Final Feature Article

This is my final feature article which I am pretty pleased with as I feel that it looks like a professional feature article in a lot of the aspects such as the use of different imagery, a large title and the writing going onto both pages. As well as sticking to these conventions I feel that I have still made a feature article that is completely unique to my magazine.

Final Contents Page

This is my final contents page, I'm quite pleased with how this has turned out as I think it sticks to the structure conventions well but yet still has the originality side to make it still link in with the particular style of my magazine. 

Final Front Cover

This is the final product that I have created for my front cover I'm quite pleased with how it has turned out as I think most of the aspects involved look quite professional while at the same time still represent my target audience and social group.

Feature Article Process

I decided to use this image for my feature article as it creates a nice layout by taking up the majority of the second page which will create a nice balance between the text and imagery. As well as that it also works well because of the irony as the title of the article is "Daisy Breaks the Silence" yet she is telling the reader to ssh. To make this image work I needed to make sure I got the background of the image to be the same as the main background. I decided to make them both a pale blue/white colour as it fits in nicely with the style of my magazine.

For the title I decided to keep the font the same as it was for the article advert on the front cover as this creates a flow between the two. It also works well again for the style of my magazine as it's a handwriting style font that doesn't look too formal because that isn't the style of my magazine.







I decided to put the rest of the images in a line across the bottom as the main image has a clear line that needs to be covered up to ensure that it doesn't look out of place. But to make sure that the photos across the bottom didn't look too confined or out of place I made a border around them to make them look like poloroid photos. As this fits in with the individual style of my magazine and creates a different aspect to the feature article to interest the reader.

I continued this idea with the images along the bottom using a mix of studio and live photos to create a different look for the reader and to ensure their interest is kept on the article. I also added the masthead next to the main title as I found this was a common convention on other magazine articles as it makes sure that the name of the magazine is in the reader's head the whole time so that they remember where they read the article. As well as this I started to add the main text onto the article, I put the grids up on photoshop to start to work out where to place everything.

I then placed the rest of the text in to work out how much room I would have for each column to go into, this helped me to work out how it will look good.

As the columns I made on photoshop weren't all completely even, I put the text into indesign so that I could get them all the exact same size as this is a common convention of a feature article. I worked out how high they would need to be the gaps I had on my photoshop article then I made sure each column was this size.

I decided that the layout of the text wouldn't fit in properly on my feature article as it all looked too crowded and not as professional as I would like it too. So I changed it into two higher columns as I decided that these would fit in much better on my article.

As I had changed the layout of the text I had to change the rest of the article as well so that it all fit together. I moved the title against the left side as this way I could make it bigger because it needed to be to fit the conventions of an article. I think this looks a lot better as it make the article look a lot less text heavy and makes it laid out better. As well as doing this I used the grids to help me find the middle of the page so I marked it on for the moment with a black line so that I could move the pictures and text to make sure they didnt go down the fold.

On this screenshot I changed the beginning A and the questions into the same blue as the masthead so that these stand out seperately from the rest of the text as this is done in most feature articles. It also shows the seperation of what the interviewer is saying and what the artist is saying.









As an extra detail I decided to add a little daisy graphic to dot the I's on the title. I did this because it's a slightly cheesy aspect as the artist's name is Daisy but it adds a fun factor that the reader will like as it's another element of interest but yet it still links in with the article content. It also looks good on the overall article and still fits in with the style of my magazine.

I was pleased with the overall completed article as it looks how I wanted it to in each aspect as it presents the style of my magazine nicely by using the imagery and colours that fit my genre, while still keeping to feature article conventions. 





