Double Page Spread Research

This is an example of a double page spread targetted towards teens+. The structure of the article was my main focus. I deconstructed the article in a way to understand how the writer put it together. While doing this I realised that there was no way. For my target audience to read this and be comfortable with it, it shouldn't be so organised and structured in a formal way, which is what I thought i had to do. It's more like the artist is speaking to the reader. I had a go at writing a few questions similar to the ones above.

How did you boys meet?
How has fame affected your daily lives?
How well do you all get along ?
Has there been a memorable experience?
Is there anyone you would like to work with in the future?
What are your forthcoming plans?

Contents page feedback and development

After analysing and evaluating my own contents page i was able to identify a few problems. Although, I as a producer would probably analyse in a biased way i received feedback from my peers. The reason why i chose to get feedback from my peers is because they are all doing similar tasks and they will find it easier to identify any production problems which they can advise how to fix with the software we use. More constructive criticism than if i went to my target audience.

1) One problem my peers had identified is the boring background. 

I liked the idea of simple but it was too simple and made it look effortless and colourless.

I could not solve this by just applying a random background colour but instead using a sample from my front cover to create as a background for my contents page.

2) Another problem was the scan/barcode. I showed my peers that i wanted to use it to encourage interaction but they mentioned that it is very random on a contents page and that it should be place somewhere else. The point of a contents page is to act as a guide to help readers navigate through my magazine.

Dps (ideas)

Here are layout ideas for my double page spread that i could be using for my dps. I will be deciding on which layout to use closer to the time.

contents page construction

Using rulers to create my contents page. I placed already written text in an organised fashion, in line and correct sizes so everything looks smooth and neat. The different colours adds character and makes the page a bit more interesting.

 

Interviews on TA

Photoshoot (3) plans

Location:

29 Forest Road, London E8 3BY

Time:

3:30 - 6:00

Cameras:

Canon EOS 600D Digital SLR + 18-55mm DC III Lens 

Canon zoom lens ef-s 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6

Models:

Raj Aziz

Lehan Ahmed

Mila Dur

Bazil Raheem

Props:

Asian style clothing

long top

trousers

indian shoes

hair comb

Plan:

To take pictures for the double page spread

Landscape images

objects will be placed in 3/4 of the page

- Group picture organised and placed together

- Dis-organised placed in 4 different places

- Individual images

- Dancing

- Having fun

Pictures 2

Photoshoot (2) plans

Location:

29 Forest Road, London E8 3BY

Time:
4:30 - 6:00

Cameras:
Canon EOS 600D Digital SLR + 18-55mm DC III Lens 
Canon zoom lens ef-s 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6


Models:
Toral Patel
Vaisharki Patel

Props:
Asian style clothing
Indian shoes
Harmonica
hair comb
Make up
Make up brushes
jewellery
(outfit has been pre-planned and discussed)
-indian style clothing, traditional, colourful with matching jewellery
-heavy make up with contouring

PLAN:
To take pictures for Front page and contents
portrait imagesobjects will be placed in centre of the page
- Extreme close up of face
- close up and mid shot of face and body
- Long shot of body/outfit
- Individual image
- Having fun

Contents pages (ideas)

I have designed three different layouts for my contents page. I think creating different styles means i have a lot more options i can only decide which layout i'll be using after i have collated the images and text that i will be putting on my contents page. I will be creating layout designs for my double page spread.

The red blocks represent text and blue represents images.

Possible drawing of picture for front page

Results from focus group with TA on titles

I had brought together a focus group to ask them questions about my title ideas. There was a group of 10 people to help me decide which title would be appropriate for my music magazine. Before I asked the questions i briefed my TA about my magazine and what i need.

I explained the concept of my music magazine, the target audience and some of the information available for readers.

The question I needed an answer to was for my Title

which title best suits the idea of my Magazine? why?
1) Taal- rhythm
2) Sangita - music
3) Note

Taal- It was mentioned that Taal is the name for a drum in Bengali. Bangladesh is also in Asia, close to India and my target audience felt as though it was be a weird name and could cause confusion during translation. Although this point is very relevant two out of the ten people voted for this name.

