Audience

The Sun newspaper has a target audience of males aged 18-30 working class. The reason the target audience would be to the working class is because it is a tabloid newspaper which is stereotypically targeted to the working class as it is a more informal newspaper and uses language in a way which is informal. Also its price is lower than middlebrow and broadsheet and the language used in these two newspaper is suited to people of a higher intelligence. This newspaper would be targeted to males because the front cover is about football. Stereotypically football is a sport that appeals mostly to men and by having a full page of Moyes after he has been sacked from Manchester United shows that this was massive news and that a lot of people will be interested about it. The newspaper also targets people 18-30. This is the target audience for all The Sun newspapers because this type of newspaper has the type of stuff that people in this age range would want to see. For example things to do with clubbing and football which suit this type of audience as that is what they are into at this age.

The target audience for this is people aged 11-20 females.
 

Show me- The language that is used is quite powerful to the audience as it is very catchy and is easy for the audience to remember as it rhymes and is something which is often associated with waxing males hairs which links to the target audience which is males. The word 'exclusive' is a powerful word as it says to the audience that this is something that is only in this paper and not any others which means that people are likely to buy this paper if they are interested in the background behind the sacking of David Moyes.

Mock Revision

 

Visual codes, layout and design and language

1. Can tell it is a well known magazine because Beyonce's head is covering part of the masthead which shows that audiences will be able to recognise it

2. The background is yellow and the writing is pink as these are colours usually associated with females therefore it is clear the demographic audience is females

3. Uses masthead, feature article photograph, headlines and secondary articles but noting in the pugs or no date or barcode on the front of this magazine.

4. Beyonce is seen as beautiful and many people aspire to be her and she is very well known therefore a lot of females are likely to buy this magazine

5. Wearing black as it stands out on the bright background and shows she may have a dark side in her along with the hand on the hip which shows attitude.

6. Headlines in a larger font as they stand out more on the page and makes it the first thing the audience sees.

7.  Denotations used- Beyonce is smiling and has perfect white teeth, showing a bit of skin, cleavege is out slightly, different colours used

8. Connotations- She is smiling as it shows off her perfect white teeth which encourages people to have teeth like her and buy the magazine. She is showing a bit of cleavege and skin as this may appeal to a wider audience especially to males.

9. Language- The headline tight butt abs and thighs is what many females want to have and by putting this on the front this attracts them to buy and read the magazine. This is advertisement to females as they are more likely to buy the magazine by seeing things like this on the front as it will interest them. Also the secondary articles all link to things that are usually associated to females like being bitchy and saying what men want which isn't going to be in a magazine necessary but it sort of tricks the females into buying it as its what they want to see on the front cover of the magazine.

Technical Codes

1. Medium shot is taken so it gets her body in and she can show a bit of thigh. 

2. Quite light on her face but the rest is just a usual lighting.

3. Looks like she has a lot of make up and her complexion looks very good which again attracts a female audience.

Genre

The genre of this magazine is a womens general interest magazine. This is clear as it follows some generic signifiers that are shown on womens magazines usually such as; having a beautiful women on the front, A recognisable iconic female on the front, a role model and having things that are to do with men usually.

Continuation work

One target audience for this magazine are both demographic target audiences. One is the gender which is for females and the other one is age which is aimed at 18-35 year olds of the middle class in society.

The producers of this magazine have attempted to target females when creating this magazine. The producers have attracted this type of audience by using colours which are associated to the girls. This includes the colours yellow and pink which are very bright and seen as girly as they are colours which are usually found on flowers. Also by putting secondary headlines on the front to do with boys, which is used in a chatty tone, attracts women to it as it is what a lot of women in the age range talk about and they want to find ways of attracting men. Also by putting an iconic female figure on the front of the magazine attracts females to it as many people aspire to be Beyonce and many people know who she is.

