Model release forms

Risk assesments

Decided locations and models

Front page:

On the front page I would like Rachel Brum in this location as I like Rachel's look for the R&B style and also this location gives aa simple but contrasting appeal which can easily have pull quotes and coverlines written over it without the difficulty with fonts and colours.

Contents page:

I love this underpass and I think I have a brilliant idea using Morgan Pickard as my main focus on the right and Oliver Wain walking away with a guitar on his back on the left, this then shows the music element to it and also has a woman in the focus rather than a man which subverts conventions for this genre.

Double page spread:

Here I want to use Rachel again as this is the main article which was hinted from the front page. I want to use the typical graffiti wall to stick to conventions here but also thought outside the box and want the image soley in black and white except the colour red which is included within the graffiti and will be worn on the model harshly.

New model idea

After visiting my locations, I have had an idea for one of them and have decided on a new potential model to help create the image with. It is not what I had originally planned to do but it fits well with the empowered women theory by Gauntlette and adds different genders into my magazine. He also owns a guitar which I would like to encorperate.

Oliver Wain: I have thought of an image that only uses the back of him and due to his tall nature, shadows would impact easily on the floor which adds to the images interest.

Potential models

Rachel Brum: I think she would be appropriate for my chosen genre as she has long dark hair and has the potential for an edgy style which males would find attractive and females (even me) aspire to be or look like.

 Mia Ames: she has a softer look that can be appealing to the younger target audience and not so fierce which I think would be appealing to men.

 Chloe Asman: Chloe has a really in style hair colour and has an intriguing look which may appeal to both genders as they would want to find out more.

Morgan Pickard: Morgan has a great range of piercings which are common and appealing within the R&B genre and she also has a fab serious look that has a mysterious sense to it.

Potential locations

Potential location shoot:

Location 1: Watling Street-

This graffiti piece is located on Watling Street in town which I think looks edgey because of its steel background not just a normal wall. Although taking photos here can be quite impractical because it is a road.

Also along this road is an abandoned factory with graffiti and shattered windows, giving an urban effect and relating back to the genre.

Location 2: Underpass near Abbey Park-

I love this underpass because it has a greyscale effect to it which meets the conventions of an R&B genre music but also fits a gloomy location, this could work well with a dramatic emphasis on music.

Location 3: Phoenix Square-

I had this wall in mind pariculary when going out for my location shoot as I like the difference between the brick wall and steel shutter, causing contrast therefore not being boring. This location would work well with a medium close up.

These two graffiti walls have been purposefully put here with permission from an artist to advertise the dance college and although I thought it would work well being structured, I don't think it will agree with my stylisation I want to use for my image on second thoughts.

Location 4: Bouskell park-

I wanted a contrast from the gritty city with my locations so went to Bouskell Park to take more of a scenic image, I'm not sure whether this will work with the R&B genre but I am keeping my options open.

Location 5: Northfield Park-

I thought capturing the basketball hoop showed the Urban side to R&B although now looking back on the photo, it would be hard to take a good image that would relate back to the conventions and the genre itself without resources which is a dissapointment as the sunset really adds to the image and makes it peaceful looking rather than than the typical basketball atmosphere.

The tubes at the park caught my attention as they are obscure and quite mysterious, this could work for a shot but making it stylised may be diificult.

These graffiti walls with an arch over a stream are my favourite photos from the location shoot as they are edgey, rebellious and interesting which compares differently to the structured ones in the Phoenix Square. Plus the lighting in 2 of these shots really brings out the creativity and different perspective on the graffiti.

Potential location ideas

Potential location ideas I have considered are; - The drama studio to look like a back stage scene which would stick to conventions and be suitable for the genre although getting my models in the college at an appropriate time may be difficult. -An Urban environment like a street or skate park as the R&B genre is associated with being 'on the streets' -A green screen allows me to have any background I wish although setting it up and photo shopping would be a huge job - A brick wall sticks to conventions with the edgy look although it is very typical - Underpass is edgy and mysterious, though access may be difficult - A graffiti wall sticks to conventions although it is typical; I would like to do quite a stylized image if I were to chose this - A park comes away from typical conventions and can be seen as quite peaceful rather than the fierce look that R&B usually go for

Tutorials

From the tutorial, I have learnt that you can not only change the colours but also swatch them, as well as easily change the size. This will be helpful for my work and will help me progress with the software. This tutorial that Alex looked into is more detailed and teaches more advanced photoshopping which I will be referring to when needed as its easy step by step instructions allow it to be simple.

Resources and Equipment needed

Contents mock up

Preliminary front page

Final Pitch

Analysing the interview focus group

Question 1:
Our answers gave us a mixture of preferring to read either a pop or Indie magazine, I think this is due to the target audience concerning ethnicity as we believe our readers would mainly be of colour. We will still be doing R&B as it just reaches just to another side of the age range we studied.

Question 2:
We asked what a reasonable price range for a magazine would be and we got answers from £1.50-£3.99. Averaging this out the ideal price would be around the £2.50, this seems like a realistic selling price.

Question 3:
For the price agreed and averaged, our answers said they would expect to see new information, up and coming artists, a good quality and a good quantity. I think this is highly reasonable and we will take this forward with us to include in our own.

Question 4:
We asked who would be favourable on the front of a magazine concerning gender and we got about an equal vote between male and female, this does depend on the sexuality of the people asked though. Taking this forward, we will use female and males both equally within our magazines.

Question 5:
We asked if we should use attractive models to appeal to our target audience and we got responses of yes as it would draw people in but also not too attractive or slim etc as it can cause a moral panic among the young especially with eating disorders and dangerous measures to look like their idols.

Question 6:
When investigated what stories our target audience would be interested in, we received responses including; a bit of gossip, new information about upcoming artists and just updates in general to do with the music industry.

Question 7:
The most important thing on a magazine to our responders is the main image, for it not to be too bland and to have a good structure. This is so the magazine feels organised and so the reader feels certain with the content.

Question 8:
Our responders said they would be attracted by pull quotes and popular stars on the front of the magazine. We will bare this in mind.

Focus Group Audio

Questions for our focus group

Social Media focus group

Analysing the final questionnaire results

Question 1:
The results show that the average age people think the target audience is for an R&B magazine is 18. This fits into what we thought and so we will proceed with this in mind.
Question 2:
The greyscale and dark colours category was about equal and also preferred in an R&B magazine according to our questionnaire which we also originally thought so we will probably take this forward with us too.
Question 3:
All of our questionnaire fillers said they would prefer a visual looking magazine, proving we need only little text but the images need to play a main role.
Question 4:
Our answers showed us that the majority would prefer to read colloquial language but also a fair amount would like to see just standard language too, this suggests to me that there should be a bit of both and a mixture too so it meets our target audience perfectly.
Question 5:
91% of our answers said they would prefer informal text as opposed to formal- I think this would suit our genre and target audience best too.
Question 6:
Just over 80% of our answer stated that the readers would prefer a sans-serif font, meaning more relaxed font, so this is definitely the font we need to take forward.
Question 7:
91% of our answers back us up with our theory about males being the main audience that R&B magazines appeal to. This proves how we need to construct and consider our images.
Question 8:
It states from our answers that males would want to be seen on the front cover of our magazine mainly, with just over half of the votes but this depends on sexuality of the people asked and therefore I think it is safe to take this forward as a 50/50 split.
Question 9:
Our answers showed us that the majority (69%) would want to see famous stars in a magazine where as about half of that (31%) would want to see new and upcoming stars, this proves that out of the 3 of us in my group- we should have 1 of us showing new and upcoming stars.
Question 10:
This question clearly shows us that having a provocative image on the front of a magazine would definitely appeal to the younger adult more. We will have to take this into consideration when shooting our images.

Results from the final questionnaire