Production Plan (Solo Artist Cover)

The Front Cover Image.

For my front cover image I have decided to use a medium close-up shot of my model posing with a guitar, this is going to show some of her individuality and personality. 

This NME cover with ‘MIA’ shows the type of image that I would like to capture. This is a very basic image but it is very effective and I have realised that NME is the main magazine which matches the same photographic conventions as my magazine, It does look at different music but there is a cross over with certain types of music within the magazines.

I have changed my initial plan for my audience, I was originally creating a magazine aimed at fans of Metal music, and however after my research I have noticed that this target audience is a very small minority. I have now changed it slightly to a more open style of magazine which will contain all areas of Rock music from Light Rock to Screamo. This way I am to be more individual with certain things within my magazine and I am not stuck to a set image because I am focusing on one specific genera.

Coverlines for this magazine.

·         Interview with Hate  (The person who is the cover image)

·         Mutiny Returns.

·         Interview with Avenge Sevenfold ( interviews with recording artists will become a regular feature)

·         Biggest moments of 2011

·         Headliners at Download

·         Free Evanescence Single

I have been working on various different ways to develop a way to show the name of my magazine in a individual way so people will remember it, almost creating a brand identity. These are some of the idea’s I have come up with.

This first idea is a Graffiti style called ‘MindGem’. It used the colour red, black and white which is what I have selected as my house colours. It is individual and something that not a lot of other magazines have.

I like the idea of putting Graffiti on the front cover of my magazine but I am not sure how well it will work, I am wondering if it suits the genera of music that I am working with. I think what I will do it create a front cover with each different name on it and see how well it works with the image.

 I have changed the idea of my title slightly, I have been experimenting with different fonts for the numbers but none of them look right, they all seem to be more for letters. I came up with the name 'bass' because in rock music the bass often plays a really important role. This font is a military style and it is different to many other fonts that you seen other magazines using and this is why I like it.

 

My Front Cover Ideas

The initial plan for my magazine.

From browsing news agents and a small amount of research  I have gathered a little bit of information about competing magazines which are already on the market, these have given me some basic ideas about my own magazine, this has led me to make some decisions about certain things.

Price: £3.50

Average Issue Size: 110 – 130 pages per magazine

Frequency of Publication: 12 per year/ one new issue every month.

Feature Articles: All the storied that appear on the front cover, an example is ‘Recent awards/music festival coverage, possibly some behind the scenes gossip.’

Regular Content: New song Releases, Top 50 Rock tracks, Launch of new albums, Free Gift ect…

Publication Plan.

Title: 619! I am working on ways that I can develop this name further.

Rationale:  The approach of the magazine is looking at Rock and Metal music in the world today, there will be an offer of articles that range in opinion and the content for the musicians will focus on what people that like this type of music are interested in.

Style:  Informal style, the magazine is aimed at music fans in their late teens (18+) onwards. It will contain humour and some of the vocabulary will be complex but only when necessary and paragraph length will vary depending on the article, but it will use terms specific to the music genera.

Regular Content:

·         Editors letter.

·         Fans letters.

·         New releases, such as number one songs or albums mainly focusing on the positive achievements.

·         Music festival/awards/tour cover, focusing on performances, head liners, stage outfits, reviews.

·         You’re Manager, a section where people can report and comment on artists/songs as well as look at positive and negative achievements of the band and give their opinion on everything that they are doing.

·         Flash – coverage of everything the readers will be interested in using pictures.

Feature Content:

·         Interview with slipknot (interviews with recording artists will become a regular feature).

·         Interview with ‘my act’

·         Download highlights

·         The story behind Avenge Sevenfold Tours.

·         Who is where? Which acts are headlining at which festivals this year.

·         Evanesce new album story (new album coverage will also become a regular feature). 

House Style:

Cover Lines: 'Brand New Avenged Sevenfold Album!' 'Download Headliners' 'Drowning Pool, new album. the state of rock? what went wrong'

Headlines: Franz Ferdinand, System of Down, Steel Panther, Ed Sheeran. 

Standfirst:

Captions:'LADY GAGA? What Has She Done Besides Wear Meat'? Mutiny 

Features of first paragraph: An enlarged letter in a Gothic front to give it the Rock theme throughout the magazine. On occasion it may also be in a different colour. 

Body Text:

Colour Scheme: Red, Black and White. 

For my front cover I have taken inspiration from these magazine covers and mixed it with my own ideas and come up with a set look for my front cover image.

- I have decided that I want a female on my front cover, as I am doing a magazine on the music genera of 'Heavy Rock' and it is uncommon to find a magazine cover for this type of music with a female.

- I am going to take 2 sets of images, one with just a single woman; she is going to be a solo artist. The other set of images are going to be with a female lead singer with the band in the background, as I am unable to decide which one I prefer I am going to look at the images I get from the photo shoots and decide which is better.