Uses and Gratifications Theory!

Uses and Gratification! - Video Maker

Naomi Wolf's Beauty Myth!

     Naomi Wolf, the American Feminist of 1991, says that the use of attractive women is often used to help see products on to other women. She also states that women have been conditioned into aspiring what is fashionable now and want to look like a model, by a male dominated society.
     Naomi Wolf creates a book entitled, 'The Beauty Myth' to tell everyone how a woman feels about themselves when magazines are feeding insecurities about not being thin.  Magazine companies and newspapers achieve this by having an almost nude, sexy0looking facial expression, a gorgeous female, thin and airbrushed models being used as a source to grab the reader's attention. In most cases when women are used, female readers usually pick out their own faults as they compare themselves with the models being used on the cover. These poses also suggest that female sexuality is replaced by the means of beauty, and showing that women are putting themselves in competition with each other and is often positioned against one another, yet women don't see their bodies as a source of pleasure.  
     For my magazine, I will be using images of females on my front cover, as well as my double page spread. They are represented as joyful, happy and attractive characters to attract my target audience of teenage girls because they want to be like the attractive individuals on the cover, therefore this attracts more people.  
     By using attractive women on my magazine I will be exploiting Naomi Wolf's theory that an attractive model is used to sell a product by leading women to think that if they buy the product, they will enhance their looks to look like the model on the cover.

Here are a few images of Naomi Wolf's book of the Beauty Myth:

Majorie Ferguson Theory: Romantical or Sexual!

     This facial expression is dreamy, heavy-lidded and unsmiling. It is overtly sensual or sexual. The clothing that is used on the model is often limited and props are sometimes used.
     Projected Mood: The mood that this look creates is dreamy and gives the sense that the model is 'available' and definitely 'available.'

     Here are a few examples of magazines that have used the romantic or sexual facial expression on the cover of the magazine:

      This facial expression would be good for a rock magazine, however my magazine is pop for teenaged girls therefore this wouldn't be appropriate for my magazine cover.

Majorie Ferguson Theory: Invitational!

     The invitational facial expression is when the focus is emphasised on the eyes. The model often uses a closed mouth with only a hint of a smile and their teeth are barely showing at times and their head is to one side, slightly. This expression creates a more suggestive mood and gives a sense of mischief or mystery, the use of contact is potential rather that creating a sexual promise.

Here are a few examples of a magazine using an Invitational facial expression on the cover of the magazine:

     I think this facial expression would be quite an intriguing facial expression to use and it will invite my target audience to buy my magazine. It will also look as though the model is looking at the audience and inviting them in and catching their attention by looking straight at the readers. It also suggests that the magazine is aimed directly at the readers.

Majorie Ferguson Theory: Chocolate Box!

      The Chocolate Box is when a model has a half or full-smile, their lips are together or can be slightly parted with teeth barely visible, they turn their face fully or three quarters towards the camera.
     Projected Mood: This facial expression creates warm, bath warmth with uniformity of their features which are smoothed to perfection which is a devoid of uniqueness or of individuality.

Here are some examples of Chocolate Box being used within some magazine covers:

     I think this would be quite an inviting facial expression and it would portray to my audience that the magazine is serious about the artist that is on the cover page and it also suggests that the article is interesting, therefore this would be a good facial expression for my model to use on the front cover.

Majorie Ferguson Theory: Super Smiler!

     The Super Smiler uses the full face and has a wide open smile with visible teeth. The model often looks happy and is giving of a good vibe. The head is slightly forward and the chin is back. The hair will often be wind swept or blown and this gives of a 'Look at me' approach.

Here are some examples of the Super Smiler look that has been used on some magazine covers:

     I think using this facial expression on my model will create a good and happy vibe. It will make the reader feel like the magazine will lift their spirits and it will make them more likely to enjoy reading the magazine with this facial expression. This facial expression makes the model look happy and glad to be on the front of the magazine and this will make the readers of my magazine feel like the magazine is good and interesting making it more likely that they will pick this magazine up as it is more vibrant and happy.  

My Next Task!

My next task:
     For my next task I will begin thinking about what I want to include within my media music magazine, I will consider what poses I will be using when it comes to taking pictures with my model and I will also think about what I initially want my music magazine to look like.
     To achieve the best and most appropriate pictures for my magazine I will do some research on the different types of facial expressions that can be used by models to get the best look possible. I will do a deep and thorough research of the Marjorie Ferguson theory which includes four different poses which are, Super Smiler, Chocolate Box, Invitational and Romantic or Sexual.
     I will then begin to consider the certain features that I want to illustrate within my magazine. To achieve this I will do a thorough research into Naomi Wolf's theory of Uses and Gratification.
     When I have finally achieved all of this I will upload my flat plans of my front cover, contents page and the main article page to illustrate what I will initially want my magazine to look like.

My Reader Profile!

