Theories.

In our media lessons we have been discussing 3 theories that tell us about how an audience sees the media they are presented with and what they take from it. The 3 theories we discussed were the Hypodermic Needle Model, Two-Step Flow and Uses and Gratifications Theory. I am going to discuss what these theories are and talk about their importance in the media industry.




Hypodermic Needle Model
The Hypodermic Needle Theory suggests that media messages are injected straight into an audience who are immediately influenced by this message. It basically is a theory that says that the media we immediately affects us and we don't have a say in what we take in from media. This is important to my project as it helps me to understand that the content I put into my project must be important as it will immediately make an affect on my audience therefore I want this media to be worthy of their attention.


Two-Step Flow
This theory is basically saying that the institution produce mass media from which opinion leaders get information from and they pass it on to us- people who look up to the opinion leaders- and then we pass this information on to our family and friends with our own interpretation- to make the audience more widespread. The opinion leaders are the people who really pay attention to media. This is important for my project as it is telling me to make sure that my magazine stands out so people take it this information and spread it around to make my audience more widespread.


Uses and Gratifications Theory
This is the approach to understanding why and how people actively seek out specific media to satisfy their specific needs. For example, if someone was sad they would maybe choose a light-hearted comedic piece of media to cheer them up. We choose media and take from it what we need. It is an audience-centred approach to understanding mass communication. There are 5 main uses for media: to be informed or educated, identify with characters, entertainment, social interaction and escapism. This theory helps me with my project as it gives me some guidelines of what I can include for my magazine so that people ill be able to take from it what they need and will be satisfied with my product.

Photography

In my media lessons this week we have also looked at Photography. For our coursework- the music magazine- we need to us our own original photography. Our teacher set us a task to take the cameras and take photos of each other in different lightings around the school. This activity was both fun and valuable as it gave us practice at using the more professional cameras and helped us develop an unerstanding of lighting and how the cameras work in different lightings. When we had taken some good photos we were told to edit them on photoshop. This was the image I chose:

 



The first thing I had to do was crop the image as there was a lot of unnecessary background. It also allowed me to centre the model as I could crop it according to her position. The next thing I had to do was tilt the image as it was taken at an angle. To do this I used the transform tool again and rotated it so the lines on gthe background were straight and not slanted. After doing this I again had to crop the image to make sure the edges were perfect. The final thing I did to edit this image was to edit the colours. Using the curves, and hue/saturation tool I managed to change the lighting slightly on the image so that the models features were really enhanced. This is my final product:

Music Genre

Today in class we were set the task of creating a mind map/wordle of our favourite genres of music and our favourite bands/artists. This will help us with the production of our magazines as it gives us an idea of the kind of content we would like to put in our magazine. We will find it easier to write about the genres we enjoy and love ourselves rather than choose genres that we have no interest in as we will have more knowledge on that specific genre and the content will be better and more informed. I have a variety of music taste, I like to listen to many genres. In response to this, I think I will base my magazine about the modern music that is currently in the charts as this music has a variety of genres and has something for everyone.

Seventeen Front Cover Analysis

In our media lessons this week, we have also been annotating magazine front covers and learning the terminology of the key features of the front cover of a magazine. We have been discussing the effect of certain front covers and how the editor uses the features of a front cover to appeal to the magazines target audience. I have been annotating two different front covers to enhance my understanding of a front cover of a magazine. I will be taking all this new information into account as I start to make my own front cover for my own magazine. The two magazine covers I annotated were "Seventeen" and "Teen Now". Both had different ways of appealing to their target audiences and both are part of two very well know brands. I have attached my annotations to this post. Annotating these magazine front covers will help me to make a magazine that will appeal to my target audience.

Seventeen

Masthead- The name “Seventeen” suggests a youthful, energetic, brightly coloured magazine aimed at teenagers. The colour of the masthead is red connoting the magazine is for teenage girls as red is associated with love which is more of an appealing topic for females- stereotypically. Also, it looks like the masthead- along with other parts of the front cover- has been written in a red lipstick. As this is a feminine beauty product, it connotes the magazine is mainly targeted at teenage girls. The colour red also stands out and corresponds with the white and blue and black connoting an American flag colour, suggesting the magazine is mainly aimed at American teenage girls; also shown by the barcode where the price is in dollars.

Tagline- There is no tagline to this magazine. This could suggest that the institution of the magazine is so well-known and well-branded, the masthead alone speaks for the magazine and a tagline is not needed.

