Finished Contents Page

This is my final draft of my music magazine contents page.
I moved the 'REVIEWS' title and  also added 'FEATURES' and 'EVERY MONTH' in bold size 14 font. I used red page numbers and grey under text in size 12 to be large enough for the audience to read. This all corresponds to the colour scheme of my magazine as red, black, white and grey.

In addition to this, I modified my initial plan of the arrangement of my review contents as the grey text underneath some lines took up a larger space than expected. I therefore had to switch 'IN THE STUDIO' and 'REISSUES', with 'LIVES' and 'DIGITAL'. However, I did manage to change the page numbers so that my magazine still had the amount of pages on each piece of content that I had intended, eg, two page on reissues. I considered this neccessary to modify, as I viewed amounts of pages magazines I had originally chosen to be realistic of a real magazine.

Contents Page InDesign Draft: 4

I have added the page number to the contents page (2) as it would realistically be at the front of the magazine. I have also added numbers to the pictures to correspond to the pages they apply to and the contents in the contents page.

I have also added lined up text within the review section of my contents page, however, there possitions may alter as more informative text needs to be added as planned.

I made the 'EVERY MONTH' title thinner and moved the text slightly to the left. Following this, I also moved the title 'CONTENTS' to the left as well, as I felt its spread out presentation gave the page an amateur look.

Contents Page InDesign Draft: 3

I changed my original drawn draft idea of three images as the my secondary female model's pose was at an angle that did not work well in my layout; her legs were not horizontal to the camera, meaning that the image did not fit proportionally in the size of the box I had intended. Unfortunately I could not alter the size of the box to avoid disfiguring the image, as it would take up a considerable amount of room and compromise the rest of my layout, leaving little room for my content.

For this reason, I cut her place in my contents page out, amending my InDesign production two containing two images. I had already included a picture of a female and a male, with varied camera shots, which meant that her absence would not prove fatal for my production. I also now have more room to fit in the review section of my contents, which may prove valuable as it contains quite an amount of text, and I need to make sure that this text is big enough to be read with ease for my audience. I wrote the review title in white Bernard MT Condensed font on a black box as planned to stand out as a title without distracting too much.

In addition to this, I added 'FEATURE' and 'EVERY MONTH' in the style of Q to reflect my colour scheme and attract my similar target audience to Q magazine. I also spaced the red boxes that these two texts are upon, away from the separation lines, as I felt it contributed to a more professional presentation and worked well with the layout.

Contents Page InDesign Draft: 2

In this stage in my draft, I decided to change my original idea of my contents page (shown in my drawn draft) by adding a grey box between the title and the rest of the page. This separates the title (which I slimmed into a more thin line) from the top of my contents page, which through research of magazines like Q with a similar genre, I have found to be a technique often used. This will present my magazine as professional and realistic.

Following this, I then added a grey background behind my image with the aid of photoshopping my image, which I have previously detailed in an earlier blog post, and using the clipping path and feathering tool to blend into the grey box I placed behind the image on another layer. I also added lines on the page, which I had previously intended, to separate my various contents sections and images subtly.

Contents Page InDesign Draft: 1

This is the first draft in the production of my music magazine contents page. I attempted to recreate the 'AMPlified' masthead I used for my cover page and article. This is evident in many magazines as they reinforce their brand to remind the audience of who brought them this entertainment and information.

I also created the title with white text upon a black box to differentiate from the masthead, as planned, without distracting the audience's attention. Beside the title I placed the issue date and web address for efficiency and to clarify the issue and its association with the content. The web address is to appeal to the technophiles who are my target audience of the male young adult age range. This may maintain their interest in the brand as technology moves forward and may also attract a wider audience through the internet as another platform to advertise the brand.

Image selection for Contents Page

These are the initial photo graphs for my music magazine contents page. The models in the photographs reflect my target audience of male young adults. I chose to do this as it is a technique I have researched to be effective in professional magazines as it suggests that the magazine understands the audience, which creates a trusting bond that regular purchases will follow, creating profit for the magazine.

