Photo shoot Planning

Before I did my photo shoot, I made a plan to help me be organised. The plan included the type of shot I may need or use, along with the costume and props the actor/model may use. Here is a table which shows the planning of my photo shoot:

Who is my Music Magazine for?

Mind Map for the Music Magazine Plan

Digital Mock-up

In addition to my sketches, I also decided to create a neater rough design for my magazine front cover, contents page and double page spread. During this process, I used photos from the internet to act as a guide for my photoshoot. I decide to use the hip-hop/rap artist "Drake" as I found many images of him which will suit the style of my magazine. During this process, I gained some real ideas which I can use such as to keep a consistent house style throughout. Here are my mock-up drafts:

Magazine Front Cover

Contents Page

Double Page Spread

Sketches and Rough Ideas

To help me create a magazine cover, contents page and double page spread, I decided to make my own sketches to help me gain some ideas of what I want my end product to look like. I created some sketches for a masthead and different title name. Here are 3 names and 3 different designs which I created:

Each of the title I created are somehow related to music or the genre which I decided to focus on. This are ideal names for my magazine as they solely are related to music and the genre of R&B, hip-hop and rap.

Magazine Front Cover Sketches

In addition, I also decided to draw some sketches of some magazines. I based my sketch on the information I gained during the research progress. I used different size of font for my cover lines and main cover lines and also the background image dominates most of the page as seen in many magazines. Here are 2 sketches I made:

Finally, I created some basic structure in which I can set-up my magazine front cover, contents page and double page spread. I made a sketch for each to get a brief/basic idea of how my overall products may look like. Here are each of the sketches:

Front Cover Sketch

Contents Page Sketch

Double Page Spread Sketch

Rough Ideas

Magazine Front Cover

For my magazine cover, I have some rough ideas for a title/masthead. The titles I have chosen are mostly music related and related to the genres which I have chosen (e.g. SWAG, BASS, ENCORE). By having a solid masthead with a title that is related to my genre, straightaway I am able to catch the attention of the public who are interested in this genre.  In addition, I need to make the title large, bold and clear so that it is the first thing the public/readers see.

The image for my  front cover will need to dominate most of the page and must be eye-catching to engage with the audience. I can further engage with the audience through the artist/model themselves by making them look directly at the camera, which in turn gives the effect that they are looking directly at the viewers.

Finally, I look on using certain colours to give my magazine a consistent house style that will run throughout. This will make my product look legit, professional and neat. These are all aspects which can encourage the public into buying the magazine as they know that the magazine is presented well and must contain useful and reliable information.

    

Contents Page

For my contents page, I have some basic ideas on how I will structure it. Based on my research, a professional magazine will have a consistent house style running throughout. This means that I have to use similar colours and styles from my front cover to the contents page. I am looking to include many pictures in the contents page, along with a structured description of the contents and features inside the magazine. I learned that too much writing in the contents page can make it look untidy and rigid and therefore, I will try to minimise the amount of writing by having a few images.

In addition, I am looking to break the contents page into different parts and categories to make the contents page look neat and legit. On the right-hand side, I am looking to have a chart-like list which contains the current top 40 charts, or it could contain all of the features inside the magazine. The rest of the contents page will have page numbers and small pictures of an artist to symbolise how the page will be solely based around that artist. This can encourage the readers into buying the magazine as they will recognise their favourite artist quickly and would therefore want to find out more about them through the magazine.

           

Double Page Spread

For my double page spread, I am looking to split the two pages into two different parts. The first page (left/right) will be for an image only. The image will be large and will dominate most of this page so that it can also be a poster if cut out. This can encourage the readers into buying the magazine as they are getting more than they bargained for as they are able to use the double page spread as a poster.

On the opposite page, most of the page will be filled by a quote or the title of the article and below it, the article/interview with the artist will be structured in a column like structure as seen in newspaper. I am looking to also include a picture of the artist being focused on.

Target Audience

By specifically choosing a target audience to aim my product to, it makes my product less of a risk to produce as having a small niche of an audience will guarantee that my magazine will be enjoyed by an audience (however small they may be). However, my magazine is a hybrid of 3 genres which broadens the audience it will attract as the magazine will contain many features of each genre, e.g. articles and interviews with popular artist for each genre. In addition, my audience will be fairly young and interested in such products which means that my product is popular within the age group.

A way in which I can broaden my target audience is through the contents of the magazine. I could include important news and interviews with other celebrities (not just artist) along with maybe adding a sport section in my magazine. However, my magazine will solely focus on music thus limiting the target audience to music fans.

Mission Statement

The music genre which I will focus on will be a hybrid of R&B, Hip-Hop and Rap. By combining each of these genres in one product, it creates a unique selling point which will interest the general public. For my task, I will be creating a magazine cover along with a contents page and a double page spread. I hope to imprint the genre on these products, by clearly making it clear that this magazine is for the fans who likes these genre. In addition, the age of the target audience I which to attract are teenagers and young adults (below 30) as they are more likely to be interested in music magazine such as these.

A feature which I will include in my magazine is the promotion of ‘big’ and ‘popular’ artist within the 3 genres I wish to focus on. By maximising the exposure of these artist in my magazine cover, it may attract and encourage the public in buying my magazine.

Music Genre Digital Collage

As an addition to my task, I decided to make a collage of R&B surrounded by current artists which are popular. By doing this, I am hoping that it can help me as I can look at the current artists and include them in my magazine front cover (e.g. 'Exclusive Interview with Rihanna' etc). 

Research - Music Magazine Double Page Spread Research

Finally, I also research on what and how double page spreads are set out. Similar to the other research, I looked at the magazines which features artists that fits the genre I am focusing on to see if there are any features which are frequently used in such magazine. In addition, I looked at how it is structured and what photos they use. Here are 3 double page spread which I decided to look into and analyse closely:

Research - Music Magazine Contents Page Research

Similarly, I researched current contents page from magazines such as "Vibe" and "Billboard" which fits the genre I am looking to focus on. In the contents page, I mainly looked at how it is presented and structured to see if there is a specific way in which content page are meant to be structured in. I also looked at different types of photos which magazine includes in their contents page to get an idea of what kind of photos I may use for my own magazine contents page. Here are the 3 contents page I decided to analyse and closely look at:

Research - Music Magazine Front Cover Research

During my research, I decided to look at current music magazine which fits the genre I look to focus on. The magazine which I decided to focus on are 'Billboard', 'Vibe' and 'Rolling Stone' which suits the hip-hop, rap and R&B genre. I look at current convention and features which were typical of music magazines. I looked at how they have presented their title/masthead, the kind of background image they use and how they structured the cover lines and main cover line. Here are the 3 magazines I decided to analyse:

Music Mixtape

Introduction to music magazine

I have now completed my premilinary task of creating a school magazine front cover and contents page. I am now moving on to my main task of creating a music magazine front cover, contents page and a double page spread. Up coming post will be my progress on my music magazine.