Final Front Cover

Final Contents

Double Page Spread Final

Double Page Spread

The article for my Double Page Spread:

Sophia Martinez
“definitely a whole lot of vida loca!”
So, Sophia, how are you finding England?Oh, it’s amazing isn’t it? Everything’s so cute! Those guards at Buckingham Palace, and those big red buses, and don’t even get me started on Harrods! Even the weather is the most adorable thing ever, it’s so modestly cold. Cute.

Eh, wish we thought of it that way. How different is i
t to Mexico?
Very... it’s so foreign! I miss being able to walk down the road in any direction and eventually get to a market wherever I go. And of course I miss my friends and family, and my Labradors Choco and Lata! I tell you what I miss most- my Nan’s tacos. But England is so much more civilized than Mexico. Men hold the door open for me here!
Have you had much time to see the sights? What with working so hard on your English album and your upcoming tour?
I get around! As the studio is right in the heart of London, I can take a stroll on my lunch break, before the days recording or after, whatever the mood takes me! One thing I’m determined not to do is waste the days away. I’m here for adventure,
and that’s what I’m damn well gonna get!





How’s the album going then?
Well it’s out in stores next month. I’m just makin
g my finishing touches. It’s insanity, how have I come from some little naive girl who only speaks Spanish to this, recording an album in English [laughs] it’s definitely a whole lot of vida loca!Any Spanish tracks?
None that are just Spanish, but I’m bringing out a Spanish album with it. Actually that’s a lie, there are a couple of bonus tracks of the Spanish album, and I do have a couple of lines in most songs. Thing is, that pretty much happens when I’m talking as well, i’ll be speaking English and if I like the word better in Spanish, that slips out instead! So watch out for some Latino lines in the songs! It’s a microcosm of bringing a splash of culture to England!
We’re very grateful for it! So, what is on the album?
Something for everyone, I like to think. A few Latino beats, and a few more chilled tracks, perfect for a Sunday afternoon. Not to mention the collaborations with the amazing Akon and Dizzee Rascal. I’m a very lucky girlHow was it, singing with those famous artists?
I was completely star struck! And all I could think
was “they’ve agreed to be here, they want to sing with me”. It was amazing. I can see where Dizzee gets his name from, he certainly made me feel that way!
Who inspired you?
Mostly foreign artists, who have broke through to the English music market. I’ve always loved Shakira and Ricky Martin. Not to mention the Spanish god that is Enrique Inglesias. But I don’t want to be just another English artist who is foreign. I want people to know me for my Mexican roots and Mexican style- I want more than anything to convey to the British public that I am here, rooting for Mexico, and giving them a taste of the lifestyle we lead. So, while I do have idols, it could just be a case of my thoughts making me who I am.

When is your UK tour?It starts in early April- I’m in the O2 arena from 2nd- 5th and then I tour to Cardiff, Manchester, Edinburgh and Brighton. I’m nervous already! I bet i’ll march on stage and say “Hola Londres, ¿como estas? (Hello London, How are you?). Or i’ll trip or something. I’m a big tripper. I’m definatley going to make the 02 arena sell fajitas though. And maybe we’ll have an onstage piñata! But shh- you’re not getting any more secrets out of me!
Ok, ok. So you’re album is out in a month, and if it’s anything like you’re debut English single “Jungle”, i’ll be a scorcher! How excited are you?
Oh, I can’t even think of a word to describe that! Tremendamente (Tremendously). If people like it that is! Oh I hope so.
More excited than you are for your tour?
That’s a hard one, that is! But I’d say more for the to
ur. Then I’ll get to meet the people who have made me who I am. What I love most is getting out there and doing my country proud- showing everyone that a young girl from a small Mexican Village can achieve her dreams. And introducing England to us Mental Mexicans! Yes, that’s what I’m all about!

Here is my double page spread so far:


I have not yet finalized my introduction of it, therefore it is not complete, hence the white space! I need to sort that out and adjust the text size, so I can fit my album cover on it as well. I may also play around with the gradient.

Polaroid Photo

Another element I wish to put on my double page spread is a polaroid photo. I feel that this will give it a personal touch and it will show good use of photoshop.
As I am unsure how to do this at the moment, I have researched online for various tutorials.

After reading through this one, this seems the most manageable : http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/create-a-polaroid-effect-of-your-photo/
I will now use photoshop at school to create a polaroid effect for my photo.

This is what i've come up with :

CD Covers

I want to add a CD cover to my double page spread, as it will portray music and give a reason for the singer to have an interview, because they have an album being released- infact I have spoke in the interview about the first English language CD of my artist being released.

To make this CD cover, I need to carry out research into what they generally look like.

