Music Magazine

Magazine Front Page Analysis

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The Design Elements of a Magazine Cover

You need to learn the TERMINOLOGY to describe EXAMPLES of print design. You need these terms to:

  1. ANALYSE professional examples
  2. Make your own (professional looking) version.

Here is a film magazine with the main design elements labelled.

TASK:

Complete a textual analysis of the design elements of this magazine front page:

Use an A3 sheet you have been given with a copy of the cover of Kerrang on it and in pairs, you can annotate it ‘beautifully’ following instructions 2 and 3 below:

  1. Identify (name) the design elements using the correct term for the labelled (examples).
  2. Analyse the ideas (meaning) or the functional reason behind that design element/feature and what they are seeking to communicate to the audience.

 

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Camera – framing, angle and distance all make meaning

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In groups of @ 3, you must shoot 9 photographs using some of the techniques we have been experimenting this week. You should try and use a DSLR.

For example:

  • an extreme close up of a tear stained eyes could underline a character’s sadness and vulnerability.
  • an extreme long shot of a man standing alone on a deserted beach might portray his isolation and solitude.
  • a two shot of a two people, with one in the foreground looking away from the camera and the other slightly out of focus in the background could add an enigmatic, mysterious feel to the scene as well.

Remember to consider:

  • Angle – high, low, canted x 3
  • Distance – ECU, MS, LS, ELS x 3
  • Composition – rule of thirds, lead space and Depth of Field x 3

Each photo should then be uploaded to goboard.com with the technical details of the photograph annotated (T), a description of the scene (E), some connectives for represent and what meaning is communicated (A) using appropriate adjectives.  TAKE A NOTE OF THE URL FOR YOUR OWN MOODBOARD ON GOBOARD.COM SO THAT YOU CAN EDIT IT LATER.

Remember to bring in facial expression, body language, proxemics and gesture to add weight to the narrative story your picture is trying to tell. What about MES to add even more weight to the meaning?  Try and get some special FX in too i.e. motion speed blur?  gomoodboard.com is also good (this is the one that I have used) but you have to upload and comment and complete all at one go as it doesn’t seem you can return to it.

Use locations around the school (but be respectful and safe) i.e. from a high angle at the top of the stairs looking down at your subjects or a low angle looking up at your subject/frames/point of views, lead space looking whistfully out of a window at the sky?

DISTANCE
Image result for close up of tear stained eye

The close up of the tear stained eyes conveys a sense of sadness and vulnerability of the model.

ANGLE
Image result for high angle shot of a small child

The high angle shot of the small children  helps represent their weakness by reinforcing their small stature. The composition using the rule of 3rds also draws attention to their isolation as they sit firmly in the middle of the shot surrounded by foliage and no other humans.

COMPOSITION 
Image result for depth of field

The yellow snooker ball  is clearly the important object in this frame. Using depth of field, the other snooker ball is out of focus, present and yet not as important as the yellow one that signifying that the important focus of the photograph is the yellow number 1 ball.

Please click on the moodboard below to go a moodboard site to see how the comments on the meaning and composition of the shots have been compiled. Good luck. HAVE FUN!

Essential Rules of Composition

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Composition

Good shots do not just rely on using the focal length and shutter speed well or even just getting something in focus.  You must always try and work out how and where to place  the objects/subjects in your frame so as to draw attention to the main focus of your ‘story’ (picture).

Remember, this is all about story telling so make sure the signs, symbols and messages you want to convey are placed and highlighted correctly in the frame.

There are a number of rules relating to formal composition:

  • The Rule of Thirds
  • Depth of Field
  • Contrast & Texture
  • Lead Room

These are rules which can be followed or subverted to effect in film making.

 

How to use a DSLR

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When you come to take your photos for your Music Magazine, you need to take some excellent shots. Many of you will have up to date and advanced smart-phones which will take some great shots, but using a DSLR camera when you can implement depth of field and get excellent images by playing with shutter speed and aperture size, could mean your photos are much, much better.

