Workshops have continued in media as I have practiced to create a professional magazine cover ready for the coursework which is presented to the left based on FHM. My creativity skills have improved as the more i practice my skills the less mistakes I make allowing me to test new ideas as my knowledge expands.
To begin with I studied a previous edition of FHM to learn the presentation of the codes and conventions and how FHM attract their target audience. To begin with the title is always the same font and usually the same colour making it symbolic and recognisable to the reader helping give it a shelf selling impact. The positioning of this Title is important because you read a magazine like you read a book as it is the first thing you read on the top left. The things I have learnt from research into magazines (all genres) is that the front cover is used to sell the magazine. This is done by (and used in mine) leaving catchy subtitles revealing interesting articles within the magazine such as "Ultimate gaming guide inside!". The top right of the magazine is a subtite about "Call Of Duty 6" which gives a review about the game, this is usful to have on the front cover of my FHM magazine as this game is the most popular game of the year selling the highest quantity ever on the release date. As the media is a buisiness and we must sell copies of our magazine this is a brilliant selling point highlighting it in the top right with a different colour to the background. The main image joint background is of"Bianca Gascoigne" posing wearing a tight corset pushing her breasts up increasing their size which appeals to the target audience. Another important point that adds to the appealing factor of the main picture is the angle that the photo was taken at. The picture is focused using a midshot allowing us to see her body and facial expression which is a serious sexual pose as if to tempt the target audience. The main technique used here is that the camera is looking down on the girl which helps emphasis the body parts and makes her inferior to the male target audience giving them power of the magazine and the girl. As with other other magazines the price and date of the issue presented is displayed in small print usually near the barcode however I have chosen to place it on the top left ontop of the title. The reason for my presentation of the price being small is because I want my target audience to see the main display of the magazine first and be tempted into buying it (this is done by the slogans and the main display picture) and then they have to scan the front cover to find the price afterwards instead of finding the price first which helps change the outcome of the sale. Some of my other chosen slogans are displayed because it is what my target audience are more likely to be into, for example "20 top rated games of 2009".
My idea of this magazine cover not only comes from studying previous issues, it comes from Media theorists who give their own explanations on why media forms protray there information in the way they do. Louis Althusser theory relates to the magazine cover as he stated that the texts are used to reinforce the target audiences opinion and position them as the magazines ideal reader. Althusser saw ideologies as a represented diagesis and the power was through the ideas. His theory suggested the main ideologies come from people of higher social positions in society and that people will accept these views and live by them. Another part of his theory was Interpellation which basically says that the media calls out to the target audience, this had a big impact on my magazine and alot of magazines that exist use this technique esspecially in the magazine industry on the front cover. It does this by saying "Hey, you there!", on my magazine this is done by slogans and statements that will attract the audience to buy the magazine, "Win ps3 and much more!".
Another theorist which influenced my ideas and may be explains alot of magazines is Michel Foucault who stated that identities are formed from the information available to people in popular groups or discourses. His theory subs into "Models of Power" and fluid identities. He stated that the practices we couciously undertake to fit in our culture or society. This is split into consumerism, polotics, fashion, rituals and customs and relgion. Focusing on magazines this would suit fashion more as we have the choice to follow and engage with the fashion through choice. "Technologies of the self" is how we place ourselves in society and what we chose to do. To conclude he suggests that the power is placed in the hands of the individual (post-structuralist) and we use the magazines for advice and how fit in with society.
Another theorist named Judith Butler came up with the Queer Theory which states that the way we live and how we performe is a fiction which can be changed. Basically codes and conventions can be changed to form new identites however when creating my magazine i did not changed any codes and conventions, i followed the already put forward ideologies which are used by "FHM".
To begin with I studied a previous edition of FHM to learn the presentation of the codes and conventions and how FHM attract their target audience. To begin with the title is always the same font and usually the same colour making it symbolic and recognisable to the reader helping give it a shelf selling impact. The positioning of this Title is important because you read a magazine like you read a book as it is the first thing you read on the top left. The things I have learnt from research into magazines (all genres) is that the front cover is used to sell the magazine. This is done by (and used in mine) leaving catchy subtitles revealing interesting articles within the magazine such as "Ultimate gaming guide inside!". The top right of the magazine is a subtite about "Call Of Duty 6" which gives a review about the game, this is usful to have on the front cover of my FHM magazine as this game is the most popular game of the year selling the highest quantity ever on the release date. As the media is a buisiness and we must sell copies of our magazine this is a brilliant selling point highlighting it in the top right with a different colour to the background. The main image joint background is of"Bianca Gascoigne" posing wearing a tight corset pushing her breasts up increasing their size which appeals to the target audience. Another important point that adds to the appealing factor of the main picture is the angle that the photo was taken at. The picture is focused using a midshot allowing us to see her body and facial expression which is a serious sexual pose as if to tempt the target audience. The main technique used here is that the camera is looking down on the girl which helps emphasis the body parts and makes her inferior to the male target audience giving them power of the magazine and the girl. As with other other magazines the price and date of the issue presented is displayed in small print usually near the barcode however I have chosen to place it on the top left ontop of the title. The reason for my presentation of the price being small is because I want my target audience to see the main display of the magazine first and be tempted into buying it (this is done by the slogans and the main display picture) and then they have to scan the front cover to find the price afterwards instead of finding the price first which helps change the outcome of the sale. Some of my other chosen slogans are displayed because it is what my target audience are more likely to be into, for example "20 top rated games of 2009".
My idea of this magazine cover not only comes from studying previous issues, it comes from Media theorists who give their own explanations on why media forms protray there information in the way they do. Louis Althusser theory relates to the magazine cover as he stated that the texts are used to reinforce the target audiences opinion and position them as the magazines ideal reader. Althusser saw ideologies as a represented diagesis and the power was through the ideas. His theory suggested the main ideologies come from people of higher social positions in society and that people will accept these views and live by them. Another part of his theory was Interpellation which basically says that the media calls out to the target audience, this had a big impact on my magazine and alot of magazines that exist use this technique esspecially in the magazine industry on the front cover. It does this by saying "Hey, you there!", on my magazine this is done by slogans and statements that will attract the audience to buy the magazine, "Win ps3 and much more!".
Another theorist which influenced my ideas and may be explains alot of magazines is Michel Foucault who stated that identities are formed from the information available to people in popular groups or discourses. His theory subs into "Models of Power" and fluid identities. He stated that the practices we couciously undertake to fit in our culture or society. This is split into consumerism, polotics, fashion, rituals and customs and relgion. Focusing on magazines this would suit fashion more as we have the choice to follow and engage with the fashion through choice. "Technologies of the self" is how we place ourselves in society and what we chose to do. To conclude he suggests that the power is placed in the hands of the individual (post-structuralist) and we use the magazines for advice and how fit in with society.
Another theorist named Judith Butler came up with the Queer Theory which states that the way we live and how we performe is a fiction which can be changed. Basically codes and conventions can be changed to form new identites however when creating my magazine i did not changed any codes and conventions, i followed the already put forward ideologies which are used by "FHM".
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