Photoshoot 1

Charlotte, Eleanor and Lucy

Model And Poses Research

Model and Poses Research

Inital Design Idea:Confide

This is my design idea for the cover page of the Confide magazine of which I would like to make. I have labelled what each feature is significant to for my magazine and have evaluated what relation it would have to music. 

60 Minute Magazine In Steps

These are the 7 different steps that I went through to make my magazine cover in just one hour. I started with just a basic image of Paloma Faith and for the image there was a slight gap at the top between the picture and the top of the page. 

In this step I put a coloured box at the top so that there wasn’t a white area. I made the colour the same by drawing out the colour from the background of the image of Paloma Faith.

Next I just simply added the title. I chose to use this font as I felt it was bold and would stand out to the market. I made it to size 140 as it was what fitted best without it looking at all squashed. 

For this step all I did was put Paloma’ hair over the top of the heading, this in my opinion makes the cover look much less block laid out and slightly more professional. 

 Now I added the barcode to my cover. I decided to put in the bottom left hand corner so that it wouldn’t stand out to much over the other features of the magazine. A barcode is only going to be used on purchase so it therefore didn’t need to be too big or prominent.

In this step I just added the text of the issue number, the month of the issue and also the price. I feel this is important to have on the cover however it doesn't need to be too big.

Finally I added the text about the cover girl, Pamola Faith, and I wrote her name and something related to her. Having her name on the front would to begin with attract any of her fans but also anyone who likes that style of music.

Animoto Pitch

Upcoming Task

Monday 19^th Jan - Fri 30^th Jan

• Lessons to pitch idea to class and receive feedback
• Evaluate class feedback
• Gain further feedback from initial audience feedback sample on your mock up
• Test shots of work on magazine elements
• Complete mock version of cover/ contents page/ double page spread (1 lesson)
• Write draft article
• Begin composing cover/contents page/ double page spread (draft version)

The Schedule

Completed Last Week

• 25 Word Pitch
• IPC Media Analysis
• Photographer Research
• Audience Profiles
• Mood Board
• Inspired by the charts
• Fashion and Style Research 1
• Development of My Magazine Title
• Analysis of existing Magazine Titles
• Language Register
• Initial Research On Chart Magazine/Styles
• Font Style 1
• Colour Palette 2
• Colour Palettes 1
• Double Page Spread Analysis
• Contents Page Analysis
• Cover Page Analysis
• Prelim Activity
• F, H and Z Magazine Layout Designs

Need To Do

•Audience research (use uktribes.co.uk)-this must be conclusive and you must show evidence of responses from at least 10-15 people

•Read and comment on peer blogs (extension task)

What I Have Learnt

From completing all this work I have learnt how to do research that can help me extend and elaborate on particular ideas that I have previously come up with. When it came to analysing existing magazine titles, it helped me learn how to create a suitable name that would be right for the target audience that I have selected myself.

Organisation and time management

I think that I have adapted to the demands of the schedule well as I put in a minimum of 1 hour of work a day. On top of this I also put forward the use of my study periods within school to ensure I can get as much work done as I can. Alongside other subjects it can be a struggle to get all work done to a high standard within the deadline time however on other occasions it can be manageable. I set myself daily targets of perhaps getting a particular amount of posts done to ensure I don’t have too much to do the night before the deadline set.

Research and Planning

For my music magazine I have taken ideas and have learnt about the particular features that I have to include in my magazine. I feel that I could replicate layout in some ways so that it will suit my target audience. Furthermore I have learnt how some magazines are covered in information and images and then others have minimal features so perhaps one image, little writing etc.

Technology

I feel that the technologies that I have more of a strength with would include the camera as I have used one outside of the course. However Photoshop is something I that will require work on as I have never really used it before and need to improve my speed when using it so I can complete more complex tasks within and on my magazine.

25 Word Pitch

Pitch preparation

'Confide' is a female, on-trend magazine for 14-20 year olds that reveals the secrets of the music charts in a unique way through visual content…

Words:

·        Female

·        Young

·        Unique

·        Music

·        Charts

·        Style

·        Secrets

·        Creative

·        £3.75

·        Fancy

·        Modern

·        On-trend

·        Visual

·        Imagination

·        Glamorous

IPC Media Analysis

ICP Media 

IPC Media is an international publishing corporation who owned a small part of Time Incorporation which is a consumer magazine and digital publisher in the UK that actually has a large portfolio that is selling around 350 million copies each and every year. IPC media are also known for their award winning magazine called NME and this magazine reaches out to 1.1 million people each week and it is also the longest published magazine and most respected music magazine that is out worldwide. They are, as well as this, the UK's leading consumer magazine publisher because they magazines to over 26 million adults worldwide.

