Double Page Spread's

Double page spreads are usually found in the very centre of the magazine. The double page spread topic usually corresponds with the main cover line of the front page of a magazine. Topics that you would usually find on a double page spread would be articles on the artist, interviews about the artist/bands up coming songs and tours etc. and  things such as reviews on artists and their music. 

Key words that will entice your reader:

1. DANGER - The word danger makes alarm bells ring in the readers head as they will want to find out what is so dangerous and therefore feel the need to read into the magazine article and find out more. 
2. CONTROVERSY - This word will let readers know that something may come up in the article of interest as there may be conflict or tension between the interview and artist or artist  and people they know or associate themselves with.
3. ORIGINAL - Original gives the impression to the reader that the artist could be first to come up with an idea or something along these lines, being original often means standing out from the crowd and not being too mainstream so readers may want to find out more about these 'original artists'.

Callum's Second Photoshoot

Over the past week I have organised 3 different photoshoots for my magazine. I have created two different artists, one named Harry Hayes and one named Lil Cal.
The artist Lil Cal, is a 21 year old man from Liverpool, he is just about to release his second album and embark on a world tour with Drake. He is signed to Young Money Entertainment, this is Lil Wayne's record label and artists such as Drake, Lil Twist and Nicki Minaj. I organised two photoshoots with Callum as he is main cover artist, so I wanted to get as many pictures as possible.
For my second photoshoot I knew that I wanted these pictures to go on the front cover, so I researched Hip Hop and Rap magazines and looked at their front covers. There was definitely a common theme throughout, most of the cover stars were wearing suits, or a shirt and tie, possibly betraying a gangster look. I wanted to copy this idea on my front cover as I think it could create a classy professional shot, which is the look I want to present my magazine in. 

After I had decided on what I wanted Callum to wearing I was thinking about possible props he could be holding. As it was the front cover I did not want the prop to be too overpowering so I decided on something simple, a glass of wine. A glass of wine is featured in a popular Kanye West photoshoot and is also a drink related to rappers and weed, Drake singing in a song with Rhianna "Good Weed, White Wine'.

Possible ideas of what camera angles I was going to use came from yet again another Kanye West photoshoot, this was used on a cover, on a magazine called Complex. I wanted to try and imitate this look because it is extremely simple and that is the idea I am going for. I also wanted to focus on Callum's hair as I want that to be a feature of Callums act.

Callum's First Photoshoot

Over the past week I have organised 3 different photoshoots for my magazine. I have created two different artists, one named Harry Hayes and one named Lil Cal.
The artist Lil Cal, is a 21 year old man from Liverpool, he is just about to release his second album and embark on a world tour with Drake. He is signed to Young Money Entertainment, this is Lil Wayne's record label and artists such as Drake, Lil Twist and Nicki Minaj. I organised two photoshoots with Callum as he is main cover artist, so I wanted to get as many pictures as possible.
For my first photo shoot I  thought I should do a wintery photoshoot, as the photos are going to be in the winter edition of my Krew magazine. So I decided I should have my first photoshoot in the centre of Liverpool, as that is my artists hometown and Callum living up to his name as a rapper, never forgets where he comes from. I wanted Callum to wear a big winter coat, because I recently seen Drake wearing one when advertising his new album, and as I have wrote that Drake and Callum are close and touring together, it would be good for them to be seen wearing similar clothes. As Kanye is probably one of the biggest names in the industry I decided to see what he was wearing recently to see if I could take any inspiration from it, Kanye is known for always wearing hoodies and then recently he wore a big coat, over a hoodie and it looked cool and I thought it would be something Callum could pull off. As Callum is a young artist, I decided I should look at the younger Hip Hop stars and I found a picture of Jaden Smith with his sister Willow, who are both artists in the industry, Jaden was wearing a pair of Nike Janoski's. Although I have taken inspiration for his outfit from other artists I wanted Callum to have his own individual style, so I wanted Callum to have big, curly hair.

