Magazine Photoshoot
I began to take pictures for my magazine cover and contents page. I did photoshoots for each page seperately. For the cover I placed my model infront of a black backdrop and shot them in different positions with and without musical instruments. We had to adjust the lighting a few times to make sure that the pictures would turn out bright enough and shot the models in different positions for variety so as to make a choice of the best one and the ones that will be used for the front cover and the double page spread. I instructed my model on how to pose and let them experiment with some of their own ideas. Reflecters where used to project more light onto the models which gave a good effect to the photographs. Later on, we did the same with a white back drop and picked the best pictures which we doctored in Adobe Photoshop and In-Design.
For my contents page, a various amount of photos were taken with the same model as for my front cover but I also experimented with a few shots of myself as a different rockstar. I placed the camera in places were I wanted it to be and told someone to take pictures of me posing with a guitar. The video below is of me posing for my contents page and being camera shot.
Friday 20 November 2009
Sunday 15 November 2009
Music magazine research
Generic Conventions of a Music magazine
I have decided to make a Rock music magazine which covers all type of rock from punk to harcore metal. Before beginning work on my magazine I began to do research on other magazines of the same genre. The first magazine I took a look at was 'Rolling Stones' but this magazine was more of an all-genre magazine. I then looked at 'Kerrang!' which is a very popular rock magazine. Through looking through various images of their covers and contents pages I began to obtain ideas for my own products and also learnt more about conventions of rock magazines and how they differ from other genre magazines.
This is a picture of the front cover of a 'Kerrang!' magazine. One of the most conventional things about 'Kerrang!' and most rock music magazines is that it has a very full front page. There is little free space as big images and multiple amounts of text fill up the cover. The main image is of a stereotypical rockstar with dark clothes, messy hair and a musical instrument (in this case a guitar). These qualities immediately create awareness to the rock audience on what type of magazine it is and what is inside it. The image is large but goes against the conventions of most magazines because the model is not looking directly at us. None the less, the face is clearly shown so that fans of this particular person can immediately see him on the cover and get drawn into the magazine. In a further attempt to attract the audience, the bands name (Green Day) is towards the top of the page and at eye level and is written in big, bold letters. Also written in big, bold letters is the name of the magazine. This attracts the 'Kerrang!' audience to the magazine regardless of who features on the front cover. A well known and respected brand will be easily able to attract a wide audience as they have a reputation for presenting interesting stories relating to a particular type of music.
Also conventional to a music magazine is the front cover broadcasting of other stories in the magazine. In this cover, Muse and Slipknot are shown. There is even a small picture of Slipknot that is also conventional of rock magazines and not of others. Most Hip Hop magazines, for example, have the image of only one artist on their front covers.
This is a picture I took of a 'Kerrang!' contents page that I used to inspire my own magazine ideas. The page conventionally has a main image complemented by a few smaller ones around the page. The use of a big image at the top of the page shows a link to the contents of the magazine and that it is related to punk or emo sort of music. The picture is contraversial like its genre. This is shown through the long hair, screaming through the microphone and collapsing about of the rockstars in it.
The layout of the contents in columns makes it clear and easy to understand and it immediately shows a vast amount of stories which will attract the readers and it shows that the magazine covers a wide area of music. This is supplimented by the smaller images which help to liven up the page so its not boring. The titles are written in different colour writing also to liven up the page. I have also noticed that the rockstar on the contents page is not the same rockstar on the front cover which shows the range of popular musicians the magazine has stories on.
This is an image of a 'Kerrang!' double page spread. It conventionally show a big picture of the musician being interviewed with a short introduction in bold writing and a longer introduction right before the interview begins. The questions from the interviewer are in a different colour then the answers from the musician which distinguishes the two, making it easier for the audience to understand. In bold letters at the top of the page are blocks of speech quoted from the musician being interviewed. This is conventional to magazine interviews. The colour scheme is plain and dull which is also conventional to a rock magazine. These sorts of magazines usually use colours like black and grey as it is dark like the genre of music.
