Proposal: Technologies to be used

Technologies to be used:


1) I will be using Slideshare for my 1st and 3rd question because, the quality of presentations on Slideshare is very good; I can easily add features such as, Music into my presentation to give the viewers' a greater insight into the theme of my magazine and the message  behind it. In addition to, Slideshare is very easy to display information towards my viewers as, viewers can simply pause or go previously back towards a certain content that they might have missed.The source I will be using is: http://www.slideshare.net

2) I will also be using Prezi my 2nd question because, Prezi is a formal and a professional form of technology to use instead of Microsoft PowerPoint which is extremely common and a vague form of technology. I will additionally be using the technology of Prezi towards my 2nd question because, it relates to my musical genre as I can conclude music themes towards my presentation such as, Record label themes. The source I will be using is: www.prezi.com

3) I will also be using Goanimate within my 6th question because, it is a unique form of technology as you can construct your own background and character according to each question; Goanimate further enables its users to add voices towards each character making it distinctive from other forms of technologies such as, Slideshare, Microsoft word and Prezi. Moreover, Goanimate presents information in a more clearer, interesting and humorous way making it diverse from other technologies such as Microsoft Powerpoint and Prezi which are very common.  Goanimate is a website where you can make animated videos for professional, business or educational purposes.

4) I will also be using Stupeflix within my 7th question to create videos towards my 7th question because, it is a very creative form of technology since, Stupeflix has a variety of video themes to chose from as well as music effects which can further relate to my genre of R&B. The source I will be using is: http://studio.stupeflix.com/editor/create/#_=_

Desk top publishing and editing your music magazine (construction)

FRONT COVER

This image portrays the front cover of my 'Cloud9' magazine. I have shortened the masthead to 'Cloud9' in order to make the title appear more snappier and catchier as, I have attained some feedback from my sample suggesting that I should shorten my masthead. In addition to, I have made the main cover line of my magazine larger and bolder; changed the colour to red to, enable the main cover line to contrast greater than the other cover lines; to further appear eye-catching towards my target audience of young adults aged 16+. As my target audience is young adults aged 16+, I have decided to make my models do a mutual facial expression; wear sophisticated, simple, black and red dresses in order to, get that calm and mature appeal.

I have called my models 'The Scissor Sisters' because, it connotes the strong bond; friendship us artists have as if we are 'Sisters'.

 Furthermore, I've created a barcode to insinuate the price of the magazine and to make my magazine appear more realistic. I have changed my colour scheme slightly of black, grey and white to black, red and white as red connotes a more fierce and confident appeal instead of 'grey' which would convey a sad and dull impression.

CONTENTS PAGE

1st draft: 

Judging from the previous feedback I received, several people indicated that I should change the background colour of my contents page from white to black. This was mainly due to, the white appearing too 'amatuer' and 'unproffesional'. My following picture represents the black contents page that I have modified and recent feedback from my audience have confirmed that it looks more 'sophisticated' and 'alike to an actual magazine'.

2nd and final draft:

 My contents page as well as, my whole magazine itself consists of no more than three colours to, prevent my magazine from looking amateur and childish as if it is targeted to children. I made my main subheadings red to associate with the theme and to also stand out against the black background. In addition to, I made my main subheading white instead of red to relate to the title of 'Cloud9' and to prevent my contents page from appearing too red.

I have repeated my slogan of 'Its all about the music baby" so that my target audience will acknowledge that my magazine is prioritised and associated with Cloud9. Moreover, I have added two different images of 'The Scissor Sisters' and positioned one picture of The Scissor Sisters first to signify that, they are the most important content.

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

1st draft: The following picture portrays my 1st draft of my double page spread.There were faults in exporting my double page spread together with both of my pages.

Gathering audience feedback, the majority of my sample indicated that I should add a few texts to my main image insisting that it looked 'too vague' and alike to a 'Newspaper'. As a result, I've decided to add large two large texts relating to The Scissor Sisters and 'The Twists' to prevent my double page spread from looking too dull and to enable my audience to attain a valid insight into what my double page spread is about.

My layout within the 2nd page of my double page spread looked unorganised, therefore I decided to add an effect to it through wrapping the text around the centre of my quote. That way, my text won't overlap or hide amongst my quote. 

