Manipulating images-DPS

For my double page spread, i incorporated two images from my original photo shoot. The first image need not be manipulated in a different way to the other two images. All that was needed was to alter the models hair, which was done in the same way as the cover image and contents page. Yet the other image is essentially meant to be the model at an earlier stage of her career. Therefore i needed to change her entire look. To do so, i used the liquify tool to manipulate the models hairstyle and give her a much fuller fringe. Once this was done i decided to alter the models hairstyle again but to a different colour. With inspiration from Hayley Williams, i gave the model bright orange hair. This was also done to with the brush tool and the use of layers. I also decided to change the models make up style in a similar way. To do so i simply created another layer on top and then minimise the opacity of the brush tool and paint the make up around the models eyes. Once this was done i simply erased any excess paint on the image to create a very neat and realistic effect.

Manipulating images-Contents page image

In progress

Following the manipulation of my cover image, i decided to further manipulate more of my image to ensure that the magazine still gave off a very punky impression. Firstly, it was essential that i needed to ensure that my cover feature start hair remained the same colour through out the photo shoot. Therefore i repeated the steps previously taken to ensure that the models hair colour was the same as the cover feature. Once this was done, i decided to remove a few of the imperfections such as the models short nails. To do this, i needed to use the liquify tool on photo shop to distort and manipulate the shape and stye of the nail. This was obtained by reducing the brush size and click and drag the shape. After doing so, i decided to colour the nail so it was the same colour as the models nail to give the image co-ordination and flow. This was done in a similar way to the hair colour by creating a new layer and then simply colouring in the nail bed in a rouge-red colour. The blurred effect with the focus on the obscenity was used to give the image a vast amount of edge and intimidation without be too offensive. The blurring was obtained through a function on the camera which enabled me to select a section of the image to be in focus and the rest of the image appears blurred.

Manipulating images-Cover

In progress

After taking all of my images, i found that they didnt reflect the theme of my magazine effectively. Therefore I decided to manipulate some images in order to make the appear more effectively representative of the theme. 

My cover image was actually made up through a combination of two different images. This is because one of the images had the fist which looked most effective and the other image had a better facial expression. Therefore i simply cut the fist out of one image and copied and pasted it as a new layer on top of the other image. I then simply erased any of the background around the fist. 

Once this had been completed, i decided to alter the models hair colour to reflect a more punky and rebellious style. To do so i created a new layer and selected the paint brush tool. I then altered the opacity of the tool in order to ensure the models original hair was visible through the colour. I then selected scarlet red and simply painted the models hair. Once this was done i decided to erase any of the excess paint which had gone onto the background and onto the models skin. Therefore i selected the eraser tool and erased around the models hair line which create a very neat and tidy effect. I finally flipped the image horizontally to make sure the the first was on the right side of the image. 

Magazine Planning- Double Page Spread Plan

Following my mind map into different types of double page spreads, i have decided to feature a double page spread on a member of a band leaving to become a solo artist. The main article will consist of a brief narrative, introductory paragraph in order to introduce the artist and give an outline of her past. The article will then lead on to an interveiw which will illuminate the rock stars current life and how she hopes to become an extremely successful, legend of rock. It should then close through a concluding paragraph summing up the article.
The layout of the spread itself will follow traditional double page spreads in music magazines. This would mean the majority of the first page will be dominates by a posed image. This will be headed with a pulled quote from the article in a bold colour in enlarged lettering. The headline itselfs is towards the lower half of the page and back in a transparent blue background in order to frame the writing without obstructing the main image. The headline is then followed by a short sentence written in italics breifly describing the news in which the article is covering to ensure the reader feels fully introduced.
The layout of the second page consists mainly of the article. Yet there are also a few images included as well. There would be a posed image of the artist with her former band in order to give clear imagery as to what the artists histroy was. There would also a couple of papped shots included of the artist performing and a image of the shoot for the magazine with a veiw of the photographer too.

Magazine Planning-Contents page layout

In my magazine contents page, i wanted to create a simplistic, easy to follow structure which would draw attention to specific stories and features effectively. The colour scheme included has been followed on from my cover page in order to ensure that the magazine flows effectively. The may features have been displayed through images, the larger the image, the more important the story is. The use of a capition beneath the images helps illustrate who the picture is of and what story is represent. I also split the contents into three different sections as i found this was extremely common through my research into magazines. This was also done to ensure that the readers can find specific articles quickly and easily. The contents list going down the right side of the page consists of page numbers, the articles, and a brief explanation of what the article consists of. This helps give a breif insight as to what the article is about without giving too much away. I also featured technological convergences along the top of my magazine contents in order to help create an effective synergy between the magazine company and readers as the readers get extra stories and the magazine reader increases in popularity.

