Google Mock-up Ideas

This is my first Google mock-up. I chose Kurt Cobain as he is iconic of the Classic Rock genre and therefore straight away connotes the genre of this magazine to the audience.  These are the second edits of my contents page (if Kurt Cobain was the main image on the front cover), by including Kurt as the main image on the contents page, this creates a link for the audience between these two pages and therefore connotes to the audience that this issue focus' on Kurt Cobain. As you can see I have maintained a house-style through both edits of these contents pages and the front cover in order to create a link and a systematic colour scheme throughout the whole magazine issue. However, I decided to try different colour schemes for these two contents pages. As you can see I have trialed the colour yellow as on the front cover I have included the colour yellow behind the masthead in order to catch the audiences attention. I feel yellow works more effectively throughout this contents page as it maintains a systematic colour scheme. This is a mock up of the double page spread that I will be creating. As you can see  I have maintained systematic colours throughout the colour scheme and images. This is so the magazine becomes iconic to the audience and they can recognise my magazine from a far. I have taken inspiration from a Mojo's magazine double page spread: I think this is an effective double page spread as it is easy for the audience to navigate around, with the main image taken up one whole page on the left and the article beginning on the right page. As you can see, I have used this layout in order to make my magazine a successful and professional product. This is the second edit for my front cover magazine. These are only Google mock-up that helps me to understand the conventions of form (magazine) and convention of genre (Classic Rock) and how I will apply these conventions when creating my real magazine. I feel that these Google mock-ups are effective ans successful when conveying the genre of my magazine. This is the first edit of my mock-up contents page. As you can see, I have kept running themes throughout such as the colour scheme of red, white and black. I have also maintained the use of the main image being Taylor Momsen, as I chose her to be the main image on my front cover. By using the same artist on the contents page as well as the front cover, this creates a house-style and link between the two pages and therefore connotes to the audience that this issue focus' on Taylor Momsen. This is a second edit of my double page spread, featuring Taylor Momsen. I have decided to maintain the house-style overall, that I created when I created my double page spread featuring Kurt Cobain. This is so my magazine is a recognisable product that maintains the same conventions throughout an issue. As you can see, I have not included the colour red on this double page spread despite including it on my front cover and contents pages, this is due to the idea that the simplicity of this double page spread creates a subtle rebellious tone therefore connoting the overall theme of rebellion that I initially wanted to create.

Double Page Spread House Styles

These are the double page spreads that I found when I searched through many MOJO magazines. I chose these double page spreads because they share similar conventions and are all from the same magazine. By choosing double page spreads that are from the same magazine, this allows me to establish the conventions of a MOJO magazine double page spread.

I found that colour schemes are common through MOJO's contents pages and double page spreads, therefore I will maintain a strong colour scheme throughout my magazine. 

Contents Page House Styles

This is the first contents page that I analysed, I decided to study a MOJO magazine contents page as this magazine falls under the same genre that I have chosen for my magazine. 

As you can see I have highlighted the key aspects of this contents page such as the main image, its size, the colour scheme, the font text, the background colour and the heading. These are evidently all conventions of a MOJO magazines contents page as these contents pages are all systematic and follow a specific house-style. 

Next, these contents pages have been adapted in order to fit into the style of the main artist/band. For example, the first issue featuring Florence Welch from Florence and the Machine, consists of the colour scheme red, grey, black and white. As Florence is an Indie/Classic Rock artist, she has been dressed in a black velvet dress in order to connote the genre in which her music is. MOJO have adapted their contents page in order to fit to Florence's style so the audience are aware that this specific issue focusses  on Florence Welch.

Plain backgrounds have been used also to draw the audiences attention towards the main image. By highlighting the main image, this will entice the audience to purchase the magazine, this is also reinforced by the positioning of the main image/artist. Terry Hall has been positioned as though he is looking up at the audience in order to catch their attention; by having him share eye contact with the audience this makes the audience feel as if Hall is directly addressing them individually.

Overall, these contents pages are well organised and tidy which works in the audiences favour as it allows the audience to navigate around the magazine easily and stress free. In the long run, this will create a profit for the institution as the audience will enjoy reading this magazine therefore potentially, purchasing every issue.  

Colour Scheme Ideas, Name Ideas and Feature Story Ideas

This is my initial research for my colour scheme ideas, my name ideas and my feature story ideas. I collected this research together in order to underline and cross out any flaws that I found in my research. I want my magazine to scream the Classic Rock genre to my target audience therefore by undergoing specific research like colour scheme ideas, name ideas and feature story ideas, this is help me to decided the basics of my magazine.

