Message from Ms Prince

Your blog has now been marked for research and planning. Anything that you may now add will not be counted towards your final mark.

New/Final Copies of Front Cover, Contents Page & Double Page Spread

Changes were made to the Contents page and the second page of the Double Page Spread. The caption reading ‘Breaking it down like never before’ in the double page spread, and the floating quote reading “You can’t teach Soul. It lives in you already.” in the contents page, has been switched around to increase he quality within the pages.This was done because the contents page already had a floating quote, which is visible in the bottom right hand corner, and the contents page may not necessarily need to have more than one. However the double page spread only had one and there was not enough space left to leave another suitably presented one inside it, therefore having to replace the caption with this floating quote instead.

Preliminary Work

- I had tried to use a dark and warm colour scheme to reflect the maturity and higher class of the audience at had. I also used a gradient tool to give the pages a relaxed feeling, however due to this the black has been able to dominate certain sections of the page and become too dark, making the cover artist blend too much into the background and forcing me to go with a personally less desirable font colour for this type of page (white) instead of going with one I would have much preferred and believed suit these specific pages better (black).

- I got the artist to wear a blazer over his casual dress in order to convey both the middle class and the higher class, however the effects of this were not as clear as I had thought they would be when taking a second look at the pages, and could be done better for my actual music magazine.

- Direct mode of Address is apparent here which can draw the reader in.

- Font style is somewhat elegant and classy, suitable to the audience it is appealing to. The Masthead also connotes that of royalty and class as it is sort of in the theme of a deck of cards.

- In the real magazine I will need to add in a lot more cover lines, different images, better and organised layout, more information and many more features in order to create a successful product for my front cover and contents page.

Final Front Cover – No Effects to Artists

This copy has no added effects to the artists whatsoever in order to see whether effects were truly essential and needed, or just an unnecessary add-on.

I had concluded that the images of the cover artists were fine just the way they were and there was no need for any extra effects to be applied to the images of them. Therefore I have decided that I will use this copy of the front cover instead as it would work out the best. It happens to look very simplified and still smart, which would fit in well for the genre of a Soul magazine since it holds more of a mature audience that wouldn't care much more for any extra effects added for aesthetic purposes, and wouldn't be attracted any further by excessive flashiness to the cover.

Front Cover New Copy 2 - Strong lighting on each artist

This is an extension to the copy before this and uses the effects of Omni Lighting on each of the artists but to different levels so that the cover could feel more official and professional.It may however appear as if the lighting was just a blatant gimmick used to make the lead singer, Denise Greene, stick out to an even greater extent among the other artists and just an attempt to subtly highlight her as being leader, (which is only an addition to the reasons I used the effect.)

Front Cover New Copy 1 – Sharpened images

This copy of the front cover was produced in order to sharpen the images, using the Paint Daub tool, and makes them appear very vivid and clear, in order to try and increase the dynamic touch of the page and give it more of a professional feel.

The Contents Page

Double Page Spread page 1

Double Page Spread page 2

Evaluation Q7 - Looking back at my preliminary task, what do I feel I have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Question 7

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Evaluation Q6 Continued - Edublogs.tv

I had also tried using Edublogs.tv to upload my audio files, as it was a simple to use website which could upload media files fairly quickly. However it was not working to upload my audio files due to technical difficulties and wrong formatting.

Evaluation Q6 Continued - Laptop/ Sound Recorder

I had also used the sound recorder on my laptop in order to record new audio files, as the ones I had created already either were not available to me or suffering from technical difficulties. Although the sound recorder did not have the greatest quality for software, it still managed to do the job meant to do and the recordings came out loud and clear enough to make out what was being said. However unfortunately there were problems with this, as well, and the format of the audio files were not MP3, but instead WMA, so appeared to not be equipped for websites such as Epiblogs.tv to upload.

Evaluation Q6 - What have I learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Question 6

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Evaluation Q5 - How did I attract/ address my audience?

Question 5

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Evaluation Q4 - Who would be the audience for my media product?

Question 4

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This is my Reader's profile for my magazine's audience and lists their traits, characteristics, persona and the general statistics behind them.

