Question 2

Question 1

http://mattholden27.wix.com/evaluationq1

Complete Magazine

These are the three finished pages from my magazine. I am very happy with these, and believe they will be good enough for my final pieces. I think that they all have good reoccurring themes, and they make my magazine recognisable. This, with what I believe to be good content with the pictures and article, would make my magazine successful if it were to be sold in shops.

Finished Front Cover

This is the final stage for my front cover. I have added a lot of examples of ways magazine editors make their magazines more interesting. For example, box outs, different fonts and listed features. I feel that this front cover has a lot going on, but that just makes it more interesting, rather than garish. I believe that this is very much good enough to be finished and go with my other two finished pages.

Final Contents Page

This is the final version of my contents page. It has an editors note and picture, regular and special features, and ongoing themes. The background picture works well, and the quote fits the feel. I think the style makes everything easy to read, but not boring. I have used various examples of ways magazines will make things more interesting, for example, quotes, overlapping text and an editors note.

Finished Double Page Spread

This is my final double page spread. I feel that this will be good, as It is eye-catching, and interesting, but not too garish. It has a good balance of text and photos, and colours. It has the occurring theme of red and the lines around the edge, and the texts are familiar to what is used in the other two pages.

Front Cover Stage 5

This is the fifth stage of construction for my front cover design. I have added a banner going diagonally across the page. I have added a few examples from other magazines similar to my style and I will make similar features. I need to add a bit of text under the Art Of The Anarchists title, and I need to change the font beside it.

Front Cover Stage 4

This is the 4th stage of construction for my music magazine. I have raised the image, so on the shelf you will be able to see who is on the front. I have added more text and improved where it goes, so the image is still the focal point. I finally added another photo at the top, of another featured article. I need to improve this still, but I think it is coming along well.

Front Cover Stage 3

At this stage in construction for my music magazine, I decided to totally redo it. I thought the purple was to garish and there was no image of a face, ad therefore no relation to who the artist was, or why you should feel the need to read about them. I decided to follow the same basic layout; title at the top behind image, double page spread feature advertised at the top and text box outs at the sides, but changed the image to something that suited the consistent theme of black white and red. I chose a photo from the first shoot, and made it black and white. I feel this is already better, but still needs more work to get it where I want it to be.

Article Draft 3

“This place is smaller than I remember”. That was the first thing that went through my head as I stepped into the Bath Pavilion on November 16^th. I had been there to see Smashing Pumpkins 4 or 5 months ago, and was probably too drunk to remember much. But nonetheless, my first thoughts weren’t the best, so nothing would impress me. But I was certainly not in store for what was to come. There were 300 or so people stood around the hall buying their pints before the bands came on, it had quite a calm feel to the room, and not many people looked like die hard fans. About half an hour in the lights came on and everything changed in an instant, with pints flying everywhere and screams coming from every direction at the simple sight of a tech man and light. It was obvious the crowd wanted to rock, and were ready to go crazy.

Another 15 minutes went by and the crowd was still screaming, but this time, they had something to scream about! The River 69s had walked onto the stage and had set up. They started off with “A Dream of Life” and that almost calmed the fire that was the audience, but finished it off with “Hello People” and took utter control of everyone. Their final song “Forced to Quit” was almost upsetting, as the crowd did not want them to stop, but nonetheless, one-step closer to the Darkness!

                  Almost ten minutes later, the drum kit had been replaced by one with the words “Smash Face” on them. The screams grew and grew as the crowd was largely fans of hard core, and Smash Face is exactly that. The band came on and started with a cover of “Ace of Spades” and the crowd was going wild. A small but volatile mosh pit had formed and it was only the first song! The pit only got bigger through their second and last songs “Angel of Hell” and “Break the Floor”.

They finished off with a loud bang and the crowd couldn’t be more ready for what was next.

                  Chants were growing as did the tension. People wanted the Darkness, and that is what they got. The lights went down and a commentator started speaking, “The band who brought you a four times platinum album are back! And they are mean! They are the Darkness!” I couldn’t hear a thing as everyone screamed as four figures holding hands walked onto the stage. The separated to their instruments, and a guitar riff started in the darkness. The drums and singing kicked in, as did the lights. Everyone was going crazy as they started with “Goodbye Everybody” and continued to go through their newest album “Hot Cakes”. After they had finished that, Justin Hawkins turned into a massive diva, taunting the crowd to be louder. “If you don’t make some fucking noise, we’re out of here”. Once he deemed the crowd loud and ready enough, he hit out with their most iconic song, “I Believe in a Thing Called Love”, shortly followed by the smash hit “Christmas Time”. The crowd was going wild as the songs continued and never stopped singing along, following the iconic high notes of Justin Hawkins. It ended almost as fast as it started, with Justin saying a final “Than you for not being shit” and then leaving. The looks on the fans faces told me they were satisfied, as the hundreds started to leave.

