Blog 10- Mise-en-scene

Mis en scene
Mis en scene is an expression used to describe the design aspects of theatre and film producation. It refers to everything that appears before the camera and its arrangement such as: composition; sets; props; actors; costumes and lighting.

Location/Setting

We have planned to locate our music video production in a local Forest as it is similar to the type of environments used in other florence and the machine videos (like shown in the image below).

This setting makes the band look out of their time because they usually use a natural environment as their location which comes across more abstract, feminin and old fashioned rather than in built up everyday surroundings. However, they continue to maintain a modern look by adapting their old fashioned clothing into something that looks iconic to fans.

Costumes

We have planned to go to charity shops and buy some vintage clothing which we can alter ourselfs to make them also look modernised.
This original plan was changed when we realised it would be expensive to buy outfits for all the characters, therefore, we instead got the characters to all wear plain black clothing to symbolise darkness and death which relates to the lyrics of the song 'my boy builds coffins'.

Make up

At the begining of the video we decided to have the main character wearing very youthful and natural make up as well as the background dancers. Then nearer the end of the song when the day came to a close we used make up to make the main character look old and tired to symbolise her becoming older as the day went on and also again relating to the theme of death. This idea was to interpretate the girls life in one day. However, this scene was cut from the final video as it looked out of place in the video because we did not find a way to show her becoming older, she just suddenly became old which didnt make sense which is why this was cut.

Lighting
We want to make use of the daylight as much as possible in the scenes of the forest, so we could show the begining of the day, then have the day moving on, untill sunset. Doing this shows that the video begins at the begining of the day and ends at sunset. We thought this would be a good effect because the end of the day could symbolise death which relates to the song.
Our second location shown in the film will be done in a studio. This scene is of the boy building the coffin. We want to use a spotlight in a dark shed like room to create a shadow of the boy hammering the coffin. Therefore the room needs to be completely dark so the shadow on the wall is the main focus of attention. I also think this will be a good effect because the lighting we use can represent candle light which gives an old fashioned feel to the video.

Props

In the forest scenes we do not need a large amount of props because we wil mainly being using the natural environment such as logs and trees. Brining modern props into these scenes could make the forest scenes less believeable in an old fashioned sense. We want these scenes to be as natural as possible to create a dream like feel rather than living in reality.
In the studio scene, we need a hammer, nails, sawdust and a wooden work top to create the boy building a coffin.

Blog 9- The Pitch

Here is the link to our powerpoint presentation which we presented on film.

https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B0DnGj06WOfoY2Y2Nzc5NjItZTkzNi00NmExLWEyZWItZTc0OGFhNDQwNjA2&hl=en

It explains how our music video needs to link in with the target audience and also shows key ideas for the production of our music video.

The link below is the link for the presentation me and my group presented on film to explain the powerpoint in depth.

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B0DnGj06WOfoMjkxMzBjNDgtZjc2MS00ZTEzLWIxOWEtYzJhM2UwOTk1MTJi&hl=en

Blog 8- Initial Ideas

The link bellow shows a powerpoint poster of initial idea's for our music video.

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B20gzrmLsLdxNTM0MDU4MmYtMDE1My00NTcxLTgzNGUtM2RkZDRjZjMyNWZl&hl=en

