Creating a Music Magazine, Part Four.

After the completion of the contents page my next task was to create a double page spead. I asked Lucy to sit down and create a mock up interveiw with me, here is a snippet of how it went:

"Uke magazine first met Lucy Hurst 3 years agowhen she was just starting out.
Now she has three singles and a brand new debut album due out in a few weeks.
We caught up with her to talk about the new album and where she plans to take it from here."

"Casually sitting on the beach looking out to the vivid blue waves, Lucy sits holding her prized Ukulele joined by Uke's very own Kevin Heinz"

"Uke: So Lucy how are you?
Lucy: I am doing alright, got a lot going on with the new album"

The Framework:
I created my basic double page spread framework in GIMP 2.0 the free downloadable art program.
First I created an A4 sheet, then I increased the size of the canvas to A3 and copied the A4 so that I would have a clear page divide.

Choosing a Photo:
The next important task was to pick the correct photograph for one side of the double page spead. 
I really love the relaxed posture of Lucy in this one and the lighting is perfect, the added reverse direction of the dog is an extra artistic feature which works really well.

The Background:
Again I wanted to keep the re-occuring theme of pink with the double page spread. Instead of such a heavy pink I went for a softer and darker variation. This darker variation gave a whole different feel to the interveiw it made it warmer and gave it a more personal feel.

I wanted to use an older look so I combined the pink with a sepia tone and a crumpled paper look, the brushes I used for these effects came from www.deviantart.com

 

 PAPER: http://browse.deviantart.com/?qh=&section=&global=1&q=paper+gimp+brush#/d38c83r
TORN: http://browse.deviantart.com/?qh=&section=&global=1&q=paper+gimp+brush#/djduq1

The Name:

Having Lucy's name on her double page spread is important as it catches the attention of the reader.
I wanted to use the same font on the double page spread as the title, I got the font from www.dafont.com its name is 'Jellyka - Nathaniel a Mystery.'

The Album:
As an added extra I created a mock album cover and here I chose to advertise it along with the interveiw.

Finished Framwork:

I am really pleased on how the finished framework looks all I have to do now is add my interveiw with Lucy in and it will be completed.



Creating a Music Magazine, Part Three.

Next thing to create was the contents page. I kept the colour theme running throughout the contents as well as the magazine front cover. This is due to the special edition release of the 'pink edition'. Using 'Adobe Illustrator' I laid out the basic frame work for the text.
 

The Framework:

Creating a Music Magazine, Part Two.

I wasn't very happy with my first magazine front cover so I decided to re-open the file and tweak several features and make general improvements.

First magazine cover.

I felt that the fur ruff of her hood wasn't neatly defined, I revisited the hood and used a smudge tool to create more of a natural flow of the fur. I had her name advertised in the badge but it felt too small, her name was being over shadowed by the names in the coverlines which didn't work. I changed the coverlines so that they were smaller and then shifted the badge up slightly and put her name across her image, using a multiply effect so that it overlaps but doesn't completely cover her coat. Once I had changed font sizes and shifted several features round I added more vines and lowered the shade of pink.

The Completed Cover: (with edits)

CD Cover:

As an extra in preparation of the double page spread I have created a mock CD album cover to feature in the article with her. I looked over my photographs and picked one which doesn't reveal too much of her, this is due to if she was a famous celebrity her name would be enough to sell her products.

The Chosen Photo:

I cropped the image down and then began editing the image, I grabbed an image of the night time stars and laid it over the sky, changing the effect so that they were very subtle, yet added that mysterious feel to the front cover. I asked Lucy what she would call her CD and she replied with 'That's a difficult question' so it stuck, I literately used that as the name of her CD cover.

The Finished Cover:

Creating a Music Magazine, Part One.

My task requires me to create a magazine for a music magazine, I had to begin with ideas for naming and layout. In this blog entry I will discuss my steps for creating the front cover.

The Layout: 

To get the desired layout size I used the program 'GIMP 2.0' on my laptop at home. It gives you the exact page size of an A4 sheet of paper.

