Production Diary

Since my photo-shoot I have now created what I believe to be the basis of my magazine. After collating the images I needed, the next step for me was to use photoshop to which was a relatively new software for me. Therefore I decided to follow the tutorials provided to which gave me a step  by step guide on how to exactly what I need from each photo. This included using such things as magnetic lasso's to remove the main image from the background. This will be integral to my final magazine as I plan to use a full bleed image to which bleeds over my masthead, as my prior research of successful magazines within this genre suggested that this would help my magazine to look much more professional.

Kerrang Codes and Conventions

There a numerous codes and conventions of the metal rock music genre conveyed within in this music magazine cover of Kerrang!, a magazine which specialises in metal music. The theme colours black and white are code for and are related to the gothic cult which shares many aspects of metal music, which is clearly evident on this cover through other codes such as the artists amount of heavy black eye make-up. This heavy eye make-up is out of the ordinary for men and holds a sense of rebellion; however this is not for the genre and is part of the gothic style and image. As the eye make-up rings around his eyes it focuses the audience’s attention on his sincere serious look which is not common in pop magazines such as 'Top of the Pops', however as a close-up of the artist is used this draws the attention to his sincerity attracting fans of the music who are intrigued by his deep emotion. The smoke coming out of his mouth could just show the rebellion within the music as it could be decoded as if he is exhaling from a draw of a cigarette. However this is representing him as devil like exhaling and breathing smoke from hell, another aspect which adds to the idea of him being devil like are his black deep eyes showing no emotion. An addition been his trimmed black beard and moustache commonly related to caricatures of the devil. The word ‘resurrection’ is also present on the cover a complete juxtaposition to the devil imagery being used, as resurrection is a religious reference of god, and this music is far from holy. The font styles used are also code for the genre of metal music. The font used for ‘HIM’ is very gothic as the letters are sharp the opposite of round bubble writing used for the pop genre. The font used for ‘Kerrang!’ is black bold and heavy like the eye make-up on the artist, also is has an effect as if it has been smashed or cracked due to loud heavy noise. The title ‘Kerrang!’ is onomatopoeia for guitar and drum sounds which are part of the music genre. The slogan with it ‘Life is loud’ summarises the music within the magazine.

Music Magazine Codes and Conventions Research

Music Magazines Codes and Conventions Research

Music magazine codes and conventions from Ellen Russell

Production Diary

Today I finally completed my photo-shoot. Up until recently production has been low, thus resulting in a reduced amount of production diaries, however now my photo-shoot has been completed I can begin to build my own individualistic magazine, using the images I have taken. During the photo-shoot I ensured that the style models or image ideas were available to me so that I could get exactly the images I needed for my magazine.

Mood Board

Cover Lines

Masthead: 

• Eleven (written in reprise stamp font in black with a red background so to stand out.)

Sell lines: 

• Axl Rose Reveals his views on G'N'R - Read all about Axls feud with former guitarist Slash.
• Metal Maidens - We explore the lives of some of the biggest women in Metal.

Band List:

• Judas Priest
• Dio
• Iron Maiden
• Reckless Love
• Riot Act
• Metallica
• Kiss

Main Image Heading:

• Riot Act One Scene One - See the inside life of a newbie band into the world of Rock!

Administrative Text:

• Date
• Issue No1
• £2

Slogan:

• Does yours go all the way to Eleven?

Image Ideas

Magazine Images Ideas

The use of imaes are vital for the sale of any magazine, irrelevent of the genre. Music magazines in particular use images prominantly to help to sell their magazines using the front cover as a means of enticing readers. Here is a collection of Images that have inspired me to emmulate them for my magazine;

 This image of 'The Pretty Reckless' Taylor Momsen was arguably one of the most convincing style models for my cover photo because it encapsulates the genre, attitudes and moods of my magazine and would appeal directly to my target readership of males between the ages of 16-40. The mid-shot shown would fit very well onto a front cover and so considering ther likeness between Taylor Momsen and my model this is a brilliant incentive for me to use.

 

his image of Halestorm fits my criterias excellently for my cover page main image, as it is landscape and encapsulates a 'band' feel and is instantaneously obvious that it is a rock band, fiting well with my chosen genre. Furthermore Lzzy Hale stands out in particualr because she is a girl and that is excentuated here, of whihc is something I aim to emmulate with my photography.

 

And finally this photo of Guns 'n' Roses front man Axl Rose has given my the initiative to use a similar style with my feature article, to whihc mainly interviews and concerns one person or oone act and so showiung an action shot like this that singles out the acts mannerisms and styles, I feel will be essential in making my magazine look professional and relevant.