Sangita- This name bought up a discussion about how it would be the best out of all three because it is catchy and they felt as though after seeing/hearing that title there are no questions about what this magazine is about. After coming to this conclusion seven out of the ten people voted for this name.

Note - The title bought up many questions about how it could be a magazine that could belong to another industry other than music. Although note refers to a musical note. It didnt seem to make sense to my target audience because they thought it could be about a magazine about writing and writers across the world. This confusion led to only one out of ten voting for this name

After realising how constructive this focus group was i wanted to use them again further into the production of my music magazine. I felt as though it was helpful to receieve different perspectives and especially that of my target audience so i can create something amazing for them to purchase/consume.

The final title I will be using is Sangita.

Artist Jay Sean

Famous as : R&B singer
Birth Name : Kamaljit Singh Jhooti
Birth Date : March 26, 1981
Birth Place : Southall, London, UK
Claim to fame : Single "Stolen" (2004)

A Indian/Punjabi descendant, Jay Sean was born in Southall neighbourhood of London on March 26, 1981. When he was 11, Jay formed a Hip-Hop duo with his cousin Pritpal Ruprai under the moniker of Compulsive Disorder.

Determined to have career in music, he dropped out of Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry. He then recorded his first song "One Minute" and was signed to Virgin Records after the track fell into the hands of producer Rishi Rich.

 His debut album "Me Against Myself" was dropped for U.K. release only in November 2004. This record contained such hit singles as "Dance With You", "Eyes on You" and "Stolen". Another track titled "One Night" was even featured on a Bollywood movie "Kyaa Kool Hai Hum".

As a newcomer in music industry, Jay proved himself as the next sought-after artist as "Against Myself" was certified platinum for selling more than 300,000 copies and peaked at number 29 on U.K. Albums chart. Moreover, the set soared to number 1 on Indian Albums chart and got four-time platinum certification due to its 2,000,000 selling point.

 Jay's second album is titled "My Own Way". Released in U.K. on May 12, 2008, the album reached number 6 on U.K. Albums chart and ruled the U.K. R&B chart. During that year, he won Best Urban Act and Best Video for his single "Ride It" at 2008 UK Asian Music Awards (AMA).

He also got 2008 BMI Songwriter award. At 2008 MOBO Awards, Jay revealed that he was signed to American Hip-Hop oriented record label Cash Money Records and promised to drop a deluxe edition of "My Own Way" across U.K. and re-release it with the addition of several new songs for U.S. market.

 However, the plan for re-release album was scrapped. Instead, Jay works on new studio album "All or Nothing" to treat his fans in U.S. The first single from the album "Down" which featured Lil Wayne peaked at number 6 on Billboard Hot 100. The album itself arrives in U.S. stores on October 13, 2009.

Read more: http://www.aceshowbiz.com/celebrity/jay_sean/biography.html#ixzz3TyRauFOd

Image editing

 

 I downloaded the first image onto my ipad and used an app called PhotoEdit to create the second image. I managed to use my skills that i learned from photoshop to use this software. I felt more comfortable using this software because i use it on a more regular basis and although photoshop could possibly do this too, i preferred using something less time consuming and available on another device. I used a paintbrush to create the harsh contouring which is very common in Indian photography. I made the eyes much bolder and wider to create a much more concentrated mode of address. I also played around with parts of the hair 'blowing' it up and cloning it to make it seem natural and also more like Indian photography.

Update

I have collected results from my research on my target audience. I plan to post interiews and results from questionnaires. I have also evaluated my pictures and I now have a clearer idea of what I would like on my front page.

I have also managed to ask more media experienced people about my ideas. As I was discussing my initial ideas with teachers and artists i realised that in the music magazine industry there were not many indian music magazine actually any at all.

So I've had to incorporate stereotypical conventions of a music magazine in mine. My inspiration would have come from Bollywood fashion and movie magazines as well as R&B music magazines.