The Name:

I wanted the name to be easy to say and one that would fit the Ukulele theme. A Ukulele is often shortened to Uke so I have used this as the name.

Photographing:

Using my digital camera my friend, Lucy who is featured as the model in my magazine and I went to a beach scene and took several photographs to be used on the front cover, contents and double page spread. Here are the key photos:

The Creation of the Cover

Once I had my A4 canvas laid out I had to pick one of my images and paste it in. I chose this one:

Out of all the images I took this is the best one to get a three quarter shot out of, I cropped it down near her waste and then erased all of the background. The image looked professional as it echoed the magazine Q which I was studying for magazine conventions. One of Q's conventions was the iconic red box which features the Q masthead. I wanted to use the same iconic box but replace it with my title of Uke.

Adding the box behind model.

Once I added the box I needed to create my title within this space and work out a colour scheme that would suit the clothing the model is wearing and would also be suitable for the theme of a special pink edition.

Adding a badge and working out colour.

I considered grey at one point as it matched her clothing, however it wouldn't fit the conventions of a female orientated magazine. After I had settled on a eye catching pink shade I added a badge to the front of the cover advertising the '6 Page Exclusive' part of which I would feature later on in the magazine as part of the double page spread. After I had completed the basic layout and badge design I worked with my tagline and coverlines. Underneath the masthead I added 'The Finest Ukulele Magazine in the UK' and put on several coverlines mentioning other Ukulele artists and a chance to win a trip to Hawaii. Along with the basic information I wanted to add extra eye catching flair to the front of the magazine. This is where the vine tool in GIMP came in handy. I changed it to the colour of the masthead background and added several vines across the page. I carried the vines through to the design of the masthead background as well. With the vines I wanted a little something extra on the masthead so I went on google images and found a clipart of a Uke which was free to use.

Here is the original clipart:

http://www.clker.com/cliparts/T/H/R/g/B/i/ukulele.svg

Even after I had finished with the vines something was missing, I had mentioned all of the information yet I hadn't informed the reader much about the actual edition of the magazine itself. I added a pink banner across the bottom of the magazine and added the information of the special edition release.

The First Final

Brief, Music Magazine.

A series of questions explaining about my magazine:

Who are you aiming your magazine at specifically?

My magazine will be aimed at people with the interest in Ukuleles and the musical interests surrounding them in the United Kingdom.

What will your magazine be about?

It will be about an artist called Lucy Hurst (my friend and co-worker) who plays the Ukulele and is a member of the 'Pompey Pluckers' http://pompeypluckers.webs.com/

What are your ideas for cover lines?

The coverlines that I want to feature will be the names of other Ukulele players:
. Julia Nunes
. Sam Brown
. Alicia Grant
. Luthea Salom

Will advertise a trip to win to Hawaii and have a topic of Ukulele's in Hollywood.
Several of the magazine covers that I looked at had opportunities to win trips or other goodies.

What title have you decided on and why?

I wanted to keep the layout very much like Q magazine as it looks professional yet I wanted to add a twist of Ukulele flair to it. I named it Uke as I could have the large eye catching letter to draw the audience in. Adding 'ue' in small letters next to it helped bring closer attention to the title. 

What fonts do you want to use?

There are three fonts in particular I really wanted to work with:

Coverline font:  

General & Masthead font: 

What are your ideas for tag-lines?

On most music magazines they have 'the best' or the 'most popular' so I included 'The Finest Ukulele Magazine in the UK'

When in the year will it be published?

It will be published in 2012 Summer, due to colours and themes.

What kind of image do you expect to put on the front cover and how will you about getting these images?
All the images used on the front of my magazine and within to create the contents will be taken with my own digital camera. I have a SONY Cybershot. 

How frequently would it be published?

It would be published each month so that it could keep readers up to date on what the artists are doing each month.

What are the dimensions of the cover?

The cover is an A4 sheet of paper, with the standard A4 dimensions.

What images/colour would you use on the contents page and double page spread?
I will use the same colour scheme on both the contents and the double page spread. This is due to it being a special pink edition.

