links/ technical research

If you do any research into locations, actors/models, technical tutorials (e.g. how to use photoshop, how to use the camera etc.) it should have a separate post in this section.

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MOCK UPS- magazine

 This MUST contain a post called MOCK UPS, which contains a mock up version of your magazines. You MAY use found images or AI generated images, but you SHOULD think very carefully about how you will create the real version of each image.

MOCK UP 1

front cover 1:

 This is a mock up in the style of fader I used a neutral background and a semi closeup shot of a celebrity I found on the internet, I used photoshop to create all the elements with the title masthead issue number and season. I did not add a barcode because the magazines I have researched have not got them on their front covers.

Contents page 1:

This is a mock up following the style of mojo contents pages. I like the main photo feature and column ideas. However I think there is not enough story columns showing I also think when I do this for real the background will be the background of the photo instead of a cutout of the image. but I like the overall layout and modern style

Front Cover 2:

I like this one a lot more than my other mock up because I used my own photos, I still like the sleek cover design with minimalistic text to really focus on the artist on the cover. I think im going to stick with the name played and continue with the masthead design as it looks like a minim, to further portray my music magazine theme. The mock up continues to follow the codes and conventions of FADER magazine who I will be using as my main source of conventions and inspiration. I want to try more creative shots like Billie Eilish's front cover.

Contents page 2:

I like this version of my contents page because I think using a real model helped work out texting. I also prefer the more grunge look. I like the spacing of the column to the image.

Front cover 3:

I wanted to play with colour with this issue changing the artist name and the season of the issue. I like the mix of colours and the more emotive expression of the artist. I don't like the blur as much to the background so won't be using that in my final version. I like the proximity to the camera but I think in my final version I will probably favour mock up 2's set up.

Contents page 3:

I like the double column and having the artist in the centre. I also like the idea of a 'played playlist' as an interactive section just for the PLAYED audience similar to rolling stone exclusives, it also helps to target that younger audience using trending songs and creating a level of relatability. 

different styles:

I wanted to try different styles of music magazine to solidify my ideas and make sure I followed brief, I added a barcode to my product and lead offs to garner interest.

Rolling stone style:

I like the style of this cover, but not the masthead. I do enjoy the lead offs and will most likely incorporate ethos into my final cover I think I need to work on placement of the lead offs not placing them randomly among the page and make them look like they belong there. I would also add more to the page to really make it look full. I like the image chosen and the further away mid-shot that echoes my analysis not he Dua Lipa rolling stone cover. the background will most likely not be fake in my real version but I wanted to get a sense of a true clear background to play with text and colour.

New masthead practice:

I decided to try a new masthead design. I have incorporated the musical symbol of a capital pianissimo which is used in lots of musical writing. I do prefer this style of masthead and the italic P helps to set it off as the focus logo of the magazine giving brand identity like FADER magazine.

I also wanted to play with colours in the masthead accenting the logo P in the Played masthead to link with the artist name below I like this idea and think I will continue to show it within my final piece.

I wanted to try the masthead in front of the image as contextually it makes more sense for a first issue of a magazine to have there key identifier to be a focus point even as much as the artist in the image to begin to display their brand identity. Taking this into consideration I will make sure I keep the masthead in front of the image. Also adding a barcode to in keep with the brief

This was my penultimate mock up I used a lot of these pieces in my final version, I decided to keep the masthead infant of the image to make sure brand identity was clear and useful to an audience, in this cover I did not like the image and its lack in quality of lighting so I decided to retake it and try different versions for my final front cover.

Content page 4:

I really like this simplistic style of contents page and like that the image doesn't take up the whole page as it leaves emphasis on the front cover as the main media of the artist and draws attention to the actual contents of the magazine. However I don't know if this contents page flows with the style of the front cover or if I need to tweak things slightly to work for my front cover style.

Codes and conventions of websites

INITIAL RESEARCH:

I looked at MOJO, rolling stone, SPIN and billboard and these were initial conventions I found. 

-vartiation in text boxes/ styles some longer stand firsts

When scrolling down the menu collapses and continues to show the logo, this helps to display brand identity throughout the website, I want to try to make something similar.

Websites use images to keep eyes on the pages and gain visual interest, they are all a variety of shots and cover a range of articles from celebrities to hard news.

The colour scheme is consistent across magazine and website, making sure to keep a consistent identity across all media platforms to be identifiable to audiences.

Adverts are a large parts of website monetisation the adverts are targeted towards the music audience meaning my adverts will be in line with the interests of 16-25 year olds.

