Front Cover Process

These are the three magazine edits that I feel are the most effective, and professional. 

I have maintained the same house-style through all three of these edits, however I have just changed the main image in order to gain an idea as to the different connotations conveyed to the audience through each image.

I feel the middle edit is the most effective and professional. Through the positioning of my model, a rebellious attitude is connoted to the audience therefore supporting the overall themes of my magazine. Although, in the middle edit, there is no eye contact between the audience and my model however, I believe my model looks inspirational for the audience which is supporting the convention that Classic Rock artists always achieve an inspirational style, so the audience purchase the magazines.

Final Front Cover

This is the final edit of my front cover magazine. As you can see, I have added levels and curves to my original image in order to highlight my model through a better aspect. By adding curves and levels to the layer of my model, depth is created around the perimeter of my model for example, shadows are created as see along her arm. Levels also creates a yellow-ish tone on top of the existing natural colour of my model. I feel this is beneficial as my model looks more realistic as well as inspirational for my audience which is a convention I wanted to create. Magazines feature inspirational photographs of artist who inspire their target audience, with this in mind, I feel I have succeeded this convention as my model looks inspirational whilst still maintaining the conventions of the Classic Rock genre.

When I adapted the levels of my main image, the roots of my models dreads became darker therefore this made the skyline unidentifiable for the audience as i the black colour of the text merged into the black colour of the roots of my model. 

In order to solve this problem, I decided to add a stroke effect behind the text. This allowed me to add a background to the text 'NEW ALBUM' so it stands out to my audience.

 I also decided to enhance the make-up of my model. As you can see, the image on the left is the edited version whereas the image on the right is the non edited version. By reinforcing my models make up such as her eyebrows, eyelashes and lipstick, she then becomes more desirable to the target audience, which is a convention I wanted to achieve.

Front Cover Edits

Front Cover Edit 1

This is my first edit of my front cover page. As you can see, from my mock-ups, I have decided to maintain this layout as I know it is professional and effective in the way that it sells my product well, whilst conveying the genre of my product. The font I have used helps reinforce the overall theme of rebelliousness as it conveys recklessness to the audience.

Front Cover Edit 2

This is the second edit of my front cover. Simply I have just changed my main image, from a medium shot to a close up shot of my model as a close up shot was used on Mojo's issue featuring Madonna, which I chose for my inspiration.

The masthead for my magazine 'WHITECROSS' covers my models face, therefore this front cover edit is not effective as the main image is covered and unattractive for the audience. 

Front Cover Edit 3

This is the third edit of my front cover. I have again changed the main image from a close up shot to a medium-long shot of my model. This is a effective photograph as it conveys the overall theme of rebellion to the audience as well as connoting the stereotypical rock star lifestyle, ultimately supporting the genre of my magazine.

Front Cover Edit 4

This is my fourth edit of my front cover magazine page. As well as changing the main image, I have also added a colour wash on top of the main image. This is so my model looks inspirational and admirable to the audience, so they aspire to look like my model. This is a convention of typical magazines, especially under the Classic Rock genre as the artists need to maintain their rebellious and inspirational attitude as well as their huge reputation and ego. 

Front Cover Edit 5

I have realised that the CD in the bottom left corner and the smaller image of Bob Dylan in the top right corner are not original images and they are not mine. Therefore as you can see, I have changed the CD cover to an original image that I took myself. Arctic Monkey's AM album is relevant to my genre therefore I am still conforming to my genre. The image in the top right is very similar to Bob Dylan's smaller image. This is an original image that I took myself to replicate Bob Dylan's image.

Framing Shots

Extreme Close-up

 Extreme close ups are more commonly associated in motion pictures, for example through the use of an eyeline match, the camera will focus on a particular character, then cut to an object in which the character was observing. Extreme close ups are also used to portray emotions and expressions of characters in motion pictures. I believe an extreme close up is unconventional for a magazine front cover, double page spread and contents page, as the audience may not understand who the main article is about with just a snippet of the artists face.

Close up

Similarly to an extreme close up, a close is more commonly seen in motion picture. For example, through the use of eyeline match editing, a close up would be used before and after the cut in order to portray the emotions and expressions of the characters. Close ups are generally used when focusing on a specific object, furthermore due to the reasons above, I believe a close up shot is unconventional for the front cover, contents page and double page spread of a magazine.

