Evaluation presentation

Clarice Greenhalgh AS Evaluation

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Preliminary task

questionnaire

Complete understanding- history of rock music


I've decided to do some history on the background of the rock music genre in order for me to have a fuller understanding that can help me with the conventions of the genre in creating my magazine.


Rock first came about in the 1950's and 40's starting off as rhythm  and blues, rock and roll and country music. This then developed in the 60's and 70's into different sub genres such as punk rock, blues, new wave e.t.c. which has shaped the music of today which has become more digital in terms of technology where instruments don't even need to be used anymore in recording studios. The newest genres which have stemmed from this history are garage rock, digital rock and emo. Emo is one of the genres and stereotypes which I will try to incorporate into my magazine with the overall conventions included. 


Although the emo sub genre started around the 80's in America it broke into the 21st century with a band called Jimmy Eat World. The coventions of an emo image are: dark colours and a moodyness along with rebellion. All of which will be featured in my magazine.


I feel that by doing this research I now have a better understanding to what is required in terms of demographic and meeting my target audiences requirements.

Starting my magazine- what about the magazine name?


As I began creating my magazine I have realised that I hadn't thought about a name for my magazine in particular. So I started to make a spider diagram in order to explore my ideas. When I look at the name Kerrang for inspiration I thought of words that use onomatopoeia that would have a similar style to kerrang. The best idea I came up with was crunched, which I think sounds edgy and resembles the sound of something being squashed i.e. a can being stepped on. So therefore I have named my music magazine crunched.

First plan of double page spread

I intend to follow the conventions of the MCR Kerrang double page spread. But the language used in my article will be following the conventions of the article I annotated where there are intervals of the writer and quotes from the interview. The colour scheme will be constant and in keeping with my genre of dark colours and rebellious rock image.

First plan of contents page


My rough layout for my contents page is as follows.  I want to create a contents page which uses Kerrang as a style model. I want to get as far away from creating my contents page in word processor because I feel that I have learnt from my preliminary task and know that the final piece is unprofessional and would not meet the demographics I am looking to require. Below is the rough draft of the graphology I would like to follow.

First plan of front cover


Below is a rough plan showing the layout I would like for my front cover, I have already thought of the linguistic elements I will be adding and the effect they will have. As mentioned before all the main text will be in the left third of the cover in case of horizontal displays all the text can be seen. The main colour them will evolve around black, dark greens and white because white is a good canvas to use for maximum contrast.

Textual analysis of language in rock magazines- what language and content will I put in my magazine?


Below I have taken an article from a double page spread from my style model (Kerrang) and deconstructed it in order to thoroughly see and understand the techniques and language used in an article so that I can apply it to my own double page spread, making it as realistic and professional as possible- always in keeping with my genre.


This was the amount of text that was shown on most of the double page spreads in Kerrang. It may seem as an easy way out but this is the amount of writing I will be doing in the double page spread of my magazine because I feel the main focus is on the band through the imagery of the photographs and the text isn't ignored but it is short and features a catch up with the band or artist.


As seen in my annotations below, dietic words such as "negative, punk, attitude" are used to with hold the representation that the magazine is trying to convey and that I will try to convey with my own magazine.


With all the elements of my magazine individually dealt with I feel I can now start piecing bits together to create a complete magazine look that is specific to my target audience and genre

Photo shoot done- what was achieved? 


After doing my photo shoot as planned I can now upload some of the pics I could use in my magazine and talk about why I think they would be effective.

This is the photo I have decided to use for my front cover. It is a head shot and Amelia is looking into the camera which is what I wanted to achieve because it feels as if she was looking at you, and gives more meaning to my front cover. Although you can't see what she is wearing, the genre is portrayed through her hair and her black leather jacket. She is shown slightly more to the right of this photo because when it comes to creating my magazine all the text will be placed in the left side third which is typical of magazines and is done incase of shelving being horizontal in a shop rather than vertical.

