Photo Shoot Recce

Are there any potential hazards that could pose a health and safety risk where your photo shoot will take place (trailing cables/traffic/other objects)?

For my magazine I will be taking my photos indoor in a house, therefore there could be many potential hazards. If there are any wires trailing from the camera or any other appliances this could cause a tripping hazard whilst moving around. In addition Tripping hazards could also be caused by objects lying around on the floor area. Another hazard could be if electrical appliances or cables are left plugged in, which could lead to electrical shocks. 

What will you do to ensure these risks are minimised?

To ensure there are no accidents I will ensure all items that are not needed for the photo shoot, are unplugged and tidied away. I will also ensure there is no food or drink placed near any electrical item, as this could lead to damages and further electrical shocks.

Will the time of day/weather affect the outcome of the photos? Have you allowed for this?

The weather will not affect the outcome of my photographs as I will be taking my photographs indoors. However I will take my photos during the day, as if I were to take my photos on a night, I would need to use artificial lighting which could alter the outcome of my photographs. This could also lead to my photographs having a slightly orange/yellow coloured tone.

Have you considered the background to your photos, particularly if taken outside? How will you ensure you will get the background you want?

As I will be editing the background of images, I want to keep them simple so they are easier to modify. Therefore I will be taking all my images with a plain wall in the background, meaning no obstacles will interfere.

Have you considered lighting? What about the ‘problems’ of natural lighting, either outside, or streaming through a window? Will you need to use a flash? Have you considered reflective objects that might spoil the effect?

Outdoor lighting will not be a problem as I will be taking my photos indoor. However to ensure my photos that are taken, are of the best quality I will be using the flash on my camera. This will make sure the lighting of my photos looks natural.

Do you need permission to take photos in the place/venue you have in mind?

The venue of the place where we will be taking the photo is my house. Therefore I will not need permission to take the photographs. However I will need to find a suitable place within my house which will be sufficient for the style of image and background we want. 

Are you reliant on lifts/props/friends’ equipment/models? How have you planned that these things will come together at the appointed time? 

As I will be working with my friend on this project to create a magazine, I will be using both of us in the photographs, ensuring we can produce two magazine issues. We have made arrangements and planned a suitable time in which we can work together to produce a number of photographs, as we would like to have a choice of photographs to look through and see which are most suitable for each magazine issue. We have already planned in advance the type of photographs we would like to produce to stay in keeping with the tone of the magazine therefore we are already aware of the kind of props we may need, which will be a microphone, to keep them image simplistic. 

Photo Shoot Planning

What emotional impact do you want your photography do have upon the reader? How?

The theme and genre of my music magazine will be of a rock/indie music genre; therefore the photography I use has to appeal to the audience which would usually read this genre of magazine. I would therefore want my images to portray an edgy atmosphere and evoke the audience, to maybe want to listen to music or go to a gig.

What personnel do you need? Who are you going to photograph?

For my photographs, I am going to be in the images. I choose myself as it was much easier and less time-consuming, as I did not have to get permission from the person I was taking the images of or choose a particular time which was best suited to them.

What props will you need?

For my photography I would like to keep my images quite simple, as a busy environment can cause the magazine to be distracting and not attractive to look at. Therefore I will only use one prop, which will be a microphone, in only a few images. This relates to the overall music theme, but does not distract from the focal point of the image.

How are you going to emphasise colour?

The colours which I will be using for both the costume and make-up will consist of very dark shades. Therefore to I will be using a light coloured background and floor, allowing the dark colours to stand out and catch the reader’s eye.

What lighting will you need? Any other equipment?

For my photographs, I will be using simple indoor lighting. However I will be placing all lighting in front of me and behind the camera, to allow the central point to be more illuminated then the background and create more depth and shadowing.

Where will you shoot? Will you need a backdrop?

I will be shooting my photographs in my house, in my dining room as the wall is plain and cream, which is more appropriate as if objects or furniture were to appear in the background of my photographs, this would distract from the central object or person and could even look unprofessional.