I have decided to make a Rock music magazine which covers all type of rock from punk to harcore metal. Before beginning work on my magazine I began to do research on other magazines of the same genre. The first magazine I took a look at was 'Rolling Stones' but this magazine was more of an all-genre magazine. I then looked at 'Kerrang!' which is a very popular rock magazine. Through looking through various images of their covers and contents pages I began to obtain ideas for my own products and also learnt more about conventions of rock magazines and how they differ from other genre magazines.
This is a picture of the front cover of a 'Kerrang!' magazine. One of the most conventional things about 'Kerrang!' and most rock music magazines is that it has a very full front page. There is little free space as big images and multiple amounts of text fill up the cover. The main image is of a stereotypical rockstar with dark clothes, messy hair and a musical instrument (in this case a guitar). These qualities immediately create awareness to the rock audience on what type of magazine it is and what is inside it. The image is large but goes against the conventions of most magazines because the model is not looking directly at us. None the less, the face is clearly shown so that fans of this particular person can immediately see him on the cover and get drawn into the magazine. In a further attempt to attract the audience, the bands name (Green Day) is towards the top of the page and at eye level and is written in big, bold letters. Also written in big, bold letters is the name of the magazine. This attracts the 'Kerrang!' audience to the magazine regardless of who features on the front cover. A well known and respected brand will be easily able to attract a wide audience as they have a reputation for presenting interesting stories relating to a particular type of music.Also conventional to a music magazine is the front cover broadcasting of other stories in the magazine. In this cover, Muse and Slipknot are shown. There is even a small picture of Slipknot that is also conventional of rock magazines and not of others. Most Hip Hop magazines, for example, have the image of only one artist on their front covers.
This is a picture I took of a 'Kerrang!' contents page that I used to inspire my own magazine ideas. The page conventionally has a main image complemented by a few smaller ones around the page. The use of a big image at the top of the page shows a link to the contents of the magazine and that it is related to punk or emo sort of music. The picture is contraversial like its genre. This is shown through the long hair, screaming through the microphone and collapsing about of the rockstars in it.The layout of the contents in columns makes it clear and easy to understand and it immediately shows a vast amount of stories which will attract the readers and it shows that the magazine covers a wide area of music. This is supplimented by the smaller images which help to liven up the page so its not boring. The titles are written in different colour writing also to liven up the page. I have also noticed that the rockstar on the contents page is not the same rockstar on the front cover which shows the range of popular musicians the magazine has stories on.
This is an image of a 'Kerrang!' double page spread. It conventionally show a big picture of the musician being interviewed with a short introduction in bold writing and a longer introduction right before the interview begins. The questions from the interviewer are in a different colour then the answers from the musician which distinguishes the two, making it easier for the audience to understand. In bold letters at the top of the page are blocks of speech quoted from the musician being interviewed. This is conventional to magazine interviews. The colour scheme is plain and dull which is also conventional to a rock magazine. These sorts of magazines usually use colours like black and grey as it is dark like the genre of music. Friday 6 November 2009
Introduction and Magazine cover preliminary
AS Media Blog
Introduction
This is a blog to record the process of my media products. I will make a cover, contents page and a double page spread of a music magazine that will use, challenge and develop the forms and conventions of a real media product. I shall also make a Preliminary piece of work which will be a school magazine.
Magazine Preliminary
The first piece of work created was making our preliminary task using Photoshop and this was a school magazine cover of St. Edmund's College. The image to your left is of the finished product. This task involved taking pictures of different areas of the school and figuring out the best one to use through the quality of the picture, the beauty of the image taken and the message it forwards to any readers (ie the connotations). We were introduced to the idea of promotion and using our pictures and products to attract a certain type of audience which in this case are children's parents. We circled the school taking pictures of the most attractive places and the places that forwarded a message of a good, safe, pieceful and academic environment. We also thought it would be a good idea to have images of students to possibly bring life to the front cover. My favourate image of a person was a medium close up image of a particular student on a computer. With a collection of pictures we then recided back into class to begin work on Adobe Photoshop. A lot of experimenting was done since it was my first time of using photoshop. First off I chose a shot that showed a large portion of the school from a side on view with the sun shining directly on it showing that the school was large and grand but still a happy colourful place. The grass helped to enhance the natural side of the school and also added to the colour and beauty of the picture and showed that the school grounds are not just a 'concrete jungle'.