                                       

I used an image of my artist 'Ella' as it is a reoccurring mention within my magazine, as real magazines often repeat references to their main piece to make certain their audience has noticed. Plus, it might interest other, therefore creating a wider audience. In my previous planning, I have created a photo planning document for this model's collection of images, which this photo was extracted from. I also chose this pose as it is similar to artist Florence Welch's pose for Q magazine, which has a similar genre (rock/indie) and demographic to mine.

I also decided on using other models of the young adult age range in my contents page, to show the diversity of the audience's interests and present my brand as realistic as it covers a wide range of artists. I conveyed this through having different genders shown. However, I maintained the idea of appealing to my target audience when considering their poses by presenting the male as standing (common in other magazine's images of a single male) with an eyeline match with the audience to suggest a connection between the audience and the magazine. This is similar to the secondary female model, who also is conveying an eyeline match with the audience, although, her pose is more seductive, reflecting an interest of a male target audience. This makes the magazine more appealing which will also generate sales. Both sets of clothing also represent the rebellious life-style that is generally associated with this age range and genre of magazine, reflecting the audience's preferences to convey the magazine as trustworthy and befriend the individual reader.

Magazine Photo Shoot Planning Document

 Use the following document to plan each of the photographs on the cover, contents page and double page spread of your music magazine.

This document plans the two secondary images (the male and the female) that I intend to be used in my contents page. The image containing my main artist 'Ella', is from a collection of images I have created a planning document about during an earlier stage in my development of my music magazine, specifically when planning my cover page image.

Shoot date and time	10/01/13 evening
Image Description	A selection images to represent my target audience and their interests. The in-depth detail of my reasoning is presented in the above text, along side the specific images.
Shoot Location	I shot the images in a university corridor as it was convenient, I wasn't dependent on daylight and I didn't plan on needing the background for my magazine.
Model / person contact Details	These two models are friends of my sister and within the age range of my target audience, which is what I wanted.
Permission Details	Yes, my models gave full permission for my images to be taken and used.
Props	I used the wall as the back ground for my images, however, it is not intended to be used. I also used the costume that my models are wearing to reflect the interests of my target audience, and the persona they might want to be perceived as, creating the view that they and the magazine are similar and share a trusting bond.
Plan of shots	Previously mentioned in depth above. The male's stance, eyeline match and costume presents him as similar to my target audience of a male young adult, possibly representing them.  The female also uses this to present her connection to the rock/indie genre and style. However, her pose suggests seduction which is used by brands to appeal to their target audience.

I removed the backgrounds of my images to convey a professional approach to my contents page. This helps my images to work well on my InDesign production with the use of the clipping path and feathering tool.

Finished Article

I have made adjustments to the article, such as the addition of words like 'of' and 'to', the spelling correction of 'Winehouse' and changing the font of 'CONTROL' to bold, so as to allow it to stand out more on the page and catch the audience's attention.
I have included my original planned pull quotes. However, instead of having both my positive and negative pull quotes within my article. I chose to place my positive pull quote above my image, to portray the connection between the image and the text, as well as filling space. I also shortened the text I wanted to include within my pull quote to be more concise and have a more eye-catching appeal. In this modification to my initial idea, I used an ellipsis, which is evident is other magazine pull quotes as it conveys to the reader that this text is lifted from the main text.
I placed my negative pull quote between two columns to break up the formal structure slightly, making it more preferable to read with a more relaxed approach and using the intriguing of the two pull quotes to interest the audience into the text. Both of the two pull quotes' format techniques I have displayed are evident on many magazine brands, which I have spotted and recreated to portray a realistic music magazine. Although, it could be considered that the break up of the structure of text with a pull quote is actually a representation of my artist 'Ella', who's live is presented as being unstructured and broken with her struggle.