EVALUATION QUESTION 7

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Once I had taken my preliminary task into consideration i feel that i have progressed throughout the process of creating both magazines, regarding this i believe that there is clear diversity between the two magazines.

FRONT COVERS

There is a clear contrast between my school magazine front cover and my music magazine front cover. My school magazine does not follow the correct conventions of a magazine which my music magazine front cover does. The first clear and major difference is the use of space, the front cover of my school magazine has very little cover lines, sell lines etc. This is very unprofessional and would not draw the reader in to buy the magazine, however my music magazine front cover is much more exciting and i have used more space available by using sell lines, cover lines, bar code, masthead and quotes, this enables my magazine to look more professional and attracts readers.
 It is clear what genre my music magazine is and who the target audience is however my school magazine is not. It is clear that my magazine is a alternative rock magazine by the use of dark colours, including rock bands names and using vocabulary such as 'Band' 'Solo Career' and 'Festival'. Another key difference is the use of editing, equipment and backgrounds, although it is clear the school magazine is a Halloween issue it is very misleading and the reader would not be able to tell that it was a school magazine. A magazine front cover should use a plain background such as a white backdrop so the magazine looks professional and the focus is on the cover lines and model. The school magazine does not follow this and therefore the magazine looks unprofessional and it is hard to read the cover lines.
The masthead of a magazine is also very important, UNPLUGGED's masthead is very clear, easy to read and bigger than the rest of the text on the cover so that it is easy to understand what the masthead of the magazine is, it would also draw the reader in. This does not apply to my school magazine, all the text is the same size which does not attract the reader and does not make the magazine visually exciting.
While creating my musing magazine front cover i did an in depth research of the conventions of a magazine and i looked for examples such as Kerrang! and Rocksound, this allowed me to

CONTENTS PAGES

As well as a front cover i also made two contents pages, there is a massive difference between the two and i believe that I have made a huge improvement by learning about the different conventions, doing research and learning how to use photoshop in a more professional manner. My school magazine contents page only follows minimal conventions such as page numbers, two mastheads and 50% pictures 50% text. It looks very unprofessional and unappealing to an audience. The font and colours used are very boring and the space between the text and images make the contents page look unfinished. The sell line is also very boring in a plain green circle which is not exciting or eye catching. The skill used to create the contents page was very poor and there is a clear improvement of the two. However my music magazine contents page is much more professional and follows conventions of a magazine such as 50% pictures and 50% text, social media links, website links, editors comments, page numbers, sections, two mastheads and the date and issue number. My contents page also has the same colour scheme as my front cover which shows that it is consistent and makes the magazine as a whole look professional. The two separate columns, one for text and one for pictures makes the contents page very easy to read but it is also exciting to look at.


TIME MANAGEMENT AND PLANNING

I believe that i planned my music magazine thoroughly as i was always coming up with new ideas and changing parts of my magazine, i thought deeply into what genre i wanted to do and how i would represent women throughout the magazine. I also took into consideration not only what i liked about the magazine but what other people thought about it too. I also kept my audience in mind while creating the magazine because i want to grab their attention in the easiest way possible. however this is not the same for my school magazine, i quickly decided who my target audience was going to be and i decided what the magazine would look like without really considering what my audience would like, i created a magazine that i thought looked good.

EVALUATION QUESTION 6

EVALUATION QUESTION 5

EVALUATION QUESTION 4

Created with Padlet

EVALUATION QUESTION 3

EVALUATION QUESTION 2

EVALUATION QUESTION 1

FRONT COVER - FINISHED PRODUCT

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD- FINISHED PRODUCT

CONTENTS PAGE - FINISHED PRODUCT

PROGRESS - DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

PROGRESS - CONTENTS PAGE

The meaning behind 'Unplugged'

I have received feedback from different people on different social media sites and questionnaires, judging from this and from my own personal opinion I have decided to call my magazine 'UNPLUGGED' the meaning behind the masthead is: When the artist are off stage and have unplugged their guitar amps and sound equipment, it gives the readers a 'backstage' feel. Unplugged will include different articles about the artists when they aren't on stage such as the latest news, albums reviews and exclusive interviews. I think that the masthead 'UNPLUGGED' is very relevant to my genre because rock artists are extremely into their music and being on stage therefore my magazine gives them a chance to connect with their fans in different ways rather than just on stage, it allows the fans to get to know their favourite bands through interviews. UNPLUGGED will include old and new alternative rock music so the magazine can keep up to date with the latest music releases as well as the old classics.

Magazine Flat Plan

MAGAZINE PLAN - HAND DRAWN DESIGNS

I have drawn two different designs for my front cover, this is because I was originally going to have the second pictures design with 3 models on the front, however this became difficult and therefore I redesigned my front cover to only have one model on the front which allows more space for cover lines.

 

Second Photoshoot Make Up

Before my photo shoot I tested the make up that would be used during my photo shoot (shown in the images below) The models either had thick eye liner and dark lipstick or eye shadow and nude lipstick. Generally women in the rock industry don't wear make up because they typically 'don't care' about their appearance, women either wear very little or no make up at all. However my models are different, my models will wear heavy make up to show that even though they do spend a lot of time on their appearance they are still able to be successful in the rock industry. This make up style makes my models look bold, rebellious and rock n roll. The models hair will also be 'messy' and low maintenance which gives them the 'i dont care bed head look' which gives the impression that they live the rock and roll life style of waking up, playing a show, then partying until they fall asleep again and then wake up and do it again.

These are the make up tools and items being used throughout my photo shoots, professional make up like MAC are being used.

