My Interview Draft

Have you heard of Hayley And The Contours? If not, you will soon! The young, fresh woman-and-two-man band have been steadily rising in the music industry and their new and individual musical talent has drawn in the crowds. The newly released tour dates have sold out after just 3 days, proving that anyone can make their voices heard, if their good enough! We've got Hayley, the fashion obsessed head of the band in for an interview.

Loving the indie inspired outfit today Hayley!

Interview And Double Page Spread Research

On my double page spread i will have to include an interview with my given artist, so have decided to research in to what goes in to an interesting interview, and what kind of questions are asked to keep the reader interested and engaged. Looking at different interviews, i have learnt that an article will normally start with a brief description of what the interview includes and who the artist is. The questions are simple and keep to the point and the majority of the answers are witty, funny or lighthearted, although this does depend on the formality of the magazine. I have noted that the heading and subheading are normally the name of the artist and/or a quote from that artist.

1) I have taken a liking to this magazine double page spread with the black eyed peas because i am very fond of the layout. The interview is lighthearted and also quite short and the picture is eye catching but also suggests who the main interview is about by fading out the other three members of the band. The interview uses lighthearted questions and answers, and the questions are outlined in bold to separate them from the answers. I also noticed that there is a quote written in the center (in bold) and another title 'Will he, Wont he?' in similar colours to the outfits 
 worn. The photography is good, showing each member of the band equally and well spread out on the page. I like and will take inspiration from this particular magazine double page spread because although it is quite plain it all fits in to the theme and goes together to attract and engage the reader. 
2) This magazine double page spread featuring 'The Vaccines' has one of the best layouts i found. I really like it because of the image, title and interview which is quite informal. It includes quotes and the beginning of paragraphs start with a letter of big fonts and a different colour which makes it stand out and also allows it to be easier to read. The picture is very nice, and shows the reader what the band is all about, including showing musical instruments and the fashion senses, both telling us a lot about them. 

In conclusion i like both of the double page spreads i have focused on, and have realized a lot about interviews that i did not know before. I will show what i have learnt in my magazine's double page spread, using and elaborating on the techniques that i have discovered.

The Music Industry

I thought that i should do some research into the music industry because i am creating a music magazine which, in the real world, would be released in to this market. This first bit of information is about how music is sold or listened to in the world today:
Downloads - Both illegal and legal downloads, the most popular site being ITunes.
Physical Items - This can be through the purchase of CD's or records.
Streaming - This is where you can access the music without downloading it, the most popular being Spotify.


Major record labels are the large record labels who own well known artists and promote these to make a profit.
examples of these are EMI , Sony , Universal. These labels also usually own other smaller record labels and businesses.The Independent record labels are smaller labels. Examples of these are679 Artists , Domino  and Jeepster. 

Studying Magazines (double page spreads)

Recently, in a Media lesson, we looked in detail at a selection of music magazines. I looked at an article about Little Boots in Radar, when she was an up and coming artist. This was in 2009.
Within this double page spread, the headline reads 'Little Boots'. This is a clear recognition of the artist which immediately tells the audience what and who the article is about. The subheading 'Our favorite new UK electro act', sums up what Little Boots is about and what kind of music she plays.
This is a very similar image of Little Boots to the one in the article, although i could not find the actual one used. The image suggests what kind of music she plays and what she's like. She is looking directly at the camera which is popular in almost all magazines and this particular page is quite plain which allows the reader to focus on the picture not any bright or busy backgrounds.
The articles tone seemed to be quite informal, and was in a large box of text. It didn't have any colour's on the page or in the writing and i personally thought  this made it seem quite dull and uninteresting. The layout of the magazine is sparse but does allows you to focus on whats being said.
Overall i enjoyed learning about the different aspects of this magazine page spread because it has helped me with the development of my own. 

Looking at Photographers

I have been doing some in depth research on different Photographers. This has helped me with my ideas for my Magazine front cover because i now know what kind of look i am going for and how to achieve this in an image.

This first image of a woman holding a guitar is by Peter Krogh, who is an award winning Photographer. He uses all formats of equipment including large film cameras and complex lighting locations. Personally i really like this image and am thinking about doing something similar for my magazine cover, or one of the images on my double page spread.

I have been inspired by this image and think that it would fit in well with my magazine. It would fit well with my indie theme. "The punky, inked boy are all the rage in the industry at the moment" This shows my magazine would be current and 'now' if i used a similar idea.

