My Final Cover

This is my final cover with everything put together. My masthead, image, coverlines and layout all seem to fit in together.

I have edited my image quite a lot, through the magic of Photoshop, and it really helped extend all my creative decisions past just the photo itself. As well as allowing me to really lighten and increase the contrast to make it fit in with the cool tone of the cover, it allowed me to just even out the pigmentation everywhere. Because my camera quality was fairly low (3.2 MP), the resolution of my image is quite limited, especially as I've increased the size, I thought it was important that everything was spot on. I lightened my models skin quite dramatically because of the fairly dark natural light in my photo, and also added virtual make up, like her blusher and extra mascara to make it more noticeable on the cover. I darkened the leggings, to increase contrast manually, and also burned the belt to make it's print more defined. I believe Photoshop has also allowed me to make it more realistic through lighting effects I added, and makes it seem like I had a real white backdrop, as I added an internal shadow as well as a duplicate shadow behind with an outer glow. I also put a subtle spotlight on my image to added to that showbiz effect. Overall these changes are quite subtle, but I think make that slight professional difference.

Like I predicted I have made some changes from my planned layout, due to the way my image was taken as I described previously. Because of where my masthead is now placed, it does make it slightly more unconventional but I think it still looks like a credible layout. I have also rearranged my cover lines around the image but not too dramatically. I've also added a small barcode to my cover, which I designed exactly like a real magazine barcode using a barcode font off dafont.com.

For my cover lines I used the bold italic version of Siple for the main parts of each coverline (he artist's name) all in capitals, and for the rest I used light Siple.

Initially I made a first draft of my cover, as shown, which wasn't as colourful or large as this one. After receiving feedback from Ms Furness, I had positive feedback of my good use of pink and bold in my coverlines and my good photo, but I had suggested changes of;

• Perhaps try tying the masthead colour in with the rest of your cover


• Make the main coverline bigger so it stands out more


• Try making the image slightly bigger so some of the coverlines bleed across it

I wasn't too keen on making my masthead tying into the rest of my cover, as I was initially aiming for that non-colour changing masthead to impart identity, but I experimented with incorporating the minty colour into my coverlines and the result grew on me. I also wasn't sure about making my image bigger because I didn't want my cover lines to bleed over, as I had saw some covers that specifically fit them around. However I understood why it need to be made bigger, as there was some space at the top especially that her head should have filled. I did make these alterations however, and the result was that at the top of this post.

My Cover Photoshoot

I asked permission to hold my photoshoot at my friend Alex's house, for various reasons including he owned guitars, amps and other musical props, his house is mostly painted white or neutral covers (which I thought would make good backdrops to cut out of) and a lot of natural light comes in through the windows and because of the lightly coloured rooms it just has good lighting.

I decided with my other friend Rachael, who is in my media class, that we should have a joint photoshoot for our original photography as it would be more efficient. It saved time, as it needed to be done on a specific weekend in order to reach the deadline and it allowed us to use the same models. We spent a lesson setting a schedule for our photoshoot, as there were some problems. Because we were making completely different styles of music magazines, there were some hair and make-up issues, which would have been sorted out easily had we not been on a time limit because our models Jemma, Fuchsia and Alex had prior commitments (driving lesson, interview, work). We eventually came up with an effective schedule, divided up into separate shoots for each artist and gave them an estimated time. I then divided my shoots into cover, contents and DPS, so I could write about them separately here on my blog. We also listed things we needed our models to bring, and things we needed ourselves to make sure we were mostly prepared for the day, but not overly detailed as we still wanted some spontaneity.