Colour Scheme Ideas

This is my chosen colour scheme idea. I have chosen the colour black as it is an iconic colour of the Classic Rock genre, as well as it being voted by my target audience one of the colours most associated with the Classic Rock genre. Black is a dark colour which holds connotations of death and fierceness to the audience therefore supporting the overall theme of my magazine: rebellious.

Next, I have chosen the colour white to complement the colour black. White is an easy colour that holds connotations of purity and angelic concepts therefore this contrasts with the dark colour of black. White was also voted for by my target audience and therefore, I will be responding to my audiences feedback.

Finally, I have chosen the colour red which has always been used throughout the Classic Rock genre. This will allow me to maintain the conventions of the Classic Rock genre throughout my magazine and therefore allow me to create a successful magazine that is created to a high standard. Red was highly voted for by my target audience and therefore I will respond to my audiences feedback in order to adapt my magazine around my audience. 

Name Ideas

When establishing the name of my magazine, I researched many different names such as 'shake', 'rock', 'fender' and 'master'. Although I have chosen the word 'rock' for the name of my magazine, I am unsure as to which font I will choose. When producing my Google Mock-ups I will trial both fonts (Ariel Black in bold and Karmakooma on 1001fonts.com) in order to establish which font is the most effective font for the front cover of my magazine. 

 

Model Change

After realising that my chosen model is unreliable, I decided to ask my colleague Hannah Thomas. Hannah is ideal for the role I want, this is due to her tattoos and dreadlocks making her look like she lives a similar, carefree life to rockstars.

This is Hannah Thomas, as you can see, her tattoos and dreadlocks are ideal for the role in which I want her to succumb. 

Mise-en-scene, Location and Prop Ideas

Location This is the desired location of the main image on the front cover of my magazine. When researching the conventional location of the front cover of a typical Classic Rock magazine, I felt that a plain background was the most conventional and therefore I will use a plain background as the background of my front cover of my magazine. I will not use an outside location as I believe that this is unconventional for a Classic Rock magazine. By using a plain background, this will draw the audiences attention to the main image on the magazine front cover, therefore making my product a sellable product for my target audience. Props The props I will use for the first shoot will be props such as  These earrings (left) are iconographic of the rock star lifestyle and therefore I believe that this will be essential to include on the main image of my front cover. Leopard print is an iconic style of the Classic Rock lifestyle as artists such as Alice Cooper, ACDC and finally, Bon Jovi are photographed wearing the leopard print style. I also believe that plug earrings are iconic of the rock lifestyle and therefore I will be including these on the main image of my front cover. As you can see, on my chosen inspirational magazine (MOJO), there is the use of a cross hanging from Madonna's nose. In order to create a successful magazine, I will feature a prop similar to this cross, for example this black flower. By placing this flower on the mouth of my model, this will connote a sense of rebellion. This will be supported through the use of colour as this flower is black and therefore maintaining my colour scheme.   This is the next prop I will consider using when shooting the medium close-ups of my main model. This is a ring that connotes the idea of rebellion by featuring the religious symbol of a cross. As this ring is bigger than others, this will draw the audience's attention toward my model which is ultimately what I want to achieve. Next, this is also a ring that I feel will benefit me during the shooting of my models. This is a black ring and therefore withholds the ideology of my magazine and the colour scheme, by connoting the rebellious Classic Rock ideology. Similarly to the previous ring, this is a big ring that will attract the audience's attention and therefore pull their attention towards the main image of my front cover. Next is the use of this ring. This is a red ring, therefore still maintains the ideology of my Classic Rock magazine as well as the colour scheme. As this ring it also large, it will catch the audiences attention and pull them towards viewing the main image of my front cover, of my magazine. Rings were iconic for Classic Rock artists to wear such as Alice Cooper, Bon Jovi and Kurt Cobain, from the Rock/Grunge band Nirvana, therefore I will be supporting the ideology and conventions of the Classic Rock genre by featuring specific props.   Next, I am analysing the different bracelets that could connote the Classic Rock lifestyle. Although rings were more common during the hype of the Classic Rock genre, I believe that by including bracelets such as this House of Blues bracelet, this brings the artists own individual style to the generic conventions of the Classic Rock genre.   As you can see, there is the use of multi-coloured skulls on this bracelet. Although the multi-coloured colour scheme is more iconic of the Pop genre, I believe by dressing my model wearing this bracelet, this will create a wider audience as the colours will appeal to a younger audience. On the other hand, this may be a negative conception as the content of Classic Rock magazines may not be appropriate for the younger audience. This bracelet is similar to the previous bracelet, however with the loss of the colour black and the addition of the blue cross. I like the idea of incorporating a cross with the skulls and this adds a sense of danger to the ideology of the fictional artist on my front cover of my magazine. The same argument still stands however, that due to the colours used, a younger audience will be attracted to this magazine, but this may cause controversy as the content within my magazine may not be appropriate for the younger target audience.