Central image and cover model-The image of Ansel Elgort is the only image on the front cover with no secondary image; this suggests that he is the main focus of the magazine. Ansel Elgort is seen as a young, hot celebrity and is found attractive amongst teenage girls due to the roles he has played in many films targeted at this audience. Therefore, he was used as the cover model to attract the audience`s attention as it will draw his fans to read the magazine. Fans will be attracted as they will want to know the gossip about him. Ansel Elgort has been made to look seductive as his shirt is slightly open at the top to reveal skin and high-key lighting is used to show the true detail of his face and add a sense of purity about him. He has been made to look more attractive so it will catch the target audience`s eyes and draw them to the magazine. The image is anchored by super imposed text saying “Ansel Elgort “I like girls who have a passion. “This attracts readers as it is taken from an article containing gossip about him but they also might relate to it and think “that could be me.” It is a gripping statement. The image is a low-angle shot suggesting superiority and we should worship him.

Direct Mode of Address- The cover model is looking directly at the camera making it more eye catching to the reader as they feel they are looking at them. The front cover includes the coverline “Get it, Girl!”. This could be seen as talking straight to the reader making the magazine more personal. At the bottom of the magazine there is: “XOXO”; this is a direct mode of address as it could be seen as the ending to a letter or gift given to the reader.

Coverlines- On this front cover there are 5 coverlines showing a variety of magazine content- all directed at females. The magazine uses slang and colloquial language to try to make it seem more youthful, linking to the masthead.

Puff- “Free poster inside!” This puff is surrounded by a red loveheart making it stand out and seem more attractive as it could be saying “you will love [red loveheart] this freebie”. It attracts people to the magazine.

Pug- There are no pugs on this front cover. This could suggest that advertising isn’t necessary as the magazine is well branded enough on its own.

Barcode, Edition, Price, Date- These are all located very out of the way, in the corners to prevent the focus being taken off of Ansel Elgort.

Buzz Words- The editor has used colloquial buzz words to stand out and be youthful as the masthead suggests. Eg. “E-P-I-C”, “Bestie”, “Insta-Worthy”, “#OOTD”.



Teen Now Front Cover Analysis

In our media lessons this week, we have also been annotating magazine front covers and learning the terminology of the key features of the front cover of a magazine. We have been discussing the effect of certain front covers and how the editor uses the features of a front cover to appeal to the magazines target audience. I have been annotating two different front covers to enhance my understanding of a front cover of a magazine. I will be taking all this new information into account as I start to make my own front cover for my own magazine. The two magazine covers I annotated were "Seventeen" and "Teen Now". Both had different ways of appealing to their target audiences and both are part of two very well know brands. I have attached my annotations to this post. Annotating these magazine front covers will help me to make a magazine that will appeal to my target audience.

Teen Now

Masthead- “Teen Now”. The word “Now” in the Masthead connotes the magazine is up-to-date and provides the reader with the latest gossip. The word “Teen” shows us that themagazineis directed at teenagers. The bold font helps the text to stand out and could suggest the magazine is easy to read as it is quite a simple font. The fact that the word “Teen” is in the colour pink tells us a bit more about the target audience. Pink is the colour usually associated with girls; therefore, we can see that this magazine is targeted at teenage girls. The fact that the word “Now” is in a different colour- blue- is significant because “Now” is a popular brand of magazine; “Teen” is only added to the Masthead to target it at a younger generation.

Puff- On the front cover there are 3 puffs. All these free things attract readers as it makes them feel they are getting their money’s worth so they buy the magazine.

Tagline- Above the Masthead it says “Now Special Series”; this is emphasising that it is part of the “Now” trade and as that is a well branded magazine, it may bring more of an audience. The word “Special” could make the readers feel important as this series is especially for them so could be classed as direct mode of address.

Coverlines- In total, there are about 9 coverlines on the front cover showing a variety of content so there is something for everyone. The main colours used are pinks and yellows. The pink is used to attract female readers and the yellow is a bright colour used to catch potential readers eyes. The editor has used colloquial terms to help stick to the teenage image.

Central image and cover model- On this front cover there are 3 cover models- Harry Styles, Brad from the Vamps and Jake from Rixton. All the images are separate but are added into one. The editor used these 3 people as they were popular amongst teenage girls at the time it was published; therefore, their faces will attract more readers. All 3 images are anchored by their own quotes from articles; however, they are all under one coverline: “Spooks and Snogging- Shock Halloween Confessions!”. This links to the post- Halloween theme of the magazine as it is a November issue. The image of Harry Styles ties in to the coverline that anchors it as the shocked expression on his face matches the “Ghosts? He would scream like a girl” quote. It also ties in with the “shock Halloween confessions”. These may be the main selling point for the magazine, however, there are many other secondary images showing that they aren’t the only options so there is something for everyone. There is no particular colour scheme with the 3 cover models showing that they are all separate articles. The quotes as coverlines attracts readers as it shows there will be gossip- an attractive feature to readers.

