Friday, 8 May 2009
For Question 7- Audio recording
Since starting to produce my college magazine my knowledge of Photoshop has expanded so much. I started off not really knowing anything about it other than how to edit a photo. And now I know so much more. Through using Photoshop all the time, I learnt some things by accident! But it has all helped along the way to producing STAGED. When I first started my college magazine I researched other college magazines first. I didn’t realise how much went into making a magazine cover until I came to do it myself. I did enjoy it though. When I came to creating the final versions of my college magazine and music magazine I realised just how essential the planning and drafting of my work was. It helped so much as I basically knew what I was doing and how it would look. I just had to put it together with my own photos and text
AS MEDIA STUDIES: G321: FOUNDATION PORTFOLIO IN MEDIA: EVALUATION
Part of my media coursework to create a music magazine cover, double page spread and contents was to analyse existing music magazines. By doing this I was able to form an idea of the basic elements of a music magazine and start to form my own idea. I have chosen to take the generic conventions of other magazines so that it has a sense of verisimilitude and looks appealing and real. If you look at the magazine cover below and my front cover you can see the generic conventions I have used. Like all magazines my magazine has a house style which limits it to four colours and three different fonts throughout. I have taken the photo for my front cover using ideas for poses, colours, style of clothes and props from other magazine cover photos and musicians I have researched. For the layout of text I have researched double page spreads and article layout. I will type the interview up into columns. However, as well as conforming to the traditional forms and conventions of a media product I have also challenged this by making a magazine of a slightly different size to the average and producing a more niche product specific to indie pop/alternative music. I have of course included the general conventions of a music magazine such as the masthead, central image, sell lines, text and limited colour. My magazine also has the barcode date and price as all magazines do, usually positioned at the bottom right-hand corner of a magazine.
When created the masthead for my magazine I decided on the word ‘staged’. I chose this as it has connotations musicians playing at festivals and gigs (on the stage). In positioning my masthead on the magazine I made sure to stick to the usual conventions, placing it at the top left of the magazine. I did this as it is the first thing the audience will see and as it is the largest text on the magazine cover it should stand out to the reader. The font of the masthead “STAGED” comes across as slightly messy and stamped. This corresponds well with the name of the magazine associating the title with the intended audience, those who are interested in festivals and indie pop/alternative music.
A basic plain colour background is consistent throughout my magazine as it enables the magazine to look professional and more writing can be produced it also emphasis’s the main photograph. I kept to a basic for my colour scheme throughout using black as the dominant colour with some lighter colours such as white and grey, and a bright colour red.
Anchorage text is additional information designed to “anchor” the text to one specific reason, for example anchorage text relating to the cover image. I learnt that in the media industry if a caption is added to an image the image is supposed to be interpreted in a way related to the caption. In my main photograph on the cover Rob looks quite serious and possible stressed or tired. My caption with this reads “SEBASTIAN KING takes it to daring new levels”. Had a put a more light hearted caption, the image would not suit as well. A more cheery caption would suit the photo on the right. He looks relatively serious here. When taking these photos I told rob basic ideas of what I wanted him to do and he improvised also. I want the reader to know this is for older age groups rather then children. Stuart Hall's theory that the producer encodes meaning into the media product, they then have a dominant or preferred reading to the particular piece of text. The dominant reading is when the audience have accepted the meaning whereas the preferred reading is another reading that they prefer to adopt. This relates to what I have done.
Generally the main image on the cover of a music magazine is centred and displayed in colour, with the subject(s) using a direct mode of address. Often this means the person/people are making eye contact with the audience, which in effect attracts them to at least pick up and browse through the magazine, it also creates a personal relationship with the magazine and the reader. The person on the cover is also usually well known. My main image photograph has a direct mode of address; Rob is making eye contact with the camera. One way in which my music magazine cover differs slightly from a real one is that firstly I have decided to use a greyscale image. This does occur occasionally in music magazines although it is not the norm. I think it makes the cover look more effective and professional. I also like this photo. Another way in which my cover differs is that the man on the front is not a really famous musician; he is quite new on the scene.
