Cohort 2021-23
KEY TERMS: AIDA, ENTERTIAN, INFORMATION, SOCIAL INTERACTION, PERSONAL IDENTITY, CONVENTIONAL, GENRE, TARGET AUDIENCE
Use this as a guide to see how you are doing?
You should aim to give yourself a level/grade at the end of the assessment.
You can copy the main examples but need to then include your own specific examples from your own version.
AND 5 TARGETS
Following on from Serena’s masterclass, you will need to do some research for some tricks and techniques for using photoshop and indesign.
Here is a link to a Youtube site, which offers tutorials on how to use Photoshop .
Here is a slideshare with links to some of the basic skills.
You can manipulate your photo in photoshop before exporting and placing into Indesign.
A key skill to learn in Adobe Photoshop is how to select an area of a photo.
You will do this to extract an element of the photo to be taken somewhere else or to apply an effect to that area of the image alone.
or see the final page of this presentation for another way.
This is controversial, but you may want to ‘change’ the way your model looks. Think about the impact this has and how it can relate to Media Ecology – can we really trust what we see today?
KEY TERMS: BRAND, GENRE, STAR IMAGE, BODY LANGUAGE, MES, LIGHTING
Use the SD card and transfer the images to your D Drive folder labelled Front Cover Shoot.
Open Adobe Bridge and Photoshop
Bridge
Photoshop
Embed the Contact Sheet Full Size in your blog.
OR
PHOTOSHOP
FILE – AUTOMATE – CONTACT SHEET II – SELECT FILE AND WAIT
THEN SAVE AS A PNG OR A JPEG AND EMBED
KEY TERMS: GRAPHICS, FONT, LAYOUT, PHOTO MANIPULATION, COLOUR PALETTE, COVER MODEL, COVERLINES.
Search the net to see if there are about 10 different front pages of magazines that you like the look of. They have exciting fonts, layout, graphics and photo manipulation.
They do not need to be music magazines but there may be something about their layout, font, graphics, colours that appeals to you and can act as a source of reference for your own layout.
Then reflect on what it is that stands out on a couple of them and how you might be inspired to recreate a similar vibe in your own magazine.
KEY TERMS: brand, masthead, conventions, genre, AIDA, audience.
Now you know what your magazine is going to be called (you should have decided this for your Mission Statement), you need to have some fun designing some mastheads.
Use the inspiration from the fonts you have included in your moodboard and design about 5 on one InDesign A4 template – make a note of the fonts, size that you use alongside it.
Include:
In order to plan your studio shoot of your main cover star, you will need to be REALLY ORGANISED.
Use a Production Meeting Agenda to plan out exactly when and where you are doing the shoot. Who is responsible for bringing various props, MES and who will be doing hair and make-up.
You will need to think carefully about who your model is and plan with them when they are available for the shoot. Plan to have a free before so that you can get them ready and maximise time in the studio or use breaktime or lunchtime to get everything ready. Use your Media lessons too.
PRODUCTION MEETING AGENDA (make a copy) – and include photos of the costumes/make up/props from your star image slide to remind yourself and the models what they need to bring etc.
The link to the Photography Studio booking chart is in linked in here.
REMEMBER THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAIL:
Remember the cameras should be on the right settings. Bring your own SD card and then download them asap after the shoot onto your D Drive folder – Front Cover shoot.
The settings Aaron suggests are: 8f, 160ss and 100 ISO.
KEY TERMS: Star image, ordinary, extraordinary, denotations, connotations, repertoire of elements, conventions.
See an example from this previous student
On a second slide create a collage of mise-en-scene to represent your star in your first photoshoot – your ‘picture perfect’ design:
Remember to identify the element of mise-en-scene and the impact / representation you hope that will convey.
KEY TERMS needed in your reflection ‘Preferred reading, encode, decode, oppositional reading, demographics, psychographics, uses and gratification, target audience, producer, target audience, entertainment, education, social interaction and personal identity etc.
