This is the first draft for my double page article
Thursday, 19 December 2013
Thursday, 3 October 2013
Wednesday, 2 October 2013
Editing of Chosen Images (Contents Page)
This is evidence showing how I have edited my images and the tools that I have used
I used the auto tone tool to correct the tone of the imageThen, I auto contrast the image to change the lighting-making the image brighter
Afterwards, I cropped the image in order to get rid of unwanted parts of the image and to make the image more compact to fit into my contents page.
For this image, I am going to add a filter and to make it represent the genre of my magazine I have chosen to add a black and white filter to the image
After the filter is added into the photo, you can see that I am able to adjust how dark or light the black and white filter is. Also, you are able to change which areas you would wish to be darker than others
I have adjusted the light settings and you can see that in some areas the lighting is brighter than others. This is the final product of my image.
Tuesday, 1 October 2013
Photographs for Contents Page, final chosen photographs
These are the images that I have taken for my contents page
Monday, 30 September 2013
Sunday, 29 September 2013
Editing of Chosen Images (Front Cover & Article Pages)
This is the evidence showing how I have edited the images for my front cover and article pages
Used the auto contrast tool to automatically change the contrast that fits the image
Used a burn tool in order to make the background dirtier as it looks too clean and also to suit the genre of the magazine.
Changed the size of the brush and making it bigger in order to save time as a bigger brush covers a larger part of the image.
This is the final product of my image after editing
Using the quick selection tool to get rid of the rest of the background
After the background is fully removed, I will be using the paint bucket tool to colour the background in white
This is the final product of my image after editing
Saturday, 28 September 2013
Front Cover Chosen Images
I have chosen these images as I felt that this best represented my artist as I hope to be able to challenge some of the stereotypes of rock artists, these images show my artist as down to earth and friendly. It shows her strong and independent for the front cover, but cheerful and young in the article pages showing the contrast and dimensions within her personality. I felt that a range of expressions and feelings in the images from the artist would be able to help my readers to understand and get to know my artist better.
Friday, 27 September 2013
Thursday, 26 September 2013
Wednesday, 25 September 2013
Peer Assessment of pages
This is my peer assessment results, it shows the areas where I need to improve on in my front cover and contents page.
Tuesday, 24 September 2013
Original article draft and article pages with internet found images
This is the article draft using internet images
Pandemonium’s Fire
She is the 18 year old up
and coming solo singer from her number one album Pandemonium born and raised in
the bay area of San Francisco but currently resides in London. She was
approached by her current record label Interscope Records at the age of 17 when
they found her busking on the streets outside a Starbucks with a cardboard sign
displaying the message that she needed money for a bus ride home. As we enter
the her studio apartment we immediately hear the screams and laughs of girls
having a blast and enjoying their time, almost hard to believe that its coming
from an artist that has had a chart topping success in most of the songs
released this year. As we approach
inside the apartment, we are immediately met with Harley Rose, an image
completely changed from the strong all black wearing girl in the photo shoot.
Instead we are with an average teen wearing ‘sweats’ as she likes to call it
,looking very comfortable and cosy for the fall season.
So how is life different from here
in London to the bay area?
Well, the bay area is very
sunny… sunny spells all the way! (laughs) but British weather is so insane! You
get the sun… and the rain, you get clouds of doom and rain would find its way
here (laughs) But you know it’s great, in a way that its different. I mean I’ve
come to find a way to make peace with the rain, and as of now London is home
for me.
It seems that you have made
friends (looks towards them). Have they inspired you in any way towards your
music?
Of course, definitely. I
mean I am thankful for these girls because they seem to tolerate me, especially
with my American attitude towards things, you know everything in London is
definitely smaller and cosier I should say. In terms of music, they have
definitely inspired me as the stories behind my songs and music are not always
about me but about other people as well. I believe that it helps to keep my
music relatable and that’s what music is about, sharing people’s experiences
and stories to the world. It’s a form of art.
