Coursework Research

For my course work I chose to do a magazine cover. The type of magazine that I chose to do was a health/fitness magazine for male people of the ages 15-17 years old. I decided my audience would be of that one because when I was doing my textual analysis I looked at a variety of health/fitness magazines that are already out, such as Men’s Health and Men’s Fitness, and I couldn’t find any magazines of that genre that where directly targeted to an audience like mine. Which then made me think that this audience was the one I’d go for as it’s a gap in the market and it would work in my favour. Also for the magazine to work with my audience I had to get an idea of how much they were prepared to pay for it, and 85.71% of them said anywhere between £2-£3.99 would be ideal. Furthermore, I found from the textual analysis that I did that Health and Fitness magazines are priced from £3.50-£4.20, and I had to consider the possibility most of my audience is unemployed because of the demographic they come under.

I had to make a survey that would help me in making decisions on what my magazine would be like. On the survey I asked questions that would help me get an idea of what my audience would expect from my magazine. From the results I found that 100% of the people who responded to my survey where 15-17 years old and 71.43% of them where male. This result helped me to confirm that I was going to proceed with making my magazine’s audience be males who are 15-17 years old.

I then went on to ask my audience question that would help me in making a decision on what would be the best look for my magazine. I asked them what colours would be the best for a health/fitness magazine and colours like black and white (85.71% chose this) red and blue and green (57.14% chose this, where the most chosen colours. I then decided that I would use these colours, also the fact that the magazines such as Men’s Health and Men’s Fitness used the same colours as the ones which were picked in my survey suggested that those colours where the most appropriate ones. When I asked what the idea look for a magazine of my genre was 42.86% of people said that simplistic or eye catching would be the best look. As this wasn’t enough to help me decide on what would be better out of the two, I looked at magazines like Men’s Health and Men’s Fitness  to help me decided, and most of those magazines are eye catching with a lot of cover lines so I decided to go with that look.

Also I had to look at other Health and Fitness magazines so that I could get an idea of how to lay out my magazine. From doing this I found that most magazines of this genre make sure that they don’t have much cover lines covering the main image, and the main image overlaps the masthead.

Textual Analysis (mens fitness magazine)

This magazine is called Men's Fitness. This magazine uses colours such as red, white, black, yellow and grey. These colours suggest that the audience of the magazine would be men from the ages of 20-35 years old. This is as the colours are more varied and it differs from magazines such as Men's Health which uses white and black as its main colours, which could be because as it targets and audience a bit older than this one.
I think that this audience targets an audience of men the ages of 20-35 because it uses a coverline that sounds a bit boastful, which is maybe what the audience of the magazine is expected to be like, 'How to survive an elephant attack'.
The look of the magazine is fairly eye catching and it has a fair bit going on, in terms on the covers content. They have the main image, then they've got a lot of cover lines around the main image which all seem to have different topics. Also the cover lines aren't all the same size and colour, it seems to prioritise cover lines which would be more intriguing to younger audiences such as, GET  ABS LIKE THESE' and 'I grabbed a tusk in each hand and tried to cling on'.
Similarly to other magazines of this genre, the main image hasn't got any cover lines overlapping it and it overlaps the masthead. This is most probably because the magazine would want to make the audience focus more on the image than the cover lines, as they might think the contents of the magazine will help them build the look the main image is trying to convey.
The masthead of the magazine has things surrounding the top and the bottom of it, for example it has like a little strip underneath it with words/phrases, this gives suggestions to the audience what the magazine may contain.

Textual analysis ( Muscle&Fitness magazine)

