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Below is my plan for my article:

My first written draft:

Edie Dorian grew up as an only child, and her family experienced many financial struggles meaning she didn’t have much access to things like other children had. She always reminded her parents how grateful she was, knowing that they only wanted what was best for her. On her 8th birthday, her parents gathered together the money to buy her a guitar as she had always had a love for music, and wanted to make her birthday more enjoyable! Things didn’t always go as planned and her dad got fired from his job, which left the Dorians struggling to afford to pay for their bills. By accepting that they could no longer afford to pay their bills, they ended up living on the streets of Manchester. Edie kept her guitar with her and began busking on the streets to see if she could earn a little more money to afford food, water, etc. Over time they had earned some money, but sadly not enough to live off. Luckily, Edie was becoming quite a success and was creating a substantial audience. The big crowd of people caught the attention of many passing people around but one man changed her life drastically. This man is called Paul Epworth and has worked with many famous artists in the past, he stated, “As soon as I heard her voice, I knew she had great potential.”. Paul gave Edie an offer of a lifetime. He wanted to work with her and help her create her own music to release. Edie was thrilled and took him up on his offer almost immediately as she knew if she became a hit, she could earn money to help support her and her family. “I will forever be grateful for the opportunity I was given, I wouldn’t be here without the help of Paul Epworth.”-Edie. Since this, Edie has become a star which has inspired many others. From busking on the streets to being the headline of magazine articles! Edie states; “Never did I think I would make it this far, from playing my guitar in the streets to playing at Wembley Stadium in front of thousands and thousands of people!” In the future, there have been potential rumors of Edie collaborating with Darcey Hodgson to create a hit, and there’s hope for it to reach number 1 in the charts! This is a huge achievement for Edie because, despite her challenging experiences, she has still managed to become a success and discover her passion for music. As she states; “I believe you should take up every opportunity that gets thrown at you, you never know where it could take you.”

My final draft:

Edie Dorian grew up as an only child. Her family experienced many financial struggles meaning she didn’t have much access to things like other children had. Her mother and father were both dedicated musicians, singing and playing in local pubs. She always reminded her parents how grateful she was, knowing that they only wanted what was best for her. On her 8th birthday, her parents saved the money to buy her a guitar as she had always had a love for music, and had been fascinated by their musical skills. However, owning her own guitar was fundamental to her own growth and development as a musician and was soon trying to accompany her parents whilst they rehearsed regularly at home.

Things didn’t always go as planned and her parents lost their positioning in the pub to perform, which left the Dorian’s struggling to afford to pay for their bills. By accepting their situation, they resulted in living on the streets of Manchester. Edie kept her guitar with her and began busking on the streets to earn a little more money to afford to eat. She covered many songs by The Cranberries, Florence and The Machine, and Arctic Monkeys who were all her ultimate inspirations. Over time they had earned some money, but sadly not enough to live off. Luckily, Edie was becoming quite the success and was creating an audience. The big crowd of people caught the attention of many passing people around but one man changed her life drastically. This man is called Paul Epworth and has worked with many famous artists in the past, and he stated that, “As soon as I heard her voice, I knew she had great potential.”. Paul gave Edie an offer of a lifetime. He wanted to offer her regular slots on a Tuesday night to perform in front of a small crowd at a music hall.  Edie was thrilled and took him up on his offer almost immediately as she knew if she became a hit, she could earn money to help support her and her family. “I will forever be grateful for the opportunity I was given, I wouldn’t be here without the help of Paul Epworth.”

Since this, Edie has become the ultimate indie star which has inspired many others. From busking on the streets to being the headline of magazine articles! Edie states; “Never did I think I would make it this far, from playing my guitar in the streets to playing at Wembley Arena in front of thousands of people!”

