Friday, 15 April 2011
Wednesday, 13 April 2011
Evaluation Question Seven Looking back at your preliminary task (the school magazine task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full prod?
These are the two different front covers for my media work. The first being the preliminary task and the second being the full production. It's quite obvious that my skills in photoshop have increased massively! My photography skills have also increased a lot since the preliminary task too. The composition of the shots on my music magazine are a lot more professional than the ones i had taken for my college magazine. I also got the opportunity to learn how to use photoshop properly whilst making these magazines and it was interesting to learn how to make a professional magazine and it was also fun but challenging to do.
Monday, 4 April 2011
Evaluation Question 5 How did you attract/address your audience?
This is my front cover and contents page i made. I tried to appeal to my audience by using different techniques that kerrang, rocksound and nme use. I used the skyline, puffs and smaller images which all three of my magazines use, i also used a font (which i got from www.dafont.com) that was similar to the kerrang font. I used this font for my sell lines. I also downloaded another film which i used for the list of bands on the right hand side of my contents page, this font is similar used on the cover of rocksound.
My colour scheme was blue, purple, black and a reddy pink. I didn't want to use the typical red, black and white colour scheme. I used a variation of fonts just like a professional magazine would.
I tried to attract my audience through costumes by dressing my models in different clothes which would attract different stereotypes. For my front cover i had Kayla wear a black vest, light blue ripped jeans and a black and grey starry scarf.
I got Kayla to post with one arm behind her head after seeing an issue of kerrang where Hayley Williams was modelled in a similar position. I chose this pose because i thought it would help attract my audience who buys Kerrang to come and buy my product as it looks like the sort of thing they would like.
I also used the Kerrang Style font for my sell line. I had previously seen this issue of Kerrang with Oli Sykes on the cover, and in white lettering it had 'BRING ME THE HORIZON' then in yellow letters it had 'OLI SYKES'. I tried to replicate this by using the words 'I'M BACK' then putting 'KAYLA WARD' in larger lettering. All of the writing was written in black but the smaller text outlined in purple and the larger text outlined in red/pink. I did it like this rather than completely copy the kerrang cover and the text is still different.
Contents
For my contents page i very much styled it like a rocksound contents, a simple list of pages and what was on each of them. I used three images on my contents page. I used one of my model Lauren, who also was on a smaller image on my front cover, a close up of my model Kayla who was on the cover too, and finally a shot of the singer from The King Blues, that i took myself over a year ago at a concert, i used this images as a live poster, which is the kind of thing that music magazines do. I also divided my contents page into six different sections; news, live reviews, features, gig guides, albums and extras! I did this to appeal to my audience, as when i read magazines and i am looking for something in particular for example an album review, i would be able to look in the contents and find whereabouts to go.
I also used the Kerrang Style font for my sell line. I had previously seen this issue of Kerrang with Oli Sykes on the cover, and in white lettering it had 'BRING ME THE HORIZON' then in yellow letters it had 'OLI SYKES'. I tried to replicate this by using the words 'I'M BACK' then putting 'KAYLA WARD' in larger lettering. All of the writing was written in black but the smaller text outlined in purple and the larger text outlined in red/pink. I did it like this rather than completely copy the kerrang cover and the text is still different.
Contents
For my contents page i very much styled it like a rocksound contents, a simple list of pages and what was on each of them. I used three images on my contents page. I used one of my model Lauren, who also was on a smaller image on my front cover, a close up of my model Kayla who was on the cover too, and finally a shot of the singer from The King Blues, that i took myself over a year ago at a concert, i used this images as a live poster, which is the kind of thing that music magazines do. I also divided my contents page into six different sections; news, live reviews, features, gig guides, albums and extras! I did this to appeal to my audience, as when i read magazines and i am looking for something in particular for example an album review, i would be able to look in the contents and find whereabouts to go.
This is my double page spread for my product, i tried to lay it out more like an NME dps. I tried to keep it pretty simplistic, yet effective. I took two different pictures of my model aaron and altered the lighting and cropped the pictures so they look roughly at the same height. I added a smaller caption in the bottom right hand corner saying ' .. double trouble?' I did this to give of the effect that there was two people, and that there would be twice as much trouble.
