Question 2How does your media product

represent particular social groups?

Representations in similar music magazines.

Psychographic:

The interests of the target audience would be listening to music, socialising with their friends, shopping and being interested in the latest celebrity gossip. The interests of the artists on the front cover would be singing, hanging out with friends, family and playing sports.

Use of costume: The use of costume on this front cover represents down to earth boys, but it also relates to the target audience because they are like the typical boys they know, they seem as if they are from middle class because they aren’t wearing any designer clothing.

How artists are portrayed:

On this front cover the artists are portrayed to be down to earth boys that the target audience could relate to. For example the costumes that they are wearing are costumes that the target audience would see boys around school wearing. The lighting also portrays this because it is high key which makes it bright and bubbly just like pop music and the artists being portrayed.

Demographic:

The age of the target audience would be between the age of 12-16 years of age and it would mostly appeal to females. The social class that are represented is middle class because the costumes used represent what the target audience would be able to afford, they haven't used any designer clothing. The subculture..

Key Elements:

The use of shot types, mise-en-scene, locations and emotions this front cover represents typical teenage boys, for example all of them are smiling which gives off a positive feel for the magazine. They have used suitable mise-en-scene to relate to the target audience and the use of shot type is effective because you are able to se their costumes, facial expressions and all members of the band, meaning the audience can

In this contents page the gender is represented by the use of images because they have used images of young male artists that will attract the female audience in. Also, in the images they have used close-ups and mid-shots. These are effective because the audience are able to see the artists face and also see what they are wearing.

They have represented age on this contents page by the use of language because they are using slang a lot of the time which relates to the audience.

The use of costumes on this contents page represents age because the artists are wearing casual clothing that the audience would see boys at their school wearing.

This contents page can relate to all ethnicities through the use of mise-en-scene, language, typography and camera angles.

The typography relates to the age of the audience, because teenagers are will only read something if it catches their eye. So, using sans serif text for the headline is effective because it will attract them in. Also, using serif font for the body copy is effective because if the headline does attract them in, using a smaller font means that it can fit for writing in that will interest the reader.

The body language used in the images on this contents page relates to the gender and age because they are very confident in the images which means that it could make the reader more confident and female teenagers are usually insecure.

From this double page spread the gender it is aimed at is represented through colour, costumes, typography and camera angle. For example the majority of the colours are pink and yellow, these are known as more feminine colours so it is aimed more at a female audience. Through costume it represents a female audience because it is casual clothing (working class) but it is also effective to stand out.

This double page spread represents age through the use of costumes, props, use of language, lighting and body language. Age is represented through costumes because it is a casual outfit, but also bright and appealing to the younger audience. The use of props is effective for the age it is aimed at because a camera is something that they could possibly own and use daily when out with their friends.

The use of lighting and body language represents age because it is high key lighting meaning that it is bright and will stand out. This appeals to the age range because they will want to read something that catches their eye

The language represents the age of 12-16 year olds because they will be interested in the celebrity gossip and why parents blame Cher Lloyd. Aiming the language at a particular age group is important because they have to be able to understand what is being said and also to be interested in the topic.

The typography also represents the gender as female because it has used a sans serif font for the headline and then the serif font is more feminine and attracts the female audience in.

Representations in my magazine.

Psychographic:

The psychographic for my front cover would be people who are interested in listening to music and hearing about the latest celebrity gossip. There other interests would be shopping, socialising with friends and going to the cinema.

Demographic:

The demographic for my magazine would be mostly females aged 12-16. It is aimed at the working class people and there isn't any specific ethnicity because it could appeal to anyone who enjoys pop music.

Key elements:

The use of shot type, which is a mid shot, represents to the social class that there isn't a brand name on any of the clothing, which means they could afford the costume that she is wearing. Also, the use of colour is bright using bright pink and blue, this stands out to the audience because they are automatically attracted to the coverlines. The model is twiddling her hair and smiling giving off the impression she is confident. Looking at the body language means that she is relatable to some of the audience and also others will look up to her and want to be like her. Lastly, the layout represents the age of the target audience because it is cluttered they will want to see and know everything that is going to be in the magazine.

How artists are portrayed:

The artist on my front cover is portrayed as a down to earth, smiley and confident person .This is portrayed by her body language, shot type and costume. As the artists is smiling it shows the audience that it is a positive magazine based around pop music.

Use of Costume:On my front cover the use of costume is effective when representing a pop artist because she is wearing a bright red dress, this is bright and will stand out when they are looking through the magazines.

This contents page represents the target audience’s gender which is female by the use of colours, having bright pink, yellow and bright blue relate because they are bright and feminine.

The typography relates to the age of the target audience because I have used a sans serif font for the headline which will attract them in. At the ages of 12-16 they would rather have some attract their attention then for them to have to look for it. The body copy is in a serif font which is typical for a pop magazine because it is a smaller font you are able to fit more information in, giving the reader more to learn about the magazine.

The images used on my contents page represent the gender that the magazine is aimed at because I have used a mostly female models to be in my magazine because the audience would then be able to look up to them and want to be like them. They are also mostly mid-shots which is effective to represent the age that it is aimed at because they are then able to see the emotions on the models face and clearly see who they are and what they are wearing.

The background on this contents page also represents the gender that would be reading this magazine because it is a pale yellow , it is a feminine colour which would attract them into reading the contents page.

The use of costumes on this double page spread catches the audience’s eye because it is a bright and different colour compared to the rest of the page which means that it makes them look at it.

The use of colour on this double page spread represents that it is aimed mostly at a female audience because the dominant colour is bright pink. It is also a bright colour that stands out from the rest of the page and will attract them in while they are flicking through the magazine.

The use of a microphone in the image as a prop is effective because it shows the audience that it is a music magazine, it also shows the artist doing what they love. This relates to all social groups because it is something they can look up to and admire.

The background on this double page spread is white, I used white because for the age of the target audience because they are more interested when something stands out and using bright pink as the main colour means that they are more likely to read the article. The double page spread has also got high key lighting, this also represents the age that it is aimed at because it makes the page a lot brighter and would catch the eye of the audience.

The typography I have used on my double page spread represents the age and gender of my target audience because I have used a bold, sans serif font for my headline, and I have also used a quote from the article which will interest the reader because they will find it interesting and want to read on to find out why she said it.

The camerawork on my double page spread represents gender because I used a long shot, so that the audience were able to see what the artist was wearing, this represents the gender because females will be interested to see what she is wearing so they can follow her trend.

The body language of the artist represents the gender and age of the target audience because she is standing the way she is with her microphone, you can tell she is confident and loves what she does. This would appeal to the target audience because they would aspire to be like her.

From looking at the representations in both my magazine and an actual magazine, the people are represented in similar ways as they are smiley, friendly and feminine. It also represents social groups of people who are in middle class, because they isn’t any designer clothing that they would look at and think they couldn’t afford and it is a reasonable priced magazine. Also, with the use of shot types, mise-en-scene, locations, use of language and colour the overall representation of social groups are middle class because the way I used language and actual magazines, to relate to the target audience there is the use of slang, when you shorten down words. It is effective to use this because it makes it easier for the reader to read when they take a first glance at the pages. Overall my magazine is aimed at all ethnicities, it doesn’t aim at just one ethnicity in particular.

SUMMARY