Blog 7- Comparing an existing video

In term one, in groups, we have been working towards re-creating some of the teenage dirtbag video by wheatus. During this project i have gained some good experience with the production equipment which will prepare me for when my group and myself will produce our own music video. I have started to develop some good film techniques such as adjusting the lighting for the best quality picture at different times of the day and zooming in and out for smoother effects, which are useful skills for creating our video and I have become more confident with putting these techniques in to practice.
During the first week we analysed the first ten frames from the official 'Teenage Dirtbag' video outlining what was required for each shot.
Before taking on the production of filming we first had to follow a story board of the teenage dirtbag video shots which we would film and put together to eventually create the whole video. We had to refer to the lyrics of the song to match each shot. The shots consisted of different shot types such as close up, medium shot, long shot or extreme close up. This meant we were able to practice using a variety of shot types and learn how to track or zoom in or out to change from one shot type to another. Over the course of production of this music video we used both static and dynamic camera movements. Static use of the camera meant we had to fix the camera onto a tripod therefore the picture was more stable however, we could only zoom in and out rather than using different tracking methods. Dynamic movement allowed us to try other method such as tracking and taking shots from high angle or low angles.
When I had my turn at shooting a few clips I was initially unconfident because I was new to useing a film camera and how to use different techniques such as lighting, contrast and angling, however after a few un successful shots i began to get the hang of it and my shots became more successful. I am glad I had the oppertunity to practice filming before filming our final video because it would have taken more time to get used to and some of the shots may have been bad quality as I would have been less experienced.
As well as shooting we also had to practice all of the production aspects that went with it. We were shown how to use a shooting script which had an image of each shot and a description of how the image should be shot and what is going on in the specific scene. This allowed us to record each shot we took and note if it was successful or unsuccessful and why it was. It also records how many shots we took before taking a good shot. We also used a clapperboard to log each take on the film so we could match the analysis of each shot on the shooting script to the film shot and monitor which shots were suitable for use in editing and which wern't. The clapperboard would read 'shot 4 take 1' for example, then if the shot needed to be repeated the next clapperboard would read 'shot 4 take 2'.
In this exercise we were also shown how to direct a shot as it is important to have someone controlling the production so the filming runs smoothly and everyone is aware of what is happening in each shot. When i had my go at directing i was in charge of setting up the shot by picking the camera angle and positioning the actors in the scene. I found it takes time to set up the camera operator in conjunction with the positioning of the actors to set up each shot because the actors need to be able to be seen in the shot therefore the place of the camera may need to be moved back of forward or the actors may need to move to fit into the shot without blocking one another. Once the shot is set up it was my job to call the actors to the ready then instruct the camara operator to set the camera to record while I put the clapperboard infront of the camera to display the shot and then call action so the actors knew when to start the shot. When the scene is over I called cut and then decided whether the shot was successful or needed to be retaken.
I found that directing the shot was the easiest part in comparison to setting up the camera and making sure the white balance and exposure were correct to match the surroundings. The first process of setting up the camera is mounting the camera to the tripod which gives you stability when filming, particulary when zooming , panning and tilting the camera. The tripods we used at college have a spirit level on them which enables you to position the camera to an exact horizontal angle, where as, if you were using handhelp the angle would not be exact however handhelp ables you to move around more and experiment with different angle such as low angle which you would be able to do when using a tripod. When I had a go at filming i used handheld as we decided to use tracking to follow the path of one of the actors. It was difficult to move with the camera whilst trying to maintain stability where as the tripod would maintain stability but would not be able to move around and have to reply on zooming and panning.
Before filming, setting the white balance to suit the conditions you are in is essential otherwise the quality of filming would be poor. When filming outside the white balance needs to be set to 'Daytime Filming' otherwise the the footage might end up having a blue tinge to it. I had a go at playing with the white balance when we were filming outside to see what suited the lighting best and how it looked without 'Daytime Filming'. Then when filming inside the white balance should be set to artificial light.
Lastly the correct exposure needs to be set . When using the Canon XM2 cameras at college we have been practicing using the manual settings to adjust the exposure and not let the camera run on auto. This gives us the opportunity to practice manually using the camera rather than relying on auto. This is because manual gives you control over how light or dark the footage is to match the mood you want the shot to be set in. I was shown how to change the exposure using a combination of shutter speed, aperture and gain.
Camera techniques include composition and depth of field. Composition allows you to change the frame size to be like a widescreen film if you were to shoot a scene using a large amount of land such as a shot showing a horizon in the distance. We used a normal camera setting that is set to a standard frame size of a ratio of 4:3. We have been taught to use the rule of three to help compose the frame when using any ratio. This means that the most important aspects of the shot will be in the power points of the frame. Next, the depth of field refers to the focal range of the camera. We used depth of field to centre the audience attension on a particular part of the frameby having it in focus while the rest of the shot is blurred. This is called 'Shallow or Narrow Depth of field'. For example, The shot may show one person with a background behind them, where the person is in focus and the background is blurred. The depth of field may then be switched to focus in on the background and the person will become blurred. This is called 'Pull Focus'. This gives us the advantage to show an object, person or background in full detail so the quality of the image is at its best. If all the frame is in focus it is called 'wide depth of field'. The quality of each detail in the photo will not be as clear however the audiencde is able to see everything in the shot to create a full picture of what is happening in the shot.

Below is the Final edited video of Teenage dirthbag that myself and my class put together.



I shot one of the scenes where the main boy walks toward the camera and i had to track back with the camera trying to maintain stability while he walked towards me until he eventually goes out the shot right next to the camera and cuts into the next scene. The Video was very easy to put together but cutting between each shot at the right timing to make it flow and look professional took a lot of time. There is one scene where the singer mimes along to the music and we had to fit the music perfectly to look as though he was singing it. This took a long time because we had to keep adjusting the timing of the music and pulling back or bringing forward the shots until it matched perfectly! This took the most time out of all the editing. I found it difficult at first to become fimiliar with the software we used to edit the video but after watching the rest of my group and practicing myself i began to understand how to cut and edit each clip to flow into the next. I now feel more confident when it comes to editing my own video with my group.

Blog 6- Video Analysis

Florence and the Machine- Rabbit Heart

Link to music video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nxO-yPQesA

The theme of this music video is very mystical to give an abstract illusion. It is set in a woodland area with lots of grass space and a pont that seems to be never ending which gives the audience a sense of freedom. The main setting is a tea party where all the characters are dressed up in smart old fashioned and mystical outfits therefore looks like a make believe setting as though it isn't real and more dream like. The style of the video is more aimed at the female gendre as it is very glittery and glamorous with lots of dress up costumes and a mystical atmosphere to it which would mainly target females. Also, the fancy dress tea party is similar to Alice in wonderland which is a film aimed at female children and this music video shows an adult interpretation of Alice in wonderland which would still target female. The characters dancing around the artist are wearing long floaty dresses suggesting it is more feminim because males are less likely to want to watch people doing old fashioned folk dancing in long dresses. However, although the style of the video would be mainly targeting females there is still parts that could attract males because the video shows how the men want the artist and are almost following orders from her to show power and that she is in control which males may prefere to watch. This suggests the video may communicate a meaning that women are in power in this mystical world and the artist is showing the audience her perfect idea of how the world should be.

Florence and the machine- You've got the love.

Link to music video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQZhN65vq9E

This video is very simple yet still has an abstract illusion like most of Florence and the machines style of music. It includes the main artist on an artificial moon cut out in the air with a black background. It is again very glittery and glamorous. The artist is wearing a silver glittered baggy leotard which looks like a fashion statement that would inspire females interested in the fashion industry which is a high percent of females. This again shows that the video may be more directed at females than male. However, wearing a leotard and making feminin shapes and movements with her body may suggest it is aimed to attract males similar to the representation of the other video analysed (rabbit heart). This suggests although the style of music and mystical illusions of their video's may be more directed at a female audience, it also has aspects that would attract males to watch the videos. However, the style of music may not interest males therefore the record sales would be higher for females. The meaning of the video again suggests that everyone is looking up at the artist and enjoying her music showing she is powerful and in control of the scene.

I like these video's because they show a modernised dream like illusion which we can use as a theme in our own similar interpretation when creating our music video for florence and the machine, my boy builds coffins.

Blog 5- Target audience of Artist/Band

The genre of our chosen band (Florence and the machine) is modern indie pop, therefore the target audience would be a wide range of people interested in indie music and also those that listen to popular music that is currently played on radio stations. This shows there is potentially two main target audiences that our video will be aimed at. We need to match the style of the music and the target audience to our music video. The style of music and the band is more feminine, therefore we also need to aim to make the video creative in a feminine style to match the sound of the music. We can do this by having an enchanted them using bright colours and bright floaty dresses to create a more feminine atmosphere.

Florence and the machine appeared on the cover of the UK's biggest music magazine- Q.

The NRS (National Readership Survey) website shows current and previous readership estimates for all magazines on the UK market.

Readership estimates over the last 12 months (July 2009-June 2010) for Q magazine shows that 582000 people (1.2% of the population) have bought the magazine, 406000 (1.7%) being male and 175000 (0.7%) being female. This shows that although the style of florence and the machines music is more female orientated the bands attraction and style may attracted by male's. This means in our music video we need to find factors that appeal to male and female to attract both genders to our video.
It is also important to establish which age group to target when creating a music video. Q magazine statistics show that 505000 (2.1%) of the people who buy the magazine are ages from 15-44 and only 77000 (0.3%) are 45 plus. This shows a very small amount of the people buying the magazine are over 45 showing we need to target younger generations in the production of our music video as a larger number of the population under 45 read the magazine. The NRS statistics also show that 416000 (1.5%) of people in the ABC1 catogory (upper and middle classes) buy the magazine and 165000 (0.7%) in the catogory C2DE (working and lower classes) buy the magazine. This again shows the large different between classes that buy the magazine meaning we need to aim our music video towards upper and working classes more than lower classes as lower classes may still have interest towards the artist however upper classes have more access to viewing and taking an interest in the artist/band, because of being able to regulary afford the magazines, watching music video's on sky etc... Therefore the video needs to be mainly aimed towards upper classes however we need to be careful not to completely block out lower class audiences.


Florence and the machine has also appeared numerous times on the cover of NME music magazine. The statistics from NME mag are on a smaller scale than Q magazine showing the popularity of NME is smaller. However, NME is a very well known brand with its own radio station, tv channel, charts list and life events and awards showing the wide variety of music coverage it produces.
Looking at these statisics, as well as Q, should hopefully show us a similarity between target audiences.
NRS readership statistics show that 325000 (0.7%) people have bought the magazine over the last 12 months, 241000 (1.0%) being male and 84000 (0.3%) being female. This again shows us that the style of the the band is mainly aimes towards men however the style of music is more appealling to women. The age group statistics of NME show a clear similarity to Q magazine. 294000 (1.2%) of NME buyers are between the ages of 15-44 and only a small number are over 45- 31000 (0.1%). In the catogory ABC1, 218000 (0.8%) are buyers of NME and 107000 (0.5%) are in the catogory C2DE. Again showing similar statistics to those of Q magazine.

