Critical Evaluation of first draft of front cover

I think overall my front cover works because it represents the genre clearly through the design. My coverlines are positioned around the band so do not cover their faces, however the purple coverlines are much darker which makes them harder to read. I think I also need to make some changes to the band name as that's dark too because of the purple font colour. The font I have used works well because its clear but I'm not sure if I like it yet. The background is quite dark so I will need to adjust that, along with the image because that is also dark and looks slightly too edited on Photoshop; which has an effect on how may magazine looks. My masthead works well because its bold and eye catching with limited colours so isn't confusing. I think my magazine will attract my target audience because 15- 17 year old tend not to like to read much and my magazine doesn't have much writing.  

Creating my magazine!

I decided to have an image of a brick wall as my background because by having the background plain there looked like something was missing and it made the image look even more photo-shopped than it already does. I then added my masthead design which I had previously created. 

After that I then went on to adding my cover lines and positioning them in suitable places. I found the coverlines a challenge to create because differents fonts and colours had an effect on the clearness of the writing, for example a really light or dark shade of purple does not show up or stand out on the brick wall, neither does a narrow font. I also added a barcode to allow buyers to purchase my magazine.

Pre Production Planning- Front cover design

There was a slight problem with my original front cover image because I had taken it landscape instead of portrait. To be able to use this image I edited the image in photoshop. I firstly cut the band members out indivually using the lasso tool and moving them across to a new blank document. I had to rub certain parts out and move them closer together. I decided the white background didn't look right so I used the eye dropper tool on Mollys jeans and found a colour from that. The clone tool came in very handing because there were parts of Ollie's( male on the right) top missing from where I  postioned him so I cloned the black to create a new part.

Pre Production Planning- flat plans

Front cover

Contents Page

Double Page Spread

Pre Production Planning- front cover ideas

I know I definitely want my masthead across the whole of the top as it makes the cover look striking and bold. I also want to follow the conventions of a magazine by having my coverlines on the left. I looked at the arctic monkeys on Q magazine and they have the band name in a large font positioned at the bottom, which I quite like. 

Pre Production Planning- photo shoot

I really like this image so I'm definitely going to incorporate it in my magazine but I'm not sure where yet. The reason I like it is because the models look really relaxed and natural. this contrasts with the natural location. I also really like the colours from the background, I think they help make the image look 'indie'.

This is the image I took for my front cover, however there have been some complications with the way I have taken it so I'm going to need to adjust this in photoshop. I think this image will work well as a cover image because the models are all looking in the direction of the camera, which grabs readers attentions. The only down side to this image is how the light reflects on the models body,however I maybe able to resolve this problem in photoshop. 

This is my favourite image from the photoshoot, simply because I like how natural they look. 

Pre Production Planning- Article ideas

Regular 

Gig list 

main headline gigs in major cities, 2 pages
How to look indie rock

make up, clothes etc
Hottest bands

arctic monkeys, fall out boys,1997
Feedback
Introducing
Chart list

general chart update
Shots

posters of indiego's  hottest bands
Album reviews

 indiegos top 5 albums with reviews
Rosa Flynn
Competitions

Kings of Leon ticket

Features

Double page spread

introducing dilemma,interview, images 
Festival reviews

biggest most popular festivals, survival kit, 3 pages

Kings of Leon in the studio
Avril Lavigne
Oasis
The killers
Artist comebacks

sudden appearances The Legends

Pre Production Planning- Interview

I want to have a chilled interview, add in some random questions and to just have a chat with the band; nothing formal.

Questions....

1. Have you always dreamed of having a career in music or did it turn up out of the blew?
2. Who inspired you to want a career in music? (role models)
3. How long have you been together as a band?
4. Who is the joker in the band? 
5. Where do you see yourself in 4 years/
6. Where was your first gig?
7. Do you still get nervous performing?
8. Who would you like to perform with?
9. When are you next touring?
10. Celebrity crush?
11. Whats your favourite song?