For my contents page I have followed the basic layout of a Kerrang contents but using my magazine house style and colours. I think it is clear my cover and contents page are from the same music magazine as they share the same colour scheme and fonts used; this is consistent between the two. I have integrated text and image on the contents page. The text is arranged in one set column on the right hand side and six equally sixed small square pictures in two rows towards the bottom on the page. I have numbered these, using the same font and colour as the masthead, but a lot smaller if course. A lot of the pictures on my contents page were live photos taken at Leeds festival; however for the others I used different lighting and took them from high and low angles, to see which looked most effective to the style of band this person was supposed to be in.
My double page spread relates to the person on the cover, it is an interview with ‘Sebastian King’. It made sense to do my double page spread on my cover model as it is them who would be attracting the customers to the magazine. The interview consists of a mixture of musical questions, family questions and then a few random questions. I included these questions unrelated to music, such as ‘What would you spend your last £20 on?’ I did this to break up the interview and add some humour to the article. This also gives the reader more of an insight into the musicians life; making them feel as though they know them a little better. The colour scheme is quite plain on the double page spread; however I think this works as the picture is quite a strong image I included pull quotes to draw the reader to the article, these are in bright blue. The words Sebastian King are in the same font as the masthead but again smaller and at a slight angle. I included three smaller images in the bottom left corner of the page. I think this looks quite good as it breaks up the page and adds some more interest to it.
STAGED represents a particular social group of males and females interested in indie/alternative music. My magazine would most likely appeal ore to the younger generation, age 16-25. The image of rob on the cover appeals to both males and females as it could be seen as an ideal self or an ideal partner. In my main image rob is giving a direct mode of address to catch the readers eye and draw them in. keeping to a simple colour scheme of black white grey and red means fits well with the genre of the magazine. Just by looking at the cover you can tell this isn’t a heavy metal magazine or a rap magazine. I think the house style works well in getting the genre of magazine across to the audience without them having to buy it to find out. I chose to represent this particular social group as I enjoy this kind of music so know more about it than heavy metal or rap. Through research I also found out this type of music is growing in popularity.
The type of company that might make and distribute my magazine would be a conglomerate. I have chosen this as my magazine is mainly mainstream and the Indie Genre appeals to people on a large scale. The context within it is quite broad, introducing new bands and reviewing albums and festivals. It appeals to those interested in new music rather than older. Bauer media and IPC media are two magazine institutions that already publish well known magazines. Bauer media publishes and distributes, 'Q' magazine, 'Kerrang' and 'Mojo' and IPC media distributes 'NME' magazine. Seeing as my main focus and analyses was on NME magazine I think IPC media would be appropriate for distributing STAGED as it has a similar atmosphere and genre to the magazine it already distributes. The circulation would be large scale and would be distributed to people all around the U.K to promote my magazine to the public I will use a range of media texts to advertise it. My main source of advertisement would be television, this is because figures have shown that over 90% of the population watch T.V. meaning if I advertise STAGED on T.V many people will become aware of the magazine. The other place I will advertise STAGED would be on the internet, on social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Bebo. I think this would be a very effective method of advertising as figures from the national cohort study show that over 92% of teens aged 16-19 use the internet on a regular basis. This means that I can appeal to more than half of my target audience. This magazine will be accessible in shops or over the internet, as the magazine expands readers will also be able to subscribe to STAGED. The more people know about my product, the more people will be influenced to buy it.
The audience for my media product would mainly consist of 16-25 year olds of both genders. STAGED is aimed at people who like music of the genre indie. I will also attempt to attract those who don’t particularly like this type of music. I have decided to appeal to both genders so that I have a broader range of readership.
