Magazine plans.

By Eddie Cameron

Front cover.With my front cover draft, there are many ideas that I have implemented into it from my study and analysing of other magazine within the same genre. The name of my magazine is something that I am still in the process of choosing. The standard layout I have chosen for the front cover came from my ideas of the magazine being neatly laid out, but effective at the same time. This is why I have chosen to go for the colour scheme of black and red. I have chosen the black colour as it is common within the genre as it is known for being a “dark” genre, and I chose the red colour as this contrasts with the consistent black. I can also use the red to my advantage with using it as a sort of highlighter for important sections and pictures. I have included the common features on my front cover, for example, the barcode, website address, straplines and an issue number. I wanted to include these as they bring authenticity to my magazine and bring them closer to the actual magazines on the market. The image in the middle of the page is the main focus point for viewers of the magazine. In reality, if this magazine was in a shop, this image is going to be the eye-catcher, this is why I have chose a model with bright red hair, because it is instantly noticeable. Also, the main image is in relation to my double page spread contents. I will be representing her in a non-stereotypical way as she will be dressed quite uniquely and not similar to the average female. Because of my target audience being mainly males between the ages of 15-21, I knew I would get the attention of my audience by having a female on the front cover. However, by target audience isn’t just males, I have included females into this audience which is why I included males as well as females in this magazine. The caption I will use along with this main image will most likely be a pull quote from within the contents of the magazine article because this is a feature that will entice the reader more to read into it. The sub headings that I will be featuring on my front cover will be regarding gigs and reviews. Later on into my production I will make up tag-lines for these several sub-heading box’s.

Contents page.The contents page is a crucial page for me and there were several elements and sections that I had to think about before drafting my final design. I went for the standard layout of an image near enough in the middle and the contents and page numbers on the right. Because of my research into other rock magazines, this was a popular choice and it was a choice I was happy with when I was drafting my ideas. The image I will be featuring in the middle of my contents page relates again to the double page spread. The smaller image and description below the main image is another convention that I seen on many rock genre-based magazines. This takes some attention off the main image and gives the reader some insight to something other than the main article. Although I will have no other pages in this magazine production, I will make up a story that can be featured in another pretend section of the magazine. Again, I have followed the typical conventions of the rock magazines I have been researching and went with a subscription offer, a prize/competition section and finally an editor’s note. All three of these I had seen multiple times before and because these features were so popular, I knew they would fit well in my magazine’s contents page. Again, I will be using the same colour scheme of black and red like the front cover. I will use the red to my advantage by highlighting the page numbers of my articles on the right hand of the page. Along with highlighting the page numbers, I will be placing small red stars at the start of each page number, this is for attention and in relation to my magazine including “stars” of the rock genre. Also with the page numbers section of the contents page, I will be including small descriptions of each article, but I will do it in a way that the reader will be encouraged to read on. So I will be including rhetorical questions that lead the reader to dive further into the articles featured.

Double-page spread.The double-page spread are the main pages of my production. This was the hardest of all the pages to draft as it was crucial that I represent my model/s and create the most authentic page I can. The main element on this page is the image in the centre. This image draws the attention of the readers and can set the mood of the article even before you read the context of the article. The image will obviously be in relation to the context of the article and it will also be a unserious picture of my artists, as the article will be mainly serious. I chose this idea as I wanted there to be a direct contrast between the picture and the article. The fun fact box was an idea that I developed on my own. From my research of other magazines, I noticed that the majority of them had the main article and then to the side they would have a separate smaller box containing information. Again, because of the tone of the article I knew that the fact boxes would be a bring light-heartedness to article. The actual contents of my article is yet to be identified but I know it will quite a serious topic with some light-heartedness at the end. The image I will include in the centre of the page will also have an impact on the rest of the page. So I will have my model/s in the centre of the page and the background of the shot will carry on for the background of my article, for this, I will have to make sure this image is as wide as I can make it. The pull quote as the title is something I have loved and seen on almost every double-page spread. The quote that I use will be larger than any of the other text and it will be something quite controversial or emotional so that it can instantly grab the readers attention and set the mood without actually diving into the article. At the start of the article I will be including a short, brief description about the artist/s, sort of like a summary of what they have been up to or what they are going to do in the future. Any blank areas will be filled with the same consistent colour scheme that I have used throughout. Finally, I do not know what colour my text is going to be as I don’t know what the image will be that the text will be over.