In the future there has been potential rumours of Edie collabing with Darcey Hodgson and there’s hope for it to reach number 1 in the charts! You can discover more on page 85. This is a huge achievement for Edie because despite her challenging experiences, she has still managed to become a success and discover her passion in music. As she states; “I believe you should take up every opportunity that gets thrown at you, you never know where it could take you.”

Below is my contact sheet for shoot 2:

What went well?

• I incorporated a wide range of props to make it more interesting and create more of a story to the audience
• I used a range of camera distances (close up, medium, long shot) to show off my models emotions, body language and elements of MES (costume, props etc)
• I considered different types of framing to make my images more interesting (e.g. model positioned slightly on the left side and not just in the middle)

What could I do to improve?

• I could use the studio next time to get a white backdrop and no additional things in the background
• I could also use a DSLR camera next time to ensure I am getting top quality images
• Style their hair more as there is some stray strands which looks slightly messy

My favourite images:

Why I chose these images?

I chose these images because I think they represent my model very well in relation to the indie genre. Since majority of my selected images included props, they encourage more of an interaction between the model and audience, and develop the audience’s knowledge on the star and what they use to produce their music. The costumes also relate to the indie genre and somewhat conventional to similar artists outfits. These aspects of MES are vital when taking photos to ensure my shoot is more successful and is able to communicate to my target audience.

Reflection

From taking in the feedback from my first shoot, I was able to hit those targets and make this shoot more successful. I think this shoot as a whole went quite well as I was able to direct my models into certain poses so they were confident in what they were doing, I considered a lot of the elements of MES and, since I didn’t do my shoot in the studio I had to be creative and see what I could use to make the lighting good so the images can be used throughout my magazine, therefore I used a mini ring light for phones and the flash on a phone.

Below is my PMA for my second shoot

For this shoot I will also use more long shots and mid shots, different model poses like laying on the floor, sitting on a chair and using the props to do different stances (eg foot resting on the amp). I will experiment using some low angles but majority straight on as I want my photos to turn out to be the “same but different” from other competing magazines.

Reflection

From creating a production meeting agenda it supplied me with more confidence to have a more succesful shoot. This is because it enabled me to be more organised with what I needed and how to direct my models. I included my models facial expressions, costumes, props, equipment and photos of MES to allow me to have more of a visual representation of what I was aiming for. For this shoot I included two models and both being a different person from the first shoot I did. My second shoot will either be used for insets on my front cover, contents page, double page spread or all of them as they will be important to portray a story and interact with the audience of what similar artists have been doing, eg a tour, releasing new music etc. This time around, I included more props as they help to communicate messages to the audience and portray my chosen genre more clearly, eg records and guitars. During this shoot, I will consider AIDA to ensure my audience will engage and interact with my magazine.

A masthead is located at the top of the front cover of a magazine, and its role is to showcase the name of the magazine. It also must fit in within the theme of the brand and the conventions of the magazine, this therefore helps to attract and influence your target audience to buy it.

Below is an document containing potential fonts for my masthead, and the one I have chosen to use:

Reflection

I found my fonts from a website called “DaFont” which I thought stood out and was conventional for my genre of music. I think this because from other magazines I have researched, they have used similar font types which means my magazine would be “the same but different” so it can still stand out to my target audience. I also need to consider AIDA to ensure the masthead is more interesting from the rest of my competition and encourages my audience to be drawn to my magazine.

I have decided to choose the font “Walton” because it is close to the fonts of other music magazines I have considered when designing my front cover, and I like how the letters have got a slight slant on them as I think it makes it more interesting but still simplistic at the same time. It also attracts a more mature demographic group, so young and middle aged adults which is the age range I am aiming my magazine towards. Since it is a sans serif font, it creates a more casual, informal approach to it, and I have written it all in capital letters for a sense of importance/significance from my competing magazines to ensure mine will stand out from the rest.

