My Billboard Magazine Cover

1. Summarise the music celebrity you have created. Include name, music genre, personality and how they are being used to comment on contemporary celebrity

The music celebrity I have created, Chris Stewart, is a an indie-rock singer who is part of the up and coming band, Sea Angels. As well as his quirky but contemporary nature, he believes in voicing the opinion of society through the music it creates. Despite recently coming into the spotlight, he has voiced his disagreement on the ability of fame to alter the music industry. His key message is an emphasis on the fact that the music should be the most significant part of music industry instead of the fame. 

2. Evaluate how you have constructed the representation of your celebrity through your cover image and cover headline/text (denotation/connotation of text and image).

      My cover image is a MS of my celebrity wearing a conventional band member jacket with rolled up sleeves and a black T-Shirt. This is what a band member is likely to wear, however its simplicity and relatively dark monotone colour adds to Chris' contemporary persona. This is also reinforced through the contemporary grey/black brick wall background.He is also holding a guitar in his right hand. He is carrying it confidently as if it is always with him, suggesting that his has a strong connection to his music and that it is very important to him. Direct address is also used as the artist looks directly into the camera, allowing the audience to be addressed directly. This allows   intimacy to be created between the celebrity and the audience, allowing for his personality to be expressed: he is a character who wants to be upfront and direct with his audience and he values this connection with them. 

    Overall, the focal image of the celebrity dominates the Billboard cover, however the cover title is placed on top of him, reinforcing his beliefs that to him, his message and his creation of music are more important than his celebrity status. The white, contrasting cover headline expresses Chris' recent rise to fame and more mainstream media coverage, however the cover text describes him as a 'mouthpiece' for what people in society want to be said. How he has shaped the music industry is also a key feature of the cover text, through the blending of genres, enabling him to create his own revolutionary style.

3. Analyse how far you have used and/or challenged stereotypes of gender/race/age/sexuality in your cover.

My celebrity is a positive role model for young people and young artists as he shows active care for the needs of society, as explained buy him in the quotation located in the cover text. He also is described as a 'prodigy', suggesting that although he is young, he has not let fame influence his music. Also, my cover does not address racial stereotypes as the celebrity is not of a specific ethnic minority group. Despite the artists relatively tough and confident look, I do not believe that I have specifically reinforced male stereotypes as I have not presented him as overly confident or aggressive, as this goes against the persona I wanted him to have. 

4. Reflect on the production/editing process.  Are you pleased with the end result? Identify what is successful about your shot?  What would you have done differently in hindsight? 

Overall, I was very pleased with the end result of my Billboard magazine cover, however due to the time restraint, there are some ways in which I could have improved my poster. The shot I chose was the one that I thought most accurately portrayed the celebrity I wanted to create. However in hindsight, if i was to re-shoot, I would give my artist a slightly less serious look, in order to allow connotations of a more open character. Additionally, I would have used a different font for the cover headline and text which was more suited to the style of a Billboard cover, however the current one allows the text to be displayed clearly and in a contemporary style. To conclude, I am very happy with my final Billboard cover, however some small tweaks could improve it further.