Other conventions:

one focus image in the centre of stories

Websites usually have a main story where a large image is used I found this to be the case to help with visuals interest in the story, the story was either breaking news in the world or a large music event such as the recent Met Gala.

three columns of news

many websites arrange their website to have three main columns of news with the centre column being the largest and the one with the most photos.

Specific analysis:

FADER ANALYSIS:

front cover inspiration

 FRONT COVER INSPIRATION

I like these covers as they show a very traditional version of music magazines. I like the colours and poses shown on the covers creating eye catching front covers that promote the artists and garner interest, I like the bold titles that show true brand identity and make audiences remember their brand. Rolling stone continue to show these poses throughout their issues with lots of different types of people from muscular men and very feminine women to more feminine men and androgynous women and people.

MOJO

I like Mojo magazine for its unique colour palettes and editorial poses making the magazine stand out within a crowd of other covers. I like the text on the cover as well and the typography of the text around

a main picture calling readers to read inside. the medium close up shot is consistent throughout their issues I like the colours and more artistic shots i.e the Kate bush cover. 

FADER

I like the FADER magazine for its simplicity and unique style with little lead offs or sub headlines. The contents pages and cover with mix of colours and poses creates variety within their brand but also keeping it as a collective with the same masthead. The variety of shots are very nice and the different colours with every issue really inspire me, I like that some of the covers are creating a direct mode of address where as others aren't. 

I like this front cover for its simplicity, but also how it stands out, with a more artistic shot with the use of props. The cover calls people to read what's inside to find out more about why Billie Eilish is on the front cover with a bag over her head. 

ROLLING STONE

Rolling stone is the most iconic music magazine created. The masthead is recognisable across the globe and they have interviews with the biggest stars and very creative and out there poses that make celebrity icons such as Meryl Streep. The magazine is mainly known for music but also report on politics and celebrity news which is something I want to take into my magazine. The font and layout changes with every issue making each cover unique to each artist and the pose chosen.

Codes and conventions in magazines

 MAGAZINE CODE AND CONVENTIONS:

Mastheads are used in all magazines to create the sense of branding for a brand, without a masthead a magazine doesn't exist. many Mastheads hide behind the image of the celebrity. However for my magazine because it is my first issue I want to make sure my audience know my masthead and brand to make it recognisable.

The image is they key part of a magazine and brings in large audiences for the celebrity on the cover. The image is always eye catching and uses a variety of poses and creative shoot such as Kanye wests cover using a crown of thorns.

All of the magazine have off leads on their front cover to entice the audience to continue to read inside. A lot of these off leads will be out music, however there is also a mix of celebrity, culture and politics in lead offs as well, because of this I will make sure to show a range of lead offs on my front cover.

Most magazine will make the photo a direct mode of address to the viewer to create a more personal touch for an audience it also makes the viewer interested and track to the persons eyes on a page.

Most magazines will shoot photos from just below the shoulders up, sometime they do change the shots to be further away or in a different angle like Tate McRae and Taylor Swifts covers. However it is always clear that the magazine is making the celebrity the centre focus with their face being immediately visible and recognisable for audiences.

Each magazine I looked at made sure to stick to a theme that made each copy inkeep with brand identity: With Rolling Stone the masthead can change colour to match a special theme like the summer issue with Shakira, but when there is no prevalent colour on the page the classic red masthead is used. Whereas, Billboard tend to change the masthead colour with every issue keeping the font the same and changing colour and position to match the artist, also using the colour in off leads as well. Finally FADER tend to keep the Masthead white unless it is a special issue.

Other conventions I found:

Variation of font:

The fonts vary on magazines, specifically in examples like Bill board and rolling stone, to either fit the theme of the model on the cover or to create variation on the cover to entice audiences to read on, this is usually on two fonts for the key titles such as the artists name and then a second font for off leads and smaller writing.

MAGAZINE CONTENTS PAGE CONVENTIONS:

 Mojo is the best at creating striking contents pages in which the artist continues to be heavily displayed, I prefer this style of Contents page however some contents pages have several images relating to multiple subjects. The image is always prevalent though and blends the front cover into the rest of the magazine making each issue feel unique to an audience.

Contents tend to stick to one column or three columns. The layout of the contents page helps to make the page pop without making it look like there is too much writing, the columns help to space the articles and where to find them well. This can help an audience find things quickly within the magazine and create organisation.

Similarly to the columns these sections are used to make sure that the magazine is well laid out and is easy to navigate for an audience the sections are usually broken using a brand colour for example the red in MOJO issue with Florence to create attention and emphasis on page numbers and different sections of the magazine.