I had tried my best to make it as aesthetically pleasing and attractive as possible, yet to also keep it flowing with the general brand identity I have created, as I had seen that this is what other magazines had done as well.

Evaluation Q3 - What kind of media institution might distribute my media product and why?

Question 3

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Evaluation Q2 - How does my media product represent particular social groups?

Question 2

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Evaluation Q1 - In what ways does my media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Question 1

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Production Log - The Evaluation

I will now focus on uploading all of the sections for the evaluation stages onto the blog.

I will be evaluating:

In what ways does my media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

How does my media product represent particular social groups?

What kind of media institution might distribute my media product and why?

Who would be the audience for my media product?

How did I attract/ address my audience?

What have I learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Looking back at my preliminary task, what do I feel I have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

The Rejected Photos

The images that didn't make the cut.

The Rejected Photos

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Production Log

I will soon be posting up he entire list of pictures that had no presence in the magazine, in a video-slideshow called The Rejected Photos.

The Double Page Spread

First Page

Second Page

The theme of the double page spread is still very fitting with the magazine in general, even though i is distinctive and somewhat distinguishes away from becoming too similar with the other pages. It fits the conventions that it targets with the use of a black background, creating a more elegant touch to the magazine and since black is the darkest colour existent, it also makes the magazine gain maturity which can affiliate itself with the older audience.

There has been a good range of photos used of the artists both in their casual attires, to let the readers feel more in touch with them; and in their smart attire which can capture the interest of the reader and add authenticity to the magazine. This appealing to the viewer further as it encapsulates their own dress styles and traits.

The images also range from capturing the artists with rehearsed poses and smiles and a direct mode of address, which is always standard in every magazine to have; but also captures them with natural poses where they may not be smiling or may not be looking into the frame, which adds authenticity and also a very sensible, sophisticated and mature touch to the magazine as the reader is just as sensible, sophisticated and mature to not need to always be pulled in by a direct mode of address but instead admire the artists' natural look and feel as if they are one step closer to understanding them.

The font and colours of text all fit into the brand identity of the magazine, where we see black, white and gold being the colours most present. This is an important aspect as it ensures that the magazine always stays true to itself and sub-consciously reminds the viewer of which magazine they are reading.

Apart from the correct register and standard English being present in the pages there is also the presence of a floating quote, captions, a main title, language devices such as rhetorical questions (Who are The Teachers?) etc, that all mean to pull in the reader and get them to feel as if they understand the artists more, or get them excited to know and understand the artists more.

Production Of Double Page Spread

Designing the double page spread.

Production Of Double Page Spread

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The Contents Page

The magazine's contents page keeps the brand identity of the actual magazine as it uses a colour scheme of gold, black and white in order to stick to the theme. It also holds artists that are looking smart and mature, yet different, which fits into the characteristics of the magazine and not too many photos have been added which would stray away from the kind of audience bein addressed. It also maintains the same typography used within the front page as well and no different ones.
The categories have been laid out and divided efficiently through the page as well in order to keep the sophisticated appeal going into the page.
There is a floating quote, plenty of superlatives, adjectives & descriptive language used, along with a detailed but brief Editorial which can pull the readers in and make them enticed and anticipated to read more into the magazine.

Production Of Contents Page

Designing the contents page

Production Of Contents Page

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The Front Cover

- A distinctive colour scheme consisting of cream, gold, black and white mainly which is to associate itself with an adult audience & that of Soul music, due to the provision of warm, sensual, classic and elegant colours all providing more sophistication as well.

-Plenty of Cover lines that will attract the reader and provide them with more initiative and intent of buying the magazine if they are on the fence about it.

- The Mise-en-scene aspects consists of the artists smiling and addressing the audience by looking into the frame, which can draw in the viewers and feel more involved. They also manage to hold their own individual poses and expressions to represent the artists as having their own unique style and personality, that the audience could be curious to explore. The age and race of the artists consist adult, Black artists. This is to make sure the magazine fits into the stereotype and convention of the Soul genre, which would therefore attract the larges audience among this convention as well, as most Soul music consumers would most likely happen to be Black as well. The costume aspects has the musicians dressed in suits, to create not only a sophisticated look but also an authentic, realistic, stereotypical appearance too which would ensure that the artists fit into the conventions of the genre perfectly.

- Intertextuality - There is a floating quote of text reading 'This isn't over until the bell rings'. This is supposed to be a famous lyric to one of the group's many songs, and therefore connotes the group itself due to them being called 'The Teachers' and where a bell conveys a classroom and the classroom conveys actual teachers itself. The quote also can be used to symbolise the meaning of the bell as usually when a bell rings it means that something is either beginning or in this case is ending, therefore the quotes literal meaning comes into play as well.

This quote can be able to draw the reader in due to all of those meanings and reasons and get the viewer appreciable to the line and also anticipated in learning more of the group and reading on because of the line as well.

- The main title 'The Teachers' stands out greatly among the other cover lines yet doesn't manage to overwhelm and clash with the actual masthead.

- Puff reading "New Year. More Music. Same Soul." The list of three will provide a powerful impact on the reader as it is very simple and short, and the full stops create a slower rhythm making it stay in the reader's head. The alliteration with the 'M' and the 'S' also help o make it powerful as it enables a simple tone that recycles the same letter, making this letter more bold and stick out more in a person's head and therefore remember this line to an incredibly easy degree.

This is not an official puff however because my issue of 'Smooth' magazine takes place in the beginning of the year, I thought there should be certain special features required for it that do not at all conflict with the brand identity, theme and convention of the magazine, but remain subtle and only enhance the attraction to the magazine to a greater extent.

Production Of Front Cover

Designing the Front cover page.

Production Of Front Cover

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Analysis of Cover Article Redraft

This draft allows the article to appear much more efficient, mature, professional and official; however there are still problems and imperfections that limit the article from being final. Some problems lie within the grammar and punctuation here, although far less than in the previous draft these still need to be corrected. An example of this would be the unnecessary usage of speech marks, as it is already clear whom is presented to be speaking in the text so these need to be taken out. The layout and presentation of the article is not perfect neither, as the speakers should be placed beside the text with a colon to show separation from speaker and speech. However in this draft the speakers are placed on top of their speech, making it appear far less neat, organised and professional. The article also happens to be far too long this time, which would make it not be capable of fitting in the double page spread unless a shrinkage of the text i in place. However shrinking the text would make it either hard to read or totally unreadable, which is a vital error that can be made for an article as why would readers want to buy a magazine that they can not even read.
These mistakes and faults will need to be corrected before I can classify my article as being the official one to fit inside the double page spread.

Redraft of Main Article.

Introduction

Who are ‘The Teachers’?

No we are not talking about your typical, elbow-patched, coffee-breathed, old man that used to patrol the school halls, pick you out in class when your day-dreaming and keep you back after class when you were caught chewing gum then lecture you in a very slow, monotone voice. No, these sensations are a totally different breed of teachers and are anything but monotone!

A dynamic group of musicians consisting of the ‘Funkster’ acknowledged as the most electrifying man in the industry today, the man known to leave you in sweet tingles for more slick jingles and leave your boots knockin’ like a Jehovah’s Witness, Mr Smooth Operator, Chintu Anderson. The angelic, passionate, spiritual Diva beholding the beautiful, gorgeous, mellow voice, Ms Denise Greene; and not forgetting Mr ‘Soul-man’ himself, the handsome, harmonic instrumentalist of the group, the Cat said to hit that sweet spot you never knew existed, Mr Jamie Biggums.

Born and raised in London, UK; A threesome with a melodious, lascivious, passionate musical ability waiting to ‘Sweep you off your feet’ once more, are here holding an ‘after-school’ session with us today over at ‘Smooth’, giving us the pleasure of revealing the true characters that live underneath those blazers of sensual brilliance. Introducing to you ‘The Teachers’, welcoming you into the ‘School Of Soul’ like never before!

Interview

Smooth:
“How did you get together, where did it all begin?”