What i have learnt from Bollywood fashion magazines is that this is a big interest and is very popular with the my target audience. Bollywood movie magazines are also very popular because this is an industry that has been taken on internationally. India is known for its film industry. R&B is a music genre that is closely related with Indian Music. There are many artists that have managed to incorporate r&b with the indian culture for example Imran khan and Jay Sean.

I plan to do a case study on Jay Sean and his career so that i can understand more about this new genre.

Photoshoot (1) plans

Location:
Haggerston school Weymouth terrace

Models:

Sara Muluwerk

Time:
3.30 - 4.30

Cameras:
Canon EOS 600D Digital SLR + 18-55mm DC III Lens 
Canon zoom lens ef-s 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6
 

Props:

Saree

Violin
Flute
Tambourine
(Make up- already discussed)
^Indian style contouring and eyeliner

 

Plan:

To take pictures for front page
Portrait images

objects will be placed in the centre of the page

- Close up

- Mid shot

- Shots with instruments and without

Health and safety:
The timing for the shoot was carefully selected after school to avoid the children and distracting them from their lessons. We used the Music room and the instruments to reflect the music magazine, we used the pros written above. The pictures will be taken in day light, as we are on the roof, for this reason we were supervised by a teacher as a precaution of health and safety. Also being in a school environment was much safer, and I plan on making the areas for my next two photoshoots in a forest road, which is a community centre, allowing myself and my model and the expensive equipment to be indoors and safe.

Title Ideas

After brainstorming and looking around for inspiration on the internet I have managed to come up with a few ideas for the magazine title. I've come up with 3 Titles which i will list below.

1) Taal- rhythm
2) Sangita - music

3) Note

For audience involvement i've decided to do a focus group made up of people who could be my ideal consumer to help me decide which name will be best. I have tried to involve more of the Indian culture so i have thought of titles that mean something in Hindi aswell.

Target Audience

I have carried out a lot of personal research for my own knowledge on my Target audience but I have created a presentation that shows who they are, demographics and psychographics.

Music magazine research

Filmfare case study
I researched about filmfare that is an Indian magazine. This magazine is going to give me an idea of how successful my magazine could be in the indian magazine industry.

Final report on marketing research on readership of femina & filmfare from honey soni

I found this powerpoint on slideshare. It was a very thorough detailed presentation and was the only thing i could find that summarised most of the information. I analysed most of the slides but listed below are the slides that were relevant and important.

7-18
19-23
32-34

Magazine mood boards

I have researched about the Indian culture and i am presenting a visual version of this genre. This moodboard will help me understand what aspects to include in my music magazine to fit the codes and conventions of an Indian music magazine. I will be learning about the most important aspects of this genre to incorporate in my music magazine.

This mood board shows what I think Indian culture is represented as in the media. Bright colours and decorated clothing. Beautiful women that wear make up and jewellery and men in decorated traditional clothes to match the women. Henna is a tradition in Asia and Indian culture involves this tradition. Holi is a traditional event that happens in India once every year. People throw powder colours at each other. 

Here are examples of Indian magazines. It shows the way one type of magazine has presented the same type of people in different ways. Every individual front page is different but the contents make them similar. They follow the basic codes and conventions of a magazine. Some people are dressed in traditional clothing and some are dressed in more modern English clothing. The ones dressed in moder clothing can be dressed like this because the audience will recognise them with whatever they wear. For example famous artists and actors can dress how ever knowing that their audience will recognise them regardless

Genre

I have decided to base my music magazine around the Indian culture. I am intrigued by this culture and plan to explore further to help me create the ideal music magazine. I have researched and written my own interpretation of indian music.

Indian music originated through religion and belief. India’s dominant religion: Hindu has had a big influence on the music in India. Through history it has developed and people of that society have created sub genres within one genre. Folk music, pop and Indian classical music which has sub genres: Hindustani music and Carnatic. 

Folk music:

Folk music is different due to the string instruments used. Before there would be drums and bells however, now it involved much more modern instruments such as violin and guitars etc.

Pop music:

Pop is referred to popular music. This type of music is more common amongst younger generations. This type of music has and r&B twist to it where it is mixed and produced to sound more engineered and has bass and features more artificial sounds than natural. 

