Completed magazine

Evaluation: Question 7

Evaluation: Question 6

Evaluation: Question 5

Evaluation: Question 4

Evaluation: Question 3

Evaluation: Question 2

Evaluation: Question 1, part 3 (Double Page)

My double page spread is consistent with magazines in my chosen genre once more, as it has the left hand side dominated by the image, with an article title used as well. i felt this grabbed the attention of my audience and believed it worked well in other magazines from my genre. i also felt having a quote gave an authentic touch to my article, so decided to use that as my own added flair. 

The right hand side is several paragraphs broken up and divided in the centre by a column, much like the majority of other magazines, including those in my genre. The right hand side ends with an impacfull quote that once again reinforces the idea that this is authentic. I however, abandoned the faded background across both pages as i felt my text would be easier to read this way, and as my questionnaire said, interesting articles are a factor in buying a magazine. 

Evaluation: Question 1, part 2 (Contents Page)

My contents page is similarly inspired by a magazine from my chosen genre, with the idea being simple, informative, succinct and easy to read. I feel as though this helps my magazine stand apart from its influences and isolates the magazine in a positive way. it has 3 pictures, the same number and nearly the same location as the Mixmag equivalent. I felt Mixmag's approach worked and decided against tweaking it to my own tastes as it seemed to work effectively. The only adjustment i made came in the form of an editors note and picture, something I have seen featured many times in other music magazines, and something i believe works in giving a personal touch to the magazine. 

Evaluation: Question 1, part 1 (Front Cover)

My front cover of my music magazine is heavily influenced by other magazines in my genre. It does however, have a more streamlined approach and less text, something I feel gives a cleaner approach to my magazine. It retains a similar ideology to DJ mag, with the artist being in front of my Masthead, helping the idea that the artist and subsequently the music is more important than the brand. it features the artist and their name prominently, more so than the rest of the text, and this does follow conventions of my genre of magazine. 

Evaluation methods

For my evaluation, I have decided to use Videoscribe, a tool that draws images and text and creates an immersive and more enjoyable experience. I am also likely to use Voki's to some extent, though not in the same capacity asVideoscribe.

Double Page spread (FINAL)

My double page spread abandons the red house style previously established in favour of the green colour of the artist i have done said double page on. The left hand side is taken over completely by the image, and has both the artists' name and a quote, adding an authentic touch to my magazine. My right hand page is a block of text, broken up by another quote, with each block focusing on different aspects of the fictitious interview. 

Front cover (FINAL)

This is my final draft of the front cover of my music magazine. it retains all core elements of my previous drafts' and this is done as I was happy with the style my magazine was done in, and what it offered. The text is clear and stands out, the image is presented at the forefront of the magazine, and covers the Masthead slightly, as this shows that the artist is more important than the brand, something reinforced with magazine's such as Mixmag, which i have used as research for my magazine. 

Contents page (FINAL)

My contents page, retains its quick, informative, and minimalistic approach akin to Mixmag, which i used as research due to the similarity in genre. The main image stands out and is clear and well done, and the other two pictures are smaller and compliment the text. Everything is clearly labelled and the contents page subsequently has a sleek look to it. 

Double page spread (mockup)

This is my first mockup of my double page spread, though I believe the bland nature of the page means that it is uninteresting  to look at and therefore will not attract anyone to read my magazine. I intend to retain the overall effects and approach to the magazine but desire to give it a more complete and professional look to my magazine. 

Double page spread clothing

 For my double page spread, my 'model' is posed in a denim jacket, which signifies rebelliousness and links into my article about breaking the mould of conventional music. As well as this, a t-shirt and sweatshirt are present though neither of these posses significant meaning. 

Mixmag double page spread

This Mixmag double page spread is centered around three clubs and party's across the country and reviews them. The layout of this magazine is very important and emphasizes the importance of each venue, as the no 1. spot takes up a single page by itself with no 2. taking the top half of the second page, showing how it is more important than the 3rd article, which is obviously below. This is an interesting and well thought out design and one I may consider using to some degree. 

Mixmag contents page analysis

this contents page of Mixmag shares many features with my own contents page and also presents ideas for how to modify my own. The page numbers on the images relating them to the article is something I'm going to use, as it will help distinguish my magazine. The use of two pictures (consistent with almost all Mixmag contents pages) is something I intend to use, though due to weather constraints I am still currently unable to take my main image the way I desire. My magazine follows numerous conventions in accordance to these kinds of magazines and I intend to continue to follow them with my double page spread.

Double page spread picture

For my double page spread, I have chosen to use this picture, as it's mise en scene helps reinforce my magazine's genre and ideology. The locale is urban but outside, which links to my chosen genre and how that is both in urban environments, but is outside in terms of how it is regarded in the music industry. I am likely to make these appear brighter and more 'summer-eque' using photoshop by increasing the saturation and brightness. 

