Progression From Preliminary Task

Audience Feedback on Final Product & Personal Critical Feedback

My focus group overall received my media product quite well. They liked the similarities between it and other real media products available. ‘The colours are a bit girly’. I do believe that my product is slightly feminine however I did try to keep it clean-cut and as less fussy looking as possible. I can see why my magazine would maybe be preferred by women more than men in this case. The final chosen image fitted in well with the theme of the magazine – by incorporating fashion and style into music. The sexualised image of my ‘artist’ on the cover attracted people above a certain age. From young teenagers aged about sixteen, to people of their mid-thirties. The idea behind my image was to attract the audience’s attention and therefore I believe this was achieved. Another criticism my focus group made was that the editing on the photo could have been better. Had I stuck to my time deadlines, and originally tried to take a photo of better quality I would have achieved an overall better, more striking effect. Moreover I believe my product does relate to my target audience.

Different Saved Versions

Final Photograph Choice - Double Page Spread

After getting my focus group to choose their favourite photo of the images I have taken they chose this photo as the image they would prefer to see on the double page spread. I have edited the contrast and the brightness of this photo to achieve the desired effect of a bright white background simulating a high-end photo shoot and brightening the subject’s face. By manipulating the contrast of the image the subject is then given slightly more colour, portraying a glamorous effect on a fairly simple photo. I like this image because it is a strong contrast to the photo that will be on the front cover of the same subject.

Final Photograph Choice - Front Cover

After getting my focus group to choose their favourite photo of the images I have taken they chose this photo as the image they would prefer to see on the front cover of my magazine. I have edited out the wristband the model was wearing and edited the hair on her face and the skin around her lips. By doing this I have simply sharpened up the image and given it a more glamorous effect. I kept the model’s face sultry, and the pose powerful – along with the dark make-up and the dark hair I think it is a very striking photograph. I think the mise-en-scene of this image shows the model has a very strong sense of her femininity and sexuality and by posing in such a strong position combined with the make-up really helps portray the attitude of the ‘artist’.

Block Layout - Contents Page

Block Layout - Front Cover

Contact Sheet of Photographs (Edited Using Adobe Photoshop)

Representation

How the models for my photographs will be represented:

The theme for my music magazine ‘Uncut’ is popular culture music, for example, chart artists – for dedicated fans that study the charts and are aware of the latest ‘big’ acts. I would like the models to be represented as slightly messy hair look, with dark eye make up and seductive clothes. The models will in-keep with some of the latest fashions, with often their own personal twist if the artist so chooses. I have taken this into account and had my model pose in a long white shirt and black knee high socks. Along with large heels and messy hair, the dark eye make up is sultry and the model was told to pouse with a smouldering sort of expression. I think this has been represeneted in my photos.

I want my audience to be able to instantly recognise the style of the model on the front cover, to be of a popular culture style – using the fashions of the artist’s genre of music. For example, rebellious pop – dark smoky eye make up and seductive clothes (rebellious).

Mode of Address Analysis – Double Page Spread Interview

Charly Semark has taken the UK by storm and has smashed through straight to the top of the US charts. On the brink of her first UK tour she is up bright and early to meet up with UNCUT. The pop perfectionist journeys down to The Palm hotel in Lancaster Square, London. Her new single ‘Destruction’ is out on 11^th November and her new album will be released in the first week of December. Could this fresh faced sensation be the biggest breakout artist of the year? We chat to her and find out!

So Charly, we’ve listened to your new single ‘Destruction’ and it is fantastic! How did you come up with the name and the song itself?

Thank you! (She blushes) The song really did not take me long to write if I’m honest as I had been working on it for quite a few months at the point that I was lucky enough to be scouted for a record deal one night when I was out in London performing at a local pub! The support from my family, friends and fans has been fantastic and I can honestly say that I could not have got to this stage without them! I’m absolutely loving what I’m doing right now, and am so thankful for the opportunities I have been given. I have stayed committed to my songs from the start – they are all from my own personal experience so they’re very close to my heart. You can’t be afraid to share your songs; you just have to believe in yourself.

Here at UNCUT we have been told only a small amount about your tour in a few weeks, can you tell us about your plans beyond this?

