Magazine Titles and Logos

Magazine titles and Logos

View more presentations from KatieLF.

My First Photo-shoot

Photoshoot number one

View more presentations from KatieLF.

Plan for my Photoshoot

In order to proceed with making my magazine, I have to take some photographs. The photographs will help me to gain a proffesional looking cover and double page spread and contents.

First of all, I'd like to achieve something out of the ordinary and really push the boundaries of photography. As a keen music fan myself, I keep a range of mazgines at home and something that I've found that all of them have in common is the fact that they feature lists of artists names running down the side of the page. This would be one convention of the magazine.

My photoshoot will consist of a number of different things.

1. My plan is to aim for a 1950's pin up style image so the points that I have picked up from analysing previous images will help.

2. The images will use different types of lighting to help me achieve something that looks decent.

3. The model will change. I will use different people as music magazines tend to have more than one cover star. My first shoot will be 1950's pin up style.

4. I will use different settings to help me achieve the look that the shoot happened "on location". For the 1950's pin up, I chose to use a studio but my other shoots will consist of outside shoots.

Magazine I want to Emulate (IMAGE ONLY)

I chose to emulate this cover for a number of reasons.

• I like the fact that the star is looking straight in to the camera. This allows the audience to have a personal feel with the star. Also, the camera is tilted ever so slightly to give the feel that the person has a higher status. This makes them relatable but untouchable.
• The use of golds and blacks suggests a classy theme to the magazine. This is a high fashion magazine for high class women. My target audience is teenagers so the colour scheme would be different.
• The colours of the outfit also show that she is American. I have used the same colours for my photographs but my target audience is British Teens.
• The white background is a convention of any magazine so I will be using this.
• Her pose is slightly awkward but her elbow is sticking out and I chose to make this a key feature of the magazine.



Analysis of Music Magazines

In the lesson this week, we were set the task of analysing magazines. Below are some examples of three magazines I like.

First is "Q", I like this magazine as it is fresh and always presents a high quality magazine. If I were to buy a magazine, it would be this one as it always has new stars on the front. It also offers new artists so I am always up to date.

 

Sci-Fi Research

I order to produce a successful magazine, I need to do some research in to cover ideas. I have a few ideas and here is one of them. My other idea was to make a Sci-Fi style cover and then address men as my target audience. Here are some movie posters, graphics and photographs that remind me of Sci Fi.







Here is a movie poster from the movie "3D Robot Monster".
One feature of this poster is the bright colours. The layout of the page suggests it could be used a double page spread.



                                            



Here is another poster image from "The Lost Kingdom of Athala" This shows the female "star" to have power. I like this image as it doesn't have the central character in the middle of the image.



Here is an iconic image from the film "50 Ft Woman". This is one of my starting points. I like this image as it ties in well with the theme of a fifties pin up star. The fact that there is chaos all around her makes me  feel that the magazine should be chaotic but conto

This images uses lots of different typography to make the image come to life. The fact that the lady is in red suggests sexual images. I wouldn't emulate this as I feel it is too sexual and my target audience is women.

Here is another example of the "50 Ft Woman" idea. I like this image as its set in New York and is classy not crude. Hopefully, my image will look like this or similiar to it.

I hope to emulate something smiliar to this but with a music magazine feel to it. Here, the image suggests sex once again but I don't want it to have this feel. I want it to be authentic but not sexual.  The fact she is stood over a road doesn't have connotations of music which is why for my cover, I will present my model with an instrument of some description. Her expression is crude as well , overall, I do not like this image but it is similiar to something I want to include in it.

Music Magazine- 50's Pin Up Girl Research

On further thought, I have decided that one of my potential ideas is to use a 50's style format. I feel this relates to music as its nostalgic and classic. It also shows sex appeal and has a wide audience range.

"A pin-up girl, also known as a pin-up model, is a model whose mass-produced pictures see wide appeal as popular culture. Pin-ups are intended for informal display, e.g. meant to be "pinned-up" on a wall. Pin-up girls may be glamour models, fashion models, or actresses.

The term pin-up may also refer to drawings, paintings, and other illustrations done in emulation of these photos. The term was first attested to in English in 1941 however, the practice is documented back at least to the 1890s.The pin-up images could be cut out of magazines or newspapers, or be from postcard or chromo-lithographs, and so on. Such photos often appear on calendars, which are meant to be pinned up anyway. Later, posters of pin-up girls were mass-produced and became an instant hit." This is the description from Wikipedia. 

