My Photography - The Full Shoot

For my magazine shoot I used my friend Kiera as my model. I chose her because she has the 'look' that I was after for the indie/acoustic genre with her long hair, simple makeup and skinny frame. She's skinny which in the photographs came across as really artist and looked how I wanted it. I chose her outfits, hair styling (I did want to use a heavy plum/dark lipstick to make her ice blue eyes stand out. However Kiera would have had an allergic reaction to the makeup so because of health and safety I decided it wasn't worth it) poses, set, lighting - everything. I did want my male model's T-shirt to be tight fitting however we picked up the wrong T-shirt and it was too late to go back and get the one I wanted. 

These photographs have not been edited or changed, the lighting and effects you see are what was captured on the day. Some parts may be slightly cropped out because of the software I used to upload them with, not because I cannot frame my photographs correctly. Anything that looks obscure like it is missing a section is the programmer not myself as a photographer.

There has been no post production work, the photos are of the highest quality possible to take photographs with, however the edited video (sorry about the length of it) means that the HQ of them might not be as good as if I had individually shown them on my blog.

I used a professional studio and a camera worth £2,780 to take my shots, the set and tripod were all at the studio. 

This was Kiera's first proper shoot so I had to give a lot of direction. The shoot took roughly 3 hours to do and I took around 700 photographs. The only ones I haven't uploaded are those where she blinked in the shot so her eyes are odd. 

Research & Planning: My Music Magazine (Photoshoot Plan)

I created a photoshoot plan for my 'artists' to give them and myself a clear target to work towards. I think this makes it easier to stick to a schedual and any improvisation is seen as a bonus.

People I am Photographing	Where I want to Photograph Them	How I want them to pose/ Look in the Photo	What I want them to wear	When I want to Photograph them
Will	In an outside/graffiti looking urban location.	Very mysterious, charming, not looking at the camera, hand under chin. Stood up but casual.	Shirt, skinny jeans, an oversized jacket, modern/hipster footwear	In a bright outdoor light
Kiera	Either in a studio against a blank white background or outside in a woodland/country location.	Very pretty and Vintage looking to her side or directly down the camera lens. Lots of flowers and soft pastel feel.	Something girlie and vintage that looks cute but original	In a sunny but slightly dawn/dusk feel.
Eloise	In a city looking location (such as Brighton) or an open park.	With her guitar looking daydreaming with concentration. Not looking anyway, profile or from the back or a high angle. Something special in the eyes.	Something hipster mixed with indie vintage. Really personality reflective mixing dark & light colours. Knitted jumper, denim jacket, leggings & casual footwear and lots of accessories	In a daylight but slightly shadowed light.

For my music magazine I have planned to use four different 'stars' to photograph based on their fashion sense and how that relates to my chosen genre of magazine. I will display my photographs in a similar style to COMPANY magazine hopefully creating something with a similar look about it. I have gathered examples of page design layouts I like and thought about how I could intrept this into my own magazine.
The following two pages I really like how they use font type and boxes to create a scrapb booking effect to the page. The first one I think would be best for my contents as it could be changed into a fresh idea for the main features (the people I photograph). The bottom one I think would be a great way to present my chosen artist for the double page spread (my interview) as it shows a simple design idea I could employ myself and create on my own.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9FT6gbzLzA www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyrjq2q9ZpI

Research & Planning: Conventions of Target Audience

Here is my prezi on the representations of indie fans:

I created a mindmap of connotations and words associated with the indie genre:

Research & Planning: Representations in my Chosen Genre

Here is my prezi on the representations of Indie/Acoustic artists:

The other influence on indie music is the words behind the songs - lyrics. They are a story telling/narrative device or pointing out situations in a more literature or poetic way as a stimulus than other genres such as pop music. This is what gives a deeper connection and stronger following of fans in comparison to other genres as it gives a more emotive and larger understanding between the artist and the audience. I think this is something I want to represent in my design work, that the music is the core of the artist.