Well I am so excited to kick-start my tour in Manchester Arena especially because this was where I went to my first gig and it’s a dream come true to think that in a few weeks i will be up on that stage tracing the footsteps of my music idols! I am training very hard at the moment for the tour and working out a lot more in the gym much to my reluctance! (She laughs) so at this moment I think I will be taking a short break after the tour. Everything’s just so crazy recently – all the press releases, interviews, appearances and costume fittings I never know where to begin when trying to explain!  I think we’ll just have to see how the tour goes and how the fans receive the songs from my new album – you can’t always be lucky the third or fourth song to have such a successful reception so I’m hoping for the best.

That sounds brilliant for someone who likes to keep busy! How do you like to celebrate your success?

My idea of a brilliant night out is loads of mates and great music! We like to hit the main clubs and bars. I love getting absorbed in the bright lights and music – we all love the lively atmosphere in the most popular places. They are expensive at times but it’s well worth it once we’re inside! I often get recognised at some of the more high profile places, and that’s a fantastic feeling. I thought I would find it overwhelming but it has become a big part of the evening and helps me to really interact with my fans. I am just loving how everything is going currently and can’t wait to travel this year hopefully further afield – I’ve heard the basements in Malia are amazing.

Some of our UNCUT club representatives have admitted to seeing you and about recently so you really are becoming a regular on the London club scene! Did you know from a young age that this is the sort of career you wanted to aspire to?

Hmm, I can’t honestly say I began singing until I got into secondary school! When I was younger I used to want to be a police woman so it’s quite a change (She laughs). After I begun singing I began writing my own songs. They began as poetry, however when I began to learn the guitar when I was eleven I re-wrote the poems as songs.  Writing songs was my way of getting away from all the stresses and pains of everyday life! When I began my exams at sixteen I had to really cut back on the time I spent writing songs, so I began to pick it up again when I started my A-levels. I knew from the time I started writing songs that I had a big desire to perform them one day. My dad used to be a pub landlord – The Sheep Dog – and he used to hold open mic nights for anyone who had a burning desire to share songs they had written. I am so thankful for the opportunities that came from those small town performances as they lead to me being discovered in larger clubs in London! Although I believe not everyone will have these opportunities – it is never impossible if you don’t stop believing!

We’re sure you would have made a smashing police woman, however stick to performing for now! Who would you say has been your main inspiration?

Definitely Katy Perry. Although she’s American so a different style of artist to myself I believe she is fabulous! She is a brilliant role model and has a real connection with her fans. We fall into the same genre of songs, and we both write our songs from personal experiences.

Today in the photo shoot you seem at ease and like you were having a lot of fun! Are you enjoying the publicity side of being a new and upcoming artist in the industry?

I loved the photo shoot today. I prefer simple clothes – good quality jumpers and cardis and pieces that really go the distance and last a long time. Most of the time I am just chilling and relaxing at home in sweatpants so it’s quite an adjustment to have the opportunity to get all made up and wear glamorous clothes! Normally I hate having my photo taken, but now it feels like work. All the work I’ve been doing these past few weeks is about promoting my album and tour so I’m having to find a connection between the music itself and the style I portray with myself.

Your tour dates have already been released; it must be such an exciting experience! Here at UNCUT we can’t wait to hear about your next moves after your tour. Sounds like you’re having a fantastic time and it certainly is nowhere near coming to an end yet. We can’t wait to catch up with you soon after your tour has finished and see how everything’s going – good luck!

Mode of Address Analysis - Cover Lines

An exclusive, tell-all interview with Charly Semark: “I hate having my photo taken!”

PLUS

BAND 1

BAND 2

BAND 3

BAND 4

Gig reviews à Band 1 and Band 2

*Win tickets to see Pixie Lott ++ backstage passes!

Breakout Acts of the year – top 10

Indie acts to look out for!

New album – James Blunt

10 minutes with ... The Saturdays

Is punk rock making a belated comeback?

Live radio reports

+ Most downloaded song of the month

Website -> radio channel -> issue number -> date ->barcode/price

Mode of Address Analysis - Letter from the Editor

Uncut would be nowhere without its exclusive interviews and access all areas articles. We are providing a shift in movement for all genres of popular culture music. We will give anything a listen to and love hearing from our readers! To quote Kate Marsh, Co Editor of Uncut “The public are speaking out of their love for all types of music, why not compile a magazine dedicated to members of the public deeply interested in music and the style beyond the notes! We define and create popular culture – handbag size!”. In this very first edition of Uncut, we will be searching for the breakout act of the year, spending 10 minutes a week with a favourite chart topping artist and asking the question: ‘is punk making a belated comeback?’. We are letting our readers in to popular cultures private eye, behind the scenes – access ALL areas.

