Music magazine research: Poses

In preparation for taking my first set of photographs for my music magazine, i will analyse and evaluate several poses, looking at the clothing, makeup, facial expressions and body language. I would like the models on my magazine to follow a punk/indie rock style, with a girly edge, and so i will look for the same style shown in these images.

Although the video has audio commentary, due to restrictions on how long each audio clip can be, i had to include some text to accompany the video, which i have added below. The Youtube link has also been provided.

Please press play.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIXFudw80uw

1. This image, showing Lily Allen, gives a strong rock girl image, mixing it with a fairly girly feel. She's wearing a dark purple dress, with black lace underneath it, with a minimal amount of jewellery. Furthermore, her expression is fairly simple, while still giving a stare that oozes attitude. I feel that the dress leans toward the girly side too much, and i hope to create a more indie-rock feel, and so i would not dress my models in a dress similar to this. The pose itself is quite simple, with her hands on her stomach as she leans forward, and so it is one i would consider asking my models to use.
   
2. The makeup follows the same style as the previous image of Lily. Both wear clothing that would be considered high street fashion, with Ellie in a silver crop top, and white shorts, while Marina is in a dark grey play suit. Both are wearing the bare minimum when it comes to accessories, only wearing an earring each, both of which are a similar colour to their hair. Moreover, the poses that they're using are very simple, with Marine standing with her leg bent at an angle, while Ellie stands in a neutral position with her hand on the back of her head. I would like to use the idea of a 3/4 length image on my music magazine, but while i will keep the models in a fairly neutral position, i would like to ensure that their faces are used in some way, as the facial expressions shown on this image are fairly uninteresting.
   
3. This image of Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine shows a slightly punk rock, girly style which i would like to consider reproducing on my music magazine. The dress on the left is more punk rock than the one on the right, which follows a much girlier theme. The left image is considerably darker compared to the right. The dress has a navy blue top, and a brown feather skirt. On the right her dress is mainly light blue, with a small print in navy blue. Her makeup in both images is very simple, with a little red lipstick and some black eyeliner. The poses are quite simple, with her looking down with her hands on her hips in the left image, and her hand on her head, while she faces away from the camera in the right.
   
4. Here we see Ellie and Marina on two different magazines, where the same style from The Company magazine has been maintained, showing their personal fashion style. Ellie's wearing a sailor hat, while her hair has been curled. In addition, she's still only wearing a small amount of makeup, with most of it being eyeshadow and eyeliner, and a pale orange nail varnish. Her clothes, being a white crop top worn underneath a purple striped shirt follow an indie theme, but are also considerably girly, which reflects on her personality and music taste. Marina's follows the same theme, as her makeup consists of only black eyeliner, mascara, and a bright pink lipstick, while her hair has been slightly curled and styled. She holds a coloured stone to her eye, which draws our attention to her face and the bracelet on her wrist, which compliments her dark hair colour. Her top is simple, with the bright blue contrasting with the stone, and linking to the pale blue background on the right side of the cover. I will have my models hair down and styled naturally, to give off a more relaxed feel, as well as using the idea of natural or no makeup. 

Music magazine: font/name development

After deciding on my music magazine's name, i decided to do some font development to enable me to design the title that i would use on my completed magazine. As i plan to make my music magazine like NME, showing punk rock, alternative, indie, and other music genres that follow the same trend, i decided that when i thought of previously analysed magazines, i noticed that very bold, bright colours were used, and so i planned to do the same for my own. After testing simple fonts in black, making them italic, bold, and different sizes, i then went on to selecting my favourite fonts out from the ones shown on the left.

Following my previous font development, i chose to experiment with all the different colours and effects, looking at colours that were very bright as most people associate loud music with bold colours. Eventually, i decided that i preferred the titles with a drop shadow behind them, or another title placed behind it to give it a similar effect, but give a brighter shadow. I then chose the title that appears in the first column as number four.

This font - called Accent SF - stood out the most to me. Applying the same techniques to these designs, i decided that i could further the shadow effect by adding an additional title behind the other two, which is how i created the second and third design in column one, and the second design in column two. I chose red, blue and yellow as i thought they stood out the most, clashing, but creating a bright, and loud image. The fact that the colours crash reminds me and others of music festivals, where the louder the music, the better.

After the previous development, i decided on using this title as i thought that it would represent the genre of music that i want to include in my magazine. Loud, bold, unique, unusual, but interesting. Something different. I hope to place this title on either a blank page, or a black square so that the colours could stand out more.

Music magazine names.

In order to create my music magazine, one of the most basic things i need is a catchy name. My aim is to create one that can be easily remembered, following the example given by Kerrang!, NME, Q, and Rolling Stone. After thinking of some names, i have come up with the following name: TIP!

I thought this name would be good as it distinctly follows the music theme, automatically reminding people of things such as, speakers, and amps. I will now do some font research, looking at different colours, sizes, effects, fonts, experimenting with different things to complete my main title, and then go on to continue my research and preparation to create my own front cover.

Music magazine: front cover research.

Before creating my own music magazine i must look at previous front covers from music magazine's. I will comment on the images, the fonts and colours, as well as the layout itself.

