Magazine Body Copy

OUT OF THE SHADE

Lead singer and guitarist Callum Birchall sheds some light into The Shades and tells RUSH about Fame, Fortune and why he doesn't like Fried Chicken…

q/ So, apart from the famous “Cocktail Incident” what is THE most outrageous thing you have ever done personally?

a/ “Jesus, I remember this one time, I was out with Sam and Kyle and some bloke took us to this place off Bold Street and well, I hadn't tried Cocaine before…”

q/ A rumor has arisen that The Shades have a new Drummer and are releasing a new album later this month! Any truth?

a/ “I hate to be painfully Cliched but, maybe there is, maybe there isn't - you know I can’t say, I mean it’s safe to say we’re not down and out, not yet.”

q/ People often talk about chemistry and I know it’s a bit soon but how good was your chemistry with Sam Shaw?

a/ My relationship with Sam was as strong as it could get man, I mean, I grew up with the guy you know? We played Football, had laughs, made music together and he was just a great guy you know, a real good, honest guy.

q/ I know you've been struggling recently with your own problems with heroin but your rehab is showing positive results right?

a/ Right, I mean drugs are the best feeling in the world, but I mean, if you don’t learn how to deal with your limits then you risk getting f**ked, and that’s what happened to me: you do the drugs, don’t let them do you – if you think you’ll fall prey to addiction then just stick to Drinking and Eating or Sh*t.

q/ Do you still speak to Kyle and Shaun?

a/ Yeah I still speak to both of ‘em! We still go to our manager Nate’s every Tuesday to play Xbox and stuff, we have a strong friendship and of course I’m in a band with the guys you know, I don’t just, y’know, go and live on my secret Himalayan Mountain Range Villa for Ten years!

q/ How much have you changed in the last Ten Years?

a/ Not much at all, I suppose I monitor my sleeping more, I need more sleep to maintain a productive work rate, either that or getting ruined on Gin and Tonic…

q/ What angers you most about today generation of music and all that it entails?

a/ You know what really angers me? This perverted adaptation of the American dream of music where only “Solo Artists” are getting recognition from shows like “The X Factor”, you know, what happened to saving up for a sh*tty guitar and all your friends getting other sh*tty instruments and all getting together and being sh*tty in someone’s garage or something? Because that’s how all the great bands were formed, what you though The Beatles got famous of Pop Idol? No way!

q/ Did you ever think you would get this big?

a/ No way man, no way, never!

q/ Would you change anything about your musical career?

a/ I would definitely have done a lot more band stuff because you don’t realize what you have until it’s gone, and losing a band member in a car crash is a pretty terrible way to go I mean, it left us scarred for sure and there were many things I wish I’d said and done when he was still around.

q/ On a brighter note to finish, are you excited for the latest Justin Bier album?
a/ Oh f**king Jesus no (Laughter), what a compilation of nightmares, trauma and “Songs” dedicated to mentally deficient 15 year old girls, I’ll pass on that one (Laughter). 

Front Cover Feedback v1

after analysis I concluded that the "End Of An Era" tagline was not bold enough to stand out amongst the background and I will therefore have to Bolden it, along with the other text on the main image. Also the image of the crowd i have used is not a picture i have taken so i will need to replace it.

Front Cover v1

Be sure to zoom out to get the full view, the full description will be available once the final design additions have been confirmed, finalised and applied.

Photoshopping my Actors

Although I took great care in ensuring my actors were relatively photogenic for my shoot, some factors such as blemishes were out of my control, so therefor I had to utilize photo editing software (in my case Photoshop) in order to correct any minor issues which may have jeopardised the validity or quality of my magazine.

Fore example, above is my original, unedited photograph, as you can see, the actor closest to the camera has come small isolated acne...

I was able to use the "Spot Heal" tool on Photoshop to get rid of these blemishes for an overall more professional looking product... I did this whilst trying to maintain a decent standard of realism within the photo as I did not want the photo to look fake.

As you can see, The actors overall appearance has improved tenfold, this in itself will enhance my magazine to the same extent

Shot List

As you can see from my photograph below, I have used a Close Up Shot on my three actors, I have specifically used this type of shot in order to imply that the magazine is "Up Close" and "Personal" with my musicians.

