Foundation Production Planning By Cassandra Bekoe

1. Foundation Production Planning By Cassandra Bekoe

2. FOUNDATION PRODUCTIONPLANNING • Proposal • Draft layouts • Draft fonts • Photos and their stages of manipulation • Your knowledge of similar bands • Your target audience • The style look etc that you hoped to achieve

3. Proposal My music magazine will be modelled after my own personality in terms of the way it doesn’t fit into one exact genre and anyone can relate to it.Itwill cover all types of music as well as different issues regarding the music industry. At first I wanted to make an indie magazine because there seems to be an increase in the indie culture but then I considered the competition my magazine would have if it was real and if it wouldsell well compared to its rivals so with that in mind I decided to go with a more challenging path and one that I could relate to fully. Doing this magazine will be a bit difficult as it’ll be broader in content rather than just straightforward Indie/Pop/R&B/Hip-hop but personally, I think it’ll also make my magazine the one that stands out the most from the other magazines. It’s a unisex magazine, so it’s a balanced magazine that doesn’t cater to a specific gender which again aids in its appeal to all people. The agerange for my magazine is 16 – 25, I chose this age because I want to appeal to people with a broader mind frame. I’d prefer my magazine to sold in all newsagents as well as all stationary stores like W H Smith and Waterstones as it’ll give it ahigher accessibilityrate so therefore everyone will be able to get hold of a copy of my magazine. Perspective Titles: • New Perspective • Post Blue • O.o • Violet Hour Majority of my titles come from certain songs that talk about being unique and capture this through their lyrics. I decided on choosing“New Perspective” as my title because my intention with my magazine is to look at music in a new perspective and broadening people’sinterests. Featured artist might include Lady GaGa, Civil Twilight, Placebo, Switchfoot, Drake, Lupe Fiasco, Beyonce, Paramore, KanyeWest, Florence & The Machine, TinchyStryder, Anthony Hamilton and Ray LaMontagne amongst others. I chose these artists because they are advocates for breaking boundaries in my opinion and their music talks about everything my magazine is about. Topics in my magazine will cover everything from latest concert information, listings for top music venues, Interviews with rising stars, latest music news, playlist of thefortnight, album/song reviews by different fans. I want my colour scheme to be eclectic and very colourful so colours like, blue, purple, red, silver, orange, yellow, green etc so for each page and topic covered there’ll be a colour scheme associated with what is being covered.

4. Draft Layouts Front Cover Contents Page

5. Draft front Page Analysis This is my intended layout for my magazine. Although face front, it looks the same as any other magazine, the pictures that will be used on the front will contain different contemporary artists from each genre so that its attracting the public. I want my colour scheme to be eclectic and very colourful so colours like, blue, purple, red, silver, orange, yellow, green etc so for each page and topic covered there’ll be a colour scheme associated with what is being covered. I could make it more effective by trying to keep the page less cluttered otherwise it could off-putting for the consumers as there’d too much going on and it wont be as appealing for my intended audience e.g. Subtitles included on may page

6. Draft Double Page Spread

7. Draft Fonts Carmen: Why are there so many of you? And how’d you all get together to form this band?Marie: We all went to the same school but were in different groups, then Robert who was friends with all of us came up with the idea to start a music project for fun and invited us all, then it just into something serious that we decided to pursue. We don’t have an exact limit on the amount of people in our group but right now this is us. Plus the last thing we want is for people to misinterpret us for a crew and its connotations because we all have different talents, personalities, styles etc it works out well as one of the advantages we have to make our music better. Carmen: Why are there so many of you? And how’d you all get together to form this band?Marie: We all went to the same school but were in different groups, then Robert who was friends with all of us came up with the idea to start a music project for fun and invited us all, then it just into something serious that we decided to pursue. We don’t have an exact limit on the amount of people in our group but right now this is us. Plus the last thing we want is for people to misinterpret us for a crew and its connotations because we all have different talents, personalities, styles etc it works out well as one of the advantages we have to make our music better. Carmen: Why are there so many of you? And how’d you all get together to form this band?Marie: We all went to the same school but were in different groups, then Robert who was friends with all of us came up with the idea to start a music project for fun and invited us all, then it just into something serious that we decided to pursue. We don’t have an exact limit on the amount of people in our group but right now this is us. Plus the last thing we want is for people to misinterpret us for a crew and its connotations because we all have different talents, personalities, styles etc it works out well as one of the advantages we have to make our music better.

8. Font choices In the end I decided on using Times New Roman as it was straight forward and mature, and I wanted a variation from the font on my cover page. And I also wanted to reflect on what I am talking about

9. Title Head I chose the sunset behind it to represent a new way of looking at music to go with the title

10. Similar Artists

11. Articles on similar artists "Musically, we're just somewhere else [with her]," Pharrell told MTV News. "The music is now very 3-D. It's something you have to hear. But you'll see. We're definitely somewhere else. I want to leave that impact moment for when you purchase your download and you purchase your CD. The music is very three-dimensional. We're just really excited. We feel like N.E.R.D. has always been the punks of hip-hop and the outcasts of alternative music — just a little different. But this time, we're taking no prisoners.“ - http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1623250/20091006/nerd.jhtml Lady Gaga is the next rock/pop/electro superstar – or maybe she is the first. Mix one part Blondie with one part Madonna, swirl it in a bath of the Scissor Sisters and Junior Senior, throw in some glitch and sprinkle with glitter and you come close the recipe. Winter Music Conference was her launching pad and the industry took note of her. Working with Akon and Red One, the Lady Gaga has crafted a debut CD full of beats and melodies set for release later this summer... - http://dancemusic.about.com/od/artistshomepages/a/LadyGagaInt.htm

12. Under enigmatic pseudonym Bat for Lashes, British songstress Natasha Khan has drawn what seems like an endless line of flattering comparisons: When not being likened to Kate Bush, Björk, Annie Lennox, Enya, or some other ethereal diva, she has been cast as a feminized equivalent of Thom Yorke, considered his equal in wounded narratives and imaginative music. But rather than be buried under such weighty parallels, Khan has continued to sculpt her much-complimented craft, with breathy sophomore album Two Suns building on the sensual, cavernous sound she first offered on 2006's Fur and Gold. For Khan, the ultimate goal is to fashion a formidable musical identity that disinvites further comparisons, and on that measure the album succeeds wildly. Dark, but never needlessly so, Two Suns offers a rich, distinct world of subterranean lullabies, spacey timbres, and ghostly beauty.....-http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/bat-for-lashes-two-suns/1695 Meant To Live - A while back I read a TS Elliot poem called "The Hollow Men." The imagery in the poem continues to haunt me: "we are the hollow men/ we are the stuffed men..." I look at our planet and I see a horrible, beautiful world... where love and hate breathe the same air. This is where we wake up everyday; this is where we live. Maybe the kid in the song is me, hoping that I'm bent for more than arguments and failed attempts to fly. Something deep inside of me yearns for the beautiful, the true. I want more than what I've been sold; I want to live life. This Is Your Life - Music holds her cards close to her chest; she always maintains the element of mystery. Sometimes everything feels so right and you can't explain why. This album felt that way for us. We only spent around two weeks in the studio but I wouldn't have spent another minute. This tune is a good example of the mystery of sound. We started messing around at my house with different low-end synths and lo-fi beats and this mellow acoustic song became transformed. I'm not quite sure how we got here but I'm glad that the song arrived. – Switchfoot - http://christianmusic.about.com/od/trivia/a/aaSFbtsTBL.htm

13. Names of models and intention • Sophie Webber • Dewi Clark • Sean Richardson • Robert Kigozi • Tessa Adadewa – Tabirade • Jervis Amfo • AdeolaTaiwo • Irene Garber • Grace Kaluba All my models are of different ethnic backgrounds have different ethnic characteristics that are more appealing to audiences that are not used to this and it further states that this magazine is for every one and doesn’t cater to one particular type. Whilst taking their photos, I won’t direct them fully and I'll let them be themselves because I want this to be as naturalistic as possible. I also wont instruct them on their costume choices as I'd rather they came as themselves because this is the message I want to get across so through this I'll be able to effectively capture the contrasts.

14. Photo Manipulations I brightened this picture and used a colour effect so the colours stand out more as the original picture is much more dull and isn’t as clear.

15. I again brightened it so it’s easier to see the detail in the models and I also cropped it so you can’t see the skater in the background as it’s unnecessary that he’s there.

16. The artists featured on the front are of different cultural backgrounds, which outlines the message they are trying to put accross. Connotations of the colours used on the front could mean passion, livelihood and its also very eyecatching for the readers. This would attract a lot of customers because it’s got a sensitive issue on the front and it’s making a stand by putting it as its cover story. The artists on the front of the covers all seem to be wearing black and white with the black artists mostly wearing white and the white artists wearing black which could be interpreted as not conforming to social norms. This can also be perceived as a message that through music people come together.

17. Denotations/Connotations • Bright Colours – Pink = passion for music, use of black on the word racism = to block it out, harsh yellow = to catch your eye to what they are talking about. • One artist on the front pointing, gesturing that only you can make a change. • Two different types of font – one serious one and another one that’s like similar to handwriting

18. Most of the subtitles on the magazine all contain the word sex in it giving the impression that it is a magazine that concentrates on the female sexuality and how they should express that aspect of themselves. Also they talk about things that women would normally not talk about out loud so it could generate a feeling of shyness when buying it. Actress posing on the front with her hands on her hips to gesture that she’s strong and confident within herself and she wants everyone to know that. The colour scheme is delicate and feminine which a contrast to the titles on the front as they are blunt and “in your face” so there’s no way of avoiding it. Subtitles mainly acknowledge the awkwardness of the subject and use slight humour to ease the reader into it.

19. Denotations/Connotations • Open mouthed smile– not naturalistic, its directed as you can tell from the way her eyes look slightly dull • Hands on hips pose – with cleavage on show gesturing a confident sexuality, from this you can instantly see the age range it’s aimed at. • Awkward title names – subtitle suggests they are aware of this fact, could cause controversy as children can see it. • Dress worn co-ordinates with colour scheme, although it’s more harsh so its eye catching.

20. WHO WOULD MAKE THE MAGAZINE? WHO WOULD SELL IT?BIG MAJORS OR SMALL INDEPENDENTS • What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? My magazine will be distributed by newsagents, gigs and supermarkets and it’ll also be accessible through subscription. So it’ll generally be mainstream in terms of distribution which is ironic, seeing as my magazine is not at all mainstream. By choosing these methods, I'll be able to monitor consumer preferences as i’ll be positioned right next to my competition, so this is an indicator that my layout needs to stand out in terms of colours, font and photography