Magazine Planning-Cover Final Idea

The above image shows my final magazine cover idea fully annotated in detail. I decided to take inspiration from all of my magazine initial ideas. From idea 1, I decided to take the colour scheme from. This is because i feel that this is the most appropriate for the magazine as it is the most striking and would help the magazine stand out effectively. From idea 2, i took the idea of included a close up shot of some body punching towards a camera. The use of a violent shot, caught in a fun and interesting way helps convey the experience of a rock concert effectively which would appeal to my target audience. Also the use of such a reckless image would appeal to my target audience as they too appear ruthless and reckless.   A lot of the layout was inspired by the idea as i feel that it framed the picture effectively without obstructing it too much. From idea 3, i took the idea of lack of eye contact, although it could cause the magazine to loose the connection created through eye contact. it also eliminates the pressure through having it. However i didn't take that much inspiration from idea four as i felt it was the weakest idea out of my initial. Yet i decided to feature an element which wasn't included in any of my initial ideas, a list across the bottom of my page to give an insight to the magazine content. I did this as i felt it looked much more effective that the ways it was previously done.

Magazine Planning-Cover Initial idea 4

This cover was also inspired by a Kerrang magazine which involved Hayley Williams swearing toward the camera. The use of an obscenity help create an extremely reckless impression which helps attract a tennage audience as they too are very rebellious and reckless. However it can also be perceived as offensive therefore its highly unlikely i will use this in my final idea. Again,  this cover incorporates several aspects taken from my previous ideas such as the textboxes, pulled quotes, bold black lettering and listing included artists. They were used again as i feel that the reasons are justified and will look effective. The use of a bright blue title and then light blue textboxes throughout creates a very stereotypically masculine effect which would limit my target audience. Also the light blue appears to soft and delicate therefore its highly unlikely that i will incorporate this in my final Idea.

Magazine Planning-Cover Initial idea 3

This cover was inspired by the stereotypical magazine cover as it features the whole of the band on the cover with the use of layering different images together. Similarly to previous designs, the cover features things such as headlines, textboxes, listing the bands incorporated and pulled quotes, these were all used again for similar reasons. The use of an orange and white colour scheme is effective as it helps the magazine stand out effectively without it looking too similar to magazines such as NME and Q. Yet i feel that the orange doesn't imply the same impression as the fiery red does. The idea of levelling the poses on the image creates a reckless and intriguing effect to create a complex image implying the idea of rebellion and craziness that rock music beholds.

Magazine Planning-Cover Initial Idea 2

This cover was inspired by kerrang magazine featuring Hayley Williams throwing a punch towards the camera with a very violent and destructive way. I decided to feature this idea in this design as i felt that it was an effective way of portraying the idea of rock music concerts and mosh pits. The use of listing included artists and pulling quotes for articles helps give the reader an insight into what the magazine includes yet it does it in a way which doesnt give too much away. I decided to feature free posters in my magazine as it helps create an effective synergetic relationship between the reader and the magazine. The use of the green and white colour scheme creates an interesting effect and would stand out effectively against an image, yet i feel that the colour wouldnt be striking enough, especially compared to the bold covers it would be next to on the stands. Again, i have decided to incorporate text boxes as they help ensure that no text is lost on the page.

Magazine Planning-Cover Initial Idea 1

The idea was inspired by an NME magazine cover featuring  Florence and The Machine in a very delicate and feminine way with the use of an extreme close of of her face with intense eye contact. Despite this technique creating a connection between the audience and the magazine, it also appears extremely intese and doesnt really portray the theme of the magazine effectively. The use of pulled quotes and listing band names helps give the reader and insight into the content without giving too much away and the idea of incorporating free posters helps draws customers in as they will be getting more for their money, this would later create a good synergectic relationship between the audience and the magazine. The idea of the red, grey and white colour scheme was inspired by Q maagzine as i felt the theme to be very original and mild as well as ensuring none of the text is lost in the images. The use of textboxes to outline the text helps do this as well.

