Wednesday, 24 March 2010

Minor Images for Double page spread

Progress: Incomplete: Photo shoot

These are just photos that I have taken in preparation for my double page spread. It is not a definate decision over the photos, as I feel they should possibly go for a upbeat rocky idea instead. These images would be very small, down the right-hand side of my second page, and would be used for the gig reviews/album review (undecided). The photo of the reviewee would have a small statement beneath with their verdict.



Friday, 19 March 2010

Double-Page Spread Research: Kerrang Magazine

After carrying out some research into double-page spreads, this is a definite favourite that I found. I feel the composition is really well displayed, and the main image on the left page highlights the band, if 'MCR' wasn't a big enough indication. The colour scheme works really well, as the red text stands out against the black and white images. This technique would be really effective for my double-page spread, as it follows the same format that I have chosen for my magazine. 

My Final design: Music Magazine Contents Page

Progress: Complete

I have since included an arrow, instructing the reader to turn to a particular page. I feel this is an effective and useful item to use as it is helpful for the reader, suggests that there are interesting features to read and it also adds more colour and interest for the page. I also included the date that the magazine will be distributed as this is useful for the reader and was included on most popular music magazines: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMvpeeZziPc1hh-YoR4VgCBo4OobsPv3lvnJ2VdUMCDHBuJJgdjJuiaF6YEclpcdVn5MowZl9TaHRNzR61DBL_yU0LzUhY0-hR_wPybwmNznQfu5iljQp-FEUjh612asVbtvb8mF2UxKWk/s400/q+contents.jpg
Overall, I am very pleased with my contents page. I am particularly happy with my simplisitic format and the clear divisions for my composition. It is clear where to look, and I feel this is particularly useful for a contents page, as these are used so you know where to find features etc in the magazine, therefore a simple format is needed for ease. I included lines in my contents page, as this helped to divide the page up and add to the simplistic format. Lines are also seen on popular magazines, which is good connotations for my magazine.

Audience Feedback:

Positives:
+ I like how the images are on one side and the text on the other
+ Interesting and appropriate photos used
+ Easy to read
+ Really effective use of another issue for the subscription
+ The subscription article in grey highlights it compared to the rest of the page
+ Looks good how the central line goes through 'Alt-Wave', as if representing the divide of different styles of rock
+ The angled small issue image for subscription, very realistic and draws attention to the image

Negatives:
- Arrow looks very slightly pink instead of red
.............
But NO OTHERS?! Wow...

Tuesday, 16 March 2010

Contents Page Progress


Progress: Incomplete

This is the image I created for my 'subscription' article. I made this as on a subscription article, it is idealised and also useful to include small image of another magazine produced by the magazine company. Therefore, I felt I could not use the front cover I have created so far for my project. I decided to manipulate my front cover further, by changing the copy and sell-lines. I am pleased with this, as it adds to the professional appearance of my magazine, and is similar to that of other magazines of this genre.

Contents Page Progress



Progress: Incomplete This is my magazine contents page so far. It follows the structure of sketch 1 I designed, as this was a simplistic design and follows a similar simple composition of my front cover. I like the simple design, as this is the composition of what other magazines of my genre use. The simple layout for my contents page means I can easily emphasise key, popular articles and features I feel are important and would appeal more to my audience. Also, as a contents page, I feel a simple structure is the most effective, and should be used, as the main use of a contents page is to read to see what the magazi ne contains; therefore, if I were to use a more complicated and graphical contents page, it may not be very clear and easy to read for the reader. I have continued to follow the colour scheme of black, red and white, which adds to the professionalism of the overall appearance of my magazine. The photos I used cover one third of my page, which I feel is a good proportion as, personally- and from my research, I found the most effective contents pages had more text than image. I have used a 'subscribe' article, in order to enhance the sales of my magazine for frequent readers of 'Alt-wave'. I have also included a 'band index' article which was not part of my original plan in the sketch. However, I feel it works well for my contents page, as it is appropriate, adds to the appearance, and would also be a convenient and useful index for the readers. For each subheading, I put them in black boxes, highlighting the different sections and what the magazine entails. Finally, I used red numbering for each article, as this highlights to the reader that the magazine contains many enjoyable articles to read.


Photoshoot:


These are six images I took for my contents page. I varied the mise-en-scene to make the different bands seem more realistic, and the mise-en-scene for the background also represents each of the different bands. For example, the woods represent the 'Decode' music video by the band 'Paramore', and the brick background represents the london background that 'Kay-Ell' have. In the four images of the girls, I used a spotlight to give the shot a professional look, similar to that of other popular magazines. I am very happy with this photo shoot for the minor images of my contents page.



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