Group Magazine Advert - Miss Miller.

To agree on one final magazine advert we had to consider ideas from each individual magazine adverts to make a final advert which consisted of the best ideas from each advert to make the best advert we could. To do this we held a discussion in which we talked about each specific element within a magazine advert and then decided who had the best of each element from all the members individual adverts. We then tried to replicate each of the best elements within this final magazine advert and combine them in a way in which they all look liked they fitted within the same advert and also conformed to the dance genre code and conventions. Once we had included each of these best elements we then manipulated the advert and developed it further to ensure that every individual element was just how we wanted it and that we all agreed on our final magazine advert.

Within our final magazine advert we have chosen to use the background colour of black with the images on the sides of our picture being black and white and some of the text in the middle of the advert again being in white. We have chosen to use these colours in the background of the advert as it then allows for the images and use of colour and typography to stand out in the foreground of the advert through the use of contrasting bold colours. The use of this dark colour in the background and bright injections of colour is representative of the club/party scene in which the setting would stereotypically be very dark with frequent flashes of bright colours through the use of lighting. Within our advert we also plan to use the bright colours of sky blue and pink, we decided to use both these specific colours because the bright colours will catch the audiences eye as it stands out amongst other adverts. Using both pink and blue also means that this advert appeals to males and females who are stereotypically interested in these colours. This use of colouring is extremely conventional to the dance genre as stereotypically within this genre bright colouring is used in all magazine adverts as it is a representation of the upbeat music and the exciting atmosphere which it is closely associated with. We chose to partially go against these conventions and partially conform to these conventions because it is a representation of our music video in which we both challenge and conform to these conventions. The black background is a representation of the dark, depressing narrative which is seen within our video and the bright colouring is a representation of the exciting club scene which is also seen in our video. Both myself and Daniel used this same background colour for our individual magazine adverts and we felt that it was successful in both of these as we used contrasting elements in the foreground and the background colour emphasised whatever was used in this foreground. Given this we felt this would be the best background colour as it ensured that our use of other conventional elements such as images and typography could have more of a impact on the audience. The conventional use of colouring with the use of bold bright colours, specifically sky blue and pink, in our final magazine advert was based on the colouring used within both mine and Daniels individual magazine adverts. We felt that this use of colouring was the best because within the dance genre the most recognised convention is the bright colouring and therefore we believed that we needed some bright colouring to ensure that the audience recognised the dance genre.                                                                                      
                                                                                                       
Within our magazine advert we only use one image but the way in which we decided to use and manipulate this image is how we make it successful within our advert. Our image is a picture of just the artists head and shoulders in which he can be seen wearing sunglasses and a hat which is being worn backwards. This image is placed on either side of the advert with half the face seen on one side of the advert and the other seen on the other side. We picked this particular image because it successful shows the conventional costume worn by the artist which presents him as a cool character which his target audience may idolise and wish to replicate. We chose this image because it is also rather basic which means that the other elements within our advert can appeal to our audience but the fact that he is looking directly down the camera helps form a bond with the audience and presents him as powerful. This use of images within magazine adverts is rather conventional to the dance genre because images within the dance genre are usually just pictures of the artists face, this is because they do not promote themselves like artists from other genres and instead focus on promoting their products. The image which we chose to use was the same or similar image to the one which all three members of our group used in their individual magazine advert. But the way in which it is used within our final magazine advert is most similar to the way it is used in Daniels magazine advert. We all was unanimous in thinking that this was the best image because it is a very striking and memorable picture and presents the artist as cool and stylish which was what we planned for it to appeal to our target audience. We felt that the way in which Dan manipulated this image would be the best for our final magazine advert as using half that face either side of the advert meant that there was more room within the advert for the use of colouring and typography.

