The document outlines Emma Parker's process for producing a music magazine, beginning with handwritten shot plans and creating mockups in Photoshop. Research through surveys and focus groups provided feedback, and adjustments were made to the front cover layout and double page spread based on this feedback. The contents page was also mocked up and revised based on teacher feedback. The final products incorporated industry conventions to create a realistic magazine.

1. Producing a music magazine
Emma Parker

2. Hand written plans
The starting point for my magazine begins
with shot plans, these plans show me the
basic layout of how I’d like the front cover
and contents page to look, this reminds
me of how much detail I need to
include, how I should prepare my shot
plans to ensure I have enough space for
the amount of text and reminds me of
what technology I may need to use to get
the product I desire.

3. Photoshop
At this stage I have no photos taken for
the magazine, I have began to put in
the headlines this helps me when
taking the photo to picture where the
text would lie. This is the starting point
to my front cover. I created this mock
up to go for my shot plans just as a
very simple guideline to follow

4. Research
• I find it important to get feedback for what I should be including in the pop
magazine, a survey monkey that I created therefore should provide with
me with answers, this method of research is fast to do and very useful if
feedback is given from a range of people.
Also, with an age calculator I can copy text from my DPS and calculate the
age range using a Microsoft programme, indicating if I need to re-write my
DPS to keep it suited for my reader genre

5. Front cover photo
I chose this image as it has a neutral
background and all girls share a similar
facial expression, giving connotations of
their relationship being in tune, strong.
The image has enough space at the top
for a suitable sized masthead, meaning
I don’t need to edit the size of the
original. The lower half of the image
has space at the sides where I can add
in a conventional barcode and a banner
along the bottom

6. Making my front cover..
As mentioned in the previous
slide, when placing my layout of
the text on to this image there is
enough room. However some
colours do not stand out against
the girls patterned clothes, this is
where I will need to make
adjustments.

7. Adjustments
Noticeably I changed back to the to
the typical three coloured
conventions. The red emphasises
the band name, I find this to be eye
catching, essential for the front
cover
Also the use of textboxes means I
can use light shades, like the
grey, against a complicated
background (the floral patterned
clothes)

8. • My first hiccup was due to my front
cover three models being too busy to
have another photo shoot for the DPS
therefore I’ve decided to have
different members for the group The
Dolls. So the previous large label that
was the main feature of the front
cover will be renamed to the new
name of the band. Meaning rather
than retaking my front cover photo I
will rename these girls, then have
another group of girls called The Dolls
for my DPS. To my advantage this
connotes my magazine to be busy and
full of different artists

9. The new name lays across the
middle ‘Sugarmix’ where the
previous band name was, this has
now moved to the side but still
remains in a bold red to alert the
readers of the double page spread
inside. The Extra pictures added to
connote the magazine to be busy

10. Front cover after feedback
The feedback received was that the other
two images I had used on the front cover
did not match the main image. To show the
main image in the best way, I removed the
other two images and moved text around.
The use of the large red + signs show that
the magazine has extra information
inside, without me having to make the front
cover really busy. I prefer the front cover
this way

11. Contents Page mock up
The mock up of a contents page
of how I hope to have the
columns set noticeably this is bare
at this stage but it gives an
indication to the layout in mind.
The colours once again similar to
the front cover, I also used the
same text styles, the style for
‘features’ being the same as ‘The
Dolls’ on the front page, as I’d like
these to be more eye catching.

12. • The black boxes to the left
highlight the importance of
the contents page as they
indicate which pages to go to.
The pictures show variation,
these are images of the same
‘artists’ from the front cover
therefore keeping the
magazine consistent, below
these in the large space I
would like a photo of The
Dolls and then I plan to add in
‘behind the scenes’
information. Near the bottom
are too large black boxes
these will be replaced with
actual photos of the editor
and of the artist for the
competition.

13. • The contents page is
now fuller with
detail, still lacking 3-4
images however I’m
pleased to have put
down the written part
first as I now know how
to prepare for shot
plans that will look
realistic on the page.

14. • The final contents page
• After feedback from my teacher I
decided to change the page numbers
on my contents page to suit the
conventional order. I used a large
image of my group The Dolls to
occupy the top right corner, this is
similar to the Kerrang contents page
that I annotated on flickr. The text
and colours and maintained to keep
house style persistant.

15. Double page spread
This is a very brief look of how I would
like the layout to be for the double page
spread, this mock up will guide me for
when I actually take my final shot. To
ensure the image is bold enough to
cover one full page.

16. The DPS before feedback
By adding text boxes and
colour the main image is
defined and shown in a more
flattering light. The extra text
makes the article busy overall
Im pleased with this final
product and believe it has
many conventions that create
realism

17. The final DPS
After feedback from the
previous DPS I realised my
main photo was out of
focus, although I liked the
location in London I
decided it would be
worthwhile to do another
photo-shoot. This photo is
certainly in focus and I feel
it addresses the target
audience a lot better.