect into making the magazine look good and believable. When i come to create my magazine i will refer back to this task to remind me how the layout can have an impact on a magazines genre and ethos.

Research into similar products

A music genre I have research into is Rock Music.
Rock music is a popular genre of music that has originated from "rock and roll" in the United States in the 1950s, and has developed into a range of different styles.

Famous old rock artists include bands like The Beatles, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin were very popular in their time due to the fact their high produced quality of rock music that their fans loved. However in todays society rock music has evolved massively due to mainly influences like the media.

Rock music is now highly regarded as 'cool' with many people including young adults so now new 'Rock' bands try to cater for them by adding other influences to their genre. For example
pop-rock, alternative-rock and indie-rock.
This is very beneficial for bands to gain more of a fan base however when publicing for them- like a magazine cover- there style is needed to be taken into consideration very carefully to create a successful cover and to convey clearly the magazines and the bands ethos.

When I come to create a cover artist for my music magazine I will have to carefully decide on things like hair, make up and costume if my artists music style is a genre cross over so that I can make sure it appeals to the right target audience.

Research into similar products

Here are two very contrasting music magazine front covers and I am analysis the effectiveness of the main cover image.

The first magazine is a Rock music magazine tailored to classic rock fans and as you can see it has a photo of a rock artist for its main image. This image is effective because the artist is wearing 'cool' 'edgy' clothing that tells the audience what kind of artist he is and also the fact that he has a bland facial expression gives off this 'not caring' vibe which stereotypically teenagers who are a fan of this music genre are. Furthermore the low key lighting used for the main image is effective because it gives off a dark aura which normally rock music is linked to therefore appealing to it target audience.

The second music magazine is a pop magazine targeted at young teenage girls. The main cover image is a photo of the famous British pop band One direction which automatically appeals to its target audience as they a very popular with teenage girls and also the fact that they are all happy and smiling in the photo of  them instantly gives off a positive vibe which the magazine is aiming for. Also high key lighting is used relates to the magazines ethos of it being bright and fun.

From looking at these two magazines you can see there is a distinct difference in main cover image styles and now when I come to create my own music magazine I can see that the main cover image makes a really big impact on the genre you are trying to covey.

Reaserch into similar products

Here I have looked into an artist that is similar to the artist I want to create for my music magazine. The artist I have looked at today is "Marian Hill"

Marian Hill is an American song writing artist from Philadelphia.
Her first album that was released early this year incorporates indie pop and jazz influences which has shown to be a success due to the popularity of the album.

Marian Hill is known for her delicate voice and meaningful lyrics which is reflected through her songs. Also the fact that she has many musical influences, such as blues and electro-pop makes her songs popular as in todays top charts as there isn't many other artists with similar influences furthermore there's a variety of types of influences which will appeal to a larger audience.

I personally like Marian's originality in her music style because she has taken many different musical influences to create her songs. Also her album cover helps to reflect her singing style as she has a delicate yet different voice which is like the album cover which is simplistic but quite abstract.