Before I began making my tour poster, I researched other punk tour posters in order to ensure that mine resembled the genre in terms of the conventional features as well as elements like colour palette and fonts. I also had to ensure that my image of the cover star portrays the genre as well, to do this I used Mis-En-Scene to make the poses, props, makeup and costumes to create an anarchic vibe.

Almost every example has black as the dominant colour as it’s bold and harsh which is what punk is all about. Another prominent colour is red- another colour representing anarchy and danger. Often, the Union Jack is used as a sarcastic political statement, another common design feature is magazine cutout-like fonts- a bit all over the place and chaotic, much like the chaotic layout. This concept gave me free rein to explore and use a lot of fonts. The typefaces vary in serif and sans serif but most outstandingly the fonts are decorative to be genre specific.

As for AIDA, the conventional attraction for a tour poster is usually a large image of the artist themselves but some punk bands have chosen to favor iconic symbols or graphics that represent the band or genre. Finally, each poster includes a variation of (if not, all) the following conventions…

• Artist name / names
• Tour title
• Tour dates
• Tour venues
• Artist image or graphic imagery
• Persuasive statements
• Where to buy tickets/ more info
• Prices

These help to interest the audience by boldly stating locations and dates so that they can stick in people’s minds. The artists is the main attraction and the desire and the call to action is the more information elements.

 

My Tour Poster & Reflection

My poster is conventional because it has black as it’s prominent colour and I have turned up the contrast and saturation on the artist image in order to create the harsh chaotic connotations. It also includes all of the necessary conventional features such as tour dates and venues.

My poster is unique because I’ve used a bright purple which stands out but also differs from other punk posters. It attracts the audience via large titles, artist image and punk connoting colours.

I like the typefaces and text on my poster but I think I could’ve chosen the colours more carefully and spent more time editing the image and creating shadows on it as I had originally envisioned. I think going forward, I will pay more attention to the additional graphics associated with the genre.

 

I have created my own mock-up cover of this issue of Billboard magazine. By doing this I have learned how to use Adobe InDesign to create my own media texts and I have applied my knowledge on magazine conventional features and target audiences. For Example, this issue of Billboard presents colour within the masthead to grab consumer’s attention as the rest of the page is mostly mono in keeping with the trends of the 2000s. The cover lines are laid out on the left and in bold capital letters to appeal to the target audience of young producers and music enthusiasts. There is red used in order to give the cover a fierce look and the main cover line is ‘Beyoncé’, by attempting to shadow the white text I have learned about the importance of the small details within the design features of a front page.

My strengths within creating media texts on InDesign…

• Use of text editing options within InDesign and how to use them effectively
• The importance of fonts within magazine covers and how they fit together in the layout
• How to use the basics of InDesign such as making shapes, inputting text and changing colours.

My weaknesses within creating media texts on InDesign…

• Sizing an Image- I struggled with this as I was conflicted because I didn’t want to stretch the image or sacrifice the proportions and quality of the image whilst also leaving enough blank space for my cover lines and not overcrowding the cover star.
• Placing an image- this cover didn’t require me to place an image so I’m yet to test my skills on this,
• Layout- I’m comfortable with how everything should be laid out but I struggle to apply this on InDesign as there is a lot of elements on the screen at once.

In doing this, I have advanced my media knowledge as I now know how to use InDesign software to create a magazine cover and the importance of carefully placing and editing every technical feature. Now I know what I’m good at and what I need to improve on within InDesign.

Tutorials I will use to help me improve my skills:

 

 

Mise-En-Scene is a massively important element when making any media text- it is how the costumes, lighting, acting, makeup, setting and props all work together to aid the portrayal of the narrative. In order to learn about the impact of Mis-En-Scene within media, I have researched the ‘Punk’ genre and collected the ideas into a mood board. The mood board is a collection of images, words and elements that make up the punk scene. It’s full of anything from the social conventions and beliefs to the fashion, makeup and music.

This research is vital to the making of my tour poster image. Mise-En-Scene has helped me by forcing me to evaluate and analyse each feature of my image. Punks are known for being anarchic and rebelling  against societal norms or any right wing politics. Therefor, I am dressed in a British Soldier uniform and an army hat in order to satirize Capitalism and advocate that it is corrupt. The glasses are unusual and quirky which represents the renounce the fashion pop culture. Body language is vital to changing the entire vibe of an image so in many of the photos my face is scrunched up or frowning to create a sense of rage into my image as punks are known for being angry angsty teens.

With my hands I am making the popular punk hand sign ‘Hand Horns’ hand horns. The hand were popularised around 1979 by Black Sabbath member, Ronnie James Dio; Dio once explained to Metal-Rules.com that he got tje sign off of his Italian Grandma who uses it as a superstitious signal to keep the devil away, as if warding off any evil watching eye. This sign connotes social deviance which is a core punk culture norm.

The lighting in the image is bright in order to make me stand out, further into my project, I will cut the picture out and edit it into a dark scene to signify a punk location. In future I would make further effort in using makeup, props and setting to further emphasise the punk genre. The punk genre was well represented as the class (audience) was able to connote my demeanour with ‘rebellious, anarchy, cool’.

This research will help me in future because it has taught me how Mise-En-Scene can be used represent an entire music genre and all of the detail that goes into creating this image. It has also given me an idea on the importance of facial expressions and poses and how they affect the narrative of a media text. Gathering image for my mood board gave me an opportunity to explore a genre that I didn’t know as much about ‘Punk’. In summary I have further developed my research skills and my knowledge on Mise-En-Scene.

This poster is advertising Harry Styles’ ‘Love On Tour’.  In order to convey this narrative,  the creators have considered so many elements that make up the poster. In the making of print media costumes must be considered as well as lighting, actors (and their expressions, stances, positions etc) makeup and props. Using this knowledge, I have decoded the poster to find the meaning of the media text.

For instance, the typeface of the tour name is playful and bold, this has been carefully selected to engage his teen target audience. As for the image, Harry is positioned in the centre signifying that he is the main event for this tour. His face is smiley and welcoming representing the artists values and morals- Harry Styles is known for his slogan and song ‘Treat People With Kindness’ or ‘TPWK’. The pastel calming colours also help to convey this concept.

This will help me to develop my work because by forcing me to deconstruct the denotations and devices in this poster, I can evaluate how I can implement my own messages and values into my own project using lighting, costumes, acting, proxemics, makeup and setting. These considerations help me to portray the idea behind the image.