Make-up? Costume?

Both the costume and the make-up will have a rock feel to it, in keeping with the indie/rock genre of the magazine. For example leather jacks, big messy hair and lots of dark shades in both clothing and make-up.

Photo Shoot Ideas

Before I can take the photographs for the images included in my magazine, I felt producing research into the type of photographs I want beforehand for inspiration would be very helpful. 

Before taking my photographs, I wanted to gather images too help influence the type of poses or props I would like to include. To be consistent with my music magazine product, I researched and gathered images of professional photo shoots of musicians, as I felt the poses etc used would be more in keeping with a music magazine. The three images I have chosen of musician Pixie Lott, are placed above and will be the main inspiration for my photographs. The photograph in the top left corner, I felt would work well on my magazine front cover. Specifically as it is a medium shot, which is commonly used on magazine covers. I also like the edge pose which was portrayed, which would work very will with the indie-rock edgy genre of my magazine. The other two images I felt would work well within the contents page and two page spread. Again I felt the poses were very consistent with the genre of my magazine, in addition I particularly liked how a microphone prop was incorporated into the photographs, helping too incorporate the music theme consistently throughout every component of the magazine. 

Music Magazine Double Page Spread Flat Plan

Rationale Questions

The colour scheme I have chosen to use consists of red, white, black and grey. I have chosen this theme as it is very common in indie/rock music magazines and therefore will allow the theme of my magazine to be recognised by the readers. This colour scheme is also very minimalistic which means it’s rather easy and nice to look at; using a large amount of bright colours would be very busy and unpleasant on the reader’s eyes.

The images I will be using on my double page spread, are very simple but in keeping with the theme of the magazine and the other images featured on contents page and cover. The clothing I am wearing is dark grey tying, in with the colour theme and edgy rock genre. I will also chose images in which I am standing up as I feel this will be consistent with the column layout of the text.

My double page spread for my magazine, will consist of an interview with a singer. Therefore the text which I will use on my page will simply contain questions and answers. There will also be a small introductory paragraph, introducing us to the music artist and telling us a little about what we can expect in the interview.

The font which I will use on my double page spread will consist of myriad pro. I choose this font as it is plain, thin and simple, which will make it easy on the eye and easy to read. This is particularly key as my double page spread will feature an interview, which is mainly reading of quite a lot of text. I will place each question on the page in bold, allowing them to stand out amongst the text, with the answer being in the same font but of a thinner font weight, to ensure the answers to not merge with the questions and confuse the reader.

The layout will of the interview, will consist of columns of text making it more consistent and easier to follow. The images will then be placed amongst the text, with the text wrapped around them. To create a more stylised approach, but also to keep the text and images clearly separate from one another, to again not confuse the reader. 

Music Magazine Contents Page Flat Plan

Rationale Questions

The colour scheme I have chosen to use consists of red, white, black and grey. I have chosen this theme as it is very common in indie/rock music magazines and therefore will allow the theme of my magazine to be recognised by the readers. This colour scheme is also very minimalistic which means it’s rather easy and nice to look at; using a large amount of bright colours would be very busy and unpleasant on the reader’s eyes.

The image I will be using for my contents page will be of me, using a microphone. The image is quite simple with basic props and a background, so no to distract and blend well amongst the text. The costume used also consists of colours such as black, light red and white, which help to tie in with the colour theme used on page.

The text I will use for my contents page will feature all the pages which I would feature in my magazine. This will be split into two sections, the main features of my magazine and the every month features. The main features will consist of articles such as the 10 best gigs or the most memorable on stage performances for example. The every month features will consist of articles such as reviews for singles or albums or quizzes, to keep consistency between each issue and give features for the readers to be familiar with and look forward to reading.

