Article Drafts

This artist has been dominating the charts with 4 of his singles in the top ten on the R&B chart and his new album is currently number one on the album charts. Sizzle caught up with this fresh, new artist who is giving us exclusive details of their upcoming tour.
Waiting in the corridors of a London hotel, knowing that there was only a door between us (the sizzle team) and hot new artist M.R. , we couldn't help feeling excited! He opened the door and let us in his average hotel room. For a fresh up-and-coming star you would think he lives the rockstar life with beer bottles everywhere and balloons from a wild night out but no. Extremely disappointed we walked into a clean room where the only mess was from some empty chinese food boxes in the corner and the bed was left unmade. We asked about how different his lifestyle must be now "Apart from sleeping in different hotel rooms and half the world knowing your name, it's not that different!" He joked. "But seriously I knew this job contained a lot of hard work but not nearly as much as this!" "Talk us through an average day then." We asked curiously. "Well no day is the same! Every day I'm doing something different but each day starts early and ends late. I get up at around 6am and some mornings I have a meeting with the record company or an interview promoting my album, after this I could have a photo shoot for a magazine then I'll be in the studio for the rest of the day recording songs for my next album or I'll be at a soundcheck for a concert on the night. And these normally finish at 11pm but by the time I get to the hotel, it'll probably be around 2am." "Wow! And we thought our schedules were bad!" We laughed. He offered us some coffee and we got talking some more. "I actually put on an act on stage, I'm not normally that confident!" he laughs. "I feel like the world thinks I'm this tough guy that sings R&B but I'm actually the complete opposite. I'm shy believe it or not! Members of my band have much more confidence than me and they always joke around saying they should be the frontmen and not me!" He joked. 
"Are you excited to be headlining your own tour?" we asked. "I am very excited but also quite nervous!" He giggled, "I'm more excited about seeing the fans than actually travelling although it's really awesome that I get to travel the world! That's one of the best things about this job. It gives you amazing opportunities other jobs can't." "We're jealous! Can we come?" We all laughed. After chatting with M.R. and getting to know him more as a person, we realised what a down to earth character he is! He has modesty as well as a good sense of humour and an amazing voice! We love his personality on as and off stage.

Progress Update Post - 20th Feb

There are 6 weeks until the Easter break which means - 6 weeks of lesson time to complete my foundation portfolio.

There are 60 marks available for construction and 20 marks for Research and Planning and 20 marks for evaluation - 100 marks in total

To achieve a grade:

A I need to get 80 marks

B I need to get 70 marks
These are the marks I wish to achieve.
To be in level 4 (grade A/B) my work must demonstrate excellence throughout.

By Monday 5th March I should have a rough cut of my products

By Monday 19th March my products should be completed

From Monday 19th - Friday 30th March I will be working on my 7 evaluation questions.

Then my completed portfolio should be submitted for formal marking on Monday 16th April. I should use the Easter break to make any minor amendments to my work.

In order to meet these deadlines I will:

• Get my photo shoots booked.
• Let my models know where and when they are needed.
• Work within level 4 by looking at the example level 4 blog.
• Check for new information on the blog daily.
• Do as much work as I can outside of lesson as well as working hard during each lesson.

Test Shots

I have taken these practice shots in order to practice the different poses my models will use on the front cover, contents page and double page spread. These will obviously differ to the real shots because I only used one model to do this and all these photos were taken in the studio.

This image is the kind of shot that would be used on a front cover. The fact it is a medium shot and the model is looking directly at the camera which is the type of pose I want on my cover because the model makes eye contact with the reader and will make them want to read on.

These images would be used on a double page spread. They are fun and friendly and they will definitely make the reader relate more to the model. Since my double page spread article is an interview, these poses could show the reader the sort of person my model is and also maybe give them an insight into their personality before reading the actual article. There would be one main image in the middle and then the rest could be smaller versions on the side of the main image like in my flat plan.

This image would be used in my contents page. For my contents page, as I stated in my flat plan, I would like there to be only one main image in the centre which would preferably be a full body shot. This would make the layout easier because the sell lines would just surround the image. 

Costume and Make-up Research

The images below are three different artists that fall into the same genre as the genre for my magazine I am producing which is an R&B magazine. For their costume, it all seems to be simple yet elegant. 

For the male artist, Justin Timberlake, the outfit is very basic. It's a top, with a jumper on top of it and some jeans. What makes this image is the pose that the model is in. The fact that he is leant against the wall with his head tilted slightly and facing the camera is what makes him look like an artist. His hands in his pockets could represent the sort of character he is because you don't get much from the costume.

For the first female artist, Christina Aguilera, it seems that the accessories make the outfit. She is wearing a plain white dress with a plunging neckline at the front however she has various bits of jewellery on. She has earrings, a necklace and a bracelet on. The necklace has a giant red gem on it which is a colour recurring quite a bit in this picture because she has bright red lipstick and red nails. They brighten up the image and add some colour to it.

The make-up on Christina is bold. The lips are a bright red which is a bold colour that captures the readers attention but then the eyes are not as heavy but they have a subtle amount of eye shadow that can be noticed but not too overwhelming. This is the sort of make up I would like to use on my front cover model because it is bold and it attracts an audience which is the sort of result I want my model to have on my target audience. For my magazine I might also use the colour red as a recurring colour in the image and use lighter colours to compliment it and so that it's not too bright.

For the next female artist, Rihanna, it is similar to the image above it as accessories also make that outfit. You can't see much of the outfit because it is a medium shot however what you can see is a very plain outfit. Without the jewellery which in this case is much less than the amount  Christina had on, it would be a very boring costume but that one necklace livens the outfit up just a little.

The make-up  she has used it quite subtle. She's used either a little bit of lipstick or some lip gloss to make her lips shiny and some subtly blusher. Also she has probably used some mascara but not massive amounts, just enough to outline her eyelashes. This is a look I might use on my contents page. Subtle yet still attractive.

Font Research

For my mast head, the writing in the icon will read 'Play' however I want it in a cursive way. I went on 'DaFont.com' and searched for a font in the Calligraphy section. I picked the font named 'English' (4th one down). It was out of that one and the Chopin Script (top one) however I thought that the Chopin Script was too curly for an R&B music magazine.

The font I am going to use for my sell lines and my articles is going to be a basic font because I want the mast head to stand out and be the only 

Model Release Forms

The following forms are my model release forms for the models I am going to photograph for my front cover, contents page and double page spread. The form contains their signatures which contains their consent for me to use their images in the production of my magazine and to be published online or in this blog. 

At the top of my model release forms, it provides the magazine name and 'logo' which identifies which magazine and production company the models are signing too. 

Call Sheets

The below call sheets are for my models I am using for my magazine photography. They include an identity photograph of each model, along with shooting date, shooting information and their role within the photo shoot. It also ensures that they have their model release forms signed so that their permission is granted for me to use them for my photography, which will be published online and printed.