During my practical work I have used a range of technologies and applications, such as Photoshop and Quark X press. From using the Photoshop application I have learnt how to import a picture into it and edit the colour settings on it. I have learnt how to produce text and change the font, size and colour of it. I now know how to can apply drop shadows to my work and also cut backgrounds out from photos. I have also learnt about the different layers, and how all of them combined make the final product. I have also used Quark Xpress I have learnt some of the basic features of this. I have learnt how to create picture and text boxes, and how to fill boxes with jabber to show where text will go. I have learnt how to save this then open it up in Photoshop to continue making the magazine. I am not as confident with this as Photoshop however I think in time as I continue to use it more I shall improve. I prefer using Photoshop to Quark Express I have learnt how to create a blog and how to post text, photos, and work onto it. Through the process of constructing this product I have learnt how much work goes into making a magazine.
When created the masthead for my magazine I decided on the word ‘staged’. I chose this as it has connotations musicians playing at festivals and gigs (on the stage). In positioning my masthead on the magazine I made sure to stick to the usual conventions, placing it at the top left of the magazine. I did this as it is the first thing the audience will see and as it is the largest text on the magazine cover it should stand out to the reader. The font of the masthead “STAGED” comes across as slightly messy and stamped. This corresponds well with the name of the magazine associating the title with the intended audience, those who are interested in festivals and indie pop/alternative music.
A basic plain colour background is consistent throughout my magazine as it enables the magazine to look professional and more writing can be produced it also emphasis’s the main photograph. I kept to a basic for my colour scheme throughout using black as the dominant colour with some lighter colours such as white and grey, and a bright colour red.
Anchorage text is additional information designed to “anchor” the text to one specific reason, for example anchorage text relating to the cover image. I learnt that in the media industry if a caption is added to an image the image is supposed to be interpreted in a way related to the caption. In my main photograph on the cover Rob looks quite serious and possible stressed or tired. My caption with this reads “SEBASTIAN KING takes it to daring new levels”. Had a put a more light hearted caption, the image would not suit as well. A more cheery caption would suit the photo on the right. He looks relatively serious here. When taking these photos I told rob basic ideas of what I wanted him to do and he improvised also. I want the reader to know this is for older age groups rather then children. Stuart Hall's theory that the producer encodes meaning into the media product, they then have a dominant or preferred reading to the particular piece of text. The dominant reading is when the audience have accepted the meaning whereas the preferred reading is another reading that they prefer to adopt. This relates to what I have done.
Generally the main image on the cover of a music magazine is centred and displayed in colour, with the subject(s) using a direct mode of address. Often this means the person/people are making eye contact with the audience, which in effect attracts them to at least pick up and browse through the magazine, it also creates a personal relationship with the magazine and the reader. The person on the cover is also usually well known. My main image photograph has a direct mode of address; Rob is making eye contact with the camera. One way in which my music magazine cover differs slightly from a real one is that firstly I have decided to use a greyscale image. This does occur occasionally in music magazines although it is not the norm. I think it makes the cover look more effective and professional. I also like this photo. Another way in which my cover differs is that the man on the front is not a really famous musician; he is quite new on the scene.
For my contents page I have followed the basic layout of a Kerrang contents but using my magazine house style and colours. I think it is clear my cover and contents page are from the same music magazine as they share the same colour scheme and fonts used; this is consistent between the two. I have integrated text and image on the contents page. The text is arranged in one set column on the right hand side and six equally sixed small square pictures in two rows towards the bottom on the page. I have numbered these, using the same font and colour as the masthead, but a lot smaller if course. A lot of the pictures on my contents page were live photos taken at Leeds festival; however for the others I used different lighting and took them from high and low angles, to see which looked most effective to the style of band this person was supposed to be in.
My double page spread relates to the person on the cover, it is an interview with ‘Sebastian King’. It made sense to do my double page spread on my cover model as it is them who would be attracting the customers to the magazine. The interview consists of a mixture of musical questions, family questions and then a few random questions. I included these questions unrelated to music, such as ‘What would you spend your last £20 on?’ I did this to break up the interview and add some humour to the article. This also gives the reader more of an insight into the musicians life; making them feel as though they know them a little better. The colour scheme is quite plain on the double page spread; however I think this works as the picture is quite a strong image I included pull quotes to draw the reader to the article, these are in bright blue. The words Sebastian King are in the same font as the masthead but again smaller and at a slight angle. I included three smaller images in the bottom left corner of the page. I think this looks quite good as it breaks up the page and adds some more interest to it.
