Planning My Photoshoot

Cameras Used:
Canon 5D SLR
Canon 6D SLR
Canon 600D SLR

Props List:
Drumsticks
Sunglasses

Equipment:
Lightbox
Portable Studio

Models:
James Ford- 17 year old male who I felt was able to pull off an indie/alternative look for my front cover, contents page, an double page article.

Locations:
Our original photos were first shot in studio although due to unconvincing results we then used an abandoned building and surrounding areas and Bodmin.

Costume:
Shirt
Jeans
Casual Clothes


Concert Photo shoot:

On Sunday 24th August 2014 I went to Leeds Festival for the day and whilst there I took a variety of images of famous musicians and artists whilst they were performing.

I have also seen Bombay Bicycle Club and Arctic Monkeys live so I was therefore also with more variety and variation when deciding upon photos and images to use.

Music Magazine Inspiration

http://www.pinterest.com/jontycolman/music-magazine-inspiration/

Institution

In the UK music magazine industry the companies: IPC, Bauer, Conde Nast and Hearst. Bauer are best known for magazines such as ‘Q’ and ‘Kerrang’, which are two of the most popular indie rock magazines in the country. IPC are best known for publishing magazines such as NME and TV Times, which have similar links towards my target audience. Conde Nast is best known for producing Vogue and Vanity Fair magazines. Men’s Health and Cosmopolitan are magazines that are best known produced by Hearst UK.

I feel that the best company to publish my magazine “A.R” would be Bauer as it had excellent knowledge and experience when it comes to producing indie rock magazines. I feel that Bauer will be the best company to appeal to my target audience. Because of Bauer’s width and variety within fan base, then I feel they will be able to appeal and attract to a larger audience than other companies.

One of the advantages of using such a big name brand is that they can distribute to a wider audience for cheaper than other different companies and they if I was to distribute these independently. I will also save more money with printing companies due to Bauer’s links with numerous well known printing organisations.

I have researched the idea of becoming an independent publisher, however based on the significant printing costs I feel by using Bauer I can get more publishing done for less money thus meaning larger magazine revenue and a larger reputation.

Impact Of Technology

As far as technology I theory I was drawn to when researching was something Meyer put forward in 1992; “ knowledge is being actively constructed by the individual and knowing is an adaptive process, which organizes the individual’s experiential world.” I feel that I can relate to this statement because throughout the process of planning and constructing my coursework for my foundation portfolio I feel I have been on an active journey learning and experimenting with new technology.  

I have really enjoyed this process because I feel that I have been able to gain a number of new knowledgeable skills since starting this work in September. I shall now talk about how I have developed and learned new skills on Blogger, the internet, survey monkey, digital SLR cameras, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Filming, green screening and also how I have used iMovie to edit my evaluation.

I feel that Blogger has been one of main sources of new knowledge and experience. With Blogger I have been able to regularly add to my planning work and progress in the style of an online blog. Blogger has enabled me to plan my final work using posts that can include not just text but images and moving image links, I have also been able to look back at older posts, make any changes and then decide on my final products. Outside of my portfolio, I have been also using blogger to start doing my own match reports on college football matches as I want to go onto a career in sports journalism in the future so I feel blogger has helped me to potentially set up a new career as I now have followers who regularly read my posts and will be able to share my football blog link with potential employers and universities.

As a regular internet user, I feel that the internet has been helpful to use websites such as survey monkey and blogger to enhance both my work and my research. I feel that the besides these two websites, I have stuck to what I know when using the internet and it has significantly helped me because I have been able to find Q, NME and Kerrang covers, content pages and double page spreads to analyse, theorists work to read and helpful tutorials on how to improve my photography and editing. Also I was able to use my existing social media sites to share my Survey Monkey link to get audience input and information.

What I liked about survey monkey, was the fact that I have been able to enhance my research, in particularly when it comes to finding out what my audience felt was either important or pointless with magazine publication and production. I feel that if I need to learn more market research or anything for other studies I can always go back to survey monkey to easily and quickly set up new surveys. I previously used this once or twice a couple of years ago but not to the level that I have used it for my audience research in this project. I do not think that I found learning how to blog or create Survey Monkey survey’s too challenging because I already had a good knowledge of the internet and was quickly able to transfer existing skills.

