Section A 1A question

Describe the ways in which your production was informed by research into real media texts and how your ability to use such research for production developed over time.

At AS level I researched into real media texts by looking into magazines such as Kerrang and NME. They have the same genre as my magazine which helped me to understand what features should be included in a successful magazine that would also attract the targeted audience. These types of magazines, in the style of punk rock, usually contain very few colours and almost always use black as this colour has connotations of being associated with the rock genre. I already had knowledge of these magazines which made my magazine production easier in terms of the model's appearance, the colours and text, and relating them to music. These magazines are quite popular within this genre which is why I chose them as examples and inspiration to get a good idea of what the audience prefers in order to make my magazine professional and successful. For the most part of my main product, the magazine, I was creative in ways such as the name, headline, colour arrangements, and model position. The model on the front has her head facing away from the camera which is not usually seen on a magazine if they are to be 'inviting'. Most of the time they will be looking at the camera to give a direct address to the audience but in my magazine I wanted to create a look of mystery so we don't actually get to see her whole face. She is with a prop, the guitar, which is only rarely found on a magazine and this makes my magazine more original than the other real media texts.

For the double page spread in my music magazine at AS I researched into other double page features such as the ones listed above, NME and Kerrang, they didn't have many double page features to look into but I found some useful pages that consisted of of articles on music that display a good deal of text and images. This helped me understand what a music magazine double page should consist of. I carefully planned the images out so they would fit on the page without looking messy or out of place, by researching into other magazines I have gained knowledge on how to properly position photos in order to make them as professional as possible. 

For my music magazine I used Photoshop in the first half of production. I changed halfway through because I found Photoshop to take a lot of time as I had no skills in that programme. I did learn a few things in it but it was wasting too much time so I edited the images and moved them into Publisher which is when I presented the magazine as a whole, including background, text and colour schemes. The editing skills I learned in Photoshop will be useful in the future, for example, creating another media production such as a poster/magazine etc and using the editing tools and touch ups to make the images look professional. On the other hand, this will take time to do and may be easier and quicker if I was to use programmes such as Publisher, or any other Windows Office programmes.

In post-production for my AS media magazine I changed a few features to make it look more appealing to the target audience. These were factors such as the colour red for the background instead of orange. I chose red as it is more fiery giving the link between the colours and the masthead 'fire'. Red has connotations of being associated with blood, fire, rage, and danger. On the other hand it can also mean passion, romance or love. In the case of my magazine I have paired the colour red with black and white throughout to show that it is reinforcing the 'rock' genre as seen in most magazines of this type. 

In A2 I looked at a range of differing genres such as regional and fashion. My magazine is a combination of both these genres which made it harder to get a real media text example to be inspired by. However, I managed to look at etc magazine and northnews which involved characteristics of each genre. Both concentrating on one key feature, I added parts of each magazine to make mine as original as possible. By doing this I have a one of a kind magazine that can attract two types of audiences that prefer certain genres, for example, my magazine mixes pop culture and indie/rock, only subtly but the audience can still be interested if the themes are kept as equals. I researched into the magazines mentioned above to get an idea of what these types contain and how I can use it to appeal to the same audience as if it were competition. 

I used Pixlr, some Photoshop, and Publisher to do my A2 magazine. These are all the digital technologies I used to create and edit my magazine as well as the internet for research and planning of the initial layout. Pixlr is a simplified version of Photoshop in which I could edit my images in less time but for the same amount of overall quality. It is not as professional as Photoshop but the image kept its quality. This was because I couldn't spend too long on the editing of the images otherwise I would run out of time to get the text and overall presentation done, which is quite a vital part. As explained in AS production, I couldn't use Photoshop for very long as I didn't have the appropriate skills to complete the task solely on that programme, however I did use it for one of the ancillary tasks which boosted my skills in that area a little further. After the magazine was completed I went back to do some post production which was mostly editing the images to make them stand out more, for example, I lightened up most of the photos so that the model would have a soft feminine face as this would appeal to the targeted audience more, they would look up to her and be inspired as well. There wasn't much editing to be done on the magazine because I captured them in natural light which is what I hoped to get in the photos. Since this went well all I had to do was sharpen and lighten up the models face to give her a 'flawless' look. Some colours were too bright and used too often so I took the one brightest colour on each page (excluding the contents page) and scarcely implemented it into the page. This way the text was still readable but the one colour attracts attention over to that area. This part of production helped me to develop my editing skills and further my creativity to produce the best possible outcome I could achieve.