STAGED represents a particular social group of males and females interested in indie/alternative music. My magazine would most likely appeal ore to the younger generation, age 16-25. The image of rob on the cover appeals to both males and females as it could be seen as an ideal self or an ideal partner. In my main image rob is giving a direct mode of address to catch the readers eye and draw them in. keeping to a simple colour scheme of black white grey and red means fits well with the genre of the magazine. Just by looking at the cover you can tell this isn’t a heavy metal magazine or a rap magazine. I think the house style works well in getting the genre of magazine across to the audience without them having to buy it to find out. I chose to represent this particular social group as I enjoy this kind of music so know more about it than heavy metal or rap. Through research I also found out this type of music is growing in popularity.
The type of company that might make and distribute my magazine would be a conglomerate. I have chosen this as my magazine is mainly mainstream and the Indie Genre appeals to people on a large scale. The context within it is quite broad, introducing new bands and reviewing albums and festivals. It appeals to those interested in new music rather than older. Bauer media and IPC media are two magazine institutions that already publish well known magazines. Bauer media publishes and distributes, 'Q' magazine, 'Kerrang' and 'Mojo' and IPC media distributes 'NME' magazine. Seeing as my main focus and analyses was on NME magazine I think IPC media would be appropriate for distributing STAGED as it has a similar atmosphere and genre to the magazine it already distributes. The circulation would be large scale and would be distributed to people all around the U.K to promote my magazine to the public I will use a range of media texts to advertise it. My main source of advertisement would be television, this is because figures have shown that over 90% of the population watch T.V. meaning if I advertise STAGED on T.V many people will become aware of the magazine. The other place I will advertise STAGED would be on the internet, on social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Bebo. I think this would be a very effective method of advertising as figures from the national cohort study show that over 92% of teens aged 16-19 use the internet on a regular basis. This means that I can appeal to more than half of my target audience. This magazine will be accessible in shops or over the internet, as the magazine expands readers will also be able to subscribe to STAGED. The more people know about my product, the more people will be influenced to buy it.
The audience for my media product would mainly consist of 16-25 year olds of both genders. STAGED is aimed at people who like music of the genre indie. I will also attempt to attract those who don’t particularly like this type of music. I have decided to appeal to both genders so that I have a broader range of readership.
During my practical work I have used a range of technologies and applications, such as Photoshop and Quark X press. From using the Photoshop application I have learnt how to import a picture into it and edit the colour settings on it. I have learnt how to produce text and change the font, size and colour of it. I now know how to can apply drop shadows to my work and also cut backgrounds out from photos. I have also learnt about the different layers, and how all of them combined make the final product. I have also used Quark Xpress I have learnt some of the basic features of this. I have learnt how to create picture and text boxes, and how to fill boxes with jabber to show where text will go. I have learnt how to save this then open it up in Photoshop to continue making the magazine. I am not as confident with this as Photoshop however I think in time as I continue to use it more I shall improve. I prefer using Photoshop to Quark Express I have learnt how to create a blog and how to post text, photos, and work onto it. Through the process of constructing this product I have learnt how much work goes into making a magazine.
Thursday, 7 May 2009
Wednesday, 6 May 2009
Tuesday, 5 May 2009
Treatment
For my Unit G321 foundation portfolio coursework, I intend to produce music magazine, print production aimed at 16-25 year old males and females, consisting of a front cover, contents page and double page spread.
My magazine will be an indie pop/alternative music magazine which focuses on new, original, and popular artists. It will contain information about mainstream indie music and inform and review upcoming gigs and festivals. This will be the type of audience who will go to festivals and gigs and will have a keen interest in fresh bands of the same genres that are new on the scene. There will be one person for the main image on the cover.
