Main Points from my Focus Group

Here are some photos from my focus group. All were within my demographic of 16-18 and there was a mixture of males and females but they were predominantly female which means that next time if I want more accurate results from both sides of my demographic then I will need to get a balance of males to females. In total there were eight people who attended the focus group.

Points raised about my front cover:

• Not understanding the different shade of red to the house style for 'Unplugged', after I explained that I was trying to imply a top secret or confidential stamp they understood but explained the I should make this more obvious by including the lines around it.
• Too busy cover lines which take up too much space on the left(third) but when I explained that it is meant to represent the genre they agreed yet still felt that this should be reduced.
• The cover lines colours fight with the motif on the artist's shirt which distracts away from the cover lines and makes them almost blend together.
• Enjoyed my main image with the two transparent leaning across but asked what was in her mouth therefore implicating that it isn't obvious to what my artist is biting as my group originally thought that it was a liquorish lace.
• The month and price detract from the headline and I should move it near the barcode. The £ sign is in a different font and looks unprofessional so should be changed to a totally different font.
• The focus group added that the cover lines were interesting but also felt that to persuade them more to buy the issue that there should be an opportunity to win on the cover to draw more people to become consumers.

Points raised about my contents page:

• It's very busy but then matches the front cover and follows the same style.
• Liked how all the features were matched with an image.
• Preferred the grey background to the white on the front cover and felt that these should remain the same.
• Liked how all the articles in the magazine were listed closely.
• They didn't like how the Poppy Scarlet logo had changed from having being filled with white to now outlined with white.
• The busker image was pixelated
• The titles weren't aligned right on the features.
•  Couldn't recognise the CD's behind the 'Can we have some more CD's please?'

Points raised about my double page spread:

• Very different in style due to the artist now having pink hair. There is no continuity.
• Like the main caption and how they expect the last word to be an expletive but actually isn't.
• Dislikes the amount of text and feels that there could be more fitted in.
• Likes how spaced out and simple it is yet still linking back in style and organised chaos in the contents page and front cover.
• Likes the shade of pink and how it isn't girly and creates a more of a rebel independent female tone which is extremely motivational and inspiring. When I asked the males of the focus group whether they were put off with the pink they said no if it was based around that shade.

When talking about the sense of dramatic change I explained that I would go with either one or another and then asked which one to go for. The majority explained that they preferred the pink as it was more unique, individual and daring as the majority of magazines go with red as it pleases most genders, they said they expected pink to be used in women's magazines yet it works well within this genre. They also said that the pink hair was a 'statement' and portraying the individuality and 'loudness' of the artist so therefore I should use more of the images with my artist having pink hair to brown.

Double Page Spread First Draft

Here is my first draft of my double page spread. I kept the majority the same as my flat plan but I did change some parts. For example I got rid of the title going across both pages as it would go over my artists head but would also look really busy and harder to read due to it being obscured by the spine. I decided to use a pull quote as the title as it would convey that Poppy Scarlet is writing the article and this is her which makes the article personal and honest, thus removing any barriers the reader feels between an interview such as editors or record companies wanting her to be perceived in a certain way, by making the artist's words the title this takes away the feeling of the article being edited therefore being true to the artist. Here I changed the colour scheme from red to pink due to the change in hair colour which would clash with red, this is ignoring the house style which means that I will have to edit my front cover and contents page to fit in with my artist's new hair, I will have to be careful as I was following conventions by using red which is often used to represent the alternative genre but pink has very feminine connotations which could put off parts of my demographic so I will have to use pink in a very neutral way which won't be associated with just females but males and will also be conveyed as an alternative magazine. I also used red to portray her fiery personality but I will have to add another colour which wouldn't clash and wouldn't make the magazine too 'in your face' and busy. I feel that the tone of pink on my double page spread is perfect as it avoids the feminine connotations being paired with the black font but is also representing the alternative genre by not being the stereotypical red which would be safe and appealing to all genres. In InDesign all pull quotes appeared to be the same shade but after exporting some have appeared to be darker in tone, even the page number 18 looks darker than 17, this removes the style of continuity within my double page spread so this must be edited to bring back the feel of continuity. I decided to place my pull quotes in the same style as the main title to emphasise this sense of continuity and also to draw attention to them, I decided to place one in each column to convey that the interview was full of information that would achieve its purpose and fulfil the reader with all his/her questions. I placed them roughly in a diagonal line to mirror the artists pose and to create a feel of symmetry which will make the double page spread feel balanced. I decided on the quotes "the music owns me", "I felt boxed in" and "I am my own fan" as they can stand on their own while making sense and also draw the consumer in to read this article as they would want to know why Poppy Scarlet felt "boxed in" I also used the pull quotes to boost the artist's persona and confident traits to support the image. I feel that the interview is too short and I need to add more information by reducing the size from 10pt to 8pt or 8.5pt so the reader would receive more information and feel satisfied after completing, this will also bring together little parts of text that has been separated such as the bottom of the second column and top of the third where a few words have been pushed away from its main home. I will also try 4 columns to try and see whether that can accommodate more text. To separate the questions and answers I made the questions pink to assist the reader to know who is speaking but also to separate the text to make it not look so compact and like and essay but to draw the reader in to a fluent experience. I am also yet to spell check my interview which is paramount to achieve the sense of professionalism that I am aiming for. I decided on using this image as it creates a defined line which allows text to go over while allowing her face and the majority of her body to be seen. It isn't too busy or relaxed but still conveys an open and honest ambience which is needed to remove these barriers. I do need to change the width and height the image so at the black border it stops leaving the outside white, this will frame the article and define it thus creating a higher impact which will persuade the consumer to read this article where precise information will be revealed.

