Double Page Spread Photoshop Mock

Contents Page Photoshop Mock

Mock Photoshop Front Cover

Double Page Layout

These two images show the clear and clean layout I have chosen to use in my double page spread for the magazine I am making. I used the NME magazine to get some influence and hopefully this shows reflection of this. I feel that this layout will be successful as I feel I have used a good layout that uses a strong combination of text and image. I also wanted to use a feature in this double page spread that allows the page to more versatile and adaptive to the reader and what they want to read.

Contents page Layout

Like the front cover I feel that my contents page really shows influence from other magazines I have looked at and also reflects the rock genre. It shows an even use of text and image and will again be a pretty clear and slick layout. I also wanted to get a good grasp of what I should consider for the contents page, this is why I have used this type of layout.

Front Cover Layout

This is my layout for the front cover of my magazine, I am really happy with what I have done and I feel that after looking at a lot of front covers I have made a cover that shows influence from these other front covers. I wanted a pretty simple layout for my cover as I didn't want it to be filled with text and lettering. I feel that most rock genre magazines stick to a simple layout and house style so I did too. I may have to alter may layout though when creating it if it doesn't match what I an expecting this cover to look like.

Magazine Picture mock analysis

After taking all of my mock up pictures for my music magazine i found them very useful and effective. I feel that my pictures show a clear representastion of the rock genre and what should be expected for images of a rock genre music magazine. I feel that each image shows a good comparison to other popular music magazines such as the NME and Q as i used these magazines as guidlines for my work. I find that overall the pictures came out positive and noticed how the quality of my phone camera was jsut as good as a normal camera so i think i will use this with my actual pictures. I also used a lot of diffrent styles and poses for my images to show a range in the genre and to show emphasis throughout the pictures and what they portray. I feel that i could have used a lot more props to show the genre so this will be something i am going to consider when taking my final pictures.

Magzine Mock Pictures

What i have learned about photoshop

So far I have only expanded my knowledge on Photoshop and the positives and negatives of it in industry but also the effects of in on people. This year I really noticed how much of an effect Photoshop actually has on a music magazine and its audience. This year I have also learned a few new skills and tools within Photoshop which have expanded my knowledge as well as my Photoshop skills and the range of things I can accomplish through Photoshop. The main things I have learned was tools that related to manipulation allowing me to create a lot more unique and interesting manipulations.

What i have learned about music magazines

Over the past few months I have learned a lot about music magazines and there contents, specifically at the types of pages that are used such as a contents page, double page spread and the front cover. I have learned why a music magazine uses these pages usefully as how they create a successful and elaborate unique music magazine the specialises in a particular genre.A main example of a successful music magazine that I looked at was NME and Q magazine. I feel that both of these music magazine companies are successful because of there mixed genres they specialise in and showcase a large range of content for the reader to enjoy. These very successful magazines also use a very clear and formal house style showing that the more professional looking music magazines are the successful ones.

Planning for Magazine Pics

This blog post is going to describe what i will need to consider and bring into lesson for friday where i will be taking pictures for my music magazine. These images will be shown through my front cover, double page spread and contents page. I will be in a group with Connor burgess, nathan Kearns, kasey porter and lewis webster. I feel this is a good idea as i have worked with these people before and we are all using similar genres for our music magazines. For my pictures i will have to bring in my phone and wire for it as i will need to take pictures and upload them onto the computer. As well as this i will also have to bring in a few props even though i feel my uniform is okay for the rock genre. These props will consist of a jacket, headphones, guitar and amp if possible. To get these props I am going to ask music if I can use some of there equipment and use them in the back room in media to take the pictures . I might even go out side and take a picture against a building to use a brick wall as a background.

My Music Magazine (Genres)

I have chosen to look at 3 main genres to look into and find out what i feel will benefit me the most and i will be able to go more in depth and detail. These 3 genres i am going to look at are rock, pop and electronic/dance. I have chose to look at these genres of music because i am interested in all 3 of them but i need to find out what will be more suitable for a music magazine and i will be able to cover a front cover, contents page and a double page spread on this genre of music.

Rock- I have always been interested in the rock genre of music and if i create a music magazine centred on rock i can really elaborate and branch out into different sub-genres of rock and artists. I can also look at magazines such as Q and NME to get influence from and guidance.

Pop - I feel that the pop genre is a very good idea to do a music magazine on as i can easily get a lot of information from things such as the top 40. I can also focus on a large genre like pop and reflect it through the large audience pop music has.

Electronic/dance - If i choose to create a music magazine on this genre i will be focused on quite a small genre allowing me to be more versatile with the creation and house style of the magazine. I will also be able to go into a lot of detail with the sub-genres and what they are.

Progress Update 2

Progress Update 2

So far i fell that i am very consistent with the amount of posts i upload each month and that my time management is very good. Although it is consistent with up to a minimum of 6 posts a month i feel that i can stretch this to at least 8 posts a month and this is what i am going to try and accomplish over the next few months and see how it goes. From my last progress update i feel that the quality has really improved from the start of the yearand have put a lot more detail into my work and analysis. I am also going to focus on making a lot more independent posts over the next few months as i feel that i am behind on them. 

Production Log

Here you can see the layout and things i had to prepare before taking my images for my rock magazines. I had to plan out step by step the things i will need to consider and avoid. I also had to find out the equipment i would need and find a way to get it. Finally i had to insure that everything suited a specific page. For example i had to make sure that each person suited the page and how i could use certain equipment on each page. I used the guiatr on the front cover as it draws in the reader and the representation of it being a rock genre magazine.

Risk Assesment

Here i had to note the risks that i had to avoid when taking my images for my magazine. Creating a risk assesment really allowed me to realise the major problems that could happen whether its a big or small risk. I feel that these where the two things that must be addressed as it was vital.

Contents Page Analysis

After looking at several examples of music magazine contents pages I have realised what allows them to become both successful and both useful for the magazine company and the reader. I feel that the contents page is used as a backbone to allow the magazine to branch out and relies on the contents page to guide the reader. I also feel that If magazines didn't use a contents it would become very amateur and unprofessional and would seem simple and informal. I chosen too look at a very large range of music magazines contents pages, this allows me to find a real difference through contents pages.

The first thing I noticed through most of the contents pages was that each of them used at least one image that either referred to the entire magazine or the main story within the magazine. These images are usually establishing shots that introduce us to the artist and are usually not Photoshoped here as it is unnecessary, if Photoshop was used it isn't over used and only minutely used. A formal layout is also used in most contents pages as it gives us a clear understanding of what we are reading which is needed as the contents pages needs to be reliable if it wants to guide the reader around the magazine. Each  uses a similar house style as it used some colour but not much to keep it formal but also avoids being boring, the images also emphasise this.

The contents page is also useful as it introduces us to the entire magazine, being the first page we see. This is why most contents pages are usually simple as the companys want to avoid misdirecting the reader and get a good opinion from the beginning of when someone reads the magazine. The house style that is used here also introduces us to the genre of the magazine as the colour can reflect the target audience. Usually the artists on the cover are featured in the contents as they want to show the main story inside and reference it here.