How did you feel when your debut
song Calamity topped the UK Charts?
We were in a daze where
you feel alive cause your walking fine and people are seeing you, but inside we
felt like a bubble about to burst and fly away into space. (Laughing) It sounds
like I’m on drugs but that is the only way I can do justice in describing it.
Maybe it’s like mothers when they give birth, it was hard work but once you see
that little baby everything feels all right with the world. In a state of
Euphoria maybe? Funny thing is that the first thing we did to ‘celebrate’ was
to call the local pizza shop and told them who I was and that my song is number
one right now, and they were like of course, my song’s number one too
(laughing). They didn’t believe us for a second.
Why have you chosen to call your
debut album ‘Pandemonium’?
Normally, for an artist it
would be a self-title album with their name or something. But I felt that this
is the album that shows the beginning of my career in music, so why not call it
something that is just out of this world or memorable I should say? Pandemonium
means creating wars, disorder and chaos; I just felt that my entrance into this
industry should be loud and chaotic, almost as if I’m telling the world ‘Hey!
There’s a 17 year old girl who would like for you to listen to her songs’ (laughs)
I know you write songs, and your
debut album is self-composed. How does it feel knowing that your own written
songs have topped most music charts worldwide?
I mean yeah, it’s surreal
and most of the time I feel like I’m dreaming. You know it’s hard to believe my
achievements, I mean now I can actually go tell people that I wrote the song
that’s currently number one right now, not a lot of eighteen year olds can
actually say that.
Now, how has the success been for
you?
I’m gonna be honest with
you, it has changed me. Fame has changed me. I always used to look up to those
artists you know, thinking they had the best job in the world because they
would sing in front of thousands of people who love their songs and create that
connection with them. But I realised that it wasn’t all that, because that was
just the front of it all. There were producers, managers and the label to
impress, you couldn’t just play any music you wanted to- you had to get the
permission to do it. I mean, I feel that I learnt it the hard way, because I
was so persistent in what I wanted that everything would end up being back to
square one and the same thing would happen all over again. But it turned out to
be a part of our label’s big plan for me, training me to be able to face the
world and being able to live under the pressure of this business and still
keeping the you intact. It has helped
me to mature. But at the end of the day I’m just a kid having the time of her
life.
Do people treat you differently?
If by people you mean my
family, NO. They still order me around the house when I visit home, one time I
was really lazy and woke up late and I remember my mum saying to me “I know you
may have a number one song right now, but it doesn’t mean anything different in
this household. I’m number one around here” (laughs). I do get free food from
time to time, the fans are increasingly getting larger and more people are spotting
me from the streets. Some of those in the older generation are kind of shock to
think that I’m famous because their grandchildren would want pictures with me
and they would be ‘I don’t know who you are, but during my time we wouldn’t see
Michael Jackson on the streets”.
Any plans for a new album?
My debut album is
currently being promoted right now so my focus would be on that, but I will be
returning to the studio in the New Year to get creative again. You know I feel
that’s the best part about being an artist, the creative process.
Any upcoming world tours?
Yes! It’s in the making
and I don’t think I should be saying this (laughs). but let’s just say it’s a
world exclusive right? I am so excited for this, there are plans of it
happening and I just can’t wait to meet all o the fans. It will definitely be
happening sometime next year, let’s just cross our fingers its sooner.
What can we expect from Harley
Rose in the future?
Currently, I am busy
promoting my debut album Pandemonium but I will be back in the studio in no
time. There are already plans and ideas for the next album, so things should
get exciting soon. I am currently working on a secret project (winks) and I
can’t tell you anymore or they’ll tell me off! I’ve already said too much
(laughing)
Any hints on this secret project?
I have a feeling this will
be first and last solo interview. You guys keep on making me spill things
(laughing). But I think… I think I should be able to say that it’s a collab?
Maybe? Maybe not? (laughing) Who knows, I didn’t say anything.
