Drafting and Planning: Secondary Artists

Along with my main artist, I want to feature a number of secondary artists in my magazine. These artists will have stories featured in my contents page along with potential images. This will create a more realistic vibe for my magazine. By creating secondary artists along with my main artists means that all of my magazines artists meet my genre.

It took me a long time to chose my name for my main artist, and i don't have much time to waste in creating names for my secondary artists. I am thinking about creating a duo followed by a further solo artist.

For my duo I want them to bring together the pop and country genre that is featured heavily in my magazine. . The duo will probably be family, as this creates a more personal link between the two for fans to connect to. I am thinking about making my duo all male.

The 3 ideas I had are:

• Phoenix Flame
• ReSoul
• The Felix Brothers - The name I am going to give to my duo. The name incorporates the family ties between the two and Felix is the surname I am going to give to the brothers. The name will work well along with my other featured artists and main artist.

Finally I am going to include another artist who will feature on my contents page. I am still unsure of whether who will be the model for this artist but it will be a female. She will be an pop artist who features occasional country into her music. I want this artist to have a more simplistic name to counteract the uniqueness of my main artist. I also want my artists name to sound realistic, so it cant be too out there. So I have decided she will be called:

• Elisha Hermes  - it is quite a modern name but isn't too flashy. It offers great sophistication. 

Organisation: Photoshoot Day 2 - Part 1b

This is the second load of photos took on the 11th of December but in a different part of Birmingham city centre. I was taking further images for my double page spread. But were also looking into potential images for my contents page maybe.

Organisation: Photoshoot Day 2 - Part 1a

After my photo shoot on the 11th of December 2016, this is a collection of the best photos that I took. The first location I went to during the day was the custard factory. I visited the area with my model and friend to help me manage mine and my models belonging during shooting. While walking around the area I found 3 pieces of art that I loved and believed would produce the most aesthetically pleasing pictures.Each had a different level of lighting and had different design.

Location 1:

This location was full of vibrancy, from the use of fuchsia and blue. I loved the feminine feel of the piece, which I thought would work with my artists femininity and would embrace her natural beauty. The piece was quite large however which meant in order to see the full thing meant that Chloe was too far away from the camera. I then tried some closer wide shots of the wall but it did not give the full effect of the colour and it isn't clear what the full image is. So it is likely that these photos wont be used.

Location 2: 

Location two was a location full of natural light, it added a great pop colour to my photos. However after further analyse of the photos I have decided that the background is not for me and doesn't really reflect what i want to offer in my magazine. Some areas of my photos were also very dark losing some colour. 

Location 3:

The next location was again full of colour. I tried to use a different selection of camera shots to reach a suitable picture for my double page spread. The lighting was perfect in this area so gave a lovely effect to my photos. 

Organisation: Photoshoot Day 1

I had planned a photo shoot for Friday 9th December 2016 at my first shooting location with my model. However delays caused issue with timings. These included me running late to get to the location and me and my model spending time with are friends while in the cafe location. I did however manage to get a collection of few good photos. This first shoot has given me insight in how the work with lighting and angles. This is good because I can then use my new skills on my second shoot on Sunday 11th December 2016.

I chose this one particular area in the cafe. It was a boxed seating area with a wood panel and tile affect. This area look really artistic and offered a great setting, as it looks homily and natural which is how I want my artist to come across as.

This image was taken without the flash on compared the image below which used the flash. I think not using the flash gave the best effect personally, as the lighting looks more natural and not as shady. In the picture on the left, i got my model to look away from the camera with her hair covering one side of her face. I did this as it added mystery.

>>>> I then did a photo using a more up close medium shot. Showing my artists full clothing. My model is looking away from the camera and is looking away. Her facial expression is simplistic showing her natural beauty, which works well with the feel of the location because it is also simplistic. This shot type allows my artist to be fully seen but also allows her to pose.