For the contents page of my magazine I will use quite a typical contents layout, with the image placed on the right hand side and the contents text paced on both the left and under the picture. The text will also be in small columns, making it easier to follow and more continuous and flowing. The font I will use is very simple, as the contents page will require a lot of text. If I were to use a busy or messy font, this would be unattractive and hard to read. For each page feature I will use a bold font, of myriad pro, allowing the page easier to scan read if the reader is looking for a particular page in the contents. The small description under each page, I will again use a simple font of Cambria, this will however will not be bold as it would somewhat merge with the title, stopping each title from standing out.

Music Magazine Front Cover Flat Plan

Rationale Questions

The colour scheme I have chosen to use consists of red, white, black and grey. I have chosen this theme as it is very common in indie/rock music magazines and therefore will allow the theme of my magazine to be recognised by the readers. This colour scheme is also very minimalistic which means it’s rather easy and nice to look at; using a large amount of bright colours would be very busy and unpleasant on the reader’s eyes.

The image I will be using for the front cover will be of me. The background does not contain any props, which I felt was appropriate as it would allow the person (me) to stand out more against a simple background, gaining more focus on the person from the reader. I have used costume and make-up to help co-ordinate with the theme of the magazine and as the theme is indie/rock I have used dark make-up and vintage and rock style clothing to keep the theme consistent. The background will be a gray gradient which will help to add more depth to the image and also make it appear as if it really there. I will also add shadowing to create a greater realism. The image is a medium close up, from the waist upwards. I chose to use this type of camera shot, as it was popular shot type and is used on almost every magazine cover in the industry. The camera is medium distance from me and is at an average eye level, to help keep the simplistic theme. 

On the front cover of my magazine the text I will use will be consistent to the theme and the magazine. I will use a masthead and a slogan at the top of the page as this is very common. I will give an example of other bands featured in the magazine and the latest entertainment news such as CD’s, DVD’s and the latest gigs. I could also include advertisements for competitions or free posters. I will also feature large text informing readers of the cover image, with an example of who they are, why they are on the cover and what they can expect to read inside the magazine about them. 

The font which I will use will be very simple and bold, which will allow the text to stand out whilst on the shelf and will also make it easier to read. All the text will be placed horizontally to emphasize the simplistic look and will be placed around the outside and along the bottom of the cover, to not distract from the main image and centre focal point. 

Music Magazine Double Page Spread Inspirations

The first inspiration I have chosen for my magazine double page interview spread, is a Rihanna Interview which was featured in CVS magazine. This is effective, mainly due to its simplistic approach. The plain white background, allows all the text to stand out fully, which is much easier on the eyers of the reader, in comparison to if a coloured or patterned background were to be used. The columns, much like in a newspaper, break the text up into small sections, which again appears easier to the reader and more appealing, then if the entire page were to be top to bottom, full of text. What I particularly like about the is the title featured at the top of the page. It is placed in a much larger font and unlike all other text featured on the page, is placed in a more stylistic font. This is effective as it allows the text to stand out the most of everything featured on the page, which is significant as it features the artists name. Therefore  if the audience were to be flicking through the magazine, they may spot the artists name and want to read more or find out what the article on this artist is about, encouraging them to purchase the magazine. What I would like to replicate for my magazine double page interview spread, is the layout and colour of the interview questions and answers. I would like to feature two columns on the fist page, with a small introductory description placed above of who is being interview, particularly for those readers who may not have heard of the artist, but are interested in finding out more.  I would also like to replicate the different stylistic approach used for both the questions and answers to the interview. This will allow the reader to identify which parts of the text are the questions and which are the answers, therefore if they were interested in the answer to a particular question they could find it amongst the interview easily. 