I found that Pin Up girls can either be in cartoon form or in photographic form. I like the way in which models can have sex appeal and still be classy. The older images are in black and white and this is because colour photography had not been developed.  Most of the poses pulled in the images are either very classy or have connotations of sex. The images here have shadows in the backgrounds and therefore must be a convention. A code of the picture on the left is that it is signed. A code of an image on the right is that it is in colour and uses a signature pose.

Features

• All the models have their legs on show which has connotations of sex. The denotations of this are that they have nice bodies.
• The fact that they are wearing skimpy clothing shows a level of fashion interest. Music and fashion link in with each other well.
• The Woman are all posing in a sexual manner but it comes across as classy and not as crude.
• The images can either be in colour or black and white. Black and white would come across as cheap and that is why I am going to use colour.

Music Magazine- Photographer Research

Whilst researching art work and graphics, I came across a photographer called Rankin. He is a very popular photographer and some of his work is controversial. He has shot front covers, fashion images and a lot of different types of photography. Below are some examples of photos I like and why.

I like this image as it uses make up to make a point. Its very eye catching and therefore it would look good on a cover. The use of bright lighting also catches the audiences eye. The use of red had connotations of sex and danger.













The image pictured here is of Lily Cole, the famous superstar. I like this image as she isn't looking at the camera and this isn't traditional of magazines. Although you are more likely to see this on a fashion magazine, it is still helpful to see different types of photographs. The fact that her head is tilted upwards suggests that she has power. I like the way that Rankin pushes the bounds in these photographs.

This image is very natural and simple. It looks like it has been set in a living room on a sofa which suggests a level of intimacy. She is looking at the camera and the simple dress makes her seem innocent. I can see this as a double page spread for an artist.

Although this image is off a naked lady, it is tasteful. In the photograph, the model is posed in a way which only slightly exposes her which means she is comfortable. I can see this as a cover as it is eye catching and not what you might find on a traditional cover. It could also be a double page spread. The rich colour scheme also shows a classy photo which can be interpreted in many ways. One way is that she is dangerous as red has connotations of danger. The other the other connotation it has is of sex. Sex appeal sells magazines.

This is an image of Adele. As I am making a music magazine I thought it would be useful to include an image of an artist. Adele is shot in black and white, which is classy, she is looking directly in to the camera so she is connecting with the audience. She has been photoshopped so that she has perfect skin. This is a convention of music magazines. If it were my front cover image, I would place her head over the mast head, there is lots of space for puffs and then I would use a bright colour scheme with colours like yellow and green. This would make the magazine more classy as some times all black and white images can seem cheap. I like how rankin pushes the boundaries with all his photos. Even though all the images are similiar, the way that Rankin creates a connection with the camera and the model is unique. His use of imagery and lighting creates a personal feel with the audience.

http://rankin.co.uk/home/   This is the link to his website.

Music Magazine- Art work and graphics I like

I did some research in to graphics and art work in order to get an idea of how to create a proffesional looking magazine. Below are some images and photos that I looked at and liked.

I have always been a fan of old fashioned art and I found this image of a 50's pin up girl. I like it as its simple and would be easy to emulate. The outfit is a sailor and in the music business individuality gets you noticed. The outfit would give sex appeal but not in a crude way. The pose is striking as well and would stand out on a magazine cover. Also, the outfit and pose are easy to identify as pin up girl style. The colour scheme is a little dull but I would brighten it up by using a colour such as yellow as yellow has connotations of happiness. For a front cover, I would put the legs of the model in front of the mast head as this is a common feature of magazines. (A Convention) The facial expressions she is pulling is quirky and this would help to create the cover of a magazine and to essentially create a character. The shadowing on the ground doesn't look good in my eyes but if I experimented with the lighting, I'm sure I could find another way to create a realistic looking photo or I could use one of the filters on photoshop. The audience for this would be those who admire the cover star or those who are nostalgic.

This art work caught my eye as it uses two colour schemes. The first bit is in black and white and the other is in colour. The actual black and white image shows hands over the person eyes and it looks like a knife is being held over the throat. The graphic nature of this picture would cause people to look at it! This would catch peoples eyes and could end up being quite controversial. It would be a challenge to create an image using a model but it seems like a good cover idea. The audience for this image would be people who like visual imagery and mainly mature adults.

