double page spread- 1st draft

The dusty slums that was once full of the sounds of gun fire and the sounds of bodies thumping on the floor staining the streets of Jamaica is no more.

(Artist name 1&2)-once close friends, had an argument over (artist name 1) using (artists name 2) without consent. The song became number one in the reggae charts and got signed to VP Records. (Artist 2) made a comeback song "F*** your number one" which coursed an up raw in Jamaica. (Artist 1) replied back with "Finders keepers." This was the breaking point. People picked their sides and started their own gangs which separated Jamaica into two. The "war" between the two gangs continued for two years with 207 people dead and many more missing. The two artists that started the "war" have called a truce and are now focusing on becoming the next big thing to take reggae by storm. Both (Artists 1&2) are heavily influenced by dancehall and creating songs that are created for “daggering” on the dance floor. They have created a single called “king of the jelly” which went straight to number one for 3 weeks. It is one of the most played songs at Caribbean parties. (Artist 1&2) started to move away from this and moved to “twerking songs” which would have a wider range of listeners. (Artist 1) said “The more universe the music the better. How me a see it, more listeners the more rass clart money, remember me tell you that”. Twerking is one of the new trends. It involves moving your bum cheeks in a rhythmic motion. “Move it mi gyal” was there hit twerking song that got artists such as meek mill, p-diddy, lil wayne and drake interested with them and their music that they are creating as a duo. They both signed a contract with MMG (Rick Ross’ record label) (Artist 2) “signing with MMG was our biggest but greatest decision of our lives. Entertaining our fans is what we enjoy doing, we are making millions over something we could do in our sleep. It is better than fearing my life everyday when I could cure the world with my music.”

The new upcoming artists have been called the new school tupac and biggie of today’s reggae/dancehall music “when people have been compared to someone else you haven’t made it- you haven’t become as big as you want to be. When you have made it you would become the new school of yourself and others will be compared to yourself.”  (artist 1) knows what he knows what he wants to become and shows this by buying a brand new Lamborghini which costs £75,000,000 and buys a custom made rolex with rare black gold on the watches face.   

contents page analysis

Front cover analysis

Case study of a magazine

Historical genre research

Reggae first emerged in Jamaica after the era of rocksteady ended. It was created by chopping chords that gave reggae music a distinctive sound.

From 1968-1970 reggae began to grow. During the period of reggae, the Rastafarian influence of roots reggae had not yet taken full effect. Instead, this period saw reggae begin to create that sound that distinguishes it from rocksteady; a slightly faster feel and heavy organ lines.

The lyrical focus of these tracks remained consistent with that of rocksteady with a predominant focus on love, however the influence of of the rastafarian movement began to rear its head in the 1970s, they leaned more towards more religious music.

As the early 1970s went on, reggae music began to gain international acclaim. A defining moment in its development was the 1973 film ‘The Harder They Come’, which showed the life of a young man trying to find his way in urban Jamaica. The film had a soundtrack full of reggae hits, and was instrumental in bringing Jimmy Cliff and reggae music to an international audience.  This song, performed by Jimmy Cliff, featured on the soundtrack of the film and helped bring reggae into the mainstream.

One of the reasons reggae music had and continues to have such an impact is the weighty religious, social and political themes that enveloped the genre in the 1970s. The origin for this was the growth of the Rastafarian movement, a beliefs system prevalent in downtown Trenchtown, from where many reggae musicians emerged. Rastafari’s doctrines of peace, praise to God or ‘Jah’ and social commentary on perceived injustices of the Western World or ‘Babylon’ all became the core of reggae music during this period, also known as ‘roots reggae.’

By 1975 Reggae Music was in a golden age. Producers such as Clement ‘Coxsone’ Dodd and Bunny Lee worked behind a plethora of extremely talented reggae musicians and bands such as Bob Marley, Gregory Isaacs, Max Romeo, The Abyssinians, Burning Spear and Horace Andy. Bob Marley and Dennis Brown took it to the next level and took reggae to an international level and became two of the greatest musicians.

In the early 1980's Jamaican music advanced when the new technology advanced. Reggae with a message behind the song moved aside for dancehall and other sub genres of reggae.
 

Artist case study

David Constantine Brooks known better through his stage name, Mavado. He was born on the 30 of November 1981 in the heart of Jamaica known as "Cuban" which is a small ghetto community. He is a musician, actor, singer and a music producer. He specialises mostly in dancehall/reggae.

