Production Task One - Photography for first cover

 

For the photography for my first front cover, I used a male model and used the prop of the guitar to quickly communicate that it's a music magazine. I used a white/plain background so that the text I insert over it will stand out more and be more eye catching. I used a picture on my contents page from the same photoshoot as my main image to create anchorage between the main cover and contents page and to link to the main story. I also took a picture of CD's for my contents page as one of my coverlines is based around CD collecting. I directed my model to play the guitar in the main image and to act like he was in a conversation in the image for the contents page as the main coverline mentions an interview with him. 

Main image -

 

Contents page images -

Planning Task 8 : Photography Planning

For my original images, I'm going to take them myself with my phone. My models will cover two different social groups as I'm using a girl and a guy for the respective editions. For my first edition, the model will be male. The setting of the photos will be a skate park to create anchorage with the main coverline of the second edition, which mentions 'skate punk'. Along with this, I will use a prop of a skateboard to emphasise the anchorage created. The model will wear dark red and black as these are colours often associated with rock music genres, the masthead will be dark red to match this and create a sense of uniformity. The picture will be taken from a slight low to high angle and make use of direct gaze to communicate ideas of power and confidence to the audience

For my second edition, I'm using a female model and the background will be an indoor setting. I'm not using any props for my second edition and my model will wear dark purple as it's commonly associated with rock/alternative music and it will match the masthead's colour. The model will use direct gaze with the camera to communicate a sense of confidence to the audience. The lighting and background will be bright white to create a contrast with the dark colours used in the costume and masthead.

I will also take a picture of some CDs for my contents page as it will correlate to one of my coverlines which mentions CD collecting to make my images relevant to the content of my magazine. For one other image for my respective contents pages, I will use variants of the main image on the front cover to create uniformity and caption them with directions to the page of the story.

Planning Task 7 : Website Homepage and Linked Page

 The header of my website will feature the magazine's masthead in large font to create a sense of uniformity so that the viewers will easily understand that the website and magazine are connected. The masthead will be in a large, bold font to stand out at the top of the webpage. The header will also feature a search bar to easily navigate the website. Additionally, I will include the magazines social medias on the header to appeal to a digitally literate audience and encourage them to participate with the magazine on social media by liking and sharing posts to advertise it to a larger audience. Links to sign in or subscribe to the magazine will also be included as it will make subscribing to the magazine easy and simple for the viewer.

My website's homepage will advertise stories on a wide variety of topics within music to appeal to a wider audience and will make reference to coverlines featured on the second edition of my magazine front cover to create a sense of a shared brand identity across both the website and magazine. My linked page will be to an album review in reference to the main coverline of the second edition of my magazine and to appeal to an audience who are well educated and interested in music.

The audio-visual content I will produce for my magazine website will be an interview with the artist featured on the second edition of my magazine front page. The interview will feature questions around the creative process for music to appeal to an audience that is very interested in music and how it's created.

Website header-

Planning Task 6 : Contents Pages

 When planning the layout of my contents page, I made sure to include generic conventions that I found through my research of other magazine's contents pages, for example, I included page numbers, distinct headers for different sections and main images as this will make it easy for my target audience to find the content they are looking for and also see the topics generally discussed through each edition. I included clear headers for each different section and a band index to show the wide variety of content featured and also to easily catch a customers attention if they are deciding whether or not to purchase the magazine.

The content lines on my contents page will consist of short simple sentences and make use of bold text for specific words, like artists names, to be more eye catching for the audience. My main images used will also relate to the content featured to create a sense of anchorage and make the articles referenced in the images seem more appealing and interesting to the reader.

Planning Task 5 : Mock Up of Cover 1 and 2

Cover 1 :

Cover 2 :

Planning Task 4 : Front Cover Design

 

Main coverlines :

- The making of (Artist)'s new album : From basement demos to sold out shows (Cover 1)

- (Artist) : Meet the mind behind the skate punk revival (Cover 2)

Other coverlines :

(Cover 1)

 - Best alternative albums of 2024: Looking back at this year in music

 - Women in metal

 - What makes an iconic album cover?

(Cover 2)

 - The ultimate guide to starting a killer CD collection

 - Rock Rewind : A dive into punk's most iconic moments

 - Must see gigs in 2025

 Other page furniture :

- Puff emphasising the price of the magazine

- Content plugs at the top of the covers, including artists such as : Hole, Type O Negative, Ocean Grove, Paramore, Elliott Smith and Limp Bizkit

- Banner advertising the website

I think the content of my front covers will appeal to my target audience of 16-25 year olds who are interested in music. For example, my content plugs feature a range of artists of different genders as well as of different levels of popularity to interest a wide audience who might be fans of some but haven't heard of others. Additionally, my coverlines surround a variety of different music related topics, such as gigs and album releases, to appeal to a wider range of people. Further, utilising a banner to advertise the website of my magazine will appeal to a digital audience who are usually younger.

Planning Task Three: Masthead Design

 

For my masthead, I have decided to have it's font colour to change depending on the dominant colour of the main image to create cohesion through the front cover. It will be large in size and at the top of the cover to adhere to generic conventions. The masthead and strapline will both be fully capitalised to increase visibility when being sold in a shop, to attract a larger consumer base.

The first masthead is in the font Speedrace and the strapline is in the font Dance. The second masthead is in the font Chopsic and the strapline is in the font Okta. The third masthead is in the font Vampire Raves and the strapline is in the font Konexy. I think that the second masthead's font type communicates that the magazine is focused around rock/metal music and the strapline is easier to read than in the third font type, so I think that I will use the second masthead and font type for my magazine.