For my redo, I worked hard to implement the changes suggested by Professor Harper. As for the grid, I aligned my spread so that it was perfectly even on both sides of the page. I noticed that the columns don’t really do this, so I moved the type slightly outside the column so that it would fit perfectly between the page. I knew that the type on my image could not be read very well, so I took the hardest type to read and I cut it out, this way it looks like my article just has one, simple to read paragraph to start it off. I also got rid of the gradient I used over the type because I thought that it actually made the text harder to read. On the second spread, I changed my paragraphs so that they were the same size, I did this by changing the 4th page back to 2 columns, and rearranging my pull out quote. For my tour dates, I made them stand out better by choosing a bigger and bolder typeface. I then shortened the title and made my tour dates bigger so they would stand out more. I aligned all of it with the type in the article and put the dates and title to the left so they weren’t inside the bright tan smoke, which made them much easier to read. I underlined the title for neatness. I then rearranged my text so they would be the same amount away from both images on the second spread. I moved the text box down, to give the type more room away from each image, and I thought this ended up looking a lot cleaner.
Music is a huge inspiration for me. I love listening to it, whenever I’m feeling stressed, down, up, excited, or really any feeling. It can convey so many emotions that an image just can’t. Harmonies and melodies just hit me so much harder than images, and that’s just one reason I love turning to music. If you’re a fan of indie or acoustic music, I highly recommend this youtube channel, watchlistentell. It has really great live performances, and I’ve found some amazing bands just by checking it out. It seems to be based in London, which for me is where all great music has been coming from recently. Enjoy!
I actually enjoyed working on this magazine. The reason is mainly because I have a burning passion for the band that I decided to base it off of. The band is called Mumford and Sons, and they are an awesome folk alternative band from the UK. I thought it would be a really cool idea to feature them in an article about how they’re taking over the U.S., since I just recently saw them in a sold out concert in Philly. At first, I had to decide what kind of magazine I wanted to do, and I came up with an indie music/lifestyle type of magazine. It has a very sophisticated, almost retro feel to it, and I think it works perfect with the band and their image. I named the magazine Parlotone. The word Parlotone doesn’t actually mean anything, in fact, I’m fairly certain it isn’t even a word. I know a band called The Parlotones, and the word felt like a perfect name for my magazine, considering it had the word Tone in it, and that’s a very musical word.
I decided to use my favorite image, one of them in a barbershop, as my cover image. I scaled it down and I think it looks great for the cover. I picked fonts that I thought would go really well with my sophisticated, folky magazine. They’re older fonts, and they seem very gentleman-like, which is perfect for the band and the magazine. I picked high quality images of some live playing, and added another image from the barbershop photoshoot because I thought it fit well with the article. I changed the colors into a more sepia, tan because I thought it went well with my pull out quotes and my overall magazine color. I wanted it to be very uniform and simple and I think that comes across when you look at it. I tried to use big, dominating images, and I really liked how my first spread turned out. My sidebar goes really well with the article because it shows their North American tour dates, and the article is all about how they’re taking over the U.S. The colors all match and it’s a very earthy, old style which is exactly what I thought of when I first started. I used an advertisement for scotch whiskey, because I thought it went perfectly with my magazine and its gentleman-like quality. All in all, I think I really accomplished what I set out to make my magazine to be, and that is a very folky, sophisticated and stylish music/lifestyle magazine featuring an amazing unique band.
I found this magazine spread to be visually appealing. I like the bright use of colors. This graphic accurately portrays Snoop Dogg’s character. The smoke graphic emerging from the headline is unique to Snoop Dogg’s public image. The typography is fitting for this spread.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGn3-RW8Ajk[/youtube]
Over the past year, Yale University reached out to potential college applicants through utilizing Youtube. Less than ten years ago this method would not have been capable. Members of the younger generation are more likely to dedicate time watching a YouTube video, rather than sit down and read a college brochure. The YouTube video, created by Yale University, not only was entertaining to watch, it also was momentously informative. The video has been viewed over 650,000 times since it was released last January.
The YouTube hit “Midd Kid” , created by a small group of students, is an unauthorized glimsp of life at Middlebury College. The “Midd Kid” quickly spread across the internet and students from other colleges and universities enjoyed the video as well. Unlike, “That’s Why I Choose Yale”, the “Midd Kid” rap was not a project that was founded and supported by the university. The “Midd Kid” rap focuses and makes light of the social scence at Middlebury that is similar across a plethora of colleges and universities nationwide. The creators of the “Midd Kid” rap did not anticipate that the video would receive the enormous extent of publicity and attention that it has thus far. Over 630,000 people have viewed the Midd Kid Video since its debut on YouTube in February.
I chose to post “That’s Why I Choose Yale” because it illuminates the momentous impact that media has on the nations young generation. The immense attention that “That’s Why I Choose Yale” and the “Midd Kid” rap have received indicates that colleges and universitites across America can reach out to vast amounts of perspective students through utilizing recent media innovations.
Camera Obscura album
I wanted to post Camera Obscura’s My Maudlin Career album. The artwork of this album is detailed and highly creative. I may be wrong, but it seems like a combination of water paint and other installations; I’m almost certain a graphics program was used to create the final look.
Maybe I’ll learn how to create album covers from GRA217-8? 
Karen Hor
Because I am inspired and in awe of music and film, la blogotheque is one of my favorite websites. It combines both music and film in such a beautiful way that it often evokes an emotional response from me. This french website is a must-see for anyone who loves folk/indie music and appreciates the amazing filmmaking that goes along with it. This picture is a link to a video of one of my favorite new bands performing a couple of songs in the alleyways of Paris. To go right to the songs go to 2:50 in the video.
It’s hard to have a visual representation for what inspires me the most – classical and instrumental music. Without words, the listener is free to feel the emotions not only written into the songs by the composer but also played by the musicians. Silence can be just as distracting as a heavy metal song when you’re trying to concentrate on something or do work, but instrumental music lets the mind flow in its own directions inspiring ideas that might not have come through otherwise.
The video is of someone playing Beethoven’s Fur Elise – one of my favorites since I was younger.
When this video first came out on MTV, I was at a loss for words. What I saw was completely different from all other rap and hip hop music. The idea of using the Rorschach test to demonstrate an emotion seems so perfect for the video because it directly correlates to the meaning of the song, yet the idea wasn’t so obvious. Using the ink blots to form faces and other objects on a simple white background, to me is genius. The intertwining of graphics, psychology, and music in the video, makes it stand out as a substantial piece of art, something more than your traditional music video. When people view my work, I hope they have the same reaction as I did when I saw the Gnarls Barkley video.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YA2h9PrIUxs[/youtube]
What really stands out to me about this video is the interaction between the music, the lyrics, and the images. Each element individually is beautiful and well-crafted, but when combined, they amplify each other, in a sense, making the video more moving, and far more memorable. The simplicity of each of these elements further contributes to the video’s mood, while also making it more unique. The vast majority of videos (especially music videos) found on YouTube are incredibly chaotic. These videos deluge viewers with music, featuring multiple instruments, computer-generated sound, vocals and back-up vocals layered upon each other, as well as video elements that typically alternate between one or more scenes, of a story playing out and the artist performing. I’m certainly not saying these videos are poorly made or even that “The Great Escape” is better or more artistic. But with its single piano line, Watson’s voice, and the simplistic yet oddly moving animation, this somehow quiet video certainly stands out among all the noise.
