Tuesday, 25 September 2012

School Magazine front page first drafts


 Front Page/ Contents Page Design 1





Front Page/ Contents Page Design 2






Front Page/ Contents Page Design 3




Monday, 17 September 2012

GCSE grades article (for teen target audience) homework


GCSE Grades cheated by Ofqual

 
After everyone’s hard work, the traitorous exam board has marked down GCSE English. It seems nobody told them there wasn’t time to fool around during school.  

Instead of marking results fairly, Ofqual (who else?) have decided to mess us around. And as we have found out, the other shameful examiners at Edexcel were written to in a scheme to bring grades down to be accurate to predictions.

And as another big fat joke, Welsh students are now going to be given higher results than their English mates, simply because there was a demand over there for regrading.

‘Our students had become the victims of a great injustice’ said Leighton Andrews on his cheated school kids in Wales. ‘In the time since the results last month, I felt it fair to call for a large remarking of work.’ Perhaps ministers in England should take a leaf out of his book.

To make things worse, we found out that the results were changed only two weeks before they were meant to be published. Ouch.

The predictions of Ofqual (made from student’s Sats results five years before!) have made plenty of our lives a living hell. Who wouldn’t be after the marks needed for a C have been whacked up to 65 out of 96, a massive ten marks more than a month ago?

So to recap on the madness that erupted after results day… Everyone is getting grouchy about losing the results they expected; Edexcel are still saying ‘our award is a fair reward’; Ofqual’s regulator, Glenys Stacey, is being called for the sack; and no one is doing a thing about helping people who have suffered.

Things couldn’t be any worse. Justin's latest hit single 'Boyfriend' isn’t even enough to silence loads of crying girls’ cries.

 

 

 

 

Analysis of Empire Magazine Contents Page/Double Page Spread

An analysis of the contents page of Empire Magazine


1. The house style of the contents page is black, white and red. This does not keep coordination with the rest of the magazine, but rather it complements the image that takes up most of the page - by adding a level of style and making the features seem mroe professional and elegant. It also helps the red-coloured cover lines to stand out over the neutrality of the rest of the page, attracting the eye. The font of the text alternates between serif and sans serif to differentiate and make it easier for the reader to notice the more important areas of text (i.e cover lines). The top and bottom of the page features a strip of black to link back to the dark styl of the page. Most importantly, the logo of the magazine is included above this strip of black - and the website along the bottom - which further promotes the product to the reader and subliminally associates the stylish imagery with the magazine as well.

2. The main cover line of the contents page is in white on red. This allows for the title to stand out, but more importantly it fits with the elegant style being evoked by the rest of the page, almost like a classical cinema screening title - appropriate for the target audience who will be film fans - probably male - aged 16 and over. It is placed to the top right of the page, as this is an easy place for the reader to turn to, and it avoids distracting attention from the image along the right hand side of the page. It is the largest block of text on the page, which reflects its' importance as it immediately informs the reader of what the page details. The font is sans serif, though very rounded, which makes an impression on the eye, but is not too edgy to detract form the focus on the main image.

3. The main image - as disclosed- i the primary source of focus for the reader, as the black and white photograph of actor Matt Smith will be of interest to the target audience, who will recognise him in the media and want to know about his story (which will be a main selling point of the issue). Therefore, it takes up the majority of the right hand side of the page, which segregates the text to the other side. The image is a full profile of the actor, which allows for a more stylish appearance which matches the target audience, who are not looking for a glamourous close-up. it also allows for the the image to spread from the top to the bottom of the page, and attract the reader's attention as subtly as possible.

4. The list of features is placed down the left hand side of the page, which helps to avoid cluttering the main image and taking away the reader's focus on it.  The colour of the font varies between red and black, to allow the cover lines of each feature to stand out moreso than the additional info. This applies in terms of font style as well, as the cover lines are larger, in bold and a sans serif font choice - whereas the additional text is much smaller and in sans serif font, to suggest a more factual, tabloid-like quality rather than the eye-catching title of a film. Additionally, the page numbers are much larger than all the text (and in black), which helps stand out to the reader and refer to parts of the magazine that the reader will flick to - therefore making the features most interesting to the target audience stand out. The font style is again serif, which complements the classic style of the page - and the cover line for the features - and not standing out too much to distract the reader.


