Main task, music magazine evaluation

The video of this evaluation can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OrWbmTGO5o

Final music magazine Feature article double page spread

Final music magazine MOSH contents page

Final music magazine MOSH front cover

Final contents page construction

To begin the creation of my contents page I opened a new blank a4 Photoshop document and applied a white to light grey gradient to prevent my Page looking too flat.

I added black banners much like I did on my front cover for the more important text on the page to be laid upon, these would aid in making the text stand out to the reader. I also included vertical lines to keep the actual contents text in columns.

Next I included images depicting my feature and cover pages. I thought it was important to advertise the main feature in a different way to the way demonstrated on the front cover. I placed the front cover image on this Page to advertise the magazine itself, this would tell the reader how they can subscribe to the magazine.

This is the main image for my contents page, I edited the original image using Photoshop to make the model look as if he is climbing on the middle banner.

Two more banners were added here to give context to the main and feature article image, black text will be added here. The white banners will contrast with the black text making it stand out despite it's smaller size compared to other text that will be featured on the pages.













I used more black banners to base the soon to be added yellow text on. These boxes would contain sub headings for the contents of the magazine. Also added was the MOSH logo.
















I filled the banners with yellow text that leads the eye down through the pages from top to bottom, important headers and sub headings are presented in a yellow and black format.

Here I included all of the main text for the page, this featured the editor note, contents and subscription information.

The final image of myself was added here above the editor's note to the reader's. I simply cropped a larger image in Photoshop and applied it to the contents page

Final feature spread construction

I began the creation of my double page spread for my magazine 'MOSH' by creating a blank photoshop document in the size of A3 in order to accomodate two pages. I used a subtle gradient in a sepia tonal color in order to create a base for the rest of the double page spread.

I laid a scan of a crumpled piece of paper over the background and turned the opacity setting down to 60% to retain part of the color of the background.

I then added in scans of ripped pieces of paper in order to gain a more rugged and botched effect to the double page spread, I felt this was in-keeping with the genre of my magazine. I made these ripped pieces a grey/black color to contrast with the sepia/brown shade of the crumpled paper.

I took the masthead from the cover page of my magazine and used 'black and white' adjustments to make it black. I turned the opacity down to 70% in oreder to make it look faded and worn.

I added the text "BACKSTAGE EXCLUSIVE" underneath the heading of the page in order to aquire a link to my front cover's sub heading that advertises these particular pages.

Here I used the same logo from my front cover for the fictional band 'DAWN', the subject of the double page spread is an interview with the lead singer who comments on a performance at the music festival 'Download', hence the sub-title "AT DOWNLOAD 2013". I felt that both headers 'MOSH' and 'DAWN' needed to stand out in order to grab the attention of someone flicking through the magazine. This was most certainly the case for the 'DAWN' logo, I kept it white to contrast with the text used for the first header and it's text.

The text displayed here is the interview with the band member, I used a black/grey font to contrast with the brighter background but to still be in-keeping with the washed out, worn theme of the pages. The text isn't the first thing to grab you on the page, I desired to make the later added images and quotes the focal points of the double page. The page numbers added in the corners are a white/ pink color to contrast with the grey laying behind.

I decided to add in key quotes from the interview and place them over the pages. I used yellow text to make the quotes stand out to the reader, I intended that the reader's eye be drawn to these quotes to allow them key information without reading the complete text. However this text may create a desire to read the full article.

I added black strips behind the quotes to make them more substantial and noticeable. This also links back to the strips used on the cover of the magazine.

Here I added my first image, the model represents the band member in the interview. I edited this image in Photoshop 'black and white' adjustments, I applied a brownish tint to the image to make it more subtle and personal in order to fit with the nature of the interview.

I added the second image to the page in order to represent the concert that is mentioned in the interview, I rubbed out small grains of the picture to make it blend with the background.

I added this next picture to make a link to the front cover, this image is largely similar to the one initially used, it has been cropped and then faded at the sides with a rubber brush tool to again make it blend with the background.







Here I added text to accompany the interview and the picture to the right. This is my final double page spread design.

Final front cover construction

I began my magazine front cover with this image. I removed the background by using the magic wand tool so only the model remained, this would be the main image on the cover advertising a feature on a fictional band that exists within the magazine 'DAWN'.












I then created a background with the gradient tool, I used a grey/blue colour to contrast with the model's skin. I picked this kind of gradient as it looks like there is a light source present behind the model.











Here I added several banners, I would later add information on the features of the magazine in these banners in order to make them stand out better to the reader. I decided at this point that two of the main colours on the cover would be yellow and black.












I added a few different shapes to the cover page, the edges of the sticker and torn note paper shapes were rubbed away to create a more rugged and rough look to conform to my genre. I also added text to the lower banner, the bands featured are very popular and would ensure a wider readership. The bold, simple font couple with a contrasting colour scheme makes it easy to read.











