AS Media StudiesAnalyzing Print Media

Magazine Covers

Aim of magazine cover is:

• To attract target audience

• To engage reader by employing appropriate mode of address

• To stand out from other magazines of similar genre

• To suggest the subgenre of the magazine through the masthead, use of colours, content etc

To engage the attention of the reader through the main image

To offer reasons for reader to buy the magazine through the coverlines

To convey an ideology to the target audience and sell the reader a lifestyle

Masthead

Cover lines

(Puffs)

Dateline

Main image

Main cover line

Barcode

Quick fix problems

Mode of address is INFORMAL -chatty and friendly. It speaks directly to the reader.

Tips

Identify the textual element.

Justify why it has been used. What is its purpose.

Print Advertisements

Who advertises and why?

• Makers of consumable products e.g. beauty/grooming products – to encourage the audience to buy.

• Charities – to raise awareness and encourage donations

• Government departments to raise awareness about certain issues e.g. healthy eating

• Organizers of events e.g. the 2012 Olympics – to boost tickets sales and promote event to a broad audience.

• Educational establishments – to persuade people to go there for their studies. They produce a prospectus and additional marketing material

• The media themselves promote products like film posters, CD Covers etc

Canon Image Stabilizer Ad by Armstrong & Asociados. By Armstrong & Asociados

Lexus Campaign• Aims to target new audience of younger drivers

Mode of Address

Out of the two following adverts which is the hard sell and soft sell?

Why?

Now you see it Now you don’t

Portuguese Advert

Key conventions of film posters

Genre indications - the images and copy on the poster will usually give a clue to the genre of the film.

Iconography - this is another clue to the genre of the film. The objects, background, clothing and setting will establish the genre of the film.

Promise of pleasure - these are the words and phrases that tell the audience what they will experience through watching the film, e.g. fear, laughter, etc.

Star billing - the positioning of the images or the names of the stars on the poster. Sometimes there is a hierarchy of importance.

• Stars - the stars can also give a clue to the genre - Jennifer Anlston is associated with romantic comedies and Harrison Ford with action/adventure films,

• The tag line - this is the memorable phrase or slogan that becomes associated with the film and appears on the marketing material

• The image - this will have been carefully chosen and may suggest the narrative of the film and the role of the key characters.

• Language and mode of address - this will be persuasive and often makes use of hyperbole (over exaggerated language)

• Expert criticism - quotes from newspapers, film magazines and review! suggesting the quality of the film and making it a 'must see', '

Mark of quality making reference to similar successful films

The film title is a hook and creates an enigma

These pull quotes give an indication of the quality of the film. The publication they are taken from will be relevant to the target audience.

Awards and accolades show the quality of the film and can lead to more people wanting to go and see the film.

The slogan, this creates an enigma code.

The star rating suggest the quality of the film

These images taken from the film suggest the narrative and genre of the film and also create enigma codes.

Web pages

What are the key features of a web page?

Navigational features - these are displayed clearly on the web page in order to help the user to move easily around the site. They are the key areas that the web designers want the audience to focus on.

Title/banner headline - this works in the same way as headlines in magazines and newspapers do - it draws in the audience. If the headline is, for example, the name of a band, then the font style of the banner may give a clue to the music genre.

Flash elements - these are the animations and moving elements of the site including rollovers

Banner advertisements - these, along with pop-ups are the most common form of Internet advertising and appear at the top of web pages. These will sometimes be examples of contextual advertising and likely to be successful.

Multimedia features - websites will use a mixture of text, images and sound.

External web links – an image or a key word will take a user to another page or website

Interactive features – these are elements of the website that allow the user to become involved with the site through blogs, forums, surveys etc. This feature may encourage the user to return regularly to the site as there involvement develops.

Newspapers

News Values

The bigger the story the more likely it is to get on the front page

Negativity: Bad news is more exciting and interesting than good news

Unexpectedness: an event that is a shock or out of the ordinary e.g. September the 11 th attacks

Unambiguity: events are that are easy to report and are not complex will be higher up the agenda of some newspapers. Modern wars are often hard to report.

Personalization: news stories that have a human interest angle are more likely to appear in some newspapers. Readers are interested in celebrities, and stories have more meaning if they are personal.

Proximity: The closer to home the story is the more interested the reader.

Elite nations/People: stories about important people and powerful nations e.g. the USA will be higher up the agenda.

Two types of newspaper

1 The tabloid (the sun, daily mail etc)

2 The Broadsheet (The Daily Telegraph, The Times etc)

Tabloid are popular and focus on entertainment and more popular storiesBroadsheet cover a wider variety of quality news stories

What are the key features of a CD Cover?

A central image: This may be a photograph of the performer or an image related to the theme of the CD. The iconography surrounding the image and the visual codes may encode clues to the genre.

Start image: how has the star been constructed on the front cover. A series of visual codes will create the image and representation of the star. These may include clothing, expression and colour.

Design and Layout: The design features include things like the style of the font and colour of fonts as well as other elements of mise-en-scene that create significant meaning.

Genre: The genre may be communicated through a series of images and other visual codes associated with the style of music. For example Heavy Metal genre music use dark colour and gothic style fonts and imagery.

Computer games covers

What are the key features of a computer game cover?

A central image that attract the attention of the user. If the game is part of series then the characters and artwork may be similar to previous editions.

Characters – these may be recognisable to the users of the game.

Narrative – the cover will give narrative teasers and enigmas to persuade the audience that they want to play the game. They will also use thumbnail images on the back cover of game play.

Slogan – this will sum up the game

Expert comment as with film posters reviews from computer game magazines will help entice the audience

Analyse Print Based media

15 minutes for each one.

Choose

1 Magazine Cover

1 Print advertisement

1 Film poster

1 Web page

2 Newspaper front covers (1 tabloid and 1 broadsheet)

1 CD Cover

1 Computer game cover

Analyse them commenting on:

Visual codes

Layout and design

Genre