Second Draft.

For my second draft, I have decided in order to keep my magazine conventional I will use certain examples from 'Vibe Magazine' that I like, to base and help me make my magazine. This will include picking out certain features that appear on the magazine, like the masthead, skylines, bursts and the contexts involved. I have also looked at the type of mise en scene included in the magazine, like the clothing of the model, the type of background that has been used, the makeup and hair styles and the type of pose the model is doing. I wanted to change a lot from my first draft, as I wasn't happy with it at all and there ware a lot of features that I thought weren't conventional to my star models. So I reconstructed a lot and thought of better ideas to include. 

Here is my second draft of my contents page, front cover and double page spread and the real magazines that I have based them upon.

Front Cover.

I have tried here to copy the background of the cover, by changing the background to grey. I attempted to fade the grey out, however the technology I was using would not let me. In my first draft, I didn't like how there was two very different colours as my background, due to the fact that I didn't no how to cut the background out of my main model so I had to try leave it, and on top of this, as I was using the Mac's in the first draft, it didn't allow me to put a background over the colour I wanted to replace as it was based as the image- which was very annoying!

Looking back on my first draft, I think it looks a bit of mess as I have broken the three colour scheme rule, by using all the colours grey, gold, pink, purple and red. However, I have improved this in my second draft by sticking to the colours red, dull colours like grey, a hint of white in the skyline and black, which I think works better as it gives off a sense of sexiness with the dull colours then the hints of reds. I kept the title the same from my first draft, as I think it worked well when relating back to the genre of R&B, and I also think it gave off a hint impression of the style of music you'll expect and find in this genre of music. When reconstructing my second draft, I wanted to completely change the layout and structure of the front cover, so I considered the four F's in this aspect. I had to make sure I kept the same design throughout (formula), so, as I started with the front cover first, I had to think of things that would be good to use in the double page spread and the contents, and had to be happy with the features like colour scheme and fonts, so I could carry on with this design, if I was to produce any other magazines. This would then maintain a professional image. I had to pay close attention however to the format of my cover, as I had new ideas to what I wanted the cover to look like. I wanted to maintain a three colour scheme rule of grey, red and black to show connatations of sexiness, which I think would be more appealing for my target audience, in comparison to 'girly' colours like purple and pink.

Contents Page

Im really happy with my second draft, I feel like I've followed many conventionals in relation to my star model. This was my main plan, as I didn't want to challange conventions and also I generally liked the deign of this particular contents page. I think I havechanged a lot of features on my second draft, from my first draft, including putting more thought into the design and layout of the information on the page.

First of all, I have included a large 'B' in the background of my model, which represent the mast head of my magazine, and have paricularally done this on purpose to follow conventions from my star model. I have made sure I used a bold, large font as well, and have purposely used a dark colour. I tried very hard to make sure that the title 'Contents' was placed in the same format as my example, however it did take me a great deal of time to get it how I wanted. Again, to follow conventions I placed my model in the centre of the page but based a little more to the left so that I could contain my information on the right hand side and made the shot a midshot. I also added in a clothing review, to show what my model was wearing and who did her hair and make up, and purposely used high branded labels, to connate the idea of wealth adn money. I did challenge on convention however, as I didn't want to edit my model to make her look more grey, like my star model has done, as I think it would off made the page look too dull. Following on from this, I have made sure that my page numbers are bigger then the rest of the text and made sure that my text is structured in a clearly lined format, and making more information bolder than others to attract my audience. 

Double Page Spread

I also think that I've changed a lot on my second draft, as I really liked this example and wanted mine to follow certain conventions in order to look similar to this star model. Firstly, I made a whole page based on the image of my model, with her name and a small part of information that could attract the readers eye. I followed the same colour scheme as the front cover, being grey, black and red to show consistancy. I wanted to show some off my own ideas that I liked however in this spread for example the large, bold quotes that are scattered on the page, mainly because I have seen them in previous magazines and liked the ieas. I also knew I wouldn't be challenging conventions, as I have seen them before. I kept the format of the information the same as my first draft however, by making the questions and answers a different colour as I liked this feature.

My Four F's
Throughout plaining my magazine, I will make sure I consider the four F's to help me along the way of designing my features for the contents page, double page spread and front cover.
The four F's include:

Formula.
The formula is based on the design of the magazine, including the images, colour schemes, front and the overall design. Its is very important that the design of the magazine remains the same each month or each week, to ensure that the magazine stays conventional, and also withholds a professional image for the magazine, as changing the main design could lose you interest with your target market and loyal customers.

