"Don't stop me now, 'Cause I'm having a good time I don't want to stop at all" Don't Stop Me Now by Queen

Progress Report

I got my first photo shoot done!! I realized that next week is spring break and after that, there is one more week before my project is supposed to be finished! 😬😬😬 YIKES!! I knew that I needed to get some photos taken, especially since I'm leaving school a few days early to go to Texas to visit my family (I'm actually on the plane right now, writing this blog post!). So here's a recap of how my day went...

Yetserday after school, I got my band together after our usual band practice and took pictures of them . I had drawn out a layout of what picture I wanted and how I wanted them taken in class earlier that day.

Remember how I said earlier that my original drummer had to leave the band? Not only was I really upset that he left but that also messed up my photo shoot schedule. I wasn't super worried about my photos before I knew that because if worse came to worse, I could use photos that I have taken of my band from previous concerts.  After he told me the news, I realized that I couldn't do that because the band members would be different. I've been super freaked out this week because I've been feeling the pressure and I wasn't sure that my new drummer would be cool with taking photos with the band .But not to worry! I got in contact with our new drummer before I officially met her on Monday. I told her that I needed to get photos for my magazine and she was more than willing to help me out. It actually worked out for all of us because we got to know her better.  FYI Albany is amazing and I love her already!! She's so talented and she's going to be an amazing asset to the band.

So as I mentioned earlier, I had pre-planned what I wanted my magazine to look like so I got to the studio knowing what I needed to get done.  I had told my band earlier in the day that I wanted to take photos and they were excited to help me out.  The only time everyone was available to do the photo shoot was after band practice, which ends at 7:30, for about thirty minutes. 😬 That's not a lot of time but I had planned my photos out, so I was hoping I could get it all done.  I had also learned from previous projects that I DEFINITELY needed to take more than just the few shots that I planned . I know with past projects, those extra shots that I took, ended up being my saving grace 😉. I knew exactly where in the studio I wanted to take my photos so that made things faster. I even factored in lighting .I knew that it would be dark when we got out of band practice, but the studio has good lighting in the places that I picked to do my photos .

One of the challenges that I faced was getting my band set in position to do the photos . When I planned my photos, I was really focusing on the shot and not how I would position the band for the shot. We wasted a lot of time trying to figure out the position that I wanted. For example, for the cover shot, I knew that I wanted to do a shot with the whole band all looking at the camera, because that is what most Rock magazines do on their front cover. They promote a certain artists, usually using a mid shot to capture the singer. If its a band, most magazines use a mid shot for them or a wide shot. So I knew I needed to get a mid or wide shot, but the problem was I didn't have an exact plan in my head about where each band member would stand/sit in the shot.  Another thing that I didnt take into consideration was the amount of space that I had to work with. One of the shots below was taken in the band room (all black room). I didn't realize that I had very limited space.  The small space plus the fact that I had to fit about seven people in the shot ended up being a problem for me. For that specific picture, I wasn't able to get the exact shot that I wanted which made me kind of unhappy. The last problem that I had was the limited time I had to do everything. I ended up not taking one of the shots that I needed because my guitar players and my drummer had to leave. That specific picture that I didn't take was for the table of contents so I'm thinking that I might need to change the background photo completely.

Overall, I'm pleased that I got something done but I'm also apprehensive because it's getting down to the wire and I didn't get all the shots I wanted during the photo shoot.  I think I need to get the band together again for another photo shoot just so I know that I have plenty of photos to work with in my magazine.


Here's a preview of some of the photos from yesterday:

"Say my Name, Say my Name" - Say my Name by Destiny's Child

Magazine Title

After weeks of researching and debating, I've come to a decision about the name of my magazine. And the name of my magazine is DISTORTION.

Most magazine that I've looked at have titles that relate to either the genre or just says something along the lines of rock.  I figured that my title would have something to do with sound.  The first name that I came up with for the magazine was SoundWaves, but I didn't like it because although it does sound like the title for a music magazine, it does not hint at the rock genre

Distortion means the alteration in the shape or sound. In terms of music, the distortion pedal is used to change the clean sound of the guitar to a sound that is heavier and more powerful.  Distortion on a guitar is a sound that is well associated with rock music which is why I think it is the perfect name for my magazine.  Any music fan will know immediately that the content of my magazine relates to the rock genre.

