EVALUATION FINAL

ALTERNATE MAGAZINE FINAL PRODUCT

Penultimate Draft

This is the draft for my penultimate deadline.

Evaluation: Q7) Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Looking back to the preliminary task back in September, I have improved a lot regarding the creation of my magazine. In the preliminary task, I used Photoshop to create the school magazine which allowed me to solidify my knowledge of the programme.

When it came to making my final magazine product, we used the programme InDesign which allowed us to create an improved and professional look. As the whole programme's sole purpose is to create magazines, it was clear as to why we should use it - there are a wide variety of tools to use opposed to Photoshop where there are only the minority. When it came to taking images for my preliminary task, they lacked professionalism and I didn't take into consideration the poses, costumes and props very well.

The photos, I feel, finalise the whole magazine and if you end up with a bad set of photos then it will highly influence how professional and successful your magazine becomes. When it came to my real photo shoot, I prepared a lot beforehand unlike how I did for my preliminary task as I wasn't very prepared at all. I planned out exactly what photos I wanted and planned all of the outfits and make-up and hair looks beforehand so I knew what my cover and overall magazine would roughly look like. I took over 200 images in total, so I had a wide variety to choose from in contrast to the preliminary task where I only had around 5 images to choose for the front cover!

As you can see from the comparison of my two front covers, the preliminary magazine lacks realism unlike my music magazine which looks similar to other music magazines on the stalls. My progress mainly came from looking at a huge variety of real music magazines and using their codes and conventions and adapting them to my style of music. This meant that I was sure that my magazine would be as successful as other top magazines on the market. The main skill that i gained between making my preliminary task and the real thing.

Planning also made a huge difference when it came to the whole creation of my music magazine. When we created the preliminary magazine, we weren't given a lot of time to plan, prepare and organise exactly what we wanted our magazine to look like, or plan the features such as the images, sell lines etc. When I planned for my music magazine, I made sure that I had a list of contents ideas, sell lines and a well-written article as well as a draft drawing of the front cover as I didn't want to fall back into the same hole that I had with my preliminary magazine. This meant that the content of my magazine fitted in very well and effectively with the genre and overall vibe of my magazine.

Overall, I definitely learnt how to enhance the magazine's quality and professionalism opposed to my initial school magazine for my preliminary task.

Evaluation: Q6) What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing the product?

Prior to this project, I was quite familiar with Photoshop so I was able to get started straight away with editing my phones in a professional manner. In GCSE media, I was taught the basic skills of Photoshop and how different tools are used to create certain effects. I have previously used Actions on Photoshop which are preset edits which enable you to 'play' the edit onto your image. I gave my images an authentic and rustic look which fits within the genre of the magazine and makes the overall image appear more classy and professional. Using these Action effects enable me to grasp the vibe of the magazine that I wouldn't have necessarily been able to capture without the tool. I also used the Magic tool a lot to remove the background from images, as well as the Patch tool to remove any small blemishes and make the image appear more soft. I enjoyed playing around with the brightness and hue's of the images as well, to make the colours appear more vivid on the magazine to really capture the essence of the magazine.

InDesign is a much more professional program to make magazines opposed to Photoshop. It provides you with a template which you can input onto each page, (eg. page numbers, issue numbers). This made the flow and creation of my magazine much quicker and really sped up the process of creating my magazine. This also allowed me to focus more on the content instead of wasting time creating necessary boxes which I would have had to create in Photoshop. The text input in InDesign allows you to fit your text around photos in a very simplistic way - Text wrap lets you select a picture and the text automatically fits around the picture just like that! You can also change the distance of which you which the text wrap fits around. InDesign also features a tool called Paragraph Styles; this enables you to set each part of text to a particular setting where it basically forms a duplicate of the main set style. This makes it a lot more easy and quick to create text such as titles and subheadings as you don't need to keep going back and change the font style and size for each format. You are also able to make colour swatches and save them onto the document so it was a lot easier to get the colours of my house style quickly when I needed them without losing them. Each tool I used on InDesign added a new, professional look to my magazine which made it clear as to why top magazine editors use this software to create their magazines. It's very quick, easy and reliable whilst creating an incredible end result. I found it very easy to work with and believe that these little changes really go a long way in contrast to Photoshop which all add up to make the final product look more appealing to the audience.

