PRODUCTION: double spread final draft

For my final front cover, I have chosen the winter issue out of the two front covers I made, and the double page spread is loosely based on the winter front cover - what mainly links the two are the main images i used for the front cover and double page spread of my magazine, where the model is wearing the same clothes in both. The main cover line on the winter issue also links back to the double page spread's article, as both are about the same person.

(The faint guideline in the centre indicates where the page would be folded if it was printed)

 

This double page spread from INDIE magazine is what I heavily based my double page spread on:

However, I was only able to copy the aesthetic conventions of the above double page spread: my article text was improvised as I found the text in INDIE's article too small to read for me to have a basis on what to write. In my article, I considered that the target market of PIXIE, like in the case of INDIE, are young individuals of both genders from a higher economical income. Many of these young people interested in fashion who would read magazines like INDIE would run their own blogs on sites such as Tumblr, Blogger or Pinterest. This is why I have used a fair amount of lexis which is often used on such sites, as it makes the magazine seem up-to-date in terms of the latest trends, as well as interactive with these social media communities.

PRE PRODUCTION: Front cover final draft

As you may know, my magazine is called 'Pixie', and here they are: the summer issue and winter issue.

EDIT 09 / DEC / 2013: I edited the errors in the summer issue of the front cover, including the small 'S' near the main cover line that wasn't meant to be there. I also changed the main cover line font and text, as I felt that the exclamation mark doesn't go with the genre of magazine which my front cover is based upon. The new font is much bolder and easier to read, and the use of italics make it look more 'indie' and unique. I changed it to 'OLD SCHOOL' as it reflects the vintage-inspired, indie fashion often featured in magazines like these, and because it's a recognisable collocation. Additionally, I felt the colours of the first draft weren't warm enough, so I slightly altered the main image with the use of curves as well as lowering the contrast - which gave the photo warmer undertones to reflect the season of the issue.

Questionnaire!

If you have some time to spare, feel free to fill in my questionnaire for my AS media coursework! It will help me out a lot, and your answers are completely anonymous!

Click here for the questionnaire!

First draft front cover

For the genre of my front cover, I picked a higher-brow women's fashion magazine, with inspiration taken from the likes of Nylon, Indie, and Topshop magazine. The masthead I chose is 'Pixie' - it relates to the alternative 'pixie cut' hairstyles associated with more fashionable young women, and it is also a reference to the font it is written in, a pixel font. I think it's effective for this magazine as I feel that pixels and pixel fonts have connotations of video games, youth, punk/grundge, individuality, simplicity and retro. The chunky, 'bubbly' shape of the letters were inspired by the Nylon masthead, and also give the magazine a nostalgic and cute image, which goes well with the intended audience of the magazine being young girls and women from the ages of 16-25 who would possibly dress with cute and bubbly trends in mind.

I based the white frame of the magazine (which isn't very visible on here) on the layout present in every Topshop magazine which has been released since I was aware of its circulation. I feel that the frame works well with the white masthead and contrasts against the darker brick wall background, to give the front cover a sense of balance in colour. It's also sharp and clean-cut, which again contrasts against the brick wall's rough and heavy texture. All of this effectively make the front cover look individual, which is a vital feature of Indie's image in the press.

I was aiming to feature a minimal amount of cover lines, just like Indie usually does. However, I felt that the image I used was not enough to make a statement, so I added two additional cover lines to fill the space on the right. I also shifted the model slightly to the left, so her body fits better into the rule of thirds. I also did this to take a different approach from most magazine front covers which would place the model in the centre, to further strive for an individual overall image of the cover.

The main cover line is focused on the model, and is also written in a pixel font, to balance out with the masthead across the top of the cover. I featured only the model's first name, so it evokes a sense of familiarity amongst the model's fans. Because the main cover line text wasn't easy to read on it's own, I added a brush stroke underneath to make it easier to read, which resembles graffiti and adds onto the individual, youthful image even further.

Magazine Front Cover Analysis

For my coursework, I decided to focus on making a magazine front cover. I decided to focus on the women's style/fashion magazine.

