Men and women represented in media v2

   

Magazine

• Firstly from this magazine, i can see that women are sexualised which is shown by the main character as we can see that she is wearing quite revealing clothing. The purpose of this could be because Vogue have mediated the image and included their own ideologies on how women should be represented.
• In addition, the audience is positioned at an eye-level angle with the main character, the purpose of this could be as the genre of the magazine is fashion, it is trying to show the audience and portray the ideas that if they buy this magazine they could too be equally as fashionable, as the main character. 
• To continue, from the magazine i can also see that the use of the male gaze has been used in order to objectify women with the use of sexualisation. This has been done with the use of revealing clothing. The purpose of this could be to show that women are sex objects for men, which further degrades women.

Film Poster

• To start off, in the film poster i can see that the producer has used the male gaze in order to sexualise women. This is supported by the image where we can see 5 women who have little to none clothing. The purpose of this could simply have been to degrade women, however i think the purpose was in order to attract a wider audience of men into watching the film.
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Unit 14 digitalmagazine production

Planning:

I will be creating a magazine in the music genre, however i will be specifically designing the magazine around Drum And Bass music as it isn't a genre of music that is mainly focused on, so it would be new and innovative.

Analysis of Q music magazine


 Masthead: Liam Gallagher: King Parka Monkey ads his army into 2018

"on tour and in the pub with" - good way to attract an audience as it makes the reader understand more as to what type of character Liam Gallagher is.

"Sex and death: thats the good stuff" - Direct quote from Franz Ferdinand











Review of my Progress:

So far, i have created my front cover, which i did first to allow me to set the whole theme / layout and design of the magazine a all pages have been played put using similar effects on the masking and additionally the colours used on the page and fonts. To continue i have also created my double page spread and an additional separate festival poster i have made myself to put onto the double page spread.

To further improve where i am at with this assignment, i need to take pictures of how i have constructed my magazine, and further add to my planning so that you understand the concept and ideas behind my magazine.



Front Cover creation:

I applied a rigid custom shape in the colour shown, and then applied the use of the smudge tool in order to create a theme of natural curved spikes.










I the duplicated the layer, changed the positioning of it, and changed the colour, additionally i added a pattern overlay and turned down the opacity, furthermore i added a drop shadow to the duplicated layer









After, i created a gradient from light grey to dark grey in the circle mode, starting fro the bottom right to left, to create a spotlight effect underneath the layer for use as lighting. In addition i created a white line effect going over the edge of the spikes, with the effects; inner shadow, sating, outer glow, and drop shadow. After i created a black line with the line tool going at a diagonal angle and used the brush tool to fill in the left side of the line in the same colour i used for the top layer of spikes.





My next step was adding a circle into the top left with a black stroke effect around it, then i added a metal texture and clipping masked it over the circle. to continue i added a coloured circle with the paintbrush on a new layer over the top of the texture, and turned the opacity down so it changed the colour of the metal texture to match the second coloured spikes. I then added a 'EG' in 3-D over the top as the main logo, and Everyones.






For my next step, i included my own image of me and my friend in front of a smoke grenade, and merged it with a copy-right free image over looking fans, in order to create the effect that me and my friend were stood in front of a lot of fans. I then further more added the cell line "The best festivals in one place" and used different fonts for certain words to make them stand out more, and also positioned my text in a unique way to add to the front covers Aesthetics. Finally i added a barcode and a price.






Double Page Spread creation:

Final Creation:

Proof of creation by me:

*Due to poor organisation, i did not document as i went on with the creation of my double page spread.*

