In media texts everything counts, matters and means something, as we live in a commercial world in order to make money magazine producers need to make sure their magazine sells the brand clearly (this can include music, beauty, fashion, hobbies, gaming etc). In order to make my magazine the best it can be I need to practice my media ‘detective’ skills. Becoming a media detective means looking beyond, beneath, below and behind. The denotations in media texts all have connotations which all work together to produce a key message to the audience.

To practice my media detective skills above I have made an analysis of Ed Sheeran’s divide tour poster, here I detected denotations such as the costume (including hair, outfit, tattoos), the position of the artist (body language), typography of text, and the background behind the artist. All these denotations have connotations and portray key themes/ideas and help present and attract the target audience to the artist. For example, the denotation of Ed Sheeran’s costume in his tour poster is a plain basic grey top and regular jeans. This portrays to the audience that he is approachable and relaxed as he wears clothes that most the population wear. Another denotation in regards to his costume is his scruffy hair and visible tattoos, this also adds to his character profile of being care-free, and rustic which appeals to the target audience.

The knowledge that I have gained from detecting and decoding media texts will help me when it comes to creating my own work. From decoding media texts I have learnt of the importance of everything that goes into a media text e.g costume, text styles, lighting, colours etc. All these features are important as they help to convey specific desired messages to audiences and help to attract the target audience. In my work of media texts I will be sure to create and control the messages I want to portray to audiences through the use of these features.