Coursework: Print magazine research and planning

 

1) Research music magazine cover key conventions. Look over the magazine cover key conventions notes sheet and write which of these you will use for your magazine cover. (This is a film magazine example but the conventions still apply).

Conventions include:

Dateline

Masthead

cover lines

central image

sub images

pull quotes

barcodes

colour scheme

2) Find at least five music magazine front covers (either current or former magazines as many have stopped their print editions) aimed at a similar target audience to your project (mainstream music audience). For each one, pick out one design idea or convention that you could use in your own print work. A few examples to start you off:

This is a good example of a music magazine as it is aimed at a similar target audience to mine, which is a young, urban mainstream audience. One key design of this magazine cover is the medium close up shot which is a convention of many music magazines. The bright yellow and pink is engages and attracts audiences. The editing used to show the reflection on the artists face adds to the aesthetic.

In this music magazine i like how the artists name is big and bold in the centre which grasps the audience's attention. It will get the artist more well known. I intend to use a similar way of having the artists name in the centre of the magazine as my artist is upcoming so this will attract more people to their music.

I like the simplistic aesthetic of this magazine as it does not have too many cover lines and the focus is on the artist who is the central image. The only cover line used us about the artist and promotes her as the artist of the year. I want to incorporate a simple aesthetic as well so that the focus is on my artist.

I like the colour scheme used in this music magazine. The red,black and grey complement each other well and stands out when attracting audiences. I also like how the billboard text is San serif so it is unconventional and modern.This will be good in attracting mainstream and young audiences. I will use a San serif text that is quirky and modern as my audience will be teenagers/ young adults.

I like how this magazine cover is not shot in a studio, rather a farm/field setting. This is unconventional for music magazines so it is different to other magazines, and this may attract audiences.I also like the use of props, i may also use props in my magazine cover.

3) Find at least five double-page spread features from music magazines on Google images. How are they designed? How are text and images displayed? What design tricks can you borrow from your examples?

In this double-page the heading goes across both pages and is in bold, this will attract audiences and make them want to read the interview. They also used a quote as the heading which engages audiences. The colour scheme is bright and eye catching, it also goes with the outfit of the artist.

I like how there isn't just one or two images as most magazines usually have a central image and a small image on the side. This sets it apart from other music magazines and it is really eye catching and will attract audiences.

This magazine has the C across the page, it is bright and bold and very eye catching which will attract audiences. The colour scheme of red and black is also eye catching but simplistic in a way that it doesn't take attention away from the content and images.

I like how this magazine utilises both pages instead of having the text on one page and a picture on one page. This magazine makes the artist the centre of attention and it is clear that it is trying to promote the artist.The artists clothing is urban and is 'street style' which appeals to younger audiences.

This double page spread incorporates the artists name into the heading using play on words. This may attract audiences as they will recognise what the publishers did. The image of the artist takes up a whole page which is eye catching.

5) Read at least three example music interview features from newspapers and magazines to learn the format, writing style and content for a music magazine interview. 

'I'm an alchemist': Nova, the unknown MC with the Scottish album of the year (900 words)

Rapper SL: ‘When I was coming up, there was nobody else on my level’ (500 words)

Davido on his song ‘FEM’ becoming an #ENDSARS anthem: “It’s amazing to see” (1,500 words)

Planning, sketching and writing

1) Plan a title and slogan (sell line) for your new, original music magazine. Sketch out possible designs for the masthead - font, style, colour etc.

Starz- 'Born to be Starz'

2) Plan the content for your magazine front cover. Your double-page spread interview will be the main story and image but what other cover lines and smaller images will you include on the cover?

My front cover will have a quote from the interview, cover lines relating to music, images of the headphone sponsorship and other images of my artist.

3) Plan the content for your tour poster. What image will you use? (Remember it needs to be from a different photo shoot). What cities and venues will your artist play in the UK? This may take some research into venues that are associated with your chosen genre and the right size for your artist.

My tour poster will be a long shot image of my artist while they are performing. Some venues my artist will play at are : Manchester arena, The O2 arena, Birmingham arena.

4) Create a spider diagram or bullet point list of all the issues or topics your double-page feature interview could cover. Remember it needs to include reference to the music video, tour and headphone sponsorship. 

• The artists life growing up
•  racism
•  music
•  sponsorship-headphones
•  upcoming tours- venues
•  fans.

5) Write the text for your double-page spread feature. This needs to be a minimum of 400 words and be completely original and include reference to the music video, tour and headphone sponsorship. Make sure you include a headline, subheading and any pullout quotes or sidebar contents. 

'Artist talks hate from music video and experiences of everyday racism'- HEADING

'Artist' has received a lot of media attention lately following their single 'I'm not racist' which received 143 million views. The music video had everybody talking about it. The rapper is virtually known and had 8.1 million monthly listeners on Spotify alone.

"I was reading some comments under the video and i felt really proud" the artist says, "i was reflecting on the topics mentioned and the different responses it had, but knowing people really learned from it is what matters to me the most".

The artist says the reason why he made a song/video that he knew would be extremely controversial is because " the topic of racism will always be relevant, it was a hundred years ago and still is now". He references the Black Lives Matter movement following George Floyd's murder and says " to the people that believe racism ended when slavery ended, why are black people still being murdered and not given justice?"

The music video began a discussion and it was eye opening for many people as they got an insight into the experiences of black people. It conveyed how if people listened to each other and showed empathy they can better understand each other and move on.

The artist talks about their upcoming tour and mentions some of the venues that they will play at " I'm looking forward to playing at The O2 Arena, Manchester Arena and Birmingham Arena". He also says how grateful he is for his fan base " i don't like to call them fans, i prefer saying supporters, i wouldn't be where i am now without them ".

In the music video you can see that the artist has partnered up with 'Beats' for a sponsorship and it is seen in a few shots. This will be a successful sponsorship seeing as the music video has an extremely high number of views.

The artist says he had a relatively good upbringing, coming from a working class family and living in an urban area. But he had first hand experiences to being racially profiled and racism that has been normalised, which are topics that he speaks about in the song.

6) Produce an A4 sketch of your front cover including the key conventions and design tricks you have studied in existing magazines and then planned in planning task 1 above.

7) Produce an A4 landscape sketch of your double page spread design now you have chosen the subject matter and planned the photoshoot.

8) Produce an A4 sketch of your tour poster including the key conventions and design tricks you have studied in existing tour posters and then planned in planning task 3 above.

Photoshoot

1) Who do you need to photograph from your artist/band that will appear on the front cover of your magazine? This is vital for planning the location and time for your photoshoot (note: if it is you or someone in the class it will make things a lot easier in terms of running the photoshoot)

I have shot my photos.

2) What image or images do you need for the double-page spread interview feature?

Long shot image of the artist that will take up majority of one page.

3) What image or images will you use for the tour poster? Remember, you need seven different original images across the print brief in total and the tour poster images(s) need to come from a different photoshoot.

My tour poster image will be shot in a studio and will be a long shot of the artist performing.

4) Write a shot list for your photoshoots. Make sure you plan a variety of camera shots you will look to capture - medium shots, close-ups etc.

5) What costume, props or make-up will you require for your photoshoots?

The costume includes a hoodie, jeans, trainers and an iphone.