27/07/17

Aims:

• Evaluate poses (Not In Initial Plan)

Reflection:

I used Evernote to look at the poses that I had seen and liked an explained how I was going to pose my models. I felt that I did incredibly well with this and that I had planned to the best of my ability and accounted for the work that I should have done yesterday as well as doing additional work by evaluating facial expressions and such. I have built solid ideas for the photoshoot.

Model Ideas: Pose Evaluation

I decided to support my research into facial expressions and body language by evaluating specific poses and saying which have stood out to me the most. I used Evernote to create a notebook which I could examine these in. The pages can be viewed in their original format (here) but here are screenshots:

What I decided in this was as follows:

Front Cover:
I would have my bride half turned and looking back at the camera with an invitational expression.
Contents Page:
I would have my bride fully facing the camera with a super smiler expression.
Article:
I would feature photos of my two models being intimate and kissing with super smiler facial expressions as well as photos from my sisters wedding.
Billboard:
I would use a photo of my two models in a near kiss with a romantic/sexual facial expression.
Website:
I will take an assortment of images in various poses. I will not plan out poses as detailed but, rather, try a range of things.

26/07/17

Aims:

• Look at poses

Evaluation:

Today, I created a prezi on body language. This gave me ideas on how I could pose my models but I did not truly feel that i looked at or evaluated poses as I did not look at any specific poses or any real examples. I will have to carry this work on tomorrow in order to get the most out of this research. Tomorrow I will evaluate specific poses and put my knowledge on body language to work at the same time. 

Model Ideas: Body Language

In this prezi, I looked at what certain poses would display in terms of body language. This has given me insight into how I will pose my model and what I shall do to make sure that her body language and pose sets the right tone for the page. I will create another post shortly examining individual poses and seeing what they communicate. I will evaluate what is best for my product and this will go towards developing my final product. It may also act as a resource for my model.

25/07/17

Aims:

• Look at facial expressions 

Reflections:

I created a prezi presentation to look at the research that Ferguson and Miller did on facial expressions. This reminded me of what I learnt last year and I was able to explore these facial expressions a little more. I will follow this up with research on poses and a final evaluation of how I will use expressions and poses. 

Model Ideas: Facial Expression

In this prezi, I examine the Ferguson and Miller research on facial expressions in magazines and what categories they created. I can consider which of these that I will use in my own magazine. Currently, I favor the invitational expression and the super smiler however it is possible that I will use all of these in my photoshoot as I will need to take a range of photos. This is a prezi that has not only helped me research the topic and has helped to increase my knowledge on this topic but it is also something that I could link my model to so that she could see the descriptions of each facial expression and see what is needed from her. Whilst my main model is female, I may have couples photos with my sisters husband for some of the photos and therefore I will need to show him this too and have him embody the male expressions.

19/07/17

Aims:

• Create an audience profile 

Reflection:

I created profiles with basic information of four people on photoshop from images found on Google.  The first two were women who belonged to my primary audience. The second two were two people who belonged to my secondary audience. These profiles helped me to outline my audience more fully much like my character drawing. From these activities, I can see my target audience as complete people rather than as a series of unrelated traits. 

T.A Research:Audience Profile

These two women belong to my primary target audience:

The first woman, Elizabeth Jones, fits into my primary audience as she is in the expected age range and she is female. She is also engaged as many of my respondents were. She works part time and is part of a higher social class which also makes her more likely to favor my magazine. Her likes also would be likely to draw her to a magazine of this genre as she is a romantic person who is looking for help with planning. The second woman, Piper Murray, is also in the target age range, also female, also engaged and belongs to the highest social class. She would be drawn to this magazine as she looks for luxury and expensive products and also wants help planning. Both women are also from Newcastle, which held the highest percentage of positive respondents in my survey. 

These two belong to my secondary audience:

Mark Howard would not be in my primary audience as he is a man. However, he is in my target age range, in a high social class and employed. As well as this, he is a romantic man who wants to find the perfect ring to propose and wants to be married. This would draw him into my magazine as it would offer him the advice that he would need. Suzy Bellfield is a little below my target age range but she is a romantic girl who dreams of her future wedding. On top of this, she is relatively rich and could afford to purchase bridal magazines to indulge in her fantasies of her future wedding. 

