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.