I found this funny internet picture that works as a diagram for band names. When thinking of names to give my artists on my design work, this formation is something I could use as a tool:

Research & Planning: Indie/Acoustic Genre

The indie and acoustic genre is often defined as Indie folk. This type of music came about in the 1990's after stemming from singer/songwriters from the indie rock music who were inspired by the folk music that was about between the 1950's to the early 1970's. It blended country music with indie rock to create a fusion that is popular in today's music scene, such as English folk rock band Mumford & Sons-who after recording an EP 'Love Your Ground' and performed in small to moderate venues in the UK and US built their audience exposure before recording a well supported album. The have gone on to festivals, sell out concerts, two Grammy Award nominations (one for 'Best New Artist' and another for 'Best Rock Song' - "Little Lion Man"). In 2010 they  won the ARIA Music Award for 'Most Popular International Artist' and a year later snagged a Brit Award for 'Best British Album' and the same year recieved a European Border Award for their international success.

Since from the early millenium the genre has expanded and stemmed into more and more bands and artists that build today's music community. Some artists include: Stornoway, Bright Eyes, Beirut, Bon Iver, The Avett Brothers, Arthur & Yu, Fleet Foxes The Decemberists, Iron & Wine, Okkervil River, Manel, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros,Noah and the Whale, The Mountain Goats, Cloud Control, Boy & Bear and more.

The artists go for a 'lo-fi' aesthetic (i.e., an often deliberate lack of polish and a more "authentic" roughness and imperfection) has often been associated with indie, particularly when slick, polished recordings were the preserve of the commercial music industry; this line has since become blurred, in a world where high-quality recordings can be made increasingly easily with inexpensive computer-based recording systems and where commercial production teams often deliberately utilize a "lo-fi" sound.
The fashion and look of indie artists shows the concern for self-expression more than commercial considerations. Because of this the 'do-it-yourself' sensibilty that was originally seen with the 1970's punk era gives more often than not  internationalist outlook, which stems from a sense of solidarity with other fans, bands and labels in other countries who share one's particular sensibilities.
Small indie labels will often distribute records for similar labels from abroad, and indie bands will often go on self-funded tours of other cities and countries, where those in the local indie scenes will invariably help organize gigs and often provide accommodation and other support.  This strong sense of camaraderie that emerges from a selflessness among indie bands and often results in collaborations and joint tours.

Acoustic music is often just known from BCC Radio 1's 'Live Lounge' where performs out their own stamp on another artist's song by covering it to suit them. This has made the acoustic genre more popular than ever as it comprises music that soley or primarly uses instruments that produce sounds through entirely acoustic means.

This means there is no electric/electronic means to create a sound.
To give the volume needed for mass audience hearing acoustic performers often use electronic amplifiers that are kept seperate from the microphone (which is connected by a wire to an amp) in front of the instrument to amplify it (so the natural sound is still reproduced accurately). This increases the volume of their output singing.
Music reviewer Craig Conley suggests, "When music is labeled acoustic, unplugged, or unwired, the assumption seems to be that other types of music are cluttered by technology and overproduction and therefore aren't as pure."
Using this style is something that really connects to my personal taste of music and how I like the style. My prezi online presentation analyses the look of the artists and how I can use this in reference to my own artists.

Research & Planning: My Music Magazine - Research of Genre

For my magazine I have looked at different areas of research that relate to the indie/acoustic genre; I have chosen my cover stars from what they look like and how I can use this look to the best of my advantage.
I have looked at some youtube videos if popular bands/artists that aren't really mainstream but have the reputation within the genre of my magazine that I can use as inspiration for the look of my magazine from how there videos look and there style. There are ways I could incorporate this into my contents page through font, colour schemes and choices of layout.
I have read articles/interviews with artists from these types of musicians and related that to how I would want to present my artist in my double page spread. The type of questions that would be found in a professional magazine interview. Here are some examples of music and interviews that has helped my understanding of genre conventions (copy the link into your internet search bar):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4NRlxs9CgI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-uykGgG7wE

http://www.leedsmusicscene.net/article/6302/

I have also looked at album and single covers and looked at how they have used imagery and font to depict how they are as a group or solo performer. I common trait I found was that the artists are often not on the covers, unlike pop music where the 'artist' is revealing themselves, indie artists instead shy away and find interesting, interpretive and inspiring artistic covers that are very visual. If they are on the covers it's usually in black and white. I have tried to find as many clear artist examples here:

