Photograph ideas - more to be added.

As the nature of my band is that they are a completely different and individual band, i have been thinking of many ideas which will help me post across this point.

Idea number one;

Firstly, what i wanted to symbolise is that the band are not clones of anyone else, especially with their musical stylings.

So, I shall have the bands posing with halloween style masks, yet, they will not be wearing them, it will have to look like they have just pulled off their mask, as a symbol of revealing themselves as a individual band.

The background of the picture will be of the following;

My friends practise room with featuring a drum kit which I'm in saving for the double page spread and the interview where i will have photos of them sat on sofas etc.

A natural background, in the wilderness, which symbolises there choose to do something different and be completely in the wilderness by creating a new genre.

Whatever the idea, I will take many shots of the band. In either of the following poses and types of shot.

Poses;

Other than taking off their masks I will have to position the band so that, firstly, the bands poses will look natural. If i go with the wilderness shot, i will probably take the photograph with members in a tree, whilst, hopefully, the rest of the band are crouched on boxes, with the possiblity of them around a campfire.

Shots;

I will probably take the wilderness with on a quite a close angle shot, most likely from either high canted angle.

Idea 2;

Sticking close to the theme of Accrington but also the wilderness, I could take various pictures around oak hill park, where the Accrington Pals monument is, and also through the gardens which is inside the park. I could possibly do this idea for my double page spread.

I have been thinking that i could have my band posing with their instruments in the park, possibly with the masks i had mentioned previously.

One main idea for this, is having the drummer practising on logs.

For the Front cover, i wanted to take a photograph of the band with the mask on top of the coppice park in Accrington. The backdrop of the photograph would be of the town, the shot would be taken from a high angle, but i would have to have a close up on the bands face. They would be posing whilst taking off their masks.

A band apart - double page spread

Genre terrorism. Such a term is only applied to a select few, most of the time barmy and unrelenting, bands. Such bands dare to defy the usual conventions of what we call rock music. Once every blue moon, such a band arrives on our doorstep.

Enter A history for forgotten children. Music's new conquerers.

From the first listening of their blistering new album "Nine to Five, Not Ten to Two", it's apparent that these unlikely Lancastrians are going to make it big. Fusing together a sound comprising every genre under the sun, they aim to destroy your ears. Rock, blues, Hardcore, Mathcore, Thrash punk, and even bits of Drum & Bass and jazz are all musical genres which comprise A History Of Forgotten Children's sound.

The full list is actually endless, and a extremely varied and frantic one at that, all of which, amazing, they pull off seamlessly and with devastating effect.

Yet talent comes at a price, with everything they had worked and dreamed for was almost lost with the tragic loss of their drummer *name*, as he regrettably lost his fight with a crippling illness.

We caught up with brothers *insert names*, vocalist and guitarist of the band, to talk about what spurred them on after the death of dear friend.

Hailing from Accrington, East Lancashire, you wouldn't blame them for wanting to be individual and escape the apparent black hole, which the band describe the town as being.

"When the only thing our town is remembered for is a milk advert, something tells me that the town isn't anything spectacular." *name* muses.

"When a town is only famous for an advert which pretty much takes the mick, you know that the town is nothing special.When we first started off as a band, we were only playing local venues, which were pretty much all pubs. We did somehow manage to create a core fan base out of the little people who appreciated our music. In the beginning it was exceptionally hard, as most the venues didn't understand and acknowledge our musical styles and abilities." *name* casually mentions. Whilst his brother *name*, sits aside him, it's apparent that his nerves are getting the best of him.

This is the complete opposite to his on stage persona, controlling the crowds with complete confidence.

"I guess, that I turn into a complete different person onstage. I think it most be something to do with the energy from the crowd, I can just loose myself in. I have had a pretty tough time, and that is reflected in my normal, personal life. Yet when i get on stage, there is something which helps me exorcise my personal demons."

By this point, you will usually be thinking about every other band mentions about how they have had tough personal live's. But *vocalist* has been through some exceptionally tough times, both suffering with Crohn's Disease (an Inflammatory disease of the digestive system,which the symptoms usually comprise of abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting and weight loss).

That, piled on top of the loss of their dear friend and drummer, back in september 2007.

*name* who had previously remained silent in the corner, moved in closer and starting to recount his feelings over the event. To be honest, even though i have never met *name* before, this writer could pick up on his emotion pain.