As well as this, IPC media branches out over a lot of different platforms like online magazine and these have a gross of over 25 million views every month on top of the traditional paper magazines that they produce.

IPC Magazines — consumer magazines and comics

IPC Printing — all non-newspaper printing operations (headed by Arnold Quick, whose own company had also been acquired by IPC).

IPC New Products — launching pad for products which used new technology (headed by Alistair McIntosh).

Photographer Research

Emma Summerton

 

Emma Summerton used to be a painter and then became a fashion photographer developing her signature look with bold and colourful subjects. She is originally from Australia and she combines her art knowledge to her work to create dynamic pictures that are seen in magazines and publications like the Italian, American, Japanese and British Vogue along with magazines like I.D. She also puts her skill into advertisement for clients like Topshop and Miu Miu. As well as this, Emma successfully closed the gap between doing fine art and fashion making her career with edgy and striking scenes that she captures with her camera or pen.

Over the past few years she has been getting more and more self-portraits done and has plans to publish them in a book about herself someday. However at the minute she is focusing on the fashion industry and how to get her pictures into the leading and most popular magazines.

To the right is two examples of photographs that Emma Summerton has taken for magazine shoots.
 

Tony Kelly

He was born in 1975 and is an Irish fashion photographer. He grew up in Ireland but is currently working in Los Angeles. The work that he does is normally published in magazines like Vogue Paris and Playboy (US Edition) along with The Sunday Times. On top of this he also does advertising campaigns for American Apparel an Dynamite (Canada) and has recently photographed Justin Bieber for the Complex Magazine.

Tony Kelly’s photographs are quite commonly overly sexual in nature and he has actually been described as ‘irreverent, uncouth and provocative’ or ‘spontaneous, talkative and hyper-energetic’. People always say that his flashy style has now conquered the world of fashion. James Mullinger, the photo editor of GQ magazine has also described him as a modern genius and also someone who works at an incredible pace.

Tony actually started his career in the Irish and UK newspaper industry where he worked as a photographer for the Independent Newspapers and the International News. As well as this his assignments used to include things about the conflicts in Rwanda and Afghanistan.

 

Page Layout Designs

In the image below is all the different ways of laying out features of a magazine double page spread. I personally favour layout 2 and 8 as I feel they are the most full. This would be best for my magazine style, ideas and target market. I want my magazine to have lots in it therefore these layouts would be a lot more appropriate when compared to layouts, for example; 7 and 9.

Audience Profiles

For my own magazine I am going to target it at the female gender as I want to focus on women’s style within the music industry but mainly what’s in the charts. The age group that I will aim to target will be females around the age of 14-20. I know this age group will want different things from a magazine but my aim is to try and find something in between that both age groups will like equally as much. I want my magazine to be informative but also interesting that’s why I have put such a big age difference rather than making it too specific.

Charlotte Dickinson

Charlotte is 16 years old and is currently doing A-Levels in Art, Sociology, Psychology and I.T. She’s usually listening to music by Hoodie Allen but if she’s not doing that she’ll be dancing to the newest dance music. In her spare time she likes to hang out with friends and eat, she has mates over all the time and they just sit, snack, and watch movies.  I would say that her style is quite on trend and she tends to wear quite a lot of black but always accessorises her outfits with a necklace, scarf and Pandora rings. She has quite a few of them now in a variety of colours and styles to match her outfit. Her hair is always perfect, up or down, curly or straight. Upper eyeliner is always on point too might I add. Charlotte is a confident girl and isn’t scared to pull a stupid face at the camera and is also popular with the boys. When at home on her own, she’ll be chilling in black leggings, grey jumper and hair tied back, if not she’ll be with her boyfriend, ‘danny zucko’. For hobbies charlotte likes catching up on the gossip on Instagram, doing a bit of Zumba and skyping her closest chums.

