Question 1.In what ways does your media
product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real
media products?
Title of the magazine
The title of my magazine was originally the name of a Kings of Leon song. The word ‘revelry’ means noisy party making, which I thought to be appropriate for
my magazine, as my target audience are those who like to party, be loud and enjoy life with lots of rock music. I also thought the title was appropriate to be
the name of a rock magazine as it is a song by a rock band, so I felt it was a good link that is fitting to the rock genre. I decided it should be white to be in keeping with my colour scheme. The shadow around the edge and the 3D look were to make it stand out against all the other information and the picture as it would have been lost in the lighter background and wouldn’t have been as effective
with all the dark colours if I hadn't have done this.
Mise en scene of images and costume and props
Mise en scene of imagesThis image was edited black and white and
the artist is looking to one side to show that she has always been seen one way, she
wants this to change and she is focusing on her goals, not what other people want her to. The relaxed pose with her hands in her pockets was to show that she is fed up of
being viewed this way and that it is time to change.
Costume and propsI asked her to wear a shirt and braces attached to her shorts so that she would look ‘boyish’, this is
because there are many women in the music industry and what sets the women in the rock
music genre apart from the rest is that they look very different and don’t tend to wear dresses and
if they do, they will wear leather jackets and boots with it to maintain the ‘boyish’ look.
Mise en scene of imagesThe way she is sat and how the image was taken,
represents how she wants to distance herself from her past and as the media was a part of this the
camera was placed away from her. The whole body picture represents how she wants everyone to see
all of her and leave no part out, she wants to be seen for who she is not what others see her as.
Costume and propsI used a chair in this image so that I could get a picture of all of her, but also to make sure the
audience could still see her face and so it wasn’t too close up. I wanted her face to stand out on
this image and also to make sure she was wearing the appropriate clothes for the genre so I asked
her to wear dark clothing.
Mise en scene of imagesThe artist has her hands up to the lens in the form
of a circle to symbolise the human eye, this is because she wants her story to be heard and that because she is going solo so she wants all eyes to be on her. It also shows that she wants people to
focus on now and not think about her past and the things that went wrong for her.
Costume and propsI didn’t want to change the costume for this image as I wanted to show that she needs stability in her life and that she has already
changed so much recently, that she feels she can’t change another thing, she needs
consistency. Also I wanted the focus to be on her face in this image.
Mise en scene of imagesThis image was taken close up to show she
wants attention but on her terms, it is a powerful image as her facial features stand out
and it makes the reader feel they have a connection with her as she is looking at them. The image was edited to have a glow to it to symbolise that she wants to be seen in a new
light.
Costume and propsThe use of a background of magazine posters was to
make the connection between the artist and her past, I wanted to show that she it putting the past behind her
and moving on. It also symbolises that it is a part of her and it is hard for her to let go. The bright make up makes her face stand out from the rest of the image to focus our attention and the pink lipstick shows she has softer side as it contrasts with the darkness of her eye
make up and her clothes.
Mise en scene of imagesThe band was posed in this way, surrounding her and all higher in the image to her, to show the male domination in the group but also to show that the girl in the centre of the band. The individual poses show that they are a band that likes to have fun. The expression on the girls face was to portray that she is used to their antics and that she just takes it in her stride. The image overall was to appeal to female readers and fans of the band as they know what the bad are like and they can relate to this
scenario as they encounter boys doing these silly things in everyday life.
Costume and propsFor this photograph I asked the
group to be quite mismatched in terms of their clothing but I also wanted them to wear something
blue so that they would have something in common and also that in the editing process the
colour could be picked out of the picture. The blue stands out on
the image as well as the green on the girls jeans this shows they are in the band together but the girl is
the centre of it as the lead vocalist. The chair was used in
this image so that the boys could get really close to her to reflect
how close they are as a band and friends.
Mise en scene of imagesThis image was used to
reflect the quote next to this image on the contents
page of the magazine., “People call us weird, we
like to think quirky is a better word”, as the artist
felt she couldn’t speak without being judged and
that she just needed to keep quiet. The dark editing was used to reflect that she feels
she is blending into the background but the lighter parts show that she is still holding onto her opinions.