"It was a tough time, man" sighing heavily, " I mean, he was seen as the third brother within the band. I had known him practically all of my life, and i know everyone deals with death, but when i received the phone call from our guitarist *name*, I could see my life almost fall apart." It's obvious that *name* is certainly trying to hide his emotions.

I guess though, thats what helps their performances in their live shows. By channeling all their emotions into their act, they create a band which is fresh and new.

"I don't really look to the negative side of life and mope anymore, all that is behind me. I use all my personal experiences for my lyrics, creating a message of hope." "Hopefully, my lyrics will help other people in similar experiences as I have been in"

But, by drawing on their experience and amazing musical ability, the band have managed to bag an exclusive slot on the forthcoming "magazine name" Tour, and to be honest, this writer has never been more excited as well as in love with this bands explosive live show.

Certainly not one to miss, I have my ticket.

Make sure you catch A History For Forgotten Children live this February supporting there blistering new album.

Making the band

For my magazine photographs, i will have to make my band look appropriate for the particular conventions and stylings of the genre, which i have chosen.

As I have decided upon a genre style which is similar to Kerrang! and Metal Hammer magazines, I will have to find people who have a similar fashion sense to those artists which would appear in the magazines.

Below are some examples of the fashion sense i will be going for;

This photograph is of a band named "sikth". Their style is typical of the music which was created by their band. This band usually would have been found in either Kerrang! & Metal Hammer magazines.
Looking at each band member, they are dressed similarly, with the same type of hairstyles. Regarding the band's clothing style, the reader would be possibly be inclined to listen to them as they look appropriate to the readers music tastes.
The low camera angle is also especially important, this also shows off the body language of the band members, which is also very effective in displaying their style of music. All the band members are looking down on the camera with a slightly defiant stance. This could show their attitudes towards either how they play their music, but also has subliminal messages displaying the bands confidence.
The background colour which was chosen is effective as it gives off an apocalyptic message, which goes hand in hand with the bands enviromental message which are portrayed in their music.

This photograph is of a southern rock/Hardcore band called Every Time I Die. Again, this is the type of band which would be featured in either Kerrang! and Metal Hammer magazines. The band's fashion sense goes in hand in with what would be associated with the hardcore "Scene" - the frontman featured on the front left is a good example of this. The lumberjack style clothing and tattoos are especially popular as a fashion within this scene. As a reader, by looking at their dress sense, they would easy be able to pick up on the band's genre.

To the left, is the front cover of the magazine created for my preliminary task, using Abobe InDesign and Photoshop.

I had created this front cover from stratch, producing the mass head and stories, as well as taking the photograph myself.

I had organised the titles of my stories along the left hand side of the picture as i thought they would be most visible and eye catching to the reader. I also think the choice of font colour helps to make this more effective.

I decided upon choosing the name "Shazam?!", as i believe it is quite a eye catching title and, with the use of the question and exclamation marks, make it more grammatically effective. I decided upon placing the name at the top in the centre of the page, as this is the first place where the readers eye would look when picking up the magazine. I chose this place as if the title was elsewhere then the reader might get confused and will not be inclined to purchase the magazine.

For the main story, i placed it in the centre at the bottom of the page underneath the picture I chose this as, after reading the title, the reader will usually scan the page to see what is featured. Thus having the main story at the bottom of the page, and also in a bold font, the readers attention will be drawn to the story.

I also think that my front cover picture is fairly effective in representing the message of the main title. I think that the black background helps to magnify to two students and the oscar which they hold. 

I think the dress sense may be slightly incorrect though. having the students possibly dressed in suits would have been more acceptable. But i think that having the students in their normal clothing, helps to show that they are everyday people who have managed something amazing.

Another problem which i have noticed in my preliminary cover is that one of the models has red eye. This, can be easily doctored in photoshop and will be rectified in the final project.

the picture i will be using for my prelim

I believe this picture will be especially effective for my preliminary task.
I say this as I believe that the picture is well composed and in the style of a front cover.

market research ftw

I decided upon looking up some sales figures for magazines of a similar style to what mine will be like and it's competition from a rival music magazine of a slightly similar genre.

These tables are taken from www.abc.org.uk

Below are the results of Kerrang! magazine and NME;

Kerrang!; his summary report refers to the period 01-Jan-2008 to 30-Jun-2008.
This report was approved by the ABC on 26-Sep-2008.