In this picture Amelia is sitting by the window that I described in my photo shoot planning. This photo will be used on my double page spread as the main picture. I like the mise-en-scene because the clouds are dark and moody which reflects the facial expression I was trying to create here. By looking away Amelia looks relaxed and carefree to her problems, which is another image that me be thought of when thinking of rebellion in the rock genre.





The following three pictures are pictures I will be using on the bottom of my double page spread, these images will be alot smaller and will be in black and white because I feel that black and white gives it a more professional look and it will add to my rock genre and the dark colours associated with it. By using a mix up of photos in my double page spread I feel the look of my magazine will be more realistic and the different pictures can portray different images and provoke different emotions in the reader. As these images aren't the main feature of my front cover or double page spread I don't feel it is as important for Amelia to be looking at the camera lense and these photos can be directed to a more stylistic aspect.

I am very happy with the look I have created in the photos and feel that I have achieved what I set out to do in terms of the photos for my print task. .

Planning a photo session

After choosing my model Amelia, I need to start thinking about what image I would like to create in my photo shoot and what message it will convey in terms of attracting my target audience and meeting the conventions of a rock magazine. 


Props?
I have decided to go against action shots in my magazine double page spread because after messing around with some drafts with the camera I have realised it is difficult to achieve a good effect that is realistic unless the model/artist is actually performing I.e. a band on stage. Therefore, I don't think I will be using props in my photos because after looking through other rock magazines with similar demographics such as Q, Classic Rock and Rock sound I found that props were not that common and are mostly used when following a specific theme within a genre such as a teddy bear photo shoot.


Styling
Seeing as Amelia already has the bold look that I required for my images through her hair I will be toning down the make up. I am going to use some dark eye make up but not too much to distract from the overall look, dark eye make up is seen across several rock/indie artists in relation to that rebellious and dark image which is required for my magazine. In accordance with this Amelia will be wearing dark and edgy clothes such as a short black skirt and patterned tights with rugged military boots all adding to the rebellion demographic.


Set
I have decided to use my own school as a set for the photo shoot. I chose to do this because I felt I found the perfect place and it would be less time consuming and practical. In the girls toilets there are large windows overlooking the rest of the school, however the school grounds look as if they are in a very urban and edgy area. This is exactly what I need because I feel the urban back ground will have good cohesion with the image of rebellion I am trying to create on the whole. 


Facial expressions
Using Kerrangs cover of artist HIM as inspiration I will be asking Amelia to keep fairly neutral facial expressions but always looking into the camera to obtain that connection between the artist and the reader. Which in turn can be a persuasive technique for an onlooker to but my magazine. 

The model I will be using

I will be using a friend of mine called Amelia.

Although stereotypical, I feel that Amelia would be the best person to use in terms of the demographics required for my magazine and target audience. Her image instantly conveys the conventions of what is expected of rock music and what a a potential buyer would aspire to look like. 

Layout/graphology of my magazine- fonts


I will be researching fonts to use before I begin making my music magazine. I think this is important because fonts found on photoshop or word are not adequate to fit the demographics of my magazine and I think they do not look professional.


As I have previously mentioned, the font used on rock music magazines and Kerrang in particular is distorted. Meaning that is has a rugged feel with pieces of the font missing as if it has been damaged, which is a reflection of the genre. I have been looking at a number of sites to which I can download font from to add to the style of my magazine, I came across 1001 free fonts which was good but I found it difficult to use. I have ended up looking at www.dafont.com which have categorized their fonts. One of the categories is distorted which I was pleased about but the category that I found my ideal font is called eroded.


This is my headline font.

















Slogan font "Loud and Proud":

Layout/graphology of my magazine- camera angles relating to cover image and double page spread


Soon I will begin planning a photoshoot of my chosen model but before that I need to research camera angles and the effect they have in order to decide what would suit my magazine cover the best, keeping in mind the style of kerrang.


