Research and Planning: Cover inspiration (Model pose and effects)

I found this cover during my research and a few components have give some inspiration to me for my cover design.   

The first component is the model's pose. In my original draft, I had the model posing with his hands on his ears, while screaming at an angle. However. the model is screaming towards the audience therefore the model is interacting more towards the reader which I believe is a great magazine technique as readers want to feel involved.

I also noticed the smashed glass effect in the background which I have only noticed on one or two covers I have come across. The smashed glass effect has always been a component of my design which has caused difficulty but the cover above has persuaded me to try and make it work as the screaming of the model and the effect combine very well and it looks amazing.

Research and Planning: Cover inspiration (bottom section of cover)

I have found the designing of the bottom section difficult as there needs to be a section which covers the cut-off section of the model image as well as enough space to add more information included in the magazine. However, on the Kerrang cover above, they have added many band names, another cover line as well as more images which offers a range of information and makes the magazine look packed with stories. 

For my cover design, I am looking to create something similar where band names and images take up the bottom section filling the space to create the illusion that my magazine contains lots of stories and information for my audience to read.

Research and Planning: Cover inspiration (main cover line design)

The design feature which intrigued me about this image was the main cover line found in the centre. I especially like how it is placed at an anti-clockwise angle which is different compared to simple straight 180 degrees angle found in most magazines. 

As metal music is about dark feelings and offers unique variations from other music, differently angled and placed cover lines will help to portray the variation.

Above and below the band name, there are story lines and quotes which help explain the cover line. This design offers more colour and fonts to contrast against the model which I am looking to add into my cover design.  

Research and Planning: Cover inspiration (cover line)

 The image to the left is of a cover line on a Kerrang magazine. I have taken a screenshot of it as instead of just writing a cover line in a sentence like a performed in my college magazine, they have added a picture and a box in which they have split the cover line around the picture and this has inspired me to design a cover line in this way to add variation.

A good image I have taken to create a such a cover line can be the of the 4th model images with the older rock fan as I can write the cover line's in and around the image as well as I want the model's pose to be easily seen therefore I can add the full picture where her rock pose will not be drowned out.

Research and Planning: Download festival

Download happens to be the biggest and most-famous rock/metal festival in the United Kingdom which every metal artist/fan dreams of visiting. The biggest names in metal and rock have played at Download and artists continue to flood in to play on their many stages. For a metal fan, some of the most important news during the year is who are the artists that will be headlining the festival? As a magazine designer, To include advertisements about Download would certainly motivate a reader to read ANARCHY. With this in mind, I will create some form of fake advertisement to be included on the cover.

From the pictures above, you can see the sheer scale and the popularity of this festival which is why I have to include the news on the cover. 

As you can see on the artist headlining poster, each artist has a unique font which is important to the image of each band therefore I have to portray the same idea when styling my own artists fonts.

Research and Planning: Cover design progress

After being identified that I can no longer use internet images, I have decided to scrap my current design and start my cover magazine once again.

There were a few features which I kept the same such as the ANARCHY font style (28 days later) with a drop shadow effect. The bar-code also remained the same positioned in the bottom left corner. Apart from these features, I have adapted the rest of the cover to suit the design criteria more efficiently.

Although I can't use internet images, I am using stamps instead therefore for my shattered glass effect, I download a Photoshop brush tool stamp which has provided a high quality broken glass stamp I feel is much smoother than the internet image I used in the past design.

I have added a grey background which allows the colour white to contrast against the background which is especially helpful for the shattered glass effect as well as any white fonts.

For the bottom section of the cover page, I am using a black rectangle slanted at a clockwise angle to contrast against the cover magazine where I am adding the bar-code as well as the start of a "download festival" artist list. I want the list to contrast against the model as they are advertisements which have little to do with the main story on the cover therefore the black rectangle allow the stories to differ.

The black circle I have added is being intended to be used to surround a picture to do with one of the stories on the cover as a slight variation compared to a usual square image.

Above the black rectangle, I have included some band/artist names which I have added to show that my magazine includes lots of information about well-known people that my customers would love to read about.

Tasks which still need to be completed:

• Edit model shot and add the photo to the cover.
• Add the model band name.
• Add cover lines
• Add selling line 
• Include a variety of images surrounding the model. 
• Finish Download advertisement. 

Research an d Planning: Shattered glass effect dilemma

I have recently found out that I can not use internet images in my magazine therefore I can not use my broken glass effect that I planned to use. To resolve the situation, there are effects I can download for free on websites such as brusheasy which can be used as stamps using the brush tool. 

Examples of the shattered glass stamps:

Research and Planning: Cover design progress

Continuing from last update post:

I have removed the breaking glass effect so I can alter it in Photoshop. I have changed the band name to Leviathan as well as lowering the masthead down a little to create a reasonable gap between the top of the page and the masthead.

I have added a model image to the cover, included with tattoos and a Photo-shopped face.

