Draft Contents Progress

 

Using Photoshop, I have started to create my contents page. I have set out the basic layout and began to add the text, once again using the Bamboo pen tablet.

Draft Article #2

Draft Alterations

As there were conflicting opinions about the use of the word 'cool', I changed it to 'real' which was suggested to me by one of my teachers. However, my other teacher felt that the use of the word 'cool' was ironic and witty, as I had previously used the word 'outcasts', which suggests that my target audience are not going to be the 'cool' ones, and so I made the decision to go back to this. I also changed the size of my barcode as I felt it was slightly too small.

Draft #2

As previously said, I was unhappy with my draft cover, and so I have constructed another draft in a more preferred style. As also previously said, I really liked the 'punk special' issue of Sniffin' Glue magazine:

and so I have based my new draft around this design. The centre image of the female model was taken recently in my second photoshoot, whilst the other two images of the male models came from my first photoshoot. I pieced them together quickly just to get an idea of how I wanted my cover to look. 

As I didn't have the required technology at home, I had to use several websites such as picmonkey.com to edit the images, and I finally pieced them together on Microsoft Powerpoint as it was the best software I had to offer from home. I then decided to draw the text on, rather than typing it, as I couldn't download any fonts which suited the style I was going for. I then showed my initial design: 

to one of my teachers so as to get a second opinion; and because he said he liked it a lot, I created a proper draft on Photoshop, using the Bamboo Pen tablet which enabled me to still create a drawn on effect although it was entirely done vitrually. This is my second draft, created on Photoshop:

  

  I like everything I have done so far, although I feel that there is too much space left uncluttered down the sides, as I am going for a busy and slightly edgy look. I stuck to what I had originally come up with, although I left out a few pieces of text which I felt needed to be altered better to fit my chosen style, though this clearly needs to be added back in upon deciding how I want the cover to read, and decided to add a green tint to my cover image so as to create a 'grunge' look, as I thought black and white was a little boring, as well as adding a price under the issue details. 

My magazine is not targetted at the majority of youth culture, and therefore, I think a little chaos within the layout and the typography etc. is entirely appropriate and would result in creating something fresh and different and would break the conventions of a typical music magazine, hopefully in a good way. However, I think I should incorporate some existing fonts as well as using my own hand, as nothing seems to jump out at the minute and I think a bit of variation would make it look more interesting (which is something Sniffin' Glue have achieved). 

I will organise another shoot with all three of my models as soon as possible, so as to be able to pick an image which will best reflect my magazine as a whole and have a few more to choose from.

Draft Magazine Feedback

Having asked some of my classmates to comment on my first draft, the responses I received were very constructive and generally positive. The photos I had taken were given quite a lot of praise, as the poses, costume and choice of backgrounds 'reflected the genre' of my magazine, according to my peers. I am also pleased with my pictures and intend to take more incorporating the same style. However, my teacher commented on the cover image and said that it wasn't working due to props used, and I agree that this is a problem and will bear this in mind, although he also commented on my chosen model several times and said that she had a sense of 'charisma' which couldn't be wasted.
Praise was also given to my chosen masthead; both the name and the font. I agree that the title of my magazine works well, but my teacher felt that the font needed to be more conventional and 'blocky', and so I will think more about this and will begin looking into a range of different fonts. The colour scheme used on the front cover was commented on as being 'unclear', which I agree with, as I rushed this when creating my draft and instead based it around the colours my model was wearing, as opposed to choosing what would work well together. I am unhappy with my cover as a whole and will change most aspects of it, including layout, colour scheme and font choices.
My contents page layout was well received by students and was even noted as looking 'professional', although I think it is slightly sloppy in places. My teacher also liked the layout, and so I don't think I will make many changes to it, except from the choice of colour scheme and fonts etc. which I feel are currently letting it down.
My double page spread was also well received, and praise included the way I had picked out certain colours from the background and used them to highlight pieces of text, as well as how said text was positioned. My teacher suggested a few changes such as; crediting the writer and the photographer, making the bold text on the right hand side smaller, ensuring that the collumns were the same length and width, and adding pull out quotes to break up the text. I wanted to add pull out quotes when creating my draft, but I ran out of time, and so will definitely make sure that this is something I do next time. I also agree with the other comments made and will take them on board. I once again do not like the colour scheme I have chosen, and I particularly dislike the background colour behind the main article, which was also used on the front cover and looks very dull and boring.
I also posted a link to the post showing my draft magazine on social networking sites Twitter and Facebook, and received a comment from a friend, who suggested a few alterations on each page. He generally liked my contents page and double page spread, as most others seemed to, but proposed slight changes including; adding more pictures to the contents page, and changing the background effect on the right hand side of the double page spread. With regards to the cover, he stated that the image looks stretched, the barcode/text should be tidied up (as my teacher had also said), and that more text was required around the model to fill the empty space and create the busy style I was going for. I agree with all of this and will consider these points when creating my final piece.