My cover photoshoot was just of one artist, Pink, as I wanted to keep it conventional with one image covering the whole cover. For her costume/outfit I didn't choose a glamorous simplistic one which would have been obviously more grown-up, but I feel that what I did pick was true to the artist's actual style and very modern. I also think it would attract more peoples attention by being a bit more out-there and it has more "cool" connotations as it may evoke associating thoughts from my audience of gigs or festivals, which I think may be useful if I trying to portray non-cheesy, but not too serious pop - a problem that possibly would of occured with something too glamorous and not similar to my audience's personal style. The specifics of my outfit are;

• Patent red heels - which do provide a juxtaposition of that classy style through the connotation of this pretty common arbitrary sign


• Simplistic black leggings - a big trend and something I consider to represent confidence to wear them by themselves which may also be thought by some of my audience


• A grey leopard print belt - to make the whole look more drawn together


• A white abstract design t-shirt - the simplistic edge of just the white t-shirt combined with a more intriguing design which I actually don't understand and have no opinion on, so fascinates me further

I kept jewellery to a bare minimum, as often those on real covers don't wear much as I think they need to draw attention to themselves and who they are rather by being swamped in jewellery and intricate clothing.

I took a few photos of the different stances I'd planned and I've picked the best ones here;

• Plain medium close up - The very simplistic pose, we even chose to have a basic black vest to get that full sense of simplicity, but I just don't think it's interesting enough for that cover placement, although a suitable emergency back-up.



• An innocent medium close up - I requested my model to still look into the camera, but I still don't think this has the desired effect, but seems very prim and proper, not exactly the vibe I want to give out on my cover.


• Close up smile - My suspicions about the smiling were right, it just doesn't work. I feel it looks less professional, and although it encourages relation and a connection between reader and star, it loses all sense of celebrity and looks far too casual.



• Sitting on floor - I do think this is a good photo, and is an effective stance as I described, but maybe isn't suitable for the cover because of it's causal vibe, but is definitely something I'd think about in my DPS. Maybe it's the fact she isn't sitting on anything, after all she is a celebrity, not a tramp.

• Sitting on an amp - I really think this would be an effective image as it just seems to have that conventional look. Because of the size of the amp, this is different to how I planned, but this way it means the logo is clearly on show. Thinking of my cover, I could have flipped it to make it fit, but then all the writing on the image would be backwards. I may just have to rearrange which I will look into. I think the amp is a good signifier with many meanings, and provides a bold musical/celebrity element, especially with it's metallicness. It also acts a visual metaphor, like a musical throne, which I think would subtly enforce that coverline idea of them having authority and power. Yet the pose is still fairly laidback and spontaneous which helps it come together well.

• Standing on an amp - Although I still like this, the photography went a bit wrong. I couldn't get far enough back in the room and by this time on the photoshoot, it was quite a rush before my model had to leave, so I decided to make do with the "shower shot". It's likely that I won't use this although I like meanings and connotations it has, but I prefer the sitting one at the minute.
  

I'm definitely swayed towards the sitting amp photo, as not only is it the most intriguing and interesting idea, I think it's also my best shot, like it's a sign telling me to use it. I will go ahead using this and will hopefully be successful, but at least I know I have the rest of this range as safer back-ups.

Cover Developed Draft

I used Layout 2 from my rough drafts for my developed draft, as although itis conventional as I've said, it is the easiest to work around and make look credible. Also the mian problem with my more unconventional ones was the coverlines being next to each rather than in separate columns, and as I was trying out positioning everything it just didn't look like it would work. I do have a feeling however, that this layout might change when it comes to my final piece, as it will depend on most things to do with the image. Like for instance, I won't find out the size or layout of the amp till the day of my photoshoot, so depending on what size and where the Fender logo is (I want it to be showing on my cover like the Chanel zipper is showing on Madonna's Q cover) I'll have to rearrange slightly around this. Also, I'm not to keen on the main coverlines bleeding onto my celebrity's face, but hopefully this will also be sorted as a result of how I position my model.

This is the actual font I'm using, Siple, however it doesn't do all the same functions on Publisher as it does on Photoshop, so these are representatives of what my coverlines will look like. I will experiment more with italics and bold/lightness.