DISTORTION is the perfect name for my magazine!! It took a while but I'm glad I finally got a name in place!

"Cause you had a bad day" - Bad Day by Daniel Powter

I Have Some Sad News ...

This weekend I realized that I need to kick it into high gear and start taking pictures for my magazine.  So I texted my band mates that since we were having a concert this Sunday, I wanted to take photos after the concert.  My drummer texted me back privately saying that he had to tell me something. He has to leave the band for personal reasons until further notice! 😮😭 LIKE WHAT?! He said that he would perform with us on Sunday, since we had a concert already lined up, but after that he had to stop coming to practice.  He was planning to tell everyone after the concert because he didn't want the band earlier because he knew we would all be sad and start crying.

And he was right!! When the band found out, we were all a mess because our drummer, Prince, is the heart and soul of our band!  He lights up our band practices with his positive energy.  His energy is infectious and he is one of the main reasons that I enjoy being in band so much!! We hung out together after the concert and went to dinner together. It was bittersweet because we all had fun but we knew this was the last time we were going to be together as a band😥😥

So not only do I not have my pictures for my magazine, I'm also upset because I already miss Prince! The Hit Music Studio already has a new drummer lined up to join our band next Monday.  I need to get my pictures taken before I leave for Spring break so hopefully I can get in contact with her and have her ready to take pictures with the rest of the band after practice next Monday.

Feedback Time!

So today in class, we did a Foundation Portfolio Peer Feedback Session.  It was actually really helpful and I got to see my own project from different perspectives.

My group was helpful when it came to ideas for articles. One of the girls in my group, Mariana, said that music magazines tend to have stories about how bands and artists first got their shot to stardom.  If the artists are already well established, then the articles will be about how the artist is making a comeback or activities that the band does to keep their name out in circulation.  Since my band doesn't have their own music video and aren't really well known to the public, I should do an article about how the band first formed and how they got to the point they are at today.

One thing that I hadn't realized was that I had to take myself out of the band in order to take photos and do the interview for the magazine.  Since I am in the band, I didn't really think about not being in the interview and the pictures, but it makes the most sense for me to remove myself from the band (at least for the purpose of the magazine) and take the pictures myself.

Another aspect that my group brought up was the issue of how I am going to do my photo shoot.  I don't really have access to a professional studio, taking my pictures will become really hard.  Before today's session, I really wanted to do a shot like the cover of Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen.  I wanted my bandmates to stand in a line, surrounded almost completely in darkness.  After feedback today I realize that even though I might have put a lot of thought and planning into my magazine, my choice may not be practical in real life.

"I would kill for you, that's right. If that's what you wanted" - By OneRepublic

My Audience

As I've mentioned before, I want my magazine to be about Alternative/Indie/Rock music.  Therefore, my target audience is going to be very segmented. However, my target audience is most likely within the ages of 15-24 years old, which would be considered the young adult/adult audience. I don't want to limit my target audience anymore by trying to target a certain gender because my market is already limited to people who are interested in this specific music genre.  Also, my case study research that I did about Kerrang! indicates that both males and females are interested in reading this music magazine so I won't be at a disadvantage by not targeting my magazine towards a specific gender.


While researching target audiences for music magazines, I found this website on SlideShare. It was really interesting to look at someone else's primary research and see how that affected how they positioned their magazine.  I plan on looking at this research to influence what I put in my magazine. For example, the research indicates that the target audience reads about information about new and old bands.  the target audience also appreciates information about upcoming band gigs and a look at how bands/songs are performing on the weekly charts.  The research from these sites also indicates that Indie/Rock magazines are priced reasonably so that a wide variety of people can afford to purchase the issues.

For my magazine issue, I plan to utilize the research that I found by making my content about old and new bands.  Readers also tend to appreciate a look at the weekly charts to see a song's popularity over the week, so I will try and include my own chart in my issue.  The band/artist who is on the main cover tends to be an up-and-coming artist who has a song that is rising in the weekly charts, which is perfect because that is how I plan to position my own band, the Fluorescent Adolescents.