My print production will require one medium close up shot for the cover and two 3 smaller images to use as poster adverts. I will need six small images and one larger image for the contents page and approximately 2-4 images for the double page spread. The person I have used for the main image on the cover is a male friend, Rob. I choose him as, because he likes the kind of music my magazine is about he dresses quite well. The clothes he wore on the day were what he decided to wear. I knew that this would be okay as his style suits the style of the magazine well. The costume that he wore was the same for all the images. I also chose Rob because I knew he would be able to position himself for the images the way i wanted him to. I took this image in my bedroom as the wall colour was most suitable, light and cream coloured. I decided to use a light background as if I wanted to change this it could be easily done using Photoshop. The only props I used for the photographs were a microphone and robs own sunglasses.
I took quite a few images, but haven’t yet decided which ones I’m going to include where yet. However a medium shot will be used for my front cover, then for my contents page another medium shot and then six smaller pictures towards the bottom of the page, these will all be the same size and square shaped. I will also need one medium sized photo for this page that will also be square or rectangle but larger than all the others. For my double page spread I am unsure as to how and where I will position the photo or photos but will decide when I am closer to finishing it. I have put some research of double page spread pages and article layout on my blog. I think I will have three images of the same person (Rob) on the double page spread.
For my double page spread I will interview with the cover artist, Sebastian King (Rob). The questions are complete and I have posted a copy of this on my blog. These are about how he got into music, his family, and his new album. Health and safety notes aren’t really essential because we didn’t leave my house for the photographs, so there was nothing really to take into account regarding safety issues.
Monday, 4 May 2009
Colours for Magazine
For the cover of my magazine, the masthead will be red and white. The background will be grey as i am using a grey picture. Any main writing on the cover will be light brown and less important information will be white on a red background. The Words 'Start Listening' will be in either white, brown or red depending on how the cover looks. I have chosen these colours as i think they work well together on this magazine.
Interview with Sebastian Smith
We have been waiting for so long to get a chance to talk with Sebastian Smith and finally he has found a slot in his hectic schedule for us. He took a daring step releasing his album Universal Happiness, with it being so divergent to his first, ‘Is My Mother Trying To Kill Me?’ And having only been in the business for 1 year this would seem a risky step, but for Sebastian it seems there are no limits to his success.
Hello Sebastian thanks for taking the time to chat with us here at Staged today
That’s fine. It’s my pleasure in fact.
How are you today?
Pretty good. I can feel my creative juices flowing, everything’s getting on well and the world is still rotating. It’s ace.
Moving quickly into the questions, when did you first know you wanted to be musical? Who are your inspirations?
Well, my Dad used to be in a band so he was always you know, trying to get me to play. As for inspirations I’d say my dad, John Lennon was always a pretty big deal. Oh and Ghandi. Nice guy all round I reckon.
So what’s your favourite chat up line?
Haha! I don’t really do chat-up lines. They always seemed a bit tacky. Sounds stupid but the fact I’m in this cool business does help rather a lot in that department.
What would you spend your last £20 on?
Beatles records, no question.
If you weren’t in the music business where do you think you would be now?
If I wasn’t in it I’d probably be trying to get into it. It’s all I’ve ever really been able to do and all I’ve ever wanted to do really.
So tell us about your new album ‘Universal happiness’
Well, it’s basically got the soul of the first one but with a few new bits and pieces. We’ve had some amazing guest producers on some of the tracks. Thom Yorke was amazing. He’s such a clever guy and I think he added about twenty percent of brilliance onto most of the tracks
There are a lot of diverse tracks on there like Moonfish spectacular but they all seem to work well with your voice
Well, for Moonfish Spectacular, it was actually Thom who wrote the song for me. It went into new territory for me as a vocalist but he seemed to know exactly what I was capable of and I actually think it’s one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever done so far.