I used this double page spread , from NME of Lily Allen. I tried to use a similar effect with my sell line on the left page, a quote taken out the text. For the other page i didn't use the images in the same as this, but tried to keep it pretty simple like this is.
Feedback Videos.
Here are some feedback videos i received about my products.
From these feedback videos i received from my peers i have learnt what they thought about my magazine and what it looks like from another persons perspective. They all stated whether they could tell what genre it was and most of them got the gist that it was a rock magazine. They also said what caught their eyes when first looking at my product, and why it stands out. They also gave me strengths and weaknesses which gives me the opportunity to improve my product knowing what they audience wants. They stated whether or not they would buy and why they would or wouldn't. I feel this feedback i received from my peers is very important and the constructive criticism and praises i received for my products helped me learn about my own product from the audiences viewpoint.
Evaluation Question 4 Who would be the audience for your media product?
Who would be the audience for your media product?
To demonstrate who the audience for my media product was i made a glogster. I added pictures of different bands, clothes, tv shows and magazines that my audience likes. I also briefly stated what my age group it was aimed at and what stereotypes i was aiming it at. This was an easy and pretty visual way to represent who my audience was.
To demonstrate who the audience for my media product was i made a glogster. I added pictures of different bands, clothes, tv shows and magazines that my audience likes. I also briefly stated what my age group it was aimed at and what stereotypes i was aiming it at. This was an easy and pretty visual way to represent who my audience was.
Evaluation Question 3 What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
When creating my product i wanted to create hybrid genre of magazine - indie/rock to come a cross between NME, rocksound and kerrang. I chose to make it like this as i thought it would be a slightly different and it would appeal to three seperate audiences. You would get three lots of revenue as you would get the readers from, Kerrang, Rocksound and NME buying the magazine due to its hybrid genre. I would aim to be able to sell my product in a newsagents or a big supermarket, but that would take time to get to that stature. I would try and build up a profile by distributing it independently online or through small news agents then to get it independently into a large store on sale..
I think the kind of company who would distribute my magazine would be companies such as ICP Media or bauer media who publish Kerrang and NME however this would be costly so i would try and set it up as an independent to make the money to distribute through larger companies such as ICP or bauer.
Although my magazine is very similar to rocksound, NME or kerrang it does have some differences. Whereas NME generally focuses around the indie genre, and rocksound focus around the rock metal/genre mine combines the two with added extras such as punk and electro and dance music. I chose to make it this way as i would like to see a magazine like this be made as i would probably buy it.
Bauer media also distributes Kerrang magazine, i found this out during my research and planning and it is now coming in handy. Kerrang is distributed throughout the UK aswell as worldwide.
ICP media distributes NME and it is one of the longest running music magazines and is distributed weekly all over the world.
I would hope that one of these two institutions may distribute my product but if not i would use web 2.0 to establish a fanbase for my product to then go to a distributor and ask them to consider distributing my product.
Why would these instituions distribute my product?
i believe that they would distribute my magazine as they would recieve a cut of the profits and there would be three lots of profits going to me as there would be the readers from three different magazines buying mine hopefully, so i think this would appeal to the distributors to invest in my magazine and if there was already an established fanbase it may encourage them to invest as they would be guaranteed some kind of profit.
When creating my product i wanted to create hybrid genre of magazine - indie/rock to come a cross between NME, rocksound and kerrang. I chose to make it like this as i thought it would be a slightly different and it would appeal to three seperate audiences. You would get three lots of revenue as you would get the readers from, Kerrang, Rocksound and NME buying the magazine due to its hybrid genre. I would aim to be able to sell my product in a newsagents or a big supermarket, but that would take time to get to that stature. I would try and build up a profile by distributing it independently online or through small news agents then to get it independently into a large store on sale..
I think the kind of company who would distribute my magazine would be companies such as ICP Media or bauer media who publish Kerrang and NME however this would be costly so i would try and set it up as an independent to make the money to distribute through larger companies such as ICP or bauer.
