Final Draft For Magazine Article

This is my final draft for my double page spread article. I created my double page spread article on pixlr  and keynote. Firstly, I added the image onto keynote and placed it on the left side, and then l added the giant letter P which I also decreased the opacity of. This way it enabled me to open this image on to pixlr and then add text to and the masthead, page numbers... I have changed a few things regarding my feedback from my target audience on my previous draft. One person said to make it look more professional, have three columns, so that is what I did and I feel that it has definitely worked.  I have also moved the quote so it is in the middle of the text, I did this because looking at other magazines I can see that this is a popular chosen place to put the quote, so I put it there to help the presentation of the article. The quote is in a red font which is a very noticeable colour, the colour is also the same colour as the models/artists lips which brings out the colour of her lips, this then draws attention to the image. I have once again kept the font the same for the masthead and page numbers to keep a consistency throughout as the house style is a very important technique that helps the magazine look professional and sophisticated. Lastly, I have kept with the same colour scheme on all three of my front cover, contents page and now double page spread article. The colour scheme is very important to help it look neat as if the magazine consisted of many different bright colours then it would prevent it looking neat and professional and it would make it look chaotic and messy. Overall, I feel that I have produced the best possible magazine article for my target that is also very beneficial for both me and my magazine.

Interview Questions

I am interviewing Paige Althorpe about her thrilling past few weeks of a big leap that has changed her life. These are some of the questions I will be asking Paige in order to get information for my double page spread magazine article. 

1. When did you start singing?
2. What experience did you have in singing before you got signed to EMI Record label?
3. How did this all start?
4. Is singing something you've always wanted to do?
5. What made you want to post your video on youtube?
6. How did all the comments make you feel?
7. How did you react to that email?
8. How has it changed your life?

Second Draft for Magazine Article

This is my second draft for my double page spread article. I have changed a few things, first things being the image, in my first draft the image is all in black and white, however, in my second draft I have used pixlr editor to make the background (brick wall) black and white but the model just the same and not in black and white. The use of this was to make the model/artist (Paige Althorpe) to stand out more as she contrasts with the plain wall. Taking into consideration the feedback from my questionnaire I created on my first draft for my article, they asked for a bti more colour to liven it up. Other than the image giving it more colour, I have also used the colour red, the colour red connotes many different feelings such as danger and love, however, it is also a very informing and alerting colour which catches the readers eye. The things I kept the same were the masthead and page number at the bottom left hand corner. The font for the masthead and page number is the same font used on my front cover and contents page also. Overall, the font helps keep a consistency throughout the magazine as the house style is very important to keep the magazine look professional that also engages the target audience.

Questionnaire:

I created a questionnaire to ask my target audience what they think of if, the feedback I will get back I will take into consideration and let it help me improve on my final draft. The two questions I asked were; what do you like about it? and what would you improve/change?

Ellie:

1. What do you like about it? I like the use of the red because it draws attention to the quote from the article and that quote is really intriguing.

2. What would you change/improve? I would make the text for the actual article neater as the second column looks bigger that the first which prevents it looking professional. 

Paige:

1. What do you like about it? I like the layout of the article and how the image is on one side and then the text on the other.

2. What would you improve/change? I would make the quote smaller as it might gain more attention than the title, and the title is important.

Final Draft For Contents Page

This is my final draft for my contents page and I feel that I have produced the best possible contents page suited for my target audience. Firstly, I have kept the masthead the same with the same font to keep it consistent throughout the magazine. However, I have changed the word "contents" to lower case as I feel now it connotes a very calm and relaxed atmosphere, whereas before it was very in your face and suited a more heavy metal, rock music genre and not indie rock. Secondly, I have reposition the images. The main images match with the two features on the right hand side, to make this clear I have used big, bold page numbers that contrast with the background. I have also overlapped the images to make it look more casual and independent instead of the bog standard list of images and text down each side of the page. I have also separated the contents page into two sections; 'features' and 'regulars'. The features contains articles such as the charts and interviews with celebrities... and the regulars include simple things every other music magazine may consist of; quizzes, fashion pages... etc. Lastly, like my front cover, I have used the colour scheme of white, black and red. I chose the red as I feel that it is a very alerting colour that draws the readers attention, However, I also chose red because whilst carrying out my questionnaires, the feedback I have gotten back from my target audience have made it clear that they wanted red for the same reasons I wanted to choose it. On the other hand.

First Draft For Magazine Article

This is my first draft for my music magazine double page spread article and overall I am very pleased with it. I did my article about a young teenager who became a big artists just over the internet by posting youtube videos, and how she progressed to be what she is now with her single "Fly With Me" at number 6 in the charts. I feel that this is a beneficial article for my target audience as most of my target audience are aged 16-24, at this age someone might be in the same situation Paige was in, this way it is giving them advice as well as telling them about Paige's intriguing story. I have also kept a consistency throughout this magazine on my front cover, contents page and now double page spread article, this is by using the same font for the masthead. The house style keeps it looking professional and sophisticated yet on the other hand, original. I have also used one whole side of the double page spread for the image, I did this because looking back at the feedback I got from my target audience in previous questionnaires, they specifically said that images draw a lot of attention and catch the readers eye as without them it would look boring. However, what my magazine article does lack is colour. In previous questionnaires a lot of the feedback mentioned the use of colour and how it livens it up. Therefore, colour will be one of the parts I change and focus on to improve and produce the best possible magazine double page spread article for my target audience. Secondly, I have also included a quote from the article which overlaps the image on the left. The quote reads 'I got signed with EMI record label within that week'. This quote is a very intriguing and interesting quote which should engage the reader. Lastly, I have also included the 'ir' at the bottom right hand corner, the 'ir' stand for indie rock. Indie rock is the masthead of the music magazine and by having the letters 'ir' repeated on every page whether it's small or big, it reminds the reader what magazine they are reading, it will also help for in the future as seeing the masthead over and over again will help my target audience remember it.