Layout

Layout

Even though I have looked at multiple magazines before, I don't see a specific layout that music magazines tend to use when making their layout. In general, music magazines tend to follow that same trend, so I'm left with a wide variety of layouts to choose from in order to make my magazine.

I found a great article about magazine layouts in general.  Fresh Ideas for Improving Your Magazine Layouts included a variety of tips that help catch the reader's eye and keep their interest as they are flipping through my magazine.  One of the main messages that I got when reading the article is that the magazine is not all about the cover page.  I've been putting a lot of thought into what I want my magazine cover to look like that I hadn't really thought what I wanted my table of content and double page spread to look like. This article reminded me that it is not all about the cover.  Yes, the cover has a lot of importance because that is what the reader is going to first see and it's what they use to determine their decision to keep reading the rest of the magazine, but the article and the design of my double page spread are equally as important.  I need to make sure that my magazine keeps the reader's interest until they reach the very last page.  Therefore, this article helped me refocus on the importance of the magazine as a whole rather than individual parts.


So after reading this article, I decided to head to Pinterest to see different images of music magazine layouts.  These are my favorites out of all the images that I found.




The picture of Mark Ronson is big and bold, along with his name printed along the top of the pages. Based on the picture and the enlarged title of Mark Ronson's name, I can guess without even reading the article that this story is going to be an anecdote about Mark Ronson.  The title is placed in an unconventional way that forces the reader to look all over the spread in order to read the whole title.  The placement of the title is interesting because it is not your standard title that goes across the page from left to right.  I think that unconventional title placement catches the reader's attention quickly and piques the readers' curiosity in order to get them to read the rest of the article.




I like how the band photo takes up the majority of the double page spread.  They are featured prominently, right in the centerfold so that readers who are flipping through know that the band featured is so important.  The structure of the actual article is easy to read and has a logical flow to it.  Majority of the room on the page is given to the picture and the article is there as support.  It is clear that the main focus in this spread is about the band, not the article, which I would argue is exactly the opposite of the Mark Ronson spread above.



I like that the quote is prominent.  It's also ambiguous enough to interest the reader to look at the rest of the article to understand a better grasp of what the title is trying to convey.  Unlike the spread above about The Vaccines, the quote is enlargened to draw attention and show importance to the reader. Focusing on the quote rather than the band conveys that the magazine is focusing more on the band's lyrics or the messages that they are trying to convey through their songs.

What do I want to do?
I like the unconventional title placement from the Mark Ronson double page spread.  It makes the spread more interesting to look at and it is a quick and easy way to draw the attention of the reader.  I think I want the double page spread to be promotional and introduce the band to the rest of the world.  Therefore, I am going to put a lot of effort into the photos and make sure that the band is placed prominently.

Resources
“5 Pro Tricks to Instantly Improve Your Magazine Layouts.” InDesign Skills, Designlisticle, 27 Mar. 2018, www.indesignskills.com/inspiration/magazine-layout-design/.
“Pin by Jamison Franzen on ART 3204 Audit | Pinterest | Magazine, Magazine Design and Editorial Layout.” Pinterest, in.pinterest.com/pin/478507529145381655/?lp=true.

"Everyone know I'm in over my head" - Over My Head by The Fray

Status Update on Me... I'v been a little busy

Hey, blog! I'm sorry I haven't been posting for the last few days.  Since Thursday morning, I've been at the state's conference for my business club, DECA.  January through April is considered to be DECA competition season and this year I placed 1st in the District and had the opportunity to go to states.  I have competed in the same category of Buying and Merchandising Team Decision Making with my partner, Taylor F., for the last four years.  We had gone to States three times and Internationals twice but never placed internationally so this was our last year to make it count.

For the competition, I had to take a 100-question marketing test and do a business role play with Taylor.  For the role play, we were given thirty minutes to come up with a solution to a problem at a company and present it to a judge, who is suppose to be the president of said company.

Guess what...WE WON! Not only did we win, but we placed 1st in the State. AND both Taylor and I were recognized as having the highest test scores and role-play scores out of all those who competed in our category at states!!! I'm so happy and proud of us! Talk about ending Senior year with a bang!

Anyway, the reason why I am mentioning this is because even though I was hard at work competing, I was also working on magazine research over the weekend.  However,  I did not have time to post so I am about to go on a posting spree. ENJOY!