Heading	Total	UK & R.O.I	Other
Total Average Net Circulation Per Issue:	60,290	56,714	3,576
Newstrade and Other Single Copy Sales:	54,480	51,437	3,043
At Basic Cover Price:	54,480	51,437	3,043
Single Copy Subscription Sales:	5,810	5,277	533
Actively Purchased:	60,290	56,714	3,576

NME; This summary report refers to the period 01-Jan-2008 to 30-Jun-2008.

This report was approved by the ABC on 14-Aug-2008.

Heading	Total	UK & R.O.I	Other
Total Average Net Circulation Per Issue:	56,284	51,300	4,984
Newstrade and Other Single Copy Sales:	47,974	44,837	3,137
At Basic Cover Price:	47,713	44,576	3,137
Single Copy Subscription Sales:	8,287	6,445	1,842
Actively Purchased:	56,261	51,282	4,979

From these figures, Kerrang! magazine is more commerically viable than NME, but not by much .

For both of these magazines, there seems to be a "hardcore" group of readers would have subscribed to these magazines. This shows to me that there is a wide audience which my magazine could possibly appeal to.

Good times 

Research

so, basically, i have been looking through the copious amount of rock and "metal" music magazine which i have accumulated over the past through years, looking for ideas about how i might design my magazines, but also to figure out on the content.

Usually, on the front cover, these magazines would have either use, an up and coming band who have created a buzz about themselves or a quite popular band for the cover.

I have decided upon using a conventions similar to the kerrang! magazine format as i think it is quite effective and well set out.

So, firstly, i decided upon trying to design on myself..

(im trying to convert the front cover design i made myself, so bare with me. )

Magazine Analysis;

The use of front covers

Front covers are especially useful for magazines as, firstly, they attract the potential readers attention, trying to get them to purchase the magazine. These front covers always have a picture of a band or something to do with music, to easily show what the magazine is abo

ut. For example, the band's will usually be posing in a certain wa

y and dressed accordingly to there musical styles so not to cause confusion.

These front covers are usually visually appealing, laid out in a specific style according to what magazine you pick up. These magazines are usually set out in the below style;

A full page picture, usually of a a famous band, to catch the readers attention, but also to alert them to the style of music which features in the magazine.

With every magazine, the logo is the most prominent image on the page. This is create a strong brand name, so that people will remember to buy next week's issue if they are interested.

Various boxes filled with pictures and text which are visually striking on the page through the use of bold writing and strong font colours.

The Front cover on the right, is an example of this.

Double page Spreads;

Conventions of a double page spread;
Usually, Double page spreads usually have a large picture on one of the pages, which is usually companied by text, which will take up most of the available space which was left.

I have taken this double page spread out of a Kerrang! magazine, as i think these pages are quite effective, as they seem effective.

I find these two pages are especially well laid out and are very well presented. the contrast between the black and white pictures, the full page colour picture on the right, and the white background with the thunderbolts are especially eye catching.
When the reader looks at this double page spread, their eyes will be drawn toward the picture on the right first, then towards the left, with the black and white pictures and text.

Initial Ideas - Print based project ;]

So, here i am, sitting in my wonderful media lesson, wondering about, what i should actually do.

Obviously, i have chosen the Music magazine project in the style of Kerrang! and Metal Hammer, if you saw me, you'd realise why.
I think it would probably be aimed at a young teenage audience, both male and female, who listen to similar music as i do.

I think the magazine will not end up being specialised to one specific type within my chosen genre. I will probably being a general rock music magazine looking at styles from classic rock to Death metal. I will mostly feature up and coming bands, like local bands, as there is usually an interest into how they are doing. But i will make up a band or two just for the contents page.
This would be my unique selling point. By making my niche market slightly more broader,as i will have a local and maybe even national appeal, i think that this magazine, if it was actually published, would be able to attract peoples attention.

Graphics wise, i will probably end up enlisting the help of some friends who have taken photography to help with the band pictures.
Also, it looks like I'm going to have to pull photoshop out of somewhere so i can design some logos for the magazine to make it look more official, but if all else fails with that, i will hopefully be able to get a Graphic Design student to help me out as well.


Hopefully, all goes well and i don't end up shooting myself in the foot. Metaphorically obviously, I'm not that stupid.



;]x Michael.