Time Managment

I plan to take the photos after the Christmas period in early january after we get back. I should have the equipment ready by then, such as the cameras, green screen, costume and props.

Camera Angles

For my cover, i plan to use a wide shot as it will allow me to capture all of the band on frame without them being cut or partially cut from the shot. The actors will either be taken in front or above the lens, forming a low angle shot. This is to make the cover artists look more powerful and this should interest my target audience.

Props

For my photo shoot, i will need certain props for my actors to use in order to fit in with the genre of rock and roll. The most obvious prop would be a guitar, a staple of any rock band, and i could also include other instruments if necessary.

Location

Ideally for my location, i would like a background that is simple but is not bleak. a good example of this would be a landmark or a coloured wall. This makes sure that the background does not take the focus away from the actors and the text. With my overall consideration, i decided to use a green screen, which makes it easier to insert a artificial background.

Costume

My actors will wear a casual  costume to reflect the informal genre reflected in the style of my magazine, rock and roll. The actors will wear a leather jacket as it is instantly associated with the rock genre, which helps the target audience instantly associate the magazine with the rock genre. I would also have my actors wear jeans which conveys the casual nature of the genre as it is unlikely you would find a rockstar in a tuxedo.

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Actors for my magazine

I have chosen Jordan and Zhong as my actors because they both like the rock genre of music which means they have a deeper understanding of the genre and the sort of style of the magazine than other people available.

Findings of my research

I began my research by finding several suitable examples of magazine covers, making sure i used a wide range of genres so i can make a decision on my magazine's genre and target audience. I then did some research about the magazines and learnt more about features such as the target audience, distribution figures and the publishing company of the magazine. This gave me a idea of the sort of magazine style for each music genre, for example a metal magazine has often got more dark colours
in it's house style, whereas a pop magazine is more vibrant in colour choice. Next i chose my 3 style models for my magazine due to both my personal preference of the genres and  then went into further detail researching the publishing companies and cover artists for my style models.

I have decided that my magazine will be a rock magazine aimed at middle/lower class men between 30 to 50 as that is the most common age group that enjoy the genre. I have chosen a reasonable £3.00 price tag as the social class i have chosen will be disinterested in a magazine that costs too much. It will feature legends of the industry such as Queen and The Beatles as they and others are universally recognised and will draw in more readers.

My next posts will focus on the mise en scene for my magazine including:

• Actor(s)
• Location
• Costume 
• Props
• Camera angles
• My time management plan

Publishing Companies research

Bauer is a really successful magazine publisher and is globally recognized as it publishes more than 600 magazines world wide. It was founded all the way back in 1875 by the Bauer family, who still own the company today. It earned around 2.4 billion euros in 2013 from revenue. I have researched Bauer as they publish two of my style models, Mojo and Q magazines

Music republic is a company that serves as a platform which sells music of developing artists in the UK. They own Clash magazine and publish it monthly.

Featured artists on my style models

The artists that feature on my style models are all globally recognized stars in the music industry. Firstly, on the cover of Mojo is John Lennon who was a part of the most popular band of all time, The Beatles. He died in 1980, so the reader knows instantly from seeing the cover that it is a tribute rather than a interview with him, enhanced by the black and white image.

Additionally, on my Q magazine cover features Micheal Jackson, who is again a legend in the music industry and would attract most to seeing what the story is about him.

Finally on my Clash magazine cover is Jay-z, who will attract fans of rap as he is the most famous and successful rap star of all time, making him a global artist.

Clash style model

I have chosen Clash as my final style model because they cover modern rap music and varies from my other two style models. The magazine costs £3.80 in the UK and is a monthly magazine published by Bauer. The target market for this magazine would be lower class as the genre of rap is more popular with young men between 18-25 because of the artists all being around that age group.

Q style model

I have chosen Q as the second of my style models because they are multi-genre, making them flexible and have simple colored covers which follow all the conventions of a music magazine. The magazine costs £4.99 and is a monthly magazine. The target market for this magazine would be middle class, as it is slightly informal yet still contains serious aspects, mixed gender because it features both male and female artists and the age group would be adults between 25-45, due to some of the artist being rock, while others being more modern. The magazine costs £3.99 and is published monthly by Bauer media.

Mojo style model

I have chosen Mojo as one of my style models because they cover rock and roll  and have simple covers which follow all the conventions of a music magazine and has a bold attractive house style of black,orange and white. The magazine costs £4.99 and is a monthly magazine published by Bauer. The target market for this magazine would be lower/middle class as the genre of rock is more commonly associated with that social group, men because most of the cover artists are men, and middle aged, 30-55.

Kerrang! magazine

Kerrang! is a UK based magazine which focuses on the genre of rock. The magazine is published by Bauer and has a circulation figure of 30,300. It mainly targets young adults who are interested in rock and aimed at a lower/middle social class.

Clash Magazine

Clash magazine is a music magazine that focuses on the hip hop genre and has been fronted by famous artists such as Kanye West and Florence and the machine. It is released 10 times a year by the publishers Music Republic. It also has a focus on fashion and technology. These features help attract their young target audience.

Q magazine

Q is a multi genre music magazine based in the UK, and it is published by Bauer. The magazine covers different genres of music though it has a focus on older genres of music from the 1960/70's and is aimed at adults generally, between their 30's and 50's.

