Double Page Spread Research Beginning

I've begun my research on double page spreads and so far, it has been inspiring. One double page in particular that I took a specific liking to is one by KERRANG! magazine.

The pictures relate to ones that I conducted myself during the photoshoot; they're natural and expressive. The font and colour scheme is also relevant to my front page. I'll be looking to continue that colour scheme on to the double page spread.

Audience Research

I've now gathered my survey results. Thank you to everyone who took part; you've been a great help.
I will now get on with producing my front page and double page spreads!

My survey was conducted on www.surveymonkey.com. I set up the survey in September of this year at the beginning of the course; with the aim of getting some valuable information from peers and browsers of the website alike. To get the most out of the Survey Monkey service; I regularly posted links on my Facebook profile and fan page. It turns out that most of my hits came from links shared on Facebook. I had a potential reach of about 300 people.

These results show that that my target audience will be a young one (aged 16-21). However, this doesn’t mean I will be fully catering for that age group; I will try to introduce contemporary design and colour schemes. The content will also appeal to people aged 21+. I don’t want to limit myself to a five year age gap.

However, I will include aspects that appeal to young people as I feel that they are the most engaged audience in the music world.

Rock music appears to be the most popular genre; but ‘pop’ and ‘dance’ is also popular. I will disregard ‘dance’ music because I feel it will intrude on the main theme.  Pop music is a broad genre and can include rock bands; so I will be trying to incorporate certain aspects of pop music into the magazine.

I will be targeting my audience with modern/contemporary design schemes. For example, I think that my logo is particularly “mod con” as it has an eighties feel to it but also works well with the jagged nature of the modern/contemporary design of the front page. Also, I will be including bands that are not necessarily “massive” in the music world but are well respected among music lovers and inspire a lot of young musicians. This relates to a lot of young people appreciating “indie” music nowadays (not the fashion craze that has seemingly overshadowed the term “indie”)

I think people will appreciate my magazine due to it having a “down to earth” feel that appeals to those people that don’t necessarily only pay attention to popular music and chart music.

Photoshoot Analysis

The theme of my photoshoot was “looking ahead” and I tried to encapsulate this through my facial expression and the direction in which I was looking (me being the subject). I directed my photographer to try and take natural shots of me I was standing in a particular place.

I tried to incorporate city life into nature by going to Greenwich Park; it has beautiful nature scenery and in contrast, it gives visitors an opportunity to see the glorious London skyline. My “costume” used red and black, of which are the colours I want to use in my actually magazine. I dressed exactly how I would dress every day but just focused on colour a bit more.

Overall I am extremely pleased with how the pictures have come out; they’ve achieved my objective of trying to get the message across that the subject is looking forward to the future.

Below, are some annotations of some of the images that were produced at the photoshoot.

I've obtained the photos from the photoshoot I conducted along with my good friend Robyn Henry. I was the one directing the photos and eventually, also editing the pictures. Up for show is a few manipulated images using brushes in Photoshop 7.0.

Let me know what you think! I've also put these pictures on Facebook and you can find them here

Some of the stuff I've been working on in Photoshop...

Photoshoot Plan

The photo-shoot I shall be conducting will be looking to mirror and emphasise the importance and significance of ‘looking forward’ and working hard in the music industry. I shall achieve this by having shots of myself looking ahead from different angles; portraying the focus that is within.

To symbolise the work ethic within the frame of a picture I shall look very natural and determined in the shots taken. There shall be only a few posed photos and I doubt (unless they’re of extremely high quality) I will be using them for any area of the magazine that will stress the meaning of the article.

I’ve chosen to dress in clothes that symbolise me as an artist. I will have a Frank Turner t-shirt on which says “Love Songs, Politics & Friends” on the front, along with three chord boxes that are used when learning to play the guitar. This will state the genre of the magazine and also the target audience.

I hope to conduct a few photo-shoots with different surroundings in order to properly get across the hard work element of being a musician; staying in one place is never an option!

I've really started getting into the media course. I've planned my first photo-shoot which shall be conducted outside in the local area. However, I'm going to be sticking to the less glamorous parts of London and those, really in my opinion, that define my view of London, e.g. Camden Town.

Once I get the pictures on the computer, they shall be straight on here!

Take care people,

JW