This magazine is named after it's independent, quirky theme. There is only one cover line used here, and it's ambiguous, but assumably relates to the girl in the main image. The minimal amount of puffs used shows that this magazine aims for an image amongst the high brow magazines on the market. This is because many of these higher-end magazines would focus more on the image than the text, so the headline looks less cluttered, but prettier. The text is also juxtaposed in a way - whilst the font of the masthead is sans serif and clean-cut, the coverline is in a script, handwritten font. They are also placed opposite to each other on the cover. 

The issue is of winter 2010/11, and the cool colour scheme of the front cover reflect this. The texts used are all in white, as if they represent snow and cold weather.

The main image is a girl wearing a wooly jumper. Her clothing fits the season of the issue's publish date. The photo is a close up shot, so the magazine isn't trying to sexualise the girl by over exposing her body in any way - not only is she covered by the jumper she's wearing, her hands are covering her body as well. This approach is the opposite to what most style magazines tend to do, where they take full body shots to show off the model's body and clothes. This daring approach also reflects the independent image of this magazine. The background of the main image is of a pale blue colour, and looks vintage and worn. Again, it supports the image of what the viewer would believe an indie magazine would have elements of.

This front cover follows the rule of thirds effectively. Not all blocks of the rule of thirds are occupied, however, the masthead, face, barcode and coverline all fit into their own blocks in the rule of thirds, seperating each element from each other to provide the viewer with something to look at, no matter which of the thirds they are to focus on.

 Nylon is a lifestyle magazine, mainly aimed at older girls and young women of a higher social economic income. Though not as simplistic as Indie, Nylon also has elements of an individual and high end image. There are multiple puffs on this issue, all framing Ashley Olsen in the main image. The masthead is baby pink, unlike any of the coverlines which are in either white, red or yellow, which reinforces the main audience for the magazine with its feminine hue. The font looks modern, as it's very bold and contains clean cut, simple lines. The main coverline is of Olsen's full name, anchoring the image of her sitting on a bench. 'Un-zipped' suggests that inside, the issue contains an article about Olsen's life, specifically her secrets or less well known facts about her. This sparks curiosity within the audience, especially if they are fans of Olsen, or grew up to films and TV shows she starred in. The font in which this coverline is written in (as well as the '154' in "154 ways to get your jeans on") looks like capital letters with a scribbled outline, which allow the background (and a part of Olsen's leg on the left side) to shine through. This font also has a casual, quirky and school-like appearance to it.

The main image is Ashley Olsen, one of the Olsen twins famous for acting and singing. She is usually seen with her sister Mary Kate in the media, but on the cover of this issue she is on her own - it's as if Nylon is trying to deliver a message that she's an individual, which would grab the viewer's eye for the unusual lack of Mary Kate's presence. The photo is a full body shot of her sitting down, and it effectively shows off her clothes without sexualising her and still maintaining Olsen in an interesting pose, all at once. Olsen is wearing darker tinted clothes and a bright orange beanie. The beanie and skinny jeans she's wearing are usually associated with laid back young people who wear such clothes on a normal day. Her pose is rather casual too, and she is looking directly at the viewer with a neutral facial expression. Her head overlaps the masthead (showing that the magazine is well known and recognisable, and to make her the dominant element of the front cover) and interestingly the background is rather busy for a magazine. Complimenting the dark tones of Olsen's clothing, the background is of a dark, metal gate/fence. It adds onto this 'punk'-like theme of the issue. 

This magazine is also aimed at females with a high social economic income, but unlike Indie and Nylon, it has a slightly more mature vibe and feel to it. The masthead is a bold, tall font. This magazine is not as well known and thus the masthead is placed over the model. The 

Front Covers - Men's magazine

Men's Health is a self explanatory magazine, aimed at men with a health-orientated mentality. The front cover features strong, bold colours - red, blue, white and black, with some uses of a neon yellow. These are primary colours, with red bringing connotations of strength, blood, masculinity and passion. 

Masthead

The masthead is in a bold, bright red font, which make it stand out drastically against the white backdrop. The name of the magazine, 'Men's Health' is self explanatory, with the reinforcement that this is a magazine aimed for men. It seems to be a rather well known magazine, as the main image of the front cover overlaps the masthead, a feature found in the more known magazines.