Creating these profiles has cemented my ideas about who I am appealing to as now I can see them as real people with complete personalities. This also demonstrates that I know my target audience in sufficient detail. 

18/07/17

Aims:

• Look at other magazines color schemes 

Reflection:

I used emaze to create a photo album with photos of magazine covers, contents pages, and article. I then put the main colors used in circles beneath to represent the palette used. I then created a separate palette with the most popular colors. I evaluated why I thought these colors were used. 

Colour Theme: Other Magazines

Please use the arrows on either side of the image to see other color schemes and arrows on the other side of the page to progress to the next slide. In this, I have looked at the color schemes used in similar products. I found a large amount of pinks had been used. Many backgrounds included natural colors like green which I found to be a calming color. Contents pages tended to have sterile white backgrounds but used golds to create a sense of luxury and reds to draw attention to important parts of the article. Articles tended to use similar colors to the front cover with pinks and greens but also tended to have a white background. I could not collect data on billboards as there are no billboards of the genre and I will likely just use the overarching color scheme of pink and green. Websites tended to use pinks, whites, and black.
The consistent color that I will use is pink. I will use this to tie my products together.

13/07/17

Aims:

• Look at prop/model organisation: 

Reflection:

I contacted my sister (whom I had previously asked to model for me) to confirm that she was still interested. We had a brief conversation and I promised that I would give her more details soon. I will help her with resources explaining what exactly I want. 

Photoshoot Organisation: Initial Model + Costume Organisation

Today I checked in that my sister was willing to model and also willing to let me use her wedding dress. Profile picture and surname removed at her request.
I picked my sister to be my model as she is in the age group of my target audience and therefore this would link her to them and make the magazine feel more relevant. As I finish my research and planning, I will do more in depth planning and ensure that she knows exactly what is expected of her. I will do this by creating an online document that she can view with my inspirations and text explaining the poses and the expressions that I need from her.
I will also secure the time and location for the shoot shortly.

Photoshoot Inspiration: Initial Prop Organization

Today I looked for a place to get my props. I decided that the flower shop in Sunderland was a suitable location as I have gotten flowers from here in the past and I pass this shop regularly. I looked inside and there are a range of suitable bouquets. I will purchase one closer to the date of the shoot. 

12/07/17

Aims:

• Create reader profiles

Reflection:

I created a reader profile where I detailed what I had learnt about my audience from the survey. I also created a small moodboard to help me visualise these traits using photoshop and my editing skills. 

T.A Research: Reader Profile

This is the reader profile I created that looks at which groups my target audience belongs to and summarises these traits in an easy and succinct way. I can refer back to this when I am creating my product. I have also created another moodboard on the left hand side of the image to visually represent the statistics that I had found. Within this moodboard, I have used bridal gowns to represent that they are brides, women to represent that my they are female, designer brands to represent the fact that they are rich ect. I am starting to build up a lot of resources on who my target audience are.

11/07/17

Aims:

• Look at other magazines use of props

Reflection:

I created a PowToon revolving around props and what props I could observe in similar products. I will use these props throughout my magazine. The main prop I need is a bouquet so I will look into where I can obtain one shortly. 

Prop Ideas: Prop Inspiration

 In this powtoon, I examine the most popular props in magazines of my chosen genre: The Bouquet, The Ring, The Cake, and Flower Arrangements. and I explain why I am likely to use them. I also looked at magazines which have used them and explored why they may have used them.  I will try to use all of these props across my magazine if possible.

07/07/17

Aim:

• Evaluate how to style male model (Not In Initial Plan)

Reflection:

Though I had not considered this when I was plotting out my tasks in the calendar, I thought it was essential as my sisters husband, Andy, will be a part of the shoot. I made decisions revolving around his hair and his costume. Once again, I was limited by what is available to me but I am still happy with the decisions that I made. 