The Contents pages all have the same criteria. Displaying the word contents to show the page the audience is on as well as key information such as the issue number the date of release and the brands logo or name again. This can be because it helps put everything in one place for audiences as well as summing up the magazine issue for summer or autumn etc.

Other conventions I found:

consistent colour scheme 

Similar to the cover the contents page continues the colour scheme, this can keep the brand identity going and also help to make each issue unique if individual colours are used for each issue, the brand identity is important for audiences to make the magazine feel cohesive and not like a new issue when you open the magazine.

Website convergence

Many music magazines will have their website somewhere on the contents page for example with rolling stone they place it in the bottom left corner of the page next to the page number and magazine name. This is useful especially to a 16-25 age range promoting the online version of the magazine to audiences making the website and the brand as a whole have a larger readership.

Varied photos

The photos taken for contents pages vary and are very different issue to issue which is less of an issue as each photo can be article based and other who still use the cover model will take wider shots and more dynamic poses to make the contents page ore interesting to readers.

SPECIFIC ANALYSIS

FADER MAGAZINE:

I really like the covers of FADER because of their range of shots and colours appealing to both a male and female audience. I want to take ideas from FADER into my eventual outcomes, using their poses and consistent brand identity in my piece.

I like this cover for the further away shot and editorial pose I also like the sleek design of the covers with no barcodes or stand firsts. However I do want to incorporate these in my final shoot to not only follow brief but to also create a more enticing magazine that people will want to continue to read.

ROLLING STONE ANALYSIS:

rolling stone is an iconic music magazine the retro feel is timeless and the three colour theory is one I want to continue in my own outcome. Rolling stone is special in the fact that each issue uses different font for lead offs and titles the only consistent identity is the masthead. I want to think about this when creating my magazine to make the font fit the 'vibe' of an artist.

BILLBOARD ANALYSIS:

Billboard reaches my audience more (16-25) it has iconic covers of up and coming artists with similar conventions to the other three. The masthead in keeps with the theme and style of the photoshoot and font varies throughout each issue, Billboard went through large brand identity changes and have now become more appealing to a younger audience.

CONTENTS PAGES:

FADER have a very dynamic contents page which is heavily minimal and striking it keeps the space less cluttered whilst still giving the information required I like how this contents page is set up and the personality within the photo.

This contents page stick with brand identity using the same colours and following the font through I like the strip of images down th side to add visual interest whilst looking at the contents page, the section breaks are also consistent with brand and  informative. I want to use something like this layout in my final outcome

2024 brief!

 Brief 3: Magazines and online Requirements of the brief 

You work for an independent media production company. You have been given the task of producing the front cover and contents page(s) of the first two editions of a new music magazine that is being launched by an independent publisher and two pages for the working website for the magazine. Contents pages can be either single or double page spread. The web pages must promote the new magazine to its target audience and enable fans to interact with the content. 

Summary of brief requirements: 

• Statement of Intent (approx. 500 words).1 

• Music magazine covers and contents pages: Two or three pages for each of the first two editions (based on choice of single or double page spread). 

• Magazine distribution method: Content must be suitable for retail distribution. 

• Number of web pages: One homepage and one linked page. 

• Cross media production target audience: A primarily 16–25 year old middle market audience that likes to be entertained. There must be a clear sense of branding across the two elements of the cross-media production. Production detail that must be included The production of the magazine covers and contents pages must include (as a minimum): 

• At least four different main images using original photography across the magazine covers and contents pages. 

• Editing of magazine covers and contents pages (including photos, text, graphics, typography and layout).

 • Written text including elements such as the masthead, main coverline, selling lines, headlines, captions, subtitles and copy. 

• Barcode, date, edition and price information on each front cover. 

• A different use of mise-en-scène for each cover.

 • At least two models representing at least two different social groups (e.g. as defined by age, gender, race and ethnicity, sexuality).

 • A call to action pointing readers to the online website. The production of the web pages must include (as a minimum): 

• Original audio or audio-visual content appropriate to the online website. 

• Use of original images. Each webpage must include at least one image that is different to those used on the other webpage and those produced for the magazine.

 • Appropriate conventions of website design, including an original title and logo and a menu bar. 

• Text introducing the main features of the magazine. 

• Working links from the home page to the other page.

 • A range of appropriate media language techniques (typography, images, fonts, backgrounds, logos, etc.) as appropriate to the purpose of the website.

annotated brief: