Some really useful advice.....

Here's the link to the evaluation guidance from Pete's Media Blog.

Pete's evaluation advice

The Evaluation Questions

• Question One

 In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? 

• Question Two

       How does your media product represent particular social groups?

• Question Three 

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? 

• Question Four

       Who would be the audience for your media product?

• Question Five

     How did you attract/address your audience?

•  Question Six

      What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

• Question Seven

      Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Grade Booster!

REPRESENTATION & PHOTOGRAPHY

One of the questions in the evaluation asks you:

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

So, it’s worth exploring this point now, specifically, in relation to the images that you’re going to use in your magazine.

Let’s first start with a definition of representation:

How specific social types, groups, events or places are depicted / portrayed within the media.

You need to consider how you are going to represent different groups etc.

Firstly outline the different groups of people, events and places that will feature in your

magazine e.g.:

·         Gender

·         Social Class / Income / Education

·         Age

·         Events / places (gigs)

·         Fans of a particular music genre.

Then, think about how you are going to represent them and more importantly why are you going to represent them in this way.

At a very simplistic level this means are you going to represent them in a stereotypical way? Or, are you going to challenge the stereotype?

To answer these questions you need to look back at your research and identify how different groups etc have been represented in your music genre. Use the following points to help you

frame your analysis:

1.      Stereotypical or not?

2.      How has the representation been constructed? (Media language: shot type, camera angle,

framing, mise-en-scene).

3.      Why have they been represented in this way? This gets a bit complicated – try to make links back to institution and audience.

E.g. stereotypical = mainstream institution & mass audience / more challenging alternative = independent institution & niche audience.

Representations have ideas embed in them. Ideology is the study of these ideas.

In media studies, we often use Raymond William’s definitions of ideology.  He argues that there are three types of ideology…

• Dominant Ideology: Stereotypical representations.

• Emergent Ideology: More positive representations.

• Residual Ideology: Representations from the past.

You need to consider the following questions in relation to your images:

1.      Which social groups have you represented e.g. teenagers?  Rock music fans? 

2.      How have you constructed the representations? Be really technical and explain choice of: shot type, angle, framing, mise-en-scene.

3.      Have you represented them in a stereotypical way which maintains a dominant ideology of that group? Or, have you tried to produce challenging, alternative representations which reflects more of an emergent ideology.  

4.      Why have you represented them in this way? Here make links back to institution and audience.

E.g. stereotypical = mainstream institution & mass audience / more challenging alternative = independent institution & niche audience.

Focus on language

Mode of address = how are you going to ‘talk’ to your target audience? 

REMEMBER RESEARCH INFORMS PRODUCTION 

You need to refer back to your research and remind yourself how the magazines that you’ve researched communicate to / with their target audience. 

You should have made some comments on this in your analysis of front covers, contents pages and double page spreads. 

Areas to consider: Level of formality  /  Language register 

• Techniques Colloquial language = Ordinary, everyday speech and language 

• Direct Address  = Addressing the audience directly 

• Semantic specific language =  Jargon / technical language associated with music 

• Sentence type:

1. Minor Sentences (these are not full sentences and are economical and immediate) 
2. Declarative (these are simple statements)
3. Imperatives (these start with verbs to act like commands or instructions) 
4. Interrogatives (these are formed as questions to stimulate an immediate response from the reader) 
5. Exclamations (these are exaggerated statements using exclamation marks for emphasis) 

• Punctuation:

Ellipsis =  these miss out vital information from the sentence to create an immediate impact 
Punctuation marks for effect 

• Metaphor = Figure of speech in which a person or thing is describes as being the thing it resembles 

• Simile  =  Figure of speech in which a person or thing is describes as being like another, usually preceded by ‘as’ or ‘like’ 

• Adjectives =  Words to describe 

• Superlatives = Adjective to compare to the highest degree possible 

• Monosyllabic = Words that have only one syllable 

• Personification = The attribution of human qualities or feelings to inanimate objects; a kind of metaphor where human qualities are given to things or abstract ideas 

• Slang Informal language = More common in speech than written lanaguge. Frequently linked to particular groups of people e.g. teen slang 

• Onomatopoeia = When a word sounds like the noise it describes 

• Neologism = New Words 

• Rhetorical Question = Questions asked for effect rather than an answer 

• Pun =  A play on words for humorous effect 

• Hyperbole  = An extravagant exaggeration 

• Intertextuality = Making links to another media text  

This week:
Focus on use of language 

Demonstrate that you understand how magazines use language to communicate to their readers and persuade them to buy the magazine.