Jobs that I need to complete:
-background colour
-adjust the breaking glass effect and add it to the cover
-add cover lines
-add a selling line

Research and Planning: Model Make-over

The photo above is the photo I intend to use for my magazine cover. However, magazine research has shown that front cover models on a metal magazine tend to have many tattoos on show. While I am editing the tattoos, I figured I may as well remove any blemishes and spots to create a professional look. 

The first job was to remove the background. I used the quick selection tool to highlight the contrasting background and deleted the highlighted area. 

I then deleted any outstanding lines or curves using the rubber tool which the quick selection tool missed out, This tended to be around the T-shirt area. 

The tattoos where the next job. I used a you tube video as a tutorial to help me. After choosing suitable tattoos of the internet, I added them to the model by placing the tattoos around the arms and changed the settings of the image to a "multiply" setting which moulded the image around the arms. After the alternation of settings, I then removed any of the background of the tattoos still outstanding using the rubber tool. 

My model has a small grey patch in his hair therefore I used a brush tool (turning the opacity to 14%) and coloured the patch in using a black colour. 

After the hair, I used a spot removal tool to remove any blemished on the models face to create clear skin containing no spots or moles.

Finally, I used the brush tool once again and coloured the models teeth in with a pale white colour therefore meaning his teeth are white but aren't bright and standing out. 

Research and Planning: Tattoos for model

For my model, I want to add tattoos to him to create a bad-ass/don't care attitude to him that famous metal artists portray in there images. The post will include possible tattoo designs I can add to the arms of my model:

The tattoos above are dark images that can be linked with the dark music artists create. Metal artists like to be seen as strong and powerful aura which dark tattoos can help to portray, especially with images of lions, dragons and snakes.

However, I have recently been informed that I can not include any internet images to my magazine therefore instead of tattoos, I will download stamps which can replace the disallowed tattoos. The images can be accessed as stamps in the brush tool.

Examples of stamps I can download:

Research and Planning: Production documents for 1st model

Model release form:

The contract below has been signed by the model, Danny Ashton and a witness. This therefore allows my to use my model in my magazine and I have written and picture proof. 

Production risk assessment:

The document below states the risks/hazards that may appear during my photo shoot as well as the location documents to state where the shooting takes place. 

Shot list:

This list is a document which expresses the types of shots I will be using throughout my magazine.

Shooting schedule:

This is a list which shows the dates and addresses of when and where I am taking my photographs. 

Recce information:

The document below expresses the location of where I am taking my images. The information includes the camera, lighting, sound and even a diagram. 

Research and Planning: Model shooting/shots

The pictures below are shots I have taken of my model to be used for my cover page of my metal magazine.

I took these images within my house at around 09:50pm. However, the problem with shooting inside is that your model will not be lit in the best lighting, which is natural lighting. To counter this problem, I will increase the contrast and brightness to brighten the model.

I will also Photoshop blemishes and tattoos onto my model to create a professional look and add a bad-ass/don't care attitude that I have encountered in my past posts with famous metal artists.

Research and Planning: Start of Cover design

The image to the left is of my first 1 and a half hours attempt of creating my cover for my metal music magazine. I believe I have created a suitable masthead using a 28 days later font downloaded from a font website. It was one of the fonts I used when experimenting in my masthead post. I also added the breaking glass effect however I am uncertain to whether the breaking glass effect used is suitable for the design I am picturing. I added a fake band name to the cover which I will be changing to Leviathan in my next lesson. A bar-code was added to the bottom left as-well as a few selling lines between the band name.

Jobs to be completed;

-Photoshop the model - add the image to the cover,
-Adjust the breaking glass effect,
-Amend the Dinomania band name,
-Lower the masthead a dew centremetres,
-Add a background colour.

Reseach and Planning: Social networking questions and responses

Instead of questionnaires and video interviews, I decided to explore social media such as Facebook messaging to ask my target audience vital questions about the design of my metal magazine. I ask only a few short questions to make sure I was not bothering the interviewees. 

The questions I asked: 

• Do you think ANARCHY is a suitable name for a metal music magazine?
• What 3 colours do you associate with a metal genre of music?
• Are there any bands you recognise as being metal?
• Is there a main story you would like to read about in a music magazine, such as an artist interview, tour information etc?

These four questions are aimed to answer some of the main designing issues which appear when creating a magazine, such as the masthead and colour scheme.  

Aisha is a friend and media student. She believes my masthead name ANARCHY is an original title, however, she states the name can also be related to films therefore I will have to make sure I establish that the genre of my magazine is metal. I will manage to do this by other design techniques such as colours and models. For the colour scheme, yet again the 3 colours that my audience believe to portray a metal genre are black, red and grey. As well as colours which are repeat-ably suggested, Aisha has also suggested Slipknot and Bring me the Horizon for metal artists I should include in my magazine. I will therefore deeply consider these suggestions as they are becoming a fan favourite. As a main story, Aisha would like to read about a factual interview upon an artist of the genre. Personally, artist interviews are also a topic I would love to write as I will be able to meet and get to know some famous music geniuses.