To take my images, I used a Canon SLR camera as it enabled me to take high quality images which is mandatory for any successful magazine. As my magazine needed to be completed to the best of my ability, I felt it was necessary to use a white screen as it allows the audience to focus on the model and nothing else. White screens are effective because they are very simple and plain, and can easily be edited on softwares such as Photoshop to enhance the image. The lights enabled me to change the way my images appeared and allowed me to create the best looking images for my shoot, and the lights also allowed me to cast the shadow I wanted so that the editing process was a lot easier and smoother. The lights and the SLR camera were the most important to me as they created high quality images which made my magazine look professional and realistic.

Evaluation: Q5) How did you attract/address your audience?

The main way in which I attracted my target audience was by the cover image and content featured inside the magazine. The initial attention-grabbing feature is the compelling close-up image I used on the front cover which appeals to the audience and intrigues the audience to purchase the magazine. The colour scheme, of which follows my popular house style of red, white and black, attracts the audience as it's big, bright and bold which stands out and makes the magazine look attractive for the buyer.

I decided to create two front-covers to enhance audience interaction as I know what appeals to them and what will ensure the magazine to sell. The first cover features the model giving direct eye contact whilst looking bare and wearing red lipstick - this makes the model appeal to both genders as she can be seen as an idol to women and quite sexualised to males therefore engaging both of the sexes to purchase the magazine to find out more about her as she lures them in. The second front cover features the same model, however this time she is screaming with the lyrics and thoughts in her mind surrounding her. This cover is for fans of the artist and the magazine; this helps the magazine to sell more as it gives a better insight to the artist's life and makes the audience want to own both covers as it's a special edition feature of which is quite rare to buy; as fans they will feel obliged to own it.

Once the audience opens the magazine, they are glued to all of the hot topics I have chosen to include in the contents page and they won't know where to look first. The list along the left hand side of the contents page contains a list of all of the features in the magazine; I have chosen to list the features in this position of the magazine because it is typically the first thing that the audience looks at and the features are somewhat the highlights of the magazine as they're different in each edition which makes the audience quite excited to see what is contained in the magazine. I have also included a mini review on the conents page to maximise and increase new acts as almost every reader will go to the contents page whereas they wouldn't all necessarily visit a page of someone they don't know about. Regulars are listed on the right hand side which informs and locates the normal features to the audience. By having everything neatly laid out on the contents page, it makes it uch easier for readers to navigate theselves around the magazine with ease.

My article tone is very relaxed which also puts the reader at ease; it allows the to relax and enjoy the magazine and pictures inside it and creates personal relationships with them. By having a very light-hearted interview, the reader is able to laugh along with the article and understand it fully which enables them to really enjoy it.

Appearance-wise, I decided to make my magazine have a very sleek, professional and chic look. The house-style of my magazine is red, white and black - colours which connote power, love and passion - all of which I believe my magazine has. Red is also a very gender neutral colour and highlights the beauty and loyalty of the magazine. Red appeals greatly to the audience therefore making it look professional and attractive to the buyer. This gives the magazine a style that people will remember and look for in the future, especially on shelves as it is very eye-catching.

By using all of my own images, I felt it gave the magazine a real and genuine look. Using self-taken gig images immediately informs the reader of the sort of concerts which will be discussed, whilst also indicating that the magazine interacts with the audience and credits the gig-goers by using their images - a lot of people are interested in being featured in magazines for their own taken images therefore using this feature has created a unique selling point for my magazine which attracts my audience.

