Research and Planning: Plan of the week

This week we are aiming to complete (or at least start):

• Start your magazine (designing and stories).
• Produce at least one location recce &risk assessment.
• Start writing your double page spread story.
• Take a series of test shots using a DSLR camera. 

Research and Planning: Mise-on-scene associated with genre

Mise-on-scene refers to the arrangement of actors and scenery during a photograph or production. With this in mind, I am going to associate mise-on-scene with my metal genre to help me decide on my models clothing and facial expressions, positioning during the cover shots, prop arrangements and background scenery.

I will be using my metal magazine collage to use as a reference.

  

Models clothes;

Looking at the selection of model shots above, the majority of models are wearing black outfits, either a tank top or shirt. Even the female artists are wearing black short sleeved clothing. Tank tops show muscles and tattoos therefore I think the publishers were going for a sex sells approach. This idea influences me to also go for black short sleeved/tank top clothing especially if professional photographers deem it necessary. The shot types are usually medium-close ups therefore pants or shoes aren't seen in the image. As I am going for a close up shot of my model, lower body clothing will not be included therefore the model can wear what he is comfortable in.

Models facial expression:

The models in the cover shots above are using either one of the 3 facial expressions - smiling, screaming or stern/emotionless. As some covers include screaming artists, this idea influences me to continue with my screaming/broken glass effect especially if successful magazines such as Kerrang are using the expression meaning they must feel it makes a good cover photo.

Body positioning of model:

As I am aiming for the model to be screaming with a broken glass effect around him, I would like the model to have his hands on his ears with his elbows pointing out to give the effect that a sound is deafening him. Some people interpret metal music as deafening therefore I believe it's a good twist to include it in the magazine cover.

Prop arrangements:

In the cover photos above, some include props such as mics, chairs and even swords. However some don't include them which is the direction I am swaying towards. I am focusing on the facial expression of the model with a close up shot therefore there is no space for props to be involved.

Background scenery:

In some cases, background scenery behind the artists is a key factor for a great cover image. In my case, the broken glass effect is a foreground effect therefore to include a background scene as well, would make the image look too busy therefore I will not be including any background scenery. I will be positioning my model in-front of a background which contrasts against the colour of the model to allow easy Photo-shopping.

Research and planning: Artists associated with the metal genre

Based upon my questionnaires and target audience videos, the majority of people associated artists such as Bring me the horizon, Slipknot, Iron Maiden, System of a down, Metallica and Asking Alexandria. Some of metal bands named above are going to be the artists  I include in my magazine as these are the bands which my target audience will recognise and quickly associate my magazine with the metal genre.

Bring me the horizon:

Slipknot:

Iron Maiden:

System of a down:

Metallica:

Asking Alexandria:

The band images above are taken with a medium-long shots allowing the viewers to see the whole band swell as what there wearing. Most of the artists have a stern and emotionless expression giving off a don't care attitude. Metal music is serious to artists who create it as the songs are mostly based on their lives and experiences therefore when they are being photographed, they won't be pictured happy and jolly as thats not what their music is about.

Research and Planning: Publication Plan

The slides below contain information created for my publication plan. My plan includes such information as the masthead name, distribution options, cost and what content will be included.

Research and Planning: Production schedule

The image below is a picture of my production schedule which includes task I need to complete and dates I will be completing them by.

Research and Planning: Props, location and costume list

Props list for model:
I intend to use no props for my model photo shoot as I am thinking of going for my shattered glass effect with the model looking like he is screaming therefore there is no use for props. However, If I was to include props I would use an intrument or mic to portray the music theme of the magazine as these are key items which people can relate with music.

Location of the Model:

I intend to use my house as the location as I am going to Photoshop the background out and add my own design behind and in-front of the model therefore the location won't matter.

Costume:

The model will be wearing a form of black short sleeved shirt as well as grey jeans and shoes. I am using a medium-close up shot type therefore the jeans and shoes will not matter as they won't be in view. Something along the lines of the example image below:

Research and Planning: Contents page draft

I followed the smashed glass effect on to the contents page so the cover and contents link. I am thinking to shape images into shards in one column and contents on the other. After I drew the contents page, I felt that the picture shards will dominate the page therefore I am also thinking whether to put shards in the top right and bottom left so the shards are in both columns. 

Research and Planning: Contents page analyses

Contents page analyses:

Audience:
The audience the writers are trying to reach with this magazine contents page are metal/alternative fans between the ages of 18-25. I think this because the bands included within the contents page are hardcore classic metal and alternative bands who are loved by younger adults who have grown up with these bands. Bands such as Slipknot and Korn are notorious for having a reputation for drugs, alcohol and violence which are qualities that are associated with older teenagers and young adults. The topics of conversation within the content such as fighting and "dissecting dead bodies" are subjects which are too vivid and disturbing for young teenagers therefore the contents has to be hitting at least a young adult criteria. The text is in a formal setting, organised and in columns which creates a professional look which is more appreciated by adults as they don't care about flashy images and bright colours. However, the images are overlapping and slanted therefore still adding creativity which can still be loved by young adults as it is still aiming at there youthfulness.

