Sunday 19 January 2014

25 word pitch

  • Magazine for indie scenesters
  • 13-23 year olds
  • Influenced by Beady Eye and Blur
  • Jim Marshall style photo's
  • Colour palette of green, white, brown and red

Magazine Double Page Spread Analysis 2

Mast Head:
The mast head for this double page spread stands out very clearly and is eye catching due to it being white, sans serif writing, all in capitals on a dark background.  It's in quote marks so we know someone famous must have said it and as our eyes naturally drift to the right we see Liam Gallagher now fans can instantly tell that Liam said that about his new band Beady Eye.

Main Image:
The main image is of Liam Gallagher who is very iconic to many people who would read Q magazine, the image has been edited to make it look vintage and old.  This is the image that Liam tries to make people believe he is, it also could be to represent how he is getting older and very experienced.  In the background we see numerous amps and a drumkit which makes Liam look even more like a stereotypical 'Rock Star'

Lead:
The lead is the gap which seperates each paragraph, it must be right otherwise the reader could easily get confused, on this page we can easily tell when each line finishes and when each line starts.

Colours:
The colour palette on this page is a mixture of brown, white, black and light blue.   This is quite a good combination of colours to have because it is half dark colours and half light colours this is a perfect balance so that the page doesn't look too dark or too light.  The brown sets the vintage sort of mood and the black is a good background to have the lighter colours on because it makes them stand out more than any other colour would.  There is also a very small amount of red to decorate the look of the page.

Image Description:
The description of the image is in the bottom right corner of the page, this is because that is the last place the reader would look and the description of the image is not seen as an important feature of the page.

Quotes:
There is a small quote from Liam in the top right corner of the double page spread, this could be to fill the empty space however it also singles out an important part of the interview as it says 'Oasis Reunion' which is something that lots of people all around the world have been looking forward to.  So if a person who doesn't like Beady Eye but does like Oasis is just scanning the page and see's that quote then it will make him/her want to read on

Magazine Article Analysis 2

Mast Head:
The mast head in this article is good because the white stands out clearly on the black background and the red background, the font is sans serif because it wants to be bold and catch the readers attention with the name 'KASABIAN' 

Lead:
This is the gap between the two sections of writing on the page, it is an important feature because without it the reader could easily get confused with what they are reading.  In this article the two sections have been separated clearly with a slight gap therefore it is easy to distinguish which line belongs to which paragraph 

Colours: 
The colours used in this article are white, red and black.  These 3 colours work well together and stand out well against eachother.  White works well on red and visa versa, black works well on white and visa versa and finally red works well on black and visa versa. Also there is brown on the guitar in the image which sort of decorates the page and makes the image stand out as it's the only thing on the page that isn't red, black or white.

Main Image:
The main image is of the very well known guitarist in Kasabian (Sergio Pizzorno) this image is eye catching and interesting because it shows off Serge's unique style that he chooses e.g. the bandanna and baggy, torn shirt.  It gives the band a laidback, rock and roll image which is how most Indie Rock bands like to be represented.

CVI (central visual interest):
The CVI on this page is the picture of Serge and his guitar, this is what most people want to see as it's 'eye candy' for the girls and looks cool and iconic for the reader.

Magazine cover analysis 2


Mast Head:The mast head on this magazine cover stands out fairly well with the use of the colour white on red, it makes it easy to read and both of the colours are bright so are very eye catching.  The 'Q' is on top of the image unlike previous 'NME' magazine covers that I have researched which have the image overlapping the Mast Head, they can do this because their magazine is one of the most famous music magazines in the UK so are not as worried about advertising their magazine like 'Q' are.

Main Cover Line:
The main cover line stands out more than the rest of the coverlines because it is larger and coloured red, red stands out a lot.  So when someone walks past the magazine, one of the first things that they will see is the name 'Liam' and in the music business, the name Liam usually means Liam Gallagher therefore the fact that his name is the first thing they see is very important as that name will decide whether they want to buy it or not

Cover line:
The coverlines are the rather small headlines around the sides of the page, they let the reader know what else is in the magazine as most people would not buy a magazine just for one story about an artist that they like.  The coverlines on this magazine cover are intriguing for the reader because they have bands and artists in big bold writing such as 'Noah And The Whale' and 'Elbow' this is making as much use as possible out of the room left on the page making sure there is no empty space.