I opened the picture up on Photoshop along with the medium close up. I used the Polygonal Lasso tool to cut out the person from the background of the close up and then I dragged the image onto the image of the school for the cover. I then used the Quick Selection tool, Magic wand to cut out my picture of the school crest and drag it onto the magazine cover. The medium shot was moved to the side of the page to show what a happy, smart student looked like and to give an outlook of the school's appearance. Apart from adding life to the cover, the smiling student also invites the audience into the magazine as the student is also looking directly at them as if to say, 'I am happy here. Come and take a look at what is making me happy'. I then faded away any unneeded parts of the medium shot (i.e the computer) so that it was only the student showing with the school in the background. The crest was moved to the other side of the picture to put a balance into the organization of the cover. The crest is essential because it represents the school, it's history and what it stands for. The logo will also be recognized anywhere whether on the school uniform or on the school gates so it is important it appears on the magazine to show ownership. The name of the magazine was then typed boldly on the top to catch peoples eyes. I named it Ediscope because it gives us a scope or insight in to the St. Edmund's College and its atmosphere.
This exercise helped me get used to Photoshop so that I would be comfortable with its gadgets when creating my other media products. It also gave me awareness of the things needed in the cover to attract audiences. I now had some experience in taking the right shots for a particular type of magazine and putting them together with technology. I had also gained the knowledge of how to use certain types of digital cameras.
Introduction
This is a blog to record the process of my media products. I will make a cover, contents page and a double page spread of a music magazine that will use, challenge and develop the forms and conventions of a real media product. I shall also make a Preliminary piece of work which will be a school magazine.
Magazine Preliminary
The first piece of work created was making our preliminary task using Photoshop and this was a school magazine cover of St. Edmund's College. The image to your left is of the finished product. This task involved taking pictures of different areas of the school and figuring out the best one to use through the quality of the picture, the beauty of the image taken and the message it forwards to any readers (ie the connotations). We were introduced to the idea of promotion and using our pictures and products to attract a certain type of audience which in this case are children's parents. We circled the school taking pictures of the most attractive places and the places that forwarded a message of a good, safe, pieceful and academic environment. We also thought it would be a good idea to have images of students to possibly bring life to the front cover. My favourate image of a person was a medium close up image of a particular student on a computer. With a collection of pictures we then recided back into class to begin work on Adobe Photoshop. A lot of experimenting was done since it was my first time of using photoshop. First off I chose a shot that showed a large portion of the school from a side on view with the sun shining directly on it showing that the school was large and grand but still a happy colourful place. The grass helped to enhance the natural side of the school and also added to the colour and beauty of the picture and showed that the school grounds are not just a 'concrete jungle'. 
I opened the picture up on Photoshop along with the medium close up. I used the Polygonal Lasso tool to cut out the person from the background of the close up and then I dragged the image onto the image of the school for the cover. I then used the Quick Selection tool, Magic wand to cut out my picture of the school crest and drag it onto the magazine cover. The medium shot was moved to the side of the page to show what a happy, smart student looked like and to give an outlook of the school's appearance. Apart from adding life to the cover, the smiling student also invites the audience into the magazine as the student is also looking directly at them as if to say, 'I am happy here. Come and take a look at what is making me happy'. I then faded away any unneeded parts of the medium shot (i.e the computer) so that it was only the student showing with the school in the background. The crest was moved to the other side of the picture to put a balance into the organization of the cover. The crest is essential because it represents the school, it's history and what it stands for. The logo will also be recognized anywhere whether on the school uniform or on the school gates so it is important it appears on the magazine to show ownership. The name of the magazine was then typed boldly on the top to catch peoples eyes. I named it Ediscope because it gives us a scope or insight in to the St. Edmund's College and its atmosphere.
This exercise helped me get used to Photoshop so that I would be comfortable with its gadgets when creating my other media products. It also gave me awareness of the things needed in the cover to attract audiences. I now had some experience in taking the right shots for a particular type of magazine and putting them together with technology. I had also gained the knowledge of how to use certain types of digital cameras.
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