My reader profile illustrates what my target audience is interested in terms of music, gadgets, personal items and clothing. It also shows the social and economic characteristics of the typical reader of this magazine.

     My reader profile also allows my target audience to get involved in the magazine by telling up what they believe people should do and wear in order to follow the latest trends, you will find this information in the 'READERS AGREE THAT...' section of the reader profile page.

     The inspiration for my reader profile came from the magazine IPOP as this magazine also uses the same conventions that I have used and it also has the same target audience, therefore this was my initial inspiration.

Reader Profile: IPOP!

Reader Profile – IPOP

IPOP is a pop music genre magazine which mainly focuses on a female target audience. This reader profile uses the colours red, black, purple and they have used the blue for the title which creates a house style. They have also used items on the page that mainly attracts females, for examples make-up and products that use the colour pink; however there are also items on the page that may attract males. I will use inspiration from this by using colours which create a house style and this will attract my target audience. I think this reader profile will be more appropriate for me to take inspiration from as this also uses the pop genre as does my music magazine, this magazine also focuses on the female genre and so does my magazine, therefore this will be my inspiration for my music magazine.

Reader Profile: NME

Reader Profile: NME

NME uses the rock genre of music which mainly focuses on older males. This reader profile uses the colours blue and green with the signature colours of red, white and black for the mast head. They have also used items on the page that appeals to mostly men. I will use inspiration from this for my reader profile by using colours that attract my target audience and I will also follow a house style.

My Chosen Music Magazine Publishing Company!

Chosen Music Magazine Publishing Company!

     The chosen publising company that I would like to use to publish my music magazine would be Bauer. This is becuase statistics show that Bauer sells the most magazines globally, for example, Bauer sells over 570 magazines, 300 digital products and 50 radio and TV stations which reach over millions of people around the globe, where as IPC is mainly known in the UK as it is the UK's largest consumer magazine publisher they engage with 26m UK adults. 

     By using Bauer I will be able to publish my music magazine to more countries around the world as Bauer is the worlds largest publishing companies and it is also one of the most successful publishing companies around the world. 

     Bauer will also be a good company to use in order to publish my music magazine as this magazine mostly focuses on women based magazines and my magazine has a target audience of females aged between 14-25. However the company rarely publishes magazines that targets teenage females so my music magazine would be able to bring something new to their company which can widen the their audience and create a new market for their company which will introduce more people to their company.

Publishing Company - IPC!

IPC - Publisher!

IPC inspire/Media has more than 60 iconic media brands. IPC creates content for multiple platforms across, print, online, mobile, tables and events. IPC is the UK’s leading consumer magazine publisher they engage with 26m UK adults, almost two thirds of the UK women and 42% of UK men. They have an award winning portfolio of websites reaches over 25 million users globally every month.

   IPC has three different publishing divisions; IPC Connect, IPC Inspire and IPC Southbank. IPC Connect is a mass market women’s division comprise including famous women’s weeklies such as, Now, Chat and Women; they also have TV entertainment brands including What’s on TV, TV Times and TV and Satellite Week and the good to known network.  IPC Inspire is their men’s portfolio. It uses a wealth of leisure brands including Country Life, Horse & Hound, Rugby World and Decanter, as well as lifestyle brands including Nuts, Mouse breaker and NME. IPC Southbank is their upmarket women’s division and compromise luxury fashion brands including Marie Claire and In Style, lifestyle brands including Women & Home and Essentials and home interest brands including Idea Home, Living and House to Home.

Publishing Company - Bauer!

Bauer Media Group - Publisher!

Bauer Media is a division of the Bauer Media Group. This publishing company is Europe’s largest privately owned publishing group. The group is a worldwide media empire offering over 300 magazines in 15 different countries, as well as online, TV and Radio stations. 

     Bauer Media is a multi-platform UK-based media group consisting of many companies collected around the two main divisions – Magazine and Radio, wildly recognised and rewarded as being industry innovators. 

     Bauer Media is built on influential media brands with millions of personal relationships with endangered readers and listeners. Their strategies are to enable that they connect their audiences with excellent content throughout broad multi-touch point brand platforms, wherever and whenever and however they wish. Their wide portfolio of influential brands gives us advantages over pure play magazines or radio competitors. 

     The Bauer Media Group is one of the most successful media companies in the world. Over 570 magazines, 300 digital products and 50 radio and TV stations reach millions of people around the globe. The company’s portfolio also includes printing companies, postal services and services in the fields of distribution, marketing and media sales. Bauer uses a new global positioning strategy; the Bauer Media Group underscores its passion for people and brands. The claim ‘we think popular’ highlights the Bauer Media Group’s perception of itself as a publisher of popular media and provides inspiration and motivation to its more than 11,000 employees in 16 countries.

Proposal Form!

This is a proposal form that I created for my music magazine, this will discuss and include most of the things that I want to do within my music magazine. 

Music Magazine Questionnaire Results Analysis!