• To create my double page spread,  firstly started by creating a grey background layer covering the whole page, and then added my own image of a monocular jacket as it is one in which most young people see as being expensive, yet cool and is also a brand that would be seen quite a lot at a festival. After adding the image i had to cut out the background so that the image was just the monocular. I then duplicated this layer and made the top duplicated layer smaller, and blurred out the bottom one.
• After doing this i then created another shape layer in which i created myself and used the same colour as i did on the front cover for, which can be seen coming from the monocular jacket, and working its way p the magazine. Furthermore i added a black rectangle on the left side of this shape in order to create a black outline around the one side of the shape.
• To continue, I then created a Circle layer next to this also with a black outline, but designed it to look as if there is only 1/3rd of the circle there. I then created both custom triangles, and Pentagons with black routines and with different shades of the same colour going all around the shape in order to create the effect of it being 3-D. Furthermore i added a inner glow and drop shadow on each of the shapes and positioned them within the circle in different directions and sizes. I then re-created the triangle in the colour green, and made a spread of triangles going across in a line next to this, and turned the opacity down of all the triangles down to 40%, and then added my title 'Favourites of the Ravers' over the top.
• Once i done this i then added the copy-right free image of a festival and used the smudge effect to form small spikes out of the top of the image. Then i created a red rectangle to go underneath this layer, and also formed spikes and curves forming out of the rectangle. 
• Then i added the rest of my texts onto my double page spread.
• After doing this i created and added my fireball Festival poster, and added it onto the double page spread so that it would fit and suit the double page spread. I did this by cutting out the top left of the poster at a diagonal and adding it to the top right of my DPS.

Fireball Festival Poster creation:
*I merged layers together before documenting this part, this was due to poor time management and organisation where at the end of the assignment i made this to further show my artistic skills*

The Final Creation

To create this my steps were as followed:

• I started by creating a black background with a white eclipse/oval shape covering it. I then used the smudge tool in order to create a curved flame effect that merged into the black background. I then rasterised the oval and put effects on it, these were stroke with noise, drop shadow, and inner glow. 
• Secondly, i changed the colour of the white eclipse to red, and then created another smaller eclipse in the colour yellow in the middle of that, i then used the smudge tool again the create the same effect however i made it more vibrant and appear as more explosive. I did this with the intentions of showing my target audiance that the festival will be 'explosive' and by this i mean enjoyable, entertaining and exciting. 
• After this i took the red eclipse and added a grunge material texture over the top of it which i turned the opacity down on so it ended more with the red eclipse, snd further more added a more gritty look to the poster, making it link further into the black background.
• After this i created a 'TICKETS AVAILABLE' text to add on to the black bars that i had created going across the red eclipse, i then edited the black bars and text so that they didn't go over the other eclipses, just the red one. This allowed me to define the layering i used when creating the poster initially.
• Further more, i imported a freeze frame screenshot from a video i had taken when at Godiva festival, 2017. I used this as it anchored the title 'Fireball Festival'.
• To further allow this image to anchor the theme of the poster and title, i firstly changed the colour gradient on the image to be more the colour of a fire. second i duplicated the image and made the top layer small than the bottom. I then changed the opacity to 50% on the bottom image. After this i used the smudge tool once again to create a flame effect on both the top image layer and bottom to link in with the rest of the posters themes.
• After this i created a triangle with rounded edges to use as a volcano, i then smudged the red eclipse layer and the orange one into the volcano to make it look like the lames were jumping out infant of the volcano and into the audience, because of how 'explosive' the festival is. I then added a pattern overlay to make the volcano more realistic. And then to make the volcano more exciting and explosive, i mused the smudge tool to create the effect that the volcano itself is exploding.
• After this i created the 'Fireball Festival' text, and duplicated it twice, the used the smudge tool in order to create the flames, i then created a gradient overlay that looked more like a fire

Evaluation of my production:

Firstly, i think my magazine is definitely aesthetically pleasing as i have made my magazine to have a unique and innovative design which you would not normally see. I have done this through the use of effects and techniques that are used throughout both the front cover, and double page spread giving my production one constant theme throughout the magazine. This allows for my production to link together and also the use of effects and the style used in my magazine also makes it more attractive towards my target audience which is people interested in music and festivals and are aged between 16-24, as they tend to be the age group of most people who attend festivals, and would also be interested in the atmosphere / music at a festival.

To continue, i also believe that my magazine meets the requirements of the brief. This is because i have based my magazines design and look based on the colours and style of the following magazines:

From the Q magazine, i used the idea of having the main characters infant of an audience as it linked to the idea of my magazine being based around festivals and it also helps to empower the main character more as it shows that they have support and followers coming to watch their show. Secondly from the Billboard magazine i liked the use of colour as it isn't one that i would consider regularly used and also i liked how the creator of the front cover has also used the background colour to blend in with the face of Bob Marley.