The innocence in this image appeals to a mature audience as they feel a need to protect her. I could use this magazine and use emotive language in order to attract the readers attention. The fact that this is a close up suggests that the article and photo makes things feel really personal. The colours don't stand out that well apart from in her eyes. Her eyes are connecting with the camera and therefore connecting with the audience. The use of the colour blue shows sadness. Her make up is minimalistic and her clothing is as well. This image would be used on my double page spread as it seems a lot more innocent and personal.








This image looks very natural and therefore would make a good cover. The space around the model would be good for adding in puffs and a mast head at the top. The clothes look very individual as well which adds to the appeal of the model. The hair in a swishing movement makes it look as if it were an action shot. The choice of background creates realism as it looks as if it were shot outside in a natural setting which shows that the model is just like the audience. The audience would be older teenagers as the image requires a level of appreciation.

I could see this image in a double page spread for a magazine where the target audience is female mature teenagers. The innocence in her eyes make the audience feel as if they are being connected with. Photography wise, the image is easy to take and therefore would be easy to emulate. The pose is quite open yet it still has connotations of putting up a front which could be played on with the character of the model/star. The fact that this is a close up could show a level of intimacy and that is what readers want from a magazine interview.

This photograph is one of my favourites as it looks aged. The aged effect would add the maturity of the image. The model looks young so the audience would be young. The white clothes have connotations of innocence and the way she is dressed also boast innocence. Yet again, she is looking in to the camera connects her with the audience. The space around the image would make it easier to add puffs and a mast head. The colour scheme is dull but if I used photoshop it could help to increase the brightness or change the colours within the image. A female cover star appeals to both genders as girls want to be her and boys want her. The pose is simplistic and would be easy to emulate.

Music Magazine- First Research

In Media, we have now started work on our Music Magazine task. In the lesson we disussed different things about the Music industry.

First, we made a mind map around different questions. I wrote down all the things I associated with the question.

What do we know about the Music Business?

Downloads (Illegal and Legal)

Record Labels- An institution that pays for an artist to make music so that the company can sell and make money from the record.

Promotion- The way in which an album, artist or song is presented to the public.

Streaming- Having access to music which you have not paid for but do not own.

Touring- When an artist goes on a tour to promote and entertain.

Commercial Sponsership- When an artist or band is sponsered by a different company. Eg. Ellie Goulding is sponsered by Nike.

What is the purpose of a Music Magazine?

Keep up to date with bands. ( Fanbase stays informed if there is any News)

Advertising (The Magazine makes money and products get promoted)

Introduce new bands (Bands that haven't been heard of before get new publicity)

Interviews (Allows the audience to feel closer to the star)

Note: Magazines are not owned by record companies. This entitles them to a free opinion of bands and artists and means that they can review or judge an artist however they want to. The audience of a magazine will listen to the review and that is why the Magazines have a lot of power.

Titles that we have heard of

Q
NME
Kerrang
Mojo
Metal Hammer
The Wire
Mixmag
Clash
Echoes
Jazzwise
Songlines
Gramophone



In order to identify the kind of magazine I want to produce, I was set the task of researching genres and different types of magazines. Below is an example.

NME
Genre: Indie Rock
Gender: Mainly male bands on the cover however there is the occasional band with girls.
Dress: The stars tend to dress in skinny jeans and jackets which is considered "Cool" The stars on the cover also suggest individuality.
Attitude: They have the attitude of a teenager whose grown up.
Age: Between 16-24
Ethnicity: Mainly White

The style of music is mainly guitar bands with a hint of girl rock. The target audience would be music fans. Here is the passage from NME's website.

"You know us. We're the NME. We're a weekly magazine that's a must for right–thinking music fans. And very wrong–thinking music fans. We have the best access to your favourite bands. We have the greatest music writing and photography. We're the ultimate source for discovering the best new music first. We also give to charity."







Songlines

Genre:World Music
Gender:Aimed at all genders but its main focus is the world music.
Dress: As it shows all the types of music over the world, the dress depends on the music it is reviewing.

Attitude:Sophisticated.
Age: Older people or people who appreciate music from other cultures. 
Ethnicity: All types. 

 

 

 

 

MOJO


Genre:Aimed at punk rockers.
Gender:Aimed at males primarily. 
Dress: Mainly posed with guitars and casual clothes.

Attitude:Rebellious
Age: Teenagers with an edge. 
Ethnicity: White mainly.








Here are just a few examples of the type of genre that is out there. This has given me inspiration for magazines I may choose to create.