Main Image

The main image of this front cover consists of a well-built young man, smiling at the camera and viewer. The man is wearing swimming shorts, and the beach waves seen in the background reinforce the context. The man's body (especially abs) are shown off, as a body with defined muscles is a sign of health, vital for this magazine of which health is a main focus. It may also be to advertise the main cover line 'Build a beach body', with the model in the main image acting as an example. Interestingly, the photograph is black and white, instead of in colour. This may be to make the use of colourful fonts grab more attention from the viewer than the photo.

Cover lines and puffs

The main cover line for this front cover is 'Build a beach body', in a black, bold font and capital letters. It anchors the main image, where the model is in a beach setting. It also goes together with the monochrome palette of the main image. The puffs on this front cover feature a lot of plosive and dynamic words, which reinforce the target audience for this magazine - it is stereotypically assumed that men enjoy action, violence and power, and words such as 'burn' and 'turbocharge' add a punch to reading the cover lines. The 'burn fat fast with chilli' is a cover line which raises enigmas and hooks the reader in, as they are intrigued to know how chilli can burn fat. It also adds to the stereotypical assumption that men would eat spicy food, and chilli is an extreme example of such food. The cover line at the bottom of the cover, '6 quick ways to turbocharge your sex drive' attracts the reader's attention as it satisfies all four criteria of the uses and gratifications theory to some extent: the cover line uses a direct mode of address to the reader, and supports the personal identity criteria of the theory; it promises information on improving sex to be more enjoyable, which then allows the reader to talk about these '6 ways' to their friends by making them feel superior for having such knowledge. The audience of the magazine is shown through this cover line to include men who are in a relationship, and possibly married. One more puff I found interesting is 'fix a crook back', which widens the audience the magazine is aiming at, as men who are more likely to have back problems would be of an older age. And unlike the other puffs which focus on physical appearance, this one mediates more around overall health, helping the magazine to stay true to it's masthead.
It's worth noting that the puffs focus on only the reader: for example, the 'build a beach body' doesn't include text to suggest that it will help the reader gain attention of the opposite sex, and the '6 ways to turbocharge your sex drive' cover line doesn't focus on improving the sex life for the partner as well as the reader. Thus, it may be argued that the magazine is subtly aimed at more self-centered people. However, this could be argued with the cover line 'live to 120 (and love every minute!)' which contradicts this. This cover line strongly supports loving life and oneself, and promotes for the reader to gain more self esteem. So it also shows that this magazine intends to attract the attention of those who wish to be not only healthy on the outside, but maintain their mental heath in good condition as well, for men who both feel confident, or wish to feel more confident about themselves.

Front Covers - Women's magazine

Vogue is a fashion magazine aimed at a female audience. This issue consists of feminine, pastel colours. The text is black and hot pink to contrast against the delicate teal colour in the background. The colours, pink and the soft teal, are spring colours (cherry blossoms and grass) which go together with the month in which the issue was released, March.

Masthead

Vogue is a recognizable brand and therefore the whole text doesn't have to be seen for the audience to recognise it. Lady Gaga's head blocks a part of the masthead, which makes her stand out more out of the cover, and her face attracting a lot of attention from the viewer as her face lacks any distracting text over it.

Main Image

The main image is Lady Gaga, the star of this issue's front cover. She is wearing a robe of some sort, revealing her cleavage and leaving her shoulder exposed. She's standing straight up, with her hands on her hips and facing the viewer directly, showing confidence and also promoting her slim figure. She wears little amount of makeup, which is unusual for her, as she is often seen wearing heavy eyeliner and unusual clothing, but she retains her unique, attention grabbing style with her pink bob hairstyle and dark lipstick. The dark lipstick links the image to the anchoring puffs and masthead, which are also dark in colour. This allows the image to contrast against the dark text, but not clash completely against the surrounding dark fonts.