Below is a slideshow with 10x images I have used as inspiration for my contents page

By doing this research, it has given me a lot of inspiration on some contents page ideas for my magazine. It also has helped me to discover which ones look more professional, and therefore more appealing to the audience to want to read further. In majority of these magazines, the title is at the top of the page, maximum of two images, not too much colour and usually a medium shot/ long shot of the star to capture their full self.

I hand-drew some contents page layouts of my own below:

When designing these contents page layouts, I have taken into account what looks appealing in other magazines to present onto mine and considered what the common conventional features of a contents page is. I have include, a pug, most titles positioned at the top of the page and big images to really show off the star even more. By creating these layout ideas, it will benefit me when it comes to editing so I have a rough idea of what I would like my contents page to look like.

In the contents page I will aim to include:

• Editors hello
• Page numbers
• Images
• Reminder on the magazine’s name and mission statement
• Graphic designs/illustrations
• Cover lines

Within the contents page, I will include headlines of the pages in my magazine. This would engage the audience to want to read further if they get a slight insight on what this magazine contains. Some examples can also include:

• The secret to writing music 
• Exclusive interviews with your favourite artists!
• How I got into the music industry
• 5 tips for an easy going life
• How karma caught up with me
• Ultimate guide to success
• How I survived the battle with the devil
• Sneak peak! New music coming soon…
• “Stars name” most asked questions
• “Stars name” rise to fame

Reflection

When I am making my contents page, I need to put into consideration Blumler and Katz theory which includes social relationships, personal identity, entertainment and information. By considering social relationships, it can build a hypereal relationship between the star and my target audience. Personal identity might influence the audiences identity based on how the role model is presented, for instance, if they star is portrayed as joyful, the audience might get a joyful appeal from it and present the star as having a joyful personality. Entertainment can include images, graphics, fonts etc. These all will affect how the audience will feel about the magazine and if it’s their preferred reading. If it is their preferred reading, they will use this magazine as an escape from their normality. Lastly, information to influence the audience on facts about the star to get a general idea on them.

Other than this, I will also use AIDA (attract, interest, desire, action) in order to make the audience take action and engage with my magazine. By doing this, it will give my magazine more of a chance of becoming a success against my competing magazines.

Below is an image of an article on the 10 Tips for Life

The 5 W’s and 1 H of Journalism

• Who – This article is written by a famous rapper and musician, who is called Wyclef Jean
• What – An insight on his tips on life as a rapper and musician in the format as a magazine article and promoting a new album being released
• Where – N/A
• When – September 2017
• Why – To encourage people to be a ‘perfect gentleman’
• How – A numbered list with each number being a different top tip (eg, KARMA IS GONNA GET YOU)

How do the headlines, stand firsts, pull quotes and captions appeal to the audience and encourage them to read the article in full?

The headlines, ’10 Commandments’ and ‘Wyclef Jean’ may appeal to the audience because they are in a bold format to ensure it stands out. The ’10 Commandments’ has also been placed inside a red arrow which appeals to the audience as they are being more creative in terms of how they present their headlines. The other headline, ‘Wyclef Jean’ is formatted in a large font size which grabs the audience’s attention almost immediately as it makes it really clear who this article is based on and if they are interested in this famous rapper, they will want to read this article in full.

The stand first ‘The rapper and musician’s rules for life’ is a simple but effective way to make it known what this article will consist of. This is because it is clear and gets straight to the point of what it is the audience will be reading about as if it was too confusing and the audience had to decode it in a certain way, they might not bother reading it.

The pull quote, “What makes a perfect gentleman? Leave big tips baby!” gives the audience some information about what the article is going to be about. It also includes a bit of slang, “Leave big tips baby!” which engages the audience as it could make the article more approachable because of its less formal nature behind it.

The captions, such as “MUSIC CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE. LITERALLY” gives detail about what each paragraph is going to be about. This could appeal to the audience so they get a rough idea what each paragraph will be on so they know if they will want to carry on and read it.

What is the article about?