For the colours, it's mostly white and black, sticking to conventions, but then the bright accents bring out the fresh feel, especially the colour of my masthead. Also it's very very similar to the most popular one on my questionnaire so it should be popular with my audience. I'm not sure if there is enough colour here, so I might play around with that a bit, but it does depend heavily on what my model is wearing, and although I haven't decided yet I do have the idea of it being pretty neutral but bold.

So now that I have this fairly detailed draft, which will help a lot when actually making my real cover because it's not just coming from scratch, the next step is my photoshoot!

Stance planning

For my cover image, I need to consider some stance or pose for my model to stand in. My facial expression is pretty much decided on, as smiling is a massive risk to take when I'm not aiming for cheesy pop, and well the only thing left is the blank/sultry/sexy look. I think I'll just go for a deep staring kind, so I don't freak my readers out. Also my target readers said they did prefer the celebrity looking into the camera so I'll do this in some form. My questionnaire also told me that medium and medium close up were the most popular shots.

Stances I will consider are;

A plain medium close up shot- Favoured by my audience and the very conventional position. I would have them standing the way they would in an average conversation, giving that friendly feel to the reader, or the simplistic effect with just arms by sides, to try and evoke the thought and preferred reading that pop doesn't have to resort to gimmicks to be noticed.

An innocent medium close up - When I was carrying out my research into covers, I found the Rolling Stone cover very endearing and strangely intriguing for such a simple image. However, this same sort of weak vulnerable style might contradict my intended meanings of everything else like my masthead and coverline, which would confuse my readers, or they may take a negative aberrant reading if this causes them to not understand why I've used the stance.

Close up smile - Although I'm not to keen on this, as I really don't think it was a coincedence the only smiles I've saw were for Zac Efron and Miley Cyrus, I may try it out. I chose to do it in close up, as this would give a more intimate feel, therefore hopefully making the smile more mysterious and flirty, like a cheeky secret smile, but I don't have much faith in this idea.

Sitting on floor - As I did mention in my proposal pitch I might try and make a subtle different edge on my image by having the star sitting and lying down I feel I should try this out. I think sitting back on the arms connotes an easy-going lifestyle, and therefore a laid-back personality which would hopefully encourage my readers to look at the interview. My readers also might decode it as a cool person stance. Then the knees up is quite childish, but very comfortable and cool, so I think altogether it would work. However, I think on a cover it may look a bit too unconventional, and possibly lead it to lacking in professionality, but could work well on my DPS if this fails.

Sitting on an amp - I was very chuffed with this idea, as I thought it would easily cover that conventional celebrity element I was planning on. Also I think it's quite a loosely motivated prop, an arbitrary sign, therefore will have many different interpretations and levels of connotations (I'd explore this further if I actually chose to use it). I think that would just add a bit of spark to my cover, but hopefully not seem too gimmicky. But I personally think it would look effective and interesting, so hopefully my readers would interpret it in the same way. I'd have the stance similar to that of sitting on the floor, but this would probably be quite spontaneous as well depending on what works position-wise on the amp.

Standing on the amp - Again for the same reason for using the amp, but standing is a completely different signifier. If I was to use a hands on hips stance (not drawn) that could act as a recognised code of power, and standing on top of a musical prop would add to this, like a podium of the music world. However, this seems too predictable for me, so I'd prefer a funner more laidback style, like knees bent and hands resting on knees. I think this would ease the reader in better rather than possibly scaring them away, although strong figures are often admirable.

At the minute I really like the amp stances, but in case these don't really work I'll still take shots of my other ideas, at least as back-ups, but I may also change my mind or receive negative feedback.

My Coverlines

In order to come up with some conventional style coverlines, I looked more closely at the covers in my collection, as although I looked at it when researching covers, I don't feel like I have enough knowledge of them to make my own effective ones. All I really know, is that they are mostly straightforward in their language, and use the artist's names for the main parts of the coverlines, but I don't know anything about the forms that they are in on one collective cover. I've generally learned there can be anywhere from 3-8 on a typical music magazine cover, so I was thinking about having about 5 0r 6 on my own, as to not make it over the top simple, but not horrendously busy either as they can have fairly lengthy descriptions. To come up with mainstream artists to feature, what place better for pop music that Hit40UK?