The layout and design within our final magazine advert is very important as we didn't want to make the advert appear to cluttered. To avoid this we positioned each element in a very specific way; we positioned the album name 'Euphoria' very boldly and at the top of the page in the dead centre. We chose to position this here because it is what we are trying to promote and therefore its what we wanted the audience to see when they first looked at the advert. Then underneath this in a less prominent font we wrote information on the album which said 'the new album', 'out now' and 'including turn back time'  we positioned this in a less focal point because its not as important as the album and artists name but it is also quite important so therefore we positioned it in the middle of the advert. Either side of this text we positioned our image, we made the image very large so that it is the same size as the text and lines up correctly. We chose to position it here because the fact that we only used half the picture meant that although the image was large enough to catch the audiences eye it still allowed room for us to include other more influential elements. In the bottom of half of our final magazine advert we used the conventional brightly coloured pattern this is so that it is separated from the artists image and the typography used within our advert this is so the audience can focus on each individual element. Then finally at the bottom of the advert we positioned our artists name in a very large font this is so the audience will know to associate the advert with the artist and recognise him. This use of layout and design is rather unconventional to the dance genre as usually within dance genre magazine adverts the advert is rather cluttered with a lot going on where as our advert is rather basic and very organised. We chose to do it in this specific way because we felt that it was more appealing to our slightly younger target audience as well as being much easier to create. For our layout and design we mainly took inspiration again from mine and Daniels individual magazine adverts, this is because that we felt our basic and organised layout produced a very clear and easy to read magazine advert which was better because it looked more structured and eye-catching. This contrasted the design and layout used within Cara's advert, which although was more conventional, we believed was harder to understand and looked more cluttered.

Within out magazine advert we chose to use 3 different types of font to describe the numerous things within our advert. The most notable use of typography within our magazine advert is the font used to for the artists name "DJ Sonic" for this we used a unique edgy font which was completely different from all other fonts on the page. We planned to make this a font which the audience immediately associate with the artist as we used the same font for both the magazine advert and the digipak. We put this text in the sky blue colour because it again links in with the rest of our colour scheme of our digipak and magazine advert and follows the the dance genre conventions of bright colours. The use of typography is conventional to the dance genre as usually each individual dance artist will have their own unique font which they use to present their name and usually these fonts are rather edgy and striking, much like ours.  For our album name "Euphoria" we chose to use a contrasting font to the one used for our artist name this is because we wanted it stand out as its own individual element and make it unique from the rest of the text so therefore more memorable. Again we used sky blue for this text as it meant that it also followed the consistent colour scheme and stood out from the dark background, it also follows the bright colours dance conventions. The font used for this text was very bold and striking as we wanted to use a font which impactful upon the audience and was memorable as the aim of this advert was to ensure that the target audience remember the album and are prompted to buy it. The other text which we used was a plain and simple white font we decided to use this particular font because we didn't want it the audience to be too focussed on this piece of text and instead we wanted them to focus on the use of colours, images and the other use of typography. Despite this we still used a white font to ensure that it stood out from the black background and was easy to read. Within this text the language we decided to use was also key in appealing to our target audience as we had to chose specific terms which would prompt out audience to buy this album. For example we wrote "The New Album" the term "New" within this quote makes the audience want to buy it because it suggests they have never heard it before which intrigues them as they think they may like it. The phrase "Out Now" also prompts them to buy the album because it means that they want to buy it immediately as they don't have to wait for a specific release date and therefore are more likely to buy it straight away. The font used within out final magazine advert was the font both me and Daniel used within our individual magazine advert, we believed that this was the best font for our final magazine advert as we felt it was more conventional and memorable than of that used within Cara's individual magazine advert. We all used plain white font within our individual magazine adverts as we all felt that it was the most successful in expressing vital information without being too domineering.

Dans advert:
We used numerous elements from dans final magazine advert which meant thats our final magazine advert was very similar to his individual one. Although in our final magazine we used a slightly different image we did use a pink and blue colourful image much like the one seen in dans, this is because it conformed with our genres conventions. We also replicated dans layout within our final magazine advert as we again used half the artists face either side of the advert with the text in the middle, we used this because it allowed us to include both a successful image and important information. Dans strengths within his advert was the layout and the colour scheme used as they was both conventional to the dance genre and was visually appealing. His weaknesses was his overall execution of the advert as his photoshop skills were limited and therefore he was unable to create his individual magazine advert to a proficient standard meaning it looked rather amateur.

