On the 31st of October, my class went to the NME offices in London where we had the opportunity to talk to some of the staff to ask some questions and get some advice. This is what I learned from them:
What advice would you give on what would be suitable for the front cover?
The front cover has to be straight to the point, so be more artistic in the double page spread rather than the cover. Think of it as an advert; it has to sell the magazine. Just keep it simple, visual… Use simple fonts, nothing really fancy; keep those artistic fonts for the contents. We normally use 2 to three different fonts on the front cover, but no more than that. The logo has to be kept fairly simple as well. It needs to be recognisable. Weekly magazines have to keep fresh and so things change a lot, but you always have to keep everything simple.
How about the pictures? Have you got some tips on putting the right picture?
Always, always have eye contact on the front cover. The artist needs to be looking at the public, catching their attention, attracting them into buying the magazine. You rarely see an artist wearing sun glasses on the cover. This only happens when the artist is well known and you know that people are going to be able to recognise him or her straight away. Also, you rarely get another picture on the cover; small ones sometimes, when you’re promoting a poster and things like that. But generally there’s only one picture.
What do you think about black and white pictures being used in the cover?
It’s not very good. People associate black and white with old photoshoots so we try to avoid it. We only ever use it when the artist featured in the cover is an old artist and you’re using old pictures or if it’s about someone who died. It’s the same thing with sepia. Also, if your cover’s background is black, you need to carefully think about the colours you’re going to use. You don’t want you’re writing to be only white, do you? It’s a bit tricky because you really need to think about the colours.
Talking about the colours, how do you choose the colours that will be used in the front cover?
It’s mostly colours that would go along with the picture and that will be used through the magazine. You have to keep your colour scheme constant. The colour of the logo is used quite a lot. Also, the colour of the logo can change to match the picture and the colour of your headline. This way, it also helps to keep the magazine fresh.
How do you decide who’s going to be in your cover?
We consider who did something crazy, something different and might have gotten attention for that. Who is doing a big tour, who is releasing what… You need to think about your readers and what they want to see in the magazine, what is going to make them buy it.
Let’s talk about double pages. What is there to consider when making them?
Writing your article before taking your pictures. Really, that helps a lot. Your picture has to match your article; they have to go with it each other, they have to have the same tone, the same mood. It’s good to have, when it comes to a double page spread about the artist on the cover, pictures from the same photoshoot, so you also have the same theme. Use the same clothes; the feel and look of the pictures need to be the same. The headline also has to go with the picture and sell the story as a whole.
What advices would you give on writing the article then?
Don’t waffle. Keep it short and to the point. People don’t want to read lots and lots of writing.
What techniques can be used to make the writing more interesting?
We often use boxes-out. They are a mini feature within the feature. They can or cannot be linked to the article. It can be about an album that they just released, like a track by track one, or influences of the band, particularly if it’s a new band. Or it can be just silly random questions. The font of the box-out and the size of it are always different from the article’s font. We also use pull quotes, drop caps and you can change the colour of your first sentence.
How do you plan for a photoshoot?
You need to think about what you are trying to say about the person. Think of a concept that fits with what you’re trying to sell about the band. You need to then consider what colour you’re going to be shooting the person on, if it’s going to be inside or outside, what is the person going to wear. Read the article. Depending on how much writing you’ve got, you place the headline either on the picture or on top of the article. My advice is prepare but always have options.
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