The second inspiration I have chosen for my magazine double page spread, is an interview page from OK magazine. Although this is not from a music magazine, which I will be creating, I think the layout is still appropriate. The colour minimal colour scheme of red, black and white, is obviously a key  theme within the interview. This allows the image to be effective, as they have place Josie in a red dress, to tie in with the colour scheme of the text. Therefore although the image is very bright, it does not appear as busy, in comparison to if many colours were to be used throughout the page , as it is complimented by the text. What I like specifically about this page is the extracted quote from the interview. This is effective, mainly to keep the readers interest. The editor will usually pick out the most interesting quote to be used, which will ultimately encourage the reader to want to continue reading the rest of the interview. What I would like to replicate for my magazine double page interview spread, is the overall layout which I will feature on the second page. This will feature the image placed on the left hand side, taking up almost over half the page, with one column of text featured on the right hand side of the page. I feel this will be appropriate, as the large image will break up the text of the interview, to appear more appealing to the audience then if the two pages were to be full of text with no images, which may appear boring and uninteresting the reader. 

Music Magazine Contents Page Inspirations

The first inspiration I have chosen for my contents page is the contents page form drummer magazine. I think in particular the layout is very effective here, as every available space is taken up with either a form of text or an image. This creates a compact and organised look, which overall is much more pleasant to look at, in comparison to if the text and images where randomly placed on the page with rather large spaces, which would look messy and confusing too look at. The colour scheme follows the conventional minimalistic colours used in a music magazine, that of red, black, white and grey. This allows the contents page to tie in with the front and adds a consistent overall theme throughout every page of the magazine. Lastly what I feel is the most effective is the use of imagery. A contents page will usually only contain one image, which is usually for the feature story within the magazine, however here there is an image used for almost every feature page. This evokes more interest from the readers, as they have a sneak preview from the imagery used of what the feature may be about, particularly if the images is of a band the reader may like or a live concert image, for readers who enjoy attending gigs. What I like about this magazine, is how the images are all placed down the right hand side, in a number of different sizes and almost slot into the gaps around one another, which I feel adds a more stylistic approach in contrast to just place the images in various places around the page. For my magazine I would like to replicate how the logo or the title of the magazine to be placed in the top left hand corner. I chose this as I feel it would allow the contents page to be consist with the front cover. Furthermore if the front cover were to be damaged whilst the magazine was being handled, damaging the front cover logo, readers would still be able to recognise the magazine by the logo or title placed on the contents page. I would also like to replicate how the pages within the contents page, are split into two categories features and regular pages. I feel this would be appropriate as not only is it more organised, it allows readers to see the new and exciting stories which will be featured this month, aside from the regular features.

The second inspiration I have chosen for my contents page, is a contents page from Kerrang magazine. I chose this particularly as I like its unique approach to a contents page. Unlike most contents pages which feature a column or list of words, each page is represented by an image. This is effective as it is very unique, which evokes more interest from the reader. The torn paper effect which features down the left hand side of the page, creates a messy and chaotic effect, which is consist with the indie rock music genre of the magazine, but also ties in with the title featured on the contents page 'its a riot!'. The text used is also very effective, in particular the background behind each text featured, which almost looks like paint of torn paper. This again looks chaotic and although styled gives the appearance as if the magazine has just be thrown  together, yet still looks simple and easy on the eye. For my magazine I would like to replicate the use of imagery to represent a page featured within the magazine, specifically to represent my double feature interview page. I feel this will add a different approach, in contrast to having all the pages featured in a list, which could look uninteresting and boring to reader and cause the reader to not want to purchase the magazine, as this is the page in which they will view the features they may want to read. 

