Mock Exam - How To Improve.

Audience Question.
To improve my audience question, i think that i need to revise key terminology and try to incorporate solid examples into my answer. I need to be able to justify my answers more and try to include theories in which help me to explain why that media text would be targeted at that audience.

Representation Question.
To improve this question, i need to find solid examples of how males and females are represented within the different media forms, and i need to be able to explain why they are represented in this way and what effect that has on the audience. 

Revision and Study.
To improve my grade i think that i need to revise more. I am going to do this by allowing myself a designated couple of hours every week in which i can go over theories and find solid examples of how males and females are represented within the media. I am then going to put these into practice by trying to apply them to a set question. I also need to make sure that i manage my time so that i have enough time to answer all of the questions to a high standard. 

Coursework.
To improve my coursework, i need to edit my images and experiment slightly with the layout of my inserts to see if they would look better when presented in another way. I also need to make sure that my report is completed and i have made all of the improvements suggested by David.

The Representation of Men.

MEN'S VOGUE represents men as very powerful. They tend to use pictures of well known and credited male celebrities. This image of Will Smith makes him look very powerful and dominant. They do this through the clothing he is wearing, as he looks very business-like and sophisticated, and this reflects how professional he is as an actor, and also in keeps with the fact that vogue is a high end magazine. The black coat makes him look powerful and the colours of his clothing also fit in with the colour of the text used on this front cover. The coat also makes him look like he is covering up something and this links to one of the tagline that says 'power marriage...fatherhood and saving the world..again', this plays on the roles he has played in films as well as aiding the main image in which makes him look powerful and almost like a superhero.The blue background is quite soft which contrasts with the masculine black fonts used for the text. The fact that some of the text is also gold shows that the magazine is high end as gold is quite a rich colour and you associate gold things as being expensive. The lighting used on the image of Will Smith is quite soft and looks quite natural. This along with the blue background makes it loo as if they have taken this photograph of his outside and as though the photograph isn't staged. by using these things men will be drawn into this magazine because they want to know what Will Smith does and how he does it, tis magazine appeals to upper class men who are maybe leo trying to achieve the same sort of success as Will Smith.

MEN'S HEALTH MAGAZINE represents men as muscular and eye candy for women. This representation of men makes them think that they need to look like this in order to get girls and if they buy this magazine, they will find out how to look like this. The colours used on this magazine are quite masculine reds, blues and blacks and the bold text also aids the fact that this magazine is aimed at men. However, the colours and fonts used contrast with the main image as the image and background are quite light and the big smile that the model is showing represents a kind of purity and also shows his happiness and confidence with the way he looks, and this is what other men want to achieve. His hair is perfect and his body language is quite relaxed almost as if the photograph hasn't been staged. The fact that this man is also not a celebrity also targets men as they can relate to this man and they will think that he got this body through doing the workouts in this magazine, rather than a personal trainer.

OK! MAGAZINE represents Steven Gerrard in a very good light, presenting him to be a family man that is very much involved in his family's life.The fact that this issue was out around christmas with a background of decorations also helps to aid our views of him, as christmas is very much a family time and he is obviously spending his time with his family. The colours used are mainly reds and yellows, these colours are typically associated with this magazine, but also link well with the christmas theme throughout this issue. His wife is wearing a red dress with connotes romance and also fits in with the christmas theme, and Steven is wearing a casual pair of jeans and jacket making his seem very down to earth. He has his children around him which also shows us that he is a family man that spends a lot of time with his children and his wife. The way they are sitting looks quite staged but the way they are smiling looks genuine, and as Steven Gerrard is a well credited footballer, it appeals to people because they want to read about his life and you don't often get an insight into footballer's lives away from the pitch.

The Representation of Women.

VOGUE magazine is a high end magazine that represents women as powerful and as role models. They often choose female celebrities in which the girls of this generation look up to and aspire to be like. The women on the cover often have good reputations and careers. Beyonce is a role model to many girls and the fact that she is alone on this cover shows that she is a strong and independent woman that young girls look up to. Beyonce is known for her talents and not how little she can wear. Vogue magazine often has female celebrities quite covered up wearing high end fashion, rather than using nudity to sell their magazines. The photograph of Beyonce uses soft lighting to portray her innocence and purity and the fact that she is wearing black and white which are quite plain colours, rather than vibrant clothing or barely any clothing, shows that she is quite down to earth and is inspirational. Her clothing also looks very business like and professional, reflecting herself and the fact that she is very professional in what she does.

SHAPE magazine shows female celebrities quite exposed, wearing only underwear or swimwear. This is to show how good they look and this will make girls want to buy the magazine because they want to know how they can look like that, and they think that if they buy this magazine then it will teach them how to get this body. Britney is a well known pop star, yet is not known for being innocent, unlike the connotations of the white swimwear that she is wearing. Britney is a very controversial celebrity that has battled with her weight many times, so this makes the readers think that if she can look this good than so can i. Britney's face looks airbrushed and the soft lighting makes her look innocent and almost perfect, making young girls believe and think that this is what they have to look like. The position in which she is standing also makes her look very confident about her body, and she is not covering any part of it with her arms etc, and this makes women think that they want to learn how to be this body confident.

