Deffered Reality ; A world
SO IT BGEINS
Set brief
For our AS task we have chosen to do print media in the form of a magazine. We will be allowed to choose our genre alongside creating the content page, the double spread and the cover page.
There should be a maximum of four members to a group if any , however, we (as a class) chose to do our magazines individually to allow us to gain better understanding of the process. All images and text used in the main task must be original and produced by the candidate with a minimum of four images. This task should be preceded by preliminary exercises to build up learners’ skills with equipment and their understanding of conventions.
Key Concepts of Media
a detailed understanding
Initially I had taken literature, another passion of mine. However I found my interest waning , my heart guided me towards Media ; a subject i found is not that different from literature in it's base creation. The aspect of creation is what gravitated me towards media. For now I would say it's hard work but also extremely rewarding to learn so much from it.
With this said i'm now familiar with 7 key media concepts , that allowed me to become familiar with the aspect that media production is done through analysis and meaningful sewing of media concepts and technicalities. The key concepts are broken down by and learnt by remembering the acronym ' MIGRAIN', which translates to;
Media Forms and Languages : conveying meaning through signs and symbols
Institution : entity which produces media
Genre : the classification of the product
Representation : what different groups and people are shown as
Audience : people who are privy to and watching the media production
Ideology : what point of view is being tried to portray
Narrative : how the story is being told
Following this i am also now privy to media texts and their uses in media production, this being said i find it it very interesting how learning all this has opened my eyes to the working of social media , promotion , drama and radio staging.
Media Languages
With my newly found information on media forms which include print books magazine or well anything interactive with a story to tell and something to say. i proceeded to learn the formation of these media forms , and something that was very interesting to learn was that all kind of media forms are called media ' text', makes it sound exclusive , no?
Anyway, moving on media language in itself is how media text is perceived , and the way to interpret is often through signs and symbols where they are put together in intricate ways to create meaning.(codes).
codes fall into different categories after that ;
Technical Codes : camera techniques ; framing of the camera , lighting , exposure and juxtapositions in the frame
Symbolic codes: objects , setting , body language clothing and colors in the frame and how they are interpreted
Written Codes: Headlines , captions , speech , bubbles and language style
Audio Codes : dialogues , sound effects , music scores voice over
Moving forward there are also Media Conventions ; rules or continuous ways of doing something for example ascribing a meaning to eyes as the windows to the soul. while forming a media text one might use conventions to connotate something with a long ascribed meaning or to purposefully move away from the convention.
Shots and Angles
Mid-Shot
The most common shot is middle or mid shot. This ranges from the top of the head down to waist of a person. It focuses on the subject while also giving background information.
Lighting
In film-making and photography the term lighting refers to how light has been used by the cinematographer , photographer and director.
At its most basic level, lighting allows photographers to capture an image in the first place.
Most photographers however, want to do more than just create images we can see clearly. Instead they want to create scenes where the lighting itself adds mood and meaning.
Lighting can contribute to narratives in many ways, such as creating atmosphere or contributing to characterisation
Types of lighting
There are a number of basic types of lighting that are used for different effects in film.
Guidance on how these effects are practically achieved can be found in the production skills section.
There are just two basic light sources used to create most lighting styles:
-
the key light is the primary and brightest source of light, placed to the side of the camera and pointed at the scene or subject
-
the fill light is a secondary light source used to balance out the key light and change the level of shadow
It is also important to consider the following techniques and the atmosphere they create.
Beyond that the other types include
-
Backlight: A light positioned behind the subject, often casting them into darkness.
-
Rim light: A light positioned above and slightly behind the subject which helps to define the edge of the figure. Sometimes referred to as a hair light.
It is also important to consider the following techniques and the atmosphere they create;
High key
In high key lighting a powerful key light source is balanced with fill lights to give us a brightly lit image with little or no shadows.
Low Key
In low key lighting set-ups the amount of fill lighting is minimized, helping to create shadows and darker areas.
Another thing to consider would be the result of lighting
Hard light is a lighting source that casts harsh shadows.
Soft light is a lighting source that creates a diffuse, ambient light.
Magazine Cover Elements
some simple aspects
Out of our several choices of media texts we decided to work on a magazine first. magazine cover is the first noticeable thing about a magazine. therefore there are particulars and codes and conventions attached to it.
