Michael and the Misfits 2nd shoot

This was the second go at getting the arrogant look I was looking for I took into account the audience reasearch and therefore found a different location and told the model to look directly into the camera more. I also worked on Mise en Scene getting him to wear Red and Blue to go with my Red, White and Blue colour scheme. Many of these images turned out alright and as I was running out of time for my rought cut deadline I decided to use them but change the images for my Final Cut. Once I received feedback from my target audience the same problem came up about the model not connecting with the audience, I felt this was one of the majour thing my magazine needed therefore I decided to change my model for the Final Cut.

Eliza Jean on location 1st shots

During this shoot I really wanted to get accross the fun persona of the artist and what she stood for. Therefore I felt the location of a seaside town could be quite fun and could offer something different to the magazine. This shoot was the first one with this model so it was a bit of a test to see how she connected with the audience, I felt she came accross very well and connected to the audience. The photo to the left was especially good, it showed the fun of her personality whilst still showing her facial expression and the location. I felt this could be a perfect image for my final contents page because it was lacking the colours, brightness and fun this image was offering. As soon as I put this image onto the contents page it brightened it right up. However some of the other images didn't come out as well as I had hoped due to the windy weather conditions and I didn't zoom in enough so in many of them the framing isn't correct.

Michael and the Misfits- 1st Shoot

During this shoot I wanted to get across the arrogrance that is portaryed now in many types of music magazines, especially with male solo artists. My model was perfect to portray this look however after conducting audience research many people felt he wasn't connecting with the audience and he was making them want to buy the magazine also many people felt the location looked too much like a school and therefore it didn't look professional this lead me to scrap these photos and plan another lot using the same model but in a different location to see if that made any difference.

Eliza Jean Final Photos Studio Shoot

During this shoot I wanted to get accross a classy feeling while still going for a slight quirky atmosphere. I used a cover of Q magazine as a style model for this shoot ( Adele issue). I was aiming for a cuteness to the photos too in which the target audience could connect with. I wanted to keep the background and clothing quite simple so you could be drawn to her face and what she looks like as a artist. I wanted to get accross the simplicity of her music and of her. I wanted to market Eliza Jean as a girl next door kind of look which I think comes accross in these photos quite a lot this is why I chose these photos to be the final images for my magazine, I think they are easy to connect to and allow a bond to be made between the audience and the artist. Also the close up is to be used on the front page because her eyes draw you straight in, allowing you to spot the magazine on a shelf and instintly be attracted towards it.

Monday 23rd of April- Day before deadline day

Today is the day before deadline day and at the weekend I managed to get lots of images which I felt were perfect for the double page spread, they had amazing lighting due to the sunsetting as we were taking the photos this gave us a hazy sunshine which added lots of effects to the surrounding area. However after not having much time to upload the photos when I brough the camera in I decided to leave them til a little bit later when I would have more time. This however was a very bad decision, due to the fact that within the two hours that I had left the camera, someone else needed to use it and they wiped the whole camera . Leaving me with a decision to make, I could either try and get the photos again that night or I could work on my magazine as it was. I decided that today I would get my magazine to the best I could as it was incase I was unable to get images that were of a equal quality tonight and I decided to try and repeat the photos that night. However my model was unfortually having problems within her personal life and therefore by the time we got out to take the photos it was beging to get very dark, this caused problems with getting the correct lighting for the photos. However I still tried because some photos can look very effective in the dark.

Front Page-Rough drawing

This is how I am planning to have my Front page. I want to include stories about festivals and new artists because after doing my audience research thses were two thing which came up that my target audience wanted to know about. I want my image on my front page to be a mid close up, this allows the model to connect with the audience whilst giving them a clue as to what genre he is from, by his clothing. My magazine must include a slogan, a barcode, a price, the date and issue number these are conventions which are consistenly used throughout music magazines and therfore for mine to look professional, it must also follow in using these conventions. I am planning to call my magazine FIX I want to use a sans-serif font which is bold and stands out, so you can spot the name from a distance. I also want to use a white background so the model stand out, I also want to keep it quite simple and minimilistic.

Target Audience Research

Once my target audience had completed the questionaire, I recorded the results they are as follows:

During my Target audience research I maanaged to talk to a equal mixture of males and females this allowed me to get equal results from both of them. I also managed to get a mixture of ages, who were in my target audience of 16-37 year olds. Everyone who I spoke to read music magazines, I asked them what types of magazines they read my results were: Q, Mojo, Kerrang, NME, Mixmag and Rocksound. This proved to me the mixture of different music tastes my target audience had I really wanted to appeal to the target audiences which read Mojo and Q magazine as these were going to be my style models with a hint of NME.

