Music Magazine Planning & Creation

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Music MagazineSteven Staff

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Photos

3Front Cover Image

Original FinalThis is my front cover image. It is a picture of my girlfriend taken at her house using my own camera. The original image is quite poor, the lighting is too dark and as a result the picture is very grainy. I used a combination of Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop to edit the photo. It has been lightened and the contrast has been raised as well as luminance which has been raised to make the image look smoother. From there I transferred it over into Photoshop where it was cropped down so it was more centred and symmetrical. I then used the burn tool to give the effect of slightly darker skin to create a more tanned look, and finally I used the spot healing brush to remove any imperfections.

4Contents Page Image

Original FinalThis is the only original image of my own used on the contents page, the rest of them were taken off of the internet. This picture was also taken on my camera at home and once again I had the same problem with dull lighting. So I applied near enough the exact same settings as the front cover image by adjusting the luminance, exposure, brightness and contrast in Lightroom. Afterwards I transferred it over to Photoshop where I cropped it down to make it more centred, as well as this I airbrushed out the top beam which runs along the top of the ceiling in the original image. I then used the spot healing tool to get rid of any imperfections on the photo but I didn’t use the burn tool because I wanted to maintain a slightly paler look so it would be more relevant to the caption (Rock n Roll’s New Little Angel). Also in keeping with the tone of the caption I added a Mariette in Lightroom to surround the image which gives the image a slightly more angelic look and tone.

5Double Page Spread Images

These are the three original images used on my double page spread (the fourth is the same image from the front cover). They were all taken by me on a separate day to my front cover and contents page images, however I did use the same camera. These were all taken outside during the day and I was much more conscious of the lighting this time around. As a result none of the images required editing. With the exception of the photo on the far left which has been cropped, none of the photos have been edited in any way, aside from being re-sized when placed onto the double page spread. I took these photos to represent the other members of my fictional band.

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Article

7 ArticleIt’s a cold, damp night in the middle of Nottingham as hundreds of excited, young rock fans cram their way into the sold out main Hall of the legendary Rock City. They’re there to enjoy the first night of what has been affectionately dubbed the ‘Last Night On Earth Tour’ presumably because you’re supposed to party like it’s your…..yeah you get the picture. The opening cheeriness and bounce of support bands Summerlin and Mexicofallz gets the crowd warmed up and ready for what will inevitably be more of the same (if not done slightly better) when US Popcore mob Title Fight hit the stage to throw down the final warm up set of the night. But a good couple of hours in and the crowd are finally about to see the band they all came to see. As Last Year’s Trend bounce out onto the stage and throw themselves straight into their opener Summertime the crowd go ballistic, circle pits break out left, right and centre and for once it’s not just young girls who’re at a Pop Punk gig to swoon over the lead singer!This was the scene that met Norfolk Pop-Punk scallywags Last Year’s Trend as they embarked on their 10 date headline tour of the UK, selling out the first night in the 2,400+ capacity arena that is Rock City was certainly a good start, and a sure sign that after years of hard graft the nation’s musical big-wigs are finally starting to take notice of the east coast four piece. But they didn’t get here overnight. Formed four years ago whilst still in high school, LYT were originally made up of Lucy Perkins (Bass Guitar & Lead Vocals), Steve Staff (Lead Guitar) and John Charley (Drums). As a 3 piece they released their debut EP Dudecore Aint the Half of It! But unfortunately a combination of being signed to a small-time local label (Hungry Audio) and still having to study for exams meant that little success came from it. The addition of Chris Keys to take over Bass duties and free Perkins up to sing and write in 2008 led to the release of EP number 2 Last Year’s Trend Vs. The World and Its Nan. This time around, better song-writing and a new line-up gave the youngsters their first taste of success, a small stage appearance at the 2009 Slam Dunk Festival and being signed to Hopeless Records gave the band the reward that they deserved, after 2 years of work, and passing all their exams! The next year and a half saw the quartet hit their first European tour, perform at every date of the 2010 Warped Tour and release their debut album The Summer… which went on to top the Alternative Rock Album Chart in the USA and sat comfortably at number 12 on the UK Album Chart. So after a successful summer on tour around America LYT returned to the UK in September to re-enter the studio and start work on their follow-up album. Famous for Being Famous was released on Hopeless Records and Relentless Records (in the US and UK respectively) on 20 th January 2011. The band now faces a year of headline tours across Great Britain and the USA as well as being scheduled to make their first visit to Australia in support of Parkway Drive. It’s difficult to say exactly where Last Year’s Trend will be this time next year, but aside from celebrating the first year of their 20’s, we’re predicting they’ll be doing big things…watch this space.

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Front Cover

9 FinalFor my final design I wanted to emulate the ‘busy’ and ‘crowded’ cover styles of modern rock magazines like Kerrang! And Rock Sound. I did this by including a lot of different subtitles and features, but I tried to make sure that each one was different and original and interesting to look at. I tried to introduce several different design concepts as I attempted to include the more boxy text feature often used on Kerrang! Covers and combine it with slanted photos and banners to create a more ‘messy’ feel. As well as this I used a blue sticker-look circle shape. This is a feature similar to that used on Rock Sound covers and I thought it was a more interesting way of delivering information. All of the fonts on the cover have come off of dafont.com and there are a total of 7 different ones featured. All of the fonts have been edited using the crop tool and the magic wand tool, as well as this several of them have been re-coloured. I used a wide variety of colours on the page. I did this because the central image itself doesn’t have much colour to it so I had to rely more on the fonts to catch the reader’s eye. I have made little use of the bottom left third because I like to think that if this was a real magazine it would include some sort of freebie, most probably a CD which would be stuck there. However it could be argued that the positioning of some band names in the ‘Plus+’ section and the inclusion of the words ‘Punk Rock’ and ‘Metal’ could draw the eye of more dedicated music fans who’re more likely to recognise band names and buy the magazine on that basis.

10Front Cover Creation

This was my starting point for my front cover. The masthead was the first thing I added to my edited main image. The masthead wasn’t re-designed, as I had already designed it earlier on in the year for my flat plans. I liked the masthead on those so much that I have kept it the same on my final design, it has just been slightly re-sized. The surrounding text is the tagline which gives the reader a rough idea of the theme of the magazine and the upper text relates to my magazine’s USP which indicates that this particular issue is for sale in East Anglia.


Next I added a main headline. This is relating to my main article inside the magazine. The font comes from dafont.com and has been edited using the crop tool, paint bucket tool and magic wand tool. I chose the font because it looks like it has been hand-drawn and is quite young looking which is relatable to my target audience. Also it gives potential readers an early indication of what kind of article is inside and what kind of band it is about. It lets people know that it will be a fun and light hearted group rather than something darker or more sinister. This means that it will appeal to a larger target audience.


The ‘Plus+’ feature at the bottom of the page is used to tell people what else is inside the magazine and which other big name bands are going to be featured. I have placed it in the bottom left third because the recognisable names may act as a hook to more knowledgeable music fans and people who may buy the magazine on the strength of seeing an article about a particular band.


Next I added an image of a popular rock band (A Day To Remember) this band has just released a new album and are currently touring the UK so they are very recognisable at the moment. I included it under the moniker of a free poster which will hopefully be a popular option for a lot of people because ADTR are a well known band. The surrounding text has come off of dafont.com, it hasn’t been edited (aside from being re-sized) and I decided to leave the white background on it to emulate the typical ‘blocky’ text often found on Kerrang! Front covers.


These next two features are designed as pull quotes. The thinking behind them was to be both eye-catching but also to be something that readers see once they have been hooked and will notice more on properly looking at the magazine cover. They’re both similar in style to the poster section of the cover with a similar blocky design, but are made up of different fonts (dafont.com). I chose these fonts simply because they’re big and easy to read because I just want people to be able to read these sections from far away.


This addition is intended to look like a sticker. It was an idea that I took off of several Rock Sound covers. It is just a slightly more original way of displaying information to people in a quick and simple way which doesn’t take up too much room and still looks good. The blue sticker was created with the shape tool in Photoshop and has had a filter effect added to it to make it look ‘bumpy’ the text is in a dafont.com font but the ‘Inside’ has been made larger and coloured red to make it stand out.


Final Cover Design

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Contents Page

18 Final

This is my final contents page design. The layout of the page was inspired by a contents page from Kerrang! Which I found on Google Images. I have used the black block along the right hand side to place most of the information on. I did this because it keeps a lot of information in quite a small space which gives the images in the centre of the page room to breathe. I chose to use yellow and black for the main layout sections because those colours are a recurring theme throughout my magazine and they stand out well against one another. The main image is an original photo which I took and edited whilst the rest of the pictures have been taken off of Google Images. I have continued the ‘blocky text’ design on from the front cover onto the contents page with the captions and page numbers on each image. Partly because it makes them easier to read but also to create another common theme between the two pages.

19Contents Page Creation

This was the first thing I designed on my contents page. It is made up of two different fonts both taken off of dafont.com. Neither of the fonts are seen anywhere else in the magazine, this is because I have tried to use them as a representation of the theme of the magazine rather than any of the bands inside. Whilst the front cover and double page spread focus on the themes of the featured bands.