Contents page mockup (Incomplete)

This is the current state of my contents page, and it is currently incomplete. the red house style from my front cover has been ported over, as has the white secondary text. There is a brief summary by the 'editor' at the bottom of the page giving an authentic feel to the magazine. The picture currently in use is that of my cover star and this is a placeholder image until I decide on something more suited to the magazine genre. The page numbers are all not genuine apart from page 4, which will be my double page spread. The remaining contents are all articles i believe would be interesting to read, and all are related to the articles on the front of the magazine and connote with my chosen genre of magazine. 

Magazine images Mockup, edited)

These are two (as of yet) unused images, though I may consider using either one on my double page spread, although neither one fits all that well with my magazine's ideology as I have changed several key aspects about my magazine since these photos were taken. 

Scene and clothing

My front cover takes a minimalist approach to set composure, as I believe overcrowding a set detaches from the original appeal of a magazine, and a convoluted front cover defeats the ideology behind my magazine. As a result, I have used a medium shot that only employs 1 item of clothing; a white 'Run DnB' t-shirt that links with my magazine as DnB stands for Drum 'n Bass, a genre central to my magazine. 

Mockup 2

This is my second draft of my music magazine and contains several major changes to the design, with the most significant being the new image and new background colour as well as the removal of the secondary image, the Beatport logo in the top right, the new cover lines and the several other minor changes that contribute to an overall more professional looking magazine. 

Second image draft

These two photos are my retaken images for my music magazine. I am more likely to use the image on the right as it is direct address and is a more professional image. Both images are unedited and this will be fixed with Photoshop to give them a better look. Both were taken with an iPhone 4 and the quality is somewhat lost, but still retain a sharp image quality compared to the original images I took.

DJ Mag top 100 clubs

I have decided to do an independent blog post based around the Top 100 clubs as voted for by readers of DJ magazine. This contains the most well known and arguably best clubs and reviews of most of them. These reviews often give insight into the club scene, a very important part of dance music culture and its popularity and these can help give me ideas for creating my double page spread, the next part of my music magazine.
This can be found here

DJ Mag top 100 DJ's

I have decided to do an independent blog post based around the Top 100 DJ's as voted for by readers of DJ magazine. This contains the most well known and arguably best DJ's and interviews with most of them. These interviews often give insight into the mind of a music producer and can help give me ideas for creating my double page spread, the next part of my music magazine. This can be found here

images Mock up

 I have decided to use these three images as my main images for my magazine, though I am still unsure how or to what degree i will edit them on photoshop. All 3 have different connotation and reinforce different aspects of my chosen genre, so editing is likely to not be as additive as my original designs. 

Production Log: Double Page

-Location: School car park

-People: Liam Roach

-Equipment: iPhone 4 camera 

-Issues: Image quality, don't have control over background, weather, timing

-Result: Not the perfect image but still very much usable and still very good quality. Will adapt magazine to fit the image. 

Production Log: Contents Page

-Location: Nightclub

-People: John Burke, Kieran Riley

-Equipment: Samsung Galaxy S3 camera

-Issues: Image quality could be poor due to location and lighting

-Result: Turned out well, intended image achieved, very useful. 

Production Log: Front Cover

 Front Cover shoot:
-Location: Green Room 

-People: Lewis Webster 

-Equipment: iPhone 4 camera, lights, green screen

-Issues: Image quality could be poor due to camera type/lighting, battery may run out

-Result: Turned out well, got desired image, quality is good though could obviously be better

Mockup magazine vs Mixmag

There are some major differences between the actual magazine on the left and my own creation on the right. The most prominent is the lack of a secondary image on the Mixmag cover and the plethora of writing on the right. Both the masthead and artist name stand out and are much more prominent and visible as opposed to my own, and both are almost directly in the middle. The artist on Mixmag also covers part of the masthead due to the size of the image and profile used, mine however, does not due to the style and nature of how I took the image. Finally, another clear difference is the much increased level of photoshop. The photoshop is of a very complex degree and is additive to the image, whereas mine is much more simplistic and more complementary to my image. My next primary image will likely be of the same person in a more calmer close up wearing costumes and the background will likely be a black haze to give contrast to the image
These are all things i intend to correct when creating my magazine for the final time, and I am well prepared for this task. 

Magazine mockup

This is my completed first draft of my music magazine. it has a red house style with blue text for the artist, making this part stand out. there is one secondary image that is very much conventional of music magazines in this genre. 

There are white cover lines that stand out from the background and help provide a contrast to the aforementioned red house style. It has a large masthead that is easily recognisable for this genre and the primary image stands out amongst the cover.

However, the lack of any real background obviously detaches from the main ideals and otherwise fairly good standard of a first draft. I believe I have followed the genre conventions and only now, for my final magazine, need to improve the quality and photoshopping of the main image. 

