Costume Ideas, Locations & Set Design (Music Magazine)

After careful thorough research and careful consideration I decided to use the 'VIBE' magazine as my main source of inspiration. Since I will be producing a 'Rap'/'Hip-Hop' music magazine I thought it would be best if I resort to Pre-Existing models; this magazine however is a perfect example. Vibe Magazine is a music and entertainment magazine which was founded by Producer Quincy Jones. The production predominantly focuses on Hip-hop and R&B Artists as well as actors. 

Examples of other Issues of VIBE magazine: 

The information on these magazines emphasizes focus mainly on Music produced by these artists; performances on the charts; as well as personal matters in relation to crime, drug addiction and love affair which is what the target audience want to know. 

What are the props associated with Rap & Hip-Hop artists? 

Outfits, Accessories & Misc 

  

Rap/Hiphop artists have long been stereotyped as people who wear baggy clothing, rock the latest accessories and jewelry. Well, this is true; in fact when we look at the Hiphop/Rap Music industry we can see that over 90% of the artists associate themselves with some of the top names in fashion like Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Calvin Klein, Luis Vuitton and so forth. It is indeed a 'must' for them to look their best since they are 'important' people and they produce great music it is understandable as to why they do such as it is important to maintain their 'celeb' status.

Watches, Chains, Shades, Hats, Grills, Bling and More Bling! Are all part of a Hip-Hop/Rap artists' persona. As mentioned before they are famous people and famous people want to always look 'important' since they already are but maintaining it is essential. Jewelry is 'flashy' and it looks 'good.' Some of these artists like Paul Wall (Top Left) and Busta Rhymes (Top right) usually wear alot of 'bling' it is part of who they are and personifies them; it is a way in which fans identify or classify them. 

Locations, Set Design & Lighting

Mise-en-scene is a very powerful element of Television production & Entertainment. It is important that we understand the ideology behind the featured areas & locations in a Media product; we must know the significance of the scene and objects within it because these things were placed within the frame for a reason.     In the music industry such locations are highly reflective of the featured genre and are often stereotyped. Hip-hop/Rap Artists are often associated with things like graffiti, dark locations, vehicles with chrome rims and studios. The mise-en-scene in a media product usually personifies the artist and gives the audience an idea of what type of person that artist is. 

Here is a photo of one of Hip-Hop's all time favourites 'Eminem.' Em is known for his dark musical persona and by judging from the image we can clearly see that because it simply reflects who he is. The way the darkness almost covers him and the only thing illuminated is him which gives a pretty powerful effect. I really like this and this is something i might just consider trying in a future photoshoot.  

Other things which are relevant to the genre and what I might consider trying out. I really love these images especially the ones in the studio because they bring more definition to the word 'artist.'

 

Images of locations which I took and might consider to use when going 'on location' to shoot.

 As you can see the image above is slightly out of focus; creating a depth of field not too deep or shallow. I purposely took it like that to exagerrate an effect, making it look 'haunted' or 'forbidden.' Some Hiphop/Rap artists take images on locations like these to emphasize the 'dark' side of the genre.

These 2 images below are beautiful, well cropped and would look even more interesting with an artist in them. Bricks walls are often seen in several music magazines; they make really great backgrounds.


 

For this image above I did the same exact thing as I did with the very 1st one; partially out of focus; giving it that 'cinematic' look and that is what I wanted to achieve.

This one I took on a sunday morning on my way back home from church. I took it because it looks like 'the ghetto' which has been stereotyped to where 'Hip-Hop' emerged from.  

Conclusion

With all of that said we can note that Hip-hop/Rap artists associate themselves with the latest fashion & jewelry on the market and that it is essential for them to look their best. Set design plays an important role in the production aspect of any media product as mise-en-scene can have a great impact on the target audience and it is crucial to understand the importance of any media product's appearance because each one has an ideology behind it, sending a unique message. Now that I have a much broader understanding of the props associated to the genre as well as set design, I now have the confidence to dress my model and design my scene in a way which reflects the music genre's style that I will be featuring.