                  All in all, if the Darkness is around your neck of the woods, go see them. You will not regret it. £30 for a night to remember for years is a bargain! Experienced festival and gig goers will love to join in with the singing dancing and moshing, and newbies will get a great chance to see a gig at it’s finest!

This is my 3rd draft of my article. I have completely changed it. The concept has changed from remembering a band, to a review of a gig. I have some good photos of a gig, so a review woulf fit them perfectly.

Double Page Spread Stage 2

This is the second stage of the construction of my double page spread. I have added a new draft of my article and some other things such s page numbers and borders. I believe a few things can be improved on these pages, such as changing fonts and making things look a bit less plain.

Double Page Spread Stage 2

This is the second stage of construction for my double page spread. I need to add the article and then the double page spread is next to finished. I feel that sticking with consistent themes such as the red lines across the right and top will give my magazine something that is unique and iconic to it.

Contents Page Stage 3

This is the third and almost final stage of the construction of my contents page. I just have to add the editors photograph and then it will be finished. I have moved up the title from last time, bumped down the contrast and added the editors note. I feel that this page has enough information, but is not too busy. I also feel it has the right amount of colours too.

Contents Page Stage 2

This is the second stage of construction for my contents page. I have changed a few of the black colours to red, and have changed the text around. Looking at other contents pages, they were put into two categories, Regulars and Specials. I edited mine to do this too. I also added a title for the image and a quote. I added more contrast and brightness to the image as well. I feel that a bit more is needed for this page, but it is looking good.

Front Cover Stage 2

This is the second stage of construction for my front cover. I have added a few bits of text, and moved the darkness title. I have also added a few different fonts. I still have a lot to do to this cover, but I feel that the progress is looking good.

Double Page Spread Stage 1

This is the first stage of my double page spread. I feel that the photo montage is ok, and obviously the article is yet to be added. I feel that I will be able to vastly improve this the longer I spend on it.

Contents Page Stage 1

This is the first stage of construction for my contents page. I was inspired by Classic ROck magazine, and tried sticking to a used and proven layout. I edited the photo by bumping up the contrast and cropped the image so it fits the page properly. Once again, I feel this is a good start, but can be much improved.

Cover Page Stage 1

This is the first stage of construction for my music magazine cover. I have added a font and cut around his head to give it a 3D effect, added contrast and brightness to the photo and added a title and barcode. I feel I can do a lot more to this, but this is a good start.

Photo Shoot 2

This shoot was taken at the Bath Pavilion. The Darkness were preforming with two other bands, and I saw this a great oppertunity to take some photos. I emailed the Darkness' PR, and managed to get a photo pass. This enabled me to go into the pit at the front for the first three songs of each band. I feel that the shoot turned out really well, and I have plenty of photos to use for my cover and double page spread. From doing this, I have l;earnt a lot about how to take good photos of live acts, with bright lighting and fast movement.

Second Shoot Planning

For my second attempt at my cover photo shoot, I emailed the PR team for the band "The Darkness". After a conversation, I received an email to say I had been allocated a photo pass for the Bath gig. These photos will probably be very well suited as it is a professional band, and they are a rock band. I will take some of the band while they are preforming, and they will be under professional studio lighting.

From doing this, I have learnt that if you put in the effort, good things will happen. This is a very good opportunity to take some very good photos.



From: Tom Freeman [tom@hallornothing.com]
Sent: 14 November 2013 15:43
To: Gillian Porter; Matthew HOLDEN
Subject: RE: The Darkness and my A level



Just head to the guest list upon arrival Matthew, let them know your name, and they will issue you with a sticky photo pass which will get you into the pit for the first 3 songs.


-----Original Message-----
From: Matthew HOLDEN [mailto:mho00037@thecastleschool.org.uk] 
Sent: 14 November 2013 16:09
To: Tom Freeman
Subject: RE: The Darkness and my A level

Hi Tom,

Thank you very very much for this! It's much appreciated!

How will I show the staff that I have a photo pass?

Many thanks,

Matt
________________________________________
From: Tom Freeman [tom@hallornothing.com]
Sent: 14 November 2013 15:43
To: Gillian Porter; Matthew HOLDEN
Subject: RE: The Darkness and my A level

Hi Matthew

I've allocated you a photo pass for tomorrow's show in Bath, which will let you shoot the first 3 songs from the pit (no flash).

Band will be on stage at 9.15pm.

Any questions please let me know.

Thanks

Tom




-----Original Message-----
From: Gillian Porter
Sent: 12 November 2013 16:30
To: Matthew HOLDEN
Cc: Tom Freeman
Subject: RE: The Darkness and my A level

Ok - let me see how it's looking and we'll be in touch.

gp

-----Original Message-----
From: Matthew HOLDEN [mailto:mho00037@thecastleschool.org.uk]
Sent: 12 November 2013 15:14
To: Gillian Porter
Subject: RE: The Darkness and my A level

Hello Gillian,

I have a Fujifilm S2980 bridge camera. It's not professional, but at the same time it's not a phone camera.