I will feature singer/songwriters or cover artists who make the song 'their own' by changing the tempo, key and overall tone of the song, as my chosen people to feature. Examples of these types of songs/music are similar too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGZfe2xFveQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBKcNNC3eCk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wj6hSDhIB94

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UMzh9BkFS4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_X4pwCs28a0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qrgk60YRtxo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHnKtSNRn_0

I'm really inspired by people's talents and their modety about it, I am using my friend Eloise as one of my models because her music is what I want my magazine to be about. Here is her soundcloud link:

https://soundcloud.com/eloisekeating

I deconstucted a double page spread like this example I found online here:

I made a VoxPop asking some music fans about what they would want out of a magazine of my genre. I filmed and edited the whole thing using a basic software on my laptop. 

Research & Planning: Web-based Report into Target Audience

I looked first at the target audience of Kerrang and NME music magazines, I used these in order to help me decide what age, gender, class, etc. to aim my own magazine at. Using two of the UK's most popular magazine's gives me indications of what works well for my own magazine and which factors I want to use in order to attract my target audience.

•  This issue of Kerrang uses a popular female artists to appeal to the 16-24 age demographic of mainly males (Laura Mulvey's male gaze) and some females. Her cheeky facial expression is highlighted to indicate her role as an entertainer in this magazine's music genre. As the front of the band, Hayley Williams is the face of Paramore, where over her medium shot we see a ripped paper effect tearing over her body. The string of images indicate it's for a working class audience from the focus on mostly imagery and hardly any text.
• The text shown is all to entice the audience and attract them with block capitals and catchy slogan style. There's only one subheading to act as description which is under the small Marilyn Manson puff above the barcode; another indication of a working class audience from the lack of focus on text.
• The colour scheme is built around contrasting colours, black and white and red and yellow. All of which are apart on a colour spectrum which means when put together they all clash and form this aggressive looking front cover. 
• The fonts all co-ordinate in a dirty grunge look. They all have an effect which makes them stand out against standard font choices. This indicates the genre and gives it rock feel. The choice of musicians are all rock bands which signify this is for mostly males from the choice of genre. The genre dominates the gender, the thing that blurs the genders slightly is featuring Hayley Williams as the cover star. This is because she can be seen as an idol or role model to females because of her gutsy attitude to life and singing voice. Choosing someone who's seen as an object of desire or attraction expands the target audience out to those who may not read Kerrang usually but may be persuaded to buy it because they like Paramore/Hayley Williams. By doing this they can try and attract those who might like other rock bands that aren't on the cover but are shown inside the issue and try to gather a larger readership.
• The yellow and black give a connotation to police tape which links to crime. This ideology of youth rebellion and the influence of 'heavy' music and rock songs gives the impression of working class youths who may be subject to causing trouble with the law. The link to crime and youths is something the rock genre is stereotyped by.
• The puffs and plugs try to appear like a lot of issue content, which would fool those who are of a younger age. Older audiences might go for the weight/thickness of the magazine to be able to see that it contains a large amount of content because they are supposedly more free for time to stroll and browse in shops. In comparison to youths who are stereotyped as on-the-go, busy and need something to grab them in order to make them focus their attention to buy it. 

From looking at this magazine I have discovered that in order to appeal to a middle class demographic I should try not to focus on puffs and plugs and include more of a textual base to my front cover. I will try to stay away from clashing colours on the most part (I will use black and white) to give my cover a classy appeal. I think a female cover artist will appeal to both male and females and making sure they are young brings in the age group that I want to target.

