L04: Sub editing task

At 18 years young, Rapper K $torm has defied all the odds, and made a name for himself in the underground hip-hop scene. The rapper told us in a short interview, that he started producing beats at 12 years old, and that this was the foundation of his successful musical career. At age 14 years the musical artist started recording vocals over his beats, and stated "It was a great way to release all my anger and emotions". When we asked how he promoted his music in order to attain a target audience, he told us "Tumblr was the main platform I used to promote my music. I felt like it had a large audience of individuals, listening to the same music and having a similar artistic taste to me". After promoting his music this way, the artist started to attain a listening audience taking a liking to his music.  The artist also told us how he had offers from record labels, and stated that the management team of the  label, Lucid Records got in contact with him over a potential production, and recording deal. The artist however  stated “I opted to stay independent in order to give me the creative freedom that is highly expressed throughout my art”

The rapper also talked about the background he came from and told us that he came from a poor background, which he says inspired him to "go hard with his music". This therefore motivated him to put in the work he needed in order to get out of situation in order to become financially stable in life and for him to have a foundation in which he can support his family as well as himself

Assessed by Salik Nawaz

Good: I liked how you talked about the artist , and how he started making it, and how he got signed

Bad: Some punctuation errors, it could also do with more information, and more detail about the artists influences.

L04: Evidence of Editing front cover

 Evidence of editing front cover


 Here is evidence of me creating my front cover. I used Photoshop to create it, as Photoshop offers the right tools in order to create the front cover to a professional standard.

I used Photoshop to create my font as I got two fonts, and merged them, by layering one font behind the over in order to give it a two tone effect, as I changed the colour of the duplicate font to red, to give it a two tone effect as the original font is black, and the duplicate is red. I also used the rectangle tool, in order to create the borders for the text, and also to underline key points on the front cover.

I also used the spot-healing  brush tool in order to remove any blemishes on my model, in order for him to look perfect, and spotless for the magazine, as this is required at a professional level.

I also used the lighting tool in order to visually enhance the artist I photographed as it makes him stand out more.
I also used the Impact font which is already available in Photoshop, and really stands out, and gets in the audiences face which connotes that the audience would be mentally drawn to my magazine as the fonts stand out.

I did not cut the artist out of the original image that I photographed, as the look of it being in a natural surrounding e.g. the artist being photographed against a wall, really connotes the grimey logistics of hip-hop in general and again connotes back to my genre, as I am doing a hip-hop magazine.

Overall, I think the tools I used really helped perfect the front cover of my magazine, as the aesthetics really help bring the artist out on the front cover.

L04: Final magazine pages

L04 Evidence of editing double-page spread

Here is evidence of me editing the double page spread for my magazine. I used Adobe In-Design to create my double page spread. I used this software as it is a really professional program and therefore is suited to the task I have been set to do, which is to create a realistic/professional looking magazine.
In-Design also offers a range of fonts which is beneficial to creating my magazine as I have a wide selection to choose from as for example, there are many hip-hop/graffiti related fonts, but I did not choose to use these as it I thought it could be hard to read for the reader, so therefore in the end I went with choosing a more basic, but still attractive looking font, as i chose the minion pro font.

L03/L04, Comparing my magazine to a real magazine

For my front cover, I compared to a Vibe magazine front cover, with the artist, Miguel on the front cover. I can infer that my magazine looks very professional, comparing it to the vibe magazine, as the font for example, shares similarities in size, but at the same time, is unique in its own way, in order to stand out from other magazines, yet still be competitive as a hip-hop magazine. The text on my magazine is also similar to the Vibe magazine, in the way in which I have grouped the textto the fro in different sections, however i have used small rectangles, to represent grids/boxes, to separate my cover text, as I wanted my hip-hop magazine to in general look different. The picture of the model also has been manipulated in a different way, as the model on my front cover, is bright like Miguel, but is black and white, in order to give the front cover that unique feel. The size of my model, is also a very important factor, as I wan't him to stand out, on my magazine, and comparing him nt cover of Miguel, I can see that they share similar characteristics in size, which connotes the professionalism of my front cover. What I did that was different to the vibe magazine, was putting the artists name, in bright purple text (K-$torm) on the front cover, as this makes it look better in my opinion, opposed to the small font used for the vibe magazine, as it is very ye catching for the audience, and makes my magazine really stand out. To add to the professional feel of a magazine, I added a barcode, as well as a QR code, as the Vibe magazine has this, however it does not have a QR code which therefore connotes that my magazine is more futuristic in aspects.