Allie x

Alison Wolsey

Editor, Uncut Magazine

Cover Lines for Magazines

Kerrang

World Exclusive

Blink 182

Blast Back!

Death!

Drugs!

Despair!

NME

The State of Music Today by ..

Rihanna

Jack White

Florence and the Machine

LCD Soundsystem

Kasabian

Laura Marling

Foals

MIA

Biffy Clyro

Magnetic Man

Rolling Stone

SHOWDOWN

50 CENT vs KANYE WEST

Who will be the king of hip-hop?

Fall album preview:

Springsteen

Kid Rock

Foo Fighters

Alicia Keys

Neil Young

Lil Wayne

Magazine Language Analysis

Example taken from Q Magazine, interview of Plan B

ANY OTHER PROJECTS ON THE PIPELINE?

"I'm working with an English singer called Delilah [not to be confused with French chanteuse Sophie Delila, who he recenly appeared onstage with] She's fucking amazing.

• Fairly open ended question
• Varied sentence lengths
• Use of swear words
• Lexical Field of music
• Use of brackets
• Opinion
• Facts
• Conversation seems friendly - long answers instead of one word answers

Features that could be included

•  Emotive language
• Pronouns
• Introduction about the appearance of the artist
• Promotion
• Informal
• Use of varied punctuation

Font Audience Feedback

UNCUT

|

This is the font that my audience chose out of the four options. I do really like this font because it is contemporary and simple. It successfully portrays style and tune to the text in the flow of the curves. It is a unique style of font and should therefore be easily recognised by the audience.



Magazine Name Font Analysis

UNCUT

I quite like this font because it is simple, and slightly contemporary. The curls add a sense of style to it. I may use this for my magazine because I think that is successfully portrays style and tune to the text in the flow of curves.

UNCUT

I like this font because it is simple, clear and modern. It would be easily recognisable as a brand font because of its block colour and bold style. However it does not really portray the idea of a music magazine.

UNCUT

 I really like this stencil style font. I think it looks contemporary and bold. The style of it means that it would be recognisable and unique to differentiate between other music magazines. I may use this.

UNCUT

I really like this font. I think that the black and white outline around the text and the style makes it look ‘cut’ out. It has a stencil effect, and is stylish and bond. I think it is similar to the style of font used on the ‘Rolling Stones’ magazine and has an appearance of class. It is recognisable and will be unique in the reader’s eyes and portray not only music, but style among music.

My Music Magazine Name Choices

Shuffle – iPod phrase/variety

Uncut – not edited, includes everything

M – Stands for music

Wire – headphone wire

Icon – music icon

Amplified – music term, amp, exaggerated

Encore – play again, concert phrase

Interval – musical interval, break in a concert

411 – American phrase meaning gossip

‘Uncut’ is the magazine name my focus group chose.

Music Magazine Names

Music Magazine Name & Connotations:

·         Heat – ‘hot’ news

·         Now – current news

·         Look – you’ll see what you want to see/easily remembered

·         Instyle -  up to date

·         Glamour – tackier edge/fashionable/clothes off

·         Shout  - loud news

·         Mizz  - teenage/youthful

·         Rolling Stones - music

·         Vogue – high fashion/glamorous/fashion houses

·         Kerrang – guitar term/reflecting sound/font

·         Q – from Men’s quarterly/unisex/opulence/answers/forming a queue/worth 10 points/difficult letter/unique/musical Q

·         Cosmo – 21^st century name/handbag size (A5)/diverse content

·         Elle – feminine/for women/French for ‘she’/positive/beautiful

·         NME – changed name/contemporary

·         Woman’s Own – just for women/relevant content

·         Nuts – body/sexuality/outrageous

·         FHM - for him magazine/radio

·         OK – accepted/up to date news/positive

·         Hello – speaking to the reader/

·         Closer – closer to lives of celebrities/relationship

·         Pick me up – easy to pick up/

·         Grazia – posh/glamorous/opulence

·         Tops of the Pops  -only the best music/positive connotations/younger audience/radio + tv show

·         Take a Look – look inside for news/gossip

·         Bella - young beauty/Italian culture

·         Men’s Health – just for men

·         Smash Hits – 70’s phrase/hit music of time/charts

·         Woman’s Weekly – just for women/will have relevance

·         Country Living – information relevant to living in the country/help make your life better

·         Horse and Hounds – upper-class/related to hunting

·         Red – ‘hot’ news/easy name to remember

·         Marie Claire – for women/glamorous sounding/delicate

·         Radio Times – upper class connotations/

·         You  - information just for ‘you’/something everyone will be interested in