Main Image:
The image is of a very iconic figure to large amounts of people (Liam Gallagher) and it is eye catching therefore his fans would want to buy this magazine as soon as they see his face on the cover.  It has been cleverly edited as he has his band members in the reflection of his glasses which show the reader that there is news about his new band Beady Eye.  This will make the reader want to read on.

Barcode:
The barcode is seen as the least important feature of a magazine and is therefore placed in the bottom right of the page which is the very last place people in our culture would look

Colours:
The colour palette in this cover are brown, red and white this is a good contrast because it contains both dark and light colours which means it doesn't look like there is too much going on on the page, also the brown and white both stand out on top of eachother.

Iconic Graphics Designers - Paula Scher

In the 1970s and 80s Paula Scher begun her career as Art Director for CBS records, where she designed posters, ads and over 150 album covers a year. In 1991 Scher joined Pentagram as Partner, developing identities, packaging and signage for a variety of major clients including The New York Times Magazine, Bloomberg, Target, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Madison Square Park, Tiffany & Co., Citibank and The Public Theater. In 1998 she was inducted into the Art Directors Hall of Fame and in 2000 she won the Chrysler Award for Innovation in Design.

Audience Profile - Tommy Cobley

Name: Tommy Cobley
Age: 16
Background: Born in Leicester, lives with his mum, step dad and sister in Cosby except weekends where he stays in Dunton with his dad, step mum and little brother.  When they moved to Dunton he befriended his neighbour Jack Hall and they decided to form a band together.
Occupation: Makes tea for his dad's company Cobley Transport

Interests: Loves a limited variety of music including 'Mod' and 'Northern Soul' he only wants to listen to the same 4 bands on his ipod, these bands are Arctic Monkeys, Oasis, The Beatles, and Miles Kane.  Also he only likes to talk about his band, how they could improve and whether they will practice this week or not.  His favorite brand of clothing is Pretty Green mainly because it is Liam Gallagher's clothing line and he is Tommy's iconic figure.
Dislikes: Cobley hates music genre's such a punk, heavy metal and rap, if you like any of these he will have no interest in being your friend.

Ambitions: Tommy would love to be a football hooligan when he has finished his carpentry course at Leicester College, however he has a plan B.  If his football hooligan dreams don't come true he will just settle for being in a band.





Iconic Photographers - Jim Marshall

Regarded by many as "THE rock and roll photographer," Jim Marshall's career has always been focused on the documentation of people. A son of San Francisco, Marshall's favorite subjects were musicians, and his 40-years of extraordinary photography include very special shots of Johnny Cash, Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles Janis Joplin and other stars in the rock music hegemony. Unlimited access to the musicians coupled with an inviolate sense of trust between subject and photographer allowed Marshall special opportunities: he was chief photographer at Woodstock and was the only photographer allowed backstage at the Beatles final concert. Since he demanded total access, Marshall lived 24-7 with his subjects, and his pictures reflect affection for the artists as they describe the musicians' character. Marshall has said that it's no accident if his pictures seem musical because, "I see the music."
                                             The Beatles coming off the plane                                                               
                                             for their last ever show in San      
                                             Franciso






Woodstock 1969












                                                                                                                         Jim Morrison


                                                                                         


                                                                                                                                                 



From his unique style of photography I have learnt about how to capture the music in a picture for example in the Woodstock picture he has captured the whole stage including instruments, speakers and lights in the foreground and then the whole crowd in the background.  The colour of the sky in the picture is yellow which has connotations of mellow and happy moods, this suits Woodstock because it was a festival of peace and love.  When Marshall took pictures of musicians he made it clear to the viewer that they were in bands whether it was because of what they were holding/doing or whether it was what they were wearing e.g. in the Jim Morrison picture he is smoking a cigarette which have connotations of being 'cool' and most band members do smoke.  

