Evaluation question 2: How does your media product present a particular social group?

I created this Prezi to explain who the audience of my Media Product would be

Evaluation Question 1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

I created a Youtube video in which I compared my magazine cover to that of an already existing magazine, and looked at the similarities and differences between them.

                                                                             

Artist Interview

This is my artist interview. I wrote this, based around the research that I did from reading previous artist interviews. I had to make a few changes to the interview, where I'd made a couple of grammatical errors, and I had to change a few sentences to make it flow a little better, but this is the interview that I ended up writing:

CC Morgana is no stranger to music. Born and raised in South London, she grew up in a very musical household, learning to play the guitar since the age of eight. When she was thirteen, she got her first taste for performing in front of people at a gig in a local club, and at the age of sixteen, she and her family moved to Scotland, where she was signed to Andmoresound records, an Independent music label there. Now, she is ready to tackle the big guns, and here to talk with us in a swanky hotel room in London about her life, love and her upcoming tour.

“I’m not used to staying in places like this,” laughs CC, as we take our seats. She seems comfortable here though. She’s lively and bubbly, and incredibly eager to talk to us, especially when we ask her about how she first got into the music scene. “Both my parents were very musical when I was growing up. My dad used to play in a band, but had to stop when my older brother was born, but he never lost that passion. He taught us how to play; brought me my first guitar. I definitely wouldn’t be where I am today without him, or my mum. She was the one who pushed me to start performing, and too show people what I could do.” And so she did. Armed only with her vocals and guitar, CC attended a local gig night, where she performed in front of people for the first time.

“I was so nervous,” she remembers, “I honestly didn’t think anyone was going to like me. But I remember that the crowd responded really well to me, and afterwards loads of people came up to me and told me how much they’d enjoyed it. So I went back the following week, and the week after that and it just became a regular thing. I honestly think I wouldn’t be where I am right now had I not been encouraged by my family to go to those little club nights.”

A huge part of launching CC’s career was her move to Scotland. “It actually was never my intention to move to Scotland to get signed,” she admits, “My parents got a job transfer. It was never about me or possibly launching my career in music.” She began to perform in pub nights doing karaoke, she tells us, when one night everything changed. “There was a man there, who worked for a local recording studio,” she says, smiling fondly, “He’d just come for a drink with his mates, and he saw me perform my set. Afterwards, he came up to me and gave me a business card and told me to call.” Incidentally, this began her career with Andmoresound. “I phoned them up, and they told me to come in a record a demo. I went into the studio for about five weeks- I’d already written most of the songs,” she explains, “I recorded a seven track EP with them. I then set up a Youtube account, and posted all the songs onto there. I posted them on Facebook and Twitter, (I) started building up my very own fan base.” We ask her if she considers herself to be very hard working

“Without completely blowing my own trumpet, yes,” she says, “But I’m trying not to be big headed about it. I can’t help but feel that a lot of where I come from today has come from me working very hard too get it, but then again, I wouldn’t be anywhere without my family, or the recording studio, or my producer.  I try to do as much as I can to get my music noticed out there.” This leads us to ask: How does she feel about file sharing and illegally downloading. “I’m not totally against it,” she shrugs. “I mean, from the perspective of an artist, yeah, it can be annoying, if you’ve worked hard on something and people are technically stealing it from you, but for me at the moment, it helps get my work out there shared. If people like my work, maybe they’ll come to one of my gigs and in the long run, surely that’s better and I’d make more of a living than I think I would trying to sell records.”

Speaking of gigs, CC has had more than her fair share. In fact, now when we’re talking to her, she has recently just come off tour with City and Colour. She will also be guest appearing on Charlie Simpson’s next tour in a few months, as well as securing herself a spot on the bill of this summers Slam Dunk Festival. “I’m really excited,” she beams, “Charlie Simpson was someone that I loved growing up, and I sight him as a big inspiration for me. And Slam Dunk…” She pauses and smiles. “It’s going to be incredible,” she grins, “It’s likely to be my largest audience to date.” She’s optimistic when talking about her future it seems. “I know it sounds cheesy, but I really think I could go far with this,” she tells us, “I’m extremely hard working, and this is my life, as clichéd as it sounds. I’m taking this world by storm, and I don’t have any future plans to let it go.”

Artist Interview Research

Artist interview research from greenllamafarmer

I designed a Powerpoint to slideshare to show the process I went through when researching interviews for my artist research. Although Kerrang! Magazine isn't exactly the same genre as my magazine, it is a magazine that purchase often, and so I found it a very reliable source when doing my research. 

Layout for my Double Page Spread

My original layout plan was based on a Double Page Spread taken from an NME interview with Mark Ronson. I liked the layout of the double page spread, because everything was very clear and fit into place very well. Here was my original layout idea for my magazine, compared with the layout that I would base it on:

The problem was that I couldn't fit all of my artists interview into the box that I'd designated for it, and so I had to rethink my layout. I liked the design behind the Mark Ronson interview, and so I tried to link my new layout with the design. In the end, here is what I came up with:

I made the text at the top introducing my artist the same shade of pink that I used on my front cover and contents page so that I could create a link between the three of my final pieces, but I tried to keep the layout for my double page spread the same as it was on the Mark Ronson article, just moving the text around a little bit. I think I have managed to create a constant theme between my three designs, but I also think I have modeled my double page spread around an existing article quite well.

Double Page Spread Image Decisions/Layout Designs

I decided that I didn't want a lot images on my Double Page Spread. Initially, I based the layout of it on this image:

This meant that I was going to have a picture on one side of my Double Page Spread, and then my text on the other side.

I planned on taking some medium-long shots of my model, with her either facing the camera, or not facing the camera. Here are some test shots that I did:

However, my model that I had used on my front cover was not present on any of the days when I needed her to take photos(a fault of mine for not taking them earlier), and so I had to change my approach. Luckily, I still had some images of my model from where I'd taken shots for my front cover, so I used one of those.

 

I also realized that my original layout wouldn't work, because I wouldn't be able to fit all of my text into it for my interview. So, I re-thought my design, and came up with this:

Final Double Page Spread

This is my final Double Page Spread.