Representation:
Except Slipknot who are known for wearing masks and scary clothing, the rest of the bands and their members are wearing normal formal clothing which is used to represent that the band members are down to earth and don't need no fancy clothing to represent their music.
The bands that are on the front cover are very popular bands such as Slipknot and Korn which are used to represent that this magazine includes information about all the famous bands and not just small unknown bands therefore influencing a customer to buy the magazine.

Layout:
The contents page is dominated by images which is used so that the images are the first feature seen by the reader on the page. The images of the bands will therefore intise the reader to continue to read the next pages as the reader will therefore know these bands on the contents page are included in the magazine and they may want to read about them.
The writing is placed in columns with page numbers creating a professional look which the target audience of 18-25 will appreciate as they are older and care more about the information in the magazine rather than how it is portrayed.

Genre:
There are some features included in the contents page that represent the metal genre. The first one is the bands themselves as a large image of Slipknot and Korn, the biggest metal bands in the world, portrays the contents page is about metal music. The second feature is the colour scheme. White, black and red are colours that are bland and colours which are associated with darker connotations such as demons and horror which relate to metal music. Also, pop and rap magazines associated with flashy colours and altered images of models with informal clothing therefore this contents page differs from the other features of rap and pop therefore leaving the rock and metal genres.

Research and Planning: Target audience interviews

The videos below are the responses to my target audience questions:

The person above would like to remain anonymous. She would like to see topics such as new artists, information on gigs or the new albums which have been released. Out of the topics she would like to see, she would want the new artist topic as she is interested in the opinions of the bands she listens to. In terms of the models she wants to see, she would prefer only one male model to be pictured on my cover. For the colour scheme, she thinks red, black and white represents the metal genre of music. In my opinion, I like her colour choice and will consider using the suggestion. As a new metal fan, she only knows a few artists and bring me the horizon are her favourite. I have had many suggestions to add BMTH to the magazine therefore I will make sure they are included. Finally she believes the masthead "ANARCHY" is a good name for a metal magazine as she believes it's unique and describes metal music as it suits the darkness of the music.  

The name of the next interviewee would also like to remain anonymous. In terms of topics, he would like to read about new gigs, album releases or a page about the top 20 songs/albums. Out of the topics he has named, he thinks a double page spread story on a new album release is the best to read about. The next response I believe is a brilliant answer as he thinks whatever the main story concerns determines the gender and number of models. E.g. if the main story was an interview, then the artist I interview should take centre stage on the cover. The colour of the magazine, he states should be back, red and a dark green. Black and red have been suggested many times especially in my target audience questionnaires therefore this is influencing me to include these colours in my design. The interviewee is a large metal fan and gave many suggestions including Slipknot, Bring me the horizon and a few classics such as Iron maiden and Black Sabbath. He thinks "ANARCHY" is a simple, rememberable and sounds metally. 

The interviewee above is called Reece. He would like to read about interviews, latest news on songs or album. For a double page spread, Reece would want to read about an artist interview or a page on latest news. He would want to see a male model however, he would want to see around 2 to 4 on the cover. I don't agree with this as 4 male models on the front cover may look too busy as well as a little sexist. In colour scheme terms, Reece wants the colours black, red and grey as he feels they represent the metal music genre. Reece's choices of metal artists include Slipknot, Bring me the horizon and Steele Panther. And for the masthead "ANARCHY", he thinks it's a good name for a metal magazine as it suits the genre.


I would like to take the opportunity to thank my interviewee's as they were very helpful in guiding my design ideas into the eyes of what my target audience would like to see in a metal magazine.

Research and Planning: Target audience interview questions

The question below are the questions I will be asking some of my target audience:

My target audience interview questions:

1.      What topics/stories would you like to read about in a metal magazine?

2.      Out of the topics you have chosen, what story would you use for a double page spread?

3.      Would you use a male or female model for the cover, and how many models would you use on the cover?

4.      What colours would you like to see in my metal magazine?

5.      What artists would you like to see in my metal magazine?

6.      What do you think of the masthead Anarchy for a metal magazine?

Research and Planning: Double page spread draft

This is my draft of my double page spread in my music magazine:

Research and Planning: Double page spread analysis

This is my double page spread analyses of a story in a metal magazine.

Research and Planning: Masthead ideas on Photoshop

The selection of masthead designs above are all large and bold which is a design technique as this portrays the idea that metal music is loud. My target audience questions resulted in Anarchy being the most popular name for my magazine which is why I used it for masthead design purposes.

I liked the 1st font style has a improvised and graffiti design which represents the anarchy definition of breaking rules and going against society etc.