Direct Mode of Address- Many of the models in the images are looking directly at the camera which makes the reader feel they are looking at them. Also, two of the coverlines are “My perfect woman revealed” and “British girls kiss better”. Readers could think “I could be this “perfect woman””. This will make them want to buy the magazine and read the gossip. This magazine is a British magazine so the fact that it says “British girls kiss better” could make readers feel it is directed at them and want to read more. Another coverline with a mode of address is “Steal Kendall and Kylie’s Style”; this is telling the reader to look at their style so they are compelled to buy the magazine.

Buzz words- The main buzz word is “free”. People love free things so repeating the word gets people buying the magazine for the free things.

Barcode, Edition, Price, Date- All are placed out of the way so as not to attract the main focus away from the articles.

Pug- There are 2 pugs. Both are advertisements for stuff that can  be found in the magazine and both are used to attract people to read the magazine.

Photoshop

For the production of my magazine, I will have to use photoshop to make sure my work is of the best standard. Consequently, this week in my Media lessons, my teacher has been showing us how to use photoshop to produce a professional and attractive end product. We have been practising by making a film poster. I didnt get to finish this poster; however i managed to edit the original image of a boy (attached) into the starts of a film poster (also attached).

Firstly, to create my final product, I had to cut out the image of the boy in order to remove the background and replace it with the brick wall background seen on the poster. To do this we used the pen tool to draw a path around the boy in the picture. This was a very long process as none of us were really familiar with it so it took a lot of practise, a whole lesson in fact. The pen tool is definitely a tool that I want to practise more with so that i can speed up production time and I can be more accurate.

I then added a shadow to the boy to make the photo look more realistic and so it would look like I had taken the photo against the wall and not the background on the original photo. To do this I added a drop shadow and edited it to make it look as believable and as realistic as possible. Once I had cut out the image of the boy and added the shadow, I had to resize the image and adjust it to centre the image on the page; I did this using the transform option.

Once I had done all this, I had to duplicate the bricked wall background onto the image of the boy. To do this I had to open the background onto a separate page then press "duplicate layer"and duplicate it onto to the page with the boy. When I did this, the background originally covered the boy; to change this I had to move around the layers so that the boy would appear on top. I then resized the image of the wall background using the transform option so that the bricks were a realistic size compared to the boy. When I did this, I came across another problem: the background was now very small so it didnt fit the whole page. In response to this problem, I had to duplicate the layer again so that I could cover the page without having to resize the image again.

The next thing I had to do was edit the colours of both the background and the image of the boy; however, to create the effect I have done I had to edit them separately otherwise there would have been a contrast in darkness in the images and it wouldnt look natural or realistic. To edit the images I used many different tools. For the background, I only used the curves tool; this adjusted the images darkness. However, for the image of the boy i used the curves tool, brightness and contrast, levels, colour balance and hue/saturation. All of them were essential to make the image the way it is now and I would like further experience in these tools in order to make my magazine as effective as possible.

 At this point I was almost ready to add text to my film poster but I firstly had to add one more layer to my background; I added an image titled Falling Rain which was an effect that made it seem like there were what look like beams of light across the page. I had to duplicate the layer as i did with the wall background and also adjust the layer arrangement so that it was on top of the wall and underneath the boy. I again had to use the colour adjustment tools to make it noticeable but not too present.

 When that was done, I could finally move on to add my text. I had to add guide in the centre of the page to make sure my text was centred and in the right position. It was also vital that i chose the appropriate font for my text so that it fitted in with the genre of the film poster. I found that the font I decided on was fitting and suitable for the poster; however, I think if i had had more time to truly browse the fonts, I could have found an even better font. I also found that adjusting the position of the names was difficult as i couldnt manage to get them both at an equal position up the page. It still isnt perfect on my final piece, however when I am producing my magazine, I will ensure that the text is in the perfect place in relation to other bits of text.

Overall, i enjoyed using photoshop and hope to perfect my new skills when producing my magazine. I would like to have more practise at the colour adjustment tools, the pen tool and at positioning text on a page.

Welcome to my blog.

Welcome to my blog. I will be using this blog to guide you through the production of my Music Magazine for my AS Level Media Studies coursework. I will be posting all the steps I take to achieve the end result of my magazine and will be explaining how I came to decide on the final product.


Grace Ormandy.