NUTS magazine is a magazine geared towards men and it does this by using sexualised images of women and female celebrities to attract their attention. The image of Georgie Porter is very sexualised and the way that she is leaning down, does not only show more of her body, but it also makes her look more innocent and helpless, as though she needs a man to control her and tell her what to do. The lighting used makes her look flawless and this gives mean unrealistic perceptions about what real women's bodies look like. The lack of text may show how men do not buy these sorts of magazines to read the articles, but also the simplicity of the article titles almost stereotype men by making you think that they are simple so that men can understand them. Also, rather that saying 'TV's sexiest women' they have said 'TV's sexiest babes' and by using the word babes, this has almost degraded them straight away as sex objects rather than independent women.

CD Cover - Final Drafts.

My band's album cover.

This is my band's final cd cover draft. I based the front of this cd cover on the front cover of James Arthur's debut album cover. I used basic images with split lighting and i photographed Jordan and Tom who in which share a similar dress sense, which is also very much of a mod look so i thought that they would look good on this cd. I tried to make my background look like polaroid images and i thought that this would give it more of an old school feel.

CD Cover - Final Drafts.

My solo artist album cover.

 This is my final draft for my solo artist album cover. I tried to give it an indie/urban feel and based my draft on Jake Bugg's debut album cover as i liked the simple layout and photographs used on that album, and i also liked the vintage feel given to it by the use of sepia tones on the photographs.

Proposal for pre-production.

What my idea's are...

For my pre-production final drafts, i am going to create one CD cover for an urban solo artist, and another CD cover for a new style mod band. I want to create my solo artist cover based on Jake Bugg's debut album cover, and i am going to base my band's album cover on James Arthurs album cover, and i am also going to try to incorporate elements from older mod albums.

I will be creating all of my pre-production on photoshop. 


Taking my original photography.

I am taking my photographs of Jordan for my solo artist album cover, and then i will be taking photographs of Jordan and somebody else for my band's album cover.

I will be taking photographs of Jordan in the studio and in natural, outdoor urban setting, so that this reflects the style of music on the album. I will also be using the studio for my band's photographs and may use other outdoor settings. I will position my models in various different poses and experiment with different lighting and angles to see what looks most effective.

I will be using the studio for the majority of my photographs and will also be using outdoor settings for other photographs.

I will be taking my studio photographs mainly in lesson as i can then hire out the studio and a camera, and whatever photographs i do not manage to take in lessons, i can take in my free periods, or in my free time at weekends.

I am choosing to take photographs in the studio, as i think that i will be able to create a good use of lighting, and i also think that portraits look effective on the front of CD covers. Also, i am taking some outdoor photographs as i think that using natural and more urban settings will also reflect the urban feel of my album, as well as making it look more professional.  

I have asked my models in advance so that i know that they will be available for me to take photographs of. I will be shooting my photographs in the most convenient times for both me and them, and i also have to arrange my shoot around what time i can use the studio etc, and i also have to shoot my outdoor photographs on days with good weather conditions.

CD Cover Drafts.

This is my draft based upon Jake Bugg's debut album cover. I want to create a CD cover for a country artist in which is similar to Jake Bugg. I based this on his original cover for his debut album, as i liked the simplicity of it, and liked the fact that the images were in sepia tones. I created this draft on photoshop, and experimented with the different colours and fonts to see which worked best.This draft is going to influence my final draft because i want to create a debut CD for a new country artist, and i want to base my image on this one of Jake Bugg by trying to capture the same setting, and i think that the natural lighting and setting makes it look effective. It gives him a bit of a background city and almost shows everyone where he comes from and that he's a city boy.

This is another draft based upon an Oasis album cover. For my second final draft, i want to create a CD cover for a new British band/duo that dress and look like people did in the MOD era. I experimented in photoshop with different fonts/colours and layouts and finally decided on this as i thought that the font looked most like the fonts used on other albums by Oasis and i used a basic picture and colour scheme as i thought that this would fit well if i made it into a 'very best of' album, because it was basic but effective. I am going to use this draft as inspirations for my final draft, as i think using a simple image such as this, would work really well. I also like the font used as it is quite bold and is similar to the font used in most other Oasis CD's, and this could work for my final draft as i want to create a CD cover for a band similar to Oasis and that would have a similar look and sound.

This is my third draft, which is actually based upon 'the vaccines' album cover, but i decided to create it with a picture of the band 'Of monsters and men', as i thought that this image worked well in this layout. I experimented on photoshop with different layouts and fonts and finally decided on this one as i thought that it looked most effective, the images are clear and simple and the writing stands out. I thought that this would by an option for my CD cover based on my solo artist, as i think that it stands out and is an effective and basic layout. The images used on the front and back cover link well together, yet are different, and the image on the back cover uses leading lines, almost leading you into the tracks that are on the CD. I think the font fitted in well with the whole layout and colour scheme, and i thought the idea of having a border around the main image on the front cover made the image stand out more.