W/C 27.1.14 Blumler, Katz, Young and Rubicam

Hi and welcome back.

This week, as well as continuiing to design, edit and take pictures, I want you to consider a little media by those people mentioned in the title.

Blumer and Katz pioneered media understanding by shifting emphasis away from the media product (in your case magazines) and on to HOW people actually use them.

What enjoyment do you get out of reading a particular magazine or watching a particular film or soap?

I want you to consider how their 1974 work relates to your own magazine.

Young and Rubicam's work is an extension of B&K. It investigates Maslow's investigations and brands the consumer in to a specific type.

Do some reseach in to the 4Cs (four consumers) and B&K work. We'll discuss in lessons and see how this can be applied to your magazine evaluations and blogs.

:-)

Today and this week (23.1.14)

During the lesson today, you need to add your addresses to my 'following' list. This means when you upload work I can comment and help you with it.

Also, during this week, you MUST upload any pictures you've taken for your DPS, front and contents pages. Remember, you can take scenery and background pictures too and then map your talent (models / artists) on to the image later.

Make sure you get this uploading done, even if it's from your phones - you don't have to have a top of the range SLR camera to get the top grades - everything can be resolved and improved at the editing stage.

Finally, this lesson you MUST make sure you are ALL following each other as well as me. It is essential you comment on each other's work and offer CONSTRUCTIVE criticism. Commenting on other people's work and analysis not only helps them, but you as well.

This lesson, use the time to get your blogs in order - look at and comment on other photographer's work and decide how you want to progress with your images (posed, spontanious, live etc)

Choose one of the images (see my previous post for links) and say why it appeals to you. Look at professionals like Ross Halfin and David Bailey and consider (and blog up) why you think they're so good (and mention what inspiration you can take from them)

Have fun - look for the inspiration :-)

Circulation

The following link will help you understand the shift in sales, year-on-year on publications. Look at certain trends and think WHY they could be happening (and blog your theories) Look at what genre of mags are selling more than than others and why this could be. What factors (socio-economic, for example) could impact on revenue (which equals sales and money generated from advertising) Also investigate niche magazines. Pros and cons. Broadcast V narrowcast. Look at how much more dedicated fans become with each sub-genre but conpare and contrast that to the effect on potential sales. Think about pros and cons of niche magaazines. Deconstruct a niche mag cover and link it to its readership. Do purely niche magazines NEED to generate / find new readers? Circulation, especially online circ, is usually a choice between chasing readers or establishing readers. Does a publication try to chase as many readers as possible by appealing to as many people within that niche as possible, or does it keep and build on an established fan base. For example, if you were producing a pop magazine would you chase readers by having a front cover which featured new and upcoming bands, or go for the more established route and have Lady GaGa on the cover, week after week, knowing that this would guarantee sales, but maybe - eventually - alienate a percentage of the readership? Also, with niche mags, think about reader loyalty. A niche magazine can become a mouthpiece for a genre. If Metal Foces magazine backed a new up-and-coming band in the metal genre, the chances are that band, with the combined hype of the recod label's publicity machine, combined with niche mag approval, the group WILL become huge. Obviously sales will be smaller, the more niche the product is, but don't forget revenue from advertising too, which is how all publications make their real money. http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/magazine-abcs-full-circulation-round-first-half-2013 AND http://www.mediaweek.co.uk/article/1207569/magazine-abcs-top-100-glance Perhaps you can also compare that to the following... http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=48769 What do the results suggest to you?

Photography for AS media

Hi all,

So, this week I want you to look at (as an extension of classwork) the work of some great photographers (Ross Halfin, David Bailey for example)

Check out this...

http://flavorwire.com/195349/10-rock-photographers-you-should-know

Have a look and get some inpiration.

Consider the pros and cons of: 1. Staged / posed pictures

2. Spontanious pictures

3. Live shots

4. A blend of any other the above (like this Charles Peterson shot of Kurt Cobain c1990 - just before Nirvana became global and were still playing smaller venues)



What do you want your models to do? How can you direct them to get the shots you want?

Never settle for taking just one or two snaps. When you're using the talent (models / bands et al) remember, THEY will get you your top grades, but ONLY if you TELL THEM WHAT TO DO!

Don't feel akward or embarassed about getting them to stand in a certain way, jump around, do whatever. Your marks depend (partially) on your direction.

Finally, remember they're with you but they're on YOUR time. Get them 'into role' from the moment they step in to your studio. Photograph EVERYTHING, not just the posed stanced.

Explain: "I want you to look and behave like a rockstar / spoilt teen icon / happy poppy boy band / Lady Gaga-type-weird postmodern icon / whatever"

Have them stay in role even while you're directing them. If they want to throw a premadonna-esque strop while you're shooting, then role with it.

Explain to your FRIENDS (before they step in to role) what's expected of them. Give them a day to think about it (how they'll behave etc... eg the hungover rockstar who really doesn't want to be there or whatever), make sure you don't know how they'll act in front of the camera, direct them, then take a lot (and I mean A LOT) of shots.

Have fun and enjoy the task. What's the worst that can happen? :-)

Welcome to 2014

Hi and welcome to AS Media 2014. Please add your name and a welcome comment to the comments section of this post so we can all see each other's blogs. Enjoy the subect too! Mr Hawkins.