Evaluation – Question 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Dominant Image This is a comparison between my front cover’s dominant image and an NME front cover with Kasabian on the front. I chose to compare this image because of the obvious similarities between itself and my image.

Shot Size and Camera Angles

Both images are close up shots, suggesting that the models are close to the reader which ultimately implies that the artists are down to earth, relatable characters.

The camera angle used is also eye level. Again, this implies a sense of equality between the reader and the models. Due to the fact that the reader and model are on the same level suggests that neither is psychologically higher or lower than the other.

An example of a close up, eye level shot.

Posture and Facial Expressions

Both sets of models are in similar positions, standing within very close proximity of each other, which could put forward the idea that the rock genre can bring people together. Both models are in are pulling Millum’s ‘practical’ facial expression as they are almost frowning and have closed mouths. This facial expression puts forward a sense of arrogance which is strongly associated with the genre. This expression also often is associated with the fact that there is a job at hand, suggesting that the artists are purely concentrating on their music (the job at hand).

A minor difference between my dominant image and the Kasabian one is that, on mine, both artists are in indirect mode of address. Where-as on the Kasabian dominant image, only one artist is in indirect mode of address and the other is in direct mode of address. Indirect mode of address puts forward a strong sense of arrogance which (as mentioned previously) has connotations with the genre. This mode could also put forward the idea that the artists are looking away from the readers, suggesting that they are mysterious and have a strong cutting edge factor. Although only one artist is in indirect mode of address on the Kasabian picture, the sense of arrogance and mysteriousness is still put across in similar ways in both images.

Clothing and HairstyleWhen organising my photo shoot, Kasabian were the artists that I wanted to make my models look the most like. To do this I researched the band and looked up images of their clothing choices, their hairstyles etc. I then made my models wear similar items of clothing, such as; leather jackets, black jeans, desert boots, etc. This will also strongly appeal to the male section of my multi generational target audience as these types of clothes can be worn by many different generations of male rock fans; from 16-17 teenagers to 40-50 year old men. Also, people would probably not see this style of clothing as a stereotype as it can be worn by multiple generations of male rock fans. A common stereotype for clothes associated with rock are things such as; Adidas Trainers, Fred Perry jackets, etc. This was mainly introduced by Oasis in the 1990s however this clothing style soon became associated with chavs and football hooligans which made it seem unattractive therefore I decided not to use that clothing style.

A comparison between the visual appearance of Kasabian and my two models during the photo shoot.

LightingDespite one of the images being done in black and white and the other being done in colour, both seem to use high key lighting. Having high key lighting usually tends to involve having a white background which means that the models will always stand out. This means that, in both images, the artists stand out to the reader. This implies the significance of the artists as they will, straight away, stand out to viewers.

An example of high key Lighting.

LightingDespite one of the images being done in black and white and the other being done in colour, both seem to use high key lighting. Having high key lighting usually tends to involve having a white background which means that the models will always stand out. This means that, in both images, the artists stand out to the reader. This implies the significance of the artists as they will, straight away, stand out to viewers.

An example of high key Lighting.