Music Magazine Front Cover Inspirations

NME Magazine Front Cover

The first inspiration I have chosen for my music magazine front cover is an NME magazine front cover. The layout is very conventional for most magazine front covers. The masthead is placed in the top left hand corner, which is effective as it draws the most attention from the viewers eye line, therefore will allow readers to easily identify the magazine whilst it is on the shelf. However the image, slightly overlaps the NME logo, which signifies how popular the magazine must be, as the entire logo does not need to be displayed in order for the the audience to recognise which magazine, the cover is for. The skyline, which is featured at the top of the page, encourages audiences to buy the magazine, for example featuring the word 'news' along with two very popular bands, increases a sense of mystery and influences the reader to wonder what the exciting news about these bands could be. Lastly the layout also features a large number of the text featured down the left hand side of the page. This is a very clever technique, as in stores many magazines may overlap one another on a shelf, however it is the left side which is usually still visible to audiences, therefore the articles featured in the magazine will still be viewable. The main image features singer/song writers Alex Turner and Miles Kane. The image is very simple, which allows the image to have a very dramatic effect on the reader and ties in with the rock theme of the magazine. The large use of black also allows the image to stand out against the bright red and white background and text used, whilst also we could argue is consistent with the word 'shadow' in the band name, with the large use of black, and lack of body shape, almost making them appear to be shadows. The singers, are also featured in the main focal point of the magazine, allowing them to make eye contact with the reader, which ultimately draws the reader into the front cover, encouraging them to purchase the magazine. The font of the text is very plain and simple, which is more effective then if a fancy font were to be used, as it is easier on the eyes and less busy and confusing. The text also consists of the features being placed in a bold font and with a small description of quote underneath in a normal font, giving a clue to what each feature will be about. As there is a lot of text placed on the page, the bold allows the title of each feature to stand out amongst the text, which is important as this is what the readers are likely to be interested in, resulting in them purchasing the magazine. Lastly they have also used a black, white and red colour scheme, which is very effective as it is identified as being associated with the indie rock music magazine genre, therefore this allows the audience to identitfy what the magazine music may contain. For example, if a magazine were to consist of these colours it is unlikely that it would conatin pop music such as Justin Bieber. What i particularly like about this magazine front cover, is the layout. I like how the text is situated down the left hand side, with each feature header placed in bold, which is somehting I would like to replicate in my magazine cover. I also like the use of dark shades of clothing used in the main image, as it ties in well with the overall colour sheme and the rock genre of the magazine, whilst also adding a dramatic effect, another technique which I would like to use on my magazine front cover. 

Q Magazine Front Cover

The second inspiration I have chosen for my music magazine front cover is a Q magazine front cover. The layout again is very conventional, consisting of the text place around the edge of the front cover, with the main image placed in the centre. The logo, consists of bright red with a white Q in the middle, which i feel is particularly the reason they have used a black background, black clothing and dark shadows on the image, which allows the logo to stand out greatley, ultimatly allowing the viewers to recognise the magazine whilst it is on the shelf. The skyline is also very effective as it states 'the UK's biggest music magazine' with the word 'biggest' featured in italic, this creates a sense of dominance and high popularity, whilst also encouraging audiences to purchase the magazine as it is known for its high popularity rating this is ensuring them it will be worth the purchase. The image features singer Cheryl Cole, and particularly effective for its edgy atmosphere. This is mainly due to the facet, Cheryl Cole is a pop singer and is usually associated with doing very colourful photoshoots in vibrant music magazines, therefore the image is very striking and evokes curiosity from the viewer. Lastly the use of colour, specifically the striking contrast between the red and black. A high proportion of the text and image are black or very desaturated colours, which allows the red to stand out drastically. This is a clever technique as the red is used for the items which will have the most effect on the reader, for example, the magazine logo and high profile band names. What I particularly like about the magazine is the item of text featured in the top right hand corner. This is due to the many different font styles, font weights and font colours used within the same paragraph, which looks very unique and although with many uses of styles you would expect the text to appear busy, I feel it looks very simple and stylistic. For my magazine I would like to firstly replicate the styling of the text which is placed down the left hand side of the cover, which is featured in coloured boxes. I would also like to replicate the large medium shot style image, which only featured the singers face and shoulders. This I feel will work best as it will not create too much blank space around the edge of the image and the overall front cover of the magazine. 