In order to create a magazine for a specific audience you should understand what makes them tick
A pair of theorists who considered this were Blumler & Katz, who suggested that there were four reasons collectively known as Uses and Gratification.
| Information | Self education to suit personal needs; advice on practical matters; information on events or issues of personal interest; curiosity or general interest |
| Personal Identity | Media reinforces personal values; models of behavior; content explored to challenge, adjust or affirm sense of self |
| Social Interaction | Identify with others to gain a sense of belonging; find basis for real life interactions; substitute for real life relationships |
| Entertainment | Escape; diversion; emotional release; filling time; aesthetic enjoyment |
Below is a slideshow on Stuart Hall and his ‘Reception Theory’.
He argues that an audience decode a media text through personal filters:
Here is the Theory Booklet with all of Hall’s ideas on Pages 11 and 12.
Here is a handout we gave you earlier this year which describes different audience groups / communities which is helpful in reaching some conclusions about their values, attitudes and beliefs, and how to describe their communities and social groups.
or yougov.co.uk and search an artist.
TO FIND OUT THE DEMOGRAPHICS, PSYCHOGRAPHICS OF TYPICAL FANS FOR FEATURED ARTISTS WHO MIGHT APPEAR IN YOUR MAGAZINE AS THEY BELONG TO THAT GENRE.
Choose 3 well known artists that would appear in your magazine if you had all the money in the world.
Who are their fans – this will give you a really good starting point for your audience member.
Mention ‘YouGov’ in your introduction, take a snipping tool screen shot of the 3 artists and add these to your intro.
Use Google slides (or Photoshop/InDesign if you’re feeling snazzy) to design a profile for your target audience which they might upload to a dating site. You may want to use someone you know to model the profile on – although don’t use their name or photo!
Give your ideal audience an image, name, gender, relationship status, groups, status, likes, dislikes…all of this should be through the filter of music and should help describe your audience profile. Make it as detailed as possible – why not consider someone you know (do not actually use them) who likes the music, is a fan of that music/band and use them as inspiration.
Your post must include:
KEY TERMS: USP, Competition, preferred reading, target audience, information, entertainment, personal identity, social interaction, AIDA.
You need to understand the market for your magazine. This task will require you to do some research into what is available currently as print magazines and also online for your genre of music.
You will then analyse their formats and content to give you some ideas of where and how your magazine will need to be compiled.
Task 1
Task 2
KEY TERMS: mission statement, brand, genre, USP (unique selling point), uses and gratification theory (entertainment, information, personal identity, social interaction).
It’s probably best to choose a genre of music you understand, like and can get excited about.
That said, some genres of music have very specific conventions and might be able to provide you with much more scope for design decisions and copy style. If you are undecided perhaps choose a very obvious genre, such as punk or metal
Research various genres – you will be amazed how many sub-genres and sub-cultures there are. These are just a few.
Use a generator app or a thesaurus for simple, catchy and genre specific names for your magazine. For example:
Create a word-cloud that includes all the words that relate to what might be your mission statement for your magazine – its PURPOSE AND CONTENTS. For example will your magazine feature: new talent, unsigned artists, fashion, concerts, festivals, be edgy, anarchic, energetic? Address all 4 of the Uses and Gratification that Blumler and Katz talk about to ensure maximising your sales to ensure that your contents will appeal to their use of the text. Include the name of the magazine in a different colour. Include too, all the necessary generic contents i.e. contents page, interviews, competitions etc.
Here is an example word-cloud and mission statement from last year.
“Amigos pulls people together to love and appreciate their heritage through the power of music, we want to encourage the world to embrace Latino culture and the amazing music that follows it. We want to change the way the world thinks about Latino culture and acknowledge that it is here to stay. We will provide you with the latest information about your favorite artists and tours close to and far away from home”
‘We are a brand, and most of all a community, that believe in the power of diversity within the music industry. Millennial’s ethics are to promote our passions; colour, rhythm, fashion and culture. The R&B community to us, is all about being able to express your creative individuality, while being part of something wider.’
‘Express’ is one of the top ten magazines for those that love Pop music. We cover your favourite Pop artists as well as upcoming stars, giving you exclusive interviews, top stories from your most-loved artists, new album releases and new tour dates from artists topping our charts daily. Express magazine inspires young people to fall back in love with Pop as the new-age of Pop drives the magazine forwards, allowing our readers to express themselves and become the best individuals they can be.
Your post will include: (all key terms as listed above).
Reflection on the research process and focus forward.