These are the forms I've discovered, along with my own proposed cover lines;

• Main coverline - When the main image is of a solo artist at least, the accompanying cover line often features some sort of title that has been made for them for example, "The New First Lady of Soul", "Pop's Next Megastar" and "The New American Heart Throb". It also ranges to less specific titles like "Pop-soul sensation", "Genius" and "The Diva". By using these titles, it's a kind of recognised code to position the audience into thinking the star is in some position of authority and power, as it what the reader wil expect from such a title. The also often mention something about them being "new" to capture that up to date value which will appeal to audiences. As I'm featuring a solo female, I think it's best to follow this, although with a slight twist. I'm planning on featuring Pink, because as well as being current, I think she was one of the first artists to rebel in that time of record-company controlled clones, so makes her a good cover star for my magazine. Also her style is quite contemporary, and although it's not the sophisticated classy style that instantly connotes grown-up pop, I think it will work with the fresh feel I'm aiming for. The thing that separates her is her rebellious nature, so I think I could incorporate this into a title. And instead of using "new", I could alternate to "the original", which although may not have as much a shock impact, I think it would still be appreciated. Instead I could maybe use some shock language to describe her, in-keeping with her attitude.
  Coverline: PINK- The original up yours to squeaky clean pop

• List - A lot of covers I've gathered use lists of artists just to squeeze that extra variation in which may increase the chance of the target readers liking and buying it. I think this shows the necessary variation within one genre that should be used because everyone that likes on genre still has their favourites. Using my own knowledge and the chart, I chose The Script, Gabriella Climi, Ne-Yo and The Sugababes as they are a variation of a male band, a solo female, a solo male and a girl band. They're also different sub and fusion genres of pop, yet stil all currently popular. Also the American magazines tend to use a + sign at the start of their lists, so I may differentiate this and use an & sign.
  Coverline: & The Script. Gabriella Climi. Ne-Yo. The Sugababes.

• Quote - I have saw a couple of these on covers, like "I was shot in the face","Stupid question! Next!" and "Will everybody please punch that pr*ick!". I think they're slightly more unusual, create intrigue, and are used for shock or humour, so I may use one. I think it could be really random or topical, which would defnitely interest someone, but I'm not sure if that's more gossip magazine style. I think I'd use it with a mixed band, as they were quite popular in my questionnaire but I'm lacking in ideas for them. I can think of The Tings Tings, The Gossip and Paramore. The Gossip and Paramore are far too rocky for my genre of music, so I think I should go with the Ting Tings. They're quite an out there band, so I think their quote could be pretty curious too. I'd like to represent some part of the gig scene, so this could incorporate that. I think this could be my chance to use a slang word too, something my readers possibly won't know, but the word I'm planning on using has came up often on network sites like MySpace, so it could work for familiarity too.
  Coverline - THE TING TINGS - "We glomp each other on stage"

• Rhetorical questions - These are used again to intrigue, and I've saw ones such as "Why do supermodels love James Blunt?" and "Who will be the new king of hip hop?". I think I'd like to incorporate quite a random one into my cover, for that extra curiousity, possibly one about a behind the scnese video feature. I'm thinking about Will Young's odd new video, which could lead on to a contents image? He jumps around in hay, gets struck by lightening etc. so hopefully it wouldn't sound to juvenile saying "Why's Will Young Jumping Around in Hay?". I'll try it out, and change it if I need too.
  Coverline - "Why's WILL YOUNG Jumping Around In Hay?"

