Half term homework.

WWF Image analysis.

 The caption for this advert roughly translated into English is "The greenhouse pollution causes global warming. Now is the time for actions." The image was  taken for a WWF campaign against global warming. The image itself is a play on objects. The photographer has taken a photograph of the polar ice caps, which are suffering the effects of global warming. Then he has added to the ice caps some ice cream sticks - showing them to effectively be melting ice creams. This is clever, because melting ice cream is an image that everyone can identify with, whereas icebergs usually aren't.

This image comes about at a time when the whole world is being effected by climate change, so the relevance of this image is massive. It's an ongoing issue, that WWF are trying to gain more awareness/concern about. The image is horizontal, which is the most common way to shoot a landscape image such as this. The image may have been cropped, or it could have been a close up. The angle of view is quite straight on, but obviously from quite a distance or else the icebergs would look a lot larger.

The lighting on the image was probably quite natural, as it would be very difficult to set up a lot of artificial lighting in a climate such as the antarctic. The image is in colour, and it looks really nice that way, with a whole range of blue tones throughout the image. This means that we can fully understand and appreciate what the image involves. There will have been some computer manipulation on the image, at least to add in the ice cream sticks. As well as this, I imagine that some manipulation will have been done to bring out the blue tones even more.

The photographer is using the ice cream sticks as a way to communicate to his audience using something they qwill be able to identify with. He has portrayed the icebergs as ice creams in order to liken the melting of an ice cream to the melting of the icebergs caused by global warming/climate change. He is trying to get across the message that clime change will destroy them, just like the sun destroys an ice cream.

 The caption for this image says: "Stop climate change before it changes you." We don't have anymore information about when or how the picture was taken other than what we can work out ourselves. We can deduce that the image must be fairly recent (within the last 5 years or so) as the issue of climate change is a fairly recent concern of the world, a recent discovery. The image was taken for a WWF campaign against climate change, the subject they focus on the most at the present time.

The image is of a human man (we can tell this by the bright shirt he wears) that has slowly evolved into a fish-like creature as a result of the sea levels rising and humans not being able to live on land anymore. Although the image doesn't say all this, it has been done in such a way that we can read all of this information from it. This is a studio portrait with heavy computer manipulation. We can see a slight vignette around the edges of the image. The image has been shot vertically, which is common for a studio portrait. As this is a studio shot, the lighting will have been artificial. The image is in colour, which is to show off the fishy yet still human skin, and the shirt, which characterises him as a human.

This image says to me that we need to take more care of the planet in order to stop this type of thing from happening. If the sea levels rise, there will be no land to live on, and our species will either die or have to evolve into aquatic creatures, and that's really something to think about.

WWF.

Image Comparison.

These are the two images that I will be comparing. The one on the left is my image for the visual communications project, and the one on the right was taken for a PETA campaign against using animals for their meat. Both images are very similar in concept, and this is because this campaign is what inspired my location shoot. Both images feaure a female model wrapped in clingfilm with a view to looking like human meat. The image for PETA has a label over the model, and is nearly a full body image, whereas mine has no label and is a head/shoulders shot.

My image has not been cropped, as it was taken purposefully as a headshot. The image on the right looks as if it may have been cropped, as the feet and part of the right hand are missing on the model. Both images were taken from a higher vantage point than the model, giving the photographer a better opportunity to see both images fully, rather than sideways on. As the image on the right was taken from a campaign outside on the streets of Memphis, I would say that the image has been taken using natural light. For my image, most of the light is natural, from a window, and the rest with the camera flash. Both images have been shot in colour, and this does a lot of things to the image. The skin colour of the models, coupled with the blood all over them, makes them look even more like meat, as you can see the flesh and blood. For my image I used a macro lens (18mm).