Comparing the statistics we can see a clear divide in age groups, gender and classes. This helps us select the target audience for the band we have choosen- Florence and the machine. Our main target audience after looking at these statistics would be younger generations under 45, male and middle and upper class. We can work off these statistics to create a video that appeals to these main target audiences.

Although males show up to be the main target audience for our style of genre in magazines of the same genre, many videos of florence and the machine have a more feminin and natural look to them suggesting they are aimed more to females. This could suggest that florence is used on the cover of top selling music magazines as an iconic face and a symbol of sexualisation to appeal more to men for her look rather than the music itself. Therefore, we will be using a similar feminin style like existing florence and the machine videos but still making sure this feminism will also appeal to males.

Below is the NRS topline readership page where you will find current and previous demographs showing statistics of all magazines sold in the UK (iuncluding Q and NME).

http://www.nrs.co.uk/toplinereadership.html

Here you can compare differences between genders, classes and age groups that are buying various magazines. Looking at statistics from various magazines has helped me select the correct target audience for the music video that me and my group will be producing.

Florence and the machine is currently 23 in the BBC radio 1 offical album charts and have been in the charts with the album lungs for 64 weeks!

I decided to put some further research into the target audience of florence and the machine by conducting a survey asking various questions to people on the subjects of musical interests and their awareness of the band. The questions I asked were:
(Genral information)
1. Age
2. Gender
3. Occupation
(Interest in music)
4. Favourite music genre
5. How many music magazines do you buy a month?
6. How many hours a week do you spend watching music videos?
7. Do you own a ipod or MP3?
(Questions related to Florence and the Machine)
8. Are you aware of the band?
9. Are you interested in their music?
10. If so, have you ever purchased a song, CD of music video of theirs?

I gave the surveys out to 12 people of various ages to come up with an outline of the target audience, therefore I can begin to make a generalisation.
Below are the 12 surveys I conducted:





















































































































Firstly we can see from the surveys in the first question that only 1 out of 12 people buys a music magazine in a month. However, 5 of the 11 people that do not buy a music magazine are all students therefore it could be argued that the reason they do not buy magazine is because of the expense of being a student. This can be argued further because all 5 of the students that said they do not buy a music magazine all watch music videos every week (which is free) and all own an ipod showing that they do take an interest in music. We can then see that out of the remaining 6 surveys, from people in full time work or retired, 4 of the applicants (who are all over 40) do not watch any music videos in a week and do not own an ipod, and the other two respondants are under 40 and do watch music videos and own an ipod. This shows that a younger population takes a larger interest in the music industry than an older generation who may not have been bought up into the same music orientated society as younger people are. Musical interest in general does not have an impact on gender.
Out of all the respondants, only 3 state that they are not aware of the band. All of these respondants are again over 40. 9 of the respondants are aware of the band despite gender. 2 respondants state that they are aware of the band however take no interest in them. 1 of these respondants is over 50 and does not own an ipod or spend any time watching music suggesting they may be aware of the band due to the band being forced onto society making many aware of them however may take no interest in them at all. The other respondant is under 16, however this respondant does take an interest in music but the band may not be in their taste. This could also suggest that Florence and the machine appeals more to a more sophisticated audience therefore in the age range of 18-24. Under 16's may be more interested in up to beat popular music which is not in the style of this band. 1 respondant stated that they were intersted in the band but had never purchased a song, CD or music video. However, this person is a student therefore purchasing music may be too much of an expense therefore they could resort to listening to music on TV or the radio which still shows their interest in music. Another alternative is downloading/sharing music where people are not physically buying the music but transferring it onto their ipods or mp3s which is a modern but illigal way of listening to music without having to pay for it. It is a problem well known within society that is very difficult to prevent.
This survey does not show a clear contrast between male and females interest in the band but more on age groups clearly showing how there is a big difference between generations.


I also joined a facebook Florence and the Machine fan page and posted a comment asking who agreed that florence and the machine only appeals to a younger age group.

Unfortunately I only recieved two comments back, however the first comment stated that the 36 year old person herself, her 41 year old boyfriend and her 13 year old son all love florence and the machine. And the second person states her opinion sayi9ng that she thinks florence appealls to all ages. Although this is only a very small minoroties opinion, it begins to open up the idea that florence can appeal to and age and gender therefore specifically aiming our video at a very small percentage of the population could lose us existing fans interest if they are outside of this target audience.

Through out my research into the target audience for Florence and the Machine, I have come to a conclusion that there is not one specific group we need to aim our video at therefore we can be very open minded when fliming because we have a broad target audience to cover. I will continue to follow a continuing theme that florence and the machine seem to have which is a modernised old fashioned style which looks very querky, new and individual. Although there is no specific audience, i have found in my research that younger people under around the age of 40 take a higher interest in music in general than older generations do, therefore, I need to assure that the video has a new modern look to it and isn't out of date which could start being aimed toward an older generation who are less likely to take an interest in the first place.

