Audience questions

Choose three different media products covering three different media 
Outline 2 target audiences for each 
Using your own examples outline how audiences respond differently 

For my first media product I have chosen the The Sun newspaper. One target audience for this would be men aged 18-30, particularly working class and less educated men. This is because in this newspaper stories and articles are put into a simple form. Another target audience of The Sun could be those who are fans of football as the newspaper includes many articles about about and involving football.
                                             
The second media product I have chosen is a Vogue magazine cover, the edition which features Beyonce on the front cover.  One target audience of this magazine would be women as it includes articles about different topics which interest women. One of the main topics is fashion, the cover i ncludes many secondary articles associated with fashion such as 'Strong and sexy suits' and 'Shockingly chic accessories'. Another topic which is present in the secondary articles is influential women. For example 'Gabrielle Giffords - Fighting for gun control' , 'Phoebe Philo - The woman behind the cult of celine' and 'Beyonce - Rules the world'. These all attract a female audience. A second target audience for this product would be those who are fans of Beyonce. As she is the feature article photograph it suggests that there is lots of information on Beyonce included within the magazine therefore fans will be attracted to it.

The third media product I have chosen is Coronation Street. One target audience of this would be women aged 35-50. This is because the programme deals with issues that this age range can relate to such as family issues and everyday problems. A second target audience would be those who are a fan of this particular genre and enjoy watching soap operas.










 

Revision Notes

Visual codes ( What you can see, especially non verbal communication )
Eg. Use of colour, the way people are dressed, facial expressions
-The model is centred on the magazine cover directly addressing the audience by making eye contact with the camera, drawing the audience in. She is stood with her hand on her hip showing confidence and power. The model is good looking and 'flawless' in order to attract people to the magazine. The fact the model is slightly revealing could also attract a male audience.
-The colours used, pink and yellow, are feminine colours in order to attract the female audience. The fact the model has a black dress on makes her stand out from the other colours used on the cover.
-Black has connotations of power and strength which in this case represents female power, representing women in a strong way.

Technical codes ( Use of cameras/lighting)
-Medium shot used so that the model can lift her dressing partially showing her thigh in order to reinforce the sexy look which is being portrayed.

Layout and design (Codes and conventions)
-Masthead across the top of the cover, partially covered by the models head suggesting that the magazine is well known and has confidence in itself.
-Pug in top right hand corner.
-Secondary articles giving an insight into what the magazine includes.
-Headlines giving the main articles.
-Feauture article photograph of Beyonce.

Language (Verbal communication)
-Use of alliteration in the headline 'Sex Skills'.
-The language used attracts a female audience, for example 'How to snag any man you want'.
-Language used focuses on sex, for example 'Sex Skills' and  'Sex habits that harm your relationship'.
-Informal language such as '10 times it's okay to be a bitch'.

Genre 
-The genre for Cosmopolitan would be womens general interest magazine.
-Generic signifiers:
Secondary articles related to women such as 'Guys reveal the most mind blowing bedroom moves women have ever tried' and 'Tight butt abs and thighs' which are related to females.
-The colours used, pink and yellow, are feminine.
-Feature article photograph is a well known female model.

Audience - 
-Identify two target audiences for this magazine.
The demographic audience for this magazine would be women aged 18 - 30.
The psychographic audience for this magazine would be women who are interested in stories focusing on celebrities and relationships. Also women who are image conscious as one of the articles focuses on 'Tight butt abs and thighs'.

-Take one of these audiences and explain how the producers have targeted that audience.
The producers have targeted the female audience through the use of the model on the front cover, Beyonce is a well known celebrity which some females aspire to be like due to the way she is represented. The colours used are pink and yellow which again target women as they are seen as feminine colours.

-Use your own examples to explain how media products attract an audience.

