Final Plans for Music Magazine

For different reasons, which I will explain later, the designs for my music magazine have slightly changed. I was happy with my initial designs but after looking closer and thinking harder, I decided to adapt them slightly. The changes are not too drastic, but I think they make the magazine much better.

My shot plans have changed slightly also as due to the change of design; I have added some more photos as well as removing some of the photos I was originally going to include in the magazine.

For me, it is very important to keep checking and reflecting upon my work in order to make it as good as it can be. These designs are my proposed final ones, however, if when it comes to creating the magazine I am not happy with something, I will be willing to change it.

This is the new design for the front cover of my music magazine. As you can see, the layout is virtually identical to that of my original design. I have only changed 3 things. Firstly, I have removed the picture which I was going to have with the ‘Toria Green’ article because I feel that with a few different headings plus an image, the page may look too crowded and that is the last thing that I want. I think this way the page is more spacious. As you can also see, I have changed the picture on the front cover and I will use a different model. The reason I have chosen to do this is because I think that it is very important that my magazine shows variety and if I have the same person on the cover as on the double page spread, it might not show variety. Due to the model changing, I have therefore had to edit the article heading on the cover but as with my original design, I have kept the ellipsis at the end in order to try and lure the audience in.I much prefer this design to my original because I think that it makes the magazine more diverse as well as spacious.

This is the image which will be used on the front cover of my magazine. I think the pose is very interesting because it looks as though the model is looking out directly at the audience and almost enticing them in. The pose also suggests that the model is concealing something that he doesn’t want to the audience to know so it could suggest that if the audience read the magazine, they will find out the “secret”. I think the pose is original and it is not something I see often on magazines and I therefore feel that it may give the magazine a USP. As I mentioned in the notes in the picture, I would like the light to be natural so it does not make the photo look artificial. Also, the model will be wearing all black so that he fits in with the colour scheme and genre of the magazine. Unlike my initial idea for the front cover photo, the image will be in colour, not black and white

There is not much more to say about the contents page really as the layout and design hasn’t changed at all. The one thing that I have decided to alter is the colour of the background which I originally wanted to be white but I have decided to make it black instead. My reason for doing this is that the background of 2 of the 3 images will be white also, therefore there may not be as much contrast between the images and the background so I think to allow for this contrast and make the images stand out, the background should be black. Obviously, due to the background changing to black, the background of the editorial must change colour and I think red would be a good colour as it will really emphasize it.

This is one of the photos that will be on the contents page. The model will be the same person who is on the cover and this image will take up the ‘main feature’ space on the contents page as obviously, he is one of the main stories in this issue. Again, I want natural light in this photo and the background will be white in order to contrast his dark clothing. The pose is quite casual and not too formal, like the magazine. As I say in the description, I want him to be slightly turned so that it is not a full-on photo, but more interesting. The page number will be placed on the image where there is blank space so that the image is not concealed in any way and so it is clear for the readers to see.

This image will also be on the contents page but will be one of the smaller images. This picture was originally going to be on the double page spread, but I have added a different picture to the spread which I will show later.The boy is the same person who will be used on the double page spread. I am not sure whether this photo being full-length will work because there is limited space on the contents page, therefore, it may be better to merely have the head and shoulders.This pose is casual and relaxed which does reflect the age of the model (he is 17). I would rather have him turning away from the camera than having a ‘mug-shot’ as I don’t feel that that will reflect the magazine and it is not very creative in my opinion. Like with all the other images, the background will be plain and possibly white which will contrast the clothing.Again, the page number will fit into some corner of the image.

This is one of the new images which I have brought in and it will be on the contents page as one of the smaller images. As you can see, and as I have described, it consists of an iPod sitting on 3 CDs. As I mentioned, I want the background to be a solid colour other than white so that the images on the contents page contrast each other. I think that it is important to have a general image on the contents page rather than just having images of people because I need to highlight the other articles in the magazine in order to show variety. I want to highlight the smaller articles as well as the bigger ones because this article could still be of interest to some people.

This is a new design for the double page spread and it was initially the design which I rejected. But after more consideration, I realised that this one was in fact the stronger of the two designs. I realised that by having all the pictures on one side of the page (which was the idea with my original design), it may make the other side boring if it was all text. Also, I think the images may have been two squashed if they were all on one side. With this design, there is one big image on one half of the page, therefore it is clear who the article is about, and is a common convention of music magazines. All the pictures used on the spread will still be grayscale but some of the images have changed, which I will explain when I look at the photo plans.

This is another new image which I have brought in and it is to be the main image on the double page spread, taking up one half of the page. As with all the other images on the double page spread, it will be black and white and the light will be natural. As I have mentioned in the description, this image will be a close up of the model with his head tilted slightly down to his left hand side and there will no direct eye-contact with the camera. I think this shot is one of those images that can be simple yet effective. The close-up will clearly show who the artist is and will catch people’s attention as they flick through the magazine.

There is no change to this image; it will still be one of the three smaller images on the double page spread. I think this image will be an interesting one, especially as there is a prop involved.

Again, no change to this image as it too will remain one of the three smaller images on the double page spread.

This image is one of the new ones which I have brought in. It will be one of the 3 smaller images on the double page spread. It will very simply be the artist looking directly at the camera. I think I need a second picture which clearly shows his face because 2 of the 4 do not show him directly face-on. As with all the other pictures, natural light, greyscale and plain white background.