It is about a famous rapper called Wyclef Jean and he writes about his top tips on life from a musicians perspective. From this double page spread magazine article, the audience could learn how to have a better outlook on life which could affect them positively as it could change their perspective on some things so they can live a more free life. For instance, “do unto others as you would have them unto you.”

What is your sense of the location/event/person that the journalist is writing about?

Wyclef Jean uses slang language, which could present him asman informal, fun individual even though he is a grown man, as the audience can discover from the front cover. He also uses a lot of short, simple sentences and when this is used in media it could be to tell the reader exactly what they need to hear rather than putting unnecessary information the audience might skip past and ignore.

How does the journalist represent the star?

The journalist represents the star through the use of colloquial language. This is mostly shown on each of the captions, for instance “KARMA IS GONNA GET YOU”. By using the word “gonna” and not “going to” it sets quite a casual tone for the rest of the article so the audience can understand what type of person the star is (laid-back).

Focus Forward

When doing articles in my magazine I am considering using interviews, Q&A’s or possibly top tips/advice on things as I think those elements relate to my target audience more because of the most popular age being millennial when I researched the indie genre. In terms of language, I will also consider using techniques like alliteration, colloquial language and metaphors to make my magazine stand out from others.

Below is my contact sheet for shoot 1:

What went well?

• I included a wide range of different poses
• I took a lot of images to give me more choice on what to use in my magazine
• I used a wide range of different distances (eg, close up, medium, long) to portray my models emotion, body language etc

What could I do to improve?

• Include more of a range of props in the photos (eg a guitar) to create more of a story/meaning to the audience
• Consider making sure the focus on the camera is clear so my images turn out well so they can be used
• Make sure the lighting is a bit lighter next time as some are quite dark, and since she is wearing a black jacket it doesn’t make it stand out as much against the white backdrop

Below is some images that I may use in the final product:

Why I chose these images:

I chose these images because I think it represents my model as quite stylish, laid-back, and seductive which is what I was aiming for. From my images the audience can also decode what type of music my model produces, this is because from the leather jacket and sunglasses you may get the impression she is an indie/indie rock artist as she is wearing convential clothes that an indie rock artist may wear. I also have a liking for the poses in these chosen images as they are quite casual/laid-back which is how I want her to be represented as, but also because they are quite different from each other so I can experiment which the different poses and how they look in my magazine.

Focus forward

By giving myself targets from this shoot, I can consider them when I am taking photos for my next shoot. For example, one of my targets is to use more props so I can experiment by using different props in the next shoot (eg guitar, records). It will also encourage myself to have a more succesful shoot next time if I am hitting those targets as I know what to work on for next time.

Here is 10 different front pages of a magazine that I like the look of:

Reflection

In this task we gathered together at least 10 different front pages of a magazine that we had a liking for. I chose these magazine front pages because I admired how there was a consistent colour scheme/palette, the mastheads are bold and stand out, and even though they are quite minimal (one main image and not a lot go writing on some) it makes it quite simple but very effective as it pleases the eyes as it isn’t confusing or doesn’t look boring to read/look at. They have also limited themselves to a few fonts which makes it straightforward, so they do not confuse the reader by having multiple fonts and not understanding the main theme of the magazine.

The media language in these magazines are used to represent the brand by the written titles having some sort of colour scheme/palette. For example, the billboard title colour matches the models hair colour. This reinforces the title as it makes it stand out more to attract a wider audience.

The cover lines also have some significance in these magazines as the fonts and placements of them fit in with the theme of the magazine. For instance the INSTYLE cover lines font fit in with the masthead and the main cover star. This is because the title is quite bold, sans serif and the model in the image has bold makeup on. Therefore, the cover lines are also quite bold, sans serif and the colour of them match in well as red and blue are opposite each other on the colour wheel.

Adding on, the image in these magazines promotes the title effectively. This can be seen from the magazine called WellBeing. The image has quite a relaxing appealing to it which reflects the masthead as it can be defined as, the state of being comfortable, healthy or happy. Therefore, in the image it is reflecting how the model seems to be free in the world and how her wellbeing is a positive example for the audience.