I thought a good way to find out about my target audience the best was to ask them directly what music they like to listen to, this proved successful as I found out most of my target audience listened to Indie music, this allowed me to confirm my magazines models of Mojo and Q magazine. A lot of my target audience liked to know about music festivals and music events this allowed me to plan the stories in which I was planning to put in my magazine. However many people like to know about different festivals so I thought it would be a good idea to find out the exact ones they like to know about the results I got back were: Leeds, Reading, T in the Park, Radio 1 Big Weekend and The Isle of man festival. Therefore this allows me to plan stories around these festivals. Another question I asked my target audience was What stories do you like to read about in music magazines? The responces I received were that they liked to know about: new music, new releases, new artists, solo projects, tours and festivals this again allows me to plan storiesn and also allows me to plan the story of my double page spread.

Final Cut

I am very happy with my final cut, after many photoshoots I am finally happy with the images and what they offer the target audience. Each image offers something different and connect with the audience a majour factor for a music magazine. I am also happy with the stories that I am offering my target audience as I have listened to them and how they want to know about festivals and recent tours and album releases. I like my colour scheme and the fonts I have used as everything stands out and you can read the text from a distance. I am still not too sure on the name of my magazine and the layout of the letters MIX as I feel the X should be higher up and closer to the I, if I were to complete this again that would be one thing I would change. Also after another glance over my article and my contents page I have noticed a few typing errors which make it look unfinished and unprofessional, this would be another thing I would change if I were to do it again. However throughout this task I have learned many new skills, such as Photography, the use of technology e.g. Photoshop to create a barcode and Indesign to create the whole magazine. As I had no past experience of these two things I feel that I have done very well and I am happy with the improvement I have made from my school magazine to my rough cut and then to my final cut as I feel I have improved considerably.

Florence and the Machine concert

While planning my images for my final magazine article I realised that I was going to be able to get live concert photo's from the Florence and the Machine concert at The Metro Radio Arena on the 16th of March this allowed me to use these throughout my magazine. Once I got to the concert I also took the opportunity of photographing the two support acts giving me even more photos to choose from these support acts were: The Horrors and Spector, two upcoming punk/ rock bands, this isn't really the genre of my magazine but the opportunity of live photos gives me a wide scope to use many different photos.

Magazine Article for Rough Cut

After a huge European tour, we talk to Michael and the misfits about the great reactions of the European crowds and the weird goings on in Amsterdam.

As we walk into the hotel room for our interview with Michael and the misfits, we notice him standing at his bedroom window admiring and observing his home town- Newcastle. After spending years busking on the streets of Newcastle, local pubs and local train stations he has finally made it.

“It’s great to walk out on stage and actually have people there who have paid to come and see you, I’m that used to people just being their because it’s their local and I just happen to be playing their that night, it still amazes me when I see people have turned up.”  Coming from a humble background the front man Michael has been the hard way to reach the music industry, but with his new band growing from strength to strength was the shit way the best way to go? “Getting noticed in the music industry is always a hard task, but putting all that hard work in and being where I am know, just makes it even better. I have accomplished where many people have failed which at least makes me think that I have some form of talent!”

After a sell out tour of Europe and a upcoming tour of England and Ireland know one can say this band hasn’t worked hard. After a small London based label spotted Michael and the Misfits online they have had instant success, their song “Expensive hopes” became a overnight sensation on Youtube after being used as a backing song for a recent film trailer. This lead to a great base for the band and has allowed them to take full advantage of this. With Youtube hits increasing everyday, the band are keeping up with this demand by releasing as many songs as they can online, causing an increasing international fan base. Due to this increasing fan base, the band recently had the chance to tour Europe, a chance they all jumped at. “ We couldn’t believe we had the opportunity to tour Europe, after fighting for years just to be noticed we were finally what we had all dreamed of- touring.”

“When we did our first show in Spain, we couldn’t believe the reaction; everyone knew who we were and even the words to our songs: this was mental compared to the bars we used to play in Newcastle. We loved it though. We couldn’t believe all these people had turned up for us! After our first show we were travelling to twenty other places around Europe and every crowd got better. Our best night was in Amsterdam; where we can’t remember a lot of the night. Must have been a good one though we woke up on benches right next to the main canal, with not one of us having any idea where we were or how we got there. The next day we were well informed of the goings on of the night by our management but I think there best kept with just us knowing…”

So after a great reaction from the crowds so far the next challenging is the English and Irish crowds, with many artists claiming there the best crowds in the world I wonder how they will compare with the others so far… “We have loved the crowds so far but the biggest challenge by far is the English crowds, with the English music industry being huge and many opportunities to take part in festivals we can’t wait to see how they react. We can’t wait to perform in Newcastle to where we were brought up around music and going to the music venues weekly to check out new acts. We will be performing on stages where we used to dream to be one day.”