This image is one of my favourites and although i cannot find who it is by, i really like it and think i am going to attempt to emulate or take ideas from it. I might link it to music by using a musical instrument or something similar, but overall i love the effect.

Looking at these photos and photographers has made me think about the positioning and set for my cover and double page spread images. I have realised i will need to adjust my pictures in Photoshop and have been inspired by many of the photos i've seen.

MY OWN PHOTOGRAPHY:

I have taken a lot of photographs for my magazine and my media pack, looking at photographers and artists to help me emulate. I have photoshopped all of these images to make them look like they came from a magazine (glossy, up-market etc) and am very pleased with the results although i am not yet sure i will use any of these for my actual magazine front cover. If my magazine was made then they would fit in nicely amongst the articles.

Typography & Titles

I have been researching for my music magazine recently, and decided i should focus on typography. I have looked at many magazines and there are a few examples on the left.

I want a unique but relatable title font for my music magazine, although there are many already out there. I believe that the typography of the title can be one of the most eye catching aspects of a magazine, and if you see an interesting one on the shelf in a shop, you are more likely to pick it up.

From my research i have concluded that the majority of titles are at the top of the page, and use quite simple fonts. Some are behind the picture, some are in front and others have their own box seperated from the picture.
In my magazine i want to include an eye catching, interesting title that is relatable and makes you want to read further. I have decided that i will need to put my title at the top of the page because from a practical side of things, it needs to be seen from the shelf. I am going to research further in to different typography for my own music magazine and although i want it to be different i need to remember to keep it simple.

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Double Page Spread Research

Having researched double page spreads for when i come to creating my own, i have discovered i like a lot of them. I narrowed them down to these two favourites. I like them both because although they are different they both hold information.

I like the MCR magazine because it is quite busy. There are loads of pictures all over but in an organised way, which i might like to emulate in my magazine. I also really like the title which is the quote 'We're being the best mcr we can be!'. I like the idea of using a quote on my double page spread as i think its a bit different and engages the reader.

I think that the other double page spread looks really quirky and original because of the mismatched lettering. It also helps draw attention to the page and makes you want to read on. This page has another quote as the title: 'People think im an attention seeker, but im just honest'. This snippet makes the reader want to buy the magazine to find out more. i like the one plain, simple image and the bland colours (black, white and red) make the magazine look quite modern and interesting.

Overall, i think that looking at these double page spreads has really helped me and given me ideas on what to do.

Magazine Cover Research

I have been researching different types of magazine covers, and looking at all the mixes. Vogue has so many interesting front covers, and this is my favourate layout. Although it is quite similar to a lot of magazines I like the simplicity as well as the fonts, image and structure. I especially like the 'Change!' part at the bottom of the magazine as i think it grabs your attention. Whilst looking at these magazines, i have discovered some things i will have to put on my own magazine to make it more realistic and proffesional: a bar code, title, website, pricing, date, sub-heading and a suitable image, as well as the information about what goes in to the magazine.

Music Magazine Research -Coursework

I have started researching for my coursework. I am creating a front cover, advert and contents page of a music magazine. From my research i have discovered that the central image is very important as most of the focus is on that. The title makes a lot of difference and tells you what kind of magazine it is.

This is a print screen of many different popular magazines that are on the market today. I have included some music magazines as well as fashion and others. I have realised that my magazine must be exiting and original because a lot of magazines are very similar to eachother.

Evaluation Of Finished Preliminary Task

I am very pleased with the effect of my magazine cover and contents page and personally feel they both went better than expected.
I mainly used Photoshop but included Word and DaFont. In Photoshop i used the brightness/contrast and hue/saturation tool to make my picture look less dull and more colourful. I also used the text tool a lot, as well as word. DaFont was very helpful for interesting titles and the bar code image. I feel that i have learnt a lot about how to use photoshop over the past few weeks and that i have improved a lot. I think i am now ready to move on to the next big task (a music magazine) and execute it well, knowing many new techniques on photoshop.
I studied and researched many magazines before drafting my own, and decided to make a magazine with a similar style to vogue, because i liked the curly typography and striking layout, although i didnt want to make it so expensive looking. As this is a school magazine, I thought that this would appeal to female college/6th form students because it is focused on fashion at school (you can tell this from the picture on the front cover). Also i decided to make the colours on both the cover and contents page quite feminine to fit with the target audience, and made the contents page fit with the cover by using brick on both. This adds a sense of continuity in the magazine.
I think the strengths of the magazine include the main picture, as it shows it is a fashion magazine and the fonts because they stand out and add interest. Also on the contents page the images are relatable. The weaknesses could include the background  of the front coveras i feel it is too busy. This means its hard to focus on the text/images. As a result of this i attempted to darken/dull the background but could not make it less distracting. Another weakness could be that the contents page is very plain, although i believe it holds all the necessary information.
Overall i am happy that my magazine is suitable for teens at school/college and would sell because it can relate to them. It looks interesting and is the kind of magazine that would stand out in a shop. In future, i can take the skills i have learnt (from mistakes as well as strengths) and make sure i use the knowledge i have gained positively.