<<<< My next shots where close ups of my artists face. Her facial expressions show her innocence. This images and the shot type will also be perfect to use on my front cover. However I am going to take some more images to chose from for my front cover. >>>> The image on the right and the left both use direct mode of address which is something I want to include in my magazine especially on the front cover as from my research this is want is commonly used for main cover stars on magazines.

The final two images are very similar to the other already mentioned in this post. However they are my least favourite as my artists pink socks can be clearly seen. To avoid mistakes like this again my i am going to ensure my artists socks are covered at all times in future shoots and ensure they are also a less obvious colour. I also don't like them because of the angle I have shot them at they look very amateur,

For my first photography session I think my starting images have turned out well, meaning hopefully they can get better over time as my skills evolve as I use a range of shots, poses and locations.

Drafting and Planning: My Publication Plan

PUBLICATION PLAN

FRONT COVER

• Title/Masthead: NonStop - This shows that my magazines music is NonStop and it offers new and upcoming artists along with already established artists. My magazine is about combining the country and pop genre together always without stopping. >>> My exact cover lines are currently not planned out however they will create a flow from the cover to the contents page. 
• Frequency of Publication: Monthly 
• Price: £2.50 - I want my magazine to be universal meaning this price is suitable for all as it is an achievable price to afford. My magazine is more likely to take off if the price is reachable for everyone.
• Who will distribute your magazine?: Egmont UK Ltd - responsible for publishing the 'I love pop' magazine. 
• Rationale (what your magazine offers?): My magazine is a mix of both the pop and country genre. It will feature country artists, pop artists and also artists that cover both genres. This gives a good range of artists for reader to read about. The magazine will offer exclusive interviews, event updates, and other celebrity gossip. All of which will catch the attention of my audience. 
• Style (who is your target audience?): My target audience is for mainly female teenagers aged between 12 and 18. However the magazine may also appeal to a male audience. =
• Conventions:  Bold and clear masthead, main cover star - the image of my artist will be large on the page and will be surrounded by a variety of different cover lines - a skyline, a pug (exclusive), barcode, price, dateline, URL and issue number. My aim is too include the majority of the codes and conventions of a magazine, but I want to ensure that its not overloaded. 

CONTENTS PAGE 

Features content: Interviews, gossip about other artists. It will have regular stories and feature along with new one for that particular issue.

Regular features: secondary images of other featured artists along with another image of the main cover star as a clear reference point.

Supporting stories: Mix of interviews and stories. Info on new artists, tours, merchandise and other artists. 

Subscription offers?: I will ensure there is access to an website and possible online edition of the magazine, this will be made accessible by the URL which is also on the front cover. The magazine will also have a personal facebook, twitter, snapchat and instagram account for exclusives and previews. 

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

The double page spread will be taken up  by a full image over the two pages. The text will then be integrated into the image as it spreads around the full size of the image. This will then create a successful coherence between the artist and the interview about them. (This will work best if I use a wide shot of my artist.) >>>> The article will take the form of an interview with various quotes on the page. There will a question asked followed by an answer. However the questions will be well thought out and will add excitement and will give a lot of insight into my artist. 

Drafting and Planning: Layout

                                   

This is my plan for my desired layout for my front cover, contents page and double page spread. I have had the idea to incorporate a unique feature on all the pictures, this will potentially be a faded out pink triangle placed some where on the page. This would then create a flow between the three magazine pieces. This however is only an initial draft layout plan, so could potentially change once I begin working on my first full draft. I hope to match the layouts but it will be determined by my photography  and text decisions.

Organisation: Artist Appearance

My model has great facial features and don't want these to be hidden with makeup and hair. My artist is raw because of her country background but with a urban edge she brings life and excitement. I have changed the idea of having my artist wear eyeliner and lipstick because she doesn't need it to show her true beauty. Her hair will also look natural with a straight and curly look it will look fresh but simplistic. This way my artist is able to be her self and not hide her self with makeup. I think this idea could also be incorporated into her interview in the magazine - being stripped back could work as an important point to talk about.