High angle

A high angle shot is slightly above the subject. It often shows the object/person as being vulnerable and of lower authority. I don't think I will be using this angle because cover artists are shown as important and i rarely see this angle being used on magazine covers.










Low Angle

A low angle camera shot does the opposite of a high angle. Therefore the person is seen as more powerful and has authority. I doubt I will use this camera angle either because again I feel that this angle is rarely seen on magazine covers of the rock genre and I think it can be quite a cheap looking/ tacky shot to use on a front cover. 


By researching camera angles and what camera angle is best to use I found that the camera angle depends on the context- in this case a magazine cover. The most common angles I tend to see on front covers are head shots, full body shot or mid-close up.
Portrait/Head Shot

A head shot and portrait are very similar which is why I have included them both. You can normally distinguish the two by identifying that a head shot is just what the person looks like but a portrait tends to convey more emotion. I think this would be a good shot to use when taking pics of my model because it looks more professional and makes sure that my front cover is focused on the importance of the music artist.


I am set on using a head shot for my front cover after doing some research on camera angles because I feel it will be the most appropriate to my genre and the context. I will now take a look at camera angles i might want to use when taking photos for the double page spread.

Long shot

A long shot is used to show the subject more, portraying styles and emotions through the clothes and perhaps props. I think this example is great and would be a good pose to use as well because the artist is leaning to one side, and that would be good on my double page spread as writing be fit around the image suitably. 


Action shot

Following my inspiration and style model I think it will be good to include some action shots into my double page spread. Showing the artist is real and not just pictures showing poses but what the artist does at gigs.










After looking at camera angles, I have established that I would like to do a head shot for my front cover so that I will be stressing the importance of the artist and the emotions portrayed can follow the outsider demographic of the rock genre. I have also decided I would like to use a long shot, mid-close up or action shots in my double page spread which seem the most suitable in attracting my target audience.

Layout/graphology of my magazine- Music artists


After analyzing kerrang I will now pick out individual aspects of the layout and go though it in detail in order to fully plan my magazine so that when I do it everything is precise and of high quality.


Using kerrang as my style model, I now need to compose a list of music artists that will be fitting for my magazine in terms of the contents page and making sure that there are bands featured which are perfect for my genre and could sell the most magazines.


After doing some research on the internet I have found a website www.billboard.com that had a list of the top rock songs of 2010. I found bands such as Muse, Slipknot, Paramore and Alice and Chains. Bands all of which have been the cover artist on Kerrang, proving their popularity. As well as bands that are popular at the moment, I will use a variety of bands that have always been popular in the rock genre and are considered as classic or standard essentials to a buyers CD rack. I feel that this will help because to a potential buyer some of the bands they see they may be familiar but don't like them, so adding some classic music artists can guarantee an interest in that issue of my magazine. A well known essential band i could use is Blink-182. 


All these artists will feature on my contents page as seen on Kerrang.


Muse   

  


Blink-182

Paramore

Textual analysis of Kerrang- Contents page

The contents page for kerrang looks pretty simple, but I am sure after some technical struggles of my own I will realise that it isn't.
Just as seen on the double page spread, the key thing is that the artists are the most important, which is why there is a picture of the artist after every mention in the contents.


Apart from the pictures of bands, the contents page is quite plain. I think this is because a contents page isn't a main feature in a magazine and attention to detail is focused elsewhere. This is further evident, because in the context of a magazine the contents page is there to inform and not so much entertain like other areas in the magazine. For instance the information can clearly be seen bullet pointed in numerical order with a white background and black font for a clear perception and saving time for the reader. The excessive amount of artists pictures also saves space on needless information that may be seen on other contents pages in magazines.


In my magazine I will keep the colour theme consistent  in order for maximum impact and allow a good flow throughout so that my magazine doesn't look disjointed.