In earlier blog posts, I mentioned using new media to attract my specific target audience as through research I discovered that my target audience are thoroughly engaged with spending the majoirty of their time online on social networking websites such as Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr. I have taken to these social networking websites by creating accounts with them to promote the magazine further. This enables the audience to stay in the loop constantly with the magazine and increase personal relationships with the magazine and help them to gain more information. I have also created a QR barcode onto my contents page so that the readers can scan their smart phones to link them straight to our website.

Evaluation: Q4) Who would be the audience for your magazine?

The audience that I hope to appeal to are males and females aged between 16-24. My magazine is targeted towards both genders as it contains features that appeal to both. I believe that my age range is effective because they are very engaged with music, especially upcoming artists opposed to older generations who seem to lean more towards popular and well known musicians. Those younger than 16 are less likely to listen to listen to indie/alternative music as they usually listen to pop and chart music which differs to my genre. Also, the language used in my magazine can sometimes be too explicit for those under 16 years old.

My target audience varies from young adults to mature adults within the social class of ABC1 so it caters to a lot of people. The typical individual of this audience tends to follow the latest trends and keep up with new styles and upcoming artists as well as popular artists too, which are all big features that I would like to highlight in my magazine.

I researched into my target audience and the age, gender and what they would like to see inside my magazine and built my project around the feedback I gained. I received gender neutral feedback, 50/50 female and male so that my magazine isn't biased or gender specific as it aims to cater to the widest audience that it can.

My chosen audience are also the younger generation that are heavily influenced by the social media, and tend to spend the majority of their time online using social networking platforms like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. The use of social media is mandatory for my magazine as it will help to develop the magazine further and create personal relationships with the readers and it fits within their demographics; I have included logos of various social networking websites on my contents page as well as dedicating a page to the social networks so that the readers can view other people's views as well as even seeing their own. The other logo that I have included on my contents page is a QR barcode, which allows smartphone users to be directed to the magazine's website instantly.

Models and content of my magazine also played a huge part in whether or not my audience would read my magazine. I feel that using a female model was very successful as it attracts both genders of the audience as well as everyone within the age range - males would find her attractive whilst women would look up to her as an inspiration. I used my friend, Ruth, as she has a very distinctive look which I feel represents the magazine very well whilst also appealing to my target audience, and I thought that she was perfect for the style of magazine that I wanted to create. The content I included was very typical of those who listened to my magazine would be interested in. These included: festival and gig listings, album and single chart and reviews and the latest news from top artists.

I think I succeeded in creating a magazine that appeals directly to my target audience as once I had slowly started to gain feedback, I found that the majority of the comments received back were all positive and demonstrated how the audience felt that they could connect with the magazine very well. It also portrayed how the audience would enjoy and even purchase my magazine, which was very encouraging as it confirmed how I had created a magazine which fulfilled all the necessary requirements and can even go up against existing and extremely successful music magazines such as Q.

The psychographics of my magazine will apply to lovers of music festivals, 'fan girls', merchandise collectors and those who enjoy reading and being kept up to date with the latest news and information about music and their favourite artists. I believe that my target audience will fit within the 'mainstreamer' and 'reformers'; they are very individual and independent people who do not like to follow the crowd. Their social habits will be consumption via hard copies from shops such as WHSmith and newsagents, as well as reading online or on apps as they enjoy to be 'on the go'.

Evaluation: Q3) What kind of institution might distribute your media product and why?

The institution company I chose to distribute my magazine would be one that doesn’t yet distribute a magazine of my genre or style. I believe that this is mandatory so that it can enhance the magazine’s audience who read similar magazines. I would not choose a company such as IPC Media or Bauer Media, who distribute hugely successful magazines such as Q, Kerrang!, NME and. This is because my magazine is centred on these magazines therefore it’s too similar to use, when the distributors would want something different to produce to their readers.