Blog 4- permission

Copyright is important to the music industry because it prevents unwanted exploitation, and in doing so allows the original creators to recieve income from their work, preventing others from gaining income from work that is not originally theirs.

Blog 3- Song Choice

After looking at many genres and styles of music, we came to a decision to create a music video for flourence and the machine- my boy builds cofffins.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7baoTqocJs
the link above is the song we have selected.

We decided to choose this song because it has an individual style and sound to it and when we listened to it we already came up with a few ideas of what we could do for the final music video. We would like to set it in a woodland area and maybe flick to old fashioned black and white scenes which we think match the style of the music. We now need to pick an appropriate storyline for the video and make sure if we have two seperate scenes that we somehow relate them back to eachover in terms of theme and narrative.

We tried many other songs and artists which we rejected because we found it difficult to come up with ideas of what we could do for them, where as the first time we listened to our selected song we instantly had idea's for what we could do. At First, we picked some popular bands such as lostprophets, marina and the diamonds and all time low. However, we found it difficult to select a good song that didn't already have a video for it therefore we found it easier looking at smaller bands. We also looked at the band 3oh3 but found the language in most their songs were not appropriate and very difficult to find a storyline to match them. The style of Florence and the machines music is very abstract therefore it is easy to create a video without a large storyline which is why we liked this video as we felt we could try all sorts of abstract idea's to create an interesting video to match the individual style of music.

Below are the lyrics for florence and the machine- My boy builds coffins

My boy builds coffins with hammers and nails
He doesn't build ships, he has no use for sails
He doesn't make tables, dresses or chairs
He can't carve a whistle cause he just doesn't care

My boy builds coffins for the rich and the poor
Kings and queens them all knocked on his door
Beggars and liars, gypsies and thieves
They all come to impact he's so eager to please

My boy builds coffins he makes them all day
But it's not just for work and it isn't for play
He's made one for himself
One for me too
One of these days he'll make one for you

My boy builds coffins for better or worse
Some say its a blessing, some say its a curse
He fits them together in sunshine or rain
Each one is unique, no two are the same

My boy builds coffins and i think it's a shame
That when eachones been made, he can't see it again
He crafts every one with love and repair
Then its thrown in the ground and it just doesn't fit

My boy builds coffins he makes them all day
But it's not just for work and it isn't for play
He's made one for himself
One for me too
One of these days he'll make one for you

Blog 2- Exploring Music Video

Lostprophets- Last Train home (music video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjKmCxyKmas

The genre of the music and style of band is rock therefore the audience that is targeted for the video is rock fans. The narrative of the video is about broken hearts and how their is still a chance to mend things. The main storyline is two people in the back of a car not talking and the audience does not know their story. Put together with the lyrics we can tell they were once together and by the end of the car journey they are pushed back together. Aside to this, the video keeps flicking back to the band on a stage on a lorry with many rock fans surrounding them possible representing their popularity and genre of music.
The representation of the rock genre is put across in this video by the clothing and style of people in the video, including the band. Also the setting of the rockband on the stage show's the audience the style of the band by the instruments used (drums and guitars) and the mannerism they play their music in.

Marina and the Diamonds- Hollywood (music video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1VTcJfL7RE

The genre of music is pop therefore the audience targeted would be people who are interested in pop music and would most likely range from children to teenagers. The music video is about glamour and fame using a main theme of the American dream showing how everyone wants to be famous and live in a movie. The representation of this is shown in the many American characteristics displayed such as people eating hot dogs/popcorn, cheerleaders, people waving American flags, wearing glamorous red carpet style dresses and mainly, most backdrops and props are covered in the american flag (e.g a cake with the American flag on). Also Marina wears many outfits with the American flag on to portray the representation even further. Basically every shoot throughout the whole video has a representation of america in it. Glamour is also represented in the hairstyles and make up of characters in the video.

Basshunter- Now your gone (music video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgFwiCApH7E&ob=av2e

The genre of the music is dance therefore will target audiences mainly over 18 who can go clubbing and listen/dance to this style of music. The storyline invloved two people breaking up at the begining of the video, their friends take them both out clubbing to cheer them up, they accidently bump into each other and realise they miss each other. The representation of dance and nightclubs is portrayed strongly in this video by the majority of the setting taking place in a club with various shots of people dancing. Strove lights and other lightings make the representation of the dance style even more believable.

