Production diary 20

The past few days I have been busy with thinking about how I would promote my magazine by using different ways in promoting it. I have looked at old media and also new media, and how that it would be much easier to do this with new media as it is fats easy and accessible almost everything  and for my target demographic, this would be a wise way to distribute awakens of my magazines as teenagers spend half their lives on social networking sites. I have even come with with new and original ways to do this by using the every day phone and creating an app for my magazine which is free to download and use daily.

New Media

 New media is used on any digital device as a way of interacting with the audience and where they can give us feedback. The democratization is an important part of publishing, distributing, consuming and the creation of media content.  Facebook and Twitter are both examples of the social media model, which your audience is the participants.
This is the latest, newest way of distributing or advertising at a mass scale as everyone has access to it, most websites are free to advertise on and it’s very easy to access. As I have a target audience of teenagers, they would be best to target with new media as they would spend most of their time online. Social networking sites such as facebook, twitter, tumblr, youtube all hold a great deal of uses which are active daily. If I were to advertise my magazine on these sites then it’s it not only free but would be largely effective as it can get heard of more through people. If I got users to share and like my magazines facebook page, tweet and retweet my magazines twitter account. Just by a click of a button this can all be done.
I have made a twitter and facebook page or my magazine for further promotions https://twitter.com/SoundCheckMagUK
http://www.facebook.com/SoundCheckMagazineUK

However there are problems with new media as once it’s on the internet it is very hard to delete it from everywhere because it is such a large thing that no one can control.
The first music magazine came around in 1920. They were only just a paper magazine sold in local shops, but over time this has changed drastically. They constantly need to be kept up to date as the times change. Many existing magazines have their own website and other social networking sites for their readers to access anywhere. Even on the go, you can download your own app and skim through the highlights on your phone on the way to work or coming home from school. This also gives me a chance to put up live interviews and videos on the website that cannot be placed in a magazine for my readers to watch and get more excitement over. It is an easy way to interact more and also make fellow sound check fans as there would be a comment section where they can voice their own opinions. This is another way in how new media has progressed. More and more apps are being made for anything because most teenagers nowadays have smart phones that can handle them. This would be a very clever way to make one and then push my magazine to be publicised even more. Off course that it will be free so that everyone can download it without a problem.
Radio stations are another form of new media however they have seemed to be the least popular. If I could find a well-known and famous radio station to advertise my magazine in a short add then that would get even more attention which also targets my audience as they will like the same music and interest. As already a lot of magazines do have their own radio station, and also TV channel, such as Scuzz and Kerrang!

 

Here is a sample of the app that i just created that would be found on a iPhone, and very easy to connect with and play with when bored.

There is also a new way which has come out pretty recently and that is scanning codes from the original magazine into your phone and accessing it there online. If I had printed some codes into my magazine and then you could scan it in with your phone and access that special part straight to your phone, like an interview or music video or something that involves the internet. It enables it to become more popular as there is more than just a paper magazine available but much more.

Promotional Methods

Production Diary 19

I have just done my first live gig photo shoot at the gig from the band which I have chosen and uploaded all of the pictures onto a contact sheet for you to see how it went. There were a lot of shots taken as I wanted to get the best possible ones to include in my magazine  There were also a few other bands there so I though I would get shots of them just in case seeing as I was already there. I thought that It went pretty well, as I was happy with a few shots that i feel were strong. There were some complications in the crowd, as it was pretty large, also my camera died towards the end so I could not get all the pictures I wanted. I had to keep chaining the lenses which also wasted time, as it was a live gig and could not be done again, However I feel that i have got some good live pictures to include, but will also carry on to get more at other gigs.

Contact Sheet (1)

Rough Ideas and sketches

Here are a few rough ideas and sketches which I have drawn myself as a rough ideas as to what my initial thoughts are on my magazine, I'm still unsure of the placing but I decided to have a go at trying it out.

Production Diary 18

Looking at my location ideas I think I definitely have three strong locations in which would work the best. I have thought about them car fully because I cant just do mine anywhere because of my genre. The rock genre is hard to covey as the background does say a lot about it and how they are so I need to pick the right one. Definitely the live concert one would be suitable in my magazine as it is all about new bands and music. This would be the most easier to do, however I don't think that I can really do one in a scrapyard as this would way to hard to convey. I feel that a photo shoot in a studio may not be the strongest idea as with my genre it is hardly done, as it does not convey my genre but something universal that can be used anywhere. I want mine to be unique and different from the others so I may use them shots for the last pages.
The colour theme is also hard to chose a solid colour however I do feel that I have found a bold three theme which also ties in with my feature story.

Location Ideas

Overall I think that the location I would chose the simplest locations which would still convey my genre and would be much easier for me to do with my band. Because there are so many of us, it would be wise to chose one location or two, and keep the locations close to each other reassure that my photos would get done in time. Because of time and making sure that everyone is free, I would need to find maybe two or three days where everyone is free to take part in the photo shoot. This is why the location of the studio or bedroom would be wise.

