Time Management Update

I have now finished my magazine and I am up to date with my action plan. I will now begin to develop my evaluation.

My Finished Music Magazine.

Here is my finished front cover. I decided to use a different coloured background behind the coverlines as the colour yellow clashed with the pink, this results in it standing out more. I also decided to make the outline of 'OUTSTANDING NEW ARTIST ALERT!!!' bolder in order to emphasise it more to the audience. 

Here is my complete contents page for my music magazine. I decided to straighten up the page numbers, as before it looked quite messy and it was difficult to read. I've also added more colour into my contents page as before it looked quite plain and boring. I decided to highlight the celebrities names in order for them to stand out more, I found that this was a generic convention in other pop magazines. I also added a yellow background to the headings in order to introduce some more continuity between my pages, as I also did this on my front cover. This also resulted in the headings being emphasised and made more visible to my audience. I have also stuck to the same colour palette as my front cover in order to reflect a strong house style and brand identity. 

Here is my completed double page spread. I decided to change my previous page numbers at the bottom of each page as they looked quite messy. I  went back to my research and found that other magazines similar to my genre put their magazine name next to their page numbers, this was a generic convention, therefore I decided to add 'TUTV' infront of each number. I also made sure to include 'TUTV' in the top corner of my magazine in order to make my brand identity clear- they did this on other magazines I analysed. I also stuck with my original colour palette that I used on my front cover and contents page. 

Hollie and India Audience feedback double page spread

Summary of my audience feedback:
-good layout- looks professional
-good range of images
-clothing shows I'm targetting older audience
- continuity in fonts and colours- but maybe too many colours 'unbaring'

Hollie and India audience feedback contents page

Summary of audience feedback:
-good use of highlighting words
- easy to navigate between sections of magazine
- continuity
- good layout, but page numbers could possibly be clearer
- lacking images, or maybe spread the images out

Hollie and India audience feedback for my front cover

Summary of my Audience feedback:
- Too many colours.
- The red and black on my front cover 'connotes rock genre'
- Change some of the colour
- Crowdedness is common among pop magazines
- coverlines and fonts more suitable for an older target audience due to them being mature.

Audience Feedback Questions

Front Cover:
How do my images on my front cover reflect a pop genre?
Does my front cover look suitable for an older target audience? Why? / Why not?
How does my front cover look in comparison to current pop magazine covers on the market?
What changes can I make in order to make my front cover look even more professional?

Contents Page:
How is my brand identity successfully reflected on my contents page?
Do you think my layout is effective? Why? Why not?
How do my chosen fonts on my contents page reflect my pop genre?
Why do you think my contents images are suitable? If not, why not?

Double Page Spread:
How is my language used in my double page spread relative to a pop magazine?
Do my image choices for my double page spread portray a pop genre? How?
How does my general layout reflect a music magazine from the pop genre?
Is my use of columns effective? How / Why not?
What changes can I make to my double page spread in order for it to be even more successful?

My Magazine Production So Far 13 dec

Here is what my double page spread currently looks like. I decided to enlarge the central image to take up a third of the double page, this is common among pop magazines- they have a large image of the celebrity in the centre of the interview. From my research I found that having enlarged pieces of text highlighting sections of the interview is a generic convention of pop magazine interview, this catches the audience's attention, giving them an insight to what's going to feature in the magazine. I also added page numbers and I changed the colour of 'Hollie Gittins' from Yellow to Pink as it stands out against the blue and the yellow.

Time Management Update

I am gradually catching up with my action plan as I've finished my front cover and my contents page, however I'm still yet to finish my double page spread as I spent too much time focusing on my front cover and contents page. I aim to finish my double page spread within the next few days and gain some audience feedback. I will then use this audience feedback in order to make my final adjustments to my magazine in order to make it look as professional and successful as possible. After this I will begin my evaluation.

Double Page Spread Production So Far 11 dec

Here is my double page spread so far.I made sure to add 'TUTV' in the top right-hand corner in order to introduce continuity to my magazine and to portray a strong housestyle and brand identity- this is a generic convention of  pop magazines. I have also continued to use the same colour palette as my front cover and contents page in order to also give off a sense of continuity with my house style and brand identity. From my pop magazine research I found that pop magazines tend to have multiple images of the celebrity which they are interviewing, therefore I made sure I took plenty of potential images for these pages. I edited these pictures resulting in the background being removed as I think by not having a background it draws more attention to the model; also by not having a background it makes the image sink into the page more effectively, making it look more tidy and sophisticated. 

After this I typed up my interview, in a chatty, informal language style, which is a generic convention of a pop magazine interview. I did this by using words such as 'haha' and 'kinda', avoiding sounding too formal. I changed my interview slightly from my original draft as I noticed I tended to drift off on a tangent and not really focus on music, therefore I changed it in order to base around the new-comer's music life, other-than her general-life. 

Potential Double Page Images- Hollie

I took multiple images of Hollie in order to have a variety I can chose from. I decided to take a reasonably longer shot image in order to get her figure in the picture. I like the lighting in this image as it's quite bright, giving Hollie a natural, healthy looking glow. Like my last photoshoot with Hollie, I took these images again a plain coloured curtain as a plain background is quite common among magazines of my chosen genre. 