 I decided to widen the use of colour at this point. I made use of green and white for the more important 'in your face' text that advertises important features.

















Here I included more banners to go behind the text, the black on green and vice versa made the text stand out quite well. The white on black text stands out rather well and compensates for the smaller size used.

I opened this image in Photoshop and used black and white settings to make it black and white, I cropped the black and white image and added it at a tilt to the top right of my front cover to accompany the top banner text.

I used an unedited image on the bottom right of the cover to advertise one of the features, I chose this image because it looks like a music studio shot and therefore fit the genre successfully. I also added a bar code, and the text "March 2013 Issue 01"

Finally I added the two logos I created in earlier in Photoshop, the masthead 'MOSH' and the band logo for 'DAWN'. I created these logos by rubbing out certain bits of the letters while changing the opacity of the eraser. This is my final cover design.

Survey monkey: music magazine target audience research

Draft article for feature page

As promised in last month’s issue, I come to you today with my up close and personal, backstage interview with lead singer/ guitarist of the critically acclaimed ‘DAWN’, Darren Rytel:
“So Darren, killer performance today! Great set list, the crowd practically worshiped you guys up there!” “Thanks James, it means alot to us when the fans really pack out the venue... And today, they really made it for us, so we though we’d get some pay-back with a sweet set list for them.” “So what’s next for DAWN? You clearly conquered Download this year, surely you and the guys have been planning something huge over the past few weeks?!” “Well I can confirm for your readers James, that starting in the summer we’ll be starting our 2013 world wide tour, we’ve invited some of our favorite up and coming bands to come along as well. This being our first international tour, we don’t want to do anything by half measures.” “Wow, I think we know who’ll be first in line for tickets! Gotta say that sounds awesome man! Sounds like you’re really starting to spread the name. on the subject of new things, you’ve been rather popular in the rumor category recently...Anything you’re willing to tell us right now on new material?” “Well you are certainly making the most of this opportunity! Naturally there isn’t much I can reveal...But there may or may not be something in the works, just tell the fans to keep their fingers crossed!” “Consider my own fingers crossed! So let’s talk about Download, this is the second year you’ve appeared on stage here, how would you say this year was different from 2012?” “Well as you could see there were alot more fans out there, last year we were overwhelmed by how many people came to support us, it was humbling for the band. But 2013 was simply put, a whole new kind of show... I can’t put into words how much we enjoyed performing for the fans. It’s great to know that so many people enjoy what we love doing as a band.” “Sounds like a sweet deal. So, you announced last week that you’d be producing a new music video for your chart topping song ‘Bring me back’, can you give us an idea of what we can expect from the production, and what inspired you to create a visual representation of your lyrics?” “We haven’t made many music videos in  the past, but after hearing the finished track in the studio before release we collectively thought that it would go well with a video. We thought the nostalgic lyrics were perfect to be accompanied by warm visuals that reflected our feeling at the time, the video was born from an idea that Alex had during the actual production of the song, so alot of credit goes to him for the ideas behind the video. It’s a really personal story and the video will largely consist of a visual recreation of the collective memories from the band’s past. all in all it’s a project that will be really close to our hearts.  As with any new material there isn’t too much I can reveal just yet, but keep your eyes and ears open for more information during the weeks to come.” “Sounds brilliant, you seem to have alot in store for the fans over the next few months.  So moving back to Download, we’ve seen you  for two years in a row here, are you making this an annual thing? And are you planning on performing at other festivals and events before or after the tour?” “Well, as much as we’d love to come and perform every year it’s not always entirely up to us. Of course we would try to get into the line up each year but it’s not always possible...As for other events, we haven’t planned any further than the tour, that was our main aim for now. But of course we will be arranging other gigs shortly after, Gotta make a living after all! as long as the fans are about then we’ll keep endeavoring to satisfy.”

So there you have it, after tearing up Download this year DAWN still have enough Metal in them to bring us a new video before taking off to go global for their world tour beginning this summer. And I wouldn’t mind betting that we’ll see them next year at Download for their third running appearance. You can find full coverage of Download and more information about DAWN via our website:
‘www.MOSHMAG.co.uk’ and rem-
ember to drop us a line in the
forums to tell us what you
think of DAWN’s big plans...