Although my magazine is very similar to rocksound, NME or kerrang it does have some differences. Whereas NME generally focuses around the indie genre, and rocksound focus around the rock metal/genre mine combines the two with added extras such as punk and electro and dance music. I chose to make it this way as i would like to see a magazine like this be made as i would probably buy it.
Bauer media also distributes Kerrang magazine, i found this out during my research and planning and it is now coming in handy. Kerrang is distributed throughout the UK aswell as worldwide.
ICP media distributes NME and it is one of the longest running music magazines and is distributed weekly all over the world.
I would hope that one of these two institutions may distribute my product but if not i would use web 2.0 to establish a fanbase for my product to then go to a distributor and ask them to consider distributing my product.
Why would these instituions distribute my product?
i believe that they would distribute my magazine as they would recieve a cut of the profits and there would be three lots of profits going to me as there would be the readers from three different magazines buying mine hopefully, so i think this would appeal to the distributors to invest in my magazine and if there was already an established fanbase it may encourage them to invest as they would be guaranteed some kind of profit.
Wednesday, 23 March 2011
Evaluation Question 2 How did you represent social groups?
This is an audience video i made showing the social groups i was trying to represent. For this i used final cut express to make the video and garage band to make the music i then imported into final cut express for my video. Looking at images like the ones in this video and videos similar to it helped me demonstrate how i represented these different social groups within my product. I showed images of stereotypical stereotypes, the bands an artists they listen too and the clothes they wear.
Wednesday, 16 March 2011
Final Products
These are my final products for my production, after receiving feedback i made some differences to them and i am very happy with the way that they have turned out.
Tuesday, 15 March 2011
Double page spread
I have edited my double page spread a switched the images around and changed the lighting on one so they are roughly the same lighting. I have also increased the scale by 5% so they are both roughly the same level and i personally think it looks more professional like this.
This what my double page spread looks like now. I think this is how i am going to leave it i really like this the only difference i may make is to put a quote from the article to personalise it more.
This is a screen shot i have taken of me editing the scale of my pictures in InDesign, in the picture you can also see that i have a photoshop window open aswell.
Monday, 14 March 2011
My magazine so far.
This is my contents and front cover at the moment i am still goiing to make a few changes to them both. I am quite happy with how my front cover looks at the moment, i have added more pictures and more features so it is more apparent what genre of music my magazine is - have aimed for a rock/indie style of music magazine.
I like the DPS but for my pictures i'm going to try and make the background the same colour so it does show as much.
Tuesday, 1 March 2011
Rough Cut - Double Page Spread And Feedback
My feedback for my DPS was obviously to finish it but they liked the colour scheme. As i didn't have much to show there wasn't really a great deal of comments made on my double page spread.
Rough Cut - Contents Page And Feedback
My feedback for my contents page was to finish it, remove the 'page' add page numbers, add more images and add more colour. I have taken this on board and changed it.
Rough Cut - Front Cover And Feedback
This is the first draft of the front cover of my magazine.
My feedback for this was good. I was told to add a skyline which i now have, i was told that they liked the colours i had used and the text i used. I was told to add more images which i have.
They also said i needed to add more selllines and more pictures.
Good fonts
Need more features.
They also said i needed to add more selllines and more pictures.
Good fonts
Need more features.
Tuesday, 15 February 2011
Images i will use for my contents, front cover and DPS.
I used this for my front cover shot i cropped out the rip in the background and lightened it slightly. The models clothes were her own and as she is a hairdresser i asked her to come with her hair in the style she thought would look good and i think i achieved a good look for my front cover.
I used this of picture of my friend lauren for a smaller image on the front cover as a poster. in photo shop i lightened it and change the contrast. The model came in her own clothes and i didn't add any make up or change her hair. She wore a motlley crue t-shirt, blue skinny jeans and a black cardigan and it was accessorised with studded bracelets which i think adds a bit more punky feel to it.
i used this picture of my model Aaron for another smaller image on the front cover - as a poster star. In photoshop i made it darker and used different effects to make it look like this.
