Photo ideas brainstorm

 

Survey

I constructed a Music Magazine Survey including 10 multiple choice and ranking questions. I posted the link onto two Social networking websites (Facebook and Twitter) and got 24 responses in the first couple of hours. I am aiming to get 100 responses in order to conduct a detailed and varied set of analysis of the results. By next week I will begin gathering my results, so I would be grateful for any more respondents to use the link below to complete the quick survey. Thank you!

http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8658855258391059536#editor/target=post;postID=3096520350103433525

Lady Gaga Observation

Lady Gaga Photos (Q Magazine)

After looking through this issue of Q from 2010, I noticed that the photos of Lady Gaga were taken from the same photoshoot. The slight variation in props (from the gloves to the chain) give each picture a very different mood. For example, the photo on the front cover is very explicit and has been placed there to create a statement, and to catch people's attention - which is what an audience would expect of Lady Gaga's extreme persona. Contrasted with the main image, the photo used in the double page spread is very personal as the mid shot and direct eye contact means that the reader feels a lot closer to her. This image sided with the explicit language and minute details included in the article means that the reader finds out a lot more about Lady Gaga than maybe they were expecting. I think this particular set of photos are ones which a select group of people - Lady Gaga fans - would respect the most because they will have seen their favourite artist in the eyes of the media a lot during appearances at award ceremonies etc, but in this issue of Q magazine, they are in a very different, and more personal, level with her which I think they would prefer. I also noticed this same-photo technique used in the Take That issue of Q magazine, so it appears to be something with the magazine creators think is important to include sometimes. The use not only a colour photograph, but a black and white one (which features in the Take That issue as well) seems to work well because the colour photograph is typical of a photo you'd see in a magazine, but I see the black and white one as though the artist has been stripped of the celebrity-status and their glamorous lifestyle to sit down and have this personal chat with the magazine to open up to them, and the readers have an insight into it. Despite the results of my market research, this is something which I definitely want to do because, for me, it helps the reader to connect better with the magazine. Furthermore, I can vision these types of photo fitting in nicely with the ideas I have for the colour scheme in my magazine as well.

Concerns

At this early stage in my project I find I have many concerns about timing. Firstly, I feel as though I am rushing through the analysis just to get it finished because I know I have lots of work lined up to be completed - I think this is because I have already planned lots of different tasks to do later on in my project, but I can't complete these until I finish the earlier tasks. I also feel myself starting a new blog post/task every time I open my blog because then I know what I have to complete to move forward in my coursework. This has lead to me to start planning out how I'm going to use my time so that I can get my work done by deadlines and finally begin creating my music magazine.

By the end of this week I plan to have these completed and updated onto my blog:

• Begin analysis of 5 double page spreads
• Lady Gaga Observation
• Finish drawing the plans for my own magazine
• Have a varied set of results from the online survey I created and to begin analysing them

Photo planning

I made this table so I could plan in advance the photos I am going to take for my magazine. I will fill it out in preparation for my photos, during the process of taking them and editing them, and when they are completed and put into my project.
  

	Camera?	Colour?	Who?	Where?	When?	Done?
1		Colour	Reece	Studio	18/3	Yes
2	4	Colour	Reece	Brick wall, Whitley Bay	20/3	Yes
3	4	Black and White	Reece	Stairs, Tilda's house, Whitley Bay	20/3	Yes
4
5
6
7
8

Below this is a second table which explains in detail how I will take the picture and what effect it will give me once taken.

	Angle/level	Camera distance	Pose	Where is the sitter looking?	Lighting	Costume	Mise en scene	Colour scheme	Target audience
1	Eyeline	Close up	No facial expression, eyes slightly squinted looking straight at camera	Slightly to the right	Bright, not much shadow	Purple shirt, matching colour scheme	Hair flicked at the front to stand out and overlap magazine name. Looks smart	Purple/grey	Teens/young adults who are Indie fans
2		Long shot	Leaning against a brick wall, hands in pockets	To the left	Dimmed, not as bright as front cover image	Long khaki coat, blue rolled up jeans, Doc Martens	Flat hair with fringe. Looks casual, mysterious	None	Teens/young adults who are Indie fans
3	Eyeline	Longshot	Sitting on stairs with legs bent and apart, arms leaning on knees, staring straight into camera	Straight at the camera	Bright, but not too overexposed as it will be changed into black and white		Flat hair looks casual. Full of attitude, holding of hands looks strong	None, black and white	Teens/young adults who are Indie fans
4
5

