First Draft - Personal Feedback

Along with general class feedback we received on Thursday 26th of January each member of the class received a short piece of Individual feedback to help them work on the moving forward with their magazines.  I didn’t receive many points as this was my first draft and the main body of feedback will come when the next version of my magazine is handed in for marking.

• The font on my contents page is relatively large and maybe too large on the page. It was also commented that if I was to make the font smaller than I could add some more stories.
• The musical Mise-en-scene of my artist is not fully clear. I could think about how to change this through props and what my artist is wearing. My teacher didn’t think my model looks like a pop music artist in the images. 

First Draft - General Class Feedback

On Thursday 26th of December as a class we received some general feedback about the first drafts we handed in the week previous. These points are to help us with moving forward with our magazines. They are hoped to help use make changes and add what is missing.

•       We were asked to question are decisions – ‘What are you aiming for?’ This means what I hope to achieve and what I want the final product to look like. We were reminded to look back at previous work on ‘Research into similar products.’ This would help us effectively imitate the already practiced work of published magazines. This would then allow us produce a realistic and professional looking final magazine.
• ·         It was said that on the front cover the main artist should be promoting something substantial and not a ‘New Single being released’ as some had done. Instead the cover line must be rethought and instead promote a new album, a new tour or maybe both of them as some magazines tend to do.
• ·         In some areas musical Mise-en-scene is lacking. This involves lighting, colour scheme, artist look and other features which combine the musical theme together.
• ·         Contents pages currently don’t have enough substance. This can be fixed by adding more stories and features.
• ·         Try to avoid comments like “my fans are the most important things in my life” in double page features, as they are clique comments said by all artists. Use more original comments.
• ·         Double page fonts need to be reduced to font size 8.
• ·        Things like punctuation, grammar and spelling are all important to get right. Correct language creates a professional look. 

I will this class feedback to look back at my own magazine and see what can be perfected and changed in guidance of what was said. 

Drafting and Planning: Photo Editing

I began by using paint.net to crop out the background from the image of my secondary artists. I did this to add another background to the image. I hope this will then add another splash of colour to my magazine, especially my contents page where this image will be placed. I am going to use the house colours I have already used on my front cover and contents page.









This is the edited picture, I went for a grey toned background, i blended the grey colours together. I am still unsure if I will use this final edit but it is a possibility.

Organisation: Photoshoot 3

These are the photos from the photo shoot I did in school on Thursday 19th of January 2017. We were able to use the schools drama studio, which gave me an new environment to shoot in.

  Main Artist - Pearl Rey - Model - Chloe Kiely 

These 4 pictures were taken for my contents page. I used different camera shots and have chose the best image to use as my final choice.  The image I have used on my first draft is the image in the bottom right of the four

Secondary Artist - Felix Brothers - Models - Luke Reeves & Charlie Donohoe  

These 4 images were also taken with my contents page in mind. They will feature on the contents page as an important focal feature. I again used different shots to find the best one for my page. I did not have chance to add an image of this artist to my first draft, as it needs editing and I am thinking about adding an effect.



During this photo shoot I didn't have to chance to take any images of my other female artist. I am looking to take these very soon, so i can edit them and include them on my next draft.

First Draft

 This is my first draft of my front cover, contents page and double page spread. The first draft of my contents page does not all include all original photography as of yet but I have placed an image in the spaces I which fill. This is because I have not edited all of my images. 

Organisation: Added features

Front cover: 

Barcode

needed for the realism of the magazine. 

Price: £2.50 - it is clear on the page, so the reader can see it if the magazine is picked up from the shelf. 

Date Line: The magazine is publised montly. I have dated this issue as January 2017. This way I can talk about all of the msuic triupmhts of 2016 giving me more content.  

Contents Page:

Social Media link

This shows all of the social media platforms that my magazine has. This offers the reader more content past the magazine, which would create excitment. By doing this I am also reaching out to my target auidence as the majority are on at least one of them. 

Added Imagery

I have added 4 pink music notes onto my contents page as my background is white. I think they add a small pop of colour and bring together the msuical theme. I used a tool to alter the colour of them slighty to match a similar pink I had used as the original pink was too bright. 

Double Page Spread: 

Heading:This starts of the article.The heading is "Adding a new Rey of light." I have overlayed two colours of the same font to create a shadowed effect. 

Main body text: Takes the form of an article with written quotes from the artist. 

Pull quotes: 

I have inculded a number of pull quotes on the page in a different font to the article. They will be also in a bigger font. These quotes will be taken direcftly from the article and will have some imporatne to the entire feature. 

Page number 

I have made sure to icnlude the page number 14 on the page. Altough this is an obvious feature, it will show a link between the contents and the double page spread.