Cover lines and puffs

Vogue doesn't bombard the viewer with too many puffs on the front cover, as this would eliminate the sleek and sophisticated look. The main cover line is Lady Gaga's new album 'Born This Way'. It further intrigues the viewer into buying the magazine, especially if the viewer happens to be a fan of her music. The feature of her new album supports the Uses and Gratifications Theory's information needs within the audience, as the article would consist of plenty of information on the album. The title of her album promotes self esteem and love for oneself, which also links to Vogue's association with body image, and fits into the personal identity needs within the magazine's audience. This is because the majority of women who read this magazine would like to be as confident and successful as her, and the front cover leads to believe that reading the article would help the audience to reach those goals.
The other puffs feature women less known to us, but they are all women of power. 'Cry Freedom' is about a woman who lived 29 years in a cult - though the line is vague, the connotations of 'cult' and 'freedom' clash, which suggests that the woman this cover line relates to is a hero for being free, fighting for freedom, living in a cult for so long, or possibly freeing herself from a cult. 'Starved for Love' is a cover line with connotations of anorexia - personifying the 'food demons' makes the mother and daughter also sound heroic. It strongly leads to the topic of self-esteem, as Vogue here is trying to applaud the survivors of eating disorders, and links back to loving oneself. Magazines like Vogue are well known for triggering people to anorexia and bulimia, and how this cover line portrays the mother and daughter as heroic, shows that the magazine is standing against such claims and tries to promote a more positive message.

 

Textual Codes - Bad Education

Narrative and Genre

This programme is of the sitcom genre. The particular episode is titled 'Drugs' and like the name suggests, it is about educating the school's students about drugs.
The show contains a running gag of Alfie's immaturity contrasting against his workmates and students - in fact, this gag is central to the plot as it results in him getting into all sorts of awkward and difficult situations. In this episode, this running gag is included into the narrative as he mixes up his knowledge of known drugs during his conversation with Rosie, showing he has no basic knowledge of the subject.  Rosie's reaction to the majority of Alfie's dialogue is disbelieve or disagreement, to further highlight the difference between Alfie and the rest of the cast, showing him in a negative way.

The lack of maturity in Alfie's behaviour is one point which reflects his main mediation of representing a 'bad teacher', and that is what's highlighted by the contrast of Alfie's personality versus the behaviour of other characters in the programme. This also is what puts him into different situations, breaking the equilibrium of the plot (with Alfie usually being the catalyst) and amusing the audience as he's shown as an incompetent teacher.

Visual Codes

Alfie is shown wearing mostly grey clothes in this episode: a strange looking parka jacket, a brown satchel, and bright green trousers. His appearance is far from the professional attire a teacher would wear - it shows Alfie doesn't take himself too seriously, or he isn't very fashion orientated. Nonetheless, it adds a lighthearted atmosphere to the programme.

Technical Codes 

Bright lighting is used in Bad Education, as it is the sitcom genre, thus it is aiming at a more friendly atmosphere. The bright lighting makes the audience feel safe and welcome.

Uses and Gratifications: The Big Bang Theory

For Uses and Gratifications, I will be writing about The Big Bang Theory, an American sitcom about four scientists and their next door neighbour Penny. I believe that this show applies this theory well amongst its audience.

Personal Identity

The Big Bang Theory applies the use of personal identity amongst their audience, which consists of a younger audience of fairly intelligent people. The audience identify themselves as intelligent, because the show's rather uncommon vocabulary and the dialogue being based around jargon of the protagonists' occupations is occasionally understood by them, giving the audience a sense of satisfaction because "they must be smart", due to their ability to understand the "big words" used in the show.  The Big Bang Theory is not aimed as much at genuine scientists. This is because if it was, the use of actual jargon of the scientific profession would be too difficult for the main audience to comprehend, instead making them feel "stupid" and pushing them away from the show, excluding them. The show's goal is not to be scientifically or politically correct, but to make their audience feel smarter and more superior for understanding the "science" and "geek" jokes, which is why the scientific dialogue is simplified to achieve this effect.

Information

The Big Bang Theory includes many references to popular culture, and both past and current events within their gags and jokes. It allows those who already knew of the event to relate to the characters of the show, and inform those who were not aware of the event mentioned. The characters of the TBBT are 'geeks', so news related to comics, gaming and science are the topics most often covered. It again allows those who are involved in such hobbies to relate to the characters, and inform those who are not aware of the topics as much. Penny's role in the show is to be 'stupid' so the other characters would explain the topics to her in a more 'simple' way. This is used to also explain the topic to the audience, so they may feel like they also have a part in the conversation.