The target audience for MOSH and key institutions

From the results that I have drawn from my survey and market research of different magazines, my target audience is white, heterosexual, working/ lower class males who enjoy rock music. As I have mentioned in previous blog updates; my magazine will be closely based on the conventions utilised by Kerrang as this already successful magazine caters for the same target audience as my own magazine. I have decided to do this because of Kerrang's success, it is only logical to assume that when catering for the same or a similar target audience I should follow the conventions set by a successful business model. I plan to break several conventions in order to make my own product different from that of Kerrang, one of these changes will be the inclusion of the masthead on certain pages, however I intend to follow convention while creating my cover, contents page and feature article by including features such as: Star vehicles, large attractive fonts, multiple images to advertise features and bright appealing colours to add more character to my magazine.
In order to compete with Kerrang my magazine would be published by Bauer Media Group.

contents page analysis music magazine

The contents page for Kerrang is packed with images of bands that relate to the articles that will be featured inside the magazine itself. The yellow on black fonts are easy to read due to the choice of background colour and banners used to frame the main headings on the page. the light grey background of the page helps to make the rest of the images and text stand out to the reader enabling the page to be easily read. The layout of the page also flows well due to the placement of main images and large text. The star vehicles in these images are more often than not the lead singers of each band with other supporting members featuring in the shot. This page features an advertisement for the subscription to the magazine. Kerrang seems to be aimed at a target audience that consists mainly of white, student/working class, 13-17 year old individuals due to the more playful nature of the images (for example the Shawn of the dead lookalike), and text. My own magazine will be closely based on Kerrang so I intend to draw inspiration from pages like this, I plan to include a subscription advert as well as a main image to advertise the most important feature of the magazine. The font used on this contents page is large, bold and appealing, i plan to include something similar on my own piece of work.

NME's contents page is rather different to the one used by Kerrang. The page is mostly composed of one large main image that utilises a star vehicle (The Arctic Monkeys), this will be instantly attractive to the division of NME's target audience that likes this particular band but the opposite to those who are not fans. To avoid people being put off by the main image I intend to make use of more images to appeal to the wider readership.The colour scheme on this contents page is less appealing than that used by Kerrang, the page is mostly black and white like a newspaper which could imply that NME is the more informational magazine. The overall layout of the page is clear and structured, again like a newspaper, I want my own page to be more random and eye catching in different places so the reader's eye is drawn all over the page. This magazine also follows the convention of including a subscribe section, this is the biggest thing that stands out on this page and therefore must be included on my own. NME and Kerrang share the convention of using smaller subheadings on a black banner, this is also something I wish to incorporate into my magazine pages.

Q seems to be the most up-market of these three contents pages, it features a large main image that covers more than half of the page and it is supported by a smaller image of another band. The lack of pictures however may serve to appeal to a smaller readership. However the large red banner will serve to draw the reader's eye to this page, the use of colour in the main image is also appealing and distracts the reader from the plain white background. The font used on this page is very small and slightly italic, it is hard to read without looking closely which is not what I'm looking for in my own magazine. The font used by Kerrang is much easier to read and catches the eye of the person who is looking at the page, this font does not create the same flow that I have witnessed in other publications. The Q logo is prominent on this page, the same could be said for NME, however Kerrang does not follow this convention, even though I am looking closely at Kerrang as a model for my own magazine I may have to break convention and include the magazine masthead somewhere on my own contents page.

double page spread analysis music magazine

The feature article foe NME demonstrates several conventions that are usually found in Kerrang, the double page spread features blue banners behind the black and white text to make the information stand out to the reader. The main image is large and takes up one page of the magazine, this is important to the layout of the spread due to it's role in drawing the reader's eye upon first look at the page, whereas the blue text boxes and black feature box allows the reader's gaze to be pulled from left to right. This image also features several star vehicles in the form of 'The Teenagers', a band that must be somewhat popular with the readers of NME. The font used for the text is fairly blocky and stands out well on the pages, I would consider using a similar font on my own magazine as this works well.

This double page spread featured in Kerrang instantly captures the reader with the large main image and tagline. The image fills the entire background of the two pages, it features the star vehicle of 'Blood Red Shoes' which will appeal to redaer's who are fans of the band. The most important text is typed in yellow which naturally draws the eye when coupled with the dark background, this enables the reader's eye to be lead from place to place on the pages as the start of ever paragraph in the body text begins with a large yellow letter. Three main colours are used on this spread (Yellow, Black and White) I aim to use a small range of colours in my own magazine but I will break Kerrang's convention and add a few more to my own palette.

Q magazine presents us with a newspaper-like format, red and white are the only prominent colours on this feature spread and there isn't very much to look at in terms of imagery and large text. The image used on the right page is fairly mundane and boring, I believe it reflects the nature of the magazine well but does't do much for people who read Kerrang or NME. In regards to star vehicles I do not know who the man in the picture is, and readers who are not fans of the group/ band/ solo artist won't know either until they read the main article on the page. The large red 'T' in the background of the page seems to be a desperate attempt to draw the reader's eye to the feature article. I would not use any of the ideas that are presented on this double page spread due to their more sophisticated approach to music, I do not feel that this magazine represents my target audience.