Here you can see I have created a doc and filled it in with all the details of my shoot. This includes; the date, place, models and equipment used. With this information it leaves me prepared for my shoot and I know exactly what I need and what will happen. This is very important as I don’t want to be rushing on the day and forget some vital things.
For my language analysis I am referencing an article by Wyclef Jean on his experiences and lessons learnt through his music career. This article is dated back to September 2017 and it’s done by Q magazine.
The article speaks on ‘the rapper and musicians rules for life.’ Here he gives 10 tips for life, varying over multiple circumstances and situations, whilst some are transferrable skills.
Who is Wyclef Jean? Nel Ust Wyclef Jean is an actor, rapper and musician, winning 3 Grammy Awards. He also filed to be the president of Tahiti in 2010, however he was ruled ineligible to stand for office. He has quite the variety across his life so could be a very good person to take tips off of!
What does he talk about? Jean talks about his life experiences. Everything he has learnt through his extraordinary career and what he would say is most important in life, his top tips or ‘commandments’ which are vital for a successful life.
Where was this article wrote? Throughout the article there is no display of where it was wrote and constructed. However, you can clearly see that Wyclef Jean has wrote it all from a first person perspective straight from his own head and experiences, as at the end of the day no one else could give you his top 10 lessons and tips!
When were these tips released to the public? This article by Q magazine, written by Wyclef Jean was done in September 2017 yet the experiences and references date back to 1987.
Why did he write this article? I imagine he wrote this article as it is quite an interesting topic and maybe something that’s quite enjoyable to write. He may also feel as if it’s quite a good deed as he would be helping others. Also, readers would be interested in someone like Wyclef Jean’s experiences and top tips, due to his successful career, therefore it would have a large target audience and is a good business opportunity for not only Wyclef Jean but also the Q magazine.
How did he write this? He must’ve dedicated a lot of time to planning and constructing this article. It’s been constructed off of his experiences and the valuable lessons he has learnt, and he has deconstructed all these lessons and experiences and explained how they have helped and in what departments they’ve helped and he’s learnt from.
This article is structured as a ‘life tips’ article and that’s all really. This is clear to see due to the very simple and easy to understand structure and spacing. The large and bold numbers are very noticeable and make it very clear it is a tips list. This is because the big bold numbers are conventional features for a tips list making it very clear and easy to understand. As well as this the main tip is also in big bold writing like a subheading next to the number, with a paragraph underneath describing why he feels this way and how it an help, which yet again is a conventional feature for a life tips.
In this article it is very clear it’s from a first person perspective with no journalist or reporter present. This is because:
Due to the structure of the writing you do feel very informed and feel as of it is 100% truthful, it makes you trust and believe what is said as it is straight from him and couldn’t just be something made up on the spot. In this article there is no real conclusion or introduction from the author, he more or less goes straight into his tips, which could be quite a strong structure as there is no time to get bored and it’s all interesting when it comes to the tips, which is gripping for the reader.
The language used is connotes the rappers genre well, he touches on his past and upbringing and it links into hip-hop nicely. Throughout the article not many quotes are used, however 2 of them yet again link very strongly to his brand and genre, “I remember when I was 27 this person was an asshole to me.” and “Yo, can I sample this song?”. Both of these quotes show his personality off more, which makes you feel closer to the reader and article.
Overall I feel as if this article is very good. It makes you feel very close to the reader and you feel as if everything being said is 100% true. It gives you a very strong understanding of Wyclef Jean’s life and career. It also displays his personality well, with the quotes and language. This is a very good attribute to a ‘life tips’ article as it shows you why they may think this, it further enhances your understanding.
CONTENTS PAGE PEER ASSESSMENT
What type of shots have been used to create a variety of shot distances and how has the camera been used to communicate meaning?
Could do with different models but there is a variety of shot distances from the close up on the front cover to long shot and mid shots. They’re satisfactory and conventional!
What choice of Mise en scene is appropriate for the star image and genre?
The street urban costume is appropriate and so is the jewellery and accessories. It shows a clear link to the genre with the strong props used.
How far is the font used readable and reflects the genre?
It is young, almost graffiti like and fits the genre. The fireball font is a bit cliched though and overused. It is also difficult to read a lot of text in a sans serif font in uppercase but you could also argue it is quite contemporary and appropriate for the young demographic of the target audience. It shows a strong connotation of the genre and brand and good sense if that’s the target audience.
What technical conventions of a Contents page are present and used effectively?
Page numbers, insets but no captions on the photos so who are they? No page number for the actual contents page. Needs proofing for typos. There is a pug but that is a bit thin in terms of design – feels a bit placed and too obvious! Very satisfactory and minimal.
How has Indesign been used to layout the page to convey a brand?
Yes as there are photos and plenty of information but perhaps the cover lines are too bold and perhaps we need more information. Definitely need captions on the insets to anchor the images. Lacks description and information, too minimal again.
How well have the text and visuals been integrated together?
Top two page numbers need to be on the right margin to keep continuity with the bottom right column numbers. Some of the visuals need anchoring or giving some extra border or shadow to make them have more impact? They’re rather minimal.
Where has photoshop been used to manipulate the photos to enhance the star image or genre?
The main model needs to be manipulated more to give him a sharper image or one that fits with the genre. It is too ‘ordinary’ at the moment, seems as it’s been used as it’s just functional. Whereas the two borrowed images have some filter, impact and narrative attached to them, they clearly connote the genre.
How is the language used appropriate for the genre and target audience?
More colloquial genre appropriate lingo is needed as at the moment it may not speak to the target audience in the right register and tone. It fails to convey the genre well and lacks effective language.