Contents page ideas

Pictures:

• A striking, contraversial picture using bright colours to attract attention to it
• Simple, black and white photos (maybe take a few photos of a similar composition, but from different angles to be used on the front page and contents page like Take That)
• Close ups of the artists face looking straight into the camera - the eye contact should attract attention and make the reader feel close to their idol

Layout:

• Plain white background to keep it simple and avoid distractions from the features
• Over one page, not two
• Not over-regulated and columned - some things overlapping into each other to link, for example, photos and headlines 

Font:

• Bold for headlines
• Small font and shortened pieces of writing (no articles) to keep readers attention and ensure the page isn't daunting
• The same font that is used in the magazine name to ensure continuity

Colour scheme:

• Simple
• Black, white, and some other brighter colours which feature in the photos (however, if I choose to use black and white photos, use flashes of - for example - red and blue to be non gender-specific and to keep the page bright and eye-catching

Features:

• Addressing readers by assuming they buy every issue of the magazine

Analysis - Contents pages

 Q Magazine: genre - indie/mainstream

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Similar to the front page, the Q logo is situated in the top left hand corner, but this time the red background is stretched to create a red band at the top of the page, which reflects how sectioned the page is. By this I mean all the text and pictures have their own spaces and neither run into each other. This effect is emphasised by the fixed black, white and red colour scheme which runs from the front cover into the contents page. I think the target audience for this magazine is mid-late teens - late twenties because the genre is alternative/mainstream so it is very current and I think that specific audience are interested in popular chart songs. Also, judging from this page, there is a lot of writing which includes longer and mote complicated words so it seems that this type of audience is expected to be well educated. In terms of the font, serif is used throughout and I think this may be because it is truly informative and it is not stylised in any way, but also that the page features more than one band so a font needed to be chosen which could apply to all of them. The background, like the majority of front covers, is a pale grey wash which ensures continuity throughout the first few pages of the magazine. One feature of a contents page which I've noticed in other magazines but which isn't on this one is a banner which runs along the bottom of the page which highlights a special feature picked out by the editor which - essentially - creates a shortcut for the reader. This is usually in a bright colour such as red to grab the reader's attention as it will most likely be the last thing they will read. Finally, the dark green tones of the picture contrast with the red sections/font in the left hand side of the page, so all the colours tie in together. From this contents page I will take the simplicity of the colour scheme along with the background, however, my contents page won't be as regulated as this. I like how everything is simple to read and put into its own sections, but I would rather the features to be less cut off from each other because I think that prevents continuity.

Q's contents pages tend to be very similar in that they have the same layout. However, in this issue which is older, the information is split into three sections: features, Oasis special! and Every month which creates an easier and simpler read. As this magazine is a special issue, the middle right section titled Oasis special! is highlighted using a gold outline; also elevating the band as royalty. Furthermore, the page numbers in this box are also gold, in comparison to the red page numbers across the rest of the contents. The Every month section in the bottom left hand corner (featuring the Q mail, subscriptions and crossword which traditionally feature in the magazine) stands out just as much as the Features section so that the reader can establish which features are new to this issue and which features they should expect to see from previous issues. One thing I have noticed is that the editor of this magazine assumes that the reader is one who buys every issue, which is why they have included the section of features which remain there throughout. Typically, using the rule of thirds, the photo is situated on the right hand side of the page and spreads over 2/3 of the page across the centre. Out of the Liam Gallagher issue and The Courteneers issue, I prefer the first one because the picture is simpler and, in my opinion, looks better because of the colour palette. By this I mean that all the colours are dark, murky colours which run into one another, which contrast with the lighter tones of the face and the background. The photographer, judging by this photo and the one on the front cover, has experimented with different types of focus to highlight different parts of the body. For example, the front cover emphasises the facial features and hair, and this photo emphasises the top of the head, assisted by the high angle shot. This is the direction which I want to take for my magazine photos because they are not typical long shot/portrait photos which tend to feature on the majority of magazines and they add an element of mystery to the page because of the lack of eye contact with the camera.

