Improved Article Draft

 

Today, I edited my article to make it longer. I did this for two reasons. Firstly, I thought the article would look more organized and be easier to read if the "Meet" headings were at the top of each page, so that there was a page dedicated to each band member. Also, I compared the size of the article's font to that of existing magazines and I found that mine was substantially bigger. It seems that most magazine articles use roughly a size 9 font. As I was changing the size of the text, and wanted each section of the article to fit a specific area, I needed to lengthen the article so that it fitted appropriately. 

Magazine - Penultimate Version

Feedback

In a feedback session, I presented my magazine (second draft) to a focus group and received feedback from them as to how it could be improved.

Box Out Text

When thinking of ways to improve my double page spreads and allow my reader to connect with the band, I decided to use minimal box out text to do so.

• The first double page spread contains the text "On Tour March 2014" in the corner of the page. This encourages my reader to buy tickets to see the band live. This also relates to the article content, as I mention a soundcheck at Camden Roundhouse.
• The last double page spread contains the text "Tigerilla's debut album 'The Jungle' is released February 23rd 2014" at the bottom of the page. This encourages my reader to buy the band's album.

Since including these, I have had several ideas of how I can improve my magazine, and this has affected the box out text I will use.

• I recently came up with the idea to create a QR code that links to a teaser for Tigerilla's music video for their debut single. This will have some text beside it, encouraging readers to use the QR code. I am currently considering the phrase "Scan the QR code for a teaser for Tigerilla's music video".
• I also thought it would improve the Instagram box to add a little description text. I am currently considering the text "Check out @Tigerilla for more like this. We think their snaps are pretty awesome. #filters"

I have also considered changing my original two sections of text.

• Firstly, I feel it would be more effective to make the text "On Tour March 2014" look slightly stamp like, possibly placing this over the image on DPS1.
• Secondly, I have decided to make the text "Tigerilla's debut album 'The Jungle' is released February 23rd 2014" part of the article, as I have noticed that many magazine articles end with a phrase similar to this.

Feedback

Today, I presented my magazine to my peers and presented them with a feedback sheet to give their opinions. I also asked them to discuss some questions.
From this, I discovered several things.

• The sell lines were a particularly important issue. Five people believed that the sell lines detracted from the cover stars, four noted that I should rethink the layout. During the discussion, I discovered that people found my original sell line layout much more effective than my new layout.
• Positive feedback was that six people believed my sell lines to be appropriate for the genre.
• When asked to rate my contents page images on a scale from 1-5 (1 being not and 5 being very effective), I got results mostly of 4s and 5s, with only one 3.
• It became resoundingly clear that my contents page was the strongest part of my work, as 8 people selected this on the feedback sheet. There were more mixed results when asked to choose the weakest part of my work, however the double page spreads seemed to be in the majority.
• Images were by far my strongest element, with all 12 of the people that filled in the feedback sheet selecting this.
• Text seemed to be referred to as the weakest element, however it seemed that people were referring mostly to the layout of the text. This was discussed during the presentation.
• I finally asked people how effective my integration of social media was. This mostly scored 5 (very effective), with a few 4s and one 3.

Overall I recieved quite a positive response to my magazine and have been given many useful pointers for improvement.

Magazine Draft 2

Magazine First Draft

Magazine Draft

 

When drafting my magazine in InDesign, I used boxes to create a layout for my magazine. This will be my guide when creating my final magazine, also in InDesign.

 

Design Sketches

Above are a collection of images of sketches I have done to start considering the layout of my magazine.

Contact Sheet - Photoshoot 08.12.13

Above is a contact sheet of the photos taken on 08 December 2013 of my cover band. In these photos, I wanted to capture the essence of music video screengrabs and promotional material for promoting their album "The Jungle". The shots of the band, taken in front of the tree, works well with the album title.
Furthermore, the naturalistic setting will provide a stereotypical indie quality to the magazine, because indie artists are frequently claiming to be less about the music industry and more about the music itself and 'going back to their roots'.

Contact Sheet - Studio Shoot

Above is a contact sheet of the photos taken on 10th December 2013 during my studio photoshoot. In this, I took photos of 3 contents page models, before going on to take pictures of my cover band.
I brought an acoustic guitar for the band, as this has strong connotations of the indie genre. Also, a pair of drumsticks were used to show the drummer of the band, as the idea of the band members playing instruments and making the music themselves adheres to the stereotypes of the genre.
Furthermore, I chose not to use a microphone, as I felt that this would too literally represent the band's vocalists, particularly as the indie genre tends to naturalistically represent their artists. A microphone would have sensationalized the band too much. 

Location Ideas

Location Photoshoot 1 - Contact Sheet - 01.12.13

On the 1st December 2013 I did my first photoshoot. Unfortunately, I was only able to use two of the models from my band. However, this meant that I could focus on taking solo shots of each of them and a few two shots.
For the female's costume, I used a floaty white dress with neutral toned brown tights and bohemian style brown ankle boots. I experimented with using a headband in some of the photos, as this has connotations of festival style. The style as a whole encasualated a bohemian style, which links well to the laid back style of the genre.
Continuing this 'laid back' theme, my male model wore jeans and a casual red check shirt. These clothes are fairly 'normal', as you could expect to see any man wearing this as an everyday outfit. Therefore, using the Uses and Gratifications Theory, this provides the audience with a means to identify with the cover star, as they could see themselves wearing the clothes.

Headlines & Pull Quotes

Below is a link to a presentation of Pull Quotes & Headlines.

Model Release Forms

 

Here are copies of my model release forms. These prove that all four of my models agreed to participate in my photoshoots and that they allow me to use the images I take of them in my magazine. This means that I am able to select, edit and use images of them without further consent.

Draft Article

Promotional Methods

Colour Connotations

New Media

Equipment