Process of Recreating my Double Page Spread (Music Magazine)

I decided to experiment using different colour choices for the background which would be then slightly faded to promote the main image of the artist in the top layer. For my first attempt of experimenting with effects, I used the channel mixer tool on adjustments. I do like the outcome of this image as the bright red both follows the colour scheme and house style as well as provides a basis to contrast text on.

Next I attempted to make the background image black and white using the adjustments tool. By making the text and image of the artist on the page brightly coloured in contrast, I could emphasise the ideology that rock is alive and loud. 

This was the initial photograph taken from the location of the music tech room. The lighting has actually worked really well in the photo. The lighter spot in the centre of the image was not intentional however could represent the spotlight of music genre as bieng rock. 

A you can see I chose to use the final colour choice for the background. Also I did fade out the background to 46% to make other conventions on the page stand out. I decided to use 3 different fonts for the title increasing in size to draw attention to the focus of the article. I used blending options to create drop shadows and inner shadows making the different areas of text stand out. 

After deciding on a suitable appearance for the title of the double page spread, this was the overall look of the page so far. As you can see there is a clear space for the article to be situated on the page

Next I had to actually write up the article, ensuring it was specific to the advertised article on the front cover - Rex leaving the band Blue to start a solo career. Writing the article proved to be quite simple as I already have developed English language skills from studying the subject at college.

Continuing to use the programme Microsoft Word, I edited the text including a drop cap and making it a suitable text size and format to be suited on the page.

I then simply copied and pasted it onto a layer on Photoshop and made minor adjustments to make it suitable on the page. I am very happy with my decision to make the text white as it stands out against the black background and continues the colour scheme. 

For the finished product I slightly changed the title of the page by making "King" white instead of black. Also I added a sub line to introduce the audience to the article. Although not visible on this print screen, I also included the page number on the bottom right side of the page. 

"The King Alone" - Double Page Spread Research

The title of the double page spread must be very appropriate to the text relating to the article below, I wanted to make the title quite ambiguous to draw in the reader’s attention and want to find out more. I previously named the artist "Rex" on my front cover as this aggressive name could be related to the rock genre. Further research into the name provided information that the Latin translation refers back to "king/ part of the official state of king". The article is about the artist Rex leaving his band to start a solo career therefore it made sense to use the main title "The King Alone". This hidden reference is very effective and could attract many readers who want to read more about this new king of rock and his talents in the music industry. 

Improving my Double Page Spread (Music Magazine)

The main improvement that needs to be made on my double page spread is the article itself, in my opinion it doesn't exaggerated the full potential of the story. Also it does not have any relevance to the music industry and the how successful the artist is doing. Clearly the colour scheme also could be improved however that involves the reconstruction of my front cover and contents page also. As previously mentioned in my post regarding improving my front cover, the quality of the images are poor therefore I will need to re-shoot giving me good quality photographs. These improvements will ultimately increase the overall  professional image of my magazine.

So things I need to change:

• Re-take my Photographs
• Again delete the tacky music symbols placed on the page. 
• Make the article much more related to the actual music industry. 
• Ensure the text in the article follows a conventional format- small text size and clear font. 

Analysis of my double page spread Drafts 1-2 (Music magazine)

Draft 1
The creation of this draft is focused on the conventional layout and view of the double page spread among the rest of the magazine as an A3 page. I am very happy with the image I have chosen for my double page spread as the image quality itself is good, the image is in focus and as required is a clear medium shot of the artist. In making my image suitable for my magazine I had to edit certain features using Photoshop. This involved using the brush tool to make the instruments in the image cleaner, I could argue this may go against the mise-en-scene however I wanted the shot itself to look high quality therefore I chose to enhance the image. Alike previous shots used of models I used Gaussian blur and spot healer to improve the overall view of the model. I have focused on the convention of using stylised fonts to highlight important messages that should be represented through the denotation. I have made the phrase "ROCK" very noticeable so it stands out on the page; also it immediately shows the audience what this specialised article features and influences the indie/rock relationship genre to the audience of the magazine.  A main convention I want to follow throughout my magazine is house style, this is very important as the customer must be able to relate different articles and pages together (by format or the text itself). Again I used a simple grey shaded background which is very noticeable to the audience allowing them to easily follow the house style. When adding the article itself in my next draft I will be putting important Quotes from the artist in a larger/bolder format so it stands out. Also I may make the first letter of each paragraph larger as this is a common convention and during my research found this effect was used a lot. Also I will need to contemplate including a by-line and definitely page numbers, also the article itself will be presented in columns. 
Draft 2
I have made many changes and improvements on my double page spread since my initial layout plan. I used the software, publisher to write up my article which meant I had a different choice of text formats and useful and conventional text adaptions I could include. For example I used both a drop-cap at the start of my article and 2 pool quotes. From previous research into NME and Q's magazine articles I know these features are very common and it allows the publisher to make certain text stand out to the audience. Also by including these conventions my magazine has a more accurate and professional approach which would urge my customer to pay money for my magazine as it connotes the good quality of the magazine. The heading "the album that made him.. nearly broke him" was created alike the main image using Photoshop as I wanted to give the text bold effects similar to the main article title on the page. Also I have included an introductory paragraph in the article to highlight to the audience briefly then content of the article. At the bottom right of the page I have included a page number which is a very important convention of a double page spread. I am happy with the overall view of the double page spread so far however I still need to make slight adjustments in making sure the page is as successful as possible. I have recently discovered after using the image on the faded background that I have over used the blur tool which has resulted in making the image appear slightly out of focused although it is not. To reverse this problem I am going to use the rubber or paintbrush tool to make the instruments more prominent instead of over blurred in the final product. Also I should add a small quote or heading to the single image on the right side of the page to briefly explains its importance and how it relates to the audience.