The Kooks- Naive (music video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkaMiaRLgvY&ob=av2e

The genre of music is indie pop therefore targeting people interested in pop music and have an indie style. The audience mainly targeted would be teenagers. The storyline of the video is the main vocal leader walking through a concert, cutting from shots of him singing and others of him looking for someone. Near the begining we also cut to a shot of the singer in bed with a woman sitting looking over him. We are not yet sure of their relationship but asume they are in some way involved with eachother. At the end we see her very drunk with another man and the singer see's them togther and walks away, her reaction doesn't seem very affected by this relating to the title of the song, naive. The representation of the indie style is shown by the clothing of the main character/singer and also by the clothing of other people in the setting. The setting is at a concert and has a indie style about it involving clothing, the band on stage and other props visible in the scene. The music video doesn't put across a clear storyline yet it is a very simple and relaxed video posibly representing an indie styled atmosphere.

A2 Blog 1- Introduction

This task will involve me (in a group of 2-4) producing a media portfolio which includes creating a music video and various tasks leading up to it. This project should develop my skills further from the AS coursework and also develop my knowledge of the media industry.
I will show the development of skills during this project by choosing and preparing a music video, writing a letter too a recording artist relating to copyright, shooting two music prints and finally creating the music video itself after planning the setting, costumes and idea behind the video.
I Am looking forward to putting the range of editing skills i learnt during AS into process and learning how to use these skills when editing a video which will be more of a challange than the previous task.

http://sdcmediaasemmanoel.blogspot.com/

Above is the link to my AS blog.

Blog 10- Feedback

For the feedback i have decided to create an questionnaire which i then sent to some students at college so i could see what they thought about the whole magazine.
Here is one copy of the questionnaire completed by a college student...

Blog 9- Evaluation

https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B5WUAYNvqSRQZWU3M2ZkNjctZjViZS00NWNmLWI4MTgtOWMzMzlhNGQ0MDk0&hl=en
In my magazine i tried to make it look as similar as possible to other existing magazines. The two magazines i looked at and analysed at the begining of this project were Kerrang! and NME. Kerrang! Had the magazine name behind the image. This is because the editors can see, by statistics, that their magazine is popular and well known enough to not have to display the whole heading. As long as they can see part of it, it is pretty obvious to readers what magazine it is because of the wide recognition the company has. Therefore i decided to put my magzine heading slightly behind one of the images. I think i could have emphasised this a bit more because only a very small part of the name (stereo) was actually covered. Similar to Kerrang! i also used a cracked font for the heading to suggest it is associated with loud music. This will appeal to my target audience because loud rock music is the genre and style they are interested in. NME magazine have a large and bold title which stands out in bright colours. I used a similar style on my heading by making the heading very large and bold with a bright pink therefore jumps off the page. Both magazines (kerrang! and NME) use bright colour schemes (kerrang! more than NME) which clash with each other to give a messy, bright and independant look from other magazines. I like the idea of colours clashing and standing out from other magazines, therefore decided to use a bright pink and blue colour scheme. I continues this colour scheme through out the whole magazine to even when looking at a page inside you can associate to this magazine; it is onbvious and recognisable. The main pictures used on the cover in kerrag! and NME both accociate with the rock genre by having the rock artists look very different and have an attitude look about them. Although the artists on both these magazines are male, i decided to use a female artist on my magazine. This is because in kerrang! 290000 readers are male and 127000 readers are female, showing that more male than female read this magazine by a large difference. And the numbers were also very similar in NME. Therefore, having a female artist may appeal to male readers more and increase the number of people who by the magazine this week/month. However, i still arranged the photo so she still had an attitude look about her, representing the rock magazine. My original idea from the flat plan i created for the front cover was to have a band as the main image on the page. But as i did not know anyone from a band or have the equipment to create the setting this proved difficult. Therefore i decided to change this idea and chose a main image that represents the rock genre and what the majority of readers would like to see on the cover.

Moving onto the contents page, I analysed a kerrang! contents page and worked off this page to create my own. In the kerrang! page it mainly contained images with only a small contents section down the right hand side of the page. I used a similar style by having images as the main focus on the page with small detail on the contents of the magazine. At the top of the Kerrang! page i noticed they had a small section on persuading readers to subscribe to the magazine. I used this at the top of the contents page in my magazine to have the same effect. I like that they did this on the contents page because the majority of people will read through the contents page before reading the magazine therefore it is more likely they will read about subscribing, where as, if the detail about subscribing was either on a page on its own or another page, it is more likely people will flick past it without noticing.



Lastly, i analysed a double page spread from NME. I similary used a bright colour scheme and used the same style of language. However, most of the NME double page spread was filled with an image rather than text where as i balanced the text and images so there was big enough pictures to appeal to someone flicking through the magazine and interest them in reading the article and then there was also a large amount of text for readers to be able to read enough about their idols and discover more about them and when they will be going on tour or releasing their next album. Although there is a lot of text it is broken down in a question answer format to the band themselves. Therefore, readers can select questions that may interest them rather than having to read the whole article to find a part they are interested in reading about. Each question was coloured in blue then the bands answers is in white to stand out from the dark background. This divided the text up even more to make it easier for fans to read. I also chose to have a column where people could write in and ask the band questions therefore the whole article would feel more real to fans because they are connecting with the band!