Judging from my audience feedback, the majority of people suggested that I should get rid of the white box within my title. The main reason why was due to, a white background within my title not looking 'attractive' and 'eye-catching'. As a result of this, I decided to get rid of the white box and alter my title to white and red  so that, my title would look more alluring to read; vibrant 

Final draft

This double page spread represents the Question and answer in relation to, The Scissor sisters' latest album featuring 'The Twists'. My double page spread consists of a alliteration used within my main subheading as: 'Sizzling Sister Sisters' in order to, make my title more interesting and alluring towards my target audience. Furthermore, I have added page numbers beside the right side corners of my magazine so that my audience can not be confused; can be aware of what specific content they are reading. In addition to, within my Q&A the interviewer (Holly Hopkins) is written in bold italic fonts so that my target audience will be noticeable of the interviewer's questions. Moreover, I have substituted a certain quote from the interviewees (The Scissor sisters) responses and positioned it at the centre of my double page spread to capture the readers' attention and to also signify the artists' speech.

Within my 1st double page spread, I added a faint image of The Scissor Sisters to highlight that they are the main subject of my magazine; to further indicate that my double page spread is generally related to them as popular R&B artists.

Photography (construction)

*There are two forms of photo shoot backgrounds and these are the white black drop and the black white drop. The white black drop changes the format of the background to white while the black white drop transforms the colour of the background to black.

*Always use flash while taking photos; Soft boxes are used to soften the light reflected on the model. However, umbrellas can also be used as an alternative to soften the light but Soft boxes are more effective.

*The fans in the Soft boxes are used to cool down the surroundings. In addition to, the Godox behind each Soft Box is used for infra-red lightening.

*Press 'test' to the start the camera, 1 is the lowest flash number meaning it is the lowest light intensity; 6 is the highest flash number meaning that the light intensity is very high.

*The circle objects are called the 'Reflectors' and they are either in gold or white. The gold reflector is used to reflect a warm glow on the model's face however, the white reflector is used to emit greater light.

*With SRL cameras, you do not look through the main screen view because you won't be able to see your model clearly so, you must look through the view camera.

*Always position your model 6 foot in front of the backdrop (main background).

*The difference between manual and non-manual cameras is that, with manual you won't hear the beep as you take the picture but with non-manual cameras you will hear a beep.


Camera settings

1) Aperture- The size of the opening in the lens when a picture is taken. The Aperture setting you chose impacts how big or small the lens within the camera gets. The larger the lens, the more light that gets in and the smaller the lens the less light that gets in. Aperture is measured in 'f-stops' e.g. f/2.5, f/5.6, f/5.3.

2) Shutter priority- The time the shutter is opened. The faster the speed, the quicker the shutter is opened and vice versa. The slower the speed the longer the shutter is exposed to light resulting in a brighter image. The shutter priority is effective for the foreground (certain body features) to be focused in more detail while the background remains less concentrated.

Call sheet

Call sheet 

Date: Wednesday 20^th November 2013

Time: 2:30pm- 4:00pm

Assignment: Portfolio shoot

Location: In the studio

Client: Stephanie Omari-Amoako, 17, female and Abubukar Abdulkadir, male.

Media: RAW capture for 300dpi & web resolution.

Compensation: Trade

Primary shoot contract: Anita Ofori

Photographer: Anita Ofori

MUA: Aeni Domme

Hair stylist: Anita Ofori

Wardrobe stylist: Anita Ofori

Model 1: Stephanie Omari-Amaoko

Model 2: Abubukar Abdulkadir

Special instructions:

The following are requested items each model has for wardrobe.

1.    Abubukar- Variety of jeans and two red and black long sleeves shirts.

2.    Abubukar- One black snap back/hat.

3.    Abubukar- Variety of silver chains.

4.    Stephanie- One black dress and any other form of black clothing e.g. shorts, tops.

5.    Stephanie- Jewerly such as, gold chains, bracelet and gold earrings.

Timeline: Tentative- Subject to change

*2:30 Models meet

*By 3:00pm, make-up, hair and wardrobe selection done.

*3:15pm-4:00pm- Shot time

Concept: One male and one female taking mysterious but saucy and alluring photos related to the R&B theme. There will be little intimacy but the poses will be kept clean. There may be some props such as an Umbrella in which Stephanie will pose with to portray a new R&B artist impression. 

Planning for my front cover

I realised from my case studies and feedback that the combination of the genres of Rock and R&B are unsuitable and difficult to pull off therefore, I changed my genre to R&B.