Feature Article Text

A far from elaborate venue is the setting for this show at the (medium scale) London Islington O2 Academy but that doesn’t stop the crowds crashing in with smirks on their faces, as their excitement is hard to hide. Which is not surprising as this is the setting for Daisy Piper’s first solo gig - former member of the popular indie band ‘Daisy and the Daffodils’ who recently split stating the generic reason of “musical differences”. But the far more apparent reason being that Daisy didn’t need the not much more than average musicians. Her popularity made even more clear with every fan making comments of their love for her not even mentioning the previous members of the band, whose names most people probably can’t even remember. Some fans even went to the extreme of queuing for over five hours to be that bit closer to the stage and of course their icon. Although this might seem outrageous the atmosphere in this concert hall is so high powered and electrifying that even if you aren’t a fan of Daisy you can’t help but get excited. As the wait goes on and on for Daisy to come onstage the crowd starts to get restless- making ear-piercing screams at any chance which starts to get rather annoying. But just as this is starting to get ridiculous the lights shut out and Daisy strolls on to the stage like the laid back rocker she is but er yet more ear-piercing screams are let out. The mass of fans continue to go crazy throughout the night as Daisy does renditions of her new solo material with songs such as “My Leftovers” “I’m Your Favourite Drug” and “Someday” making appearances. In all of these songs Daisy shows off her flawless multi-octave voice even through her grunge style proving going solo was her best move so far. 

After watching Daisy’s show we caught up with her backstage to find out how she feels about the success of her recent solo album, her plans for the future and the real reason she split from The Daffodils...

Wow! That was quite some show, how did you find doing your first solo gig? 

“That was just crazy, my new material is just so different to the stuff I did with The Daffodils that I wasn’t sure if people would like it but the reception was really good. Doing a solo gig is quite weird because I’m not used to it but it was a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to doing more of it.”

So, here comes the obvious question, what were the real reasons behind the split from The Daffodils? 

[Laughs] “I knew that was coming! Well there was some truth behind the statement we released we all had a new musical direction that we wanted to follow and none of us could agree on the same one so it kind of seemed like the most obvious thing to just split up.” 

What other reasons were there? 

“There was just so much tension within the band, the guys couldn’t deal with the fact that I was the one in the limelight. I guess it had kind of sparked from day one because the record label only ever wanted to sign me but I refused to sign without the guys. But they always found this hard to deal with as they felt they weren’t needed or wanted. So it lead to them taking it out on me a lot, I was in a band with four people that were against me for no apparent reason. It was so hard to work in that situation that I just got to the point where I was like why am I even doing this anymore?” 

What finally made you leave? 

“I’m not sure of the actual reason because there wasn’t a specific event that made me do it, it just all built up over time. I couldn’t deal with the fact that I was in a band with people that seemed to hate me because I was the one people wanted to hear. I just wanted to be in the band because I loved it but then it got to the point where they wouldn’t let me be involved in the music we wrote because they just wanted me out. I couldn’t do the music I really wanted to perform and it was just making me hate what I did. I never wanted to hate it because I’ve loved singing all my life. But then I realized there was nothing stopping me from making music on my own, doing the music that made me happy. So I left.” 

Are you on good terms with the guys now? 

“Sadly no. We haven’t really spoken since I left, I think they have a grudge against me for it. It upsets me that I lost my friends over this, but then I have come to realize that it’s the way this industry works. People become different from who they were and it all becomes about the fame.” 

Would you say your one of those people who only care about the fame? 

“Not at all, I do this because I love it and for no other reason than that. The fame is just something that comes with the job.” 

The new album “Guilty Pleasure” is so different to your old music but is proving to be a big success, what do you make of that? 

“I’m so pleased with the amount of people that love the album I was never expecting it because it was such a risky move making it. I’m so known for the loud grunge sound that I had with The Daffodils that I didn’t think people would like the acoustic style on this one. But I wanted this album to be more heartfelt and have more emotion because it was something I was never able to do before. Yet people still seem to love it.” 

You have done so much already this year, how does this increase in success make you feel? Where do you think it will take you in the future? 

“Sometimes I find myself feeling on top of the world and then sometimes I feel really lonely. So I just try to not focus on the hype because then there’s no-one for me to relate to. I’m so privileged to be where I am that I just want to enjoy every moment of it. Well the future I’m not quite sure of yet. At the moment my focus is on touring this album and just getting out there and performing it as much as possible because that’s what this is all about. But I can say that this album will not be the last of me.” 