Monday, 23 September 2013
Sunday, 22 September 2013
Front Cover Analysis
Mojo, is a music magazine that mainly features the genre
classic rock. Through the front cover, we are clearly
able to see that it focuses on classic rock icons that were known purely for
their music as one puff says ‘manufactured pop music is sinful!’
The target audience for this magazine is 30-55 years old,
with particular interests listening to music that is meaningful and pleasant to
hear.
The central image uses an indirect mode of address where the
main cover artist- Johnny Cash seems to be looking away from the camera instead
of directly at it. This tells you that the relationship the magazine wishes to
have with the reader is to be an informer, who would just be able to inform you
news on these artists compared to having a close and personal relationship. The
body language shows a dominant and superior image towards the audience, which
can be referred to his ‘legend’ status. Apart from having this title, he is
also known as ‘The Man in Black’ showing you the reason why he is dressed in
all black. The background shows that he is in a field of flowers, representing
his death and the possibility of this being heaven. The fact that he is clearly
dominating over this ‘field of flowers’ gives you the idea of him being
dominant even in heaven, showing you his legend status once again.
The artist on the main front cover is Johnny Cash, a
well-known country singer who is considered to be one of the most influential
musicians of the 20th century. This would be reason on why he was
chosen to be that artist on the main cover for the magazines special
anniversary edition issue as his reputation is the type of image, a magazine
would wish to present on their anniversary edition-iconic.
The anchorage text says ‘CASH, THE BIRTH OF THE LEGEND & HIS LAST DECADE’, by only having his surname used to advertise him shows the type of icon he is in the music industry and how well-known he is as only using a surname or one word for the artist indicates the height of their status and popularity an example for this would be Madonna, Beyonce and Elvis who are all well-known singers just from their first or last name. Being nicknamed as a ‘legend’ shows the impact he has over the music industry, as not every artist is called a legend. We are clearly able to identify through the anchorage text that this artist is already dead yet he is still remembered in this way and having been on the main cover for a special issue indicates his legacy and what he left behind, having not been forgotten. It also tells you what type of article to expect from the anchorage text, which shows that it would mainly cover his life and the highlights of it all, into becoming one of music’s icon.
The design of the title block is very simple, big and old
style in terms of using shadowing effect on its font. The use of shadowing
could tell you that they feature artists who are the backbone and shadows of
the music world as they have all come and gone.
The title ‘mojo’ means a magic charm or magic power. The
style of the magazine tells you through this that it would mainly focus on
artists who have made it big and became iconic through time as they are artists
who have accumulated these ‘magic charms or powers’ to draw its audience and
fans. The image the title gives you seems to be very mysterious and makes the
audience curious, especially because the magazine covers artist who are dead
and alive, it would it unpredictable for the audience to know who would be on
the cover for the next issue, which could indicate is one of the unique charms
of this magazine as other music magazines mainly focus on artists right now.
The puffs ‘there was unfinished business…’ suggests you
inside scoop on these artists, that may relate to the reader in a personal
level especially with ‘manufactured pop music is sinful!’ as it gives the
artists opinions on current events such as the use of auto-tune. This tells you
that the type of audience the magazine wishes to get are those who love classic
rock music, old school style. The type of music where you are able to feel the
hard work and time it took in order to make this, a big comparison to music produced nowadays
in this internet-era.
The colours used are mainly black, white and red. I found
the colours attractive as it is very old-school black and white back to basics
theme for a magazine. It uses red, which a pop of colour that can be found from
a far distance and the use of black and white contrasts to the neon and bright
colours that are used in other magazines today, making this magazine only
appeal towards its readers easily and clearly. The fonts used are very simple,
white and red bold and capitalised fonts that is readable and directly appeals
towards its audience of 30-55 years old.
The strategy used to attract the audience is the addition of
a cover mount, having this attracts the readers who are fans of the main cover
artist who would wish to receive an album of their greatest hits. They use a
variety of artists who are very well-known that younger generations would have
heard their names; this is the magazines strong point as they know that they
will never run out of an audience as they mainly feature the royalties and
changers of the music industry.
