Indie Rock Research - Music Videos

Hozier - 'Work Song'  Music video

The video for Hozier's song 'Work Song' , which is  a single off of his self titled debut album released in 2014. It fits very well with the genre of Indie Rock. Unlike popular music and other similar genres, it is very reserved and calm, and does not look like it was needed to be made on a high budget. This shows that Hozier and his type of music fits in with the genre as with Indie Rock it is about the music more than anything. Hozier is featured throughout the music video, playing the song at a concert which is full of people who fit the image of Indie Rock. The people at the concert, most of them couples, dance a routine in sync, which matches the music and the lyrics being sang. The overall colours and lighting of the video is quite faded and the colours used are dull, but it is effective and looks fitting to the overall tone of the music, which is quite slow.


 Lana Del Rey - 'Blue Jeans'  (Music video)

In the music video for Lana Del Rey's song 'Blue Jeans', a song from her 2012 album 'Born to Die', her second studio album. The video is shot in black and white, and has elements of film noir. The video, like Hozier's, is in no way rushed or fast paced and moves slowly and sensually. There are scenes shot in slow-motion, Lana appears as the man's (Bradley Soileau) love interest, which ends in tragedy. It fits the brooding, dark theme to Indie Rock very well, and critics have described the video to be very moody and retro too. It strays from popular music videos, as it is very dark, set in a swimming pool beside a 1950s style house, which is not following the generic sort of music videos that other genres produce. Her other videos follow this, and while many of them have the dark, brooding theme, they are instantly recognisable to be Lana's videos.


 

Arctic Monkeys - 'Arabella' (Music Video)

Like Lana Del Rey's video, Arctic Monkeys' 'Arabella', from their 2012 album 'AM', is shot entirely in black and white, which seems to be a recurring theme in the genre. It also appears to be set back in time, as the front man of the band Alex Turner said in an interview that the name Arabella partly comes from the name of a 1968 French-Italian actress, who was called Barbarella. Considering this, and seeing the music video, it appears to be set in this time. Also the effects on the video, such as the illusion of a camera rolling, and there are also pauses in certain places of the video. The video fits the genre of Indie Rock, as there are a collection of clips of people at a bar drinking and smoking. It fits the rebellious side Indie Rock has, and with the fashion sense of Arctic Monkeys, especially of Alex Turner, it also fits the genre as it definitely does not follow the mainstream.

A Introduction to Indie Rock

Market Research - Magazine Deconstruction of January 2016 'Q'

In this video, I speak about what I discovered doing this market research about the layout of the front cover, as well as what is featured on a double page spread. I found out a lot by doing this research, especially about how magazines tend to stick to an overall theme on each page, even if it is just a subtle similarity on some pages. I also noticed that because there are four people on the front cover, the font is positioned at the bottom of the magazine rather than around the sides. I did look at the contents page too, but I found it resembled a double page spread as rather than having the contents on a single page, it was on a double page. I found this interesting as it is usually the opposite, but I found that it worked as it was more spaced out and set up in a way which makes it look creative yet still maintaining the professional look.

 

Front Cover

 

Contents Page

 

Double Page Spread

Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PYPsy9vhcQ&feature=youtu.be

Research Rationale

Research Rationale

The target audience I have chosen to use is 16 to 25 year olds because I am in sixth form and therefore have easy access to students as well as young teachers. I will carry out a number of surveys on different social media sites, such as Twitter and Facebook, to see what people would like to see in and on the cover of a music magazine, and what catches their eye first. By having access to teenagers in school and an even wider range of people on the Internet, it means I will get a clear response and help me get a better understanding of what is looked for on a music magazine, and what attracts the audience in to buy it. 

For my audience research, I will be conducting a qualitative research so that I will get fully worded and more in depth answers instead of simple ‘yes’ and ‘no answers. This will help me with my research as I will have a deeper knowledge of what teenagers and young adults prefer and their reasons why. I will also get wide variety of responses, although this may become difficult with so many responses.  However, by looking at what the majority of responses are, I can come up with a conclusion from this.

I could also conduct a quantitative research, which requires more statistics and numbers in research and using methods such as graphs and simpler surveys.  This type of research would require me to get opinions of different people and ordering it in a structured way, resulting in a clear conclusion and helping me to decide what features to include in and on the cover of my magazine.

Once I have collected all of my data needed for my magazine, I will be one step closer to achieving a successful, realistic and attractive music magazine.

Magazine Typography

Magazine Typography

Music magazines use a variety of fonts depending on the genre of music it is centered around, but overall there is a theme of large and bold lettering. However, on 'BBC music',the 'music' is written in lowercase letters with the U in italics, which makes it stand out and seem like a pun on the word 'you', This makes it feel more personal and direct to the audience, Kerrang! is written to fit the genre of music it is for, which is alternative rock. The effect of shattered glass it has and the capital letters make it seem quite aggressive, reflecting on the genre it is for.

Magazine Deconstruction

Response to Production Brief

Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKsv2iJazxk&feature=youtu.be

PRELIM TASK: Audience Feedback

I asked one of my classmates for feedback on my magazine cover and contents page. She told me that she thinks it would fit my target audience, and she would buy it for multiple reasons. Hibah, the student I asked, said that the image on the front was very eye catching as it was bright and in focus, and because her angle of gaze was directly at the camera, it made it more appealing and she said it would 'draw her in if she saw it at school/in a shop.' She said that the features in the contents list were also appealing as there was a wide variety of things inside which would make her want to buy it, and also that it related to college well in an original way. I asked her if she thought the colour scheme was good, and she said it was, as the colours used go well together and are coordinated, which makes it look attractive and professional. Hibah also said that the graphics I used made it stand out a lot.

Hibah said that the cover line I chose, 'ART VS. ALGEBRA' was interesting and made her want to find out what it was about, and sparked thoughts into her head about the subjects. She also liked that the model was holding a paintbrush and a calculator in each hand, as she said it was clever how it linked to the cover line well, visualising an actual fight between the two subjects. She said that the font choice of the masthead was also good as it was clear and bold, and because it looked like it was sketched, it related well to my magazine and what it is about. Overall, the feedback I received from Hibah was positive, with her only point being that I could have tried to Photoshop the shadow on the cover out a bit more, and also that I could have made the red circle graphic on the cover 'pop' a bit more, for example adding a drop shadow.

PRELIM TASK: Finished Products & Cohesion

This is my finished front cover of a college magazine. I am pleased with the outcome of it and think I have followed the criteria well. I especially like the colour scheme as it all matches, and the use of red makes it more eye catching as it stands out. I have used a variety of fonts but not too many that it look unprofessional, and have used various tools on Photoshop to manipulate the background image and to also enhance some of the captions/cover lines so they stand out more. I could however have improved it by manipulating the background image so that the shadow is not as visible.









Here is my finished contents page. It reflects well on
the front cover as I have used the same colour scheme and similar graphics, as well as the same font as the masthead. I have done the same thing to the contents list as I did to the cover lines on the cover; used tools on Photoshop to emboss and make them bold. I am pleased with how it turned out, and I especially like the pictures I used, as they relate well to my magazine.

PRELIM TASK: Final Shots - Contents Page.

PRELIM TASK: Contents Page Layout Decisions

PRELIM TASK:Cover Layout Decisions

PRELIM TASK: Example of Photo Manipulation

Photo edit from Shivani Cavaliere

PRELIM TASK: Final Shot

Final Shot - Front Cover from Shivani Cavaliere

PRELIM TASK: Magazine Cover - Font Changes

I decided to re-position some of the font on this page, particularly the large caption at the bottom. I decided to use a font that looked more like it fitted the word, so I chose one which resembled handwriting and left the one that says 'ALGEBRA' as it already related to the word as it is serious looking and in order.

Here you can see I edited the font even further to make it stand out. I made it so that the word 'ART' actually looked like it was 3D and had been written on or painted on, by adding different textured effects to it on Photoshop. The same goes for the 'ALGEBRA', this is now quite metallic and also stands out more. It is much more eye catching and not as simple anymore, but it still keeps it organised and fits the theme of my magazine.

PRELIM TASK: Magazine Cover - Brightness

Here is a picture of my magazine cover (in progress). This is what it looked like before I edited the background picture. It is quite dull and there is a shadow that is clearly visible on the wall, and in general does not look very eye catching.

In this one, you can see it is much brighter. I adjusted the levels of brightness and tried to balance the light so that the background would be lighter, and the picture of my model would stand out more, which is did. The shadow is not as visible now and it looks more eye catching as it is just brighter in general.

PRELIM TASK: Masthead

These were the fonts I considered using for the masthead. I wanted the masthead to relate to the theme of my magazine, which is college and also with a reoccurring theme of the arts subjects. I went on dafont.com and found this selection of fonts that look like they have been sketched, which matched the theme of the magazine. They are all quite similar and effective, but I decided, with the second opinions of others, to use this one:

PRELIM TASK: Camera Shots

PRELIM TASK: Flat Plan

Here is the flat plan for the front cover of my magazine. The colour scheme I am using is red and black, and I will use a variation of fonts and graphics.

This is the contents page for my magazine. It will relate back to the front, using similar graphics and the same colour scheme of red and black.

PRELIM TASK: Reader Profile

PRELIM TASK: 'Self' Magazine Deconstruction

PRELIM TASK: Introduction and Initial Ideas

http://prezi.com/t2sgxywcki_p/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy Introduction and Initial Ideas