Indesign Tutorial

http://designertoday.com/Tutorials/InDesign/4584/Text.Wrap.InDesign.CS2.Tutorial.aspx

When I was looking into how to work InDesign for my text columns I thought that I might need to us text wrap, although I decided against actually needing it in my final feature article I still found that this link was a good and informative source.

Original Images

I think this works well for a live photo as it captures the singer in action which is the type of thing my target audience would be interested in as they want to be able to imagine that they were there. As well as this the image works because the lighting is quite good for a live photo and it's close up so that you can actually see who it is. 

This image has most of the same aspects as the one above although I think this one is slightly better because you can see the singers face more clearly and therefore can see who it is and what they are doing. This image is more likely to interest the target audience because they can see more clearly what she is doing. 

I think that this photo isn't as good as the rest because it's more blurry and the lighting is a bit out as the colours are yellow. This makes it overall a lot less clear meaning that the target reader might not be able to make out who it is or think that the image is bad so therefore they might not be interested. 

I like this image because it has the added aspect of the balloons that the artist is holding which will make the reader intrigued as they want to know what the balloons are about. This would therefore create a good link between the imagery and the actual article itself. 

Feature Article Plan

I have decided that I would like my feature article to be a mix-up of a gig review and an interview. I have came up with the story of a band that have split up and the lead singer has then released a solo album. So for my feature article the introduction will be the review of the singer's first solo gig and then an interview with her about the real reason behind the split and how she prefers being solo. This idea would work well as the main article within the magazine as I'm going down the line that this interview would be exclusive and that the split reasons wouldn't have been released anywhere else. Therefore this would make the reader interested in wanting to read the article. For the images I will use ones from my first photoshoot that I haven't used yet as it is the same artist as on my front cover. But as I'm also reviewing her gig I will use some live photos too, so therefore the imagery is slightly different to the other pages.

Contents Page Process

This is the image that I chose to use for the main image on my contents page. I decided on this one because of the way the model is facing it will fit perfectly in the left hand side corner so then it won't take up the whole page but will be the main focus of the image. To be able to get the image into the position I would like it to be in I needed to get rid of the background so that I only had the model. To do this I used the magic wand tool to outline the model then delete the background.

After I deleted the background I was able to move the image into the corner where I wanted it to go. 

I decided to edit the image slightly by saturating the colour to make it look slightly faded as well as making the brightness levels to make her look more flawless. I made the picture look more faded to make it different from the front cover image as the front cover image really needs to attract people's attention it needs to be bright but the contents image doesn't need to as much. So the faded effect just adds into the independent feel of the magazine. As well as this I copied over the masthead to put it in the top left hand corner but as it was sized for the front cover I needed to make it smaller because it didn't need to be that big on this page. 

I made the masthead small enough to fit in the top corner so that it's there but not too overpowering, I also did this same thing with the title of "Contents" because it needed to be there but doesn't need to be in the readers face. After this I then needed to add another picture to give different areas of interest for the reader, although this image was to big so I needed to resize it for it to look right on my contents page. 

I re-sized the image to fir the top right corner and to make it stand out a bit more as part of the background I added a white border around it almost as if to make it look like a poloroid image as this is fitting with the style of my magazine. I then started to put the text on of which articles are on which page, I decided that I would stick to the fonts that I had used on my front cover as this creates a flow between the two pages. 

For the writing on my contents page I stuck to the convention of having the article title in bold and then having some information about it in a small font below. This works well because it means the reader can see clearly where the article is but if they want to read a bit of what it's about before they get to it then they can. Another thing that I noticed on other contents pages that I looked at was that the page number was always in a more vibrant colour so sticking to my colour theme I put them in the light blue as this means the reader can see them easily as they stand out more. 

I continued all the text in the same way also ensuring that I kept it going around the outline of the model as this creates a nice layout with everything looking in it's place rather than all just put all over the place. I also decided to brighten up the main model's image a bit more as I thought that the saturation looked a bit too washed out and didn't fit in properly. As well as this I added the "exclusive" graphic onto the main model to show that this is the main feature of the magazine and to show that no other magazine will have this information as this will attract the reader to wanting to read this. I also decided that for the "Regulars" section I needed an individual stand first for it to stand out so I decided the idea of a post it note would fit into the individuality of my magazine and create an extra interest to attract the reader's attention. 