Following this peer assessment I have conjured up 5 targets for my contents page that I can use, these are as follows:
A contents page tends to be on the first page of a magazine or inside the cover. They tend to behold all the information what’s to follow and whereabouts it is by telling you the page number. They are very useful and can be very good at making the target audience take action (buy the magazine).
Important things I need to think about while creating the contents page would be –
As well as informing the readers, the contents page is also another opportunity to apply your AIDA, as I have briefly touched on already. I’m sure if the contents page has a link to the front cover, it will yet again catch the attention of the target audience and will be more memorable most likely. Then, if these readers are into hip-hop/rap they will take an interest to the magazine. If they skim read through my contents page and see what’s to follow, this should result in them having a desire to read it, therefore they should take action and buy the magazine.
Like the front cover, the contents page beholds conventional features too. It will also contain a masthead, stating what it is, then I will have cover lines, and where these features would be, and potentially a minor description on them. There isn’t too much else too them, as you can see in the slide below where I have researched some contents page designs on Pinterest. As you can see they’re fairly basic.
As preparation for creating my contents page I sketched out some ideas onto some paper very quickly of what I thought would be appropriate, catchy and conventional. These 3 all behold the same conventional features yet have different layouts as styles. As well as this I thought of some cover lines for my contents page, these include:
The first draft for the front cover of my music magazine.
Self Assessment. For my magazine I have assessed it on a google slide, here you can see what I would change and do differently or better, then also what I think worked effectively. This self assessment in necessary as it’s a good way to reflect appropriately on the pro’s and con’s of my magazine. I can also use this as a guideline for my future drafts and final piece.
Below is my self assessment of my first draft:
Overall I feel I see a lot of ways to improve my cover, I have learnt different techniques and have learnt more about the design of a cover through some experience, which is good. 5 specific targets I have to improve are;
Find a better quality photo
Get a photo that represents my brand and photo even better
More persuasive language in my cover lines whilst keeping them short and snappy
Add a little more colour to find a more exciting hip-hop aesthetic
Find or make a better more exciting background to make the cover less basic and boring
Here is the batch of photos from my very first photo shoot. With these photos I tried to connote my genre and brand. All of these pictures are different whilst all holding the conventional features of a hip-hop shoot, therefore I feel as if I’ve done quite well at representing my genre in my shoot.
Overall I feel like the shoot was not too bad. I feel as if I got some really good photos for my cover. The best ones are when my brand is well represented with my mise-en-scene and when the lighting and focus is perfect! As you can see as we moved through the shoot, we used a decent amount of props and changed the outfit too. We did this to get the best possible representation of the brand. They also hold some close representation to my star images of which I used Drake. We used different angles for our shots in an attempt to portray different emotions and feelings however we stuck to the conventional features too. We also used our props and clothing to represent these different emotions and feelings, encoding them in our MES. Some of the props make him look ordinary, yet the chain and glasses may connote a more extraordinary feeling, especially when it comes to my genre (hip-hop).
To make to make my magazine hit my target audience and beat out my competition I have gone through and researched my competition. I have done this by looking at unique selling points and my gauging target audiences preferences. It will allow me to make the best magazine possible and come up with new ideas to be able to make my magazine more suited and preferred than my competition.
Below you can see some designs I have conjured up for my masthead, these are all different fonts that I have done little thing to, so they represent my brand and genre in the best way possible. Some I prefer more than others, and some I have experimented and done more work to. I hope these fonts work well, and behold affective parts of AIDA;
Attention
Interest
Desire
Action
I feel as if attention, interest and desire will be effective via these fonts, however not so much action, this will be done by the other conventional features on my cover, yet you never know!
So you can quite clearly see the ones I have done extra work on, however these aren’t necessarily my favourites. My favourite 2 are the second one, and the last one. However I feel the third one will be affective in catching peoples attention, but they may not particularly like it or take much action from it. Overall I’m fairly happy with what I’ve come up with, and hope they can be used effectively.
Below you can see a plan I have made so I am appropriately prepared for my shoot next Thursday. Here you can see;
My model is Barnaby Taylor and I have some strong ideas for how to dress him and direct him for these photos. I will try get some sports links into the shoot as that will be a strong feature of my magazine. I have done this doc because it helps me understand and plan what I need for the shoot. Which is important, as I don’t wanna get there and be lost and unprepared, I can use this almost as a checklist for what I need to get for and before the shoot, and then what shots and techniques I need to use at the shoot.
For this post I have found a lot of inspiration for what I want my magazine to look like. I have found styles, colours photos and genre conventions I’d like to follow. The genre conventions I like come predominantly from my Star Images, of Drake. This photos of him demonstrate both ordinary and extraordinary features I would like to connote in my photos I take. I would also like to be able to display a meta-narrative with some of these photos too, as I feel this is a strong and affective technique.
After researching on Pinterest I have come to realise the conventional colour and style used by this genre(rap/hip-hop). This assists me a lot in catching and retaining the eye of my target audience, and it’s important I am aware at what the lack of these colours or conventional features may harm my sales or ratings. I need to make sure I use these colours and styles (my denotations) effectively, and that the meaning and usage behind them is clear (the connotation). This will give my magazine a brand, it will represent and display my magazine.
Here are some photos that I aim to have my cover photo represent or look like. These photos are good as they all have some conventional features, even if some are different features. A lot of them are clearly showing a degree of wealth with the chains and jewelry being well represented, with the hip-hop style of fashion clearly on show too. You can see this with some of the links between sport, as well as the baggy and very loud clothing.