Music Magazine Research

   

In class we conducted research into music magazines. The magazines I looked at were: NME, Kerrang, Q and Record Collector.

Front cover conventions:
Large title, usually behind main image of artist. Name of artist in large writing. Quotes.  Features/ articles are mentioned. Caption under title. Bar code. Price. Issue date and number. 'Plus', other contents listen at bottom or top of page.

Contents page conventions:
Images from inside magazine, mostly of artists. Quotes. Large page numbers. Subscription memo (bottom right of NME). 'Plus': usual features (NME). I feel that the style of the NME contents page is the most interesting as it strays furthest from the standard layout of a contents page. The page features a large image or message in the middle, with smaller images around it accompanied by quotes and large page numbers. As NME is a weekly magazine they also have a small section which lists the usual features and a subscription memo in the bottom right corner. However, it is interesting to note that this is a relatively new choice of layout as contents used to be listed in order of artist, with a random arrangement of photographs.

Double page spread possibilities:
Concert reviews. Segmented snippets of text. Lots of small images. One large image (occupying half/ two thirds of the double page. Interview. Music chart. Introducing new artists (NME radar). Advertisements. Album reviews. Countdowns.

Preliminary Task

 Front cover


I took a variety of photographs for the front cover of my magazine. I choose the three most suitable which were a close up, high-angle shot and long shot of the same pupil. In each photograph the tie's colour is altered and the defining features of 'identity' remain their natural colour. The rest of the photographs remain black and white.
The theme 'identity' in different colours corresponds to the varying colours in the images.








Contents page                                                  
 In the background of the contents page I used an extreme-close up of stationary. The titles of the articles and other contents are similar to those in our school magazine.

Demonstration of Camera Angles

 These are the photographs that I took to use in my preliminary task.

1. Extreme close-up of various items of stationary. This image can be associated with a school environment so I chose to use it as the background to my contents page.





2. This is also an extreme close-up of the same composition of objects but from a different angle. I preferred the angle in the previous photograph as the contents of the photograph were more obvious.

3. This photograph is very similar to number 1, however I prefer the lighting in the first photograph.

4. This is a low-angle mid-shot shot. I felt that the expression a framing did not fit want I wanted for the first shot, which is supposed to be a close-up.

5. This is a close-up high-angle shot. I did not use this shot either as I wanted more of a neutral facial expression, I also did not like the connotations of a high-angle shot.

 6. This is the close-up face-on shot that I used for the front cover as I was satisfied with the students facial expression and the framing of the image.

 7. High angle long shot. I liked this idea but half of  her head is out of the frame, it was too difficult to get a good quality high-angle long shot so I did not continue to attempt this photograph. The lack of props also made the 'character' seem too similar to the one in the close-up shot.

 8. I liked this high-angle photograph a lot, I am especially happy with the use of props to establish an 'identity'. However, like before the top of her head was out of frame so I couldn't use it.

 9. This is the photograph I used as my high angle shot as I felt that it created a distinct identity and is an effective photograph.

 10. This is a long-shot that strongly establishes an 'identity' stereotype. However due to a potential opposed reading I decided not to use this photograph as I took the target audience of the student magazine into consideration.

 11. I preferred the pose of the long-shot as it would be easier to work with. The angle of this photograph is slightly lower than the previous one, this required me to kneel whilst taking the photograph in order to get an angle the mimicked eye level.

12. A homage to the iconic apple iPod advertisement, this mid-shot portrays a music added. Allow I initially planned to use this photograph, limitations of space when I compiled the front cover meant that I could not. 

13. I decided that an extra property was necessary to make this character slightly more 'chic'. I added a red scarf and then took the photograph again, keeping it as  similar to number 11 as possible.

Further Photoshop Expermentation

Photographs: Camera Angles

Part of our preliminary task is to take at least four photographs, each with different camera shots, to use on these two page. First I thought about which photographs would be appropriate after I had analysed the type used in past school magazines. These are;

High-angle shot- A shot taken above the subject, can give the impression of vulnerability or inferiority
Low-angle shot- A shot taken from beneath the subject, it can give the impression of superiority or power
Long shot- A shot where the whole length of the subject is in the frame
Wide shot- A shot the shows the full length of the subject and area either side of it, it displays the area in landscape so can be used to establish a setting
Mid-shot (medium)- A shot of the head and torso of the subject
Two-shot- A mid shot containing two subjects
Close-up shot- A shot taken close to an area of the subject; often used to show facial expression or close details
Extreme close-up shot- A shot that is extremely close to the subject, often requires the use of a zoom

Next I made a plan of which photographs I intended take, these included; mid-shot, close-up, long shot and wide shot. This was so that I could capture a variety of 'identities' in different ways so that they each seemed distinguished.

