Shoots of my Coverstar

At first, I was pretty happy with the way that my first photoshoot turned out. I loved the simple colours that I used and the interesting angles and compositions. These images were absolutely perfect for my double page spread, however problems started to arise when I allocated on of the images for my cover. Once I saw the image as a part of my front cover, I soon realised that they weren't as effective as a 'front of house' message that shows exactly what my magazine is all about. This was for a few reasons, one of them being that the use of a prop (the guitar) was distracting vital attention away from her and allowing her to seemingly blend in to the background. One other factor that encouraged me to re-shoot was the way in which her white blouse did not contrast with the white background at all. For this reason in my next shoot, I chose black clothing so that it powerfully contrasted against the pure white background. 

 I was much happier with my results from my re-shoot. This definitely allowed me to expand my ideas further and obtain images that would be much more striking on the cover of my magazine.

Logo Experimentation

Mock plans & layout for music magazine

From completing a mock up plan of my front cover, contents page and double page spread I have learnt about the basic ideas and themes that I want my music magazine to incorporate and display. This will allow me to have a starting point that is easy to pick up from when I actually start to make my magazine and will therefore allow me to get straight into becoming creative with my ideas as the bases for the planning stages will be complete.

Rate card for my magazine

Vinyl rate card

I have learnt that my magazine needs to appeal to a particular audience that would be interested in the topics that I have stated in my rate card. Also, by gathering together all of the information surrounding similar magazines such as 'NME' and 'Clash' I now have a strong idea of what my ideal target audience would want and look for in my music magazine.

2nd Draft Of Double Page Spread

The corrections I have done for my 1st draft of the double page spread interview have been shown in a bold, pink text so that I can clearly see what was altered.

Yasmin Glass is one of the biggest rising indie signing stars of the moment. She has been working her way to the top by playing gigs all over Europe for the last 2 years and has finally hit the big time, she is due to release her album ‘gypsy eyes’ in just two weeks time on November 18th. Not only is she making herself an impressive name in the music industry but she seems to be causing a storm on the fashion front too. Her signature red lipstick and tousled ‘sex hair’ (as her fans refer to it) have seen the likes of Marc Jacobs and Vivienne Westwood literally fighting over who’s brand she chooses to represent. There’s one thing for sure, this girl is not to be messed with. 

So, Yasmin you had your biggest gig to date last night, supporting The Smiths! How did it go?

It was so,so amazing! I got to perform alongside The Smiths, People would kill for that opportunity, I literally am the luckiest girl ever, like it’s only just sunk in..The SMITHS! 

Congrats! How have you been coping with your rise to fame? Any tips?

Uhh fame, I hate that term! It’s very nice of you to say so but I really don’t see it personally, I’m just happy doing what I’m doing. Some of us just get lucky! I’m never gonna be one of those mega bitch super stars who demand skinny no fat soy lattes with a sprinkling of anorexia and treat people like they’re dirt. That’s really not who I am at all.

Marc Jacobs and Vivienne Westwood seem to think you’re the hottest thing right now..

Oh god, you’ve made me blush now. I am so psyched that they love my style and I couldn’t wish for more than to make it in the music industry and the fashion world! Double whammy!

You have been nominated for one of Vogue’s fashion icon of the year awards, why don’t you talk us through your outfit today?

I still can’t believe I have even had the chance of being nominated! I spent my teenage years reading Vogue, wishing that one day I could appear on their pages alongside some of the most iconic people in the world. Cheesy right?! Anyway yea of course, I kind of just wanted to have a classic vibe today. My shirt is American Apparel, umm plain Topshop leggings, some Chelsea boots I picked up as a total bargain in a Camden Market and of course my red Chanel lipstick. I never ever leave the house without it.

Your classic style compliments the theme of your new album, Gypsy Eyes. How would you describe your inspirations and what message did you want to get across? 

Haha, I’m guessing that’s a nice way of asking me what on earth made me think of my album title? Well.. the answer is, even I’m not too sure! um I wanted something that sounded interesting, intriguing and something that hadn’t been done before. Eyes have always seemed mysterious to me and they can tell a lot about a person.

What about your genre of music?

If I really had to put it down to one genre, then it would have to be indie/alternative with a bit of electronic eclectic vibes thrown in but I can’t tell you how much I hate labels! For me, the moment society brands a musician as one predictable stereotypical genre, that’s where the magic of making music ends. It’s never good for musicians to go down that route of being labelled. They should be whoever they want to be.

Do you have any music artists that have influenced you?

I could sit here and come out with the general rubbish people do such as Pink Floyd and the Rolling Stones when really, they know nothing about their music at all. However, my inspirations are so diverse it’s crazy! David Bowie, M.I.A, Marina & the Diamonds, Sky Ferreira and MGMT just to name a few. I swear the list is constantly being added to, the amount of music icons out there is amazing when you think about it.

Where would you like to see yourself in 2 years time?

Professionally, I would love for things to continue in the amazing way that they are, seeing my career unfold before my eyes would be pretty awesome. In my personal life, I’m forever dreaming of waking up in an attic apartment with a cigarette and coffee, watching morning Brooklyn. I guess then I would be happy that my life is complete.

By having my first draft evaluated and then edited helped me to learn that even the smallest detail such as whether you have used a capital letter or paid attention to your punctuation massively affects your article. A real music magazine would never have any spelling or grammar mistakes because it would downgrade the look of the magazine and would mean that it's not professional. For these reasons, I have learnt to pay more attention to the smaller details and basic foundations of my article because if I do include an error in my magazine, then the idea of it looking professional and up to standard would be unattainable.