Double Page Spread Draft 2 (Music magazine)

Double Page Spread Draft 1 (Music magazine)

Draft 6 of my Front Cover (Music Magazine)

Process of Recreating my Front Cover (Music Magazine)

Firstly I had to edit the actual content of the photograph I had chosen to use on my front cover. I use the Photo shop tool "Spot healer" situated on the toolbar on the left of the screen programme. This was very effective as it made the model have more of a smooth complexion. 

I also changed the lighting of the image by moving around the line in the graph....

This allowed me to make the overall appearance of the photograph darker creating quite nice effects using shadowing techniques.

I already had a very clear idea of the image of the intended appearance of my masthead from my first attempt at the foundation portfolio. I wanted to keep it simple so it didn't take much emphasis off the background image. I used ........ using the drop down tool "Shadow" and changed the details to 

give the title a thick black outline, clearly very bold. 

This print screen demonstrates my initial choice of font and appearance for my cover lines. I used the effect "Bevell and Emboss" to change to colour of the text giving it a different and funky look. Clearly this was not very effective and looked quite plain.

This shows again the initial stages of creating my cover lines, again they simply look quite bland and do not stand out very well. Also the text has both a lower and higher case which could be improved upon by making all the text on the front cover in the upper case. I did further research into the appearance of cover lines and found it was conventional to have text on a front cover in the upper case. 

Another highly important feature of a magazine front cover is a teasing content. Here the initial stages of my bottom border are clear, I did experiment with the use of different colours and again the effect of "bevell and emboss". The border seemed to fit better into the colour scheme and stand out more using a simple, solid colour throughout. 

IMAGE OF BORDER SHOWING THE TEXT GOING ONTO IT.

This print screen below shows the second stage of my attempt to improve my cover lines. I experimented with different font choices and decided upon a selection of two different types to continuously use for the headings and texts situated below. 

To fill in the space at the bottom of the page I included "69 best albums" as an almost summary for the magazine to include in a final article. The text choice of "69" was simply chosen to specifically relate to the rebellious rock genre of the magazine as it boldly insinuates nature of sexual activities.

My first complete draft of the layout of the cover lines on my front cover. I am very happy with the overall appearance of the text, i still need to include an thumbnail image into the top, left corner to relate with the article "Demi Lowe". 

It is conventional of a magazine front cover to include a dominant main article therefore I felt it was important to try and include this feature on my magazine. I found it very difficult deciding upon the colour of the quote as it did not stand out against the models clothing. I thought that the use of orange look average, the disappointment was that the colour did not fit into the colour scheme which made it look quite odd.

Next I experimented using the colour white however again created the same issues as it looked like it did not belong on the magazine front cover. The layout of the previous conventions had to be changed to make room for the main article and quote and this feature would not look appropriate anywhere else on the cover. I simply moved the "Demi Lowe" article to the right hand side of the page.

As you can see on this draft I simply made the main article a smaller text to fit onto the page. To ensure the audience would not confuse this with one of the regular cover lines I changed the font and included large quotation marks showing its dominance on the page. 

I made other small, conventional improvements to the magazine also, for example including the price and date in the top right corner and also including the bar code at the bottom left. I still need to edit and include the thumbnail image relating to the smaller article.

Draft 5 of my Front Cover (Music Magazine)

Improving my Front Cover (Music Magazine)

The issues with my music magazine mainly revolve around the quality of my photographs. Also the mise-en-scene could be improved, for example using a electric guitar as a prop for the model in stead of an acoustic one. This simple change would make my rock magazine much more authentic and highlight the rebellious nature of the magazine. Although the image of my previous model James, does make direct eye contact with the audience the whole layout of the image could be much improved upon. Using "blending options" on my titles for the cover lines on my magazine will ensure that the different text can stand out. This also means I do not have to rely on the different areas of the photograph to make subheadings stand out.

So things I need to change:

• Retake my Photographs.
• Do not include the colour grey in my house style. Instead use the bold colour's of red/black/white.
• Make the cover line more authentic by researching the layout used in existing magazines. 
• Include a more tempting teasing content which is conventional of other music magazines.
• Perhaps include a thumbnail image on front cover of an important article which will be referenced later in the magazine. 
• Overall make the magazine appear more realistic and authentic.