·         Bazaar ­ - glamour/opulence connotation

·         Gentlemen’s Quarterly – 4 times a year/

·         Lucky – lucky to be able to read this news

·         Shape – health related/can help, encourage you to get in shape

·         Nylon ­ - fabric of fashion/fashion main contents

·         Vanity Fair – opulent connotations/fashion/upper class women

·         Newsweek ­ - news weekly

·         The New Yorker – a magazine for people living there/relevant topics + information

·         Yorkshire Life  - relevant to readers who live in Yorkshire/improve your life there

·         Good Food  - the magazine will only be relevant/decent/positive connotations

·         Good Housekeeping  -life improvement/self-help/positive connotations

·         Bliss  - positive connotations

·         Diva – attitude/youthful

·         Playboy  -for men/sexual reference

·         Entertainment – energetic/relevant content

·         Empire ­­-  grand/opulent

·         New York – city stories

·         People -  for everyone/about everyone

·         Reader’s Digest – digest information given to the reader

·         Jackie - big sister/for younger audience

·         Forbes ­ ­- upper class connotations/appeals to men/wealth

·         Private Eye – contemporary/political events/view of what is going on/alternative opinion

Magazine Research Analysis

The style of music magazine I am going  to re-create is the style of 'Rolling Stone'. I like the vintage style of this magazine and how each issue appears to have a colour theme. The main image on the front cover acts as a background and there is only a pale colour behind the image or non at all. The cover lines are kept brief - neat and tucked to the side separated by lines. 'Rolling Stone' tends to shoot images for their front covers in a raunchy, sexual style and this striking style really attracted me to the design of the magazine. The style of magazine is basic and therefore there is nothing to distract the audience from the main image.

Denotative & Connotative Analysis - Q Double Page Spread

Denotative & Connotative Analysis - Q Double Page Spread

　

　

There is a border around the article going over the gutter of both pages.

The border which goes around the article is creating cohesion between the two pages. The pattern of it goes all around the edge yet the main image on the left overlaps it showing the dominance and power of the photograph.

　

The whole page conducts a negative, plain white background.

By giving the article no colour for a background and simply using a negative white, it makes the feature appear clean, fresh and modern. The text and the main image stand out against this somewhat boring background, and therefore it gives the image the attention of the article.

　

The main image on the left has been cropped.

The main image is cropped at the legs and it overlaps the border at the bottom and the top. The powerful stance the artist is photographed in represents the artist herself. She is posing in a seductive manner, and wearing very little clothes - this radical appearance reflects the artist and her music. The artist is wearing one of the main colours featured - black - this contrasts with her skin and the background making it stand out vividly to the reader.

　

The only three colours featured are red, white and black.

The combination of these three colours is featured throughout the magazine. The red is the brand promotion of the identity of the magazine and is the main colour which stands out over the two pages. Q wants this colour to be a constant advertisement and reminder to the reader that the magazine they are reading and have chosen to purchase is Q.

　

The statements the interviewer makes are in red, capital letters.

The statements are in red so that they stand out and by using capital letters the reader can distinguish between the statements and the answers of the artist.

　

The article is set out in three main columns with no full stops at the bottom of them.

By arranging the interview in columns it makes it easier for the buyer to read as a full page of text can be off putting. Breaking it down into short paragraphs makes it far more approachable as a piece of writing everyone will want to read. By not ending with a full stop at the bottom of the each column it means the reader has to go to the top of the next one to continue reading the article.

　

The website of the magazine is on the bottom left of the right hand page.

The logo is featured three times over the double page spread. Q does not want the reader to forget they are reading and enjoying their magazine. By placing it where the article concludes it makes it the last feature the reader sees before they turn the page.

　

The magazine logo is in the bottom left corner, bottom right corner and straight after the full stop which concludes the article.

By featuring the website it is another way of Q showing they are up-to-date with the media and the most recent events. They are advertising yet another way the reader can get involved with the magazine and feel a personal connection to the writers and its contents by explaining how they can easily subscribe.

　

　

The pull quote is centred within the article in the middle of the right hand page underneath a thick, red strip.

After the reader has first noticed the main image the feature that stands out most on the right hand side is the pull quote in bright red capitals underneath a thick, red strip. By showing the pull quote they have chosen central to the article it makes the buyer want to read the interview - the magazine will tend to choose one of the slightly more outrageous or enticing statements from the interviewee to feature as a pull quote to encourage readers to read on.