front page first draft and contents page

The DPS took longest to complete because I had to arrange all the text and make sure it all fitted on. Once I had done the DPS as well I also knew more in general on how to use photoshop which made the process a lot quicker. With my front page I tried to go for the less conventional look with my images by using a photo where there is no direct mode of address with the audience. I wanted this to create the effect that maybe she is hiding something, making the reader more persuaded to read the magazine. I tried to keep a brand identity flowing between all of my pages by using similar colours. With the contents page I think the colour is a little less similar to the front page and DPS but on my final piece I shall correct this. Overall though I am happy with these two pieces. I may include more photos on the front page to make it more interesting to the reader, but I am not completely sure so I may construct a quick survey to see who in my target audience agrees with this.

making my first draft of the construction pieces...

Once I had re written my double page spread writing, I began creating the double page spread on the program photoshop because it has advantages to other programs such as word or publisher with things like the fonts and how you can edit the photos. For example, when I wanted the image behind the text I had to change the opacity slightly of the image which I would not have been able to do as well on word or publisher. However, before I started changing the font and images on the page I had to read through some tutorials on how to use photoshop properly because I wasn't that good on it. My DPS took a long time to complete but overall I am happy with it. Seeing as it is my first draft though I am considering taking some more music related photos for the page but I shall do that once completing the front page and contents page.

changing my idea...

I have began designing the final layout for my double page spread but I have been having difficulty trying to included enough of my two music artists. It's hard to include the same amount of each person especially as they each represent a different kind of music genre. Therefore, I am considering taking out one of the music artists and just focusing on just the one. I would still concentrate on the idea of a sibling music band splitting up and being signed up to different music labels, but it would be easier I think to focus on just one. However, this means that I will have to re write slightly what I'm going to put in my double page spread.

I have gone out to take photos for my magazine, using my two sisters as models. I varied the photos using more dramatic lighting in some areas such as my garage where the light filtered in. I then took some simple photos of them both, concentrating more on their features and facial expressions. Im thinking of using these kind of photos for the back ground photo and perhaps the front page main photo. I then uploaded these into photo shop, gave some of them a more professional look with a white background and intensified the lighting on others to give it more interest to the reader. Overall I am quite happy with these photos, but I'm intending on taking another lot of photos with hopefully a better camera because the camera I used for some of my photos couldn't handle the lighting and sometimes blurred the shots.

I have been looking recently at the history of the music industry and how it has developed throughout the years and how certain magazines had to adapt to survive. For example, NME changed its style to meet the style of punk head on. New writers were recruited from the magazines own readership. This way, they managed to still please their audience. I then looked at the music industry websites such as the company Smash Hits. Again here it is clear how the company try to relate to the audience by including topics which interest them into their website such as the latest mobile phones, and 'walls' where they can leave messages for them. This wall would also help them get positive or negative feedback from their audience. Smash Hits is also interesting regarding its history as it used to be a hugely popular magazine in the 1980s but then its sales dwindled during the 1990s. This was because its audience was finding other ways to access music. Therefore, in order to survive, the company stopped publishing and just kept a website for their readers. This is an example of how the music companies have to adapt through history to survive.