Through reading notes and going through presentations prepared by my teacher i now stand before you a well informed analytic of magazine cover. The magazine cover Codes and Conventions are as follows:
MastHead- The Title
-
has a trademark unique logo
-
it is placed in top width or top left of the magazine cover
-
it is a positioning statement ; as to how the magazine positions itself in the market
Tagline
it is found underneath the masthead. it is a description of the main issue
Main Photo ( Cover photo or Anchor Photo)
The main photo is a feature of the main article of the magazine. it is often a medium or
close up shot to make sure the subject is clear. however that is a convention that is no longer
adhered to. It can be thought provoking or a clear representative of the genre of the magazine.
Main Coverline
This is the largest text on the cover after the title and it anchors the meaning of the image. Usually a sub line in smaller text giving more information about the article.
Other cover lines are usually one or two words with sub lines explaining them. Some are used to intrigue the reader. These must represent the stories inside. There are only 5 or 6 and they are positioned down the sides, framing the image, so the main image is not covered. These are usually in the same font to create a distinctive design.
Coverlines
These are lines of text featuring the numerous topics discussed in the magazine. they help attract an audience.
Puff
Puffs gives the promotional features. it can be an eye catching graphic of other aspects inside the magazine an can be an attractive force or the readers or buyers. it looks like a sticker stuck on the magazine.
Strip
A list of topics discussed in the magazine. often on the the right and left margins
All these aspects on the covers helps attract an audience especially with the minimum possible information given on the cover. The right use of these aspects can be a huge help in boosting sales.
Issue date
Main image
Main coverline/ lead article coverline
Masthead
Tagline
}
Supporting cover lines
History of Magazines
All about them
What magazines really are? You must have wondered about this sometime. Magazines are a collection of different texts, pictures, advertisements and illustrations. They can be either digital or printed. The purpose of a magazine is to make people aware on different topics through different means.
History
To start with the history of Magazines the first printing press was started in 1440 and with that started the first idea of printed magazines. Before this magazines were hand made. The first earliest modern magazine was created in 1663 however later in 1700's people became more aware and literate thus more modern magazines were published. From 20th century, magazines were created for men and women and other people with different interests. As time passed, more specific magazines like sports, business, teen and children magazines have became more popular among people.
Magazines in Modern Times
In these modern days, magazines are becoming unpopular as now people can get free and unlimited information on the internet. Nowadays, in my country Pakistan, magazines are mostly read to know about celebrities' gossips or any particular articles that people are interested in. Mostly Fashion or Celebrity magazines are popular here. People are unaware of many other genres of magazines and neglect magazines talking about health or any other social issue.
Need of Magazines
Every type of magazine have a defined audience so people can easily look for something.They are a source of entertainment as well as marketing goods. Magazines are really helpful as they are detailed and gives the audience a wide variety of topics to think upon.
In today's class we researched about magazines in the past and their impacts in the present. We also discussed our syllabus in detail and analyzed some more magazines.
Learning About Genres
Today through research i learnt about different genres of magazines. About what genre is and how it affects the audience and producers. Furthermore, we also learnt about uses and criticism of genres.
Genre is a classification of different forms of text which is portrayed through different forms. It can be shown by using different styles and has elements which are known as Paradigms. They help the audience recognize a genre through:
-
Iconography: signs or symbols which could be heard by people.
-
Structure: the arrangement of how the text is written or its format.
-
Theme: what ideas have been highlighted
Audience
Genre is important for the audience as it makes them aware as to what they want demand from the producers. Audience buy texts by looking into its genre as certain content is required by a certain set of people. Genres is categorized which makes the audience know what brings them happiness and what their requirement is. It also sets up the hopes and expectations of the people.
Producers
Genre also gives producers an advantage as through it they know what is the demand of a major section of the society thus they make that type of content and gain profits. Producers confine their creativity to what is required by the people and create content which may not be a fact but satisfies the audience.
Disadvantage of Genre
Genre creates guidelines for both producing and consuming media and creates a relationship between them both. However, there are some drawbacks of classifying media products into genres as it doesn't allow producers to create different content thus there is repetition of text and story-lines. Different experimentation is restricted as if there will be a different genre, it won't be famous amongst people who understand media texts through genres.
My Chosen Genre
A brief introduction
Choosing my Genre was an exciting prospect for me. I had something to say and I found a medium to say it on. Moreover choosing my genre was an extremely important aspect for me as I would have to photograph the main idea for it. Nevertheless, choosing my genre was a very natural decision for me , so I chose *drumroll please* , News and History.
The reason for this decision however natural it was , was the amount of important things that needed to be said and put out into the world. The example being race , gender , environmental and social issues ranging from the upper house of the parliamentary in Pakistan to the ICCE detention camps in US.
