individual writing copy- MEGAN SZRAM

Melissa Howards!

Eighteen years old, successful, employed: when the history books are written, Mellissa howards life in 2009 will not be considered the typical experience of a young person this year.

with a unique voice, a talent for individual song writing, and two number one singles under her belt, Essex's latest musical success story is grabbing the populatio of Briton and a lively generation of teenagers.


You’re very busy at the moment, when was your last day off?

I am very busy but I’m not complaining. My last day off wasn’t too long ago because it was my Dad’s birthday and I went out for lunch. I was supposed to have something on but my mum asked if I could have the day off. It wasn’t that fun: I couldn’t talk the whole day because I was resting my voice!

2009 was a really good year for you so far but what could better it this year?

I hope 2010’s going to be even more amazing because I’ve only really released two singles so far so I’ve got a long way to go. I’m also going to be spending a lot more time in America because I’ll be launching over there soon. I love America so, yeah, I think it’s going to be fun.

Is stage school the endless singing and dancing world of fun it’s always portrayed as?

It is amazing. It was the best days of my life so far because everyone is so lively and just wants to do singing and dancing, just having fun really. It was a great place to grow up in: it’s just full of life and there’s never a dull moment.And you meet a lot of lovely talented people.

If you weren’t selling the trillions of records that you are would you be going to university?

If I’d gone to normal school and couldn’t do any sort of performance then I would have gone to university because I’m really into the academic stuff as well.


What would your subject be?

Probably English.


Are many of your friends heading to university?

Yeah I have friends in their first year at Nottingham and Oxford and they’re having a great time: they keep telling me how much fun it is. I’ve been to Norwich because my brother’s at UEA. I really want to go and visit my friends but I just don’t have much time, but we keep in touch, im so glad we have like technology these days, i wouldt know how to cope!

Do you think it's right that education costs so much more than it did twenty or thirty years ago?

Surely the Government want more kids to be educated so what’s the logic of making university more expensive? It’s wrong.


You’re a happy story in the middle of a tough time for many young people. Do you feel as lucky as you are?

Yeah, I know so many talented people who are amazing, a lot better than some people who are working. Sometimes it’s about the look; sometimes it’s about being known or knowing the director. It can be who you know not what you know.Its sad sometimes, but you have to be positiva and go for what you want in life. GO GET THEM! (she laughs)

You’ve said before that you’re a big Mowtown fan, although your a hiphop/funk artist. Do you think that young people are still the powerful force for good that they were in the 60s and 70s?

I think young people are really powerful because they have so much energy. I’m young, though, so I probably would say that!

What was the last thing to make you angry?

Not so much angry but it made me annoyed when I had to get up early this morning.And i hater early phonecalls!

What makes you smile?

My friends, music, life in general.

What disgusts you?

Bullying; people who force people to take drugs; people who are really miserable for no reason.

What was the last thing that made you laugh?

Well... i cant say the one im thinking (she giggles) but yesterday morning i went to visit my eldest sister and she was getting ready to go out, and she put her whole foot through her pair of tights!!

Where and when are you most creative?

In the heat of the moment: say, I’ve just had an argument with my sister and am really upset then I’ll go straight to the piano and take it out there.

Your new single ‘way to much’ sounds quite summery. Would you ever think about recording a Christmas song?

I’d love to do it because I love Christmas. Maybe next year or the one after, that’d be cool!

idividual photo constructions-megan

I decided to use this image as it shows three interesting and individual people with threre own style. However i chose to edit it in some forms to make them stand out.





I decided to use this image as it shows three interesting and individual people with threre own style. However i chose to edit it in some forms to make them stand out. The first step i took to do this was by increasing the lighting and the brightness, this was to make the photo look more effective and, proffesional so it could be used on the double page spread. The picture would then use be used to show the new album that has been released by 'stand by' and there number one single called 'No Evil'. I though this name would be suitable as each on of them are covering, there eyes, there ears, and there mouth. This connects with the saying 'Heatr no evil, say no evil and speak no evil'i also increased the coulour saturation so that the coulours that each of them were wearing would be noticibly brighter.



After i made the background colour and the clothing colours brighter, i sharpened the edges of the image so that they stand out from the background, and this would make there arms not seem to blend in with the bright white background. I also added a sketchy effect to make them band seem more stylized and 'individual/stylized/funky' This would also make the album cover more interesting.

I also increased the shadow density so that it would make the image darker in the places that were to bright. Another effect i added was the poster effect to make parts of them look almost cartooized (A lot of albums have this look) so i decided not to increase it too much so it doesnt look the same.



The last thisg i done was 'crop' the image to cut the size down so there isnt to much white background that doesnt need to be there to waste space.

Focus Groups Interviews

These are the improved mock ups we used for our focus group videos. We improved them slightly, however, we wanted a further opinion on how to make our front page, double page spread and contents page look more professional. We asked students aged 16-18 who are interested in Funk music to first rate our magazine out of 10 on use of colour, layout, photos, and overall look, (10 being the best), and then we asked them to talk freely amongst themselves and discuss the things they like and don't like about the magazine.

More Photos

In this photo shoot we wanted to show a fun and interesting band. We asked the models to act a bit silly to bring out the fun element in our Funk music magazine. We also asked them to dress colourfully so that they fit in with the magazine genre and colourful house style.

Improvements for mock ups from the rest of the group

We meet up as a group outside school and discussed what we needed to improve on our mock ups and what would make them look better, as not all of us were there when we designed them.

Anita's Facebook Feedback for mock ups

We wanted to get more feedback from the public and our target audience so we decided to upload our mock ups on to Facebook as it has people who are within our target audience are on it. We asked them to tell us what they liked and didn't like about the layout, colours etc. We found these to be very helpful and the comments can contribute to improving our final product

Daniel Mija's Front Page/Contents/DPS Mock up layout Feedback on Facebook