As my singer is a female solo singer, I have carried out research into famous solo girl singers. I have opted to research these four female singers:

• Lady Gaga
• Cheryl Cole
• Rihanna
• Britney Spears

Lady Gaga

The album is a close up of her face, illustrating her blonde hair and glasses with glitter and sequins on. The words "Lady Gaga" are in bold at the bottom and "The Fame" is written on her glasses. The glitter connotates "fame", as do her sunglasses which illustrate how she does not want to be recognized due to her "fame", therefore keeping her eyes covered and her fringe long over her face.

Cheryl Cole
Cheryl Cole's album "3 Words" boasts a black and white photo of her wearing a flamboyant hat with lace covering her face. She has bare sho

ulders and back, and is the main focus of the front cover due to a plain background. She is making eye contact with the viewer, suggesting that the "3 words" apply to all the viewers. Her name and the album name look like they are tattooed onto her, making the album more personal.

Rihanna

Rihanna's new album "R", is partially self titled, named after her initial. She is making upwards eye contact with the reader, and the camera is at a high angle. Normally this makes the viewer feel dominating, however her look and stance make it seem like she can jump up at any moment. She has a hand over half her face, hiding herself. This suggests secrecy, and as if there is more of her to be shown in the album. Her pouting lip makes her seem threatening, and the fact that the title "R" appears to be written on in lipstick gives the reader a personal touch, as well as hinting at her femininity, which is still present through her tough outerface.

Britney Spears

Britney spears is sitting on a podium, with her body turned and her face facing the camera. Her album is titled "the circus" and the font and bright colours suggest this. However, as she is in a more demure colour, she stands out against the brightness of the colour as a whole. The viewer is led to wonder how she takes place in "The Circus", and they want to read on to find out.

All shots are medium close ups of the artist, depicting themselves and their femininity. They also establish what the songs are generally about, for example Cheryl Cole's "3 Words" songs are going to be about love, as the "3 words" referenced to are "i love you". Conversley, Rihanna's make up and stance suggest that her albums are going to be about her transition to a stronger, no nonsense woman. These claims are supported by the songs on each album.

This is the CD cover which I have designed :

Contents Page

Contents Draft One

I have put boxes where pictures were meant to go, to represent them as I have not been able to transfer these pictures yet.

Contents Draft Two

I have edited the contents in varoius ways, including adding a band index as I feel that this is a key convention of a music magazine. I have also edited the font and changed the page numbers so that they show a bit better. I have shortened the main titles of items in the magazine, and added more details under it. Therefore, if someone is just skimming through the magazine, they can quickly find the details they need, and if they wish to read more about it, they can read the text underneath. I have also added some notices, such as the "2010 music calander" and a notice displaying how you can subscribe to the magazine. These fit the conventions as they depict various features that could be in a magazine. Finally, I have added another picture of a male musician as this implies the gig music, a different genre to that displayed by my main model. It is a live shot, conveying energy of the music and illustrating how the magazine holds many forms of music.

Production of the Contents Page

Alongside producing my double page spread, I am also starting to create my contents page.


Here is the work I have done so far on it:

• To represent continuity throughout my magazine, I used the same typeface as I did for the title on the front cover. This was "28 days later", and I applied all the same effects.


• I decided on the four areas of contents: Every Month, Features, Events and Extras using Impact font, however I aim to experiment also using 28 Days Later.


• I added the items of the magazine. This includes features such as: "Where has lil wayne been hiding?", "Lady Gaga's Papparazi" and "A festival guide"


• I added a photo of Sophie from my photoshoot. I aim to add a strapline underneath the picture to establish her personality and what page she is featured. I have also added a quotation from the interview with P!NK, providing a hook for readers.


• I added "UK's LEADING MUSIC MAGAZINE" at the bottom as it gives it a more professional touch, and this type of statement is a regular feature on these magazines.

Production of the Double Page Spread

Here is my work that I have done so far on the double page spread:

I have created a masthead:

1. Using the same font "28 days later", I typed "that's what i'm all about", to make it the main title.
2. I added "bringing some Mexican Madness to England" as a strapline to the title, and wrote it in curvy italic writing above the title. This represents Sophie's breakthrough to the English music market.
3. "We chat to Sophia Martinez" was added underneath as a brief introduction
4. "about tacos, sombreros and why it should be sunny all the time" represent Mexico and are items mentioned in the article.
5. I added quotation marks to emphasize the main title, and made them grey to contrast with the pink used in the rest of the masthead.

I have also chose a main picture to use and have edited it appropriately on photoshop:

Fortunately, this picture did not need much editing. I adjusted the lighting and contrast to make it a better quality photo. I adjusted Sophie's make up a bit, and removed some stray hairs. I will also cut around the photo so I can use text-wrap in in-desi

gn.

