Photo Shoot –

I am using original images for my magazine so I need to plan the photo shoot. I have asked two of my friends to model for me, Amy – who will be used for the front cover and double page spread and Andreea for the contents page.

Front Cover –

I have decided to use the photography studio for the front cover so it will be easier to digitally manipulate it in Photo Shop, for example, using the magnetic lasso tool. It will also help me by using the studio when looking at lighting. I don’t want to be over the top with anything because it wont  fit in with the genre. Iam going to use the lighting in the studio – the key light as the main source of light which highlights the emotionon the face and the fill light to make the other side ofthe face even.

The image will be a mid shot so you see the emotion of the face clearly and its easier to put in a title behind/in front of the top of the forehead. I really like the image I used of Carrie Underwood on the front cover mock up so I have taken inspiration from this and want to do it quite similar.

My models hair is blonde which is a bonus, it will be wavy and down. Her make up will be natural as it suits the country genre better. I wouldn’t use lots of black eye liner for example as this would suit a rock magazine better. As I want it to be similar to the other image, I have bought two large flowers in which the model will put over her eyes and smiling; she will also be standing. The costume will consist of denim jeans and a floral top so it shows it is natural and cross earrings which is part of the fashion aspect as as a deeper connotation of religion. I got this idea from ‘Country’ magazine when they put cross necklaces on Reba Mcentire. The model I am using is an attractive young lady which links in with the Male Gaze theory, by Laura Mulvey, as viewers will aspire to be like her and are more likely to pick up the magazine to look at her.

Contents Page –

Im going to use a different model for the contents page and a different setting. Instead of doing it in the studio, I am using the garden to link in with the country theme (grass, freedom etc). The style of the model will be exactly the same as the front cover – natural make up, hair down with waves etc. The costume will be a colourful dress so it contrasts the grass and stands out. The pose will be different as she will be sitting down on the grass, the grass will hopefully have daisies scattered around to fit in with the theme I have created. Instead of using studio lighting, as it is outside, I will be using natural lighting from the sun. Inspiration for this shoot is from the contents page image on the mock ups and an image I found on Google.

Double Page Spread –

I will be using the same model as my front cover for the double page spread because the stories are linked – by the coverline on the front cover about the model will then be on the double page spread. This will be in the photography studio so, again, it will be easier to manipulate it in Photo Shop. I will be using a guitar as a prop because it is a country music magazine and my model is a country singer. I thought about using cowboy hats, boots etc for all pictures but it seems too over the top.The pose will be sitting on the floor  with the guitar on her lap whilst holding a daisy (still keeping with the theme). As its the studio, its easier to use the lighting provided to make it look more professional. I wont use a black light however, I will use a key/fill light. I liked the mock up designs I did for the double page spread but the image was really large and took up the entire left page. The shots I will be looking to take will either be a mid shot or mid-long shot. I took inspiration from the images of Taylor Swift that I was thinking of using for the mock up designs.

I have created three ‘Mock Up’ designs for my magazine. By looking at the previous ‘Skeleton’ layouts, it helped me place certain aspects such as the Title and images.

Front Cover –

I already knew what I wanted to call the magazine  – ‘The View’ so I took inspiration from ‘Vibe’ magazine by having it large and placed in the middle, at the top of the page. However, I felt the same kind of font didn’t suit the country genre as it would theirs. I decided to use Capitals font as it was identifiable, bold, easy to read and looked intelligent which then attracts a certain kind of audience. The main word of ‘View’ needed to be the largest as it would be one of the first thing the reader sees, this is why I made ‘The’ really small and sat it upon the ‘V’; this also looked more professional. From creating the flat plan, I already knew a few certain people I wanted to concentrate on such as Carrie Underwood or Taylor Swift. I used Carrie Underwood as she represented what the magazine was going to be about and who the readers would aspire to be. This links in with the Male Gaze Theory, by Laura Mulvey, in which an attractive person is used for a front cover for example, so it would attract men to look at it and attracts women to aspire to be like her. I obviously wanted it to be one single person on the cover as it is rare to find a group of people. “A cover should be a poster. A single image of a human will sell more copies than multiple images or all type.” – Roger Black. I have seen from many other magazines such as ‘Empire’, ‘NME’ and “Kerrang’ that the Masthead/title actually lays over the top of the models head so I did this slightly by placing the image layer behind the title. Another reason I used this image was because of colour. Due to the time of year, it is now becoming spring so I wanted to use this thought by using a colour such as yellow which is the colour of sunshine. It was an added extra that she was holding two daisies too. I looked further into the connotation of it and it represents joy, energy, happiness and intellect; it also grabs attention in which all of them are perfect for the kind of magazine I was to create and the country vibe I want to get across. I then used a lighter shade of yellow for the background as white seemed too plain and any other colour looked too jarring. Also, I used a black coverline with yellow writing on so it would still be relevant to the rest of the page. Chris Frost states that the top three colour-on-colours include black on yellow, yellow on black and green on white. The main text is all in capitals font as too many different typefaces distract and confuse the reader. “Don’t use too many typefaces. Too much variation will end up looking a mess. It’s best to limit yourself to one font, and variations of it.” – Chris Frost. However, I used a red colour for the most exciting information such as ‘Win CMA Tickets’ and ‘Exclusive’. I already had an idea of using something like this so it would stand out more and read Roger Black’s quote “black for text, red for accent and excitement” so I decided on the colour red which surprisingly works really well with the yellow and black. The use of an insert makes the magazine more appealing to the readers as they think they are getting something in return of buying the magazine. Instead of giving away a free lipgloss, I came up with winning tickets to the Country Music Awards (CMA) which is relevant to the magazine and doesn’t seem as much like a gossip or fashion magazine. The coverlines used are also relevant to the magazine and will draw the reader in.