Magazine Planning- Double Page Spread ideas

I decided to mind map possible ideas for double page spreads which were inspired by different magazines similar to the one i hope to create. The most common double page spreads seem to be covering a band, whether that is covering they're new album release, talking about there new tour and just generally interviewing specific bands. However, magazines also cover other things in their double page spreads such as introducing a band and reviewing and help advertising their debut album, and covering a bands comeback. Some magazine also have features reviewing live events such as concert and festival. Kerrang! and Q have recently brought out out a special edition covering the best parts of 2011 yet other magazine have just chosen to feature a double page spread on the highlights, this would be effective yet it would involve quite a lot of text and less pictures which is something that isn't specifically common in double page spreads, therefore its highly unlikely that i will interpret this idea.

Magazine Planning- Content

In order to document my ideas for the content of my magazine will be included on the cover of the magazine and within the contents page, i have decided to mind map all of my ideas. From research into magazines such as Kerrang! NME, Q and Rock Sound, it is very clear that band interviews are extremely common and used in all of my inspirational magazines, therefore it is essential that these are incorporated in my music magazine. This will also be followed with several reviews of current music albums and chart reviews. However there are also much smaller contents included in a typical magazine such as the opportunities to win concert tickets, some of these tickets are for tours organised through the synergy created through magazines and artists, and even the chance to win meet and greet opportunities. Kerrang! magazine even feature some games such as the 'Kerrang Krossword.' Therefore such successful features are likely to be included in my magazine. Live band coverage is also a very common thing which is included in magazines where journalist cover festivals and concerts for specific bands to give readers the full concert experience effectively, this is likely to be used in my magazine.

Magazine Planning- Name

In order to ensure that i had a wide variety of different name to choose from, i decided to mind map several different ideas to inspire my choice. All of the above names have something to do with music as i feel that a music related name will also help convey to the reader what the magazine consists of effectively. The idea of doing this was taken from magazines such as NME-New musical express and Kerrang!-which is an onomatopoeic sound from strumming an electric guitar. Out of the above names, I really like AMP, although not an acronym for anything in particular, the word AMP is commonly used to refer to an amplifier for a guitar. The use of slang helps appeal to a teenage market as it gives a very laid back and informal tone, which is appropriate for a teenage market. The use of capitals and an exclamation mark will help emphasise the title and gives the impression of shouting and screaming which could help convey the experience of a typical rock concert. Therefore the name i have chosen to use for my magazine in AMP, with a slogan of 'Your music amplified'.   

Magazine Research-Audience

From conducting research into inspirational music magazines, the most appropriate age range for my magazine seems around 16-25 ABC1 young people with a majority male audience. Therefore, i decided to create a brief questionnaire in order to understand my target audiences main wants and needs. The results are shown below.

Despite the results of this question being quite wide spread, it is relatively clear that the genre that my age group are most interested in is rock music. Therefore, it is highly likely that i will be incorporating and covering this type of music in my magazine. However, there also seems to be other genres in which my target market are interested in, therefore it would be wise to try and include several other types of  music in my magazine to try and attract a wider range of audiences.

From this question, it is clear that the majority of my target audience have experience in playing musical instruments. Therefore it is essential that i include some sort of reference to this in my magazine. 

The graph above shows which music magazines are popular within my target market. Althought the results are close, it is clear that the most popular of the magazines is NME, closely followed by Q. Magazines such as Kerrang! and rock sound are less popular, therefore its less likely that i will be influenced to take inspiration from these magazines.
      One of the last questions i included in my questionnaire is 'what artists are you interested in?' There were many rock acts mentioned such as Paramore, Blink 182 and Bring Me The Horizon mainly, yet there were also less heavy bands mentioned such as The Kooks, and Foster The People. The less popular artists included more contemporary acts such as Cher Lloyd and Cheryl Cole, therefore its highly unlikely that i will incorporate these acts in my finished magazine.

Magazine Research-Double page spread

The image provided is a double page spread which features in a seven page spread in Q covering Coldplay's recent album release. Similarly to NME magazine, the majority of the first page is dominated by an image. The image is again, obviously posed due to the use of direct eye contact. The positioning of the band members is used to illuminate importance of each member with the positioning of Chris Martin being closer to the camera than the rest of the members. Like the shorter double page spread, the way that the members take on different heights teamed with the use of extravagant, bold and contrasting colours help create a sense of confusion and chaos, something which is often associated with the experience of a rock music concert. There the juxtaposition of the two could help convey this experience to the reader in order to help them obtain it.