Eleanor Guiver

Eleanor and Charlotte are very similar but Eleanor has a few traits that are slightly different. She is again 16 years old but is taking Psychology, Maths and Biology so very scientific subjects. She did used to take textiles but dropped that from the work load as all the other subjects were taking up all her time. Eleanor’s music taste is a little more varied as she listens to quite a lot of things that is in the charts. Sometimes she’ll dance to ex Disney stars music and other times it will be Hoodie Allen like Charlotte. In her spare time she likes to go horse riding and also dancing and she has developed quite muscly arms from the riding. Eleanor can get away with wearing anything; she could come to school impersonating a tramp and still look fabulous. I don’t know how she does it. Her hair is naturally curly so normally she puts it half up half down to keep it out of her face and it stays in all day, no matter what. Eleanor loves to take a selfie when she’s out with her friends and they’ll soon appear on Snapchat along with all the incoming Snapchat’s that people send to her. Her hobbies are pretty much the same as what she does in her spare time although I think she may do a bit of Zumba also on Wednesdays.

Olivia Moore

Olivia is 16 again and is keen on learning French to speak to her boyfriend fluently when she goes over to France to see him. At college she is taking, English language, French and philosophy. Quite a lot of the time you’ll see her wearing, leggings, ugg boots and her big jack wills coat that is just amazing. It’s so fluffy on the inside and I think it may be her first winter coat in years. Olivia is always listening to music, you can’t get headphones out of her ears. She’s usually listening to something either really old and traditional or sexual and cheeky. Whether it’s having a dance at lunch or in a lesson, she will always find an excuse to put on her latest tune. Olivia writes in her spare time about football, Chelsea mainly, she has a bit of an obsession with a certain player. I think she may have made a fan page on Instagram for him. Her articles about the sport have now become very popular and over three thousand people are following her to see what she has to say. Also in her spare time Olivia likes to dance and horse ride to take her mind off all the coursework she’s loaded with.

Mood Board

This is a mood board that represents all of the features that I would like to include in my music magazine. It talks about fashion/style, covers, titles/logos/fonts, colours and added extras. 

Inspired by the charts

Permalink: http://soundcloud.com/melissalcmedia/sets/inspire-for-the-charts

Fashion and Style Research 1

In this post I am going to be looking at the different styles and fashion ideas that I could use in my music magazine. Because I am having the charts as my genre in my magazine I will be able to use a variety of different styles rather than specifying to just one.

In this picture is Hoodie Allen, he is a rap artist and sometimes does collaborations with people like Ed Sheeran. He is wearing a casual printed low neck t-shirt and a denim jacket. I like what he is wearing in this picture because I think it makes him look stylish and right for type of music that he writes and produces. This would be a suitable style for my magazine as it is still quite edgy but it would look attractive to my target audience. 

The style that Selena Gomez is wearing in the photo on the left would be perfect for my magazine as I like the colour scheme she has used in her outfit and also the attitude she is portraying.
In this picture you can see that Selena isn't serious about her image as she has her face scrunched up and is posing really obviously to the camera. Something like this on the cover of my magazine would make it look really quirky and up to date therefore the audience would like it.
The image on the right is from the same photo shoot and you can see how she is wearing the same clothes and how they have edited the colours to make them suit her more or the magazine style more.

Below is an image of Bruno Mars and Christina Perri that I have put together. I have used this as a representation of how style could be used in black white and red which was one of my colour palette ideas.

Development of My Magazine Title

For the name of my magazine I have been researching different magazines and how they have been styled. I would like my magazine to be quite feminine and for now I think I want my target market to be females between the ages of 16-20. I want to look unique and to have a memorable title.

Initially I was thinking of aiming my magazine at younger teenagers and was going to call it ‘Winx’ however when thinking about this title in more details it could be connected to sexual connotations. I would have done this title in quite a bright tone that would stand out to an audience.

The next area I started looking at was the idea of using a latin word. I thought this would be a good way of making my music magazine look and sound unique when compared to magazines like ‘Bliss’ or ‘POP!’. The words below are the ones I have been looking at.

English                       Latin                          

Dove                           Columba

Girls                            Puellae

Flower                        Flos

Overall, my preferred choice is ‘Puellae’ which means girls in Latin. I think this is good because it sounds unique and catchy therefore people are more likely to remember the title or develop an interest. With it meaning girls, it could potentially make the readers feel special as it would be a music magazine just for them so it would have more of their musical interests. The word ‘Puellae’ also sounds quite pretty and when I think of the word I think of the colour blue. This could be used within my colour scheme for the cover.