Section A info

What is included? SectionA 1A
- real media texts
- digital technology
- post-production
- research and planning
- creativity

plan:
name the real media texts I used in AS and A2 (North News Mag., NME, Kerrang, Etc Magazine) go over how I used them for inspiration (layout, colours and poses for the model)
Digital technologies (wix, pixlr, photoshop, publisher) how I used and developed skills or not (PhSh) creating more professional looks within publisher compared to AS, give examples, colours and model types.
post-production (editing) what I changed and how I developed my final piece, I changed the colour scheme and certain words. I edited the contents pages the most, most difficult to add appropriate detail.
R&P (into magazines and genres and 'styles'.)
Creativity (how I came up with the idea of my magazines and the creativeness about them e.g. my inspiration from other texts)


What is included? SectionA 1B
- representation
- genre
- media language
- audience
- narrative

Plan:
representation (what my magazines represent) use the models and how they are conveyed as inspiration to what I need to write about)
Genre AS punk/rock A2 pop feminine hint of indie (pg. 2-3)
media language (terminology) look up
audience (AS-16 to 20) (A2 16-25) bigger range in 2nd year showing development into further audiences and reaching standards to meet them. Completely different target audience compared to AS. Shows diversity into other genres and changing them to suit the audience, versatile. Still keeping with young readers (I am best suited for) knowing what people my age want in a magazine.
narrative (p.o.v) who from.

Planned points

Research and planning
AS- I looked at other music magazines that have a similar genre to mine so I could get inspiration for my colour scheme and layout/font overall. It helped me to understand the conventions of the magazine I was trying to convey and how to portray the person in the magazine. With it being a music magazine I was able to use props such as a guitar to make it seem more real, I got this idea from an existing magazine such as NME which shares the same genre as mine. It was easier to take features and ideas/inspiration for my AS coursework because it is a very popular genre which has a lot of existing magazines such as the examples above. From AS creativity I have learned that research is very important so I can understand what I need to include in my product to make it as professional as possible.
A2- In a2 I used regional magazines combined with fashion magazines to create my genre which uses both together. A regional fashion magazine is hard to come by so I used both genres separately to make a unique magazine. I took ideas from each example magazine and put them in my own because I think this is my USP. I didn't use as many examples (current existing mags) in my A2 coursework because the genre is very difficult to come across in terms of finding it through research. I also stuck to typical conventions of the two genres I used to keep a wide range of audience.

Digital technologies
AS- I started using Photoshop which took quite a long time, it was beneficial as it was professional but as I have very few skills in Photoshop which was not ideal for time management. Most parts of the images were done on photoshop but I was a day behind compared to when I expected to finish. The images came out professional looking but I wouldn't use PS again because it takes to long to figure out. If i gained skills in this programme I would most likely use it. I opened the images on publisher to organise them as if it were a proper magazine, this helped me to figure out what dimensions to use.
A2- I used the same principles like PS but soon found that it was not suitable for me and it was really hard to use, so I found Pixlr which was a simplified version and it helped me create my images and edit them (also looking professional) but it took less time. I used Wix for my website which gave a huge variety of themes and layout etc. I spent a lot of time on this as it was a big project. (detail on wix and uses) I also used publisher to set out my magazine because this is it's primary use.

Real media texts 
AS- I researched other existing music magazines to identify the genre conventions it has and include them in my production. These were things like prefered colour schemes, font, layout etc. Then I made a collection of rock/punk music magazines and annotated them which helped me to understand why people like these things in their magazine and what I can do to challenge conventions. I did this by creating a magazine with similar connotations and conventions as real ones which would be seen as competition if my magazine was also a real media product.
A2- I did the same for AS but for a feminine indie/rock genre which is very uncommon. I found this one challenging because there are not many like it. I combined two of these opposing genres together to create a genre that is now becoming more recognised nowadays. I had to look at different types of magazine such as regional, fashion and, more specifically, indie/punk. I analysed these types to create a mashup of the two. My magazine is predominantly pop/feminine with a hint of indie (especially on the double page) and rock. This helped me develop my creativity skills more as I didn't follow all the conventions of the genres but instead I created my own twist on them. Examples of real media texts I used to research into genres similar to my own was magazines such as etc and northnews. 