     Seeing as the double page spread is part of a different feature, the double page spread doesn't consist of a main headline. However, the spread features a pull quote from a previous page at the very top of the first page, the first thing the reader would actually read, this therefore seems to link the pages together. Written in white, this quote appears strong and bold against a very colourful background.

      Again very similarly to Q magazine, less posed images of the band performing and things associated with the band appear around the article, which is written against a blank background to ensure the text is clear. Changes in paragraphs and topics are indicated with enlarged, red lettering which illuminates alterations in the subjects spoken about.

      The content of the article features again a narrative view of the band, giving a brief overview of the bands history and success. The article then goes on to inform readers about the bands current album. Unlike any of the other spreads i have looked into, the article seems to feature a close and personal interveiw with the bandthemselves which helps the article convey a direct insight into how the band act and speak and also eliminates any doubts readers have of the story as the band confirm things.

Magazine Research-Double Page Spread

As presented in the image shown, it is apparent that not all double page spreads feature relatively long articles covering a variety of topics and many even just rely on images for their features. The spread presented is one from NME magazine where they are introducing a new band called 'zulu winter.'
    From first glance the main feature appears to be the image presented, this is because the image uses props of bold and bright colours, this helps draw attention to the image as it contrast vastly with the pale, off white background (used to ensure that focus remains in the correct places and avoids confusion) to create an interesting juxtaposition. The image has obviously been posed for the magazine which is apparent from the direct reference to the camera and audience with the use of eye contact and a pointing finger. The layout of the image includes the band being on different levels, this creates quite a chaotic scene as it rebels against the traditional idea of order and structure. This may have been done to represent the rebellion in rock music as it too goes against the idea of order. Yet the band appears to be dressed relatively formally which seems to contradict this idea, however the inclusion of jeans seems to again avoid formality of the situation and ensure that there isn't too much order and structure present.
     The layout of the spread seems to be majority made up of images with the inclusion of a short article. The article is titled with a small and simple headline stating just the name of the band. Although breif and oversiplfied, it ensures that the focus of the article remains on the image. The headline is then followed by a short snappy slogan which includes two lot of alliteration which helps give the writing fow and rythm, this may have been done to illustrate the fact that its a music magazine. This is then followed by a short article written in a narrative and informative way by giving an overveiw of the bands history and introducing them effectively.
     Despite being much more direct and simplified, i feel that this spread appears to lack any real interesting information and suggests it to be extremely brief. Although interesting, the image appears to be quite bland and monotonous and seems to create a very dull image. Overall, this type of spread is unlikely to inspire me too much in my own magazine.

Magazine Research-Double Page Spread

The double page spread presented is one taken from NME's take on the traditional pop domination.The magazine features pop artists such as Britney Spears and bands such as girls aloud. Despite girls alouds stereotypical pop genre, the magazine appears to have presented the band as being quite punky and rock-like. Although this could mislead the readers by giving an incorrect first impression of the band, it also enables the band to fit in with the continuous running theme of the magazine and may even be a way to attempt to attract a wider audience range by featuring a pop band in a rock music magazine.
     The layout of the double page spread appears to be relatively simple which works effectively as monotonous colours such as black and wide avoid too much distraction from the text and allows the images to become much more bold and striking. Seven images appear to have been used throughout the spread, one posed specifically for the article and the rest are of the pop artists performing or of people pop is associated with. The posed image acts as the main feature dominating half of the first page. This teamed with an black and therefore bold, eye catching headline which appears to be a clever twist on one of the girls alouds hits and the snappy two line introduction to the article in italics (to differentiate from the headline) allow the reader to be fully introduced to the spreads content and what sort of things it will cover. The use of pull quotes dotted in a large and bold font taken from the article again helps give an insight into the spreads content. The article itself is written in a very enthusiastic and narrative way giving brief overviews of the genres past and over emphasising the shock of its great success. The use of enlarged letters for the start of specific paragraphs enables the author the split the article up and indicates where the article changes topic. A black text box is also used to contrast against the white background and allows the short mini article it backs to stand out against the larger article. This smaller article features short snappy facts which are associated with the spread yet isn't appropriate to feature within the main article.