Creating an Artist

• When creating my Artist I had to think carefully about what my target audience would like in regards of reading about a new and upcoming musician that relates to what music they like listening to, which evidently, is Indie/Pop. I looked back at the type of Artists already out there in regards of my chosen genre, people such as Foxes and Marina and the Diamonds are one-woman Artists that have names that people would usually assume that they are apart of a band. So instead of using a simple name, I decided on a word; a word that influence the Indie/Pop genre and something that is unique and links to the Fashion style of my Artist/Model. 
• Brainstorming is the best way to clearly plan out your ideas from your head onto paper, so that's what I did. I came up with a range of names such as: Prima donna (Italian for 'first lady'), Free Spirit, Lone Wolf, Lone Rose, UnboundRose.
• After talking to various people, I have decided on the name: Prima donna. The name, by meaning, is associated with being 'the female lead singer' and 'the person who the prime roles would be given'. I also think that this is appropriate for my chosen model too due the fact that acting almost 'drama queen' is like essentially being unique in your own way, and links with the theme of my magazine: A mix of two music genres which features new and unique artists.
• Not only that, the name was inspired by Marina and The Diamonds single: 'Primadonna'.

"It's about wanting to be number one, not necessarily anything to do with my career, but with regards to being with someone. I think everyone knows a Primadonna, because every girl has a little bit of that inside of them."

Artist Article Analysis/Research

Artist Article Analysis by mlknight1314

Evaluating Peer Work

• I decided to comment on some of my peers 25 word pitches so that I can give them feedback and give constructive criticism in order for them to improve on their work as well as mine.

Flat Plan (Drawing) Cover, Contents and Double Page Spread

• I think that by drawing out a plan of how I want to structure my magazine cover, contents and double-page spread makes developing easy for me due to the fact that as a visual learner, I work best when looking at my ideas and playing around with them on paper before putting something together straight. These drawings were put together with inspiration from the different magazines that I had analysed, and relating the structured pages back to what my target audience would like to see.

Cover with source inspiration:

Contents with source inspiration:

Double-Page Spread with source inspiration:

Conclusion: 

• This process helped me with planning out my mock cover, contents and double-page spread because by looking at different magazine covers and examples, this influenced my decisions in my sketches as above, meaning, the research paid off in the aspect that I can take some ideas that are classed as 'mainstream' and change them to make something unique for my own magazine.

Responding to Staff Feedback & Target Setting

• I was given a various amount of advice regarding the type of direction I need to go in regards of my chosen genre for my magazine, and after editing most of the posts from my teacher's guidance, this is my response to said feedback:

As of 31/01/2014:

• As in terms of improving on my work, I have now uploaded both Music and School Magazine mock covers with a School contents page also, both with screenshots showing how I created them on Photoshop. With this included, I also uploaded an evaluation of this set of Preliminary work.
• I think that it as a good practice to go towards making my final magazine cover. Not only that, I have now had a look at lots of other magazines regarding the type of music that I am basing my own magazine on E.G. i-D and Wonderland.
• Other comments were left on various other blog posts such and to which I have now improved them all: 
• Recreating Styles.
• Analysis of another magazine title.
• Detail about recreating other Photographer's work.
• More detail on Genre Research.
• Detail on Graphic Designers.
• Looking into a small, bespoke publication.
• Examples on Language Register.
• Conclusion to Font & Colour research.

Conclusion & Targets:

• I think that the feedback that I received was very helpful in improving my work due to the fact that I was quickly able to amend/add to my posts, which also adds to the research element of the project and helps me decide where I want to go with my magazine cover and how I want to set it out, which is one target of mine for next week. I have to determine how I am going to lay out my information on my pages and how I want it to look, I think that this is important due to the fact that it matters if my target audience doesn't understand what I am trying to put across to them and I have to look at all aspects of my chosen genre to fully fulfill my project's purpose.

Initial Audience Feedback - Survey Monkey

• I have collected information regarding the sort of music people listen to, where they shop for latest fashion and whether they enjoy more than one type of genre of music. The results are as follows:

Conclusion: From what I have found out from my research is that all of them enjoy all different types of music, and in connection with my magazine, I feel like they would enjoy reading this due to the fact that it is a mix of growing and upcoming artists that they would be interested in listening to. Also, all of them said that music is very important to them and that two of the three digitally download music. Lastly, all of them said that they buy their clothes from mainstream stores, however, one said that they enjoy mixing up their fashion, this could be a factor in deciding whether I want to add different type of fashion stores to attracted my chosen audience. Either or, I think that I conducted my research well and gives me a clear picture of the type of music I want to create.

Fashion/Props used for 1st Shoot

• For this first photo shoot, I didn't particularly have a set plan in mind. All I wanted to achieve was test out certain pieces of statement clothing and see what works and what doesn't. I used inspiration photographs I printed so I could look at them while taking my own photos and my model brought in clothes we discussed about beforehand, and that gave me a rough idea of how I wanted to set my photos out. However, although I did get some good shots, and after receiving some advice, I think that there is a lot to work out when and if I need to take some more photos.

Inspiration Photographs:

Sheet 1: Type of poses, make-up and hair by teen models and artists relating to my chosen genre.

Sheet 2: A particular Photo shoot by Foxes, a chosen artist of mine, on white background, looked at during the photo taking process for inspiration.

• I first decided to get my model (Erika) to wear the statement top due to the fact that I wanted to see if I could fit the words on her shirt, completely on the photo. With the shirt that says 'From The Heart', Erika wore some black leggings and black boots. We also experimented around with the type of jewellery and head-wear she could try on, as the following photos demonstrate:

Outfit 1 with extras:

• After I took a few photos of Erika in that outfit, we quickly moved on to something a bit more sophisticated, but still relating to my theme: the Black dress. We decided to make her lips more of a statement while wearing this dress by making them more Red, and keeping the rest of her face looking more neutral. Because her hair was at the side for the first set of photos, I also decided to make sure that her hair was on both shoulders this time.