Creativity
AS- In my first year I did a music magazine which was in the genre of punk/rock as shown by the front cover layout. I followed similar conventions of a real magazine with a punk/rock genre because this would grab their attention, ultimately, as this genre is very specific and typically you wouldn't see much of any other kinds of colours, layouts, overall presentation, and word choices etc. With research into other magazines I carefully chose the conventions of this type of magazine by choosing a girl with the same fashion genre of that of the magazine and, overall, this creates an impression that the images and magazine topic link up thus making it attractive in the eyes of someone interested in punk rock genre.
A2- This is also a magazine but for regional fashion. It is a very uncommon type so I picked two genres of fashion and region and combined the two categories together so that it created a unique magazine. It would only be as popular as the regional magazines as this magazine would not be published anywhere else except the North East of England. It would also have a similar demographic to the magazines which would attract fashion interested people. I carefully thought this out as this is a hard genre to comply with in terms of picking specific features and layouts to suit the target audience. I got my inspiration from real media texts mentioned above.

Post production
AS- I edited the whole page once it was done to alter the colours that I thought was more suitable for the genre of magazine. I made the red darker and the black more intense to get the 'rock/punk' look across that would attract my audience. The images were still a little bit rough around the edges so I took the photos and spent some time getting rid of any white parts that were not needed. After a few comments on my final product (magazine) I got some suggestions that there was too much writing on the front cover so I thought of a few ideas that would make the page not so crowded. I took the ones that had the least writing but had the biggest effect on the audience, ie something that would grab their attention like 'exclusive...!'
A2- The same goes for my A2 magazine. After some feedback I got some interesting ideas that would help my magazine look more professional. I edited the photos to look better (lighting and contrast) so that they would stand out. The colour scheme for my front page was altered slightly as I used to have more purple/blues but changed it to a little bit of pink. In the end I added or took away minor detail that made the magazine seem more professional with more effort put into them. I took away one of the page numbers (5) because there was no room and the other words were off centered compared to the other page because of it. This didn't look right so I changed it along with the position of the black bar on my double page spread. I lifted it up and shrunk the headline above so I could move it further. This was because the images and text were being too compacted together and I had a lot of empty space at the top. It is important for these minor details to be corrected as it can affect the whole magazine and make it more of a success in terms of professionalism and attractiveness.

men's health work/hw 3

Editorial and advertising + common themes found in MH 

This is an advert on the men's health magazine found at the side bar. As shown they have an attractive young female advertising a weight loss programme. She is being portrayed in a sexual way but she is also not very practical as she has her long hair down, this shows that this advert is to primarily provoke men to try astronutrition because of the woman on the front. Years ago women would not be expected to be muscular and probably be shamed as she is 'suppose' to be small and submissive and leave the power to men, however times have changed and woman are being accepted over what they choose to do with their body. This is a modern advert aimed towards the modern man as some men may think that this image is 'weird' or not acceptable.

This is another advert on the mens health magazine which again is for dieting. However this is done in a more modern way to appeal to men and women without the use of objectifying people. The one above uses an old fashioned way to attract men through male gaze, a theory by Laura Mulvey. This one uses simplistic colours and text to immediately get their point across. Both adverts are to lose weight which is commonly found in male magazines as most men strive to be fitter, this can be a hegemonic male but it is mostly to increase the confidence of men if they buy their products. The first advert (Astronutrition) is focusing on using sex to sell which would most likely be aimed towards heterosexual males as they use a very little clothed woman to grab attention. However this one could be aimed towards males and females as there is no image that either gender would prefer or want to look at, but this is in MH which stresses the importance of losing weight to look more 'attractive'. There are more adverts for losing weight or building strength or tone in MH and I think this is because, nowadays, men are expected to be physically fit to 'win' over the attention of women. 