In contrast to these distributors, Future PLC distributes magazines that fit within my genre therefore my magazine would appeal to their audience. This portrays that there is consistency within their magazines that they choose to distribute, as all of the magazines follow the typical stereotypes and demographics of a male audience aged within 16-24; producing magazines about guitars and bass which are hugely popular within the indie genre, as well as brands such as Xbox and Playstation – which is generally the same target audience that I aim to reach out to. I feel like this is the most appropriate distributor to go for as they would do a successful job of publishing my magazine and put it on the pedestal of music magazines – it wouldn’t go unnoticed. Future PLC has great experience in publishing and distributing music magazines as well as involving itself with brands appropriate to the target audience, so it is almost guaranteed that my magazine will be successful with this distributor.

Some examples of magazines that Future PLC have published are Guitarist, Total Guitar, Musicradar (an online magazine) and Rhythm. Although some of these magazines are not necessarily well-known to some readers, they all fit within the same genre of my magazine therefore this would enhance my magazine’s readership and circulation as even just mentioning the genre of ‘indie’ would interest a lot more readers of whom read the other magazines as they all have similar attributes and qualities; this would interest Future PLC as they would feel intrigued to try out my magazine as they are aware of the previous success from the other magazines that they have published.

Another reason that I have chosen to use Future PLC as my distributor is because they were named ‘Best Digital Publisher’ at the AOP awards in 2011. Although having a print magazine is very significant, my magazine is going to be a hit online as well therefore a distributor that can maximise the success of my online magazine is essential, especially to beat other successful magazines such as Q. As the new media is currently taking over the traditional, print media, it is necessary that I create both of these types of magazines as I want my magazine to appeal to as much of the audience that I can. I believe that Future PLC will be able to take full advantage of my magazine and, with combined efforts, my magazine will be able to knock our competition right off the scales.

Evaluation: Q2) How does your media product represent particular socialgroups?

My media product represents my particular social group by the use of costume, props and the type of language used in the magazine. My magazine is aimed at the social class ABC1, which is a very wide audience, however it means that it attracts mostly middle-class people who are interested in at tenting gigs and festivals and also love reading and getting involved with their favourite artists and bands. I have tried to attract this social class by the use of my model and her surroundings, props and costumes.

My model, Ruth Prada, is a young female in her mid/late teens. She is posing as a 'well known' indie artist for my magazine as Aurora Storm. She has dark brown hair with a full fringe which indicates she's bold and powerful, and is never afraid to stand out and be her own person. She also has piercing blue eyes which are highlighted against her pale skin. This in itself will attract all types of my audience as the cover image is very out-going and eye-catching with an edge, just like Ruth. She wears quite a bit of make-up - bright, red lips which connote seductiveness, danger and passion combined with her black eyeliner which enhance her eyes to give her an exaggerated look. This unique style appeals to my particular social group of the indie genre as it's quite dramatic and trendy. This look could influence future styles as readers idolise her. For the cover image, I chose to put Ruth into a bandeau which you can't actually see in the images - this makes the model look bare and makes her appear more sexualised, although it's not an explicit image in any way; this represents how she quite literally lays herself bare and is giving an honest interview in the magazine and being herself. For the images where Ruth is wearing more clothes, she's featured in a patterned shirt and simple leggings with Dr Marten boots. These items of clothing are worn a lot by the indie/hipster community and are very stylish. I felt that using these two different types clothing gave an all round impression. Clothing is very important when trying to appeal to different social groups as they are all interested in and like different styles and fashion trends. By including a variety of outfits, I reached out to appeal to each of these different styles. For facial expressions, Ruth mainly looked quite serious and gave direct eye contact to the audience to draw them in and capture their full attention. Ruth also gave silly faces such as sticking out her tongue too to play on the fun and energetic side of the magazine. I felt that smiling wasn't a very successful pose as it makes the artist appear to be sweet and innocent which is not the look that we were trying to get across, however that would be more suitable for a magazine such as Top Of The Pops. This makes Ruth come across as an artist which edge, superiority and power.