I added the regular information onto the post it note as this builds more of a relationship with the reader by having the regular section because they can become familiar with some of the things within the magazine. On the regular post it note I ensured that the writing was laid out in the same way so that it still linked with the above information. 

Photoshop Magic Wand Tutorial

I found this photoshop tutorial to show me how to use the magic wand tool correctly as this will assist me in the making of my contents page. I found this video very helpful for what I wanted to know. 

Original Images

I like this photo as the location looks good in the background because it shows something completely different to the other studio shoots that are going to be in my magazine. It also adds to the Indie genre as a shoot outside is something more unique which makes it fit in well with the conventions of this genre. I think the fact my model isn't dressed up in any particular way or doesn't look too over the top works well because it makes it more part of the genre and means that the target audience can relate to it more. 

I really like this photo because I like the aspect of the bridge because it gives something to the image that makes it good to look at. It will also make the reader wonder about the symbolism of the bridge which is something I would like because I like the idea that the photo could provoke thought. I also think the model captures the Indie genre well because he doesn't look too different from any other normal person which is what he is meant to portray. 

I think that this image works well because of the imagery with the tree behind as well as this there is the nice lighting just behind my model which makes it look like a good image as this would be good to play around with. As well as this the tree itself makes an image that looks more unique again appealing to my target audience. 

The thing that I like about this image is that there are a variety of things to look at within the image. There is the obvious thing to look at which is the model. But then there is also the location behind with the tree he is sitting on, then the river in the background and the water beneath him. I think this added bit with the water makes the photo more interesting and different to the ones before. The only thing I don't like about this image is the fact that you can't really see the model's face which takes away from the fact it should be a focus on him. 

Contents Page Plan

For my contents page I do not need to do a whole seperate photoshoot as for my main image I will use one that I didn't use for my front cover, as this creates a flow between the front cover and the contents page. As well as this it means that it is clear that the cover model is going to be the main feature within this issue. Although I can use this image as the main one I will need to take some live photos and a photo of a different location as a contents page needs a variety of images so that the reader can see the divesity that will be within the magazine. These photos will be laid out in a confined way with the text easily assisting them as I will ensure that the images used link in with the text so that they are relative.

Front Cover Process

This is the image that I started with for my front cover, I think this image works well because she is centred which makes it easy to put text around her. Also she is looking directly at the audience member which makes them more likely to get drawn in. I edited this image by making the brightness and contrast levels higher to ensure that stands out more and looks bold. To make this even more apparent I added spotlights on her face and hair to make her look more flawless and to give her more of a shine that is always clear on magazine front covers. 

After editing the main image the next step was to decide where to place the masthead and how big to make it. I put my masthead in the top left corner as this is a common convention of magazines so I thought I should stick to this to ensure that my magazine looks just as professional. I made it this size because it is big enough to be noticeable for an audience member to be attracted to straight away but I didn't want it to be too big so that it started taking over from the models face. 

The next step after placing the masthead was to start putting the text around the main image. As this first piece of text is the main article because it's about the model featured on the front cover, I thought that it should be right at the top because being will notice this first. As well as this I though it should be quite big and in a different font that stood out. I chose this handwriting font because it links in with the genre of my magazine because this font is more individual therefore suiting what my genre stands for. 

As I continued to put the rest of the text on I decided that I wouldn't use the handwriting font anywhere else because then it wouldn't stand out as much. Instead I started to use fonts that looked a lot more like the professional bold fonts used on magazines that already exist. I think this starts to make it looks professional and as if it's an actual magazine rather than one just made simply. I also used the + symbol to link to more stories rather than just putting and because it means there's less writing for the reader which means it isn't text heavy. As well as this I think it looks more effective being a symbol because the reader is more likely to look at it then. 