Photographs

In order to achieve a good looking magazine, I chose to take some shots in a studio. I chose to do this as most of the magazines I looked at had models on the front that had been shot in a studio.

I cannot use this image as it is blurred. If I used this image, it would look cheap and tacky and rushed. I obviously need to practice my camera skills and if I were to do it again, I would use a tripod to help steady my hands.

Although this image is in focus, the model is looking away from the camera. This would not appear on a normal magazine therefore I cannot use this image. If I were to do it again, I would make sure the model is looking at the camera and then that would give the audience the feeling that the model is looking at them.



I was going to use this image until I realised that there would not be enough room to place a masthead above her head. Also, there would not be enough room for Puffs to placed around her. If I were to do it again, I would make sure that there was a lot of space around the model so I could add in Puffs.




In this image, the model is blurred and looks as if she is pulling a funny face, this isn't the case but if I were to put it on a front cover, it would look unproffesional.



The lighting in this image isn't very good as there is a big shadow behing the model. Also, a friend took this image for me and it would not be my own work. My magazine has to feature all aspects of Media including photgraphy.



In the end, I chose this image for my front cover. I chose it because there is enough room for a masthead and for some Puffs around the model. In photoshop, I had to cut out the shadow, I did this by increasing the brightness. I like this image as it looks natural however it was posed. It also fits in with my theme of bullying. The light cast upon the model shows that I have used lighting as it brightens up her skin.



Taking these Images really enlightened me in to the world of production of magazines. Lots of aspects of Media are used in the production of a magazine and this was one of the harder aspects in my opinion. The aspects I found hardest included lighting and positioning the model. I can change the lighting so that shadows are cast behind the model or to just brighten up her face. If I were to do it again, I would avoid using a shadow effect as it is makes the model look cheap. As for positioning the model, I would draw up plans of how I would want the magazine to look so that there wouldn't be any confusion as to how she should sit or behave. Now that I have got to grip with the way in which photography works, I can now use it with confidence.

Final Contents Page- School Magazine

 Here is my final evaluation for my contents page. I have used many different skills and techniques to produce a proffesional looking contents page.

 

   In photography, I used lots of different techniques. I used long shots, mid shots, close ups and extreme close ups to achieve a proffesional looking magazine. (Examples of these shots are in my "Photos" Blog. I also expreimented with colour and lighting. Here is an example of a photo I took.

 In photoshop, I used lots of different tools. First, I used the magic lasoo tool to make a cut out of the figure in my photo. (NOTE: This is not my final image on my magazine cover, see my "Attempt at a cover" post to see how I would have used this.) This was useful as I could then post the image on to a background of my choice. I learnt how to use the lasoo tool in lessons and with some private work at home.

  Another tool I learnt how to use was the clone tool. In magazines, They use the clone tool to make the skin of a model look perfect. This tool gave the impression that it was airbrushed proffesionally. I found this tool hard to use as it took a lot of time but it was useful.

Another thing I used photoshop for was to use a filter on the image I chose. The filter I used was on the filter galley and I chose it because it looked grainy and therefore evoked emotions of sadness.

 

A typical magazine contents page

In the contents page, I have noted that the image is usually to the left of the page and there is a long list of features. The features list often shows a page number, a title then the main outline of the feature. An example of this is here. This is a convention. A code within my magazine is the fact that I have used the colour scheme of black and blue through-out it. I chose blue as once again, it shows sadness. If I had done it in all black and white it would have either looked cheap and tacky or classy, I decided by adding colour, it would add a slightly more editorial look to it.

In my magazine, I tried to aim it aim students. I did this by using a young girl at the top of the page. She looks like a typical student. The layout is quite simplistic and I chose to do it this way as Students are often too busy to read things in detail as they have to study. The use of colours was key as the blue I chose was similiar to that of Facebook and students these days are media relevant. The style of my magazine was supposed to mirror when established magazines release special editions of magazines, I chose bullying as it is an issue amongst teens these days.

The Strengths-

• My photography is good but not great, in the future, I will make a blueprint of how I want the magazine contents to look and not just take photos and make plans from then.
• My typography fits in well with the style as it is aimed at students.
• The "Articles and Interviews" follow a similiar style to other magazines.
• I have used the heading on the contents and on the front cover (See "Final Front Cover-School Magazine)

The Weaknesses

• The background is white and not very many magazines use an all white background however I found it was plain and simple and this is the style I was aiming for. In the future, I would make less white space by using more pictures and photos.
• The two images overlap each other and in many magazines, this is a key practice but down to the style of my magazine, its not appropriate.
• Both images seem to convey a feeling of happiness. In the future, I will ask the "model" to pose sadly as the image will make the magazine seem more realistic.

