Showing posts with label RESEARCH. Show all posts
Showing posts with label RESEARCH. Show all posts

Tuesday, 5 January 2016

Star Image

Richard Dyer’s theory-

‘A star image is not a real person that is constructed (as any other aspect of fiction is) out of a range of materials (e.g. screenwriters writing their lines)’ -Richard Dyer.


Pop stars/ pop performers have become overly tampered with and interchangeable through the years within the media, due to them not being the same thing. Those who are known as performing pp are completely different beings to those who are actual pop stars; they are more a brand/display than they are involved with their musicianship.
There are many reasons as to why pop performers become pop stars are due to their record label. They do this by presenting the pope performer as whole new images, from the way they dress, have their makeup, their hair style. Literally everything is tampered with and designed to be appealing to audiences. All it takes is features in magazines with heart throbbing stories, or even the most judicious stories. As long as the pop performer reflects these stories and over comes the problem, they are seen as literal idols to the public. Many different factors like a famous boyfriend or girlfriend, attendance to parties/premiers, charity work and feature in the biggest and best magazines.
However, a real pop star who becomes known throughout the years with their lasting significance as hey become a ‘brand’, like Katy Perry, she is branded as a Californian girl, who is extremely girly and always has different colour hair and speaks extremely high pitched, almost like she lives the dream of every 13 year old girl. Also One Directions, Harry Styles has been styled to look like Mick Jagger, from the hair style to the crazy suits. This makes him extremely noticeable and even older people are interested in what he is doing due to him being relatable to someone in their times. One direction are also a brand due to the merchandise created through them being a band, they sell more merchandise than they perform concerts. David Beckham (not a popstar but this has evolved into all celebrities) now has a brand called ‘Beckham’ and is straight away noted to him, he is now seen as more of a model and style icon than a singer.

Star as Constructions-

Stars are constructed to be something they aren’t realistically. They are represented as ‘real people’; they go through real life dramas and problems and experience real emotions. However their life style is almost imaginary and constructed to suit their look. This usually easier with pop stars than movie stars, as movie stars feature in all different films throughout their career.
Despite how much record labels think they know, they have managed to fail on many occasions, There is a big risk in styling someone in to something they aren’t already , as it will either go very wrong or extremely well. For example when people get through to the live shows of X Factor they have groomed into the style of a pop star and then thrown in front of millions of people who they are hoping to impress, however despite how much talent they have, if they are styled wrong and made to sing unsuitable songs then they lose about.

Industry and Audience-

Pop stars are manufactured into money making object for record companies. They are there to make money out of audiences who then meet the needs of the various elements of a star persona by becoming and and buying various albums. Record companies do plenty of research and experiments with the public to see what they would like within a star and also what would make them the most money. This is why many boy bands look as though they have been photocopied from one another. They become a product of their record company and then must be sold, no matter how unreal their image is it has to be perceived as real to audiences.
The music industry is known to cater to all kinds of audiences, from pre-school children fans, to middle aged rock lovers. For the younger audiences record labels are always looking for something fresh and new to please them so they do not get bored and tired of the same thing. Also producing a long lasting appeal means they can carry out this image throughout the stars whole career.
Some stars outlive their image and die out due to not being developed or made into a newer and better star. For example, many singers finish X-Factor 1st place with the image they created and by the next year they are grew out of as the new winner takes their limelight. Also many singers on the X-Factor have amazing talent but aren’t cut out to be pop stars so they never get anywhere within the music industry.

Ideology & Culture

Many stars represent popular and shared cultural values and attitudes, this helps there star persona become more realistic and not so fantasy like and also helps carry out their look and make it known to everyone. For example many stars create fashion images and hair styles in which they are known for, and then there fans copy and take on this look and they are then seen by identity as that pop stars fan. This also creates a bigger image for the star as people are intending to do all they can to be like them. Other pop stars tweet their views on local and global new stories and ongoing issues, this then opens their fans up to feel like their idol is influential and educating them into views and ideas of our world today and its issues. However this can also be quite manipulating as younger audiences are known to be vulnerable and so desperate to live their idols life that they then carry out these views as their own, and this can be dangerous if the star is pursuing a strong, narrow minded opinion.

Characters & Personality-

Stars are created and built to the time in which they are focused around, they reflect what people are ‘supposed to be like’, women tend to be thin and tanned with long luscious hair, but this isn’t realistic. Men tend to have perfect hair styles and muscles to give off an image to men as to what they should be aiming to look like. However these are all real characteristics of people and are built within a foundation with many different qualities, but these are only a minute amount of the world’s population, so to say that’s what everyone should be like is unfair and damaging to society.
Many stars end up with qualities that contradict them within their image, this can be very risky for their persona and damages it to the global audience, on the other hand some stars are so well designed and are released at just the right time that they end up becoming a perfect idol, most industries allow their stars to do outrageous things which cause big problems in the press but due to their loving fan bases they are able to win their fans back and becoming an even bigger sensation.

Many stars become a one hit wonder, their first album ends up being such a sensation that they end up with so much money to spend. That when their next album drops it is usually a copy of the first and by this times everyone is bored and is looking for the next big thing that they end up dying out. This is called ‘second album syndrome’.