Both images are entirely in focus, so that our eyes see the image as a whole, not parts of it at a time. My image only had minor manipulations done on it, such as manipulating the contrast and brightness of the image, and of course adding in the text. The image on the right looks as if it hasnt had any manipulations performed on it. Both of these images ultimately try to convey the same message - that using animals as meat is wrong, as they are living beings too, just as humans are. These images are intended to distress the viewer and make them see things from an animals viewpoint.

Group crit.

WARNING: VERY DISTRESSING CLIPS.

This is how far animal cruelty can go.

Trees homework.

These are majorly shit, but it had to be done so ehhh...

Historic magazine covers.

 After the horrific incident of 9/11, The New Yorker paid tribute to the victims through this artistic cover.   Ad Reinhardt’s Black on Black art provided inspiration to Franoise Mouly who drew this sketch.

 Maddy Christmas! Nukes are being launched and Santa is in the way, get ready for a nuclear holocaust. “Happy Holidays”

 The ever famous photo by Steve McCurry. He shot a 12 year old Afghan girl near a refugee camp around Pakistan border, in 1985. And then after so many years in an expedition by Nat Geo, the girl is once again found, and this became a classical tale.

A figure by Roy Lichtenstein, representing a hand with a pistol. This cover was released after the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy. It demanded a legislation about restricting the arms sales.

 This cover was to some extent considered violent, but generally, the reaction was just laughter. Ronald G. Harris designed this and remember, Photoshop wasn’t invented till then.

After Princess Diana’s accidental death in August 1997, Diana’s image appeared a record breaking 52 times on magazine covers.

This is a drawing by Norman Mingo. A Typical MAD design, and it was just as controversial as any other MAD title.

The famous scandal of “The Nixon Tapes”. The cover indicates about the revelation of that scandal and this scandal created so much hype that President Richard Nixon had to resign from the seat. This is the only case of its kind in US history.

 The famous photo of people covered with ashes, released after the world changing 9/11 incident.

One of the most controversial magazine covers ever made. The cover story was “Death of God Movement” that was gaining popularity in the 1960’s. Without a doubt, this title was disliked by many.

No magazine has ever beaten MAD in craziness, this title is another prove for that remark. MAD deliberately made it look like it was mis-printed, but no, this was just a gag MAD played with its readers. Some liked the idea, some not, but the title became very popular.

 A New York map but in old Middle East style. Quite a controversial cover.

A dreadfully controversial design by cartoonist Barry Blitt. Even the McCain camp criticized the idea. According to TNY, it was just satire and meant to make people laugh,  but that did not happen.

After the famous lampoon cover (the sixth from the top in this list) the same idea was remade here, with a few modifications, of course. This cover also became a huge success and won the Best Cover Line of the Year award from Magazine Publishers of America in 2007.

This photo in the cover shows the gorilla Koko, who took a photograph of its own reflection image in a mirror. Psychologist Francine Patterson has taught this gorilla sign language in a span of 6 years and this is considered to be a breakthrough success.

Magazine cover research: best ever?

This image comes across as powerful to me, especially if we look at its context. This was a tribute issue of Vogue magazine to commemorate Diana's death. As this is not a celebratory occasion, the image is quite plain and simple, much like the whole cover page of the magazine. The main image on the cover is a simple studio shot of princess Diana, looking happy and relaxed. This was perhaps done as a nice way to remember her. The text on the page (the dates of Diana's birth and death, the title of the magazine, the price and issue) are in white, so as not to dominate much space within the page. I think also this cover may not stand out in your memory for years to come, it's a caring and fitting tribute to the princess, which is likely to make people buy this issue of the magazine. As Diana was in the public eye so much, especially for goodwill endeavours such as charity work, Diana was given the name 'the people's princess'. As such, many people in the public may think that Diana was somewhat of a friend to them, and due to the mass amount of media coverage she gained, fans/readers may have believe that to an extent, they knew her. This makes all the difference in trying to convince readers to buy an issue of their magazine.