• This issue of NME features less imagery than Kerrang more text, however like Kerrang the text is not descriptive it is mostly names of bands and artists. This gives the impression it's aimed slightly more at a working-middle class or of a marginally higher age group (17-27). This age demographic is aided by the choice of bands which feature middle-aged men. Something that would attract a slightly older or more mature minded audience.
• The genre is slightly more blurred as it features the names of indie, rock and alternative (or mixes of these genre) artists. This broadens the attraction to readers as it features more choice and variety.
• The colour scheme is more co-ordinated then Kerrang's (what seems random) layout colour pattern. The text is predominately in yellow and some white, including the title.
• The image is bright against the grey background and bright sans serif font which makes the Foo Fighters stand out. The Foo Fighters have more of a male following, however their music can appeal to a female audience. This gives it more of a male target demographic, backed up by other choices of male membered bands.
• The layout still seems busy even though there is just as much going on as Kerrangs, which gives the impression it isn't aimed at an older middle class, it's more in-between. The barcode is smaller which suggests it's higher in price, another indication it's more for working-middle class. Overall the layout looks more professional and selective in how it was composed which backs up the hint of which class it's aimed at.
• There's less focus on puffs and plugs, but the one's that appear show to be more planned in where to be placed. This hints the genre isn't as strong as Kerrang's puffs which looked slapped down and connotate to violence.
• The use of yellow and dark colour gives the impression of crime again but with a different meaning. Because the bands are older and have been around longer it connotates that their crimes are in the past (grey connotates past tense) and it's something to learn and reflect from. It's more mature style gives the impression we should learn from their mistakes and not involve ourselves with mindless crimes and focus more on music and bands.
• The facial expressions on the Foo Fighters looks thoughtful and deep as though they are figures of admiration. It's not lead by sexual connotations which sell to a young audience, unlike Kerrang's which is feeding the mindset of adolescent teenage boys.

From looking at this it has shown me less is more and sticking to three colours for cover lines sends more messages and signifiers to an audience. I will use this technique when constructing my own design work. I like the pattern of colours used for the cover lines interchanging between two, I think this would work well for my cover design. This size of barcode I think is more appropriate for an indie magazine as it doesn't make it appear as tacky and working class.

 

Kerrang has a casual sound and when said it appears like words being slurred together. It gives the idea of being drunk and enforces the idea of rockstars out of control and drinking or fans drinking at gigs. The title of the magazine sounds like an electric guitar strum, an instrument used in rock music (bands specifically). This twang connotation matches the style of font used for the logo. The crack across the font gives a rebellious feel against the contrasting black and white. This reinforces the violence and youthful rage that is suggested throughout the magazine covers using genre conventions of rock music. It appears very masculine and from the block capital font and exclamation mark looks like a male shouting. This shouting enhances the attitude of not caring and being a rebel. 

New Music Express has a more formal sound to it. The acronym seems like a smarter approach to a title which hints to it's history starting out as a music journalism publication in 1952, where it was in newspaper format. The name has kept it's newspaper sound which shows it's established in the media industry. At the time of the 50's Theodore Smythson created a title that would appear professional. His name himself doesn't sound common, it generates the feeling of importance and success. The plain sans serif font leaves little connotation, this is something I hope to contrast when producing my title.

Research & Planning: Music Magazines

I created a mini Power Point which I uploaded to slideshare to show some short research I did into brand history and their titles and connotations:

I have created some powerpoints and uploaded them to slide share detailing the conventions of music magazines and annotated example of a music magazine front cover, contents page and double page spread:

• I have done an analysis of the conventions of a music magazine cover, contents and DPS. I have annotated the elements and done Task 1 and the start of Task 2 of the AS Media Coursework Preparation: Double Page Spread 1.

This powerpoint I have enlarged as the last slide has lots of text that may be hard to read, if it is still to small click full screen. I have completed the rest of the sheet as a continuation from the previous powerpoint.