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Finished Contents Page

This is my finished Contents Page. I am quite pleased with the overall effect because i was influenced by my front cover. I like the way the two are linked together and am happy with my finished design.

HOW DID I DO IT?
-The background was found online as a border, but i edited the brightness/contrast so it looked similar to my own on the front cover. I made the fonts the same as on my front cover too, which means the two link and are similar.
-I used two pictures, but instead of using unrelatable ones i tried to take pictures that would relate to the magazines audience. I think these two pictures do that well.
-Down the left hand side I have placed the titles of articles, and their page numbers. I made the font of the page numbers slightly smaller so the articles stand out.I also added a 'NEXT TIME' in a puff which will attract the reader and make the important details stand out, and an 'EXCLUSIVE' written in a different colour which also makes the reader attracted to that section.
Overall i am pleasantly suprised at how my contents page has turned out, and have taken in to account the strengths and weaknesses of the task for the future.

Finished Magazine Front Cover

This is my finished magazine front cover.I am really pleased with the overall effect. To finish off I added text detail all over it in blue, purple and black to add interest and make the reader want to buy the magazine. I used the colours i did because i feel they stand out against the brick wall. I also slightly edited the brightness and contrast because i thought that the bricks were detracting from the image and writing.

The 'Fashion!' subtitle was produced on Word because i wanted it in colour to make it stand out more, and all the other writing was done on photoshop. I decided to use the colour white for the 'school fashion special' because the colour stands out against the busy brick wall. i thought that i would focus on 'Fashion' because that is my target audience and  it also fits with the model.

 I got my main title from DaFont online, and i chose this one because it looks like it has been printed on to the wall and i also think it looks fun and interesing. I also used the bar code from DaFont because it was small and makes the magazine look more realistic. I then edited my magazines brightness and contrast because i thought it would make the magazine look more realistic.

I added the price, date, website and bar code to make the magazine look proffesional. i got the bar code from DaFont. I also edited the brightness/contrast and hue/saturation some more at this stage, to make the magazine even more proffesional and 'glossy'.

I took the original picture on a good quality digital camera, and although I was worried the final image would be pixilated, it was not. I rotated the image once it was in photoshop, and i chose this image because it seemed to go well with the target audience and i liked the background because it stood out.

LAYOUT

I made a layout of how i wanted my magazine to be on Microsoft Word and then took a screenshot. This was just a brief plan so i knew vaugly what i wanted to do when i was working in photoshop. This has helped me massively when creating my magazine in photoshop because i was able to see what to do and where to go next. I now know for future that planning will help me and a layout will be extremely useful for me.

Photoshoot For Magazine + Research

 I have taken many photos for my magazine front cover and contents page.I was influenced by many magazines including Elle, especially for the front cover, and think that most of my pictures go with the theme and target audience (teenagers- in to fashion). Here are just a few (un-edited:

RESEARCH

I would call this a 'trashy' magazine which publishes celebrity gossip and entertaintment, as well as fashion. It is popular and cheap. I do not like the design of these types of magazine because i think they are too busy and dont look so expensive. Something i do like however, is the eye catching fonts that are used. White is a popular colour, and is in Cheryls dress, the information and the title of the magazine. I like the way one colour is used throughout and will consider this whilst making my magazine.

However, Elle comes across as an upmarket, expensive, maybe even upper class magazine. It looks posh and 'clean' because of the glossy white background, and the gold fonts make it look even more classy. I like the way the information is written, as well as the layout of it. I also like that a lot of it is in capital letters, and may consider this for my magazine.

Introduction to Photoshop

When using Photoshop for the first time i practiced changing some of my pictures.

I took these picture for my magazine but haven't used them for anything yet. In picture #1 i adjusted the brightness and also added text and channged the font/colour. For picture #2 I adjusted the brightness and contrast, and also hue and saturation. As well as this i turned the photo to black and white using the grayscale tool.

Who is the Audience + Magazine Research?