Common themes

This is an article in MH which shows their fashion column, this is not commonly found in this magazine. The reason for this is because MH usually talks about handling problems with health, sex, and weight- all the things men are 'suppose' to worry about. The images could represent the new sensitive man as women would usually be the ones to care about fashion, however, in the 21st century men are becoming more aware of the importance of a well groomed man who also looks masculine. They have portrayed this in the photos as the men are wearing typical smart male clothes. A suit and tie is considered to make someone look groomed, intelligent, and well presented. Although the clothes they wear are very masculine, men generally didn't care about what they wore but now it's become popular to care about how smart you look. The 'smart is the new sexy' is telling men to look impressive and well dressed to be attractive.    

The latest issue front cover includes quick fix problems that are seen everywhere in MH, whether they are for weight, stress, or sex orientated. The red writing on the left side says 'build bigger arms and a Y-shape back by summer'. This is a quick fix to fitness problems that some men struggle to do. It is telling them that they can get a body like the man on the front cover in a few months. This magazine thrives on telling men that in a short period of time they can have a perfect body and a healthy food scheme. MH prominently think that all men care about is weight and how to look like a 'real man' for women. They have another quick fix solution in the red writing to the right side '14 ways'. This gives men the impression that it is easy or that you should do it because it is so obtainable and you would want to do it because it's what men want. Even though some men don't want to be muscular or 100% healthy, MH persuades the target audience that they will want to follow their instructions because it can fix all of their individual issues even if they can't. This is just to get men to buy the magazine. 

This could be considered as an article on male superiority as it shows an image of an over muscular man who looks down onto the camera which makes him look more powerful and he's presented in a dominant position. Women are represented in a more softer way with their heads tilted down and an open mouth. This man shows how strong he is as he stands with legs apart and his fists are tightened as if to fight someone. This is conveying to the audience that he is superior because he is physically stronger and more masculine. They talk about a wrestlers development which shows that he is very tough like a stereotypical man. With his shirt off the audience can see his muscles more and his tattoos which carry the connotation of someone who is manly or a bit rebellious.

MH ideal man...
'In a world created by Men's Health, the ideal man is...' very strong and muscular as well as physically fit which makes him attractive. He must attract women and be a success in terms of wealth. He mustn't worry about anything else except weight and building strength. He would also have much more authority over women and possibly be a misogynist. Every man would feel like a hegemonic male as they strive to be better all the time. They must be considered an 'expert' at sex and have women lust after them. He also needs to be well dressed and have no stress, if so he must take as many pills as he can to resolve it. No problems can arise from a MH man as they have quick fixes for everything.

Men's health work/hw 2

Men's health heroes

How is David Beckham inspiring to male readers of MH? 

David is seen as inspirational as he is physically fit and they show his muscles by using a sleeveless top.  He is a good example of how men are 'suppose' to be according to MH. He also has a typical boy hair cut which is short and neat. He shows facial hair which makes him more masculine as well as having half his face in the dark, this gives him mystery compared to a woman's magazine who would be fully lit. He stands in a way that you would normally see in a wrestling pose and this is reinforced as he wears bandages around his hands which signifies that he has/is going to fight. The audience can see his abs through his shirt so that the target audience can see this and aspire to look like this. He has a knitted brow which doesn't look as inviting as it would if he had a smile or less harsh eyes. I think they did this because men are suppose to look tough and serious as opposed to women who often have their mouth open as an invitational smile.

What is seen as admirable about them? And representation?

David Beckham is a well known celebrity who married a well known singer, Victoria, and together they have a very big reputation. He used to be a famous footballer which is a typical sport for a man like David to play. He made a respectable career and has not been badly portrayed in the media which shows the men how to behave when being observed by the public. He is also the typical representation of a man who has muscles, short hair and maybe a tattoo. The connotation of the tattoo is that people who have them are considered to be 'rebellious' or 'tough', however this has been outdated as many women have tattoos like David in this image. Tattoos are becoming more accepted so I think that his tattoo could prove he has something valuable that he wanted to remember which could persuade more people to appreciate his way of living and make him more respectable. He is also considered quite handsome by a lot of women because of his conventional male looks and his masculine persona. Beckham has the physical structure that a hegemonic male would want and the considered good looks that make him likeable by both genders, males out of envy and females possible out of lust. This image shows that by 'being a man' you have to be tough, serious and ready to fight. They have got to have some level of tone and muscle as well as a physically fit body. A masculine man will most likely have short cut hair and some facial hair.