 Q is a music magazine which is published in the UK, and this particular issue focuses on singer Lily Allen. The front cover seems clear and clustered at the same time. The magazine's name has been placed in the top left corner where it can be easily seen, but i can't see the text underneath the title as the background colour is too bright, and almost harsh, while the text under it is written in white. Additionally, "LILY ALLEN" and "SEXY BEAST" placed underneath it in a large font, putting the focus more on her sexuality and "her wicked, wicked ways", rather than her music. Furthermore, the top right corner contains the names of bands such as U2 and Oasis, announcing exclusive inerviews, unfortunately, the white writing underneath this is hard to read. The majority of the text on this front cover is easy to read, but the way in which it is placed makes it harder to read. The top right corner containing all of the text would be an example as although many of the words, such as the band names have been bolded, the text following it seems too small. The text at the bottom has been written in white but placed onto a black background, including the bright blue as well, creating a link from the arrows and part of one fo the subheadings. The read from the title has been used again on another sub-heading, and the word "exclusive", making the main colour black. The image supports this as the model has been dressed in black tights and heels, with silver and black shorts, as well as being placed with two panthers. Overall, i think that the cover could be improved as although it tries to stay clear, everything seems too clustered, resulting in many things overlapping.

Kerrang! is a well known rock music magazine. Here it is focusing on hard rock and metal music mostly, but on different types rather than just one, with Rage Against the Machine being a rap-metal group, while Good Charlotte are a pop-punk group. HIM are the focus of the front cover and main story, following his comeback. The image that has been used is a close up of his face, this and the colours used create a powerful and intimidating image. Although the image seems to be quite dark, the face of Ville Valo is well-lit, with only his makeup, hair, and clothes providing the darkness. The entire front cover follows this theme as the green in a few of the sub-headings are the same as the green eyeshadow used on the model. In addition, the front cover has kept quite clear and easy to read as all of the fonts are fairly large, including the list of the other bands mentioned within the magazine. The title of the magazine has mostly been left uncovered, with only "LIFE IS LOUD" plastered over the top right corner. The advertisements, such as the free posters have been placed to the right side of the magazine, and we realise that the front cover follows the rule of thirds very clearly. I hope to use a few things from this magazine when i create my own.

Rolling Stone is a well-known U.S.-based magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. The model that has been used is pop star Adam Lambert, who was made famous after winning American Idol. The image is a mid-shot, focusing on down to just above his knees. He appears to have been placed in a relaxed position, but it still looks posed, and he is sprawled all over the page, keeping the focus on him entirely. This idea is reinforced when you read the sub-heading on the side that reads, "The Liberation of Adam Lambert. WILD IDOL", revealing the focus of this piece on him is on his personal life. The text is mostly white, with the main title in a pale green, which creates a link with the snake. The colours that have been used are mostly just white and black, with small splashes of colours like green and dark blue occasionally, mostly on the background.

The main title, although fairly large and in a colour that makes it easier to read, most of it is being covered by the models arms. Although most of the text is outlined in black in an attempt to seperate it from the background, it still remains hard to read as it's too similar to the colour used for the background. The smaller writing on the right side is also harder to read because of this problem. The majority of the text is in capital letters, making it a little easier to read. Furthermore, what i assume to be the issue number and the date in the top right corner cannot be read at all even though it's on a darker background, because the font is too small. Similar to the Kerrang! magazine i looked at, this magazine places the majority of the text to the right side, in a column, and the main title spreading along the top of the magazine, in a large font, with a plain background. I would like to use some of the aspects used on this magazine on my own, like the text in a column on the side, a midshot of the model, and the main sub-heading in big, bold letters underneath the model, keeping the image and text clear, and easy to read.

The New Musical Express - better known as NME - is a popular music magazine in the United Kingdom, which is published weekly. It follows a punk rock, and indie theme, which is what i would like my magazine to also follow. This cover shows British musician Damon Albarn, who is part of Gorillaz along with British cartoonist Jamie Hewlett. It is a musical project that consists of their music and an extensive fictional universe that follows a "virtual band" of cartoon characters. Two of these animated members are shown in the main image used for the front cover, covered by the text, "Reality Blurs! Damon interviews Gorillaz". Their style is a composition of multiple musical genres, with a large number of influences including, dub, hip hop, alternative rock, electronic and pop music. The cover seems quite clear, with the main title in bright red and white, only slightly covered by Murdoc's head, who is the cartoon character on the left. The red from the main title has been used again for the main sub-heading and for the stars that have been used between the names of the musical acts mentioned, creating a link. The sub-headings above the title and down the sides of the magazine are also clear, in a bold white font, all in capitals. The barcode has been placed sideways in the bottom right corner, not covering the other cartoon character. This front cover also follows the same pattern as the previous ones, as the text is mostly on the sides in small columns, leaving the image clear. The issue number and date have been placed underneath the main title, and the musicians mentioned on the cover follow the magazines theme, as they are all pop, pop-punk, indie, alternative-rock, or alternative acts. Overall i like this cover the most, and hope to make my own music magazine similar to this one. I would like to have two models on my front cover, and use some things like the small stars and main title and sub-heading to incorporate the same colour onto the page.