Language Register

The language that I will use in my magazine will be semi formal, the articles won't be all slang, they will be rather formal however still use some colloquialisms used regularly by the modern generation today.  This is because my magazine is aimed mainly at teenagers and young adults and by speaking in the same way that they do it could create more of a bond between the text and the reader.  I will make sure that explicit language will be starred out except for the first letter to make sure I do not offend any of my readers as even though it is aimed at a certain generation there's still a chance that younger people or older people may read it, however keeping the first letter still helps them to understand what word is being said.  

SoundCloud Playlist

Target Audience Research

Thursday 16 January 2014

Colour Palettes


Black, yellow, white - I think these colours would go well together because of the contrast of dark and light colours

Yellow, black, blue - This mixture of colours might not work as well because there are 2 dark colours with only one light colour therefore the page could look quite dark.  It may look good on a heavy rock magazine cover

Green, white, blue - I think this combination of colours wouldn't suit the genre of magazine that I am using, it would look best for a kids magazine as thee colours are bright and fun. 

Red, white, yellow - I don't think these colours would work well together because they are all very bright and the page would look like there is too much going on, on the page

Black, white, green - The black works well on the white and visa versa and then the green adds variety to the page which prevents the page from looking dull

White, blue, black - I don't think this combination of colours would work well for many genres of magazines due to the colours being quite dull 

Blue, yellow, red - These colours are all quite bright and even though they wouldn't work well with the genre of magazine i'm creating, I believe they would work best for a children's comic or kids magazine

Blue, white, yellow - The blue would stand out well on top of the white because of the dark on light contrast however i think that the yellow wouldn't suit these other two colours and would look out of place

White, black, red - I think that these colours would work well if the creators of the magazine are trying to set a mysterious atmosphere, this is due to black having connotations of darkness, and red having connotations of caution

Green, yellow, red - All 3 of these colours are very bright therefore I don't think they would look very well together as the page would have too much going on it would distract the reader from the main purpose of the page

Tuesday 14 January 2014

Double Page Spread Analysis

Mast Head:
The mast head for this double page spread is a unique style, we first see the words 'book'  and 'blur' which after seeing the picture of Blurs guitarist we instantly know it's him who's saying these words.  This could make the reader assume he's talking about writing a book on Blur or something which would appeal to the reader and grab their attention.  

Main Image:
The first thing we see on this double page spread is a large image of the Blur guitarist placed on the left side, the writer must have wanted this to be the first thing the reader see's as the left is the first place we look when looking at a magazine/book/newspaper etc.  His eyes are level with the start of the top section of the page, this is just right because there isn't a large empty space above or below his face (which is the main feature). 

Lead:
The lead is the gap which seperates each paragraph, it must be right otherwise the reader could easily get confused, on this page we can easily tell when each line finishes and when each line starts.

Colours:
The colours used in this article are not very bright or eye catching, they consist of white/grey, black and a small amount of red and green.  They could have done this to show his personality to the reader or to reflect the mast head which is him saying his book would be about vomiting and vicodin pills which aren't very pleasant.  It could get the reader to start asking questions about his life and could feel if they read on they may find out.

Magazine article analysis

Mast Head:
The mast head stands out as it's a black font on a lighter coloured background, also the title itself shocks the reader as it's not something you'd expect someone to say about Alex Turner (frontman of Arctic Monkeys) due to his confidence on stage and being good at what he does you would assume he's no where near 'the dullest man in the world' but thats what grabs the readers attention and makes them want to read on.  It is placed in the top section of the article because in this culture it is where we look at first on an article, the writer wants us to see this first so that the reader knows what the article is about and makes it appeal to them.

Lead:
This is the gap between the two sections of writing on the page, it is an important feature because without it the reader could easily get confused with what they are reading.  In this article the two sections have been seperated with a picture of Tom Clarke from The Enemy the fact he is placed inbetween the writing tells us instantly that he is the one accusing Alex Turner of being boring.

Colours: 
The colours used in this article are white, red and black.  These 3 colours work well together and stand out well against eachother.  White works well on red and visa versa, black works well on white and visa versa and finally red works well on black and visa versa.  The makers of the magazine would have only chosen 3 colours to keep it simple and not have too much going on, on one page since there is already lots of writing, any more colours could make it confusing and distracting for the reader.

Main Image:
The main image is of Tom Clarke from The Enemy, he is in the centre of the page standing directly underneath the quote at the top of the page, this makes it very clear to the reader that it is him who is saying this quote. It shows his full body and as this is a Q and A article it's almost as if he's allowing the reader into his life.