Album Link 

There will be a reference to preording my artists upcoming album. It will say " ‘Exhibition ‘ is available to Pre Order now ready for release on March 21st"

Organisation: Final Images

The photos i chose to use on my front cover, contents page and double page spread are important to maintain a successful ethos. The images on the pages are just as important as the text on the page as they are the first thing a reader would generally see first. The images I am thinking about for my front cover and double page spread are below followed by the reasons for the that particular image. Before using them I had to make sure they were suitable and can my desired effect. 

This image is what I will be used of my main artist on my front cover. The plan is use an editing tool to cut out the background around my model. I will then place the image on a fully white background with the text and other features placed on top. I chose this image as it was the perfect shot and gave me a good profile view which ensures my artist is fully seen on the page. My model looks elegant but also gives a natural vibe which is what I want to present to my readers. I also wanted to ensure that my models top is clear as I have used its colour in my colour scheme to create a house style. This image also uses direct mode of address which is important on a front cover. 

After going through all of the images I took on my shoot on the 11th, this is my final decision. It shows my model looking majestic looking away from the camera towards the natural sun light which was available during the shoot. The light bounces of her face adding a beautiful glow. This image also offers plenty of colour which inject fun and excitement into the page and reflects the character of my artist. The positing of my model ensures I have plenty of space to place a title and an article on top of the image. The text will eventually look as if it is wrapping itself around the artist which hopefully will look artistic.

I have not yet took the final images for my contents page, so do have no images to use of my drafts. I will be taking them on Thursday 19th as previously spoken about. As i will not have these images before handing in my first draft, i am going to be using images of the internet to give a realistic look to start off with.

Drafting and Planning: Article Draft

For my double page spread article I was undecided whether to stick to a straight forward question and answer with my artist or do a more formal written article about my artist. My target audience is ranged from 12 to 18 so it is important to keep the piece suitable for the entire age range. I am going to do my double page article in a Q&A form but make it more sophisticated.

Youngest Brits critic choice award nominee at 17, 5.5 million and counting combined followers on social media and YouTube, signed to a record label at just 15. She is already taking the music world by storm and her debut album 'Exhibition' is still months from being released... and if you still don't know who these stats belong to then where have you been.

Pearl Rey the 17-year-old singer who is taking on the best of country and pop never expected to have such a big success so soon into her career full filling her hidden passion. Born Pearl Kiely, she never saw herself heading in the direction of fame and fortune, as she left school with a collection of amazing grades. But grades aren't the only thing she picked up in the summer of 2014. "I spent the summer gigging in Birmingham before being scouted at gig for new home grown talent. I was given a immediate record deal and began working on my original work, Before I knew it I was leaving my initial dreams of becoming a teacher to become a signed singer."

Pearl started her life in the heart of Birmingham before she began touring around the country with her also musical family. She settled back into life in Birmingham in 2011 to begin her GCSE studies. Birmingham is now where she takes a great deal of inspiration along with that of her family. "My father and grandfather are both huge country fans. I was introduced into the genre  by accident at the age of 4. I was mesmerised at the first note. I grew up watching them gigging around the country but I never saw myself up on a stage. My mother also loves country but she also offered a beautiful pop tone to her music and that's what i now take inspiration from. I bring together my fathers country spirit with my mothers pop background"

We asked Pearl Rey all about her upcoming debut album, she replied with "This project has become my life over the last 2 years  believe or not. Its took the last 2 years and heap load of hard work to produce this album. I know 2 years is a long period but I took my time finding my sound while giging up and down the country. I saw it as the best way to find the sound that reflects me perfectly.  The album is full of hits that bring together both the pop and country genre. If you dont get one then you get the other come through in every song. I think combing the two will create a unqiue sound that all can enjoy, the combined sound reflects me as a person but also as an artist. I am the music." 

We got talking to Pearl about her past before music became to the forefront of her life. We spoke about everything from her past school life, to relationships and family. She opened up and revealed all by saying “When I came back to Birmingham to study for my GCSE’s I didn’t always have the best time. School became a place of hell for me as I encountered mass bullying from people I thought were my friends. During my 3 years I so wanted to leave and move to a new school but I thought that would let them win. So that’s when I put them to the back of my mind and put all of my determination into my school work and it paid off. I left school that summer with grades I was proud of, including 6A*s. It was then I realised no one could get in the way. That summer was the best summer I’ve ever had because I left school and I left them behind. The funniest part is if they read this article and realise I’m talking about them. They were my friends and now they are nothing more than strangers in the street who I had to spend three years with.” 

