Double Page Second Edit

Having completed my article I have added it to the spread and also added a house style font to create a clear sense of brand identity.

Article

The Article

Today I made the first draft of my article for my music magazine, it is an in an interview style based on a current existing artist knows as 'Grimes'.

So, here it is...

Who: Gh0stWhat: Musician, entrepreneur, director and all round cool girl

Song That Changed Her Life: Stairway To Heaven, Led Zeppelin

Favourite Movie: Vertigo

Netflix Binge Pick: Twin Peaks

Style Icon: Courtney Love
If you haven’t been living under an extremely soundproof rock for the past year then you’ve probably heard of Gh0st, but for those who do happen to habitate on a desert island with no forms of communication she’s the strong female artist rocking the alternative scene who’s known by close friends as Katie.
The Techno, Indie, Grime queen writes and produces all her own music as well as directing and acting in all her videos all the while running her own recording label “Oblivion Records”. Her life is viewed by millions via her famous instagram page but she wants you to know that it’s not all fun and games being a star.
Her fame all started with her release of her 2014 single ‘Virtue’ which she said she “Didn’t expect to take off so fast” according to the idol herself labels had turned her because her music was “too artsy”. When asked by Cult! how she felt about this she replied “Well it’s just fucking degrading, you put all your shit out there, you know, in your music, in the lyrics, and then they turn around and tell you it’s too much! It makes you feel mad, it made me feel like a crazy. But sucks to be them because I guess people like that openness they find in my music, I suppose it like resonates with them. It must be like a therapy session, you know, sharing your problems?”.
Her most recent album ‘Genesis’ gives an even more intimate look into her life and reveals about her past as a teenager. “It was hard growing up” she says as she sips on her coffee. She laughs, “I was a really bad kid so I don’t know why I’m laughing. I mean, everyone hated me, the teachers, the girls at school, the guys at school. I liked being bad, I liked messing up, I must have just wanted attention”.
When meeting Gh0st you’ll first notice her one-of-a-kind, stylish dress sense. It’s sort of a mix between a 1980’s cartoon character and an alien, combined with the iconic style similar to that of (dare I say) Elizabeth Taylor. Yes, she’s THAT cool! Everybody wants to be her, everybody wants to be with her but she says she’s “totally over that. This whole prestige that comes with fame, it’s just a concept, it’s not physical it’s just counterfeit, unreal.”
According to Gh0st, her “fans are at the heart of the music”. She lives, works and breathes for her fans. “I just want them to know that you can do what you love and you should do what makes you happy” she says with a stunning grin on her face. She provides her devoted fans with a very personal Instagram feed with which she posts hourly to present followers with an insight into the life of a musician, entrepreneur and director. “I love to show people what life’s really like on tour. There’s this idea that life on the road as a musician is cool, you know, sex, drugs and rock’n’roll, but there’s just no time. It’s more like cramped tour buses, smelly bathrooms and a lack of showers. It’s all worth it though, the shows bring me alive, it’s just magic on stage. It can’t even be put into words…”

I have gained feedback from my teacher in order to improve it before placing it in my final cut:

• One more paragraph - how does she leave the interview?
• What are her final thoughts?
• Some kind of ending required?

Magazine Analysis: Dazed and Confused Contents

Dazed and Confused Contents Analysis

Image

The image has been edited to appear distorted and subverts the usual layout of magazines which present a clean and clear image. This seems rebellious presents the brand identity of the magazine as being a rebellious and subversive one. I will also do this through editing my photos on Photoshop possibly in a similar style, however, I am also planning on creating a surreal look through the manipulation of lighting, for example in my own magazine I will manipulate the lighting of the main shot on my cover in order to promote a trendy youthfulness whilst still appearing edgy through the use of a 'star light' which will project stars across the close-up of my models' face whilst on another image I am planning on using a coloured light in order to create a hue type look across the image.

Language

The title ‘Dazed and Confused’ seems to declare itself  as such and almost contradicts itself as it appears not as a dazed and confused magazine but as a self aware and assertive magazine and seemingly embraces its confusing nature and presents itself as rebellious rather than confused. Language such as 'Revolution’ , ‘taking over the world’ , ‘killing time’,  ‘freak-hop’ , ‘rock’n’roll’ ‘controversial’  all connote ideas of rebellion and defiance and so, again, present the magazine as a subversive and rebellious magazine. Meanwhile, the listing of artists puts the music and artists at the forefront of the branding of the magazine and highlight’s their importance  to the brand of the magazine and targets an audience who are extremely passionate about music. In my own magazine I will also use similar language to create a rebellious tone, I will be talking about this more in-depth in a post on my article and a post on the planning and brainstorming on the title of my magazine, however, I am planning on creating ideas of rebellion through language through the use of swear words and taboo terms from the subject of my article as having read and analysed a range of alternative music magazines swear words seem to be a convention that don't appear in other magazines but appear more acceptable in indie/alternative genre's as it fits the style of music and many of the artists, also indie/alternative magazines generally aren't read by a younger audience or much older audience who may find this type of language offensive.

