First Draft: Front Cover and Peer Review

This is my first draft for my magazine front cover.
I asked a number of people to check out this design and give me some feedback to 4 questions I asked so I could have some constructive criticism to help me make adjustments. For this draft I tried to follow one of my mock-up plans as closely as possible as I was happy with the outcome of that. I'm not sure about the turnout of this design though.

In conclusion, my feedback is positive, which helps me to know I'm on the right track. However some improvements that have been suggested include adjusting the cover lines - make them stand out more, and/or adjust the positioning. Another suggestion was making my header bolder - this is true as it's something I'd want to stand out if it was on the shelves in a shop, I personally think adjusting the font would be something to think about too.

Further Interview Research

Edited DPS Images

Here is my collection of images that I've edited for my double page spread that will be in my magazine. Like in the post before, these images may not be the final edit when I come to use it, but I will probably only choose one of these images listed. 

To view full selection, click on the image for the album to be opened in Flickr.

Edited Front Cover Images

Here is a slideshow of my edited images I'm considering for my front cover. These might not be the finished result but will likely be the only images I take into consideration for the construction of my front cover.

To view all the images in full, just click below and it should open up to my album on Flickr.

Double Page Spread Photoshoot #2

Okay, so after having a good look through my last photoshoot, I decided that the images with Ernie really didn't match the professionalism of my front cover photoshoot. I didn't want images that could be seen as offensive, though at the time I thought they could work as they make a statement about the artist/Ernie. I don't want to drive 

Unfortunately, me and Ernie don't have much spare time where there's light, so I asked my friend Ed if he'd be willing to model for me, and he agreed. 

Myself, Ed, and Ed's friend Ben all ventured out around Norwich to gain professional looking portraits of Ed that I can use on my DPS, and thankfully, Ed is quite the natural poser so the images come out pretty well thanks to him being comfortable! Despite it being very cold, and raining on and off, the outcome of this photoshoot was definitely successful - nice colour schemes, good representation of model, and good quality photos.

Double Page Spread Photoshoot

So, I had planned with my friend Ernie, that today we'd take some DPS images. It came to 3 o'clock and he messaged me to let me know he couldn't meet me till 5pm. Unfortunately, there wasn't much I could do about that, and so we did meet at around 5.30, though it was dark by this point. I had originally planned for some well-lit, serious images, but with personality - mirroring the front cover photoshoot really. However, with the darkness, and my lack-of-a-tripod, I didn't have much luck in achieving those. The images I took haven't quite come out as well as I'd hoped, and with the flash I'm not a fan of the cheap lighting it brings. Though, nonetheless, it's a start! I'll see how I get on with these for the time being, but I'll take some new ones otherwise. 

Front Cover Photoshoot

I organised my photoshoot to be done today, with my good friend Georgie modelling. Despite the freezing weather, I did manage to get over 280 photos taken - but of course with not all of them being magazine-condition I have cancelled them down into 20 images in each of the 3 sessions. 

Photoshoot 1: 

These images were the first images we took. For this shoot I wanted to try out a natural look, so we used minimum makeup, plain background, minimalistic clothes. I wanted this so the images could look professional and real; I was to put these in black and white but as this is just a contact sheet I thought I'd put in the images before I edited them so you could see the general look I went for.

Photoshoot 2:

This was my second photoshoot. In this I asked Georgie to add some of her personality to her style, so she put on bold shimmery red eyeshadows and a more styled top. For these images, Georgie was more at ease and comfortable in front of the camera so these images came out more natural which is appealing to see. I did alternate between the white, and the blue background, but I found the white background to go best.

Photoshoot 3: 

These photos were my final shot at getting a photo that really stood out to me. I used a white eyeliner to draw lines onto Georgie's face in an abstract form. I thought this could be something that would stand out more as a portrait. Georgie was happy to go for a serious look in these images which I think suited the general appearance more, making it look more edgy. I also thought the blue background helped the white markings to stand out more.

Pre-Production Work: Photoshoot Planning

Pre-Production Work: Double Page Spread Flatplans

Just a brief draft on double page spread layout ideas. Completely aware that my colours on the first dsign in particular aren't ideal as they're difficult to read, especially with small text. The second design is one I prefer, but it's also one that's less informative with less text. I tried many different colours for the font of the text on the second design but none seemed to work as well as black - and even black doesn't work that well! Trial and error.

kxrsty on Scribd

Pre-Production Work: Contents Page Flatplans

These flatplan designs were just so I could experiment with how I'll organise my contents on the page. I think the second design looks much more professional than the first one with the fonts and general layout. This shows how important a variety of fonts is!

I want my contents page to be clear and simple and I think these designs are almost at that point. I recognise that there's perhaps too much empty space, and that something else needs to be incorporated. In summary, these have helped me to think about designs for my construction.