Saturday, 21 September 2013
Title Block Poll Response
The poll results show that the title block they liked best was number 1 which is the title block shown below. This would mean that this is the title block I will be using for my magazine cover.
Friday, 20 September 2013
Potential Designs for my Title Block
Thursday, 19 September 2013
Wednesday, 18 September 2013
Tuesday, 17 September 2013
Evolution of Taylor Swift (Star Image Analysis)
This shows the evolution of Taylor Swift and how she is represented differently according to the type of magazine it is and its target audience. This analysis would help me to construct my cover star for my own magazine as I am able to see how the cover artist is represented which would help me to know what I would like for my cover artist to be portrayed which would differ depending on my target audience.
Denotation (what you
can see)
|
Connotation
|
Setting/Location: white
background
|
This would be used in
order for the artist to stand out more.
|
Body Language/Facial
Expressions: she is sitting down looking straight at the camera, at a side
angle. With one hand holding her hair, in order to not cover her face and the
other in between her legs. Her legs are angled sideways showing her bare legs
as it’s crossed over.
|
The facial expression
shows direct mode of address, looking like she doesn’t care making her seem
like a rebel. This could be used as a stereotype towards teenagers, who are
very mysterious and secretive in what they do especially with how she is
positioned.
|
Costume/Props: Very
thick, smudged black eyeliner and black and gold sports jacket
|
The costume tells a
story within the image, as the jacket laid over her shoulders are what sports
students usually wear in American high school films, typically named as the
‘jocks- who are represented as the popular kids. Taylor swift’s makeup seems
to be run down, possibly indicating that the scene could be from a late night
party.
|
Camera Shot: medium long
shot
|
Used in order to see the character in their setting
|
Lighting: high key
lighting
|
The effects of the high key lighting on Taylor Swift shows that she may be tired of
the spotlight being on her all the
time as she seems to just stare directly at the camera with an expression
that she is bored.
|
Anchorage text: ‘The
heartbreak kid’
|
It reflects on the stereotyped idea of being dumped over a ‘popular
boy’ with use of the jacket still draped over her, shows the lingering
feelings she has over him. Her facial expression is also able to explain the
mysteriousness of it through this text as you are able to see a hint of
sadness within her expression.
|
Denotation (what you
can see)
|
Connotation
|
Setting/Location: most
of the front cover is taken up with the artists face-Taylor Swift
|
This shows a more
intimate and close-up image of her as her raw emotions are clearly seen in
the image.
|
Body Language/Facial
Expressions: Blue-grey eyes, staring straight at the camera with her lips
slightly open to show her teeth and a strand of hair covering her lips.
|
The facial expression
shows she is very scared and is almost at breaking point, where she could
break down to tears especially with her eyes in the colour of blue and grey
it reflects her emotions as blue and grey tend to represent sad and stoic
feelings, almost as if she is numb and the only gateway to see her emotions
is through her eyes thus the quote ‘eyes are the gateway to the soul’.
|
Costume/Props: seems to
be wearing a white turtleneck shirt.
|
This would show that
she is not comfortable with herself as she is covered up. It could also mean
that she is defending herself, as various forms of defence is by wearing
layers of clothing in order to feel safer.
|
Camera Shot: Close up
shot
|
To show facial
expression and emotion, able to give a sense of vulnerability to the
audience.
|
Lighting: high key lighting
|
High key lighting to
clearly see the details of her face also showing her flaws as some may see
her as perfect.
|
Anchorage text: ‘New
look & love’
|
The image shows her physical change, from being a curly haired artist
to being straight haired, this could be her way of showing her new self,
having gotten over her old love and finding a new one with the scars of the
old still present within her as you can see in the frailness of her eyes.
|
Denotation (what you
can see)
|
Connotation
|
Setting/Location: on
a light and dark grey rooftop
|
In order to connect
with her position as an artist as she has become very successful over the
years.
|
Body Language/Facial Expressions: looking straight
at the camera with twinkling eyes, lips slightly open to show her teeth and
face angled straight towards the camera, hands stretched and laid on top of
each other, on top of her lap.
|
The magazine represents her as a typical ‘dumb
blonde’, with her expression looking guilty and coy by acting modest as her
hands are laid on top of her lap but also teasing you through this as she
seems to not be doing this seriously.
|
Costume/Props: Gold,
glitter embellished dress with red belt and red poufy garment and red nails.