Here is my final contents page for the School Magazine.

 



Covers I like

Before making my own magazine cover , I researched some other magazines in the hope that I would find one that I liked. Below are some examples of magazines I liked.

I like this magazine and it uses a filter. The image is iconic and is easy to recognise. The bright colour scheme is simple but it catches the audiences eye. The mast head uses serif which suggestsa level of intelligence about the magazine.

I like this magazine as it is a traditional fashion magazine. It uses a beautiful model on the front and it boasts femininity as it uses pink. The way the model is posed catches the readers eye as she is quite open and relaxed. A key feature is the fact that the models head is in front of the title.



 

 

 





I like this cover as it shows the use of photoshop. Its cover is simple yet effective and uses an easy photoshop to show an idea. I like the fact that the model is facing the camera yet the body is tilted to the side. This gives it the feel of a robot and the eye helps with that.



 

 

 









I chose to emulate this magazine as it stands out to me. The fact that it is in black and white shows that its classy. The model on the front is posed simply and is facing the camera so it looks like she is making eye contact with the audience. This then catches the eye of the reader and then gets their attention. It is in black and white and therefore will stand out on a shelf amongst coloured ones. The photographs I took mirrored this cover well. The feelings it evokes are of sadness and that ties in well with my theme of bullying.

Step by Step- Final Cover for School Magazine

First of all, I decided to look at magazine covers that I liked. (See Magazine Covers I like Post)

I found this image and decided to emulate it.

First I took a photograph using a camera and a model. I found photographing quite hard as the lighting was hard to use.If I were to do this again, I would use a more proffesional looking light rig.
Next I cropped the image and used the magic lasoo tool to make a cut out of the figure. I then pasted the image on to a blue background. I chose the colour blue because it suggests sadness and the image above suggests sadness too. Although the image above is mainly black and white, I found it looking slightly cheap therefore I used colours to brighten up the cheap looking magazine.I then placed a filter on the image to make it seem more proffesional looking. Using filters was good because it shows diveristy within my work. I chose a filter which slightly blurred the face. If I hadn't of blurred the face, I would have used the clone tool to make the skin look airbrushed.


Proffesional magazines have clear mastheads which tell you the name of the magazine. In my case, I chose the word STUDENT in order to show it was aimed at Students. I used a font from Dafont.com to create a title. I chose this font in paticular because it is very school like in my opinion and would therefore have connotations of school and studying which would suggest my  target audience is students.I noticed however I noticed that some magazines release special issues and as this was a school magazine I chose to do an issue on bullying.  I used another font from Dafont.com to create the banner running along the bottom of the page.


I used another way of putting in text by just adding it on photoshop. I chose white as the colour and it stands out. I used Dafont.com again to get the logo of a social networking site for my cover. I am not sure if there are copyright laws against using a logo or not.


I then added in a barcode as all magazines have barcodes and it is a convention. All magazines have a date, which is another convention, which I used the text option on photoshop to insert.

Here is my final cover!

 

Target Audiences of Certain Texts

The purpose of this advert is to sell the product- in this case, a shaver.

The target audience is clearly men as shown by the three celebrities in the image.

The encoded meaning is to emit power. It does this by using three powerful men who all take part in sports. The executives at Gillette used these three men as they are idols to men.

The decoded meaning is that if these three men use the product than it must be good enough for any man. It also shows that the product can essentially make you as good Tiger woods. 

An aberrant decoding of this is that the advert uses men with dark skin so it may suggest that it is only for dark skinned men but it isn’t.

 One of the technical aspects is that the men are all pointing their heads downwards; this suggests power. The orange background is quite neutral and the men dresses in black shows casual smartness. Men inspire to be like these tree idols so by dressing them quite plainly, it could suggest that the shaver is simple but can make you in to a star.

Examples of Using Photoshop

This is an image of a man. First I cropped it so that it was smaller. I then outlined (using the quick selection tool) the easter eggs and made them brighter. I then used the Magic Lasoo tool and made his head black and white.

I took this photo myself and used the brightness tool to make is "Pop" off the page. I may use this as my front cover as it is natural looking and similiar to magazines I want to emulate.