Q Magazine Front Cover

The third inspiration I have chosen for my music magazine front cover is a Q magazine front cover. Firstly the image, which features singer and pop queen Madonna. The image is very simple and has a very low use of props or effects used upon it. This reflects the high profile of Madonna herself, in that she does not need a fancy image as she is already very famous herself, and could sell the magazine very easily. This could also be implied by how her overall image is very empowering and not only overlaps the magazine logo, but takes up a high majority of space on the front cover. This is effective for the magazine as having Madonna very dominantly on the front cover, will encourage audiences to purchase the magazine, simply because of her high profile in the music world. The text featured on the magazine is also very, featuring many high profile names such as The Rolling Stones, The Arctic Monkeys along with entertainment names such as Russell Brand and The Mighty Boosh. Using names also very popular in the TV and entertainment world, is particularly effective as it allows the magazine to target a wider audience, and maybe even encourage those who are not very interested in music to have a look at the magazine. I myself, particularly like the image, and how it appears to almost wrap around the the text and logo, which is unusual as the image used on a front cover is usually situated behind all the featured text. For my magazine I would like to replicate the diagonal light blue strip with text featured at the bottom of the cover. This is quite unique compared to the plain horizontal text which is usually featured at the bottom of the page, yet is still quite simple. 

Costume & Make-Up Ideas

Below is a collage of various images I collected from the website LookBook, which i will use as inspiration for my costume choices for my photographs for my magazine. 

The style of clothing I have chosen for my magazine photographs is an edgy rock chic vibe, to be consistent with the indie-rock genre of my magazine and ensure it looks professional. For example a indie-rock magazine would not display a girl dressed in a fluffy pop princess style pink dress, as this would be inconsistent and confuse readers about what style of magazine it is. From the images above, it is obvious that leather, black, shorts and t-shirts are all very popular within this style, therefore I will ensure to include these in my costume choices. 

Audience Profile Questionnaire

After choosing and depicting my target audience, I needed to ensure my research into my target audience and there lifestyle was correct, in order to attract them sufficiently to my magazine. To do so, I created an audience profile questionnaire, which included the following questions;

- What gender are you?

- How old are you?

- Which best describes your current employment status?

- What do your parents do for a living?

- What is your favourite hobby or interest?

- Which type of music do you mainly listen to?

- Do you attend music gigs/concerts and it yes, how often?

- How much would you be willing to spend on a music magazine?

- Would you be more persuaded to buy a magazine, if it contained free posters, competitions etc?

- Would you read or purchase an this indie rock music magazine magazine (kerrang music magazine front cover)?

This would allow me to find out sufficient information about my audience and there lifestyle and background, which would allows me to cater my magazine to their specific needs and encourage them to read or purchase my magazine. Below are the completed questionnaires which I collected from my audience: 

To allow me attract my target audience I must look at the completed questionnaires, which stated they would be likely to purchase an indie rock music magazine, like my own, as these are the specific audience I must cater my magazine towards. From looking at the answers of those who would purchase a similar magazine to the one I am intending to make I found the following; There was an equal balance between those who were male and those who were female. This means I should try to include features and pages which are mutual to both the interests of both males and females. Every respondent was between the ages of 15-19 years old, this suggest I should try to appeal to a younger audience and ensure the language is not too formal, which could be uninteresting to those of a younger age. Many of the respondents were either unemployed or employed in part time jobs, however all of the respondents were educated students. This could be a target factor in the price of the magazine, but could also suggest including independent student bands may be appealing to my audience. Most of the respondents had parents who were employed, with a majority of the jobs being working class. This again could have a large influence on both the price of the magazine and the language format, which should be informal to ensure the magazine does not seem to 'business type' for a working class audience. Most of the respondents, were highly interested in hanging with there friends on a daily basis. This could be beneficial to my magazine, as in socialising they could suggest the magazine to their friends to increase the popularity of the magazine. A high majority of the respondents mainly listened to rock and indie music, which displays that my chosen genre of magazine, a indie-rock music magazine would be successfully appealing to my target audience. All of my respondents enjoyed attending music concerts and gigs, ranging from every month to when they could afford to attend. To cater to this I should promote gig listings within my magazine, which should be updated every month.  From the respondents answers I found that most of them would be willing to pay between £1 to £2.99 for a music magazine, this is important to take into count, as without a suitable price my audience will not be able to purchase my magazine. A high number of my respondents, suggested they would be more persuaded to buy a magazine  if it contained free posters, competitions etc. Therefore promoting such free give-a-ways, gifts and competitions on my front cover, will attract my audience and encourage them too purchase my magazine. Lastly I asked my respondents why they would purchase such a magazine. This would ensure me to determine what will be the most important factors when it comes to designing and creating my magazine. From the answers the respondents gave, the most important factors were a professional and organised layout and appearance, intriguing text that kept the reader interested, promoting the target music genre through the use of featured bands to appeal to those who enjoy that music genre and good, professional and consistent images which tied in with the articles and the genre of the magazine. 

Audience Research & My Target Audience

Target Audience Research

As my main inspiration for my magazine is NME, I decided to research the target audience for NME magazine to help understand the type of people who are attracted to and would purchase and indie rock magazine. After researching on the NME website I found that it was more likely to offer music and bands that are attracted by a younger audience. I also found that 65% of those who purchased the NME were of a male gender, that 50% of the readers were between the ages of 16 to 24 and that 79% were from social class category ABC1. 

My Target Audience

From this research I have decided I will target specifically those between the ages of 16 to 25 as they are more likely to purchase this genre of magazine. I feel this is specifically as those between 16 and 24, are most likely students who would be interested in going to music gigs, whether that be popular bands or local unknown artists at small gigs. A high majority of these gigs will perform the indie-rock genre of music, as it has become increasingly popular, with bands such as Kings Of Leon, Arctic Monkeys, The Kooks etc. Therefore to help capture the needs of such an audience I will include regular music gig and concert listings and articles providing an insight into their favourite bands of the genre, such as interviews and a look at the behind the scene process. I will also include free give-aways, such as tickets or posters, to help satisfy the needs of the younger audience members, who may have little money and be influenced by free items and are highly likely to have music posters in their bedrooms.  However unlike NME who mainly target the male gender, I would like my magazine to purchased by both the male and female gender. This is mainly as most indie-rock musicians are male and these such magazines also often promote clothing for males. Therefore I would like to include more female indie rock musicians in my magazine and also feature clothing promotions for both genders. The social class category for NME is ABC1, which is the highest 3 social class categories. However I would like to aim my audience at a much wider social class demographic, which will be ABC1C2, which will provide a wider range of audience for my magazine. To do so, I must ensure my text style uses both a formal and friendly tone at the same time. 

Inspiration Mood Board

Here I have created a mood board with images for inspiration when designing and creating my music magazine. I have decided I will produce a music magazine for the rock-indie music genre, therefore I wanted to collect images which would be consistent with this theme. These include a range of images from album covers, to instruments to magazine covers themselves. I feel this will be extremely helpful, when it comes to designing my magazine, as viewing the images above will help me specifically with my choice of images, font types and colours I will use. 

Chosen Genre & Genre Conventions

For my magazine, I have chosen to create a music magazine particularly for the indie-rock music genre. I have chosen this, as I would like to target my magazine to a younger audience, between 15 to 25 year olds and after audience research this is music magazine most popular with that specific audience. However before creating a magazine of the indie-rock genre, I felt it was necessary to research into the generic conventions of an indie rock music magazine.

On the front cover, the typical conventions usually consisted of a logo which is placed in the top left hand corner, specifically in a bright red colour. The text featured on the front cover, also usually has the latest details on music gigs and music festival line-ups. They also, due to it being a music magazine, feature articles about particular bands on the front cover, these usually consist of bands such as Kasabian, The Strokes, The Arctic Monkeys, Florence and The Machine etc. 

On the contents page, the articles and features are usually broken down into categories and often feature reviews on the latest albums and singles. There is also conventionally a large image place either on the far left or the far right of the contents page. 

On the double page spread, these are often conventionally very plain, with the background white and the article of interview text placed in a black plain font. However it usually the title which stand out amongst all items on the page, and is often placed in large letters, in a unique style or font. The titles also, most times, consist of a quotation from the article of the interviewer the audience are about to read. 