Contents Page –

I previously had the title of the contents page as ‘Contents’ but decided against it as it is used too much and is expected. Instead, I use ‘This Week’ which is more relevant and different. I then started looking at images to use and found a perfect one of Taylor Swift who, again, is relevant to the magazines and who the readers are aspiring to be or are attracted too (Male Gaze Theory, Laura Mulvey). I liked the light cream colouring in the background and the sudden spurt of pink on her trousers. I looked into the connotation for cream and it represents pleasantness, elegance, purity and is a warmer colour than just plain white. This made it more appealing to me because it is the kind of vibe I want to create for the magazine. I didn’t want to keep the colour scheme of the front cover totally constant all the way through as it would get boring so I used the daisies from the image on the front for the contents and double page spread such as on the page numbers. As its only the contents page, I didn’t want the picture to be too large so I looked at my skeleton designs and made the picture smaller and dragged it to the middle of the page on the left hand side whilst using the same background colour for the rest of the page. I liked the effect of the jagged edges as it makes it looks like an old photograph, however, I would like to improve upon it by using a border around it just to make it stand out more. I made the title the same colour as the models trousers which makes ties in the colours and looks really good. However, when I started creating boxes for the editors letter and staff box etc to go in, the colour seemed too overpowering. I then lightened the colour and used it for the page numbers so there would be a clear difference between the page and whats included.  The font used throughout is American Typewriter which is easy to read as it has flicks at the end of the letters (serif font).

Double Page Spread –

As I had already created the front cover, I knew that I wanted to use Carrie Underwood as the model again so that the front cover had more relevance. I found a really good picture which actually had Underwood on the left hand side with an entire grey background which was perfect for a double page spread. An idea I had was to have some of her curly hair on the right hand page just because it looked really effective and professional. The grey background was quite dark so I made the main text which is in two columns a white colour so it was be a distinct contrast and would make it stand out. As I said above, I used a daisy theme for all three designs I did because it was so relevant to the magazine and its genre. I then took inspiration from the colours in the daisy for the title and quotes etc. I made ‘Carrie’ a bright yellow and made it bigger than any other text so it would be one of the first things you see when you turn the page. I then tried a different shade of yellow for ‘Underwood’ and had ‘Carrie’ sitting on top of it. Lastly, I used a white for the sub heading of ‘My Inspiration’ and again for her quote. I wanted the quote to essentially draw the audience into actually reading it but didn’t want to make it too similar to a gossip or fashion magazine. However, I kept it relevant to the music by saying ‘Music was my last resort.” so readers would want to find out more. A stand first was used – which I also made a rich yellow colour – to make it seem more professional. This was used in many magazines I looked at such as ‘Country Weekly’, ‘Country’ and ‘NME’. As the picture is a mid shot, you can’t really see much of the models costume so I just looked at her hair, makeup and pose. Due to my own stereotyping, I would situate blonde curly hair with the ‘country look’ more than I would any other. Her make up is simple and not over the top and her pose is happy and smiley which reflects the vibe I want the magazine to give. Looking at it now, I would have made the image a bit smaller so it doesn’t stick out so much and perhaps have three columns of writing – then again this may effect whether the reader would want to actually read it. Overall, I really like all three mock up designs and believe they have helped me in creating an overall look for the magazine I want to create. I also now know what looks good and what doesn’t and can extend upon this when creating my final piece.

Pink – Adverts

Purple – Features

Orange – Competitions

A flat plan is a one-dimentional diagram of the magazine I am going to create with a square representing each page. It is used so the editorial team, or in this case myself, to see what the magazine will look like overall. You can see the sequence of the advertisements and features and how they will run. I have put the majority of adverts on the right hand page as the readers eye is most likely to look there when turning over the page. Designing a flat plan has helped me decide where I want to place certain features and adverts. It also gave me the idea of including competitions so that the audience can get involved.

When deciding what I wanted to put on each page such as ‘Travis Tritt’s new album’, I had to do extra research on upcoming artists to make the magazine more exciting and up to date.