Billboard Cover Shoot

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 is called Pilly Talm
er, she is a new rising star who is taking the charts by storm. Her music genre is pop/rock and her music takes inspiration from 70’s stars like Madonna and Blondie, this is also reflected in her image, style and personality. In her Billboard cover, she is used to comment on the traditional styles of music and how the idea of celebrity has been reimagined for a modern audience and held in esteem similar to a queen or aristocrat history.

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

I have used a representation of old and new through the clothing and accessories. I used a headpiece similar to Victoriana headdresses that gives an idea of formality and solemnity. I further emphasised this by keeping the exposure high on the camera to give my skin the pale and bright quality often seen in Renaissance/Victorian paintings. For my pose I kept my face neutral and my back stiff to give the impression of regality. I wore costume jewellery, (earrings, bracelets etc.). I then contrasted this with the new by wearing a branded Adidas top, giving the idea of current, sporty casual style in contrast to the rest of the image.

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

I think I’ve challenged stereotypes surrounding age a lot in my cover. Most people would expect a new and young star to appear full of energy or sexualised on a cover. I tried to use the concept of old and new to say something about how maturity and elegance shouldn’t just be reserved for older musicians. Rather than the usual stereotypes of rebelliousness or naivety, I really wanted to emphasise the fact that age has no bearing on talent.

Reflect on the production/editing process. Are you pleased with the end result?

I think the editing process went smoothly as I took precautions in the actual shoot, (such as making sure there were no wisps of hair). Overall, I’m pleased with the end result as I think it conveyed my theme and music artist clearly and looks realistic as an overall magazine cover. I think the use of colour and slogan would certainly grab attention on a magazine stand.

Identify what is successful about your shot? What would you have done differently in hindsight?

In hindsight, I think I rushed the planning process, thinking too much about the kind of star and image I wanted to portray rather than how I was actually going to o it. Instead of trying to show a contrast between old and new, I think I should’ve gone the whole way with the Victoriana style theme, adding my outfit and other props to it. The “new” could have come really from the fact I am clearly a young star and it is obviously  a modern cover – maybe by trying to be more subtle I would’ve made a larger impact. I also would have like to play around with colour schemes as overall mine didn’t all match up. I would have preferred a red/gold/black scheme that would fit with the theme better than the pinks/whites/purples I ended up with.