Planning and evaluation of the article

Evaluation of existing articles
The first article i will examine is an interview from Rock Sound.

The article starts in the past and leads into the present. It gives the reader a little bit of the history of the band. The article then goes on to set the current scene. It describes the current location and situation of the band in detail. The tone of the article is informative but casual and conversational. It reports what is happening as if it was happening right now. The helps establish a clear setting for the reader and makes them feel really involved. Questions aren't stated but from the band's comments you can guess easily what question were asked. The whole interview is set in paragraphs rather then in a question and answers format.

The whole layout of the pages make the image of the band the main focus. The image shows the band standing together which goes well with the sub-heading back from the brink. A transparent box has been placed above the image that has the text placed on it. This helps make the text stand out and readable on the distracting background. The introduction to the article has been placed away from the main body of text and is located in the top left hand corner of the page. This is highlighted by a black box. This helps make it stand out against the bright blue background. The background is eye catching and if you were just flicking through the magazine it would make you take notice of this particular page. Its patchy white and different shades of blue make it look more graffiti and give it a more rock edge.

Overall i think this article is effective as its casual and conversational tones help make it easy for the reader to read. The way the setting of the interview is described in detail helps the reader picture it and feel like they are really there. This engages them well and makes them feel more involved. This will appeal to the target audience as it will help make them want o read the whole article as well as enjoy doing so.

The next article is a from Kerrang. Its an interview with a band about their new album.

The interview is set out in an question and answer layout. The tone of the whole interview is mainly conversational as it is mostly answers to questions by the band. The language used is casual and informative. Above the interview there is a little fact file that contains several key pieces of information about the bands forth coming album.

The layout of the double page has the interview and title of the feature on one page and the accompanying image on the other. This makes the interview the focus when you look and one page and the images the focus when you look at the other. This helps the reader concentrate on the interview easily. Both pages are very dark and the only bright colours is the yellow used to make titles and questions stand out. White is used to make other pieces of text readable.

Overall i like this article. I think the use of a plan background helps the reader to focus on the interview easily. I think the way it is written will appeal to the target audience because if you want to read it quickly you can do this easily. You can just read the question and answer you want to read about rather than having top read the whole thing.

Drafts of my interviews
The first draft i did was of an interview that shows questions and answers.

"With their world tour starting this year its bound to be a busy year for Misguided Ghosts. So we caught up with Kayleigh Mizon (vocals) and Ben Page (drummer) to talk about their new album and the year ahead.

So you two write the music for the band hows that going?
Kayleigh: Really well actually we starting recording yesterday it's great to get things going again.

Your first album Dollhouse went platinum in several different countries, do you think your second album will be able to live up to that?
Kayleigh: I hope so. I mean we don't want to just recreate Dollhouse and call it our second album.
Ben: Dollhouse has been out for just over a year now and i think fans need something new from us. We need to prove ourselves and show that we can carry on and consistently produce great music.
Kayleigh: We wrote Dollhouse when we were growing up and the songs reflected that, but we all have matured show much and that is reflected in the album.

So fans will see a new side to the band?
Kayleigh: Yeah i guess so.
Ben: Dollhouse was about growing up and all the things you have to deal with when doing that it focused strongly on the past. Now we defiantly are focusing on the future. Its filled with hope and belief, exactly what our fans gave us at the start, so i hope the fans enjoy hearing and seeing a more grateful and together version of Misguided Ghosts.

So your world tour starts in February how are you preparing?
Kayleigh: Oh I've already started packing I'm so excited. Its the first tour that we are headlining so its a proper Misguided Ghosts experience.

I like this version of the interview. I think the question and answer format will make the piece easier and quicker to read. However i feel that this isn't enough to hook the reader. The interview feels impersonal and it's straight to the point writing style wont appeal to anyone who hasn't previously heard of the band. I feel it would be more effective if it had a more involved writing style.

This is the second draft of my interview.

"Just over two years ago no one had heard of Misguided Ghosts, a Brighton band who only played for their friends and family. However in 2007 the band got their break when they supported Go:Audio at the Concorde 2. Since then they have gone on to record a platinum selling album and feature on one of the most anticipated soundtracks of 2009. After rocking Sonisphere festival in July 2009, the band thought is was time to get back to writing. "It was a mad time for us" recalls lead singer Kayleigh Mizon. "We were constantly touring for two years and we needed to take a break before we ended up hating what we do, but the way everyone received our album Dollhouse was incredible and i think we all were shocked by how much the fans enjoyed it. Hearing every ones reaction defiantly made all the work worth it". Five months later and the band are better than ever. With their new album due out next month and a sell out world tour scheduled the band seem relaxed as they recall the events of the past two years in their Brighton based recording studio. Josh Impey tunes his guitar as he remembers some of the more difficult challenges the band had to face. "It was defiantly harder at the start" he begins "We had to break through the stereotype of a 'whinny emo band' and prove we wernt that at all. That we were artists who were unique and could offer people music with meaning". The rest of the band reflect thoughtfully on his comments as Kayleigh prepares to speak again. "We defiantly had some hurdles but we were strong and made it through. We have to thank the fans for sticking by us and helping us achieve our dreams. We wrote Dollhouse as we were growing up and a lot of those songs reflect our past. However our new album focuses on the future and is filled with the hope and belief that the fans gave us.
"

