Photoshoot NO.1

A process within the production is the photoshoot which I needed to conduct in order to gain the most appropriate photographs for my: front cover, contents page and double spread article.
I decided that I wanted to use a mixed race male as the main music artist throughout the magazine.
I then had to take a series of shots to decide which one was the best one to use: 

After taking various shots in different lighting, at different angles/focus and it different scenes I had  to look at all of the images individually and decide what one I found to be most suitable for (initially) the front cover of my magazine.
I wanted an image that would not be overpowered by everything else on the rest of the front cover.

Production: Draft 1 of Magazine

In order to establish an appropriate music magazine which is effective and aesthetically pleasing and also adheres to the needs of my audience it is important that I practice different drafts and have a look at different angles and compositions to ensure that I am using the best one possible.
The focuses of such practising include the different fonts, colour combinations, composition etc.
The main colours which will be used on my front cover are red, green, yellow and purple as representations of my main music genres (green, red and yellow- REGGAE/ purple- R&B)

DRAFT 1 
Name of magazine: the name of the magazine is written in a brush stroke style which leaves gaps within the letters which can possibly connote the idea that there is gaps to be filled i.e. the support, diversity and unity of a broader target audience. It leaves the idea that the magazine is open to interpretation like the genres I have picked. Based on feedback from my audience research I established that people feel and think different things when listening to the music, i.e. "open to interpretation".
Slogan: I have used the slogan "The latest Reggae and R&B United" because I have decided to incorporate the theme of unity throughout the whole magazine. I have looked at the colour green to represent that of reggae.
Headline: The headline of the magazine is simply the name of the artist that will be the main feature throughout. I took this idea from the magazine Blues and Soul (B&S) as I think it is effective and informative. It does not overpower the front cover and does not require any deeper thinking of the reader. They know what is going on when they see the magazine.

The next stages of production will be coming up with more drafts for my magazine and finalising my idea for the end product.

Production Practise: Photoshop

In order to create an effective music magazine it is important that I improve both my photography and photoshop skills so that my magazine, particularly the front cover, looks as aesthetically pleasing as possible in order to entice my target audience in to buy the magazine.
The first protocol of action I have decided to take is to practice with photoshop to test my skills and practice so when it comes to the main magazine design I am familiar with all of the tools and know how to use them to the best of my ability.
The initial image I decided to practise with first is the photograph of the male in the navy blue suit on the left.
I used photoshop to refine features of his face to give them the correct professional look they need to be appropriate for a magazine. I also decided that the lighting and the background were not suitable so I made the decision to use the eraser tool to create a different background although not completely white as I feel it lacks realism.
Once I had completed this I had trouble changing the style of the hair as I could not locate an appropriate tool to do so. To get around this issue I decided to incorporate the image on the right hand side by using the quick selection tool to select his hair and paste it onto the original image. Here I realised the hair looked better so I used the eraser tool (at a lower opacity and flow) and I blended the different skin tones to make it less obvious that two photographs had been used. I also used the history art tool which managed to create a general blend.
The final product looked a lot better than the original and I achieved my goal though the aspects which are different are the level of focus in the two separate images. The original image has a much stronger focus than the second and this can be seen in the hair of the second. The face of the refined image has a much stronger focus than the hair though I am still happy with the finished image.

WHAT TO DO NEXT

The next immediate steps which I need to take in order to start producing my magazine is to conduct a photoshoot to start gathering the correct images so I am able to edit the ones which I will choose to use and eliminate the photographs which lack the correct professionalism or I do not find are suitable for the magazine.
In order for the photoshoot to go ahead I need to find a suitable time for everyone involved; find the correct location which will be the most suitable and take a variety of different images so it gives me a wide collection of photos to choose from.
After the photoshoot I will decide what photos will be included on the front cover, contents page and double-spread article and how I want them situated.

Preproduction: Mood Board

In order to demonstrate what fonts, colours and images I am going to include in my magazine I have created a mood board. Within the moodpboard are different album covers which are representations of the colours used within my music genres e.g. red, yellow and green for Reggae.
There are also different fonts, including the idea of an urban looking font which I may possibly include within the magazine e.g. headline. The images show the idea of including microphones and music equipment which is something which I wanted to incorporate.
I also summarised my mood board on a separate slide so I am able to remember why I included certain aspects on my mood board and how I think they will help me later on.

Preproduction: Designs and Sketches

In order to give myself a basic template as to what I would like my magazine to look like. The first two sketch ideas I came up with are for my front cover of the music magazine. Each template has the same aspects just in different ways, I have given myself two different ideas so I am not subjected to use just one and I am able to alter between the two.



Like the front page sketches, I have created two design ideas for my contents page. There is not much difference between the two: one of them is simply constructed as a simple list where it will simply consist of the page numbers down the left hand side with the content written afterwards. The second design is more of a scattered idea which will include all of the page numbers and content in different places on the page.


There were also different sketches/design ideas for the layout for my double-spread article. The first being quite a simple layout with the content of the article covering the bottom half of both pages; the top half including the image and the headline sitting in the top left hand corner. The second design (below) has slightly more of an "extravagant" layout idea with two images (a main one and one with a caption) with the headline in the bottom left corner of the double spread page and the content in-between the images and the headline.



Having template ideas for how I want the magazine to look is helpful as it both gives me a structure so I produce an effective magazine and include the necessary aspects and do not go over the top however it also gives me the opportunity to explore different ideas through the use of looking at a variety of design ideas (like I have done.)

Preproduction: Photoshoot Ideas

Another part of the preproduction was to come up with ideas for a photoshoot which would later help me in including the most appropriate images for the magazine. The first slide which I have done these photoshoot ideas on explains the types of models which I am going to use i.e. their gender, ethnicity and height. As well as the location which I found was important. I have also included the types of images which I will include on this slide i.e. mid-shot photographs would be the most appropriate for the front page.

The second slide goes into more detail than the first. The second slide includes a much greater depth of detail, explaining exactly what images I will be using on the front page and why, this is also the case with regards to the contents page and the double spread article. I have explained what will be included on each page (photography wise) and why I would be using these i.e. why they are the most appropriate.

This is helpful because it allows myself to be able to follow a step by step plan and not get confused as to what I am doing throughout the process of actually creating my magazine. I know exactly what I want to include and where I want to include it etc.