Justin Bieber-



At a young age Justin Bieber became a global sensation, he was designed to look like a teenage heart throb. He had long hair and dressed like a typical teen. He wrote songs on love and his first ever relationships and carried out this image for a good few years, his hair was his most popular trait. He also made it known to fans that purple was his favourite colour and wore it on many occasions, this created his fan base known as the ‘beliebers’ and gave them an identity.
















Justin then trimmed his hair into an older more sophisticated and grown up look.
Keeping the same style of hair just changing it slightly allowed his image to remain. He stopped dressing in young teenage clothing and allowed himself to grown in time with his fans and age as they would have. Wearing tight jeans and smart looking jackets gave Justin a phenomenal lasting appearance. He was lucky as despite the change his fans were still extremely please.













Justin then got rid of his famous hair style and went for a pushed back and shorter look. This helped fans noticed he was getting older and his dress sense developed into a young man and made him very much appealing to 16/17 year olds. His music also developed into deeper meaning songs rather than cheesy pop songs.



Justin then completely changed his hair again, bleaching it bright blonde. He also began to dress like most R&B singers and any rappers. He grew a new sound of music, which was a big risk but was loved by many. His sound developed into a heartfelt and emotional set of songs, these reflected his feelings and showed that despite his cheesy up bringing he can also manage to change his sound as he grew as a person. His new album consists of music related to people like Usher and Ne Yo.









Throughout Justin’s career he has managed to remain in the public eye and stay a pop sensation and hasn’t yet died out. He manages to bring out new sounds along with new styles which keep him up to date and to still remain as one of the biggest selling pop stars of all time. Despite some of his ups and downs in the press his fans have remained loyal and have grown with Bieber and haven’t found any reason to leave him just yet. 

Sunday, 1 November 2015

Colour

The colour wheel is a product which is placed in terms of colours chromatic relationships.  When making a magazine the idea is to make it eye catching, and pleasing to the reader to want to look at. Using harmonising colours allows the designer of the magazine to create exactly want the audience look for, it also allows the magazine to have its very own colour scheme which most magazines take in and us for every issue, this means when those colours are present customers automatically think of that particular magazine. Using opposite colours creates an unpleasing cover and makes it look very messy and not appealing to the reader. So the colour wheel helps us avoid any problems with colour.
The colour wheel is made up of three main sections:

Primary Colours: These are the three colours in which start the base of every over colour, these can not be made up by any other colour, these are Red, Blue, Yellow.

Secondary Colours: These colours are made up by mixing two Primary Colours together, these are Green, Purple and Orange.

Tertiary Colours: These are made up of mixing a Primary Colour and a Secondary Colour together. The Primary colour is normally the main colour used at a ratio of 2:1.



These sections are then separated into even smaller sections. Warm Colours, Cold Colours, Harmonising Colours, Complementary  Colours, Contrasting Colours, Netural Colours.

Cold colours
The colour wheel can be split into two parts, cold and warm colours. Cold colours are usually blues, greens, and purples. These all sit in this area as they as very dark and dull and are usually associated with cold places mentally through nature. These colours do not mix well with warm colours are they are complete contrasts. Magazines based on nature or home furnishing normally use dark colours as they are neutral.


Warm Colours.
Warm colours are extremely vibrant and bright they consist of red, yellows and oranges. They are usually within Pop and younger target audience magazines as they are loud and exciting making the magazine look more interesting and fun. Due to being bright they usually cancel out cold colours and 
make them look odd within the magazine and do not ,mix well. 

Harmonising Colours.
These colours are next to one another on the colour wheel, these are colours that are likely to go together and create a aesthetically pleasing look as they compliment each other.
E.g Red & Purple
Yellow & Orange
Blue & Green

Complementary Colours.
These colours are located opposite each other on the colour wheel , these colours are used to make things look vibrant, they have to be used carefully as they may create an annoying and ugly effect. These colours are not good for text.



Contrasting Colours.
These are colours that do not fit within any of the same categories, for example blue and yellow would not work well together unless certain tones were chosen and they were used extremely carefully. The blue is a cold colour and the yellow a warm, the blue would look very dull and the yellow would over take this with its vibrancy. Also red and green contrast as they are so far apart from one another on the colour wheel, The further away the more contrasting the colours are set to be and not look well together.

Neutral Colours.
These colours are ones such as grey, black, white, beige, camel and ivory. These are very subtle colours and have many undertones, for example camel, would be made of yellow and brown and then added white to lighten it to create the camel. Ivory is majority white with a hint of yellow in it, Beige may have an undertone of pink or gold which can cause the colour to have a different looks so you have to be careful when choosing other colours to go with them and make sure you check the undertones.





Typography

Typography is the technique of arranging text to make written language more readable, appealing. legible and interesting for the reader. For example this could include a range of spacing, shaping. point size, line length, line spacing, letter spacing and positioning text to form photo. Many companies use this as it makes whatever they are trying to advertise eye catching and makes the target audience attracted to their product. Also typography allows you to see what the text is mainly focused on, e.g starbucks, made their advertisement of the product making the text into a coffee cup.