One example of how media products attracts an audience is I'm a Celebrity get me out of here. The comfortable reassurance of this is that there will be someone doing a trial and Ant and Dec presenting the show. If this was to change the viewers may decrease as people would think that it wouldn't be the same without these things in it as it is essential that this is in the programme. This programme both directly addresses the audience and has them as a spectator. As a spectator they watch and listen to it however they have interactivity for the audience with the voting option for the trials and by making it free on an app this year, it gets more people involved in the voting and also gets them to use other types of media to get involved in the show. Also by having the after show on ITV2 after the real show this gets the audience involved in discussions about the show.

Consolidation Task

Language

Codes and Conventions- The masthead is bold so it stands out to the audience as the most important part. It uses dark colours for the masthead as it stands out on the white background and makes it more visible. In all the magazines for GQ the masthead is in the top left corner of the page and this makes it recognisable to regular readers. The feature article photograph overlaps the title which conveys the popularity of the magazine.

In the left pug ear the name of the magazine is there. This is done as the title is always placed in a this corner for every addition of the magazine so it is always going to be there so that the audience recognises it. In the right pug ear is the headline which is right next to the head of the feature article photograph and has the name of the person shown in the photograph. 

The headline includes the name of the man in the picture to draw the attention of the people of the target market of the people who like Barrack Obama or are interested in politics.

Past Paper Questions

1. Analyse the front covers for both GQ and Saga magazines commenting on:

* visual codes
* layout and design
* language and mode of address

A1. On the cover of the GQ magazine the colours that have been used are all quite dark and what he is wearing is also very dark so he blends into the magazines theme. The writing is in white because the background is dark colours so these stand out to the audience especially the bits which are bold white as they are easier to spot. Clint Eastwood is wearing denim on denim as the background is quite a denim blue colour and it links in with the colour scheme of the magazine. Clint takes up most of the magazine and looks very big on the cover which interlinks with the masthead to the side of him which reads "Badass of the year" which also links in with what he's wearing which suggests that he can wear what he likes and the look on Clint's face also conveys a lot of anger and determination which also links in with the masthead. His pose is quite serious ands his body language is like he is angry and he looks like he is ready for a fight. He is gazing right down the camera which is a direct address to the audience and he looks very determined and you can see the anger in his eye which in the end the visual codes link in with the label that has been given to him.

The central image is right in the middle of the page and takes up a majority of the front cover and even overlaps a bit of the title at the very top. This shows that the magazine name is recognisable and it is easy for the audience to know exactly what magazine this is.

Use of Camera angles and movement in a film clip

"The Shining typewriter scene"

1. The camera angles and shots used when Wendy is reading at the typewriter are low angle shot (looking up) and point of view shot. The low angle shot occurs when Wendy is looking down at the typewriter and the point of view shot occurs as we see what Wendy is seeing on the typewriter.

2. The low angle shot (looking up) makes us see the expression on her face and you can see shock and surprise as she gazes down at the papers which shows that the stuff is not something she really wanted to see. The point of view shot is used well as it shows us what is on the papers and this makes us realise why her face was so surprised as it is not something that you would think is normal.

3. The zoom-in takes place when Wendy looks down at the papers in the point of view shot. This is effective as it comes straight after the low angle shot where we see the shock and surprise on Wendy's face and as we see what is written on the papers there is a very fast zoom which conveys to us that she is very shocked as it is a quick zoom and this is helped by the sound effects and they both work in sync to show fear however the speed of the zoom-in makes us realise that Wendy realises that she doesn't know her husband as well as she thought.

4. The camera shots that are used as Jack walks into the room are the tracking shot and over the shoulder shot. The tracking shot occurs just before the over the shoulder shot which shows the traces of the steps Jack takes and this sets up the over the shoulder shot perfectly. The over the shoulder shot is used to show Jacks position in the room and to show how Jack can see Wendy.

5. The tracking shot makes us see the steps that Jack is taking to see what Wendy is doing in that room which is designed to make us think its a point of view shot however then Jack then appears in front of the camera and it turns out this is an over the shoulder shot. A point of view shot is very typical in a horror film when something bad is about to happen therefore the audience may expect it a little bit however it turns out its an over the shoulder shot which you can see Jacks position as he looks over at Wendy. This is good as you see what position Jack is in the room and his view of Wendy so it has a sense of a point of view shot but you can see exactly what Jack is doing as well as seeing Wendy. 