My target audience is mainly aimed towards teenagers and more boys then girls. Therefore, i mainly aimed to make it look mixed gender but slightly more leaning towards masculine then feminim. I also decided to aim it towards an age group between around 16 to 20. This is quite a small age gap but many teenagers are interested in rock magazines therefore aiming for this particular age group is best. Social class is also important when creating a magazine. This magazine is aimed towards middle/working class. Also students are mainly going to be buying this magazine therefore wont have a lot of money, so it will be sold on the lower end of the magazine selling market. This means it is affordable for anyone to buy weekly or monthly.


Shops such as WHSmiths, tescos, HMV and all smaller newsagents would be the labels distributing my magazine. This is because these are mainly large chains where people know that they can find a magazine in, therefore could come across my magazine. All major magazines are sold in these shops so to become a major magazine, my media product needs to be distributed here. They would choose to stock it because kerrang! and NME are two major rock magazines that are very popular and there are not many other well recognisable rock magazines around. Therefore, i think they would be interested in trying to make a success of this new magazine and see how popular it becomes. Also if i were to get a publisher such as IPC Media (a large magazine publishing compamy) to publish my magazine, more companies would be willing to distribute it because of the recognisable publisher.

This next section referes to what was written in blog 2...







http://sdcmediaasemmanoel.blogspot.com/2009/11/blog-2-target-audience.html




This blog states my target audience dependant on age and gender and further observations relating to the magazines statistics. This blog was written at the begining of the project but my target audience is still the same therefore there are no further observations to state.

To attract my audience i used a bright colour scheme with dark backgrounds which would appeal to a more individual and creative crowd such as people interested in the rock genre. I also used a cracked font for my heading to make it look like loud music. All these factors add up to make it fit in with the rock genre. In relation to the language, i decided to use a very informal, casual language which appeals more to a younger less intellectual audience. This style of language was also used in the two rock magazines kerrang! and NME that i anaylsed at the begining. I decided to use a similar style magazine to attract the same target audience. Most other media products relating to rock have a very similar style in terms of loud colour schemes and large bold cracked fonts, such as this greenday (a rock band) album cover:

Most rock genre media products have very similar aspects to one another. They all follow a large, bold or cracked font which suggests loud music and this particular product shows slight violence in it which suggests older generations may find it slightly inappropriate, which will appeal more to younger generations in a popluar rebelious phase.








I learnt a lot about the technologies from the process of constructing my magazine. Firstly, Photoshop enabled me to edit images used in the magazine making them look more professional and a better quality. I learned how to create an airbrush effect on people used in my magazine, using a Photoshop programme, by cloning and stamping, which means you can take a smooth and even part of someones skin and cover it over any blemishes. I then used the smudge tool to slightly smudge parts of the skin to give it an even smoother effect. I also used brighten and contrast tools to finish off the images and create a new, more professional looking image. Also, i learned how to get rid of the back ground of images and either put a blank colour behind it or change the background. This was done by using a magnetic lasso tool and selecting the subject (person) and removing it from its original background and placing it onto another. This is so the images didnt look like they were taken in an ordinary, everyday situation which would decrease the effect of the image. However, one thing i struggled to do in InDesign was make good use of the tool that selected a colour from one object (such as some text) and put the colour onto another so the same colour is used. There were some points where i couldnt make use and understand this tool so some of the colours where slightly differnt which made the magazine look slightly un professional as the colour scheme didnt quite match. However, this task did help me understand both softwares a lot more and i now have more knowledge on using them.

Looking back at the magazine i created in my preliminary task i can see a difference in the quality and knowledge i have gained since. Since the Preliminary task i have developed my skills and was able to use Photoshop to edit the images i needed to use. Where as, in the preliminary task i simply took a photo and put it onto the page. I also have a lot more knowledge in how it is best to set out the magazine and use of language needed for particular genres; whether it is formal, informal, humorous or serious. I also had more time to plan more carefully and analyse other magazines of the same genre before creating my own magazine which helped me to come up with better ideas and i could keep relating back to existing magazines to see if there was any way to improve my own.

Blog 8- Planning and Evaluation of the article

I have analysed two magazine double page spreads: NME and Rock Sound. I have examined how they both use language, the tone of the article, if they are formal or informal, humorous or serious.


Firstly, the genre (rock) of the magazine means that the articles are very informal and more humorous than serious.