Magazine Preliminary Task & Review

For my preliminary task I created a magazine for the students of City of Sunderland College. 

To create my magazine I first produced research by looking on various college websites, looking at particular events which took place which would be good as features for my magazine. I also looked on the BBC education website for any other information I could use in my magazine. I then researched the typical conventions of a magazine, to ensure my magazine looked professional and kept the typical conventions. To do so, on my front cover, I ensured my title was place in bold writing across the centre of the top of the page and my barcode in the bottom corner. I also placed all magazine features around the outer edge of the magazine cover. This ensures not to distract or interfere with the centre image which is placed on the magazine, as if the text were to be placed in various places around the cover and on top of the image, this would be confusing and look unprofessional. On my contents cover, I kept the traditional column layout for the pages, with page numbers placed in front of each page. However i did place the column at an angle, to create a more unique and stylised effect. The colours I used on both my front cover and contents page, consist of very bold solid colours such as pink, blue and yellow etc. I felt these worked extremely well on the front cover as they allowed the text to be read and seen easily by the reader. However if I were to reproduce my magazine cover, i may have limited the colour palette to make it less harsh on the readers eye. The font I used on both the front cover and the contents page consist of Cambria and Myraid Pro. I chose these as they are very classic font types, which makes the text much easier to read and makes the theme more simplistic and easy on the eye. The fonts are also applied in a bold weight, to ensure the can be seen and read easily when on top of the background photograph, from both close up and far away. The image I used on my front cover was of me standing in front of the college sign in the college grounds. Here I used a medium shot, which was featured from the waist up, as this is a common shot type used on the cover of magazines. It also allowed the image to appear on eye level with the reader, which is key as this is the focal point of the entire cover. On the contents page I used two images, both of exterior views of the college. I felt this was appropriate as the magazine would be intended for the students of the college, therefore they would easily recognise the photographs, which adds a sense of relate-ability. I created my magazine cover using Photoshop, which I found was much easier then publisher, as it allowed me to create layers and create a variety of other shapes. It also allowed me to add various pre-programmed photo shop brushes to add extra effects and ultimately make my magazine look more realistic. From creating this preliminary task, I gained a improved my skills and gained more information, that could be extremely helpful when creating my media coursework product, a music magazine. Although I had previously learnt Photoshop and had quite a good knowledge on how to work it, I learnt a lot of other techniques like experimenting with colours and using brushes and textures. I also learnt what looked good on a magazine cover and contents page and what font was the most appealing to the audience. 

Brief & Initial Ideas

For my media studies production coursework I will be creating a music magazine. I have decided to call my magazine 'Revolution' which I felt was appropriate as revolution means a change in something and I although I want my magazine to be conventional, I also want it to stand out and be unique. After looking at a number of various different magazines, I have decided to base mine on the popular indie/rock genre of music, featuring both well known and unknown up and coming artists. After producing research, I will ensure my magazine will follow the typical conventions for that particular genre of magazine firstly featuring the main colour theme of red, black and white allowing audiences to recognise the style and genre of the magazine whilst it is on the shelf. My magazine will feature typical items, such as reviews for singles, gigs and maybe even movies. It will feature the most popular singles and free giveaways, such as gig tickets and posters, as this is very common, to persuade readers to buy the magazine. It will also contain other items like interviews with popular bands and singers, which I will also use for my double page spread, and non traditional features like the singers of yesteryear, the most expensive music video and the most memorable performances. My magazine will be for the entire UK, allowing us to mention gigs or other performances which maybe be taking place all around the country, therefore appealing to a much wider audience. The images I will be using for my magazine will be of me, featured as a new and upcoming musician. I will take a larger image for the cover of the magazine, as this will be the first thing people will see on my magazine. I will then take smaller images which will be used on the contents page and in the two page feature. All the images which will be taken will be centred on the theme of music, using props such as microphones, guitars and amps.