Model Ideas: Male Hair/Costume Evaluation

In this prezi, I examined how I was going to style my main male model, Andy.  I chose styles that I liked and evaluated the pros and cons of each. When I looked at what I would do with his hair, I decided that, from three styles, that spiked hair would be best.
I also looked at four different costume ideas and decided to bypass the three suits as I favoured the waistcoat over the shirt look.
I feel that this is the strongest look at the best choice for my magazine.

06/07/17

Aims:

• Choose makeup/hair/costume

Reflection:

I created an emaze presentation on how I could style my model. I looked at makeup and hair and costume. With regards to this, I am limited by what I have as I cannot afford to purchase a wedding dress and must work with what is available to me. I came to solid conclusions about how I want to style my model. Though it was not initially planned, I will do a follow-up post on how I will style my male model.

Model Ideas: Hair/Makeup/Costume Evaluation

In this, I choose hair/makeup/costume. In a previous post that can be viewed here [x], I examined how magazines of the same genre style their models and I found that most tend to have natural makeup with their hair up. They also obviously wear wedding dresses

The keys things that I was looking for in the hairstyles was that it was:
- Sophisticated
- Easy to style
- Aesthetically pleasing
- Obeyed conventions
After rating four different styles based on this I favored a low bun.

After, I looked at eye-makeup and judged four looks based on:
- Attractiveness
- Naturalness
- Formality
The look that I liked best was a lined and shadowed eye.

Next, I looked at lips, looking again for:
- Attractiveness
- Naturalness
- Formality
The look that I liked best was pink tint.

I decided that for the face I would use go for a natural look that evened out her skin tone and added a slight blush to her cheeks. This meant that she would look attractive but it would remain natural.

Finally, I looked at the dresses I could use. I rated them based on:
- Cost
- Aesthetics
- Formality
- Obeying Conventions
The look that I liked best was V-Neck fitted dress.

05/07/17

Aims:

• Create a character drawing

Reflections:

I used photoshop and my Wacom tablet to create a drawing of a woman who could belong to my target audience. I used what I had learned from my survey as well as my own ideas about the sort of person who would read this magazine. I then labelled it to explain why I had done what I had done. This helped me as it meant that I could see my reader as a whole person than just a series of unrelated traits. This view of my readership makes it easier to appeal to them than it would if I had not done this.

T.A Research: Character Drawing

To help me visualise my audience, I did a drawing of what I would expect a typical reader to look like. I used the findings from my survey. Below is a video of the drawing process and the steps I took to construct the image.
 
And here is the finished image with additional justification alongside each aspect of the drawing.

Doing this helps me to tailor the products I make to a specific type of person as I can see that person more clearly. It helps me to think about how I can appeal to the right people by looking at their traits and how the individual statistics I have gathered would fit together. This will be something I refer back to when I make decisions about what to do with the magazine. I may also want my model to be someone similar to the person showcased in the image as it would help my audience to relate to them.

04/07/17

Aims:

• Look at other magazines use of hair/makeup/costume

Reflection:

I made a prezi to see what common conventions I could pick out in products similar to my own. I saw many similarities between the products that I was looking at and I will consider these when I create my own product. I will follow this up with an evaluation where I decide to what degree I will follow these conventions and what specifically I will do and how I will style my model. 

Model Ideas: Makeup/Hair/Costume Inspiration

This has been used to help me decide what I will do with my model in regards to makeup, hair and costume. What I have noticed is that, overwhelmingly, natural makeup is used. I have highlighted some reasons for this within the presentation. Some of these were:
- Highlights models natural beauty
- Makes them seem more like real people
- Makes the rest of the wedding seem more achievable

I also noticed that the models tend to wear their hair up. Once more, I have looked at the reasons that this may have been used and evaluated that it:
- Shows off the jewelry
- Is very elegant
- Allows us to see the collarbones and shoulders, which can be seen as feminine

Finally, as I expected, the models all wear wedding dresses. The style of dress differs however so I will have to evaluate what style of dress is best.

I will create a follow up post evaluating exactly how exactly I should do makeup and hair based on these inspirations.

Calendar For July

I have given myself a lot of work to do but I am not overloading myself. The focus for this month is to gather my inspirations and to look at similar products. This ensures that I spend time building up solid ideas and learning about conventions. I feel that I can easily accomplish the tasks that I have set out for myself.