After studying GCSE Photography, Media and Film for 3 years, I already had a good knowledge of using digital SLR cameras in a studio or outdoor on location environment but I felt that I was able to enhance my skills further this year as I challenged myself to get gig pictures at live gigs which meant shooting more images outside than I had done in the past. I found digital SLR cameras to be helpful for getting high quality shots form a distance but a hindrance in a lively crown so relied on my IPhone 5S and my canon compact camera for some of my shots. Overall I am pleased with my photography as I think during this project I have taken some of the best photographs I have ever taken.

Using what I knew at GCSE level, I was comfortably able to use Photoshop to a high standard. I was able to experiment with tutorials and filters to add various styles to my work, that I had not done before and I think I got quicker at using all the basic tools like the; move, magic wand, brush, text, paint bucket, zoom, colour picker, marquee, crop, lasso, eraser and blur tools to make my work look 

professional.

Unlike Photoshop, Illustrator was a new concept to me. I learned how to use it so I could make more interesting typography styles for my masthead during my experimental stages. Even though I managed to master the basics I had to rely on tutorials to guide my and think I need a lot more practice using it before I am as comfortable with it as I am Photoshop. In the end, I preferred the simpler masthead I designed using Photoshop so did not use my Illustrator version for anything.

Similarly to Illustrator, I was also new to using Adobe InDesign. Like illustrator I spent a lot of time focussing on tutorials to enhance knowledge of how to use the program to make my layouts look professional. I used InDesign mostly for adding text to my final products.

I felt at ease filming this evaluation, as I am used to talking on YouTube as I make and publish video game videos in my spare time. This makes me comfortable in front of a camera lengthy periods of time. I feel that I can use my YouTube experience to add fluency and completion to my voice overs. When it comes to filming this, I wanted a professional image quality so I decided against using the inbuilt camera on the mac and opted for the canon 5D. I sat with a blue screen behind me and the camera on a tripod in front of me.

As I am experienced in editing videos, I felt at ease using iMovie. I have used it a lot in GCSE Film and Media so it was quick and easy to start using again even though an update had moved some of the effects. I used iMovie to import the footage I captured on the camera, trim and cut anything I did not want, sort the sound levels and add the images of my work into the blue screen. I then exported as an MP4 file and uploaded the finished evaluation to my YouTube before linking it to my online portfolio blog. 

Flat Plans

I feel that my masthead would suit a typical Indie Rock magazine as it would fit in at the top left hand corner which is similar to the standards set by NME and Q magazines. It's size is also fitting in convention as it would also fit common conventions.

I feel my main image is not large enough which struggles to represent my target audience within this plan. My main image is of a concert photo and people will want to see a large image so that it stands out as being the main image. Because it's a concert photo, I am following the stereotypes set by Stanley Hall, who in 1904 stated that "all young people are depressed,criminals and extremists" because it shows the criminal and extreme side to youth.

Like my first flat plan, my second cover flat plan also makes good availability for a respectable masthead in terms of industry standard. I feel the font has more room to both basic and indie at the same time as the cover has more room for manoeuvre. This would also help to represents Stanley Hall's theory.

This flat plan also follows Indie conventions in other ways based on its cover being based on the main image, as well as the features are structured on top of and around the image making the image really stand out. This was the template used on one of my final drafts.

The contents banner on this plan really stands out which challenges common codes and conventions as I feel this looks good effective despite it not suiting industry standards. This contents sign would be seen as childish and fun which would attract younger audiences as Dick Hedbrige claimed in 1998 "youth as fun".

The amount of images within this plan suits conventions as contents pages require images to entice them into reading the contents based on their image advertisement. However I feel that for an indie rock magazine these are too structured and need to be more scattered. 

In this flat plan, I feel that I have really mastered my own alternative music contents style. This attracts my audience as it is an alternative music magazine and if my audience can tell it is alternative then will feel that this magazine has been especially designed for you. 

My contents are in a large list down the right hand side of my contents which reflects my target audience as it will also keep the formal side of my audience happy with it's layout. This was also used as a potential final contents page.

In this pattern I have followed common conventions as readers like large image small text as it helps the article to stand out, however I feel like the article should have one main image as suppose to two smaller ones.

I feel my images will represent my target audience as they will all be fans of live music and as the images are from a well known music festival and fans my feel nostalgic and optimistic when viewing such images. As these promote to extremism and criminals these support Hall's earlier theory. 