Harry's Photoshoot

Over the past week I have organised 3 different photoshoots for my magazine. I have created two different artists, one named Harry Hayes and one named Lil Cal.
The artist Harry Hayes, is a 15 year old boy from London who has made it big extremely quickly, he nearly won a grammy off his first mix tape. I organised the photoshoot with Harry behind a white back drop, as I wanted to be able to add effective shadows easily. Most photoshoots for magazines include a white background and I wanted to be able to make my magazine look as professional as possible. A white background can also make the artist stand out and that is what I wanted as Harry is a up and coming artist. I wanted Harry to still look young but wear a mature outfit so I researched possible outfits that I could dress him in. I found a picture of the Rapper T.I, he is wearing a red polo shirt which is extremely bright and that is what I wanted Harry to look like, bright and bold. After I had chosen Harry's outfit I need to think of possible props he could use to make him look more like a 'Rapper'. I wanted to Harry to wear a simple thin chain, as I didn't want it to be too overpowering, I found that Justin Bieber frequently wears a thin chain and he is a major artist in the Hip Hop industry. As everyone knows one of the stereotypes of being a artist in the Hip Hop and Rap industry is that you are associated with money, but instead of actually having Harry holding money, I choose things that are influenced with money. I made him wear a expensive watch, which is a common thing for rappers and they like to show it off, sometimes by wearing more than one. I found a picture of Justin Timberlake wearing a similar watch to the one in which Harry wore. I also had Harry wear a pair of Dre Beats headphones as Dr Dre the owner of the brand is a extremely big influence in the industry,I could imagine every celebrity must own a pair and alot of celebrities wear them in public. Again when I researched about rappers I found that in almost every picture they have to have a bottle of champagne in there hands, which is something I instantly copied.

Third Mock Shots

Second Mock Shots

First Mock Shot

Uses and Gratification Theory

Today in class we spoke about the use and gratification theory, the theory suggests that people actively choose their media products on their needs.
Blumler & Katz discuss audiences consume the media for different needs and in different ways. The media industry is not the only one to blame, people need the media to fulfil their needs and wants.
Media consumers choose texts that fulfil one or more of these needs:

• To be informed and educated about the world in which they live.
• To identify personally with characters and situations in order to learn more about themselves.
• To be entertained by a range and variety of well constructed texts.
• To use the medias as a talking point for social interaction or discussion.
• To escape from their daily grind into other worlds and situations.

TriPod

I bought a Tri-Pod online last week and today it finally came. 

I bought it to try and maxamise the quality and the professional look off my pictures. 

I can't wait to do another photo shoot over the weekend.

First Photo Shoot Research

Yesterday I completed my first photoshoot with Harry, although I believe my photos where okay I wanted a second opinion. I asked one of my friends from school who is a frequent Hip Hop magazine reader for her advice.

Photoshop - Harry

I have been playing around with photoshop for the past couple of hours, I have been editing photos from a photoshoot for one of my cover artists. Here is what I have ended up with.

First Photoshoot

Tonight I done a photoshoot with one of my up and coming artists. I used several props, champagne, dre beats and a tag watch. All these props have connotations off money and wealth, which relates to rappers. 

This artist I have created is a 14 year old up and coming rapper, who's first mix tape nearly won him a grammy. 

Although the artist isn't my main cover artist I wanted the pictures to look as professional as possible.

I am now trying to mess around with these pictures in Photoshop.

Double Page Spread Mock Up

This is what my ideal Double Page Spread will look like.

Contents Page Mock Up

This is what my ideal Contents Page will look like.

Front Cover Mock Up

This is what my ideal Front Cover will look like.

I don't want my masthead to be too big, so I have only left the very top of the page for the masthead. I want it to be in the top left hand corner, which is a common theme for Hip Hop / Rap magazines. Another thing I have noticed in XXL paticulary is that there is a background behind the masthead, which is a strong bold colour and then the actual text in the masthead is white, therefore making the name of the magazine stand out. I have decided on what I want my font to be for my mastehad aswell, it is a font from dafont.com, named Bebas Neve.

Second Contents Page Analysis

I have analysed one page of a contents page from the magazine XXL, this magazine's genre is Hip/Hop and Rap as is my music magazine. This is helpful to me as I know what actual published magazines in my music genre look like.

Contents Page Analysis

I have analysed a contents page from a edition of Vibe. Vibe is a magazine from the genre I am basing my Music Magazine on, 'Hip/Hop and Rap'. It also includes one of the main Rap artists in current times so it was good to look at the main photo to see what props were used and possible facial expressions.

