Band dossier

Band dossier:

• 2 members brother and sister. 1 a vocalist and the other a DJ
• Genre, Dubstep, Metal or Electro
• White and neon blue colour scheme

Vocalist

Named Tina Lancaster nicknamed "Luna", aged 16/17, Female. Vocalist and occasional DJ. Wears white sleeveless jacket with neon blue T-shirt and Jeans. Emblem:

DJ

Named Rick Lancaster nicknamed "Anon", aged 16/17, Male. DJ, background vocalist and Mixer. Wears plain white T-shirt and jeans. Emblem:

They're work would be similar to the likes of Skrillex or Legion of Doom but with elements of groups like Nero or Alex S with they're use of a vocalist. 

Colour Pallets 

 01809E   186A7E   014352    579BAB  BCEBF6

Fashion: some assembly required

The art of the dress

The design for my female models attire would consist of an azure blue T-shirt underneath a plain white sleeveless jacket and with jeans or whatever the model chooses. The simplicity of the costume will be changed when incorporate my own designs onto the clothes by using sheets of transfer paper and by designing the prints on Photoshop.

The male costume will be simpler and more masculine featuring only a plain white T-shirt and Jeans, again I will use iron-on transfer paper onto the T-shirt which will feature my own designs.

Hit list

Monday 9th Jan-Friday 20th Jan 

Carrying out research and planning. To include: 

• Examples of other texts Analysis of magazine covers, contents pages and double page spreads
• Analysis of colour palettes, fonts, language register 
• Decide on style of music magazine based on research carried out  
• Audience research (e.g. questionnaire)
• Decide on title of magazine Mood boards 
• Audience profile 
• Analysis of institution that would publish your magazine 
• Preparation of a 25 word pitch

Monday 23rd Jan-Fri 3rd Feb

• Lessons to pitch idea to class and receive feedback Evaluate class 
• Feedback Test shots of work on magazine elements Complete mock version of cover/ contents page/ double page spread (1 lesson) 
• Write draft article Begin composing cover/contents page/ double page spread (draft version) 

Mon 6th Feb-Fri 10th Feb 

• Finish composing cover/contents page/ double page spread (draft version)

Friday 10th Feb DRAFT DEADLINE - 3:10PM ENGLISH OFFICE

Half term homework Mon 13th �� Fri 17th Feb - Begin drafting evaluation responsesy Q1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions 

of real media products?y Q2. How does your media product represent different social groups and why? y Q3. What type of media institution might publish my media product and why? y Q4. Who would be the target audience for my media producty Q5. How did you attract/address your audience? 

Monday 20th Feb-Fri 24th Feb Conduct audience feedback for magazine Peer assessment and evaluate feedback. Update blog with feedback. y Update blogs with 1st draft teacher feedback.y Make plan of action for necessary improvements 


DEADLINE FOR DRAFT EVALUATION ANSWERS =Friday 24th February �� 3:10pm . Work to be printed out and submitted to the English office. Names and Candidate number must be clearly indicated on submission.
Marks deducted for late submission 


Monday 27th Feb-Fri 9th Mary Complete cover/contents page/ double page spready Print out as professionally as possible (photographic paper)y Cut to size carefully and submit in plastic wallet with name clearly labelled y Post onto blog 


FINAL DEADLINE FOR COURSEWORK = Friday 9th March �� 3.10pm English Office All work to be printed out submitted to the English office.
Marks deducted for late submissionPieces to be marked and marks submitted to NEF Friday 27th April. 


Monday 12th Mar-Friday 30th Mar 
Teachers to introduce evaluation questions 6, 7.
Draft answers to Q6 and Q7 and submit to teachers in final lesson w/e Friday 16th Mar Feedback returned first lesson w/b Monday 26th Mar. 
y Q6.Whathaveyoulearntabouttechnologiesfromtheprocessofconstructingthis product? 
y Q7.Lookingbackatyourpreliminarytask,whatdoyoufeelyouhavelearntinthe progression from it to the full product? 


Deadline for ALL Evaluation questions - Friday 30th Mar 3:10pm. Work to be printed out and submitted to theEnglish office. Names and Candidate number must be clearly indicated on submission.
Marks deducted for late submission 
Evaluation to be marked and marks submitted to NEF by Friday 27th April for moderation W/B Monday 30th April. 

I didn't get the job :C

Well that was... eventful. In hindsight I should have used an animoto video instead of standing up in front of the choir and dying, I did on the other hand get my point across (I think). Again if I were to repeat the presentation I would either talk more in pace and clearer or I would have had an animoto presentation ready for the pitch.

25 ways to be epic

Okay 25 words.... GO

1. The 
2. Epic 
3. Systematic 
4. Sounds 
5. That 
6. Electrify 
7. The 
8. Airwaves 
9. Compacted 
10. Together 
11. In 
12. The 
13. Palm 
14. Of 
15. Your 
16. Hands 
17. A 
18. Magazine 
19. Featuring 
20. The 
21. Disc 
22. Jockeys 
23. Of  
24. The 
25. World.

A book by it's cover

Cover to cover

Front cover #1 Kerrang

• The Masthead and title of the magazine are basic black and white with a Grundy, distorted font and has cracks through letters to create a broken and rebellious attitude to fit the magazine's style. The magazine is clearly iconic enough to the point when they can overlap the title of the magazine with images and people will still be able to identify the magazine, this is important as it shows how the band featured in the magazine have a priority over them and are even more iconic that the magazine itself.
• The page uses a basic but effective colour scheme of yellow and metallic red. These colours contrast well together and work well with the theme of the magazine and the main article, the yellow and red colour scheme is common to both Kerrang and the band featured in the main article so this contrasts well with both. The Yellow and red are also eye catching and appealing amongst the bland black and white colours.
• Font's in the sub headings have basic bold fonts with some deterioration in the larger text, again to mirror the main article (MCR) several letters have been styled in a font similar to they're style e.g. several O's with a lightning bolt through the centre and by using star's instead of bullet points.
• The main article has priority over the masthead and has been shot mid-angle with the lead singer in key frame, the frame is large enough to get the several others in the band into frame but they are not fully visible. The name of the band is written across the picture in a similar red and yellow colour scheme and appears to have a scratched lightning bolt as it's background. The band is dressed in bizarre and vibrant leather clothing mainly red, white and blue, they almost seem like apparel for a biker.
• The subheading's are the only other point that takes priority over the main article, across the subheading are several images for other stories and the names to go with the image. 
• No knowledge is given on the front cover besides the names of the bands, this is clearly enough to captivate the customer to buy the magazine as by having the band itself would already capture the readers attention.
• I like the rebellious layout of the magazine it creates an ideal teenage feeling and would be an ideal layout for my magazine.

Front cover #2 Q

• The magazine is very basic and empty, with little text and almost no subheading's, it uses little colours besides the standard black and white, making the few colours on the page considerably more eye catching. 
• The main article takes almost every aspect of the page and is an extreme close-up of the singer, the plain background and layout makes the close-up image the most eye catching thing on the page and the creator's of the magazine are relying on the main article being so iconic that this alone would make readers buy the magazine.
• All font is basic with only one word besides the masthead in bold, the font is either black and white which sticks to the basic and neutral colour scheme.
• The Masthead has the most vibrant colour on the page so despite most of it being almost completely covered it is still very vibrant and noticeable. The name of the magazine is almost unreadable as its been covered an obscene amount, to a reader unfamiliar with the magazine the name could easily be mistaken for 'O'.
• Again they're is little information given on the front cover besides the name of the singer on the cover and a quote by the singer himself.
• Ideally this would usually mean that the magazine is so renowned that people could still easily identify the magazine by it's style, but this is somewhat beyond reason and looks poorly made.
• I don't like the magazine as it's bland layout and style is too boring to symbolise the energy behind music, and it's poor layout is somewhat off-putting, Ideally I wish to avoid something like this for my magazine.

  

Front cover #3 Spin

• The masthead is basic but somewhat effective as it stands out amongst the colours of the rest of the colours as the red background of the Masthead is bright and eye-catching. It uses a simple but efficient font in white to contrast well with the red background and even has a small white background surrounding the text makes the masthead look formal but effective.
• The Subheading of the page is in another clearly visible position and is fashionably relevant to the genre of the magazine, the font used varies; the 'Cool' is written in a digital font with lettering similar to a computer interface it is probably styled like this to match the word itself, other text used within the box are simple but formal and stylish. The text with lesser importance is smaller and is in a more standard font whilst the extracts with higher importance are more eye-catching and unique, the numbers are also typed in a separate font colour to make it stand out against the casual text.
• Other text extracts on the page are integrated into the front cover picture as they have a transparent background, despite being wrote freely on the page they are still clearly visible over the darker colour scheme of the picture. Almost all font is in basic white with several other quotes are highlighted in a vibrant yellow, the yellow text are used as lesser sub-headers across the page as they either are stating a quote about the band featured or it is stating who else is featured in the magazine. All font in the text extracts are formal and basic with only the phrase 'ELECTION 2004' in bold. The font is all considerably small compared to other text extracts within the page probably due to they're lesser significance.
• Despite being a registered magazine they're is no visible barcode on the front cover, this is odd as without the barcode they're is almost no way of stock check and would cause problems whilst being purchased. To contradict this, the barcode could either be stationed at the back of the magazine or have been formatted into the new QR code which would also be placed at the back of the magazine.
• The image of the band shows a wide angle shot of the band being featured with all of it's members being fully visible. This view of the band enables the reader to see the band in an unconventional pose which expresses they're fun loving and random style, this quirky pose can also relate to the magazines simplistic but fun layout and design as they both appear visually smart but with a more laid back and fun loving style. The members of the band are all wearing similar costumes with most of what they're wearing being a deep dark blue, the dark attire blends well with the dark neutral colours within the background, they're outfits again go hand-in-hand with the style of the magazine as it retains elements of being formal and relaxed.
• The background of the image is almost completely dark in the distance but in the foreground of the image is a decrepit and empty street with a worn down building to the left of the shot and a car-less road side with the double yellow 'no parking' stripes painted across it. All colour used is neutral and  unsophisticated but this is the theme of the magazine so it still contrasts well with the rest of the page.
• They're is a colour scheme emerging of yellow, red and orange. These are the only major colours that stand out and make an impact on the page as they are more eye-catching when placed over its dark landscape. Even when the colour scheme applies to the image of the band, the colours are still noticeable for example The man in the centre of the band has bright crimson features to his shoes and the double yellow line, despite being dark and diluted they still brighten up the page.  

New Wardrobe

The thin blue strands

I have began thinking of different ways that I could create a psychedelic and iconic outfit for my DJ (or DJ's) whilst creating an anime themed Dubstep style, So I first looked into hairstyles and masks and noticed that the most popular traits are one's that stand out e.g. bright bizarre colours. 

 
Inspiration from this came from my feed on DeviantArt when an awesome Cosplayer 'Strawberry-Extract' created a human version of the character internet favoured 'DJ-P0n3' from MLP:FiM (weird but awesome). The blue wig can be easily paid for as on some websites they have a wide variety of wigs at low prices.

Whilst the mask is from the British "Made up" band Gorillaz as the cat like mask was used by Noodle in the video 'On melancholy hill'. The mask I could craft easily and I can even incorporate my own design into the mask, to make it more unique.

I have also started searching for apparel  to go with the hair and mask, I was thinking of buying a plain whit outfit and then customise it by using my own designs and transfer paper. Im going to use a white colour scheme with neon blue patterns going across the outfit.

 

I have at this point concluded that my new DJ could be either gender and I have started asking my friends in the cosplay community to see if they are available to be a model for my magazine.

The name game

After inspecting aspects into what creates a remberable name for a magazine, it needs to be short, sharp and relate to it's genre. preferably one word. Magazines that demonstrate this are like 'spn' or 'Kerrang' showing the word could even be made up, just as long as it's catchy.
Several names that have sprung to mind are;

• Shutdown
• Hybrid
• HEX
• Vinyl countdown
• Vinyl-Scratch

Any readers take a prefference here?

♫ Top marks for (not) trying ♫

Research & Planning mark scheme

Music Magazine
3) Front covers
3) Contents pages
3) Double page spreads
-detailed anylis

To acquire a level 4 grade whilst doing this research I must take an indepth look at magazines of the same genre of my magazine to identify the theme and the style. I must closely observe the individual aspects of the magazine and even take snapshots as examples. I must also take note of any key features that could apply to my magazine

Party rock!

Dressing the part
Notable examples to base my fake Dubstep artist are iconic DJ's like Skrillex and Deadmau5, they are well renowned for having a certain costume and style, as well as they're music. An iconic appearance is crucial for a DJ as dressing the part can also be as necessary as the performance, some DJ's even incorporated masks or helmets for shows this creates mystery persona it also allows the DJ to hide emotions.

Hiding emotions is often crucial for a DJ which is why they are never directly seen by the audience, they mask they're emotions to hide any nervousness of other fear that might befall them on stage or to remain almost anonymous as this new persona.