So who is it that writes your songs?
Well, mostly me and I get help from around. After the first album i had a bunch of people asking to write songs for me which was flattering, but me and the team figured i had a pretty good thing going on anyway. So you know it’s just me unless something special comes along, like Thom.
How many instruments can you play?
Oh, umm, well there’s guitar, the violin and the harmonica so three. Yeah, three.
What do you do in your spare time when your aren’t on the road?
I just love to play video games and go to really un-cool discos mainly, there’s nothing better. The rock n roll lifestyle gets way exaggerated.
You’re just nineteen years old and are already so successful; you can’t have gotten here all on your own. Where your parents a big help?
Yeah massive. As I said, my Dad has always driven me along, teaching me instruments and how to write songs to compliment my voice rather than drown it out like a few mistakes in the past. My Mum is like a rock. I’ve had some rejections from record companies and she always knew what to say to cheer me up.
What's your biggest secret?
Haha! Not sure I can tell you! Oh alright then, I once got beat up by a girl. In my defence I was like four and she was a big girl!
What's your favourite flavour of ice cream?
Oh, umm, coconut. Very underrated.
If the world was about to end what would be the last thing you do?
Get drunk and welcome the apocalypse!
Hello Sebastian thanks for taking the time to chat with us here at Staged today
That’s fine. It’s my pleasure in fact.
How are you today?
Pretty good. I can feel my creative juices flowing, everything’s getting on well and the world is still rotating. It’s ace.
Moving quickly into the questions, when did you first know you wanted to be musical? Who are your inspirations?
Well, my Dad used to be in a band so he was always you know, trying to get me to play. As for inspirations I’d say my dad, John Lennon was always a pretty big deal. Oh and Ghandi. Nice guy all round I reckon.
So what’s your favourite chat up line?
Haha! I don’t really do chat-up lines. They always seemed a bit tacky. Sounds stupid but the fact I’m in this cool business does help rather a lot in that department.
What would you spend your last £20 on?
Beatles records, no question.
If you weren’t in the music business where do you think you would be now?
If I wasn’t in it I’d probably be trying to get into it. It’s all I’ve ever really been able to do and all I’ve ever wanted to do really.
So tell us about your new album ‘Universal happiness’
Well, it’s basically got the soul of the first one but with a few new bits and pieces. We’ve had some amazing guest producers on some of the tracks. Thom Yorke was amazing. He’s such a clever guy and I think he added about twenty percent of brilliance onto most of the tracks
There are a lot of diverse tracks on there like Moonfish spectacular but they all seem to work well with your voice
Well, for Moonfish Spectacular, it was actually Thom who wrote the song for me. It went into new territory for me as a vocalist but he seemed to know exactly what I was capable of and I actually think it’s one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever done so far.
So who is it that writes your songs?
Well, mostly me and I get help from around. After the first album i had a bunch of people asking to write songs for me which was flattering, but me and the team figured i had a pretty good thing going on anyway. So you know it’s just me unless something special comes along, like Thom.
How many instruments can you play?
Oh, umm, well there’s guitar, the violin and the harmonica so three. Yeah, three.
What do you do in your spare time when your aren’t on the road?
I just love to play video games and go to really un-cool discos mainly, there’s nothing better. The rock n roll lifestyle gets way exaggerated.
You’re just nineteen years old and are already so successful; you can’t have gotten here all on your own. Where your parents a big help?
Yeah massive. As I said, my Dad has always driven me along, teaching me instruments and how to write songs to compliment my voice rather than drown it out like a few mistakes in the past. My Mum is like a rock. I’ve had some rejections from record companies and she always knew what to say to cheer me up.
What's your biggest secret?
Haha! Not sure I can tell you! Oh alright then, I once got beat up by a girl. In my defence I was like four and she was a big girl!
What's your favourite flavour of ice cream?
Oh, umm, coconut. Very underrated.
If the world was about to end what would be the last thing you do?
Get drunk and welcome the apocalypse!
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