Making Plans

So today me and Alex needed to get things planned and sorted, else we'll get nothing done.

I rang my sister Natasha, asking if I could get my nephew - Alfie, out of nursery (he's 3) on Tuesday the 18th of November. This will allow us to take some decent photographs in the studio so we can use them on our poster. I've recently been in the studio because I was modelling for a friends AS media project and although green screens are amazingly useful, I prefer the white background. I'm not sure if it's because to me it seems an easier way of cutting out and editing the pictures, but I don't like the green screen. It made the cameras looked rather dark. However, this could have been down to the white balance of the camera not being correct, and a lot of other factors too. I'm going to go talk to one of the technicians and see if there is anyway to get the white screen back, but I've been speaking to my teacher and he believes it is a great screen, so we're going to see how it works on both of the models.

During the phone call with my sister we established that he has an old pair of school pants that we can cut up into shorts. Alex will be in charge of costume for the most part of this project as she is doing an A level in textiles, and I trust fully that she understands her way around a sewing machine more than I do. Also, on Sunday the 16th, I will be going to his house and looking through all his clothes for stuff that can be used in the photo-shoot and filming. Basically, I'll make a stock pile of props and clothes we have and what we have spare along with things we need to get.

Whilst organising this, I've been talking to George (the main actor) who is my cadet sergeant major, and we are going to film on Wednesday. (This Wednesday failed and i'll upload a podcast about that later). Friday the 21st will be when George is coming in. It'll be between 11:50 - 3:00 which is our media lessons. Doing this next week will give us another opportunity in the next couple of weeks to get them back in, to refilm and get shots that we weren't happy with sorted.

For this photoshoot, George will need his kit and cane. This is general sgt major attire and I will post pictures and a separate post about this on Wednesday or Friday when I get him in his actual kit. He can also help me with the names of them and also potentially why he wears this kit. It's great having someone from the actual army/acf help me with project because it makes a lot of the elements in the short film realistic and authentic.

Wednesday the 12th

Little Update Ideas - Location

Our short film doesn't heavily feature many location shots. Referring back to the pitch, it states thats it mainly features in a bedroom/or a house setting that looks homely. There will also be flashbacks and they will either be in a forest setting that looks beautiful and enchanted and then there will be other flashbacks that get darker  and develop more meaning to the story.

Ideas for the house/bedroom:

George is playing the main character in the short film. He is a Sgt/Major at the ACF Kingston Park detachment. He lives on the TA base and this gives us great access to film the army vechicles...etc. Also means we don't have to travel around in order to get a lot of footage covered. I hope that his house looks homely and what i have in my mind. I am going to have pictures put up that are ideal and represent what i want for my short film. We will try and find things that are closest to these ideas.

We may use some back field that is next to Pelaw metro for the flash back scene with my young nephew Alfie who will be playing the younger version of George.

Place we could go:
- filler scenes - TA centre at Kingston park
- Pathways/ the forest


PROBLEM WITH FILMING OUTSIDE AT THE MOMENT:
It is really cold and this could affect things. Make it look misty and not very warm, and also we are working with a 3 year old which could be challenging because it'll be really cold.

Nicolas Cage film: 'Joe'

Somewhere in July (Would like to the say the 28th of July, but I could be wrong), Me, Callum (I past student who was on the media course) and Daniel (a student at this school), went to see Joe the film. I liked how the film didn't have lots of locations and it was centred around a small town. It showed a lot of history and character that moulded the character into what he is now. E.g, his upbringing, the people he knows in the town, the relationship he ahs with them, his work destroying trees...etc.

 

Website for review:

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/jul/27/joe-review-nicolas-cage-return-to-form-deep-south-drama

Closed questionnaire

 

Open questionnaire

I created this questionnaire in order to find out more about my target audience and what their opinion was on short films.