Name Ideas

The name is arguably the most important aspect to any magazine, especially those within my chosen genre of rock and heavy metal.

The naming process was very difficult. I decided to follow some infamous factors of the genre as well as using the names and initials of some of the genres most iconic figures (iconography). Here were the ideas;

- RJD (after icon Ronnie James Dio)
- RHM (acronym for rock heavy metal)
- ELEVEN (in reference to a well known phrase within the genre 'turn it to eleven' & 'mine goes all the way to eleven')
- EDDIE (in reference to the genre's most iconic band Iron Maidens infamous mascot 'Eddie')

As a result I decided choose 'Eleven' this is because I felt it was unique and would stand out on the shelf particularly with my target readership in mind, particularly in relation to the very well known phrase to which its origins come from a film synonymous with my chosen genre, 'Spinal Tap'.

Promotional Methods

Music magazines in particular use many promotional methods to promote their magazines across multi-media platforms here are the methods I aim to use in my magazine;

I used a survey (surveymonkey) to collate the best ideas and free prises, plugs and advertisements. Here are the results;

Answer Choices –	Responses –
– Band Posters	0.00% 0
– Compilation CD's	0.00% 0
– Free entry to a competition to win free festival tickets	14.29% 1
– Autographed Merchandise	14.29% 1
– Cash Prizes	14.29% 1
– Backstage passes	28.57% 2   28.57% 2
- Free music download codes/iTunes Vouchers               Therefore to conclude I decided that in order to appeal to my chosen readership the free music downloads and iTunes vouchers and backstage passes to select concerts would be the best potential promotional methods for my magazine.

Social Media

Social Media in Music Magazines;

Social media is an important aspect and attribute to any modern magazine of all genres not just music magazines and so it is growingly vital for magazine companies to think about social media when distributing and producing their magazines. Music magazines incorporate all of the leading social media formats such as YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Most importantly however the use of social media such as Spotify and Deezer in addition to the generic formats, really supports the music magazine genre, given their music based purposes.

Social Media in my Music Magazine;

I believe it is vital to include social media in my magazine due to my quest to achieve a professional magazine. Here is a list of the features I am to include;
- Reader Twitter & Facebook comments.
- Band 'likes' & 'followers' across platforms.
- iTunes/Spotify Top Download charts.
These three aspects I believe incorporate the key aspects of social media and, allows for readers to become involved with my magazine reducing the commercial : reader thesis, potentially leading to loyal readership and will therefore make my final magazine look and read professionally.

Production Diary

In today's lesson I finished my article analysis. Similarly to my front cover and contents page analysis the detail was in great depth as I wanted to have a greater understanding of how magazines work and the generic codes and conventions. Such in depth analysis is beneficial to me in the long run as it allows me to compare my magazine with pre-existing and successful magazines ultimately to enable my magazine to look professional.

Feature Article Draft

FEATURE ARTICLE FIRST DRAFT

I’m sat here surrounded by bottles of liquor and overfilling ash trays, in a small hotel room five minutes away from the infamous Sheppard’s Bush Empire where new British sensation Riot Act are preparing to go on stage, supporting hard rock icons; Halestorm. As I look around it seems to me as though young Gemma, Riot Acts lead singer, is merely a television out of the window away from the ultimate rock and roll life style. I spoke to her and the rest of the Riot Act family about rock and roll for newbies!

All good dreamers have an icon, I wondered exactly who or what gave Riot Act the desire to be the next big rock and roll hopefuls.

‘…I have always been intrigued by the women in rock, like Suzi Quatro and Doro Pesche. I used to spend hours just listening to their voices and watching their videos on MTV admiring the power they had in every movement, so much so I just had to have a slice of the action…’

Being the front woman to such a quickly popularising band, Gemma is always in the limelight. Given the common stereotypes of women in male dominated environments, I questioned what it was really like.

‘….At first I was surprised at how demanding the industry is, you expect to have to flaunt yourself and reveal yourself in ways you never would imagine, but it is completely not the case! Heck I rarely even get the chance to show a bit of leg on a magazine cover! The studio is a tough place when you’re a newbie like us, you become so fixated upon making everything perfect that sometimes you forget why you even started. But when you see girls like Lzzy Hale (Halestorm) and Taylor Momsen (The Pretty Reckless) doing so well in the industry, it just goes to show that there is a place for women rock stars as there has been since the 1970’s!...’