The models to be used within my Front cover is Stephanie Omari-Amoako, 17 (female) and Abubakar Abdulkadir (male). Within my magazine, both models are going to be displayed as new R&B artists both collaborating together for a new song named “Sky High”. I have changed the original artists of Chris Brown and Pink because, from the feedback I realised that it would be much easier to create new artists instead of having to perfect the two different artists., Stephanie is going to represent a new eccentric, R&B artist called ‘Trisha’ while Abubakar is going to represent a unique and cool rapper and R&B artist called ‘Joe’. In order to get these two models to resemble their characters, I will have to select similar clothing styles, props and make-up.

 Clothing:
 The theme for my R&B magazine are black, red and gold therefore, both of my models will be wearing black attire and red props. Stephanie may be wearing a black dress with a gold choker necklace while Abubakar may wear a black long sleeves T-shirt with black trousers. Props: Such props might include a chair for the models to sit down and pose on; another prop might be a black umbrella for Stephanie to pose with. In addition to, Stephanie might wear big, gold earrings, a gold ring and a black bandana for one of her photo shoots.

Make-up: 
Stephanie: Black eye shadow, bold red lipstick, liquid foundation and mascara. Stephanie’s hair may be slicked back with gel through the first 2 of her photo shoots. Abubakar may just need to lotion his face to make him appear shinier in the photos. Position of models 1st photo shoot: Stephanie standing left to Abubakar holding his hand with her right arm (middle shot and detailed image of the gold ring). Stephanie and Abubakar would be smiling towards the camera.

Audience reaearch Task (planning)

 I gathered some feedback from my target audience based on the final progress of my magazine. I also questioned my audience into the strengths and weaknesses of my magazine and how similar or dissimilar my magazine is towards my drafts/plans. Below are the following responses I received:

Draft of magazine 

 

*Models used to impersonate the celebrities Chris Brown and Pink

*Colour schemes: Black, white and grey

Title of publication: 'On cloud9'

Algerian Font used for masthead

Soft edged photos to be used in contents page or DPS

No more than two models on the front cover

Black background consistently

Original theme: Rock and R&B- Changed to one genre of R&B, as the two genres do not combine well together and it would be too complex to add two distinctive genres together. Moreover, I might not gain a lot of consumers if I chose the genres of R&B and Rock as some might prefer one much more than the other.

Q1) What are the advantages towards my magazine, if any?

Stephanie Amoako, 16 responded: “I really like your colour scheme and the images used, it suits the R&B genre.” 

Esther Yusuff, 16: “I like your colour scheme the choice of red and white on a black background really stands out; I like that you have a variety of colours which is engaging.”

Sammah Shariff, 16: “I like your colour scheme and the font in your masthead, it is unique and eye-catching.”

Yasmin, 17: “I really like the layout, you used the space effectively to make the most out of double page spread and it also looks very professional due to the layout and the simple colour scheme.”

Josephine, Gyamfi,16: “I really like the red boxes used in your contents page, it makes it look more realistic and professional and I like the idea of a slogan it makes your magazine stand out and look unique.”

Judging from the feedback based on the strengths of my magazine, the majority of 4/5 people were satisfied with my choice of colour scheme which was, red, white and black. I specifically chose this colour scheme to my original idea of white, black and grey because, the colour of red is more noticeable and gives off a more striking impression towards my magazine than the colour of grey which often connotes something dull.

Q2) What improvements could be made towards my magazine, if any and does it link well with my drafts?

Stephanie Amoako, 16 responded: “The font type could be improved on your contents page, I can’t really read it.”

“It links quite well with your plan because you used the colours of black and white to your magazine and you maintained the masthead of ‘Cloud9’.- Stephanie Amoako

Esther Yusuff, 16: “Too much colour scheme and the font on your contents page should be changed to a much simpler font.”

“It is ok compared to your drafts but, you did not manage to get a Chris Brown and Pink look alike as you mentioned.”-Esther Yusuff

Sammah Shariff, 16: “Change the white box on your contents page to a different colour, it looks a bit odd in white.”

“Your magazine doesn’t really link too much with your magazine because the font you used is different from the Algerian font and the models used are different.”- Sammah Shariff

Yasmin, 17: “Too much cover lines on the front cover, change the colours on your cover lines to one colour to make it easier to read.”