Next I added the side block. I did this to place text in and keep it away from the rest of the magazine to stop it looking cluttered. I used the same font for ‘Inside…’ as I did for ‘Contents’ to keep a slight theme going on the page.


The addition of the main image in the centre of the page is intended to draw people’s attention to it immediately and to make it clear that this is the main story on the page. As well as this it is larger than the other images on the page.


The smaller images are relating to the lesser articles that are featured in the magazine. They have all come off of Google Images. I have placed them in symmetrical order and they’re all the same size to make them all equal in standing in terms of article importance.


The three headline titles on the side of the page are all off of dafont.com and have been used as a further extension of the blocky style text on this page and the front cover. Again I have gone for the black and yellow colour scheme to keep the theme of the page the same. Also it lets people know what all of the articles under that particular banner are going to be about.


Next I have added captions and page numbers to the smaller images to let people know what part of the magazine they will be in. I have also included a small caption on each image which relates to what each article will be about. This also is a further extension of the blocky text theme. I chose this particular font off of dafont.com because the captions are quite small so I needed to make them easier to read.


One of the final touches was to simply add all of the information that will be in the magazine onto the side bar. This is the real contents of the page which will let people know exactly where each article is going to be. This is not an internet font. It is a Photoshop font. I have again gone for the black and yellow to keep the colour scheme, also I have added a theme of putting the page numbers in brackets. This makes the number clearer and more separate from the rest of the sentence so it is easier and quicker to read.


Final Page Design

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Double Page Spread

28Double Page Spread Creation

This is my final double page spread design. I have tried to make it look like a notice board from within the house of the band. I have done this to try and reflect the tone and character of the band as a working class, messy and fun group who’re young and un-organised but at the same time hard-working and honest. The pin images have all come off of the internet, as have the background images. The four main images are all originals taken by me and have been re-sized and positioned to make them seem haphazard and quickly stuck up on the board. The names have been done in the same font as the main headline to maintain a common font tone, just the colours have been changed to separate each member from the others. The article is basically an overview of the band, followed by a summary of what they’re doing now and how they’re doing.


The starting point for my double page spread was a plain wooden background intended to look like a message board. I added a scrap of paper onto it, which I edited down with the magic wand tool and eraser tool to make it look more ragged and realistic. Onto the top it the paper I added the main headline, which is the same font and colour as the main headline on the front cover, clearly showing that it is the related article. Also I have added a purple stain onto the other side which I think adds some authenticity and originality to the design.


These first two images are intended to look haphazard and slightly rushed, they’re also supposed to be representations of the character of each band member. They were both edited in Photoshop (and Lightroom in the case of the far right photo) and have been overlapped to show relation to each other.


Next I added two more images to represent the other two members of the band. Again they are representations of the band members characters and have been edited in the same programmes as the others.


The names on each of the photos help the audience to identify more easily with each band member and also using the same font as the headline gives a clear connection between the people and the band name. I also like the slightly comic book, youth orientated feel that they give to the overall tone of the page.


I think the addition of the pins is what makes the whole page work. They look like they’re holding up all of the pieces of paper which really gives the feel of a message board. Having them all multi-coloured was actually one of the last things I did (they were originally all the same colour) because I thought it made the tone seem a lot more cheerful and childlike. The pin images came off of Google Images and have been individually cropped off of one image, then edited with the magic wand tool and in some cases I have spun them round to make the angle look more realistic and accurate.


Originally I was going to add the article onto the page and leave it. However I thought this looked too simplistic and plain, and as I had kept up the busy feel of the magazine throughout so far I thought I should continue it. I decided to add extra articles which cannot really be seen but just add some extra depth and charm to the page. Here I have added a film poster for a 1971 film called ‘Summer of ‘42’ and some text which is supposed to look like it has been handwritten in felt tip pen by one of the band members. I think this adds more character to the band and makes the whole page feel more realistic as well as seeming more like it is actually a message board in the band’s house.


I have continued to add background images here. This time I have added the front page of the screenplay to original Star Wars film ‘A New Hope’ and a famous image from the Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989. I think the combination of these images shows more depth of character on the part of the band members, showing an interest in sci-fi, giving them a slightly geeky feel, but at the same time an image of protest shows that they still retain some nature of Punk Rock about them. The Tiananmen Square image has been edited by adding a lens blur effect to make it less noticeable, as without the effect it was taking focus away from the four central photos.


My final background additions were two images of lined paper taken off of the internet and cropped down, onto them I added some hand written notes which are from band members to one another. I think this gives the whole board a more personal feel as well as adding some humour to the page. The fonts are ‘handwritten’ fonts taken from dafont.com, they’re both slightly different so it looks like they’ve been written by two different people.


Final Page Design

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Music Magazine Planning & Creation