Riot Act have just released their debut single ‘Rising’ which has stormed into the charts amiably at number five this week. The track tells the tale of a person rising to the top, and being triumphant over adversity. The track was written by guitarist Simon and front woman Gemma, so I asked Gemma to reveal the message behind the song…

‘….I have a very simple dream. To be remembered and to be remembered playing my rock and roll, so I guess it (rising) expresses mine and the guys dream of being big and following in the footsteps of our hero’s and in my case heroines…’

Every band seems to have a purpose. Iron Maiden entirely reinvented the genre influencing, along with Judas Priest and other bands, the New Wave of British Heavy Metal era to begin, bringing some of the most influential music the world has ever heard. The Who wanted to be the loudest band in the world. Motley Crue wanted to shake things up, with the big hair and make up to match, so I wondered exactly what would Riot Act bring to the world of rock. Here is what Lead Guitarist Simon Riff had to say…

‘…Nothing. We don’t want to bring anything new really. We just want to bring back fun hard hitting rock and roll that people can fall in love with again. The music world has completely gone off on a tangent with everybody trying to outdo one and other, caring more about the money than the music, so as a band we just wanted to strip it all back and create music that those who missed the days of old as it were, can experience what music was really like back when music still had a meaning..’

A very poignant statement. ‘…back when music still had a meaning…’ something that only really hit home after the interview concluded. Music has indeed lost its way, more emphasis has been made about the importance of profit but has the very meaning of music been lost in the process?

Either way Riot Act are ‘the’ next big thing in our genre. They have the ethic, the ability and the aesthetics to match, seemingly a formula to success, ‘Rising’ is available for download of iTunes and Spotify, and the album ‘Unlock The Jukebox’ hits the shelves and downloads next Monday so don’t miss out!

Eleven Magazine Audience Profile

Jon is 22 years old and has a profound interest in metal and rock, attending many festivals such as download and sonisphere and enjoys reading about his favourite bands.

Jon also however is always interested in discovering new bands and artists, as he is always looking to add to his already extensive music collection, of which includes classic and legendary bands as well as newer up and coming acts.

Being young Jon is also very keen on the social aspect of the genre, and thus how society may view the genre in a different ways.

Jon is also a university student and is therefore on a low income however he still wishes to be informed on the world of rock music especially through his favoured magazine format, that he feels allows him to have much more of a connection to the genre and society of rock music. The social media aspect of the magazine is a particular plus for Jon as it makes the magazine much more contemporary and relevant to society at the moment something of which is vital for people within his age bracket.

Being an avid attendee of concerts and festivals Jon likes ‘Elevens’ plugging of tour dates allowing him to be much more proactive in attending concerts more regularly. Also the reviews within allow for Jon to make an informed decision about the acts he should add to his ever expanding collection.

Magazine Text

This week in eleven;

3. Rock and roll returns.

See how upcoming British band, The Stags are bringing Rock and Roll back to the main stage.

5. 60 years of Rock & Roll – Elvis

Look at just how influential   ‘The King’ was to all rock and metal.

7. Rock through the years

See how this magnificent genre of music has evolved.

11. Axl Rose talks Guns ‘n’ Roses

An exclusive interview with Guns ‘n’ Roses front man, including exclusives on the Slash feud.

Editors pick...

3. ‘Rock and Roll Returns’

Starring rising stars The Stags, a great insight into the baby steps in the music industry.

Elevens regulars;

9. Battle of the Bands

See how Poison and Motley Crue fair against each other in another metal filled band comparison.

12. Celeb Metalhead

Russell Brand reveals his metal side.

13. 1-11: Reckless Love

We asked finish metal band Reckless Love their 1-11 inspirations.

14. Official Rock Charts

An exclusive look at this week’s Rock Charts.

14. This weeks ‘ELEVEN’ album recommendation

Which new release made our number one spot this week.

15. Readers view

See what you’ve got to say…

16. Tour dates.

Bands to look out for near you.

EDITORS PICK...

9. BATTLE OF THE BANDS

Fan favourite battle of the bands returns for yet another captivating awe inspiring addition starring none other than hair metal legends Poison & Motley Crue! Check it out on page 9 >

SUBSCRIBE NOW.....

Like what you read?

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THIS ISSUES BANDS...

bon jovi

deep purple

dio

Elvis Presley

FOO FIGHTERS

Guns ‘n’ Roses

halestorm

Iron Maiden

judas priest

laura wylde

Metallica

Motley Crue

nIRVANA

Poison

queen

rAINBOW

Reckless Love

status quo

STEEL PANTHER

The Stags

thunder

Draft Proposal