The next idea that I came up with is 'Confide'. This would be like a behind the scenes music magazine, talking about the charts and what the artists are really like. The definition of confide is all about secrets and what is being hidden therefore this would give my magazine something interesting about it.  Another reason why I like this magazine title idea is because it could again make the audience think they have their own personal magazine that only tells them 'secrets' because it would be confiding its secrets with the audience.

Analysis of existing Magazine Titles

For this area I will be looking at and analysing different magazine titles, there fonts, colour decision and style.

This is the first title I will be looking at, it has been taken from the Cosmopolitan magazine which is a magazine about a variety of things including fashion. This magazine doesn't have a set colour scheme for every magazine and they mix it up making every one different. The font for this magazine title, I like, because it is easy to read and is quite bold so would be eye catching to the market. Having all the letters level with each other rather than being slightly scattered is a benefit because it prevents the magazine from looking untidy and unprofessional. If the cover was to have a lot of writing and images, the title wouldn't want to be all over the place as it would need to keep some sense of layout and precision.
The name Cosmopolitan defined means something that is familiar with and at ease in many different countries and cultures. This is good to have as a name of a magazine as it would look involving to many different countries and cultures which could therefore improve sales.

This is another title example and this is the KERRANG! magazine which is a music magazine for a specific genre of music that is much more defined. This magazine title is a lot less formal and looks more scruffy to me. From simply looking at it I could define who this magazine is aimed towards and I'm sure many other people could develop an opinion of this magazine title quickly. Having the white lines going over the work adds an extra effect to the writing.
When researching this magazine name I gained two results, one of which was about the magazine itself. It said that the magazine was a long running rock and metal/punk magazine which runs an awards ceremony and in recent years has expanded into a TV station and radio station. As well as this it also spoke about how 'Kerrang' is the sound that a guitar makes and this relates to the music of which the magazine talks about.
Overall I think the name of this magazine is clever in the way that it is named after the noise a guitar makes and I can now relate the lines on the name to the strings of a guitar and the way they are long and thin.

For now this is the final title that I will be looking at and it is from the Bliss magazine that is directed and marketed towards young girls.
For all of their magazine issues the title is a different colour and that could be to go with the person on the cover but it is also related to the colour scheme that they have chosen for that particular magazine. The definition of bliss is actually perfect happiness and great joy so having this as the title for young girls to see is very appropriate. It is appropriate because it is positive and will portray a happy style of living from reading the magazine.
On a magazine I think that this bold title that is easy to read is very good because it means that in a shop or online it could get anyone's attention for them to then read the articles and be interested in what it’s about. This then makes the magazine develop and gain more readers.
Overall I really like this title because I think that it is very suitable for the target audience but also because it is clear and easy to read. Sometimes on magazines titles can be difficult read. 

Language Register

Language and its register is important in a magazine and its articles as the companies and writers have to make sure what they have written is suitable for their target audience. I feel that there does have to be a certain level of formal language to make sure people can take a magazine seriously however having it too informal could turn people away through boredom or lack of interest in the text. 

Bliss Magazine

 

This article above is from the Bliss, music and celebrity magazine. In this article Emily Osment is talking about how Miley Cyrus (singer) hasn’t heard her new music. This is a quote from what Emily has said but the way it has been written to suit the audience will have been very specific. Bliss magazine would be targeted at girls around the age of 8-14.  This would mean that the text would need to be entertaining but also easy to read making the language register quite informal when compared to high end fashion magazines like Vogue. When the quote finishes, it says ‘Smile? Check, Moving? Yep!’ This involves rhetorical questions that give the reader something to get involved with and think about, further relating to the informality of the text.

The magazine to the left talks about up and coming stars and in the text by Samantha Castro in the opening paragraph it says;

‘Photographer STEVEN TAYLOR relates to most musicians, and like them, sometimes he has an aversion to publicity and always being photographed. Guess that’s pretty much why he chose to stay behind the lens’.