I kept with the idea of keeping my fonts relatively similar as it creates a flow on the front cover and gives it the professional aspect by creating a theme within the front cover. As well as this I kept a simple colour theme with the light blue, black and white as this makes it look appealing to the reader and doesn't look garish like it would with too many colours used. Especially as there is already the added colour from the model's cardigan it looks more effective for the text to remain in a simple colour theme. An extra detail I noticed on other magazine covers is the idea that certain parts of the text should be highlighted in a different colour or in bold. So I added this detail in my text so that the overall cover stands out more for the target audience as it has these little details that give it the professional aspect. 

I furthered from the screenshot by filling out the front cover more with different stories but still keeping to the same idea of having similar fonts and a simple colour scheme. The thing I made sure I did with the stories that I put on the cover was to ensure that they were worded in  a way that would attract a reader into buying the magazine. An example of this is the line "The up and coming sounds you will not want to miss" as this line is telling the reader that they don't want to miss out on this information and therefore making them want to buy the magazine. 

I decided that to make my front cover look more interesting I added the yellow spot with a "plus" section of different artists that will be in this issue. I found this is a common thing to appear on magazine front covers and is a good idea as some people will see the name of an artist they like and will buy it just for them. As well as this it adds another area of interest because the yellow stands out which will capture the readers attention and make them more likely to look at the magazine. 

On this I just added the intricate features that must be on a magazine cover, these were the barcode and on the barcode the date and issue number. As these let the consumer obviously know the price and they can find out how recent the magazine is. 

Masthead Choices

These magazine mastheads above show some of the conventions behind magazine mastheads. These conventions behind mastheads are that a masthead needs to take up an 1/8 of the whole front cover. This means that the font chosen needs to be one that will look good in a big font. Another convention behind a masthead is that it needs to be a font that stands out so it needs to be bold and have something interesting involved in it so that the audience member gets attracted to it.

These four mastheads above are ones that I found would fit in with the style of my magazine. I think all of these would work well at being a large enough font to fit in with the convention. Although I'm not sure if all of them would be eye-catching enough. As my magazine is meant to have a unique style I wanted the masthead to be slightly different to others already out there. I decided that the best masthead out of these is the first one as it's the most eye-catching yet still fits in with the originality side of my magazine. This also reflects some of the mastheads already out there as there is often some form of border around the masthead to make it clear. So this means that my masthead will be clear yet still slightly different to existing ones. 

Photoshop Spotlight Tutorial

For my front cover I wanted to know how to make a spotlight to put on my model's face to make her look flawless like on typical magazine front covers. I found that this video showed me how to do that in an easy manner.

Original Images

I like this photo above because the model looks elegant in the way she is holding herself which is the kind of image I want for my front cover as it shows a female in a light that isn't just about sexiness. I also like in this photo the added detail of the flowers in her hair because it adds a bit of uniqueness that is part of the Indie genre yet still works well for the imagery in this photo. The only thing that I don't like about this one is that you can't see much of the model's outfit which makes it less of a representation for my target audience. 

I like this photo because it displays a completely different edge to the first photo as here she is representing more of an angry rocker which is the kind of angle I think looks interesting and is likely to get the target audience interested. The other aspects within this photo are mostly the same as the one above as it isn't that different. Although here you can see more of the detail on her clothing which is more representative of the target audience although I think for my cover image I would still want more of a full outfit than this. 

I think this photo already looks better for a cover image as you can see her full outfit which makes it link in more with my target audience. As well as this the use of the different outfit looks better as it's brighter colours which makes it much more likely to be able to attract the reader's attention. I also think that this style of image would be better for the writing to fit around it because it's centred so will ensure that the text fits around it easily. 

I like this photo because of the way that the model is posed as it makes a good image because she looks so natural on the front cover which is always true of the models on front covers as it portrays them in a flawless beauty way. As well as this I think she is adding focus to the clothing on the way she is holding it which links to my target audience as style is important in their lives so it needs to be shown that it is also important in this magazine. As well as the above image this image would also be good for a front cover as it would be able to have the text fitting around it nicely. 

Photoshoot Plan

For my front cover I need to do a photoshoot to be able to come up with the final image that I want to use.  To get the images looking how I would like them to I need to ensure I have everything I need and that I have planned everything out.

