Planning magazine advert - Miss Miller

Magazine adverts are essential when promoting the release of a new album as it allows the artist to receive a further awareness from the public as they are being thrust upon them in places where they may not be looking for them. For instance if an artists new album was only to be advertised in places where the audience would be expected in such as on iTunes, YouTube or on a music channel then then the audience would likely be expecting it and therefore wouldn't pay much attention to it as they would simply see it as 'someone trying to sell them something'. However when reading a magazine the audience isn't expecting much in particular as they are use to reading through the magazine and reading whatever grabs your attention hence they are more likely to read over the magazine advert as they are looking for things to read about. Plus the concept of the album advert being placed in a magazine suggests that the album is relevant as this is an outlet which man people use so to discover information about whats important or new and relevant for instance picking up on new trends and discovering new artists. Often readers of magazines stick to certain magazines as they like what that magazine represents and the way in which they publish their news hence the fact that the artist has chosen to promote their album in said magazine and the fact that the magazine has opted to allow them to buy a spot in their magazine allows the reader to feel as though they are more able to relate to the artist as it appears they have common ground and the added acceptance of the magazine suggests that this is a good artist who should be on the route to success. Hence the artist becomes more appealing to the audience as they want to jump on the hype before everyone else.

Thus as magazine adverts for artists album releases obtain such importance I decided to put a great deal of time to plan out the design and layout for the advert:

I planned to apply many codes and conventions towards the soul genre throughout my advert so to attractive audience members of the soul genre making sure that they were aware that the album was of the soul genre. As there aren't that many new soul artists around members of the soul audience aren't likely to be taking note of new and upcoming artists so to see if they would like their music. Hence it was important for me to really clarify that the album belongs so the soul genre so the encourage them to purchase the album. I did this by applying a colour scheme which suits the soul genre; black, white and red these colours are conventional as they are rather classic colours hence dating back to the period when the genre was created (1950s- 1960s) of which it has changes or adaptions have rarely occurred thus it is conventional to apply such a colour scheme. The colours are also representative of what the soul genre is often thought to be about. As the soul genre is known for being a rather relateable genre in which the artists stick to singing about topics which are personal to them and are kept away from their fame and fortune so that the audience is able to relate hence black and white being colours which represent dark themes suggesting that the artist is going deeper with their lyrics adding in their personal struggles and troubles. Red having connotations of love, a topic which is often referred to throughout the soul genre as it is both personal to the artist as well as universally relateable as the idea of love is said to be able to effective everyone. 

I also applied the Mise en scene elements of hair and make up which demonstrate to the audience codes and conventions of the soul genre as these elements fit the ways in which you would expect a female artist of the soul genre to present herself as it is stereotypical of the image of women in the 1950s/1960s. I planned for this by providing the artist with fairly plain make up, not using much for her base but highlighting her cheekbones and focusing mainly on her lips and eyes which was often done throughout the period. I used winged eyeliner to bring attention to her eyes a conventional element dating back to the genres beginning which has been used via many soul artists including some of the bigger female soul artists such as my chosen artist Amy Winehouse herself, Adele and Duffy. 

I also plan to use typography which is conventional towards the soul genre as it almost as appears as though it has been hand written a technique which has been used via various different soul artists such as Duffy. This is conventional as it helps the audience to feel as though they are more easily able to relate to the artist as they appear to be reaching out to their audience, attempting to build a connection with them as they have taken the time and effort to write this themselves by hand rather than just allowing the editors of their cover to do it for her.

At the bottom left hand corner of my magazine album advert I added a review from a magazine. I have purposefully selected to use NME magazine as it is a well known music magazine therefore receiving a strong positive review from them suggests to the audience that this really is a good album which they should buy as this magazine is known for it's good understanding of the music industry and its relevant/worthwhile reviews. Adding reviews almost highlights to the audience that the artist has already received success on some level as magazines such as NME wouldn't be bothering to write reviews on them or even rate them if they weren't relevant on some level. Hence this intrigues the audience in the artist further as they are being glamourised therefore the audience feel as though they would be gaining more from their experience with the artist. It also suggests that the artist is someone whom people are talking about and paying interest to as they are receiving such coverage. Urging the audience to want to buy the artists album so to stop them from feeling left out  of the hype or as though they are behind on the times.

Like many artist of the soul genre have through their work I decided to keep my advert fairly simple. I done this in an attempt to prove to the audience that my artist doesn't need to sell herself by adding fancy elements to her work but by simply allowing her music to do the talking for her. This is also conventional as soul artists are recognised for keeping their work fairly plain and simple so to allow their talent to shine through. For instance unlike other artists such as artists from the genre of pop soul artists are known for performing on a fairly naked stage especially female artists who often perform with dancers, a backing track or an attention grabbing back drop. This empahsises how talented the artist really is and allows the audience to aim their focus upon the artist and the album rather than being distracted by various images etc. filling the advert preventing it from doing it's job of promoting the artist and the album. It is also beneficial to advertise the artists album within this manner as because it is conventional this means that it is evidently going to be a style to the advert which members of the soul audience like. Which is important as this means that the artist knows she has created an advert which should be successful as it is aiming its efforts towards their specific audience.