Medium Close up

A medium close up shot is a conventional frame type used on front cover's of magazines. the inspiration I chose for my magazine front cover features a medium close up shot therefore I have decided by featuring a medium close up shot, I am creating a successful product. 

Medium Shot

 

A medium shot is typically used for the contents page of magazines, as seen in the MOJO contents page, featuring Florence Welch, I chose for inspiration. A medium close up shot consists anything above the knee. As MOJO use medium shots for their contents pages I feel that by including a medium shot, I will be creating a successful product that will be professional and sellable. Throughout MOJO's contents pages, there is the use of consistent and systematic themes. This is evident as the model is always positioned on the right of the page with the text of the left. I will follow this convention when creating my contents page in order to create a successful high end product.

Medium Long Shot

 Medium long shots are occasionally used on front covers, contents page and double page spreads, however due to the inspiration that I have chosen, I have chosen not to feature a medium long shot on the front cover or contents page as I believe a medium close up shot is more beneficial for my contents page.

Long Shot

 Long shots are more commonly seen on double page spreads. The inspiration I have chosen for my double page spread is again, MOJO magazine, however I have taken inspiration from two different issues. The first issue features a double page spread of Echo & The Bunnymen, with a close up of the lead singer occupying the whole left hand side page, with the introductory headline and paragraph occupying the second page. 

As you can see, there is the use of multiple different smaller images on the actual double page spread. This helps the audience understand the interview whilst reading. I will incorporate this idea into my creation process in order to trial the different techniques I can use to be most effective.

Extreme Long Shot

 Extreme long shots are unconventional on the front cover, the contents page and the double page spread as they do not focus on the artist, therefore I will not include an extreme long shot on either of my three pages.

Name Change

After much deliberation, I have decided to change the name of my artist. I will change her name from 'Whitecross' to 'Zowie Star'.

I have done so after researching 'female rock artists', only to discover the most popular names consisted off legends such as Joan Jett, Pat Benatar, Janis Joplin, Amy Lee, Stevie Nicks, Tina Turner and Lita Ford.

Due to my huge interest in music, I know that David Bowie has a son named Duncan Jones. However, Jones changed his name from Duncan to Zowie. Also I know that David Bowie sustained an alter ego named Ziggy Stardust. Therefore I put together two names 'Zowie' and 'Star' in order to create a successful female rock artists name Zowie Star. David Bowie is a huge Classic Rock artist and therefore this name will connote conceptions and ideas associated with David Bowie and ultimately reinforcing the genre of my magazine: Classic Rock.

Google Mock-up Ideas

This is my first Google mock-up. I chose Kurt Cobain as he is iconic of the Classic Rock genre and therefore straight away connotes the genre of this magazine to the audience.  These are the second edits of my contents page (if Kurt Cobain was the main image on the front cover), by including Kurt as the main image on the contents page, this creates a link for the audience between these two pages and therefore connotes to the audience that this issue focus' on Kurt Cobain. As you can see I have maintained a house-style through both edits of these contents pages and the front cover in order to create a link and a systematic colour scheme throughout the whole magazine issue. However, I decided to try different colour schemes for these two contents pages. As you can see I have trialed the colour yellow as on the front cover I have included the colour yellow behind the masthead in order to catch the audiences attention. I feel yellow works more effectively throughout this contents page as it maintains a systematic colour scheme. This is a mock up of the double page spread that I will be creating. As you can see  I have maintained systematic colours throughout the colour scheme and images. This is so the magazine becomes iconic to the audience and they can recognise my magazine from a far. I have taken inspiration from a Mojo's magazine double page spread: I think this is an effective double page spread as it is easy for the audience to navigate around, with the main image taken up one whole page on the left and the article beginning on the right page. As you can see, I have used this layout in order to make my magazine a successful and professional product. This is the second edit for my front cover magazine. These are only Google mock-up that helps me to understand the conventions of form (magazine) and convention of genre (Classic Rock) and how I will apply these conventions when creating my real magazine. I feel that these Google mock-ups are effective ans successful when conveying the genre of my magazine. This is the first edit of my mock-up contents page. As you can see, I have kept running themes throughout such as the colour scheme of red, white and black. I have also maintained the use of the main image being Taylor Momsen, as I chose her to be the main image on my front cover. By using the same artist on the contents page as well as the front cover, this creates a house-style and link between the two pages and therefore connotes to the audience that this issue focus' on Taylor Momsen. This is a second edit of my double page spread, featuring Taylor Momsen. I have decided to maintain the house-style overall, that I created when I created my double page spread featuring Kurt Cobain. This is so my magazine is a recognisable product that maintains the same conventions throughout an issue. As you can see, I have not included the colour red on this double page spread despite including it on my front cover and contents pages, this is due to the idea that the simplicity of this double page spread creates a subtle rebellious tone therefore connoting the overall theme of rebellion that I initially wanted to create.