Overall i think this interview is good at engaging the reader and it gives them a lot of information about the band. However i feel its layout will make it daunting for the reader to read and they may not enjoy reading it because of this. I feel my previous draft layout was more effective and if i gave the article more of a strong and engaging opening paragraph it will make the whole article more appealing.

For my final draft i will combine elements of my previous drafts.

" We've all heard the stories about Misguided Ghosts, living in a dark house on a hill surrounded by the dead and rarely welcoming the living. So far none of that's is true. The Brighton based apartment building seems to be filled very much by the living, maybe this is the wrong place? In front lies a door covered in graffiti that reads 'Misguided.Ghosts', behind it the sounds of instruments can be heard. As Loudspeaker knocks all of the noise abruptly stops and Kayleigh Mizon opens the door. She seems relaxed in her black tee and ripped jeans. Smiling broadly she welcomes us in. "Hey how are you? Can i get you anything to drink?". As we are ushered down a cramped hall, to the living room, loudspeaker examines the surroundings. Band memorabilia clutters the walls, posters, signed tees and gold and platinum records. Suddenly a door flies open and Caitlin Griffiths steps into the light. She is sporting a Misguided T-shirt, leather jacket and black jeans. "I thought i heard the door bring them in here Kayz sorry about the mess". Peering behind her you cant help but notice the red coloured walls, black carpeted floor and clashing electric blue leather sofas. Ben Page lays in the centre of the floor surrounded by papers and his drumsticks close by. Sam Wood lays across one of the sofas his guitar in hand. Loudspeaker enters the room and sits at the small dining table located at the far end of the room and after refusing numerous offers of drinks and food we start the questioning.

So the past two years have been pretty mad for you guys right?
Kayleigh Mizon (vocalist): Oh yeah i mean we never expected Dollhouse (the bands debut album) to get such a positive reaction. Since it came out we have been doing stuff non-stop!

What's your highlight been so far?
Kayleigh: I have to say i think the best moment was finding out when Dollhouse went platinum in America.
Ben Page (drummer): Yeah i have to agree! We were at the American Music awards at the time and we had just presented the award for T-Mobile breakthrough artist and when we came off stage everyone started clapping.
Kayleigh: It was so embarrassing! we were like "no we didn't win the award we presented it!" and our agent came running up to us like "haven't you heard you just gone platinum". We were all so shocked and overwhelmed we didn't say anything for five minutes.
Sam Wood (bassist): Which i think is a first for Ben
(All laugh whilst Ben looks unimpressed and launches a pillow at Sam)

Your next album House of Wolves is out next month do you think it will be able to to live up to the fans expectations?
Sam: I hope so. I mean we don't want to just recreate Dollhouse and call it our second album.
Ben: Dollhouse has been out for just over a year now and i think fans need something new from us. We need to prove ourselves and show that we can carry on and consistently produce great music.
Kayleigh: We wrote Dollhouse when we were growing up and the songs reflected that, but we all have matured show much and that is reflected in our new album.
Caitlin Griffiths (guitarist): Dollhouse was about growing up and all the things you have to deal with when doing that it focused strongly on the past. Now we defiantly are focusing on the future. Its filled with hope and belief, exactly what our fans gave us at the start, so i hope they enjoy hearing and seeing a more grateful and together version of Misguided Ghosts.

You are appearing on the Alice in wonderland soundtrack which is out later this year how did that happen?
Kayleigh: Well we are friends with All Time Low and when we were jamming with them we played them a song we wrote called 'checkered smiles'. Alex Gaskarth (All Time Low's lead singer) was like you have to play this for this guy we know it just what he's been looking for. So we recorded a demo and sent it off to the studio and i guess they liked it.
Caitlin: It felt so surreal and then they were like "come and meet the other artist on the soundtrack" and when we got there we was like how do we deserve to be on a soundtrack with people like Pete Wentz and Avril Lavigine! They were all so nice to us though and the party was awesome.
Ben: Yeah it was brilliant! I got hit in the face by a giant foam mushroom by Mark Hoppus.
(all start laughing uproariously)

So what else can we expect from Misguided Ghosts this year?
Kayleigh: Well our world tour starts in march and our new album is out next month. We've got a few surprises planned for our fans but you'll have to wait till june to find out what that is."

I like this version of my article. The language used throughout is descriptive and casual. The introduction is strong and will hopefully engage the reader. The question and answer format also makes it easy to read.