Outfit and look plans

1st Shoot: My first shoot will feature my cover star and will be used to obtain a final image for my front cover. The images will also feature throughout the double page interview.

2nd Shoot: My second shoot will still feature my cover star although she will be dressed in a contrasting outfit to portray aspects of her personality. These images will also be featured in the double page interview aswell as on the contents page.

3rd Shoot: My third shoot will be of a group of my friends that will be playing the part of an indie/alternative band and these images will feature on the contents page.

4th Shoot: My fourth and final shoot will be of my brother who will be playing the part of an indie singer and these photographs will also feature on the contents page.

Another aspect that my magazine could include is the idea of having a 'fashion box out' which would include a few extra photos situated in the box to the side of the second page. These images would also have the outfits and style of the artist as a main focal point as this would help me to achieve the ideal fashion/music genre.

I have learnt that by planning out each stage of what you would ideally want your cover star and featured artists to look like, you can then create a true idea of how you your artists will be presented and you can then see how you need to alter your ideas to allow them to fit into the style and theme of your magazine.

My own flat plan

Even though I will not be making a whole magazine, by laying out all of the possible ideas for a whole publication has helped me learn about all of the components that a magazine runs on as a whole.

Photo shoot planning

From this task, I learnt how I can organise shoots that each have original styling and various ideas so that they are not all the same. This allowed me to come up with ideas so that the magazine can flow.

Research Summary

1st Draft Of Double Page Spread

Yasmin Glass is one of the biggest rising indie signing stars of the moment. She has been working her way to the top by playing gigs all over Europe for the last 2 years and has finally hit the big time, due to release her album ‘gypsy eyes’ in just two weeks time on November 18th. Not only is she making herself an impressive name in the music industry but she seems to be causing a storm on the fashion front too. Her signature red lipstick and tousled ‘sex hair’ (as her fans refer to it) have seen the likes of Marc Jacobs and Vivienne Westwood literally fighting over who’s brand she chooses to represent. There’s one thing for sure, this girl is not to be messed with. 

So, Yasmin you had your biggest gig to date last night, supporting The Smiths! How did it go?

It was so,so amazing! I got to perform alongside the smiths, people would kill for that opportunity, I literally am the luckiest girl ever, like it’s only just sunk in..the SMITHS! 

Congrats! How have you been coping with your rise to fame? Any tips?

Uhh fame, I hate that term! It’s very nice of you to say so but I really don’t see it personally, I’m just happy doing what I’m doing. Some of us just get lucky! I’m never gonna be one of those mega bitch super stars who demand skinny no fat soy lattes with a sprinkling of anorexia and treat people like they’re dirt. That’s really not who I am at all.

Marc Jacobs and Vivienne Westwood seem to think you’re the hottest thing right now..

Oh god, you’ve made me blush now. I am so psyched that they love my style and I couldn’t wish for more than to make it in the music industry and the fashion world! Double whammy!

You have been nominated for one of Vogue’s fashion icon of the year awards, why don’t you talk us through your outfit today?

I still can’t believe I have even had the chance of being nominated! I spent my teenage years reading vogue, wishing that one day I could appear on their pages alongside some of the most iconic people in the world. Cheesy right?! Anyway yea of course, I kind of just wanted to have a classic vibe today. My shirt is american apparel, umm plain topshop leggings, some chelsea boots I picked up as a total bargain in a camden market and of course my red chanel lipstick. I never ever leave the house without it.

Your classic style compliments the theme of your new album, gypsy eyes. How would you describe your inspirations and what message did you want to get across? 

haha, I’m guessing that’s a nice way of asking me what on earth made me think of my album title? Well.. the answer is, even I’m not too sure! um I wanted something that sounded interesting, intriguing and something that hadn’t been done before. Eyes have always seemed mysterious to me and they can tell a lot about a person..

What about your genre of music?

If I really had to put it down to one genre, then it would have to be indie/alternative with a bit of electronic eclectic vibes thrown in but I can’t tell you how much I hate labels! For me, the moment society brands a musician as one predictable stereotypical genre, that’s where the magic of making music ends. It’s never good for musicians to go down that route of being labelled. They should be whoever they want to be.

Do you have any music artists that have influenced you?

I could sit here and come out with the general rubbish people do such as pink floyd and the rolling stones when really, they know nothing about their music at all. However, my inspirations are so diverse it’s crazy! David Bowie, M.I.A, Marina & the diamonds, Sky Ferreira and MGMT just to name a few.. I swear the list is constantly being added to, the amount of music icons out there is amazing when you think about it.

Where would you like to see yourself in 2 years time?

Professionally, I would love for things to continue in the amazing way that they are, seeing my career unfold before my eyes would be pretty awesome. In my personal life, I’m forever dreaming of waking up in an attic apartment with a cigarette and coffee, watching morning Brooklyn. I guess then I would be happy that my life is complete.

Typography

From this activity, I have learnt that the way in which your typography is presented throughout your whole magazine is vital in the way that you want your publication to be perceived. Choosing the right text for your genre and theme can be the difference between creating a successful, professional looking magazine and a magazine that just doesn't flow. For this reason, I have spent a lot of time researching into different texts, fonts, colours, sizes etc to make sure that my text really does fit in with my magazine.