QUESTION 2How does your media product represent particular social groups?

I targeted my media product to an audience comprised of men and women aged 17-20. I feel that I have accomplished the aim of attracting both men and women to my magazine. I have made the main feature of my magazine a woman, but have dressed her so that she isn't seen to be demeaning to women as has previously been observed with Miley Cyrus’ and Janet Jackson’s covers for Rolling Stones magazine, which I feel was a little bit revealing. She is dressed in a roll-neck, which is a popular, stylish choice of clothing; I felt it was essential to have my magazine’s cover girl looking fashionable. Throughout my magazine, I have featured three images of men and two of women suggesting that although the text inside the article reflects that of a gossip magazine, the layout and featured artists inside are very hip, modern and indie and not biased to one gender. My photographs are quite different and I wanted to convey the message that my magazine was quite serious and not just a teen pop magazine. Almost all of my artists are pulling a straight face, except my couple who are featured kissing (which again highlights the quirky elements of my magazine and wouldn’t necessarily be found in a magazine such as Q or NME, but may be found in Clash or Fader) and I feel that they will appeal to single readers as well as those in a relationship.

IdeologiesMy female artist on the front cover conforms to Mulveys theory and attracts the male gaze. Hannah Keenan (Ruby Thomas) is an attractive girl who I think will draw the male attention to the magazine through her sultry red lips and seductive facial expressions. Through her wardrobe and styling, she will also appeal to the female audience; her black roll neck demonstrating a very simplistic style that many women could follow. I wanted to present Hannah as a powerful woman, due to the type of shots that I have used such as close ups and extreme close ups. I also wanted to portray her looking serious, yet seductive, appealing to both men and women and attracting the male gaze.

Mise en SceneShe is dressed in a roll-neck which is a popular, stylish choice of clothing; so having my magazines cover girl looking fashionable I felt would make my magazine have more of a realistic, professional and expensive feeling. Her hairstyle was chosen as it would be easy for readers to and suggests to the reader that she is quite down to earth and that an ‘A-Listers’ style is simply achievable. I used no props at all which gave my magazine a very simplistic style which is in keeping with the overall look of the reference magazines (e.g., clash, Indie) I have used. In the images I have used, I also wanted to break the stereotypical view of today’s youths as hooligans who take drugs, drink and smoke.

The layout of my magazine is structured to be very simplistic and basic, creating a very ‘indie’ feel. When looking at magazines such as Indie and Clash, they have very basic layouts with few buzzwords and captions. On my front cover I have virtually no text; I have my mast head, sell line, issue date, name of artist together with a quotation to entice the reader to see what she says inside the magazine. I believe that this simplistic approach gives my magazine the unique look that I was hoping for.

Layout

Images My images are very obscure. The front cover image really expresses that my magazine is an indie music magazine and not just a contemporary pop magazine. It show half of the artists face which displays a unique quality, one which I haven’t seen in a magazine yet. On my double page spread, the positioning of my image is very obscure and is half of her face on a slant. I was unsure whether or not I should have put her face on a slant and so asked my focus group and they supported my decision. I felt that it was more indie to have the image sliced in half and on a slant, and feel that this contrasts with the normal magazine and makes mine look more unique.

Colour schemeThe colour scheme of my front cover was predominantly black and white but it had a faded glowing, almost sepia effect. It distances itself from the common black and white or colour enhanced images. My contents page is quite different to my front cover, and really expresses how unique this magazine is compared to others. My double page spread is my favourite image as it is almost a ghostly effect as the contrast has been dramatically altered and changed and the lips have been enhanced and made to seem a lot redder than they actually are; creating the effect that this image and the front cover image aren’t from the same photo-shoot.