Audience placement
Mode of address
How it's advertised

Language, Audience and Representation - Consolidation Task

Language:
The masthead is at the top of the magazine slightly covered by the model which suggests that the magazine is well known and confident in itself as the full title doesn't need to be visible for people to recognise what it is. Surrounding the sides of the magazine cover are secondary articles which give an insight as to what the magazine includes and implies to the audience that the magazine contains a lot of information. The colour scheme is black, red and white. The colour red is bold and masculine which highlights the important articles and also adds a modern tone to the magazine. The bright red colour also contrasts with the other colours that are used. The feature article photograph is Jay-Z, he is placed central on the cover facing the camera and making eye contact, which is directly addressing the audience. Jay-Z is wearing a black and white suit which portrays the magazine as sophisticated and professional. This links in with the secondary article placed on the left hand side of the model saying 'Smart Business'.

Audience:
The demographic audience for this GQ magazine would be men aged 20-35. Furthermore, the psychographic audience for this magazine would be business men who are interested in professional wear. Also men who are interested in cars as the cover features the 'GQ Drive' article.

Representation:
The model on the magazine cover, Jay Z, is dressed in a suit which makes him look sophisticated. Also, he is stood slightly leaning to the side and the smile on his face makes him look relaxed and approachable. This challenges the stereotype of black rap artists who are commonly stereotyped as aggressive, often wearing a baseball cap, gold chains and casual wear. Black rap artists stereotypically have unfriendly facial expressions, whereas the model on this cover is the opposite.

Use of camera angles and movement in a film clip

The Shining typewriter scene:

1) What camera angles and shots are used when Wendy is reading at the typewriter?
The camera angle when Wendy is reading the typewriter is a low angle shot looking up. Then a POV shot is used as she looks at what Jack has been doing followed by a zoom shot which is used as she realises what he has been doing.

2) How do they make us feel?
The use of a low angle shot allows the audience to see Wendy's facial expressions as she reads the typewriter. We know from this shot that what she is reading is shocking her simply due to the expression on her face which makes us curious as to what she is reading. This shot also allows us to see everything she does and makes us feel like part of the action.

3) Where does the zoom in take place, and what is its effect? 
A mid shot is used to begin followed by a zoom to a close up shot as Wendy is staring at the typewriter looking at what Jack has done. This shot is used in order to reflect the shock and horror that she is feeling as she realises what her husband has been doing, a person who she thought she knew well. It also shows the audience that Wendy is not aware of anything surrounding her, she is only focused on the typewriter.

4) What camera shots are used as Jack moves into the room?
A tracking shot is used to show Jack entering the room. An over the shoulder shot is then used to show the audience that Wendy is being watched and emphasises the fact that he is behind her and that she is unaware of this.

5) How does this make us feel? 
The over the shoulder shot makes the audience feel the tension building up as Jack creeps up on his wife. The fact that she is unaware of this makes us worry and feel scared for her. The audience can also in some way sympathise with Wendy as her husband is showing such unusual behaviour.

Past paper questions

Analyse the front covers for both GQ and Saga magazines commenting on the visual codes, layout, design, language and mode of address. (40 marks)

On the GQ magazine cover the model, Clint Eastwood is centred and making eye contact with audience, this mode of address is directly addressing them.  He is wearing a denim shirt and jeans which is associated with the Western genre. His sleeves are rolled up showing his veins holding connotations of aggression and action. To emphasise this point further there appears to be a red tint over his skin portraying him as a 'rebel' like character. This image ties in with the language used such as 'Badass'. The magazine cover also uses more informal language such as 'Stuff' and 'Bros'. Furthermore, the title of the magazine 'GQ' is partially hidden suggesting that the magazine are confident in their product.

Target audiences

The first magazine I have chosen is 'Mens Health'. The demographic audience for this magazine is men aged 20-30 and the psychographic audience is those interested in having a healthy lifestyle. The language used demonstrates this as it uses phrases such as 'Burn fat fast'. The font is large and bold highlighting this as the main magazine article. Another psychographic audience measure would be homosexual men as they use a clean, cut male model positioned central on the magazine. The audience of this magazine has been targeted in different ways. Firstly, the colour scheme of the magazine cover is red, blue and black. The masthead is in red, aswell as key articles such as 'The 9 to 5 six pack' this links into the colour red having connotations of energy and speed. This suggests to the audience that the article will feed them fast results.