Costume and propsAs I mentioned in the previous slide I asked the band this artist is a part of to wear some blue
clothing. As I wanted this person to stand out from the group to show she was the front woman I asked her to wear this striped blazer, this also shows that she is still trying to
maintain the boyish style whilst breaking the genre conventions by wearing colourful clothes. The red hair is to draw your attention to the image, it is like an explosion of colour to excite
the reader and show the ‘quirkiness’ of the artist.
Costume and propsFor this photograph I asked her to wear converse as
they are stereotypical of the music genre, rock, many artists are seen wearing these and it reflects the rock culture as they will all have something in common. I
also asked her to wear the leopard print jacket to show diversity in the rock culture and that the artists are willing to adapt to society and there views as the stereotypical black clothing has come under scrutiny
for causing teenagers to have suicidal thoughts, I wanted to address this by challenging the genres
conventions, however to keep the costume colours consistent throughout the magazine I asked her to
wear a black top.
Mise en sceneI took the picture this way as I wanted it to represent her starting from nothing, the background suggests
this and I also wanted her to look down and look quite shy by turning in her foot. I wanted to portray that she was nervous and scared of this big world as she enters
the music industry.
Mise en scene of imagesI wanted this image to represent his love of music. He is completely ignoring the presence of the camera and he
is concentrating on the music he is listening to. The relaxed pose suggests that he is relaxed and happy with
the situation and that the camera and fame does not phase him, he embraces it and it is what he wants to do. The corner of the brick walls and the way he is looking down makes the audience feel he is being trapped, as
though he is told what to do and where he will perform, yet the relaxed stance means he can deal with it.
Costume and propsI wanted him to look quite normal so the audience would feel that they don’t have to dress stereotypically and ‘out
there’, again breaking the conventions of the genre. However his hair is his statement and this shows that he
does what to be different and noticed. The use of headphones in the image makes the audience see how
much he cares about music, so much so that he can’t stop listening to it, even whilst having his picture taken.
Costume and propsAs in many of my other pictures I wanted them to wear black to keep the colours consistent. The ‘batman’ logo t-shirt adds some colour to the image showing they aren’t willing to fade into the
background. It also suggests that the artist on the right sees himself to be a ‘hero’ and as the front man of the band, he wants to be noticed before anyone else. Whereas the artist on the left is the one you
notice second, he seems to blend in. I didn’t use any props in this image so that the focus would be on the artists and so no attention is taken away from them.
Mise en scene of imagesThis picture was taken from a
lower angle looking up at them to portray that they
have the power now and they have finally made it to the top. This ‘looking down on
the world’ pose suggests that they see the world as
somewhere they can be in charge and in a way control the people to like them and their music. The background also suggests this as they are
in the woods and this is considered a scary place, as many horror movies have
scenes set in wooded areas, so it makes them seem quite
sinister.
People
I choose these people as they are already in bands and I thought it would be appropriate to take pictures of people
who fit the rock genre and the band look. I especially thought this of the boy in the right hand picture, he has
been in 3 bands, so has had lots of experience and his image fits what I was looking for, as he dresses to fit the stereotype
of people who listen to and play rock music. The picture above is of the founding members of a band and I wanted to
use them to show that you don't have to dress stereotypically to be in a rock band.
This person was chosen as I believe she also has the right look for the magazines
genre. I picked her as her fashion style fits the rock genre and the stereotypes of
people who listen to rock music, alternative and ‘out there’.
These people where chosen as I wanted to show the more quirky and fun side of rock and show that it isn’t serious and gloomy but that some bands write upbeat rock music. I knew
that this group of people like to be loud as they are part of a big group of friends and they also have a lot of confidence so I knew they would be willing to act quirky and ‘out there’ for my
photo shoot.
This person was chosen as again I wanted to show that the artists in my magazine don’t all look stereotypical to the
genre. I wanted to break the conventions and stereotypes of the rock music genre with some aspects of my magazine,
to create a magazine that does have a specific audience, but that is also suited to others who may be interested in the magazine but feel they shouldn’t buy it because they
don’t fit into the audience it is aimed at.
