Second Draft - Double Page Article

INTERVIEW WITH JOSH FROM "THE UNSUNG MACHINE"

Q - So, new solo album, excited?

A - Yep, it's been a tiring process but it's done now, I just wanna hear what the people think about it

Q - What made you wanna separate from "THE UNSUNG MACHINE" and make a solo album?

A - I've been slightly restricted in "THE UNSUNG MACHINE", not to say that I don't enjoy being in "THE UNSUNG MACHINE" but I felt I needed to breakaway for a bit and focus on music that meant a lot to me

Q - You've titled the album "Stepping Stone", talk to me about that

A - Well, the whole point of the album was supposed to be a self progression or stepping stone if you will to something better. "THE UNSUNG MACHINE" was only part of what I'm capable of, this album has made me reach my full potential as an artist

Q - Aside from the new album, what's new with "THE UNSUNG MACHINE"?

A - Well, we've all been taking a bit of time off, couple of us got married. But we're going on tour next year hopefully. By then we should have sort of, regenerated and be ready to play again

Q - What career path would you have taken if the the band didn't take off?

A - I would have liked to have gone into music producing, but nothing appealed to me more than playing in a band on some of the worlds biggest stages. Which I've been fortunate enough to do.

Q - You said on Jimmy Kimmel that your working with Hans Zimmer in an upcoming movie, tell us about that

A - Well I can't give to much away but Hans really likes our band and invited us to his studio. He wanted us to write the lyrics for a new soundtrack for a movie I cant talk about but news should come out soon about it

Q - How did you come up with the name "The Unsung Machine"?

A - Well the story behind it isn't that special to be honest. We used a band name generator, you enter a key word and it returns results including that key word. In this case, we put in machine, "The Unsung Machine" sounded the best and it stuck. We were considering changing but we didn't want to create confusion.





QUICK QUESTIONS WITH JOSH FROM "THE UNSUNG MACHINE" - BOX OUT

Q - Favourite Colour?

A - Green all the way

Q - Favourite Food?

A - You can't go wrong with Stir Fry

Q - Favourite Movie?

A - Well I can't limit it to one, but I love Back to the Future and the old Hammer Horror movies

Q - Favourite Band?

A - Once again I cant limit it to one, I was brought up on Blink-182 so they have the most meaning for me

Q - Cats or Dogs?

A - I cant decide really, dogs are great to play with but you don't have to worry about cats so much, they do there own thing



HISTORY OF "THE UNSUNG MACHINE"

"THE UNSUNG MACHINE" was formed in 2004 when they were only 16. They started out getting small gigs in pubs where they would cover music by a range of artists. Josh was the only one going to music college at the time. He suggested they write there own music and that's where it all started. They produced some tracks which were gold, a year and a half later a record label finally signed them and the rest is history. There first album was released in late 2006 which made it into the UK Top 40 and was voted by our magazine as one of the best albums of the year. Blink-182's bassist and singer Mark Hoppus, once discovering them, decided to produce a single with them. This was a dream for the band and especially lead singer Josh as he was a personal hero. The single was released in mid 2007 and was in the iTunes top 10 for 3 weeks. They had a few sell-out tours and are one of the most successful bands of our generation.

Typography

On this task I learnt about the importance of typography when producing a magazine. How it portrays a certain image through the font type, font colour and its fit in with the theme. I think I found something that works for me and my magazine which was through the process of this task.

Flat Plan - Linked

From this task I learnt about what goes into planning all the pages. The flat plan is good when you have  a large number of people working on a magazine. It creates a quick an easy way of seeing how the finished project should be laid out.

Rate Card - Linked

By doing this task I got a good idea of what my target audience is and what they want from my magazine. I got a general sense of what influences my target audience and what I need to do make my magazine suit the genre but still maintaining a hold on my readers.

On this task I learnt about the purpose of a rate card. It's supposed to provide information about a magazine, in this case mine, through a series of simple bullet points. Someone can easily pick this up through several mediums, internet or in person and get a general idea on what the magazine is like.

Logo Designs

From this task I learnt about the importance of the logo on the magazine cover and where ever else it might be. I had to choose something that would fit in with the theme of my magazine. I varied font type and colour and I think I came up with something that could be recognisable and drives the magazine.

First Draft Double Page Spread

INTERVIEW WITH JOSH FROM "INSERT BAND NAME HERE"

Q - So, new solo album, excited?

A - Yep, it's been a tiring process but it's done now, I just wanna here what the people think about it

Q - What made you wanna separate from "INSERT BAND NAME HERE" and make a solo album?

A - I've been slightly restricted in "INSERT BAND NAME HERE", not to say that I don't enjoy being in "INSERT BAND NAME HERE" but I felt I needed to breakaway for a bit and focus on music that meant a lot to me

Q - You've titled the album "Stepping Stone", talk to me about that

A - Well, the whole point of the album was supposed to be a self progression or stepping stone if you will to something better. "INSERT BAND NAME HERE" was only part of what I'm capable of, this album has made me reach my full potential as an artist

Q - Aside from the new album, what's new with "INSERT BAND NAME HERE"?

A - Well, we've all been taking a bit of time off, couple of us got married. But we're going on tour next year hopefully. By then we should have sort of, regenerated and be ready to play again



QUICK QUESTIONS WITH JOSH FROM "INSERT BAND NAME HERE"

Q - Favourite Colour?

A - Green all the way

Q - Favourite Food?

A - You can't go wrong with Stir Fry

Q - Favourite Movie?

A - Well I can't limit it to one, but I love Back to the Future and the old Hammer Horror movies

Q - Favourite Band?

