Textual Analysis of a Magazine Front Page

KEY TERMS: represent, connote, infers, implies, suggests etc

Task

Complete a thorough textual analysis of a music magazine from the previous class slideshow (some of the research will already have been done for you).  Choose a different one from the one you did an audience profile for.

The analysis should include the following:

1) A description of their target audience.

  • To help you, you should use yougov.co.uk site and the profiles section
  • Another way to help you understand the target audience (of a commercial media product) is to look at the adverts within it.
    • Not the ads on their websites, (those are generated by cookies that help web companies follow you and give you personalised adverts), but the adverts they put inside the magazine (if you can find those).
    • You should also refer to the attached audience segmentation document to help identify a suitable classification for the target audience.

2) You should also explain their brand, which is defined in their mission statement.

(If you understand the audience and the brand this will help you unpick the design. The designers and editors will have had the audience and brand at the heart of their decision making and so should also be at the heart of your textual analysis.)

3) Use the correct terms for the technical conventions when talking about the design elements attached to them i.e. the masthead represents, the plug language connotes, the cover lines font infers etc…..

4) Consider how those design elements are shaped to communicate meaning, which will reflect the brand and mission statement – look for the signs, symbols, colours, fonts, framing, MES, facial expression, body language, language etc that have been used to convey a narrative, to represent a genre, to sell a brand).

Here is an example from a previous student that includes some very detailed observations:

This is the format we would like you to follow and use the sub-headings included. Some of the sections can be bullet pointed or lists, but others will require some analysis to include the terms: represents, implies, suggests, signifies etc when doing a textual analysis.

Use this link so that you can take a copy of the slideshow and insert your own image and do your analysis.

Camera, Framing and Distance – all make meaning

TASK 1

In groups of @ 3, you must take at least 50 photos around school that attempt to tell a story – use distance, angle and framing to show how the camera can make meaning.  Use each other as models or props that are easily obtainable. Think too about MES – particular body language, facial expression, posture, proxemics and gesture but the camera work is your main story telling tool.

For example:

  • an extreme close up of a tear stained eyes could underline a character’s sadness and vulnerability.
  • an extreme long shot of a man standing alone on a deserted beach might portray his isolation and solitude.
  • a two shot of a two people, with one in the foreground looking away from the camera and the other slightly out of focus in the background could add an enigmatic, mysterious feel to the scene as well.

Remember to consider:

  • Angle – high, low, canted x 3, aerial
  • Distance – ECU, MS, LS, ELS x 3
  • Composition – rule of thirds, lead space and Depth of Field x 3

TASK 2 –

KEY TERMS:  DISTANCE, ANGLE, FRAMING, COMPOSITION, NARRATIVE, REPRESENT

Technical Camera Terms (blog post)

Upload the contact sheet to your blog and reflect on how you coped with the DSLR functions and how you achieved your goal of telling stories using a camera.  Always focus forward too – how will this approach to taking photographs help you with your own music magazine production?


TASK 3 –

KEY TERMS:  TECHNICAL TERM, DENOTATION, CONNOTATION, REPRESENT, NARRATIVE, IMAGE AND AN IDEA

The Camera Talks (blog post)

Each photo should then be uploaded to a moodboard of your choice (see suggestions below). You will then

  • #the technical term (#longshot#lowangle)
  • #the example/denotation (#manalone#teacherlookingcross)
  • #the analysis/connotation (#lonely#excited#leaving)

Try and get some special FX in too i.e. motion speed blur or DOF?

Use locations around the school (but be respectful and safe) i.e. from a high angle at the top of the stairs looking down at your subjects or a low angle looking up at your subject/frames/point of views, lead space looking wistfully out of a window at the sky?

MOODBOARD SUGGESTIONS:

  • google slide but this is a bit over used now so why not branch out?
  • gomoodboard.co (snip tool the board and save as jpeg, save and publish and copy the URL, link this URL to the jpeg in the post and ask the examiner to click on the image to see the analysis/hashtags).
  • canva.com
  • spark.adobe.com
  • goboard.com
DISTANCE
Image result for close up of tear stained eye
The close up of the tear stained eyes conveys a sense of sadness and vulnerability of the model.
ANGLE
Image result for high angle shot of a small child
The high angle shot of the small children  helps represent their weakness by reinforcing their small stature. The composition using the rule of 3rds also draws attention to their isolation as they sit firmly in the middle of the shot surrounded by foliage and no other humans.
COMPOSITION 
Image result for depth of field
The yellow snooker ball  is clearly the important object in this frame. Using depth of field, the other snooker ball is out of focus, present and yet not as important as the yellow one that signifying that the important focus of the photograph is the yellow number 1 ball.

Please click on the moodboard below to see how the comments on the meaning and composition of the shots have been compiled. Good luck. HAVE FUN!

