FINAL CONTENTS PAGE

Drafts of my contents page

When creating my contents page I looked at typical contents pages made my well known music magazine companies such as NME and Q. The more I went on the more stereotypes I added to create a realistic and professional looking contents page. At first as you can see in the first image I only chose to use one image but later decided it would look better with another photo I had taken recently whilst at a concert. The more I drafted my contents page the more I began to understand the conventions and stuck with the typical neat and simple layout. I also later discovered having an image of my front cover also on the contents page in link with subscribing to the magazine itself was a good idea as well as a puff/plug to catch the readers eye. I had a clear idea at the beginning of producing my contents page of the colours, layout and font types I wanted so when drafting I didn't need to play about with these too much.

FINAL DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

draft of the double page spread almost complete

This is my last draft for my final double page spread. I just need a few more editing to make it how I want it. I have further investigated into existing double page spreads today. I have further adjusted the commons so they are the same size/length. I have also decided to put the pull quote in a box with a grey back ground to enhance the quote and so it stands out more on the page. Looking into real double page spreads I have decided to get rid of the caption above the picture as it is more conventional to a news paper rather than music magazine. I also realised the way in which I have worded the title. I have decided to now change it to 'IMM meets Millie Low' so it has more importance on the artist rather than the magazine.

Drafts for my double page spread

At first when drafting my double page spread I struggled with the layout and over all look. The more I went on the more I improved in creating a authentic looking double page spread. I used columns to keep my article tidy and professional as well as a masthead, drop capital and pull quote. The last draft is not my last edition, I made some last minute touches by adding a logo, page number, caption to photo and adjusting the actual article itself and what is said. 

FINAL FRONT COVER

draft of my front cover almost complete

This is my last draft before finally producing the final front cover for my music magazine IMM. I am happy with the layout of my text and believe my image is strong and is very in connection to my genre, indie acoustic. I also think the colours in my magazine are appealing as they are neutral and would appeal to my target audience teens-young adults without completely dismissing the older target audiences. I think I need to have a play about although with the font, perhaps trying to find a more traditional, professional looking quote. I have also further decided to change the size of the image so my artist Millie is bigger on the cover. Reseaching further into real music magazines I have also realise I have missed the price of my magazine and should add another tag line filling up the left side of the page, with it conventional. I am currently playing about with the editing of my image also as I've decided to make the image slightly more contrasting.

Drafts for my front cover

I took the idea for my front cover from a special edition of NME of John Lennon. This helped me come up with ideas and begin to draft my front cover. At first I was unsure what colour scheme to have, but eventually decided on a black and white image with yellow, white, grey and black font which continued throughout my 3 pieces. I had to constantly play about with font types, layout, cover lines and the details in order for my magazine cover to look realistic. As chosen to base my magazine on Indie genre I didn't want my font to be too 'out there' as this would not fit my target audience or genre. During the end of drafting I added small details such as bar code, date, plug/puff and editing of cover lines.

My photography

Darcy thorn's photostream on Flickr.

Why I have chosen the artist I have

Photography shooting schedule

Photography ideas

Here are some photos I have taken from different sources such as Google, social networking sites and magazines that I really like and have inspired me for my photo shoot and given me some great ideas for when I'm taking the photos for example angles and positioning of instruments but also after ideas for how to edit my images. I like the low angle shots of people especially when an instrument is a focus point. I also like the effect these different images have. I like the black and white photos as I think they give a modern and stylish look, but I also like the 'vintage'/old style editing effects some of these photos have.

Proposal

I have chosen to create my music magazine on the Indie/Acoustic genre. I have selected this genre after my research into different music genres and because I am personally interested in Indie music myself. I also thought it would work well as I don't think there is many music magazines out there today representing this popular style of music. The music magazine I have created is aimed at both male and females between the ages of 16-26 as I don't want to narrow my market at one gender and I think it is a style that appeals to both. In researching my chosen genre I found out many artists today and those stereotypically into this style of music are older teens and young adults. I also believe these are the people who are likely to want to read about their favorite genre of music and to spend money on buying music magazines. To ensure my my music magazine relates to the genre and attracts this audience I have used similar qualities and stereotypes that follow the Indie style, such as colour schemes, images, the person/artist I have chosen to feature, fonts, cover lines and gifts.
For the masthead/name of my magazine my first idea was to have a simple slogan for my magazine and use the initials as my masthead, this idea was based on 'NME' which is a very well known magazine they have used these initials which stand for New Musical Express. I want the initials to also relate to my genre so I came up with several sets of 3 simple words which described the magazine. These included; BIM (best indie mag) and IMM (indie music mag) I think IMM works best as it summed up exactly what the magazine stood for and was simple about 'Indie music'. I have chosen to give a 'vintage' yet simple feel to my magazine following the style of many NME magazines.
I like the use of black and white images as this is more unique and think goes well with the retro style usual to the type of people who listen to Indie music. I like red on black and white, but I think on second thoughts this is not usual enough, so have decided to use black, white, grey and a pale yellow colour I have based this on a NME special edition cover of John Lennon. This colour scheme will run throughout my 3 piece as I want there to be continuity and for the magazine to flow.

Cover line ideas:

Celebrating magazine- short cover line informing the reader the magazine has been running for a long time, this would draw the reader in as they would feel trusted in this magazine. I want to use a different layout and design on this so it doesn’t just blend with other cover lines.

Winning/prize- I want a prize to be won in a puff/plug on my front cover; this attracts the reader as everyone enjoys a free competition. I also want the prize to link to my music genre or at least music in general for example- IPod, concert tickets, festival tickets.  

IOW Festival exclusive- This is a popular British festival that is known for being an Indie event. However other style artists also perform there. This will appeal to my audience as it
covers all the genres of music that my magazine does.

Concerts/gigs this year- Telling the reader of concerts and gigs linking to their genre, tells them when and where to get tickets. Advice which ones they should attend.

Artist featured on cover- I want a quote also as a cover line as I think it has a personal inside into the artist who said it with the reader.

The size for my magazine will be 11" x 17", his is the size of many well known magazines such as Q magazine. This is the called 'tabloid size' as it's the size of a tabloid newspaper. It is larger than usual so images and font is easier to read, but also gives the editors the opportunity to show/say more.
I used a friend that fitted the genre perfectly to use for my images but also a recent concert I had gone to as this had an original feel.
The date on my magazine is in April this is because I wanted to mention up and coming festivals and concerts which are usually in summer. This gave readers the time to then go and buy tickets for the festival season.
The majority of my magazine will be about bands and artists, with interviews with them and photo shoots looking at their style and finding out about their life styles as Indie artists. The magazine will also include exclusives about concerts and festivals coming up and reviews on concerts recently attended by people. I also want a question and answer style interview with my chosen artists as this common in double page spreads of music magazines. Also there will be prizes and competitions for the reader to enter; this will be shown on a specific page inside and also on the front cover.

Flat plans for my front cover, double page spread and contents page