Music Magazine Research, Questionaire Results.

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Question One:

Do you purchase a music magazine? (Circle the answer) If yes continue to Question Two if no continue to Question Three.

10/14 REPLIED YES 
4/14 REPLIED NO

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Question Two:

Which music magazine do you purchase from the choice below? (Circle the answer)

6/14 REPLIED Q
4/14 REPLIED KERRANG
3/14 REPLIED NME
1/14 REPLIED METAL HAMMER

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Question Three:
  What attracts you to a magazine? (Circle the answer)


8/14 REPLIED CONTENT
0/14 REPLIED FREE GIFT

1/14 REPLIED COLOUR SCEME
0/14 REPLIED STYLE

5/14 REPLIED GENRE

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Question Four:
What makes you avoid a magazine? (Circle the answer)


10/14 REPLIED GENRE
4/14 REPLIED CONTENT
0/14 REPLIED COLOUR SCHEME
0/14 REPLIED STYLE

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Question Five:
Would you purchase Uke magazine? (Circle the answer)

6/14 REPLIED YES 
8/14 REPLIED NO

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Question Six:
Please write below why you would or wouldn't purchase Uke:

HERE ARE A FEW RESPONCES:


. I would buy Uke because of the Ukuleles!
. I would but Uke because I really like the way in which it is designed.
. I think that the way you are making Uke is really cool.
. I don't really know much about Ukulele's but it looks cool, I wouldn't buy it though, sorry :(
. I wouldn't buy it as its a magazine for girls by the looks of things and I am not a girl sorry
. I don't like the design very much but I love Ukuleles, maybe try something more traditional?

Music Magazine Research, Questionaire.

I have carried out a brief questionnaire on the students in my AS Media class, there are fourteen members of my class. These are the questions I asked them.

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Question One:

Do you purchase a music magazine? (Circle the answer) If yes continue to Question Two if no continue to Question Three.

YES

NO

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Question Two:

Which music magazine do you purchase from the choice below? (Circle the answer)

NME

Q

Kerrang

Classic Rock

Metal Hammer

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Question Three:
  What attracts you to a magazine? (Circle the answer)


Content
 Free Gift
Colour Scheme
Style
Genre

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question Four:
What makes you avoid a magazine? (Circle the answer)


Content
Colour Scheme
Style
Genre

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question Five:
Would you purchase Uke magazine? (Circle the answer)

YES
NO

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Question Six:
Please write below why you would or wouldn't purchase Uke:

Research Anaylisis Music Magazine, Using Prezi.

To help with my research into the conventions of a music magazine I have created an account with a website called Prezi.

Prezi home page

Creating an account and logging in

Creating my own Prezi

This website allows you to create your own powerpoint esq. creation. It is a simple to use creative interface. I found the tools easy to use and understand. I wanted to use it to created a breakdown analysis of the three music magazines I was going to look at to help create my own music magazine. In this prezi I look at NME, Q and Kerrang to see which media conventions apply to a front cover.

My Prezi

Format of the analysis breakdown

Copy of Copy of Conventions of a Music Magazine on Prezi

Final College Magazine, Cover & Contents.

Creating a College Magazine, Part Two.

Once the front cover was completed I had to create the contents page. In the contents I had to pick more topics to do with the Autumnal theme and also include the taglines from the front cover. 

Picking the Photo

Much like the front cover I had to pick a suitable photograph to use, I wanted to show the name of the college somewhere in the shot. I narrowed it down to these two photos from the shots I took. When picking the final one I chose the one with most of the college name and location in. The reason I didn't use the shot of the air cabin is I had no articles with the air cabin in and it had less of the college in the shot.

Creation of the Contents

Once I had my image I wanted to keep the image of the leaves throughout the magazine so I added these along with the title of 'contents'. Using the same effects as I did on the masthead I added the orange strip to draw attention and highlight the heading of the page. With adding the text on the contents page I needed the text to stand out yet not blur out the background too much. I created orange filled boxes then played around with the transparency of the boxes.