Hindustani music:

This is more of classical iIdian music which goes back hundreds of centuries. This type of sound wass more common in Hindu dominated parts of India. People would sing to the gods and dance around to this type of music.

Carnatic music:

This type of music is combined with voices and is more focused on the art of a singer’s voice alongside the sound of instruments.

Common types of instruments are flutes and drums (dholl) 

Men usually play the instruments while women dance. This also represents the relationship between the two genders.

Aswell as researching into the culture I realised that most Indian magazines are based around fashion and Bollywood (cinema/film).

I will be looking more into the idea of an Indian music magazine and how it will best suit the needs of the target audience.

I plan to create a mood board and present an idea of the Indian culture that can be presented visually.

Also to complete preliminary task.

Developments for preliminary task

After creating my school magazine I have decided to review the production of the two pages because it will help me when I start making my music magazine.
Here I will be listing three things I could have done better and three things I believe we're good and could possibly use for my music magazine.

DEVELOPMENTS:

1) plan shots and take a lot more pictures than I need.
- Due to short notice and little time I was unable to plan properly. Although I had the ideas in my head and it would have helped if I had them on paper. I also had to work with what I had. If I take a lot more picture I have a wider selection and therefore can decide to choose the best one.
: draw ideas of images
: draw page plan
: list locations, props and people.
: have enough time to take more pictures than I need.

2) be more creative
- Whilst editing I was using tools that I was familiar with and wasn't exploring much. This limited my creativity and I think I could have learnt a lot more and been a bit more prepared for my music magazine.
: try out more effects
: watch tutorials if possible to learn more about photoshop

3) deviate against genre
- I stuck to the rules of a school magazine and created something suitable for students, parents and teachers. Although this was perfect I think I could explore further into a genre and create something a bit more unexpected and not follow stereotypes of a genre.
: Play around with a genre
: study opposite genres/mixed genres/sub genres

POSITIVE:

+ I managed to organise my writing in alignment with each other. This is sometimes hard when there is a different text box for every text.

+ I managed to capture a perfect medium close up. With the focus just right.

+ Very simple and basic pages. Not with too much detail.

Final preliminary task. Front cover and Contents page.

My final school magazine is very simple. I have followed most of the codes and conventions of a school magazine. I have the main anchor image that can be related to education and is a medium close up. Storylines are listed on the right hand side around the image. The strap line is placed underneath the title. I Used a very cheap and simple design. When I had researched about school magazines I had realised that most of them tried to keep it very basic due to printing prices etc. it's the contents inside and the target audience will read it because it concerns them/family. Some schools don't do magazines because they prefer letters or they produce quarterly.

My contents page is very similar to my front page. Although I used the same person I think the blur effect makes it seem very different. I selected the person out of the image and duplicated that layer. I blurred the original and put the cropped image on top so the background is blurry. I chose to blur because the objects in the back would have made it hard for the readers to see the text. I used white because it stands out.

Preliminary task. Contents page.

This is the chosen picture for my contents page. I will be adding text on the right hand side of the image. This is a very similar presentation as my front cover. Very simple text. A context page is used for navigation for audience to find their way around the magazine. Next steps is to start researching into my selected genre for my music magazine. 

Preliminary task. front cover

I have started editing the front page. I have used this image of a medium close up of a student holding a book. The image can be interpreted as a young person in education, reading. The text is being placed around the image in a reflected C motion where the writing is in a slight curved alignment. I plan to develop and next steps will be to add more colour and start on the contents page.

Music magazine codes and conventions

Fonts for my preliminary task

I looked at various styles of writing and these three were the most ideal. I liked the different styles and that they are all very different to one another.

MEDIA

Hey! Im Moonisah. Im re-doing my coursework from last year (AS)
I am currently studying and doing A2 Media.
Last year I had received an A for my exam and a D for my coursework.
This really brought down my grade, I'm oping this year will be a lot easier because i know what i need to do. I think this will also help me improve my coursework for A2 - music video.
Stay updated with my blog!