Wednesday, 26 January 2011
Monday, 24 January 2011
Monday, 17 January 2011
Mock photographs for magazine front cover
I have created ideas for two magazine front covers. The first is one I have already detailed on this blog about having a procession of three photographs. The second I have developed is just a simple one photograph front cover. Similar to Esquire magazine. I think this is a good look as it is simple and easy to look at and lets the reader get straight to the point. My image for the front cover of this magazine would look similar to this.
However I have decided that if I am to use a single photograph I must have the whole of the artists body in the picture to make it work. So to improve on this mock photograph I plan to have my artists whole body in the picture and have him standing more to the side. The guitar will be further over his shoulder and will rest further down his back. Giving the impression of a travelling man's bag. This is to show that my artist has taken inspiration from his travels. My artist will also look down at the floor just in front of him so that the focus is on his face. He will have a intense gaze on his face.
Mock photographs for magazine front cover
This post shows some experimental pictures I took of people to help me start to think about camera angles I want to use with my actual model. (not the taken are not my actual models). This as helped me understand what i want to create with my model and the impression I want to put across via these pictures.
This is the style of image I'm thinking of using. There will be a progression of three to show that my artist has been up and coming. Starting with an image like this my model will face the opposite way to how he holds his guitar. The actual image I'll use will be my model against a white background with perhaps some vignetting.
This is the next image in the group of three I'll place on my magazine front cover. Here I'll have my artist finger picking his guitar and I'll try and make emphasis on how he is finger picking. In this picture it hasn't really worked as his guitar pick is pink and it just looks like he is sticking his tongue out. In my actual image my model will stood more upright. Again I might have my artist turning his head away from the direction that the guitar neck is pointing in, just because it adds a different feel to the image.
If I decide to use the idea of a procession of three images, this will be the last. I will have him holding the guitar then finger picking the guitar and then strumming the guitar with a pick in his hand. Here I have had my artist face in the opposite direction to where his guitar neck is pointing. If I was to use this idea for my front cover I would position the images so it would look like the first and the last were looking at each other.
Friday, 14 January 2011
Fonts 2
These are some fonts and masthead designs now I've decided upon my new name. I like the type of design that looks like the actual writing has been cut out of the background so that is what I've gone for here. My favourite and the one I've decided to use is the one with the white background and black writing for the AIM part. I decided upon this in my head whilst drawing my magazine mock up but included other designs as well to make sure I had a selection just in case my chosen masthead didn't look good in reality.
These are some fonts and masthead designs now I've decided upon my new name. I like the type of design that looks like the actual writing has been cut out of the background so that is what I've gone for here. My favourite and the one I've decided to use is the one with the white background and black writing for the AIM part. I decided upon this in my head whilst drawing my magazine mock up but included other designs as well to make sure I had a selection just in case my chosen masthead didn't look good in reality.
Thursday, 13 January 2011
My contents and double page spread
For my magazine I have decided that a simplistic view, commonly used by magazines like Esquire is the best one to take. This is because it doesn't give the reader to much to look at and can allow them to go straight to the point. This is why I have decided that for my front cover, my contents page and my double page spread I will have a single person on each page. On the front cover there will either be a series of pictures of the one artist or a solo picture of the artist, similar to the front covers on Esquire magazines. Both the pictures will be accompanied by cover lines.
On my contents page I will have my main image placed in an unusual fashion. To make sure that the reader will be interested in it. Around this image, in vertical columns I will then place the contents of my magazine. Instead of having a different image of the same person as on my front cover I am going to photograph a different artist for my contents page. As I will have used a boy on my front cover I will use a girl for my contents.
My double page spread will again have only one image but I will have it take up a whole page. Then I will have my writing in two or three columns on the other side of the image. Making it easy for the reader to relate the article back to the image. My front cover artist will be the feature of my double page spread.
On my contents page I will have my main image placed in an unusual fashion. To make sure that the reader will be interested in it. Around this image, in vertical columns I will then place the contents of my magazine. Instead of having a different image of the same person as on my front cover I am going to photograph a different artist for my contents page. As I will have used a boy on my front cover I will use a girl for my contents.
My double page spread will again have only one image but I will have it take up a whole page. Then I will have my writing in two or three columns on the other side of the image. Making it easy for the reader to relate the article back to the image. My front cover artist will be the feature of my double page spread.
Artist profile
Name: Rory Galvenez
Age: 21
British singer songwriter, alternative style.
First time singer song writer who has become big in alternative music after very successful debut album. Double page spread is an interview with the artist to see where he came up with the idea for his album.
Questions that can be asked in double page interview:
My artist will be dressed in mainly indie clothes. But they will still be casual so I will not have him going full indie to tie into my alternative side. His outfit will consist mainly of skinny jeans, boots and some sort of casual top and possibly a coat of the same indie fashion. My artist is tall.