Caras advert:
As a group we believed that Caras individual advert was the best out of the three as it was the most eye catching and unique. Caras advert was very individual as it featured numerous eye catching images which was manipulated in a specific eye catching manner. The use of images within this advert are very good as within the advert numerous clocks can be seen, this links with the title of one of the songs "Turn Back Time" and they are also presented in a subtle way which means that they don't dominate the advert. The font used is also unique and unconventional to the dance genre as it is a very individual font and presents the artist as creative and original as he has chose a font which has previously never been seen. This may also suggest to the audience that the music is very unique and original which will make them more likely to buy it. Despite this i believe that the fact this magazine advert is so unconventional is its biggest weakness as the audience are unable to associate it with the dance genre.


To conclude i believe our final magazine advert does conform to dance genre codes and conventions as the most important convention, which is closely associated with the dance genre, is the colouring used. Given this we specifically tried to include bright colouring within our magazine advert to ensure that our target audience immediately recognise our chosen genre. I also believe that our final magazine advert does appeal to our specific target audience as includes numerous individual element what appeals to only that specific age bracket. As a group we found it very easy to create a final magazine advert as we already had all the ideas and all we had to do was put them into one joined advert.

Individual Digipak - Miss Miller

Artists create digipaks as a way to increase the relationship between themselves and their fans. The target audience of a specific artist or genre are more inclined to buy a digipak than an ordinary jewel cd case because of it's special features. As a group we will create a digipak as a way to attract the target audience and reveal more about our artist. Before we create our final product we each created our own individual digipak. We did this as we all had our own unique ideas on what the digipak pages should include. Our ideas differed from colour scheme to design and layout which meant for us all to create our ideal digipak we can combine the group ideas and create a perfect product that conforms to the conventions of the dance genre and attracts the target audience effectively. Another reason for creating individual digipaks was because of the range of skills we each had on using the Photoshop software, it allowed us all to gain practise and express our own ideas to the rest of the group members.

The use of colour on a digipak has the primary purpose of catching the eye of potential buyers. Bright colours not only draw in the attention of the target audience but also follow the conventions of the dance genre. The colours that are most evident on my individual digipak are blue, purple and pink. These bright colours are used as a way to reflect the bright and happy emotions created by the music; they also symbolise the exaggerated use of coloured lights and tints that are stereotypically associated with this genre. Blue is a colour that present s calm emotions, this is a positive representation for the artist and his music. The target audience becomes aware that the album follows an upbeat emotion throughout, encouraging them to buy it. The colour on the digipak ultimately tells fans that the music on the album is equally as colourful. Black is used as the base colour on most of my digipak. The obvious reason for why I chose black was to create a clear contrast between the other bright colours and the white font. However, the colour black is hugely conventional to the dance genre and has hidden meanings. Firstly, black is a colour with the connotation of power, this not only promotes the artist in a positive light as a powerful individual, but also implies that the music follows the same powerful characteristics. This creates a relationship with the target audience as they feel that by purchasing the product they could some how adopt some of the power through the music. A simpler reason for the colour black is because of its reference towards stereotypical dance music locations; the dance genre is often associated with night time, it is also generally played in clubs and raves which are always dark. The use of the colour black ultimately creates a relatable setting for the target audience through the dark background and the contrasting snippets of bright colours. 