This magazine is a fitness magazine. By the looks of the magazine, the audience is most probably going to be men between the ages of 25-40. This is because of the main image, which a picture of a well known actor, Dwayne Johnson, who many men would want to be like in terms of their physique.  The magazine also uses cover lines the 'The 300 workout' which suggests that people who have watched the movie would be a possible audience of this magazine. Also the audience may be men from the ages of 25-40 years old because there is a lot of pressure on men to build the perfect physique and coverline such as ' BIG ARMS FAST' suggest that men in that position will be most likely the audience as the contents of it is in their best interests.
The colours on this magazine also suggest that the audience of the magazine will be of the ages 25-40 as the colour schemes emulate the colour scheme of some GQ magazine covers, and GQ target men the ages of 25-40 years old.
The audience of this magazine may also be fans of Dwayne Johnson who try to be like him. This is because we see the main image of of Dwayne Johnson alone and then there is a coverline on the magazine that says 'DWAYNE JOHNSON IS THE MAN' and 'HIS ENTIRE WORKOUT INSIDE!'. Such cover lines make people want to buy this magazine for the reasons that it will be of personal interest to them and this makes it easier for them to buy the magazine and read it.
The magazine cover uses big bold font for the cover lines and they are organised to make sure that the main image isn't being overlapped by cover lines. Additionally, the cover lines are organised all down the sides of the magazine which means that the readers will read the left side first the the right side.
Similarly to other magazines of this genre, the main image is overlapping the masthead and and all the cover lines are placed around the main image so that there is more of a focus on what the magazine is trying to portray. This will most likely attract an audience that are drawn in by the main image.

Textual analysis (Basketball Magazine 1)

 

The magazine that I am analysing here is called Dime magazine and it's a basketball magazine. The initial look of it is fairly simplistic, by this I mean that there isn't too many cover lines and stories on the cover at once and this gives it quite a mature feel. This simplistic look suggests that the audience of this magazine would be people the ages of 16-24 years old, furthermore the price of the magazine $4.99 suggests that this magazine is for people this age, the demographic for this magazine as well would most probably be Group E, who go with the age group of the audience that I thought the audience was.

The colours that the magazine uses also indicates who the audience may be. The use of colours such as black, grey, red, white and yellow also help in indicating the audience would be quiet mature. This is as we see other magazines of the same genre that have bright, eye catching colours tend to be aimed at younger audiences than this on, kids who are like 11-14 years old.

The main image of this magazine gives connotations that the basketballer is quiet significant. this is as he has been placed ahead of the masthead and also the coverline that stands out the most is about him and his style of play. 

There aren't many cover lines on the magazine cover and the ones that are there indicate that this magazine is very much concentrated on certain stories and it doesn't try covering as many stories as possible like other types of magazine. Across the first letter in the masthead there is a coverline that indicates that this magazine is special edition and next to the main image we see a logo that indicates the tenth year of the magazine. This suggests that the magazine may get away with pricing the magazine a bit higher than usual. Also we can tell the magazine is a special edition as it features the names of some big basketball players above the masthead. 

In addition the magazine uses a certain structure that means that the audience isn't having to read too much, for instance, the reader will automatically read the masthead and the things around it. After that they will move straight to the middle left as there is the biggest coverline there, then they will read the coverline directly to the right, and then everything directly below that. This is good because it means that readers aren't having to constantly change from left to right when scanning the magazine for cover lines that may lead to them buying the magazine. 

Stevi Ritchie Audition

This particular X- Factor contestant has been presented in a negative way. This is as the producers of X-Factor would've handpicked this contestant as they know that his personality and the way he acts will be entertaining to those watching at home. The producers would've used selection and focus as mediation processes for this man's audition. The producers would've picked this man whilst he was waiting for his audition and given him the chance to speak, as we see prior to his interview, and this creates good material for the show. The producers then focus on this man even when he's in the waiting line, the camera is directly on him and all of the other contestants who would be waiting in line as well are out of focus. The producers do this so that the watchers at home get more amusement from Stevi and also so that he can be conveyed as a 'fan favourite'

Magazine Questionnaire

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Analysis on Downtown Abbey

Scene 1 (0.30-1.00)

In the opening scene of Downtown Abbey (Series 8, Episode 1), we see a long shot of a woman riding a bike in some kind of royal grounds. As the woman is riding her bike the camera movement pans at a high angle. Furthermore in the opening scene there are certain aspects of mise en scene such the upper class setting, old fashioned clothing and the bike riding. All of these aspects of mise en scene insinuate the genre of the TV show.
The lighting that has been used in this scene is natural lighting as its set outdoors, which gives it that realistic feel it helps this scene convey the weather of the place that they're in which compliments the mise en scene effectively.
There is some diegetic that has been used in the form of birds,the bike's noises and other sounds within the environment, once again this helps amplify the mise en scene as well get a better understanding of the place/location. We can also identify some non diegetic sound in the form of music, which also helps us to identify the genre of the show.
Plus in this scene transitions are used as on of the editing techniques. The transitions cut straight out, this was possibly done to show where the woman on the bike has been during her journey and to speed up this journey. The shot durations of this journey are very short, once again this was done to speed up the woman's journey and show us all the different places that she'd been.