Her hair is loosely curled with lots of volume giving a messy yet neat
effect.
|
This shows Taylor Swift as youthful and charming by
appealing to younger audiences and also flirtatious as her dress is very
princess styled. Her look seems to give off a fairytale theme especially with
the gold glitter dress which is very bright and something that makes her
stand out of the crowd. This could also represent her as a youthful artist
that continues to shine.
|
Camera Shot: Close up
shot
|
To show facial
expression and emotion, able to give a sense of vulnerability to the
audience.
|
Lighting: artificial
lighting
|
Used to create a dream-like image of her, that kind
of looks like a Barbie doll. Clearly appealing to the younger audiences.
|
Anchorage text:
‘Stuff she only tells her girlfriends’
|
The anchorage text
very much represents her facial expression as she seems to be guilty of
something and is trying to gossip or let you in on a secret.
|
Denotation (what you
can see)
|
Connotation
|
Setting/Location: plain
grey background
|
This would be used in
order for the artist to stand out more and also indicates that the image constructed
was a studio shoot.
|
Body Language/Facial
Expressions: Eyes looking straight at the camera, with her hands at the side,
hips slightly swayed to the side standing straight.
|
Her body language is
very confident and comfortable especially with her hands at the side; it
shows that she is content with how she is through her facial expression.
|
Costume/Props: gold and
black patterned dress
|
The colour is toned
down, as the addition of black makes her look older and more sophisticated.
This could represent the idea of her coming out of age from being a young
star to being taken more seriously as a woman.
|
Camera Shot: Taken at a
slight low angle
|
You are able to see the
body language of the artist, being able to see more clearly what they are
trying to portray. The low angle makes the artist bigger than the audience,
showing the higher status of Taylor Swift in comparison to the audience.
|
Lighting: natural
lighting
|
High angle lighting,
mainly highlighting her face.
|
Anchorage text: ‘Taylor
Swift wears Gucci, fashion’s newest golden girl’
|
This shows her change on becoming a woman and growing up, especially
with the use of ‘Taylor Swift wears Gucci’ not just represents her wearing a
designer brand dress but being able to mature especially with her straight
hair and fringed pulled back, she is shown as a more sophisticated woman
|
Monday, 16 September 2013
Audience Questionnaire and results with comments
The results show that the most popular music genre people
enjoy listening to are Rock, R&B and Indie, showing that maybe my magazine
would focus on one of these genres.
With the question above, the results shows that everyone
would like to have an access to the magazine online. This shows that I would
need to create a link between the magazine and online by directing my readers
to the other online options by adding the website link.
The results show that most people would spend £1-£2 on a
music magazine, indicating that this may be my price point for the magazine.
The results show that 40% wanted the magazine to be weekly
but 57% said that they would like for it to be monthly. This shows that the
magazine could be issued every month.
The results above state that most people would like to read
artist interviews in their magazine, while the
other options of ‘gossip,
exclusive interviews, behind the scenes and tour dates’ also came into
consideration of what readers would like to read. This
shows that the magazine could incorporate a variety of these within the
magazine in order to appeal to its audience.
The results show that the cover artist was the most popular
in attracting the audience towards a magazine, while some said that freebies
and cover mounts also attract them to this. This shows that my magazine would
feature a main cover artist.
The results above show the options I have given the
surveyors on what is the title they prefer most for a music magazine, the
results showed that 85% picked the title ‘Encore’ which they thought best
represented the name of a music magazine.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)