Within my digipak i have chosen to use numerous images of the artist as i believed that it was key in keeping the audience enticed and interested as they are always seeing new content. We also needed to include a variety of images as 2 pages of our digipak was soupy dedicated to images of the artist, this would hopefully make the digipak more appealing to our target audience as they feel like they build a better relationship with the artist, than a standard jewell cd case. The first image i used used within my digipak is a picture of just the artists head and shoulders who can be seen wearing a red baseball cap, black sunglasses and a plain black t-shirt. I have chosen to use this specific image because it is striking and bold as the artist isn't pictured as small and in the background instead it is a large bold picture. This means that the audience will straight away be drawn towards this image of the artist and are therefore more likely to remember what he looks like. This image also successfully shows the conventional costume of the artist which demonstrates the genre as well as being a representation of the artist and suggesting to the audience that he is a young and cool character. This use of imagery is conventional to the dance genre as within digipaks for artists in the dance genre a image is used which frequently only shows the face of the artist who is looking directly at the camera to create a image which both shows the artist and allows for other elements within the advert to have more of a impact on the audience. Another image which i have chosen to use within my digipak is a image of the artist performing. I decided to use this particular image as it is very conventional to the dance genre as it makes it evidently clear to the audience who the artist is. The fact that the artist is seen performing may also suggest to the audience that the artist is a successful DJ which may increase the bond between the audience and the artist as they may idolise him and desire to be like the artist. Much like the image on the cover of my digipak this image will again successfully show off the conventional costume of the artist in which he can be again seen wearing his 'trademark' red hat and a t shirt, the use of this specific image which shows the baseball cap may present the artist again as cool and stylish. But contrastingly the use of a plain t shirt makes the artist more relatable to the audience as they can easily replicate this costume as it is easily affordable which means that they may admire the fact that the artist is similar to themselves and just a normal person. 

The layout of the cover of my magazine advert is very basic as it consists of the artists name in very large font at the top of the advert "DJ Sonic", then underneath this is then is the album name "Euphoria" and then at the bottom of the page is the bright colouring and the image of the artist which are very large and domineering. I chose to use this specific layout because it is rather basic and plain, this means that the audience are able to take in each individual element as there is not to much going on to distract them. I chose to position the artists name at the top of the advert in very large font, i chose to position it here because this is where people start reading and therefore they will notice the artists name and acknowledge that it is his album. Positioning the album name directly underneath this again in large font has a similar effect and means that they notice that these are the two most important pieces of information and understand that this is what is being promoted. The finally at the bottom of the page is the bright pink and blue pattern with the artists image on top, this section dominates the magazine advert as it very large and colourful. I decided to make this the most prominent element within my magazine advert as it includes the conventional appealing colouring as well as the image of the artist which means that the audience are immediately drawn to the advert, due to the bright colours, and then the audience will identify both the dance genre and the artist of the album. The majority of the layout of my magazine advert is unconventional to the dance genre because stereotypically within a magazine advert from the dance genre there would be a lot going on with loads of images and colours which would represent the chaos and excitement within the genre whereas the majority of my magazine advert is plain and basic apart from the contrasting bottom half of the advert which is conventional to the dance genre because of the layering of images and the variety of colours. Again the design and layout of my track listing page, within my digipak, is rather unconventional because it is quite minimal with little going and just a basic listing. From the top to the bottom of my digipak i position the song title in the middle of the page then beneath it include a conventional brightly coloured been of light, this listing technique continues throughout the page with the subtle inclusion of the record label and barcode at the bottom, in opposite corners. I decided to use this layout because i believe that within the track list page the track list itself should be the focal point and the audience should not be distracted by any other elements. Despite this i also believe that the use of colouring underneath each individual song name ensures that the the track list remains conventional to the dance genre. On my actual CD i have used the same colourful image in which was seen at the bottom of my front cover of my digipak this is because it  follows the colour scheme which i used throughout my digipak which is extremely conventional to the dance genre as i frequently use the same bright colours to attract my specific target audience. At the top of my CD i positioned the artist name and then the album name at the bottom. I have chosen to position them like this because i believe it is more important that the audience are aware of the artist of the music as they frequently don't receive credit as they are not normal live performers and therefore they aim to present they're name to the audience as much as possible. The layout for my personal artist notes is contrastingly conventional to the dance genre, unlike the layout of the rest of the digipak, as the layout for this page is rather busy as on the left of the page is a colourful purple pattern which is a conventional colour to the genre and again links to my colour scheme. Then on the right of this pattern is the artists notes. Then finally the last two pages of my digipak are exclusive images of the artist therefore images of the artist dominated the whole page and was manipulated to ensure they conform with the codes and conventions of the dance genre and fit in with the rest of the digipak. 