Mavado was influenced by music at a young age because of his grandmother taking him to his local Church to sing. He was also heavily influenced by a musician called Bounty Killer who is also a Dancehall/Reggae artist.

Bounty killer spotted mavado and took him under his wing and showed him how the music industry works at the age of 15. Mavado named himself after a swiss watch called "movado" with an alteration by his manager.

Mavado created his first single in 2004 called "Dem Nuh Real Mccoy" on the anger management rhythm which was an instant hit. This song then evolved to create other big singles such as "Weh Dem a Do", on the Red Bull & Guinness rhythm. He then created his first Album in 2007 called "Gangster for life."

In 2008 Mavado was given the prestigious UK MOBO Award for Best Reggae Act.

In 2010, Mavado starred as a gangster  in drakes song called find your love for his new album- thank me later.

He has also collaborated with many of the worlds top urban acts including Busta Rhymes, Ludacris, Snoop Dogg and is the only Jamaican act to have worked with Jay Z.

In 2011 Mavado announced he has signed a recorded deal with DJ Khaled called we the best music group. 

Record label case study #2

Greensleeves Records & Publishing is a record label specialising in dancehall and reggae music. The company was founded by Chris Cracknell and Chris Sedgwick and started as a small record store in West Ealing in London and was born in 1975. 
Greensleeves & Publishing also work with one of the biggest record labels called VP Records 
They are associated with well known dancehall/reggae such as Shabba Ranks, Sizzla, Dennis Brown and Vybz Kartel.

Record label case study

-VP Records was first founded in 1979 by Vincent "Randy" Chin and his wife Patricia Chin. The recorded label originated and is located in America-New York City and is known best for producing caribbean artists. They specialise in reggae, dancehall and soca.

-They have signed big names within the reggae/dancehall and soca scene such as, sean paul who had world wide success, Buju Banton, Jah Cure, Wayne Wonder and Gyptian. 

music magazine front cover analysis

Genre: Reggae
The genre of the magazine is a reggae. I can tell this because of the title “United Reggae” and the main image is of a reggae artist. Some of the colours also suggests that this is a reggae magazine- “red, yellow and green” these colours symbolises the Rastafarian culture.

Photography

The photography is of a famous reggae artist. It is a mid shot so only the head and torso is in the frame.
The model subverts from magazine conventions, he looks away from the camera.
The image looks like it was taken within a controlled environment with artificial lighting and was edited on to a background.
The masthead is on top of the image which may show that the magazine has power over the model.

Text

The main story which is connected with the image is bigger than the other sell lines and is in a box so it stands out more.
It also includes a list of other artists that are featured within the magazine and as well as that it the other sell lines tells us other articles that will appear in the magazine.

music video review

Damien Marley-Welcome to Jamrock

How is the artist portrayed

The artist is portrayed as a thug/gangster. I can tell this by the costume he wears dark clothing. Dark clothing is usually associated with thugs or criminals. In another scene the artist is wearing army clothing. This could associated with him being a "soldier" or a guy that will fight for what he believes in.
He also shows off his religious beliefs through saying "Praises Salassie" this is who rusta's worship or believe in. He also shows off his dreads but portrays the culture as rusta's are criminals.

How is mise-en-scene shown in the video?

They included young and old males carrying weapons. This gives off an impression that Jamaica raises criminals from a young age.

mood board

music magazine plan

what genre/s of music will my magazine cover?
i am planning on creating a magazine that covers the genre of reggae and/or bashment. i think this might be a chllenge for me because there isnt a lot of magazines that cover this genre so therefore finding conventions for the magazine will be difficult.

who is the target audience? how old are they?Where do they live?
the target audience is going to be aimed at people that enjoys reggae/bashment. The magazine will also be aimed for male and female aged 18-35 directed at mostly west indian cultures. 

What is the name of your magazine? Why? Connotations?

The name of the magazine will be called Rhythdem because reggae and bashment is first created by the rhythm that is created so therefore it ties in with the genre. The "Dem" makes the word sound more west indian and it shows the magazine is not formal so it appeals to more people. 

What will my masthead look like?

What will be the focal image for your front cover and why?

A new female reggae artist because i want to explore photography with a female model 

What photography will be required?

What mise en scene will be required? 

What would be my sell lines? How will it entice the target audience?

What items and feature articles would you need on your contents page? 

What is the focus of your double page spread?

The main focus will be on the rivalry between two gangs (gully and gaza) it will include a how the rivalry started and why. It would include interviews from each side and by two of the main artists from each side (vybz kartel and movado) 

What photography will be required for the double page spread? 