The images used are stock images from Google. 

Pre-Production Work: Front Cover Flatplans

Front Covers 

These flatplans for my front cover were produced on InDesign to give myself an idea of what sort of layout I'd like to aim for in my construction of the magazine. All designs were made using stock images from the search engine Google.

While creating my flatplans, I decided I'd use a little slogan under the header to add a little something else to my magazine. I'm hoping 'Bringing new music to the blind ears' will help to show that my magazine has a primary focus on indie music - something that's different and not the generic stuff your ears become deaf to while it's playing through the radio all the time. 

Cover #1 has, what I believe, a clear layout. I made a conscious decision to keep colour at a minimum by using a black and white stock image, and white and blue writing. This colour layout seems to go well together, but does give the magazine a cold appearance - though this could be interpreted as mature and professional. 

Cover #2 I decided to make it minimalistic, with very little text. I quite like the general idea, but I think there's perhaps not enough empty space, or maybe too much. I'm really not a fan on the header font at all. It looked like it would work well as seen in my previous post of exploring fonts, but on this it looks more like it belongs on a magazine promoting joining the army.
I'm a fan on the colour scheme however, and also the general quirky appearance of the model. 

Cover #3 is something I'm particularly drawn towards. This cover pulls of minimalistic better than the previous attempt I think, and there's still the general quirky appearance through the makeup and props. I'm not completely sure if this cover would be okay to use for a music magazine however as the front cover doesn't make you think of music - but the header, and text all point to a music magazine. I'll have to think this one over. 

Press Release

VMagazine are investing in the publication and print of Liberated Sounds in January, 2017. Sold at £3, Liberated Sounds is a magazine with fresh artists and aesthetic qualities to bring new music to the ears of the young and hip. Featuring an unpredictable range of music artists: those new on the scene and those still raging on, the magazine will be a bestseller for the young with a true passion in music and culture. The magazine will be published fortnightly to the highs and lows of Britain's regions.



Young people aged between 17 and 25, of all backgrounds, will be grabbing these high in demand 10,000 copies every release from off the shelves. Liberated Sounds, a visually driven magazine, aspires to inspire the young to aim for beyond the unknown. We believe in breaking conventions and creating individualism through music for everyone to be comfortable in their own skins. The magazine aims to be informative on new artists, new approaches to music, new reviews, new releases - new, new, new. Modern is the key, and modern is the outlook.

Pre-Production Work: Final Magazine Name

NAMES FOR MAGAZINE

Small Sounds

Unsung Music

Unsung Artists

Different

Free-Spirit Songs

Wild&Free

Liberated Beats

Liberated Sound

Indie&Wild

Dependant on Different

Indie&Diff

Liberated Melody

The words highlighted are potential names that stand out to me. In particular, I like the use of the word ‘liberated’ as it shows the free movement and lack of conventions for indie music. Liberated Beats is a name that I’m drawn to but the use of the word ‘beats’ would be used for a different genre, such as grime or hip-hop. Therefore, I want a softer word that would suit ‘Indie’ more; I think this would be something such as sound.

My magazine will be named: Liberated Sounds

Pre-Production Work: Masthead Designs

There are a few tests of fonts for my masthead of my magazine. I like all these fonts as they're modern and easy to read; the font is a very important factor of the magazine as it must be easy to read to bring in an audience, but it must also be appropriate. I think all of these would be appropriate, perhaps 'Handwriting Draft' in particular as it portrays the development of indie music as a whole. It will never be a set genre, but always something moving forward and constantly being influenced by other factors.

Pre-Production Work: Contents

Pre-Production Work: Interview and Artists

Interview for Double Page Spread

For my interview, I will need to be interviewing an artist that will attract an audience, so therefore it will need to be an artist that is well known in the indie genre. By looking at my questionnaire analysis, the well-known artists would be a good place to start. 

I'd like to focus on modern, on-scene artists, so this could be artists such as Bastille or Foals. Both these artists are well-known amongst the younger audience that I'd ideally like to attract.

Potential Questions for Interview:

- How did you start your musical career?

- Were you musical as a child?

- What artists have you been inspired by?

- What's been your favourite performance in the past year?

- Do you get nervous before performances?

- Have you ever had an embarrassing moment while performing?

- Where do you seen yourself in future?

- How do you deal with fans in public?

- Has life changed for you since you became more widely known?

- What do you find most interesting/fun in your career?

- What else do you do outside of music?

- How do you spend your time at home?

- What music festivals have you been to/where do you recommend?

- Do you like to party?

- What advice do you have for your fans?

My interview can be in two different forms: serious and informative, or light hearted. I think for my magazine, a more light-hearted approach should be used, but it should also be equally informative so that the reader's have their money's worth.

Introduction to 'Indie' and Initial Title Ideas

What is ‘Indie’