Layout

The separation of the contents into separate headings creates a clear layout which is easy to read and so makes it easy for the reader, this presents the idea that the magazine really cares about it’s readers and wants them to easily navigate the magazine and find the stories that they want to read. I will also separate the contents of my magazine into separate sections under clear headings in order to make it easier for the reader to navigate the magazine, this can imply of the passion my magazine holds for it's readers and how it wants to make the experience of buying and reading the magazine easy and enjoyable rather than complicated.

Preliminary Task

So, my first task!

Step one in the magazine project was to go about creating a school magazine as a preliminary task in order to investigate and shape my understanding of the codes and conventions of specific genres of magazines.

So the first job was analysing existing school magazines and assessing exactly which conventions I would follow in my own magazine, once that was completed it was on to creating our own magazine.

I created a mock up on 'Adobe In Design' using frames and went about taking photos of my models within the school building for the front cover. We organised the costume (borrowed school jumpers from lost property - a keen example of improvisation at work) scouted the best locations (areas with good natural lighting due to a lack of transportable studio lighting) and took a close-mid shot of the two models.

The next step was organising a collection of various types of photographs to place on the front cover and in the contents page. I scheduled in a shoot in the studio with the lighting kit and backdrop, took shots of the rehearsal for the school performance of 'Beauty and the Beast' and staged shots referring to various stories planned for a mention in the contents page.

The images were edited in Photoshop and placed in the In Design frames and then it was on to choosing the fonts to present the magazine's house style. I chose a sky blue and white colour scheme to represent the school and downloaded a collocation of scripted and display fonts in campus and handwritten calligraphic styles to create a brand that appears associated with descriptions such as fun, dominant and informative.

And so the images, typography, text and shaping were all placed together to create the preliminary product and I met the deadline... just! With 2 minutes to spare I handed over the product and got the feedback from my teacher.

Now that the preliminary task is all over and done with (I passed by the way!) I can look back on it and self reflect. Overall, from my own experience and feedback from my teacher I am reasonably pleased with it, however, I have learned a few things that will help me with my music magazine task. I will be making sure I listen closely to the instructions, I came very close to placing the wrong type of image on my cover (a long shot instead of a close-mid-shot) and this effected my overall timing. Timing is another lesson I learned, without a proper plan for photographs or a very detailed schedule for shoots (alongside the whole wrong type of image on the front cover mishap) I came very close to missing my deadline and going over which cannot happen in my Music Magazine project!

And so, in all, the preliminary task came in very useful in advising me on my upcoming task which, hopefully, will be better! But that's all for now, stay posted.

Izzy

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to my 'Music Magazine' blog!

If you're wondering what this blog is for, over the next few months I will be documenting the stages of my AS Media Studies Coursework project (2016) which (hopefully) will result in the creation of an (amazing) music magazine.

I will be using this blog to plan, create and exhibit all steps of the process and inform readers on my approach in manufacturing the cover, contents and double page spread of a magazine, specifically in this case, a Music Magazine.

I will begin by noting my experience previously with such a project, as a former GCSE student of Media studies, I have created a gaming magazine, a genre which exists at aiming a mainly male demographic however, my decision was to go against common conventions and aim the readership demographic at a balanced gender audience to reach female gamers like myself who have a shared passion for video games. Overall I found the project very enjoyable and I seemed to be successful in the project, gaining an A* in that section of my GCSE media coursework. However, despite being given full reigns with GCSE coursework, this time around I have been given a set genre to which I have little previous experience with reading and so I have a more difficult challenge ahead of me! Nonetheless, I am greatly looking forward to this project and hope to create a unique but easily recognizable product.

So, I hope you enjoy the regular blog posts to come which will detail the highs and lows of creating a print media product and hopefully provide any help or information to future media studies students, or just anyone interested in print journalism and the media!

Goodbye for now and keep an eye out for my next blog post!
Izzy :)