Props also played a big part in appealing to different social groups as I want to appeal to allow the audience to get a glimpse of what is inside the magazine before they read any words or even have to think about it. As the front cover image speaks for itself in terms of the models facial expressions and body language, I chose to feature props in other images which will be used in various other places inside the magazine such as the article. Using props such as amplifiers, guitars and microphones tie in with the Indie genre of the magazine - these props are musically related which will therefore emphasise the initial point of the magazine. 

Poses and positions are quite influential on who will be attracted to the magazine. I would like the magazine to appeal to both males and females so there has to be a half way line where both ideas meet the middle. I needed to choose a model that wouldn't worry about being silly and over the top with her poses and the positions that she would have to be in. I also wanted someone that could look good even pulling the most bizarre pose. To appeal to more males, I chose more provocative poses which contrasts with the more simplistic and sweet poses which appeal more towards the females. This is also very motivating for girls who inspire to be like this artist.

I have included a general house style within my magazine to keep it all together and have an overall professional look. I used red, black and white's to relate to the genre of my magazine which again, appeals to my particular social groups. I want my magazine to be fun and energetic whilst also quite simplistic and a little bit serious, therefore adding bright whites and deep blacks with a vibrant red really sets the magazine's tone well.

The lexis featured in my magazine are both quite formal, conversational and at some times explicit. I wrote in a way that many journalists who work for a magazine such as OK! or Shout magazine wouldn't imagine to use. I decided that it was highly inappropriate to use this type of taboo language as other magazines like mine, such as Q and NME, all used this similar lexis and it reflects the honesty and authenticity of the magazine. It makes the reader feel relaxed and could represent how the particular social group tend to speak and their overall vocabulary.

Evaluation: Q1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

When designing my magazine, I needed a basis to imitate and develop ideas from. I believed that if I followed the general style of one magazine along with its basic conventions, then I would be guaranteed success. I used Q magazine as I thought that it's a very professional and well-respected magazine that included everything that I hoped to include in my magazine and I also think that the house style appeals very well to my audience.

The cover image of my magazine generally fits within the usual images that Q magazine uses - a close up image of the artist giving direct eye contact to the audience. This attracts the audience as it appeals to all different social types and lures them into purchasing the magazine as it grabs all of their attention. Q successfully uses this technique therefore I felt it was quite mandatory to use as it is a general magazine convention.

As you can see, I have pretty much used the same colour scheme of red, black and white. The masthead however, is very different as I chose not to use a logo and just stuck with the simple word stretched across the main image; I chose not to go for the 'red box logo' as it's famously associated with Q magazine and I wanted to create my own feature that stood out and was easily associated with the magazine. I can use this masthead on any cover with any photo and it would still look realistic and professional. Red tends to compliment most colours so having it permanently in the house style makes the magazine is consistent and well-known.

Another thing that I liked about the Q cover was the band listing. I have chosen to stick to my colour scheme and use a chunky, bold font in a column which is placed on the left hand side of the magazine. This stands out amongst the rest of the cover as the black contrasts with the models skin tone as it sits on top of her. I like the fact that bands are artists are featured in not only my cover but the Q covers because it allows the audience to know which artists are going to be in the magazine that month, and immediately attracts fans instantly instead of them having to guess or open the magazine to find out. I also featured red lines under each artist just to symbolise each and make them stand out more. Including this feature was a quick way to make my magazine appear different and effective as it's not a consistent feature in Q however I would continue to use it.

It was inevitable that I would put the main story head-line in big, bold writing which was almost centred on top of the image alike Q magazine. I chose to focus mine a bit more on the right as the image is less busy and dark around this area therefore using a pop of white would make the headline stand out even more. I looked at various different magazines of all different genres, price and regularity and found a consistent pattern with the main story headlines positioning on the front cover. I think the magazine would look very bare and boring without the main headline appearing larger than the rest of text; it wouldn't look complete. Similar to Q, I featured the artists name in larger text of a different colour to draw immediate attention to it. Her name is also featured in a different font to the rest of the text to grab attention even more so. 