Typography is another element on the digipak which attracts the target audience. The typography remains pretty consistent throughout my individual product as a way to keep the design free flowing. The font I have chosen is the same font that was used on my magazine advert, I chose to do this as it is a style of typography which would become recognisable much like a logo for the artist. The style of font is almost futuristic, which is conventional of the dance music genre as it links to the style of music which is also computerised and un natural. The other examples of typography used on the digipak are on the message to fans and track list pages, these fonts are pretty simple which is also conventional of the dance genre. The reason dance artists use a simplistic layout for their products is due to the fact that they want to come across more sophisticated to target the older teenage audiences. The colour white also stands out on the dark background and becomes a focal point on the advert attracting the eye of potential buyers, this is also helped by the size of the font. The artist name headers the front cover of the digipak and is deliberately centred to stand out.  

Talk about about your weaknesses with using Photoshop – what tools did you struggle with? How did you overcome this?

Talk about your strengths with Photoshop – what tools did you use?  Do you think this helped you create a successful advert? Why?

CONCLUSION

Individual Magazine Advert - Miss Miller

Within our group each member created they're own magazine advert which would promote our chosen artist and their album which contains our chosen song. We decided to create our own individual magazine advert as this means that we would be able to combine all good elements from each individual advert to create our final group magazine advert, which would be the best possible from within our group as the strengths and weaknesses of each individual advert could compliment each other to create a advert that contains ideas from each individual. The purpose of creating a magazine advert is to promote our artist and a album which they have just released which contains our chosen song for our music video. Advertising our artist within our magazine advert will mean that we are successfully able to target this advert towards our specific target audience who are the most likely to be interested in the advert. A magazine advert also allowed us to include some conventional elements of our genre to allow the audience to recognise the genre as well as giving the audience a little more of an insight to what both the artist and album is like.

The background colour of my individual magazine advert is plain black, i chose this as the background colour because it allows for a sharp contrast between this very dark colour and the bright bold colours which are in the foreground of my advert. This means that the bold colours which we use have as much of a impact on the audience as possible and they are able to have the desired effect which i intended as the plain background makes them the most prominent element within our advert. To contrast this i placed a colourful image on this plain background image, this image starts off as a bright pink and the changes into a bright blue in the middle of the image. I have chosen to include these two very bright colours as bright colours is a convention of the dance genre which then allows the audience to recognise immediately that the advert belongs to the dance genre. The fact that half of it is blue and half of it is pink also suggest to the audience that the album is for both male and females as the blue is a masculine colour and the pink is a contrasting feminine colour and therefore appeals to both genders. These bright colours also are very eye catching to the audience as the bright colours will immediately grab their attention and prompt them to continue to look at it rather than change the page. Our artist name will be written in the same blue as the image, this again connotes masculinity to the audience which is a representation of the artist. It also links in to the rest of the advert which makes it more visually appealing. Again this colour contrasts the background which will make it stand out which will make it more memorable to the audience which means they are more likely to remember the artists name. For reasons similar to this we will write the album name in white, this again means it directly contrasts the background colour and is very prominent which makes it memorable to the audience. We chose to use white for the album name as it means that the blue doesn't overpower the advert and makes it slightly different to the rest of the advert making it more unforgettable. Over the top of the colourful pink and blue pattern is a picture of the artist which will be in black and white, i have chosen to present this image in black and white because it again means it contrast the image behind making it stand out more so the audience recognise the artist. Despite this the black and white colour is plain which suggests to the audience that the artists doesn't enjoy the limelight to much and instead would rather remain reserved, which is like most artists within the dance genre. The use of colours within our magazine advert is very conventional to the dance genre as one of the most recognised conventions of the dance genre is the bright colours, which are frequently seen within both the video and adverts, and because of this i chose to include as much bright colours as possible and use a black background to ensure that it stands out and conforms to the conventions of the genre.