The purpose of showcasing most of the artists figure as well as a close up of her eye is that it provides the audience with two contrasting ideas which are both conventional towards the soul genre and therefore are beneficial for the artist when attempting to attack their chosen audience as they are following the codes and conventions of the genre. Which are able to act as a guide for the artist to follow so to understand elements of the genre, why the audience like them, how they may be beneficial, and how to issue them. For instance the close up of the artists eye urges the audience to feel as though they are close to the artist as it appears that the artist is providing the audience with much of themselves as they are physically close to the lenses of the camera urging the audience to feel as though they are closer to the artist. As well as the concept of our eyes 'being the window to our souls', often people believe that our eyes are rather intimate parts of our bodies and that you can tell or see a lot about someone by their eyes hence this also makes the audience feel as though the artist is providing them with a deeper insight into who she is as a person and not just as a performer. Which follows codes and conventions of the soul genre as soul artists are known for singing about topics which are more personal to them that artists of other genres, thus often leading the audience to feel as though they have a further insight into the artists life as well as the concept that the artist is providing them with more so to build a stronger relationship with their audience and prove to them that they really do care for them. However artists from the soul genre as also known for being quite edgy and closed off from the people around them. As they often portray themselves to be rather deep thinkers often much deeper than those they find themselves surrounded by. Therefore often become cast as 'loners' almost as they attempt to keep their personal struggles to themselves in their everyday lives and then put them into their music. Hence the idea of showing the artist from a further away image was representative of this and therefore conventional towards the soul genre. This is beneficial as it highlights elements of the artists personality to the audience, seeing this side to the artist the audience may feel as though they are more easily able to relate as they feel that the can understand her struggles, being audience members of the soul genre it is likely that they feel that they can relate to this on some level as they belong to the soul genre therefore they enjoy this style of music and feel as though they have a good understanding of it as they are so use to hearing it. The concept of having the artist further away from the lenses represents this, especially with the contrast between the two shots. Presenting the artist in this way encourages the audience to feel as though this is an artist they can really relate to as not only is she an artist of their chosen genre but she doesn't behave like a typical artist either as it appears that she obtains the kind of mindset of someone from the genre. This kind of shot also allows the artist to convey the Mise en scene of her costume to the audience. Which is good as this is yet another way for the artist to provide herself to the audience as belonging to the soul genre. For this shot I opted for the artist to be wearing a black off the shoulder dress this is conventional as it appeals to the ways in which women dressed in the 1950s-1960s the period in which the genre was created and wasn't developed from. As it shows the artist trying to dress in an attractive style which was thought to be adored by men but isn't too revealing, as what would be considered as revealing now would have been enough more outrageous then. Hence it is important to remember this and stick to the codes and conventions you want to follow so to ensure that you provide the correct experience for the audience without confusing them as to which genre the artist belongs to as this is likely to result in the audience loosing interest.

I found this task to be rather useful as it enabled me to plan out and properly consider the lay out and design for my advert as well as the actual content. For instance it enabled me to consider which songs of the artists would be the best ones to note on the advert alongside the song belonging to my music video so to intense the audience. As well as the style of typography which I took inspiration from other soul artists albums from. As well as any decoration would I would fill the advert with although I drew a few love hearts onto the sheet I'm not too fond of the idea as I think it may almost take away from the classical effect I was trying to  create reminding the audience of that period in time hence I feel the advert may look more professional and be a better representation of the genre without them.

I feel more aware of the photos I will be needing to take as the planning process has enabled me to create a picture in my mind of how I want things to look as well as the kinds of themes and styles I am going for so to promote my artist. For instance I know that I want to display how detached the artist feels from the norms of life by capturing a further away shot compared to what they may be use to seeing on album adverts of the artist. However I'm not sure whether or not I want to use the close up image of the artists eye or not as again I feel this may take away from the effect of the nostalgic themes created within the advert fitting to the soul genre. Which is important as I want the audience to be confident in the fact that this is an artist who belongs to the soul genre. However I do like the effects that this creates so I have decided that I shall collect all images and then apply them in various attempts to by advert using photoshop and decide from their which out come I prefer regarding elements such as which looks the most professional and is easily credited to the soul genre which shall help me to pick my final version for my advert. I also plan to take more photos than those which have been planned so far as I think it will be beneficial to obtain as many images as possible and from there decide which ones work best. On the day I may find that the images I planned aren't looking as great as I had planned in my head but that I'm finding other elements which I'm liking. For instance when shooting in the jazz bar I may decide that I'm really happy with the way I as the artist am dressed, feeling that the conventional Mise en scene elements involved are really fitting towards the genre and that I'm really happy with how the back drop has come out and decide that I want to take images in certain positions from there. However I will do this keeping in mind the conventions towards the genre I want to really highlight and bring across as well as the different shot types e.g. close up, long shot which I want to use to represent the artists mental state and personality.