Analysis of Empire Magazine's Skyfall Double Page Spread
 

 
 
1. The house style of this article in the magazine is black, white and red - similar to that of the contents page, though without a banner and logo along the top. The pages are evidently separated between a montage of images across the top two-thirds of the spread, whilst there is the textual information in the bottom third of both pages. In the top right hand corner is the Winter Preview logo, which is the main point of reference whihc allows the reader to notice what part of the magazine they have reached. The style of the page effectively allows for main attention to be put on the images, as the exciting scenarios that Bond will be experiencing in the yet-to-be-released film Skyfall will be highly anticipated by fans of the franchise (who are likely members of the more specific target audience for this issue).
 
2. There are sveral images which comprise the main point of the article, the one of most interest depicting Daniel Craig in action mode and commandeeering a motorbike. Due to it's importance, this image takes up an entire page whilst the other comprise the second page. The image is so large in size because it is highly visceral and interesting to the target audience, therefore does not need a large title or text box to complement it. The image is colourful enough to attract attention enough for the reader, and will therefore make them look into the article more deeply in order to learn what other scenarios can be expected in the film. On the second page, the more romantic of the images features a white quotation from the actress, as the target audience will not need as much of a visual enticement for the second page and so additional information will keep them interested at this point. The choise of colour does not take away focus, so the quote only complements the image once more.
 
3. The text on both pages is split into three columns, much like that of any newspaper article. This keeps the house style of the pages famliar, and easy on the eye to read and look between either page. The text is small and black, in order to stand out against the white background and be plain to read once the target audience is ready to look in further detail at the article. The opening letter of the story is much larger, and a different font style to the rest of the text, which is again reminiscent of more sophisticated publishings and therefore reflects the professional quality of the magazine and it's articles. The font style for the rest of the text is serif, which again adds an informative, professional style to the article. Certain parts of the story are broken up by italicised passages from earlier Bond films, which reflects the 50th anniversary of the franchise and is a nice touch that will keep the target audience interested.
 
4. Along the left hand side of the page (next to the text) and underneath the images on the second page (wrapped between two columns) are small blocks of additional information, which are even smaller in size as the bulk of text would put off the reader - and additionally the layout of the pages would be less efficient. These pieces of extra information are also in a thin sans serif font, which contrasts to the main text and helps the reader recognise that they are complementing the images and visual aspect of the article, as opposed to the story behind it all. The larger block of text on the left, which is providing a summary of the release dates and synopsis of the film, for example, may be more appropriate if larger in size, but if placed over the main image the page would seem more cluttered. Therefore, it is broken up by additional cover lines which are the same size but in bold, therefore appearing to make the block of text more interesting and concise to the reader. The cover line for the box is in red as well, which stands out against the black and white entirety of the page and suggests the starting point of the article for the target audience, who will notice the colour. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Tuesday, 11 September 2012

Analysis of Magazine Contents Page and Double-page Spread

Analysis of 'Kerrang!' Magazine Contents Page....

1. The house style of the page is mainly black, white and yellow in colour. This allows the reader to familiarise themselves with Kerrang!'s style, and keep unity throughout the magazine. The font choice is sans serif, which reflects the edgy, raw style of rock music that the magazine specifies in (therefore appealing to the target audience, who will be 16-30 fans of the same music).

2. The main image on the page is placed to the left, and takes most focus of the contents as it is the biggest headline that the magazine will be covering. The artist featured will therefore be of most interest to the target audience compared to other featured artists. These images are smaller in size and wrapped around the main image, to direct the reader's attention to the main image but provide more visual attraction than textual information; this half of the contents page forms the layout for the rest of the magazine through the placement of images, and by consisting solely of images, the lack of importance for text is clear.