The most notable image used within our magazine advert is a picture of just the artists head and shoulders who can be seen wearing a red baseball cap, black sunglasses and a plain black t-shirt. I have chosen to use this specific image because it is striking and bold as the artist isn't pictured as small and in the background instead it is a large bold picture. This means that the audience will straight away be drawn towards this image of the artist and are therefore more likely to remember what he looks like. This image also successfully shows the conventional costume of the artist which demonstrates the genre as well as being a representation of the artist and suggesting to the audience that he is a young and cool character. This use of imagery is conventional to the dance genre as within magazine adverts for artists in the dance genre a image is used which frequently only shows the face of the artist who is looking directly at the camera to create a image which both shows the artist and allows for other elements within the advert to have more of a impact on the audience.

The layout of my magazine advert is very basic as it consists of the artists name in very large font at the top of the advert "DJ Sonic", then underneath this is then is the album name "Euphoria" which is followed by information on the album and then at the bottom of the page is the bright colouring and the image of the artist which are very large and domineering. I chose to use this specific layout because it is rather basic and plain, this means that the audience are able to take in each individual element as there is not to much going on to distract them. I chose to position the artists name at the top of the advert in very large font, i chose to position it here because this is where people start reading and therefore they will notice the artists name and acknowledge that it is his album. Positioning the album name directly underneath this again in large font has a similar effect and means that they notice that these are the two most important pieces of information and understand that this is what is being promoted. I then list information below this such as 'album out now' and 'includes the single Turn Back Time' this is used to entice the audience but as it is of less importance than the album and artist name i positioned it lower down the page and in a smaller font. The finally at the bottom of the page is the bright pink and blue pattern with the artists image on top, this section dominates the magazine advert as it very large and colourful. I decided to make this the most prominent element within my magazine advert as it includes the conventional appealing colouring as well as the image of the artist which means that the audience are immediately drawn to the advert, due to the bright colours, and then the audience will identify both the dance genre and the artist of the album. The majority of the layout of my magazine advert is unconventional to the dance genre because stereotypically within a magazine advert from the dance genre there would be a lot going on with loads of images and colours which would represent the chaos and excitement within the genre whereas the majority of my magazine advert is plain and basic apart from the contrasting bottom half of the advert which is conventional to the dance genre because of the layering of images and the variety of colours.

TYPOGRAPHY AND LANGUAGE

Within the process of creating my magazine advert on Photoshop i had to learn how to use many different tools in order to create exactly what i had planned. Because of this vast variety of tools i found myself struggling with some specific tools and had to research how to use these tools or find another way of creating the same affect. One of these tools in which i struggled to use was the black and white tool, because i wished to make my image black and white i had to find a specific way of making my image go from coloured to black and white and to discover how to do this i had to do some research on the internet to show me how to easily make the whole image black and white. On the other hand i believe i had numerous strengths when using the Photoshop software, one of the tools which i frequently used and believed was sufficient at was the layer effects, within this i was able to manipulate numerous elements such as outer glow. I believe this allowed me to create exactly what i planned to create and therefore enabled me to create a successful magazine advert as i was able to create what ever i wanted to a adequate standard. 

To conclude i believe that my individual magazine advert does conform to dance genre codes and conventions because, although the layout may be slightly unconventional, the majority of the other elements within the advert are conventional to the dance genre, in particular the colours used within my advert are extremely conventional to the dance genre as they are very bright and eye catching and make it evident to the audience that the genre is dance. I also believe that my magazine advert does appeal to our specific target audience as the fact that it conforms to the genres conventions means that the target audience will recognise the genre and therefore be interested in it. The fact that each member of our group created their own individual magazine advert will ensure that my group produces a successful final magazine advert because we will be able to take elements from each advert and combine them to make a final advert which will have the best ideas from each individual to create the best possible final advert. Creating a individual advert also allowed us to figure out how to create each element within the advert and therefore will give us the knowledge on how to create each specific element easily.