Final Font

I have decided on my final font for my music magazine. I have chosen this font as it gives my magazine a professional look and it is part of the Sans Serif family. I have downloaded the font from www.dafont.com, I have chosen a font with the name 'Bebas Neue'. I am undecided on which colour my masthead is going to be yet so I have been trying out possible colours which I might use.

Final Magazine Name - KREW

Last week I posted on my blog about possible names and fonts I could use my Magazine. Possible Masthead Fonts 
I came up with three different names 'CREW', 'H.Y.F.R' and 'STRONGER'. I have now decided on the name 'KREW'. 

I decided not to call my magazine 'H.Y.F.R', I made this decision as when I was asking people's opinions on my three possible names, I had to explain what the letters stood for and as a magazine name you shouldn't have to explain it, it should be self explanatory. Also the 'F' in the title is a explicit word, which means by naming my magazine with a word like this I would be limiting my target audience.  

I then decided not to call my magazine 'STRONGER' as even though it is the name of a Kanye West song, people where getting confused and thinking my magazine could have been a magazine about health and fitness. Again it is extremely important for your magazine name to be self explanatory.

I was going to call my magazine 'CREW', when I was researching trying to find inspiration for my magazine name, I was looking through Drake's old albums and found the song 'Crew Love'. I thought this would be a perfect name for a magazine, as it really makes you think of the Hip Hop genre but as it was too long I decided to shorten it down to just 'CREW', which is short and sweet and gets the point across. I decided that replacing the letter 'C' with a 'K' would make the name just a little bit cooler.

So my final magazine name is the name..
'KREW'

Second Double Page Spread Analysis

To gain knowledge for when I create my magazine, I have analyzed a double page spread from the magazine 'Q', which is a Magazine which likes to cover just about every genre. Although this Magazine isn't specifically my music genre I love how simple this page is which is one the aims of my magazine, also I love the amount of black and white used as this is again something I am wanting to use.

Second Front Cover Analysis

To gain knowledge for when I create my front cover, I have analyzed a front cover from the magazine 'Q', which is a Magazine which likes to cover just about every genre. Although this Magazine isn't specifically my music genre I love the colour scheme they use and how busy there front cover is.

My Chosen Genre Mindmap

Now I know what my final genre is going to be I decided to do a mindmap on all things surrounding and linked to Hip Hop / Rap. This helped me come up with possible Magazine names and really got me thinking off what I could include on my front cover and contents page.

Double Page Spread Analysis

To gain knowledge for when I create my double page spread, I have analyzed a double page spread from the magazine 'Mix Mag', which advertises itself as 'The Biggest Dance Music and Clubbing Magazine in the World'. Although this Magazine isn't from my music genre, I love how the double page is laid out, it is simple and the text is shaped around the picture.

Front Cover Analysis

To gain knowledge for when I create my front cover, I have analyzed a front cover from the magazine 'Mix Mag', which advertises itself as 'The Biggest Dance Music and Clubbing Magazine in the World'. Although this Magazine isn't from my music genre, I love the classy style they have went for and I am thinking of using the same White/Black/Gold colour scheme.

What I Look For When Buying A Magazine

How could I start designing a magazine which I will be proud of without listing the things I look for when shopping for Magazines. I created a mind map and I am going to use this as a virtual tick list in my mind when creating my magazine.

Magazine Name Research

I am extremely undecided on what to call my magazine, I now have 3 names which I am unsure on. Krew, Stronger and H.Y.F.R, I asked my friend who is a Rap fanatic to help me to decide.

Preliminary Task With Justification Of My Choices

In class these past two lessons, we have been planning and creating our School Magazines. I have used Flickr which is a website that has enabled me to upload my two pieces of work and add little notes to them, so when you hover over the picture it shows this I would like to change. Please click on the pictures below to find out why I made the school magazine, the way I did.

My Target Audience - Girl

My Target Audience - Boy

Analysis of College Magazine

 Here I have used my knowledge in vocabulary of Magazines and Newspapers to analysis a College Magazine.

