Planning Task 8 : Photography Planning

 For my first edition I plan to use a boy and then a girl for the second edition in order to clearly show two different demographics within my main images. I will be directing and taking the photgraphs using my phone camera in order to make sure that the images match the visions I have for each of my individual magazine front covers.

For my first edition, I plan to use an indoor setting with the model sitting on a bed with an acoustic guitar used as a prop to show the style of homemade production that the artist will be notable for. They should wear baggy clothes such as cargos, tshirts and a jacket to make the image feel relaxed and casual. Their body language should reflect this casual feeling as they are comfortable within their own space and therefore relaxed as they are familiar with the space. The background of the image should include photos or images that are close or personal to the model as to show the idea that this space we are in is their own and that they are comfortable in it. The image should use daylight rather than any artificial lighting, however if the lighting is undesirable then artificial lighting would be used in order to create the same effect.

For my second edition it will take place in a field/countryside as the main coverline relates to nature and the artist encapsulates the theme of nature. It will be a wide shot taken from the left side of the with the model turning to facing out into the nature. The model will be very relaxed as they should feel in their element in this setting and therefore the photo will go off a very fixated but carefree feeling as if the presence of nature is calming. The photo will be taken during the day so that it is bright and not with any sort of limited light such as during sunset. The model will be wearing very casual clothes to highlight the idea of this artist as very relaxed and down-to-earth. They should wear jeans, a blue top and a dark jacket so they have cohesion with the colour palette of the magazine yet also stand out from the rest of the mis-en-scene in the image.

I will also take photos of vinyls to accompany my coverline 'Vinyl Records: Just a craze or here to stay?' which will allow for anchorage between my image and coverline but also add diversity to the images with them not being solely from the main coverline. I will also insert images that I've purposefully taken from previous concerts/events in order to create sections based on retrospective views of concerts this past year but also that of which upcoming music events to look forward to.

Although not photography, my mutli-media content will be filmed using my phone to show both me asking the questions and the model acting as Cora answering. This will allow for both of us to be shown when we are actively talking which will mirror the usual editing of interviews where each person is shown when they are talking to either ask or answer a question. I will edit the video in post-production in order to create this effect.

Planning Task 7 : Website Homepage and Linked Page

For my header, I will make sure that my masthead is central so that the audiences attention will be immediately drawn to the masthead creating a shared brand identity for my magazine and website. The linked sections of my website will be below the masthead with only the subscribe, sign in and search on the same level as to keep it a central point within the home page. The masthead will be in a bold, sans-serif font in order to make it stand out from the rest of the typographic elements which will be in a serif font to further emphasise the masthead and draw an audience's attention to it. To further imprint this brand identity, unlike my newspaper, the masthead will remain the same colour on my website to familiarise viewers with it, however the colour of the website will change according to the focus of the magazine as this will help to improve the cohesion between the two products rather than making them seem distant from each other. While the changing colour scheme may make the website not as recognisable, it will keep it interesting for the viewers as it isn't constantly the same if they continue to revisit the website. The search bar will remain prominent in the top left of the page as it is the recency optical area and therefore if a user is searching for anything specifically on the website they will be able to find it easily. Although this may decrease the overall time someone remains engaged with the website as they are not actively searching for the product they want, the opportunity to easily find the stories they're interested in will help them to engage with other similar coverlines.

The homepage will include content linked to the current magazine edition with not only more photos to accompany the ones used on the front cover and contents page but also some more information into the stories. This will include the coverlines on the front page as well as some of the other sections mentioned on the contents page to make the product cohesive between the different areas. The images related to the current front cover and main coverline will be towards the top of the website as users may be on the website to specifically search for that story and therefore it would be helpful to quickly engage them with more information about the main coverline. The main coverline will feature an image reminiscient of a main image, however seperate from the magazine as to show the differences between the two products while still focusing on the same subject. This way users will be intrigued by the main coverline and wish to read more into it and spend more time engaged with the website. The other coverlines will come below the main coverline and may feature accompanying images, however they are more for the viewers to read if they are interested and their placement will make them focal as to draw the readers attention to them. 

My featured page will be an 'Featured artists' section where more information about the featured artists (both the main coverline and other coverlines) is available so that audiences are able to become more familiarised with these artists that may not be as recognisable as other major pop artists. This would increase the draw to the website as while the magazine would feature information relating to the story, lots of information about the artists would be available to the audience through the website, which would then be teased in the magazine to increase the likelihood that audiences go from one to the other. This section would feature my multi-media element of an interview with the featured artist of my 2nd edition (Cora Reed) in which more personal questions would be asked for the audience to quickly familiarise themselves with the artist possibly increasing the chance that they pursue more about her music.

Mock up of a possible website main page for my magazine

Planning Task 6 : Contents Pages

 I initially experimented with two seperate designs for my Contents page one with two images of similar sizes and one with a larger main image and then an additional secondary image. I preferred the second option as it allows for the main coverline to still stand out on the contents page while also allowing for more additional coverlines and other features of the contents page to be added. The initial idea which I didn't use is shown at the top followed by a mock up of the first contents page and then one of the second edition with the coverlines and sections included.

This mock up shows how a contents page for the second edition could look with a different main image being used for the main coverline, however keeping it as a focal point for the magazine with it dominating the page. This also shows of the other coverlines that would be featured on the front page and allows for an image to anchor one of those coverlines, in this case 'Vinyl Records: Just a craze or here to stay?' This mockup also allows for an additional 'Pop Perfection' section which gives readers another story to look forward to in each addition as it would be a reoccuring list within each addition. The socials where audiences could contact the magazine would be included so that they would be easily found. Furthermore, the page numbers for each coverline are clearly placed next to them so that readers can find any story which they are interested in quickly without having to go through the whole magazine.

Planning Task 5 : Mock Up Of Covers 1 and 2

                 Front Cover 1                   

Front Cover 2

Through these mock ups I've tried to craft a quite relaxed brand which features new or upcoming pop artists in order to give them greater coverage. Both magazine front covers follow the usual conventions of a magazine front cover with the main image being the background and the only image on the cover. Moreover, this main image has anchorage with the main coverline in both examples and then is surrounded by the other coverlines.

My mock ups also include the barcode, website link, date and masthead which is placed at the top of the page in the centre which would allow it to be seen when positioned in a store with other magazines and also makes it an easily recognisable brand for audiences. Both covers utilise puffs to advertise exclusives for that edition with one showing the reduced price and the other one emphasising an exclusive interview with an artist which bring these to the readers attention and make them more likely to want to purchase a copy of the magazine.

Planning Task Three: Masthead Design

                                           Masthead and Strapline in Quicksand bold

                                          Masthead in Infinity and Strapline in Chantelle

Strapline and Masthead (partially) in Caviar dreams and Masthead also in Infinity

As my masthead is longer than the majority of magazine masthead's, I've used two separate lines in order to position it in the space available at the top of the magazine front cover. With the separation between the two parts of the masthead I decided to experiment with different fonts for the separate parts in order to draw greater attention to the word 'Booth' through the contrast of the masthead. So that there would still be cohesion and not too many fonts, I kept the strapline in the same font as part of the masthead to make the magazine easy to digest. I also changed the positioning of the strapline from the top right corner to under the masthead to see where it seemed to fit better on the page and I eventually decided to leave it below the magazine as it seems to incorporate the strapline into the product more effectively as a whole.

Planning Task Two : 60 Second Pitch

Planning Task One : Magazine Title and Strapline

 

Masthead: Beyond The Booth

Slogan: Discoveries past the surface level of sound