Here is an example taken from a selection of 15 questionnaires.

looking back over these questionnaires I forgot to include the gender and age of the people I asked. This is a little note to state that when I do upload my pie charts presenting my findings, I will have gender and age on them, I just asked them after the questionnaires were given out.

Short film pitch

Pitch


I am aiming to create a short film with Alex. We have decided on the storyline of the short film however our genre is rather flexible. We will be using a mix of conventions that are carried out in different genres and different short or ordinary films that we have seen to fit without story.

The time period fluctuates as we use flashbacks from the man’s life. The short film is about a man who has a un- said illness that affects him in a severe mental way. Throughout the film, (which is mainly set at his home, and then the memories are in varies other places) he reminisces with old memories by looking at old photos, war medals...etc. He is overcome by emotion and basically has an episode. The episode is hearing his deceased wife talk to him and when he turns around he isn’t in his lovely home but in a sterile looking white hospital room, where a nurse talks him down in a very condescending tone.

The setting appears to be unclear but from what you can gather from his small movements to where he mainly sits in the film (at a desk/mirror+desk area), it is in a sitting room/ warm and comfy looking bedroom. The flashbacks will be set in various places like a forest or a grassy area. We will be using a lot of open areas but places that wouldn’t give away the time we are filming in which is obviously 2014. It wouldn’t look very convincing if we had the metrocentre in shot when we were trying to resemble the 1930s/40s.

In our film there won’t necessarily be a lot of dialogue but there will be some towards the end which drive the story to a climax where you discover his illness.

We thought of having old war music in the background and then when he becomes anxious and starts getting emotional, the music will start to distort, which drives the shots. They get faster and faster and then music stops. The short and quiet dialogue comes in till the end of the film.

Ancillary research

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Short film investigation: The Camera

From what I've gathered this short film is about a young girl who is aware of this camera that possess the ability to show things that aren't there. I believe this because she goes willingly to the camera and this shows she knows or at least has a hunch of what it can do. There is a relationship between this girl and the boy that appears in the Polaroid picture. There's a crescendo of events as she frantically starts taking pictures searching for this boy. As I stated before, she must know him because looks out onto the beach and then uses the camera to see him walking towards the beach. This suggests that she knows where he's going or where he would be going. When she takes a picture of herself, she either enters the 'realm' or 'heaven' he's in (I'm not quite sure what this other place is. It must be down to the audience's own interpretation).

Short film investigation: Casualties of war

This short film features a young woman's story of how she lost the love of her life due to war. It shows you here preparing for some sort of ceremony and my first guess was a wedding. It doesn't state he has died, it just shows lips of shots which start off unfocussed and zooms in to the photographs of herself, her child and her fiancée/boyfriend. The story unravels and shows that she is arriving at a graveyard and it's evident she is in emotional pain. All though it isn't clearly evident, it looks as if she has lost him before their wedding day. She's living out the wedding day they didn't get to spend together.

Short film investigation: My Mom's Motorcycle.

I started annotating and looking at short films before we were set the task to complete four in depth researches into some short films. This short film 'My Mom's motorcycle; My rode reel' is by Douglas Gautraud. I admire the angles and shots, and I love the running commentary (audio) on top of the film. It was very humorous and each shot was very snappy and the transitions were just right, none of them lagged. Also the story had a real meaning behind it about how generations of his family achieved something worthy of appraisal and now, even though there are opportunities out there, not a lot of people take risks and aim high for something they love.








I like how the music and shots and the mise en sene is like a driving force pushing and driving the short film. There is a build up of historic appreciation as he loves/adores his grandfathers showing what they have accomplished in their lives. Then its as if a new chapter has started and it isn't as amazing and enthralling as his grandfathers stories. I like how this development relates to the development of the world we live in now.

A lot of the shots look hand held. Steady, but hand held as you can see a slight sway in his static shots. Hand helds shots are ideal in some situations and I believe this works particularly well as it looks like its from his point of view and some of the angles could have only been achieved hand held.

Mine and Alex's short film isn't like this. However, I would love for us to incorporate some of the angles and ideas used in this film.

I enjoyed the running commentary and how that even though he was in the scene he wasn't talking and it was just his voice speaking all the way though. I like his idea however I doubt it would go particularly well with mine and Alex's short film. There isn't much dialogue in our short film (well... from what we have gathered so far). There may be a child's laughter or cry in some of the flash back scenes and heavy breathing as the main character becomes more upset ...etc. We also had the idea of starting with the main character playing some old fashion music which would be playing throughout the film. This could then be altered/distorted when necessary to create an atmosphere. E.g. suspense, fear, happiness... and so on.

Short film investigation: The Desk

During our media class, we were introduced to a new short film, 'The desk'. I liked how it started, it seemed like a lone teenager who didn't fit in with people, who didn't make a lot of friends and then by some miracle this haunting apparition of text appeared on the desk in response to his 'Hello'. The atmosphere still appears light and interesting throughout the whole film. I am slightly disappointed that it didn't turn into a horror short film as it could have easily been shaped into that genre as it had the foundations already. E.g. suspense, confusion ... etc. The ending wasn't really a surprise as I could have guessed that she would appear in some shape or form and they'd be friends, however it ended with that idea in mind, with no contribution to how they were able to communicate on the desk at the same time without being physically there at the same time. - This was a shame.



Notes:

- The music fits well with the lonely wondering boy who's trying to make sense of fitting in at school.
- He looks like a new kid
- Alone
- Scared
- Intrigued?
- Trying to figure out his feelings
- Long angles peering up at him look like they are coming from the desk or floor. Look nice, could use in short film if the main actor is sat at a table.
- Surprise and shock when he realises someone has replied to the message he left on the desk.

Personally, I believe the story needs to be more developed. When I first watched it, it seemed like a thrilling supernatural short film because how one earth could someone be writing and replying to his messages if the other person wasn't there and they were appearing instantly?

The repetition of him getting up with the alarm is good. I like the medium close up of his face and alarm. Also, they don't seem to take to long - rather snappy.

It seems like one of those fated star-crossed lovers near the end. Always seems to be gazing off at some popular girl who wouldn't give him a second look let alone and chance and he bumps into a girl who drops her books. Im not so sure on the ending. I like how he actually gets to meet the girl 'Julie', however its not explained how she was able to interact with him. Maybe that's the whole point, and that the audience shouldn't be spoon fed the plot but I would have liked to have seen this short film go down a more gothic/dark and thriller type path.  This is just my personal opinion though.

When doing our short film, we will have to consider everything. We will need to ensure we aren't spoon feeding the audience the whole story and need to give them room to think and maybe come up with their own assumptions. We cant over complicate the idea though. We need to make this short film doable because if its so hard we wont be able to pull off a decent film. We need to simplify each scene and make everything look professional and work hard on the mise-en-scene, cinematography, edit...etc.

Camera experience

This week during our media lesson, we took full advantage of the time we had and went out with some cameras and filmed a sort of Vlog which then showed our thought process and gave us experience.

A lot of the audio was affected by the wind and other environmental factors however you can get attachments for the camera which enables the audio to have minimal interference. This was our first time working together on the cameras and it was all unplanned so it wasn't perfect and the editing isn't either, it was so we had some film to work with and allowed us to discuss ideas and express how we would move on and develop our ideas.

 

Podcast

 

 




http://picosong.com/9bpQ/

(To play you must highlight this link and post it into a search engine, thank you)

Locke

What is a Young Tyneside cinema card?:
It is a card that allows youth to visit the cinema and experience amazing films for a small amount of money. A lot of these films are independent and aren't normally what you'd expect to see in a multiplex cinema but they are so worth the time to go and try out this experience, you never know ... you might enjoy it. I believe the age range for this card is 15-19, however the age limit may be increasing to 21. This card enables you to see films everyday of the week for £4 no matter the time and it also includes you in offers they have. For example: 2-4-1 offers ... etc.

This is my Tyneside cinema card, they are free and all I needed to do in order to apply for one was bring ID to the cinema with me (in the form of a bus card) and it no more than 5 minutes to get it up and running before I went to see the film.

What do they look like?:
This is my card -  I had to scribble out the ID code or whatever it is ... just looked important. It's like a normal card, nothing flash, pale grey, not shiny, its rather simplistic but I like it.

How much are the cards?:
These cards are free to apply for, all you pay for is the film. There is this scheme however at the cinema where the cinemas ask for a 20p donation per ticket (When I mean ask, they don't force it upon you, it's your decision). This scheme collects all the 20p's and amounts to a grand total which the cinema can spend on funding the actual cinema and can help to renovate and improve the cinema facilities.

How do I get one?:
I'm sure you can apply for them online but the easiest and quickest way I found was going to the cinema prior to actually buying a ticket for the film and it takes roughly 5 minutes to fill out the form. You MUST bring ID.

Why are they good?:
Tyneside Cinema cards are absolutely amazing! Not only does it give young people a chance to see a film any time of week for £4 but on Fridays they do 2-4-1 deals. So if you attend the cinema with someone else it's only £2 per ticket if you decide to go halfers like what I do with my friends. I do enjoy a good film that is out of the ordinary and it is nice to be in such a comforting and relaxing environment like they Tyneside cinema. It has such character and always reminds me of a classic cinema that indulges in showing old and new films. This experience differs from any normal multiplex cinemas like the 'Vue' or 'Cineworld'...etc as it seems to retain the old/retro feel a cinema should have that is filled with heritage.

Website:
 https://www.tynesidecinema.co.uk/young-tyneside-archive/competitions/young-tyneside-discount-card

Review/ What I thought:
Last night myself, Eden and Callum (Media student/ ex student) went to the Tyneside cinema to see an independent film called 'Locke'. Tom Hardy stars as the main protagonist - Ivan Locke. He is a welsh, middle aged man who appears to have conflicting emotions as he proceeds on his car journey to this unknown destination. He is a working man and it is evident from later scenes within the film that he is hard working and his current behaviour is out of the ordinary. He seems calm and collected in the beginning where is phone calls start however his façade is broken when the stress gets the better of him. He has many decisions to make and from the moment he gets in his car his life begins to turn in a new direction.

"Tom Hardy is brilliant in Locke, a film that manages to turn the logistics of pouring concrete into one of the most nail-biting thrillers of the year." - Robbie Collin, Chief Film Critic (Telegraph)

Here is the trailer:



Published review:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/10771751/Locke-film-review.html
(4/5 stars)
This is a nail-biting thriller and I agree completely with this review. It isn't like the generic thriller where there are guns and flame throwers to the left and right of you, it is all centralised on a very ordinary story. At first I thought, (sarcastically) "Wow! one actor on screen throughout the full film? This is going to be fun!". I love independent films and always give a film a chance, this was so worth attending. I think because it was such an ordinary story it was easy to relate to the problems and stress he is facing. Not necessarily the same situation but isn't so unrealistic that it couldn't happen in real life, where as the idea of being held up at gun point and featuring in some wild life threatening chase potentially wouldn't happen everyday.

 

Podcast and bloopers

This post explains what I missed in my media lessons last Thursday when I went on a visit to the University of Sunderland for an English literature 'gothic' themed day.

 

Idea 2

Planning/ research and ideas for the preliminary task

In todays lesson we discussed what we had to do for the preliminary task and how it is beneficial to the course and for our development. It allows us to see faults and learn from our mistakes.

One of the main ideas that was suggested for the preliminary task was a chase sequence. For the first 2 hours of today I brainstormed some ideas on a mind-map and thought of what I could produce. Using the resources I have at the moment, I have decided I am going to do this small project within the school grounds. ( This idea is developed further in the research below). I could be more creative and go outside of school and do something at home or in the city centre however I don't want this task to be overly time consuming, and although I want it to be a quality video, I don't want all my time to be centralised on one thing.
This video will potentially help me correct any errors I have found in the recording so I can prevent it for occurring when I am doing my short film.

Outline of what might be included in the development of research and planning:
* Brief outline of a concept - Idea
* Storyboards
* Potential investigations into the music that could be used
* Plan: Costume, Time management, actors, props and location.
(Will benefit me when I come to plan the short film as I will have an understanding what will be included in each section and how each process works).

IDEA 1:
Chase sequence - Proposal idea

Main Idea:
 - A woman is in her boyfriends apartment and his phone buzzes as it has received a text message
- She goes to investigate and the message is off a girl. the message is confusing - says something that could be assumed in a different way. She jumps to conclusions, probably assuming he is cheating and she fleas the apartment.
- He sees the bed on the phone and not in his pocket like it was last
- Runs out of the apartment and sees the bus leaving with her on it
- he looks everywhere for her, not knowing where she is and when she will return back to his
- Devastated and very confused, the boyfriend returns back to his apartment, where he is surprised by his girlfriend waiting there. ( This is hours later )
- She confronts him and he explains it's not what it looks like and he didn't want to do it here - the proposal - and wanted to do it somewhere so romantic but there was no way out of this situation unless he did it now.
- He got down on one knee and produced a ring box from his pocket
- Stunned girlfriend then says 'Yes' as she agrees to the unanswered question.

Potential Locations?

- A flat/house/apartment? Could use my sisters house.
- For the bus sequence I could use the bus stop down my street/ quite a nice street which opens onto a long road - would give enough time to see the bus ride away with the girlfriend. Straight road - clear shot.
- I could use the surrounding area of my house and maybe in town? probably somewhere local as it is easier for me and probably for the actors as I will be using people that I know and who live close by.

Actors?
- 2 actors are all that is needed to play and maybe someone (or myself ) can text the 'boyfriend' if the CALLER ID on the mobile is changed.

Age range? Who could play this role?
- The age range could be from anyone in my school who looks old enough. If I had to use anyone from school I would rather use my year group as I know the majority of them and they appear to me reliable enough.
- There is the possibility I could use one of my siblings for the role of the female. She is 22 years old.
- I can also ask my friends' siblings to act within the chase sequence if need be.

Costume?
- Average day to casual wear.
- It is just meant to look modern and simple, nothing over done, just what the actors would wear normally so it looks realistic, however I don't want sweat pants and lounge wear as it looks too casual.

A2 MEDIA

 

 
This is the start of my second year in A level media. Today was my first lesson and we discussed what potential ideas we could do for our coursework and who we would work with. I was going to work with myself but then I was thinking about the benefits of having another person work with me. I had to ensure they were reliable and that they would be able to produce a piece of work that was acceptable and looked like it was to a high standard. Alex - my partner for this course, allowed me to brainstorm some ideas and helped me think of what we could do. Commonly, people tend to sway for the horror trailer idea but some have opted for the short film idea. I recently watched one of the year 13s work from this year and their short film was amazing. We didn't want to concentrate on the an exact idea today for the film but we had a skeleton to work from and some potential locations and people we could potentially use as actors.

Front cover

Contents page

Double page spread

 

Article

 

 

 

Eden's video response to my magazine

Callum video response to my magazine

UPDATE:

This video is not uploading to my blog. I have used a lot of ways to try and upload it, such as:

- Blogger
- Youtube
- Vimeo

I will keep trying however it doesn't seem to be working.

There other two have uploaded without a problem.



[NEW UPDATE]

I uploaded that update about processing failure of my video response that Callum participated in.
With his help I was able to upload it to youtube even though it did take a considerable about of time.

 

 

[NEW UPDATE]

Magazine response: Charles Russell

I used a mac book to present my work. I showed Charlie my finished project and asked him a varied amount of questions.

Evaluation - quesiton 7

Question 7:

 

Looking back at your preliminary task what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

 

Looking back to the beginning of my project I can see a massive difference in the way I work around media and how I think, – my understanding of media and everything involved has changed. From this full project I feel like I now know how to use many software’s on the computer more accurately.

 

Within this project I have found an understanding for how magazines are constructed and what is involved to create a professional looking magazine. The content is also important when creating a good magazine so that has to be taken into consideration.

 

From when I started this course I took pictures around the school to put onto the mock exams and they were appalling. They were unclear, wrong in more than way possible, they were atrocious. Now looking at when I just started taking pictures for my front cover the angles, the framing/positioning is 100% clear than when it was. Tees images are clear and fit happily within in any magazine and that do seem the best.

Quesiton 6 continued

 

My blog: Using a blog has been new, exciting and different. To post information about your project via the internet is a new age idea and I believe that it is also a simple idea. It's better than all of this coursework with a trillion stacks of paper that the examiner has to mark.

 

I have found it easy to post - sometimes. There has been difficulties when trying to upload media like podcasts and other technical powerpoints because it could just take a while for it to load which is time consuming and sometimes; especially in my case, i'd upload something and it would not show up to any one else, which is very frustrating.

 

There is a schedule on the blog posts so if you have accidently missed something out, you can slip it in and it'll go along side the work you want.

 

I love working with Blogger. It's new and it presents your work so it looks like its efficient and when using all forms of media, it looks amazing.

 

 

Evaluation - Question 6

Evaluation - Question 5 contuned (part 2)

Listen Music Files - Download Audio - MEDIA CONTINUED

Evalutation - Question 5 continued

Upload Music - Listen Audio Files - Alevel media question 5

Evaluation - Question 5

Listen Music Files - Embed Audio Files - Media question five

Evaluation - Question 4

What would the audience be for your media product?

 

Audience profile:

 

Gender: Male/female

 

Age: 35-40+

 

class: middle class+    -  this is due to the stereotype of the high class enjoying more calm and relaxing classical music or the stereotype that you must listen to classical music because its 'posh' and that’s what rich people do.

 

Interests: sports, music, etc...

 

Disposable income for magazine: £5-£10

 

My ideal audience would be someone that could obviously afford the magazine but appreciate everything within it, for example, in my issues there is score paper that is given away free – score paper is not cheap and is very resourceful to composers, it would be ideal for the reader to have some connection with music. This could be in the form of a player or a composer. Even if the reader didn’t have a clue about classical music but just enjoyed it that still wouldn’t be a loss.

To find out this date I used open questionnaires mixed with a couple of closed questions.

Why did I do this?
- Open questionnaires measure the opinion of someone, this is good when you want a large number of varied results and this gives you insight into what the personal thinks about it as its their independent thought.

- Closed questionnaires are easier and faster...you normally just have to tick a box or something. This is to get a general understanding of what people think and it allows the process of grouping answers together quicker because there aren't answers that are personal ones - there is a set amount of questions and people have to choose from them.

Evaluation - Question 3

Evaluation - Question 2

Evaluation - Question 1

Reader profile

 

A reader profile shows what the reader is interested in. It shows the typical interests of a reader and can also show what people are interested in or what they potentially could be interested in.

Statistics give a rough average of who has stated they do a particular thing ...etc

Good pictures of the instruments and children

I really love pictures like this, even though it doesn't have the child in properly, it looks like a good professional photograph. The colours of the skin and the violin contrast a lot and make both of them stand out. The housestyle would go great with this violin because like the front cover model, he is posing with a violin.

 

- To improve I would cut the girl out the back, and focus the camera more on the front of the violin so the strings would be in focus and the rest blurred. I do like this close up shot. Maybe if I were to concentrate more on the front of the violin I could use a medium close up.

The colour of this violin is bright and I do like it. I would use this on the front cover or in my magazine even though it is a good quality image. This is due to the nail polish she is wearing, its just a nit pick of mine but I would have preferred if no polish was in shot. Also I don't know if its just the way the image has uploaded but it appears that the image seems too sharp and the strings look gritty.

This boy was amazing with the camera, he is really photogenic and he posed and knew exactly what I wanted to take a picture of.

Again, the colours of the violin compliment his pale skin and I do like the stance he is in.

The lighting could have bee better here however I wasn't working with a backdrop and amazing lights like I did for my other photos. This was taken in a corridor of my school with weak lights from above us and a white wall.



This picture is also one of my favourites. He understands how to hold the violin and makes it look authentic. Again, there is the issue with the lighting and everything could have been a lot sharper and more defined with lights.

I adore a lot of these close ups of the violin, I enjoy the detail the camera picks up even with the lack of light and a back drop. I I were to use this everything in the back ground would be cut out or blurred. The colours here are sharp, powerful and it really captures the grain, shape and beauty of the violin head. The angle also works really well, I am really impressed with these images.

The bow angle is nice and looks real. As a musician I can pick out the faults of him holding the violin - his hand should be further up and this is only an issue because if people are buying my classical music magazine, id hope they had knowledge of music so they could also pick this out and see the faults within it and see that this is not an authentic picture.

 

( the story that would go alone with these children 'playing' the instruments - or the headline - would be that they were the new age playing instruments and classical music was not a dead language in the world of arts and music. )

[ On my front cover, I decided to change it around a bit a try and make it look a lot more minimalistic due to how much text and images I had on the front cover. It looked so over crowded.

I asked 4 children from my school - 2 girls and 2 boys if I could take some images of them with some instruments.

These are the good images. Some didn't look particularly nice and some of the poses didn't seem to fit what I wanted for my front cover or for wherever I was going to place it in my magazine. ]

Picutres of children playing instruments (BAD)

- The 3 children are masking each other

- The angle is odd, they aren't positioned correctly

- The lighting is terrible

- Not the correct positioning if I was trying to pass this image off as them playing the instruments correctly

- Lighting is atrocious

- They aren't looking at each other or in the correct direction

- Aren't holding the instruments correctly

- No back drop

- Blurred image

- Not focused

- Incorrect positioning of the hand

 

 

- Lighting

- Position

- Posture

- Handling of the instrument

- No backdrop

- Lighting

- Position

- Posture

- Handling of the instrument

- No backdrop

- Angle

- Lighting

- Position

- Posture

- Handling of the instrument

- No backdrop

- Angle

- Facial expression

- Direction of expression

Screen shots ~ Front cover

 

Why are women used in magazines?

- Women are attractive

- They attract the opposite sex

- A lot of magazines want a mixed gender audience

- Females - according to what I've read on the internet and from personal experience are interested in other females lives in the magazines, and will always - not always always, but sometimes will read articles and short stories on these women.

- Women aspire to be like pretty celebrities in magazines

So Far...

I HAVE....

- Taken more pictures to add to my front cover - the ones that were relevant of course.

- I have uploaded a barcode to make it look like an authentic music magazine.

- I have used 4 colours and 3 fonts in different sizes because too many would be too much on the magazine and it would be too much for the reader,  the magazine is full enough, it has so much on it that it doesn't need anymore distractions.

-  I based this off the 'music' magazine.

- The front of it is more minimalistic compared to mine however you can see the elements shining through like the use of the orangey red box in the corner of their magazine, I did the same however mine is bigger.

- A lot of the text is similar too, I tried to base what I found on their magazine and to use it in my, obviously changing it but I used that as a huge inspirations

- She is also holding a violin however I believe the female model on their magazine would attract more males relating to the Naomi Wolf ideal and how females present a more attractive feel to a magazine.

- If I were to do this magazine again I would possibly use a female because it would bring more men to the magazine due to the fact if I had a female model standing in an attractive pose looking rather beautiful it would definitely lure more people to the magazine.

- The reason I didn't use a female on my magazine front cover is because out of the two models I preferred the look of Josh, he seemed more relaxed around the camera and his shots looked a lot nicer

- I also preferred the violin because it made the photographs look a whole lot more vivid.

New font ideas

I had some ideas further down in my blog of what I want my mast heard and my front cover to have featured on it.

I wanted something that would stand out and that would be recognisable to a wide diverse audience.

I needed something that related with the genre of my magazine: classical. - I was looking through a lot of technical vocab for music and came across things I actually likes; things like 'allegro', 'andante', 'fortissimo', 'piano'. I looked at abbreviations too.

mf = means moderately loud
f = loud
piano = quiet
pp = really quiet
fff = really loud

I tired these out with this red colour and with different fonts. I adored the 'mf' version. It looked sophisticated and sleek and those who are unaware of all these technical words can stay blissfully unaware of what it means as it is just a symbol/ name for the magazine. However I believe it is an added bonus for those who understand music too.

The reason I thought about the masthead/title so much was because I want everything in my magazine to reflect on the actual knowledge I have of music. It also adds authenticity to my facts and the things I say.

Why have i used them?

Why have I used the equipment and programmes?

The reason is because Photoshop is renowned for being amazing when editing photographs. When using many layers and different images and text on something like a magazine, I personally have had no problems with Photoshop itself, it was either the way I had done things or if I lost something within a layer.

I enjoy using it because it is simple and clear.

I used a stills camera from school - this was because my camera is of a terrible quality and I had all the facilities at school. The back drop and lights added a professional finishing touch the images.

Equipment and programmes i have used

Equipment used when taking the pictures:

- Tripod
- Still camera
- Back drop
- Lights

Programmes used when editing or used in the production my magazine:

- Adobe Photoshop - used in the production of my magazine, contents page and double page spread.
- In design to create my article

 

This is an image of my male model Josh Bloomer posing in the character of 'Josh Bloom' the violinist.

I used the software Adobe Photoshop to edit the pictures I took of him. At the start of my blog or somewhere near the beginning I took a lot of pictures of my two models and I made a collage. Some I didn't use because they didn't seem right or just simply because I didn't need that many pictures of them in my magazine.

I used an eraser tool on a spaced out setting so when I was cutting him out of the white background it didn't look so sharp and harsh but more like a gradual cut so he could be placed on the right background on my front cover.

 

I used some of the additional tools to take away his blemishes - blemish eraser - and a burn tool to darker those features on his face. It enhanced his eyebrows, eyelashes and other crevices that were on his face.

 

- The violin and jumper are lovely colours and compliment each other.

- I do like this pose. Out of everyone Josh did I prefer this one. It shows the classical edge, with the violin and the bow positioning however the way he is standing shows how laid back he is and because he isn't in a suit but in smart clothing again it has that younger, relaxed vibe to it.

 

 

To improve

 
To improve I could continue with the continuity  of the house style and mast head.
- I have used the same 'mf' throughout and the house style which is good as I am continuing with it throughout my magazine which you can tell throughout my blog.
- The fonts are rather clear and I am still sticking with the four colour scheme.

I NEED TO:
- Add another two columns or if I add another one and make the last column bigger I could make it into a review section or like an editors section like on other magazines.

Screen shots

 

Some of the text that didn't show up properly:

"These two are when I had my columns in. The 'mf' were from the masthead/title, and I just copied them in the places I wanted to put them. On the spot, i made up something an editor would say and just inserted it onto another layer. I added relevant pictures into a place on the magazine. Like this image"

"These are more basic stages of how i proceeded with completing my contents page:"