 

I feel that this text is slightly more formal compared to the bliss magazine article. I think this because it uses much longer and more meaningful words which could suggest how they are aiming this magazine at an older target market. However when it says ‘guess that’s pretty much’ I feel that this is more informal and chatty, especially when comparing it to the text around it. 

In many cases, teenagers, adults and occasionally children too use taboo, slang and words with these relations so some magazines use certain fraises in their articles to relate more to their audiences.
Is this right?
Depending on the magazine style and the target market it is aimed at should depend on what is and goes inside the chosen magazine. If a magazine has a lot of slang and swearing, it should not be marketed at younger teenagers and children. My reason for this is because it would be teaching children the wrong things. Taboo is very distinctive and can be easily avoided therefore there is no reason at all why this should be used in any type of magazine as it is 99% likely that there is a non taboo equivalent.

In the magazine that I produce I will use a limited amount of slang to prevent encouragement of certain terms but I will use some to make my magazine more chatty and informal to some extent relating to the language register of what my text will be.

To the right you can see an example of how swearing has been used on the cover of a magazine. This magazine is the Cosmopolitan and is aimed and targeted towards older teenagers and women. The word has also been stared out so that the cover doesn't look displeasing to the eye. Personally I feel that if it said this taboo language in full it would be inappropriate and could be the prevention of people buying the magazine. All the other language on this cover appears very informative about what is inside and it doesn't give away to much.

Overall language and its register is very important for a magazine and all of the features included in it like images, articles and what the headings are.

Initial Research On Chart Magazine/Styles

The Billboard Magazine and what they do?

 

This magazine is a chart music magazine that talks about upcoming artists and ones that are hot that week or month. They aim to suit a variety of audiences and they make their magazines and online articles as up to date as they can. The Billboard charts magazine finalises and defines the popularity of songs or albums in the United States of America. The results that are made by the public’s choice are published in the Billboard Magazine. These chart results are known as the Billboard biz charts and are basically online charts that are extended from the magazine. They do provide chart music results weekly and they have regular magazines also.

I like what Billboard magazine have done to this cover page on the left hand side as they have used the colours from the logo of the magazine and have sectioned off all of the text so it can be easily read and grouped together when reading. I also like the image for this cover as it is very simple and isn't too outgoing. Another reason why I like this cover is the fact that they have stuck to a particular layout. I think for this they have related the cover to the F layout quite well. They have the heading across the top, writing all down the left hand side and then the girl's (Carly Rae Jepson) top has fallen off her shoulder and if you follow the line of her sleeve this would make the centre of the F letter. Another way it could be the F layout would be following the line of the blue boxed text as it goes slightly further out than the other texts. Having a layout for a cover is important and looks better as it appears more professional and better laid out to the market.

 

In this picture are the charts of the week starting from the 12^th of January. All of these songs are a variety of genres and would be suitable for many different audiences. This would be good for my magazine as it means I can supply all target markets that are interested in the charts with something interesting and relatable to read. If I was to do a chart magazine, I wouldn't only do information and news about the latest artists etc, but I would also include the latest charts and how they have come out and this would include the market more as it would be there choice. I would also do a section about their opinions on the new music that is out and whether they think that it deserved to be in the top four of five songs.

 

This is an image of a chart topper, Ed Sheeran. As a chart member I am looking at his style of dress to see if I could use this for inspiration when doing my own magazine. He is wearing very basic clothing, of a black polo shirt and black trousers. On top of this he has black accessories, including a guitar band and a watch. The guitar he is holding is also a dark colour and the most predominant colour in the image would be the orange/ginger of his hair. You can see shades of this tone as well in his tattoos. This image may be suitable for a cover of a magazine because of its limited colours and how it could fit quite easily into a colour scheme associated with the colour black.

 

To the right is another picture of someone from the charts called Mark Ronson. In this picture, the man is wearing again, very basic colours of black and white and the image has a very predominant red colour in the background. The way Mark is standing wouldn't make it easy to use this picture for a magazine cover because he is slightly slanted therefore any writing placed on it wouldn't be as level as it should be. As well as this he is also not making eye contact with the camera which would also make the image less suitable.  Overall I do like the style of what he is wearing however I personally would find it a bit boring for the cover of a magazine.

‘The UK Music Charts are a collection of charts that reflect the music buying habits of people within the United Kingdom. The majority of them are produced by The Official Charts Company’. – Wikipedia definition of the UK Music Charts.