Furthermore, in my magazine, an element i firstly think works well is the blending between images to make them look like it was all one image on my front cover worked well, and also i believe the use of colour also matches my image on my front cover and allows it to link together. Also on my front cover i also think my logo works well as it has a nice design to it and looks neat and tidy in the top left corner. Furthermore i think i could have improved by taking more time on the creation of my waves / spikes on both the front cover and double page spread so that they weren't as big, and didn't take up to much room.

On my double page spread, i think what stood out the most to me and what i had the most fun creating, and also looked the most aesthetically pleasing and also required me to use more technical skills was the creation of the Fireball Festival poster. This is because it meets the standard conventions of a festival poster and also required me to use a lot of blending techniques with photoshop tools such as smudge and blur, but also i used textures and the use of colours in order to give the poster one theme that matched the title of the festival.

To continue, i personally think my double page spread looks very professional and also has the use of lots of different creations and effects. One element that i think did work well was my creation of the triangles and pentagons which i also helped make to look 3-D by giving each section of the shape and different shade of the same colour. This making it look like as you go around the shape it sticks out more as the colour is lighter and the shadow is fading. And also the use of drop shadow on each of the shapes also allows the shapes to look as if they are floating above the background instead of apart of the back ground.

In my magazine, my target audience was music and festival fans between the ages of 16-24. This is because they are the ages of people who are most likely to be at a music festival and also interested in the music that is played there. I have made this age group my target audience as they are the ages of people i am most familiar with allowing me to bass my magazine off what i know my friends would find appealing and enjoy. Furthermore, also allowing me to use my friends opinions on whether a style i had done on my magazine production was good looking or not.



External copy-right free images used with links to site.




shaky-boots-festival-1426628328-scale-400-400-90.jpg











Concert-Crowd.jpg
















festivales.jpg

My images:

exam

Using any media texts that you have studied, evaluate the way media texts either challenge or reinforce dominant ideologies. (20 marks)


In the media, dominant ideologies are represented through the use of Visual Codes, for example in the Mens Health magazine, we can see that the dominant ideology that is being reinforced is the idea that men, in order to be masculine, must be in great shape and be muscular. I can tell this because, not only in every mens health magazine there is a strong man, but also because of the use of shot angles creating the idea that men when muscular, are the more dominant gender. For example the use of the low angle shot positioning the audience to look up at the person on the front cover, gives the idea that we are below this person in terms of we are not stronger, as athletic, or fit (healthy) unless we buy in to this magazine and learn the persons secrets.

The idea of learning the persons secrets on how they have become so strong and got a body like they have is also a marketing technique that the magazine company uses itself to also re-enforce the idea that men are the dominant / stronger gender and also allows the company to create more revenue so that they can keep producing magazines, allowing them to constantly be producing their media texts and mediating them to enforce their ideologies.

Also in the mens health magazine, the use of cell lines  is also used to enforce the ideology of men as being irresistible and desirable. For example in the Kevin Hart mens health magazine, i can see a cell line which says "Date Any Woman - the simple secret". what this shows is that the magazine is trying to tell men that by buying in to this magazine and reading the simple secret, they will be desirable to women which is a dominant ideology in which the media tries to represent when it comes to men, they try and create the idea that all men are desirable, as kind of an ego boost in a way, as it also helps the men running the media feel better about themselves too.

Case studies

Youth representation

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmUUjxEB-5A

My first representation of youth is going to be the music video linked above. This style of music tends to be associated with 'gangs' and 'violence' throughout the uk showing young people as matching the stereotype that the media shows. This is due to the mise-en-scene for example the use of 'gang signs' or even the fact that some people are wearing balaclavas which shows them as being dangerous.

Normal stereotypes of youths are: 

• Violent
• Lazy
• Drug Addicts
• Drug dealers

All these stereotypes are supported in this music video, due to the use of language, miss-en-scene and the way they are dressed aswell as they tend to be in full black and covering their identities which creates the idea of secrecy and dangerous people. 

However even though most of these types of music videos do show these young people as matching the stereotypes most of these kids tend to do what they are doing to actually escape it. Due to the lack of resources in socitey like youth centres.