Focus on Photography

The exam board states that your magazine must contain at least FOUR images. I strongly suggest that you include more:

This is the mark scheme for the magazine:

• Producing material appropriate for the target audience and task;

• showing understanding of conventions of layout and page design;

• showing awareness of the need for variety in fonts and text size;

• accurately using language and register;

• using ICT appropriately for the task set;

• appropriately integrating illustration and text;

• shooting a variety of material appropriate to the task set;

• manipulating photographs as appropriate to the context for presentation, including cropping and resizing

Elements to consider when taking photos

Technical Codes	Symbolic Codes / Mise-en-Scene:
Shot type Camera angle Composition & Framing	Costume / clothing Body language / facial expressions Location Colour Lighting

  

How all of these elements:

• reflect a sense of the music genre
• create brand identity - house style
• speak to your target audience - mode of address
• appeal to the target audience.

Grade Booster: Consider how people / places are being represented? E.g. stereotypical / non stereotypical. Does the representation conform or challenge dominant ideologies.

• You will need to plan your photo shoot to ensure your photographs will look right and that you make the most of your time

• Your photographs must fit the style / genre of your magazine

• You can take photos of friends and family but think carefully if they have the right ‘look’ for your project. You might need to find models or find appropriate costumes.

Who

• You will need people to be in your photographs

• Think about who would be willing to let you take their photograph

• The person you take pictures of might need to wear something different to usual or have make-up or props.  Think about where you will get these from

• You could try to find models from the performing arts department

• To gain the higher marks and give your work a more professional look you need to make sure that the models look ‘right’.

• Most magazines will feature more than one artist so take pictures of more than one person. This is especially important for contents pages.

Where

• The location for your photo shoot is important

• Think about the photography in the type of magazine you are making and where it is taken

• You might be able to find suitable locations around college or you might need to go further away to get the pictures you need

• If you need or want to use a room in college then it will have to be booked so you need to plan ahead

• Think about the composition of your shot. What you leave out is just as important as what you leave in.

How

• Look closely at the photography in your chosen magazines and think about the composition and the mise en scene

• Make sure you have plans for the shots you want based on the style of the magazine you are making

• Draw up the shots first and make sure you stick to them. Take reference material if you need it

• Get all the shots you planned for first and then any extra time can be used to experiment.

Key Terms

Some terms you could use to describe the photography in your magazine to help you explain what you are trying to achieve:

• Candid/Naturalistic: Photographs that are not obviously posed

• Posed: Photographs that have been posed for

• Live: Photographs that involve the band/artist performing

• Studio: Photographs taken in a photography studio

• High key: Photographs which are very bright overall

• Low key: Photographs which are dark overall

• Colourful: Photographs which contain a lot of colour

• Monochromatic: Photographs which contain only one colour or are black and white

• Busy: Photographs that are busy contain lots of visual information

• Passive: Photographs which contain limited visual information.

Mise-en-scene

• Look closely at the mise en scene to help you plan your own photographs

• Make notes on the location, costume, model and composition

• Think about how you plan to use the photograph in your final piece.  Does it need to be portrait or landscape format?

 

What to blog?

To help us with this let's have a look at the mark scheme:

• Planning and research evidence will be complete and detailed;
• There is excellent research into similar products and a potential target audience;
• There is excellent organisation of actors, locations, costumes or props;
• There is excellent work on shotlists, layouts, drafting, scripting or storyboarding;
• There is an excellent level of care in the presentation of the research and planning;
• Time management is excellent. 

Blog posts

One post on potential models - commenting on their suitability in relation to your music genre and target audience.

One post on possible locations. Again discuss why you are thinking of using these locations in terms of their suitability to genre and audience.

One post on props and costumes, ensuring that you link back to audience and genre.

Here are a few good blogs from last year:

Alice: Preparing for photoshoot 

Alice: Costumes for photoshoot 

Amy: Potential Models 

The key to picking up marks is to show that you have planned and prepared for your photoshoot and that you have used your research to inform your ideas. 

Grade Boosters:
One blog post exploring photography in your chosen music magazine genre. Post a range of photos that have been used on front covers, contents pages and double pages. Analysing them using as much technical media terminology as possible.

Struggling for inspiration:
Have a look at this:
NME Iconic Music Photography