 The image will be of two gang members holding pointing it at each other. The image will be a mid-shot. 

Contents Page Planning

Front Cover Planning

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

School magazine (Contents page)

Strengths:

• The information is going in a structured column.
• The main model is the background 

Weaknesses:

• The information under the title of the pages should be the same 

School magazine (Front cover)

Strengths:

• The colour scheme is red, black and white and it is continuos through out.
• The model is facing the camera and nothing is covering the eyes. The masthead is also above the model this shows the magazine still has a higher status.
• The photographer considered the mise en scene. The model is wearing a basketball vest that clearly indicates what team he plays for or represents. The photographer also included a basketball in the for ground this is because the photographer wanted the viewers to fully understand what sport the model plays. The background is a plan colour (white and grey) this shows the image was taken in a controlled environment.

Weaknesses:

• I could have included more sell lines to grab the readers eyes.
• The background colour could be faded more- from grey to white. 

Contents Analysis

The magazine called XXL has two content pages-one labelled "the a-side" and the other labelled "the b-side." The a-side would be more superior compared to the b-side so therefore Chris brown has been place on the a side because he is the main feature in the magazine. His image is also above the head title this could also show superiority over the magazine.

The model is wearing casual clothes so this gives off a hip/hop feel to him. He is also wearing a purple bandana this is commonly used as a gang symbol so the model could be expressing who he is or who he belongs to/with.

The colour theme stays the same throughout the main contents page (red, white and black).

The contents page is not formal so it could be aimed at teenaged children that enjoys hip/hop or the artists.

School magazine analysis

school magazine analysis 

• The genre of magazine is education. I can tell this through many things such as the main image, it shows an older guy teaching pupils and the sell lines indicates that this is about education.
• The target audience is unisex and aimed for students learning a new language.
• The main colour scheme is blue and orange/red. These two colours complement each other so they both stand out to the viewers eyes.
• The photography is of a models in a working environment and using working equipment. The photo shows mainly the torso and face.
• The mast head is at the top of the magazine. The font of the mast head is not formal and not informal this shows that there is a formal and an informal element to the magazine.

Preliminary Task

Planning ideas for my student magazine:

Who is the target audience?
The target audience is secondary students who are interested in art sports drama information within their area and facts within the college.

What is the name of my magazine? What are the connotations of the name?
The Daily Zap. This title gives an gives off an informal impression because it uses the word "zap" so this shows that the magazine would not be aimed for adults but for teenagers

Who will be my front cover model and why?
My front cover model would be of a school child because my main headline is about the pupil of the year.

What sort of shot will it be?
The photo would be of the model tilted but faced towards the camera.

What mise en scene will be required?
Outside of a school site (St.Bonaventures)

What would be your sell lines? How will you entice your target audience?
my sell lines would be "head boy interview" "how can you save money?" and "Would Rysharn accept the chance to play with the LA Lakers" these maybe things people are interested in and the questions make people want to find out the answer so they will read on.

What would iteams and feature articles would i need on my contents page?
i would need the same model on the contents page, i would need page numbers and or references, information underneath each subheading, the date and issue of the magazine, columns and some images as a preview of the page.

masthead analysis

• The font has a school theme with hand written text, which reminds the students of school.
• The font indicates that that the magazine will be based on academia and productivity.
• The informal writing shows an element of fun within the magazine.

• Unlike the text above this font is more graphical and it looks like it is aimed to a sports genre. 
• The font indicates that the magazine will be based on an athletic and sports theme.
• The line across it gives off an informal element to the magazine. the line could also represent speed.

Front Cover Analysis

Front Cover Analysis

•   The genre of the magazine is rock. We can see this by the rock artists displayed in the main image, sub image and sub lines.

•   the target audience is unisex and is aimed at people aged 12-30.

•   the main colour schemes is black white and red as these are harsh and heavy colours that represents the theme of the magazine.

•   the photography is of a model (torso to head) and shows a contrast in his face.

•   Masthead at the top of the magazine. The masthead is able to be covered by the model as it's a well known magazine so readers can identify it without seeing the full name.

•   There are two smaller sub images that are not as big as the main image.

•   The celebrity on the main model is looking directly at the reader so this follow magazine conventions.

•   The headline is bigger and bolder than the sell lines but smaller than the masthead.

•   The barcode, issue number and price is on the front cover.

•   There is a strapline but it is covered by the main image as it's a very well known strapline so it doesn't need to be displayed.

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