A - Once again I cant limit it to one, I was brought up on Blink-182 so they have the most meaning for me

Q - Cats or Dogs?

A - I cant decide really, dogs are great to play with but you don't have to worry about cats so much, they do there own thing



HISTORY OF "INSERT BAND NAME HERE"

"INSERT BAND NAME HERE" was formed in 2004 when they were only 16. They started out getting small gigs in pubs where they would cover music by a range of artists. Josh was the only one going to music college at the time. He suggested they write there own music and thats where it all started. They produced some tracks which were gold, a year and a half later a record label finally signed them and the rest is history. There first album was released in late 2006 which made it into the UK Top 40 and was voted by our magazine as one of the best albums of the year. Blink-182's bassist and singer Mark Hoppus, once discovering them, decided to produce a single with them. This was a dream for the band and especially lead singer Josh as he was a personal hero. The single was released in mid 2007 and was in the iTunes top 10 for 3 weeks. They had a few sell-out tours and are one of the most successful bands of our generation.

Dragons Den Pitch

On this task I learnt about presenting my concept to someone who has no idea what my magazine is about. It was also good speaking aloud all of my ideas cause its a good creative process. It was also good to get feedback afterwards which was positive.

Final Concept

On this task I didn't learn much. I was just getting my final concept across with simple bullet points. I was going to do the majority of the explaning. The powerpoint was just a visual aid, making the presentation more dynamic.

Mood Board

By doing this task I have been able to be more creative when it comes to the designing of the magazine because it was good to have all the styles of fonts and images that I liked on one page where I could see them. In the long run it's good reference material and helps generate ideas.

On this task I got a good idea on what I could include in my magazine. All the styles thrown down on the paper makes it a lot easier to get inspiration for something. You can analyse an area and get a few ideas for what you want to put in your magazine. It will really help when I'm picking out content for my magazine.

Creating a concept

On this task I learnt a lot about what is going to go into my final magazine and what was needed to make it good. I covered all the aspects in detail which I can use as a reference during the construction if I forget key elements and points. It was also good to get all my ideas down on the page which helped the creative process quite substantially.

Image Analysis

From this task I learnt about the importance of camera angles and how they portray a certain image. It was good to see a wide range of shots and get the full spectrum on what looks good and what each one is trying to represent which can be seen as an opinion. So when I make mine, I need to make sure I pick the right angles to portray the right image so the audience receives what I'm trying to portray.

Alignment and Formatting

On this task I broke down the parts of a front cover, contents and double page and found out what goes into formatting them and how they keep everything aligned and in order. I also learned what how different styles need to be formatted and how to make sure the connection of pages needs to be smooth and text cant be lost. I also learnt about the importance of alignment on this task. The alignment all depends on the article, style and theme. They all need to match so the alignment can do its job. If you want a well presented article then you would use justification and have the columns at the same length and width. But your title might be at a skew along with the image. Its another element to formatting that will effect the overall image.

Flat Plan

From this task I learnt about how NME format there magazine and the importance of placing things in certain areas affects the readers mood toward it. You wouldn't put loads of adverts at the start because that would disconnect the reader. The issue was good because it revolved around a specific person, Paul McCartney. This helped me see how to format an article about a specific person.

Magazines In Shop Interview

Q – How many magazines do you have on sale?

A – Well, when we started, we only had a select few of the most popular ones. So, NME, Kerrang! etc. But as our shop has thrived, we've managed to fit a lot more in to the shop branching across lots of different genres.

Q – What genres of music do you cover with the magazines you sell?

A – We have everything from pop music to heavy metal. We've got magazines for indie artists, metal, alternative, pop, country, everything. We want our customers to find a magazine that suits them, no matter what they listen to.

Q – How do you position your magazines in the shop?

A – We try to put them at the front on the left-top side of the magazine shelf. It’s at the top because the covers always stand out so I want customers to be able to see them at eye level rather than having to pick it up lower down. We put the main ones at the front then as you go back, they become less popular and they are organised into genres.

Q – What portion of the magazine is most visible?

A – Well the stand that there on is clear but the title sticks out the top making it also easier to take out to have a better look at.

Q – Do you position major artists at the front?

A – We usually don’t change the order of the magazines weekly depending on what’s on the covers. We keep the same order, but arrange them in order of magazine popularity like I said before.

Q – What magazine do you like?

A – Me personally, I get Kerrang! Because it’s not a biased magazine like some of the ones we have on sale. Plus, in a more general sense, it has the music I like and are influenced by the most. It also contains some great pictures of bands that I put on my walls at home.



From this task I learnt about the placement of magazines and how it affects whether someone is going to pick up your magazine or not. I would want my magazine at the front of the display so people would notice it first, but I also have to make the cover good because that plays the other half on what makes people pick up your magazine. Putting my  magazine with the most famous music magazines would help get sales because it looks like it fits in. 

Double Page Checklist

From this task I learnt what I needed to include in my double page spread when it comes to making it. I tried to cover as many aspects as i possibly could and I think I got the most important things. I learnt about sticking to a certain theme across a page and what different styles need to make them work. Im confident enough now to make a double page spread.

Contents Checklist

From this task I learnt what elements go into making a good enough front cover for a magazine and the checklist helped me remember what I need to include when I make mine. Through the completion of this task I now understand what bits to use when I make mine in the style I want.

Magazine Representation

Over the course of this task I learnt what different bits in magazines represent and what the editor is trying to potray. He does this by putting text in a certain format, the what he places his images and the overall formatting of the page.