Equipment needed:

• Suitable Model 
• Outfit's fitting with the Indie style
• Studio Lighting
• White Backdrop 
• Camera
• Make-Up 
• Hair Accessories 
• Acoustic Guitar 

The above equipment links to the type of photos I would like to produce. The suitable model refers to the fact that I need my model to reflect the kind of indie music icon that would be represented on a magazine cover. While the outfit the model is wearing must be an individual choice that makes her also represent a style icon as well as a music icon. The studio lighting and white backdrop will help me to produce a photo that looks professional enough to be my magazine's front cover image. The camera is an obvious piece of equipment needed as I wouldn't be able to get the photos without this. The make-up and hair accessories are needed to ensure the model looks how I would like them to. While the acoustic guitar is a prop I would like to use as it links to the style of music my artist would play so for them to have this in the photos seems suitable.

Model choices

I chose my model because I feel that she fits the Indie image well through generally the way that she looks. As well as this she is pretty so therefore this fits well for the front cover as model’s on the front cover are usually very attractive. I also thought that because of her hair style she can represent the target audience well as this curly hair style is part of the genre. Also her hair colour is slightly different as the two different colours make it more vibrant which adds to the individual style of the Indie genre. Also the model I have chosen is of a young age so therefore this represents the target audience as they are of the age range 17-24. This also links in with Stanley Halls theory that “youth must seek excitement and if this is not in the form of intellectual furthering’s then it will be found in sex or drink.”  Therefore the fact that my model is young, pretty and is representing their style means it’s something that will excite them rather than drink or sex. As well as this the fact that I chose a female model links in with Mulvey’s theory of the male gaze that a women is only put in the media for two reasons, the first being for other males in the image for an object of desire and the same for the spectators. This means that my model being female will present her as an object of desire for the spectator making more of a male audience interested. Although this wasn’t the reason I went for a female model as my target audience is primarily female. So therefore the cover model being female is more so they can relate to her which makes it more personal.

Locations list

I decided to do my main front cover image and the images on my feature article as studio shoots as this is a convention in magazines that are already out there. As these images needed to show my model of clearly I wanted them to be studio shots as this ensures that the lighting is correct on her face and that her outfit can be seen clearly. These especially need to be done for my front cover image as it needs to be an eye-capturing image so that it makes my target audience interested in the magazine.

For my contents page I wanted to do an outside shoot for a different kind of location to the studio shoots that I had already decided to do. For this I got a male model so that it was different to the female model on my front cover to add a bit of variety. I want these photos to have the imagery of trees so I will go to a wooded area to take the photos. For this shoot I think I will take a prop such as an acoustic guitar to add something else to the image as well so that it is clear it’s a musician.

Another type of location I wanted for my contents page and feature article was live photos as this gives the reader something to be interested in because they want to imagine they were there. For this I needed to go to some gigs because the location is wherever a gig is I couldn’t really set anything up myself I just had to ensure that I had the settings correct on my camera to be able to get good lighting. As I needed more diversity than just one live show I also had to use live photos that I have taken before but I put them in Photoshop to ensure they are at a good standard.

Mise-en-scene

For my main studio shoot the mise-en-scene that I used was important to represent my target audience. This was done through the make-up and hair especially by making my model look the way that my target audience do. I did this by ensuring her hair was curly but slightly messy as this is part of the Indie style. Although because of my model’s hair being slightly vibrant with the fact that it’s dip-dyed style with one half being blonde and the other brown. This adds a slight bit of boldness and originality which represents my target audience even more as this is how they all want to be seen. The make-up links in with my target audience by only being slightly bold with the focus mainly on her eyes by making these have black outlining so that they stand out. As well as this in this shoot I used props such as an acoustic guitar to represent the music behind the Indie genre as this will appeal to people of the Indie style. I think by incorparting these all together it shows the kind of style that my target audience would wear and how they would look. This makes my imagery appealing to my target audience and therefore making them interested in my magazine. 

Costume Designs

These are some sketches of the style of clothing that I would like my model to wear in my shoot. I wanted them to be slightly bold and different.