Magazine Cover Analysis

Mast Head:
The mast head on this magazine cover doesn't stand out very much (the letters NME in white) this is because it is a very well known magazine and means it can concentrate on the picture and main cover line.  The mast head is in a sans serif font which again doesn't draw too much attention to itself and allows more focus on its surroundings.  It has been placed in the top left of the page because it is aimed at a British audience and in our culture we naturally look at the top left of a page first and finish in the bottom right due to the way we were taught to read.  NME have done this so that the name of their magazine is the first thing we see so even though it doesn't stand out, we still know what genre of music the magazine is about due to NME being a famous company which most people know. 

Main Cover Line:
The main cover line stands out very well with the use of yellow font on a dark background.  They have done this so when the person see's it they know that it's big news, since Blur had split for so long and had hardly been mentioned in a magazine yet alone the front cover, it grabs the readers attention.  It is placed in the bottom section of the page just below the main picture, this is the usual spot for the main cover line to go.

Cover line:
The other cover lines are place don the right hand side of the page which is the last place that the eye is drawn to when reading a magazine, they did this to emphasise how big the news of Blur's return was, the bigger the news, the more people are going to buy it.  Also they are yellow and white to keep with the theme of 'Blur' as these colours are the same as the main cover line.

Main Image:
The main image is a picture of the members of Blur with the frontman Damon Albarn standing out the most as he is the most famous, if Blur fans see his face first when they look at the magazine then they know instantly what the articles about.  The band members eyes are level with the start of the top section of the page, this is the perfect height because it's not so low that there's lots of empty space above it and it's not too high that it makes the people look ridiculously tall.  

Barcode:
The barcode is seen as the least important feature of a magazine and is therefore placed in the bottom right of the page which is the very last place people in our culture would look

Colours:
The colours used on this magazine cover include; yellow, black, blue, white and red, these colours have been chosen because they stand out well on eachother, yellow, white and red all stand out best against dark colours such as black and 
blue.  

Skills I have Learned So far

So far in this course I have mostly learned about the different layouts of magazine covers, there are 3 main styles, the Z plan, F plan and the E plan.  There are 3 sections on every magazine cover, the massed head is the title of the magazine and it should be placed in the top section of the page, it should only be slightly covered if it is a well known magazine such as NME.   The persons eyes should be level with the start of the top section, the body should be in the second section and the main cover line should be in the bottom section or in the start of the second section however this varies depending on what type of layout is being used.

I also learned about three point lighting and the effects it has on the picture. The three main lights are called the 'Key light' 'hair light' and the 'fill light' I found out you can turn one or two of each to make different effects and set different moods.  The key light is the strongest light, the fill light is the furthest away, this makes the light weaker and finally the hair light is what makes the picture/film 'pop' out.

Magazine Examples

Targets




- My main target for the next week is to conduct further research into the style of magazine which I want to use in my style of design.
- By the end of the week I should know what genre my magazine will be E.g. Music, fashion, education.
    - Analysed at least one magazine cover and its contents, one double page spread. Analyse a minimum of three using at least 10 technical terms from the list provided.  The magazine must come from the genre you are making
    - I should have by the end of the week completed my schedule of coursework and post it on my blog
    - Examples of other texts
    - 3x analysis of Magazine covers, contents and a double page spread
    - Analysis of colour palettes fonts 10 examples of each
    - Language register
    - Decide on style of magazine
    - Analysis of existing magazine titles
    - Decide on title of Mag
    - Research relevant fashion/styling associated with genre
    - Mood boards
    - Audience research, from at least 10 people
    - Audience profile
    - Research relevant photographers, graphics designers, magazine creators
    - Analysis of institution that wold publish your mag
    - Preperation of a 25 word pitch
    - Compose a 20 song playlist of track which have inspired you

Friday 10 January 2014

Class Notes -

Planning a prototype magazine:

Over the last few lessons I have learnt about the different layouts that could be used in magazine covers these include 'Z' plan, 'E' Plan and 'F' plan.  The style i chose for this is the E plan because I think it stands out more than the others.





















The basics of film making: