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:"

Font ideas

For my front cover, i need a title that stands out and that is easily read however, it has to be recognisable.

I would like my title to either have the letter 'A' in it or the actual word 'Allegro. The reason for this is because allegro is a musical term for the speed of which a piece of music is played. Allegro rolls off the tongue and i just like the word.

Here are some screen shots of titles i could potentially use:

I have tried to look for fonts that look rather decorative and unique as well as intricate. If i have a really boring font it could potentially make everything else look plain and boring and since this is aimed at a more mature audience with elegance and class i believe that the font should resemble that.

 

Why are women used in magazines?

New flatplan

 

FRONT COVER FLATPLAN

 

Likes and dislikes of the photographs

These photographs vary from medium long shot all the way up to medium close up. I didn't wasn't just pictures of their faces as adding their body, clothing and the instruments in bring relevance to my actual magazine.

I really love the close up shots of Josh when he is resting the violin under is chin. The colours work really well. The vibrancy of the mustard colour of his jumper contrasting with the vivid colour of the reds on the violin look amazing and make the full picture stand out. I also like how the light bounces off Josh himself, it makes his skin look radiant and really photogenic. Also, as Josh has pale/fair skin the rich colours bring out a tint of pink in his cheeks.

Alex's pictures work really well. I love the medium close ups of her because her bone structure is beautiful. she has a lovely structured jaw line which compliments her short pixie hair cut. I didn't believe that this hair cut would really work with a classical magazine as i thought of elegant long hair, more stereotypical looks for a classical magazine however this hair style makes Alex look less childish and makes every feature stand out. She has really fair skin and with the light reflecting it also contributes to the 'radiant skin' look. The pop the pink/red lipstick was to make her lips stand out and because when i did my research on classical magazines, a lot of the women either pose in aan attractive way or have their best feature emphasised. I believe Alex has many desirable features about her and choosing her lips has connotations of sexuality and will appeal to the male generations. I wanted to present her as a sexy female.

If i were to imrpove, i would have made them bring more clothes so i could have taken a more varied shot with each model. If they had more clothes i could have taken different ones.

 

The lighting on some pictures actually seem to be too bright when relfecting on the models. The lights look good as it lights up every feature but in some cases it has washed the models making them look ghostly pale.

 

 

Photographs

Throughout this week i have been able to take some photographs for my magazine.

I focused on taking pictures which would be ideal for a front cover or a double page spread.

These are some collages of the pictures i took.

 

 

 

 

Before i took the photographs ...

Before i took the pictures for my magazine i had to find suitable models to appear in my double page feature and on the front cover, basically throughout the magazine.

I chose Josh. He looked well on camera and listened to everything i had to say and when i directed him on how to pose for the camera. Josh used a violin to model with as it is more of a manly instrument. They are beautifully made, the body of the violin is strong and still elegant.

For my female model i used Alex. She is an average build, slim and mid height. She has short hair and i thought she would be well suited to model with a flute. It is an elegant instrument and is long, silver and is rather beautiful.

In preparation of taking the pictures, a backdrop set up had to be made.
there was:

- 2 backdrop lights
- 2 face lights
- 1 back light
- A backdrop
- natural light coming from various parts of the set ( Thee were mainly blocked out by the curtain which separated the back of the stage to the open space in the hall, and the lights were also turned off )
- A still lumix Panasonic camera
- A tripod

 

Before proceeding with taking the photographs i asked my two models if i was allowed to take pictures of them and use them within my project.

Reader profile

Models used

For my magazine i used two main models.                                                                                                A boy and a girl.

Boy = Josh Bloomer
Girl = Alex Thompson

Other models I used:

- Jordan Thompson - Featured on the earlier versions of the front cover, appears on the contents page as the editor and on the article awarding the young musician an award.

- Some other unnamed extras that may or not be present on the final versions of the magazine.

Josh posed with a violin and featured mainly on my front cover and contents page. The reason I used Josh was because he is genuinely photogenic and he has an older presence to him (he looks older then he actually is). Josh is more suitable for a classical magazine and not an indie/pop punk or rock magazine because when he posed with the violin he looked  authentic and like an actual player. His appearance doesn't seem to fit the type of genre like metal which includes dark heavy colours. The accessibility was rather easy too since he sat just a seat away from me in class so choosing him/ asking him to participate my magazine wasn't that difficult and I didn't have to go find a model somewhere else that could potentially fit the genre of my magazine.



Alex posed with the flute and feature on the front cover but mainly on my contents page. I adored her bone structure and her frame and when using medium close ups to close ups her complexion looked amazing under the camera light and she looked so photogenic. Her appearance also fit the classical genre. However unlike Josh, she could have been used for a 'heavier' genre like metal, or rock as her natural foundations - with her short hair and dress sense; seemed to fit every genre. She was easily moulded into what I wanted/ needed and looked sophisticate d and beautiful in my shots of her.

New colour scheme

The colour scheme is more or less the same as the post prior to this one however I have been heavily influenced on the colour of the violin and I want to integrate this into the house style.  

 The colour is so rich and warm, I believe it shows wealth, colour and has other connotations for elegance.

In this image it shows clearly the rich and vibrant colours of the violin.

 

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What colour scheme would i choose for my house style?

For my magazine, my potential house style would have to consider, using my research what colours would suit a more mature audience without making the whole magazine look dull and boring.

I would love to use pastel colours that aren't so bright that they look shocking, but calm, warm colours that look suitable to continue throughout the full magazine.




Even though these colours seem rather dark, and a tad dull, with the white or ivory page colour to contrast with these colours i believe that these would be a lovely grown up palette of colours for your eyes to indulge in.

Personally i would use either the Taupe, Blue or Sage grey colour as they seem rather cool looking in the sense they remind me of the sea and of nice natural colours.

 

 



Podcast

Draft of article

Sitting in London’s finest De’Vouire Hotel, I anticipate the arrival of Alexi Davies. It’s 9:26 am and the streets are already teaming with traffic while a parade of business men and women flock the crowded and narrow streets of Westminster. I on the other hand, is sat indulging in a lovely strawberry and crème scone with a delightful tea, heaped to the brim with sugar.

At about 9:39 am, Alexis walks in sporting a flushed look, probably from dodging the chaos that was occurring outside the window. Settling into her seat we begin.

 

Growing up in North Yorkshire with a farmer for a father and a Nursery teacher for a mother did you at all feel that the prospects of becoming a musician were small? Even at a young age I was intrigued by the whole concept of music and how one simple instrument could produce such an intricate sound. My friend’s mother played the flute; I always jumped at the chance to sleepover at hers and all night symphonies of pure perfection would be created. My parents didn’t prevent me from playing an instrument but they weren’t overly enthusiastic. They weren’t captivated by the charm of music like I was so my music career nearly never happened if it weren’t for my friends mother.

Do you think if you weren’t an only child, your chances of becoming a flautist would have increased? No, … well, not really. Imagine if I had siblings, the very little time I had with my parents – due to their busy work schedule, I’d have to share with the rest of my brothers or sisters. It sounds selfish but being an only child was amazing. Not that I was greedy and spoilt, but I was able to get the music lessons I needed, and they didn’t come cheap. Also not having brothers and sisters to nag you all the time allowed me to have free time to play the flute and to just relax.

 

Did you ever believe you’d be where you are today? If you told me today I’d be working with an orchestra on the new ‘Divergent’ film I would call you straight out mad. For me, this industry is all about luck and getting people to notice you. You have a few second sin life to prove yourself before someone else jumps into view, you have to be quick. There are people that have been training all their lives to be where am now, I am genuinely grateful for everyone’s help. It’s not all about knowing people and having contacts, it’s about sticking in, working hard and proving to everyone and yourself that you can do this, you are a performer and you are going to make it; if not, why are you still here?

 

How did you handle rejections? Have you nearly given up before? The ‘one door closes and another one opens’ is a lie. You will get a thousand knock back, I have had about a thousand. In 2001 I applied for a Guildhall school of music and drama. Even though it was a school I failed the entry audition and I thought my life was over. For weeks I dwelled on what my life would become. Soon enough I realised that if I am not performing I am not living, I picked myself up and I auditioned and pushed my music into the faces of anyone who would stop and listen, with years and years of blood, sweat and tears I ‘made it’. Well, ‘making it’ isn’t about money and all the fame, it’s about being able to have a career and do what you’ve always dreamed of. I have given up numerous of times, looking back, I look so stupid giving up.

 

What was your greatest achievement? Definitely winning the National Musician award for the youngest musician of the year. It genuinely shocked me and I had some of my idols from when I was a little girl come and greet me and congratulate me. By far one of the best days of my life.

 

Where do you see yourself going? I believe, and hope I am rather young to be in the ‘music industry’. I am 25 years old and have achieved so much in so little time, I really don’t know where I will end up but I do hope its somewhere good. All will be well if I can continue playing my flute. It’s my passion, it’s my job, it’s my life, I really do enjoy every moment of my career so far.

Do you want to start a family? I’d have to find someone first! I would love to start a family. To move back to my home town eventually or somewhere so tranquil and peaceful, to bring up a family in that environment would be amazing. I’d love to have children but right now I’m more focused on my career … but maybe one day.

 

What a wonderful interview with the lovely Alexis Davies. We will post updates on our twitter feed of how she is getting on and you never know, we may be covering an article feature where she wins the Global Musician Award!

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