• No specific artist related - Possibly reports of some sort, or about a certain genre, like "The Rise of Raunchy Indie Rap", "Is Rock Bad for the Environment?" and "Grunge Madness!". I think definitely gives some credibility as it focuses on the music genre as a whole and not just another artist. It can also help give a serious edge if it's a report style, but I don't think that's what I want for my magazine, so I'll probably stick to a genre feature. I'm thinking about the whole contemporary coined phrase of "nu", something I could form into a new genre, like "The Nu RnB", as Rihanna and Chris Brown came top of my questionnaire, so I think something like this would attract their fans. Also with a "the" in front of it, I think my target readers will understand this recognised code and be interested in it, similar to how "the new black" is said, something which may be familiar to my target readers.
  Coverline - The Nu RnB - 5 to look out for

These are most of my coverlines, however I may add one or two more when making my developed draft, but they will just be normal ones, one relating to my individual feature perhaps. I have also chose my font for the majority of text on my cover. As my masthead is so chunky and ragged, I felt as if I should go for a completely plain font to keep within conventional style. I've chosen one called Siple off dafont.com, which comes in light, bold and bold italic. It's tall linear and sans serif, which I find very contemporary. I'm planning on using all capitals everywhere, as I think it's a recognised code of power and loudness, all fitting in with the values and intended meanings I want to convey to my readers.

Cover Layout Drafts

Although I haven't planned my coverlines or my coverstar yet, I felt I should choose how I want to layout my cover, so I can maybe develop everything else to what I choose, or at least know how I can change my layout to fit any spontaneous decisions. I'll plan it as if I'm having a normal amount of coverlines and using the medium shot thatwas most popular on my questionnaire. I'd also considered the possibility of my star sitting down so I may incorporate this into my draft layouts. For my coverlines, I know I'll have a main one, so I'll label this, but I'm also planning to have some sort of list, as I'll mention when I plan my cover lines, so I'll label this too.The 3 layouts I've came up with are these;

Layout 1 - Although I have said I'll need to keep my magazine looking generally conventional due to the currently unconventional genre, when I've been playing around with layout, I think something obviously different could give me an advanatge and help with the contemporary feel. On this layout, the masthead is half way down the page, but still the biggest part of the cover. I think that if read in the preferred reading, it could show pop is capable of being different, leading onto the idea that it isn't just record company clones, which is one of the other concepts I really want to come across. The main coverlines is above the masthead, so hopefully wouldn't be misinterpreted as the name of the magazine, but obviously this would depend on the reader as to those from my target audience it would probably be obvious that an act's name is not the title. If I did choose the unusual masthead, I may keep my image a very plain medium shot with no props, as to keep this unqiue feature simple, however doing this would be veering away from conventions again as there's often some sort of celebrity prop or essence in a cover image. Also it may not look as clear, as I've noticed coverlines don't tend to come in a row, always in columns.

Layout 2 - This is my more conventional draft layout, with the masthead at the top, and in the left corner as it doesn't go over the whole page, then my main coverline at the top and my others in a column either side of the image. I think this could also work in the opposite way to my previous layout, as this could play to the recognised codes stengths, and can be decoded to show pop fits in with the other music magazines and is just as worthy and credible. It is just completely typical, as I have numerous covers with the same basic layout, but I personally think it's a bit safe. However should I be safe, or would my audience like something more different from all the rock magazines, or would they prefer to have the pop equivalent of a rock magazine? It does have the slight unconventional twist of the celebrity sitting down/leaning, but otherwise it's all just pretty plain. I think I'd like to try out different layouts when creating it, but probably come back to this one if I don't feel they work.

Layout 3 - This again has the unconventional masthead move, to suggest the same thing as Layout 1, but I think this one is slightly more subtle , as it only has the main headline above it, rather than two. The cover lines in columns would probably be another problem, but when trying to make my developed draft, I could maybe conquer this by using elements of my other drafts and just rearrange parts until it fits and looks right. My star would also be sitting here, but slightly more to the side, rather in the centre like Layout 2, so then maybe my list coverline could go behind them. However, this may not work depending on what I choose as the seat, and the size of it.

Now that I have these basic layouts, I may do more planning on my coverlines and image before I create my more definite developed draft, as I can't really choose completely here and if I have my coverlines and image stance decided on, I can make a more specific layout, tailored to my individual features.