Planning Magazine advert - Miss Miller

The key purpose of a magazine advert is to promote an artist’s album

in order to reach a wider target audience of people who both read the magazine as well as listen to the music. It aims to act as a constant reminder of the upcoming album by appearing over a wide media spectrum. It is also used to link in with other advertisements of the album such as record labels or websites to create more marketing for the artist. Finally, it may also be used to link in with any articles within the magazine on the artist such as an interview or published scandal; this can be seen to benefit the magazine as well. The advert is specifically used, however, to develop a presentation of the artist that will appeal to a target audience for the genre; this is achieved by the portrayal of the conventions for the genre alongside features they may relate to the audience. My magazine advert will consist of a shot of the artist in his relatable office work environment, looking out of the window with a background of the night time illuminated city skyline. Planning the advert is highly essential to the development of the advert itself. It means I know exactly what needs shooting, plus the fonts and editing effects that need using in order to achieve the presentations and conventions that I aimed to meet. 

Colours 

Colours will have a large influence within my advert, especially upon the presentation of the artist and the portrayal of conventions through various connotations. The colours will consist mostly of grey, black and white; however, there will be green and blue tints added to the city skyline, certain aspects of the artist himself such as his clothing or accessories and the word 'Lights' in the album title 'Urban Lights'. The grey, black and white colours are used in order to represent the artists professional qualities, it connotes his success in a professional environment at such a young age alongside also emphasising the dedication he puts into his music. This is slightly aimed towards target audience opposed to it being used in coherence to the dance genre; the younger target audience age groups are often at an age when they are starting and thinking about careers, this portrayal of success would appeal to them as they could aspire towards this dedication and power. Additionally to this, the use of neon green lighting is added to the advert is used in order to contrast with the black. grey and white colours. They show the artists party lifestyle that runs alongside his professional presentation. The lights covering the skyline of the background building are seen as green in reference to the London nightlife, by showing the neon lighting to illuminate the artist I am linking him to this nightlife. Overall this portrays his vibrant night life in contrast to his professional work life. Overall this is used to convey conventions of the dance genre by aiming the connotations of  the bright colour towards the party atmosphere of a club or bar that is focused upon throughout dance music. This also appeals to the youth cultures within the target audience as they aspire towards living the party lifestyle that is enticed by the artist presentation. 

Images 

Images are utilised in the advert in order to build upon this presentation of dance conventions and references to the selected target audience. In relation to my specific advert, there is only one image that takes up the whole advert; this consists of a picture of the artist in the main relatable work setting as he looks aside with the city backdrop of the London night time skyline. The elaborate work setting is used to show his success in reference to his job, this connotes his success as an artist and the dedication he applies to his music. This is also seen alongside the background showing the London skyline, whilst also showing his success at the heart of London, this aspect of the image also shows his link to the London nightlife, also portraying the party aspect of his lifestyle. These contrasting representations are predominantly used in reference to the selected target audience, they may aspire towards balancing their work life in higher education or a work environment with their vibrant personal life. The images are also directed towards the conventions of the genre as the nightlife that is represented connoted to the party atmosphere focused upon in the music. Additionally to this, the images in the advert are used in coherence with the content of the music video and the album title itself. This is done to additionally engage the audience by igniting links between all of Shift K3Y's work. 

Design/Layout 

Although design and layout has little reference to the target audience and the dance genre conventions that are focused upon throughout the advert, it is still utilised to a certain effect. Both Shift K3Y and the Album name is placed covering the skyline of London. This is done in order to elaborate upon the link between the artist, his music and the London nightlife. It promotes the themes of urban settings, nightlife and a vibrant party atmosphere running throughout the music; these all correspond with the conventions of the genre whilst also appealing to the young and vibrant target audience.

Typography/Language 

Although the typography within the advert has not been finalised, the likelihood is that it will consist of something that relates to an electronic theme. This is done in order to comply to the conventions of the dance genre. Dance genre is almost always made electronically with key iconography being DJ decks or laptops. This electronic font may be seen to relate to this, making the advert highly conventional. The use of language within the advert is mostly seen in the album title 'Urban Lights'. This is referring to the themes within the music video as it connotes the city work environment alongside the London night life of which the artist is seen to enjoy. It adds to the artist presentation as it he shows him as being a stylish, modern city dweller. Ways in which this promotes conventions of the dance genre is through its portrayal of the party atmosphere flowing through the London nightlife, indicated through the work 'lights' referring to strobe and neon lighting. Also, the title may appeal to the target audience as the younger age groups are often seen to enjoy and participate in this 'urban' nightlife.

After the planning process for this advert I feel highly confident that I  know the specific shot I need to find when visiting my office filming location alongside the editing that may be needed on Photoshop and the fonts I may need to find or create. This will consist of an office shot with large views of the city, effects that allow me to add green tints throughout the image and a font that resembles electronic connotations in relation to the dance genre. This shows that the planning has given me clear indications into how I can create my advert successfully and efficiently.