Outfit 2:

• I decided on using the Rose prop for these set of photos due to the fact that it adds another splash of colour to the mix and with the edit I did above, shows that it works out just fine. I think that the dress worked out better than expected and next time I should choose other smart clothing that relates to my chosen genre for Erika to wear. Also for next time, I should focus more on taking close-up shots of Erika due to the fact that after looking at certain 'high-end' Fashion magazines, close on the face is key, and that make-up is also crucial.

Title of Magazine

• I think that when deciding on the name of my magazine I need to consider a few factors so that the title relates a lot back to the theme of genre I am basing it on and my type of audience, something that they'll find interesting and unique, something that will stand out from others.
• So, I came up with a few names such as: Commix, Infuse and Instill. I found these words by putting 'mix' into a thesaurus website, I thought that it would be a good idea to find more complex words from one basic word. Although, I could possibly put more words that relate to something 'joining together'. 
• Note: 'Mix' coming from the fact that Indie Pop is a 'mix' of two type of genres.
• I personally like the name Infuse, and I feel as though I shouldn't be the one to fully decide on the name, so, I decided to devise a test. I asked a few of my friends, all teenagers, 16-17 year olds, around the intended age for my magazine, and ask which name they preferred. The results are as follows: Commix: 2, Infuse: 4, Instill: 1 - Total asked: 7. I think that this name fully sums up the description of a 'mixed' genre, thus, will be the name I will use for my magazine.

Evaluation of Preliminary Task

1. How does your preliminary represent particular social groups?

• I think that the work that I have created represents the chosen theme well due to the fact that the magazine is based on our school, Lutterworth College, so I did research and looked at the logo of the school and used the colour scheme so I could make it more relatable to whom I am creating it for. The social group the magazine is intended for it everyone in the College - Year 10 to 13, around 2000 students in the School. I think that I didn't have to worry about missing any particular social group due to the fact that my magazine was based on the School as a whole, not as an individual E.G. Art magazine. The way that I have designed the cover and contents page would attract all students due to the fact that it is factual and would appeal to them if they want to know any upcoming dates/news and information about their education.

2. Who would be the intended audience for your product?

• The intended audience for this School magazine would be everyone who attends the College (Lutterworth) due to the fact that it involves key information that they would probably want to know. I think that by giving the students attention and involvement, it would get them to read into the magazine.

3. How did you attract/address your audience?

• I attracted my intended audience by including a picture of one of the Students that attends the College on the front cover, I used a catchy headline to also grab their attention and used appropriate School colours to make it relatable to not only the College but to the students too due to the fact that they would know exactly what the magazine would be about by recognising the colour scheme. Also, I the photo I used was a student in the 6th form, and the tag-line beside it says 'Headteacher welcomes new post sixteen students', meaning, Year 10 and 11 students would be educated on the type of clothes they are allowed to wear if they choose to stay on to do AS.

4. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

• I think that Photoshop is quite a simple but tricky program to master because of all the key buttons to remember and where to find curtain tools, however, with a lot of practice, it becomes a handy skill whenever you need to edit a photo on the computer for School work/outside life. Due to me learning about how to work Photoshop, I was able to create a professional looking School magazine that includes the required information and sticks to the colour scheme of the College, a way of attracting a type of audience and to get them to read what I have created for them.

Preliminary Task - School Magazine

• I was asked to create a first mock-up magazine cover and contents page. This task will enable me to develop my skills on Photoshop and give me ideas on how I should structure my magazine cover, contents and double-page spread when it comes to it. I think that I learnt about how to make something look pleasing to a certain audience group and by connecting colours to a certain theme will help with creating a good looking magazine.

Flat Plan:

Photoshop Process - Cover:

Final:

Photoshop Process - Contents:

Final:

Test Shots (29/01/2014)

Test Shots (29/01/2014), a set on Flickr.

I spent an hour with my chosen model to take as many test shots as I could of her in different outfits we had discussed about only a few days previously. There were a few problems that occurred throughout that hour we had together, and although I would have liked to have taken a lot more photos, the ones that I do have, I think, are good enough for now. I decided to pick only two outfits for this test shoot due to the fact that we had limited time and I wanted to see what she would look like in a formal style/casual attire.

For the first set of photos, I decided that my model should wear a 'statement' shirt, something that had a saying or a logo on it because I was working with a white background and I wanted her to wear something that would stand out broadly. Not only that, I made sure that my model changed/mixed around with the type of jewellery that she was wearing E.G. Flower crown, Key necklace. By doing this, as the photographer, I can see what works and what doesn't.

I used a prop for the second set of photos because I thought it would go well with the Black dress that she was wearing, and not to mention the fact that her hair worked well with the outfit in regards of keeping a little bit of colour when creating a serious tone/mood for my photos.

I think that as I look back now at the photos that I took, an hour went by so quickly and we didn't use the full amount of time due to problems, I may not have created the theme that I wanted to for what my genre of magazine is about, however, I feel as though these test shots help me decide on where to go next and what to figure out when I take some more photos of my model and how to manage my time properly. I also think that next time I should focus on face make-up and top-half because it will relate to the sort of magazine covers that I have been researching, I think that I rushed these photos because of limited time and I should have planned it clearly in my head. Not only that, I used example photos that I found of my target audience/inspiration with me so I could look back and take ideas from that, which inspired the photos that I took for the first draft.

'Outtakes':