Improvements

Audience Question:

To improve on this question, the main thing I need to do is to explain my points a lot more. I can struggle with explaining things when writing it down but practising this may help me overcome this. Another thing to remember when answering this question, is to use media terms such as Uses and Gratifications and niche audiences. Also, creating case studies and using my own examples to back up my points in my answer will help me to improve on this.

Representation Question:

To improve on this question, explaining key points further is still something to work on. I know that I had got down the right points that I needed for this question but I didn't explain them enough to get me a good grade. At the time, I thought that I explained it fully but when I got my results back, it was completely a different story. This will be worked on as well as creating case studies to help back up my points. 

Revision & Study:

When revising for the mock exam, I didn't revise as much as I should have really done but I still revised a lot. To improve on this, I need to start creating revision material (such as mind maps, booklets and posters) to revise from, case studies to use as examples to back up my points, and to create a revision timetable so I can stick to it and revise for my media exam in May. 

Coursework: 

There isn't much improvements to be made on the coursework I have produced. All I need to do is check my spelling and to look for anything that may need changing a bit. I also need to make sure that I have explained everything fully in my report.

Pre-production: Geekachu Magazine cover

Pre-production: Pooch Magazine cover

7th Oct 2013: Weekly Coursework Analysis

This week I have started my AS Media Studies coursework. I have produced a questionnaire for people to fill out by using Survey Monkey. This questionnaire is still on going now and will possibly be closed on Monday night at the latest. I will then get my results together and possibly make a final decision on what I want to base my coursework on. I have picked 5 types of magazine covers and I have texually analysised them to give myself and anyone else a good understanding of the cover. I will use this to help pick what the base of my work will be. I'm possibly thinking of going down the route of "Geek" magazine but I'm still in the debating stages with that.

Textual Analysis: Neo

Masthead
The masthead for Neo magazine is big, bold and very unique. it is recogniseable to its targetted audience. The masthead has a japanese-ified type face. This is used as the magazine's visual branding tool and it attracts the audience. The masthead is a layer behind the main image, this technique is being used quite a lot with magazines and it looks very effective. However, it isn't covered much so the masthead is still very readable to it's audience.

Cover lines
The cover lines stick to a colour scheme of black, white and red. They have white backgrounds so they stand out against the main image. They are like this due to the fact that the main image is too busy for the cover lines to go onto without a background. If they went on without a background then they wouldn't be very easy to read or that they won't stand out as well as they need to be. They all link towards anime and anything to do with the wonderful country of Japan. This is anything to do with music, anime, games, etc. Some of the cover lines are in red or are in a bold font. This suggest that these parts are more important which makes our eyes go to them first and make us want to know more.

Main image
The main image features three main characters from an anime of the name of Hetalia. Japan, Italy and Germany (the three characters) are all making full eye contact with the audience. Their gestures represent each of their personalities very well. Italy, being the main one out of the three, is shown in the middle which makes him seem more important than the other two. Due to this, our eyes draw to him first out of the others because of the way the main image is laid out to the audience. Before we look at the rest of the magazine, the main image is the part that we look at first and gets the reader interested.

Main cover line
The main cover line for this issue of Neo is towards the bottom of the magazine. It is in big, black, bold letters which tells us that its very easy to see and will get the audience's attention very well. The main cover line, like the others I have analysised, links with the main image. It promotes how much of a success this anime has become in Japan and possibly the countries in the other corners of the world. The main cover line is in a similar style to the other cover lines to give it a professional look about it. Although the main cover line is rather simplistic, it sure does attract the audience very well. We see this cover line just after main image is viewed. This gives the audience a better meaning of the image they just looked at.

Textual Analysis: Your Dog

Masthead
The masthead for Your Dog is different to the other ones I have analysed. It takes up quite a lot of room in the top horizontal third. Its big, bold and red which definitely grabs the audience's eye. The masthead is very, very basic when compared to others. This is probably due to the fact that its not a well known brand or that its a low budget company. The masthead doesn't have a fancy name like "Cosmopolitan" or "Vogue" like other genres of magazines. As its a interest/factual magazine then it doesn't need as much of a 'fancy' title.

Cover lines
The coverlines are wildly spread on the cover and explain key parts of the content within the magazine. They are all dog related to fit the magazine theme. They don't have much of a colour scheme like the others but the colours that have been chosen work well together to make the cover lines stand out from the background. With this cover, the cover lines are made up of different fonts and some parts are more bolder than others. This tells us that these parts are slightly more important than the other parts. Due to the boldness of these parts, our eyes will wander off to those parts more than the smaller areas of text.

Main image

As its a dog magazine, the main image is of a dog. The dog is seen sitting down with his head looking upwars towards the audience whilst making full eye contact with them. This gives off a sense of cuteness as it's eyes are gazing at the audience. This draws the audience in due to the full-on cuteness that is being presented. We see this image first before we see anything else on the cover. The dog also has his roght paw lifted off the ground slightly with his head tilted. Its as if he wants the attention off the audience and is begging for there affection.

Main cover line
The main cover line is the biggest and boldest on the entire cover. We see this after the main image. It links in with the main image too. This is due to the fact that the way the dog is acting towards the camera, it shows off a needy feel to it. This links to the main cover line very well as it says, "Dogs who love too much. Is your pet too needy?". The main cover line doesn't have much of a colour scheme either. But it is still used to make it stand out from the rest of the cover lines, this shows how important it is over the others.

Textual Analysis: Geek

Masthead

The masthead for Geek magazine is unique but yet simple. It is made to be recogniseable for its audience. It also sticks to the chosen colour scheme for this magazine cover. The type face never changes at all when we look at different covers from the same magazine. This is to make it easy to recognise by the audience. If the type face changes each issue, then the reader won't be able to recognise it as easily as they would of done if they type face stayed the same. For this magazine, the masthead is shown a layer or so behind the main image.

Cover lines

The cover lines mostly apply to the theme of the entire issue for this magazine, which happens to be Star Trek. We can see this through the fact that it says "The best Trek cosplay ever" and "Exclusive Trek movie interviews", etc. The cover lines have their own colour scheme of blue, light blue and grey. These are space-related colours and ties in with the "Trekkie issue" theme. They are made so they stand out from the white effectively. The blues are used to make key parts stand out the most and the grey is used for more 'minor' parts of the cover lines.

Main image
The main image isn't of someone overly famous. This image is probably of someone who works for the magazine and is one of the important members of staff. He appears to relate to the masthead "Geek" quite well. He is making full eye contact with the audience, this draws in the audience, it makes them interested in him and the magazine. His hand gestures are important. He is doing the very iconic hand sign from Star Trek that is commonly seen being used by Spock. This ties into the issue theme. He is also pointing at it with his other hand to show that the hand sign is very important. Its as if his other hand is telling the audience to "Live long and prosper".

Main cover line
The main cover line is in the centre of the cover and is larger than the others. This is to show its importance. This cover line relates to the main image and issue theme due to the fact that its about Star Trek. It also matches the chosen colour scheme for the entire issue. Its promoting the new Star Trek movie series which is directed by J.J. Abrams and how Abrams has made it cool again. This will interest the audience a lot. Due to how much the main cover line stands out, it will catch the audience's attention after the main image has been viewed.