This person was chosen as I believe she has the right look for the
magazines genre and the readers would be interested in reading an article about her. She also has the
same taste in music as the audience for the magazine I created.
Written content
This is part of my written content shown in a screen shot. I decided the article should be an interview as the artist had recently split from her
band and gone solo. I wanted her to be able to have a chance to explain her side of the story. This was also the first interview with her since the
split and so this would make my magazine stand out from others.
This is another part of my magazine, a quote picked out from the text. I chose to do this as I had seen it done in many magazines such as KERRANG! and NME
and it is an effective tool to get people to read the article. This is also seen above in
the picture of an article from NME.
Music genre
ROCK
The magazines music genre is rock. I chose to do rock as some of the best selling music magazines are rock. My magazine suggests that the genre is rock because of the colour scheme the red white and black is seen on and in many rock magazines. The dark picture on the cover and the way she is posing all shows that the genre is rock. By looking at these examples above andon the right and comparingthem to my magazine coverwe can see the similaritiesand as they are all rockmagazines this shows therock genre has beenportrayed.
This genre was also chosen because of the people I was able to photograph. As most bands have a certain look I felt that the people I chose also had this look.
The way they are stood also suggests that the magazine is rock as there are certain ‘poses’ seen in rock magazines compared to other music magazines. An
example would be KERRANG compared to VIBE...
I also used this idea in my magazine as I used the covers from KERRANG! As guidance for how my ‘models’ should be posing.
Layout
Front cover I used four aspects of this front cover on my front cover as it is full of information and the readers eyes are drawn to the main article and the large image. This makes the reader want to buy the magazine to read the article, which is why I chose to use it for my front cover. I also used the circle with information inside it and the banner containing more bandsnames at the bottom of the cover as theyalso draw the readers attention to themand give them more information. If theywant to know if their favourite band is inthe magazine they can quickly look at thebanner and they will know. Finally Idecided to put the picture in front of thetitle so that the artist could be the mainfocus of attention much like on this frontcover.
I used two aspects of this front cover for myfront cover, the strip of posters in thebottom left and the brief explanation of thecontents in the top right. This is becausethey give you more information and makeyou look at the magazine and buy it. Theyalso allow you to see if anything you areinterested in is inside the magazine so you know straight away if you want to buy it.
I used KERRANG and NME as inspiration for my front cover as they
are both top selling rock music magazines and both covers caught my
eye during research.
Contents pageThere are many factors mentioned below to why I used this magazine as a template. It attracts the attention of the reader and makes them want to buy the magazine. The large pictures, title and quotes keep the layout simple but effective as the readers are given a taster of what the magazine will contain. The simple colour scheme of white and black really brings to life the pictures, making the colours in them stand out and lets themtell the story. The splash of red used forthe Christmas subscription promotionreally draws your eyes to it and makesyou read it. This is something I decided touse in my magazine as I believe it to beeffective.
The large pictures let the audience knowexactly who will be featured in themagazine and the large page numbersare clearly visible and readable, this makesit easy for the readers to find an article they are particularly interested in. The quotes from the articles draw the readers attention to them making them want to read the full story.
I used NME magazine as inspiration for my contents page.
Double page spreadThis double page spread was used as inspiration for my double
page spread as it was in keeping with my colour scheme and it drew my attention to the image . The black and white gives a sense of mystery to the article and so was fitting to my article that I had written. The columns of text look easier to read than rows, this
makes the reader feel that they can read the article and follow it easily. I included 2 smaller pictures in my article and had a large title so the readers attention would be drawn to many different
parts of it and it would excite them.
The small paragraph of text at the top of the article introduces it and as it is a small amount of text the audience will read this to find out what the article is about and they will be drawn in to read the rest of the article to find out more information.
The page number is clear so that the reader can find the article they want
quickly. As with all the magazines I have researched, the writer and photographer
for the article has been displayed vertically at the side of the image and so I put this
feature on my magazine.