Entertainment

The audience of The Big Bang Theory watch the show for its ability to entertain them, as it gives them an emotional release. This is done by belittling Sheldon, Leonard, Penny and the other characters to give the audience a feeling of superiority. The smarter characters are laughed at by the laugh tracks for their hobbies, as their interest in things such as comics and games for children are the gags themselves. Penny, on the other hand, is ridiculed for not being able to understand the scientific jargon, and her exclusion from the group for this and for working in a low wage job is also a running gag of the show. Of course, both of these examples are not the best way to deliver entertainment, as it makes those who can relate to the characters for the same things these characters are ridiculed for, feel belittled as well. However, the show is in fact aimed at those who wish to feel smarter and this is entertaining to such an audience because the show is bullying the characters in their behalf, so the desired audience doesn't feel guilty for this.

Social Integration

 The Big Bang Theory's coverage on topics such as recent scientific breakthroughs and events within geek culture give the audience an insight onto topics they don't usually find on the headlines of papers and news programmes. This 'underground' knowledge gives the audience an insight into topics they would normally ignore or not understand, making them feel and seem more intellectual to those involved in the conversation. The Big Bang Theory is a currently running programme on E4, a popular British channel with a large, young audience; allowing conversations about the show itself popping up amongst groups of friends. It makes sense that a member of such a group would tune in to watch this programme after it being mentioned or recommended by friends, as its plot focuses on outcasts of society, an uncommon and unique plot amongst television programmes (which also maintains successful). The plot is seemingly broad and may give off many expectations to a new viewer.

Construction, Selection, Mediation

TBBT is filmed in a sitcom, episodic style, and in front of a live audience. Most of the story takes place in Sheldon's and Leonard's apartment and the overall apartment block, but it's actually a built filming set, and not a real apartment. Existing bloopers prove that certain scenes are selected to make the final cut. The mediation of individual episodes usually varies depending on the events within the storyline, but the overall idea remains: the protagonists and the juxtaposition of their geeky and socially awkward personalities versus the desired characteristics within the society they inhabit is the main mediation of the plot, with Penny acting as a representation of the latter.

How the media has shaped you? - Class

How the media has shaped the representation of class?

I found a youtube clip from a breakfast show a while back, which clearly represented class differences in the UK. It featured an interview of Katie Hopkins, who was asked on her opinion about certain baby names.

Hopkins is an example of what could be considered of upper class due to her celebrity status. In this video, the topic of baby names is discussed, and Hopkins shows a grudge against parents who give their children specific names which she personally isn't fond of, and openly confesses that she thinks less of both the children with such names and their parents who gave these names to them. The names she dislikes include 'Tyler', 'Charmaine' or 'Chantelle', as she associates such names with people of a lower class to her. From simply hearing a child's name, Hopkins talks about how she immediately decides whenever she "wants her children to play with them".

Because Hopkins is of a higher class status, she has no shame in belittling those who are not 'equal' to her, and she takes the chance of making herself superior. She fits the stereotypes of upper class individuals acting unabashedly rude towards 'lower class' citizens, of being judgemental and lacking any sympathy. Hopkins also has shown that her association of the lower class is that they are a threat to her and her family.

The This Morning cast have expressed their disagreement to Hopkins' opinions, and the producers have shown her in a negative light. The occasional banners shown during the clip read things such as "Katie Hopkins, says she judges people by their names" to summarise and remind the audience what she said. It is a clearly negative statement, as it makes the audience dislike her from wondering if she would ever approve of their own name. The ambiguous 'people' could be interpreted as anyone who crosses Hopkins' path would be judged for a name, as one of the presenters phrased it, "have not chosen for themselves". It portrays Hopkins as hostile and spiteful. As the discussion shifts towards the topic of 'successful/ middle class people who have 'working class' names', the male presenter interrupts Hopkins statement of "I never heard of a lawyer called Charmaine" with a list of Paralympic medallists, journalists and musicians to prove Hopkins wrong and to remind the audience that their name does not identify whenever one will be successful or not.