I have also compared my double page spread article to an article from the music magazine Q.  Overall, they are both very similar as in the image filling the whole of the left page. On the other hand, the three columns of text in the article make and help it look more professional, this is one of the things in which my magazine article is lacking at the moment; professionalism. 

Also, the Q magazine has made a use of colour, to do this they have overlapped a big letter 'L' which stands for Lady GaGa. The 'L' is in a bright red font which helps it stand out and look very alerting. The 'L' is also in a serif font, this font helps the magazine article look professional yet sophisticated as well. 

Questionnaire:

I created a questionnaire to ask three people from my target audience two simple questions; what is good about it? and what would you change/improve? The feedback I get will help me improve on my next draft by changing specific parts to fulfil my target audiences needs.

Shannon:

1. What do you like about it? I like how it is very plain which helps it look professional and suit the genre.

2. What would you improve/change? Although it looks good plain I still feel that there should be a little bit of colour, whether it's the quote or the masthead.

Nathalie:

1. What do you like about it? I like how the image takes up half of the magazine article as when i'm looking through magazines, images always stand out to me.

2. What would you improve/change? I would add more on to the article as at the moment it looks very plain and boring.

Paige:

1. What do you like about it? I like how you've kept the font consistent throughout the front cover, contents page and magazine article as this helps it look professional and real. I also like the article, it's about a young girl which is very inspirational for young teens out there.

2. What would you improve/change? I would also add a bit more colour to it, maybe a red or orange to go with the orange colour in the edit on the image. 

Final Draft For Front Cover

This is my final draft for my front cover. Not much has changed from my second draft as I feel that I have produced the best possible magazine front cover I can now. I have listened to my target audience and have included what they asked for, for instance, more images and the use of colour on specific text. Firstly, the parts I have changed are the positioning of the sticker, before hand it was quite low down which revealed a lot of free, blank space under the masthead, this in which made it look slightly plain and boring. However, after listening to my target audience I have moved it up slightly to cover that blank space so it now looks more professional. Secondly, the other part my target audience complained about was the text above the masthead. Before the text was in a big, hot pink font, my target audience said that the big, pink font almost taken away the attention given to the masthead. To solve this problem I have used a blue font as it is a much calmer colour unlike hot pink. I also have adjusted the size a little to make it smaller to prevent this problem from happening again. The reason why I chose a blue colour is because it connotes very calm things such as the sky, and the sea, however, this is very ironic since some indie rock songs are opposite to this calm feeling for example the song Somebody Told Me by The Killers. I have also kept the use of the red font the same as it was in my previous magazine front cover draft. This is because the questionnaire I made for my target audience gave positive feedback back regarding the red font and how it is very alerting and eye catching, so therefore, I kept it the same. 

Second Draft For Contents Page

This is my second draft for my contents page and again like my front cover I feel that I have massively improved. Firstly, I have changed the masthead by adding a red background. The red background attracts the reader as the colour red is very alerting and eye catching, hence why my colour scheme is black, white and red. I have also included the letter 'ir' next to the masthead. 'ir' is written in a big, black, bold font and also stands for indie rock which is the masthead of the magazine, this is here simply to remind the reader what genre the magazine is and what magazine they are reading to hopefully then help them remember it for the future. Secondly, I have taken my target audiences advice and decided to have the image separated from the rest of the text. This is so we know that the image goes with the caption 'find out how paige made it to the top 10 so quickly! find out her secret'. The use of the image is to engage the reader, whereas, if it was just the caption with no image it would look boring and the reader are bound to just turn over the page and not read it. Lastly, The numbers of the pages are in a big font which is the same font as the masthead on both the front cover and the contents page, this is to keep a consistency throughout. 


Questionnaire:

I created a questionnaire to get feedback from my target audience that would help me improve and/or change something on my contents page to produce the best possible magazine contents page for my target market. To do this I will also try and include everything they want for example, the use of different, bright colours and images. I asked three people from my target audience two questions; what do you like about it? and what would you change/improve?


Nathalie:

1. What do you like about it? I like how you have used red lines to separate different sections, now it is easier to see what text the image goes with.

2. What would you change/improve? It still looks a bit plain, maybe add more information on it and more images.


Leanne:


1. What do you like about it? I like how you have put a thick red box at the top with the title written in it, this really helps it to stand out and engage whoever is reading it.

2. What would you change/improve? I would also add more text to make it look more busier. 


Michael:


1. What do you like about it? I like the use of the black, white and red as it links with your front cover, this also helps you keep a consistency throughout.

2. What would you change/improve? I would add more images, as seen in other music magazines on the contents page they have more than one photo.