Contents Page Comparison
I compared my contents page to a vibe contents page of Kanye west. My contents page is similar to the vibe magazine contents page in many ways, as for example, features/contents are boxed into individual boxes, which is the same as the vibe magazine, however, I chose to select a different set of colours, as I selected a black border for the list of contents on my page. The picture of the artist is also set out differently, as my picture has some graffiti behind, whereas the Vibe magazine, is just Kanye in black and white, with the vibe magazine logo behind him. The placement of the artist is similar to the vibe magazine, as they both have a similar stance, but I maid the artist slightly bigger on mine, in order to stand out more.

Double Page Spread Comparison
I compared my double page spread to a Wiz Khalifa magazine. They are very similar in many aspects as for example, The model/artist is on the left-side, and the text, about the artist is on the right-side.
The photographs however are different, as I selected a medium close up, so that the audience could see more of the artists clothing, where as on the Wiz Khalifa magazine, it was a close up shot of the artist. For the text, it is also similar as for the Wiz Khalifa magazine, it says his initials WK as the title, whereas on mine it says K-$torm. Overall I think my double page spread looks very professional, and compares to official magazines.

L03: Call Sheets

These Are the call sheets for Magazine shoot.

L03: Final house style designs

This is my final Masthead, in which I made by duplicating my font and then changing the background colour of one of the duplicated layers. I really like this mast head as it is two tones, which really helps bring out the colours.

L03: Setting up InDesign

Setting up in-design
  

These are the Indesign settings for my double page spread. The dimensions that I selected are based on a real life magazine, which is important as I wan't my magazine to be as realistic, and as professional as possible. Therefore I took the dimensions from a real XXL Hip-Hop magazine, as this connotes my genre as it is a hip-hop magazine.

L03: Photographs

These are the Photographs of the model that I used for my magazine, Keenen. I took many photos to make sure that I got the best quality images, and also to have a wide range, to select from for my front-cover, double page spread, and contents page. I am overall happy with how the images turned out, as they look really high quality and grimey looking, which really connotes the genre of my magazine, as it is of course a hip-hop magazine. The Clothing denoted in the images I took, is also very stylish which again connotes the genre of hip-hop, as hip-hop is heavily fashion influenced, which of course again links back to my magazine as the genre of my magazine is a hip-hop magazine.

L03 Draft Posts

I originally used this font as it connotes the genre of my magazine, being hip-hop however I had to change it as it could be hard to read for the audience

 This is my second draft double page spread.

This is my draft contents page, I didn't use this as It did not have my magazine cover name on it.

 This is my second draft page, which I did not use as the qualitey was not the best

This is the first draft of my front cover, which was not good enough to be my main front cover

L03: Body copy for contents double page spreads

"The key to my success is my creativity, I just hope I will never lose this aspect of my art"


Column 1



At 18 years young, Rapper K $torm has defied all the odds, and made a name for himself in the underground hip-hop scene. The rapper told us in a short interview, that he started producing beats at 12 years old, and that this was the foundation of his successful musical career. At age 14 years the musical artist started recording vocals over his beats, and stated "It was a great way to release all my anger and emotions". When we asked how he promoted his music in order to attain a target audience, he told us "Tumblr was the main platform I used to promote my music. I felt like it had a large audience of individuals, listening to the same music and having a similar artistic taste to me". After promoting his music this way, the artist started to attain a listening audience taking a liking to his music.  The artist also told us how he had offers from record labels, and stated that the management team of the  label, Lucid Records got in contact with him over a potential production, and recording deal. The artist however  stated “I opted to stay independent in order to give me the creative freedom that is highly expressed throughout my art”

The rapper also talked about the background he came from and told us that he came from a poor background, which he says inspired him to "go hard with his music". This therefore motivated him to put in the work he needed in order to get out of situation in order to become financially stable in life and for him to have a foundation in which he can support his family as well as himself

Column  2 q and a

We asked the artist numerous questions about his Art

Who inspired you to make music ?