Men's Health work/homework

Interpellation definition- Misrecognising oneself. Buying into an idea of how you are suppose to look like. Accepting an ideal 'look' enforced by someone or something through a media product. 

'The complete man' this refers to a man who has all the conventions of a typical masculine man who has usually followed the 'guide' in magazines on how to become this perfect man. 

• The yellow and orange capsules at the side reads the drugs issue which refers to a mental state, this backs up the point that MH magazine is not just for body fitness. 
• The red writing on the left side 'earn £1,300 by burning fat' is telling men to loose weight as well as a way to build wealth/ save money. 
• Most of the article is about male grooming as this can refer to physical fitness, dealing with health problems or mental issues as well as building strength.

• This magazine issue shows the power and strength men are expected to have and it shouts the words Fight and Win which portrays a masculine man. The word indestructible is associated with a strong man because this is what they 'aspire' to be as shown by men's magazines.  

INSIDE THE MAGAZINES

How Should I Style My Thinning Hair?

BY THE MEN'S HEALTH STYLE TEAM MARCH 17, 2014

Many guys want to grow their hair long to make up for its lack of fullness. This ends up temporarily hiding something that’s eventually going to show itself, with increased thinning—or with a strong...

• This is from the Men's health grooming section. This can mean two different things, the first being the connotation that men are suppose to have perfect grooming anyway and that women are suppose to worry about looking well groomed and fuss over hair. However, the second meaning of this could be that men, now, are becoming more aware of what makes them 'perfect' so they try to groom themselves, this can be considered a hegemonic male who always tries to better themselves. 

Quiet Anxiety, Depression without Drugs

All it takes is a little time and focus

• This is a section under health in MH magazine which talks about mental issues. This one particularly talks about anxiety and depression. They use an unrealistic or 'too perfect' male on the front cover expecting men to conform to these guides, but this can give them depression or anxiety as they don't look like them. Then MH add a section in to MH about mental health issues that they could have created in men in the first place. 
• Women's magazines have the same advice columns as this but they will be for different things such as handling stress about work/house work. This is very stereotypical but it does happen. 

Write Your Success Story

MATT MULLENWEG, 29
FOUNDER OF AUTOMATTIC AND WORDPRESS

BUILD WEALTH BY SHARING THE LOAD
In the early days of WordPress, I didn't delegate. I worked all day and night. But then I met guys like Om Malik (an early WordPress user) and Toni Schneider (a software engineer) and realized that I wanted to grow the company together with them. You create a bottleneck if you don't share the reins. 

This is part of an article in MH that shares tips on how to become wealthy like this guy. I assume the image isn't a photo to keep it anonymous but they have given their story into how they gained money which would usually not be found in a woman's magazine. Instead in a women's magazine you might find a joke on how to 'marry a rich man'. For a 'perfect man' or aiming towards hegemonic males MH is trying to say that real men have a lot of money and will attract more women if they have money. Power can be related to wealth so in order for a man to become powerful and dominant he must have money which MH know all about and trap them into thinking this way so they buy the magazine and get addicted to becoming the 'ideal man'. 

section 1a summary

30 MINUTES TO WRITE

what is this question about?
my work (an evaluation)
1st person
AS and A2

What topics can be discussed?
real media texts
digital technology
Creativity
not necessary to include theorists
talk about As/A2
this one is about your work and skills learned

refers to hardware and software and digital technology
Adobe? Photoshop? (main A2 and AS product)
how these programmes helped me create my main product
editing? manipulation? changing the images?
looked at real media products. Inspirational existing media products
how did I get to this point? (coursework)

creativity-
how did I come to my ideas? research and planning? what conventions did I follow? link into production and post production? how other companies follow conventions and I followed their codes and conventions? or challenge those conventions?

Structure- brief into-explain products (As and A2)
1 'firstly I will look at...'
2 explain what skills I already have then put in what skills I learned (what skills would be beneficial?)
3 talk about skills at AS
4 developing into A2 and skills developed from AS
5 short conclusion 'overall...' but answer the question (Refer to question)