Organisation: Look of my artist for shoots

In a previous post I discussed the potential look of my artists and how I wanted my model to dress. After working with my model we discussed what look would work well in images that could be used in my magazine. This is the completed ideal look for my artist.

I have decided that my artist is going to wear this Khaki green cold shoulder top which means the shoulders are cut out exposing the shoulder. I think the colour will work well with my models colouring and also the colour scheme I hope to use. The top looks great on my model and works with my theme that I hope to reach.The khaki green incorporates my house style as mentioned. It is simplistic but offers enough edge. I am going to pair it with the proposed black bomber jacket as previously mentioned, i think the two pieces will look great together. The top will also work well on its own without the jacket meaning I can potentially make two outfits. 

I will be taking photos of my model wearing two different style of bottoms. One will be a plain black pair of jeans, offering a rugged look and also black leggings to create a simple look. Both are what are often worn by my target audience so will work well with the top as the outfit would be what my audience would wear potentially.  I will also be adding a fashionable tartan scarf into the outfit. It will offer a pop of colour and will also add fun and excitement. This is my final outfit chose and what my artist will be wearing on my planned photoshoot days.

              

Organisation: House Style

In a previous spoke i talked about potentially colour schemes and what I thought worked well together and would work well on my magazine. My favourite colour scheme was the pink and grey selection because they are colours that compliment each other. Following the post I did a selection of surveys and one question was about my colour scheme. The grey and pink colour scheme was the one best received. So because of this I wanted to include this. However I wanted to include the khaki green colour because I think it also worked well with the colours and also reflects the potential colour of a piece of my models outfit. The magazine will incorporate all of the colours in some way. The masthead especially will include a section of pink as mentioned. The grey will work well as font and so will pink. I am thinking about using the khaki green as accents in sections. Now I have decided on the colours I am going to use, I will be able to use it to guide my decisions on my artist look and photography. 

Drafting and Planning: Artist Identity

My Artists Identity.

Name: Pearl Rey (Kiely)
Age: 17
Place of Birth: Birmingham, United Kingdom - She is passionate about Birmingham and everything about it.
Likes: Partying, spending time with her fans, friends and family, her home town, Country Music, she loves football (its about Birmingham City football club for her)
Dislikes: Rock Music, beards, bad mannered people. self centered people and oversensitive people.
Name of Album:  "Exhibition" it will be released March 21st 2017 within the UK with the opportunity of buying around the world in the following weeks after. The album has took 2 years to produce and is her baby because she has spent so much time on it. It is called exhibition because it is about her journey through being judged to finally being happy with the way she is.
Cultural References: Her father and grandfather are huge country fans, and introduced the genre to her when she was 4 years old. She has grown up watching them gigging around the country. Her mother also love country but has a beautiful pop tone so Pearl draws inspiration from her moms pop music background and her father country background.
Previous History: Went around the country touring with her family before settling back in Birmingham at the age of 14 to start her GCSEs. She encountered mass bullying during her 3 years at her school but left with excellent results including 6 A*s. She left and spent the summer gigging in Birmingham before being scouted at a gig for new Birmingham talent. She was given an immediate record deal and has worked for the last 2 years on original material while also gigging covers.
Motivation: To make her parents proud by following in their musical footsteps. She wants to prove her haters wrong and show that she can become a huge success.
Theme for the album: Pearl uses her history of bullying and torment to spur her on. She is using this album to exhibit her life story and show that success can come for everyone you just have to believe.
Tracks for the album: There will be a standard version of the album along with a deluxe and premier package. The standard will have 12 tracks and The deluxe 15. All of the songs are new and never heard before as Pearl wants them to be new when her fans her here new original songs. The album will bring together the mix of country and pop in a collection of songs that also include some beautiful acoustic pieces.
Tour Dates: She is travelling up and down the united kingdom visiting 15 locations on a 2 month tour.

1. Sheffield
2. Newcastle
3. Glasgow
4. Manchester
5. Liverpool
6. Brighton
7. Cardiff
8. Bournemouth
9. London 
10. Newcastle
11. Bristol
12. Edinburgh
13. Dublin
14. Belfast
15. Birmingham - This is her home town she wants to leave this tour date till last to finish the tour of back at home where she loves. 