I have managed to put this photo into indesign and using the tool, have cut out the background. I have then progressed to wrapping the text around it.

Here is a quotation I have created to go round the text:

How I produced the front cover

1. My first task was to find a suitable font, settling on "28 days later" with various effects.

2. I then added the image of Sophie, which had been edited in photoshop

3. I adjusted the picture so it went to the left of the page

4.I then started to add cover lines, beggining with "Black Eyed Peas- Kanye West- Arctic Monkeys... win tickets for the hottest gigs around!"

5. I added other cover lines

6. Firstly, I tried using green and pink, as I thought green brought out the colours in Sophie's dress- this was a bad idea. I found the two colours less than complemented each other, therefore opted for black and pink. Black, as a base colour, is a good colour to use for any magazine anyway, as it is easy to read on most backgrounds and complements most other colours. I also altered the colour of Sophie's dress, by adjusting the lighting and using the "smudge" tool. This meant it was not so green, providing no need for the green font which I thought I needed.

7. I then progressed to add mandatory items for a magazines front cover, such as a bar code, issue number, price and date.

8. I re-jigged the front cover a little more, centering the title and aligning the date, issue number and price with the header.

9 . I had had a bit of a problem with Sophie's arm in the photo- it streched to the other side of the magazine front cover, so I tried to cover it up with a white square, however, when this was tilted over her arm, it did not look right. After much angst about it, I removed the white square and carefully made Sophie's arm a bit less bold using the eraser tool. The finished product meant it did not look silly, but the arm did not interrupt any cover lines.

10. This is my final piece, after going through my stages of final production of the front cover!

Front Cover

Managed to upload my front cover at last! I had a problem with uploading the image, as it was too big and I had to edit it in photoshop, but I have now resolved that. Above is my final work.

Although I wanted this to be my final copy, I have noticed various other factors of the picture which need fixing:

• There is a white star over "YOU" in the bottom cover line, from when I was experimenting with the paintbrush star tool. As this was the same colour as the background, I did not notice that this was still there until I placed black text under it.
• Sophie's skin looks a bit odd, between her hair and ear. This is what it was like on the original photo but I still need to fix it, as it does not look professional.
• There is a small triangle of white in Sophie's hair which I must get rid of
• I am going to try putting the cover lines at the bottom on a black background rather than white, to represent contrast.

Drafts of the Front Cover

I have now nearly finished my front cover.

Whilst working with the magazine, I discovered that I didn't really like the original font I was going to use- it looked a bit odd with the picture and image of the front cover, and didn't quite fit the genre of my music magazine.

Therefore, I re-experimented with fonts.

Firstly, I tried IMPACT, and various shadows/outlines. This is what I ended up with;

However, I thought that this looked a bit plain.

Therefore, I decided to type each word out on a different cipher and make them disjointed, portraying the jagged style of the music magazine

This is what I produced;

However, I felt that this didn't really fit the conventions of my music magazine.

Whilst looking at music magazine title typefaces, I decided that I liked KERRANG's, with the suggestion that the title had been "beat by the music", so searched for a typeface like it.

Still inrested in creating a "jagged" effect for my magazine, I found and liked "28 days later", and with various shadows and utilization of each character on a seperate cipher, I decided that this would be an appropriate font to use. As each character was seperate, this enabled me to rotate the "R", so it could resemble the action of being "struck" by music. This again, enables a "jagged" and dangerous feel, promoting the effect of music explored in the magazine.

This is my final title;

I have now nearly completed the front cover.

I have produced a mock-up of what I want my front cover to look like.

I have decided to have the title and majority of cover lines in red. This is a warm colour, looking inviting and provides a contrast to Sophie's green dress.

Obviously I will have more cover lines and I will use a better copy of the photo in the actual front cover.

This is my work so far:

I do like the font, and feel it stands out. However, I feel as if I could edit it more to show better use of photoshop and make the front page look a little different. I have now airbrushed and edited the photo so it looks more appropriate for a music magazine front cover.

This is the final main photo I will use for my front cover.

I have edited:

• Sophie's skin, it is less patchy. I used the retouching tool to do this.


• Her hair, before she had a few stray hairs which I have cut out using the background eraser tool.


• I used the clone stamp to cut in her dress to give her a better shape: before, there was a bit of loose material which looked a bit odd.


• I have adjusted the lighting and contrast of the picture in photoshop.

I may also flip the photo over in photoshop, meaning that I can move the picture to the left and Sophie's head will be tilted towards the cover lines. This means that the "middle ground" of the magazine will consist of Sophie's head and the cover lines, which will be where the readers eyes are directed to first.