The 2nd and 3rd masthead designs are from the Photoshop software where there were a limited choice as most of there designs were compact and skinny with not enough humph. These font styles are 2 of the better designs from Photoshop, However I feel they are too clean and simple for a metal genre.

The last two designs were imported from a website and I especially like the 4th masthead design as if I am to continue with the shattered glass design on my cover, the 4th font style design works well as it has a slight broken effect to it.

Research and Planning: Audience questionnaire results

I asked this question because if people don't regularly buy music magazine, there opinions will be out outdated and they wouldn't know what common music magazines  are designed like. Therefore, if a majority of the results come back as "yes" as they did, I can take answers serious and into consideration. 

Out of the 11 which said they regularly buy music magazines, 8 replied with where they buy the magazines from. Half of the 8 people buy there music magazine from a newsagents. This result highlights the most common store aka newsagents in which I should sell my music magazine.  

I specifically asked this question as the results represent the most common metal bands people can reflect on therefore if I add a few of these bands to my metal magazine cover, my target audience will be able to recognise the genre my magazine is aiming for. The bands which my audience could recall the most are Slipknot, Bring me the horizon and System of a down therefore I will be incorporating these band names into my magazine cover design.

I believe the question about my masthead name to be the most important as the masthead is what customers remember about a magazine therefore it has to liked by my audience. By offering them a selection of made-up masthead titles, they can choose which ones they liked the best and others which they would discard. the highest rated masthead turned out to be Anarchy which is the one I was swaying towards. Antavist was also a commonly liked name. The masthead name which had no votes at all was Sparkplug meaning I will not be choosing this masthead for my magazine cover.  

Instead of just asking questions for my cover page, the contents and double page spread are as important as the cover page therefore I will need opinions from my target audience to help with designing dilemmas on these sections of the magazine. I asked a question about topics and stories which my audience like to read to see which stories I can add to my contents page as well as an overall story for my double page spread. The most commonly like stories include new releases, latest news and closely followed by tours/gigs as well as reviews.  There are some anomalies which occurred such as celebrities and relationships which was probably due to the people who don't regularly buy music magazines and instead, read gossip magazines.   

During my research on models for metal magazines, the majority of magazine covers contained only one model however there were a few with two models and a couple with a band picture therefore I used this as a cause for another question. As a result, my target audience would prefer a cover with only one model.  

The colour scheme is also considered one of the main features of the magazine as different colours portray different genres of music therefore I am asking my target audience for which colours they feel portray a metal genre music magazine. It turn out that they feel the colours black, red and either grey or white are the best colours to use. I am using a 3 colour scheme as using more than 3 colours makes the cover and magazine in general messy and too busy. 

Research and Planning: Podcast video

The video below is my podcast video where I am explaining the current status of my blog:

Research and Planning: Example of a finished questionnaire

This is an example of a finished questionnaire which an anonymous person filled in. There are a total of 7 questions involving multiple choice and opinionated question. These types of questions can give results which can be easily analysed and put into charts and graphs.

The results of questions will help me with specific designing issues and how my target audience would like the magazine to look. If the magazine isn't to there liking, my audience won't buy it.

The issues which the questionnaire concerns are, what mashed name I should use, colour scheme and bands which they would like in the magazine?

Research and Planning: Music magazine cover draft

Cover draft:

The smashed glass effect inspired the cover draft above. I used the masthead "anarchy" although this was just for draft purposes. I wanted to see how the smashed glass effect worked within the cover and I believe it is very effective in portraying a metal genre of music. 

Research and Planning: Type of camera shots

Camera shots:

Research and Planning: Masthead ideas

Masthead ideas:
DOWNSTRUM

PROMETHIUM

ANTIVIST
STICK & BRICKS
ANARCHY
HAZARD
SPARKPLUG

I have created these examples of masthead ideas and I feel they are great names in portraying the metal theme. I decided mostly on one word mastheads as one-word names roll of the tongue and are instantly rememberable. A great example would be KERRANG.

Research and Planning: Background cover effects

I am thinking of adding a background image behind the model to create a powerful effect on my music magazine:

Fire explosion:







A fire explosion creates an array of bright colours across the cover and puts emphasis on the model to allow them to stand out. As you can see from below, the models can be easily noticed and the fire explosion and gives the models a sense of power and strength which is what metal is all about.










Lightning:




The connotations of lightning include fast, shocking and noisy which can all be related to metal music. A model being placed in front of lightning can give the impression of being god-like which I feel is a powerful effect.





Breaking glass/hole in the wall:

Having the effect of broken glass with a models face screaming behind it will create the illusion that the model has shattered it with his/hers voice as metal bands do have a tendency to scream in songs. Lead singers have strong voices and the smashed glass effect will portray this.
I could have the models face coming through a hole in the wall which would show power and strength. Metal bands are known to contain hardcore people which would love to do nothing better than smash through a wall.

Research and Planning: Target audience powerpoint

Target audience presentation: