Photoshopping my Actors

Although I took great care in ensuring my actors were relatively photogenic for my shoot, some factors such as blemishes were out of my control, so therefor I had to utilize photo editing software (in my case Photoshop) in order to correct any minor issues which may have jeopardised the validity or quality of my magazine.

Fore example, above is my original, unedited photograph, as you can see, the actor closest to the camera has come small isolated acne...

I was able to use the "Spot Heal" tool on Photoshop to get rid of these blemishes for an overall more professional looking product... I did this whilst trying to maintain a decent standard of realism within the photo as I did not want the photo to look fake.

As you can see, The actors overall appearance has improved tenfold, this in itself will enhance my magazine to the same extent

Shot List

As you can see from my photograph below, I have used a Close Up Shot on my three actors, I have specifically used this type of shot in order to imply that the magazine is "Up Close" and "Personal" with my musicians.

By using this shot I feel I have achieved my desired effect by also instructing my actors to maintain constant eye contact with the camera, which results in the actors appearing to look straight at the reader, not only does this explore a more up close and personal angle of the band, it also in some ways contributes to my magazines "Rock" theme by being up the readers face and the image speaks volumes in this way.

I specifically have partial amounts of each actors face covered (Excluding The Front Actor) by either another actors face or shrouded in shadow in order to make a subliminal statement that not all of the character is as plain as the eyes see, beyond the section visible to us, is another side of the musician. This once more conforms to the typical Rock image of being "Shady" and encapsulates that Rock stars often live very different lives away from public view and the shadows which shroud them in anonymity and mystery. this is al however without obscuring to much of the face which I felt looked poor in quality after analysing the Second Shot. as you can see, the middle actor almost looks contorted if the front actor is too far central to the frame, to eliminate this I spread the actors out farther and achieved my final piece.

My Photo Shoot Location

I chose to have my picture taken down a back alley in Liverpool, just near Moorfields station, whilst at first this may seem an odd and relatively unrelated, I feel as my magazine is a rock magazine, the back street image really epitomises the stereotype and accompanies my theme perfectly, as my illustrated musician are the new face of rock music, a genre which is often construed as being rough around the edges and not clean cut, much like a dingy back alley would appear to most people, the two aspects go hand in hand.

My Photo Shoot Method

I took more than one photo to ensure my photos were suitable, if I had only taken one it could have been prone to flaws (Blur, Angle, Positioning, etc.) as a result I got my desired photo (The Last Photo) along with a few unintentionally flawed photos to justify my method, the first being an issue with the actors facial expression (Middle Actor)  the second being a positioning issue, the last being my final product as I desired.

Photo Shoot Proof Document

Today myself and my 3 Models "Above" went to Liverpool City Center to have the photo shoot for my magazine.

Draft Cover v2

This is my basic plan for my magazine.

Draft Cover

As you can see my Layout closely follows a specific issue of "Rocksound" magazine whereby there is a dominating left drop-down bar containing other information which overlaps the main image, as well as having my Masthead central to my magazine in order to balance the focus of attention the magazine gives out.

Also included is a second, much thinner bar at the bottom of the page with other bands listed at the bottom as this seems to be a common trait in many modern day magazines.

The specific gaze of the band at the camera will give the audience of the magazine a direct address making them feel included in the magazine and compelled to buy it.

In addition to my rock theme i have included two fonts which seem slightly weathered and worse for wear in order to provide a semiotic value of the rock lifestyle which is messy and imperfect.

In order to increase the overall professionalism and personality of the magazine i will include several advertisements and exclusive content banners as well as a pull quote by the Masthead in order to provide a memorable premise to the magazine.

I feel this overall layout includes as many magazine features as possible without jeapordising the overall professionalism of the magazines appearance in the process, simple, yet effective.

Name Choice For Magazine

I chose 3 potential names for my magazine they are as follows;

"Garland"
"Rush"
"Typo"

Below is a table of why i chose each name, why each name was good, why each name was bad, and which i chose;

NAME:	Why did I chose this name?	What was good about that name?	What was bad about that name?	Did I chose this name?
Garland	Many Rock performers wear odd clothes like headbands if they have long hair, for this reason many Rock performers wear Garlands, this name obviously bared some resemblance to the topic of the magazine.	The name was synonymous with Rock N Roll and is unusual, so therefore stands out from the rest and makes for a memorable and effective title for a magazine	In order to really understand the name of the magazine, some explanation may be needed in order to shed light on the significance of the title to the magazine, for this reason the title to those who are unfamiliar or have a different level of associability skill to myself would not understand the name of the magazine and therefore not get the benefit of the name	No.
Typo	Has a primitive suggestion about the topic being “Edgy” and “Not neat and tidy” like Rock music is, this made for a clever title association	The name is slang-like so makes for a great demographic effect, as younger 16-30 year olds are likely to recognise the abbreviation and feel instantly attracted to the similarity of the title to modern day society	The title itself mildly applies the magazine may be illiterate, which may discourage potential buyers from purchase as the magazine may come across as “Incorrect” or “Effortless” if the theme of error is the first thing the customer sees.	No.
Rush	Has a naturally stimulating sound and meaning which is attractive the mind	The word is synonymous with the lifestyle of Rockers playing fast-paced music and living fast-paced lives with drugs and sex being intensifiers of life, the name also implies movement, as if the magazine would always be moving along with the latest news and will give the reader the feeling of a “Rush”	I couldn't find many negatives about this name other than the name comes across as a more superior verb which may not fit the rough image of the magazine	Yes.

Target Audience

My target audience will be for mainly the male sex as, in most circumstances, it was mostly boys and men that performed Rock music back in the 1950's and i will obviously want to aim my magazine to the correct demographic in order to achieve the best response from the mag and what better way to do this than to derive my information from the source of the music, the age span is fairly lenient, however for specificity i would put a 16-30 age bracket on the demographic age range, this is because the magazine will encounter all forms of the Rock N Roll lifestyle including expletive content which would be inappropriate to under 16's and most likely be uninteresting for anyone over the age of 30.

The magazine will have it's main focus on rock bands, not only music-wise, but lifestyle-wise also, so bands such as The Rolling Stones will fit the cast perfectly as characters such as Keith Richards and Mick Jagger have walked the many roads of the rock and road lifestyle (Sex, Drugs, Rock N Roll so to speak).

I intend to make the magazine aesthetically superior to other magazines in order to catch the eye of the potential buyers, this will be through interesting photos using the rule of thirds to capture the professional essence of published magazines as well as a consistent colour scheme and interesting style.

To sum up my Target Audience as specifically as possible, the magazine will be aimed at an 18 year old male who is into classic rock more so than modern music, who doesn't usually buy music magazines and only requires a basic music knowledge to understand and feel appropriately addressed by the magazine.