Thanks,
Matt
________________________________________
From: Gillian Porter [gillian@hallornothing.com]
Sent: 12 November 2013 12:17
To: Matthew HOLDEN
Cc: Tom Freeman
Subject: RE: The Darkness and my A level

Hi Matt

Do you have a professional camera for shooting live acts?
Best
Gillian

-----Original Message-----
From: Matthew HOLDEN [mailto:mho00037@thecastleschool.org.uk]
Sent: 12 November 2013 09:52
To: Gillian Porter; information@mythophonic.com
Subject: The Darkness and my A level

Hello,

I am going to the Darkness in Bath on Friday, and I was planning on taking some photos for my media A level. We have to make a music magazine, and I was planning on using the Darkness for my cover band. Would it be possible for me to take my camera in and take some photos?

Many thanks,

Matt Holden

Photo Shoot 1

This photo shoot did not go nearly as well as planned. The photos do not look professional in the slightest and I will have to do another main shoot. I may be able to take one photo for the contents page, but other than that, this shoot is useless.

Planning the Layout

From doing this task, I now have a plan to take when it comes to making my magazine. This will guide me during the layout stage. This is how my magazine will look almost exactly. I looked at Mojo, Total Guitar and Classic Rock to get inspiration for this task. I feel that it will help me greatly and looks good.

Typography, Drop Caps, Sizes, and Colour Experiments

From doing this task, I have learnt how to make an article more interesting and how to easily break up a big block of text. This will help me when I decide what to do to make my article really eye catching and interesting. This will hopefully make my magazine successful.

Second Article Draft

Art of the Anarchists are one of many British rock bands that took the world by storm in the 80s, but they were the creators, some even say they're the godfathers of classic rock. With the matchless screeches of front man Sid Phoenix, the endless solos from lead guitarist Floyd Cole, the rumbling underline from bassist Henley Hollis and the crazy attitude of drummer Nick Santana, they truly had a sound that could match no other. However, we all know the mighty story of their fame, but where did it all begin?

In 1978 four school friends decided to create a band. They called themselves “Life’s a Beach” and took an interesting twist on rock classics. Their debut album “Lucifer’s Bog Roll” was sold to their friends and family for £1 each. It featured spoofs such as “Won’t Get Drooled Again”, an imitation of The Who’s classic “Won’t Get Fooled Again, and “Bolton’s Calling” a take-off of The Clash’s “London Calling”.

Their first gig was at the Armstrong hall, in their home town of Thornbury. They have been noted as saying that this performance acquired them a small cult following.  Throughout the next four years, the band continued to grow this following through the means of many gigs all over the south west of the country. Despite this loyal fan base, the band decided they sought to take things further, yet they would not be able to ensure this with what they had, despite being signed to a minor record company.

In 1983, Floyd Cole, the song writer and Guitarist for the group, put forward the idea of taking things more seriously. He did this by presenting them with a song he had been working on for the past year. “Psycho-Mania” was performed and explained to the band. Hollis has been quoted as saying “As soon as I heard the guitar riff I knew this was gonna be big”. Now the band had a new sound, they just needed more to show off. Cole spent the next two months writing songs for an album and the band spent the rest of the year recording them.

Shortly before the album “New Coat, New Start” was released a week before Christmas, 1983, the band opted for a name change. “Life’s a Beach” would now be known as “Art of the Anarchists” to suit their new style. Their new album was number one going into the New Year. This gave the band many offers from major record companies, enabling them to leave the small “Death Row Records”. With the new funding and advice, the band were able to release a follow up album in the summer of 1984 called “My coat is too small now”. This album was number one in the UK top charts and made it to number 6 in the US, with the track “Pigeon out of Hell” making number one in both countries.

With the knowledge of how to make song that would sell, the financial backing to do that, and a now huge recognition throughout the rock stage, “Art of the Anarchists” were able to seize the world and forever change rock and roll. But that’s another story.

This is the final version of my article. I have added a sentence based on my teachers comments I will include boxouts with quotes on the double page spread to make the pages more interesting than just one topic. This is what a lot of successful music magazines do, so hopefully it will work for mine. I have learnt that my work should have lots of explanation and detail in it.

Costume, Prop, Location and Actor Planning

From doing this task, I have a greater understanding of what type of clothes the people in my photos will be wearing. As it is a classic rock magazine and covers a lot of genres and different bands and people, the criteria for the fashion in my shoots will very wide. The locations will be around musical instruments with varied backgrounds. The actors will hopefully be older people rather than younger. This is because the rock stars of the past are quite old.