I used this close up shot of my model Kayla for a smaller image on the contents page. I didn't have to crop it or anything on photoshop as this was the exact picture i shot in the studio.
This is a smaller image i used for the contents page, i took it at a concert i went to over a year ago and kept the images. I used it as it looked authentic and as though it looked like it belonged in a music magazine. I was allowed to use this image as i had taken it myself and not taken it from the internet, i thought using a picture of a live shot would add authenticity.
this is another live shot i took at a concert. As i tried to base my magazine around Kerrang, NME and Rocksound i thought it would make it look more realistic. I took this photo a while ago and found it on my home computer and thought it would add a more realistic feel to my magazine.
This is a picture of my model Aaron which i may possibly use on my contents page. I like the composition of the shot and the pose. I also like how his t-shirt becomes a main mart of the image too.
This is one of the images i used for my double page spread. I like this image because his outfit and pose are very apparent and i think it adds a more personal feel to it. The models clothes were his own and the converse boots were mine which i lent him. I didn't add any make up or change his hair and i'm happy with how this turned out.
This is the other image i used on my double page spread. I love how the yellow baseball boots catch the readers attention. I have lightened this image slightly on photoshop just so it looks more open and friendly as it looked a bit too dark before hand and the quality didn't look as good.
This is another image of my model Lauren again i changed the brightness on photoshop.
Monday, 14 February 2011
Front Cover Planning
i've started creating my front cover, i am taking the images tomorrow and i have started creating the masthead. i am using photoshop to create my front cover.
i've created my mast head by using a font i downloaded from www.dafont.com i then added an inner glow on photoshop using purple. i then added a blue stroke around the outside.
i am aiming to get this sort of effect for my front cover. I have taken two examples from Kerrang.
i am aiming to get this sort of effect for my front cover. I have taken two examples from Kerrang.
I like the idea of t his magazine as it shows her as a strong person and the focus is over her punching out, suggesting she is hitting back from critism. I am going to try and replicate this with my models. I also like how they have the poster special part on the bottom left corner, i am also going to try and put one of these into my front cover. Also, the model in this picture is wearing bright pink lipstick i was thinking of having my model wearing red lipstick but now i have seen this front cover i'm starting to think maybe bright pink would be a better idea.
~
I like this style of front cover too. I like the way the girl is posed onto the front cover. Her facial expression makes her seem angelic but her body language shows off attitude, i think this is really effective as the rest of the article is in yellow and black which ties in with the colours of her shirt. I'm going to take some photos of my model in similar poses to this to try and give off the same effect.
For my double page spread i am going to shoot the majority of the shots i'll use in the studio. I've decided to do this because magazines such as NME and Kerrang rarely have photoshoots outside, rocksound so more outside shoots. I also think it would be a good idea to do my shots particularly the cover shot in the studio because then i'm not having to worry about the amount of background in my shot.
On my flatplans i drew the writing so that it would have the same effect that this does. Having, in this case the bands name then the frontmans name in a different colour. I decided to use this time of sell line but my having a sell line in one colour then my models name in a different colour but trying to fit with the same colour schemes.
Tuesday, 8 February 2011
Final Article
We caught up with Aaron from the chart topping band 'Bitterly Sweet' backstage at the NME music awards, where he was chilling with his girlfriend who is actually our cover star! We had a quick chat and got a few snaps!
So hello! Excited about the upcoming album release?!
Hello! Yes i am, majorly excited! Our second album is going be so much bigger and better than the first! This albums got a completely different vibe to the last one! More edgy and unique and i can't wait for people to hear it.
How do you feel about winning best album?
Feels absolutely fantastic! That our fans and people in the music industry think we deserve to win it. It was amazing just to be nominated, but to win was just something else.
So what have been your main influences through making this album?!
Well i have all different music influences from so many different genres. We have influenced a more electro vibe into this album as well as bringing in more punk/rock references. Bands such as Cobra Starship and Hadouken have influenced us! On the punk rock side more bands such as Enter Shikari, A Day To Remember, The Blackout, Young Guns and You Me At Six. All different types of music but all somewhat an influence into the sound we have created.
Who would be your ideal artist to tour with?!