Completed Draft Magazine: Self Review

 

Despite slightly veering away from what I had originally wanted to achieve with my first draft, I think that these designs work well enough and are okay for a mock. As my cover star was wearing a red top, I couldn't have a colourful background much like I wanted, nor could I use purple, and due to lack of time I couldn't create any amazing visual effects, and so left my photos unedited and didn't think about the new colour scheme as much as I could have done. My front cover began as my flat plan had indicated, but one of the teachers in the Media department gave me some advice whilst adding the final touches, and so this changed last minute. I was originally going to use the photo of my model with her fist in the air, but I was told that it didn't make the layout easy to work with because it wasn't a central image. I was also told about the different styles of layouts and that an 'F' layout would work best with the image I had, and so I placed the text accordingly to fit this style, although I may stray from this when creating another piece as I want to be experimental. I didn't realise that I couldn't use the masthead font throughtout, and so choices of different fonts were rushed and not well thought out after I became aware of this. The idea of having text placed over a block of colour (specifically a black rectangle) was brought to my attention by Kerrang! magazine, and almost my entire contents page was influenced by NME magazine. My double page spread was once again influenced by Kerrang!, and after making my article a bit longer and adding some pull out quotes, I don't think that there are many alterations I would still need to make, other than choice of fonts and colours, as I think the style of image and layout work well together (unless I decide to change the layout completely). I don't want my contents page to look boring, and so I will not stick to a black, white and red colour scheme next time, as I think this is done too often, but I think it fits in nicely with a genral rock theme. I don't like the text underneath the image because I think there isn't enough of it, but I think that there is too much text down the side, and I will research into some different contents page designs so that I can create a unique, new style. Overall, I think my draft magazine gives off a very Kerrang! vibe, despite the fact that there is limited text on the front cover, which is something I will try to stay away from next time, as I want my magazine to look a bit more quirky and classic 'punk', rather than mainstream pop rock and 'emo', and so I will take some ideas from the 80's and the 90's magazine Ray Gun, although recent music will heavily feature and this will include a range of different rock music. I think that this will work better than what I have done because it will be similar to Kerrang! but will also be completely different.

Draft Article

“It’s Now or Never”

Despite being in the spotlight for an extremely short amount of time, The Simple Things have taken the unpredictable world of rock by storm.
But do they have what it takes to go all the way?  

From supporting blink-182 to making appearances at both Reading and Leeds festivals, The Simple Things have had a brilliant 2012. Now, two months into the new year, and the pressure is on. 

The band have been working on their self-titled debut album since last June, which is said to be released on 23^rd March. “We’re so eager to get some real stuff out,” says frontman, Bill Attfield. “We’ve been waiting a long time for this.” When asked if their feelings were only positive towards the album, he stated “Generally, yeah. I mean, how could this be anything but incredible?! We never thought we’d get such an amazing opportunity. It's extremely scary at the same time, of course. There's a lot of pressure resting on our shoulders at the minute; we have to embrace the chance that we've been given before it passes us by, and if the fans don’t like the album then we’re pretty much f*cked (he laughs) but we can do nothing but hope for the best. It's now or never. We’re so overwhelmed by everything that we don’t really have a lot of time to worry anyway. At least we can say we tried if everything goes pear-shaped!”  

The band have a certain charm that is left fresh in your mind for days after witnessing one of their live performances, not to mention the stage prescence of their controversial, female drummer who has a way of blasting your ear drums into obvlion after only a few blows. Often compared to Tré Cool, we have no suspicions as to why; Ella Wilkinson's incredible actions and facial expressions will get the crowd roaring if all else fails. "I just go for it. Being the drummer, I think you need something to make you stand out from the others who have closer contact with the audience, and it's also just a lot of fun for me. I hate those guys who just sit there and bang on the drums without even trying to seem engaged in what they're doing, no matter how obscured their view may be from the stage. I try to sing along as much as possible as well. That way, Bill's vocals seem more bearable (she laughs). I'm kidding, Bill's amazing and he knows it. I just get left out (she laughs again)."

Hoarding the desire of making it big but never truely thinking it possible, the guys (and gal) from small town Lutterworth, Leicestershire were blown away when Epitaph Records, the label associated with You Me At Six, The Blackout and Bring Me The Horizon, among others, approached them and offered them a 5 year contract. "I couldn't believe it!" says bass player, Richard Lowdon. "We'd played a few small gigs in town and posted some of our songs on YouTube, but we never thought things would escalate as quickly as they did! We are so, so, so lucky, and I hope we never forget that."