As for what’s next after the album, Pearl is going on Tour. She is definitely one hard worker. An album release and a tour in all in a short amount of time. “It’s going to be an amazing experience. I know I’ve toured before gigging but this time it’s different. Before I’d be supporting doing covers in little clubs and bars but now it’s all about me. How big headed does that sound {laughs.} What I mean is, this time on a wide UK tour performing in some of the best venues in the country performing my own material for the people I care about the most. My fans! They are everything and I wouldn’t be here today doing this interview let alone realising an album without them.  I owe them a lot and that’s why I want to make them a big part of this tour.” We asked what she meant by this and she replied “You’ll have to watch this space.” The future surely looks bright for this young star. 

Drafting and Planning: Contents Page Content

My magazine will be published monthly, so i have looked into how many pages are typically used in magazines already in publication.  It is believed that magazines pages should be in multiples of 8, 16, 32. So because of this I am going to do to do around 32 pages, as I believe this will offer my magazine enough content but will not over load it. On the 32 pages I want to include varied content, which includes my double page spread on my main artist. I want this feature to be in the middle of the magazine so previous pages can build interest for the magazine. There will be some content that is featured in every issue, which I think will keep readers coming back.

The contents page will be on page number 3... It will have around 4 images on the page highlighting key artists and articles within the magazine. It will also offer a more visual aid for my readers, this will work well with the younger readers of my target audience. The pictures will also offer colour and vibrancy. 

IN EVERY ISSUE:

Page 4
TOP PICKS
1,2,3.... Our thoughts on the month shared.

Page 12 -13
POP QUIZ
Your questions answered.

Page 20 - 21
ACCESS ALL AREAS
Enter the world of an artist for the day.

Page 30 -31
A NonStop MONTH 
A guide to the next month of music

THIS ISSUE'S CONTENT:

Page 6 FT COLLAB - stay tuned for this show stopper

Page 8  A NEW FOCUS - "we're older now, its not about the music anymore" (*Image - The Felix Brothers) 

Page 9 THE BRITS FUTURE - taking the 2017 music scene by storm

Page 14 LEAVING THE PAST BEHIND - Pop country flow  (*Image - Main Cover Artist_ Pearl Rey)

Page 16 MAGGIE'S MARK - The legacy left behind

Page 24 ELISHA HERMES Q&A - all of what you've been dying to know (*Image - Elisha Hermes)

Page 26 C|HARLIE -  a bad boy here to stay

MORE:

Page 18
WE REVIEW: POP 2016
Who and what did 2016 have to offer when it came to 'Pop'.


Page 22
WE REVIEW: COUNTRY 2016
Who and what did 2016 have to offer when it came to 'Country'.

Page 29
COMPETITIONS 
Lets have look what we have to offer in this months issue of your NonStop music magazine

Drafting and Planning: Cover Lines

On my front cover I want to include a selection of codes and conventions, these include a number of cover lines along with a main cover line talking about my cover star. I am going to include a skyline and a puff or pug. I want to sure there is no wasted space on my cover but it is also important not to over fill the page as this works against the appeal of my magazine.

• Skyline - ' Melanie Quartx ~ Maggie ~ C|HARLIE ~ Sophie Dundo '

The skyline is traditionally placed above the masthead, so this is what I am going to do. It will include a list of artists that are also featured in my magazine (These will be spoken about in my contents page)

• Main Cover line - '  Exclusive *PEARL REY - "I never saw myself up on a stage"

This will be placed in the bottom right hand corner, placed directly over the image to show the connection clearly between the cover line and the artist featuring on the cover. This takes the place of an exclusive that the magazine is offering - making it a pug to draw people in. 

• Cover lines - The cover lines will be placed on the left third of the page as I believe this works the best from looking at my research. 

1. FELIX TWINS - our final fairwell - "going out with a bang" 
2. THE CREATIVE COLLAB - sam harvie ft lucy jakes 
3. THE ROAD TO BRIT SUCCESS - who will be your winner in 2017? 
4. ELISHA CONFESSES - love, family, fans and the future
5. THE A-Z OF TOP 10s - This cover line will be placed at the very bottom of the page away from the other coverlines , next to the barcode                                                                                                                                             

These are my starting cover lines and features for my first draft and have the potential to be changed and adapted. 

Organisation: Final Photoshoot

It has been organised on Thursday (....) January 2017 that we will have an opportunity to use my school black box drama studio. This will hopefully be my final opportunity to take pictures for my magazine. This is a personal decision as I want to dedicate the rest of my time on putting my magazine together. I will be taking my camera that I have used on my previous shots along with to school. I am going to use this location to take the images of my secondary artists and have a second try at taking some shots for my magazine front cover. As this opportunity come during lesson time I am restricted on who I can now use as my secondary artists, but my main artist is a class mate so taking pictures of Chloe wont be an issue. I will be thinking about my decisions now for my secondary artist and will be posting my final chosen models.  All of the walls in the studio are black, which gives me a blank canvas to work with. It will allow for easier editing as the backgroun
d is plain and simple.