2nd interviewee:

Matty is another friend however goes a different college. He believes the masthead ANARCHY is a good name for a metal music magazine. I have had many positive comments upon using this name for a magazine which is greatly increasing the chances of me using it. Matty also thinks black, red and grey represent the metal genre. In terms of artists, he would like the to see musicians such as Slipknot, Metallica, Iron maiden and Aerosmith. For a main story, matty would want to read about an artist interview, same as Aisha.

Research and Planning: Equipment list

To produce my magazine, including the photographs and software, I will be using a wide range of equipment to help me create a good and professional looking magazine.

The mac computer, including keyboard and mouse, are the key piece of equipment which allows me to access internet for research and use Adobe software to design and create the magazine.

Software I will be using:

• Adobe Photoshop

• Adobe Indesign

Adobe photoshop is the software which I will be using to design my cover page. It allows me to manipulate text and images with a range of tools at my disposal for designing a great cover page.

Adobe Indesign is key with creating my contents and double page spread. The software is able to organise text and pictures into columns and paragraphs for a professional text display.

Equipment used for photographing:

• A DSLR digital camera 

• Tripod

• Sony Xperia Z3 mobile phone

The camera, tripod and phone are necessary to produce digital images of my model which I can send to Adobe Photoshop where they can be manipulated for my own use. 

Research and Planning: Serif vs Sans-serif font

A serif font is different to a sans-serif font as serif fonts have, added flicks on the letters, called serif's which create an original and professional look to the text. Sans-serif fonts don't have serif's included on the letters. 

A magazine golden rule is that for the story on the double page spread, the main body of the text has to be in a serif font as it's recognised that a small serif font is easier to read compared to a small sans-serif font. 

For the rest of the contents and cover page, including text and mastheads, I can use either serif and sans-serif fonts, it's just the choice of which suits the text and design.

Research and Planning: Metal based language in double page spread

I will be comparing examples of text used to portray a metal artist/band to an example of text used to describe a rap/R&B artist. This will be beneficial so I can see the language used in metal based text so when I write my double page spread story, the metal fans will be able to relate to the information.


Text used in the Kerrang (metal/rock) magazine:

Cancer Bats have unleashed their video for brand new single, Satellites.

The track is the opener on the Canadian hardcore punks’ upcoming album, Searching For Zero, which is out onMarch 9 next year, through Noise Church Records/BMG Rights. The record, which was produced by the legendary Ross Robinson, is up for pre-order now, with an instant grat download of lead single Arsenic In The Year Of The Snake – which you can hear at this link. Additionally, the band recently announced a co-headline run with Sheffield bruisers While She Sleeps, following Searching For Zero’s release… Keep scrolling to see those dates.

In the headline sentence, Kerrang have used the word "unleashed" instead of "brought out" or "created". They have used the idea of using a powerful verb such as "unleashed" to create an effect on the reader due to the fact it's quite a harsh word used in a different context. 

Also in the main body of text, the writers like to use dark adjectives to describe the artists involved. for example, "run with Sheffield bruisers While She Sleeps". The word "bruiser" is used as the adjective which is a darker word to describe the band. Metal is a darker sound therefore metal bands would like to be referred to similar to their music. Artists would like to sound big and powerful which adjectives are perfect for. Another example is "produced by the legendary Ross Robinson". "Legendary" is another adjective used to make Ross Robinson sound awesome. 

 From the text above, I can tell that to relate to metal fans, such as how Kerrang do it, I have to use powerful verbs and adjectives to create an effect on the reader. Also, the text is formal, no slang or abbreviated words are used, which will appeal more to young/adults.

Text used in the Vibe (R&B) magazine:

Tyrese and Snoop Dogg are always on that "Dumb Shit." Well, maybe not always but on their latest number, the fellas switch off about letting loosing once in a while. Peep how Black Ty flexes his raps on this track as well.

Straight form the start of the text, Vibe are using swear words such as "Shit". Swear words are usually used as a way to express and exaggerate points and opinions. Also swear words are know as bad words therefore when people use them, people think the are acting big, cool and don't care.  As "shit" is being used in a quote, Vibe are reaching out to the fans who have a don't care attitude and think they are cool for using bad language. 

The language is also very informal, such as "fellas", "letting loose" and "Peep how black Ty". These are words and sentences involving slang and abbreviated words which most young people tend to use. Vibe are therefore relating their text to students and teenagers who are "down" with the language.  

Research and Planning: Possible double page spread stories ideas

What kind of article could you possibly create?

Some stories on the double page spread examples may not link to my metal genre, They were little examples I could choose from. However, even if some of the examples don't represent my genre, the stories and designs are still beneficial.

I could create a story on:

• An interview story of a band or artist where ANARCHY will ask the questions.

• Festival information involving images of past festivals and include information on the upcoming ones.

• Top 10 story; of albums or new bands so forth.

• Upcoming tours and gigs to keep the fans updated. 

• An article on new bands which are uprising onto the scene.