Well one of my favorite artists are 'You Me At Six' so to be given the opportunity to tour with them would be amazing. Bands like 'The Blackout' would also be amazing to tour with. Even an artist such as Muse would be insane to tour with! Just because of the stature they're at.
Are you planning to do a UK tour?
Yes! We've got a tour planned, with a few cheeky surprises along the way! We're just waiting until our manager and the label says we can announce it! But we have plenty of tricks up our sleeves. We can't wait to announce it to the fans, if they stay tuned on twitter and Facebook over the next few weeks they'll be a big announcement made!
Is it true Kayla will be coming on tour too?
Well her and the band are excellent musicians so it will be kept professional, although it would be an added bonus for her to be there aswell!
What was more important when writing the album, the music or the lyrics?
Well as i'm a singer i'd say the lyrics are pretty important, but having amazing lyrics is no good whatsoever if you have rubbish music! We all try and pitch in the best we can with coming up with riffs and beats for the album, and we all pitch in with the lyric and make them more personally to each of us.
What is your favorite venue to play at?
For each of us it’s different. We all like to play at smaller intimate venues where you’re really close to the crowd! We’re all from different places over England so our locals ones are always amazing to play! For example I love playing at the Middleborough Empire! Or the O2 academy in Newcastle! Some of the other guys prefer the London venues, personally my favorite London venue is the Camden Electric Ballroom.
What’s the best tour you have ever been on?
Australian tours are always fun! Touring Japan is always so much fun! Just like one big party! Everything’s so different to England, no boundaries everyone just goes mental!
Bitterly Sweets second album is out next month! Then they are touring in May! Download their new single ‘What it feels like’ now directly off the Bitterly Sweet site for free!
Monday, 7 February 2011
Front Cover PhotoShoot
I am going to shoot for my front cover shoot on Tuesday 15th Februaury in the studio and a variation of different outdoor locations. I've asked the model to come in skinny jeans, tshirt and plimsolls.
I am going to use different make up and i will take photos just before i start shooting and ask my other model to take a photo of me shooting the photos as proof that i have took the photos.
Article Drafts.
For my article i am going to do it on an artist on the release of their second album. I will do a mock interview with my model to help give the idea for my article and help me gets some inspiration. I will take snapshots throughout the mock interview to try and get some natural shots which would look good for the smaller shots on the page.
I will talk about previous album releases, personal life.
I am going to lay it out like a question and answer style interview.
here is my first draft of the article.
We caught up with Aaron from the chart topping band 'Bitterly Sweet' from topping the charts with their top ten album! to having sellout tours it's been a great year for bitterly sweet!
So hello! Excited about the upcoming album release?!
Hello! Yes i am, majorly excited! Our second album is going be so much bigger and better than the first! This albums got a completely different vibe to the last one! More edgy and unique and i can't wait for people to hear it.
So what have been your main influences through making this album?!
Well i have all different music influences from so many different genres. We have influenced a more electro vibe into this album as well as bringing in more punk/rock references. We've been influenced by bands such as Cobra Starship and Hadouken!, on the punk rock side more bands such as Enter Shikari, A Day To Remember, The Blackout, Young Guns and You Me At Six. All different types of music but all somewhat an influence into the sound we have created.
Who would be your ideal artist to tour with?!
Well one of my favourite artists are 'You Me At Six' so to be given the opportunity to tour with them would be amazing. Bands like 'The Blackout' would also be amazing to tour with. Even an artist such as Muse would be insane to tour with! Just because of the stature they're at.
Are you planning to do a UK tour?!
Yes! We've got a tour planned, with a few cheeky surprises along the way! We're just waiting until our manager and the label says we can announce it! But we have plenty of tricks up our sleeves. We can't wait to announce it to the fans, if they stay tuned on twitter and Facebook over the next few weeks they'll be a big announcement made!
What was more important when writing the album, the music or the lyrics?!
Well as i'm a singer i'd say the lyrics are pretty important, but having amazing lyrics is no good whatsoever if you have rubbish music! We all try and pitch in the best we can with coming up with riffs and beats for the album, and we all pitch in with the lyric and make them more personally to each of us.
What is your favorite venue to play at?!
For each of us it’s different. We all like to play at smaller intimate venues where you’re really close to the crowd! We’re all from different places over England so our locals ones are always amazing to play! For example I love playing at the Middleborough Empire! Or the O2 academy in Newcastle! Some of the other guys prefer the London venues, personally my favorite London venue is the Camden Electric Ballroom.
What’s the best tour you have ever been on?!
Australian tours are always fun! Touring Japan is always so much fun! Just like one big party! Everything’s so different to England, no boundaries everyone just goes mental!
You're up for 'Best British Band' at the Kerrang awards, how does that feel?!
Its such an honour! That our fans went to the time and trouble to nominate us for the award. We are so nervous for the outcome, but we're up against some fantastic bands who all deserve to win as well!
What was the best show you played in 2010?!
You're up for 'Best British Band' at the Kerrang awards, how does that feel?!
Its such an honour! That our fans went to the time and trouble to nominate us for the award. We are so nervous for the outcome, but we're up against some fantastic bands who all deserve to win as well!
What was the best show you played in 2010?!
Well a lot of time was taken out for writing the album so we didn't play a great deal of shows, well compared to the amount we play normally. We did a tour in January and Febuary then a few support shows with Enter shikari towards the end of the year. The final show with Enter Shikari at their christmas show at the Hatfield university was great! The crowd was immence! The guys are so great and there was loads of other fantastic bands playing to it was such and honour to be askerd to play alongside them.
Production Schedule
As of Monday 7th February i am going to start producing my magazine.
From the period of 7th February - 11th February i am going to work on my article drafts and photoshoots.
Monday 7th February - Production Schedule, Article Planning and Photoshoot planning.
Tuesday 8th February - Front Cover Shoot with Kayla in the studio and different outside locations. DPS shoot with Aaron in the studio and different outside locations.
Thurdsay 10th Febuary - Additional photos demonstrating skater stereotype for contents page images and smaller images on the front cover.
I aim to have taken the majority of my shots by Monday 14th Febuary and then can start manipulating them into the way i want them for my front cover/contents page/double page spread.
In my spare time over the next week i am going to try and finish the first draft of my article and move on to the final draft of the article.
Unfortunately one of my models wasn't able to make the shoot so i am going to do the shoot on Tuesday 15th February. I have booked the studio out for two hours to shoot Kayla for my front cover and Aaron for my double page spread.
i'm missing a lesson on Wednesday 9th February because of a college trip but will catch up with the work on my frees.
i aim to have my first draft of my article finished by the end of my lesson on Thursday 10th February.
On Monday 14th I will plan the photoshoot and start on the final draft of my article.
Unfortunately one of my models wasn't able to make the shoot so i am going to do the shoot on Tuesday 15th February. I have booked the studio out for two hours to shoot Kayla for my front cover and Aaron for my double page spread.
i'm missing a lesson on Wednesday 9th February because of a college trip but will catch up with the work on my frees.
i aim to have my first draft of my article finished by the end of my lesson on Thursday 10th February.
On Monday 14th I will plan the photoshoot and start on the final draft of my article.
Sunday, 6 February 2011
Recce of Location
I will be using three different locations for the shooting of for my magazine
I will take shots here that will be idea for the photos on the double page spread. The only problem with using the studio is it might be more difficult to achieve the atmosphere that i want to create for my magazine and make it look realistic.
My second location will be the front of the art centre.
I am planning to take a series of shots of the models sat on the steps, the tables outside and the doorway of the arts centre. The problem with this location is that i will have to be careful not to get any members of the public in any of my shots. Also if it is raining i won't be able to take my shots so in this case i was going to take the shots indoors in different locations in the arts centre.
My third location is going to be Stanhope park and maybe a smaller park near to where i live.
I am planning to take fun shots such as my models jumping of walls, sat on swings, walking through the gateways as i think it will create a mysterious atmosphere. Again if it rains it will be hard to shoot these shots, so if this happens i am going to shoot some in the studio or other locations in the local area.
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