 

Some DJ's like Skrillex or Alex S often have bizarre hairstyles whilst still using something to cover up they're face, for example Skrillex has his hair down one side only whilst wearing bulky "Hipster" glasses, he also has several large piercings. Again acquiring an appearence that emits a Dubstep vibe will be tricky and pinpointing the syle down to just one is also going to be a task, knowing various people that enjoy and partake in cosplay is a valuable resource as with they're costumes and a common love of Dubstep with me and most of them so acquiring the actors is not a problem at this time, whilst designing a flawless costume remains a problem (or as it is Dubstep it could be designed to appear flawed).

Merely one costume boggles my mind as currently it has been flooded with ideas so perhaps it needn't be merely one DJ I was starting to think maybe a group, perhaps a trio.

I have also began looking into my target market, those that are simillar to my tastes in music which are relevant to the magazine. I have came accross two groups that my Dubstep themed magazine would appeal to which I have done using the website http://uktribes.com/, this has lead to Indie scenesters for loving both retro and wanting the have the latest thing and ravers for enjoying things that are bright and pretty.

It's not cartoons ITS ANIME

Japanimation
I was watching hours of anime last night for.. research (phew) and then listened to some epic music to lull myself to sleep and I realised the connection between a great anime and an amazing soundtrack.  Many Dubstep and trance bands use Anime as a common art form in they're appearance and music videos for example Nero uses extracts from the anime Cyber City Oedo 808 for they're single "Innocent".

I could take Inspiration and even style my future DJ on some pre-existing anime's, as the costume and iconic appearance of the characters is often used to represent someone rebellious and different a style relating to electro/ Dubstep.
 

 

Acquiring costumes similar to those used in anime's will be tricky but not impossible as already they're are groups of people who take up recreating anime costumes as a hobby known as "cosplay", selecting the perfect example would also be a difficult feat as the variety of choices is relatively hard to narrow down. Few DJ's have taken up the anime appearance as a permanent style, notable example of a full anime appearance are the amazingly talented Daft Punk or a lesser known Japanese artist DJ Plugman
 

A new dawn, a new day

Research

Howdy I am back from the holidays and have recovered from my hangover, so to get back to the music and progress I have spent time searching through websites like cover Junkie to seek inspiration for my future magazine project.

I enjoy the recent cover of the diplomat, it's quite formal and simple but at the same time it's abstract and eye catching, the Masthead contrasts with the formal layout as the basic font is simple and basic, . Ideally this would make a substantial cover but for my ideal magazine they have left the design to be somewhat basic so I believe that it's basic appearance wouldn't appeal to my target audience.

The cover of Voice magazine has a more teenage rebellion attitude towards it whilst being simplistic and Grundy, it's appearance depicts an everyday magazine that has been wrote over to create that urban style and it shows this by having a formal masthead and a blank page that is covered over with the headlines written on like graffiti of marker pen. The headlines for the magazine are written as if they were slogans by protesters almost as if it were a picket sign campaigning against something. It is a possible candidate to be the inspiration for my magazine's theme.

Now this one really captured my attention, It's vivid and psychedelic appearance is the living embodiment of the bright neon lifestyle that goes with Dubstep and 8-bit music. Another perfect candidate for my cover.

I then continued my research further by taking a look at some influential album covers to get a vibe of the style that they generally go for.

  

  

  

Whilst overlooking the stereotypical examples of a decent Dubstep/ electro style I noticed several key points are always present: The contrast between an empty black landscape and bright neon colours has a deep dance atmosphere around it similar to the feel of a night club, Images vary from vivid and surreal worlds to a simplistic but energetic logo that's iconic for the DJ or Band. Lighting effects are often used to create a bright beautiful image to brighten up the pitch black background.

EXP3LLED School magazine- Contents page

EXP3LLED School magazine- Contents page

To begin the contents page I created a new Photoshop page, the same size as the previous and then created the layout of the page, following the one in my original plan.

I then added in the name of the page using the same font as the cover, I also placed to photos relevant to the page's news feed.

I inserted the remaining spaces for the text, I also added more emotion into the page by including more graphics in the empty space.

I typed up the appropriate text for the desired articles in the relevant spaces.

To finish the contents page I corrected any and all mistakes, including rearranging the "Taz article" so it's now next to it's appropriate picture and rewriting a new article in it's place.