With their latest single release, their song “Expensive hopes” charted in the top 40 within a week of the single being released. “We couldn’t believe the immediate success, if this is what happened with our very first song we can’t wait for the album to be released and the reactions that take place, we think it’s a great album and we are currently working on our next album hoping it will be as much as a success as our first single.”  

After their immediate success we are sure that Michael and the misfits are only going to become more and more popular in the music industry and we hope to see them soon with their second album and possibly even a world tour!

Kate Murphy

Deadline Day- 24th April

After getting photos last night many of them came out with poor lighting or weak poses therefore I was unable to use many of these photos and after looking at them I decided the one I already had was better than the ones I had took therefore I worked a bit more on getting this photo perfect and making sure the layout was exactly how I wanted it. However my article seemed to close together therefore to solve this I decided to add a quote into the center of the text. This added the exact affect I wanted it too. I was finally happy with my magazine and felt it was right to hand in.

Eliza Jean on location- 23rd April

This was my final photoshoot, during this photoshoot I was aiming to find a image which would be perfect for my Double Page Spread, due to me not being entirely convinced by the one I currently had. The location of this shoot was at a local beach and sailing club in Tynemouth. I thought this would be a perfect location because of the different textures of the backgrounds- the sand, rocks and sea. Also I liked the idea of nautical themed photos these could be quite quirky and follow with my colour scheme of Blue, Red and White this allows the magazine to feel continuous and together. However after taking these photos last minute I felt that some of the natural lighting wasn't right and really let down the photos and the image they were trying to get accross therefore I decided to not use these photos and stick with the one I currently had.

Final Magazine Article

Eliza Jean talks to MIX about her recent success after releasing her brand new album and winning the critics’ choice at the most recent BAFTAS, following in the past winners footsteps; it looks like the only way she is going is up!

Eliza Jean is the newest singer songwriter to sweep the nation, with her quirky new songs and her humble personality she has had immediate success. After coming from a small part of Newcastle she fought her way up the music industry, doing everything she possibly could to get noticed. After playing at Newcastle Evolution Festival she was spotted by a music producer who asked her to visit him immediately. After hearing her single Expensive hopes he had a job in line for her straight away, a job which would shoot her into the public eye.

As we walk into the room where she is sitting, we realise how much of a normal person she is. She is currently standing at the window on the far side of the room, standing watching people going about their normal life, realising how that was her a year ago. She greats us kindly and welcoming, talking about how she can’t understand how far she has come within a year. Her life has changed dramatically.

So can you take in that a year ago you were playing your music in the smallest venues in Newcastle trying your hardness to be noticed in the music industry?

No I can’t at all, just a year ago I had just taken the call being asked if there was any chance I could fill a gap at the Evolution Festival after a local act had dropped out last minute, that was my chance. That was what changed my life.  

What was your reaction when you got asked to fill the slot?  

I couldn’t believe it, it’s Newcastle biggest music even, somewhere I had been going since I was young. My first thought was I better get a move on and write some song, so I did. That same day I managed to get two songs written. It was events like this that inspired my writing. My song expensive hopes was also written that day because I realised I had given up most of my life for music. Music was my Expensive hope.

Week 8 - Diary Entry

After just getting back from the two week easter break, during which I got another lot of photos taken in the studio, this time I am very happy with these photos, they offer the quirkyness, fun and girl next door look I was after. I final got this look by research artists and using poses that they had used in magazines and album shoots etc. The artist I decided to use was Eliza Doolittle, she is quite a quirky solo artist, who offers a very individual look and sound to her songs.

This week is the final full week before the final cut of my music magazine is due in, this week my main focus is to complete get the finishing touches done to my magazine and making sure that important conventions such as page numbers are present in my magazine. Also due to getting pictures taken quite late I need to get all my images photoshopped so they are sutiable for the magazine. Due to one of my images being on the front cover I need to spend a lot of time making sure my models skins is perfect with no blemishes and limited freckles/ moles.

After completing my double page spread I still wasn't certain that I was happy with the image, therefore I decided to set up another shoot but this time on location at a local beach and sailing club. This would tehn give me the choice to change my image if I got a better one, however I was starting to become pushed for time so I decided to get the photos at the weekend and spend the rest of the time perfecting the rest of my magazine, once I was happy with everything else I started planning the images I wanted to take.