Music magazine analysis 3

Top charting Dance tracks of 2013

To reinforce my other work surrounding Dance music and festival videos, i decided to look back at the top charting Dance songs of the last 3 years according to Wikipedia. The top charting song of 2013 was Avicii's 'Wake Me Up', which remained number 1 for 9 weeks. Daft Punk's 'Get Lucky' was the best selling Dance track, staying at number 1 for 4 weeks. Avicii had further success with 'I Could Be the One', 'You Make Me', and 'Hey Brother' all charting making up a total of 18 weeks at number 1 for Avicii in 2013. This is particularly beneficial to me as Avicii often makes dual videos, one being a more conventional style and the other being a festival-themed video, which can of course help me in my reshoots. 

Top charting Dance tracks of 2012

To reinforce my other work surrounding Dance music and festival videos, i decided to look back at the top charting Dance songs of the last 3 years according to Wikipedia. The top charting song of 2012 was 'Titanium' by David Guetta, which charted for 9 weeks total. 'Don't you worry child' by Swedish House Mafia also charted for 9 weeks, but less consistently. As previously highlighted in my 'Festival Videos' section, 'Don't You Worry Child' very much has a festival video, and is immensely useful for me. A third song, "Feel the Love" by Rudimental also charted for 9 weeks. 

Top charting Dance tracks of 2011

To reinforce my other work surrounding Dance music and festival videos, i decided to look back at the top charting Dance songs of the last 3 years according to Wikipedia. The top charting song of 2011 was 'Party Rock Anthem' by LMFAO, which charted at number 1 for 9 weeks. This video once again has a club-like atmosphere and can help support my research into pictures for my magazine. Other high-lasting songs were 'Louder' by DJ Fresh, 'Changed the way you kiss me' by Example and 'Blind Faith' by Chase and Status. 

Music magazine: Genre

for my music magazine i have chosen to do a dance/electronic magazine. the magazine WILL feature logos from well known artists, but this will obviously not be the focus. My magazine will have a single contents page, front cover and 1 double page spread, as two of the most prominent magazines in this genre feature a single sided contents page. My magazine will likely be called 128 BPM, in reference to the number of beats per minute dance tracks are produced at. 

Top 5 festival videos: Number 1.

For the number one festival video, I have opted to choose Swedish House Mafia'sDon't You Worry Child. This both has the highest view count on YouTube out of all the videos I have chosen and was in the UK charts for longer than all the other songs. It's is almost documentary-esque and focuses on the crowd and atmosphere as well as the Trio and is therefore, the ultimate festival video. 

Top 5 festival videos: 3 and 2

The next two of my top festival videos are by Tiesto and Blasterjaxx. Only one of these videos is much more crowd centric as opposed to the other two on the previous post, were both were very crowd based. 

Blasterjaxx- Loud and Proud (Ft Billy the Kit) 




Tiesto- Maximal Crazy 

Top 5 festival videos: 5 and 4

In order to know how to properly stage my images, I am taking some influences from music videos. The first two videos I am using are 'Animals' by Martin Garrix and 'Wake me up' by Avicii. 

Animals- Martin Garrix 
: 

Wake Me Up- Avicii 

My magazine images (Mockup images)

 



















These are the two photos I took as a mock. Both are taken with an iPhone 4 camera, so the image quality is very poor compared to what my actual images will be. The images are poorly staged and this will be changed upon the retaking of the pictures. The pictures will be changed and photoshopped dramatically over the course of reshoots, in order to match images on magazines in my genre. 

Double page spread analysis

This double page spread is taken from a Mixmag magazine i purchased myself. it's double page spread focuses on a model, and i have chosen this spread as it is easier to understand how photoshop can create an image that is appealing, and how important this is to a magazine attempting to sell itself. The double page spread is dominated by a main image with writing below also drawing our attention. The writing is secondary to the image and contributes little to the overall style of the magazine. The background is blurred out to emphasise that the model at the front is central and the ficus of the photo, and this is a technique I am going to use for my own magazine. 
The picture is designed to attract focus over the writing, and it achieves this goal. 

Magazine analysis

The front cover I am analysing is from DJ magazine, and features music producer Hardwell on the front in a close up on a black background. The masthead is partially obscured by the artists' head, highlighting how he is more important than the magazine itself. 
The cover lines are on the right and are not all that visible, as the main image of Hardwell is what takes up most of the cover. Buzz words are used to promote a free CD and the rest of the text is overshadowed by the central image.  
The image has been photoshopped to enhance the noticeability of Hardwell as he is the main draw for readers of the magazine and his prescience is key to the magazine's success.
The skyline the magazine uses comments on the magazine's ideology, saying it is serious, using "music, clubs, gear, tech, fun". Fun is used to highlight how the magazine is both serious and light-hearted.

Contents page analysis

The contents page used in this edition of 'Mixmag' is very structured and organised, and the contents border a central image. The main image obviously stands out and doesn't feature any music artist, but focuses around a club instead. 

It's plain white text plastered over the black background give a contrasting but simplistic look that complements the magazine's style. The actual contents both contain reviews such as the 'Deadmau5' one on page 8, about artists/gigs/albums. However, it also has reviews on modern issues relating to culture, emphasised by the 'Rant' headline on page 23.