As you saw previously, my chosen inspirational front cover magazine features Madonna with a cross hanging from her nose. I have decided to follow the style of this magazine by trialing props such as the skull earring (left & middle) and the cross earring (right). I feel these props are relevant and can be made iconic of the Classic Rock genre, evidently the cross is already iconic of the Classic Rock - as seen in MOJO's edition featuring Madonna.

Costume Designs

1. Costume Design - Red Hot Chili Peppers

In order to understand the Classic Rock costume ideas, I researched artists within the Classic Rock genre and their particular style of clothing. Firstly, I began by researching the most popular (according to my audience research) Classic Rock genre band - Red Hot Chili Peppers.

As you can see, the Red Hot Chili Peppers maintain a casual style throughout their public appearances. Anthony Kiedis (Red Hot Chili Pepper's lead vocalist) is seen to be wearing a casual t-shirt including an animated image. Although these images are not important to RHCP's logo, this connote a sense of comfort to the audience as RHCP feel comfortable in their position in society. In contrast, this does not support the ideology and style of a Classic Rock artist such as Alice Cooper or ACDC, however, this is what separates the RHCP from traditional Classic Rock artists; they are creating their own ideology within the Classic Rock genre and that is why they are such a successful band in the modern day.

This is my own interpretation of the Red Hot Chili Peppers style:

As you can see, I have tried to imitate the Red Hot Chili Peppers style. I have chosen to style my model in a casual Jim Beam graphic t-shirt, as it a similar t-shirt to the ones Anthony Kiedis is wearing on both images. Unfortunately, I was unable to locate a white graphic t-shirt therefore, I improvised with a light grey t-shirt. Although this is not an accurate improvisation, I believe this is a sufficient effort at imitating the Red Hot Chili Peppers style. 

By choosing a graphic t-shirt that references the Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, this implies a sense of rebellion to the audience as a stereotypical rock stars lifestyle consists of drinking, female attention and lots of partying, therefore this t-shirt is supporting the ideology of a typical rock star. 

Next, I decided to add a black baggy shirt over the top of the graphic t-shirt. Although the Red Hot Chili Pepper's lead singer was not wearing a baggy shirt during the shooting of these images, in the right image, one band member is wearing a baggy shirt therefore I followed the style of this band member. 

As the rock star lifestyle is rebellious, I chose to trial this controversial graphic t-shirt. As it includes the taboo word 'f******', this is supporting the rebellious lifestyle. If I were to include this t-shirt on the front cover of my magazine, I would edit the taboo word, using the blur tool on Photoshop as this may repel my target audience whilst causing controversy such as influencing the target audience to wear/say offensive language.

As you can see, I have decided to dress my model in tight black trousers. I have chosen to do so as they are featured on the majority of the band members in these two images. Black is a symbolic colour of the Classic Rock genre, more specifically, tight black trousers or leather trousers. As I  cannot locate any tight black leather-look trousers, I believe tight black denim trousers will imply, if not the same, then similar connotations to the target audience of my magazine.

Next, I decided dress my model in a unique style Nirvana graphic t-shirt. By featuring my artist/main image wearing a Nirvana t-shirt, this suggests that the rock star lifestyle is supported by other rock stars. This is also product placement, as ultimately, I will be persuading the rock target audience to invest in Nirvana's music. The audiences role model (main image) will appear to like the rock band Nirvana and therefore influence the target audience to invest in this music.

Finally, this is the final outfit I have chosen in order to imitate the Red Hot Chili Peppers style. As you can see, I have chosen a t-shirt that is similar colour to the t-shirt Anthony Kiedis is wearing in the image on the right. Although this t-shirt is supporting the Classic Rock genre as it is features another artist, I believe it also does not support the Classic Rock genre as it is not an iconic colour of the Classic Rock genre. 

I have also chosen to include black denim trousers for this shot. I have done this as later images of Kurt Cobain, lead singer/guitarist of Nirvana are wearing blue denim jeans therefore I was merging the two styles together in order to create an sufficient style for my fictional artist.

2. Costume Design - Bon Jovi

Next, I studied the style of the famous American rock band Bon Jovi, which was voted the second most associated band with the Classic Rock genre, in my audience research. These are two images of Bon Jovi (left as a group, and right, the main singer posing for a photo shoot).