Image Planning

By the end of the project I realised I had time to take some extra photos in another location, which would possiable be good to use of my double page spread, after taking these photos I left the camera unattended where someone needed to use the camera and they wiped the whole camera including the photos I had just took. This has taught me to copy the photos off the camera straight away so I dont run the risk of the getting deleted. After taking the photos I felt I had some really good photos which would have been perfect, therefore I thought it would be a good idea to take the photos again, however I was running very close to the deadline so I set up my double page spread with a photo I had already taken. Therefore that night I went and took more photos at the same location with the same model, however with being rushed for time and light, not many of them turned out very well. The location of these photos was a beach and in a doorway, I used natural lighting with indie styled clothing.

Week 7- Diary entry

This week I have changed many of the pictures in my magazine, I have changed the main picture on the contents page and the double page spread, also due to me changing my model I have had to change the whole of my article, going from a male band, to a female singer songwriter. This has affected the colours and layout of my double page spread and contents page. Although I have decided that I pefer it like that. I have also asked my peers what they think of it and again they like the layout but they weren't sure on the main image on the double page spread as they felt it could be better quality and it should be closer as at this moment in time it is a long shot with a lot of background in it, therefore my model doesn't really stand out. This has caused me to plan another set of images which will take place in the studio this time I am aiming for close ups and mid shots because after looking at my photos I have realised that I don't really have a sutiable image for my front cover, this is a very important image because it is going to be the first thing that the target audience see, it's going to be the selling point of the magazine.

Also after looking at the JPEG of my contents page I decided there was something missing, therefore I decided to look at the contents pages which I researched before the project started, I realised that many of them used lines to break up their stories, this use of lines made the page look professional and made the stories easier to read, this lead to me trying out in my magazine. After I tried it I liked it straight away after talking to my target audience they also decided they liked it therefore leading me to keep them. I also realised that many of the magazines had used capital letters on their contents pages for the names of artists one thing that I had forgot. This lead to me changing this insitently, these two changes improved the look of the contents page straight away proving that the small details are the ones which matter.

Week 6- Diary Entry

This week has been the week of our Rough Cut deadline, I was quite disapointed with my rough cut as I really wanted it to be of better quality so I could work on smaller details for my final cut, however this has allowed me to conduct some audience research and find out exactly what I need to change to be able to get the magazine to the quality my target audience want. Therefore I have found myself a new model and planned more images to be taken. On thursday I went to a local seaside town to take some photos, however it was very windy and therefore it was very hard to take photos without the weather coming through onto the photos. However I decided on the type I wanted, I wanted some photos which expressed fun and you can see that the model is just a normal girl having fun in her local town.
This weekend I am also planning to get some more photos, this time I have the idea of going to a local area where there is a small pond and many trees, I want to get some photos which are in a type of fairtale area. However this is a bit of a risk because I am not sure whether this is going to work in my magazine.

After conducting my target audience research, another thing which came up is the name of the magazine. Recently I changed the name from The Fix to The Mix after talking to some of my peers and getting their reaction from the name. However many people feel that The is not needed and that MIX by itself would be much better, they also dont like how straight the title is and they feel that it needs to be on a bit of a angle to give different lines to the magazine. Therefore I have went with there feedback and my magazine is now called MIX with the title going down on a diagonal, leading the eye down to the main image.

Week 5 diary entry

This week I have completed my first photoshoot for photos for my rought cut of my music magazine, these photos were taken in a studio setting with studio lighting, I used my friend sophie for the photo's however after reflecting on the pictures and the experience, I don't feel like she is the right person for the type of photos I want. I feel this because throughout taking the photos she came across as being very uncomfortable and not really knowing what to do therefore my photos suffered. Also after looking at the quality of the photos I realised that most of them are actually out of focus and therefore I will not be using them. This has lead me to ask for some further lessons on photography from my teacher. I have also organised a different model for the next set of photos I will be taking, this has lead me to go back to my image plan and add another plan for photos this allows me to get straight down to taking them. Therefore on thursday I prepared my next model and told him what I wanted and he was perfect. However after conducting some audience reasearch many people told me to change my model because they felt he wasn't connecting with the audience this connection is very important for me as many of the magazines I analysed had this connection between their model and the audience. This lead me to make a decision of leaving my model for the rough cut due to me starting to run out of time, but I would change my model and photos for my final cut.

This week I also attended the Florence and The Machine concert at the Metro Radio Arena, this allowed me to get many photos of Florence Welch and her support acts- The Horrors and Spector. Due to me standing at this concert I managed to get three rows from the front which lead to me getting some really good quality photos which I am planning to use on my front page and contents page.