 " I was heavily influenced b J Dilla production wise, and listened to a lot of Tupac when I was younger, which inspired me to start originally writing over musical  instrumentals that I found off You-tube which helped my lyrical ability get better and better."

Would you consider signing to a record label, mainstream or indie ?

No not really, as I feel as if I can get my music out, as well as making a stable income, being independent, also I have managed to sustain an active fan base with no label help. Also signing to a label would take away my creative freedom, which is vital to me.

Who are your favourite current rappers in the rap game ?
My favourite rappers have to be Joey Bada$$, Denzel Curry, Kendrick Lamar and Chris Travis due to the fact that they are all independent, and are still making a high quality of music as well as having such a huge fan base, which just inspires me to go harder with my music.

What is it that you like about Art ?, as we have seen you create your own artwork.
I like art, as it is just a reflection of life in general, the music, the videos, the album covers, they are all forms of art, and as an artist I want to be the best I can at doing it.


How old were you when you started Recording?
I was 14 when I started recording vocals, I remember I had saved up for a microphone for about a year !, and then when I finally bought it I just started writing a crazy amount of lyrics and then recording them, which helped me get my anger and emotion out on tracks.

Fashion has had a big role in hip-hop over the years, what are some of your favourite clothing brands ?   I've always had an liking to the Japanese fashion brand, Bathing Ape, as it has really unique, and stand-out designs which I found really, artistically creative. I remember when I was younger, I save up for ages, for a Bape hoodie, as I saw other rappers like A$AP Rocky wearing it which really inspired my fashion.

What are your thoughts on the UK musical scene ?
I feel as if the UK rap/ grime scene has had a lot of attention since the rise of artists such as Skepta, Stormzy
Where do you see yourself in 10 years ?
I don't just wan't to limit myself to music but musically, I see myself staying underground, but still mainting a large fanbase, still getting my message out, I would also be interesting in directing films and just creating art in general.




Contents

36. Started from the bottom
K $torm really did start from the bottom, but with critical thinking and musical talent, got himself out of his situation




48. Exclusive interview with K $torm
An insight, into the thought process and life of artist K $torm



57. Fashion
We get a look into the artists fashion taste, and favourite brands



65. Glowing up
K $torm really blew up, surpassing everyones expectations.


72. My world
We get a look into the world that the artist K $torm lives in


85. Becoming the best

L03: Setting up Photoshop

 
These are the Photoshop settings for my magazine front cover, based on dimensions from a real hip-hop magazine.

L03: Evidence of Production

Here is evidence of me producing the front draft cover of my magazine in photoshop




















This is evidence of me designing my final front cover in Adobe Photoshop, in which I used a range of tools in order to make it look perfect, like the quick selection tool, to cut out the artist, as well as the black and white tool, and the impact text font, to make it look professional.

This is evidence of me designing my Contents page, which I happened to make on Adobe indesign, as this is a professional program, which I used, as I wanted the magazine to look as realistic as possible.

L02: Release And Consent Forms

This is the release and content form, which I got the model/artists to sign.

L02 Location recce

This is my location recce, for my magazine shoot.

L02: Risk Assesment

This is my risk assessment.

L02 Legal and ethical

1. IPSO
Independent Press Standards Organisation
They regulate magazines buy giving them an age rating in some instances, to make sure the magazine is suitable for the audience. Also things like privacy are regulated as for example the magazine are not allowed to invade the artists privacy in order to get inside information about the artist

2. Obscene publications act-
Obscene publications is an act in which to prevent obscene content , for example explicit language and nudeity which could affect readers in a negative way, also things like drug use are seen as explicit content.