The Teachers: (Chintu Anderson) –
“Well, we all grew up together and went to the same high school, Preston Manor High School. Me and Denise actually went to the same Infant School as well, our mothers were good friends and used to pair us up to sing together, and we have been friends ever since then. Used to have duets every now and then in front of our class, and would always take the lead when it came to singing in the class. After Infant School we met Mr Cool Soul-man over here, and he truly brought the funk we needed into the group, and we just clicked really! Now we’re here today in your studio, luckily enough to have broken through, gained a lot of loyal, dedicated fans and being interviewed by the biggest Soul magazine in the country.”

Smooth:
“Thanks, and we’re glad to have the biggest group of 2010 here today too.
So what’s your favourite song in the album ‘School of Soul’?”

The Teachers (Denise Greene) –
“That’s a tricky one to be honest. Jamie and me were discussing this a few days ago when on the tour-bus, and we both came to a long, hard but sturdy agreement that ‘Bring Down the Funk’ would perhaps be our most favourable track on the album. However Chintu over here keeps arguing and bickering that ‘Eden’ is the best song we have on the album, while we all concur it is an undeniably great song that we are all proud to have worked on, me and Jamie don’t quite feel it’s as powerful and exciting of a tune as ‘Bring Down the Funk’ is. We may all hold our own personal opinions and views on the matter, bringing about many disagreements but at the end of the day we all had great experiences when recording the tracks, for better and for worse. Sure it was hard work, we wanted to get everything just right so we could bring the most amazing quality of music to our fans as possible, so it wasn’t uncommon for us to totally scrap and diminish of huge amounts and hours of recordings just to get a chorus right, and for us to stay in the studio all day, long enough to decide to bring our own duvets there and grow tiresome of ordering takeaway 24/7. But when it all began to click, and synchronise together then we realised all our efforts were not in vain, and you can just know the fans are going to love this, just as we do, so in the end its all worth it. Plus with the fantastic assistance of our production and A&R team, it makes things flow more quickly to get to that stage of blissfulness, and makes the journey far less stressful too; so we could not be any more grateful to them.”

Smooth:
“Who would you say has inspired you to become the great Soul musicians that you are today?”

The Teachers: (Chintu Anderson) –
“There is a massive amount of great legends that have influenced the heart of our music. Ranging from The Temptations, The Stylistics, Shalamar, Teddy Pendergrass, Etta James, Gladys Knight and the Pips; you name it! All of these artists, whether individual or group, have encouraged us to enter the industry in the hopes and dreams of being able to walk among them in terms of status at one point in our lives. And lets not forget the almighty Mike Smithy Johnson.”

Smooth:
“We at Smooth have become aware that you and Mike Smithy Johnson share a great connection, and he is of significant importance in your lives. Would you insist on giving us, and readers of Smooth Magazine, further insight into this?”

The Teachers: (Denise Greene) –
“I remember when we were all in our first year of high school and his track 'Hit me' came out. We literally would play that all day, and jump up and down in pure excitement at the very sound of the opening drum rolls to the intro of the song. Jamie was so proud of himself when he finally learnt how to play the drums to the song perfectly, whilst Chintu and me would sing along to every beat. Feeling every step closer to becoming a flawless replication of the legend himself.
(Jamie Biggums) – No doubt, one of the greatest and most breathtaking moments in our lives, was when we got the opportunity to meet him in real, 3 dimensional and in flesh. We were doing our second performance in a little club in West London, called ‘The Slam’, and before our very eyes Mr Johnson appeared before us. He must have sensed how nervous and terrified we were, due to an unsuccessful first performance we had had no longer than 2 weeks prior. He just said to us, “Calm down, you ain’t doing yourself any favours by wobbling and sweating all over the place. Before you know it your voices are gonna’ vibrate uncontrollably like an injured bee,
and your gonna’ be dropping all over the stage on the wet floor you created, quivering like fish outta’ water.”
(Denise Green) - “But then he told us something that’s just stuck in our head, as clear as crystal, since the very moment he said it.”
“You kids gotta’ remember to believe in yourselves, because if you don’t, then who will? I saw your last performance a couple of weeks ago, you didn’t quite have it but what you do have is potential. Have confidence in your music and then the Soul will do the rest of the work. I know you guys gonna’ be special one day, you just wait!”
(Chintu Anderson) – “To this day that was one of our personally, greatest and most memorable performances yet. Even though our skills have improved much from then, the passion that Mike Smithy Johnson embraced us with has always been there. We kept in contact with him after that, and he’s been there to guide us along when in need. A true mentor he was, and he is greatly missed by us, greatly.”

Smooth:
“Indeed he is. So would you say Mike Smithy Johnson had a great role in rousing your interests into becoming professional musicians then, what else did he teach you about Soul?”

The Teachers (Chintu Anderson) –
“Certainly, he was of massive importance into us developing our dreams of becoming stars in the Soul industry. He taught us many things about music life and even personal lifestyle decisions and issues that we’d have to face as time went by. Without his guidance, I don’t know where we’d be today. On the other hand he didn’t teach us much about Soul.”

Smooth:
“Really?”

The Teachers: (Chintu Anderson) –
“Yeah, instead he helped us to form and construct this personal belief and ideology. This being that: You can’t teach Soul. It lives in you already. Thus, permitting us to embrace and clinch our own unique qualities and traits, allowing us to differ from other artists, which we believe is one of the key aspects to our fortunate success.”

Smooth:
“Now, ‘The Teachers’, are a very popular group not only in the UK, but also globally, ranging from countries such as Brazil, to even Germany. Areas where Soul music is not as consumed as often compared to this country. You have also become especially acknowledged in the States. Did you ever believe your music would become as widespread as this?”

The Teachers: (Denise Greene) –
“To be sincerely honest and genuine, no we actually didn’t. We always had this strange feeling that we would be one of those ‘under-the-radar’ artists that would love our profession, but have to struggle a whole lot to even get a few gigs on for us. Although we did face many struggles, we had absolutely no idea that we’d be able to breakthrough so successfully and effectively, to even be on an International tour today, is just mind-blowing and flabbergasting. Breaking through into America was just unexpected, we don’t know how we did it but we are immensely thankful that dream has been able to come true. America is apparently one tough cookie to crumble. But perhaps what’s even more amazing is the fact that our music can appeal to countries such as Germany, China, Brazil, Tunisia and many others. Countries that barely listen to any of the music from our genre, yet they listen to us, we are truly blessed to have been able to make it this far. It overwhelms us everyday, from the moment we get up from bed, to the moment we get in front of hundreds to thousands of fans at a time, performing our most proudest songs to. We owe a massive thank you to our dedicated fans and supporters who were there to stick with us through our hardest times, and to our recent supporters that allow us to achieve greater goals and expand our fan base.”

Smooth:
“So where do ‘The Teachers’ plan to go now, after the world tour? Surely you must need a break?”

The Teachers: (Jamie Biggums) –
“Well, that is true, we’re only halfway through the tour and we’re already starting to feel the bags under our eyes. Though I guess we’re going to have to get used to that. We plan on working on a new album that we have already written tracks for and recorded a couple too.”
(Denise Greene) – “We believe this album has the potential to be just as great and exhilarating as the first, perhaps even more so. So in a way, we are actually looking forward to getting back to work on that, and we are interested to see how that will turn out. It’s shaping up to be more perilous to ‘School of Soul’, but also hopefully even more inspiring to that as well. So be looking forward to the release of this album, hopefully to be released in a couple of years, and we will keep you posted on the progress of it.”

Smooth:
“Will most definitely do! Well, it was a pleasure to have you here today to join us, we know that this cut into your resting time for the tour but we gladly appreciated your presence in the studio today. We at Smooth wish you the best for the future of this invigorating group and hope to see your success increase. We hope our readers enjoyed the interview, and do remember to keep your promise to keep us posted!”