Often, like this photo of Take That, the contents page photo mirrors that of the front page. Looking closely I can see that they are the same photo but taken from different angles, yet they emit different feelings - for example, readers looking at this photo may feel like they are gaining an insight into Take That's life as a band, because they appear to be unaware of the reader's presence in the studio, whereas the photo taken from straight on is more confrontational, as if the reader and the band are in completely different places. The black and white effect is usually used to demonstrate a solemn mood, however in this photo it contrasts with the composition of the band and their facial expressions to create a very simple photograph so that readers can concentrate on the relationship between the band members and not the mood. Looking at these black and white photographs and how effective they look in a finished magazine has made me undecided about whether using coloured photographs is the best thing for me to use, however this is something I will take time experimenting with in a couple of weeks. The difference between the other Q contents pages I've analysed and this one is that this one spreads over two pages; I presume this is because it is a special issue, so it is not something I will consider using in my magazine. Another observation I've gathered from looking at some other contents pages in music magazines is that there is sometimes a quote from, for example, a member of a band. For example, one I saw was from Kirk Hammett from Metallica (which will attract Metallica fans) which said "Angels & Airwaves? Never heard of them. But 42's not a bad band..." which was situated directly under the page title in a larger font so it stood out from the rest of the information about the magazine features.

 Mixmag: genre - dance

Following the dance party culture, the black background imitates the atmosphere of a club/festival, whilst letting the reader's eyes wander over the bright and vibrant party scenes which dominate most of the page. The main picture on the left not only follows the rule of thirds by taking up 2/3 of the page but it is bright and reflects a lively and energetic atmosphere which this genre of music is known for. Also, there is a clear colour scheme on this page which is carried on throughout: black and white for a simple but eye-catching contrast, then pink (to aim at the target audience - teenage girls) and yellow because it is bright and non gender-specific. The sans-serif font could be described as informal, and sided with the definitive white lines to separate the sections, the contents looks clean, leaving a good impression on the reader, making them want to read on. One image in particular which struck me was the DJ in the top left hand corner - because it reverses the expectations of the reader. The typically male job of a DJ has been replaced with an attractive blonde female in a pink dress to portray a very feminine figure; but is contrasted with her confident body language as if to convey a personal confidence in her music (which attracts the reader because they're expecting good music, in a genre that they have a passion for). I think the effect of having such a striking picture so early on in the magazine entices the reader in and I will consider using this to technique on my contents page, which will also help me to build the persona of my fake celebrity. Finally, the target audience for this particular magazine appears to be late teens - late twenties because this is the typical age group of people who go out and enjoy the drinking/partying culture, and are usually doing so before having a family.

NME: genre - indie/rock/mainstream

Glancing at this contents page, it seems to resemble a newspaper, with the bold black and white title, and the page split into three columns, sectioned by pictures and an article about the magazine. I like how the same font used for the logo has been used for the title because it makes for a smooth transition from the front cover into the first page. Then, it is used again for the five titles News, Radar, Reviews, Live! and Features along the right hand column which reflects a confidence in the magazine's ability to consistently produce a magazine involving all of these features, to evoke confidence in the reader. The solid black highlight behind the text makes the titles stand out even more especially since the background is solid white, causing no distractions. The simple colour scheme of white, black, orange and yellow means that any sudden change in colour is very noticable on the page: for example, the bold yellow text in the black box at the bottom of the central column. Next, the picture and the headline are clearly linked in this photo by the overlapping of the white space where the headline is over the darker section at the bottom of the photo. This technique is effective because once glancing at the photo, the readers eyes follow the tab down towards the headline which explains what is going on in the picture. Even further down this section, the bold black font of the headline is carried on into the article, as it begins with the first letter of the first word in the same bold black font, "H". This is the first time I've seen an article used on a contents page, and although it looks quite effective with the columned layout; personally, I don't think it is the best technique to use to entice the reader into reading the rest of the magazine because the amount of text can be daunting.