My inspiration stems from magazines like this that address important issues and bring to light the happening around the world. In a simple glance over News and History magazines it is easy to tell that their covers reflect the importance of what they have to say. with minimum cover lines bringing to attention the main article and a with provocative tagline these kind of magazines easily create a whirlwind of humanitarian and political opinions inside a person. Overall the covers while usually cover one person or one issue as the main article have their front covers with the shots related to those covers as midshots to close up shots. On the other hand these covers have been known to use Multiple person shots along with graphically created designs
Choosing my Genre was an exciting prospect for me. I had something to say and I found a medium to say it on. Moreover choosing my genre was an extremely important aspect for me as I would have to photograph the main idea for it. Nevertheless, choosing my genre was a very natural decision for me , so I chose *drumroll please* , News and History.
The reason for this decision however natural it was , was the amount of important things that needed to be said and put out into the world. The example being race , gender , environmental and social issues ranging from the upper house of the parliamentary in Pakistan to the ICCE detention camps in US.
Similarly as most of these genre magazines have , my target audience will range from 221- 50, appealing to all those who crave the on-going of their own country and countries outside of pakistan and all those who want to form an opinion on the matter
Extensive Genre Research
Codes and Conventions
In this post, I will discuss about codes and conventions of the genre that I chose: News and History. As I discussed in my previous blogs,codes are signs and symbols put together to create a meaning and conventions are long accepted ways of doing things thus audience is familiar with them.
Technical Codes
Technical codes in such magazine vary from magazine to magazine. The reason for this is that most current affairs magazine or news magazines don't use photographed images at all because often the mian article fro the magazine is some abstract idea that can not be captured very well. However some magzines to take pictures and those pictures are usually of close up or full shots of a politican or people in crisis.
Symbolic codes
Symbolic code in a news magazine or current affairs magazine would be the colours used to depict the serious nature of a subject or maybe even the colour tone of the image itself. Other symbolic codes could be the facial expressions of the subject itself or if it is not a person the image itself.
If we were to take these covers as example the colour tone of the firs cover reflects a grayscale colour tone that could be inferred as the main subject's story , as clear truth with no more angles to it then what she is saying herself. On the other the other cover's codes could be analysed by the image itself that depict the horrors of afghan war.
Written Codes
The written codes in the genre that can be analysed are the minimal coverlines and the tagline for the main cover,
Editorials; a brief note
Editorial is an article written by the publisher of the magazine. It usually remains unsigned. Some US newspapers like The New York Times often classify it as 'opinons'.Editorials are typically published on a dedicated page, called the editorial page, which often features letters to the editor from members of the public. On the other hand, an editorial does reflect the position of a newspaper and the head of the newspaper, the editor, is known by name. Whilst the editor will often not write the editorial themselves, they maintain oversight and retain responsibility
For my own magazine my editorial will be an opinon piece on the political and humanitariaan issues regarding kashmir and their similarities
Target Audience
Target Audience are the people for who the product is made for. They can be discriminated through the income or gender of an individual.Target market is then decided from the potential target audience where there are more chances for the product or service to be used or bought. It is a marketplace for certain goods and services. Marketplaces can be a certain region or place.
Market Segmentation is classification of the consumers into their needs or traits. These can be divided into 4 sections:
Behavioural
After registering all this information i think determining my primary audience would be easy. The simplest idea would be that my work would be targeted to the age compartment of 21 to 50 , an odd one of course but i think university goers who start developing increasing awareness are bound to pick up current affairs magazine and beyond that employed citizens of citizens where english language is more prevalent and more easily learnt ( Lahore , Islamabad , Karachi , and cities around these metropolitan hubs) are bound yo be interested in the political landscape and polices of that affect everyday life. Also , while mainly my magazine will be targeted towards reformers , successors and explorers it will of-course grab attention of other psychographics on the scale as i believe political views are and have been important to all.
Target Audience are the people for who the product is made for. They can be discriminated through the income or gender of an individual.Target market is then decided from the potential target audience where there are more chances for the product or service to be used or bought. It is a marketplace for certain goods and services. Marketplaces can be a certain region or place.
Market Segmentation is classification of the consumers into their needs or traits. These can be divided into 4 sections:
Survey to serve ya
Okay for starters sorry for the lame joke. Coming to the point since we have already decided our target market i think the best thing to do nw is to focus on their likes and preferences of our target group. Which will then allow us to tailor our magazine in a way to allow them to be marketed with success.
Survey result