I really like the layout of the magazine Vogue, and am thinking about encorpourating some of the ideas in to my own work when i start my magazine. I love the curled 'Scarlett Johanson' typography as well as the writing style underneath that. The title is eye catching and the picture is striking. I think that this is a very interesting magazine cover and i really like the format.

The magazine Glamour is aimed at women, and you can tell this because of the feminine cover. It is definately aimed at style consious women because it mentions many fashion tips, advice and offers on the front cover. The mag advertises the price clearly on the front, and as this isn't too expensive shows it is aimed at middle class women and is not too upmarket, although does look quite posh on the front cover.

CONNOTATIONS, DENOTATIONS, SEFIF AND SANS SERIF

DENOTE- Denotation is the thing that represents what the person or thing is. For example; the postman's uniform denotes he is a postman.
CONNOTE- Connotation is the aspects/elements of a clip that have a symbolic meaning about a person, group, place or thing. For example red nail varnish connotes power, but also represents danger.
SERIF- When text has added parts on the lettering, for example; Hello (this makes it more traditional and classic)
SANS SERIF- When the text is without serifs on the lettering. for example; Hello (without serifs makes the text look modern and less intellectual)

Magazines 'Heat' and 'Kerrang'

Today we compared two different magazines, 'Heat' and 'Kerrang'. We have looked at the conventions and the codes of both and discovered:
CONVENTION 
-Both magazines use a similar layout on the front cover
-Both have interviews from either celebs or musicians
-Both include advertising and upcoming events/gigs
-Both come with posters
CODE
-Heat uses casual language, Kerrang uses a more formal tone
-Kerrang is strictly about a genre of music, Heat talks about anything, mainly focusing on the latest gossip.
-Heat uses eye catching fonts that make you want to read on, Kerrang are more 'quiet', they dont shout things out.
-Kerrang is aimed at a musical audience, and is for those who prefer heavy metal, Heat is aimed at any age, from teens to old people, and for whoever wants to find out the latest gossip.

I enjoyed looking at the simlarities and differences of the two magazines, and was interested to see there are quite a few of both.

Juno Film Review

Juno is one of my favorite films ever because it makes you laugh, cry and feel happy to be alive all at the same time. Ellen Page and Michael Cera are both hilarious, acting out the roles of a quirky, pregnant teenager Juno and her nerdy, comical best friend/ boyfriend Paulie perfectly. In the film Juno becomes pregnant and decides to keep the baby but give it away to a couple who cannot have children. The audience follow her journey through every season, from Autumn to Summer and from the conception to the birth of the baby. I could definately watch Juno again although i've seen it many times already because its an extremely funny rom-com which includes lovely music that you will be humming for hours!

One Direction (The boyband from last years X factor) have released their new single 'What Makes You Beautiful'. They have upped their profile in the Media by signing a contract with Nintendo, and have already made television adverts for this. They are on the cover of every Teen magazine, and also featured in a free magazine given away with the Sun this weekend.

Because of their uprising fame, me and some friends decided to make an ironic parody of the single's video, and had a lot of fun filming it, although would like to point out we dont usually dress up as men! I spent the weekend editing it, which i also enjoyed!

Radio Times

I sometimes enjoy reading the interviews and reviews in the Radio Times because they are normally quite witty and comical as well as giving you all the information you need, although i usually only read the bits with the people or TV/ film i am interested in. My family also use the it to tell them what time programs are on and we all find the magazine useful.

Film Posters

I think that this is an interesting film poster which captures the audiences interest straight away because you wonder whats happening in the picture and the title is intriguing. I also enjoyed the film itself and found it funny, scary and inspiring all at the same time.

Bridesmaids

I recently went to the cinema to see Bridesmaides, a film about 'Annie' (Kristen Wiig) who, after being asked to be the maid of honour at her best friends wedding, finds herself having a meltdown. Everything goes wrong with hilarious consequences which will make the whole cinema scream and laugh.

I was suprised at how funny this comedy was, and i would really recommend going to see it... im thinking about going to see it again, and will definately get the DVD when it comes out!

ABOUT ME!

I have chosen to study Media for one of my A-levels because for quite a long time i have enjoyed editing videos on my computer, and this has grown in to filming things myself. I try to bring my video camera everywhere in case something amazing happens! I am also very interested in learning how the media effects us as well as learning about advertising and film techniques. In the future i would love to work in the film industry, but i don't yet know what i would enjoy doing most as i love camera work, editing and the idea of directing fascinates me!