We also see a possible enigma code in this scene when the from the opening scene momentarily stops and uneasily looks at a mother and daughter share a tender moment. This could have been done to get the people watching the show to think about whether the woman with the bike possibly has a link to the child or maybe has more to reveal about herself and children in scenes to come. 

 Scene 2 (1.12-2.25)

In this scene we see props such as a shelf of books, formally dressed people in 1920's clothing and a room with fancy ornaments. This use of mise en scene suggests to us that the people being introduced to us in this scene are upper class and the way that they are, for instance the man reading the news paper, solidify this suggestion.

In the very beginning of this scene there is use of non diegetic sound in the form of music, but this is cut off very quickly to introduce the diegetic sound of the people speaking. There is also other diegetic sounds in this scene such as the sound of the cutlery making sounds and newspaper ruffling, which adds to making the scene more authentic. Furthermore in this scene we see an abundant use of mid shots when the characters are speaking. This has been done so we can see the characters body language when they speak. When the camera is transitioning from one character to another, the transition is a straight cut. This is so that when each character begins to speak we are allowed to see their immediate expressions. Towards the end of this scene a medium long shot was used. This was so that we could see how one of the characters was exiting the scene and how other characters would be interacting with him in this particular time in the scene, and the introduction of new characters

 Scene 3 (2.40-)

In this scene we see the use of typical kitchen decor like pots,pan,bowels, kitchen utensils and features of the kitchen like ovens and a kitchen surface. This decor is used as it helps the mise en scene, furthermore the decor used looks like the type of kitchen decor that would've been  seen at a time period like that, which helps to make the mise en scene more realistic. Also the characters in this scene are seen wearing costumes that are matching of the time period that Downtown Abbey is based on, which adds to the realism of this particular mise en scene. 

In this scene, the camera angle tends to be eye level and the camera shots are always medium shots. This helps to make the watchers of Downtown Abbey feel as if they are in the scene as the camera shots and camera angles used by the producers are so up close and personal, without giving off the wrong vibe, such as too much tension. 

They've used a lot of diegetic sound in this scene such as the clanging of the cutlery, the characters' conversations and background noises that would be expected such as people walking and other people talking. The camera movements in this scene is a pan. This is so that the producers could fully convey the kitchen whilst focusing on the characters who would be the point of interest in that moment. I think that this was done so that the producers could make the watchers of this TV show feel as if they are in that very scene whilst watching. Also the camera angle is eye level so that we can capture the characters facial expressions.

Textual Analysis- Magazines

On this cover of Forbes magazine, we see a very consistent colour scheme of grey, white and black. These are very simple colours that aren't bright which indicates that the magazine itself is a high end magazine that's aimed at mature men from the ages 35-60 years old, who would be in the socio-economic group A. This is as this audience would be interested in what people like Warren Buffett and Jay-Z do to make their money. Also on the magazine, the cover lines that have been used suggest that the audience would be mature men of the ages 35-60 in group A because we language in the cover lines such as, 'A CONVERSATION WITH STEVE FORBES ON WEALTH '. This suggests that the audience of this magazine would be people who are interested in furthering their wealth.

The magazine cover uses quite mature font on all of the cover lines and the masthead. This type of font used on the cover lines and the masthead suggest that the audience of Forbes magazine would be people of a mature age, 35-60 year olds. Furthermore, the colours used on the cover lines and the masthead also suggest that the audience would be of a mature age. The look of the magazine cover itself is quite minimalistic which can be said it indicates that the magazine is upmarket, this is as it looks organised and there aren't cover lines scattered all around the magazine, adding to the mature feel of the magazine that would be expected from the audience.

The main image of this magazine also suggests the audience of the magazine. The use of Jay-Z, a well know figure from the Hip-Hop world, might attract an audience of the same age of 35-60 years old, but maybe a different demographic. This is as people from other demographics may aspire to emulate what Jay-Z has done, but they might not be from the typical audience that buy Forbes magazine.


