The student has been researching and planning the creation of a music magazine as part of a school project. They conducted research on magazine codes and conventions. They decided their magazine would focus on alternative rock music. The student created mood boards and studied example magazine covers to help inform the design of their own magazine. They planned and did photo shoots of a model to feature on the magazine cover and interior pages. The student learned new skills in Photoshop to design the magazine cover and interior spread, which features an interview with an alternative rock artist.

2. • I chose to do the print brief as I have a lot of ideas in my mind for what I
could do for the task.
• I successfully completed the preliminary task of a student magazine and
researched different effects and skills I could include in it such as bringing
my model’s head in front of the text, however when I move onto the main
task I will research even more effects I can use.
• The next stage of my research is to look at similar products so I can develop
a better understanding of the codes and conventions of a music magazine.
• When I start planning my production I am going to work out how I want the
layout of my article and who I want to be in my photo shoot, where it will
take place, and the props that I may need. I also need to think about which
genre of music I will be focusing on so that I can choose the right fonts and
colour schemes to suit it.

3. • This week I did research into codes and conventions of a
magazine front cover, contents page and double page
spread.
• The information I have gathered has given me lots of
ideas as to what to add to my own magazine, including
menu strips at the top and bottom of the contents page,
and creating a masthead that is clear to read and stands
out on the shelf to consumers.
• I have started to think about the genre of music my
magazine will be about and have decided to base it on
existing magazines such as Rolling Stone, Billboard and
Q as they feature broader genres of music therefore
giving them a broader target market.

4. • I finished my mood board on photo shop where I
collected various different styles of magazine covers and
then narrowed it down to mainly music magazines which
are on top as they will help me with my design brief.
• I have looked at fonts for my front cover title font as well
as thinking about the name of my magazine. So far the
name I like the most is ‘Antithetic’ as it represents the
alternative genre well, which is what my magazine will be
based on.

5. • I have been looking into the codes and conventions of
the alternative rock genre that my magazine is based on.
Alternative is less accessible to mass audiences as it’s
not something that older generations would like to listen
to which makes it a niche genre, however because of
this it has a big following of loyal fans.

6. • I have studied four magazine front covers in detail on my
blog to give myself inspiration on how my own front
cover should look like. Three of the four I studied feature
a black and white colour scheme with one or two extra
colours which are yellow, blue, red. The use of primary
colours make the front covers stand out more and
appear bolder which is something I want to take on
board.
• As well as this, I have created another moodboard for
logos in order to come up with ideas for my own, as well
as thinking about suitable names which has given me
the confidence to continue my project using the name
‘Anthithetic’ for my magazine title.

7. • I did my first photo shoot for my magazine spread using
my model, Matthew, both in an indoor and outdoor
setting. I liked the way the photos came out but I will use
them for the contents page rather than a front cover as I
will do another shoot this time with more props and a
better costume, as well as thinking about lighting and
backgrounds.

8. • I have taken inspiration from a Q front cover featuring
Noel Gallagher to take pictures of my model Matthew in
different angles including having his chin and head up
towards the sky.
• I have created a photo shoot plan for my final shoot so
that although I’m not the best at taking picture s

9. • I did my second photo shoot using my model Matthew in
an outdoor setting. I thought more about styling, costume
and props this time and got him to wear darker, more
casual clothing and used an electric guitar rather than
the acoustic one I used in my first shoot which I think
changes the mood completely. I found a light brick wall in
Martens Grove Park for him to stand in front of instead of
using the school building which wasn’t as effective in my
last shoot.

10. • I have been learning how to create more effects using
photoshop by watching tutorials and trying them out for
myself. I’ve acquired lots of new skills that I can use
during the editing process for my magazine cover, for
example changing the colour of hair and making eyes
appear darker by using the burn tool.

11. • I have created my front cover page using a picture of my
model looking up towards the sky as though he is
thinking, to replicate the Q magazine cover featuring
Noel Gallagher. I learnt how to use the pen tool and
create a path around his head and insert text to follow
the path. I used gradients at the top and bottom of the
photo as a transition into the brick wall background.

12. • I cropped my imaged diagonally instead of just placing it
onto the page normally, and have split the font into two
colours so that ‘cont’ is in red on top of the white
background, and ‘ents’ is in white on top of the image. I
used a YouTube tutorial to learn how to move the text
behind Matthew’s head which is simple but effective. I
made the decision to change the ‘exclusive interview’
text’s font colour into red which highlights to the reader
that it is the main feature of the magazine.

13. • I have created my double page spread with one picture
of Alonzo on the left hand side of the page and I learnt
more skills in Photoshop in order to cut him out from the
brick wall background. I finished writing my full article for
the spread which I have split into three columns, as well
as creating tour dates in order to make my artist seem
more authentic.