Rory, has always known the south, and the sea. Growing up on the south coast of England he has been exposed to sea, salt and sand since an early age. However Rory isn't such a keen surfer as more of the guy who likes to lie on the beach and write songs. As a teenager, he worked in a small beach shop come cafe on the Fistral beach front. He tried his hand at surfing and at evening surf sessions he became used to hearing the slow melodious tunes of Jack Johnson drifting across the sands. He picked up his first guitar at the age of 15 and has never put it down. Discovering his was a dab hand at guitar he spent most of his summer sitting outside his cafe and playing a mixture of Jack Johnson tunes and his own acoustic work. When he turned sixteen he was introduced to festivals and travelled a number of folk acoustic festivals in the south of England. Enjoying such exposure he left his sixth form school and travelled to a music college where he developed the skills he needed, perfecting his singing voice. He moved on from his old battered acoustic and brought a Freshman dreadnought body. Enjoying this new sound he became determined to move onto the small stages of his idyllic festival; Glastonbury. On the 9th of May his seventeenth birthday arrived and he was delighted to discover a fender telecaster awaiting him from his parents. It had been a big ask for such an expensive present, seeing as his dad owned the local chippy and his mum worked in a play group. Ever grateful he spent three weeks developing a song to honour his parents. He played his way through the rest of the year; playing "pubs and clubs" in the centre of Newquay. As soon as he could he took a gap year, after saving solidly from his small cafe job and beach busking he had acquired the funds for his travelling adventure. He busked his away across Europe and finally got the funds for his trip to AAustralia and New Zealand. He became the centre of any youth hostel he travelled to and he would play the night away on an old battered acoustic whilst he shared beers with new friends. He became increasingly apt at the ukulele, enjoying the new tunes he could hit. After a year away he returned to start his university career. He had decided it was time to leave the south and he travelled north; studying music and film making at Edinburgh. despite his travelling and exposure to the world he fell on hard times at university. with the death of his mum he almost failed his first year and only just scraped through. He pulled through and at the age of 21 he realised his dream as he was signed by brushfire records, Jack Johnsons own record label. He says he must have been heard whilst travelling Hawaii. Now he has released his debut album and here he is.
Age: 21
British singer songwriter, alternative style.
First time singer song writer who has become big in alternative music after very successful debut album. Double page spread is an interview with the artist to see where he came up with the idea for his album.
Questions that can be asked in double page interview:
- Where his inspiration came from for his first album and many of his songs
- Whether he drew inspiration from other indie alternative artists and what type of music he was into.
- His early life and what effect that had on him
- How he spent his early life.
- His plans for his next album.
- Whether he'll tour or not?
- How is he different from the other artists?
- What type of guitars he plays.
My artist will be dressed in mainly indie clothes. But they will still be casual so I will not have him going full indie to tie into my alternative side. His outfit will consist mainly of skinny jeans, boots and some sort of casual top and possibly a coat of the same indie fashion. My artist is tall.
Rory, has always known the south, and the sea. Growing up on the south coast of England he has been exposed to sea, salt and sand since an early age. However Rory isn't such a keen surfer as more of the guy who likes to lie on the beach and write songs. As a teenager, he worked in a small beach shop come cafe on the Fistral beach front. He tried his hand at surfing and at evening surf sessions he became used to hearing the slow melodious tunes of Jack Johnson drifting across the sands. He picked up his first guitar at the age of 15 and has never put it down. Discovering his was a dab hand at guitar he spent most of his summer sitting outside his cafe and playing a mixture of Jack Johnson tunes and his own acoustic work. When he turned sixteen he was introduced to festivals and travelled a number of folk acoustic festivals in the south of England. Enjoying such exposure he left his sixth form school and travelled to a music college where he developed the skills he needed, perfecting his singing voice. He moved on from his old battered acoustic and brought a Freshman dreadnought body. Enjoying this new sound he became determined to move onto the small stages of his idyllic festival; Glastonbury. On the 9th of May his seventeenth birthday arrived and he was delighted to discover a fender telecaster awaiting him from his parents. It had been a big ask for such an expensive present, seeing as his dad owned the local chippy and his mum worked in a play group. Ever grateful he spent three weeks developing a song to honour his parents. He played his way through the rest of the year; playing "pubs and clubs" in the centre of Newquay. As soon as he could he took a gap year, after saving solidly from his small cafe job and beach busking he had acquired the funds for his travelling adventure. He busked his away across Europe and finally got the funds for his trip to AAustralia and New Zealand. He became the centre of any youth hostel he travelled to and he would play the night away on an old battered acoustic whilst he shared beers with new friends. He became increasingly apt at the ukulele, enjoying the new tunes he could hit. After a year away he returned to start his university career. He had decided it was time to leave the south and he travelled north; studying music and film making at Edinburgh. despite his travelling and exposure to the world he fell on hard times at university. with the death of his mum he almost failed his first year and only just scraped through. He pulled through and at the age of 21 he realised his dream as he was signed by brushfire records, Jack Johnsons own record label. He says he must have been heard whilst travelling Hawaii. Now he has released his debut album and here he is.