I have chose some of the biggest cites for Pearl to tour around as the venues are bigger and she will receive more exposure. I have put my artists as 17 as my model Chloe doesnt look much older than that and she is only 16.

Drafting and Planning: Final Masthead

This is my final masthead that is going to be used on my magazine. I decided to keep the main body of the text in Black as it was originally seen in a previous blog post. After audience research on where to place my URL. I decided to place it into the gap above to fill in the space, as I believe it looked the best and it was the one idea that was chosen the most. Instead of putting the URL in black I put in a mature pink colour. I think this works as it is not too overwhelming or underwhelming but it offers enough impact, which works well. The masthead looks mature, which matches the demographic I am going for, which is around 15 to 21. The two colours work great together and look appealing on the page. when on the front cover the magazine will be easily recognizable on the shelf because of the masthead. 

Organisation: Photoshoot Day 2

As I am going to be heading into the city center on Sunday - 11th December 2016 along with my model, I have decided to use this opportunity to get in another day of shooting in a few other locations around the city center, mainly the Digbeth area like previously spoke about. Hopefully if i can get all of my photo shot before next week it will mean the more time I have to edit and produce my first full draft. As I am already heading into town it means there is no inconvenience caused to me or my model. The areas I am planning on going to are also not very busy normally meaning we wont have a constant rush of human traffic interrupting me taking images. They are spots outside the main center which present beautiful pieces of unique art that is going to be perfect.

It is now December and the winter months are here and so is the weather. I looked up the weather forecast and it looks promisingly. Compared to the rest of week the weather looks the best. It shows no sign of rain just partially cloudy. However the wind speed is worrying as it is high which could cause issues as we will be exposed to the full outside. But it is not the highest so should be easily workable.While also in the area I will be able to also look at areas that are not easily researched online.

Drafting and Planning: URL Positioning

Now I have decided on the name for my magazine and the font for my masthead. I am able to start planning more aspects on my magazine. It is a convention for a magazine to have a URL present, so readers can excess further content or an online issue maybe. I think it work well if I incorporate the URL into the main masthead on the front cover. I have done 4 examples of this, with the URL in four different positions around the masthead. These four in my opinion were the ones that worked well.

I decided to put the question to a public platform of friends and family on social media. I chose to put this on facebook as it was the social media that my results from my previous questionnaire came from. I asked which one of the mastheads looks better. This way I have further public input.

This is something that has been done before but I think it works well on the cover from my research. It also uses space appropriately as the URL isn't just floating around the page. This way is shows the correlation between the masthead which shows the magazine name and brand and URL which creates coherence perfectly in my opinion as it links the traditional media to the new online media.



This the set of results I received from friends and family on facebook.... I received 20 answers over a 24 hour period of me posting the message as seen in the image above. One person gave two options so included this in my results.

• The first masthead received 6 votes - The 2nd best.The second masthead received 5 votes - The third best.The third masthead received no votes. The fourth masthead received the most votes, at 8 votes it was the most popular. So this is the masthead I am going to work with in the following weeks on my draft.  However there is a possibility to use the first or second masthead if this option does work and meet the aesthetic approval. 

Someone also mentioned that placing the URL like I have in number would mean that the blank space would be filled. Which creates a single but whole masthead. 

I am still undecided on the set colour scheme for my magazine, so I am not sure yet if the masthead will remain fully black or will have full colour or certain aspects of colour. I will hopeful update this next week, once i have found the correct colouring for my magazines mastehad.

Organisation: Photoshoot Day 1

After my research into the locations I wish to do my photography in I have decided to go with the proposed locations. Although They are very different locations with both of them adding some different aesthetically. Digbeth is more urban and the vintage cafe setting more minimal and classy. I will be shooting in the two separate locations on different days due to their distance. This also allows me to focus on that one particular location.