“Your magazine links well with your planning because you kept the black background and the models used relates well with the R&B genre and you also added pull quotes and a slogan similar to your plan.”-Yasmin

Josephine Gyamfi, 16: “The images on your contents page looks a bit squashed, I’m not sure about the white box on your contents, the fonts should be changed to Arial because I can barely read it.”

“I think that your magazine links well with your draft, I can see that you used a similar font and colour to your masthead but, the models don’t really link with your planning because they look nothing alike to ‘Chris Brown’ and ‘Pink’.”- Josephine Gyamfi

Judging from the feedback, most people suggested that I should change the font type on my contents page because it was difficult to read, I will try and change it to a much readable font such as, Arial or Calibri. In addition to, judging from the feedback I noticed how some people suggested that I should change the white box in my contents page to a different colour, I will try and change it to black to make it blend in with the black background.

In terms of my magazine linking with my drafts/plannings, 4/5 of my sample was satisfied with how similar my magazine was towards my drafts. However, 2/5 people implied that my choice of models did not look alike to my original plans. I decided to not get models to impersonate the celebrities of Pink and Chris Brown as that would be a difficult progress and it was better for my models to stand out as unique celebrities instead of a copy.

Audience Research feedback/ Additional information on magazine proposal

On 13/11/2013, I questioned a sample of five people to express their in-depth opinions towards my Magazine proposal presentation; below displays the following responses:

 Stephanie, 16:

What were the disadvantages of my presentation?

1)       “Shouldn’t have went back and forth and should have kept to one space.”

2)      “Should have spoken louder and more confidence.”

3)      “Should have more direct eye contact with the audience.”

4)      “Lack of organisation”

What went well within my presentation?

1)      “Good layout in presentation”

2)      “Good front cover.”

3)      “I liked how the presentation has a variety of fonts.”

Vijaya,16

What were the disadvantages of my presentation?

1)       “The text should be bigger.”

2)      “Speak louder”

3)      “Not just skip the pages”

4)      “Anita should have talked slower.”

5)       

What went well within my presentation?

1)       “The pictures are good.”

2)      “The background colour is good.”

3)      “The masthead is good because it is unique.”

4)      “Quite clear and engaging with the audience.”

Radhia, 16

What were the disadvantages of my presentation?

1)      “Speak a bit louder.”

2)      “Looking at the presentation too much, should just stay in one place.”

What went well within my presentation?

1)       “Good eye contact to the audience.”

2)      “Good use of images.”

3)      “Anita knew what she wanted for her magazine.”

4)      “The front page is good.”

5)      “Anita showed a variety of drafts meaning that she put a lot of effort into her work.”

Sarah, 16

What were the disadvantages of my presentation?

1)       “The title of masthead needs to relate to the R&B theme more.”

2)      “Rock and R&B does not go together.”

3)      “The colour schemes of black, white and grey is unappealing and depressive.”

4)      “There needs to be more rock pictures”

5)      “Why is there so many drafts of you magazine? It makes it seem like your confused of what to do with your magazine.”

6)      “Project your voice louder to look less of an amateur presenter.”

7)      “Should have stayed in one place.”

What went well?

1)      “The masthead is big and bold.”

2)      “The images used are vivid and clear.”

3)      “The title of the masthead is distinctive and unique.”

Josephine, 16

What were the disadvantages of my presentation?

1)       “Moving around too much, stay in one place.”

2)      “Need more bright colours.”

3)      “Project voice louder to look more confident.”

4)      “More colourful colour for the title.”

5)      “Should have asked more questions towards the audience so that you can engage with them more.”

What went well within my presentation?

1)       “Good use of images, I like how you have a range of both R&B artists and Rock artists.”

2)      “Unique title”

3)      “Very good layouts on your magazine drafts.”

4)      “I like how you show eye contact towards the audience.”

Summary

Judging from my evidence, the majority of my sample were above satisfied with my choice of masthead and images used; I would clearly agree to a great extent however, four out of five of my sample suggested that, my voice was too quiet; that I should have maintained my position while presenting. I will further use these suggestions as a room for improvement by, talking more clearly and loudly next time and not moving about too much. Moreover in terms of the actual magazine drafts, I will try and enlighten my colour schemes by adding more colours which symbolise happiness such as, gold, pink and yellow; also change the theme of R&B and Rock to one genre to lessen its complexity.