2. https://i.ytimg.com/vi/UnE1oycdU9U/maxresdefault.jpg

This second link is an image that also shows youths as being: 

• Violent
• Secret
• drug addicts / dealers

Representation of Old Age

1. http://mags-uk.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/2831x/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/w/h/wh0516.jpg

In the magazine above, old age can be seen as being represented as:

• happy, 
• playful, 
• fashionable, 
• joyful. 

These all challenge the standard stereotypes for old age people as they tend to be seen as:

• boring, 
• moody, 
• dependent.

1. This is done through the mies-en-scene of example what she is wearing, it is tight fitting, and quite fashionable. In addition we can tell she is happy and joyful as she is standing up tall, with a big smile on her face. 
2. Their is a quote that also says 'The ageless icon tells us "there are no rules" ' which presents the idea that they are trying to make O.A.P's more confident and to not stick with the stereotypical dress wear, or to go out and do something crazy.
3. They have also used a neutral/eye-level camera angle. This can create a relationship between old people and Hellen Mirren as they will feel equal to each other, making the audience more likely to do as the magazine is telling them.
4. 'be brave, step out of your comfort zone, are you ready?' is a direct quote/question aimed at the target audience to motivate them to doing what they are asking of them.

2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfERQ-Riy2E

In the ikea 'start something new' advert above, old age is firstly represented in the usual stereotypical way as being: 

• Repetitive
• Boring
• Moody
• Un-adventurous 

However for the main, old character in the advert, the stereotypes are changed as he is getting bored of what he is doing and wants to go exploring. This creating him as being the exact opposite of all the 4 stereotypes labelled above.

1. We can firstly tell that the main character is adventurous as the whole advert is about the idea of him taking a chair around the world with him so he can sit down and look at new, and amazing sites whilst travelling from country to country.
2.  we can also tell however that the other two characters match the stereotypes of old age, this is due to the facial expressions during the close-up used after the main character comes back where we can see them both as being      un-happy and moody.  

Diesel - Only The Brave Tattoo advert analysis

 In the advert, men are shows to be desirable. This is done in the advert when we can see the man walking past a woman and the woman attention is completely focused on the man, in addition she also touches his arm and puts her whole round showing that she wants his attention but also that she desires him. I think that this would of been done to entice their audience, which would be male, into buying there perfume as in the advert the woman are after men. Making males think that if they bought into this aftershave they would become desirable by woman increasing profits.

In addition, the advert also contains a classic stereotype towards males. This stereotype being 'The Strong and Silent on' which basically means that men are strong, and don't talk a lot. This can be seen throughout the whole advert. Firstly it is done with the close ups of both men showing that they are quite muscular. It can also be seen as neither one of the men do not say a single word throughout the whole advert, the only sounds during it are both non-diegetic, being the voice over by a woman and music. To continue the idea of the men being muscular also sexifies the man. Which is subversion as the ideologies of women being sexified has been reversed so that the man is sexified.

To add on, in the advert the man representing the ‘only the brave tattoo’ can also be seen separating a group of people walking the opposite way to him. This also produces the idea of the man being the strong silent one as since he is so strong they don’t want to get in his way or even mess with him. In addition it also shows us that he is a dangerous man as they idea of the crowd moving out his way suggests that he has a dangerous presence. This also adds to the idea of the audience as being mainly for men, this is because it is trying to uphold the idea of men being more powerful and desirable, it doesn’t want to damage men’s masculinity as it is a patriarchy. Meaning that it was made by men for men. So if men made it they wouldn’t want to make themselves look weak.

To carry on, at the start of the trailer there is also a close up of a pair of lips from a woman. This could be to show the male audience that it is the woman’s job to talk and seduce the men, we can also tell this from the mise-en-scene where the lipstick colour choice is red. The colour red connotes ideas of love and also re-iterates the idea of her trying to be a seductive character in the advert. Which is also a stereo-type of women as they are mostly seen as being sexified in the media. However in this advert there is also the idea of subversion to do with the woman’s stereotype. This is because in this advert the woman is telling the man what to do instead of it being the opposite way round which shows the men as being the domesticated ones.