This is my favourite flat plan for my article as I feel all the key features are used, the one large image stood out as well as the articles content. The band logo is recognisable hence it is used as my title.  I feel all areas of my audience are fully covered in their own right.

Photographer Research

Nick Pickles is a London-based freelance photographer who specialises work in music and events photography working with festivals, concerts and other various events. He is a winner of the 2011 Glastonbury Rock Archive photo competition in 2011.

He currently works as the house music photographer at the Wembley Arena and has recently worked with the BBC, EMI, Disney and Red Bull.

He has previously contributed for the agencies: Retna, Getty Images, WireImage and WENN. He has also worked for the two years as the house photographer at the 02 Academy Leeds.

Despite his specialities being in live music photography, he has also done previous commercial project and portraiture.

I am a huge fan of his work as he ranges from portraits to crowd shots to action shots and I find this range of detail fantastic and I would consider speaking to him if my magazine were to be commercially made.

Researching Shot Types

Camera Angles and Shot Types

Extreme Close Up

Close Up

Medium Close Up

Medium Shot

Medium Long Shot

Long Shot

Extreme Long Shot

Worms Eye

Low Angle Shot

High Angle Shot

Birds Eye

Researching Photographic Lighting

Researching Photographic Techniques

Studio Lighting

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7r_Yi7MnJFs

This tutorial explains some techniques for studio lighting.

The majority of studio lighting uses three point lighting, this is where an object if lit up by sources of light from 3 different points. To be able to use this technique, you need three light sources. You also should use a boom for the background light and stands for all of the lights.

To get a 1:1 ratio of lighting, you need both the fill light and the key light must be at a similar level. 1:1 ratio is often used to take photos for families, engagements, large groups and for identification purposes.

2:1 ratio lighting happens when the key light is one stop higher than the stop light. An example of this is if the key light is measured at F11 whilst the fill light is on F8. Press portraits, general portraiture and full length fashions are the common photo types used in 2:1 lighting.

3:1 ratio lighting is where the fill light is two stops dimmer as supposed to one. This could be where the key light is set at F11 then the fill light to F5.6. This is often used for portrait scenarios.

4:1 lighting is three stops dimmer so this would be displayed if they key light is on F11 and the fill light set to F4. This lighting is very harsh with the shadow being intense. This lighting is often used on men.

5:1 ratio is where your key light is on F11 and the fill light is set at F2.8. This lighting is extremely harsh and the level of detail is very poor whilst using this.

The background light casts between the background and the subject which creates a spacial difference by creating a sharp outline around the subject. This is often a snooted light/spotlight, to create definition between the subject and background the light should be cast on the back of the hair on top of the crown.


Outdoor Lighting

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_10qnAqkK20

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGoCc6F2XJ0

In the daylight, the sun causes the photos to have very harsh shadows however, when they move into the shadow the harshness is reduced which increases the overall quality of the picture. This also means that the midday sun is contrasted a lot more.

Whilst the subject is standing in the shade the photographer can use a reflector to increase the concentration onto the subjects face. As the photos in the shadows are less harsh these would be better than if they were just in the shade alone.

Primary and Secondary Audience Research

From my results I can tell that the majority of people that filled out my survey represent my target audience as my magazine will be mainly targeted at a younger audience. This will also represent my whole surveys results as I am able to get a good idea of they're areas of interest. 

My results show that there is a similar percentage of males and females taking this survey so I am able to get a good idea of how people of both genders feel is important when producing a magazine. From this, I will make sure my magazine appeals to both genders as there is a fairly even split in my research. 

My results show that there is a good mix of social grades and classes within the people who filled out my surveys. This will help my production because I am able to know how people with all sorts of financial backgrounds feel about how the magazine should be marketed, produced and other key features. From this I shall make sure my magazine is a affordable.

My survey results show that the majority of people who completed my survey where of a white ethnicity which was expected as the majority of people came from Bodmin which is a stereotypically a predominately white ethnic area. This will give me a good idea about my primary audience because it will be based on local people although I feel that my survey results maybe affected if I were to do this in a city. 

My survey results show that the majority of people who completed my survey were of a heterosexual sexuality which was expected as the majority of people in the world are heterosexual and because my results have a small mix I am able to get opinions from people of all sexualities. This was also helpful as my target audience does not specify a sexuality so I wanted my results to turn out like this.

My survey results show that only 25% of people within my subjects regularly read music magazines. From this I can both learn what current readers feel is important in a magazine as well as finding out why people do not currently read music magazines. I will make sure my magazine attempts to attract to new readers and to still attract older readers.

From these results I can tell that my the people who answered my survey felt that contents and quality were the two key parts to making my magazine. This also represents how much time I should spend on those two points in comparison to the rest of my features. I will make sure my contents and quality are to a high standard.



My results show that the majority of people would at least consider read a music magazine if it was better made. I am therefore able to have the understanding that the better it is made, the more people will read it. I can see that if a magazine is well made, more people will certainly want to read it and be interested in reading this.

My results show that the majority of my subjects like: Hip-Hop, Pop, Indie and Rock music, which links to my magazine as it's main genres will be Indie and Rock. I now have an understanding about what the people want to see and what interests them in magazines. I now may also include Pop and Hip-Hop from time to time as they are very popular genres.

My results show that the majority of my audience will be willing to pay up to either £2-£3, from this I shall ensure my magazine is affordable but also at a price that I will be able to make enough profit after printing and publishing costs. This will be highly considered before deciding a final price.

Secondary Research

I feel that my magazine has aspects of being targeted a both a mass audience as well as a niche audience. As my magazine is mainly aimed at indie rock fans then I feel that only a select group would read this however as indie rock is a popular genre of music then therefore this would incorporate themes of both audiences.

I feel my magazine applies to the theories of Blumner and Katz who stated diversion as being a reason of reading a specific text as my indie rock genre adds diversity to my work as well as my exact audience and themes I was aiming for.

Representation- Selling Through Sterotypes

The 7 key representation areas are:

Gender
Age
Class
Ethnicity
Sexuality
Nationality
Disability

Gender

Women are stereotypically made out to be used as sex symbols in all media formats. Putting a sexy woman on the front cover on all media products will sell as men will be interested in that. However, there are theorists such as Laura Mulvey who in 1975 said that "All women are only used for sex symbols."

However times have changed and men are starting to be used in the same way and to be sold as sex symbols. 

Age

Teenagers are stereotypically made out to be depressed, criminals and extremists. Putting rebellious teenagers and fugitive characters on the front of teenage magazines and media products will therefore appeal to all teenagers who have a rebellious streak about them. This is supported by theorist Stanley Hall who in 1904 said "All young people are depressed, criminals and extremists".

The magazine front cover from "the source" supports this theory.

Class

Working class males are made out to be people who have the best intentions but however lack certain intellectual skills. Magazines and other various social media outlets put working class men on their front covers as they both relatable and in ways fairly comical. In 1992 Richard Butsch said that " Working class men are dumb but mean well." Examples of this are portrayed as programmes such as "The Simpsons" and "Family Guy" where they are based on a dumb working class male who always means well even at the worst of times.  

Ethnicity

In a lot of media products, being white is apparent to be naturalised and being anything else such as black is against both normality and a stereotypical culture. Magazines use black people more when it comes to being rebellious in magazines as black connotes darkness and a threat against certain cultures. In 1998 Sarita Malik stated that " Whiteness is naturalised and being black is against the norm." This is shown in Hip Hop magazine as it shows Lil' Wayne who is black and is known for being a rebellious character. 

Sexuality

In certain media products, heterosexual people are portrayed as normality and being gay, lesbian or bisexual is abnormal. Magazines tend to use straight people to attract the opposite sex rather than same sex attractions.Same sex attractions are treated like second class citizens and are more of a secondary audience. This is shown as so called "lads magazines" such as "Zoo" always show exposed young women rather than men. In 1998 Andy Medhurst stated that " gays are screaming queens and lesbians are butch dykes."

Disability

Disabled people are only displayed in media imagery when they are either trying to appeal for charity or using disabled athletes as inspirational figures. This is because people only are interested in relatable and aspirational figures and they wouldn't feel that having a disability is attractive even though there should be equality. This is portrayed in "Family Guy" as the character of "Joe Swanson" is a disabled police officer that is portrayed as a fitness freak athlete. 

Nationality

People from alternative nationalities and races are portrayed as a threat towards society and our cultures. This is displayed as typically British magazines always use white British people as their focus points unless they are talking about other nations in a bad light. This is supported by Stuart Hall who in 1981 said that " Black people are criminals".  This is shown in private eye as it talks about jihadi extremists adding a negative light towards Britain.