Format.
The format of a magazine is based on the way it is designed and how certain features are displayed. The overal image and look of the magazine is very important, as it has to include conventional aspects that help towards making the magazine fit with its chosen genre. This ensures that the magazine can appeal to its target market. The features that are involved in the format of a magazine are the fonts, colours, images and the design and layout of the magazine. In relation to my magazine, I am going to stick to dull colours for example grey and white, and have a bright colour like red or blue as well, which enables me to stick to the three colour themed layout rule and have a mixed of colour at the same time. I am doing this mainly because the current exampels that i have researcher with this style, I particulary liked and prefered.


Frame.
Frames are used in magazines, as a form of 'margins' and 'gutters' and are a very important feature that needs close attention. This is mainly because they are used throughout the magazine and need to be the same size and kept clear on each page. Also, if frames havent been done probably then it can be easy for margins to be placed incorrectly, which can be very noticable for any reader and gives off an unprofessional image.

Function.
This mainly relates to the purpose of a magazine and what it is for. This means only involving information that relates to a spefic genre, to make sure the magazine holds the target markets attention and gives them what they want to read, and not something they don't.
Coming back to my magazine, I will make sure I only feature artists that come under the RnB/Pop genre, however as these are two big genres that can link closly together, I want to make sure I include a variety for my target audience, and include a great deal of them to satisy my audience. I will also have to make sure that I dont include artists that dont come under this genre, like rock or indie artitsts as they wont suit my target markets attention and could attract a different audience.

My first Draft.

Here is my first draft of my front cover, contents page and double page spread. I have tried to follow as mainly conventional idea that would represent a R&B magazine as possible, but as it is my first draft I am still learning new ideas and ways off putting things together, as I have never done anything  like this before.

Front cover

Double Page Spread

Contents Page

Recce Photos. 
Before I took any pictures for the drafts of my front cover, I had in mind that I wanted to take some pictures in certain areas to get a feel of the sorts of backgrounds that I will like in my magazine and what looks good and links in with my genre. Before taking any photos, I had my heart set on a white background for my magazine so I looked in different locations that displayed a white backgrounds, to give me a feel of the different shades and contrasts of white, within a picture. However, in addition to this I also took other photos from different locations, to give me a bigger understanding and ideas into what will look the best for my conventional cover, whilst experiencing at the same time.





Photo 1.
Out of all my white backgrounds that I have taken, I would say this was the best and my favourite out of all of them. This is mainly because it is a clear white backdrop on the stage at school, with no stains, marks, cracks or indents in any way, also the area is full of space to take as many pictures in all different angles. Having a plain, clear white blackground links very well with the conventions off any other music magazine, particularly the style that I have researched, which is another bonus for this location. Finally, there is also lighting linked to this location, which I have played around with to create didnt shades and brightness in the image. This is an even bigger bonus- as I had the image of light shinning on my model, that gave of the impression that she/he was in a show or competition. However, whilst taking pictures with this lighing I could see that the lights were strong enough to show on the photo.

Photo 2.

I took this photo from the side of my school as it was the only white outside wall that I could fine. Eventhough there is marks and indents in this wall, I do have some like for this location, this is mainly because it gives of an R&N impressions, as it looks like there has previously been sprat paint on it, however I dont think it would be suitable for a POP magazine, as I am combining them both together in my magazine.

Photo 3.
This picture is very much like photo 2, just without the indented walls. The wall looks old and worn away, and it also has marks on it.  I like how the wall looks smooth and could easily be edited to look whiter. However, this wall is outside so wouldn't be suitable for my model to be modeling, if the weather is cold. This is mainly because I want my model to wear certain clothing that links in with my genre style.

Questionnaire.
In the process of making my magazine, I am going to produce a questionnaire which will be answered by the majority of people that like my genre of music. This is important, as it appeals more to the people that will be most interested, and gives them what they want and what they want to read about the most. I based my questions around features that will help me to decide on the context I will use, and the style and design on the magazine. I asked 10 people to answer my questions, 5 being male and the other 5 being female, mainly because my magazine is suited for both genders.