The first location will be at the Cosy Coffee Cafe as previously proposed. I will be heading here with my model on Friday - 9th December 2016. This is convenient for me and my model as we were previously heading their before planning to shoot. However this will have to take place after school which will be race against time to get there before all outside natural light goes. This is because the one location I want to shoot in particular works well with the sunlight shining through the windows. Adding to the natural feel of the images. However parts of the location will still work well with the more artificial light in front of the dark night sky. Following the shoot in the Cafe I am follow on with some photos in surrounding areas. This is subject to locations that work well at that time.

As this location is inside shooting isn't outside, there will be no weather to affect the photography, however as previously mentioned daylight hours are minimal during the winter months so this may cause a problems. However I will be able to work with it and if i can not get the desired look, i will look into shooting on another day maybe a weekend. The aim is to take take a variety of shoots to ensure I have plenty to chose from in the editing process.

Update: I looked into the sunset time in Birmingham for the 9th. This is what I found. At the looks of it I wont have a lot of time with natural lighting. However as I said I will work with it.

Drafting and Planning: Masthead Ideas

 I looked at creating several fonts that I may use for my masthead base. I used a Text Logo Maker < http://www.grsites.com/generate/generator/6003/ > to do this task, as none of the fonts in software like publisher caught my eye.
Each of the fonts on the left are clear and bold which is how I want my magazine to come across. The fonts currently are in black however once I have a set font I am going to work out my     desired colour for it.

My First Drafted Masthead. 

In my opinion the top font creates a professional feel. It is simplistic  but creates enough edge to present a new an interesting magazine. I am currently thinking about using this font for my masthead as I think it will work well on the page. Its boldness makes it stand out and will work well with the ethos of my magazine. The bottom two fonts are once again similar as they are large and definite, which displays the bold ethos of my magazine and cover star, although I do not see anything interesting or different about these fonts in comparison to many other fonts, which suggests that they may not stand out or catch the interest of my target demographic. I am hoping to use this font to create my finished masthead.

I have been told from my research that people associate pop music with bright colours. So I am going to incorporate that using imagery and my cover lines. SO because of this I think I am going to put my masthead in White. White is a good colour as it stands out on all colours, it is versatile and clear on the page. Pinks are often used in mastheads on pop magazines that reach a similar demographic to who I am trying to reach. So I am hoping to also replicate this however I will work around with different colour choices. I am hoping to also add an URL to my masthead going vertically up the N on the masthead, I think this will look quite original and will add a unique feature. Here is an beginning  draft of what the masthead will look like. It is still in its starting stages and is likely to be edited. I used the black font to begin with as it is easier to work from that starting point of using black.The font is quite simplistic in style but by maybe using colour I will be able to reflect my magazine style perfectly.

Drafting and Planning: Masthead Names

Following on from my survey I have chosen four of the best suggested names. These names are what believe will match my magazine ethos and create a successful magazine brand. By asking for suggestions on names I have been able to ensure my audience is listened to.

The names I chose are:

• NonStop
• NonStop Pop 
• Pop Essence 
• Pop It! 

I went for these four names as I want my magazine name to be relatively short and snappy, 

A short masthead will be easier for my readers to absorb and recognize when browsing the shelves full of competitive magazines. So therefore it will be beneficial to use a short and memorable title for my magazine in order to reach full success. 3 of the names use the word 'Pop' which is common in pop magazines from my research. I think replicating this may be a good decision. 

In order to make a final decision I decided what would look better on the page. In the end I chose the name 'NonStop.' Its short and will look good on the page.  I think it will reflect my magazine as the music in my magazine is always NonStop. My magazine will also feature a country cross over with pop so saying NonStop I am suggesting that there is not stop the music in the magazine. 

In my next blog post I will work on the font and colour of my masthead. 

