What a music magazine article should do for a band

The articles in music magazines are to promot the band
1. Talk up the band
2. Persuasive
3. Details of band good features

Generic Features and Elements of a Double Page Spread

5 Generic Geatures of a Double Page Spread

1. Interview
2. Best of...
3. Expose
4.Band Hiatus
5. Festival Build up

5 Generic Elements of a Double Page Spread

1. Main Photo
2. Title
3. Quotes
4. Column Text
5. Top Banner
6. By-line - photographer and journalism credit
7.Drop Caps

10 Things that are needed on any contents page

1. Masthead
2. Anchorage from the main article/double page spread in the magazine
3. Page numbers
4. Sub Headings
5. Pictures
6. Editorial
7.Subscriptions
8.Date
9. Issue number
10. Columns

5 rules

Professional band photographer Steve Taylor (Little Man Tate) etc says that there are 5 main rules to ensure you have a good cover image.

1. No Cluttered Background
2.Make sure you focus on the lead singer in a band shot so the audience knows who they are. If it is a single artist make sure it is a medium shot - close up,
A 3/4 image may be good, not centred.

3. Leave room for a masthead (oh, and don't cut off heads!)!
4. No high angle shots - they make bad cover images! Fine for a double page spread but really poor on covers.
5.Animate your band - make sure they look at the camera!

What I did yesterday

Yesterday in media i played around with Adobe Photoshop Elements to make a masthead for one of my magazines. The masthead was for a magazine called Headstock magazine. I used a number of different tools on photoshop. For example i took a picture of a fender guitar headstock, and used the clone tool to recreate the wooden effect over the label Fender so that I could put my masthead on it instead, and the words were not confused. The words in the masthead used the chrome, and the wow-chrome effect to get the effect that is on the guitar.

What I did

Yesterday in media I used how to create interesting texts using different effects in photoshop. I used plastic wrap, water mark and mosaic to make it more interesting.

3 KEY POINTS

Target Audience - The intended readership of a magazine such as teenagers etc.
Mainstream Product - One that is aimed at the majority of consumers.
Niche Product - One that is aimed at a smaller, specific set of consumers.

What I have learnt

Yesterday in Media I learnt two main things

1. To change files from Quark files to Adobe Photoshop files and in reverse.
2. To distinguish Target Audience and Sub Genre of any music magazines.

What I learned last week

well, the main thing that really helped me that i learned last week is how top0 really work photoshop elements. I have now nearly finished my cover, and have started my contents page, which needs doing. That should be done and uploaded by the end of tomorrow as I am going to come into subject workshop to do it. :)
bye Josh x