For my special edition magazine, I included another feature from the Q cover that I was attracted to which was the use of using a bold image in front of text behind the artist which illustrated her thoughts and quotes from the interview inside the magazine. I thought that this could be one of my unique selling points and immediately created the cover. I followed the colour scheme of lots of whites, blacks and reds and used a unique image which portrayed the artist screaming and sticking out her tongue - indicating her controversial manner which reflects on the genre of the magazine and the audience. I didn't feature any headlines on this cover apart from the main headline which was about my artist. I added a small play on words for this headline to portray that it's not too formal or serious. Underneath this headline, I included a silver bar which indicated how the magazine was a fan/subscriber edition, just like Q magazine did in one of their special edition magazines. I felt that making another cover would make my magazine extremely unique and appealing towards the audience.

The contents page included all of the conventions of a magazine such as the regulars, features and reviews. I included plenty of images in my contents page to make it look more interesting as most contents pages look quite tedious and actually disinterest the reader into looking at them. I chose against including an editors note as I wanted as little bulk amounts of text as possible - I wanted most of my text to be in the article. I did include a social networking area next to the issue number as I want the magazine to interact with it's readers very regularly, which fits well within their interests and the personal relationships of the uses and gratifications theory. I feel that my contents page included all conventions of a magazine well as it mimics Q magazine effectively to make it look like a realistic magazine on the shelves by using various features that they do.

My article features many conventions of a magazine such as the big, bold single photos right to the gigantic size of the first letter in the article. By making small adjustments I am able to make my magazine look more realistic and professional and most importantly appeal to the audience more. I chose images in this article that stood out well and represented the type of language that was included inside it; for example taboo language paired with a quite explicit image of the artist with her middle finger up which portrays that she's quite careless. I used 3 columns for the articles layout as it makes the magazine easier to read whilst giving it a professional look overall. As well as this, I used pull out quotes which attract the reader before they even read the article so it gives them a glimpse of what to expect inside. Using these conventions simply and easily allowed my magazine to look more effective.

Overall, by basing my magazine on an existing magazine and using its main codes and conventions, I felt that it has increased the general standard of my magazine and how professional it looks and appears. It also allows me to have the change of seeing what my target audience readers are into and how they like their information and news laid out on the page - overall enabling me to make my magazine to the best of my standards.

How to use Actions on Photoshop:

Contact Sheet #3

Here are the images taken from my most recent photoshoot with my main model, Ruth (Aurora Storm). This photoshoot was more based upon music, hence the props consisting of mainly a microphone and a electric guitar. I plan to use these images for the article.

Sketches

Here are the sketches which were initially created before I had constructed my magazine. I have briefly described what I would like each page to achieve as well as the reasons why I have included to place things.

Drafting #5

This is the most recent update of my magazine. I made many changes since my last drafting from December, including coming up with a name idea and introducing social networking to my contents page.

Cover
The name I have chosen to use for my magazine is Alternate. I'm still not 100% on the name, however I like how it represents the genre of my magazine quite simply and it's not too long or too short therefore it spreads along the page nicely. My magazine is based on the indie genre, however it can also alternate with some rock and punk, too - this is an ambiguous title for me as it is the 'indie/alternative' genre but it also alternates too.
I also added more coverlines to fill up empty spaces and make the cover look more complete. The coverlines I used, such as 'handwritten lyrics' is actually a page I featured inside the magazine therefore it made sense to add it to my front page so I could take advantage of it. I also added a circle shape for one of my other coverlines (which is also referenced in the contents page). I felt that it was necessary to add a circle shape as it stands out amongst the rest of the cover as everything else is in line and very square-shaped. This also filled up more gaps and has helped my cover look more complete and realistic.
The banner at the bottom now features text claiming that the magazine is "THE UK'S BIGGEST MUSIC MAGAZINE". I felt it was essential to feature this text as it attracts the audience in and is also very striking - the mix of black and white text on the red background leaps out against the page and attracts the audience.
Lastly, I've added a barcode as it is one of the main conventions of a music magazine therefore it was mandatory to make my magazine look realistic.

