drafting and planning: Article for double page spread

AGE OF REVOLUTION: BIGGER. BETTER. LOUDER.

“Bigger, better louder”. These are the ultimate aims of the new band ‘Age of Revolution’ who, despite their recent appearance in the punk rock scene, have high aspirations and are looking forward to the future with anticipation. The leader of the band, Grace Hill, agreed to sit down with Smash magazine during a hectic day to answer our questions and give us an insight into the past, present and future of the band.

Q: First of all, tell us about the history of the band first of all

A: At first it was just me playing guitar alone in my bedroom. Then, at the age of sixteen I decided to try my luck playing with a band. However, I didn’t have friends who played instruments. I posted on social media that I would like a band to play music with, and I could be the lead singer. Soon enough after I couple of days I met up with a couple of people who responded and we called ourselves ‘Grace Hill Band’.

Q: So how did the name ‘Age Of Revolution’ come along?

A: Age Of Revolution actually didn’t come along until recently. One reason to why we changed our name was because we though ‘Grace Hill Band’ sounded plain and boring. We needed something cool. We always had the dream of causing a musical revolution, so the word revolution had to be included with no doubt. And then I actually thought of ‘Age Of Revolution’ as a random thought and the band liked it!

Q: What are the band's plans for the future?

A:We mainly want to expand our audience. I'd like more people to listen to our music. I'd say our music is engaging and relatable so a lot of people can get to know it and like it.

Q: You recently released a new album, can you tell us more about it?

A: Yeah! Our new album is called 'Edge of tonight', and the title came about from a special song on the album, which i unfortunately cannot spoil for people who haven't listened to it yet. This is our new album amongst the several EP's we have out. Hopefully people like it and enjoy listening to the songs on it.

Q: Do you have any tour plans?

A: we are planning to tour the UK very soon. I think a tour would be a nice way of spreading the word about us and our new music. So, look out for tour dates very soon!

Q: Something about your personal life now, what is it like handling everyday life and the band?

A: Honestly, the band has become my personal life. It's part of my routine; it is essentially my life. At first it was difficult to coordinate everyday life and the band, as in the two would clash, but after this year or two years it has become normal for me to get up, eat breakfast and go to the studio.

Q: If you had to change anything about the band, what would it be?

A: Honestly, i wouldnt change anything. I love the way this band was formed, and the people it was formed with. I love our music and the impact we have on people. In some peoples lives we have already made a revolution. We get tweets from people thanking us for being a big part of their life. It's spectacular! I never thought this would come so far. So no, i wouldn't change a thing.

Q: Have you made any mistakes in terms of the band?

A: I dont think any of them were major. We [the band members] have petty arguments sometimes, so maybe having these pointless arguments is a mistake because they get in the way of the flow of things. We also live together so it's a bit awkward after arguing about who used the same tea bag or who left the window open at night.

Q: Is there any advice you would give to people starting out in a band?

A: Sure. There is one bit of advice that is key, which is to never give up and take every chance you get because you never know how taking this chance can turn your life around for the better.

Q: Last question, do you enjoy being in this band?

A: of course i do! The band is my life. I love to make music, tour and talk to fans. Fans are what keeps this band going to be honest, they give us the support and inspiration we need. I couldn't live without being in this band, and i definitely would have not survived without my bandmates.

drafting and planning - location

as the costume of my cover star will be mostly black, i have decided that the background on which the picture will be taken needs to be white, as then it will be easier to cut out my cover star and put them on a different background. If the cover star is dressed in black, then taking the pictures infront of a dark background would be a disadvantage as when cropping the artist, the costume and dark background will mix together and it will be difficult to distinguish between the clothes and the background. The pictures also need to be taken in a well lit place, so that the pictures don't come out too dark. If the pictures came out too dark then this would have a bad influence on the appearance of the costume in which my cover star is dressed, and you wouldn't be able to see clearly what they are wearing.

Drafting and planning - band names for the magazine

Main Band:

• Age of Revolution

Cover line bands:

• Teddy bear metal
• Rocker Dad
• Acid Blood
• We say Summer

I have chosen to include these band names, which are not real, to build up the rock music ethos of the magazine. It is easier to use made up band names as then you are able to be sure to keep the rock theme as when using real artists, some of them may not match the rock theme of the magazine. 

Drafting and Planning - contents page plan

I have decided to plan out my contents page as then when I come to creating the cover page I will have an idea of the layout of features such as the list of contents and pictures. I do not have any original photography to work around yet, therefore it is important to plan things so that when I do have the photography I can use it in my work and see if it works well. I have decided to put two pictures onto my contents page in order to create cohesion throughout the cover page, contents page and the double page spread. I have taken the '+' sign from the smash magazine masthead in order to also create cohesion and to use it as a feature which will divide the things on the contents page from eachother.

Drafting and Planning - costume

I have thought about different looks for my cover star, including the style for clothing. Judging from the style of clothing used by magazines such as Rock Sound, i think that my covernstar should be dressed in something dark, and something that grabs attention. I think that the use of the colour black is important as it is a key element of rock music, and i think that the use of black will make features such as cover lines stand out more. My cover star could wear ripped jeans, as they are seen as very rock-y and daring. Such as the make up, i want the clothing to also be dramatic to bring out the rock/punk style of the magazine.

drafting and planning - cover star make up and props

This is the makeup that i decided my cover star to have done on the day that the pictures for the magazine will be taken. I have gone for a mid to dark brown smoky eye look which is quite dramatic and pops out against the light skin tone of my cover star. I think that a lot of cover stars on magazines such as Rock Sound have quite dramatic make up, but it is not as dramatic to the extent of being very dark. Therefore, this make up, while being dramatic, isn't too dark and therefore it won't take the readers attention off the features around the cover star such as cover lines. My cover star will also be dressed in black (therefore there will be contrast between the makeup and clothing) and will use my guitar in the photo on order to contribute to the rock theme of the magazine.

This is the guitar that my cover star will be using. It is an electric guitar, therefore it fits the style of the rock magazine and relates to the name of the magazine 'Smash', which connotes loudness. 

Drafting and Planning - fonts

In order for my magazine to be successful in creating the rock mise-en-scene, the masthead must relate to the rock theme of the magazine.
I have chosen these 4 fonts as i believe that they all would be appropriate for the rock music magazine:

I have then asked my friends and classmates to choose one font, which they think is the most appropriate. I counted up each vote using a tally chart next to each font. In total, 45 people voted for their favourite font. the font which received the most voted, 15 of them was font two. Then, both with 11 votes were fonts 1 and 4. The font which was least liked was font 3. I am happy with the results of the survey as font two is also my favourite. I like the little cross element used in the letter A, which can be a symbol used throughout the magazine to create cohesion. It is also the boldest font, which is appropriate for a font of a rock magazine. I think the boldness of the font goes well with the name 'Smash' as it has connotations of loudness and mess. I also thought that font one would go well as a masthead as i have used it before in a task where we had to create a magazine using pictures of existing artist. The font there went well with the colours and layout, however, i want my own magazine to be bolder and more rock themed than this one, therefore i think that this font wouldn't fit the magazine i am making now as well as font 2. Therefore, i have decided to use font 2 for the masthead as it fits in well with the ethos of the magazine.