The Teachers:
“Thank you, and it was a pleasure taking apart of this interview as well. And don’t worry, Teachers don’t lie remember. You have our word”

Cover article draft analysis

Although I was fond of the production of the article, it consisted of many major flaws that greatly diminished the quality of the article. These flaws consisted errors with punctuation and grammar, incorrect vocabulary for the register of the target audience (the article was far too informal to pass for an article targeted at an older audience, and a greater deal of standard english would be necessary and appropriate to make it work). Another major issue was the fact that the article itself was far too short and felt very underwhelming and incomplete, therefore more Q&As will be needed in order to make the article a success. I will address these errors in the next draft of the main article, and allow it to become one step closer to being final and complete.

Main Article First Rough Draft

Introduction

Who are ‘The Teachers’?

No we are not talking about your typical, elbow-patched, coffee-breathed, old man that used to patrol the school halls, pick you out in class when your day-dreaming and keep you back after class when you were caught chewing gum then lecture you in a very slow, monotone voice. No, these sensations are a totally different breed of teachers and are anything but monotone!

A dynamic group of musicians consisting of the ‘Funkster’ acknowledged as the most electrifying man in the industry today, the man known to leave you in sweet tingles for more slick jingles and leave your boots knockin’ like a Jehovah’s Witness, Mr Smooth Operator, Chinuea ‘Chintu’ Anderson. The angelic, passionate, spiritual Diva beholding the beautiful, gorgeous, mellow voice, Ms …, and not forgetting Mr ‘Soul-man’ himself, the handsome, harmonic instrumentalist of the group, the Cat said to hit that sweet spot you never knew existed, Mr …

Born and raised in London, UK. A threesome with a, melodious, lascivious, passionate musical ability waiting to ‘Sweep you off your feet’ once more, are here holding an after-school session with us today over at ‘Smooth’, giving us the pleasure of revealing the true characters that live underneath those blazers of sensual brilliance. Introducing to you ‘The Teachers’, welcoming you into the ‘School of Soul’ like never before!

Interview

Smooth:
So guys, how did you guys get together, where did it all begin?

The Teachers:
Well, we all grew up together and went to the same high school, Preston Manor High School. Me and … actually went to the same Infant School as well, our mothers were good friends and used to pair us up to sing together, and we have been friends ever since then. Used to have duets every now and then in front of our class, and would always take the lead when it came to singing in the class. After Infant School we met Mr Cool Soul-man over here,…, and he truly brought the funk we needed into the group and we just.. clicked really! Now we’re here today in your studio, luckily enough to have broken through, gained a lot of loyal, dedicated fans and being interviewed by the biggest Soul magazine in the country.

Smooth:
Aww, thanks guys and we’re glad to have the biggest group of 2010 here today aswell.
So, whats your favourite song in the album ‘School of Soul’?

The Teachers (Female Artist)
“Hmmm, now that’s a tricky one! Me and (Instrumentalist) were discussing this a few days ago when on the tour-bus, and we both came to a long, hard but sturdy agreement that ‘Bring Down the Funk’ would perhaps be our most favourable track on the album, however ‘Chintu’ over here keeps arguing and bickering that ‘Eden’ is the best song we on the album, while we all concur it is an undeniably great song that we are all proud to have worked on, Me and (Instrumentalist) don’t quite feel it’s as powerful and exciting of a tune as ‘Bring Down the Funk’ is.

Preparation Introduction for article - Barry White

Barry White is a widely established artist, well respected within the Soul music industry. A one-off prodigy, nobody since his debut has been able to imitate his style and turn away successfully. Multiple time, number 1 seller and ultimately known for tracks such as ‘Love’s Anthem’, ‘Just the way you are’ and many more inspirational songs. The smooth and slick, Jheri-curl wearing, ‘King of Loving and Soul’ just keeps on keeping on, and guess what, we love you Just the way you are as well.

Production Log

Next I will prepare for my own creation and rendition of a main feature article. Once that has been completed it will be used as article for my double page spread for the music magazine. I will aim for creating a highly realistic and authentic article that can replicate that of an actual, professional article and in order to do this I must use many methods and techniques consisting of hyperboles, register to colloquialisms and superlatives etc.
I will also begin production work on my front cover and my contents page.