Analysis of Front Cover Dafts 1-4 (Music magazine)

Draft 1

• For my first draft I used the simple outdoor location of the wall on different buildings. Although the choice is very simple, the use of the brick wall adds to the urban realism influence on the magazine. I did actually take separate photographs and converge them together to create my first draft, it seems this was unnecessary and perhaps I should have just taken the photo and edited it as a whole. 
• With this draft I tried to emphasise the loud and rebellious feature of the magazine. I feel the attitude and pose of the model does represent this however in terms of the conventional accuracy of my magazine, it is fairly weak. I will improve this in my next draft by including more cover lines and retaking my photograph (with the same model) to include more appropriate mise-en-scene. By including actual instruments on my front cover, the audience can easily identify the genre. 
• The font chosen is quite appropriate for the ideology of my magazine as it is bold and unique which identically represents the expected consumer of the magazine. For my next draft I will try to include a similar font, perhaps I will further research font styles to find a very representing style.
• I attempted to follow a continuous colour scheme of black, red and white as these contrasting colours are useful for highlighting certain texts. This was not as successful as intended as the location made the quality of the front cover quite poor and dull, not the bright and bold colours I intended to create. 
• In terms of conventions I actually included; (although of basic content) the screamer made the text "special edition" stand out on the cover, the box effect I created over the text was yellow. This colour is useful for emphasising text however does not follow the housestyle of the magazine. The layout of the screamer and text underneath should be closer together to specifically relate the convetentional items together. 

 There are many improvements that need to make to this draft although I am fairly happy with the result as it gave me a visual insight into which conventions worked and how to alter the layout of the items on the front cover. In my next draft I will include a wider range of fonts and experiment altering different images from my photo shoot and find the most effective photograph. Also I will try to make the magazine more professional and exclusive as at the moment I feel it is not up to the customers standard at the moment. 

Draft 2

• I created this draft to experiment with different chioces of poses the model could have from the photo shoot. I did not include any textual conventions on this draft as it was simply created to test the effectiveness of the layout. 
• I spent much time using the programme Photoshop to experiment using the tools Gaussian blur and spot healer (enhanceing the quality of the image). I also used  the blur tool to soften the appearance of the image so it would blend it with its future background. 
• This second draft also enabled me to roughly decide on an appropriate but simple background for my front cover, which would follow one simple theme. 
• In this draft I had a theory that the bold, black background would make all the text and the model image stand out however I did not like the use of the colour at all. The magazine and genre would have much more suited a quiet colour for example grey. Although this could appear ironic as the target audience of the magazine is bold and outgoing. I did some independent research on the background colours used on established magazines and found that is conventional to follow the tone of simplicity. I could use different shading tecniques regarding the solid colour choice in areas of the page that I feel have more importance. 
• I also experimented using a central, banner headline as my masthead as I thought it would stand out more. However this does not follow the typical conventions of a magazines front cover which is usually at the top left of the page.
•  To make my magazine look as profeccional and legitimate as possible I will follow all important conventions.

Draft 3

• Here I began to trial the different text which would be featured on my magazine. From previously analysing magazines as part of my research I really found stating the featured artists on the page is very appealing to the audience. Including this appeal also adds to the promotion of the genre of my magazine as it shows the bands which are associated with the indie music style. 
• Also I included an advertisement at the top right of the page. The content of the flash; as advertising concert tickets, again identifies to the audience the genre of the magazine giving them the opportunity to immediately decide if it suits their music taste.
• To improve this draft I will make areas of my magazine cover background darker give a more defined continuus colour scheme. Also the use of dark areas on the magazine could connote the darker rebellios aspect I am trying to promote through the magazine.
• I am still very happy with the image itself and will definitely be using it for my finished magazine cover. There is a space in between the legs of the model which is perfect for the advertisement of the main article in the magazine. The only ciritical point to make regarding the content of this photograph is that it could appear quite unrealistic as when I add a new background the pose does not work as well as previously.
• Clearly I will need to add cover lines to left third of my magazine (this is what the audience would conventionally expect).  As I have used the same font for all my text the main article and masthead does not stand out as much as is needed. Whentherefore when redrafting my front cover I will use a varied range of fonts. Also my peers have helped me identify that the sub title “James Basile” should in fact be larger that “Exclusive” as that is the article I am trying to promote and catch the audience’ interest regards the artist James Basile.

Draft 4

This is the final draft I have created in terms of the layout of my conventions and the colour scheme ect. There are very few details I need to add to this draft in making it look more realistic, I must include a price, the issue number/date and a bar code, these are simple conventions the audience would expect to find on a music magazine therefore I must include them. As stated in previous drafts I have now included different fonts on my magazine to highlight the important and exclusive headlines on the magazine. Also with my cover lines I have given the sub heading text the colour red to continue the colour scheme and visually show its significance on the page. I have also included a strap ine directly underneath the masthead to introduce the reader to the magazine establishing the genre and the music magazine it is. Also I feel this draft successfully identifies the target audience of young adults, not only from the text and layout but the colour scheme I have chosen. For example the use of red contrasting with black and grey shows the rebellious theme and the advertisement with reference to “concert tickets” shows the age group targeted. Also I have listed names of bands at the bottom of the splash which stereotypically are related to the younger generations music taste. 

Draft 4 of my Front Cover (Music magazine)

Draft 3 of my Front Cover (Music magazine)