Grunge Effect

I created a grunge effect for the background, which makes it look rough and more gritty.

As I did not know how to achieve a professional look for it in Photoshop, I use this guide on the internet.

http://www.spoono.com/photoshop/tutorials/tutorial.php?id=23

Front Cover Update

I have finished adding the pictures and text to the front cover. I will upload it on Facebook and upload the results, which may lead to me changing the front cover.

Main Photo Shoot

Over the weekend, I finally organised my photo shoot.

This is a sample of the many photos I took.

My Front Cover So Far

While I hav yet to take my photos, this is the design so far on my front cover.

Comments for Contents Page

I explained further about my contents page, as I felt it needed more explanation.

Information for Double Page List

I will need to include information about the band and the interview. As they are not a real band, I will need to fabricate this information. Information such as the way the band formed, their genre, and inspirations.
The interview will be between me, and the whole band, which could take place anywhere. I will try to have this information before the main shoot. If I cannot get everyone together, I could interview over the phone individually, or through the internet such as on MSN.

Photo Shoot: Update

I have rescheduled the photo shoot to the next weekend, 16-17 of January. I still plan to shoot it in a local village hall, on a stage. As my friends are also doing a similar magazine for media, we will be using the same band (albeit with afew changes to avoid that person appearing in their own magazine) and audience. As they have instruments already, aswell as equipment such as amps, I do not need to organsize much.

I do however need to either book a digital camera, or borrow one from somewhere else.

First Draft: Double Page Spread

While plain, this is the the very first draft of me double page spread.

First Draft: Contents

Again, this is very basic and generic, but it follows my original plan, which while may change, is a good starting point.

First Draft: Front Cover

This is my first draft of my front cover. While generic, it has the basic layout seen in my first hand drawn draft. it has been made so that once the pictures are taken, they can be edited in Photoshop, before being placed in the template.

I used the font "Abaddon" as it was the most liked in my target research.

Update on Photo Shoot

Due to poor weather conditions aswell as some people having plans, the shoot was not taken. I plan to take the photos during the next week, most likely at the weekend.

Planning: Shot List

I am making a shot list so I know the shots that will need to be taken during my photo shoot. By planning before hand, this will lead to a more organised shoot.

I will need a shot of the featured band in a Medium shot, preferably with a plain background. As other magazines have a very plain photo, props will be kept to a minimium, so possibly only instruments. The actors will be the people who will portray my band during the whole photo shoot. I will need a digital camera, and will arrange to shoot it prior to the shots of them playing on stage. The photo shoot is set for the 9/01/09, but weather issues may delay this to the next weekend.

Then, I will need a similar shot of the band playing on the stage. A hall with a small stage has been booked, so we will shoot there. I will take several shots of the whole band on stage. These will vary from MCU to LS. Then I can use these for a variety of places, such as contents, or smaller pictures. The props will be instruments and music equipment such as amps. The actors will be the same as the people who portray them on the front cover. Again, I will need a digital camera.

I will then take several Full body shots of individual members aswell as the crowd. The props will be the same, with maybe the audience holding signs with the band name. The actors for the crowd will be friends who turn up to the hall on the day of the photoshoot.

Some factors may vary as the poor weather may delay the shoot til another weekend.

Aside from the main shoot which will allow for the majority of photos in the magazine, I will need pictures of other people, or related items. As I cannot use pictures from the internet, taking photos of other people not in the featured "band" will allow me to use for on the contents or as smaller images on the front cover. If I run into trouble with finding enough variety in my photos, I could take photos of related items such as food and drink preferred by the readership, or related activities. An article debating the current trend with music games such as Guitar Hero and Rock Band could be a good last resort. As could new technology related to music, such as speakers, mp3s/ipods, or actual instruments.
These photos will be in MCU as the pictures will be small when placed in the magazine. One photo could be taken outside Vue in Worcester, possibly for the contents page, showing how the magazine also covers other media. The actors for this shot will just be friends. Another shot will be of piles of CDs. As I don't have enough for a large pile, this will be taken at a friends house, where they will also pose in the shot. This shot will be a medium shot to show how large the pile is.
Another easy shot will be of a computer. I dont need any actors for this, and I can just take a photo of either a computer at home, or at college. This would just be a small photo for on the cover or contents page.
Some other photos I could take will be of friends wearing various music related t-shirts. These shots will be in MCU to show the t-shirt more than the person. The only props I will need are clothing I already own, and also organising friends to bring theres. These shots should be taken with a plain background, so I can either chroma key or mask around the photos easily. I will do this with editing software such as Photoshop. These photos will be taken gradually rather than all at once, and will taken over the next week.
These photos should be enough to fill the contents page. Some of the shots can also double up for the front page, though I would take another slightly different photo so as I dont use the same photo twice.

Planning: First Drafts

These are my first drafts for my magazine covers. While basic, they give a vague idea of the layout of my magazine. These drafts may be improved upon in a later blog post.

The details are sparse on what I will cover, I know I will atleast cover a band, and use the contents to show others.

The layout of the contents is similar to the layout used in other magazines, such as Kerrang. However, I added a preview such sampling a few articles from the magazine.

The basis of the front cover also takes alot from current magazines, with the typical taglines above the title.

The large photo on the double page spread is similar to the example in my research. The page is then scattered with smaller pictures.

Audience Research: Results

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/photo.php?pid=31022779&id=1215186285
Link to my Facebook with the mood board and comments.
I chose to post it on Facebook as this would allow more people to comment than if I asked individually. By tagging the photo with peoples names who I thought were in the target audience, they could quickly comment about the various aspects of my mood board.


The responses seem to suggest a more gothic font such as the one used for Duality is preferred.
Another opinion was to use the "Rock Band" font, as this could connect to the specific audience. Also, fonts used by guitar manufacturers may also connect to the audience well.
As the comments lack opinion towards the music presented, I will assume that it is suitable, even if not the exact bands I will use. However, as I did not provide any real questions, the people I asked did not provide enough usable information.

I may use Duality as the title, as it was mentioned alot, aswell as sounding like a unique name. It was first chosen as it is a reference to the Slipknot song of the same title.

Also, the mention of Iron Man shows the audience have interests in other media areas, such as film. While not a main component, several music magazines dedicated small sections to reviewing movies and videogames. This would not be a main feature, but it may be worth adding it to the contents to show some variety.

The feedback was barely negative, which I could interpret as the images used were suitable, aswell as the various logos too.

Audience Research

Genre: Rock/Metal
Age: 15-23
Sex: Male
Jicnar Scale: B/C1
Psychographics: Radicals and Underachievers
Social Values: Hedonists
Looks: Long messy hair, either tight dark jeans, or baggy jeans with holes, t-shirts with band names on, skater shoes.
Job/Income: Students, but would later become employed in a small job eg office or shop, while possibly performing music in local bars.
Time Management: Hanging with friends, going to gigs or festivals, playing videogames.
Money Management: CD’s/music downloads, DVD’s of live music, branded clothing.
Favourite Music: Metal and Rock, the less mainstream, the better.
Favourite Movies: Mainstream Hollywood films.
Favourite TV: Music channels such as Scuzz and Kerrang, and comedy channels such as Comedy Central.
Favourite Websites: Websites of related rock magazines/brands to keep up to date. Itunes or there preferred site to download music. Sites such as IGN as another media news source. While my audience prefers less mainstream music, many may use mainstream sites typical to a teenager, eg Facebook, Youtube. The more alternative of these people may use SliceThePie to discover new bands.

My Mood board attempts to show various related items towards metal music.
By creating and showing my audience a mood board, I can see how they react to my choice of music, aswell as related items.