Essential Rules of Composition

Good shots do not just rely on using the focal length and shutter speed well or even just getting something in focus.  You must always try and work out how and where to place  the objects/subjects in your frame so as to draw attention to the main focus of your ‘story’ (picture).

Composition

Remember, this is all about story telling so make sure the signs, symbols and messages you want to convey are placed and highlighted correctly in the frame.

There are a number of rules relating to formal composition:

  • The Rule of Thirds
  • Depth of Field
  • Contrast & Texture
  • Lead Room

These are rules which can be followed or subverted to effect in film making.

 

Every Picture Tells a Story

Just as MES can be used to convey a mood, represent a character, convey a genre or help tell a story, CAMERA too can be used to create meaning in a media text.

Here is a glossary of camera terms you will need to learn and know.

How many different types of camera angle, framing, distance and movement can you spot in the Chicken Run clip and how do they help tell the story?

Textual Analysis – Downton Abbey

Your Textual Analysis Essay.

Please answer the following question in 6 sentences of beautiful analysis. Each sentence should contain the following:

  1. A well described example (EXAMPLE) from the text, which uses media terminology (CLAMPS – TERM) to identify it.
  2. An analytical connective (see examples below – REPRESENTS, PORTRAYS, ENCODES, SUGGESTS ETC).
  3. Interesting and varied adjectives which describe the ideas (connotations) being communicated to the audience. THE ANALYSIS/SIGNIFICANCE TO THE QUESTION.

Analyse the ways in which mise-en-scene communicates the different life styles of the people living and working in Downton Abbey. (500 words max)

Here is the clip you should analyse:

Help! How is this essay going to be compiled?

You should use this document to help you make notes and structure your analysis.

Once you have made notes you will join forces with 5 others to create one long essay using a shared document on google docs.  One person will add in the Costume, the next will add in the Lighting, the next the Acting and so on.

The final group essay will then be submitted for comments from your teacher.

Below is the presentation on we gave you on mise-en-scene. You should use this to remind you of the areas you should cover in mise-en-scene. It may also point you to ideas think about within in the sequence.

Here is a glossary of terms to help you identify and name the feature you wish to analyse.  Here are some useful adjectives and a reminder of some alternative connectives/active verbs to represent.

Please submit your essay via google classroom and adhere to the submission deadline.  All the resources you need are in google classroom including exemplar essays

My images that uses MES to communicate meaning – designing my star

Remember for this post on costuming and dressing a model for your allocated genre of music performer you should include the following 4 elements in this particular post:

1) MOODBOARD

Explain how you were allocated a genre to research and what you found – refer to the moodboard findings.

Embed the moodboard with images of ideas for how a performer from your allocated genre could be represented in terms of costume, facial expressions, hair, make-up, body language, gestures, props etc. Use adjectives AND describe and pick out some of the most important MES conventions for the genre.

Add in some relevant adjectives as to how that genre is generally represented – edgy, anarchic, produced, synthetic, friendly etc. Use terms Mise En Scene, Genre and Star Image (how are they represented/presented to the audience). If you can get the term ‘CONVENTIONS’ in too that would be great – those expectations, commonalities of the genre.

Made with Padlet

2) POST IT PHOTO

You then used all the research and findings to dress, encode your model as a star from that genre. Include a draft photo with the ‘post-its’ from the class in your test outfit with the comments and adjectives that the class suggested as to how your character was represented.  Reflect on how you, as a producer, used all the conventions from the genre to encode your model with the appropriate MES and the audience decoded them correctly (or not).  Did they read the star image correctly? What were their responses? List and reflect.

3) EMBED THE FOLDER OF ALL THE PHOTOS AND MAKE SURE IT IS SHARED TO THE WORLD

4) FINAL PHOTO

Final and chosen photo of your artist in costume with a commentary on how they are represented/portrayed with plenty of relevant adjectives.

Reflect on how and why that image seems to work better than the other ones from the shoot.

5) REFLECT AND FOCUS FORWARD 

Overall, reflect on the importance of using MES to convey meaning – tell a story – an image and an idea and HOW WILL THIS NOW IMPACT ON YOUR OWN PLANNING/RESEARCH FOR YOUR MAGAZINE PRODUCTION?

Mise En Scene

Mise En Scene is an essential element of how meaning is made in Media.  Every costume, hair style, lighting state, location, prop, accessory, posture, gesture, facial expression is there for a reason – to tell a story, convey an idea and an image.

Tour Poster analysis

Remember, what is it ‘saying’?  The denotations (things) all have connotations (meanings).  Use terms like these in your introduction to the post along with decoding, deconstructing, signs, symbols etc to show that you are getting to grips with how to analyse a media text.  You can use synonyms for represent too – portray, suggests, infers, implies, indicates etc.

Use Call Outs on your slide to evidence the comments…

Use this link to open the slideshow, take a copy, delete all the images you’re not going to use and then complete your analysis.

Here is an example from last year:

Take a Copy of This.  Delete the ones you don’t want to analyse and then work on your chosen poster.