Music Magazine Questionnaire Analysis:

    In order to receive an insight into what people might want to see within a pop music magazine. Firstly I handed out my questionnaire to people in my school who ranged from the age of 11-18 including teachers. I then handed my questionnaire out to people within my area so I had a wider range of opinion within my results.
      I have recently uploaded an unanswered questionnaire, followed by the results of each question. The questionnaire consisted of a diverse range of questions for my target audience to answer so I could see what qualities appealed to them the most. The results of the questionnaire allowed me to see what qualities my target audience would prefer to see and I will apply these to my music magazine in order to attract my target audience.    
     After getting the results back from my questionnaire's I have decided that the magazine will appeal to a female audience between the ages of 14-25. I will be naming my music magazine, 'Sound of Pop!' as it will use the pop genre. I will be publishing my music magazine once every two weeks and it will have a price of £1.50 as this will beat most music magazine on price, thus meaning that more people will want to buy the magazine. The colour theme that I will be using is light green, pink, purple and white as these colours appealed to my target audience the most. Within my magazine the freebee's that I will put into my magazine is either free downloads or make-up from an artist collection as these also appealed to my target audience the most. For the prize which can be won from a competition will be a meet and greet with the celebrity that is the main feature of the music magazine for this week as this is what my target audience wanted to see within the music magazine. The feature I will use within my magazine will be an interview with the artist that is the main feature of the magazine as this is what my target audience wanted to see within my music magazine.   

Music Magazine Questionnaire Results!

Media music magazine questionnaire results! from LauraNaylor

Music Magazine Questionnaire!

My Music Magazine Questionnaire!

I have created this questionnaire to depict what qualities I will use within my magazine that will appeal to my target audience of young female's ages between 15-25. I have handed this questionnaire out to people within my school, other schools and people within my community so I get a wide range of opinion from my target audience.

What I'm Going To Do Next!

Music Magazine Pitch!

Music Magazine Pitch:

      The next task that we have to do is create our own music magazine. My magazine will follow the current conventions of music magazines today. To help achieve this I have researched many music magazine covers, content pages and magazine articles. These have helped me understand a lot more features of music magazines and feel confident in creating a music magazine and I now know the stereotypical features and conventions of a music magazine.
      My project will consist of a front cover of high quality, a contents page with the typical conventions which easy for the readers to understand and be navigated to where they need to be and a double-page spread with a featured article that will be related to the music magazine industry. To create my music magazine I will use Adobe Photoshop and edit all my photos and text on to create a magazine of high quality.

• Genre: Pop music magazine.
• Primary Target Audience: Young females aged between 15-25
• Secondary Target Audience: Young females aged 11-14 and older females aged 26+

Music Magazine Double Page Spread Analysis!

Music Magazine Double-Page Spread Analysis! - Video Maker

Music Magazine Contents Page Analysis!

Music Magazine Cover Analysis!

Music magazine cover analysis! from LauraNaylor

Contents Page

Here is my Contents Page which I also created earlier this year:

For this part of the task i began by doing the background first, I did this using the gradient tool on Photoshop using the colours white fading into blue. I used these colours because it is the colours used on the front cover, the blue is took from the logo and the white is used to brighten up the page and also kept a slight house style within the magazine. For the text, I chose the colours black and white so that it stood out against the blue background.  The titles of the pages are wrote in white so that they stand out more and so the reader instantly knows what that page is about. The type of text that I used has been taken from the front cover as this has already been used so it again follows the house style. I used a banner which has been developed into an arrow which persuades the readers to follow the direction in which the arrow is pointing which intrigues the readers to continue reading on. The word 'Contents' is wrote in a larger and different font so that the readers will instantly know which page they are approaching. I used a range of different images which are set around different parts of the school which illustrates the different stories inside the magazine. The images are also put on an angle which intrigues the readers to look at them as they are put in an original way.   

Front Cover

Here is my front cover which I created earlier this year:

Before beginning this task we were instructed to go around the school in a small group and take photographs, the photos could be people casually talking, walking or working around the school or posing deliberately in order to capture a perfect shot. The main colours which I used for my magazine were blue, yellow, black, white and purple. I used these colours due to the fact the school logo consists of yellow and blue, the school jumpers are black, the polo shirts are white and the purple was used in order to lighten the page up slightly. I didn't cut out the main image because I felt that using the school surroundings would give the magazine more of a school aspect and atmosphere which I felt was appropriate for the magazine cover. I enlarged my main image so that it fit the whole page and stood out which is a common convention with magazines. I also applied the common conventions of using the school website and twitter on the cover in order for people to look further into the school and find out more information which they wish to receive. Certain words on my magazine are highlighted and outlined which makes them stand out which interests the reader and draws their attention so they will instantly be drawn to the magazine.

The First Task

     For the first task for A-Level Media Studies, I had to create a school magazine which included a school magazine cover and contents page. I created my projects using Photoshop.