Contents page
I have changed the font of the 'contents' title as well as adding an issue number and the date of the magazine above it. This fills up the big space that was inside the box before and also includes all the conventions of a typical contents page. On the other page next to it, I included social networking websites such as Twitter, Facebook and Youtube to increase audience interactivity and personal relationships as well as filling up the empty space. There is still quite an empty space beneath this, however I plan to possibly add a subscription box, more social networking websites or possibly a picture of the cover inside an iPad which represents an app that is available for smartphone users (generally the majority of my audience).
I have also added a mini review of a concert that I attended at Brixton Academy on January 9th 2014 - The 1975. Using self taken gig images looks more effective than professional images and also removes any copyright as I took the photos myself. The mini review also gives the audience a taster of what is inside the articles.

Article
For the article, I have added titles on the header and footers of the pages '('exclusive' and 'Aurora Storm [artist name]). This is a typical convention of music magazines and it also makes the page look more complete and less tedious, as well as indicating what the pages are about when flicking through the magazine. In addition, I added page numbers on the footers to allow the audience to see what page they're on s well as the magazine's website which intrigues the audience to log onto it. These page numbers correlate to the numbers featured on the contents page.
My pull quotes have also been improved - I have changed the font to the same font that is used for the title of the magazine and headers/footers and titles which symbolises how I am following the house style of the magazine. I also made the lines above and beneath the pull quote red, as well as some attention-grabbing words to red as well which makes the pull quote stand out even more. This is very effective for my article as it needs to grab as much attention as possible, which I think it does successfully.
The box out text was very bland in my last draft, therefore I was keen to make a change to it. I changed the font and colours of the text which immediately made a big difference.
Underneath the box out text was quite a large, empty space - I have replaced this with text and an imagep promoting my artist, Aurora Storm, being featured on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge which is quite well known to my genre of music.

To summarise, I have simply changed few things such as fonts and added extra details to make my magazine look more professional and realistic.

Image manipulation: before and after

Before

After

For my main article, I have used two box out features: to feature one of the box outs is text stating that Aurora will be on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge. The Live Lounge is where an artists covers two songs - one of their own and a song that they would never sing usually. The Live Lounge is quite iconic within the indie and pop genre as it usually ties the two genres together.
I played on the Live Lounge to make the magazine seem more realistic and appropriate to the genre and audience that it is targeted at. I simply grabbed an image of the Live Lounge online and went on Photoshop to remove 'Vol 5' and replace text over it with Aurora's name. This makes the artist look superior as it has her name on it and also symbolises the advertising for her to appear on the show which makes it seem like an important event. The colours in the image also match my colour scheme therefore I felt that it was significant for my article as it gives it originality.

The 1975 Gig - Brixton Academy Photos

The 1975 are an English, Manchester-based alternative rock/indie rock band from Wilmslow in Cheshire. The group consists of Matthew Healy (vocals, guitar), Adam Hann (guitar), George Daniel (drums), and Ross MacDonald (bass). Their self-titled debut album was released on 2 September 2013 through Dirty Hit/Polydor; it debuted at No. 1 in the UK Albums Chart on 8 September 2013.

Having a keen interest for this band, I chose to go and see them live at Brixton 02 Academy on the 9th January 2014. I decided to take photos to use for my magazine as self-taken gig photos can tend to sometimes be more effective than professional ones as it appeals more to my target audience. It also reduces the amount of copyright material I have in my magazine and makes my magazine more original and authentic.

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