Production Diary 17

I have been looking a lot and spending time looking at images which inspire me to maybe re-enact for my magazines. Because I attend a lot of gigs, and is always up to date with bands and news I buy a lot of music magazines like Kerrang which I find useful. This also gives me an indication of what kind of pictures they use and certain poses which help portray my genre. I want to make it really clear to my audience in the most simplistic way possible which means stereotyping my models to the fullest. I have collected a few samples of what I would like to go with looking at existing magazines for inspiration to do with my genre, in the power point below it shows and explores why I have chosen each one and how they would help me. I feel as if they would be able to do, in s short period of time, as they are not that much trouble to rein-act  I have contacted my models and arranged shoots for my live pictures at a gig, and also at a band practice to get a in depth feel of their lives.

Image Ideas

Image Ideas by

Colour Scheme

Colour Scheme

The colours which I have discussed in the power point above were taken from my questionnaire and the most popular colours which had been voted by the public. I have looked at existing magazines, and found that most of them used the basic black and white them with one addition or two colours that changed each time in the magazines which suited the feature story. This is why I have chosen to use the blue and different shades of them to represent my band as their name is called The Ocean’s Eyes.

Production Diary 16

Recently I have been busy with thinking about the actual content on my magazine and what I would put in it. The double page draft is probably the hardest page, as it contains a lot of wring and information about my band. Because I have been going to a lot of their gigs recently I thought that I could maybe do one whore double spread on that. I have seen it before in a lot of Kerrang magazines, where they have a few pages dedicated to recent live reviews of gigs that have recently happened. Also because i read a lot of these anyways, it will help me write about this and get me in the voice of a reviewer because I can talk about what happened first hand as I was there for my self. The draft is just a simple simple, however I do have trouble with keeping in the word limit as I tend to write a bit too much. But I think that would be suitable for one of my pages as it is a sterotypical thing found in music magazines of my genre.

Article draft for double page spread

The Ocean’s Eyes cause up a storm.

Last night at the crazy o2 academy Islington The Ocean’s Eyes played their first gig in London. The five pieced rock band have been around for a few years but it wasn’t until last night that their dreams came true. It had been a great success for the band as it was one of their first big tours all around the England and were excited to finish it all off in London. Despite the fact that this hard core rock and had only seen the supporting band, they claimed the lime light from the headlining band Taking Hayley which came as a great deal of surprise to them.

Reporting stickily from last night’s gig which was extremely mental, for a new and upcoming band such as small as they are. No one quite expected what happened that night as it was a mosh pit manic! The band got right away into it without any introductions or slow pace music, the starting song was almost as upbeat and energetic than the last, the performance maintained this spectacular and hard-core rhythm throughout.  This was quite an achievement for an unknown band trying to make it big in such a competitive city! Within the first few seconds of their starting song The Room Of Red, already the crowd had gotten into the moshing spiriting as the crowd were showing great signs of energy, before they even started their second set circle pits were definitely in the go. However it was not only the crowd who seemed to be having a blast. Luke McInroy lead singer of the band was a lot more than your average screamer. Running around all over the stage, crashing into his fellow members, tearing up the lights and jumping also with the crowd is what you would have found him doing. The interaction with the band and the crowd was immensely close, at a few points during the show, Luke himself jumped into the small crowd that covered the floor and crowd surfed along with them, passing the mic to someone to sing along with, involving everyone to join in with their exclusive party.

TOE gave Taking Hayley a run for their money as they had more experience as a much larger band with a wider fan base, somehow this didn’t show in their performance as the crowd was taken away with them before the headliner could even play. The chance to play in a sold out show wasn’t enough then be blown away from what you are about to read. TOES have been offered a place to support America’s large pop emo band, Blood On The Dance Floor in Kings College next year! So if you’re around the area, be sure to find a ticket to the nearest venue because they will now definitely sell out within seconds!

The tiny venue of o2 academy Islington was pounding and the music could even be heard from the venue below, the small stage and pillars were shaking with the heavy flow of happy fans and a great performance from a supporting band that are soon to be the next big thing. Keep your eye out for The Ocean’s Eyes as soon they will be playing in much finer venues with much superior crowds and much greater MUSIC!

“We came from such small hopes that have now been raised to much higher expectations for the future to come now!” Quoted the drummer Ben Smith.

“London have always been my favourite crowd, everyone just gets so lose and mental, I felt like I was home, in a proper gig when I sang tonight, it was just magically.” Blasted Luke.

Also following the many new fans that the band has now made, and also friends had a lot to say about lasts nights gig.

“I never expected such a small gig to have such class A bands, the performance they gave was probably better than when I say Coldplay, even better musically I’d say.” One of the fans that attended the concert told us later on that night.