Double Page Spread House Styles

These are the double page spreads that I found when I searched through many MOJO magazines. I chose these double page spreads because they share similar conventions and are all from the same magazine. By choosing double page spreads that are from the same magazine, this allows me to establish the conventions of a MOJO magazine double page spread.

I found that colour schemes are common through MOJO's contents pages and double page spreads, therefore I will maintain a strong colour scheme throughout my magazine. 

Contents Page House Styles

This is the first contents page that I analysed, I decided to study a MOJO magazine contents page as this magazine falls under the same genre that I have chosen for my magazine. 

As you can see I have highlighted the key aspects of this contents page such as the main image, its size, the colour scheme, the font text, the background colour and the heading. These are evidently all conventions of a MOJO magazines contents page as these contents pages are all systematic and follow a specific house-style. 

Next, these contents pages have been adapted in order to fit into the style of the main artist/band. For example, the first issue featuring Florence Welch from Florence and the Machine, consists of the colour scheme red, grey, black and white. As Florence is an Indie/Classic Rock artist, she has been dressed in a black velvet dress in order to connote the genre in which her music is. MOJO have adapted their contents page in order to fit to Florence's style so the audience are aware that this specific issue focusses  on Florence Welch.

Plain backgrounds have been used also to draw the audiences attention towards the main image. By highlighting the main image, this will entice the audience to purchase the magazine, this is also reinforced by the positioning of the main image/artist. Terry Hall has been positioned as though he is looking up at the audience in order to catch their attention; by having him share eye contact with the audience this makes the audience feel as if Hall is directly addressing them individually.

Overall, these contents pages are well organised and tidy which works in the audiences favour as it allows the audience to navigate around the magazine easily and stress free. In the long run, this will create a profit for the institution as the audience will enjoy reading this magazine therefore potentially, purchasing every issue.  

Colour Scheme Ideas, Name Ideas and Feature Story Ideas

This is my initial research for my colour scheme ideas, my name ideas and my feature story ideas. I collected this research together in order to underline and cross out any flaws that I found in my research. I want my magazine to scream the Classic Rock genre to my target audience therefore by undergoing specific research like colour scheme ideas, name ideas and feature story ideas, this is help me to decided the basics of my magazine.

Colour Scheme Ideas

This is my chosen colour scheme idea. I have chosen the colour black as it is an iconic colour of the Classic Rock genre, as well as it being voted by my target audience one of the colours most associated with the Classic Rock genre. Black is a dark colour which holds connotations of death and fierceness to the audience therefore supporting the overall theme of my magazine: rebellious.

Next, I have chosen the colour white to complement the colour black. White is an easy colour that holds connotations of purity and angelic concepts therefore this contrasts with the dark colour of black. White was also voted for by my target audience and therefore, I will be responding to my audiences feedback.

Finally, I have chosen the colour red which has always been used throughout the Classic Rock genre. This will allow me to maintain the conventions of the Classic Rock genre throughout my magazine and therefore allow me to create a successful magazine that is created to a high standard. Red was highly voted for by my target audience and therefore I will respond to my audiences feedback in order to adapt my magazine around my audience. 

Name Ideas

When establishing the name of my magazine, I researched many different names such as 'shake', 'rock', 'fender' and 'master'. Although I have chosen the word 'rock' for the name of my magazine, I am unsure as to which font I will choose. When producing my Google Mock-ups I will trial both fonts (Ariel Black in bold and Karmakooma on 1001fonts.com) in order to establish which font is the most effective font for the front cover of my magazine.