Student Magazine Research: Kestrel 2009

As well as analyse the conventions of a school magazine I also wanted to learn how to use Prezi to create presentations

Chosen Theme Concept Map

http://www.spicynodes.org/a/bf3db21bb06b990c1798e5249d38086f

School Magazine Concept Map

Initial mind map to generate ideas for preliminary task

Preliminary Task Research

Our preliminary task is to create the front cover and contents page of a school magazine. To prepare ourselves for this task we studied the conventions of past issues of our own school magazine: The Kestrel.
                                                                                                                 

Understanding Media Concepts

In lesson we looked at key media concepts that we should consider and, if possible, refer to when researching, producing and evaluating  our work.

Semiology (Semiotics)
Semiology is the study of signs and symbols. Roland Barthes, a pioneering philosopher in the study of semiotics recognised that the study of signs is both culture, and context sensitive.
I semiology an image is a sign, the physical form is the signifier (what we see or hear) and the meaning is what is signified.

Connotation and Denotation

Denotation refers to the literal meaning of a wordConnotation  refers to the associations that are connected to a certain word or the emotional suggestions related to that word Example 
                                                           Denotation: red heart  Connotation: love, passion, romance


Codes
Codes are a system within which a meaning is understood.

Conventions
Conventions are the rules that must be followed, or the common feature of a media text belonging to a particular genre. For example a convention of a magazine is that it must have an eye catching title displayed on the front cover, another convention is that it must have a bar code.

Readings
A reading is a person's interpretation of a text, their reading of the text will depend on their own cultural and personal experiences. Their reading will either be preferred, negotiated or oppositional.

Preferred reading: This is where the audience recognises the view presented in the text through it's use of codes and agrees with what is being presented. 
Negotiated reading: This is where the audience recognises the view presented in the text through it's use of codes and agrees with what is being presented to a certain extend but also has views that are different from what is presented in the text. Or, the audience recognises the view presented but are not the target audience so do not engage with the content.
Oppositional reading: This is where the audience recognises the view presented in the text through it's use of codes and disagrees with what is being presented. Or, this is where the audience does not recognise what is being presented.

First Lesson: Adobe Photoshop Experimentation

Our first task was to become familiar with the software that we will be using to create our coursework. This consisted of finding some images through an image search on Google and quite literally playing with different options. Alongside this I read some online tutorials on how to use the basic features of photoshop.

Through this experiment I learnt how to use layers as well as make image adjustments, for example; hue and saturation, contrast and transforming an image. I used the image of the suited men to trial an idea of a black and white image with different coloured ties for my preliminary task; a student magazine. As I am happy with the result I will now develop this idea further. The image of the left allowed me to experiment with layers, this has given me inspiration for possible front cover ideas for both of my tasks. All of the images used were sourced from Google images and therefore not my own.


A screen capture of my experimentation:

Coursework Brief

G321: Foundation Portfolio in Media

"This is a coursework unit where candidates produce a media artefact from a series of briefs. This 
process involves progression from a pre-production, preliminary exercise to a more fully realised 
piece. The briefs offered are: print, video, audio and website. Candidates present their research 
and planning in either paper-based or electronic format and do an evaluation in electronic format, 
based on a series of prompt questions. This unit is internally assessed and externally moderated"

Brief: Print
Presentation of planning and research medium: Blog
Evaluation  format: Blog
Working individually

My brief:

Preliminary task: Produce the front page and contents page of a student magazine using a photographic manipulation programme. At least four photographs must be taken using a variety of different camera shots and edited appropriately.
Main task: Produce the front page, contents page and a double page spread of a music magazine

 All images and text used must be original, produced by the candidate(s), minimum of FOUR
images per candidate

Evaluation: Upon completion of the task, candidates will evaluate and reflect upon the creative process and their experience of it. Work must be evaluated electronically, this evaluation will be structured a set of questions.

Marks:
The unit is marked out of a total of 100 marks
Presentation of the planning and research: 20 marks 
Construction: 60 marks
Evaluation: 20 marks

Blog

This is the blog I will be keeping for my AS Media Studies Foundation portfolio coursework. Here I will update my progress, post all of my research done and my final project.