Research into Potential Target Audience: Target Research Questionnaire Data Analysis

Here is the analysed date of my second questionnaire/ survey that I published online over several social media platforms - Twitter, Instagram, Facebook. From Monday 28th to Wednesday 30th I received 25 participants. This was good response especially as I got a wide range of ages and genders answering. Just like my previous questionnaire I will use its results to guide my decisions in the next stage of production. This way I am replicating what an audience would want to see, creating a realistic magazine. My results were automatically analysed and put into a bar chart as I used the online site Survey Monkey. This feature allowed me to gather my results easily, percentages are also shown to give me more insight into the numbers that were giving the same answer. 

The first two questions were quite simple and were only asked for my benefit. As I was able to see who was participating. By receiving a wide range of age groups taking part I gained more insight then I would if I just asked one age group or gender. My survey was completed highly by females and those under 18 years old. 

From this question I can see that people see the perfect aged demographic for a pop magazine to be 12 to 15 years old as 18 out 25 gave this answer. Other answers were not as highly rated and only received 1 or 3 votes showing that most people agree. This question has helped me see that my perfect target market is infact this age group. 

I can see that people see females being attracted more to pop magazines, so I am going to use this demographic to target for my magazine as it would have more impact. However I don't want to make my magazine a female only exclusive magazine, so I will target females first but will not exclude males entirely. I can do this by using the correct colour scheme.  

I asked this question for aesthetics. This is because putting the correct price on my magazine it will look more professional and realistic. If i was to put an over extravagant price it would look like I didn't listen to my audience and didn't do my research into existing magazines. 

All of the options I suggested are what I look for so I asked to see whats the most important as I cant use them all, to avoid overloading my magazine. The question has also showed the importance of cover lines, as someone suggested another option, that being 'headlines' relating to the use of cover lines on a magazine. Creating the right affect for my magazine also comes down to my writing of cover lines, so I will be following up with a post about cover lines and my personal writing.

People also mentioned the importance of honesty and truth, so I want my contents to reflect this. Some also said its also important to focus on the artist as a person with a history then a celebrity as some interviews forget to talk about them and only talk about their fame. 

I asked this question in a different way on my previous questionnaire. I repeated it to get some more clarification. Nearly half agreed saying that 10 stories is plenty within a pop magazine, so I think this is how many I am going to include. 

People don't only just buy magazine for its contents but for other reasons. This question was asked to see what entices a reader into a magazine when it comes to free things. Most said that they would prefer a free CD and other said either a free poster or gift. In my magazine I am going to include at least one these as a way to gain readers.

I received some more suggestions on suitable names for my magazine. I will use the suggestions from this survey and add them with the previous to help me pick out the best name for me and the style of magazine I am going for. By asking for suggestions I am able to gain inspiration and I also then have the final decision. This is because if I was to give the names already I would give them the final  decision. 

My results will be used as a focus in my upcoming blog posts. 

Research into Potential Target Audience: Audience Research Questionnaire 2

Facebook

Twitter

My second questionnaire is focused more on finding my specific target audience, while also getting some more information on how to form a successful magazine. I used some of the data from the previous questionnaire to form my new questions so i could get a clearer understanding of to some of the questions participants had asked. I created the set of 10 questions on survey monkey < https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/ >, an online survey maker, it has a free service that can be upgraded but the free version offers plenty of things that I need. These questions will hopefully give me some more clear ideas to follow. I posted it onto a variety of social networking platforms on 28.11.16, this way I will reach a more wider range of people along with people I have less connections with giving me more honest opinions and views. I have put it on my personal Facebook page, twitter and Instagram. I have also asked people to share it so more people take part. I will leave the survey running until mid day on 30.11.16. I can then use the online tools to analyse the results before posting them in a following blog post.

Instagram 

Here are the questions I have asked:

1. What is your age?
2. What is your gender?
3. What age group would be more attracted to buying a pop magazine?
4. Who are attracted more to Pop music magazines, like Top of the Pops?
5. How would you pay for a new pop magazine?
6. What influences you to buy a new magazine?
7. In an interview what would you like to read?
8. How many stories would you like featured in a magazine?
9. Would you prefer... (a list of answers follows)
10. Do you have any suggestions for suitable name for a new pop magazine?