Controversial magazine covers
In this magazine cover, Rolling Stone depicted Kanye West as Christ. This is controversial because even though Christ was born in the Middle East he has always been seen as white and this has been strongly portrayed throughout western Europe. Obviously Kanye West is not white, but this is not controversial in only one way. The second is that again Christ is depicted as a music star. Rolling Stone have done a clever play on words with "The passion of Kanye West" being taken from the Passion of Christ. However, Rolling Stone must have known that this would have gone down badly but even so they still had Battlestar Galatica as a coverline; something which is so far away from the idea of Religion and Kanye West as possible.
This is another Rolling Stone magazine that has a fairly controversial cover. This one has Britney Spears in not many clothes but still being shown as a child, due to her holding onto a Teletubby. Her first song, released in 1999 was a popular song which consisted of rather sexual connotations. The reason for this being controversial is because her song Hit me baby was filmed in a school.
This is another controversial magazine cover from Rolling Stone. This has the Red Hot Chili Peppers standing naked next to each other. This creates a cheeky front cover and the colour scheme is clever in promoting that. The predominantly orange colour palette with the green tinge helps create the image of a chili.
Wednesday, 12 January 2011
Magazine pitch
I did my magazine pitch on Microsoft PowerPoint. I have uploaded this on to my coursework blog. I feel my pitch went well and I have had positive feedback from my teacher as well as my class. I think I have chosen the correct genre for my magazine as this is the my own music taste and I think that came across well in my pitch. I feel that there were no uncertainties within the class about what type of magazine I am doing and how I am going to do it.
Bits of my Pitch which I felt went particularly well were my names of the magazine and my three colour palette. I had been uncertain on which name to use for my magazine as I had come up with a number. I had a few names which I were keen on so within my pitch I Incorporated a poll which I had the audience participate in. I had a positive result from my poll and this has helped me because I know what names the people my magazine is aimed like. However I have now decided to change the name of Alternative Music Magazine to Alternative Indie Magazine as when abbreviated it now spells (AIM)
Secondly I felt that my three colour palette was a success. I chose the three colours I am using (orange, white and Black) as I think that they complement each other well but I was apprehensive at what the audience would think. However they thought they worked well, and I received more positive comments on that. I am hoping that the Black and the White will be effective at drawing younger teenagers and the Orange will work to give my magazine a slightly retro feel. Drawing in slightly older readers.
I originally put my target audience as younger teenagers who are just becoming interested in alternative music to slightly older adults who have known about it for a while. However I have decided that this is to large a span for my target audience and I am going to have change it. I have decided to stick to teenagers, still incorporating those who have just discovered Alternative music whilst not having the overly large span that I did before. My magazine will be targeted at mainly teenage boys.
Bits of my Pitch which I felt went particularly well were my names of the magazine and my three colour palette. I had been uncertain on which name to use for my magazine as I had come up with a number. I had a few names which I were keen on so within my pitch I Incorporated a poll which I had the audience participate in. I had a positive result from my poll and this has helped me because I know what names the people my magazine is aimed like. However I have now decided to change the name of Alternative Music Magazine to Alternative Indie Magazine as when abbreviated it now spells (AIM)
Secondly I felt that my three colour palette was a success. I chose the three colours I am using (orange, white and Black) as I think that they complement each other well but I was apprehensive at what the audience would think. However they thought they worked well, and I received more positive comments on that. I am hoping that the Black and the White will be effective at drawing younger teenagers and the Orange will work to give my magazine a slightly retro feel. Drawing in slightly older readers.
I originally put my target audience as younger teenagers who are just becoming interested in alternative music to slightly older adults who have known about it for a while. However I have decided that this is to large a span for my target audience and I am going to have change it. I have decided to stick to teenagers, still incorporating those who have just discovered Alternative music whilst not having the overly large span that I did before. My magazine will be targeted at mainly teenage boys.
Friday, 7 January 2011
Wednesday, 5 January 2011
Colour Palettes
My Music Genre and examples
These are a few examples of the type of music I listen to and the type of music my magazine will feature. I like it because it is so different and entertaining to listen to. Alternative music, when it first became popular as a music genre was simply known as alternative rock. However many new sub genres have no appeared and it these that I am interested in.
Saturday, 1 January 2011
Name and Fonts
Fonts and Name for Media
This is the name I have decided upon for my magazine. I feel it is an appropriate name as it is the actual name for "indie music" I also think it is casual and a good sounding name. I also played around with some fonts again to try and decide what my Masthead should look like. I have made my decision and I think that I will use the top font, as it seems elegant, easy to read and I like it. I think it fits my style of music, it looks relaxed, very much like the alternative music my Magazine will focus on. I will need to work on the colour of the title because I think at the moment it doesn't look up to standard but I will focus on this when I come to my three colour palette.
This is the name I have decided upon for my magazine. I feel it is an appropriate name as it is the actual name for "indie music" I also think it is casual and a good sounding name. I also played around with some fonts again to try and decide what my Masthead should look like. I have made my decision and I think that I will use the top font, as it seems elegant, easy to read and I like it. I think it fits my style of music, it looks relaxed, very much like the alternative music my Magazine will focus on. I will need to work on the colour of the title because I think at the moment it doesn't look up to standard but I will focus on this when I come to my three colour palette.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)