preliminary photos

this is my favourite picture as the compostion is good and she looks very relaxed which is what i was going for. however i feel the lighting is a bit dark which i could edit on photoshop.

i took these to coincide with my initail ideas for my front cover; i wanted a folk singer to be playing an instument in the sun. so with these pictures, with the help of my girlfriend, i am able to see what works and what doesnt. i decided to use blue which connotes emotions and makes the singer look like her songs have depth and meaning, which is a theme present in many folk songs that are often about a tradgedy or tale. i also wanted her to look very mellow and i used natural lighting on a sunny day to give the festival folky feel to the picture. i feel like i have learnt a lot about angles and shots and i have tried to think about how the image would affect any writing on the page like the mast head. i feel some shots came out well and others not so well but i now have more ideas for my final photo.

initial ideas for magazine

Genre: Folk/Alternative

Magazine Name: 'The Blue Violin' because the violin is synomous wuith Folk music (and i have always wanted a blue violin)or 'BlueGrass' which is a little known sub-genre of Folk music.

Audience: 16-50 i have chosen such a large target age range for my audience becasue my idea is to bring in readers who already know about folk but also to help young people who like folk to get into it. i plan to make my magazine more contempoary then other Folk magazines because young people have started to enjoy folk and it is very much a music of the people, so everyone should get to hear about it.

Tagline: 'Real music with Real history' 'no dubbing, no editing, just real music'

Editorial mission statement: To provide news reviews and all the newest bands to the fans of real music as well as spreading the word of Folk to the younger generation.

Reader Profile: Readers of this magazine know what authentic, raw music sounds like and prefer it because of the danger it can provide. they have a love of live music and festivals, thriving in the summertime. they have a stories to tell or a story to write and they are the true soul of music. they want to be informed about upcoming live events and festivals as this is what they live for. these are the people who sit back, with the sun beaming down and enjoy life, enjoy their pint of cider and most of all enjoy their music.

ideas for front cover: for my front cover i want to get the real sunny country feel to it. i want the picture to be of someone with an acoustic instument maybe a violin of guitar and have them just playing in the sun. i think this would give the essence of folk music out straight away as it is people playing for the music and not the money. this person will be my feature article as this is a theme most magazines use. i do not want to pack the front cover with too much as i want it to look calm and relaxed so will have a few subheadings and the image and feature article as my focus.

front cover analysis

this is a front cover from the magazine 'rock sound'. it is a magazine that focuses around rock and metal music. it also focuses mainly on the newer bands and the new materail they have to offer and the tagline is 'new music first'. the font used for the mast head is bold and strong; it stands out like the music. the main article is the focus of the picture, in which there is the band 'muse' standing with their arms folded and looking very serious. this gives the reader an idea of what the band in focus are about. the bands name is in bold and is larger than the mast head which shows that the magazine focuses more on the bands and they are the most important thing the reader wants to read. the magazine shows this idea further as one of the bands heads partially covers the mast head, which i think shows that the magazine relies on its big named bands to pull in the readership as the actual brand name is not well known.

the cover is packed with information of what is inside as well as free posters and other articles featured within. this could be showing the style of music as it is very frantic and loud but could also be showing the magazines need to pull in the reader, however this makes some of the sub headings hard to read. i think packing the front cover like this would appeal to the younger generation as they want all the news they can get about their favourite bands and events. however in my magazine i dont think i will packthe front cover too much as i feel it makes the cover look to frantic.

magazine research: MOJO

i have chosen MOJO magazine because it is the magazine i mostly buy and is also the style and type of magazine i am thinking of producing.

facts and history: it is published by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom; after the success of Q magazine its publishers wanted to produce a magazine devoted to classical rock; Noted for its coverage of both popular and cult acts (which is a theme i would like my magazine to have); it acted as the inspiration for Blender and Uncut. 1993-present day

the magazine however has been critisied for focusing to much on these older bands like bob dylan which i will try to avoid as i want my magazine to cover a whole variety of good, real music.

MOJO often includes a cd on the front cover which ties into the main article, which appeals to the reader as they are intresteed in music and 'freebies' appeal to mostly everyone. it would also appeal the the readers of the magazine as the music is in the genre they are reading and most probably listen too.

forms and conventions: the front cover mostly always has a portrait of the band or singer that that weeks main feature is bleeded to the edge of the page. the font used has become synomous with the brand of MOJO as the writing is in bold and bursts of the shelf at you. the font is also quite edgy and ties in with the classic rock genre. the name and brand has also become well known and is a respected magazine which would also draw people into purchasing it, as the magazine can be relied upon. they also often use black and white images on the front cover which yet again fits in with the theme of 'old school' rock. this also makes the mast head and sub headers stand out more which could be conveying the two sides of the magazine; on the one hand they want to remind the readers of the greats and on the other they want to show the new talent coming through. this is what i like about this magazine as it focuses on popular music and also up and coming, new talent; they give everyone a chance if they sound good.