Analytical task - Hawaii Five O

Hawaii Five O shows that it is a crime drama through different ways. Firstly is the use of the characters which are always used in typical crime dramas such as villains, heroes, experts and ambiguous characters. The episode has the typical characters for this specific genre, for example the heroic characters are the cops and there are villains who are engaged in the crime in the prison. The heroic  The props used are all generic features of the crime drama genre as there are: guns, prisoners uniform, prison guards uniform, body armour and police cars. It is set in an American big city which follows the generic features of crime dramas, as they tend to be set in big cities where crime tends to take place. The camera work in this episode of Hawaii Five O matches the genre of crime drama because the editing is fast making it exciting as this genre is supposed to be.

We can see from this episode of Hawaii Five O that it follows Robert McKee's narrative structure. It begins with the inciting incident when Chin wakes up handcuffed to the bed by those who have broken into his flat. Then progressive complications begin to take place, Chin is drugged, kidnapped and put into a prison. The crisis then occurs as Chin realises he is in prison with people that he himself, as a cop, has put into prison. The climax of the narrative happens when the prisoners escape out of their cells and a riot takes place, those who Chin had put in prison previously now go head to head with him. Then the main issue is resolved as Chins friends break him out of the prison and return him to safety.

Enigmas are used throughout the episode of Hawaii Five O in order to make the audience question what is happening and keep them interested. An example of this is when Chin gets kidnapped and put into prison, we as the audience wonder why he has been chosen to be put into prison and who has decided to do this. Once Chin is in the prison and riots take place we wonder whether Chin will survive and we question if he will be able to escape. This makes us want to keep watching in order to see what does happen. 

A series tells a different story in each episode whereas a serial has on going stories that run through many different episodes. Personally I think that Hawaii Five O is a serial as there a little stories running alongside the main story within the episode, which will carry on throughout following episodes. An example of this is the story of the detectives boyfriend and his suspicious behaviour, we will find more about this later on as it is not the main focus of the episode. 

Codes and conventions

For my chosen magazine I have used cosmopolitan, which follows all the codes and conventions of a magazine cover. It has a masthead at the top of the page and a pug in the top right hand corner. This magazine cover also has a feature article photograph of Angelina Jolie in the middle with a headline linked to it. It displays the date and price and also the barcode. Furthermore, there are secondary articles around the side of the cover which give you an insight to what is going to be in the magazine. However, on this magazine cover there is no puff used. 

The mode of address for this magazine is informal as it uses informal language such as 'sex' and calls people by their first name only, for example 'Angelina' rather than 'Angelina Jolie'. The colour scheme of the magazine cover is blue, yellow and white. These are all bright colours suggesting that this is an uplifting and engaging magazine.

Connotations and denotations

For my film poster I have chose the horror film A Nightmare On Elm Street, the colour scheme of this poster is black and red. The designer of the poster has chose this as red has connotations of danger and blood which gives you an idea of what the film is going to be about. The designer also uses black as this colour has connotations of death and creates a sense of mystery which gives you a further insight on what the film is about. On the poster there is a woman on the floor with a look of fear in her face which suggests the figure stood tall behind her is haunting her. The fact that the figure behind her is stood tall shows that he takes pride in his work. Furthermore the figure is wearing a dark outfit which implies that he works at night where he can hide in the shadows. Finally, the light coming from the window outlines the figure suggesting that he is the prominent character.

For my game cover I have chose the game dishonored, the main colour scheme is black and grey suggesting that this is a dark game as both of the colours used are dark. Furthermore, black has connotations of death which suggests that this game involves death.

Specification Link

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