3. Text ( i.e list of main articles, welcome paragraph) is placed at the top and right-hand-side of the page, as far from the main image as possible. This is to allow the reader to concentrate on the images first and foremost, as they will look to the left and centre of the page immediately. It also provides a kind of column structure for the rest of the magazine, by segregating images to one side and text to another. This makes the page easy to read and search through. The 'Contents' title is an exception, placed in the top right corner to stand out in terms of layout. The size is also larger than the rest of the text, due to it's priority for the reader.

4. The text is small in size so as not to attract attention from the image, and is mainly in black to link back to the house style. This also makes it easy to read against the white background of the page, once the target audience has noticed it. The font size for the articles and features are slightly larger, and in sans serif font to relate to the style of the rest of the magazine. Page numbers of the main images, and key headlines summarising the features (This Week, News, Reviews, e.g) are two-tone - in yellow and black - and slightly larger in size, helping them to stand out to the reader and be easily noticed, but not detracting attention from the images. The colours remain the same for the rest of the magazine, providing correlation for the image of 'Kerrang!'.



Analysis of 'Q' Magazine Double-Page Spread...

1. The house style of the magazine is red, black and white. This fits with the rest of the featurs in the magazine, which is instantly recognisable to the target audience due to the logo and strip of red along the top of the page. This helps keep colour coordination and appear professional - instantly reflecting the image of the magazine - but not stand out too much to take focus away from the article. The deep shade is used in areas of importanc eon the double-page spread (explained further later). 

2. The title of the article is white on red, which ties in with the house style and assists the text in standing out over the image behind it. It is large in size but in comparison to the image takes up little of the page, placed in the centre above the text. This allows the image to take main focus still. The choice os font is serif, which suggests a more sophisticated, informative story than a brainless, action-driven one. Beneath the title is a cover-line-like snippet of information prpvidiing background to the artist interviewed in the article. due to being long in length the size of this information is very small, and though white, the font is a different style of serif (courier), which differentiates from the title and suggests to the target audience that it is important information.

3. The main images take up the top two-thirds of both pages, as they will attract the reader's attention firmly. The artist featured is presented in different scenarios, which reflects his versatility and musical approach (in the studio, playing a guitar) which will interst the target audience, and suggests far more about what the artist has to say than any written communication can. The text is all placed in the bottom third of the page to clearly separate the parts of the spread, and not detract from the focus of the images. This is obvious from the dark colours of the main image contrasting with the white background on which the text is written.

4. The first page of the spread features four columns of text. The size of font is very small, and due to the serif font the impression of a newspaper tabloid is created. The text is broken up by a quotation in larger red, so the target audience is not put off by endless text. The font style is professional in appearance - assisted by a large red letter beginning the article, like a newspaper- which suggests to the reader that the article is an interesting, worthwhile story for them. The second page of the spread features three columns, which contradicts the format of the rest of the magazine and goes against a house style - but the reason being that the first page needed more confined text and smaller font size to put more emphasis on the image. The image on the second page is of the same size but will not be noticed by the target audience before the first one, and therefore less attention is needed to be put on it. In this way the text is spread out more, to give more space to the page (the eye of the reader does not need to be attracted to the image as badly).

Over the second image is also a red and white box which provides an additional quotation. This is small in size and towards the top of the page, so it doesn't distract the reader form the image, though the colour is effective at being visible and easy to read (much like the title). The use of colours links to the house style, being the same two-tone colour as that of the title and quotation on the first page to suggest a more important snippet of information to the target audience. The sans serif font however presents a slight alteration in style, subtly making the box stand out in comparison to the title, yet still make a connection for the target audience who would be confused by a complete contrats in styles.




Saturday, 8 September 2012

Analysis of a magazine cover!

An analysis of key conventions and codes of the front cover to an issue of TotalFilm....


1. Firstly, the mast head (also known as the title) is featured in the topleft corner of the cover, most obviously as the reader will look to this place first to begin reading, and will spot the name of the magazine instantly. It is metallic in colour, which is coordinated with the main cover line lower down on the front cover. This helps connect the magazine with the latest story in the reader's mind, as well as suggest a professional edge to the magazine.

Above the title is a strapline, which is not a slogan as such but provides additional promotion for the main storyline. being in bold font and large in size (though less eye-catching than the title), this strapline will be read easiy as it is segregated from the image and the rest of the magazine, and suggesting the uniqueness of the magazine through its layout. The fonts are sans serif, like most of the front cover, to keep the formality down and impress the eye (explained in detail later).

