My Psychedelic Rock Mood board

I have found some psychedelic rock album art and created a mood board to help me with my own tour poster. From this research I have learnt that psychedelic album art has many features to it, but there are some main aspects that have stood out more than others…

• Colours-There are many different contracting colours used in this album art, they are all bright and vibrant shades to catch your attention. The bold work is very ‘in your face’, yet it still has a pleasing look to it.
• Imagery-The images normally used are wacky and striking to catch your attention. Most of the pictures are distorted in some sort of way, giving it an eccentric look.
• Fonts-The typeface used on psychedelic art is mainly bubbly and dramatic with an alternative kind of style. The writing is also normally quite fitted to the poster or album.

My Tour Poster

If I was to do this again there are a few changes I would make, for example I would make the image of the model a lot bigger and bolder to make more of a statement. I think I could of made better use of the negative space by using a different or larger image to attract the audience, also if I had used an upward eye line from the model it would have drawn the attention of the audience to the call and action.

My Evaluation 

Click on ‘My Evaluation’ for the full document.

This is a mood board I created using 9 of my favourite photos we took, I have labeled them with three hashtags each. The hashtags explain camera terms that were used to take the photo and other aspects within the images.

By doing this photo shoot both my partner and I have learnt how to work with a camera and how to take effective images. However, it wasn’t so easy, we had a few difficulties with focusing the lens and getting the right ratio between lighting and shading on the pictures, this is due to the positioning of the model when she was stood in front of a window it would create a darker silhouette against her. After solving these problems we started to focus on getting different angles to create a more powerful image, being able to tell a story through a single photo.

We were asked to recreate an existing NME magazine front cover with the help of Adobe InDesign. We could pick from a variety of different NME magazines, I chose to remake the cover with Rihanna on the front, as I liked the bold hot pink writing along with the slightly moody image of her. I had never used Adobe InDesign before so we were taught the ins and outs of how the tools and applications work. For example, to add an image onto the page you must select the tool to draw a box so you can insert your photo. I have also learnt how insert a pug too, by selecting the circle icon and dragging it over your desired placement and filling with colour or text. By putting this magazine front cover together it gave us practice for when we come to create our own music magazines and have to use the InDesign features. I feel comfortable and able to use Adobe inDesign and create good magazine covers with the correct features they require.

Below is the original NME magazine cover I chose of Rhianna and just underneath that is my recreation.

Looking back on my work I am proud of what I have created as I’ve added all the elements that were used on the original cover. However, I do feel as though I could improve on getting the quality of the image more crisp and clear for the audience, also I’d like the better my placement skills to really represent the original front cover.

Here are 3 youtube tutorials about how to create a successful magazine with Adobe InDesign. I found the information within each video useful and will be using them in the future to perfect my own music magazine. I believe they will help improve my skills when using InDesign.

In our group we were given the theme psychedelic rock to focus on. With the time and props we had, we made the decision to do a slightly subtler look in the image of bands like Pink Floyd and The Grateful Dead.

From our research we learnt that psychedelic rock originated in the mid 1960’s in the UK and USA, and the stylistic origins come form many different music types a few are rock, folk and electronic. The typical instruments that are used consist of electric guitars, keyboards, electric organs and synthesizers, we also found that psychedelic rock invokes three core effect of LSD and one of the reasons it was popular among teens in the era.

For our shoot would would need to focus on costumes, props and positioning. For our outfit we decided on a tie dye jumper and a patterned head scarf with some red toned glasses and wrist bangles. We got an electric guitar to hold which presents the kinds of instruments they use in the music, we want a laid back feel so will use a relaxed pose.

This is the final photo we have representing psychedelic rock:

I decided this photo explains our genre of psychedelic rock the best, the model looks concentrated yet relaxed. The colourful and mix match costume reveals the kind of mood we were trying to portray, I prefer this image as the model is holding the electric guitar. The way she’s positioned sitting on the floor casually reflects the sort of vibe that followed this genre of music.

Here is a Dua Lipa ‘Hotter than Hell’ tour poster, I have analysed and depicted it by adding labels and explaining the colours, writing and other aspects.

I have used mise-en-scene to help my understanding and how to express the format of the tour poster.

• Costume
• Lighting
• Acting
• Makeup
• Props
• Setting

When creating my magazine I must keep ‘CLAMPS’ in mind to create a successful print. My model must be wearing an outfit that suits the genre and connects to the artist or band. Lighting will be important as it presents what kind of mood and tone is being used, for example dull lighting for  a sad scene and bright lighting for a joyful atmosphere.  By putting my model indifferent positions and poses I can tell a story with facial and body language, expressing the mood I would like to portray throughout the magazine. Makeup and hair is very important to telling a story though a photo, by using heavy drastic makeup I will create a statement and focus point on the model. By adding props the audience can understand the genre and what kind of magazine it is with extra evidence. It’s important that the setting fits in with the rest of the image, linking each aspect together and forming the overall mood/tone of the magazine idea.

After being taught how to use a DSLR camera by our technician within lesson time, I now understand the importance of how to use a camera properly to successfully take a photo. Our technician taught us how to use the features such as aperture, shutter speed, ISO, shooting mode and exposure control, however our main focus was on the first three. I used aperture effectively as I controlled the amount of light getting to the camera when taking photos and I also used ISO well as my photos turned out to be good quality. I think that angles are important when thinking about taking an image, if you would like to take an effective story telling photo.

Looking at the photos I took, I believe that I achieved my goal of taking good quality photos as I was able to tell a story using my photos. My photos connote a sense of seriousness through the use of my model’s facial expressions however there is also a sense of relaxation shown through some of the softer poses.

This knowledge of camera uses can aid me in later photoshoots due to knowing how to use a camera effectively through the correct aperture, ISO and shutter speed. Knowing this I can connote different stories through the use of my photos.