Rough Cuts

My deadline for the Rough Cuts was Tuesday 20th March at 4.30. I had my Rough Cuts finished and uploaded on the day. Here they are;

Front Cover

I have successfully followed my original drawings layout of the magazine, and am happy with the turn out. It looks better than I thought it would. I have included a range of fonts and fonts sizes, sticking to the conventions of a music magazine, and have used a range of photographs on the front cover alone. I have stuck to three colours, meaning these are the house colours of the magazine, another convention of a music magazine.


Peer: The font for the artist’s name is very nice, and the name of the magazine and bar-code are nicely placed. The layout is basic but appealing. The photograph of the artist is great, as is the location. Her eye contact with the reader draws them in. I believe the blue is too light on the front, and the bar-code sticks out a bit too much.

Teacher: The stories are good and the mise-en-scene of the photograph is very good. One issue is that the titles and subtitles are different colours, and I don’t believe that this works. I also think that there is too much space which needs to be filled. The ‘TMN’ should all be the same size, it’s distracting.

Contents Page

I have attempted to make this contents page as similar as possible to my drawing, and I believe that I have achieved this. The photograph of 'Inside Party' turned out exactly how I wanted it to and it fitted into the place I had planned successfully. My use of fonts and colours is similar to that of what you would find in a real music magazine, because it is a commonly used factor. My range of photographs shows female artists and male artists showing that it is not a male or female dominated magazine, leaving an equal balance. I wanted to include a music chart as it is a nice touch and works well in magazines such as Billboard (a magazine that was an influence in the development of mine)


Peer: The photographs used are very good and there is a good layout overall. This contents page looks professional and meets all of the conventions. The fonts used are nice and clear. The artist subtitles make it all very easy to read. I don’t particularly like the random blue parts dotted around the page, especially on the ‘plus’ area. The chart box is too busy and the colours don’t particularly go well together. The text is a bit small.

Teacher: I really like the layout of your contents page, especially the photo used for page 12. I don’t think you should underline so many things and your chart box needs some work.

Double Page Spread

I believe that the photograph on this article is the strongest point, followed by the 'VW' behind the text. This makes the article look sophisticated and professional, a touch I am very happy with. I like the fact I have the article title stretching over both pages as it attaches the pages together. 

Peer: The layout for your double page spread is very good and the letters behind the writing are really appealing. The quote stands out very well and fits nicely into the article. The image is very good with an excellent setting, ‘I love where it’s taken’. The colour scheme is flowing from the rest of the magazine, making it obvious its all the same magazine. The CD part looks a bit strange in the corner and the black writing blends into the photograph too much. The small images are blurry and hard to see. I think the ‘VW’ is distracting behind the text. The font of the text should be changed.

Teacher: The big VW behind your writing is really interesting. I like your whole layout in general. There seems to be a lack of close-ups of your artist and I think one is needed

I will look at all of this feedback thoroughly and use it to improve my rough cut to make my final cut the best possible quality.