In NME, the style of the article is set up as an interview of a rock boy band called 'The Teenagers'. One of the main highlighted phrases is: 'of course we are a sexual band. We're the teenagers and that's all they think about'. This is highlighted in blue so one of the main focuses on the page and catches your attention very easily. It is also a very open an 'attitudy' phrase said by one of the band members which would appeal to a younger teenage audience because it is just the thing they like to read; open and honest. Where as, older generations may find this sort of language offensive and inappropriate. Another one of the main headlinesm, written by the magazine journalists, says: 'Young, dumb...' which is explaining the band and will influence their fans to act in the same manner which is a negative effect from the language used in the magazine but teenagers would see this as 'cool'. The main picture used in this double page spread is a picture of the boy band lying against a wall, covered in rock related posters, on a bed. This gives a very lazy and relaxed look for the band and will encourage teenagers to read the magazine. The set out of the magazine uses a colour scheme of blue, highlighting the main parts of the double page spread and most the article if taken up by the image of the band, followed by a two collums of an interview from the band. This will appeal to teenagers because most teenagers have more of an interest in visuals than lots of text. The page then has a collum down the right side of the page which is not related to the article but other small stories. The page looks crammed with information which gives a very messy/scrap book effect.



The rock sound double page looks very different from NME. It has less of a messy effect and more of a tidy, structured layout. However, again there is less text and the image also takes up most of the double page spread, similarly to the NME double page, therefore, it also appeals to a younger audience. There is also less random text and highlights of the main article scattered around the page. Instead it gets straight to the point with only a newspaper style heading and sub heading to tell us about the story. The image is a picture of the band who have the typical rock look to them; wearing make up with dark eyeliner and black and red clothing.



Both magazine articles have a very casual approach and use mainly slang and abreviations of words.



After analysing these two magazines i decided to do an interview for my double page spread. Rock readers seem to prefer an interview straight from their idols rather than having a reporter writing about them. This makes the magazine look better and more popular because rock artists are willing to talk to the magazine and have pictures taken for the article. Then followers like to read what their idols have to say and it makes the article seem more personal. Therefore, i decided to do a interview for my rock magazine.

I included slang phrases such as 'luxuary crib' to atract a younger audience and also included a section where fans wrote in to the band and asked quections which were then answered by the band members. This again makes the fans feel closer and more personal to the rock stars and gives a good representation to the magazine.

My set out was slightly different from the two magazines i analysed because i mainly used text rather than images. However i also used a colour scheme of blue and pink, which is the colour scheme i have used through out the whole magazine.

Blog 7- Photo Editing

I edited most of the pictures used in the magazine to give a more profesional look to the magazine.

In this image i fistly increased the lighting and contrast. I then used the clone tool to hide uneven parts of the skin so her skin was a more even colour. I the used the maganetic lasso tool to select areas of her skin and blur them so it gave a more smooth and airbrushed effect.
I used the magnetic lasso tool again and selected the model then inversed the selection and rubed out the background then changed the colour so it would blend in with the magazine cover.

This image was too dark to start with so i dodged the image and lighten it so it is clear. I then increased the contrast so the picture didnt look so faint after dodging it. Next i selected the background and rubbed it out so it looks more like a professionally taken picture with a plain background rather than in a normal every day scene. I then used the burn tool to darken the underneath of his eyes so it looks more rocky and mysterious.

I did the same as the previous image to get rid of the normal background and make it look more professional. I then cut and paste the image into a rock concert scene to make it look more realistic.

Blog 6- Photos

I took these two pictures for the main picture on the cover and had to pick which one i was going to use. I like the right hand picture of the boy band because it looks like a rock band which relates very well to the genre of magazine. However i decided to use the left hand picture because it fit in better with the other details on the page, such as the heading, main stories and other picture. I also liked it because it would appeal to a younger audience and mainly a younger male audience which is the main target audience because statistics show that there are a lot more male readers that female. I decided to instead use the boy band photo as one of the pictures for the double page spread. I set this photo up to look like a typical boy rock band, chilled out and looking like an idol for fans.

I used this picture (to the left) becuase the scene looks like it's at a rock concert.

I used this picture (to the left) because it shows attitute and sets the genre of the magazine.

I used many other picture with the same idea as these two picture to add the rock them.

I also like this image becaus eit is well set up and looks liek it has been taken in a profesional photo shoot. It also fits in well with the double page spread because it is part of the rock boy band theme on that particular page.

Blog 5- Fonts

I have choosen these 4 fonts, one of which will be the font i use in my magazine.

All the fonts are in sans serif which makes them look modern, therefore fits in with the rock theme. I looked at two magazines, Karrang! and NME, for my magazine analysis task, and chose my fonts similar to the ones on both these magazines.

I have decided to use the top font for my magazine cover as the majority of people that looked at all the fonts prefered that one. It is very similar to the font on the cover of Karrang! therefore looks like a similar rock magazine that people would also want to buy.

This font will appeal to my target audience because it is a modern and individual font which will attract a younger audience interested in rock music. I also think the font shows style and will stand out from other normal magazine fonts.

I am also going to use this font for my contents page and heading for the double page spread so the writing is recognised throughout the magazine. Readers will then begin to recognise that this font belongs to this particular magazine without having to look at the name.