Target Audience

My target audience is going to be aimed at both genders, aged 16 - 29. I have chosen this age range as most people in the Hip Hop / Rap industry are within that age range, making their music more suitable for people at the same age, therefore making people within the age range more likely to purchase my magazine. I have also chosen for it to be aimed at both genders as I want to be able to include both female and male artists within my magazine and as Hip Hop / Rap is related to many products and clothing lines I wanted to include Hip Hop / Rap style in my magazine. 

I imagine a person who would read my magazine would be interested in Hip Hop / Rap music, but also the surrounding lifestyle. Such as being involved in the latest fashion related to the music genre and buying products that have been released by artists. These products could be part of Kanye West's clothing range (A.P.C), or Dr Dre headphones, which are both extremely popular products. I could also imagine that a person who would read my magazine would be interested in seeing artists live and be willing to pay to see the top artists.

Moodboard

Possible Masthead Fonts

I have chosen 3 different possible names for my magazine,Crew,H.Y.F.R or Stronger. I have chosen these three names as they are related to popular Hip Hop and Rap song titles and people who are intrested in Hip Hop and Rap music will be able to relate to the title.
After I had decided on these names I decided to look for suitable fonts, to make my magazine look proffesional, so it will be taken seriously in the magazine industry.

Possible Magazine Names

Genre Choice

I have decided that I going to produce my Music Magazine on the genre 'Hip-Hop / Rap'.
I have chosen 'Hip-Hop / Rap' as my music genre as it is the music genre I listen to most, so I have the most knowledge on current artists and their new music. I also chose this genre as I believe it has the most opportunities for a creative photo shoot, as in the 'Hip-Hop / Rap' industry it is all about the products and the image. There is also alot of people and products involved in the 'Hip-Hop / Rap' industry, meaning that there is alot of content I could possibly create for my Music Magazine. I have researched alot of genres of music and I have found that 'Hip-Hop / Rap' have only a few magazines on the market, so this makes it harder to be able to take ideas from them, meaning I get to use my imagination and be more creative.

Moral Panic

Moral Panic is a condition, episode, person or group of people that emerges as a threat to social values or interests. It's nature is presented in a stylised and stereotypical fashion, by the mass media. The moral barricades are manned by editors, bishops, politicians and other right thinking people; socially credited experts pronounce their diagnoses and solution; ways of coping are evolved or resorted to.`

Concern - Behaviour of a particular group represented as having a threat.

 

Volatility - Short lived. Panics erupt dramatically but are difficult to sustain. Negative consequences for the rest of us.

 

Hostility - 'Folk devils' constructed to create a clear division between 'them' and 'us'.

 

Consequences - Widespread acceptance of the threat posed by this group. Not necessarily reflecting national concern, but the campaigner will be very vocal whilst the opposition will be weak and disorganised.

 

Disproportionality - Wild exaggeration of evidence. Not only the number of people involved but also the scale of the problem.

 

Vocabulary of Mags / Newspaper

Masthead - the name and logo of the magazine.
The Lead - the introductory paragraph of an article.  Usually written in bold or capitals.
Body Copy - refers to the text of your written articles, which should be produced as a printed presentation to accepted industry standards, e.g. correct use of language, font, size, word limits etc.  Usually written in columns with a font size typically between 8 and 10 with the same style kept throughout.  
Serif font - fonts which have little bars (serifs) on the end of the letter.  Used to make bodies of text easier to read.
Sans Serif font - fonts which do not have little bars (serifs) on the end of each letter.  Used for Headings, captions etc.
Drop Capitals - really big letter to introduce the article.
Cross Head - small sub-heading used to split up a large block of text.
White Space - white parts of a page other than text or pictures.  An efficient way of separating areas of the page.
Mode of Address - how the magazine talks to the audience.
Sell Lines - text on the cover that helps to sell the magazine to the audience.
Banners - text which stands out because its on a coloured background.
House Style - a magazines distinctive design that distinguishes it from its competitors.
Borders - the gaps at the edges of the page.
Gutters - the gaps between the columns of text.
Leading - the space between lines of text.
Kerning - the space between letters.
Strap lines - a smaller headlines, printed above the main headline.
By-lines - name of the person who wrote the article
Anchorage - the way in which text helps to pin down the meaning of a picture and visa versa.

Preliminary Task