Judging from last night’s reaction form the band and the fans I’m guess that they had a blast? Not only were the crowd surprised but also the other supporting and headlining bands, friends of Taking Hayley, were joined by With One Last Breath, Bury Tomorrow and Room 94 also agreed with the comments made above.  If you are not familiar with the band and what sort of music they play then now if the time to give them a listen! You can find them all over facebook, twitter and youtube, (links would be provided at the bottom of this page) they are a mixture of soft rock, and hard indie classics, (Alternative/Pop Punk/Rock) which have been describe to sound like the existing Lower Than Atlantis, Deaf Havana, The Story So Far. Seeing’s as the band has no real manger yet and tackle all tasks on their own they are doing pretty well for themselves as getting signed to
I Am Mighty Records (UK)

But how much do we know about this band?

Five young ambitious men from Essex, Cambridge, and London make up this five piece indie rock band. Guitarist Charlie and Mitch, Bassist Andy, Drummer Ben and lead singer Luke make joined together at the young age of 18 and formed the very first band. The original members were just Luke, Ben and Andy as high school friends decided that they would put their music talent to the test, which now turned out to be something far greater than they ever expected. Officially the band has been together, playing and working on new music since 2010 and have come so far in such a short period of time. Practicing after school, or work in any time they had left in Andy’s garage back at home in Essex firstly thought of it to be a bit of fun because that’s what all the cool kids were doing back in the day, which now has turned into a career they all love.

“If there are any young aspiring musicians out there, a word of advice to them is to never give up on what they believe in because one day you can be performing in a small pub in front of your family and then the next playing at the o2 in wimble in front of massive of crowds headlining with slipknot!” such inspiration words, which is probably the only inspirational thing Mitch has ever contributed to. So if you are like them when they were your age or even younger, just remember how all classic bands started out with nothing.

5 minutes with 5 members:

THE OCENA’S EYES

You love the Uk crowds but do you love the weather?

“I didn’t notice that there are any seasons here, from where I used to live in the hot summers of California, I have only enjoyed one day of sun, but I am adapted to this weather as I have spent 5 years living over here. But you gotta love the English weather!” – Andy

What are your common demands on your rider?

“I would say that we don’t really expect them as yet however once Luke made one and it just consisted of oreos and milk and nothing else. It was nice for a while but then it did get a bit sickening after weeks of just that, but if we were to have one then I would say KFC EVERYDAY!” –Ben

Who are your favourite bands to tour with?

“We haven’t really been on many tours however we do love our fellow mates from Taking Hayley, A Season Of Secrets and Room 94, they are right laffs, and we all get along like brothers. It feels like I’m touring with my family.” – Charlie

Do any of the guys ever get on your nerves or have weird habits?

“I wouldn’t want to bait anyone out right here but LUKE has the most annoyest habit of eating everyone’s food before they come down, or he never turns the light of when he’s the last one up, and generally a greedy pig when it comes to sharing! But apart from that we do love him and all, there are times where the boys do get on nerves but that must be normal when you spent half your life with then?” –Mitch

Where do you see your selves in 10 years’ time?

“I see the future very clear, we are recording out next EP in the following weeks and are set to play some massive dates with some big bands in the New Year. I also see us playing at Warped or Slam Dunk in a few years hopefully, but the band is really important however much of a struggle it is.” Luke

The band have been playing many gigs before hand, but nothing really does compare to London's.  I'm sure a lot of you are unaware of the band and who they actually are, fret no more as we will take through the stages these hard core Londoners had been through to get to where they are now. I know it's not anything like Queen, however it has been a massive step for them playing for fun after school at Luke's grandmothers house. (I'm pretty sure she's glad to get rid of them) We've snuck into their own personal lives, while also stalking the shit out of their facebooks, and managed to find a few decent face shots of each band mate, for you sorry lot to look at. (Aren't they just beautiful?)

Just above a we've rummaged to find a pretty old tour poster the band had made on one of their smaller dates, as cheesy as it looks, they later fired their graphics designed, hired a new photographist and finally got their act together to be taken seriously. You'd think that they would have nicked the colour scheme of us? Eh? Yellow, black and navy? I don't know about you but this is looking far to familiar to me.

swiftly moving on from that awkward topic, the band have been trying to get their perfect image across and not mixed up, with the links of other bands that have built up a false representation for them selves. The Ocean's Eyes have tried to build their image but they don't want to be known as just some indie rock band, they want to be know way more hardcore than them, it's not just a statement it's from the worms mouth. So what do you guys think of them? And how would you label them now you know a bit more? Maybe you don't turn over the page to find out their history!

Production diary 15

As my questionnaire on the internet was not reliable as anyone had access to anyone. So I decided to then make another one on word and print it off and give it to a selection of 20 people that I know would take it seriously. Below you will find a sample of my questions and what I asked my selection of people.

Also from my results I have had a few ideas as to what to put into my magazine and what to add in my contents page. I have found that Kerrang have a really good layout in theirs which is very basic and simple, however it is something that I would like to follow because it would be easy to replicate.