On the main image of this edition of Forbes, we see Jay-Z stood slightly in front of Warren Buffett and he's looking confident, smart and serious. This gives connotations that Jay-Z is looking to claim authority in the world of business and is looking to make a statement, which is maybe why he chose to stand the way he did in front of Warren Buffett. Not only does the image give connotations that Jay-Z is looking to make a name for himself in the world of business but the cover lines used on the magazine indicate this too, ' HE'S ON HIS WAY THERE '. This cover line shows that Jay-Z is well on his way to becoming a well established businessman.
Furthermore on this main image, we see Warren Buffett positioned behind Jay-Z, looking much more relaxed and at ease. This give connotations that Warren Buffett is ready to take a step back as he's done well for himself, and let aspiring businessmen such as Jay-Z climb the ranks and take over.

Peaky Blinders- Oppositional, Negotiated, Preferred

Peaky Blinders seems to be about a gang based in Birmingham 1919. Peaky Blinders were an actual gang in Birmingham back in the late 19th century.
On the BBC drama the setting and time period are the same too. A majority of the characters are involved with the gang and they wear formal clothing, the men are in suits and the women in skirts and blazers.


Preferred Reading
From watching what I did in the first few minutes of Peaky Blinders, I seemed to accept the ideology of what the text was saying. Certain aspects of the text such as the props used are what many people would associate with the time Peaky Blinders was set in, the use of the clothing, cars and setting props. This means that most people who'd would've seen Peaky Blinders without any knowledge of Birmingham 1919 would take a preferred reading of this text.

Negotiated Reading

I think that people who know or have heard about 1919 Birmingham would have a negotiated reading of this text. This is because some aspects of the text would be realistic for instance the style of clothing and the general look of Birmingham in Peaky Blinders. But other aspects in the text such as the story lines might make people have a negotiated reading as they would've thought it was an exaggeration of 1919 Birmingham, which then makes them question their acceptance of the text.

Oppositional Reading
People who would have a good understanding of what 1919 Birmingham was like may have an oppositional reading. This is as they'll most probably think that the text has gone over the top on certain things like the stolen guns and everyones involvement with the crimes happening. Also, people who have knowledge about the real Peaky Blinders gang may take an oppositional reading because they might feel that the text has misrepresented the people.

Handicap represntation

In a news article written on the Daily Mail it said. 'Disney bans disabled people from skipping lines because too many able bodied visitors are CHEATING'. This news article is representing disabled people in a negative way, this is as its making disabled visitors look like they're the reason some people are cheating the system at Disney parks. The news article is making out that disabled people need to much just to accommodated them, and that actions taken to help facilitate them are causing problems.


I identified this because I think that Daily Mail could've put a headline that is more sympathetic to the disabled visitors of Disney. The headline that they chose to use represents disabled people negatively, as they're being made to look like they're influencing people to cut lines. The article also misrepresents disabled people as its claiming that disabled people are posing as 'tour guides' so that people can skip lines with them. I think that Daily Mail should've wrote more about how able bodied people are ruining it for disabled visitors as people might think that the problem is actually disabled guests, based on the misrepresentation of them in this article.

The Daily Mail says that it has 'traditional values'. I think that by this Daily Mail is saying that their values will be based on views that may not be agreed with by modern society, as 'traditional values' may tend to come across as close minded. This is the case I think, as I found the report to be fairly close minded, Daily Mail didn't seem express any sympathy to those handicapped Disney visitors who do follow the rules.

Sexuality representation on TV adverts

I think that these days on TV adverts, both men and women have began to be over-sexualised so that people are more interested in the product/brand. There is one particular advert which I thought did this, Paco Rabanne's Invictus advert. In the advert they use a topless man and later on they use women who are only covered by a light throw over.

I think that this is a negative representation as its very much over- sexualised and sends mixed messages to younger people. Also it stereotypes women to be a certain way or convey them as sex objects because of the way we se them in adverts such as this, its not a true portrayal of men and women.

The models that are used are usually what people want to look like, not what they necessarily do look like. This paints an image in peoples head of what they should look like based on what they're seeing in these adverts, whether its an athletic toned body or a skinny waist and long legs. I think that this had to be identified because of the impact that it has on people who watch these adverts. People end up feeling pressured into looking like the people in these adverts that they see and it usually leaves some people going to drastic measures to get the body they desire.