How much would you pay for a music magazine?
a) £1.50-£2.00 |||
b) £2.00-£3.00 ||||
c) £3.00-£4.00||
d) £4.00-£4.50+


What persuades you the most in buying a music magazine?
a) Artists that are included |||
b) Artist on the front cover/ content page |||
c) Free promotional gift |
d) Style and design of the magazines layout
e) Articles that are included ||
f) Friends recommendation |


What part of the magazine are you most interested in?
a) Real life stories ||
b) Artist on the front cover ||||
c) Fashion section
d) Pictures of artists ||||


What artists are you most interested in?
a) Nicki Minaj and Rihanna ||
b) Eminem and Dizzlee Rascal ||
c) Ciara and Beyonce ||
d) Chris Brown and Jayz ||
e) Usher and Neyo |
f) N-dubz |
For the front cover, what type of theme colours would you prefer seeing?
a) Grey, white and blacks (dull colours) ||||
b) Pink, blue, green, red and yellow (colourful colours) ||
c) Combination of the two ( grey, red, white ||||


Do you like a lot of information on the front cover and content page?
a) Yes |||
b) No |||
c) Not too much, but some ||||
Out of the following below, which would you most prefer for the title of the front cover?
a) Beatz |||
b) Luv R&B |
c) R&B4U ||
d) BIZ ||||


How do you like the information layed out on the contents page?
a) Spreadout on the page |||
b) Packed and bunched together ||
c) Clearly structured together |||||

How do you like the lay out of the double page spread?

a) A big image in the centre of the page, with information either side |||||

b) One page full of small images, the other with contexts |||||

Target Market Profile.
When creating a Music magazine, it is important that it is aimed at a certain target market. This is to ensure that the magazine will sell and be a successful product. When knowing your target market, you can start to creat an idea of the types of things they will want to see in the magazine, and the sorts of things that will interest them; like the type of bands and artists. You can then also judge the housestyle of the magazine, for example the colour scheme, fonts and images.
Below, I have produced my own target markert profile, which outlines the type pof audience that would buy my music magazine.


Socio-economical class: Most of the population that would want to read this magazine will be from a middle/working class background, so I will make sure that I will make sure mine is as well. Also, the magazine won't be very expensive so it will be suited for this class. 

Age: My target age will be between the ages of 16-20, mainly because most R&B and POP magazines are based around this age group, and the content is suitable for this group as well. Seeing as my magazine will have both R&B and POP content in it, I thought it would be suitable to make the age higher, in relation to a younger POP magazine, as the concent may not suitable for a younger age group. I chose to dp it that way, mainly because im suited better to this type of genre and age group.


Gender: I think both male and females will be available to read this magazine, as both genders enjoy this genre of music. However, I want to base the magazine around a Women, so I think it would be better suited for males to read, as I want my pictures glamerous and sexy. Therefore, I think males would prefer to see pictures and read about a women, in comparison to another women doing this.


Ethnicity: My target ethnicity is going to be based around British, American and maybe Caribbean people, this is mainly because many people from these ethnicities will either produce this type of music or be interested in it, meaning they will be attracted by the type of magazine.


Lifestyle: My target markets lifestyle is going to be based around the type of things a normal 16-20 male would do on a daily bases; this can include partying, drinking, being with'hot' girls and having fun and a laugh with there mates- oooh not forgeting showing off there swaggerrr.
First of all, whilst doing some primary research I found out that most of my target market like shopping in small designer shops, which contain labelled clothing that consist of 'Superdry', 'Hollister' and 'Abercrombie Fitch', they also like shopping in branded stores like Riverisland, Burtons, G-star and topman. On top of this, I also found out that most of them were interested in the social networking site 'Facebook' and were on it on a weekly bases, so from this I could maybe promote the magazine by making a 'Like' page on this. They were also very interested in 'xBox' consols and 'Playstation' consols, featuring games like 'Fifa' and 'COD'. However, my target markeret was mostly interested in going out into different towns, cities or raves, to party with there friends and 'Pull' women, and said this was there main hobbie for this age range as some of them had a daily job to work in the week. They also said there ideal holiday would be either Ibizia, Malia or Kos, as they are full of strips which indicate partying. Also by using primary research again, I found out that my target market had a contract with the gym and extended on a weekly bases, as they said they wanted to 'stay fit, look fit and be fit' - hmm typical lads then!
On top of this I found out the majority of my target market owned an ipod or was linked very closely to listening to music in some way and 99% of them were mostly interested in POP and R&B based music. There top 10 artists on average were, 50-cent, Chris Brown, lil wayne, Tinnie Tempha, Ndubz, Jay-Z, Nicki Minaj, Usher, Rihanna (surprisingly) and JLS.