Wednesday 21 December 2016
Saturday 17 December 2016
Monday 12 December 2016
TA Research on my Latest Drafts
I conducted a quick TA research where I printed out my latest drafts of each of my magazine page to get some last minute opinions. I sent the copies around my class and told each table to write what they thought about them. Below are my latest drafts and what people had to say about them.
According to the responses I got back on this sheet they were all quite positive besides some few minor changes I may have to make. The first comment suggest having the barcode at the very edge of the front cover but I'm not sure how I would be able to do that without taking out the banner at the bottom of the bottom of the page. I could move it slightly more to the left but other than that I'm not sure where else it could go without changing the layout of the page. The shape of the social media (CMC) logos are just a minor detail and when I asked my audience if it would put them off buying the magazine they all said "NO".
As for the DPS, I think I am going to remove the red box at the top of the page which would indicate that this page is the cover story. It is not necessary as not every magazine has one, I just thought it would add a bit more synergy to my DPS and showcase the red 'house style' of Countrypolitan.
Another person said that they weren't impressed by the font of the title on my DPS. I might change this, however I personally really liked it since it is a handwriting font which is very unconventional for a DPS but adds a personal touch. It also adds synergy since the same font was used on the front cover.
Friday 9 December 2016
DPS Article
“It was just one
of those cliché situations where I had to choose between my head and my heart”
You may not know
her name but there’s no doubt about it, you’ve definitely seen her face. From
touring with the Arctic Monkeys at age 15 to completely reinventing herself at
18 whilst on the road with Rhianna, she’s finally planted her roots where they
belong, back home in the grounds of Country Music.
Gabby Grills was
welcomed back into the family by huge artists like Blake Shelton and Willie
Nelson who says he’s “so damn glad that she came to her senses” [referring to
her decision returning to country music]. She’s ditched all of her previous
glamorous stage names and is ready to show the world some of her raw Country
talent.
Growing up in the
small village of Ashbourne Gabby had no idea that her fate was to be dragged
around the streets of LA in a cop car or singing the National Anthem at the
Super Bowl just last year. Gabby sure mixed in with the wrong crowd but what do
you expect going on tour with MySpace-made-famous Rock Band Arctic Monkeys. One
of her friends told sources “Everything was all just getting too much for her,
I could barely recognize her anymore.”
When she was
younger Gabby was just like any other girl… singing in her church choir,
staying after school for extra credit and riding her horse Dusty. Following her
parents’ divorce back in 2006 she headed to Texas with her mother [Opal (51)]
who became good friends with Ronnie Dunn and wife Janine whilst at a truck stop
in Austen. Some people would think that this would be the perfect set up to
launch Gabby’s career in Country Music but as Ronnie said “we don’t roll that
way, if someone, anyone wants to be famous in the Country Music Industry
they’re gonna have to work their ass off to get here. It’s not about who you
know, it’s about how you go”. After following his advice for 5 years all it took
was one person to film her practicing Elvis’ I Can’t Help Falling In Love
With You and within weeks Monkey’s Alex Turner sent her family an e-mail
asking for her to join them in their 2012 tour. A bit of an odd mix, but Turner
said it himself that he “can really see her electrifying their concerts”, a
huge compliment from the man himself.
Following the
controversy of Gabby’s speech at last week’s American Music Awards where she
mentioned that her “Rock Fans didn’t understand” who she really was and she felt
like now she had to “strip it down to show everyone who she really is”
“I hated that
image that people were putting on me, I felt like I had to live up to this
crazy idea that people thought I was some kind of rebel when all I wanted to do
was make music”
“Honestly those
guys [the Arctic Monkeys] were amazing to me and gave me a massive platform to
jump from but it just wasn’t the type of music I wanted to be making. I just
got so enthralled by being on the road I was completely ignoring the fact that
this wasn’t the type of music I wanted to be making”.
She admits to
feeling guilty about ignoring her friends, her family and her heart’s desire to
be a Country singer but the “opportunity was just too good to pass up”.
“I’m back and I’m
here to stay. I’ve been working on my new album Boots & Strings, I
have a few songs on there that I wrote with Amy A and The Lakes
so I’m really excited to show you guys, and my new video for Sentiment
is going to be released on January 5th, and
I don’t wanna give away too much but there might be a little appearance from my
good friends Jace and June”.
We’re so freakin excited
to hear what she has in store for us and I have a feeling Country Music isn’t
gonna be the same again! She is renowned worldwide for having that powerhouse
voice with a Tennessee twang so we’re all ecstatic that she’s making the
switch. It never really felt like she completely belonged in the realm of Rock
Music, especially when Countrypolitan sat down with her to talk about her swift
switch of image. “I just got caught up in the hustle and bustle of trying to be
what everybody else wanted me to be when all I wanted to be was free. Of course
I love my fans, but they don’t love me, they love what the makeup team, editors
and managers make me, and for once in my life I just want to be me, free”.
This bold statement was
followed by a few tears and whenshe made her way back into the studio she never
seemed stronger “I’m back, and I’m ready to show the world who I really am and
who I was always supposed to be”.
Monday 5 December 2016
Developing my Contents Page (ThinkLink)
At this point in designing my contents page my main focus was getting some sort of layout, so I added some temporary red lines which would act like a template. I measured them up with the gridded view on Adobe Photoshop so I knew that my columns would be equal in width. I selected some possible photos that I edited previously which I could use in my final design of my contents page. As you can see I also had to carefully cut out Gabby so I could layer her above the brown shapes in the background.
In my second draft I typed out a list of page number which I was going to use, this also gave me an indication of how many stories I was going to write on the contents page. I adjusted and changed some of the photos.
Friday 2 December 2016
TA Research 3 (Contents Page Shapes)
While constructing my contents page I realised that I was breaking conventions by having these brown shapes in the background which I wanted to resemble tire tracks and mud stains (which complies to the outdoor nature of the Country and Western lifestyle of being outside a lot). By adding them it will also create synergy between my front cover and contents gage since there is one behing Gabby Grills on my cover.
Since I am breaking conventions I decided to ask my class what everyone thought of the idea and the result was conclusive, I got a preferred reading which let me know that these shapes appealed to my TA and would work well on my contents page.
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