2. There is one central image on the cover, that of Batman in the latest film 'The Dark Knight Rises'. being large and positioned in the centre of the page, this helps to take up the main focus of the front cover, attracting attention to the target audience  (film fans most likely to be male and aged 13 - 30) who will no doubt be anticipating storied behind the popular film's production. His stance and eye contact with the reader further grabs their attention, involving them in his story, and when backed up by a quotation beneath it suggests an almost insider's glance and connection to the character - as if you have been given this story from the actor himself. A mystical, gritty backlighting in the background of the image subtly makes Batman stand out even further and adds a vibrant appeal to the front cover.

3. The main cover line is simply the title of the upcoming film. This is enough to make the target reader look for further details. The size of the font is large enough to stand out at a glance, but by being duller in colour and placed over the centre of the image this helps to keep focus on the image. As mentioned the colour is coordinated with the Batman logo in the top right corner and the mast head. The sans serif font choice is no frills and industrial almost, which suggests in a written way to the reader that this new Batman film will be hard-edged and strong - like Batman.

4. There are also several smaller cover lines placed to the left hand side of the cover; and a selection of plugs along the bottom of the cover. The cover lines are a lot smaller in size, and are not placed over the image so as to clutter up attention to Batman. Instead, they are white (so as to contrast against the dark background) and are in bold, suggesting a more informational aspect to the front cover that the reader will notice after the image only. Again sans serif to keep similar formatting with the rest of the magazine. The plugs along the bottom of the page are also in white, coordinating the informative text and contrasting it to the exciting main cover line. These plugs are the same size, but rather than being packed away so that they will not be noticed for a while, they are strectched along the entire cover, provifing a stream of details. These alternate between bold and regular sizes, to make the plugs more interesting and enigmatic, and not seem long-winded.

The colour and font choices for the cover lines and plugs are white and efficient as the target audience will not be attracted to colourful, vibrant lettering. Fans of Batman and the darkness of the comic book universe, the choice of a dark background and flat colours helps reflect their interest in the magazine and not put them off.

5. Meanwhile, there is a lack of short, snappy puffs. The only one of notice on the cover is accented in black over yellow, saying 'Exclusive!'. Other than simply letting the reader know that information on Batman will never have been revealed before, the choice of colours contrast with each other and stand out against all the other text. This catches the reader's eye. So although the smal font will not detract form focus on the image, the colours will still be easily noticed and the exclusive aspect suggested early on.

6. Finally, the last - but important - detail to the front cover is the price and barcodes. These are placed in isolated areas of the magazine - either hidden under the enormous title or squashed to the side of the page - and small in size, so that the main foucs for the target audience is that of the image and Batman's story. The price in particular is so small as by catching sight of this the reader will lose interest in the unique, interesting style of the magazine by thinking of expense. Instead, the magazine rather manipulatively suggests the importance of the story first, and eradicates the target audience worries of price. This adds to the effect of catching the reader's interest in the magazine straight away, as they will want to read on and know about the stories inside first.


Thursday, 6 September 2012

Key Media Concepts!


A few media concepts....

Target Audience
The target audience simply refers to a group of people who a media product is aimed at. Individuals can be target specifically or in a broader way; for example age, gender, and interests. Methods of advertising will differ for media products, therefore, depending on the type of person that they intend to reach.

Genre
A genre is a certain type or category of a product, with its own particular style and form. This could include the film, television, print and radio industries, all of which have separate genres within them.

Conventions
Conventions can be found within a genre or certain product, and refer to features that are expected to be found within the product, almost defining aspects of that genre; for example graphic violence and a female protagonist in a horror film. However, more specific features of a product - for example the killer using a chainsaw - are not conventions as they would not apply to all products within the genre.

Codes
Codes can be split into two categories - technical and symbolic - which link to the conventions of a media product also. These are simply images or items which can suggest a certain theme; for example dark lighting in a horror film (technical) or a Christmas tree in a television programme (symbolic).