Textual analysis of Kerrang- Double page spread


This is a double page spread I have found in Kerrang. The thing that catches my eye instantly is that there are more 

pictures of the artist than there is writing. I think it is a brilliant layout because from my own experience and asking peers, there is very little that people tend to actually read in their music magazine. So therefore, In my own magazine I feel that it would be ideal to concentrate on the imagery and layout of the double page spread with the details of the writing content being secondary. The majority of kerrang double page spreads follow this layout which I think is inspiring because it shows how the artists come first, which is also more interesting for the reader. 

I have also noticed that the colour theme is consistent which is evident of professional design. The colours shown are red, black and white which I think are all strong and bold colours, especially the red and black which are colours that are thought of in the rock genre demographics keeping with the genre of kerrang and f my own magazine.


The photos of the artisthave all been edited into black and white, which aids the keeping of the colour scheme. Again the same headline font has been used as the front cover and is shown distorted perhaps as a reflection of the music and rock 'attitude'.


Kerrang have chose to put emphasis on "the best mcr" by changing that area of font to white compared to the rest of the headline which is red and doesn't stand out as much against the black background. By using a quote describing the artist as the best which is a superlative, kerrang is trying to show that this is the best band and it is essential for the reader to but the magazine due to the cover artist.


I will take many elements of this as inspiration to my magazine in order to meet the demographical needs of my target audience of grunge/ rock.

 

Textual analysis of Kerrang- Front cover


At first glance it is clear to see that the conventions of this magazine are rough and ready. This is in accordance with with the demographics of what people that listen to rock music are like. This 'outsider' theme that people who listen to the rock genre will run throughout the magazine as it gives the reader something to relate to and make the magazine successful.


The title of the magazine is eroded with streaks of white running through this imitates the slogan "life is loud" It is as if the sound is breaking though the title of the magazine. The main heading along with the title of the cover artist stand out the most, instantly catching the readers eye. This is because of the size of the font and the contrast of white against the darker background, which is fitting because these are the first things a magazine would want a potential customer to see. 


The cover artist is facing head on and the  artist is looking straight forward like he is looking at the buyer. This is unique and interesting because it makes the music more in touch with the reader instead of a shoot that focuses on posing. Elements of rock music are shown in the way that the cover artist is wearing eyeliner which portrays attitude and ruggedness associated with the outsider demographic of the genre.


"Free posters!" is shown as a technique to further entice a potential customer to buy the magazine. Outlined in a red box, drawing the eye in. Similarly Kerrang have used "plus!" to emphasise that they are offering even more to the reader, this is especially useful to draw attention to the smaller font on the cover that attracts less attention at first. 


When I create my music magazine I hope to use and follow some of these techniques as an insparation to create the same effect and give my magazine a realistic look that will target the audience accordingly. 

What do people look for in music magazines?

To begin my research I created a music survey aimed at people that listen to music within the genre of rock. It only had 3 questions that kept to the point such as: Would they like to discover new bands; Which genre of rock interests them the most; which magazine cover appeals to you the most. By asking such questions I found out exactly what I needed to know, do people want to read about new bands? What genre appeals to the masses and what kind of magazine cover will draw in the eye. I chose these questions as my focus seeing as I would be doing a front cover that needs to appeal, the contents and a double page spread (what do people want to read about)


The results of my survey showed that out of my sample of teenagers around 16-18 the majority would prefer a magazine featuring the rock genre with articles and information on bands they already know. Out of the magazine covers in the survey, the majority went with the graphology of Kerrang. Although there were obvious faults in my survey because I think that Kerrang is probably the most well known rock magazine for people amongst this age therefore it affected their judgement. However this made me realise after all, Kerrang is one of the best selling music magazines in the country and their are reasons for this. I let my personal preference of Rock Sound cloud my judgement and can now see that it would not be the best style model to use because my survey has shown evidence that people aren't too interested in new music and are happy with what they already know. Therefore, I will be annotating Kerrang instead and following the conventions so that my music magazine would appeal the the mass market.