Mojo Magazine

Mojo Magazine is a British music magazine which focuses on the genre of rock. It is produced by Bauer, who also own kerrang and q magazines, although it was originally produced by Emap.

Mojo magazine has been produced since november 1993 and has become a successful magazine, featuring icons such as The Beatles, Bob Dylan and other legends of the industry. The distribution figures are around 79,000.

The magazine is targeted at older people who where young when the music genre peaked in popularity, the social class is lower/middle class and generally for men.

Music Magazine Cover Examples

30-50 year old men middle class

lower class 16-25 year old men

young teens men lower/middle class

adults all classes men and women

30-50 year old middle class men

young 16-25 lower class men

young 16-25 lowerclass men        





Here i have researched different magazine genres for my magazine in order to get a set house style and target audience

My Contents Page

My Cover Page

Features

The next part was the features of the magazine, which i added by using a new text layer.I have included the features of the magazine, listing the pages, the subjects and the page numbers. I did this to give more insight into the magazine. Listing the features of the magazine is a crucial convention when making a contents page as a reader must know what articles/stories are on which pages, and what else is in the magazine not shown on the cover.

Editorial

I have included my editorial, another convention of contents pages. I used another text layer to add the editorial. I changed the font to look as thought it was written and upper class in style. I made the name of the editor a different font as it is bold and stands out in the light blue area. The font must also be less generic than other types of font if it is to stand out from the rest of the page.

Adding a title

here i have added a title to the page. I chose to use dark blue as it stands out from the rest of the page and i placed it into a light blue area to make it stand out further. The font is a standard and neutral font which i think is important as the majority of the contents should not be extravagant apart from the editorial. 

Adding more colour

I have chosen to add more layers to brighten up the page with light blue, which fits into the house style i am trying to create. More text in the  heading and editorial will also be distinguished from other text on the page. Furthermore, i must use the light blue to cover the waist high image i am using as it would have to either go at the bottom otherwise, something i think does not follow the conventions of a contents page.

Adding background

here i have added a new layer onto my image which allowed me to change the background with the paint bucket tool. I chose gold as it keeps with the house style established by the cover page. The gold represents class and wealth, something that would attract people to the school.

Removing the background for Contents

I have chosen to remove the background for my contents page and add my own. I did this using the layer from background technique, and the eraser. I chose to remove the background as it was brown and dull, which does not send a positive message about the school to readers.

Adding features

I have added a features section to give the reader further insight into the contents of the magazine. I once more used the text tool to add the text and a different font from the headline and masthead.

Adding the date and issue number

I have included a date and issue number on the cover to follow the general conventions of a cover page. These were incorporated using the text layer tool and by shrinking the font size down to be much lower, as these features are not the crucial and eye catching parts of the cover.

Pull Quote

I have added a pull quote to my cover page to give reader's an idea of what is inside. The pull quote is positive to draw the reader in and advertise the school in a positive manner. I used the text layer tool once more, as well as changing the colour to a pale yellow because it is still bright but able to stand out from the big headline.

Adding a headline

Here i have added a main headline to the cover page. I used the text tool and added it to the image. The headline is bold and in a large font size to attract the reader. The headline itself shows the school as improving and having a great quality. I have kept the headline from being too big or high up as it may cover my main image.

Adding a Masthead

I have added a new text layer to my cover image. This will allow me to add certain text based conventions, such as a masthead, of which i have already added  using the text tool. I have settled on the golden font as it contrasts well against the blue background. this means that gold and light blue will need to be my house style, though i may change the colours to blend with the image better.

Adding the new background

Here i am developing my earlier work by adding a background to the image to improve on the original background, due to it's bleak and decrepit nature. With the new background, i have attempted to brighten up the shot more and allow text to be better incorporated on the page. I have used the paint bucket tool to add the background.

Removing the background

Here i have begun to edit my cover image  by firstly removing the background, using tools on Photoshop. Firstly, i added a layer to the image so i could rub out the background with the eraser tool before i begin work on my background and text. I removed the background due to it's bleak and boring nature which does not show the school in a respectable manner.

My School Magazine Images

Medium Close up shot for Contents Page. Here i included the rule of thirds principles to get his eye line right. I will try to use the image as a contents image, after removing the background and adding the shot to a new background with more space for text around him.

Medium Close Up shot for the front cover. Here i have tried to use the eye line with the rule of thirds however to improve the shot, i will crop the image to further apply to the rule of thirds.




This is a shot which i was initially going to use, however after examination, i noticed that the shot is not a medium close up and the shot does not use the rule of thirds, leaving too much space on the image.

Important addresses

http://ocrmediastudies.weebly.com
http://oamedia.blogspot.com
http://oamediaexam.blogspot.com

Mise en Scene For My School Magazine

Location
I have chosen the library as it represents intelligence which reflects the school and is a known place of tranquility and peace.

Actors
I have chosen Jordan LLoyd and Jake Navarro, because they are in smart suits and they are also media students so they understand conventions such as the rules of thirds

Camera Shot
I will use a Medium close up shot of my actors and also a two shot of them at a slightly low angle. The two shot can incorporate both actors and the low angle  can show them as being stronger.

Costumes
The actors will wear smart suits to represent a formal attitude and the class of the school.

Props
The props will be books which coincide with the library and the overall smart image being conveyed.

Narrative
The shot will show the academic prowess of the school and the formality of the classes.

Examples Of School Magazine Covers

Examples of Medium Close up Shots