Different Target Audiences

2a) Choose one of the magazine front covers. Suggest two different audiences for this magazine. Give brief reasons for your choice. (6)

The magazine cover I have chosen is Mens Health. The demographic audience for this magazine is men in the age range of 18-30, however, as the cover has a muscular male on the front it could attract women and homosexuals. The psychographic audience is people who are looking to get fit and building muscle as well as women and homosexuals who like the look of topless men. This is mainly for teenage boys aspiring to the lifestyle implied. The demographic audience is for 18-30 year olds as stereotypically they are the people who are most likely to want to build muscle. Also this is made for males as they are seen as masculine and by having Mens in the title you know who the target market is mainly for. It could also be for women and homosexuals as it has a very clean cut shaven man with his top off on the front which attracts a different audience to it and gives them a larger target audience. The psychographic audience is people who aspire to be big as they have a muscular male on the front so males are attracted to buy it if they are  wanting to get big.

2b) Using the same magazine front cover chosen for 2 (a), explain how the main audience for this magazine has been targeted. (9)

The audience has been targeted by using the colours red, black and white as they are seen as masculine colours to tell the audience this magazine is aimed at males. They also use black and white to make the masthead in red stand out and draw the audience into looking at the masthead as soon as they glance at the magazine. The red stands out on the white as it is quite a bright red and it will stand out to the rest as most of the magazine is white and black. The image used is a muscular man who has his head to the side. This is done to show off his cheekbones and to give a determined look down the camera. This is the mode of address and actively involves the audience. He is also clean shaven as this is what homosexuals and women think is good so the magazine choose to put it on their. He also has his top off as this is the body most people want and what they aspire to be like. He is in the middle of all the writing also so he stands out to the audience. The secondary articles are also all about getting fit which makes the audience know exactly what is going to be inside the magazine before they buy it. There is also a sense of sexual content in this as in one of the secondary articles their is one about sex and the gaze down the camera from the man on the front of the magazine could also be seen as sexual as he is staring right down the camera with one eyebrow slightly raised.

Analytical task- Hawaii Five O

We are going to watch an episode of Hawaii Five-O

How does the programme show the Crime Drama genre?

This programme shows the Crime genre as it has many typical features. One of these features is that the setting is in a prison, all the cops have guns and it has all the things you would expect police to have in it. This programme shows drama as it uses dramatical music in the background to make it more exciting and to entice the audiences attention it also has tough characters throughout as they are normally associated with crime. It also follows the typical characters in a crime/drama films by having a villain, heroes, an ambiguous character and helpers. Also using sound effects while violence is occuring adds more effect to it and makes the audience hear every punch. The obvious signifiers that are used are things such as a prison jumpsuit, flashing red and blue lights, prison guards and undercover cops which are the typical things you would see in a prison which makes it more realistic. The editing makes things look very quick and by changing the angles throughout the violence it adds more effect as it links well with the dramatic music in the background.

Does the episode follow a recognisable narrative structure? (Todorov or McKee)

The narrative starts off with a flashback and not in chronological order. This is done to add a sense of mystery to it and to draw the audience in to continue watching so they can find out how that happened and how it is all going to unfold. This creates a sense of confusion for the audience which makes them want to continue watching also as it adds to the suspense and this is what makes it dramatic from the start. The episode also has drama at the end of every part before going for an advert. This is done for the same effect and so that the audience dont get bored and continue watching because it makes them want to carry on  watching. It follows a typical drama by having twist and turns throughout. This unfolds in the same way as many dramas do which makes it very easy for the audience to know that this is a drama.


How does the programme use enigmas?

