Ideology

Ideology is the ideas, views and attitudes that one individual or a group of people hold. In media it usually refers to the ideas behind the media text.

Representation is a way of showing the ideology.

In music everything is in a genre and each genre has its own ideology. Therefore the ideology of a music genre is shown through its representation.

It is easy to see the representation of rock and pop music and how this shows the ideology of each genre. It is easy to compare these to genres due to the dichotomy between them.

It is clear to see that each genre has its own representation. It is important for artist to follow the ideology as it makes up the conventions and is therefore recognisable to audiences. The audiences get used to these conventions and so artists stick to them in order to appeal to the audiences and sell more music.

Setting an example

Taylor Swift clearly shows the representation and ideologies of pop music.

Her music is is very conventioanl. She uses catchy and simple lyrics about love and innocence that appeals to young girls.  

The way she presents herself is also very typical of the pop music genre. She wears attractive garments that are either brightly coloured or in line with current fashions. At times Taylor Swift dresses in a provocative way, this goes against convention as it is originally associated with rock music. This is to attract the male gaze and appeal to young women who aspire to be her.

The fact of the matter is that sex sells. Pop music has been forced to comply with these ideas in order to be successful. This is why we are beginning to see celebrities in risqué outfits and are beginning to hear lyrics that have sexual connotations. This has lead to typical rock conventions now being associated with pop music, however this change can be seen as natural as music always changes as social attitudes change. 

Psycographics

Psychographics

noun

noun: psychographics

1. the study and classification of people according to their attitudes, aspirations, and other psychological criteria, especially in market research.

Mainstreamers - these are people who seek security. They tend to be conformist and conventional. They favour value for money, family and well known brands. This group is normally the largest.

Aspirers - people who seek status. They are usually materialistic and orientated to image and appearance therefore attractive packaging is more appealing to them. This group of people are typically young.

Succeeders - strong, confident people who seek control. They have a strong work ethic and value stability. These are people who usually work is highly qualified professions.

Resigned - seek survival. They are authoritarian types who are passionate about tradition. These are typically older people.

Explorers - this is a group that seek individualism and adventure. Difference usually creates instant satisfaction. This group usually try new things.

Smugglers - people who seek escape.They are usually alienated and disorganised , they tend to come from the D/ E demographic. They can be associated with drinking, junk food and lottery tickets.

Reformers - these are people that want freedom of restrictions. They strive for personal growth and enlightenment. They aren't attracted by materialistic  attitudes but are aware of good taste.  They usually attend higher education and select products of quality.

Print termonolgy

Advertorial - advertisements specifically designed to look like the house style of the magazine.

Banner - an advertisement that is positioned along the top or bottom of the magazine. This is usually used to attract the reader, for example ' freebie in every issue' or 'exclusive interview with...'

Bleed - when an image is printed to the full size of the magazine. This means there is no margin around the outside.

Byline- a line that indicates who wrote the article.

Circulation - the amount of issues distributed at a given time.

Drop Cap - the enlargement of the first letter at the beginning of a sentence of article.

Pug - Sometimes referred to as the 'ears' of the magazine. The top left/right side of the magazine which usually contains something to attract the reader as it can be seen on the stand. The logo is rally positioned on the 'ears' of the magazine.

Pull quote - a quote that is extracted and enlarged. It is usually placed around an image or in the centre of an article.

Slug- a key word or logo used in association with a specific part of the magazine. For example the logo for the horoscope section of a magazine.

Typography - the font, colour and sizing of the text. 

USP - 'Unique Selling Point' : usually used to differentiate the magazine from competitors. 

Comparison

In order to assess my work efficiently I have chosen to compare my school magazine with another.

There are both similarities and differences between my magazine and the one I have chosen to compare it to.

My magazine clearly features a student and indicates what my issue involve. This is similar to 'high school illustrated' magazine as it too shows a student, however while my student is doing work, the 'high school illustrated' magazine shows a student holding an American football this is because their issue is about the 'player of the year'. Therefore both my magazines feature a cover model indicating the content of the issue.



'High school illistarted' magazine follows a typical magazine convention of having 3 main colours present. This is used to create interest while not over cluttering the cover. This is similar to my magazine as I have also featured different colours, however on my cover there only appears to be 2 main colours featured. I chose to use less colours as I felt the image itself involved a large variety of colours and so did not want to over clutter my piece. A similarities between the two covers is that they both prominently feature the colour yellow possible due to its connotation and positivity and its noticeability.

My magazine does not have many symbols or words used to attract the audiences attention, whereas 'high school' magazine features many of these. For example 'high school illustrated' uses words such as 'plus' to attract the reader attention as they are interested by the possibility of more. Additionally it uses boxes and + signs to make the cover aesthetically pleasing.

Overall there are a range of similarities and difference between my magazine and 'high school illustrated'. By comparing I am now able to clearly see the successful conventions that other magazines use and therefore will be able to apply them to my final piece.

Shots, lighting and Mise en scene

When analysing magazines we focus of two main sections. These include images and text.

Every images is taken using a specific shot. Each shot has a different connotation.

Shots
Magazines have 3 main shots that are conventionally used;

Long shot shows the whole body which allows the background and costumes to be seen (often used with bands to show every member). This can be used to show props that are usually associated with the musician. This can also create a dramatic presence of the model on the cover as their pose can connote a feeling, for example : power.

Mid shot consists of the artists torso and above. Similarly to a long shot, this shows the background and any props or costumes used but aims to show more detail to the audience. This shot is usually used when featuring bands so that all members can be seen. It can connote familiarity as this is a typical real life view that the audience experiences on a daily basis.

Big close up (BCU) usually consist of a close up of the artist face. This creates an intense emotional and personal connection to the artist. It is very successful when an issue focuses on a single artist as it connotes emotion and makes the audience feel more involved with the life of the featured musician.

Mise en scene 

Colour should also be taken into account when analysing both text and images. Different colours have different connotations. When analysing, these connotations should be considered. For example, red connotes fear, danger, love and sex - Using the colour red makes the audience subconsciously think of these connotations and therefore can give an indication of the issues contents.

Costume , including makeup and hair can give an indication of the contexts of the magazine. Costumes can also show the ideology of the artist and music genre featured on the magazine.

Props are used such as instruments, especially is they are stereotypically associated with the artist.

Positioning within the image also comes under miss en scene. For example if the cover featured two artist that worked together they would be positioned closely together. Additionally the positioning of text on the cover is important as it can draw attention to specific articles and can makes the cover more or less aesthetically pleasing.

Lighting 

There are many different types of lighting that can be used. Lighting can also come under miss en scene.

• High key lighting is bright studio lighting and can suggest they artist is revealing something personal or show how they are always is the limelight.
• Low key lighting is much darker then high key and is more often used in indie or punk rock magazines. 
• Finally backlighting can be used to give a unique feel; it involves lighting coming from behind the model and therefore becomes blocked by their silhouette.

School magazine contents page

To complete my prelim task I had to complete a contents page. 

Through research I noticed that all contents pages had images present, I therefore chose a simple image that still indicated the purpose of my magazine. 

Unfortunately due to my font cover being landscape rather than the conventional portrait my contents page does not fit with my cover. However I chose to do my contents page portrait as I noticed my mistake and felt that it would be more appropriate to appeal to the conventions. 

Overall I feel that my contents page gives a clear indication of what is in the magazine and suits the house style of my magazine.