Neither Mr Gregson or Mrs Cobb are specialist photography teachers. However, this is your chance to play around and experiment with the DSLR cameras after a short introduction to the very basic controls and functions available.

With your partner, experiment with aperture size, (which changes the focal length) and shutter speed in various lighting conditions (inside, outside, natural light etc) and with the flash and automatic and manual settings. Only by playing, making mistakes and learning by them will you be able to use a DSLR for your photo shoot.

Here is a very good video, which talks through and illustrates the three key parts of a DSLR that you need to experiment with:

  • Shutter Speed
  • Aperture
  • ISO

Enjoy the time to play.

Contact Sheet – how to…….

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Make sure ALL of your photos are in your Pictures Folders.

Open Adobe Bridge and Photoshop

Bridge

  • Select the photos from the pictures folder
  • Tools – select Photoshop – select Contact Sheet

Photoshop

  • Contact Sheet should be displayed
  • Export as Quick Export PNG

Embed the Contact Sheet Full Size in your blog.

 

 

Mise-en-scene (Designing your music star)

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Here are the presentations from the lessons on Mise En Scene.

 

Remember for this post on costuming and dressing a model for your allocated genre of music performer you should:

  • Include a draft photo from the class in your test outfit with some of the comments and adjectives that the class suggested as to how your character was represented.
  • Embed one slide that is a moodboard with images of ideas for how a performer from your allocated genre could be represented in terms of costume, facial expressions, hair, make-up, body language, gestures, props etc. Use adjectives.
    • This should be summarised with comments on the general idea of MES for your allocated genre with relevant adjectives as to how that genre is generally represented.
  • Contact Sheets of photo taken from the actual shoot with commentary on the good, the bad and the ugly and adjectives to describe them.
  • Final and chosen photo of your artist in costume with a commentary on how they are represented/portrayed with plenty of relevant adjectives.
    • Reflect on how why that image seems to work better than the other ones from the shoot.

Reflection – how to?

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Read this document on how to create your Creative Critical Reflections for your blog posts.

Your first reflection is on your Skills base.

Using your group brainstorm on technical and transferrable skills, consider where you are and where you might be through taking Media Studies.

Use the ideas on the brainstorm to create a reflective blog post that is not too long, looks attractive (bullet points and paragraphs) and is proofed for typos.

Textual Analysis (Album or Tour Poster)

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Remember, what is it ‘saying’?  The denotations (things) all have connotations (meanings).  Use terms like these in your introduction to the post along with decoding, deconstructing, signs, symbols etc to show that you are getting to grips with how to analyse a media text.  You can use synonyms for represent too – portray, suggests, infers, implies, indicates etc.

Use Call Outs on your slide to evidence the comments.

Use this link to open the slideshow, take a copy, delete all the images you’re not going to use and then complete your analysis.

Please submit this work via Google Classroom (to be set up).

My Media Consumption – Collage

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Create a collage with a minimum of 15 – 20 pictures that illustrate what you read, watch and listen to.  In other words what media do you consume? When you watch, listen and read, you are called a CONSUMER.

Also, what media do you contribute to?  What apps, blogs, social media do you add texts, status and click and likes to?  When you interact and contribute to the media, you are called a PROSUMER.

Here is the exemplar we showed you in class: Click on the thumbnail to get a bigger version.

collage

Then using the Uses and Gratification terms from Blumler and Katz, indicate which of these media you use for ENTERTAINMENT, PERSONAL IDENTITY, SOCIAL INTERACTION or  EDUCATION AND INFORMATION.  Just add in a E, PI, SI, I – remember some of them you engage with for multiple reasons.

You only need about 6 of these to show that you understand how media is used for various reasons.

You should complete the collage using a google slide and then save it as a pdf – it will be your first blog post!

BLOG POST

Remember always to introduce the post but do not be tempted to start ‘in this task we did….’.  Try and weave in some personal observations, reflections and most of all some terms to show you ‘get it’, you understand why you have completed this piece of research and what you have learnt from it.