Star Image (Florence Welch)

In this task we discovered how one particular famous artist of our ‘genre‘ is presented in the media, in my case “Indie”.  We prioritised researching the Metanarrative, which can be defined as a mix of media that constructs and shapes the star in the mind of the audience. The Metanarrative is constructed through:

• Music Videos
• Album Art
• Concerts
• Lyrics from songs
• Presence at Events (awards)
• Social Media  

It is vital to look at the Metanarrative when looking at famous artists so we develop a further understanding on the importance of a ‘Star Image’, and how they are portrayed through the use of media language. As shown in Dyer’s Theory, his central idea was that the star image could initially be described using two key paradoxes. He states that “a star is both ordinary and extraordinary“. Ordinary meaning they are just like us (regular people), and extraordinary meaning they might be more talented, gifted etc. Florence Welch is a suitable example of Stars being ordinary and extraordinary. This is because she is ordinary in the way that she can still struggle with mental illnesses and disorders like every other individual, but also extraordinary as her career in the music industry has been a major success so far, for instance winning multiple music awards.

Star Image (Mine)

For this next task we were asked to create a collage of Mise-En-Scene to represent how we would want our front cover star to be represented in our first photoshoot. I considered the elements of MES which included:

• Costume
• Makeup/Hair
• Framing & Angles
• Props
• Lighting
• Setting

From my collage, some adjectives can describe how I want my star to be presented as such as, natural, laid back, authentic, seductive, edgy, confident etc. From the outfits, hair etc I have researched I think I have done a good job at having my star be viewed in that way.

Costume

For the costume I have included a leather jacket, mesh/strap/detailed top, black trousers, black boots/converse shoes and silver hoop earrings. I think this suites the Indie genre because common Indie artists clothing can be viewed as quite edgy and authentic. For instance, Florence Welch wears a lot of long, flowy, detailed dresses which shows the authenticity of her as she has her own signature clothing style and portrays her confidence as she feels comfortable in what she wears.

Makeup/Hair

For the makeup I have decided to go for quite a natural, sleek makeup look and for the hair my artist will have their hair down and preferably straight. I have chosen that the makeup/hair will have more of a natural appeal to it because they can be viewed as generally quite laid-back. This is because they are more of a DIY artist and away from the major record labels. Therefore, having a natural look will portray my artist as having a laid-back, casual, young personality.

Framing/Angle/Pose

For the framing I intend on doing a medium close up, straight camera angle and my artist tilting their head to the side slightly whilst maintaining direct eye contact with the camera. I chose to do this framing/angles/pose because it is commonly found on majority of the Indie music magazines I have researched and helps to represent the genre.

Props

For the props I have included a guitar and sunglasses in my collage. These items are ideal to use as they fit in with the stereotypical Indie genre as many artists include a guitar in their songs, and wear some sort of prop which can commonly be found in music magazines where they can be seen wearing sunglasses, hats, hair accessories etc. Therefore, I have chosen to use sunglasses in my shoot.

Lighting/Setting

For the lighting I will use ‘cool-tones’ as I think it reflects the edgy nature of the Indie genre. Likewise, for the setting I will use a solid background in the magazine front cover, for instance, a solid colour (dark shade), gradients etc. I am deciding to do this because it links in with my inspiration on other Indie music magazines and having a dominant coloured background may represent the laid-back nature of Indie artists as there’s not too much going on.

Focus forward

By doing this task, it has allowed me to discover the conventions of an Indie artist and how I can make my magazine ‘the same but different’ so I can still allow it to stand out and attract a wider audience. By including a wide range of different photos in my collage for each aspect of MES, it means that when it comes to doing my shoot I have many options to look back on, gives it a sense of creativity and enables me to have a clear understanding of what I want it to turn out like.