The programme uses enigmas by having a flashback. This is done to baffle the audience and this is done in a good way as it draws the audience in right from the start and gives them a bit of a background behind the episode which is about to be shown. They also confuse the audience when Chin Ho Kelly is in the prison and for people who regulary watch this, they know that Chin is a Detective Lieutenant and works for the police so this confuses them even more as they would never expect someone who works for the police to be found inside prison when he hasnt done anything that is really bad. It also uses enigmas at the end when Kono gets into Adams phone at the end which shows you that Kono doesnt trust Adam and shows he has a dodgy past. This makes the audience be in shock and by doing this it adds a sense of questioning to it as its not normal to collect all the data off your boyfriends phone which shows there is a lot to be answered in future episodes.


What evidence is there of both a series and a serial (series tell a different story each episode, serials have on going stories (like soap operas)

The evidence that this is a series is that at the end we see that they are all laughing and nothing really dramatic happens at the end which would lead on to a new episode with the three main characters meaning that there must be something new happening the next week. This is clear to the audience as they know they cant leave out the main characters stereotypically in any programme therefore something different must be happening. The evidence this is a serial is at the end when Adam is pouring the wine and Kono gets all the information off his phone and then it ends as they are cuddling on the couch and she has a guilty look on her face and you can tell that this is going to be an ongoing story as there is too many questions to ask and she hasnt checked the messages which makes the audience want to watch the next episode to see what developments happen.

Cover codes and conventions

I have chosen Mens Fitness because it follows all the codes and conventions of a magazine cover. The masthead is at the top of the page and covers the whole page horizontally with the same font and colour that is always used for this magazine. This is done because it is in a recognisable position as every mens fitness article has the masthead in the same position. Also if the magazine is on the shelf it is easier to see the masthead as the bottom bit could be covered by another magazine so it is a lot easier to spot.
The feature article photograph shows a muscular man on the front which is what the magazine will always use because it is what most men aspire to be like and we already know the gender is for males from the masthead. He is also in the middle without any writing over him so the attention is directly on him as you first view the magazine.
 The headline is to the side and in big letters. This is directly next to his arms and the headline says "Build big arms" which draws you in as the audience will think that it will give tips to get as big as the guy in the picture.
The date, price and barcode are located near each other as the price is located just above the barcode, which is in the right hand corner, and the date is below the barcode so that the buyer can see all them things easily by just looking at the barcode.
This magazine cover has no pug as the title and an advertisement at the top take up the space for one. Also this cover has a lot of secondary articles which are scattered around the man in the middle and all link in to stuff that men will be interested in. They are attracting a different range of audience not just people who want to build muscle, but people who want to lose weight, people who want help with women and diets.
The last thing i spotted was the puff which is in tiny black writing just below "mens fitness" and is almost used as an underline of the title to make it stand out more.The puff reads "The new measure of success" which is only used in this article to show the audience the purpose of this magazine.
The mode of address for this is informal as it uses very chatty and has lots of different secondary articles and it uses words like 'big' as it reaches out to the target audience as the magazine is based on building muscle.

Denotations and Conotations on The babadook

The image on this film poster is of a man dressed in black. In this poster he has windows and a mirror on his body which represents that he is the house which shows you what this movie is about. They use red to show there is danger and aggression and black to show mystery which shows that it is a very dark film. It also shows the mirror on the house in which it shows the main characters which links in with the house as it shows that the babadook has got them inside him.

The magazine shows the two artists (Tom,left and Serge,right) holding skulls. The skulls have red lasers coming off them while the artists are dressed all in black on a white background. They use these colours to keep the image of themselves as they want to be known as scary people and by using these colours this becomes clearer to audiences who have never heard of them before. The writing is in red as it is a very good colour to use as the writing says "The making of their psychotic masterpiece". The word "psychotic" is a word used to describe people who are out of their minds and do very bad things and you can see they want to create this image for themselves as they are staring down the camera in a psychotic manner.

Link to wjec specification

http://www.wjec.co.uk/qualifications/media-studies/media-studies-gce-a-as/GCE%20Media%20Studies%20Spec%202009%20onwards%20(31-03-14).pdf?language_id=1