Learning How to Use InDesign

Above conveys me learning how to use InDesign and developing the basic knowledge of the software I already had. This means that the results will look a lot more professional and that I will be able to create different and interesting effects that will be memorable to the reader and flow fluently.

Album Cover

On my double page spread I will involve my artists new album. In my research I found that this was typical of a page and almost a convention. So I quickly designed a simple album cover.

I called it 'All  You Need to Know' as quite often musicians are asked very personal questions so this is the musicians response to this. The curvy sans serif font conveys a fluency but also creates a statement which can be connected to a signature which is often used to confirm information so the title is almost confirming that Scarlet is signing across her feelings. I covered her face to convey that this album is the artist and is all her emotions. I used the same font for Poppy Scarlet as the magazine to create the feel that this is her logo. I used a close up with her looking straight into the camera to create an honest tone and that this is everything she is, thus creating a personal connection between viewer/listener and artist. At some points the writing cannot be read as it blends into the image but this is the idea to convey that this is a part of the artist.

Possible Questions for my Interview

After reading artist interviews in articles I can now brainstorm possible questions I could use. Most of the interviews are based around a product and I want this feel but I would like to involve a personal tone as well.

1. How was recording your new album different from your last?
2. What's it like hearing your name over the microphone of the BRIT's?
3. What was the first song you ever learned on guitar?
4. Do you ever look back to that YouTube video with five views?
5. What was the meaning behind your new album 'All You Need to Know'?
6. What's the one thing you can't perform without?
7. What inspires your lyrics?
8. What is the most unusual thing a fan has ever done?
9. Did you grow up with music?
10. A summery of your story in five words

These are just ideas so when I get into a fluid writing style I will adjust these questions or add some to relax the tone and decrease the formal tone to appear more chatty as well as make it seem like nothing has been edited and Poppy Scarlet said all the words printed under her name.

Photo Selection

 

Here is my contact sheets where I have crossed off the images I won't be using. The majority are due to her looking away from the camera or moving but some images I tried and experimented but disliked the outcome. For example I tried having someone act as a 'stylist' to create the personal tone through 'behind the scenes' shots but I didn't feel this worked due to the type of shot and props. If I had prepared more then I would've known to do an over the shoulder shot of a stylist facing away doing mascara and the artist looking up with her mouth slightly open (which is how mascara is represented when applying). I would also use a gold reflector being held near the artist's face to create a warm ambience that would usually be created from normal lights in a studio. Other shots of my artist sitting down that were rejected were my attempts at capturing a natural pose that would be behind the scenes but these didn't have the desired effect and simply look like the artist is looking away but not having any interaction or conveying a sense of enjoyment. I then progressed and asked her to bring her legs in to create a more defined shape against the white screen, this contrast will emphasise the artist and therefore heighten the impact.  I then transferred to a more relaxed pose of sitting cross legged, I tried this more relaxed pose to create a more open and honest ambience but I feel that these didn't work as well as the 'N' shaped pose as there was a more of a defined shape which had a higher impact and a more professional tone. I then proceeded to do medium shots which I really liked as a connection could easily me made between the artist and the reader. I also liked the shot of my artist laughing and this was a natural shot that I might incorporate into my magazine as it conveys a softer side of my artist's personality which isn't often seen in magazines as usually there is only one personality shown but this extends my artist's traits and creates a feel that my audience is closer to the artist.

Second Photo Shoot Contact Sheet

As I planned I knew that I would have to perform a second photo shoot so therefore I took the same timing structure, location and lighting from before but this time I wouldn't use props to create a sense of variety. I asked my model to stick to conventions by wearing the typical artist attire of all black but to not wear a plain t-shirt and trousers as this is very conventional, instead I asked her to wear black dungarees with black tights and the same black creepers to ensure there was a link between the two but this isn't vital as her shoes cannot be seen in the first images. I also had to change the poses, for the double page spread I wanted to convey a very relaxed and open tone to create the honest ambience that I wanted my reader to experience so I asked my artist to sit down on the floor to appear toned down and to create an equal between the artist and reader. So I experimented with poses where her legs were crossed and holding herself up with her arms, although I wanted to avoid conveying my artist as too relaxed, such as lying down on her side, due to this contradicting the persona of the front cover image thus removing the tone of honesty away from my magazine. When I met my artist she had dyed her hair pink, I had not allowed or expected this change to happen so I went ahead with the planned shoot, although I did add some medium shots just in case that the variety was too much, but this might mean having to reshoot for different front cover and contents image if my focus group pick up on such a wide variety. Another option is that I could try and recreate the brown hair on Photoshop or vice versa. Another person was present at the shoot and I experimented with the fact of someone 'styling' the artist to give another sense of honesty through the 'behind the scenes' images but I felt that these didn't work so I feel I will probably leave it out. I also had to place weights on the white screen to prevent it from rolling back which can sometimes be visible but I will crop them out of the final piece.