As you can see there is the use of leather jackets and dark glasses. These are both iconographic of the Classic Rock genre, ultimately connoting that this band is a traditional, stereotypical rock band. In the right image, Jon Bon Jovi is seen to be wearing a colourful scarf, this contradictions the Classic Rock genre which is most associated with the colours red, black and white. This scarf consists of the colours yellow and purple therefore, like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, is creating his own unique look whilst still maintaining the iconographic conventions of a typical Classic Rock artist.

This is my own interpretation of Bon Jovi's style:

As you can see, I have used the graphic taboo-word t-shirt 'Lady f****** Gaga'. I am aware of the controversy of this t-shirt however, by using the blur tool on Photoshop, I will be able to blur the taboo word in order to cover the offensive language. By featuring a taboo word on the front cover of my magazine, this will allow me to maintain the rebellious connotations of the rock lifestyle.

Furthermore, I have included a black and white scarf in order to resemble Bon Jovi's style. As you can see in the image on the right, Bon Jovi is seen wearing purple and yellow scarf. As my colour scheme is red, black and white, a black and white scarf is ideal to wear for a Classic Rock artist that is going to feature on my magazine.

As my colour scheme is red, white and black, black denim trousers are also ideal for my model to wear during the shoot. Black denim trousers are also iconographic of the Classic Rock genre and therefore I will ensure my model is wearing black denim trousers.

I have also decided to trial a leather jacket. Leather fabric is iconographic for any artist within the Classic Rock genre and therefore I believe that a leather jacket is a great prop to feature on the front cover of my magazine. Bon Jovi are famous for their leather-look as are other Classic Rock artists such as Alice Cooper and the rock band KISS. Leather is also iconographic of motorbikers and therefore, this supports the idea that my artist is rebellious - supporting the overall theme of rebellious for my magazine as a whole. I previously stated that the interests of my target audience consisted of motorbiking, therefore by including a leather prop, this widens my audience to anyone remotely interested in motorbiking.

3. Costume Design - Nirvana

Finally I studied one of my favourite bands; Nirvana. Nirvana got voted one of the top three bands most associated with the Classic Rock genre, according to my audience research. The first image is a shot of Kurt Cobain - the lead singer and guitarist in Nirvana and the second image is a shot of the three members of Nirvana: Cobain, Dave Grohl and Kris Novoselic. 

As you can see their style is borderline effortless, similarly to the RHCP, Cobain is seen to be wearing animated t-shirts that do not connote relevance to Nirvana as an institute however support the theme of rebellion for the Classic Rock genre as the slogan on Cobain's t-shirt in the image on the right says 'corporation magazines still suck'. This conveys that Cobain and Nirvana are rebelling against society and they disagree with the structure of society. Nirvana are notorious for their rebellious ideologies and therefore this is supporting Nirvana's stereotype, as well as the Classic Rock genre's ideologies. 

This is my interpretation of Nirvana's effortlessly 'grungy' style:

This is my recreation of the style of the grunge band Nirvana. As you can see, I have maintained the convention of a graphic t-shirt. To begin with, I have excluded the use of a sole image on the t-shirt, instead, I decided to trial a stripy black and white top with a chequered shirt over the top. I believe this outfit is not supporting the rebellious rock lifestyle due to the colour of the white top. Although it maintains the colour scheme of my magazine, I feel does not match the criteria of my ideology of the Classic Rock genre.

Next, I pieced together The Black Keys top, the casual shirt and finally, the black denim trousers. This outfit is more accurate than the first Nirvana interpretation that I configured. I followed the style of Nirvana's lead singer Kurt Cobain, as he was often photographed having tucked his t-shirt into his trousers whilst wearing a belt. By following Cobain's style in this manner, this allows the audience to understand the ideology of the my main image, as they will associate the style of my main artist to the style of Kurt Cobain.

As you can see I have decided to dress my model in a Nirvana t-shirt. I believe that this is was an important choice to make as this t-shirt supports the ideology of the Classic Rock genre. Nirvana were a notoriously rebellious band and therefore this is supporting the ideology of the Classic Rock genre as well as the fictional band that I have created.

Next I decided to change the colour of the model's trousers. To begin with, I stuck to the conventional black, denim trousers that are iconic of the Classic Rock genre, however, I decided to trial the blue denim trousers as these were conventional for Nirvana. I felt that the blue denim trousers did not meet the criteria of the conventions of the Classic Rock genre and therefore, I feel the black trousers will be more suitable for the target audience as they will understand the conventions and ideology of the my magazine and the Classic Rock genre.