Second Photoshoot costume plan

For my second photo shoot I took pictures for my contents page and my double page spread. For these photo shoots I had three models and created my own all girl rock band. I have challenged the stereotypes of the representation of women in the rock industry. Rather than having an all girl rock band that are seen as 'masculine' I wanted my models to be dressed in a 'feminine' way. I have created a 'feminine' rock look with dresses and skirts, I am proving that women can still be successful and feminine while having a rebellious, dark, rock look. I have researched about different women in the rock industry and now that Hayley Williams has grown up she also wears 'feminine' clothing such as dresses and skirts, Hayley and her style have inspired me to create the perfect costumes shown below. However the denim jackets in costumes 1 and 2 give the looks a 'rebellious' and 'dangerous' feel to them.


MODEL 1 - COSTUME 1

MODEL 2 - COSTUME 2

MODEL 3 - COSTUME 2

First Photoshoot make up

Minimal makeup was used for my front cover photoshoot, this is because i wanted to show that women dont need heavy makeup and crazy outfits to become successful in the music industry. I wanted to show that women are very serious about creating music. I think that wearing minimal makeup also applies to many rock fans who are women, many of them feel confident in not wearing makeup or many of them believe that they do not need makeup to be beautiful which makes my model a suitable 'role model' in the music industry. I have approached my front cover photoshoot in a feminist way however men are still part of my target audience.

First Photoshoot Behind The Scenes

First Photoshoot costume plan

This is the costume used for my front cover photoshoot, i wanted the front cover costume to be simple yet feminine to show that women do care about their music in the rock industry not just their image and clothing. I wanted to show that women are just as serious about their music and creating music as men. It helps the women in my magazines audience relate to the model and look up to her because my model shows that she is confident in not wearing alot of makeup and that she does not need it to feel beautiful.

Location Test

For my photo shoot I have decided that my location is ‘The Mound’ I chose this location because I thought it looked rough, rebellious and scary which is associated with rock music. I haven't been to that area before therefore I decided to test it out to see if it was actually suitable for my photo shoot and too see what features were available in the area. While looking around I had found derelict looking areas and signs such as ‘WARNING ANTI-CLIMB PAINT’ which add to the rebellious and ‘I don't care’ attitude of the models and magazine. I also found locked gates and graffiti on the signs which shows danger and rebellion. After i had tested out the location i asked one of my friends to give me feedback, they agreed that the area would be good for my magazine as it suits the style of my magazine and models. 

 

 

Make Up and Clothing Inspiration

Location Plan

I will have to do three different photo shoots for my magazine, this includes front cover, contents page and double page spread. I have decided I want to find abandoned and derelict areas for my contents page and double page spread because it suits the attitude of my magazine which is dangerous, scary and angry. These types of areas suit the style of the models and the genre of music, it helps achieve the grunge, rock and rebellious style and attitude I'm trying to create. Rock music is also associated with lyrics that are about being 'lonely' and 'different' just like these derelict buildings and areas.

I think that abandoned buildings are also very good at helping the readers realise what type of magazine it is, derelict areas are typically used a lot in the rock industry because of the image and feel they portray and you wouldn't find them being used in a manufactured pop music magazine because it doest fit the image of pop artists. Rock artists also prefer to focus on their music and song writing rather than wasting lots of time on their image and music videos or photo shoots.

I also enjoy going to abandoned and derelict areas myself, over the years I have visited lots of different areas in and out of London, the picture to the right is an abandoned which is actually located on my road and the car was found by me and a friend while on a walk. So from previous experiences I knew straight away where I could do my photo shoots. Which would be The Mound, in south east London, I am familiar with this location as I have visited it many times before and one of my close friends live near the mound therefore I know the best spots to take good photos for my photo shoot.

While researching about rock magazines and music videos I found that in Paramores 'Monster' music video they have decided to set it in an abandoned building called 'Linda Vista' which was a hospital in LA. They used it to show fear and danger of this 'Monster' which in this video was the hospital, there were lots of explosions which added to the image of the monster and fear. This inspired me to use derelict areas in my photo shoots to show danger and fear, but the models wont be scared or uncomfortable to show that women can survive in the rock industry, this again challenges the stereotypes of the rock industry.

FEEDBACK:

 I asked a friend of mine what they thought of my location and they think that it would be perfect for my magazine, this has encouraged me to use this location for my photo shoot therefore I will be using 'The Mound'. Now I must test my location before I organise to meet up with my models and actually do the photo shoot.

Schedules

Research Into The Masthead of my Magazine

Below are the results to my magazine research.

Here is what a completed questionnaire looks like:

I asked my followers on different social networking sites to help me decide which masthead for my magazine would be. Instagram:

Five of my instagram followers prefer 'Amped' however nine of my instragram followers prefer 'Unplugged'

I then i asked my twitter followers:

One of my twitter followers preferred 'Amped' and two of my twitter followers preferred 'Unplugged'

I then asked my facebook friends:

 One of my friends preferred 'Pause', another preferred 'unplugged' and one preferred 'Replay'


The most popular magazine name is 'Unplugged' therefore i will be using this for my magazine, one follower stated that it was 'catchy' and 'interesting' which is what i want it to be, i want to catch the readers attention as soon as they pick up the magazine. I believe 'Unplugged' is a very easy to remember therefore people are more likely to come back and buy my magazine which will make it more popular. The phrase  'Unplugged' suits my magazine well because it shows all of the artists when they aren't at a concert and 'plugged in' to their instruments, it shows what it is like behind the scenes of a crazy rock star life. It can be interpreted as when the artists are calm and aren't on stage or when they are playing acoustic instruments and taking part in interviews.