I think that the producers behind this advert would have values such as; they need to be able to produce a certain image for products, also I think that they'd want to be able to make empowering adverts just like the one for Invictus. But I think that they might need to think about their values as some of them may portray misleading images/messages.

Class representation in newspapers

There has been a newspaper report that has claimed 'children from poor homes need to change how they eat and dress and conduct themselves so that they can feel comfortable in middle class settings such as restaurants and theatres'.  I think that this statement out of a newspaper report published by The Guardian conveys working class children in a very negative way. I find the  statement very demoralising towards working class children, as I think it was a way of saying that they can't be seen in the same settings as middle class people with the way they are. I identified this because I thought that this was a very incorrect statement to make.

I don't think that children should have to be pressured into changing the way they conduct themselves, the food they eat or the way they dress just to fit in. I think that children should be able to feel comfortable with the way they are, instead of having to be something they're not just so that they don't look out of place when they go out for a meal or a day out at the theatre.

I think that this had to be identified because if we where to put both middle class and working class children together,  don't think that we'd be able to tell them apart. They would probably eat the same food, things such as chicken nuggets and fish fingers, they'd probably also dress similarly and have the same toys and have the same interests. So I find it surprising that such a statement could be made as its difficult to look at any child and place them under a certain class just from the way they eat, dress and conduct themselves.  

The Guardian's values are that the press must take care not release any inaccurate, misleading or distorted information. Also The Guardian says that its press must distinguish clearly between comment, conjecture and fact.This means that The Guardian will most likely release things that are factual or close to the truth. This means that despite how I feel about this particular news report, the must be some truth to it. Maybe thats how the author of that report felt but, I still feel it was a misrepresentation on their part.

Race representation in films

There are many films that have been made that have represented races in different ways, both positive  and negative. In this film, Django Unchained, there is a negative representation of white people in 1858. The way that both races have been represented in the movie is negative, with the white people being very derogatory to their slaves; beating them, making them fight for their entertainment and making them work tirelessly on cotton fields. 

Also the black people in the film are represented in a negative way too as they're shown to be very loathsome towards white people in the film, even when they're being offered help. They're also represented as hostile with everything, which is understandable but generally its not a very good representation of them. 

I identified this when I watched the film myself. I felt a need to identify this and talk about it in this blog because, I think that the representation of both races in this film was correct for that time period, but we can say in todays society we've moved on from that. The film shows a very deep hatred between black and white people, but its not strictly true as we can see in the picture there Calvin Candie and his slave Stephen have a strong bond. Also the main character Django is very close to the bounty hunter who bought his freedom, Dr King Schultz. 

I think that Columbia Picture's values would be to deliver box office movies with hard-hitting plots. I think that this is exactly what they did in Django Unchained, I think that they could've done better with the race representation though. 

Age representation in tv shows

There are many ways that we've seen the media represent the teenagers of these days. We see so may shows that convey teenagers going out and drinking themselves into paralytic states.

Tv shows such as BBC Three's Sun, Sex and Suspicious Parents have shown a different side to teens, a side that makes us look like heavy drinkers with no sense of control.

Unsuspecting teenagers go away on 'lads holidays' or 'girls holidays' with their friends to have fun at party destinations such as Ibiza, Zante or Kavos. The teenagers are then filmed going out to the party side of their destinations in search of cheap booze in any club. A majority of them have to be escorted home by their friends as they're so drunk, which is what the TV producers tend to show.

I think that this representation of teenagers is wrong, and it's showing us in a very negative light. This TV show in particular only seems to be interested in following around drunk teens, filming them doing whatever they'd be doing in that moment in time, and then using that footage to incorrectly draw up a conclusion of teenagers on holiday. Many people would see this and then think that teenagers these days are only going out to get as drunk as possible, only having seen what the producers would've shown them.

BBC Three is very much aimed at young audiences.They say that their channel is disciplined on aiming at the young, with the center being 16-34 year olds. Their values are to innovate breakthrough comedy, standout entertainment, brave documentary and intelligent factual formats. This means that BBC Three aim do deliver entertaining TV shows with material that is enjoyable for their audience.