What this issue of "Tattler" magazine has done is very clever. It has been laid out in the style of The Sex Pistols - Nevermind The Bollocks album cover, from the greyscale on the image of Margaret Thatcher, to the typeface on the headline. As The Sex Pistols were most commonly known as a Punk Rock band, the headline of the magazine is very appropriate - "this woman (Margaret Thatcher) was once a punk". Now, this could mean that the magazine is trying to convey two things;

• that there is no cause to hate/dislike Thatcher, as after all, she was once a punk too, like The Sex Pistols or;
• that Thatcher has thrown away her previous values and lifestyle, betrayed punk almost.

In regards to this, I'm not actually sure which of the two messages the magazine is trying to convey. Either way, I feel that this is a very clever wordplay, as to punks, the style of this front cover will be very recognisable and accessible to them, making them more likely to buy this magazine, to read further and to find out exactly what they may have in common with the Prime Minister.

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This is a typical example of a celebrity gossip magazine. The main feature of this magazine cover is a picture of Victoria Beckham looking ill and frail, backed up by a quote that reads 'Doctor's chilling prediction for shrinking star... "Posh's bones could be brittle and her body in pain - this is really serious"'. Although, in reality, this is none of our business, this is exactly the kind of headline that will reel in a reader and possibly, although the don't know Victoria Beckham, feel concern for her. The more we read these kinds of magazines, the more we as the public feel like we know these celebrities, we're their friends, and so this growing concern and attachment continues. In order to fully put across the severity of the headline, there are several devices used;

• a small text box to tell us who the quote has come from;
• red text for the first half of the quote which tells us what is actually wrong with Victoria;
• black text for the second half of the quote which tells us how big a problem this is;
• and the word really is underlined so as to convey as much as is possible how serious this health issue is for Victoria.

Using the term 'Posh' coloquially like this is another device used to entrap the reader into believing that they are familiar with Victoria, making them more likely to want to buy the magazine to read the full artical and completely reassure themselves that the star is okay. There are other, smaller, headlines to give readers some insight into what else will be featured within the magazine. As these are not the main stories, they are in different fonts and are smaller and more hidden away. This way, they are still visible without the eye of the reader  being drawn away from the main feature.
 

This image is for NME magazine and features Beth Ditto from the band "The Gossip" on the cover. At the time of release, this cover was seen as very controversial. This was because Beth Ditto was not what many may consider attractive, on account of her weight. This issue of NME magazine challenged that view in a very shocking way, as it is usually thin, 'attractive' girls we see as cover models. The issue of NME magazine has used a range of techniques to produce an eye-catching and attractive cover. 

The colour theme of the issue is red, black, white and yellow. This is all linked in together, as even Beth Ditto's nails, lipstick and the lipstick mark on her body fit in with this scheme. The background is yellow, and nothing else, otherwise the colours may blend in. The magazine has all the critical components - the unique and recognisable title image, coverlines, vital information (such as the barcode, price, and website info), and a giveaway. In this instance, the giveaway is free posters. This is a vital feature to making readers want to buy the magazine. On the cover, we find out what bands are talked about within the magazine, along with a glimpse of some of the features. This is another ploy to get readers attention, and to entice them into buying.

This is from a Radio Times magazine cover, from April 2005. It features the Daleks, a race of characters from the sci-fi show Doctor Who. This was taken and used to celebrate the return of the Doctor Who show, and is aiming to attract readers who may have preconceived ideas of what Doctor Who is. In a clever ploy, the people of Radio Times magazine have placed an image of the Dalek's now, and the Dalek's in the original series of Doctor Who. This tells readers that Doctor Who has been redesigned and renewed. Another way of gaining the interest of the readers is a giveaway - a free Dalek poster for every reader.  Although the font of the title is quite plain, it's recognisable to avid readers of the magazine. The magazine has all the vital information, including the date, the price and a barcode. It also has coverlines, which tell us what will be featured within the magazine and make us want to read further.

 

Karin Stack photographed her hair growing back after losing it in chemotherapy