Typography started in 1850 - 1600 BC and originated in Greece. They started by using it for punches and dyes used to make currency. Back then typographers used to press disks into desks of language symbols which they would then press onto paper or something they wanted the print to be on, this was called Phaistos Disk. It then evolved into a whole new industry and became a big part of media and advertising.


Mcdonald's have used typography here to advertise their mcflurry's, the use of the mcflurry as the O and then using its ingredients as the other letters allows the target audience to be tempted. They have made the typography into a name which makes it very personal to someone within the audience, they made many of there adverts with different names. 

Image result for typography in advertising
Converse have also used typography to advertise their product, they have made their words into the shape of a shoe. The words are very easy to read and lead your eyes along the photo. The words are related to the product and make the audience want to buy it.

Friday, 16 October 2015

What is a music magazine?

A music magazine is a magazine which is made around music style, and music culture. These normally include latest music, music interviews, sneak peaks of future albums, photoshoots, concert and gig reviews. They are normally laid out around one band or singer in which was interviewed. Music magazines are individual and intimate to the reader, they relate to something you are interested in and normally something you know a lot about. They allow the reader to be educated further and kept up to date with the chosen subject. The creator of the magazine usually uses colours related to the magazine genre to then attract the reader and make the eye-catching to that theme. For example rock magazines are usually made using red, black, golds and whites to make them dark and mature then this allows the target audience to relate to it and know that magazine is made for them and their music taste. Where as pop magazines normally use bright colours like pink, blue, purple and yellow.


Music magazine genres compared?

Music magazines come in many different genres. I have been looking into different magazine genres and getting inspiration for them for my own magazine I have looked at R&B, Pop and Hip Hop. I have been comparing the differences and similarities, their target audiences, how they are set out their colour themes and which one I would prefer to base my magazine around. 


R&B

The majority of R&B magazines are either scary and dark, or extremely bright. The master head always stands out against the background, however the photograph always takes up the majority of the background. They use a large main image and it always relates to the main article within the magazine. The audience they are trying to grab attention from is teenagers and young adults; they are always up to date and in focus with the latest R&B gossip.



This magazine is taken from google images after i typed in 'R&B' magazines. The title is large and bold and the red contrasts against the white background. A photo of Beyonce has taken up most of the page and a cover line is to the left of her directing your eyes to her name which is one of the few words in black. This magazine shows a typical R&B theme and allows you to see the audience from the start.



POP

Pop magazines are generally bright coloured and although they use contrasting colours it is carefully laid out allowing them not to lash and make the magazine unpleasing to the eye. They normally use pink and purples turning their target audience to the female audience but mostly teenage girls. The main image on the magazine is usually a new or popular POP singer and is normally someone the target audience would be interested in. The master head is usually bold and in bubble writing or some magazines have their titles in shapes etc. hearts or stars. The language used in the magazine is normally simple and fun to read, the cover lines are short and snappy and allow you to have an idea on the articles without reading too much. Also they normally have more than one photo on the magazine cover, with a main image still centred. 




This magazine has been taken from google after typing in 'Pop magazine'. It was the first image that appeared from the search. The title is within a speech bubble and looks like text talk and to the left of the magazine. The main image is to the right of the magazine and the coverline related to it has been put across the middle of the photo. The singers name is larger than the masthead and is eye catching to the audience. There is many photos plastered over the cover with small cover lines with a few words giving slight details. This shows the target audience what is within the magazine and makes them want to buy it. The more photos allows the magazine to be an easier read. 


Hip Hop

Hip Hop magazines are generally very masculine and grunge, they use dark colours like red and black and occasionally white and grey is used. The main photo is generally a male singer or rapper who looks angry or straight faced with no expression. Most of the mastheads are in red or white and are across the top and covered in the middle by the main image or to the left of the magazine ending where the main image starts. The cover lines are bold and spread out around and slightly across the main image. They usually consist of the latest hip hop gossip and titles of albums and interviews with the most famous artists. The artists used are normally ones who have been around for a while and have made it big within the industry.


This is a hip hop magazine I have taken from Google images. The title is white and within a red border, it is in capitals and short and bold. The main cover photo is very intimidating and the models look angry as they do on most hip hop magazine covers. The cover lines are also short and bold, they say the names of the main people involved in the stories rather than a short introduction. This is very aimed at an audience of men as they are male rappers rather than singers who live appealing lifestyles to other males.

Mode of Address

Mode Of Address is the way in which the media communicates with the audiences and expresses itself, for example how a magazine is presented to an audience.
Mode Of Address can be in 1st, 2nd or 3rd person, direct address is mainly used as it is specifically directed at the audience and is as though it is just to them personally.
Also formal and informal is a mode of address, formal is more likely to be used in classical music magazines, whereas informal would be in pop magazines.
Colloquial language would be used in informal magazines and it is quirky and easy to read. Expletive language is likely to be used in rap and hip hop magazines as this is where swearing is more than likely to occur.