3. Libel law
Fake information is not allowed to be published, or harmful content. This is important as if fake information is posted, this could perceive the artist in a different way and change their reputation
4. Copyright
Protecting intellectual property, this therefore means that anything the company, or artist has created is protected. If it is a magazine company for example, they would need permission from the artist to use his content as it is his property, and if they do not get permission, this could be classed as stealing. Also you are not allowed to publish any content that could compromise a law case for example, as a magazine company are allowed to report it, but not give any information in which could change the verdict of the court case.
5. Laws of contempt

It is actually a  criminal offence to publish content that could pose as a risk to justice in a proceeding court case this therefore  Prevents magazines from publishing anything that goes to in depth about a criminal case, which therfore helps protect the artist from any negative legal proceedings in which the magazine could influence.

L01 Draft articles

Cover page
N.A.H (new age hip hop)

Title page
"One of the most talented, upcoming producers to come out of Sheffield"

Double page spread      "My aim is to become the best"
 Jeremiah beatz is one of the hottest upcoming music producers in the Sheffield hip hop scene.
The musical artist began making instrumentals at 14 years old and ever since, has maintained and perfected his craft.
The 18 year old produce has a very unique sound which distances himself from other producers in his genre,
Since his debut mixtape "balling like im steph curry" blew up, the 18 year old rapper and producer has gained much respect throughout the underground, Sheffield hip hop scene, and has gained a fan base from his artistic qualities.

L01: Flat plans

Flat Plan, Double Page Spread

L01: Examples Of Existing Magazines

Why is it beneficial to plan ideas for your magazine ?
1)So you know what information and pictures to put on it
2) So you know how to lay it out
3) Means I can create plan on what im going to  do
 

Front cover examples


I like this front cover page as it has a really nice               I also like this front cover as the flowers
layout and colour scheme, as for example the red              which have been blurred in the background
and black goes really well together.                                   and the  colours they give off make the
                                                                                            artist really stand out
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        


Contents page examples
I like this contents page as it has a really vintage/classy          
looking layout which really matches with what the artist       I like this contents page as it has a really
is wearing.                                                                               nice layout. Also features like the
                                                                                                 background shadow look good and gives

                        the magazine a nice effect.
























Double page spread examples

L01: Reader profile

Leroy is a 18 year old College student who lives in Walkley, Sheffield. He studies music at college, and has big dreams of becoming a musical producer. He is obsessed with his passion, and is always thinking and talking about his music. He happens to play the guitar, and is constantly motivate to learn new techniques in making music. For example he has learned to play the piano in order to learn more musical theory, when he is making his instrumentals, in order to get the best results as possible. Leroy also hopes to produce for upcoming artists, and has a Soundcloud page with 10,000 followers.

L01: Prelim task for a college magazine

 I used these measurements as they are based off measuring an actual magazine with a ruler.

I made the resolution 300 pixels because I want the magazine to be high quality when printed

Here is my UTC college magazine I created in photoshop.

I learnt how to cut out images, as I had to cut out the student to put on my magazine.

I also learnt how

L01: InDesign introduction

Key words
Desktop publishing progress (DDP)- Used for publiahing products


Content page conventions
Always say content
Mast head reinforces the brand of the magazine.
Sub headings- Features main articles in the magazine
cover story
News
Subheadings are generally bold and big to give a detailed section of
Page numbers always on contents page always in ascending order
always on bottom left of the image
Images always anchored with text
Editors section- introduction into whats going to be in the  magazine this month etc always signed to show the editors stamp of approval
colours will match the house style of the magazine colours reinforce genre brand and house style
Columns
 dialogue box box that gives you information and options
gutter space in between the columns
White space empty space with nothing in it

3 things i like about my contents page
One thing I like about my contents page is the simplicity which really makes it look professional as the colours used are fairly basic as they are black / and a white/grey colour.

I also like the fonts used as they are very fancy and simple looking which complements the simplicity of the colours.

The importance of setting up the dialogue box in these settings is to make sure that my magazine matches real life dimensions of a real life magazine.
It also helps me get familiar with the custom settings of the program Adobe indesign.








I changed the colour of the text by highlighting the text then selecting the colour tool in the corner.