By using this shot I feel I have achieved my desired effect by also instructing my actors to maintain constant eye contact with the camera, which results in the actors appearing to look straight at the reader, not only does this explore a more up close and personal angle of the band, it also in some ways contributes to my magazines "Rock" theme by being up the readers face and the image speaks volumes in this way.

I specifically have partial amounts of each actors face covered (Excluding The Front Actor) by either another actors face or shrouded in shadow in order to make a subliminal statement that not all of the character is as plain as the eyes see, beyond the section visible to us, is another side of the musician. This once more conforms to the typical Rock image of being "Shady" and encapsulates that Rock stars often live very different lives away from public view and the shadows which shroud them in anonymity and mystery. this is al however without obscuring to much of the face which I felt looked poor in quality after analysing the Second Shot. as you can see, the middle actor almost looks contorted if the front actor is too far central to the frame, to eliminate this I spread the actors out farther and achieved my final piece.

Magazine Inspiration

Today i saw a feature in an NME issue featuring Nirvana, the text layout at the bottom right of the front cover, where the text is in alternating coloured boxes of Yellow and White is particularly attractive, i will strongly consider using this feature in my magazine as i feel it will give my magazine a certain degree of realism and feel.

My Photo Shoot Location

I chose to have my picture taken down a back alley in Liverpool, just near Moorfields station, whilst at first this may seem an odd and relatively unrelated, I feel as my magazine is a rock magazine, the back street image really epitomises the stereotype and accompanies my theme perfectly, as my illustrated musician are the new face of rock music, a genre which is often construed as being rough around the edges and not clean cut, much like a dingy back alley would appear to most people, the two aspects go hand in hand.

My Photo Shoot Method

I took more than one photo to ensure my photos were suitable, if I had only taken one it could have been prone to flaws (Blur, Angle, Positioning, etc.) as a result I got my desired photo (The Last Photo) along with a few unintentionally flawed photos to justify my method, the first being an issue with the actors facial expression (Middle Actor)  the second being a positioning issue, the last being my final product as I desired.

Photo Shoot Proof Document

Today myself and my 3 Models "Above" went to Liverpool City Center to have the photo shoot for my magazine.

Magazine Cover Art Inspiration

This photo of the Flying Pickets is an inspiration for my front cover art, as this type of photo has the semiotic of, "You can see me, but not all of me" which is a very Rock-like image as it implies this Rock star lifestyle behind closed doors.

As result this image achieves maximum effectiveness in portraying my overall feel of the magazine, and shows a clear dedication to detail.

Preliminary Task

Codes and Conventions Overview

Codes and Convensions from Sambalino123

Uses and Gratification theory

The theory suggests that people use certain media forms to satisfy their needs, Blumler and Katz believed that the audiences consume the media for different needs and different ways, and the audience rely on the media to provide this information. People use the media for these reasons;

. To ESCAPE
. To be INFORMED and EDUCATED
. To IDENTIFY with the characters
. To be ENTERTAINED
. To INTERACT

Draft Cover v2

This is my basic plan for my magazine.

Draft Cover

As you can see my Layout closely follows a specific issue of "Rocksound" magazine whereby there is a dominating left drop-down bar containing other information which overlaps the main image, as well as having my Masthead central to my magazine in order to balance the focus of attention the magazine gives out.

Also included is a second, much thinner bar at the bottom of the page with other bands listed at the bottom as this seems to be a common trait in many modern day magazines.

The specific gaze of the band at the camera will give the audience of the magazine a direct address making them feel included in the magazine and compelled to buy it.

In addition to my rock theme i have included two fonts which seem slightly weathered and worse for wear in order to provide a semiotic value of the rock lifestyle which is messy and imperfect.

In order to increase the overall professionalism and personality of the magazine i will include several advertisements and exclusive content banners as well as a pull quote by the Masthead in order to provide a memorable premise to the magazine.

I feel this overall layout includes as many magazine features as possible without jeapordising the overall professionalism of the magazines appearance in the process, simple, yet effective.