Here's another image I took of Hollie with the camera angle looking up at her. This connotes power and superiority. However, I don't think I'll use this image as having her whole body in the image, it results in less attention being on her face.

I really like this image of Hollie. Her pose is quite out-going and the way she's got her hand in her hair connotes sexiness and maturity. This suits my magazine perfectly as my magazine is aimed at a more mature target audience. 

This is one my favourite image I took of Hollie. I'm considering using this on my double page spread as I love how she looks genuinely happy with her glowing, smiley eyes. I also love the way she's looking over her shoulder as if she's looking back at something. If I was to use this image I think I would edit out the background and add some saturation into the picture making the image looking bolder and sharper. 

Time Management Update

I am currently behind on my action plan as I haven't started producing my double page spread yet as I've been trying to perfect my front cover and my contents page. In order to make sure I'm back on track with my action plan I will take more pictures to use for my double page spread and I will start developing it throughout next week. 

My Magazine Production So Far 4/5th December

In today's lesson I began to develop my contents page more. I decided to add in different categories in my magazine (like billboard) in order to make the navigation of my magazine a lot more smoother. I decided that 'Music' and 'Extras's' seemed like suitable headings. I then began looking at my research in order to give me inspiration of what stories to include on my contents page. In order to portray a strong sense of house style I stuck to the same colours palette and fonts as my front page.

I then decided that instead of just having two categories, having four would make my contents page look a lot fuller, therefore it would look like a successful contents page. I decided by having 'Fashion' and 'TUTV special guests' would add a bit of sophistication into my magazine, plus a fashion section is a generic convention of a pop magazine.

As I was comparing my magazine to other music magazines of my genre, I noticed that my text wasn't really clear to read, therefore I decided to change the main font on this page from 'poplar sd' to 'berlin sans fb'. This has resulted in my contents page being a lot clearer and it overall looks a lot less messy in comparison to the font I used before. I think so far my contents page is looking quite successful, however I need to look back at my research to see whether or not a background will be needed as from my previous feedback I was told that there was too much of a white background in it. 

In order to see whether I have produced a successful contents page I will get some audience feedback from my target audience.

My Double Page Spread Interview Draft

EXCLUSIVE FIRST INTERVIEW ONLY FOR YOUR EYES

GET TO KNOW UK’S FRESHEST,CLASSIEST NEW ARTIST  INSIDE OUT….

HOLLIE GITTINS!

How are you enjoying your first taste of fame- did you ever imagine you would be this famous?

I’m loooving it! It’s so crazy, it feels as if my whole life has been flipped into this spectacular new universe. Never in my whole life did I actually believe I would be this successful and gain so many fans with my first single! I can’t even explain how much I’m enjoying my journey so far, and I hope that I can continue this adventure for the rest of my life.

For those who aren’t so familiar with you at the moment, tell us about your first released single- what is it called and what’s the story behind it?

My first single is called ‘Don’t say what if’. The idea for the name was actually suggested by one of my managers as ‘don’t say what if’ is the moral of the song. Through life I’ve noticed people often avoid doing things by making up excuses, then they ask themselves ‘what if I actually did that?’ My song is basically telling everyone to live everyday as if it’s your last and make the most of your life- don’t dwell on the ‘what if’s’ get out there and have an adventure.

Have you always been a fan of music- who were your favourite artists growing up?

Of course! Ever since I was young I’ve sang- it drove my parents mad because I literally just sang everywhere I went haha! I could be walking around the shops with my parents or getting ready for bed and I’d be singing until my voice went croaky! I’ve always been a fan of The Script and Busted- weird combo’ I know, haha! I’ve been to loads of The Script concerts, one day I aspire to be as big and successful as them.

Are there any particular artists you’d enjoy collaborating with? Who?

YEES! I would love to work with Bruno Mars- I just love the way he has so much fun whilst he’s performing! I can just imagine myself stood on the stage next to him having a little boogie- even though I’m not the greatest dancer, in fact- I’m a terrible dancer… maybe I’ll just dance in the background until I get some dance lessons, haha!

In your pre-fame days did you ever perform in front of big audiences?

Haha, well if you call my local pub a big audience then yeah sure! I used to sing and play my guitar there every other week, I used to live in a small countryside village so the largest audience I performed in front of was probably about 40 people! It’s mad that I’m now performing in front of thousands of people and I’m even on TV! It’s as if I’m in a wonderful dream unable to wake up!

Do you suffer with stage fright?

All the time, like I thought it would be something that I would eventually grow out of, but still to this very day I find myself physically shaking and feeling sick before every performance! This one time when I first started performing at my local pub I got so nervous that I threw up in my friends guitar case. I may have accidentally forgot to mention it to him- he wasn’t exactly a happy bunny when he went on to put his guitar in a vomit filled case ha ha! Oops!

Where do you see yourself in the future?

Well, hopefully on a stage in front of millions of people doing what I love most! *Touches Wood* I can’t imagine myself doing anything else except from singing, I think that’s what I’ve been put on this planet to do haha- I’m useless at everything else!