Transcript
For me to be able to start researching music magazines, I need to first decide on the genre of music that I'm going to be focusing my own magazine on. I had to think long and hard about which genre to choose—it had to be a genre which would let me be creative design-wise but also one I enjoy and one I would be able to write comfortably about for the double-page spread.
I've chosen to focus on some of the different sub-genres of indie music.
I'm going to quickly outline some of the artists which I could potentially be using as a reference style-wise as I create my magazine. I've picked one female artist, one male artist and one group.
The first artist is Halsey, a female electropop artist. I’ll play a little of one of her songs for you now: 'Ghost', from her 2015 album 'BADLANDS'.
'Ghost' Music Video (1:37—2:10)
I really love the colour schemes Halsey uses in her promotional videos and music videos. She uses a lot of neon lights and contrasting colours which are pleasing to the eye. It’s this vibrancy which I’d love to emulate in my magazine.The second artist I've chosen is Troye Sivan, an Australian artist who also produces electropop. This is 'FOOLS', from his 2015 EP 'WILD'.
'FOOLS' Lyric Video (0:31—0:52)
'FOOLS' Music Video (1:46—2:08)
Troye uses softer pastel colours, especially in his lyric videos. His music videos generally have lots of camera movement and blurring, giving everything a dreamlike atmosphere.
The final group I've chosen is an Icelandic indie folk band, Of Monsters And Men. This is 'King And Lionheart', from their 2011 album 'My Head Is An Animal'.
'King And Lionheart' Music Video (0:30—1:15)
Most of the music videos Of Monsters And Men produce use the same kind of animated style, with a theme of sparks and fire—quite different to Halsey and Troye. It’s a lot darker and grittier. However, this could be another potential direction for the magazine to go in—and something I’d be equally as happy to explore.In the coming days, I will be researching different magazines from this genre, so I can see the different conventions that each one uses, and how to implement those in my own magazine. This will allow me to start designing and creating concepts for the magazine. Afterwards, I can start planning and designing photo-shoots in order to gain the necessary material which I’ll need to create my magazine’s cover, contents page and double-page spread.
Software used: Audacity, Hitfilm 3 Express, HandBrake
